Guest Room!

Ever since the first time I set foot inside of this house, I have wanted to paint the guest room. It was the one room that was impossible to leave alone, but since it was a guest room, it was "out of sight, out of mind" ever since we've moved in.


Trust me, this baby was obnoxious. And I don't care if you are a UofA fan, it doesn't constitute painting an entire wall UofA colors and leaving it for me to conquer:



Well, since my mom's engagement, we have come to learn that we are going to have a few of the groom's relatives staying with us. Not like I needed a push but...Kendall did. So now, I found a legit excuse to HAVE to work on the dreaded UofA room.

So, yesterday, while Kendall was out riding, my friend Diana came over & helped me with everything. Here is the finished product:




{And let me just say that I am so proud of myself for using what I have already and finding ways to save money for now & still be happy with the outcome.} Because not only did I need to paint the room, but I needed a bed frame, mattress, & comforter/sheets for the bed.

The bed frame was Kendall's old bed from basically forever ago. I painted, & glazed it with a chocolate glaze.




The comforter is a quilt that my sister Liz made for me a few christmases ago {don't mind the warrior kitty- he's attacking the oh so tempting cord for the blinds}:




The decorative pillows {a major plus}, given to me with the red couch we bought last year.




All I paid for was paint, & a twin sized sheet set.

The only downside is the mattress. It got full of splinters from sliding around on the wood board underneath it {when we moved} & I can't get them out. I have tried everything but they just keep poking out. I put a waterproof cover/pad on it & so for now, I'm just hoping that it keeps the splinters from poking through. We will just have to wait until we can find another one.

Other than that, I would say it was a successful undertaking.

Ace of Cakes

Ok so, we've learned a lot from our first cake making experience. We are not as talented as the people on Ace of Cakes but we did pretty well for our first try.


Here is the beginning of our project, three cake recipes worth of cakes:


Next is the "dirty icing" stage, as Sarah discovered off of one of her cooking shows she loves.



More layers, more dirty icing:




And now for some detail work (mostly to hide the messy frosting) hehe. And for decoration:






Then I took apart the new bouquet I bought (for this specific purpose) and set to embellishments:



The top was a little rounded but since this is a rough draft, we're ok :) :




View from the back:




And it won't be on an old cookie sheet for the wedding haha.

But I think we didn't do too shabby for the first try. What do you think?

My mom

My mom is engaged! This is a big deal for my family and I. She's been divorced for 13 years now, and it hasn't been an easy time for her. We are so happy that she has found someone to share the rest of her life with her :)

As for my sisters and I... it's WEDDING TIME! We are all planning/coordinating everything for the wedding {due to my mother's current state of shock and "I can't even think about colors and flowers right now" freakout} and for the reception to follow.

Phase one begins today with a practice run of making, baking, decorating, and tasting one of the two cakes that we are going to have for the reception.

Pictures to follow :)

Fossil Springs

This past weekend we decided at about 8:30 on Friday night to drive up to Fossil Springs and camp with some friends for the night.
Saturday morning, we hiked over to the waterfall and swam and had lots of fun.
It's such a beautiful place! It was a fun weekend.

Sad day

I wanted to post a good blog but today I feel so heavy and sad. I feel kind of stupid since I'm not really involved but I can't help but feel like this when so many sad things happen.

When I used to dance, I had made a lot of friends and connections and hung out with them almost every day. One of the people I had met and hung out with a few times ended up taking his own life this Sunday morning. I didn't know him well but I had danced and talked with him a few times. I even hung out at the pool on Friday night with a friend and he was there.
I know that I wasn't close to him but I just feel so sad that he felt so alone that he abandoned his life.

On top of that, they found the body of that poor Yale student that was supposed to get married on Sunday.

And Patrick Swayze passed away.

It seems silly for this to get to me. But I can find no other explanation for my feelings.

Tomorrow will be better but I am going to remember them all today.

Mortified, to say the least

So I was able to snag a yoga/pilates class this semester and am now using it as my weekly dose of "zen". In order to completely immerse myself in my zen-ness, I went and bought some stretchy black leggings for 5$ at Target along with a new tank. I was all cute in my black leggings and new tank top and zen-d out for class.

I typically stand with my mat in the first row at the front of the class, with the remainder of the class in my row or in subsequent rows behind me (Which consequently magnifies my mortification into oblivion). So whilst stretching on my mat at the end of class I notice that my leggings are virtually see-through in the knees when i bend and stretch them. Not so bad, I think to myself. That's why these are my workout leggings and not ones that I wear all the time. So I get in the car and start that long drive home...

As I'm in the car I'm thinking, hm, these leggings are see through when stretched....and yoga does a lot of stretching all the way down to the ground.... hopefully they aren't too bad in the back......
Suddenly, I can't get home fast enough to be able to bend over in front of a mirror and check things out for myself.

Lo and behold, the stretchy pants are indeed see-through when stretched in the back.

4 things that made this whole situation worse:
1- I've worn them twice to class now, doubling the amount of flashing I have done.
2- As I said before, I stand in the front row, with everyone behind me.
3- With most stretchy things, like spandex, one typically does not wear chonies along with them.
4- In case anyone in my class failed to notice my scandal, today my instructor used me to demonstrate the proper way of holding a pose. I'm still unsure as to whether this pose was an offensive one all things considered, but it was still stretching a bit. And now, anyone who didn't get a look now had the opportunity.

There are only a few ideas that I am clinging to in order to make me feel better about my embarrassment...
Hopefully, everyone was as involved in their own breathing and stretching that they were unable to really take a look at my derriere. Also, I did find out NOW rather than at the end of the semester so considering I've only committed the offense twice, I'm pretty lucky.

Still horrified, I am now vowing to wear my sweatpants from this week onward, in an attempt to redeem myself. {cringe}