If work permits

Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday Classic

2012-01-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hey! It's Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday!

This week I did a Classic Red that the hubbs got me for Christmas.

You can never go wrong with red! Don't you agree?

Here is the wardrobe for the week. I'm ready for Spring but I'm hoping that it stays cool enough for a while:

Tank: Borrowed from my sister Cardi: Target clearance Belt: Agaci Jeans: Charlotte Russe Uggs: Last Chance for $20!

Florals are always fun and matched with a cardi, you can't go wrong! :)

Hubby kept snapping even though I was done posing. And yes, that is a Harry Potter wand on my bookshelf.

I. Am. Obsessed.

Here is Mr. Harrison for the day:

Romper: Thrifted (Old Navy)

He is getting so big! Love my BFF!

How is your week going? I know that by Wednesday, I need a diet coke to help me through the "hump". What's your guilty pleasure that sees you through the "hump"?

Mortified, to say the least

2012-01-16T16:34:00.001-08:00

This was a story from a few years ago that I decided I had to share with you all. Hopefully your Monday isn't as mortifying :)

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}

Wah Waaahhh wah wahh

2012-01-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

You know the noise that the teacher makes on Charlie Brown? Yeah that's what the title of this post is supposed to sound like.

It seems like it takes a lot to keep up with all of this blogging world! I'm falling behind because my house is currently a destruction zone! I decided to turn one of my spare bedrooms into a craft room and then decided to paint our master bedroom. All of my furniture is in the loft and down the hall... ahh! Hopefully over the next few days i'll be able to get everything in order but as for now, it's Wahh wah wah wah wah wah.

Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday Aquatic version

2012-01-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

Heyooo! It's Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday! This week I found these on pinterest and just had to have them:

So fun! Although the "scales" took me forever! Haha :) Love them! Will be doing them again pleaseeee.

My wardrobe and Mr. Harrison's are combined today in one lazy my-camera-battery-died-and-I-don't-want-to-look-for-my-point-and-shoot photo!

Blouse: F21 Undershirt: DownEast Basics Jeans: Charlotte Russe Boots: (Not pictured) Cathy Jean

Mr. Harrison's outfit: Costco!

Yaaaay lazy. Haha. I love this blouse- I bought it last year when I was pregnant and it always made me feel pretty and BONUS since it isn't maternity, it still works without the belly.

And I just had to throw in some little snipits of Mr. Harrison trying new foods.... I am feeling pretty bad here because I gave him an oreo because he wouldn't eat anything else... haha :)

Despite his face, he loved it. And just one more little cute face:

He's loving on those teething biscuits!

How is your week going? Any fun plans?

Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday

2011-12-28T09:06:00.000-08:00

Hey there! It's Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday- the last Christmas Edition for this year. I'm super excited for New Years and all that 2012 is going to bring!!

Here are some cute little santas that I did for my niece. They turned out so great!

Then I did these peppermint swirls for my other niece. I had a hard time with these but they mostly looked nice :)

I didn't have time for a full wardrobe photo, but I did take one of my new fossil watch that the Hubster bff got me for Christmas:

I love it so much! I haven't had a watch for years so it's nice to have one again.

I took this of Mr. Harrison on Christmas morning. He loved crawling around in all of the presents and paper- so cute! Here are his Christmas jammies:

His presents were perfect! He loves farms and barnyard animals the best! He especially loves Baby Einstein Old McDonald- we don't put it on often but sometimes it helps me have just a few extra minutes to finish getting ready without him crying at my feet.

So cute!

Are you making any resolutions for the new year? Any big goals or plans? More importantly, are you going to keep them? I always make great ones but then I forget about them or don't really work on them. I am really going to work on it this year. I'll post my list soon, and I hope you'll share some of your resolutions!

Happy Wednesday. Drink a Diet Coke!

Merry Sickmas

2011-12-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

Hey there. Sorry I've been absent in the blogging world. This Christmas was amazing and difficult all at the same time. We've had:

Friday-Mr. Harrison has a fever

Saturday-Mr. Harrison still has a fever, and cuts his first tooth

Saturday/Sunday-Me puking/getting the flu

Monday-Mr. Harrison gets Roseola

Whew! Hopefully this is the end of our sickness troubles. I need to get out and enjoy some of my gift cards!

I want you all to tell me about your Christmas Weekend! So I'm copying {Gentri Lee} and asking:

1. Tell me your favorite Christmas moment.

2. Tell me your favorite gift that you got.

3. Tell me your favorite gift that you gave.

Mine are

1. Favorite moment is snuggling and spending time with my husband. He's been gone working a lot and we have barely seen each other so it was really nice to relax with him :)

2. Favorite gift is my fossil watch and my gift card to spend on my craft room {to come!} YAY.

3. Favorite gift given is the bosch mixer that my whole family went in on for my mom to replace her 30+ year old one. She cried when she opened it she was so happy! It was the best ever and she deserves the best!

Now tell me yours! :)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T07:37:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Santa brought me the flu! What did he bring you? :)

Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday

2011-12-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

Yay. It's Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday!

I did these for my niece this week. She had seen my earlier version and wanted them done for herself.

I did these snowflakes for my SIL. Super cute!

My wardrobe is from a purse party that my niece and I got to help out with for {TomKat Studio} It was so fun!

Shirt: Ross Cardi: Shade Skirt: DownEastBasics Belt and Necklace: ?? Hair flowers: Whippy Cake

Isn't my niece super cute? We are only 4 years apart so it throws people off when they find out I'm "Aunt Bekah". My hubby and are both the baby of our families with about 15-16 years between us and our oldest siblings so there are some age gaps there.

I couldn't get a photo of Mr. Harrison's outfit this week. I always forget and then by the time I go to take it, he has food and cheerios stuck all over himself. Ah well. Nothing is cuter than cheerios stuck to a baby bum!

Mr. Harrison finally started army crawling and holy smokes he is a happy baby! I have to say, it may seem on here that I get to hang out and cuddle/snuggle with him all day but really, it's just wishful thinking. He never snuggles and up until about a month ago cries and wants to be held for most of the day. He has been a colicky baby and I think a big part of it was his inability to get to where he wanted to go. Now that he can crawl (with one leg haha) he is so much happier and doesn't cry nearly as much! YAY!

Anyone else have colicky babies? or any good tips? Hope your week is awesome! CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!!!

Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday

2011-12-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

Hello there! It's Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday today! Yipeeeee.

Polish for today: something easy and quick. I'm going to be baking a lot, plus it's bath day so I didn't want to take a lot of time on something that will probably chip and be washed off within a day or two.

And here is the wardrobe:

Shirt: Borrowed Chunky vest: Chicos- Borrowed Leggings: Target Legwarmers: Gifted Boots: Ross

My SIL recently handed off a bunch of clothes to me and I love it! It's so fun to have sisters and in-laws to share clothes with. Don't you think?

Plus we got our tree on Monday so yippee for that!

Yipee!

Here's Mr. Harrison all snuggly warm:

Jacket: Old Navy Jeans, Hat & Boots: Thrifted

How's your week going? I'm having an awesome one! Did you understand my opposite day post? Haha. Because it was a great Monday in case you didn't catch on.

I'm thinking of making this into a link party where you can all link up any cute nails or wardrobe choices. What do you think?

See you later!!

Opposite Day

2011-12-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

I didn't get a lot done today.

I didn't run errands so much that my baby Harrison got an hour and a half nap in the car while I ran in and out (of my mom's and mother in law's houses).

I am not taking up all of my free time reading {tiger's voyage} instead of catching up on my blogging.

I am not getting my Christmas tree tonight.

I don't love Mondays.

By the way, it's opposite day.

Anything opposite for you today? Tell me all about it.

Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday

2011-12-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

HHHHEEEYYYY! It's Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday! This week is a Christmasy one.

Check out the Christmas Nails I did on myself, my nieces, and my sister:

These were so fun! I think these ones were my favorite:

A few of them were inspired by Pinterest but a few were all my own idea :) Which ones are your favorite?

Here is the wardrobe for today:

It's finally gotten cold over here {at least cold for Arizonans- 30 degrees in the mornings} and I'm pulling out my long sleeves and boots... all right you caught me. I've been wearing warm clothes for a long time now. I just love boots and scarves. So snuggly!

Top: XXI Shrug: Agaci Leggings: Target Boots: Ross Hair Flower: Whippy Cake

I've been playing the piano a lot more now because of all of the fun Christmas songs to play and sing. It's kind of old lady and old mannish but a lot of the time I'll sit and play and my hubby will sing for hours. :) We love it. Do you sing or play an instrument?

Here's Mr. Harrison in all of his cuteness:

Shirt: Old Navy, Thrifted Pants: Thrifted Shoes: Gifted

I just love this little man to pieces. He is such a stud muffin! {If I do say so myself}

Who would have thought this little guy has spent the last two days crying and needing to be held almost all the time?

For the rest of today we will be watching Grey's Anatomy re-runs and probably snuggling because of sad baby boy.

What is your guilty pleasure TV show? Any shows I should check out?

P.S. Posting {here} today. Check out my bloggy friend Kelly and wish her a speedy recovery from her surgery!

My weekend in Instagram

2011-12-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

1. Hubby's idea to stay in and cook together.

2. Garlic Chicken Con Broccoli

3. Delicious!

4. Me cooking with the hubbs.

5. Last minute extra ticket to Phooson/SELENA GOMEZ with my SIL and her fam bam. (yes I love Selena Gomez and I am 12 years old thank you)

6. {Karmin} was there too.

7. Christmas lights at the Temple with the SIL fam bam again.

8. Mr. Harrison all bundled up.

How was your weekend?

Lazy Jane

2011-12-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry about being behind in my posting. Life around here had been non-stop and so I'm taking a moment to be lazy and snuggle with Mr. Harrison while stealing his lotion (it smells so good). Once our snuggle is over it's back to real life and grocery shopping.

What are you up to today? Anything fun?

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

2011-11-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

Holler! The giveaway is officially over and we have a winner:

Laurel from happy town= me

Yay! Congrats! For all of you who are still needing a deal, I'm offering 30% off on any item in my {shop}! Just use the code AWESOME22 at the checkout! I can customize any item as well :)

Last Chance to Enter!

2011-11-27T07:23:00.000-08:00

Heyooo! It's your last chance to enter my {Giveaway} so make sure you've had a chance to stop on over and leave me a comment!

Our Thanksgiving was...

...I don't even know how to describe it.

But it was fun. How was yours? Did you spend it with family? Did you eat turkey? My fav is the green bean casserole. What's yours?

WPW Wednesday Muppet Edition

2011-11-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

Holler! It's Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday!

So this week, my SIL got some of the new OPI Muppets Collection and we had a party and tried them all out. My favorite of the set: The Rainbow Connection. Remember {this}? Or are you too young to remember?

I put a layer of silver underneath to make it look super glam. Love it!

For the wardrobe, I got home from church and all of a sudden I was frozen! So I bundled up with a few layers:

Jacket: AGACI Blouse: Gifted f21 Jeans: Charlotte Russe UGGs: Nordstrom Rack

I had to bust out my camo UGGs. Can you believe I got them for only $80? You'll go crazy when you hear how much I got my regular UGGs for... I'll post them in my next WPW Wed.

My grandmother's ring matched my mood perfectly.

Unfortunately my hands were too swollen for me to fit my wedding ring on. Do you ever get that problem? I do every once in a while. So I put on my aquamarine ring that my parents got me when I graduated from HS forever ago (forever). And the fancy hood of course!

Mr. Harrison wore my favorite outfit on him:

Romper: Thrifted Baby Gap

And he found his tongue for this picture :) I was so happy that I found it for so cheap because I had seen it online and I really wanted it!

Don't forget to enter my {giveaway}. I've been adding bling and it's super popular.

Blonde moment and a guest post.

2011-11-22T06:50:00.000-08:00

Yes I'm a natural blonde. And I'm smart so none of that dumb blonde crap applies to me...Except for when I have these {momentary} lapses of memory, judgement, or whatever you will call it. And I kindof had one of those yesterday at the gas station.

I got my gas all situated and then took Mr. Harrison inside with me to get a soda {mmm diet coke!}. We came out, I put my purse and soda in the car, buckled Mr. H up, buckled myself in, and then left... or TRIED to leave...

with the gas pump still in my truck.

Yep. I did that.

LUCKILY the pump didn't break off, it just came out and fell on the ground and thankfully didn't spew gas everywhere. I got out and pretended that I thought it was funny and put it away whilst sneaking glances around me to see how many people witnessed my blonde moment. I think maybe ONE guy saw it but I can't be sure if he just thought that I was crazy for laughing at myself or if he really saw it all go down.

sheesh.

Do you have dumb blonde moments? And you're probably not even blonde?

Check it out! I'm guest posting over {Here} at love notes by lauryn!

Giveaway and New Shop!

2011-11-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

Busy today- It's going to be a great day {especially because last week was not so great} so I'm focusing all of my positive energy and MAKING it a great day myself. (Do any of you do that?)

So I'm going to just remind you all that I'm doing a {Giveaway} for a rosette wristlet! Please go on over to my previous post {Here} and sign yourself up for one!

Happy Monday!

Opening up shop and a Giveaway! {Closed}

2011-11-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

It's finally here. And kind-of unexpectedly here. I opened up my Etsy shop! I've been working on the idea of it for a while now and just randomly felt like it was the day to add a little here and there... which eventually turned into a whole shop, FB page, and craziness.

So check it out; Blackberry Blush is a shop with handmade accessories. So far I am working on rosette wristlets but am hoping to expand to include necklaces, headbands, and individual rosettes as well. So far my focus is on the wristlets:

And now the fun part! To kick it all off I'm going to have a giveaway- One of my beautiful rosette wristlets is up for grabs.

To Enter:

Be a follower of this blog- 1 entry

Extra Entries:

Like Blackberry Blush on Facebook- 1 entry

Visit my shop and tell me which wristlet is your favorite- 1 entry

Blog about this giveaway- 1 entry

*Make sure you leave me a comment for each entry you complete. That's 4 different ways you can put your name in for an awesome wristlet!

This giveaway will be open until Monday November 28th so make sure you move quickly! Good luck!

Baby Paxton

2011-11-17T22:24:00.000-08:00

Some of you have been asking how my sister and her new baby have been doing. If you didn't know, my sister Elizabeth had her baby at 25 weeks 6 days gestation, at 2 lbs. 5 oz. He is a fighter and has been getting more and more stable each day. He is now 3 lbs. 2 oz. and taking feedings. He is also on a conventional ventilator now and they are working on weening him off.

Since she has felt comfortable posting about him on her blog, I thought I'd share some of the photos I took on my visit to see her about a month ago.

He is so tiny, the photos don't do it justice. They make him look much bigger than he really is.

He loves being on his tummy the most.

The sweetest thing was when my sister was standing by his isolette and he stretched and reached his little hand up towards her.

It's amazing how his tiny little fingers are so perfect. He already looks just like his daddy and has super blonde hair!

He is a miracle. We are all keeping him in our prayers and hoping that he continues to get bigger and stronger each day.

WPW Wednesday Night- Running style

2011-11-16T22:27:00.001-08:00

Hello there. Sorry for the late post but it's been a little crazy over here with Mr. Harrison getting his shots {plus two extra pokes and 2 vials of blood taken for testing}. He is a grumpy little man!

It's Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday! Holler!

So I'm listening to Christmas music and decided to do something festive:

Super easy and super fun! And Christmasy! And yes Christmasy is a word :)

As for the wardrobe, I wore a lot of cute outfits this week that I never took pictures of. Do you ever do that? Because I do it ALL. THE. TIME. So, the wardrobe for this week consists of my running gear:

Shoes: Asics from Dick's Sporting Goods Pants: Nike from Dick's Shirt: Borrowed from hubby Hair: Fabulous

I've finally started running again and I'm pretty excited. There is a half marathon coming up in January that I'm planning on doing. I forgot how much I love running. Do you love running? Because I LOVE IT! So now I'm all geared up :)

Mr. Harrison is also wearing his running gear {aka jogging stroller riding gear}:

Jammies: Carter's from Costco Hat: Thrifted

Tonight was our first attempt at using the jogging stroller (since most of the time Mr. Harrison is already in bed) and it went pretty well.

Anyways I feel great. Running/Working out does that to me. Only I forget that and put it off until I finally do it and then remember again. Do you do that?

Hope your week is wonderful.

Friends

2011-11-12T20:19:00.001-08:00

New friends with his cousin's puppy. It made me laugh.

What made you laugh this week?

WPW Wednesday!

2011-11-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

Heeeey! It's Wednesday! I kept thinking it was Monday yesterday and then I thought today was Saturday when I woke up... What is going on with my brain? No idea!

Anyways this week I was looking for something quick and simple. But also fun. So here it is:

For some reason after I went to sleep, all of the white dots rubbed off without even smudging anything! Weird! It's all crazy business over here.

Wardrobe was fun this week because it's finally COLD! YAY! I've been waiting for forever to wear these boots that I got at Target:

So here I am:

Shirt: f21 Cardi, boots, jeans: Target (it seems I'm a walking ad for target these days) Scarf: ?

I've been trying to wear them every day. I can't help myself. I love BOOTS!

Here's Mr. Harrison:

Shirt and pants: Children's Place Sweater: Thrifted

How's your week going? Any cute outfits or fun nails?

BFFs

2011-11-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

We're BFFs. And hold hands. And sit on the porch in the swing. And go for walks.

Swinging together is our favorite. It helps us both calm down and enjoy our time.

Who's your BFF? What is your favorite thing to do with your BFF?

p.s. the hubbs is my other BFF for sure. It's a triple BFF sandwhich.

One of those days

2011-11-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

Yep. It's one of those days.

WPW Wednesday Halloween Edition

2011-11-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

HEY! IT'S NOVEMBER ALREADY! Do you know what that means? THANKSGIVING! and then BLACK FRIDAY! and then...

CHRISTMAS!!!

I know I know. I'm jumping on the Christmas sleigh a little too early but seriously, this has been such a wonderful and yet challenging year and Christmas makes me so happy and gives me something to look forward to that I don't care.

And it's not the presents that I'm excited about.

It's the decorating, music, singing, hot chocolate, peppermint, candles, parties, family, crafting, wintery, coldness, celebration of Christ, and LOVE that I'm yearning for. I'm spreading the Christmas cheer and getting ready. Besides, I'm starting on gifts and spreading them out so I don't end up dropping a huge dime all at once (which will probably happen anyways).

Anyways, on to Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday!

So even though it was Halloween, I have done so many Halloween nails that I decided to just go PINK! I saw this on Pinterest and had to try it out:

It makes me want to eat a cupcake and I don't even like cupcakes. :)

As for Wardrobe, here is a quick snap in front of my sister's house:

Cardi & Shorts: F21 Shirt & Leggings: Target Boots: Cathy Jean

Sorry I didn't get more photos. We were always on the go.

Mr. Harrison's Wardrobe is Halloween edition. This year for Halloween I didn't focus on my costume like I did last year because I was really excited about Mr. Harrison's costume.

He went as:

Nacho Libre!

*Photos from my iPhone

I love it! :) It turned out better than I thought it would and was pretty cheap!

Cape: Made by me in 45 minutes (including cutting everything out)! super easy! $10

Bloomers: Borrowed from his cousin Margaret

Leggings: Nordstrom Rack $5; Patches sewn on by me

Socks: Already had them (Target $1.00)

I'm really glad I decided to go through with it even though things have been super crazy lately. So fun :)

What do you think?

I'm linking!

Anthropologie Inspired Bedding

2011-10-28T06:57:00.001-07:00

So now you all can know what secret project I have been working on: my Nimbus Jersey Comforter knockoff from Anthropologie!

Here is my inspiration:

And here is my version {Ignore the black curtains and snickers on the bedside table... :)} :

Iloveit. Do you?

I researched a few other DIY anthro comforters and all of them said "it took me 5 hours" or "it took me 10 hours" Well ladies, you must have been expert seamstresses because this baby took me like 20+ hours.

I don't have a ruffle attachment for my sewing machine and I don't have a serger so that made my project time infinitely longer.

I took a duvet and used it as the base and {simply} sewed the pleated side {made from cut up sheets that were on clearance!} onto it, flipped it, DONE.

Oh and the best part? If I had bought it at Anthropologie it would have cost $500+ for the set. This cost me $50 to make.

$50!

It needs some fancy pillows but for this mini photoshoot I just used what I had lying around the house.

Now I have a serious problem... I need to re-do the rest of my master bedroom to match it! :) I am so ready for my room to be painted {it still has the flat paint from when the house was built in 2006} and for my furniture to be updated and LIGHTENED up {everything is black and white}. I need COLOR and lightness!

Now I try to spend even MORE time in bed {with snickers} :)

What do you think?

I'm Linking.

My trip... and no WPW

2011-10-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hey there friends.

I'm home from my trip to Utah to see my sister and help her family while her youngest is in the NICU. It was a great trip although we were hoping that she would still be on bed rest by this point. I really miss their family and always love spending time with them!

I was pretty nervous because Mr Harrison had his first flight on this trip. I mean, I had nightmares about this for weeks before the trip. Ironically, after a 3 HOUR delay {

yeah that sucked} he slept the whole way there... and cried the whole way back! haha oh well.

Here he is soaking up the beautiful 70 degree weather.

He's got his stunnah shades on. He left these on for like half an hour! He really likes to be trendy.

Here are my sister's boys at the park- probably the only place where they can actually get all of their limitless energy out! Kyler, Brayden, and Keaton.

Mr. Harrison of course had to have his photo op at the park as well :)

Shirt: Thrifted Sunglasses (above) and Pants (not pictured): Children's Place

I only have one picture of my sister and I. We were so busy with her kids and trips back and forth from the hospital that we didn't really stop to think about it. I'll have to show you that one later because she asked me to hold off on any NICU pictures for a little bit.

I do however, have a few {blurry} outfits from before my trip to show you...

Outfit 1- Top & Neckace: F21 Cardi: Wet Seal Skirt: Target Belt: Agaci Shoes: Payless

Outfit 2- Undershirt: DownEast Shirt: borrowed from my sister Jeans and shoes: Target

And sorry guys no Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday for this week {at least the wet polish part}. I'm fighting off a cold along with my little guy being sick too. Did you know that sick days are not nearly as fun when you have to take care of sick babykins too? I do! Anyone have any remedies?

And then of course there's my secret project... did you forget? I will be posting about it tomorrow!! So excited. What do you think it is? We have some close guesses so far.

Quick WPW Wednesday

2011-10-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

I only have a few seconds because I'm here in utah helping my sister with her baby Paxton who is in the NICU. He was born at only 25 weeks 6 days gestation and weighed 2lbs 5oz. so if you have prayers to spare, please include him and their family in them.

these were quickly done before I left and I think they turned out ok.

I tried to make them look like wallpaper-ish or decopaged. What do you think?

As for the outfit, also quickly put together, simple, blah.

Feeling a little like fall. Maybe if I wear warmer clothes it'll get colder outside?

Shirt: F21 Jeans: Target Chucks: kids journeys (yes I wear kid sized shoes)

And we can't forget my red MAC lipstick. The best.

This was Mr. Harrison's outfit for the plane ride. He was stylin' and comfy in his puma track suit.

Pants and jacket: Puma, gifted Onesie: Costco

Sorry it's quick. Hope your Wednesday is great!

Secret Project Sneak Peek

2011-10-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

So I've had a huge project that I spent like 20 hours on over the past week! I love how it turned out and I'm very excited to show you the finished product...however, I'm leaving to go to Utah to see my sister for a week and won't be able to arrange everything until I'm done. {Plus, what's the point of arranging it all and then not being able to enjoy it for a week?}

I'm not going to post the finished product on here until I get home. But I will give you a sneak peek... ok? OK!

What do you think it is?

Liebster Blog Award

2011-10-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

I was given the Liebster Blog award by my new bloggy friend Kelly over at {Keeping up with the Manns}!

She is so fun and has this amazing Fireplace-less mantle that I covet deeply.

She is always doing renovations and projects for her house so check her out!

The Liebster blog award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Liebster is a German word meaning dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

So now it's my turn to pick 5 people who I think deserve this award {with less than 200 followers} And man it was hard because all of you friends have a bazillion followers. I'm jealous ;)

1. Jennie at Ampersand Photography. She is not only a family friend for life {literally since we were born}, she is an awesome and artistic photographer. If you need any photos done in the Mesa, AZ area, she can give you a great deal and give you awesome shots.

2. My sister Elizabeth at LizzyLuu Designs. She makes designer bum accessories for yourself and your little one! You can just grab one of her wipey clutches and go. These are amazing and so is she for being so creative! Check her out for sure {especially since she may be sponsoring a giveaway soon...hint hint}

3. Liz at The Quick Journey. I've only recently gotten to know her in the bloggy world but she is very crafty and family oriented. Her headbands are awesome and very stylish as well as her beautiful family pictures. Give her some bloggy love!

4. Emily at Knot Knot, Who's There? I've known Emily for several years but she only just recently started her blog. She is one of those people that think "that's too expensive, I'll just make it myself!" and did! She has some amazing new crochet beanies for little ones that are so cute! She also posts about her little guy and family. Check it!

5. Lauryn at Love Notes by Lauryn. I don't know if she knows that I blog stalk her but her last few posts have been amazing! Especially her latest wedding invitation that she made- it makes me want to do mine all over again! She takes some great photos and find amazing inspiration online to post for everyone. Send her bloggy love and maybe she'll realize that I'm a fan... haha :)

To keep this award going and pass it along to other new deserving blogs, the recipient must now recognize five other bloggers with less than 200 followers that have really stood out in the crowd.

The rules for the Liebster Award are:
1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

That's all for now... I'm having a VERY lazy Friday morning in preparation for the project frenzy I'm about to enter in an hour or two :)

WPW Wednesday

2011-10-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

Holler. It's Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday! Try saying that five times fast...never mind.

So my sister and her girls came over today and we decided it was time to bust out the Halloween nails. I did these for my niece Claire. And don't mind the silver that I got on her finger... I didn't notice it until after I took these close up pictures.

As for the wardrobe; Yes I'm THAT girl. The girl who you see walking around in boots and you think to yourself "Isn't she hot?" but not THAT kind of hot. More like a "I'm wearing shorts and flip flops and this girl is wearing pants and boots. Isn't she HOT?"

But I can't help myself. It was nice on friday so I had to take advantage and pretend that I wasn't a little warm by lunch. {I'm a blur in these photos...what happens when you don't ever remember to take them until you're about to run out the door}

Shirt: XXI Skinny Jeans:Target Boots: Cathy Jean on Black Friday of last year :)

These boots are amazing. They can be pulled up so that they are mid-calf or they can scrunch down for a different look. They were pretty cheap but they've held up through my last pregnancy and Winter.

And here is the Trendy Mr. Harrison enjoying the new grass in the backyard:

I'm so glad that it was cold enough on Thursday/Friday for him to wear a few of his new winter outfits!

Love!

Fallish decor

2011-10-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'm all about the pumpkins this year. Not really into much else for decorating purposes.

So here's my Fallish doorway:

My fav new lanterns that I got on sale at Lowes! Amazing.

My Halloween wreath that I made. I ran out of orange burlap so it didn't turn out how I wanted it to. And I am too lazy to go buy more and fix it. Don't look at it. I know you aren't going to listen. But don't.

peek-a-boo pumpkins.

Front entry table:

Yay for pumpkins on candle pillars!

Yay for candles! CANDLES! I LOVE CANDLES.

But seriously. Buy me a candle, and you're a friend for life.

Even the Buddha got in on this Halloween Fallish action!

So there's my Fall spirit. Yay Fall!

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

2011-10-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

Every time Kendall and I go to Olive Garden, he gets the Zuppa Toscana soup and goes on and on about how good it is.

{Every Time}

Did I mention that he likes it?

Because he tells me he does. Every time.

So I took the hint and decided it was time to find out how to make this recipe at home. I looked at a few different sites and tried it a few different times. Finally, I tweaked and combined the recipes that I found online until I felt like it tasted as close to exactly the same as I could get it. The husband approves!

{And can I say FINALLY, I have found a recipe that he raves about, and tastes better than how his mom cooks ;) has any of you ever had that challenge?}

So try it out and enjoy!

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

Makes: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground Italian sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces, chopped very fine
2 tsp minced garlic
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 5 large potatoes
3/4 of a bunch of kale

Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, set aside.
In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 20 mins. or until the bacon is cooked all the way.
Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until boiling.
Add the sliced potatoes and cook until semi-soft.
Add the heavy cream, sausage and kale, let all heat through and serve.

Delicious!

WPW and candy corns!

2011-10-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Who has two thumbs and doesn't know the order of the candy corn colors? This lady!

I went to do candy corn nails this last week and felt all proud of myself at how I was getting into the Halloween spirit. Then I saw some other candy corn nails online and realized that I didn't do the stripes in the right order... Who really cares about that anyways? When I see a candy corn, I just eat it. I don't really sit and ponder the order of colors.

Anyways, I'm changing Wet Polish Wednesday to Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday.

Yay. I'm finally brave enough to try and wear normal and not maternity clothes. Haha. So here is the wardrobe for today:

I'm into the high waisted skirt and belt thing right now.

Shirt: XXI Skirt: Thrifted in high school!

Belt: Agaci Shoes: Charlotte Russe

Yay for my brown belt that I try to wear with everything! I bought it at Agaci and it has really paid off. It fits tightly but it doesn't make me uncomfortable or out of breath.

And we have to include the wardrobe of my little guy of course. Here is Harrison wearing one of his dressier outfits that he usually wears to church:

Shirt and Pants: Children's Place Sweater: Gifted Hair Product: American Crew Men's Pomade

Oh Hello there tongue! I found you a week ago and now I can't stop showing you off!

So what do you think? Wet Polish and Wardrobe Wednesday? Or get rid of it all and just blog normally?

Wet Polish Wednesday (On Time!)

2011-09-28T11:35:00.001-07:00

Today I was feeling like something quick and easy. I'm lucky I even had a chance to do a quick mani rather than a pedi, considering Mr. Harrison and his need to be cuddled and smooshed and loved... okay MY need to do all of that to him... anyways...I love the Express Finish nail polishes because they dry pretty quickly. I was able to do two coats right in a row, and add the sparkle tips to finish it all in 10 minutes.

Don't mind my ring finger. I am plagued by bad cuticles and never take the time to take care of them. Any suggestions to help with cuticles?

More on fall decor later when I actually finish doing it all!

Homemade Potpourri

2011-09-26T20:27:00.001-07:00

As I was growing up, during the holidays my mother would always put a pot of potpourri on the stove to make the house smell nice. Now I always make my own for the stovetop in my house and it makes everyone who comes in all comfy and holidayish feeling.

I decided that since the first day of fall was last week, it was time to bust out the fall smells as well as the decor {more on that later}. It's really easy to make your own potpourri for the stove top, you just need a few ingredients that you probably have lying around already!

Homemade Potpourri:

Water

Cloves (ground)

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Orange slices & a little orange juice squeezed in

This time around I didn't have oranges so I used lemons instead. It made a really nice smell (and it looks kindof fancy too!). I also threw an apple cider packet in and ohmygosh it made me want to drink it :)

I just let it boil down and and then add some more water and a few more spices if it isn't very potent anymore. Usually I can add more water a few times before adding more spices. I just leave the pot on the stove for a few days until I need it for something else, and my house smells delicious!

The only warning I have is that if you leave it in the pot for too long, especially with the citrus in it, it can damage any special teflon or caphalon products. {HINT: mine got kinda ruined} but then, you can turn that pot into your special potpourri pot and then it's no worries! or just clean out your pot every day or two. :)

Ahh fall. Welcome back old friend.

I'm linking

Wet Polish Wednesday (Thursday)

2011-09-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Heyoooo. Sorry about it being Thursday but {technically} I did my nails for this on Wednesday! :)

So I felt like a little gradient for my nails last night and it turned into this half rainbow thing. Either way I like it.

And thank you to my yoga mat for providing a nice background for this picture. Yes. I've been working out. And it's fabulous. Life is so much better for me when I work out.

I've been feeling like trying out new styles lately and it's been difficult to find anything that I feel is flattering on me. Ah, the joys of post-baby-nursing-mommy body. But today, I liked this little combo:

I switched the boots later for some brown slip-ons that I forgot about because let's face it, no matter how many times I put on the boots and scarves, it's still too hot for them. I can't WAIT until that clear cool day comes of reunion with my rust colored scarf!

Dancey-Dance

2011-09-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

this little guy keeps me entertained for hours with this simple act:

Sinus Pain!

2011-09-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, but no Wet Polish Wednesday for this week. I've been battling a sinus infection for about a week now and it's been making me lazy. Any home remedies? I may just have to succumb to antibiotics but I was trying the natural method since I'm nursing.

More later...

The Story of the Buddha

2011-09-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Yes. I have a Buddha in my house. Right as you walk in. It's kindof big and has a candle on it.

Why you ask?

Well, one of my favorite things to do when there is nothing else to do is go to Target and walk around. It's one of the only places that I can trick Kendall into coming with me to.

So, we walk.

And look.

And see this Buddha.

And every time we go, Kendall takes the buddha and tries to sneak it into our cart. Nothing against Mr. Buddha or anything but it really doesn't go with my house decor. I'm going for that farm/country-ish look. Not that old world-ish look. So I put it back. And then on the next target trip Kendall tries to sneak it into our cart again. And again. And again.

So Buddha snuck into our cart last Christmas... and now sits in my entryway.

At least it's a good excuse to buy another candle. Right?

Whoops

2011-09-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

Whoopsies. I've been away from the computer for a bit. Probably because of my awesome new iphone :) either way I tried a few new things this week:

Messy-ish bun! It looks kinda like a fleur-de-lis so I call it my fleur-de-lis bun!

I also did these for my niece. Sorry for the blurriness. I used the Insta-Dri from Sally Hansen for the blue. It went on so nicely- it didn't need more than 1 coat. I also used the Kiss Brush-on Nail Art Paint for the silver/sparkles and the black and white.

These were my fav this time around. Sooo cute! For these I used the Insta-Dri in white, the Kiss Brush-on Nail Art Paint for the green and the white dots, and Revlon for the red.

That's all for now. Baby is calling me with his cute little grunts.

Whoo are yooouuu?

2011-08-24T20:14:00.001-07:00

My sister Liz is having her 4th boy and was trying to think of a cute theme for her baby's room. She knew she liked owls and told me a few of the colors that she liked so I came up with this...

I purposely sewed it on the outside to get the shabby frayed look.

What do you think?

Wet Polish Wednesday

2011-08-24T19:56:00.001-07:00

Did these for my niece Hannah. She calls them "sexy toes". Haha :)

Sexy yeah?

Bath time

2011-08-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

Bath time around my house is pretty hilarious. I figured it needed to be documented at least once.

Enjoy :)

Wet Polish Wednesday (Night)

2011-08-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

Feeling dotty...

Notice that awesome throw in the background? It belonged to my grandparents. It makes me feel like I'm old and like Christmas all at the same time.

Flannel! Santa! Lights! Oh dear stop me before I start singing carols.

Small Gallery Wall

2011-08-14T12:46:00.001-07:00

About a month ago I ordered a canvas for my front room wall. My wall was looking old and frumpy and it needed a little sprucing up.

I had this painting from a while ago.

But I'm really over it right now. {BTW a funny note- notice how yellow the wall is in this picture. My walls get pretty lemony at night. The first night after painting them I cried thinking I had made a big mistake because of how yellow they were. But then, when it was morning again, the walls were much more calm in the morning/daylight and I loved them. Haha.}

Anyways, my canvas came last week and I was able to hang it up with a few other pictures I had set aside for this wall. YAY!

I eventually want to do a family picture on a canvas but due to being a recently pregnant (YES 6 months ago is recent... :) ) nursing mother, I am still feeling a bit frumpy myself. In a few more months I'm going to have a family photo taken.

These small blue frames have mirrors in them but I decided that they looked better with pictures in them for now, so I taped the pictures over the mirrors for a quick fix!

I'm liking this wall much better now, but I'm not sure if it's finished. I may add some more to the sides. Yes?

Now I just need to do all of the other walls in my house! haha :)

Tatertots and Jello

Wet Polish Wednesday

2011-08-10T21:37:00.001-07:00

So...should I start something like this? I do nails so much that I think I will.

Anyways, did these for my sister last week.

I love giving pedis! :) What do you think?

Shhhh!

2011-08-08T18:34:00.001-07:00

My dog is an awesome dog. She can be very cuddly, doesn't jump up or bark hardly at all and is the sweetest thing ever. Except... for when someone comes to the door. She goes crazy and growls and barks. Which is actually kind-of nice for when unwanted robbers may come lurking. But not so great when the baby is asleep.

With Harrison finally starting to nap more regularly {kinda}, my door has been frequently knocked upon and my doorbell rung (and I usually never had anyone come to the door prior to baby). Luckily, it has yet to have woken the sleeping baby {NEVER NEVER EVER WAKE THE SLEEPING BABY!} But, I knew it would inevitably happen.

Therefore, I decided to make a sign to put up, that way I can at least try to avoid him being woken up as much as possible.

I thought it was pretty cute and with the way my door handle hangs and the size of the sign, hanging on the doorbell is pretty much the only place to put it.

I figured that someone still has to knock. How else would I know someone was there? But, at least the doorbell wouldn't be rung.

wrong!

I guess this sign interprets to "PLEASE ring the doorbell THREE times just in case we didn't hear you the first time!!!"

I guess my sign is a little too nice. What do you think?

Original-Hem Jeans Tutorial in 30 minutes

2011-08-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

So if any of you have not noticed by now, I am extremely short. And all of my life, because of my shortness, I have been plagued by pants being too long for me and my short legs.

Now, there are three options in a situation where your pants are too long:

1. Pay to get them hemmed professionally

2. Cuff them (if they aren't too long to look ridiculous)

3. Wear them long until they get all ripped in the back and start trailing long threads of jean pieces behind you as you walk {my personal favorite}

As of today I have found a fourth option:

4. Hem them yourself and look fabulous

My sister in law was nice enough to show me this technique and I am happy to say that it will forever save me from the way-too-long-jeans faux pas!

And now, I am showing it to you!

For starters, you should know that this isn't where you actually sew an original hem yourself. It's kind of a "cheat so no one even notices that you cut and sewed the pants yourself" technique.

And bear with me, this is my first tutorial!

Items needed:

Sewing machine

Thread that matches your jean color {this makes it look the best because some of the sewing is on the outside of the jeans}

Zipper foot {for best results}

Iron

Ironing board

Seam ripper {ha ha- for those "oops" moments}

Scissors

Diet Coke with Vanilla {but of course}

First, you take your way too long jeans {and thanks to my sister for being the model and for letting me hem her jeans}:

Then you cuff them up to where you want them to be. The main choice I had to make is to either make them Heels jeans or Flats jeans length-wise. Sometimes you can get away with something in the middle than can go for both, but in my case, it's one or the other. These are going to be Heels jeans.

Another choice both my sister and I had to make when choosing the length is whether or not to keep the lengths the same on both legs. Both of us had significantly different measurements on each leg {because one leg is apparently longer than the other}. We both decided to keep the lengths the same. But if it really bugs you, you can make one longer to fit your longer leg ;)

Next, you take off the jeans and measure the length that you cuffed up.

Then you need to re-fold the cuff to half of the length you just measured. For example, the original length we measured was 3 1/2 inches. So, when we re-folded the cuff, it measured at 1 3/4 inches.

Then you need to pin it. I measured it once at each seam and once at each middle in between the seams and pinned it.

Now, you sew the pants with a zipper foot {this way you can get right next to the original hem line} all of the way around.

**Be careful not to stretch the material. It will bunch up and then it will look off when you're done. Just let the machine pull it.**

I tried to line up the inside bottom hem as best as I could but it was tricky. Just do your best.

Once you have sewn all the way around, fold the cuff back down and iron it flat.

Now, on the outside of the jean, you need to sew all the way around on the opposite side of where you just sewed. This is where having a matching thread is really important. Ours wasn't exact and while it's not very noticeable, it's even less noticeable with a properly matching thread. {we didn't want to make the trip to Joanns today}

Now, fold the cuff back up. Here is where it can get tricky. If you have an awesome serger like my sister in law, you can cut and serge the left over fabric {or have your serger cut it for you!}. If you don't, you can cut off the extra fabric and zigzag stitch it over the edges like I did. Either way, the most important thing is to be careful while serging and sewing and make sure that you don't sew or serge the fabric back onto the jeans. I knew about this being an issue going into it and it still got me! My solution was to double fold the cuff back so I could make sure that I was only sewing the extra portion together, and not sewing the extra portion back onto the jeans!

Fold it back down and iron again!

DONE!

I told you it would only take 30 minutes!

The only other thing I noticed with this specific pair of pants is that the wash may be lighter or darker where you sew it together, depending on how high you hem them. So be careful if the bottoms are darker or lighter, it will make it more obvious.

Can you tell that it's cut? I can't! :)

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial! Let me know what you think.

i'm linking!

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Canvas project

2011-07-31T22:41:00.000-07:00

It rained today! And not just rained- like freakishly went from cloudy to pouring to hailing to dry. All within about 20 minutes!

Kendall and I did what we always do when it rains out. or when it's nice out. or all the time.

sit on the porch!

I took pictures. I need to take more pictures. Kendall is so happy in this one.

Lots of rain! :) Love it!

I decided to use my rainy evening to work on a project that I've been thinking about for a while. I got my inspiration from here and everything I used was already around the house except for the pictures.

Ta-da!

I had this canvas lying around for about a year and a half... I know! Something needed to be done.

Since I haven't any recent pictures that I enjoy of myself, I chose some from our wedding day. May 30th 2008! 3 years already.

This broach belonged to my grandma. Those are real dried flowers inside. It even has matching earrings! The lace on all of these belonged to my grandma as well.

I finally sucked it up and made my first set of fabric rosettes. I cheated and used hot glue instead of fabric glue but I don't care!

It needed a word. So why not love? All you need is love.

It was really fun and I'm excited to hang it up. I just ordered a new canvas for my front room and I'm hopefully going to be creating a gallery wall! I'm super excited and I think this will be part of it once I get things together.

peaceout

i'm linking!

The Shabby Creek Cottage

The boy who lived... or cried

2011-07-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

Babykins is in his own room now and it's a bittersweet relief. I'm happy that he is only waking up once a night to eat and is taking great naps but I'm sad that my baby isn't right next to me at night. Ahhhh well, I'm sure once I get used to it {I keep on waking up thinking he is going to need to eat} I will enjoy being able to sleep for more than 4 hours in a row!

I'm finally getting into a summer routine. I've been working out, swimming more, reading, {painting nails- my fav!}, and shopping of course. It's nice to finally enjoy the time I get to stay at home.

I made a trip to goodwill and made some excellent finds for some future crafting. I will have to take pictures and post later. My next big project is a gallery wall for my front room. I'm going to be ordering a few canvases and I think the picture above is going to have to be one of them! My Father in Law did an amazing photoshoot with Harrison and myself when he was 3 months old and I am so excited to hang up the pictures!

Anyways, not much else going on {other than HARRY POTTER!!!! Only the most important summer event ever}. My sister in law has a screen printing machine and so we made Harrison this awesome onesie:

Glasses courtesy of amazon (I wore them to the theater) and lightening bolt courtesy of yours truly.

He is Harrison Power... Harry Power...Harry Potter... okay close enough. {but we won't be calling him Harry}

Anyways we had some fun with this whole thing. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the midnight showing but my SIL also made some shirts for us all to wear (I don't have a photo uploaded yet) so we wore them and had a fun time on Saturday morning. Soooo good. I can still remember going to the midnight book releases and staying up all night to finish reading. I don't think I will find another series as good as Harry Potter. I'll just have to keep re-reading them :)

Summer Favorites

2011-07-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

I felt like posting a list of some of my favorite things to do in the summer... Sooo here it is!

Reading... always a favorite but it seems like a lot of people take more time to read in the summer, meaning more recommendations to share with me ;)

Swimming. I only get about 30 minutes of a happy baby but between his aunts, cousins, grandmas, and the hubster, I still get in an hour or two.

Watermelon. sooo good.

Vacations. Even though I haven't gone on a vacation since I got pregnant last year, I remember summer trips from years past and miss them.

Movies. Basically this is all about Harry Potter coming up. Soooo excited.

There are plenty more favorites but these are my top choices. What about you?

Cake pops!

2011-06-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

Right after Harrison was born, when we finally made it home from the NICU, my Sister in Law and her family brought us some Cake Pops from Starbucks. They were sooo delicious and addicting that we decided to make some ourselves!

We started with just a simple yellow cake recipe (or was it white?) and baked that first. Then we put it in the fabulous food processor:

It made it into this nice chopped up crumbly bunch of cake:

Then we added the best part... Cream cheese frosting:

I think we added 3/4 of the can and mixed it up:

Then rolled it into balls. They have to be small enough that they won't slide down the stick:

Then we dipped them in delicious candy coating:

Popped them into the freezer for a little and voila! Cake pops!

They were soo delicious and cute. And even though the pink sprinkles accidentally turned out to be peppermint flavored, they tasted pretty good even if they were a little Christmas-y ;)

My summer favorites list will be my next post. Don't forget to give me ideas!

Summer

2011-06-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

Hi.

Sorry I've been gone but I will update soon.

In the meantime, I'm compiling a list of my favorite summer activities.

What is your favorite summer activity to do? And ignore the "active" part of that word. Because a lot of my favorite summer things to do aren't active at all... haha :)

I'm looking for inspiration...

Biker Baby Nursery Part 1

2011-05-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

YES!!

I have finally {finally} started working again on Harrison's room! My trip to Goodwill really got the ball rolling and with a little help from El Guapo aka the Hubbs, I was able to put up the shelves that I painted this week.

Now it all started with some brainstorming if you remember back to {this post}, where I finally came up with a theme for little H's room. After some collecting and thrifting and painting and pure inspiration (I'm really thrilled with my jacket idea), I finally pushed myself to get things

going.

So here are the shelves all finished and hung up:

I am so lucky to have such cool Grandparents. The motorcycle signs belonged to my Grandpa and I love their vintage vibe! He collected these among many other really cool things.

The motorcycles on this shelf also belonged to my grandpa.

And here is my absolute favorite part...

Check out the biker baby (okay more like toddler but whatev) jacket:

I know you probably thought that it would be this huge thing that was so hard to put together but it was literally hang the frame and then hang the jacket in the center of the frame.

I don't care, I love how it looks!

And then there's this awesome sign that my Sister-in-law Clarisa made for me. Seriously! She just came up with it after she found out that I liked the saying.

This book and motorcycle again were my Grandpa's. I'm telling you, coolest grandparents with the coolest stuff!

And as for that other basket? It found its way over here to hold some extra blankets, books and snuggly animals:

Now I put this post down as part one because while I may have made some progress there are still things to consider.

Such as this big empty wall that is in need of some letters {courtesy of my other Sister in Law Camille once I get a hold of her):

I also need to find or make some curtains for the window and I really need to work on a bed set or something.

Anyways, I think I'm pretty happy with how the room has turned out so far. What do you think?

I'm linking!

Goodwill

2011-05-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

I was able to go thrifting at Goodwill this past week to see if I could find some shelves for Harrison's room. I seriously scored with some awesome shelves PLUS some extra things that I hadn't expected to find.

I found two of these great baskets that are really BIG and only cost me $4 each!

I also found this frame which is perfect for my jacket project for Harrison's room as well! Plus the shelves of course.

See those toys hanging over there? That's why these baskets are awesome! You'll see.

I painted the shelves white but they looked pretty boring.

So I sanded the edges. Much better!

As for the baskets, they got a fresh coat of spray paint and one is now in this little corner!

I still need to hang the shelves and the frame as well. I'm really excited for how Harrison's room is going to look when I'm done with it. I will post more later, once I finish it up.

Anyways that's all for now.

And look at those smooshed little lips! I love it :)

Opposite Day

2011-05-14T09:40:00.001-07:00

No. My baby has not been screaming for several hours a day for an entire week.

No. I did not cry almost every day.

No. I did not eat an entire pound of bacon by myself.

Birth un-announcements

2011-05-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Before Harrison was born, I made this cute Lumberjack beanie for him. I was running out of yarn and didn't have enough of one solid color to make the entire beanie so I decided to put three (or was it four?) colors together for this beanie. It was pretty simple. I just started with a regular beanie and then added the sides, ties and top little fuzzie.

So, when he was only a few weeks old I did my own little photoshoot with it and used the pictures from it to create a birth announcement...

that I never sent out...

oops.

I loveeee this picture and I'm really bummed that I never actually ordered all of the announcements and sent them out. It's been a little crazy, what with the:

-Umbilical Hernia (no big deal)

-Overactive let down (that's my deal but it makes him cry and not eat unless I lay down)

-Lactose intolerance (kind-of a big deal. I miss my cheese!)

-Eczema (sad deal- poor baby!)

-Reflux (scary deal because sometimes he sounds like he's choking a little on it)

Kind of a lot to handle on top of everything else that comes with being a mom. So here is the picture that never got sent out. Maybe I'll order it on a canvas?

I'm linking!

mornings

2011-05-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

If you look around my room in the morning, you can usually spot this....

cute little baby feet taking a snooze during some tummy time.

just one of many favorite things in my day with Harrison :)

Spring Half-way Sprung

2011-04-17T17:15:00.001-07:00

Spring has come to my little garden in the front of my house. I love how beautiful my snapdragons are! As you can see, I planted a lot of them this year because I love them so much!

I hadn't had any issues with weeds in the front area ever since we moved in and cleared them all out but this year they snuck up on me. {isn't that a word?}

Anyways I'm pretty lazy and the baby started crying when I was 90% done weeding so this is what my front looks like from Friday:

Then I have this tricky spot that doesn't get enough sun so nothing but my lantana grows here:

It would probably be good if I watered these huh? yeahhh...

Then there's the other part of the front yard... not so springy

Our huge ficus bushes froze this last winter. I've been begging the hubbs to cut them down since I've been out of commission but he's been busy having fun on his dirtbike. So here they are, our ugly dead bushes with a little bit of green at the bottom:

And who ever thought that these plants would ever look good? Seriously? It's like I have 4 little mini Cousin IT babies living in my front yard.

So ugly.

My yard needs a little TLC and Spring-ing up. I'm on it.

Howdy

2011-04-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back into my crafting mode. I had a bunch of white onesies that were sitting in Harrison's room so I decided to bust out my sewing machine today.

Is it sad that I actually had to wipe it down because it had a layer of dust on it?

I had some cute bandanna material that has been sitting around for like 6 years {don't ask me why} and it gave me an idea:

As I was making this little onesie the phrase "There's a new Sheriff in town" kept running through my head. I'm a nerd.

Other cute ones:

And my new obsession, {SOCKS}:

Seriously, the socks make the outfit. Hands down.

This little chunk is getting cuter each day. Who would think that such a cutie could scream your ears off for half of the night?

who me?

I'm linking!

Big Red

2011-03-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

My Grandmother passed away this past Friday morning. It was a long time coming and she was very sick so it was a relief to know that she is no longer suffering or in pain.

I am so grateful that I was able to visit with her for the entire day on Tuesday. She even sat up, held the baby, and joked with me about being a mother. My last memories of her were of her smiling face and the love she had for me and Harrison.

Things I loved about her:

How she always made us tons of bacon and eggs when we would go to visit her in Prescott

How she always needed chocolate or some kind of candy bar

How every time we talked, she would surprise me with some crazy story about her teenage years

Her red hair (white in the past few years but red for a long time)

Her love of jewelery

Her clip-on earrings

How she always spoiled her dogs

How she would always take me to see a "show" at the movies

and many more...

Here we are at my Graduation from ASU:

This was her house back in Prescott. I miss that beautiful house:

Us at my wedding:

Her holding Harrison:

She was surrounded by family, just how she wanted to be. I'll miss you, Big Red!

Here's looking at you kid.

2011-03-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

Eyes open:

I like to call this the "pirate eye". Yarrr!

Or it can be a wink. You decide.

Love him!

Casper the Ghost called.. he wants his coloring back

2011-03-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

So due to me being preggers this last summer, I didn't get out in the sun much...or at all. I think I went swimming three times total. Very sad.

I'm one of those people who can get tan- I don't burn too easily like some of my redheaded friends. I just chose to stay indoors this past season and it's finally gotten a little out of hand.

yes I know, self-portrait (a few weeks before having harrison)

But wow. And it's not even just my makeup being a little too pale or anything.

I mean, I know it's good to wear sunscreen but sheesh. I'm thinking I need a little sun this summer. Good thing we have plenty of it here in AZ.

Here's the babe. Still no eyes-open photo but that's only because I got about 4 hours of sleep last night thanks to Mr. Nurseallnightandgothroughahugegrowthspurtplusbealittlefussy.

I'm only beginning to comprehend how hard motherhood is. I'm always stressed and calling my mom or sisters to ask "is this normal?" or "what do I do?" or "help!". I love it so much but I'm also incredibly out of my element at times.

I just need lots of practice. Thankfully, I get to be a stay at home mom now! yay :)

A note about the hubby:

Here he is with his other love... I mean XBOX. Notice anything?

He got his hair cut! {FINALLY}

Seriously, this man will need a hair cut, say that he wants and needs one and yet will not get one for the simple reason that he knows that it bugs me. He also will specifically NOT get his hair cut if I ask him to, just because I asked him to.

I tell him how great he looks, how it's slimming on him and how nice it is. But ohhhh no, he'd rather taunt me by leaving it so long that it can be put into a pony tail.

Seriously.

Well, hopefully he won't read how happy I am that he got his hair cut because that will only make it longer until he gets another one.

As for baby's room, I forgot that I already posted what was done thus far. So, until things calm down a little more, I'm not going to post any more pictures of the room.

{My birthday is tomorrow! Wear your green and don't get pinched!}

Time

2011-03-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

It's crazy right now. Harrison was one month old as of yesterday. Can you believe that? It's amazing.

My little stud:

I'm all confused because it feels like longer and yet it can't have been a month already! Every day for the first two weeks felt like two days because not only was I up all day, I was up all night with this little guy, worrying, trying to feed him, doing his cares and talking with the nurses.

My favorite outfit:

Things have slowed down but still, those night time feedings make the days seem very long.

The socks!

And yet, I can't believe he's a month old already. I want him to stay little and precious forever.

I hope I'm not spoiling him too much already :)

These pictures aren't completely up to date. I need to take more. And I need to get him awake! I will have to be more diligent about that but I can't help it if my hands are full of snuggling him! :)

Anyways, I can't wait to start working out again. And working on his room some more. Next post will be his room thus far- which is about 3/4 done! Very exciting.

Back

2011-03-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

I'm back! I'm officially ready to blog again!

The past 3 1/2 weeks (seriously? it can't be!) has been a rough start for our little family. Just when we were ready to come home and snuggle in, we had to go back to the hospital because of little Harrison's biliruben level.

He went 8 hours without eating. 8 HOURS! poor little guy was so sick from the biliruben (which you all know as jaundice) that he just couldn't wake up.

scared me to death.

So, back to the hospital we went after being home for less than 24 hours. He was put on an IV, phototherapy lights and a blanket and warmer as well. He had to stay in and be monitored for 6 days! It was hard but I was able to stay in the hospital the whole time- two days in a separate room and the rest in a room with him.

I'm not going to go into any more detail but I cried a lot. Every day. More than once. It was a lot of ups and downs. But we made it home, and now he is doing great.

Every now and again I panic and wonder if he's reverting to his premie-bili-jaundice ways if he's a little over sleepy or yellow but as he gets bigger and eats more, I feel more at ease.

That's all for now but I will start doing regular posts on everything! :)

Harrison Edward Power

2011-02-17T16:48:00.001-08:00

Born 2/13/11 at 4:55 p.m.

6lbs 4oz. 19.5 in.

34 weeks 6 days gestation

His biliruben levels are high and so now he's in the NICU under lights, IV, and antibiotics. Doing much better now.

Baby's Room!

2011-02-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

So, this past weekend was my baby shower and I had this bright idea to have the baby's room painted by the time it came around. My initial plan was to paint it the weekend before but then Kendall and I had to change our plans for the wall since we realized that the beadboard was a little too pricey for right now. We got lazy and it never got done...

Then on Thursday morning we decided to paint the room and use a chair rail instead. So we painted like maniacs on Thursday night and finished everything Friday morning. Pretty quick I'd say. Anyways, it was a good thing that we got it done because the crib and dresser that my mom, aunt, and grandma got me came in! Very exciting.

So... here is the unveiling!

The VERY before pictures... this was what the room looked like when we first moved in:

And this is after I turned it into a guest bedroom:

Don't mind Spartacus playing with the blinds. He was so small back then!

And now here is what it is now...

I started off with a picture of the new baby dresser:

And here is my fantastic new Lazy Boy Rocker/Recliner:

Here is this side of the room (totally not done by the way. I need to hang up pictures, shelves, etc.):

Here is a better picture of the paint job:

And here is the new crib (minus mattress and bedding, covered in styrofoam!):

Anyways. That is just a middle shot of what the baby's room looks like right now!

I will post pictures from the shower once I get them from my sister :)

Money Smarts

2011-01-30T20:53:00.000-08:00

Kendall and I have been working really hard to get ready for this baby. Not just baby-wise but financially-wise. As my due date approaches and I look back on what we have accomplished over the past 8 months, I am pretty impressed! We have...

Paid off his dirtbike

Paid off Kay Jewelers

Paid off ASU

Paid off a Credit card

Gotten current on all of our bills

and we will be paying off another credit card by the time baby gets here...

Considering that we've done all of this while Kendall switched jobs and while getting ready for the baby, I feel pretty good!

Working on it.

2011-01-24T14:45:00.000-08:00

To get ready for baby...

To do:

Move out old furniture and find new homes for it

Paint baby's room- measure and purchase beadboard and supplies

Set up Bassinet in my room

Hang up window treatments downstairs

Order Pictures off of etsy

Find a mini leather jacket

To make:

Dust ruffle

Window Treatments

Homemade Wipies** so excited to try this one out!

Mobile

Biker Baby

2010-12-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

So I had the baby's room all picked out in my head. It was going to be sailor themed with blue white and brown/tan and it was going to be soft and nice and blah blah. Then husband came along and happened to like everything that was the opposite of what I liked.

Seriously.

We walked around buy buy baby and everything I liked he didn't and everything he liked I didn't. It was a disaster.

So after thinking a lot on the subject, I think I've come up with a happy compromise that we will get along with. This collage is just some inspiration so it's not quite what I'm going for but it gives you a main idea.

Vintage motorcycle baby.

I'm probably going to do blue and white walls with brown and orange accents in the form of art, curtains, bedding, etc.

But I'm starting to love the vintage motorcycle theme. I'm probably going to get a few prints like the Keep Calm and Ride On one {soooo cute} and the pop art looking one, and then accent it with goggles, helmets, little motorcycle stuff, etc. I don't need a lot, just a few things. The hardest part will be finding a bedding that I like. The one in this picture is good with the color scheme but the pattern is a little too intense for my style.

As for furniture, we've talked and we are probably going to end up buying a new crib and dresser set. We plan on having more children so we may as well will start new and then pass it down to the next baby that comes along in a few years. What do you think?

short and sweet

2010-12-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

I know I already mentioned this but... I LOVE CHRISTMAS. i have pine scented candles burning almost constantly while i listen to Christmas music on pandora. ahhh pandora.

I still need to work on my christmas shopping. funny how i had all this money and did all this shopping on black friday yet, i only bought a few gifts and the rest was decorations and lights for my house. Hopefully after today's trip to the mall (yikes- we are braving all the crazies out there) I will feel a little more satisfied with my progress on that long list.

baby is doing great. he kicks me all day and i love the reassurance that he's happy and feeling fine. i'll be 26 weeks on monday.

i've been thinking about staying at home when i have the baby versus working. I'd really appreciate all of your input on this because it's nice to have different points of view on this. I think i've mostly made my decision but I'd still like to hear what you think.

hi.

2010-10-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

I made some headbands for my boss to give her daughter for her bday. They turned out great!

Fall decor...

This was my belly at 17 weeks

Sadie's Halloween costume :)

I got a promotion at work.
I'm currently 22 1/2 weeks pregnant.

and that's the end for now.

This week!

2010-09-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

So I'm at least getting to a weekly post. eh? eh?

Haven't done much with my door yet. I took off the handles which was quite a feat actually because whoever painted this stupid door painted it with like 5 layers of paint over the handles and all of the screws. So we had to basically chip through the paint just to find the screws and then peel things off. And somewhere a saw was involved courtesy of El Guapo.

I want to finish it. I do... but now that I have to sand it all down and repaint it, I am dragging my feet a little.

I busted out my fall decor! Sooo exciting. I love fall and winter. I am already saving for Christmas!!!! Which really, isn't far away so don't give me that "really?" look. Think about it, all of the great deals are on Black Friday, which is a whole month before christmas so really, I'm only two months away. And I'm determined to save up my money this year so I can spend more on lights!

Last year we only bought TWO strings of lights which brought us to a total of a whopping five strings altogether. UNacceptable. I'd rather spend more on decorations and lights than on presents. {SERIOUSLY}. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

Anyways, fall has made an appearance at my house. I think I'll take some pictures but really, it's pretty low key right now because I wanted to gradually build it all up to Thanksgiving where it will {hopefully} be cooler out and I can wear my UGGS!

UGGs, yet another thing that I am obsessed with.

Ask anyone, I would (and most of the time do) wear my UGGs 24/7 365. So comfy and warm and perfect and $20 bucks at last chance since my feet are kids sized! Trust me, if you got a deal like that, you'd wear them all the time too.

Anyways...that's it for now :)

I know

2010-09-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

Ok ok I know. Jennie told me that I've had my sick month and I need to blog again. And it's true. I do. So I am.

Baby update:

Soooo I am officially 12 weeks and 5 days today. Just squeezing into that second trimester which will hopefully bring less nausea and more energy! I've already had my first ultrasound at 8 weeks and everything is looking swell:

Baby looks kinda blob-y but if you look closely, the head is on the right, arms are straight up and legs are out to the left. {And my suspicions were that perhaps there were two little babies in there- in which I was totally wrong of course :) That's ok though. I'd rather take it one at a time for the first few little ones.}

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday and was able to hear the heartbeat on the doppler- which I never realized would be such a relief! I was holding my breath, just waiting and hoping that everything was fine and the second I heard it, it was amazing.

Everything is going great, however they did notice that my thyroid levels are low on my bloodwork. Meaning that me being excessively tired, wanting to sit and do nothing all weekend, and being tired after getting 9+ hours of sleep every night isn't just from being pregnant and working full time!!

So ha! HA to that. Because I've felt really bad for not blogging due to my lack of projects and laziness. But now you can't blame me. HA!

Anyways, here I am back in action. I was able to clean my house today yayyy. And now I'm finally going to do something about that door that has been sitting! I will post about it later. Maybe tomorrow.

:) That's the update for now. Miss you all! Come say hi.

sick

2010-08-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

Don't want to be a {Debbie Downer} but I have been sooooo sick.

sick
sick
sick

Throwing up at home.
Throwing up at work.
Throwing up in my mouth while driving. (bet you wanted to know that)

Thankfully, I went to my new OB today and got a prescription for some Zofran. Plus she told me to take b6 3 times a day so we will see how that goes.

I'm 6 weeks and 4 days along :) I have a few (good) suspicions but we will just have to wait and see. I am lucky and get to have an ultrasound done next week. Yay. At least it will all be worth it :)

Busy Little Bees

2010-07-31T20:21:00.001-07:00

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hairs to you

2010-07-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but my husband and I try and keep up the little romantic things in our marriage...
well, at least I do ;)

{Yesterday was a failed attempt}

So, the husband and I decided to be romantic and take a relaxing bubble bath. We like to do this a lot and it helps us unwind as we talk about our day or life in general. As he is getting ready I'm lighting the few candles in our room and one in the corner of the tub to help create the "mood" if you will.

He gets in and messes around with the water temperature while I put some clothes away in the closet. No biggie.

As I am in the closet I hear a "ahh ahh ahhh!" and run out to see my husband dunked under the water. I am panicking, looking around to try and see what happened as he shakes his head under the bubbles. A horrible smell hits my nostrils right as he surfaces and yells "MY HAIR CAUGHT ON FIRE!". He then turns around and says "there is a candle over there!". I respond...."umm yeah, just like it has been for the past month".

Needless to say the mood was ruined, and the bath water was drained due to the floating pieces of hair that were burned off of my poor hubby's head.

Luckily, there is not a bald spot to be found and now we can {kindof} look back and laugh at it. {well mostly just me laughing}

I have a door...

2010-06-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

It's true. I have a door.

I've been working like crazy the past few days at cleaning out our storage at work. We get a lot of random donations and it needed some organization... and I found a door!

I've wanted one for so long and now it has come to me! I'm lazy and haven't even taken a picture of it yet but it's thin and plain.

And so...

I need ideas! It's too thin for a headboard (even for a twin bed) soo, what shall I do with it? Please give me your input, links, ideas etc!

Thanks!

hello

2010-06-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hey. I'm back. Kinda...

I'm cool. Wake surfing here. Have you ever tried wake SURFING? it's pretty awesome.

Kendall is a pro. It's his mad skills coming out.

We also went wakeboarding on the same trip and I actually got up a bunch of times.

The other day my best friend Julia came over and we decided to give my house a little 4th of July. On our way back from the craft store, I decided to take a back way and show her one of my favorite houses to drive by.

{Did I ever mention how much I love living in Queen Creek, amidst all of these dairy farms and farmland houses? It's beautiful and I love it. LOVE IT. thanks.}

So, whilst driving past beautiful farm land, we pull past a construction site and see some beautiful wild Sunflowers growing along the road. I actually drove past them and then realized that I couldn't pass up the opportunity so we turned around and picked them!

Even though we both got dirt in our shoes from the super-sinkable dirt and sticky fingers from sunflower juice, it was definitely the best decision I've made in quite a while.

And it just adds the perfect touch to my 4th of July tablescape.

I painted the little crate white and just threw a few things together that I'd already had lying around and Viola!

That's it for now! I'm lucky I got this done at all... because I currently have 4 loads of clean laundry sitting on my closet floor....

:)

I'm Linking!

Ummmm....

2010-06-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

I think it's safe to say that I'm drowning... in life.

Sometimes it seems as though everything is just crappy and can't get any worse

and then it does.

Hopefully I will surface again some time soon.

Oh boy

2010-05-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

Oh man, it feels like it's been a year since the last time I sat down and actually spent time on the computer.

I've gotten to the point where I'm so tired when I get home, that I sit and look around at my messy house and say... "mmmm too tired!" haha.

Graduation was amazing. My Father in Law took some awesome pictures:

He really zoomed in for this one! I love it!

El Guapo :) He kept telling me how proud he was of me.

And even though I haven't had time for any crafts lately, I did help my sister decorate the cakes that she made for me:

She is an amazing baker and these cakes were so good that I kept going back for more!!

We got the ideas for the decoration from {this blog} and they were so pretty and more importantly, delicious :)

My next big project is finishing my yard... or maybe I'll start with the front porch... but either way, things are going to hopefully get more relaxed in the next few weeks {hopefully}.

I'm linking!

I spy...

2010-05-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

Can you find me? :)

serenity now

2010-05-11T00:52:00.000-07:00

until this horrible stressful and crazy week is over...

all I can say is serenity now.

Kazoos

2010-05-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

My husband showed me this video today. Probably the best part of my entire week.

For real?

2010-05-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's actually for real...

... I'm actually going to graduate next Friday! I can't wait until I'm done because seriously, I'm super spacey and forgetting everything because I'm too busy.

Yay.

And thanks to Jenni for taking my pictures :)

El Guapo

2010-05-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

The epitome of my husband:

I don't think there are any words for this...

or any words for how much I love it.

Homemade Thin Mints!

2010-04-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

I saw this on a blog like... two years ago so if this is your recipe, THANKS :) haha

I decided to make some thin mints Sunday since we missed the girl scout sales this year {I know so many little girls and yet, somehow no one came over to sell them to us!} These are super easy, you wouldn't even believe how simple they are!

All you need is about 4-5 squares of almond bark {I still don't know why they call it almond bark...it's not almond flavored and it's not bark from a tree...haha} anyways.

Melt it in the microwave in 30 second intervals while stirring in between each microwaving.

Then add 1/2 tsp- 1 tsp to taste of peppermint extract {I just dump some in and call it good}

Usually when I do it, it always looks like too much once I start to stir it in the chocolate, but really, you need more than you think. A good guesstimate is to taste it and see if it's minty enough for you!

Stir it all in.

Then comes the "secret ingredient"! Dun dun dun... ritz crackers! You'd think they would taste salty but seriously, it's hard to tell the difference between these and the girl scout ones!

So, dip your crackers in the chocolate and lightly scrape off any excess chocolate on the front and back of each cracker with your spoon. Leave a light layer of chocolate to completely cover each cracker. With about 4-5 squares of almond bark, I use about 1 1/2 sleeves of ritz crackers. depending on how chocolate-y you like them.

This is another semi-tricky part. Or at least to my un-polished cooking brain. DO NOT, stick these on a cookie sheet. They will become welded to the sheet and will never come off unless you scrape them into little crumbs and melt the chocolate off with hot water. Not like I've done that ever... twice... Anyways, if you have wax paper, put them on wax paper! Otherwise, be like me and put them on your cutting board inserts :) I like to freeze mine but you can also refrigerate them.

And voila! You have some awesome delicious cookies :)

I'm linking!

New Job

2010-04-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

It's a bittersweet end. I've been working with my niece for the past three years and its finally come to the point where I needed a new job. I'm really going to miss being over with my sister and her family all of the time.

These girls are basically the little sisters that I never had:

Note the special crystal heart necklace in this one:

I start my new job tomorrow at {CAAFA} so who knows if I will be able to blog between a full time work week {40 hours} and full time school {21 hours- which is actually more than full time}. Let's hope I can make it through these next 3 weeks to graduation and be done!! I am so ready to be finished with my degree.
Wish me luck :)

Utah!

2010-04-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, El Guapo and I were driving and decided it was time to do a random trip and Utah sounded like the perfect destination since my sister lives there. We grabbed Sadie, packed our bags and took off... and then called my sister to make sure we could come and stay with them, and bring the dog! haha Luckily, it was the perfect weekend to visit, and we had a great time!

The highlight of the trip was our visit to Chuck-E-Cheese and I just can't help myself...

Dwight Schrute:	Where are we going?
Jim Halpert:	Get inside.
Dwight Schrute:	Where are we going?
Jim Halpert:	We're going to Chuck E. Cheese.
Michael Scott:	Chuck E. Cheese? Oh, I'm so sick of Chuck E. Cheese.
Jim Halpert:	We're going to the hospital, Michael.
Michael Scott:	I know, just saying.

Ah, when the Office was still funny....

Anyways, here is Kendall kicking those gophers' butts!

And here is Brayden in the middle of the crowd of birthday kids and chuckie cheese himself. Brayden loves chuckie and ran right into this big party for like 3 kids just to dance and play. He's the one behind the chair in the blue with the blonde hair.

Cort and Kyler were racing!

And Keaton was throwing his honeycomb all over the place! He's so cute.

Later we had a Barbique and the kids ran around to play outside... Unfortunately, my sister's kids all have issues with keeping their pants on their little skinny bums! hahaha

It was a really fun trip and I've been lucky to get to see my sister so much this year! Annndd I'm really pasty and need some healthy sunlight! haha

The kids loved Sadie! And Sadie loved them... and the awesome grass :)

Awwww :)

Kendall and Sadie snuggling:

And considering how blonde I am, this could be a family picture if I wanted to steal my sisters' kids:

It was a good trip :)

New bookmarks!

2010-04-22T08:29:00.001-07:00

I made a few new bookmarks... and learned some things.

1. Do not try and sew words with the sewing machine...it just sucks and is too hard.
2. Glue is not your friend in this situation.
3. Flatness is key to success.
4. Hand stitching may take a while, but looks preeeettty.

Needless to say it was eventful making these two pretties.

I already had everything at home. The plain fabric was 2$ at Walmart (the cheap cheap fabric that is perfect for bookmarks!) and the fancy fabric was like 3$ At Joanns. The fancy sparkly button was off of a cardigan that was given to me and I loved it, but my dryer ate it... Soooo, I cut off the buttons for crafting! The other buttons and beads were from a jumbo pack I bought for like 3$ at Walmart too.

The lace was from my grandma's old craft supply {can you believe she used to run a craft shop?} I have a lot of treasures left over from her shop. It is so neat to be able to use her things.

All in all probably cost like .50 cents considering the amount of each thing I used :)
It's a shame it took like 2 hours haha.

This one is Tres bon!

With a cute little tassel:

And I'd like to call this one the "Sophisticated Owl"

I don't know about you but I find it hilarious to see an owl say "whom"...

I have a bunch of funny ideas for a few more... if I ever get the time to!

Special thanks to {Fallen}, for the modeling of your mysterious pages.

I'm linking up!

Followers

2010-04-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

HEY-OO. So, I want to do a giveaway of some sort at some point. But I have no followers to give things away to. So, I figure if I reach 100 followers, I'll do a giveaway! Woot.

Much to talk about since the weekend {like my random trip to Utah!} I will have to update in a few posts. I made two cute new bookmarks that I will have to share tomorrow! :)

Weeds- Middle pictures

2010-04-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

Our yard is no longer a jungle! It's far from being done but it is now officially a pile of dirt! Look!

We only got rid of two gross/half dead trees:

Our growing pile:

It's nice having a hubby who has access to equipment and can run it all himself:

I weeded around the perimeter while he dug everything else out because we are still keeping gravel around everything.

And believe it or not, there are still a few weeds to get rid of.

So this isn't really an "after" group of pictures. It's more like a "middle because it will cost us about $500 just to get rid of all of the dirt that we piled up and then we have to put sprinklers in and curbing and sod" group of pictures.

Still! Improvement!

Jewelery box re-do

2010-04-12T09:23:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, my mother decided that she didn't need her jewelery box anymore and passed it along to moi.
{On a side note, let me tell you it is awesome being the youngest in both sides of the family because we always get the stuff that people don't want anymore, hence 3/4 of the furniture and decor in my home, thankyouverymuch}
So I stared and stared at the lovely but wrong color of wood. The main dilemma in painting this baby was that the hardware couldn't be removed without taking apart the inside lining and wood of every part of the jewelery box! I'm not one to be ambitious...I'm a very VERY lazy painter. So I'd have to tape it off and paint them by hand... not to mention that just about every handle is loose. very difficult to paint while it keeps rolling around in place.
Well anyways, I kicked my own butt yesterday and finally did it.

Here is the before:

And here she is after:

I love these bottom doors :) don't you?

She already has a mirror built in on top, and I have to lift it to get into the top drawer so I need to hang something lovely above the whole thing instead of placing something on top of it.

White is my new favorite color... the whole neutrals color palette is becoming my newest obsession.

Anyways, it's nice to have a spot to put everything now! :) Thanks for reading!

I'm linking up with these parties:

"

Sunshine Award

2010-04-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I was given the "Sunshine Award" from Sweet Charli, which is an awesome blog and boutique that I've recently become a big fan of:

She has the cutest ideas and loves to show off her daughter Charli and her cute princessy ways!

Anyways I am supposed to give six others the Sunshine Award so here it goes:

Ann Marie at White House, Black Shutters has an awesome attitude! She is always enjoying the nature around her and loving her family! I really really like her tutorial on homemade organic baby wipes! Soooo cool. When I have a baby, I'm definitely giving those a spin :) She also hinted to me about a Kevin James sketch on greeting cards...hilarious! It brightened my day. Check her out!

Secondly:

Sandra at Sawdust and Paper Scraps! She has been doing a lot of work on her house and it is becoming so beautiful! Her recent bathroom remodel has helped me to know that it's ok if it takes a while to finish a project. And her new stairway picture-wall is the epitome of what I've wanted to do for a while now!

Third:

Shaunna at Perfectly Imperfect. She is always finding the most amazing hordes of furniture just BEGGING to be redone and placed in her beautiful house. She had an awesome giveaway and I actually won it! The giveaway winnings inspired me to re-do my bathroom {in progress} and make it into what I've wanted for a while! She is so nice, and a great motivator for me to keep up my crafts.

Nextly {my new made-up awesome word}:

Nester at Nesting Place. Her home is beautiful, and always makes me want to COPY! Haha Her love of neutrals has pushed me into loving them too, and she is always inspiring about how to make your house beautiful, but not perfect. She loves hanging plates, painting the walls, and rearranging lots! It is nice to remember that it's nice to have change, and you can change things as much as you want as long as it makes YOU happy :)

Thenly {not as great as nextly}:

Ann Marie and Cara at Twice Lovely. They are the pros at taking what was old and making it into something new for you! Beautiful chairs, sidetables, vanities and more- everything they lay finger to becomes a masterpiece and looks amazing. They make me want to paint everything in my house :)

Lastly {no need to make any more words up}:

Terry and Cherished Treasures. In between featuring others and posting about her daughters stay in Japan, she has some crafty ideas. She has made some awesome finds at Goodwill {If only I could make similarly awesome finds...} and has also made some super cute holiday treats like her Easter peeps cupcakes! Super cute! Say hi to her!

It's nice to receive this award! :)

Here are the rules for those who received this award:
1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2. Pass the award on to 6 other bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Link back to the person from whom you received this award.