Weekend Wrap Up

So it's Monday already. Sometimes the weekends fly by without any real pause and I hate that. I did happen to have a nice weekend though.

Friday night John and I did a little shopping. I planned to look for a black cardigan and walked out with three dresses, a green cardigan, three necklaces, one pair of earrings, a ring and a hat. Sheesh. Got all of it from a store I love because I can buy all that stuff for under $150. Summer work clothes: Check. Once we got home I was all charged up to get out all my spring and summer clothes. I packed up most of the cold weather stuff and busted out all my summer shoes. As you can see, that's no small task.

Saturday I had to be at the vet's office at 9:15. The dogs were a big hit, as ever, in their little sweaters and doggie smiles. Once they realized they were there to get shots, they weren't smiling so much anymore. Hung out around the house till the afternoon. We met a friend from work at one of my favorite restaurants for dinner and then went to a play at Crown Center. We had a really nice time and the food was so amazingly good, as it always it.

Sunday we slept in just a little, drove around doing our weekly chores. Sams, Target, Dog Food Place, etc. Got home and napped. Did laundry and read for the rest of the night.

Made some dinner in these new Ziploc steamer bags that I mentioned before. OMG! I'm in love. I threw in my frozen solid chicken breast and some seasonings. Cooked it for four minutes. Opened it up, threw in my fresh broccoli and seasoned again. Three more minutes and it was perfection. Perfection I tell you. That and a salad equalled a really nice and SUPER easy dinner. Check them out on the Ziploc website. There are a ton of recipes to get you started or you can just be boring like me and do protein and veggies.

Today I'm feeling fuzzy headed. Like I've got a ton of pressure in my head and every time I swallow, my ears pop. Hate that. It's cloudy but warm here today. I'm looking forward to being home tonight. We've come up with a new plan of attack for tackling the much needed organization around our house. We're going to pick one small task a night. Like tonight we're going to completely empty and redo the shelf in our laundry room. It's one of our main storage places. Whatever we buy in bulk gets stored here. Animal food, dryer sheets, red bull. But there's a ton of clutter on the bottom shelves that is taking up valuable space. So that's our plan. One small 20 to 30 minute task a night. Then if I feel so inclined I can continue on with cleaning of the kitchen, bathroom and doing laundry. Those things that need done with great frequency. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Also, I've been reading a ton about healthy eating lately. I've not been very disciplined in a while and REALLY have to get back on the eating healthfully at most meals and doing some sort of activity each day. So far, so good. This morning for breakfast, I did Grape Nuts w Blueberry Yogurt and Fresh Strawberries. It was tastier than expected. Fruit and some veggies are hard for me. I'm not exactly in love with them but I do feel like I can ease myself into linking some new ones this summer. I'm trying at least...

Stuff I Like...

First of all, it's every changing the stuff I like. Today, this is some stuff I like...

The Dyson Animal vac. I got's to have one. This Dyson is special for people with pets. And boy do I have pets.

The LeSport Sac mini shoulder bag. It's cute, functional and totally indestructible.

This garment is from the pattern making web site I belong to. It's called Naomi. Therefore, I must have it. I kinda like the fabric they made this out of as well. It's a little busy for my taste BUT it's brown and navy. Can't resist.
Cream colored cocktail ring from J Crew. It's simple enough to wear everyday but fun enough for a night out.

So that's the mini version of stuff I like because frankly it's 4:53pm on Friday and I'm leaving.

BYE!

Funny Thing About Me

For Friday I don't have much to say at this point. Thought I would share something funny about myself with everyone.

The song Greensleeves makes me get misty eyed. I don't know why. I love it. Every since I was little I've loved it. Now it's on a Snicker's candy bar commercial. I know, seems like it doesn't fit doesn't it. Well it's funny and sad and good all at the same time.

Feel free to share something funny about yourself with me.

What Have I Been Up To?

Nothing much. We went last night to a new mexican restaurant in Liberty. The food was amazingly good and I'm pretty picky about my mexican food. I get that from my dad. It was strange though because this restaurant used to be something else that was pretty famous in the town. I'm not sure why it closed down but I'm kinda sad and happy that it did.

It's rainy here. Started last night but has continued sprinkling over the night and today. It's supposed to get cold again tonight and maybe freeze. I hate it. I had to wear my winter boots to work today. Yuck.

Tonight we're going to prep for living room floor for carpet and maybe actually start laying it down. I'm excited to see how these tile things work out. I'm also excited to just have carpet in the house again. I'm really over the ghetto look.

Hopefully I'll have something interesting to talk about soon...

Spring Reading

I love books. I haven't always loved them as I do now but I remember being obsessed with wanting to learn to read. Over my teen years reading didn't seem all that important to me and I didn't do a lot of it, other than Nancy Drew books. In my life now I'm obsessed with reading yet again. Not just books but magazines as well. I like a good story but I find it hard to find authors that really keep my attention. Anyway, thinking today about the books that truly make me happy and how I can't wait to put to use more of the infinite wisdom these pages share. These are pretty much my go to books when I've got nothing on my mind and want to just relax. In all of these the photography is amazing and inspiring. No matter the subject matter. I have a pretty extensive wish list on amazon.com that I'm hoping to widdle down some over the summer. Another book case will also be on the list of must buy items.

This is my favorite baking book. I do get a little overwhelmed when I open it though because I want to make all of it. Every last yummy thing.

This book on cleaning makes me joyous and giddy to see that there are places in the world where you could actually eat off the floors (besides my Gran's house). I aspire to be half as clean as this book lets on. Does have some amazing tips.

This may be my very favorite book of all time. Yes, it gives Harry Potter a run for his money. It's so inspiring and full of tips on simplifying your life and style. I often feel like I have to much going on (style and life wise) and long for simplicity. This book always brings me back to my heart.

It's funny to me (and I'm not sure when I'm going to get used to this fact about myself) that all these books are "domestic". Cooking, cleaning and style. I long to be the modern day June Clever and have no problem admitting it. Wish I was as good at keeping house as doing financial expense reports. Sigh...

Post Easter Jiggle and Organization

So Easter was great. We went to my mom's house a few hours away and had a pretty rest full time while there. We pretty much ate non stop though. We always do because we love to cook together and sharing a meal together is so much fun. We had a wonderful ham dinner yesterday that we'll be eating leftovers from for a week!

Mom and I did a little photo shoot/nature walk on Saturday before it got dark. We had a nice time AND I got to see a dead armadillo. Never seen one in person before.

Today I'm tired. Really tired. We didn't get home till late and I went almost straight to bed in hopes that I wouldn't be dragging today. No such luck. In an attempt to stay awake, I'm drooling over organization. I mean my house doesn't look like this but it's something I aspire to be someday. Really, truly, organized. These rooms make me weak in the knees.

Amazing Thing for the Day

This is a real life living tree in Charleston, South Carolina. It's 1500 years old and has a shade canopy 17,000 square feet. That's freakin awesome!!! It's so fantasy. Looks like it's from a movie or something. Wow.

I Thought We'd Never Make It

But we did. It's finally Spring. The first day today. Right now. I'm happily wearing my newest spring summer shoes today. I'm happily sipping on pineapple, orange, banana juice for breakfast. I'm thinking about all the things I want to do with this warm weather coming up. It's all (as John would say) "work" but I'm still excited about it. Spring cleaning the house, getting the yard all manicured, going on walks outside with my girl dogs. I can't wait to open the windows. That's one of the first things I do on a nice day, other than sit outside in my pjs for at least 15 minutes to soak up the morning warm sun. I'm so so happy spring is FINALLY here. I'm sure you are too.

More later...

Sometimes I Wonder...

Today I've just been thinking a lot about my life and how things have turned out for me. Thinking about how people (me totally included) tend to waste the here an now waiting on the future to happen. I was thinking about if we'll ever have a bigger house or if I'll ever have a different job. Thinking about if I'll ever have the entire house clean at one time or if I'll have all the laundry done AND folded too. It's weird when you catch yourself thinking about something you always thought against before. Moving in a direction you always ran head long away from previously. I wonder if my life will ever seem to make more sense than it does now or if this is really what living feels like. I'm not sure. I'm still learning I guess. That's why wisdom comes with age. Well, sometimes. I know I've changed a lot and that my life is a total 180 from where it was even a year ago but I wonder, what will it be like next year? I kind of feel like I've been in a constant state of flux my entire life. I feel like I can't ever relax and officially move in someplace. I'm not sure what holds me back. Maybe it's that feeling that's I'm not sure life is supposed to feel/be like this for real. Maybe that I'm still playing house and not really being a housewife. I feel kinda fuzzy on that.

Forgot to Mention

Forgot to mention that we bought this over this weekend.

The cabinet, not the tv. We've been looking for something to go under our tv for ages but not seen anything we really liked. This was really reasonably priced and so we got it. It's on back order (of course) but will be in mid April. It's ok though. Will give me plenty of time to get the carpet in before moving stuff around. We plan to get some more thing from this same store for the house. A lot of people talk about how if you buy a set of something (entire bedroom set, dinning room set) your house looks like you have no imagination. To me, at this point in my life, when you buy the set, it's done. Done is what I like. I know my house will look like a magazine (Plus, dogs/cat/dust/books piled everywhere/dirty clothes on the floor sometimes) but seriously I just don't care anymore. John says that's a big step for me. Personally I feel like it's a sigh of relief. I just want our house to be done. Shopping around trying to find something cool at thrift shops (although fun and really entertaining at times) doesn't seem to be working given the state of my house. Here are a few other things we are eyeing. Love the bar stool and the couch is micro suede (which we have now) and is super comfy. I'm definitely going to have to pull in some color someplace though because the couch is the same color as my walls. Hm...

Stuff and Things

So this weekend was great even though it was coldish and rainy. Shopping all day on Saturday with Gran. We had a great time because we would shop a little, then sit and talk for an hour, then shop a little more. Sunday we slept in because we stayed up entirely to late playing a video game. We did some weekly shopping and then drove up to Smithville to meet with some friends at their new home. I fell in love. They live right off the lake and it's just so peaceful there. Also I fell in love with the amount of space their home has. I'm yearning for more space in our lives. We have a great little started home. We've done a little work to it and it's good for J & myself. I've got an itch though. The more space itch. Sigh...

Rainy here today again. At least it's not snow. Got my spring handbag over the weekend. Got a heck of a deal on it too. Didn't even realize it till I looked it up online.

Heading out on Friday night for my Mom's house. Can't wait to get there. It's always so calm and relaxing there. Even when we end up going someplace it's still just nice. I can't believe it's about to be Easter already. Seems like this year is flying by.

More later...

Exciting Stuff and Things

So we finally decided on and ordered our new carpet for the living room last night. We've been debating over color and texture for some time now. We finally went with carpet tiles from Flor. We did a high traffic carpet in this great two tone brown color. It's got a great texture to it as well. Here is the sample picture from the website. Doesn't really do it justice. I'm excited to have it done.

I've also been thinking a lot about colors in our home and I just feel so wrong towards them. Not that I hate colors. I don't. Frankly I love them BUT I have this seeing multi colors from where I happen to be standing. So I don't want to be standing in the living room seeing a blue bathroom and a green bedroom. So I'm freaked about wall color and then I'm freaked about patterns and colors on fabrics. So our house now is very muted but also not very stylish. Last night while digging through some of my old magazines I found these two photos from Domino magazine.

Sorry about the flash on the second one. Anyways, I love these rooms. They are void of pretty much all color but make me want to relax and watch a movie. I love the tones of brown with the green plants mixed in. Natural, calm, cozy. I find it interesting that in my life I'm drawn to very muted colors. Grey is my favorite color people. Grey. I love navy and the every exciting mocha. I do like a good burgundy here and there too. Sigh...I'm boring.

In more fun news, I totally hate myself for loving these...

I can't see myself buying them because 1. my husband would kill me if I bought one more pair of shoes right now 2. they go against all I stand for but still remain cute at the same time. I'm puzzled by this. I'm also puzzled by why it can't just be spring already!!! We have been really lucky and have three days over 50 this week though. That's like gold falling from heaven around here.

So Here's What I Don't Get

Well one of a million things I don't get, really. What the heck is up with these grown women being totally obsessed with Blythe dolls. I mean, they look creepy to me (the one above is the most normal one I could find. Typically they have gross looking hair and their big buggy eyes aren't even eye colored) and I can't imagine wanting to have one look like me or me making massive amounts of clothing for this thing. I do a ton of flickr looking when I'm bored. I always find it interesting to see people lives but you wouldn't believe how many women I come across that have an entire 30 page flickr site for pictures of their Blythe doll. Clothes they made her, them posing her in different places, them hugging. It's just straight up weird I'm thinking. When I was little I loved Barbie and then I got older and I liked Hello Kitty but I'm 25 now. I don't like dolls anymore and I certainly don't want to take 450 million photos of a doll to bore my friends, family and the world with. WEIRD!!!

Tis The Season For A Peep Show

Today a very dear friend of mine sent me a reminder that Easter and Spring are just around the corner. She has such amazing talent to make anything (and I do mean anything) look cool through watercolors. She makes it look easy but I totally know it's not.

Also, notice to the right here ---> that's I've added my flickr badge. Finally figured out how to do this. Sometimes I find it scary I work for a technology company because I'm so not technical.

Dreaming of new spring pj's today. Got some ideas from my newest favorite store, Toast. They have just the most amazingly cool things for house and home. They do women's clothing as well, which I'm pretty fond of too.

Found some patterns similar to these things, so I'm itching to get into my sewing room. It's full of misc junk right now though. We've been going through it little by little getting rid of things we don't need. I realized the other day we still don't have enough storage space in our house. I need another book shelf and some sort of big storage trunk for blanket and such. I also want a new comfy chair for reading books and hand sewing stuff in the living room. They two we currently have are trashed. I think I've finally figured out the layout I want for the front area but now I'll have to make it seem cozy. I'm not good at that for some reason. I am excited to hopefully get some plants this spring though. I've managed to keep my mother in laws tongue (which just might be my favorite house plant ever) alive for over a year now. I love that I can forget to water it for ages and it still looks great. Now if only the laundry would take care of itself like that...

Theme Party?

Lately, if the last few days count as lately, the theme around our house has been "I'm frickin tired" and "My head hurts". I'm not sure if it's to do with sickness that is STILL holding on or what but it is what it is. Doesn't help that today at work has been slow and since it's lovely outside (63 at this moment) they've felt the need to turn on the air. So it's like 65 in here. Going home to nap and then watch The Biggest Loser. Who knows though, I might even be productive and clean something.

Not likely.

Friday

So it's Friday. Hallelujah! I'm ramping down to go home and looking forward to some mexican food and a BIG margarita for dinner tonight.
Nothing really exciting today. I'm loving these shots though.

Enjoy and happy friday!!!

Hello Handsome

My Boy, hard at work.

Just My Luck...

Really I don't believe in it but still. Today my computer is acting screwy. Everything is taking ages to load or doesn't at all. Seriously, don't these people know I have web sites to look at?!?

Today is sunny and slow here at work. I managed to finish everything yesterday and now wish I would have slowed down a bit. Still learning the pace for this job. It's nice to have a day here and there with not a lot to do though. Gives me time to plan spring clothing and furniture arrangements in my house. You know, the stuff I always think about. I did buy these today for spring:

I love them. They will go with everything too. I can wait for sleeveless dresses and sandals. Of course it's only 26 out here today. Yuck. Got two dress patterns yesterday from a sewing site I joined. These three gals come up with cool patterns and put them online for you to download.

Both are going to be super easy and I can just think of endless fabrics that I would love these in. I plan to make a battery of these for summer.

OH! Also, I've been talking about getting into photography more. I've been doing some research on cameras and what I need for my skill level and what I want to do. I've decided on a camera and I'm super excited!!! The Nikon D40. It's suppose to be super easy to use, light weight, and takes amazing photos. Even for a beginner like me. It's not cheap of course and I'll have to save up to get it but MAN am I excited. Hopefully I can have it by summer and take a ton of photos of everything.

Not much else going on lately. This weekend we're going to a friends birthday party and then if it's warmish, cleaning up our backyard. It's pretty ghetto back there. Also, I want to change the layout of the furniture at our house and do some pre-spring cleaning. We'll see.