Beautifullyesotericlife

Pregnancy Superpowers

2011-11-09T17:02:00.000-06:00

Superpowers I've acquired since being pregnant...

...I can smell things from a mile away. Can't find where you left your plate from lunch? Or that dirty sock? I'm your girl.

...I have the uncanny ability to be sick one day, feel great the next, be sick again the next, and oh - guess what - healthy as can be the next. It's a fun trick.

...I can forget things like it's my job. In an instant. Try that one friends. I can be mid sentence and 100% forget the rest of it. Oh and your name? There's a good chance it will take me a minute to think of it. Got any juicy secrets - go ahead and tell me. I'll forget them by tomorrow so you won't have to worry about me sharing.

...I have ridiculously great hair. And yes I will brag on myself. My whole life I have spent with lifeless locks and lately, I can actually do things with it. Up, down, and yes, you better believe it --- even curl. It's super.

...I can cry when absolutely ever needed (or not needed). It's a really cool trick I tell ya. I wasn't really that moved by last week's Grey's Anatomy, but you better believe I fooled the room. I could win an award.

...I have a super elastic belly. Not sure what good this does, but it's pretty amazing. It's fairly large in the morning, but give me a couple glasses of water and a full meal and I could knock you down with this thing.

...Oh, and one last thing. I am able to speak my mind...without thinking first. That's right, completely unfiltered. Try that one my friends. Baby T is sure to be a passionate little guy/gal.

Baby T: The First Few Weeks

2011-10-25T09:15:00.000-05:00

I choose him...

2011-08-02T23:08:00.001-05:00

Bryan and I have an on-going joke that whenever one of us does something stupid/silly/or even sometimes mean, we look at each other and say "you chose me." It lightens the mood and puts our trivial things into perspective. For example:

When he was cleaning out our entire house yesterday, I got an earful from him about all the "junk" and "clutter" and even "trash" he found around the house...as to which I smile and respond, "just remember...you chose me."

Or when I'm in the midst of telling an oh so important story about something that happened to me during my day and I realize he's not paying an ounce of attention...I look at him and say "seriously?" Cue Bryan: "just remember...you chose me..."

oh and let's not forget all the times that he frustrates the night owl in me by falling asleep on the couch at 9 (every night) or when he comes home to catch me secretly watching Glee when I've been known to say it's the stupidest show ever or when he freaks out about my ability to absolutely destroy a clean bedroom in a matter of seconds or the fact that he somehow goes through a box of 30 granola bars in the matter of a week...those are all prime times to throw out the "you choose me" motto.

But really. I do. I choose him. And no one else. I always have and I always will. He's my favorite and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Anniversary B, Here's to 3 years of choosing each other :)

{anniversary dinner at Olive Garden}

expanding my horizons...

2011-07-19T23:10:00.000-05:00

Today I added another another bit to my repertoire (I know, I know... I need another project like I need a hole in my head...)

When Bryan called and told me he wouldn't be home for another 3 hours, I decided I had time to waste on Pinterest. Looking through some boards, I came across this beauty and was absolutely inspired...

While I have no idea who the Avett Brothers are, I completely love the birds and the idea of being set free. It took my mind to one of my current favorite songs. The lyrics read, "Captivated, but no longer bound by chain. Left at an empty grave, the sinner and the sacred restored."

I got to thinking and designing (of course) and recreated this work of art in photoshop with my new wording. But how was I to print it, and then where would I find a frame big enough that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg? Because if its going on my wall it needs to be large. 8x10 picture frames on large walls absolutely drive me nutso...please please add more frames or upgrade your sizes. Please?

Anyways, I was dreaming of something about 3 feet by 5 feet. Live a little people. Close your jaws. :)

Turns out we had a huge piece of particle board in the basement. Not quite as big as I was hoping, but 30"x44" will do. So, what did I do? That's right. Yup, I'm now a painter. Apparently.

And I'm in love...absolutely in love with the outcome.

Imagine Bryan's reaction when he came home to this:

"Umm where did that come from?" "Oh I just whipped it up."

He thinks I'm certifiably crazy.

Jersey Knit Bracelets

2011-07-17T21:28:00.001-05:00

Do you ever have the itch to create? Oh, I do. There's just nothing like creating something. Call me crazy, but I woke up this morning craving to create. Running to the computer to run through my blogs, I finally found this adorable DIY while perusing through Pinterest. (oh, and please oh please tell me you know what Pinterest is...if not, go there now...my blog can wait!)

You can see the full tutorial here from "V and Co.":

I didn't have the fun colors that she did, but I scoured my t-shirt drawers and found the perfect too-old-to-wear stretchy t-shirts to use. I did the 2-strand one and found that it was easier to use my middle and ring finger rather than my pinky. Maybe it's just me, but my pinky was so much shorter than my ring finger that it just wasn't workin out! And I found that about 18-20 links is a perfect size. It will look too small, but they will stretch way out when you put them on.

And here's what I came up with (don't mind my attempt to take a trendy pic like V):

I know, I know...compared to V's mine look like athletic sweat bands, but I promise they are cute in person! I got many compliments at church today :)

And then, I spent the rest of my day creating over at AllThingsNew

Project: Forgotten and Found...Episode 1

2011-06-16T23:41:00.000-05:00

Well here goes nothing :)

This first project is a table I refinished with my friend Kris,

over at All Things New.

The forgotten piece that we started with was this old kitchen table. I have a coffee table at home that I absolutely adore that was cut down from an old kitchen table. It's a beaut. I've been dying to try this redo myself, but hadn't found the perfect piece. Enter exhibit A:

This isn't the best "before" picture, but we were so excited that it wasn't till we were elbow deep in the sanding process that we remembered to stop and snap a pic. So, here's the low down:

1) Sand, sand, sand. Then repair. This table had a thick coat of black paint and what seemed to be a polyurethane finish. We sanded this sucker like nobody's business. The reason you want to sand is to make sure that you get a gritty, porous surface for your paint to really adhere to. Though we wanted the distressed look, this table had a few big nicks and holes that needed filled before we primed. Do this after you sand because sometimes you will discover more in the sanding process.

2) We then cut off the legs and removed the hardware. We got lucky and ended up picking a good height, but I would suggest measuring another coffee table that you like the height of before you go hacking off the legs. Just a thought. :)

3) Prime. I love Bullseye 321 primer and sealer. It covers anything. Most of the time with one coat. Covers stains, and sticks well even to the junk that won't sand down well. My only advice here is to really be careful with drips. It's easy to get a little sloppy with primer because it's the first coat and you think you won't see it. However, it's actually the most important layer because it covers your surface and preps it for all the other layers.

4) Paint and distress. Hmmm...I wish that I could remember all I did to this piece. I'm sure Kris thought I was certifiably crazy for the amount of layers of paint/glaze I used on this piece. But I'll try and cover the basics:

We wanted the end to be a distressed, layered smokey blue. We started off with 2 coats of our base color.

Let it dry. I'm very (veeerrryyy) impatient when it comes to paint. I hate leaving a piece to dry overnight. But it must be done. So after letting this dry a few hours (told you...) we threw on some antiquing glaze. We have tried a few different glazes and this one is our favorite. Good color, good workability. Maybe sometime I'll do a post on applying glaze, but if I get all nitty gritty now this could take forever. A couple coats of antiquing glaze and crackle glaze later...we were left with something that looked like this:

Wasn't quite as distressed as I was hoping and starting to look more periwinkle than the dusky blue I had imagined. Enter my special weapon. Spray paint. That's right. Metallic spray paint. Again, I can go into detail at a later time, but you can see on this leg the darker markings are all brushed metallic spray paint. Spray paint is not forgiving so go easy. Spray from a distance and wipe fast. Love it.

Then I might have added another layer of crackle glaze and then another very watered down layer of paint just because it felt right. Or maybe not. Who knows? ;)

Oh, and I added "distress" to this step as well because it's important to sand down your "rough spots" as you go. Between layers I was sanding. While paint was wet and while paint was dry, I was sanding down edges. I would sand and then glaze little spots at a time. I wish I had more of a calculated prescription for this, but I just do as I feel. You can't really mess it up, so just have fun with it.

5) Finish and Seal. We use a light finishing sanding block just to smooth the surface and then coat it with 2 layers of clear non-yellowing sealant. This is just as important as primer. If you don't start and finish well, you will lose all your hard work in the middle. Because this was going to be a coffee table and we knew it would get a lot of use, we did 2 coats of a heavy sealant. We chose a gloss finish for the look and to make it easy to clean, but use different finishes for different pieces.

Add your hardware and viola...

And that's how this piece went from forgotten:

to found:

CVS: June 12-18

2011-06-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

Another great week at CVS. I feel like I'm starting to get in the "groove". With shopping at CVS you have to do at least 2-3 weeks consistently to roll over your ECB* before you really start getting the hang of it and getting the best deals.

*extra care bucks (coupons that print off with your receipt to be used as money off your next purchase)

So, here's what I got today:

(and note, these are current deals, so you can go get them now!)

1) Schick Hydro Razor.

Original price: $9.99

Sale Price: $8.00

Schick Printable Coupon: $3/1

ECB: $4.00

2) (2) Motrin PM

Original Price: $11.98 ($5.99 each)

Sale Price: $8.00 ($4.00 each)

Motrin PM Printable Coupon: $1/1

ECB: $6.00 ($3.00 each)

3) (3) Mitchum Power Gel Deodorant

Original Price: $11.97 ($3.99 each)

Sale Price: $5.97 ($1.99 each)

4) 12-pack Diet Pepsi

Original Price: $4.99

Sale Price: $3.34

Pepsi Coupon printed out of the CVS EBC machine: 12-pack for .99!

Total: $38.93

After Sale Price: $25.31

After Manufacturers Coupons: $17.96

Last week's ECB: -$15.00

Total: $2.96 + tax

Grand Total of $4.00 OOP (out-of-pocket)

And I got back $10.00 ECB for my next trip!

Most of the sites I read (and agree with) will tell you that you should buy things that get you as many or more ECB's back as you spend. As much as I agree with that, the Mitchum deal was too good not to stock up on. At $3.99 a pop, I would have paid more on 1 stick of deodorant for the hubs than I did on this entire trip. Score. And the Pepsi didn't get any ECB's, but come on, who wouldn't spend .99 on a 12-pack of soda?

One thing you need to be ready for when shopping CVS deals is to be flexible. Because they have such good deals, they sell out of the sale items pretty quickly. I didn't go until 6pm this evening, and these sales have been out since Sunday. I knew that somethings might not be available. CVS is great with rain checks, but it still messes up your "plan". I was going to snag a great deal on Zyrtec ($5.99 with a $3.00 off coupon and then $5.99 ECB back!) This was going to get me $2 more ECB's and I would have only spent $2 oop in the end plus gotten more product, crazy huh? But no such luck. All gone. Luckily, I will get the deal and the ECB next time they are stocked, so I will still get the savings eventually. Just not today, bummer.

And I will leave you with one of many outtakes. Apparently Stanley really wanted to be in this photo shoot. Wish granted, my puppy friend.

Not Good

2011-06-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

Clothes shopping and me don't mix. Well here's the deal. I love shopping. I love the act of shopping more than I love the clothes. I do love when clothes fit. But this doesn't happen much. In fact, it's a darn near miracle when it does.

I was blessed with the body of a 12 year old. Don't even get me started with the "oh but you're so tiny, I would love to be your size, blah blah." When you have to buy your jeans in the little girls department and have to do all you can not to freak out that everything has butterflies bedazzled on the butt, then you won't think you're so lucky. Sorry soap box. No hate here. We all have our drama :)

While trying on a few things in at Old Navy yesterday I couldn't help from snapping

a few pictures to prove the ridiculousness.

No I did not willingly choose parachute high water pants.

I picked out the cute dark blue khaki capris in my size.

But apparently that's not what they were. I didn't get the memo.

Oh and that shirt. For the love. Not even worth a full picture. Let's just say it was one where you aren't even sure you are wearing it right because it's just that bad.

Note the 45 items in the room with me. I came home with 3. And I'm returning at least one. Oh and the other 2 were flip flops and sun glasses. Not Good.

Project: Forgotten and Found

2011-06-10T23:07:00.000-05:00

I'm no professional. Well, actually, I don't think there is an association or anything, so technically I could claim to be a professional and no one can tell me I'm not. But, I don't claim to be. Ahem. Back to where I was.

I just find joy in what I do. Decorating. Redecorating.

Refinishing. Repurposing. Living. Loving.

Learning. And sharing.

Sharing is part of the reason I write on this blog. Of course it's nice to look back at posts even a year ago and see where I was in life, but I'm not going to sit here and say that if no one read this that I would keep writing. It's nice to be heard. It's nice to get out my thoughts. But most of all I love sharing my ideas.

And that brings us to my newest "idea". I wanted a way for you to be able to follow some of the tutorials I put on here. So I created a project. Project: Forgotten and Found. And because I'm a self proclaimed graphic designer, I of course had to make myself a logo. Did anyone really not see that one coming? :)

Okay, mental picture taken? Good.

Before and After is sooo 1999, so I fancied it up a bit. I take things that other people (or myself) have forgotten and find a new use for them.

Find new life in them.

So, keep an eye out for this new logo. Sometimes I will post just the "forgotten" and make you wait with giddy anticipation until I get around to finishing the project. Other times you will get lucky and I will post the "forgotten" and then the "found" aka - end result together. But I will always post the how and the why. Why did I choose that piece of furniture, why did I use the latex and not the oil based paint, how did I get those lines so straight, why on earth did I make my own bed? And because I'm no professional (tying it all together...), my ways are not going to be perfect. Sometimes you may not like my ideas. Sometimes there will be a better way than the way I'm going to do it.

But hey, my blog, that's just the way I roll.

I'll leave it at that. You'll catch on. I believe in you.

Oh and because they are both "f" words (not that f-word people!) I might, just might be convinced to do something crazy like "Forgotten and Found Fridays".

But that's too much pressure for me right now. Baby Steps.

Steals of the week!

2011-06-10T12:27:00.001-05:00

If you know anything about me, you know that I love a good deal. A really good deal. If it's not on super sale, I typically don't buy it. I've been known to spend hours at the mall and come home with 1 item at best. I just can't pull the trigger until I know it's the best I can do. But, persistence pays off. And even better than persistence, is thrifting. And that's where I jump in: "Hi, I'm Kendahl, and yes I will buy your left over junk that you overpaid for, for next to nothing. Nice to meet you." :)

And that's exactly what I did this week...I scored 3 amazing deals

for a grand total of $10!

1) A turquoise blue copper lantern. $5

Not the cheapest deal of the week, but probably the coolest thing I bought. This will go perfect next to my old window frame (that has still yet to be hung by my husband despite the daily ~~nagging~~ polite asking) in our bedroom. They only had one, but I asked the guy to keep an eye out for another in a similar style for me.

Needs to be cleaned up a bit, but once it's shined I'm sure the color

will pop even more! Love the details!

2) A "someone-cut-off-the-tag-but-I-swear-its-straight-from-Anthropologie-comforter" $4

No joke. Check out this beaut. Please tell me that you wouldn't drool over this if you walked into Anthro? Just because it was in a Salvation Army doesn't mean that it didn't start it's life hanging in my favorite store. I searched online to verify my inkling and couldn't find any exact replicas, but I would put money on it. After 3 washes in the washing machine with a lot of soap and very hot water, it's now made its new home on my guest bed.

3) My best snag of the week: an antique wooden fold out table. $1

That's right, one dollar! holla. I don't have anywhere to put this now...well I'm sure I could find a place if I had to...but since this isn't a long term home for us I don't wanna go mounting big ole' furniture to the walls and/or risk ruining it for our next home. I've always drooled over these at Ikea, but hated the "cheapness" of them being plastic/metal. I have many, many ideas of what to do with it, but for now I will probably tuck it away until that perfect day comes.

My ghetto set-up so that you can see just how stinking cool this is!

Look at those legs!! Can't you imagine it painted and glazed the perfect earthy green color. Chipped paint look and all...I'm melting...

And my favorite thing about finding great deals is trying to imagine how it's been used in the past. I can see Pa telling little Laura and Mary to go do their homework at this little table. Straight up Little House on the Prairie. Love it.

another successful CVS trip

2011-06-07T21:16:00.001-05:00

No pictures this time, but I had a pretty good trip to CVS this week. Here's how it went down:

What I purchased:

1. (2) tubes of Colgate MaxClean toothpaste

2. A 2-pack of Colgate Total toothpaste

3. A 2-pack of Colgate 360 toothbrushes

4. 12-pack of Charmin Ultra Toilet Paper

5. 9-pack of Bounty Paper Towels

6. (3) 20 packs of Cascade dishwasher packs

7. (4) Bottles of Dawn Dishsoap

My total before coupons was: $52

After coupons my total went down to $36

When I checked out, I received $10.00 in ECB*s for next time I shop. Now, that's not the best I've ever done, but to get all that for $26 is pretty great!

(*ECB = Easy Care Bucks = literally like CVS cash...5 ECB equals $5 off of my next purchase)

But wait... the best part came when I got home. I received an email to do an online survey for CVS. After the quick survey, I received 2 coupons in my email. One was a $5 ECB and the other was a $5 off of $20 coupon!

So my grand total is: $36 for all of those things plus $15 ECB and $5 off of $20. I can combine these which essentially means next time I go to CVS I can get $20 worth of products and pay NOTHING!

Not too shabby, huh?

Did you know?

2011-05-18T16:16:00.015-05:00

Did you know that I am a self-proclaimed graphic designer?

Did you know that I have my own graphic design business, Beautifully Esoteric Designs, but I hate marketing myself (for real)?

Did you know that my husband put me up to this because he believes in me more than I believe in myself?

Did you know that I love to design completely

custom work for clients?

Did you know I love designing wedding invitations, programs, place cards, thank you cards, and any other kind of

coordinating wedding stationary?

Did you know I can take your images and make photo invites, baby announcements, personal stationary and even photo books?

Did you know I can take quotes/verses/images and make a

cool piece of artwork for your home?

Did you know I'd love to take your old photos and make a slideshow for a wedding reception, graduation party or anniversary gift?

Did you know I have a website?

Welp, now that you know, do you know of

anyone in need of my services?

{all photos courtesy: Shultz Photography}

blog neglect

2011-05-17T22:05:00.006-05:00

You know it's been too long since you last blogged when you get a spam comment. Those crazies love abandoned blogs...I'm sorry I neglected you blog...

Anyways, I have a few updates. I promise my whole life doesn't revolve around redecorating my house. Actually, I rarely have time to do it, thus the lack of blog updates. However, since I don't have cute kids yet or insanely inspirational things to say, decor is about all I can muster up to write about. If it bothers you, I dare you not to keep reading...

Finally finished the chest...here's the whole project. I guess I could write a post about how I refinished it. But I'm not convinced anyone really even reads this...sooo...if that's something you would be interested in, speak up

(aka: comment, please, so I know I'm not alone here)

Before:

During:

After:

I snagged this shelf at a garage sale for $3. And made the flowers in the pot. A little much? Maybe...but I will live with it for a while and see. Bryan said they look like paper flowers. Well they are. Get over it.

And this little guy Bryan and I picked up at a little stand on the side of the road driving back from Petersburg one night. All it took was a little windex and elbow grease. No paint or anything! :) Not a great pic but this thing is huge and since I've lived in this house for almost 17 months without a full length mirror

I'd say it's about time and well worth the $5.

And in other news...

(because I don't think you really believe me that there is more going on in my life than painting furniture)

I've been editing pics from prom night, working on lots of graphic design projects (including wedding invites for my newest engaged friend :)- miss Jessica Moss!!! yee!), making homemade jam (just call me Betty Crocker), dreaming up new ways to make a little extra mulah to fund my new JCrew obsession, watching Friends like its my job, working out for 3 days strong, and apparently perfecting the art of run-on sentences.

and that's all she wrote...

The Story con't...

2011-04-23T23:37:00.002-05:00

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From a life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Could ever pluck me from His hand

Til He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I stand

-"In Christ Alone"

About the time when the band quiets down and all you hear is the bass drum keeping beat...and then they start in with "...there in the ground" Jen, TJ (friends in college) and I would look at each other and start to pump our fists. It was a bit of a joke, but really it was just so powerful that we couldn't help but celebrate. "Up from the grave He rose again!" was the best part of the song.

Not because it's a good song... but because it's truth. Jesus didn't stay in the ground (cave/tomb/whichever...) he rose 3 days later and sin lost it's curse on me. and you.

Happy Easter.

Good Friday

2011-04-22T10:02:00.002-05:00

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless Babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

Till on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

-"In Christ Alone" Various Artists

Beautifully broken by what our Savior did for us on this day many years ago...

graciously thankful that this isn't the end of the story.

I think I can I think I can...

2011-04-20T09:06:00.000-05:00

Someday I will conquer this bedroom makeover. Here's our progress..

Finally got the bed together (thanks to my wonderful husband and the one and only Justin Grant)!

Here's a picture I snagged the night the put it all together. I got the bedding on and loved it! (although if anyone knows any secret to "fluffy" bedding please help - I long for the day that I have a fluffy bed...)

One reason why this has taken so long is because I am indecisive. I wish there was a more severe word. I am incapable of making decisions. For real. Ask B. After going back and forth for 2 weeks, I finally decided I truly hated the putrid green wall color. It was supposed to be earthly and subtle but instead it was brown/green poop colored. Anything poop is not subtle. I've lived with it over a year and just couldn't do it any longer. It was bringing all of my new decor down. I was unhappy. So, I sucked it up and spent the $20 for a new gallon of paint. Drool with me...

You have to see it in person to really understand how beautiful it really is. It looks a little purple in these pictures, but it's not. It's a very calming, almost silvery blue. It's delicious.

So, after painting, the room was in complete, I mean complete, shambles. And I'm not gunna lie, we lived in in like this for a good couple days before I could no longer handle it. (and it takes a lot for me to not be able to handle it...)

So when I could no longer deal with a ladder for a nightstand, I did the inevitable. I cleared out the entire room. I'm like a Tasmanian devil when I clean. I don't clean 99% of the time, but when I do, I really do. I took everything out besides the bed itself. See exhibit A:

Once it was all out, I sorted it, clean it, and started bringing it all back in...slowly. (And most of the crapola was pitched...why we had some of the things we do in our bedroom, I will never know...) Like the glade holiday candle that I found stuffed in my sock drawer...or my high school diploma which was in a shoebox in the closet...wowzers.

With the room cleared out I was able to start assembling my new decor. I finally got the chicken wire wall stapled in place! More pictures/decor will be put up on it eventually, but come on people, just getting it up was a huge step for me!!

Next is the new love of my life, our dresser. Yep, we finally found one. And she's a beaut. It was hard as heck trying to find the best place for her, but once we figured it all out it was perfect. The frame is not staying - ended up feeling too "grandma" but I don't have a picture without it - so just imagine with me...

Looks pretty decent from that angle, right? Well, what you can't see in the picture is the fact that only 1 of 4 walls has anything on it. The other 3 are blank. Blank as can be. I tried a picture collage idea I found from Under the Sycamore, but Bryan vetoed it because it looked too much like a college dorm room collage. I agreed unfortunately. The idea is great, just didn't work with the room/pictures we had. I have a few picture frames and mirrors I'm waiting to try and get up, but I just need a little time to figure something out. Progress people. It comes in stages :)

Lastly, we bought this chest along with our dresser. You can see it a bit in the third picture up top being used as a catchall. Well, it was just not the right color white. Looked yellow against the bed. Sooooo...I set out this past weekend to sand it down, repaint and distress it. After 2 hours of electric sanding and a trip to Lowes for more hardcore sanding disks, this is what I ended up with. Ugh. Looks like I will be investing in some heavy duty "stripper" to try and get all 17 layers of paint off of this dang thing.

That's all I've got for now! But it's a big improvement...hopefully sooner than later I will have a final before and after reveal. hopefully...

just a few favorites :)

2011-03-29T18:04:00.002-05:00

Family sounds obligational. So, I'll say here are some pictures of our friends.

Love them. Love their kids more. Sorry, it's just cause their so gosh darn cute. Seriously. Take a look for yourself...

Always great to catch up...now if only I could convince

them to move back to Illinois...hmmm...

Hair Disaster of 2010

2011-03-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

Almost exactly a year ago today, was a very bad no good day.

Better known as: The Haircut Disaster of 2010.

Aka: The day my husband laughed at me, uncontrollably.

It was bad. Really really really bad. Unexplainably bad.

Everyone has bad haircuts, I know, I know...but please...

Let me warn you. It's not pretty.

Image # 1 is the disaster. It's a mullet. For reals. Straight up Billy Ray. I could have won a look-a-like Carol Brady contest. But those don't exist in the year 2010 because no one, I repeat no one desires to have Carol Brady's hairdo.

Image # 2 is the "fix" of said disaster. I'm not gunna lie. This is the best pic I could find. Seriously it was even worse than this but I really can't bring myself to post the worst. Oh and yes, please notice the thinness of the hair. She thinned it. Yup, I have no hair to begin with but she thought I needed less.

Image # 3 is one year later. Hair grows. All things are made new. I am living proof.

Okay, here goes nothing...laugh away, I give you permission...

Thanks to all my friends who still went out in public with me.

Here's to better hair in 2011.

Christmas in March?

2011-03-20T23:00:00.002-05:00

Spring always comes. Even in the coldest of days in the winter when you really don't believe it will ever be warm again and all you want is to not wear 18 layers everywhere you go.

Well, that day has come. And it's glorious.

So, since I'm over being bitter about winter I am finally ready to post these :) Not in the least bit excited to look at Christmas decor pics? My blog, get over it.

Decorating for Christmas is a big day in the Throck house. We love it. Crank up the tunes (this year's fave was Dave Barnes Christmas Album), drink as much coffee as you can, and turn up the joy.

And oh was there joy...

Here's the end result. Of course it's all long gone by now, but it was just what I needed to get me through the winter blues.

Happy First Day of Spring!

Decorating for less...

2011-03-09T14:17:00.005-06:00

Not sure how I've blogged for this long and not let this little secret out of the bag. One of my favorite sites to find crafting supplies and high end knock-off decor is a website called Save-On-Crafts. I discovered it one night (probably after 2am) when I was relentlessly searching for cute, yet inexpensive wedding decor. When I found it, my heart melted. Not everything is crazy cheap, but a ton of it is. It's like an online Hobby Lobby. Seriously.

They have everything.

It will take you hours to look through all their treasures. Please do.

Just a couple examples of how you can decorate for less:

Pottery Barn Kids White Chandelier - $169

Save-On-Crafts Chandelier - $19.99

The are the same size, the SOC one is just a bit narrower. Now, yes, I do know the obvious difference that the PBKids one is actually a light and the SOC Chandelier is not. But let's be real, most of the time these cool lanterns are more for looks than to actually replace a main light source...so I actually like the idea that it can just be hung anywhere without worrying about installing and hiding a cord. Oh and again, it's only 19 dollars. :)

Pottery Barn Teen Capiz Chandelier - $129

Save-On-Crafts Capiz Chandelier - $15

Amazing...and $114 less. They are about the same size...actually, the SOC knock-off is larger. Larger shells and longer. And it has a sweet wooden top. Score.

Pottery Barn 10" bird Lantern - $79

Save-On-Crafts 10" bird Lantern - $17

Different color...but if the white is worth $62 more dolla' bills to you, by all means :)

And just a few other of my fave finds from the site:

3 wooden planters - 5", 6" and 8" diameter - $9

Large 36" wooden cake stand - $39

This would be awesome for parties, but just as adorable to decorate and put on a side table year round!

And for those ready to decorate for Easter...

Nest w/ eggs - $3.99

Small "shabby" birds - 4" and 6" - $5.95

and last but certainly not least...

Wooden Milk Crate w/ 4 glass milk jugs - $6.99

This will be in my shopping cart - the perfect addition to our "cottage-y" bedroom redo. I can just see it sitting on a side table or on a dresser. Adorable.

So, go check it out :) Save money and decorate with the best of them!

DIY:Target wall art

2011-02-26T00:00:00.004-06:00

It's after midnight and I'm getting up to drive to b'town in the morning. Point being I should probably be in bed. However, I can't sleep. So, what do I do instead? I design wall art. Sounds so professional. Don't get your hopes too high.

I fell in love with this Target Wall Art a few months ago while perusing the clearance aisles at Target. Of course this wasn't on sale. But it was beautiful. You can search through these and more lovelies here.

I really would love to have this sitting atop my new white dresser. No I didn't find one yet, but I can imagine it so perfectly in my mind. This dark, bold blue accented against the crisp clean white furniture and canvas curtains. I can almost feel it.

But, at $29 per frame, I had to walk right on by. Each time I do, I say to myself "Pfft...29 dollas?? I could sooooo make that for much less." Then I go home and forget all about it. Not tonight.

I ran home and got right to designing. Photoshopping my little heart out. The Target Art was a little to "floral" for me anyways, so I was happy to make some adjustments. And, after a few different rough drafts, here's my latest creation. You will have to just imagine the frame.

I can't wait to get it printed!

If I weren't doing this to save money, I would totally get it printed on a canvas. And no I didn't expect you to guess it, but yes, the middle block is the exact same stamp I am using for the block printing on my rug! All about the details people. :)

Since I already have a frame, I will just have to pay for the print which brings my grand total to: $4.86. Take that Target! (I still love you.) I'm contemplating doing 2 smaller matching prints - one with the middle print and another with the outside print - and framing those next to the large one. That would up my printing cost to $6.86. Yipers. Under 7 buckaroos for all 3. I'll take it.

Welp, It's now past the 1 o'clock hour so I better get some beauty sleep. I am spending the day tomorrow with Jen and her babes. I obviously pumped or I wouldn't be up photoshop designing at 1am.

G'nighty Night!

One of these things is not like the other

2011-02-21T16:22:00.004-06:00

I finished one project this past week. Another I did not.

Unfortunately, the project I finished wasn't even my project. I know, I know, I'm never going to get around to getting my bed done if I don't just do it. But I am stuck. Really. I have painted it and sanded it and glazed it and assembled it...and its just not right. It looks absolutely gorgeous construction-wise. With a few little adjustments it's perfect. However, it looks dirty. That's right, dirty. And no, I'm not being over dramatic here. I have had a few people validate my fears. So, I'm opening up discussion for any advice on how to "antique" a white bed. I've painted and antiqued many things before, but I guess never have I done it with new wood. It's a whole new monster. Pine soaks up the paint and when you sand it, you don't get that old, dark wood peeking through. You get gross light pine which just makes it look unfinished. I have spoken with 3 "professionals" and all told me to use this Mocha Glaze from Lowes. So I did. The pine showing through looks a little darker, but everywhere I used it on the white paint just makes it look gross. I'm stuck. I don't want this bed to forever disappoint me. I want to love it. I need help.

So, here are the main questions:

Can I paint another coat even though it's assembled now? Will it not just get stuck in all the cracks? Should I have picked a darker white? I didn't want it to be yellow-y but maybe that would help?

How do I use this glaze without looking dirty? (I've tried all the tricks...water down/not water down/wipe off immediately/let dry for a few seconds/etc...)

Anyone know any other finishing techniques besides using this mocha glaze, because I have a feeling nothing I'm going to do it going to work?

Oh, but the project we did finish ended up just loverly:

Meet Kris' new dresser/hutch:

before:

after:

Kris and I seriously finished this in about 3 hours...hardware and all. Oh, and did I mention the entire project cost her less than $50? Welp, it did.

Now if only I could get my bed finished...

Unfinished Business

2011-02-17T08:31:00.004-06:00

So, thumbing through our wedding photos to find the perfect image for my v-day post made me realize that I'm a sub-par bride. It's been approximately 929 days since we were married and I have yet to order our wedding books. Now before you freak out on me, I am not one of those brides who is making their photographer steam because I still haven't finalized my album design. (besides, even if I was, I would just be making myself mad, because I am the chicka who works for my wedding photog who designs the wedding books, but that's another complicated story :)...

Anyways, all to say, my wedding package didn't include books, and so I always said I would create my own. I have access to all the amazing book companies, but I still just can't bring myself to pay even the at-cost prices for those companies. I've looked into a few other consumer book companies and just have never been sold. Until now. I think I have finally decided. But, I'll wait to announce the company until after I am 100% sure and have pressed the "confirm order" button. Because there's a decent chance I will change my mind. It's what I do :)

So, reminiscing over images & creating book page layouts is what kept me up into the wee hours of the morning. Here's a preview of what I've come up with (disregard the blue border):

And, of course, I can't say thanks enough to Kyle for capturing our day so beautifully.

Now if I could only bring myself to actually order the book, all would be well :)

Never Let it End

2011-02-15T09:35:00.005-06:00

Note: This was supposed to go up yesterday but I guess I never posted it...better later than never, right?

Never let it end, God,

never - please -

all this growing loveliness

all of these

brief moments of

fresh pleasure -

never let it end.

Let us always

be a little breathless

at love’s beauty;

never let us

pause to reason

from a sense of duty;

never let us

stop to measure

just how much to give;

never let us

stoop to weigh love;

let us live -

and live!

Please, God,

let our hearts kneel always,

Love their only master,

knowing the warm impulsiveness

of shattered alabaster:

I know you can see things

the way a new bride sees,

never let it end, God,

never - please.

-Ruth Bell Graham

Bryan and I received a little book of Ruth Bell Graham's poetry on our wedding day from a family member. It was only a few days after we got home from the honeymoon and started unpacking that I opened it up and couldn't stop reading. While reading (and loving) all of the poems in this little book, I came across this one. "Never let it End." After all the new emotion, our beautiful wedding, and an amazing week of honeymooning in the Mayan Riviera, I couldn't put it in better words myself; "never let this end, God, never please - all this growing loveliness, all of these brief moments of fresh pleasure, never let it end."

This continues to be my prayer 2 years later. When reality hits and bad days and bad moods enter our lives - I'm reminded to "never stop to measure how much love to give," Because it is all too true how quickly things can shatter.

Happy Valentines day to my love.

May we always be a little breathless...

Room Layout Options

2011-02-13T23:09:00.005-06:00

According to my husband what I have spent my day doing is "weird." I don't get it. Am I really the only one who would do this?

Here's where it all started: I've been going back and forth with dresser ideas (I know, shocker...) and I think I may have come to a happy middle. Many wise people told me the cubby idea was cool, but maybe not too practical. When I started looking at the basket sizes I was faced with the reality that 2-3 items of clothing was all I was going to be able to fit per basket without them overflowing. And with my inability to fold and put away clothing neatly, I just have to veto the idea. I cringe just imagining being able to see into baskets of un-perfectly folded clothing. What was I thinking? I'm still not giving up on my perfect antique dresser search, because there is still time, but for now I'm looking into a different option I found at Ikea. I'm embarrassed to even show yet another idea because it proves my inability to make decisions, but here it is. Check out the Vallvik dressers. Solid wood, check. Good price, check. 6 drawers, check. Short and long, not so much. Short, yes, but only 55" long. Most 6 drawer dressers are at least 63" long. Ugh. What now? Well, Bryan came up with an idea that at first I was totally against, but is growing on me more and more. Now hold on to your seats people, but I'm actually contemplating getting both the 3 drawer and the 6 drawer dresser to create an amazingly long dresser. I know, it's crazy. And expensive. No, not expensive. For 2 dressers this is probably cheap, borderline ridiculously cheap. But if you know anything about me, you know I'm about to throw up just thinking about spending that much money on dressers. Ugh. So, ignore the price tag and don't judge me, just look at the dressers and dream with me.

So, to really know if my idea was going to work, I needed to see it. Not see the dresser, but see the room. See the vision. Feel the space. Maybe I really am weird.

Anyways, I designed the room. Took measurements and then created a miniature, yet perfectly proportioned, replica of our bedroom. I'm a graphic designer people, back off.

Welcome.

Option # 1

Option # 2

Option # 3

The biggest issue we have is the windows. I'm pretty sure whoever designed this room was not thinking about furniture placement. There is nowhere to put a bed that is not in front of a window or just plain awkward. And yes, I know there is one whole wall with no windows but have you ever walked into a bedroom and not seen the foot of the bed? It's the weirdest feeling ever. Totally bad chi. Not that I even know chi, but if I did, it's gotta be about the worst chi decision you could make. That's just out of the question. Plus, I'm not putting all this time, effort, and hard earned dolla bills into making a bed and side tables just to hide them on the back wall where no one can see them. Not happening peeps. :) So, again, the only 2 walls that are actually options are filled with oddly placed windows. No matter what I do, the window will be partially covered. With a taller headboard now, I have to be even more careful cover no more than half of the window as to not block out all the wonderful natural light.

Time to vote. Let me know what you think. Or I'm totally open for suggestions of other layouts. Just keep in mind I do not, I repeat do not do angled furniture. The chair being slightly angled is something I have accepted only after months of counseling, but I will do no more.

Okay, okay, it's official, I am weird.

Ready, set, feedback.

I'm Thinking...

2011-02-12T00:58:00.004-06:00

About giving up on my dresser dreams.

Yup. Just giving up. I don't think the perfect dresser exists. Sure, I have found a few on craigslist, but none that I would even think about paying for. People in central IL stink at selling their old crap. They get emotionally attached and think that someone else wants to pay $400 for their 20 year old broken ugly dresser. Not this chica. Ugh.

So, I'm thinking about giving up and going a new direction. Ikea has this cubical bookcase for about $70.

Imagine with me: Lay it on it's side, top it with a cool table runner and accessories, and then If I could just find a great deal on some storage baskets to fill the holes I could use them for my clothes. Perfect? "No.... you can't use a bookcase as a dresser!" "And you surely can't put your clothes in baskets." Says who? There are no "rules" to this decor game. Sew me.

Looking for some baskets like these ones at Land of Nod:

or these (ikea):

So, unless anyone out there can find me a cute antique dresser for less than $70, I'm giving up.

And in other news, I've been playing around with some rubber mat designs for my rug-redo project. I'd hate to spend any money on a mat and hate the pattern in the end, so I've found 2 mats I like and photoshopped them onto a "rug." Here are my 2 favorite options.

The first is from Crate and Barrel:(sorry for the wonky picture uploads...not sure why they are all weird sized)

And this one is from Sears:

What's your vote?

Bedroom Overhaul: Part II

2011-02-10T21:59:00.008-06:00

Slow and steady wins the race, right? I sure hope so because we are apparently taking our sweet time with this project :)

Thought I would throw up some pictures of some of the progress.

1) Bed: We bought and cut all of the wood. It didn't look like much, but believe you me it is.

Painting this many boards takes a looooong time. Like 5 hours to be exact. Per coat. No joke. Because of the blizzardous conditions out, we are painting in our basement and therefore our space is limited.

Oh and yes, watching paint dry truly is the ultimate boredom. Unless of course you watch the entire season 11 of Law and Order: SVU.

We primed and painted the first coat. The white I selected was a bit too "bright white" for my taste once I got it home, so we got another slightly darker white. But that means another coat of paint.

Another 5 hours. Oh and incase we were keeping track I still have another coat of paint to do in the bathroom remodel from 3 weeks ago. Painting is not one of my favorite things.

For the love.

But,it's coming along. After the paint we will use this stuff called "mocha glaze" to darken the edges and make it look a little more antiqued. Then, it's party time. aka: assembly. Can't wait!

2) Side Tables:

We decided to do the "Simple stools." We have enough left over scrap wood to make them for free. Anything free = amazing. So, I'll take it. I'm thinking I will paint them blue or green for a color pop...still deciding. Maybe chocolate brown...oh the options. Any thoughts?

3) Lighting:

Ugh..Lighting. Somedays I care, somedays I don't. On an "I don't care" day, I found a boxed set of lamps at Target for crazy cheap. We've been looking for 2 side table lamps for the bedroom and a tall lamp for the living room. Viola. Perfection. I mean perfection if you don't care at all about getting cute lamps with any character. On that day I didn't care. Everyday after, I did. The tall lamp works perfectly in the living room, so it wasn't a total waste, but I just don't think the smaller ones are going to work. They are so dull.

What is definitely not dull is the $1.50 small blue glass lamp I found at a thrift store over the weekend. Yup. All it needs is a cool shade and it will be amazing. 1 lamp down, 1 to go. Boring lamps will take their place in our guest room for now.

4) New ideas:

The longer I take to finish this project, the more small projects I will add. It's a sickness, I know. I am working on taking our boring off white area rug and turning it into something like this:

(Project found here)

It's okay to drool, I did. :)

Bryan isn't aware of my desire to blockstamp our area rug, but I feel like this is the best way to break it to him. Who am I kidding, he doesn't read my blog...well...not my fault. He's been officially warned.

Framed art. The last project I have been working on is framing my favorite poem as art for the room. Yup, I guess do have a sappy side. A love poem for bedroom art? Yes, please :)

I snagged this amazing frame at Goodwill for $8. It had a $59 price tag from World Market originally. Love me a good deal.

Off white and distressed. Detail detail detail. It was meant to be. And it's big enough to hang on the wall with a couple other frames. One thing that makes me cringe is when people hang small pictures on large walls. No, you don't have to be annoyingly large, but fill your space people. Please. Now I shall get down off of my soap box.

Moving on...So, I typed up and printed out the poem on a piece of canvas. Only took me 4 different printers which all happened to be out of ink before I finally got it to work. It's a little hard to read, but I'll take what I can get for now. The faded look is actually pretty perfect. Someday down the road I may attempt to print it better. Or I may not. We shall see.

Welp, stay tuned - I promise to keep you updated :)

On another note, I found my Christmas decor pictures tonight, is it kosher to blog those almost 2 months after I took them down? My blog. My choice.

Off to catch up on Grey's and fall asleep reading the latest Flannigan drama...

Bedroom Overhaul: Part 1

2011-01-21T14:08:00.006-06:00

My Christmas gift from Bryan was a master bedroom makeover.

Oh, how he loves me.

We have had to postpone the project a few weeks, but that's okay because it only gives me longer to dream :)

Here's our plan (thus far)

1) New Bed: Picture and plans found on www.ana-white.com. She's brilliant. Check it out here.

Yes, we are making this ourselves. Yes, I think it's very possible. And yes, we plan to paint it white and distress it. Oh, and my wonderful husband did the unthinkable. Hold on to your hats ladies...yep...he bought me Pottery Barn bedding. I think he's pretty cool. Oh, and even cooler because he bought it on clearance and used a couple gift cards we earned as rewards so it cost us pennies, but looks like gold!

I'll keep the style a secret for the final reveal :)

2) Side tables: We are looking at a few different options. They are both from Ana-White as well. The first is more typical bed-table-ish, but we are working with limited space. So, we are contemplating option 2 because I love the unique/simple-ness of just a fun colored stool.

3) Lighting:

Completely at a loss here. I want something vintage-y, yet cottage-y, yet in my budget. Which is low people. Here are some lamps from Pottery Barn I've been pining over, but never going to spend the money on:

Lamps are one thing that definitely can't be "hand-made" (not by me at least). So I fear this is going to be the hardest purchase. I'm headed out today to hit up goodwill and the Habitat ReStore and hope for some good finds :)

Dresser: This one will take some time. I'm picky, and, oh, did I mention cheap? I search craigslist every morning and will wait my little heart out until I find the perfect antique dresser that I can restore and distress white. Wish me luck!

Other "accessories" like curtains, some re-furbished picture frames, and possibly a canvas art project are all in the works, but we will just have to see how that all goes. I'm also contemplating repainting the whole bedroom...yikes.

No worries, I will keep you updated fo sho.

Out with a bang...

2011-01-02T19:22:00.002-06:00

Nothing says "out with a bang" like a tornado on New Years Eve. Yup, leave it to good ole' central Illinois to have snow and tornados in the same weekend. I'm almost 100% sure that we went 364 days in the year 2010 without even a tornado scare. Seriously, if anyone would know it would be me. I'm a tornado-freak like that. (Aka - scared to death of dark skies) So, yes, 364 days in and I'm golden. Then day 365 arrives. And, boom, tornado.

and that's the end of my story.

Oh, wait. Did I forget to mention that our car was killed in this tornado? oops.

Happy New Year :)

Here's to 2011!

A Simple Sewing Project

2010-11-08T09:22:00.003-06:00

Nothing for me is ever a simple sewing project. FYI.

Up and at'um at 7:00 this morning. Daylight Savings has made me a new person :)

Anyways, I found a cute shirt at Old Navy yesterday. However, even though the tag read XS, it was nothing of the sort. But for a mere 4.99, I couldn't pass it up.

Back to this morning. Woke up early. So I decided that I would just do a little stitchity-stich up the side seams of the shirt and it would be golden. No one would ever know (except that now I am putting it on the world wide web. So technically, everyone knows.) I digress.

Put the shirt in the sewing machine and what do you know, I get about 2.5 inches in and my bobbin runs out of thread. (For those non-sewers in the house, it's the underneath thread that is super important to finishing the full stitch.) I was not lucky enough to realize that it was out until I went all the way down the seam, took out my shirt to marvel at my masterpiece, and found no stitch. Annoying for sure. I sucked it up and moved on.

Wind a new bobbin. check. (Though it wasn't that easy because I forgot how to do it so I had to pull out the old manual. 25 minutes later bobbin is wound. check.)

Sew half inch in on both sides. Try on. No luck. Still look like a hippo. Really old navy? I can take a whole 2 inches of fabric out and still looks bad. Ugh. Try again.

Go in another half inch on both sides (doubled though so now I am taking a whole 4 inches of fabric out.) I didn't sign up for this. Oh and let me just mention I make up everything I do on the good ole sewing machine. I have zero training. And not much more practice.

I got one side stitched in. Then I start to do the other side. Halfway through, oh yes, the belt breaks. You heard me. I have a foot pedal-powered (yes that's the technical name, promise) sewing machine. And the belt which powers the needle snaps off. Unfixable. So, now 1 hour into a 5 minute project I should have quit. But I'm no quitter.

So, I hand powered my mechanical sewing machine. You can read it again. Add that to the list of things no one in the world has ever even considered doing. No, I did not 'hand sew', I put my finger in the hole on the side of the wheel and pumped it in a circular motion all the way down and back the seam of my shirt.

dedication.

So, long story, I mean loooooong story short. Don't ask me for sewing tips.

but, I do have a new shirt out of the gig. Go me.

Shelves

2010-09-21T21:40:00.004-05:00

Slowly but surely we are filling up our new apartment. By new, I am, of course, referring to the "place we moved into almost 10 months ago." It's all about perspective. :)

Bryan and I are constantly struggling to find a balance between having a cozy "home" and just having lots of "stuff." So, after much deliberation and budget finagling, here's what we came up with:

We bought some mis-matched frames, painted cheap(er) shelves the color/finish of the ones that didn't quite fit our budget, added some clearance candles, painted a cardboard "T", added some personal touches, and filled our frames with pictures of family. The end result is a collection of things that each tell their own story.

My personal favorite is the scrabble board peeking out behind my favorite wedding picture. And yes, I strategically found a way to display the "Marry Me" part of the board while hiding the "clown" word played just to the side of it. Apparently it would be rude/wrong for me to remove those tiles from the board. Something about "you can't change memories...blah blah blah..." Alas, victory.

Another story is the one sitting atop my stack of books. "At Home in Mitford" is just one of the many (and I mean many) books that Bryan's Grandma Gen gave me last Christmas-time. Until now, these books have done a wonderful job making our bookcase look full. Until now. I am falling in love with this fun little Mitford series and so glad that I have all 5 of them!

What's the point?

2010-08-31T13:36:00.007-05:00

Su-per-cal-i

fra-gil-is-tic

ex-pi-al-i

do....ious!

Even though the sound of it

is something quite

atrosicous!

If you say it loud enough,

you'll always sound

precocious,

Su-per-cal-i

fra-gil-is-tic

ex-pi-al-i

do....ious!

(All photos courtesy of Bryan & Kendahl's collection of seemingly unexplainable and completely random yet hilarious iPhone pics)

Recent work & announcement

2010-07-17T09:56:00.004-05:00

A lot of design projects have come my way recently.

Here are just a few that I have loved working on:

Oh, and my announcement: I think I need a new fresh look to really get my blogging juices flowing. So, Blog makeover coming soon!! Keep an eye out!

in which I have nothing to say

2010-07-17T00:21:00.004-05:00

I have not been blogging. Because I have nothing to say.

That's right, nothing.

If I did have something to say, it might be that I am in dire need of a pedicure. Okay, I know, need is a ridiculous word to describe a pedicure. Who really needs a pedicure? Well, I do. Get over it.

Also, work is crazy. Busy for me equals checking out of other areas of life. Like blogging. Priorities people. Sigh. I want this part of my life back. Conundrum if you will.

Oh and incase you were wondering, we watch HGTV every night whilst falling asleep. (Yes, I said whilst, and no, I'm not going to try and defend the fact that we watch TV in bed, it's just how we roll. To each his own.) Anyways, I have discovered recently that by brain has now associated HGTV with sleeping. So, when I walk up my spiral staircase to have a nice relaxing lunch with the husband and he is watching a writhing episode of "House Hunters," I have to do everything in my power not to fall into dreamland. So, HGTV is now banned in the Throckmorton house anytime before 10pm. Oh, and on a side note, I might be reconsidering my nighttime TV channel because the past 3 nights there has been a super loud infomercial that comes on around 4:45am which promptly puts both Bryan and I into a fluster to try and find the remote to turn it down. My life really is rough.

I'm still processing camp. I've been back for 2 weeks now and I feel incomplete. Don't know why or how it's just honestly the first word that came to my mind. Maybe I left something there. I should take inventory of my clothes.

See, absolutely nothing on my mind. Except for designing conference logos, creating blogs, Siesta Key, baked spaghetti, Dave-O-Rama, ear wax, contracts, baby onesies, washing saliva off of every window in my house, and sleep. I will spare you the details.

Not me :)

2010-04-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. For those of your unfamiliar with the idea, Not Me! Monday was born out of a desire to admit some of our imperfections and reveal a few moments we'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to

join in and do the same thing!

Too many things happened this week for me

not to post a Not Me :) Enjoy!

First off, after seeing this adorable indoor violet-wine-glass masterpiece on designsponge, I surely didn't get inspired to recreate the look. Upon attempting and failing miserably, I did not decide to go ahead and display them in our living room anyways. I would not be so stubborn as to decorate with wilted, dying weeds just so that I wouldn't have to admit that I couldn't recreate the look. Oh, and said decor would not still be upstairs as we speak, even more wilt-y and dead. Not me!!

And it wasn't me that you could have found camped out in the laundry room all weekend. There is no way that 2 people could possibly let laundry get out of hand to the point of needing to do 11 loads just to catch up. Seriously, that's disgusting. These are not my piles of laundry spread out around the basement floor!

And, if I did happen to have had some laundry to do, I would have checked to make sure that I had enough laundry detergent to do all of the loads. So, it definitely wasn't me who only made it through 2 loads before realizing that we were completely tapped dry on soap. I am always prepared and never get in over my head. Ugh, not me :)

Furthermore, had I realized that I was out of soap, I definitely would not have decided to make some soap (That's right, you read correctly, make some soap) instead of driving the mile to the nearest Walgreens and picking some up. Nope, I would not have searched recipes online and found one that I happened to have all the ingredients for. So of course it wasn't me who spent 45 minutes making detergent and (in the process of grating the bar soap) cut my hand numerous times with the zester. I would not have gone through all of this when the Walgreens is seriously minutes away. Not me!!

And to top it all off, while at church yesterday, it was not me who, after quickly teaching the preschool church lesson, let the kids get out the box of "Musical Instruments." I did not let them go hog wild, oh and I certainly did NOT join in. I would never grab a set of castanets and march right along side 6 screaming kids while there were other classes going on around me. Not me, seriously, not me...

So, tell me please, what did you not do this week?

The view from here...

2010-04-14T15:28:00.004-05:00

And yep, I'm working...

Happy Birthday!

2010-04-12T00:05:00.008-05:00

Bryan and I had a great time celebrating our niece's first birthday this weekend with family and friends up in Chicago. I'm super tired so I will just let the pictures tell the story :)

Happy Birthday Charlotte!!

Surely

2010-03-23T10:28:00.004-05:00

Alright, I'll do it again. After yesterday's lack of motivation, I decided to give it another go.

Only because last week went well. And I mean really well. Bryan told me that since I cooked (yes, actually cooked) 3 good (not just edible) meals in a row, that I was officially the new cook of the house. I don't know that I wanna go that far, but I guess it was nice to hear. I like cooking, I do. But don't get me wrong, it's very nice to have a husband that can cook just as well, if not better, when I just don't fee like it.

(I just had a genius idea - I should make one night a week "Bryan Night" where he cooks. Seriously, why did I not think of this before. Done. No discussion. Wait...Bryan has track practice till 6 every night. I won't eat till 9 if it's up to him. Plus he's grumpy if he doesn't eat around 6:30. Which now that I think about it is why this whole thing started. Ugh, scratch that. Moving on...)

So, week one went well. So here's to week 2:

Monday - Spaghetti w/ cheesy meat sauce (my own special recipe...ha!) :)

Tuesday - Grilled Marinated Rib-eye steaks, Asparagus & Potatoes (That's how we roll)

Wednesday - Stuffed Shells (from freezer)

Thursday - Bible Study Night

Friday - Leftovers

So, really, tonight is the only night that I have left to cook this week. I rock at this.

Oh, and whilst I'm well aware that it's Tuesday, but here is my Not-Me-Monday moment of the week:

It was not me who, upon whipping together a spaghetti dinner last night, took our large bag of burger meat out of the freezer, took out the pound that I needed, and forgot to put the other 5 pounds back in the freezer. I definitely did not leave 5 perfectly good pounds of hamburger meat out on the counter all night long. Surely I would have seen it. Surely I didn't ruin 5 pounds of meat. Surely.

Again?

2010-03-22T16:58:00.002-05:00

A scene from the Throckmorton Kitchen, take 2:

Bryan: What's for dinner tonight?

Kendahl: I dunno, what do you want...?

Bryan: Ummm well I thought you were "meal planning"?

Kendahl: Crap, you mean I have to do it again?

Bryan: you're joking, right?

Food News and Great NEWS!

2010-03-15T10:51:00.015-05:00

Kendahl's Adventure in Meal Planning : Take 1:

Monday: Stuffed Shells (F*)

Tuesday: Pulled Pork BBQ

Wednesday: Skillet Chicken & Vegetable Parmesan

Thursday: Bible Study Night

(students decide, we cook in bulk from Sams)

Friday: Leftover Buffet

*this is a freezer meal, meaning I will cook a full double

batch (40-50 shells) and freeze the leftovers for future meals.

With just 2 of us, we can get about 4 dinners and even

some lunches out of this! Talk about saving money and time!!!

After planning this week, I guess is wasn't that hard.

If anything, it's hard because we only have 3 real nights to cook.

I don't feel like planning a big meal for Fridays, because being

the party animals that we are, we never know what we

will be doing on a friday night :)

Riiiiiighhhttt....speaking of which, anyone looking

for friends? We are a pretty cool couple and have some openings...

Moving on (yes I did just publicly ask for friends,

but we are moving on, remember...?)

So, that's the plan. I will keep you updated.

No, I won't post every night for 3 very important reasons.

1. I won't remember.

2. Those who still read my blog despite all my forgetfulness would be bored to death reading about my dinner every night.

3. Though I don't always mind the public humiliation that comes as a

result of my cooking skills, that might just be asking too much of me.

I have a little dignity and this week may not go well...

Oh and now for the GREAT NEWS! Brace yourself. This is big.

HUGE.

I was up googling coupons last night and fed UP TO HERE

(imagine "here" wherever you see fit)

with not finding anyone who does coupon tracking

for Springfield, IL grocery stores. I have a few friends here and there that will post

a couple good sales, but nothing like www.moneysavingmom.com

or www.southernsavers.com. They are AMAZING but aren't in

our area. They have grocery stores like Piggly Giggly Wiggley

and Tom Thumbalina. That is not helpful for little ole me.

But, at long last search, I found it. I finally freaking found it:

Meet my new best friend: Her name is Margie.

You can be her friend too, and I encourage it.

www.myspringfieldmommy.com

She has taught me so much already. Did you know that

Dollar General accepts manufacturers coupons?

THAT'S HUGE.

If you are not even a little excited about that,

we havesome talking to do. Seriously, go check her out.

Be amazed.

Here's to Monday, a new day, a new week... Make sure you don't miss the moments.

Menu Planning??

2010-03-14T13:24:00.002-05:00

I don't know about this...

I mean I thought menu planning was what my grandma did and went out of style with my mom. Not to mention I don't cook. I mean I cook, but I don't cook well. So, why would I want to plan out my whole week, or even month, of meals at one time and have to stick to recipes every night? Sounds like someone is trying to put me in a box.

That someone is my husband. Well, my husband with the influence of Dave Ramsey. I love me some Dave, but meal planning? Haven't I done enough for you Dave? Budgets, coupons, saving, getting rid of credit cards, not borrowing money...this is just crossing the line :)

(of course I'm kidding, I do all those things happy and willing, I seriously do...)

But meal planning? I can't wrap my mind around it. I coupon. I save serious money on groceries already. Ask me how much I spend, I dare you ;) But then comes dinner time comes in the Throckmorton household and this is what you will hear...

B: What should we do for dinner?

K: I dunno...

B: What did you get at the store? (looking in cabinets)

K: A lot!

B: Why in the world do we have 18 boxes of hamburger helper?

K: THEY WERE FREE!! Seriously, I was at Shop N Save and they were 10 for 10 and I had (8) $2/3 and then I had these other coupons...blah blah blah...but they were free!

B: THis is disgusting. What else did you get?

K: 6 boxes of cereal, some cans of soup, oh and a bag of chicken breasts and hamburger meat. I dunno some random things like cream cheese, chips, celery, bread and yogurt. Oh and 6 coffee creamers. And I only spent like $22.00 - It was amazing.

B: This is not going to work.

K: oh...

This conversation has happened too many times. Bryan is sick of it :) So, I've been challenged to a month of meal planning. I'm not going to pay for the E-mealz plan that Dave suggests, sorry. I'm all about saving money and I have the time to find meals myself. So, here goes nothing. For the first week, I found this "1 bag, 5 meals" on Kraftfoods.com that I am going to try. It all looks good, plus we have just about everything we need to get started. So, check back later for my first edition of:

"Kendahl tries to meal plan: Week 1"

I will update and let you know how it goes. ugh. I'm super (not) pumped. But I will try.

Happy Sunday! :)

A glorious night

2010-02-26T21:50:00.004-06:00

The makings of a lovely night:

1. General Tso's, Sweet & Sour Chicken, crab rangoon and sushi at Hunan Restaurant

2. Watching Apollo Anton Ohno skate his way to a silver metal only to get it taken away and laughing while attempting to say "Evgeni Plushenko"

3. Attempted sewing projects

4. Chocolate Chip Cookies & cold glass of milk (for Bryan) A cup of hot pomegranate tea (for me)

5. A heated game of Skip-Bo

6. Off to fall asleep reading a good book.

correction: The making of a glorious night.

Thanks B :)

Getting Things Done

2010-02-22T16:08:00.003-06:00

Is exactly what I have been doing.

Go, go, go, go. Do, do, do, do.

Or have I?

Does it count at "getting things done" when you cross off 5 things on your to-do list, but add 17 more. You know, one step forward, 2 steps back?

Well, it's more like 1 step forward, 14 steps back. Okay, okay, maybe only 7 steps back.

Seriously though, I don't think I'm taking on too much. I mean yes, I do a lot. But do I do too much? I don't think so in the least. I don't even have kids for crying out loud, so I for sure am not on here saying that I have too much to do, lest you mothers out there would murder me.

No, what I am saying is that I am doing too much the wrong way. And I have let old habits bring me down. Waaaaaay down. I'm in total 1st quadrant mode.

I address immediate needs, but let not-so-immediate things pile and pile until they are completely out of site. I let things that were little tasks turn huge because I dilly dally and pawn it off on others. I let simple phone calls go unreturned to the point where people question my existence. (and most of this is personal life - Kyle please don't fire me...)

I have 4,346, 872 things on my to do list and my brain can only hold about 3 things before I forget #4....and that's on a good day. So, what happens to items 4 thru 4,346,872? Well, I'm not really sure.

But, I am trying something new. I am going to start getting things done, David Allen style.

Dear David Allen,

Don't fail me now. Seriously.

I mean it.

"Stress-free productivity" is what you promise - and I will hold you to it.

If I end up adding "fail the art of getting things done" to my accomplished list, I will be hacked off.

Well, but then again, I would at least have accomplished something.

So, can I really lose? Win-Win here I come.

Love, Kendahl

A little reminder...

2010-02-09T22:40:00.001-06:00

Never look ahead to the changes and challenges of this life in fear. Instead, as they arise look at them with the full assurance that God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. Hasn't He kept you safe up to now? So hold His loving hand tightly and He will lead you safely through all things. And when you cannot stand, He will carry you in His arms.

Do not look ahead to what may happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you His unwavering strength that you may bear it. Be at peace, then, and set aside all anxious thoughts and worries.

Francis de Sales

Party Hardy!!!

2010-01-30T10:46:00.008-06:00

Get your hair done...

Grab your party hats!

Bring the whole family!

And pump up the tunes!

Cause it's Bryan's Birthday and it's time to celebrate!!!

Happy 24th Birthday dear :) Party Hardy!