Me.

Pain In The (blank)

2012-01-27T07:11:00.000-08:00

I think a fellow blogger said it best. I feel like crap on a stick. I'm super cranky. I mean like stay out of my way cranky. It's a combo of no sleep from back pain, and well being in pain all day. I just want to feel better. I hate that an accident did this to me, more than that, I hate that it was 100% not my fault.

I'm going back to the doctor on Wednesday, hopefully they can shed some light on this dark tunnel, but I'll be pretty angry if they tell me to "wait it out".

It's totally effecting everything, and I'm not just being dramatic. I'm not sleeping, I'm grumpy from not sleeping and all I want to do is lay down because that's the only position that doesn't hurt.

Sorry for this rant, I"m just over it.

In other news my car goes into the shop on Monday and I'm getting put in a rental. Hopefully my car will be fixed soon, there is a reason I bought it....I LIKE DRIVING IT!

In other other news, I'm 11 days from a mini vacation. I can't wait to go see my folks, but even more than that I can't to not have cell phone reception. I kinda have the attitude that if there is a problem, call someone else...lol I know mean right? But I just need some r & r. I hope I'm feeling better by then.

Dear Tuesday....

2012-01-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Seriously?

The End.

No, no, no....not the end but really? It's not even 8am and this day blows already. Let me explain.

I woke up this morning on time and having a great hair day..I knew it was too good to be true. While I was getting ready to leave I went to throw a full can of soda away while I let my car warm up, my hand slipped and I spilt soda all down the front of me. Sigh...

I assessed the damage and knew I had to go change...ugh I was wearing a red shirt, black pants and red flip flops...I was able to get away with just changing my shirt. I went with pink and ran out the door. It wasn't until I got to work that I realized I hadn't changed my flip flops...ugh!!! So now I'm wearing a hot pink shirt, black pants and RED flip flops...this was one of the few times I was happy I'm so short that my pants cover 90% of my feet. :/

Next:

This week I'm giving my dear friend Jenn a ride to work in AG. She normally works in SM and they are a one car family so when she works in AG she rides with me and I drop her off on my way to SLO. Well in order to get to her office we have to drive by AG High...let me tell you something. It's like risking your life to pass by that school. If I drove like that in high school, it's a miracle I survived. Those kids have no clue how to drive, in the mile or so of "school" traffic I had to go through this is what I witnessed:

20 or so cars in line to make a left turn blocking traffic and crossing a double yellow
2 cars make u-turns in the middle of the road in front of cars that were driving (not stopped) at the speed limit.
1 car stop in the middle of the road to drop their friends off then make a u-turn in front of oncoming traffic to go find a parking spot.
random stopping for no reason

I just sat there and giggled....and most likely used my horn a tad more than I should have. I just got blank looks in return, like I was the crazy person.

Moving on...

After going through the obstacle coarse of novice drivers I made my way back onto the highway...

I guess today must be drive like a jerk Tuesday because last time I checked it was Highway 101 not Talledega Speedway...this isn't Nascar people. Get off my ass!!! What's especially comical is when someone drives right up to your bumper, then slams on their breaks to swerve around you, only to get stuck behind a semi in the slow lane....tee hee. I've always been a really safe driver, but since my accident a couple weeks ago I'm SUPER De DOOPER safe...if anyone is driving too close to me I change lanes as soon as it's safe to do so...no more drifting on my bumper for others...

Anyway needless to say everyone was in a big fat hurry this morning, and had a problem with me going the speed limit. I just moved out of their way. But seriously people...slow down!

Finally I pull into work...nice and early. It's a good feeling. I wanted to be early because I needed to call my health insurance company...I got a medical bill in the mail last night saying my health insurance denied coverage....WHAT!!! So I called this morning and the doctor billed the wrong place....lord. So I got that all fixed...

Lets hope that the rest of the day is smooth sailing and that I've gotten all the hard stuff out of the way already...

I hope everyone has a great day!!!

{Home Made Donuts!!}

2012-01-23T20:32:00.000-08:00

Let me start this bloggy by stating that I'm addicted to Pinterest and it's because of this evil evil website that I'm forced to cook all these amazing things...moving on.

Last night while laying in bed I was searching around Pinterest like I do every night and I came across this recipe to make donuts at home. A couple things crossed my mind...okay I don't do well with making dough from scratch and I don't have a deep fryer. Oh but Pinterest came to my rescue once again.

This is so easy you're going to laugh.

Here is your list of characters....once again I forgot someone {4 tbs of butter are missing from the picture)...I'm so blonde sometimes...

You will need:

Pillsbury Dinner Rolls...any kind will do, make sure you don't use the flaky layers one.
Sugar
Cinnamon
4 tbs butter - melted
Oil

In a bowl, mix your sugar and cinnamon. No measuring needed.

Mix, mix, mix

Next pour your oil into your pan (about a 1/2 inch) and warm for a couple min on medium. Please excuse my really really really used pan. I have had this thing forever and I'm in desperate need of a new one :(

Next take your rolls out of the package and separate onto your cutting board. Either using a cookie/biscuit cutter or anything that will make your desired shape, punch out a hole. As you can see I'm really putting my shot glasses to good use here....sigh

Once your oil is hot carefully place your biscuits in the pan and let them brown on one side. Now I burned the heck out of my first four because I didn't think they would cook so fast, but don't turn your back on them, it only takes a couple seconds. Once they are brown flip them over and let the other side brown up.

Side note...not many people have a tri pod in their kitchen, but if you know me...it's a must. Don't get me wrong it's not there all the time but it's great to have when I need it!!

You can also cook up your "donut holes" for a lil sweet bite!

Make sure you let your donuts cool for a bit on a paper towel. This will absorb any extra oil as well.
Perfectly done!

Once they are cool enough to handle take your melted butter and pour it into a shallow pan. Dip each side of your donut into the pan.

Next dip each side into your sugar and cinnamon mix, making sure to coat it well.

I have a confession. I totally forgot that I was taking pictures and I was so excited for these, that I finished sugaring all the donuts first and only had the holes left to give you a demo...sorry :/

Tada!!!!

So pretty!

::drool::

So there you have it. Crazy easy huh? It would be fun to do for the family on a rainy weekend morning, or just for a fun dessert one night. It only took me about 15 min from start to finish and that's with taking pictures...so go make these and let me know how you like them!!!

Bad Mommy no biscuit!

2012-01-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

So Chase has this cookie jar on our counter. He knows what it sounds like from across the house. No matter how stealthlike you think you are being he hears it. Next thing you know he's behind you wagging his little tail begging for a treat!

Well we ran out of cookies last week and since I refuse to pay retail, I'm kinda waiting for a sale to re stock up on cookies for him. In the meantime I remembered that I had gotten him some boxes of dog treat mix at Target on clearance for a buck! Score!!

After a week of putting it off, I finally made them this weekend. It took all of ten minutes lol. Sometimes I can be so lazy lol.

It was so easy to do. All it called for was a 1/2 cup water and 1 1/2 tbs of oil. I had two boxes to I doubled it.

In case you live under a rock, I freaking love my mixer!!! Best Christmas gift ever!!!

Dumped the "dough" onto the counter and rolled it out with my ghetto rolling pin...

Hmm does this roller make my hands look fat....? hahaha!

Jenn got to do my favorite part (I'm such a good friend!) and cute the lil bones out!

I was really worried that they would spread like cookies do...

Cute!

Fresh from the oven...they look exactly the same!

Needless to say Chase loves them, and his cookie jar is full again. I feel like a better Mom already!

{Mountain Dew Dumplings}

2012-01-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

WARNING:

This post will cause you to drool. Please read with caution.

I found this recipe thanks to my friend Lacy. She told me that she saw it on Pinterest and from there I knew not only did I have to make these, but a blog was necessary to share love.

Ingredients:

2 whole Granny Smith Apples
2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
2 sticks Butter
1-1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Cinnamon, To Taste
1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda

Preparation Instructions:

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll.
Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.
Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

WARNING: Prepare this dish at your own risk. It is beyond imaginable.

Introducing your cast of characters.
Granny Smith Apples, Butter, Sugar, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and Mountain Dew

After going and back and looking through these pictures I noticed that I forgot to put the sugar out for it's photo op. I was tempted to take another picture but I figured I'd keep it real.

Next you will need two apples. Peel and core them. It doesn't matter if they are slightly bruised, they will be drowned in awesomeness and a bruise isn't going to make a difference.

Next cut each apple into eight slices.

Alot of people don't like refrigerated dough, and prefer to make theirs from scratch. I'm not only too lazy to do this, but I lack the skills and patience. Moving on...take your crescent rolls and unroll the entire can.

Next roll your apple slice up in the crescent roll. And lets just bring the obvious to the surface. The fact that there is another piece of dough peeking out on the bottom right hand side of the photo is making my OCD nerve twitch. Grrr.

Aren't they cute!!

Normally I would tell you to grease or butter your pan before placing these lil cuties into it. But if you are lucky enough to have Stoneware (like me!) then you don't have to grease or butter anything. However if you aren't one of the lucky few, then please for your dumplings sake, grease your pan. :) Then lay the beauties all in a row. (PS for those who don't have stoneware, it's easy to assume that my pan is filthy, however it's perfectly clean. Stoneware, over time gets seasoned and that seasoning creates it's non stick awesomeness. Sorry moving on...

Next melt two sticks of butter in a sauce pan, follow by adding the 1 1/2 cups of sugar and a tbs of vanilla. Keeping it healthy people. LOL. You're welcome.

Next pour your oh so fat free mixture onto your cute lil apple dumplings.

It's like they are taking a bath in deliciousness.

Now your almost done! Next comes the Mountain Dew. Side note: Jenn and I where walking around the store looking for a single can of Mountain Dew, because all I needed was 12 oz. I didn't want a six pack cause I don't drink this stuff, we did find a 18 oz bottle that was $1.59 then walking towards checkout there was a 2 liter for .99 cents...sigh...well you can see what we ended up with. Thankfully Brian ended up finishing off the bottle...lol

I've had this measure all for almost two years and I think this is the second time I've ever used it...I have to admit that it's really great for measuring ounces.

Pour all over your lil beauties.

Next sprinkle with cinnamon. No measurement measurement here folks. Dash until your heart is content. :)

Tada!! Drool.

Last peak before entering the oven.

Please excuse my very ~~dirty~~ used oven. Bake at 350 for 30-40 min. I let my stay in for the full forty. You don't want to let them get too brown on top but you definitely want them golden on top.

uhhh....yum

It's time for my close up!!!

In my excitement I didn't take a picture with my big camera, but my iPhone got the job done.

Enjoy, and I'm sorry! :)

{A day at the ranch}

2012-01-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

Wow.

There is so much I haven't blogged about. Why? No clue. Like I said in my last post a couple weeks ago we headed south to see Erin and Frank and meet their horses. I had so much fun. I got to play with one of my new lenses and I even got to ride a bit. Let me tell you, I was more than a bit nervous, since it had been over a decade since I last rode. As soon as I was up, it was great! I realized how much I missed it.

Here are a couple pics from that awesome day!

Frank & Erin's Barn

Handsome Jack

Erin showing us what she can do! Go girl!

I love this shot of the barn!

Handsome Jack again...he loved having his picture taken!

Frank and Erin's horse Sammy

Beautiful Head Stall

Miss Sammy was a tad camera shy, but she warmed up to me after a while!

Up close and personal thanks to my new 50mm with Jack!

I love horse tack!!

So there you have it. The pictures do most of the talking for me.

xoxo

{Enjoy}

2012-01-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago Brian and I made our way south to the perfect little town of Ballard near Solvang, Ca. Our friends Frank and Erin live there and they invited us down to meet their horses and spend the day there. I jumped at the chance. I love my girl Erin and her hubby is a crack up for sure. I'm going to share the horse pictures in my next post but I wanted to start with my fav cupcake place in Los Olivos (just before Ballard). It's on the right hand corner as you come into town, tucked into a small yet awesome tasting room. Enjoy Cupcakes is unlike anything you have ever experienced before.

When Erika was in town we drove south to see her friend MaeApple and I wanted to take her to Enjoy so badly but sadly they weren't open on the Tuesday we putted down that way.

Think of the best cupcake you have ever had, times that by 100 then add awesome and unique ingredients and a ton of love and you get Enjoy.

When you visit their perfectly cute counter I highly recommend getting a "flight". That is one of each other their weekly flavors.

This is the menu of cupcakes to pick from.

Antique milk jug. Love!

Amazing bottles of wine inside Saarloos & Sons

I would like this in my kitchen please....(nudge nudge....Brian!)

Cute!

Cupcake to go boxes..What a great idea, and such a good way to recycle!

Doesn't get much cuter.

....oh wait it just did.

Their vintage trailer. **swoon*

My perfect flight!

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough

Wild Hibiscus Tangerine Chardonnay

"The Crazy"

Chocolate Blackberry Syrah (my fav)

Cherry Cheesecake

Cinnamon Bun

As we were leaving I looked up...and well fell in love.

I love those little towns tucked into wine county. I could go there a million times and always find something new that I haven't seen before. I'm very lucky to get to live where I live.

xoxo

{2012}

2012-01-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

It's 2012!

Holy cow it's been a minute or two since I have blogged. I have no other reason that my photography business has taken off! My entire Novemeber and December were booked solid. I had shoots every weekend and sometimes two a day on the weekends. Lets say, that I haven't really slept since Halloween and I'm lucky that Brian is still hanging around after all those amazing shoots. Looking back at my calendar I have 16 photoshoots in 8 weeks. Doesn't seem like alot but that's alot of editing :) Not to mention I ended my year shooting Ryan and Natasha's NYE wedding bash.

Everyone has asked me if I'm excited about 2012. My only answer is "I guess?" I don't think there is going to be much change in my world. Everything seems to be ticking along normally. So far I have three weddings booked for my lil photog business and lots of family, baby and engagement shoots. Fingers crossed this momentum keeps up.

I wanted to share just a taste of what I have been up to these past couple months, so here are some of my favorites from each sesh.

Enjoy.

Ryan seeing Natasha walking down the aisle! <3

So needless to say I have been busy. I'm excited that my January is already booked and Feb is starting to fill up as well, not to mention Brian and I are going to Yosemite for Valentines Day. So here we are, hopefully this year I'm better about blogging.

Love Love Love

Daily Photo: Day 19

2011-11-17T20:21:00.000-08:00

Pizza Pizza!

Do you want a really simple dinner that only takes five minutes, almost no prep and hardly any dishes...

Home made pizza!! Vons has this amazing dough that you can buy that's pre-made. All you have to do is roll out the ball, and place your toppings on. SIMPLE. Pop that baby in the oven at 450 degrees for 18 minutes and bam your done! I also found this great pizza dough recipe online that I'm going to try to make this weekend!!!

To make the breadsticks I bought two packages of dough. All I did was piece the dough out, roll it into sticks and brushed the dough with a little oil and fresh garlic, some spices and tada! You're done!

Yum!

Daily Photo: Day 18

2011-11-16T23:21:00.000-08:00

Damn you Pinterest!

Okay so tonight I got this wild hair and thought "Hey lets be crafty" I got some spare wood sheets I had laying around (no I'm not a horder) and grabbed this clip art print out that I had been saving and made this! I'm going to show you all how to do it later this week. Maybe Friday night!!! Stay tuned, it's so SIMPLE!!!

Daily Photo: Day 17

2011-11-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

Brr.

I know what your thinking, it's Novemeber in California, it must be a freezing 55 degrees.

It's 42 right now outside, and to us warm weathered creatures, thats SO COLD!!! LOL I know all my friends on the east coast are laughing at me and throwing things at the screen but come on...lol :)

So Brian and I made a cozy fire and vegged.

Daily Photo: Day 16

2011-11-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

SPREE!!!

You know it's November when all the "good" Halloween candy is gone. All that's left around the office is chocolate laffy taffy and Spree's...lol

Daily Photo: Day 15

2011-11-13T23:11:00.000-08:00

EEEK Sorry for the terrible quality photo. It's dark and we have a fire going. I had an AMAZING photoshoot today with my friend Caralee and her family. If you wanna see the photo's be sure to check out my other blog Stefanie-Elizabeth Photography and catch a peek!

Chase wanted to cuddle with me while I edited tonight.

:)

Daily Photo: Day 14

2011-11-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

Today was a very busy day, and it's not over yet!

I got up early this morning did laundry, frosted cupcakes, edited photo's then headed out to Cambria Winery. Now when I said that I would do this favor I thought that winery was in town. Yeah NO it's not. It's 15 miles outside of town on little farm roads. Anywho it was worth it. The are was beautiful!!!

I pulled over on the farm road to capture this with my trusty iPhone!

After the shoot, I went to a celebration of life for Char Fernandes. It was great seeing everyone together, and the weather man said for sure it was going to rain, but as soon as the celebration started, the skies cleared. Just another sign that Char was looking down on us today.

Now it's time for a fast nap, then off to Kella and Ben's engagement party!

I have a feeling I'm going to sleep well tonight!!

Daily Photo: Day 13

2011-11-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

It's Friday! And apperently Chase has no plans on getting out of bed. It's still dark outside and as I was getting ready I turned around and saw this...he sure does look comfy! I wish I could lay in bed all day....hard life.

Daily Photo: Day 12

2011-11-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

Day 12 is brought to you by my friend Whitney Westbrook. I ended up having to work late and since I leave every day at five on the dot, she found it appropriate to send me an email about what she thought of the whole situation.

I agreed.

Daily Photo: Day 11 Part 2

2011-11-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

Day 11: Part 2
I got to meet with my amazing friend Natasha who has given me the honor of photographing her wedding on New Years Eve. I was at a wedding last New Years too. Nothing better than bringing in a new year with forever love I tell ya.

This is her spot...breathtaking!

Daily Photo: Day 11 Part 1

2011-11-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

Day 11 Part 1
There are cupcakes in the office today. Dear Heidi made them, gingerbread as well as pumpkin ones. I'm so glad the rest of the staff at them all before I could.

Daily Photo: Day 10

2011-11-08T17:44:00.000-08:00

Day 10:
On a freezing Fall day, the only thing to have for lunch must involve soup and a bread bowl.
My choice was Tomato Basil Bisque and a San Luis Sourdough Bowl.
Yum.

Daily Photo: Day 9

2011-11-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Day 9:
This made me chuckle, and if you can't figure out why please stop reading now. :)
There isn't much I love more than a Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte. Thank you Starbucks for making my Monday function-able.

Daily Photo: Day 8

2011-11-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

Day 8:

Breakfast with Brian @ Pappy's in Santa Maria

I love this man!

Daily Photo: Day 7

2011-11-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

Day 7:

Erin Condren Love

My planner arrived, and I'm so in love with it.

Do the world a service and go buy one.

Daily Photo: Day 6

2011-11-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Day 6:

Happy Birthday Erika!!!!!

The beach misses you!

Daily Photo: Day 5

2011-11-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

Day 5:

My view on my way into work. I love rain so much it's not even funny. My favorite place to be is in bed with a good book, the window open and the rain pouring down. Not in my car on my way to work, but I'll take what I can get. :)

Front Loader Frustrations

2011-11-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

So it's November second and my beloved front loader washing machine is still dead. I'm mad. I know I shouldn't be because they were free but still. Not having much support from our prop manager in getting it fixed is slightly frustrating. But you didn't hear that from me. So far we replaced the start button (which we got reimbursed for) but that didn't fix it. Brian took out the "mother board" panel and saw that two relays were fried. So my friend Brooke took it down to the Electronic Super store in Santa Maria, because Brian is on the road all week. They replaced the relay's and I held my breath that it would work. Well when I got home, Brian showed me that the two brand new relay's that we had fixed were fryed again. We were both done at this point.

I have been without a washer for almost three weeks, and I just wanted to privilege of doing laundry whenever I wanted again. I don't know what is wrong with me but I can't stand clutter and dirty laundry in a laundry basket is clutter to me.

I remembered that my friend Jordan had offered us a free washer a couple weeks ago when this whole debacle started. I called her up and asked her if the offer was still on the table. She said of course, and Brian headed to Oceano (15 miles away) to go pick it up. Jordan told me on the phone that it wasn't pretty but that it worked. At this point I didn't care. Don't get me wrong, the OCD in me was sad that I wouldn't have a matching washer and dryer anymore but I soo got over it…well kinda…okay no not really but I don't have to look out there all the time.

Brian got the washer home, we unloaded it and hooked it up. It worked great. It's a top loader so I will have to do smaller loads, but again at least I can do laundry when I want to. The saddest part is that my other washer is now sitting on the deck, unplugged and still dead. I really wish that we could get it fixed, because I really love it. Maybe if I book a couple more shoots I'll pay to have it fixed, then let my landlord know that we WILL be keeping them, if they choose not to pay us back for fixing them. Especially since the prop manager's maid comes over every Thursday and uses it too. Don't get me wrong, I have a great prop manager, but this washing machine issue as well as the hole that still in my bathroom wall are a tad frusterating.

So, I'm happy to say that I will be doing laundry tomorrow night. I can't wait.

Daily Photo: Day 4

2011-11-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Day 4:

Oh thank you Panda Express for letting me know the truth.

{Dia de los Muertos}

2011-11-01T23:53:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit

Happy November 1st.

Holy moly I can't believe that it's November already. Here I was wanting time to speed up so we could get through summer, how now I want time to stand still so fall and winter don't go by so fast. It's funny living here on the central coast when it comes to weather. I feel like summer was fall this year and right now is summer. Does that even make sense?

This entire summer is was freezing. We had maybe a week or so that was acutal summer weather, and sure enough when the rest of the country is dealing with freeze warnings and temps below 40, it's 100 degrees here. What the wha? I mean it was 83 degrees here in SLO today and it's freaking November.

I want the cold crisp mornings that chill you to the bone, those mornings that you can see your breath in the air, I want to get my scarfs out. Watch now that I saw all this it will start raining (which I love) and all my photoshoots will get cancelled...lol. Fingers crossed for rain during the week!

I have alot going on this month, eight photoshoots between now and the 27th. Erika's birthday (I can't wait to give her, her gifty!) Thanksgiving, my vacation from work for a week, hanging with my folks and more editing that I really want to think about right now.

So Happy Novemeber. Go take your Halloween decor down and put the Fall decor up! I did...see!

Nothing fancy, but I like it. I wish I could make my house look like something out of a magazine, but I'm not quite there yet. But with what I have, I think that I did a pretty good job.

{The Taylor Family}

2011-11-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

I love this family!

Brooke is a reigning beauty queen as well as a dear friend of mine that I get to work with, and I've now been named "Second Mom" to her two amazing boys. My boyfriend Brian and those two are like peas in a pod. It's amazingly cute to see a 31 year old man, play with these two boys. It's beyond cute!

I hope you enjoy this little peek as much as I do!

Daily Photo: Day 3

2011-11-01T19:26:00.000-07:00

Day 3!!

So I can't seem to eat dinner any more without a cold nose interuppting me. That cold nose would belong to my lil boy Chase. How can you say no to this face? The answer is: You can't.

Daily Photo: Day 2

2011-10-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

Weee it's almost November and it shows! I love love love fall!!

It's HALLOWEEN!!!

Brian and I stopped and got some Pumpkins today, aren't they perfect!!!

Love, love, love!

Daily Photo: Day 1

2011-10-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

Oh lord. Here we go again, with another "photo" project. Hmm I think that this one will be much easier since I love my iPhone and I take pics litterally all day.

The rules:

Only pictures taken on my phone count and that concludes the rules! LOL

So here is Day 1:

Okay so I cheated because I took a million pics this day and bringing it down to one was starting to become impossible.

It was Sunday Oct 30th. I had just finished a photo sesh and was walking on le beach to relax.

I love me time sometimes.

HP + Christine = {Brooklyn}

2011-10-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I got up early to meet Christine and HP for their amazing baby bump photoshoot. It was so much, I can't remember laughing that hard on a photoshoot. They were up for anything!!

There isn't much that I love more than when I can see how much two people love each other and simply beams out of these two. They have yet to set a date for their wedding, but I love the fact that they are bringing two families together and making them one. HP has two beautiful daughters, Samantha & Makenzie already and Christine has an amazing son Dylan, and now together they have little Brooklyn on the way. She will be the perfect Holiday gift since she is due on 12.25.11

Thank you to you both for letting me share this very special day.

Harry Potter Holloween

2011-10-29T23:51:00.000-07:00

I seem to be getting alot of flack from friends that I couldn't make it to their Halloween Party. I really wanted to, but the party I was going to was an all day affair of setting up, running errands, followed by my being sewn into my costume. Not to mention that we have been planing this party since Early August.

I got invited to a hand full of parties, a couple in SLO (40 miles from home) and another friend that I work with invited me to hers as well. I simply couldn't make it, I do feel bad but I was committed to this party.

Moving on.

My friend Sarah planned this elaborate Harry Potter Themed Halloween Party. Every year her and her hubby plan a big shin dig and this year there was no holding back. I helped a bit with some decorations and food planning, but she did the rest and it looked great.

I got up early Saturday morning and put in my curlformers and headed out the door.

Sarah and I spent Saturday running errands and getting stuff ready for that night. Around 5pm it was time to start getting ready. I had the pleasure of wearing my curlformers ALL day, remember I said that we spent the morning running errands...yea I was wearing them. I made Sarah put in curlers too even though she didn't need to wear them. I kept getting stopped by people asking what was in my hair, so it was pretty neat.

So after all was said and done, and we were done decorating I took my Curlformers out and Sarah and our friend Danielle did my makeup.

I loved the way my hair turned out and my makeup was AMAZING! Thanks girls!! The next step was to sew me into my costume. Yeah that's right. For Halloween I was Bellatrix Lastrange from Harry Potter, and the sleeves of my costume had to be sewn on once I was all dressed. The girls did a great job, but I found out about arm muscles I didn't even know I had. LOL

Here is the final result, and the best I could do taking the picture myself...lol

Here is my dear friend Danielle and I, she dressed up as Luna Lovegood. Her costume was so cute! She even made her own jewelry!

Here is the four Harry Potter girls. From the top going clockwise. Sarah dressed as Prof. Umbridge, Danielle dressed as Luna Lovegood, myself as Bellatrix Lastrange, and Kristen as Narsissa Malfoy. It was so much fun!! LOL I'm glad that people came even if they couldn't dress up or if they dressed up as fun other things. :)

Here is Sarah and Danielle striking a pose with their wands for the camera!

I have to admit I was floored when I won best costume. I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends, both at the party and ones that couldn't attend. Especially since I spent the night before fighting with tulle with Suzie and didn't even end up using that part of the costume. Sigh.

yay!

Strawberry Short Cake & I...talk about a contrast!

<3 you Jen!

All in all it was a fun night. We were all out of our costumes by 8:30p and in pj's watching a movie, then I was home by 10p. It's amazing as I get older how more mellow we are. I remember a couple years ago, Sarah's Halloween party was going until the wee hours of the morning, but that was before lil Barrett, and we have all grown alot since then. It's amazing what a couple years does. :)

PS.

Sorry for the semi grainy pics and bad lighting, still trying to figure my iPhone out.

xoxo

{40 in 40} - A series

2011-10-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

Okay so everyone does spring cleaning, we get rid of all the old stuff we don't need in order to make room for the new stuff that we got over the holidays...but what if I told you that you could do all your "Spring De-Cluttering" before the holidays even get here.

Check it out.

This is a new series I want to start called 40 in 40.

Each series will be about doing 40 things in 40 days. To kick it off I want to show you how to declutter your life with, 40 Bags in 40 Days.

It's really simple. Get a pad of paper and write down 40 places that send to clutter up in your home. I know it sounds like alot, but here is my list to help you out.

1. "junk drawer" in laundry room
2. utensil drawer in kitchen
3. "junk drawer" in kitchen
4. pantry in kitchen
5. pantry in spare room
6. under the kitchen sink
7. fridge
8. spice cupboard
9. spare room entertainment center
10. magazine pile
11. closet (my clothes)
12. closet (my shoes)
13. closet (Brian's clothes)
14. my nightstand
15. Brian's nightstand
16. cupboard inside tv stand
17. Brian's dresser
18. closet shelves
19. my bathroom drawers
20. makeup bag
21. blankets behind couch
22. spare room closet
23. kitty toys
24. Chase's toys
25. Red Box in spare room
26. Shed
27. Brian's truck
28. My car
29. My trunk
30. Chase's drawer in kitchen
31. Cupboard under junk drawer (scary!)
32. Shower (extra or empty bottles..ect)
33. candy drawer (can you believe I have one of these...sheesh)
34. under sink in bathroom
35. on top of fridge
36. cookbook cubby
37. holiday decor boxes
38. scrapbook supplies
39. coffee table drawer
40. under our bed

I'm not going to lie, it was really easy to make this list until I got to about 25, then I had to start getting creative. Remember I only live in 1000 sq feet. We have a 2 bd 1 bath home with no garage, so I'm sure if you have bigger area to work with, you have alot more options. I'll take pictures everyday of what I collect, and what I can donate and at the end of 40 days, I'll show you how much stuff I was able to get rid of that I'm sure I won't even miss!

Yay for no clutter!!

{Thrift Store Frame + Magnets} = Happy Makeup

2011-10-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

Something amazing is coming!!!

It's my most favorite DIY project yet!

I can't wait show you all how to do it!

Here is a sneak peak!!!

{Flu} - Shot

2011-10-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of working in radio is getting alot of stuff for free. Just ask anyone of my radio family members.

With "calling in sick" season rapidly approaching, CHC came into our office today to a segment on Cat Country 96.1 and talk about the importance of getting a flu shot, then after the show they set up in the conference room and offered the staff free flu vaccines.

My dear friend and fellow hypochondriac Becky came into my office and said that she wasn't going to get one. She said that every year she gets one, she gets sick. I thought back to last year and I remember being really sick right at the end of flu season, so I took a stand with her and I wasn't going to get the shot.

Not 30 seconds later, Steve one of the big cheese's at CHC comes into my office and says, "Stefanie....are you getting your shot?" I stood my ground and said "Nope! I get sick every year, I'm passing this year." I was so proud of myself! Then he started talking about how I prob got a different type of flu and that's why I was sick last year...wait wait wait...there are different types? Why don't you have a vaccine for those? Sigh. He asked me if I spend any time with babies....well duh. It seems like every friend I have is either preggo, or will be by very soon.

I knew at this point that it was too late. I was going to go get my shot. I scanned the office for Becky cause I knew I had to do this on the down low. We had made a pact and I was breaking it lol. I saw her walk back to the studios...this was my chance.

I headed for the conference room, told the tech I would stand for my shot, signed the release form and before I knew it I was done. Erica is the tech that does it every year and I swear this woman was born to stick people with needles. She is so gentle and I didn't even feel it.

So now I'm vaccinated, and I hope that I don't get sick. I really have a busy rest of 2011 ahead of me and I don't have time for the flu or cold or anything like that.

So with all that said...go get your flu shot!

{Square}

2011-10-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

So since I started my little business, I've always been asked if I took credit cards. Sadly the answer has always been no. Until now.

I was meeting with clients last week, chit chatting about their wedding. They asked me the age old question, if I took credit cards. I frowned and said no. Natasha (the bride to be) told me if I had head of Square . I told her no, and she started to explain to me what it was, and how she used it for her business. She highly recommended it.

I got home that night and looked it up, sure enough I fell in love with it. It is so easy, and not to mention FREE! All you have to do it download the app and order the device to scan the credit cards. They send it to you for free.

Amazing.

Sadly, I no longer have this phone. Hello...iPhone 4!!!!

Since tonight I had to go and get a new phone since my Droid died, this is totally compatible with all smart phones. As you can see in the picture, you just plug it into the ear phone jack and "tada" all done!

I really encourage you, if you have a business or are thinking of starting one that you look into this company. The app is free, the equipment is free, and they only charge a 2.5% fee for each credit card transaction. The money is deposited into your personal or business bank account overnight...waking up with money in the bank is never a bad thing.

I'm just glad that I can help my current and future customers.

Enjoy!

PS sorry for the bad pictures, I was in a hurry! :)

{Santa Barbara Zoo} Sneak Peek!

2011-10-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I don't get out much. So when Brain asked me if I wanted to go to the SB Zoo, I didn't hesitate! It was my first time ever going to a zoo, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE animals so I knew it was going to be a great time. I even got to feed a Giraffe! More on that later...here is just a sneak peek of some of the awesomeness I got to see today!

{Maeapple + Fudge + Wine} = Yayness

2011-10-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

Okay okay....I'm WAAAY behind in blogging. Hopefully I can hammer out a couple right now and get caught up on the week...::fingers crossed::

So here we go!

Last weekend as you know Miss Erika was here vistin'. It was so much fun and I would like her to come back...now. On Monday we headed South to Solvang, so she could meet up with a dear friend and I would get to meet this dear friend that I have heard so much about. Miss Maeapple! I love her name. It's a combo of a month I love, and a my fav fruit! She was just as I pictured; little, funny, sweet and "not a hippy" lol. Erika kept calling her "my little hippy" and Maeapple always said "I'M NOT A HIPPY, I'm HAPPY!" lol.

So we picked Maeapple up at her house and headed to downtown Solvang. At first she asked Erika and I if we wanted to walk..lol we giggled and Erika said that she would drive. We headed down the street and turned right and BOOM downtown Solvang....we totally could have walked. :)

Erika and I were ordered by our significant others to get fudge. Erika means business when she buys fudge...let me explain. We pulled up to the fudge shop and I was going to buy Brian two hunks of fudge...Erika bought six or seven BOXES...lol

Erika's grand total...lmao

After our fudge stop we poked around some shops and decided to have go and have some lunch. We walked around for a bit, then came across this great outdoor cafe called "Fresco" it was picture perfect.

I had a great sammy and managed to not get stung by the millions of Bee's fluttering around.... ::sigh:: Maeapple sprinkled some sugar on a coke can, and when one would land on it, she would shove it in the can and stuff a napkin in the hole...genius!

Mae at to be at work at 2:30pm, and since she works at a wine tasting joint that is underground and it was over 90 degrees outside we decided that we would stalk her a bit longer and taste some wine while she worked.

Since I don't enjoy white wine and Erika doesn't care for red wine, we split the tasting. I LOVE almost every red I have ever had, and I really enjoyed everything that I tasted while I was there. Pictured above are some of the wines I had the pleasure of tasting.

Sadly our time in Solvang had to end since I had to work the next day and the heat really did a number on Erika and I. So we said our goodbyes and headed north to Santa Maria. I have to tell you, I really enjoyed meeting Maeapple, she is so sweet and for someone that has been through as much crap as her, for her to still emit sunshine really says something about how strong of a woman she is :)

Apple {Love}

2011-10-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

So last week, there was a HUGE bag of fresh apples brought into work. I eyed the bag all day, at the end of the day it was nearly untouched so I made my move. I scooped up a ton of apples and brought them home. I used alot of them in a centerpiece on my table, and the rest sat on my cupcake stand in the kitchen. As I was doing dishes tonight, I thought it would be a good time to bake something delicious.
So apple crisp it was!

Here is what you will need:

10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup splenda

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup water

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).

Slice about 10 cups fresh apples

Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the splenda, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.

Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together.
Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

{Pinterest}

2011-10-19T20:02:00.001-07:00

Have you heard of this?

It's completely addicting and amazing.

It's a virtual memory and idea board. I'm on inspiration overload! I totally suggest you check it out.

How it works:

Go to www.pinterest.com and you have to request an invite, or message me and I'll invite you. Once you request an invite, it'll be about 24 hours and you'll get an email from Pinterest saying that you are invited and can join the sight. From there you can search and search and search for all kinds of amazing things, people, places, ideas, DIY stuff...ect ect ect.

You can link it to your Facebook page and follow friends and what not. If you want to follow me, clink the link to the right of this post or search for me. My user name is s_elizabeth

Here is what my home page looks like...

I have 11 different pin boards, all different categories. Some examples are, {Love}, {Take Me There} - for vacation ideas, {Dream Home} - for someday Dream Home ideas, {DIY}, {Quotes}....ect ect

Make it your own!

Its so much fun!

Go!

{SLO-ing Down} Part 2

2011-10-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

{Bubblegum Alley}

We write our epitaphs on walls with gum,
And though it may be meaningless to some,
We have a symbol of our gummy youth,
Whose walls may not tell some glorious truth,
But eloquently speak of better times,
Of cruising, shopping sprees, and nursery rhymes.
If gum is all you see upon our wall,
Your mind is closed, your spirit shrunk and small,
Though memories of youth may never last,
Gum Alley is our present to our past.”

-“M”, Arroyo Grande

I know what your thinking...if you have never been to SLO....you're most likley thinking....there is no way...it can't be....not a whole alley....

photo credit

Sadly I didn't take these photo's but these are some of my favs that I found. I highly encourage you to google Bubble Gum Alley. I've walked up and down this alley many many times, and I always keep my arms tucked in at all times. I've photoshoot after photoshoot here, but to each his own. While I do think that it's a tad on the gross side, it's art and I love art. It's self expression, and it's people coming together to contribute to a town. I know it's gum...but still.

{Kella + Ben} = LOVE LOVE LOVE

2011-10-18T06:54:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness I love love love this couple. This shoot was full of huggy, kissy, licky face and I wouldn't have it any other way. I even found myself blushing a couple times. Ben loves Micheala so much and it shows in every single picture that I took.

These are only a few, I can't wait to show you the rest!

Their big date is now set in stone.

I can't wait for June 1st 2012! You both deserve the best!

Love you!!!

{SLO-ing Down} Part 1

2011-10-17T22:03:00.000-07:00

It's amazing that I travel to San Luis Obispo every single weekday and I avoid downtown like the plague. I think it might have to do with the college kids who can't really drive, the tourists who drive really slow and the fact that paying for parking seems like a sin in my world.
Since Erika is here visiting we wanted to get out and do some fun stuff and take some pictures, since we both love love love to do that. The original plan was to go to the 20th annual Lemon Festival down in Goleta, but we weren't sure if we could bring the ~~kids~~ pups, and we didn't want to leave them crated that long so we changed plans and headed to SLO for shopping, lunch and more shopping.

Our first stop was at Old Navy. Let me tell you something...I love clearance!!! I got this awesome sweater for $3 bucks, and Erika got me this great black button up shirt. I love it, it has elastic in built into the sides so it's slimming and comfortable...amazing!!!

Next we went to lunch at Applebee's. We were starrrrrrrrving!!! We scarfed down some artichoke dip and chips, then inhaled our lunch....well I did. Erika was scarfing, until she found a hair in her food...eewwww! I felt bad for the waiter, he had already forgotten our waters, ranch and mayo, our table settings and now this...lol I'm sure he was just waiting for his shift to be over by this point.

After lunch we headed to downtown SLO. I have to admit that as many times as I have been down there, I have never really "looked around". If I find myself having to go downtown during the week, I usually go to wherever I need to go, then leave as fast as I can. It was nice just parking and walking around.

The first store we went to was Amnesia.

photo credit

It was amazing in there. It was full of everything you could ever imagine. Its like they they were inside my head with some of the stuff in there, I mean who else in the world would think of a Giraffe Cow...lol

I loved this little cutie! They made them in three different sizes...a small one, a medium (which is pictured here) and a really large one! I wanted them all. However I resisted.

This lil giraffe was a little tribal looking. Almost like it belonged in Africa. Very cool.

They also had these HUGE (taller than me) wooden Giraffe pieces. All hand carved out of wood, and really well priced. Amazing.

Erika came across these really neat Diamond looking paper weights. I have three in my office that are bright pink. I love this pic....umm upgrade? LOL

I saw this mask as we were leaving the store. It reminded me of something out of the VooDoo practice. I loved the texture and colors on it. Creepy yet cool.

Next we tootled over to Hep Kat's. I love that place. I know that I don't rock the rockabilly look all the time, but I wear the hair almost everyday. Truth be told I love that era and sometimes wish life was as simple now as it was back then.

My darling friend Erin had come over on Friday night and she was wearing these AAAAMAZING Bordelo Teeze shoes...I mean knock out gorgeous. I was looking around the store and was instantly glued to the shoes.

Erika took the following pics..

I had to try a pair on. Part of my someday wedding idea is to wear a pair like this (<~ click) under my dress...JUST...for pictures. I tried to walk in these a bit, and couldn't get my knees to go straight...lol

In case you didn't click the link...here are pair 1 of 3 of wedding shoes...

Love!

Okay moving on...lol Sorry I just love shoes...they are so pretty!!!

Next we walked over to Paper Sky. I walked in, and Erika helped me pick my jaw up off the floor.

I fell in love with all the cards in this store. I keep every single card I have ever gotten. Between the house and my office, they are everywhere. They are so personal to me, and each one is special in it's own way. Here are a few of my favs from that day.

I wanted to get this Bride crown for Amber but was $50.00...I could make it for 1/10 of that....lol

I loved this journal. <3

This canvas painting was amazing. I loved all the colors. Beautiful!

Next was Tails. An awesome lil pet store downtown. I had never been in there before, and I'm SO glad we stopped in, the ladies working were so sweet and informative.

The had this amazing "Barkery" the girls said that cookies, were "Human Grade" as in we could eat them, but they wouldn't be as sweet as we would like them. I took her world for it. Chase loved them!

This sign made me think of my little girls. AJ & Dixie have been kinda left out these past couple days. I see lots of treats and extra love in their future.

Another think I really liked was all the carry bags they had. I really wanted to get one for Mr. Chase, but Brian said no...lol

They had tons and tons of stuffless toys for chewers like my lil man. I wanted to buy one of each for him...lol

They also had amazing collars, in so many different colors and sized. My dog either runs around naked or in his harness so another collar wasn't needed...lol

Well thats it for Part 1 of this lil bloggy. In the next part will be Hands Gallery, On A Lark Cupcakes and Stef Go's To Coach...lol

Stay tuned!

{Chase}

2011-10-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I got the pleasure of some cuddle time with my little Chase-Face. We've owned Chase just over 6 months now, and he is one of the best things that has ever come into mine and Brian's life. There are times when I look at him, and I'm convinced he understands what I'm saying, and sometimes...like the one below, I feel like he is smiling. He has an amazing life and a family that loves him to pieces!

We love you Chase Henderson-Shatley!

Start Button

2011-10-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

It was Thursday night, Erika was going to be here in the morning and I had TONS of laundry to do. I had gotten home from WW around 7pm that night and got right to work. Like a good girlfriend, I did two loads of Brian's laundry first, and was just getting started on mine. I had the washer loaded with my clothes, and thank goodness I put the soap in after I start the washer. I went to hit the start button...and nothing. It was like trying to get a car to turn over....I tried again....nothing. I thought to myself..."of course."
By the time I gave up it was nearly 11pm, and I was over it. I'm so thankful for Brian's parents. When I dropped Chase off on Friday morning, Brian's Mom took my laundry and did it for me, while I was at work. YAY!!!

Friday afternoon, I called our property manager to let him know that the washer was dead. I didn't think that it was going to a big deal, since we he installed them he said that if there were ANY problems that we could call him, and since he uses it too that he would take care of it right away. Well when I called, I was less than thrilled with his reaction. He said that if we needed it fixed that it would have to come out of our pocket, but that he would pay us back....later. ::growl::

So here we are on the hunt for this:

This stupid button is $50.00 bucks at Sears...sigh. So Brian is hunting for it for cheaper at different appliance shops around town. If you know anyone that sells these things, let us know!!!

I miss my washer!!!!

Right now here is the scene on our deck..

I'm praying that this is all fixed by the middle of the week. I only got one load of my clothes washed last week, and I'm running out of outfits lol.

Keep your fingers crossed for us!!

Summer in October

2011-10-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

I left work last night after 7 pm. When all was said and done it was a 12 hour work day for me.

I step outside for the first time all day was smacked in the face with a warm wind. It felt like the start of summer, only it was October. I got into my car and the temp on my dash read that the outside temp was 84 degrees at 7:30pm. I had been in tears since around noon that day because of an issue at work (no I'm not in any kind of trouble, but it's a really long boring radio story).

I decided that I needed some much needed clearing of my oh so full head. Since it was so warm, and the sun was set I made the 30 mile drive home with all the windows down and the radio turned way up. I sunk back in my seat and let the wind run through my hair. I remember taking really deep breaths of fresh air and I started to feel better, however the thoughts of the day weren't leaving my head. I turned the music up even louder, but it was just background noise to me, I was consumed with thoughts, replaying the day's events over and over in my head.

I was about half way home, when my phone rang. The only reason I even knew I was getting a phone call is because my dear Bluetooth beeps in my ear, otherwise the ringing of the phone would have been lost among the wind, music and my own thoughts. Erika was calling. It was nice to tell her the story of what had happened that day, I started to feel better. She did what she does best and got my mind off of it, and we started talking about this weekend and the stuff that we were going to do.

I pulled into my dark driveway, chit chatted a bit more with her, then hung up and saw the mess that was my house. Now if you know me, and I'm sure you do, you know I'm a neat freak. Everything has its place and when stuff is out of place it drive me crazy. My kitchen table is full of mail, and it's kinda our "dropping place" of crap. Whatever doesn't have a place ends up on the table. I've even threatened to sell the table just so we wouldn't have a place to set our junk down. But my bluff was called and I never sold it, nor do I want to. I looked around and the couch pillows were on the floor from where the girls love to play and knock things over, I sighed to myself and walked into the kitchen. I should have just gone to bed. When I turned on the kitchen light, there was more mail on the counter, my "Welcome" pumpkin sign was sitting on top of the mail. I have a couch in my kitchen (yes you read the right, it's really the centerpiece of the sectional I can't fit in my living room) and it was piled with water bottles, and sparkling water that I still haven't put away from Monday. Where oh where has the week gone?

All in all, tonight will be dedicated to doing nothing but cleaning my house. Brian is going to take care of the front and back yards, because it looks like we live in a tornado zone, thanks to the 35+ mph winds that we have had over the last couple days. I think every dead leaf from every tree in my neighborhood is now in my backyard. Le sigh! I have at least three loads of laundry to do tonight as well. LOL. So I'm thinking, bedtime might be around 1am or so.

It's all worth it though. I want my house to be clean and tidy for when Erika gets here. She'll be here from Friday night to Tuesday morning, and we have lots of fun things planned, some of which include sushi in pajama's Friday night, cocktails Saturday night, Lemon Fest on Sunday and Solvang on Monday. I think that I will spend next Sunday sleeping all day lol.

I can't wait to take a lot of pics and share them with you all. Here is hoping for a much better day than yesterday. Sorry for leaving the work details out of this blog, but some things in my line of work can't be shared with the world. Thanks for understanding!

Love you all!

Whats In Your Purse?

2011-10-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

Random!

I always get asked "Hey Stef, do you have a safety pin?" "Hey Stef, do you have super glue?" "Hey Stef, do you have a bobby pin?" That last one is almost always a guaranteed yes. So this morning, I got to work way early and I thought I would actually show you whats in my purse, since people always seem to ask.

Now I have to confess that I just cleaned out my purse this weekend, so I haven't really had the chance to accumulate ~~crap~~ any treasures, or things for people to borrow. Alot of what I have in my purse depends on the purse. I love this purse and I can't wait for Erika to read this...since she gave me this purse more than a decade ago and I STILL have it. LOL

Oh yeah, my one and only "designer" purse. It's made by Gwen Stefani. It's called L.A.M.B which stands for Love Angel Music Baby. I don't even think that you can find these purses anymore. I love how urban it is. It has gold, almost seat belt like buckles that buckle together, it's obviously made well since I've had it, and used it for more than a decade. I've washed it, spilt things in it, thrown it..you name it and it's survived.

The next thing that I pulled out of my purse was something I never leave home without....yup my powder and BRONZER!!! Oh how I love bronzer, I love it so much that I have eight more at home. Yes yes yes...thanks to couponing and the right sale I got them all for free!

Speaking of coupons, here is another things I never leave home without...my purse and my coupons. These are the leftovers from last week, so I'll be sending them overseas soon or giving them to Erika for her to use when she gets home to her base. Military families can use coupons on base up to six months PAST their expiration date....pretty cool!

Lets not forget to mention, my Giraffe wallet! Love!

How is it, that I always seem to have an extra pair of earrings in my purse? Random. And on top of that I just noticed a small black, hangy thingy is missing. Sad!

Ahh yes, my Brian's blue tooth. I have essentially taken it over. LOL I love it, I talk way more now on the way to work and the way home, and I don't have to look over my shoulder constantly and I'm safe!

SNACK! I always have some type of snack in my purse. There is nothing worse than being stuck in traffic for an hour and being starving. Hungry Stefanie + Traffic = Dangerous Situation

So there you have it, that's what is in my bag! Nothing too fancy, or too odd. I should do this same blog at the end of the month and see how different it is. Vowing not to clean out my purse for three weeks! EEEK! Maybe I will....hehe

Have a great day my fellow mammals!

Old Timers {A blog from bed}

2011-10-10T20:42:00.001-07:00

Wow glad that day is over. I don't know what it is these days but by the end of the day I'm beat! At lunch today, I had a whole plan set for tonight. I was going to cook and easy dinner, then clean the house, so its halfway presentable for when Erika gets here on Friday.

Well none of that worked out. I didn't leave the office until nearly 5:30p which means I didn't get home till after 6p. I threw a load of laundry in and changed into jammies. Here is where I made my crucial mistake, I laid down. I told myself it would be just for a minute.....lol. Well then I called Erika, we chatted for a bit....then after we hung up I stood in the kitchen staring at my full cabinets not knowing what to cook. Sigh.

I hate nights like that. I feel so unproductive. Now here it is and we've been in bed since 8p lol. So are we old people in young bodies? Am I completely exhausted from this weekend? Or do I just simply love my bed?

I think its all of the above. I'm hoping this work week goes by fast. Since I'm off on Monday it should, ill be a little bit busier because I have to work ahead.

Sorry for the randomness of this blog, and the length. It seems long on my phone but I know it'll be short.

PS I'm freaking ready for Fall weather, a little over the warmth and sunshine lol

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Wedding Dress Overload

2011-10-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

So after much napping Saturday afternoon, since Brian and I were beyond tired we woke up Sunday morning feeling refreshed and ready to start the day. I spent my morning relaxing in bed with Chase and Brian did the all American thing to do on a Sunday....he washed his truck.

Today was Amber's (Brian's brother's soon to be wife) first dress fitting, and since I couldn't make it the day she found her dress I told her that I would go to her first dress fitting with her. We all met at Brian's folks house Sunday around 1p. Amber, Cheryl, Amber's friend Jen (I think! Forgive me!) and I piled into Cody's truck and headed the two hours south to Oxnard where David's Bridal is. We all laughed and joked on the way down and time passed rather quickly. I was still tired from Saturday and last week so it was nice to not have to drive and just sit back and take in the scenery.

We met up with Amber's Mom: Linda, her sister: Alexa and her sister in law and nephews at the store. I know it's hard to believe but I had no interest to look at the dresses. I know I know, no one believes me but it's true. To be honest, I'm getting to the point where my time will come when it comes. Period. I was focused on Amber and seeing her in her dress.

While Amber was getting pinned and poked at by alterations, Cheryl and I went and looked at dresses for her. She found this really beautiful blue one, I tried like hell to talk her into trying it on, but she didn't budge...lol

Then all of a sudden, I turn around and Cheryl is head deep in wedding dresses. I thought to myself...uh oh. Then I hear from across the store, "Stefanie! Look at this one!" LOL I walked over and she had pulled off the rack this really beautiful dress. She turned to me and said, "Come on, lets try it on!" I said "Uh no"...Unless you were there I know it's hard to believe. I told the story twice already and the people I told said...."Suuuuuure Stef, you know you wanted to". But I really didn't. It was Amber's day and to be honest I had no business trying a dress on for a couple reasons:

A. I'm NOT engaged. Hello!
B. I'm NOT engaged.
C. It was Amber's day.

I used all of the reasons above to why I couldn't try anything on. However it didn't help when Amber came out and started insisting that I try stuff on too....oh ladies....really?

Then out of nowhere, this consultant comes up to Cheryl and tells her that she can't pull dresses off the rack and that I needed to have an appointment. It was like angles were singing....again I know it's hard to believe but I really didn't want to. I ended up winning the battle for now and didn't try any dresses on, but between Amber's Mom and Cheryl is was a touch match. Plus I want my Mommy there when I do try on dresses. Thats super important to me.

I have to admit to all you readers that toward the end of the appointment I couldn't help but peek at dresses. I loved feeling all of them, looking at the millions of different shades of "white", seeing all the hard work put into these dresses.

Here are a couple highlights:

I love love loved this dress, minus the huge bow. I don't know what it was about it, well besides the fact that I love tulle, but it was so pretty sitting there on it's perfect little manikin.

As anyone who knows me know, my favorite color is glitter. So I saw these little details on some dresses that were out for show and I had to snap a picture. I love the sparkle. Okay enough wedding talk for me.

So that was it for me, I was done after all that excitement. Amber looked beautiful in her dress, I'm not breathing a word about details except Cody is going to love it.

After the dress overload we all went out to dinner at T.G.I. Friday's, then headed home.

I was in bed by 11p. Brian still doesn't know about the dress trying on battle, but I loved that Cheryl started it :)

PS.

I can't wait till my Mom and Dad get here...42 more days!

Dogtoberfest 2011

2011-10-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning Brian and I got up uber early to get Chase ready for the 4th annual Wiener Dog Races and Dogtoberfest in Atascadero. We had to be in Atascadero by 8am, which means we left our house around 6:30a to head over to Brian's folks house, load up in Cheryl's (Brian's mom's car) and head to Atascadero.

I love that woman, I had a hot cup o joe waiting for me in the cup holder and a little gift waiting for me on the dash. She is so sweet to me, and makes me wish my Mommy lived closer all the time. Cheryl even says that they would be such close friends if she was closer....sigh.

Anywho we loaded Chase in his crate and headed North to Atascadero. We made it a block before we pulled over to let Chase ride in my lap because he was crying. Can you say SPOILED!

We arrived at Atascadero Lake Park around 8am, unloaded and went to go check Chase in, so he could get his Heat and Lane assignment. How cute!!! He ended up being in Heat 3, Lane 6.

Next, we wondered around checking out all the different vendors (wish I would have gotten pictures) and got in line to have our Family Photo taken. I can't wait to get it in my email, there will be a blog post dedicated to it so I can give you info on the photog and all that jazz.

Chase was having the time of his life, meeting all kinds of new dogs, sadly one that he really liked turned out to not be real. He was really bummed...can't ya tell from the above pics?

After our photo we headed over to let Chase practice. Here is what the track looked like:

It was so cute and tiny, just like my little boy. Now I know I'm biased but I swear Chase was one of the cutest dogs there. He did so well during his practice rounds, I was beaming! Everyone was saying how fast he was, and that we were for sure going to win our race...haha

Hahahaha how could these pictures not make you smile....lol

He was so fast I couldn't get a clear shot of him. There was a point where there wasn't a single paw touching the ground. Love that little boy!

After practice we sat and watched the other dogs practice and people watched, while Chase got spoiled...lol

Talk about one spoiled pup, he rested with Dad for a while then got to sun bath while his grandma held him...can you see the smile on his face?!

While we were waiting for Chase's heat to be called he met some more friends...

This little doll was named Trixie, I know the doggles are really cute on her, but they served a very special purpose. Trixie is allergic to everything, and when her parents take her outside she has to wear them so she doesn't get sick, I thought she was so precious!

This beauty is Harley, her and Chase loved each other, she was so gentle with him and kept wanting to be around him.

Finally there is George. He was a 10 year old Doxie that kept wanting to sit with Cheryl. Every time he came near her, Chase would sniff him then pee on her chair, it was like he was saying..."No, this is MY Grammy" lol.

I have to tell you, I thought that Chase wasn't going to do well in the social dept but I was so proud of him. He didn't growl or bark and was so sweet to the other dogs.

Here is Chase getting ready for his heat!

Sizing up the competition.

Sadly, when it came to race time Chase did what he knows how to do best....sit. Brian let him go, I called his name, and while all the other dogs took of in a hurry, Chase sat and looked up at his Dad. All I could do was laugh. He wasn't a winner that day, but he is still a winner to us.

Barrett's 1st {Birthday!}

2011-10-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

Whats more fun than birthday cake, a cute little boy and a pinata? Taking pictures of it all!

Blue!!!

Treats!

Pinata

Balloons!

Yum!

This is how you eat a cake!

Noah, enjoying a cupcake!

Sarah's Dad (Proud Grandpa) at the grill!

Barrett and Dad (Jay) swinging at the pinata!!!

Sarah made some aaaamazing cupcakes, girl has skills when it comes to decorating sweets. Everything was a hit and Barrett made out like a bandit!

Blockbuster Express: 8 New Free One-Night Rental Codes!

2011-09-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some great new codes to use at any BlockBuster Express Kiosk through September 30th. These are good for a free one night movie rental (excluding hot lists movies).

87RMAQ9
36AGSF2
65MMKC7
67JMMF5
43CHAH5
3250BW4
92DWTM3
58HLG9R

Find a BlockBuster Express Kiosk near you.

FREE Rayovac Batteries at Target!

2011-09-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

$1.00/1 – Rayovac Alkaline Batteries – (facebook.com)

You’re going to be loving this deal when it comes time to buy batteries for all those battery operated Christmas presents this year. Become a fan of Rayovac on Facebook to print 4 different coupons to save on Rayovac products. Save $1.00 on Rayovac Batteries and get them for FREE at the dollar section at Target! If you have printed this coupon in the past, don’t worry! These coupons have reset. You are able to print up to 2 of each coupon. Here’s how the deal works:

Rayovac Batteries, $1.00 Regular Price

Use $1.00/1 – Rayovac Alkaline Batteries – (facebook.com)

Final Price: FREE

A Year Ago Today

2011-09-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

LOL

Wow it's fun to look back at a blog post from a year ago today. You can see it here . Dang it was hot that day! I kinda see a trend going. It's going to be 91 degrees today in SLO town. Has ma nature forgotten that it's oh I don't know.....freaking October almost! Sheeesh.

Where oh where is my crisp fall weather....le sigh.

I have to admit to you, that is so nice that it is staying darker longer in the morning....I love it! I don't know why I love the dark so much...just do.

I'm still working on my Weekend Re-Cap part 2 blog....by working on, I mean I still need to start it lmao...oh boy.

I can't wait for this weekend. It's going to be so fun. Saturday will be spent being lazy in the morning, and cleaning house and doing laundry in the afternoon. It's suppose to be cool so I see some baking in my future. Then Sunday morning Brooke is coming over early and we are heading to Sea Canyon to Gopher Glenn Apple Farm to get some of the first apples of the season. Brian's Mom and I went there last year in October and I fell in love with that place. If I win the lotto I'm going to have an orchard for sure.

I see us having lots of fun!

Then Sunday is Barrett's big 1st Birthday Bash! I'm really excited. I helped make the pinata so it will be fun to watch it get distroyed by the kids! There will be a bounce house, bbq, and kids covered in cake...can't think of much else I would rather do than sit back and watch the fun! I'm still debating on bringing my camera, even though we all know that I will end up taking it...lol

I can't believe this little boy is a year old!!

All in all I have a feeling it's going to be a great week. Now, if Senae would just move here....lol

I hope everyone has a great week! Time to hit the 101 North and head to work

xoxo

$60 of Organic Baby Food or Cloth Diapers for as Low as $11!

2011-09-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

For my dear Amy...

If you like eco friendly products for your family then check out today’s deal on Plum District. For just $30 you can purchase a $60 voucher to use on Ecomom.com- a great website for organic baby food, toys, cloth diapers and much more. Plus, all U.S. orders from Ecomom ship for free! Enter coupon code PLUMLOVE at checkout to bring your total down to $21.

If you are a new sign up to Plum District then you will get a $5 sign-up bonus although many people are reporting that they are getting a $10 bonus. Apply these bonuses and you will be able to grab this voucher for between $11-$16.

Let us know what your sign up bonus is!

Thanks, Good Deal Divas!

Clorox Stain Remover Only $0.25 at Target!

2011-09-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

$1.50/1 – Clorox 2 Laundry Stain Remover – (clorox.com)

Check out this HOT deal at Target! It will take a little work to print the $1.50 off Clorox coupon but I think it’s worth it. For anyone with kids (pets) and messy boyfriends/husbands, you’ll fully understand when I refer to this as ‘my best friend!’There are a few steps you’ll have to do to print off your coupon.

1.Go to the Clorox website and click take the pledge.
2.Enter your name and email address
3.Fill out the form and sign up
4.Select an activity to do with your kids
5.Mark as completed when you finish the activity
6.A link will pop up that will let you print a $1.50 off coupon!

Clorox 2 Laundry Stain Remover, 22 oz $1.75, Price Cut thru 10/15

Use $1.50/1 – Clorox 2 Laundry Stain Remover – (clorox.com)

Final Price: $0.25

See, I told you it would be well worth your time!

Thanks, Totally Target

Weekend Recap {Part 1}

2011-09-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you are thinking, why this blog must be broken down into two blogs...well stand by.

So last week at work, flew by which was great cause I was looking forward to this weekend. Now if you know me, my idea of a perfect weekend is staying at home and getting my house in order, since it gets a tad neglected during the week from the hustle and bustle. This weekend was going to be spent away from my little house, and I was totally looking forward to it!!!

Friday night Brian and I had planned to go to the drive in for our date night, but by the end of the day we were both too tired to care if we left the house or not to go see a movie, so we passed on the movie and were both in bed as the sun set. LOL.

Saturday I was up at the crack of dawn with Brian as he headed out to work. My friend Danielle and I had been plotting and scheming all week to take our friend Sarah out for a very early birthday lunch munch. Sarah's birthday isn't until October 7th, but that's a Friday and she is going camping that weekend so we wanted to do something for her, and since next weekend is her son's 1st birthday bash this weekend was going to have to be it.

Danielle came over to my house around 9am Saturday morning and we chatted and laughed for a bit, then headed out to pick up Sarah's birthday cake. It was so perfect!

Now I know it doesn't look that fancy, but it screamed "Sarah!" to Danielle and I. Plus we were just going to eat it a couple hours later, there is no reason to go overboard or anything lol.

Sarah then came over around noon and we scooped her and Barrett up and headed to Olive Garden for a pre-birthday girls lunch, we sat there for over an hour laughing our butts off and stuffing our faces with Soup, Salad & Breadsticks...aaaamazing! We then finally headed back to my house for Champagne and Cake! She was so surprised. I love birthday's so much!!! Danielle got Sarah these beautiful earrings. We sat for a bit then everyone left.

Chase watching everyone leave...lol

Brian and I left to go get my fishing licence for Sunday's Deep Sea Fishing Trip for Amber's birthday (more on that trip later) then went home for a bit to grab Chase so we could take him over to Brian's folks house for the night since we were going to be gone all day Sunday fishing.

We had dinner there, then headed home to get ready for Sunday. We were in bed by eight. The last thing that I remember telling Brian before falling asleep was...."I hope no one gets sick tomorrow or the boat doesn't break down....."

**to be continued**

Muffin Mishap

2011-09-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

Hopefully by the time I'm done typing this blog that I have a title picked out.

Now if you don't know me, I consider myself to be a pretty good cook in the kitchen. Last night, I'm not sure where my mind was but I couldn't even bake a corn bread muffin from a box. Let me explain:

I got home from work yesterday and I was just in a complete daze. I feel like my mind has been so many other places this week, I go to sleep thinking, and I wake up the same way so by the time I get home I'm spent! Last night we had chili bowls for dinner and Brian really wanted some corn bread. I have made corn bread muffins a trillion times it seems, I can do it in my sleep. Especially if they come from a box. It's simple, dump box into mixing bowl, 1 egg, 1/3 milk and 2 tbs of melted butter. Sounds easy enough right, wrong!

This is what I did:

Dumped box into mixing bowl, 2 eggs, 1/3 milk and forgot the butter completely. I didn't realize this until I had filled my muffin cups all the way instead of half way like I know to do and the box says...sigh. I started to laugh, and as I was contemplating dumping all the cups back into the bowl and adding the butter, Bri said "eh it'll be fine" I giggled and said "Hun, they look really yellow" but I threw them in the oven with the chili bowls, set the timer for 15 min and plopped on the bed and hung out with my my boys (Brian & Chase) for a bit.

Some time passed (more than 15 minutes) and I had completely forgot that dinner was in the oven. @#(*!!! I looked at Brian and asked him if he heard the time go off yet, he said no, but I had a terrible feeling. I ran to the kitchen and the timer was at zero and I didn't know how long ago it had gone off...I started cussing at my oven, then laughed when I opened it and everything was a perfect golden brown.

Even my muffins "looked" good. I took everything out, made our plates and we sat down to eat. I cracked open a muffin, and they were bright yellow. I knew they were going to be bad. I put some butter and honey on one and took a bite and almost spit it out. It tasted like egg. Brian was sweet enough to tell me that they were okay, but I knew they weren't. But good job Hun for sparing my feelings :) love you!

The chili bowls were great, but those are hard to f-up. The great thing about this meal is that there is virtually no clean up at all. I was ready for bed by 8pm. I don't know what it is lately but I just want to be in bed as soon as it's dark. I'm not depressed or anything, I just love being in bed....guess I'm getting old.

So that's my story from last night, of my muffin mess up. Ooo I think I just thought of a title!!! Yay!

Time to get ready for work, refill my coffee cup and hit the highway!

Happy Wednesday!!

Millions & Billions

2011-09-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

"I have always, essentially, been waiting.

Waiting to become something else, waiting to be that person I always thought I was on the verge of becoming, waiting for that life I thought I would have. In my head, I was always one step away. In high school, I was biding my time until I could become the college version of myself, the one my mind could see so clearly. In college, the post-college “adult” person was always looming in front of me, smarter, stronger, more organized. Then the married person, then the person I’d become when we have kids. For twenty years, literally, I have waited to become the thin version of myself, because that’s when life will really begin.

And through all that waiting, here I am. My life is passing, day by day, and I am waiting for it to start. I am waiting for that time, that person, that event when my life will finally begin.

I love movies about “The Big Moment” – the game or the performance or the wedding day or the record deal, the stories that split time with that key event, and everything is reframed, before it and after it, because it has changed everything. I have always wanted this movie-worthy event, something that will change everything and grab me out of this waiting game into the whirlwind in front of me. I cry and cry at these movies, because I am still waiting for my own big moment. I had visions of life as an adventure, a thing to be celebrated and experienced, but all I was doing was going to work and coming home, and that wasn’t what it looked like in the movies.

John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” For me, life is what was happening while I was busy waiting for my big moment. I was ready for it and believed that the rest of my life would fade into the background, and that my big moment would carry me through life like a lifeboat.

The Big Moment, unfortunately, is an urban myth. Some people have them, in a sense, when they win the Heisman or become the next American Idol. But even that football player or that singer is living a life made up of more than that one moment. Life is a collection of a million, billion moments, tiny little moments and choices, like a handful of luminous, glowing pearl. It takes so much time, and so much work, and those beads and moments are so small, and so much less fabulous and dramatic than the movies.

But this is what I’m finding, in glimpses and flashes: this is it. This is it, in the best possible way. That thing I’m waiting for, that adventure, that move-score-worthy experience unfolding gracefully. This is it. Normal, daily life ticking by on our streets and sidewalks, in our houses and apartments, in our beds and at our dinner tables, in our dreams and prayers and fights and secrets – this pedestrian life is the most precious thing any of use will ever experience."

"Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life" by Shauna Niequist

Weekend {Recap}

2011-09-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

I feel like I didn't do much this weekend at all.

The original plan like I said in my earlier post I was supposed to attempt to build a new coffee table this weekend out of a pallet. You can read about the failed attempt here.

This is what we were trying to replace.

You can't really replace perfection. I love this coffee table. It's perfect. I love how big it is, the dinners that we eat at it almost every night and all the nights that I sit at while I blog to the world. I was told today that I can borrow it permanently. ::smile::

In other news we spent our Sunday bummin around the house. I took some pictures of things I did today, sorry if this post is random and boring but I didn't know what else to talk about lol.

Brian and I have been wanting to refinish the picnic table that his folks gave us forever now it seems. So we put the first coat on today and we will finish it up next weekend. Looks so much better already. I was shocked at how much darker it looked.

We cleaned up the backyard

Planned out next years garden area!!!

I love having a tidy yard.

I think I'm finally done with the Fall portion of the mantel.... ::fingers crossed::

...and cleaned the kitchen. I didn't even bake anything this weekend. ::sigh::

So that's about it. Here is hoping to a fast work week. Next weekend is going to be a fun one!

Again sorry my life is kinda boring and this post is really random.

XOXO

Makeover

2011-09-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

So as you know from a couple post ago, I got this journal from the thrift store for a buck. Now as you can see from the picture below, someone thought it would be a good idea to "kinda" color in..whatever the design is on the front. I thought it was really ugly. Cue my imagination! Like I said in the last post, I bought it on the terms that I would get something included to cover it with.

So here is is before:

Eww.

....and here it is after!

Boom!

So much better!! All I did was cut the napkin down a bit, burned myself a few times with the glue gun, used some burlap string I had and tada!! :)

Now I hope I write in it!

Happy Crafting!!

Called On A Count of Brackets

2011-09-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

Okay so do you ever have one of those projects that sounds so great in your mind but when it comes down to it, all signs point to STOP?\

So I had this great idea that I would build a new coffee table out of a pallet and some 4 x 4's....simple right? Seems cheap right? Nope!

So Brian got that pallet and took it to his parents house, so that was free. After my little girls night on Friday we headed to OSH at 8pm (lol) to get a 4 x 4, well all they had was fence posts and they were over 10 bucks! Uh yeah, no. So we headed to Home Depot. Now Brian and I were both tired and that alone is a lethal combo, but lets add in shopping for wood at almost 9 o'clock at night and well it almost becomes funny.

Here we were, the only people that didn't work at Home Depot walking around looking for the right wood. There was so much!!!

Finally we found what we were looking for, it was the perfect color and it was cheap! Only 6 bucks! The next thing that we needed was 8 "L" brackets to hold the legs to the pallet. This is where our minds were quickly changed....each bracket was around $2.49, so times that by 8 and your looking at:

$2.49 x 8 = $19.92 JUST IN HARDWARE!

Add the wood in:

$19.92 + $6.99 = $26.91

::sigh::

By the time I did this math, we still needed to get screws, and paint. I was over it. Call me a quitter, call me cheap....but I have a great coffee table at home that works perfectly in our house. Alas I don't own it, but I'm a really good borrower of things so I will treat it like my own until it's owner wants it back :)

So we put everything back, and hung our heads and walked out of Home Depot. I pouted a bit.

As I sit here on the floor in our living room, I'm glancing at the table I currently have a just smile :)

Maybe someday I'll get to build something neat but in the meantime I'll stick with what I have.

Ciao!

Halloween Thrifty-ness Part 1

2011-09-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

Okay so I'm kind doing this backwards since I started shopping around for Halloween Decor yesterday but I just so happen to have the stuff I go with me and I was able to snap some pics to show you, I'll do part 2 later on tonight.

There is this little thrift store in SLO called "A peak in the attic" I love love love it. It always has something neat-o in there. Their prices are dirt cheap and you can get a bunch of things for less than five bucks, which is always my limit when I go in there. Not for financial reasons, but because I'll end up getting a bunch of crap I don't need.

I have to admit that I have never decorated the inside of the house for Halloween, I'm not sure why. Probably because I'm too lazy to take down fall, put up Halloween for a couple weeks, then take that down only to put fall back up again. You still with me? LOL.

So here is what I scored today. Now remember I only spent five bucks! I think that I'm only sticking to the mantel this year in the decor dept for Halloween, and we will see what next year brings.

I loved this little guy. At first I thought it was a man with a tall hat and really big nose, smiling. Can you see it? Then I quickly realized it was a wizard with a cape and beard. Oh how I adore my imagination sometimes. This was $1!!!

Okay I'm o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d with pumpkins. I try to have them up year round. I got away with leaving two up this whole year. I wonder if Brian even noticed...lol Anywho this is a candle holder (duh Stefanie) and it's iron and about 8 inches tall. Love Love Love! Only $1

So my theme for the mantle this year is Sculls and a Graveyard. I figure if you stick to one or two things, you re less likely to go WAY over board, which I tend to do....hmm oh all the time!

This neat thing is about 7 inches tall and 5 inches wide, looks super real and even looks like it has moss on it!
Only $0.50!!!!

I eye balled this cutie yesterday. It was in the window, as a display and I really wanted it. It's over a foot tall and about nine inches wide, and you can't tell from the picture but it's COVERED in glitter!!! Oh be still my heart!!!
Yup $1.00!!!

So I know what you are thinking...um whats with the trashed looking Journal? Well I've been really wanting a place that I can write additional thoughts, that's NOT online and I found this and the thrift store for a buck. I tried like hell to negotiate with her (I know it's only a dollar but still.....) but they were firm at a buck. I said okay only if you throw in something I can cover it with, so I found a plain black large cloth napkin and got it. My plan is to cover the book with the cloth napkin, we will see how many hot glue burns I can get from that little experiment...lol

So those are my finds from today. I'm having some layout issues so please pardon all my spaces between photos and captions. Again I know it doesn't seem like much but for less than five bucks I feel like I got alot. Plus wait till you see part dos, I kinda wanna do a trial run on the mantle but that would mean I would have to admit I'm crazy and I'm not really there yet!!!

Happy Decorating!!!

Caution: Adult Weekend Ahead

2011-09-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

This week has gone by in a flash. Like....boom it's Friday already.

I haven't really blogged much cause there really isn't anything exciting going on. As I sit here staring at the computer screen, then glancing down at my cup o joe I still find it hard to type anything interesting at all.

I guess this week I focused alot on me. Selfish right? Nah. I really wanted to focus on my WW plan this week, I did everything right and wouldn't you know it, I lost 2.5 pounds. I wish I was more excited about it, but I'm really not. I want more, I want a higher number. I know I know it takes time..blah blah blah. I just want it so bad and I'm a right now kinda girl. LOL. So I tell my self to get over it and to celebrate the face that I am 2.5 lighter than I was this time last week. Yippie.

Brian and I have a very adult weekend ahead of us. As in we aren't going anywhere, and we plan (which I'm sure will change) to stay home and work on the house.

I religiously follow this blog called Thrifty Decor Chick , I seriously encourage you to go check out her blog and read what she has to say. She is hilarious with her posts as well as a genius with what she does with crafting.

This weekend, Brian's Dad and I are going to make a coffee table out of a pallet. It can't be done you say? Oh my dear little blog readers, yes it can!

Brian found the perfect pallet that isn't slotted and with the help of some 4 x 4's or 4 x 8's, some L brackets and some sweat hopefully it will look something like this. The pallet that Brian found has a solid top like this, but the more I think about it I kinda like the slotted look as well. Oh well we will see.

Now, if you have been to my house before you will notice that this table looks almost identical to the one that is already in my living room. Well the one that we have now is on loan from a friend. Don't get me wrong I LOVE LOVE LOVE my current coffee table and really don't want to part with it, but since I have had it over a year I'm starting to feel guilty that I still have it. My friend hasn't asked for it back, or even hinted at it, but I still feel bad lol.

So I'm going to attempt to make one. This could go really badly, but you'll be with my every step of the way.

Here is to a splinter free weekend! ::fingers crossed:: that it goes well.

I can't wait to tell you about my thrift store finds from yesterday!!!

Stay tuned!

Now time to get back to reality and head to work.

FREE ICE CREAM!!!

2011-09-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

The FREE Open Nature Ice Cream sample is available again from Safeway! If you’ve done this deal before you won’t be able to do it again unless you use a different Facebook account…oh, boyfriend! Go to Facebook and “like” Safeway, and then click on Open Nature. All you need to do is put in your mailing information to be sent a coupon for FREE Open Nature ice cream! I got one the last time this was available, and they are delicious!

Hurry!

Quantities are limited.

What love really is

2011-09-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

"Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more.

You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself.

Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are.

The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby.

Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible.

You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life."

— Bob Marley

Coming Full Circle

2011-09-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Life has a way of going in circles. Ideally, it would be a straight path forward––we'd always know where we were going, we'd always be able to move on and leave everything else behind. There would be nothing but the present and the future. Instead, we always find ourselves where we started. When we try to move ahead, we end up taking a step back. We carry everything with us, the weight exhausting us until we want to collapse and give up.

We forget things we try to remember. We remember things we'd rather forget. The most frightening thing about memory is that it leaves no choice. It has mastered an incomprehensible art of forgetting. It erases, it smudges, it fills in blank spaces with details that don't exist.

But however we remember it––or choose to remember it––the past is the foundation that holds our lives in place. Without its support, we'd have nothing for guidance. We spend so much time focused on what lies ahead, when what has fallen behind is just as important. What defines us isn't where we're going, but where we've been. Although there are places and people we will never see again, and although we move on and let them go, they remain a part of who we are.

There are things that will never change, things we will carry along with us always. But as we venture into the murky future, we must find our strength by learning to leave things like these behind."

— Brigid Gorry-Hines

(This has really nothing to do with anything going on in my life, I just really liked it and wanted to share)

Walk It Out

2011-09-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a little mix of everything:

Friday night I came home and pretty much collapsed in bed. I was done done done. I can't even remember what we had for dinner that night. I think that I had a bowl of cereal because Brian went to have a couple beers with some guy friends and when he came home I was already asleep. Wild Friday night huh? We were woken up around 4am by an amazing lightning and thunder storm and yes, the first rain of the season! You can't imagine how happy I was. I didn't want to go back to sleep. Around 6am I finally crashed out again, I know I fell asleep with a smile on my face. Poor Chase, he wasn't a fan of the lightning and thunder. An hour later Brian left for work and I snuggled back into bed until he called me around 9a to wake me.

I got up and took Chase to get Brian some breakfast, we visited for a bit then I headed back home. I slowly cleaned house and got a couple loads of laundry done. Around noon I headed to the store to get some Jello for Cody's bday BBQ. I know it sounds simple and weird that I wouldn't make something fancy but it's what he wanted, so that’s what he got. While I was pulling out of the store, an emergency broadcast came over the air, since I work in radio I pulled over to make sure it was only a test, since we are mandated by the FCC to run them. It wasn't a test. They were sending out s warning across all stations about the storm that was heading our way. Normally this stuff doesn't bug me at all, and I welcome storms with open arms, however this time I was a little rattled that they sent out an broadcast about it, and that Brian was on a delivery right where it was going to hit. ::sigh::

I headed home, took my Welcome sign down and got ready for a storm. Sadly it never came.

That afternoon we headed over to Brian's parents house for Cody's Birthday BBQ. I had a great time. Brian's mom is hilarious. Since it was Charm (her boarder collie's) birthday as well she thought it would be great to get a cake with her picture on it.

I love this picture of Charm! I took it the night we picked her up at the airport over two years ago!

We spent the evening eating good food and laughing a lot.

Sunday Sarah and I had planned to do a 10 mile walk. I was secretly worried that I wouldn't be able to do it. I got up Sunday morning and packed up a picnic since we were planning on walking on the beach and headed out the door. Right before I left Brian was asking me if I wanted him to move the truck so I could get to my car. I giggled and said nope, I'm walking to Sarah's. It was more than 2miles away. LOL I texted Sarah as I left and we met in the middle (just past the mall) and continued the walk to her house. Once there we loaded up and headed to the beach. We parked on Grand Ave and got Barrett all loaded in the stroller and headed out.

As we were leaving this little thing caught my eye. Any idea on what it is? Notice the smoke stack? Weird.

We made our way down the boardwalk to the beach and had lunch.

From there we made our way to the pier, which doesn't sound that bad but it was through the type of sand you see above. Deep and soft. Barf. Did I mention that we were pushing a stroller?

We finally made it to the pier and walked to boardwalk for a bit. We saw these cute little ladies in front of us. Sarah started laughing out loud, I wasn't sure what she was laughing at. She turned to look at me and said without missing a beat, "You do realize that's us in 50 years." Holy cow she was right. The lady on the right was wearing bright purple gladiator sandals and the one on the left was in all denim. It was us. Sarah of course the one in purple shoes.

We walked onto the pier and people watched for a bit. There were HUGE and I mean HUGE Pelican's just chillin people watching too.

I don't think that you can tell how huge this dude was just by the blurry picture I took.

So I took one for the team and Sarah took a picture of me standing next to him. I could see him staring at me, and the point on his beak made me nervous for sure. Please keep in mind that this 75% into our walk, I'm dripping in sweat and my face matches my hat....sigh.

On our way back down the pier Sarah pointed out this guy making a sand sculpture. It was so great. Since we were walking on 9.11.11 it totally made sense.

Never Forget.

Barrett enjoying the Pier.

We then slowly made our way back to the car. I was starting to hurt at this point and felt at least three blisters on the bottom of my feet.

We finally made it back to the car and headed home to Santa Maria. We were beat to say the least.

When I got home I showed, threw some Chili down my throat and spent the rest of the night in bed.

Surprisingly when I got up this morning the only thing that was really sore was my pinkie toes. Since I sit all day we will see how I feel at the end of the day.

Here is to a good work week, things hopefully will be slightly less crazy.

Time to get ready!

Friday Final {Thoughts}

2011-09-09T16:13:00.000-07:00

* Wheeeew I'm glad this work week is over. Don't get me wrong I love my job but sometimes work kicks my ass, and this was one of those weeks for sure. I was surprised at how slow it actually went until today given that it was a four day work week.

* Brian and I haven't slept much at all this week. For whatever reason Chase is getting up every couple hours and wanting to go outside. He always wakes Brian up, which wakes me up. It's really frustrating. People say, "oh it's just like you have a baby" I say "yeah, without the tax benefit" lol.

* I have been using quotes as my FB Status updates a lot this week. I just find a quote that express' what I'm feeling at that time, and use that instead of spilling my guts on what I really feel, cause I'm sure that would ruffle some feathers.

* I'm spending my Sunday working out. Yikes! I'm really excited. A friend and I are going to be walking 10 miles!!! Whoo hoo!

* I really want to find a vintage looking journal. I know that this acts as my online journal, but I was chatting it over with a friend last night and I think that it would be a good idea to write some of my feelings about issues in a book versus but them on the net for the world to see. I agreed with her. We went searching for one after the WW meeting last night but came up empty. I really want one that looks like this. So if you find one, and want to get it for me I won't get mad! :) It looks like this:

* I'm sleeping in tomorrow as long as possible, poor Brian he has to work at 7am.

* Weiner Dog Races are less than a month away!!!

* Apparently last year I participated in a social experiment and wrote down who I wanted my brides maids to be if I were getting married the next day, I was told that I would get an email in a year (totally didn't believe that this would happen) with the list and I would be asked the same question again to see how different my answers would be a year later….all I can say is WOW! They are SO different. Like mind blowing. Which kinda makes me sad in a way that my friendships have changed that much in a year. But def worth keeping in the back of my head.

I'll leave you with this for the weekend:

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."

— Marilyn Monroe

Spagetti Squash Madness!

2011-09-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

So it's Thursday night, which is normally girls night along with my weekly weigh in at Weigh Watchers. Well first things first, I lost 0.8 lbs this week! Go me!

However girls night is on hold until Sunday due to me working from home tonight, in a last ditch effort to catch up on some work.

Someone once told me if I "work" right after I eat I might get a cramp, so I'm blogging first lol. Okay that was a bad attempt at the swimming after eating rule...I'll spare you and move on.

Our meeting ran late tonight so I didn't get home until after 7p and I was starving and not about to start cooking, knowing I had a couple hours worth of work ahead of me. I noticed that I had a Spaghetti Squash on the counter that my friend from work gave me that was HOME GROWN!!!! SO excited. He gave me a recipe with it too! Last time I had this magical vegetable we baked it, it was so good but took a LONG time to cook. I thought that would try to microwave it and followed the instructions that I got with it.

A 3lb home grown beauty!

Cut the squash in half and scrape out all the seeds and pulp, it smells like Pumpkin!!! I heart FALL!!!

Place it face down on a plate and place in the microwave. Here is the trick. Microwave for 3min per pound. Mine was 3lbs so I microwaved it for 9 minutes! SIMPLE!!!

When it's done, let it sit for a bit to cool down, it will be really HOT!!! Once you can handle it, scrape out the rest of the pulp. It looks like spaghetti!!

I threw it in a bowl, tossed some of my tomatoes that I grew and sprinkled a table spoon of Parmesan cheese and done!

This dish is sooooo good for you!!!! I believe it's only 2 or 3 WW points and that's only because of the cheese!!!

Chow down my fellow munchers~

Thursday Thought of the Day

2011-09-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

"It’s funny how one summer can change everything. It must be something about the heat and the smell of chlorine, fresh-cut grass and honeysuckle, asphalt sizzling after late-day thunderstorms, the steam rising while everything drips around it. Something about long, lazy days and whirring air conditioners and bright plastic flip-flops from the drugstore thwacking down the street. Something about fall being so close, another year, another Christmas, another beginning. So much in one summer, stirring up like the storms that crest at the end of each day, blowing out all the heat and dirt to leave everything gasping and cool. Everyone can reach back to one summer and lay a finger to it, finding the exact point when everything changed. This summer was mine."

— Sarah Dessen

Chili from Heaven

2011-09-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

ohmygoodnessthiswasamazing!!!!

Ok so I'm always looking for something different yet easy to cook for Brian and I for dinner. Since I don't get home till nearly 6pm every night. So today on my lunch I was searching easy but filling recipes and found this great one using Pillsbury Grands Rolls and Chili.

First things first:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

All you'll need:

1 can Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 can Chili

Flatten each biscuit into large rounds

Firmly press each biscuit together, to make one large flat biscuit.

Place dough into greased mini casserole dish, and build up sides of dish.

Place a small hand full of cheese in the bottom of the dish.

Warm Chili on stove for a couple minutes. Do not bring to a boil.

Take the two remaining biscuits and cut in half for top of Chili.

Place about 1 cup of warm Chili on top of cheese in casserole dish, then place the biscuit that had been cut in half on top of the Chili.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 17-22 minutes

Garnish with 2 tbs of shredded cheddar cheese.

This literally took me 5 minutes to put together and less that 25 to bake. So in less than 30 minutes you can have a really filling and pretty good for you dinner. Chili is packed with protein!

So I hope you try this, it's great for either two people or for a family!

Enjoy!

Week-End

2011-09-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

Wow I didn't blog all weekend. Sigh. This weekend was okay. It had some fun moments but it was mostly filled with antibiotics and lots of rest with a dash of paper mache and some BBQ.

Let me explain:

Friday night I felt a tingle in my lip. I knew what that was and took to action. Whenever I'm stressed out I seem to get a sold sore and depending on how stressed I am, determines that severity of the cold sore. Well last week was a tad stressful to say the least at work. I thought that I had caught it in time and went to bed that night praying that I would wake up just fine. Yeah didn't happen. Saturday morning at around 6am I woke up and could barley open my mouth and the left side of my face was swollen. Greeeat. Instead of fighting it and trying to treat it on my own, I went to Urgent Care right away. Sure enough it was a really bad cold sore with an infection. Now let me tell you this…whenever I have an infection I get extra grossed out. I'm a SUPER clean person and the thought of an infection is the ultimate gross for me.

The doc prescribed Keflex since I can't take Penicillin and sent me on my way.

By Sunday morning the drugs had really started to kick in, and the swelling was way down. I had plans to go on a long walk with Sarah that day but per the doc, I couldn't get warm cause the infection thrives on a warm body so she walked to my house and we hung out and visited for a while. We made plans that night to work on her son's piñata for his 1st bday. She headed home and I took a nap. I woke up a couple hours later and felt even better so I headed over to her house, since Brian was at the Speedway.

We had dinner and sat around the table working on Barrett's Balloon Piñata.

Sarah and I took a break to go grab some dessert. We loaded Chase into the car and headed out. We were only gone five minutes but seemed to laugh so hard I had tears running down my face. Chase tried to jump out of the car to get the dessert from the drive thru window and I almost ran over a homeless person on the way back….lord.

We hung out for a couple hours then I headed home, wanting to beat Brian home from the track. Well turns out the Speedway didn't start until nearly 9:30pm on Sunday and didn't end until after 1am…lol. Brian was home before 11p. He wasn't feeling well and was beyond over it at that point.

Monday morning we slept in, and my face was back to normal. Yay! He still wasn't feeling that great, so I cleaned house a bit, did some laundry and got ready to head to Sarah's for a BBQ. Brian stayed home and rested. It was great hanging with everyone. I hadn't seen Sarah G and her hubby Matt in SO long, Sarah G is 37 weeks preggo and has the most perfect huge belly, it was so awesome. Danielle and her hubby Travis came, along with Cody and Amber. It was an all around good time with GREAT food!

Monday night was spent talking about the hole in our bathroom wall (I'll blog about that later lol) and resting.

Brian and I are both way tired today, Chase decided he wanted to play last night and not sleep so we were both up all night. Joy.

Well I better get ready for work, the sun is starting to come up. I hope everyone has a great Monday, it's going to be HOT in SLO, 95 I think? That goodness my office will be 65, is it winter yet?

xoxo

Saved by Gerber

2011-09-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

Embarrassed is the only word I can seem to use to describe my walk to Weight Watchers yesterday. Let me explain.

My friend and I (side note: I hate not saying who she is or her name, but her weight loss journey is private for her and I'm not going to out her on my blog lol) left her house yesterday for our two mile walk to the mall where our Weight Watchers meeting was being held. It's a rare occasion that I get to walk with her, but made it in town just in time for us to nearly run the two miles lol.

We started our walk off and I felt great, she is much taller than I am, along with 85% of the planet...but anyways...so her stride is longer than mine but I was determined to keep up with her. She has been doing this for about 16 weeks now and is very used to the stroll, I however spend my day on my rump and lets just say I'm speed walking challenged. We were about a mile in when all of a sudden it hit me. I felt my blood sugar drop. !@#$! I didn't say anything and tried to ignore it as long as possible. We had about a quarter mile to go when I finally had to say something. She gave me words of encouragement and I pressed on. By the time we got into the mall, I felt dizzy, I was sweating (from the work out and from my body not having sugar) and I knew I had about five minutes before a not so good situation was going to turn bad. We rounded the corner and got to the Weight Watchers little building in the mall. She reached into the stroller and handed me a Gerber Graduate snack, it was the size of a bite sized candy bar, I scarfed it down and sipped some water. Suzie the amazing receptionist at our meeting, handed me a WW snack and I ate that as well. I instantly started to feel better. I wasn't as hot and I no longer felt shaky.

I did however feel so embarrassed. I know I can power walk two miles, I know I can. I've done it on the treddy I million times, but you couple working out with a blood sugar drop and it's not good. We sat through our meeting and my friend got her 16 week award! I'm so proud of her, she's lost nearly 25 lbs!

I was finally feeling normal by the time the meeting was over and I was ready to make the 2 mile walk back to her house. We took the walk slow, and just laughed and chatted the whole way back. For me it felt like it way faster that the walk to the meeting.

We got back to her house, then left and got Starbucks. I love my venti skinny vanilla latte lemme tell ya.

When we got back from Starbucks, she asked if I wanted to feed the baby. ::gasp:: I said sure, but I was really worried it would go all wrong. I'm not just giving a dog food or something simple like that, I'm feeding a human being, her human. LOL In all honesty I thought I wasn't going to do a good job and that it was going to go like this:

But it went more like this:

I did good!!!!

The rest of the night was spent just chit chatting and making future plans for our girls nights. So far on the list:

Fall Arrangements
Fondue Night
Home Made Pedis

LOL I love it!

When I finally looked at the clock it was nearly 9p and I still had to go home and shower and eat dinner. LOL

All in all it was a crazy day at work, followed by a great night. I'm still a tad embarrassed about what my body did to me, but I know with each week I'll get better and better. Oh and I lost 1.4 lbs this week! Yippie!

Well it's almost 7am, I better get my butt on the highway. Yay for Friday!!!

2011-09-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

Holy cannoli it's September!

In my world summer is OVER even if the first day of Fall isn't until September 23rd, but whose counting. Another thing I can't wait for is to turn the clocks back. For being such a bright and sunshiney person I really do love fog and the dark. Maybe I should move to London?

So last night I got home and was beyond tired. I managed to put together some hamburgers and talked Brian into BBQing cause I just didn't have the energy, while he was cooking I snuck off to the bedroom and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out! I took a 20 min power nap since we are try number three to get our lease signed. Our landlord keeps getting busy and keeps forgetting to come over. It's starting to get frustrating. So one I was done napping I managed to force some food down and then began to ~~clean~~ straighten up.

I managed to get some of the Fall decorations that I had smuggled into the house up. I was bummed that I didn't get much more in, but I figure since it's September that I can officially start to go pumpkin wild.

I'm starting to really dislike this picture. My mantel looks so sad, with one little vine on it. Hahaha. Plus I just now noticed that I still have daisies in my glass house. Oh Stefanie! My plan is for my mantel to look like this in the coming weeks, minus the wreath:

Another project I'm working on is this:

My Mom gave me these glass vases. A total of six of them. I turned one into a Fall flower arrangement already. Brian gave me these two great skeleton keys for my birthday. I love love love old keys and I really wanted to incorporate them with the vases somehow. I saw a neat article online that showed a key tied around a vase with a pretty ribbon, then the vase was filled with whatever. Well all the ribbon I have is for wrapping gifts and I couldn't find any that I like in my box that was "fall-ish" so I stole some fishing line from Brian and used it to tie the keys. I really like the way they turned out. It looks like the keys are just floating. I got some great ideas of what to put in the vases. Erika said I should use putka pods in the vases and maybe a candle. Aaaaamazing idea! My other friend Sue suggested used wine corks, again another great one! It will look rustic and that's what I like.

So we will see what happens with them. I'll keep you updated for sure.

Time for work!

In closing....

2011-08-31T06:44:00.000-07:00

Wow it's the end of August. I can't believe that summer flew by so fast. I felt like last summer was going to on for years, but this year it was over in a blink of an eye. I'm happy because I love my crisp cold mornings, scarfs, and fog.

This month really showed me the important things in life. I know it sounds silly, because it's just another month. Alot happened this month for me. I don't want to go into detail because it's not something I'm ready to blog about yet but lets just say: one door closes so another can open. I woke up this morning finally being okay with that.

Also this month Brian's younger brother Cody got engaged, and Cody asked Brian to be the best man. I know that Brian is excited to be apart of Cody and Amber's big day. I'm really glad that this will give them a chance to spend some good time together and grow closer as brothers. The wedding is in September of 2012, and those two boys are already joking around about what tie Cody will make Brian wear...lol oh lord!

Finally the last day of August means that I can can officially get into Fall mode. I have a couple things up already which is an improvement over last year. I was already done decorating by this time last year...lol I'm glad I waited a bit. Tonight will be Fall cleaning and getting all the decorations out, and this weekend I'll go hog wild! I can't wait to post pics for you :)

Time to head off to work. I hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday Teloteropathy

2011-08-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

Once again I'm ripping ideas off Kaysie's blog, but I liked the idea and the randomness of it all :)

A. Instead of numbering my thoughts 1,2,3 I'm switching it up and using letters.

B. I love love love our new sales assistant. We even high fived after trying to figure out a lovley excel problem.

C. I'm so tired these days. I think I know why, I have so much going on in my personal life (nothing bad between Brian and I so no worries, he's been so amazing through all this) that it is consuming my mind. I really need to learn to just let go, but it's really hard.

D. I really wish my friend Senae lived closer. She's one of those girls that I can imagine sitting at a dinner table with sipping coffee and laughing our heads off. She's in Vegas, and I'm on the Central Coast. ::sigh::

E. I'm counting down to my Thanksgiving Vacation. I can't wait to see my folks again and the chaos that Thanksgiving brings. I love it so much. All the families coming together. It's one if not my fav holiday.

F. I googled "fun words that start with the letter T" in order to find a good word to go with Tuesday. Teloteropathy means telepathy between living persons. Which is pretty appropriate considering you reading this is like being inside my head.

G. I can't stop thinking about how much I loved being in the pool on Sunday. I feel like I was born to swim.

H. I was told yesterday that I look tan. Whoo Hoo!

I. This time next week Erika will be state-side. Yay! However I won't get to visit with her till early October. ::sad face::

J. Brian and I watched the new Planet of the Apes movie last night, it wasn't that good.

K. After the movie we spent an hour laughing so hard we cried looking at costumes for Chase for the Wiener Dog races in Oct.

L. I'm signing Chase up for Earthdog Events through AKC, it was Brian's mom's idea and I know Chase will be so good at it! I feel like I'm going to be a pageant Mom when it comes to him. LOL

M. Well my surprise trip for Brian was let out of the bag last night, and we aren't going now. Instead he is spending some time with his brother and going deep sea fishing. I'm a good girlfriend!

N. I plan on spending most of my three day weekend doing NOTHING!

O. I told Brian I wanted a troop of Wiener Dogs last night instead of kids...I was kidding....I think. LOL

P. I can't wait until we turn back the clocks. I'm so ready for Fall and Winter.

Q. I rebuilt the commercial line up for an entire radio station in about 20 min yesterday. Go me!

R. I dreamt about working in Yosemite at VSG again, and that Brian fell asleep on a bench in the store. LOL

S. Apparently Brian was freezing last night and I stole all the covers.

T. I'm running out of random thoughts in my head.

U. A friend at work gave me two home grown Spaghetti Squash yesterday. I'm really excited because these things are normally $1.99/lb and I got two big ones for free! I can't wait to cook them up!

V. I'm bummed I never got to do my beer can chicken on Sunday. Our BBQ isn't big enough. :(

W. I can't wait for my girls trip to Disneyland, but I think it's turned into a couples trip now.

X. I'm thinking of doing a blog series that's called "30 Friends in 30 Days" for September. What do you think?

Y. I kinda feel bad that this post is so long and oh so random.

Z. Yay! 26 random thoughts.

Thanks for reading. Time to go to work!!!!

Weekend Recap

2011-08-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

You know those weekends that go by WAAAY to fast? Yeah well that was this weekend. I feel like I blinked and it was over. ::sad face::

Friday night Brian and I went over to his folks house for dinner, I ended up not eating a thing since I had lunch at around 3pm that day. Brian and I were so tired, it was out first week back at work since vacay and he had been up early every morning and I was just plain emotionally drained. We got home from dinner while it was still light out and all I remember is falling into bed and falling asleep before the street lights came on.

Saturday morning I was up bright and early with Brian. I talked to his Dad and my Mom on the phone for a bit then got my day started. Chase and I took Brian breakfast at work (Chase paid as you can see from the picture) and then headed to Brian's folks house to get a little project done.

My friend Sarah's mom, Philis gave me this awesome set of stairs that she used to use for her cats to help them get up on the bed at night. Since the cat passed away she passed it down to me. Now we all know that Chase needs to help getting up or down from the bed, but since he is extra long I don't want him jumping down, it's not good for his little back. When we first brought the stairs home, he wasn't a fan. I believe it was because they were all wood and he was having trouble getting a good grip when coming down, so he would slip off. Brian came up with a good idea and said that we should glue carpet to the tops of the stairs so he wouldn't slip. So that what I spent my Saturday morning doing with Brian's Dad. I really like hanging out with him, he's a crack up and is full of funny stories from the oil fields.

Tada!

Saturday afternoon was spent doing boring adult things like cleaning house and doing laundry. Our landlord came over for Brian and I to resign our lease for another year, but wouldn't you know it my blonde self left the folder at work so it will have to wait till Monday. ::sigh:: The rest of the afternoon was spent napping and being lazy. I had plans that night to head to San Miguel for dinner with friends for Kella's birthday bash, but Brian got called out and blocked me in so I couldn't leave. There went that idea. I let the girls know, and was just going to meet them for the after party in SLO around 10pm. I watched a movie and near the end Brian was back, the took off again for the Speedway since dinner plans were off and I knew he wouldn't want to go to SLO. While he was gone and I was waiting for Kella to text me, I got the itch to move our bedroom furniture around. Lord help me. I moved our entire bedroom out into the living room, alone.

Chase wondering what the heck I'm doing

Vacuumed and cleaned baseboards, got all the crap from under the bed in the trash and put the room back in a way I thought would look great! WRONG! As soon as I had it put back together I hated it. I looked at the clock and it was 8:30p. I totally had time to put it back the way it was. So again, I moved everything out and put it all back myself. By the time I was done I was toast. I laid down for a little power nap, and woke up Sunday morning :( . Kella texted me at 10:45p but I didn't see it till Sunday morning. Great.

Sunday morning I got up showered and got pretty for my mini girls day. We spent the morning chatting and sipping mimosa's then headed to our friend Jen's pool around noon.

It was AMAZING and I didn't want to leave. We swam, laughed, swam, laughed some more, laid in the sun then headed back for a late lunch and a movie. It was the BEST day. Sunday night was spent getting ready for the crazy week ahead.

I'm sure I'll be asked a million times what happened to me on Saturday, I'm sure I sound like a flake but I can't help what happened. It's hard sometimes for people to understand that I live 32 miles from SLO and that while I love to go out and hang with friends, they have a 5 min drive and I have a 30 min drive. I love that everyone offers to have me crash on their couch, it's really sweet, but when it comes down to it, I want to sleep in my bed. So it didn't work out this weekend. Hopefully they understand and if not, nothing I can do about it. But I'm sure they do.

So today kicks off a new week. Work will be crazy, since we are closed for Labor Day. Tonight we will resign our lease for another year. I'm excited to see what this next year in our house brings. Tuesday I'm going to the SM Inn to see Jen's jewelry expo, Wednesday I should be home, Thursday is WW and Friday…well who knows! I know this weekend should be fun. I can't wait to surprise Brian on Sunday!

I hope that all you readers have a great week.

xoxo

This Weeks Moto

2011-08-28T18:52:00.001-07:00

"Laugh, even when you feel too sick or too worn out or tired.
Smile, even when you're trying not to cry and the tears are blurring your vision.
Sing, even when people stare at you and tell you your voice is crappy.
Trust, even when your heart begs you not to.
Twirl, even when your mind makes no sense of what you see.
Frolick, even when you are made fun of. Kiss, even when others are watching. Sleep, even when you're afraid of what the dreams might bring.
Run, even when it feels like you can't run any more.
And, always, remember, even when the memories pinch your heart. Because the pain of all your experience is what makes you the person you are now. And without your experience---you are an empty page, a blank notebook, a missing lyric. What makes you brave is your willingness to live through your terrible life and hold your head up high the next day. So don't live life in fear. Because you are stronger now, after all the crap has happened, than you ever were back before it started."
— Alysha Speer

Friday Randoms..

2011-08-26T06:01:00.000-07:00

On my mind today…

It's Michelle's last day. A part of me is sad but I'm really happy for her. She is moving on to bigger things and I have a feeling one day I'll see her name in the credits of a major motion picture. Good luck to you girlie!

Girls night was last night and boy was it a blast. I can't tell you the last time I had that much fun! Don't get me wrong, hanging with my girls is always fun, but last night was extra special for me. Lots of life advice, boy talk, wine and home done pedis. Followed by a stop for mini pancakes with Kristen on the way to drop her off at home.

Thanks for my cute toes Sarah!

Tonight is date night for Brian and I, our wild night is going to consist of staying home. LOL. I'm going to cook a yummy dinner and we are going to just relax! I'm hoping and praying for a really foggy night like last night, and maybe a fire in the fireplace!

There is a fire burning near one of the loves of my life, Yosemite. The now named "MotorFire" broke out yesterday near Ferguson Ridge off hwy 140 just outside of El Portel, CA yesterday at 1pm. The fire has currently burned more than 1000 acres and is nowhere near containment. My Mom is home from work today due to evacuations, and my Dad is in the park trying to keep chaos on the roads to a minimum. Please pray for those fighting the fire and those affected.

I get to have a mini girls night on my way home tonight. After Michelle's going away party, Brooke, Heidi, Jordan (I can't wait meet her!) and I are going to Applebee's for a round of Perfect Margaritas to end the week.

Erika will be here in less than two weeks! I hope that we get to hang out a bit while she is here. That girl and I have been through thick and thin and I haven't seen her in years, even though it doesn't feel like that since we talk nearly every day. She is one of those lifer friends for sure.

All in all life is grand. I can't complain at all. I have some amazing girlfriends, an amazing boyfriend, great co-workers and a great family. I know it all sounds mushy but it is what it is. I'll leave you with this quote for today:

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it."
— Mother Teresa

Thursday Thinkings

2011-08-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

Totally stolen from Kaysie :)

1. I drank a diet coke already today and it's only 7a.

2. Work is going to be crazy busy, and I have a feeling I won't get to eat lunch.

3. Girls night is tonight! I'm hoping to make my Weight Watchers meeting, hence taking my lunch at my desk, but with the dozen emails or so before 7am it's not looking good. ::fingers crossed I make it:: Followed by a nice walk and some pedi's!

4. I'm still sad my vacation is over. I woke up this morning wanting to sleep more.

5. Waiting to get my tickets in the mail for D-Land and start planning our girls trip for this Fall.

6. Speaking of Fall, Uhhh I'm kinda ready already. Sure some people "hate" fall cause it's not hot anymore...but I love love love it! It's like a second Spring, only with leaves instead of flowers!

7. I'm planning a surprise day trip for Brian (hi hun!) but he doesn't know where we are going....teee heee!

8. I'm going to try to make beer can chicken Sunday night for dinner, stay tuned for the recipe!

9. I'm pretty sure I want a break from Facebook for a while, but not sure if I'll be able to...sigh.

10. "I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."

— Marilyn Monroe

Social Situations

2011-08-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

Facebook is a funny little creature. It was originally intended to be used as a resource to connect with those that you have lost touch with, or to find friends or family. However it has turned into this massive social media, used now for promotion, news and in some cases it's a way for people to really say what they are thinking in a general matter to a massive amount of people.

It's become more apparent to me that people sometimes use Facebook and their "status" updates to dig at people. Now this is just a general observation and not pointed at any one person, so don't think I'm singling any one person out cause that's simply not the truth. I started to use Facebook to communicate with people from High School that have moved out of the area and family that doesn't live near, yet I find myself getting wrapped up in the drama that feeds this social site.

I've noticed that when wives are mad at husbands it's an outlet to vent, when friendships are on the rocks it's a place to make a dig, and when something amazing happens it's a place to share great news. There are some rules to Facebook, that are unspoken but if broken feelings get hurt, people get offended and posts get deleted.

Birthdays: It seems to be a sin if you happen to not be online one day to wish a friend a public Happy Birthday. I think that this is silly. In my world wishing someone a Happy Birthday is very important, however whether it is done publicly or privately doesn't matter, just as long as it's done. I've always grown up to believe that birthdays are very important days and that Happy Birthdays are special in themselves.

Status Updates: Remember when you post something for the world to see, it is just that. Something for the world to see. Post knowing that however many friends you have will see this post or opinion and be prepared to answer for your post whether you want to or not. I notice at times, and have done this myself, that people will post something wanting people to ask questions, then those questions will go unanswered. I'm guilty of it, but try to do it less now than before. I will say this: be careful and make sure you are consistent. By this I mean if you say one thing to someone, stick with it. If you post something that contradicts your first statement be prepared for someone to notice and if they care enough to call you out on it. I've personally experienced this, and it's an eye opener.

Controlling what others post: I've noticed time and time again that people will make references to what others are doing in their personal life. Call it a friend or family member defending a friend or family member, call it being passionate about what's going on in someone else's life…call it what you want. Remember this, again your FB world can see this and while you have friends in common others who have no idea what's going on can see this as well, and will naturally question what you are saying. Getting offended that someone cares enough to ask is silly, deleting the post to avoid conflict is natural but letting someone worry about you isn't fair. Again this hasn't happened to me lately, just a general observation.

Opinions: Lastly Facebook is a place to share. Whether you like sharing and idea, a photo, a thought…whatever you want to share, it's your piece of the world to share it. I'm so guilty of giving my opinion when it's not warranted. If someone is sharing something, don't put it down, judge it or make someone feel bad for posting it. Don't assume it's directed at you, and if you give your opinion be prepared for that person to defend themselves, it's only natural.

I can't tell you how many times I have "taken a break" from FB, and how great it made me feel. I wasn't wrapped up in other peoples drama, I wasn't worried a "friend" was talking about me, but at the same time I felt like I had no idea what was going on in the world. To me, that’s sad. My Dad always says that he knows something is wrong when I don't blog or when I don't post on FB, I guess that is because I am a person that wears my heart on my sleeve. I tell the whole world if I gained a pound, if Brian and I had a fight or if I'm having a great day. I posted last night that I wanted a break from FB again, I needed to get a away from the drama. Wouldn't you know it as soon as I posted it, I had second thoughts and I deleted it. I didn't have second thoughts about taking a break, but I had second thoughts about letting the world know about it. As well as the reasons behind it.

I guess the point of this blog is that this is my place to voice my opinions, while I don't control who reads it (even though I could) I do control what is posted. What I'm struggling with is that I really want a break from FB but I only want a break from the drama. I don't want a break from all the back to school pictures, from seeing the good things, I have a couple friends that are about to give birth any day and I don't want to miss those announcements so I'm torn. If I take a break and not tell anyone, people will think that I don't care about what is going on in their lives and that’s not the case at all. On the other side of the coin if I announce that I'm taking a break, people will think that I'm looking for attention. Which is also not true. I guess I wish that there wasn't any drama out there, but since I'm semi dramatic myself it's like the pot calling the kettle black. I think the best thing is to call those that are about to give birth or have very special events coming up and let them know of my hiatus, versus just disappearing.

I'm sure I'll figure it out. It's funny, I was worried about posting this, in fear that it would offend people when I had no intention of offending anyone. It's not about anyone or any situation. Just a different kinda blog. You know me once again putting myself out there.

Sorry for the length, time to get back to blogging about more important things…like my Fall décor!!!

Valentines Day 2012

2011-08-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

As if it wasn't bad enough that I'm talking about Fall already and it's only August, but now I'm skipping ahead six months! Wackadoo I know, but bear with me.

So Brian and I were sitting eating dinner last night talking about the Holidays and such and out of no where he says, "How would you like to go back to Yosemite in Feb for Valentines Day?" after I realized that I wasn't hearing things, I snapped back to reality and said that I would love to do that. Here is why I was thinking I was hearing things at first....I hadn't even started talking about VDay and Brian had already thought of something special to do! I felt so special! So we made the plans. My gift is going to be a five day trip up there, it will be snowing and I'll get to go ice skating and sip hot chocolate. I know it sounds corny but it's one of my favorite things in the world to do!

I already know what I'm getting him too...but it's a secret in case he reads this...lol haha!

Anywhos thats my news for the day.

:)

2011-08-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know I'm WAY early but get over it. It's my favorite season and I want it to last as long as humanly possible. I snuck some of the Fall decorations into the house yesterday but Chase drug them out and I was soon caught by Brian. I managed to get a couple things up as well as changed out my Scentsy warmers to hold Banana Nut Bread my favorite! My entire home smelt like fresh warm Banana Nut Bread all evening. It was fantastic! I got alot of stuff done around the house yesterday since it was my last day of vacation. I have to tell you it went by WAY to fast! Now I have Thanksgiving to look forward to. 90 DAYS! So in less than three months I'll be on vacation again...whoo hoo! Don't get me wrong I love my job, but I've learned to not only take a break from it but to embrace that break and really enjoy it.

This vacation was so much fun. Brian and I had a blast up in Yosemite and spending time with my folks. We also got some alone time, we spent the entire day roaming around my old stomping grounds in Yosemite Valley. I took TONS of pictures and I will get them uploaded this week. For now, these are the only four and two are with my cell phone lol. Here I have a professional camera and I still use my cellie lol...

Me & Brian at Glacier Point with my little pretty Half Dome in the background
(Thank you to the really nice man who took this for us!)

Half Dome from Glacier Point (Taken with Cell Phone)

Yosemite Falls Taken From El Cap Medow (Taken with Cell Phone)

This is a panoramic I put together, it's actually four different pictures merged together. Thank you Photoshop!

I have tons more to show you all and I will try to get them up tonight. Needless to say it will be hard going back to work today, getting up was rough! But it will be nice to see my friends from work again as well as have a purpose. I loved staying at home, but I can see how without having kids how it would get real old real fast.

Happy Harvest!!