Archive for March 2013

Friday, March 29, 2013

Friday 5: Celebrating Simplicity

5 simple noteworthy and toast worthy happenings from the week.

Here's to springtime snowstorms. 

Here's to feeding the birds the only way we can since the deer broke our bird feeder. 

Here's to chilling out and letting Vaughn choose her clothes. 





Here's to finding a little piece of 1994. 

 

And finally, big ups to to Trader Joe's having daffodils this week. Having a hint of spring in the house felt like a necessity.   

Cheers!
What are you celebrating tonight?


Thursday, March 28, 2013

Future Changes

It happens. One day it's all good and the next it's not. I'm talking blog design folks - I think it's time for a change. 

I've begun the process of looking for a designer (let me know if you have any recommendations!) to redo everything and to help find a better way to organize my content. What? You haven't noticed that I'm all over the place? Let me break it down for you...


If you take a look at my Popular Posts (over on the left side of the screen) it ranges from food, to nail polish tips, to kid's crafts, to stinky Pottery Barn rugs, and then to posts about my daily life. I'm all over the board and I think it may be confusing to new comers. I want it to be easy to find what you're looking for. I want the look to represent me more. 

So bare with me and this site for now and know that I have plans on making it better!

Have a great Thursday!




Sunday, March 24, 2013

Next Year? South for Spring Break.

I knew there wouldn't be any palm trees in sight on our spring break vacation to and I was okay with that but I never imagined that our long weekend would be shortened due to a freak springtime snow storm.

Welcome to the Midwest. 
Land of You Never Know What You're Gonna Get. 

We left on Thursday afternoon and spent Friday doing all the touristy stuff. Everything was super crowded due to other spring breakers and the March Madness basketball games being held there too. (The Jayhawks were staying at our hotel!)  

Lego Land

 Fritz's (trains run around the top of the restaurant and deliver food to each table)

 Sea Life Aquarium

The Plaza
 I have great memories as a kid here and while it was cold and wet outside the kids (and Justin!) were troopers walking from store to store and posing with a few of the adorable bunnies around.

 Chocolate from Panache! 

We packed a lot into the day knowing that the storm was coming and that we would be leaving the next morning. When we returned home the next afternoon the sun was shining and it was in the 50's - did we read the forecast correctly?

Oh, yes we did.

And it's not stopping. I think we have 11 inches so far. It's looking like Vance's spring break will be extended for at least one more day.

It's official. Next year we're definitely going south for spring break.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The Math Dude, Man.


 I'm not afraid to admit that my achilles heel is math. I've always struggled with it and I'm sure I always will. 

I stumbled across this site awhile ago and it helped explain percentages in a way that actually made sense to me. Of course I have a tipping app but there are times that being able to do it in your head is more convenient. Maybe it will help you too - check it out. 

(This could be the topic of another post but does anyone else get the feeling that everyone is watching you while checking out at the hair salon? The receptionists, other stylists waiting for clients, and your stylist seem to gather around the counter and get quiet when you walk up to pay. I get it that your stylist wants to be there to help reschedule and see you out, etc. but I need some space to compute tips people!)

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Dining at Disney - Help me decide!


Months ago we booked our first family trip to The Happiest Place on Earth. Now it's time to book our meals and it's making me a little unhappy ifyouknowwhatImean. The last time I was at Disney was eons ago - it's changed so much! I want to frolic through without spreadsheets and apps leading the way but I'm hearing if you don't plan the correct way your trip will be a disaster. 

I'm not naturally a planner - I would much rather stumble into everything. I've heard and read about the importance of making meal reservations but the unknowns of everything are overwhelming. 

So here's where you come in. I'm begging asking for suggestions.  We're planning on two character meals - one being breakfast with Chef Mickey and one princess meal either Cinderella's Royal Table or the one with Belle, now that her castle is finished - I can't decide which. And to plan it for a lunch or a dinner? 

What restaurants (character and non-character) did you like? Any tips like "plan to be done with dinner with Cinderella 20 minutes before Wishes starts and they'll escort you from dinner to the front of the castle where you'll get a great view..."    

Thanks so much! 

Friday, March 15, 2013

Google Reader, Bathrooms, and Fairy Doors Oh My!

When I opened up Google Reader yesterday morning I was greeted with a nasty note that said it will be going away soon. I've been using Google Reader to follow blogs since 2005? 2006? A long time. I'm sad (and a little annoyed) since it was such an easy way to keep up with all the sites that I read. Guess it's time to find a new reader.

I've heard about Lifehacker and Slick RSS so I'll be checking those out later on. Let me know if you know of an alternative too - especially a free one.

............... 


On to other not so exciting things...Let's talk bathrooms!

We're getting ready to put some lipstick on one of our bathrooms and here's some of what's going in there. New light, new paint, new mirror. Shower curtain, rugs, towels, etc. are still TBD. 
Minka Lavery 1730 Series 4 Light Bath Wall Light     Cherokee Mocha Walnut

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

What else has been going on? I've been working on Vaughn's fairy door for her room. I want it to be a surprise - it will just appear in her room one night - so I can only work on it when the kids are not around which is why it's taking me so long. I can't wait to attach the tiny gold door knocker and door knob! 


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It's Friday and the temp here is supposed to get to 75! We're all so excited about this! Tomorrow, of course, will be back in the low 40's so we're taking advantage of it while we can. 

Have a great weekend!  

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

It's funny how weeks can go past with nothing out of the ordinary ever happening and then one week Bam! Non-stop surprises. 

That was last week around here. On Wednesday I woke up sick, totally out of commission. (I never get sick.) Of course that was the morning that Vance had a school thing that I was supposed to go to in the morning. Thankfully Justin was in town, so he switched his schedule around and Mommed for me for the rest of the day. 

On Thursday morning I cowgirl-upped and got myself ready enough to walk Vance to the bus stop and to drive Vaughn to school. However the car battery died which rearranged our day for us.

Nothing horrible happened on Friday except the fact that I wasn't feeling well enough to drink delicious margarita's and went to bed at 8:30. Somewhere in between I checked out a book for myself from the library, something I haven't done in years. 

Saturday morning found us at the mall, killing time while Vance was at a birthday party, returning a pair of shoes from Christmas. (It's sad when great shoes hurt your feet. I had kept trying them on thinking my foot would get used to the pain. It did not.) I tried on a pair of sandals that I was excited about and thought would be no brainers but my Jeep of a foot didn't look quite right in this dainty sandal. 

On Monday one of my toenails fell off (I jammed it 5 months ago), I found a dead worm in the dining room (it rained a ton on Sunday - is that weird? How did he get inside?), and I went back to Pilates even though I was dreading it. The spunky older lady whom I mentioned in my previous post was there also and in fact I noticed her in the gym doing Zumba before Pilates and I thought I overheard her saying she was staying after to do a yoga class. She's an animal and for now on when I don't feel like dragging myself to work out I'll think about her. If she can do it so can I.

For those readers haven't gotten bored and are still with me for this last paragraph...thanks. And have a great week!




Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Pilates Pain and Weekend Update

Who are these women that aren't afraid to bare all in gym locker rooms? What do they have against the dressing rooms that are there for that exact reason? I mean, I'm not offended in any way, but it's always a shock to see when you round the corner and are not expecting it. Nothing like bare buns on public benches! I now think twice before ever setting anything down on them while I'm getting into my locker!

That being said, yesterday I tried pilates for the first time. Today I can barely move without wincing. As I was struggling with the basic moves the lady in her 70's behind me was complaining that the music was too slow - she suggested that The Black Eyed Peas would wake us up and when it was time to do the corkscrew she yelled out that she wanted a bottle of wine to go with. What a hoot! What I'm getting to though is that if she were to challenge me to an arm wrestling match I'm pretty sure she'd win and that's why I'll be going to class again next week. (And contemplating buying a pilates dvd to do at home also. Know any good ones?)

Weekend Updates:

My sister flew in to celebrate our uncle's birthday. (Check her blog for a little more on that.) 


My mom captured this sweet picture of Vaughn and Justin. (By the way, she lost her second tooth on Feb.28)


Hope you all had a great weekend too! 






 

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