holiday

Tomorrow morning I will be driving (let's be honest, sitting in the passenger seat) to Miami with this guy

and this lady

to meet this guy

so we can all get on this ship

and hopefully not get busted for this like our last neighbor

and have fun times like this

So forgive me, but this little blogger is going to be MIA for a week. I will return with lots of pictures, stories and hopefully not a sun burn.

While I am gone, please go to this site and do a trivia question everyday! It donates kibble to pups in need - if you are really feeling awesome, click on free kibble kat above it and donate to kitties too! I do both every morning and hate that I will be missing a week.

xoxo

one more day

A little over a year ago I broke my car key in the driver side door of itty bitty trying to unlock it. Cowboy Flowers rescued me from the HEB parking lot and my mom drove down the next day to bring me my spare key. I have never heard of this happening. Last night I did it again. This time Mister rescued me and my mom by bringing us the spare key. 

sad key

 Today at lunch I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting a truck that cut me off. A venti starbucks coffee went flying and spilled all over the passenger side of itty bitty. It couldn't have been my small frappuccino, it had to be the giant, hot, not for me but for someone at work, venti coffee. If I am ever tired again I can just go sit in my car for five minutes, I'm pretty sure the smell will wake me up.

Clearly Itty Bitty is upset with me. Could be that she knows I am dreaming of a new-to-me car, could be that she is ready to go to sleep permanently and does not understand why I am constantly waking her up. 

When I do eventually get a new car, I would LOVE one of these

One more work day and vacation officially starts!!!! A few last minute things to pick up tonight and then a pile of laundry that I am pretty sure currently reaches the ceiling... whoops!

mamma's here!!

My mommy got here Friday!! With all the crazyness that has been the past couple of weeks I am so happy she arrived safely. Friday night mister and I picked her up from the airport and then we went and had dinner. We were all fairly tired so we had a pretty early night. 

2005

 Saturday was a wonderful day. We woke up and mister went to work on his car while the girls went to get pampered! Mom had an hour long facial while I had the most wonderful pedicure ever followed by the OPI gel manicure. It is pretty much the same thing as the shellac manicure that is really popular right now. The only difference is with the OPI version they still file your nails down. I am a nail bitter unless I have had my nails professionally done, and even then they always chip after a few days so I was really excited to try this out for the first time. It claims to last 3 weeks so I am hoping it at least lasts until after our cruise! Topped all that off with a mini facial as well. Can you say spoiled?! I was in girly heaven.

London 2009

Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner with Mister's mom and Glenn. It was really nice to have my mom meet them and get to spend some time together. Also enjoy a pretty fantastic dessert and I cannot believe left overs still exist. Having some when I get home tonight. Mister kicked my butt at Wii tennis per usual but I actually won bowling!!!

London

Sunday was the best day yet. Seven hours of shopping with my mom. There is just nothing in the world better than a fun day of shopping with my mamma. Really any day with her is pretty fantastic, but shopping days are the best. Mom did really well and found almost everything on her list, surprisingly target was a total hit with some awesome summer dresses. I fell head over heels in love with a pair of jeans from H&M unexpectedly. I have been on the hunt for some good boot cut jeans, as much as I love my skinnies some days you need a good boot cut and H&M had the perfect ones, plus a really cute top and wedges! We also found some great things for my dad and some pants for Mister. When the mall closed (that's right, we shut it down!) we met mister and his dad for a delicious dinner at Buca de Beppo. Love me some carbs!

Paris morning

3 more work days and we will be heading to Miami to meet up with my daddy and going on a cruise!!!!!! Counting down the hours... 

Has anyone been to St Maartan, St Thomas or Nassau and feel there is something that cannot be missed? We are working on excursions and any advice is appreciated!

TOMS

I am slightly obsessed with TOMS shoes. I first heard about the cause in  2007, saw the shoes I have loved them all ever since then. For those who have not heard check out the info here. Essentially for every pair of shoes that is purchased a pair of shoes is given to a child who does not have shoes. Does it get any better than that? You get to not only wear some pretty cute shoes, but you are also majorly changing someones life. It may not seem like a pair of shoes is that big of a deal, but in many countries a child cannot go to school unless they have shoes. You are enabling a child to receive an education and you get to wear fun shoes!!

Every year TOMS does an event called "Day Without Shoes". People are around go an entire day without wearing shoes in support of the cause. If you aren't able to go the day without shoes you are encouraged to either wear a pair of toms or wear a cute adorable tshirt! I can't seem to find a good picture of the shirts but I am loving them all and cannot decide which one to order. They also donate a pair of shoes for every shirt sold so it is another great item to own. 

This years day is April 5th - will you go a day without shoes?!

GOOBER!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WINSTON THEODORE!!!

I cannot believe it but my baby boy turned TWO today!! 

the day I brought him home

first trip to grandma and grandpa's!

first visit to the vet

first hair cut

sad puppy - this big at 6 months!!

bigger than Izzy at 6 months

toy hog!

Winnie likes to skype!

first Christmas - up to 100lbs at 9 months!

1st birthday! Green beer keg for my St Patty's day baby

good day at the park

giant dog

giving kisses instead of smiling for the camera

being a goober

 I'm really sad that I cannot spend my little boy's birthday with him, I miss him soooooo much! My dad emailed me and told me that he would give him a birthday hug for me and I know he is having a blast in Africa with Izzy!! I sent my parents a package on February 2nd for Valentines day and included some birthday presents for Winnie and they never received it so I am a bit sad that he did not get my birthday presents. Luckily my dad was in California last week and from what I heard he picked up quite a few goodies for the pups so I am sure Winnie is doing just fine. I cannot wait until I get to see him again, he is the most wonderfully cuddly puppy and he loves his mamma!

Happy St Patrick's day, hope everyone is wearing green!

surprises!

On a usual day in the office mister and I will send each other silly links we have found, recipes and anything else we find interesting. We also tend to announce what/when we are eating. I'll get a message that says "fruit snacks!" or "eggs!" and I will respond with "sandwich!", it may be strange, but it works for us. Yesterday I went to have my car washed on my lunch break and picked up chipotle (yumm) since we have not been grocery shopping and I did not pack my lunch. I was out of the office for about an hour and hadn't heard from him. I went back to work and finally a bit later he was back and was not being very descriptive with where he went for lunch. I thought it was strange but just kind of shrugged and went on with my day. 

Skip to me getting home from work, said hello to mister on the couch, walked into the bedroom, into the bathroom, out of the bathroom, into the closet, finally over to my jewelry box. I opened the box which has a mirror in it and saw this mysterious reflection.... the giant mirror I have been lusting over from Ikea!!! Please note how long I was in room before I noticed the SIX FOOT, sixty pound mirror propped up against the wall. Hello oblivious!!! So this all explained the lack of details in his lunch plans, he was picking up a surprise!

 

I have seriously been dreaming of owning this thing forever, but there was always something else to spend the money on. The day after Christmas we picked up this beauty (which is what I saw the mirror reflection in) and I adore it. I keep the jewelry I wear daily in the top portion, Mister's sunglasses in the top drawer, my jewelry sets below that and then the rest in one of the bigger drawers.  We have it sitting directly next to the matching 6 drawer dresser so it kind of flows like one piece.

We also have the matching giant shelf hanging above the hutch and dresser
(we have had the shelf since November and just put it up last weekend... whoops), so needless to say the new wonderful mirror fits in and matches perfectly!! It was the perfect replacement for the engine that used to live on the floor in that spot (yes I said engine, the engine for the ghia lived in the bedroom for about a year)!!

So now the bathroom is all done and the bedroom is as well! Since we picked up the new duvet cover a couple weeks ago the mirror was the last piece we needed. The only other thing I would add is the 4 drawer dresser for me. Mister uses the 6 drawer one and I have storage in the closet, but when we eventually move into a different place I would like to have a real dresser. 

I am getting my hair done tonight so I will let you know how that goes, debating between a few different looks right now! Enjoy your Wednesday!

DIY Done!

The bathroom is pretty much done! It has taken a fair amount of time but after lots of hard work it is looking pretty darn nice! First we ripped out the old tile and put in new green board, and by we I really mean mister... There was a bit of an issue with getting the old faucet and knobs off, they were stuck on there really well!  

filling in the hole in the bathtub

cutting the green board

Paint options on the wall, green board in the shower!

starting to re-tile

Mister hard at work

patching up the wall & the new faucet

painting in progress

My main job was painting, we decided to go with the blue haze which was the lighter of the two colors. I also ended up painting our top cabinet white. We picked up three little shelves from Ikea to replace the old shelving unit, and a new white fabric shower curtain from target. 

The top shelf has a candle holder, still not sure what do to on the middle and the bottom is perfume/cologne

New light

All around we replaced tile, re-grouted the entire shower to make it look new and fresh, painted the ceiling and walls, painted the cabinet, painted the door and frame, changed out the shower knobs, changed the sink faucet, hung new shelves and a new shower curtain! We also had to change the fixtures in the other bathroom. Since we could not use our shower we discovered that the other bathroom was having a few issues so those had to get fixed in order for us to have a good working shower while we worked on ours! It took a fair amount of time but all in all we are both really happy with our new bathroom! 

We also picked up a bed for the other room since my mom will be here Friday!! It has been a busy weekend getting everything all ready! 

getting back in the swing of things

The house is still a mess... but it is not as bad. We are slowly getting back into the swing of things and the bathroom is looking better! Monday night I primed the ceiling and walls of the bathroom. I also gained about a million percent more respect for my mamma. Please tell me how that woman was able to paint a mural on her bathroom ceiling Michelangelo style?! I was barely able to prime the ceiling without feeling like I was about to drop a gallon of paint on my head. It didn't help that I was balancing on the sides of the bathtub! Tonight I will paint the ceiling and hopefully tomorrow will be the walls, we might just have this done by the weekend!!

Sunday night Mister made spaghetti, we were both in the pasta mood. Once I finished priming I decided to make baked spaghetti pie with the left overs. I picked up a really pretty pie pan from crate and barrel at an after Christmas sale and had used to use it, granted this wasn't real pie but it sure was yummy! A few years ago my parents got me " Deceptively Delicious"

It is written by Jerry Seinfeld's wife, and is all about hiding vegetables in everyday cooking. It is an awesome cookbook and I really recommend it. She puree's cauliflower and hides it in the baked spaghetti and you cannot even tell! I didn't have any cauliflower on hand so I just put the leftovers in a bowl, added some more sauce and a bit of mozzarella, mixed it all up and into the pie pan it went. I cooked it at 350 degree for about 35 minutes and it was yummy!! It really is a great way to change up left overs.

Other than that I am just counting down the days until my mom gets here!! We picked up a bed for the guest room over the weekend so we will be putting that together this weekend, cleaning and organizing and getting everything all ready for her arrival next Friday!!

DIY Update

It has been a week full of pizza, Chinese takeout, eating out, cereal for dinner, and Chinese left overs, skipping the gym (even though I am bathing suit bound in 18 days)... and the bathroom is still not done!  The good news it is getting there, and it is all going to be worth the wait and work! My wonderful mister has been battling old plumbing, broken pipes and dry wall that feels like breaking off when you power sand and he is doing an awesome job! I spent what felt like years power sanding the walls and they still aren't perfect, but they are getting there. There was one incident that caused our bedroom window to break, but what can you do other than call a window repair company and cry a little because the money set aside for the new awesome mirror in our bedroom is just going to have to wait! 

I promise pictures of the entire process will be put up once everything is done, until then here are some things to get excited about!

My absolute favorite blogger The Pioneer Woman wrote a book, it came out about a month ago but I have been so busy I have yet to pick up a copy! I know it is amazing because the first 25 or so chapters were on her blog. Read it. Love it. You won't regret it. 

One of my favorite people in the entire world Miss Tenley shared a website with me this weekend. Tastebook is a pretty awesome website similar to shutterfly. Instead of making awesome scrapbooks you can make your own cookbook! I know when my mom made our family cookbook a few years ago it blew my mind how much work she put into it. I also love that book with my entire heart. Check it out!

Crepes. We went out for dinner on Saturday and had a sushi roll that came in a freshly made crepe. This has had me craving a delicious desert crepes for the past 48 hours. Then I remembered that I had bookmarked a chocolate banana crepe recipe. Hello tonight's desert plan, it's not like I have to be in a bathing suit in 18 days or anything!

Finally, I am loving the new duvet and duvet cover we picked up at Ikea this weekend! It is the perfect weight for summer and is nice and soft! After a long week/ Saturday we decided a trip to Ikea for inspiration would be a nice treat, and it was. I have dreams of an entire room of bookshelves making an awesome library and lots of other fun treats!

Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

First DIY

The DIY Network has finally won... we have embarked on our first project! After a long weekend at the Daytona Winter Jam we came home and decided to officially start our first project - the bathroom. It seems the hours of bath crashers we have watched finally got us motivated. The big debate was what to do. We knew we had to rip out some of the tile in the shower because it was falling off and we were pretty certain the boards behind it were molding. The question was, do we replace it with the same type of tile just to fix it up, paint a little, add some decorations and call it a day? Do we pick out new pretty tile and just re-tile the entire shower area and paint? OR do we go big - like really big. Like rip out the bathtub and turn it into a giant beautiful, wonderful shower.

After looking over it all, researching a bit more, looking around the house we decided we would rather just patch up the area that needs it, give the bathroom a face lift and take the money we would be spending to do a few other projects around the house. Plus the idea of installing a giant shower scared us a bit. They make it look really easy on tv... but I just don't think it is that easy!

So Monday night Mister started ripping out tile and I started washing the ceiling. Last night we finished buying our supplies and looking at paint. I am really into the idea of blue walls with white trim/accents and a wonderful white fabric shower curtain and giant fluffy towels.

Giant Hole

Light Blue Paint Option - Benjamin Moore Blue Haze

Darker Blue Paint Option  - Benjamin Moore Blueberry

Let me know what you think! The real work starts tonight!!