6.28.2011

Ikat Love

We are currently working on getting our living room functional.   One thing needed is more seating and I am currently in love with this chair.


Isn't it absolutely delicious? Of course it is from West Elm. It is red maple/flax ikat print on the swoop chair.  We need another chair and I am obsessed with finding the perfect balance of price, beauty, and function.   Plus, my color palate is already dictated by our rug.  I love the curves of the chair and the modern print.  I think it is something I can use it for years to come.  What do you think?


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

6.27.2011

Master Bedroom Update

The master bedroom is almost complete!  We finally got a dresser, so our clothes now have a home!  I also gave up on my white bedding dream for the moment.   Yes, I still adore the idea of having an all white bed, BUT I have very specific ideas of what I want it to look like.  The bedding I want is not currently available in the US, and is on back order from the Australian website that could ship it too me.  Plus, it is expensive.  I tried to make do with a duvet from Target, but it didn't live up to my vision.  So I have temporarily substituted this duvet I found on clearance at Home Goods.  It is a calming gray and white paisley pattern.  Hubby approves, he thought the other bedding was too girly and frilly.  In his words, "I don't want to sleep under a dress".  So here is my(our) soothing oasis:

I haven't decided if the curtains are staying yet.  I might move them to the living room and use another set of white curtains that I already own that have some embroidery on them.  Not sure.
I think the book shelves are too cluttered.  I would like to move some of the books out to the living room once we have some bookshelves in there, and add some more decorative accents instead.  Ideally, I don't want much on the top.

We need to add artwork.  I actually have a lot still in boxes, just trying to decide what I want in each room.  I have some watercolors from Italy that a friend gave me, I just need to have them framed.  I think they would  look lovely over the bed.  I also have a mirror, but I'm scared of it hanging above me while I sleep.

The sconces on the wall are the only lighting we have.  We are thinking of adding another lamp on the dresser, and maybe a light kit to the ceiling fan.  We get A LOT of natural light, but that might change with the seasons.  Plus, its annoying to have to walk through the room and stub your toe five times while roaming through the dark to turn on the light.

Oh, and the room isn't perfect.
I live with a musician and with that comes music stuff.  Plus, a baby gate and old sweatshirts.  At least they live behind the door.  The baby gate and sweatshirts will hopefully disappear in a few days, but the speaker and amp come with the man.  I'm not trading him in anytime soon, so I guess I'll learn to live with music stuff behind the door.  They won't fit under the bed with the other music things.

So what do you think?  Any suggestions?

6.26.2011

See Ya Later, Alligator

While cleaning off our camera, I found these pictures of the Going Away Dinner my Grandma had for our family.


 My kiddos really didn't want to be pictured.  They would rather be playing.

Princess is obsessed with these ping pong paddles.  Unfortunately for her, she is too little to play. Isn't the dress lovely?  My friend, Betsy, made it for her.  It is turning out to be the perfect beach dress.  Betsy is actually making these dresses, among other crafty items for purchase.  Email me if you want more deets.

6.25.2011

Yay for weekends!

I finished my first nine days in SC with the new job!  I survived and didn't quit and move back to KS!  That isn't to say that I didn't think about it!  The last week seemed like the longest one in my life.  I am sincerely glad it is over and do not want a repeat.  Reflecting back, it really wasn't that bad.  However, that's not to say it was a walk in the park, either.
It began with me starting work a day earlier than I planned.  Let's just say I have a hard time saying "No" to people in need.  I did negotiate an eight hour shift instead of 12.  I should get extra credit for that.  Plus, I saved a vacation day to spend with any future visitor this year.  Lucky me walked in at 12:45 to find the computers weren't working, and had not been since the store opened.  Yippee.  Finally, between 3 and 4pm the computers came up, and we had a whole day's work to make up.  In the middle of the dinner rush, Hubby calls and states he somehow locked himself out of the house.  No car keys, no wallet, barefoot, and both kiddos in the house asleep.  He made it to a neighbor's house to borrow their phone to call me at work.  Unfortunately, I cannot leave and don't get off until 9pm.  I tell him I will try to figure something out.  My mind freaks out.  I hold back tears, wait a few minutes, then ask my technician if she will take my house key and drive to my house to give it Hubby.  She agrees.  Our house is 20 minutes or more away.  She is gone over an hour, but at least my hubby makes it back in before the kiddos wake up.  Not my ideal first day.
The weekend I spend at the slowest store in the district.  I am the only employee in the pharmacy and I do less than 50 rxs each day.  I have busy moments, but 9 hours is torture to spend alone.  At least 95% of the customers were friendly and thankful for my help.
Day five began 10 hours at the busiest store the in the area, in a town 30 minutes away.  The store does about the same volume as my former store in KS, but they are 24 hours.  I expected it to be easier since some of the work should have been done over night.  Wrong thinking.  Mondays are typically the busiest day anyway, but this place isn't as efficient as it could be.  Plus, these people don't believe in taking breaks, apparently.  I should have feigned a smoke break.  On the up side, I met the district operations trainer, and she seemed really nice and helpful.  Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in the busy store.  Tuesday, I found myself missing KS and 3772 a bunch.  I missed my co-workers and friendly banter.  I'm still the newbie and no one really trusts my opinion yet.  I know it will take time to build that trust relationship, but it still hurts not to be taken seriously.
Thursday I worked three hours in the slow store.  Yup, three whole hours.  It wasn't too bad, I had a tech to talk to for two hours of it.  Friday was back to the busy store.  The store manager and operations trainer complimented my on work ethic and attitude.  I was surprised they had looked at my numbers, but pleased they noticed and took the time to tell me.  It was a rough week, but I had some positive notes, too.
This weekend we took the kiddos to the beach.  Finally.  I have been waiting for almost two weeks.  Do you know what's even more amazing then walking two blocks to the beach?  Walking to Starbucks for an iced white chocolate mocha ON THE WAY to the beach.  Yes, there is a Starbucks three blocks from my house, one block from the beach.  I'm in heaven.  We had a blast at the beach.  I tagged along after Handsome.  We dug in the sand and waded in the ocean.  Hubby and Princess jumped in the waves.  Both kids cried when we left.  Princess asked to go to the beach this afternoon and make sand castles.  I'm so happy my kids can grow up here.
Tomorrow, we are going to try a new church.  I'm excited to go and meet some new people.  Its important for our family to make new relationships, especially if Hubby gets locked out again.

6.15.2011

Still Here, Barely

I'm still here, trying to blog in between opening boxes and doing laundry.  The place is starting to come together, although we are still missing a few key pieces.  We got purged ourselves of many belongings before moving, but I am convinced it is not enough.  And of course, things have not made it.  For instance, the feet to our dresser are MIA.  Plus, the dresser doesn't fit in our new room AND allow the closet door to open.  No one is brave enough to move it upstairs to the Princess' room, so it has taken up residence in the dining room.  I plan on using it as a buffet/decor storage thing.  Currently, it is sitting on cardboard until we muster enough energy to put felt on the corners to help avoid scratching the floors.  However, we did manage to move some loose plastic spoons and a pair of chopsticks.  How those made it and not the dresser feet I will never know.
Meanwhile, Princess, Hubs, and I have no place to store our clothes.  Dresser shopping needs to happen soon, but its hard to find the time.  Anyone have tips on how to store clothes in a small space without hanging everything?  I have so many things I need to do, it's hard to prioritize.  We did buy mattresses for the Princess.  She is moving up to a big girl bed.  We also purchased a rug for the living room and found a chair we (I) really like.  I think we might wait for the chair until next paycheck and search for a World Market coupon.
In the middle of all this my job called and asked if I could start work early, on Thursday.  I negotiated a one to nine shift, so hopefully I can find my work clothes that morning and figure out where the store is.  So now I have an extra vacay day for later in the year, but extra stress for myself now.  Why do I allow myself to say yes?  Maybe I need to leave town unexpectedly.  At least I got to walk to the beach today.  I might have to do that every day to remind myself these unexpected stressors are short lived.

6.14.2011

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Saturday was the big day.  Hubby took the kiddos and I to the airport, where I met my Momma. We arrived around 11am and waited for our flight.   We didn't board until 1:20pm.  From there we flew to Cleveland.  Lucky for me, Handsome slept almost the whole way.   Princess entertained herself with an ipad.   Momma and I played Scrabble across the aisle.   It was a tiny plane.   One seat on one side of the aisle, and two on the other side.  I had to keep both kiddos with me because my side had an extra oxygen mask.  We had an hour and a half layover before the next flight.  There really weren't any kid friendly food places nearby, so I was an all-star mother and fed my offspring a dinner of Teddy Grahams, Nutrigrain bars, potato chips, PB crackers, milk, and apple juice.  It looks like a lot typed out, but they shared everything.  In addition to feeding my kiddos, we also tried to let them burn off some energy. This is where I am EXTREMELY thankful my Momma was along.  One of us could dash after Handsome while the other could watch the bags.   Handsome was always trying to dash through an open door or make the automatic doors open.  He almost made it into the President's Club.  It was also necessary to have two people for bathroom breaks.  I can't imagine trying to wrangle two kiddos, three bags, and diaper changes by myself.  Thank Heaven's for family bathrooms.  At one point, my Momma was waiting in the hall with Princess while Handsome and I were finishing up our business.  I could hear my child screaming for me.  I'm sure my mom was hoping no one would think she was trying to kidnap her.  Oh, and in the middle of all of this, I lost my boarding pass.   Not just mine, but my kiddos too.   And didn't realize this until 5 minutes before we were to board the plane.  We waited for the end of the line before I hung my head and confessed to the ticket taker what had happened.  She then asked to see my ID, and of course I couldn't find it.   A few minutes later my Momma found it at the bottom of my purse.  Seriously, I don't know what I would have done if she wasn't with me.  I would have had an emotional breakdown.
The second leg wasn't too eventful.   Princess fell asleep for the last 30 minutes.   Handsome flirted with the flight attendant. Once we landed, the captain announced the ramp was closed and we couldn't get off the plane.  We had to wait until it was re-opened.  Now my kiddos were upset.  We had to sit for another 15 minutes.  Once we were allowed off, it didn't take too long to get to the car and get on the road.
We decided to head to my Momma's house in SC instead of staying in her apartment in the city.  We drove through one of the most hellacious thunderstorms ever.  I mean, I love thunderstorms, and this one was awesome.   The lightening strikes where so bold and bright you could see a darker black outline where it used to be.  I think it burned my retinas.  The rain came down in sheets.  We pulled over for a bit, then decided to keep going.  We drove 30 mph for about 30 minutes. We could barely see the lanes, most people were driving with their hazards on.  I love a good thunderstorm.   It was like a welcome home present.
All in all, it really wasn't a bad trip.  Somehow I managed to get through it functioning on very little sleep and being emotionally exhausted.  Next time I decide to move across the country after working 8 days in a row while frantically packing and cleaning until midnight or later every night, please kindly remind me that isn't a good idea.  In fact, slap me in the face and tell me I'm insane.

6.12.2011

Guess (Translate) That Word

Let's play a game. It's called "Guess that Word".    I'll tell you a word and and give you a hint, then you translate it from Baby Talk to English.  Doesn't that sound like fun?  Whoever guesses the most correct gets a prize!  Ok, here we go.

1.  Poh-pop.   I'm red and tomatoey.  Answer: Ketchup,  per Handsome

2.  Cherry.    I'm a diet supplement.  Answer:  Vitamin, per Princess

3.  Woh-wade.  Yellow, tart, and delicious.  Answer: Lemonade, per Princess 

4.  Awe-fuwl.   Sticky, breakfast carbs.  Answer: Waffles, per Princess

5.  Allaces.  British claymation show.  Answer:  Wallace and Gromit, per Princess

5.  Coocakes.  Something sweet?? Answer: Cupcakes, per Princess, refers to ANYTHING sweet.


Good Luck!  A follow up post with the answers and winners in one week!  (give or take a few days, you know how life goes with kiddos)

Winner is Andrew! You win a free night at the beach!  You just have to get here!  Runner up is Carly!  You also win a free night at the beach!  Email for more details!!!

6.07.2011

Wildflowers and Dirt Sticks

Despite having loads to do before relocating, we found time to take pictures of the kids. Actually, we were forced from our home for an hour or so in order for the landlord to show it. I used the available time to mark a few things off my bucket list.
First, we had lunch at Quinton's. The kids actually behaved rather well and split a PBJ sandwich, lemonade, and potato chips. Princess actually just ate chips and lemonade. I had a wonderful half TAC, minus sprouts, with spicy chips, and a bowl of chedder soup. Absolutely delicious. Especially spicy chips dipped in the cheese soup.
Next, we drove to campus to take pictures near Potter's lake. It was overcast, hot, and very humid. It felt like it would rain at any minute. Luckily, it didn't. Although, if it did, maybe it would have cooled off.







Do these count as pictures with wildflowers?



























We bribed the kids with suckers to keep them in a happy mood. It was all fun and games until Handsome rolled his in the dirt and Princess wanted to trade him. Apparently, dirt does make things taste better. However, Mom and Dad spoiled the party by taking the dirt sticks away, so we all went home to take naps. Well, the kiddos anyway.

6.04.2011

Blast From the Past

I don't really miss high school, but I miss eating lunch with these girls.



Samantha, Betsy, and Jennifer.



Betsy, Jessica, Samantha, and half of Jennifer.



Ok, so here is me and three fourths of Betsy. I think this was take in 1999 or early 2000. I was probably 18. I miss the Home Ec. room, pizza rolls and tator tot casserole. Jennifer, do you still eat a Reese's every day?



Me, Betsy, and Jennifer at Betsy's baby shower. Spring 2003, I think.



Betsy, her two children, Samantha, my baby princess, me, and
Jessica.



Samantha, Jennifer, Me, Betsy. Summer 2010?



Samantha, Jennifer, Me, Betsy. Early 2011.



Again, Me, Betsy, Jennifer, Samantha. Slightly different order. May, 2011.

Notice how we mostly sit in the same order? Humans are creatures of habit. We had our last lunch about a week ago. It will probably be awhile before we get another one. However, the next one will hopefully be followed by a walk on the beach and a cool ocean breeze. No one will be able to replace my lunch bunch; I already miss you girls.

6.03.2011

Counting Down

Nearly one week left!  Eight more days of work.  I've spent the last few days packing and we are getting down to the wire.  The majority of things are done; now we are working on the last minute things that can't be done too far ahead of time.  I guess that's why they are last minute things, right?  I am so tired and physically exhausted.  I'm sure in a few days I will be mentally exhausted as well.  I have had a very kind friend come help me pack, otherwise I think I would be in a worse shape.

I am getting excited, and I hope that exhilaration will carry me through the next week and a half.  I have said many good-byes, and a few see-you-laters.  The next week will be difficult at work.  I am looking forward to Saturday when I will see my Mommy.  Its been 8 months! since I last saw her!

The next week will continue to be busy: family haircuts, more continuing education, last minute good-byes, lots of cleaning, packing boxes, then loading the truck.  I had some retail therapy last night to help me cope.  I purchased new plates, bowls, glasses, and a shower curtain.  I can't wait to see them in the new house!
Rim Plates from Crate and Barrel Outlet

Rings Glassware from Crate and Barrel

Ruffles Shower Curtain from Target
I have a few more posts planned, but I am waiting on pictures from a friend.  I hope to post at least twice before I leave, but I can't make any promises.