The Owen's Opus

Reading Rainbow

2011-05-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Isn't it strange how you can read one book for forever and not finish then you start another and plow right through? I'm 2 days in to The Pioneer Woman's book and already 2/3 of the way done. The only thing stopping me from finishing is this:

So jealous of the new paper kitty. He wants me to go back to the old book.

Posted from my iPhone

I've neglected you...

2011-05-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

dear blog. There's just been so much going on and I haven't been posting.

Let me give a few highlights:

We are moving apartments at the end of June. Same city, just a different place!
I went home and helped LJ pick out her wedding dress. I'm going to be her MOH!
Brent finished all of his finals and has the week off. He starts his summer internship next Monday.
We went to San Diego but I lost my camera charger so I have almost no pictures. I was also deathly ill (being dramatic) with the stomach bug while packing so I forgot the other camera. It was fun but I was sick for half the time. Not the vacation I thought but overall, a pretty city with good Mexican food.
I ran a half marathon! Mom came and ran it too!
Landon is here visiting right now. Mattie is part thrilled because it's an extra pair of hands but part hating his life because now there are TWO Owen men available to smush and pick him up whenever they want!

I'm sure lots more has happened and that's why I'm supposed to blog daily so I dont forget but I've been bad. I promise to try again!

You know you grew up in Texas when...

2011-04-08T17:29:00.001-07:00

They pat down you hair during security check at the airport.

It's not even that big today...

- Posted from my iPhone

Staycation and Update

2011-04-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

So getting the pictures off my new, fancy camera isnt exactly easy. They are so big that I dont have a computer that can really handle them. I have tried moving them immediately to either the internet or external storage, but again- it just doesnt seem to work. So for now, you will have to be satisfied with just words!

A week ago Friday, Brent and I went on a Denver stay-cation for the end of his Spring Break. We went to the zoo, out to eat at fun places, and hung with friends. It was a nice break and left me wanting a staycation every weekend!

Last weekend the weather was amazing! Joe was in town visiting and we went on the Coors Brewery Tour which turned out to be kind of boring until the end when they gave us free beer. Brent really enjoyed this part since Joe and I aren't big beer people. We checked out the town of Golden which was initially very cute but upon further review, turned out to have a chip on it's shoulder. Our server at lunch was terrible and there were rough bikers everywhere?!? It's no Estes but it's closer and could be quaint if we ate somewhere new!

I'm up to the same old, same old at work and Brent is really starting to prep for finals. He will be done early May which will be a nice break for him. Matthew is doing well but is still struggling with limitations on his kibbles. This is by far the longest we have kept him on a diet and he's not pleased to say the least. He's a sweet boy though and has taken to snuggling up in between my arm and body when I lay down. (Just imagine it as if I was standing and holding a kid on my hip- it's that but laying down). It's sweet and redeems his screaming for more pets and kibbles.

Hopefully I will have pics to post soon- otherwise I might need to start saving for a new computer so I can share our adventures!

Top Dog

2011-03-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

The top catdog in our family posing on the new addition:

Emotionally Attached

2011-03-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

I got lots of great characteristics from my mother but in terms of practical ones, they totally skipped over me. She's neat, I'm not. She's patient, I want to throw my computer out of my office every morning when it takes 20 minutes to start. She's good at keeping the clutter to a minimum, my middle name might need to be legally changed to clutter. I dont hoard but I do get attached to things. Examples:

I have every dress I wore for a shower, party, picture, etc. that was associated with our wedding still hanging in the closet. Not to reveal too much, but those little suckers are about 2 sizes too small. It's a wonder what stress does to you.
I have a couple of red scarves I wore when I worked for Target. I might need those some day when I become an American Airlines flight attendant or decide that red looks good on me again.
I have about 20 different hair products in the bathroom each 75% full. I use only one each day.
I had been complaining about the couches for 3.5 years but when the time came to actually give them away, I got sad. Not because I had some memory or something but because I thought Mattie might miss hanging over the armrest. (So in case you didn't catch that- now I'm projecting my attachment to inanimate objects onto the cat.)

Here's Mattie's enjoying the couch one more time. I didn't get an armrest photo before we gave them away:

See he does look ~~asleep~~ sad right? (Just work with me here)

And after some reassuring from Brent, we gave the couches away. Since the new couch has much smaller arms, and we have a cat who falls on the higher end of the growth charts, the same "melty cat" position will not be happening. I was concerned and played extra mousy with him that day (again- if you are a parent or psycho analyzing this post at all, yep- I still need a while till I have kids if I am worried about what the cat is feeling. HE'S A CAT.)

Luckily, he adjusted quite quickly to his new surroundings. He even sits on the very top of the chairs- I have yet to snag a pic but he really teeters depending on where his belly is.

I began to think that maybe I cater to the cat too much (gasp, ok so I do but at least I admit it)

Single Cat Parent

2011-03-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness my days of single cat parenting are came to an end on Tuesday. I am really terrible at cat parenting alone. I gag when I have to scoop Mattie's box and I get suckered into giving him treats every night. Hey they are good for his teeth...

I even made Matthew wait until 7:30 to get his morning scoop of kibbies this morning. The HORROR!! He was HATING it for about 5 minutes then decided he didnt have the energy to fight the tyrant anymore and rested with me.

Sometimes on Saturdays, I like being the single cat parent because Mattie is so snuggly and likes to curl up and nap with me. What a sweet mental picture right? I know, all well and good, except during the week. Our cat needs more attention than any cat I have ever met. Being the only pet parent, my hands feel like they are going to fall off from all the pets and I have been yelled at more in the past 5 days than probably my whole life. Prince Matthew is very demanding.

I'm was ready for B to be home for more reasons than just making him take his share of pets though it sure is nice to not wake up to the most frenzied, panicked, the-world-is-ending-because-the-kibbies-are-gone, alarm clock I've ever had!

Who me?

MIA, One Man's Trash...

2011-03-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

I've been MIA but with good reason. I have about a trillion posts I could do on what I've been up to on the home decoration front, but uploading pics and getting everything just right is taking a while. For now, I will recap on my latest thrifing adventure.

Thrift stores are like magnets to me. I have always loved the trickery of getting a deal that is so amazing that I feel like I might get to the register and they say, "Oh Mam, we are sorry but that is mis marked. It's missing a numeral (presumably a 1 or higher in front of the price)." So since Allison and thrift stores are like magnets and Brent and thrift stores are like oil and water, I went this weekend while Brent was at home visiting his family. Much to my pleasure, it only took TWO thrift stores for me to find a killer deal. I fell in love with this mid mod (that's mid-century modern) dining table. WHAT A FIND! Now let me walk you through my next actions/thoughts:

Scan rest of store. There's no way this could be my only deal in here.
Ok it is the only good thing within 20 miles of this store. Well the table, and the pig beanie baby which instantly took me back but wasnt cute enough for me to be willing to touch it.

Total side note: One of my rules for thrifting is to never bring home something that's 100% fabric based. I can rip up upholstery on chairs, but there was literally a woman buying lingerie while I was there. Really? Target has some options for about the same price. Ewww.

There are no chairs. What in the world would I pair the beauty with? This could take 2+ months of following design blogs to even be able to eat at the table. I should walk away.
I dont need a table. What would I do with it? I have one already. Walk away.
Leave store empty-handed. It usually feels right because everything was junk. Not this time. I want the table. Is it wrong to want a piece of old furniture?
Drive away. Call Brent. Explain I want the table. He says buy it. Not having 1. room or 2. a plan or 3. a way to refinish has never stopped me in the past. Ok. But really, I agonize, where would we put it? Still driving.
Call Mom because I need two people to say, "Get the table." Still driving. Mom says, "Store it under the bed." Genus. Exactly why I called.
Almost home. Call thrift store to see if it's still there. Change out cars. Phone dies (a requirement for any story I ever tell). Race like hell to drive the 7 miles in 12 minutes before the store closes.
Bound in. Ask for table. Try to tell them what a deal this is. Want to share excitement. Disgruntled employee doesn't care. Pay $15. Leave smitten with table in back of car.

So now I'm happy but not able to share my prize with anyone since my phone died. Plus I want it in the house right away to see how it looks with its new friends, couch and chairs. I decide the only logical thing to do is carry the thing myself (remember Brent wasn't home). So I huff and puff wrestling this table (drop leaves helped significantly) and rocking it through doorways and down the hall, right past THREE guys. What jerks. Who wouldn't offer to help? Hell, I would have offered some other girl help if she was sweating and doing Lamaze breathing as she walked past me trying not to die.

The table and I made it in and it's perfect! I have been hunting a little for others similar to it online to see if my find really was as fantastic as I thought. I think it is. Here's a very similar one to tide you over until I can post pics of the real beauty:

If you just saw the pics and went, "Hum. It's a really simple wood table," then thank you because people like you donate treasures for me to find. Oh and would you change your mind if I said that this one is referred to as a "Vintage Kipp Steward Drexel Sun Coast Dining Table" circa 1959?" That name alone makes me feel like I could invite Betty Draper to dinner and she would adore it. (Don't get the reference? That means you probably dont like the table either!)

One man's trash = Another Woman's $15 Treasure!

Blehhh

2011-03-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

Still no Internet at home. I'm at work and trying to eat a little lunch (busy time at work).

I have been training for the half marathon and am still pretty low on miles but am tired by the end of the day when I can usually get a run in. To counter this, I decided to go to the cafeteria and get a juice. Well I usually get a "Superfood" juice which is tasty and amazing but it has no protein. Since I was going to have a small sandwich I thought I would swap the juice for a shake. MISTAKE. I should have read the front closer but I was just looking at how great it was and how much it would help me exercise better (all found on the back and in my own head). The front CLEARLY states that it's a "Dairy Protein Shake." This is where the Blahhhhhh comes in. I dont drink milk and havent since I was probably six. I tried drinking it and let out an audible "uggglllhhhh" (make a gagging noise while reading that and you will understand why I chose the letters I did.) I literally tried to force myself to drink the whole thing but I'm about half way done and I think I'm going to throw in the towel. How do adults drink milk without wanting to vomit? It's like drinking ice cream without all the goodness. How does anyone drink a protein shake without holding their nose, swallowing, and immediately shoving sandwich bits in their mouth so they can take away the taste and release their nose? It's making me shudder just typing about it. Nasty-ist (yep, it was so nasty I had to make up a word) thing I have done in a while for sure.

Forget milk protein shakes and bring on a vat of those osteoporosis chocolate chews and a steak. I'm never drinking one of those again.

- Posted from my iPhone

Internet Out

2011-03-01T09:44:00.001-08:00

at the apartment. Memoirs of chair assembly and the new couch coming soon!

Shutterbug

2011-02-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

As I started adding family photos to the blog, it was getting hard to have a traditional blog layout match the new HUGE size of photos coming from my camera. I decided to add another blog (I know, I know I can hardly keep this one up) where I could put up the big ol pics!

There's a link up under the title of the blog. Just click on the hyperlink on that page to go to the other site. I need to find out how to auto direct it to the new page!

La Dolce Vida

2011-02-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

To keep you all in the loop on the living room re-do (because I know you have been dying to figure out what our other seating options would be), I would like to introduce a little bit of sweetness:

That's the Dolce chair from Target. She and her twin sister are coming to live with us. I think she will look quite nice with a little lumbar pillow to add some color. When I was courting additional furniture, I decided I wanted something pretty neutral in-case our future abodes didnt have room for additional seating in the living area or required much bigger pieces. Since I'm thrifty (nice way of saying pretty cheap), I thought about buying off of Craigslist and redoing but then I remembered my plum friend currently sitting in the living room who still hasnt been recovered because I'm totally intimidated by her 70's curves. Since I'm an avid YoungHouseLove.com reader, I spotted the above chair in their house and decided to shamelessly mimic. She just blends right in:

And their two in the new place pushed together to make a bench:

And in someone elses' house that appeared when I googled "Dolce Lounge Chair Target":

The reviews say Dolce is ridiculously difficult to put together but I think B and I are up for the challenge. I will post during the process but if our Dolces have duct tape holding the legs on, I might just not show that.

Here's what I think I should make next for our living room. I think I will finish the room in just enough time to move :)

Now what am I going to bitch about?

2011-02-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

So many of you probably know that I hate our couch. It has slipcovers, isnt comfortable, and is always "swallowing" me when I take a nap. Well I'm proud to say that thanks to Level 3 funding bonuses this year, we are the proud owners of this little mid-century modern knock-off:

It's a nice "slate" color so the neutral will hopefully match lots of things and be versatile for a while. We just got the sofa since my favorite design site recommends putting together rooms that look like they were acquired not all purchased at the same time. I have my eye on a couple of chairs to complement the new couch and add additional seating.

We dont get the couch delivered until Wednesday the 23rd so I'm just typing from the old one with much anticipation!!

Were back

2011-01-19T16:23:00.000-08:00

And reprising the "where did all this snow come from?" face. It started dumping at about 2:30 and by 4:30, it was pretty bad. Brent got on the bus at 3:30 and he's still not home. It's 5:20. It took me 25 minutes to go 2 miles. I also happened to wear a dress and tights for this Welcome Back Winter occasion so I looked my finest in running shoes (thank goodness I work out at work), tights and a dress! Now I also didn't plan accordingly and forgot gloves. After scouring the car I found two cocktail rings, a hair tie, a flower headband, one pair of heals, purple aviators and a tarp. So basically I could style myself well if left stuck in my car for days but that was about it. What's a girl to do in 23 degree weather with bare hand and practically bare legs? Why put her running socks on her hands of course. Creative yes. Stylish no.

Hands not feet:

Feet not warm:

Im Happy to report they worked pretty well to protect my hands while scraping snow but just so we are all clear, if it wasn't a white-out I would have put on a ring, added the headband and braved the weather all in the name of fashion!

Posted from my iPhone

Thankful

2011-01-12T15:13:00.001-08:00

To be in the only state without snow

Posted from my iPhone

Update

2011-01-09T11:54:00.001-08:00

We had. Fantastic Christmas this year! I must update more but our annual sales conference is upon me and I'm totally swamped at work. Sales Confetence basically has nothing to do with marketing but we have to do all the work anyway. It's an interesting, hard week in Orlando. To make things mote exciting, we woke up to lots of snow this morning. Brent drove me to the airport since I was nervous about the weather. Here's what it looks like outside the plane window

At least Orlando should have better weather!

Posted from my iPhone

Happy Monday

2010-12-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

Lovely. Pickup of pickled jalepenos on isle 5. My bad Wally employees.

I was pretty mortified to be the idiot they were talking about when they called over the loud speaker but now I'm probably a nice shade of crimson because they just called for more cleanup AND I knocked more chips off the shelf. I'm pretty sure the whole store knows it's me. Maybe it's the jalepeno scent now imbedded in my shoes.

- Posted from my iPhone

Everywhere We Go

2010-12-20T09:15:00.000-08:00

It's beginning

To Look

A Lot Like

Christmas!

Catcalls

2010-12-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

Now I know you all have been dying to see more Matthew glamor shots since he... gasp stop wait what?!?!?! How did I not know this? A while back I wrote a post about taking some glamor shots of Mattie and thought I had posted it. They were with the old camera and I was about to post a sequel but little to my knowledge, the original post was never actually posted. It's still in draft form. How did the world survive without his cuteness published on the interweb???

Breath into a bag and take a zanax because it will be ok. You will get to see his adorable little whiskers. I will repost it below and make you wait in suspense for the new photos. Keep breathing, count to ten. Here's the original post below.

Mattie's Glamor Shots

2010-12-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

A while back Mattie was laying on the couch being lazy and I picked up the camera and started doing a mini photo shoot in the dark lighting. He kept squishing his one eye, but I think I got some cute shots:

I especially like the last one!

1/2 way done!

2010-12-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

On Monday Brent finished his last exam and he is officially 1/2 way done with law school! Hooray! He has been working at his internship since then and really likes it so it looks like he made a good choice (and we made a good investment)!

And because I have taken way too many photos lately (500+ since Thanksgiving) here are some of him:

Brent moving so I could practice my action shot:

Low Light

Irony- haha just kidding. He happened to actually be splitting time pretty equally between both the book and the phone.

I call this one: "Ok I've been a good sport!"

Very proud of Brent for all his hard work and thankful he lets me take such annoying photos all the time!

Happy Birthday!

2010-12-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

So after a long hiatus- work and school have been nuts, I'm back to say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear husband!

I love you for many reasons but here are a few:

You make me laugh:

You go on adventures with me:

You go on adventures without me:

You care for me and help me through hard times.

You work your hardest to provide for me and Mattie.

You love me with all your heart:

And I love you with all of mine!

Happy Birthday Love!

Now let's go celebrate on the slopes!

Puppy Love

2010-12-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

Our friends Jake and Caitlin got a new pup on Friday and boy is Addie cute! She came to say hello to me on Saturday and I took a few impromptu shots (hey, I warned you I am attached to the camera). I didnt realize how high I needed to make the shutter speed just to keep up with the little one. Plus the black Addie on Jake's black shirt was tough but her cuteness proved to counter any photo problems. Check out the little one (plus some before/afters of photoshop work):

Meet Addie Durling:

Here's a little before (to show you how adorable her leash is):

I had to put this one in here because like father, like puppy daughter:

They weren't ready yet and both didnt like the flash too much!

I think the little one already has her dad wrapped around her little paw:

Puppy Kisses are the best

Then I put the camera down and started getting puppy kisses myself! Expect more pics of this little one as I test out my camera!

New Member of the Family

2010-12-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

NO IT'S NOT A LIVING MEMBER but Brent might mistake it for my Siamese twin since we are so attached! I got an early Christmas present on Black Friday and it has been keeping me entertained:

I am still learning and have a few classes I purchased through Groupon to take, but it's fun to just play around. Brent says I'm he and Mattie's personal paparazzi since he will come out of the room and I will take a million pictures!

No Pulitzers yet but here are some fun ones:

Time to play "Where's Allison" in the above shot. I found me 3 times!

The orange one below might be my favorite so far

So I took the one above of Mattie yawning and thought it best captured his emotions when hungry. I was bummed that it was blurry (shooting without the flash bc he runs away if I flash) but then I caught him again:

I think someone was trying to give me the hint that the photo shoot was over!

We got Carded

2010-12-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

We officially have a Christmas card purchased and being mailed ASAP to us for distribution! It's not one of the ones below but is from the same company. I started pulling together our Christmas card send list and realized it's SHOCKING how many we are going to send out! We ordered 60 cards and that's going to be stretching it. Everyone has moved out of their houses, gotten married and our cards keep multiplying! I guess it's a blessing to have so many but I'm not sure how thrilled Brent will be when I'm busing being a Christmas printing elf come 12/13 (the day of his last final). Oh well!

To keep it in suspense, I will just give a preview of the very simple back! (Minus the box around the font)

On the Road Again

2010-11-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we will be in

for Thanksgiving break! Things we are excited about:

Seeing our Families
Spending time with everyone at home
Sleeping in places that do not have shared walls with frat boys who play halo all night
Eating Chuy's (ok I bet you can guess who likes that one)

Things we are not excited about:

Matthew meowing to make the string move for all 15 hours of the trip (and Allison moving it for all 15 hours)
Yep, that's about it!

See ya soon Tejas!

Ten on Tuesday... err, Wednesday

2010-11-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Molly's blog and thought it was fun! Mine's Ten on Wednesday but oh well!
{1.}Who makes your Thanksgiving dinner?

Um, not me. Haha. Last year B and I had bbq on Thanksgiving up in the mountains and it ~~was~~ might have been better than anything I could have made. I think this year it's a combo of Ellen and Mom making the big dinner. I'm just game for consuming large quantities of mashed potatoes and mushrooms (not traditional Tgiving food but traditional for Ellen to make when I'm home :) :)

{2.} What is your favorite recipe the includes pumpkin? (bonus points for including the recipe)

Um no bonus points here since I dont really remember how to make them but I like Mom's pumpkin muffins. I also remember that the little ones are only 1 point. Strange memories but good none the less.

{3.} What are 5 things you want for Christmas?

1. No snow on the roads- only on the ski slopes unlike last year.
2. Good health for everyone- no puking in a tin Mom.
3. A camera- if we save our pennies.
4. Ridiculous amounts of things on Ideeli (ok really probably just some sunglasses since mine broke and a black, belted pea coat to replace the one I have had since middle school. Not sure where I would wear a ball gown, but gosh they are pretty)
5. A black chair from Garden Ridge. Mattie's chunky self broke one of our dining room chairs so now we only have 3.

{4.} Does your family draw names or do you buy for everyone?

Immediate- standard gift giving. Dad's extended family- I dont know. Mom's- just the little kiddos. I'm kind of thinking that the exchanging of names/gifts with the extended family when everyone is over the age of 21 is a bit much. I say we just adopt a family, or all promise to pull an angel off the tree, or something. B and I donated money for Thanksgiving Dinner to the Food Bank and figured we would either eat bbq or go home or eat sandwiches instead of using the money for our own feast. I'm thinking that theory might be good for Christmas too!

{5.} How do you feel about motorcycles?

Tough. I say dumb because of all the accidents but then I think they would be so thrilling to ride on. No to Harley ownership (buy a ski condo instead) but if you ride off main roads/highways and are safe, and dont bother me, I dont really care. So basically it's if you dont crash and cost me tax dollars by riding on a death trap too fast in traffic, then go for it. Cynical, yeah.

{6.} What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy Saturday?

Watch football while making something (usually a gigantic mess) and eating chips and queso.

{7.} What is the coolest thing to do in your city?

City specific- movies or the mall. Broader area- Hike the Flatirons. Even broader- skiing.

{8.} Do you paint your fingernails?

Yep. Then I pick at them until half the polish comes off. Then I leave them for a month with just the middle bits of polish. Classy. Pretty.

{9.} Who is your favorite actor(actress) over the age of 50?

Diane Keaton. I'm dying to see that new Today Show like movie.

{10.} Do you have a high school letter jacket?

I have two- One from soccer and one from drill team. The drill team one is all decked out and probably still in my parents' coat closet!

Another fantastic fashion site

2010-11-09T10:17:00.000-08:00

One of the girls at work told me about Ideeli and I'm hooked. Everyday there is a different sale (like a sample sale only online) and everything is designer but MUCH cheaper. The stuff is super cute but it's a total pressure sale- one day, only a few of each size. I turned down my ShoeDazzle selections this month so I keep trying to rationalize buying some of these goodies, but I haven't succumb yet:

Maggy London- $45

Maggy London- $49

Kensie Sunglasses- $29

And that was just today's sales! What a fun site to look at!

Mr. Green, In the Conservatory, with the Revolver

2010-11-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

Halloween Pictures!

Link to big album:

Mr. Green, In the Conservatory, with the Revolver

Crowd Sourcing

2010-11-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Being a Millennial and growing up in the age of social media makes me a few things:

A fan of Mark Zuckerberg and The Social Network (go see it if you haven't- it's good!)
Heavily reliant on technology
Heavily reliant on crowd sourcing (aka not making decisions alone)

Thus I present the Christmas Card vote. This year I PROMISE to actually buy them AND send them out. No trying to create them or print at home- that's nuts. I'm purchasing and having them all addressed BEFORE Thanksgiving. (You all can hold me to it since I have declared my intentions)

So here are our options that I have found so far:

3 or in purple (which I love)

9-Multiple pictures is a plus:

Holy crap you say? This is WAY too many choices. Welcome to my world. Welcome to why crowd sourcing is so important. No shoes/purses this month (bad selection, boring compared to glitter and flowers) so vote on this instead! I dont have as pretty of pictures of the two of us as most of these have and it's hard to find a close up of us together that's quality enough. I have about 4-5 pics of things throughout the year that we could put on there. Let's start with the design first. The vote is on!

Lost & Found

2010-11-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

Pics to come! It was in the car under the front passenger's seat?!?

Posted from my iPhone

Halloween

2010-11-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

:( Though Halloween was fun, we lost our camera with all of the pictures on it. I know I had it at the party, put it in Jake's front jacket pocket and that's the last we all know. I have called the hotel where the party was and I'm still hoping it's at Jake and Caitlin's but he checked and it's not looking good. I am pretty upset because that was a nice camera and I hadn't downloaded in a while so we lost Landon and Parker's visit, the Pumpkin Patch and Halloween. I keep hoping it will show up somewhere but I'm not sure that's the case any more.

I will post if I find a random picture or two on fb but I was the only person who brought a camera to the party from the Clue characters so it really stinks. :( :( :(

Hope your Halloween didn't have the residual disappointment that mine did.

What a good hubby

2010-10-29T08:23:00.001-07:00

I could write a series in the nice things Brent does for me but there's no need to make you all die from sweetness so I will start small. You might remember when I said cleaning was better than flowers, well flowers are good too! A week ago Monday B and I met for lunch since he didn't have class. He brought me some nice white roses that were super pretty as a way to say thanks for being supportive during the job hunt and because they were pretty in the grocery store. We went and got a vase for them so I could keep them at work. It was such a nice surprise and I was all happy but everyone at work kept asking what they were for. When I would say just because they were like, "Oh he must be in the doghouse." So then I had to say that they were pretty at the grocery store. So funny that no one asked why I had a bouquet of cheetos in my office a while back but flowers were a very good conversation starter! Here are the super pretty roses:

Thanks B! I'm lucky to have you!

Prune pumpkin

2010-10-27T09:30:00.001-07:00

Before

After

I don't think this pattern is best for longevity!

- Posted from my iPhone

Oh winter you are coming

2010-10-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

A photo montage

Temp after work

First test of the heat- not fast enough but is it ever?

Leaves are leaving

No sock weather is ending...might be the most depressing change!

first bits of winter coming

Eek I'm not ready for winter!

We're getting ready

2010-10-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready for Halloween here. I spent most of Saturday shopping for costumes with Sarah and Caitlin. We found some good stuff- I will post pics soon. Saturday night we went to Meg and Damion's for a pumpkin carving party. Here's our pumpkin:

It was just one of those pattern you get with the kit but it looked pretty cool that night. Brent helped me with the de-gutting but I did most of the carving. I'm just not sure Brent excels at art projects. He loses interest quickly especially when the other past time available is coors light with the boys.

There were some fun pumpkins there including Meg's first attempt at Martha Stewart's shading patterns. When I read Marthas instructions for carving, I stayed old school but Meg was gutsy! Overall a very festive few weekends! I need to post the pumpkin patch photos before Christmas! I realized I still haven't posted my birthday. Always a few months late! Oh well!

I will leave you with more festive fun. We traded Mattie in foe a quieter, purple model. He's not as soft but we are sleeping more!

Jk we love our pumpkin colored kitty, bad behavior and all!

Posted from my iPhone

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2010-10-16T09:34:00.001-07:00

And we're headed to the pumpkin patch this afternoon!

Posted from my iPhone

Excitement for the night

2010-10-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

B starts an internship tomorrow and needed a bag. We walked all around the mall looking for one and finally found a nice brown one. We were both in different cars since we met there after work/school. As we pulled into the apartment everyone was outside and the fire alarm was going off. I could hear the sirens coming so I didn't follow Brent but went around back, threw the car in park, and ran into the building (no flames or anything). The people were like "um lady" but I flew in and got into the apartment figuring Mattie boy was so scared. I called him and he came to me right away. I tried for two seconds to put him in his box then just left carrying him with one arm and locking the door. I knew it was probably a false alarm but I still couldn't stand leaving him in there. We ran outside, jumped down a ledge and sat safe in the car for 10 more minutes before the alarm went off. Poor Mattie was so scared he kept trying to hide under things in the car. It turned out to be a false alarm but I'm still glad Mattie was with me. Worst thing was Mattie made a hole in one of my new shirts while we were leaving but I will trade a shirt for a safe family. Mattie's still a little skittish but he's back to his favorite pastime:

Mattie, you owe me a trip to Loft little bugger!

Posted from my iPhone

Lovely Little Lust-lys

2010-10-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yep I just made up a word. Lust-ly def: the little things Allison is lusting after. Derived from a combo of Lust and Lovely.

This post will be dedicated to the jewelry I'm lusting after lately. I will do subsequent posts on fashion and interject manly things and stories about Brent so those of you who were brought here under the veil of this being "The OWEN'S Opus" will not sue me. Although chances are I live with your (future) lawyer...

Men- Brent has the pw to this now - though I was never hiding it - so I will make him post about fantasy football or something. The post might end up being about some tort or something which will leave you all BEGGING for my Mattie escapades again but at least it will not be about jewelry. I digress. Back to the Lustlys.

First off I have to say thank goodness all of that 80's highlighter wear is out. I'm happily back to everything looking like something Michelle Obama would wear. Thank you First Lady for bringing girlie, stylish, and slightly funky back in style all at an inexpensive price. Look at these lust-lies (ok the plural doesnt work... thus just adding an "s". Use your imagination and assume I'm not writing about fibs):

How amazing are these? Dont they look like something you would wear with chambre and ride a horse while wearing? The amazing part is I refuse to do either of those (riding the horse sounds fun but probably not in these earrings) but would still love for them to be on my ears.

source

I've been checking these at Target everytime I go but still no beloved red tag. They dont photograph well, but I love a piece of costume jewelry that looks like they might be your grandmothers. One of my favorite pairs of earrings always get attention. Everyone asks if they are passed down and I say, "Yes. From Forever 21 to me for only $3.80."

source

Alright I might be lusting after this one because of it's name. It's called the ""We Didn't Start the Sapphire Ring." It happens to be my birthstone and and alludes to a fantastic Billy Joel song.

source

With the right outfit, this watch could be super cute:

source

I own this pretty ring thanks to Mom! I wore it to work and a lady told me she wishes I could meet her great aunt. She said we would get along great and probably would want to swap jewelry. Is that a compliment? I'm just going to reassure myself and assume she's the most stylish great aunt ever.

source

And I will finish with these because up until now, everything has been totally reasonable. Who buys bracelets that are $160? Not me. I can look but not touch and wait for one of the stores above to knock these off:

Don't worry these are $148.

Hobo days are coming to an end

2010-10-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sad to say that I will have to stop being so much of a moocher. I received an offer today from Rothgerber, Johnson & Lyons, a Denver firm. This summer, I will be part of their summer associate program with 2 other associates. Hopefully, my work over the summer leads to full-time employment upon graduation. Back to more interesting/exciting posts about more interesting/exciting things (Mattie).

- Brent

Here is a link to their website. Sorry Mike, they are a bunch of Democrats:

http://www.rothgerber.com/

Perfect Saturday*

2010-10-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today was such a nice fall day. It was 70 out and beautiful. We woke up, cleaned up, then walked down to the grocery and our local pizza place. We had chips and dip and pizza while watching football. Mattie and I napped for a bit under a blanket since we left the door open to let the cool air in.

Mattie trying to stay warm!

The Horns didn't win which made the day way less perfect but Wofford did. Now were headed to see The Social Network with Luke and Sarah. I wish it could stay fall all year!

- Posted from my iPhone

WIAM: Candy Corn Wreath

2010-10-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would start a little tag of "What I am Making." I had forgotten how much I like crafting things until I started sewing again! Here's my latest project:

So I saw this wreath tutorial based on the cover of a magazine while browsing the Internet. Of course I didn't bookmark it but really liked the idea. Thursday night Brent went to Michael's and Target with me and we got the supplies: black duct tape (is it duct or duck ehh whatever you know what I'm talking about), candy corn, and a wreath frame. The straw one was cheaper but I think they recommended a foam one. Then I started glueing and kept glueing until I got this:

I had to start the patten and pick of the pieces at least 6 times because I had in my head that the wreath "wrapped."

I looked today and it didn't! No wonder that was so impossible!
I'm not loving the ribbon. I got it because it matches my other Halloween stuff (a post for another day) but I'm going to switch to black.

Pretty neat huh? And cheap too! It weighs a ton but held together really well.

I'm most proud of not eating a single candy while making it! I figured if I started on September 30th, I would consume 8 bags by Halloween!

Posted from my iPhone

Uggh they have me right where they want me

2010-10-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

So I'm out of ShoeDazzle credits and have some really cute shoes/bag from it but of course, they still sent me another showroom this month and how AMAZING are these:

I dont know why the bottom is so big but they have glitter, they have flowers. What more could you need in a shoe? I might have to lay down the bucks for these little ones.

Here are some other cute items:

Then there are these that are called "Dallas" which makes me want them. This was the best picture I could find and the girl really needs to clean her mirror but I'm in no position to judge how people clean so she's rocking the boot:

What do you think? Should I just route my paycheck to ShoeDazzle? I say yes.

Employment Law!!

2010-09-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

Hooray!! Brent got his first offer today for next summer! He heard back from Featherstone and has 21 days to respond! SO PROUD!!!!

Lust List

2010-09-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

Alright so what have I been lusting after lately?

Here's the rundown:

1. Modern Family!!! Thank GOODNESS it's back. Though Brent keeps me laughing, it is rare for me to laugh for 30 straight minutes. Thank you Modern Family for being one of the best written shows on television!

2. H&M Online shopping. I mean really. Who doesnt have an online option any more? Ridic. Soon I'm going to have to mail my orders to Melissa for pickup and pay her to ship. What is this the Sears Catalog from 1941?

3. An outdoor office. I literally get all nutrients from florescent light. I didnt think it was possible to sit inside a box for so long. I want to run an extension cord out the doors and into the courtyard. Too bad security would bust me for propping the door open. You can literally get stuck in the bathroom area here if you forget your badge. Not saying its happened to me 10 times or anything....

4. A Teleporter. Yep this might be my most outrageous lust item ever featured but how awesome would that be. Maybe I would settle for a helicopter but teleporting would be way cooler. Then I could go see all the beautiful aspens in just the blink of an eye. Ok maybe I'm just lusting after becoming Jeanie from I dream of Jeannie. Now this is getting out of control.

Side note. I just googled "I Dream of Jeannie" because I swore it was Jeannie and not Genie. My TV Land addiction at 8 years old served me right. Nice. See Mom, using all my buttons on TV marathons would be useful one day!

Hum. I can think of so many more things but they are all repeats. I pretty much always lust after mexican food from home and miss Central Market every time I dont want to cook. I also lust after visiting ATL again and this blazer from GAP (well this one is new) that's not online. Oh yeah and something for the wall above the couches. I swear that wall is made of Teflon and NOTHING will stay. I'm going to have to put nails in the wall but I dont have anything to hang yet. It all seems boring and bla. My apartment is uninspiring right now haha.

I will post on Mattie's new favorite past time tomorrow if I can get pictures tonight! Anyone else want to vote that America changes to four day workweeks?

The Last Supper

2010-09-21T16:14:00.000-07:00

So since I lost most of the pics on my phone from the past few weeks, I figured I didnt have much to blog about. What's a highlight of Brent getting smashed in the nose playing lawyer league football without a pic of his swollen face? A recap of how my Frog (car) went from the Texan holdout to a bona fide Colorado resident wouldn't be the same without a before and after shot. A pic of the understated (kindest adjective I could come up with) UGA Arch wouldnt be done justice with just my words. Oh and a highlight of Mattie's new favorite hobby wouldnt be as cute without a pic of his little face smashed in the glass...more to come on this one.

What's a girl to do? A key component of blogging is pictures.

Lucky for me (and you), I did back up my phone a while ago and still have photos of one of my finer culinary moments. A little back story:

When we first moved to Colorado, I had no idea what the hell I was doing in the kitchen. Most recipes sounded disgusting since I eat approx. 3 types of food (Mexican, Italian, and Southern). I tried making frozen stuff, ended up being hurt in the kitchen, got a little more adventurous, and eventually created a little foodie feature. Then my cooking life changed. I met The Pioneer Woman. Thanks to her how-to pictures, I started feeling super confident. I had several successful dinner parties under my belt and might have been feeling a little invincible.

Enter Martha Stewart Slow Cooker Tacos.

I must reveal that I havent really used my slow cooker because I was totally intimidated by it's extreme power when it BOILED my queso for the Superbowl. Since then, it has quietly sat in the cabinet with the electric knife I will someday use (for when we can afford a Mexican fajita fiesta). Well since I had a little kitchen swagger, I pulled that puppy out and decided to make Slow Cooker Chili Chicken Tacos from Martha Stewart. I had conquered a few of her recipes in the past so this one would be no problem.

After all, the comments literally say, "So good and so easy. Great for soft tacos or chicken nachos too!" Or let me make sure to highlight this one, "The simplest recipe I have ever made and one of the tastiest! Prep time is literally 5 minutes. Sooooo Delicious!" And how could I forget the best, "I am known as the girl who can't cook but - this recipe proved them all wrong! Everybody loved it and was raving about it." Now granite the last one was from a girl who's name is "FutureDoc," but this couldnt be that hard.

Here's what the tacos are supposed to look like:

Yummy, amazing, delicious

And here's how mine turned out:

These are literally the last pictures preserved on my camera from the past few weeks. THANK GOODNESS I didnt lose these. How would I have survived?

Luckily I laughed when I opened the pot and saw the totally fried (but not in a good way) chicken balls. Brent said, "Ummm that smells good," which made me question my cooking skills in general. Then he saw it. Then he realized that I didnt have enough elbow grease alive to clean that sucker and it dawned on him that this just became his problem. After 4-5 times of soaking (lost count) and scrubbing, the pot came clean.

Let's just say, this photo memory was critical to keeping my cooking hubris in check.

New phone

2010-09-18T19:57:00.001-07:00

Sorry I disappeared. I went out of town for work and got a new replacement phone so I haven't been updating. Right now I'm watching the super suspenseful Texas game! I lost some of my photos so I will have to gather some photos for new posts. Until then Hook 'em Horns!!!

Touchdown!!

Posted from my iPhone

Good Month for ShoeDazzle!

2010-09-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

It's another good month for ShoeDazzle and since I returned the cheeta print shoes (didnt fit well and I found other ones at Nordstroms Rack for $22 from BCBG) I get another credit to spend!

Here are some of the good choices:

Above is Navy, below is Deep Plum

Or these camel colored boots are coming out mid month:

This is tough. I really like the black slouchy boots and dont have any black boots for winter but then how much do I love that first orange bag? Lots. A whole lot! What's a girl to do! Vote quick!

What goes up...

2010-08-30T22:20:00.000-07:00

Must get stuck. On Saturday night we went over to Jeremy's place after dinner. About 10:30, we all headed back to Jake and Caitlin's since our car was there. In the super old elevator (I have even noted before that you fully expect it to be manned by a guy in a 1960's polyester bellhop uniform), Brent and Jake start jumping. No one even cares because it's widely known that it's an urban ledgend that if you jump in an elevator you can make it plumit down like a bad Tom Cruise stunt. Well I'm here to report that nothing plumits but it does stop. All five of us got stuck in the elevator.

We tried pressing all the buttons but didn't even know if the "call" button worked. Here are initial reactions:

Jake- super proud face

Jeremy- not thrilled at the prospect of having to call his landlord so late at night (and becoming the jerk upstairs neighbor calling the landlord inadvertently during the first week of school when some undergrads were having an apartment party)

(I never claimed this photo montage was a work of photojournalistic greatness but figured someone had to document the experience)

Caitlin- same reaction as me, "I can't believe that actually works!"

So after we all got over the shock of the elevator actually breaking, we discussed the parallels of our situation to: horror movies, lord of the flies, and saved by the bell. I will let you guess who brought up the last one. When it was determined that no one was saving us, and that it wasn't going to start working with more jumping (as if that's the magic elevator power. Not electricity but jumping up and down...) Jake called the non-emergency police number.

They got our address and then said they would send someone. We all resigned to waiting hours. Luckily Glenn Beck was all over CNN.com so we had some reading to do. Sidebar: how did people a. Google the non-emergency number b. Post their plight on facebook or c. Be ok with being stuck in an elevator, all before smart phones? What was the world like???

Back to the story. So it's hot and we are now all agreeing to not share with the cops the catalyist for our mess, as to not have to say grown men were acting like boys and incur the cost of a antique elevator. Here was the unpretty feeling about ten minutes in:

Please more the floor buttons in the pic: told you. Mad Men set right here.

Then what to our wonderous ears did we hear? A man asking if we were all right and that we would be out soon! We were all shocked because someone must have heard us! There's no way the police would be there so quick! But Boulder FD worked dillagently to get us out quick and in about ten more minutes we saw this:

Our savior who has a confused look on his face when he opens the door and doesn't see super drunk undergrads who broke the elevator. You remember that party I mentioned? It was on the second floor with kids who looked maybe 19 (being generous). Guess what floors we were stuck between? Yep, 3 and 2. The firemen helped us out onto floor two just one door down from the party scene with bass shaking the doors. They didn't even ask our names but directed us to the stairs and that was that! When we got out to fresh air, we realized the had 2 cop cars and a firetruck there for our rescue! Needless to say, we were thankful for the quick response. Still no word on if Jeremy has been id-ed as the evil neighbor or not. I know next time I visit, I will be huffing up four flights of stairs to avoid another photo story.

Good times had by all. Ok maybe not Jeremy but it was only 25 minutes! :)

Posted from my iPhone

Airshow outside today

2010-08-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

So this little guy has been glued to me:

That's him mid-meow telling me to make it stop!

Now he's in my lap looking out the window like "What the hell?" Poor little boy. Cats don't seem to be fond of fighter jets.

Posted from my iPhone

Room Analysis: Southern Meets City

2010-08-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

So one of my blogging friends and more importantly, real life friend, Molly, posted some pictures of her adorable studio on facebook. I thought I would analyze why everything she did was "so right" and why I need to figure out how to use her techniques in our rented space!

Here's her living area

First why it's "So Right":

1. She didnt paint it some funky color- she used the existing wall color and managed to make it warm and inviting

2. It looks exactly like it's out of younghouselove.com which is one of my favorite sites

3. She used a variety of prints and patterns and they dont compete but look fabulous

4. She has interesting, eclectic pieces that are warm but not too "old" looking for a newlywed couple

5. There's zebra in the room- literally a requirement for me

6. She has great textiles- this really makes the space look fancy and inviting. I love the stripes on the couch and the green chair is such a fun addition

7. That little frame over in the corner- how great is that blue frame? So interesting and chic. It adds a girlie spin on the space without making the whole place seem feminine.

8. It feels "homey". Now I'm not sure, but Molly and Joe might still be adjusting to up north and might still call SC home, but this place looks great. It looks like they are settled. It doesn't look like a first apartment (that's a super good thing)!

And second, why I so need to do some of this:

1. Her space is inviting. Lots of times, I feel like going with black makes our apartment "cold" or too "harsh." Molly's use of textiles and interesting lamps adds to a black tv stand, black frames, and a white coffee table (all very similar to pieces to what is in our place) but makes them seem cohesive and not to contrasty.

2. She has great space planning. This is also part of the STUDIO:

3. Her couch- ahhh the beauty of having a piece that you dont want to cover up 24/7. I loathe (yep that's right I went for it and said loathe) the slipcovers. They swallow you while you are taking a nap, never stay on, and generally are not that attractive after their 4th year of use. Also, Mattie tries to beat them up at least twice a day (chasing the ties, general psycho kittyness). I tried getting different ones. Same problem. I think I just dont like the look and feel of a slipcover. I want upholstery. Better yet, I want to learn to upholster so I can have a cute, striped couch too.

4. Because she didnt freak out when it looked like this:

and managed to "finish the project." Above our bed has been blank for 1.2 years now. No inspiration. I have made and taken down 3 different versions of things above our couch. Yep I'm a design quitter :(

5. Lastly, I need to take cues from Molly because she used all of my favorite colors. Green, check! Orange, check! Orange next to black without it looking like Halloween, check! Brown and black furniture mixed with white, check!

Fantastic job Fornadels! It's beautiful! We need design tutorials!

We are officially grown-ups!

2010-08-21T14:33:00.001-07:00

So after some car trouble, we decided it might be time to officially consider owning something from this century to drive in the winter. We found a few good deals online including a $200 a month payment with only a grand down! Since Brent will have a tutoring job this year, we thought we should take a look at the 2011 Camry deal. Well I qualifed WITH OUT a co-signer (huge adult moment for me not having to call Dad and ask for every doc he owns and to go to a notery, etc)!!!! With Brent's trade-in, my graduate discount, and B's negotiation skills.... We are proud leasers of a 2011 Toyota Camry!!!!

Here's me signing the papers:

Here's B and Sunny. We were kind of sad to say goodbye. Thanks for the memories Sunny:

Sunny is in the back but you can't see him

And us with the new car

And on our way to the celebratory 3:30 lunch, I parked wrong and scraped the hubcap (are you even surprised at the parking skills Dad? I didn't think so). Good thing we got the total scrapes and spills package talked down $20!

Hooray!

Posted from my iPhone

Summa time and the living is easy

2010-08-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

Mattie outside with me

Ahhh weeks of snow seem so far away right now!

Posted from my iPhone

History Repeats Itself

2010-08-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

The Pioneer Woman posted this hilarious blog about her new tabby kitty she found. I really identified with her struggles and even felt a little relieved that someone else had done something so silly as create a trans-gendered animal.

Poor Mattie probably hated his pink phase:

Too bad apartments don't have garages

2010-08-11T18:25:00.001-07:00

I miss having a garage and a place to fix/create things.

This was us thinking we were being all handy fixing the flat tubes on our bikes:

We were so proud we fixed them and didn't get grease everywhere. We went for a ride on Monday and made it about half a mile then my chain fell off. We got it back on and made it about 40 yards further then my pedals locked and it fell off again. We walked back to the apt defeated at our living room handy skills. Looks like we need to find a bike store with a real garage!
- Posted from my iPhone

People of walmart

2010-08-09T17:24:00.001-07:00

Ok so I'm pretty hungry and might be being slightly dramatic but I just saw a toddler walking around walmart barefoot and it literally made my stomach churn. So nasty.

It keeps getting better. Below is a man in a nasty wife beater with a huge wet spot on his bum. And this is the ritzy suburbian wally across from nordstroms...

- Posted from my iPhone

Almost back to school

2010-08-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

And when that's law school it means you build a bookshelf instead of getting gluesticks and a lunch box.

Here's Brent building

And here's Matthew's thoughts about the project

I promise I helped too! Oh and the mess is all from the bookshelf! The house is super clean for our visitors next weekend!

Tonight we are going to a documentary premier about inner city lacrosse with Meg and Damion.

B just finished!!

- didnt Post from my iPhone when I wrote it on Saturday

I'm a fan of...

2010-08-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

1. Summers that are bearable

2. Strawberry margaritas

3. Neat school supplies asiles before the August rush

4. Swanky date nights where our reservations are under "Jill" or "Kristen" (ahh the beauty of power in Denver)

5. Making Mattie dress up for no reason

6. Disco balls in bathrooms

7. Pretty summer sunsets

8. Offices that promote eating lobster mac and cheese

9. Naps on weekend afternoons (thanks for the pic B)

8. My guys

Posted from my iPhone

Mattie's vet visit

2010-07-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last week Mattie had his yearly check-up. He got an overall clean bill of health but they recommended he get his teeth cleaned and that I brush them everyday with my finger and some gauze. Um yeah right. I would have four nubbins instead of fingers if I tried that. We were at petco getting Mattie more food and we saw this:

Yep, apparently someone listens and brushes their cats teeth everyday. Can you imagine? Prince Mattie would pout for a year if I tried to brush his teeth!

Posted from my iPhone

Lust List

2010-07-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

So it's been quite some time since I made a lust list. I have been a pretty lucky girl (with the exception of continually lusting after a better behaved cat) and havent lusted after much lately but I thought it was about time to bring the little, lovely list back (maybe a better name since I dont need everything on the list it's just stuff I like and want to share).

Lust List

1. These little puppies to return to me asap:

I know they are a fall/winter shoe but I just couldnt help it. They seem perfect for long winter days where I have to wear black and be drab (a little known requirement for winter months for girls raised in the south). I got the 7.5s in the mail yesterday but they were too small so I sent back for an 8. Hopefully the mailman rushes my deliver :)

2. This watch. It seems perfect since it's name is Allie (spelled right and everything). It's cute and trendy and not too expensive but I'm not sure how much I would wear a watch. It would probably get a few more rotations than a bracelet which is 1/10th the cost but it's fun to look at.

3. This Twine-

It's from The Twinery and seems like it would be so cute for craft projects and packaging. I'm still waiting for my reason to throw a pretty party (ex. showers, etc.).

4. This table cloth:

{source}

or this one:

{source}

How cute are these tables for a party?? Again I need a person in my life to get married or have a baby so I can help with the decor. I'm sure B is getting tired of me redoing the house all the time so I need another event to craft for!

What are you lusting after lately?

Somebody is being a drama king

2010-07-17T15:15:00.001-07:00

Over the 100 degree heat

- Posted from my iPhone

Or I could just do this and get them all in...

2010-07-15T14:14:00.001-07:00

More Long Lost Moab... Delicate Arch

2010-07-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

So apparently I can make vertical pictures big but my layout doesnt like horizontal ones. Click to make larger!

Long Lost Photos from Moab

2010-07-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

Pictures from our 8 Arches Hike

Foodie Wednesday??

2010-07-14T12:29:00.001-07:00

Last night I made a fantastic (assertion also supported by Brent) dinner from TPW. It was easy and even looks fancy in my leftover container for lunch... Ok that fancy might be a strech but it's delicious Mexican cheesy goodness none the less!

It's super simple and Ree is right about getting blocks of cheese and grating yourself! I found the sauce she mentions at Walmart. Wally is the only place here that doesn't consider Old ElPaso good enough for their "authentic Mexican food" section.

Recipe below:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/brown-hot-and-plenty-of-it-vol-i/

- Posted from my iPhone

Happy to be, With me on the 4th of July

2010-07-14T08:05:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I enjoy holidays. I especially love the 4th of July. I believe I already mentioned that this is going to be my block party holiday but since I currently reside in an apartment and can't throw much of an outdoor party, we had to go to one this year and it was FANTASTIC! On July 3rd the city of Denver put on a great event in the Civic Center (the park between the courthouse and the capitol). They had the symphony play songs to start and then had a fireworks display and thanks to Damion and Meg, we had VIP seats. We were about four rows back from the mayor (who's running for governor soon) and weren't on the wet grass! We road the bus down so here I am in the awesome shelter with the ominous clouds behind me showing off the headband I crafted. Those rolled through Denver but broke right before everything started!

B and I ready for the bus to come!

Super vibrant clouds and "spotlight" on the Capitol when the rain broke

During the symphony performance. They lit the building at the end to go with the 1812 Overture. The instruments/musicians are in the little lit bubble in front. At this point everyone is throughly pleased with the show and could just go home but wait...

They begin shooting fireworks off the building!! That's the state and county courthouse mind you. I guess they REALLY trusted the pyro engineers!

Imagine the clapping at this point when they, much to my delight, then also light the building. Fireworks, lightshow, too much... oh my!!!

Then they COMBO BOTH and I fall out of my chair. Not really but I was close! It was one of the coolest shows I have ever seen. So cool with the live music playing too!

The building changed colors with different songs... gasp!!!

And after a rousing finale, everyone left saying that we MUST come to this every year! It was a fantastic show!

- Posted from my iPhone

Were back

2010-07-14T07:55:00.001-07:00

From vacation and the week is creaping by so slowly. I think the first week back is tough. Mattie is enjoying that both of us are home to pet him and I'm sure he will be elated when we stay home this weekend! Here are just a few pics from the trip. I think Mom has most of the ones with people in them!

Brent and I at Mills Lake on the 4th of July

Standard Required Estes Event: The Rooftop Rodeo! If you look closely you can see Momma horses and their babies. There were tons of squeals in the stands (mostly from me) as they ran around following their moms!

Reading our books at the Ad Building at the Y waiting on Mom, Dad, and LJ to get there!

It was a really nice vacation and was great to spend a week with my family. We wished we could have climbed Longs with dad but Brent has already made a plan to conquer it in August!

Oh no, I like them all

2010-07-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

ShoeDazzle for this month:

I also like these other people got:

Help me pick quick so they dont sell out!!!!

Patriotic Decor

2010-06-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

So my last holiday for a while (really is there any way to decorate for Labor Day?) is coming up and I am off my decorating game. Below are some incredible decoration inspirations (click to see bigger since they are strange sizes):

from my new most favorite site that I want to buy everything off of

source

Now I'm totally loving that Meg is planning to make these for our 4th of July trip up to Estes (yep so even if I decorate, we arent having a party and it seems I shouldn't waste colored sand on just Brent, Mattie, and Myself)

But if we are just posting for fun, how loud do the following say freedom?

I have to say that when we have a house and a neighborhood, I want to "call" the 4th of July as our holiday. I want to be the big party on the block and get to make all of these cute things. Who could resist a good 'ole American BBQ?

2010-06-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

I have been loading and editing the Moab files for a while now (yep it's been over a month and a half) but I thought I would upload these as a little teaser before you get to see all the red rocks. There is something about the details of the desert that is so intriguing.

Easter- yep that was quite a few months ago

2010-06-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

After downloading all the pics from the past few months, I thought I would post a few different holidays I slacked on. While looking through the Easter photos, I realized that almost every "family" holiday, we have the same photo adventures.

First it begins with me setting the camera up, trying to remember how to work the timer, and inevitably taking a picture of Brent before we are ready:

Then for some reason I always make Brent stick his arm out as if I couldn't judge if I would fit in the picture without the arm placement. I also take a picture of this because I am still playing with the timer.

Next comes the scheduled Mattie wrestle. As you see above, Mattie begins to get curious then gets lulled in (below) with any treat, toy, pets we can offer. He begins to think this might be fun until...

Brent holds him like this. Then I say "Don't hold him like that- he looks fat" and Brent replies, "He is fat. There isnt a good angle to make our cat look anything but big boned (ok so he says fat again but I feel bad for Mattie and run to rescue him)."

Then Brent usually kisses Mattie or does something because I make him feel bad for calling the cat fat. All the while, Mattie's back claws are coming out to play.

Mattie decides not to cooperate and since we are already a good 10 minutes into the picture taking process, Brent convinces me leave him out of the picture. I jump in only to review the picture and grill Brent on why he let me go to: dinner/church/friends with such blotchy makeup/short dress/bubbly dress that isnt flattering. He doesnt know what most of this is (especially the empire waist) but continues to be a good sport and takes more where I try numerous other angles to find a flattering one (and no, he is much nicer than when we try to get Mattie's angles). Mattie meanwhile, has decided the string on the camera is the most interesting part of the process.

We decide balancing the camera on a book/the couch/a chair/anything Mattie can reach isn't a good idea and do the ole arm reach

Then I decide I look possessed and we go back to the timer. Meanwhile, I nominate Brent for Most Patient Husband of the Year

This one always turns out well but then I feel bad and think the whole family should be in the photo. Usually at this point, Brent gets a hole in his shirt or a run in his tie because I want angry Mattie in my picture

Finally I take my little cat and we get a fairly decent photo of the family. Happy Easter (45 minutes later)!

I promise I have the exact same photos from Christmas and will probably have them for July 4th. Good to know we are consistent!

Proof:

Dazzling!

2010-06-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

So a while back I got another pair of ShoeDazzles! I ordered these little lovelies:

I havent taken a picture of them on my feet but they are rather cute, not that easy to walk in, and quite funky.

Today I got an email from ShoeDazzle and much to my wallet's demise, they are now offering BAGS!!! (oh and jewelry but I just cant pay $40 for jewelry. That seems like a rip off)

Here is my bag selection:

I really like this one:

Other people got these and I could order them:

Only problem is I am down to my last credit and y'all know I like to hoard stuff, so I'm trying to weigh just waiting since I just got two new summer bags (one of them is yellow too) and get one that is more fall. Then I think that the last one and the purple could be pretty fall so who knows! Thoughts?

P.S. my shoe selection this month wasn't spectacular so I knew I was going to hold out until July. I liked these but couldn't justify wearing them more than two holidays a year:

Molly and Joe's Wedding

2010-06-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

(we heart it)

The wedding last weekend was beautiful and we had so much fun! I will try and get some pictures posted soon!

Not Much Better Than This...

2010-06-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

For all of you folks south of the Mason Dixon, there is a sport that is casual and fun to watch and can be enjoyed during the summer without burning horizontal bleacher lines into your thighs when you sit down. It's known as baseball and up here, in these parts, it's really enjoyable. Traditionally it includes good things like beer, hot dogs, and a sweater for when the sun goes down. Oh and these sunsets dont hurt:

A few ballpark observations:

1. Hot dogs will always taste better when you are at the Ballpark

2. I will never be able to mow/vacuum near as impressive as the perfect field

3. Brent and I can make nosebleed seats super fun

4. Manny Ramirez should wash his hair

Come visit. We will show you how fantastic baseball can be!

Oh yeah. This is why we live here.

2010-06-01T16:09:00.001-07:00

It's because on the weekends, you feel like you live in a resort town. You can eat outside and not be embarrassed to get in a confined space with anyone after. I forgot to take pictures on Memorial Day at the BBQ we went to but I did get these beautiful pictures on the drive in:

Welcome Summer. Good riddance snow. And thanks Veterans.

First Day Back

2010-06-01T15:49:00.001-07:00

So after a super long, relaxing weekend (more to come on that one), I found it quite difficult to get back in the swing of things at work. But if you have had a long day as well, I have found something to perk you up. This picture literally makes me laugh out loud:

Back!

2010-05-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

I'm back from a long trip and will post pics from all of the various activities soon but I wanted to wish everyone a nice long weekend and a peaceful Memorial Day. I'm thankful for everyone who fought to preserve my freedom.

Tonight Brent and I are going to the Rockies game and tomorrow, I have planned to play Mexico. This is where I will make a batch of margaritas, some guacamole, go sit by our pool and pretend like I am at a five star resort. I am trying to convince Brent to join but he's not so sure it will be as fun without a swim up bar!

Oh and an update on Mattie: he has been really bad lately. This morning Brent even shut him out of our room and I didnt argue or defend him. Apparently his pet quotient is VERY low and he has been trying to build it back up by screaming at me in the middle of the night and doing speed biscuits on me.

Whatttt?

2010-05-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

Law and Order got the axe today after 20 years. :( lucky for us, we have at least a million re-runs on TNT we still need to watch!

- Posted from my iPhone

Mattie wanted to come visit

2010-05-14T18:32:00.001-07:00

- Posted from my iPhone

Pic didnt work

2010-05-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

On my last post, the picture didnt work and the iphone app didnt even post the entry before that so I am back to good ole fashion computers. I still need to upload the Moab photos but I will give a little written update on what's up for now by running through the major categories of our life (in no particular order):

Marriage

Brent and my anniversary is coming up. I'm not sure what we are doing. I have all these great ideas of paper gifts to give him (this is clearly the easiest year because when I have to give him something made out of fruit and flowers (year4) I'm SOL... although, I am really looking forward to years 55-75 where all it says is "diamonds" for each year!! I wanted to do something fun that would remind us of the wedding since we didnt save the cake, and can't afford Mexico (oh how I miss you Barcelo), but I'm drawing a blank. I want to start a tradition that could be fun to do every year but I have no ideas. Must keep thinking. Open to suggestions.

Cat

Matthew got a pet sitter while we were away and though he didnt get a report card this time, he is still doing quite well. He is vocal about wanting to play with pink string (his new favorite toy which happens to be the result of the awful, annoying dryer pulling the string out of my yoga pants and me never threading it back through). He is also getting ready for some bachelor time with Brent. I think he is going to enjoy it because I have him on a diet and he's not pleased in the mornings but I can sleep through it.

(above is Mattie sleeping right in the middle of my laundry piles)

Family

I missed a Mother's Day post on here because we were in Moab aka the land of no cell service. Happy Mother's Day to our great Moms! We love you very much!

I go home on FRIDAY for the first time since last July. I can't wait to see the family and the pups! I have already requested Chuy's for dinner at least once (who are we kidding, I might eat various mexican every meal). I am coordinating work's presence at the Byron Nelson so I will also be watching golf. Too bad I have no idea how golf even works. At least it's an excuse to go home!

Exercise

Well Brent and I were super ambitious and were training quite well for the Boulder Bolder. Then it kept snowing in March, April, and May and it made it difficult to run for around an hour on a treadmill (especially the crappy ones at our apartment complex). So we maxed out at 52 minutes and decided to save our money, be lazy on Memorial Day, grill out and consider running it next year (when maybe we are members of a gym). Though we failed at this exercise endeavor, we are still planning on hiking Long's Peak in July with my dad. This requires WAY more training which we promptly need to get started with. We did pretty well on our 7.5 mile hike in Moab but that was lower elevation than we are use to (and relatively flat compared to RMNP).

Outdoors/Hobby

This category goes with the above a bit. We are slowly acquiring the things we need to fill our "Colorado Closet." I have determined that we TOTALLY should have registered for this stuff because who knew you need a headlamp? REI registry does. We forgot flashlights camping. Rookie mistake. We must continue to fill our camping/hiking Rubbermaids with as much success as we did the skiing ones.

I havent found another sewing project. I really want one and I oogle things online all the time but I just havent found a weekend to sit down and make something. Plus, my place mats are pretty festive for the time being! Yesterday I realized, though I have a whole sewing machine that could literally sew a robot, I dont own any lose needles to fix the button that fell off Brent's pants. Maybe my visions of crafting grandeur need to be downsized to practical applications for a bit!

School/Work

Brent is done with his 1L year!!! Hooray!!! He has this week off and will start his internship with a Federal Magistrate Judge in Denver next week! I'm working all the time but will hopefully get a little break from the demanding schedule at the end of may (maybe just being optimistic).

Snow

Yep. Snowing again today. Beginning to think that July/August are the only two months that it's nice to live here. Everyone keeps saying this "isn't normal" but I think they just say that so people dont move to Arizona or Utah to escape.

From Today:

Shoes

The last critical category. I had been waiting to get another pair of ShoeDazzles until spring since I thought they would be fun and colorful. I have a few ideas but havent placed my order yet! I will update soon!

Pictures

Along with the Moab pictures, I also need to post our Easter family photo (with the usual cat trying to claw the crap out of us special feature) and some other fun stuff going on!

Really?

2010-05-12T06:58:00.001-07:00

I miss Utah! I'm going to die in Texas on Friday!!!

- Posted from my iPhone

My favorite part about spring

2010-05-04T17:06:00.001-07:00

The tulips are everywhere!! The poor little things have weathered snow, rain, and gale force winds and that was all in the last week!

Posted from my iPhone

Mattie is glad we joined Costco

2010-05-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

Because he loves sushi

- Posted from my iPhone

What's been going on?

2010-04-20T10:54:00.001-07:00

So I have been a big slacker lately but here's a photo recap of our lives for the past 14 days:

I sewed placemats and dishtowels as my first sewing project:

With the dishtowels:

And what I saw most of the time I was sewing:

Matthew does not like this new electronic kitty (what we call anything he gets jealous of like laptops, phones, etc.) This one creates lots of strings to torture him.

Brent is finishing up school and spring softball season. The guys aren't terribly good but it's still fun. This week we are trying to organize a little tailgating before. The fields last week:

I have been busy at work with several events coming soon. No pics on that one!

Sunday we went on a hike in Chautauqua and forgot the camera AND my phone died so we will have to hike the Royal Arch trail again!

Lastly, this morning at 5:57am the fire alarm went off in our complex. I was asleep with Mattie but Brent was awake already studying. Mattie jumped under the bed- a reasonable response since it was sooo loud. Brent had to pull him out and I held him out on the porch. He was so frightened he just burried his head in my sweatshirt. Poor guy. It was a false alarm (hence not getting off the porch). Mattie got lots of good boys and nip and treats for cooperating. Here he is a few days ago playing with his favorite string:

Posted from my iPhone

Ugh marketing

2010-04-06T16:24:00.001-07:00

Crate and Barrel has me right where they want me. I know. It's my job to do this to others. They have me clicking their adds, believing I need another chip and dip (I have 2), and actually clicking the "download to see pictures" button on the email. See even google is trying to help me out. They even follow me around the web posting ads (no really- it's a targeting technique using cookies and tracking sites you come from with little things called satellites). Advertising is so scientific now. Don't tell me you think you get that coupon just because it's Tuesday! There messing with ya!

But why yes Crate & Barrel, I am happy it's spring. I have been complaining about snow since October. How did you know? Oh because I look at movies in the 80021 zip code. You are so smart!

Posted from my iPhone

Easter gift

2010-04-04T20:15:00.001-07:00

So I don't write posts to get presents but this showed up for Easter from Mom and Dad:

And this is not a fan of the new addition and all the attention it's receiving:

Thanks Mom and Dad! I can't wait to start some projects!

Family Easter pics to be uploaded soon!

Posted from my iPhone

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T21:32:00.002-07:00

Happy Easter to you all! We have had a good day visiting with Joe! Enjoy tomorrow with your families (we miss you all) Were headed to Denver with Danny. No Easter brunch but Mattie is already gathering food for his:

- Posted from my iPhone

Imploding

2010-04-03T21:32:00.001-07:00

Wow so first all the flights were full so Joe was going to have to come in Saturday. Then Brent sells the ticket we got him for prom. Then three hours before the ball was supposed to start, they cancel it and move it to tomorrow night due to alcohol licenses. Glad they move it so more people could drink on Easter. I'm shocked no one checked until 3 hrs before on this little tidbit. Don't think we will be going tomorrow since lots of others aren't and we want to go to service on Sunday. Still shocked a professional school can't throw an event that small groups of 17 year-old, high school girls handle every spring.

- Posted from my iPhone

Rationing

2010-04-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

So I have this thing. I have always had it. LJ can even remember being annoyed when we were 10 over it. I horde money. I will literally contemplate buying something for a good 30 minutes (always includes looking in mirror, weighing opportunity cost- damn economics classes). Occasionally I become more impulsive (often with grocery store food i.e. my latest Fluffernutter purchase) but if it's a big item (over $30), it takes me about a week to mentally convince myself I need it (which mostly I don't but oh well). When Brent went to school out in SC, we saved every last dime to get to see each other. I would spend money in Austin but only on experiences (going out to eat, going to something with friends, etc.) These also dont fall in the contemplative category. Someone wants to go to get Noodles after softball, no contest, I'm there. I like people and think their company is worth it (ok well some people). I didn't buy clothes at UT (ex. I only have two burnt orange shirts and one jacket) or much else except for the staples.

So you ask, then how the hell do you have enough clothes to only do laundry once a month? It's fantastic! I love to shop and I believe it's genetic so my mom and sister looked after me and still do. I still get some packages with great sale items they found (which is WONDERFUL because I guess Flatirons Mall does not believe in sales). I am very lucky that they send me goodies and that it didn't stop when I went from Miss to Mrs. Plus, each of them are very good little hunters. I mention something and they can seek it out or find just the perfect item. It's great. BUT this leads me to continuing my hording (because it's not necessary to buy other things since now I have a good collection) and bartering in my head to purchase things.

You would think maybe I'm just contemplative. Better than impulsive but sometimes it makes me nuts. It took me 7 months to spend the money on a haircut (total: $45), two years to buy myself new running shoes (total: $105), and now I have been obsessing about a camera and a sewing machine for about six months (total: much higher than the other two which makes me think I might be writing a post about them in four years). Sometimes I wish I would just go out and buy them and get the wanting out of the way but I have this weird policy where there is allowed one "reward" for myself a month. If we have already spent it, no such luck. Yesterday I bought two dresses at TJ Maxx (also of note, these "rewards" are not Chanel because we are still paying for law school) and today I feel guilty. I got running shoes last month AND a new shirt from old navy AND skiing. That means I'm in the red for three months. I have the WORST spender's remorse. One dress was $15 which was a steal. I think I will wear that one (If I dont eat dinner haha) and take the other one back ($35). Then I start doing this math equation in my head of if I didn't buy the dress, I could have 1/54th of my camera haha.

So I save. Naturally, you all think ok you save then you reap the benefits of your maturity with money and patience. Nope. I feel guilty even after I save it. Thus the hoarding. I figure I should use it for law school or something we actually need (i.e. the $3 cat toy I bought Matt yesterday or skiing... yes there is no rhyme or reason).

I attribute this obsessive compulsive nature and discipline to my father only his is better focused. He can tell himself "no" for any food and cut salt out of his diet just because (I think he has given up several things for lent even though we aren't Catholic... just to do it). I'm impressed and think I would have to buy less clothes (and therefore save more 1/45ths) if I could do this with food. Oh well. Do you do anything silly that you can look at from a 3rd person perspective and know you are slightly (being generous) crazy?

Humm... Random

2010-03-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

So I dont have much to write about. We have just been working and going to school. I figured I would post a nice random collection of thoughts:

1. Is anyone else 99.99% sure that Dancing with the Stars is rigged? Kate Gosslin almost had me on her team when John took up with that 21 year old and was always annoyed at having to be with his kids. I felt bad for her and thought maybe she was only that retched because it was a two way street. Um, except she is acting like a diva on DWTS and she's not good at all. It's shocking how bad she is. Like Cloris Leachman was better than her. Yet she moves on to another week. I think Pamela is hilarious, I like Chad 85, and Neesey has great one liners. Jake can go and his spray tan is even worse than while on the bachelor. Wonder if they will let him wear a mock turtleneck on this show too?

2. How is it possible that it's only Wednesday? I feel like it's taking forever for this week to go by.

3. We are still training for the Boulder Bolder. Yesterday I ran for 37 minutes with out stopping. Ok so running might be a really generous term for what I was doing but I wasn't walking and I felt like my lungs were going to explode so it qualifies as running to me. Also for your mental visual pleasure. Picture me having trouble breathing, kind of dragging my right leg behind, going uphill (which in CO really means something) against the wind, and just telling myself to keep moving even if it does feel like I'm running backwards all the while Brent is running, jumping on benches, off curbs, sprinting then walking back to me, etc. I pretty much think it's strikingly unfair that the altitude is only painful to me but oh well.

4. Friday is Law School Prom. Well not really, it's the Barrister Ball but basically it's prom for law school students. And for most of you thinking it- nope I dont have a dress yet. I was thinking: oh ok I have so many I will just pick one since no one has "seen" any before. Problem: Sweethearts events were either December or May. Both dresses for those occasions are either too: Holiday or too Summer (it might snow). Dresses from showers are too demure. Dresses from going out in Austin are too short for something called a ball. So I decide maybe my black and white BCBG standard old friend will do. I try it on (and gasp it fits- winter when it's cold is death to your figure) but I literally can not discern my skin from the top of the dress. I know its been 153 days since it was over 60 degrees but MAN I'm pale. The dress is WHITE and it's bad. Additional problem: people in Colorado dont appreciate a spray tan like they do in Dallas. I chalk it up to them actually having reasons to get natural sun (another random thought: the sunsets have been beautiful here but I have not seen them much. It's enough to focus on making my legs work much less to be able to make my eyes work too. One thing at a time.) So it looks as though I'm headed to the mall to find a modest, slightly spring, dress that works with closed toed shoes (who wants their toes in snow?), that has color, and cost $15. This might be hard.

Back to the prom: It seems a lot like Black and Gold only with people who might consider Birkenstocks appropriate footwear for this occasion. Ok I'm being mean, but Joe did say he will bring his hemp jeans for the occasion. Which brings me to...

5. Joe is coming to visit on Friday. I love his free perks because it means we still get to see him a lot! He is going to go to the prom with us which should be fun!

Ahh mini spring break!!

2010-03-26T12:58:00.001-07:00

SB in Colorado lacks beaches but has lots of snow. Our trip has been super eventful so far. We forgot Brent's box of ski accessories which included his pass. After getting creative with my extras, going to Walmart in town, and showing proper identification, we hit the slopes. It started snowing just now during lunch so it should be a pretty afternoon. We did our first black this morning (groomed and they don't have blue/black).

Pics:

Walmart purchases

Oh and my swollen hand from my whipeout

Wonder if Mattie would make a good snow cat?

Posted from my iPhone

The weather outside is frightful

2010-03-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

And we lack a fireplace so yeah. A major storm rolled through at three this afternoon and it dumped on us. Brent landed but the busses are three hours behind and MIA so he's camping at the airport.

I went to leave work and didn't have on socks or a coat. Insert major blizzard to story. I couldn't brush the snow off fast enough to see out the window. After sitting in the car and seeing this

I had a little "this is nuts" moment trying to brush the ice out of my hair. Then I realized I couldn't see again and I looked like this:

But I immediately stopped taking photos when I remember the car beeping for gas this morning. Since it was lovely out and I was planning to just get gas before I had a nice outdoor run and hell, maybe even leave the door open and enjoy fresh air. Plans cancelled. I spent 30 min white-knuckled traveling, spinning, and anti-lock breaking to go 1.5 miles. All the while the car ticked to "0 miles to empty." Lovely. I was still a bit away (like .5 miles but prob 10 min) when I decided it was necessary to confess my situation to Brent. The two things I do that drive Brent the most crazy are chomp chips and let my car run to empty. Brent was starting his 2 hr outdoor wait for a bus that would never come but was kind and didn't chastise my terrible habbit since I think he could tell I was so nervous. I chose the gas station that was all downhill thinking it would be very easy to slide in if I ran out. I made it and filled up with 21 gallons. I think I have a 21 gallon tank. This was the view after I was relieved I wasn't going to break down.

I made it home to find the power off and Mattie hungry (some things don't change). All in all, I'm glad all 3 of us are safe and warm. I hope to see Brent tomorrow some time when the 5-10 inches stop coming down with gale force winds.

Oh man there are days I miss Austin weather.

Posted from my iPhone

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

It's Brent's Spring Break this week and he headed out to visit Wid before he leaves for Germany. It seems like they are having a great time based on the phone pics I am getting (below). They are just resting, working out, and probably tapping the Rockies which Brent needed after a few long months of law school! I will make him post more about the fun when he gets home but for now, here are some pictures of their adventures:

Brent and Ben went up in a Seaplane owned by one of Ben's Family Friends

The beautiful town of Coeur d'Alene (I think- most of the captions are based on short texts Brent sent during the tour)

Getting in:

The aircraft:

The Restaurant Ben's family owns:

More to come!

Food revolution

2010-03-21T22:13:00.001-07:00

So I went to watch Brothers and Sisters tonight and it wasn't on. I was mildly annoyed for two minutes until I saw it was Jaime Oliver! I saw a couple of his documentaries on TLC a while back and really like his premise. He is trying to start a food revolution and is beginning in West Virginia. He was pretty successful in parts of England so we will see how he does in the states!

Now many of you know I love corndogs, chips, cheese, and numerous other food that is classified as junk, but I think what he's doing on schools is awesome. There are huge economies of scale that make fresh food financially viable for large groups. I always end up throwing away five cuties every week because we didnt get to them. There are currently old strawberries and asparagus in the fridge (yep I'm pathedic and frightened by old food. I need Brent to come home so he can touch it long enough to get it in the trash. That's right, I just admitted I am that weak.) I totally wish I could go to Jaime's store, tell him I hate salad, and ask him for a solution.

I'm curious to see if his revolution takes on and if some of the crazy regulations (pizza counts as a veggie because of tomato) will change nation wide. Even I know sauce doesn't count!

Did anyone else watch this show?

- Posted from my iPhone

Waiting

2010-03-17T13:42:00.003-07:00

So I'm sitting in the hotel lobby waiting to go to the airport since Frontier makes you pay if you want to go standby. I have decided that I want a job where my business card can look like this:

I mean simply the fact that the corners are rounded makes it seem so fun, lively, and not well, square (if I could borrow the term from 1970). I read about all of these super creative women who are interior designers, decorators, party planners, and even * SAHM who throw crazy beautiful parties and I think, I would like to be them. How come no one writes a blog called "My Cubical Life'? Probably because it's so boring no one would read it. Summary of posts: go to work, do boring stuff in front of computer, have meetings and conference calls over more boring stuff, sit in beige box, go home play with cat and hang with husband. I believe I might have just summarized my blog. (No wonder readership is correlated to sharing genetics)

People (I) like reading about interesting, fun, exciting jobs they make into tv shows on TLC and HGTV. Maybe eventually I can have a business card with rounded corners. Until then, I must get on a plane to drive home and go back to my cube tomorrow.

*word "just" removed because Alyson has a very good point and after reading some of her posts on dressing Lily without waking her and other amazing things, I should have used the word "magical" before SAHMs!

At least the hotel has trees

2010-03-16T20:24:00.001-07:00

I have found that when I travel I don't get to get out much. I eat at the hotel and just work a whole lot. At least this hotel has a nice indoor view! Deidra and Nolan did come visit today which was a fantastic break! Here are some photos of the nicer area of the hotel where our meeting rooms are (I got the scuzzy room)

I'm ready to get home to B and even Mattie. Watching The Good Wife without my law student to explain why they aren't objecting isn't near as fun!

Posted from my iPhone

Domino

2010-03-14T10:45:00.001-07:00

Is this not the cutest ad gimic ever? I'm flying with Domino. How can anyone get mad at delays when Domino greets them as they board!

- Posted from my iPhone

Should you ever consider

2010-03-14T09:37:00.002-07:00

Stomping your leg up and down while sitting on an airport bench, don't for the sake of the poor girl waiting next to you. She feels like she's in a broken brookstone massage chair.

The offender:

It was hard to catch it still.

Headed to Nashville for work. Work travel in Denver should be haulted during spring break. There are way to many people who are happily arriving with their ski boots. It's almost as torturous as shakey leg man next to me. No additional seats due to tiny Frontier terminal.

Posted from my iPhone

New running shoes

2010-03-14T09:37:00.001-07:00

Friday night Brent and I went on a date to another Mexican restaurant we hadn't tried. This one had really good salsas (green and a red) and passed our standards but we have yet to find anywhere that competes with Chuy's! Before dinner we went to a running store since I needed new shoes. The store was awesome and the guy who helped us really liked his job which is always nice. They had me run barefoot on a treadmill and filmed my feet then could play and freeze it with the touch of their finger. I ended up with some snazzy, technology endorsed shoes!

- Posted from my iPhone

Sorry we haven't been blogging

2010-03-11T20:03:00.001-08:00

Somebody has been so tired and sensitive to light he just can't be bothered to blog

Yep he's smashing his head against my arm