'Tis almost the season...

I made one of these today. It cost me $4 and 5 minutes.

And I am in LOVE.

Back For Good

After a twenty year hiatus, I recently re-entered the wonderful world of leggings. I was a little hesitant to hop on board this train.

I last wore leggings in the fourth grade...Miss Burns class. I had a great blue leopard print pair. I got teased for those pants. Sheesh! I was just way ahead of my time. I've steered clear of leggings ever since.

Until now.

I can't believe what I've been missing out on. What's not to love about elastic waist pants and a long, loose shirt?

I'm back for good.

Friends With Benefits

And by friends I mean my lover. And by benefits I mean his new iPad.

(Or I could say by friends I mean my brother. And by benefits I mean his family discount on all things Apple.)



There are very few benefits of being married to a perpetual student. (Sorry babe. I'm very supportive of your career goals. I'm just sayin' it's a tough road.) But a new iPad is one of those benefits.

Spencer got a scholarship this year (yes, he's that awesome). He also works for the university which pays full tuition. But the scholarship had to go directly to something that would benefit his education...meaning not for living expenses (though I say a full stomach and a roof over your head benefit your education). So he used the scholarship to pay for student fees and for books. That left him with just enough money for a new iPad using Jeff's discount. Totally justifiable for many of his assignments.

Sweet!

It's even more fun than it looks.

New Addition

Up-cycling old furniture is my favorite new hobby. Have I mentioned that? I don't share every piece I work on, but thought this was a big enough transformation that it was worth sharing.

A friend gave me first dibs on this beat up old dresser that she no longer wanted.


With a little silver paint and a lot of elbow grease, I give you this:


Unfortunately it wasn't the exact silver look I was hoping for...and it's not my best work. But it's pretty cool, huh? I need to invest in some knobs and maybe some new knick-knacks...I'm not crazy about the way it's styled right now. Even still, it's a nice addition to my humble abode.

P.S. The birdcage is also an up-cycling project from like two years ago. It still had the $84 price tag on it and I got it for free off some ones curb. Then spray painted it.

Tidbits

The other day Reid saw garbage left in a parking lot. "Mom. Some one's been glittering!"

I was busy putting groceries away last week when I noticed the front door wide open and two kids were missing. Reid and Gray were out front with all their snow gear on...standing still, arms out stretched. I snapped at them to come in and never go out front without telling me. Gray replied..."We're being snowmen." Which also explains why every toy they own was dumped out so no floor was showing. Toys= snow. I'll give them one for creativity.

The Toys R' Us ultimate Christmas catalog recently came in the paper which really has the boys thinking about Christmas. It couldn't have come at a better time. I've had some real trouble trying to settle these crazies down since Halloween. But the thought of Santa's elves possibly watching their behavior and sending notes back to Santa has whipped them right into shape. I'll see if I can possibly use this to buy myself three months of good behavior. (It usually works for a little while after Christmas, too.)

And since Christmas is part of our daily conversation... I mentioned that Santa was fat. Parker was upset. "You really shouldn't call him fat. It might hurt his feelings."

Jenni, Jenni bo benni...

...bannana fanna fo fenni

It's been a while since I've mentioned my roommates. In case you've forgotten...these girls ARE my sisters. There were seven of us...roommates and neighbors our freshman and sophomore and even into junior year of college. Five of the seven of us grew up without sisters. I think that's what helped establish this sisterhood. We needed (sill need?) each other. Never have I experienced friendship like this. I miss these girls.

This is the year we all turn 30. Holy Smokes! Have we known each other that long? Jenni was the first a few weeks ago. And though I'm late...it's not going un-noticed.

Jenni is such a romantic. She was the first girl you wanted to tell you got asked on a date and the first one you wanted to talk about it with when you got home. (Unless of course the guy she liked asked you out instead...I still feel bad about that.) She had that rule book about dating and she'd read it to us on lazy afternoons. I loved day dreaming with her about getting married.

She had all the best catalogs and hung the best pictures. Jenni had a big box of great sweaters that she'd outfit any of us with for a date.

Jenni went home for the summer after freshmen year and came back in love. I wasn't sure if it was for real because we always thought we were in love. Then Eric came up for a visit the following fall and I knew it was the real deal. She was married soon after.

I love getting glimpses into her life as a wife and mom. She is the most perfect homemaker. I am amazed at all she does and how together she has it...even with child number 4 on it's way.

In no particular order...some of my favorite Jenni shots:

First snowfall of freshmen year...Sunday morning before church.

I think we were all going various places but snapped a shot before we left.

Aggie Ice Cream

College Football (not that we had a good team, but USU did beat BYU this year)

My favorite Jenni picture of all time at our Christmas dance in my apartment sophmore year.

Valentine Breakfast...Carrie...you can thank me for cropping you out of that shot. You think Jenni and I look like we just woke up? You looked worse. (love you)

Chocolate chip pancakes...A Sunday evening favorite.

Bonding up the canyon...wasn't that one of the best nights ever?

Spring break road trip!

Miss you Jenni! Thanks for paving the way into your 30's. Let me know how it goes.

May the Force be with you...

I have to get one more post of Halloween costumes in before we get too far into November. November 1st is not too late, is it?


Still no great pictures, but a few more details.

The Stormtrooper costume was made with white vinyl. I had no idea how easy it would be to work with. I sewed some parts by hand and others by machine. It went through my machine without a problem. The best part? It cost less than $3. I picked up a white hard hat from the thrift store and transformed it into a stormtrooper helmet with a little black duck tape. My only complaint is that it was impossible to sit down in...you'll notice in the pictures.


Darth Vader was also made with vinyl and black duck tape we had at home. Then I searched my random hardware stash for all the buttons and things. I borrowed the helmet from a friend. Too bad she's never getting it back. Kidding...sort of.


Yoda...pretty obvious. Muslin from my stash and a little wool felt for the hat, gloves and shoe covers. The ears used to stick out much better, but it's already got so much use that they've softened up a little too much.


No more pictures of me and Spence. My headband was made with balls of yarn. Our costumes were pretty self explanatory. And I wasn't wearing it a second time. Once was enough for the year.

I'll try to post about something other than costumes next time.