help!

 {landons birthday 2010}

celebrating birthdays is kind of a big deal to me. i am always trying to think of something fun and out of the ordinary to do. 

its landons 21st birthday on the 26th so i kind of wanted to do something pretty sweet.

i feel like my options are limited since {it seems} we dont have that many things going on in the orem/salt lake area. 

i'm thinking along the lines of a hot air balloon ride.

yeah, kind of extreme.

i would love for some more ideas! 

please help me!

'naturalize'

i'm going through a phase where i cant get enough of the spring blooms. i could eat it up. 

this was such a fun and easy project, i love bringing the natural feel in to my home. 

growing wheat grass in jars sounded like the perfect touch to my windowsill.

you should give it a try.

cost of project: $10

thanks to jane for the fun idea!

go to jane's blog to see what fun they had. 

spring

it was a beautiful spring day here in utah. 

if you live here you know that spring is short lived so the days that we do have nice weather, we must soak it up!

laying in the sun & going on a hike were the perfect ways to spend our day.

i'm here, i'm here!

i've been spending a whole lot of time with..

this guy

at this place

{i'd love for you to come see me! i have killer deals. no joke!}

 working with this amazing family

and in my spare time i find myself doing loads&loads of laundry or cleaning the house. 

by the time i think about blogging i want nothing more than to sit on my bum and do nothing. 

phew. i'm exhausted..

i will try harder.

weekend loveliness.

{photo by me}

it was a nice, relaxing weekend full of nothing. But, you know what? nothing was just what i needed.

L and i watched 127 hours. havent seen it? it was a good one-time see. it was amazing yet painful to watch what that guy went through.

we also watched The Switch {which i enjoyed} and The Social Network {which i slept through but L liked}

i completely love weekends full of movie watching. i would much rather get some food to go, cuddle and watch a movie in the comfort of my home than to go out to a fancy restaurant and movie theater. 

there's just that warming feeling that everyone gets in their own home that i cant get enough of.

some of my fav's.

i have some great things up my sleeve. 

things that will be fun to post about. read about. think about. create about.

while those things are underway i had a small request from a close friend to tell what blogs i follow on a daily basis.

i used to have them listed on my side bar but for some reason i thought it made my blog look sloppy. {even though i totally love them on other blogs. i guess i'm just weird or something.}

i can definitely handle one whole post dedicated to my stalking addictions. 

yes, i do think its an addiction. 

these blogs will not be listed in any certain order, i'm just going with what ones come to mind first.

cupcakes and cashmere

who isnt in love with this blog? i go gaga over all of her incredible clothes. her beauty. her home. her job. should i go on?

rockstar diaries 

yet again another mouth drooling blog. she has the cutest style. the spunkiest dog. the sweetest husband. and just added a new baby girl to the clan. her blog is more of a personal one but hiding behind those keen words are style tips that can be taken to heart.

kelle hampton

i get teary eyed just looking at her many pictures. with her youngest baby being, unexpectedly, born with down syndrome she tells about her incredible journey. and believe me, its more than just incredible. she is an amazing writer and lets it all out. love love love.

rhodes in general

a mother. an artist. a friend. talented in more aspects of life than i could write. she can plan a party that even martha stewart or her crew would go nuts over. not even joking. and best of all, she's my amazing nanny mom.

love and photographs

simple and creative. she always comes up with fun blogging ideas like her where we ate series. she also has a fun online consignment shop.

mormon in manhattan

first of all, her family lives not too far from mine. second, she is a broadway star. third, she has funny dating/people stories.

QA designs

i'm in love with pretty much every web design she creates. she is also the creator behind these state pics.

MADE

tutorials tutorial tutorials. she is always creating something fun and new!

***

there are so many more that i adore but i will save those for another day.
now go get your blog stalk on!

5

we had such a fun and successful birthday party for this sweet girl.

i think the picture says it all. she is spunky, fun, sweet, dramatic, enthusiastic, girly and beautiful. i literally took her outside, pulled out my camera and from then on she took full charge. she has the funnest personality, shes hard not to love. 

instead of telling details about the party i think i'll let the pictures speak for me. 

..and she loved every second of it.

its not a party with out a queen

in order to make the queen B feel well, like a queen B,  a crown was in high demand.

classy and girly. she wont be hard to spot now.

love love.

its a party!

it's my niece beatrix's 5th birthday on monday.

my sister and i have been having a hay day with coming up with some fun party idea's. 

for the invites we used this same concept but we used fabric and made them look like bows. 

more fun party details coming soon!

home made salsa

L and i wanted to experiment in making some home made salsa and let me tell you, making salsa versus buying salsa is way cheaper. 

ingredients may vary on how hot or mild you want your salsa to turn out but what we ended up using was

5 roma tomatoes

1 lime

1 1/4 chili pepper

a small bundle of cilantro

&

a dash of salt

we didnt use any of the jalapeno because my mouth can only handle so much hotness :)

we placed all of the ingredients in the blender and pulsed it to the consistency we liked. 

 i loved everything about the salsa, it was delicious!

$2 home made salsa .vs. $5 store bought salsa =..pretty much priceless.

Lost Things

watch & love

happy weekend-ing!

treating myself

via

no, i did not take that picture but i did, indeed make myself a nice gourmet meal of egged halibut for dinner tonight. 

it was everything and more than delicious.

L left me this weekend for a boys trip to vegas. i figured i might as well have a nice relaxing evening to myself. 

delicious dinner led to a warm lavender bubble bath followed by a soothing galvanic spa treatment.

i will finish off my evening with an episode of american idol & vampire diaries. you bet i love me some vampires.

sometimes nights like these are mandatory for the body. 

give yours time to rejuvenate. 

ps-i bet L isnt having nearly as good of a time in vegas as i am here at home ;)

miss you babe! 

xoxo.

napkin flowers

i found this tutorial from {here} and loved it so much that i must share it. 

i got my napkins from the $1 store but dana says that she got her incredibly cute ones from ikea, i must take the 20 minute drive asap. 

what you need:

napkins and twisty ties, i got mine from a garbage bag box. you could also use string, yarn, fishing line. whatever you have lying around the house.

step numero 1:

unfold and lay your napkins down. i did 4 layers.

step 2:

cut the middle napkins to whatever size you like. be sure to scallop the edges to give it that peddle look.

step 3:

accordion fold the napkins like so.

step 4:

 place the twisty tie in the middle of the folded napkins

step 5:

cut both ends to make them rounded

step 6:

 pull out the corners then take your first layer of napkin and pull up towards the center

 once you have pulled up all of the layers it should look like this then you are finished!

you could also try making little ones.

i think this is such a fun idea for a baby shower or bridal shower. 

cheap and cute! 

v-day lovin'

long time no post, blog. 

what a better way to start re-blogging than to talk about my valentines day?

it truly was a lovely one. 

highlights of v-day 2011:

-celebrated L and i's third valentines together

-delicious dinner at los hermanos

-amazing gifts from the mr.

-yummy treats

photo roundup:

what i got him:

i hope you all had a wonderful valentine's day as well.

xo

guess who's back?

turns out mexico and diabetes dont mix well together.
but believe me, it feels good to have him back.
he keeps me strong. well balanced. standing tall.

he is a good shoulder to lean on.

giveaway giveaway

be still is having a giveaway! who doesnt need {or want} a new decorative pillow? the fabric she uses is pretty amazing. 

you should probably go enter..

HERE

*****
lila tueller designs is also having a giveaway. you wont want to miss out.
to enter go HERE and while you are there you might as well become a follower and keep stalking.
she's good, she's real good.  

weekend shmeekend.

my good friend courtney {and her hubby} hosted a game night at their cute little town home on saturday night.

thank you mafia, scum, endless rounds of BS, delicious treats and the beatty's for a wonderful time.

a must have.

c.o. bigelow 

lemon

hand treatment..

{found at B&BW}

being a hair dresser causes my hands to shrivel up like a raisin. {no joke} my hands were starting to look like a 100 year old ladies would. they would crack and bleed constantly. yes, i sort of in the teeniest way wanted to cry. lo and behold i found my cure. not only does it feel light on my hands, it smells like pure heaven. i am a sucker for lemon, lime, pretty much any soft summery smell. i love the whole package.

it gets even better..i just found out that there is now a lemon cream body wash available. who wouldnt mind a little bit of heaven in the shower?

mm. mm.

lets get organized.

i needed something for my fabric that would be easily accessible.

these babies were stashed in my parents storage room..i knew i had to find them a home.

they definitely beat the big black garbage bag that i'd have to dig through pretty much every day.

take a plain wall..

and turn it in to something fabulous.

i like to decorate at a low cost. i like to keep everything within a budget.

i feel like this way my imagination gets a jump start, it forces me to find things around my home that i can up-cycle or re-use. 

my sisters house was in major need of a face lift, let the fun begin!

sorry for the bad picture quality, i only had my camera phone available.

everything we used in this room were things already lying around the house that didnt have a set home.

the branch was from a neighbors amazing curly-willow tree, the bird house came from my parents house, the urn {yes, i did just say urn} was a gift {yep, a gift..its pretty!} the books are many many years old probably from my parents, & the table is from my parents.

everything there was pretty much free! {for us anyways}

words of advice: before you go out and buy something to decorate your home, take a gander around your home and see if there is anything that could have potential elsewhere. for me, it works 95% of the time.

my corner round 3

this may be one of my favorite spots in my bedroom. 

its my place to create, reminisce & get inspired.

now, all i need is a chair :)

a beautiful find.

you can only imagine the excitement i had to contain when i found this rug.

my sister and i went in to our local home fabrics {which never fails me} to get fabric for my window curtains.

they have quite a large selection of rugs, i told myself i'd only get one if it was cheaper than $60.. dream big, i thought.

i eyed this beauty and had my sister look at the tag, i was obviously going to be heart broken if it read higher than $60.

to my surprise she read $49.99!

what?! it had been marked down from $90 to $49.99

you bet i got it! 

you can never go wrong with a bold black&white.

i cant wait to take pictures of this beauty in its new home. 

you. just. wait.