Tooting my own horn here

Did anyone wake up to watch the Royal wedding this morning? I did. But not intentionally mind you. It just so happened that I naturally work up when the clock read 4:58am. And even though I was tried as could be, I thought, what they hey, Prince William and Kate only get married once! So, I jumped out of bed and turned on the TV, just in time to see Kate's father walking her down the aisle.

Through sleep drawn eyes, I marveled at the fact that Kate Middleton was about to become a princess. A princess! That's kind of a big deal. She looked absolutely stunning, didn't you think? And I think it's safe to say, most girls in the world are jealous of her today.

But let's talk about her dress shall we. The dress everyone was trying to make predictions about. What was it going to look like? Would it be extreme like Princess Diana's? Who would design it? Was she going to go with a more modern look? Will her dress become inspiration for years to come? Would she help design it? And the list goes on and on.

Well, I'd be lying if I didn't think the moment I saw it, hey, her dress looks eerily similar to my wedding dress. Minus, mine wasn't a long sleeved dress, nor was the train quite as big. Ok, and mine had a few ruffles up top that her's didn't. But other than that, I liked to think Princess Kate and I have similar style in the wedding dress department.

My dress:

 

Kate's Dress:

Ok, so maybe they don't look eerily similar, but there are some similarities there that you can't deny. Maybe it's only the lace. But hey, lace and all, I'm glad she decided to go with that elegant and timeless look. There's nothing more beautiful, more classy, and more of a fashion statement than a gorgeous gown constructed out of lace. She gets my stamp of approval!

Happy wedding day to the newlyweds.

Another DIY project

Since I started getting all "crafty" these days (that term being used loosely here, very loosely), the wheels inside my head have been turning. I've had the idea of turning a dresser into a TV stand for awhile now, it just took finding the right dresser that I thought I could redo for my idea to truly evolve.

I've been scouting craigslist for the 'perfect' dresser, but nothing seemed to turn up in the price range I was hoping for. And then I went to some garage sales, and wouldn't you know it, someones trash turned into my treasure. I found this little gem for $20 and I knew I had to have it:

The dresser became even more perfect when the lady sold it to me for a whopping $12 instead. It was all the cash I had on me. Which I've since decided is the key to getting good deals. If you only carry a few dollars with you, the sellers will eventually come down on the price and match your offer.  It's a fabulous thing, walking away with a bargain of a deal. At least I thought it was.

I didn't want to just paint it black, and leave it at that. That seemed too boring. So, I decided to add a little stenciling to the mix to spice things up a bit:

And the end result turned out a little something like this. To be honest, I'm still trying to decide how I really feel about it. It's fun, it's cute...I think. But is it a little too much? I'm still trying to decide.

I'd love your thoughts, keep it the way it is, or does it need to be toned down a little? Either way, it's high time we got rid of this retro look. But hey, at least all of this was free. That's right FREE. I got it all back in my DC days, and as nice as free is and has been, it's really got to go:

                                                

Wow, just looking at this picture makes me laugh. It's too bad the gameboy on the shelf is hidden in the picture. Yeah, we keep it old school around here. But like I said, it was FREE people. And sometimes free beats out looks, sad but true.

Easter Sunday

It's that dreaded time of the week again, Sunday night, when the close of another productive and enjoyable weekend has arrived. After a nice long weekend, (I had Good Friday off, bless living in the Bible belt), it really makes beginning a new work week rather daunting. If only I could stay home and work on all of my unfinished projects...

Today was a crazy day around our house. With it being Easter Sunday and all, I had the wild idea of hosting a big dinner with some of our close friends. Of course I couldn't just have a simple dinner and leave it at that. That would be too easy, and I read way too many blogs. So, I tried to go all out, or at least as all out as I could in our tiny little space called our house. I told John one day I need a big house, if for nothing more than to entertain friends. To which he replied, some day, some day...
 
It's so nice being married to someone who is artistically gifted. He's always there to help me make things look even better...

 

And the finished product looked a little something like this, or, I should say, all of the guys cupcakes looked something like this. The girls were a little more normal looking...

 

The table...

After dinner, we had a chocolate cake cook off challenge, we wanted to see who really knows how to make the best chocolate cake. After a pretty filling dinner, we probably should have opted for something a little lighter, like fresh fruit, but we stuffed our faces with chocolate cake anyway...

I'm not sure whose cake actually won, or if we really even voted, but I do know it was a fun night, and that's all that we were aiming for anyway...

This was my moist chocolate cake. It probably wouldn't have hurt it to have a little less cinnamon in it, but after making cupcakes, cookies, a ham, and decorating my house can one really expect perfection? Perhaps. But I'm just impressed that within 20 minutes of everyone leaving, our house was back to being spotlessly clean. I guess there are some perks to living in a small house...

Piano Man

 I married a man who knows how to play the piano, 

and well might I add,

and basically any other instrument he gets his hands on.

Playing the piano is a big part of his life, 

and sadly, it's a part of his life I've rarely seen and hardly know.

Why?

Because I'm a terrible wife, and upon moving into our tiny home, 

I made John store his talent in the closet. 

Honest. There's no room without it being awkward.

Although, maybe if he'd actually written me a song for our wedding like he was planning on,
things would be different...

However, he'll occasionally pull his keyboard out of the closet,
dust it off, 

 and play away.

It makes me wish our house was big enough for a grand.

He'll probably kill me for posting these,
but what are wives for if we can't embarrass our husbands?

Friday night in our house sounded a little like this:

A few days later I told him I wanted him to play me his best piece yet,

this is what he came up with:

Clearly I've married myself an entertainer,

who knew?
Oh, how this man makes me laugh.

A little thrifting

The weekend's not even over yet, 

Sunday barely started, 

and I'm already dreading the ending of today.

This weekend has been fabulous.

From missionaries over for dinner on Friday night,

to Saturday's thrift store/garage sale excursion,

it's been a productive and fun weekend.  

My friend and I spent all of Saturday morning/mid-afternoon

cruising from one thrift store/garage sale to the next

trying to score some fabulous finds.

I think we both walked away 

with some steals

and new projects to keep us busy for weekends to come.

 It'll be a party.

Stay tuned...

Once upon a time,

thrifting used to disgust me.

How quickly it has turned into a passion of mine.

This is my latest DIY project.

It's no thrift store or garage sale find,

but craigslist finds are one and the same.

After months and months of searching,

I finally found the perfect glider bench to adorn my front porch.

Before:

 

After:

Incessant wind and all, 

you'll find us chillaxing on that pretty little thing.

(It still needs a few side pillows, which will be in the works soon)

A little Monday night FHE...

...turned into Monday night gardening.

John put his trusty skills to work and made me this Monday night:

And now there are vegetables growing in our backyard and I couldn't be more excited:

An old wives tale (according to the lady at Lowes) is to plant marigolds in your garden.

Apparently it keeps the bugs away.
Oklahoma has LOTS, and I mean LOTS of bugs.

So, clearly we bought into her story.

Fresh veggies all summer long?

Yes please!

Fashion statement or faux pas?

I’m not really the most stylish gal out there. Some clothes I wear I’ve had since high school. Seven years old! I sometimes buy things because they’re cheap, not cute. I wear accessories that I’ve made, which don’t always turn out as attractive as I’d like. I’m trendy. I don’t have my own style; I’m better at coping others. And sometimes, I just hope I can get away with whatever odd concoction I think up next.

For instance, when my dear husband purchased a pair of petite pants for me at Christmas, not longs like I normally buy, I knew they wouldn’t fit. I was right. Unfortunately I’m no petite.  And being too lazy to return them, they’ve sat on my shelf ever since. Until the other day when I decided to wear them anyway because I figured, why not. Better get our money’s worth, right?  In middle school I would have been made fun of for wearing “floods”.  Today it just seems like any thing goes.

So, on went the pants and up went the confidence. I felt like I needed to appear as though wearing pants that don’t fit me is ok. And wouldn’t you know it that when someone gave me a high complement on my outfit, saying it looked like it came straight from a magazine, I thought my idea of wearing petite pants on my 5’8’’ figure was ingenious.

John claimed that she just gave me the complement because she felt bad for my ensemble. But I’ve long since decided Oklahoman’s don’t know much about fashion, so I ignored his snide remark and made him have some fun with me anyway. 

Coming to you straight from a magazine...

 

 an outfit

 

er, I mean, pants

 

that were made for someone's body other than my own.

(FYI, I was trying to imitate fashion bloggers like this, this and this in my pictures above. 

I don't normally pose like that for the camera, nor am I that vain)

So what say you? Let's get some honest opinions here, thumbs up or thumbs down for wearing pants that  may be a wee bit too small?

Activity Days

Every other week I get to spend Wednesday nights hanging out with the 8-12 year old girls in my ward. We do crafts, service projects, and other activities to help strengthen their testimonies of Jesus Christ.

I remember when I was first called to work in the Primary, I felt sick about it. In fact, before I even got my calling, I had been praying everyday that I wouldn't get called to, yep, you guessed it, the Primary. Isn't that awful? They didn't tell me what my exact calling was going to be, just that I would be working with the Primary. So, I'd be lying if I said I was excited about this. In fact, I was so upset by being called to work in the Primary that I cried. I know, I'm a baby. Kids aren't that bad. I get it.

But truth be told, since we were still new in the ward, I didn't want to be taken out of Relief Society and diminish my chances of getting to know other ladies in the ward. So perhaps, I was majorly a little sad thinking I'd be "stuck" in primary every week.

A few weeks later I found out I was going to be working with the Activity Days girls, and I breathed a sigh of relief, then laughed at how worked up I got over a calling that could actually be fun. Then I realized that it meant I'd actually have to be crafty, creative, cultural, serviceable and fun. And then I got nervous again because I'm not really any of those things. So how was I supposed to make these activities fun for these girls? Dilemma.

Well, a few months into it, and I think I have one of the best callings you could ask for. I love getting to hang out with these little girls every other week. They're so funny and full of life. Aw, to be a kid again.

Thank goodness for blogging, I literally get all of my ideas from random blogs. If I didn't have blogs, these girls would be bored silly with me as their leader.

Last nights activity looked something like this, thanks to this blog:

 

 

Our lesson was on faith in Jesus Christ,

So, we planted seeds in eggs:

 

And hopefully in a few days their eggs will look something like this: 

  

Then we chowed down on some delicious edible birds nests,
with Cadbury mini eggs.

Yum!

 

Looks like Primary isn't so bad after all.

Springing to life

This morning I drove into work with a smile on my face, while belting out the lyrics to whatever song came on the radio. I was driving solo, but it was still a party. Acting exciting on my way into work? That never happens. So today I diagnosed myself with a mild case of SAD.

Or maybe I've just been feeling sad lately knowing I'm missing the cherry blossoms this year. Aside from all of the tourists that overtake DC, driving the locals crazy right about now, the cherry blossoms is one of the greatest times of the year in our nations capital. And oh how I miss not being there right now.

Last year John came out to visit me this very weekend, and in between sessions of General Conference, the best time of year, we went and wandered around the tidal basin with the millions of other people out doing the same thing. I wish we could do that in between sessions again this year. But sadly, I'm stuck in Oklahoma this time, so no cherry blossoms for me.

So, to all of you who are still in DC, will you go wander around the tidal basin, fight the annoying crows, take lots of pictures and then make me feel jealous I'm not out there to enjoy the beauty that is cherry blossoms in DC? Please, for me!

 

And for all of you, 

I'll do my best to enjoy the beauty that surrounds Oklahoma's State Capital.

Our best attempt at cherry blossoms, 

the redbud tree. 

While you all may be getting the better end of the deal here, 

Oklahoma seems to know a thing or two about beauty this time of year.