Long Weekend Rundown

Sparky and I had a long holiday weekend jam-packed full of greatness.  We took advantage of the 3-day weekend by making it a 4-day weekend instead.  It was glorious.  We played hard and got a little bit of rest somewhere in there.

Our weekend consisted of (I'll try to go in order if possible):
3 barre3 workouts
140 miles of bicycling
Home depot looky-loos
Antique shopping
Being a landlord
Picking up our honeymoon travel docs
A little travel necessity shopping at Traveler's Pack
Cookout at Natalie's (YUMMM) and meeting new peeps
Random summer thunder and rain
Comforting dogs frightened by thunder
Yard work
Brunch with friends at Cafe Kacao (one of our new faves)
Naptime
Saw the movie "Bad Teacher"
Scrumptious veggie lasagna and red pepper potato soup at Saturn Grill
Delicous homemade Vegan blueberry pancakes using this recipe with almond milk and fresh blueberries
Indoor rock climbing at Rocktown
Cleaning out storage shed (ack)
Pizza at The Wedge with friends
Washing machine war

Episode of "Falling Skies" and staying up late cause we can

Washing machine shopping and amazing sales (yay!)

Ordering a veggie burger and eating two bites of beef burger (grrr)
Moving all tools from garage to storage shed (ack) to make it a tool shed (yay)
House cleaning (ack)
Playing with my label maker (woo hoo)

I think I need a nap!  What did you do this past holiday weekend?  Did you relax and get some much needed rest or did you play hard?

Keep on Keepin on.

Anthropologie Quilt

I have to admit that I am one of those people that love to change out bedding.  I am obsessed with bedding.  What I am not obsessed with is bedding prices.  So, I don't get new bedding near as often as I would love to primarily for this reason.  The other reason?  I live with 4 dogs and a gross boy.  Just sayin.  All the bedding I drool over are typically white or grey and those colors and fabrics don't mesh well with my motley crew.

My latest lovey is the Rosette Quilt from Antropologie in Heather Grey.  Oh, it is so super dreamy.  And expensive.  Ick. 

You could only imagine how my multiple month long depression reacted when I saw Kokodesigns tutorial on how to make your very own!  For around $30!  Shut the front dang door, peeps!  I'm still giddy.  I might learn how to sew for this dang DIY project and I'm absolutely serious about that.  That will be a whole other comical blog post in itself.

So, enjoy Kojodesign's Anthro inspired Rosette quilt.  This is truly miraculous.

Keep on Keepin on.

Barre3: It's All About The Pants

While having dinner with friends the other night, my girlfriend and I were discussing a little bit about the Barre3 class we take in OKC.  We were trying to explain to our husbands that "it's all about the pants".

We laughed hysterically about this concept...but there is quite a bit of truth and validity to it.

Since I started Barre3 at the end of February, I have been obsessed with searching for the best yoga pants...daily.  I constantly think about yoga pants and I have become a yoga pant snob.  It's sad.  It's also very difficult for a cheapskate thrifty person like me.  I've resorted to chocolate to help my frenzy...but it somewhat defeats the purpose of going to the class.  Unless it's dark chocolate.  That's ok...so, I've convinced myself anyway.

Although I heart me some Target, I've decided that I loath their yoga pant selection and have become quite resentful.  Target is supposed to be my go-to for my lavish necessities on a budget.  Sigh.  For a whopping $24.99 or even $29.99 or more, I can't justify the yoga pants provided at Target.  This girl needs some wicking and some long term durability.  I have yet to find this with the supply at my local Target.

I've asked around and done some digging.  After a recommendation to Old Navy for some cheaply priced pants that were "good", I rushed over to a nearby Old Navy to only be quickly disappointed.  The fits on my oddly shaped body and my standards for wicking were insurmountable in this quest.  I did walk out with two great work-out tops, though!  I would definitely recommend their work-out tops.

So, I've resorted to the expensive online shopping for my pants.  This was a very difficult decision.  Unfortunately, the expensive pants I've found are worth every stinking penny spent.  Trust me.  I was very hesitant to splurge on some expensive pants that I had never even tried on, but the moment I squeezed into slipped on my Athleta pants, I was forever changed and convinced of their worth.

The Chaturanga Yoga Tight from Athleta.  My first purchase and my "comfort" pants.  I love these babies. 

The front of the Chaturanga Yoga Tight from Athleta

Then, the next month I splurged again on a pair of pants.  This time I splurged on the Hatha legging from Lucy, and my confidence in these pricey pants is continued.

The Hatha Capri Legging from Lucy.  I love these pants as well.  So comfortable and do not show sweat even though they are a color other than black!

Now, the grand-daddy, big momma of fancy pants are the Lululemon pants and I have yet to splurge on these gals.  These are the pants that most of my Barre3 classmates and the instructors are sporting and all of them absolutely rave about their comfort and quality.  I was waiting to see what the other pants were like before the "big" purchase.  I made a deal with myself that I was allowed one pair of new fancy pants a month.

My upcoming splurge pant is going to be the Mind Over Matter Crop pant from Lululemon.  I know it says the pant is for running, but I think they will be great for this Barre3 class as well.  Plus, I do go for a jog on occasion so these pants will be ideal.  Do you see how I justify this?  The truth is I love the colors and I especially love the little ruffle on the calf area.  It's nice to have options outside of the routine plain black pants...although the routine black pants are still comforting to have as well.

In my searches, I will and would also consider Hard Tail, Victoria's Secret, Express, and The Gap for yoga pants.  I don't have personal experiences with these pants, but I have heard and read good reviews about them.  If I were to get another pair, I would start with the Hard Tail.

Keep on Keepin on.

I'm Crushing On: Three Potato Four

I have the biggest crush on Stu and Janet from Three Potato Four!  They (and their two little kids) are super cute, cool, and awesome.

A friend recently sent me their link and I was head-over-heels in love at first click.  Same friend also got me a sweet little gift certificate and I didn't take much time in spending the little doo-hickey!  My biggest problem was narrowing down what to get!!  My wishlist was super long but since Sparky and I are saving our pennies for our honeymoon this summer, our extra spending money is pretty sparse.  My wishlist will just have to wait for another day. 

My sweet little GC did get me this nifty rad item, though!  I can't wait to set it on my desk and use it to hold my writing tools.  I think it would be cute for flowers and/or plants too.

Mexican Sugar Cane Mold - small $26.00

We recently sourced these beautifully executed reproductions of Mexican wooden sugar cone molds. Pure cane sugar would be melted down into these cones to produce a solid refined sugar cone which would be sold at local markets. This 3-hole sugar mold reproduction is all wood with a weathered antique finish. Measures approximately 9" x 3.25" x 4.5"h.

I also wanted the Large Mexican Sugar Cane Mold but I didn't want to overspend...maybe next time!
 

A few other items on my wishlist:
 

Ceramic Ruled Pitchers $16.00

Ceramic Bird Jewelry Dish $20.00

 

All-Purpose Wire Gym Baskets $35.00

Glass Chickadee Vase $18.00

 

AND...The grande finale super duper uber DREAM item...Industrial Shoe Factory Rolling Rack.  (I couldn't get the photo to post.  sorry)  Of course it's already sold.  boo.  Isn't it MAGNIFICENT?  This would be an amazing bakers rack for my kitchen with the above All-purpose wire baskets.  I'm swooning in my seat just drooling about it in my head. Sigh.
 
I'm also loving their original line 3P4.  The 3-P4 Milk Bottle Carafe - 32 oz. $24.00 might be at the top of my wish list.  cough cough. ahem ahem.
 

 

Keep on Keepin on.

My Favorite Evil

Today I had to share one of my favorite little knick knacks that I picked up at the antique store this past winter.  Every time I pass these little monkeys I just can't help but giggle or at least grin a little.  So, I had to share to bring a giggle or grin to all of you.

We all know the saying "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil"...right?  right?  But is there a fourth evil?  Apparently so.

Sparky and I came across this little evil monkey thing and couldn't for the life of us figure out what the fourth evil was?!  We were laughing so hard in the store because we were asking everyone in the store if they knew what it was and no one knew! 

Here were some of my first thoughts....

Pee pee No Evil
Touch No Evil
dert dee dert No Evil
Not So Smart No Evil
Don't Be A DumbAss No Evil
Bashful No Evil
Hide No Evil
Tired No Evil

Most of these don't make sense...I know.  But they are fun to say.  There were some other thoughts that you all can probably imagine but we'll leave it at that...

Anyway, I just had to have the little monkey evil thing.  I love their little belly buttons!  I also love how worn it is, especially in the front where the paint is chipped off.  I have it set on the edge of the bookcase by our fireplace so that I walk by it everyday to the bedroom; and everyday it brings a little happiness to my little day.  A friend finally "googled" it and we found out it means....

drumroll....

DO No Evil.

I'm stupid.  It's so obvious now but all the guessing was sure fun!

What would you have thought the fourth little evil monkey meant?

Keep on Keepin on.

Lunch Time Shenanigans

Working for a design firm, even though I am not an interior designer, has many perks.  Greatest perk of all???  Having friends that are interior designers!  I get to tag along to cool home stores and learn about cool home interior lingo and stuff.

One of my friends just purchased a home and is in the midst of remodeling before her cute little family officially move in to their new digs.  So, yes, I've been priviledged enough to join in a couple of lunch time errands with her.  Last week I got to venture with her to look at slabs of granite for her new kitchen counters!  It was uber exciting!  I know....nerd alert, right?

Well, this week was the icing on the cake!   Yesterday I got to join in on a little excursion to the Habitat Renovation Station!  eeeeeee!!!  I'm giddy just thinking about it!  I was a picture taking fool with my camera phone.  I'm sure people walking around thought I was beyond nuts.

What is the Habitat Renovation Station?  It's a great idea is what it is!  Below is directly from their website.


COHFH’s Renovation Station sells new, used and vintage building supplies and materials, appliances, furniture, and other household items.   The Habitat Renovation Station is open to the public. Proceeds from sales go to Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity and we anticipate that Renovation Station stores will fully fund 6 to 8 Habitat houses this year.

This place is not only in place for a great cause but it is also a DIYer's dream!  They had everything from knick knacks to granite scraps!  Items we perused included furniture, kitchen towels, mailing supplies, window curtains, painting supplies, large and small tiles, toiliets, cabinets, dishes, appliances, tools, and so much more!

Be still my heart! Drawers! I have a weird crush on random old drawers. I think they are just so imperfectly beautiful. Especially when they are on rows of shelves to purchase...

There were a couple of rows of doors!  Need an old door?  Need a vintage door?  Need a fairly new door?  Need a glass door?  Need a french door?  Need a sliding door?  Need a storm door?  Pretty sure I saw all of the above...and old shutters!

Need a new to you chandelier or light fixture? Old, brass, wooden, glass? Pretty sure they have it covered.

I have a slight obsession with chairs.  I blame it on the wedding.  These would have been perfect!

Elephant rug anyone?  Sorry...just had to throw that one in there.  tee hee.

 

Talk about a tape measure!  I'd measure everything in site with this hunk of measuring love.

My chair obsession contiues.  This orange is beautiful!  The left arm was slightly damaged but absolutely fixable.  And it  was only $5!  If only I could convince Sparky that we "need" it.

Need a nail or a screw?  They have all kinds!

One of my favorite moments.  Sink anyone?  So many ideas with all the colorful sinks.  Check out that green sink!  Natalie was eyeing the sink's faucet knobs I think.

They even have various tools.  This tile cutter could be used we or dry and was only $49.  I was eyeing it for Sparky because we are about to do a bathroom remodel.

It was a grand old time with you, ladies.  We should do this again in the near future.

Keep on Keepin on.

Sneaky Peaky: BHLDN

Just because I've already had a wedding doesn't mean that I can't be uber in love with and crushing on BHLDN...Anthropoligie's  spin on weddings.  Swoon much?  I've joked...but I am kinda seriously considering buying a dress and taking photos or bridals in it.  Maybe on the one year anniversary?  perhaps.

How lucky are the bloggers from Green Wedding Shoes?  They were invited to see a private fashion show of the wedding line!  Lucky for us they have shared their exciting experience on their site.  You can check Sneak Peak 1 and Sneak Peak 2.

I have two definite top faves right now.  Oh, dear.

Get ready for Valentines Day by visiting BHLDN on their 1st day launch!

Keep on Keepin

Loving Local

After a pretty long and stressful week, I was more than happy to celebrate the beginning of the weekend with some of our favorite things and some new things.

First off, Sparky and I were offered up two free propane heaters from our favorite local OKC spot, The Wedge on western (where we were engaged).  Of course, they were free because they couldn't get them to work.  They said if we could get them to work then we could have them.  Sparky's response, "I'm freaking McGyver"...unfortunately this McGyver doesn't own a truck.  We were able to get a friend with a truck to help us transport the heaters to our home; so we also enjoyed a dinner at The Wedge while in the process.

Afterward, we headed down to the local Plaza District for an art showing and some local supporting.  I was able to score a cute handmade hair pin that I'm going to try to work into the wedding and a handmade Christmas gift for a friend.

Also....

We randomly picked out Sparky's wedding band!!!  local and handmade.  Perfect.

It was a joyful and local filled night.  Do you support your local artists and businesses?

Keep on Keepin on.

Loving "Loved"

I'm loving the "loved" ring from Catbird.  I love all their jewelry and their great price ranges!  I have my eye on a few pieces of jewelry from Catbird...and I don't even like to wear jewelry!  I'm seriously thinking of getting the "loved" ring as my wedding band.  It's simple.  It's sweet.  It's straight to the point.  It's perfect.

Keep on Keepin on.

Thrifty Breakdown

I am so stoked about Sparky and I's finds this past weekend!  In planning our wedding, I have decided that we need to try to do as much of our wedding recycled and reused.  This will prove to be a fun challenge in my opinion and not only be environmentally friendly but also budget friendly.

In Sparky and I's secret preparation the past few months, we have already accumulated a few items.  We love going to estate sales and the area in which we live always seems to have a lot of awesome estate sales.  At one of the estate sales we came upon a few months ago, I was able to score A BUNCH of mason jars plus assorted glass vases.  We toted off from the estate sale with 4 boxes full of mason jars and glass vases for only $5 total.  It was a super sweet deal if you ask me.

We have also been trying to pick up any good  chairs we can find.  Our goal is to collect as many assorted chairs as possible so that we won't have to worry about renting them later.  At one garage sale, we picked up three wooden folden chairs for another $5.  So far, Sparky and I have approximately 25 chairs due to all our random chairs we already have in our home and in our attic and we still have only spent $5.  If we come up short on our wedding day, I already have some cute ideas up our sleeve that will allow for some perfect seating...but I'll keep that info to myself for now.

But, this weekend, we accumulated some good decor items.  We were headed to the local Salvation Army Thrift Store when we stumbled upon some no name thrift stores.  I'm pretty confident these people just go to garage sales and then re-sell their items in a "thrift store"...just sayin.  Sparky and I had to DIG through stuff.  But, we found these 4 lanterns still with their wicks for $3 each and 3 aqua glass electrical pole insulators for $2 each.  I can't decide if I want to spray paint the lanterns all a matching color...like white or silver?  I'm still pondering this.

4 lanterns at $3 each

3 electrical pole insulators

$2 each

On our way home, we stumbled upon an estate sale that was just about to close up shop.  Needless to say, they were very willing to negotiate just about anything and told us everything would be an additional 75% off.  The place seemed emptied out and I didn't think we'd find anything. 

I spotted a table with some gloves and realized there was a stack of assorted dainty handkerchiefs.  I picked up 20 of these cute fabric squares for just $0.25 each for a total of $5.  I will probably either make a garland of some sort with them for the wedding or accumulate more and use them for napkins at the wedding.

20 assorted handkerchiefs for $5.

I went into the kitchen and sitting on the kitchen counter were these cute little white ceramic birds.  I kid you not, I have a picture of a similar bird (not color) already printed off from save-on-crafts.com and in my wedding binder.  There was no way I was going to leave without scooping up these little birdies.  I was able to score both birds for just a $1.

$1 total for both birdies.

I was just telling someone the other day that I do not have a punch bowl...but now I do!  I saw this bowl and ladle sitting all by its lonesome.  I think it may be meant for soup but I'm all about it being a cute punchbowl.  Any objections?  I doubt it.  It was totally worth the price of a whopping $5.

Cute bowl/soup bowl and ladle for $5.

Our biggest purchase was the dishes.  Sparky and I are pretty picky when it comes to dishes...which is why we currently have solid white dishes.  I actually love solid white anything, so I still love the solid white dishes.  But, Sparky was totally diggin on these dishes at the estate sale and we could not turn them down for the price.

I counted a total of 59 pieces.  12 dinner plates, 12 bowls, smaller plates, coffee cups, cream and sugar set, serving bowl, two serving platters, a few other random bowls and plates, and a gravy boat!  I am actually really excited about the gravy boat for some reason.  We got all 59 matching pieces for only $12!!  That's a super deal!

That's all of our great thrifty finds this past weekend.  Now I have a lot of dish cleaning to get done so that we can use some of them for dinner this week! 

Do you have any great thrifty finds that you are super excited and proud?

Keep on keepin on.

Start Your Weekend with Some Thrifty-ness!

Sparky and I were thrift store and estate sale shopping fools this afternoon (partially in search for wedding stuff).  Here's a preview of our great finds!

I'll break down all this splendidness and the awesomeness hidden in the sacks later!

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!

Keep on keepin on.

Let's Talk: Laser Hair Removal

We are about to get real personal here, peeps.  Leave now if that's now your thang.  Actually, I hope you don't leave, so I'll try to be as polite as possible.  (yeah right)

If you look over to the right at my profile, you will see that I am a Pacific Islander, aka hairy ethinic beast.  Just sayin.  I can totally relate to those Kardashian chicks even though they are Armenian.  Dark ethnic hair is dark ethnic despite its origin.  (You "light hair" people don't know how good you really have it).  Dark, thick hair is totally obnoxious, annoying, irritating (physically and mentally).  One thing I have always wanted to try...well ever since it was created...is laser hair removal.

Laser hair removal is right up there for me in the unknown and scary category.  I normally don't like to experiment too much with my body...with exception to my pierced belly button and my tattoo.  Ok, so maybe I'm a little ok with "trying new things"...whatever.  Anywho, LATELY and as I have matured, I've been a little freaked at the idea of permanently altering my body.  But, the hair issue is just too much!  Shaving and waxing is just not enough.

I joined the Groupon website a couple of months ago, and I absolutely love it.  So far, I have purchased two great deals and have been really pleased with the process and the outcome of it.  I'm a huge fan and I would totally recommend anyone to join. One of the Groupons I purchased was just a no brainer for me.  I saw it and had very little hesitation to jump in on the deal.  A local day spa, Body Trends, had an AMAZING deal.  They offered 6 treatments of laser hair removal that was worth $750 for only $99!  I jumped at the opportunity.  If I was ever going to give laser hair removal a try, this was the best opportunity that I had for it yet.

Last night was my first treatment.  I won't lie.  I was definitely terrified nervous and excited all in one.  One of my biggest fears is the side and after affects of anything new and different that I expose my body.  This paranoia was definitely lingering heavily in my mind.  I still went with it, though.  I just had to remind myself that I needed to try it once.

The laser hair removal technician, I want to call her expert, was so incredibly kind and professional.  She definitely made me feel welcome and comfortable, but most importantly, she eased my anxiety without me having to ask her to do so.  She explained the process to me before she started and she was really patient with my million questions and jibbery nervous talking.  I will praise her a millions times for just dealing with my uber awkwardness so well. 

After all the talky talk, the technician expert, had me lay down on a bed.  She put goggles on me, in which I could not see anything but absolute darkness.  She started on my left underarm.  Oh wait, did I mention that I chose to do my underarms?  Sorry.  Yes, I chose to do both underarms first.  This is one of my more annoying "hair" areas to me and I figured for my first time it was a safer option than my face.  Sooooooo, moving on.  She started with my left underarm.  The first burst of laser hit and it HURT.  Oh, dear.  It seriously hurt.  I now think that it was more of a shock but at that moment and the rest of the underarm, it hurt.  I can equate it to the first time I ever had my eyebrows and lip waxed and I thought it was the worst pain ever; and now I don't even think about flinching.  So, I'm sure the sharp stabbing laser pain will soon be a nonsense thing of the past.  If you've ever had a tattoo, it's kinda sorta a little like that.

After twenty minutes of holding my breath and going to my happy place, the technician expert was done with both underarms.  After only being able to smell the wonderful aroma of burnt armpit hair for a good twenty minutes, she lifted off my goggles.  I was anxious to see what my underarms would look like.  I was thinking they would be bright red puffs of underarm skin, but no.  They were perfectly normal but with less hair than before.  The technician expert applied some cooling aloe to both underarms and we were done.  No biggie. 

My next treatment is in about a months time, so I'm sure I will update you again after that treatment.

As of today, my underarms feel absolutely normal.  We are good to go.  No swelling, no soreness, no wierd growths...haha.  But, seriously, everything so far is peachy.

I think laser hair removal is my new best friend.

Keep on Keepin on.

Living and Dining Changes

So, I know everyone loved my dining table I had before, but I was just up for some change.  Plus, my table just really didn't go with the style we have for the rest or our home.  So, out it went. 

I searched and searched for its replacement and finally decided that Ikea was the winner.  Sparky and I planned on a Friday to head 3 hrs south to the nearest Ikea but I didn't want to go unprepared.  A friend of mine offered up her truck just in case the table was slightly too big for the good ole Subaru.  So, we switched vehicles at 7:00 am and then Sparky and I were off to furniture splendidnous.

We should not have taken the truck.

Our logic while Sparky and I were in furniture and home decor heaven consisted of..."Well, we have the room since we got the truck.  We might as well get what we can now while we are here and have the truck."

So, we went down to Ikea  for one $400 dining table.

We returned home with...

a differnt dining table
duvet cover
blanket
and a new sectional sofa.

Yes.  I said sectional sofa.

We must be crazy, right?

I'm so happy we splurged, though!

We have been enjoying our sofa for a few weeks now and it ended up inspiring us to paint the living room and to finally add a photo wall of my pictures.  So it all worked out in the end.

Below is our new dining table, the bjursta from Ikea with only one leaf in it.  This table has an additional leaf that expands the table to fit 10 people!  It may not seem like it, but the table is HEAVY and solid.  The lighter wood really brightens up this space and it's exactly what we needed.  (*please disregard the door hardware in the right side of the photo...that belongs to another unfinished project...story of our lives.) 

The chairs are actually chairs we already had around the house and we just decided to repurpose them...so they were free!  We have about 6 additional of the middle white chairs in case we need to whip out that extra leaf for a dinner party!  So, all in all, we drastically changed our dining space for only $300 and we can seat more people!  What's even better is that I sold the old table for $400...so I made $100 too!  Now that is a sweet deal.  I love Ikea.

AND...

Then we spent our Saturday evening and Sunday morning painting the living from an orang-ee brown to a bright white.

AND...

Then we donated this old thing to the wonderful Salvation Army.

AND..

Here is our new sectional.  Kind of a poopy photo but it will do for now.  I've been eyeing some yellow and grey pillows at target to go on sale...but no luck yet.  They would be the perfect addition! 

As you can see, in this photo, the far right wall is a white empty canvas.    The other two walls in the room each have Sparky's paintings.  He has been saving the extra wall all for my photographs.  Our goals is to only have our own artwork in our home.  This is my new picture wall of our dogs that I will share later!

(*yes, that is Sparky's arm and leg on the right side.)

I will try to get some better photos of the new living room as soon as I can! 

Keep on Keepin on.