BEYOND LAME

Getting $4,500 worth of camera equipment STOLEN right from under your nose while shooting a wedding tonight.

The end.

PLUG

1) Latest find. I love country kitchens and "Farmhouse" sinks seem to be the thing lately. I love them but even the cheapest ones out there are at least $400. I found the sink below on craigslist. A plumber had one that had a small scratch so they couldn't use it. He had to point it out to me because I COULD NOT even find it. Anyway, point is, check the link. This sink is OVER $2,000. Yes, you read that right. We bought it this week for $300. STILL IN THE BOX.

http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?item=332902&section=1&category=5&subcategory=36


2) Another good one. I was cautious about getting a used couch. Kinda grosses me out so it took me three MONTHS to find this one from a couple in Irvine that just bought a $1.5 million dollar house and didn't have use for it anymore. No pets, one baby. Since Tofer is going to ransack the furniture anyway I was OK getting this $2,800 down-filled sectional from them for $700.



http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19230&catalog=filter&menuCatalog=room&menuSubcategory=201195

3)Last one "for today" We were not going to buy a new toilet for the downstairs, even though it's kinda old. But then we saw this Duravit on craigslist. This toilet is $579 dollars. We got it for $80. Why? Girl's Dad is a contractor and it needed extra caulking because of a small drip. Rather than caulk it, they got a brand new one. Now it's ours.



http://www.irawoods.com/Duravit-D16530-Starck-2-Series-One-Piece-Elongated-Toilet-Kit-White

So, here's the deal. It requires patience, some practical sense (because yes, there are scammers on there and maybe even total weirdos, but I look for specific things from specific people so I've never had trouble YET) and then it also takes some more...patience.

Just something to think about next time you want to buy a new couch that your kids are just going to wipe their dirty hands on. Take a look at craigslist, trust me, you'll be glad you did...

P.S. Oh and the list goes on if you are interested....crate and barrel table and chairs, pottery barn crib, pottery barn train table with rolling shelves, Z-Gallerie leather recliner, West Elm arm chair, Rock Star Baby stroller....I could keep going. The best part is, I spent what you may have spent at Target and if I get sick of this stuff, since most are "brands"people like, I could probably sell it all again!

Goodnight!

Truly beautiful

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

~Audrey Hepburn


*I've always thought she looks like my Mother, another truly beautiful person

Priceless

Who needs to buy pics to decorate the bathroom when you have this model!?

K, seriously, he just cracks me up. Love him. These were the three we picked.





P.S. Click on the first one to get a better look at his expression. Priceless. HA!

Bangs - For the Record

Let it be written, let it be known.

P.S. They are actually growing on me. No, I mean, like getting longer. Har har har.

I'm still not loving it, despite what you might think from all the glamour shot poses I'm throwing out. On a good day, it's fun to have a change. On a bad day, I wear a hat or barett/headband and pull them back. Kris loves them. Go figure.

How white trash are you?

White Trash has such a negative connotation. Probably something to do with the word "trash" :)
But here's the deal, it's ok to be white trash AS LONG as you are AWESOME about it!

White Trash: Not mowing the lawn for four months

Awesomeness: Finally "mowing" it by crawling around the grass with a hedger since you don't HAVE a lawn mower (ps all the neighbors have gardeners)

White Trash: Getting everything you own for free, at a garage sale, or on Craigslist

Awesomeness: Selling it for a profit

White Trash: Chronic greasy hair from lack of washing
Awesomeness: "Bumble & Bumble Hair Powder" - The perfect hair degreaser

White Trash: Alley/Dumpster diving at any time and for any reason

Awesomeness: Finding an old bbq IN the alley and dragging it home behind a bike with a rope ON a tandem beach cruiser (see pic below)

White Trash: Chronic malfunctioning toilets
Awesomeness: Resetting it yourself by gluing it to the floor

White Trash: Old dumpy cars
Awesomeness: WITH one headlight out, one tail light out, no seat cushions in the back, and a door that will never fully close (all the neighbors have the typical Lexus, Mercedes, BMW and one even has an old school Rolls Royce)

White Trash: Pulling out a 12 foot palm tree by attaching it with a rope to the hitch of the car and driving back and forth for two hours until it rips out of the ground
Awesomeness: Putting it (standing up straight) in the garbage can and then slipping the garbage man $20 to chainsaw it up - oh yes he did - and take it



I'm not sure we totally belong in Orange County yet....but at least we're pretty awesome... (and I blame, ahem, I mean I give Kris credit for about 80% of it :) Go ahead, click on the pic to enlarge, and you'll see what I mean.

The Truth about Bangs

If you have a friend that is trying to convince you to cut bangs, she probably doesn't like you.

1. You actually have to DO your hair to look decent.


2. If it's hot, bangs make your forehead sweat which makes your bangs wet. Wet bangs = not cute.


3. When you are doing your hair, somehow long hairs always get caught in the short hairs and tickle your face.


4. If the wind blows, you may or may not look ridiculous. Hopefully you will be able to see yourself in a store window or mirror. If not, OH WELL!


5. Sometimes bangs want to kink or twist or part in weird places and there's not much you can do about it.


6. You thought aerosol was a thing of the past UNTIL you cut bangs.


7. You can't just roll over in the morning and have that cute beachy/messy hair look like grown out bangs give you.


8. Morning bangs = Punky Brewster

Sometimes they ALMOST look cute if only...xyz...so you get a pair of scissors and cut them a little only to find they look even worse the next day.

To be fair, I HAVE experienced one positive thing about them since CUTTING BANGS ON SATURDAY...

1. When you are relaxing in the hammock and a bird poops on your head, your bangs keep the poop from touching your face. True story.
   

Just when you think "CUTER" is NOT...EVEN...POSSIBLE

It






Keeps





Happening!

Seeing Dad Again After TWO WEEKS!

Enough said.

Hyperemesis gravidarum

Yes, it sounds like a spell from Harry Potter, doesn't it? It's actually a rare condition pregnant women get. What is it? Basically, take the worst you ever felt pregnant, times it by 100 and let it live with you for nine months. We are talking CANNOT LIFT YOUR HEAD OFF YOUR PILLOW sick.

My sister Liz was blessed with this awesome condition so Tofer and I went to her house in Chicago for two weeks to help her out. In her last visit to the hospital for dehydration (yes, there have been a few emergency room visits already) she got an IV for several hours that ran different meds through her body and for the entire two weeks I was there she didn't throw up once!! Now she is on 4 different meds and progressively getting better. Poor Liz. But we are so happy she is feeling better.

Although she has been thanking me endlessly, the truth is, it was FUN and Tofer LOVED playing with his cousins and I LOVED seeing all of them.

And THAT is why I haven't been blogging lately.

THE END

P.S. I would post pics but I'm pretty sure she would kill me since being an invalid makes you look especially awesome :)

When your heart fills up to bursting

The other day I was relaxing here in our yard...



...when the most AMAZING scent glided past me in the breeze...it was so beautiful I HAD to find it. I started pacing all over the yard when I came to this...



...as I leaned in closer I noticed these all over the tree...



...and as I breathed them in, there it was AGAIN. But this time the scent went straight to my HEART as I realized why it was so beautiful and familiar to me.

A long time ago, I had the GREAT HONOR of being able to wear one of these....



for a year and a half when I served as a missionary in SPAIN.

SPAIN is filllllled with orange trees. Now, every time I pass my little orange tree and I smell those beautiful flowers, I am sent back to Spain and my heart completely fills up. Sometimes I even cry, like now, just thinking of it. What a privilege that was for me - so hard, so amazing. Priceless.

I'm so thankful for my little orange tree.