a girl's trip

Sorry I've been so out of it lately. Since computer dear died I have been computerless for days! It's been horrible . . . horribly nice that is. I've only had an iPhone to return e-mails so I haven't. Sometimes it's nice to be technologically disconnected. It's still not fixed and putting this post together took at least two DVR shows. That's how dedicated I am. Anyway, enough complaining. My mom and sisters came to visit last week and it was amazing. Seriously I loved having them here so much! They arrived on Wednesday and we sat around and relaxed for the afternoon and my mom had us all cracking up while she sat like this as she read her book.

Yes, my mother who has given birth to eleven children and has 39 grandchildren. After we laughed a lot and got settled in I used what I had in my fridge to make these delicious babies for dinner. I love cooking for my family because even if I just slapped some leftovers on a plate they would still "oooh" and "aaaah" over it. After dinner it was so fun to sit down with blankets and turn on Wives & Daughters with other girls who love and appreciate 19th century mini-series movies as much as I do.

The next day we headed over to Seaport Village and looked at the shops and even considered getting our palms read by the crazy lady on the boardwalk (who knew it was so expensive?). Grandmary and William had a great time pushing a wooden airplane back and forth on the table and had him in stitches. Oh, the simple joys of an 18-month-old. I love seeing him spend quality time with my mom. It kind of made my heart swell.

Dinner at Kebab Shop and then we headed over to Balboa Park for some pictures, including this awesome one of the most beautiful garden.

We had to take this picture to send to my gardener sister so she would feel jealous of the trip and want to come visit. Does that sound manipulative? Cause it was totally meant to.

Our last day we spent on Coronado Island. We ate caramel and dark chocolate ice cream, looked at the gorgeous vegetable garden at Hotel Del, shopped at the cute boutiques and had the best hamburgers at my favorite burger joint in San Diego. But the highlight of the day was when my sister and I were walking a few yards behind my mom and other sister, deep in conversation, when all the sudden a tall, muscular, tan, blond guy on a beach cruiser stops and starts hugging my mom. It was the strangest thing and I said, "Who's that hot guy hugging Mom?" Turns out it was my sister-in-law's brother who was vacationing with his family but we had a good laugh about how only my gorgeous 60-something mom could get hit on.

And we also went to Extraordinary Desserts (duh) and overdosed on amazing chocolate cakes. I love the girls in my family. It really rejuvenates me to spend time with them.

my poor sick computer

Hey friends. My computer crashed or something equally earth shattering. I'm really hoping it's a quick fix but when my brand new computer says "disc failure is imminent" I'm pretty sure that's a bad sign. Off to the Geek Squad we go! Is that the best computer hospital?

This is random but David sent me this iPhone pic of William enjoying an orange popsicle from the ice cream truck while I was grocery shopping alone. A win-win. And his chubby ankles are real cute.

bookcase facelift

I restyled our bookcase and I like it so much more. It went from this:

to this:

I color coordinated my books, added children's books to the two lower shelves as well as William's red piano so that he and I can jam out (our piano is just a few feet away).

I bought the bookcase in the as-is section at IKEA (the Billy bookcase) and then followed Jenny's bookcase facelift tutorial to add the trim. I know I sound like a broken record but Jenny rules. Hers is the first blog I read every day. If you aren't reading her blog you are missing out, my friends.

house tour: guest bedroom

We love having a third bedroom in this house. It is so nice to separate where guests sleep and where William sleeps + separate our office. In our old house our computer was in our bedroom and I would stay up until all hours of the night on the internet looking at blogs and watching Lark Rise to Candleford while David snored away in bed. It was like a disease and I was paying for it with my lack of precious sleep. Now that the bedroom is in another room I'm too chicken to stay up late by myself - did I mention I'm terrified of the dark?

I'm pleased with the way this bedroom turned out. I still want to make a couple of changes (not sold on the artwork above the bed - it's a little too much) but for now, it will do. I saw these beautiful Schumacher fabric pillows made by the awesome Etsy shop Modern Thread and fell in love with them. They are so beautiful and I'm crazy about the pattern and color.

I was searching for a white bedskirt and couldn't find one that wasn't cheap looking and less than $30 so I decided to make my own using two old white curtains that I had and some red ric-rac on the bottom. I like it so much better and I only used things I had in my cupboard already. I love when I'm crafty like that.

cancer sucks

My dad was diagnosed with cancer a couple of weeks ago. Cancer is no stranger to my family, nor is tragedy and pain. When bad things happen I am always awed by how amazingly my family handles the situation with hope and faith, especially my father. I remember coming into the bedroom after my sister died and we all hugged around her bed as my dad sort of "lead" our emotions. We grieved together but we also felt hope that we would see my sister again. He really is such the rock of our family and I admire that so much about him. He has an almost superhuman ability to be vigilant and dedicated to anything he sets his mind to. Seriously, I've never met anyone like him.

my parents as Mary Poppins and Bert - 1966

When he found out he has cancer he set out a "course of action" and e-mailed it to my family. Always diligent, always faithful, always moving onward. He said, "From the beginning I have believed that my best course of action would be: 1) Exercise my own faith to be healed. 2) Seek for and rely on the faith of others to be healed. 3) Seek for a Priesthood blessing to be healed. 4) Seek the best traditional treatment I can find. 5) Explore alternative medical treatments as needed."

I smiled as I read his e-mail because this signifies my father and his ability to look forward in faith. I realize some of you don't share my beliefs but, whatever yours are, I hope you can see that mine make me happy, bring me hope and drive me to be the best I can. I hope yours do too.

curtain solution (50%) complete

When I first posted our living room tour many of you gave great advice on the curtain situation. When we moved in there were four panels of beige brown, microfiber curtains which were hung on a black, iron curtain rod. Not horrible but also not my taste nor did it gel with my dream of "bright and airy".

I tried some white curtains that I already had but it wasn't allowing any privacy and I had to buy two more panels to fit the width of the large window. So, I went on the hunt for white blackout curtains. They pretty much don't exist, if you were wondering. I ordered a pair online and got light beige curtains. Then I bought a pair of blackout panels at Home Depot for $25 a piece and when I got home I realized they were crunchy, a short width and more than what I wanted to pay. Then I headed over to IKEA because, as we all know, IKEA solves all of life's great decorating dilemmas (well, almost all of them).

I obviously didn't iron these before I took this picture. Keeping it real, folks.

At IKEA I saw these really beautiful smoky, gray-blue curtains at IKEA for $39 a pair with silver grommets (sorry I can't find them online which is weird). I know they're not the fanciest but I wanted grommets because I open and close these curtains every morning and every night and wanted something easy to use.  Then I bought the curtain rod from Overstock in Pewter and I love it because it's kind of chunky and modern. I also moved the curtain rod almost to the ceiling because all the designers on HGTV told me to. And P.S., they're right when they say it makes your window look way bigger. To replace the black curtain tie backs, I got these antique door knob hooks from Urban Outfitters for $15 each. The plate was originally a brassy gold which I didn't love so I spray painted them a champagne color (this spray paint is my new fave).



I love the curtains because they're such a pretty shade and have a wonderful texture to them. They're light enough that they still feel bright and airy but the color to them is more visually "fun" than I think white curtains would have been. However, they don't exactly provide a lot of light control so I'm still planning on searching for blackout liner to sew on the back. Any tips?

sweet pea benefit boutique

When David and I were at BYU-I he had a friend named Devanie. She was bubbly and fun and I was a little bit intimidated by her because she and David had so much fun together. They had secret jokes that I didn't get and even a little "language" thing they did when they were around each other. Even though I wanted to not like her, I couldn't help myself. She was just too fun to be around and extremely sweet.

Years later we are married and David and I have been blessed with our sweet William. I found out that Devanie and her husband, Sam, have had struggles with infertility. As I read her story I realized what a tragedy it would be for this amazing woman to not have children so that's where the Sweet Pea Benefit Boutique comes in. There's only a few hours left to bid on really great items (seriously, this is NOT junky stuff!) Bid on the items and the proceeds go toward fertility treatments for Devanie and her friend, Brooke. You can donate as well, which would be equally awesome.

I just bid on the anaPad (made by my awesome friends at Twig Creative). I hope I win!

healthy baby, happy mama

William and I have had the sickness. And basically, sick babies are the saddest thing on the planet. The first day I noticed he was feeling sick we were at the grocery store and his lids were getting very heavy (even though he was hours away from naptime). He deeply cried and groaned this mournful sob of, "Mommmmmy . . ." as I rushed around the store saying, "It's okay baby. Just one more thing." Of course, then he fell asleep in the shopping cart, sitting up, with a cracker in hand. We spent the next two days on the couch with grapes, a pillow nest and Peter Pan. I love the cuddling but I could do without the fever and glassy eyes. My poor baby.

the five dollar chair switch

I bought this chair at Goodwill for a whopping $10. It has a great shape with beautiful details and is in good condition. However, the fabric (though not a horrible color or pattern) was stained with puzzling substances of which I have no desire to know the origin.

So, I bought a remnant piece of coral-red, linen fabric for $1.99 and stapled it on.

If I find a fun pattern for as cheap I might switch it up again, which is what's so great about a 15 minute project for under $5 but for now, it's looks really great with the rest of the room. I'll post more pictures of those changes later.

house tour: guest bathroom

In case you are wondering, I'm going to do this house tour in order of which rooms are done first. Right now, the guest bathroom is probably the most complete so, even though it's nothing very exciting, here she blows!

I saw this Zoe Pawlak painting that I liked (but couldn't afford) so I tried to recreate it (see the above picture). I especially love the colors that go along with the shower curtain - which I stalked for weeks on Dillard's. I saw it at a friend's house and had to have it.

Please bless the owners who renovated our 50 year old house with cool fixtures. I need some roman shades for the bathrooms and kitchen but other than that, it's done. I'm liking the vibe in here.

road trip!

We had a mini-vacation this weekend with my two best girlfriends and drove up to Aarean's parents house - about an hour away. They live in a beautiful house with a beautiful, huge backyard.

William and Boston played on the hammock, splashed in the pool (didn't you know it's the coolest thing ever?) and then we took them in the hot tub. They picked lemons, walked on the pool table, played basketball on the sport court and then posed for pictures. So cute.

After we put the kids to bed we had grand ideas of doing fun things for our "girls night" but we ended up just making rice krispy treats, watching American Idol in front of a roaring fire and talking. Of course, I fell asleep on the couch before midnight - I don't think I've ever made it past midnight at any slumber party I've been to.

The next morning Aarean made us pancakes (she's so domestic - and gorgeous even without makeup on!) and then we went to the mall and did some shopping before we headed home. I love these girls and I don't know what my life here would be like without them both. Let's hope I don't have to find out for a long time!

the club chair impasse of 2011

So, here's my dilemma that I need advice on. Remember this chair? Well, it's in a new home with new furnishings. I recovered it a few years ago and now I'd like to recover it again in something that coordinates better with the white sofa, Chiang Mai dragon pillows, contemporary artwork and brighter colors. However, I would really like to keep it timeless so that I can switch pillows and change the room decor without having to recover it again. I don't want to get rid of it because it originally cost $10 and it's a well made, comfortable chair.

Here are my ideas:

1. This is my first choice. I love this chair from a Sarah Richardson (my dream design BFF) room. I love the color and the ticking piping (something that I plan on doing with this chair). I like the gray velvet but I just don't know how I could swing something like this financially and I cannot find this soft, dove gray anywhere!!! And is it too much gray in the room? If anyone has any tips out there, I'm open to suggestions! I've been to a dozen "great" fabric stores here in San Diego and they are all really lame. Very disappointing.

2. I also like the option of a large stripe like this one (again, Sarah Richardson is amazing). I think it would go well with the rest of the room and it's a classic look without being too contemporary or too traditional. I'd love to use something like this oversize stripe by Dwell Studio but, you know, $32/yard is kind of outrageous.

2. I did consider something crazy fun like a bright green chair or even blue. I think it would be cute for a little while but it won't last very long before I'm tired of it. It's also a little too "funky" because I want the room to be colorful but still sophisticated.

3. While I think it would be fun to do a crazy pattern (the above is way out of my comfort zone but I still think it's cool), I feel like sticking to a solid won't compete with pillow patterns which is great since I love to switch up my pillows. I also don't want to destract from my rug which I love, love, love.

What do you think I should do?

just like heaven

Days that involve the beach, a long nap with sunscreen in your hair and skin still warm from the sun are wonderful. Then when you add a strawberry-banana smoothie in your onesie (and maybe a truck or two) with the windows open . . . say it with me now . . . it's like heaven. Have you noticed I say that a lot?

german chocolate brownies

We had a picnic the other day up in the mountains of Julian with David's family. It was a beautiful spring day and we frolicked on the green grass as a herd of forty deer grazed in the meadow beside us, wild turkeys followed in their path and gold eagles soared over head. It was picturesque. Isn't this little cabin so cute? Unfortunately, it's just the bathrooms (which were, even more unfortunately, closed for the winter).

William contemplates life.



Not the greatest picture of Will (since he spilled Orange Crush all over himself) but I like it of David.

David's dad grilled homemade hamburgers (my favorite food on earth) and I ate my weight in crudite and dill dip. I commented as we partook of the deliciousness that "I've never had a bad meal since I married into the Bryant family." It's the truth. Then I made these German Chocolate Brownies. They're basically just this "Sundae Brownie" recipe with delicious goodies on top. Perfect for a picnic or BBQ.

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
6 ounces butterscotch chips
1 cup shredded sweetened coconutm, toasted (how-to below)

Set oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 inch pan with tin foil and spray nonstick spray. In a large sauce pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and add the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until eggs are incorporated. Add cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix until combined.

Pour into the pan. Bake for 25 -30 minutes, or until middle is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove pan from oven and immediately pour butterscotch chips on top. Let sit for 5 minutes and then spread with a knife until smoothed.
 
In a saute pan, heat shredded coconut over medium-high heat until toasted. Let cool on wax paper for a few minutes before spreading on top of brownies. Let brownies cool at least an hour before cutting. I usually like cold brownies but these are best warm.

growing up: 17 months

It's amazing how much William has grown up this month. I can hardly believe how much older he seems. Basically, this month has been a huge turning point with our communication and I feel like my baby is really turning into a boy. It's so bittersweet but it's also fun to watch him learn things and become interested in learning to do things by himself. He is so proud when he accomplishes something (and give himself a rousing round of applause when he does) and that makes me happy. I want him to always be confident in his abilities. 

At this point:
- he is learning his manners. The other day I gave him a chip and he said, "Say soo". I almost died.
- he wants me to play with him all the live long day. I think a lot of it has to do with the move and not knowing where his toys are in the new house but he's really into playing games with me lately.
- his favorite food is still cottage cheese. A couple of weeks ago he ate just shy of a whole pound in one sitting.
- his vocabulary has doubled. He now says "hey", "hi", "hi mom", "hi dad", "what's this?", "what is that?", "up", "yes" and others. I love hearing his little voice.
- he is so affectionate. He's always been a snuggler but lately he'll just come up to me mid-play to give me a hug and kiss and then run off and play. It melts me deep down to my toes every single time.
- he is so independent. He's never been a very picky eater but now he's very picky about how he eats. He'll eat almost anything I give him as long as he can feed himself. I can deal with that.