Confrence

{Oct. 4, 2009}

Consider us "conferred"...well...some of us anyway :)

Bride to Be

{September 26, 2009}
Jace and Andrea (Anandra as Grace calls her) were going to be hitched soon, so a bridal shower was in order. The best part was seeing Andrea's cheeks blush as she opened lingerie and Grace shouted, "Oooo, pretty dress-ups!"

Starvin' Marvin'

When Monday dawned I did what I have done a TRILLION times...I started a diet. Diets always have to be started on Monday for some silly reason. The HUGE flaw with this reasoning is that I invariably find some sort of excuse (be it a special occasion, a party, or a feeling of loneliness or boredom) to crack and toss the idea until the following Monday...even if it is only Tuesday.

I guess you could say I am a social eater. Nothing puts the "icing on the cake" so to speak, than a good meal, snack, or dessert amongst friends. Just hanging out with Jeff gives me ample opportunity to chow down on GOOD, but not so good for you food. He's got that "I can eat whatever I want and not gain a single pound" thing going for him. SO not fair! Oh, and it doesn't help that we are such partners in crime. We've often been known to say, "We'd be CRAZY not to" accompanied by animated facial and voice expressions and a finger pointed to the sky. And then there is the lack of social interaction that draws me to food. Call me Mrs. Snacki Snackerson at home.

It's safe to say...

I LOVE FOOD!

Who doesn't really? I've never met a single soul who has said, "I just HATE to eat!" But that is no excuse for overeating or binge eating or simply not eating correctly. Stupid MODERATION!!!

So, that's why I am in the place I'm in today:

• Out of my comfort zone with the way I feel and and look
• On a SUPER restrictive diet.
  
• Ready to "kill a fool" for a single piece of fruit.
  
• And in a battle with the devil on my shoulder.

All while clinging to the mantra,

"I'm giving up something good, for something better."

I know that if I can make it passed this week (Aunt Flow's timing is impeccable!) I can do just about ANYTHING. In a few weeks the "hardest part" will be over and I will have hopefully gained better habits and a deeply rooted desire to continue taking care of myself. I know that my body is a gift from God. It's time I began treating it as such. I am coming to know for myself that by controlling my bodily (or carnal) appetites my relationship with my Maker has strengthened. I have humbly sought His help and have felt comfort in my weakness. I have found new meaning in the scripture found in Ether 12:27:

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

{I happened upon this picture of my Mom's delicious crop of grapes and intended to write a diatribe on diets and have happily been lead in another direction.}

Somethin' Crafty

Last month I had the opportunity to go to a TRIPLE baby shower,
which included my sweet SIL Jamie.
I can't deny...
I'm getting a little baby hungry.
Grace is like practically grown up.
HA! HA! HA!
Well, at least SHE thinks she is.

Here was the shower cuteness I whipped up...

Sweet Gracie Face

This child is DAZZLING! That's why it bums me out that I have such a hard time getting her to let me take her picture. I resort to bribes...in the form of treats. This particular time it was gummies. Ah, whatever gets the job done...and puts a smile on her face.

(Jacket lovingly given by Mary)
{Circa July 25th}

Gypsy Boheme Voyage {Part 4}

{Saturday}

(Since it has been a little over 2 months since I took this FABULOUS trip and I have a GAZILLION and 3 more posts to write...I will have to fight the urge to doccument all of the tiny details and rely on the pictures to do most of the story telling...)

After a tasty brunch, we headed to the studio where the Lovely Tricia lead us in making our very own GBV scrapbook to document our flea market wishes, snapshots, and more. We used the VERY best bits, baubles and papers to give them a true "gypsy" vibe.



Mary served us a yummy lunch and once again didn't skimp on presentation!



After lunch, we took our caravan to the famed Abbot Kinney for some window shopping. All of the shops are to die for and a source of inspiration. (Oh, we also stopped by a local vintage flea market were we kicked off our weekend spending sprees.)


{The following 4 photos were taken at Tumbleweed & Dandelion}








Back at the bungelow, we put our creative juices to good use while making darling totes to carry our flea market treasures in. Tricia and Mary were so generous with their fabulous findings and the bags turned out beautifully! Oh, and to our amazement Tricia slipped in a handmade yo yo necklace! So CUTE!



Our next activity was "hands down" a good time...we each had one on one time with 2 REAL LIFE gypsies who gave us a tarrot card and palm reading. While I myself choose to not put a lot of stock into the this sort of thing, I did have fun with it. It helped a great deal that my forcast was bright!


After noshing on another of Mary's SCRUMPTIOUS meals, we headed to the Promenade in Santa Monica. There we found many live street performers and great shopping. (Think uber long outdoor mall meets SoCal electricity.) VERY cool.

With the night still young, yet facing an early morning, we took our little party back to Mary's. To my SWEETEST surprise I was presented with the YUMMIEST (no joke) red velvet cake I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. (This whole trip was my birthday gift and what a gift it was!) We burned off some of the calories by enjoying some serious dancing followed by a some winding down in front of the patio fireplace. (I totally built the fire!) It was the perfect close to a perfectly fun filled day!




{Thanks to Tricia and all of my gypsy gals for sharing their photos!}

A Tutorial for Your Tuesday

In an effort to purge the clutter from around our house I have been flipping through the gazillion magazines I couldn't previously part with and saving my favorite pages for a tips/inspiration binder. In this month's issue of InStyle this collection caught my eye and my feet began to ache for the comfort and beauty of a new pair of ballet flats.

My wheels began to turn. I knew I was gonna have to create myself a pair. (Let's face it, it would be a creative outlet AND cost a LOT less) Imagine my elation when I came across this lovely pair of bronze ballet flats at Target...on SALE...for ONLY...10...DOLLARS!

J. Crew sells this pair at a whopping $125.
{Keeping in mind they are real leather.}

So I began rummaging through my bits and baubles and put together this final product:

This is what I did...

1. Removed the center from a set of flowers. (Free...swiped them from my Mom.)
2. Used sharp scissors to clean up the edges of the petals.
3. Applied Fray Check to keep the edges tidy.
4. Used a blow dryer to speed up the drying time.
5. Glued the petals together with E-6000.
6. Glued the flower in place on the shoe.
7. Added the vintage earring center (post removed, $2).

Tada! Very simple, chic, and inexpensive (only $12) for a classy pair of shoes with a costly attitude. I loved mine so much I made a pair for my sister's birthday.

I can't wait to wear them!