Room with Pretty Things

All Hallow's Eve

2010-11-02T23:10:00.003-05:00

Better late than never. My goal was to do this Sunday, but I was sickety, sick, sick, sick. I guess that's what you get when you procrastinate sewing until the wee hours of Thursday night. I mean, Friday morning. It's BYU all over again. How did I ever graduate? ...seriously.

This year, our family was themed! We haven't done this since our oldest was one and we went as the Three Musketeers. So, I thought that I would share with you pictures of the costumes that I came up with this year. And their inspirations!

Our littlest went as Alice from Alice in Wonderland:

Though, to be honest, she cried when she realized she wasn't going as this:

But I wanted her to be instantly recognizable. So, this is what we came up with:

I found a dotted organza for the apron! Perfect!

Our redhead just had to go as the red rose. It was TOO perfect.

Can you see her green stems?

Figuring out how to make this costume almost took as much time as sewing it. Almost.

Our oldest went as the Mad Hatter, which I was very excited about. I loved interpreting a boy's character into a girl's costume!

And add this:

plus this:

And you get...

Can you tell that hubby's and mine were kinda afterthoughts? Oh well.

Next year I have plans to make it more even!

Thanks, Julianne for the great pics! Bet you can't tell which ones were her's. Hahahahaha.

Update on Little One's Room

2010-10-19T08:59:00.002-05:00

My baby turned 5 last week! What? When I started this blog she looked like this:

[Sobbing.]

This last year, as you prolly already know, I've been making the girls presents from Ana's website.

My oldest got this bookshelf. (Styled by herself using Archie Comics and Webkinz!)

I couldn't find a link, but here's something similar.

The redhead got this bench.

And sister last week got this picnic table.

Let me just say that this one wasn't super easy. Build with TWO people and clamps. Not just yourself and your swear words, like I did. But in the end, I'm happy. It's won't last her forever, because she'll outgrow it. It's very tiny. But for now she loves it and her new tea set.
Now onto the next project...

Little One's New Room

2010-10-05T11:44:00.005-05:00

So, when I first did my daughter's nursery, I didn't paint. I hate builder's grade paint, which I call "water", but I was pregnant and tired. I wanted cream anyway, so I just left it. About 6 months ago, I realized that it was time to paint and organize. Because even though this before picture is pretty, this is what the room looked like on the other side.

It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. No?

She was using her old crib as a doll bed. It was time to put it up.

So, after building bookcases (which took all summer) and painting polkadots, this is what we have.

I built the bookcases w/ Ana's plans called the Favorite Bookcase. I bought the baskets first, and built them deeper to fit the larger baskets. I decoupaged wrapping paper for the shelves. I also painted the dresser and changed out the knobs.

My daughter wanted a pink room, but I wanted the furniture, bedding and window treatments to stay the same. I think we came up with a good compromise.

I've linked with Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party.

House of Turquoise

2010-09-13T23:36:00.001-05:00

I had a plan for my life. It didn't come to fruition, but it was a good plan. Finish school. Get MBA. Move to Milan and have an awesome apartment with a white couch,

chrome/glass coffee table,

and turquoise pillows.

Yes, the design of the apartment was part of the plan.

Lately, I've been trying to capture the look that's been in my head for 15 years and apply it to my suburban home. Who cares if it's not an apartment in Milan with a big picture window?

So, imagine my shear joy! when I discovered House of Turquoise. Erin blogs all about her favorite color (and mine)! These are some of the pics that took my breath away.

This is the bathroom I want. This is almost the bathroom I have, except my doors on the vanity are peeling and breaking. The sink is chipped. We have a builder's grade mirror, and no wainscotting. And there is no Carrera marble in our bathroom, much to my dismay. Okay, so the only similarity is the paint color. I'm dreamin' here!

Wowza! Me likey!

Sigh.

Okay, seriously. I'm gonna bust a gut.

Just peaceful. Really.

And for the piece de resistance...

It's like my dream room. I love this room so much I could cry. My two older girls happen to walk by the computer when I first saw this. They did double takes and joined their momma in the droolin'.

So, don't be suprised if I ~~blatantly rip-off~~ take inspiration from these rooms. Also, check out Everything Turquoise. Erin posts daily on items for sale that are, you guessed it, turquoise. If turquoise isn't your thing, (that's okay, more for me) click on Decor by Color, Erin's link to her other blogs based on colors-she has lots! But I'll stick to my beloved turquoise, because who wouldn't love this?

In Love,Second Verse, Same as the First

2010-09-09T19:29:00.000-05:00

'Cept different. So, the summer in England is not a go. Is anyone surprised? Yeah, I didn't think so. But...we'll be going with the kids to Europe for Spring Break! Yippee!

It started off with hubby announcing that we were invited to a co-worker's house in Paris. Then, I got the bright idea to hop over the channel (or maybe go under the Chunnel) to England.

It's been a while since hubby and I had a whole 7-8 days in Europe, because usually someone has to watch the kiddos.

Now, we're not sure that we'll be staying with hubby's friend, but the trip is still a go. And I'm too, too excited. We talk about it everyday. We'll go here:

And definitely here:

And don't forget here:

And absolutely here:

And maybe hubby will get me this for Christmas:

So that I can speak and look like this:

except with red hair and freckles.

Ooh la la. I'm so excited. And jealous of my kids, because I was in my twenties before I went to Europe for the first time. Oh well, c'est la vie. Look at me, and my French words!

Had a Good Summer?

2010-09-02T10:49:00.000-05:00

Does anyone else have trouble coming up with blog titles? I've always been really bad at titles. I mean, really bad. Like, I used to get my grades knocked-down because they were so bad. Oh well. No one grades my blog. (I think I might just go look at my diploma to cheer myself up.)

Ok, enough of Katrina's neurosis.

We had way too much fun this summer to even think about blogging. But I'll post about that later. Right now, I need to update you all on my project list. Because I know that you've been on pins and needles waiting for this. Not. (Ha ha. Did anyone see Psych last night?)

Now I'm just being silly. Here's what I really want to talk about: Ana has a new website. Formerly Knock-off Wood, her website has more interactive applications. (I sound techie.) And more viewer photos in her posts. Here is what I found today.

What a cute family! Right? I love the colors on this playhouse. So crisp and masculine. Which is why it totally wouldn't work for us. My girls would cry if I painted the house dark green. But I love it!

And all I can say is, "Yummy!" I want one of these! In white, with a marble top. Well, maybe just a top stained gray. Marble would bankrupt me, unfortunately.

I told my little one that I would build her this play kitchen if she stopped sucking her thumb. Kirsten from thecraftingchicks.com did this up so cute!

While I'm wishing, can I just plop my house right next to where this photo below was taken? Breathtaking!

For little one's birthday next month, this table.

With a tea set.

What about this storage solution for closets? Wowza.

Isn't Ana brilliant? Oh, to have a brain like hers.

Right now I'm in the middle of building two of the favorite bookcases.

But, I'm stuck inside blogging. Because it is raining. So I can't paint outside. And I have a headache.

Let's all wish for sunny days to paint, and happy building!

Last Resort

2010-05-27T11:43:00.002-05:00

I've blogged in the past few months. I swear I have. Just none of the posts made it past the "draft" stage. I would start one, thinking it was a cute idea, and then give up for lack of funny, pictures or just plain common sense.

So, forgive me, since I have no other ideas, as I blog solely about my littlest daughter, who's been saying some pretty amusing things. Run-on, you say? Whateves!

Amusing Moment No. 1

Littlest: [While jumping on the bed.] Mom, how do you say bathroom in Spanish?

Me: I don't know, honey. I don't speak Spanish.

Littlest: That's silly, Mom. Everyone can speak Spanish. You just make it up. Like, my Spanish word for monkey is monk-o.

I'm wondering if she thinks that Spanish is made for Dora and not real. Like Klingon.

No. 2

While watching TV.

Littlest: [Pointing to the TV.]That's the Vampire State Building! We're going there this summer!

Me: The Vampire State Building? Do vampires live there?

Littlest: ...No.

Me: Why do they call it the Vampire State Building then?

Littlest: Because of the pointy tooth on top.

No. 3

While riding in the car she pouted, "Mom, why don't we have a baby, instead of just a baby doll?" Poor kid. I keep telling her that we have a baby and she's 4. She's not buying it.

No. 4

And I quote, "I'm tired of watching Dora. She always needs my help."

Poor Dora. Speaking a made-up language and chasing fans away with her neediness. At least she doesn't have to live with the un-dead.

In love

2010-03-23T22:39:00.001-05:00

I love alot of things in my life: hubby,

kiddos,

the gospel.

I know that I'm totally blessed and I wouldn't change anything in my life.

Except.

Why aren't I British?

My family patiently and supportively and maybe a little enablingly puts up with my obsession. They will go for huge lengths of time speaking in British accents with me. (Read: in the car on the way to Home Depot.) They let me watch all the DVR'd PBS Jane Austen movies I want while I'm sick. And they always point out anything that comes from the UK.

I'm not British. I don't say "Oy!" or "Cheers!" I say "Y'all" and "Fixin' to". I didn't ever wear a uniform in school. I don't know how to play Rugby or Cricket. But , I can change all that! (Well, not the uniform to school thing, cause there's no way I'm repeating junior high! I mean, secondary school.)

I have an evil plan. I wonderful, fantabulous evil plan. I will live in England for a summer! Muahahahahaha! I will rent a cottage in the woods.

And we'll walk to the village to get food. And we'll tootle the countryside in a Mini-Coop.

I will basically be these two movies put together!

Happy Katrina!

I've always been really good at math.

There is a drawback. No hubby. He will be home in Texas earning the money that I'll be spending. But, he'll cross the pond and we'll go on a grand tour to the Continent.

Also, this will not be happening anytime soon. I totalled up some figures and was shocked at the sum.

But, it's a dream. I am like Susan Boyle.

I've dreamed a dream my life could be so different. Or, at least, my summer.

Where Have I Been?

2010-03-05T18:09:00.002-06:00

So where have I been? In La la land.

No, not Los Angeles.

Dream world.

Not Disneyworld.

My own mind.

I'm am addicted to Knock Off Wood.

I check it more than I check my own email. (For those of you who try to get ahold of me through email, this will not be much of an admitance.) I think about it while driving, before falling asleep, and Jenni and I talk about it everyday. I seriously want to chuck out all my furniture and build new. I'm mad at myself for being impatient and decorating my house before Ana started her blog.

Here's a list of my projects that I'm going to build so far:

And here's a list of things I want to build but have no earthly idea of where they would go:

So, you may not see me for a while. I'll be in my workshop-aka. Jenni's Garage!

I rock!

2010-03-01T12:26:00.002-06:00

Ok, truly, Ana from Knock Off Wood rocks,and I'm just basking in her glory. This bench is what I made for my redhead's birthday.

It fit's perfectly between the edges of the bed!

I bought the paint for $1 on the "oops" table!

(And look! I found the missing boot under the bed.)

Well, the picture above I made awhile ago. 7 years to be exact!

I can't wait to go a build some more. I think I like it even better than sewing!

Thank You, HGTV!!!

2010-02-10T08:44:00.000-06:00

Okay, I've already blogged about how my style changed overnight. Literally. Well, not literally. Figuratively. At a fast pace, anyway. One of the reason's is because of the super cool show called Design, Inc. We don't get the Style channel, so when I got it for a month for free, I DVR'd all of the Sarah Richardson shows I could get my hands on. And I discovered Sarah's House.

I just want to say that all of her design's are a little bit of heaven. Crisp, bright, light, etc.

And now, HGTV is finally showing her stuff! Yippee! My design education can be continued every Saturday night. Now, if only I had thousands of dollars to renovate...

A Simple Little Project

2010-02-07T17:50:00.001-06:00

I made pj bottoms for the girls for Christmas this year. My friend Summer sent me a link to Handmade Mommy and her post about pattern-less pajamas. Since I had to make three different sizes this was perfect! Yippee.

After I cut them out using other pj bottoms, I sewed ruffles on the hem. When I do pajamas, I always sew wrong sides together when adding ruffles or cuffs.

Then I can add ribbon to cover the seam. It makes the pajamas less itchy, no thread or seam allowance against your legs. Also, I sew french seams, again to eliminate itch.

Here's my youngest in hers. She made me finish them for her preschool Christmas party, which was a pajama party. Then we got there and it wasn't. Oh, well, still cute!

New-ish

2010-01-30T10:00:00.005-06:00

About two years ago I woke-up one day and my sense of style had totally changed! Okay, maybe it wasn't that sudden or drastic, but that's how it felt. I had to hide it from hubby for a while, because I had already been spending alot of time and money on the house and I didn't want to go to him and say, "Remember that room that I just finished last month? Well, now I hate it."

My first room that just had to be changed was the formal living. We weren't using it and I felt that we were paying for square footage that was totally being wasted. So, I just slowly got rid of everything that bugged me.

Now, I'm totally happy and I sit on the stairs across from it and just soak it in. It's exactly what I wanted, eclectic and fresh.

Before.

After. This is the view from the front door. I slipcovered two wingbacks that I got at a garage sale. The ottoman is made from the fabric as the slipcovers. I didn't
make it though. I'm too chicken. Maybe next time, now that I have one to copy...

This is the view from the stairs. Sigh. I heart pink.

The glass desk was a find on craigslist. A steal at $70. Which was much better than the William Sonoma that was breaking my heart at $1200.

An orchid. Just cause I like it. And I'm very proud that I've kept it alive for a few months.

I've actually done alot around the house recently. Maybe I'll get around to posting about it all. Now I'm off to do science projects!

I've linked with Thrifty Decor's Before and After Party. Have fun! And Shades of Pink. What a great name!

Happy Christmas

2009-12-15T11:15:00.002-06:00

Yes, I said "Happy Christmas". Why? Well, I just watched The Holiday, and I just feel like being British today.

I just love that movie. Every Christmas I watch it and try to incorporate some of it's taste level into my home. But I've already blogged about the movie here.

Here's my house this year. I've linked with Tip Junkie's Holiday Tour of Homes. Click and enjoy lots of other homes!

Okay, okay. I'll be true to my roots.

Merry Christmas!

Paris part trois

2009-12-08T09:31:00.015-06:00

Ok, here are my lovely pics from Versailles. I could've spent a week there! I loved it so much. Some day, I'll go back when it's all pretty like this.

Then I'll frolick, like this.

Except, without the large amounts of blond hair piled on top of my head. Because mine is red.

OK, but that's the future. Here's the recent past.

Hubby in front of the big house. It's so big, it doesn't even fit into the picture.

This is the front gate. We almost walked past it, because I was looking for something like the picture above. But then we realized that a guilded gate had to be Versailles. Cause who else would have one? By the way, I'm having mine installed this spring. No, I'm just kidding. Anyway, for those of you who go, this is where you buy tickets and stuff.

This is a chapel, which is the first thing you see on the tour. My house could easily fit right in there, and there would still be room to worship.

A hallway with statues of the famous French. I didn't make the cut. Probably cause I'm not French. Or famous.

The scale of this "home" is ridiculous.

And look at the detail work. In every room!

Recognize this from the movie? It was Marie Antoinette's bedroom.

Pretty decadent, huh?

I took a picture of this, because I had already used it in my blog. It was pretty exciting to see it in real life. And the one below was in the movie.

The Hall of Mirrors where they signed the Treaty of Versailles ending WWI. I didn't know that even when they signed it, they knew it would lead to war.

This is the view from the Hall of Mirrors. It reminded me of that scene from P&P, so I snapped a pic. It always comes back to Jane Austen, doesn't it?

A bust of Louis XIV, the Sun King as he called himself.

He built Versailles to thumb is nose at the horrible regents and guardians he had while he was young. He came to the throne at the age of 5 and his mother and he were virtually imprisoned at the Louvre (which was then a palace, not a museum) while others reigned in his stead. When he came of age, he started building Versailles. He hated Paris.

Hubby in front of Petit Trianon. It was originally built for Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's mistress.

Here's the room that captured this moment.

Still, the Petit Trianon.

Hubby and some dishes. Of course, they didn't have anything as de trop as a kitchen, heating up the house. (Look at me and my French words!)

A bedroom at the Petit Trianon.

I have a million (ok, like 20) more pictures, but you get the drift. I can't wait to go back, though I don't know when that'll be. Until then, at least I have Sophia Coppella and her version to keep me company.

And the Award for the worst Blogger goes to...

2009-12-08T08:50:00.012-06:00

...well, me, of course. I can't believe what a bad blogger I've become! That's just crazy. I didn't even finish my Paris posts! What have I been doing?

Ok, well, the only thing I can do is pick myself up and move forward. Here's some pics from Halloween. I made all the girls costumes this year. I've never ventured that before. You can get alot more done once all the kiddos are potty-trained, I've found.

My oldest was an angel, the redhead was Giselle from Enchanted, and my youngest was Thumbelina, as interpreted by Barbie.

Recently, we went to the So You Think You Can Dance tour. Or as I like to call it, Shooby Dooby Dooby Dance, because that's what it sounds like they are singing. (Honestly, that's what I thought they were singing for years, until my daughter pointed out that that were actually singing the title of the show. Which makes more sense.)

Here's some pictures that I just liked.
My poor, poor redhead fell off the Alpine slide while going down with her daddy in Utah this summer. This was taken right after, while I was trying to console her. She just looks so miserable it makes me tear up. Obviously, you can't fake that type of misery.

My youngest is the spawn of the devil! Wow! If looks could kill. I'm glad I wasn't the one behind the camera!

Here she is looking much cuter.

I just like this picture and how we match at a football game. Unfortunately, we weren't wearing the team's colors. In fact, we were wearing the opposing team's. Oops! Oh, well. Form over function, I always say.

So, there it is. My first blog in about 9 months. I could've had a baby and y'all wouldn't've even known about it! I didn't, though. I'll be better. I promise. See you in another 9 months. Ooops. I mean, a couple of days.

Paris part Deux

2009-03-04T08:04:00.012-06:00

So I was all set to talk about museums today. Hubby and I have never been to so many in one trip. We averaged over 2/day. I had so much to tell you and share. And then I took a look at our pictures. We have like, maybe, maybe, 10. From all those museums! How is that possible? I blame hubby. I mean myself, letting hubby be in charge of the camera for an extended portion of the trip. Note to self: be in charge of camera when planning on blogging about what is being shot.

OK, enough complaining. I'll do my best, and maybe supplement when needed.

First off, The Louvre.

Looking at pictures of The Louvre before we went, I never understood what was going on with the pyramid thing. But it's really cool. Where you buy tickets is in the basement, so the pyramid is basically a huge skylight.

So, the museum is huge. People tell you that before you go, but you have no idea. We actually went twice, and still saw only a miniscule portion of the artifacts. We basically just ran around and saw the major stuff.

Mona Lisa

Madonna of the Rocks

Winged Victory which was my favorite.

Egyptian Sphinx

Venus de Milo

The Coronation of Napoleon which happens to be the biggest canvas in the museum. I know I'm going out on a limb here, but do you think that Napoleon had a Napoleon complex?

Another question: Did you know that the Louvre was a castle, then palace where the kings lived in Paris before it was a museum?

Wow! Maybe I had more pictures than I thought. Here's where the sparseness begins...
The Rodin Museum

This was his actually house, though I'm not clear on when or with whom he lived in it. Hubby kept chanting, "Don't ban Rodin!" If you went to BYU during '97-'98, then you know what that means.

The Thinker

The Orsay Museum

It was a train station built for the 1900 World Fair converted into a museum.

You can look through the back face of this clock. It's very cool.

And we saw art and stuff. (Portrait of the Painter's Mother by Whistler)

Army Museum
No pics. It was WWI and WWII from the French perspective. Very interesting. Did you know that Charles de Gualle won the war for the Allies? And did the British fight in WWII? Cause you wouldn't know it after going through that museum!

The Orangerie Museum
This was my favorite. I'd like to show you some pictures of their downstairs, but I was too distracted at the time of viewing to take pics. Hubby had just informed me that he had cancelled my cancellation of my oldest's piano lesson.

Upstairs are two large oval rooms where there are huge curved canvases of Monet's Water Lillies. They were commissioned by the museum. And the rooms were designed specifically for the paintings.

Monet worked on them for 12 years. They are considered the first art installation and a step toward modernism. They're so beautiful. This was my favorite museum, just for this. Monet died before the installation was finished. How sad.

I think that's it, except for the museum in Versailles, which I'll post all about tomorrow. If any of you are thinking about going to Paris, make sure you get the Paris Museum Pass. I think the only thing we paid for was the Eiffel Tower. All of the museums and most of the sites, including Versailles are covered by the pass. It's a really great deal.

I Love Paris in the Winter...

2009-03-03T09:22:00.017-06:00

Apparently, there are still a few of you out there reading my blog. (Or waiting for a post, more like.) So, I guess I will post about Paris. If you twist my arm hard enough.

Hubby and I finally made it to Paris last week! It wasn't the warm summer trip that we'd planned. Honestly, I'm totally OK with that, considering the lines were long enough in February. I don't even want to imagine what it would be like during the busier season.

I could try to squeeze it all in one post, but that would be super long and boring. So, I'll do several, dividing it up according to prettiness. Cause that's what I'm all about. Here goes.

The first thing we saw was Notre Dame.

Pictures just don't do it justice, though our new camera comes pretty close!

We climbed up the towers and was eye-level with this guy.
We were a little bummed not to run into Quasimodo. But we did run in to Albert Einstein.

Our favorite church we saw was Sainte Chappelle.

It's just breathtaking.

It was built for the Crown of Thorns that King Louis IX bought in 1239. The Crown of Thorns is now held at Notre Dame and only displayed occasionally.

Right next to Sainte Chappelle is the Conciergerie- the prison where they held people during the Revolution, including Marie Antoinette. They've set up a room to look like her's. Uber-creepy. The whole thing just gives me the heeby-jeebies.

We toured the Eiffel Tower at twilight. (Nothing to do with Edward and Bella, they went to Italy, not France.)

We were only able to go to the second level. That's all that was open. We felt really high up, though. I can't imagine what the top feels like, being more than twice the height of where we were.

When we got down and took more pictures, the lights went off and started sparkling. Talk about mezmorizing!!! We couldn't take our eyes off of it. It's just so amazing.

We also went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. (You can climb just about any monument in Paris, it seems.)

We got an unobstructed view of the Eiffel Tower. And other stuff. We actually walked by this monument everyday as our hotel was just down the street. Cool, huh?

Napoleon's tomb is housed here. Built in 1840, not by himself. Who woulda thunk it? I think King Louis Phillipe had a little man-crush on Napoleon.

We also took a river cruise that made us freeze, but was totally worth it. (We just popped over to a close cafe and had quiche and omelettes to warm us up! For dinner!)

We went to Sacre-Coeur, another church you can climb to the top of. But by the time we visited the church, I was all climbed out.

Oh, yeah and Moulin Rouge. Totally over-rated. I blame the movie.

So, I think that's enough stimulation for one day. I'll post more tomorrow.

Why Such the Wait?

2008-10-30T16:06:00.001-05:00

So, I have the chandelier, and the go ahead from hubby to do the entryway. So, what's the hold up? Well, we've commissioned some artwork for the niche. Here's a sneak peak of the inspiration. Ok, ok, blatant rip-off. You guys are such sticklers for the truth. Sheesh!

Gilding the Lily

2008-10-23T08:06:00.007-05:00

So I've been watching alot of Top Design. You'd think that it would inspire me to go knock out my own home in 12 hours with a budget of $2000. But, alas, it doesn't. It just makes me realize how much I DON'T know. I'm like Andrea, only worse. So, I've just been enjoying the show. And trying to improve my taste level. One thing they keep stating this year is that flowers make or break a room. I guess all of my rooms are broken, because I never have fresh flowers. That's OK, I don't think Kelly Wearstler will pop round anytime. And if she does, my kids would make fun of her hair. So there!

I remember years ago seeing a Kirstie Allie interview where she says she spends the same amount on fresh flowers for her house that she used to spend on drugs.
Why, oh, why didn't I develop a drug habit in my early years, so that I would have that kind of cash set aside? I'm not that good at planning for the future.

But here are some beautiful arrangements that I've come across to inspire you so that your rooms won't be broken...only your bank accounts!

Botanica by Brad

Brian Davino Florist

Julianne Rocks!

2008-10-19T13:41:00.008-05:00

My youngest turned three last week, so Julianne and I went to the park Saturday morning to take some pictures. They are so cute, that I have no idea how I'm going to choose just a few to display. I seriously could wallpaper her room, there are so many to choose from! Great problem to have, though. Which is your fav?

Obligatory FDOS pics...

2008-09-13T20:56:00.001-05:00

...but still pretty cute.

Entryway Here I Come...

2008-08-22T09:04:00.001-05:00

OK, I'm really pushing my man to release some moolah so I can decorate. My entryway has driven me crazy since move-in four years ago. I think it's time that something got done. Right? Here's what I want to do.
Replace the chandelier,

tile my art niche,

replace my front door,

get some art,

Of course, this is all best case scenario. But anything would be better than what I have now. Which is this:

I'm sorry. Did I blind you with the sparseness? I'll post pictures once I get finished. I know I always promise that and never deliver, but this time I mean it! Speaking of...
This is the bookcase that we got from Wisteria.

Here are the lamps.

Small table.

I rearranged my ledge in my bathroom.

And the ledge above the stairs.

Here's what I sewed while watching Miss Pettigrew-the back pillows for my oldest's bed.

And another project I finally finished-a valance for my oldest's room.

Shwew. I didn't realize how behind I was in taking pictures. Or how much I'd done around the house. Go me! I knew I hadn't been lazy this summer.

My Boyfriend

2008-08-19T23:43:00.020-05:00

Here's a picture of my new boyfriend. Silver! I'm so proud!
Way to go, Jonathan!

Okay, time for another pretty movie, I think. How bout you? Well, actually, you don't get a vote.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day came out today on DVD. I ran out and bought myself a copy. I loved this movie in the theater, and really wanted to sew today, so instead of renting, I just bought it. That's my new thing. Buying instead of renting. Yes, I know, total waste of money. But it's my money, so there. Plus, as Rochelle taught me, I love doing laundry to beautiful movies. Plus, obviously sewing. OK, enough rambling, onto the prettiness.

Look at this bedroom. To die for!

Gold wallpaper. Just, wow!

See the tile? I'm going to do something like this in my house somewhere, sometime. Just you wait. (Boy, I'm testy today! Wonder why? Hm.)

Wanna live here? Yeah, me too.

The Savoy. Yummy! Katri, let's stay here, next time!

The piece de resistance! I want a room with feathers hanging from the ceiling.

Lee Pace! I was actually totally bummed when I found out that his English accent was fake! Waaaaahhhhh! He's sooo much sexier with it. No? Just like this guy.

If you don't know who this is, run out and rent The Forsyte Saga right now. Not, Fantastic Four, where he doesn't have an accent. Well, he does, but it's American, so it doesn't count. OK, this blog is getting out of hand. It's suppose to be about pretty rooms, not pretty men. But I can't help myself. I blame it on the Excedrin.

OK, so in conclusion:

Yippee, Jonathan!

Pretty Pettigrew.

No.

Yes.

Sigh.

Such a Sucker

2008-08-05T23:53:00.006-05:00

So, we were drawn in again to decorate yet another church activity. We were asked by someone who was going to be "out of town" and couldn't do it. Do you understand why "out of town" is in quotes? Yeah.

But, it's fine and I actually like doing it, even with the stress and time it takes to get it done. Getting the compliments in the end is totally worth it for me, being the self-proclaimed "praise junky" that I am. I think it did turn out well (sorry, no pictures), though I am now aware that a man and his wife left because she has a latex balloon allergy and there were too many balloons in the air. No, I'm not lying. He announced it at a meeting yesterday, right in front of hubby who did a super amount of work for this event. And then mentioned that people should be more supportive and aware. But I thought that latex allergies were activated by skin contact. Did she think the balloons were going to attack, like these poor people?

But other than that, really, it went well.

Our theme was "Temples". And in the process I came up with amazing pictures of some LDS temples from around the world. Here are some of my favorite:
Accra, Ghana

Logan, Utah

London, England

Oakland, California

Snowflake, Arizona

Rexburg, Idaho

San Antonio, Texas

Can you tell that almost all my favorite shots are during sunsets? Aren't they beautiful? If you'd like to learn more about the temples click here. If you'd like to learn more about latex balloon allergies, then I'm very sorry for you.

My "Must See" List Keeps Growing

2008-08-03T19:10:00.006-05:00

My friend and I spent two beautiful, extremely hot days in Frisco, my favorite little getaway. After having a house full of kids in June and July, I totally deserved it. While having a blast shopping and finding Italian-inspired cafes, we saw Brideshead Revisited. What a beautiful movie.

Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, England, of course.

It's also set in Oxford and Venice. They had shots of Oxford that made me drool. I'm definitely hitting that spot next time I'm in Old Blighty.

Word of warning, though. I didn't like the book, and the movie storyline was even worse, somewhat demonizing the main character.

(And how can you demonize this?)

But, if you don't mind the plot, and lots of naked bums, then rush right out a see it with my blessing!

For you local gals, we went to my new favorite store called The Iron Bed. Their selection is breathtaking. And they were very nice to give a poor woman some water for her hiccups.

In case you were worried, hubby would be in full support of your shopping here, as it is very expensive and didn't seem to have any real deals. But, how can you put a pricetag on heaven?

The cute little cafe we found is called Main Street Bakery and Bistro. It was so cute and reminded me alot of little Italian cafes. The food was yummy, too.

All in all a relaxing vacay. Too fun. Too short.

Two months and not much has happened...

2008-07-25T14:44:00.006-05:00

It's been a while, hasn't it? I can't believe that I haven't been able to come up with a blog in over two months. That's what happens when all you've done is swimming and free summer movies! To be honest, this is the first week that I've even thought about decorating the house. It's been hard enough just keeping it picked up. So here's a tally of what I've been up to since the summer began:

Supported hubby by watching the kids while he jetsetted off to Costa Rica:

Turned 31:

Went to Nauvoo, Illinois with my family:

Hosted two nephews for three weeks:
Oops, no pictures. Too busy having fun.

Met Jack Bauer:

Saw Glenn Beck's Live Dallas show:

Cancelled Trip with Hubby:

And replaced a broken cell phone:

I'm really bummed about my trip with hubby. The sitter had to cancel on us. Wahh!But, hubby and my oldest are going to Utah to visit family, so that should be fun for them.

On a much more positive note, I've started feeling very project-itchy. So, everyone pray that I can convince hubby to let loose with some funds and then I'll have super exciting pictures to post! Here's to hoping everyone else's summer has been as laid-back and fun as mine.

Wish List

2008-05-22T17:07:00.003-05:00

This is just a random post about pretty things. Oh, look, that seems to be the theme of my blog. What a coincidence. Later this summer, we're planning on doing up the gameroom righty-tighty. I'll finally get some built-ins! (Something I've been talking about forever.) So, here's some pictures that I've been looking at to inspire me.

I have two windows that I would love to frame out with shelves. In fact, I would love to have shelves and cabinetry on every wall in the gameroom. Then, I would have a place for all of my Meg Cabot books.

I love built-ins on either side of fireplaces. But, I have windows on either side. Oh, well. I'll just settle for silk drapes.

Who wouldn't love a two-storied library in their home with a spiral staircase to reach all the books.

I love this small niche/bookcase. I'm thinking of it for a half wall I have in my family room.

And this is scrum-didily-umptious! Too bad it's fictional!

Cranford

2008-05-19T08:05:00.009-05:00

Last night was the third and final installment of PBS Masterpiece's Cranford. And I have to say that I'm going to miss it. Would that this was a series and not just a mini one. These ladies were crazy and gossip-y, but sweet and giving. And doesn't that describe all of us? OK, well, doesn't that describe me?

Luckily, the BBC is continuing the drama with more episodes. So, will Mary Smith end up with Dr. Marshland, like the ending suggested,
or with Sir Charles (who I called Willoughby)? Though they had no interaction during the mini-series, I'm still holding out hope, because he's hot. I think that's a good-enough reason.

Will Miss Pole finally relinquish the term "spinster" by marrying long-lost, Indian-nabob Peter? Well, let's hope he's a nabob. Cause can you really carry off Indian-printed scarves wrapped around your neck if you're not rich?

And will Harry find his long lost mother in Julianne Nicholson?

I'm just sayin'!

But in all seriousness, my favorite scene of the entire series was this one. It's a true representation of the adage that if you want friends, be a friend.
" border="0" alt="" />

So, the BBC and Elizabeth Gaskell have done it, again. Another English drama that I'm in love with and I can watch over and over. Thank heavens for TiVO.

If We're Going In, We're Going In Full-Throttle

2008-05-08T15:44:00.008-05:00

Is it just me, or does the world start going full-speed ahead when we get into May? I'm sure everyone is as busy, or maybe even busier than me. But, I'll just show you some of what we've been up to.

Through much research (does clicking on a handful of links count as research?), I found that Wisteria is based here in the DFW Metroplex.
So, hubby and I took a small trip to visit their warehouse that is open to the public. Oh, and our three kids. (I swear you could feel the eyebrows raise and the tension rise in the outlet when we walked in, but our kids are really pretty good in furniture stores, so nothing catastrophic happened. And, believe me, they're only good because of lots, and lots and lots of training. IE,
Me:Girls this is one of those stores where we...
Kids (in unison):DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!)

Anyway, back to the purchases. This outlet ROCKS! I wanted everything in it. Hubby had to restrain me. He kept finding great deals, too. So, we got:

This was the piece that we were specifically looking for. Our finish is different. It's more green and uniform in color, but I still love it. I think the finish is probably why it was being sold at the outlet, cause otherwise, it's in perfect condition.

Hubby found this piece. It's perfect in front the big window in our dining room. Again, the finish is slightly different. Less rustic, more silver. Me likey.

And I couldn't resist these lamps. They were only $10, so we bought two. The birds were broken off, but I just glued them back on and saved $170, each!!!! ( I just looked online to see how expensive they were and almost had a stroke! I had no idea. If I had known, I would have bought more and sold them!)

So, a very successful trip, all in all. Everything we bought cost less than the original price of the bookcase. If you're in Dallas, I HIGHLY recommend it. I'll post pictures once I get everything in place.

*Update* I just have to say that I love my husband. When I called him to gasp at how expensive those lamps were, he was upset that I had blogged about it. To quote him, "But if you tell all your friends about it, then they'll go and buy all the good stuff and there won't be anything left for us." Gotta love a man whose looking forward to shopping for furniture! Oh, and apparently, as a favor to my husband, please don't go.

Did You Have a Pleasant Trip?

2008-04-28T08:44:00.009-05:00

Why, yes, yes I did. Thank you for asking. Portland was gorgeous, as always, and my sister just plain rocks. I really wish that we lived closer together, but neither of us is willing to move to where the other lives. So, we're destined to only see each other after paying for an expensive plane ticket and arranging people to watch our kids.

We went to the Tulip Festival:

And saw strange things. Oh, and alot of tulips.

This is my sister's cute house:

Her camelia bush next to her driveway is to-die-for. This pictures does NOT do it justice.

She has all these secret pathways and benches and things. It's just so lovely.

This year, I went a little bit earlier than I have for the past few years, so I think that I was a little early for all the spring glory. But, it was a blast, and I came home to kids that appreciated me all the more. What a great welcome home present!

A Charmed Life

2008-04-28T07:59:00.007-05:00

One year ago today my friends and I left for England. But I won't think about that. I won't think about that. I won't think about that. OK, self-hypnosis doesn't work.

What I will think about is how fun this past weekend was. Hubby and I went on a date. Yippee! And we went furniture shopping on our date, absolutely my favorite thing to do together! Double yippee! We went here:

And here:

And here:

And here:

We didn't buy anything, but it was still alot of fun. Then on Saturday, was my long-awaited (by myself, it was just normal for everyone else) bookclub. Ever since I saw the movie Marie Antoinette I thought it would be fun to have a party that celebrated her decadence. I realize that by admitting that I wanted to throw a party is tantamount to admitting that I didn't understand the point of the movie, (that Marie Antoinette's extravagant lifestyle might have lead to her death)but, honestly, I didn't care. So, I picked The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette for my book and never looked back.

This is what I was going for:

This is what I came up with:

I asked the bookclub members to wear fabulous shoes... (Mine are the pink plaid)

And some even went further than that.

But, I had a great time. It was so much fun to plan and execute. Hmm..maybe I shouldn't use that word while talking about Marie Antoinette.

Everything's On Hold...

2008-04-24T08:23:00.002-05:00

...while I prepare for my Marie Antoinette bookclub! It's coming up on Saturday, so I'll let you know how it goes and take lots of pictures!

Off I Go...

2008-04-09T21:34:00.004-05:00

...to Portland, Oregon to visit my ultra-hip, uber-fab (Do we still remember our German lesson?)sister.

I've been tons of times, since she's lived there for 17 years, or so. But this is the first time I get to visit her all by myself since I was 17!

We get to hang out, shop tax-free, and play like big kids.

And I might even get to go here:

And get this:

Because my quill broke and I lost her shield, I mean Pride&Prejudice. Which means that she's very vulnerable if any of my friends come over and want to fight me with theirs.

And speaking of Pride&Prejudice, I leave you with this, because it made me giggle. I have know idea who the girl is, but we think alike.

Except mine would look more like this:

Aren't I good at photoshop? Have a great weekend!

I Love Texas in the Springtime

2008-04-06T14:23:00.006-05:00

Texas in spring means one thing to me...bluebonnets! Being a Texan at heart, I love our state flower. I think it's unique and breathtaking when there are fields of them.

Here's our family's attempt at capturing the beauty:

Will He Go for This?

2008-03-30T23:53:00.011-05:00

OK, so I found where I want to go for our little trip sans kiddos. (See, I'm already speaking French without even trying!)

Westin Trianon Palace and Spa in Versailles, France.

And then I can walk down this lane...

To get here:

Is this a better picture of who our neighbor would be?

And I want to go here:

And here:

And I'm not sure what this is, but I wanna do it, too:

And then we can take a train ride into see this:

And this:

And do a little of this:

See what fun?

I have to say to this:

That I love you.

Enough, already....

2008-03-29T11:15:00.004-05:00

...of the doldrums! I actually accomplished somethings, yesterday, which cheered me up immensely.

So, spring has come to the inside of the house, as well as the garden. I really like this centerpiece. Maybe, even the most favorite of all. It's just really calming with the blues and greens.

I also made a couple of CDs for a friend and came across the song Fascination by Alphabeat. Awesome.

Plus, how can you be bored when you have a cutie like this running around your house?

Bored, bored, bored...

2008-03-27T23:32:00.002-05:00

...I'm not sure what it is, but I've been thoroughly bored this week. It's like anytime I have downtime, I'm just ho-humming and twiddling my thumbs. Don't I usually have things that I'm dying to do that take up alot of time? Like laundry? Don't I relish doing laundry? No? Hmm...

It must be let down from an uber-fab (That means "great" for all you non-German speakers.)Spring Break. The girls and I had a blast. Plus, I had a great book to fill up the non-partying hours. But now we're back to school and I can't seem to remember what I use to do all day long. I'm the stay-at-home, non-mean version of Samantha Who?.
Except I didn't get in a car accident. What do you think that means? Do I need to get checked out? Does insurance cover self-diagnosed amnesia? See, I told you I was a hypochondriac.

Of course, while typing this, I realize that I'm finally done with the celebrations of the spring. (Valentine's Dance, 5yo's birthday, hubby's birthday, 7yo's birthday, Easter) I must have end-of-major-projects-depression. Surely, this is a viable disease. Symptoms: lethargy even when watching British period-piece-dramas (except, of course, The Tudors), wandering around the house but studiedly avoiding the laundry room, checking your blog for comments every 5 minutes. There are others, but I can't be bothered to write them out, or think of them for that matter.

Well, as long as I'm self-diagnosing, I might as well self-prescribe. I am going to come up with a project for the house, even if it kills me. Because the EOMPD just might, otherwise!

Lack of Inspiration

2008-03-26T16:45:00.006-05:00

Recently, I've been scrounging for topics for my blog. Sure, sure, I could talk to you about my kids, but I'm not a good enough writer to keep it interesting. I could talk about politics, but I'm too stupid to have anything new to add. I could, perhaps, talk about the many, many movies that I've seen lately, but then you'd realize what a complete loser I am and how much time I waste. So, I've been talking about nothing, really, and just posting some cute (in my eyes) pictures. Entertaining, maybe, but not really informative or creative. Well...who cares?! Here's so more:

My life this past week:

Hampton Court

Hever Castle

Richmond Palace

And what a week it's been! Full of good-looking and really quite awful Henry VIIIs. How can I simultaneously love and hate the man? Well, let's just say that Jonathan Rhys Meyer makes it too easy to love, but then Philippa Gregory is keepin' it real. Oh, and the other way too handsome guy is Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, played by Henry Cavill. Seriously drool worthy. So, yippee for The Tudors and DirectTV for playing the entire first season cut! And, of course, Jenni who shared it with me! (And squealled like a little girl, right along with me, everytime Henry Cavill came onto the screen.)

Seven Years Ago, Today...

2008-03-20T16:26:00.002-05:00

...my life changed forever. I became a mother. Thank you, my dear, sweet, oldest girl for being my guinea pig. And for forgiving me my mistakes and loving me anyway. You'll never know the depth of my love until you become a mother yourself. I pray that will happen for you so that you can experience this change in being as I have. Happy Birthday, gorgeous girl!

So, because of said birthday, the girls and I went over to Fort Worth's Botanic Garden. Gorgeous! Beautiful day, beautiful surroundings and beautiful company! What more can a girl ask for? Besides winning the HGTV Dream House.

Last picture of my girls, but I love this one! It absolutely captures how they truly interact!

I love this clustered daffodil. It's called "Baby Boomer" and it's a cross between a daffodil and a narcissus.

Seeing this urn somewhat appeased the dull ache of longing I've had for England since last month. (Or maybe it made it worse. Jury's still out.) Most of you know that I went with some girlfriends last April and today brought back alot of memories. The weather was so similar to what we experienced and walking around a breathtaking garden seemed familiar.

OK, I lied about the last picture of my kids thing. But, doesn't this bench rock? Katri, if I could, I would totally buy this for you!!! Huggy hugs.

St. Patrick's

2008-03-17T12:07:00.005-05:00

You'd think that being a redhead, I'd really be into St. Patrick's Day. But you'd be wrong. I don't have a lick of Irish blood in me, and having people continually assume that I do got quite annoying while growing up. But, that being said, I wear green like everyone else. And I like to make the occassional corned beef and cabbage. (Didn't happen this year, but maybe tomorrow.)

But here's some pretty green things, anyway:

Domino Magazine

Pretty! And, apparently, it's a vegetable. So, yummy, too!

Speaking of yummy...

Here's a guest bedroom from the HGTV Dreamhouse that I didn't win last night! Bummer.

And here's my fam, all dressed in green. All right, aqua. Close enough. Happy St. Patrick's day!

Weekend Getaway

2008-03-14T10:04:00.003-05:00

Just a little something that will take us into the weekend. Who wouldn't want to stay here?

Have a great weekend!

April Showers Bring May Flowers....Wait, It's March!?

2008-03-11T16:00:00.008-05:00

Well, living in Texas, we get a head start on all the spring stuff! (Not that that fact stopped a winter storm from coming in last week!) But hopefully all that white stuff they apparently call "snow" will not return for a while, meaning 9 months, because I just planting our spring beds!

My blogger friend, Jean, in her awesome blog A Thing of Beauty posted pictures from this month's Cottage Living. This picture in particular totally inspired me.

I ran right out an bought a copy, cause this house is too cute. I love everything about this picture. The ivy, the potted boxwood, the windows, the double french doors, everything! And the good news is that hubby really likes it, too. So, now we have direction for our curb appeal. For years, I've been unsuccessfully trying to get hubby to agree to climbing roses. This picture convinced him! Thank you, thank you Cottage Living!

Since I have a similar porch and entry, I thought that I might be able to somewhat duplicate this. Now, before I show pictures of my house, let me just say that I know this will be an ongoing project for the next few years. You can't make a garden in a day. (Unless you are the production team on the movie set "The Holiday". Hmph. But I digress.)

Here is what I started with this morning.
(Yes, yes, our tree is crooked. We're not exactly sure how that happened. We just woke up one morning and couldn't get it straight! Whoops!)

And here's where I ended up.

Basically, my two additions that were inspired by the Cottage Living article were this hydrangea planter and my climbing roses. The climbing roses are suppose to grow fast, so fingers crossed.

I also added two hybiscus topiaries. We do that every year. They're suppose to last the winter, but so far, no luck. Also, a smattering of snapdragons was planted.

So, like I said, it's a work in progress, but at least it's progressing. Hopefully later this spring I'll have more pictures to show.

Fun New Project

2008-03-08T21:48:00.010-06:00

How do you choose where to take a vacation?

Do you go somewhere that you've never been?

Do you continually go to a place you know you love?
Or do you throw a dart at a map, hoping that it doesn't land in the middle of the Atlantic, cause you're pretty sure that the water is somewhat cold and floating around in the ocean didn't really serve Jack from Titanic very well?

Well, this is my newly acquired project.

Hubby and I landed a babysitter from our church, tentatively scheduled for this summer. Yippee! So, off on our adventure we go, but where? Here's the list of possiblities so far:

Prague:
I really want to go to Prague before they adopt the Euro in 2010. (BTW- Are we gonna say, "Twenty ten" or "Two thousand ten"? Personally, I like the "twenty".)

But, hubby's business might eventually send him to Munich to check up on one of their subsidiaries there. The plan is to squeeze in Prague and Vienna after the business trip. Question is: Will this ever really happen?

Paris:

And this could be us!

I really want to go to Paris, because I want hubby to start taking the girls when they each turn 10. I once saw an Oprah interview with Gwenyth Paltrow, and Gwenyth said her father took her there when she was 10 because he wanted her first time in Paris to be with a man who would always love her. Obviously, I need hubby to take me there before he goes with the kids. And we're kinda running out of time.

Hawaii:

I feel like the only person left on the planet who has never been. But, is it bad to say that I'm really not all that raring to go? Maybe if I go, I'll see what all the fuss is about.

Savannah, Georgia:

This is the only place in the states right now that I would want to go. It seems like it'd be way more fun and relaxing sans small kiddos. Cause let's be real here, they tend to break things and Savannah's kinda old.

Hubby, of course, wants to go to NYC:

This is always his first answer to the question, "Where should we go on vacay?" But, we've been there, and I now file it under the category of, "Somewhere to Go on an Extended Weekend When You Find a Great Flight".

And I, of course, want to go to the English Countryside, particularly Bath:
(Note: Subsequent blogging should now be read with British accent.)

Is it really, very awful to want to go back again and again to one country and really not even care for the rest of the world? I mean, someone has to support British Tourism. Why can't it be me?

In the future, I fancy I will let a cottage for a fortnight or two and have a go at living in the country. Then maybe I should postpone my holiday in Britain, just for a bit so that I might experience other amiable areas of the world? Righto!(Note: end of accent previously mentioned)

I know that there are a million other places that would be fabulous to go visit. And, honestly, this isn't even my complete list. I could seriously blog about this forever. Too. Many. Gorgeous. Places. Any help? Any ideas? Where's your favorite place? Please, pretty please, give input.

Evening

2008-02-29T17:41:00.006-06:00

In a previous post I mentioned the moving Evening. It's a film, based on a book by Susan Minot, about an old woman who relives and rehashes past events in her life while suffering through dementia. Boy, that sounds really dark and heavy. Well, actually it is in some parts. But it was shot at Howard Cushing Jr's Newport Beach, RI home. Here's some pretty pictures to start off the week.

Look at the cute little seat in the entry. There's another one right across from it, as well.

Oooo, potted hydrangeas. That actually might work for me.

Just in case you missed it the first time: a better picture of the seat, plus Hugh Dancy's feet!

Love the blue on the ceiling!

Art Influenced by Life? Or the Other Way Around? Part I

2008-02-27T17:54:00.028-06:00

Cote de Texas, one of my favorite blogs, recently posted about beautiful movie sets. And since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and all that, I thought I would do the same. I've actually had this idea for a long time, but it's taken me hours, and hours, and..well, I won't bore you with my exciting life on Google. But, anyway, it's taken a long time to find pictures of my movie. I thought about screencapping it myself, but that would be tedious. So, I found a lovely blog, Surroundings, that did it for me! Yippee! I <3 Google! Ok, enough about my love affair with an internet search engine and onto some pictures. Da Dum!

My favorite movie set ever is The Holiday. This movie features three completely beautiful homes that make me drool. (Interestingly enough, it's by the same director and production designer of Cote de Texas's favorite movie Something's Gotta Give.)
First, let's take a look at the cute little Rose Cottage.

They actually built this cottage for the movie. It's amazing that they could make it look so old! How can I do that to my house? With a budget of around $45?

Here's Iris's Bedroom:

I love the stacked books on the bedside table. I have that too, though not necessarily as a design fixture, but as a "books I'm reading right now" fixture. Who knew I was being clever?

Living Room:

I love that cupboard. But look at that TV, hidden behind plants. That would SOOOO not work in my house. I do love how they juxtaposed the modern side table with the slipcovered traditional arm chairs.

Not the dog, silly, (though he's cute, too) but the ottoman!

But my favorite shot of the cottage is this:

I love all the layers on the side table. And the contemporary B&W photos on the mantle. Which you could view better if Cameron would move her head! Hrmph.

Grant's house:
His house is so lived in, I love it. Totally true to life, though very well decorated.

I am such a sucker for built-ins. I really need some of my own, so I'll stop coveting ones I see on TV. These are a great color, too. Like a dark gray, not quite black.

Now onto Amanda's digs in LA:

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved this home. I thought after viewing this movie for the first time that I really needed to mix up my look. It's influenced me more than I realized.

Entry:

You never really get a good look at her entry chandelier, which always bums me out.

Media Room:

Would I be sued by Nancy Meyers if I duplicated this room completely? Should I have not admitted that on a site read by millions? Ok, tens? Ok, okay, ones?

Living Room:

Look how much seating there is! It makes my living room look absolutely pitiful, like I'm very, very lonely. I love the idea of a chaise in the room. My family room is actually a very similar layout. This shot gives me great ideas for furniture placement. I also love the matching sideboards.

I love the dark upholstery mixed with the white.

Here's a chair in my master bedroom. I feel this purchase was highly influenced by The Holiday. What'd'ya think?

Here's my entryway. Look at that sisal rug! Just like the entryway in the movie. (Though about 1/10 the size.) Ignore the Christmas tree. See, I told you I had this post idea for a while. And while we're at it, what about that slipcovered wing chair? Look familiar?

And here's my mantle, an homage to Iris.

So, as you can see, not only do I love watching this, I want to move in. And I'm doing my best to make it so. I actually have a lot of other pictures on how I was inspired in their Christmas decorations, but I'll leave that for another post closer to Christmas time.

Please check out Surrounding's posts about the two girls' houses. She shows you where to get the same look!

The Beloved Fairy Door

2008-02-25T23:48:00.008-06:00

Dear Little Redhead Whose Name Will Not Be Mentioned In This Blog,

Hello, my name is Gossamer Willowfly and I’m your new neighbor. Can you find my door? I’ll give you a hint: it’s very small and pink. Do you know why it’s so small? Because I’m a fairy. That’s right. My family and I moved in last night and we’re so excited to meet you! I left you a basket so you can get to know me better. I found a doll that looks just like me. And I’m giving you my favorite thing to do: bubbles! I’m also giving you my favorite candy. I wanted to eat them myself, but my mom said I had to share. I hope you like them.

My family and I are Speckless Fairies. That means that we live in neat and tidy surroundings. That’s why we moved in here, because it was so beautiful and clean. I hope you can keep it that way.

I hope we can become good friends.

Love, Gossamer

P.S. Don’t try to open our door. It can only be opened with Fairy Magic!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

Something I've Been Struggling With...

2008-02-25T13:07:00.004-06:00

Don't worry. I promise I won't jump. It's not that big a problem.

No, it's not my weight. I don't want to talk about that.

No, it's my design aesthetic. Yes, I admit it. I've been confused about what type of style I have. But, "How can this be?", you ask. Well, simple as this: I love beautiful things. In all shapes, colors and textures. And, apparently, design styles. So, it gets confusing when trying to decide what direction to take when decorating. Especially when living in Texas. It's too easy to be pigeon-holed into French country or Traditional here. It seems like that's all there is to choose from. Especially if you like to go to Canton as much as I do. All of the sudden, I've taken a new look at my house and have been dissappointed in what I see. And that's rather depressing. So, I've been trying to evaluate where I am and what I'm trying to accomplish and what I really like. Well, not just like, but love.

Now, don't let the previous paragraph deceive you. I've always known that my style was hard to define. In the past, I've really envied my friends who were a certain type of style, straight across the board. In years gone, I've defined my style as Parisian Apartment
/Euro Eclectic
with French Country
thrown in for fun! But with my recent self-doubts, I've been wondering. Not to mention the fact that I have my house in my head, and my house in reality that are competing with each other. Stop fighting, you guys! Why can't we all just get along?
So, I went to HGTV to enter the DreamHouse giveaway (Oh no! Did I just lessen my chances?) and clicked on the Find Your Style page. This is what I am, according to Karen McAloon*: Sophisticated. Honestly, I think that's the first time anyone's ever described me as such. It said that I was mixed and liked traditional elegance with modern lines. I actually find that fairly accurate. Here's the problem, though: They didn't show any pictures or ideas for help. So, there we have it. Katrina is sophisticated, and still confused.

But, all kidding aside, I'm focused now. I now just have to concentrate on finding romantic, simple furniture and lots of sparkle. Luckily, my dining room has stayed on task, and not veered off into undesirable territories. I'm going to try to use this as a jumping off point to tweak the rest of the house.

And by the way, Happy Easter!

*Pay no attention to Karen's picture. It's spooky. They tried to whiten her teeth and just made it very scary to look at. Like Ross and the blacklight.

Maybe I Like Gothic More Than I Think...

2008-02-21T09:13:00.007-06:00

Last night Jenni and I saw Definitely, Maybe. I was floored at how much I loved this movie. If it hadn't been the last showing of the day, I would have just rooted myself into the seat for another viewing. As it was, I could hardly fall asleep for thinking of all my favorite parts. It's by the same people who did Notting Hill and Love Actually. If you liked those movies, you'll like this one, too!

First of all, let me just say that the previews were outstanding. Never before have I seen a movie where every single preview shown was already on my "ready and willing to see it" list!

One of my favorite scenes in Definitely, Maybe was a fight. Loved it! And it made me realize that I actually love that type of scene. i.e.,

There's just something about a man confessing his love that makes me melt!

Another great scene I came across this past summer was from Evening.

Hugh Dancy has a scene/movie stealing moment, but it's not necessarily pretty.

And, of course, there's this:

And if you don't recognize this picture, go and rent North and South right now!

So, though I'm not the biggest fan of Gothic romance novels, I'm thinking I don't mind a little angst now and again.

I Hate to Admit It, But...

2008-02-19T07:57:00.002-06:00

Have you ever looked in the mirror and scared yourself? Well, that's exactly what happened to me last night. Yes, after a few days of not washing my hair, who know I'd turn into this?
Only scarier. If I were truly self-actualized, I'd post a picture. But I'm not. So there.

Onto prettier things...

I took hubby furniture shopping on Saturday. I always try to get him to go in February, because Oprah once said that's when they have the best sales. I'm always hoping we'll end up making an impulse purchase. It's happened once. I think he's onto me.

Among the many projects in my house, I'd like to re-purpose my formal living. We never use it, so I thought it'd be better as a library. I'm wanting four upholstered chairs surrounding a round table. I found this at Pottery Barn:

It's only $1, 349! (And that's on sale!) Times 4. That's (getting out calculator)$5,396 just for the chairs.

I found these at IKEA for only $249:

But hubby hates IKEA. Sigh.

So, Saturday we went to the new Robb&Stucky near our home. I found these:
(Well, not these exactly. These are from Room Service Home, but I couldn't find the ones I liked on Robb&Stucky's website. Picture these in cream, and cuter.) They're only $2259! Wait. I'm going up. I'm suppose to be looking for less expensive, not more! What to do? What to do? No. Seriously. I'm asking you. What should I do? Because now, I'm totally in love with these! And the shape and size is so unique, that it's not like I can go and slip cover a thrift store find. (Crying now.) Oh, well. It's not like this is in the works anytime soon. I still have to do my gameroom, the backyard, the front patio, french doors in my master bedroom...Ok, now I'm really depressed.

Redhead Prostrate

2008-02-18T12:30:00.003-06:00

Mother and Child by Frederick Leighton

This was me, yesterday. I was sick with the stomach flu. Except, instead of a sweet daughter feeding me fruit, picture three sweet girls jumping on the bed. Ugh. I basically slept all day and made my husband come home early from church so he could take care of everything else. Luckily, at 10:35pm, I woke up and knew it was over. I ate a couple of muffins and went back to bed.

Today, I feel fine, but weak. Not eating for 36 hours can really do something to you! On the plus side, I lost over 4 pounds! But, as effective as that weight-loss plan seems to be, I think I'll pass.

One of My Favorite Days

2008-02-13T08:22:00.006-06:00

Valentine's Day is tomorrow, and it's been on my mind a lot, lately. Maybe it's because pink and red are two of my favorite colors. Maybe it's because I love buying little gifts for my family. Oh, and maybe it's because I was in charge of the decorations for our church's annual adult Valentine's dance! Ack!

Well, whatever the reason, I love thinking about Valentine's day. My mother always made V-day very special. I didn't realize how big a deal we made it until I went to college and was flabbergasted at roomies who couldn't've cared less about Feb 14! My mom devoted an entire drawer in the kitchen's secretary to V-day. She saved all the cards with pink or red or flowers on it that people gave her throughout the year. She bought doilies and construction paper and we all made Valentines for each member of our family.

Ummm....mine never turned out this nice, but you get the idea.

Then, that night we would eat in the dining room (always a sign of something special) and after the table was set, we'd each take a turn and put our handmade Valentines under the plate of the person we were giving them to. Mom always gave us a special gift on top of our plate, usually something red. One year she gave me red "unmentionables"! Score! Another year I got red suede shoes.

Now that I have my own family, I'm trying to create special Valentine's day traditions. We usually have a special breakfast, and we like to bake sugar cookies. (Especially since the only cookie cutters I own are heart shaped!) Well, whatever you do tomorrow, I hope you show and feel the love!

MIA

2008-02-11T16:18:00.000-06:00

So, I've been totally out of the loop recently. I thought I would post as to why.

Before:

After:

We had a dance and I was in charge of the decor. It took all of my creative energy, hence the lack of blogging. Why did it take so much energy? Because we had a budget of $250! Ack. For that whole huge gym! Sigh. But I think it turned out well. It seemed like people had fun, which was the most important part!

The screen in the background showed a PowerPoint slideshow of romantic, black&white pics from movies. That was my best idea, seeing that it was absolutely free! Shout outs to Jenni and Julianne who helped tons, and to those other girls who worked so hard putting this together! You know who you are!

My BFFs

2008-01-20T09:17:00.001-06:00

What do Jenna Fischer, Meg Cabot and Jane Austen all have in common? Well, to quote the crazy sister, Honey, from Notting Hill, "I genuinely believe and have believed for some time now that we can be best friends."
Needless to say, if I ever met any of these ladies I'd be a mess of quivering goo. Thank heavens for me and my sanity, actually running into these girls is next to impossible. Two of them are extremely busy with their careers and lives of their own, and live on the coasts, thousands of miles away. But mostly because one of them is unfortunately dead. Yes, I'm sad to report that I'll never get a chance (in this lifetime!) to run into Jane Austen at the supermarket or Blockbuster. Even if I was in England. Because, you see, Jane had the unfortunate occurance of being born two hundred years before me.

Yes, ladies (and maybe a gentleman or two) Jane was born last month two hundred and thirty two years ago. She was born in the small town of Steventon where she went on to pen six novels including my favorite, Pride & Prejudice.

Now, what do you think I would have in common with someone who had the unfortunate occurance of dying before my great-great-great-grandmother was even born? Well, in my mind, quite alot. Mostly, (and most importantly) we both have a love for romantic stories with leading men who love their flawed women and always end happily. So, during these uber-fab weeks of enjoying Masterpiece's Complete Jane Austen I say, "Thank you, thank you Jane for all the countless, wonderful hours of joy you've brought to me through your stories!"

Only the Best Idea, Ever!!!

2008-01-09T22:29:00.000-06:00

Squeeeeeee! (Deep breath.) OK, I know I just posted today, already,(and please scroll down, cause I really like the post beneath this one) but I just linked on Julianne's blog and found this cool blog and post.

Anyone who has met my middle child for one minute knows her love of fairies!!!! And guess who's birthday is coming up in February? By my calculations, that's just enough time for the cleaning fairy to call the re-location company. So, watch out, A! You're gonna have a roomie.

I'm so excited about this I can hardly breathe.

Hydrangeas, hydrangeas everywhere!

2008-01-09T15:18:00.000-06:00

I've been a little obsessed with hydrangeas recently. (See above blog title.) There's something about a flower that is actually tons of tiny flowers that just fills my soul. So I did some Google Image research for some inspiring pics!

How alkalic would my soil have to be to get this color?

I found this on an art website. It reminds me of the pics on my sidebar. All of which were taken by me. I'm artistic! Yippee!

Wouldn't it be fun to have one of these? But really, I think only my friend Katri could pull it off.

And I totally want this chair! Oh, shoot. It's a painting. Well, it's nice anyway.

But my fav would have to be this, titled "Chateau with Hydrangeas"

Which made me think, "What if I google imaged 'hydrangea chateau'?" And this is what came up:

It's a travel site that helps you rent mansions! Well, I now know what site I'll be wasting monumental time on! And they're totally affordable. Only around 2000 British pounds. Which really is only $4000. Very doable. Which leads me to my last find:

A Letter

2008-01-02T23:14:00.001-06:00

My Own Victoria Magazine,

Oh, why did you have to jump out of my car at the hotel in San Antonio? Did you not see the big, yucky puddle in the parking lot? Did you think camping under the stars would be fun? I bet you didn't see any stars because of the rain clouds.

Did the big, burly owner of the ugly F-150 step on you? I'm sure he did. He obviously has no feeling for beautiful things or great literature or inanimate objects.

Did you miss me after I left you all alone in the cold? Did you try to call out my name? I'm sorry I didn't hear you. It's hard to hear the pleadings of something with no mouth.

But my most important, most earnest question is this: Where can I find a blankety- blank replacement for you?!? Argh.

Please reply forthwith.

Yours,

Katrina

Katrina's Best and Worst of 2007

2007-12-31T15:50:00.000-06:00

So, here it is, again. The end of another year. For some reason, I'm really excited about the start of 2008. Maybe its all my great calendars that I get to put up. ~shrugs~ Well, who knows, but I thought I'd reminisce about the past year that was pretty much the best of times, and the not-so best of times for me.
(I was gonna say "worst", but that would be laying it on way too thick.)

Let's start with the worst and just get those over with:

5. Getting sick in in-laws basement in Utah not once, but twice.
4. Baby's broken arm.
3. Three months w/o a camera just to learn that we were using the wrong batteries!
2. Car rolling down Rochelle's driveway and street with all the kids still in it!
1. Hubby's wreck and subsequent replacement of car. Yuck.

OK, enough of that...

And onto Katrina's Top 5 Best Things of 2007

5. Visiting Julie and other friend in Boise for almost an entire week!
(I have no pictures, cause we were having too much fun!)
4. Visiting my sister and helping her daughter shop for and then alter her prom dress. It was a promise I made to my niece when she was 6, and I was happy to fulfill it!

3. Butchart Gardens

I don't think I'll ever get sick of looking at that picture!

2. Decorating the girls' new rooms!

And, drumroll please...

1. Of course, my trip to England!

So, here's to 2008! Let's hope it's heavy on the joy and light on the heartache! Happy New Year, y'all!

Holiday Fun

2007-12-28T12:43:00.000-06:00

So, I thought I would just take you through the last few weeks with a lame, quasi-slideshow. Here's what we've been up to:

San Antonio

Our totally awesome hotel! And here are some lobby shots...

The famed "Riverwalk"...

The Alamo, of course...

And onto Fiesta Texas. It was SOOOO cold!

Next day "dinosaur hunting"

Somehow, this does not make a mother feel very safe!

Christmas dresses...

Aprons I made for the girls...

I hope everyone had as much fun on Christmas as we did! And now I'm off to go clean it all up! ~sigh~

Under Pressure

2007-12-12T08:48:00.001-06:00

Is anyone else totally stressed out? I feel like everyday, I'm working myself to the bone yet not even making a dent into what I still have left to do! Ack! The problem is that recently I became my oldest daughter's Girl Scout leader. So, every week I host about 12 girls at my house for 1 1/2 hours. What was I thinking? And to start the troop around the holidays?!? I'm going crazy! Yesterday, while shipping something for church, I saw the signage that said everything had to be mailed by Dec 15 in order to make it by Christmas! Ack! So, last night I put everybody to work filling out all the Target gift cards, printing and folding Christmas letters, signing Christmas cards, wrapping presents, buying padded envelopes, and addressing the cards. I went to bed absolutly exhausted! Tell me that there are more frazzled moms out there, cause I'm about at the end of my rope!

She's Never Satisfied, aka The Super Long Post

2007-12-09T09:30:00.000-06:00

So, even though I'm back on the bandwagon, Laurie is still pushing me for more posts? :O More posts? What do I really have to say? Ack! OK, maybe I don't have alot to say, but I do have alot to show. Friday, I hosted our neighborhood's annual ornament exchange. It was alot of fun. There were about 11 women who came, and about twenty platters of food. Strange. But, I was good and refused to let people leave their food with me! Yea! ("Way to stay strong, Katrina!") Anyway, here's some pics of the event, and you can see my Christmas decor at the same time. OK, along with that, I went to my friend Katri's birthday party on Saturday night! Wow! Too much fun was had by all, especially me, who lost her voice due to all the Karaoke. Tee hee! I honestly can't remember a time that I laughed so hard! Here's some pics of that event, too. And maybe some video, if I can swing it! Shwew, I hope you all enjoyed the re-cap of all the pictures and vids! ("Way to go Katrina, with your super-high-tech knowledge of QuickTime Player!")[Totally still working on it!] Are you finally satisfied, Laurie?

Another One Bites the Dust

2007-11-30T12:54:00.000-06:00

Well, a few weeks ago hubby was in a wreck. He's completely fine, but it totalled the car. He was the third car of a four car pile-up. So, we found ourselves, yet again looking for a new car. Can you believe it?

We went from this:

To THIS!

Can you tell the difference? Yeah, me neither. Actually, we had a 2002 Honda Accord Coupe and now we have a 2007. That's the difference. Our's is a dark grey, fyi.

All in all, it worked out. It kinda sucks having to shell out money that we weren't planning on spending, but it could have been so much worse, that we feel really blessed!

We ended up taking advice from Greg, Rochelle's hubby, and looking on eBay for the car. We found a GREAT deal, but the car was in Houston. My husband had no more time off this year, and they were closed the coming Thanksgiving weekend. So, my parents and I took the little one while a friend watched the other two. Boy, was that a disaster! Baby screamed the whole way there, practically the whole time we were in Houston and the whole way back. She was so loud, that I didn't even really notice the sweet ride we had just purchased! (Which didn't go over so well when hubby kept calling to ask about the car.) So, that is why hubby bought me the beautiful pink roses for a thank-you. I've taught him well.

My Camera's Fixed! Yippee!!!!

2007-11-30T11:28:00.000-06:00

Ok, after months, and months, and months of having a broken camera, and putting off getting it fixed, and bugging friends to get copies, and hoping that people were capturing crucial moments of my children's lives, I finally have a camera that works! Yea! But here's the awful part: we were just using the wrong batteries! Can you believe it? Apparently, the cheap kind don't cut it. (Boy, do I have to invest in rechargables!) Bummer!
Happy, happy kids on the way home with the camera! They missed it as much as I did!

But, the good news is that I've been going crazy taking pictures like I've never taken pictures before! So, here's some pics from Thanksgiving. The centerpiece turned out a little more wedding-y than fall-like, but it was still fun. Hubby bought me the roses as a thank-you gift. (Hmm...maybe I should post about that, as well!)

It snowed for about ten minutes and the kids had a blast!

And this is the baby shutting the door on all us crazy people out in the snow!

And here's just a cute little charm that I picked-up. It says, "Moody Chick". Pretty perfect, huh? Tee hee. See, told ya I was picture-crazy!

This Blogger's Been Experiencing Emotional Difficulties

2007-11-07T19:56:00.000-06:00

So, it's been a hard few weeks. I won't get into all of it (ok, maybe someday I will), but let's just say that I've been narrowing my field of activities so that I can emotionally cope. Blogging went by the wayside, as it probably always will when I'm trying to avoid my responisibilites by avoiding emails! :O (Now you all know my secret! ;) )

But, we had a great Halloween! We went Trunk or Treating with my Mom while my Dad stayed at our place to pass out candy. Here's some pics:

Here's the back of my oldest daughter's cape, which I made. I have to say that I'm pretty proud of it. (Pat, pat, pat)

And here's a couple just cause they're so darn cute!

Thanks, Julianne, for all the great pics!

2007-10-18T10:21:00.001-05:00

I originally read this on Jenni's blog, then on Katri's. Real life has gotten in the way of blogging life recently, so I'm a little behind!

If you are reading this right now, consider yourself tagged. I'll be checking your blog. (No pressure, though!)
1. Three biggest fears? (besides anything bad happening to a family member/child)
-bridges
-heights w/kids around
-I know this doesn't count, but I had a WICKED, awful dream the other night where I watched hubby die. I woke up shaking and cried all day. Yuck.
2. When was the last time you danced? This morning with baby.
3. Do you creep on stranger's blogs? Yeppers.
4. If you could go back to be any age for a day, what age would you be and why? 18-21 when I was at BYU.
5. Are you a good liar? No, cause I don't do it.
6. Do you judge someone when you can tell they've had elective cosmetic surgery? Can I abstain from this question? Respectfully?
7. If you have children, what's one thing that you always told yourself you'd never do when you had kids? If you don't have children, what's one thing you tell yourself you'll never do. (Psst! You. Yah, you. The one without kids. Guess what? You'll probably do it.)
OK, this is totally weird, but when I was in high school, I always swore that I would buy a house close to the high school when I was a Mom. I hated it when I forgot something and it would take forever to go back and get it. I'm proud to say that I totally did it. My house is just down the street!
8. What's something that totally grosses you out? Watching non-cleanly people make-out.
9. Do you ever delete forwards without reading them? Yesh.
10. Do you ever lie to get out of obligations? No.
11. Consider your body weight and your yearly income at their present states. Would you rather be 200 pounds heavier and $200,000 richer or stay at your present states? 200 pounds?!?! Holy cow! Who would take the money? Now, if the question had been 20 pounds, that's a different story.
12. When was the last time you bought a pair of shoes and what were they? For myself? A few weeks ago. Cute green open-toed slip ons.
13. The Olympics. Take them or leave them? Leave em.
14. What's your favorite accent? Considering I went around all of England PRETENDING that I had an English accent, then that must be my choice.
15. What's your favorite scent? Something sweet.
16. Gum or breath mints? Gum
17. If you could look like any celebrity, who would it be? Rachel Bilson. I've always had a thing for dark hair and skin. That being said, I would never change myself. I like the way I am.
18. If you had the chance of looking like said celebrity in exchange for your thumbs would you do it? What a weird question. Um...no.
19. Do you religiously wear sun screen? Yes.
20. Do you generally trust people/their motives or doubt people/their motives? With a frustrated hubby in the background, I always trust. He doesn't. I'm just truly an optimist at heart and you have to prove to me that your not trust-worthy. And even then, it takes alot.
21. Would you describe yourself as a complicated person or is what you see what you get? Absolutely, what you see is what you get. Much to the detriment of my heart when I was younger. Poor me. ;)
22. Do you watch what you eat? Recently, yes. When I'm pregnant, no.
23. Do you watch what other people eat? Why would I do that? What if they chewed with their mouth open? Eww.
24. Do you judge how other people raise their kids? Only a couple of people I know. And only because they are making what I consider such colosal mistakes that it's hard not to.
25. Do you judge people who dress poorly? I know no one is going to believe this, but I don't. I watch what others wear, and sometimes even critique it in my head, but not as a judgement, just observations. I know people could critique my wardrobe, as well.
26. Do you judge people who are homely? No, but I feel sorry for them that they're not as pretty as me. Wait. Is that a judgement?
27. Do you judge people who are overweight? Probably, in the fact that I put them into a certain category that they might not actually belong in.
28. Your interest in politics: High, Medium-High, Medium, Medium-Low, Low, Obsolete? Low. I hate politics and think shows like Hannity and Colmes brings contenion into the home. Hubby, however, disagrees. <_<
29. Favorite song of all time? I could absolutely never just choose one. But fav genre of all time is Indie-Alternative.
30. Acoustic or electric? Either
31. If you were a hermit, would you shave? Nope. If I'm not shaved now, does that make me a hermit by default? :O
32. If you could shave your head without your significant other throwing a complete hissy, would you? And give up my luscious long locks? Never!
33. What was your least favorite age? 10, just an all around bad year for me.
35. Are you in a tiff with anyone right now? Why? Has someone said something?
This was a blast! Hope to see some of y'alls posts soon!

Happy Happy Birthday, Baby!

2007-10-17T16:10:00.000-05:00

So, our little one turned two this past weekend! We had a great time going to Six Flags on Friday night and then having a party with the fam on Sunday. I always get a little nostalgic during my girls' birthdays! I'll admit, I have an addiction to babies that I'm trying to kick! But can you blame me? They come into the world so perfect. And I don't mean physically perfect (I'm 0 for 3 on that one) but so innocent and sweet. It truly is miraculous that God would entrust me with three of his children to rear.

We got her this cute little lamb rocker. Thanks, Katri, for the idea that you didn't know I stole!

Happy Birthday, Air-Dee! May you grow as cute this year as you did the last!

Fast Car, Second Verse

2007-10-09T15:55:00.001-05:00

It didn't turn out how I thought originally, but it's better than I was expecting! We finally bought our new car...a Nissan Pathfinder. I'm so excited, I can hardly contain it! I love driving now. It actually reminds me alot of the Jeep Cherokee that I had in high school. It's high, but skinny. It feels alot smaller than my mini-van. So, I might not be posting alot, but I'll see you on the road! ;)

On the Road Again

2007-10-02T16:01:00.001-05:00

I checked this book out of the library last week. It was on the shelf across from some fiction I was picking up. It's been fun to thumb through and see the places that I've been and the places I would love to go. One of the places was right here in Dallas: The Mansion at Turtle Creek, which is a five-star hotel and restaurant. So, I'm thinking next anniversary? Hopefully!

By my count, I've been to 43 places listed in the book! Only 957 places to go. So, let's see...if it took 30 years to get 43, then it will only take me (957 divided by 43 times 30) 667.67 more years to hit them all! Well, that's totally doable! What was I worried about. <_<

Some of the places listed that I've been to were:

The Oregon Coast:

Monticello:

And Neuschwanstein:

But imagine my surprise, when my beloved Butchart Gardens did not make the list! So, I decide to make my own list. Now, of course, I don't have 1000 places to list, but I do have 10 places that took my breath away. Some, because of the beauty and some because of the history. But all these places hold a special spot in my heart, because the day I visited them, I truly understood the phrase, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report or praise worthy, we seek after these things."

10. Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Daviees County, Missouri

This picture doesn't do it justice, but it is close to the place where I went when I was 15. It was here that I had one of the most amazing spiritual experiences of my life. My testimony has truly never been the same since visiting this site.

9. World Trade Center, Ground Zero

This picture was taken just a few months after we visited New York. We actually rode the train into the World Trade Center Station everyday. It was very emotional to start our day this way. I'm sure y'all can appreciate this.

8. Gettysburg National Military Park and Cemetary, Pennsylvania

My sister used to live about 1 1/2 hours from Gettysburg. Once, when visiting her, she took us to it. At the end of a long, lovely, and fascinating driving tour, you come to the large field where the final battle took place. It was very easy to picture the soldiers marching towards each other, and I remember getting emotional about the ridiculousness of war. Of course, the Civil War was completely necessary in order to abolish slavery, but the fact that it had to come to that was so disheartening at that moment. I pictured all these young men marching toward their death and completely realizing that while doing it. It still moves me when I remember it.

7. Windsor, England

Though Hubby and I spent less than a day here, we both LOVED it! It's my dream to rent a summer home near here. Ahh...that would be the life! Of course, all of you would be invited, too! ;)

6. The Statue of David and The Pieta by Michaelangelo Florence and The Vatican, respectively

The first time I saw a picture of The Pieta was in a text book when I was 13. I was blown away by the small image. My mother told me what it was and that it was in Italy. I said to myself, "Someday, I'm gonna see that!" If I thought the small picture was a masterpiece, well, that was nothing compared to the real thing! I have such loving feelings toward Mary and I think this sums up every feeling a mother would have if they suffered as Christ had. I loved being there.

The Statue of David blew me away, as well. Hubby and I went to see it, because we felt obligated, being in Florence and all. But, seriously, if you have a chance, DO NOT MISS IT! I had no idea why it was such a big deal until I saw it myself. It's truly amazing what Michaelangelo accomplished in his life!

5. Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

What can I say about this place except, "Omigosh! It's the most beautiful place that I've ever been to in my entire life!!!! SQUEEE!!!!"? I was totally inspired by this place. I'm still a little shocked that it's not listed in the book!

4. Stourhead Gardens, England

This makes my list because it was such a dream to be there! As many of you know, or have read on blogs, I was one of the lucky girls that went to England this past May. While sitting in the grotto writing in my journal overlooking this lake, I was swelled with emotion at the blessing of taking this trip. It was truly a dream come true! When the idea was first put out there, in the back of my mind I kept asking, "Is this REALLY gonna happen?" Sitting there, after having re-enacted my fav scene in the movie, I was overcome by the fact that yes, it had happened. Stourhead was also listed in the book. Yes, it's THAT beautiful!

3. Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany

Being in Berlin was surreal. But seeing this site, took the cake! We walked through it, coming from the formerly Russian side of Berlin. To the left of this picture is the government building where they elected Hitler and next to that is a walkway that has monuments of those who had died trying to cross the wall. The last deaths were early in the year 1989. It's truly heartbreaking to stand infront of this gate a realize what atrocities people had lived through.

2. Washington, D.C. Monuments at night

One of the many great things about having a sister that lived in the DC area, was that she really, REALLY knew her way around that town! So, one of the days that we spent in DC, we hit the monuments at night. I was particularly moved by the Korean Memorial. The memorial itself is statues of soldiers marching along. At night, they look like ghosts. It's breathtaking. Seriously, check it out, if you can!

1. Jane Austen House and Museum

Jane is one of my best friends....she just doesn't know it, yet! So, there really are no words for my joy while being at her house! She was truly a remarkable sister, daughter, friend and author. The world has been made better because of her pen.

So, I hope you all enjoyed my extremely long post! I hope that you all have as many wonderful travel memories as I have made. I'm sure you do!

Also, I would like to thank Google Images. Without it, this post could not have been made.

Don't Cry Out Loud

2007-09-27T16:36:00.000-05:00

So, I don't know if some of you have noticed, but I have a list on my sidebar of "Things You Might Not Know About Me". Number 1 is "I'm a borderline hypochondriac." This just means that everytime I hear someone list symptoms of a disease, it freaks me out, because I usually have at least half of the symptoms! Then, I walk around for the next week or so, imagining my death bed and how my kids will survive without me, and whether or not Hubby will get re-married. Personally, I feel it's just a product of my over-active imagination. (I imagine Hubby dead on the side of the road, alot, if he's a few minutes late and won't answer his cell phone.)

But, I saw a commercial the other night that gave me pause. It was a commercial for Restasis, which is a medicine for people who have problems producing tears. My initial reaction was, "Oh no. What if I have Chronic Dry Eye? That would be so inconvenient!" And then, reality hit, and I just had to laugh at myself. Um, hello, Katrina! You cry at everything! I mean EVERYTHING! Anything that has any emotion behind it at all, and I'm gone! Whether it's people I'm interacting with (and let me tell you, that's always a little embarrassing!), or even more often, something on the TV. Even productions that are so blatantly manipulating you into feeling something, I swell with emotion, and my eyes let it loose! I cry at award shows, at commercials, and for some reason I even cried at that YouTube video of the Mom's William Tell overture. Don't ask why, cause I really don't know.

So, this is a relief. I don't have Chronic Dry Eye. Shwew! Now I just have to go battle my diabetes, anemia and ulcer. (All self-diagnosed, of course!)

2007-09-27T14:39:00.000-05:00

Michelle's new video reminded me of this fanvid! Today is Office Day! Woohoo! After over 4 months (139 days, but whose counting?) of waiting, today is finally here! Yippee! Go Team Pam!
">" border="0" alt="" />

Send Me an Angel

2007-09-25T00:07:00.001-05:00

So, here is something I copied from a design magazine. I was running out of space in my jewelry box. So, I went to Hobby Lobby (I'm getting embarrassed at how much I mention this store!) and bought these two little statues from their garden section.

The fleur de lis holds my necklaces, obviously, and the angel holds whatever I was wearing that day. I move things over to my jewelry box when she gets too cluttered. I really like having my necklaces on display, because it adds color to the room, but more importantly it reminds me of what I have to wear! I can also see what necklaces I haven't worn in a while, because they're on the bottom. That way they don't feel left out of the fun! And, hello! What's more fun than being on Katrina's neck? Well, OK. I can actually think of alot of things. But, whatever.

Fix You

2007-09-24T23:42:00.001-05:00

Yes, yes, yes. I've been a negligent blogger. But now I'm a repentant negligent blogger. So, y'all all have to practice forgiveness and completely forget the previous sentences! OK, done.

But, I have a good excuse for my negligence. (What negligence? You told us to forget those sentences!) Here is what I've been up too. First off, my updated fall arrangement. (I'm so lucky to have a Hobby Lobby open down the street from my house!)

I've wanted mirrors underneath the arrangement for a year, now. But it took me a while to figure out how to get that done. Problem solved with candle holders!

Next, my oldest daughter's room. Well, some of it.And here is a close up of the maps over her bed. Just $13 dollars! Thanks PB Teen for the inspiration!

And, finally, the slipcover that I mentioned in a previous blog about biting off more than I can chew! I'm very proud of this project, as it only cost me $15 dollars! We found the wing chair at a garage sale, and I recovered it with left over fabric. I even got the seller to through in the yellow toile pillow in for free! Yea me! (Also, the door in the background was the thing that I painted preparing for Mavens! I've been a busy bee! :D ) And, yes, that is a Jane Austen Action Figure in the background! Aren't you all jealous? ;)

So, now you can see what I've been up to. I'm a little crest fallen as I don't have any projects in the workings right now. I can actually say that I've done everything on my list! :O I guess I'll just have to make a new one!

A special thanks goes to Laurie for letting me borrow her camera and then emailing me the pics! I really need to get my camera fixed!

This Woman's Work

2007-09-24T22:12:00.000-05:00

So, tonight I finished Queen of Babble In the Big City. I love Meg Cabot. She gets better and better. I consider myself a little bit Becky Bloomwood who is actually not a Cabot creation, a little bit Lizzie Nichols , and a little bit Heather Wells . But Heather just for her size, not for her adept way of solving crimes.

So, my little Meggy (and, yes, I claim the right to call her Meggy!), has been trying something new with her series of books, both the Queen of Babble and Princess Diaries. I'm intrigued as to why she's venturing off her regular path. But whether it be from personal experimentation or publisher's breathing down her neck, I like the results. She leaves me craving more. And what else can we ask of our favorite authors? (Except Jane Austen. I don't want to crave more, because she's dead and can't satisfy that hunger. [Fan fiction doesn't count! ;)] )

Fall to Pieces

2007-09-19T10:26:00.000-05:00

Question of the Ages:
Why is it when you spend three days cleaning and doing projects that at the end, your house is messier than it was to begin with?

OK, well, maybe that's not the "Question of the Ages". That probably sounds more like, "What is our purpose in this life?" (http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/) But it's Katrina's "Question of the Day" just the same.

This week, I'm hosting our Mavens night. A fun Girls Night Out. (A GNO!) I haven't hosted in two years, because I was preempted by Rochelle's slumber party last year. So, I thought this would be a good time to finish up projects and show off my house! Yea! Or so I thought....

I've been working pretty much non-stop this whole week, and right now my house is a disaster zone! I sitting here taking a break after having repaired baby's crib, touch-up paint in the nursery, gone to Wal-Mart (but, really, that doesn't count, cause it's an everyday occurence), re-hung a frame on the mirror, vacuumed, done the dishes, organized the butler's pantry and put away tools! All before 10:30. You'd think that'd put a dent into the dicombobulation that is my house. But you'd be wrong.

To make matters worse (they can get worse?!), my camera broke last week, so I can't even take any pictures of before, after or even during!

OK, so I'm off to steam clean, dust, vacuum, organize, paint, and sew a slip cover! Ack! What have I gotten myself into?

Oh, and if any of you that are reading this are Mavens, disregard the above. My house always looks like it will on Thursday night. It takes no effort or work on my part. I lie around the house all day eating bonbons! ;)

Geek in the Pink

2007-09-17T11:31:00.000-05:00

This is the post where I come out of my Office closet. See, most of you have been deceived in just what kind of a fan I am. But I still have a little secret...I'm a much bigger flan than you've ever imagined!

Last night was the much anticipated (by me)Emmy Awards. Where the stars from the small screen come to bore us with their acceptance speeches listing people that we've never heard of before. Ah, especially this viewer who only tuned in to see all of her beloved Office stars accept the awards that they deserve. You can imagine, then, my dismay at The Office cast being shut out! :O As if these Emmy's weren't bad enough being on Fox (actually starting late because of FOOTBALL!!!), being in the round (Um, hello! Two-thirds of the audience will only see the backs of people!), and being hosted by Ryan Seacrest (who couldn't go 5 minutes without an American Idol reference). But there were three events that saved the night for me, and if you watched it, then you already know what I'm referring to!

First up, Steve Carell presenting an award:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i65n4yLYXs4

At least we got some cute footage of the cast!

But then there was this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW33vtwx5mk

Watching Kanye West giggle at Rainn makes me lose it every time!

And finally, vindication!

This is Greg Daniels, Executive Producer and creater of the American version of The Office. He won "Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series". (And I'm gonna admit that I totally knew everyone he listed in his acceptance speech!) So, I'm proud that my favorite show took home something. (Actually they won two editing awards in the Creative Arts Emmys that never air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj6NGB6gfKQ

Now, here's some pics of my fav actors all pretty-fied!

Jenna, poor thing, broke 4 vertebrae in her back this last spring. She said she had to choose a dress that let her lower back be free. Personally, I love it!!!

Is it just me, or did John get some tips from George during his filming of Leatherheads? Mmmm, yummy!
Angela always surprises me by how pretty she is!Mindy's looking fab here! Her body is rockin! She must've lost at least twenty pounds this past year!The lovely Melora, who's always a little daring! I was this close to not showing a picture of Rashida Jones, but she really looked beautiful! I just have the hardest time liking her, because I hate her character so much!

Talk Talk

2007-09-11T17:18:00.000-05:00

Our littlest one is adding lots of words to her vocab. Over Labor Day we went to our favorite hotel and she added two new ones: im-poop and butt. Read: swimsuit and button (for the elevator). I'm not exactly sure why she chooses potty words to represent normal things, but, whatever!

She's getting very good at letting you know exactly what she wants. Today in the store, she wanted to be entertained. She put her hands on her head and said, "Een toe", which means, "Mom, could you please sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes while I do the actions?" She mostly pats her head until you get to the face part and she just goes straight to the nose. But, she's very proud of herself, so don't ever let her know that she's missing some parts!

Fast Car

2007-09-08T18:47:00.000-05:00

So, here's the foot update: it's NOT broken! Yea!!! The doctor said that I must be drinking my milk (which I totally do). But, there is a contusion. So, I've had to lie around the house this weekend with my foot propped up. My lovely parents came and helped me out yesterday. It was great because navigating those stairs has been difficult, especially if I'm lugging around the little one!

So, today I've been taking it easy. My friend and I went shopping in the morning, cause I was feeling better, but we quickly realized that was a mistake! :O

My van's battery died today. We've had a string of breakdowns this summer and we're ready for a new car! We're hoping to make it a couple more months, but by the end of this year I will be driving either this.

Or this.So, it's between the Mazda CX-9 or the Honda Pilot. The girls vote for the Pilot, because apparently the Mazda's wheels look silly. Which one do you think?

Bad Day

2007-09-06T20:27:00.000-05:00

So, I had a pretty horrible day that started with a broken foot (I'll go to the doctor tomorrow, but I'm thinking it has to be broken!)and ended with a car accident. Luckily, the car wasn't hurt, nor any of the kids. Ugh. (Ask Rochelle if you want more details, she was there.)

But in between horribleness was a cute interchange between my girl and Gracie.

A:(crying)I want Gracie to live with us!

Grace: But I'll miss my family if I live with you. Maybe you can live with me.

A: But I'll miss my family if I live with you.

G: But my dad is funnier than your dad.

A: My dad smells.

G: My whole family smells!

Ahhh, gotta love 4-year olds!

P.S. This is an old picture. It's actually the first day of preschool, last year!

The Display's the Thing to Catch the King- Act II

2007-09-06T13:51:00.000-05:00

Here is fall. It was very exciting to get all this out and not spend any money! (Since last fall, almost all of it was new, including the two hurricanes.)

School Daze

2007-09-05T11:51:00.000-05:00

So, yesterday was the first day of preschool for my middle girl. She was excited. She wanted to take pictures out front just like her bigger sister, and a video, too. (Here, she is waving to Gracie, the only way I could get a true smile out of her!)

The past few days she's been cracking me up. On the way to the preschool open house, she took a little tumble while walking to the car. When we were driving there she said, "Mom, my dress has a green spot. And it tastes like grass!" :O

While at the open house, she was in the back playing. There is this cute little boy in her class. Last year, she would come home and say, "[insert boy name here] dresses like a girl." For a while, I thought some little boy was being sent to school in inappropriate clothing. But, then I realized that instead of dressing up like Spiderman during play time, he was in the princess dresses with the rest of the girls. Anyway, at the open house last week, I looked into the back room. My girl, totally straight-faced, was just pointing to the boy who was in full-on princess regalia, head to toe! She just wanted me to know that she was right!

In Your Room

2007-08-30T12:29:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems like alot of bloggers are posting pics of their house. My turn! This is my latest project. It's not exactly finished, but everything else will have to be slowly added. I think I've mentioned before that we separated the two older girls from sharing a room. I had to give up my sewing room for my middle girl, but seeing the finished product, I think it was worth it!

This is her door. My oldest has a turquoise star on her's.

It took me all summer to figure out what to do with the window. I wanted a sort of canopy, since my oldest was getting one, too. (And you know everything has to be "fair". )

This is the bookcase that I'm trying trying to find baskets for. The ultimate goal is to transfer all the toys into their rooms.