See ya!

I'm off to California to tempt my fate with the swine flu, although now it looks like it's everywhere. I'm taking all the precautions so please don't worry about me. ....Oh you weren't? Well um... okay.

I got a pedicure on my way home from work and I'm pretty sure the technicians were talking about how gross my feet were the whole time. Especially since I haven't had a pedicure in like a year. When I got home I gave Issy one, since that's what girls do together. Okay, no I didn't. I just know how much you guys like to see Issy in shoes.

A short post but I have much to do. Have a great weekend and check back tomorrow for a different sort of 'Flashback Friday!'

This little piggy went to California, this little piggy stayed home

I'm traveling to California in a few days to visit a friend and I'm a tad bit apprehensive about this swine flu. I'm definitely a hypochondriac so I'm taking precautions. By boss told me his doctor said to put Neosporin in and around your nose...I'm on it. I also gchatted my girlfriend yesterday for more info about the situation down there and this is what she said:

me: What are they saying about swine flu down there....is anyone worried?

Chelsi: when you step off the plane, you will be doused with an anti flu wash... don't be alarmed... it's for your own safety!

me: you're joking right?

Chelsi: haha! of course i am you dork!

me: okay that was a good one.

Chelsi: haha! i'm pretty clever.

Please excuse the goopy nose full of Neosporin when I arrive this week. It's for my own protection. Actually they may not let me on the plane at all thinking I have some sort of virus. Especially when I fall asleep with my mouth closed and blow a huge snot/antiseptic bubble...

Obama...please buy me a Prius

Yesterday was a freak out day. This time it was about the economy and the world. My coworker was telling me she saw the movie 'Earth' this weekend (the one about the 3 animal families, and their journey). She said it was really neat, but sad for obvious reasons...then she proceeded to tell me about the polar bear family and the melting ice and I just lost it. I don't want to think about polar bears swimming for days because they can't find any ice to land on. And then when they finally do, dying because they can't find food. Oh f...I just ruined it for you. Sorry. Anyway...the image stuck with me all day. Did you know there is a garbage swirl the size of Texas in the ocean? I heard that on Oprah on Earth day. I can't handle it. I need a Prius asap.

I've decided to grow more food this summer in our garden (which would involve weeding the garden and planting things...sigh). Except then my neighbor told me that you shouldn't use pressure treated wood for your raised beds because they have arsenic or something in them...I can't win. I'll have to fence up my arsenic veggies this year because Charlie tends to sit in the garden and gorge himself on cherry tomatoes and peas....we don't call him Chubby Charlie for nothing.

Here is a beautiful (recycled) backyard retreat that I found in Sunset Magazine. I love overgrown gardens like this one. I should just over plant...or let the weeds take over (which seems to be what I'm doing at the moment). This little shed and the paths surrounding were built with salvaged materials by Lisa Phipps and her husband in Port Orchard, Washington.

Okay, can someone please go out in my yard and make this happen? And then come over every weekend and keep it up? I"ll feed you and then my husband will wash your car. That would be lovely, thank you.

More gardens to love...

Uhhh...Robert Pattinson...what are you doing in my fantasy garden? What was in that bird cage? Did you eat the bird??!...You look like kinda giddy like you just ate the bird...

These are all photos from my personal file and I can't remember where they came from. So sorry...couldn't you just curl up and live in them?

Bald heads and other life distractions...

Let me tell you...what a weekend. It went a little like this...


Friday night Bryan and I met up with our friends Kipp and Sarah for dinner at The Keg (no photos, the room was too dark). Let me tell you people, The Keg is getting classy. All the hostesses wear swanky little black dresses and they have gas fireplaces...who knew. After dinner Sarah and I ditched the boys and headed out for a rowdy visit to Trader Joe's to pick up a few items. Sarah is working on feeding her kids organic and they don't have a TJ's in their neighborhood. The checkout guy started chatting us up a little something like this:

Checkout Guy #1: Are you ladies going out on this fine Friday evening? (I can't remember exactly what he said, but it was something like that)

Me: Uhhh, this is it, this is our Friday evening.

Checkout Guy #2: Oh ya! Headed out to cruise the Gilman strip?

Me: Yep, headed out to find a couple Microsoft employees...

We went back to my place with our goodies to find the guys watching Step Brothers, then Sarah gave me a haircut. Friday nights are rough after a long week but it was nice to see friends we haven't seen since Christmas!

Saturday I met up with Erin for yoga from hell. It was a freestyle class, so there were a few poses I had never done. One in particular that made me lose my drishti. You see...the class was packed and I was in between Erin and Sasquatch. I will never understand (and I'm sure they don't either) why some men have a mass amount of body hair and nothing on their head. I probably would not have noticed this man at all had his ass not been 6 inches away from my face, but it was...so there you have it. Well we did a lovely little swaparoo from pigeon straight into frog. It basically looked like this...

I had my head down and I was looking through my legs praying that this man would not look up and straight into my soul. I was focusing on his bald, sweaty head so I could shoot him a warning glare if he happened to glance and then I started having flashbacks of my nephews birth. You know, sweaty bald head...legs spread...pain...you get the idea. And there you have it...drishti gone. Then, to make matters worse...we did frog on the other side. So now I was face to ass with him. I held my breath and kept my head down. When the teacher gave the okay to switch positions I tried to lift my head only to find that my pony tail was stuck under HIS STINKY BARE FOOT! Not cool. I had to lie there until Mr. Cul de Sac decided he had enough. Lovely.

Later that afternoon Bryan and I took the dogs to a retention pond near the dog park for a swim. Issy will swim forever, she loves balls (what a lady) but Charlie is my little mountain goat and all he wants to do is eat grass. Occasionally he will stick his nose in the water and blow bubbles then try to catch them. Not the smartest of the pack. Then we hit Home Depot for a few things because Bryan was going to sturdy up the carport. What else is there to do on a Saturday when you're married????

Kathy enjoying the hot soccer players

From there I met up with Bryan's Sister and Mom and headed to the Elysian Fields Brew Company for some food and then to the Sounder's game. Erin lured me there with promises of hot soccer players. And there were a few that did not disappoint! It was a good game, and we won...which seems rare for a Seattle team (yes okay, let me have it...I'm a fair weather fan). So much more interesting than baseball. Thanks for the invite Kathy! Afterwards Bryan and I went to my friend Jeff's place for a Snuggy party. Sadly, we left our Snuggies at home. Jeff accessorized his Snuggy with a bottle of lotion (that he velcroed on) and a box of tissues. Oh come on, get your mind out of the gutter. It was a cold and allergy Snuggy...riighht. Well if you knew Jeff this wouldn't surprise you at all.

Lauren and Jeff

Lauren and Jeff Snuggy dancing

Oh and I forgot the piece de resistance. While we were out to dinner on Saturday night, Bryan called me with some news! Our carport collapsed. Yep, collapsed. We'd been having problems with it since the heavy snows this season and it finally caved. Thank god Bryan was not standing under it, or that my car was not under it.

What do you think of Mr. Paul Bunyan? Kinda hot in a weird sorta Pacific NW hiker kinda way

Here he is doing a donkey kick...love my little Ass

Sunday we went to lunch to celebrate Bryan's cousin's graduation from college at BluWater Bistro. Yum. Then back to the house to do yard work and dismantle the carport.

Hope your weekend was as exciting as mine...minus the bald soul stealing frog man and carport collapse...but all the rest of the good stuff. Happy Monday!

Flashback Friday: Never a Bride...

I think I've finally figured out why I'm so infatuated with weddings ...

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BECAUSE I WAS ALWAYS THE GROOM!!!!!!

Which is why I always want to put on my wedding dress and take photos (much to Bryan's dismay). I'm not crazy...I'm deprived.

Happy Friday!

TMI Father's edition...and lots 'o' links

A friend of mine shared this link to "Fmylife" a while back. It is pretty freaking funny.

I also like to look at "Postcards from Yo Momma" from time to time because it reminds me of some of the emails and conversations I've had with my parents.

In honor of Live it, Love it's Too Much Information Thursdays I thought I would share an email from my Dad that I received in College. It's a conservative TMI, but I figured I'd ease the group in slowly. I also submitted it at one point to Postcards from Yo Momma...although I doubt it was ever published.

You should be studying instead of looking at junk on the computer. Did you have a good long weekend? Is your boyfriend still there or did he come back? College life is a different lifestyle! Oh speaking of lifestyles..You should not leave the empty wrappers under the bed. But..It's a good thing you're being cautious!!!!

Luv Daddio-o-o-o

and this conversation:

Dad: Did you guys use the hot tub this weekend?

Me: Yes.

Dad: Did you wear bathing suits?

Me: Yes.

Dad: Then whose swim trunks are on the deck?

Me: Well I was wearing a bathing suit.

Gotta love Daddio-o-o-o. Happy Thursday!

How I feel...or FELT

No no, I'm not going to bore you with anymore of the inner workings of my head. Not today anyway.

I've had a thing for felted goods ever since I saw these cute little acorns on Etsy. And wouldn't you know it, there is an entire world of fun felted goodies out there. They all look so cozy. I want them.

Felted's Shop

Martha Stewart

Maisy and Alice's Shop

ColAreto's Shop

Blueberrie's Shop

Beehive Knits Shop

More Etsy love...

And then I made the mistake of utilizing the search toolbar. Some how Issy bumped my arm and I typed 'dresses'.

Lamixx's Shop

Amanda Archer's Shop

Amanda Archer's Shop

Econica's Shop

Come on...let's boost the economy. I can't do it alone!

Possible Mother's Day gift?

The summer after my freshman year of college my parents gave me the best gift ever. They went to Europe for a month and left me home alone. They said "please don't have any parties." And I said "I'm going to have parties." And I did, but nothing too wild. Please, I was the golden child. If you don't count my grades or the number of times I was grounded. About a week before they were due to come home I decided to have one last party. My friend Brandon was visitng from Canada so I thought it would be an easy way to introduce him to all my friends. I noticed there were a few people c-walking in the living room (I know, we were pretty cool) and I said to a friend... "friend, we should move that coffee table before it gets broken." Why I didn't move it for the first party I'll never know.





Well this was a special coffee table that my Dad had gifted to my Mom. It was just like the photo above, only hollow and green...don't ask me why it was green. I lifted the glass piece over my head and started through the kitchen. I turned around just in time to see the bear portion crumble in my friend Cory's arms when he picked it up. It was surreal...but it's the truth. I immediately lost my buzz and turned to panic mode. My parents would be home in one week.





I spent the next day calling around to see if I could buy another bear table, only to find that it had been discontinued. When I told the guy at The Bon Marche (that's right, it was still The Bon) what happened, he told me I better come up with a better story than that. Then he told me that they had the same table in stock...only with dolphins. Thanks Sir, I think my Mom might notice. I broke the news (and the bear) to them when they came home from their trip. They didn't believe me, still don't really. But I'm sticking to my guns. That is how it happened.

I vowed one day to make it up to my parents...and I think I've found the perfect replacement. Yesterday while reading Decorno's blog (I love her blog, and you should too) I came across this beauty that someone found on Craigslist.




image via Decorno





Mom, just say the word and the table is yours! Happy Mother's Day!

When cellphones die...do they go to Ellensburg?

On Sunday I left my iphone at the GAP outlet in North Bend...and someone jacked it. I was already feeling out of touch with the world because some how the light on my dashboard went out and I couldn't see what the temperature was (technology has ruined me)...so I started screwing with the buttons and I messed up the clock. So I didn't know how hot it was outside, and I had no idea what time it was. I was a wreck. When I got home, Bryan continuously called it leaving messages for a reward, etc. Then things turned nasty and he started sending threatening texts.

Meanwhile, I went next door to attend a tea party for Annabelle's 8th birthday. I was the only 26 year old in attendance. It definitely wasn't a mixer and I knew I wouldn't meet anyone with common interests...unless you count my taste in books, but it gave me a chance to wear my pink skirt and eat fairy finger foods. Plus I love my neighbors. While I was there I got many phone updates from Bryan who had decided to drive to the GAP outlet and rummage through the stacks of clothing where I had told him I set my things down. He got in a little fight with the staff because he was messing up their displays, and they wouldn't let him look at their surveillance tapes. He loves confrontation. On the way home he stopped by AT&T and bought me a new phone with his upgrade. My knight in shining armour.

Later Bryan's family came over for a little bbq and Andrew and Chelsea's dog Buster came to play. We never got to mowing the lawn due to the phone mishap, but it was nice to break out the patio furniture for the summer. After everyone left Bryan received a call from The Palace restaurant in Ellensburg that someone had left the phone in one of the booths. I'm wondering if they are reading any of those texts Bryan left.





Okay, that was a busy Sunday... On Saturday Bryan and I drove to Portland to move my friend Kaitlyn to her new place. Kaitlyn has finally broken down and is reading the Twilight books (I'm no longer pushing them on anyone else because I can not watch the movie one more time, or discuss the logistics of being a vampire. I mean...unless you really want to.) So anyhoo, we're talking about the book and I happen to glance up the hill and see the school where they filmed Twilight! (Seriously...it's a problem)...

Me: "I think that's the school from the movie"
K: "I thought it was filmed in Oregon"
Me: "Aren't we in Oregon?"
K: "No, we're still in Washington"
Me: "No we're not"
K: "Yes we are"
Me: googling on my iphone..."oh, the school is in Kalama, Washington. We should turn around.

So we took a little detour up the the high school. I know, it's sick...but it was fun. Next I'm going to look for The Goonies house when we drive through Astoria. I took photos, but they're on my phone in Ellensburg...plus I look wide in the picture.

The move went really well. We walked around the neighborhood a little and even saw a man riding his bike pulling his two kids singing "these are the people in your neighborhood..." it was adorable. Good luck in Portland Kaitlyn and thanks for lunch! On the way home we had some pretty funny conversations because we were so tired. But this post is getting too long, so I'll save them for another day.

Friday night we walked the dogs and watched Slumdog Millionaire. I loved it. I couldn't get enough of the young Jamal and Salim. So adorable. Bryan made a lot of comments about it looking like Microsoft. I think I want to adopt a baby from India.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. If you received any obscene texts or calls from me. I apologize. But I also want to know what they say!

Flashback Friday: Abuse...

I didn't post yesterday. Instead Kaitlyn and I watched a movie (can't say which one...) and had pizza, wine and cupcake royal.

I thought I would make it up to you by posting this ugliness for flashback friday. This photo is proof I was abused. Your parents let you dress yourself (thank god I'm not wearing the seal t-shirt), then they don't let you get the glasses you want. Instead they make you get the E.T. brand glasses so you're forever scared of aliens. It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't already have a hair helmet. And to top it off I was a binge eater.

**Note to self: if you ever have children, don't let them look like Alvin and the Chimpmunks.

***Update: Mom, I decided not to call CPS because I remembered it was the 80's. You're off the hook.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Is a trailer park an investment?

image via The New York Times

I may or may not have agreed to live in a trailer in the near future. And not a cozy little airstream...because we'd probably kill each other in such confined spaces. We would like to build a house in the future, and Bryan occasionally drools over raw land. Well he has been talking about it more and more lately and combining it with the "and we'll put a trailer on it while we build." I'm perfectly fine with this...if there is an end date in sight. I will not indefinitely move into a trailer. But when we do, we're going to have a kick ass white trash party. Bring your tents!

So now I'm thinking I need to find the perfect house plans. We've been struggling. Both the layout and the exterior are very important to me. And I tend to like symmetry...but don't want too much of it. I'm a difficult girl...I've been told many times. I want that Martha Stewart feeling when I drive up the drive way. So here are few that I've had my eye on. *Please note that I do not pay much attention to square footage...

This one is called The Jefferson

Both Bryan and I liked the exterior (use your imagination now...most likely gray shake if we have the money...and black windows maybe? Thicker columns in front for sure...and absolutely no stained glass oval window...but round window..yes!) and layout. Although now I am a bit over the 2 story great room.

The Parnell by Alan Mascord Designs

I originally fell in love with this one...again, please use your imagination. This baby is 5,000 square feet! I talked to the plan people about how to hack it down. The 5,000 doesn't even include the detached garage and MIL apartment. Ruled out...but if I can afford custom plans I may revisit. I can barely decorate 1,100 square feet.

Hello! Who doesn't want a craft room and a sunroom...heaven. No Mom I'm not thinking about dusting and vacuuming right now.

The Fitzgerald from Donald A. Gardner Architects

I think it has a nice look...

image via Country Living

I think this one is very grand and interesting. I wouldn't want the century details...but then again, sometimes I do like it.

Blahh, this is going to be really hard...but dreaming is half the fun!