Project Time

We had such a lovely Sunday. While DT watched football, I sat outside and made this little project that I first saw on Pinterest. I ventured over to October Afternoon for the full tutorial.

I just used this frame the way it was instead of painting it. I found the best frame shop on Amazon. It's called The Rusty Roof, and I even once found a pink frame in odd dimensions from this shop. I have a blue one that I bought, too, and I can't decide if I want to hang on to it for something else or use it for this same project.

My original idea was to hang people's Christmas cards in the frame, but then I realized that most Christmas cards are much larger than what will fit in here. So, I decided that I'm gong to order vintage Christmas postcard printables from Etsy and make a little vintage Christmas scene. I need to get photo paper before I do that, though. In the meantime, these photo booth pictures will serve the purpose of filling in the frame until Christmastime. And I think the bottom row that hangs over the edge of the frame looks weird, so I will do without that when I hang it for real.

All you do is strategically place eight screws in the back of the frame, and two on top for the hanger. {DT helped me with the power tools this time.} Then you wrap the twine around the screws, and I also added a dab of super glue to each knot just for peace of mind. Grab some mini clothespins...and ta-da!

Note: this will be hung indoors...I just happened to have a nail sticking out of the stucco on our patio that I used for taking pictures.

Then We Came to the End

Finally, I finished a book. This book...the one I've been working on literally for months. I was so wrapped up in other things {like the many makeovers you've seen on this blog} that I haven't been able to fit in much reading time.

It was a really good book written in an unusual style, and it was uniquely humorous. Sometimes in a pretty dark way. Here's the lowdown: It's based in an advertising agency in downtown Chicago during a time of layoffs, kind of like what most businesses have been experiencing in the last few years. But it was based in a time before the current recession.

You don't get to know many of the characters too intimately, but you begin to understand their interactions with one another. And you realize how the threat of layoffs can really do a number on the psyche of everybody involved. The people in the book begin do weird things...except the things they do make perfect sense because everybody's so distraught.

Not everybody survives {like literally, some people lose their lives, not just their jobs}, but a nice wrap-up in the end shows how everybody {among those still alive} come out on the other side much happier than they were when they were fearing for their jobs.

This book has me believing that money really is at the root of all evil. It causes people to do crazy things that make them miserable or are harmful to themselves and others. And it makes me wonder why people stay in miserable jobs just for the money {hmmmmmm}. It also has me hoping that this stupid recession really is on its way out of town. I've heard so many awful stories about people I know, and some that I do not, that have been caused by the recession. The United States, and the entire human race, is ready for a time of prosperity, you stupid recession. Move on out.

A Win for the Good Guys

We found out this week that DT was supposed to leave again on Saturday afternoon, effectively ruining the weekend. We kicked off Saturday morning by meeting the guys at a park so they could play disc golf and I could walk the dogs and read a book. But on the way home from the park, DT received a call that the instructor that he was supposed to fly with had called in sick, and so his trip was postponed. That was awesome.

It's a good thing DT stuck around because Saturday ended up being jam-packed with fun-filled activities. We headed to Zipp's in the afternoon to meet up with our pals. DT was in absolute heaven. Back in our younger years, we made twice, sometimes thrice, weekly trips to our neighborhood Zipp's to indulge in some golden medium wings and very large, very cheap beers. It was like the good ol' days. After that, we headed to the Salt River Fields for the hot air balloon display. I had a great time snapping photos of the kids and taking Baby H down the slide. 

{Doesn't DT have the best eyelashes and the sweetest eyes?}

DT and I headed out from there pretty quickly to attend the Shawds' Halloween Party taking place across the street. I brought back this sweet number from nine Halloweens ago. 

I remember that it was that long ago because it was the first Halloween that I was 21, and Nora and I dressed together as a farmer and a cow. I'm pretty sure we walked home from 4th Ave. that night and felt pretty certain that none of the nine sex offenders living in our zip code would be targeting us, what with the plethora of scantily clad women running around Tucson for them to choose from. Safety in being {more than} fully-clothed!

The cow was such a hit that I wore it for plenty of other fraternity parties and date dashes where all the other girls had on hardly more than a bra and underwear. I think it made an impression on many a Wildcat over the course of two years.

We have plenty more family Halloween fun to look forward to today, and once that's over, I will be in full-on holiday mode. I have an entire room filled with craft ideas for the holidays, so stay tuned over the next couple months to find out what I create. {No guarantees it'll be anything good.}

PhotoBooth Fun

We really were not that cute

If you haven't seen the famous ugly baby picture, then you don't really know me. And that's okay. Just prepare yourself.

DT fared much better than I...but his photographer really knew how to capture a look.

But things improved for both of us with the passing of time. More on that later.

Retail Therapy

Remember how I told you that my relationship with Friday was Love/Hate? For the last few months, the hours I spend at work on Fridays have pretty consistently been the worst of my entire week by like a million-fold. Today was no exception. In fact, it was worse than normal.

When I got home and DT asked what I wanted for dinner, I responded with, "Dinner is the last thing I care about right now." Only retail therapy could heal me.

I totally missed the window to compete in the ModCloth contest today {hello ModCloth...some people actually work between 10am and 1pm PST}, but I will be purchasing this jacket as soon as it's released for sale. I have had awesome self-control since the start of the budget last month, but today I allowed myself to digress because I deserve it. And though the feeling is short-lived, retail therapy really does make everything better.

While I was still basking in my shopping high, my dog ran away. We found him frolicking with the neighbor's horses. But I got to see my nephews for a few minutes, and I'm so relieved that Joe came home, so now I feel good. I guess I am hungry now. What's for dinner?

Thursday afternoon, I cherish you

I am home, and a whole afternoon is ahead of me. It's the only time during the week that this happens. If you're a homebody like me, you know that that is an amazing feeling. And you wanna know what else? DT is home, too. Rare and sweet. We are sitting on the patio because the weather is {finally} cool and gorgeous. 

{He is being dexterous and building Star Wars Legos.}

{I am eating and writing.}

Despite what you may think, I really do love life {when I'm not at work and/or thousands of miles from my husband.}

Gearing Up

It's that time of the week again...the one that seems to roll around all to often. I'm feeling refreshed and renewed with only a couple minor things on my to-do list for the week. My heart was heavy going to bed last night without my husband. He had been home with me for TWO WHOLE WEEKS, so I had to re-learn my routine for being alone, distracting myself once again with TV, books, magazines, blogs, etc. Luckily this comes pretty naturally for me.

As DT ate his oatmeal yesterday morning, I took this picture of him. Please notice the number of stripes on his shoulder {and the fact that he finally shaved his face}. He is in the finishing stretches of becoming a real, live captain. What a stud.

Now I'm off to deal with what has become a 15-minute process to leave the house. See, we have one bad smoke alarm, and since they are all interconnected, they keep sounding off intermittently. Not chirping, like seriously alerting us of a fire that does not exist. We are in the process of replacing the bad alarm, but until then, I've flipped the switch on the circuit breaker that powers the alarms so that I don't go crazy in my own home. What I'm learning is that this is also turning off the power to other essential areas of the house, like the garage door opener and the water heater {I learned that one the hard way this morning}. So, in order to get the car out of the garage and leave the house through a door that will allow the security system to function properly, I have developed a very time-consuming, lengthy scheme. Wish me luck.

Party Favorites

For the full album, click here. But otherwise, here's a brief overview of one of the top three most fantastic nights of my life.

For my 30th Birthday, I wanted karaoke, costumes, a pinata, and pasta. Thanks to my family, I got all of those things plus a photo booth, which might have been the coolest part of the night. Everything went off without a hitch. Here's the evidence.

My dad's masterful placement of the spiderwebs.

Our duet to Adam Lambert.

Steph and me bringing back the '90's...our glory days.

Dad and me singin' country.

If we had remembered to do a costume contest, Michael and Rebecca would have won something...maybe most creepy?

Yay, for 30!

Mama Cass (still upright), Katy Perry (on the floor), and Cher (halfway down).

The Pilots' Wives.

My fellow DBDers!

I heard that I almost took out Dylan while swinging for the pinata.
Blindfold + baseball bat + large group of people = dangerous.

I went to town on that thing when it finally hit the ground.

Cher, Katy Perry, and Posh (?) Spice make an excellent trio.

The late night crew was rewarded with 'staches.

The rock stars of my night. I find that it's so easy to get wrapped up in the stuff that makes you cranky all week (especially for me) and lose sight of what's important. Too often family is taken for granted. But when they put in a tremendous effort to make you happy, it makes you realize that they are what life is all about. You are the best. Thanks, guys!

Head on over to The Palmer Post to check out the sweet birthday tribute from my sister-in-law and a picture of me holding her precious, tiny baby.

Oh.my.WORD

Turning 30 ROCKS. I haven't had that much fun since my wedding.

We had a Halloween Costume Birthday Party at the house last night, and I didn't see one bad costume. Everybody looked awesome.

My costume was Katy Perry. Do you see a resemblance?

My mom sewed the jacket and the skirt. I couldn't have pulled off this look without her. She also cooked an ENTIRE dinner for over 40 people last night, almost single-handedly. Basically, she's awesome.

Katy and Bono make a lovely couple, no?

My dear, loving DT also surprised me with a photo booth, complete with two ladies who made sure everybody took at least one picture and who also constructed an entire scrapbook of the night on-site. INCREDIBLE.

When I figure out why the connection between the computer and the scanner has failed, I will put up some photo booth shots.

I had some pretty detailed specifications for this party, and my parents and husband put in so much time and effort to produce just what I wanted. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

And thanks to everyone who made the trek out here. Hope you had fun!

{More pictures to come.}

Love/Hate

Friday always disappoints me. I feel good and ready to get a break from that thing I do every day that completely zaps the life from me, and so I wake up feeling excited, but it never ends up being a very good day until it's time to head home. Then I am cranky {and get called my well-deserved nickname, Angry Lu}.

But today I had to make a quick stop at Total Wine on my way home to find some things that DT just couldn't get at Safeway. There, a nice man gave me a complementary "sample" of Cruz tequila {and offered me another, but I declined} while I was roaming the aisles, and then another nice man helped me pick out a bunch of minis for my pinata. Then the cashier told me happy birthday when she checked my ID.

Thanks Total Wine for turning this frown upside-down and reminding me that it is the best time of the week. I think I'll have a glass of wine to celebrate.

Sushi Week

Last night was my birthday happy hour with my aunts and cousins. We all get one for each of our birthdays, and they're very nicely spaced out, so it means we get to see each other relatively frequently. I was very pleasantly surprised with the Stingray Sushi happy hour. They had their Las Vegas and Dragon rolls on HH for $5, and the spicy tuna was only $3. With drink specials to boot. Two thumbs up.

{This sushi night will be followed by a sushi lunch at work tomorrow, in honor of two sushi-lovin' birthday people.}

While the ladies enjoyed a drink, every male member of our family teamed up to watch the baby nephews. I received a couple pictures from the night, but this one of The Baby Whisperer is my favorite.

DT is a natural. I suffered from baby intimidation until very recently, but he never had a problem with it. Kristin even said that she caught DT calmly explaining to Baby H that raisins are for eating, not for putting in your nose. If I could give my husband a superlative, it would be Best All Around. 

Whataya Want From Me

Currently, DT and I are in the midst of a major karaoke sesh in our family room. After belting out Bad Romance he's since moved on to another Lady Gaga hit...Alejandro. I interjected with a P!nk number at one point, just to keep things interesting. And I think Adam Lambert is on deck.

Karaoke while blogging and checking email: that's multi-tasking at it's finest. But we have so much to do, and being properly prepared for karaoke this Saturday is at the top of our list of important things to accomplish.

This moment right now is the highlight of my day. It wasn't a very good one overall. Just one of those where you're so mentally exhausted you don't even want to extend the effort to interpret the color of the traffic lights on your way home. But I also received this in the mail, which further helped to brighten my mood.

It was an impulse buy on Amazon. A fly buzzed in my ear and woke me up at 2am one night {seriously}, and then I couldn't fall back asleep, and I ended up cruising the net and pulling the trigger on this book that had been on my Wish List forever.

Anyways, I didn't have very many pleasant things to write on my one line for today, but that just means that when I get to this same page next year I'll just have to have a much better day to make up for it.

Weekend Media Wrap-up {10.16.11}

"I have three words for you: Treat Yo Self."

-Tom Haverford

{photo credit: ugo}

Parks & Recreation continues as the front runner in leaving the biggest impression on me for the week. The Office was particularly good, too. Except that I don't understand how not one, but two, women want to name their unborn child Phillip. I'm all about traditional names, but some are better than others. Pam has a good excuse- it's her grandfather's name. For Angela, it's her favorite cat's name. Not so excusable. {I'm a name-obsessed person.}

I'd also like to highlight the new ABC series, Revenge. I'm not typically a fan of mystery/action type shows, but I do love Emily VanCamp. Her performances in Everwood and Brothers and Sisters were impressive, and so far I've really enjoyed Revenge. Plus, it's based in The Hamptons, and I always find shows about rich people to be entertaining.

I received Good Housekeeping, Phoenix, AZ Highways, O, and Real Simple in the mail this week. Some of these I have not even touched yet. What I find peculiar is that Good Housekeeping sent me their September issue. If I'm calculating this correctly, I think they're about two months behind. Perhaps it's because I purchased the subscription for only $5. {Thanks for the tip on that one, E. Natale.}

Oprah has me pretty convinced that I'm at about stage 3 of 5 on feeling burned out based on one of her articles. And I just flipped through about half of my Real Simple while working on rehydrating from last night. My favorite page featured a bunch of nail polish colors for winter, and I also enjoyed the feature on winter outfits with pieces under $100. The people who write Real Simple think these outfits are inexpensive, but most things are still out of my price range. A few jackets and other items will be going on my Amazon Wish List, however.

And lastly, my friends Steph and Kath were able to get on the list for the Design*Sponge book signing in Austin, and they were kind enough to send me a picture of Steph holding the treasured book. {I debated posting said picture, but decided Steph might regret having sent it to me if I did, so I decided against it.} Grace has been to so many cities for this book signing, and I'm a little hurt that she didn't put Phoenix on her tour. But I guess I don't really blame her.

{photo credit: Design*Sponge}

Divide and Conquer

Our Saturday plans became very convoluted, and I blame it on the corporate aviation industry who aims to make the lives of everybody involved with it very unstable. Yesterday was Luna's 2nd Birthday Party, and last night was Melissa and Kevin's wedding. At first DT could go, then he couldn't go, then he could. Knowing first-hand how incredibly aggravating it is for your wedding guest list to waver just days before the wedding, I had put DT down as a "No" and just kept it that way. But since he ended up being in town, he took off for Luna's birthday, and I took off to third-wheel it with J&K for the wedding. As if we don't spend enough time apart anyways, I had to go it alone again. Not ideal, but okay.

So, K drove J and me to the wedding at Stonebridge Manor, and it was very beautiful. I had lots of fun with my co-workers at cocktail hour, and then when it was time to be seated, we had one empty seat at the table. I texted DT..."you should come, I have a seat for you." So he put his suit on and made the 40 mile trek out to Mesa just in time for the dancing to begin.

And boy, did we dance. I think I got more exercise from dancing than from anything else I did all week. I busted out moves that nobody's ever even seen before. It was awesome. I only came home with one picture from the night that Rowell had texted to me.

Double fisting water. That's how extreme this was.

After the reception, DT brought me home safe and sound, and I managed to peel off my dress and rinse off in the shower before climbing into bed.

Now, I must focus on re-hydrating and retrieving my car that resides in J&K's carport 30 miles away.

Thanks for having us at your wedding, Wiggles! You looked beautiful, and everything was perfect. And thanks to J&K for letting me team up with them {again}.

The Fall of Men

Every morning, I turn on the news or The Today Show {whichever happens to be playing depending on if I work late or early} to keep me company while I get ready. This week on Today, a lady that writes for The Atlantic was discussing with Ann the reasons why so many women are choosing to remain single these days. It was very, very interesting, and though not applicable to my life, I was captivated by the reasons for the changing social norms.


I found Katie Bolick's column, All the Single Ladies, on The Atlantic's website and read several articles about why, basically, women are so much better than men in today's world. I am not a feminist by any stretch of the imagination...hence the incessant complaining about going to work every day and wishing I could prepare a good, home-cooked meal every now and then. But, I was fascinated by the statistics she presented.


Deep down, I've always known that women were harder workers and better at applying themselves at school. When I was in pharmacy school, all of the colleges at the Medical University were dominated by women, except the dental college. That means MUSC was graduating more female doctors, pharmacists, nurses, PhDs in whatever, physical therapists, occupational therapists, etc., etc. than males. The business classes I took for my MBA were about half and half. {It was kinda refreshing to not be surrounded by a million girls when I would go to The Citadel for my business classes at night.}


And here are some real statistics that I found in my reading:


Women earned 60% of all master's and bachelor's degrees in 2010.


From 1970 to 2007, women's earnings grew by 44%, compared to men's 6%.


51.4% of all managerial and professional positions are held by women.


Nearly 3/4 of all jobs lost during the recession were those of men.


Bolick says, "...our shrinking pool of traditionally “marriageable” men is dramatically changing our social landscape, and producing startling dynamics in the marriage market, in ways that aren’t immediately apparent."


Women are making it on their own, and they don't need to rely on a male counterpart for their social status. We are finally "exercising authority over every aspect of our personal lives." Our society is experiencing a "crisis in gender," as all societies do from time to time, and it's changing the institution of marriage.


I present this to you for no other reason except that it's fascinating. And because it's cool that women are so powerful, even though I hear them regarded as less than this every single day. Booyah, gentlemen. 

Halloween Monsters

When the dogs get groomed, it's almost as refreshing as when I get my own hair cut. They went to the vet all day yesterday, and I picked them up on my way home.

Doesn't Joe look dashing with his Halloween bandana?

And Ramona's orange bows {of which only one remains as of right now} really bring out the princess in her. 

Hipster Whaaaaaat?

I am the biggest fan of making fun of hipsters. Did you see the episode of Happy Endings last season that was all about hipsters? It was hilarious. DT constantly finds YouTube videos featuring people making fun of hipsters doing stupid things, and we watch them together and laugh.

But then, last week, DT and I were talking about Wicker Park {the movie, and also the neighborhood in Chicago}, and he had the nerve to tell me that I might sort of be kinda a hipster.

Excuse me?

That's not me. I don't care about indie music {and I like Coldplay}, I wear well-known brands because it's the easy thing to do, I'm not a fan of PBR, and I will never wear a beanie when it's not cold outside.

However, this prompted me to do a little Internet search. What really is a hipster?

Hipsters are assassins of cool.

They conform in their non-conformity.

They are smug and look down on anything mainstream. And also, they look down on tourists.

They are vegans {sometimes}.

So what parallels did DT see between yours truly and a hipster? I can think of only a handful of things.

1. Lately I've expressed the tiniest interest in buying locally grown, organic, whatever food. I've visited a couple farmers markets and shopped at Whole Foods. But my sole incentive was to eat better and live better. And it still intimidates me, and I still don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to picking out natural, organic, local, etc. stuff, so I haven't bought very much of it at all.

2. I sometimes shop at places like Mod Cloth. It's sort of a hipster style, but it's also SO mainstream now. Also, out of all my 100-something pairs of shoes, the ones I wear most frequently are my black Converse that I bought in 2007. Kind of a hipster shoe.

3. Sometimes I ask DT to put new music on my iTunes. Stuff I haven't heard on the radio. Not because I'm so interested in indie music, but because I drive 60 miles round trip every day and need to hear different stuff every now and then.

4. Another recently acquired interest of mine is shopping for unique, vintage things. I haven't actually physically shopped at a thrift store {mostly because the closest one is like 40 miles away}, but I spend lots of time on Etsy finding cool, unique things. Furthermore, thrifting is becoming very mainstream, so its not very hipsterish in that sense.

5. DT says I'm one step away from spending my days at a coffee shop writing on my tiny, little computer and reading for hours and hours. But I'll have you know, I still don't really like the taste of coffee. Also, I read silly books...not the kinds that hipsters like {whatever those are}.

6. I think the mustache trend is funny.

{photo from here} 

So, maybe I'm like 5% percent hipster. But, if you look deep within yourself, I bet you'd find a little hipster living in there, too. It's not such a bad way to be...although I'm still going to laugh a lot when TV shows mock hipsters.

And if you're looking for a good description of what it means to be a hipster, this article is what helped me.