Friday, August 29, 2008

The New Hair-DO!

Well, I know I got it done on Tuesday...but it took me a bit to post it. It is short and fun and I love it!!!!!!!!! I took this picture of myself..I think thats why I look a bit crazed in it. Anywhoo! Check out the hair.It is fun to have a short cut and the color is a good change as well. I feel like a new woman!
There is nothing like a new Great haircut!
Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Thirteen Things to do in South Dakota


As many of you may know, my husband is from South Dakota. We are planning a trip to go see his parents and spend some time with them this fall. Sadly we won't be able to take Harley with us (cost, hassle, and too long of a flight) so he will be spending a fun time with our friends and their puppy. We are really lucky to be blessed with some friends who are actually excited to puppy sit for us for a few days. Harley is such a charmer. Anywhoo- Kyle has been planning out the trip and what we will do while we are there. I have been there I think 3 or 4 different times but always at Christmastime in the dead of winter. I am talking -14 degrees here folks! And we live in Florida so it is quite a shock to kick off those flip flops and pull on 2 layers of flannel and snow boots! This will be my first time to go before it gets all frigid up there! So I am going to get to see some of the sights that are usually blanketed by a few feet of snow during my visit. So, here are 13 things that I will be doing in South Dakota:

1. Going to see the Badlands Badlands National Park

2. Seeing the Adam's Museum which is the oldest history museum in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Pioneer businessman W.E. Adams built the museum in 1930 as a memorial to his family and to honor the early pioneers that settled the Black Hills.




Did I mention my husband is from Deadwood, South Dakota? Did anyone see the HBO series called "Deadwood"? It was based on his hometown. It is an old western gold mining town famous for being the place where the legendary Wild Bill Hickock was killed in the Number 10 saloon. For a brief history:Deadwood

3. Mouth Mariah CemeteryI am not going to lie and say I want to go here. It creeps me out and I am against it.
However my husband insists that it is a part of the history of the town and a necessary visit.

4.White Rocks "White rocks are the rim rocks that look over deadwood" - Kyle in an email to my after I could not find info for this description. It is a favorite local site.

5. Southern Hills

A beautiful mountain range we will go see.

6. Mt. Rushmore I took this picture! I had been once when I was younger so we didn't go inside the Memorial when Kyle and I went. I kind of hope we do this time. Anyone seen National Treasure 2? Yeah...I want to treasure hunt!

I did not take this one!

Mt. Rushmore : "The four figures carved in stone on Mount Rushmore represent the first 150 years of American history. The birth of our nation was guided by the vision and courage of George Washington. Thomas Jefferson always had dreams of something bigger, first in the words of the Declaration of Independence and later in the expansion of our nation through the Louisiana Purchase. Preservation of the union was paramount to Abraham Lincoln but a nation where all men were free and equal was destined to be. At the turn of the Twentieth Century Theodore Roosevelt saw that in our nation was the possibility for greatness. Our nation was changing from a rural republic to a world power. The ideals of these presidents laid a foundation for our nation as solid as the rock from which their figures are carved. Each man possessed great skills and leadership of the brand our nation needed for the times. Today millions of visitors come to see Mount Rushmore and gain inspiration from these four great men. " (sniped from Mt. Rushmore website)


7. Devil's Bathtub

"It’s the worst-kept secret in the Black Hills. True, it has all the markings of a hidden trail – no signage, access off a secluded gravel road, no mention on major maps – but everyone knows about the hike to Devil’s Bathtub. It’s a local favorite, circulated by word-of-mouth for decades, but rarely mentioned in local guidebooks. Nevertheless, the trail is well-traveled during the summer months, mostly by families and small groups of young hikers eager to escape the sizzling heat." (graciously borrowed from here)

8. Spearfish Canyon

"This is Spearfish Canyon, a breathtaking 20-mile-long gulch at the northern edge of South Dakota’s Black Hills. Treasured in summer by fly fishermen for its blue-ribbon stream and prized as a haven for cross-country skiers in winter, Spearfish Canyon becomes a leaf-peeper’s paradise in between, clothed by a veritable rainbow of fall colors. " (borrowed from above link)

9. Terry Peak Lookout

A few fun Terry Peak facts:

- Terry Peak is 7,076 feet in elevation with a vertical drop of 1,100 feet.

- Terry Peak is one of the highest peaks between the Rockies and the Alps.

- Terry Peak receives an average of 150 inches of snow each season.

- Kyle and I carved our names at the top the first time he took me there! We plan to go back and visit our initials. When we carved them we were just dating and now we have almost been married a year!

10. Homestake Gold Mine

The Homestake Gold Mine was one of the early enterprises associated with the Gold Rush of 1876 in the northern Black Hills of what was then Dakota Territory.


11. Crazy Horse Memorial


Crazy Horse Memorial, home of the world’s largest mountain sculpture in progress, is in the Black Hills of South Dakota on U.S. Highway 16/385 just 17 miles southwest

12. Saloon No. 10


"The Old Style Style Saloon #10 is a living museum - maybe the only one in the world with a full bar - where you can view of historical western and mining camp artifacts spanning over 100 years that we've collected during our 50-plus years in business. "

Yes folks! This is where Wild Bill Hickok was killed in 1876. In the summer they have a theatrical play reenacting the time surrounding his murder and the trial of Jack McCall who killed him.

13. Main Street Kyle's Mom told me once that when they were younger they would cruise Main Street and they called it "Taking a Mainer", don't you love small towns? Basically you drive through the main part of town and see what everyone is up to and what is going on in town. The cool thing about Deadwood is that Main Street is really historical and neat, they have trolleys that transport people all around and the buildings are really cool and old. Also, there is a webcam on Main Street so you can see what is going on. It is a pretty busy town on holidays and they have lots of special events that bring in the crowds. The infamous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally takes place about 1o minutes from Deadwood so it can be super busy at that time.
For a timeline of Deadwood's unique history ( I know you are out there history buffs!)



Deadwood in 1877 (above), Deadwood a bit more recently (below)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

A few tidbits of randomness just to get started...

This morning as I was getting ready (fixing my fresh new hairdo! Love it- pic to come soon!) I hear my husband cry "Harley!" (our puppy) from the bedroom and I walk out to see my adorable little monster angel completely draped in a panel of my new curtains (see yesterday's post). I look at him. I look at my husband. My husband looks at Harley. I look at Harley. Harley looks at us. We start laughing and scoop up the little devil. Clearly no discipline will ensue. Why is he so cute?
I wish I had had my camera as he peeked out from under the collapsed panel...it was priceless.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Mad about Mistreatments!

As promised, Here is my most recent mistreatment project.
Let me talk you through the drama:
First of all, It took about 2 months for my husband and I to locate the curtain rod and these black existing homemade curtains (thanks Mom). Once I hung them up I knew that I would be revisiting the issue soon. I'm sure you can see why. Blah Blah and a bit more blah. I love the curtains but they didnt fit the room, the window or my sassy new headboard! Cue the Fabric store and this fabulous find:

I find this goldish beige damask print in the remnant pile for...2.99 a yard. Yes I am totally serious! There was a decent amount left so I bought all they had...about 5 yds and headed home to plot out my windows new divine future. I sketched this at work on a post-it. I had to work with the fact that I had only 5 yds...so I decided to cut the fabric into two equal panel lengths and then cut each one in half so I had 4 panels. I would use 3 of them for full length panels to frame my existing black curtains and use the 4th panel divided into thirds to create a detail feature that I would add a tassle to. The pink post-it is my plotting over the length of the panels...
Oh yeah, and Harley was there too! He watched me iron-adhere to hem the panels and then he attacked and chewed my fringe trim. Grrr... But he was too cute to stay mad at!
Process.Here is my first finished panel with the fringe trim and trim detail piece. This was my first fringe or trim experience! So fun! Thank you glue gun!

And here is my finished product! I love it but I almost wish I had a black valance that met the ceiling and came over the top of the curtain rod. Hmmm..... But I am super happy for now!
Panel Close-up. I was so in love with this fabric. It stands out from the warm beige walls in the room and pulls the gold color from the comforter fabric on the bed. It kind of gives the room the PUNCH it needed since it is mainly black and warm beige.
Tassel Close Up. I went back and forth on tassel color. I was set on matching the fringe and at the last minute decided on the black so the black existing curtains would make more sense. I am so glad that I did!

Hope you enjoyed my mistreatment! I had so much fun making them! Although I am dreaming of the day I will actually buy and learn to use a sewing machine so I can make these a bit easier. Iron on adhesive has its drawbacks. Thanks for stopping by!
I have another mini mistreatment to post soon so stay tuned!!


Tick Tock Tick Tock

This week is already flying by! And we will be heading off on our trip this weekend. I am so excited to escape out of town for a bit and do some different things. I hope to have lots to share with you tomorrow. I have been working on a mistreatment for my bedroom as well as the kitchen! I am finished and cannot wait to share so stay tuned for that.
Also....I am going to get my hair done today (it has been FOREVER and a day) and I am so excited. I am hoping to do something kind of daring and different - but, I am almost positive that I will do something I have done before..just to be safe. I don't know why I am scared to be brave with my hair..I used to be kind of fearless! Now I am vain about the length and dont want to be kicking myself for chopping it off in some Victoria Beckham bob- because I soooo know that I would! Anywhoo! Thanks for stopping by and check in later this week for my big reveal of my window mistreatments (and kids some major mistreating has occurred!!) and my new hairdo!

happy tuesday!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Life is too short for drama & petty things,
so kiss slowly, laugh insanely,
Love truly and forgive quickly

(sigh) so glad it's Friday....

Not much to speak of today. I am mid project with my bedroom curtains. I had to run to the fabric store for a few more supplies yesterday. Hopefully next week I will have beautiful finished pieces of arty curtains to show off. For now I have fabric drapped over my curtain rod and...well, it is a work in progress. I'm not sure where I got this photo (if I kiped it from your blog or a mag that you know of then please forgive me - it is in my I LOVE THIS folder at work). If I ever have a similar space or the opportunity to make a similar/ identical space then I will be doing so. I love this! It is soooo relaxing, so beachish (word?)....Love Love Love it!
So, that is all I have for Friday. Hope everyone has a fabulous restfull weekend. Much Love-

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Thirteen Things To Love about a Puppy


Thursday Thirteen

1. The jumping up and down, running circles around you and overall excitement when you walk in the door.

2. When they lay down and fall asleep on your lap.

3. Following you around the house everywhere you go just because they want to be with you.

4. Staring at you in the kitchen until you come into the living room and sit down so they can eat. Harley did this to me yesterday. He would not eat his dinner until I came with him into the living room and sat next to Kyle. It was adorable.

5. When they wake you up my stepping on your head as they curl up on your pillow. Hmmm...not as adorable as the last one.

6. Their puppy smell (the good one...not the bad one...)

7. The way he hops around the yard like a rabbit when he plays outside.

8. How he gets super sleepy after you play with him for a while.

9. When he looks up at you with those sweet puppy eyes...

10. When he thinks he sees another puppy in the glass on the entertainment center! Sooo funny!

11. When he bites his tail and won't let go and turns in circles and does somersaults! Also very funny!

12. When he runs up to you and puts his paws on your leg and waits for his treat after he has gone outside.

13. How he is the sweetest most adorable puppy in the whole world!

Now, just for fun here are some pics of the cute little thing now! This was his first bath.

Here he is with Kyle! I don't think he loved the bath too much.

Snuggling with Me after the bath in his orange towel. Isn't he sweet? What is with the lack of shine control on my face here?? Dang.....I can't believe I posted this! Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Dreams and Headboards really DO come true!!

I have been plotting to make a headboard for our bed for about a year now and there was always a reason to hold off on it. Once in the new house it has just been a matter of time and undoing the laziness. On Sunday I tackled the project having gathered the materials a month ago and having Kyle cut the plywood a few weeks ago. Anyways we finally got it all set up and ready to do and I made Kyle watch an HGTV show I had TVO'd where they made a similar one to what I had dreamed up in my head (earlier post about headboard dream Projects).

So we got started on the big project by first marking out the locations for the buttons we were going to add for a "tufted" look. We marked out the spots and then drilled (with the smallest drillbit ever!) the holes. Next we took the plywood and foam to the garage so we could attach them with spray adhesive. The next step was to wrap the board in batting so the tufting would work later on with the buttons. We stapled the batting down and then added the glorious fabric I had found:
Here are some of our supplies!
This is what Harley was doing while we worked on our project! Isnt't he sweet? Actually this is what he did for about 10 seconds and the rest of the time he was stealing the tape measure and my buttons!After we applied the fabric and stapled it down we began adding the buttons that I had bought. They are blank buttons that you attach your fabric to with this clever little button making kit. Super fun to do and then I didnt have to worry about matching the buttons. We had a slight hiccup in this stage because we realized we only had nine buttons as we had originally planned to make the headboard with eight and they come in packs of three. So, we had to put the project on hold for a day or so till I could get more buttons. So, Monday night we added the last buttons and the picture hanging hooks we had purchased to mount it to the wall and Voila!I am looking for the perfect thing to mount over the headboard for that finishing touch! I am debating between and iron work piece of maybe those vinyl lettering details from Upper Case Living. I also feel like there should be something on either side...any ideas? Harley just loves the attention. Plus he was napping on the bed and was woken up for the picture taking.

He kind of matches the room! I think I'll keep him!
Okay Okay...one last pic! A close up so you can see the tufting and the sheen of the fabric which really makes it look nice I think. Thanks for stopping by to see my little project. Whew! I can't believe it is done. Now onto curtains for this room...Hmmmmm....do I feel a visit to the fabric store after lunch???? Hmmmm.....I think I do!!!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Fay Day


Well, Tropical Storm Fay is here to stay for a few days.
No worries....she is now basically a glorified thunderstorm.
I promise to blog more soon! I have some new pics of Harley and
a new project to share! Hope you are having a lovely week!

Monday, August 11, 2008

A Disky Situation...

Well, my back problems are nothing new to my readers here but I thought I would take a post and devote it to my back situation in case you are not familiar with herniated discs. This injury is from a car accident I was in in February of this year. I have been to doctors, chirpractors, orthopedists, neurologists, and pain management specialists. Basically at this point they have told me that yes I have an herniated disk but that they will not perform surgery because I am still able to function and because I am too young. The bad news is that I am in pain daily and all my daily activities and basically my entire life has been altered due to the injury. Last week I had a Steroid Epidural Injection in my back. If it does not work then I will have to learn to live with the problem until it is bad enough to receive surgery (ugh). Surgery is the last thing I want but, the pain and affect on my life are also awful. So I am really hoping that this last shot helps me. I was MIA last week mainly from being sick (thats a whole other blog as I am still sick) and then this shot which required checking into the hospital althought the actual procedure was very short. I am on some pain pills to get me over the pain of the shot in my spine and in the next few days to a week I am supposed to be feeling the glorious results of the epidural. Here are some pictures I found that can explain exactly what my pain is coming from.



Please say a prayer this week that this shot will help. I have this dream that I will soon return to a normal life of a 25 year old. Or at least a semi normal life. This will be my new slogan:

Happy Monday!

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Birthday Fun!

Well, I know this blog was slow coming (forgive me as I have been sick all week and still going strong...) but I wanted to share some of my birthday fun with you. My loving and adorable husband made me these delicious cupcakes to celebrate the special day! Here he is sprinkling them with LOVE (and sprinkles!) In my world Sprinkles can equal LOVE!

After cupcakes we headed to the outlet malls for a wonderful birthday gift of a SHOPPING SPREE! My dream come true! It was really fun and afterwards we headed to our favorite putt-putt course for some more fun. We love to putt-putt and when we go we play 36 holes! Although half way through the 2nd 18 we were sweating buckets and rethinking our decision. Here is Kyle with his first Hole in One of the day!
Getting ready to putt!
And here he is with his second Hole in One! I only made one Hole in One and my picture is less than spectacular so I will withhold it as I am in control of the picture sharing!
After Kyle beat me at our putt putt game we headed to dinner at Texas Longhorn (which we have really started to love) and had a lovely very filling dinner followed by a movie. We went to see.....


The movie was wonderful and even Kyle loved it! can you believe it girls? I musical that I man actually likes? I stared at him in disbelief as he chuckled through the movie! Loved it! A must see!!!
And that was my delightful and as close to perfect as possbile..25th birthday celebration!

Meet our little Harley...

Well, this is how it happened. The story of how Harley chose us! We decided to go to this pet store after lunch (said Pet Store has an excellent reputation and uses reputable breeders..I know I know..I have read all the articles too...)on Sunday because we were having a dispute above the size of dog that we wanted. I wanted a Yorkie but they tend to be teeny and Kyle was feeling like he might want to get a medium size dog. We decided to go to this pet store b/c they let you hold and play with the puppies and thry have various breeds so it's a great place to go when you are trying to make a decision on the breed of dog you want. We went in and were there about 3 seconds before we both saw this little black and tan ball of fur halfway climbing out of the cage. Our eyes met and it was almost instant (almost!). I picked him up and we started asking questions and found out that he was a 4 month old Yorkie and that he was the biggest out of the litter and was not a typical teeny Yorkie. We were smitten! We took him to play for a while and continued to fall in love and before we knew it we had bought a puppy and we were on our way to the store (puppy in tow) to get the needed necessities. We quickly realized the weight of our decision as the credit card swiped...Whew! They are pricey! But totally and utterly worth it!!!
Meet our little Harley. Isn't he sweet?Here he is munching on his dinner. He is so good natured and so much fun. We are having a blast falling in love with him!Excuse my grease shine and weird vein in my neck! This was a good pic of Harley not me! One last pic!
I am sure there will be more to come on our adventures with Harley!
Say a little prayer that we turn out to be good parents.
Happy Wednesday!