Love Is Art

Amazing! I love it! Buy kits here.

California Trip

I ran away from Utah for about two weeks and it was a very much needed trip. I rode Amtrak from Provo to Roseville and it was awesome. The train is huge! The seats are enormous and recline all the way back, it was nice and cool, quiet, and there are outlets to plug in all my shit. So I watched Sopranos for a few hours and then took two Ambien and slept really well and when I woke up I was there! AND I got to cross it off on my Things to Do Before I Die list - which is cool since I haven't been able to do that in a while.

So I went to Cali and stayed with my Mom. We laid by the pool and relaxed. She took me to a few cool stores and we went to the Galleria Mall for a few hours. I also got a tour of a local firehouse from my Mom's friend. It was really cool to see the ins and outs there. I had two dinners at my Grandparents and we figured out I haven't been there in 13 years. We went fishing/boating one morning and I made friends with this little duck. I fed him a few rolls and he'd just follow us around.

I also got to spend some time with Madi, Brady, and my nephew Kelvin. I loved seeing them! Kelvin has grown so much since I last saw him. He is just the sweetest little boy, I wanted to bring him home with me! Kelvin sat in my sleeping spot with me for like 3 hours one day, just hanging out watching United States of Tara. Seriously, he's the coolest kid EVER. I mean really, look at that face.

The last night I was there we went to the theater and saw Iron Man 2. I really liked it! Except I think something was wrong with their AC because I was melting in the theater. Ugh. After the show we went to eat at the Elephant Bar. It was pretty good, I've never been there and their menu is huge!

The train ride back was not as enjoyable as getting there. We were stopped outside of Elko, NV for almost 3 hours and that made me arrive into Provo almost 6 hours later than anticipated. It made for a very, very long ride. Luckily I had some shows (Sopranos, Grey's, Breaking Bad) and a good book to keep me occupied. I hope to make it back out to California soon. Maybe in the fall for my birthday! YAY!

Operation: New Home

I've been doing a little online window shopping for things I want/need for my new place. Most are from Ikea, a few from Pottery Barn. I'm sure I'll wander through Target and find some cool stuff too. I may even go yard-selling with my Mom next weekend! YAY! I know you are super stoked Momdawg! I want to run to DI and see if I can find any little tables or shelves that I could refinish. I'm not working right now so I have time to do some projects.

Anywhere, here's a few things that I think would go beautifully in my new place!

Cute Old Couple

Oh man, this is adorable! I'd have to live to be like 107 years old to be married 62 years, and at least 108 to learn to play the piano, but still something to strive for, right? Right? Ha ha, I found this sweet vid on a new reader's blog (actually I shouldn't assume she's now a "reader") rather a new commenter Amy Spencer, author of Meeting Your Half-Orange. You can purchase her book and read her blog here. If you're single check it out, pretty interesting stuff girls, and like one boy.

Also, on a completely off topic subject, I'm considering creating a budget for items like this and this, and then reviewing them on the old bloggeroo because 1) I'm a big supporter of the out of box thinkers. B) I know my single purchases and reviews would increase their sales and keep a few people employed just a bit longer. 3)They are just too fab to pass up! And I know right now you are more concerned that I'm thinking of a budget rather than my purchasing of said items. Ha! I'm growing up folks, watch me go.

Shopping List

It's a sad state when the dog's shopping list is longer than the people list.

School Supplies Drive

There's something magical about a box of crayons! And Doba and it's employees are donating over 500 of them to Geneva Elementary! We put together a school supplies drive for our community service project this year and it went really well. Employees brought in supplies for over 3 weeks and at the end of the drive a few people made cash donations which Doba matched dollar for dollar. I headed to Walmart with over $500 and bought more supplies. Monday I'll take everything to the elementary school. Check out all this stuff!

500+ boxes of crayons

300+ glue sticks

300+ spiral notebooks

150 pocket folders, 750 pencils, 75 scissors, 500 erasers, 100 rulers, 250 pens

100 colored pencils, 60 markers

This is the cool sign I made to track our progress.
We used gold stars to represent each item donated!

Favorite Responsibility

So I am in charge of the mail and our office supplies at work and I know this may sound dumb, but I totally get excited when the Staples catalogs come with our big monthly coupons!! Because of our ordering status with them, we are Platinum Members' they send us certain discount/coupons to use on future orders. But they are always huge coupons. So anyway, ordering and keeping track of office supplies is probably one of my favorite things to do for Doba. I absolutely love office supplies! Staples is to me like Toys R Us is to kids.

So today, I go to our storage room see what we are low on, things we need to restock, and then I add that to the list of things employees have requested. So I compile all of these lists and then login to www.Staples.com and get to ordering! It's great! In my account they keep track of frequently purchased items for easy reordering and if your cart is more than $50 you get free shipping!

So I placed a rather large order today, but then added all of my coupons and free gifts and I just watched the prices drop! It was great. Oh and the order will be here tomorrow morning! Perfect! I love Staples.com!

Seed Supply Co.

So I went to Walmart this weekend for a few random things and walked through their clothing department. I found these babies! Seed Supply Co is a Walmart clothing line that is 100% organic cotton. They are lightweight and they are totally cute, and only $6-$10 each! They make tees, tanks, leggings, skirts, and I even saw a little shawl thing. Anyway, I bought 3 because I thought they were super cute. They make great layering shirts or you could wear them alone. I love that they come in lots of colors too. Anyway, head to Walmart and pick some up, you can't beat a $6 tee.

Toms

Yep. Pretty much head over heals in LOVE with these Toms! And when you buy a pair, they donate a pair to a child in need. Which makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy inside! Now I need $44...

I want these things. Seriously.

Holli told me about this little thing called the ABC store and now I would like the following things. So if someone would like to buy them for me that would be uhmazing. Seriously.

New Bedroom

I've been itching to change around my room again lately and I went ahead and did it this weekend. First, I found a new bed set at Walmart that I really really loved. But it was $100 and it didn't go with the photos I already had on my walls, which I didn't want to change. If you haven't seen them, one is a black and white of an old wooden boat and house, and the others are 6 shots I took while in Boston in 2007. I love them all and wanted to keep those with the new theme. I also wanted to add darker colors into the room. There was too much white. So Holli and I headed to Ikea and I got a new comforter, a new chair, throw blanket, and rug.

I flipped the bed around to make room for the chair and ended up taking out one of the night stands. The before can be seen here. Here is the after:

PS: What do we think of the captions on the photos? Yes? No? They add a lot of extra time when it comes to putting together a post, but I think it's cute.

Good Day

I've been in kind of a bad mood this past week, but today has been a good day. Here's a few reasons why.

1. I slept in a little.
2. I talked to Chris this morning. I don't normally get to until night time, so that made me happy.
   
3. I didn't let the BIG ASS rock chip I found in my windshield piss me off.
4. I downloaded a few new songs that I have been hearing lately and put together a brand new playlist on my iPod. I listened to it on repeat all day while I ran errands. :)
   
5. I had TONS of stuff to do at work. And by stuff I mean returns to various stores. I got them all done. Which cleared out the many piles in my office. I saved Doba $204.75 by taking un-used things from our trade show booths back. Go me go.
6. Costco was not a madhouse like normal and I almost enjoyed my shopping experience.
   
7. I bought lemonade from kids on the side of the road today. And I gave them a hefty tip. And then their eyes got all big and smiley. And then they gave me a free bottle of water. Haha.
   
8. I bought a roley chair and floor mat for my home office today. Now I can return my other chair back to his chair friends at the kitchen table. Finally that room will be finished.
   
9. I went tanning.
10. I'm trying to get back into my nightly routine of crunches. So I did them tonight, to my new playlist!
    
11. I got a headache this afternoon, but it was tolerable.
    
12. It was warm so I could drive with the windows down all day!
    

iPod Touch

She's in the mail on her way to me!! YAY!! New iPOD!!!

Crocs

I saw this display of Crocs at FYE. For those of you who don't know, FYE is an entertainment media store: i.e. cd's, movies, video games, books, etc. Why are shoes being sold here? I don't get it.

Oh boy...I'm in trouble

I can't sleep, so i'm browsing the Pottery Barn site. Bad idea. I'm going to need a part time job just to buy all the stuff I fell in love with. I probably shouldn't even look, most things I buy end up in a "when I own a house" pile anyway.

Channel-Quilted Velvet Cosmetic Bags


Emmett Console Table


Rustic Bread Boards


Painted Flag Wall Art


Framed Love Sentiment


Oversized Personalized Frame


Jack Leigh - Phantom Shrimp Boat, 1990


Kitchen Accessories


Jayden Bed


Stratton Bed with Drawers

Ok, I'll stop.