here comes a blog post overload

yo! I be getting caught up on my life ya heard? I will be updating in chunks so it's not all one giant blog post. So first things first we finally got some furniture in our apartment! QUE?? Yeah since joey moved here last august the extend of furnishings was an air mattress, a desk, and a fish tank with a stand. I moved here in January and slowly we have been "homemaking"...like buying real dishes. Since I moved in we have made some serious progress in our "fresh start" post getting rid of everything we own. We went to ikea and had a typical couple experience of shopping at the nordic disneyland of home furnishings.

good thing it said not actual size because i wouldn't order it if it were really that big.#thatswhatshesaid

 We came to ikea with the highest of hopes to have a successful trip. We had a right to be so hopeful because we had one item on our list: a couch. Simple enough right? We spent about 30 minutes examining our options, colors, prices, respecting our differing design tastes like adults, but this game of "whatever you want I want, baby cakes"only lasts until he picks the most hideous couch in the store (is that even possible at ikea? YES.). Then things get a little sour and to spare the details we started walking out of ikea in search for another furniture store that is cheaper...cheaper than ikea? You can see a bit as to what this day was like lol. I agreed to go somewhere else, but I also had something up my sleeve...

Being newbies to Houston we had no idea where else to go. so I am scanning google maps on my phone while walking out of ikea when I find a second hand shop in what we were about to find out a pretty sketchy part of town. We get there and two seconds after walking to the store Joey says ok we will get the couch at ikea. Frustrated that we wasted that time but glad I was getting what I wanted muwahahaha.

We went back at ikea and ended up getting a bed too! OMGeee we are on a roll here! A couch and a bed? We be like civilized folk. Aren't you glad you just read a whole blog post about how someone and her husband went to ikea and bought a couch? Blogging is such a waste of time hahahaha.

the most exquisite baked oatmeal

hey guys,
yeah I know my blog is still not "remodeled" and I haven't posted in ages buuuut I have a recipe to share so that counts for something right? don't get too excited thinking I made this one up although it is pretty self explanatory. this is yet again another one of my pinterest finds. I am making it a goal to cook 2 pinterest recipes a week A. to try all this yummy stuff I am merely drooling all over my keyboard for and B. to get myself back into a more "domesticated state". I am really lacking in the good housewife department lately so this lovely breakfast is part of that effort!

I got a couple requests on instagram for a recipe so the link is here. It's super easy to throw together and makes your house smell so freaking vanilla-y wondrous. Hope you enjoy!

sunrise

Every morning around 6:30-7:00 Gertie and Kitty join forces to wake me up. This morning their alarm clock services were executed even earlier than usual. Stumbling out the door to take Gertie to pee I see the sky as the sun is coming up.

 I was like whoooooaaahh. I dashed back inside to snag my camera and snap a few shots (none of which I edited. so these colors are real!)while Gertie whined at me telling me how bad she needed to pee.

 I couldn't believe my eyes. The clouds were amazing this morning.

While It isn't the most fun being woken up at the crack of dawn I will admit that I love getting up early. I feel like this part of the morning is mine. The way the early morning looks is different from the rest of the day. Before the sun has time to warm things up often there is fog, mist, rain, and gorgeous cloud formations that look like a painting. Not very many people are out and there is this peaceful quiet. I experience a sense of gratitude for life and the beautiful world I live in during this time of day.  Come 8:00 the regular morning starts and my favorite part of the day ends putting me back into the regular daily routine. All this happens LONG before Joey someone in this house even thinks about waking up ;)

classy never dies.

My idol Audrey Hepburn is resurrected for a chocolate commerical and I am in love.  

In the words of Liz Lemon, I want to go to there.

It's a Major Award!

Name that movie...
 One of my best friends from childhood Miss Mikell Gordon from the Love & Such blog has been so gracious as to nominate me for the...

I am flattered and excited! I feel like my blog isn't cool enough for something like this so thanks dear! Mikell included some questions for me to answer so here you go!

 

1. what has been the greatest adventure for you in the last year?

This is going to make me sound like I hate my husband so to be clear I don't. I love him very much! Anyways on to the adventure: We were living in Madison, WI last year Joey (my husband) was accepted to Rice University (in Houston, TX) for an MBA program. We were thrilled that he was accepted to such a great school but we weren't thrilled about what that meant for my schooling. I just had 1 more semester at UW-Madison before I graduated which meant if I stayed to finish he would have to go down to Texas about 4months before I did. As terrible as it sounded to be apart for that long, in the big scheme of things it most definitely beat having to transfer (again) and probably add another year to my college career instead of just 1 semester (gotta love "credits that wont' transfer"). So He moved down in the end of July and I moved in with a bunch of girls in a house just off the lake in downtown Madison. While I missed my husband terribly to be honest it was one of the best times of my life. I found friends that pushed me to new limits both physically and academically. I did my first century bike ride and I never worked so hard in school in my whole life. I lived in downtown on my own which does that need explaining for how fun that is? I was able to be in school as a "regular" college kid again. I basically got to live the single life that I cut short by getting married at the youngling age I did. Again don't think I am regretting getting married or anything like that but I won't say that I lived in misery being separated for a few months. Our relationship is stable enough that a few months doesn't make any difference on our love for each other or the quality of our marriage. I'm grateful that my husband valued my education and that we both had this opportunity to grow. Like the saying goes: distance makes the heart grow fonder...this will by far be the longest answer. I'm sorry. 

2. If you could live anywhere in the US Where would you move? 

I have so many places I would love to live right now. For at least a little while NYC, D.C, Hawaii, sorry I won't pick just one. In reality though I want to end up somewhere on the NPC doesn't matter where as long as it has mountains, beaches and lots of stuff to do outdoors.

3. Dill pickles or sweet?

Dill. All other varieties are disguised disappointments.

4. If someone handed you $1,000.00 what would you do with it?

Get ready for the lamest answer ever: I would put it towards my student loans. I'm a wild one I know. 

5. What is your dream job?

Other than being a stay at home wife that just goes to the gym, plans soirees and attends lunch dates? I want to be a hot shot art gallery owner in NYC. 

6. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?

Clothes from J.Crew and food from Whole Foods.

7. What is your favorite season and why?

I love the begining of every season. I love the excitement of feeling the change of seasons. Right now I can't wait for spring flowers, floral patterns, bunnies, and pastel colors. I absolutely love summer, fall and, winter (with snow). 

8. What is one accessory you couldn't live without?

My j.crew polka dot snood. I wear it anytime I can without sweating to death (thanks, houston) I am really bad at remembering to wear jewelry and stuff like that.

9. Where were you born?

 I was born at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

10. Do you have any pets?

I have two pets: a miniature schnauzer named Gertrude Leia (yes that is a Star Wars reference) Plater. We just call her Gertie. We also have a chubby cat named Ethel but we just call her Kitty (Arrested Development reference not the fact that she is a cat).   

11. Why do you blog?

I started blogging when Joey and I decided for the adventure of moving across the country to Wisconsin. We wanted to keep our family and friends in the loop of what the hell we were doing way out in the midwest. I don't really know what my blog is now haha. Just a place for me to jot down what is going on in my head. I love the challenge of designing blogs (even though I suck at it) and I love the way people can connect online through blogging. I am in the works of taking my blogging "to the next level". Hopefully that means more connections and friends to be made! Because I have no friends in Houston yet. Stay tuned for some changes here!  

This is my first time doing something like this so thanks Mikelly! This was fun.  

warming up

This weekend Joey and I went to a birthday dinner with some of his classmates. Being the newbie to these parts I was asked a couple times how I like Houston. My answer kept being, I'm warming up to it. Now that I have two places I call "back home" (utah & wiscsonsin) means Houston has two big shoes to fill. I made a pro/con list of Houston so far for an idea of how I'm feeling about this place.

Pro:                                                                               Con:
1. So many museums and art galleries.                        1. Not a walkable city/ and hardly bike-able.
2. Never ending yummy places to eat.                         2. No Mountains or activities that go                                                                                           with them.
3.  Lots of pretty trees.                                                 3. Cockroaches.
4. Unique architecture.                                                4. The most terribly maintained roads ever.
5. Mild Winters                                                           5. Dreading summer and that whole                                                                                           having to wear clothes during it bit.

Perhaps Houston will continue to grow on me. I haven't completely turned my nose up to this place. It is still Big Ol' Texas down here though, with compensating pickup trucks and 'murica attitudes but there is also a lot of diversity and culture which I embrace. My biggest problem with this place is that my friends aren't here. I hate leaving them behind but I am so glad for all the ways I can still keep in touch with them. I consider myself blessed that I get to have one of my bestest friends from Utah move down here in just about a week! Keep working, Houston you might win me over some day.

classy it up.

I never lived during the days when everyone got dressed up for everyday life. When air travel was a fancier occasion, or wearing dresses and heels were the normal attire to go to the grocery store in. Even though I never lived in such an era I miss it. According to a program I listened to on NPR the French, i.e the Parisians still live this way. That even to get a stick of butter one dons her heels and perfume. Inspired by this program and the Parisian ways of living a life of "plasir"...

I am going to classy things up around here. By here I mean my life but in reflection of that my blog as well.

My posts will be sparse while I work on this little project. It is about time I renovated the blog. Pretty sure the world and my less than a handful of followers won't be completely devastated.