Magical Music

Erin showed this to me today and I've seen it on a couple other blogs. Jon Schmidt dedicated this arrangement of Taylor Swift's "Love Story" and Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" to his daughter. It gives me goosebumps.

"Just Because" Love Notes

I discovered a green envelope under my pillow the other night as I was getting ready for bed. I was completely surprised and delighted to find a "just because" love note from Dan.

Grilling in the Summer

One of my favorite things about the weather getting warmer is being able to grill. Except Dan and I don't have a grill or a patio. Or so I thought...Thanks Melissa and Roger for the mini grill you gave us last summer that I found in our storage unit last night! I'm really excited about lots of grilled dinners like this in the next couple months. We figure the grill fits on the sidewalk just fine.

A Candy Shop

I would love to own a Candy Shop someday. Actually it would be a Sweet Shop so that I could also sell cookies, brownies, and any other little sweet delight I wanted. This picture is from The Confectionary in Seattle. (Blake and Sheena- you'll have to check it out for us)

House Number

I went on a bike ride and decided when we grow up and have a house one day I want to have a lamp post with our house number on it like this. I could do without the horse and carriage though.

Saturday Night Adventures

This has been our night so far:

1. A pep talk for Erin (my sister) before her date
2. A little bit of waxing for both Dan and I at Ingrid's Salon Boutique
3. A split second decision to cross four lanes on I-15 to get off the exit for the Harley Davidson Restaurant which was actually pretty cool
4. A cruise on State Street including a stop at Downeast Outfitters for some sweet purchases
5. A stop at Redbox to get The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and a gallon of milk (mostly because we love to drink chocolate milk)
6. A second viewing of the end of Yankees/Phillies game along with any/all highlights shown on any/all television station...although I don't mind this because I love to see AJ Burnett throw a pie in his teammate's faces

I love hanging out with my hubby.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

How are you spending this weekend? We're still trying to make plans after both having to work this morning.

A Car is Just a Car

For those of you that don't know I had (tear) a car named Jack. Ever since I became of aware of cars I wanted a Black Toyota 4Runner. It was a dream of a silly 16 year old to see that car on my driveway with a big red bow on it the morning of my 16th birthday. Instead I shared a car for two years with my mom (Thanks Mom for sharing YOUR car with us!) and brother and occasionally had to drive the massive family van named Beuford. It all ended up being fine and I think it was really good for me. Anytime you have to share you learn from the experience. But I finally got my own car my second semester of my freshman year of college. It was a 1990 Mazda 626 that had belonged to my sister and her husband. I have such great memories of my brother-in-law Greg teaching me to drive that car, it was a stick-shift. I learned pretty quickly and ended up really enjoying driving a manual car. I went through a lot with that car. It had its fair share of problems and was certainly not my dream car. By the time I was done with it was old enough to be driving all by itself, the paint was almost completely off the hood, it had no heat/AC....which reminds me of when my sister Becky and I drove to my sister Heather's house in Idaho all wrapped up in blankets, hats, scarfs, gloves, and drinking hot chocolate because it was so cold. Selling that car for a couple hundred bucks was an end of a chapter of my life. I graduated from college and was moving to Washington, DC to start my career in interior design with Marriott International at their corporate headquarters. I was excited to be living in the city, to be so close to my mom and little sisters, and to start my real grown up life. I was on my own, making decisions for myself, and could do whatever I wanted. At first I drove a Mazda Protege, an extra car my family had at the time that I could use until I found a car I wanted to buy. I took my time because buying a car was daunting and I was having a really hard time finding something that would work. I wanted to be practical knowing with my commute I would be spending 2-3 hours a day in my car but the more I looked I knew that I only wanted a Black Toyota 4Runner. I didn't want to spend my money on a car and end up wishing all the time that I had a 4Runner. My mom finally gave me the warning that I would have to give the Protege back so I did it. It was in April of 2007. I bought Jack, my Black Toyota 4Runner. I loved him the minute I saw him. He didn't have a hood vent that looked like a huge nostril to me, he had the black trim, running boards, and spoiler. I thought I would have him for a very long time. I thought he would be my cool "mom car". I went through a lot with him. He got me home for much needed family time with my mom and little sisters, he kept me comfortable for HOURS in the car each day (usually on 495 that cursed beltway), and he was spacious enough for big pieces of furniture I needed to move for personal and work projects. Little did I know I would be getting married and moving back to Provo, Utah last summer where my life would shrink to a 2 mile bubble. Dan and I decided to sell Jack. We knew we could get along fine with one car (his car is already paid for) and we want to start saving for a house so we sold my car. It happened so fast. Jack was handed over to his new owners last night. I hope they will love him as much as I did. I'm pretty sure I will have another Jack someday though. And next time he'll have a third seat to make it an even cooler "mom car". Someday.....until then, Farewell Jack. You were the best car for me for the past two years.

What Not To Wear

I love this show and Dan had a brilliant idea to be Stacy and Clinton for Halloween next year.

Family Pictures

Check out these fantastic photographs of Dan's brother's beautiful little family. They had a session with photographer Erin Bell and had a great experience. Their shoots are labeled Ben & Jerry's and Elizabeth Park.

Welcome Liam!

Congratulations Julia and Spencer! Liam is adorable and we can't wait to meet him.

Tennis Lessons

I'm really excited about the tennis lessons I just signed up for. It is a four week session, twice a week, and only $30. Thank you Provo City!

Costco

I started my Saturday off today with a trip to Costco. And I loved it! It may have had something to do with the samples but really it was the first time I felt it was worth shopping there. When single, I certainly didn't need to buy anything in bulk and living in DC with roomates meant no storage space so I never shopped there. But now I think I'll go once a month so I can stop going to the grocery store every week if not more. And grocery shopping is definitely one of my least favorite things to do, right up there with drying my hair and filling my car up with gas. Anyway, this will require more meal planning on my part but will be worth it. Costco I love you and will return!

Thursday Night

Thursday night wasn't anything out of the ordinary but I was in an especially good mood. I think it is because Dan and I were both home just hanging out. It also helped that we had Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Icecream for a little treat.



I also was drinking my very most favorite drink right now made by Cascade Ice. It is the Raspberry Black Current flavor and can be found at Smith's Grocery Store. I highly recommend it.



Dan was happy watching some baseball with his MLB All-Game Pass or whatever it is called. Basically he can watch every MLB game this season which equates to a lot of baseball watching.



Which is why I bought a sewing machine so I could work on projects while he watches baseball. I mentioned before I was going to get a sewing machine and I did end up getting the Singer Simple. It seemed like the best option for a beginner and for my price range. I had it in my car for about two weeks before I finally got it out and set up. I'm going to be making my own line of Ladybags. I'm really excited about the fabric I have for the next one I'm working on. I'll post pictures when I finish it.

BBQ and Croquet

We had a fun night eating BBQ and playing croquet with some of Dan's friends. When I have a yard someday I am definitely going to own a croquet set.

Sunday Drives

Last night I convinced Dan to go on a "Sunday Drive" with me. You might be asking yourself, "What is a Sunday Drive?" Well it is just going out and driving around with no predetermined destination enjoying the scenery and conversation and seeing what adventures you end up having. Dan started our drive by turning left at our street, then he took another left, and then another...to which I responded, "Dan, driving around our block doesn't count!" HaHa it was really funny and we had a good laugh. But he quickly turned right so we didn't drive pass our house after only a minute into our adventure. It was a beautiful Spring Sunday afternoon. Utah is so pretty sometimes.



Dan caught the spirit of adventure... he started off-roading.



He must have thought we were back in Aruba driving a Land Rover Defender.



Fortunately he didn't go too far because in reality his Forestor wasn't going to clear the terrain. But all in all, it was a lovely Sunday evening outing. You should try it sometime.

Cool Friends

Wedding Cake

While looking through pictures today I came across this picture of my wedding cake and I really wish I could eat some of it right now. It was so YUMMY!

Happy Mother's Day

I am so grateful for my mom and mother-in-law. They are both amazingly loving women who have made their families the priority in their lives. I hope someday I will make as great of a mom as they each have been.

Welcome Cormac Neil Stone

This is my cousin Hillary's adorable new baby boy. How kissable are his cheeks?!

Work Hard and Play Hard

I've been working a lot over the past month and tomorrow is the first Saturday in a while that I will have off. I'm pretty excited. I think I will start my two sewing projects since I got my sewing machine! I'm going to make another "Ladybag" and a little girl shirt for one of my neices. I got free movie tickets from work for all my "hard work" so I think tonight we're going to see this movie.

NCAA Men's Volleyball Semifinals

Last night Robyn, Paige, Heather, and I went to the two semifinal games. Penn State first played USC and lost after four games. UC Irvine played Ohio State in the second game and beat them in just three games. UC Irvine is ranked #1 and I think they will win it all. Their setter was amazing. He would set the ball just ahead of the hitter almost as if it would still go over if they missed it. But of course they wouldn't miss it...their hitter were amazing too. Anyway, it was awesome and the games were so fun to watch. We will watch the final game tomorrow and Dan, Becky, and Uncle Ben will be there too.

Mother's Day Surprise

Erin flew home to Delaware for Mother's Day to surprise my mom (and I secretly wish that it was me!) Sorry that probably wasn't what some of you were thinking. I didn't mean to allude to anything else :)

My Baby Sister

I can't believe my baby sister is 18. And I think my mom is an amazing seamstress. Isn't the dress gorgeous and Ashley beautiful?

Family Time and Volleyball

I'm excited to spend time with these girls this weekend and to go to the NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament (plus Becky). Oh and there is a surprise but I can't tell until tomorrow.

New Friend

Sometimes Dan teases me that 409 is my friend because of the amount of time I spend with it. It's true, I use 409 just a few times a day to clean off our tiled countertops, sink, etc. But I bought some Clorox bleach the other night and finally used some today and it was amazing. Why haven't I ever cleaned with bleach before? Mom, did you not trust me with bleach on all those Saturday mornings when I had to do chores? Bleach works so well and I fear Dan might tease that it too...will be one of my friends. Now I just have to find out a good way to clean those stubborn tiled shower walls- any suggestions?

Congratulations Hillary and Jake

My cousin Hillary and her husband Jake are a mommy and daddy now. Congratulations to them on their new baby boy...who was supposed to be a girl and caused quite a shock when he popped out. I'm so happy for them and know they we be wonderful parents.

HEALTHY AT LAST!

So i've been kinda sick for like 2 weeks now (this is Dan by the way). Waking up with a sore throat every morning, coughing all through the night...losing my voice throughout the day, and sounding like I was going through puberty...again.....even though the first time took like 7 years.

So this last few weeks i've been doing a lot of sleeping. In fact, here's a pic up me sleeping last week.
But, after a plethora of calls from a very special concerned Jewish mother and after a few nudges from my lovely wife I decided to go to the doctor.

Now, after four days of antibiotics I feel GREAT!!! No swine flu for me!

So, this is just a shout out to two very special women in my life...my mom...thanks for caring for me all the way across the country, and to my wife who cared for me here by making food, cleaning up my messes, rubbing my back so that I could sleep, and buying me nyquil.

Running in the Rain

A run in the rain this morning was refreshing. Hope you have a good weekend!

Reason to Celebrate

I need a reason to celebrate so Dan will take me to The Cheesecake Factory so I can eat this. Well not actually this one...this one is Snickers...I always get Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough. Erin always gets White Tuxedo. And when I asked Dan what his favorite flavor is he said, "Whatever you tell me to get honey!" HaHa I have such a sweet hubby. He likes the dinner part better anyway. I'm the one that just wants to eat dessert. What is your favorite flavor?

Fun Times Ahead

Hopefully on June 18th we will be here. Let's just say Dan is more than excited.