outback, baby

One of my dreams came true today because I got a new car.

I have been wanting a Subaru outback for over a century now. I have been talking about them non-stop and have to turn my head a million times every day when I see them passing on the road.

Well, I've been saving my pennies and today I was able to buy one! I figure it was my one shot to get something I really want (besides a good boyfriend or husband).

It was a little sad to say goodbye to my first car, the Jetta.

One of my favorite things about this car was the faint marks on the passenger door. Do you see those light colored circles? I always drove my gram around and when she'd get out of the car, she would use her cane to push the door open. These marks were made last year when she was here and I've never gotten rid of them. Every time I was sad that my gram wasn't here, I would look at the marks and feel better. Hopefully she will come back soon and make new cane marks in the Subaru!

Here my dad and I are driving off to the dealership.

Farewell, dear Jetta.

Here I am home with the new baby! I am so in love!

easter babies

Remember these two cuties?

Well, yesterday at our family Easter dinner, I stole them away again.

Can you believe how fast they are growing up?

I'm going to make this a holiday tradition.

easter

Happy Easter!

I had the biggest bummer of an experience today. I worked three night shifts in a row & went to bed this morning with the intention of only sleeping for 3 hours and then getting up for church.

Well, 4.5 hours later, I woke up in a frenzy, realizing I had slept through my alarm, missed church, and missed seeing my favorite kids all dressed up for Easter.

What a tragedy! I was so mad!

I immediately picked up my phone and called the kids' mom almost in tears and told her how sad I was to miss out. I talked with Ben, my bow tie boy, and told him he should put his bow tie back on and come on over. He was so cute and asked me if he should put on all his church clothes or just wear the bow tie with the t-shirt he had on. How adorable! Then Grace wanted in on the fun, and changed into her Easter dress.

They both showed up to my house minutes later all dressed up in their Easter Sunday best! It really helped turn my frown upside down!

Next year I won't be such an idiot to sleep through it all. Worst mistake of the week!

thrifty thursday + vermont!

I found two pink Tupperware trays (I love lunch trays) and a red mug at a Goodwill store in Vermont. I was pretty happy with these finds!

My mom and I got back from Vermont late last night. We had such a fun time. I was not so thrilled to wake up this morning and have a break in the routine that's been mine for the past 5 days.

I really miss this lady. Every morning I would go up to her room, help her finish getting ready & give her a Lovenox shot, eat breakfast together, and chat. Somehow waking up next to a pillow is just not the same!

And my uncle Mike. He always looks so sharp in a bow tie, and he works SOO hard. I always have a blast with him. And holy cow, you should see all the Pyrex he found for me!!

My cousin Majken, and eating at the restaurant with family (with killer views overlooking Lake Champlain!)

My aunt Susan and uncle Paul. There is non-stop joking and laughing with these two around.

Eating at gram's favorite sandwich shop. She is all done with her chemo & radiation now, and is doing world's better than the last time I saw her in January. That dumb chemo nearly killed her, so to see her make such vast improvements makes me feel really grateful. Keep fighting hard, gram!

Gram is a sewing whiz and everything she makes is complete perfection. She is famous for making "joy" banners. I have one made out of Christmas fabric from her, and have been asking for one made out of regular fabric to display for the rest of the year. While I was there, we made a joy banner together. It is something I will always keep & hold near to my heart!

I hand-stitched the straight parts of the binding, but when it came to tacking down the corners, I always let gram do that part. She is such a good teacher, and I have so much to learn from her. I could see the delight on her face when she would show me how to properly stitch a corner. She was so into it, there's no way I would have tried to stitch the corners myself and miss out on the experience of watching her be so thrilled to instruct me.

Here's the finished product!

I also found some items that I really wanted to take home with me:

My mom I went to the library and I fell in love with this yellow library cart.

And these plastic chairs, including the bigger, squash-colored one.

This bright blue postcard rack is something I really wanted. It was sitting outside with a bunch of other junk that is always left outside, even when the store is closed. I figure this rack must be pretty durable, as it has weathered the outdoor elements all winter long. Unfortunately, the store was closed so I don't even know how much this cost, but I have to say that I was very tempted to snatch this up. Too bad the store was closed, and too bad the rack would be awkward to ship.

Lastly, I found a dream home when my uncle and I were out on a drive. I drove right past this house without even taking a second look at it. My uncle pointed out the window and said, "oh, that's an old schoolhouse for sale". I was driving and immediately put on the brakes (my uncle was fearing for his life at this point, as I quickly reversed back up a hill). We got out and peered inside all the windows. From what I could tell, this place was adorable. We saw an old cellar, really cool fireplaces, and my favorite feature of all - the chalkboards were still on the wall in the living room! It was absolutely charming. We looked it up on the Internet when we got home. This place is a mere $179, 900. What a steal!

I can't wait to go back to Vermont this summer!

thrifty thursday + see ya later, alligator

I found this yellow Tupperware mug at the DI this week (sorry for the poor picture quality - I stopped the dishwasher mid-cycle, and what resulted is a steamy, blurry image). The yellow mug is fitting because I am hopping on a plane tomorrow morning to see my yellow gram! Woot woot! She is feeling so much better and has more energy, so I know we will have lots of fun!

I made her this cute & super simple plastic Easter egg garland.

I got her a bright pink shirt just in time for spring. Giving gram paper napkins has been my new thing lately. I am bringing along some Easter themed napkins, and my favorite, hip hooray! napkins. I just about peed my pants when I found these. They are so perfect. Gram just finished her last radiation treatment yesterday, and all I can say is, hip hooray x one million!

I think these paper plates are so silly and I just had to get them. I can't wait to see the look on gram's face when I serve her lunch on one of these ocean critters.

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

monday, fun day

You know how most people dread Mondays? Well, I had a really great one yesterday. The sun was shining, and I got to do some fun things.

01. Temple session with a lovely friend.

02. Lunch at the Lion House Pantry. I love that place. Of course the rolls have me at hello every time. But, I also have a new obsession with drinking soda out of glass bottles. This sparkling raspberry lime soda is divine. Plus, the Lion House sticker makes me feel like I'm buying it at 19th century candy store. (like Little House on the Prairie).

03. Taking a much needed, but short nap. You know you've worked too much when you wake up from said nap thanking your lucky stars that you got up just in time to hang TPN and lipids (IV nutrition). We hang new TPN/lipids on our patients at 1800 (6 pm). I seriously woke up and was ready to get going on priming IV tubing and getting meds ready. Guess that's what 4 shifts in a row will do to you!

04. Cutting all my hair off. Okay, not all of it, but close. I told the lady, "just to my shoulders, long enough for a pony tail without two million bobby pins". She said, "Great, I'll do it just below your shoulders so that you aren't upset if it's too short". I tried really hard not to cry like a 2- year- old when my hair was most definitely above my shoulders. (This picture doesn't really show just how short it is. And don't mind my awful face. I was having an extreme allergic reaction at the time this was taken).

05. Remember how I missed out on the free Pyrex pot holder? I really love the www. In a roundabout way, I got my hands on one of these through eBay. So fun! I had to fork over some pennies, but it was totally worth it! You may come visit this awesome pot holder in my future kitchen. It will be the star.

06. Did you see this Iceberg shake deal?. 4 shakes, any size, any flavor for $10! Are you kidding me!! That is such a steal! The shakes are huge. Last week I went to Iceberg for my favorite butterfinger shake. I couldn't kick the craving all day, and half of why I wanted one is so that I could eat part of it for breakfast the next morning. Hurry and buy this deal - it expires at the end of the day!

Here's to a great Tuesday for all of us!

oops

I have a wicked sweet tooth. I don't think a day is ever complete without some sort of sugary treat. Tonight after I got off work, I just had to have a dessert.

This is what I came home with. I was a little embarrassed in the check out line, but it didn't stop me from having one sweet Saturday.

I bought a cake mix (to make my favorite oreos!), a cake wedge (for my dad!), two donuts, an orange roll & my favorite Skittles. I love going to the grocery store.

This is what I really wanted to buy. I love the plastic balloons on top, and then when I saw the title "cake for two", I was a goner. I am going to request this cake and label to be made when I actually have a cute boy to eat it with.

All these treats remind me of the time I was in Vermont this past January. I was super sad about my gram and had been crying in the back of the car the whole ride home from visiting the cancer clinic with her. We stopped at the grocery store and my mom told me I could get anything I wanted.

This is literally what we walked out with.

I may not have many talents, but when it comes to treats - I win every time!

thrifty thursday

I spotted this contraption and had no idea what it was, I knew it was Tupperware & it was only $1, so it bought it! When I was checking out, the young cashier told me it was a good find and reminded him of his grandma who had one. Guess what it is? A pickle strainer - a good idea, in my opinion (even though I don't like pickles, but it's useful for those who do!). Unfortunately, this should have a lid. Finding things without lids is becoming a common theme for me.

Then I found these cuties. The middle canister came with a lid, but it was cracked in half and had to be tossed.

When my dad saw all this Tupperware emerging from the dishwasher, he said, "oh no, please just hide it somewhere". Poor guy. He does have a point, I probably do need to cut back on some of my treasures, but I just can't help it!

At least these fit nicely in a 3-in-1 storage package.

a classic

I went to Provo yesterday, and of course, a stop at the DI was included! I'm going again on Thursday night for a concert, and you better believe I will be making the rounds all over!

I walked away with two complete steals.

Salt Water sandals!

Oh my, these were a staple of my youth. I had them in so many colors. I even bought a pair for myself two years ago, and I happily wear them around town. I can't wait to put my own kids in Salt Water sandals.

I felt like I hit the jackpot when I found a navy pair in the women's section (unworn even!). Then, I was browsing the through the kid's shoes, and lo and behold, another navy pair (only worn maybe one time!). Talk about having a good day. Unfortunately, my size is right in between both of these, so I'll be giving them away. The bigger pair made me have "flipper feet" and I'm sure I would have fallen flat on my face in no time. And something about my toes running off the edge in the smaller pair wasn't super attractive. But I have already found a new home for both sets and I think the future owners are both pretty darn happy about it.

There is just something so comforting and classic when it comes to Salt Waters. Plus, they are made in the good ol' USA. Seeing the logo just makes me feel at home.