confession

i look at my wedding dress every day.

i do.

i’ve had it since last August (i think?)

and it still hasn’t made it to the closet for safe keeping

for some reason, i feel the need to check on it to make sure it’s coping alright;

that it hasn’t been exposed to the elements (mainly pollen around here)

and that it wasn’t cold or lonely during the night.

 

every morning…

ziiiiiiiiiiiip

peek

smile and fidget + happy jig

ziiiiiiiiiiiip

 

then on with the day!

sick, no?

some wedding plans… and a breakfast set-back

do you want to hear the success first? or the failure?

er… i’ll give you the failure first, just to get it out of the way.

   <— the culpret

the victim –>

  <—The hero

So I hate our toaster.

We’ve got beef (what does that even mean?! I’m not sure I used that correctly)

anywho…

Beef 1: the thing makes a ticking noise when it’s toasting… i guess so you don’t forget you are toasting something

HOWEVER, it ALSO makes that SAME ticking sound even when it isn’t plugged in… so you THINK your are gettin’ your toast on… in fact, your toast is still just bread because the toaster has been unplugged and isn’t getting hot… it’s just making the ticking sound.

SO. AN.NOY.ING

but that’s not what happened this morning.

Beef 2: the toaster does not STOP toasting… ever.

once you turn it on, it’s the energizer bunny… going, and going, and going.

SO. AN.NOY.ING

beef 2  is what occurred this morning… the thing just kept on toasting, and toasting, and toasting until my bread was a black brick of shame. (ooh, alliteration)

i remembered to plug the sucker in before turning it on… however, then I sat down on the couch, turned on my computer, and sat down to write an awesome blog about some wedding planning …

toaster of terror just kept at it, until flames were practically shooting out from it!

fortunately, one still-growing 19 year-old little brother/scavenger came to the rescue and gave the toast a proper burial…

in his belly.

I think I actually heard a “hm, not bad”

thanks baby bro!

 

Back to the original post!

the yard is coming along nicely for the wedding (thanks Mom and Daddy!)

Here is the image board I made in an attempt to wrangle all my ideas into some sort of organized thought

what do you think?

can you picture it?

 

here’s the program I used for the board

http://www.photovisi.com/

 

SO EASY! Give it a try!

Baby shower for Tiffany!

One of my BFFs Tiffany is getting very pregnant… probably too pregnant now to help me with scavenging shenanigans.

anywho…

She is also getting the perfect amount of pregnant for a baby shower.

I am helping a mutual friend and her sister with a shower later this month

(I’ll finally get to show you the present I’ve been working diligently on for a MONTH)

here’s a sneeky peeky:

that’s it, you’ll have to wait for her shower at the end of April to see the rest!

 

But I can show you some goodies from the work shower I also helped with:

It was a surprise shower… and let me tell you, it was SO hard to keep it that way!

Tiff and I are taking the same classes this semester, so we are together a lot.

While sitting in class about two weeks before the shower, I opened up an email from our boss…  it was an e-vite to the surprise shower…

opened up really big on my laptop…

with her sitting right there next to me!

 

EEK! I just started hitting buttons, trying to get it to go away before she saw it!

Fortunately, she was oblivious to my mid-lecture panic attack

She was very surprised!!!

(see? I CAN keep secrets!)

 

Tiff did almost ruin things by showing up early (who does that?!)… thanks Rachel for running outside to meet her and dragging her next door to distract her while we finished setting up!

 

Here’s the set-up:

 

 

the centerpieces were little metal pails I got from the dollar bin section at Target, filled with candy, and then a pinwheel in each bucket (3 for $1 and the Dollar Store).

Not baby-ish, but whimsical and fun.

 

Tiff got a lot of wonderful presents from our co-workers:

  

This was my present to Hunter… onesies with ties.

 

haha, it still makes me chuckle.

perfect for the office, Sunday church service, maybe a job interview…

i mean, whatever fashion needs your newborn has, a tie can certainly take care of them.

 

I got the idea from a fellow blogger

(I’m looking for your tutorial on how to make these but I cannot for the life of me remember who you are!!!! If you read this, please shoot me a comment so I can give you credit)

When I do remember who I snagged the idea from, I’ll link her post up here because hers are super cute and she deserves credit + oohs and aaahs.

 

cut out your fabric. I used a pattern I drew by hand but I bet you could get one online too.

 

using iron-on sheets (is that what they’re called?), iron the sheet to the back of your tie, then peel off the paper and iron the tie to your shirt.

Technically, iron-on stuff is supposed to be washing-machine safe, but since I knew it would be around a baby and possibly yucked all over, I stitched around the tie

(plus it made the finished product looked nice and finished).

 

super easy, super cute.

bada bing bada boom, we’re in business!

I was running super late that day of the shower though and I forgot to get a good close-up pic of the finished project….

we’ll just have to display it on Hunter when he gets here.

 

ps: I can’t lie… I got the onesies from the thrift store because I knew Tiff wouldn’t care. A brand new Carter’s onesie is a brand new Carter’s onesie…. whether you pay $6 for it or only 50 cents.

i’m just sayin’

feeling kinda distant

I feel like I’ve been going non-stop for the past 3 weeks. Unfortunately, the buh-jillion things on my to-do list aren’t really interesting enough to share on the bloggy.

I promise some wedding goodies coming up though…

I’ve almost finished the save-the-dates. 

woop woop.

grrr...

bear with me... I'm undergoing some blog renovations!

yes, I'm a speech therapist, and yes, I had to look up which bear/bare to use:
please don't bare with me... i don't want to see you nekked.
instead, bear with me while my site's a mess!

grrr.. english

i'm just sayin'

Captivating Curls

I thought I would share some of my favorite hair tips with

some of you fellow curly-Q ladies.

Step 1:

Shower; every day.

Step 2:

Shampoo your hair; but not with shampoo, and not every day.

let me explain: yes, you should shower every day (um…i shouldn’t have to tell you that), but most (pretty much all) shampoos on the market today have sulfates in them.

Sulfates strip your hair of some natural oils, and if you have curly hair then you know…

we aint got none to spare!

nobody wants to have scarecrow hair

EEK!

The solution?

No-poos

haha, i just love saying that. no-poos.

Now, I haven’t gone completely “no poo”, there are some actual home remedies ( baking soda and apple cider vinegar) that you could use,

i’m not ready to head that direction just yet…

but I DO use “shampoo” that is natural and has no sulfates – Hair One.

You can get it at any Sally Beauty store for about $10.

I know that’s more expensive than your average run-of-the-mill Pert Plus…

but I’ve been using the same bottle for 6 weeks and still haven’t run out

(and I use about 20 pumps each time I shampoo since my hair is so long)!

*Just a word of warning: No-poos don’t foam up or lather… they sort of disappear on your head, so it may take a little bit to figure out the right amount to use on your hair.

* Also, they don’t leave a “silky” feeling to your hair when you’re in the shower, like other shampoos would… this threw me for a loop the first time I used Hair One and I ALMOST used my regular shampoo right after it because I didn’t like not having the “slippery/silky” hair feeling after shampooing… don’t be alarmed.

at least give it a try!

What I love about Hair One is that your hair is silky and soft when it dries, which is more important than how it feels right after shampooing.

Step 3 - After showering:

DO NOT us a towel on your curls…

For the love of PETE, just don’t do it!!

terrycloth towels, even the high end ones, have a rough texture with lots of little ‘grabbies’ all over…

if you use one to dry your hair, it will create more frizzies and actually separate the curls.

Instead, I use an old t-shirt or a paper towel to squeeze the water out (squeeze, not ring)

Paper towels actually work the best, and if I do use those, they last me about 3 weeks since all i use them for is blotting

(not scrubbing or twisting, right? right?? I had better not see you twisting!)

Step 4 - the arsenal…

after getting most of the water out I put in my favorite products.

 actually, I really just use this one:

it’s magical. it delivers smooth curls without disgusting “crunchy” side effects.

the other bottles are just remnants of failed attempts to achieve the perfect curls.

I don’t know why I don’t just throw them away!

Step 5 - Blow 'em dry!
After applying product and combing it through (with my fingers… PUT DOWN THE BRUSH!), I use my blow dryer with the diffuser attachment; it looks like this:

Just remember, the less you touch your hair, the fewer frizzies you’ll have and the more awesomely bouncy curls you’ll have.

*Disclaimer:

i am not a hair expert.

i do not have perfect hair.

i was not paid in any form for promoting these products.

i am not at fault for any hair mishaps you may have.

use these tips at your own risk.

i’m just sayin’

Exhausted!

this is kind of sad.... but I'm exhausted from one of my Sunday afternoon activities.

nope, it wasn't the awesome church service this morning,
nor was it studying for an exam I have tomorrow.

I am mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted from....

wedding registries!!!!

haha, sorry if that was anti-climactic (it sounded more dramatic in my head)

Future Hubby and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to begin our first wedding registry. 

I guess I had kind of been putting it off for a while because, well
a little thing called a THESIS, 

but also because I was afraid of registering too soon and then 

having something become discontinued before the wedding.

First of all, there are WAY too many buttons on that little clicky-gun...
you don't need half of them.

(it's not even in a fun gun shape to enhance the "whip around the 

corner and zap something" experience I had in mind)

Second of all, Future hubby took control of the gun because it

was "too confusing for me"...

(really, I just didn't want to be bogged down with technology... 

I wanted to flit around, dreaming of how I would decorate
our future home and which shower curtain would look
the most fabulous in the upstairs bathroom...
and that silly calculator on steroids would only bog me down! )


I realized this plan had backfired on me this evening as I was reviewing our registry online
lo and behold... what do I spy with my very own two eyes?
some surprise registry items, like this little fella...

 err.... i just threw up in my mouth a little bit.


Can you imagine if I hadn't seen it?!
some little 'ol lady from church would have, and probably croaked on the spot!


future hubby thought he was soooo sneaky 
what a phony balony!

*i know that's not how you spell bologna,
but it seems more "rhymy" with phony when it's spelled that way*

 That's not where it ended though...
after my first surprise registry finding I scoured the rest of the pages.


good thing, too.
certainly not something I would ever let grace any shelf of mine...

errr.... 

 yeah, about that. 

I don't know if it's the wording "girls night out" 

 the way it's bedazzled
or that fact that some punctuation is missing...

all around... not something I'm dying to receive as a wedding gift.

I also found this picture on my camera

(please disregard the inappropriate closeness of this pic and the relative lumpiness of it all)

yes, that is the scanner-gun light on my heinie.

haha,  wishful thinking on his part.

"no babe, you can't register me for a heinie upgrade at Bed Bath and Beyond"

*jk, he's not that kinda guy... mom you can put the shotgun down*

__________________________________________________

while we were at BB&B (kind of sounds like it should be the name of a bank), future hubby decided he needed a new pillow, on account of him not sleeping well the past few months.

well, ya can't miss the pillow section!

a lot of poking, prodding, squishing, and "snoozing" ensued.

I pretended not to mind that he laid his head on each and every one.

I kept my "do you know how many heads have been on those" comments to myself.

I think we've found a winner!

(but still... gross!)

I guess back to the main point...

I'm exhausted, from an activity that should have been super fun, because even the simple task of choosing a pizza cutter resulted in this:

um.... I can barely make a decision in the morning on
apple butter or cinnamon for my toast;

how am I supposed to make a decision here?!

there's just too much stuff in this world. 

do we really need it all?

How is it that our mindset today has strayed so far from that of early Christians;

the mindset of more, more, more.

we just make things more difficult for ourselves.

we've lost the concept of "community"... the way God planned the earliest churches in Acts.

we've replaced the idea of "sharing and caring" with "me and my stuff in my isolated world"

is this stuff really what's important?

i'm just sayin'

Confessions

I have a confession.

actually, it's more of an announcement.

I was cleaning out my bathroom bins last night... 

- throwing away old makeup

- chucking dried up nail polish

- weighing pros and cons of keep 5 majillion half used hair product bottles (what?! i might use them one day!)

etc, etc.

anywho.... i'd like to report this embarrassing  funny finding

go ahead... take a closer look

yup, you're seeing clearly.... that's 4 tweezers and 6 pairs of nail clippers

*wretch*

AND

i know for a FACT that i have 2 more tweezers and 1 pair of nail clippers in my car as we speak!

Who needs this many tweezers and clippers?

I'm not Chewbacca

though I wouldn't mind being best friends with Harrison Ford.... *giggle, snort*

(no offense future hubby)

SO....

How did this happen?

two words:

GRADUATE SCHOOL

dun dun DUN!!!!!

I NEVER used to be this out of sorts.

forgetful, messy, unorganized, buying new nail clippers because I really needed to trim a hangnail but could find any of the other 5 pairs...

embarrassing, to say the least

 I loaded those photos up so fast, my blog didn't have a chance to blink.

because i wanted it to be public... 

hopefully in sharing my "i can't find it so i'll buy a new one" sickness I can prevent this from happening again.

on a happier note:

I found my retainer!!!

(*yes, she is still in one piece and relatively clean....
...and yes, she IS glow in the dark blue!)

and this morning my teeth are aching so badly i half expect them to jump right out
of my mouth and run away screaming to find a better home (maybe the elderly lady down the street?)

.... I guess that's what happens when (cover your ears dad) you don't
wear it for 5 years and then try to jam it back into your mouth.

side-note people: TEETH CHANGE

i'm just sayin'

hello, yellow boots.

I love you.

you're perfect for snow, sleet, rain... and you've served me well.

but I want so badly to put you in the closet for 7 months so my feet can be free!!

Dear Summer,

I love you.

 

please descend on Virginia 

a little early this year.

i might die if i can't put my toes in sand soon!

warmly, 

ashley

ps: i know where you live... i will hunt you down... 

and there will be consequences.

glorious re-purposed goodies!

here's my latest side-of-the road scavenge rescue

ain't she a beauty?

I can't say I'm usually drawn to wrought iron pieces...

but she spoke to me...

because she was FREE!!!

So, I stuffed her into my tiny car and dragged her away kicking and screaming.

I hosed her down and brushed away any loose paint or rust.
(I probably could have done a rust removal treatment... but she was free.. and who has time for that anyway)

then I recruited my little brother to muscle a crooked leg back into place.

(sorry no pictures of me trying to do it before I gave in and asked him)

Thanks baby bro!!
(and thanks for posing for a picture without hemming and hawing too much...

It's for the blog PEOPLE!!!)

Then came the thinking part.

No, I don't have the gift that some of you have; 

I rarely have a "vision" right away for how I want my treasure to turn out.

so... (cue jeopardy music) what to do with this table?

thinking....

thinking...

  thinking...

ok ok, sorry there was no AHA! moment...

nope, this was a "let's just dive in and see what happens" kind of thought process.

I gave her a good coating of RustOleum.

I don't have pictures of the first coat, but I actually painted it brown...

then hated it.

that's what I get for not having a complete plan in my head!

so I slapped some white on her.

bada bing bada boom

we're in business.

now, I know what you're thinking:

"Um, HELLO? Does she know there's not a top to that table?"

Good news...Yes! I DID see that the glass top was missing!

I'm guessing that's why she was kicked to the curb... poor little lady.

Solution?

I thought you'd never ask!

A few weeks ago I found a great piece of artwork at Goodwill.

 It was one solid piece of finished wood with a nice print...

but I didn't buy it to hang on my wall. I actually bought it for another project
(coming soon, once I find a different piece of wood!).

anywho, lady saw this piece in my arms at the Goodwill and commented on the "beautiful print"

gag me.
I thought it was hideous and couldn't wait to paint over it.

I thought for sure all Goodwillers shared my passion for re-purposing....

negative.
words cannot describe the ice dagger stare she gave me when I told her my plans for it.

sheesh!

anyway, here it is:

ok, I guess it is kinda nice... 

but has some scratches and I'm no art restoration expert so I'm stickin' with the plan!

I gave her a good coating of plain 'ol white paint.

Once that dried, I taped off the edges with painter's tape.

I didn't have an exact image in my head of the look I was going for, 

but I knew I wanted the white to poke through in certain areas... like the border.

I started taping off sections here and there... no pattern in mind, just random stripes.

Rummaging through my stash of acrylic paints, I chose two of my favs:

GREEN and YELLOW

then just went to town, painting as I pleased.

Happy Spring to ME!!

the neighbors were curious.

this part makes me nervous. will it be a clean line?

I think my painters tape was kinda old... and may have lost some of its sticky talent...

oh well, not too bad!

TADA!!!
I love how crisp and clean it looks!

woops, don't look too closely at the edges!

I was so excited to show you I forgot to touch 'em up!

anyway...
I can't wait to give her a nice protective coat so she can stay outside and hold some of my potted plants!

 thank you neighbor down the road for this trash...
which is now treasure.
nanna nanna boo boo!!

i'm just sayin'
and
i'm just linkin' up...
with