Oops. Been gone a while.

Two weeks? Dudes. I did not mean to be gone for two weeks. I must apologize for that. Although, you should understand that I really don't have time to blog. Because I'm knitting.

No, really. I mean, I'm working. I'm feeding Z-cakes. I'm running the dishwasher. But otherwise? Knitting.

You should also know that I have a bundle of blog posts written in my head and there is a good chance that they'll actually be published in the near future. Fingers crossed. It's just that you can't type and knit at the same time, you know? Unless you have someone to dictate to and N8tr0n is at work right now. And Z-cakes? Well Z-cakes is downright horrible at dictation. Trust me.

Last night we had a family game night. N8tr0n and I sat there marveling at how much we love Z-cakes and how amazing her attention span was and how hilarious it was when she said, "whoa, I am way too fast for you!" And just now I realized that in a few short months that girl will be four years old. And I'm going to put that thought out of my mind just as quickly as it entered.

If all goes according to plan, by the time you read this I will have been to an aerobics class at the gym with Emmylou and will probably be considering a mid-morning nap. I hope your Monday goes according to plan to friends.

XO

Weekending

To say that I had fun at our first ever letterpress class this weekend would be a devastating understatement. I was positively giddy the entire time. I could have spent hours at the Idaho Poster and Letterpress studio searching every drawer and fingering all of the gorgeous type. But since our time was limited, I pulled a few cards and then busied myself with picture taking and question asking. Good luck getting me to shut-up about letterpress from here on out.

But that wasn't all that made our weekend so fantastic. We also went to see Ira Glass speak at BSU! I figured seeing this show was as close as I was going to get to having him over for dinner. Of course I loved every second and wish I had it all on tape so that I could listen to the entire thing again. If he is on his way to your town, I would highly recommend attending. And if you do, let's chat about what it is like to tell people about your weekend plans. For example, I had this conversation several times in the last two weeks:

"Any plans for the weekend?"
"Yeah! We're going to see Ira Glass!"
"Blink...blink. To see what?"
"Oh. He's the host of This American Life. A...radio program?....on...NPR?"
"Ah."
"Yeah. Anyway..."

I hope your weekend was equally as wonderful. Today Z-cakes and I both have coughs so we're going to be wearing flannels and watching a lot of movies. I can't say I'm complaining.

Weekending

I love it when holidays extend over several days. I feel like we've been celebrating Halloween since Wednesday and there is still one more night of action! Here are a few highlights from our weekend:

Z-cakes got all dressed up for our church Halloween party. (That makes 4 times so far that she's gotten to wear her costume. Yesssssss!) I took pictures of her on the deck and the well-known struggle with opening her eyes AND looking in my general direction AND smiling continued.

At the party several people told me that they loved my nerd costume and I didn't have the heart to tell them that I was actually just wearing my regular clothes.

We spent the rest of the weekend in Burley where my sister-in-law and I turned approximately eleventy thousand sugar cookies into mummies.

We had a little birthday celebration for my brother who is turning 26 on Tuesday. I made the White Out cake from Baked and oh my lands that recipe is a keeper. It was especially delicious with the raspberry filling I included. No, seriously.

At the end of the night my sister-in-law decided to cut up her wedding dress to turn it into a Halloween costume.

I'm kidding. She got this dress for $20 at a thrift store. Won't she make a lovely Bride of Frankenstein?

Happy Haunting my friends! Are you Trick or Treating tonight?

Weekending

This weekend was the first one in what seems like forever that we haven't been away or hosting guests. We took advantage of our free weekend, and the amazing weather, to paint our deck.

I believe it was June when we decided to completely refinish our deck. So finishing four months later? That's actually pretty good for us. Here's what the deck looked like before (photo taken way back in July):

{please note the lone flower pot. I went way over the top this year with deck decor}

The black paint that had previously covered the deck had mostly peeled off. I decided I didn't want black anymore but finding a deck color that looks good on old wood + doesn't clash with the color of the bricks was harder than I expected. It took a mere seven sample bottles of stain before we found a color that was acceptable.

N8tr0n has been working like a fiend on the deck stripping, scrubbing, treating, sanding, and finally painting (I finally helped when it was time to paint). Like every other home project, this one took us way more time, cost way more money, and was way more of a pain than we thought it would be. All that aside, we still really love home projects. And we love our pretty deck.

Now N8tr0n and I are constantly stopping to admire our (mostly his) work. We have big plans for the fence too but there is a good chance it will be spring before you see those results.

What do you think? Any fun, more work that you thought they would be, projects going on in your home?

Best Birthday Ever

Today is my birthday and my heart is so full. Here's a few highlights from my weekend:

:: Four of my best friends from Denver showing up for the weekend. Total surprise.
:: Kim hosting an amazing party.
:: Being surrounded by friends and family from Burley, Seattle, Portland, Salmon, American Falls, Idaho Falls, and Pocatello.
:: A new ipad2.
:: Giant breakfasts with 10 people around the table eating our fresh eggs and pumpkin waffles.
:: Caramel apples.
:: 2 trips to Cafe Rio.
:: Pine nut hunting around the City of Rocks.

I couldn't feel more blessed. Thank you all for such a wonderful birthday!

XO

Weekending

Good morning friends! We spent another lovely weekend in Burley. Did you have a good weekend too? We spent Saturday hanging out with family (N8tr0n golfed with my dad and I shopped with my mother + sister-in-law).

Plus we ate at Aguila Con El Taco which is possibly my most favorite Mexican restaurant ever.

On Sunday the three of us drove to Bostetter to catch a glimpse of the gorgeous fall colors (we were not disappointed), and ate Chili for dinner. Yum. So far, this fall is coming together just the way I like it.

And as you know, it is October which means, I am happy. Here's a list of a few of the things that are making me terribly happy today:

01. Having gone for a run with Emmylou this morning! Hip Hip Hooray for us!
02. The pile of leaves sitting on my counter collected from our fall colors drive.
03. Mailing out a stack of invitations for my 30th birthday party!
04. The crazy way Z sprawls across her bed while she's sleeping.
05. Peaches for breakfast.
06. Our family date to the pumpkin patch tonight!
07. Making a list of possible desserts to make today and trying to get Z-cakes to choose just one.
08. Planting bulbs.
09. Watching new TV with N8tr0n.
10. Leftover chili in my fridge.

So do tell, what is making you terribly happy today? I'll be making plenty of lists just like this one so prepare yourself accordingly. Also, be sure to check in tomorrow morning. I have a fun offer from two of my favorite Etsy artists!

Weekending

Good morning! How was your weekend friends? N8tr0n surprised us with an overnight stay in Jackson Hole. He said that even though we have been doing lots with our extended family we hadn't gone anywhere just the three of us. Rad, right? We had a great time. I can't wait to go back for a longer stay next year.

We started the morning with a delicious breakfast at The Bunnery.

Then we looked through some art galleries, watched the Art Festival Auction, and hung out with Al.

If you knew how many pictures I took trying to get Z-cakes to smile + look directly at the camera....It sounds something like this: "Z. Look at me. Look at me and smile! Look at me with your eyes. Z? Hello! I'm over here! No, look at me with your eyes. Can you turn your head? Now your eyes? Smile please!" This is the best I could do.

N8tr0n and I kept our eyes out for any cool art to put in our house (it was all waaaaaaaay out of our price range), but Z-cakes had her sights set on candy. She made a sizable purchase at Yippy I-O.

We also went to Teton Village to check out the ski resort. Obviously nobody is skiing yet but the place was still hopping with mountain bikers. N8tr0n decided he needed to go skiing this winter now that we have an actual job and money to do those kinds of things. I thought about how it is a shame that I don't ski living in this place of endless winters.

Since he won't be skiing with me, N8tr0n is currently training a new partner.

On the way home we stopped to check out the Teton Dam. I thought it was an amazing sight but it didn't stop me from recognizing that it was the kind of thing my parents would have driven out to see that I would have thought was beyond boring. I guess this is what it feels like to be an adult.

Happy Monday! Here's to having a wonderful week!

P.S. Last night after closing up the chicken coop I came inside and announced that it smelled like fall. Z-cakes insisted on coming outside and smelling for herself. No doubt about it friends, my true love is on his way.