October 16, 2005

I have a box of old journals that is sitting in our extra room.  Jillian loves to take them out and scatter them around the house.  The other day I found one and decided to read a little.  This is part of my entry from October 16, 2005:

"So I'm totally in love with this guy named Bryan in our ward.  He is so nice and so cute, I get so intimidated and can't talk around him.  Lisa and Judi [my roommates] think it's so funny.  Last night on the way home from the game I saw him outside with his friend so I talked to them for a little bit which was fun.  Ahh!  He's so perfect!"

Yes, that was Bryan's journalistic debut.  I'm pretty sure he wishes that I still was too intimidated to talk around him instead of talking his ear off.  Now I know why I'm such a dedicated journaler- for comic relief in the future!

Little Helper

On Friday I was making pizza dough and Jilly was fascinated so I lifted her up and let her help me dip the measuring cup into the flour then pour it into the bowl.  She loved it.  She was squealing with excitement and begging to add more and more flour.

Today I made dough again (this time for breadsticks) so I let her help me.  Once again she was enraptured by the measuring and pouring of the flour.  I had to move the dough into another bowl and since it would only take a few seconds I figured I'd let her play with the measuring cup a little more.  And this is what happened:

She started the day with some cute tights, but then she stepped in paint so those had to go.  She also started the day with a cute polka-dot shirt but then I gave her a little chocolate chip after lunch.  Chocolate chip + major drooling from teething is a terrible combination for a cute polka-dot shirt, so that had to go.  Thus we were left with a onesie and jean skirt (which had to go once they were covered in flour.)  Good thing Tuesday is laundry day!

This week...

Jilly ate an entire box and a half of graham crackers by herself

I went to Walmart 3 days in a row, which was 3 times more than I wanted to be there

Bryan had jury duty, which means he got paid to sit at the courthouse all day reading and watching movies- when do I get jury duty??

Three little teeth broke through Jilly's poor gums- we've been struggling in the sleep department

I read Matched- loved it!

Bryan started studying for the PE (Principles of Engineering) Exam he's taking in April.  We are so not thrilled about the studying but excited for Bry to get his professional license.

Jilly moved on from necklaces to purses

I began decorating for my favorite holiday

Bryan and I started watching Alcatraz, we like it a lot so far

I enjoyed participating in Kayla's 10 Day Challenge, you should join next week!

My phone took a swim in the washing machine, and by swim I mean it was in there for a good 15 minutes before I figured it out.  I kept it in rice for 2.5 days and voila!  It works again, what a miracle!

But, the very best thing that happened this week was we found out that my sister is coming to visit in March and the rest of my family in April- yea!!!!!!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

All things British

I realize I talk about London/England a lot but let's be honest, my study abroad was most likely the coolest thing I'll ever do so those memories have to last me a lifetime.  This month I've been having a delightful time remembering that wonderful place.  I watched all the available episodes of Downton Abbey, listened to Pillars of the Earth, and read Jane Eyre.

Downton Abbey is just as amazing as everyone says.  I liked Season 1, but I am really loving Season 2.  One of my classes in London was all about "The Great War."  I had studied WWII extensively in high school but felt like we kind of glazed over WWI.  In London I learned so much about WWI and better appreciated the great changes it brought.  I love the WWI aspect of Downton and it doesn't hurt that it also has fantastic characters and story lines.

Pillars of the Earth is fascinating.  It takes place in 12th century England and really brings that period to life.  The story tells about all the challenges the townspeople of Kingsbridge face while trying to build their own cathedral.  Follett weaves through a whole cast of characters that I either loved or loathed; they felt like my friends and my enemies.  Never have I felt so grateful for my modern life.  Life was so awful then- the brutal class system, constant fighting, and terrible poverty.  My only disclaimer for this book is it's definitely a little risqué.  It would have been much easier to skip over the bad parts had I been reading instead of listening.

Oh, I love Jane Eyre so much.  I read it in high school and I liked it then, but I'm sure I skimmed a lot and read cliffsnotes (gasp!) when I just didn't have time to finish my reading assignment.  Books are always much better when read by choice.  It takes place in the 1800's in England and it's interesting how little changed between the 12th and 19th centuries.  Still a brutal class system with terrible poverty.  I love that Jane Eyre is part history, part mystery, and part romance.  It really may be the perfect book.

Before and After

When we moved in the master bathroom was a real eyesore.  As our realtor put it, "It looks like someone showered in here incessantly yet never cleaned at all."  Gross.  But Super Bryan came to the rescue.

The Before- doesn't it make you cringe?!?!

The before floor (I promise, no other room in our house looked like this at all, somehow this just was the neglected child)

I'm 95% sure Bryan's favorite part of the project was gutting the old junk.  He had a big smile on his face as he hammered away.

In action

Bry got sick of doing all the work himself so we hired a slave... or we just convinced our friend Tommy that since his wife was out of town the best use of his time would be helping with our bathroom

Hello New Shower!!!  The glass doors are fantastic because while I'm showering I can watch Jilly unroll the entire roll of toilet paper onto the floor.

Tile up close- we used antique white 4x6 tile and grey un-sanded grout with a blue/grey decorative strip

My only part in the process (besides lots of moral support and encouragement and a few "will my bedroom ever stop being a workspace?"s ) was painting the walls.  First blue was way too bright, but I'm loving this darker blue.

(Jilly modeling our shower and her new Valentines jammies)

Bryan's brother proposed that we have a breaking in the shower party and invite everyone we know to come shower with us.  Regretfully, we are not going to use this excellent idea.  But, I promise if you come visit us we'll let you take a solo shower in our new bathroom!

Will You Be Mine

This week Jilly and I were able to visit our favorite Schaders.  Rarely does one find a friend like Lisa.  We can (and do!) talk about everything.  She is one of those people that makes you feel perfectly comfortable, and she always lifts you up.

But, the visit wasn't just for me.  Jilly now has her very first Valentine.  Sweet Blake gave her this gift.

A rose, chocolates, an owl purse, a notepad, Hello Kitty candies, and pink socks- this boy really knows the way to a girl's heart

And, I suppose if she has to have a suitor Blake would definitely be my first choice.  Isn't he a cutie?

Pinteresting

My Cousin-in-law and I were discussing Pinterest a few weeks ago and we both agreed that it's a "productive waste of time."  Though most pinned items will remain in cyberspace, I have done a few projets that I am pretty pleased with.

Pinterest Family Handprints:

Source: littlenannygoat.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Mine:

Pinterest Fall Leaves Pillow:

Source: cluckclucksew.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Mine:

Pinterest Coasters: 

Source: thecottagehome.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Mine:

 

Pinterest Monogram:

Source: etsy.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Mine:

Oh my darling Clementine

This girl is obsessed with clementines.  It took her a few tries to figure out that the peel doesn't taste very good but now she can't get enough of their sweet and juicy goodness.

Home Tour

I haven't posted many pictures of our house because it feels like nothing is perfectly the way I want it.  But, I suppose imagining up our next project is a big part of the fun, and our house will surely never be perfectly the way I want it.  These days I am loving my very talented friend Kirsten's design blog 6th Street Design School, Young House Love (they live in Richmond!), and decorating ideas from Pinterest.  It's fun to get ideas and see pictures of amazing homes then see how we can make these ideas our own and stay within our itty bitty budget.

I want to start posting pictures of our home despite the fact that it will always be a work in progress.  To start out, here's our little eating area.  I already posted about my yellow stripes, but here is the finished area.

My mom gave me the placemats and napkins at my bridal shower (they're from Crate and Barrel.)  We got that amazing pitcher for our wedding and it broke a couple months ago but I love it so much that I superglued all the pieces back together.  Bryan really wanted a tall table for his long legs; the only problem is that I can't sew there because my feet don't reach the foot pedal!  Our fancy bar stool is from Ikea (there's another one that was in use somewhere else in the house when I took this picture.)  The print in the middle was another wedding gift that we love.

Girly Time

Bryan was on a business trip in Phoenix this week so Jilly and I had lots of fun girly time.

We went to story time at the library, played with Jilly's friend Kylie, dressed up in all my necklaces,

watched Gilmore Girls and Downton Abbey, finished a sewing project, played with bubbles,

shopped, played at the playground, visited Jilly's Nana and Papa,

And apparently we gave up on any semblance of table manners

We're so very glad our daddy/husband is home!

How it's done

After your kind comments on this post, I was feeling really great about myself.  Then I read this post from Janssen, who read 156 books last year.  Woah.  But the girl also eats rutabaga, so I'm pretty sure she's not real.

I've decided to still be impressed with myself and share how I find time to read.  I hardly ever get to read for more than 15 minutes at a time.  For me, it's all about taking advantage of any spare minute.  Some precious minutes include:
- bath time: I sit right next to the tub while Miss Jilly splashes around.  Only problem is this is very dangerous for the books
- pumping gas: I always have a book in my purse so I don't have to stand there and watch my money slip away from me
- getting ready: Not everyone was blessed/cursed with the Rice gene for massive amounts of hair, but I was.  It takes a good 20 minutes to blow dry my hair and I learned from my mom that this is excellent reading time.
- lunch time: Now that Jilly can feed herself (kind of) I can sit next to her and read while I eat my lunch- bliss.

The way I really am able to read so many books is listening to them on CD.  I'm always listening to a book in the car which severely handicaps my knowledge of current music, but let's be honest, it's not going to get much better than the Backstreet Boys so I can feel good about my music taste that hasn't changed since 2002.  I upload CDs to my ipod and listen while running, painting (which I've been doing a lot lately), cooking, cleaning, or when it's Bryan's turn to pick the movie (I kid... but it's been known to happen.)

So, there you have it- that's how it's done.

chocolately moist delight bundt cake

My in-laws were all very skeptical when they heard we were having a bundt birthday cake.  Bundt cakes aren't really known for being moist and delicious.  But this cake defies the odds.

1 yellow cake mix
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding
1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream
3/4 cup oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup water
1 (6 ounce) package chocolate chips

In a large bowl, blend all ingredients except chocolate chips.  Beat for 4 minutes.  Fold in the chips.  Pour into a well-greased bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.  Allow cake to cool completely before removing from pan.

Makes my mouth water just thinking about it...

picture via, ours disappeared way too fast to get any pictures

Cool Kids

Long ago, my summers often included a trip to see family in Utah.  I was always excited to be back with the "Cool Kids Club"- the cousins my age on my dad's side.  We had so much fun making midnight runs to Wendy's, playing Phase 10, buying matching clothes, performing skits for the family, dancing in the car, creating synchronized swimming routines, playing pranks on each other and strangers, and just being crazy kids.

Now we're all grown up with our own families and we sadly don't get to see each other very much.  But we were all together at my Grandpa's funeral so we decided to get a Cool Kids picture for old time's sake.

Ashley, me, Stephani, Brian, and Joseph- the coolest kids around

Dancing Queen

Ever since the moment we found out Jilly was a girl I've been dreaming of my little ballerina.  My old pointe shoes are hanging in her bedroom along with a couple other ballerina prints.

But after seeing the moves this girl comes up with, I'm thinking we may be heading in the hip hop direction.  Hopefully I can convince her to try on a tutu at least once for me!



(You should probably be impressed with Bryan's beatbox skills as well)

a birthday

I love birthdays.  I think it's fantastic that every person gets their very own day to be celebrated.  Plus, a day when you get kind texts/calls/cards/messages all day long from friends and family?  Yes, please.

Last Thursday was my 26th birthday. For breakfast Bryan made me delicious Belgian waffles with buttermilk syrup and fresh raspberries.  The day could have ended there and I would have been happy.  But after a little nap we packed up everything we own (seems like it at least) and headed into San Francisco to meet the rest of the family.

 I was so excited to show Jilly the puppies in the windows at Macy's.  She loved the "woof woofs."  We also walked down Pier 39 to see the sea lions- the other "woof woofs"

(trust me, my hair did not start out looking this way- those flippies are all thanks to the lovely humid air)

We ate clam chowder and Bryan wasn't feeding Jilly fast enough so she took matters into her own hands.

Bryan made my very very favorite cake that my mom always made for my birthday.  He appropriately calls it "chocolatey moist delight bundt cake."  Trust me, it's delish.

The thing I wanted most for my birthday was to go out to dinner without a little Jilly putting her fingers in my food.  On Friday Bryan took me to Texas Roadhouse and it was fabulous.  But please don't ask how many rolls I ate...

If my birthday is any evidence of what the rest of the year will be like I'm feeling great about 26!