Birthday Haul

Well it's been 10 days since my actual birthday and just this morning I thought I was still 27. Oops. Jake was pretty quick to correct me when I accidentally said it out loud ;). Even though my birthday is not about gifts... I thought I would share some what my lovely wonderful husband did for me --

I came home late Thursday night (a couple days before my actual birthday) from a little Anthropologie DIY event I attended with Megan (I blogged about it here).  I seriously felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I pretty much gave Jake a few specific instructions (ikea cart) and then he did the rest on his own! I have the best husband.

 Here are the goods -

Ikea Raskog Cart.. which is in process of being designed/decorated.

I am planning to use it as a bar cart.  This is my inspiration.... so fun right!?!? What else did I score? Did someone say CT???? My husband knows me too well.

JCREW makeup bag, LOFT gift card and Magic Mike! Woo!

Birthdays are the best! Have you scored any amazing presents for your birthday recently?

Thankful.

This is my first thanksgiving post since I started blogging! Sometimes I will admit that I do get kind of caught up in the shopping/sale extravaganza of the Thanksgiving Black Friday weekend. But, I feel so much better when I focus on all the things that I am thankful for, a gratitude list of sorts, so here are a few of the many things I am thankful for:

jake & i, circa 2007

megan & i, circa 2009

Baby Brynn!

my husband, friends, family, our apartment, our jobs, my new niece {baby brynn}, friends' dogs that i get to hang around with but not have to take care of, my health, my 4 blog followers, shopping with friends, happy hours with friends, phone calls with friends & just life in general.

I also think it's important to focus on the things we are thankful for, not just at Thanksgiving, but all year round. 

Birthday Weekend

If you have been following me on Instagram, you might have noticed that we spent my birthday weekend in good ol' Spokane. I lived in Spokane for 4 years while I attended college @ Gonzaga. I can't believe it's been 5 years since I graduated! Time sure flies as you get older. Anyway, we stayed with a couple of friends of ours and went down to Riverpark Square, Greenbluff and my new favorite restaurant called Chaps! 

Here are some snaps from our weekend -

Not sure why I love this so much

Our friend's doggie, "billy"

Ahhh... Spokane. I miss this place, sometimes.

A little squinty smile, anyone?

My birthday breakfast of blueberry muffin french toast, potatoes and bacon! It was delish.

Driving back home, over the pass... Until next time, Spokane!

Did you do anything fun last weekend? Can you believe today is Thanksgiving?!?  I'm not promising... but we might be getting our Christmas tree tomorrow! Stay tuned...

Holi-DIY @ Anthropologie

My bestie Megan and I went to happy hour after work yesterday {woo!} and then headed over to the annual anthropologie DIY holiday crafting event at the downtown Seattle store.  The project was color blocked coasters - lead by none other than Cassandra of Coco + Kelley! We were a little star struck but didn't want to be stalker weirdos. 

The 4 coasters I made!

 

 

Megan's coasters!

What are color blocked coasters, you ask? It's pretty simple! You just paint designs on a coaster. You could do color blocked or any other geometric designs.  We each got to make 4! 

Cassandra explaining what to do and not to do!

My setup - including a special mini cupcake for my birthday! :) Not really but let's pretend!

Work in progress

Still working away...

The final product! Love them! Except for my pepsi logo on the bottom left. Oops.

Do you like how I matched mine to my outfit? :)

Some people thought we were sisters! Are we? Nope, just besties!

Our view from the 2nd floor, downtown Seattle.

Christmas is getting closer! Have you done any fun Christmas DIY projects lately?

D-I-Y David

Remember this post where I picked up my beloved bust of David right after we got back from Italy? He was a score at $20 but I probably could have haggled it down a bit. I placed him on our bookshelf here and I thought he looked pretty good, but something still wasn't right. He needed a fresh pop of color paint job.

Enter: my first spray painting experience! My friends Megan and Shan {and I} had been planning a craft day, so what better time than now to start paining David?

Step 1: Pick out spray paint. I was deciding between this bright yellow and sort of teal blue. It's also important to purchase {and use} primer. Megan learned that the hard way. 

Step 2: Read directions on the back of the spray paint can. Primer 2 coats.

I actually kind of liked him white but our apartment is all white so he would be hidden if I left him this color. 

Step 3: Spray paint 2 coats of final color {yellow!}

Step 4: Allow 30-40 minutes to dry before transporting him in your car to your apartment from said friend's house. Allow 48 hours to dry completely.

Step 5: Do not drop David and get spray paint on your leather seats in your car. If you do, look up real quick on the internet how to remove it {hairspray on a cotton ball? Hallelujah!}

Step 6: Do not attempt to spot touch up because you dropped him on his head. It is probably windy and the spray paint will end up where you don't want it.

Step 7: Display on your bookshelf!

I survived my first DIY spray paint project! Barely....

The end!

A Tribute to NY

I mentioned that I wanted to take our next trip to NYC. 

For some reason, New York has a very special place in my heart even though I have never been there before. Let's just say that I have been there in spirit.  Last week I watched the Hurricane Sandy coverage on the news and looking at the images and video of the devastation just about made me cry. I know they are strong and will rebuild, but the feeling of helpless caused by a natural disaster is very overwhelming {even though I was only 7 years old when Hurricane Iniki hit I remember that day like it was yesterday}.

This picture showed up on the internet and I just had to repost. What an image. The City that never sleeps was asleep.

via nymag.com

In the past, I have donated to Red Cross for the tsunami and Haiti earthquake {just a small amount} but every little bit helps. I donated $10 today for the recovery efforts. Will you do the same?

Happy Friday

Hello, blog world... can you believe its November? Also known as my birthday month! Technically my birthday isn't for two more weeks but, boy am I excited! This weekend we have some fun plans including trying out a new Italian restaurant called Rione XIII which is inspired by Trastevere {a district in Rome that we visited during our July trip, photos below}. We are meeting up with our friends Roen and Felicia of 50 Shades of Delicious to discuss their recent Italy trip! It should be a blast. 

On our way to dinner in Rome, our taxi driver rolled the R for the longest time a la Tras-tay-verrrrrray ... but we just watched a Rick Steve's special on Rome and he called it Tras-tiv-erie, so I have no clue how to pronounce it.

Then, this weekend we will also get to spend some time with our new niece - we havent seen her in a couple weeks, so we are pretty excited to see how she has grown. It seems like she looks different in every single picture I see lately. I guess that's how it goes for probably the next 6 months. Then she will start looking like what she is going to look like for real. Does that make sense?

Have a Happy Weekend!