Happy Thanksgiving?

You're welcome.

Let the countdown begin

I'm hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow at our small townhouse with our giant family. Luckily, nine people can't make it so there will only be eighteen of us. Eighteen people. And only three of them are from my side of the family. That's what happens when you marry into a family of eight siblings. In a townhouse. It's not like I have a whole lot to cook, I only have to do the bird, throw some crescent rolls in the oven along with three boxes of Trader Joe's sweet potato pie bites. But just making sure the house and everything is in order is tiring. Our house is a mess most of the time, but when I'm having people over, it has to be spotless. Weird. I have a headache and I'm exhausted and I can't think right now, so I leave you with this:

I was on the phone with my dad yesterday and he said, "So what's for dessert on Thursday?" And I said, "Pumpkin pie, apple pie, and cookies." He didn't say it, but I know he was hoping a pecan pie would be making an appearance. He's from the south, and pecan pie is a staple there. So I trekked out to the store, bought a bag of pecans and some corn syrup and got to baking. Yeah, that's a homemade pie crust, no big deal. He should be pleased. 

The music rut is over!

Ever get into a music rut? I love that feeling of finding an album or an artist that you're obsessed with and have on repeat 24/7. Lately I haven't been listening to much of anything. 

As cheesy and ridiculous as the movies are (don't get me wrong, I love them regardless) the Twilight movies always have the BEST soundtracks and always expose me to artists who are kind of under the radar. The Breaking Dawn pt 1 album did not disappoint. I'm out of the rut! Right now I'm listening to the band Sleeping at Last. So good! Most of their songs are pretty melancholy but some of them are more upbeat. But the lyrics, oh my goodness, the lyrics are soooo good and I find myself looking up the lyrics to every new song I hear. Just beautiful.

This is from their song "Turning Page", the song that's actually on the soundtrack:

If I had only felt how it feels to be yoursI would have known what I've been living for all alongWhat I've been living for
We're tethered to the story we must tellWhen I saw you well I knew we'd tell it wellWith the whisper we will tame the vicious scenesLike a feather bringing kingdoms to their knees

From "Birthright":

But what doesn't kill usMakes us stronger they sayBut our only birthrightIn this life, is the Breath that we take.

From "Tethered":

I'll be brave when you are frightenedYou'll be strong when I am weak in the kneesI'll be calm when you have had enough of these rushing wavesYou'll be the oxygen I need
You'll be balance when I waverI'll be warmth when you are shivering coldYou'll be patience when I've had enough of this waiting gameI'll be the anchor cast below

From "January White"

Well, we could let our guards down a little easier this time, We could trust that when there's joy, there's nothing dark behind. In spite of history, Hope is January white. 

From "Watermark" (this one feels particularly relevant to me right now for some reason):

Dive in with your eyes closedFor the life you were born to claimAnd the water will be paralyzedBy the courage you containAnd the flutter of your earnest heartIt will fill the silent seasAnd all will be restored in your memory 

Plus the album artwork is gorgeous and kinda makes me want to break out the watercolors.

I also discovered Sharemyplaylist.com, and it's something I've been looking for a long time. You can type in a song you like and it will find playlists that people contribute that include that song. It's awesome for discovering new music. 


Disclamer: I just found out that Sleeping at Last is a christian rock band . . . nothing wrong with that, just not really something I'm typically into. I really wouldn't have guessed based on most of the lyrics, but whatever, I'm totally open minded!

Monday Funday

Some good things about this Monday:

Baking pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and eating two of them straight out of the oven for lunch

Wearing sweatpants and Uggs to work (my dining room)

Blasting the Breaking Dawn soundtrack with no judgement

Having an eye-opening session with my therapist (I think everyone should see one!)

Frank not having night class this week and knowing it's a 3-day week

Have a good Monday!

Living Room Redux

If  you've ever been to my house, you know that I can't leave a room the same color for too long. We've lived in our house for a little over two years and I've painted every room except for two of our bathrooms. And it's not like it was horrible to start. I just love how painting is a cheap way to totally change the look of a room. And I've become kiiiiiind of a pro after learning some tips from our friend who helped paint the hallways and two story stairwell (he used to be a professional painter).

So anyway, I decided I was tired of the two toned look of our living room, and wanted to lighten it up so it's nice and bright for the winter (hello, SAD sufferer). But once I had the room painted a very pale aqua, it was suddenly way too cool and bland looking. Enter Crate and Barrel and some cheap DIY tricks to add some warm orange accents. 

So here is the living room before:

And here is the after:

I did really love that bold teal color but it was a little TOO bold to put all over the room, and I was just over the two toned look. I am also not a fan of beige, and I think it casted a yellow tone on the room. So here's the rundown of the changes:

I kept the light blue trellis-patterned pillows (um yeah, just realized one is sideways. I'm not a photographer and I'm not an interior designer) but replaced the other ones with these bad boys from Crate and Barrel. They're just much better quality pillows and I like the more graphic and colorful look. Kept the framed vintage map of Paris above the couch. (PS - I want a sectional, BAD)

The color is totally off in this photo and doesn't really do this side of the room justice, I swear. We grabbed those rust orange pillows from JCPenney, which have the same burlap feel as the Crate and Barrel ones. And I love the buttons. See the wall art? I bought two cloth napkins from C&B that were on clearance for $8. Then I bought two square canvases from Hobby Lobby and stretched them on it, using a staple gun on the back.

I'm kind of in love with this antelope/gazelle/goat? head from Home Goods. Frank looked at me like when I was completely insane when I plucked it off the shelf and said, "I'm getting this, now," without any consideration. I think he kind of loves it now :) Plus I knew it would look awesome because I saw it's distant cousin here. I share the white ceramic animal obsession, it's a sickness

The lighted nook above the fireplace didn't change much, I just cleared some clutter and added this orange vase that I found at Marshalls.

Here's the surprise! I did paint this wall the light aqua color to begin with, but it felt like one big long blue room. So I decided to use some leftover brown paint to do an accent wall, in order to kind of separate the dining area from the living room area. I LOVE it! This photo really is horrible though, I suck at Photoshop. The paint is definitely warmer and slightly darker and really contrasts with the white chair rail.  

The artwork is the same stuff that used to be above the the loveseat. They are pages from an old atlas that I bought at an estate sale. The matting on it was white before, so to make it pop a little more, I grabbed some fabric that I already had and just wrapped the mats. 

And here's a picture of Little Man sleeping on the dining room table, because he has no manners.

Taking a day off

On Wednesday, Frank and I decided we both needed a day off. Except I can basically never take a day off anymore, boo, so I woke up super early and did my "must do" work for the day and left the rest to handle the next day. After he woke up, we decided to take the pup to the dog park since it was such a beautiful day and almost 70 degrees out. Indian summer is just a cruel joke to me though. Mother nature is a lying B.

Wilbur made friends with some Pit Bulls and Boxers because he's bad ass like that. Some pudgy old lady beagle tried to sniff him out but he didn't have time for bitches. It's so funny to watch him play with other dogs. He doesn't like chasing, he likes being chased. So he just annoys other dogs until they basically want to kill him and finally chase him and then he's all like "weeeeeeeee!".

Then we had a picnic lunch including turkey (organic and nitrate/nitrite free) sandwiches, lite organic cheddar, spicy cilantro hummus, raspberries, and whole grain pita chips with hummus, ALL from Trader Joe's. We just got one close by, can you tell I'm obsessed? Look at me, being all organic and hippie, for cheap.

I laid in the sun on a bench.

And stared up at this: 

And then we went and got ice cream from Brusters. My pick? Half a scoop of pumpkin pie and half a scoop of caramel apple crunch. Please note my excellent iphone food photography skills. I definitely should have done some kind of vintage filter on that. 

My sexy beast of a husband got deep dish apple pie.

And Wilbur stuck with a doggie sundae and a milkbone.

But apparently getting his own ice cream wasn't enough and he begged for ours.

Then we went home, the end.

It's been a rough few weeks. I got really sick, my anxiety disorder made a triumphant return (it was REALLY bad) and then I got sick again (well . . . it's the same thing as before because I stopped taking my antibiotic, which as it turns out, I was allergic to). I'm finally on a new antibiotic, and have crawled out of the hole that is panic disorder and anxiety disorder. I'm ready to get my shit back together. Winter is always really hard for me, I get the "winter blues" and can't STAND the lack of light in the evenings. In order to stay happy and healthy, I'm going to try a few things:

1. Cardio at least three times per week

2. Yoga twice a week

3. Lifting, twice a week

4. Meditation, once a day 

Yeah I know, meditation, weird hippy stuff. But I just downloaded an app so it's directed meditation and its all about relaxing and slowing your breath. The problem is that i usually fall asleep when i do it . . . so I'll have to get that under control. 

Plus I lost like three pounds when I was sick and I've been in the mindset that I can eat 5000 calories a day because I'm in the red. Probably not a good idea. They put a Trader Joe's in near my house and I've been eating their dried mangoes like it's crack.