Tales of a Thirty-Something

Mixin' It Up

I had a hankering for a good springintosummer mix so this is what I came up with! Hope you like it!


 

And...we're back!

We've been home for over a week and I'm just now getting into the swing of things. Geesh. And I promise to do an in-depth recap of our lovely trip abroad. It really was lovely.

In the meantime, here are two pics from our trip that make me happy. I am dying to go back. :)



 

Spring Getaway

We Always Will

I don't have kids but someday I might and with humans being humans, there will always be bad in this world. I know that's hard to explain to kids and can really alter their world. It alter's my world and I'm an adult. But I really like what Patton Oswalt had to say on Facebook:


And the good people this week are most definitely the first responders in Boston and everyone who has helped in any way. And that's a lot of people. A lot of good people from all walks of life.

My thoughts are also with those in Texas and those people and families altered by those tragic events. This has been a heavy week.

Oliver

I still get a little teary when I talk or write about Oliver. And I posted this on Instagram but forgot to post it here--but we have found Oliver a fabulous new home. His new family is crazy about him. And that's exactly what we were looking for.

He gets to live on an exciting ranch with these good people and lots of animals! And it's about 10 minutes away from us (which makes me feel good). They said we could visit him anytime. :)

This process was super hard. And I hope I never have to go through it again. But I'm so glad that it has a happy (albeit bittersweet) ending. I still miss him following me around the house and jumping on my lap whenever I sat down. He really is a great companion dog. He's just a great dog.

Now our home is a lot less stressful. Emma was always getting in trouble for attacking Oliver and would spend a lot of time in her kennel. Now, that just doesn't happen. And Mike and I are no longer on edge watching their every move. It feels better. We can all relax a little. And it feels even better to know that Oliver is loved and happy with his new family. 

Party of One Book Club : Of Mice and Men

Because "Of Mice and Men" wasn't very long, I finished it rather quickly. I'm a little surprised I made it through Jr High and High School (and College English for that matter) not having read this book. I mean...everyone has read this book. But I will say, I'm glad that I did.

My husband and I always talk about movies and books that have moral dilemmas and how real life that is--we are all faced with them at some point in our lives (to lesser or greater degrees). And this book has some serious moral dilemmas. It's very well written and you can't help but feel for George and Lennie but especially George. Ah! Such a difficult situation and this book made me tear up more than once.

Here's the print I designed for this book and it's currently up in the shops both here and here. I tried a little different of a style this time. I think it's fitting for the book.

The Left Coast

I'm taking a quick trip to L.A. for the weekend! I get to visit my brother's and my two pregnant sisters-in-law and my super cute niece! And if we're lucky, one of those babies will be born this weekend (I'm looking at you Sarah + Drew). I also get to visit some friends which will be lovely.

I've been to L.A. a handful of times but I know I'm missing out on some cool places to hit up. So, if you have any recommendations, please send 'em my way!

Have a great weekend!

Stress

Amen to that!

I am feeling a little scattered lately. And it doesn't help that my kitchen is a messsss right now. Ugh. And ugh some more.

I saw this a bunch on Facebook and I have to throw another "Amen!" in it's direction:


Me! That's me! If I were in the 3rd grade my report card would definitely say "Lacks focus." And maybe, at this point, "Doesn't play well with others." The stress is making me a little on edge and a little snippy. Ahem.

So today, to take a proverbial chill pill, I tidied up my office, made our bed (I'm not the best at that), and bought the "Nature Sounds Relaxation and Tibetan Chakra Mediation" on iTunes. For realsies.

Download it. Close your eyes. Listen. Breathe. You're welcome.

I am feeling better already. 

Bubblegum

I'm not sure if this is something serious that I should talk to my therapist about or not...



I don't have any teenage children or nieces or friends that I hang out with to watch said shows. I do it by my own fruition. And luckily my husband doesn't make fun of me because I really do love watching them. And yes--I know that the phrase "teeny bopper" doesn't make me sound any younger. Oh well.

In the past I've also gone through phases of iCarly, Vampire Diaries, High School Musical(s), Glee, The OC, Gossip Girl, Laguna Beach, The Hills, One Tree Hill, Hannah Montana, Switched at Birth, and Awkard...all as an adult. Phew! Feels good to get that off my back! Although some of you may already have known...

Pieces of Home

I was chatting with Ann-Marie the other day and she asked me to do a house tour on my blog. I'm not going to do a full-on house tour because...my house just ain't that clean. But I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite parts of my home.

While taking these photos I realized it was probably a good idea since I change things up. A lot. So, it's nice to see how things were for a time. Enjoy! And if you have any questions, write a comment and I'll do a follow up post. 



one:
This is in my living room. The coffee table is from Osmond Designs; the tray is from Target (and yes, I know they ripped off Rifle Paper but I love it so much); the vase is Anthropologie; the candle (which you can't see very well from this angle) is from Target; the flower pot is Ikea; the rug is Ikea; the "drink" coasters were a gift.


two:
This is right next to the door to our laundry room and garage (and bathroom) and I wanted to put up my pretty Rifle Paper calendar where people could see it. Not to mention we're going to Paris this month and it's Paris on the calendar. The same happened to me in January with New York. Our kitchen is to the right.

three:
I love having flowers on our kitchen table so right now there are purple daisies (which is don't think is a natural daisy color...). I am also doing puzzles on the table because I am an old lady and love doing puzzles (while watching teeny bopper shows). The vase I got at Campus Floral.


four:
This is in my office. The box hold lots of cards...shocker. As I've said before, I hoard them. But it's actually a double-wide recipe card holder but fits cards great. On top is a clock from Target, a tin with my square business cards, and photobooth pics with Kelly, Ann-Marie and Lindsey (the left one is at the Ace Hotel in NYC and the right is me and Kelly at a toy store in Utah). 


five:
This is in our living room (which is the first room you walk into when you walk through the front door). We have some dog sketches in frames, a metal basket & faux hydrangeas (from Black Goose Design), and a metal ampserand (from Restoration Hardware). The chest--which I loooove--is Mike's great, great grandmother's which makes it even more cool. The cabinet to the left is from Osmond Designs.

six:
Also in our living room. We have two blue patterned chairs from Pier One and I found this table for $35 (gasp!) so we decided to put it in between the chairs. I had some succulents that didn't have a good home so I put them there. We like it.


seven:
We found these little block paintings at the Utah Arts Fest last summer. They are by two sisters Paris + Zoe (I cannot for the life of me find a link to their work...sorry). I think they are stunning and the are on a little wall just before you get to our bedroom.


eight:
Our stovetop with our cute red kettle. We decided last year that we would be tea drinkers. We aren't really now but at the very least it looks cute. The "Bon Appetit" we found at Z Gallerie and it just sits on the hood. The "B" is a letterpress print that is signed by Jessica Hische. I love it. I've also started collecting B's. I haven't changed my last name and have no plans to but Mike's last name is starts with a B so in case I change it we will be monogrammed up.

nine:
This is Emma. She is a Welsh Terrier. If you follow me on Instagram, you know her. She is one of my favorite pieces of our home. Since Oliver has been gone (and we're hoping that it'll work out permanently with this family) it's kinda quiet with just this girl here. But she's definitely getting a lot of attention which I'm sure no one is complaining about. I miss my Oliver, though.


ten:
This is the wall in my office right behind my computer. I look at it all day (or at least when I'm working or on the computer). The house came with burlap on the walls and I'm glad they kept it up cause I love it. The silhouette is hand-cut from the 20's (from an antique store); the chair print I got off Etsy (Perla Anne); "hello" is from Etsy (Kuberstore); the ampersand print I got off Fab.com; the strawberry print is by my good friend Natalie Psuik.


eleven:
This is what you see to the left after you walk in our front door. We had a super high skinny wall in our last house that fit this Manhattan piece perfectly. Luckily this house does, too! We got it at Pottery Barn. The stairs lead up to our bonus room. It was Mike's office but we've moved his stuff to the main level and might turn that room into something fun. We'll see.

twelve:
On the side of those same stairs is this little set-up--I found this old choir chair from an antique shop for only $25. Steal of a deal. It fits perfectly in this little corner. The pillow is from Crate & Barrel and the table I got from One King's Lane. All the pots are from Ikea.


thirteen:
More succulents! I might have gone a little overboard at the Home Depot and bought more than I had room for. This bunch is in my craft room for the moment, with other randomness on top of my shelf.


fourteen:
I love this wooden robot (from Fab.com) and this yellow vintage Sears scale (from an antique shop) and they sit in my Ikea shelf together. Looking awesome.

fifteen:
This is our table downstairs--mostly for larger gatherings. Family parties and my husband's poker night happen here. The wall behind is the "Places We Have Been" wall which I am excited to add to once we get back from Paris/London. The table we got at Down East Home and the chairs are from Ikea.