Another Bathroom Post

Since I posted pictures of my guest room downstairs, I figured I would also show you my bathroom that goes with it. I don't like it as well as my upstairs bathroom, but then again, this is in the BASEMENT.
Shower curtain and bathmat are from TJMaxx.

The bird picture I found at Hobby Lobby and framed it in a Walmart $5 frame and a mat I had lying around.
My go-to decorating tip. Use vacation souvenirs! We always collect sand/shells/rocks and put them in a Mason Jar and label the top. These puppies are FREE decorations and it's a great reminder of your past trips.

Yellow Desk

When push came to shove and my friends were hosting my birthday party at my house, I knew it was NOW OR NEVER to finish my little desk. I didn't have a nightstand for the guest room downstairs and I needed something to sit the lamp on.

I had bought this at a yard sale for $15 and honestly, it was in pretty good condition to begin with. One of the legs was wobbly and there were some stains on the top, but otherwise it was pretty solid.

Joe sturdied up the leg with some wood glue and I sanded her down with an automatic sander and then hand sanded the curved edges on the drawers. I thought about pulling off those motifs on the front of the drawers, but decided against it because it was already late enough the day before the guests were supposed to show up.

I wanted the perfect yellow paint. Not too loud, but definitely "cheery" because it was going to be sitting in the basement. I picked "Joyful Yellow" from Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart.


I primed some of the bad areas and then gave her two coats of paint. Voila!


And pictures of the room it now belongs in - our downstairs guest room.

Thankful

I woke up this morning here

This is the Call Room at the hospital. Joe was on call last night and I couldn't imagine waking up in our house alone on Thanksgiving morning.

So I stayed the night with him.

In a tiny cot.

Waking up with him each time he got paged in the night for a new admission to the hospital.

It's not exactly the ideal way to spend Thanksgiving morning.

But regardless...

I'm so thankful for the life we have.

Our marriage.

Our health.

Our family and friends.

The opportunities we've been given.

Even for the trials we've had. Because they make us stronger.

Have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Florence & Pisa

Here's what I have done the last few days...

Got a rental car in Venice.

Drove 3.5 hours to Florence (in the Tuscan region).



Saw the Duomo Cathederal.


Saw Michelangelo's David (world's most famous statue).

this is the only picture I was able to take
("Study of Form" sculpture) before I got busted for having a camera. Whoops!!

The real David. SO AWESOME in real life.

Got on a train.

view from the train

Rode the train to Pisa, Italy.

Saw the Leaning Tower.


Climbed the tower. The stairs are crazy slanted!!



Gasped for air!

Enjoyed the sunset from the top.



Shopped at the street market in Florence.


Bought scarves and a leather handbag and souvie's for friends.

Venice, Italy

St. Marks Square

Leavin' On A Jet Plane...

26 years ago today... I was born!

Today is my birthday!

And I'm getting on a jet with my mom and aunt for TEN HOURS.

Destination: Italy!

Reason: Work. Well.. I'm working. My mom and aunt will probably goof off!

Does this scare you??

Stuff I Like

This makes me happy:

1. These earrings from Forever 21. The color goes with everything and they make me feel jazzy because they're so dangly.

2. Cod Liver Oil Pills. I read that these make you have more energy and clearer skin. In other words. SUPER PILLS. And also, I don't want to get The Swine.

3. Purple chucks. I just love 'em. It's like a smile on your foot.

4. Candy cane candle (tongue twister alert!). I'm spreading Christmas cheer all over my house.

Pack It Up

Last night was Wednesday Date Night around our house. We usually hit up the cheap-o movies but since the only two movies that were playing were The Box (which I kept referring to as "The Cell" for some unknown reason) and A Christmas Carol in 3D we decided to skip the movies all together and go bowling with some FREE tickets Joe had gotten. He was very excited about the FREE.

We hopped in the car and I decided we needed to take a detour to Borders first so I could get some important reading material for my upcoming TEN HOUR FLIGHT to Italy this weekend. Reading material in the form of US Weekly, Star and Glamour magazine. Just doing my part to stay current on pressing issues regarding Brangelina and the new mascaras getting ready to hit the market. (By the way, don't waste your time on Maybelline's Stiletto.) Anyway, we were there FOREVER because I love all things Borders. When we finally finished up I remembered we were almost out of dog food so why not run next door to PetCo and grab a bag? Then I also remembered I had a sweater in my backseat from Old Navy I needed to return. It was a date night to beat all, I tell you. When all that was done, we decided to skip bowling in favor of some fried goodness in the name of TGI Fridays. Because fried food will always beat any form of exercise, not that standing and throwing an eight pound ball is really exercise anyway. And we stuffed ourselves on Potato Skins, Friend Green Beans, Cheesy Chicken and Peanut Butter Pie. I'm not proud of myself, but it was delightful.


And now I must rush off to pack for Italy! If you have any tips on how to stuff a lifetime's worth of cardigan sweaters into a carry-on, please divulge in the comments.

Time To Paaartay!!

Well then. If you weren't at my house this weekend I would like to go ahead and apologize to you now. Because you missed out on some serious fun. All of my favorite people gathered at my house and two of my best friends threw me the birthday party to beat all birthday parties! My birthday isn't until this Saturday but I like the idea of celebrating ALL MONTH LONG! Haha!

The bad news, and there is only one shred of bad news, is that I didn't take one single picture.

But I can assure you there was lots of:

FOOD
LAUGHING
MORE FOOD
SITTING OUTSIDE AND WATCHING THE SUNSET
GAMES
EATING
COOKING
STAYING UP TOO LATE AND GETTING UP TOO EARLY
TOURS OF OUR HOUSE
EVEN MORE FOOD

That pretty much sums it up. It was awesome and I truly have the best friends ever.

Hope you had a good weekend!

Laugh

Something that makes me laugh today. A video of my four-legged child. I don't know what he is chasing but it must be putting up a good fight.

As If You Didn't Know Enough About Me...

I'm really struggling for blog material. That's not true. I could blog about the birthday party my friends are throwing for me this weekend. I could blog about the fact that in about 10 days I'll be in Italy for work. I could blog about what color I want to paint my new desk.

But this is more fun.

What was the last thing you put in your mouth? Chocolate milk. I am so obsessed with it lately!
Can you play Guitar Hero? Why yes, yes I can. We also have Rock Band. At first glance you might think we are a family with a strong sense of music. Oh how wrong you'd be.
Name someone who made you laugh today. Shawna!
How late did you stay up last night and why? I stayed up until 10:30 lying in bed watching the Yankees WIN the World Series. I may or may not have waken Joe with my happy dance when it was over.
If you could move somewhere else, would you? I definitely think it'd be nice to be in Kansas City where all of our family is. But I'd also love to live in London. That's very reasonable, I realize.
Name one thing you love about your body. I think I like my hair. I'll have to get back to you tomorrow on that. But no, really, my grandma used to say "Her hair is COAL BLACK!!" and I would always say "Nooo - it's DARK BROWN!!" and I so badly wanted to be a blonde. But now, I think I've embraced it.
Do you believe ex's can be friends? I think anything is possible.
How do you feel about Dr. Pepper? Um, did you not realize it's made of prunes? I think you have your answer.
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be? I would LOVE to write a travel book. I would also love to be a college math teacher.
Who was the last person you took a picture of? I'm so vain. Myself. The shame... It was in the name of good hair! I cut my own bangs and I wanted to document the length for future trims!

Was yesterday better than today? I doubt it will be because I've got to clean the three toilets in my house today to get ready for company.
Can you live a day without TV? I've done it! I was in Guatemala for a week in college to do a mission trip and I was without phone/tv/radio/books/magazines/any form of communication to the outside world! But I prefer to have a lot of TV in my life.
Are you upset about anything? I'm upset that Joe gets paged so much in the middle of the night. But I don't think there is anything I can do about that.
Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? I cherish ALL the relationships I have in my life. As I get older I realize that life is about WHO you take with you on the journey.
Are you a bad influence? I don't really do many "bad" things unless you count drinking a 6 pack of Diet Coke a day as bad. I'm actually kind of a goody-two-shoes.
What items could you not go without during the day? My computer, Last Blash mascara, Big Red gum. And I'm set.
Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? Does it count if I go to visit my husband who works there? I honestly hate hospitals. Bad food, weird beeping machines and it's always freezing.
What does the last test message in your inbox say? Let me see... "How's your day going? Mine sucks... we are so busy." ~ from the Hubs. Not very pleasant, huh?
How do you feel about your life right now? I feel like I have lots to look forward to. I feel like I don't know what the future holds but I'm so grateful for where I'm at right this second that I can figure out the rest later.
Do you hate anyone? No, I don't think you should hate people. But some people really get on my last nerves. Like that Miley Cyrus.
Do you like your wedding ring or do you secretly wish it was different? I LOVE my wedding set. Joe somewhat designed the whole thing. It's different than normal rings and styles. It's very "me" and I love it so much.
Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass? Honey, I rarely take anything stronger than Ibuprofen. Caffeine is my drug of choice.
Would you ever get plastic surgery? I don't really see anything wrong with it. However, I don't like unnatural looking women...
What song is stuck in your head. "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. I am a ball of contractions.
Name something you have to do tomorrow. Get a manicure. The world will spin off it's axis if I don't.
Do you think too much or too little. No one ever accused me of thinking too much. Haha!
Do you smile a lot? Yes! I love to laugh and smile! Plus, frowning makes you have wrinkles.

Now I need to go ice my wrist from all that typing. Have a fabulous day! Smiles!

25 Random

Following Annie's lead... here are 25 random things about me:

1. I am obsessed with buying throw blankets.
2. When I buy a magazine or book, I always get the one from the back because I don't want one that's been touched by hundreds of people while waiting in the grocery line.
3. I have a big thing for men in trouser socks and oxford shoes.
4. I've probably got a mirror hanging in every room of my house.
5. I would rather dust than vacuum.
6. After a work trip I usually wait a week or so to unpack my suitcase.
7. Because of these work trips, I have duplicates of all my shower stuff like razor, deodorant, facewash, etc because I don't like transferring them from suitcase to sink/shower over and over.
8. I recently succumbed to the skinny jean. And I think they look nice.
9. I think I make the best banana bread in the world.
10. My mom is my favorite shopping partner.
11. I'm still not quite sure how to properly mop a floor.
12. I took Calculus 4 in college but I still don't like having to quickly add numbers in my head.
13. I've met and became friends with astronauts. I used to work for a large government agency. Guess which one.
14. When Joe talks in his sleep I get out of bed, get my phone and email him what he just said to me so he can have a laugh in the morning. It's always something medical related...
15. I hate taking baths. I think it's like sitting in your own dirty water. And it's boring.
16. I think a nice scarf can complete almost any outfit.
17. Joe used to buy me a bouquet of flowers once a week.
18. I want to make friends in my new city but I'm not sure how. And I whine to my mom about this all the time.
19. I cut my husband's hair.
20. I leave love notes in Joe's scrubs and white coat.
21. I love old dishes.
22. I could eat my weight in sour cream and onion potato chips.
23. I eat a baked potato from McAllister's Deli at least once a week. Joe lovingly refers to me as "tater belly" during these meals.
24. I love white watches and purses.
25. When I'm on a work trip I take a picture of myself every morning and send it to Joe.

Whew! That was fun! Now it's your turn :)

Weekend

This weekend I decided to make the 3 hour trek up to Kansas City to celebrate my niece's 5th birthday.

I always forget how boring the drive through Kansas is when you don't have a companion. And it's times like this that I will either realize:
(a) I have to use the restroom
(b) I'm almost out of gas
Friday night I was so excited because I got to spend the night with my best friend and her little girl. They just moved into a new house and it was so fun to see them all moved in. The next day we all went shopping and then I went to Chuck E. Cheese for my niece's birthday.


I'm not going to exaggerate at all when I tell you we purchased FOUR HUNDRED tokens to play arcade games for the next THREE HOURS. I haven't had more fun since I discovered how to make homemade ranch dressing.

And today, rather than riding my high of arcade-winning glory, reality has set in and I've realized I have a house full of guests coming to my house in four days for my birthday.

Y'all, I have no pride, which is why I'm posting the following picture of my office.

I love that you're probably thinking this is the "before" picture. But actually, this is after TWO hours of work.

Even Boomer wanted an escape from the mess and considered leaping out the window.

Hopefully, I'll have a real "after" picture after I finish. But right now, I'll be catching up on Dr. Phil and Say Yes To The Dress, which is far more important...