Marin Turns Three

On February 18th, our little gal turned three years old. I say this every single year, but somehow we were in the hospital one day, holding a little baby in our arms with no idea what we were doing and then we blink.....We have a 3 year old. 

Marin has blessed our lives in ways that I can't even begin to describe. Becoming parents has been one of the most rewarding and difficult things we have ever done. I have learned more from this little girl in the past few years than I have in my entire life. 

On Saturday, we invited our family over for a birthday celebration. In true Marin form, there was lots of pink packages and glitter tissue paper. She was given this adorable dress from a lady at church that her daughter wore 20-something years before. I think it's adorable. Marin's hair is also growing like crazy (finally) and she really needs a hair cut, but her dress is so cute. 

We brought in some chicken from Raising Canes and had other people bring sides of fries, beans fruit, pasta salad, cupcakes, etc. Raising Canes was the brilliant decision from my husband and I have been way too thankful to be eating chicken all week. It's so good. 

I barely got any photos taken because she moves quickly and so does our family. 

We don't have a baby girl any more. We have a little girl. Marin's vocabulary shocks me daily. She sleeps through the night. She drinks out of a big girl cup. Just this week, we dove once more into the land of potty training. It's finally clicking and I cannot believe it. She went poop in the potty last night and I've never been so thrilled about a bowel movement in my entire life. We haven't had a single accident and I'm so proud of this little peanut. 

I cannot wait to see what this new year brings for Marin. She will become a big sister to a new brother this summer. She will become a big girl and say good bye to diapers forever. This fall, we have enrolled her into 2 day a week preschool. I want to get her into dance class. 

We love you, Marin! Happy 3rd Birthday!! 

The Red Cocktail Cart

I love thrift stores. I love antique stores. I know that when I find something that I really love and have usually been searching for for a longtime, I should probably buy it. I'll kick myself later if I go back to retrieve something and it's gone. It just has to be done. If you find something you adore, you probably should purchase it and deal with the situation later. It's kind of the unsaid rule of thrifting. It's just how things work. 

Last Friday, by chance, I walked into an antique store in downtown Loveland. My old stomping ground. I went in for no other reason than the fact that I parked my mom mobile right in front of the little building. What really caught my eye was a vintage silver Christmas tree in window. Sadly, that was not for sale. But, as I ventured further into a world of thrifting fantasy, I came upon this red kitchen cart. 

I've been looking for one of these for a long time. Usually, I find one that's white, beat to death, and barely usable. Or the store wants an insane amount of money for it and I'm not willing to budge on the budget. 

I found this one and immediately knew I had to have it for our kitchen. I asked the owner how long she had the cart out and she stated that she had just put it out yesterday. Loveland was having a little something called Night on the Town that evening and she said that it would probably  be gone by tomorrow. (Smart sales tactics, lady. Smart.) She knew how to get to me with that one. 

I left. I went on with my business. Got coffee, took photos for my mom, visited the grandparents. 

But, as I was preparing to drive back to Fort Collins, the mom mobile directed me back to that little red cart. Now it is mine and has a lovely home in our kitchen. It is the keeper of the liquor and the baking supplies. 

I love it. I'm lucky it was still waiting for me at that little store I somehow walked into last Friday. 

Camping Thoughts

In four days we shall be camping out on a beach. No phones. No computers. No work. No worries. In honor of our excursion to relaxation, here are some pictures to help me look forward to our little trip away from the world. 

With Every Pound Lost

For those of you that don't know, today is a grand day. I am a little more than half way to loosing the pounds I have set out to lose and to achieving my goal weight. (Which is the amount I weighed the day I graduated high school.) This is a little more personal than normal, but once I got married, I became quite comfortable with my wonderful existence and started to pack on the pounds. In a goal to become as healthy as possible for myself, my husband, and the potential kids we desire to have in the future, I made a major life change. 

I have been on a new, pretty intense eating plan for the past month or so. I am down 20 lbs today! The weight on the scale is one I haven't seen since sometime in college. It feels really good. I can't believe the discipline I actually have! Seeing the pounds come off a little more everyday is reason enough for me to continue on. 

I feel like I could take on the world! 

I have been daydreaming about some new outfits that I want to buy once I reach my goal weight. It is good encouragement to actually be working towards some wonderful new outfits! I tend to gravitate towards blacks and whites, but lately I've been trying to add some color to my wardrobe. Lots of oranges, reds, and floral. 

Here's some items on my wish list! 

From Red Velvet: 

(For my husband: this is what your wife would love for Christmas!) :) 

From Modcloth.com: 

And being a photographer, I have major bag envy for this....

From Jo Totes: 

Life is good. 

Seattle: Day Three

I JUST REALIZED THIS IS MY 100th BLOG POST! Exciting!

Anyways....

Being in this city makes me realize just how much I miss this part of the country. You breathe a little easier (literally), the culture is rich with the bizarre and the out of the box, and there are a billion record stores in which I could drop entirely too much money on entirely too much vinyl; not to mention the fact that there is a good coffeehouse on nearly every corner that is just as unique as the city itself.

We began the day slowly with a french press and lounging around for a few hours. I rarely ever get the chance to just chill and rest, so those few hours were very welcomed and very needed. I tend to run at about a million miles an hour or more, depending on the week. Our lives are filled with band practices, photoshoots, church, work, etc, etc, etc. Our schedules carry on swiftly, usually far before us, to the point where I never feel like I can successfully catch up.

Vacation is needed. Rest is needed. That is why we are here.

We ventured out to a lovely shop called Cupcake Royale and indulged in a cupcake and a coffee.

We then found our way to probably two of the most glorious record shops I have stepped foot in. They were filled with people that actually seemed to love their jobs and were deeply passionate about vinyl. Can I own a store like that? Pretty please? We picked up “Heartbreaker” by Ryan Adams and “For Emma” by Bon Iver. Once we return home, our musical ears will thank us.

We just returned from Mars Hill Church and I feel encouraged and even more rejuvenated then when we walked in the doors.

I even got a new Bible. I have so many sitting upon myself that are falling apart, with binding falling out and covers missing; it was time. This one I am intensely excited about as well. It a “journal Bible” with sections on the side to write to my heart’s content. That is yet another reason why I love to buy books instead of borrow them: I mark them up like it’s nobodies business. That’s the way it should be. Every page you read becomes more of you and what you’ve drawn from each word and sentence.

Tomorrow, we are journeying to a Vintage Mall. I can hardly hold in my excitement. Tomorrow’s goal: find a typewriter.

I love this city.

In Process

We are working on getting our tree in tip top shape for all things Christmas and decorative this weekend. Once we finally got it out of the bag it was in it, well, looks fairly pathetic so far. But, I shall not lose hope! We hauled it out back to try and spray paint some of the branches that had yellowed over the years. I can't wait to bring it back in and start brainstorming decorating with all of my ornaments I've been collecting.

I've also endeavored upon baking rolls for tomorrow. Silly me. It would have been helpful to read through the ENTIRE recipe, only to find that the dough itself needs to sit FOREVER! This will be a long night of waiting, baking, and praying that these rolls are edible come tomorrow afternoon. We shall see.

For now, I'm listening to Frank Sinatra Christmas songs...yes it's time. I've decided.

And in other news, I'm awaiting a phone call about the latest mixes for our record we are currently recording. Fingers crossed. I hope I have something to listen to later tonight!