What I'm Loving Wednesday

Yeah, it's Thursday. I just didn't think 'What I'm Loving Yesterday' sounded as catchy.

What am I loving? As per the usual, shoes.

I'm a sucker for a great wedge and these are so basic and simple - love them. Not to mention the color is so 'berry' Summer! Against a tan? So, so cute. And only $50! I saw these gems over at www.urbanoutfitters.com and they come in a myriad of colors, gogetsome!

I am in LOVE with these! These darling, silver foil heels. It's too much, they are to die for. And these are only $60! Are you kidding me with that? Found them on Zappos.com. My Summer will not be complete without them. Pretty sure that my next week's item is going to be a snow cone machine.

Vegas is the Balm!

I love Vegas. Love it! Yes it's dirty and has it's sketchy parts, but if you do Vegas right? It's a complete blast.

On Friday I drove down to spend the weekend with Sara, Rhonda and Kate. We do this every Spring to celebrate Sara and Rhonda's Birthdays - it's a short trip but it's always so much fun. I was hesitant about the weather since this is what I was driving into...

In a word - ominous.

After a few hours of rain and clouds the sun came out! Let me tell you, that drive is so pretty. When I lived in Vegas (I have now decided to dedicate an entire post to my 18 months in sin city) I made that drive hundreds of times, never get sick of it. Especially the narrows...so cool.

I finally arrived and was able to go to dinner with Sara and my sister! Andrea is my favorite, I love that I was able to see her for a few hours. We shared a ginormous sundae and laughed super hard...good times.

Sara and I got back to the house just after Kate and Rhonda arrived! We hugged and chatted before popping in the hilarious '17 Again' (Have we talked about the unattainable gorgeous that is Zac Efron? I know he's a fetus, but I totally get why girls faint at the sight of him - the kid is beautiful).

The next day we ate at 'Hash House A Go Go'. D. Lish. Next time you're in Summerlin you MUST go! Rhonda and I ordered the Fried Chicken and Waffles (why haven't I ever put those two things together before?). The portions are huge...as evidenced by our expressions at the ginormity of our plates.

Kate ordered the bus-sized pancake. Holy Johnnies. Oh yeah, those are bits of Snickers in there...

After stuffing ourselves to the rafters, it was time to shop! H&M, Banana, Martin & Osa...the day was warm and balmy and beautiful and how I loved spending time with my dearest friends. Remarkably, we were feeling snacky and got some frozen treats at Yogurtland.

We sat and people watched for about an hour. People watching in Vegas? Pretty sure that can't be topped.

We ended the night eating pasta and creme' brulee at Magianno's, then curling up on the couch to watch 'Overboard'.

We lunched the next day before going our separate ways. I LOVE these girls. I had such a great time and I'm already trying to find a way to meet up in Vegas in a few weekends (too soon?). Good thing the annual girls trip is only two months away!

5 Year Furniture

The Christmas Eve before Cache was born, Cody surprised me with furniture he was building for our bedroom. It was so beautiful and I couldn't wait for him to finish it so we'd have this awesome set for our clothes to call home.

Life happened. Our old garage was tiny. Cody never had any time. So the furniture sat. And sat. and never got finished.

We talked about just buying new furniture, or spending a solid week finishing it. There were a few days where I would help him sand and assemble some of the pieces, or a few late nights where Cody would stain all of the drawers. But still...the furniture sat.

Until now!! Dearest BC fans, the bedroom furniture is DONE!! And Good Heavens, it's so beautiful it takes my breath away...

I adore this dresser. The drawers are really wide and deep...

My vanity! I got that big mirror for Christmas 3 years ago. It will be nice to finally open it!

Cody's nightstand...

My husband built that! He made these! The steel frame, the walnut trim...could you die? I have never been so ecstatic over a piece of furniture in my life. We have been giddy the past couple of days loading all the drawers with our clothes and I always have to run my hand across them when I enter or leave the room.

Now, our new bedroom is a wee bit smaller than our last one, so the furniture fits quite snugly. But man...I so don't care. I mean, I have custom-built bedroom furniture. What more could a girl ask for? Well, besides a new kitchen...

Dream Kitchen

It's no secret that our kitchen with it's baby blue countertops and dropped ceiling have been a bit of a downer. The faucet is touchy, the sink is weird...right when we moved in we knew we had to make some changes.

That time has finally arrived!! Last week we went to Ikea and bought a kitchen. Yes. An entire kitchen. We brought our tattered paper of plans and selected every item on their design program.

Here's what it should look like when it's done!

So great, right? Our cabinets will be white with a bead board finish on the bottom cabinets with glass doors on the top. We got a fancy new stove that I can't wait to try out and Cody is making our countertops out of wood from old railway cars. We bought our sink and faucet on ksl.com for a screaming deal, aren't they pretty?

Apron sinks are my world.

Cody has wanted one of these faucets forever. It's super industrial looking, I'm sure they have them in lunch lady land.

It's going to be a process, friends. We're also refinishing the floors and staining them black, we're knocking out walls and removing a closet, we're raising the ceiling and changing the railings and banisters. Geez. That's a lot of work. But! We are so excited, it's going to look beautiful. We'll invite you over for dinner!

Closing Night

'Singin' in the Rain' closed this past weekend! Not going to lie, I'm sad to see it go. This show was no cake walk to put together. There were a lot of frustrations and issues and I questioned my abilities on more than one occasion. While it was a rough road, I was SO proud to be a part of this production. I met some truly genuine, awesome people that will forever be a friend of mine. The Director saw something in me that I didn't and gave me this phenomenal part that I never would have dreamed I could play.

I learned how to DANCE! That is a huge achievement! I got to sing solos in a spotlight, I got to jump out of a cake and I got to be in one of my favorite shows of all time. I'm a happy girl.

My brothers and their beautiful wives - I was so happy they came!

My insta-bestie, Bethany. I could not have done this show without her...

My parents came to the show twice and my Mother wept both times. I love her. I grew up wanting to be on stage like her, I love it when she can come see me perform.

My girls! Christina, Kaila, Cimony, Bethany and me.

Aw, my dear boys. Jared as Don Lockwood and Kris as Cosmo Brown.

During 'All I do'

"Good Morning"

Singing, "Would You"

"Lucky Star"

This show was awesome. I will miss it. I got teary more than once during the last show, but I am looking forward to having my nights free again where I can actually make dinner and put my kids to bed. How I love theater...how I love to be on stage. It's a lot of work and takes a lot of time, but goodness knows I love it. Thank you to everyone who came to see the show! That meant the world - my Aunt and Uncle, my WARD! My family, my friends, my husband. I could not have done this without Cody, he was so supportive during this whole thing and while musical theater is not his bag (I know - weird), he lets me do this because I love it so much. And I LOVE him for that.

Not sure when I'll do another show, but until then I'm sure you'll catch me dancing to 'All I do' in my kitchen...

Cache Quotes:

M: "Hey buddy, look! There are some missionaries, do you see them?"

C: "Yeah! I learned about the missionaries!!"

M: "You did? That's awesome!...do you want to go on a mission when you grow up?"

C: "....No.".

(I bust up laughing)

C: "Because I can be a missionary when I'm little".

Awwwww

M: "That's right, bud. You can."

C: "Haha, you didn't know you could be a little missionary!"

M: still laughing, "yeah, I guess I didn't".

What I'm Loving Wednesday

What am I loving? So many things...lets get started.

I'm LOVING music by Meaghan Smith. Her sound is so simple and Summery, it makes me want to have a backyard party with lanterns and lemonade. Some of my favorite tunes:

'5 More Minutes'

'If You Asked Me'

'I Know'

'Drifted Apart'

So marvelous, so pretty, so great. Go have a listen.

Some other tunage I'm in love with? These Frank Sinatra covers by various artists. "I'll Never Smile Again" by Priscilla Ahn and "The Things We Did Last Summer" by A Fine Frenzy are beau.ti.ful! Again, go have a listen.

I'm loving the 2 dozen orange roses Cody gave me when he came to my show last weekend.

I'm also in love with my canary, Tom. You may remember me posting about wanting an orange canary a month or so ago and just a few days after that we got one!

It took him a few weeks to warm up and sing his little heart out, but his song is so pretty and I have LOVED having a bird. Instant Spring. We bought him a little black cage, but I wanted something a little brighter for him...so I painted it green.

Gorgeous, no? And lets talk about how marvy the blue cage is. My Dad bought that for us and I love it. I'm thinking of getting a new yellow canary to put in it....

I'm loving the ambitious feelings that come with Spring! We have been planting some flowers and berry bushes, cleaning things out getting ready for the big remodel. It has snowed for the past 4 days and today was the first clear, sunny day. It was still cold, but the sunshine does wonders! We have so much planned...viva la Spring!

Bunny Ears

Easter weekend! My boys are loving this Easter goodness. Things have been crazy and since Easter came super early this year (am I the only one who feels that way?), I'm sure we'll be doing Easter things all month. I wanted to share a wee something that I created with the boys on Saturday morning. Cache had an Easter party at school and came home with a paper bunny...crown...hat...thing. Cole has had his evil eye on it for 24 solid hours, so I thought I would make them their own little bunny heads to wear.

Bam.

I actually tried to find some template online or some random picture that I could use, but finally decided to just draw my own. Cache was very involved in the process - making sure that the bunny was blue and that he had a pink nose...all those important touches.

Don't they look dapper?

Feel free to print it off and make your own set of bunny ears. You know, for your kids or neighbors...or for yourself, whatevs.

Last night we went to have Easter dinner with Cody and the crew at the Fire Station. It was so nice - dinner was super tasty and one of the wives organized an Egg Hunt for all the kids. We still want to dye eggs and make some candy Easter baskets...looks like we'll be celebrating all month long!