We've Only Just Begun...

Where have I been? Working on our kitchen remodel! Finally!! We started on Wednesday and have made some great progress - we've taken down cabinets, ripped out the closet and we're covered in dust. Here's where we are:

Kitchen Before:

After: I removed the wooden light frame and plastic covers...ugh, I hated that thing. Hopefully we'll have the lower cabinets removed this week and be able to tear down the dropped ceiling.
A-ha! Beneath a cabinet was this one, sad little square of wallpaper. The reason our countertops are blue!
Closet before:
After:
View from the front door:
How cute is he?
Even more sheet rock taken down...but the wallpaper remains for some reason.
We are moving this wall into the living room 10 inches, we should have the new wall up and this one taken down in the next day or two.
It has been SO much fun working with Cody on this. After we cleaned up our mess the other night, we sat on the floor and talked about our plans. I never understood why my parents liked talking 'house' or got excited spending hours at Home Depot picking out fixtures and supplies and all that crap. Um - I totally get it. It's so fun! We have a long road ahead of us, it's going to be quite the adventure. I'm having a total blast. 'Bitchin' Kitchen' has begun, so stay tuned for updates!

Yo, Summer!!

Can we talk for just 2 seconds about how lame it is that summer has yet to arrive? I'm staring down a tunnel and I see a glimmer of June, but the fact that I nearly turned on my heater this morning and sipped on some hot cocoa is cause for panic.

My little brother Rich is in L.A. He just uploaded this picture. And we're now in a fight.

Parenthood Rules

Oh, how I love being a Mom. Cache's last day of Preschool was yesterday and I think I may have been more excited than he was. I had told him earlier in the week that we could spend the day together and go see 'Iron Man 2'. He was thrilled, Iron Man is the coolest. It was beach day so Cache wore his little swim trunks and I packed him a lunch. This year went by so fast, but he LOVES school and his teacher was so, so great. He met tons of wee friends and was more excited to see them than to hold still for a picture.

After school I picked him up in the Scout (he loves to ride in it) and we went and grabbed some shakes and In-N-Out. Tasty.

We then went and picked out an Iron Man t-shirt that he could wear to the movie. He was so excited!

We got some treats and popcorn and Cache handed the usher our tickets with the biggest smile on his face. Cache thought the movie was 'So awesome!!'

And being the radical Mom that I am, I even let him get a tattoo.

I had the best time with him, being a parent is the coolest thing ever. It was so fun answering his questions and hearing his logic, especially during the movie. I kept laughing as Cache reacted to every action scene or tried to make sense of the story to himself. I love him. He is so fun. Mommyhood rocks. Best day ever!

I found it!!

And SPEAKING of victories....LOOK!!! Look what I found!

Ta-Da!

How glorious is this? I swear, it was such a find. Not 48 hours after posting about my quest to find a cool buffet did this little gem make it's debut on ksl. I have been combing ads for months trying to find a buffet that won't cost me my firstborn son (although I may have considered...). It's really old, has carved legs and lots of storage. I'm hoping to store some kitchen things as well as some Halloween goodness (and the girl I bought it from? A total Halloween fan! We are kindreds). I have started to remove the drawer pulls and it needs to be sanded and painted, but it's going to be SO beautiful when it's all done! Yay! More projects!

Little Victories

We have so many projects to do that if I think about them long enough I end up in the corner sobbing. Where do we find the time? The resources? The skills?? And (the most frustrating) where do I begin??? My mind is so FULL of ideas and plans that it's become very clear to me that I need a master plan. A map. Where, oh where is the map!?

Remember how my mind works when I'm cleaning the house? It's kind of the same when it comes to projects, except instead of starting with a Master Bathroom it's starting with remodeling the kitchen. So my head works like this: "Paint Family Room - wait until stacked stone is in place - wait until new railings are in - wait until we finish the kitchen". or "Paint living room - wait to get new chairs - wait until walls are opened up - wait until we finish the kitchen".

It's also with big projects, too. We are re-configuring the bathrooms upstairs which (Cody has assured me) shouldn't be too huge of a job, but we don't want to start a big project until we have finished one. We are also combining two rooms downstairs to create a big, cool room for our boys to share. Again, that won't happen until the bathrooms are done...which won't happen until the kitchen is done.

Since we are planning on starting the kitchen remodel next Monday (I hope I hope I hope), I feel this need to get everything organized before complete chaos begins. It makes total sense, right? I need my house in order because my kitchen will look like a war zone. I'm worried about the dust, I'm worried about our birds surviving, I'm worried about my family surviving...but it's going to be great. It's going to be an adventure! A crazy, dusty adventure. The result will be magnificent and until I can bask in the glory of that accomplishment, I'll have to bask in the tiny victories in the meantime...like getting my flower beds weeded. Victory is mine!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

What am I loving?

These.

I know, I know...it's sort of Boca Raton. Like they would fit perfectly in a badly tiled living room with peach walls and sandy pictures of flamingoes. But I can't HELP it! It also looks so James Bond to me! Cody and I gave them a sit and they are super comfy and look very secret agent. Pretty sure we're going to get them. Don't be surprised if I offer you a seat on these leather rogues.

On the hunt!

Mother's Day weekend was super marvy! I got to spend it all with Cody and the boys and they took such good care of me. Friday we picked up some new trees and hauled them home...they barely fit inside our car, but luckily the boys liked the fact that they were riding in the middle of a jungle.

Cody got them planted and they look so good! We have big plans for our yard...

I made bread! From scratch! By myself! Pretty sure I've never done that before and it was a cinch.

Sunday was great - I got to sleep in and Cody made breakfast and got the boys ready for Church. Cache sang with the Primary...so tender. We went to my parents house for dinner, mmmmm - homemade hamburgers are the best! We all sat around and ate and chatted while the boys played downstairs with cousin Graham! These three are inseparable.

A glorious Mommies Day was had by all!

I'm in the process of getting my house in order, but there are a few things I'm trying to acquire that I can't seem to find. A little over a year ago I posted a picture of this desk that I wanted...

Like most Pottery Barn items, these sold out fast but not before my dearest sister purchased one for her daughter. Blast! Andrea - if you ever get rid of that you better call me! I will never forgive myself for not buying it. Now I'm on the hunt for a cool desk and I can't seem to find one anywhere...ugh.

The next want? A cool buffet for my kitchen. I'm very particular - I want a cool, old buffet.

I want it to have carved legs, I want it to have great storage, and I don't want to feel guilty painting it. I also don't want to pay a mint. I'm trying to be thrifty, friends. How's that working out for me? Not well, so far. And so the hunt continues.

Mommy

I love being a Mother...

Happy Mother's Day!

Loving

I am in love with so much right now, it boggles the mind.

The other day I stopped off at Amelia's to drop off some costumes and had planned to only stay for a few minutes...that stretched into a few hours. We sat on her front walk in the sun and talked as our kids ran around the yard. We eventually moved to the deck and Cole quickly became obsessed with the trampoline.

It was so nice to just hang out and catch up...love her.

We bought these little seed cups for the boys and they love watering them and watching them sprout - we need to get them in the ground! And I need to wash my windows...bad.

My sons picked me some tulips.
Playing the piano before I make dinner every night.
My books! I now have 8...I love them.
Choosing the colors we want for our walls...
Watching my boys play together, they are besties.

See? I'm loving all of it!

Mrs. Utah

A couple of weeks ago I was asked by my great friend Brigham if I would be an Emcee for the upcoming Mrs. Utah pageant. I don't dabble in the pageant circuit much, I think I've only been to one when my cousin (then the reigning Miss Utah) passed on her crown. But hey, a reason to get glammed up? I accepted.

This might surprise you, but I don't own an evening gown (right? I mean, who doesn't own an evening gown!). I looked for a few days trying to find something that was cool and formal and modest...apparently those 3 things to not exist in one dress. Well, in a dress that I can afford, anyway. Taking a tip from my brilliant Amelia, I decided to rent a 1930's dress from the Hale Theater. PS - that is not me, that's the picture from the theater's website, just so you can get a better look at the dress...because I'm nice like that.

It was a total smash!

The genius that is Mindi made a big flower for me to wear in my hair (you must check out her wares!). I loved that dress, I am seriously considering having 2 or 3 made in it's likeness. Then I will actually own an evening gown!

The hilarious Matt Mattson teamed up with me and we had an absolute ball, I could not have done the show without him! We did lots of shmoozing and smirking, it was fun. And hey! Maybe they'll ask us back - I'll surely have my own dress by then.