Three Years

I know I've mentioned that our anniversary was nearing and now, today, it is finally here!  It's beyond amazing that three years have already come and gone!  The time around our anniversary is always celebration filled as the mister's birthday is only five days before we got married!  We celebrated both this past weekend with a quick getaway to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  If you've never been, GO.

I've been more times than I can count but the mister had never been!  In the past, I have always stayed in the downtown area yet this time, we decided to find a cabin outside of town.  I searched and searched online, reading review after review and finally settled upon the Ozark Cabins about ten miles away from downtown and I can't say enough good things about them!  We were situated about a mile away from Beaver Lake and the White River.  Perfection.

The weather was a bit chillier than expected but we survived.  In fact, I finished crocheting a scarf on our way up and thank goodness I did because I used it all weekend!

There was a small kitchenette in our cabin and a charcoal grill outside so we packed in a few of our meals to save on money and travel into town.  We are camping and cooking enthusiasts so I always have my go to spices which are:  sea salt, peppercorn, garlic powder (LOTS of garlic!) and a family fave that I can't get enough of, Jalapeno Salt.  

We ate like kings.  (and then complained about how full we were all night ;)

Despite the cold, there were signs of spring around.

Friday night was considerably warmer than the rest of the weekend so we spent most of the day outside.

We knew that some rain was in the forecast for Saturday but we had NO idea that a HUGE storm would be moving through the area overnight on Friday!  Being in the mountains magnifies the sounds of storms SO much!  Not going to lie, there was a point where I was a widdle freaked out!  And then came the hail.  Oh, did it hail!  Luckily, we were parked under a tree so no damage to the car was done.  

There were about 9 or 10 different cabins throughout the grounds yet they had their own private road and were set back enough that you didn't feel like you had neighbors.  And actually, we truly had no neighbors that weekend!  I guess other people watched the weather unlike us ;)

The cabin was small but perfect.  A 'queen' bed (we both thought it to be full), an in room jacuzzi (SO nice!), gas fireplace, tv and dvd player (movies were aplenty at check in), the small kitchenette and a bathroom with a stand up shower!  Truly, they were much nicer in person than how they were portrayed online!

On Saturday we braved the wet and windy roads and headed to downtown Eureka Springs.  This is a place where many memories have been made for me, where as a teenager I dreamt of living, where I oddly feel at home.  I was elated to be there with this guy.

Oh, all of the crazy stories I could tell you about my adventures in Eureka Springs!  But I will refrain :)

We've already decided that on our next trip, we're going the spa route!  I can barely wait...

Yes, I'm one of those people.  I LOVE old time photos!  I can't tell you how many of these I've done over the years, many of them in ES!  Again this was a first for the mister.  Look what a pervert natural he was!  We also decided that next time we do these, we're going the hillbilly route :)

If you were to ask the mister where I spent most of my time, he would probably tell you in front of the fire.

Uninterrupted quality time spent with my mister rejuvenated me while at the same time relaxing me.  He enjoyed time fishing, playing music and bugging me :)  I enjoyed time reading, napping, singing and dancing.

It really is hard to believe that three years ago today, I was worrying about whether or not our wedding would be indoors or out; that I was drinking mimosas with my best gals while getting gussied up; that I was preparing to celebrate with friends and family from all over the country; that I was preparing to commit to the man who stole my heart; that we became husband and wife.

He is my best friend.  He helps me not take life so seriously sometimes.  He teaches me to believe in myself.  

He reminds me what is really important in life.  He saves me from wayward tractors even!

He is my mister and I am his Mrs :)

Spring Has Sprung

This latter half of March has given us some spectacular weather, hence lots of outside time and the beginning stages of gardening season!

 Little flowers are popping up here and there,  

variations of lettuce are being planted,

 friends are helping plant (and will be paid in full with freshly grown veggies),

 

cabbage, lettuce, brussel sprouts, onions and broccoli are in the ground,

 the first mowing of the season is complete,

 the first daffodils of spring are already drooping back down to the ground,

  and fewer and fewer dead leaves are lingering.

What do you love about spring where you live?

Project Restyle: Stick Art

For my third Project Restyle trick, today I bring you stick art!

You see, when I first moved back to Tulsa after college some 9 years ago, I didn't have much money but always had the overwhelming urge to make my apartment MINE through decorating.  One day while strolling through the hip little part of town I resided in, I started picking up sticks.  And more sticks.  And bigger sticks.  Until I had a gigantic stick collection in my apartment.  I would position them atop doorways, above my bed, in the kitchen; I had found the cheapest decorating supplies possible!  Then one day, I thought I would tie those puppies together and make actual wall art!  And I did!  And people LOVED them which shocked me!  I mean, they were just sticks tied together!  So I actually ended up making a few of these for my friends during that time and recently, for whatever reason, my stick art days have been heavy in my mind so I thought I'd Project Restyle some for you :)

Here's a shot of the second of three apartments that this particular piece lived in.  Yes, I moved my stick art with me and yes, they pretty much survived each move ;)  

Fast forward to this past Tuesday.  I found some smaller sized sticks in the yard, 

pulled out my embroidery thread from childhood (you can even see where my mom had written my name on the box!), 

began to lay out sticks in different ways,

and tied together joints in differing shades of green to celebrate my favorite holiday, St. Patrick's Day!  There's no rhyme or reason to the wrapping process, just make sure it's secure!  In the past, I had wrapped with hemp so the joints wouldn't be noticeable.  This time, I thought it would be fun to use color for spring!

Side note:  Any holiday which requires wearing green and drinking beer is spectacular in my opinion :)

If you were feeling adventurous, you could try and make letter stick art and write your name across the wall!

I also love how incredibly lightweight these are meaning you can hang them practically anywhere!  My cats are huge fans of trying to chew on the ends of them.  I'm a fan of the natural shapes that the sticks bring.

I've seen posts here and there lately about stick wrapping which I find to be mighty pretty.  After I finished building my frame, I thought I would add one wrapped stick in the middle.

Voila!  Free, one-of-a-kind, personalized wall art!

What's In My {NEW} Bag?

I think I've mentioned before that the mister and I will soon be celebrating our third wedding anniversary!  March 29th to be exact!

A couple of weeks ago, the ridiculously talented Felix & Jane began releasing her new line of uh-mazing bags on etsy.  I went on and on about her bags to my mom and mister that week but didn't expect anything to result from it.  I go on and on about all sorts of things all of the time :)  So one Saturday night after I had gone to bed, the mister found her shop through my etsy faves and bought me one of her bags for an anniversary present!

Fast forward to the following Sunday morning.  The mister awoke a bit earlier than I did and began making waffles (his new weekend ritual which I LOVE) while I laid in bed loving on the kitties and playing on my phone.  While going through my email on my phone, I had a purchase confirmation for a bag from F&J!  I kept going over it in my head again and again trying to figure out if I was sleep walking and did some online shopping or what!  I was super confused!

So I headed to the kitchen and asked the mister if he had bought a fancy new bag which he responded with wide eyes and a intrigued "WHY?"  Apparently I was still logged into my etsy account when he bought my gift which is why I got the confirmation email.  While it didn't go quite as he had planned, he still surprised me wonderfully AND I got to use the bag when it arrived instead of having to wait until the end of the month!  Two weeks later and we're still laughing about it :)

So the bag is insanely awesome.  So much room, I've been filling it to the brim daily!  In addition to what you see below, there was also a camera, my phone and a roll of about 7 necklaces!  

Here's what was in my bag last Thursday:

-2 checkbooks, one given to me at the first Deluxe from a neighboring artist whom I cannot recall 

-travel kleenex for my 90 year old self

-chapstick, eye glass cleaner and lipstick holder

-camera cables

-a steampunk broach that I will soon be turning into a necklace (in box)

-Backwoods cigars (yes I smoke about 2 cigars a month and Backwoods are my fave thanks to my Pops :)

-my thyroid medicine which I take daily and have since I was a wee tike

-Chuck Palahniuk's Snuff (not for those easily offended)

-green hard case card holder

-half of a package of skittles :)

-a pack of green Trident gum which I have seriously been chewing religiously for almost 20 years

-$32 

-and a fortune cookie fortune!

Two questions for you today:  

Have you ever had a surprise not go as planned? 

What's the strangest thing in your bag RIGHT NOW?

Made For You

I never talk about it much but often in between shows, I'm usually hard at work on custom orders.  And I love it.  There's something completely different making something for someone in particular rather than just creating to create.  I do love both equally, but in different ways.  

In this instance, I created several different pieces for a gal with awesome, offbeat taste.  Right up my alley.

I ended up falling in love with all of these!

And money was exchanged for only about half of these.  The rest we worked out in fantastic trades :)  

One of my favorite things about having custom work done is that it can be altered, changed, revamped until it is exactly how you want it!   In fact, the first and last necklaces pictured here went home looking a bit different than how you see them here today.  

This farm-scene pocket watch belonged to her grandpa.  I love the little hearts I found for this one, as did she.

This one is my absolute favorite.  How could it not be??  

I think people tend to forget about the opportunity to have custom work done.  Most independent artists are more than willing to create specifically for you and are often honored to be asked!  I ask artists all of the time for custom work and I'm never disappointed :)

I also made a counterpart to this lock necklace for her man.  It's not often I do mens' jewelry but am always open to try!  And I'm glad I did as it was pretty stinking cool.  Pardon the absence of a photo of it.

So, I want to know, do you seek out custom work?  What is your favorite part of having something made FOR you?  Artists, what's do you enjoy about doing custom work?

A Saturday to Remember

Yesterday was fantastic.  Non-stop awesome.

It began bright and shinin' early when the mister, mi madre, m'lady April and her mister dressed in our finest running duds and ran our first 5K together!  Ok, so April's done a few before but for the rest, it was our first! Mi padre and a dear friend of mine in town from Chicago hung out, took pictures cheered us on and held out keys for us :)

I have NEVER been an athletic person.  Not even in the slightest.  I started lightly running several years back and then when we acquired the beast, I picked it up with a bit more regularity and confidence.  Running a 5K was on my to do list last year but I just never did it so I signed up for the first big on here in Tulsa this year!

I'm not quite at the point yet where I can run straight through but I'm close!  I had a goal of completing in 45 minutes but surprised myself when I did it in 37!  It was such a wonderful way to start the day and such a positive, uplifting experience shared with some people that are pretty darn special to me :)

I'm not ashamed to say that I am beyond proud of myself, my family and friends that did this with me!  Here's to the next one!

After the racing morning, we rushed home, cleaned up, power napped and headed over to March Radness aka a very intense beer pong tournament in the middle of the day.  I opted out of playing but the mister suited up in a partial gorilla costume AGAIN and was the other half of team King Pong.

My Chicagoan import was also there to help me cheer on the boys and to gasp at the oh-so-close moments.

King Pong made it to the finals with literally $300 on the line.  I was sweating bullets.  Luckily, the costumes were aplenty and were incredibly entertaining so that helped the ol nerves ;)  I can't decide if my abs hurt today from running or from laughing at the tourney.

Unfortunately, King Pong didn't win in the end but they sure gave it their hairy all!

And the day didn't stop there.  We rushed home, put up our feet for about 30 minutes and loaded up AGAIN to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday at a nautical themed party, of course!  There were some pretty stellar costumes at this shindig, as well.

The mister and I were quite delirious with exhaustion by that point so our attendance was fairly short lived. 

It was one of the most enjoyable busy days I've had in a long time.  I slept like a baby last night and today, I'm reveling in lounging in my pajamas reliving yesterday over and over again in my head :)

How was YOUR weekend?