Must Watch

Do you know if you get the Sundance channel? Because I didn't realize that I do or what a gem it is....Two shows you should add to your DVR.

1. This guy has the best job ever- globe trotting buyer for Anthropologie. Do hear sighs of jealousy? Oh wait, that was me.

2. Girl on the Run- for all you fashion fans, take the opportunity to follow around Madamoiselle Agnes through her various high profile escapades. Really interesting and non-romantisized perspective on the ebb and flow of fashion. I just watched the Winter 2010/2011 Paris Fashion week issue, and it may have opened my eyes to see all of this in a new way. Plus I love her for wearing real fur when no one else has the guts. Sorry animal lovers. I love them too, but I'm not opposed to wearing them. Sorry. At least my pieces are vintage...doesn't that make them more friendly? I think Rachel Zoe says that...
Thanks to Sundance.com and to widespreadlife.wordpress.com for the pictures.

Quick Note

Hey blog readers! Please excuse my blog these days. I'm having some pretty substantial technical problems, and I'm not a technical person. The main issue is that due to an update through my computer, I've lost all the pictures on the blog. Try not to be jealous. The unfortunate thing is that I will have to go back and redo EVERY post...at least the picture part. Again, try not to be jealous. For some reason, this is also changing some of my blog template, so I'm working on all of this. Just ignore anything that looks crazy in the near future. I'm doing my best. And, if there is someone out there that reads this that has some helpful hints, please reveal yourself now in my comments section. Thank you.

Where you at?

Are you SO happy to pull up my blog and not see red lip stain anymore?! I apologize for the lack of posts, but we've had a lot of birthdays, a lot of work, a trip to Colorado, and now I can't remember what else. I'm going to do a special post to commemorate Sadie's first birthday, but I thought I'd at least put up one picture in the meantime.

This all reminds me that I want to have a mini-soap box for a second. I'm sick of people responding to "How are you?" with "Busy." Followed by an exhausted hmphf and an eye roll. We're all busy (at least as much as we think we are), and I can't really think of anyone that I know that is bored. Let me also interject that I am sick of myself answering with "busy, hmphf, eye roll." Don't I have more to tell people? Am I answering this way because I think it makes me look important and not so stay-at-home-momish? I am personally challenging myself to be more than a busy person, to have things of value to discuss with those around me. This also harkens back to another, and frankly more serious, soap box that I have with myself and with people in general. Why is it so easy to be negative? Why do conversations flourish when the topic is negative? Why does misery love company? Now I know I'll lose your blog reading attention if I don't move on to another picture soon, but just think about this...I know I am.

Pressing on, here's your Sadie birthday snippet! She was very sweet and LOVED her cake. Again, more to follow, but here's your teaser.

Stephen also celebrated a birthday- the big 2-9. I'm so thankful that he's been in my life for the last 7+ years, and I love when this day comes around each year to celebrate the wonderful guy that he is.
Yes. That is a homemade cookie cake- due to the unfortunate closing of the Toll House cookie store at our mall. Moment of silence, please.

Here are a few pictures from our time in Colorado Springs over Thanksgiving. Other than the cold we all passed around, we had a really nice time...we always love going out there, and Stephen's parents definitely spoiled us this go around by taking the night and morning shifts with Sadie. It was a wonderful gift, and I'm thankful for my thoughtful in-law's!
Everytime we go out there we walk around the Garden of the Gods since it is so close to Rick and Lucy's house. It's always so beautiful and the colors are so different than what we see here in NC.
Here's sweet Lucy and Sadie having a little playtime.

We also went to a wonderful Christmas concert at our church last week...

If it comes to your area, please see Behold the Lamb of God. Andrew Peterson is very talented and very humble. It was such a treat to celebrate the season, and most of all Jesus, in this way.

Anyway, let me tell you a funny story about last Thursday night. We bought our tickets for the concert more than a month ago, and a few weeks later, I invited my mentee to come along (who's awesome, by the way, and I'm so thankful for her). Tickets were sold out, but between the two of us, we found one through her roommate. This is relevant later in the story. Actually, I'm going to type this in a timeline so we don't all get bored in a sea of paragraphs...

4:30- Playgroup with fun friends I haven't seen for months

5:30- Leave playgroup, already running late to dinner with mentee Emily

5:40- Stuck in traffic, more late for dinner

5:50-Make it to dinner, 20 minutes late, Emily's gracious

6:15-Stephen calls to say he's leaving work. Confirms that I printed our tickets. I reply, "What tickets? Print them?"

6:15-Doors open at the concert

6:45- Emily and I arrive at church. They won't let me in because I don't have my ticket. Sweet Emily has to go in and save us seats. I'm an awesome mentor.

6:55- Usher asks me if 20 year old Emily is my daughter. Devastated. Do I look like I'm 45?

7:00- Concert starts

7:10- Stephen arrives

7:15- Sadie starts giggling and squirming and unfornately for us, this is an acoustic event for the first half

7:17- I'm out in the hallway with Sadie. Just what I wanted to do.

7:45- Stephen swaps me

8:30- Intermission. We thought this was going to be over by now, hence the company of our one year old.

9:00- Stephen gives up and takes Sadie, who's just exhausted beyond belief, home :(

9:45- Awesome concert finally ends. It really was great, we just should've gotten a sitter. Whoops. Live and learn

9:50- Meet Emily's roommate, who I'm supposed to reimburse for the ticket, and realize I've sent my wallet home with Stephen in the diaper bag. Again, up for mentor of the year.

Also, missed my dear friend's birthday party. I planned to go after the concert since I thought I could be there by 9.

Lessons to learn from this experience:

1. Whether it's one night or my whole life, don't plan too much. Stuff just happens. Go with it and laugh while you do.

2. Thank God for my wonderful husband who really sucked it up and took one for the team...both with the non-printed ticket situation and the missing half of the concert situation. He managed to be really gracious and patient about all of it. We could have had a major blow up over all of that, but because he kept his head, everything was fine.

3. Doing your best goes a long way, but don't forget to look out for yourself along the way.

4. Ignore random men when they put their foot in their mouth...I don't look like I'm 45, I don't look like I'm 45, I don't look like...

5. This sounds hokie, but don't get wound so tight that you can't laugh at yourselves and the times you fail. Hug your kids and love them even when your plans go awry. Be thankful for what you get along the way.

Now I have to go because I just turned on White Christmas. If you remember my post from last year, it's my all time favorite. Thanks for putting up with my absence, oh and the small pictures. I'm having a technical difficulty, but I'm trying to just roll with it :) Trying...

Be back soon with lots more- Sadie's birthday, pictures of some of my work, and more!

Happy December!!

Several Obsessions of the Week

I'm trying to do better about wearing what I've deemed "adult makeup." And after looking through my fall magazines, I've decided to try red lip stain and dark chocolate/cherry nails. So far I LOVE both of the products I chose.

1. Tarte lip stain in firey (lust pictured below, couldn't find firey on their website). I love the lighter coverage and matte finish. It feels less risky than lip stick, especially in red.

2. Sephora Collection nail polish in Night Cap (couldn't find a picture of that either, but stay tuned for pictures of our weekend in a future post and you'll see it on). The only negative about this is true about all dark nail colors. You can really tell when you're outside the lines, and you can really tell when it chips.

Give them a whirl, and you'll feel like you spruced up your existing Fall wardrobe.

Also, I've been meaning to tell yall, since like August, how much I LOVE pretzel M&M's. So delicious, and I feel less guilty since they're half pretzel.

I'm also so excited about the Fall wreath I made.
I looked on Etsy for some modern Fall wreaths, and decided I could take a few ideas (sorry to all you Esty sellers) and make my own. This is a compilation of a few things I saw. It was SUPER easy to cut the pieces of fabric, hot glue them around a green foam wreath form, and then make the flower. I topped it off with another one of my grandmother's old earrings. I think it could look good all winter, so I'm excited about that too.

Need to run because lots of this is happening...
Peep those skinny jeans! Thanks Hayes Barton Consignment sale!

My Intern

I have an intern. She is SUPER cute, works for free, and is clearly enthusiastic.

I honestly came around the corner the other day and found this situation that hopefully is a glimpse into her future :)

Catching Up

Since we went to Montana, we've been busy peeps...lots of work, two trips, and everyday. Here's the catch up...

We took a last minute trip to Louisville for fun and for Sadie to meet a couple of very important people for the first time.

Sadie and PawPaw RG (my mom's dad):

She LOVED him and instantly reached out for him- so sweet. We are so thankful that he and Yvonne drove up from Dawson Springs to spend time with us. It was also great to meet Yvonne (my grandpa's new wife) for the first time. We're looking forward to lots more time with them at Christmas.

Then we went to see Nana Irene. This is special because Sadie is partially named for my grandmother (whose real first name is Katherine, Sadie's middle name). For those of you who knew Nana, this picture may make you a little sad, but I thought it was really important to share. Nana was a vibrant, active, sporty, sophisticated, artistic lady. Really a lady through and through. Nearly twenty years of Alzheimer's have stolen the spring from her step and the spirit from her eyes. She doesn't know who we are or why it was important that she meet Sadie, which is honestly heartbreaking. However, I am so glad that Sadie was able to meet her.
And again, for those of you who knew her, my first reaction at this visit was that I have never in my life seen her in a t-shirt with words on it :)

We also spent time with some younger folk- aka super fun cousins (well nephews and a niece)

Labor Day was beautiful in Louisville- the weather was perfect, so we spent lots of time in my parent's backyard, one of my favorite places.

A quick Sadie update- she will be 11 months old next week (unbelievable). She has grown so much lately. She's a little over 19 lbs. and is a smidge over 28" tall. She has some adorable chubby thighs. And has started wearing some super cute hot pink sneakers...
She's sweet, cuddly, funny, and pulling up on everything. Also, don't you think her hair looks like my brother's?

Okay. His looks better and is a little more tame.

This past weekend, I got to take a much needed, child-free trip to meet up with some of my college girlfriends in the mountains of North Georgia. It was SO MUCH FUN seeing everyone and getting to spend real time together. I am so grateful for each of them, and the weekend left me feeling replenished. There is nothing like laughing with your girlfriends.
We were in a super small town, so we just hung out at the cabin, ate tons of dessert, walked, and visited.
It was really great. The drive home was not my favorite, but I did get to see the Smokies being quite smoky in all the steamy rain.
Can't wait to do both of these trips again!

The Montana Memoirs, The Third (and final) Chapter

Stephen and I woke up at the crack of dawn on the Thursday of our trip and drove (sans Sadie-thank you sweet family) to East Glacier. I've decided to include a few "educational" tidbits in this post in case any of you want to plan a trip. Glacier National is a huge park that stretches into Canada, where it becomes Waterton National Park. There are two main entrances into the American portion of the park, East and West. The Road to the Sun that I showed you in the last post is the road you take when you use the West entrance. The East side of the Park has more entrances/towns, including East Glacier (actual town, see more info below) and Many Glacier being two of them. Our pediatrician actually recommended that Stephen and I go to Many Glacier (I think pronounced Man-ny) and hike the Grinnell Glacier Trail. He said it was the most beautiful hike he's ever been on, and now that we've done it (nearly all 13 miles of it), we couldn't agree more. Here's the entrance to the Park (charming) and the trail map for those of you who are into maps.

You can start the hike from the Many Glacier hotel, but we drove up to the Grinnell Glacier trailhead (approximately half way up Swiftcurrent Lake). You can also take guided boats all the way across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine, but we huffed it.

We started our hike by passing this sign:
Yikes. I was pretty paranoid. I sang LOTS of stupid camp songs loudly while proudly jingling my bear bell from my Camelback. We did carry bear spray, and it did make me feel a little better. Pressing on, I had to leave the camera out the entire hike. It really was incredible. Within the first fifteen minutes, we were here, at Lake Josephine:
If I were a bear, I'd live here. Oh, and within the first five minutes of hiking, we saw a moose + baby swimming across Swiftcurrent. The picture didn't turn out great because they were far away. The trail was really well maintained and super green. Here's Stephen making his way...
The trail gains around 1600 feet (from what I can tell from the hiking sites), but most of it was a pretty gentle, steady climb. The last .4 (to the summit/glacier) is kind of killer. Here is the view from about 2/3 the way up. It's looking back at Swiftcurrent, Josephine, and the incredibly turquoise lake in the front is Grinnell. These pictures really aren't doing this justice. And we saw so many gorgeous valley views even getting to this point. I had a hard time editing pictures for this post.
It took us about 3 hours to reach the Glacier, and here we are.
We kept marveling at the scale of Glacier National. I mean its really huge. For example, that waterfall behind us in the picture above is over 400 feet tall and half a mile away. Grinnell Glacier is about 1.5 miles wide.

Here's Stephen standing on the actual glacier (I was too chicken to fjord that waterfall of icy water in the foreground). See him? He's a little black dot in the middle.
We spent about an hour at the top, eating our picnic lunch (at a glacier, so surreal). Then headed back down.

No joke and no photo editing, Grinnell Lake is this bright turquoise. I couldn't get over it. Still can't.
Remember that sign we saw at the beginning of the hike? About the Grizzly bears? Ta-da!
We were about 50 feet from this mama and her two babes. Sorry the picture is blurry. I wasn't about to stop and stand there to get a clear shot. We made it back to the trailhead with no further Grizzly encounters- thank God.

Needless to say, we were exhausted after such a long hike and all the mountain sunshine. We decided to head back to the town of East Glacier to check out the lodge (the signature lodge for the whole Park) and grab some lunch. East Glacier is really cute. We would definitely stay there sometime. Here are few pictures of the Lodge. I think there is a hotel in Disney modeled after it...

You can also tour around the Park in one of these (note that the top rolls open). Very classic.
If you didn't want to stay at the Lodge, you could rent one of these little darlings (For the record, I haven't seen the inside, but they are super cute from the outside).
There were a couple of good local restaurants to choose from, and we had burgers at Luna's. It was good. We could sit outside and watch people go by, which is always a bonus.

Well, to tie all this up, we LOVED our time in Montana. It was great to spend time with family and so good for Stephen and I to have this fun day to ourselves. Sorry Sadie, but you can do Grinnell Glacier when you're old enough to carry yourself on your own two legs :) We promise to take you. I also want to say thanks again to our gracious hosts, the House's, and to Stephen's parents for making this all happen. And a special thanks to Stephen. I am so thankful that you love getting outside and making things like this hike happen (even when they do start before the sun rises and there wasn't even Chik-Fil-A biscuits to tide us over). I am one lucky lady. And to the rest of you, GO TO GLACIER. All I can say is BREATHTAKING. I sang "Proud to be an American" at least 3 times while there.

Oh, and I can't believe I'm mentioning this like it is some small thing of note, but thank You, God, for making such an unbelievable demonstration of your creativity, power, and love for us. We felt blessed beyond measure to see this work of your Hands. The fact that these mountains, in all their hugeness and majesty, know You are God and will one day cry out gives me chills and a serious lump in my throat. Seriously. That's the bigger picture.

The Montana Memoirs, Chapter Two

While we were in Montana, we got to spend two different days in Glacier National Park. It is really incredible. The first day was spent with the whole family. We drove the Road to the Sun and hiked the Hidden Lake trail at Logan's Pass. If you look at the picture below, the Road to the Sun is the horizontal line in the backdrop. The views are incredible. This little deck is where is stopped to eat our lunch.

While hiking, we came across two goats- the symbol of the park. They were clearly happy to be around people.
Here's the hidden lake- beautiful glacier blue

We'd never used a baby carrier like this one before, and Sadie LOVED it. She was all smiles.

Except when I tried to have a mini-photo shoot with her in a small meadow. Oh, well. This one is still cute.
One more for good measure....
We took about one million pictures of the scenery in West Glacier, but I'm sparing you some of those because my next post (about day two in Glacier) is going to be mostly scenery. Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

The Montana Memoirs, Chapter One

We took nearly 500 pictures last week. I decided that during this first post I would tell you were we stayed and who we were with.

We feel incredibly blessed that this was our home for the week (pardon the blurriness. I took this from the boat). We got to stay in the new guest cottage (the house on the left) and our hosts, The House's, stayed in the original cottage (on the right with the large picture window).

It's such a happy and charming place...
This was our host's first car. The house is actually on a cherry orchard, so we got to eat fresh picked cherries all week. The deer are always just hanging out in the yard. Check out their cute white spots...
Here's a portion of the view from the lakefront....who wouldn't want to live here? Check out how clear and clean the water is. You can easily see 20 feet down. This is Flathead Lake in Montana, by the way. The pebble beaches were really beautiful- so many colors.
Sidenote, but this house is built for hosting families. What hostess wouldn't love a dinner barn? You can't see very well from my picture (sorry, should've edited it), but there is a large counter in the back where you can serve everything buffet style- plugs for crock pots and all.
This house is also equipped for fun times and activities...
We had a blast: basketball, volleyball, badminton, jet skis, kayaks, canoes, paddleboats, a floating green you can chip at (if you'll don a wet suit to retrieve your balls, see below), and a massive slip and slide nearly the length of a football field...

(The weather was this gorgeous all week, by the way. Highs in the mid-eighties, lows in the mid-fifties- dreamy)
We also just enjoyed time reading on the awesome dock. Here's Sadie and her Papa.

Sunset cruises were in order...

As well as lakefront s'mores...
We had so much fun with Stephen's family, and can't thank the House's enough for having us (pictured below on the right, my sweet in-law's on the left)
Here's our whole gang on our first trip to Glacier National Park (can you say GORGEOUS?)...which is my teaser for my next post. I'll be back soon with pictures from our time in Glacier. The Montana tourism board is going to need to cut me a check for all the marketing I'm going to do for their state. I'm kind of obsessed. It was so beautiful and so green- wildflowers everywhere. Stunning...

See you soon with more...