Happy Golden Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday MOM!

Mom and my little Sis

Today is a VERY special day!  It's my mom's 50th birthday!  Normally, I would not disclose her age, but she's been talking about "turning 50" for the past year now--she's one PROUD MARY.  And I must admit, she does look quite good for her age.  (No botox, nips or tucks here---this is pure beauty people.)


Little Sis, Me, my Mom


This weekend, my siblings and I (and our spouses) are celebrating her Golden birthday by running / walking in the "Hexter Howl 5k" (put on by the elementary school we went to--which is 1block down from my mom's house), then we're having a champagne brunch at my house.  After that, we plan on getting lost in the Dallas Arboretum.

I'll let you know how everything went on Monday!  But for now, a walk down memory lane...(well, starting back when I was in high school...)

Updating: the Guest Experience

 

So, recently, my husband and I decided to make a few cosmetic changes to the guest bathroom.  When we bought the house, I called it the "Venetian" bathroom because everything was gold!  There was also this weird pedestal with a random piece of granite in the bathroom that I moved outside the day we moved in.

In the below picture, please notice the gold mirror, the gold wall shelf, the ugly sconces, the gold faux wall paint, and the pedestal.   

 





See--told ya I moved the pedestal outside!



I also spray painted the (gold) mirrors in bathroom white. I was also really bothered by the gold paint on the walls, so my husband helped me paint it! After a month of deciding on the perfect coral color, we painted the entire bathroom---only to realize it looked like a pepto-bismol bottle. (Sorry, I don't have a picture of that---just imagine PINK overload.)

 

Then, my husband decided that we needed to go bolder---he's tired of white--so he picked out a BLUE color. Don't get me wrong, it looked great in the catalog picture, but once we got it up on the walls, well......see for yourself.....

 

blue overload

Yeah, we lived with it for a few weeks, and I was always embarrassed when we had company over!  Finally, after crying to my husband about how much I hated the blue, he let me go to to Restoration Hardware, where I found the perfect color for our bathroom.....a brownish-grey....surprise surprise.  (Wait, do you guys know that my bedroom is Slate--Restoration Hardware's dark grey?  Well, it is...I'll show you pictures sometime!)  Anyway, the Hubs helped out once again to make-over the guest bathroom.



re-taping the bathroom and taking down the hardware--for the 3rd time



3rd time's a charm!  And, since the bathroom was pulled apart, my husband decided to go ahead and change out the gold fixtures while we were at it.  We put up new sconces (see below picture) and got a new faucet for the sink and the bathtub.



Hubs hard at work dismantling the gold faucet

 

Removing the sink hardware was harder than we thought!
We had to call in reinforcements--Paul's parents.

 

Thanks to Paul's dad, we now have fabulous Moen hardware on our sink!  And, even better, it's NOT GOLD!

  

 So, are you ready for the big Reveal?!!!!  After repainting 3 times, I know I am!!!  Take a look at our awesome guest bathroom!  Notice the white mirrors, the white wall shelf, the awesome sconces, the new blinds, and the new color! 

I also went to one on of my favorite stores to decorate the bathroom.  The shower curtain, mat, and hand towels all came from West Elm.  These elements add the perfect touch!  I also put my vanity where the pedestal once stood.  I've had this vanity forever (it used to be my grandmother's) and it's moved everywhere with me (minus Sweden).  Even better, it fit perfectly!  And, it looks like it was meant for this bathroom.

 

View looking in.

  

View looking out.

  



Before..............................After!



Famous.....kind of.

So, I subscribe to Gilt City Dallas.  It's awesome.  I love getting a good deal!  DO you subscribe to it?  You need to. 

Today, however, when I popped open the Gilt City / Dallas email, I found a little surprise.....ME!  (Middle and Right.)

Who knew I'd make my modeling debut on Gilt! 

My wedding photographer, Rebecca Lorrine, is offering a promo on GiltCity/Dallas, and as part of her advertising, she used a few pictures of me.  My husband even made the promo!  (Middle pic.)

In the event that you are looking for a photographer, I highly recommend Rebecca.  She's great, and she's even offered to give me advice on taking photos for my blog and the wedding industry as a whole, which will be so helpful for Event Consignment. 

GO here: http://www.giltcity.com/dallas/rebeccalorrine to get a photography session from Rebecca at a fantastic rate!  And when you book, tell her I said HI!

Overwhelmed

Friends, I'm so sorry I've been MIA lately.  With all that has been going on in my life, I'm just feeling like this girl....

I just feel like there is so much to do--so many items on my checklist.  It's almost paralyzed me just thinking about everything that needs to get done!

You all know that I am starting my own  business, and building it is SUPER hard work!  Not only do I have to get stuff together for my web designer and my social media firm, but I have to also work on the "business" aspect.  I need to set up meeting with vendors, get with my photographer, and network network network.  Oh, and I also have to get INVENTORY?!!  (Have any event decor you'd like to consign?? Email me---I need to fill up my website!) 

Recently, my sweet husband helped out by going to the bank to look into setting up Event Consignment's checking account....who knew there'd be soooooooo many options out there for small businesses?  This was a HUGE help because I've just been so busy with other stuff that I haven't had time to go to the bank!  He brought me a pamphlet with bullet points he'd made, and thanks to his help and time, I've decided where EC will bank and which account EC will use.  (CHECK...except now I have to go in and actually set it up..) 

And, as I am doing all of this, I do also still work for 7-Eleven...full time.  Last week was month end / quarter end, so I had a mile long list of reports to get out.  I still haven't crossed all of them off my list----I NEED to!  I considered taking work home, but then I remembered that my time at home is spent working on Event Consignment....ahhhhh! 

OH yeah, and I also spend Tuesday nights volunteering with the East Dallas Boys & Girls club.  My mentee this year is a senior so I am extra busy collecting scholarship information and enrollment applications for her.  (Yes, this is stressful and I could easily stop volunteering, but I like this stress.  It makes me happy that I can help someone else realize their dreams of going to college and getting as much scholarship $$$ as possible.  So, even though it adds items to my to-do list, I think it's worth it!)

Have you ever just felt so overwhelmed that you were paralyzed?  I think it happens to all of us!  As I sit here adding things to my to-do list (while writing a post), I just have to keep reminding myself that soon enough, I'll have my to-do's manageable and that taking the first step is sometimes the hardest!  Whew--it sho' is! 

It's not Easy being Cheesy...

Now that the weather has cooled here, I am craving some of my favorite fall foods.  1 thing that I love dearly is a yummy grilled cheese sandwich.  Like, I really really love them.  I remember the day I learned how to make grilled cheese sandwiches for myself.  (I was probably only 7 at the time, maybe younger.)  In college, I would eat 2 grilled cheese sandwiches 6 out of 7 days a week for lunch.  For REAL--ask my roommates.  (They would also tell you that I love to make cornbread..which I made probably twice a week.)

Anyway, ever since I had to give up gluten because of my horrible migraines, (oh, and I had to give up cheese too) I have not had a grilled cheese.  I actually get really sad just thinking about having to give up one of the greatest loves of my life. 

So, here I am, minding my own business, when all of sudden, on of my favorite bloggers, Hip Hostess, puts up a whole post on a delicious "Apple and Brie Melt" recipe she found here. 

Yeah, I wasn't fulled by the "Melt" part either---I know what that really is, a FREAKIN AWESOME GRILLED CHEESE!  Well, all I can say is that now I can't stop thinking about it!  Maybe I'll make it for my husband--at least one of us should get to enjoy it!

Interested in eating this?  I've kindly given you the recipe below.  If you do make it, let me know just how YUMMY it was. 

Apple and Brie Melts--or "FREAKING AMAZING GRILLED CHEESE"

4 slices of Italian bread, about 1/2" thick

1 large apple, thinly sliced

4 oz brie, thinly sliced

2 T apple butter

1 T butter

Spread apple butter on one side of bread slices.  Layer brie and apple slices on one side and top with remaining slice of bread.  Heat griddle over medium heat and melt half of the butter on the pan.  Add sandwiches and spread remaining butter on tops of bread.  Let cook about three minutes and then flip.  Cook an additional two to three minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasted as desired.  Cut and serve.

Kitchen Hutch

So, I've shared before several ideas I have for our kitchen make-over.  I have a NEW one--go figure!  During meetings with contractors, I realized I kept asking for the same thing--a built in kitchen hutch.  You see, I love white.  Like, LOVE it.  But, I don't want my kitchen to seem bland, so I thought having an awesome built-in hutch (that stood out from the cabinets) would be the perfect way to bring in a bold color and spark some conversations!  Here are a few hutches I've found for inspiration.

This one is my favorite because it resembles
the shape of a Swedish granfather clock--kind of...

Do you guys have any suggestions?  Have you seen any cool built in hutches?  If so, I'd love pictures!  I need more inspiration!

Loss of a Great Man

Tonight, I received a text from my husband: "Steve Jobs died".

In reflecting on him, I came across his commencement speech to the 20005 graduating class of Stanford University.  One quote stood out.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary.”

I believe that Steve Job lived out this quote perfectly:

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me.”  -Erma Bombeck

Rest in Peace, Mr. Jobs. Thank you for all your innovations.  Thank you for making your ideas reality.  Thank you for changing the world as we know it, forever.


This post brought to you by my IPad.  I posted it to Facebook via my IPhone. 

Source: be-the-change.tumblr.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Amen!  Sometimes I need to slow down and remember these Truths! 

Simple Laughs

Sweet friends, sorry I've been gone for a few days.  I feel like my days have just be flying past me.  In the absense of a witty story, I'll resort to Pinterest.  I promise I'll be back soon--and with our Guest Bathroom makeover!

Source: dn0ogew6jnq2k.cloudfront.net via Amelia on Pinterest