Thankful Thursday

Its that time again. Things I have been thankful for this week:

Spray Bottles
Our cats have been trying to kill each other this week and it has been a mighty good fight-breaker-upper! Thanks spray bottles!

Clean Kitchen
I have found a renewed vigor to clean my house. I know that if I keep it clean, the straightening is super easy... but I forget until I start doing it again! I have not had a dirty sink full of dishes for 3 weeks now! I have also had a clean STOVE! YAY!

Nollee Marie
This is the name of my new niece! Congrats to my brother, Curtis, and his wife, Holly, for the arrival of their bundle of joy! Nollee was born Wednesday September 29, 2010 at 9:50am. She was 7lbs 6oz and 20 3/4 inches long. My brother said she looks like a little monkey... she has SO much hair! This is the first grandchild on my side of the family. YAY! By the way... my mother does NOT want to be called Grandmother, Grandma, Granny, or anything else resembling that. Please call her Marmee... like on Little Women. Also, Mother- The Sequel will do (like from the Cosby Show).

Stationary
I write snail mail to my sisters and sister-in-laws once a month. I also send cards/letters to many friends often. There is nothing like getting something other than a bill/junk in the mail. I, in turn, am obsessed with stationary. I love cards, paper, letterpress, and anything else I can write a note on. So, if you find some cute stationary, send it my way :)

Well, have a good week friends and family. Leave a comment!

California Dreamin'

A few weeks ago I went to Southern California with my dearest friend, Jane. We haven't seen each other in a few months (she lives in Provo). We decided to take a trip kind of spur of the moment... but I'm so glad we did. We decided to go to California and stay with Jane's brother and sister in law, Andy and Debbie. Debbie and I have been Facebook friends for about 2 years now but we had never met each other.

We did a lot of things! The weather was great. We stayed at Andy and Deb's place in El Segundo, California. It was the perfect place to get to where we wanted to go. Here are some pics of our adventures:

Our first adventure took us to Bountiful in Venice. Bountiful is owned by one of my absolute favorite interior designers, Sue Balmforth. When we reached the store, there was no mistaking it. The cake plates (thousands of them by the way) gave it right away! Here are a few pics from inside the store:

We were also fortunate enough to be at the store while Sue was there. It was a pleasure to meet her. She was SO nice and she was so excited that we had traveled to see her. She let us take a look in the back of her shop (her design studio) and also walk upstairs to her loft to see her bedroom (which was fab). This was definitely a wonderful experience for me!

Debbie and Jane @ Bountiful

Jane and Me @ Bountiful

Sue's bedroom

Me walking down the stairs from Sue's bedroom

Chaise lounges hung on the wall (fab)

After we spent almost 3 hours in Bountiful, we skipped over to Santa Monica to see Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic shop. It was of course amazing as well. We weren't supposed to take pictures in this store, but the girl who was there let us... since we had come from so far. I love the over-sized rosary beads on the side of the mirror as well.


After a day of shopping and looking... we went over to Beverly Hills to get a dozen cupcakes from Sprinkles. It is my ALL TIME FAVORITE cupcake shop.

Deb and I are so excited!

Cupcakes are yummy!

Oh be still my little cupcake heart! They were so yummy!

My trip was so much fun! I can't believe it has taken me 26 years of life to take a weekend girls trip! We have decided to make it a yearly trip. So much fun! Andy and Debbie were perfect hosts! I appreciated their kindness and hospitality.

I was also proud of the fact that I was able to navigate my way around LA without getting lost once. The traffic was hellish indeed... but I made it through. Check that one off of my bucket list (not).

Jim's Pancakes! So cool!

Oh my goodness! How cool! I saw this blog via one of our favorite websites THE DAILY WHAT. This guy is super cool. He just wants to make cool pancakes for his daughter! HA.

Check it out... be amazed!

http://www.jimspancakes.com

Thankful Thursday

Hey peeps! I am 2 weeks behind! Let's get started! Things I am thankful for this week:

Criminal Minds on CBS
I love this show! I wish every night was Wednesday night. When I watch it too much I end up dreaming that I am a part of their team! The team is the Behavioral Analyst Unit in the FBI. So awesome! I really do love this show!


Naps at lunch
There are some days that I just can't make it through the day without a nap. I keep a very soft blanket and a pillow in my truck at all times for just such occasions. I probably nap in my truck on my lunch break 1-3 times a week. Sometimes it is the only way to survive the day.


Girl Trips
Well, two weeks ago I left on my first ever girls trip. Kind of sad that it took me this long, huh! Well, I went with Jane to LA. We stayed with Deb and we went antique shopping, ate at good restaurants, and met some special people. I will post pics when I get them.



Hats
They are awesome! They can compliment an outfit, hide dirty hair, hide uncombed hair, and keep the sun out of your eyes! Not too shabby!

Guilt Groupe

Oh happy day! Do you love shopping... do you love designer brands but can't afford them... are you addicted to the internet... do you have access to a computer??

WELL JOIN GUILT GROUPE!

Guilt Groupe is a place where you can shop for designer brand clothes/shoes/housewares without paying designer prices. All items are up to 70% off! You need to be invited by a member to join... and I am inviting you NOW!

Click my link below to become a member!

http://www.gilt.com/invite/jisforjaala

Everyday at noon (EST) the sale opens. It is on a first come, first serve basis. Once the item is snatched up, its GONE! Have fun and let the shopping BEGIN!!!!!

The Ultimate Strawberry Shortcake

Well, I made this dessert a few weeks ago and it got rave reviews. I thought I would share the (very easy and very quick) recipe on the blog for all to share. I found the recipe via Food.com


INGREDIENTS- 1 quart fresh strawberries (or more if you like)
-1/2 cup sugar
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 (8 oz) containers frozen whipped topping
- 1 (14 oz) angel food cake, cut into cubes (I buy the cake already made)

DIRECTIONS1. Wash, stem, and cut strawberries in half
2. Add sugar; toss to mix well
3. Chill
4. Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar well
5. Fold in whipped topping and cake cubes
6. Spread cake into an ungreased 13x9 dish
7. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours
8. Cut cake into squares; top with strawberries

This dessert is really fresh tasting and loved by all! Have fun with it! I added some blackberries to it as well (so good)

A Thankful Thankful Thursday

Well, here we are again! It's Thursday! How was your week? Mine has been pretty good! Well, lets dive right into it! My Thankful Thursday for the week:

Company
We had Andre and Andrea stay with us for the long Labor Day weekend. That was awesome! We did all kinds of things together. I am so glad when people come to visit us. If anything... it makes me clean the house! HA

Allergy Meds
Well, it is no secret that I have allergies. This year it has been extra rough for me. I think my body is just trying to get used to Las Vegas again. Thank goodness for Claritin and Zyrtec. LIFE SAVERS!

New Make Up
So my boss took all of us out on a little shopping trip last week (what a great boss) and I picked up some Clinique make up at Nordstrom. LOVE IT! The eye shadow quad that I got is called PINK CHOCOLATE. Oh how heavenly it is. I just love the way new make up feels. You forget how awesome it is until you get new. The old make up just gets old and you don't really notice. But once you crack open a new tube/bottle/lid... oh how sweet it is.

Candles
I recently picked up some Lavender/Vanilla candles and they are just wonderful. My house smells so comfy and fresh. I really do love them. I really love when a home smells fresh and clean and loved.

Brothers
I have been able to chat with my bro's the last week or so and I just love them. All 6 of them. They are all so special to me in their own sort of way. Im proud of Charlie, who is in the Air Force. Im proud of Curtis, who is going to be a new Daddy any day now. I am proud of Brok for being such a great student and athelete. I am proud of Westley for taking the role of "new big brother" so seriously. I am proud of Christian for learning to love his new family so much (what a love bug he is). I am proud of Harve Lee for being brave enough to go to school and being in a new family! I am so blessed to be a part of such a HUGE family!

Well, thats all for now. Peace out peeps!

Hangin' with the A's

So, Andre and Andrea (click here to see their wicked blog) came to Vegas for the Labor Day weekend. What a treat. We usually have peeps come visit us and then we never have them come again! HA! Oh wait- lemme back up a bit!

So, when Andre and Andrea got married in San Diego (see my post about that here) they reminded us that they were coming to Vegas for their honeymoon! Well, to our surprise, they CALLED US to hang out on! Woah! We must be pretty special to get a call on a HONEYMOON! Well, here are a few photos from that night! Super fun!

Flower Garden @ Bellagio

The worlds LARGEST chocolate fountain @ Bellagio

Well, we were super excited when they wanted to come and hang out with us again (and so soon)... yeah, I guess we ARE that cool! Anyway, here are some pics from our weekend this past weekend!

DISCLAIMER: these photos are taken from my not so great iPhone camera. Sorry about the quality!

Andrea and Andrea blogging

We walked around CRYSTALS @ City Center. Oh how I wish I could afford ONE thing from there. Especially the HERMES Birkin bag for $108,000

Since one of the reasons the A's came to visit us was for Andre's 27th (woah, getting old) birthday, we celebrated by eating dinner/dessert at Chocolate by the Bald Man in Caesar's Palace. The place was SUPER good and relatively affordable. We were quite pleased. We ate things like the best chocolate milk you've ever had in your life, the best B.A.L.T. you've ever had in your life, chocolate shakes, Mexican hot chocolate, and chocolate pizza.

Here is our Chocolate pizza with marshmallows, peanut butter, and bananas.

Happy 27th Birthday Andre.

H&J and dinner

The A's at dinner

Jaala drinking Mexican hot chocolate in the HUGMUG

Andrea drinking Mexican hot chocolate in the HUGMUG

Andre drinking Mexican hot chocolate in the HUGMUG

We had lots of fun playing host/hostess to the A's. We invite all of you to give us a call and come see us. With the newly decorated guest room, you'll think you are staying in a 4-star hotel. You'll even have your own bathroom! HA

The Guest Room

Well, it was high time I did something about the guest room at our house! It was in need of something fresh. Well, I found the first photo below on a home design blog that I troll. I thought to myself... BINGO! An aqua room! What more could a girl ask for in life!?


So, $30 later, this is what mine looks like. Not as quite put together as the one from the blog, but its a start. I definitely need some wall art. I am thinking about making them myself. Harrison has been testing his screen-printing skills lately, so I think I can have him help me come up with something very cool for these walls.

One of the things I love most about this room is the pink blanket on the end of the bed. It belonged to my Great Grandmother. Ever since I was very young, I can remember this pink blanket. It is one of the first things I think of when I think of my Grandmother. She passed away last October and I was able to take it home with me. I still think of sleeping on the (what seemed like) HUGE beds in her basement. Good memories!

I will keep you updated on the updating to this room! Super fun!

One of the reasons I decided to get a jump start on this room is because my cousin, Andre, and his wife, Andrea, are coming to visit us this weekend! YAY! I hope they like staying in a blue room!

Thankful Thursday... on Wednesday of course!

Well, another week has come and gone. These are the things I am most thankful for:

Dates with Harrison
last weekend we were tourists in our own town. I suggest this to everybody! We hit Ceasars Palace on The Strip and did a wee bit of shopping at Banana Republic and The Gap (thanks to Harrison's 50% off employee discount). We also ate lunch at Serendipity on The Strip. Since it took almost an hour for our food to get to us, our meal was comp'd. So nice! We didn't worry about anything that entire day. We just laughed, talked, walked, looked, held hands, and were care-free.

Fresh Cut Grass
I helped Harrison mow the lawn on Monday night. Well, I pulled weeds and edged the lawn. The smell of the lawn being mowed is such a comfy smell to me. Since I grew up with my dad as a landscape contactor, the smell of lawn mower exhaust and cut grass is so familiar. It reminds me of being a kid. It reminds me of hugs from my dad when I was younger. It reminds me of eating lunch at McDonalds with my dad when I went to work with him. It reminds me of my dad holding the big water jug over my head and helping me get ice water in my mouth without touching the nozzle. Good memories!

Clean Sheets
I must confess- I don't make my bed or change my sheets as often as I should (Im not even going to tell you how often... since it will probably make you barf). I changed the sheets and made my bed this week and what a difference it has made. It feels so nice and cozy when the crisp sheets are around me at night.

Cousins
I had my only cousin who is older than me send me a text a few days ago asking if him and his wife could come and visit us this next weekend (Labor Day weekend). OF COURSE! We spent time with them when they got married a couple of weeks ago and we had a blast! They want to come visit us again!? How awesome! I am quite excited about it!

Well, I do believe this concludes this week. I hope you all have many things to be thankful for this week. Leave a comment letting md know what YOU are thankful for!

LOVE!!!!!