Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 15

When you get three crafty divas together to create a blog, you're sure to get one amazing blog!  I'm also really partial because one of those crafty divas (Patrice) is a teacher friend of mine from when I taught in Lexington.  Not only is she a great teacher but boy, does she have lots of great ideas!

Again, we all know that I'm a bit mesmerized by wreaths but just look at how cool this is!

This craft looks decently easy and the return is a gorgeous accessory for your home, you have to try this!

Fall in love with some of Patrice's great ideas, including this one!

Go see all the great ideas for yourself at Lemon Tree Creations and make sure you stop back by here and share with me what you loved about this great blog!

Happy Blogging!

A Very Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

I should be cleaning and tidying the apartment at this very moment, instead I find myself typing out this post...can we say procrastination much?  Tonight Stephen's sister and her husband are headed to Chicago to spend the weekend with us!  While they have visited Chicago frequently, they usually only get their booties here when the temperature is around or below the 20 degrees region.  We're looking forward to showing them how amazing the city can be when it's WARM outside!

The first thing on our list of amazing things to do:

A boat tour of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.

Navy Pier

Lincoln Park Zoo

Sunday church service at Moody :)

A Cub's Game {hopefully}

What trip to Chicago would be complete without my favorite deep dish pizza?!

And we'll wash that pizza down with a little cup cake from Molly's Cupcakes {and then a fictitious lady from Weight Watchers will run into the cupcake store and start shaking my thighs and screaming profanities at me for jumping so far off the deep end in my diet!}

What about you?  What are your big plans for this 3 day weekend?!

A Good Book

I've had many friends rave about this book and it's one that I first learned about nearly 6 years ago.  I bought the book (the whole trilogy for that matter) about 3 years ago and I have yet to read it.  I tried to read the first book but I just couldn't get into it (I didn't try very hard for that matter).  Well, after I had 2 blog (and real life friends) Jenna and Rachel tell me that I needed to get to page 100 and I'd be sucked in, I finally gave it a go and I started reading this last night:

I started reading this last night and I am now on page 150...I am officially hooked!  I'm thankful for that because maybe now I can finally read these three books in the trilogy that have been collecting dust on my bookshelf for so many years.  

I have read almost all of Francine Rivers books (aside from her lineage of grace books and out of those I have read one) and I love every one of them.  Some I love more than others, but there hasn't been one that I've been disappointed in.  Isn't it funny that I say that and yet it took me this long to really dig deep into this one?  My most favorite book that I've read by her is called The Last Sin Eater.  Weird sounding, right?  I know, I know but it is soooo good.  If you by chance made the mistake of seeing the movie without reading the book, please forgive the acting and go out and borrow or buy the book and read it.  It is such a good read!

I'll be brutally honest with you - I'm HORRIBLE at buying books and either never reading them OR starting them and only getting a bit into them before I put them down and never pick them back up.  Shame on me because I love to read...I guess I have a little bit of an attention problem sometimes!  I have a lot of books that I need to read that adorn my bookshelf...maybe I'll actually knock a few of them off my list!

What about you?  What are some books that you recommend I read?

Cheap wall art for all my spend thrift friends!

Do you remember when I begged for your help with our guest bedroom?  Whelp, thanks to some comments from my creative friends, I figured out how to fancy up the wall in the guest bedroom so that it didn't look so bare.

First stop: Etsy, to find some scrapbook paper that I liked (I couldn't find any at my local craft store that I liked).  I was successful and paid under $10 for a pack of it.

Second stop: The dollar store where I found some white, plastic square frames with el cheap-o ribbon on the tops of them (I ripped that stuff off!)

Third stop: Wally world for some spray paint (I made sure it worked with plastic).

Fourth stop: My parent's back yard to spray paint the frames (after ripping the ribbon off of them).

Final stop: The apartment where I filled them with the paper and then hung them on the wall.

Final cost of the artwork: $20 (9 picture frames, paper and a can of spray paint for plastic).  Now that's apartment decorating that my husband doesn't mind!

I've linked up to: House of Hepworths; Frugal and Fabulous Design; It's So Very Cheri; The DIY Showoff; The Girl Creative; Mad in Crafts; Making the World Cuter; Between Naps on the Porch; Skip to My Lou; C.R.A.F.T.; Hope Studios; A Silly Little Sparrow; All Thingz Related; Tip Junkie; Coastal Charm; Sugar Bee; Lucky Star Lane; Today's Creative Blog; Reinvented; Sumo's Sweet Stuff; Always Nesting; Sew Much Ado; The Thrifty Home; Seven-Thirty-Three; Bobbypins Boardwalk; Me and My Bucket; The Trendy Treehouse; My Backyard Eden; Blue Cricket Design; Someday Crafts; Domestically Speaking; Santa's Gift Shoppe; Life as Lori; Just a Girl; The Shabby Chic Cottage; Somewhat Simple; The Train to Crazy; Fireflies and Jellybeans; Ponytails and Fishscales; It's a Hodgepodge Life; Fun to Craft; Tidy Mom

Bummer of a way to end a Monday...

One of the things that I hate about living in the city is parking.  Let me shoot you straight: it stinks!  You can either pay $150+ a month for a spot in a garage of your choice OR you can rely on street parking.  When I got married and moved to Chicago, I inherited how I would live in the city based on how my husband had been living in the city...street parking being what I inherited.  All winter long it was no big deal parking on the street, for the most part we always found a place to park.  As the weather has gotten nicer, the spots have become few and far between.

On Sunday night after Bible Study it took me 25 minutes to find a spot to park...SERIOUSLY?!  And that spot was not close to our apartment.  Yesterday (Monday) I went out to get the car to bring it to our apartment so that I could put my sewing machine in it (I was supposed to go to a sewing class that I had long awaited for...) and when I arrived where I parked my car, it was gone.  Gone.  GONE-ZO.  UGH!  There's no way that I could try to explain it to you here in blogland but at the time I parked my car, I couldn't see the sign that was telling me that it was a towing zone between 8am-4:30pm (and I'm still not 100% sure that I think the sign is completely legit for where I parked, but that's the city of Chicago and their parking: SHAD-EEEE).  

Great.  Not only was the car towed (which was way bad enough) but I didn't have any way to get to my sewing class and now I had to worry about how I'd get our car.  Again, Stephen is amazing and he took care of getting the car for us, this is a good thing because when he came home at 9:30 (yes, it took him forever to find the impound and to get the car) he shared with me how SHAD-EEEEE the impound was and he'd never be okay with me and a friend going alone to get it.  

I had to call JoAnn's and try to reschedule my class.  That was fun.  This was me on the phone, "Hi, I am registered for a sewing class tonight and I went to get my car to come to the class and I realized that it had been towed.  I now have no way to get there and I need to try to get my car and I was wondering if I could reschedule...?"  The first person I talked with accidentally hung up on me when they tried to transfer the call, and because my phone is on silence I didn't hear the disconnect beep and I sat there for a good 5-7 minutes trying to be patient until I realized that I wasn't hearing any of the annoying on-hold music and I looked down and saw that I was no longer on the phone with anyone.  Cool. 

I redialed and finally got ahold of the girl who I needed to talk to...again, I said, "Hi, I am registered for a sewing class tonight and I went to get my car to come to the class and I realized that it had been towed.  I now have no way to get there and I need to try to get my car and I was wondering if I could reschedule...?"  Her response????  "You are now the second person to cancel for the class tonight and now we no longer have enough people to have the class but because it is too late of notice for us to cancel it, we have to have it.  I mean, I guess there's nothing you or we can do about your situation so you'll have to reschedule."  

GEEZ.  WHO PEED IN YOUR WHEATIES THIS MORNING?!

Didn't she hear me when I told her my car was towed?!  Trust me lady, I would MUCH rather come to your sewing class than pay $160 for the towing (add another $60 ticket that was on the car)!  

Don't you wish you had my Monday afternoon/evening?  According to Stephen, "It could be worse...the car could've been stolen."  Oh Stephen, always making that lemonade out of those sour lemons!  Good thing I have him, I tend to take the lemons and beat them to a bloody pulp leaving lemon juice, seeds and insides in a giant mess for me to clean up later.  Here's to a better Tuesday!

Miscellany Monday with Carissa :)

Today, I'm going to join in on Miscellany Monday with Carissa over at lowercase letters because I've got a bunch of miscellaneous thoughts running through this little brain of mine :).

(1) This weekend, Chicago transformed from early Spring to LATE summer.  Yesterday (Sunday) the temperatures reached close to the 90s and it was muggy feeling even all the way through the evening.  I normally would be so happy about this (and I am so happy that Winter is officially over) but we do not have air conditioning in our apartment.  We do have some window units, but I'm trying to hold out...I don't know how long I can go for; it's supposed to be in the 80s all week long.  Hello Summer!

(2) I had a great weekend and wish it weren't already Monday...Stephen and I got to spend time with my dear Young Life friends (3 of which I hadn't seen since December, 2005!) including my lovely friend Jenna.  On Sunday, we also had an unexpected lunch with our good friends Matt and Amy, I had Bible Study last night and then afterwards I watched my 1st episode of LOST ever.  That's right, my very first episode of LOST was the finale :).

{stolen from Jenna}

(3) The sun is shining as I blog inviting me to go outside and enjoy in its goodness.  I do need to be a bit responsible before then...off to the grocery store I go!

(4) Tomorrow, I will start Weight Watchers.  I'm not going to be "officially" a part of the WW community, but I will be making a huge effort to follow it on my own.  I did WW 2 years ago and lost 20 pounds entirely by changing my eating patterns.  I came across some pictures from the summer of my WW success and I found it incredibly motivating.  The first time I did it, I was naive enough to think that the hardest part about weight loss was the actual losing it...little did I know that maintaining the weight loss was WAY harder than taking it off - and I failed miserably as I gained back my entire 20 pounds (and then some).  I'm hoping for the same success this time around!

(5) We received some interesting news about Stephen's job last week.  Please be praying for us as we try to figure out what God wants us to do in light of this news.

Head on over to lowercase letters and hook up with Miscellany Monday for yourself!

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 14

I was introduced to this AWESOME blog a few weeks ago and I found myself being lost in the archives!  There is so much going on at this blog that you're sure to get lost yourself!  It's so colorful and chocked full of great ideas!  You can be inspired to create yourself or you can hop over to Crystal's etsy shop and buy some of her creations yourself.

You can tell that I'm a teacher who loves Social Studies because I LOVED these!

I've been on a wreath kick here lately, but even if I weren't I would still drool over this!

I often see silhouette art in blogland but I love how easy Crystal makes these look.

Head on over to Little Bit Funky and get lost in the colorful creative treasure chest!  Come back by here and let me know what you loved about this blog!

Happy Blogging!

I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

D.C. was a success!  I had a fabulous time and am sad that it is over!  I also had so much fun in Lexington!  I got to see a lot of friends that I hadn't seen in a long time AND I got to eat at 2 of my favorite restaurants...I'd say that it was one successful week :).

Tonight Stephen and I are going to go on a "date" (which really just means we're going to go out to dinner).  My friend Jenna from Lexington is in Chicago this weekend and we're going to have a mini reunion with some of our friends that we served at a Young Life camp with (Castaway, holla!) in July of 2005.  It feels like it was yesterday...crazy that it was almost 5 years ago!!!  We'll spend our Saturday running errands and spending time with these Young Life friends :).

I'm SUPER excited because I have my sewing class on Monday night.  I suspect that after I've completed it that I'll be able to make all sorts of drapes, pillows, gifts and slipcovers (a girl can dream, right?)!

Have a relaxing weekend!!!

I scream, you scream we all scream for ICE CREAM!

Stephen and I received this beauty as a wedding gift from his cousins.  Something you need to know about Stephen, he LOVES ice cream (well anything with sugar in it, really)!  His love for ice cream runs so deep that a few years ago he limited himself to ice cream once a week.  He felt like he needed to be more disciplined with his obsession.  Since then we have "Ice Cream Fridays" - this makes Fridays all the more enjoyable for Stephen :).

I can't wait to try out our new machine!  It recently made it's way back to Chicago with us so that it could be put to good use!  I've found some YUMMY recipes for homemade ice cream online.  I can't wait to make strawberry ice cream, banana ice cream, coffee ice cream and chocolate chip ice cream!  Do you have any yummy ice cream recipes or tips for me, the ice cream apprentice?  I'd love for you to share 'em!

Fiesta!

I got my love of Fiestaware from my older sister, Melissa.  When I was in high school she began her collection of antique Fiestaware and receiving her own dishes on every gift-giving occasion.  It was then that I realized that I too had a deep love for these magnificent dishes.  I don't know what it was, something about their bright colors (I really liked all different shades of colors together for a big party) that made me so excited to get my own some day.

So, naturally when we registered for wedding gifts, I was SUPER excited to register for my very own Fiesta dishes!  How could I choose just 1 color?!  I couldn't...I chose 6: Scarlet, Tangerine, Sunflower, Shamrock, Cobalt and Plum.  The thought behind these colors was that they fit in with my desire to have a fall themed kitchen some day (are you surprised?).  Originally I wanted to paint my kitchen a beautiful burnt orange, but the more I think about it, the more I think I need to go more neutral to let my dishes do the talking ;).  Whenever I open up our cabinets and see the colors in a variety of pieces it makes me want to dance (I refrain)!

My dream kitchen would have dark, rich cabinets with a few cabinets with glass panels so that my dishes can peak through.  What about you?  What does your dream kitchen look like?  What kitchen accessory (or necessity - like dishes) do you love?

WAA-HOO for D.C.!

Last school year, while I was teaching 5th grade, I organized and put together the very first 5th grade trip to Washington, D.C.  I was SO excited to finally get the opportunity to do this as I had been wishing and hoping for it since I had landed my job 2 years prior.  I don't think I ever realized what a big deal it was for me, a 3rd year teacher with no children to plan this trip and that it happened smoothly and successfully.  Now, looking back, I realize how cool of an opportunity it was for these students to get to go to Washington, D.C. to see what we had been studying in Social Studies all year long.  Also, it was such a huge opportunity for them to be able to stay at a Westin Hotel - this may be the nicest trip that some of these kids will ever get to go on - what a neat opportunity!

 

            {Me, pretending to be the President}                     {2 of my fantastic teacher chaperones on our trip last year}

When I knew that I was moving to Chicago to not return to my beloved 5th grade teaching position, I was so sad at the thought that this successful trip would be no longer since I wasn't there to do it.  I immediately went to my computer and organized all the information, made check-lists and contact sheets to ensure that the planning of this trip could be somewhat fool-proof for whoever was brave and willing enough to take it over.  It was a huge relief when I knew that my team teacher, whom I love dearly, agreed to take on this endeavor for this school year (2009-2010).

Anessa and I having the BEST time together in D.C.!

I was excited to hear about all the planning this year as I wasn't there to help out, but there was a bit of me that was sad that I wouldn't be able to participate in this amazing adventure.  It would be so weird to see pictures of her trip and know that I wasn't there this year to celebrate with her.  You can imagine my surprise when she called me up and asked me if I wanted to go as a chaperone with her...just like last year :).  Who wouldn't say yes to driving in a charter bus with 65 11 year olds and their parents and staying 3 nights away from home with them?!  That was a no-brainer!  So, while you're reading this post, I am exploring our wonderful capital with one of my dearest friends, Anessa!  I feel so blessed to have this opportunity!  I was 25 years old before I ever got to go to D.C. and now this will be my 4th trip in the past 2 years!  I can easily say that I love that city!

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 13

Not only does Alissa have great ideas and pictures at her wonderful blog, but she also is such a sweet person!  I love to see when she's posted something new because I know that I will most definitely be inspired by her posting.

For instance, all your travel fanatics, I'm sure you'll love this sentimental and cool way to decorate your home!

Are you interested in practical and functional ways to decorate your home?  Check out this beautiful bulletin board that she made.

Be inspired to whip up some personalized letters for your home after checking this out!

I could continue to show you different postings of hers that I love (recipes, ideas, photography, etc) but we'd be here all day!  Just head over to 33 Shades of Green and meet Alissa, she's sure to be a great blog friend to you too :)!  Make sure you stop back by here and let me know what you love about her blog (tell her too)!

Happy Blogging!

Divine Intervention: Part 2

For those of you who read my Divine Intervention post (originally posted on Tuesday, May 11), these pictures are for you.   Here are pictures of me with my sweet friends Holly and Jen from that crazy wedding from this past weekend.  Please note my outfit...cotton summer dress {check}, flip flops {check} and a pashmina shawl to try and dress the whole thing up {check}.  I couldn't have looked better if I tried ;).

{I stole these pictures from Jen's awesome blog - go check it out!}

Kindred Connection Party

I love the summertime and I can't wait for all the fun to begin as the weather continues to warm up which is why I chose to take part in Kristin's Kindred Connection Party at Windy Poplars. You should take part in the fun yourself so we can all get giddy that summer is almost here! :)

1. How do you most like to entertain during the summer (pool party, picnic, cookout, etc.)? - Or if your situation doesn't allow for entertaining right now, what do you look forward to being able to host? 

I live in an apartment right now in a big city buuuut I look forward to one day (hopefully soon) having an outdoor room where my friends and I can hang out and enjoy the outdoors as well as each other.  I REALLY want an outdoor fireplace so that no matter how nippy the night air gets, we can sit around the fireplace and roast some marshmallows!

{owner}

2. Do you have a favorite summertime dessert?

I love me some Paula Deen's Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding...it is dang good and I could eat the entire 13x9 pan of it myself!


3.What is your best outdoor summer date idea?

I love to take walks!  Since we live by one of the beautiful great lakes, I would love to have a dinner outside (either home cooked or at a restaurant) and then go for a walk outdoors by the lake.  I can feel the breeze through my hair right now ;).

{owner}


4. Share any outdoor decorating tips/ideas you have... 

I have nothing original to offer.  What I can't wait to decorate with are lots of flower beds and strings of outdoor lights to add a twinkling effect to the evening - doesn't that just sound magical?


5. What will we find you wearing most in the summertime?

2 things: my Rainbow flipflops and either skirts or dresses.  If you know me, you know that my "summer uniform" consists of this skirt and a tank top.  There is nothing more freeing than having on a skirt or dress in the summertime!  I can't wait!!!

A Very Happy Mother's Day!

I would have to say that my least favorite job that I've adopted since being married is that of present finder.  The reason that I say that is because I'm still getting to know my newly formed family and as a result, am not always 100% certain of what they would like/need in a gift.  My gift giving style is one that is very simple.  I listen when I talk with people and then I remember things that they like or things that I think they would like based on our conversations.  I like to think that I have an impeccable memory.  My best friend always jokes about how I can remember what I was wearing at a certain time or what she was wearing.  I'm not going to lie, it's a gift.  It's also a curse because I have a hard time forgetting things that I should, but we'll save that for another post.  However, it's a little harder with Stephen's family because I'm fresh and new to them.  For that, I lean on Stephen's ability to come up with a good gift for members of his family.  Bad idea.

For example, when it was his mom's birthday he continuously asked me what I thought she would like for her birthday.  We weren't even married at this point...how was I supposed to know what she would want for her birthday?  So we went to Macys in hopes to find something we could both agree on for her.  After a few minutes of looking around he said, "Why don't we ask a sales woman what we should get my mom for her birthday..."  DOES THE MACYS SALESPERSON KNOW WHAT YOUR MOM WANTS FOR HER BIRTHDAY?!  I had my work cut out for me.  You see, before we were married, Stephen's sister was the one who would take care of him when it came to the gift category.  Since we've been married I have inherited this role.  I must admit that it has gotten a little bit easier, but it was somewhat hard to figure out what to give his mom for Mother's Day.  

I knew what I wanted to give my mom: new kitchen knives.  Back in March I was using her knives to cut up a red onion and I just about turned all my fingers into knubbin's and so I was sold on the idea of getting her some new ones.  Stephen's response when I told him that's what we were going to give her was, "Why don't we get my mom some new knives too?"  Oh Stephen.  "Your mom doesn't need new knives."  So I had to try to be creative.  The only thing I could get out of my husband when I asked him what we should get his mother was, "flowers".  So, flowers it was.  

I didn't want to just give her a bouquet, as that is what we did last year, I wanted to do something more.  So that is where this idea came in: a monogrammed flower pot to go on her screened in porch.  Here were the supplies:

We picked up the plastic pot and black spray paint (make sure it's for plastic) at Wally-world.  We borrowed the contact paper from my mom and I printed out a big "C" from the computer.  I placed the "C" in back of the contact paper and I traced it onto the paper with a thin tip sharpie.

I then cut out the C (keeping the contact paper in tact) and proceeded to peel the backing off the contact paper and attempt to stick the paper onto the flower pot.  I say "attempt" because it didn't actually work.  You see, the flower part was textured so the contact paper wouldn't stick to it.  Dangit!  The plan to use the paper to shield the pot while I spray painted the "C" wouldn't work.  But, I am telling you what the plan was because if the pot WASN'T textured it would've worked so just make sure your pot isn't textured and you can do it that way.

Plan B: Use the paper "C" to trace onto the pot.  I then used black acrylic paint (I know it won't last as long and will chip super easy doggone-it!) to paint the "C" on the pot.  We also had purchased 2 hanging baskets of impatiens.  When the "C" had dried we took both hanging baskets and uprooted the impatiens and replanted them into the pot.  

Pin It

There she is in all her glory!  What a good compromise between my husband wanting to give her flowers and me wanting to give her a little something more!  Had the contact paper worked, this would've been EASY PEASY so I encourage you to monogram some things in your life.  You never know when you'll forget your last name initial ;).

I've linked up to Skip To My Lou; Today's Creative Blog; Someday Crafts; My Backyard Eden; Somewhat Simple; I Am Only 1 Woman; The Girl Creative; Sumo's Sweet Stuff; Monday; Life as Lori; The Shabby Chic Cottage; Fireflies and Jellybeans; The Shabby Nest; Poppies at Play; It's A Hodgepodge Life; A Few Of My Favorite Things; Home Is Where My Story Begins; The Tidy Mom; Pumpkin Seed Productions; Centsational Girl's Outdoor Party

Divine Intervention

My sweet and crazy friend, Ashley got married this past weekend in Lexington, KY.  It was a perfect time for a wedding considering that it was Mother's Day weekend so Stephen and I were already planning a trip to KY and the wedding was within our reach to attend :).  I was excited to go and see a bunch of people/friends that I hadn't seen in awhile.  I was anticipating wearing the dress that I had worn to my rehearsal dinner.  I didn't go the traditional "white" dress route for our rehearsal dinner mainly because I couldn't find one that I liked.  I decided that I would get a dress in one of my favorite colors (green!) which would be fun because it's one of Stephen's favorite colors as well.

I knew the dress was in Louisville from the last (and only time) that I had worn it so I only ventured to KY with my black shoes and some accessories to match.  Stephen and I took a field trip to Target in hopes to find a black wrap to help keep me warm on the unusually cool May day that we had on Saturday.  I couldn't find a black wrap but I did find a really pretty colorful one (with bits of green in it - PERFECT!) to wear AND it was on clearance for $3.54.  SCORE!  

We headed back to my parent's house in Louisville to get ready for the wedding (which was at 5:30).  I had big plans to leave their house at 4 to give us ample amounts of time to arrive at the wedding in time.  I went upstairs at 3 to start the process of getting ready and the first stop for me was to my bedroom closet to remove the dress so I could iron out any wrinkles in it.  Much to my dismay, the dress was NO WHERE IN SITE.  I repeatedly sifted through the things hanging in my closet in hopes that I had simply overlooked the dress.  Still, no luck.  I searched every closet in the house, as if someone decided it would be a good idea to take the dress and store it in with the holiday wrapping paper, smart, I know...but, I was DESPERATE people!  I called my mom up certain that she'd know where it was, but unfortunately she was no help either.  WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO???  

Let's reiterate the issues at hand: I was in Louisville, KY with time ticking closer to the time that we needed to leave to make the hour drive to Lexington and I had NO DRESS and only a pair of black shoes.  Awesome.  My sweet and loving husband was trying his hardest to help, "Kari, why don't you wear the beautiful dresses that are hanging in your closet?"  Let's talk about these dresses, they were all in the brown family (meaning I would need either brown or white shoes, of which I had neither) and they were cotton summer dresses that I had not worn in at least 3 or 4 years.  I had to suck it up and deal with the fact that I was going to attend a formal, night wedding in a cotton summer dress...ugh.  Onto the next dilemna, NO SHOES.  

Again, in case I haven't let you know enough, I married someone much better than myself.  Stephen OFFERED and then went through with his offer happily (with nothing but a smile on his face and a sense of graciousness) to go to Target and bought any and all white or brown shoes that he thought I would like to go with any of the dresses.  I continued to get ready and he returned with his finds.  Let me tell you, NONE of the shoes that he brought home were looking good, at all.  He was so pleased with his purchases (bless his heart) but they just weren't going to do the job (in his defense, I went to Target the next day to return the shoes and there were SLIM pickin's there!).  The ONLY pair that would work were a pair of white flip-flops with little rhinestones on them.  Awesome.  A summer, cotton dress with flip-flops to be worn to a fancy, evening wedding.  I was sure to fit in.  

Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Get over it!  That's what I did.  I sat in the pew while the wedding was beginning and was trying to tuck my flip-flop adorned feet as far under the pew as possible so that no one could see them.  I was trying to not think about how underdressed I was and to think more how everything in the wedding was so beautiful!  I loved all the details and the colors, I couldn't get enough.  That's when I got excited to see the bridesmaids walk down the aisle...

Did you just hear that record scratch???  If you're confused, refresh yourself with the picture of the dress that I wanted to wear to the wedding....

Look familiar???  THE DRESS THAT I WAS GOING TO WEAR TO THE WEDDING BUT COULDN'T FIND ANYWHERE IN MY HOUSE WAS THE EXACT SAME DRESS AS THE BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES!!!

Dear God,

Thank you for knowing more than I could EVER know.

Thank you for hiding my dress from me so that I couldn't wear it to Ashley's wedding.

Thank you for knowing that if I would've worn the exact same dress I would've felt like a schmuck.

I'm glad that you're in control...even over small things like what I'm going to wear to a wedding.

Love,

Kari

Magnificent Mondays: Magnificent Blogs 12

Let me tell you: Lindsay is full of awesome decorating DIY projects as well as some great ideas!  I happened upon her blog and then found a bunch of other crafty blogs because of Lindsay's blog.  Don't waste another moment and head there NOW!

These are just too cute to not blog about!

Looking to redo a bedroom in your house but can't afford a new headboard?  Worry no more especially with this at your fingertips!

I seriously CAN'T wait to do this to showcase in my own apartment!

Let's stop talking about the great things that are going on with Lindsay and let's go SEE and DO them :) Waste no more time - GO LIVE WITH LINDSAY (not literally, you may scare her)!

Happy Blogging!