Blonde at Heart

Awkward & Awesome!

2012-04-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Why hello and welcome to another...

Awkward

~Trying to turn on your car while its actually already on...just makes for weird noises...

~ Receiving an adorable picture of your friend's son and verbally saying "aww!" and then clicking send...and sending her a blank text as your reply.

~Having your hubby hand you cash to hang on to, but you don't have any pockets...so you stick it in your bra {at church} and just pray that no one saw.

~Calling patients to remind them of their appointments and having to repeat yourself four times {each time yelling louder} and the cute older people still not able to hear you!

Awesome

~Getting a sweet card and gift card from my work, just because :)

~Going to the beach on the only sunny day we have had in a while with someone special

~Getting an awesome pair of jeans on clearance for $14.99 from Gap {pics next week}! :)

~Plums, grapes, and oranges...mmm...soo good!

~Smash, The Voice, Bones, Glee, and New Girl...:) Love it!

~Going to bible study with my hubby and the sophomores at our church

~Listening to some of our senior girls speak at youth group and rocking it out!

What are your awkward & awesomes this week?! Do tell!

What I Wore

2012-04-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hooray! The week is half over! I don't know about you, but I am pretty excited! :)

Here are a few of the outfits that I wore this week!

Not gonna lie...kinda hate my hair this way with the curls...feel kind of like Medusa! :)

You can't see it, but the tights I am wearing {yes, they are tights...I may be pale, but I'm not that pale...close though!} have cute little polka dots on them! :)

What are some of the things you have been wearing? Any new favorites?

Misc. Monday

2012-04-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Another week, another Monday. I hope yours is off to a fantastic start!!

Hello, spring!

The weather here has been dreary, wet, and gloomy. However, Saturday was gloriously beautiful! I had plans to meet my niece, Porshla, for coffee, but since it was gorgeous outside we decided to add a walk to our afternoon. As we were leaving my house the beach got brought up and we decided to take an afternoon jaunt to the beach! It was perfect there! We walked along the beach, sat and chatted, then hit up the outlet mall (because this is me we are talking about here!)! It was a great day with perfect weather, great conversation, and with the perfect person!

I love this girl!

Migraines

Yep, again. Always. They suck. Welcome to every day of my life. The good news is I have a doctor's appointment at the end of this month. The bad news is that the last couple that I have had {several this week} have been bad ones. I missed church on Sunday because I had a migraine Saturday and it never went away. It woke me up at 3am and I was up until 6am before any of the prescriptions that I had kicked in. I am hoping that after I speak with my doctor that we will be able to figure out a new plan of action.

New Job

Have I mentioned that I really love my new job? I totally do! The people I work with are a lot of fun and make me laugh. I love what I do even at its craziest moments! On Thursday they were super sweet and gave me a card {with an Eiffel Tower on it...they know me well already!} and a gift card to Target. It was completely unexpected and the card was so nice! It completely made my day. I get asked a lot if I regret changing jobs at all and my answer is, no. I love where I am at and feel like its where I am supposed to be. I love that I feel so comfortable there and feel like I can be myself. I am definitely blessed.

How was your weekend?

What I Wore

2012-04-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

I really need to start remembering to have the Hubs take pictures before the lighting gets bad...until then...here is what I wore!!

These pants, fyi, are the SUPER comfy!!! No joke! Love 'em!

Pants, Top, & Shoes-Kohl's (clearance!), Jacket-Plato's Closet

And hello, yellow!! This is what I wore I on Easter! If the sun won't come to Oregon, then I guess I will just have to bring the sunshine myself! Muahaha! Actually, the weather was perfect on Easter, which was an added bonus of the whole day!

Dress-F21 gift from the Hubs...he's so good to me! :) Shoes-Kohl's

What are some of your favorite things to wear right now?

Misc. Monday

2012-04-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning and happy Monday!!!

Easter

Holidays and church with my hubby don't typically mix, but this year I was able to convince {actually, he was pretty great about it, all I had to do was ask} the Hubs to come to church with me yesterday. He typically dreads going on holidays, but goes all throughout the year when he doesn't get scheduled to work. We went to church and then headed on over to our friend's parents house. It was a lot of fun with amazing food! It was nice to spend the day with the Hubs and hang out with our friends. Oh, and the sun decided Easter was a great day to show its bright face, so that was an added bonus to the whole day! :)

Job

Last week I kind of just threw out there that I have a new job without explaining anything. I was a bookkeeper for almost six years, but I didn't like what I did at all. Shortly before we left for Paris, I started sending out my resume to a couple of places that looked good. When we got back into the States I had a voicemail waiting for me to set up an interview. It was the first time that I had ever gone into an interview where I felt like I was completely myself and that they liked me for me, which was cool. I left the interview knowing that they liked me and would be calling me to set up a second interview. The second interview was with the person from interview number one and with the doctor. I was a little bit more nervous because I couldn't really read the doctor and I wasn't sure if he liked me or not. I was supposed to hear back over that weekend and would find out then if I got the job or not. They called me the next day! The job was mine! The really cool part for me was that they received 198 resumes in two days before taking the ad down and they narrowed it down their top twenty for interviews. Its kind of cool knowing that there were so many options and I am the one they chose...gave me the warm fuzzies! :) So, now I am the front desk receptionist at a podiatrist office and I really like it so far! :)

How was your weekend and Easter?!

Awkward & Awesome-Hello! Its back!

2012-04-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another {and the first in a while} Awkward and Awesome!

Awkward

~The weather here has been all over the place {welcome to Oregon!}. Recently we had a ton of snow that just hit us what felt like out of the blue. As I was headed down the stairs to my car, I stepped onto the stairs that were piled with snow, and it was like riding down a slide {albeit, a painful slide}. My foot didn't even make a dent in the snow! I slid all the way down the steps with one leg underneath me at an awkward angle, all the while trying to catch my balance and the rail to slow myself down. It didn't happen. As I was dumping the snow out of my boot, I looked up to see a lady who was standing in the street {next to her car that was stuck in the snow} just staring at me. She didn't say anything! If I saw someone fall the way that I did, I would at least yell across the street to see if they were okay, but I guess that's just me!

~Going down the stairs at a friends house and tripping on them as I was going around the corner and making such a raucous that they thought I fell down the stairs...what can I say? I am nothing, if not dramatic. It keeps things interesting.

~Creepy old men who say horribly nasty things...definitely the first downside to my new job {I still love it though, no worries there!}

~Going to the post office, but getting there and realizing its not a normal post office, but one inside of another store. Then you sit in your car for ten minutes trying to figure out which door actually leads to the post office. In order to not look dumb {in case you walk into the wrong door}, you put your packages inside of your purse so that no one can see. As you get out of your car you realize that there is only one door and not multiple like you first thought...at least a good song came on while I was waiting!

Awesome

~Getting a new job and I loving it!

~My hubby excited to see me writing a blog post

~The Voice and New Girl

~Hearing all of the awesome things that God did on the mission trips that our students went on over Spring break

~Going on vacation and after getting back having your friends tell you how much they missed you...because they missed all of the pinning you did when you were home!
~Having lunch with a friend

What I Wore

2012-04-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

It feels like it has been forever since I have blogged or taken a picture of what I have worn! That's probably because it has been. Things have been crazy, busy, and crazy all over again. So, hello again my friends! It has been far too long!!

Here is my one and only picture of my outfit as of late. I promise to do better! :)

These are the boots I picked up while in Paris. I have to say that I LOVE them! They are super comfy and I think they are adorable!

What I Wore-Paris Edition

I would love to say that I have pictures that look different from these to show you what else I wore, but it was FREEZING {our highest high was only on day of 32degrees}!! So, hello layers! I wore my coat all the time. Let me just say that coats, boots, and scarves were everywhere! I also have to say that my love of black clothing definitely fit right on in with the Parisians, which was really cool.

Misc. Monday

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a fantastic weekend! For those of you who are lucky enough to have today off...I am so jealous! For those of you who are like me and are working, I feel your pain. Regardless, lets kick this week off with a little bit of miscellaneous mutterings, shall we?

Snow

It snowed here Saturday night and kept going all day Sunday {and if the forecast is accurate its supposed to snow through Tuesday}. I went to Jackie's house to hang out since the Hubs was working. It was a lot of fun. There were five of us over there just hanging out and playing in the snow. We had a fun snowball fight. I ended up getting tackled and have the bruise to prove it. Also, it turns out that not only does her dog, Tucker, love rolling around in the snow, he also love to eat the snow! It made for some great entertainment.

Friday Night

Apparently, when I am really bored, I clean the house. I don't just mean clean things and pick things up, but more like I rearrange things and deep clean them. This is how I spent my Friday evening. My plans for the night fell through and the Hubs was out playing poker with some friends. Rather than waste my night I cleaned, rearranged, re-organized, and did laundry. Not super fun or glamorous in any way, but the Hubs was super happy and quite impressed with me. So, yay for that! Totally made it worth the four and a half hours that I spent working on it.

Nails

Okay, so lately I have been painting my nails a lot. Like, at least once a week. On the weekends I tend to stay up super late {early...we are talking 4am people} because I start it late, take forever, and then wait even longer for my nails to dry. What normally happens {like on Saturday night} is that I give them time to dry and then I am ready for bed, but my nails aren't dry enough yet. Then I end up staying up another hour until I am ready to fall asleep where I am sitting. I go to bed and realize that my nails still aren't dry enough and end up ruining my work of art. You would think that I would learn my lesson since I do this all the time...but that would make things far too easy!

How was your weekend?

What I'm Lovin'-Coats & Capes!

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

This week I am lovin' coats and capes. I don't know about the weather where you live, but the temperatures have sure dropped around here. Cold weather makes me very grateful for the coats that I have and make me appreciate the adorable coats I have come across. Here are just a few that have caught my eye:

All images via Pinterest

What are you lovin' this week?

Awkward & Awesome!

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Oh, Thursdays...how I love you! Its time for me to share my awkward & awesome moments from my week. Shall we begin?

Awkward

~Putting off laundry long enough that as I am switching loads (when I finally end up doing laundry) I see all the clothes I forgot I had and say to myself, "oh! I love this!" And here I was thinking that I didn't have enough cute clothes to bring to Paris...I hate doing laundry, but boy do I love clothes!

~Switching loads of laundry on your lunch break and coming home only to realize that you forgot to hit "start" on the dryer...hello wet clothing!

~Having the dryer stop working. You spend a good ten minutes trying all sorts of different things to get it to start back up, but nothing happens. Then you send out a text to your hubby and best friends telling them the dumb dryer isn't working and then it decides its time to work again. Thanks, Dryer, for making me look like an idiot.

~Having to take your glasses off at work because you can see better without them...time for a new prescription and new glasses!

Awesome

~My bright pink tights I got for my birthday! They are awesome! The hostess at Applebees loved them and couldn't stop talking about 'em! Woo!

~Getting to see my girls at youth group. I love it when youth group starts back up after the holidays!

~Getting little texts from my nephew that make no sense, but it doesn't even matter because it came from him

~Pinterest...I am hooked and I love it!

~Ordering my Kindle case so that I have it for my trip

~My Hubby. He left youth group early to take me home because I had a migraine

~Orange juice. I drink it all the time. I think I am in love!

~Planning outfits out with your best friend for your trip to Paris!

~Leaving for Paris in 16 days!!!! I am just a little excited :)

Now its your turn to share your awkward and awesome events from the week! :)

What I Wore

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Trying to get back into the habit of taking pictures of my outfits has been frustrating. I have worn several outfits that I have loved, but have forgotten to take pictures of them. Luckily for me {and you!}, my hubby has been home when I come home for lunch and has been my photographer...hence some of the faces that I am making...definitely not normal "Natalie" poses!

Coat-gift from Hubby {Kohl's}, Top-Kohl's $12, Jeans-Forever21 $10.50, Shoes-Fred Meyer $5,

Necklace-Birthday Gift, Earrings-Lovely Afterthoughts

Top-Old Navy $12.99, Sequin Tank-Kohl's $5, Boots-Kohl's {couple years ago}, Necklace-Lovely Afterthoughts, Jeans-Forever21 $10.50

Top-Old Navy, Jeans-Forever21 $10.50 {can you tell I love their jeans??}, Legwarmers-Kohl's $5, Boots-Kohl's {last year}, Necklace-Shannon's Sparklies

Slowly, but surely, I will get back into the swing of things and have more outfits to share!

What are you loving to wear right now?

Misc. Monday

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning and welcome to another Miscellany Monday!

Birthday

I had a great birthday on Friday! We went out to dinner with friends and some family and it was a lot of fun! I spent a majority of the time laughing, which is always a plus. My two nephews completely stole the show with their adorableness. Logan was enjoying throwing peanuts onto the floor. He also enjoyed throwing peanuts into people's drinks. Let me tell you, he has a pretty good arm! I also ended up with a small wad of straw wrappers in my drink throughout the night. Logan thought it was hilarious every time I had to pull out the wrapper from my drink. It was a fun, relaxing, and very enjoyable night!

Bike

I used my new bike on Saturday. Jackie and I went for a ride. Let me just say that beach cruiser bikes are not meant for hills. I spent quite a bit of time walking my bike up-hill. Eventually I will figure out how to get up the hills without having to walk, but until then...Jackie will just have to wait for me at the top!

Movies

We watch a lot of movies. Its the easiest way for me {the girl who is never relaxed} to "relax" at least a little bit. Jackie often makes fun of me {as does the Hubs} because I pick out terrible movies. I enjoy them, but most others don't. I decided to put things into perspective for her Saturday night. I found the worst movie that we owned and started it. As the movie was starting {I never told her what it was, I just threw it and hit play} the Hubs came in to see what we were watching. I told him we were watching Glitter {you know, the one with Mariah Carey in it? I love her. I don't know why, but I do!}. He looked at me like I had lost my mind. I finished the movie, but Jackie didn't. I just hope the next time I pick out a movie that she thinks is horrible that she will remember Glitter and think, "okay, I guess this movie wasn't that bad." :)

How was your weekend? Did you get to do any fun, interesting, or relaxing?

What I'm Lovin'-Friends, Family, & Birthdays!

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

That's right! Today I am lovin' friends, family, and birthdays! And really, who doesn't?!

My girlfriend, Jackie decided that she wanted to have a New Years Eve party at her house this year. I was super excited because up until last year {when she took me to Seattle for my birthday} I hadn't really ever done anything for New Years Eve. The Hubs likes to stay at home, rather than be out there with all the people who have had a bit too much to drink. So, to my delight the Hubs said that he would go with me! I was super excited!

After the Hubs got off work {and I finished shopping...ahem} we were on our way to Jackie's house! When we got there I was really excited because she had a great turn out {she lives what seems like forever out of town, so sometimes people don't like driving out that far}. As we were walking up to the house, I turned to my Hubby and made a comment about how dark the house was for a place that was having a party. I thought maybe they started a movie {we were a little bit late}, but it was pretty early for that. Then I thought maybe the guys were playing some video game. I walked into the house and could hear people talking, but I wasn't really paying that much attention. After I made it down the hall, Jackie flipped on the lights and yelled "Surprise!!"

Surprise is an understatement! I had no clue that she was planning a surprise for me, especially since it wasn't my birthday yet! I was so excited that I was getting to share my birthday with so many people that I love! And it fit me perfectly! There was lots of pink going on in that house. One of my friends told me that her son had asked her if the party was for a little girl...and she told him yes. :) So cute!

A little bit later they took me to the kitchen so that they could grab my birthday present. I had to cover my eyes while they maneuvered me into the hallway. When I uncovered my eyes this is what I saw:

They all went in together to get me this bike that I fell in love with at the beginning of last year! I had no idea and was so surprised! I love it and can't wait for my bike ride with Jackie this weekend to break it in. After they gave me my adorable bike, I got to open my gift from my hubby. He bought me a Kindle!

I have been wanting one, especially for our trip to Paris at the end of this month! I love it and think its perfect!

It was the sweetest birthday, which I was super thankful for because today is the day that I turn 30!!

I can't believe I actually just said that! Yes, the big 3-0! I have felt like throwing up all week on top of being super excited! I can't really figure out how I really feel about it. I just keep telling people that as long as people continue to think that I am younger than I actually am {my coffee girl, Glory, thought I meant 25 when I said it was "the big one." I like her!}. So, rather than trying to figure out my real feelings, I am just going to embrace it and try to enjoy it.

Thank you to all my friends and family for their sweet cards, precious gifts, and for all their love. My party was perfect and I can't wait for part two of my birthday tonight!

Which birthday did you have a tough time with?

Awkward & Awesome!

2012-01-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

Good morning and welcome to a long time coming Awkward & Awesome post!! :) Still trying to get back into the swing of things. I might be a bit rusty, but let's give it a go anyway, shall we?

Awkward

~ I have a difficult time following directions. When cooking its normal and expected that I will forget at least one step, and in some cases, forget the main ingredient in a meal. I am lucky to have such a sweet and understanding husband who puts up with me and my quirks as well as he does. Earlier this week I came home for lunch and decided to make Easy Mac. The name in itself is quite inviting for someone like me. I mean, hello, it has "easy" in the name! It couldn't be that hard, right?! I got it all ready, threw that bad boy in the microwave, and walked away. I made it around the corner before turning around, sprinting to the microwave, threw the door open, and grabbed the container quickly. I realized I had forgotten to add water. The last time this happened {sadly, I did this the first week at my job...} I didn't realize that I forgot until there was black smoke billowing out of the microwave. Needless to say that lunch was destroyed along with the microwave. Luckily I realized my mistake in time! My husband said, "its a good thing you are beautiful because, man, you really can't make mac and cheese."

~ One of things I love most about where we live is that we have a fireplace. I am good at making fires, which just makes me extra happy. My husband decided that we didn't need to buy wood anymore for it though, but that instead we should just use cardboard because it makes a big fire and is warm really quickly. I, personally, think its ridiculous, but he is my little pyro and the joy on his face is perfect! The other day I came home to a huge amount of cardboard in the middle of the living room. I didn't realize just how serious he was. Now we have zero firewood and a plethora of cardboard. What's a girl to do??

~ As I am sure most of you have figured out, I am a girly girl. I have been painting my fingernails like a crazy person {well, that's what they look like when I am finished with 'em}. Sometimes I will paint them three different times in one week. The sad part is that, although I am painting them all the time, it seems like I am getting worse at it the more I do it. I typically look like I got into a fight with the nail polish and it beat me, badly. I have also come to realize that I really only have one color, pink. I just happen to have a gazillion different shades of it! Time to branch out!

Awesome

~ Getting to spend Christmas with friends and family

~ Calling my parents on Christmas Eve and having the phone passed around to most of my relatives so that we could talk!

~ Being with my family for Thanksgiving and getting to see my nephew take his first steps at my house!

~ Babysitting our nephews and getting to hang out with them...they are so cute!

~ Trying to get my blogging back to normal

~ T-Minus 23 days until PARIS!!!

This reminds me, I am looking for some bloggers who would like to guest post for me while I am gone. If that is something that you are interested in. please email me at: nataliesmith82@gmail.com

I would love to chat with you about it! :)

So, what are your awkward and awesome moments as of late? Spill it! :)

PS-My friend, Jill over at Made it on Monday has taken her crafting skills and entered into another competition and she could use your vote! :) Voting closes tonight at 8PM!

Go HERE and vote for her! This is what she made and I am in love with it!!

Isn't it beautiful!?!

Recap and a Bit of Fashion

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

My, oh, my! Its been quite a while since my last post. I apologize. Between the holidays and life just going crazy I felt the need to not blog for a bit, lest I become completely overwhelmed. I am trying to get back into the swing of things and since its the beginning of the New Year, why not start now?! :)

Here are just a couple of pics that I could find of a little bit of what I have been up to:

The amazing people I get to work with in the youth group

Our senior class Christmas party...let the good times roll!

and since its Wednesday...why not a little bit of what I wore {or more like what I will wear}:

Welcome to the Kohl's dressing room...these are my new shirts...and I love them!!

So, lets catch up! What have you been up to? How was your Christmas? I have missed you all and I am so glad that I am back! :)

Misc. Monday

2011-11-28T08:29:00.001-08:00

Good morning and welcome to another Monday! I hope that your Thanksgiving was fabulous and filled with lots of family and fun! :)

Pie

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. It was a lot of fun just hanging out with family and friends. This year was also the very first time I have ever made a pie and let me tell you...I was quite impressed with me! haha! :) I wasn't really sure how my first attempt was going to go. Its me and I tend to not pay attention to directions and end up forgetting something important {like rice this one time when I was making chicken and rice...}, but it turned out really pretty, it tasted good, and no one died! I figure its a win-win-win! :)

Thanksgiving and Friday...its all a blurr

I am normally a HUGE black Friday shopper. This year, however, I wasn't. I had a migraine all of Thanksgiving and when it came time to leave my house to hit the stores, I just couldn't and didn't want to. I never thought I would utter those words, but I did. I needed to sleep and not be out in the cold and the rain. Plus, I had to work the whole day on Friday {typically we split the day into two shifts so that we work less hours that day}. We aren't really doing gifts this year anyway, so its probably best for our finances that I didn't go out and go shopping! :) Plus, I got to put my lights up at my desk {and my tree this morning!!}. :) Now my desk is happy.

Music

I am officially allowed to listen to Christmas music at work now!! It makes me so happy! I would listen to it in October {and I typically do in my car at very least} at work, but we have a rule now, so I can't. I love using Pandora, so I have a couple Christmas stations set up for my listening pleasure. Do you like Christmas music??

Tree

I am still trying to convince the Hubs that we need to get a Christmas tree. He has told me no every year since we got married, but we end up getting one, so I am holding onto hope that we will get one again this year. Plus, I figure if we could fork out the dough when we lived in California, we can definitely fork out $15 for a tree here in Oregon...waaaay less expensive! :) Do you have a tree yet?

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you brave the crazies on black Friday?

Misc. Monday

2011-11-21T08:16:00.001-08:00

Well, happy Monday!! I am really excited for this week because of the holiday and the fact that its a four day work week for me {three if you are super lucky and get Friday off as well}!

Weather

It has been cold the past couple of days. Our forecast for snow Saturday and Sunday, but sadly we did not receive any. I was bummed because I figure if its going to be cold we should at least get something pretty out of it! :) Our temps for the week are forecast to be in the high 40's, which cracks me up because our highs are still lower {or as low} as lows forecasted in my hometown where our family lives! I love this time of year. The leaves on the trees are vibrant reds and yellows and just all around gorgeous. Fall and winter are two of my favorite seasons and two of the reasons why I really love Oregon.

Puppies

I am not a dog person. The only dogs I seem to "like" in any way is if they are the size of a cat. I am most definitely a cat person. Then I met little Willow. I would tell you what kind of puppy she is, but frankly, I didn't really care and couldn't remember what they said if I tried. All you really need to know is that she is adorable and has, in some ways, changed my thoughts on dogs. I would still want a little dog, but I think I realized this weekend that I like puppies a whole lot more than I thought I did.

Proud Wife

Tomorrow my Hubby is leading his very first Intro to Scuba class! I am super excited for him and so proud! Its pretty cool, especially since he will know all the students since most of them are high school students that graduated last year or his sister! It will just make it that much more fun and memorable for him. :) Way to go my Dive Master! :)

Inconsistent

I know I have been all over the place lately and I apologize. I am trying to get back into the swing of things. A lot has been going on and work is starting to get crazy since we are entering into my busiest time of the year {just shoot me now!}. So, please bear with me if I remain inconsistent. I promise, it won't last forever! :)

How was your weekend?? Do you have big Thanksgiving plans?

Awkward & Awesome

2011-11-14T11:25:00.001-08:00

Its been a while, but not due to lack of awkward things...but here you go!

Awkward

~Spilling mineral foundation in your car and not realizing that it also somehow managed to get in between a strap on the back of your boot. Then walking around the office making everything "pretty" with foundation.

~Getting up in front of the entire women's retreat and having it announced {with my permission for an ice breaker. The ladies had to match an interesting fact with the right person} that I had dislocated both knees within six months of each other...while sitting down. That part wasn't too bad. It was more of the fact that people who knew me knew that the dislocated knee thing while sitting down was something that only I would do. Its true, its funny, its a little embarrassing, but hey-its stuff like that, that keeps my blog interesting, ya know?

~Having a conversation like this almost every day, "she's on her phone, would you like to hold or would you like her voicemail?" "yes, please." "um, to which one? Would you like to hold or would you like her voicemail?"

~Finding out last night just exactly what Grease is all about and what some of the lyrics in that movie mean. Oy vey!

~Learning how to chop wood. When swinging the ax for the first time closing my eyes and turning my head away from the wood only to have my "teacher" freak out and prepare to jump between me and the ax. I hit the wood and then it was explained to me that I have to keep my eyes open. Apparently this is something crucial. Who knew?

Awesome

~Having a Sing-Off watching and nail painting night with my girlie, Porshla!

~Dinner last night with friends

~Having a good conversation with one of my high school girls

~Having my desk looking very pink, lit up and ready for Christmas!

~Getting to have the first fire of the year this week!

~Finally getting my bulletin board put up at my crafting area. Now it looks more complete! Let the jewelry hanging begin!!

What was awkward or awesome about your week??

Misc. Monday

2011-11-14T10:45:00.001-08:00

Good morning and welcome to...

Hotels

Apparently the "new" thing at hotels is not actually having a comforter, but a blanket in between the sheets. Not sure who came up with that idea, but lucky for me I always bring my own pillow and blanket when I travel. A little piece of home so that I feel comfortable.

Women's Retreat

This weekend was women's retreat and our speaker was A-mazing. We were lucky enough to have Jennifer Strickland join us and share with us her story. She wrote the book Girl Perfect. I need to go grab a copy of her book, so that I can read it. She was great because she was so real with us. You should google hear and read her bio. Its so amazing to me, how God can take us from the darkest pits of despair and make us whole, clean, and new again. She truly has a powerful story.

Outlet Mall

I love them. :) I got to go on Saturday and I have to say, they are hit and miss, but this weekend I found some really great items for not very much at all. I was quite impressed with myself. Yay me! ;)

Friends

It always amazes me how blessed I am with the friends that God has placed in my life. This weekend was just another example of that. It was a great weekend for rekindling old friendship, strengthening existing friendships, and starting new ones.

Thanks to all the women who made this retreat possible. The hard work, prayer, time, and dedication that you put into it, is greatly appreciated. You are all amazing!

How was your weekend? What did you do?

What I'm Lovin'-Shannon's Sparklies

2011-11-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

I am super excited to introduce you my real life and uber talented friend, Shannon, from Shannon's Sparklies. She so genuine and such a sweetheart! Just look at all the beautiful things she has made:

Gorgeous, right?!

Here is a little bit about her and her shop:

My name is Shannon and I just got married this year to the greatest, most supportive man in the world! I am currently not working, so one of the things I LOVE to do is make homemade jewelry. I just got into making jewelry a couple months ago, and its something i really enjoy. I am also involved with California's Southern Baptist Disaster Relief organization and I travel around quite a bit helping people who have been affected by natural disasters by doing emotional and spiritual care, cleaning up properties, etc. Of course when I travel, I am always on the look out for things to use for making my jewelry! So, many of my pieces are created using things I have come across on my adventures.

She was kind enough to send me one of her necklaces and I love it! Its really light, cute, and I am finding all sorts of things to wear it with. I didn't realize I had as many options as I do! Yay me! Here is what she sent me:

Isn't it beautiful!?

Being the sweet person that she is, she is offering YOU, my lovely readers, 10% off your purchase at her shop. Just enter the code "Nataliereaders" when you check out! I hope that you stop by and see all of the amazing pieces that she has created!

Awkward & Awesome!

2011-11-10T10:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Thursday! I have to say I am ready for this week to be over because I am excited for this weekend! How about you?!

Awkward

~Walking into the subway inside of Walmart and having everyone look up at the same time and stare at you. Definitely double checked my clothing to make sure something wasn't amiss.

~Trying on a skirt at Old Navy and coming out of the dressing room to ask Jackie if my skirt looked see-thru to her and finding out that yes, it indeed was incredibly see-thru and that you could see everything. Thank goodness for slips {because darn it all! It was a cute skirt and really on clearance}!

~Watching the Sind-off and having one of the groups singing a Carrie Underwood song and finally realizing that I had been singing the wrong words this whole time to the song Before He Cheats. What I thought she was saying was, "with a blue stick showing her how to shoot a combo." What she actually said was, "with a pool stick showing her how to shoot a combo." I figured since I haven't ever really been to a bar that it was some kind of alcohol drink thing. Let's just say with I get these "epiphanies" they are always in front of someone and they are always out loud. Needless to say the Hubs and Travis got a kick out of it. Yes, I have been singing it wrong for years now.

~Walking into Applebees for a date with the Hubs only to realize that 1-It was karaoke night 2-It was super loud and you couldn't hear a thing the person next to you was saying...so conversations with the Hubs were tough...and so was ordering and 3-people really take their karaoke seriously.

Awesome

~Convo I had with the Hubs:

Him-"I love your new haircut. Its so sexy."

Me-"Thanks! I'm glad because I love it! How did you see it? You're still at work?"

Him-"I imagined it. Haven't seen you yet, but boy the it brings out your eyes..."

Me-"LOL thanks sweetheart!"

Him-"I love making you smile."

I am one blessed woman to have such a great man for my Hubby. :)

~Date with the Hubs last night.

~Hearing about a conversation that two people had about me on Sunday...I will try not to butcher what they said:

TF-"Our Nat is so girly today"

TW-"Yeah, she is. I do everything I can to get her dirty {i.e. being outside, changing the oil...etc.}"

TF-"Can she even get dirty?"

TW-"When she gets mud on her it just turns pink and sparkly."

It made me laugh, so I thought I would share. Oh and take that Cullens. You just sparkle, but I get pink and sparkly. Nat-1 Vampires-0

~Women's retreat that is starting tomorrow! So excited!!

~Getting a sweet card from my girlfriend in CA and a letter from her youngest daughter...just because. Made my day!

~Having your friend's kitty snuggle with you and sleep in your lap while watching a movie.

What was awkward and/or awesome about your week?!

What I Wore

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Its been a couple weeks since I last did one of these and I apologize. I have been a bad blogger, but I am here now and with pictures to share! On we go!!

Inspiration

My version

Inspiration

My Version

shorts-Old Navy $20, Shirt-Mom's Closet hand me down $free, scarf-Old Navy $6, Boots-Kohl's

Inspiration

All inspirations via Pinterest

My Version

Dress-Old Navy $10, Belt-Romy's $1, Boots-Kohl's, Jacket-Plato's Closet $10, Tights-Kohl's

What have been your favorite clothing items so far this fall?

Misc. Monday

2011-11-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Wow! It feels like forever since I have done one of these! So sorry for being all over the place lately!! Onward we go...

Craft Show

This weekend Jackie and I did a craft show together. She worked it all day Friday while I was at work and we sold one thing. It was so sad getting texts from her saying that people liked our stuff, but just weren't buying it. I joined her on Saturday and it really was quite hilarious to watch people exclaim how beautiful they thought our items were, to "ooh" and "ahh" over them, to call their friends over to see, but then place it back down on the table and walk away. We did eventually end up selling some items, but not nearly as many as I thought. The good news is we made a little bit of money, so we didn't eat the entry fee, which was nice. It was also exciting to see which items people loved the most and to know that people really do like what you made, even if they don't buy it. Oh well, it was fun and I did sell some necklaces, so I really can't complain! :)

Hubby

We have been super busy lately and it seems like my schedule and the Hubby's schedule keep making us miss each other. I miss him. I decided that we were going on a date this week, but then I look at our schedules and realized that was going to be tough to arrange, especially since I will be at women's retreat this weekend and he will be diving. So, we are doing a short dinner date before youth group {sorry about missing the leaders meeting, but this is way more important}. I am really excited! I can't wait to have some one-on-one time with the only interruption being our waiter/waitress. I am excited to be spending some time with that handsome man that I love and married. :)

Movies

I love movies. A lot. Lately, Jackie, Travis, Porsh, and myself seem to start movies, but never end up finishing them. Saturday after church we went back to their house to hang out. We ended up finishing all of the movies that we had started. I felt like we really accomplished something. Then we started the second Lord of the Rings movie....yeah, we have to start our "movies to finish" list all over again!

How was your weekend? What did you do?

What I'm Lovin'

2011-11-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

So, I have been ready for a change. Maybe its the change in seasons or something, but what I really want to do is chop off all my hair {hello, huge short hair fan over here!}. If I did though, that would make the Hubs so sad. Here is a rough idea of what my hair has looked like lately:

Normally when I go in to get my hair cut I know exactly what I want and have a picture for her. This time I think I brought in six pictures and told her to just do whatever she thought was good. And this is how it turned out:

Although she really didn't do too much {made my bangs thicker, cut a little bit of length, and added in long layers} for it to be a drastic change, which is typically what I love doing, I am in love with it! :) I think if my hair were a different color I probably wouldn't like it as much. The color and haircut combo is perfect! :)

What are you lovin' this week??

Awkward & Awesome

2011-11-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

You didn't think I would forget about today did you??

Awkward

~Having pictures to post for Wednesday's "What I Wore" post, but forgetting to upload them onto the computer in time for the post. Yes, I am that bad!

~Getting ready to leave the church and trying to get your door open. You stick the key in, but it only goes in half way and feels like something is stuck. So, you try again and again, flipping the key around thinking that it might help. After about five minutes you finally look into the car and realize, yep...wrong Honda. Trying to break into someone's car in the church parking lot is probably worse than doing that anywhere else. Luckily, I think the Fed Ex guy was the only one to see my blunder.

~Having to re-ask the boss for time off for our Paris vacation...for the third time. Trying to schedule four people's schedules is complicated.

~Being so {and I mean SO} incredibly grumpy last week that you had to not only warn people before they saw you, but also had to spend a majority of this week apologizing to people. Grumpy Nat=Lots of apologies...sorry again, Hubs!

~Getting kids bubble gum from Halloween stuck to your teeth at work and not being smart enough to get it out in a timely manner. Don't judge. I am sticking to adult bubble gum from now on.

~Trying to find pumpkin puree, but not having any idea what it is and, therefore, having no idea what to look for.

Awesome

~ Being sooo close to having our car paid off! Yippee!

~Still going to Paris for our vacation...super excited! :)

~Knowing that your family and friends love you despite being super emotional and crazy grumpy. Thanks guys! You're the best!

~Great conversations with the Hubs

~Going to Fright Night in Portland with fun people...and getting completely freaked out! So fun!

~Blasting Britney Spears with your girlfriend in a car full of boys and singing your hearts out...dance moves and hand motions included :) They can't hold us back!

~ Rain boots. I'm tellin' ya, they are awesome!

What was awkward and awesome about your week?