Spring Cleaning!!

I know we haven't lived here very long, but Mr. Wonderful & I have the anti-clutter bug!! Cue the garage sale as soon as we have 3+ days of good weather that falls on a weekend... (We'll hold our breath).

Having the spring cleaning bug has motivated me to attempt a 1 month challenge ( maybe longer depending on how Mr. Wonderful tolerates this). The challenge is to have less food waste and less food expenses for an entire month.
To use what's in the house: only supplementing with fresh fruits veggies, eggs, milk, and bread (if I don't bake some first) from the store. I feel like we followed the lead of the woodland creatures last yer and accidentally stockpiled a ton of stuff, now it's time to use it! I even made us a little sign for the fridge of things we need to make sure we eat so I don't have to throw my mini tantrum when I have to throw things away because they've gone bad... (and I do- trust me)

The mantra is Spring Clean!

Wish us luck.

Frosted Fun!

With the frozen temperatures continuing, the mornings here are stunning! Glittering fields & trees frozen with ice crystals. I snapped some shots and wanted to share.

Adventures at ReStore- The Art of Repurposing

More adventures that started with a Pin.. Shame on you Pinterest!!! Maybe its shame on me for being on Pinterest!

We snagged these two nightstands from Restore, they had just received a shipment from The Hotel Jerome in Aspen!! They needed an update if the color- we went with Valspar, London Coach.  They came out wonderfully!  Can I tell you how in LOVE I am with this color?!?  Well I am, I want to paint everything this color.. and I just might!   I also created a mini- mudroom from a bookshelf!  (Yes, it is also the London Coach color.)

Next up, they will get new knobs- but we have already started using them in our room and they look great!

Note to self... Stay hydrated!!

Life in the "high desert" is well DRY.  We learned early on that staying hydrated was top priority, it sounds easier than it is.  Drink water-- sure... Got it.  But I cannot tell you how many days I've woken up in the morning with a screaming headache; and water didn't fix it.  however Gatorade is a magical thing!!

We were getting pretty good at remembering to bring water with us wherever we went and drinking plenty of fluids before bed.  We went to visit California this month, and we seem to have fallen of the hydration wagon.  We will get back there, it will just take us some time to retrain the habit.  I can just hear all of my athlete friends in California chastising me for not drinking more liquids... I know I know!!

Spring has sprung! The critters have returned!!

Insert my "I'm still from California" giddiness here. The deer are back, the birds are out, the geese are plentiful & all the cows had babies!! We hadn't seen a deer anywhere near the house since Thanksgiving so I am glad to announce they have returned!!

Not sure what these little beauties are, but they're quite fun to watch!

Not gonna lie, I kinda wanna hug it. 

This was a little group of 4 that we saw the other night. They put up with me watching them for a bit but ran off when they realized I was pretty close.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Headed West.... To defrost.

Okay okay, I'll admit it, I'm tired of being COLD.... (Frozen- solid actually)

 So Mr. Wonderful, the wonder-dog and I with my mom in tow (she came to visit for a week for her birthday and took the LONG drive back with us) all headed west for some WARM sunny weather. Boy did we get it!! It was 80 during the day & 60's in the evening! I will admit I spent a few mornings & afternoons by the pool with a good book.  We ran all over the place and saw a ton of friends & family.  All in all we had a wonderful visit!!

One thing that amazed me with this trip home compared to our journey home for the holidays was the inability to see everyone who wanted to get together, with scheduling conflicts, and us just needing to actually have some shred of a vacation on our trip home it wasn't possible.  Turns out it doesn't matter if we are home for 4 days or 10... there just doesn't seem to be enough time to get it all in.  To the friends that we missed seeing this trip, we will see you this summer, or come visit!! Another strange realization on this trip, was that after 10 days in California, Mr. Wonderful & I were ready to be home.. but home was now Colorado.  Maybe we're going native.  Either way, it's good to be home.

Downtown.... I might have actually missed it!

Cocktails with one of my favorites at our usual place... 

Family day at the shooting range!!

Grow Damnit!!

It's no secret... I have the polar opposite of a green-thumb. But spring has sprung & so the planting of seeds for the garden has begun! I'll keep you all updated with the progress or lack thereof.
We needed to get things going since we are in "Zone 5" ... (whatever that means..) For me Zone 5 means that if I order plants online, they ship later than they would if we lived 30 miles to the west.

They will live inside until the weather cooperates.

 Notice the SNOW on the deck? yep... its still snowing here, even though "spring has sprung" according to the little rodent that supposedly predicts the weather.

I need Strawberries!!!!! I will try to grow them, and I will probably kill them.. I hope not.., but lets be honest here.. I can barely keep succulents alive...   Speaking of succulents... here are all of my little friends that we moved here in November, all transplanted and happy.

Well here they are waiting to be put into their new pots. 

And here is the finished product!

This is basically the warmest window in the house, therefore this is the plant room- sorry all future guests :)

 

XOXO

Goodbye snow, hello tumbleweeds

With the exit of the powdery white stuff comes the beginnings of green grass trying to recover after a good long hibernation, and the sad little plants that have morphed into tumbleweeds since they could no longer hold their ground. Augie the wonder dog loves to chase them & bark at them (as if they're going to respond). Yesterday we had howling wind and watching the tumbleweeds run across the field was almost mesmerizing.

The TuTu Project

I have nephews, I LOVE them more than words can say... But, I can't make them tutu's (my brother probably not tolerate it).

But, last year, TWO of my very good friends had baby girls! including a set of twins!! (Two tutu's!!) lucky me, I get to buy pink & make tutu's and avoid strange looks for making cammo tutu's. (I never did, but it did cross my mind- kidding Michelle! )

This little adventure started when I realized that all three girls were turning 1 within a month of each-other! That meant I needed to get crackin if I was going for the "crafty auntie" title.

The onsies were customized, but what looks better on a big diaper baby buttay??? A TUTU!!

Off to hobby lobby I went, and one hundred & eighty yards of tulle later, we have liftoff!! Errrrr I mean Tutu's!!!

Hopefully their mommies will send me pictures of the girls in their tutu's so I can share them, but in the meantime, here they are!

Let me introduce you to our new toys for the kitchen

We have been venturing into the magical world of food storage & juicing!!

Mr. Wonderful is getting better at tolerating my juice blends, he even had spinach, celery with carrot the other day; ill admit, though the color wasn't great- BUT he still drank it!

We purchased a food saver to save me from going insane after realizing how much food was just getting tossed every week. The waste was killing me! Now we can pre-prep dinners and portion things out, since its usually just the 2 of us; we don't need heaps of anything laying around. (Except for maybe Chocolate..... Can you ever have too much Chocolate!?!?!?)

Happy birthday Mom!

Lucky me! For my moms birthday she chose to come visit us in the frozen tundra that is Colorado!! AND she brought some warm weather & my Aunt Marcia with her! Of course I HAD to bake her a birthday cake (finished it no joke just as they pulled into the driveway). We had a lovely visit & even made some time to go to Hobby Lobby!

Happy birthday mom, you are every reason why I am who I am- because have such a wonderful role model. I love you.