To My Birthday Boy

I have millions of things I adore about you but well let's face it, I've got to keep you humble somehow, so I'll keep it to five.

1. When I'm grumpy you tell me that you've prepared a dance for me and then proceed to perform some ridiculously awkward dance move from the latest Youtube video you've found. I especially loved this one this week.

2. The way you call me and the Indian "Your girls". Be still my soul.

3. How you want to be the very best at every single thing you do and never take no for an answer (this only applies to specific things, I of course ALWAYS love it when you say yes to taking out the trash).

4. The way you snuggle the Indian and I at night, and I get the tiniest glimpse of what an amazing father you'll be someday.

5. You support me in every way and never let me settle even when I've stopped seeing that my dreams are still in reach. When I'm with you I want to be better, I want to make you proud, I want to be worthy of you.

Happy 25th birthday baby boy! Love you to the moon and back.

Bits and Pieces Around The House

You all know that I thrift all of my clothes. But this thriftaholic is coming out of the closet. It's also my very favorite thing to decorate around the house with unique items that I find at the thrift store. I love that all of these items have so much history, I picture the kinds of houses they were in before I ever saw them. There's something so magical about giving something a brand new life, and a brand new look. Here are just a few of my recent decor thrift finds as of late.

Puddles and Dog Cuddles

sweater: thrifted (f21)        blouse: f21        jeans: GAP          bag: thrifted          shoes: f21

I’m concerned. Like genuinely concerned that if we were to have a child instead of a dog right now, that said child would be deceased, like for reals. Because here’s the thing. Sir Matt, he loves to rough house with the Indian. Like they get into some serious heavy duty brawls. He’s swinging her around on tug ropes, throwing balls as hard as he can and she’ll catch them right in her mouth (how does she have teeth still?), and the thing is that she loves it. SHE LOVES IT! When we walk in the door after work she’s tugging on Sir Matt’s jeans, trying to rile him up and get him to rough house. She can’t get enough! So anyways, the other day we’re at the park, and we’re throwing rocks for Indie into the river (guys I have to get this on video tape because it’s just too good) and Matt takes this huge rock, launches it into the river and Indie leaps out right in front of it like she’s going to catch it in her mouth. Oh my heart it hurts, and well you know the rest and how rocks and jogs jumping in front of them go. She’s okay, she needed a lot of cuddles and that girl let out a whimper that could break a girls heart. But I think Matt got the worst of the pain. I gave him a stern talking to with lots of ,”When we have kids….” And “You can’t always be this rough, SOMEONES GOING TO DIE!” and, “OUR CHILDREN WOULD BE DEAD IF WE HAD ANY RIGHT NOW!!!” okay okay, so a teensy bit dramatic no? Matt of course felt terrible, the Indian and him are thick as thieves. But after all of my scolding he just looked at me and said, “Sarah, do you honestly think I’m going to be throwing rocks into rivers for my children to go fetch…..Sarah, she’s a dog. Obviously we’re going to have different activities.” I gave him the stink eye of course, because I mean, she’s my little Indian and obviously I’m just a big giant mother hen, and also I just really like being right and I wanted to be right dang it! But the boy had a point I suppose. I take one thing away from this story, if you have a husband that throws rocks in rivers and expects your babies to go fetch them…you gotta get that guy snipped. THE END.

Did You Win The Junie Blake Giveaway?!

It's Friday It's Friday!

blouse: f21        skirt: thrifted       shoes: f21       belt: thrifted

My To Do List For This Weekend:

- Deck the house out with all things spooky

- Make a Sarah Indie and Sir Matt cuddle sandwich for at least thirty minutes Saturday Morning

- Go to the Real Salt Lake game and manage to win one of those stupid half time contests

- Watch a minimum of 10 episodes of Dance Academy (my ultimate guilty Australian tween pleasure)

- Crochet until my hearts content...whilst watching more Dance Academy

- Plan Matt's birthday surprises for next week (aka mission impossible)!

- Eat at least one fudgsicle

- Eat at least one more fudgsicle

I know they're lofty goals....and so challenging at that. But I'm dedicated to going the distance. Let the weekend begin!

Saying Goodbye To Summer and Learning To Move On

My Grams is the third in from the left. Such a classic beauty. As you can tell I have her to thank for my eyes and undying love of red lipstick. 

I’m going to be completely honest with you. This summer has not been one teensy eensie bit of what I hoped it would have been. In actuality I feel robbed of my long summer nights and warm summer days. I’ve spent much of my summer completely usurped by something that just doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things, and I’ve let myself get to a point where I feel completely drained physically, emotionally and spiritually. But I’m ready to make a change. A big huge hairy scary change. I’m done with seeing special moments pass me by because I don’t have the time or energy to enjoy them. I’m done trying to tell myself that I’m satisfied when I’m clearly not. I’m done trying to make someone else happy at the expense of my own well-being. I can feel huge changes coming, and you know what, for the first time in a long time I feel hope. Hope! Oh sweet glorious hope how I’ve missed you! So even though I’m saying goodbye to summer I can’t help but feel like I’m saying hello to endless possibilities. And summer, promise me that we'll catch up next year, I really missed you!?

(Sorry if this is ridiculously vague, I promise I’ll share more when the time is right.)

Can I Haz It

dress: c/o OASAP (buy it here)   shoes: Target  bag: thrifted  blazer: Hawaii  necklace: Claire

There’s nothing like a breezy pleated dress to keep you cool while September tries to pretend that it’s the middle of the summer. Get over yourself September and while you’re at it, can I haz some crisp fall air up in here.

Pin Test: Pumpkin Pancakes

The second the weather even starts to feel a teensy bit like fall I start throwing pumpkin into everything I cook, don't even get me started about how I threw pumpkin over my cheerios this morning (kidding, only kidding). And even though pumpkin pancakes has always seemed so cozy and tasty, I've never found quite the right recipe that makes the pumpkin spice taste strong enough. And so the quest began. I tried three recipes. This one, of course the one that had the best picture on Pinterest, because really who looks at recipes anymore when your eyes can do the drooling for you. This one was a complete let down for me, it just tasted like regular pancakes definitely not enough spice. Then I tried this one as a healthier option, and like guys, when has healthier ever meant better tasting? I mean lets be real. And finally the winner, this recipe totally kicked butt, I mean the picture sucked which was why I thought it would be really plain, but seriously guys SO GOOD. I finally found what was missing from pumpkin pancakes, vinegar and ginger! I know right, sounds bitter, but it gives it the perfect kick of spice to bring out the pumpkin. You just have to trust me, please please try this this fall! It'll make you feel all warm and cozy on the inside. Make them with some hot cidar and those leaves will turn orange I'm telling you. 

Here's my modified version of this recipe.

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice Pancakes 

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar\

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon  

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Walgreens and Gremlins

sweater: c/o OASAP (buy it here)       shirt: f21      jeans: American Eagle      belt: thrifted      bag: thrifted   shoes: f21

So the other day Matt and I were at Walgreens browsing the Redbox selection, because it was one of those nights where a crappy movie would suffice our need for entertainment, you know that kind of lazy Friday night. So I’m browsing and wondering why Zac Efron is in like 92% of these movies and also, why he ever had to go wreck his entire career with high school musical when he is SO DANG FINE! And I turn to Matt and say, “Oh Efron. Get your head in the game!” And my Sir Matt was gone, nowhere to be seen. The sneak had snuck away, and during one of my witty comments (oh the pain of a witty comment wasted on the air!) So without my trusty Matt by my side, I was bound to make a bad decision and I went for an Efron movie anyway (stay away from The Lucky One, far far away!). So while the Netflix machine was regurgitating my movie I saw Matt walk out of Walgreens with a huge grin on his face and he said, “Guess what I found for only six dollars!?”  Now, this you must know, when Matt asks you to guess something, this my friends is not a rhetorical question, he REALLY wants you to guess, and rapid fire guess at that. And so the game begian, “Efron? Efrons blue eyes? Another Efron movie? You bought a child?! Did you buy me a child that looks just like Zac Efron?!!!!” Well he was clearly disappointed in my guessing ability, so he quickly opened up the bag and out popped a little green and yellow furry gremlin, with red horns…..and then he squeezed it. And the little gremlin with devil horns started to speak in tongues. Like people, could I make this up? Could I??  And Matt so proudly said, “Can you believe it was only six dollars?!” and I mumbled, “Can you believe that they didn’t pay you to take that disgusting thing of their hands.” Anyways, Matt’s pride could not be destroyed on this night. He marched right in the house, gave that satanic stuffed animal to Indie and then just watched to see what Indie would do. Of course she took his side, she has been carrying it around and making it speak in tongues for THREE.DAYS.STRAIGHT. THRICE DAYS. So help me if I see that little furball (the yellow devil one not the Indie one) one more time, then I might just grow red horns, you know. So here’s the thing, who’s against secretly throwing away six dollar Walgreen’s treasures, because this girl has no shame!

Burning Up!

It's always fun being on the other side of the camera for a change. 

Of course credit goes to my very favorite photographer, the amazing Landon Drean Photography

Disappearing Act

vest: thrifted      blouse: c/o Romwe  (buy it here)    jeans: thrifted     bag: thrifted      shoes: Restricted

Dear blogger, you suck but I love you. No but really, we are the best of frienemies. I’m sure some of you have noticed that the text (the most delicious and succulent part of my posts right?!) has disappeared from some of my posts. Well after much googling and canoodling and flogging of my lap top  I’ve finally given up on recovering my rants about stealing donuts and Indie tragedies. I’m bummed. Like for real, telling all of you my stories is way better than wearing clothes. Like I’d just be a naked story teller if I could. Wait that sounds way worse than what I meant. Never nudes for life! Anyways. So yes, those stories are unfortunately not coming back. But not to worry, my life is one giant awkward story so there’s lots more where that came from. But for now hang in there with me will ya!

Donut Thieves and Changing Leaves

blouse: thrifted   pants: thrifted    bag: thrifted    shoes: f21    necklace: c/o Romwe (buy it here)

Life Lately

1. Rainy Oregon days made me and Matt want to go out and explore even more. My hair was either a sopping wet mess or a crazy lady bun. I'll swap my tamed hair for Portland any day. 

2. Matt and I have FINALLY achieved look alike couple status, blue stripes and all!

3. Holy sweet potato raviolli, homemade nutella and maple bacon donuts! I love getting domestic with my sis!

4. I'm debating tatooing my lips bright red...is that even a real thing? Like does that even exist?

5. Yesterday I was doing laundry and found sand in a pair of my jeans that I wore on the beach last week,  I didn't wash them because I wanted to have a piece of the beach with me for just a little bit longer. Nostalgia I suppose.

Pin-Test: Homemade Nutella

You guys, we all saw this coming. The absolute next thing I had to try out was making my own Nutella. I was convinced that it absolutely could not be as good as the real deal and thought all of the pinterest hype could not be worth making it. I'll admit, I was totally out to prove them wrong. But junk in a jar it tasted soooo good. Definitely a little bit more natural tasting, but so wholesome and delicious. I do have to say though, peeling hazlenuts is not for the faint of heart, if you can find some that are already peeled I'd snatch those things up with gusto for this recipe. So here's the dealio, I tried three recipes, one with low sugar, one regular recipe and one vegan recipe. This recipe was by far my favorite. Here's how you can make your own!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil, such as canola
• 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
•  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).

2. Spread the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 12 minutes, until they’ve browned a little and the skins are blistered a little. Wrap them in a kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove as much loose skin as possible. (Some skin will cling to the nuts when you’re done. It’s okay—not to mention inevitable.) Let cool completely.

3. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over gently simmering water or in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Let cool completely.

4. In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts until they form a paste. Add the oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt and continue processing until the mixture is as smooth as possible-or as smooth as you like. Add the melted chocolate, blend well, and then strain the mixture to remove any chunks of hazelnut that remain. The resulting homemade Nutella will be thin and somewhat runny and maybe even a little warm but it will thicken as it cools. Scrape your homemade nutella into a jar or other resealable container and let it cool to room temperature.

So ummm....who want's to come over to my house, because I have three jars of Nutella seducing me right now and let's face it, this could get ugly real fast.

Primary Colors

blouse: f21  bowtie: handmade   trousers: ASOS  shoes: thrifted

 

Hope you all had an amazing labor day weekend. Matt and I went to Denver this weekend and I didn't take a single picture of it. A miracle right ?! Instead of staring through a lense I got to soak up each and every second of it! Love love loved it! What were you up to, you mischevious little scoundrels you??