Monday, December 14, 2009

Hey Ezra-

Stuff a sock in it, will ya?

Today Ezra Klein from the Washington Post said that Lieberman, "seems willing to cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in order to settle an old electoral score."

I think this kid Ezra is full of crap. He was quoting something from a two year old estimate the media made that 137K people died between 2000-2006 because they lacked health insurance.

Then, I saw him on Greta's show tonight and he had jumped the number to 150K people each year because they lack health insurance. It seems highly more likely that that many people may have died, and coincidently they didn't have health insurance... most likely because they didn't want it.

Come on people, think.


Tuesday, December 8, 2009

It's that time again...

Let's go people, get on the horn and tell your senators how you feel about the proposed healthcare bill. Get informed, form an opinion and share it.

Yes, I know Glenn Beck isn't the most unbiased of opinions- but figure out what you think and tell your representatives. Now, GO!

State Rep: Greg Hughes - 801-538-1029; greghughes@utah.gov
US Rep: Matheson - (801) 486-1236 ; jim.matheson@mail.house.gov
US Senator: Orrin Hatch- (202) 224-5251
US Senator: Bob Bennett- 801-524-5933
State Senator: Howard Stephenson- 801-538-1035; hstephenson@utahsenante.org

Monday, December 7, 2009

Joni Rocks my Socks off..

I can't tell you the number of times I've changed my mind about what I want my dream home to be like. If Joni from Cote de Texas would stop finding more and more beautiful homes- my decisions would be much much easier.

Here's a new fave.

And this isn't from her blog, but I love this and this and this!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Dun dudu Dun

Check us out.



We're selling Xango now. Bring it on world.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Sure love that husband.


You know how when something is lost, because you don't know where it is- but you know it's too important for you to have thrown away or left somewhere?

That's what happens to just about every important thing in my life. Tiffany wanted me to take my wedding pictures to Texas and I took the bridals and wedding day pictures but I couldn't find the engagements. Liz wants me to send her one of each, but I can only find the engagements!


Saturday, November 14, 2009

Malnar Kitchen Remodel

Ryan and Amanda are remodeling their kitchen- and because I love them both and don't want them to have a hideous kitchen- and because hideous kitchen's don't cost much less than beautiful ones... I feel so inclined to share some ideas!! (whether they like it or not!)

Husband and I want to move to Texas (specifically the metroplex) after we are done with this Utah period of life, so naturally I've been looking at real estate all around the place...and can I say "GROSS!" I can't tell you how many dark stained cabinets and stair railings and wild and crazy granite I've seen... come on people! A little cherry wall paper for your walls? or maybe some magnolias?!?!?

I kid you not- I found a listing that had (no joke) floor to ceiling tile on the walls... IN THE KITCHEN! (no excuses, this house was build in 2004)

Moving on, here are the pictures I've saved up for my dream kitchen:

Let's start with option for counters- because counters are a pretty dang big deal.


Soap stone is my personal favorite- it is a softer than granite so it gets marks on it- but I love that. It ages, pretty awesome stuff. This kitchen is in the "octagon house" the breakfast room of this house has brick flooring and in my breakfast room post- I love this house. I have pictures of the whole thing via Cote de Texas.

This is an example of oiled soap stone- love it. This kitchen also has a wooden island, and island sink. My favorite parts of this kitchen: sub zero fridge, decorative hood, range facet and industrial lighting.

Same kitchen- This kitchen really doesn't have much natural lighting- but they do use enough fixtures and leave the floor plan open enough to compensate. (how about that farm sink?)


Concrete countertops are typically pretty modern but, I like them here in this cottage style kitchen.

Can't really tell what these counters look like- but I do like the butcher block island, and I really like a sink in the island too. so much light- this is nice.

This is another example of a butcher block island (with absolutely beautiful bar stools) but look at the marble! It's lovely. This kitchen also has an awesome office nook off to the left, and I really appreciate that. It would help reduce clutter around the kitchen.

This pictures shows the marble really well, I love the subway tiles behind the range, and love this hood. Decorative hoods are really in right now- this is another example of a kitchen that does not have bleach white cabinets but I love anyway.

OK, so husband isn't particularly interested in a bleach white kitchen, which- is kinda my thing, so I found this one- that is not bleach white, it's white with accents. The cabinets have some darker accents (probably glaze) but for some reason this kitchen he likes. So do I. Also very cool about this kitchen- the lighting, more on that ...

Now... Lighting. A central theme in all of the pictures that I've posted is lighting. They all have fabulous natural light- and wonderful lighting fixtures. Some have cans, but all of them have a beautiful fixture that attracts attention.


This kitchen has wonderful windows- they don't look like metal windows- but they are thin like metal windows... I love them. The countertop for this island is really awesome- it looks like a great place to start a morning.


Doors in a breakfast nook are one of my new favorite features- what could be better than eating breakfast in the semi-outdoors? I love the chandelier over the breakfast table, even in this casual kitchen that has children's art on the fridge, and black and white tiled floors (one of the few I chose that doesn't have wood) the chandelier still works-

This kitchen...ahhhh. The subzero fridge, the range top, lights, double ovens, windows on three walls, the fantastic hood... what about these floors! I love this place- I could die in this kitchen. What do you think about the lack of cabinetry? This kitchen happens to have a sweet pantry to the right- it's huge and can make up for anything lost by leaving out the upper cabinetry. I love this feature- I love how open it makes these kitchens feel.



This last two kitchens are in my top three, I love these! I absolutely love them- the first picture I posted (from the octagon house) rounds off my top three. The kitchen below has won multiple awards this year (I learned from Things that Inspire). Ok, Malnars...food for thought!


How about the microwave down there on the left? Accident waiting to happen, or genius in hiding an ugly appliance?

as an aside- these pictures probably all came from Things that Inspire, Velvet and Linen or Cote de Texas... because those are my current obsessions. Buuut, I don't actually remember for sure.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Today, The Breakfast Room

I love breakfast, I love everything about it. If one is enjoying their breakfast it generally means they are not rushed. Meaning they woke up as they chose, and...basically, it's Saturday.

As a disclaimer, I cannot remember where all of these pictures came from- I may remember where I found some of them, but I cannot remember where they found them...don't judge.

Here is a nice starting place, I love the these slip covers, and the light blue and yellow are bright and cheery. I just can't get enough of these windows.

Interestingly, this next one is also blue. The chandelier is wonderful- and I even like the bottles. I'm surprised by this because I have moved away from that sort of thing...but they work here for some reason. I don't really like that plant in the background, I don't know what it's called by I have one at the office and don't love it.


Seeing this picture with all these doors open just helps me imagine a beautiful morning to a fabulous day with people sitting outside drinking the start to their day. Maybe even children, playing outside while my sisters and I sit around the table and talk about what we're going to wear for family pictures this year. It says family.


I think I may have saved the best for last, because I absolutely love this room. I love the high ceilings, the metal windows, the antique brick floors, the blue chairs, the window treatments- I love this room. I even love the mud room right off the breakfast room/kitchen. It makes eating breakfast as a family convenient. During the race out the door everyone stops for breakfast.... I love that.


Central theme? Blue, windows, love and a happy home.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

It's a Wonderful Day (even if it IS snowing)

My little client (we will call AM) did so good today! Fabulous, in fact. We haven't had progress with him in weeks- and today he was 60-80% correct on all his goals. It just makes my day go better...HOWEVER, it will be short lived. I have a mega-test on Thursday and I'm sure that reality will hit soon.

Husband thinks I'm addicted to the internet. Translation: the building will be slowed on my dream house. I'll do a post soon with what I've picked out so far.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

OMG, Kelly from Design ties commented on my blog.

Not once, but three times! And I haven't even been posting good blogs- or any for that matter? I feel humbled! Design Ties is one of the fabulous blogs I roll through (when I should be studying and instead and building my virtual dream house), Kelly is one of the blog masters there and an interior designer from Ontario. Kelly did this fabulous post on Vetrazzo countertops, a very green (albeit pricey) alternative to other luxury counter options. She also did this post about brick walls in bedrooms
The above picture that she included in that post has been added to my look book, I absolutely love it. I love everything about this room- the wall to wall sea grass, the lace, iron and lighting... it speaks to me (saying, get out of school and get a job, pauper).

In this post she showcased come client appreciation gifts that inspired me to have some similar ones, but with golf balls, made up for the law firm.

All in all, I love this blog- check it out (maybe kelly will come over to your blog too!)

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Th-, th-, th-...

On Tuesday I'm taking over my client for the portion of our session that works on the silent /th/. It's pretty exciting, but it also makes me nervous because even thought articulation disorders are pretty straight forward sometimes I think the production was correct and it was actually wrong-
and sometimes I'm just plain confused and then I feel sorry for the kid because he doesn't know if he did a good or bad placement. We'll see how it goes~

Monday, September 28, 2009

How about a good read

Is thiiss beautiful liiibrary...



This fabulous design blog I read wrote up blog a few weeks ago about a house she and her husband designed and decorated. This is the picture they posted and I absolutely fell in love with this two story library.

Apparently library sitting rooms are an up and coming thing- and I LOVE them. Recently Brooke made another post of the entire house. It's a must see. I absolutely love the fridge and farmers sink in the kitchen and cannot get away from this awesome library...

What do you think?

Monday, September 14, 2009

Wicket, update


So it's been a while since I've posted Wicket pictures- his color has changed quite a bit. He lost a lot of his black and is mostly gray now. He is still rambunctious... but now he's HUGE. The pup that was never supposed to grow up is now 12 lbs... that's a big difference from the 5-8 I was expecting! Here they are!

This is our friend Dave and his baby- Wicket's the size of a 9m old!


Saturday, September 12, 2009

Very Hard Choices

I'm trying to car change. I want a lower payment (I'd like half of what I'm paying now) and better mpgz [What I would really like is for Doug to sell his car] but can't seem to do that so I'm going to get rid of mine and get something new here are the choices:

I would be super happy to have a Jetta TDI (the diesel one) but those VW people suck. They don't return phone calls, they won't budge off of msrp- those guys are real snobs.

This car gets about 40mpgs.

The Mini Clubman is about the same price as the Jetta but it doesn't have blue tooth; gets about 41 mpgs. Financing rates are awesome for these right now- 1.9%
This is a Hyundai Sonata- these have a 3000 rebate putting it right about the price of the other two- the best financing available through the dealership is 4.9% and it has way more technology for the money....nav, sun roof garage opener, way cushiony seats.. but I sure don't like the look of it as well as the other two.

Update: The Sonata is out. They have horrible resale value. That was easy.

Friday, September 11, 2009



As I was reading my morning blogs- I saw a link to martha's website for these monogram labels. I wish I would have had these last summer when I was planning my wedding. Oh well. They are still fabulous and I think you can use them for all sorts of things- even as a gift?

Friday, September 4, 2009

A Slice of Heaven

This new red velvet cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory is absolutely lovely. I think it might be the best I've had there.
Although, I have not tried the pumpkin. That has rave reviews.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Dream Home

As you can probably deduce, I have been home dreaming lately. I do this often- mostly since I've had a home. I think of what color to paint my red wall, what my dream home will look like etc.

I ran across this post this morning from one of my favorite blogs. It's a beautiful home in Atlanta- and while I would never want to live in Atlanta- if this home was in the discussion, I could most definitely be convinced.

UPDATE:
I found this one and fell in love- COMPLETELY different, but love at first site all the same...and, it's in TEXAS.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Obesssion

Estate Sales.

This lovely little shop in Salt Lake called Second Hand Chic buys all sorts of wonderful things for different sources. I didn't know the owner Kelly had a blog, but recently I read a post she made about attending estate sales to buy merchandise for her store. This is one of her new pieces... a fabulous John Widdecomb original living room set. I love it- this would be fabulous in some chic fabric- and I'm confident I could learn how to reupholster-

Problem- it's $650 from her shop... which makes me wonder how much she paid for it...pennies? I have subscribed to every list serve available that will announce with these estate sales are going on... because I'm definitely down for finding treasures.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Hats off...

To my dad.

We went on a trip with my parents to New Mexico this past weekend. It was a blast. My dad doesn't like to take trips- he's a worker not a player (the exact opposite of me). But he has a CE in NM so my mom and I decided to make a trip out of it.

It was a weekend of firsts for my dad (and all of us really, but no one is as old fashion as he is) we rode in a hot air balloon. He was so scared:

But he did it. He also had sushi for the first time, went to Brazilian BBQ and had fondue for the first time- and here's the kicker: he went to the spa!

I don't think the latter was his favorite among them all; he did do them because we wanted to and I think we went 3 for 5... I still don't think he'd jump on a hot air balloon again if he had his rathers!

All in all, it was a great trip- good food and good people.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

FREE FOOD!

Note: The original promotion has ended, but there is a new promotion valid until 8/13/2009 at Restaurant.com.

Save 80% Off w/every $25 Gift Cert. order. Use code PORTION. Pay $2 thru 8/13/09 at Restaurant.com. Enjoy!

Restaurant.com regularly sells $25 restaurant gift certificates for $10, and $10 gift certificates for $3. From today to 11/20/2008, a coupon code gives you an additional 80% off so a $25 gift certificate is only $2, and a $10 gift certificate is only $0.60! Additionally, FatWallet.com is having a 25% cashback sale on Restaurant.com so if you use FatWallet you would essentially get the $25 gift certificates for $1.50 each, and $10 gift certificates for $0.45 each after you receive the 25% cashback.

The coupon code is SURPRISE. You can search for restaurants within your area and add gift certificates to the restaurants you are interested in, and then add them to your cart and order. One thing that you must do with these gift certificates is to read the fine print. Some restaurants require minimum purchase amounts and some gift certificates can only be used on certain days so make sure that you read the details associated with each gift certifcate. After your purchase, you can print out the certificates or choose to print them later.

Currently the website is very slow because of this promotion, but there are a lot of restaurants to choose from. There are more than 100 restaurants within 15 miles of where I live and I finally purchased a few of these gift certificates to restaurants I know of. The gift certificates generally expire one year from issue and never expire in California and other states where the expiration of gift certificates is illegal. Even if you do not eat out often, these gift certificates could make great stocking stuffers!

Steps to receiving the max amount of discounts:

1. Sign up for FatWallet.com

2. Go to the Restaurant.com landing page and click through to Restaurant.com.

3. Add gift certificates you are interested in purchasing

4. Type in SURPRISE in the discount code box

5. Check out

The coupon code should give you 80% off and the FatWallet cashback should be redeemable in a few weeks. Make sure you don't sign up for additional offers at Restaurant.com.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Our boy's a star

Our breeder uses us as a reference, which I love because it gives me an opportunity to talk about our little Wicket. They've been saying they were going to put a picture of him up on their site, and it's finally up!!

http://www.mydarlingdogs.com/About_Bolonka.php

He's on the bottom left.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Monday, July 6, 2009

Happy 4th of July

It seems as though I developed a head tilt in North Carolina... here is head tilt number 1.

Head tilt number 2:
Me and mom at Duke- I can't believe it's been almost 10 years since we've been there!
This is at Uncle Robert's house- it is beautiful.
This is DG3, we went to dinner with Dave and Carmen last night- technically it was the 5th, but still part of our trip.
Robert's,again.

Uncle Teddy- such a loveable guy.
This is Kerrie and Barry, North Carolina's best.
G-pa Watkins. Healthy, yay.

We had a fantastic trip. We went to a music festival, but I didn't take pictures there, mom and I got pedicures and went shopping while Doug set up tables for the picnic. All and all, it was a fantastic trip- even Doug enjoyed it.

We left Wicket at home, it was hard! He'll come with us next time we struggled without him. He was in good hands though- I haven't seen him yet, but I hear he got a hair cut!