Love is...Steezy St. Geezy

The morning of February 15th hit and Tyler and I could not have been more excited. Our friends Emma and Ike invited us to a condo in St. Geezy. We needed to get out of the Salt Lake smog ASAP. It was our first vacay sans Jude, which was really sad. Luckily Jude loves his Nana (my mom) more than his mom (me), so he was really happy about it. This is basically a love story about a small town girl and her quest for sunshine. 

While we were packing, Juder decided to try on dads shoes. 

In keeping with the feet theme I've started, these are my happy toes basking in the sunlight. 

For dinner on our arrival night, Emma and Ike took us to a delish mexican restaurant called Poncho and Lefty's, followed by delicious cupcapes from Twentyfive and Main cafe and cake shop. These guys know how to do St. George.

The next morning they introduced to the Bear Paw Cafe.... I WANT TO GO BACK.

We went for a walking hike-ish adventure on the petrified sand dunes and had far too much fun with the camera. 

On Sunday we drove to Las Vegas and hit the outlets. JCrew was amasssssing. We got a room at Treasure Island for the night. Staying on the strip is the best!!!

Can I just say that this vacation could not have come at a better time? I needed a break from my life so bad. Thanks Emma and Ike for being so generous and inviting us along for the ride. We hope to repay the favor someday. 

Not pictured

-The drunk driver that almost ran us off the road! Okay. That was slightly dramatic. But he did swerve and hit barriers and was concerning enough that we phoned the highway patrol on him. 

-The awesome spat Tyler and I got into over our gelato. But what's a vacation without a lovers quarrel? 

-The amazing musical taste of Emma and Ike. We listened to their jams there and back and I couldn't have been happier about it. 

-My tooth falling out. Okay, half a tooth. Which led to my wisdom teeth removal. ewwwww

Love is... love day!

I just love Valentines day. Actually I think I just love holidays. There's nothing like a good reason to decorate your house and eat goodies and buy presents. Am I right? Our love days have been super mellow and I like it that way. We treat each other but nothing crazy excessive. Tyler was a sneaky fellow and surprised with flowers to wake up to! He got Inglorious Bastards on DVD, and though we have yet to watch it, I think he was happy. Tyler's parents always get us gifts which is super nice, so Jude got hooked up with some new kicks. He was happy too. 

Thanks to the holiday, I got to bust out my grandmothers red dishes that I inherited and my vintage rose plates. SO in love.

Check out these potatoes... boiled. seasoned. mashed. baked. SOOO DELISH

I just love my guys and I was so happy to spend a day dedicated to love with them. I would not have it any other way. Also, I cannot wait for Easter! 

Love playlist for the occasion

Kiss me - Ed Sheeran

Firefly - Ed Sheeran

You and Me - Dave Matthews Band

Dancing - Elisa

Maybe I'm Amazed - Jem

Love and Some Verses - Iron and Wine

Green Eyes - Coldplay

This Years Love - David Gray

Turn Me On - Norah Jones

Love is... the Red Carpet

We interrupt this blog to bring you... THE OSCARS!! Did you all tune in? I have an addiction to the Academy Awards. It is kind of unhealthy but not something I am willing to part with. I love the glamor, the gowns, the awards, the prestige. All of it. My darling friend Emma and I threw a party and just like the show, it did not disappoint. I'll blog more about that later, but I wanted to write one of my favorite posts while it was still fresh in my mind. GOWN REVIEW! I asked my friend Natalie to give me some of her thoughts as well. Like a guest blogger if you will.

Amy Adams

I love this. She is wearing my tied for second favorite gown of the night. 

Jennifer Lawrence. 

Natalie says dislike. I say middle ground. I love the shape.  I don't like the color. 

Jessica Chastain

I love this and I swear to you, no one else could look so good wearing a gown the same color as their hair. Well done Jessica.

Kerry Washington.

I ADORE this. Whatever pinky, reddish, coral color this is, I must have it. Second best in my opinion.

Naomi Watts

What a doll. Natalie and I love the cutout. I haven't ever seen something like this and it was a welcome surprise.

Sandra Bullock

Best dressed in my opinion, and she's on the top of Natalie's list as well. She ROCKED it. 

Amanda Seyfried

Natalie loves this. I like the fabric. You can't tell in the photo but her skin/any fat she has is spilling over the back of her dress. I saw her from behind while she was giving an interview and it looked like she was trying to fly away. 

 Zoe Saldana

Let me preface by saying that I think she is such a  beautiful woman. Now let me say, she ALWAYS chooses gowns with so much going on. She has multiple colors, beaded/jeweled lace flowers, a belt, a bow, and tiered fabric. There's way too much going on here. The more I type about it, the more I hate it. 

We also didn't like Kristen Stewarts 80's mess and the bland Reese Witherspoon. However, all in all I really feel like no one was horrible. I felt like this year was mostly a mediocre year for gowns with a few stand outs. For more looks and pictures go to people.com

*pictures stolen from people.com and justjared.com

Natalies complete list:

Likes

Naomi Watts

Stacy Kiebler

Sandra Bullock

Catherine Zeta Jones

Nicole Kidman

Salma Hayek

Amanda Seyfried

Halle Berry

Dislikes

Jennifer Lawrence
Reese Witherspoon
Anne Hathaway
Jennifer Garner
Charlize Theron
Renee Zellweger

Love is... the BIG 2-5

This Saturday my bestie Nat turned 25. It is a milestone birthday and I feel it's only appropriate that this blog give her the birthday shout out she deserves.
We wet on a vacay with our friends Emma and Ike (more to come) so I was not in the SLC for Nats birthday. We celebrated the Wednesday before we left and it did NOT disappoint. We went to CPK to relive some high school memories and ate to our hearts delight. It is always nice when your best friend eats the same things you do and you can share basically everything. We both wore our darkest shades of lipstick and dubbed the night "Lipstick Lesbian Birthday Night". No kisses though.

SO heres to you my best friend. You are the prettiest, smartest, wittiest, skinniest part of Katalie and I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks for being my American counterpart and my best friend soulmate. 

Love is... musings...

I contemplated if I should really write this message. Despite this being my blog, I feel like I do walk on a little bit of a line as to what I can say before I offend people. It's really not my intent, truly. I just feel like I have something to say and Tyler is sick of hearing me talk about it so... HEY! why not blog about it. Don't worry, I'll follow up with the classic "I'm mad but here's a funny video to make you feel better...", I feel like I am pretty good at those.
 If you don't know me very well.. you should probably know that I am in total support of gay marriage. I do not feel it the place of a religion to dictate who can be recognized "by law" as married or not. I feel like, even though the LDS church has tried to teach and preach the commandments of loving everyone and treating others with kindness and compassion, there is still a stigma of disgust when it comes to those who chose this lifestyle. A. It is none of our business. and B. why are you not letting these poor boys into the Boy Scouts of America?
Yes, that is what this is about. The stupid Boy Scouts. I used to make fun of Tyler for not being an Eagle scout because Mormons make it a huge "can't get your license 'till it's done" deal. Let me just say this - I am SO grateful that he isn't one. He might feel differently, but I certainly do not want myself associated with anything that so blatantly disregards the feelings and growth of others. My kids definitely aren't wasting their time with it, that's for damn sure.
I realize that the LDS church does not run the Boy Scouts. I feel like you'd be kidding yourself to say that their opinion doesn't pull a lot of weight though. I've combed through the few news articles that news stations have posted and I am just so disappointed and revolted by the fact that the LDS church applauds the actions of this clearly misguided group. "Boy Scouts of America "acted wisely in delaying its decision until all voices can be heard on this important moral issue," said Michael Purdy, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Utah-Scouts-pleased-with-delay-on-admitting-gays-4256166.php#ixzz2KNDg79LE
The only moral issue I see here is the one of inclusion. Grow up.
The end.

Now, if we are still friends, watch this video. It will make it aaaaaallllll better. You'll forget we even had the argument.

Love is... Welcome January

This is a total downer post, just warning you. Last week Jude got the flu and it was a top 5 saddest moment of my life.  That has now lead to me getting the flu which is not a top anything for me but still very annoying. I feel like all moms should get a free pass from being sick. It's already so unfair that our bodies take a hit but when your face starts to get all snotty and your energy depletes... well, that's just mean. You hear that universe? I think you are MEAN!

Anyway, if you find yourself suffering from the flu as I currently do, I recommend you do the following:

*Chicken noodle soup from The Porcupine Pub and grill (I know there are people out there who are going to just smirk at this. Yes. I have had CHICKEN noodle soup. I feel fine about it. Not great... but not sad either). Seriously though, this stuff has helped me before and I have complete faith that it will help me again. If you are not in Utah to partake... well, just count your blessings that you don't have to deal with the smog either.

*A good book. I recently started reading Harry Potter over again.
* A detox bath. Pinterest has a ton of different variations of a detox bath. I read a few a condensed them to this version:

~2 cups epsom salts (draws toxins out of the body, relieves aches and pains)

~2 cups baking soda (neutralizes an acidic system?)

~Ground ginger (increases circulation)

~ a few drops of your FAVE essential oil ( I used my lavender because a. its for relaxation and b. it's all I had)

*Be okay with the TV. I'll tell you what, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has SAVED my life as of late. 

*Finally... Drugs. The over the counter kind, not the back alley kind. Use and ABUSE those bad boys. Only a tablespoon of NyQuil you say? I say nay nay. Ever since the influenza of 2013 hit I've been on every drug Harmons has to offer AND I stocked up on Diet Coke. I've made peace with my maker about that so... it's all good.

Good luck to all you flu-ers out there and if you are lucky enough to not have death knock at your door... well, we don't want you around anyway. 

Love is... a new year

This past year was simply amazing for us. I could not have asked life for more. Here's a recap of our little trio's 2012. 

Jude went from cuddler to mover

 He also got his first passport photo

 He ALSO had his first egg hunt 

 This sexy beast ran a 1/2 marathon AND the Ragnar

We went to England

 We celebrated fathers day up the canyon (thanks for the awesome idea Cari!)

 We went to Canada and Montana 

 Celebrated quite a few birthdays

 Including this dudes numero uno!

 We hung out with cousins and had awesome dance parties and bubble baths

 Tyler and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and Kalie and Spencer babysat Jude for us

 My Cougar came to live with us

 We celebrated a most wonderful Christmas and were overwhelmed with the generosity of family and friends.

This year was one of my most favorite years and I just don't know how 2013 is going to measure up... but I can't wait to find out!

Not pictured: My immense knowledge of disney junior theme songs.