flashback friday #2

photo taken by my grandmother circa 1980.  my mom putting on mascara and me chewing on her tube of blush.

my makeup obsession started very early in life and now i know why.  i love this caught in the moment action shot and that it's black and white.  i also love my mom for lots of reasons but because this photo reminds me of what a great mother she is. 

writing nook

conversation between za husband and i earlier in the week while sitting in our bedroom....

me: if you could pick any place in this room to feel cozy which spot would you choose?

him: what?  (clearly confused)

me: well when i was a kid i used to pick random places to relax that seemed cozy...you know suck my thumb and hold my doll.  i still tend to scope out cozy spots in places.

him: i guess i'd just pick the bed.

me: i'd pick that corner....as i pointed to the walls that have a built in shelf area that holds our tv.  i'd pile it up with pillows and blankets and camp out.  write in my journal or read a book.

him: oh babe...you are just so cute.  i love you.

this evening i tested out the nook while writing some of my goals for the new year.  it is just as perfect as i expected it would be.
do you know what i mean about cozy spots?  what is yours?  do tell.

cheers to frozen yogurt

our evening consisted of braving the freezing wind and rain to go grocery shopping.  on the way to the store we were sidetracked by the new frozen yogurt shop in town thanks to my eagle eyes and a blinking sign in the distance that said open.  peppermint fro-yo + sno-caps = pure deliciousness.  we enjoyed the storm in the parking lot in our warm vehicle while shoveling cold yummy stuff in our mouths.  most definitely the recipe for a wonderful night.

brussel sprouts are cute

am i the only one who thinks brussel sprouts are adorable? 

they are just so cute in their own miniature cabbage way.

and i discovered that they really do taste delicious when prepared this way.

so happy i discovered the recipe while reading some of my favorite blogs.  even za husband agrees that they are yummy like this and that means alot considering he is one of the pickiest eaters mainly when it comes to veggies and fruits. 

i often feel like i'm preparing meals for a 5 year old, sneaking grated vegetables into certain dishes.  now i have found a way to get him to eat these adorable little things.

vintage-y goodness

i find the most random objects every time we go to antique stores, and while i sometimes don't quite understand why a certain item speaks to me, i just know that it does and it must be mine.
treasures that we brought home from our trip to the antique store this week....

a hook that is going to eventually hold on to some sort of great item in the house.

a teeny tiny skeleton key to add to my collection.

old cloth mail bag that i couldn't pass up.

a soup mug.

a cloth cement bag which i will use for a future project.

vintage christmas ornaments. 

za husband and i were just discussing that it feels so weird to say something from the 80's is now considered vintage because that means we are both vintage.  crazy.

christmas

we had a wonderful christmas weekend that consisted of the following...
*lots of movie watching with za husband.
*present opening in the morning with will and then in the evening with my mom and brother.......many wonderful gifts.
*visiting with family.
*dinner out of town christmas night with za husband, za muzza, and za bruzza.
*yahtzee and cranium.
*watching family videos from 25 years ago that made me quite sentimental.
*having our friends michaela and chris over for a little christmas eve fun.
*playing with sparklers.
*an unplanned trip to the mountains for a peek at snow.
*shopping and getting several great items 50% off.

i didn't take many pictures but here are a few of our lovely weekend...

we have so much fun together.

i had one of my good friends who does charcoal drawings draw pictures of my moms dogs (a.k.a her babies) she loved her gift!

yes these are drawings....insane right?

this is one of the creative projects i was working on lately to give to friends for a christmas gift.  they are little notebooks with an inspirational word and picture i drew.  then i used copper tape to add a little something to the edges and baker's twine on the wire.  each friend got a different drawing with an explanation about why i chose that particular word or image for them.  here's michaela modeling hers.

twinkle twinkle

za husband and i drove around looking at christmas lights and it was quite wonderful.

getting really excited for present time in the morning and spending the day with all of my favorite loves!

merry christmas!

flashback friday

searching through old pictures yesterday made me realize that i miss those captured moments.  it's time to dust these babies off and share them.  every friday (assuming i remember to post) i'll be sharing pictures from the past that bring back fond memories. 

taken by my mom circa 1985 me, my brother, and my dad.

i remember that dress.  i remember we were living in missouri at the time and i hated the transition.  the little purse i am holding was heart shaped and i'm sure full of all sorts of treasures.  my brothers expression is priceless.  definitely a favorite! 

muzza gives us a tree

dear mom,

thank you for the charlie brown christmas tree that you knew i wanted.  i feel so official now that we have a tree besides our teeny potted one.  you made my day.

love, 

skye

orange crush

saturday we went with my mom and brother to vegas for a little shopping trip.  i told them i needed to go to anthropologie for one minute just to grab one thing.  wouldn't you know....that one item was sold out, so i managed to start looking for other things while the group complained because i was taking too long.  i kept saying "hold on, just one more minute".  they refused to be patient with me since we had several more places to go.  will marched me up to the register to buy the few things i had in my hands.  i pouted like a little child because i didn't have time to fully explore my favorite place.  as za husband pulled me out of there this beauty caught my eye....

the rest of the day i dreamed about owning it.  since we have already spent a little too much on christmas gifts i talked myself out of buying this unless it happened to go on sale.  all i have to say is that i shouldn't be provoked.  last night za husband and i got in a silly argument.  it's a rare thing for us but when we do argue i tend to hold a grudge.  this morning i was still holding my grudge and acting mad at will (truth is, it's so hard for me to stay mad at him so i really wasn't but that's our secret).  to get back at him i went online and purchased the amazing orange jacket.  when we decided to stop being mad at each other about 30 minutes later i confessed.  he laughed at me. 

boots

dear new boots,
i love you for your looks but that's not the only reason...
i wore you all day long and you were insanely comfortable.  so not only are you pretty on the outside, you are also pretty on the inside because you kept my feet happy.  here's to many more adventures.
xoxo,
skye

7 great things

today rocked because....

1.  we slept in...a lot.
2.  i baked most of the day.

3.  we finally finished up our monster dirty laundry pile.
4.  i worked on a few christmas type things and artsy stuff.
5.  tyra came by for a visit.  we had tea and cookies.
6.   the weather was dark and gloomy and perfect.
7.  i spent the day with my most favorite guy.

*post edit*

there was an 8th great thing....my mom came by and spent time at the house for a good part of the afternoon.  this was going to be part of my original post but i forgot and my mom wasn't shy about reminding me.  i love you mom.

s. pellegrino

i have a drinking problem...sparkling mineral water drinking problem that is.

not sure what the deal is but i can't seem to get enough of this bubbly stuff lately.   
what is your current obsession?

shop

take a peek at the skyelish shop to get a one of kind painting for yourself or someone you love this holiday season.  every item is currently discounted, merry christmas!  to guarantee shipment by christmas please place your order on sunday 12/17 at the latest.
happy friday!  i hope it's a weekend full of love for everyone.

first date to magical love bubble

i made one of the best decisions of my life two years ago today.

because that was the day i went with will on our first date.

i never thought i would love him like i do and i never thought that love could keep growing even when it seems it's reached the highest point it could reach but.....guess what? 

i do.  i do love him more every day and i am so glad we went on that first date so we can be where we are now....which is in a magical love bubble. 

the gift

apparently za husband hates to keep presents a secret as much as i do....

12:30am getting ready for bed....
za husband---do you want your present now?  (talking about the little blue box)
me---yes but no because i should wait until christmas.
za husband---ok then we can wait.
me---nevermind yes i want it now.

so he retrieved the little blue box from the other room and we recorded the occasion. 
first of all he thought of the perfect one liner note that was printed up all fancy like and attached to the box in a tiny envelope.  so basically i was already melting before i opened the box.  then i open it to find the necklace i've been craving. 

this necklace was something i wanted because i think it is just my style.  i love the roman numerals on it.  but i adore the necklace the most because of the inside meaning.  it has to do with something we prefer to keep super top secret until the perfect moment arises.

and no we are not having a baby......

someday but not today.

i love early presents and i really love za husband.

the calico organization

                                                     

notice our mini potted christmas tree. 

that's as good as it got this year.  maybe next year we will have something more grand. 

the good thing about having that little potted tree is hopefully it will result in a giant tree that will live in our yard someday.

all of the sudden, last night, i was in a christmas type of mood.  i played music, wrapped presents, and started to get really excited.

it all just hit me at once and i loved it. 

tonight i got home from work and saw a package at the door.  i was hoping it was stuff i ordered for za husband.  no such luck.  in place of his stuff was a note from ups saying i missed them.  anyway i took the box inside and tried to avoid reading the label since it was addressed to will.  then it was as if my eyes had magnets in them and the label had a magnet in it and we clicked together.  i looked for a second then looked away.  all i could make out was tco.  i couldn't imagine what tco stood for.  i went about my business and forgot about the package.  za husband got home and opened it, then next thing i know there is a little blue box amongst our present pile.  i skipped around the house laughing and smiling.  he tried to tell me that it's not what i think it is and it's not from the place i think it's from.  then i ask him to look me in the eye and tell me it's not from the place i think it's from.  which results in him not being able to keep a straight face.  i'm pretty sure i know what tco stands for now but he insists it stands for the calico organization.  no way....i know better than that.  i love that we keep looking at that present and laughing.    

i didn't think i was capable of getting that little.kid.giddy.can't.wait.until.christmas.feeling anymore but i am.

what's better though? 

getting a gift or giving one?

because i have been terribly excited to give za husband his stuff and my mom her stuff. 

in fact i almost gave my mom one of her presents yesterday because i was so thrilled and could barely contain myself.

here's hoping that i can wait until 12/25 to give gifts.

workaholic

(za husband helping me clean after our thanksgiving guests had left)

busy, overwhelming, exhausting....
those words sum up wednesday-today.  the office i work at moved to a new building.  this required a lot of planning and hard work on my part and za husbands.  so basically every night we both came home physically and mentally drained.  i was looking forward to the weekend so we could relax and get caught up on things around the house.  friday night we had a christmas party to attend.  our plan for saturday was sleeping in, doing something fun, and working on chores around the house.  little did we know that the world would basically blow up in the department za husband works for and he would end up working all weekend.  you see every 6 weeks or so he's on call.  he carries around this dreaded pager for a week at a time.  during that week we can count on not making fun plans and loosing some sleep.  it seems that no matter how tired i am if he gets called in to work i am wide awake until he gets home.  he had the pager over thanksgiving so we figured we were in the clear for a while.  if there ever was a weekend we were really looking forward to it was this one....for sanity and relaxations sake.  yesterday morning will gets a call that there are some serious computer problems at work and they need his help.  this was right as we were heading out the door to do a little shopping and catch a movie.  at that point he thought it should only be a few minutes to an hour until he would be done at work so i wait for him to call and tell me we can go ahead with our plans.  hours pass and every time he calls he thinks the problems are almost fixed but then it turns out they aren't.  hospitals rely on computers now more than ever for all aspects of patient care so if they go down it's a really big deal.  a whole group of people from his department have spent the better part of the weekend at the office....even during the night.  yesterday i was really being a baby about all this.  i kind of took my frustrations out on za husband for our fun plans going down the toilet even though i knew it was out of his control.  after thinking about it i felt bad for being irrational.  being the great husband he is he still took me out on a date late last night because he felt bad that i was waiting at home for him all day.  now i am feeling extra bad because guess where he has been all day.  that's right, work.  he basically never had a weekend.  sometimes i don't give him as much credit as i should.  he is a wonderful, dedicated, selfless, hard working guy and he's mine.  that makes me happy.   

reluctant model

a friend of mine is exploring the world of photography.  he's been mentioning for a while that he wanted to take some pictures to build up his portfolio.  when it came down to it i wasn't thrilled about posing for pictures after a hard day at work but luckily za husband encouraged me and i went for it.  i've only seen these few shots although he took what seemed like hundreds of photos.  he even had me pose with some of my paintings and i'm really excited to see how those turned out.   

(the cool lighting effect in this one was made by reflections of christmas lights, not photoshop.)

who knew lying on the concrete on a cold night could be so fun? 

i'm actually looking forward to our next shoot. 

this whole thing is probably something i would have never had the courage to do if it weren't for my wonderful husband holding my hand and encouraging me along the way.  i love that he helps me break out of my comfort zone.  well i don't love it at first because i'm so stubborn but after the fact i realize his extra push is what i need. 

pocket skye

marcy is one of my very best friends.  it's one of those friendships that began in childhood and has carried on over the years.  before i married za husband, marcy and i were roommates.  you would have thought i gave her the most terrible news in the world when i told her i was getting married.  she was really happy for us, but extremely sad that it meant the two of us would no longer live under the same roof and have fun together all the time.  i must admit that i felt sad about closing that chapter in my life as well, but i was so excited for the new chapter that the change didn't seem so drastic to me.  to ease marcy's sadness i made her a special little gift.  a gift i named pocket skye (it is basically a laminated paper doll version of me.)  marcy promised that she would always keep it and she would send me pictures of her and pocket skye on adventures.  so much has happened in both of our lives since then.  not only do we no longer live in the same house, she lives in a different town now.  life got busy for both of us like it does for everyone and i never thought much about the gift i had given her until today... 

(here we are at my wedding)

marcy sent me a ray of sunshine when i received this text from her earlier....

"pocket skye and i in sedona"

i sure do miss that girl!  at least we are together in a way all the time.