Aaaanndd thus ended me going to hair schools.

 

It's orange people. Orange. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating but it looks way worse/drastic/totally not me in real life and don't even get me started on what it looks like straight. And let me just show you the two pics that I gave them to help explain what I was looking for. I also said "ombre highlights".

 

I wanted the placement of the 1st and the color of the 2nd. Bless her little heart though....the chick was pretty much brand new and I'm sure tried her darndest. And really - if I was more the rocker type chick this would be cool. But I'm not, so it's not. Totally going back next week to have them tone it down. I'll keep you posted because I know you're dying to know.

The No Cow Zone

Let's just talk about all the future animals I want, mmkay? The hubs tells me I can't ship over elephants here to rescue them (something about taking them out of their natural habitat...blah blah blah), so I'm settling on having an elephant refuge in Africa that I'll visit on a yearly basis. But I'm still pretty set on owning a zoo and zoos have elephants so I'm pretty good to go on that front. It all started with seeing "Water for Elephants" and then seeing the movie "We Bought a Zoo" plus this documentary last year pretty much sealed the deal.

So, WHEN we own our dream house, it'll be on about 50 acres of land (which we've already found and were this close to buying....if we had a cool mil laying around that is), thus making it more of a ranch. I....I mean WE plan on having:

2 goats:

And a tree for them to do this:

5 dogs:

{A Golden Retriever-Beagle Mix}

 

 {Harlequin Great Dane}

{A Doberman Guard Dog.....we're talking the legit trained by police kind}

{Pomeranian-Husky Mix.....OMG}

{Not sure of mix, but I want need it!}

 A handful of chickens:

 2 horses:

 A cat or two:

 2 peacocks:

And a little pygmy pig:

 

But under no circumstances, cows:

Those things are wayy too scary to have loitering anywhere nearby. And, I'm totally not kidding. I have this weird phobia of cows. I mean they are BIG and dumb. It would NOT take much for them to trample you, kill you and not even realize it. Plus we've got the Great Dane that looks like a cow, so we're pretty much set.

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Not too shabby, Pip & Ebby. I just added some hot cocoa powder to give it that extra cocoa-y  boost and nixed the chocolate shavings on top because I'm lazy like that. 

Tie a knot.

I love this quote. Mostly because its exactly what I needed to hear. To say things have been rough lately would be an understatement. I am sure when compared to others, my troubles would seem like cake. But for me, in this moment, I must say that this past month has been one of the hardest I've ever endured. It seems as though I am in no shortage of bad luck and both big and little disasters seem to be intent on having a party in my life. I write this, not to have pity or negative attention, but because I want to always be honest in this little bloggy journal of mine. And although I try to keep it upbeat and positive most days, today that would seem untrue. However, I don't ever want to end on a downer. I am SO grateful for the many, many wonderful things in my life and I strive everyday (even the bad ones) to count my blessings. Today I may be tying that knot and desperately hanging on, but I have faith and hope that things will get better soon.

Good Southern Food

I'm trying to convince the hubby to settle in Nashville (there's a long explanation that will make me sound crazy, so I'll just leave it at that). It actually hasn't taken that much convincing and we're pretty much sold on the idea of raising our family in either Nashville or San Diego. This is still five or so years away, but it doesn't hurt for me to show him how awesome it could will be. So last night I whipped up a quick meal and with the help of my step mom-in-law it was a feast that would have made Paula Deen proud (I even used one of her recipes!)

The spread: Homemade Root Beer, BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Baked Beans, Homemade Honey Butter, Mac & Cheese (my recipe) and a good ol' homestyle salad.

Opposite Day

My new super practical Mom shoes. 

Why, thank you Nordstrom Rack. You know exactly what this girl can't resist.

A Dress for Utah's Red Carpet

So the hubs got his film nominated in a bunch of categories at the Filmed in Utah Awards (woot!!) that take place in February which means this girl has got to find a red carpet-esque dress stat. This would be simple if I didn't need to find a super modest but also super fashionable dress that can cover up my post-baby belly & had lots of cash-o-la to drop. But I am determined to step up to the challenge and even maybe design and make the dress myself. Any attempt at sewing usually results in tears and an unfinished project I ship home to my crazy talented mother to finish. Here are dresses that are currently inspiring me for the task at hand:

{All images from my "Fashion {Couture/Evening}" Pinterest board}

01: Using a blazer as a cover up.

02: Gathered at waist and lots of flowy fabric

03: Embellished Shoulders

04: Tulle

05: Emerald color & 3/4 sleeves

06: Silhouette

07: High Waisted Skirt

08: Feathers

09: Graduated Hemline

10: Peter Pan Collar

11: Sleeves & Silhouette

12: Green Sequins

13: Wrap Dress

14: Lots of Embellishment

15: Cropped Top Over Dress

Weekly Pinterest Picks & A Brain Dump

Sooo we watched Newsies last night. I had never seen it...I know blasphemy. But it was super cute. Weird to see Batman singing and dancing. And with a New Yoker accent. I wonder what would happen if he combined his batman voice with that accent.

{.............}

Nope. Can't imagine that one. Also, today is the first day of Holden's routine attempt. So far, okay. He went to bed on time last night. Woke up 30 minutes early this morning and then was mr. crabby pants for an hour. Now he's sleeping and hopefully will wake up in a better mood. 'Cuz we don't do crabby around here. I'll make sure he gets the memo. But either way he's so dang cute I forgive him instantly. But I'll make sure he doesn't get that memo so he doesn't get confused and think being crabby is okay.

Now on to Pinterest.

{Mykonos, Greece aka the hubby's & my next vacation destination. Or maybe Peru. Or Holland. But probably Greece. Pinned here}

{Half price Nikes. And they're Tiffany's blue. So, yeah. That's happening.}

{To go with my Tiffany's Nikes. Not really. But these are also happening.}

{She says easy, I say not. But given my extreme loathing for cords, I'd say it would be worth it.}

{So, so true. Pinned here}

{I have been on a major pear & blue cheese kick lately and when I tried this soup at the super yummy Left Fork Grill (their Raspberry Cream Pie is the best thing ever) I went home and looked up a recipe immediately.}

{My thoughts exactly. Pinned here.}

{Where oh were do I buy these? Or should I attempt to make them myself? That's almost never a good idea but I'm probably gonna do it anyway because apparently I never learn. Pinned here.}

{I have been in love with these floppy hats since idk..forever? And they're uber popular right now but I cannot for the life of me figure out where to wear one. So...I think I'm just gonna buy one and see what happens. Pinned here.}

{Wisdom. Pinned here.}