Saddle Up

Take that title literally, as my saddle is up and ready to ride! ...Or, at least perch on. Nate used these free plans he found online as the basic idea (he modified a few areas), and in under two hours and for less than $30, voila! A display stand strong enough to hold one saddle and one human.

It's a beautiful thing. I still can't get over the fact that I actually have this long-searched-for item in  my living room.

As you saw above, it's all sanded and I plan to stain the wood to age it a little... "old barn" is the thought. I'm also toying with the idea of somehow adding a monogram to the front panel, and finding or making a saddle blanket to sit between saddle and stand. Decisions, decisions. 

But for now... giddyap!

With Thanks

For everyone who has served or loves someone who has, whether they returned or not, I am so thankful.

This is a day we embrace our friends and family, enjoying each other's company in backyards and on beaches across the country.

We're able to because of the sacrifice of so many and those close to them. I'm so thankful.

Made with the A Beautiful Mess app

Two

Two years married today.

I can't even begin to put into words how lucky I am. We're headed towards eight  years together, and yet I can hardly contain myself for the next eight times eight.

Bring it on - The best is yet to come!
xoxo

In Need of Sunshine

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the tragedy happening here in my very own state right now. Since it's receiving so much national attention, you are probably already aware of the massive landslide in the northern area of Oso, Washington. The lives it's claimed are rising daily, there are nearly 200 people unaccounted for, and hundreds more trying to help.

The area of the slide - Oso is about an hour north of Seattle. image

The slide from the air. image

A family dog - Buddy - being rescued (yay!) from the rubble. image

Utter Devastation image

The bleak news coverage has me longing for a little ray of hope and sunshine.

So here's a little 15 second shot of sunshine, courtesy of my yard a week ago today. In the face of what's happening, it's not much. But sometimes a 15 second break of pretty can go a long way.

Please, help Oso if you can - Monetarily, physically, prayerfully. Click here to make a donation, or text "REDCROSS" to 90999. Have a lovely weekend, everybody.

TGIF

Cheers and thank goodness for great friends. A much-needed weekend!

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Shrapnel

Weird happening last night: Our hallway light, in use constantly, decided to spontaneously explode.
A loud pop, and then the rain of shrapnel onto the hard floor. Luckily none of us were near enough to take a hit (although Tucker was really close and almost had a heart attack, poor guy).

We recently changed the lightbulbs, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. My thought was the bulbs were too strong, but they weren't extra hot to the touch or anything when we investigated. Has this ever happened to you? Tell me in the comments if you know what caused it.

...No crying over shattered boob-light for me though. Now that three out of the seven in the house are gone (one down to bare bulbs when we moved in, one smashed, and now this), I think it might be time to start searching for replacements. I mean, I can classify them as like a safety hazard or something now, right? Yay!

The Land of AZ

Never having been anywhere desert-y before, Phoenix pretty much offered a photo at every turn for me. I paired it down (cringe) to a nice easy 75 for good ol' Facebook, but I'll try to rein it in even more here. Wouldn't want you exhausting that scrolling finger, now.

I'd highly recommend The Legacy if you're headed in a Phoenix-y direction. It's further out of town than the well known resorts, making it a place with all the amenities at less of the cost. The boys - both avid golfers - swore up and down it was the nicest course they'd ever played (including the others they hit in the Phoenix area). The spa services were excellent, and in fact my skin still feels amazing almost a week out from the mud wrap.

In need of a fancy dinner? J&G Steakhouse in Scottsdale is absolutely world class. Housed on the immense and jaw-dropping-even-in-the-dark grounds of The Phoenician resort, our celebratory "you're engaged!" dinner is one of the best meals I've ever eaten. Ever. Like... ever.

And entertainment? We stuck pretty close to our plans of golf for the boys, pool for the girls, but we did take a day morning trip to Goldfield in nearby Apache Junction. A mining town founded in 1893, it's a total tourist trap, but loads of cheesy fun in a really, really gorgeous location. We did everything from touring the bordello to making our own wanted poster to eating lunch outside at the saloon to a live country crooner. Go!

Under twenty photos: Pretty good, right? ...Just humor me.

Happy travels - Hug a cactus for me if you head that way!

Warmth.

We may have had a pretty dry winter so far around these parts, but it still feels like winter. Off to warmer climates for a couple days!

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SO excited to finally see one of these guys (aka: a cactus) in real life. I've been a lot of places, but never a real desert. Cheers to sun and great friends for a few days!

P.S. Random Round Up will probably be delayed next week, so don't hold your breath Monday morning. I have faith you can start the week without me. ;)

Legion of BOOM.

Have you heard? Lil' football game yesterday.

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 The 12th Man is riding high indeed.

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GO HAWKS!!

Seattle Seahawks: 2014 Super Bowl Champions!

Strange New World

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It's a weird day.

My last at my current job. The job I joined the company with and pretty much immediately realized it wasn't for me. I've been working on shifting positions within the company for nearly two years, and now that it's here....

It's a weird day.

Cheers to bigger and better, and what's looking to be a very happy new year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a wonderful holiday - I'm so thankful for so much.

Laughing, for one:

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Enjoy, everyone!

It's Heeee-eeeere!

Nope, not a creepy Halloween reference - I'm talking about the new kitchen table! Remember? I told you about our little love story and the fact that we had to wait monthS for it to arrive has only made the reunion sweeter.

So here's what we were working with: Cobbled together Ikea-o-rama.

And now? Bam.

And those chairs? Well, ignore those for now. We'll talk Friday.

Game Day, Baby!

This whole 'real life' thing is really getting in the way of my blogging schedule this week. Sorry kids!

Now: I have news.

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If you're a college football fan you know and love (or hate but still know, so either way...) College Game Day on ESPN. Every Saturday morning at 6am PST, the guys appear on screen and give their 2 cents on odds of winning, stats, and upset alerts on, well, college games. They travel around the country to broadcast from the school of the notable game happening that week, and it's all capped off by Lee Corso putting on the head of whatever mascot he thinks is going to win said notable game. "The Pit", an area for students and fans to gather behind the broadcaster's table, gets packed with drunk excited college kids waving signs and wearing their colors proudly.

And this whole dog and pony show is broadcasting from the University of Washington because the Huskies vs. the University of Oregon Ducks (boooo!) is The. Big. Game. this weekend. A-woohoo!!!!!

Thankfully we won't be there when the lines open, but probably still early enough to be called crazy. ...And I'm okay with that. Go Dawgs!!

All About Autumn

My dearest Emily made the trek up from Portland this past weekend with crafting on the brain. Her requests: To make something and to bake something. After a trip to Michael's and the grocery store, it was a two birds kind of situation.

Wandering Michael's.

We whipped up the batter for our Apple Cinnamon-Sugar Cookie Bars with Brown Butter frosting, and while those were in the oven, worked on our fall wreaths.

Em went with a fall leaves theme and I went the more floral route. I love them both, and we got a kick out of how different they ended up.

My components, snipped apart and ready for action.

Em eyballing floral placement options.

How'd we make 'em? Simply a styrofoam wreath form and a pile of fake flowers, all snipped apart into individual blooms/leaves/foliage with a pair of wire cutters. Then all you have to do is poke the wire 'stems' into the styrofoam. Done!

Em's fall color fiesta - Leaves, berries, beauty!

Mine, already taking the spot of a spring-y-er wreath inside the door.

As for those ridiculously good bars and frosting (from LemonsForLuLu with notes from me):

For the bars:
1 C butter, softened
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 C flour
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 C diced, peeled apples
2 tsp cinnamon

For the frosting:
1 C browned butter
16oz. powdered sugar
1/2 C milk
1 tsp vanilla

I recommend browning the butter first thing as it needs to sit in the fridge for an hour before making it into frosting. So get browning! Then:
Preheat your oven to 350° and grease a 13x18 cookie sheet (I use the butter wrappers for this). In a mixer (or with a hand mixer), combine butter and sugar and mix on medium speed until creamy. Mix in the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition. Mix in vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. In a separate bowl (I know, I hate that too but it's important), combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Blend in flour mixture on low until completely incorporated. Pop into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick test in the middle comes out clean.
Now about that frosting. Get your browned, now-solidified butter out of the fridge and drop it into a mixing bowl. Beat it until smooth. Carefully add powdered sugar alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with powdered sugar (translation: sugar, 1/4C milk, sugar, 1/4C milk, sugar.) Once the frosting is a spreadable consistency, mix in vanilla.
Wait until the bars are COMPLETELY COOL (really. I mean... really.), then spread the frosting over the bars. Ready, set, indulge.