No More Whining

So, I've been burning with guilt since my last post.  I could just pinch myself, really hard, for being so whiney.  Was I really complaining about not having a good mattress or an extra set of sheets?  I am truly ashamed.
I guess I need a wake-up call, about just how good I have it.  Sure, things aren't over-the-rainbow perfect, but the good vastly outweighs the bad and I really don't have anything to complain about.  I'm sorry for doing so here. 

It's true that I often wonder whether I'm doing everything right or not, and I'm in the bad habit of comparing myself to others and noticing all the ways I or my life may fall short.  That is a very selfish way of thinking.

Anyway, I apologize.

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Of course, the Mixdisc Swap is now under way.  I forgot to mention in the main post one important detail: when you burn your cd, please make sure it's in cd  format, NOT mp3 format.  Not everyone has a cd player that can handle mp3's, so we want to make our discs as user-friendly as possible.

Best of luck with your mixes! 

love,
kayla

I'd roll over, but gravity won't let me.

I'm up late because I'm letting my hair dry.  It's true!  I feel so guilty running the hairdryer after Tony's gone to bed, and I hate dealing with kinks in the morning, so air dry it is.  Which makes for a late night for Kaylas.  I don't know why I'm telling you this.  Remember how it's late?

We haven't been sleeping well lately.  Our Ikea bed we were so excited about is starting to show some wear in the form of creaking.  I know, I know.  I expected Ikea quality so I'm not surprised.  Plus our plans to save up and buy a decent mattress haven't really panned out, so we're still rolling to the middle on the cheap, thin mattress we got off Craigslist, the Wal-Mart memory foam pad on top of which does essentially nothing. 

I shouldn't be complaining; we're still but freshly wed children and I've always anticipated things would be like this in the beginning.  But tell me, does it ever get better?  Will we someday truly be able to squeeze out the $500 or so of our budget to get a new mattress?  Maybe if we keep denying ourselves any out-of-home dining experiences and stop spending our hard-earned money on airsoft guns and crafting supplies we can justify buying a spare set of sheets for laundry day?  (Is it awful for me to be complaining?)

The majority of the struggles I've had with married life so far is wondering if we're doing things right.  What does "normal life" mean for a couple of 7-month married 23-year-olds?  Do we have it unreasonably good?  Are we struggling more than the average couple?  I can guess that the answer is probably that every experience is different, and maybe whatever we're doing is  "right".  Times like these I wish I had a dude - or maybe a very nice, mature, but good-natured lady - to stand to the side and analyze our every move and coach us.  And maybe also help our dog not climb the fence.

Sometimes I just want life simplified.

...It's ridiculous, I know.  Life is not meant to be simplified; it's meant to be complicated.  Probably.  That sounds like something someone mature would say.  Tonight my way of dealing with it is to dream of luxurious things I don't have but would like. 

Like this bedding, from the store that is ultimately unattainable, Anthropologie.

And maybe one of these:

Yes, please.

5 things I'm grateful for Sunday

 via WeHeartIt

So, it's been a week or so since I've done this.  It feels like forever.  Here are 5 things I'm grateful for this Sunday:

1. Sisterhood and friendship.  I had the opportunity to attend the General Relief Society Meeting for my church with several women from my ward, and it was precisely what I needed.  I felt so uplifted and strengthened by the messages shared, and I came home feeling warm and happy from the time spent hanging out with the girls.  I would like to give them a big THANK YOU for inviting me and making me feel so welcome.


2. Good days.  Because they are so precious.

3. Other people's talents.  I am so grateful for other people who share their talented selves with the world.  Often it's scary to put yourself out there and do what you do, but I for one feel extremely blessed whenever I encounter someone sharing their gift.  Thank you, all you people.

4. My mom.  For showing up unexpectedly yesterday to help me do my dishes, even though I'd already done them.  I got to see my mom for a bit, plus she brought me bagels.  Moms are fantastic.

5. My husband.  Always.

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Tonight I watched my sweet neighbor's two daughters for a few hours, and we sat on the floor in the craft room (studio takes too much effort tonight) making bracelets and drawing pictures and embroidering on paper.  It was loads of fun and it brought back a lot of my favorite memories of doing the same with my cousin and my friends when we were little.  There's nothing like girlhood to make the world seem bright and happy. :)

I hope everyone had a good weekend, and don't forget to sign up for the Mixdisc Swap if you haven't already!  (And don't forget to e-mail me your mailing address too.)  Already some new faces have showed up because of it and that makes me so happy!  If you're on the fence about participating I hope you'll decide in favor of, because I think it will be fun.  If you have any fears or reservations, I hope you'll push them aside because we're all friendly people.

Night!
kayla

The Exciting Mixdisc Swap!

Alright folks, here's all the info for this very exciting mixdisc swap we'll be having. 

Q:  What the frig is a mixdisc?
A: Like a mixtape, but in CD format.  Because I don't know about you, but I am not one of those cool people who still makes mixtapes (or even knows how.) 

The Rules:

1. Your mix must be of a decent length.  I won't give you an exact number, but keep it somewhere around 12-15 tracks long.
2. You may choose any genre or mix of genres you like.
3. You may include no more than 2 songs of the same artist.
4. You must follow the theme.  However, how you interpret the theme is entirely up to you.  It may be literal, abstracted, or you could even make your mix an antonym of the theme.  Woah!
5. Your mix must be titled.  Write it on the cd.  You can make it cute if you want, but you don't have to.  I would encourage you to have fun with the title though.
6. You must include a playlist with your cd.  We don't want to make our partners play the guessing game (or the Google the lyrics game.)  You don't have to include cover art, fancy or not, but...why wouldn't you want to?
7. You have exactly two weeks from the official beginning of the swap (see below) to finish and send off your mix.  

Alright, so them's the guidelines.  Now to how this will work.

The comments section of this post will be the official sign-up sheet.  Comment with your name to show your interest.  And, you know, be excited about it.  I'm thinking multiple exclamation points.  !!  You have until Monday, September 27th 12:00 am Mountain Time to sign up, in case you don't check your internets on the weekend. 

That means Tuesday, September 28th is the official start time of the swap, and Tuesday, October 12th is the official deadline. 

Once you've signed up, e-mail me your name and mailing address at ultra_lazer4@hotmail.com.  I'll randomly pair us all up and then send your info to your partner (and vice versa.) 

The theme for this swap is: Radical Love Storm.

Any questions?  Things I forgot?  Let me know.  Otherwise, get signed up and start mixing.

love,
kayla 

Maybe now I'll start journaling.

The boy is off playing airsoft this morning, so I had time to myself to clean the house up a bit and also work on an impulsive little project.  I had this beautifully hand-bound book a friend gave to me, and I had this itch it was perfect to satisfy.  I think it turned out pretty cute, so now hopefully I'll actually get back in the habit of regular journaling.

I appreciated the comments about having lots of projects going at once.  Glad to see I'm not alone!  That's how I work, and maybe it's not all bad, but it does get a little annoying.  Maybe because I work so slow.  I never get anything actually finished.  I'm thinking maybe I need to change my tactics for a while and say I'm not allowed to work on another project until one is completed, because my head (and home) is pretty cluttered by now with unfinished stuff and I need to start clearing it out and checking things off of lists.

I snapped a shot of a sort-of clean workspace to share, so you can see it on a better day.  Still not perfect and just as I'd like it, but honestly I wonder if it will ever get there. It seems to be the nature of life that nothing is ever truly "there".  If it were, would there be a point anymore?  :)

Hope your Saturday is going well.  I'm going to take the pup to the dog park soon, shower, finish tidying up, and then I'm going to the General Relief Society Conference downtown with my neighbor.  Oh, and later I hope to have a post up about the CD swap, so stay tuned!

love,
kayla

Fall Fashion Wish List

Alright, I admit it.  I'm getting pumped for Fall.  In honor of the season which is now upon us, I put together a little "Fall Fashion Wish List".  I've never been ultra-trendy, but lately I've been noticing a wiggling in my clothes tooth.

So here are some things I've noticed whilst window shopping that I would like to add to my dream-closet.

Red Shrug: FoundObjectFashion - Brown Hat, Filligree Earrings, Letter Necklace: Charlotte Russe - Yellow Flats: Spirocreations  - Asian Dress, Polkadot Skirt, & both Tights: Anthropologie - Jean Leggings: Banana Republic - Elephant Tee & Camera Hoodie: Threadless - Yellow Dress: Thimble and Acorn - Orange Hat: GingerHaole - Long Sleeve Shirt: Zelaya

*sigh*  I could go on forever.  Wish lists are fun, but if wishes were horses we'd all be eating steak.

Yesterday I made a (loosely) Fall-inspired classic rock mix cd.  None of the songs actually had anything to do with Fall, they were just songs that gave me that "Autumn feeling", for some reason.  It wasn't until I was finished that I noticed that nearly all the tracks I chose were about losing, letting go, being lonely, things changing, or just sad things.  I guess it's my feelings about the changing seasons and the "death" of Summer coming out in song choice.

I'm not really all that sad about the seasons changing, but the coming of Winter is always met with a bit of apprehension in my heart.  For now, though, I'm content to let myself enjoy this season's crisp-but-not-cold weather, lovely fall colors in nature and fashion, the return of warm drinks, that extra blanket on the bed, and leaves crunching beneath my feet.  (Another cold weather bonus?  Cuddling.  Summer, you're great, but I miss full-body contact!)

What are you anticipating?
kayla

p.s. Well, at least one person is interested in the CD swap idea!  Natalie, if nothing else, let's you and me send each other mixes.

Swap Idea

 via WeHeartIt

 

I kinda want to have a Mix CD Swap.  You know, where participants make a mix cd (perhaps based around a certain theme?) and we all send 'em to each other.

Are you interested?  Let me know, cause i think it would be fun.

<3
kayla

New Button + Degree Failure

I got the urge and whipped up a new little blog button.  You can see it over to the left.  Nothing special, but you know, I think it's pretty cute. 

Also, I want to give a big THANK YOU to my new followers!  Seriously it makes me so happy that anyone would want to read this, so you can go about your days knowing there's a happy girl over here in Utah.

And lastly, we tried this tonight, but I made some errors of calculation and they turned out more charred than edible, so...we'll be doing that again another time (when I acquire more tomatoes.)  Natalie, you have the best ideas for tasty snacks!

And that's all.  Goodnight.
kayla

Some things we've been up to...

First, the latest (and one of my favorites so far) in Mila's Daydreams:

The Paperdoll.

Copyright Adele.

I mean, really; does it get more adorable?  I think not.

Anyway, adorableness aside, I've been feeling rather slumpish lately.  Not wholly slumpified, but just enough so that I feel that it's a problem.  To  get myself out of it I've been spending more time in my studio (Tony makes fun of me whenever i call it a studio, but I just can't bring myself to say "craft room".  I feel it gives the wrong impression.  Yes I'm picky about weird things.)  I've been working on necklaces, a rug, a quilt, and an embroidery project.  Yes, I'm one of those annoying people who have billions of things going at once, so I can tinker on one project until I get bored and then move on to another, and then go back, and so on.  I just work that way. 

So I decided to snap a few quick photos of my "studio" to share.  No, I did not bother straightening anything up; I wanted you to see it exactly how I see it every day.  It's extremely messy (this annoys Husband to no end.)

Here's The Table:

Massive, and completely covered.  I can count at least 5 separate projects included.

Here's The Easel:

Complete with ironing board and dresses-in-progress.  Also painting-in-progress.  Remember how it's annoying?  Yeah.

Here's a few shots of my pretty piles of squares, all ready to be sewn into a patchwork quilt:

 

 

All the fabric is from thrifted sheets, and trust me, it's looking so pretty as it's coming together.

(Proof that it is, in fact, coming together.)

I love my sewing machine, by the way.  I should give her a photoshoot because I love her so much.  Her name is Hot Donna, she's a 1970's Kenmore and I got her from my mom.  We're like this.

Tonight however did not involve any crafting.  After work Tony and I talked with a lady about credit and home loans (so intimidating and un-fun, and such a "big kid" thing to do.  I'm still adjusting to the fact that this is my life.)  Then I made a journey all around our immediate neighborhood, knocking on doors and politely inquiring of our neighbors if they've heard our dog barking annoyingly during the day.  We found a note on our door from Animal Services because someone complained that our dog was a barking nuisance.  I feel better since every neighbor I talked to said they haven't heard any barking, except for a few occasions when she barks a bit when someone walks by and doesn't say hi to her.  Which is normal for a dog to do, I would think?  Certainly that couldn't be described as being a "nuisance", could it?  

Anyway, it was all very fun.  So fun, in fact, that we decided to forego our previous dinner plans and just have mac-and-cheese and call it good.  To cheer up a bit I decided to take a hint from Natalie and fry up some homemade cinnamon-and-sugar tortilla chips.

Yes, they were delicious.

love,

kayla

Good 'Ol Weekend

 

Spent 6 hours at a class this morning, ate my lunch by a tree on the grass, which was slightly wet and my butt took a long time to dry.  

Chatted and caught up with Natalie over bagels at Einstein Bros., which closed at 4 pm, probably because the employees have an exciting late-afternoon life schedule which outweighs the need of customers to have bagels.  But the chatting was fun. :)

Now I'm eating cookie dough and catching up on blogs, all while ignoring my house (it's a disaster) for a few more minutes because eating cookie dough and catching up on blogs is a lot more fun than catching up on a week-and-a-half's worth of dishes.

Happy Saturday everyone!

love,

kayla

Cool Stuff

I am so in love with this map of the world.  I want it on my wall, right now.

Also this, but on my body.

Find anything good lately?
kayla

Fire Truck

I know it's a kid's song, but I wouldn't mind if it were on my iPod and turned up in shuffle now and again.

QUICK QUESTION

*

So, I rarely wear a dress or skirt without something beneath it: jeans, leggings, tights, etc. (I don't know what the etc. would be.  Bandages?  Seran Wrap?  I digress.)  The thing is, I absolutely HATE it when the skirt/dress rides up on my legs because of the friction between it and whatever it is I'm wearing on my legs.  Know what I mean?
So lately, when I make a skirt/dress I line it in the no-static, special occasion-type lining material - like, satin, or whatever it is (polyester) - so it hangs straight and doesn't ride up.  My question is, is this normal, or bizarre?  Would you hate it if you bought a casual dress that was lined in the slippery, "fancy" material?  Or does the riding-up factor not  bother you?  (Or have you discovered another ingenious way around it and would you like to share?)

I hope you'll comment and let me know what you think.  I'd hate to go ahead and do things my way only to find out it's really annoying and people hate it.

peace out,
kayla

Just so you know...

The always adorable and creative Rubyellen is having some sweet giveaways over at her blog.  Head over to enter, and also to stick around and read because she comes up with the greatest crafts, plus her family is picture-perfect.

I'll try and be back later with some pictures of things I have going on.  We had a fantastic neighborhood barbecue last night (but I forgot to take ANY pictures, of course) and today we have more plans to further doggy-proof our yard, so after the busyness.

love,
kayla

Random Etsy Goodness

I must share some cuteness.  For reals.

Freaking adorable Cinderella costume by TinkerellaCreations.

Vintage Salt/Pepper shaker from 225WaterStreet.  So cool, I want it.

This print by HilariaGalleries captures how I feel sometimes when I read.

Maybe it's just cause I'm eating rice right now, but this chopstick-holding bowl by HughesPottery sounds like something I need.

I'll just stop now, because I could probably go on forever.

Also, anyone else playing Robot Unicorn Attack?  We kind of love it around here.  :)

night-night,

kayla

Beautiful Embroidery

Just a quickie today - I just wanted to share this truly beautiful bit of embroidery by Checkout Girl.

Isn't it gorgeous?  I so want to try the doodle-and-then-just-stitch technique.  (I tend to gravitate towards the more "free spirit" way of doing things.) 

Things on my "Doing and To-Do" list:

- friendship-style necklaces (to gift or to sell, I can't decide.  I also still can't decide on a shop name! Urg!)
-  ventures into rag rug making.  So much more enjoyable than I thought it would be!
- enjoying my family being back home with me
- keeping the house in (relative) order
- hopefully attending a cul-de-sac-of-duplexes barbecue!  I'm actually really excited about this, because I know like 20% of my neighbors.  I am terrible.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week, and I think I speak for everyone when I say YAY TOMORROW'S FRIDAY!

love,
kayla