iPhone: Week 4

Snuggling with Mom.

Someone gets cuddly when he's tired.

Bowties = Party

It's about time we brought a little AF into this thing. Again.

As many of you know, my lovely husband is smack dab in the middle of undergraduate pilot hell training. This means he flies a lot. And he sims {simulator - fake flying} a lot. And he studies a lot. And he has to decide what he wants to be when he grows up. Or at least, what plane he wants to fly when he grows up.

I've talked about it before, so I won't bore you with the details, but I will show you a fun little tradition we got to participate in a few weeks ago.

Each and every student pilot has to be able to {and have the confidence to} fly a plane all by herself/himself. With no one there. And thus, they have solo flights. And after everyone in the class completes the first solo flight, they have a solo party. This may sound like an oxymoron to you, but it's not. {solo party - a party celebrating the completion of all the first solo flights, not a party with one person.}

At said solo party, students mix with instructors. And instructors tell tales of the students first solo {10% true rule applies at all times}. The students pick out an ugly tie and wear it to the solo party. Based on how well the instructor thinks the student did on the solo flight, he cuts the bottom of the tie off. The smaller amount cut, the better the flight. Take a look at J's.

I will give this short explanation. J was the first student pilot to attempt to fly formation {ie very close to another plane} during the landing of his initial solo. We won't go into details. :-)

In order to make him a bit more presentable, I assisted in tying what was left of his tie into a bow tie.

 
And that was his solo party.

Harry Potter and the Keyring of Saturn.

I promise, promise, promise I have bigger and better posts coming soon. Meat and potatoes. DIY. Furniture building. Curtains. Art. But today is not the day. Today is the day to share with you the newest member of my key ring. Because I'm so busy. And all I want to do is draw. So hopefully you can forgive the lack of luster today and tune in soon in the promise of sparkle. It's coming. I promise.

They Called it Puppy Love.

It's like the tortoise and the hare over here. The tortoise being the office redo, and the hare being my life. Things are zooming right along in the House of Recor for all of us...

{Jon is flying his first cross country in a week and a half... using the coast to get him to Florida safely -as well as some instrument only flying- so he has been preparing like a madman for that. Can't wing it on a flight to a place you've never flown to before (pun intended). 

I am moving right along with work. I can't believe I'm coming up to the end of my first month at Style Me Pretty. Still loving it. Still keeping me very busy. And get this. I just started training for the OKC marathon/half marathon. As if I didn't have enough going on. 

Duke has taken to cuddling by my feet by day, and chasing shadows by night. He also "made friends" with a few ducks. Calvin has switched food and is now on a starvation strike. I don't think it will last long, judging by his enormous gut.But I'm monitoring the situation.}

Enough about the hare. Let's get to the tortoise, for all you shell loving fans out there. The office is slowly but surely moving along to a better place. I shared with you a big mess of ideas already... but I've been working on a "theme" or more like a "feel" for the room {as I don't really love themed rooms}. Since it is an office where both airplane studying and matrimonial eyecandy are both going to be happening on a daily basis, I decided to blend it into an office that is chic, pretty, as modern as I dare go in my house, and function all the while making sure airplanes don't lose their place.

In the prettiest way possible.

So we are going for Aeronautical Chic, in case you skipped over that mumbo jumbo right up there. It will be very tricky to stay away from campy, tacky, or piloty while still incorporating a bit of the sky into the room, but it can and will be done. I sort of have a plan. At least I know what my "artwork" will be {but more on that later}.

Anyway, I know this was a long post of verbiage, but here is your reward for making it this far. Kissing pictures. Yes, I am a girl with lips for my kids. And when I say kids, I mean animals. But you knew that. I try to move my mouth away before they kiss back though, in case you just were sick to your stomach. Anyway, here is a kiss shared with Calvin last week...

And here is one for the dog lovers out there, taken this weekend...

{No I am not always gross with a headband in my sweaty mess of a ponytail. Both photos were taken after returning from the gym. Also, they were taken from my computer. Not my new camera. Sorry.}

Notice anything?? Yes! I moved a few things around. But for now, this is all you get. A little sneak peak. Just for you. :-) Anything you want to see in the office redo? Share! Especially if you think it fits in with the Aeronautical Chic thing we've got going on.

iPhone: Week 3

Someone had a little too much Starbucks.

Oklahoma the Beautiful

I'm writing this post in hopes it will take my mind off of the disgusting, horrible, stinky, customer service mess that is DirecTV. But enough on that... we're trying to clear our minds.

When we lived in Colorado, we were lucky. We walked out the front door and saw mountains. We hiked every night with Duke. We took three bike rides a day. I could train on hills like it wasn't a thing. We could go out to eat and be so happy with what we had. We were surrounded by people who enjoyed a lot of the same things we did.

Then we moved to Oklahoma. And I actually was a little sad the other day when someone wished that "I was not hating Oklahoma as much anymore." I'm really sad that I left that impression on you. Sure, it's not Colorado. It's not Michigan, Texas or South Dakota either. It's Oklahoma. And that is not a bad thing.

I have made it my mission to be the best tourist I can be. I have not done as well a job as I had hoped to do originally, but that is what happens when you have a husband who studies on the weekends. I'm still trying though. When faced with what to do on my birthday weekend, we have decided to go to Tulsa and take in some museums and local flavor. I'm planning on running the half marathon for the OKC Memorial (or maybe full... but I don't want to promise myself into something I may not have time to train for...). I'm excited to try the little diners along the road. I'm excited to camp in Oklahoma. I'm excited to find the coolest, prettiest, most fun spots of this toothbrush.

So with that in mind, I decided to take J and Duke out. Past the gates of the base. But not so far that I was no longer in sweet, old Enid. Our favorite Saturday pastime in CO was hiking. So I decided we needed to get outside and "hike." {hike is in quotations because I still have a hard time calling it hiking if I'm able to wear my J. Crew rubber boots.}

We needed to enjoy the beauty of Oklahoma. To do that, I knew the thing we needed to do most was to get outside and away from people. That was when we always loved Colorado the most. So that was when we were going to love Oklahoma the most.

So I would just like to apologize if I gave the wrong impression. No, Oklahoma was not our first choice of bases. And no, I don't want to live here forever. But I, under no circumstances, hate it. Not even a little. I actually really like OK. We've talked about coming back here at some point in J's career so he could be an instructor pilot and we could live a slower pace of life again. Be on the lookout for more OK posts soon.

Want to vacation in OK now?

He's Made It.

Calvin, that is. He's famous. He already stopped talking to us "little people." He's been on the phone with his agent all morning, trying to book a flight to LA, as he is convinced he is the next Beethoven, or Garfield.

Wonder what I'm talking about??

Take a look over here.

Round One

Well, we have a nice long weekend in front of us (at least the men in the house do). So I suppose that means I am going to try to get a few projects finished up, as well as learn more about my new favorite toy. I'm still practicing. A lot. And since the best time for pictures is during the day when I'm locked in my house with my cat and dog, Calvin and Duke are the subject of most of my pictures.

I figured I would take a second today to answer the question we get asked most when people first learn we have both the feline and the canine species coexisting in our house: Do Duke and Calvin get along?

 (As Always, you can click on the picture above to make it bigger)

The answer? Calvin keeps Duke in his place.

Have a great weekend everyone! And a happy MLK Jr. Day too :-)

iPhone: Week 2

A few words may be necessary this week.

I was putting away laundry when the drawer fell out and hit my foot.

In the three seconds (no joke) it took me to complain about the pain, Calvin had found his new hiding place.

He explored, removed clothing from other drawers, and would not come out until I pulled him out.

He's just waiting for a second chance.

The Office: The Vision

First, there was a mass organization. Then came the boy decor. Finally, we needed to style me pretty.

So I did research. I looked through my favorite magazines and catalogs. I looked through my "Inspired Bookmarks" on Mozilla. I searched the web. I listened to you. And I've made headway on the office.

And when I say headway, I mean it. Because as of yet, it is all still in my head. Yes, I have moved my desk. And yes, I put a mirror on it. But I should mention the aforementioned desk is now shoved into the same corner as the book shelf. This means all the furniture (and honestly, all the stuff) is in one half of the room. With the exception of my "Keep Calm and Carry On" print.

As you can see, I do not exaggerate (at least not right now). If anything, negative progress has happened in the office. But not in my noodle. Nope, I've got it all in there. It'll take some time to collect all the pieces of the puzzle, but soon enough, it will get there. Wondering what I've got? Here is my inspiration.

 Yes, pallets. If you spend as much time as I do on the design blog world, you'll know these are a hot commodity. And I'm using them to give my old bookshelves a face lift. 

Get excited now.

Source

 We need seating in there (aside from the one desk chair) and I know just where to put it.

The spot that J always crouches when he comes to visit me at work.

And this great loveseat from Target might be just the ticket.

Source

 I'm loving flannel lately. The texture, the warmth, the colors.

I'm probably going to try to bring in some flannel in pillows. We'll see.

Source

 I love chalkboards. I know they are trendy. So I will spend little money, and DIY one myself.

But it will be so nice to be able to jot down notes on something other than my Airmen and Family Readiness Center pad of paper.

Source

The curtains. Oh the curtains. Stripes. White. Love, love, love.
DIY, I suppose!
Source

And the pièce de résistance.

No not a belt. But I am using this as my inspiration for the top secret, most exciting project of the room.

And I need your help.

Source

I am looking for old leather (or good pleather) belts. Lots of them. I'm scouring thrift stores and closets (most owners know I'm there). But I still need more. I need lots and lots of leather belts. So please, please, please if you have even one old leather belt you no longer use, I need it. I'll even pay for the shipping. And I will also let you in on the secret project. So look through your closets and let me know.

Like I've said before. It will take a while. It will be slow. It will be one day at a time, but eventually, my office will be pretty. It will be organized. It will look like a girl works there (and a boy). Anything changing around your house?

Clutching to Christmas

You remember my clutch.

You remember you frustrating it was that I had too many pockets. Too big of a purse. Well, apparently, it is just as frustrating to others. I had a few orders for clutches as Christmas presents. I was a clutch machine the week leading up to the big day. And I'll let you in on a little secret. I loved making them. They're so easy. And it's so much fun playing around with different sizes and designs.

And now that I have been guaranteed that all those receiving their clutches have done so, I am ready to share. Are you ready to see?

And that's that. Anyone else do any crafting/DIY for Christmas? Those are my favorite kinds of presents to receive, the ones that are handmade and heartfelt.

iPhone Week 1

We got iPhones. And we love them. (thank you so much mommy dearest for the wonderful Christmas present).

These are a few of my favorite things (about the iPhone4)

1. I get to FaceTime with the people who are so far away physically, but oh so close emotionally.
2. The Apps! Who knew I was an app fanatic? (Pandora, Netflix, Yoga, Star Wars Arcade Falcon Gunner and HGTV are my faves)
3. I get my email on my cell phone! Both accounts!
4. I always, always have a camera with me (even when I don't have my new fancy pants camera).

Number Four leads me to the beef and potatoes of this post. I will be starting a segment on the blog. It won't always be on Thursday, and it won't always be every week, and to be honest, it will only last until it is not fun anymore, but I am starting it. Every week, I will feature a picture of our every day life (from my iPhone). The mundane. The beauty in the everyday.

In short, welcome to my iPhone life. It's beautiful.

Enid Sunset

January 3, 2010

The Life of a Cat and Dog, BFFS

I'm still playing with my new camera. I haven't had a chance to read through the manual yet, since I've been so busy. However, I have realized something.

I am obsessed with my pets.

 

Another Office Redo

I started my new job today, and although it was just a day of training, I am beyond excited to be working for Style Me Pretty! To sum up my first day of work, I sat in my office, on my phone, eating grapes, and trained with two other new girls. And it was a lot more exciting than that sounds, believe me.

While I was sitting in my office for 6 hours today, I realized (again) that this office is b o r i n g. Not just boring, plain. Not just plain, ugly. Not just ugly, hurts my eyes to look at anything in here. I love this room because of the amazing light we get from the north and west facing windows, but that is about all it has going for it. It is a box. A box with a closet. A box with a closet that a boy has been using as his office for the last five months. The only feel/theme/personality this room has is "Undergraduate Pilot Training." Seriously, I have a model of an air plane sitting under the lamp my lovely pilot hubs has had since before I knew him (the lamp, not the plane. We got that a few moths ago from the toy section at Walmart.)

Yes. I know. Horrendous. Tremendously horrendous. Not pretty. So my next step is to redecorate. As we all know, I'm cheap as a little robin, so it will probably be a while before I have enough time to collect everything I want to complete this room. But little by little, it will become the office I will love to work in everyday. It will become pretty and it will look like it belongs to a girl.

Now, I have to make my first decision, and I want your opinion. We all know the rest of my house is Pottery Barn (the look, not the price). It's neutrals, it's a little coastal, it's a little traditional with a teeny, tiny modern twist to it. The question therein lies: Do I do my office with the same feel? Lots of neutrals? Navy blues? Or do I go completely out of the box and style it real pretty and feminine? Or maybe somewhere in between (lets not forget that the man of the house will still be using this room in the evenings for study time)?

Some things to consider. The desk, computer, printer, and probably bookshelves all have to stay. I'm going for low budget here, and that means changing out the decor, hanging curtains, finding the perfect rug, not replacing all the furniture. So think about it. And let me know what you come up with.