but all the best people are

i love pinterest. i love pinning. i love de-pinning. i love re-pinning. i love sinning.

just kidding.

my hot chocolate even tasted better

well i am just loving all the comments from my last post and i've read them like a million times. i wish i could click "print" in the comment section and then print all of them and put them on the wall. sometimes you just need a little pick me up... and kind words can truly go a long way. so thank you ;)

i consider myself to be a practical person. kinda? well i mean for example... if i buy anything to put in my closet, i have to always be able to think of different ways to use or wear it. well... let's just say... i'm loosing that little voice in my head. things are getting easier to justify and it's scaring me. i guess it's the result of always going shopping with trudy.

so to get to the point, i asked for this little beauty for christmas. yahoo that it's from tjmaxx and cheaper than buying it from kate spade BUT did santa pay $12 for a mug? yep. is that very smart? no. but i'm pretty sure i feel like..... probably at least 2 times cuter when i drink from this versus any others.

p.s. it is comforting to know that kate spade's dinnerware is mostly lenox and backed with a great warranty.

the dress and our big feet.

before trudy was born i made her this dress out of some vintage pillowcases. i cut out the silhouette (sleeveless with a scalloped edge on the bottom) and cut out what i wanted to be on the front. after sewing the dress, i handed it over to my mom and her out-of-this-world sewing machine and had her work her magic on the front of the dress. how awesome would it be to be a designer? i mean i would have no problem thinking up fun things in my head and then telling someone what to do. anyway yesterday, i held the dress up to another newborn dress that she has worn and they looked about the same size. sadly when we put it on her, it still drowned her... but i decided i had waited long enough and just wanted her to wear it. so she wore it to church. and even though it was falling off her all day... she looked pretty dang cute. it's just too bad she got my feet and couldn't wear a pair of gold ballet flats i found the other day. funny how she only fits in newborn size clothes but not newborn size shoes..... story of my life.

oh and i forgot to mention my inspiration for this dress. go here to see the cutest dress in the whole wide world. it's so adorable it hurts my heart when i look at it. i've also linked up trudy's dress to sugar bee crafts, creative itch, tip junkie.

so fresh and so clean.. uh

 

a collection of the flowers we've had in the house over the past month or so. wish i really knew how to edit so i could make these pictures look as pretty as they do in real life. oh well. it's easy to have fresh flowers in your house at all times when you grow them in your yard! it makes me SO happy. we have rose bushes everywhere that are blooming all over the place. so the yellow and pink roses up above are from our yard. we even have purple ones that smell uh-mazing. all the other flowers were purchased at trader joe's. best place for flowers. why? because they are so cheap! flowers are the perfect pick-me-up too. i can usually find some i like for under $5. putting flowers in our main room is so fulfilling, it just polishes everything and adds so much beauty. plus nate berkus says to have something natural/living in every room of your house. for anyone that doesn't have a trader joe's, i've found cheap flowers on clearance at walmart too. so go get some. put them in vase and then place them wherever you heart desires.

p.s. for anyone that asked about our fancy drapes, you can read about them in our tutorial here. new projects coming soon!

p.p.s. i realized that i never said which onesie grant helped sew a few posts ago. he did the grey polka dotted square. see it again here. and thank you friends for the sleeping/baby advice. we planned on using a pack & play (still need to get) or a moses basket that i found a while back. the moses basket would sit all the way down on the floor and our bed is high so i wasn't really liking that idea. i don't think i'd mind the nap nanny but i'm wondering if that may be too big for our queen bed......? i'll figure it out! can't wait to show off the nursery soon... we're almost done. 

what a druzy

ever since going to the natural history museum in dc a few years back, i have had a love for rocks and stones. especially pyrite. this beauty is what grant gave me for my birthday this year. it's perfect and just the way i like it. i love how raw and rough it is. plus it has just the right amount of sparkle. do you have a favorite gemstone? 

blogger has been frustrating this week. agree? i hope we can get the comments back from the last few posts because i really wanted grant to see all the compliments on the table. but i'm sure those behind blogger are doing what they can.

i am just a day away from being full term (37 weeks) and definitely already googling ways to go into labor. i am just at the point that every one talks about. feeling uncomfortable and huge. i'm still nauseous and wondering if it will truly go away after delivery. i know it will but i just don't remember what it's like to feel normal. 

this little girl inside me is so active that sometimes i just want to cry. i can only imagine how uncomfortable she is but her poking and kicking and whatever else isn't really fun to feel at this point. sometimes when she is going crazy in there, i get mad at grant because i feel like it's his fault. i mean it is his daughter.

i have a question for mothers out there, what did your baby sleep in before transferring to a crib? in those first few months? and does anyone have any advice for me? since i am about to have one of the most amazing/crazy/painful and beautiful experiences of my life?

oh and my list of things to do before she comes? we're down to 30 things now.

back to jewelry, i love alyson brown's taste. her love for classics, clean lines and naturalness in jewelry helps me to realize how beautiful the simplest pieces can be. here is a good example.

still wasting lots and lots of time on my pinterest. IT IS SO MUCH FUN!!!

it's just in our blood

so i decided to do a little showing off. unfortunately most of our favorites from thrift stores, yard sales and antique shops are locked in a storage unit miles away. we have lots of finds from home decor, clothes for both of us and even things for our future children. i only included stuff for me in this post, all things found in utah. it is funny how feminine these all are, i used to be very very feminine. floral prints everywhere and anything sparkly. there is a lot of that still inside me, however i feel my style has headed more into a classier and simple direction. when wearing or using any of these items, i try to balance the femininity with more masculine styles (darker colors, sharper angles and stiffer fabrics). mixing things up is the best part. 

austrian earrings from the 1940's. the woman i bought these from has a yard sale every summer in orem. she has an english accent and knows a lot about her things. she has a love for antique costume jewelry and has collected A LOT over the years. the minute these sparkled before my eyes... i had to have them. they are more gorgeous in real life and i'm excited to pass them down.

i just love vintage suitcases. i found the one on the left at a vintage shop in salt lake. it happens to be my temple bag. the one on the right is from deseret industries in provo, utah. i paid $2.00 for it. on our cruise in february i used it for all my bathroom products and i'm not gonna lie, i felt like the cutest thing carrying it everywhere.

i have never bought a clutch anywhere other than a thrift store. 

i love both of these so much. they also came from deseret industries and were .50 each.

don't remember the price on this. from "decades" in salt lake. i love the birds and the gold chain. 

it is in perfect condition. wish i could have known its previous owner, i'm sure we would have gotten along.

oh the butterfly dress. the best part about this dress is that it fits perfectly and i didn't have to get it tailored. 

i feel very happy when i wear it. don't remember where i bought it but i do remember that it was $17.

i love belts. i rarely pay full price for a belt. belts can be ridiculously expensive. i have a lot of belts in lots of colors (except for these three brown), i like to get different textures to add visual interest to my outfits. the second is real snake skin. gross but pretty.

no definitely definitely not from a yard sale or thrift store. not even from an antique store. my girlfriends gave this jewelry box to me for my birthday years ago. even though it isn't antique, there are a lot of things inside that are. i absolutely love everything about it. i think they got it in the mall somewhere in a store that is not there anymore (i wanna say "bombay"?).

its where i keep all my jewelry except for necklaces and some dangly earrings. you can take out this top part and basically have the whole box to put stuff in. i keep bracelets and extra buttons (that come with clothes) and some other stuff in there. this is the type of thing that reminds me of old movies. maybe a scene with a little girl watching and admiring her mom as she gets ready and pulls fabulous jewelry out of this box to accessorize with :). a lot of my jewelry is from antique malls and flea markets. i just love being a girl. 

one thing i know about treasure hunting is that you shouldn't buy unless you absolutely love it. and if you ever see something that just tugs at your heart, you better grab it. 

or you will be very sad and most likely never see it again. :(

they really love green chile here

i think it's clear that life is just much more entertaining than the blog world these days. i guess we all go through phases. i like it here. the weather is beautiful, the people at walmart are so nice and friendly, there is more to do than i thought and grant is doing wonderful. our past summers we spent days off exploring all the thrift stores and antique malls we could find. there were lots on the east coast but i am happy to say that there are lots here too. i wish we had all our stuff in one place so i could just admire all of our fun finds that will one day go in a home. my favorite thing is to actually have something in mind and then find it! it's so much fun.

so recently i have come across something that has CHANGED MY LIFE. its called blue bell icecream. it is the yummiest ice cream i have ever had. made in texas and apparently exclusive to certain states. definitely not in utah yet or i would have known. anyway they have it here and since we've been here we've gone through 4 half gallons (2 gallons) so far. my family is coming to visit next week so i will definitely be loading up the freezer with more. pistachio almond is sooooo yummy. they even have cookie dough bars. cookie dough on a stick! and yes you get a chunk of cookie dough in every bite... (my dad will be so happy). don't know how i ever lived without it.

grant and i learn more about each other every day. i love that i get to spend my life's journey with him. i still feel so lucky every day. our communication gets better and better. for example the other day i spent hours in the fabric store (also hobby lobby "creative center"- love that place) and was really and i mean REALLY excited to show grant that night, what my next projects would be. so when i picked him up later, i had already thought ahead about how i could make our conversation go just the way i wanted. i said to him "so i have some stuff i got at the fabric store that i'm really excited to show you, can you just pretend to be my girlfriend and get really excited? it would mean a lot to me". let me also just add that learning to even just communicate that.... i mean let's just say i have come a long way. i never knew that i needed to tell him how i wanted him to respond, (how does he not know to jump up and down and act like fabric is the most exciting thing in the whole world??!? i mean hello?!?!) so anyway by the time we ate and got ready for bed, i could tell he was tired. i pulled out my stuff and i had all of his attention. this is when things went downhill. of course since he was looking at me and listening... i started taking advantage of that and talking WAY TOO MUCH. going into details about how finding a pattern is hard and you really have to have an imagination because the patterns are no where near modern and how they choose the ugliest colors and how maybe i could use these old glass buttons i had for this and how hancock's sales are so weird and random but at least they have them and........ well i noticed he was getting a little distracted. so i told him that i had waited all day to tell him this stuff and it didn't really seem like he was that into it. he then expressed that he was exhausted, had already been listening forever (hahah that part is so funny to me) and he just wanted to hang out, play on his phone and relax. then i just felt stupid because who wouldn't want to just lay down and relax after knocking doors for 10 hours. i felt so bad and so we came up with a conclusion, when i have something to tell him that is a little more on the girly side and i really want him to be excited about, i will only take about five minutes and just get right to the point. if i need more than that then i should probably just call a girl. i was very grateful to just appreciate our differences instead of getting offended or something, (still trying to understand why mixing patterned fabrics doesn't give him a surge of energy...??), we smiled and then kissed. maybe more, i don't know. but the point is i just love him.  i can't wait for one day where our differences will never ever be frustrating, when they will instead just makes us laugh. i think we are on our way there.

rockwell reimer and a list of love

this is little rockie, he is the son of our friends, rob & jessie. i got to babysit him twice last week and i loved every minute. he is just my favorite and his little smile melts my heart. last week he had a surgery on a little hole in his tummy that he was born with. today he had some complications and is in the e.r. we are saying prayers for him (i'm sure any would be much appreciated), he has just had a rough day. we know everything will be okay and can't wait to see him.

this is a little list of things i love, just for fun. i can't wait to pick granty poo up from the airport. i've known since friday what i'm going to wear.

a post that is still making me laugh.

my favorite chapstick.

love her style. obviously.

okay maybe this is old to everyone else, i don't know, but i have listened to it over and over. its THAT good.

the perfect chocolate chip cookie. except we like more butter (fat) than chocolate, so i bought mini chocolate chips.

where we will be living very soon. hope we can go to this....

what i'm watching right now.

a rose bubble bath with lemon and orange oils. mmmm.

thankyou thankyou! i loved reading all of those comments. i am happy that so many people feel the way i do. even though my examples were all about magazines, i hope that i made it clear that really anything (including blogs) can be detrimental for our self esteem. i think  know that we all compare ourselves to different things for different reasons. the biggest point that i wanted to make is that paying attention to when you may be more vulnerable to pressure and comparing, really helps in keeping your spirits high. on top of that, i do believe that the media is getting worse and worse and i have big goals for what i want to teach my little girls.

on kind of the same note, what i surround myself with can totally make me feel happy, motivated and inspired! i have quite the list of projects. it never ends and i actually love that. i can't believe how many talented people there are out there. it's also really fun to do crafts and projects with friends. oh girl time. its just a necessity for me. very therapeutic.

in my other news, grant is out of town. let me just say that reading back in the archives of your own blog is not something i recommend to those with husbands out of town. no. no. definitely not a good idea. i would recommend sleeping on his side of the bed though. it might make you feel safer. might. anywho while he is gone i plan to do a lot of girly things. make a wreath (my girlfirend sasha made the cutest one EVER and she is totally lame for not putting pictures of it on her blog. something she should definitely be bragging about.), get my face waxed because i have a mustache and a beard, shave (kind of a big deal) and make lots of yummy treats. speaking of yummy, trudy has been making this green drink alot and it inspired me. best green drink i've ever had! i've made it every day for a week and a half. we took a raw foods class together a couple weeks ago and it was so fun. did you know that one ounce of wheatgrass has equal nutrients to 2lbs. of vegetables? crazy. i also plan to take a really long bath. last week i recieved this, this and this. chloe's mom found out that i love (love, love, love) LUSH and surprised me with these. still can't get over it. cutest gift everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. who just does that? so thankyou staci!

p.s. tune in to bijo for a tutorial on my homemade bib necklace.

reason #492 why i love my wife

My wife has P.M.S. It's ok though. All women have to deal with it. As a result, men do too (because we love our women so much). Anyone who knows me, knows that I love my freakin' amazing wife more than anything, even when this beast comes to call. I was raised in a household of 5 boys, no girls. Including my father, in the count we outnumbered my mother 6 to 1. Needless to say if the beast was around then... I never even knew it existed. I consider myself a rather "middle of the road" kind of guy and one thing I love about Britt is that she deals a bit more in the extremes. Between the both of us we cover the whole spectrum. Well, Britt's affinity for the extremes hold no bounds during that time of the month. One minute she's trying to blow my house down and the next she can't keep her little hands off me! I can't help but love her even when the Britt I get is the first of the two. Last night was one such night.

It was approaching midnight and Britt started getting her typical late night hunger pangs (nothing new there). But, this was a little different. ...a little more picky and a lot more whiney. Rice-a-roni. She ached for it. It went something like this:

Britt: "I. am. starving."
Grant: "Go eat something."
5 minutes later...
Britt: "Uhhh I'm freakin' hungry."
Grant: "Eat something already."
3 minutes later...
Britt "I am so hungry."
Grant: "Do you want me to make you something? What do you want?"
Britt: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh I don't know... Nothing sounds good!"
Grant: "We have plenty of food."
Britt: "Nothing sounds good."
Grant: "Ok..."
Britt: (makes really annoyed sigh)
1.5 minutes later...
Britt: "Rice-a-roni sounds good."
Grant: (sigh)
Britt: "All I want is Rice-a-roni, nothing else sounds good."
Grant: "Well then make it."
Britt: "It takes forever!"
Britt: (sigh)
2 minutes later...
Britt: (sigh)
10 seconds later...
Britt: "I really want Rice-a-roni"
Grant: "You want me to make it for you?"
Britt: "No... It will take too long. I really want it though."
Grant: "You sure??"
Britt: "Yeah, I'm fine."
5 minutes later...
She-beast Britt: "AHHHHH! ALL I WANT IS CARBS!!! THAT'S ALL I WANT!!"
Had enough Grant: "Ok then..."

Wanting to prove to her we had all the carbs she could want, I preceded to the kitchen. I dumped the contents of a laundry basket out all over the floor and grabbed anything carbohydrate and filled the basket to overflowing. Trisket crackers, Saltine crackers, bread, bagels, pitas, tortillas, chips and ramen noodles walked into the living room with me. Britt all snuggled up on the couch couldn't be more puzzled at the sight. I walked straight over to her and dumped the entire basket on top of her. We both laughed uncontrollably. In the end I think she only ended up eating 2 Pringles.

It is times like last night that I realize how lucky I am that I married my best friend.

why i love my wife: reason #742

Grant Posting:

Sometimes when I get ready in the bathroom I forget to put things away.

Sometimes when Britt gets ready in the bathroom she forgets to put things away.

aching for them

pretty much i have no idea when the last time was when i wanted something so bad. at least something materialistic. since i study jcrew like it's my part time job, i noticed these the second they hit the site. grant's sperry's are my favorite, but i am a sucker for guys in boat shoes. they are THE iconic deck shoe, such a true american original. and now someone AMAZING made them in a platinum gold??? oh my gosh i can't contain my excitement. and ya know what? i think that is such a happy feeling. to love something. whenever you find a song you love and listen to it over and over... one that you love turning up really loud in the car. or even a movie, it's so fun to have favorite movies with parts or scenes that make you laugh or cry every time. the journey of finding yourself and what makes up you is such a cool process (especially because we are always changing). and finding your own personal style fits right into that. this is another reason why i love love love my tumblr pages. posting pictures of what you love helps in finding yourself. i've saving my pennies and can't wait to put these on my feet. one day grant and i will go sailing wearing our sperry's.

oh olivia.

olivia palermo. maybe not the nicest person on the city but i don't really care. i get bored with whitney and i really only watch the show to see what olivia is wearing. stylist or not, she always looks perfectly put together. her elegant wear to her casual outfits are just SPOT on. i am so inspired by her. she frequently unites classic pieces with trendy... which i really love. she never fails to mix patterns, textures, embellishments and color. so creative. i wish i could have a variety of events to attend, that way i could dress up a bit more. utah is very casual and the holiday sparkle is really making me want to put some glamour into my outfits. we go on a company cruise each year and don't get me wrong, i look forward to seeing the sun, but mainly i just can't wait to dress up formally. anyway i love her.

p.s. check grant out here just being a man.

friday favorites

i really wanted this. found here

check out these celebrity hairstyles. is drew barrymore serious?

jack really does know best.

grant subscribed to these on his phone. and i think everyone should! they are great.

this has to be every mommies worst nightmare.

absolute miracle. thanks for sharing chloe!

watched this the other night and it was fascinating. we didn't even see the other bird!

yummy yummy apple dip.

it's that time for a good closet clean up. here are helpful tips. i love real simple.

i love how clever and creative people are. perfect holiday gift for a neighbor!

i love her pictures. i love when a photographer can capture real life in photos.

read her philosophy here.

i'm also so touched by this family film she helped with. i really love it a lot.

a lot a lot.

new goal. starting today....

Kitchen Dancer (Grant Posting)

So, it's almost midnight and I am cramming for a functional anatomy lab midterm tomorrow and getting REALLY spent on this whole studying thing. Needless to say I am getting a little cranky. Whenever I get like this Britt springs to the rescue... a few minutes ago she started asking things like, "What will make you really happy right now?" followed by, "You want me to get you a treat? ...you want me to clean up the house? ...you want me to do a dance for you?"

Nuff said. I decided that I was going to have to take her up on that last one.

So, being the supportive wife that she is, she started dancing around the kitchen while I studied (not that kind of dance, c'mon calm down). Anywho, not 30 seconds into her charade I heard a slam! followed by an, "Ouch!" Come to find out, whilst flailing her arms about, the open dishwasher rack struck her hand. Trying not to laugh I began to say, "Britt, are you ok?" Then I heard the line of the night, "Man, that happens every time I dance in the kitchen!"

Come to find out my wife is quite the closet kitchen dancer while I am not around.

Also, she actually has had a number of run-ins with the dishwasher, countertop, chairs, cupboards, etc.

My wife is a woman of many hidden talents, I can't wait to see what she has in store for me next...

And now for something completely unrelated:

Random Wife Advice: When a husband asks, "How much was it?"

"I don't remember" is not a good answer.

friday favorites

picture. but it's really a picture of us.

this saves my life all the time. totally took care of an OIL spot on grant's shirt last week. it ALWAYS works!

this is making my countertops smell so fresh. makes cleaning more exciting.

best thing in my kitchen. seriously. so refreshing.

loving the current season of this, can't wait for new season of this.

how did i ever live without this?

i want to make it the signature smell of the barnes' home.

i do not love this because it's a healthier choice, its just the best tasting.

i'm so obsessed.

this reminds me way too much of grant. oh i love him.

is it weird that i hate this talk but love it too?

the stylist working here deserves a raise.

i just don't get how this store manages to pull off the most fabulous outfits i've ever seen. i find myself wanting one of everything. ugh, while i click through it all, i start to get in a bad mood.

have a wonderful weekend everyone.

i'm so glad i can have granty poo all to myself because his homework is ruining my life!

pictures that i love today

image via shannonbyhand

image via smadirty

image via smadirty

image via shannonbyhand

image via shannonbyhand