Wednesday Wish-List: Arrowhead Jewelry

1. Jasper Arrowhead Ring $12

2. Chevron Feather BRacelet $32

3. Stone Arrowhead Drop Earrings $9.99

4. Arrowhead Necklace $10

Arrowheads remind me of the hot summer days and backpacking in the hot desert land of Utah.  I spend two summers as a wilderness instructor for a 12-step Wilderness Therapy Program.  We would hike the desert land of Southern Utah and come across petroglyphs, dinosaur tracks, and other rare finds. Normally people wouldn't venture to these sites for they were in the back country and you had to travel far on foot to reach them.  These memories I hold dear to my heart.  

Go Go Joe!

This weekend Chase and I went to Best Buy in Orem, UT.  While we were there we saw Donny Osmond. I could not work up the courage to talk to him, but I did end up day dreaming of walking up to him and busting out a song from Joseph and the Amazing Colored Dream Coat.  I pictured him soon singing along, then suddenly the whole store would break out into singing and dancing.

My husband and I ended up pathetically singing many of the songs from the musical on our drive home and the rest of the weekend.  We had to make up some of the words because we had not remembered them all.  We aren't blessed with the gift of good singing voices but we shamelessly sang in duet the whole way home.  Thanks Donny for an enjoyable weekend!

Happy 50th Papa!

Dad, thanks for always being a wonderful example of a strong and caring man.  You have helped me in dark times and shared laughter in lighter times.  I am proud of the fact that I am your daughter.  I love you!  Happy Birthday!

Weekend Wonderment: Spring Cleaning

(via)

Ah it's that time again, for spring cleaning.  I know a lot of vintage inspired ad's can draw on the traditional and sometimes sexist notion that women are the ones who clean the home.  

In my home, both my husband and I have full-time jobs and we both clean the house.  I cook and my husband does the dishes (because he dislikes cooking and I dislike washing dishes).  All other chores we share, like laundry and picking up around the house.  Saturday we plan to clean together.  I feel it is important to share the responsibility of having a clean home.  

How do things work in your home?  If you are married or not, how do you split up the chores?

Weekend Review: Snow Cave

Let me start off by saying, never again.  Things were going great until about two thirty in the morning.  We arrived at the top of Farmington Canyon at about  4PM and began to dig ourselves a little nook in the side of the mountain.  The snow was deep, 15 feet or so. Digging and building the cave was fun and hard work.  We finished the cave at about seven or so and began to lay out our tarps and gear.  We changed into dry clothes and snuggled up in our sleeping bags.  We even cooked dinner in our "new home".

We had a great time playing "would you rather" and talking about random subjects until we finally fell asleep.  At two thirty, everyone woke up.  Something was wrong, we all knew it.  All four of us began to inspect the snow cave.  One side of the cave was bulging in.  The cave was getting smaller.  I jumped up and moved our packs away from the door (AKA hole we crawled in and out of).  We were snowed in, and the weight of the snow was effecting our cave. It was then we decided to dig our way out and "sleep" in the car. The thought of the cave collapsing on top of us made us all uncomfortable.   We didn't really sleep in the 17 degree temperature in the car.

Morning came a few hours later.  We attempted to get off the snow covered mountain to no avail.  We were stuck, only twenty feet from where we had parked at the top of the mountain. We ended up having three burly (and I mean burly) snowmobilers help us get our vehicle out of the snow.  Our second attempt we made it a little further, about half a mile, before getting stuck again.

Luckily angels were sent our way; a man with a big truck and the three burly snowmobilers were there to help us get out of our situation.  We finally made it home at about three in the afternoon with frozen toes, soggy clothes, and a grateful yet exhausted spirit.  Would I do it again?  No.  Do I regret doing it?  No. I built and slept in a snow cave.  Once in my life is good enough for me!  I hope you all had a marvelous weekend!

Don't miss out on entering the $20 giveaway to Ande Monster Vintage!

Weekend Review: Canyoneering

This past weekend the hubs and I and seven others ventured out into the red rocks for some canyoneering near Moab, UT.  It turned out to be more of an adventure than we had originally planned.  We camped the night before and woke to a cold gray day.  We arose from our warm sleeping bags and slipped into comfortable layers of outdoor gear.  We hiked until we got to the canyon mouth, our first repel.  The first five repels went smoothly.  We gently lowered ourselves down the ropes one by one lower and lower into the canyon.  

The canyon was gorgeous; tall red rock engulfed us and we found ourselves looking up at the majesties of this world.  Though it was quite cold, it worked to our advantage.  We did not have to get wet because all the water pools were frozen over.  We had our very own ice skating rinks to twirl and to slip on with not a soul in sight.

It sprinkled here and there yet the sun poked it's head out to say hello now and again.  The weather was a bit bi-polar.  At the last repel, a 205 footer, was when mother nature turned it's ugly head.  The winds came howling in at 50 miles per hour.  We all felt nervous because we knew a storm was headed our way.  We set up the gear while our jackets and pants flapped violently in the wind.  The first person went over the edge down the flailing rope to our end point.  

We were all putting on a brave face to help one another feel a little better about the situation.  As soon as the last person's feet hit the ground the storm burst from the clouds above.  I truly believe we were being watched from above, other wise that nasty wind would have blown that storm in much faster.  In the end we were all a little more aware of our senses and emotions.  

It was a memorable trip with good laughs and good company.  We experienced a fearful encounter together, and in these times, it's comfortable to be around such strong people.  I hope you all had a fun and adventurous weekend!  What's in store for this next weekend?  Snow shoeing and building and sleeping in an igloo for me!  I love the diverse regions of Utah.

{Remember to enter in the Photo Print Giveaway!}

Collections

I am a collector of sorts.  Milk glass, vintage post cards, mid-century brass home decor, and antique books are among some of the things I collect.  All the items above came from antique stores, thrift stores or yard sales.  I truly adore items with character and with a story behind them.  What do you collect?

{don't forget to enter the CSN giveaway!}

Fabulous Friday Finds: Grandmother's Ring

I never knew Great Grandma Martinez.  I heard stories yes, tasted her recipes, saw pictures... But she pasted away before I came to this earth.  My mother had some of her jewelry in which she kept in her jewelry box.  Growing up I would always "borrow" the jewelry.  Most of the jewelry had turquoise in it.  It was always large and exotic looking.  I think this is where my taste of extravagant jewelry comes from.  I could never wear studs or small simple rings.  The jewelry I wear has to be unique in size and color, preferably with a story behind it.  Anyways, there was a ring that once was my Great Grandmothers that I would always wear.  I was searching on etsy earlier this week and I was astonished to find the exact same ring on Recycled Wares.    I snatched it up as fast as I could.  It currently resides on my right hand.  Now I don't have to borrow it from my mom, she'll be happy!  And each time I look down at my hand I will be reminded of where I came from.  Each time I look at it I smile, because one day I will meet my Great Grandma Martinez in heaven.

Fabulous Friday Finds: Finding Love

Sometimes you find love in the strangest places.  I have found love is usually present in the little things or in the people you may take for granted.  You only see it when you choose to see it.  When you look for it, you will find it.  The point is, love is strange and sometimes we loose sight of it and where it comes from.  So what does this have to do for a type writer I found at a thrift store?  

I was taking photographs of the charming thing when I thought it would be nice to get pictures of it from a different perspective.  I thought the metal letter keys were quite appealing in their aesthetic so I decided to see what words I could spell.  I gently pressed the keys down to see what words worked.  I was pleasantly surprised when all the keys came into place where I could spell love.  I found this warmed my heart because the keys had to correspond with the correct spelling left to right in order to do this.  If the "e" would have been to the left even one letter it would not have spelled out "l-o-v-e".  

To me, this simple alignment of the word "love" was so symbolic of love in real life.  You only see it when you look for it.  It may line up when you don't expect it to work out.  You may be surprised at what you find.

Wednesday Wish List

{This} three person chariot isn't asking too much is it?  Worksman Cycles teamed up with Tory Burch to create this one of a kind Family Fantasy Chariot.  Tory Burch designed the fabrics and colors using her eclectic and chic sense of style.  Now if only I had a third person in the family to (almost) justify the purchase.  Nudge nudge.  I'm baby hungry, what can I say?  

Two Years Today

Two years ago today I married my love Chase.  I can't believe we have been married for that long!  And that little.  It feels like we have been married forever in some ways and in other ways, it feels like we got married yesterday.  I know I am lucky to have married such a good man who loves me unconditionally.   He makes me a better person.  We have learned so much about ourselves and each other while on this journey together.  And it's a journey that will last forever.  

So since we got married in December we go pretty light with gifts on our anniversary (because we celebrate Christmas).  One tradition we have is making a photo book from our personal photos from the past years adventures.   Granted this is the second year we have done it, but by george, it is a tradition!  We also go out to dinner.   It's sushi tonight!  Have a lovely December 16th.  It only comes once a year!

Shades of Grey

Not everything is black and white in life.  Yes in some situations "wrong" and "right" are very clear, though not always easy to choose which one to go with.  Sometimes I find myself in grey areas where either situation is good.  Like with the shake I had tonight.  Cookie Dough or Snickers?  I chose snickers.  Scrumptious it was.  But now I am looking at applying for another position within the company I work for.  I am in a grey area.  I shall weigh my pro's and con's.  Either way I think I will end up just fine.  It's the grey areas in life where you often get stuck.  I, currently, am in the midst of a grey fog.

{COAT 1}

{COAT 2}

Weekend Wonderment

Hello fabulous readers of mine.  It was been a busy busy time in my life.  We moved into a new apartment.  I have been adapting to my new job, my third job at that.  I have been trying to accept the fact that it is winter (though sweaters and boots really help me overcome the dark cold weather).  I have not had internet at the new apartment so it's been difficult to respond to you, my readers, and I apologize for that.  (I have to get on the internet at the in-laws or on my breaks at work).  I am not trying to complain.  I am actually very happy right now, though quite busy.  Things are good.  And it is the holiday season.  I do love Christmas and Thanksgiving.

This weekend I will be spending some time around downtown Salt Lake City, UT taking polaroid pictures of the city.  I found a pack of ten polaroid film at a thrift store for .50 cents.  No seriously.  I cannot tell you how excited I was!  If you do not know about polaroid cameras, just know the film runs for about $40 on ebay for the film I got for .50 cents.  Ridiculous!  If you have not heard of The Impossible Project and you have a polaroid camera, you must check it out.  They have silver and color polaroid film for varying polaroid cameras.  If you have a polaroid 600 camera like mine, you can find the silver shade film {here} for $23.  The film goes fast so if it is in stock, go for it. 

I will share the SLC polaroids with you next week!  What will you be up to this fine weekend?

{Read more about The Impossible Project HERE}
Photo found {here}

Consider This.

I feel this is a lesson that surfaced again in my life this weekend.  Regis and Virginie were wonderful example of people who are non-judgmental and who really get to know people for who they are.  I am LDS and I know there are some negative stereotypes around being LDS. However they were so open to learning about my beliefs and accepting who I am.  When you are firm in who you are you are able to listen to others and learn about different ideas and beliefs without feeling threatened.  When you are unstable with who you are you feel threatened and closed off to other's differences.  I hope we can all be more accepting to other's beliefs and our differences.  Dare I say that we celebrate them.

My Best Friend

"To a sister that has stayed true to her title. To a woman that defeats jealousy with flattery, frustration with understanding, stagnation with growth - Conquers fears with curiosity, failure with perseverance. A woman who loves rather than hates: My love and respect go out to you, Now and forever. ♥ I love you."

That is what my little sister wrote me today. She is my best friend.  


Remember to enter my GIVEAWAY {HERE}.

Lips of Confidence

When the lovely Alyssa from Project You approached me about using these lips to pass along the spirit of Project You I was ecstatic!  I have mentioned PY before on my blog.  If you want to know more details go {HERE} or check out my interview with Alyssa from Project You.  In the past, Project You's message has been passed around the world (literally) using heart shaped sun glasses.  Now we have the pleasure of passing on these fun lip props from whisker works.

So, Project You is about empowering woman to be more confident in their lives and really see the beauty within.  Here are some of my adventures with the lips and how I took that message to heart: 

First I took the lips on a climbing weekend with just me and the hubs which I blogged about {HERE}.  That weekend my husband and I climbed really well and overcame our fear of lead climbing.  We kicked butt is what I am trying to say.

I took the lips to a job interview and nailed it!  I got the job I was really hoping to get.  I am now working at the homeless shelter.  

I also took the lips on one of my photo shoots with my little sister.  Being in front of a camera teaches you to be more comfortable with your looks.  I have really learned a lot from modeling for my store and having the lips there really helped me make that connection.

Last but not least, I shared the lips with both my mom, grandmas, and my great grandma as we sat and visited in the kitchen at my mom's house.  Four generations of strong woman, where else can you feel that confident and beautiful?  It was so fun to take pictures with the lips with the women in my family.  Seeing them have fun and be themselves at any age was empowering.  

Be a part of this movement for empowering women.  Start by checking out Project You.  Seriously, it was so fun to be a part of something that stretches worldwide with such a strong message.  It has touched my heart.  And my lips.  

Night Rock Climbing

Rock climbing in the dark certainly brings a different element of fear of the unknown into climbing.  Climbing is so symbolic; which is one why reason I love it.  It brings in issues of trusting yourself, your partner, and your surroundings.  It helps you discover how far you can push yourself.  It helps you get over your fears and gain confidence.  How you climb is very reflective of how you are doing emotionally in a lot of ways.  Adding in darkness gives climbing another level of trust.  Trust of the unknown. Trust that you can make it even though you might not be clear on how you'll do it.  You trust your feelings and instinct more than your eyes.  Which comes up a lot in life doesn't it?  I hope you learned something new about yourself this weekend.

Be sure to enter in my Lil Petite Jewelry giveaway {HERE}.