Color me crafty!

Once upon a time, Brandon and I drove to Virginia for a med school interview. While there, I found myself strolling through the mall to kill time, and a miracle occurred. I found the most comfortable, best fitting pants of my life. They were on sale for $2; I nearly passed out. Obviously, I bought them.

After bring these beautiful pants into my life, I thought I would wear them every day. But, I soon realized that wouldn't be happening. You see, these pants were white. Very, very white.

 

It seemed that every time I wore them, I would spill ketchup, or sit in mud, or my kiddos would smear some unknown substance down the leg. I would stare at these pants in my closet with equal parts longing, and fear.

Until I was watching Project Runway one night, and got the idea to dye them! 

 I got Tulip brand fabric dye, because that's what the Walmart near me carries, for about $2 each.

I was going for a plum/wine color, so I got one red and one purple, and followed the instructions on the package, mixing about 3/4 purple to 1/4 red.

Thank goodness for stainless steel sinks!

And the finished result! Now, I live in these pants!

The color is very even, and vibrant even after washing the pants a few times! 

I love happy endings.

Yum!

Just a few of the things I've been eating lately.

Pioneer Woman's roast chicken

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/08/roast-chicken/

Yum to the billionth degree. There should never be any other roast chicken recipe but this one. 

Onion Straws

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/03/onion-strings-oh-yeah-baby/

I made these to go alongside some meatloaf and potatoes, but ate the entire batch before it ever got to dinner time. Literally, I ate an entire onion. Dip them in dome ranch or honey mustard, delicious!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Rollups

http://rindymae.blogspot.com/2013/04/cinnamon-cream-cheese-roll-ups.html

These are just as yummy hot out of the oven, or chilled the next morning!

Gooey Caramel Popcorn

http://m.prettyprovidence.com/xamrq1s/articles/56247/Aunt-Val-s-Caramel

Portia and Margot have been begging me to make this popcorn every day. I used lightly salted, but otherwise plain, popcorn.

Passion for Fashion Friday

Check out my new sequined shirt! 

I got this shirt from a website called Twice, that buys and sells high-end used clothes at some serious discounts. And when you make an account with them, and download their free app, they give to $20 to spend with them. Free. Seriously, check out my free blazer.

To sign up with Twice, click here: https://liketwice.com/CC9qq

God Bless America

I found this fitting for today.

Hot Dr Pepper

By now, you should all be aware of my passionate love affair with Dr Pepper. I drink it daily, and love pretty much every flavor! It's caffeinated yumminess is my go-to beverage.

Well, Brandon recently came across a vintage ad for hot Dr Pepper.

Intriguing, right? Who knew that this used to be a thing?

Apparently, you just heat a can of Dr Pepper in a saucepan over the stove, add a thin slice of lemon, and curl up with a steamy mug next to a crackling fire.

Naturally, being the DP addict that I am, I had to try it out.

I was pleasantly surprised! It had the consistency of a smooth herbal tea, and tasted quite yummy! I found out that the key is a really thin lemon slice, as it can be quite overpowering.

Side note: When I was pregnant with Margot, I drove to Sonic everyday for a large Dr Pepper with lemon. Everyone thought I was nuts. After having her, I tried it again and was disgusted. Pregnancy cravings, man.

This tastes nothing like that weird, hormone-induced concoction. For some reason, the lemon with heated DP is tasty!

 I probably won't be having this wintry treat again anytime soon, as it is still 3000 degrees here in AZ, but when (or if) it cools down, I foresee myself indulging often!

Ombre Lips

I tried some new makeup today! My inspiration is this look from Linda Hallberg;

Gorgeous, right? I like the two-toned lip; it's very subtle and doesn't look trashy.

What do you think?

Carrie's favorite story

Guys, I think this is seriously the most embarrassing story of my life, and one of my Carrie-sister's all time faves.

Honestly, I've shared pretty much all my embarrassing stories with you. Like the time I flashed my dance class, or the time I drooled in front of my crush, or when my kids made a serious mess in the library, and when I got in the wrong car at Target.

I am a firm believer that being able to laugh at myself is one of my strongest traits. So I usually have no problems sharing some of my most humiliating antics.

But I have never shared this story. Until now.

Precursor: 

If you are under the impression that I have never passed gas, turn back now. That's right, folks, this story is about flatulence.

Travel with me in your mind, back about 5 1/2 years ago. Brandon and I were newlyweds, I was pregnant with our first daughter, and we were both in school. 

Now, as a young couple with no children, Brandon and I spent most of our free time laughing and joking with one another. We had a lot more time on our hands to watch movies, laugh at elaborate inside jokes, and create silly traditions.

Of of these jokes, was probably the silliest thing you'll ever hear. Whenever one of us would pass gas, we would say, in the most ridiculous southern accent, "I tooted!" (With the accent, it sounded a bit like "Ah tee-you-ted!")

Every time. At first it was just a funny thing to say, then it became habit. I don't think either of us realized we said it anymore. Which was fine; it was just the two of us.

Until one day it wasn't.

I was in hair school at the time, and one afternoon, I was sitting in the break room at the school with about 15 other students. I had wedged my pregnant self onto a table with 2 of my friends, because the chairs in the room were all full. As we sat there chatting, I felt a fart coming.

I tried to hold it in, I really did, but sometimes these things can't be helped.

It broke loose, and without thinking about it, I announced to the whole room, "I tooted!" rather loudly, in the accent and everything.

Everyone stopped and stared at me. Crickets chirped.

One of the friends sitting next to me looked at me like I was crazy, and said "Did you really?" 

What was I to do?!? If I own up to it, they all think I'm gross. If I lie, and say that I was just kidding, then I'm the weird girl who interrupted an entire room of conversation to falsely announce that I let one rip. 

Guys, I owned up to it. I quietly answered that yes, I had in fact tooted. They all continue to stare. 

I decided to run. I excused myself to go check my phone or some other transparent excuse, and tried to quickly and quietly sneak from the room. But, being pregnant, and sitting up on a table, this wasn't an easy task. As I scooted inch by inch to the edge of the table where I could perform my dismount, all eyes were still on me. And I'm pretty sure the intensity of my blush actually singed my eyebrows.

Here's the kicker. The fart was actually quiet enough, that had I kept my mouth shut, chances are that no one would have noticed at all. 

I came home from school that day, told Brandon that we had to break that habit immediately, and seriously considered wearing a bag over my head to school the next day.

Things I'm lovin' today.

Today was rough. Really just an all around no-good, crappy day.

And on days where it seems that everything is going wrong, I like to think of all the things that are going right, to remind myself how awesome my life is.

So, here are:

Things I'm Lovin' Today

1. Portia is doing really well in school. She likes her teacher, has friends in her class, and doesn't get stressed or worried throughout the day. I'm so proud of her!

2. Margot is doing really well without Portia here all day! I was worried that the adjustment would be hard for her, but honestly, she hardly seems to notice that Portia is gone. She is actually loving it! I think she is really excited to be in charge of what shows she watches, what games she plays, etc.

3. I am a pretty darn good hairstylist, so when I do my hair at home by myself, and it doesn't turn out quite right, I can fix it. (Bet you can't guess one of the things that went wrong today - that's right, I did my hair by myself, and it didn't turn out quite right.)

4. Brandon is a saint. When he came home tonight to a grumpy wife and messy house, he listened to me complain, gave me a hug and a kiss, and helped me put the girls to bed without a second thought. He then suggested that I go take a bubble bath to relax. 

Best husband ever.

5. I got to take a bubble bath.

6. While today sucked, I still really like Arizona. Our house is adorable now that we've gotten all our furniture set up, and we really like the schools and town. We love it!


What are you loving today?

The canyon is grand.

We have now been living in Arizona for about a month, and this last weekend, took a day trip up to the Grand Canyon! 

Brandon was thinking that since he will continue to get busier with school, he won't have a ton of time for seeing the sights. So we'd better do it while we can. And it's a crime to live in AZ, and not see the Grand Canyon.

So we packed up the babies in the car, along with some snacks and sunscreen, and took off! 

We are lucky enough to live only about 3 hours away from the South Rim of the Canyon, so it wasn't too bad of a drive. The girls actually slept most of the time!

Ready for the pictures?

We had a blast! The Canyon is so surreal; I have no words to describe it! If you ever get the chance to go, do it!