find your look

I've been reading a couple chapters of Tina Fey's autobiography Bossypants when I get in bed at night. I end up giggling to myself, by the light of my booklight, like a crazy person. Sounds a little creepy I know. But just let me just give you a tiny taste and you'll understand.

"It can't be said enough. Don't concern yourself with fashion; stick to simple pieces that flatter your body type. 
By 19, I had found my look. Oversize T-shirts, bike shorts, and wrestling shoes. To prevent the silhouette from being too baggy, I would cinch it at the waist with my fanny pack. I was pretty sure I would wear this look forever. The shirts allowed me to express myself with cool sayings like 'There's No Crying in Baseball' and 'Universtat Heidelberg', the bike shorts showed off my muscular calves, and the fanny pack held all my trolley tokens. I was nailing it on a daily basis. Find something like this for yourself as soon as possible." 

Do you see the type of invaluable information this book has to offer? Love it. That Tina Fey and I share our sense of fashion. However, when I went through that phase I was only about 8 years old. (Though I must say, thanks to the cycle of fashion, today's trends are not too far off the mark).

work is so much more fun when it's cute

Since I've started freelancing, I've discovered the need to have a desk back (I moved ours into storage when I turned our 2nd bedroom into the nursery). It just not optimal conditions to do all my research/writing on the couch, in front of the TV, with the laptop on my lap. Especially when Jared is watching something and does his signature high volume laugh, and tells me "watch this" every ten minutes. lol.
So I began scouring KSL for a tiny table/desk that would be appropriately sized for our little apartment, and possibly function as a decor piece as well. I was looking for little secretary desks, roll tops, "entry" type tables, brainstorming different options.

One morning I saw a new post for this:

I know it doesn't look all that amazing, but I saw potential in it! The size was just right. Plus I thought outside the box and figured with a cute mirror hung above it, and a little stool it was perfect to be used as a bedroom vanity as well! I have always wanted a vanity, but haven't come across one at the right price.

I loved that I wouldn't have to just throw it out when we have a bigger place someday, it will just get repurposed into my bedroom vanity! Of course it needed a makeover badly.

So off I went to Lowe's in search of supplies.

24 hours later, my $10 find looked like this:

Goodbye wooden knobs, hello victorian glass!

Here's a close up of the glaze

Of course the inside had to be cute as well

Can't you just envision it someday filled with makeup, my curling iron and blowdryer, and topped with bottles of perfume? And a big oval mirror will hang over it :-)

But in the meantime.... it makes me excited to do some work! And the BEST part? It's the exact dimensions of Emmett's changing table and the color matches his Dr. Seuss room! So out goes the changing table, and in comes the desk!

Now I have a place to go to when I need peace and quiet (well as much as our little shoebox offers anyway!)  

there's something in the air

I LOVE Fall. I have already equipped the house with a citrus spice plug-in and candle, and purchased a new palette of fall nail colors. I adore fall fashion. Layers and layers, chunky knits, warm boots. The air is charged with energy in autumn, and you can feel it stir your spirits when you walk outside. The wind smells like leaves and bonfires and begs you to come venturing up the canyons...

...And I can't refuse

Head on up the mountains and take in the beautiful world of colors before it's covered in snow!

growing like a weed

{18 months}

This miniature GQ model has just been growing up so fast lately. He is becoming so smart and independent (which sometimes can be a problem - he's VERY headstrong!!). He just does his own thing a lot of times.

He LOVES LOVES Elmo right now, but even when we're home he prefers to watch his dvds on our little travel dvd player rather than the TV. It makes him feel important - and I think he feels like it's his laptop.

He's also obsessed with ballons and balls. We can literally be like 50 yards away from a balloon and he'll start saying "boon....boon" and pointing. Sometimes Jared and I doubt him and are like, "sorry buddy, i dont see any balloons." But the joke's always on us. A few seconds later we'll realize there is a balloon in some obscure location only Emmett could spot.

Everything round is a "ball" and he wants to throw it or bounce it. Watch out.

He will now point to his body parts as you ask him to, which is adorable. He's got nose, eyes, teeth, belly button, hair, and toes down pat. Lips are a little confusing to him, and ears are a new addition. Jared keeps thinking it's funny to teach him where his "bum bum" is, but I always put the kabash on that. haha.

Its seems like he just decided one day he wanted to start talking, because he pretty much started saying all these words in a matter of days:

• dog (woof woof)
• tee tee (cat)
• bird (tweet tweet)
• roll
• snacks
• bebe (baby)
• more
• boon (balloon)
• ball
• what-what (we dont know exactly what this one means as he's used it in various contexts. Whatever it is he sure likes saying it though!)
• Mom, Dad, and Ba ba of course
• ha (hat but said without the t)
• NO - he's been really good at that one for a long time
• Hmmmm! (elephant noise) haha
• "Jake" and "Kenji" have both been said once (Jared's bro and my sister Kendall)

He's ridiculously into his shoes, and has certain ones that are his favorites. He picks out the pair he wants each morning and brings them to me, whining for me to put them on.

I have so much more I could say about this little munchkin, but I'll stop there for now and just leave you with this picture. It says it all.

he enjoys being a... boy?

The other morning I was curling my hair, and I gave in and took the cabinet lock off one of the lower cabinets for Emmett. This way I could actually have a solid 10 minutes to do my thing and Emmett would stay near so I could keep a close eye. This cabinet only holds harmless things like hair tools, accessories, and nailpolish (only semi-safe in Emmett's case) - so I figured it would be a great place for him to "organize".
Little did I know... organizing is exactly what he planned to do. I looked down a few minutes later and beheld this sight.

He had taken my nailpolishes out one by one and was arranging them in perfect order. Can't you just see his focus? Notice the headband as well. He loves his headbands. I thought it was so hilarious.

Yep, that's our boy. Macho enough to be hangin out shirtless with a skull-n-crossbones tattoo on his chest, yet confident enough to be sporting a nice hair accessory and organizing the beauty products. Perfection at its finest.

writing machine

Faithful readers (if I still have any - I wouldn't blame you if I don't!) ... I have not abandoned you! I have had an incredible opportunity fall into my lap and have been fully embracing it. Writing has always been my passion, and recently a friend needed some freelance articles done. I have been writing up a storm in the mornings, during Emmett's naptime, and late at night when both Jared and Emmett have gone to bed. It has been so wonderful to get the creative juices in my mind flowing again! (well i guess not so much creative, as they are pretty technical articles)

so maybe I don't have the luxury of writing on the beach, but this is where I mentally imagine myself when I go into the zone haha. How awesome would that be??

Any spare minute I have had has been dedicated to researching and writing - so needless to say I haven't quite had it in myself to get on the good ol' blog and write more.

However, I do want to keep up to date for my own purposes and there are some recent events I need to post about soon. I am so excited by the prospect of having a writing career from my own home! What could be more perfect for me? Stay tuned and I promise I'll be back soon with a more substantial post and lots of pictures!

25 random facts about yours truly

I wrote this about 2 1/2 years ago for a chain-letter type thing going around Facebook (was it really that long ago??) I came across it the other day and had a good time re-reading it. Check it out, you may just learn something about me you never knew :-)


1. My middle name is Farrell. No significance or meaning at all, but I like that it’s unique.


2. I have an obsession with Oreos and milk. Double stuffed oreo’s to be exact, and they must be eaten with milk. Oreo’s are kept stocked in our apartment as essentially as bread and milk.
* I must say, I've improved on this one. I had to force myself to stop buying Oreos so I could prevent binging


3. I am a scent-fanatic. I love everything to smell good, and live by aromatherapy.


4. I love books, and I read like crazy. I could easily spend an entire day inside a Barnes and Noble, and my dream is to someday have a huge library in my house (sliding ladder and all).


5. I am weirdly paranoid about food poisoning, but raw meat in particular. I don’t like touching it, cutting it, looking at… Raw meat in general just grosses me out.


6. I am also OCD about teeth. I brush mine several times a day…every time I leave the house, usually after every meal. I am addicted to the minty, fresh feeling but don’t like always chewing gum.


7. On that same note, I am a little bit of a tooth nazi in my judgments of others. To be honest I have a really hard time with people who have yellow teeth, or teeth with gaps in them. It’s hard to look past!


8. I was in the spelling bee for three years in elementary school.


9. I have an addictive personality. This can include people, working out, TV shows, books, hobbies etc. When I find something I like, it tends to become an obsession.


10. I think massages are the absolute greatest discovery of mankind. I could get one everyday. In fact I try… but Jared doesn’t go for it.


11. I love organization in every form. Day planners, Home décor, school work, calendars…I especially love when it involves buying new, cute things.


12. One of my biggest pet peeves is people bragging about the wildest, stupidest things they did “back in the day.” Grow up, move on, get over it.


13. I am a huge dog lover. I get attached to them as if they are part of the family. I can’t wait to finally live somewhere where I’m allowed to have one again!


14. Actually I have an abnormal affection for all animals (besides reptiles) and Jared teases me all the time that I should join PETA.


15. I get really annoyed by the complete lack of morality on TV.


16. Due to a hard snowboarding fall, I now have a dimple on my left cheek that did not used to be there. People just assume I was born with it, but apparently it’s a calcium deposit that will go away over time.


17. I am a major sweet tooth. I’d choose to sacrifice dinner for dessert any day.


18. I could speak French fluently, but doubt that I can anymore due to lack of practice. I am still dying to go to Europe.


19. I think I may legitimately suffer from seasonal affective disorder. I am significantly happier on warm, sunny days.


20. It freaks me out when my hearing is blocked and I’m alone. Examples: Vacuuming and showering while home alone both make me nervous because I can’t hear what’s going on around me.


21. I thrive off of human interaction. I have a really hard time and get depressed when I’m not genuinely connecting with people.


22. I am an eighth Filipino, though I’m usually told I look more.


23. I can be really indecisive about trivial things. Like spending 5 minutes deciding what dish soap I want to buy, then getting home and wondering if I made the wrong decision…haha


24. I miss my family a LOT, and it’s been really hard for me to adjust to not going home anymore.
* I FINALLY have my family near and don't have to be homesick anymore! Yay! It's so fun being able to get together with them on a regular basis.



25. There is nothing better than “Neopolitan Dynamite” ice cream by Ben & Jerry. (And Leatherby's ice cream of course)

There you have it! An indepth look at moi. Other than a couple corrections, I haven't

changed much in these past couple years! Now it's your turn to do one!

.