Vintage Chairs

Howdy!
So I have been in this crazy nesting mode lately, which is weird because I am not pregnant nor do I really have the funds to be doing this, but it's happening!
I have been in this struggle to replace our dining room chairs for months now. I got my table and chairs from my parents when I moved out after college and I loved them, but I had to say a prayer anytime I scooted.
I ordered some chairs, didn't like them. I ordered some other chairs, didn't like them. After returning two sets of chairs (WARNING: Never order chairs from the Internet especially if you are an indecisive individual), I decided to purchase chairs that I could actually see and sit on in real life, imagine that!
Enter The Brass Armadillo
I love antique stores. Living in Phoenix, we don't have a plethora of antique stores so this one is a gem!

You could get flowers made from plates and glasses...

Or even a throne...

Hidden among the maze of merchandise were these potential treasures.

Please ignore how messy my house is in the background... I was in the middle of chaotic impromptu reorganizing.

OK, look past the ugly blue fabric and try to see the hidden beauty that I see. Once these bad boys are reupholstered, they are going to go-or-geous! Not to mention I got a screaming deal, these are worth about $200 each and I can tell you right now that I paid nowhere near that amount. Boom.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

High +/or Five + For + Friday

My first week back to work after my brief summer hiatus didn't make me as bitter as I thought it was going to be. Curriculum writing isn't exactly physically exhausting, but mentally taxing with all of the nitpicking and over analyzing. One more week and I'm a free woman once again!

Here's my week of good things!

Doing yoga at home with my two free-willed chihuahuas could've been frustrating, but I was so busy cracking up at their stellar interruption skills I didn't even worry about it. I think I will stick to going to the gym instead.

I discovered the blog, All Things Thrifty. It makes my heart go pitter-patter. I have so many projects swirling through my head that I can't wait to tackle!

It's hot out here! Holy cow, by now I should really be used to this since I have lived in Arizona for quite a while now, but geez it's supposed to be 111 degrees tomorrow! Yowza! I am thankful for a working AC unit that hasn't gone kaput (yet...)

Speaking of the heat, I ordered a new hat from KBJ's Monogram on Etsy that I had been eyeing on Pinterest for a while. I'm excited and want it to get here so soon!

The power of reframing undesirable situations always amazes me. It's a way to see something or someone from a different perspective and I try to remember to do that whenever I get frustrated. This has saved me this week in more ways than one.

Don't forget to link up!

AND

 Have a good weekend!

Currently, June

I can't believe it's already June! Here we go...

Thanks Farley!

I can't live without my phone, flip flops, and sunglasses especially on a vacation!

I got this new case the other day and love it! You can get it at Target.

My favorite flip flops by far are Yellow Box sandals. They are so cute and comfy. These are the next ones that I have my eye on...

Have a wonderful week!

Favorite Things

Helloooo!
Happy summer! Well at least it is for me, hopefully yours isn't too far away. I had my brief "bored" moment after school let out and then I got over myself and am ready to move on to enjoying my summer.
I have been seeing several blogs that I follow and they do a "Favorite Things" post or "Favorite Products". I don't know what it is, but I love seeing what other people use in their every day lives. Not sure if anyone else does, so if I am the only one who looks at this post, I will know that this is a curiosity that I share alone...

1.  Trader Joe's Coconut Body Butter
Oh my, I love this stuff. It's creamy, buttery, and smells so good. I put it on this morning and I still smell like coconuts 11 hours later! Of course, I have to really take a good sniff inhaling my skin practically, but I can smell it! Buy it, you won't regret it!

2.  Yankee Candle Spring Days
This smells like spring/summer in a candle. I know that was unexpected. The end.

3.  Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas
I never would have done this without my sister's urging, but making your own tortillas is amazing! I get my recipe from here.  You seriously need to invest in a tortilla press, but they aren't that expensive and it helps soo much (as evidenced below)...

4.  New Books
Thanks to some severely old Barnes and Noble gift cards, I was able to purchase two new books for only $9. I'm not sure if I am more excited about how little I paid or the books themselves, but I am pumped to read! Has anyone read these?

5.  Wedding Date
After many issues and trials/tribulations, my wedding date has finally been set, and it ain't changing!! Did you hear me?  It's in Sharpie marker on the calendar... stick a fork in it, one itty-bitty part done!

Sweet Dreams

I love it when my dogs dream in the middle of a deep sleep and their legs start twitching. I always wonder what they are dreaming about and if it involves pancakes or steak.  Since I just had a sighting of a dream twitch and because tomorrow is Friday, here is a little something to brighten your day!

If you don't have a green thumb, is it called a brown thumb?

I am notorious at killing plants. Honestly, I think there should probably be a wanted poster with my picture on it at any store where you can buy vegetation of some kind. Here is an example... I thought if I named it, it would live. It didn't live. Well, it's in the process of not living. She used to be real perky, now she slumps.

 Even though I have the worst track record, I am going to attempt to grow a little vegetable garden of my own. First thing I had to do was figure out what kind of soil I have. Apparently, dirt is not just dirt. It could be sand, clay, silt, cotton candy, jellybeans.... Depending on what your soil is made up of, you've gotta know what to add to it to make the perfect combo of soil. Living in Phoenix, I knew that my soil was not the best.

So all you have to do is take like half of a jar of soil (make sure there aren't any big rocks or sticks) and fill it up with a tablespoon each of laundry detergent and salt. Fill the rest of the jar with water and shake it. I mean shake it, shake it, shake it. When you think you can't shake anymore, shake it some more. OK, so only for 5 minutes, but it feels a lot longer.

Let it sit for a while and once all the particles have settled, see what you are working with. Here are the layers, sand is supposed to settle to the bottom first, then silt, and then clay. As you can see, I have a slight *humpth* clay issue.

 

This should be interesting but I am determined to make my garden successful! Just might have to mix a little something else like compost to make my soil usable. Wish me luck!

Couldn't Be Easier

With a new year beginning, everyone is always so focused on getting healthy. It's so easy to slip off of the track and get up to your old tricks without some kind of accountability. Enter My Fitness Pal.

This app is AmAzInG! Not only does it calculate your calories for you, but it also allows you to be linked with your friends so they can help you and cheer you on.  The thing that I loved the most about online Weight Watchers was the phone app that allowed you to easily enter in what you have eaten and what you did to work out. This is everything I love from that, but even better, it is FREE!

You weigh yourself, enter in your goal, and it sets your daily caloric intake all for you. Once you lose ten pounds, it adjusts itself and asks if you want to lower your calorie count to continue your awesome weight loss.

I was just about to enter my breakfast from this morning and thought you might want to join me! :)

The app keeps a record of things that you have entered in the past so it is super easy to pick out what you ate. Don't see what you want to add? Just search for the food and 97% of the time what you are looking for will pop up and be accurate.

Are any of you on My Fitness Pal? I would love more friends if you are! My username is chubby_bride (haha!).  Find meeeee!

P.S. I am not getting paid by anyone to endorse My Fitness Pal, I just dig it.

Adios,