Top 10 Signs you are ready for you husband to come home.

10. You've been sleeping with a stuffed monkey at night.
9. You ate half a bag of Salt and Vinegar chips for dinner because you remembered that cooking isn't very fun if there is no one to cook for.
8. You've watched so many episodes of "So you think you can dance" that you are starting to actually think you can dance.
7. You have started seeing things at night... like men coming in your window, which actually turns out to be the big tree out back.
6. You remembered that you are afraid of the dark.
5. You have painted 3 layers of paint on your fingernails and really want to paint on a fourth.
4. You watched a spider crawl around your room all night only to get up the courage to smash it at six in the morning.
3. You then had to kill a spider in the shower too. Eeek!
2. You've had to take out the trash, twice!

And the number one sign you are ready for your husband to come home........

You just really miss your best friend.

Good news... he is coming home tonight!

Free Time Fix

Its summer time. And growing up that meant free time. Time to play in the ditch, to hide away in my bedroom reading book after book, time to watch Maury Povich because there was nothing else to watch on our 4 channel T.V.

Thank goodness growing up has given me a few more options for my "free time". I've put together a survivors guide to free time a.k.a. your husband is out of town time.

1. Find yourself some new polish. And branch out a little. I picked Dim Sum Plum. (click the try it on button, to try it on).
2. Get yourself a "show" to watch. Make it really girly if you can. It makes this "free time" even better. Is anyone else out there watching SYTYCD? My favorites are Melanie, Sasha, and Marko.
3. And lastly, get yourself a project. I decided to pick one from my pinterest board. The original tutorial can be found here at thecottagehome.blogspot.com.

Here is how it turned out for me!


1. Gather the goods.
ModPodge
Clear acrylic sealer
Glue (fabric tac)
Felt
Tiles
A map (or scrap book paper
a sponge brush.
Its a bit of an investment for the modgepodge, glue, and sealer but the tiles, felt, and map cost under $2.00.

2. The tiles should be 4.25"x 4.25" which means the paper and the felt should be cut to 3.75"x 3.75"

3.Brush the tile with modpodge and place the paper on top. Let dry.


4. Brush another coat of modpodge on top of the tiles and allow to dry for 15 mins. Repeat 2-3 times.

5. Make some dinner while you wait for everything to dry.

6. Spray the top with the sealer according to the package instructions, attach the felt to the back and you are done!

*For this project I used old copies of maps that Alden had for rock climbing. I think I might try something with a little more color next time.

The gift that keeps on giving...

See that big box in the first picture?... The really cool wood one?.... Oh ya. That is my anniversary present. And I LOVE IT! "What is it?" you might ask. Good question. I don't know. All I know is that it plays music straight from the radio (and from records!) and blasts it through the entire house. So of course it is set to 103.7 (oldies) because what else would it play?.. Hip Hop? I think not.

Alden scored big on Saturday while I was helping with a friends wedding. Yep, you guessed it, a garage sale. We are addicts. In the best way of course. How could you resist this beauty tho?... PLUS we got the lamp, records, and record holder... for $20, that's highway robbery people!

I still haven't decided what I love more tho... our music box or this awesome homemade sign Alden made. I think I will keep it up all year. Ya know, celebrate ALL our anniversary's. And if you aren't convinced yet, Alden also got me peonies (see picture #2). That sealed the deal, icing on the cake, cherry on top. That boy is the apple of my eye I tell you. And you remember our credenza of course!

Aren't you proud of me for posting pictures of the house too?.... Its coming along. This little cottage is turning into a mid century meets modern mash up and we love it. Come visit us, PLEASE!

Stay tuned this week. Alden is out of town so I will be doing all sorts of projects and posts!

Happy Anniversary!

*pictures by the talented Justin Hackworth

Happy one year anniversary to my best friend.
Thank you for a first year full of laughs and adventure.
You are my everything. I can't wait for our many years to come.

ps. Stay tuned for some postage this week (I know, I've been slacking!)
I can't wait to show you what Alden gave me for our anniversary, seriously...
this guys is THE BEST.

Girls Reunion

I'm sitting in the Oakland airport.. getting ready to fly out to Utah for the annual girls reunion! My grandma Shaum a few years back started the tradition of a girls reunion. I think it stems mostly from an old family saying, "Boys go with boys and girls stay home". Well girls, we are stayin home no mo.

What you can expect from a Shaum girls reunion.
• Food
• Recipe exchanges
• Crafts
• Movies
• Shopping
• Money jar game
• Prizes!
• at least 1 workout... usually humerous or insanly intense in nature
• Food
• Laying out by the pool
• Swimming
• Hiking
• Seeing a play at the local outdoor theater
• More food

Bring on the party time!... The blogging may be few and far between.
So please stand by :)