Anthropologie Eye Candy

Instead of doing Product Review Friday, I am going to share some stuff that I like from one of my favorite stores, Anthropologie. Right now, financially they are a bit out of my reach, but in the spirit of Effective Affirmations, I will be able to shop there someday. Believe me, if I thought that we would always be Newlywed Broke, I would be a bit sad. (But, this is where we are and I am enjoying life. One can dream though right? And maybe do a little window shopping, too). One of my Effective Affirmations is "I love my evolving sense of style." It is evolving because I am becoming more confident in who I am & what I like to wear. It is also evolving because I am changing as a person. I think this has a lot to do with being 30 (and almost 31!) Anyway, these are all from Anthropologie.com. I love their whimsical clothes and I also love their home goods.

{For The Momma}

{For the Small One}

{this is an apron---Reese would love this}

{For The Kitchen}

{I have the measuring bowls-a dear friend gave them to me for my bridal shower-love them!}

Have a great weekend!

Things I Want To Remember

My wonderful friend Andrea wrote a post about the things that she wants to remember about her daughter, Katie. Katie is 13 1/2 months old and is at that stage where she is into everything. This post inspired me to do the same for my little Reese. My daughter Reese is 5 1/2 and was born on Andrea's birthday {Lucky Day: June 7th} Andrea was actually supposed to come to our house for dinner that night, but we always laugh and say that I had her a baby instead! So, in honor of my friend & my daughter, my birthday twins, here is a list of things that Reese is doing right now:

• Until recently, she has never had a favorite-can't-sleep-without-it toy or blanket. Josh's mom gave her a Polar Bear stuffed animal and for some reason, she is really attached to it. She puts her doll clothes on it and it comes everywhere with her (except for school). I have put her (the polar bear, not Reese!) in the wash a few times because frankly, it starts to gross me out when I think about where this bear has gone and what it has touched. I am glad that she has a favorite friend though.

• She is really loves any little toy. By little I mean Polly Pocket sized toys. No boyish toys for this girly-girl. We gave her a Strawberry Shortcake little play set for Christmas and she loves it. I do too. I love the Strawberry Shortcake smell and really wish that they would make it into a perfume already.
  


• She likes to make sure that her toys are "comfy." She likes to make them beds out of little boxes that she puts socks (clean ones!) or wash cloths in little boxes to make them feel comfy. It is really cute and I find these little beds everywhere. Josh suggested that I take pictures of the stuff that she makes, so I have been. I will post some pictures.



• She likes to pretend to be Rachel Ray when she is taking a bath. It is hilarious. She totally gets into it. She says things like, "Okay and on Rachel Ray today, we are going to learn to make really yummy, uhhhhhh, toasts with, ummmm, jelly." Then pours water into little cups in the bathtub. The best is when she leaves for a commercial break, "we'll cook that right after the messages."

• She is enjoying being in Kindergarten, although I know that she sometimes feels like "everyone else knows what to do & sometimes I don't." Oh, Reesey. We all feel like that once in a while...even when you're a grown up!She is just about to start spelling & reading...which sometimes results in some hilarious new words: "pocoporn" (popcorn) and "horsores" (horse).

• Has been asking about babies. like where they come from. She asked me while we were driving, "how is a baby made Momma?" I almost drove off the road, but did tell her that we could talk about it more when Momma wasn't driving (and to give Momma some time to look up age-appropriate baby-making talk for a 5 year-old!) I also commented that "Well, and you know, God puts the baby there, blah, blah, blah..." She responded with, "Yeah, but how does the baby get IN there?"

• She likes to sing. And talk. A LOT. Especially when we are in the car and it is just me, Reese and the open road...or just driving around Denver. She sings "Home On The Range," but instead of "where the deer and the antelope play" it becomes "where the deer and the cantaloupe play." Priceless.
  


• One day while driving, we passed a pickup truck with a camper on top of the bed of the truck. The camper had a ladder on the back. Reese looked at the camper and told me, "Momma. That camper has a pool on top." I said, "Really? How do you know that?" She said, "It has a ladder on the back & that is how you get to it." I had to turn my face out the window to hide my smile. It was one of those moments that I wish I could bottle up and keep forever.

I know the baby days of not much sleep, teething, poopy diapers, drooling, never ever getting anything done are very tiresome for mommas. But they go by so fast and the next thing you know, you have a little person hanging around with you. I look at pictures of myself with Reese when she was a baby and I want to reach through the photo and give myself a hug and tell me to be more gentle with myself. To believe in myself and most of all, to tell myself that I was doing a good job. I did try to live in the moment during those early days and I am glad. They went by so fast and now they are memories. I look forward to each day that I spend with Reese. She has taught me a lot about being myself, learning to let go & let God, playing more & worry less. She has taught me to take myself less seriously & for that, I am forever grateful.

Obama: A Promise that I made & I haven't forgotten!

“This victory alone is not the change we seek.

It is only the chance for us to make that change.”

-President-elect Barack Obama, November 4th, 2008

When Obama was running for President, I was a very passionate believer. I still am. Not because I have put all of my faith on one man's basket, if you will. It isn't just Obama that I believe in, it is the Spirit of the American People. This is what inspires me. What I loved about being part of his campaign wasn't political...although it was nice to talk to people who believe in what matters to me, who were passionate about making a difference, who believed in the best of America, what I loved the most was being a part of something. Being part of history, part of CHANGE & feeling HOPE. To be surrounded by 100,000 people in Downtown Denver in October 2008, people surrounding me as far as I could see, people from all walks of life, all different backgrounds, each one of us filled to the brim with HOPE. We were there to seek change, not because we hate America, but because we Love America, we wanted the best for our future. While I was working on the campaign {canvassing & making phone calls}, everyone was so excited and full of energy. It was inspiring (enter rolling of the eyes and head shaking from all of the conservatives out there) and something that I am proud to have been a part of. I felt then that we were making a difference & I know that people would disagree now, but I still feel like change is taking place. {Let me just state for the record that there are some things that have happened that have left me disappointed with politics...on both sides of the aisle. The inability to come together and get some shit done is completely ridiculous to me...but I digress}.
During the election, I made a promise that "When Obama wins the election, I will do something to help my community." In 2009, we bought a house & we got married. This left me with little time to do, but still time to think.

In 2010, I promise to do. It has made me re-think what the word community means.

It is defined as (according to Dictionary.com):
com⋅mu⋅ni⋅ty/kəˈmyunɪti/ [kuh-myoo-ni-tee] –noun, plural -ties.

1.a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.
2.a locality inhabited by such a group.
3.a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually prec. by the): the business community; the community of scholars.
4.a group of associated nations sharing common interests or a common heritage: the community of Western Europe.

I live in a suburb south of Denver, in a fairly diverse neighborhood. I just moved there and I am still getting to know my neighbors, etc. So, what is my community? Is it the physical location of where I live? Is it made up of the people that live & work around me? Or is it something completely different? Is my own community made up of individuals who have gone through similar struggles or have common interests? Maybe it is a combination of both. I have thought about this a lot over the last few months. I made a promise to make a difference, to give back, to help as I have been helped & I fully intend on keeping my promise. President Obama asked us to give back to our communities & to our country, and I am going to do what he asked. What better way to love your country, than to do something positive for someone else?

If you want to volunteer in your community, please visit Organizing for America on BarackObama.com to sign up.

SHIT!

The first word out of my mouth this morning was:

q

SHIT!

q

q

q

q

Pray that my boss has mercy on my late ass & doesn't fire me.

Days like this make me feel like I'm taking 2 steps forward & 10 back.

Tomorrow is a new day, right?