real. LOVE.

I love this movie.  We watched it as a family on Christmas eve.  Maybe I'm just a sentimental person but every time I see it I'm moved by the impact that George Bailey has had on the world.  The things he did and the things that may not have happened if he hadn't come into the world...it always makes me wonder what kind of love I'm leaving...what I'm giving...and what I'm not giving. 

George Bailey changed the world...his world.  He changed the world of the people just right around him in Bedford Falls. 

George wanted to go out in to the world and make his mark, see things, be things...he never did.  You spend a portion of the movie wondering if George Bailey will ever make it out of Bedford Falls.  You wonderful if he'll ever get to do anything...if he'll ever get to see the world.

And then you see that the world would be a very different place with out George.  His seemingly small life, his seeming ordinary-ness was really in a word...extraordinary.

I love this time of year and for the chance to see George Bailey and be reminded that our lives do indeed impact the people around us....what we say...what we do...it changes us and it changes that people around us.

None of us need to travel the world, have a lot of money, or be famous.  In our small, seemingly ordinary way we can be extraordinary to our parents, our brothers, our sisters, our children, our spouse, our friends, our neighbors.  We want to help the planet, the person in Africa, or South America.  When the truth is that our strongest influence and biggest mark can be felt by the person right next to us.

Thanks, "George Bailey...the richest man in town."

real. LIFE.

my wedding picture.

On my last post in the comments Rebekah Westover said she had to see a wedding picture of Mike and I.  Sooo...here it is (thanks to Mike for scanning it and sending it to me here in San Diego).

Remember, I got married almost 15 years ago....

love. LIFE.

first kiss.

It was 15 years ago yesterday, November 11th, that Mike and I had our first kiss together.  It's hard to believe that the time has gone so quickly and at the same time I can hardly remember my life or a memory with out him in it.  What a wonderful life!

We were both going to college at BYU.  I had just come home from a mission and so had he.  I was serious about getting a degree and studying and becoming the 'A' student I had never been (I've always LOVED learning but school is not the way my brain works...).  I had decided that I didn't want to date much.  I wanted to find an awesome thing to study and become really accomplished. 

Well...I ended up getting asked out all of the time...way more than I did when I was a freshman and I was going out a lot and also getting some really good grades.  Things were going really well...except for this one guy that every girl in my building seemed to love to hang out with.  He'd come over to my apartment a few times and I had totally been rude to him...hoping he would get the hint.  He didn't, and I'm so glad.

One day I made dinner for a whole bunch of friends and at the last minute invited Mike over.  He was the only one who stayed to help with the dishes and I was hooked.  We started spending all kinds of time talking and going everywhere together but I had no idea I wanted to spend ALL of my life with him.  I thought he was a great friend and he was wonderful to talk to about real things.

I finally got a clue and and we've been together ever since.

Mike has been such a gift to me in so many ways. He is giving, thoughtful, kind, and encouraging.  He's amazing at seeing problems from a grounded perspective and he's understanding when I'm feeling overwhelmed.  He always wants to know how he can help.  He gives me his time, his listening ear, his thoughtful words, his heart, and so much more. 

There will never be enough words to say how much I love him or ways to show how blessed I am to have him in my life.  More than I really know, he does things for me that I don't see...and I feel like I never say well enough what his love has done to me.  It's given me strength when I thought I didn't have any left, given be sight when I was blinded, and hope when I was down, and joy that makes me feel as though I may burst at the seams.

Every year for Christmas we try to give each other a gift of meaning...something from our heart.  A few years ago Mike made me this book, "A Life of Love"...and it's seen a lot of love (as you can see from the cover).  It's one of the kids' favorite books and definitely one of my favorite books.  I love the stick people and the sweet simplicity of the text and the ideas.  There is so much of Mike...of us...in this book.

I am so lucky.  And like Miss Carrie Underwood says,  "Some hearts just get lucky sometimes..."

Happy first-kiss-aversary, Mike....

love. LIFE.

real. LIFE.

I've been a little hesitant to post my house because even though I LOVE IT!!! I haven't given it a home makeover treatment since moving in.  I have all kinds of things that I'd like to do but having 5 other people who need things that have to do with money and time my house is kind of on hold.  I've gotten to set up most rooms and I'm loving living here and the way it's looking even though I've not gotten to do any painting or official decorating...it's already feeling like home.

So...here is my not finished house that is starting to feel like home...

Above is a vintage postcard I found at an antique store (okay...I am soooo loving the amount of flea markets and antique stores here...those so were NOT in abundance back west...I'm in heaven.).  I think that this vintage postcard totally sums up the way I'm feeling about life, business, love, and what is important. It's funny and "there's a deeper meaning in that"---to quote 'Much Ado About Nothing'. 

I'm also showing you my very messy inspiration board that is already very full of fun stuff I've cut from magazines and gotten from catalogs.  It's stuff I love...and I want to see how it all comes together on my board.  I'm interested in what path a room may end up taking as it evolves with me adding and taking away from my deco/inspiration file.

A home really is a process for me not an event.  It will take a long time for me to add this piece, find that perfect lamp, discover the awesome sofa that marries retro, eclectic, and modern lines all into one, and the right color of hardwood flooring.  Life is all about the day to day, the details of the moments, and the fun relationships.  I want what I bring into my home to mean something wonderful that shows all of those things...so until then I'll just be doing a little here and a little there.  

Oh!  And we have a great penisula (it's much bigger than it looks in these pics) that the kids sit at every morning and eat breakfast on one side while I make their sack lunches on the other side.  I love it!  The stools we have right now though are really too big (the one Gracie is sitting in) and I would like some that don't have a back.  I'm thinking I would love these retro/vintage stools in ocean color! (click here)  What do you think?

Take a peek...

daily. LIFE.

ohmiheck!

If you have not seen the movie "Ghost Town"  you need to get to the theatre tonight and get yourself into one of those comfy theatre seats. I laughed so hard so many times in this movie that I thought sure I might have to lean over to Mike and tell him I needed some new bloomers. 

This is about a guy who dies for a little while and then starts having ghosts follow him around.  This is not even close to the same genre as "Sixth Sense".  What follows is hilarious and in the end meaningful without being over the top.  Yes, it may be a little formulaic...but who cares?!?

You have to see this movie!

laugh. LIFE.