Teal hair – a simple goal

So one of my simple goals was to dye my hair more weird colors. I’ve stuck with pinks for a very long time and I’m branching out. I had to lighten my roots so I could touch up my hair and I ended up with this really light teal color. I decided to go for teal instead of staying atomic blue and mixed up my own color. It’s a mix of atomic blue, atomic turquoise, and electric lizard. It didn’t look much different than normal atomic blue in the jar when I mixed them, but on me, it looks a lot different

Posted: August 26th, 2010 under Personal - 2 Comments. Tags: four simple goals, manic panic hair, teal hair

Missouri Wineries – a 4 simples goal met

Part of my four simple goals list included more road trips. This past weekend, Cody and I went to several Missouri wineries. The basic plan was to head east via I70 and stop when when saw a winery. My android phone was awesome for this trip because the “places” ap could tell me near by places to eat and do things. Awesome and so perfect when I was starving.

We ended up stopping in Boonville for lunch. “Glenn’s Cafe” had mostly good reviews (only one bad one and it sounded like it came from another food place honestly) so we headed there. Downtown Boonville actually looks like someplace we’d like to go again. They had a lot of little neat shops and food places and they weren’t too far away from Warrensburg.

The food there was pretty darn good! We enjoyed the much needed nomming and have plans to go back again soon. I had the pulled pork sandwich and it was amazing. i would buy it just for the bread it was on because the bread was that good. Cody really enjoyed his gumbo too.

We continued our trip and stopped at one winery that had a rather rude lady manning the counter. She would not drop the fact that I had blue hair and her questions and observations went from genuine curiosity to down right rudeness.  We didn’t stay long and since I have not nice things to say, I just won’t mention their name. I didn’t think my blue hair was *that* bad.

Then we went to an amazing winery. Truly. This place has fantastic views, amazing food, great friendly staff, and delicious wine. I really enjoyed our time there although it was hot so we had to move under the shade for a bit. Summit Lake Winery had really good sweet wines. The spinach artichoke dip was okay, too much cheese for our tastes. The brownie skillet was amazing and I’m now hunting for small cast iron skillets…

We continued our trip and ended up in a town that time forgot. No cell coverage, no gps, nothing. We went up to stonehill winery first and it was okay. It’s really busy which is great for them, but it wasn’t something we’d go to again. I can buy their wine in stores, their people weren’t friendly towards me, we couldn’t sample wine because it was so full and the sample person blew us off. We bought the boys a bottle of raspberry grape juice and left. We tried to go to another winery but they all seemed to close at 5 pm so we ended up going home. Oh well.

I read good things about that area so maybe I just need to go back another time? who knows. Maybe it’s just too big time for me since I like my wineries small and friendly? We didn’t let it ruin our day but it was annoying.

There were stops at various thrift stores on the way but I didn’t purchase a single thing from them! Amazing! Couldn’t find something I wanted to cart home though. oh well.

It was a nice little boyless trip though and so much easier without kids needing to stop and pee or eat or be bored. Not that I don’t love my kids, but I wouldn’t mind a trip or two without them again

We’re totally trying to hit up more wineries though so if you know any within oh 4 hours of Warrensburg, MO please feel free to share them with me!

Posted: August 26th, 2010 under Personal - No Comments.

Living room plans

I’ve neglected the back living room for a while now. I tore down the fug wallpaper when we first moved in and repainted. I’ve also fixed the floors in that room and painted some of the trim. I did try out some black paint on the walls and I’ve patched up other parts of the walls. Notice I didn’t say I painted though. So we’ve been living with splotches of black and white on the walls and today I decided to fix it. It looks so much better.

So now other parts of this room are on my list and we’ll be doing it in the next month or two. I have… ambition. Maybe it’s a little too high. IDK, but I’m willing to find out. I will be fixing the rest of the bad plaster spots, removing the book cases on the back wall, removing the built up fireplace surround that was improperly done, removing the closet you see in this photo, replacing the trim, painting the ceiling and ceiling trim, removing the fan, sanding the floors and adding more poly, recovering my couches, adding doors and more.

It’s a long list but each project is doable. I think. I’m scared about the closet, but I think I can do it!

Posted: August 24th, 2010 under Living Rooms, The House - 1 Comment.

An Amazing Cake

Today was great. It was a lovely leisurely day and so what we needed. We woke up um really late and then went to Cafe Blackadder in Warrensburg, Missouri for lunch. I love that place. They have an amazing menu and if you’re a vegetarian, you’re sure to find something you like. Even if you’re not a vegetarian, the veggie food is still great.

So I went there a week or so ago and asked Julie to make me a cake. I gave her almost full control. My requests were simple: chocolate, coconut, caramel. Everything else? Up to her. So she had Keri from Joyful chaos Cakes whip something up.  Okay, not only is Keri a totally awesome yoga instructor (taught the Warrensburg community center on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays… in case you want to go), she makes a damn fine cake. Seriously. Look at this thing:

Her description “Five layers of alternating chocolate and caramel cake are separated by a coconut cream filling and frosted with a browned butter frosting. The finishing touch is toasted coconut pressed into the sides and drizzled with chocolate sauce and homemade caramel.” My description “mmmmMmmmmmm ammnomnomnom”

Look at that. Isn’t it amazing? Why yes, yes it is. We actually managed to not hork it all down like greedy little pigs but it was by far the best cake I’ve had in a very long time… maybe ever. OMG so good! We split the panini (which was excellent as usual) so that we’d have room for the cake. The potato, leek, and bacon soup was also amazing (and I’m going back for lunch tomorrow just to have more of it).

I love Cafe Blackadder. I know, I sound like an infomercial or something, but they have great food. Julie is a fantastic cook and the menu changes weekly. Andrea is incredibly friendly and makes a great waitress/hostess person. Seriously, if you’ve got a question about the ‘burg, ask Andrea because if she doesn’t know the answer, she knows someone that does.

They really made our anniversary a wee bit more special. Thank you ladies. I heart you

More photos later. For now? A second slice of cake of course!

Posted: August 18th, 2010 under Personal - 3 Comments. Tags: cafe blackadder, chocolate caramel coconut cake, geek details, joyful chaos cakes, warrensburg missouri, warrensburg mo

10 Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us! Today is Cody’s and my 10th anniversary of wedded bliss. Mostly bliss? Stubborn bliss? Idk, it’s been 10 years of marriage though and he makes me happy. We’ve had our rough spots (as all couples do) but they made us a stronger couple in the long run. We’re not always conventional, but we’re perfect for each other.

Ten years of being married to someone that loves me even when I’m dying my hair funky colors or having a super melt down panic mode.

Or tackling some weird project late at night

10 years of relying on only each other

10 years of this mug

10 years of having someone that is a problem solver… even if it means walking a couch home from the store down the street.

It’s been an amazing feeling to know that we hit the 10 year mark when so many people we knew didn’t think we’d last more than a month or two. Here’s to another epic 10 years Toad.

I’ll post later about our lovely day (he’s taking off work) and our winery tour weekend (Thanks Jordan for watching my boys). For now, I’m busy basking in 10 years of marriage.

Posted: August 18th, 2010 under Personal - 3 Comments.

cleaning house

We saw my dad and his wife this weekend at the Rockville MO festival. It was amazingly hot, but we survived. Cody took this photo of me on the way out the door and I liked it. Can you tell who has a new favorite shirt?

You know what I like most about this picture? My house is clean and i didn’t move shit out of the way before I let him snap a photo. Sad that *that* is my favorite part isn’t it? There was a time though when that couldn’t have happened in my house.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs (princess lasertron) and she was posting a list of things people don’t know about her (which was interesting to me). One of the things she said that struck a chord with me was “Most days I would rather be anywhere than in my home.” I understood it because I’ve been there and it made me sad, because I’ve been there.

I don’t have tons of photos of our houses before this house. Aside from the last house, I didn’t like most of those houses. It was base housing and I wasn’t allowed to do much to it so I didn’t. I tried here and there, but it’s nothing like how my  house is now. So what’s changed?

A combination of things. My kids are older and I make them help with the house. Since they empty the dishwasher, I’m free to do other things on the house etc.

I’m purged a lot of our stuff and only bring stuff in to the house if I think it’ll enrich the space. Even though I’m constantly getting rid of things, I still have stuff in the house we don’t use or want. I’m not sure how that happens, but it does.

I do try to make cleaning a priority now. It was really really easy for me to find a reason not to do it and I still don’t like cleaning, but I feel so much more at ease and creative when my house isn’t in chaos. I get really agitated when my house isn’t picked up properly.

I’ve spent a good amount of time figuring out how to store my stuff, and what stuff I should not have in the house. You can have TONS of storage, but if you have TONS of stuff, it doesn’t work. Likewise, if you have TONS of storage but it’s not where you use things, it also doesn’t work. My house isn’t perfect all the time (I should really take a photo of my room lol) but I no longer hate coming home or randomly snapping photos.  Which, if you’ve been to my houses over the years, is a huge deal.

That said, looking at that photo makes me want to run downstairs and change a few things. the frames that aren’t white for instance… and paint that key lighter so it shows up on the wall. Maybe clear off the clutter on the book case too. You know what I’m going to do instead? Go to the park with my boys

Posted: August 16th, 2010 under Personal - 1 Comment.

1950s custom couch

I went shopping the other day and picked up a chandelier. I also snagged a super cute 1950s retro mad men ish couch. I made sure Cody and Jordan both liked it and that they were willing to bring it home for me. The salvation Army in Warrensburg, MO is literally just down the street and we don’t have a truck so bringing it home meant hoofing it.

I’m a lucky girl because both guys agreed to carry it home.

They stopped for breaks every now and then because it was heavy.

Eventually it came to rest in my yard and eventually moved in to the house too.

We thought it was funny there and may bring the couch outside for the UCM homecoming parade (which goes right past my house). I’ll take some better photos of it later, but it’s a custom piece made in Detroit in I believe the 1950s. It could be 1960s. It’s in good condition though and was… $42! For a couch! that’s not craptastic!
it’s going to look amazing in our back living room once Udom moves out and I gut the room. I’m painting the ceiling and trim white, removing bookcases and a closet, putting up better bookcases, removing a death trap fireplace, and painting the room black. It’ll be bitching. Can’t wait to actually do it!

Posted: August 14th, 2010 under Living Rooms, The House - 3 Comments. Tags: 1950s couch, mad men couch, thriftstore couch, warrensburg mo

Magenta + Blue Hair

I forgot to share a photo of my hair when it was mostly magenta with a touch of blue. I found it on the computer last night and liked it. I think it shows me how pretty my teeth will look when I (finally) get my braces removed.

I also like that my hair matched my shirt. I thought it was funny. So that’s last week’s hair. It’s mostly that magenta color I made up when I didn’t have enough dye of one color to do my hair. I liked it and would love to do it again if I knew how lol. I put some dark blue over that magenta color just to see if I liked blue on me. Once the magenta faded a bit more, I did the whole thing mostly blue with touches of magenta.

Posted: August 14th, 2010 under Personal - No Comments. Tags: amanda roberts, blue hair, geek details, magenta hair, weird colored hair

Verdigris Chandelier

The front living room needed another light and I’ve been on the lookout for another chandelier. I went to the Salvation Army with Jordan today to show him a couch and there then complained that there were no chandeliers. I took Cody to the Salvation Army a couple hours later to ask if he liked the couch and there was a chandelier there! YAY!

It was fake bronze stuff, but it looked neat. I knew i’d have to rewire it because it had no wires hanging out of the top. It’s okay though because I wanted to make it a plug in lamp anyway. I think the white chain will need a cover, but I can live with that.

I couldn’t age it because it wasn’t real bronze or brass, so I turned to spray paint. This is the same color I used on my candelabra and on my little table only this time I did light coatings of it and didn’t cover the whole thing. The light coating of green paint on brass/bronze fixtures made it look old and verdigrised. I then used a sample of wallpaper to cover the little “candle” tubes and put in round light bulbs. We like it.

I love the way it turned out though! It was part of my thrift store shopping today (yes, I did get that couch… and 2 newsboy hats for my youngest). Cody and Jordan are actually lugging the couch home tomorrow since it’s just down the street and easier than asking someone to borrow their car. I heart those guys

So, cost breakdown:

$5.25 for chandelier (normally $7.50 but 30% off today)

$2.25 wiring kit (normally $20ish but clearanced)

$0 spray paint (left over from another project)

$13.50 light bulbs

So the total without light bulbs is $7.50 or  $21 if you include the bulbs. Either way, it’s a smoking deal on a light fixture.

Posted: August 13th, 2010 under Living Rooms, The House - 7 Comments. Tags: 1960s chandelier, brass chandelier, verdigris chandelier

4 simple goals

I read Elsie’s post on her blog about 4 simple goals and I wanted to do it too. The idea is simple. Pick 4 goals you want to reach before 2011. Here’s the rules Elsie laid out:

1. choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. choose things you may not otherwise get done, but that are not difficult to accomplish.

2. do not choose result oriented goals, choose activity oriented goals. for example…. instead of “lose 10 pounds”, choose something like “eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day”. get what i’m saying? positive actions instead of just the end result!

3. choose goals that are personal that you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! they can be daily, weekly or one time experiences.

4. choose a reward for each goal as it is accomplished! it can be a small or large reward.

5. blog your goals, each one as you achieve it and a big post when they are all finished before the new year! i’ll be doing this too! links back to this post are appreciated.

So here are my goals to do before 2011.

1. Go to yoga once a week. My new friend Andrea invited me to yoga class and since I’m not saying no to any invitations extended to me to go somewhere, I went. I’ll be honest, had she not invited me, I’d never have gone. I like the way yoga makes me feel though and the class atmosphere is awesome.

2. Dye my hair 4 different weird colors.  I’ve mostly stuck with pink over the past couple years and I’m attempting to branch out. I recently did my hair purple and loved it. When it faded, I went with blue. Still love it. I want to see if I can pull off all the weird colors.

3. Take a small trip with Cody. We keep meaning to do this and never do.

4. Finish painting my walls. It seems simple, but I’m so freaking tired of painting my house. I LOVE my dark colored walls but they take so many coats of paint that it is making me not like painting walls. I have so many unfinished rooms that it’s driving me nuts and finishing them up would greatly help my calm.

Posted: August 12th, 2010 under Personal - 9 Comments. Tags: 4 simple goals, a beautiful mess, elsiecake