my happy little life

life's a beach

we enjoyed a lovely whirlwind weekend through newport beach, la, malibu, and bakersfield. we love california. it is our happy place, it feels like home (because it is).

they wanted donuts, so they had to hike

this morning i took six younglings to visit Y mountain,

and after much whining by some, and running by others...

they all made it to the top,

and got to view our happy valley.

the reward? Y donuts at the provo bakery.

and some stuff for the road...

"i want to go to there"

my sister just posted this picture from their quick trip to tahoe. to all her sisters she wrote, "i know this fills you with longing..." well it sure does! especially the summer constant sight of beach towels drying over the hedges. what a great house. oh show me the way to go home.

idaho in a nutshell

only in idaho do the guns come out after an easter barbeque for a little target practice. the more i visit that state, the more i fall in love with the beautiful open spaces and the people there. i learn so much about so much each little weekend trip. what i love about people who have lived on and around farms is how stinking nice and unpretentious they are, yet i PROMISE they know more about the world than you. i can't believe how much they understand about the earth, making things, being self-sustaining, animals, mechanics, industry, food... you name it. i feel super ignorant when i'm there and am asking questions about everything. i so admire the life style and the freedom and self reliance that everyone values so much. and i so want that kind of space. thanks boices, it was so so so fun!

in a tiny town in idaho

there's a tiny restaurant

where you can get great steak and shrimp

and a delicious coke.

you sit at the counter

with the sun streaming in

and you are happy.

really really happy.

and you eat with your sunglasses on

and it's so yummy

and totally not what you are supposed to be eating

but so worth it.

it's definately worth the long drive,

but then again, we looove roadtrips.

let me explain...

one thing i enjoy about facebook is the old pictures that friends and fam upload to walk down memory lane together with you. like this one, for instance. my older brother uploaded it while reminiscing about the old buggie he rebuilt in the 80s. but i couldn't stop looking at the picture because it shows the place where i played for the first 12 years of my life. it transported me back in time to simpler, sunnier days, and it's been making really happy to stare at today.

we lived on a corner in a typical o.c. tract neighborhood. all day the kids hung out at that corner, played on that grass, got drinks out of that hose, went through the secret passage way in the juniper bushes, and only left the area to go "around the block" over and over again. sometimes it was on bikes with banana seats, sometimes roller skates, sometimes big wheels, sometimes walking, even occasionally on skateboards with cardboard boxes on them (our "cars"). i bet that block is not nearly as big as i remember it being, but i remember it being quite a trip.

but the main thing i love about this picture is tree cover you can see in the upper right corner. that's how it was all around the block. even on really hot days you could find a great place to play in some serious shade. everyone had a huge tree or trees somewhere on their property, and bushes, and ivy, and a great variety of things. the only reason we had those young trees on the corner was because my mom sold our big palm tree to some palm springs landscapers, ha!

where are neighborhoods like that anymore? with bushes big enough to hide in? and kids that go around the block together all afternoon? and normal sized houses? and the old winkfields next door? ok, i don't need the winkfields. but i'd sure love to give my kids the rest.

star mill

lately i've been taking alot of family photos at a favorite antique place in american fork. i'm there just about every weekend and i love seeing what's new, what's gone, what's growing, and what's drawing me in and inspiring me.

as much as i love the place, i rarely buy things there (i support the place by paying them to take pics there). mostly because i'm my own thrifter- meaning i prefer to find the things on my own for a buck or two rather than an antique store's markup for finding it. but also because the owner is a bit...eccentric... i mean, of course he is, you have to be to make "junk" your life (i should know), the eccentricity alone is not the problem. it's that it leads him to tell tall tales about where the pieces came from which may or may not be true, actually the stories are almost never true, but the price reflects the made up history (and his mood- which is highly unpredictable), nevertheless. here is one true story though: once i found a little pillow that i made for sale! ha! i have no idea when i'd gotten rid of it or how it ended up in his hands. i was tempted to ask him for it's history and see what he made up about it! anyway.

as i've been editing all the shoots i've been coming across random pics i've taken in between the family shots that have been making me smile. if you're local and haven't been, definately go. he closes down for winter but i think is open for a few more weekends. here's a peek at the place from my camera (a very small peek, there is never ending stuff and cool grounds. this is the tip of the iceberg):

i went to bakersfield and all i got were these dumb boots...

ok, and let's be honest. the boots are the opposite of dumb. they have completely stolen my heart. thrifted downtown for $4 and have made me so excited for winter. i wore them all day today doing housework to break them in. they make me want to tapdance!

i thought i would spend the weekend crocheting...but all i got done was one granny square. yes, only one. something more important came up: thinking. i spent the days alternating between laying around reading and laying around...thinking. problems in my mind needed to be solved. plans needed to be made. priorities needed to be set. and this was the weekend to do it.

i decided i haven't been brave. i think i have let life work me over for the last few years. i haven't taken control of some things i've needed to. grant and i stayed up late in the bed talking about that. he agreed. he felt the same. we have stuck around in a rut for so long, barely making it, and we can't figure out why we've put up with it. we just haven't been brave, simple as that. we need to shake things up. live how we want to live, find some breathing room. 

and so we decided we have to leave utah. we made a plan. if all goes well we will be back in cali by spring. grant is going to be a fireman again while completing graduate work. i will keep on keepin' on only now i'll have access to the ocean, and consequently, an ocean of kelly happiness. who knows? i might even dust off my teaching credential when cate starts first grade and i'm an empty nester. we have hope to build a life we love.

so california here we come, right back where we started from...fingers crossed.

girls' weekend

 

 

 

cate+bike+sun+camera = good afternoon

sometimes when the sun is shining and the air is cool and i'm not hurrying on errands and i stop to look around... i realize i live in a really beautiful place.

our weekend in beautiful lake tahoe

happy scenes in my craft room

1. grant surprised me with a vador candy jar for my desk! 2. shiny, happy thread. 3. my friend julie surprised me with the coolest stamps ever made! 4. i have been working on prototypes for the "perfect bootie" for ages, and by george, i think i've got it. stay tuned, they'll soon be in the shop!

a few hometown favorites

my favorite place to eat in tahoe is sprouts. some of my fondest high school memories involve snowy days where 1st and 2nd period were spent eating oatmeal with cut apples and honey here. comfort!

our favorite south shore beach is kiva. it's a locals hangout (read: further down the road, you have to walk a little, dogs are allowed, there's no beach side bars, and therefore much less crowded.) it was where i spent periods 3 and 4 of high school. kidding...sort of.

favorite activity...an evening walk. the evenings are so so gorgeous. the highlight of the trip for cate was our evening walks with the dog.

favorite picture from the trip: my brother kenny and sister coco showing how hot they think they are.

tahoe farmer's market = expensive hippie products

 

it was a gorgeous day, even if most of the goods were out of my price range...and it's just so nice to be around the hippies again! (click on the top left pic) these are the people i thought made up the whole world, since i grew up around only them; i miss them and their patchouli so much. my parents were/are conservative republican working class red blooded government supporting americans, and when i was a teen i thought they were FREAKS. haha. now i live in utah and realize they have friends, and i believe i'm one of them! we went to the market with my junior high and high school bff jaime, (bottom right pic) and i got to meet her new little baby, she's delicious. we are leaving tahoe tomorrow, but the pictures will go on for quite a few days. i have taken alot. alot.

on holiday

we are in beautiful tahoe where the air is fresh and the living's easy. wish you were here! xo, k.m. 

the internal battle is over

i am going to reconcile myself to loving where i live- the state of utah, that is. i have been waiting to feel like we were supposed to move somewhere else ever since we got married. i have not always been, let's say, excited, about residing in utah. i like beaches. i like "california cuisine". i like shirts to be worn without tank tops over them. the culture here is sometimes a bit, well, weird new to me. but all that has changed. utah, i love you. because,

1. while attending a little community carnival i felt joy. thought i, what a quaint little town!
2. today while thrifting we stopped at down east, a discount store carrying seconds by brands from pottery barn to chip & pepper. they also make their own line of the cutest modest clothing. only in utah.
3. the mountains really are beautiful. really really pretty.
4. i feel very safe.
5. since i have lived here, we have welcomed an anthropologie, ikea, and forever 21, and coming soon an urban outfitters. good job, utah.
6. i live within 20 miles of 4 temples, including the one i was married in.
7. i never thought i would have those sweet alma mater feelings for my college, but now on the rare occaisions when i'm near the byu campus the beach boys start singin in my head and i get a little emotional. be true to your school. byu is awesome.
8. speaking of, i can attend byu education week next month with minimal expense or trouble. it's just down the way. drop cate off with a cousin set for a bit and go be inspired.
9. we get all four seasons, and how. i have been accustomed to the california 2 season life. actually having four of them is really cool. and utah celebrates each so well. fall, my favorite, is given a particular shout out with lots of harvest events, and beautiful falling leaves. love it.
10. need i mention it's family friendly? yes, it is.
11. c jane lives here. and gary coleman.
12. it's the only home cate has ever known.

did i miss anything?

have you ever lit your whole yard on fire?

i don't suggest it unless your husband is a hot ex-firefighter, like mine. he's so good at a controlled burn, if you know what i mean...

darren and lindsey in love under the fiery light of the idaho sky...

coco and shauna- they're so hot right now. haha, get it?

eveeeeil. like the fru iiiits of the dev eeeeeeil. uh, i'm just being silly i promise.

 

thank you kindly

for all the veggie advice! we tried the spinach lasagna tonight and it was just delish! it was even yummy with whole wheat pasta, so i can't imagine how good it would be with regular pasta. i got so pumped with all your info. we are doing great eating more veg, and since we LOVE treats so much, and i LOVE to bake we have trouble keeping slim- so my other goal is to make our desserts fruit based rather than baking so much. last night i grilled peaches that were cut in half, open side down until they had the grill marks and then turned it up and put a dollap of cream cheese in the pit-hole and left it on the grill until it was melty. then drissled it with honey and sprinkled some grape nuts on top. OH MY GOSH. there is no picture because we devoured it so quickly. it was delissssshhhhh, you've gotta try it. and tonight we did the strawberries and angel food cake, always a fave. tomorrow i think i'll make some of nie nie's watermelon smoothies for dessert, YUM!!

on a more depressing note, have you seen how my hometown, south lake tahoe, is totally on fire? i am sad because it is such a beautiful place, and so many people lost their homes- people that i know- 260 was the last count and i'm pretty sure my high school burned down too, but i haven't seen that confirmed yet. another 500 homes have been evacuated. the flames never got closer than a mile or so to my house, thanks to wind blowing in the opposite direction. it's unknown how it started except that it was by a human. smokey the bear is not very happy today. this pic makes me cry.

reader question: with unlimited possibilities (time/money), what would be your dream vacation?

well, abby, funny you should ask as i am embarking on said vacation with the rise of the morning sun. i am driving all of 3 hours to a chic metropolis called rexburg, idaho. perhaps you've heard of it, it's so hot right now. i will be a guest in a quaint b & b that my sister happens to have right inside her house!! in fact, it's just a stones throw from her own bedroom and it's so earthy- you sleep on the floor and even get to make your own food. a spa package is included luckily (and by included i mean i get to go to said sister's hair school and be pampered at the rate of $3 a service, tipping with diet coke). i mean this trip is only for the true sophisticate. ok. maybe i'm being a tad facetious (who, me?). but honestly, there's nowhere i'd rather be than anywhere with my sister(s), especially when the sister is exhausted from her husband's recent health problems and needs some comic relief. i excell at comic relief. i also excell at making brownies and watching gilmore girls dvds.

that said, i seriously need a european vacation. seriously. i want to see it ALL. every castle and cafe. i want to eat everything i see and lay in parks and write in my journal and buy flowers and every european cliche thing you can think. i especially want to spend time in holland, sweden, finland, germany, england, czech rep., ireland...ok, EVERYWHERE. and then i want to fly to a remote beach and hire a man servant who gives brilliant massages and makes a killer smoothie to cater to my every whim while grant and i fall in love all over again. is that what you meant by no limits, abby?

a series of fortunate, and one unfortunate, event

we snuck off to tahoe this weekend [fortunate] becuase my brother just got custody of his daughter [fortunate] and it was also both of their birthdays [fortunate] and lots of other family members decided to head out to celebrate as well [fortunate]. my dad likes to garage sale so much that the back seats of the van are permanently removed for loot space [fortunate] and tahoe garage sales are heaven for hippies-at-heart because everything you buy is either outdoor material or smells like essential oils [fortunate]. so we garage sale'd every morning and in addition to finding a box of free vintage patterns, european leather fisherman sandals for cate, and a brand new desperately needed quilt ruler for a quarter, [very fortunate] i found perhaps one of the happiest purchases of my garage sale-ing career [oh so fortunate]. what, you ask, did i find? why, i found the lovliest anthropologie worthy vintage heels in my size crafted in the yummiest color of all time. for. two. dollars. [for.tun.ate.] now here is where the story takes a turn...as i strut into the house with my new kicks on my sister almost tackles me, and demands i relinquish the precious heels because they would look better on her slightly more narrow feet. and... my whole family agrees!! [unfortunate] sister pulls out the big guns offering everything from piles of cash to one of her young for the shoes. i begin to feel conflicted. on one hand, she doesn't garage sale because she says old things smell gross...and i love them...so does she deserve the fruit of my labors? on the other hand, i could pretty much get a kidney from her at this point and my whole family is chanting "kelly, your feet are just too big!" [oh how unfortunate]. and then she says it. the one thing that will makes me helpless to her request: "i'll do a full photo shoot of the three of you, and we'll share custody." i handed them over. you don't think i should have? well, maybe you haven't seen her photography. goodbye my sweet swanky shoes, i'll see you every other holiday and six weeks in the summer [fortunate], sister's pics are priceless (and if you live in AZ you should call her and request that she wears the shoes to the photo shoot. you won't be disappointed..with the pictures either.)

for eight days

this "little" cottage is where i'm at. the lady of the house is my muse; she has influenced me in every way. her husband is from france and her home, art, and tastes are heavily influenced by europe. when i was pregnant with cate (and beyond) i taught her kids piano lessons and helped her around the house, where i would discover things like hand knitted stuffed animals, and miniature french tea sets, and a gorgeous collection of children's books, and wonderful art and bronze acorns and gorgeous french platters with fruit on them and the most lovely holiday decorations not to be found here in the u.s.of.a. nothing delights me more than every so often when i receive an email from the lady of the house asking me to care for this straight-out-of-a-story-book-home-and-the-enclosed-delightful-children for a week or so. i happily oblige. after all, who could say no to four real fireplaces, a beautiful gourmet kitchen, and floor to ceiling library book cases that require a rolling ladder? not i. so if my posts are sparce, it is because i am catching up on all my story book reading...

 

tahoe was...

absolutely perfect. relaxing. rejuvinating. happy. funny. non- stop. fattening. beautiful.

this is the backyard of the house we stayed at. also where they said their vows. my brother looked so cute, and she is beautiful and just perfect for him. she is from brazil and calls him "my love" with an adorable accent. it was a happy day! they have a baby on the way that we are all very excited for. all six siblings are married off now, made my grandma cry.

now i have to focus on moving. just across town, to my dad's unoccupied house but still lots to do.

so happy to have my little family back together again. i just want to hug cate all day. and yes, i did jump in the lake!

lake tahoe

this is where i grew up

seriously. can you understand why i'm always whining to go there? but in two days I GET TO! yayay! the last un married sibling is getting married! he rented a house on the water for the wedding, and just the siblings (6 of us), no kids or spouses are going. that is bitter sweet for me, i will be gone for four days :( but i am so so excited to go home. i am planning on bringing a big bag of knitting and sitting by a cozy fire and drink hot cocoa and enjoy the chilly fall nights. but i am jumping in the lake. this time of year the water could give your average jumper-inner their death from hypo thermia. but i have tahoe water bones.

the magic kingdom

we had the best time. this little impromtu show was a highlight for me because my favorite disney movie is mary poppins. all the characters do such an amazing job. this was an intense experience for cate. her eyes were so big the whole day. she was in heaven, couldn't believe she was at the place where all her favorite people live! we had just been to temple square and seen all the bronze statues, so when we first got through mainstreet and saw the bronze statue of mickey mouse holding walt disney's hand, cate yelled out: "look mom! mickey mouse and jesus christ!" haha. it was really fun to take it slow and see everything through a little girl's eyes this trip. she really believes all these princesses and fairies and animals are real, and we were really in minnie's house and we were really meeting belle! it really was a magical day! especially cause my friend got us in free! haha!

lizzie and cate picking out their ears. these girls are cousins, best friends, and princess obsessed.

first stop: refreshment corner! even the coke tastes magical here!

the girls met, hugged, and were photo-ed with every princess. cate's favorite, though, was prince philip!

Lots of rides of the non scary variety (except of course pirates of the caribbean...too scary, yes, but johnny depp has been added. sorry girls, you'll just have to close your eyes!)

California adventure was the Coolest, like Cate!

we had the best time! can't wait to:

1. scrapbook the frajillion pics

2. get unpacked and finish laundry

3. lose the weight gained!

4. go back to sunny california, and the magic kingom!

reneer girls have hot legs and other news

but it goes downhill as you go "uphill" haha. we had a ball at the wedding in idaho, and a lot a lot of fun staying at cole and tyler's. cate hearts them. the reception was sooo beautiful. brown and turquoise yummy yummy colors. Lindsey's dress was one of the prettiest i've ever seen. cream and just past her knees and she wore one of those bra strap head bands with the veil on the bottom really simple and gorgeous. i loved everything about it. i think we were the last to leave because the food was so good, the weather perfect, great music and lights and ball laterns all above your head. good times...

it was fun to see nicole and tylers house they just bought that they have totally gutted and are working their butts off to have it ready for renters by sept. 1st...

nicole and i and two friends did a photo shoot on sunday afternoon. it was fun. and depressing. it takes like 400 shots of me to get a good one. i had much more fun taking the pictures of them. these are two of my faves. i don't have all of them yet because my camera was being poopy so shauna has to send me the rest from her camera. i know some gorgeous girls. ooo, there are so many more, i can't wait to get scrapping! but first i must shower, since i haven't in three days!! haha! grant's crazy butt told my brother he'd fly to houston tomorrow and drive home a car he bought! so he'll be on the road again while i get the house back in running order!! oh ya, that shower..

ps- hi ashley and shelly, you are the cutest girls ever!!!!

we're home and we're happy and sad

you just don't find doors like this anywhere but at the beach. so cal is a hard place to visit for me because i love the beach so much, and the food and the shopping and how many of my friends live there and how much there is to do, and the weirdest thing is how comforting the plants there are! i know that's so weird, but all the trees and flowers that grow there and along the freeway remind me so much of being little. i guess because you spend so much time outside playing or driving around with your mom when you are little. we had an absolutely amazing time. we stayed at lauren's, who if you know her, you would know that she would live in nothing short of the cutest little beach house ever. i have a million pictures to post, and will try to control myself. that is her beach and neighborhood. it is gorgeous. and my favorite part was the cute little beach cafe that looked right out of a surf movie that all the locals eat breakfast at and talk about the waves. and the breakfast was SO good. i had the french toast that they roll in crushed cornflakes and coconut. and if you know lauren you also know that she knows everyone everywhere, and of course eats every meal there for free because the owners love her. cate was totally in love with her little six year old son, and was not shy at all, which is very scary. no intimidation, just went right up to him and was like, "your room is cool". lauren is like the total chef..totally funny that what we talk about now is recipes and deals on cute baby clothes, but she totally inspired me to cook more... but then i am happy to be home and out of the traffic and away from all the skinny girls!! speaking of skinny girls, it was so much fun to see all the old roommates at the wedding. marci looked gorgeous of course and most of us hadn't seen each other in like two years! everyone was shocked because they hadn't heard that lauren had had a baby and cate was so old and melinda's little girl is the stinkin funniest, cutest little girl i have ever seen. i wish i lived by everyone! the reception was at coto de caza, very pretty, so missy, nick and i took advantage and ran out and took their engagement pictures. we tried to do some different stuff and got some amazing shots. that's melinda holding lauren's chubba wubba, kaia. melinda is as gorgeous as ever, and running marathons. i am so jealous of that girl! i miss her. i'm afraid i'm not a very good long distance friend! kaia is such a good baby and so dang cute. we braved downtown LA with the little girls to go to the fabric district and find cute knock offs of purses, jewlery, etc. it was very fun. lauren bought the break up on pirated dvd and it was hysterical to try and watch it. you could hear people in the theatre laughing louder than you could hear the movie, ha ha. that was a mistake. i got some great fabric and a cute dress and hat and purse. very fun! there's my fave picture of missy and nick, obviously not for the announcement, but i just love that. i am so happy she found someone that is so nice. he is really sweet to her and such a nice guy. it's so weird that we are all getting so old and married and being moms! i love it! because even though we're all so spread out, it's just the same. we just talk about how the heck to get a home loan, our favorite chicken recipe and charlie and lola now. that's lauren's step son kody that cate adores, he is the sweetest kid. and he has the cutest mohawk. i wanted to eat him up at church in his little slip on checkered vans, combed down mohawk and tie. such a cutie with the biggest brown eyes. on the way home we stopped at my friend jill's house in vegas. we were neighbors in provo for a year or two and our daughters played together everyday. jill just had preemie twins. i went to the hospital to see them. they are UP to two pounds. they were due middle of august but were born middle of may. they are beyond description how tiny and precious they are. it's a really hard time for them, jill's husband is stationed in georgia and she is having to stay with her parents. it was so good to see her and the girls played just like old times. her girl is named kate too and has the cutest curls... it was a good trip! i'm gonna put more pictures of cate on the beach in the "it girl" link over there..in the mean time i am trying to get my life back in order and julie, my sister in law is having a little girl today! gotta get dressed to head over to the hospital! i'm so excited to see her!and hold her a kiss her! this is going to make my baby hungriness unbearable!

i am sad...

because this is what i wish i was doing right now. i miss tahoe so bad. so so bad. i started thinking about it this morning at the gym and started crying on the track because i just started thinking about my dad selling our (sorry, his) house, and how i'll never be able to afford a house there, can barely afford to vacation there, and how i don't see any time in the near future that i can get there and how badly i just want to be laying in the sun smelling the pine trees right now. eating at sprouts. watching a movie in the den and knitting. sitting on the chairs on the porch with my feet up on the (what are those things called that hold the porch up?) on those. going on a walk to the end of the street with bettis. riding bikes with grant to eat breakfast at chris' cafe. shopping at la...la...OH MY GOSH i can't think of the name of my favorite little grocery store by my house..l...l...it's a girl's name that starts with l...this is going to drive me crazy....lo..lay..lor...AAAHHHHH! DAD, glor, heath, cole.. WHAT IS IT CALLED? (and yes, pms is deeply involved in this post). l...laylas..no...lornas..NO!..li..le..