Kate's Dress

I know the Royal Wedding's been covered over and over again, and though I wouldn't say I have Royal Wedding Fever, I do love a good wedding -  and you can't deny it - royalty can sure throw a classy party.  I didn't wake up at 4 a.m. to watch the pomp, but I did Google "Kate's dress" as soon as I woke up. 

I'm. In. Love. 

Via

That's all I wanted to say. 

Over and out. 

I'm a skim girl

I've always been a skim girl.  (No, not "skinny" girl. Skim girl.)

Mike's always been a 2 percent guy. 

And this was cause for our first and worst fight as a married couple. 

Yes, you read that right. We fought over milk. 

We're deep like that. 

As Mike and I were discussing which milk "grade" to purchase, it wasn't an issue of what we would drink now - because we know we could have just  bought both - it was an issue of what "family standard" we will set for our children. 

And their children. 

And their chidren's children. 

I-can't-do-it-all-but-I-want-to

Ugh. I'm getting that overwhelmed I-can't-do-it-all-but-I-want-to feeling again. As a new wife, so often I find myself wanting to be good at all things "wifely." At this stage in my life, there are so many amazing opportunities, dreams and well, just plain things to learn. 

Sometimes, as I'm talking with other women my age, or reading my daily dose of bogs, or checking out the latest Real Simple magazine, I get so excited with inspiration, motivation and ideas I feel like I might burst. 

"Oh, I can clean my fridge in 10 minutes or less and whip up a perfect meal just by cleaning out my pantry!" or "She's doing swiss chard in their garden, I probably should too. What the heck is swiss chard again?" And "Look how she just built that table for $25, I probably should build one for our house!" (Yikes, even I knew that wasn't a good idea after I thought it. Laura + Saw + Hammer = Blood and Gore.)

But as I dig into these great ideas and actually attempt to carry one or two of them out, I begin to lose much of the joy I started out with. I put my nose to the grindstone, researching, studying and learning about all these seemingly great things, that are supposed to make me more efficient, more productive - and more loved, adored and appreciated by Mike. 

Instead, I become frustrated, unhappy and critical of myself and ultimately of Mike when he doesn't notice "how great I am to him - that lucky dog!" 

A friend of mine said it best in a post she wrote a couple of days ago:

"What good is a mopped floor if it comes with a side of critical spirit? Or clean sheets if it is accompanied with a mopey wife? I am learning that Matt [her husband] does not necessarily want to enter a house smelling of Pine Sol and dinner (and definitely not a dinner of Pine Sol), but a house FILLED with grace, understanding, joy and patience!"

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'll never be Wonder Woman or super-wife - I'll always just be me. And though there is much value in consistently working on my talents and skills, if it comes at the cost of my attitude, heart and thoughts, it's not worth it. So, I've now reigned in my ambitions and am working instead on finding a balance between learning new things and giving  in to the fact that it's okay if I don't know all the in's and out's of all "wifely things" in my first year of marriage. Then, the overwhelmed "I-can't-do-it-all-but-I-want-to" feeling is replaced with a much more bearable "I-can't-do-it-all-and-I-don't-want/need-to-because-it-turns-me-into-a-crazy-woman/wife-and-that's-not-good-for-anyone-so-just-put-your-feet-up-and-shut-up-Laura" feeling. 

Ahhh, much better. 

But before I sign off, I must ask - what the heck is swiss chard again?

Happy Easter!

Found via Pinterest, via tinywhitedaisies

Happy Easter! I hope you all have a chance to spend time with your family this weekend and to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. This holiday always reminds me of how deep my need is for a Savior and gives me comfort in knowing that my debts have been paid and I have a future beyond this life. 


And I love it because I get to decorate eggs and beat all the Wifler's in an egg decorating contest.


But as Mike would say, "'beat' is a relative term."

I'm still not cool...

A couple weekends ago, I was in a wedding for one of my childhood best friends. I had an absolute blast, and had a chance to catch up with a lot of people I knew growing up but hadn't talked to in a long time. Every time this happens, I'm reminded about how much cooler I thought I'd be when I finally hit my twenty's.

True confessions: When I was in my teens, I remember thinking, "When I'm in my twenty's - I'll finally be cool. I'll wear trendy clothes, big sunglasses, drink a Starbucks latte every, single day, drive an Audi, have traveled all over the world, have an awesome apartment and be making major bucks doing very little work. I'll go out every night, laugh with my head thrown back and have a closet full of cocktail dresses."

Man alive, am I glad that dream didn't pan out (Let's be honest, it was a bit unrealistic.) And if it did, I'd be a total brat!

But - heyo - I would be a rich brat....

Take that Mother Nature!

I don't know about where you're living, but up here in Minnesota, spring cannot seem to shake winter off. Today we're in a Winter Weather Advisory.

Eish.

Ugh.

Yuck.

Sinosh.

Yes, I just made that last one up.

Since it's technically spring, I keep telling the radio's weather report to switch it to a "Spring Weather Advisory." I'm sick of even hearing the word "winter," and since it is technically spring, shouldn't they refer to it as such? Com'on weather man!

Even though it's cold, I've been breaking out the capris and T's pretending mother nature is cooperating with my 70 degree wishes. Every once in a while I just go stand under one of the heat lamps in our bathrooms and pretend I'm tanning my face. If I close my eyes and tilt my head back just so, it feels just like I'm under the sun.

To force spring into our home even further, I decided to update Oakland Avenue's pillows too. It was feeling a little drab and dreary in our living room and I couldn't stand it - so I ordered these fabulous pillow covers from Etsy and I'm crazy about them! It's amazing how three pillows can really change the feel of the room!

Instant spring!

Ha! Take that Mother Nature!

Pssst: Did you notice the hanging lamp in the top left corner of the room, over the couch? I made it a few weeks ago - it was super easy! More to come!

We're just two uglies doing ugly things

Every once in a while, Mike and I ask each other, "How happy are you in our marriage?" 

Stemming off a tip from my brother and sister-in-law (check out their sweet blog on their monster home remodel here), we try to "rank" our marriage out on a 1-10 scale and then talk about why and how we can improve it. We've been married for ten months now, and to be honest, we've been blessed to almost always be ranking on the 8 - 10 part.  (I believe on my birthday I gave it a 12 million - it was a pretty good day.) 

Recently, after a "check-in," our conversation consisted of, "I don't think there's anything to work on - we're perfect, you're perfect, I'm perfect." And, "Maybe I just need you to give me a few more back rubs and it'll bump my happiness scale up from a 9.75 to a 10. Can you work on that?"

Kidding aside, we know there will be days ahead where together or individually, we'll be sitting on the low end of the scale and neither of us will even feel like working it out. On those days, if Mike even cracked a back rub joke, I'd pry want to strangle him.  

That's why we're working so hard on building good habits in open communication now. I'm not a marriage expert by any means, but what I do know is - when Mike and I don't talk about things, everything starts to spiral downward. I start holding my emotions, needs and desires inside, and I get selfish, bitter, grumpy and just plain ugly (my heart, not my face - okay, well my face too - grumpy isn't a good look for me). And on top of it all, Mike gets the same way - and then it's just two uglies doing ugly things. 

It's an ugly sight. Trust me. 

But when we're open with each other and purposeful in our conversations, we're able to combat the ugliness before it even happens. No, it doesn't make us a perfect couple. Mike and I still disagree, hurt each other's feelings and act downright selfish towards each other, but having these check-in's  forces us to work hard at being honest - being willing to admit that we don't like this or that, feel that this need isn't being met, or that one of us needs forgiveness for something. It gives us a safe zone to talk about how we're feeling and chance to not let the hurts build up until they really do turn us into uglies. 

On that note, here's to open communication and beautification!

Salon Gallery

I've been itching to make a salon gallery for a long time - and for a long time, I couldn't quite figure out where to put it. Finally, I settled on a big open wall in the dining room. I had seen a lot of tutorials online for how to make a salon gallery, but to be honest, I still wasn't sure how to go about it. 

Do I purchase all the frames first, then try to arrange them? Do I make a mock up, then buy the frames? White or black or some-other-color frames? Bah. Decisions, decisions. 

For a long time it kept me from doing anything - 8 months long time. Then, one day I was at Ikea to pick up a couple of other things and I had the sudden urge to just pick up a ton of their Ribba frames and at least give it a shot. After purchasing the frames, I cut out paper templates of each of the frames I had, then from there I hung them all up on the wall, starting with the large square you'll see in the photo below and working out. 

(Of course, I used white paper on a white wall to make sure the arrangement was super camouflaged. Then I used my crappy cell phone camera to make it even harder to see.)

After I had tweaked the arrangement once or twice, I had Mike help me put the nails in the wall for the frames. (His ability to use a level is invaluable - I'm more of a "very accurate eyeballer"- not okay for this project.) We just put the nails right through the paper and ripped the paper off once they were in. Super simple.

Then we just hung the frames and ta-da! It's done! I know it looks a bit dull and boring, with all the white and grey, but I plan on putting in lots of photos to bring in color. There was a wicked glare off all the shiny new frames, so I tried taking several different angles of the gallery. Yeah, it didn't help. But, I posted them anyway so my work wouldn't be in vain.

Even though it was. Ah, well.

I'll be back soon with more of the frames full of photos!

Minneapolis Cottage House

A couple of weekends ago, my sister-in-laws were in town and we visited The Cottage House in Minneapolis. It's only open once a month, and each month they have a themed sale - I actually can't remember what "theme" it was when we were there, but it's anything from "Spring Fling" to "French Cottage." From what I understand, 15 different designers collect furniture from various locations, then bring it all together in one central location for a sale once a month at The Cottage House.

We had a blast checking out all of their stuff and the best part was their prices - ah-maz-ing. Everything was in great condition and incredibly cheap. Of course, all three of us talked about what we would do to "modernize" the pieces to fit our style, but at these prices it's totally worth it.

Here's a few of our finds:

This dresser was $48! Change out the pulls and it would be super cute!

Emily bought this chair for super cheap! Isn't it cute? Isn't she? It's perfect for the cottage chic look she's going for in her new home. 

You can find out when The Cottage House has their sales here. If you're in the area, you should definitely try to check it out. 

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken

This meal just became Mike and I's favorite recipe.

I stumbled across it when I was looking up how to use up a bit of lemongrass after making a peanut sauce for spring rolls (recipe to come!). I searched "Lemongrass Chicken" and this recipe is what popped up - best random Google search ever. 

The trick to this dish is the lemongrass. You might have to go to  your local Asian grocer to find it, but trust me, it's worth the trip. I had never cooked with lemongrass before, but it's very easy. It's a pungent herb that looks like, well, grass, and smells like - you guessed it, lemon. Though you can use the entire stalk, for this recipe you peel off the hard outer layers and mince only the inner bulb. 

I love cooking with new ingredients and trust me, even if you're not a fan, it's worth breaking out of your shell and trying your hand with lemongrass. This was an awesome dinner for a lazy night in, but would even be an impressive meal for a handful of guests. 

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast/thigh, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cooking oil (I used sesame oil)
2 fresh lemongrass stalks, tender inner white bulbs only, minced
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
3 chilies, seeded and minced
1 scallion for garnishing

In a bowl, combine the fish sauce, garlic, curry powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sugar. Add the chicken meat to coat.

In a small skillet, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 tablespoon of the water and cook over high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring until a deep amber caramel forms. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Transfer to a bowl.

Heat a wok (or just a pan) over high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the lemongrass, shallot, and chilies and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the chicken and caramel and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened. Transfer to a bowl and top with the scallion. Serve with steamed white rice.

Source: Rasa Malaysia

I'm still breathing

Right now I'm sitting on my couch, staring at a three-foot pile of crumpled tissues - give or take a few inches.

Fine, I admit it, I stacked them all up to see how high I could get them and the top couple keep tipping off - hence, the "giving or taking of a few inches."

Anyway, my head feels like a huge helium balloon floating on a tiny little string-of-a-neck. If I blow my nose one more time I think Mike's going to regret his choice to sit by me on the couch because my head - and everything in it - will explode all over him.

Not a pretty picture.

I'm even grossing myself out.

Anyway, if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm sick. Not sick enough to miss work, but sick enough that my co-workers mistake me for Darth Vader when I walk by their desks.

"No, I'm not your Father, I just need to borrow a pen."

I've never appreciated the ability to breathe through my nose more than these last few days.

Anyway, sorry it's been so quiet around here - thanks to those of you who've called/Tweeted/Facebook'd me in the past few days to make sure I'm still alive.

Yes, I'm alive - trust me, if you were anywhere within a one mile radius of my body you would be able to hear me breathing.