friday I'm in love

hello weekend!!!!!  i am so ready for you!!!!!

dreaming of this hawaiian sunset!!!!!

have a good one!!!

life...honest and real

life has been very busy for me these past few months.  i don't always handle the busyness very well.  i feel scattered and unorganized and unable to give 100% to any part of my life. 


i love this blog world where i can share with you my life up here in the last frontier. i promised myself that i would keep this space happy and positive.  for the most part i will do that, but it is also so important for me to share things that are not so happy, but that are honest and real.  we all have our ups and downs in this life, but sometimes the downs out way the ups.  


i feel overwhelmed and tired. i am a working mom and simply can not have a new meal on the table each night. the house will be a mess and laundry and dog hair will pile up on the floor.  my kids will argue and we will stress over things we shouldn't.


i will attend everything that my kiddos are involved in and say yes to sports that cost more than my car payment each month.  i will feel every heartache and every joy with my family.  i will not be a super soccer mom or volunteer of the year.   






here i am, honest and real

  

be random...

a little inspiration found on pinterest

to start the week off on a good note!!  love love to you all on this monday

new loves

yay!!!  last weekend i got out of town and headed to the big city for some much needed shopping!!!!  here are my new finds and what i wore to work this week!!!

friday...

on fridays we can wear jeans!!!  love jean friday

dress: thrifted

sweater: hand me down

pearls: my  grandmas

flower: thrifted

jeans: big star

shoes: dsw

this entire outfit came from nordstom--i had to buy something brand new!!!

sweater: ann taylor loft

dress: thrifted

leggings: hollister

boots: ugg

sweater: nordstrom

dress: thrifted

belt: anthropologie

necklace: my grandmas pearls

shoes: sanita

have a fabulous weekend!!!

beer grain cookies

still cooking and running!!!!

today is my day off and so i decided to make a few things to eat for the week.

1.  pad thai (one of my all time favorites)

organic whole wheat udon noodles with loads of steamed veggies topped with my very own peanut sauce!!!!  YUM!!!!

2.  for my husband: salmon casserole.

organic whole wheat spiral noodles, organic non dairy milk, organic non dairy cream cheese, wild alaska salmon that my husband and son caught this summer, organic crackers crushed on the top with a little non dairy butter!!!!  he loves anything with salmon!!!!

3.  beer grain cookies: for the whole fam

my husband brews the beer that we drink (mmmmmmmmm, so yummy!!!)  i just can't throw away the grains that we use so i save them and add them to cookies, bread, or whatever!!!!  they are pretty fab in cookies--even the kiddos love them.

thats it for today--hope this all lasts a few days!!!!!!

exercise has been put on hold the last few days because of a busy busy weekend in the city!!!!  shopping (i will share my finds later this week) and a football game!!!!!  back on the treadmill today!!!!!

have you thought of any september resolutions!!??

favorite fall outfit....so far

a lot of bloggers out there do a very fun post each week showing what they wear.  I love it!!!  i love to see what others put together and get fun ideas for my own wardrobe.  i have always loved clothes and creating my own style.  here is my fav outfit of the fall...

necklace: grandmas pearls
shirt: fossil
skirt: anthropologie
boots: ugg

butterflies

"everyday is a new opportunity to create the life you love"

one of my all time favorite quotes, which i found on a pottery barn gift card i received for my birthday years ago.   the words so simple, but they impact my life and send butterflies through my body,  reminding me that i am in complete control of my happiness.  its all up to me!!!!  i control how i react to difficult situations and i am the one who can see the good in others even when they are not always nice to me.  i will never change another, i can only change who i am and the way i see the world.

thank you pottery barn for inspiring me in so many ways!!!  you never know where you will find your next inspiration!!

below are a few of my favorite pin.ter.est finds this weekend

have a fabulous week!!!!!

snapshot postcard

i have to share my new favorite apps with you.  snapshot postcard!!!!  its pretty darn fabulous and oh so easy.

we received a postcard in the mail the other day from one of my daughters fav teachers who moved away:(
on the top of the card it said, sent from my iPhone.  so curious i checked out the website, quickly loaded the app on my phone and sent a couple cards myself!!!  check it out!!!!  www.snapshotpostcard.com

sept resolutions...day one!!!!

I am off to a pretty good start!!!!  dinner was nothing new, but i made spaghetti.  organic whole wheat noodles, organic sauce and wild musk ox sausage that our friend avery shot with a bow and arrow in bush alaska.  bush alaska!!????  weird term, i know!!!!!  there are lots of villages in alaska and that is really what i mean by the "bush"!!!  i didn't eat any because of the meat but the rest of the fam was in LOVE!!!!!

oh the exercise!!!!!  30 minutes on the treadmill for me with the black eyed peas pandora station!!!!!   i would love to get outside and breath the fresh air but its not in the cards tonight!!

news years resolution in september...

who says you have to wait until the new year to make a few resolutions.  right???  well i guess i am going against the rules a little, but what the heck.

so with that said here i go, here are my september resolutions.

1. cook more

i am in such a rut with cooking for the last months (6 or so, maybe longer).  life gets busy with work, school, sports, and a new second job that i am usually so tired by the time we make it home that i don't want to stand over the stove and make dinner.  my new plan is to make meals when i can and make enough for leftovers.  leftovers the family can warm up when i am not here.  i also vow to try new recipes...lots of them.  i have great cook books with fabulous meals just waiting for me to make them.







2.  exercise regularly

i go through so many ups and downs with exercise that it is pretty darn ridiculous.  i do really well for a while and this life gets busy and crazy and i lose my time to workout.  it drives me bonkers!!!  i was talking to my dad one day (he always makes time for exercise even now that he is in his mid sixties) and i was complaining that i don't have time to keep up with my exercise.  he looked at me and simply said, you have to make time.  so simple but so true, I have to make time!!!!!  its all up to me!!!!  i absolutely love the way i feel when i exercise and i need to just do it!!!!!

so there they are, my september resolutions...i can only handle two right now.  any more might send me over the edge!!!!!  i so wish i was one of those lucky people who only need 4 hours of sleep a night.  oh the things i could accomplish.

sending you love on this tuesday!!!!

photos found on pin.ter.est

last few bits of summer

soaking in the last few bits of summer with a run outside.  i don't like to run outside in the winter on the ice and snow, so i try to get out as much as i can in the summer.  here is my daughter and i while the boys are practicing football.  

happy monday--hope you all had a fantastic weekend!!

our weekend away

last weekend my husband surprised me with a birthday weekend to our favorite place in the the last frontier...our ski resort!!!!  i love it there and have been craving a weekend out of town, so i was thrilled when i found out we would be going.  surprisingly the summer rates at the resort are double the winter rates so we don't get up there much in the summer.  there are beautiful hikes that we love and its always so much fun to see the resort without snow.  we are covered in snow up here for half the year.

here we are relaxing and enjoying our time together

my boys

my girl and my lovely glass of birthday wine

lots and lots of sideways rain!!!  no hiking on this trip

love our weekends away

not so ready...

for fall.

i know its time and i need to get ready, but i don't want to let go of summer just yet.  here are a few fun fallish pics i found on pinterest today!!  they should help me get more used to the idea of fall!!!  the leaves are starting to change and the air is a little cooler.  love

love...its time to shop

one thing that i miss about living in california is the shopping!!!  oh my goodness i am so limited in my little town here in alaska!!  i am so ready for a little trip to the city for some consignment digging and nordstrom love!!!!  oh i can't wait!!!!  carrie bradshaw--love  love her style!!!!!

yesterday...

i was 33
today i am 34!!!!!!  wow i am now in my mid 30's!!
hope you all had a super holiday weekend!!!!

image found on pinterest

a wedding...matt & alyse

love