Where the hell did you go?

Im such a head case...I can't remeber where this came from..sorry

I know, I know. I've committed the proverbial blog suicide. I disappeared, for like ever. But for good reason I promise. Since I last posted there has been a Peter Pan birthday, travels to Tennessee & North Carolina, a girl road trip across the Big Sky state, enough thrifting to gag a cat, a tribute to 'I Love Lucy', Honor Roll for Girl Genius, an Easter trip to Chico Hot Springs and Yellowstone National Park, a Zombie Prom Queen birthday(yes, you read that right) and remember project "Kitchen Aid"?.  Well said project went from a rearrange endeavor to a full blown let's remodel the entire house while still living in it with three children, a dog and three adults. Did I mention that the last three things happened simultaneously? Because that's totally rational and not "should be committed" behavior at all.;}, a Begining of Summer camp trip, a 15th birthday for a too cool teenage boy, a girl trip over the Beartooth mountains and through Yellowstone National Park (yes for the second time, I really really <3 buffalo, alright), I SHOT ANOTHER WEDDING [omg the fact that this accidental photography thing is progessing is just mind blowing], Ohhh new tattoos, an Un-Birthday for me (I refuse to grow up) and time spent with cousins on a farm in Roberts that may or may not have changed our entire lives{more on this to come at a later date, I do like me some drama. dun, dun, dun....... ;})

Geez did you get all of that? Excuse me while I catch my breath......... So in a nutshell this is the first opportunity I have had to even sit down for a minute and assess my surroundings. I hope someday to be able to blog as these things happen but alas I am not that organized, so dear readers please bare with me. I have not forgotten you!

Okay; so you don't think I'm insane ( never mind we've established that I am already). So I can share my insanity with you; I will attempt to re cap since my last blog post. Don't worry I'll spread it out over multiple posts, pretty sure I would crash blogger in an attempt to load all the pics.

Up first the Peter Pan Birthday! Change of plans, I have currently mis-placed the memory card that has the photos for both the Peter Pan Birthday and a chunk of the Tennessee pics. Sad face. Oh well, we can come back to that later;{(

So up next...Girl Trip Part I

Thanks for hanging in there with me guys....

xoxo kyla

As promised a little DIY & some therapy....

I firmly believe that retail therapy works. And my theory is that by shopping in local thrift stores I am also contributing to the community......Did you buy that?
No; well I will tell you that there is definitely a good feeling about mindlessly walking the isles until that one shiny thing captures your attention. And then like a furry varmint with a shiny new treasure you stroke it, and turn it over in your hands, and admire it.

image from here

Oh, maybe that's just me. I may have taken my Ranger Rick membership a little too seriously;}(yes I still have my membership card & so does my hubby lol)

I have been struggling whether or not to show you all (as opposed to y'all) my thrift store finds all at once or as I use them. I decided since most of them I am using right away I will just give you bits and pieces. Especially since they all pertain to a larger project I have dubbed "Project Kitchen aid".

 What's this you ask? Well, because my life is so boring and uneventful (oozing sarcasm in case you couldn't tell) I decided our entire house needed to be re-arranged. By re-arranged I mean dumped into a food processor, pulsed for 20 minutes and moulded in a fluted pan for three days. Hence the name. Let me explain why I thought this was a fabulous idea in the first place.....



I have to have this print! get yours here

 In addition to retail therapy I find that I use a "Make Do and Mend" type therapy. Making things helps mend me. And most times I will use what ever is readily accessible (make do). It comes on fast, in a flood of creative ideas and I scramble to get them out. Kind of like creative vomit....hahaha sorry that's gross but totally funny. So half finished chaos is what we get. I promise the end results are well worth the drama.












So now without further ado.......................

A Fabulous Cork Board

The bag of doilies was stuffed full. Mostly crochet edged, beautiful pieces. For $5.99 oh and I had a $5 off coupon from a previous shopping excursion. Yeah I used a coupon at a thrift store, don't judge me;}

And, the giant cork board. There is actually a story with that. You see my husband and I like to bond at Goodwill on Sunday's (they change the half-off sticker color) with coffee and NO KIDS. Well I walk by this cork board. It's poop brown with some not quite lined up cork squares. But the wood frame is in good condition and it has wooden feet too! The hubby sees me ogling this monstrosity and says "No way, where the heck are you gonna put it!" ..." But it would be perfect for my new office honey.And its half off today!" I explain. He just gives me the " I don't care, I'm going to have to build a freakin' warehouse to hold all your furniture lady" look.  So I sadly slink away with my best "Oh gorsh; I'm soooo abused" look.

Fast forward a couple of days. Hubby has cleaned out his car. By this I mean he has brought in a month's worth of rotten Tupperware from his traveling closet. Doesn't say anything just leaves it on the counter for me to find. I take one look in that bag, grab my keys and off to Goodwill I go. And by golly wouldn't you know they still had it, and it was still half off;}

I stopped at Hobby Lobby on the way home and picked up a tub of acrylic paint and some cheap brushes. I painted the entire wood frame. (no I didn't tape the cork I'm too lazy for that) It only took two coats and it dries really fast!

Then I stapled doilies on at random. I overlapped them and folded some to give me an edge to butt up to the frame.
You can have a bunch overlapping (like mine) or if you want a paired down style you could spread them out a little more. And then of course whats the use of having a fabulous cork board without cute button pins to hold the pictures in place!

Well that's it for now folks! I will be back shortly with another diy........
xo.kyla

On the road again.........

Here are a few quick highlights of our actual time in California

 Okay remember the haute mess of a trip in and how I was bummed out missing Reno? Well I got my wish on the way home and let me tell you I was squealing like a little girl ;}

Stopped at an EPIC thrift store called.........................

You have to go if you are ever in the Reno area. Sooooooooooooo cool. The too cool teenage boy wanted a gas mask so bad, but at $65 I couldn't do it. I did ask him "what are you going to do with it?" his response "I'd hang it on my door right over the poisonous gas sign you hung up!" Damn I like how this kid thinks;] Still couldn't pay $65 but now I have a gas mask on my radar for a 15th birthday....I'm so cool.

Stopped for a little Sonics. I don't know why but my kids are obsessed with sonics. Even when they don't come out on the skates. What the heck? I have to work really hard at being acceptable enough to be seen with in public, and a cheesy fast food joint is cool!? Maybe I need skates:/......................

And then in true kyla style I came down with the world's worst cold. I often say that Murphy's Law rules my life ( you know; if something can happen it will). I really thought I was going to die. But alas I did not. We made it home ,laughing, because our side street conditions here would require chains in some states.

up next some retail therapy and a diy

images sources: me ;}
top overlay: curated photo album get it here
second overlay: something I put together using stock from O scraps
the rest of the overlays: pugley pixel get your premium membership here

In Loving Memory

Richard Louis Gerard & Julienne Frost Powell Jacobs

May they rest in peace and know that I loved them.

He was a tall proud man with a voice that was unforgettable. I loved listening to him talk. He was an Episcipalian minister and to be honest the only time that I ever listened in church was during his sermons. He had a way of engaging your attention and making you think.

To Him I have to be thankful for my love of books and reading, jazz and blues music, my first art community coffee shop, my neverending quest for adventure, the strive to do whats right, and the confidence to ask "why". Whether given directly through time spent together or quailties my mother inherited and then pasted to me; thank you.

She was 'the' definition of glamorous. She was beatiful, gouregous and so ful of life you think she'd burst. I felt like a movie star or a celebrity around her. We had the best of everything when we were together. Oh the places we ate, and the stores we shopped in, and  places we would stay!! Everything was in grand style. She did so many things I wouldn't know where to even start! She once managed Sammy Davis Jr. and worked on Capital Hill. She was bigger than life.

To Her I have to be thank ful for love of living life to the fullest, remembering to treat yourself and your family like royalty; because truely they are, my neverending sense of adventure (yeah runs really strong in our genes, could explain some things ;}) and how to be fabulous no matter what anyone else thinks. Thank you.

To both of you. Thank you for my mom. If you hadn't created the rebelliuos, opinated, loving, creative, sassy, funny, sometimes offensive, spitfire of a girl.... I would not be here, to be all of those same things today.

Love Always Your Granddaughter,

kyla

USS Enterprise stardate 02172011.Captain's log..

We have encountered forgein land with severe weather conditions. I fear that we shall not make our destination.....Lol I couldn't help myself. Little did I know when I posted my little ditty about over the mountains and through the snow to Grandma's house we go; how literal that would be. I don't know what I expected in Nevada but it certainly was not this

I think I was expecting more of a desert. You know like sand, lizards, cacti (the too cool teenage boy had to correct me when I said cactues) polyester wearing mofia types driving land yachets doing suspicious things in the middle of no where.

I was so excited about seeing Reno for the first time but was very dissapointed when we arrived to this

So instead of bright lights, casinos and reno thrift stores we went to Walmart for chains. Not that we thought they would be nessecary (insert very angry redneck hubby muttering something about being from Montana and knowing how to drive in the snow, don't need no stupid chains; who do they think they are telling me how to drive; ect.) but the state of Nevada and California decided it was manditory and would not allow us any further. So chains is was


Up  the Seirra Nevadas we went. The amount of snow never really justifing the chains which in turn made us drive slower (at this point my redneck hubby demonstrating rather well how red his neck can truley get). And then a sudden complete stop in traffic. Right on the interstate.......have you ever put a egg still in the shell in the microwave? (i have, in my moms brand new microwave oven mid-eighties when they were still mega cool and expensive) The explostion is close to my husbands reaction to sitting in a dead stand still in traffic on top of a mountain on the last leg of a long journey. And then the enevitable happens........

tater: Mom I need to go potty

me: tater there are no potties here we are in the middle of no where, can you wait an little bit

tater: no i really need to go potty

hubby: tater if you need to really go; you will have to go outside in the snow

tater: (looking outside the window to the truck on one side and the 15' snow bank on the other side) no i need to go in somethin' like a house

me:(laughing uncontrollably) tater honey there are no houses

tater: i really have to go

Oh course I documented it all silly. Doesn't every teenage girl dream of sharing these epic memories in full color with her boyfriend;}

So this is how tater ended up squatting between our front bumper and the ass end of a semi carring fruit to California. In the snow, on a mountain, in the middle of a traffic stop. Ahhhhh childhood memories......

We did finally make it. The 1.5 hrs is was supposed to take turned into 4 hrs. By the time we made it to our destination we were beat. Up next a remebrance to honor two people who made all my snarky, crude, inappropriate humor possible.....

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Going to California with an aching in my heart...............

Sing with me now..Led Zepplin for anyone who doesn't recognise. And if you didn't you should be drawn and quartered cause Led Zepplin is the best band of all time...Just saying.

Day one of our travels from Montana to California (or Cali if your a too cool teenage boy ;})

We went from moderately nice weather with minimal snow, to OMG 10 foot drifts on either side of us, to holy shnockrockers I can't see past my front bumper blizzard; and then (again burst of sunshine through the windshield and choir) all clear and sunshiny. The choir may have been me since I was driving ;} Today we drive through Nevada! A first for most of the family (hubby has driven to Las Vegas before).

We detoured a bit this morning to see Shoshone Falls. Very cool; however the mist from the falls froze so it was like ice skating walking around getting pictures. You had to walk down a set of stairs to get closer and let me be honest here; I had visions of a bambi on ice type slip and a epic head long fall over the rail.I'm not the most graceful person;} I am happy to report we made it down without incident. I did throw up a little in my mouth when my hubby picked up the youngest and skated to the edge to give her a better view. *Gag*

Enjoy your day and think of us as we continue our treck out west over the mountains and through the snow to Grandma's house we go..............

It is better to have loved and lost; than to never have loved at all........

Today I feel like the first person to have uttered these words should be ghetto stomped.....Cajun style.
Two weeks ago I lost my Grandfather (lost sounds like I misplaced him at the grocery store, but lost is what it feels like). This was devastating, truly heart wrenching pain. It is so sad how we don't realize what an impact people make on our lives until they are gone. And then we are left with the pain and the feeling that there were so many things I should have said or taken more time to ___________.

 Fast forward a week...... I'm on the phone with my mother and she says "Your Grandmother passed away this morning." I literally said are you fkn kidding me? Not even a respite from this crushing pain and wham it just keeps coming in waves of grief.

Mix in with this grief I have dealt with resigning from my dream job (due to a callous and self - centered boss that I could no longer allow to abuse me) my father struggling with medical issues, and some major vehicle repairs.

Week from hell doesn't even begin to cover it.They say that "what does no kill us makes us stronger"....Well than at this point I'm fkn invincible. Sorry about the profanity but it helps;}

I'm not whining I do have a point.....In these times when we feel like we will just drown in the waves of grief and sadness we are thrown life preservers from those that really matter. Whether it be your best friend rescheduling an entire day just to walk through the day with you ( I heart your face Megstang I would be lost without you) or your husband making you laugh until you cry (more on this in a minute, let me get out the mushy stuff first). If nothing else just remember to breathe because despite the feeling that your lungs will explode there really is someone there holding your head above water.

Okay onwards and upwards, I have been blessed with a husband that makes me laugh uncontrollably. I mean the ugly snort, guffaw, tears running down your face kind of laugh. And the best part......he's not trying to be funny, which just makes me laugh harder.
Well we are discussing the whole chain of events that has happened in literally in very short period of time. I am struggling not only with grief but also with some big decisions. We live in Montana. I just flew by myself to attend my grandfather's funeral in Minnesota. Very hard is an inadequate description. My family is my life but we could not afford to fly all five of us and the weather was not going to allow us to drive. So I had to go without them. Now I am faced with a second funeral in California. What do I do? Do I fly alone again? Do I just not go? Back and forth I went..... So my dear sweet husband in all his hillbilly glory says" Well can't you just do flowers or whatever and go down to the river and throw some dirt in." Now let me explain he was not trying to be offensive this is just how he would honor someone important to him. I start laughing because he just doesn't understand that my Grandmother was a Catholic that came from a wealthy East Coast aristocrat family. I explain to him that there will be three days of Rosary, viewing, services and gatherings. He says "Oh hell no, when I die I want you to drink beer and just take me out to a field and burn me." Hahahah, bless his great big red neck heart! I seriously couldn't stop laughing for a half hour straight. Just what I needed. I feel asleep with a smile on my face and finally got some much needed rest.

The next morning the answer came to me in flash of clarity (think ray of sunshine bursting through the windshield and choir singing) in the Goodwill parking lot. I will just pack up our little rag tag tribe and drive out west ( cue homesteader music with Tater on the banjo). So off we go to sights unseen and territory not yet traveled in our trusty mini van lovingly dubbed the USS Enterprise. 


My challenge to you this Valentine's Day...honor those you love whether you go throw dirt in the river, have an elaborate party, or just say I Love You. It doesn't matter how you do it; just that you do.

xo.kyla

Tater Tot

Here's Some Tater Tot Humor to start your day.....

Tater's Recipe for Cookies

you get all the stuff
put it in a bowl & mix it up
it makes  puddin' (no lie she actually said puddin')
and then it makes cookies
{or you have Daddy take you to the store and just buy some. that works too!}

lol

I turned to my husband and said "You know you're a red neck when your kid refers to cookie dough as puddin'! (And you call said kid Tater ;})

I have to say I am totally smitten with Katrina @ http://www.puglypixel.com/. I bought the Premium Member subscription and I am so excited. It is awesome!! The possibilities are endless and I can't seem to peel myself away from my computer. The overlays, templates, blog templates, and clip art are endless. That picture of Tater over there yonder (sorry I had to) is made with a scalloped overlay, tape clip art, doilie clip art, and bag clip art.Amazing; everything is adjustable and will even print out gorgeous. My blog header and my couch picture are made using her overlays. She is a layout genius, her overlays include all the design for you so all you have to do is insert your image. I am an Elements user and I found that it works perfectly even though it was not created for it.

Well I think it may be time to walk away from my computer. I feel like I have prunes in my eye sockets and I'm pretty sure I forgot how to blink......
xo. Kyla

My Project Re-Style

I found this hmmm.... how do I discribe it; army green and pepto pink had a love child;  quilt at Goodwill. Sooo hideous but pleading with me to bring home and re-beautify (totally made that word  up). This was an interesting twim sized; I'm assuming coverlet would be the proper term. It had a army green "skirt" on three sides. I figured if I tore one side off (yea I ripped it off instead of taking the seam out cause thats how I roll ;}) it would be perfect for my couch.

 I like to change things up around here so I have a quilt for every season to  put on my couch. It's a sickness people, I need help.....

Anywho, I pondered for a good month or so on what to do with it so people wouldn't go blind when they walked in. I finally decided it needed song lyrics. Gigantic in your face letters that would instantly put a smile on your face. So mix a little Sargent in Arms with a little Bridget Bardot, sprinkle a little Beatles and voila!

Sing it with me.... All you need is Love, Love is all you need

Well now I have the couch covered but what about the ginormous (can't take credit for that one) pillow that usually sits on the couch?

Anna Maria Horner comes to the rescue! I <3 her so much. She has awesome free patterns on her site as well as gouregous fabrics and amazing other patterns. Highly recommended!

That's how two vintage sheets, one sleeve of a red wool sweater, and a umm....interesting coverlet made kicking new valentine's decor for our living room.

Just for fun here's your daily dose of Tater !

I heart this face!

Have a Fabulous Day

Kyla

Well Hello There....

Hello Everyone in blogland! Today is the day I  take a leap of faith and pray that I don't end up falling in a pile of poo ;)