Girls Traveling

GIVEAWAY: my FAV things

Monday, May 28, 2012

yo. i'm going to try something new and totally awesome this month of may/very nearly june...

basically the big plan is to feature a product i love love love and then of course have a little giveaway. and giveaways rock, right? right.
so let's get to it.

happy may/june to the glorious JAMISON RAE (<~~~ give this name a click)! are you excited yet?

you should be.

i met jamison long long ago (well, like 2006) when i purchased my very first pair of earrings. these earrings are classic, simple, but still have some character with the hammered effect. i get at least one compliment every time i wear them...which is a lot because they go with everything.

not these earrings, but similar - dangle earrings

then i was lucky enough to meet her again in 2009 and i just knew i wanted her to do my wedding jewelry...and so she did!

i wore these on the big day...

wish me luck bangles

wish me luck necklace

the earrings i'm wearing i've been told will be listed soon, but these are similar

now for the SUPER exciting part...the giveaway.

jamison rae is sponsoring a little giveaway here on the bloggy blog! yayayaya! i just couldn't be more thrilled.

here is what you could WIN:

find them HERE at jamisonraejewelry.com

you love? i loooove. i knew you would love.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

so get entered. ready, go.

flashback friday + 1 day

Saturday, May 26, 2012

in honor of the rain.

in hopes of the rain gods taking pity on our hay that is sitting hopelessly on the ground waiting to be baled but can't be baled because it's been rained on.

as an offering to the wind to stop blowing.

i humbly submit my longing for hot summer days:

cool, flowing rivers.
delicious beverage.
grilled food.
camping.

right now...i don't think we'll ever see those days. but it's idaho. and idaho is less than predictable.

which means soon this will be me...

but i probably won't be sitting on my dad's lap.

and i probably won't be captaining the boat.

and there will be a lot less man-thigh in the background.

but if i play my cards right - maybe my dad WILL rock that same hawaiian hat. one can only hope.

up at 2 am

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

and 3 am and 4 am and all the way through to 1:00 pm. my farmer had his work day in by 9 am this morning. but people...when it comes to farming you don't work an eight hour day. you work until you fall down...dead-like.

you work past the point of "i'm so hungry i'm not hungry anymore."
you work past the point of "i'm so tired i feel sick."

you just work. and that's what my farmer does. and i love him. i love him so much for it. i've literally never seen or heard of anyone working harder.

so far this week my farmer was up most of sunday night waiting for the wind to die down so he could bale up our first cutting of alfalfa. the wind finally subsided at around 6am...

monday my farmer was up all night again...baling. and then continued to work on additional farm responsibilities until he was finally able to catch a cat nap at 8pm. then back up and at 'em at 1 am. baling away.

let's keep in mind that it's not just my farmer running this program. it's farmer's farmer-dad as well as some extremely loyal employees. farming is hard work. but if it's done right...it's quite the life.

so when i emerged from my office at 1 pm today to find my farmer like this...

i couldn't help my heart from aching. my farmer was up all night underneath a baler...trying to fix it. he fell asleep before i got any nitty-gritty details.

but the frustration i feel for my farmer when equipment (especially brand new equipment that cost $80,000) breaks...well, it just ticks me right off. i get all mama bear and want to yell and scream and kick at the baler. doesn't that baler know that it's supposed to make my farmer's life easier? not a living hell.

so y'all...let's give a shout out to farmers. they work real REAL hard underneath farm equipment at 3 am laying on their backs in the middle of a field while spiders and bugs crawl all over them. meanwhile, we're cuddled up in our blankets sleeping away.

farmer - i love you. now get back to work. xoxoxoxoxox

it's raining goats

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

good tuesday y'all! we have some action happening on the farm and i really couldn't be more thrilled. or in love. or mushy-gushy.

so...remember a few posts ago when i was jumping all over our furniture because we had some "visitors" in the basement? well...from what farmer tells me, we're up to 14 dead mice-ies and one nest of baby mice-ies. good riddance. (if you missed that post, click HERE.)

well now we have some different visitors and they are more than welcome. if farmer would let me, i'd bring them right into our living room and cuddle them all day long. we'd watch the real housewives, eat popcorn, and live happily ever after.

it's raining goats up in here!

first, we had this little brown beauty join our farm...

he's just over a week old but already he is hopping, running, twisting, and flipping all over the place. but he's certainly not too big for me to chase down and cuddle...

and then, this weekend, we had this little spotty guy come for a visit...

so naturally farmer and i had amy from the farmer's wife (<~~ click to visit her blog) and mr. babes (her babe) come for a goat visit.

mr. babes wanted nothing to do with the goat kiddos...but everything to do with the goat with horns.

so as of this weekend, we were up to two...with a few more on the way.

and then a miracle happened. this little guy joined our lives...

i introduce to you...

MR. GOAT PANTS!!

isn't he the best?! and modest...he came out wearing pants!

so as of monday morning we had three baby goats...all boys.

and then...ANOTHER miracle happened...

GOAT TWINS!

this little couple are brother and sister. and they are the sweetest. i've been away for work, so i haven't actually met them yet. but i have every intention to set up shop in their pin with them upon my return. i can't wait.

that makes five in all! hip hip!

on another note...this naughty goat couldn't get enough of my green hunters...

goat!

Monday, May 14, 2012

welcome to the family mr. goat pants.

we love you already...and your pants.

fascinating farm

Friday, May 11, 2012

chicky chicky boom boom! it's friday!

(chicky chicky boom boom is a good thing...)

today i thought it might be super awesome to share some farm knowledge with y'all. i mean...what with people trying to become "greener"/"self-sustaining"/"you get the picture" and all.

let's learn how to plant a garden. scratch that. let's think big picture. let's plant a farm. hundreds of acres of corn.

basically, let's do the exact opposite of learning how to garden.

so the other day i "helped" my farmer plant hundreds of acres of corn. it felt like millions. it was probably closer to 10. but let's face it, that "buddy seat" he tries to sell me on leaves a lot to be desired.

my farmer had been out in the fields for days. from sun up to sun down. he really was planting hundreds of acres of corn. maybe like 600 acres. (farmer - is that accurate?)

on one particular day i hadn't seen him...at all. was he under a tractor? did he sneak off to the big city without me? so i hopped in the truck to track him down. and being the good wifey that i am...i packed him a glorious dinner. a sandwich and snacks and limeade. (my farmer can't get enough limeade. it's the sugar. it keeps him going.)

and mind you - this was the FIRST dinner i had "made" him all week. i'm good like that.

when i finally found him, he was re-loading the planter with seed...

(funny, before i got my camera out, his shirt was ON.)

i knew my farmer had been planting non-stop for days so i offered to help...

(please notice how i kept my shirt ON.)

i'm like samson (of samson and delilah). i get my strength from my glorious hair.

sadly, i can only rock one 50 pound bag of corn while farmer can muscle two. probably six on a good day. but we're not bragging or anything.

so we loaded all the corn into the planter, i hopped in my buddy seat and decided to capture the riveting action of driving...

oh, did you not realize that my farmer is only responsible for watching the gps drive his tractor?

see the yellow? that shows my farmer where he's planted/currently planting. there is a device attached to the steering wheel that keeps the gps spot-on and creates pretty-perfectly straight rows.

however, gps corn-planter doesn't turn the tractor at the end of the row. my farmer is responsible for that. so at each turn, i clap and cheer and tell my farmer how "GOOD (that) turn was!" farmer is real REAL good at turning. he can even do it one-handed.

so the yellow continued to fill the screen and i continued to injure my spine in the buddy seat. after about 100 acres i begged farmer to let me out.

and trixie (our sweet, little farm dog who chases badgers and skunks and goes running with me)...she begged to get in...

ps. look in the top right corner of this picture. see the pink? that's corn seed! did you know it can be pink?! fascinating.

and while this isn't exactly a "high-five friday" post...it is friday. so i'm linked up over here...

wedding inspiration

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

hey all you gal-faces! (guys too...i guess.)

what with wedding season right RIGHT around the corner i'm getting ants in my pants.

who has two thumbs and loves weddings? this girl. if i had 20 thumbs they would all be pointing at me.

a few things i LOVE about weddings?

good people with smiles on their faces
everyone lookin' their snazziest
farmer's ability to light the dance floor on fire. seriously...he's amazing. what he lacks in skill he makes up for in enthusiasm.
delicious beverage
cake...or pie...or really just desserts of any kind
usually followed by some yummy cheeses, snackies, dinner
excellent music that i know all the words to. i'm the girl that thinks her dancing improves by mouthing the lyrics.
kiddies who are brave enough to strut their stuff
watching the groom watch the bride (awwwww...*sigh*)
and of course...getting a new outfit for the big event

so yes, i love weddings...more so the receptions.

this got me thinking about my own wedding and the planning that was involved.

i was on every wedding blog from here to the end of the internet. pulling pictures, stealing/borrowing ideas; but all the while having a very specific idea for the look and feel of MY wedding. (and farmer's wedding.)

when you look on the internet there are inspiration boards everywhere...EVERYWHERE. i pulled about 50 of my favorites but nothing hit the nail on the head. so i pulled together my very lame computer skills and created a few of my very own "inspiration" boards. and i'll be sharing those with you today. get excited.

BOARD 1 - look and feel of the bell/schiermeier wedding

i feel like between my slave driving and my amazing b-maids...we got pretty darn close to this. right down to the chalkboards and the pie.

BOARD 2 - bell's b-maids

these, my friends were OODLES of fun to create. not only did they crack me up just looking at them, but it really gave me an idea of what each would look like standing altogether. i strongly encourge this.

ultimately we decided on these j. crew brown dresses with my sister in one of the creamy dresses. we couldn't pass them up. not only did they match the theme...but they were $30 a piece. score.

ps. don't i have the prettiest friends?

i've shared some of our wedding pictures before, but here is the "inspiration" come to life!

it's a mouse situation

Monday, May 07, 2012

this is going to be quick and dirty:

we're up to 11 dead mice + a nest of babies = mixed emotions.

we have to be reaching the end, right?

we're considering some cat adoptions. they'll live outside since the farmer and i can't tolerate animal dander.

however - put a puppy like this one in my hands and i'll cuddle it's little face off...in the most loving way possible. it would definitely live inside. animal dander be damned.

pardon the blur. he's a wriggly thing.

his name is luke. my ma and pa picked him up last week. we bonded. i love him...instantly. i'll be writing an entire post about luke. stay tuned.

but back to the mice. so between the 11 mice and nest of babies, and this little treat i just ("just" meaning minutes ago) found...

i'll be moving back to the single-wide...tonight. scratch that...i'm taking the afternoon off and moving right now.

tell me - HOW did this furry FURRY, giant spider get into my glorious farm house? HOW?

please pardon the graphic, squishy nature of this picture...but obviously i couldn't capture him alive, right? a dead spider is a good spider.

as i was attempting his capture, it was one of those situations where i slammed the tissue down on his body, squeezed and lifted. but there he was, on the ground scampering away.

his death took three attempts. so when i finally got him...i may have overdone the squeezing.

spiders...*shudder*

i'm grimacing as i push the "publish" button. *shudder*

a mouse found us!

Friday, May 04, 2012

guess what everyone!?!? we had our very first overnight guests in the house and it was full of giggling, running around, strategy...and even a little drama. drama drama drama.

i love drama.

allow me to set the scene: house on a hill, three days ago, dark out.

(i'm a real word-wiz.)

i was laying in bed while farmer was still planting corn. it was his third night in a row planting corn. bless his corn-planting heart. we're talking - he drives that corn planter from 6 am until 10 pm...at least.

but mama needs more pottery barn on the farm - he knows this, and so he plants.

so i was laying bed when i heard a scuffle, scuffle, scuffle. we get a lot of scuffling out here on the farm, so i didn't think much of it. but there it was AGAIN! scuffle, scuffle, scuffle.

naturally, i was FAR too terrified to get out of bed. i grabbed my phone and texted my farmer, "bring home some mouse traps...we have a visitor."

farmer arrived home at around 11 pm. he prepped the mouse traps with organic peanut butter (only the best for our mice!) as i leaped from chair to table to stool to counter top. i could NOT risk a mouse scampering across my toesies! the weirdest part? i was giggling the entire time. i was so excited! apparently we don't get much action out here on the farm.

so we climbed into bed and were chatting (because farmers are good chatters) about our day.

*SNAP*

it hadn't been 10 minutes and some drama was already goin' down!

we shot out of bed. farmer ran to the trap (i leaped from furniture piece to furniture piece). and being the manly farmer that my farmer is, he concealed the death that was among us and disposed of the sad, little mouse body. success. (giggle, giggle, giggle - don't worry, i'm looking into this weird reaction of mine.)

the next morning he asked, "do you think we got anymore overnight?"

i was pretty sure we had disposed of the only offending mouse. i mean...the nerve of that mouse to be running around my pristine farm house!

farmer ran downstairs to check anyway. low and behold - THREE MORE MICE! dead. gonners. sayonara suckers.

i squealed, "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

and apparently in addition to the three that were trapped (not humanely, mind you) was a little nest of baby mice. farmer "took care" of those as well. it was official. we were seriously invaded.

so last night, same routine: bait those traps with peanut butter, sleep, check in the morning.

results: THREE MORE MICE!

people, we've arrived at ungodly proportions. one mouse = exciting. seven mice + a nest of baby mice = not fun anymore = disgusting = i'm moving back to the single-wide.

i mean, at least in the single-wide we only ever had a mama mouse birth her babies in my running shoe, ya know? (you can read about that story HERE.)

so wish us luck, friends. there is a good chance a king mouse and his friends are plotting to carry me off and bury me under a pivot or haystack.

lastly - i'm linked up over here with hollie, from hollie takes notes!

it's a pottery barn WINNER!

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

well hello kids! is today your super lucky day?

what if i told you, by some fluke chance, I ACTUALLY WON THE POTTERY BARN GIFT CARD!! can you believe it? i couldn't! i'm the happiest girl in the world!

okay, that didn't happen. but it IS going to take an act of GOD for me to find the strength to seal the envelope and pop it in the mail.

i'm real REAL jealous of the winner.
(if this were an actual piece of paper it would be tear-stained.)

let's get right to it.

and the lucky winner is...

oh, do blurry pictures of the random number generator not look professional?

A. Bendawald said...

I'm a follower! woohoo! now you better rig this thing so I WIN!!! :)

April 26, 2012

a. bendawald! a $50 p.barn gift card is headed your way!

congratulations!

i really wish you hadn't written "you better rig this thing..." ironic? yes.

you must share your purchase! do i smell a guest bloggy post?

thank you everyone for participating! it was a lot of fun as i obsessively checked the new comments every 10 minutes.

i'll DEFINITELY be doing another giveaway...maybe when i reach 100 followers for a $100 gift card!

KIDDING!

what do you think...my farmer is made of money?

happy hump day.

it's blowin' up pottery barn in here

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

slowly but surely my farmer and i are getting moved into our new, little farm house. this is thrilling.

some of these articles, furniture, decor lived with us in our little single-wide...here...

and you know what...they kind of jazzied up the place. i like to think it was the nicest single-wide in these here parts. i had some pride...for the inside. obviously not on the outside. that was beyond help.

but some of the goodies we received for my bridal shower and wedding. i packed them away in storage two years ago and thought of them daily. and cried. and longed. and then the glorious day came when they emerged and now live in our new home.

this is an old picture...the color is still the same. the landscaping leaves something to be desired, but it was a big day when the siding went up and the deck was constructed.

so now all our "things" live with us here. and i couldn't be happier.

and i realized i have a pottery barn addiction and should really begin to diversify...or get sponsored by them...or get a job there.

like this condiment set given to me by a glorious coworker. it's been hiding away for over two years and i finally unpacked it the other day for the very first time and i very nearly cried...

and this wine rack that my farmer hung for me. it looked good in the trailer...but EVEN BETTER over here...

and while i labeled everything pottery barn in this picture so you can see the severity of my issues...please take note of the GLORIOUS table. the thing rocks. my. socks. it's my very most favorite piece in our home.

when my great aunt and uncle passed i had the opportunity to inherit something from their home. i had always loved this table. the color, shape, hardware...all of it. but it's even sweeter because every time i look at it i'm reminded of my great aunt and uncle and their legacy. fantastic people. i was real REAL young when they were gettin' real REAL old. i wish i had known to cherish my time with them.

wooo - life lessons up in here. moving on...

this little bench and rack/hook system i found on craigs list. pottery barn at 85% off? yes please. let me just take that off your hands. the bench also lived in the trailer with us, but looks FAR better in our mud/laundry room.

but you know what's NOT awesome? when i find the pillows on the ground every single morning. farmer throws them off to prove a point.

his point? "why are there so many damn pillows that i can't even sit down to put on my shoes?"

my point? "i. don't. care. it. looks. pretty."

he still throws them off. it's very harsh.

this pottery barn inspired post was not only my opportunity to share more of our little home with y'all but to ALSO remind you of the GLORIOUS POTTERY BARN GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY.

that's $50 clams y'all.

if you want to get entered...CLICK HERE! and don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the post because that's how the winner will be chosen. word? word.

entries will be accepted until 6pm. that's mountain standard time, y'all.

and the winner will be announced TOMORROW. hip hip!