you're going to need a siesta after this fiesta

Thursday, November 28, 2013
hi friends!

it's that time again.

today i get to share with you a fun little inspiration board that has party party written all over it…figuratively.

what do you get when you have:

taco bar + margaritas + mariachi tunes = a super awesome party that i want to go to.

i received a little e-mail from a gal earlier this week regarding a surprise birthday party. she has loads of details already worked out, but wasn't quite sure what DIY decor they were going to go for.

and i say, what can't be solved with some mexican blankets, sombreros, and margaritas?

answer: anything can be solved with a delicious margarita. most anything.

lily - thank you so much for sharing your party idea with me! i'm still looking for glorious DIY's and i'll be sending my faves your way!

mood: fiesta flare

colors: a whole-lotta bright


credits
row 1: sombreros // limes // invite // flowers
row 2: margaritas // cupcakes // poms // pinatas
row 3: tag

e-mail your party requests my way!

e-mail HERE.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
umm…hello?! we have a giveaway on our hands.

yes…yes please.

it's $150 of cold hard cash…actually it's a visa cash card. same diff. i'm into it.

show some love to these gals…and me too. actually…show the most love to me. i need a pick-me-up.

good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

christmas list // the bell

Monday, November 25, 2013
so…i've been thinking about my list for awhile.

i was having a hard time coming up with anything that i actually wanted. i'm a bit of an impulse purchaser…so if i see it in front of my face…that's when i know i want it.

actually having to plan a list of wants? that's cray.

but once the want-juices (that kind of sounds disgusting) got flowing i couldn't stop.

bell's 2013 christmas wish list //

find them here //

farmer and baby wish lists 2013 coming soon...

five goals on friday

Friday, November 22, 2013
i used to do something (before kaye arrived) called sunday fun day.

i set out some goals i was hoping to accomplish that week and then i would report the following sunday on my accomplishments (or failures) in hopes of holding myself accountable.

usually the goals had something to do with working out or cooking dinner or not eating popcorn.

but this friday i'm going to change it up a little.

five goals for the coming week:

ONE //
i am 100% not going to buy anything for myself or kaye this week. girlfriend has waaaaay too many toys and clothes…and mom's closet isn't hurting either. this also includes no stops at starbucks when i hit the big city. of course i can purchase the necessities such as toilet paper and toothpaste…but no frills. i'm sweating just thinking of all the different ways i could fail. a week is a long time.

TWO //
remember this glorious pottery barn sign i posted about a few weeks ago?


well…i'm pretty positive it's not going to turn out exactly like this…but i plan on completing this task in the next five days. let's just say my farmer had a few opinions on the wording…

THREE //
i have got to start working out more consistently. there is nothing more sad than looking at pre-baby-body pictures and then looking at the body that you've since been gifted. i'm mean…sure…it looks more than fine with clothes on. i can't complain about that. but the business underneath? time to stop complaining and start doing something about it.

this was me the summer i completed my first triathlon. those were the days. you see…i was pretty chunky in college (like so chunky i got stretch marks…eeeee)…so training for this tri got me closer to the bod i had always wanted.


this was also the summer i spent a good portion of time in a tanning bed, my hair was suuuuper blonde, and we were partaking in adult beverage…a lot. those were the days. coincidentally…i also got engaged. tan + blonde + skinny + drinking = what my farmer wanted.


i plan on getting in some sort of physical activity for at least 30 minutes five days of the week. boom. it's written down…so it shall be. maybe i'll even sign up for a race somewhere…even though it's not racing season…maybe i'll make up my own race.

FOUR //


have any of you heard of the site minted? i'm sure you have. it's WONDERFUL. i just love their goodies. you better also be prepared to sell a kidney for your adorable christmas cards you're going to send to 50 of your nearest and dearest. so instead i decided to make my own. they aren't going to be NEARLY as adorable as these goodies, but it'll get the job done and will also help me justify the dollar billz we forked over for photoshop. yikes. i'll get these off to the printer this week.

FIVE //

on thursday (yes, thanksgiving day) we'll be traveling to chico to spend thanksgiving with my daaaaahling sister and her daaaaaahling hubs. i'm very excited to show my farmer chico. i hope he likes it as much as kaye and i do.

anyway…my sister and i have a bit of a history. we are the very very best best of friends. like…i love this gal as much as anything. but we are also known to "hooch." this is what my farmer calls it. basically, we can be really big bi*ches to one another. (i'm more guilty of this than she.) and it annoys EVERYONE. everyone who is around us. so my last and most important goal is to minimize the hoochin' so we can all have a glorious hooch-free holiday.

xo

linkin' up!

a surprise announcement

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

well. i've been holding this little nugget of information in for a few months now and i'm finally so excited to share it.

that's right. i'm NOT pregnant. thank god. i don't know what i would do if i was.

but several months ago amy (over at {the farmer's wife}) was playing around with the lighting and also shooting some family pics when she asked me to "stand there."

so we had some fun with it.

and you know what…as much fun as my real pregnancy shoot was…this one was WAY more fun.

like pee your pants funny.

i encourage any and all to participate in your own fake pregnancy shoot.

happy wednesday.

this is a party i could party at

Monday, November 18, 2013
another board for the books, y'all.

i received an e-mail from a friend who is celebrating her 30th next weekend.

the party is going to be at an arcade/bowling alley. kids are welcome but we'll be ditching our little bear. she's kind of a buzz-kill when it comes to my farmer and me enjoying a night with our friends.

plus i may drink a beer or two and try to make out with that farmer of mine or something. kids don't need to be around for that. anyway…

the birthday gal told me her favorite colors and i said i could take it from there.

i took those favorite colors…and threw them right out the window…unintentionally. because that's what any good wanna-be party planner does.

mostly i just kept finding pictures in bright teals, reds, and yellows and so i went that direction. the party god's were willing it.

mood: playful // brightful //funful //friendful // retro

colors: aqua // red // lemon


credits
row 1: beer // balloons // boxes // jars
row 2: blue bev // burgers // G // bowling balls
row 3: cake // pretzel // retro fab // birthday card

this night out with friends should be a hoot.

this was the same group of friends i definitely…have no business sharing my past. it'll only get me into trouble.

happy birthday miss annie. can't wait to celebrate with you!

same drill.

send your party requests here: FARMER &the BELL

happy weekend…i need a cocktail

Friday, November 15, 2013
yell-o.

(that's how my grandma used to answer the phone. since she's not with us anymore…i'm bringing it back.)

we've got a fiver goin' on up in here.

ONE //
every day has been a battle as of late. i DESPERATELY want to decorate for christmas, but i feel like i need to wait until the 20th of november…at least. i checked our radio station yesterday to see if the christmas music was playing yet…it's not.

but this time of year often reminds me of when my farmer and i were living in our sweet little trailer and i decorated a little corner. we didn't have a tree. we didn't have a kid. it was a simpler time.


and then we got a house, tree, AND a kid…a lot can change in one year. yowza.


TWO //
speaking of christmas…i spied this little number from p. barn and i almost bought it. as in…i was taking it off the wall at the store. but then i realized it was $120-something and i pumped those brakes and thought, "i can MAKE this."

so i'm going to make it…and won't that make a great blog post.


THREE //

my farmer is kind of killing it these days. he surprised kaye and me with these little carhartt overalls. and when our little miss has her overalls on…he'll put on his matching carhartt pants. it really is the best.

FOUR //

speaking of my farmer and best gal, he took her on a daddy/daughter getaway last night and to wake up this morning at 7:30 am was the most amazing gift. (granted i woke up at 4:30 am to phantom crying, but quickly went back to sleep.)

so since my farmer and gal were away i ate chocolate chip cookies and popcorn for dinner. i woke up feeling like complete b-hole. won't be doing that again.

FIVE //
i have yet to post anything about kaye's little birthday party, but here's a preview. she was the cutest, little, leopard-print kitty-cat ever. it took three days to get the eyeliner whiskers off.



i hope you all have a nice little weekend!

last thing. a bit of business, really.

do you like what you read? do you want to follow along?

just click this HERE and follow along…simple as that!

or you can get posts e-mailed to you…check out the left sidebar.

linkin' up yo.

a very rustic // cozy // plaid // 1st birthday board

Thursday, November 14, 2013
first of all…thank you so so much for sending me your party ideas and allowing me to creatively interpret your words/ideas. i've loved it so much.

i mean…when my farmer is harvesting corn all hours of the evening…a girl's gotta find something to occupy her time…right?

(please note that there are about one-trillion things i can think of to do on the farm at any given time…but i really enjoy the party inspiration schtuff.)

with that said…keep those e-mails coming!

you can e-mail me your party requests HERE.

and even if you don't want a board done and just want to shoot ideas back and forth…i'm happy to do that too!

with that…the latest inspiration board.

i received an e-mail from a gal who also has a little gal (just about the same age as kaye) who was looking for a board for her first birthday. she was thinking plaid and rustic…and she loved the idea of a hot cocoa bar…and i'm ALL FOR any beverage that requires whipped cream. or any beverage you can put bailey's in.

i was into this idea. i love plaid and i love rustic. but how do you  make it look just right for a first birthday?

it was a struggle, but i finally came up with this:

mood: rustic // cozy

colors: cranberry // pink // glow (is that a color?) // wood


credits
row 1: chalkboard // macarons // apples //cranberries
row 2: cakepops // paper // antlers // hot cocoa
row 3: marshmallows // washi // cider // straws // 1

my next board is right around the corner…as in i think i'll do two next week to keep up with your requests. i'm feeling pretty loved via zee blog these days.

thank you again for all your sweetness.

have a great thursday, y'all…because it's almost friday. and friday's rock.

kaye turned ONE

Tuesday, November 12, 2013
on october 30th my little, sass-face of a gal turned one.

i cannot, 100%, absolutely no way, believe it.

wtfrick did this year go?

enough about my shock and awe. let's talk about miss miss.

it all started here…the day we met our very best gal.

here i am at 5:00 am, 11 days overdue, october 30th, 2012.


then about 13 hours later…there she was in our arms.

and i busted out the ugly cry…because that's what you do when you realize your life has changed forever.

FOREVER.


and wouldn't you know it…the hospital people let us take her home. 

scary is not the right word to describe this feeling i was feeling and still feel on occasion.


and she was like…the MOST beautiful baby.

a real stunner.


this picture absolutely kills me. i laugh every. single. time.

send her back is what i should have been thinking. but mostly i would just gawk at her. stunned.

and of course we had two bird studio come out and take her pictures.


but as she grew she went through so many phases.

there was the chewing on everything phase:


the party-on-the-boat-summer phase:


she crawled for a hot second. well…she crawled for like a month and decided that was for the birds.


walking was much more her style.


and throughout it all…she got much cuter.

much happier.

and much sassier. so sassy.




and then the day came…she turned a year old.

again, we had two bird studio capture our turtle.

they do such a fine job. i'm in love with the pictures. in love.


she's pretty fantastic.

in a year i've settled in on two nicknames: girlfriend…but mostly i call her turtle. she definitely thinks her name is turtle.

i made this little board with every intention of setting it up at her party. that was a fail. a good friend printed out the poster for us on special paper and everything. fail.



but at least i have this PDF as a reminder of all her glorious stats.

this year has been absolutely the best of my life…and i'll speak for my farmer too. he's loved every minute he spends with his little gal. she's pretty head over heels for him too.

i can't wait to see what our turtle has in store for us this coming year.

five things that make me giggle

Friday, November 08, 2013
ONE //

channing tatum - this guy is kind of all over the media these days…and for good reason. he's smokin'. but whenever i make a comment or there's some sort of movie advertisement for this dreamy hunk of a hunk my farmer asks what i see in "tainty chatum?" or "tanning taintum?" or "tainting channum?" really, just some form of his name with the word taint in it. and i laugh every single time.

TWO //
does anyone else get endless crap from their main squeeze about blogging? well i do. my farmer will ask me why nobody wants to sponsor my blog (sarcastically). or he'll ask why so and so has more followers. or he'll glance at my laptop and say, "quick…pin that before somebody else does!" knowing very well that multiple people can pin something because i've explained it to him several times. he is so ornery.

THREE //

i giggle when my farmer falls asleep at 7:45 pm several nights in a row. hey…a farmer needs his sleep. what's better is waking him up and trying to get him to wrestle when he really just wants me to leave him alone. for some reason that's when i like to tease him the most. i guess i'm a little ornery too.

FOUR //

the way my farmer teases kaye. i used to get annoyed with him for it…but i now realized that it's building her sense of humor and encouraging good character. she's going to be hysterical at this rate.

FIVE //


i laugh to myself when i realize just how much these two are alike.

they share a scary spark in their eye that lets me know they are up to no good…i'm in trouble.

i'm a lucky gal to be able to laugh on the daily with my little family.

happy friday…and don't forget to send me your party inspiration board requests! E-MAIL HERE.

love linking up with these ladies…

a sweet 16 inspiration

Thursday, November 07, 2013
it's time for another inspiration board…woo.

i know that a solid majority of y'all could give a hoot about these, but some of you kind of like them according to your kind comments and e-mails, and i cannot thank you enough…because i'm really enjoying putting them together.

this inspiration board was inspired by a mother's love. she has a sweet gal who will be turning 16 and definitely deserves a sweet little par-tay.

this sweet soon-to-be 16 year old is pretty hip and with it and gorgeous to boot. 

but what 16 year old isn't? 

i swear…looking back on my 16 year old self…you would have guessed i didn't own a mirror. 

just ask my eyebrows.

okay…so she's gorgeous. she's hip and with it. she's very deserving of a beautiful party. and this chica has style.

after some back and forth with her mom and knowing that emerald is a super hot color this fall we decided on that as an anchor color and finished with this:

mood: sophisticated. innocent. bold. sweet 16.

colors: emerald, eggplant, grey


credits

would you like your very own inspiration board for an upcoming celebration?

shoot me an E-MAIL and i would be oh so happy to swap ideas. for realz. seriously. 

i only have time to do one board a week, but i'm MORE than happy to brainstorm with you…so count me in for that!

thank you again for the e-mails and comments…they make a gal feel real real good.

a trip to chico

Wednesday, November 06, 2013
holy balls you guys. life has been busy. but that's a good thing.

miss miss and i just got back from visiting my darling darling sister and her main squeeze in chico, CA.

have you ever been to chico? well i'm about to blow the lid off their little secret: it is oh so charming. oh so beautiful. and i think i love. actually, i know i love.

i'm over the moon that i have family there…and i have a feeling we'll be visiting quite often…sorry rob.

sorry i'm not sorry.

our trip was jammed with all sorts of out-and-abouts…but mostly we stuck to what we love: running, shopping, and eating…and we squeezed in a brewery tour at sierra nevada. and a champagne brunch. and a margarita lunch. and…and…you get the idea.

first things first - girlfriend did stellar on the plane. well…as well as an overactive one year old can do. and i only got scolded by the flight attendant once to, "keep your child in your lap."

i wanted to hand girlfriend to said flight attendant and say…"you keep her in your lap. best of luck. happy flying."

i proceeded to let her walk up and down the aisle and smile at the fellow passengers who were happy to smile back.

and it made our farmer super happy that we were on the vandals plane.



but don't worry…between our running and eating and drinking kaye had oodles of fun too…

sleeping in the carport...


and we visited this park every. single. day. she couldn't get enough of the slide…




she was underwhelmed by the swing…it's a terrible picture of her, but i think my arm looks skinny.



she's most definitely a girl after my own heart. girlfriend loved the champagne…rather splashing the champagne all over the table.


this was also the same meal i gave her watered down juice for the first time. sugar. high.

and when girlfriend is crashing from a sugar high…why not  make pumpkin cookies and french braid everyones hair?



the french braid is underrated. let's bring it back.



i braided my own head without looking, folks. 

skillz for days.

the next day…we took kaye to chico's campus and the people were as friendly as their campus is charming. out of this world. 

of course…i'll praise anyone or anything that's good to my turtle. 

as much as she smiled at the passers by…they smiled and told her how cute she was right back. 

kaye loves a compliment as much as i do.



but like most good things…it had to come to an end. i booked us an evening flight home CONVINCED it would be perfect for my little sleeper. 

we would cuddle up in the tiny seat with her blankie and stuffed beaver and she would drift off to the sounds of an airplane engine. 

dream on. i'm nearly positive she didn't blink the entire flight.


we're home now and it feels oh so nice.

as much as i miss my sister already it was wonderful to watch kaye hug our farmer for five non-stop minutes and repeat "dada" over and over and over…and over.

melt. my. cold. heart.

@karlibellmeier