My Boys

Mr. McBrayer has found a new sport that he and Duvick enjoy most evenings.

Doons enjoys getting the good 'ol long board out of the back of the garage and Duvick loves taking him for a stroll. It's not technically "walking the dog" if the dog is pulling you, professor. But Duvick gets a great work out - look at how much fun they're having together! And they go FAST.

Appearances

I had a job interview yesterday.

In an attempt to present myself as professional as possible, I emptied my bag of potions and colors and colored in the lines. My hair was dried with product (a root boost) and then straightened with an iron. I was wearing my contact lenses, not my glasses - despite all my sensitive eye issues that I have been having. I took out my nose piercing, simplified my jewelry, applied a foundation, blush, eye liner, eye shadow, mascara, powder and lipstick - wow, can you believe I even have all that stuff!? And of course, I wore high heels with my beautiful pant suit and was conscious of my colors and fabrics- i want to appear professional, but not cold or hard or stuffy. How do you sell yourself in only 30 minutes? 

Last night, I washed my face before I went to bed to remove all the muck. Doons and I had a talk about all the makeup I was wearing (I don't usually wear makeup beyond occasional mascara). He said that wearing makeup has nothing to do with looking professional. I told him that it absolutely does. We've been having this debate for some time. When I used to travel for Sponsorship, I would dress like I do when I go to interviews with suits, heels, makeup, and all. And he has never thought that wearing makeup makes me look any more professional (in fact he never even notices the difference most of the time). So, the reason I set out to write this blog today was really to get your opinion.

The question is not whether I should wear makeup to an interview or not.

The question is, in your opinion, does makeup make a woman look more professional? Please answer in the poll provided at the top of my blog.

And please only vote once (i'm looking at YOU Mr. McBRAYER!)

Thanks for your feedback!

And, you really should take a look at this:

Farmer's Market Booty

(roses from my garden - aren't they pretty!?)

Every Friday I try to make it to the Farmer's Market. I love to shop from local hardworking farmers and gardeners, and I love to buy food that is grown as it was intended - it is so nutritious and delicious! 

This last week I got  a bag of Gala Apples, Utah Peaches, Cucumbers, Tomatoes and grass-fed beef.  

Which translates to my favorite dish for lunch:

When I prepared this plate, I used a left-over tomato that I had from the store and one of my farmer's market tomatoes. Can you tell the difference from a tomato that was grown organically and harvested ripe versus a tomato that was picked green and ripened later? I always knew that the Farmer's Market tomatoes taste better but I never compared them side-by-side with a store-bought tomato. Look at the difference in color!! And they tasted worlds apart. I didn't really even want to eat my store-bought tomato in the same sitting as my Farmer's Market tomato. No wonder Landon is convinced that raw tomatoes are disgusting. 

Isn't this tomato beautiful?

I'm hoping that we will be able to renew the lease on this house and I will be able to plant some of my very own veggies this next year! 

Fallllalalala

The high for today is 66 degrees and we have a 50% chance of thunderstorms all day. Tonight it should be in the low 40's so before bed we will have to shut up the windows. and i'm so excited about this kind of weather!!!

by 31vintageroad

Yesterday I went into the garage and opened my box of autumn decorations. As I took each piece out and brainstormed where it would go in this new house, I realized I was crazy and put everything back into the box for later - it's only the beginning of September after all!

by handmadecolectibles

But man, I am excited. I'm excited to put the autumn scents into my scented plug-ins so my house will be filled with the smell of cinnamon. I'm excited for pumpkin beer and apple pie. I'm excited to wrap myself in my favorite wool sweaters. I'm excited to see the Wasatch splattered in gold. I do love this time of year.

by sheedesignsoriginals

I used to add to my holiday decor one item each year, but last year and this year finances have been pretty tight and I just couldn't justify spending $20 on holiday decor when there were more important things that required those funds like food, gas, rent, and ski passes ;). This year I am faced with the same dilemma even more so!

So... I've been brainstorming some cute ideas for a door decoration and am trying to figure out how to do something majorly on the cheap. All of these pictures are etsy crafts that I really like, but it doesn't have to be like one of these. Do you have any recommendations? I'd LOVE to hear them!

by vintagegreenlimited

Soule Shoes

A year and a half ago I wrote a post about how I was salivating over Amanda Soule's shoes. 

While Mom and Nell and I were shopping in Jackson Hole, we came upon two pairs of Miz Mooz in our exact sizes. Now I am a happy owner of my own cutsie Soule shoes in green!

Hiking Ruth Lake

Sunday we paid our $6 bucks to drive the winding Mirror Lake Highway through the beautiful National Forest. We decided to hike Ruth Lake again. It's a great place for us to hike: We don't have to bring water because there is so much water in the area, we can pack whatever we want because the hike is so short, there are unique limestone cliffs  to enjoy rock climbing, and it is absolutely beautiful.

Although it was Labor Day and the day hikers/fisher-people were everywhere, Doons and I were able to find a spot off the trail beyond a few little ponds that looked perfect for our little tent. This are had been pretty untouched. There was no trail that led through the woods - don't worry we tread lightly. And there was no evidence of a fire pit there in years. So despite the gazillions of cars parked at the trail head, we were relatively secluded and completely undisturbed - we didn't see anyone else the entire time we were camping. 

putting up the tent

While we were putting our camp together, I accidentally tipped our beers over and this one got a hole in it, we decided to down the beers while the weather was still warm.

Mr. McBrayer is the ultimate mountain man. He did everything - I felt like i was staying at a 5 star hotel. He gathered the water, cooked the dinner, made our morning breakfast, did the dishes, and woke me up with a cup of fresh coffee. 

cooking dinner

gathering water

Here are some pictures of the hidden beauties in the woods:

Duvick was the ultimate guard dog. He ran around smelling everything the entire time, and if he was sitting, which was rare, he was alert and growling. Ha! He ran around all night, growling, barking, chasing squirrels up trees, digging a bee's nest out from under the ground, and having the time of his life. 

guard dog duvi

once we got home, duvick slept for about 20 hours. not kidding.

we are our dinner on these rock slabs behind our tent. it's amazing what glaciers have done to the landscape here. just amazing that there are these rock fields all through the woods, glacial debris.  it was beautiful to watch the alpine glow on the cliffs.

9/02/10

Happy 90210 Day!

I'm a little embarrassed to jump on the band wagon, but man, I loved that show - once Mom and Dad finally let me watch it, that is.

Genuine H2O

I have a soap box that is just for bottled water and I've been debating what to do with it today. I think that this video might do an adequate enough job.

I recently bought a PUR water filter pitcher at my thrift store for $2 because Salt Lake City water tastes gross - I even spit it out of my mouth in the shower - blech. Getting a water filter and reusable bottles is pretty cheap.

If you must buy plastic containers think buying in bulk. Like buying large 3 gallon container of water to refill your water bottle instead of purchasing a rack of 30 individual bottles. Buy the larger tub of yogurt instead of the little single-serving packets - that kind of thing. When Landon's parents came to visit last fall i bought a couple huge jugs of water for my mother-in-law. She drinks only water and has a pretty specific palate for it. We are still using those jugs. It is smart to have a huge jug of water in your car in case you ever get stranded somewhere (especially in the winter). And we take them with us on road trips and camping trips.

Finding another use for a container is ALWAYS better than recycling. Reuse, reuse, reuse!

We were awaken this morning by a wild thunderstorm that lasted about 30 minutes. By the time it mellowed out, the alarm went off and beckoned us out of bed. And now it is still pouring pouring rain. It's only 50 degrees outside and the house is completely dark with these dense clouds in the early morning.

I've been craving fall-ish weather like this. 52 degrees!!! Crazy. The next few days it is supposed to be in the 70's, which is a huge respite from the 98 degrees we experienced last week! Welcome September!!! Goodbye Dog-Days of Summer! Most people are sad to see the Summer go, with the huge snow storms that lingered on into June this year. But not me.

Yesterday Hunky Husband and I went for a 6 mile hike/jog with Duvi through a beautiful dense forest into a clearing that was doggy heaven. It was even called "dog lake". When we arrived, dogs were running around and wailing through the water, barking and playing. It was a happy sight, to see so many sweet beasts having the times of their lives. Duvick was no exception. I loved seeing him have so much fun. We all were having fun. Doons was scoping out ski lines that he wanted to explore in the backcountry this winter. And we spotted the largest Aspen grove we have ever seen in Utah and made a mental note to return in the next few weeks to watch it turn golden.

I love the mountains. Such beauty and adventure to behold at every season. A winter wonderland becomes a doggy heaven in the summer. The well worn trail that we enjoyed yesterday will be completely lost beneath snow in a the winter months and we will have to find our own way to the top, but not before we enjoy a few weekends with crisp cool walks under golden aspens.

I'm going to have to go pull my house slippers out of storage...

So, Mr McBrayer and I allow each other celebrity crushes. We even make fun of them. Like last night we received "The Natural" from Netflix and Doons said, "you should like this movie - Robert Redford is so hot in it." I did like it. 

These are the two Hollywood blokes that are my favorite. I think they're incredible actors, I pretty much like all of their movies and admire their philanthropy. And I think they're cuties. Although they weren't always my favorites. I think these two hunks became my favs after I met Landon...

I wonder if their great looks reminded me a bit of my own hunk-of-burnin-love