Renovations

Friday I decided to renovate the Family Room. 

I painted the built-in entertainment center, molding, baseboards and doors. This room looks brand-spankin new! I also took off the doors of the center and replaced them with curtains I made. Every woman should know how to sew. 

We still want to paint the walls and get a new TV!

Weekend

 I had a 3 day weekend. It was awesome. 

Owyn and I went to Ikea of Friday, which we probably shouldn't have done because I got too many things I didn't need. Which by the way, Ikea has GREAT Christmas decorations this year.

I had an itch to do something with the family room so I pulled out my paint, brushes and painters tape and went to work. By Friday night it was complete. Pictures in a post to come..

Saturday we went to see RATATAT!

It was incredible! 

Here is a song for your enjoyment..

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

We went to Papago Brewery (our favorite) and I had a glass of wine before the show. It was just like old times. We used to go there and do my homework. Once we got to the show there was a HUGE line, but then we ran into some friends who were just about to go in and we snagged a spot in line with them. Lucky, or what? We went to the bar area and found our very own VIP spot right against the the side of the stage.

Then, some girl standing next to me kept trying to push me over and was getting closer and closer to me, then finally turned to me and yelled at me. "I swear, if you touch me one more time!" She was an idiot, and clearly has never been to a concert before. It got pretty heated and we yelling back and forth until I said, "maybe if you'd move your fat ass over we wouldn't have a problem". It ended at that. I was shocked that came out of my mouth. I'm also shocked she didn't punch me in the face. Poor girl was so worried about me "touching" her aka- her nudging me over intentionally to get me out of the way, that I don't think she enjoyed herself one bit. I made friends with the sweet couple next to us and they stacked and made more room for me. I'm pretty sure that made her extra irritated, but I was just there to have a good time. And I did.

Today we've spent recovering from a long, eventful night.

 I had such severe acid reflux last night that I ended up vomiting the moment we got home. It sucked. I wish that sort of thing happened a lot less often than it does.

I haven't gotten out of my PJ's today. It feels great.

clean boy!

Two Items to Keep in the Kitchen at all Times.

#1 Ravioli- preferably Rising Moon Organics

 

#2 Pesto- preferably Dr Hummus Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Both of these items are great to keep around. 

You can create many wonderful meals with them. Even together! I can always take whats in my kitchen and throw together a great meal. Bonus of them both, they are vegetarian and only 200 calories. (serving or ravioli is about 200 and the entire container of pesto is 200.

Here are two easy, fast and kid friendly meals using these items.

Ravioli recipe:

1 package ravioli

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley 

hand-full of sliced mushrooms

4-5 grape tomatos 

1 clove garlic

parmesan cheese

Directions: boil ravioli (i boil in veggie or chicken broth cause it makes it taste better) while steaming mushrooms and tomato, drain ravioli after soft-about 8 minutes, toss to all ingredients together and sprinkle with parmesan.

Pizza Bite Recipe:

Sun-dried tomato pesto (taste just like pizza sauce only better)

pita bread

mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Tear pita bread into bite size, paint with pesto, sprinkle cheese and bake in oven about 350 until cheese is melted and pita begins to crisp. These are so delicious and Owyn loved them.

Somedays

I actually get to do my hair. 

Not often enough. 

Didn't Kylie do a fabulous job?

I Do's

{images stolen from here. Please don't sue me. I'm poor}

It's official. We will be saying our I Do's at The Farm at South Mountain.

You have no idea how excited I am. 

This is the only place in the phx metro area Id like to say my vows to David Christopher Gramp. Yes, his name is Gramp, and yes, I like to call him Mr. Grump for more than one reason. 

Our ceremony will take place on this beautiful well kept secret farm and our reception will take place in our backyard. The backyard that sold us on our house.

Letter to Dad:

Dad, I hope you've been working operation wedding reception plans. 

P.S. I have some ideas myself, if you'd like to listen.

P.S.S. Do you know anyone who can clean up our ENTIRE backyard for a very good price??

Like tree trimming and all? Ill talk to you about it tomorrow. Since I talk to you everyday. I guess this letter is pointless, especially sine i know you only look at picture and don't read my posts. Wendy, we can laugh about this (and him) once you read this.

( I love Wendy. She's wonderful and hilarious. She still likes me (i think) even though she's know me since a young child and dealt with me during early adolescence.)

I'm gonna be Mrs. Grump (haha) March 17, 2011!

Yes, we're getting married on St. Patty's Day. 

Our wedding will involve lots of clovers and green beer. 

Just kidding. Maybe.

Late Post About Our Weekend

Did you have a great weekend? 

I hope you did, because we did. 

I had A LOT of homework to do. 

I had a quiz, discussion board submission and biography on Edward Hopper (American Realism Painter) due and a HUGE exam all due today. That might be why I haven't posted all weekend. Maybe.

Friday I had off from all the responsibilities that take place outside of our home. Thank goodness. Responsibilities in the home continued. I lost Owyn in our house. That actually happens more often than Id like to. We have a large, long house that is easy to loose children in. I ended up finding him in a cabinet in the quest bathroom. He was reorganizing. See pic 6

 Friday night Owyn and I played in our front yard while we waited for daddy to come home. 

We picked olives off our olive tree. We pointed at the cars going by and said "car" and Owyn ran to ever garbage can in sight (it was garbage day) pointed and screamed "gar..gar...gar". He loves those things. We also played this game where Owyn would go around to the front door and step down the little brick wall and run toward the street testing his limits. Every time he got close to the sidewalk Id stop him and tell him "no, danger!", he'd throw a little fit, forget about it 2 seconds later and repeat. See pic 3

Saturday we went to the dog pound so Dave could meet the dog Owyn and I found the day before. He's so cute and sweet. We want him real bad. We left to think about it. We talked a little about the responsibility and haven't spoken much about it since. I think we both realized we not quite ready yet. :(

Im pretty proud of myself. Dave told me we should get him. And I REALLY want him and my heart says yes. But I know logically it's not a great idea. I thank my Dad for that. Jerk. Just kidding! If I didn't have him to put me into check I would've made a lot (more) stupid decisions in the past. 

Saturday  night we had a nice little get together for Dave's birthday. 

We went to costco and stocked up on beer and goodies for a taco fiesta. For some reason, which Im still not sure of, Dave wouldn't tell me how many people he invited or thought would come. So, I prepared for a BIG party. We bought way too much. Let's just say, we'll be eating tacos for the rest of the week and  drinking Blue Moon and Sierra Nevada for a month. It was a really great time. Dave's friends brought their instruments over and had a "jam session", which Owyn LOVED. He was obsessed with the drums Noah brought over. Noah is from Dave late band Attack of the Giant Squid and is amazing. One of my favorites. Owyn sat in between the symbols and just loved his life. See pics 4 & 5. He also stood right in front of the bass drum and let the air with every beat blow his hair and clothes. Owyn is so serious when it comes to his music. It's hilarious. I asked for a friend to bring over their dog, so we could see what it's like to have a dog over. Fortunately the owner, the dog is a really good dog. Unfortunately for us, the dog was a really good dog and made me want one even more. Darn.

Sunday was packed full of studying. And a work meeting that took place at Kierland in Scottsdale. That's about it.

Oh yeah, I also did a wonderful thing on Saturday morning... 

see next post for details. 

:)

Dear Dave,

Happy Birthday, my love. 

You deserve nothing less than a wonderful day. I hope work treats you well today. I hope all the A-holes are less a-holey today. Just for you. Even though I'm sure nobody will know it's your birthday because I highly doubt you'll tell anyone. By the way, how would you like to celebrate? Remember your 27th birthday when I went and decorated your apartment to surprise you? Remember how we were popping the balloons and making them spin around and around. We could not stop laughing. It was great. And remember your 28th birthday when I made you favorite meal- steak- and make Owyn a special "happy b-day daddy" onsie? That was cute. 

Well, you just think about the celebration you want to take place in the honor of your birthday. It has to be GREAT because you always make mine great. 

I must go tend to our child now.
Happy Birthday, we love you so much.

Love, Your Babe, Chelsea

Pictures that capture what I love most about you. Among the many things.-

Chelsea's 3 Bean Tortilla Soup

I must admit, I make a mean tortilla soup. 

Yumm... I like to make large pots and eat it for days. 

It could easily be turned into a vegetarian chili. 

It's one of those staples that I always turn to because its

a. delicious

b. quick and easy

c. cheap

Ill tell you how I make it, but it's never the same. 

I don't have exact measurements. Im not Martha Stewart. Although I wish I were. 

Just kidding. I don't. 

Ingredients:

Garbanzo beans- 1 can

Pinto beans- 1 can

Black beans- 1 can

Diced tomatos- 1 can

Veggie broth (or chicken)- about 1/2 cup

Corn- 1 small can OR small bag of frozen

Garlic- 3-4 cloves

Red onion-1 medium

Cayenne pepper- 1/4 teaspoon

Cumin- 1/4 teaspoon

Directions:

-In large pot sprinkle tablespoon of olive oil and sautee the garlic and onion until fragrant over medium heat and add spices. 

-Add remaining ingredients at a low boil for a couple minutes while stirring. 

-Reduce heat and cover while letting it simmer for about 15 minutes, or until you can't wait any longer!

-Crunch up tortilla chips and sprinkle them over serving with a dollop of daisy (sour cream, duh). 

Wow, easy, right?

Sometimes I add a rotisserie chicken, but Im trying to cut out meat as much as I can. 

Im sure a slow cookin' would make this real good.

Dear GrandJen,

The Nike's you gave to Owyn make him look like a tennis player. 

If he ever wants to hit the court, he has white soled shoes.

I think we can both agree that he is the cutest thing on the precious earth. 

Yes, that is a metal detector. 

That he will not let go of. 

He found it at Grandma's and wouldn't let go, so he had to bring it home. 

That is Dave trying to take it away from him in order to get him into the car. 

He wasn't very happy. 

Love,
Your middle child (the cute one), Chelsea

P.S. Did you know it's Dave birthday tomorrow??

(it's his last birthday in his twenties!)

Oh did I mention..

I have new locks!

Thanks to little miss Kylie, I have new hair to get me through this awful "awkward length" period of growing out my hair. We all know what that's like. 

It took a good 4-5 hours, but it was so worth it. 

I hope I wasn't too much of a bad client for her. I was so worried about them looking like extensions that I had her layer and razor about 50 times. Today was my first day washing them. As you can see, they are still wet. I can't wait till my hair dries so I can play with them!

Recent Happenings

I've been suffering from a little writers block lately. 

I've been extremely busy, like usual, and many exciting things have been happening. 

For one, I celebrated my BFF's (Kylie) birthday. Happy B'day. I love you.

(Me, Alaina, Brittany and Kylie)

We also had our BIG season opening at MAC that turned out fabulous. 

We had such a good turn out. As I was looking around at the hundreds of people walking through our galleries, drinking, eating (but not in the galleries of course!) listening to music and conversing, I felt so proud. This is the first show this big that Ive worked on. To be able to do what you're passionate about and watch other people enjoy the work you've put in is one great thing. 

My sweet little family came. Dave, Owyn and Dave's mom, Laura. 

I was able to introduce them to the people Ive been learning from and growing to love. 

When I showed them around the galleries I actually felt emotional. 

I could show them what and where Ive been when I'm gone.

I got to show them them artwork that Ive been talking about.

Everyone loved Owyn too. He's quite the hit at any event. 

(People usually ask me what I do, so Ill tell you. I hung a lot of the work. I de-install the previous exhibits. I pack them up to be sent back to where ever they came from. I paint the walls of the galleries to make sure they are pretty for the new work. I do condition reports as the art work goes and comes in, and take pictures of it. I hang the work and make sure everything is good to go. Now that the shows are complete and we are now open again I will be working on the curatorial side which will involve some desk work, educational work and press stuff. It's great experience. ) 

{sorry my pics are blurry.}

P.S. we havn't been making any wedding plans what so ever. 

we should probably get moving on that?

San Diego Part 5: Labor Day Fiesta and Farewell

It's already Thursday and Im still missing San Diego. 

It was so relaxing. My skin is craving the cool weather to an extreme!

Monday afternoon we gathered at a neighbor/friends house and enjoyed a delicious spread. There were many other young children which was neat, because I love watching Owyn around kids. He just adores them. Especially older boys. He stares at them with interest and curiosity. 

{grand-dude and family pic by Wendy}

{Owyn playing with the chairs he loved so much}

 

{me and my babe}

{Grand-dude and Owyn. I think they are like twins}

Thank you Dad and Wendy for such a great weekend. 

We miss you guys already, especially Owyn.

San Diego Part 4: Labor Day Morning

Monday morning Dad and Wendy took us to breakfast in OB and then to the beautiful Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

San Diego Part 3: Our Playground

Sunday we went to breakfast, Shelter Island (to let Owyn play on the playground), Stone Brewery (for Dave), and roasted hot dogs over a fire on the beach.

I miss it already.

Daddy and Owyn. They are so cute together. Best buds. Owyn is a total Daddy's boy. But I don't mind, I actually love it. Plus, someday ill have a girl, and she'll want to be just like me. Hopefully.