happy weekending!

via pinterest

i love this quote- comforting and reassuring 

hope you have a bright and happy weekend

im loving the weather where i am- its absolutely lovely 

hopefully, i can slowly clean up the house- amazing how fast a house can slowly fall apart when you are sick

the nursery of little miss is still quite a mess

ive definitely toned down my original vision of the room

thank goodness little miss doesn't really care- just me :)

im craving  cupcakes like you wouldn't believe

so far ive been able to avoid buying or baking anything 

but i don't know how much longer i can postpone that

strawberry muffins or cupcakes sound amazing!

whew okay enough dreaming

have a good weekend!

wishing you happy halloween and sweet dreams

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have a happy weekend and a happy halloween too

don't forget your teddy bear before drifting off to sleep :)

treat yo self

giant paper roses from rachel ashwell shabby chic shop

dreamy aren't they?

if we have a girl i would love to make a few and hang them in a corner of her room

even if she ends up hating pink, hello kitty and ruffles- she has no choice in her early years ;)

via google images

did you watch the most recent parks and recreation episode?

perhaps my favorite one

"treat yo self" made me laugh so much

a great moment in the midst of morning sickness

how did i treat myself?

i ate a slice of caramel apple dipped in walnuts and toffee

YUM

taking a nap

pinterest

hey everyone,

i have been feeling under the weather (unfortunately that collided with my birthday) and hope to be resting for the end of this week and this weekend. birthday postponed!

any fun plans? i hope you do! im living vicariously through you. be brave and do something different. i will be drinking herbal tea and vitamin c supplements while watching some tv shows and movies. ooh! i stumbled upon this list of family halloween movies; can't wait to watch em! i've never been a fan of really scary movies- just never a good thing in my opinion. the family options are what my siblings and i grew up with and loved. 

im looking forward to apple cider, pumpkin cinnamon pancakes, wrapping Christmas presents (never too early), holiday baking, halloween, pumpkins everywhere (in my garden too), the fall air and heartier meals (mmmm so yummy).

fall is simply the best! 

love,

chloe

23

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can't believe a year has gone by already

it has been such an eventful one!

i feel so blessed and happy with everyting

no way to really express it in words

its a happy happy birthday!

reminiscing on past birthdays

 i remember the movie Pocahontas coming out just as summer was starting

my dad took me and my brother and sister to go see it at night

a non-matinee showing- we felt so grown-up

i remember one of the birthday cakes my mom had made for me

it was my 7th birthday

it was a pretty simple cake but it had a screen print of Pocahontas on it

she is my favorite Disney princess 

mom also bought some plastic feathers with ribbons that clipped into my hair

for the full effect :)

my favorite song from the movie is Just Around the River Bend

just hearing it again makes me want to find those plastic feathers with ribbons

and sing once more to celebrate my birthday 

its my party and ill cry if i want to

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my birthday is tomorrow 

wondering what the plans are?

i have no idea!!!

but i do hope it involves:

01. fizzy drinks

02. yum food- homemade peach jam from my sweet neighbor

03. a present? we shall see

04. reading Japanese fashion magazines from my friend L

05. organizing spare room(s)

however, today im going to be cleaning! whew- hope i can get as much done as i can.  

funny video: how to make a baby

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i thought this video was funny & cute. the baby will love watching it later!
have a great weekend!

first day of summer

love the google page today

takashi murakami is a fave

happy first day of summer friends!

forgiveness for over-excitement

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have you ever been super passionate about something? so excited about that topic that all you want to do is declare your love of the subject and advise anyone who asks (or doesn't ask) about it?

guilty. i am SO guilty of that. so my friends, to the many friends i have smothered with advice that was not asked for (even if you did ask for it), i am so sorry. i never meant to douse you with so much info at once. it is overwhelming to hear so much in one phone call. trust me i am working on it.

i remember a phone call i received from my sweet brother-in-law to greet me a happy birthday. in exchange for his greeting i said thank you and started to talk immediately about wedding planning and how preparations were coming along. instead of helping and supporting the couple, i think i stressed them out more. luckily for me, they are the grooviest couple i know and they are just so nice to me, so in all my excitement about their upcoming nuptials they gave me a little piece to take part in to let me release all this wedding creativity i had stored up.

still, there was no excuse for my acting that way on the phone. this has happened numerous times to many of my dear friends and relatives in person or over the phone.

i am learning to zip the lip and to go on caring but not obsessing over the details for you. there is just too much excitement and i enjoy events, birthdays, weddings, you name it. i feel that somehow me talking to you helps. weird i know. anyone who is close to me knows that i love to talk and talk and talk and talk... especially when a topic comes up that i am passionate about. but who wouldn't want to talk about something they are passionate about?

there have been numerous friends and family that joke (or perhaps are serious) that i should go into event planning. a way to have a healthy obsession with events. that has been on my mind a lot recently. we will see where that will lead.

till then i say again, i am sorry to the past and most recent friends/family i have scared. i bet you think i memorize martha stewart living, allure and bridal magazines in my spare time, well...i kind of try to.

but please don't think im weird.

signing off till next tuesday

plans for the rest of the week and memorial day weekend:

tidying up the house

figuring out good travel snacks (what are your favorite travel snacks?)

packing outfits for everything from hiking in the mountains to a wedding ceremony

also packing ry's clothes for him :)

giving instructions to my sweet neighbor who offered to tend to the garden while we are away

picking up some books on tape (suggestions?)

traveling on the road

listening to ms. swift 

visiting the fam-bam

eating tons of raspberries from grandma b's backyard

taking a hike or two or three

eating potato burritos 

seeing a happy wedding

 aren't these wedding cakes so unique and beautiful?

drool. drool. drool. 

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hunger games madness

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happy friday to you!

for those of you who have not yet read the hunger games 

please do

its so much fun

it took me a while to get on the bandwagon 

but thanks to some friends who had read it before me

and my friend N for giving me the first book (thanks N!)

i started reading and got addicted 

prepare for no sleep for the first two books

the third in my opinion was slower and "whinier" 

but still a great ending

here are the two main men:

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not too shabby

liam will play gale 

and josh will play peeta

i was imagining a different peeta and gale

i thought gale would be brunette and peeta would be blonde!

whatever they might do some hair-dying to tweak things up

i like jennifer lawrence as katniss

thoughts?

happy royal wedding day!

today we had a breakfast of scones and im about to make some tea

i will be watching the royal wedding after breakfast

*squeal* yea!

but i couldn't help googling her dress since i simply could NOT wait 

its perfect 

i love all the pomp and proper-ness

she looks amazing

congrats to Prince William and Kate!

they are now officially called the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge 

i just might cry while i watch the wedding

such a sap i know!

to celebrate even more

i used the Royal Name Generator here

and my royal name is

Lady Chloe Pippa Ballton of Yorbaford

seriously so much fun!

garden dreams: surprises

bluebells popped up in the garden

i snipped the ones that were out of line

tulips that were a happy surprise 

carrots were growing in the backyard!

hope you had a Happy Easter.

we had a nice dinner of cranberry glazed ham and mushroom pasta bake

as seen here and here

yesterday we had the opportunity to speak at Church

boy was i nervous

but everything ended up being okay

i always feel happy and blessed after giving a talk

so worth it

my topic was on the Atonement

when it comes to bearing my testimony of Christ

it is sometimes difficult for me to share

its easy to feel vulnerable when you are speaking in front of any group

but i do have a testimony of Christ

and i treasure it

brad!

 

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brad! 

he is getting his own show!

so excited

i am a fan of rachel but brad was the one that always made me laugh

now i must wait for them to show up on youtube

yahoo...

hope you guys have a happy weekend!

its looking too gloomy here :(

cute fluffy dog!

after watching this video i want a fluffy white puppy so bad! i miss my old sweet poodle!

last days of work

here are some pictures from my workspace at work

i will be leaving this week

its bittersweet because i now have time to really tackle the house and my other ventures

but having a stable job is so nice

fred

the calla lily that never blooms

want: jil sander skirt

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i LOVE maxi skirts. for most they are a spring/summer staple. i love them year-round. the skirt kate is wearing costs $1,245. Yes seriously. Don't believe me? Take a look-see here. whew! a little too much for my wallet.

still sick- starting to worry me- i hope to go to the doctor today. coughing bad for about 5 days- something must be wrong...

cherry blossom trees and random thoughts

lately, i have found myself dreaming of cherry blossom trees and origami swans. my heart is with those in japan right now. a country that i hope to visit in the future. there are a few cherry blossom trees in our yard. i cant wait for them to bloom. i see them budding already. their branches have gotten a little bit out of control-kind of like my hair- bushy, scragly, just a hot mess sometimes- well my hair can be a hot mess, but i have a feeling these cherry blossom trees wont be that way. they just appear to be a bit of a mess until they bloom and then, its like heaven. 

right now i am battling off an annoying cough. its no fun especially when you move into a new place that needs your love and attention. the fumes from the hardwood coating have finally started to wane. thank goodness. i am looking forward to a light jog around the neighborhood next week after getting better. tonight i made my first real dinner in the house-chicken curry over rice-mmmm. so good. i have learned that chakoh is the best cocount milk after testing out an inferior one tonight. the difference good ingredients make! it can be astounding. 

ry is such a patient man. i remember our first year of marriage and thinking "what the heck did we get ourselves into?" i was the emotional one, he was the strong one. good balance, but it could have been easier if i just controlled my emotions more. a lot of my negative emotions came from reoccurring thoughts such as:

01. will we always be poor?

02. my girlfriends are such strong women, why cant i be like that?

03. what? i cant have that nice purse?

and the list can go on from there...

but through the months, i have learned to be more patient and to be in control of myself. it has been difficult, but its the difficult things that are really worth it. we are looking forward to starting our family- becoming a mom will be the greatest thing i will ever accomplish. ill try my best not to mess it all up when the time comes.

went to costco the other day with the premise of picking up my new eyeglasses, but came out with 3 toilets, butter, and bulbs for planting. nutters i know. cant wait to tell you about it once i have some plans drawn out. 

heart,

me 

i love you japan

to all my Japanese friends

we are praying for you, your friends and families

the pea car

pretty adorable pea green car