holly & jolly

posted on: Tuesday, December 25, 2012



 


We've been having a Christmas full of cheer over here at Mama's house. The kind of cheer that will most likely result in a few cavities, so it's a good thing the first of the year is right around the corner and I'm due for a visit to the dentist anyway.

I'm loving on my family this holiday. The baby sister is getting ready to take a walk down the aisle, Mama's all settled into a beautiful home in gorgeous southern Utah and we're all growing up. Christmas Day has changed since we were children putting cookies out for Santa and leaving carrots for his reindeer, but even so, I'm still way too excited to go sleep on Christmas Eve and I definitely still agree that this is the best day out of all 365. 

It's been non-stop food, games, laughs, and even a whipped cream fight over here and I'm so grateful for that. I'm grateful for my sweet family, for the adventures we've enjoyed and for the ones we've endured together, and I especially can't wait for all of the many Christmases ahead of us. Which I can now confidently say since we've made it safely past December 21st. 

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS, FRIENDS!



Believe it or not, Mom started this. We'll never figure out how to control that woman....






love in montania

posted on: Thursday, August 9, 2012

Good friendships just get better as you get older. Do you think so? I do.

We spent an incredible weekend with good friends. The best kind of friends. It was so. much. fun. After a year of anticipation, we made the treacherous trek up to West Glacier, Montana to celebrate the truest kind of love, and celebrate is just what we did. We wined, we dined, we laughed, we saw bears, we even river rafted. Then I went on my first helicopter ride through Glacier National Park and I WASN’T EVEN SCARED! Well, maybe a little, but I’ll tell ya this much, it wasn’t my fear that was taking my breath away, the ride was absolutely beautiful and I’d do it again and again.

I’m lucky to have good friends. Old and true friends. Friends who I have known through every awkward and interesting stage of life (and there have been many) and somehow, I’ve held onto them. Being together this weekend was just what my heart needed. It got me thinking about how lucky we are to deeply know each other no matter our distance or time in between. And about how fun it is, now that we’re getting older, to watch each other change and grow and take big steps in life.

So, thanks for getting married, J and Will! (and inviting us along!) Together you create a beautiful illustration of what love should be and I’m so very excited for you both!

And now for the iphone pics. What? You didn’t think I was just going to end there did you?

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birthday mom

posted on: Monday, July 30, 2012

I love a whole lotta people, but my mom, well she takes the cake, and today she’s having it too.

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Happy Birthday, Mama! I love you to the moon and back and forever and ever and I have a good feeling that year ‘44’ is going to be the BEST year yet!

she’s gonna love me for that one.

 

s’more please.

posted on: Thursday, July 26, 2012

I like to think of myself as a lady. I may act like a man sometimes, but really, I’m a lady, I mean you knew that right? I’m that kind of lady who knows how to mind her manners just as well as she’s able to ‘nevermind’ them. I know when it’s appropriate to sailor curse and when it’s time to leave those ‘bombs’ in the purse, I know you know what I mean. I’m the kind of lady that delights in fresh bed linens and hot showers and lavender moisturizer, but I’m also a lady who’s able to deeply appreciate the smell of a bonfire and enjoy the comfort of a lop-sided air mattress under the stars. And air mattress luxury is exactly what this lady got to enjoy all weekend long.

We just returned from Flaming Gorge, UT where we spent the long weekend on a boat and a raft and in a tent. And it was divine. I turned my phone off (for most of it) so I could just revel in the silence. A silence that lasted only until I jumped off a 1,000 ft. cliff (give or take) and gave into my brain piercing screams. My ears are still ringing. And don’t worry Mom, I wore my lifejacket. But the fall, even if it may or may have not taken me twenty minutes to get to the edge of the cliff, was totally worth the adrenaline rush. How’s that for makin’ ya feel alive!? And I forgot to mention that it’d all be happening, didn’t I? Well, you probably just thought I was m.i.a. for a week because I had nothing interesting to say. Which is true. I had nothing interesting to say. I still don’t. Probably won’t, ever.

So enjoy some pictures and happy week. xo

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the best thing to ever grace the www.

posted on: Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Bless your heart, Todrick Hall. You have successfully made my day for like three weeks straight. What kind of genius people come up with this stuff and where are they?! I want to befriend them and you will too as soon as you hit play. Hope you’re having a great week! Either way, it’s about to get better. You’re welcome.

 

prepare to swoooon

posted on: Friday, July 13, 2012

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Take a moment. Catch your breath. I know. It happened to me too. Because they are SOO DANG CUTE! Actually ‘cute’ doesn’t even begin to explain what they are. All I know is that I want to lock myself in a backyard full of squeaky toys, tennis balls and them, and I never want to leave. Ever.

Meet Koa, Nettie and Elsie. Mama and my sisters went a little crazy (the best kind of crazy) and got themselves not one, but three of these sweet pieces of heaven. Was it planned? No. But now we know what, “Let’s just go loooook at some puppies,” really means.

Who’s complaining though? We’re not. And you wouldn’t be either. I’m soooo excited to get to know these sweet ‘golden girls’. So excited for the cuddles, the dog breath, the hikes, the ball chasing, the companionship and even the occasional disobeying because just look at those faces. No one’s ever really truly going to get mad at those faces.

We’re still missing our precious Sweetie girl, so so much. But if there’s anything that she taught us, it’s that life without a family pup (or three) is just no life for us at all, and we know she would’ve picked these pups too.

thoughts of my honeydew

posted on: Tuesday, July 10, 2012

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Hi, I’m Kait, and I’m bossy, so very opinionated and I usually have the attention span of a nine-year old. I start projects and I don’t finish them, I’m not so good at budgeting and I like most things done MY way. My emotions usually rule me and if that’s not already dangerous enough, one week out of every month I’m literally an emotional and hormonal train wreck. During that week I’m grouchy for no reason and I’m mean. I really hate to admit that, but it’s true. I can get really mean. It’s like this little monster inside of me quietly sleeps for three whole weeks only to be awoken on the fourth week angry, hungry and ready to devour every happy thought that has ever existed. And I’m telling you right now, this monster HATES opinions, failed budgets and unfinished projects which is pretty much what I happen to be made of. My home serves as a battleground during this time and it’s never a pretty sight.

Then there’s my Honeybuns. He’s like the most even-tempered, level-headed and logical person I know. This never changes. All month long, every single week and each day, Honey stays mellow and calm. He thinks clearly with that smart brain of his, he works hard and he finishes what he starts, or in most cases, what I started. He’s a stranger to the snooze button, which doesn’t make an ounce of sense to me, and his dirty laundry basket is NEVER overflowing, another one of those ideas that makes me go cross-eyed. There are nights I’ve literally lost sleep wondering how he puts up with me. He does it though, and he manages to put up with me all while letting me know that I’m still loved. Even on my craziest of crazy days, the days when there is absolutely nothing to like about me and the “beast” is on a rampage, I know that my Honeylove looks past the flames spouting from my ears and he sees something good. I just might be the luckiest girl when it comes to my 6’ 5” hunk of delicious mancake. Really. I just might be. On a side note, I don’t doubt that there are moments when illusions of my face appear on his Call of Duty: Modern Warfare screen, but hey, if that’s what he’s got to do every once in a while to ‘battle’ my beast, I’m cool with it and I really don’t blame him.

Perhaps balance helps keep us strong. I bring a heavy dose of insanity to the table and Honey counteracts that with an even heavier dose of sanity, and it works. It works quite well actually.

Today, I woke to a kiss on the forehead as he got ready to leave for work. It’s a comforting thing, that kiss on the forehead is, and sometimes I forget how much I love that sweet gesture. Most mornings, I just roll over and go back to sleep once he’s gone, but today I reveled in the moment a bit and enjoyed the feeling of being honestly and truly in love with a good man who loves me right back, crazy and all. And I’ll tell ya, it did a better job at cheerfully waking me up than any strong cup of coffee and it was waaay more fulfilling than any finished project or successful budget plan.

face to face

posted on: Monday, July 9, 2012

skin edition

I’m not sure that anyone really gives a hoot about my skincare routine, but I’ll have you know that I’ve actually put some good love, thought and trial into what now is the simplest skincare routine on the planet, except for no skincare routine of course, but that’s just no fun at all now is it? I’m almost (as in, not yet) heading into my third decade of life, which means my skin is too, and since my skin is actually quite important, it’s been equally as important to me to find a good, clean and simple daily skincare routine.

I’m an easy going kinda girl. I like simplicity and I like things to be fast yet efficient. Long ago, a dermatologist recommended the Dove Beauty Bar as the only face cleanser I’d ever need. Like a true teenager, it went in one ear and out the other and I don’t think I even gave it a try. If I didn’t feel my skin burning from some sort of acid, you know the stuff with the name I still can’t pronounce, it wasn’t going to work, right? These days, my adult self regards this piece of advice as true wisdom from the heaven’s above, and I’ll probably never use anything but. I use the pink Dove bar every day, mostly because it’s pink and partly because it’s extra moisturizing, which just ends up being an added bonus.

Now friends, Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar (with the ‘mother’!) is pretty much the bomb dot com. It’s like waaay awesome for you and it’s full of all kinds of crazy health benefits from weight loss to healthy digestion to muscle relief. It pretty much solves almost all problems except money ones. Dang it. My granola-loving-hippie-at-heart mother swears by it and has tossed back of shot of the stuff everyday for almost as long as I can remember. Which is probably one of the reasons she’s going to outlive everyone I know.  I’ve tried drinking it, and yes, the stuff is nastay, so instead I use it on my face. I dilute it with water (50/50) and everyday after washing I dip a cotton ball into my acv jar and rub the stuff all over. Honey LOVES it. Okay, he really doesn’t. I smell like a salad for 15 whole minutes and I’ve attracted every fruit fly on the block by the end of it, but it’s totally worth the glow. I’ve noticed quite the difference actually. My skin is more evenly toned and breakouts don’t really exist anymore. Plus something about using natural kitchen ingredients on my face just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Pond's Dry Skin Cream is the moisturizer I use to finish it all off. I always use moisturizer. Day and night. And on nights when I’m too tired to wash my face, because uhhh, that never happens (yea right), I wipe it clean with Simple Face Wipes, the exfoliating kind, then lather on the good old moisturizer. “I really love when my face is dry,” said absolutely no one ever.

Now for the magical secret. A friend turned me on to the amazing Aztec Healing Clay and I just can’t seem to thank her enough (thanks J Babe!). Once a week, I mix this bad boy up with some apple cider vinegar (see, I told you it’s a miracle worker that acv is), then I smudge it all over my face. It’s not a pretty sight, but one I’m willing to put up with for twenty minutes because the end result is sooo smooth, soft and spectacular. I love this stuff. It literally sucks everything out and I mean everything. *Side story: I used it for a few weeks on a cyst Honey had on his back (he’s really glad I’m telling this story). We’re talking at least 2 years old this cyst was. HOLY MOLY! It worked wonders. Like incredible magical wonders! And yes, eventually that cyst surfaced, and if you’re a complete weirdo like me and you find a sick and odd pleasure in that pimple picking kind of stuff, then I’m telling you right now, it was everything you could ever dream of. I should’ve videotaped it. Okay, I disgust myself. Apologies.* Anyway, the clay is so totally worth the 8-9 buckaroos. Just trust me on this one and thank me later.

And that’s it! That’s what’s on my face. It’s simple, it’s natural and it works. I never thought I could write such a long blog post about my skincare routine, but it was actually kind of fun! Do you have any skincare regimens or products that you swear by? Anything I’ve GOT to try?!

xoxo,

Kait

the red white and blue

posted on: Sunday, July 8, 2012

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We acted like true blue Amurricans this Fourth of July. There was a backyard full of friends, human ones and canine ones, a barbecue full of juicy burgers, black bean ones (for me) and big beefy ones (for everyone else), and coolers spilling over with ice cold American brews. We even climbed up onto a rooftop to sit and watch the valley’s colorful firework displays, and if all that wasn’t American enough, Honey and I had to make a quick stop at good ol’ Wally World on our way home. We never go there but somehow it felt oddly appropriate for the occasion.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot more to being American than BBQ’s, beer and Walmart. Even I know this. And although I sometimes find myself poking fun at American “things”, mostly things like fast food and goofy looking (or acting) politicians, I still feel a deep and genuine pride when I call myself an American. Not to mention an insane amount of gratitude for all of the people who have fought in a myriad of ways for America and for my rights.

I hope you got to admire that grand old flag and proudly wear your red, white and blue too.

xoxo,

Kait

a case of yellow fever

posted on: Tuesday, June 26, 2012

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I’m back from camping and I've got the mosquito bites to prove it. A small price to pay, if you ask me. Our long weekend in Yellowstone National Park was nothing short of amazing. We covered the entire park in a matter of days, saw at least a dozen bears including a handful of bear cubs (and let me just tell you, those sweet little fur balls look like they’re practically begging you to pick them up and give them a good cuddle… until you take another look at Mama bear and remember she’d have no hesitation plucking your arms right off your body, eek), we wandered around bubbling geysers and steaming geothermal features, counted bison like stars in the sky and hiked to the bottom of majestic waterfalls. I swallowed at least 99 bugs because I just couldn’t keep my jaw off the ground, but like I said, it was a small price (and probably good protein).

I’m a sucker for the great outdoors. And nature is kind of a big deal to me, so I was absolutely prepared to fall utterly in love with this place, and sure enough that is exactly what happened. Over and over and over again. Plus I loved being with Honey’s family. Loved it. They sure know how to camp and sightsee. That is a fact. Remember when I told you that Honey’s parents are practically bona fide national tour guides? I wasn’t kidding. We spent full days soaking up every bit of the park that we could, we learned all sorts of interesting facts and history and we made some dang good memories. It was a trip to be remembered and most definitely a trip that will be recreated again and again. Yellowstone, you’ve rejuvenated my soul and stolen my heart with all your beauty and super volcanic-ness.

So if you haven’t been to Yellowstone, go. And if you have, go again. And if you’re just not sure, I’ve got the pictures to persuade you, and you’re going to want to get comfortable for this…

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