rose

these photos are just about pretty enough to turn me into a drinking lady. jk, but aren't they just LOVELY?

i wish real life looked like this.

Q.T.

This is a factual list about Quentin Tarantino's best films (starting from the best).

1. True Romance
2. Kill Bill 2.
3. Kill Bill 1.
4. Reservoir dogs
5. Pulp Fiction
6. Death Proof

sorry dudes. it's just a fact. don't get your panties in a bunch about #5. to put it in perspective, i really liked death proof.

also, he is actually NOT a Q.T. and he needs to stay behind the camera. but i still dig him.

what the church means to people like me

have you ever heard of the talk, what the church means to people like me? it's a must read for anyone who wants to better understand the way they or their loved ones approach the gospel of jc. i think it can be especially helpful to couples who might find themselves using differing approaches (you'll see what i mean once you read it) because it helps clarify that there isn't just one right way to function in this church of ours which leads us to be less judgmental. it was given in 1960 in palo alto, where james' pops was in attendance so it gets extra cool points for that.

tis the day

I'm grateful for:

-James and the love we share
-our sweet dog who brings us so much joy
-a house to live in where we stay warm and cuddly
-a clear spot underneath the trees for marty to do his business even when it snows
-the gospel, and all the blessings it continues to bring even when we take it for granted
-my family back home..
-my mom and her kindness, and her young, silly sense of humor
-patrick and his sweet spirit, kindness, and how well we get along
-bridget and her quirky sense of humor, sweetness
-neil and his hilarious weirdness, sweet wife and cute cat
-ryan and his beautiful wife and beautiful baby boys..
-esp elliott (i haven't met pierce yet!) and his intellect, sweetness, cuteness
-my dad and his generousity.
-our 4 cats for making our lives interesting and making us laugh
-the memory of sweet simone
-james family and their kindness in accepting me into the McO clan
-james' cute nieces and nephews, esp when they are real nice to me :) AKA annniiieeee... jk.
-the fact that james and i are from california and we're gonna go back there soon
-the blessings living in utah has brought and the friends i've made here
-like afton!
-and staci, ariel, candice, marissa, whitney, etc
-the amazing lifelong friends that i've known for 10 years (you know who you are)
-the big TV james' friends bought us
-my hair that grew back
-movies and art and fashion and design and music
-and everything that makes life beautiful
-pretty good health
-having a job
-having a blog

Happy Thanksgiving from the McOmbers!

a work of mart

marty mcomber formerly known as orphan ace

for anyone who happens to read this and not my facebook, i have the best news in the whole world ever. JAMES AND I GOT A DOG!!!!!!!!! yes, this is a real miracle because as some of you know, james never wanted a dog. but after we went to the shelter to meet some pups and giving it some thought about how happy it would make me, he agreed. (isn't he the BEST?) anyway, our sweet doggie is called Marty (named after one of james' heros, martin scorsese -- i agreed to let james name him if we got one) and he's the bomb. some deets:

-he didn't bark at all when we went to go look at the shelter dogs, while all the other dogs were barking their heads off as if to say "pick me"! (the meek will inherit parents...)
-he still doesn't bark very much at all, except when he hears someone who might be a bad guy (mailman?) and he wants to protect us, cause that's just what chihuahua's do.
-like i said, he's a chihuahua and although i never particularly cared for his breed, he is SO much cuter than any other chi i've seen and much calmer and well behaved
-hes 1.5 years old, or (FUN FACT!) about 23 in human years. peers.
-all he wants to do is cuddle. no joke. he especially loves to be spooned.

so that's a little about our baby whom we love dearly. and overabundance of pictures (doggie pajamas, anyone?) and posts to ensue. for now, here's the one pic i have uploaded. aint he the cutest?

pumpkin berry

one of my items in my etsy store was featured! (top right) how fun.
funny enough it's the only thing i have listed right now. more coming soon :)

angel

this dog is cracking me up. he's bipolar!

sometimes he looks like this:

and sometimes like this:

go adopt him at http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17782902 so we can keep him smiling.

house love

This weekend I...

took the doors off of our kitchen shelves for open shelving (with a little help from James!)

framed an [ugly] painting I made (at least it adds color?)

replaced the light cover with a mason jar

...fun right?

rearranged our bedroom

And made and added a headboard to our bed.

I love having a home that I can decorate all day long should my heart desire. :)

If anyone's interested in how I made the headboard, I bought a HUGE piece of foam (4 x 8) and cut it down to 61 x 30 inches, then covered it with fabric that I stapled on. (The staple gun is my new favorite toy.) Unfortunately, the fabric I chose and waited in line for 30 minutes to get cut was too little (there was only a yard left on the roll!) and I had to cut it 2 ways for it to barely fit. The unfortunate part is that I didn't have enough fabric to pull it and staple it behind the foam board... I had to do the staples along the edges of the front. Oh well, I still plan to put nailheads around the edges, perhaps right in between the staples. Still turned out alright for my first try and it only cost me $12 total!

Next up... DIY curtains and a mostly finished living room thanks to our new chair that should be arriving in a few days!

Sep 4, 2010

Some of my favorite wedding pics, vintagified.

a must have

please buy me this. pretty please!? i'm gonna DIE without it!!!!!!! thanks. :)

Acrylic coffee table, overstock.com, $223.99

remember that one time.... i made an ottoman?

my new favorite thing: SLC curbside trash pick up day! this lovely event occured a few days ago and, of course, james and i took it as an opportunity to scavenge some needed items for our new home. so late sunday night, we crept around the neighborhood essentially stealing peoples trash.

we found some cool stuff: a chair with tufted red velvet upholstery, a bookshelf, an entertainment system (which we were actually tipped off to from james' uncle across town), and my fav find? a ghetto old ottoman. simply because an ottoman/coffee table have been on my list of things we need for the house. i planned to get it reupholstered, but after calling a few upholstery businesses only to have $75 dollars be the cheapest quote!!!!... i decided to do it myself.

here's the before picture: (actually, i had already done a few coats of spray paint on the legs at this point. before they were a medium brown and were pretty scuffed up.)

and

(don't mind our ugly green couches, but do mind the aforementioned red chair!)

yeah, i went ghetto and decided to just staple the new fabric onto the old (i'm new at this reupholstery thing and i didn't want to risk messing the ottoman up beyond repair) but i actually totally love it. and instead of costing $75, it ended up costing more like $10. (free ottoman, $7.50 for fabric, $9 for staple gun, $2 for staples.) the fabric is reeeeeeeeally soft too, so my feet are happy along with my eyeballs.

anyway, i'll post more pics of our stolen items along with our new house in the near future. xo.

ghosts

So turns out I'm not in school yet because of something weird with the application, but NO WORRIES! I am practicing my interior design skills all up in our home to the dismay of of my dear husband... (jk, but furniture is expensive, much to his, my, and everyone's dismay.)

As I have been searching the webs for uniquely modern yet classic pieces to eventually work with, I keep coming back to the ghost chair as the epitome of fitting that bill. I'm convinced that these little babies are the coolest thing since James Dean. They add an air of class, sex appeal, and modernity to any setting. And they're comfortable, too! (My brother is lucky enough to own a few.) See for yourself:

These chairs will never go out of style and I will never fall out of love.

While I wait patiently for my husband and I to grow to be rich (the cheapest you can find these is around 300 a pair..for the replicas at that.. why does beauty have to be so expensive?!) and I get to purchase a pair of my very own ghost chairs, I have found something else to satiate my ghostly appetite...

THE KARTELL BOURGIE LAMP!Isn't it just beautiful?! Of course I could only afford a replica as these lovelies sell for hundreds to thousands of dollars, but it's all the same to me and I feel so lucky even to have found one in my price range*. I'll be waiting with bated breath for this to arrive at my doorstep.

*And even that's a generous estimate of my "price range." ;)

good times

this gave me shivers.

also, i'm married! here are a few pics sent to me by a friend. more to come.

sup

James advised me to make a new blog post as we have now received 2 sets of the monogrammed mugs and numerous latte bowls. thanks everyone!!! but we may be set on those items for now ;)

in other news,
-we just got back from Utah where we started to set up shop! we even got a new bed!
-james referred to this as "nesting" and i subsequently almost died
-brought the utah heat back with us.. sorry folks
-i start at LDSBC the day after we get back from our honeymoon :)
-went through the temple a week ago tomorrow. crazy right? and awesome.
-i have a new baby nephew named.. PIERCE!
-it's james' bday. shout outz to my baby.
-i think i'm gonna fit into my wedding dress.. thanks to the good Lord
-kara's cupcakes will be our "wedding cake". you're welcome!

presentssss

If it were normal to register at Anthropologie and/or Urban Outfitters, I would do it in a heartbeat. That's where I plan on getting all my home stuff anyway! Here's what would go on my wishlist at Anthro:

Latte Bowls - Set of 6 ~ $30


Perpetual Blooms Bath Towels (in slate, gold, and peacock) ~ $36


A & J Monogrammed Mugs ~ $6


Dotty Match Pot Holders ~ $12


Spanish Omelet Apron ~ $28

aj

anyone who reads my blog knows that i'm obsessed with afton (hey girl.) and i've always thought to myself that i wanted to end up with a boy like her (funny, nice, spiritual, quirky and someone who really gets me and vice versa.) welllllll, i knew i'd found all those qualities in james (hey boy) but today it has been confirmed that he is afton quality because.........

HE CLEANED MY ROOM FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

afton used to do that when we lived together in the blue house, and for some reason i find it to be one of the biggest acts of service anyone could do for me.

dang. i'm so lucky to have an amazing husband to be and a best girly girlfriend.

the thing to do

-the most recent trend i've started: getting engaged. congrats, saratoga stake!

-this book made me cry within the first 5 minutes of reading it. if anyone out there is struggling with how to feel about prop 8 related/general gay issues in the church, READ THIS. for example, she reminds that "sin" stems from "missing the mark." ....if we were doing archery with someone, and they missed the target, we wouldn't turn away in disgust and judgement. we would say "try again!!!".... thanks, james, for bringing this book into my consciousness.

-i am getting married on SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2010. will you please save the date? don't go out of town for labor day. how boring.

that's all i got, folks.

2

i know i left you pining for 2 months and now, 2 posts in a day? but i just found this picture and it needed to be shared

i can't decide if this is beautiful or frightening. the colors are lovely but i'm thinking the latter....