The Unveiling

We went ahead and turned this.........

into something of beauty.

This is one of the first times I really really wish I were good at photography because I don't have pics to do it justice....at all.

You just don't grasp how our yard all of a sudden seems 3x bigger.

Or how it feels like we found a teeny piece of Hawaii and went ahead and uprooted it right to our backyard.

And I guess on that note we uprooted a teeny piece of BYU also?

Or how the fire pit and built in BBQ completes the Southern Cal feel.

But here's what I do have:

{now I'll have you know that I had to go through some stuff to get even these mediocre shots so when Yosh comes home complaining about "Why is the screen off and how are we gonna get it back on?" please help remind him that he wanted these "better" shots as much as I did. Get er done.}

{also imagine the red striped furniture replaced with these in the pear green come February}

Do note that I finally got my lime tree and palm trees I've been dreamin about. That's all I really asked for. 

{I feel like these next pics are undoubtedly putting me in the 30+ crowd... here's my new front yard garden} 

Melissa, if you're reading this you go on ahead and give your husband a slap on the booty for a job well done. His work even created a jealous lover- I've already gotten the "break-up" letter from our gardner, saying he didn't feel comfortable "maintaining someone else's garden." Interesante.

Let it begin...s'mores, basketball, grilling, fires....that's all you need to turn December into endless summer nights.

Mama got brave today

..........I laced up four times last week

........... and worked out {0 times}.

In all this getting dressed in exercise clothes, I went ahead and continued the trend on Friday night.

You would of never guessed, huh?

Only one question begs to be answered with the multi-use of the leggings....

The under-roos. Not a chance they're getting invited on my 5-mile run.

But what about a Friday night out? It's debatable.....

Same leggings, completely different rules. 

Steve Madden, you had me at orange stitch.

I'm fallen.

(Yosh, sorry you look drunk in above pic, but it was a one shot deal.)


We had a hot Friday night out watching Jack and White perform. Love that girl and admire her work ethic. It was fun to see her new partner in crime. Must say, they seemed like a good fit- I think she's found her niche. I loved kicking back and listening to the music but....CONFESSION.... I couldn't help but think, "Wow, us white folk are boring."  It was some sweet music that made you just want to groove. Yet, I looked around and all I saw was gentle head bobs and a little tappin of the foot. Now don't you for one second think I was doing anything more than that myself, sitting with my legs crossed all nice and proper. But in my head, I was dreaming of lettin loose.

Hope yours was an enjoyable weekend with more letting loose than me. 
Cha cha now ya'll!

Mama got Brave

Last week was so fun I'm doing it agaaaaaaaiiiiiinnnnn!

Vertical+Horizontal?............. Who knows but I liked it! I held my head higher all day long, feeling all Blind Side-esque. And I would expect to feel no different considering this is the only blazer I own and it was purchased after I watched that movie and decided I was gonna be getting all sophisticated like Ms Sandra Bullock herself. And for someone a bit ghetto like myself, this blazer spills over with sophistication.

That determination was obviously short-lived as- in true Gay style {unable to complete anything including an outfit}- I paired it with the in-congruent flip flops.

PS Go blonde or go home. The next time I say I'm going "more natural", do me the favor of stopping me dead in my tracks. Muchas Gracias!

Mama got brave today

I wore mustard pants! And that made me feel brave. And awesome. Because I bought these pants a couple weeks back, hoping I'd have the nerve to rock them. I always kinda get a swift rush of reassurance when I get the ok from Cami's blog.  So here they are in all their glory and I must say...even mustard-colored pants have my number this season!

(shirt: Madewell, pants: Nordstroms BP, shoes: Nordstrom Rack)