My Boytoy Spoils Me :)

It was just another windy day in Oklahoma. Blake and I were hanging out--chillin' if you will, when Mom convinced us it was time to add a third to our new home. So we went downtown and adopted a Bernina 350 Patchwork Edition. It was love at first stitch. We named her Bernini because that's what Blake kept calling the brand.



Bernini's even has a place at the table. She is allowed there because there is no place in our apartment to call her very own. I have finished a blue dress that has needed hemming for, well, forever. Blake was my mannequin so I could pin the dress. He looked so beautiful standing on the chair in the dark blue sleeveless dress. A vision. He said I could blog about him being my mannequin, but I couldn't take any pictures. Drat!

I also sewed some patches onto a boring black apron. I left the edges raw and threw it in the wash so the patches have the ratty edges I wanted.



And I sewed drapes for our bedroom. I thought I would just whip up the drapes in an hour or so, but it's amazing how much work they actually are for just being a bunch of straight lines to sew! Last night was the first night we slept with drapes on all our windows and it was nice. It keeps our room warmer too I think. But, if you look behind the drapes in the morning, there is still this...







Apparently that's common in Ok! Sooo weird! I couldn't believe that there was ice on the inside of the window when it hadn't rained or snowed. So much different than S. Utah!

And a few days ago we decided to go window shopping at the Penn Square mall. It was a dream! =D







Haha, those are what came from our "window shopping." =D The polka-dot dress was actually a Christmas present that had finally arrived in the mail as we were leaving though. I love the dresses so much that I have worn them even though it suddenly turned blistery cold! I guess beauty truly is painful! =D Blake got an awesome "Day to Remember" tshirt from Hot Topic so he was happy too! He is such a sweetheart and held my purse patiently while I went and tried things on.

Thankfully I have my new dresses to bandage the wound left from my lack of big-brother Adam. Food just doesn't taste the same without the sound of, "Toodles!" echoing in my ears.

From our honeymoon-cottage to our new love-nest!

So far we LOVE our one-bedroom apartment in Midwest City!! =D The first night I felt comfortable enough to walk around without shoes OR socks, and that's something! =D We live on the third floor, which is fabulous now that we are all settled in! Moving in, though, was another story for another post. >.< Legacy Corner is a gated community with a gym (no more excuses), pool, hot-tub (alright!) and a little putting green. It seems a bit like a hotel at times actually, but we loves it! Anyways, here are a bunch of pics of our love-nest. =D








These are pics of our living room/dining room. It was getting dark as we were taking these pics and there is only one light in that part of the house (besides the kitchen's) and it is over the dining room table. That part pretty much sucks, but we can crack the blinds on the patio during the day and we don't need anything other than the natural light.




Our bathroom. I know. Soo exciting.
BUT! If you follow the door inside the bathroom you get...

...
...
...

THIS!!! =D My very own (well, sort-of) *hallelujah chorus* Walk-in closet!!! It is a dream! The picture doesn't do it justice, but I could spend forever in there if it didn't have a florescent bulb in the light. =D Fabulous!



*sigh* It's a good thing Blake took the closet pictures or else I would have filled the whole post with the closet's different angles. Lets just say, I am in love. And not just with my very handsome hubby. But he allows this love-affair, thank goodness. As Angel Batista says, you can flirt with others as long as you bring home "la passion." Haha.



The hallway closet doorknob is where my Hello Kitty fantasmic purse resides very happily.

And zen da bedroom.



I decided to take pictures of the bedroom before I finished the drapes because, once again, there is bad lighting in the bedroom. I covered one window with a panel, but the big window is gonna have to wait a bit more because I underestimated how much of a headache it is to heft that much fabric around a sewing machine and line everything up properly. Maybe tonight I will finish them. Maybe.










Yes, Simba came along for the adventure-the only one of my stuffed animals special enough to go. At almost-22, I'm still very much attached to Simba. My oldest brother gave him to me when I was little, and even though he doesn't squeak anymore he is still my faithful companion. =D


And I had to post a pic of just our bed to illustrate the magnitude of how completely, insanely scarring it was to get that thing up to the third floor. Poor Blake had a hand in getting all the pieces up the stairs. Poor guy. Thank goodness for an amazing neighbor or else random pieces of the bed would still be in the moving truck!!!



This is my nightstand. I just love how cheery it looks at certain times of the day when the sunlight from the window hits it. The little teacup is one my mumsy gave me and I put my wedding ring in it every night. I totally adore it! =D




These are the most evil stairs I have ever run into. And I've run into a lot of stairs in my lifetime.


And, finally, the view from our bedroom window. Pretty fabulous at night when all the city lights come on. We are in the perfect spot. Seriously. We couldn't have imagined a better place to live. It's five minutes from base, 15-20 minutes from downtown Oklahoma City, and down our street is a TON of places to eat and shop. And we have shopped! We had to buy a new computer desk as, when we were unloading the old one, the leg just crumpled in. It was a 20$ desk from WalMart, but still! *Mutter mutter* And we bought a TV stand for the bedroom which is sooo close to matching our other bedroom furniture! =D And we bought a filing cabinet that we use as another TV stand in the living room. Ooh, and my favorite purchase-- a Bernina 350 Patchwork Edition sewing machine!! It is so special it will get it's own post. Needless to say, I adore it! I guess me, Blake, and the walk-in closet will add another to our love-triangle. It is now a love-square. Sexy.

Not pictured is our dishwasher (whooohooo!!) and laundry room (well, closet). Whenever we move again I just want to take the entire apartment and transport it. That would be perfect! =D We are both relieved that everything is turning out well. We are very happy in our new place and so far we aren't sick of each other!! =D Hehe, not that I could ever get sick of Blake!! Speaking of which, I must go feed that hungry man. He informed me that all he has eaten today was two cupcakes (without frosting) and two string cheeses. Oy. Vey.

Beautimus!

On Christmas Eve, the lovely and talented Ora took some 1-year photos of me and the Blake.










I loves them!! =D

And Another...

So we (meaning me, but Blake concurs) have narrowed our apartment search down to two.
http://www.apartmentfinder.com/Oklahoma/Oklahoma-City-Apartments/Breighton-Apartments
OR
http://www.apartmentfinder.com/Oklahoma/Midwest-City-Apartments/Legacy-Corner-Apartments
We are both dying for the second one!! It's really close to Tinker AFB and it doesn't allow pets and it just looks soo nice!! We will be arriving in Oklahoma and be temporarily homeless as we go to see these apartments. Keep your fingers crossed we'll get into Legacy. We are very excited to embark on the next chapter of our life, but I know I'm gonna miss everybody in Utah!! Blake seems used to the idea of being far away from family because he has been away for 8 months, but I have never lived farther than 1/2 hour away! Oy vey! I will miss my insane family, haha!




It was weird taking pictures of these three without me popping into the pictures with them! I guess their little clan is pretty exclusive or something. Pshaw! I guess my association with Blake makes me not quite cool enough anymore haha!
6 Days!!!!!!

The Longest Week...

So starts the longest week of Blake's 8 months of being away from me! He flies into Vegas next Friday at 5:50!! Oh my goodness I am ridiculously excited!! =D It's so weird to think that, yes, I am married. CrAzY!! Next Friday I am going to get my hair done at 1:00 and will probably arrive at the airport way too early, haha.
I took some family pictures these last couple weeks and enjoyed it! Today I get to wrangle my oldest brother to sit still for photos haha!
These are some of my favorite photos from Damon and Sabra's family photos. Heck, I liked them all! The boys are very well trained in picture-taking. They would run around the area and when they were called to get their picture taken, they would smile and hold still, but the second they were done with their photos, they would zoom off again! =D Damon and Sabra were very well behaved and sat still every time it was their turn! If I had lollipops, they definitely would have earned one!

So me, the parentals, and Brayd just got back from visiting Robin's fam in Wyoming. I got to take some pictures of them while I was there and I just got done editing them all nice! =D So here are a few of my favorites =)

Feeling the adrenalin? I am!!

Yesterday was just another day. Until I went rapelling with my dad and Braydon! =D It was super fun! We went down by the Virgin cracks (yes, that still makes me chuckle at the name) in Dad's Dodge truck. There are some hooks that have been drilled into the rock for years for rappelling already there. I even rappelled down using those hooks my first time walking off a cliff. But I was nervous the whole time that time about the hooks coming out of the ground. So this time we hooked our ropes up the the back of the truck. It was this added trust that the rope would not suddenly break or come out, leaving me to fall to my probable death that helped me lean over the edge of the cliff. ANYWAYS, first things first: Dad's Kamikaze-style stunt!
There were no diapers that would fit Dad's girth and all of the cellphone holders, keys, knife-holders, and whatnot attached to his belt, so he had to use a length of strap to fashion himself a Dad-style diaper. Good idea right? He said it was the first thing he used as a diaper when he pioneered rappelling in Southern Utah. (FYI: This is not a diaper to poop in, it is a device to hold your weight to the figure-eight. However, it is still badly named.) He went over the edge and me and Brayd ran over to an outcropping of rock to watch him rappel down. All of the sudden there was a place that dipped in on the side of the cliff and Dad did not jump off the side. This caused his torso to fall backwards and his legs to fly up. Freaked me and Braydon out as we watched our father being flipped upside down with a long way to the ground.
There was nothing we could do but stare (and yes, take a photo). My dad is, after all, completely invincible. After a minute it became incredibly funny as my dad was flipped completely upside-down! He had to finish the rappel that way and me and Braydon were bustin' our guts as we watched him land on the ground flat on his back! =D We heard Dad's loud laughter too from down in the canyon.
After watching my seasoned father blunder on his way down scared Braydon a bit. Although he played it off a little bit. This was technically Braydon's first time rappelling as the first time was basically walking down a steep hill attached to a rope. So, veeeeeeerrrrrrry shakily, me and Brayd hooked ourselves to the side-by-side ropes and started leaning back to get to the side of the cliff. Braydon was having difficulty moving and hated feeding rope through his figure-eight. His voice got a little louder as his panic increased as we got closer to the edge. The worst part is standing perpendicular over the ledge and having to put the rope on the ground, if that makes sense. I have slipped at this point before and gone, face-first, into the ledge. Not so fun. I stayed with Braydon for the first rappel, as he was very nervous. When we got halfway down I made him stop so we could take pictures. Hehe, he was not happy hanging off the side of the cliff. But he looks cool as a cucumber in the pictures. =D I took his pic and mine and one of us and had him take another of me from the side.

It was awesome of him to be brave and take my picture because he did NOT want to. Anyways, we got to the ground and we all climbed up the side of the mountain for another round. My Dad is amazing! At almost 62, he climbed up the rocks and shimmied through cracks as good as Braydon! I, of course, surpassed everyone in skill ;). We rappelled one more time. I looked up and saw that Braydon's rip in his pants had grown from about an inch long to his whole butt-cheek long. Haha, made me laugh!
At the end of the second rappel, I got my guys to take some pics. All of the men in my family are such divas when it comes to taking pictures. It's like I'm asking them if I can yank out their two front teeth! But I did manage to get some. =D Even one of Braydon's fashionable shorts!
But after the one of the three of us, they were done and ready to go home. It was an awesome time and we were all a little pumped with adrenalin by the time it was over. =)