April Snow Days & Maxi Dresses

We woke up to this morning to snow so I thought what better way to overcome the it's-supposed-to-be-spring-because-it's-april-but-it-snowed blues by listing one of my most recent and favorite finds - a positively summer maxi dress.  If only it fit me...

Shop Update

 1970s striped blouse

1970s polka dot bow blouse

Like I said, it is a slow work in progress, but here are a couple of additions.  The hardest part for me about starting this store is that I want to keep everything!  I had an especially hard time parting with the polka dot blouse - it really is so cute and flattering on.  Let's just say it's usually better if I find things that don't fit me...

 Available @ 10thandGrand!

Still Alive...

We're still alive over here!  It has been a busy few months and I just haven't felt like blogging, but here's to a random update!  The biggest news I have to share is that our time in Provo is almost over (Provo, not Utah!)  Our apartment contract is up at the end of April and since I'm not taking classes during the summer, it seems pretty silly for Tanner to have to drive all the way to SLC everyday when I have no real need to be in Provo.  We actually are moving this time!  Although I have complained about our hot-and-cold house and its lack of water pressure (and oftentimes lack of hot water, too...), and basically non-existent storage space, and the lady next door who screams at the top of her lungs for her green-sweater-wearing dog named Albus everyday early in the morning and late at night, I am still a little sad to move.  Don't get me wrong, I am beyond excited to have a dish washer, disposal, washer and dryer, CLOSETS, central air, a heater that actually produces heat, and insulation around my windows, it feels like we are ending a little chapter of our lives because I know I will remember our life right now as the time we lived in "that old house in Provo" - and it has been so good.  Of course, we will only add more chapters and good memories in the future and I am excited for that, but I can feel a little nostalgic for the past that hasn't even become the past yet, right?  Onto bigger and better things - and by bigger and better things, I mean we are moving into a place with all the luxuries mentioned above + a pool, a hot tub, and 5 cute kids -Tanner's sister and brother-in-law are letting us stay at their house for a month or two until we find a place we want to move into for the next year or so.

I've been feeling really grateful for everything in my life lately and this song seems to match my mood.  I can't stop listening to it.  I think it will be my summer song.




And to match the randomness of this update, here are some randomly selected photos from the past few months.  Don't worry, we pretty much still look the same.

valentines' day fort chris & azy came to visit with their cute boysmy mom came to visit and we bought matching sweaterstanner and esther making school valentinesbillboards designed by tanner - so proud!
p.s. Oh yeah! I made my very first sale on my etsy store yesterday - 10thandGrand - and I am pretty excited.  Tanner made me a little logo and I shipped it out today.  There are only a few things on there right now and it is definitely a slow work in progress, but feel free to take a look.

christmas week

after a couple of long days of driving, we made it to iowa! the drive really wasn't that bad.  we took our time, stopped in random places we wanted to stop, and made it home in good time + the weather cooperated, which made the drive much more relaxing than what it could have been.  honestly, it was pretty fun to drive together and watch the scenery change as we moved across the states.  i love seeing the silos and old farmhouses start to pop up as you get closer to iowa.

for the first time, we are staying for longer than a week, which has made it a much more relaxing trip so far.  today, we literally sat around and did nothing all day long and didn't feel guilty about it for a second.  probably the best part about being home for me is getting to be apart of all the normal things i miss when i'm away.  one of my favorite parts of our vacation so far lasted for about 10 minutes when i watched hunter and couple of his friends saxophone carol down main street in ames. {the fact that they ended up on the local prime time news for it has nothing do with it, i swear!} i love getting to see and be apart of my younger brother and sister - and all of my cousins' - lives as they grow up, and the little things like getting to see my little brother go saxophone caroling makes me feel less far away from my iowa home.  the only thing that would make this trip better is if shea & chris were here to hang out too - come on guys, there's still a couple days for you to get here before christmas!

other highlights have included: sunday dinner, building the annual xmas village, eating eating eating of course {notice the picture of tanner's gigantuan iowan sized dinner courtesy of hickory park}, cafe diem with my mom and elizabeth, gossip girl gossip girl gossip girl {will chuck bass live or die???}, playing an intense game of scattergories, cat stories with dad, taking horribly ugly pics with madison & hunter on photobooth, making christmas cookies at gran & papa's {and seeing their new house}, and FINALLY finishing my christmas shopping for the year after several trips to target.

only two more days until christmas!! got to love this time of year.

prospect talk

tanner started an etsy shop {called prospect talk} for some design things very recently and had his first sale today - woo hoo!!  he is adding things little by little - but if you know anyone looking for unique and really cool wedding invitations, refer them to his shop!

the business is booming! me and tanner say that to each other jokingly when little business triumphs happen like today with his first sale (it all started with my very little business endeavor with eye lashes this summer).  but really, check it out and keep checking for new things to be added!

freedom fa la la la la!

i walked to my last final today convinced - convinced i tell you! - that i was going to tell the graduate coordinator that i was done with graduate school.  i imagined myself leaving the final feeling refreshed by the fact that i would never be a student again and moreover that i had actually made a decision.  instead, i walked out of the room with out saying a word to the coordinator and went back to my circular thought process.

should i finish my master's program?  well what i do if i weren't in school next semester? what if i regret this decision for the rest of my life? {especially when i have to go back to waitressing when i'm 40}  well what if what if what if what if what if WHAT IF???

and then my stomach curled around itself in knots like it has since july.  {no seriously, i have been having this conversation with myself - and probably you too - since july!} 

 i have questioned my decision to pursue a master's degree in english everyday

i have spent hours agonizing over my options

 i have lost confidence in my ability to make the right decision or any decision for that matter

and because i have spent so much time thinking about all of the ins and outs of this decision, i am now to a point where i really don't know what i think or feel anymore, which leaves me feeling... unsure. 

but i do know i want to love and feel inspired by what i'm doing. and i do know that i don't want to get a master's degree just for the sake of getting a master's degree.  what has kept me going is the flexible part-time option of teaching at a college that a master's degree will actually provide, but sometimes i'm unsure if that's enough of a reason to continue. {insert irrational fears here} in my mind, people who go to graduate school are either totally passionate about what they're going to school for or know that by going to graduate school they will be able to move from point A to point B.  in my mind, people who go to graduate school are not supposed to do the bare minimum simply to survive for two years while dreading their next semester's classes.  and after all this, even though i feel unsure about school, i feel equally unsure {if not more unsure} about what i would do if i weren't in school, which maybe wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.  

through all of this, i have learned that i'm not passionate about much besides tanner, my family and my friends - and maybe mexican tacos, reeses peanut butter cups, and virgil's bottled blackberry soda - and maybe one other entrepreneur idea i have floating around in my head - but really, at this point right this second, i don't see any master degree or career making or breaking my current or future happiness, because i already have everything i truly care about.  which technically should be comforting?  

so wish me luck on making a decision asap.  oh big life decisions, growing up is not so fun to do sometimes. 

but what is fun is the fact that i have 2+ weeks to do absolutely nothing but enjoy family, christmas trees, and treats.  did i mention we're leaving for iowa really soon?

and because this post was so long and wordy and not fun, here's a picture of us hanging out tonight on the first official night of winter break.

i'm watching 30 rock and blogging and tanner is really close to falling asleep on the couch.  i take back part of what i said before - this part of growing up is the life.

it's beginning to smell and look like christmas

today i got home from teaching my class, turned on sufjan steven's christmas album, and peeled a clementine. the clementine smelled so strong, it was the first time it really felt like christmas to me even though we decorated our christmas tree and house for christmas last weekend.  looking through some of my pictures i've taken recently, it's beginning to look like christmas around our house too.

christmas kiss cookies - check

decorating christmas trees - check

favorite ornaments - check

snow - check (well sort of...)

christmas lights - check

clementines - check check check!

now if i could only get through the rest of this week (it's the absolute worst to be a student this time of year) and i will be feeling full-blown in the christmas spirit!  

oh and did i mention we got another nephew last week? steven ramsey facer. we love you already. that's the 4th capua baby this year - 4th!  it's a good thing there are so many babies around for us to hold and hang out with otherwise we might start wanting one of our own.