KARI-ISMS

Kari-isms: def. The random thoughts of Kari that she thinks are inspiring so she slaps them on a picture.

Bundled up so tightly that only my glasses are poking through, I'm waiting a full two minutes for my car to warm up so it won't die on the road.  It's cold, it's gray, and I'm yearning to run back inside under the covers and not come out until winter is over.

I begin driving and turn on the radio just in time to hear one of my new favorites come on.  I turn the volume up even more so that my poor old speakers crackle just a bit.  After the song is over, I flip to another station and hit gold again!  Usually I annoyingly cycle through all the radio stations trying to find a song that is ok or I just end up turning it off altogether, but today my drive is serenaded with wheel tapping, sing along music.  It is enough to give me the boost I need to start my day and venture my way into the arctic tundra.

I hope you have one of those days.  One of those days when every song on the radio is your favorite so you can sing along to it at the top of your lungs.  It's too cold to roll down your window, so no one will be able to hear you:)

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Today I'm partnering up with Brittney From True Vintage Love on a giveaway for an Advocare Cleanse Pack.  Looking for a way to get rid of all those toxins?

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PEICD (PROJECTS EVEN I CAN DO): ARROW VALENTINE

This is a unique valentine you can put together with items you probably have lying around your house...and in your yard.

Supplies:
--A small stick (I found mine in our yard)
--Embroidery thread in your favorite colors
--Foil wrapped chocolate heart
--Felt

Step 1:  Cut out a piece of paper in a heart shape and tape it to the back of the foil wrapped candy.  This ensures you won't be eating any glue when your valentine takes it off the stick to enjoy. 

Step 2:  Hot glue the stick to the back of the chocolate heart. 

Step 3:  Next, wrap pieces of embroidery floss around the stick to add a bit of color.

Step 4:  Out of felt, cut a little feather shape and hot glue it onto the end of the stick.

Step 5:  Now just tie on a little note for your valentine.  I chose "Your aim is true...you got me right in the heart". 

Who will you be sending your arrow to? 

VISITING THE ALL ELECTRIC HOUSE: THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE

Over Christmas we wanted to do something a little cultural amidst all the eating and presents, so we made a visit to the Johnson County Museum's All Electric House.  All electric, you say?  That's crazy!  Well, not any more friends.  It's the wave of the future.

The house was built by the Kansas City Power and Light company in the 1950s to showcase all the great new electric gadgets homeowners could now enjoy. 

The house used to be near our neighborhood, but was moved to its current location.  Everything has been restored to how it would have looked in the 1950s and set up for Christmas. 

I couldn't get over the tile in the bathroom.  So cute.  Reminds me of the bathrooms in our home.

Probably the coolest thing that I saw (that I didn't already have in my home today) were the master switches next to the (double) beds in the master bedroom.  These switches controlled the lights/outlets in the whole house.  So you could turn off the lights in the kitchen if you forgot from the comfort of your bed.  Why don't we have that today? 

The tinsel tree was adorable.  Underneath the tree were some common gifts children may have received at that time.  I guess gender specific items were a must.  A cook book for Susie and a football for Sam.

Afterwards, we went to Fritz's, a restaurant where the food is delivered via a train that drops it off for you.

Choo, choo!

WHY I MAY BECOME A HOARDER

So I went out today to buy some felt in this very specific color that I have been buying at the same place for years.  Two weeks ago it wouldn't have mattered to me if I couldn't find it, but now I've thought of a new project that hinges on this very color of felt.  And you know what?  They didn't have it.

After years of becoming lulled into a false sense of security that the store that has a million bajillion things, and every other color of felt, I was shocked that the one thing I actually wanted to buy wasn't there any more.  Argh!

This seems like it happens all the time.  I'll find something I really like and either not buy it, or not buy enough of it, only to find out it's no longer there.  This has got me thinking about hoarding.  Maybe these people have got it right.  I bet they never wake up in night sweats after having another nightmare about that purse they should have bought.  No way.  All they would have to do is sift through the mountain of junk in their living room to find it nestled in there with its price tag still on.

I kid, mostly.  I've been trying to not turn to the dark side ever since I wore through my favorite pair of black flats and can't find any near as comfy, but I feel that Wade is changing my way of thinking.

When we moved into our house, I was unpacking a box of shoes he had.  I thought it was some sort of magic box, because I kept pulling out the same running shoe over and over again.  It was not the same shoe.  The problem was that he had four pairs of the same shoe!  I was flabbergasted and demanded to know what the meaning of this was.  He calmly explained that he really liked that style so he stocked up during a sale.  Now he was set for years to come. 

"But what if they come out with some great new style or color that you want instead?", I asked.  He insisted that at least these were tried and true and would always fit him just right.

Interesting.  Cut to today, and I wish I had bought 20, nay 50, pieces of that felt.  It's only $.30 a piece, so I would have been crazy not to, right?  Where does it stop, though?  How would I have known 6 months ago that A. I would need all that felt or B. they would stop carrying that color?  I'm thinking that this is how "good deals" become a huge waste of money.  Buying something on sale, but buying 5 of it doesn't really translate into any cost savings.  I guess it's just a roll of the dice in this game we call life.  I'm keeping that extra pair of fleece leggings in the back of my closet, though.

Tomorrow I'm going to drive 20 minutes out of my way to another location of the store to see if they have it.  I could probably find it online, but where's the fun in that?  There's just something about the thrill of the hunt.

Now I'm looking around the house, wondering what I need back ups for before it's too late.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this:)

WEEKLY WEARS: GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THIS BLACK AND WHITE STRIPED DRESS + THOUGHTS ON THE WEATHER

I don't know what it is about this black and white striped dress, but I just can't stop wearing it.  I broke it out again for our Christmas festivities, except I paired it with a blue button up underneath and some red tights for a pop of color. 

Even though there were little patches of snow left on the ground, the sun was out in full force.  There's nothing quite like facing the sun and feeling it soak you in its rays after trudging around in the cold. 

Isn't it strange how relative the weather can feel?  55 degrees in the summer feels unbearably cold, but that same temperature in the winter makes you want to run around outside in shorts in a t-shirt to get the most of the warm spell. 

Kansas is known for its inability to settle on a steady temperature.  One day it might be 75 degrees, and the next day it's below freezing.  Maybe not that big of a swing, but you get the idea.  While it may have been confusing as a kid, I now enjoy the little reprieves this indecisiveness offers us.  We just have to make it through those dreary and cold days, because any day the sun will come out again. 

I guess that's a lot of what life is.  Getting through tough times  so that you can enjoy the sweet times that make life so wonderful.  Think about those moments that you just want to freeze and bottle up.  I often wish I could just push rewind on some of these moments to keep playing them over and over.  Would they ever lose their luster over time?  I don't think it would be possible.

Dress: TJ Maxx // Tights: Target // Shoes: Old Navy // Shirt: Gap // Necklace: JCrew Outlet

Wishing you one of those sunshine-filled, magic kind of days.

SNAPSHOTS

From the past few weeks...

two cutie patooties

another couple of cutie patooties

delicious

visiting the 1950s "house of the future"

who can tell me what movie this is from?

dancing cousins

little stinker

being really green and using the x-mas tree to start a fire that blew out the top of the chimney

the present that keeps on giving

Here are some moments I captured from the past few weeks.  It was so fun to be surrounded by these adorable kiddos.  Could they be any cuter?  Everyone else looks pretty dapper, too:) 

Hope you all have a stellar weekend!  I'll be trying to kick this cold once and for all and hanging out with the Wadester.  Hopefully we both feel back to our old selves to resume our Chipotle date nights.  I'm also going to try to make good on one of my resolutions to learn how to sew.  Hear that, Mom?  I'll be over for my first lesson:)

I'm linking up to This Analog Adventure's Photography Friday linkup this week.  Stop by and check out some amazing pictures:)

CLEAN SLATE

The lights have been turned off, the tree has been taken out to the curb, and the magic has been bottled up and stored away for next year.  Everything seems so bare.

Last year at this time, I was well into my winter funk.  Lamenting the loss of the holidays and willing spring to come bring everything to life again.  I expected the same wave to flood over me as we packed it all away, but it didn't.  While I was sad to not be able to gaze at the glow of candy colored lights, I knew it was time for the next season.

Time to look forward to new projects and time to hibernate a bit.  Time to see what will fill up this mantel.  For right now, it's a clean slate. 

BIRTHDAY RECAP (PART 2)

Since everyone needs a birthday week instead of just a day, we kept the celebration going when we went out with my brother and sister-in-law a few days later (see Birthday Recap part 1 here).

They outdid themselves and took me on a fun scavenger hunt around the city!  If there's one thing I really love, it's surprises, but hanging out with these two is up at the top, too:)  I felt like the luckiest girl around. At each location they had fun and creative clues wrapped up as presents to lead me to the next destination.

We started the night going to a lovely restaurant in the Plaza that has big windows where you can watch people passing by on the sidewalk.  It reminded me of being in New York City, small and intimate with a view of passersby.

Next, I got a special clue.

Wade and I met in a bar in Kansas City.  Not just any bar, though.  It's in the oldest building in Kansas City, so that makes it classier.

They've still got it after all these years.  Kissing by the kissing post:)

What a fateful night all those years ago.

We continued my birthday pub crawl to Snow & Co., a place that specializes in fancy frozen cocktails.  Wade and I had taken my parents here for my mom's birthday during the summer, and I had been itching to go back.

The drinks were ok, but truthfully I would have rather just had a frozen strawberry margarita.  A fun visit, though!  We ended the night hitting a bar in the Power and Light district that specialized in 90s dance music.  Wade was in paradise:)  We never go out to clubs anymore (and I use that term loosely here), so it was fun to say we did it, but definitely don't feel like we're missing anything.  Leave that to the youngsters and the cougars there prowling their next conquest.  We're old and married, and I like that.  As I'm typing this, it makes me think about how I was feeling the night I met Wade at Kelly's compared to this night when I went there with Wade as my husband of 5 years.  The night I met Wade, I felt so lost and unsure what the future would bring.  I was tired of the rat race of dating already.  It feels incredibly satisfying now to be able to visit the place where our adventure first embarked and reminisce and know that while I don't know exactly what the future holds, at least I have this guy by my side.

Sorry for getting off topic.  I wanted to end by saying what an INCREDIBLE night this was!  I felt so loved and was overwhelmed by the effort and thoughtfulness put into the evening.  I wish we could have scavenger hunts all the time.  A big thank you to you, Chad and Amy!  Thank you for making it such a memorable night and birthday.  We love you guys!