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Feels like home to me

By Natalie · Comments (3) · March 27th, 2012

The weekend meant a family dinner in Logan. From the mismatched placemats to the stacked cars in the driveway playing Tetris, family can grow, but it remains comfortably the same. Almost.

Funny how when you live far away from family, you don’t realize how much you miss, until you shock everyone by showing up and you see that you no longer fit in. I love that I have waited to have kids but it also means that I don’t relate to a lot of the poop-and-preschool conversation.

Places like Cache Valley don’t ever outgrow you. When the conversation becomes too much for my introverted self, the valley is fulfilling. It is not only where I arrived in the world as an infant but also where I returned to become an adult — a different sort of process, but an important one.

Plus, there are friendly horses.

Ignore the hair. I am still on a liquid diet, and between that and the home buying roller coaster, I have become a hermit. Woot.

Comments (3)

Categories : Great thoughts

Tags : adulthood, home, logan, Utah

Breakfast at Tiffany’s solves everything

By Natalie · Comments (8) · March 22nd, 2012

As does Lortab.

Yesterday I went to the periodontist for a consultation. He should sell air guitars. It was a consultation for a gum graft, but then he was all “oh, let’s just do the surgery now, I can get you out in a 45 minutes and you won’t have to come back.” After promising that I would be fine to go to work the next day, I willingly let myself succumb to the laughing gas.

Great salesman. Great at stretching the truth. I woke up feeling like I lost a fight. As if someone slugged me on my right side and then harder on the left. But I felt like weak sauce if I didn’t go to work, since the doctor told me that people do it all the time. So I tossed back some Ibuprofen and went for it. Especially since today was the ribbon cutting for Tiffany & Co. and they were holding a Breakfast at Tiffany’s event. Yes, please.

So I went to Breakfast at Tiffany’s and tried on jewelry that will be double the down payment we’re about to put down on a house (maybe even next week by the way!). The highlight was definitely this stay-at-home-mom who called my job “cute.” As in, “oh, you got to work everyday? That’s so cute.”

I wanted to say, “yeah, that’s what I call my MBA — it’s so cute. And my college diploma? I call that one adorable. I scrapbooked them!”

But I didn’t. Because I was heavily sedated. Just kidding, I’m a nice person, and I imagine she meant well. I think “cute” is a Utah thing. I’m re-learning all sorts of Utah-isms. Mostly it’s like living in a world of beautiful shades of grey and coming to a place where it seems people only see black and white. I say it “seems” because people aren’t what they appear and there really are layers. It can just be harder to see.

Dude, I just took another Lortab, I hope that paragraph makes sense. Related: my news side hates writing out “paragraph” because internal lingo is graf, and graf is so much easier to type.

Back at work, we hosted a baby shower for a sweet coworker. By the way, shout out to my amazing family. Since I didn’t realize that I would be going under the knife, I had volunteered to buy the group gift for the shower and make two side dishes. Instead, I promptly came home and went to bed. So my sweet husband went and looked up the registry and bought the gift and then my mom made my two dishes. I have the best family. They make everything great.

So it was an easy work day. I peaced out of work at 3:30 and came home and got as high as a kite on Lortab. Such a weird feeling — I could never be a druggie. I can feel myself thinking illogically but I know I’m not rational. I don’t like that feeling.

I don’t think that’s a bad conclusion to come to though.

Comments (8)

Categories : Great finds, Great people, Great thoughts

Tags : City Creek, Diamonds, Friends, Salt Lake Cty, Tiffany & Co., Utah

Parked

By Natalie · Comments (3) · March 11th, 2012

Well it turns out that our house might have cracks in the foundation and all sorts of mega probs. so this might not be “the one” and it’s back to square one. I hate that. But it is was it is. I don’t want to buy a house and have the walls come crashing down on me while I am in the shower. Awkward.

Today we found a great 13-acre dog park at the mouth of Parley’s Canyon, called Tanner Park. This might become a regular weekend ritual. There was even some water for Dahlia to swim it. She was in heaven. She’s missed her dog beach and the SoCal life. I have been missing it. Dahlia hates the cold like I do (the fact that she postpones going outside all day proves it).

But she had fun and we laughed and it was all good. The water was a little cold for her so she is taking a nap on a heating pad now. Gosh, I love that pug.

Here is a video of her trying to steal another dog’s tennis ball and failing miserably. It was cute.

Comments (3)

Categories : Great finds

Tags : Dog, dog park, pug, tanner park, Utah

For the realtors

By Natalie · Comments (10) · March 3rd, 2012

Husband is out to lunch and then we are going house hunting with the realtor. It really is boiling down to “fixer-upper in an established neighborhood like Bountiful or Sugarhouse,” or “newer home in a more cookie-cutter neighborhood like Daybreak.” Despite being against it for years, I do really like the sanctuary feel of Daybreak, and the fact that I can afford a garage. But the commute would be a pain, so we’ll see. I’m open minded to pretty much anything.

But here’s my beef.

Why is it so hard for realtors to post pictures that actually make sense on home listings? Congratulations, you posted 30 pictures, but they are all out of focus. Or you took no actual pictures of the kitchen, master bathroom, or master closet. Save us both some time here. My favorite is when one feature of the house has been redone, like hardwood floors. So there are 10 pictures of hardwood floors up close. And nothing else.

And be specific. I hate that “charming” really means small. And “Victorian” probably just means old. “Need some Love” is the worst because you know if a realtor is willing to put that in the listing, it’s a dump. I love it when I see “needs new roof.” That gives me clarity. I can know about how much that can cost. When I see “needs attention,” I have no point of reference for really how much love this home is going to need. I’m willing to give a little love and attention, I’m not willing to go full-out remodel. An extra 15 minutes of commute time is worth it to me to not have project.

Let’s talk about how two of the newer home developments we’ve looked at have the master suite at the back of the house, and the kids rooms at the front. Have I read too many news stories? It just seems like instant kidnapping. Or that my 4-year-old will wander out and get hit by a car while I am in the master suite completely unaware the munchkin is awake. I know, child proofing exists, but still. It creeps me out.

End rant. I do love our realtor. She’s a gem. And really patient.

I am becoming very talented at pinning home-related things to Pinterest. I got that part down.

Oh and p.s. the bar exam is over! Huzzah! Victory of the week. And I didn’t even take the test.

Original photo sources: yellow door, bedroom, dining

Comments (10)

Categories : Great finds

Tags : bountiful, Daybreak, new home, pinterest, realtor, Utah

Adventures in Orla Kiely

By Natalie · Comments (3) · January 18th, 2012

I spent Saturday at a bridal show with a new friend. When you are married, bridal shows really mean the ability to eat copious amounts of cake with no guilt or worry about fitting into a dress. Oh, and the intense desire to get a wedding redo — quickly eliminated when you remember the stress of wedding planning.

Afterward, I had spare time and decided to drive up to 9th and 9th. It’s a cutesy shopping block that I’d heard good things about. And with no school, I have so much free time. Of course I fell in love with a dress by Orla Kiely at Children’s Hour that I wanted to spontaneously purchase even though it was over $200. No, I told myself that I’d find it on the Internet. Of course that proved impossible. So now I’m just dreary eyed.

I did find a birthday gift for my mom though, bonus. And I ordered a cookie for her that said “Happy Birthday Becky.” She was happy. Who doesn’t want a happy birthday cookie, I tell you.

New friends, new stores and a checkmark off the “birthday gift” list made for a great weekend. And I’m obsessed with Orla Kiely now. The dress was similar to the one with the cream top and mustard skirt – except it was a white top and black pencil skirt. I know, the look that can be recreated easily, but the way this was styled was so prim. So chic that I knew I’d immediately spill on it the first day that I wore it, and it would be an absolute waste.

A girl can dream though. And these images have me hoping that mustard yellow stays “in” for awhile.