Off the grid

Home, safe and sound. All of them. ♥

Jason's homecoming: the official outfits

Yes, you read that correctly, I did say outfits. First, lets start with the ones you chose.



"Ode to Joy" was my final pick! Both dresses are beautiful and very well made, but as you may (or may not) be able to tell, "Soda Fountain In Grape" (left) hung on my top half sort of awkwardly. It just made me look very boxy. So it was returned to the swell folks at ModCloth (who I am still not being paid or compensated to endorse).

But, after aaaalllll that: I just found out the other day that there's a high chance that the boys will be coming home in the evening! >>palm. forehead.<< As soon as Jason said "night time ETA," I had a flash back to August when I was still job hunting (and had an interview at Sephora). I wandered into Banana Republic because even though I couldn't afford anything I wasn't in a buying mood, I just always love being in their stores. Until I saw these: dark wash boot cut jeans.


My inner spender starting screaming, Let me out, let me out! But their $79.50 price tag made me stop and think: did I want new jeans? Or did I want to pay the Internet bill this month? Since at no point did my blog black out in August, I think you know what I chose. Back on the rack they went. {insert whimper and sniffle here}

Fast forward to yesterday. Now with the evening arrival of my husband, I asked my mom and if could swing by BR while we were out and about since I could finally afford those jeans I was in a very buying mood. Imagine my delight when they were marked down to $49.50! So, here's the new homecoming outfit.




(i know it's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors, but you have to appreciate how cute the whole thing is.)

Outfit Details
Jeans - Banana Republic
Top - Nordstroms
Boots - some random little shoe place in North Carolina
Trench - Target
Umbrella - Burberry (Smartbargains.com)
Gloves & scarf - Target
I'm telling you people, after standing around at three a.m. in the middle of March (and with the crazy freak weather we're having here), we are going prepared! Hot chocolate, Irish coffee, hot cider, blankets, pillows, board games--you'd think we were preparing for a natural disaster (or a really crazy and cold tailgate)! Today I plan to do my grocery shopping since I'm off (and order the tiramisu!) and start preparing for--what's looking to be--a slew of house guests in the days leading up to the arrival.

But everyone has been informed that when Jason arrives, they all get an eviction notice. Hehe...


- Grocery Shopping
- Have duvet dry cleaned
- Make chocolate covered strawberries
-Purchase mirror for bedroom
- Mop, sweep, & vacuum like crazy
- Paint other foot stool
- Find cold weather alternative for homecoming outfit
- Hit up Tuesday Morning & Dollar Tree for some cheap fall decor
(see my fall decorating bonanza parts one, two, and three here).

Preparing for Jason

Talk about having a laundry list of items to do! Between a few last minute things for the house (I've come to accept that no, the room will not be 100% finished when he gets back, but it will be dang close!), grocery shopping, Jake's fiancée Stacey coming in from Minnesota--and oh yeah!--my day job, I'm going to be crazy busy!! I have a ton of stuff I also want to post about before the clock strikes midnight and I turn into a pumpkin I go into hibernation with my hubby, including the winning homecoming dress.

So guess what time it is? Honey-Do time. For shizz. Only this isn't just a weekender's list--this is a serious it's-time-to-git-'er-done list!


- Grocery Shopping
Among other things, tiramisu from Olive Garden is on my "need to buy" list!
- Have duvet dry cleaned
I had an unsuccessful attempt at washing it at home.
- Make chocolate covered strawberries
Seriously? These things are like $5 at a candy store! If I can DIY furniture, I can DIY these!
-Purchase mirror for bedroom
- Mop, sweep, & vacuum like crazy
- Paint other foot stool
They won't be reupholstered before Jason gets home, but they can at least match.
- Find cold weather alternative for homecoming outfit
After all that work, I'm going to have to prepare for the likelihood of grey, drizzly, or smack dab in the middle of the night for Jason's arrival!
- Hit up Tuesday Morning & Dollar Tree for some cheap fall decor
I just need a few more things to finish my decorating extravaganza (see parts one and two here).

By Sunday, I'm hoping to have a shot of the room in its no-it's-not-actually-finished-but-it's-pretty-dang-close stage, and a shot of the winning dress, plus its cold weather look. So here we go!

It's the final countdown!

Homecoming: The Outfit(s)

Well, I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one having issues choosing a dress for Jason's homecoming. Many of you were also torn and often left votes for two or three dresses! But after tallying up your comments, these two landed neck and neck.




Being that they're fairly affordable, I ordered them both to see which one looks best on me and with the shoes I purchased. Oh right! I didn't show you my glitter shoes!






Outfit details:
Top: Victoria's Secret - Capris: Anchor Blue - Shoes: Marry Ann by Enzo Angiolini - Purse: Prada - Sunglasses: Banana Republic - Mani/pedi: OPI Queen of Everything - Friends: James & Aubrey, flown in from Texas

Aren't those shoes fun?! They glitter in the sunlight like crazy. Everywhere I went I was asked where I bought them (Nordstrom's). As Carrie Bradshaw says, "I try not to play favorites with my shoes..." but these have definitely stolen my heart. Thankfully, I think they will work with either homecoming dress, which was something I had in mind when I purchased them. They are super lightweight and they have only a 2.5-inch(ish) heel which makes them comfy and very wearable--a good thing since homecomings can be a lot of waiting around looking pretty.

This week I'm having my hair done, and while I was attemtping to go red, I've decided it's really not for me (I blame it on watching too many episodes of "Mad Men" and "True Blood"). But I've decided I definitely like myself in the deep browns. So hopefully a nice trim (more like a cut, my ends are horrendous) and new color will help inspire the look for the big day! ♥

Homecoming: The Outfit (help!)

In case you haven't checked your calendar lately, we're nearly 80% done with Jason's deployment! (Cue the fireworks and patriotic music!) You've all been so wonderful getting me through this thing. Between the identity fraud and the lawyers, trying to sell our house and eventually putting it back up for rent, my job hunting, drama with so-called friends and the like, it's been a rough summer! However, there's always a silver lining in everything.



Yes, we're still dealing with the identity theft issues, but at least now we have a legal team on our side (we're gonna get you, you little bastard!). Our house never did sell, but we have a renter in it again who's busy making it her own (we just gave permission for her to paint the master bedroom). I finally found a wonderful job with fabulous hours and a great team to work with (hallelujah!). And I've learned that sometimes friends are just a reminder of your past that need to be remembered nostalgically. After all, a windshield is bigger than a review mirror for a reason: you're supposed to spend more time looking ahead of you than behind.

But enough of my pearls of "wisdom." Let's get to the fun stuff: the homecoming outfit!! I asked Jason what he would like me to wear and his answer (of course) was a trench coat, heels and lingerie! Well, I'm sure he and the rest of the unit wouldn't mind that, but I'm a bit more modest (but only a bit)! Besides, I have the other boys coming home too and they'll be getting lots of hugs as well.



So, to humor my husband but to be a little more people friendly, I started looking for trench style dresses. And I found a few others I liked along the way. Now I need your help! My readers have never steered my wrong in helping me pick out my outfits, especilly for my military events!

Work your magic readers!
















Which dress would you choose if you were going to see
your husband for the first time in seven months??

All photos courtesy of ModCloth. I have not been compensated or paid to endorse this brand--I just love 'em! ;)

Operation: Love Reunited

If you've never heard of Op: Love, check out their website. It's an amazing service to military families. Unfortunately, I don't know that a photographer will be available for Jason's homecoming, but I did get to do a "during-deployment" session for him about a month ago. I've been waiting for her to ship off Jason's book before sharing pictures. His book is officially on its way, so I wanted to share a few of my favorite shots with you!












Thanks for letting me share! I know that was very self indulgent. ;) I'm so happy that we're almost out of July! As of July 4, we were officially over the half way mark (imagine how happy I was when the occasion fell on such an appropriate date). Now, we're over 60% done! I love telling people that I have "more behind me than I do ahead of me." I miss Jason like crazy every day, and I thank all you so much for your well wishes, your support, and mostly your ears (er--eyes?). I don't know how many people actually read my blog (sure, I have followers, but how many of them make visits?) but knowing that a handful of you are out there reading and cheering me on makes some of my saddest and darkest days that much brighter. So thank you for the service you do for me!

Happy 4th of July!

Bless the men and women who continue to defend our nation.


picture courtesy of alakabawey via Photobucket


Can't wait to hold my own Yankee Doodle Boy in my arms again!



(Homecoming 2007)

journey mercies

Please pray for Jason and all the men and women serving overseas.

unglamorous glamour

My arms are covered in paint. I've somehow managed to get a blob on my forehead as well. I have dust smeared on my cheek, and my hair is scraped back into a ponytail--with lots of bits sticking out here and there. But these times when I am feeling most down and dirty and unglamourous in the midst of a DIY project is when Jason says I am at my cutest. The sheer determination on my face, the tiny swears that pop out of my mouth, and the great sighs I expel when I am finished for the day--to him they are the sights and sounds he's going to miss most when he leaves this month.

We're still around--the weekend was insanely busy! Friday we enjoyed the company of Nichole and one of Jason's Marines, Josh. The four of us went shopping which led to dinner, which led to our favorite country western club, which led to "breakfast." I think Jason and I finally tumbled into our bed at four a.m. Saturday morning! But it was one of the best nights we've had with friends in a long time. Saturday night my family had a dinner for Jason so everyone could see him off. Most of Sunday was spent sleeping (for me) while Jason played golf with another one of his Marines, Johnny.

Not much work was done to the wall unit, but I'm happy to say that yesterday and today have been spent making up for that! I'm hoping to move it inside tonight and apply the bead board wall paper tomorrow (I've already been preparing vignettes for some of the cubbies, so I can't wait to get it finished!).

And just so this post isn't completely devoid of photos, I'll leave you with this one: my new claddagh ring all the way from Ireland!

update

Big sigh of relief. My first (and last) DIY-project-for-someone-else is finally finished. The polyurethane top coat is drying as we speak, and tomorrow afternoon, I'll be taking the newly stained and glossed table top back to her home. It will be so nice to regain our dinning room! Normally I work in our garage, however, California has been hit with some unseasonably cold weather and bad storms. The garage has been too cold to work in because nothing will dry. I had to haul everything inside and make space in our dinning room, which already houses our large pedestal table and six chairs! So to have some of our house back will be sheer bliss!

In the meantime, when I haven't been sanding, stripping, staining, sleeping, or going to the gym, I worked on my antique chair and an industrial desk freebie that we used to use for the computer. I'm turning it into my sewing desk! I'm really, really hoping to have the entire office done by next week. I'm shooting for Monday, but I'm waiting on some fabric so a lot will depend on when it arrives.

Sunday my friend Katie and I are going to a Pottery Barn decorating class! I'm so excited, I can't wait! I have no idea what to expect, but I know we get a little discount coupon after the class. Have I mentioned that I've never physically shopped in a Pottery Barn before? So this is a first!

I'll be back later this week with some more pictures of the office. And hopefully soon, we'll have a big reveal!

It looks like the rain may have paused for a bit, so I'm going to try and get some of my new flowers planted! Poor little things are still in their crate from Home Depot!

But for now, I leave you with a little poetry:

This morning, the sun was shinning off the leftover rain drops.
It glistened in the puddles along the side of the road.
The Surf Liner slid by effortlessly, its wheels click-click-clicking along the tracks.
The breeze blew through the palm trees, making their fronds sway to and fro.
And the Marines were singing cadence.
When a day starts like that, how can it be anything but perfect?

a different kind of Christmas poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe, completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep, secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem, so I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near, but I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear, and I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, a lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old, perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear, "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve, you should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift, away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light, then he sighed and he said "It’s really all right. I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.
It's my duty to stand at the front of the line, that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me, I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December," then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Gram always remembers.
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam, and now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while, but my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.”
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag, the red, white, and blue... an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone, away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet, I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another, or lay down my life with my sister and brother.
Who stand at the front against any and all, to ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright, your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, in the least, give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done, for being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret, "Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone, to stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead, to know you remember we fought and we bled.
It's payment enough, and with that we will trust, that we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

From The War Veterans' Poetry Archive
December 2000 by Michael Marks

thank a veteran

Happy Veteran's Day.
Past, present, and future.



My mighty Marine (in Okinawa, Japan), whom I was fortunate enough to marry February 19, 2006.
Happy Veterans' Day & Happy 234th Birthday Marine Corps!

a moment of silence

For those who gave their lives then, and those who continue to give their lives now.


"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land.
God bless the U.S.A."

atten-tion!

There is no better day on base, than when a men's shop is holding uniform inspections. If you're fortunate enough to have one of these men, you know you're one of the luckiest girls on base. There's no better sight than a Marine in uniform...



...except maybe a Marine out of uniform.

c-r-a-z-y

Chaos. Utter chaos. I swear, I'll die a young death because of the military! The housing debacle we're caught up in is so mind boggling and stupid, I just want to grab everyone who works for them and choke them until they're blue in the face!

There's a huge mess with our moving. Our current housing office says we can live here until Camp Pendleton has a home for us. But Camp Pendleton says they won't know if they'll have a home for us until we check in. But if we check in there, it means checking out here! It's just a huge mess. Like the old "Who's on First?" gag, only this is much less funny. I can't roll my eyes far enough into the back of my head at the idiocy of it all.

But, there's always a silver lining on every dark cloud. And our cloud happens to have two silver linings: Oregon & San Francisco. My grandmother and I have been calling each other back and forth with a mad fervor coordinating flights, rides to and from the airport, hotel recommendations, the whole shebang! (And she says everyone up north is absolutely twitterpated that Jason and I are coming up!) She and my grandfather were trying to talking us into staying longer than the seven days we have planned and we were almost on the cusp of agreeing until we remembered San Francisco! A mere two days after we return home from Oregon, we'll fly right back up the coast for a few days!


(Fall in Oregon) Photo: Forbes Traveler

I'm getting so excited--this is the life I've always wanted to live. Jetting off to different cities, being so busy you feel like your head's going to explode, and being so exhausted you're absolutely giddy. The only part that sweetens the whole deal is the man I get to travel with. ♥ I know, sappy. Don't be jealous. :)


(Cool and nippy November in San Francisco) Photo: Brisbane Times