What I Wore Wednesday

Hmm, so this week didn't go as planned.  Only 3 outfits to show you and one is essentially a last week repeat (but I am bananas for this outfit).  It has been really cold here, and the beginning of my Thanksgiving break, so I'll be honest this week I've been a lot of the reason why Lindsay started WIWW.  Hee!  But it's also been really nice to do that too, that and to not have my clothing choices critiqued by the ever fashionable fury ;)

Friday

{go Broncos!  the fury was far more pleased with this choice than my inadvertent support of the wrong team a few weeks ago}

t-shirt: wal-mart, I'm too poor to even by my own university's clothing

undershirt: men's thermal, Urban Outfitters

jeans: maurices

sneaks: roo's, Journey's

Monday

{it's beginning to look a lot like Christgiving}

scarf: bestie's hand-me down

fleece: scary old, oldnavy

undertank: hanes men's, wal-mart

jeans: american rag, from bestie

boots: DSW (my 'hunting' boots)

Tuesday

{crazy.banana.love outfit}

so i dig my hair like this, but definitely preferred the bottoms during the debut of this outfit

scarf: JCPenny's

shirt: JCPenny's

jeans: bestie's hand-me down

fuggs: walm-mart

earrings: Idaho Indie Works (birthday gift from bestie)

Go see what others wore this week, particularly those who got dressed everyday, instead of just 3 ;)  Oh P.S. there's a super cute give-away too!

Christmas Lovely

Normally I wait until the day after Thanksgiving (or later, if I shop on the scariest day of the year Black Friday, like last year for the first time) to decorate for Christmas.  But, Thanksgiving is a little different this year and a day closer to Christmas is a day closer to Mr. Cook being home.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays (and Mr. Cook's too) but it's not the same without him here.  This year we're going to celebrate Christgiving (as deemed by Mr. Cook), his only request for his homecoming was to have Thanksgiving prepared just the way I had for our first Thanksgiving as The Cooks (Thanksgiving '09).

So what's a girl to do with a little less than 30 days on her hands?  Nest, nest, and nest some more.  Here's what Christmas looks like Cook style.

{oh, the glow!}

{estate sale finds that fit perfectly with the aqua/red newly unified color scheme for living room & kitchen}

{kitchen counter inspired by this}

{i'm in love with white this year}

{little trees spruce-ing up the fridge}

{even my cook books were feeling festive}

{can't wait for my Christmas wish to come true and have my handsome hubs at that table}

{my grandma had a thing for cardinals this time of year, i have a thing for holly berries}

{no post would be complete without the Cook wall, buh-bye autumn wreath, hell-o Cost Plus placemat}

{spreading the love to the guest bathroom}

{my updated candle, inspired by her}

How are you making your holiday lovely?  Head on over to Heather's too see how others are making their lives lovely.

Wintersong

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful Sunday.  I'm sitting in front of the Christmas tree with my favorite tea in hand listening to this, before braving the frost for church.



It is such a peaceful and still song, and a wonderful reminder of what this season is all about.  I suggest you take your laptop to your tree (if it's already up, of course) with a cup of cocoa, joe, or Nutcracker Sweet black tea and have yourself a moment.

What I Wore Wednesday

So this week ushered in true Idaho weather, completely unpredictable and really. really. cold.  I like to call our local weatherman Larry the Liar :)  I wore a really cute outfit yesterday, but I neglected to take a picture ...it was a long day.  And after battling hail, tutoring, a lovely dinner with a friend, and a yellow ribbon meeting, I just wasn't feeling up to snappin' a photo.  Maybe I'll wear it again for you next week.

Wednesday

{not only does cooler weather mean lots of layers, it also means blurry pictures, or something like that}

hat: a lovely friend's mother after I ooh-ed and ah-ed over his

vest: target, alla last year's Black Friday shopping (don't worry Andrea, this year, I know what I'm in for)

thermal: Urban Outfitters, discount days

jeans: American Rag, bestie's give away

undertank: men's Hanes

boots: Maurices

Thursday & Friday

{nobody around here sees me two days in a row, hee!  I completely forgot about our state's rivalry college football game, however.  Definitely wore the wrong losing team's color and heard about it all day from the fury}

scarf: JCPenny's awesome sale

plaid flannel: JCPenny's awesome sale

jeans: American Rag, bestie's giveaway

boots: Maurices

Sunday

{met up with some lovely friends in the afternoon for some girl time, psst, notice the new rug?!}

infinity scarf (not unity scarf, don't make this mistake of calling it this and having the 15 year old at H&M in Seattle laugh at you, repeat after me: Infinity scarf)

sweatshirt: Burlington Coat Factory, shawing!

jeans: Maurices

new rug (living room make over inspiration): JCPenny's awesome sale, $55 (I kid you not, woot woot)

Monday

{with the fury}

scarf: Old Navy

cardigan: JCPenny's, awesome sale!

blouse: JCPenny's, awesome sale!

slacks: Maurices, maybe?!

flats: WetSeal

Go see what other ladies are wearing!  This week Lindsey snapped some outfits from the Queen Bee Market, sooo cute.

What I Wore Wednesday (Groundhog Ed.)

So, maybe Groundhog Edition isn't quite the right name?  What do you call it when you forget to post your outfits from last week and you only took a few photos this week?  I suppose none of you would have known the difference, after all, for all you know I may lounge about in a football jersey and sweats all day and glam it up for five minutes.  I know that's what you were thinking.  Ye of little faith!

Without further ado, some outfits from last-last week and last week!

{10/30 Halloween Eve}

Zombie Amelia Earhart :)  My friend Casey simply said, "Too soon".  Mwah ha ha.  Really it came down to the fact that I didn't want to spend $.  And I didn't, except for the $4 for the latex to build my face and make it look eerily realistic.  Mr. Cook was not impressed, he thinks I looked creepy.

Leather Jacket: Forever21

T-shirt: WalMart

Cargos: Raided from Bestie, Express

Boots: Raided from Bestie, Steve Madden

Scarf: Gift from my mom

{10/31 Church}

Thank you for exfoliating facial scrub and calling it an early night, it took 2 hours to get my face off.  Hrmph.

Cardigan: Pilly old love rag, Gap

Dress: cant remember but I like it and I wear it alot

Scarf: Urban Outfitters, discount days

Sweater tights: Urban Outfitters, discount days

Boot socks: Target

Boots: Target

{11/02 Election Day!}

The outfit wasn't important, the sticker was and is.  How amazing is it that we have the right to be a part of our government, to elect the candidates we think will represent us the best, to take place in the system that determines our livelihood?  Really amazing.  And I'm consistently grateful to my husband, to my dad, to all the men and women who fight and protect this right.  

{11/03 Parent Teacher Conferences}

I loved getting to be included in this; it was wonderful to get to put parents to students and talk about how awesome their kids are.

Blouse: JCPenny's

Pants: Maurices

Black flats: Urban Outfitters

{11/07 Church, it was awesome!}

Sweater: Maurices

Flower: Ladies' Retreat

Dress: Old Navy

Leggin's: Wet Seal

Boot Socks: Stocking Stuffer :)

Boots: Target

{11/08 Freshman Fury}

Jean jacket: Forever21

Sweater: Old Navy

Pants: Maurices

Cheetah (falling apart) flats: Target

Glasses: Elizabeth Arden (a blessing of my parents' insurance, our vision plan leaves a bit a lot to be desired)

{11/09 Typical Idaho Weather: Winter Overnight, Buh-Bye Flowers, Hell-o Frost, Really, Really, Cold}

Oh yes, I know you are jonesin' for this outfit :)  

Sweater: JCPenny's

Black 'jeans': Old Navy

Fuggs: WalMart, nearly peed my pants reading her witty remarks today about faux Uggs, I call them fuggs as in fake uggs, Mr. Cook and her hubby call them fuggs for a different reason, go fig.

You should really play along, hop on over and see what everyone else is wearing!

Turn your lonely's into some lovelies

After some uplifting words from some kind ladies, I decided to make my lonely's bite the dust.  It started with a visit to a church I've been checking out and it was way more than I expected.  It was awesome, all about relationship with God and with God's people.  It was just what this heart needed on a rainy Sunday morning.

I got the entire house cleaned before going to church, thanks to a forgotten lovely: daylight savings.  Thank you!

This book that I am reading that is completely confronting my heart and changing the way I look at food.

"When you stop struggling, stop suffering, stop pushing and pulling yourself around food and your body, when you stop manipulating and controlling, when you actually relax and listen to the truth of what is there, something bigger than your fear will catch you.  With repeated experiences of opening and ease, you learn to trust something infinitely more powerful than a set of rules that someone else made up: your own being.  The poet Galway Kinnell wrote that 'sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness.'  Everything we do, I tell my students, is to reteach ourselves our loveliness."
~Geneen Roth, Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything~

A little treat from Starbucks and some grocery shopping, so I could make this for dinner.  So good, so healthy.  Even non-veggie eaters will fight each other for this, who knew pesto and yams?  Even better this meal averages out to about $1.50 a person.

I decided to make a date of it, I set the table, lit the candles and enjoyed my grub whilst watching this.  I crazy love this show.  It's even cooler when you tune in and find out that it's a family in your state.  What a lovely family.

{notice that map on the wall?  inspired by this lovely dining room, soon to be crown molding surrounded so it looks like it was put there for a reason}

{notice those pumpkins, not so ghoulish anymore, eh?}

With that I'm off to a lovely week, a very full school and social week.  That'll also keep the lonely's at bay.

Go see how others are makin' it lovely.

When You're Feelin' Lonely

Create the following Pandora station, equal parts: Zac Brown Band, Ingrid Michaelson, Elton John, Mute Math, Bob Dylan, The Cars, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", & "Thriller" add a little variety to your favorites, hit quick mix and let the good times roll.  Turn it up, way up.

Nuke your Starbucks coffee run from much earlier in the day, when you thought you might get a lot of things accomplished, before the lonely's set in and you had yourself a little 4 hour nap with pups.  Re-charge.

Take down curtains in living room and move them to the bedroom after realizing that Mr. Cook was right.  And so were awesome blog readers, who were able to say it in a much nicer way.

Finish wedding shadow boxes you started ages ago at a craft night, through which you discovered you had lost the vows.  Enter Chaplain Morris, halleluja.  Your vows forever saved in the Army files.  Sweet victory.

These are my vows to Marshall, they hang on his side with his favorite picture of me from that day.  And an "M" from an old letter press that I bought the Christmas before our wedding.

{Marshall, you are my best and most constant friend and will continue to be forever.   Thank you for trusting me with your heart and choosing me to be the woman you grow old with, laugh with and cry with.  I promise to protect your heart in times of sorrow and to celebrate with you in times of joy.  I promise to hear your dreams, make them my own, and help you chase after them.  I promise to respect you and honor you, to walk beside you, behind you, or in front of you when you need me to.  I promise to love you when life is hard and when it is great.  I promise to love you when love is easy and when it is also an effort.  I promise to choose you every morning, day and night to be my best friend, lover, confidant and husband.  I love you.}

Not sure this part will cure your lonely's especially if your best friend is a world away, but it's always nice to reminisce.

These are Marshall's vows to me, they hang on my side of the bed with my favorite picture of him from that day.  The "S" is from the same old letter press.  I like that two things who had such different lives before are together in a new way.  Kind of like the two of us.  

{Summer, I take you today as my beautiful wife.  Whatever we face in time I know that as long as we look to each other for strength and support we will hold strong.  There will be times when we will be apart and times when things are tough but I promise to try and make every moment we are together cherishable.  I promise to keep myself open to you and and to allow you to share the thoughts and feelings that I have, and Summer, as of today, I promise to try every day to be a compassionate and caring husband.}

Now that you're feelin' a bit misty and missing your other half even more, have an impromptu photo shoot with an uninterested pupper.

{oh hey, you feelin' lonely?}

{yeah, me too, and I haven't even met the guy yet}

{you could pet me, you know?}

{alright, get over here, let me lick your eye ball and I'll make it better}

Makin' it Lovely

So I think I've been turning our house into a home, but Mr. Cook doesn't seem to be on the same page.  We made an agreement (oh yes, it's in writing, saved in my inbox) that if we closed on the house after the deployment started, I could decorate the house however I saw fit, so long as his man room was up to his discretion.  I know, a girl couldn't ask for a better gift, right?  Right?

So I thought, until I showed Mr. Cook the new curtains I slaved over last week, and he said, "Aren't they supposed to match?"  Hmmm.  Mr. Cook is now an interior designer, but I think he has a point.  I debated the choice for the dining room a long time b/c it opens onto the living room.  What do you think?  Is there a way to make them "match" or make it more cohesive?  Help a girl out, I would hate to prove Mr. Cook right.  Cringe.

The dining room is red and aqua.  Notice my already failing pom pom border, thank you little pup.  She get's a little excited when it's time to go outside.  Note to self: re-stitch pom-poms.  (In case you aren't impressed I also built that little shelf/curtain rod so that we can still hold onto our icky sliding vinyl shades come summer...I think I might find something to put up top o' the shelf, ideas?)

Cute, huh, do you see the little birds?  Workin' em in however I can.  Now mind you, Mr. Cook has been agreeable up to this point.

Enter the drama.  "Summer, those curtains don't match the other ones.  These one's are orange and have 'stuff' all over them.  And the other ones are black, but our couch is brown".

Hrmph.  Now I'm not so sure.  I'd like to call it eclectic and very representative of me/us.  Our wedding was full of color, in fact we couldn't decide on "colors" so we had a lot: gray, aqua, red, orange, yellow. Perfectly normal, right?  If you made the mistake of zooming in, that is a speaker mount to the right of the dining room curtains, it will eventually have a speaker on it, right honey?

Thanks for your support (I know you'll vote for me, because that's what women do for each other).  Even if your attempts to make it lovely may be a bit quirky, you should play along over at Heather's, or get some inspiration.