A Blank Slate

Jonathan and I got new bedroom furniture this week (get excited!). 


I don't think our old bedroom bothered Jonathan, but it sure bothered me. I don't have a "before" picture, but even if I did I doubt I would post it. I don't want to say the old bedroom embarrassed me, because every 20-something just married couple has to use what they have and buy new things when they can...but I wasn't exactly excited about people seeing it. We basically took our combined bedroom furniture, kept what was in the best shape..and put it all together. It worked, but it was not pretty. 


Anyway, back to the new furniture. It's made by Ashley (which totally threw me off when the salesman was talking to us..."Ashley really makes great furniture." "What I like about Ashley is..."). It's very dark wood, and its very pretty. 

We also upgraded from a Queen bed to a King. That means we need new bedding. Sheets, bedspread, everything. So, right now, our bedroom is literally a blank slate to be decorated. No bedding, nothing on the wall. Just new furniture and beige walls. This excites me and stresses me out all at once. 


I am excited because I can finally turn our bedroom into a relaxing haven of sleep! I can pick whatever colors I want! Whatever patterns I want! It's a decorating dream!


I am stressed out for all the same reasons. 


As previously discussed, decorating doesn't exactly come naturally to me. So I have been scouring magazines, books, and watching even more HGTV than usual. I see bedrooms I like, but I have a hard time translating that into something I could do in our room. I also desperately want to pick something that we (I) won't get tired of and will be in style for a long time. Sigh. It's just too much pressure. 


I love a white bedspread...but we have a black cat who likes to lay (shed) on our bed. So white is out. 

I also like a beige bedspread. But we have beige walls. And it just seems like that's a lot of beige. 

I love these, but question my ability to pull them off without looking plain, or mismatched, or just an all around fail. 

I'm much better at picking small accessories I like than taking on the whole room. I LOVE this pillow from Pier 1. 

And this lamp from Target

And this pillow from I.O. Metro

I suppose that is a start. I will continue my search today and maybe, one day, post an "After" picture. 

xoxo. 

Snowmageddon.

For those of you not in Oklahoma, or living under a rock, let me tell you that we got a lot of snow this week. Not just a lot by Oklahoma standards. A lot. Period. In fact, this one snow fall was more than our annual average. I can honestly say that I have never seen this much snow here. As a result, Jonathan and I were snowed in for two days and I am working on my third day today. 

This is our porch. Using our front door is not an option at this point. My strapping husband did shovel our driveway. He also made Aspen a path to a patch of grass so she could do her business. 

For those of you who don't know, I am not a "stay inside" kind of person. I need to be around people, society. One day inside without leaving drives me a little crazy. Like I said earlier, I am on day three. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful that management at my store did not make me risk my life (and vehicle) to go to work. But boy, do I need to get out. I have found myself talking to the animals, calling my mother multiple times in one day, and checking facebook more than I will ever admit. 

The upside is I have had time to cook some fantastic food. Last night I made the Pioneer Woman's MM Sandwich. It was amazing. It also included two sticks of butter. I should probably find some new recipes as I am not getting any physical activity whatsoever. My arteries felt a little more clogged when when I woke up this morning. Aside from the gluttony, the good news is that this was the first recipe I've tried that actually looked exactly like the Pioneer Woman's pictures! Mine always look a little different (i.e. not as delicious) from hers. 

I also made snow ice cream. It was amazing and reminded me of snow days when I was a kid. I didn't get any pictures of it though, I was too busy devouring it before it melted. Nom, nom, nom. 

All joking aside, it was an absolute blessing to spend two days with my husband with nowhere to go and none of the usual demands of life. We don't often get a chance to just be with each other. I like to think of it as a 4 month anniversary gift from mother nature. Even though our pets are crazy, it was pretty fun to hang out with them too. I love my little family. 

xoxo. 

The Trout House:: Randomness.

I started a blog. I started a blog because I love reading my friend's blogs. But every time I get on this thing to write a blog post, I feel like what I was going to say sounds silly, or that my punctuation isn't correct, or that I'm rambling (like I am now....). 


SO. I'm going to just start with some of my thoughts this morning. They are in no particular order. They may be silly. They are most likely not punctuated correctly. Also, I tend to ramble. Sorry. 


1. I hate the winter. I said it. (whew...that felt good). My husband says he loves the winter: the cold weather, the snow. I hate it all. And if I never saw another winter again that would be fine with me. I hate the bulky clothes, the pale skin, the lack of sunshine, chapped lips....I could go on. I may hibernate. Wake me up when the sun is out for more than a day. 

2. I could watch HGTV all day. And night. 

3. I'm going to see my bestie today. Which is totally worth a hour and a half drive. There is something about your oldest friends that you just can't get anywhere else. I think it's that you can just be. You don't have to go anywhere, or really do anything, or really say much. You can just be. You never really have to "catch up", you just pick up where you left off. Why isn't everything in life that simple? 

4. Speaking of a hour and a half drive...I'm actually pretty excited about it. I love driving in my car by myself. My drive to work is one of my favorite parts of the day. 

5. My husband looked hot this morning. That man can wear a pair of dress pants. 

6. I'm going through a domestic phase and I love it. I've been learning how to cook, which is actually going really well. And I've become decorating obsessed. The problem I have is that the decorating doesn't come naturally to me (that was hard to admit). It seems to come naturally to a lot of women (especially my mom), but I have to look at magazines, and books, and blogs, and TV (see #2), and basically try to duplicate the things that I like...exactly. Any one else? No? Just me? 

7. I'm going to make a bold statement. Are you ready? White Christmas is officially my favorite Yankee Candle. Ever. 

8. Jonathan and I watched The Killers live on Palladia the other night, and it reminded me that I love The Killers. I strongly believe that they should only be enjoyed at full volume. 

Okay. I suppose that's all for today. I will try to make my future posts more interesting, but no guarantees. 


xoxo.