Better

BAD

+

=

{much better}

Farmers' Market

Among the many charms Lawrence holds, the Downtown Lawrence Farmers' Market is one of my favorite. Vendors bring their freshly picked produce, cut flowers, organic beef, and freshly baked breads to display for us crazies who think waking up at 7am on a Saturday is sane.


Ryan and I didn't make it until 9:30 {but I was up at 7 for yard sales} and we missed out on the morning's freshest finds. In our generous mood, we bought Thunder an Emu bone to munch on. He's going to town right now and protecting that thing as if it were his baby. I'd post a picture, but a puppy chewing on an animal bone isn't the nicest thing to look at.

I took advantage of the freshcut flowers. I couldn't believe their abundance. At least 4 stalls offered not only by-the-stem options, but already arranged bouquets.

I spent less than $10 combined on these two arrangements below. Mostly snapdragons and zinnias. The tall ones are gladiolas {I think}.


{I should have grabbed more gladiolas}

A few weeks ago I doubled my milk glass collection in one go, thanks to a lovely woman on craigslist who was wanting to downsize.


Amidst the dishes and more commonly found items was this queer little chicken. His sad little beak was already broken off, but I think he's adorable. I searched online for 3 days before I figured out who the maker was. I found a similar one on eBay, but for $1, I'll be happy with my imperfect rooster.

This one is prettier than the last

To win these creations, you have to post a link on your site. But oh my goodness, this is adorable.
Garden Party Frock by Grosgrain Fabulous

Antiquing - Thrifting - Yard Sale Finds

One of the things I love most about living in Kansas is the quick access to vintage and antique items.

We all woke up Saturday morning {Mom, Dad, Ryan and I} and had a list of yard sales we were going to hit - there were 57 in Lawrence on Saturday alone.

While we selected just under 10, I think we could have made better time and gotten to a few more but my mom likes to take her time and look through everything. I'm much faster.

Either way, I got this Willow Tree figurine for a dime. Yup, $0.10.


Since I was on the hunt for dressers and end tables and night stands, I found these.


Thrifted for $15 for the pair. I'll have to refinish the top of the one w/out drawers. The veneer flaked off. That's okay. It's natural wood.

After the yard sales we went to an antique mall to pick out a few treasures. Besides the milk glass I picked up, I found these really mid-century modern candlesticks. I hoped Ryan would like them because of their unique and sleek style. After getting home I tried figuring out their origin. The sale tag said they were Danish, and there are two interlocking O's on the felt on the base.



It turns out they're by an artist named Rude Osolnik. One auction house estimates their value between $200-$300. I scored them for $3.80. Yes, you may insert your envy (here).

I'm thinking I'll do a weekly yardsale/antiquing post. Put it on your calendars, kids!

Lots of Pictures

There are so many pictures for this post so I'm going to keep the wording short and just explain pictures.

Also, the house is a WRECK. These were taken just after we started moving box upon box inside and nothing has/had a home yet. While it's not currently clean {my parents are in town and it adds to the mess} it's a lot better than it first was. We're still getting settled....probably will be for the next month.

Bedroom from bathroom - we have a sink/vanity in our bedroom. It's awesome.

Our bathroom: before. Currently being repainted. As you noticed from the picture of the bedroom, the people who painted before chose to live in a green and yellow cave. I don't think painting the ceiling the color of the walls is ever a great idea.

Two bedrooms. It's crazy to think we have enough beds to fill 3 bedrooms. These need to be repainted.

Stairs. The color isn't actually white or off-white, but because the baseboards are natural wood stained instead of white, it looks dingy. They will be painted one room at a time.

View of the living room from the loft.
Kitchen. The natural oak cupboards are crying for a painting. Should I do black or cream distressed? Any ideas or someone who's done it before?


Living room. See how we're limited in positioning of our entertainment center?

Our dining table. It's lovely. See the light fixture above the table? It needs to be remedied: either refinished {the bare minimum} or replaced {ideally}.

We broke down and our last {big} purchase was this bed. King size. It's awesome.

Finally, the arrangement I keep on the table. I need to make a runner or table spot of sort.

Cute Suit

Look how cute this suit is. Can you see Callie or Ellie in it?...No? Me either.

I think I'd save it for my kids someday
Summer by the Lake Swimsuit GIVEAWAY!!!!

We're Here

...Arriving yesterday, just in the nick of time for our final walk-through of our new home.

Miles traveled:1148

Money spent on gas:Too much (although the average price/gal here is just around $3.70) - in Nebraska it was as low as $3.56. Lucky.

Hours in the car/truck/moving van:22

But we made it safe and sound, a little wearied, a lot tired, and very happy.

My MIL was gracious enough to come with us. I really enjoyed having her with us (I'm one of the luckiest girls alive - my MIL is actually AWESOME) and I just feel bad we sent her home exhausted.

I haven't taken any pictures of the house. My camera is still packed somewhere and it could be ANYWHERE in any one of the 60 boxes we have.

One of the new items we have saved for is a dining room table. Our previous table was a next-to-the-dumpster find and it's really sturdy and pretty awesome, however it's going to be my new work desk.

Here's our new table and chair set(dundadadahhhhh)



We also had to find a new solution for our TV/Entertainment center. Because our fireplace is on one wall and a window on the other, the corner is the best (spatially and visually).

On the same trip to Nebraska Furniture Mart (it sounds hokey, but it's fabulous - BIGGER than Ikea) we found this. First picture is from their site in the natural wood {and I just noticed it's not the exact style}, the others are taken with our phone.





So, after we get settled and all the boxes sorted through and put away, I'll tackle painting the house and setting it up. Don't worry, before and after pictures to come.

PS. I'm sending out "We've Moved" cards - please email me with your addresses!
chelsealexander(at)hotmail(dot)com

Family Visits and Moving Messes

About the time Hillary and Co. decide to come to town, Ryan and I are in Kansas and just getting back to a wild 4 days of packing (with both of us still working full-time, no less). Lucky for them, we didn't mind the reprieve from mayhem for a quick dinner and then us sisters all went miniature golfing with kids in tow.

Jack loves Aunt Chelsea


CUTEST picture of Ellie and Kayleigh. I love that little thumbsucker!


Callie needed a nap before dinner and Aunt TT was a great pillow.


Ryan was EXHAUSTED this night (we'd just gotten back from Kansas), as you can see, and hit the hay after dinner.


I think Jack's still a little young for it and Ellie threw off Hill's game, but golfing was still hilarious. Callie had fun.





And then I had to come home to this. What. a. mess.





We were given an extra 2 days to move (because the house couldn't close when it was supposed to) which was actually a blessing.

Since closing on the 21st, we've been staying with Ryan's parents in South Jordan and slumming it up.

Wednesday was Ryan's last day of work and I have a week to get my crap together and be ready to go double-time starting the 11th in Kansas. Ay,ay,ay!

A Glimpse Into Lawrence

I loved their downtown area. It's called Massachusetts Street (most people call is Mass.) Anyways, very quaint store fronts. Even new stores like Gap, American Eagle, and Chipotle have had to conform to the ways of the downtown facade.


This building is called The Eldridge. It's a historical hotel and still serves as a hotel, however there's also a restaurant on the ground floor.


This was lunch one day at Jeffersons. Yes, those are pickles. Fried Dill Pickles. I saw them on Food Network once or Travel Channel and thought, whoa, they actually have them. (AND they're actually good!)


Here are more pictures of our house. I'm really peeved that I didn't take any inside, but oh well, we'll be there Wednesday.

Old me vs current me vs going-to-be-me-soon

This is the old me...awww, look how hot I am here:




After looking at a recent picture of myself mini-golfing with the fam damily, the first scene that came to mind was this from Alice In Wonderland:



This is the current me.


And hopefully I can get a nice balance and be back to this size soon.



Wish me luck! I'll keep everyone updated.