Patrick and Redecorating

It has been quite a wonderful past few days. I got to visit Patrick on Friday. Patrick is my hair stylist. He is probably my favorite male person after Mike (of course), my dad, brothers and Stephen Wilkinson. I have only had one bad hair day since I started going to him a year ago, and that day wasn’t even his fault. I just hadn’t washed it in a really long time. Patrick somehow knows how to trim my bangs perfectly, which is quite the feat, as I am very picky about those 8 or 9 pieces of hair. Patrick is also loads of fun to talk to, which is very nice when you have to spend about an hour with someone. He changes his clothing style about every six months, which I find fascinating. Patrick is currently sporting a more ‘20s look, complete with mustache (which I used to find somewhat creepy while he was growing it out, but once you get to know Patrick, you will see he is not creepy at all) and permed, side-parted hair. Patrick is never dull.

I trust him to no end with my hair, which I care about inordinately. If he said we should do this or that with my hair I would say, “Patrick, you are beyond skilled, know what I like and know what is best. No need to ask. Just cut it.” A visit or two ago, Patrick and I had a 20 minute conversation about the gloriousness of cupcakes and where the best cupcakes shops are, who has the best frosting, best cake, best flavors, best cupcake shop atmosphere, etc. Well, it was mostly me telling him all of this and my theories about what makes a perfect cupcake because he hadn’t had one since he was 11. When I went for my appointment on Friday, guess what was waiting for me at Patrick’s spot. A coconut cupcake from Sweet Tooth Fairy, my favorite cupcake shop! Bless you, Patrick! I immediately squealed, gave him a hug and just stared at it, contemplating when and how I should eat it, while he snipped at my hair in his perfect way. If you are looking for a hair stylist, you will love Patrick. He’s at Shep Studio in Provo. Visit him and love your life and your hair. If Mike and I move to Dallas, I will be making quarterly trips to Provo to visit Patrick…and my family.

Another episode of funness in my life has been redecorating my bedroom. Mostly just decorating it because it was never really decorated to begin with. The bedspread you see here was a wedding gift (3.5 years old – don't hate it, don't love it), the lamps were on clearance, and the banner you see was a lazy Sunday craft project.

Before:

Not the most coordinated or even slightly appealing in any way. Mike and I agreed that when he started his summer internships and making a few more dollars, I could decorate the bedroom, and voila!

After:

A bed-in-a-bag that included curtains, nightstands and wall décor from Hobby Lobby and a couple of lamps from Wal Mart and we have a new bedroom! I love it and can’t wait to make the bed every morning, which is something I’ve never before experienced. It feels like a whole new place and I can’t believe I used to live in the icky purple room above. I even feel slightly embarrassed showing you just how unsightly my old room was.

Installing the curtain rod was the hardest part because I had to drill through cinder block and I didn’t really know how to use our power drill. I had the drill set on the backward setting and tried with all my might to push that silly drill bit into the wall. My brute strength made everything possible, but it sure was easier when I figured out what I was doing and put the drill on the regular setting.

I also made Muddy Buddies today. I think they have made it into my top 15 of Laken's favorite foods.

1. Yogurt, Berries, Cottage Cheese - All mixed together

2. Grandma Stewart's Strawberry Shortcakes

3. Marble Cupcake from Sweet Tooth Fairy

4. Bacon

5. Air-popped Popcorn

6. Strawberries

7. Rice Pudding

8. Spinach Salad

9. Grapes

10. Brown Rice

11. Iced Oatmeal Cookie from Sweet Tooth Fairy

12. Mango Salsa

13. Muddy Buddies

14. Waffle Crisp with Whole Milk

15. Peanut Butter S'mores Pizza from Malawi's.

I can’t remember the last time I made them before, but I’ve been in a Muddy Buddy-making spree the past week. Love you, delicious Muddy Buddies, love you. Welcome to the top 15.

Birthday Spoils

The big 2-5. A quarter of a century. I can feel that many good things will happen while I’m 25. The first thing that comes to mind is no more young driver fee at car rentals, but also Mike will graduate from law school while I'm 25. We will become real people. Exciting!

My first day of 25 started out great, mostly because I had a whole day to be with Mike. He was so willing to do whatever I wanted. Little did he know the requests would start at 4 a.m.

Here's how it started. Mike has turned me into a monster. We had a fan during the summer two years ago to try and keep things at a moderate temperature while we slept. (Wymount does not have air conditioning, but with a combination of a window unit and strategically placed fans, it’s not so bad.) He begged me to keep it going throughout the year because he liked the white noise going on and he said it helped him sleep better. I acquiesced because it didn’t bother me. Two years later, the night before my birthday to be exact, that trusty Wind Machine finally gave out. It had been running night and day since that summer of 2010, so we were pleased with its performance. However, I have now become completely dependent upon it for my own sleeping needs. It was too quiet and I simply couldn’t sleep. I kept being woken up by the slightest real or perceived sound. I couldn’t take any more of it come 4 a.m., and proclaimed I was going to Wal Mart to get a replacement. Mike came with me, which was very sweet of him, and we had quite a pleasant trip to the store. I even found me a shirt that I loved for $1! Plus we got an exact replica of our beloved Wind Machine. I was then able to sleep until 9:00 and felt very good about our early morning errand.

Our day together was nothing crazy or extraordinary, but I loved every moment. We just got to be with each other. It really was heaven. First we went on a walk together, enjoying the wonderful sunshine and pleasant temperature. Then we went to Paradise Bakery to eat some scrumptious cookies and delicious molasses bread. Then Mike took me to pick up one of my birthday presents. He took me to Runner’s Corner to pick out a new pair of running shoes. If you have not heard of Runner’s Corner, let me tell you about it. They have people who happen to know everything about running there. They watch you run, figure out what problems you have or don’t have (problems to be had in my case), and bring you a dozen pairs of shoes that will correct that problem and make your runs more enjoyable. I ran around that store so many times with so many different pairs of shoes on. It took quite a bit of time to discover the right pair, but I loved every minute of it. The hard part was not caring about how the shoe looked. I have never done that before! There was an adorable pair of pink Sauconys that I would have picked for sure, but this pair of Brooks were the ultimate victors. We have become best friends.

Next we went to Sweet Tooth Fairy to pick up a couple of glorious cupcakes to serve as my birthday cake. I grabbed my favorite Marble and Mike was feeling adventurous and got a Churro cupcake. It had a real Churro sticking out of the top. Very fun. Then we went home to open presents because we both simply couldn’t wait any longer. Mike was so good to me and on top of the running shoes got me a pink Swiss Army Knife (I had one before, but it mysteriously disappeared from off my keychain – I do not blame whoever stole it – it is essential to living), a 10-pound kettlebell to help me increase my sweating in my favorite exercise video, Elnet – a fancy hairspray I’ve always wanted to try, a Nalgene bottle I‘ve wanted since my last large bottle broke two years ago, makeup brushes, a mall gift card (YAY!), a subscription to Lucky Magazine (LOVE!), Modern Family Season 1 (may or may not have been a present for Mike as well – we both love that show incredibly), and last but not least – Never Say Never – the Justin Bieber movie. Oh, how I love that show. I was not a giant Justin fan before I saw it, but now I cannot get enough of that adorable, little Canadian boy. I’ve watched it twice since my birthday. I think Mike only bought it because he knew he wouldn’t be around to be forced to watch it as well. All of these gifts were so thoughtful! Stuff I really, really, really wanted and didn't even explicitly tell him either! I have such a sweet, thoughtful husband.

After the giant present palooza, we decided we were still kind of full from Paradise Bakery and eating 2 additional Paradise cookies each, so we decided to go wash Steadman, our beloved Buick. Mike will only take him to what he considers the finest carwash in the valley, Supersonic in Orem. We got Steadman looking stellar and headed back home to make some waffles and strawberry goo (just blended up strawberries) with whipped cream. Delicious! We then ate our cupcakes while we had a Modern Family marathon of glory. You could probably say that was the best birthday ever. Well, maybe if it included Ticket to Ride, my favorite game ever, but I forgot about it! I had made all these plans to make Mike my Ticket to Ride slave for an hour or so. I'm thinking he might have not reminded me of that plan on purpose. Oh well, that gives Mike a way to make my next birthday even better.

You would think the wonderfulness would end, but it did not! Next came family parties, which included beloved mall gift cards, and giant package in the mail, which came full of denim jackets, iTunes gift cards, water bottles, delicious granola, puzzles, and many other assorted, glorious gifts. Then, after that, a delightful afternoon with my dear, dear friend who stuffed me full of my favorite popcorn, cookies, skookies, smoothies and chick flicks. Cupcake keychains and cupcake necklaces soon followed.

What girl could ask for more?

I love being 25.