prepping.

i know that the nursery does not have to be in order before our munchkin arrives, however i have been working on two graphic art pieces that i am excited to put in his room to make the room his own. i am so excited to see these images in person and framed in his room!

here is a modern family tree to add some history to our buddies space.

and the alphabet poster i made with his name highlighted in red.

here comes the son.

i am aware that its been awhile people, but in all reality these past few months have flown by. i stood by our fridge the other day staring at the ultrasound pictures of our little munchkin and realized that the last time i saw our baby was on that day months ago when we found out that we were having a - manchild - as aaron would say! i look back at those blurry ultrasound pictures and wonder how much has he changed, who will he look more like, is he going to be healthy both of body and mind, will he take after aaron's humor or my non-altheticism, will he be as passionate about music as aaron and i are and does he know how much he is loved already.

dont mind that these pictures are subparr because they are scanned, but you get the idea.

aaron and i were ecstatic that our little bun in the oven had a pecker, not only because we could not agree on girl names to save our lives, but because we both wanted to start off our family with a 'manchild'. that excitement has not worn off as we pick out clothes for him to wear and imagine summers teaching him to play catch and kick a soccer ball.

fast forward to now.

now, we are 37 weeks along in pregnancy {two weeks shy of our due date - march 3rd}.

now, we are saving for our little man to come along and preparing our home for his arrival and welcoming gifts and donations from our dear friends and family.

now, we are balancing aaron's school schedule, my work schedule, doctor visits, our church callings and the precious hours left of our social life as a couple.

now, we are sinking into the fact that aaron was aired during the superbowl and that his commercial is now on television nightly.

now, we are excited about aaron's new real estate website and all of the clients that he is helping find homes right now!

now, we are taking one day at a time, anxiously awaiting our little buddy's arrival, soaking up time with each other and time with friends and best of all, aaron makes me laugh everyday.

movin on up.

besides getting knocked up this summer, the mr and i moved. not very far, but we did graduate to a place with a living room, extra bedroom, a full size oven and a full yard we can call our own. i dont miss our old place on any level, but i did manage to take a few shots of the little details that made that little rabbit hole our home.

the dl.

so here is the scoop people and the reason i have been missing in action for the past little while. we are now 20 weeks along in this little adventure {for those of you like me, who still dont understand a time line in weeks - we are three weeks into the fifth month! yikes}. that means that for the past few months my best friends where our couch, all the seasons of 'the office', smut tv and a mcdonalds cheeseburger and value fry daily.

aaron turned to me the other day while we were driving and politely mentioned that we had missed the summer. ya, i guess that is what happens when your wife feels like h-e-double all the time. none the less i think we were able to fit some fun things in and to even document a few of those summer endeavors.

my sister in law, joanna, introduced us to the slc farmers market. i got myself some cherries and then the people watching ensued, as did mowing down on the fresh marionberry pie {pictured below}.

we have since visited the provo farmers market and i gotta say, i love me some local farmers.

we are so stoked.

a lot of nervous and some denial, but completely and utterly stoked none the less.

so mr oldham,

its been two years aye?

here is to an eternity of making each other laugh and you comforting me when i cry. to more success in real estate and more vacations with friends. to more nights spent catching up with each other and many more days cheering each other on. to more projects accomplished together and more saving for our future. to more testimonies to be shared and many more trial to endure.

i would prefer no other companion than you. forever yours - faithfully.

on the days

that i dont feel so great, have to do the laundry by myself, get yelled at by a drunk guy in the grocery store, get awoken from a mid-afternoon nap just to move my car out of my own drive way, miss my husband like crazy and just overall want to scream, but cry because i dont have the energy to scream - i just look at these photos.

thanks to meredith and jake for producing a little peach that gets me through the not so good days. {dont mind that these arent even half of the photos that i took of this little red-head over lake powell - you would too if you just spent a few minutes with her}

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we might just be getting into the swing of this now, but i want to attack some of the questions that you beloved readers have had!

q: i would really like to know where are best places to shop and what is the best amount of money to spend and on what (you know, a good price for a shirt, good price for shoes etc.)?
many thanks - brianna

a: already girl, i am no professional shopper, but i can give you a few suggestions. like many of you, i am on a budget. also, like many of you, i have expensive taste. with that said i get all the catalogs in the mail to that stores that i wish i could shop at exclusively {j.crew, anthropologie, urban outfitters}. after drooling over all the wonderful outfits, i run back through again and dogear each page that i would like to recreate within my own wardrobe. from there i filter through my own closet to see what i already have and write a list of things that i need to recreate the outfit that i love. i keep this list in my purse and whenever i go thrift shopping or run to the mall i attempt to find that item that i need at a cheaper price. (PICTURE)



TIP: just like they say dont go to the grocery store hungry or without a list {you will end up spending more money and buying things that you dont need} the same goes for shopping for clothes. because of your own personal style and taste you are commonly drawn to the same items and because of this you may own pants that are all the same cut, wash or style. in order to switch it up and recreate those outfits that you want to, keep that list near you when you go shopping and you can focus on what you are there to buy. this way you will spend less on things that you dont need, make sure that you purchase those things that you really want and also broaden your existing wardrobe in a way that works for you. ALSO, if you do not like or want to get catalogs use websites like frugal fashionista for modern inspiration.

as far as how much you should expect to spend - i am kind of a frugalista, but here are the rules that i try to live by.

1 - i love jeans. they are the staple in my wardrobe so this is what i allow myself to spend the most money on. {whatever your staple is, shoes or skirts, make sure that you are spending your money here because your staple is what gets worn the most in your closet} this does in no way mean that i spend my entire paycheck on my jeans, but i have made a resolve to not spend over $100 per pair of jeans. this is easy - shop places like nordstrom rack, or the sale section of anthropologie {online is best there} and you will make sure that you are getting the most bang for your buck.

2 - shoes in my opinion are an accessory, so unless we are talking running shoes, toms or a dang nice pair of heels that will match every outfit you wear for the next three years, i refuse to spend anything over $30. you can get really great, designer brand shoes at ross, tjmaxx or nordstrom rack for a very reasonable price.

3 - since jeans are my staple, i need to make sure that my tops are diverse and that i have a lot to choose from. however, since i feel like i need a lot of them i need to also make sure that i am getting the best deal on them. honestly, i dont think that i have purchased a full price shirt {even from target} since possibly ever. it not worth it to me. and being the bargain shopper that i am i know that everything i look at will, at one point, go on sale. my rule here is, never spend over $20 per item. so i suggest shopping at plato's closet, savers, old navy, target, j.crew, anthro and forever21 for shirts. dont forget - dont eliminate sizes that are too big if those are the ones available on sale, a little snip here and a little sewing there you can make that shirt fit right to your body!

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this is what i wore to our neighborhood block party saturday night in an attempt to be patriotic - i think i did alright.

i love this country of ours. i love that we are free to worship as we please and that for the time being we can carry guns ;)

goodnight,

fourth of july weekend. you were long and wonderful.

a little parade action in the morning and a small bbq in the night made you one sweet holiday.

fiesta!

kim and i threw a grand fiesta for, birthday girl, lindsay - i dare say it turned out perfectly.

the birthday girl and her birthday cupcake from provo bakery.

my co-host, kim, the fabulous bread pudding she made for the birthday girl and the lady of the hour.
all the men folk sat on one side.
while the ladies sat on the other.
the food was fantastic {thanks kim!}.
and the mood was just right.
there would be no fiesta without a pinata.
and virgin pina poladas to top it all off.
i hope that your birthday was perfect lindsay - you truly deserve it.

fitness friday.

i am currently at lake powell, but before i left i asked my personal trainer to walk me through a short workout that i could do everyday that would not require weights or cardio training, but would keep my heart pumping and my muscles strong.

so you dont really have an excuse - you can do this outside in your yard before dinner or in front of your tv during the bachelorette. try this little workout on for size and tell me what you think.

exercise 1 - push ups. 10 reps
it doesnt matter how you do these, girl style or as i say "real ones" all that matters is that your back stays flat and that you abs stay tight!

exercise 2 - reverse crunches. 12 reps
for this you will start laying flat on your back, feet extended out in front of you. from there lift your body pulling your knees into your chest while peeling your neck and upper back off of the floor using only your abs. try to go all the way to the floor each time, but if you need to extend the legs less each time that is fine - just make sure that you are getting in all 12 reps.

exercise 3 - plank. 30 seconds
hold your abs tight the entire time and make sure that your hips and shoulders are not rounded, but stay flat as a board.

exercise 4 - squats. 20 reps

make sure that you keep all of your weight in your heels and your knees shoulder width apart, this will ensure that your quads are burning by the end!

exercise 5 - burpies w/ pushup. 10 reps

repeat this set four times, trying to get faster each time! Good Luck!

around

as you may be able to tell, i am completely enthralled with learning to use this new camera.

neighbor, brianna's potted flowers on the front steps of our house.
the dirty hose on the side of our house that lends to feed flowers and wash cars.
a rose creeping through the fence into our driveway.
the view from our right front lawn.
the urban aspect of our front yard, that might save our lives one day.
another group of roses trying to make their way over our driveway.

i love our little home - however small it might be, the summers emphasize all of its beautiful and very redeeming qualities.

lets ride.

i got a bike for my birthday - thats just how rad my husband is.

a few saturdays back we mosied on down through the streets of provo and found ourselves buying maple bars, baclava and milk at provo bakery. talk about the perfect afternoon.

monday moment.

a few weeks back i had the chance to visit my grammy in oregon who was then in the process of being moved from her home of 30+ years to an assisted living home in salem oregon.

in short, the visit was wonderful.

i sat on her bed while she sat in her wheelchair and held her dainty, weathered hands while we chatted about memories that she had from when her and my papa met. she asked me how my love life was and i kindly reminded her that aaron and i got married almost two years ago and that i was happier than i have ever been in my life. i sat next to her while she ate dinner with three other elderly ladies from the home and watched as she wrote all of her children and grandchildren's names on her paper placemat in her infamous perfect cursive. i massaged her wrinkled hands while filing and painting each of her fingernails and laughed with her while we tried to decide on which nail to place the tiny, gold butterfly decal. i sat beside her while she and my mother and aunts sung old songs from their childhood and saw the light in her eyes as she remembered each word and note.

i love my grammy and although someday soon she may not even remember my name i am so grateful for the memories that i have made with her through the years and for the incredibly talented and supportive woman that i have to call my grammy.

image via flickr