MOSAIC - June 2012

My Life Recap / June 2012
*Cody's dad came to visit us in Wyoming
*We went hiking at Vedauwoo National Park
*Did a long blog post about why I recycle
*We went to Rocky Mountain National Park
*You can sponsor My Mod Style now! YAY!
*Finally painted my nightstands
*I got a new job!
*Shared 11 random things about myself and more
*Fell in love with Chickpea Tacos
*Did two outfit post: WIW #2 & WIW#3

What a great month! Life is good! Can't wait to see what awesome stuff we do in July!
See all my Monthly Mosaics HERE.

11 Things & 11 Questions

This week has been insane for me. I have been getting up super early for my new job. My new job is part time working on the military base, weekends off and it's only a 3 minute drive from my house. The position is doing logistics at one of the retail stores on base. Pretty much I help print paperwork, stock shelves (which I love because I am OCD), unload trucks and run around like crazy all day. It's a perfect job for me because I love busy work. Anyways, I haven't had much time this week to do a lot of blogging. No fashion post today. :(

Kim over at Her Sunday had her close friend Heather do a guest post this week. Her guest post was 11 Things & 11 Questions.  She posted 11 random things about herself and then answered 11 questions asked by another blogger.  After she answered the 11 questions, she posted 11 new questions to be answered by whoever wanted to join in.  I like finding out random things about other bloggers. I think it's so fun to get to know each other. So today, I give you my answers to the questions and a bunch of randomness about me!

11 Random Things About ME:
1.  I love listening to "Oldies" music. Songs from the 1950's - 1960's.  It is what I call my "happy music". Working in antique stores for many years caused me to hear it all the time. Sooner or later I knew all the words. Most days when I am at home you will hear Buddy Holly playing on my IPOD.

2.  I am very scared of Great White Sharks. I am working on my fear by watching Shark Week episodes on Netflix. I am learning more about them to help maybe get over my fear. (It's not working yet.) LOL

3.  I don't know how to swim. I want to learn but since my hair is bleached I have to stay out of swimming pools.  It's weird because I love the ocean, but I am scared to be in it.

4.  I hate cooking,...but love to clean. Cody does most of the cooking. I can cook, I just don't enjoy it. :(

5.  I am vegan. (Most of you know already!) Almost going on 6 months! Woo-hoo! I just started using shampoo, soaps and body wash that are NOT animal tested. It's exciting and it makes me very happy. Plus the products are actually pretty awesome once you try them!

6.  I can and sometimes wear kids' clothes because I am so small.

7.  My eyes are green and they are my favorite feature.

8.  I wish I could just decide if I want a baby or not. I think I do, but then I don't feel ready. It's so annoying going back and forth.

9.  I really want to go on a hot air balloon ride!  

10.  I very interested in becoming a marine biologist or at least studying environmental science.  I just have a hard time committing to college.  I think mainly because I am 30 years old and I know that I will be much older by the time I am finished getting my degree.  Yes, I know I am being silly.

11.   I have really bad road rage.  It's gotten better, but I can get really mean in the car. 


Heather's questions that I answered:

1. If you could make a living doing anything in this world, what would you choose?
 Travel non-stop around the world.  Also would have to be helping save whales along with that.  Maybe traveling to educate people about the importance of our Eco-system.

2. What is your favorite food?
 Pretty much anything salty.  I don't have a sweet tooth, I crave salt.

3. What makes you truly happy?
My husband Cody and my pets.

4. What is your favorite guilty pleasure (you know the song you love but would be embarrassed to admit... yes admit it now!) song or band? 
 I don't find it "embarrassing", but I love Neil Diamond. 

5. Where is your favorite vacation spot?
So far..... as much as I love California,...Disney World is a great vacation.  You are like a little kid and forget about EVERYTHING.  It's truly a relaxing and fun vacation.

6. What scares you the most?
Well I already said Great White Sharks above.  I am equally scared of Zombies. 

7. What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Be outdoors hiking or just being at a park.

8. If you could have any talent in the world, what would you pick?
I would love to have a great singing voice.

9. What is your favorite book or who is your favorite author?
Okay,...I don't read much and I hope to change that.  Harry Potter and Twilight.  Try not to roll your eyes. ;)

10. Could you live without a smart phone and internet access?
I don't have a smart phone.  I could live without the internet for ONLY a few days....  I know I could live without it, but my life would change a lot since I am on it all the time.

11. Would you rather have money or fame?
Money.  I want to travel my heart out!!!!!!

Now if you are interested in playing along, here are my 11 questions for you to answer:

1.   If you made a "bucket list" what would be one of the top things you'd want to do?
2.   What is your favorite movie?
3.   Are you a dog person or a cat person, and why?
4.   What was your favorite childhood toy?
5.   What is your favorite type of music?
6.   If you could travel to one place where would it be?
7.   What is your favorite thing about your personality?
8.   What is a perfect day for you?
9.   What is your favorite decorating style?
10.  Do you have any collections?
11.  If you were a cartoon character, who would you be?

If you re-post this on your blog let me know by leaving me a comment.  I would love to read your answers.  Or just leave your answers in a comment below.

Have a great weekend!

Dream Homes

Every once in awhile I get a strong urge to buy a home. Since we are "military" though, I will not purchase a home here in Wyoming. We hope to move in a few years, hopefully to California. By then I don't think I will be able to NOT buy a house anymore. I dream of having a home with palm trees in my front yard. It's a the top of my list of things that I hope to have someday. I have always wanted to also design and build my own home. That is way far away into the future though. There are so many gorgeous mid-century modern homes out there anyways! Look at this one...

LINKS
1 2
I love homes with funky roof lines, lots of windows or glass walls!
I know there is a great mid-century modern home somewhere out there waiting for me to find it.

LINKS
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LINKS
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Oh, it's so nice to dream!!!!
Someday I will have a house that is modern!
I will be able to paint and decorate however my little heart desires. :)

My Summer 2 Do List!

Or maybe I should call it My Summer 2 HOPE List! There are many things I hope to do this summer. Now that June has already come to an end, I better hurry up! I just started a new job which means Cody and I will have money to do all these things I am about to list below. The best thing about my job is that I have weekends off. Giving me more time with Cody! There are so many "weekend" road trips we want to take while we live here in Wyoming.
One place I am itching to go is Arches National Park. Located in beautiful Moab, Utah! It is 460 miles away from where we live and is a 7 1/2 hour drive.
The park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks.
This park is at the top of my list of places I want to see. You can also do hot air balloon rides there! It would cost $500 for both of to do that, so that will have to wait till next time.

Next on my list is visiting the Denver Zoo.

I am obsessed with trips to the zoo.
I would love to work at one, but never live close enough to accomplish that dream.
Going to the Denver Zoo will happen soon I think. It's not that far away from us.
Can't wait to check out the zoo and take lots of pictures.
UPDATE: We went to the zoo on July 1st! See the post HERE.

Another beautiful park, Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs, CO
This place just looks amazing.
Most of my local Wyoming friends have been and rave about just Colorado Springs in general.
We would also be able to go to Pikes Peak National Forest while we are there.
All kinds of pretty things.

VegFest Colorado - Golden, CO

This is a event that I am very excited about.
It's two of the most important things too me in my life in the same place! Woo-hoo!
Vegan food and one of my favorite Sea Shepherds will be speaking there, Peter Hammarstedt.
There will be all kinds of plant based food to sample, environmental issues and a Sea Shepherd booth!
I can't wait to see Peter in person after watching him on TV so much.
He really inspires me to make a difference in the world and fight for animal rights.

My other goals are:
Work out more!
Go biking.
Keep up with my blog!
Walk the dogs more at the park.
Relax & Smile.

What do you hope to do this summer?

Thrifty Finds: Harajuku "Mini" Bag

You are about to see what a dork I really am. Over a year ago I was so excited to get my first Harajuku Lover's purse. That was over a year ago and all this time I had not found another one I loved enough to purchase. Last time I went to Goodwill I found this cute Harajuku Mini bag.
It's pretty much like a child's school bag, I think?
The "mini" Harajuku stuff is sold at Target in the little girls department.
I always stop and look at it and wish I had a cute little girl to dress up in the clothing.
I got the bag for $5.00! There was no way I could pass it up.
It's great for traveling. There are so many pockets. I love being organized, especially on a road trip.

The inside liner is covered in cute little burgers.
The back is striped, which I love! It also has another pocket. Great place for me to store road maps.

The bag really makes me smile. I can't wait to use it!

Rocky Mountain National Park

Our trip to the Rocky's Mountains over the weekend was amazing of course. I took 239 images and attempted to pick out my favorites to share with you. The temperature was around 95 degrees and once we reached the top of the mountains the temperature had dropped down to 66 degrees. It was amazing. The highest elevation we reached was 11,796 feet. I find that my pictures do not do the park justice.
It's just something you have to see yourself in person...
The sky was clear and blue. Every once in awhile a few clouds would pop up.
Look at my crazy hair!

It was a very windy road up to the top.
We actually had to stop and get motion sickness medicine at a gas station.
I was feeling very sick. The medicine saved me!
I fear that my day was about to be ruined before I took the pills.
The cashier at the gas station laughed and said it happens all the time.
Cody & me
What a cheesy picture right? LOL
Kara & I pose for a picture together. :)
One of the highlights of our trip was seeing a beautiful Elk less then 20 feet away from the car...
Cody snapped the picture of the Elk from the backseat of the car. We felt so lucky to be that close.
We did find a trail to hike on for a little bit, but it was so hot.
Plus we had already been driving around for 5 hours.
I slept very good that night! I was out like a baby.
What a beautiful place. I am sure we'll be going back soon!
We hope to visit The Garden of Gods soon and also Moab, Utah this summer.
We are addicted.

I'm RUNNING AWAY to the Mountains!

Usually I would do a recipe post today, but not this time.
This week I feel drained from my blog and the blogger world. I have spent way too much time online this week.
Cody and I are off to see the Rocky Mountains this weekend.
After almost a year of living in Wyoming, we still hadn't gone to Este's Park.
I defiantly need an outdoor activity this weekend. I feel stressed.
Source

I started a new job this week where I will be getting up at 3 a.m. Monday - Friday for the next month or so. I hope I get used to my new schedule and get some sleep! I think I am going to like my new job a lot. Plus it's going to pay for all our planned road trips and vacations! Here is a beautiful photo I took in California last year while Cody was driving and I was in the passenger seat...



So stay tuned next week for some beautiful images of the Rocky Mountains! YAY!
I love nature so much.
I am really getting more and more into photography everyday!
I love preserving memories and freezing a beautiful moment in time.....
Have a great weekend!

What I Wore #3

I got pink pants! YAY! I love the shade of pink and they are flared!
I found adorable owl earrings at Old Navy.
I decided to take photos in my living room this time. My ottoman matched my outfit so well! My grandmother's vintage emerald ring. I love it so much. OUTFIT DETAILS:
Top - Express | Pants - Bongo | Headband - Forever 21 | Nail polish - Sally Hansen
Sandals - Target | Necklace - Hobby Lobby | Earrings - Old Navy
I swear I have my owl earrings on, you just can't see them! I never wear earrings. I saw them the other day while shopping at Old Navy and they had to come home with me. I have yet to see one person in the town I live in wearing colored pants or shorts. I am scared to see what the reaction is going to be when I go out in them. My hair already causes many people to stare. LOL

I am linking up over at Blonde Episodes for Fashion Fridays!
Have a great weekend! :)

TODAYS COLOR: GRAY

Arcadian Home
Decdes House Beautiful & House Interior Design
The Lennoxx Your Decorating Hotline
I defiantly prefer bright colors over neutrals, but gray is my favorite!
Plus gray looks great with bright colors!

Guest Post over at Her Sunday

Kim over at Her Sunday asked me to do a guest post for her while she is on vacation! Kim is very sweet and kinda new to the blogger world. Go over and check out her blog and stay awhile. She has great recipes, loves to read and share little bits of her life. For my guest post I chose to post some beautiful inspiring rooms (go figure!) that were mainly turquoise, gray and chevron....
Decor Pad
Go check out my post HERE. Make sure to go say hello to Kim! :)

Our Weekend - Cody's Dad Visits

For months Cody's mom had been plotting a surprise trip for Cody's dad to come visit us in Wyoming. She bought his dad a plane ticket and arranged for him to be off work a few days around Father's Day weekend! Cody's dad was so happy to get the surprise gift for Father's Day! Cody had not seen his dad since last year in August when we were in Ohio for only 2 weeks. Needless to say they were very happy to see each other... I like having people visit us also because they get to see our new life.
The scenery in Wyoming is much different than Ohio.
I have already grown very fond of the plains, rock sculptures, mountains, parks and the windmills...On Saturday Cody and his dad spent some one on one time together while I did a little shopping by myself.
Sunday was spent going to Vedauwoo National Park for a hike!
That was 2 weeks in a row for us! You can see last weeks post HERE.
Here are some of my favorite pictures I captured this weekend... Of course little Chloe got to go on another rock climbing adventure!
She loved every moment of it!

The picture of us is a perfect example of why you don't let a short girl hold the camera and take the picture!
My little arm just can't hold the camera out far enough.
I swear this picture of Cody and his dad was not staged!
I just caught a moment where they were both fascinated with the scenery... Wyoming defiantly offers some beautiful parks and we have much more to explore!
I am so glad that Cody's dad was able to visit.
Want to see my last Vedauwoo post? Go HERE.