Birthday Scavenger Hunt

Yesterday was Kellan's 23rd birthday, and it was the very first of his birthdays we have been together. Last year we said goodbye in California just days before his birthday; it was a sad day. So this year, I decided I had to do something extra special!

The day started off with class for both of us at 8 am sharp (not fun at all) and Kellan's day didn't end till 8 pm when he got off work. Yup, it was a sad way to spend his birthday, so it was my job to make it a fun day when he got home. 

We'd already gone out for dinner Friday night and I gave him his presents on Saturday night so we could enjoy them on our last weekend without homework. They were movies in case you were wondering. So I had only one option to make the night a birthday success. A scavenger hunt.

I foolishly decided it would be extra fun if the clues rhymed, and it was; but not while writing them. I also decided that because he was turning 23, I'd make 23 clues. Again, just made my job that much trickier, but I managed to get it done! Take a look!

Happy Birthday! It’s truly meant

23 clues lead to your present!

First go look somewhere nice and cold,

Where hopefully you’ll find no mold.

This was taped on the door when he walked in and led him straight to the fridge. 

Where we visit different lands and climes,

Most often during dinner time.

I didn't know what else to say and we know it's not the best, but we watch TV while we eat dinner. 

Where K meets M & W,

But not without a friend or two.

We have our GIANT moss W on the wall right next to our shelf with our K, M, ampersand sign, & two little birdies. I thought that one was kind of cute. 

Taken just over two months ago,

These show our newly married glow.

This led him to our wedding picture outside the temple where we are jumping for joy.

We read these nearly every night,

But not your weird Creole type.

Kellan served his mission speaking Haitian Creole and still has his Creole set of scriptures. I'm sure if I let him he'd love to read them to me, but I prefer to read our English ones before bed. 

After breakfast, lunch, dinner and all times in between,

You commonly go to get those pearly whites squeaky clean.

Anyone who knows Kellan knows he LOVES to brush his teeth. He can't leave the house without brushing them, which is great, but he seriously can't do anything unless his teeth are brushed. 

Kellan looking for his clues

I use it to press flat my seams,

You hate using it on your collars for it has no steam.

Led him to our iron. 

Since I can keep nothing alive and green,

I love that these, left on their own, stay so serene. 

Oh succulents, how I love you. These are my plants that thrive though my neglect. 

It spells out our duties as husband and wife,

Given to the world in this time of strife. 

I didn't know what else to say, and rhyming was getting hard. But this led him to our framed copy of The Family, A Proclamation to the World. 

It holds so much it’s quite a feat,

Finely ground and bolted meal of wheat. 

Our HUGE flour jar with my decal that says the definition of flour. 

Mini size and citrus glaze,

You ate it as a snack when you left me in a daze. 

I made mini lemon loaves the other day and he ate one as he ran out the door for work leaving me sad and alone. 

Coats and jackets, heels and boots,

Duffels and other unknown loot. 

Spare closet with my shoes. 

Ah-hah you’re clever, your next clue you’ll reap,

Just look under the place where we oft’ go to sleep. 

When you want to look dapper, and you need an assist,

Turn to the bottle shaped like a fist. 

Last Christmas I gave him cologne and the bottle is shaped like a fist. 

When you want to have a good laugh with your Great-Great-Great…Aunt,

Look into the drawer that’s sure to enchant. 

The Great-Great-Great...Aunt is a quote from one of his favorite movies, The Emperor's New Groove, and it led him straight to our movie drawer. 

It’s not too hard on your eardrum,

But still has a big pendulum. 

His sisters and mom gave us a Cinderella clock along with the movie, and it has a pendulum. That one was pretty easy. 

Our two loud twins that spin and spin,

Be careful opening the one, or you might hit your shin. 

Washer and dryer. 

A picture of us as we lay in the grass,

The joy that we felt, no one can surpass.

Our engagement picture on a picnic blanket I made in the grass. 

Here I store what I sew, shorter than a dress,

Though right now, it’s mostly just a mess. 

I'm making a skirt and my sewing basket is a complete mess. 

You ate this for lunch because I forgot to cook,

It’s found in our cold little nook. 

Ramen noodles found in our pantry. 

Before we make pizza, a mess we must clean,

I know you’ll do it for me because I’m your queen. 

(Just kidding I’ll help you)

A few days ago we made pizza and made a mess in the oven. I forgot I had to bake his cake though, so the oven was too hot to put the clue inside. That and the fact that he'd forgotten about the mess made this one really hard for him, so I had to help him out. 

Underneath our welcome mat,

This whole time a clue has sat.

I loved this one! I shut the door as soon as he walked out and ran and hid!

Where did I go? Where could I be?

Stop playing games and come find me!

And that was it! Kellan had a blast going through it all and after, we made pizza and had cake. Yum!

Home Sweet Home Kitchen Tour

We've been gone from our house for about half our married time what with all the holidays, events and whatnot, so being back at home and knowing we'll stay here without wandering away (till February) feels so good!

Christmas break in California was just the vacation I needed and after we got back I got in full gear cleaning and decorating, mostly decorating, the house and finishing up those projects I had set on the back burner. I figured now, while the house is clean for pictures, would be the perfect opportunity to show you all!

Let's start with the kitchen because that's what has suffered the most of my DIY project mania.

The dining area.
Those boxes have since been unpacked & put away. No tripping hazards now.

The W K M ampersand sign & birds were all from or originally for our wedding!

But what I'm most excited to share is the newest addition to the floating shelf family.

Can you find it??

The water jar I picked up yesterday from a thrift store. One dollar plus some decal magic and I have me a beautiful French typography jar; score!

Though the water jar is my latest decal victim, it was not my first.  I found this on a blog and just had to recreate it, so after one failed attempt and another that I just didn't love, I got it right.

I just love them & they're the perfect size because we bake so much.

After that the kitchen just sort of revolves around our KitchenAid, especially in it's color scheme. So I fashioned up some small memo boards with cork, canvas, and fabric to match.

Yup, I sneaked in another photo of the jars. Can you tell I really like them?

Here they are all hung up and pretty. I think I'm going to add a row of wine corks to the bottom of the red boards for more pinning space.

Well, that's the gist of my kitchen project revamp for now. Our next big priority is finding a movable cart with a butcher block top to put where the trashcan is now for some added counter space, and at some future point I'm considering trading in our wicker seat bottoms for some padded cushion seats...we'll see if that last one ever happens.

Quick Update

It's been way too long so here's a quick quick update. 

Some of you may not have known, but Kellan was sporting a beard for a few weeks in December. It got pretty full, just short of lumberjack status (you know, with all the plaid he wears it could have happened).

This was early on in the process and look how cute he is. Those big blues get me every time. 

He shaved it off Christmas morning though because his sisters, how can I put this, hated it. I guess being with it from the very beginning I just got used to it. Plus he only had till we start school to keep it so I figured I'd just let him have his fun. I think he looks handsome no matter what. 

I've also been tutoring a cute little girl. She's five, likes Hello Kitty, plays Just Dance like nobody's business, and has enough energy to power a whole city. Seriously. 

She's so speedy quick I can barely even get a clear shot of her! We played dolls for a little bit because she needs breaks frequently. But we did some addition and subtraction problems with them! It was truly a teaching moment. 

Santa brought me a shiny new sewing machine. Project Runway version no less. So I've been playing around with it and fashioned us these little Valentine's Day coasters. 

I'm still new to this so bear with me. 

We also welcomed new neighbors this week! That was fun and they seem like a very fun young couple with a cute little boy. 

Our small welcome gift of mini lemon loaves. 

After taking down the Christmas tree and throwing out the dead Poinsettia, I figured we needed some green in the house to take away from the bitter cold outside. So I made us some succulent terrariums! 

I could say I chose them because they were aesthetically pleasing and reminded me of Las Vegas, but that would be a lie. I just liked them because yes they're cute, but mostly because you can abandon them for like two weeks without watering them and they'll still live when you eventually come back to them! That's my kind of plant! Especially with the school year starting and all the crafting I'm going to be doing, watering plants is on the very bottom of my list of things to do. 

So there you have it. All caught up with all things Whitaker. 

The Greatest Christmas Gift of All

It's official folks. There are onesies in the Whitaker home. 

Baby onesies. 

This is my baby.

Just kidding! My FOOD BABY that is. Sorry, I saw my huge belly and just couldn't resist. But there are actual baby onesies in the house, but only as my current sewing project. 

I'm making my pregnant sister baby onesies with felt appliques for Christmas and couldn't wait to show them off. I think they're turning out super cute. 

I'm only hoping baby Shelby will fit in these; if not I guess we will just have to get a little girl of our own!

Oh Christmas Tree!

We'd postponed getting a Christmas tree because we decided we really wanted a real one, but had heard from everyone, that here in Utah the trees dry out really fast.  So our two options were to wait a little longer to get one and risk all the good ones being taken, or buy a humidifier and hope that our tree would last out the month. We opted for the first.

So for FHE, after Kellan got home from work, we bundled up and hit the streets of Utah in search of some groceries, and the PERFECT Christmas tree.

We found some really tall scraggly ones that looked a bit like large versions of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree minus the single ornament. Turns out they were wild Christmas trees, and people actually want to buy those. But we chose a very fat, very full, domesticated Christmas tree.

Kellan, checking out our short and stout options. I love when he stands beside our tree because it makes it look even shorter and more adorable.

After selecting our tree, we decided to round out date night with a little ethnic food that Kellan only typically gets treated to after General Conference ... Mongolian BBQ.

I don't know if I've ever looked quite so Asian in all my life. The fact that my hair is a hot mess up in a bun is not helping matters either, but the food was yummy and checking out what the Chinese Zodiac has to say is always fun.

After dinner we headed home to decorate!

We'd picked up a metal tree stand from where we bought our tree and within ten minutes of trying to set everything up, we broke the stand. Thankfully it's still working well enough that our tree is standing, so that's all that really matters at this point.

After we got it standing, we got to decorating while watching Disney's Prep & Landing. So totally tinsel.

Kellan really likes that it matches our carpet almost perfectly and really cuts down on all the vacuuming up we have to do. We knew one day we'd find a use for this forest green carpet of ours!

We don't have a tree topper yet, so right at the top, we placed the Christmas ornament Momma Whitaker got us from Disneyland! You can't quite tell in this picture, but it says "Happily Ever After"

Then we took down our Fall garland from the banister, and put up our festive new Christmas garland!
And yes, right now those are baby pictures of us hanging in our Family frames. We'll change them out at some point.

And that was it!

Or so I thought. It was still looking a little bare and sad, so I had to "fix" it. We added Candy Canes and then I had the bright idea of adding a string of popcorn!

Kellan had bought a tin of popcorn and there's always that one flavor no one really likes. Well this year it was the Buttered Popcorn and I knew just what to do with it.

I've always thought popcorn strung up on a tree was so cute and nostalgic, but my family never has; so I figured, my own tree, my own rules! The very next day I set to work stringing that buttered popcorn thinking "How hard can it be?! It'll take me like two or three minutes, tops!" Right? Wrong!

I slaved over that popcorn for like twenty minutes and only got half of the length I wanted before I gave up and admitted defeat to those delicate kernels and knotted string.

I mean it looks okay, but definitely not worth all the fuss. Lesson learned! Popcorn is ONLY for movies.