Special Valentines Podcast Interview

An Open Love Letter To My Valentine

                                                                   

The Luckiest Mom Podcast

Episode 252: A Love Story

Over the weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed on The Luckiest Mom Podcast for a Valentines Day Special. I shared hilarious and awkward dating stories (Nudity in foreign films + Jello Wrestling), our famous Kiss, why I look forward to growing old with my husband, and how were embracing all the changes in our personal growth and in our relationship. I had so much fun talking with Reagen Ogle about our love story, but there were so many things I wish I would've shared but didn't get the chance to express. So here it is, my open letter to my valentine expressing all the things I wanted to say but didn't. 

To my Valentine,

First things first, I’m sorry. You told me not to share embarrassing stories but I did. I love those hilarious and cringe worthy moments, because we were young, wild and free. I love that we have those silly memories to look back on and to see how far we’ve come. Who knew Jello wrestling was a bad idea for one of our first impressions haha also who knew that our first foreign film together would lead to a LOT of nudity and misunderstood Asian cultural references. I thought I was looking pretty fly in all my spray tan glory, but bless your heart you stuck through with me during that awkward beauty moment. Speaking of which, thank you for falling in love with me whether I was Blonde, Brunette, Red, Raven Black, and finally bubblegum pink. Its not about falling in love with appearances, you thought I was beautiful inside and out. Thank you for seeing me through all my experimental hair days. 

2009 was a different time of BIG hair and Orange Spray tans

Proof that Yes I Jello wrestled, and yep it was epic

I wish I would’ve mentioned how important our SPOT is in Julia Davis Park in Downtown Boise. We said I love you on that park bench under the stars. That’s where you proposed to me only a few months later. And eventually that’s where we took our kids for a picnic 5 years after those monumental declarations of love. I still listen to the CD I made you entitled "Our SPOT mix". 

DTR'D on our Bench at our SPOT

When I talked about how we stay in love 8 years later, I did a poor job explaining that falling in love is chance, but staying in love is a choice. It was chance encounters that brought us together, but it’s every day choices that keep us together. Without fail, you kiss me goodbye for work every morning! That means all of my gross morning breath has been yours for the taking Every. Single. Day. 365 days a year, for 8 years. The choice to slow dance during the ending credits of movies always makes me smile. The choice to hold my hand and wipe my tears on Sentimental Saturday’s makes me that much more in love with you; despite showing me inspirational YouTube videos of rescue animals, athletes beating cancer, and the ever favorite YouTube genre of feminism and women supporting other women. You love to make me cry. The choice to love you in the good times and in the bad times is why our relationship is so strong, you have a front row seat to all my crazy but instead of walking away, you simply grab the popcorn and watch it unfold. 

I wish I would’ve explained why I look forward to all the boring and mundane moments of life with you. You are my best friend, and there’s no one I’d rather fall asleep on the couch with. There’s no one I’d rather be elbow deep in diaper changes with then you. I want to grow old together. I wish I could’ve detailed my reasons for my Valentines gift this year with better clarity. I bought us the flower beds and seeds because I want to grow together. I want our relationship to blossom and thrive as we nourish it. You are important to me and I want to tend our garden so our family grows healthy and strong. 

Lastly I want to talk to you about change. I love the man I first fell in love with, and I love the man you’ve become. We’ve both grown in so many different ways and it’s unfair to fantasize about the good old days of who we used to be. You love me for me and I love you for you and that’s all that matters. When I died my hair pink without telling you, you didn’t hesitate to tell me I looked beautiful. When I spoke out about women’s rights and the feminist movement, you got right behind me as my own personal cheerleader. And when we both knew how hard Motherhood was for me, you didn’t hesitate to support me in seeking the help I needed. You are my best friend and the only one I want to spend my happily ever after with. I want us to keep changing, growing, and finding ourselves as we continue our relationship for years to come. 

Mr. Ames you are my forever Valentine. Thank you for the life we’ve built together and giving me two wonderful and crazy children. I love our little Ames Wolfpack and look forward to all the grand adventures that are in store for us!

Sincerely,

your forever Valentine

Special Valentines Podcast Interview

An Open Love Letter To My Valentine

                                                                   

The Luckiest Mom Podcast

Episode 252: A Love Story

Over the weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed on The Luckiest Mom Podcast for a Valentines Day Special. I shared hilarious and awkward dating stories (Nudity in foreign films + Jello Wrestling), our famous Kiss, why I look forward to growing old with my husband, and how were embracing all the changes in our personal growth and in our relationship. I had so much fun talking with Reagen Ogle about our love story, but there were so many things I wish I would've shared but didn't get the chance to express. So here it is, my open letter to my valentine expressing all the things I wanted to say but didn't. 

To my Valentine,

First things first, I’m sorry. You told me not to share embarrassing stories but I did. I love those hilarious and cringe worthy moments, because we were young, wild and free. I love that we have those silly memories to look back on and to see how far we’ve come. Who knew Jello wrestling was a bad idea for one of our first impressions haha also who knew that our first foreign film together would lead to a LOT of nudity and misunderstood Asian cultural references. I thought I was looking pretty fly in all my spray tan glory, but bless your heart you stuck through with me during that awkward beauty moment. Speaking of which, thank you for falling in love with me whether I was Blonde, Brunette, Red, Raven Black, and finally bubblegum pink. Its not about falling in love with appearances, you thought I was beautiful inside and out. Thank you for seeing me through all my experimental hair days. 

2009 was a different time of BIG hair and Orange Spray tans

Proof that Yes I Jello wrestled, and yep it was epic

I wish I would’ve mentioned how important our SPOT is in Julia Davis Park in Downtown Boise. We said I love you on that park bench under the stars. That’s where you proposed to me only a few months later. And eventually that’s where we took our kids for a picnic 5 years after those monumental declarations of love. I still listen to the CD I made you entitled "Our SPOT mix". 

DTR'D on our Bench at our SPOT

When I talked about how we stay in love 8 years later, I did a poor job explaining that falling in love is chance, but staying in love is a choice. It was chance encounters that brought us together, but it’s every day choices that keep us together. Without fail, you kiss me goodbye for work every morning! That means all of my gross morning breath has been yours for the taking Every. Single. Day. 365 days a year, for 8 years. The choice to slow dance during the ending credits of movies always makes me smile. The choice to hold my hand and wipe my tears on Sentimental Saturday’s makes me that much more in love with you; despite showing me inspirational YouTube videos of rescue animals, athletes beating cancer, and the ever favorite YouTube genre of feminism and women supporting other women. You love to make me cry. The choice to love you in the good times and in the bad times is why our relationship is so strong, you have a front row seat to all my crazy but instead of walking away, you simply grab the popcorn and watch it unfold. 

I wish I would’ve explained why I look forward to all the boring and mundane moments of life with you. You are my best friend, and there’s no one I’d rather fall asleep on the couch with. There’s no one I’d rather be elbow deep in diaper changes with then you. I want to grow old together. I wish I could’ve detailed my reasons for my Valentines gift this year with better clarity. I bought us the flower beds and seeds because I want to grow together. I want our relationship to blossom and thrive as we nourish it. You are important to me and I want to tend our garden so our family grows healthy and strong. 

Lastly I want to talk to you about change. I love the man I first fell in love with, and I love the man you’ve become. We’ve both grown in so many different ways and it’s unfair to fantasize about the good old days of who we used to be. You love me for me and I love you for you and that’s all that matters. When I died my hair pink without telling you, you didn’t hesitate to tell me I looked beautiful. When I spoke out about women’s rights and the feminist movement, you got right behind me as my own personal cheerleader. And when we both knew how hard Motherhood was for me, you didn’t hesitate to support me in seeking the help I needed. You are my best friend and the only one I want to spend my happily ever after with. I want us to keep changing, growing, and finding ourselves as we continue our relationship for years to come. 

Mr. Ames you are my forever Valentine. Thank you for the life we’ve built together and giving me two wonderful and crazy children. I love our little Ames Wolfpack and look forward to all the grand adventures that are in store for us!

Sincerely,

your forever Valentine

DIY Makeup Vanity For $200

Childhood Dreams Coming True

As a little girl I was always jealous of my sister's Makeup Vanity. We shared a room for years but as soon as we each got our own room, Christina was gifted with the most glorious vanity set and I got a bookcase. My 8 year old self was green with envy, especially since at the time Christina was all tom boy and kept her drumsticks and music books in the drawers instead of all the accessories I thought she should've kept in them. Though to be fair, once we got our separate rooms, our dog picked me over her, so I got to cuddle with my pup in bed for years....so who's the real winner here?!?!? haha anyways... Lets fast forward 20 years and only now am I finally making my dreams come true, ok Mr. Ames is really the one who made it happen haha but still, I finally have my vanity and I'm so happy!

When we built our house, I chose a bathroom design that would lend ease into putting in a custom Makeup Vanity, but surprise surprise, going through the builder was crazy expensive. I spent over a year debating what I should do in that space, (future self is yelling at me for not utilizing that area for more closet space #smh), but finally after going over my budget with my Husband we decided to just go for it. I would've loved to have put in a custom vanity for $700+ buuuut I have a very long list of house projects and I couldn't justify spending that much money on cabinets, let alone adding a few extra hundred on the mirror and chair too.

So after doing a little research on Pinterest and asking my friends, I found some great Ikea Hacks and DIY's for creating a DIY Vanity for under $100. They looked simple, easy, and oh goodness think of all the money I would be saving by doing this all by myself!!! Welp, Im here to tell ya, they are all LIES! Those beautiful picture perfect squares on our Pin Boards sit on a throne of lies. If you are the crafty type, sure you could've followed directions just fine and got the project accomplished...but if you are like me, then it was like running a 5k with your shoelaces tied together. Equal parts hilarious, cringe worthy, and sad at the same time.

DISCLAIMER: I was, and still am, intimidated and overwhelmed with the idea of DIY's, I don't like to craft, I'm not creative with my hands, and I hate following directions. Aka I'm a recipe for disaster. Guys I got way over my head. It wasn't till after I sent out a million Marco Polo messages freaking out to my friend that I realized, just like Gob Bluth, "I've made a huge mistake."

After many failed attempts at Ikea, Lowes, and Home Depot all in one day;  I said screw it and gave up on trying to make my old desk the perfect/cheapest make up vanity. I had a specific look in mind for this project, and no "hack" was going to give me the results I wanted. Once I made up my mind about how I was going to go about my project, I finally took a breath in and started to enjoy the experience. 

When I went away to college my parents bought a cheap twin bed frame with a matching writing desk off of craigslist. It was creme colored and had hideous flower details on it (very early 90's look), but luckily my Mother is a spray paint wizard and was able to turn it into something worth an 18 year olds approval. It really turned into a beautiful bedroom set and for years I loved it! I still get great use out of it since the bed is currently in use in my sons bedroom and the desk has been used as a work desk in my basement ever since I graduated from school. I love being able to give new life to items I already have at home, and I knew if I worked hard enough, I could make my own spray paint magic happen. So heres a glimpse of the Before and After's of my DIY Makeup Vanity.

Materials 

Mercury Hardware $20

Cabinet Pull $10

Spray Paint + Primer $12

Glass Tabletop $70

Faux Fur Vanity Chair $60

Vanity Mirror $32

Total Cost Of DIY: $204

BEFORE

AFTER

Once I decided to follow my own vision, starting and finishing the project became a breeze. I sprayed primer and white finish on my writing desk and left it to dry for 24 hours. I followed this up from knobs and hardware from Lowes and Hobby Lobby, which I thought would be fun, but honestly it was just plain annoying having to make multiple visits to each store. But despite the push and pull, it led to a shopping spree at my local Home Goods store to find a vanity stool and mirror. That was the BEST part of my entire project. Lastly I reached out to a local Glass company and had a table top custom made to fit my vanity. I cringed about the expense, but after the big chain companies let me down I decided it was worth getting exactly what I wanted then something that doesn't fit correctly but cheaper. Quality over quantity. 

Side note, despite Lowes's claim to cut glass, they didn't carry glass large enough to cut and then their saw blade wasn't in store. It was on backorder and they had no idea when it would come in. Home Depot was the same story. I tried (and failed) to go to Ikea to pick up a glass top but after I purchased it I realized it was tempered glass and you cant cut through it without the whole piece shattering. So many fails and just like Lucile Bluth, after that failed DIY experience, all I wanted to do was "Set myself on fire". Sooo good times. 

After everything was said and done, I just went out one night and bought all the extra materials I would need and went for it! I dove right into my DIY and I was so happy with the results. By repurposing my old College Desk and using a little bit of paint, new hardware, and a glass tabletop; I was able to walk away with a whole new Vanity. I love how my project turned out and even though I wasn't able to Ikea Hack it like the fabulous tutorials you see all over the internet, I was able to make my vanity my own. I love the little details, especially how I chose to decorate the vanity, but what I'm looking forward to most is all the memories I'm going to make in my little corner of the Bathroom. I envision curling my daughters hair for church on the vanity stool, painting her nails, and even sitting her on my lap for Mommy Daughter makeovers. So many memories are just waiting to happen at my little Vanity and I cant wait to share them with my daughter!

DIY Makeup Vanity For $200

Childhood Dreams Coming True

As a little girl I was always jealous of my sister's Makeup Vanity. We shared a room for years but as soon as we each got our own room, Christina was gifted with the most glorious vanity set and I got a bookcase. My 8 year old self was green with envy, especially since at the time Christina was all tom boy and kept her drumsticks and music books in the drawers instead of all the accessories I thought she should've kept in them. Though to be fair, once we got our separate rooms, our dog picked me over her, so I got to cuddle with my pup in bed for years....so who's the real winner here?!?!? haha anyways... Lets fast forward 20 years and only now am I finally making my dreams come true, ok Mr. Ames is really the one who made it happen haha but still, I finally have my vanity and I'm so happy!

When we built our house, I chose a bathroom design that would lend ease into putting in a custom Makeup Vanity, but surprise surprise, going through the builder was crazy expensive. I spent over a year debating what I should do in that space, (future self is yelling at me for not utilizing that area for more closet space #smh), but finally after going over my budget with my Husband we decided to just go for it. I would've loved to have put in a custom vanity for $700+ buuuut I have a very long list of house projects and I couldn't justify spending that much money on cabinets, let alone adding a few extra hundred on the mirror and chair too.

So after doing a little research on Pinterest and asking my friends, I found some great Ikea Hacks and DIY's for creating a DIY Vanity for under $100. They looked simple, easy, and oh goodness think of all the money I would be saving by doing this all by myself!!! Welp, Im here to tell ya, they are all LIES! Those beautiful picture perfect squares on our Pin Boards sit on a throne of lies. If you are the crafty type, sure you could've followed directions just fine and got the project accomplished...but if you are like me, then it was like running a 5k with your shoelaces tied together. Equal parts hilarious, cringe worthy, and sad at the same time.

DISCLAIMER: I was, and still am, intimidated and overwhelmed with the idea of DIY's, I don't like to craft, I'm not creative with my hands, and I hate following directions. Aka I'm a recipe for disaster. Guys I got way over my head. It wasn't till after I sent out a million Marco Polo messages freaking out to my friend that I realized, just like Gob Bluth, "I've made a huge mistake."

After many failed attempts at Ikea, Lowes, and Home Depot all in one day;  I said screw it and gave up on trying to make my old desk the perfect/cheapest make up vanity. I had a specific look in mind for this project, and no "hack" was going to give me the results I wanted. Once I made up my mind about how I was going to go about my project, I finally took a breath in and started to enjoy the experience. 

When I went away to college my parents bought a cheap twin bed frame with a matching writing desk off of craigslist. It was creme colored and had hideous flower details on it (very early 90's look), but luckily my Mother is a spray paint wizard and was able to turn it into something worth an 18 year olds approval. It really turned into a beautiful bedroom set and for years I loved it! I still get great use out of it since the bed is currently in use in my sons bedroom and the desk has been used as a work desk in my basement ever since I graduated from school. I love being able to give new life to items I already have at home, and I knew if I worked hard enough, I could make my own spray paint magic happen. So heres a glimpse of the Before and After's of my DIY Makeup Vanity.

Materials 

Mercury Hardware $20

Cabinet Pull $10

Spray Paint + Primer $12

Glass Tabletop $70

Faux Fur Vanity Chair $60

Vanity Mirror $32

Total Cost Of DIY: $204

BEFORE

AFTER

Once I decided to follow my own vision, starting and finishing the project became a breeze. I sprayed primer and white finish on my writing desk and left it to dry for 24 hours. I followed this up from knobs and hardware from Lowes and Hobby Lobby, which I thought would be fun, but honestly it was just plain annoying having to make multiple visits to each store. But despite the push and pull, it led to a shopping spree at my local Home Goods store to find a vanity stool and mirror. That was the BEST part of my entire project. Lastly I reached out to a local Glass company and had a table top custom made to fit my vanity. I cringed about the expense, but after the big chain companies let me down I decided it was worth getting exactly what I wanted then something that doesn't fit correctly but cheaper. Quality over quantity. 

Side note, despite Lowes's claim to cut glass, they didn't carry glass large enough to cut and then their saw blade wasn't in store. It was on backorder and they had no idea when it would come in. Home Depot was the same story. I tried (and failed) to go to Ikea to pick up a glass top but after I purchased it I realized it was tempered glass and you cant cut through it without the whole piece shattering. So many fails and just like Lucile Bluth, after that failed DIY experience, all I wanted to do was "Set myself on fire". Sooo good times. 

After everything was said and done, I just went out one night and bought all the extra materials I would need and went for it! I dove right into my DIY and I was so happy with the results. By repurposing my old College Desk and using a little bit of paint, new hardware, and a glass tabletop; I was able to walk away with a whole new Vanity. I love how my project turned out and even though I wasn't able to Ikea Hack it like the fabulous tutorials you see all over the internet, I was able to make my vanity my own. I love the little details, especially how I chose to decorate the vanity, but what I'm looking forward to most is all the memories I'm going to make in my little corner of the Bathroom. I envision curling my daughters hair for church on the vanity stool, painting her nails, and even sitting her on my lap for Mommy Daughter makeovers. So many memories are just waiting to happen at my little Vanity and I cant wait to share them with my daughter!

Lady Luxe Wednesday

Luxe Couture Interview 

This past week has been a fun one! I've been battling the stomach flu, prepping for my first TV segment, and had the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed by Luxe Couture Fashion for their Lady Luxe Wednesday feature. I share my favorite items on their website and a few of my favorite things...aka chocolate and books! Be sure to check it out and find your new favorite things!!