Game Day

Ft Worth bound.

The BEST Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes. EVER.

I've made Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting three times in the last two months, they make my belly happy. These are the most moist cupcakes I've ever had, here's what's in them:

I dump all my ingredients into my mixer & let it do all the work.

I fill 24 cupcake liners about 2/3 full.

& bake

Prepare frosting as you are cooling cupcakes. Once completely cooled, frost those little babies & enjoy immediately! 

Store in the fridge, they make an excellent breakfast...or snack...or dessert.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

1 pkg. butter golden cake mix(or yellow cake, butter is better!)
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
BEAT all ingredents with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Spoon batter into 24 paper lined cupcake cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.
BAKE in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Frost cooled cupcakes.
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
BEAT 1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened, 1/4 cup butter, softened, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spiceuntil light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 16 oz(1 box) confectioner's sugar until smooth. 

Paint Stick Lamp Shade

Months ago I royally screwed up a lampshade thinking I would be able to recover it in burlap. WRONG! I had removed the support system and was left with nothing but two metal hoops & no backup plan. So I searched high & low on Pinterest & found a hanging shade covered in paint stir sticks.  http://pinterest.com/pin/259590365990946016/
Here's my version:
Snag as many stir sticks as the paint department will give you, this took several trips. Make sure the glue gun is locked & loaded-this project used alot of glue.

Then figure out where to place the hoops. Use your glue gun to apply glue to both ends of the stick at the same time. Hold hoops in place while applying pressure with two hands & your forehead as necessary. You will look like an idiot & hope that the UPS guy doesn't show up & look through the front door. I stretched rubber bands for extra reinforcement during drying time & cut them off later.

After about an hour & a half of repeating this process I ended up with a pretty cute shade, which matches the light wood in the room or could be painted or stained.

Good Luck!

L.A.V.H

Last night, after burrito's & pedicures, a few tears & giggles, we walked through the Target parking lot & she grabbed my hand. "We have to do this more often, we both need this", she said. She is one of the best girls I'll ever know. She is my friend.

(Summer 2000)

$648.00

Dear Santa,
I've been a very good girl......

www.amazon.com/Sony-NEX5K-Digital-Camera-Interchangeable/dp/B003MPSHP0/ref=cm_cmu_pg_t

I'm a Quitter.

I quit infertilty treatments. I haven't notified the doctor, I'm being rebellious.
We had one more last ditch effort IUI, and put so much hope into it. Maybe seeing "Aunt Flo" at the bowling alley was the last straw. (Are you kidding me?! Of all the places! Way to break it to me gently, uterus.) I couldn't even bear to tell my family that it was unsuccessful. My body has betrayed me and the drugs meant to help have tortured me for the last 10 months. I quit because I can't handle the heartbreak of being unsuccesful any longer. It has been 639 days since I miscarried, every single one of those days has been filled with thoughts my little one, the babies I want to know and how to get them here. 639 days of agony. It's like mourning a death-constantly, it never lets up.
We have some major changes up ahead, maybe I'll be ready to jump back into the game after them. In the meantime I will beg Him for a miracle or two.

Faux Friends

Did you ever have that "friend" that could say anything she wanted, but you must remain silent and be her doormat? In her mind she could ask unappropriate things, insult you and yours, and compete in everything you do. Something has happened within me, maybe it was turning 30, I don't know. I no longer have the ability to tolerate this appalling bullshit from this type of woman. She was there in high school, there in college, there with her child, and sometimes she was even family. My heart breaks that women treat each other so poorly, friends should love one another without conditions or terms. It is not acceptable to worry about running into "her" while out in our small town.
Not to toot my own horn, but, I am a loyal friend-I care so deeply about my friends that occasionally I go overboard, I give too freely. What do you need? I'm there. I have or see something they would like, I give it to them. They hurt, I hurt. They share, I listen. I don't miss birthdays. I offer these things because it is what I would hope for, call it my Love Language of Friendship.
I believe that as a person's friend you are allowed to disagree and that a difference in opinion should not define the end of your relationship. Although, if it does end the relationship, it is possible that she was never your friend to begin with, and you are far better off without her. Realizing and embracing that though is a very difficult task, it is much eaisier to feel that you have failed.
On the flipside, how amazing is it that your Best Friend when you were 12, remains you're Best Friend today?! A.E.M has seen me through so much, L.A.V.H has made many sacrifices for me, P.G is my soul sista, B.W is the greatest encourager, and E.B always shows me a good time. There are so many other great women in my life that I am beyond thankful for, like Candace Bushnell said, " Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with."
I am so grateful that a change took place inside of me and that I allowed myself to purge of these faux friends, it is so freeing to no longer be attached to such disgusting behavior.
Strive to be a woman who shows her pals just how precious they are to you, wether you always agree 100% or not.

Craigslist

Need a giggle? Craigslist is full of good laughs, I almost couldn't breathe when I read these two ads:

GREEN SHIT-PILED COUCH
Hey everyone. As you can planely see this couch is no longer needed since we got the matress their in the bottom of the picture. Please only email if your interested since I don't want no funny buisiness on my email. Eric, if you want, contact me directly and we can work out a deal. I miss your face.

RE: RE: USED STICKS OF DEODORANT

Well, it was actually my CAT that used the deodorant if you MUST know, HE is a female.

If you build it, they will come.

I have always been a daydreamer. So in 2007 when I found THE wedding gown on ebay, brand new, and listed at $99, I was unable to resist. I bid & won, not caring that I was painfully single with no man in sight. I hung the gown in my closet & kept it a secret from most, but told a few girlfriends "if you build it, they will come" and we would laugh. Nine months later I met Chris, a year after that we were married and I wore my beautiful $99 bargain that fit like a glove.

 Fast foward to now, we are trying desperately to have a baby. My sister-in-laws have stopped having kids and have given us all of their outgrown items.(bouncer, clothes, bumbo, crib, etc.) We have set up the third bedroom with many of these items, choosing again to believe: If you build it, they will come. I chose a paint color that I like for either gender and decided to keep the furniture neutral. I will wait until there is a baby coming to choose fabrics and details, but will keep with a vintage theme no matter the gender. I couldn't keep my hands out of the paint can once I put the crib together, I love the crib but not the finish:

It took two weekends to paint the damn thing, and if you are concerned that the drop-rail cribs have been recalled, don't worry, we will fix it so that it doesn't drop.

This is a windowless room due to the fact that it is located on the neighbor's side of our patio home. I hate that it has no window.

Ignore the lamp, I'm thinking about making a burlap shade for it. The blue and cream chippy table is an antique store score from many years ago. I plan on changing diapers on top of it and stocking the basket with wipes, diapers, burp cloths, and anything else we will need at hand.

The nursery is in no way a baby shrine, it is a dose of encouragement every time I walk past. To me it would have been far sadder to leave the room empty and lean the crib against the wall in the garage. It reminds me daily to keep hoping and praying to become a mamma very soon.

DIY: Dresser Revamp

I finally found two matching tall dressers after searching for two years. These were on Craigslist for $100 each, and were removed from a fancy and historic hotel in Downtown Dallas. One of the dressers is missing one drawer pull, I am currently on the hunt for one on ebay. Here is the before:

As usual, I painted the dressers in ivory and finished them off with polyurethane.

The pulls were a problem: besides being brass(eww), they are two different sizes, neither are the standard size so, I had to keep them. I wanted to give them an aged look, I came up with a technique that is similar to faux mercury glass minus the glass. First I sprayed the pulls with water in a small spray bottle, then I sprayed them with a light coat of pewter metallic and gold metallic spray paint, i would immediately spritz with water again and repeat the process until the bronze finish was completely covered. 

After allowing them to dry, I touched/barely rubbed some of the air bubbles with a fine grit sand paper to give an "aged" appearance. Finally, I applied several coats of a clear polurethane spray.

Wah-lah!

We would like to mount the tv onto the wall, the dressers will stay side by side even if the tv goes up. Ignore the missing pull, I will find a matching one if it kills me!

Hair DO or Hair DONT!

I've been here before:

Thank you Natalie Dee for that laugh, my husband believes that this one better represents me:

Here is my current hairstyle that I have been growing out since June 2008:

But this is what I'm obsessed with lately, meaning every time I: wash, comb(kill me now), dry, style, and have to push my bangs out of my eyes(45billion times a day).

 I have my husband's blessing and friends that say "DO IT", but I'm still too chicken to chop off that much at once. I have twice donated my hair to locksoflove.org, I'm trying to convince myself to do it for the cancer patients, if not to make my life easier. Can I pull it off? Will I look like a boy? Who cares if hair grows if you look likean idiot for six months! AHHHHH, this decision could take awhile....

DIY: Dining Room Table into Coffee Table

This summer our family rented a cabin in the Texas Hill Country & floated the Guadalupe River for a couple of days. In the living room of the cabin the owners had cut down a giant round dining table to coffee table height, and I was in love. I began eyeballing my living room table, which I fancy, but decided that it wasn't ideal for our layout, it allowed very little room to walk around to sit down on the sofa.(Fifi was obviously NOT camera ready)

I searched Craigslist for weeks for the right table and never found one as large as my inspiration piece but discovered this antique oak table for $60! I started painting it before I realized I didn't have a before photo-oops!

Chris cut down the pedestal portion to coffee table height & replaced the old nuts and bolts to screw the pedestal and table top together.

I am painting all of my furniture in the same technique to unite the mis-matching pieces. I use an ivory colored Olympic flat paint from Lowes, seal it with Minwax water based polyurethane, and distress a few edges with fine grit sandpaper. Since the hubs was then out of town, I assembled the table on my own, and  had to quickly verify that I was current on my tetanus injection, darn those jagged-rusty-antique metal pieces!

This is so much better for our small living room, it really opened up the room without deleting table space. Chris really likes it too, we enjoyed getting to do this project together. DIY=romance in our book.

DIY: Book Wreath

Pinterest is my crack addiction. I'm to the point where I think I'd die without my daily dose of Pinterest. I love making wreaths and coudn't pass up the Book Wreath, as seen on Pinterest. Here's how I made mine:
First, make a trip to your local thrift shop & grab a few paperback novels, I dug for the ones that had faded & yellowed from age. I also purchased two styrafoam wreaths at the craft store. This craft took a few hours since I decided to make two wreaths.

Then, I tore out all of the book pages. I found that if you rolled the pages in you're desired size & added a fold to the bottom, that you could both pre-roll & that there was a better surface to glue onto.

I started gluing with hot glue around the outer edge & worked my way in. After burning the bejesus out of my finger, I discovered that using a flathead screwdriver was a wonderful tool to prevent injury. Add a line of hot glue to the bottom edge of your bookpage & press down onto wreath for a few seconds with the screwdriver.

After you have completed the front, move onto the interior portion, & lastly the outer side. I glued and pinned a loop of ribbon on the back to hang the wreath from. Here's a pic of the back, minus the ribbon loop.

How pretty!

I decided to hang my wreaths above the bed in our guest bedroom, love it!

Stay classy San Angelo.

A few days ago little Snyder, Texas experienced a 4.4 magnitude earthquake, not a single person was injured. A little over 100 miles away here in San Angelo we were able to feel the tremor, I was groggily waking up in bed & had no clue what was happening. Of course it has been the topic of many conversations since NOTHING ever happens here(except for that little FLDS drama). As I read the comments section of an earthquake report website I stumbled upon this little gem and then fell out of my chair, laughing.

Stay classy San Angelo. Stay classy.

INfertile Myrtle

Miscarriage.
Subchorionic hemorrhage.
Amenorrhea.
Septate uterus.
Anovulation.
Failed IUI.
Surgery, surgery, surgery.
Etcetera.
Picture this: I am the little girl that insisted that my baby doll, Natalie, be included in family pictures at Christmas time and famously "gave birth" to the pillow under my nightgown at the age of 10, for my grandparents to see(envision Grandma Ruth's jaw hitting the floor), and have aspired since toddlerhood to have a career as a stay-at-home-mom.  So yesterday, as I sat in waiting room full of baby bellies, I tried to choke back my pain as I awaited yet another fertility injection. Those poor preggo's appeared a bit uncomfortable and stared at the floor as I choked on tears & attempted to tolerate the former coworker who innocently chose the WORST EVER go-to phrases intended to console an infertile(in the future I'll post a list of these things).
The last year and a half+ has been hell, reproductively speaking, following my February 2010 miscarriage. I have taken more ovulation & pregnancy tests than I can count and I could pee on a stick blindfolded. For the last eight months I have taken Clomid, the last three months: Repronex, and an injection of Profase just once. Internal sonograms and HSG's are a piece of cake, Progesterone  suppositories AKA "uterine wallpaper", are my constant internal companion . Ask me what day it is, and I'll spout off my cycle day long before I realize you meant Wednesday.
But, I suddenly need to take a break from infertility treatments, I don't know if I can do this anymore. It's been eight months of a constant-heinous headache, roller coaster emotions like sorrow and hopelessness, abdominal discomfort, nausea, and welcome to the new guy: anger.
I know that I can't expect the world around me to cater to my pain, and I know it's gotten to the point of ridiculious when I think that Pampers commercials were intentionally filmed and broadcast to twist the knife in my heart/uterus. I want to punch infertility in the face for what it's doing to me. I want to feel normal again & be excited for the baby mama's. I want to be able to hold my cousins newborn for more than 5 seconds without agony and making it awkward to be around. But most of all, I just want my baby.
P.S. Thank you to those of you  that have showered us with love, encouragement, and prayers. We are so grateful.

DIY: Patio Chair Makeover

Last summer I bought this vintage patio set & spray painted the chair seats to jazz them up a bit. They didn't turn out as I had hoped & definetly didn't go with our space.

Today, I was wandering around downtown, strolled into the fabulous J. Wilde's and was pleasntly surprised by this cool Aqua vinyl for just $9.75 a yard!

After lifting the seat cushion, I cut a piece of vinyl to fit the seat, used my trusty staple gun that was not being so reliable(words were said), and trimmed the extra off.

The finished chair is SO stinkin' cute, it now flows perfectly with our pottery. The impact of color is much needed when you have a view of nothing but your neighbors brick wall.

I am finally pleased with the patio table and chairs, they just look so peppy! As soon as the heat dies down I envision breakfast on the patio, fall planting, & simply sitting around enjoying the evening with my man.

Hello, My Name Is......

I have been a blog dreamer for quite a while now, but have never jumped on the bandwagon due to fears of boring y'all to tears with what I have to say. Every evening after work I sit down to my computer & read a long list of blogs to detox from my day, including one by a dear friend. Imitation is said to be the highest form of flattery, so Biz: be flattered! I think I'll be blogging about: marriage, obsessions, infertility, my lovely doggie girls, creating, parties, family, sewing, & blah, blah, blah. So to kick things off, allow me to introduce myself to y'all: I'm Aubrey. (also known as Ablah or UhUh-totally depending on your current age)

Here's my cute hubby, Chris (aka:Bubba):

Then there's our 3 little ladies: Bella, Lulu, & Fifi:

Of course you should see what we all look like together:

So, there we are. More to come.....