Dear Claire's Boutique...

As seen in a Phoenix area mall:

The 1980's called. They want their models and fashion back. ALL of it: the fake animal skin print leggings, leg warmers, neon colors, and plastic belts.

It's Autumn Time

During October Julia and I decided to host an Autumn Party. We had a great time making homemade Caramel Apples and watching Monster House.

J and his fantastic creation:

A few more of the masterpieces:

I loved this picture, but mainly because of the post-it-note on the cabinet:

Miracles

I'm taking a break from updating the posts to announce some really great news that has me crying. Well, at least SOME of the news. I can't share one piece until it goes live onto someone else's blog.

That being said, I am grateful beyond measure to announce that my brother-in-law, after ten months without work, has received a job offer. The family is moving to El-Paso Texas, and I'll be spending Thanksgiving with them. Since we'll be at a hotel (more than likely), I'm hoping to do Thanksgiving dinner at Bennihana's. What's more American that that? :)

Also, something else REALLY good happened this weekend to our family, but you'll just have to keep checking back because ... well, like I said... I'm waiting for another blog post to hit, after which I will link you all to the wonderful news.

Blessings...

I hit the REI garage sale a few weeks ago, and I knew I had three things I really needed: a new hiking backpack, a 3 1/2 sleeping pad (I know--I'm a wuss), and new hiking shoes. The morning I got ready to go I had the thought I ought to look for a GPS system, which I've never wanted before. The results of the trip: Backpack, CHECK! Sleeping pad, CHECK! New hiking shoes, CHECK!!! And appearing out of nowhere after I'd checked the table a few times: GPS SYSTEM!!!! CHECK!!!! I scored a sweet deal on the GPS system. I think in total I paid about $100 for all four items when I would have paid about $700-750 for the items brand new. The extra bonus? The GPS has blue tooth in it, which means I will now have BOTH hands on the wheel while I take phone calls through my navigator. (Goodness knows, that can only help.)

Old and New

I've been really blessed this year with tremendous roommates. I was so excited to enjoy dinner with Emily's family last weekend. I LOVE her family! They are just tremendous, and I love Em's sweet new baby L. Such a cutie! She has two sisters out or just leaving on missions, which seems to be a habit for them. The last time siblings went there were three out at one time. I'm so lucky to know this family. They are just FANTASTIC!


However, no post would be complete without adding a little diddy about my new roommate Julia. As you can tell from the picture below, Julia is clearly a quality person because she, like I, enjoys orange flavored hot chocolate with whip cream is added. This is only bettered by the fact that we were born on the same date, both grew up riding horses, both wear Hebrew rings on our right hand middle finger, love shoes, are both blondes who died their hair brown, and obviously love life. Oh. And one more thing. Did I mention we own a pair of jeans that fit both of us, even though she's four inches taller than I am? Obviously, these can only be called our "Traveling Pants".

General Conference

How was yours? Ours was simply smashing. As you can tell, we made a delicious brunch between sessions that resulted in a food coma. Don't worry, though--we still caught most of conference. (I think.) I'm looking forward to receiving the Ensign with all of the talks in just a few short days!

Ballet at the Park

My new roommate J and I went to see Phoenix Ballet's free ballet in the park performance by Tempe's new performing art building. Although not typically a fan of modern style design, I really loved the reflections in the water fountain (see picture below). The ballet performance itself was mostly fabulous, but I won't upload the video I took even though they asked us not to. I'm not uploading it because, of course, I feel guilty. However, the point is that the performances were mostly amazing, and I wanted to quit my job and become a dancer. At least, that's how I felt until I saw the last number: an interpretive ballet dance which was definitely NOT my favorite. Still, a fabulous night and another reason to love living in Phoenix.

C and I

I just love this girl. And, I love that she has to tip her head so far to the right and crouch down to get into a picture. We took this picture after our company's annual meeting at the Shriner's Temple in Phoenix. It's an interesting place, and I was loved that they have reserved parking spaces for their High Priest and Prophet. They obviously respect these positions, and I like that. I think I'm going to do some studying about this group, which seems to have a prominent and respected place in many communities