stealing beanies

This beanie is stolen.

No, not from a store, or from a merchant. It's bought and paid for, with a receipt and everything

BUT

I did steal it from someone in my family. I had ski hair, I was cold, and I liked the new beanie:

it's navy blue (*swoon*), warm, doesn't make me look bald like most beanies, and has a Colorado flag on it. Not sure if it will ever get back to its rightful owner...

shirt: Kohl's

vest: Old Navy

beanie: Breckenridge Hat Store

pants: Aéropostale

snow boots: SOREL via JAX

house pretty - guest room

I'd like to share a few home improvement projects here on my blog. Don't worry - this won't become a big DIY blog, or decorating blog, but we've made a few changes to our house since moving in over a year ago, and this seems like a good place to share.

I don't have all the technical terms for everything we did and used, but I've done my best to gather all the information and keep it simple. If you've got more questions, please leave a comment or send me an email: sweetbananie@gmail.com

This was our guest room a few months after we moved in. Nothing fancy.

guest room before

In Colorado, pine beetles invade the pine trees in a forest, and eventually, the trees die and can become fuel for a forest fire. Bad news. However, the inside of the pine trees get this pretty blue color from the beetles, and some entrepreneurial folks have started to chop down beetle kill pine and sell it. Which is pretty smart - each piece of lumber is different, kinda pretty, and very "Colorado."

One of my mom's friends was fixing up a condo that they own, and they had found some beetle kill pine at The Home Depot and used it to cover a wall. It looked pretty cool and rustic, and we thought we'd give it a shot. My mom's friend used the boards horizontally to cover the entire wall - we decided to instead go with vertical and only as tall as a chair rail. The boards are six inch tongue-and-groove boards, so they fit together easily.

air compressor (Sears)

One of the first things we did was purchase an air compressor (I think the Mr. thinks of projects to do that require new power tools to get the job done...funny how that happens).

Then, we measured and purchased the boards from The Home Depot. The side we faced-out has a groove in the center of the board, but the other side does not. We chose the side with the groove to add texture. In the meantime, we pulled off the existing trim and cleared a lot out of the room so we would have space to work.

during

during

during

The Mr. used the air compressor, nail gun, and finishing nails to hang the boards on the walls.

Then, we ran into a snag.

Trim.

Beetle kill pine doesn't come in trim. And most of the other trim options we looked at didn't really "go" with the look of the room. And, since these boards are technically flooring, they're much thicker than standard trim, so any trim we did find wasn't deep enough to "cap off" the boards on the wall.

Following me?

We searched and searched. And finally, about six weeks later, found some rough cut beetle kill pine at a local lumber yard.

local lumber place for the trim

trim - rough cut beetle kill pine

more rough & unfinished than the boards

the trim after the first couple routers, unsanded

the trim after a rough first sanding

the final trim

after

after

after

And then there was lots of sanding and puttying for the chair rail to really be finished.

We love love love how this turned out. Originally, we thought about doing this to every bedroom in our house, but the trim proved to be such a problem (the Mr. had to free hand the trim with the routing table), that we decided against it. Instead, we think it's a nice touch on one room - a very "Colorado" touch. And if you can't tell, we love Colorado.

Our biggest expenses for this project were the lumber, the air compressor, and the routing table. BUT, we've since used the air compressor and routing table several times on different projects, so those were investments we'll continue to use. I didn't know way back when that I'd be posting this, so I don't have a cost breakdown - whoops. 

And here's a list of the tools we used for this project:

air compressor

nail gun + finishing nails

sanding block

routing table

circular saw

palm sander

putty knife + putty

So, that was our first project in our house. And we're slowly adding more to our reportoire...

game day: part 3

More game day outfits, geared towards those of us who live where it's more often than not freezing&snowing during a game, instead of nice&sunny. Watching my brother play high school football, there were 2, MAYBE 3, games at the beginning of the season we could get away with wearing only a light sweatshirt. By the end of the season, I was wearing snow pants and a ski jacket. And the reverse was true for baseball season in the spring - it ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS snowed on the day of the first game.

*sigh*

...memories ;)

First up, striped tee layered under a logo tee, under a cardigan, under a down vest.

Add and subtract layers as you feel appropriate.

No sweaters this time, but the down vest definitely makes a huge difference in the level of warmth. I have a Colorado flag headband I would have added if I wasn't having such a good hair day, but it's in the outfit below.

 

This layered look was really practical to head to a friend's house to watch the Broncos play. She and her husband whipped up a great nacho bar, and we sat inside and watched the game, while loving on her pups. And there's that Colorado flag headband I love so much. #statepride

This last look doesn't appear to have much Broncos pride at first glance. But hear me out. Orange striped tank, under a navy sweater, add or delete or change (ikat print vs. navy plaid vs. no scarf) scarves as you deem appropriate, and mint jeans + taupe booties. I would wear this ensemble if we were going to say, someone's boss's house to watch the game, or perhaps a more dressy shindig where a t-shirt just might not be enough. Comfortable, a step above a t-shirt and jeans, and nice enough for church or work. 

Broncos Pride tee: Victoria's Secret

striped tee: thrifted (Target)

jeans: Aéropostale

navy blue cardigan: Banana Republic

navy blue down vest: Old Navy

booties: Old Navy

navy blue flannel: Old Navy

long-sleeved blue top: Aéropostale (similar)

white down vest: thrifted (Aéropostale)

Colorado flag headband:Akinz Boardwear

SOREL boots: JAX

ikat scarf: WalMart

navy blue sweater: Old Navy

striped tank: Target

mint jeans: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

navy blue plaid scarf: thrifted (Target)

number 7 of 7. or, I ran 13.1 miles

me & Dad before the race, from my Instagram

from the Mr:

"These were a gimme. I knew she would be running her half marathon, so I guess I just wanted to give her an easy item out of the 7 I chose."

My nice, white, clean Mizuno Wave Inspire 10s (TENS, not TEN ESS). This post is mostly about my most recent half marathon, so, if hearing how I BARELY survived and it took lots of beer and bacon to keep me going me does not appeal to you, and you choose to skip over this post, that won’t hurt my feelings. Too much.

I got these shoes back in August, because I was previously wearing Mizuno Wave Inspire 9s, in bright orange (proof here and here), and it was time for an upgrade. The rule of thumb (I’ve heard) is new shoes every 300-500 miles. But that’s not a hard and fast rule, and some people wear their shoes until they actually fall apart in some race, or lonely running route. My rule of thumb was based on mileage, but also that I had stepped in mud in my orange ones…you think I’m joking. And I am. Just a little bit. New running shoes were on my horizon, but after stepping in mud, the horizon got a leeeeetle closer. I liked running in my orange Mizunos, and the newer model is even lighter than the previous ones. However, I have lots of issues with blisters when I run, and I won’t bore you with the details, but decided that wide shoes would help alleviate those blisters in at least one  spot on both feet. So, I got online and ordered wide shoes. White was the ONLY color I knew I didn’t want. But, what do you know? Wides are only available in white. I shed a dramatic tear (or two) and bought the white running shoes – getting them dirty is a big fear of mine. Needless to say, trail running is NOT in my future - because of the shoes, and because I’m clumsy anyways, and the thought of roots and leaves and NATURE potentially tripping me in addition to me tripping over my own feet keeps me running on the road.

So, I have white running shoes and I wore them for my second half marathon (ready about my 1st half marathon here), the Equinox Half Marathon. I’ve completed both halfs (or is it halves?) with my Dad, and this time we matched our outfits like we did at our 10k (here). I trained A LOT more for this race than my first half, and I was excited to beat our previous time. However, that was not meant to be. The Mr. shared his nasty cold with me, and I spent the first 4 miles trying to breathe – funny enough, those first 4 miles were my fastest (what???). I was inhaling cough drops and using tons of tissues at every aid station. The bones in the tops of my foot started hurting at mile 2 – I think maybe my feet were swelling? The race was mostly downhill, and I hadn’t run TONS in the few weeks before my race – see husband sharing his cold with me. And then, at mile 8, my knees started to ache. Both of them. My right IT band tends to get tight when I run, so I foam roll. And often. But this was different – my knees were tight, and achey, and I knew if I truly stopped (for anything longer than a potty break) I wouldn’t finish the race. So the last few miles were rough. Really, the entire race didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, and I was even more prepared – physically, mentally, fuel-wise, and gear-wise.

And while we missed beating our previous time by just a few minutes, my Dad and I completed a gorgeous fall run down a canyon on a beautiful September Sunday morning. I’m not a competitive person (unless we are playing charades or Pictionary, then I’m ruthless), but missing my time by such a small margin has really lit a fire within me to beat my time from my first half – even if it’s just barely! I’m so slow that there’s PLENTY of room for improvement. The Mr. keeps reminding me that I RAN THIRTEEN miles without stopping, while I WAS SICK, with achey feet and knees. And he’s right – I AM proud of myself for that, but I’ll be even more proud of myself when I complete my next one. And blow my previous times out of the water.

tank: WalMart

shorts: Soark.com

visor: Margaritaville

shoes: Mizuno

twinsies

 Several weeks ago, my parents came to visit for the weekend. My Dad and I ran a 10k race Saturday morning. We coordinated our outfits (obvi) and ran the race together. Even enjoyed a beer together afterwards. Every time we run a race, my Dad says "Wasn't that fun?"

And I always respond with "Fun isn't the word I would use..." 

I do enjoy running, but during the race, I can only think "Uggh, when are we DONE???"

Afterwards, I'm so glad I did it. But during is a whole different story. 

at the start. matching Margaritaville visors

after the race (from Instagram) - enjoying post-race beers

Here's what I wore to run the 10k. My Dad has the same shorts and we both wore orange tank tops. And he wore his orange shoes, instead of green ones.

#twinsies

We got stopped a few times and asked where we got our shorts - I got mine from Soark. They've got several other flags, and running tights/leggings, in addition to shorts.

I just ordered new running shoes and they're white, so, bye bright orange Mizunos

*sniff sniff*

(I just got the Mizuno Wave Inspire 10s. The orange ones above are the Mizuno Wave Inspire 9s. I have yet to break in the new ones - stay tuned...)

this is me telling my Dad to stop trying to get fancy with the picture taking...

tank: WalMart

shorts: Soark

shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire 9s (from a local running store)

visor: Margaritaville

Mr. Picks Mondays: Memorial Day

 

A few things to share with you today:

1) Happy Memorial Day! Thanks to all those who serve and have served. I love days like today (the 4th of July, Labor Day, and Veteran's Day more than most other holidays), because I make sure to profusely thank my favorite vets (Mom and Dad), and every other veteran I meet, for their selfless sacrifice of protecting our freedoms.

2) The next summer holiday, Independence Day, I'll be celebrating in my favorite place (the beach) with some of my favorite people - WEEEEEEEE!! In a really sweet American-flag print swimsuit. Heyooooo! I plan to spend the whole time on the beach, and when I'm not beaching it, on a boat.

3) My Mr. picked out this polka dot chambray for me to wear. And while I love it, remember my optical illusion trick when it comes to this boxy fit? This time, I layered a sweater over it. Which was totally necessary, because, hello, springtime in the Rockies.

My Dad reminded me yesterday that it snowed on Memorial Day weekend several years ago. Which is enough to make me question why I live here. I mean, I love Colorado - don't get me wrong. We have the beautiful mountains, I always know which direction I'm driving (the mountains are west. unless you are IN the mountains, and then, well, take a gander), our summers are great, winters are pretty, the skiing is spectacular, but every year, from March to May, I seriously consider moving somewhere where it DOESN'T SNOW IN MAY. Like, Florida. Or somewhere in the South. Or even California. This crazy weather is enough to drive a girl mad. Just ask my husband - every time the weather gets all wonky, I get cranky and start packing my swimsuits and flip flops, and threaten to forget how to drive in the snow.

*sigh*

But, then, the sun comes out and melts away all the snow, and I'm reminded that summertime in the Rockies is one of the most beautiful things in the world.

chambray: thrifted

sweater: Aéropostale

pants: Aéropostale

boots: Rack Room Shoes

Bye Bye, Ski Season

Late last month, two of my cousins came out to visit for their Spring Breaks. We took them up to the mountains for some skiing and dogsledding (yes, for real, like "Mush! Mush!"). 

And we had the. best. time.

The weather both days was unbelievable. Beautiful Colorado bluebird skies, sunshine, and not yet slushy snow. Both girls took right to skiing and were navigating blue and BLACK (!!!) runs by the end of the day. We ate great food, did some shopping, and tried to convince the youngest to come to Colorado for college (I think we made progress!)

So, in honor of several mountain resorts extending their season to this past weekend, here are some pictures from our weekend ski trip, and my last time skiing this season. Until next year...

*sniff*

my Dad with his pupils

my sweet Mama

I warmed up to ski with my Dad in the afternoon (blacks, blacks, moguls, oh, more blacks) by heading down "Callie's Alley", in honor of my sweet pup, Cali

view from the top...

Dad and I rode the T-Bar together for the first time, and I skiied my FIRST BOWL!
it wasn't pretty, but I did it!
can't wait to do it again next season...! how many days til Opening Day??

I stopped for a #selfie at the top, of course

Dad with part of our dogsledding team

hot on the trails with our dogsled team! the rest of us were riding on a snowmobile in front of the dogs

these pups love running - look at those smiling faces!

these pups were pooped after their morning jaunt with us

If you ever get the opportunity to go dogsledding, I can't recommend it enough! It's SO fun, and how many people do you know that have been behind a dogsled team (I've been twice!)? If you'd like a recommendation of a place in Summit County, Colorado, please shoot me an email and I'll share with you the name of the outfitter we went with.

I had a great ski season this year - I feel like it's finally clicking for me. Must be the good teacher I have (my Dad) - thanks, Pops!