mixed up

I'm mixed up.  Heart says its Fall/Harvest time, outside says its spring.  House says its Fall/Harvest time, blog says its spring.  Don't worry-we just have the best of both worlds I guess. Holla!  Yes, I have done it.  It's not even October yet and I've done it.  Decorating for Halloween = finished.  It was actually a realy fast process thanks to our newly-wed sized abode.  I'm not complaining!  Have you ever shopped for Halloween decor/items in Australia?  Prices are crazy mister!  But I didn't let that stop me.

Of course, we have lovely Mom to thank for some of our holiday spirit.  Thank you dollar tree and USPS!  We recieved a spooky package and you'd better believe that we decorated that night.

Here is our Halloween-ified bookshelf.  Not over the top, but the orange definitely stands out and gives it an October feel.  The second pic is a zoomed shot of the candle near the top of the bookshelf.  Dollar tree container + black candle = easy decor.

Our ghost banner was a tricky one. It was hard to find a place for it, but we made it work.  I like the texture it gives the wall.  And also, our lovely pumpkins (yes, that is the Amazing Race).  Three is the perfect decorating number. 

Maybe our decorating is low budget, but we still love it and gives us the Halloween feel.  My favorite of all are my TP Pumpkins though!

They are so simple and cheap!  I got the idea from this blog.  Easy Peasy!

I put them just about everywhere in our flat.

Ha-and because they're toilet paper, they work in the bathroom too! Woot!

I made five total, although I probably would've made heaps if there was room in the house!  They turned out perfect. Voila!

(I love my orange fattie)

~Bring on the holidays!~

Mission Accomplished

Sometimes I get crafty.  I know, its surprising that Kaylee Jo is crafty but believe it!  My most recent project has been our couch.  I didn't take any before photos but when we we inherited this couch/fouton (thanks Mum & Dad B!) it had a blue and cream cover that didn't really match the decor of our home. (black, white and plum purple)  Never fear!-that can be changed!  We bought a simple black fouton cover for $30.  Perfect way to spruce up something old.

That was the easy part.  Then we wanted some pillows to make the couch comfy and to give it a home-y feel.  After searching for the right colors, designs and sizes that we wanted, my crafy-mind took over and decided to make pillows.  I'm SO happy with how they all turned out!

This first one was a cheap pillow we bought that had a bright pink cover on it.After some tricky measuring by my math-man of a husband, I whipped this pillow cover up.  Goodbye bright pink!  I added a little detail with a cute flower hair accessory by removing the clip on the back and sewed it on.

 

 I used an envelope style back because I didn't want any hand sewing involved.  I worked out well and was super easy!  I didn't like to stay lined up though, so I just added a cute button to hold it in place.

The next pillow is one of my faves.  I just bought a simple pillow insert at the craft store (SPOTLIGHT!) and made this cover to fit.  The ties add the perfect amount of simple detail.

Our lucky finds were these two plum purple coushions from K-mart for only $5 each!

I left one plain and added these two little flowers that I made to the other one to give it some character.

A simple touch up to match our home!

We bought two of the bright pink coushions from the shops.  This is the new look I gave the second one. 

At first I just sewed the black and white pillow-cover, but it was too plain for me so I added a home-made gathered flower for some style.

It was simple but gave it a personal touch. 

Put those five pillows together with our ot two purchased from the shops...

...we declare our couch complete!

I’m so happy with the way it turned out.  I love looking at our finished project.  It's personalized and no-one else has pillows just like ours. 

Mission accomplished!

Giggles

You remember this little whipper-snapper?

 Well she puts an outright smile on my face.  Every time I talk to my family, there is a new story about something Jocelyn said.  She always makes me giggle.  Her little mouth explodes a mile a minute and she says the darndest things.

"Truman (our dog) is 14 in man years.  He's just a stuck up teenager"  Who says that?  Where does she come from?  We just don't know.

It was 70 degrees outside and Jocelyn announces, "It feels like winter outside."  Not quite Jocey, but almost! :)

Her prayers always consist of praying that there will be "no earthquakes or tornadoes"


When you leave the house, you'll always leave accompanied by Jocelyn's farewell,
"Bye Kaylee!  Love you!  Don't Die!"
Hmmm...death was not really my top priority but thanks jocey!


One day Braden told Chantel she was a retard.  Chantel went into the other room and started to cry.  Braden couldn't believe it.  Jocelyn had no problem going up to Braden and telling him, "Braden, what you said made Chantel's heart cry."  She's such a sweetie.

Oh yeah, Jocelyn got an award from her principal at school.  She was telling the family about it and that her teacher had chosen her because she always hands in her homework.  She just laughed when she said this.  Mom asked why she was laughing and Jocelyn said, "Mom, I don't hand in my homework all the time!"  Maybe you just had to know her on this one, but I'm giggling just thinking about it.

To my mom who was wearing her jogging sweats, Jocelyn come into her room and says, "OOOO Mom, you look so trendy!" in her clasice sarcastic voice.  Teasing her own mother...oh boy.

When she was getting ready one day she just asked, "Why do we have to grow freckles?"  What a cutie.

And she has now announced to the family that there should be an award for coming down for scripture study in the morning.  "If you come down, you get a crown."  A crown-  Why thanks!

Just out of the blue Jocelyn declared, "Mom, I don't think I'm ever going to have my own love story!"  Good old mom kindly reassured her that she didn't really need to worry about that right now. :) 

She even has a special talent for getting food everywhere when she eats.  Forehead, tummy, elbow...you name it!

Oh boy, where does she get it from?  We simply do not know, but she is a joy and we're grateful for this little dynamite. 

Thanks for the giggles Jocey!

I just HAD to add this photo I recieved from my Mom today.  She came in and said this was her new fashion. (she's wearing Truman's leash/harness)

Because

Because I'm American I have a Fall scented candle lit in my house...in the middle of Spring. 
Why?- Because I'm American.

Because I'm American when we're asked in the ward choir to 'blend' our words, I know they really mean 'Kaylee, can you please say the words the way we do?'  Although = OOOLthough, Christ = Crawist.  I'm not even kidding.
Why?- Because I'm American.

Because I'm American I've decorated for Halloween...Australians are already getting ready for Christmas.  I guess the 'after Thanksgiving' rule doesn't apply when there is no Thanksgiving.  But I still have two holidays to go before I get there.
Why?- Because I'm American.

Because I'm American my husband tells me I sound much more stern when I'm..well..stern.  "TuRn that off Right now."  Apparently the hard R gets him everytime.  I'm a mean steamin stern machine.
Why?- Because I'm American. 


Because I'm American I measure ingredients in ounces.  Makes for a difficult dinner cooking experience.  My laptop converter gadget is my best friend.  But I make it work. 
Why?- Because I'm American. 


Because I'm American when people say words like "fortnight" (two weeks, or "ward clahk" (ward clerk) I have to just look at them for a second before I can truly make out what they've just said.
Why?- Because I'm American.


Because I'm American when I sew, I measure in inches.  But my fabric is measured in centimeters.  What joys that has given me...not. 
Why?- Because I'm American.


Because I'm American I say Fall instead of "OOOOTumn."  Both sides of this convo can laugh because the opposing word sounds so odd to the American and Australian ear.  I just have a chuckle when either is used. 
Why?- Because I'm American.


xo-kaylee jo 

...oh p.s.

Greetings everyone.  Welcome to Monday.

Life is just tip-top here down under.  Phil and I are superb and this past weekend was stellar.  Friday night consisted of sewing for me and Rugby for him.

Perfect.

Okay, who am I kidding?  It was sewing and rugby for the both of us.  No no, Phil is not a seamstress, but he's really a lot better at that math stuff than I am, so when making up my own patterns, he puts his little brain gadget to work and helps me out.  And I enjoy a good rugby playoff game just as much as the next bloke on the street so it was a perfect mix.

Saturday morning = sleeping in.  Oh blessed Saturdays.  I really appreciate them more on a full-time work schedule.  To be honest, we only slept in til' about 8am but just know that I didn't have to "POP" out of bed and book it to work is so relaxing.  After my dose of Gless, I set out to more sewing.  THis required another trip to my new favorite store, Spotlight.

Whoohoo!

Don't even worry, the fun didn't stop there.  On our way home from the shops we passed a display home village, so naturally we decided to take a gander- Phil's choice.  I loved it!! I've never been to a display home before.  It was great to see and get some decorating ideas.  Phil and I made it through all 18 homes and even went back to a few of our faves.  No, we are not looking to purchase a new home but it was a great Saturday activity, and it was FREE!

By then, I thought all our weekend fun was coming to a close and we'd simply spend a quiet Saturday night at home together, but our friend Caylee texted us and asked us to come around for dessert at 8pm.  Of course, we readily agreed!  When we got into the car to head there, Phil drove totally the opposite way from their house.  

I was so confused!

He said he was trying a new way to get here that his brother had showed him.

"Whatevs Phil, whatevs."

I couldn't figure out what was going on and I just had a confused look on my face.  Phil just laughed and asked why I was so confused.  I told him I just couldn't figure out why we were driving the opposite way.  This would obviously not get us there.  He just laughed again and said, "We're not really going to Caylee's for dessert."  Then I thought, "Oh, we're going to the movies." 

(because Phil had mentioned wanting to go earlier that day)

He just smiled and agreed - Surprise!

Theeeen we pulled into the local theatre parking lot- NOT the movie theatre.  Double surprise!  We weren't going to the movies.  We were going to a play that I'd mentioned to Phil ages back because I love the book it was based on, "And Then There Were Non" but Agatha Christie.  He remembered and surprised me with tickets for a night out with my man.  Oh he's the best!

Good weekend guys-good weekend.

...oh ps. Did I mention we're going to see Wicked this Saturday?

Can't wait!

Pronunciation please?

So this one time we went to America...but then instead of coming back to Sydney, we decided to give ole Melbourne a holla.  Although I was having a hard time because I'd just left my family, I think I had a harder time just pronouncing Melbourne.

Can I have th pronunciation please?

"Melbourne? Melboooonre? ooooh! MEL-BURN!"

Just ignore the spelling silly!

Phil and I had a splendid time.  A city with old buildings, how could I not enjoy it?  I really could just sit and gaze at the architecture on a cathedral for hours but guess what?  They let us inside this one.

BONUS!

It was magnificent.

Oh and don't even worry that there was this bank in the city that was immaculate as well.

This is a sneaked photo right before the asian man told me "NO PHOTO!"  Haha...one measly sign to warn me of such things.  Come on- of course I didn't see it!

Lindt Chocolate.  Yes!

Of course when we walked by the Lindt Cafe we could not be stopped.  On a cold and wintery Melbourne day nothing sounded better than the best hot cocoa int he world.

They gave me liquid chocolate to flavor my creamy hot milk.

Mmmmm.

Good thing I chose to enjoy it with this little guy.

Double treat!

We went to the Titanic exhibit while we were there.  It was really interesting!  They had actual items from the Titanic and we walked through sets that made us feel like we were actually on the ship.  The best part was that they gave us a ticket with a real passenger's name on it and at the end we got to see if they lived or died.  It made it so much more real.

Buuuut on the way to the exhibit I had to stop and snap a pic at this spot.  The city is so pretty!

There was a reason that we graced Melbourne with our presence.

Wedding time!

A guy from a family Phil baptized on his mission was marrying a girl from Melbourne.  Our flight home from America stopped in Melbourne. Ideal!

Oh the Hoey family...

Meeting this family was a real treat.  I could tell how much they loved Phil and it was really humbling to see a family that Phil had helped bring into the gospel.  They were so loving and welcome.

and FUNNY!

"Uncle Joe" even came to visit us.  He was  such a creep!...but he looked strangely like Mr. Hoey...hmmmmm

Here are the dapper young groomsmen and the groom trying on the tuxes before the big day.

Charming?...or not...

Little James could not figure out how Phil could have his two fingers linked before he put them behind his head and then they'd magically come apart.   Sneaky Phil!

and the wedding was beautiful.  It had a simple elegance about it and I love that.  Everything about the bridal party reminded me of Pride and Prejudice.  It was a beautiful wedding!

Bride and Groom.

Melbourne Temple

Awwe- we love the Hoeys!

and leave it to me to pull a crazy pose in the middle of some half-hearted attempts.  Oh boy.

Between the wedding and reception we made our way up to these beautiful gardens up in the hills.  It was freezing!  We walked around with the bride and groom offering Phil's groomsman smile when needed.  It was freezing!  The gardens were amazing.  I wish I could see them in the spring.  It was freezing!

Oh and did I mention, it was FREEZING!

Told you, Pride and Prejudice right?

Fa-reeeeezing my buns off, but still all smiles!

We loved being there to support Evan and Sheralee on their wedding day. Congrat!

Here is our single picture from our roamings around the city with Phil's cousin Carla.

Don't ask me why we failed to take a photo with Carla, or Nadene and her cute little kids Lachlan and Holly. Or even Aunty Julie who let us stay at her house and borrow her car. Whoops!

All and all, Melbourne treated us well...next time we'll just pack more than one pair of jeans and a hoodie and not come from the hot Utah summer.

Note taken.

~July 26-30, 2010~

...and so it ends

Our summer holiday was a blast.  It was hard to see it end.

Here are a last few moments that left us smiling...

Cute little Jocelyn and her friend in the pioneer parade.

Ha- and to our surprise, before the parade had even started to go past us, our little pioneer Jocely trekked (more like scooted) right on by us.

Yup-she beat the whole parade to the end!

(if you look closely you can even see the actual parade in the background)

We were able to catch up with Kayla as well.  Much thanks to Kayla for bringing Phil and I together.  Kayla's cute little boy Troy was so much fun.  Such a cute kid!

...and the Perucca girlies.

I love my sisters and can't wait to see them again!

So...

Thanks America for being so good to us.

Thanks friends for putting up with us.

Thanks Utah for giving us such great weather.

Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us stay at your house with the family.

Thanks Perucca fam for letting us crash your summer.

We love and miss you all!

There you have it-our summer holiday in blogs.

We sure loved it and hope you loved seeing it.

~American Summer 2010~