{her hips don't lie}

I've wanted to learn how to belly dance and hula ever since I visited the Polynesian Cultural Center and now, after seeing this!

When my stomach gets a little flatter I think I'll sign up for lessons! Sit ups, here I come!

{Dallas part two}

Hey ya'll! Well, it's almost my last day in this lovely city and it's been awesome, but like they say, all good things must come to an end! This is my hotel and the big bulby tower is the Reunion tower. Unfortunately, it's closed until 2009, but I have big plans for sneaking up there tonight. *shifty eyes* Who knows when I'll get back to Dallas and this is a must see!

I had a little bit of time to myself this afternoon, and since I had rented a car, I drove to an area called Knox, which is full of funky restaurants and fabulous boutiques! (read more about Dallas neighborhoods HERE) After doing a little shopping, I headed over to the Bishop Arts District. It's such an artsy, funky part of town! Perfect for a gal like me!

Unfortunately, most of the shops were closed, but lost of restaurants were open, so I decided on Hunky's- a delicious little diner with chrome upholstered seats and turquoise laminate counter tops!
On my way back to the hotel, I drove past this funky auto shop and snapped a quick picture!
Even though I got lost a few times and even drove the wrong way down a few one way streets, I have really enjoyed my time in Dallas. My hosts have been incredible and I've come away with some fun, new friends! If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it!

{history}

Dallas, Texas is full of history! Today I drove past the spot where John F. Kennedy was shot. I didn't realize until we drove past, that the Texas School Book Depository was about 3 blocks from my hotel, so I took this shot from my hotel room. It was really interesting to read about what happened that day, and it's a little surreal to think that I am so close to it!

If you can't click on the picture to make it bigger, the window of the building that is circled is the window where the shots came from. The grassy knoll at the bottom of the picture (with the white box above it) is where he was shot. There are x's painted on the ground marking where the first and second shots were fired.

This is another view from my window.

{traveling + eating healthy = hard to do}

Dallas is great and the food is too!

Is that a good or a bad thing?

Read more about it at skinny jeans!

{aye, tis a night of laughter}

I love Sunday nights. This is usually when we get together with family to eat and play games.

Phase 10 is one of our favorites!Ty takes these game nights seriously. No messin' around here!This is Andrew's, "I've been dealt another bad hand" faceMid-game, Barry opened a can of Sprite, which sprayed all over him.

It's okay Bar, accidents happen!

Barry isn't one to let things get him down though, and he always sees the positive in any situation, so right after this happened, to lighten things up he said (in an Irish accent), "Oh no! I've wet me-self! Aye, now me balls be zesty fresh like lemons!" LOL!

It was totally random and it cracked us up! Thanks for the laugh Bar!

{found}

andrew found this little kitten at his work today.

she was tucked under the back of a car, and she was all greasy

i took her home and bathed her, gave her some food, and now she's sleeping in her make-shift box/bed.

we already have 2 cats, and although i'd love to keep her, we just can't

if you're interested in her, email me shans_design@yahoo.com

she hasn't been spayed and as far as I know she hasn't been vaccinated either, but she is very sweet, cuddly, quiet, and beautiful!

{skinny jeans}

Okay, I'm doing it! I've starting a weight loss blog, appropriately titled, "Skinny Jeans- One girl's quest to fitting into a favorite pair of jeans from the past- also known as her skinny jeans!"

Come check it out by clicking HERE and give a little support! You'll hear about the ups and downs of my journey, as I jump on the weight loss band wagon! And if you're on the journey too, let me know and we'll support each other!

{favorite favors}

With wedding season in full swing, I've had a lot of people ask me for favors. Not the kind of favor you're thinking of- they want wedding favors! Thinking of what favor I wanted to give at my wedding was tough, but it was also one of my favorite things to work on, and I was so happy with how they turned out!

I knew I wanted something practical, yet cute, and something that my guests could reuse. So when my mom found these little tins, we knew this was perfect! We got our tins (which measure 1 1/2" in diameter by 3/4" tall) at Roberts Crafts. I think they were about $0.50 for a pack of 3, which was another reason we decided on them- they were a great deal! The only problem was that each store only had about 12-20 packs of them, so my mom and I drove all over the valley to get the amount we needed. We invited about 425 guests to the wedding and estimated that about 350 would come, so that's how many favors we made! I also wanted to put little mints in the tins, so I looked online and found a bulk candy company that sent me a huge 10lb bag of these little mints (about the size of a tick tack) for $18.00, and a family friend printed the vinyl lettering monogram that we put on the lid. It took some time to put them together, but I loved how they turned out! We stacked them in a big, shallow, glass vase and I had a framed sign that said something like, "Shannon & Andrew were 'mint' to be! Thanks for sharing our special day!" Yeah, it was a little cheesy, but lots of wedding things are cheesy! haha!

One problem a lot of brides run into is budgeting for favors. Unless you have a lot of money to spend on them, they can be a little pricey, and they're usually one of the last things the bride thinks of budgeting for. So to remedy that problem, I found a few ideas that can be done at a fairly inexpensive price! (As long as you're willing to put a little elbow grease into it!)These lovely boxes are from Martha Stewart. I think you can get the template for the little green box on her website, and I know she has directions to make the little mum that sits on top. Another great idea are these test tube favors. The ones pictured above are for Halloween, but I still think they'd make a unique favor! You can find clear, plastic tubes here for about $0.28 each and the cork stoppers are only about $0.14 each! (If you buy in bulk, they're even cheaper!) Design a monogram or a thank you on sticky labels and finish it off with a ribbon!

I loved the idea of putting herbs in the bottle (below), because it's not something you see everyday and your guests can use it multiple times!I also love the idea of making little seed packets for your guests. You can find these envelopes at local craft and paper stores, and they are fairly inexpensive! A pound of sunflower seeds is just $6.63 here! Just print a cute label, and voila! You've got a lovely favor your guests will never forget!(photos from Pear and Peony)

{deep in the heart of Texas}

I'll be here next week for work and I'm looking for some fun stuff to do! Fun boutiques, funky restaurants, galleries, museums, etc! Any ideas?

{daily want}

I think little beauty this belongs in my bedroom. IKEA- HEMNES
Linen cabinet

{Hill-arious night!}

So last night was the Hills party and it was a blast! I didn't realize that the show didn't start till 11:00pm because usually it starts at 8:00 here! So when everyone showed up, I told them I felt so bad that I had them come over at 7:30, but they all stayed and I'm so glad they did! We had so much fun, laughing, talking about how dumb Spencer and Heidi are, and entertaining each other with funny stories!

The sista and I

Oh, the food was delicious! Chili's chips and salsa, meatballs, and veggies! So good!

Ali & McCall playing the purse game. Here's how you play. You pull things out of your purse and try to one up each other with who has the most random things. Ali pulled out deodorant, goggles, and wet wipes. McCall looks a little disappointed here since her flash light isn't as cool as Ali's goggles.

Okay, this was the funniest moment of the night! Before the premier started, we watched the Top 10 Hills moments and the last 2 episodes from last season. Well, we started talking about Heidi's music video and some people hadn't seen it (if you haven't watch it, it's sooo funny), so we watched it on you tube. The link to the video I have is The Soup making fun of it. Anyway, after we watched it, I had McCall pose like Heidi in the music video. I think I pee'd a little from laughing so hard!

Teri thought it was pretty funny too!

The gals watching the pre-show.

Even though it ended up being a late night, we had a blast! Thanks for coming gals!

{oh what a night!}

The party was a success! (Even though the show started 3 hours later than we thought!)

I'm going to bed, but here's a picture to tide you over before I post more about it tomorrow.

Here we are giving our best impressions of The Hills characters.

McCall, Ali, Teri, Me, & Tara (I think all of us except McCall are doing Whitney's surprised face!)

Thanks for such a fun night ladies! Let's do it again soon!

{our house}

A few of you have asked to see my crib (that's slang for house), since I started finding some crazy, cool furniture! Then when I started thinking about posting pictures of my house, it gave me the motivation to get the 2nd bedroom put together and de-clutter. So here you go!

This is the dining room. I got the cabinet on the right from my old work when it was on clearance and painted it black. It's actually an oven cabinet! I need to find a shade or have someone make me some cabinet doors to put over the empty spot. Or I could make a funky roman shade to put on it. What do you think?

This is a closeup of my work area or as some like to call, "the home office". Remember that green chair? The one from the upholstery class from hell? That's the one! I have yet to make a cushion for it, so for now, it's the cats chair. This is the family room. I'm not a huge fan of the red slip covered sofas, but they'll do for now!

The barrel back chair in the corner is another that I did in an upholstery class. And yes, I need to have the cushion finished. The other side of the family room.This is the 2nd bedroom. The red hutch sits opposite the wall where the bed is. If you ever want to come visit, this is where you'll probably sleep. Unless you prefer the red sofas. It's your choice. The entrance to the 2nd bedroom. I'm not sure if I like the S C together like that since they're different sizes. Maybe I should just have one. What do you think? That is my li'l body lamp I made my first year of design school. I put cast gauze material over the body of one of my mom's old dolls (I think it was Mary Poppins) to make it. I love that lamp! Andrew had his neighbor make me that little sign and gave it to me on our wedding. The Christmas before I made him a quilt and embroidered that saying into the corner. It's kind of our theme!And last, the boom boom room (also known as the master bedroom). Haha! This is actually the inspiration for my bedroom. It's not finished yet, but when it's done I'll post pictures!So there you have it! Now I expect some pictures of your cribs posted in return!

{Why I love Thursday nights}

{I love a great find!}

Isn't this the cutest? My mom's neighbor was having a yard sale and I picked this baby up for only $75! I love the red color, and it matches the bedding I have in the second bedroom!

{It's party time ladies!!!}

It's that time of year again, when I get to indulge my guilty pleasure!

The Hills Season 4 is premiering Aug. 18th, and I'm throwing a kick off party!

Where: My house (email for directions)

When: Monday Aug. 18th

Who: Anyone who wants to come!

Time: 7:30

Bring: Your favorite appetizer or treat to share!

RSVP: shans_design@yahoo.com

Oooh, I can hardly wait!

{sojo fair}

So Saturday night, after we got home from camping, Andrew and I took Ty to the Salt Lake County fair in South Jordan. It had been raining on and off all weekend, and I was a little weary of the dark skies looming above us, but we went anyway. I mean really, who could pass up seeing prized livestock and The Clogging Grannies!? Even the smell of funnel cake and the thrill of riding a few rickety carnival rides that could fall over at any minute was just too good to pass by! This was the petting zoo. Now, I don't mind a little petting zoo with pygmy goats, miniature horses, and the occasional bunny, but this one was ridiculous. They had a baby cow that I swear was only a month old, just laying there, looking all sad and longing for it's mom! When I saw the baby kangaroo, I about flipped! Now, I'm not a member of PITA or anything, but seriously, don't baby animals need their mothers!? This WT lady was holding it in a dirty blanket, next to loud, wild kids, charging $10 for a picture with it, and the poor kangaroo looked like it was having an anxiety attack. Poor thing.

Ty thought this guy looked pretty happy though. I just love Pygmy Goats! This li'l guy is full grown, even though he's so itty bitty.
So, after seeing a little livestock (no pun intended), we decided it was time for some rides. The first one we saw was the Gravitron. I know what you're thinking. "Hey, isn't that the one that looks like a spaceship where you stand against the walls inside and it spins like, a billion miles an hour and flattens you against the wall making it nearly impossible to move or breath?!"

Yes, that's the one. Sounds fun doesn't it?

The minute Ty and I saw it, we looked at each other as giddy kids do when they're ready to throw all sense and reason out the window, and begged Andrew to go on it with us. Since Andrew isn't really a "roller coaster, twirly ride" kinda guy, I begged even harder. (I know, I'm such a good wife!) It didn't take much convincing, and he reluctantly agreed.
As we stepped inside the Gravitron, we kept telling Andrew how much he was going to love it. When we got into position with out backs against the padded wall, the door closed and we waited for the fun to begin. Then it started spinning. At first it was fun. We were laughing. We were enjoying ourselves. I looked at Andrew. "See, honey? Not so bad, right?" Then the ride controller took it up a few notches. Kids started screaming. It started getting harder to breathe. Ty started laughing frantically as one does when they know something is terribly wrong, but what's happening is supposed to be fun, and it kind of still is, so you have this nervous, crazy laugh. You know the one. Andrew didn't make a sound. It took all the energy I had to hold the camera out in front of us to capture the moment.
This is Ty laughing frantically. I think he enjoyed himself.
This picture is worth a thousand words. I promise I didn't ask him to pose that way.

I'm pretty sure Andrew hated the ride.
When we the ride stopped, it was pouring so we stayed inside the Gravitron. Ty thought the ride was a blast, as did I. Andrew on the other hand, was about to puke. He didn't say much, but he looked green and mad! Unbeknown to me, he announced how motion sick he gets after riding spinney rides. Seriously, if I would have known that, I wouldn't have begged him to go on the ride! Poor guy! I felt sooo bad!
I think this picture captures our emotions perfectly.

The highlight of the night was the food. Ty waited in line forever for a carmel apple, and when he was finally served one, the lady (who seriously looked like a man...I'm still not sure to be honest) handed him the one that was covered in flies. She shooed them away and gave it to Ty. He reluctantly accepted it and looked at it like this. I asked him why he didn't ask for another one, and he just kind of shrugged and said, "I don't know...I didn't think I could!"

Not to gross you out, but he did eat it. We figured a few flies never hurt anyone, right? We also enjoyed a few scones, since they didn't have funnel cake. (I know, what kind of fair doesn't serve funnel cake?!) Then after walking around some more, we decided it was time to leave.

All in all, I think it was a good time!

{spruces}

Thursday night Andrew and I drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon to eat a good ol' fashioned camp dinner with my parents! Since Andrew had to work early the next morning, we didn't stay the night, but we roasted hot dogs and feed fritos to li'l chipmunks to our hearts content! The next day, I packed up our sleeping bags, camping chairs, and headed up the canyon. Andrew and Barry met us up there when they got off work and the fun began! We ate yummy dutch oven ribs, played Phase 10 & Scrabble, and of course, enjoyed some s'mores! Ty and Barry kept cracking us up till late in the night. I'm pretty sure our neighbors thought we were wild hooligans!

Posing with the hubs

This little guy was so cute! All the leaves had dew on them from the rain, and the chipmunks would stand up, drink the dew, and then eat the leaf. We decided to see if they'd eat off of Ty's shoe and they did! Their favorite? Fritos! Mom, Dad, & TyThe boys The boys and their sticksThe sibsYou can find more pictures on my brothers blog here! ENJOY!