Domestic Goodness

I've moved!!

2011-09-11T10:32:00.001-07:00

Hello sweet followers!

Well, some things have changed around here at good ol Domestic Goodness and I have decided to redo some things. For the past few months I have been really thinking about the direction I want to take and getting a whole new blog was at the top of my list:)

I am hoping to improve my blogging skills and photo skills and will still be documenting all my latest projects - just on a new blog with a better design:)

I hope you will follow me over at Linny Jane Vintage!

Black and yellow....

2011-03-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

Yeah you know what it is. Black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow.

Yep. Pretty much been singing that song since yesterday when we painted our dresser - you guessed it....black and yellow. We are thugs.

You see once upon a time there lived an adorable bachelor man. Who had some not-so-adorable friends who left a sugary drink on his dresser. The drink sat and sat until it leaked it's sugary goo all over the dresser. And what did the adorable bachelor man do? Put packing tape over the mess. Many many strips of packing tape. Oy vey.

Well, the dresser came with the man when we said I do. And I just knew that with a little sanding, perhaps a razor and a little cursing of the day when the the packing tape was put on this dresser....it could be fixed.

This little project cost about $15 for paint and half of a Sunday afternoon. And, once again, a piece of furniture has stolen my heart.

Unfortunately in all my excitement to paint I did NOT take a before picture. Serious fail....but luckily, our dresser looked like many a dressers so I'll just show you a picture of a dresser tha resembled our before picture.

And here she is now. In all of her sunshiney glory.

Haha do you see the part where I put the handles back on the wrong way? Ugh. Gotta fix that. But anyways, there it is:)

The nook

2011-01-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

My sophomore year of college I decided to live with two girls I had never met. Not the greatest idea I ever had, but I was up for an adventure. We shared one room in the coolest dorm ever....here.

Don't you feel like that is straight out of a movie? I loved that dorm.

Anyways, when I get to move in day, one of my new roommates had taken over HALF of the room with a spot she liked to call "the nook".

I am not kidding when I say half of the room was taken up by her nook. This spot contained her desk and a fridge and her bed all covered by a little curtain. Oh and she had conveniently placed her bed next to the room's only window. Me and my other roomie Yolanda (yes, her name was Yolanda ) were relegated to a set of bunk beds in the corner. No fridge. No curtain. No window. It was sad. why didn't WE get a nook?

Needless to say I didn't live with nook worm for too long. And now I have created my own nook. In my own home. And it is nook-tastic. It might be the nookiest of all nooks and it is all mine. And Josh's. But something tells me I won't see my 6"5 man sitting on a window seat with his head propped up on a pillow covered in hot pink flowers.

Anyways, here it is in all it's nook glory. Isn't it lovely?

This was kind of an awkward space in our house to begin with.

You may remember it sporting the doily curtains straight from a 1986 JC Penney catalog.

I always thought it had cool potential. With our nook, it looks dreamy. Like I will sit on that window seat and ponder deep things and read books by Jane Austen. (reality check: it will probably be US weekly).

I added this old desk to the entry way. This was a goodwill treasure from back in the day. Note the crooked drawers. Oy vey.

But crooked drawers and all, it's kind of my favorite spot right now.

The curtains give a very fort-like feel. And I am all about forts. I may need to sew some fabric to the bottom of these babies so the other curtains in our house don't make fun of them for being highwaters and start asking them where the flood is.

I may also need to add some fun artwork. We shall see. Everything is a work in progress around here.

But truth be told, if I waited till everything was perfect this blog would get updated even less!

So, that's the nook and my latest little project.

I heart organization

2011-01-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

"A place for everything and everything in it's place"

I think that shall be my motto for 2011. I soo admire people who do not even have one junk spot in their house. Or not one file maked "Misc." Why can't I be one of them?

I am so not organized. But lately I have been in the mood to TOSS like none other.

Scrapbook supplies from the late 90s? See ya.

Wedding decorations I used more than a year ago? Buh bye.

Weird spraypainted candleabra from goodwill? Be gone!!

Seriously - it is sooo freeing not to be bogged down by stuff. I am so guilty of holding on to something because "we might need it later" but I am going to ask myself these questions

* Is it costing me more to store this item than it will be to replace it if I need it?

* do I love this item?

* Do I have duplicates of this item?

My husband is SUCH a minimalist and he challenges me to live with less, which is great for this potential future hoarder. (seriously, have you SEEN that show? It makes me want to clean)

Anyone have any good organization tips that they swear by? This is new to me and I need help!

And as always - pictures to inspire.

One word, well two

2011-01-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

Discipline and creativity.

In 2011 discipline and creativity are going to be my goals. I feel like in a perfect world I would have equal parts of both. Fun, creative ideas, and the discipline to see those ideas come t0 life.

It's very easy for me to dream more than I do. I look for inspiration more than I transfer that inspiration into reality.

Creativity takes a certain amount of discipline. It takes movement and drive. And sometimes, I just don't follow through enough.

So while I'd like to develop creatively, I would also like to develop the art of discipline. Learning something, mastering something, not giving up when my ideas comes out lame, or when I don't see the results right away.

Just some thoughts to ring in the new year:)

And here are some things I am loving lately.

This headboard. I mean, seriously. We just bought a bed two weeks ago, but I wonder if I could do something like this anywhere else in my house? Like....above my kitchen cabinets? Hmmm.

House Tweaking

This guest room. Poof balls. Cannot get enough of the poof ball craze. I've made a few of my own and they are fun and easy. Remember making fans out of your church bulletin when you were little? Well, throw in some wire and some scissors and you've got a poof ball. But don't use a church bulletin. Use tissue paper.

Industrious Emily

These vintage wooden spool photo holders. It's the little things people. And the cheap things.

Under the Sycamore

And guess who just found some old spools of thread in her garage? Oh yeah. I did!

Cabinets and consoles and rugs oh my!

2011-01-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

It has been a busy season here in the Stamm house, and frankly, I have been terrible at documenting all the changes.

We haven't done anything too crazy like knocked down a wall or gotten new counter tops, but we have been getting our DIY on like none other.

In an effort to bring more personality and less Ikea into our home, there's someone I'd like you to meet.

Our new coffee table.

This cute little trunk has some family history in it - I think one of my relatives built it. And it is COOL. I used to keep our toys in it when I was little. But here it sits as our coffee table and it makes me happy.

And do you see my decorating faux pas staring at you in the face? (aside from the off center mirror) Yes people, I put a rug on a rug. Major no no so I have heard. But I love this rug. And I needed some color underneath my trunk to make it pop. I don't care if this is the decorating equivalent to socks with sandals, I am gonna stick with it.

Now just in case you accuse me of hatin on the Swedes - here is my genuinely authentic, sheepskin rug from Ikea.

Josh is still deba-a-a-ting (get it... it's a sheepskin?!) this rug's coolness, but I love the texture and the cozy feel it brings. And in Arizona - you need all the cozy you can get!

And then there is this little garage sale number.

Isn't she adorbs? Yes. I believe I did just assign my new console table a gender. The people I bought this from were too cool, and I love the anthropologie knobs.

I've been wanting a little something for this area of our great room and this thing came ready to go. It is just the style I love...a little shab and a little chic.

And just for fun I'll add in some pics of our holiday decor.

Did you know I got those little Christmas trees at Walgreens for 99 cents? Well, I did. I didn't know Walgreens sold more than Cover Girl and Snuggies...but apparently they sell really cute glittery Christmas trees. Score.

And last but not least I bring you part one of the great kitchen re do.

White Cabinets:)

Some of you may remember we stained our cabinets a year ago. Remember?

But I don't know. I just never loved it.

This. Now this, I love. Feels much cleaner in here. And brighter. And we added a chalkboard back splash which I am seriously loving. I heart chalkboard paint in a big way. We're gonna paint the walls as well and do some other stuff...but this is part one and I am loving it.

I was so excited I bought a magnetic knife storage strip to celebrate. I documented it with a blurry picture. See?

More counterspace and less clutter are two of my favorite things.

So that's where we're at in the home improvement department. We have some more fun projects up our sleeves well, up my sleeves, pretty sure Josh is just along for the ride and the drilling:)

More to come this year!

too many options....

2010-11-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling totally overwhelmed by the blogosphere lately.

I mean - were there not a jillion halloween craft ideas??!! I wanted to do every one.

And when I have to many options - I freeze. And so, I have avoided blogs lately for fear that my mind will explode.

Is this just me? Probably. This happened to me during wedding planning as well - there are entirely too many creative people posting stuff on the internet and I would get LOST in ideas. I wanted it all. So I had to pull back.

So the last few weeks have been me pulling back on all things creative. To refresh myself. And remind myself to not swallow the ugly pill of comparison.

So anyways I am back from my break. Ready to set some boundaries on the amount of blog stalking I do and not get distracted by every little project.

So with that - here is the cutest bathroom I ever did see.

How fun is that yellow? If I could paint a stright line - I would so attempt this.

I know what you're thinking. Did I really just take a blogging break only to come back with a picture of a toilet? It's true.

Holy Cuteness

2010-10-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, so did you know you can decorate your kitchen aid mixer? (and I mean with something other than crusty dough from the last cookies you baked?).

Check out these awesome decals from Wonderfully Wordy (same lady from House of Smiths.)

SUPER cute.

I definitely don't need anything to encourage me to bake even MORE cookies, but hey - I love the idea of decorating something unexpected like this.

Do they make decals for laundry machines? I could see this being my new obsession.

From brassy to sassy... or something like that.

2010-10-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

When Josh and I first bought our house - it was pretty brasstastic.

Meaning, all fixtures were circa 1992. If our house was a person - it would be wearing a scrunchie - and possibly some stone washed Guess jeans.

The other day feeling inspired by an etsy light fixture I saw for $70...I decided to give our sad little entryway light an update.

Here it is in all of its brass glory.

And here it is post makeover.

It makes me happy that people are welcomed into our home with an updside-down mason jar.

To do the makeover - we just turned off the breaker switch - unscrewed the fixture and I spray painted away. We let everything dry and put it back. Then I just set the mason jar on top and called it day.

Total cost? $3.67 for a can of black spray paint. I already had the jar.

When something is uglier than ug to begin with - you really can't ruin it. Totally takes the fear out of decorating for me!

Here's a fun blog with a links to more DIY projects - if you need any inspiration!

Lumpy Pillow Refashion

2010-10-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the itch to sew. Not knowing what to sew and running out of fabric fast, I began to scour the house for something I could transform.

Or TRY to transform.

I landed on these chenille throw pillows.

(dont judge my lack of baseboard...that's another project!)

My mother in law bought us these because Josh really loves chenille. (And just to defend his manliness I will tell you that chenille is the only type of fabric he knows the name of.)

Anyways, as you can see we have been huge fans of these pillows. We have used them quite a bit. Josh even packs these up if we go out of town. Ha. That's how much this man loves chenille my friends.

But now they are left looking a bit lumpy and sad. Not wanting to get rid of them (hoarder alert), I attempted to refashion them. Loved their golden harvest-y color and thought they might make a lovely pumpkin. (These days, if I am not spray painting things...I am turning them into pumpkins).

Well, it took a few tries - and I am sad to say a complete and total "I suck at everything crafty" pity party for myself until I came up with this.

Which I think is a halfway decent pillow turned pumpkin.

Should you be interested into turning your old lumpy pillows into a stuffed vegetable, it's really quite simple.

I cut open the entire pillow like so.

Then I sewed the edges back up and made a gathering stitch at the bottom.

I stuffed it back up with it's old stuffing, put a rubberband at the top (I told you I am a bad seamstress) and wrapped a ribbon around it like I was wrapping a gift. Twine would also work and may look a bit more natural than plaid ribbon...but it is what it is:) I added some harvest bling and stuck a stick in the top for a stem. Voila. Lumpy pillow turned pumpkin.

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Ghetto Fab Tee Shirt Bag

2010-10-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

So, I am not the proud owner of a sewing machine. Getting older does indeed have its perks!

I am soooo far from being the next (um...insert name of famous sewer - betsy ross?) but am having fun annoying my husband by sewing him super ghetto random items insisting he uses them. Because everyone needs a call phone slipcover made out of damask fabric. Especially a man.

Anyways, tonight, in ten minutes I made a wonderful tote bag out of a tee shirt!

Now - I am certainly not going to be carrying this bag with me to the mall - but I think I could make a small bag for my husbands lunch or make some bags to carry groceries in!

There's just something so satisfying about carrying something you have sewn. You feel like Mrs. Duggar, I mean minus the 18 kids and all.

Anyways, all you do is cut off the sleeves of an old tee shirt. Then cut a bigger neckline. THEN sew up the bottom of the shirt. And voila....ghetto fab tee shirt bag!

Good for the environment and also for the decluttering of tee shirt drawers everywhere.

monday makeover!

2010-09-27T23:20:00.001-07:00

Because I saw an UH-mazing makeover on Thrifty Decor Chick and it has me dreaming of spray paint and craigslist.

Even though I have no china cabinet I do have a pretty sad looking dresser that could use some serious love.

Yes - they re-did this thing with FIVE cans of red spray paint. And they added glaze which I think adds a touch of class.

I think I am declaring it Makeover Monday.

I also think I am in love.

The Nook

2010-09-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year - Josh, his grandpa and his dad worked together to build me a window seat!

I have been wanting a built in-type thing for a little nook we have in our house. It's kind of an awkward space really, but I felt it had potential and I love the idea of a little reading nook.

The box opens up for storage as well so now, I will be able to hide crap....I mean...store stuff in there in a neat and organized way:) Yes.

Anyways, it's a work in progress as I still have to cover it with some fun fabric. And we have to put back some baseboards - but in an effort to continue blogging even though things aren't "quite perfect" I am putting up some pics.

I really need a curtain for this window, but for now - am so enjoying the home made labor of love from my man!

Here is what the area looked like the day we moved in. Note the awesome doily curtains from the previous owners.

And here is the new and improved nook of awesomeness! (area not quite complete...but close!)

Stripes: don't be a hater

2010-09-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

So, I am thinking about painting some stripes in our master bedroom/bathroom.

But, being a girl who let's face it, has some child-bearing hips minus the actual child bearing....stripes are not related to the word "cute" in my head.

Haven't we always been told "don't wear horizontal stripes, they make you look fat."

So stripes have been blacklisted in my world. They are dead to me.

Then it hit me....

It doesn't matter that much.

Is my lack of stripes really hiding that much? Do people think I am super skinny and then I put on a striped shirt and they say "oh wait - she is not a supermodel?"

I don't think so.

And after seeing soo many stripes in the decorating and fashion world lately, I am inspired.

They are so fresh and so clean, clean.

I even bought a horizontally striped cardigan - and my husband loves when I wear it! Take that "what not to wear!"

So, I am taking a stand for stripes. Seriously.

The following are pictures to prove their adorability.

Does it get cuter than this hallway? I submit that it does not. I think I need a whole wall of chalkboard now.

3 men and a lady

More hallway goodness.

3 men and a lady

Loving this striped dining room.

Tart House Designs

Prison bar chic.

Seesaw

Even baby Zebras rock the stripes. And they look adorable!

The zoo? Who knows.

Yello and grey. Dreamy.

Decor Pad

Simple, sunny and fab.

decor pad

Sigh. These drapes are heaven. (please don't take that literally all you Randy Alcorn people - heaven is so much more than good window treatments although I can't help but think those will be included)

the nest

I am a sucker for grey.

So there you have it. Stripes are no longer my enemy. They are my friend. Looking forward to getting my stripe on in the near future.

Pumpkin bling

2010-09-21T10:49:00.001-07:00

So - I've been really into pumpkins lately.

I mean, it IS fall. Pretty much everyone is into pumpkins, so I am not real original:)

But someone in blogland inspired me to make this - a mod podged pumpkin. It adds a little flare to a pumpkin if I do say so myself. And who doesn't love a little flare? I sure do.

Oh it makes me happy.

First - go to Micheal's and pick up a pumpkin. I chose black because I am goth like that. I also chose artificial so my pumpkin does not rot. Rotting pumpkins do not make for good fall decor.

Then find some cute tissue paper. I chose damask because I like damask and it's black and white and kind of spooky like that. Plus it reminds me of my wedding. Happy:) Also you need modge podge and a cheapo paint brush.

Then cut the tissue paper into little banana shapes, something that will conform to the shape of the your pumpkin strip by strip.

Confession: I had to make a banana stencil because I cannot even freehand the simple shape of a banana. I am special.

Then get to mod podging! Its a little tricky dealing with the tissue paper...but mod podge covers a multitude of sins. I think that's in the Bible somewhere.

You will want to paint away one strip at a time. You can even sing the Jordin Sparks song "one step at a time" while you are doing this. But change it to "one strip at a time" because everyone knows its cooler to make up lyrics to apply to you.

After singing and mod podging...let dry.

Then bask in the glory that is your mod podge pumpkin!

Killer chandelier...literally.

2010-09-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

Do I love mason jars enough to make a chandelier out of them?

I know I have blogged about these a time or two. Or three. But I have been seeing these chandeliers more and more in blogland.

This just looks like a skull fracture waiting to happen.

It's cute. Don't get me wrong. But one time in high school a giant (and I mean GIANT) coffetable book fell from my bookshelf and barely missed my head. True Story. I lived to tell about it and since then I am leery of hanging heavy objects above my bed.

Perhaps I could triple reinforce with some hot glue. Or stick with the ceiling fan that I am pretty sure is screwed very tightly into our ceiling.

Anyways - just some thoughts on death by mason jar. I know I am random.

Monday Makeover!

2010-09-20T11:49:00.001-07:00

Because I saw an UH-mazing makeover on Thrifty Decor Chick and it has me dreaming of spray paint and craigslist.

Even though I have no china cabinet I do have a pretty sad looking dresser that could use some serious love.

Yes - they re-did this thing with FIVE cans of red spray paint. And they added glaze which I think adds a touch of class.

I think I am declaring it Makeover Monday.

I also think I am in love.

Porch Love

2010-09-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

So I got a new bible. It is lovely. It called to me from the bookstore. And I know that all scripture is God breathed and inspired....but I think if the scripture is encased in this beautiful of a case...it could be even MORE God breathed.

I am kidding of course, but this Bible is lovely. I mean just look at it.

So you may be wondering "wait, I thought this blog post was about porches and not Lindsey's new Bible. This girl seriously needs to get to the point or I am gonna click right back over to facebook..."

But wait.... do you see it? The beautiful relationship between porches and Bibles? Because what would be a better place to read my new bible than on my sun porch?! (or should I call it the Prayer Porch to be extra cheesy?)

Is there a better place to become more Godly? I submit that there is not.

So that is where I am at. I got a new Bible and suddenly I have asked Josh that we get to work on our sun porch so JC and I can sit and have some coffee. Or some testa-mints.

So this morning I pretty much cleaned up the porch, mopped it and turned to the Web for some inspiration:)

Here's what I found.

oh and ps....would you ever think about stenciling concrete? I so would not have. But now, I am inspired to stencil. And not those grapevine stencils that were so loved in 1995 - but some fun graphics. We shall see. Could also get a cool rug and call it good:) So many options for one's concrete.

Enjoy:)

A is for adorable

2010-09-16T15:35:00.001-07:00

If we weren't ready for kids before, I think we are now.

Just look at this precious nursery featured on Design Sponge.

I can just picture my chub-tastic little blonde haired child sleeping amidst a sea of freshly spray painted frames proudly displaying the alphabet.

(Although spray paint fumes can NOT be good for a child. Am I a horrible mom already?)

And really, I am so not pregnant. Do not want to start any rumors. But when the time comes I may just have to start collecting old picture frames in mass quantities.

Pumpkins, flowers, etc.

2010-09-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

Ok - so I promised myself I would not ever start out a blog like "sorry I haven't written in awhile"

but if I had NOT made that promise, that is what I would be starting this blog out with.

Anyways. Moving on.

Life has been lovely in the Stamm house.

It is fall and that makes me happy. Boots and sweaters and belts and all things cozy are calling to me.

They are not calling to me very loud because it is still 100+ degrees here in Phoenix....but they are whispering. And I can hear them.

This has been a fun season for us. We recently said adios to our cable (and $70 per month cable bill) and I feel that has been really good for the creative side of me.

Instead of watching hours of Real Housewives - (please don't judge!) I have been challenged to fill up my time cooking (the people at subway were starting to recognize us), actually DOING decorating (instead of watching countless shows on the topic:)) and learning a new hobby of digital scrap booking, which has changed my life just a little bit. I also have a feeling this new hobby will make football season a little easier on me!

Also, I am kind of into fabric, sewing, hot gluing lately. Loving these little rosettes and am working on making some headbands/necklaces for myself and some other ladies (and babies) in my life.

I made two necklaces last night and even some rosettes out of kleenex at my desk today. I must be stopped. I am turning everything into rosettes.

I got inspired after seeing the countless tops this season with flowers attached to them. I quickly realized my budget would not allow for a new wardrobe of 3-d flower clothes - so I am bringing the 3-d flowers to my clothes.

I feel like these flowers could be the new puffy paint. Speaking of puffy paint....my goodness did I used to love me some puffy paint clothing. Wow. Here is an example of puffy paint clothing in case you were a MUCH cooler ten year old than I was and did not rock this look.

I really want a sewing machine for my birthday (josh?? Mom?? Dad??) so that I can sew even more. And by "even more" I mean "at all." Because all I have done is hot glued. Yes, I wore a necklace held together by hot glue. So embracing that.

I have some adorable visions of quilts in my head and also some throw pillows. Which sound much more do-able than a quilt at this point considering it takes me about 20 minutes to thread a needle.

Well, that's life as of lately.

Haven't done a TON of new decorating because well, I have been scrapbooking and hot gluing.

I did get some sweet jars for my pantry at half off day at goodwill and I did add some fun new square shelves to our living room - which I am so loving. I will post soon on that transformation.

I leave you with the cutest little pumpkins you ever did see. Might just have to steal this idea and paint myself a polka dotted pumpkin. Polka dotted pumpkin is fun to say. That's why I keep typing it....but really. I love these.

Just because

2010-09-08T13:47:00.001-07:00

Because this is so unbelievably true.

Because I freaking love yellow lately. All things yellow. Except pee. That's gross. But this is cool.

Because a picture of two sweater-wearing squirrels playing banjos makes me laugh. And it makes me want to live in a world where sweater-clad squirrels play banjos - because really, that world would be a lot of fun.

Nebraska and nephews

2010-09-02T10:04:00.001-07:00

Well, this weekend I went to see my sis in Nebraska. Oh Nebraska, when other kids were going off to California or Disney World for vacations - our family would load up the mini van and drive 24 hours to my grandparents farm. I definitely have a special place in my heart for the family road trip.

But, over the years the mini van has been replaced with a plane. Although, my mother still takes the liberty of using my shoulder as a pillow...some things never change.

And my sister met her one true love in Nebraska so now we go visit Grandma AND my sister and nephews and all that good stuff.

Oh and my sister. She is as Nebraska as they come. She has a garden and flowers and chickens and corn and cows and horses and cans her own vegetables. She is all things domestic and I think she could be BFF with the Pioneer Woman.

Here are some highlights...mostly all of my nephews.

pootie # 1 (sometimes I refer to babies as pooties. It's very lame)

More of Pootie # 1, or Clator Tow-mater, Tater', Future Cornhusker....

Gotta love Wrangler booties. And creepily taking picture of said booties.

One of my favorite little cowboys.

Newest little cowboy - baby Callan. MUFFIN. A serious muffin.

Life is good when you can spend your days swinging in your underwear.

I forgot how fun bubbles are. Very fun. Tried to do some fun editing with this one. Wish I could edit in his right eyeball. Oh well! It adds to his mystique.

Crew pondering the deeper things in life. And by deep I mean, thinking about the next time he will take a FLYING leap off the top of the couch barely missing his four-month old brother.

Oh Crew. Boys will be boys:)

My sister's flowers and some fun lighting.

Alright...I didn't even post pictures of our tomato picking adventures and the fun antiques I got - but this post is getting very picture heavy! I took tons of pics with my new camera and edited a few of my faves:)

I think I will have to do more highlights later. I fear though that I am turning in to the church missionary who would come into your Sunday school class and show you all the pictures of their trip to Mozambique for an hour. And pass around a random woven basket that they got there. Am I that guy?

Off to Nebraska

2010-08-26T13:59:00.001-07:00

Going here this weekend:

Gonna hold these little guys:

Who do things like this:

Really want to be wearing:

will probably be doing way too much of this:

I'll definitely be missing these:

7 things:)

2010-08-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ok - I have been tagged to do one of those "7 things" posts on 7 things people may or may not know about you.

Here goes!

1. I am passionate about cheap decorating. I have a theory that boring decorations cost more than cute, original ones. I will spend my life trying to prove this by buying all the cheap crap I can and spray painting it.

2. I think Ikat print is my favorite decorating trend right now. Oh my goodness. I want to buy a million feet of this and cover my house in it. Although, that would be a lot of leftover fabric...

Oh and this is Ikat. I totally would have no clue what it is except for the textiles class I took in college. Isn't it lovely and fun?

3. I just now today started following Pioneer Woman. And I call myself a blogger?Pioneer Woman is like the New York Times of the blogging world. I need to get educated!

4. Barnes and Noble is my happy place. In college I would spend countless hours at Barnes with my BFF Mel. We would pretend to study but would really just get double chocolate chip frapachinos and read magazines and talk and watch the snow fall. It was awesome.

Here is a pic of Mel and I NOT at Barnes but at my rehearsal dinner last November. Pay no attention to how tan I am. I am about 15 shades lighter without the spray tan.

5. I have been married 9 months to my BFF Josh. Who I love dearly. I mean seriously, sweetest, hottest, funniest man alive.

We're so in love we just make out not even caring that 11 people are staring at us:)

6. Speaking of Josh. He wants to use the computer. Meaning my 7 things is really only 6.5 and I will now spend the rest of the evening cleaning my kitchen and watching HGTV:)

7. Goodnight!

Look what I found Fridays

2010-08-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

My blogging friend Mandi does a linky party called "Look what I found Friday" - so this week I am joining in:) This is where you post all your thrift store finds for the week. IF you go on a weekly basis. Pbsh. Who does that? :)

Anyways, last week was 50% off at Goodwill and boy did I go crazy. And by crazy I mean I spent like $20. But that feels like crazy at the Goodwill. The craziest part would be me strapping my antique rocking chair to the back of my honda by myself in 110 degree heat. Oy vey. Why did I think I could fit a rocking chair in my car? Love is blind people. It really is.

Here are my finds from last week!

Ok these are some bookends someone was giving away at work. At least I think someone was giving them away...they were in the general area of free stuff, so I partook. I knew they would look lovely with some yellow spray paint with a little of the old silver peeking out. Petina? Is that the fancy word for that? Anyways...here they are. Hopefully no one at work is missing their bookends.

And here is the rocking chair that will someday go in our sun room on top of this ikea rug....which I have been in love with since I saw it in the Ikea catalog, and then the House of Smiths blog, and then I went to Ikea to visit it and it was lovely. Someday. It will be mine.

Ok...back to the rocking chair. $15. I am going to recover it with some fun fabric and paint it:) I think it has potential...underneath the pet hair and itchy indian fabric.

And I saw a bag of really pretty marbles. And I decided right then and there - I liked marbles. Who knew? So I bought them...$1. And I put them in this cool looking jar .50 cents. It should be noted that I broke the first jar I picked out. Yep all over the floor of Goodwill. Hi embarrassing. Luckily, I went back and they had the same exact jar. I think God wanted me to have it.

And last but not least...an old algebra book. I just thought it was interesting. Turquoise and yellow and old. Plus - if you keep math books casually lying about - you look very smart...or nerdy...oh well.

So there you go! If you want to check out Mandi's blog, she has some fun projects she has done that might inspire you! http://vintagerevivals.blogspot.com/

pantrys and baking soda

2010-08-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

So, this summer Josh and I have been living on a steady diet of Otter Pops. They are 100 for $3 at your nearest Wal Mart - (80 for $8 at Costco - so don't buy them there! And yes, I have comparison shopped Otter Pops.)

Anyways, if you happen to spill a drop on your white laminate countertops the stain of Sir Isaac Grape is there - for.ev.ver (must be said like in Sandlot).

409, water, soap, BLEACH, did not get these stains out. I guess we were just going to have to get new granite countertops? Yes, I think that is obviously the best solution:)

But then, I had Josh google stain removal tips and he came back with Baking Soda paste. Just baking soda and water - so I tried it and holy cow it removed everything!

I am sure they teach this in wife school but I must have missed it.

Also I did scrub using the dollar store version of the Magic Eraser. Worked great! I couldn't stop scrubbing, scrubbed my shower and then some baseboards. I was kind of going crazy - but everything was looking so clean!

So moral of the story.

Baking Soda + Water = will clean anything
Dollar store magic erasers = awesome ( the name brand versions are like $5!)
Otter Pops: they are good, cheap and 20 calories.

Ok and speaking of Kitchens....you all have GOT to see this pantry. It's just a little bit ridiculous.

I saw this on the House of Smiths blog and let me tell you this lady is awesome. She says she doesn't even have a junk drawer. Truly admirable!

I like the way she thinks about every little part of her home as being cute. She even likes her garage! I think I write rooms off and say "oh it's supposed to be not cute because it's just the laundry room" but, now I am challenged to go beyond that and see the potential for pretty in every little nook.

Ok, enough of me - more pantry goodness.

Here it is. In all it's pantry glory.

Look - her spice packets are in a labeled box. So, pretty.

and I thought my tupperware plastic baking containers were cute...

Anyways, defintely check out her blog sometime because it is great!

http://houseofsmiths.blogspot.com/

Goodwill Hunting

2010-07-31T16:41:00.000-07:00

So - in honor of it being half off day at my nearby Goodwill. I thought I would do a post about all the gems I have found there.

My sister-in-law, Jen recently bought a chair and turned it into a candy apple red delight and it made me smile. http://kreatid.blogspot.com/2010/07/candy-apple-red.html

Now if that doesn't inspire to get out there and dig thru stuff at Goodwill - I don't know what will!

Here are some of my latest findings.

Here is a ceramic peacock. I didn't know I wanted or needed a ceramic peacock until I locked eyes with this little guy. And then I knew. I knew that inside my heart was a ceramic peacock shaped hole.

Luckily, it has been filled.

Sometimes I want to take a sharpie to him and do this....

I just think it would give him some flare. As if he needs any.

Moving on from ceramic peacocks...here is my find from today. $1.50. I must say I was pretty stoked about this. Not sure what to do with it. It could hold throw blankets or I could put it on our sun porch with some plants? Regardless, I knew I wanted it.

Westside Melons. Somewhere, a farmer who is in a gang is wondering what happened to his melon crate. Westsiiiide. It's so gangsta. I am just waiting for Josh to make an innapropriate joke about melons. It's there somewhere.

And here's this little gem. A mirror with a super cute frame that is calling out for some spray paint. But what color? And where? So many questions. Until they are answered my mirror will sit in my guestroom reflecting the mess that is my guest room. Can you see it? That's my wedding dress draped over a bulletin board. So sad.

And those are my goodwill finds for the month- and I didn't even upload the photo of the legit Diane Von Furstenberg purse I got for $3. I know. I felt like the guy who buys a painting at a garage sale and there is a Monet behind it. It's not that extreme - but I was indeed excited.

goodbye productivity

2010-07-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

uh oh. I have found a new obsession. Polyvore.com - you can make outfits and room inspiration boards and they have sooo many cute things. It's downright ridiculous.

Here is my first outfit inspiration board. Mostly to inspire me to wear something other than my highwater-rolled-up-wannabe-capris and grey cardigan every day this summer.

Ok, I think I have to go to Forever21. Now. This tank top is soo cute. At least it looks cute here. Who knows how it will look on me. And that ring? Oh my. I can only hope charlotte russe makes a knockoff. And I spelled night wrong in the title of this set. Oh well. Who can spell correctly when you're mind is completely focused on the adorability of those ruffles? Not I.

Date nght in july by lstamm featuring Rebecca Minkoff bags

Jar Goodness

2010-07-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Oh my. Just saw some fun pictures of mason jars on apartment therapy. Anthropologie did a whole display of mason jars. I am feeling inspired.

I think in my dream world I would work for Anthropolgie's merchandising department soaking in all the creative genius that seems to flow from that store. The could pay me in clothing and aprons and sweater clocks.

Sometimes I do not have the guts to pull off stuff like this. I feel like people would come over to my house and be like - why do you have a jar hanging from your ceiling? And then I would have to explain to them it's so much more than a jar. And they would be confused. Kind of like when you say a joke and are afraid no one gets it - so then you explain it and then it's no longer funny. Kind of like that.

Like when I wanted to title this blog post "Jar Jar Binks" but was afraid no one would understand the Star Wars/Jar reference.

Anyways back to jars. And how pretty they are.

I would kind of be worried one would fall on my head. But it's pretty.

Let there be light.

I want jars in my backyard now.

Jars make lentils and beans look adorable.

School Houses Rock

2010-07-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

I seriously am wanting to transform my kitchen to whatever it is now (not that cute) to schoolhouse chic.

I am not even sure that a schoolhouse can be chic....but I would give it my best.

I saw some lockers today in a magazine and I think I fell in love. A little bit.

I imagine myself finding the perfect vintage lockers that I hunt down on craislist and repaint.

Red apples.

Mason jars full of pencils (ya gotta have mason jars).

Chalkboard paint backsplash.

Somewhere my old holly hobbie tin lunch box could make an appearance.

Old framed artwork that Josh and I did when we were little.

Maybe some old flashcards on the inside of the cupboard doors.

But the lockers would be the best part. I loved having a locker when I was a teenager. I would decorate it at the beginning of every year. I would stay up the night before school started cutting things out of magazines to put in my locker. And now I could decorate a locker as an adult!

It's gonna happen. Even if I have to go steal some lockers from a school at midnight while wearing pantyhose on my head.

Ok, well I probably won't take it that far. Probably...

Here's some inspiration:)

Seriously love the globe and I think I could find that clock pretty easy. And yes, those blue lockers are full of locker awesomeness.

Lunch trays. Oh heavens that is cute. And I did just say oh heavens. Like an old lady.

And how cool are those edison light bulbs? I have absolutly no where I could put that. But a girl can dream can't she?

To market to market to buy some fresh produce

2010-07-17T12:29:00.001-07:00

So today my friend Daphne and I decided to hit up a farmer's market in Mesa. It was awesome! So many good deals and fresh produce. And yes, I am at a stage in my life where produce deals excite me.

I got all this for $10. Yeah. Crazy. In case you are wondering, shortly after this picture was taken I stacked all those apples minute to win it style in like 3 seconds. Try it. It's fun.

So it's a ton of fruit...but I think we will use it all.

Even if I only got the limes for decorative purposes...can't you just see them sitting so lovely in a mason jar or a clear vase?

Oh I can.

SIDENOTE: Ever since my dad gave me a box of old mason jars from their attic last week - I've been putting every thing I can into them and calling it a decoration. Stack of rubberbands? Put it in a mason Jar. Handful of dirt? Mason jar it. That's right - it's at the point where mason jar has turned into a verb around here.

Basically pile of anything + mason jar = decoration.

I must be stopped.

All right - this blog post has quickly changed from my day at the farmer's market to why I love mason jars.

Are you tired of reading the word mason jar? I feel like I've typed it about a million times.

On that note, I am off to attempt some salsa...which I really struggle with. Anyone have any good salsa recipes? I feel like an Arizona native should be able to make her own salsa, but so not the case here.

New Look

2010-07-16T08:12:00.001-07:00

Ok - so sometime yesterday (while josh was at the gym) I got really, really obsessed with trying to get the damask background off my page. And then I thought maybe I could make a cool picture to go up in the header which made me obsess further.

And then I discovered bloggers new template designer and holy cow, that just about made me forego sleep all together.

Anyways, still trying to figure a few things out, I am so far from a web designer it's not even funny - but wanted my blog to look a little better and I needed a better name than "josh and lindsey!"

Trendy? Oh well!

2010-07-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, I kinda like this poster.

Its so trendy in the blogging world. But I think it's kind of urban and hip. And I like urban and hip looking things. Even though, I think saying the word hip automatically might make you the opposite.

I am learning it's ok to like things even if you weren't the first to like it. Or the 1001st to like it:) It's also ok to like something even if very few like it.

I am learning you have to surround yourself with things you love regardless of who else may like it or who else may not like it.

Ok - and there's my vent on being trendy and why it's ok.

The end.

Happy birthday! ( a day late)

2010-07-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

My sweet nephew is now 6. Not that he even knows how to read - but happy birthday Clay Daniel!

Hope you have a blast at your birthday party today:)

Flower thieves

2010-07-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

So...these flowers are stolen. From my neighbor - who's backyard looks like the Garden of Eden. No joke. Sometimes I even see a man wandering around back there wearing a fig leaf.

Ok, no I don't. And if I did that would be scary and I would lock my doors.

But her bougainvilla plant is so awesome that it grows up her wall and down mine and provides my backyard with a tiny bit of life. I can not even get my own bougainvilla to stay alive. So I have to live vicariously through her green thumb.

Free flowers and a jar from the goodwill...further proof that some of the best things in life are free - or at least come significantly discounted.

Happy fourth:)

2010-07-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks. This last weekend Josh and I got to spend the weekend up north at a lovely little place called CHristopher Creek. We used to go here when I was little and we would hop rocks on the creek and be enamored by the green-ness. I am pretty sure this kind of looks like the place Josh grew up in a way - all that green - but I still think he was impressed:)

We had a great time playing spades, catch and uno and eating. Oh the eating. I tried to be good. But my goodness, I had some southwestern tortilla soup that just about changed my life and made me want to quit working and become a professional soup taster.

We did not have a good time sleeping. I called the beds taco beds because as soon as you got into them..the sides would pop up and you and your hub would roll to the middle for some forced cuddling. It was bad. And I like cuddling.

We went to a lookout near woods canyon and it was bea.u.tiful. I dont think some people know that Arizona has all this awesomeness but it does.

We also saw a bald eagle. Yep. On the fourth of July. How all american is that?

We then went to see the firworks in payson. I tried to take pictures of fireworks, but then realized I am a really bad photopgrapher when it comes to taking pictures of fireworks. Maybe next year:)

So that was our weekend. Super fun, but we are glad to be back home...and back to the gym:)

Rescuing Ambition

2010-06-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

So...my blogging life has been struggling. It's lame I know, but I have been wrestling with a few things with regards to blogging and life in general.

I know, I know - who wrestles with the philosophical meaning of blogs?

Well, I do. A little bit.

Let me just say - I love blogs! They are so inspriring and fun to see people's creativity played out in pictures, words, ideas, stories, recipes, etc. They can challenge you to be creative or crafty or eat better or do a variety of things in a different way:) They are just cool.

But as I read - I realized something about myself.

I started to compare myself to the people in the blogs.

"Wow her house is so much prettier than mine" or "Does this lady have the perfect marriage? or "Gosh, they have a lot more money than we do" or "She is so much more talented and gifted that I will ever be."

Ok - so there is a little peek into the ugliness of my soul. It's bad, I know.

Basically as I considered these things, I got scared to update my blog because just as I became wary of reading blogs that would cause me to feel envious of people's lives I began to think that I shouldn't write because, gosh, maybe a blog is just another way to focus on myself and brag about my new house or marriage or whatever.

I knew this couldn't be true for everyone - because clearly, some pretty Godly people have blogs. And update them. And people read them and are encouraged by them. And I knew I have been encouraged by people's writings and talents.

So in my confusion about why I blogged (and why others blogged) I just stopped. And to be honest - this goes waaaay beyond updating a blog. I've done this in many areas in my life. Just stopped because I wans't sure my motives were 100% pure.

In talking with my (super insightful) husband about these ideas and struggles he helped me see some things.

He has been reading a book called "Rescuing Ambition." It talks about how we as Christians have the tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater in a sense when it comes to our gifts and talents and ambitions.

I am starting to see that when I overthink my motivations and how I appear to others - sometimes I don't pursue the very thing God might be calling me to.

What if someone had an amazing gift of photography, decorating or writing but in fear that they were "bragging" about this gift, they don't use it? Is that really so humble? Is ambition always a wordly pursuit? I don't think it is. And in fact, denying your giftedness is probably just as bad as being prideful about your gifts.

Some people are more gifted that others. But we are all given something to use for the body of Christ. God gives us gifts in different portions. And I am beginning to see this and appreciate it in myself and others.

I guess I am seeing that we don't necessarily have to "tone down" our giftedness so that we don't appear prideful. True humilty will cause us to see that all gifts are given to us from God to be USED by God.

Hopefully we will not be seeking the worlds approval of our passions or talents - but pursuing our passions and hoping the world sees our God thru them.

Here is a quote Josh sent me to encourage me from the book he was reading.

"You see, I believe that ambition-godly ambition, that is-is a noble force for the glory of God...But the prevailing worldview in the West involves a distrust in big ideas and man's ability to achieve them and the firm belief that objective truth doesn't exist. But when we deny truth, we suffocate ambition. Without truth as a foundation and ideas worth exploring, meandering replaces meaning, confusion trumps conviction, ambivalence swallows aspiration-nothing really matters all that much."

Alright - so here's the start to my small attempt at rescuing ambition. It's not like I have some super secret gift I have been hiding - these are just some things I have been thinking about.

Hopefully I'll be a little more consistent on the development of gifts and talents without constantly looking to the left and right of me to see how much better other people are. I also hope to be encouraged by the gifts God has given other people - they just point to a God who is super creative. And who would have one very cool blog.

Pictures:) Woot.

2010-05-23T13:29:00.001-07:00

Woot. I think that's a nerdy word I got from my husband (a super cool guy with some nerd tendencies) but anyways - woot is how I am feeling about finally being able to post some pictures:) We finally got a camera yesterday and have been trying to figure out all the cool things we could do, including but not limited to, documenting some pictures of our house. So here we go!

Here is our living room when we moved in. Please note doily curtains, dirty walls and uglier than ug ceiling fan.

And here it is now. Please forgive the overdramatic photo editing. I was having a little bit of fun, and discovored how to add frames to photos and oh my, that changed my life a little bit.

Here are the aformentioned birds from Burlington Coat Factory. OR Burlinton cutest house decorations ever factory.

And here we have a picture of our sad little bathroom. Its saying "please get rid of this linoleum and ugly door...."

We have heard it's cried for help. Well, at least on the door issue. Amazing how much a $10 shower curtain can do.

So there ya go:) Just a few things keeping the stamm fam busy right now. Thanks for stopping by!

Ode to Burlington Coat Factory

2010-05-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Burlington Coat Factory,

I used to think you were just a big, slightly ghetto store of coats in the middle of the Arizona desert. But you are not. You are an oasis of super cute decorating things and you might be my new favorite store...next to Goodwill and the Gap...and the part of Nordstroms that has the cheaper clothes.

Because of you I know longer have an ugly fiberglass shower door...well, I do but now I have a cute grey and yellow shower curtain that covers this door.

I also found the cutest glass birds ever there. I bought two. I know birds are trendy and I will not even say that I liked them before they became cool - because I didn't. But then they kinda grew on me... I think elephants and owls are starting to take the place of birds because they seem to be everywhere, but I am not ready to give up the bird trend quite yet.

The birds kind of look like this:

I also found the holy grail of throw pillows. I have been searching for cute throw pillows - just two....but I found SIX that I could not live without. And I bought them all and I drove my husband crazy, but I told him I was making our house a home, which is probably my favorite thing to say when he questions a purchase. It is kind of cheesy but it is true. Who wants to sit on a big brown couch completely void of the color and sass that a perfectly placed throw pillow offers? Not I.

And I bought some art. That says "Love Deeply" and "Dream Big." Which is kinda cheese, but what am I if not a little bit cheesy? Plus I do think you should love deeply and dream big. So there.

Alright. This post would be so much better with a camera - but I think Josh is secretly wanting to get me a camera as gift for working on summer camp:) Right Josh?

blog therapy

2010-05-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days where you pull up to get gas in really hot weather and the pump won't work? So then you try to pull the gas pump from the one across the way and it reaches - and even though you look stupid - you attempt to pump gas from THIS pump and that wont even work? And while you are trying to do this an annoying guy trying to sell his auto glass repair business tells you to "smile" even though for all he knows your mom could have died that day? Regardless he tells a complete stranger to smile. And then you try one last pump and this time you actually move your car by turning it on and have to maneuver a three point turn to get to this pump? And then the same guy who told you to "smile" is now laughing at you? And then you go inside to pay for your gas because none of your credit cards are working and you go back out to finally pump your gas and you realize your tank is on the wrong side? AHHHH.

Ok. So I just had that day. Oh my freaking goodness.

So now I am home and eating my 100 calorie pack of pringles and reading my blogs about pretty things and all is right with the world again.

I am reading La Dolce Vida a lot lately. Check it out here:)

http://paloma81.blogspot.com/ (just pretend that was a hyperlink)

Anyways...seriously. loving. the. grey. rooms. After all I did just paint my entire house grey and question it at times. But pictures like this remind me - grey is cool Lindsey - relax!! Just add some spicy accesories like a lime green vase and pink flowers and you are GOLDEN!

That is what the pictures would be saying if pictures could talk. And pictures can most defintely talk in my world. Like the picture of me in college wearing my old navy overalls - that pictures says "what the heck are you thinking and just how old are you?"

I digress.

Here are some happy, pretty housepictures to inspire us. Or me.

Its grey. It has cool pillows. Nuff said.

open shelving. So glad this trend is surfacing because it gives hope to all of us who are a church secretary and can't afford new cabinetry - but CAN afford an ikea kitchen island and perhaps even some cool artwork. This shall be my new kitchen inspiration.

Love the mirrors. PRetty much love everything. And the mirrors.

I like the cloud thing. I like the peaches as decorations. I LOVE the flowers. I like the pillows.

And that's all I ve got for today. Feeling very inspired to work on our sun room this weekend after reading a zillion "cottage living" magazines this weekend:) Update to follow!

Fridges, babies, scrubs and other random things I think about.

2010-04-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

Wowza. So Josh and I have already been married FIVE Months. I seriously cant believe how fast time goes. It seems like not that long ago I would spend my weekend driving around to find the perfect shade of green napkin for our reception.

Here are some updates from our lives. Should anyone be interested.

LOST. We are back at it. Last year we took a break from pretty much all of humanity and spent the majority of our free time catching up on seasons 1-4. Our goal was to get caught up in time for season 5....which I think we actually did, but by the time season 5 came around my brain was starting to hurt from all the time travel and Darma and spirit of the island mumbo jumbo. So we stopped. But now that season 6 is on and EVERYONE is obsessed...we are feeling the need to watch season 5 and holy cow...it is GOOD! Suddenly I want to name my kids Jack and Kate and Smoke Monster. Just saying.

SCHOOL. This is a big one. I am debating going back to school to pursue an associate's in nursing. We're not completely sure how feasible this is and it will be a long journey, but I've wanted to go back to school - well, pretty much since I graduated and my mom and sister are nurses so it's time to stop denying who I really am! My greatest fear right now would be passing chemistry, biology and of course, inserting a catheter into an old man....but hey, I just might be up for a challenge! Anyways, this is not a set decision - but something we are praying about and taking some time to consider logistics and all that good stuff. It's not like I am already picking out cute scrub outfits. Well, maybe I am....

FAMILY. No, I am not announcing a pregnancy via my blog, although when and if that day comes I cannot WAIT to put up a picture of my uterus for all to see! But we did just welcome our third nephew (on my side) into the world - Callan James!!! He is so sweet from the pictures I have seen. In the next few weeks we will also have a brand new niece Kloe Lynn and I absolutely cannot wait to have a baby niece who lives in Arizona! Here is a pic of Callan. Josh says he looks like popeye here. Oh well...he's cute!

HOUSE. People always ask how are house is coming along. It is coming along nicely! We are really loving our home! It has some quirks and WAY to many plant shelves...and the sunroom still has a weird odor BUT it is ours and it is improving with every trip to Lowe's that we make. I am still in search of the perfect throw pillows and shall make my way to the Anthropologie clearance section this weekend to see what they have. Just this week we heard that the government is offering a $200 tax rebate for old fridges - and we currently have TWO so we MIGHT get a new stainless steel pretty fridge. I am super excited about this prospect. Ah....I have totally reached the age where a new fridge excited me. Hello adulthood.

Now, if I had the money and the decorating skills I would want one of these fridges....seriously, how freaking cute is this?

But alas, stainless steel will just have to do! And I would be super thankful for a new fridge. Ours is just off white and I think from 1992. Totally keeping food cold and doing it's job, just am not loving it's largeness and off whiteness and scratched-ness.

Anyways....that's our life in a nutshell. And by nutshell I mean really long blog with lots of pictures. Thanks so much for stopping by!

2010-04-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hello blog readers.

Well, I've been completely unmovitvated to blog since the death of my digi cam. I've been reading lots of blogs lately and they all have lovely pictures and I have major blog envy. And then I think - "Lindsey, you can paint a picture with your words." But I actually think that might be a crappy picture and who wants to read 1000 words when they can just look at a picture and be done with it?

But shoot, I am just gonna go for it.

As far as home improvement goes, we have not done too much. We are ALMOST at a stopping point. Meaning, nothing is driving me TOO crazy. We have replaced most of our super ugly ceiling fans, and some brass light fixtures and finally painted our room a light light grey. Currently, I love the color grey and would paint my whole entire house shades of grey if josh would let me.

The next project will probably be project skylight.

You see we have a skylight in our kitchen - but what did the previous owners do? They stuck a giant flourescent beam of light IN the skylight. People - the sun is meant to light that space, not this ugly bulb. So alas, I think we will take that light out, paint the skylight white and put in another light where one final horrendous brass ceiling fan remains. I don't think I need a ceiling fan in the kitchen anyways. Especially if it is brass and looks like it hasnt been cleaned since 1993.

In between projects, I must say I spend way too much time spying on my neighbors. They are not really all that interesting. I dont suspect they are running a meth lab or a drop house or anything, I just like to watch them for some reason because I am creepy and curious like that.

I am not sure of thier names, but they have a cocker spaniel named moxie and they take moxie and their sweet little son on a walk every single night. It is a young-ish couple, the dad is in med school. They seem lovely and one time the lady brought us over pumkin cookies but I was in the shower and josh answed the door and had to take the pumpkin cookies without me meeting the lady. I was sad, but I still ate her pumpkin cookies and they were very good.

Along with baking pumpkin cookies and taking moxie on walks I also gather that this lady loves flags. I know this because each major (nd minor)holiday there is a new flag outside their house to celebrate. Usually it has snoopy or Charlie Brown on it. So far she has had a fall flag, a thanksgiving flag, a Christmas flag, a winter flag, a st. patricks day flag, a spring flag, a valentines day flag and an easter flag. We haven't even made it thru the year and I have made note of 8 flags. Although I am not a flag decorating kind of person I certainly appreciate the effort she puts forth in being festive.

It makes me like her and her flag tendencies. Also, it makes me think that she is Type A. I mean, as soon as Easter was over - there was a new flag up by yesterday morning. I call her the flag ninja because I have never seen her change a flag, yet after each holiday - the very next day there is a new flag celebrating the season. It is totally endearing. Menwhile, I will probably keep my "this way to the bunny trail" cheesy wooden Easter sign in my lawn till mid-July. Oh well.

My Camera: 2007-2010 RIP

2010-03-02T08:16:00.001-08:00

Well blog readers, I am sad to report the death of my digial camera - my little canon elph.

I had written a whole blog about the ugliness of the ceiling fans in our house, and as I was roaming thru the house trying to take pictures of the ugly ceiling fans to show you - it died.

Boo and lame.

The shutter will not close. It says "lens error." Until I am able to get a new camera I think I shall try using the camera on Josh's droid....takes decent pictures for a phone.

Anyways: Here are all the things josh and I are doing for the house this week.

Lukily, I have taken lots of "before" pics throughout the house before the death of my camera so I know what things looked like.

We changed out or old super 80s, bathroom mirror to two, stylish black framed mirrors from TJ Maxx home goods. Now, one mirror was like $75 bucks at home depot - but we got two from tj maxx for way less than that - so we were very pleased. Go TJ Max and Ross and Marhsalls. Seriously love those cheap decorating stores! I had to dig around awhile to find matching mirrors....but so worth it.

Here is the before:

And here is the in-between.

I say in-between because the mirrors are not hung and the cabinets are not painted. Temporarily, I think I am going to stain the cabinets black and put on some new hardware....in the long term we'd love to do something like this:

or this

But really, who can afford all these updates at once? Not us:) So, they are just dreams for now. Who dreams about sinks? Weird.

We are painting our room grey. Yes, I am in a grey rut. I don't know why - I just love grey. It is kind of modern and clean looking and I am painting everything I see that color. Oh well.

Ok, this blog is suddenly my decorating diary. Sorry about that! I just like to document home improvement stuff:) Makes me feel like we are making progress! Taking our house out of the 80s one ceiling fan at a time.

A few of my favorite things...

2010-02-09T17:51:00.001-08:00

Well - its been way too long since Ive posted anything on here!

Unfortunately, not much is new to post by way of house decor. I like to post little projects josh and I are working on, but we havent done much - except update our super old 80s light fixture - which is actually a big deal to me.

We currently have a pile of ceiling fan parts in the corner of our living room that Josh plans on getting to soon. Yay to updating fixtures:)

This month I made the mistake of stepping into Anthropologie. OH MY. If I could buy up a whole store besides target - it would be anthropoligie. And I am not talking their clothes, although I do like their clothes. But mostly their stylish household items! Holy cow, I love everything about their decorating.

Just look....

Aprons: If I had 40 dollars to spend on an apron - I'd spend it here...so cute.

and tiles. If I knew how to tile things I would use these tiles and make a cool something with tiles.

and monogrammed mugs....now these are actually pretty affordable, $6. And SO cute. I swear if you put an L on anything I would buy it. Is that narcissistic? I just think the letter L is pretty and lukcily, is the first letter of my name.

And tea towells. I just like these. And they sure beat my boring blue "ross special" tea towells. But alas, tea towells from ross get a job done and so I am not complainng - just saying, that in high school these tea towells would be cheerleaders and ross tea towells would be in the marching band.

And a sweater clock. Oy vey. A cozy little clock. So cute. I know it's kinda weird, to add a clock to a sweater, but it's not as if the sweater is to be worn. Just hung on your wall. And its not like the clock has sleeves, just the material is sweater-y.Ok, I am going to stop defending the coolness of the sweater clock.

And on that random note - I am off to make dinner. It's pizza + biggest loser night for us! I know, kind of ironic - but the pizza is mildly healthy version from trader joe's so don't judge!

Frugal Girl!

2010-01-12T09:44:00.000-08:00

I think I have just found my new favorite web site. Frugal Girl!

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/

This web site is really cool - and the girl is a Christian who takes joy in living simply. I love that.

I constantly have to remind myself of the value of simple living. Especially when I drive because the only thing that prevents my car's windshield wipers from going all the time is an old subway napkin I had to stick in the steering wheel - ghetto fab people!

Anyways, I am getting more into saving money. Nerdy? Maybe. I even bought a coupon book. So far I have used one coupon and saved one dollar on lean pocket quesadillas that Josh didn't like....so I have got a ways to go until I can be as savvy as those moms who like feed their whole family for 40 bucks.

Frugal Girl also offers some how-to's.

I loved this one on how to paint wood furniture

If you want, you can read the article here, I can't get the hyperlinks to work!

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/03/how-to-paint-wooden-furniture/

There's something so cool about a piece of furniture that you can put your own style into by changing the handles or the paint color.

I swear, if I could, I would learn how to build cool furniture and be like that girl carpenter on Trading Spaces who could like build a whole entertainment center. But alas, I can barely put together a coffee table from IKEA.

Check out this awesome before and after she did...

ugly night stand thing before....

totally cute looks-like-you-got-it-at-pottery-barn-after...

Anyways, home ownership on a budget has brought me to some super fun blogs and I can't get enough of HGTV. I even have Josh drive thru the neighborhood slow at night so I can look in people's windows and see their decorating ideas....I am so creepy! I am like a peeping tom, except I just look at people's decorations and furniture. I draw the line at hiding in bushes though.

Anyways, just thought I'd share some inspriation (and some totally creepy factoids about myself.)

:)Lindsey

DIY Cabinet staining

2010-01-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

Well, for the past few weeks Josh and I have been trying to bring our kitchen from the early 90s....to present day.

The walls started out very beige. And I mean beige, no color anywhere! Which I guess gave us a blank slate to work from, so I can't complain. The cabinets were just a classic oak color, not horrific by any means, but just boring. Like the new times roman of cabinetry.

We knew they had potential for greatness.

So we got to work.

We started by painting the walls a light brown color and then we added the chalkboard wall to the pantry.

Then, we decided it was time for some cabinet staining. We were excited because staining cabinets is super cheap and it makes a big difference. All we bought were a few paintbrushes and some stain. The handles is where it can get pricey - but even so, this whole project cost less than $75.

Now things aren't perfect, but it looks much better than before!

We're also in the process of deciding on a cute backsplash. I found this backsplash tile piece at home depot that looks like an old school ceiling panel, which I just think is so cute and we love the look of the silver. Hopefully we will finish the backsplash shortly, but for now I just have part it propped up on our super old, can't-wait-to-get-a-new-one stove:)

Here is the kitchen before:

Here it is after -

with stain and new handles

Before

After

Here's another view...

Here's a close-up of the handles and me clearly demonstrating the ease of opening them....

So, little by little things are coming together. I am obsessed with design blogs lately and hopefully we will make some more cute updates as the ideas come, but things take time and we are thankful for a house to work on.

Alright, this post is not one bit witty and I am sorry. But, I wanted to get these pics up:)

today's deep thought

2010-01-07T19:10:00.000-08:00

Tonight I killed a cricket who tried to take cover next to my shoe rack. That's like a human trying to take cover in a pack of wolves. I mean really, if I was a cricket the safest place to be is the place that is furthest from a stockpile of shoes.

And that's all I have to blog about today. Sad, I know.

Boot Camp

2010-01-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

Well, this week Josh and I made a good effort in our push to shape up in 2010. Or twenty ten. Or whatever you want to call the year that is now.

Everyone says you gain weight when you get married....and 7 weeks and two major holidays later, I realize I am no exception!

I am doing biggest loser bootcamp with Bob the trainer. Not Jillian. Jillian would make me cry and want to jump off a cliff. Bob is nice and friendly. See? Look how nice he looks here.

Anyways, I don't have weights so I have to use two old bottles of sparkling apple cider leftover from my wedding...it's really ghetto.

But that doesn't change the fact that at-home workout are great! You can work out in a sports bra, you can wear a sweatband with pride and you don't have to listen to the weird guy nest to you grunting his way through the circuit.

Just some thoughts.

Kitchen Dillemas

2010-01-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

This week Josh and I have been super motivated. Call it nesting or being tired of living in beige-ville - but in the new year, we've traded in our nightly baking sessions for a healthier hobby...home improvement.

This week I tackled the pantry door. Not a literal tackle, more of a figurative tackle that involved a paintbrush.

Our pantry door is one of those foldy ones that came in houses built in the 80s. And my theory is - if something is kind of lame anyways, may as well take a risk and make it either way cool or just lame again. Nothing to lose here.

Anyways, here are the steps.

0. Go to home depot and buy chalkboard paint (I forgot to put this at the beginning and rather than re-number, I am naming this step 0)
1. Turn on ghetto rap music (Tupac if you have any)
2. get into your ugly painting clothes (jeans that kinds of look like mom jeans, high waist, weird ankles, etc)
3. realize you forgot sandpaper and drive to Ace Hardware in said mom jeans and moccasins.
4. Return, eat a cookie and sand away.
5. Paint.
6. Wait for husband to come home and be impressed with a completed project.
7. Repent of pride

And here are the pics of our creation. More to come when we finish sanding the cupboards.

PS: the bottom pic makes our kitchen look lime green. I assure you, it is not. More of a grassy green. I am not ashamed of its green-ness. But I might be if it was bright lime green. I put it on a high film speed because my camera was showing water spots at the lower speed. And then I got a bright pic. But, no water spots. Ok, boring information overload.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The 6 days of Christmas

2009-12-28T13:22:00.000-08:00

Hello blog world.

I haven't died. I have just made a decision to post more pictures on my blog and now my camera battery died and I can't find the charger and hence no blog.

Someday soon I will find the charger but until then I will just write a blog with no pictures. And since most of my blog readers are above the age of 5 - this should be acceptable.

Anyways. Here is a song I am writing for Josh and I's first Christmas together. I mean, I am just going to write it right now. It's not like I've been sitting up writing it. Just thought I would clarify so you don't think I am a bigger nerd than you might already think.

On the first day of Christmas my true love game to me....a ladder so that we could paint our ugly mid-90s kitchen. This is no joke. We went to Lowe's and bought a ladder and said "merry Christmas" to each other. The good news is that now we can change our air filter. The bad news is that I got a ladder for Christmas.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me....two seasons of Dexter watched in a matter of 48 hours. Yes, this is the best show ever and Josh and I stayed up until 3 am watching it. Nothing like celebrating the savior's birth by watching a show about a serial killer. Tis the season!

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me....three walls to paint and we painted them all without fighting about paint drips on the trim! Yes, we were very proud of ourselves - no fights. no tears. Just a beige kitchen with pretty straight lines. Well, maybe some OCD people wouldn't think they were straight, but they are an improvement for us and I am thrilled!

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....four pairs of jeans that I can no longer wear due to all the cookies I've been making. This is pretty much true. I am defintely relying on stretch denim to get me to new year and then it's Biggest Loser Bootcamp for this post-married chub a lub. I can't step on a scale cuz I don't want to know the damage. All I know is that I had a mountain dew for breakfast this morning and cookies for lunch. I need help!

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....5 new blogs to stalk. Well I didn't actually count them, but I have become obsessed with blogs lately. I mean, some people are so cool! I am so impressionable. But I always look at people's life and think their blogs make them look cool and exciting. I like blogs with instructions on how to do things and also pictures. Maybe somesday I'll do a blog like that, but I am pretty sure no one needs step by step instruction on how to eat cookie dough in front of the TV....

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me....6 new pots and pans that took me about 3 hours to decide on. That's right. In all my indecisiveness I could absolutely NOT decide which pots and pans set to buy. Do I go stainless? Do I die of cancer and get teflon coated pans? Is God sovreign and will teflon coated pans really change the number of days he has for me? All this goes through my mind as I stand chewing off my fingernails in the middle of Kohls trying to decide. I went with non stick Calphalon. Hope they do no dissapoint. Also, hope the non stick coating at high temperatures does not cause my my cells to rapidly multiply. Fingers crossed.

Ok....and that does it for the twelve days of Christmas. I can't think of anything else that goes with 7-12....and I this post is getting long!

Till next time sweet blog visitors:) Hopefully next time I can post pics of our new carefully painted kitchen:)

Our newest addition: The Vacuum.

2009-12-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there was a girl. She was a fun girl. She had blond hair that she curled every day and her friends were very fun and they did fun things like have prank wars and eat sushi and go shopping and watch Sex and the City for hours and hours.

Then the girl got a little older and she found she was not as fun or interesting as she once was.

The culmination of this thought came to her when she rose while it was still dark on black Friday to buy a vacuum. She knew exactly which vacuum she wanted because she had been researching vacuums on the internet for weeks. Yes. Researching vacuums.

Ladies and Gentlemen meet our new vacuum: Rainbow Snapdragon McFloor

We named him this after a dog we met on our honeymoon in sedona - except we made the last part of the name vacuum related.

I would not normally blog about a vacuum except that this is no regular vacuum. This vacuum makes us WANT to vacuum because we like to see how much dust we can collect of our own floor. And then we take pictures of it. And then I blog about the dust. Aren't we cool? We are. I know it.

So - the end of the story is that once upon a time there was a girl who was fun and then she turned into a girl who names vacuums and takes pictures of how much dust they collect. Nerd. Alert.

Thanksgving yumminess.

2009-12-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

Josh and I had a lovely thanksgiving. I mean, it was really great. I saw a "say yes to the dress" episode where they said the word "lovely" was a way to tell people something is lame, but when I say lovely I mean it in the nicest way. Lovely is too great of a word to strip it of its meaning and turn it into something mean.

I digress though.

I was very excited to use my new kitchen gadgets....mainly

1. food processor
2. kitchen aid mixer
3. cute pie plate shaped like a pumkin (not a gadget but dang cute and I was excited to use it)

Now for those of you don't know the amazingness of a food processor - let me enlighten you. It basically takes large hard to chop up chunks and turns them into something yummy and small. Now, if I were a pastor I would probably say that there is some sort of spiritual parallel there, but I am not a pastor - I am just a girl with an unhealthy obsession with shredded cheese.

So anyways with my processor I made a cran-apple crumble. It got great reveiws despite having both coconut and cranberry in it....neither of which I am a huge fan. But actually I thought it turned out pretty good! Josh liked it too even though he remained firm in his hatred to cranberries. I think I won him over by covering them in sugar.

Next came the rolls. Now, I found this recipe online at a site I kind of like. Not for any good reason other than it has a cute page design and lots of pictures. Here is the site if you are curious...
http://www.amandascookin.com/

Anyways, the rolls were ok. I was not thrilled...I do believe a better roll recipe awaits me. But, I think they looked cute and I also got practice cooking with yeast and of course, got to let the bread rise - which I have always thought was cool ever since my dad used to make us bread when we were little.

Here is a picture of me with the rolls.

And here is a picture of Josh with the rolls. Apparently, in my world - rolls are the perfect photo prop. Josh helped me butter and salt the rolls so he gets his picture with them. He looks cute too

Next up was the cranberry jelly. I think I like cranberry jelly not for the taste, but for the color. It is so dang pretty.

Breathtaking I know. Anyways, cranberry jelly is really fun to make. I ended up putting it in a mason jar so it looked like legit jelly. Later I broke the mason jar in half by trying to microwave it, but that is a story for another time.

Well, those are just some fun thanksgiving day events. Of course the day was spent with family eating and also trash talking about who's gingerbread house was better, but I may blog about that later:) Just wanted to get some updates on here documenting some cooking goodness.

Hobbies and such

2009-11-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

Today Josh and I were talking about Christmas. Basically, here is our convo:

Josh: So what do you want to do for Christmas gifts this year?

Lindsey: Um, we already have so much - we could just get eachother one gift

Josh: Well you're really hard to shop for

Lindsey: Why is that?

Josh: Um, you like to bake, but I don't want to get you baking stuff and you dont really have any other hobbies and you dont really do crafts that much.....

Lindsey: SO basically I am really boring and you are wondering why you married me?

Josh: Kind of.

Ok, I made up the last part but Josh definitely accused me of never being crafty AND having no hobbies! I know. Mean.

It's true though. I dont know what happened to me. I used to do things like blog and take pictures and practice my viola and scrapbook ( I mean I actually scrapbooked, it wasn't just something I wrote in my facebook profile) But lately I have just spent my days planning a wedding and moving and scouring home decorating blogs.

Lame.

Anyways, I am excited because I told Josh I want him to buy me a used keyboard off of craigslist for Christmas.

I don't know how far I will get in my piano playing endeavors but when I was ten I taught myself Canon in D....so I already know one song.

I don't expect to be the next beethoven or even really to play anywhere...but I really love music and it's annoying that I can't create it or at least mimic the music other people create.

Josh is hopefully going to get a guitar for Christmas. The difference here is that Josh actually knows how to play real music and sounds pretty amazing and has an awesome voice ( I personally think he could be on American Idol and I would be the wife waiting outside the audition doors and jump into his arms when he came out with a yellow ticket to Hollywood..ok, I've dreamed about this a time or two...)

Basically we are one set of curtains turned pantsuits away from becoming the Von Trapps.

I am pretty excited.

Oh and posting things to your blog is scary. I feel like in 6 months people may be like "so, have you composed anything yet?" And I'll be like "Um no....but I can play mary had a little lamb with my eyes closed."

WE'RE MARRIED!

2009-11-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

Yep - they day has come and gone and we are officially Mr. and Mrs. Stamm. So far, so good:) We had an awesome wedding, I spent most of it not breathing very well in my dress...but hey, pain is beauty.

Right now I am loving being a wife. I am only 6 days into it, but today I got to stay home and clean and organize and I loved it. Josh is watching Star Trek right now which gives me the perfect opportunity to just post a brief update.

I want to upload a facebook album of our wedding day, but its not working. Boo.

Well, here is a list of awesome moments from the last week.

* Dragging my dress thru the dirt in order to get the perfect picture. Totally worth it. After all, the dress is only seen for a few hours but the pictures are forever!

* Seeing my studly groom for the first time. Hot stuff.

* Getting to the Biltmore for our first night! Everyone in the Lobby stared at us and let us move to the front of the line. It was awesome!!

* Dancing with my nephews at my reception.

* Um, awkwardly having to return car keys to Matt and Jen on Saturday. I don't know you just dont want to see your boss/pastor/in laws the morning after your wedding especially if your hair is all messy and your false eyelashes are falling off....Jen, you know I love you!

Alright. Feeling guilty about joshy watchinhg a movie al by himself (although it is Star Trek....) I'll write more later:)

A Challenge to Women - by John Piper

2009-10-31T01:35:00.000-07:00

This was a link on another blog I follow, so good, I thought I would post it on my own. Do not read unless you are ready to be totally convicted. Good, thought-provoking stuff here.

A Challenge to Women
Download:
By John Piper January 1, 1995

That all of your life—in whatever calling—be devoted to the glory of God.

That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.

That this fullness of God overflow in daily acts of love so that people might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.

That you be women of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching.

That meditation on Biblical truth be the source of hope and faith. And that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others.

That you be women of prayer, so that the Word of God would open to you; and the power of faith and holiness would descend upon you; and your spiritual influence would increase at home and at church and in the world.

That you be women who have a deep grasp of the sovereign grace of God undergirding all these spiritual processes, that you be deep thinkers about the doctrines of grace, and even deeper lovers and believers of these things.

That you be totally committed to ministry, whatever your specific role, that you not fritter your time away on soaps or ladies magazines or aimless hobbies, any more than men should fritter theirs away on excessive sports or aimless diddling in the garage. That you redeem the time for Christ and his Kingdom.

That, if you are single, you exploit your singleness to the full in devotion to Christ and not be paralyzed by the desire to be married.

That, if you are married, you creatively and intelligently and sincerely support the leadership of your husband as deeply as obedience to Christ will allow; that you encourage him in his God-appointed role as head; that you influence him spiritually primarily through your fearless tranquility and holiness and prayer.

That, if you have children, you accept responsibility with your husband (or alone if necessary) to raise up children who hope in the triumph of God, sharing with him the teaching and discipline of the children, and giving to the children that special nurturing touch and care that you are uniquely fitted to give.

That you not assume that secular employment is a greater challenge or a better use of your life than the countless opportunities of service and witness in the home the neighborhood, the community, the church, and the world. That you not only pose the question: Career vs. full time mom? But that you ask as seriously: Full time career vs. freedom for ministry? That you ask: Which would be greater for the Kingdom— to be in the employ of someone telling you what to do to make his business prosper, or to be God's free agent dreaming your own dream about how your time and your home and your creativity could make God's business prosper? And that in all this you make your choices not on the basis of secular trends or yuppie lifestyle expectations, but on the basis of what will strengthen the family and advance the cause of Christ.

That you step back and (with your husband, if you are married) plan the various forms of your life's ministry in chapters. Chapters are divided by various things—age, strength, singleness, marriage, employment choices, children at home, children in college, grandchildren, retirement, etc. No chapter has all the joys. Finite life is a series of tradeoffs. Finding God's will, and living for the glory of Christ to the full in every chapter is what makes it a success, not whether it reads like somebody else's chapter or whether it has in it what chapter five will have.

That you develop a wartime mentality and lifestyle; that you never forget that life is short, that billions of people hang in the balance of heaven and hell every day, that the love of money is spiritual suicide, that the goals of upward mobility (nicer clothes, cars, houses, vacations, food, hobbies) are a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might, and maximizing your joy in ministry to people's needs.

That in all your relationships with men you seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in applying the Biblical vision of manhood and womanhood; that you develop a style and demeanor that does justice to the unique role God has given to man to feel responsible for gracious leadership in relation to women—a leadership which involves elements of protection and care and initiative.

That you think creatively and with cultural sensitivity (just as he must do) in shaping the style and setting the tone of your interaction with men.
That you see Biblical guidelines for what is appropriate and inappropriate for men and women in relation to each other not as arbitrary constraints on freedom but as wise and gracious prescriptions for how to discover the true freedom of God's ideal of complementarity. That you not measure your potential by the few roles withheld but by the countless roles offered. That you turn off the TV and Radio and think about...

The awesome significance of motherhood

Complementing a man's life as his wife

Ministries to the handicapped

hearing impaired

blind

lame

retarded

Ministries to the sick:

nursing

physician

hospice care—cancer, AIDS, etc.

community health

Ministries to the socially estranged:

emotionally impaired

recovering alcoholics

recovering drug users

escaping prostitutes

abused children, women

runaways, problem children

orphans

Prison ministries:

women's prisons!

families of prisoners

rehabilitation to society

Ministries to youth:

teaching

sponsoring

open houses and recreation

outings and trips

counseling

academic assistance

Sports ministries:

neighborhood teams

church teams

Therapeutic counseling:

independent

church based

institutional

Audio visual ministries:

composition

design

production

distribution

Writing ministries:

free lance

curriculum development

fiction

non-fiction

editing

institutional communications

journalistic skills for publications

Teaching ministries:

Sunday school: children, youth, students, women

grade school

high school

college

Music ministries:

composition

training

performance

voice

choir

instrumentalist

Evangelistic ministries:

personal witnessing

Inter Varsity

Campus Crusade

Navigators

Home Bible Studies

outreach to children

Visitation teams

Counseling at meetings

Billy Graham phone bank

Radio and TV ministries:

technical assistance

writing

announcing

producing

Theater and drama ministries:

acting

directing

writing

scheduling

Social ministries:

literacy

pro-life

pro-decency

housing

safety

beautification

Pastoral care assistance:

visitation

newcomer welcoming and assistance

hospitality

food and clothing and transportation

Prayer ministries:

praying!!!

mobilizing for major Concerts of Prayer

helping with small groups of prayer

coordinating prayer chains

promoting prayer days and weeks and vigils

Missions:

all of the above across cultures

Support ministries:

countless jobs that undergird major ministries

2009-10-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight The Biggest Loser was dragging on and on and on.....so I decided to make one of those chains you make in elementary school that countdown the days till Christmas break. I dug out my old scrapbook paper and cut 30 links and made a really fun chain. I hung it on our wall. 30 more days of engaged life. Well, 29 now.

Tonight I also discovered a nerdy habit of mine. Delilah. I am super cheesy and sentimental these days, so I listen to Delilah every night when I am driving home from Josh's. I have come to love her even though she is probably like a few steps below Oprah in the "people Christians love to not like" category. But, hey....I like her. She always has a cheese-tastic song to play for me as I drive from Gilbert to Tempe. Whether its "can you feel the love tonight?" or "I swear" I totally partake in the lameness.

When I am married I wont be in the car when Delilah is on...but then I'll be hanging out with my hot husband so who really cares.

Tonight I got 9 RSVPs in the mail. That's a record. TWO responses mentioned people's ability to do the Robot. Bring it!

Craft-licious

2009-10-05T23:38:00.000-07:00

During the wedding planing process I have gotten to embrace my crafty side. I seriously love crafts. My first major in college was an elementary ed teacher for the sole purpose of doing crafts. Unfortunately an affinity towards gluesticks does not a good teacher make, although I am sure it doesn't hurt. But here are a few things my mom, and sister and sister in law and, actually, even my brother have helped with!

Just a little taste of my little damask -tastic wedding coming up next month!

First off we'll begin with a picture of my wedding craft crew minus my bro.

Kristi: Maker of the bows

Beth: Gluer of the ribbon

Lindsey: Chief designer - wire cutter, bling nazi

Mom: Fun Enforcer

I decided to make my bouquets. One, I thought it may be cheaper since florists were charging like $50 for a bridesmaid bouquet....two, I just wanted to make em. Is that so wrong?

Here are the early stages. At this point my hands were raw from using all my strength to cut wire. But my pain was alleviated by the satisfaction of getting to play with that fun green florists foam. A good time was had.

In these little contraptions you stick the bud of the flower in the top and then you cut off a bunch of stems and stick them in the bottom. I actually really liked this method. Then my brother hot glued them like crazy. Seriously, these flowers aren't going anywhere - except down the aisle.

My sister in law was my bow savior and helped me immensely! I chose green bows so they will stand out net to the bridesmaids black dresses. And of course, there's a subtle hint of damask. But not too much.... Just enough to say

"I am damask, but not TOO damask"

My lovely friend Jessie gave me a tip that Big Lots had flower girl baskets for $2. And they did! But, they were covered in daisies. Sad face. But you know what they say, when life gives you daisies - cover em with green fabric, hot glue and 79 cent fake flowers!

Voila! Here is the finished product. (please note the antelope head in the back of this picture - nothing says wedding crafts like some mounted game shot by my dad and hung on the wall)

And now just one of the reasons that if I was not marrying Josh I would marry Hobby Lobby....they sell stuff like this amazing damask hat box!

I am going to use this for my cards and all I did was tape some ribbon and add a black rose.

So there are just a few of the wedding crafts I've been busy with! I am also making the boutonieres which I will never ever spell correctly and my mom and I are making the ring bearer pillows - pics to come of those later! just always thinks pictures jazz up a blog a bit, so I wanted to post some!

]

A new love for Polar Bears

2009-09-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

I am sorry, but the stamp on my wedding RSVPs have a picture of a polar bear on them. Not very bridal or cool by any means. But I am learning to embrace the Polar Bear goodness. Especially because when I got home from the post office (nearly in tears, gosh I cry a lot these days) there were TWO (not one), wedding invites at my house who also had polar bear stamps forced upon them.

And did those brides care? NO. Should I? NO. Did their invitations still look lovely? Absolutely.

Was I still just as happy that two people fell in love even though their stamp had a picture of a polar bear on it and not something cuter? Of course!!

Was this God's way of telling me I am being ridiculous? I think so.

Are there MUCH MUCH bigger issues in life than not having a cute stamp? Oh my goodness yes.

Do I like rhetorical questions? Heck yeah I do.

Should I stop using this annoying question-writing format to get my point across? Defintely.

And so my friends, bring on the Polar Bears. Actually, it's kind of therapeutic. With each sticking on of the stamp I am saying to myself "take that bridal industry! See if I conform to your demands!!"

It feels so good.

Bridal Industry 0: Polar Bears Everywhere: 1

A poem about Josh that doesn't ryme...and maybe isn't even a poem.

2009-09-21T23:04:00.001-07:00

He is the M and Ms in my trail mix. Unless there happen to be yogurt covered raisins in the trail mix....then he is those. Bascially, whatever is the best part of the trail mix is....he is that.

Even if he doesn't paint straight lines, he still makes me laugh and helps me not cry over my cookies that I think are hard.

And even if he gets paint on his new shirt that we just bought...I can't deny that he still looks pretty cute in a shirt with paint on it.

Even if I am SO not one of the girls who has a pretty cry, he tells me I am.

I messed up cooking a hot pocket when he was really hungry and he still smiled. I mean, who messes up hot pockets?!

He kisses me on the cheek during church. I am not even sure if that's allowed.

If I was making cookie dough and used an electric mixer I would at least give him one of the mixing things to lick and possibly both of them, I love him so much.

I love you spray paint

2009-09-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Is spray paint white trash?

Gosh I hope not.

Because lately I have been spray painting everything. I find this is a great solution to just ONE of josh and I's relationship problems (there aren't many, but c'mon...relationships are hard!)

So, you see back in my single days when there was no boy to be seen for miles and miles I was in a "shabby chic" decorating phase.

Some of you might know the "shabby chic" line from target - it is full of pink and little flowers birdies and lace. Very pretty, and a very real obstacle to get over when a man comes into your life.

Josh one time told me that one of my lamps looked like something a grandma would have and I immediately began to cry. Pathetic - but no one disses my lamp!!

So, here I sit with my can of spray paint. Taking my pink picture frames and baby blue candle holders and spray painting them a gloomy, but modern and ultimately more gender neutral black.

No pastel color is safe with this can in my hand.

And spraying is therapuetic. Especially when you know a little touch of that nozzle will instantly give you a new piece of artwork, possible lightheadedness, and one less pointless squabble over what's cute.

A love story...

2009-09-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Last week Josh and I were emailing and I wrote him this story....so naturally I thought I'd put it on my blog for the whole world to see:)

Once upon a time there was a girl.

She was a nice girl. Nothing too interesting about her... except she had really good instincts. One time she went to a small group bible study with a friend and she saw a piece of man bacon with blonde hair and big muscles and she thought to herself "I am gonna marry that guy." The girl didn't think this about any boy before. She told her mom, her sister and her best friend - she was gonna marry man bacon. But the man bacon was silly. He managed to supress his love for this girl for weeks and months and years until he couldnt take her hottness anymore and he asked her out by setting up a meeting in his outlook express. Ah...the girl thought this was pretty cute.

The girl thought the man bacon was pretty cute too.

He came and picked her up and they went to a pizza place. They waited two unbelievably short hours. During the wait, the girl stepped in mud and the boy had to wash her feet off in the fountain. Silly girl, she was ALWAYS doing dumb things around man bacon, but now the girl began to see the man bacon liked her silly things.

Anyways, months and weeks went by and the man bacon and the girl became the best of friends.

They went on walks, sat on the swing, watched movies, the girl baked for him, they sat under the lights of the Christmas tree, they watched LOST, they cuddled, they kissed, they hugged, they held hands on looong road trips, they listened to coldplay, they dreamed about houses, they went to Disneyland, the boy gave the girl a ring, they planned a wedding, they bought a house, they ate safeway brand queso, they did puzzles, the girl made a lot of tacos because this is the only thing she knows how to cook, they did more cuddling, they painted, they became obsessed with the DIY network, they stayed up late listening to music and they watched lightning. They were very happy.

Then the girl wrote this email. And she thought the story was pretty cute, but she didn't know how to end it or what the point of the story was other than she loved Man Bacon and she did not want to print out people's group lists for staff tonight and thought this was much more fun. So she wrote it.

New follower - new post

2009-09-06T00:35:00.000-07:00

Just a post to commemerate my SECOND follower - my future mother in law. This brings my number up to TWO:) Which is great! I seriously am thankful for my new family and their support of my sporadic blogging skills.

In other news, today marked a turning point in my life. Today I managed to go to the mall for ME but ended up only finding cute clothes for JOSH. Hmm....I am not sure I like this transition where I buy stuff for Josh and not me, but as I was leaving the mall I was just as excited to have found this cute shirt for Josh...it felt just as good as if I had found a cute shirt for myself! I guess I really DO love him...

(that was a joke - please don't measure your love for someone in the amount of times you go to the mall and buy a shirt for them...especially if the shirt was off the clearance rack (which was another joke, whether shirt was on clearance rack or not is not important - feeling the need to explain my genuine love for Josh since I know his family is reading this:))

Tomorrow marks my first wedding craft day. Which is basically my mom luring me with the promise of yummy food and forcing me to finish all my half started wedding crafts like, um bouqets, aisle runners, card box, boutonierres, etc. etc. So, hoping it goes well. If I was a really dedicated blogger I would post pictures of tomorrows crafting endeavors. We shall see.

It's seriously getting to be go time with this whole wedding thing. Last week I bought contact solution and realized that the next time I would need contact solution, I would have a new last name. Silly, but true.

Alright faithful readers. Till next time.

:) L

10 weeks, one day - but who's counting?!

2009-09-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well, just a quick update to say that Joshy and I have our keys and we've uploaded an album on facebook and everything!

I think we're getting internet in our new place soon - so possbily more cool things to come to the Stamm Fam blog.

This week Joshy and I have been busy, well doing not much.

Basically the highlight of our week was discovering the Safeway brand jar of queso - that, if I do say so myself - is better than any name brand out there.

Also, another highlight is the process of MAKING BOUTONIEERES. I really should NOT put a word in all caps that I am 98% sure I spelled wrong but I wanted to stress how fun this was. Not sure all caps is the way to get that point across to readers...but shoot, I love doing stuff like that!!

Some may say it's white trash to have fake flowers at a wedding - but you know what I say? It's fun. And you get to get everything ready beforehand and you can look at the boutonierres and think "wow, I made that while Josh was watching football and wasnt paying ANY attention to me so I had nothing better to do" ....but seriously, I am loving the crafts that come with a wedding and going to hobby lobby and seeing all the fun things and fabric really gets my head spinning to see what I could do with everything.

Even if the crafts dont show up at my wedding....I am getting lots of cute ideas to do in the future:) I am determined to learn how to sew - possibly cute aprons which I am loving - anyone see these at Anthropoligie? They are AWESOME. I always love wearing an apron! Last year we went on a missions trip to mexico and got Home Depot apron things - and I sometimes wear mine to clean house, I am a dork.

Of, sorry about the apron bunny trail....

We are taking a break on painting, etc, because shoot...we're not actually married yet - and the cuter our house gets, the more we want to be there together ALL the time - which is not super beneficial to us or our other relationships. So we have a beige bathroom, guest room, a smelly sun room with weird green putt putt flooring, etc. etc. but the important thing is that everything has great POTENTIAL! In due time, I think we will get it to where we want it.

In other news - we are about 11 days away from the final weigh in of the Stamm Fam Biggest Loser challenge. On this challenge Josh and I have struggled a bit - but I have lost almost 9 pounds and he has lost over 25 - which may seem good, but the rest of the Stamms don't mess around! They've lost some serious weight. We have more pounds to go and I for sure won't win the contest, but I think we're feeling the motivation again - despite the queso setback earlier this week. I would love to lose about 5-8 more pounds before the wedding and josh is hoping for about 20 more. I know we can do it!

That's all for now!

:)

2009-08-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

6 days till closing on our house and like 90 days till wedded bliss. We are very much excited. Tonight I made Josh his lunch in a cute tupperware with compartments in it and I loved every second of it. I am a nerd. If theres anyone who deserves a nice compartmentalized lunch though, it's Josh - he was so sweet to me tonight as I definitely cried at the number on the scale. I stepped on the scale pre workout and it was so bad that I ran up to meet josh in the main part of the gym and I started crying. He walked me out of the gym and held me and told me I wasnt fat. He told me that the bagel I had had that morning was holding in lots of water weight. I am not sure if that was true or not but dang it made me feel good.

Well thats all I got for today. I am still getting used to this whole blogging thing again....not sure anyone cares about these small details in my life - but I like to document them and hey, if you like to stalk my blog- I am ok with that.

A rare spiritual blog.

2009-08-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

It's 11:26 pm. I have to work in the morning. Would love to get up early and spend time with Jesus, doing the real prep work for marriage....but instead I sit, like a creepy obsessive lady looking a photos of strangers' weddings. It's so draining. On facebook I click on "all friends" I scroll through the list asking myself "now who may have attended a wedding recently and posted pictures of it on facebook?" I click away. Scouring the weddings of strangers comparing dresses, flower ideas and hairstyles. Feeling - most of the time - insecure about my own wedding. Comparing sucks. My sister reminded me it won't stop with the wedding...I'll compare my wedding, my body, my talents, my clothes, my money, my car, my house, my kids, my husband....I am not sure I know quite how to fight it over than immerse myself in truth somehow, but the thing with sin is that we like to cling to it and don't realize the freedom we have to let it go. Just some thoughts and stuff God is teaching me through wedding planning....and now, some thought provoking shane and shane lyrics.

there is a wicked man in me

wanting the wicked man's disease

fleeting pleasures, but pleasure indeed

oh Lord, take my envy of these things

and the prideful war within

take me to the place of sweet surrender

You are, You were, You will always be better!

this is a song of surrenderfor whom have i but You?

You are, You are better

forever so much better than the world

You are my portion (Lord you are...)

You are my portion (my reward...)

You are my portion

my never ending, overflowing Lord

The verbal equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard

2009-07-24T08:59:00.001-07:00

People.

For the love of everything holy can we please stop using the term "Bestie" and also the prepositional phrase "to love on people." If you have a best friend - just call her your BFF, or your Best Friend - but to shorten it to something like "Bestie" is just so silly. What if we took all adjectives and made them nouns? It's would not be pretty.

Second of all - and this phrase has been bothering me since it showed up on my creepy word radar in mid 2003...."love on people." This just sounds kind of weird. All I ask is that we take out the word ON. I like loving. I like people. But to love ON people....creep-tastic.

So consider doing your part in putting an end to the madness. Don't be afraid to call people out on their usage of such phrases, confront in love, and together we can stop the lameness.

Ok. That is all. Just had to vent for a minute.

Home Owners!

2009-07-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

Well, Joshy and I bought our FIRST house! We are very excited. It is a lovely little home in Gilbert. We love the hood because it feels like a neighborhood that is on the east coast because the streets are practically tree lined:) (are streets tree lined on the east coast?) Anyways. We close on August 21 - and Josh will move in sometime after that. Now I have a whole house to decorate and am excited for the challenge. Here are some things that will go asap:

* 80s ceiling fans
* astro turf in the sun room (could keep this for possible putt putt course)
* spare fridge on the back porch making us look slighly white trash - or like we buy meat in bulk

The house is very close to Freestone park so josh and I can go to the park whenever - which I can almost guarantee is something we will say we will do all the time, but we wont.

Wedding planning is coming along nicely. This week Jen (my sister-in-law to be) is helping me with invites. My mom is gearing up to help me with some sewing projects and my dress should be in the first week of August! Ok, this blog is neither funny NOR deep and spiritual - but oh well. Pics to come as soon as I locate my camera cord:)

New Blog!

2009-07-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

I've decided that my old blog is struggling....so heck, why not start over? Lots has changed this year - Josh and I went from being good friends, to dating to getting married in 125 days (but who's counting?). Hopefully this blog will help document our first year together - and other random insights I may have! Thanks for visiting, updates to come!