Heeren's Nest

Have a little fun today...

2013-04-10T19:00:00.000-05:00

Before we go any further - big news. BIG. Now this will be anticlimactic because many of you already know this but.........

WE ARE GOING TO ELLEN IN THREE WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Source

Funny story. So we all know that going to Ellen was on my 30 Before 30 list, which I didn't accomplish but not for lack of trying! But periodically I would go online to see if tickets were available. (By the way, here's the ticket link. They are fully booked for this season, but keep it in mind for the future!)

Anyway, somewhere along the road my friend Dan mentioned that he was also interested in going. So a couple of months ago I noticed she had tickets available, signed up and then emailed Dan telling him to sign up too. Well I failed to clarify which date I'd signed up for, we chose different dates, and Dan and his girlfriend Amy got tickets but Matt and I did not. Saaaaaaaaaad.

A few weeks later I noticed that tickets were available again, so I figured I'd give it a shot. After not hearing anything for a few weeks I figured I was out of luck again. Then one afternoon my phone rang, I looked at it and remembered Dan saying "818 area code...that's the number you want to stop whatever you're doing for." Sure enough, it was the Ellen show!

I'll let you know when it's going to air. I'm hoping for some good guests that day. I don't even care if we win prizes, I am just so excited!!!!!! Dan and Amy just got back and he said it was exhausting but fun.

P.S., I'm totally giving myself 30 Before 30 credit for this one. I was pretty darn close and this was out of my control.

Things to do

2013-04-09T23:01:00.003-05:00

First things first, let's talk about the meal I had the other day. Thanks to my friend Alissa having a birthday, we went out a double date to Ohana Steakhouse. I've always been so/so about hibachi meals, but this place is locally famous so I was excited to give it a shot.

You guys - go there. Now. And get the scallops. I wish I had a picture to illustrate how amazing they were, but I devoured them too quickly. First of all, you get A TON of food for your money. And they are entertaining - I could have watched him chop and grill all day. We got lucky and had Cy as our chef who is in all the Ohana's commercials. It was our lucky day!

Dinner and a show!

In other news, my dad came up for Easter and we had a delicious meal at Tartine. Have you been there yet? As soon as you get done at Ohana, head to Tartine. (Maybe this should just be a food blog - that seems to be all I do!) It's a little french bakery cafe with THE BEST SANDWICHES. Anyway, I digress. Go there immediately because they are never full and I fear that they will close and take their sandwiches away from me. Thank you.

After lunch we went to Oz: The Great and Powerful. I have mixed feelings about the movie. For the first half I wanted to poke my eyes out. James Franco was dull, Mila Kunis was awkward (and that's saying something because I love her) and the plot was going nowhere. However, the last hour really picked up and I actually ended up enjoying it. We were all confused though because the plot directly conflicts with Wicked. I thought they were all based on the book series but that clearly is not the case. Someone explain this to me because I'm too lazy to look it up.

Finally, I'm a little distraught that Smash has been moved to Saturdays and is likely to be cancelled. So after you eat at Ohana and Tartine, please tune in so this show can be saved. Does anyone else watch this show? Apparently not since it got banished to Saturdays!

This concludes my list of things for you to do. Thank you for your cooperation.

April Fools?

2013-04-02T15:19:00.001-05:00

So that last post...confusing, yes? Well that's because it was for a class assignment which is now complete. Let's just call it an April Fool's joke, k? :)

However, I do need to do a better job over here. For starters, we got (another) dog! Yes we are crazy. His name is Cooper and he's kind of a jerk, but he's super cute. Check him out!

Cooper's purpose in life is to wear Bailey out because she has sooooooo much energy. So far he's getting the job done! Along with wearing the rest of us out. :) He's 6ish months old and we got him mid-February.

So now we officially live in a zoo (as though we didn't already).

It's time to focus

2013-03-30T14:16:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that I've lost interest in this blog over the past year. I could blame grad school for keeping me too busy, but one of my biggest pet peeves is when bloggers make excuses for why they never blog (and then continue not to blog). Instead, I've taken a long time to think about what I actually want to get out of posting and what I most want to share.

Blogging doesn't need to be so overwhelming!

Some of my favorite bloggers such as The Small Things Blog and Young House Love have shared their thoughts on being successful at blogging. While I never intended to become famous or make my living with my blog, I think some of their advice hold true no matter what your levels of readership are. Their number one tip? Write about what you know, and write because you love it.

So its time to create an identity. I started this as an opportunity to share a little piece of myself, so that's what I'm going to do. No more over-analyzing and no more wondering what to post about. I'm going to live my life and I'm going to blog about it, along with the lessons I've learned along the way. It's time to take a peek "inside the nest".

Here we go.

Honolulu mix up

2013-02-04T18:00:00.000-06:00

I went to Honolulu on vacation, so I called my friend Kurt and asked him to meet me for lunch at a nearby burger place. I bought lunch and pulled up at the counter and waited for a few hours before realizing that I had gone to a different location than Kurt had. He refused to come to where I was, so I just sat there wondering what I should do. Then a group of people I went to elementary school with walked in and laughed at me for eating by myself, so I decided to venture out in search of the right location. I had no car, so I decided to walk through the underground shopping mall to get there. Suddenly I heard the melody of It's a Small World and I realized the largest Disney store I'd ever seen was behind me.

I walked in and as soon as I got there the lights dimmed and there was a cackling behind me. I realized the Wicked Witch had tricked me. She told me I could only leave the store if I let her borrow my sweatpants, so I gave them to her and she set me free. Unfortunately I had no other pants with me on vacation, so I walked down to the beach to see if I could find some. Luckily I ran into my friend John who had an extra pair of pants the back of his Jeep, so he gave them to me and I went and met Kurt for lunch.

Outer Space Grand Canyon

2013-01-31T22:01:00.001-06:00

My dad discovered a Grand Canyon in space and developed a tour company to take people in his spaceship. I decided that it was probably time for my cats to visit space with me, so I booked us three tickets and got on the ship. When we arrived, I realized we were the only three on board, but my dad assured me it was just a slow day so we took off. Several hours later we got to space and it was time to visit the canyon. We put on our space suits and got ready to go outside.

My dad had a process where he pulled us each out of the ship one at a time, and placed us on a tray that was equipped with a gravity chamber. When we got on the platter, I realized that the Grand Canyon was approximately the size of a refrigerator and we had to go in one at a time. I stuck my head in and quickly realized I didn't want to go in, so my dad called me a wuss and picked up my cats and threw them inside the canyon. Once they got in there they panicked and wouldn't come out, but luckily my dad used his magical space powers to shrink to cat size so he could go in and get them. He pried them out, but accidentally flung them outside of the gravity chamber. I leaped after them and suddenly realized I could swim through space, so I retrieved the cats and steered the ship back to Earth.

Running out of time!

2013-01-16T19:00:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time I had a 30 Before 30 list...

Once upon a time I also actually blogged.

So, my friend Dan (who I shall now refer to as 30 Before 30 Commissioner - Slap Bet, anyone?) recently audited my list. It wasn't pretty. Let's review, shall we? I've added updates to the items that have changed since we last reviewed.

1. Go to a Bears game at Soldier Field - I tried to plan this for Matt's 30th. Sadly couldn't find a week that worked. Fail.
2. Get LASIK surgery
3. Blog regularly (5 times a week) - I think we all know how this turned out. Maybe I can turn it around? Don't hold your breath.
4. Take a ballroom dance class - We talked about it....does that count?
5. Get up on waterskis - I did it! And I have photographic evidence!

6. Paint a picture - I have this scheduled for the day after my birthday...so close! I'll count it.
7. Go to the Ellen Show - Failed. But not for lack of trying! It's hard to get tickets!
8. Run the Disney Half Marathon - I went to Disney, does that count?
9. Host a dinner party - It's looking doubtful that this gets done in the next three weeks. But someday!
~~10.~~ Pare down my t-shirt collection - This is sort of an ongoing process, but I made a HUGE dent. I'm counting it.
~~11.~~ Complete the Farrells Extreme Bodyshaping Course
12. Give up caffeine. For real this time. - So I gave it up...then I un-gave it up. Then I did that again. A few times. Fail.
~~13.~~ Get married
14. Learn how to sew - I bought a mini sewing machine...but got confused trying to thread it, and it disappeared into my closet. There's still time on this one!
15. Teach myself to use Photoshop
16. Get my MBA - As previously discussed, this is as done as it can be at this point, so I'm counting it. 11 months to go!
17. Read 10 books (starting now, books read before today don't count)
Sophie's Choice, Unbearable Lightness, Sister to Sister trilogy, Let's Pretend this Never Happened, Bossy Pants, Hunger Games Trilogy, 50 Shades trilogy (don't judge), and The Help. Side note - the award for best book out of the bunch goes to The Help.
18. Do a second sprint triathlon - I have my eye on one, but that's not going to happen in the next three weeks. Failed.
19. Take a weekend train trip to Chicago - This was supposed to coincide with the game at Soldier Field. I did go to Chicago for work...but that doesn't count. Failed.
20. Visit the Grand Canyon - Done!
21. Conquer my fear of snowboarding - Maybe Matt will take me to Boone sometime in February to do this. But it won't be by my birthday.
22. Beat Super Mario Brothers Wii - I am soooooooo close! This is going to happen.
23. Create a weekly meal plan and use it - I did start this. I used it for two weeks. Maybe I can bring this back by my birthday.
24. Organize the kitchen - Done!
25. Ride in a hot air balloon - Nope. Failed.
26. Join the orchestra and/or choir at Hope - Okay, I did look into this. I can't do it until grad school is over. So I get an A for effort, but this isn't going to happen.
27. Go to a shooting range - Nope. Still on the to do list.
28. Make 10 things I've seen on Pinterest - I'm pretty confident I did this. Let's see...
Paintchip art, toilet roll art, spray painted patio furniture, gallery frame wall, bedroom wall stripes, cake batter rice krispy treats, cookie dough dip, and my Christmas cards and anniversary present (which I still haven't shown you) were loosely inspired by Pinterest.
29. Learn how to decorate a cake - That's looking unlikely.
30. Participate in a flash mob - I saw a flash mob...does that count?

Okay, so here's where we stand:
10 done (although one of them is a technicality...)
5 or 6 that could realistically get done by my birthday

Aaaaand 14 that just aren't going to happen. 50%, that's good, right? Fear not, my friends. The rest of these will happen at some point. And if you're lucky, I'll remember to tell you about it. I haven't even posted Disney pics for crying out loud!

Until next time...whenever that is.

Things I want to do

2012-11-12T18:00:00.000-06:00

Matt pointed out to me last night that I take on too many projects at once. I asked for examples and quickly realized that he's right! I blame Pinterest. So here's a round up of all the things I want to do (and WILL do...probably all at the same time):

Bedroom wall stripes (from centsationalgirl.com)

DIY upholstered headboard (from infarrantlycreative.net)

Stenciled wall (from brownpaperpackagesep.blogspot.com)

Paint a dresser (from houzz.com)

Organized laundry room (from iheartorganizing.blogspot.com)

White kitchen cabinets (from yourhomeonlybetter.com)

Things we've learned here:

Matt is right.
I want to paint things. Like everything.
These are only the tip of the iceberg.... (there's also organizing the pantry, making some artwork, and things like cleaning which I hear is a good idea now and then...)

P.S. I just got this book in the mail that I pre-ordered months ago from my favorite bloggers! It's a great place to get inspiration (which I apparently don't need...this could be disaster.)

What projects do you wish you had time to do?

One year later

2012-07-11T17:22:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that it was a whole year ago that we were here:

As the past week was over 100 degrees pretty much every day, I was very grateful that I got married last summer and not this one! Not that people weren't sweating at our wedding...but it was about 10 degrees hotter this July 2 than last year. Yuck!

At any rate, our anniversary fell on a Monday so we decided to celebrate a couple of different ways. We'd been talking about doing the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad dinner train for the past couple Valentine's Days but hadn't gotten around to it, so we decided it was time. This is an old fashioned train that goes through a river valley area just north of Des Moines. We were probably the youngest people by about 40 years, but the food was great, the people were nice and we had a great time!

Next we drove through Ledges State Park, another beautiful area just north of Des Moines. We really didn't stay there long though...we were just killing time until sunset so we could go check out our next scenic destination. The High Trestle Trail bridge is an old railroad bridge that was converted into an awesome bike trail and it's very impressive, especially at night when it turns blue. Reminds me of the blue bridge in Ottumwa...except sooooo much cooler. :)

Pardon the less than stellar phone pics:

This picture is a little crazy courtesy of Instagram (feel free to follow me, @erinheeren)

Matt wanted his picture taken with the blue lights. As you can see, that didn't go well.

As we drove back to Des Moines we got to see a few fireworks displays, and I looooooove fireworks so that was a bonus.

Cut to our actual anniversary. We both took the day off so we were trying to think of something fun to do. We quickly realized that it was going to be too ridiculously hot to do much, so it was the perfect day for a water park! After some investigating, we had the perfect day planned. Matt is on a mission to eat his way through the Des Moines Top 100 restaurants, so we decided to go to a place that would be hard for him to get to in our normal routine. I suggested La Mie, a little bakery cafe near where I work, because their lunch is delicious and I love it. :) It was delicious!

And then we were off to Cascade Falls water park in Ankeny, a nearby suburb. This was probably the best idea we've ever had, it was a blast and only $7 per person! There were three slides, a lazy river, a kneeboarding simulation (that's a terrible description but I don't know how to explain it), a lap pool, kids area...it was awesome. We got there when it opened and I'm glad we did...a couple of hours later it was packed! We did just about everything there was to do a few times (other than the kiddie pool) and ended up being there for almost four hours. This balanced out our train ride because we were about the oldest people at the water park that had no children. Apparently we are very diverse in our interests!

Then we had to leave so I could go to class...but I came home in time to cut our top layer of wedding cake! We even got out our official cake cutter, figuring we wouldn't have a whole lot of opportunities to use it again. I've got to say, I had low expectations for year-old cake, but it was delicious! Apparently we have cake storage methods down to a science if anyone needs tips.

Confession, we actually cut the layer in half right after the wedding and ate half of it last year for two reasons. One, just in case it sucked a year later. Two, it took up half as much room in our freezer.

Then we exchanged gifts. We did the traditional anniversary gifts of paper so we had to get creative, and we did a good job! I'll be back with those in a second post because I've realized I have no pictures. #fail

How did you celebrate your first anniversary?

30 Before 30 Update

2012-07-09T21:14:00.002-05:00

While at an ICubs game recently, my friend Dan pointed out that I am long overdue for a 30 Before 30 progress report. Given the fact that I'm only 7 months away from my deadline, he's definitely right. But despite my lack of posting about the list, I have made some progress.

Let's see, when we last visited the list, it was looking like this:

1. Go to a Bears game at Soldier Field
2. ~~Get LASIK surgery~~
3. Blog regularly (5 times a week)
4. Take a ballroom dance class
5. Get up on waterskis
6. Paint a picture
7. Go to the Ellen Show
8. Run the Disney Half Marathon
9. Host a dinner party
10. Pare down my t-shirt collection
11. ~~Complete the Farrells Extreme Bodyshaping Course~~
12. Give up caffeine. For real this time.
13. ~~Get married~~
14. Learn how to sew
15. ~~Teach myself to use Photoshop~~
16. Get my MBA
17. Read 10 books (starting now, books read before today don't count)
18. Do a second sprint triathlon
19. Take a weekend train trip to Chicago
20. Visit the Grand Canyon
21. Conquer my fear of snowboarding
22. Beat Super Mario Brothers Wii
23. Create a weekly meal plan and use it
24. Organize the kitchen
25. Ride in a hot air balloon
26. Join the orchestra and/or choir at Hope
27. Go to a shooting range
28. Make 10 things I've seen on Pinterest
29. Learn how to decorate a cake
30. Participate in a flash mob

As we all know, I went to the Grand Canyon back in May, so I'm crossing that off.

Sometime this spring Matt and I reorganized our kitchen. This was an undertaking that Matt wasn't a huge fan of, because I made him take EVERY SINGLE THING out from the cupboards and drawers. So for a couple days our house looked like this:

Side note - how cute and small is Bailey here? Awww...

Once we got everything out, we grouped it in categories that made sense, as opposed to our previous method of cramming things where we had room. So even though it was a huge inconvenience, we powered through and got it done. Check!

Also, I've blown my 10 book challenge out of the water as I am currently on book 12 for the year and it's only August! Here's my list for the year so far:

1. Sophie's Choice

2. Unbearable Lightness

3. Stuck in the Middle

4. Age Before Beauty

5. Third Time's a Charm

6. Hunger Games

7. Mockingjay

8. Catching Fire

9. Bossy Pants

10. Let's Pretend This Never Happened

11. I Hate People (I had to read this for class but I'm counting it because I read every single word and loved it.)

And because we need more pictures of Bailey on the blog, here she is stealing my Nook to read Hunger Games. (No I didn't stage this photo.)

I'll be back with book reports in theory...but for now, cross three more items off the list! I'm also counting "Get My MBA" as I am in process and can't really speed that process along. It's also possible that I've made 10 things on Pinterest...I need to think that one through. So I'm somewhere around 8 down, 22ish to go.

I'd better get busy!

Have you accomplished things on your list?

Grand Canyon

2012-07-08T22:00:00.002-05:00

The second half of our Vegas vacation took us on a 7 hour bus ride to the Grand Canyon. In an effort to not over-hype myself, I didn't look at any pictures or do any research whatsoever before getting on the bus. I expected to be able to see canyon-like features as we started to get close. However, about 10 minutes before we arrived, I had yet to see anything except a forest of pine trees. This confused me to the point that I decided the Grand Canyon was probably just a hoax set up as a tourist trap...there clearly was not actually a canyon. In fact, just a few minutes before we got off the bus I sent this photo to my friend Cristan, with the subject line "Grand Canyon."

As it turns out, I was wrong. There is a canyon, and it is very grand. The bus trip we were on only spends about 2 hours at the canyon before turning around and heading back to Vegas. Luckily, we had decided to stay the night in a cabin to give ourselves more time to explore. I am so glad we did! Two hours is not nearly enough time to take it all in.

I was expecting us to be roughing it in our cabin...but I was pleasantly surprised to see that this was really more like a hotel than a cabin. Beds, walls, air conditioning, the works! After checking in, we set off for a hike. The dads decided they didn't want to join us, so we set off without them down the canyon.

Turns out they had a good idea staying behind...the first half was a nice easy downhill climb, but then we had to go back up! It was worth it for the view though.

After we made our way back up the canyon, we hopped on the bus route and went to all the overlook points. It was so huge, my brain couldn't even comprehend what I was looking at. It was amazing.

My dad was very concerned that I was going to fall off the edge of the canyon. I can see why...this is a big cliff.

The second day was the highlight of the trip because we went on a helicopter tour of the canyon. I was pretty scared because I get claustrophobic, but it was awesome. We could see both rims of the canyon, as well as great views of the Colorado River, which you can just barely see from the top of the canyon.

Then we spent the rest of the day hitting up the rest of the overlook points before catching the bus back to Vegas.

I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance. A couple of tips: stay the night. There is no way we would have had the chance to see everything we wanted to see if we hadn't added the overnight to our trip. Also, the South Rim is a lot more impressive than the West Rim, from what I'm told. The West Rim is much closer to Vegas but has much less grand views. And finally, take a helicopter ride. It'll make your trip, I promise.

After one more night in Vegas, we headed back home. It was a great chance to get away and spend some time with family!

Vegas vacation

2012-06-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

Over a month ago (yikes I'm behind...) we took advantage of my three week break from school to go on a little family vacation with my dad and Matt's parents. As it turns out, my dad had always wanted to see the Grand Canyon and Matt's mom had always wanted to see Vegas, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone. And thus a vacation was born.

Our first stop was Vegas. This was my third time there, the dad's second times, and Matt and Marcy's first. Since I was really the only gambler in the group, we spent most of our time hitting up the "must-see" Vegas sites. We also got to have dinner with Matt's cousins Dan and Kristin, who took us to THE MOST DELICIOUS RESTAURANT EVER that I can't remember the name of...Table 7? Table 35? Table...something.

But enough narrating, time for a photo dump:

Mirage volcano

The amazing Bellagio gardens

Marcy admiring the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Dad, Matt and I in front of a very large chandelier at the Cosmopolitan

Checking out downtown from the top of the Stratosphere

John, Marcy, me, Matt, Dad on top of the Stratosphere

Pirate show at Treasure Island

Gondola ride at the Venetian

We also took a short bus ride to the Hoover Dam. I'd been there before, but that is one impressive sight, no matter how many times you have seen it.

The dam, as seen from the really large bridge that I can't remember the name of

Matt and his parents on top of the dam. (Aforementioned large bridge in the background.)

Waving at each other from different states

Next stop, the Grand Canyon!

I survived accounting...and Bailey survived the lake

2012-06-20T12:21:00.000-05:00

Knock on wood...I believe I have conquered the last accounting class I will ever have to take. Well...not conquered so much as survived by the skin of my teeth. But I managed to learn enough to survive. And I've had three very fantastic weeks off before the summer session started up again!

In the mean time, June is almost over!!! This spring flew by between work, class, redecorating and rearranging our house, training the puppy...it's been busy!

We have been spending lots of time at Raccoon River Park, just a few miles south of our house. It's one of my favorite places in Des Moines with trails, a beach, softball fields, a dog park, Tropical Sno...basically everything you could want in a park.

Who needs Florida?
Image source

A few weeks ago we taught Bailey how to swim. She's been afraid of the water up until recently so it was fun to see her start to splash around on the shore. And finally she jumped right in!

Why I love March Madness

2012-03-20T15:05:00.000-05:00

This time of year, it seems like everyone is posting about how they either love March Madness or they just don't get what all the fuss is about. I definitely fall into the former, so it got me thinking- why do I love March Madness so much? Or sports in general?

Coming from a non-sports fan family (sorry Dad), it's weird that I love sports as much as I do. Growing up, sporting events were definitely just a social activity - I went to all the high school football and basketball games, and I cheered when the crowd cheered, but I had no idea what was happening. It was just fun to be a part of something.

I spent the majority of my high school days hanging out with a group of boys, so I absorbed a bit of sports knowledge solely so I would know what people were talking about. In fact, I may or may not have been a groupie for a YMCA boys basketball league. Then one day during my senior year of high school, I happened to turn on the tv on a Saturday in mid-March and a basketball game was on. Having nothing better to do, I watched the game, and then the game after it. Before I knew it I had watched basketball for eight hours. And I couldn't wait for the next day to do it again. An obsession was born.

Once I got to Iowa State, I had the convenience of living right across the street from Hilton Coliseum and Jack Trice Stadium. I became an avid football fan, even though I still had no idea what was going on. But then came basketball season. We were right on the heels of an amazing season the year before, so Hilton was rocking. I was hooked.

Eventually I started to understand what was going on, and my friend Dan filled in the gaps when I didn't. I learned that sports were even more fun when you understood the game. And I learned that when you understood the game, you could talk to other people about the game.

I also learned that Cyclone fans are a special breed. Even through a string of basketball and football coaches and a series of ups and downs, we never give up and we continue to care. We care about the sports that most people don't care about. We care about our teams during losing seasons. And we appreciate our victories in a way that many teams can't because they mean more to us.

So Iowa State took my sports obsession to another level. But basketball has always been my sport of choice. It's probably partly jealousy that my 5'4" self wasn't destined for the WNBA. But mostly it's the pace of the game, the thrill of the last second shot, and the moments that make me look like this:

And March Madness provides just that. Even if I've never heard of the schools that are playing, it's exciting to root for an upset and to follow along with my bracket (which was a lost cause this year).

The things I haven't blogged about...

2012-03-12T21:39:00.000-05:00

Nothing will motivate me to blog like not wanting to study for my business ethics exam. So here's a run down on everything I haven't blogged about.

Baconfest - A few weeks ago we went to a festival devoted entirely to bacon. Many popular Des Moines restaurants concocted bacon themed dishes to sample, including peanut butter bacon brownies, bacon tacos, bacon pizza, and bacon ice cream! Despite the SUPER long lines, it was a good time! Not something I ever need to do again, but it was worth doing.

Grad school update - Somehow I got a 90% on my first exam! The Mayans might be on to something, I think the world is ending. I don't think I will get so lucky on my test tomorrow though...especially with how hard I am currently studying.

Bailey - Well she graduated from puppy class and is on to obedience school. Just in time, as she has recently started a really fun chewing phase. So far we have a shoe and a chair as casualties. She has been spending a lot of time at the dog park which is the best. thing. ever.

Cats - They no longer hate Bailey. Hooray! Photo evidence of them all being in the same room together:

Big 12 Tournament - Last week my friend Laura and I went to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament, an annual girls weekend. This year our trip was cut very short by two back to back Cyclone losses by the men and the women. But we still had a good time as always, and we're hoping for better luck this week in the NCAA Tourney! Anyone want to road trip to Louisville?

Hunger Games - Is awesome. Done with the first book, on to the second. If you haven't read it, do it immediately. Even Bailey likes it.

And there you have it, the past month in a nut shell. What have you all been up to?

Book report - Sophie's Choice

2012-02-10T17:00:00.000-06:00

As part of my 30 Before 30, I'm supposed to read 10 books this year. Matt told me that goal was too ambitious but I'm going to show him. Here it is, halfway through February, and I have three books down already! Take that, Matt.

Since there's not a chance I'm going to remember what books I read by the end of the year, you get to read book reports. I'll wait while you control your excitement.

Okay now that you've composed yourselves, onward with the book report. The first book I conquered this year was Sophie's Choice by William Styron. I say conquered because this book took me over a year to read. But since I read 80% of it within the past two months, I'm counting it.

Image source

I powered through this book for three reasons. One, it seemed like one of the classic books that I should have read. Two, people were always referring to things being "like Sophie's Choice", and I didn't know what that meant. And three, my friend Cristan mailed it to me over a year ago and told me I should read it. That's really what kept me going, I figured she wouldn't have sent me a book that wasn't worth my time.

My biggest beef with the book was that you don't find out what Sophie's choice is until you've read over 400 pages. This really shouldn't have surprised me since you also don't meet Sophie's character until after about 100 pages. Being an instant gratification kind of gal, this tried my patience. And the first 100 pages are what took me over a year to get through. Once Sophie entered the book, things got infinitely more interesting.

More than anything, the book showed me once again how ignorant I am about history. I learned so much about WWII that I didn't know. For example, I knew relatively nothing about Poland and the genocide of non-Jewish Poles. I also knew very little about concentration camps, other than the basics. Sophie's story was captivating, even if the book was a little bit wordy.

I won't tell you what her choice was, and I won't tell you how I felt about it. I will tell you that I was annoyed at Sophie at the end. I will also tell you that there is a movie, so if you don't want to read 547 pages of quality literature, there is an easier option. But despite my struggles to get into it, Sophie's Choice was definitely worth reading. I'm just glad I finally finished so I could move on, it was really holding me up for quite some time!

Has anyone else read Sophie's Choice? Am I the only one who struggled to get into it?

The best birthday present on the planet

2012-02-09T14:44:00.003-06:00

I've been a little absent lately...and I'm not going to lie, it will probably continue until I'm released from the grips of my accounting class. BUT, Monday was my birthday, and I received a present so awesome that I needed to take a break from analyzing cash flow statements to share it with the world.

Meet Chucky. That's not really his name, but that's what I call him:

Image source

Yes, I am now the owner of a matted print of a creepy boy riding a mechanical duck. You may be asking yourself...what in the world is this and why would she want this? That would be a valid question. Here's the story.

Last month during my trip to Baltimore, my friend Cristan and I decided we were going to start sending each other random awesome things. And by awesome, we meant kind of weird. So she got the ball rolling with my birthday gift. She has set the bar high my friends. I am now on a quest to find something awesome for her.

In other news, I now have less than a year to complete my 30 Before 30. I've made some progress though, so stay tuned...if I ever manage to conquer my accounting homework quickly enough to blog. Fingers crossed.

How I took control of my inbox

2012-01-27T12:30:00.000-06:00

I am probably the most disorganized, yet organized person that I know. Case in point, at any given time my desk probably looks like this:

Which would be chaos were it not for the fact that I know what every single thing is in those scattered piles. And if I put things away, I forget to deal with them. Out of sight, out of mind.

The same goes for my inbox. I tend to file or delete things only when I know that I don't need to work on them anymore. The result is usually upwards of 200 emails in my inbox. And let's face it, sometimes things get buried, and sometimes things don't get done. So it was time to make a change. I got my inspiration from a blog I read recently. Suddenly I realized I had 289 emails in my inbox and I had to get control of my life, because my inbox is basically my life for 40 hours a week . This is the story of how I got my inbox to look like this:

Yes that's right, it's empty. More importantly, it has remained empty all week. And I can't even tell you how good that feels. The best part is, to the best of my knowledge I haven't forgotten to do anything (knock on wood).

The biggest problem for me was figuring out a filing system that would get these emails out of my way, but still let me know that I needed to be thinking about them. Let's zoom in on my files, shall we?

Similar to a task list, I categorized emails based on how soon I needed to do something with them. For me, the categories that made sense were "end of day," "end of week," and "when you have time." I created a "still in process" folder for those items that weren't finished, but the ball was in someone else's court. And finally a "read" folder for e-newsletters, etc. that I need to glance through at some point. These are my working folders. I asterisked each of them so that they would appear at the top of the list. Below, I created a folder called "files" (I'll pause while you appreciate my naming creativity). This is everything that I'm done working on but need for my records.

Well this all sounds good in theory, but does it work? So far, the answer is yes. Whenever I get an email, if I can't immediately deal with it, I file it accordingly. And the great thing about a completely empty inbox is that it's glaringly obvious that I need to look elsewhere. So each day I make sure I've touched everything in the "end of day" folder. If I can't finish it, it stays there so I know to keep it as a priority for the next day. I also scan through the "end of week" folder to see if there's anything in there I can wrap up, and I check the "still in process" folder to see if the status on any of those items has changed.

I also realized how many emails I was hanging onto for absolutely no reason other than I'd forgotten to delete them. This system is making it easier for me to delete unimportant things if they don't belong in any of the folders. This must be what it feels like to be a minimalist...

I'm hoping this new-found organization will spread to other facets of my life (aka my house and my desk), but baby steps, my friends. For now, I feel confident for the first time in a long time that I'm in charge of my emails, not the other way around.

How do you organize your inbox?

Back to school

2012-01-26T18:00:00.000-06:00

You're welcome for the creative title.

I've only been out of school for 5 years, you'd think it would be easy to get back into the rhythm. Wrong! After two weeks of classes, here's what I've noted:

I have COMPLETELY forgotten how I used to do things. Taking notes, writing down assignments, studying...I can't remember my system for any of it. This may shock some of you (particularly my husband) but I am a creature of habit. And when you can't remember your habits, it's a little bit scary.
Classes are different with technology. In undergrad, I would show up with my Five Star notebook and a pen (and the Iowa State Daily crossword puzzle...) and I was good to go. Enter wireless internet. Suddenly there are too many options - iPad, laptop, notebook, what's a girl to do?
It is much easier to sit through a 3 hour class when you are used to working an 8 hour day. In undergrad, I thought Tuesday/Thursday classes were unbearable because they were just over an hour. Now a 3 hour class is nothing. Well, not nothing. But so much better.
I'm fairly certain that I didn't read my text books in undergrad. Or if I did, it was the night before the exam and I was speed reading. Speed reading = short term memorization. However, this time I seem to be on top of the reading. Before class, even. Might be a fad, we'll see.
It was a lot easier to do homework when that was the only thing I had to do at night. That whole full time job thing just gets in the way. Props to those of you with kids, I don't know how you do it.

Image source

As for my classes, so far so good. I'm taking a business ethics class that seems to be pretty interesting. It's mostly case studies and discussions of how we would handle the situations. It's also brought up some interesting conversations, such as whether or not you can actually teach ethics. It got me thinking...or at least it got me tweeting.

My other class is about analyzing financial statements. This might be the death of me as I struggled through accounting at Iowa State. However, this time around I can see the practical applications of what I'm learning, so I'm trudging onward.

Has anyone else forgotten what it's like to be a student? Or does anyone want to be my accounting tutor?

The rollover

2012-01-24T17:00:00.000-06:00

I was driving my old car from high school on a state highway on my way home from an ISU game in the pouring rain. I was getting bored driving normally down the road so I decided to start jerking my car back and forth from lane to lane. Suddenly I jumped out of the car and watched it careen into a ditch. This didn't bother me as I knew that I could pick the car up and put it back on the road. I hopped down in the ditch and hoisted my car back on the road, but my super human strength caused the car to flip and roll across the road into the ditch on the other side. Unfortunately on the other side of the road there was a giant lagoon, and I got over there just in time to watch my car sink to the bottom on it's back. Then I realized that my cell phone and wallet were both inside.

Luckily I was only 10 miles from Marshalltown, where my friend Dan lives. I knew that he would be able to pull my car out of the lake, so I started walking to his house. Just then my friend Mike drove by and found me walking in the rain and picked me up. He wanted to drive me back to Des Moines, but I refused because I needed to get to Dan's house. Mike didn't understand why I wouldn't want to go home, so I finally leaped out of his moving car and ran to Marshalltown.

When I got to Dan's house he wasn't home, so I sat in his living room and played Wii until he got there. Once he got home he informed me that he can no longer lift cars out of lakes and that I needed to go home. I called Matt to come get me so I walked back to Des Moines in the rain and never saw my car again.

How I ate and drank my way up the east coast, part two

2012-01-21T18:15:00.000-06:00

The second half of my east coast adventure took place in Philadelphia, where I was attending a conference for work. Luckily, the train arrived at 2:00 p.m. and I didn't have anywhere to be until the next day so I had a chance to explore. As soon as I got to Philly I was starving and I was on a mission to find a cheese steak. So I set out to eat at the first place I could find that said "Philly's best cheese steak" in the window. I stumbled upon Campo's, and settled in with my authentic Philly cheese steak.

Now I'm not going to lie, I'm generally not a huge fan of cheese steaks, but when in Rome, right? Well this was delicious. Caramelized onions and peppers, and fresh provolone and thin sliced steak. I'll take Campo's word for it that they are the best in the city!

Once that was crossed off my list I set out on my sight seeing expedition. Here's a little known fact about me - I absolutely love to travel by myself. No offense to anyone who has traveled with me, but there's something about getting to a city with no idea where to go or what to do and figuring it out on your own. So when I travel, I generally have no agenda in mind until I get there.

My agenda for the afternoon was recommended by my cab driver, who are generally the best advice givers because they know their cities better than anyone. So I had two goals in mind for the day. Number one, find the Liberty Bell. Number two, find the Constitution Center.

Conveniently, downtown Philadelphia has all kinds of handy signage telling you how to get to all the nearby attractions. And everything is in walking distance so I was in luck. First stop, Liberty Bell. As I was walking toward it, I realized that I actually know relatively nothing about the Liberty Bell, other than the fact that it is old and it is a bell. And it has a crack. My history teacher would be ashamed. So I actually didn't know what I was looking for, but I figured I'd know it when I found it. And then I found it. I knew by the mob of people surrounding a huge window. Beyond that window was a bell. So I used my powers of deduction to tell me that I was in the right place. I was just going to take a picture from the outside, but since there was no admission charge, I figured I should probably go in and learn what this bell was all about.

After I had thoroughly educated myself, I decided it would be acceptable for me to go see the bell in person.

Then I was off to see more sights, including the State House, Benjamin Franklin's grave, and the US Mint.

I couldn't figure out how to get into the cemetery to see Ben Franklin's grave up close. Or I was too lazy. Either way the through-the-fence shot seemed like the way to go. So I was off to the National Constitution Center. This museum was really cool, although it did not actually house the Constitution (which I'd forgotten until searching the whole building for it...again with my history teacher being proud...) The first stop was a WWII exhibit, complete with a live stage performance of people's real life experiences at the war. Then upstairs to the largest, most sensory overloaded exhibit I've ever seen in a museum.

It basically ran through the entire history of the United States from the 1700's to today. Complete with 5000 media displays running simultaneously. And I was one of three people there at the time. Veeeeery overwhelming but very cool. Then you finally get to a room that is a model of the signing of the Constitution, and you have the opportunity to "sign it" yourself. I finished my self-guided tour of Philly with dinner at Tamarind, a Thai restaurant that was recommended to me by Yelp, for some delicious green curry.

The next couple of days were spent at a conference about reunions and homecomings. I made some friends who decided to venture out in the city with me. Thanks to some recommendations by the hotel staff, we had a game plan. We checked out a local microbrewery called Triumph Brewing Company, where the waiter convinced us to try the local beer flight.

We also went and did some sight seeing as a group, where I made a return trip to the Liberty Bell. I might be a Liberty Bell groupie.

And to round out the trip, we ate at a DELICIOUS Italian restaurant, Spasso Italian Grill. The thing I was most impressed by in Philly was the wait staff that we encountered. Every single place we went our waiters were friendly and helpful. Three of my new friends were from Canada, so we had a great time discussing Canadian vs. American traditions. For example, they call a case of beer a two-four. And they really say "eh" a lot! They really entertained the Americans in the group, it was a great time.

After a flight cancellation debacle, I made my way home. I'll be heading back to the East Coast in April for a Baltimore/NYC/DC visit that I'm calling Erin's East Coast Extravaganza. This trip was so much fun that I can't wait to go back!

Any must-see recommendations for my next trip?

I can see clearly now

2012-01-18T17:09:00.000-06:00

Alternately titled: How I became a vampire

I recently conquered the most dangerous of my 30 Before 30 tasks and I've lived to tell the tale. Or more importantly, I can see to blog the tale. That's right, I am typing this with my brand new 20/20 vision, courtesy of LASIK. Prior to the surgery, I knew the basics...how long it takes, does it hurt...but I didn't really have a good sense of what actually happens and how I would feel. So I'm here to break it down for you.

*If you are grossed out by medical procedures and/or people touching your eyes, you may want to skip this post. I'll catch you on the next one. Also this post is long and wordy. I apologize in advance.

Image source

Lots of people have asked me why I chose to get LASIK. For me, it was a no-brainer. I've been in glasses/contacts since 4th grade and can't see at all without them. Correction: couldn't see without them. I very rarely wore my glasses as they would often trigger migraines and I just couldn't see as well as I could with contacts. However, the older I got and the more I *ahem* abused my contacts (not that I would ever wear them for too long or forget to take them out...) it became harder and harder for me to wear them comfortably. So LASIK was really the best option. And according to my uncle, the ophthalmologist, there is a high enough risk of infection with contacts that it almost cancels out the risk of the surgery. Sign me up.

I chose the location of my surgery, LasikPlus, based on a discount provided by my insurance. I put all my trust in the fact that my insurance company wouldn't endorse a shoddy company to operate on my eyes. The first step is having your eyes checked to see if you are a candidate, which is somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of people. Honestly this was the scariest part of the whole procedure for me, because I was going to be extremely disappointed if I wasn't a candidate. This is no different than a normal eye exam where they dilate your pupils and check the health of your eyes. Once you are determined as a candidate, you can schedule your surgery.

A week before the surgery, you have to start using prescription moisturizing drops, and two days before you start some sort of medicine drops (that was informative, you're welcome). You go back in the day before just for them to fine tune your prescription and make sure nothing has changed.

Okay, so the day of the surgery. The most interesting thing is that there are two physicians on staff, an optometrist and a surgeon. The optometrist conducts all of your appointments, so you don't actually meet the surgeon until it's time for the surgery. That was a little nerve-wracking, but I rolled with it. You are taken back to a room that reminded me of the Dharma Initiative labs on Lost. For those who haven't seen Lost, it reminded me of this:

Really it looked nothing like that, it was very clean and the machinery was from this decade, but the people wandering around in lab coats and the fancy equipment that I'd never seen really made me think that I was on the island. I half expected John Locke to walk around the corner.

When the doctor came in, the first step was numbing drops, then she marked each eye with a pen so she would be sure to line the laser up properly. It was weird to me that you could just write on my eye, but I couldn't feel it so I was fine. (I should note, I have absolutely no problem with people touching my eyes.) Then she took me into the big scary looking lab and we got started.

They go to great lengths to insure that you are comfortable throughout the surgery. You are given a pillow for your knees, stress balls to hold, and Dr. Alban walks you through the entire procedure as she goes. The first laser cuts the flap. You lay down and they put a plastic ring around your eye to hold your eyelids back and stabilize your eye from moving. That's pretty much the worst part of the procedure. You stare at a light and then everything goes fuzzy for about 30 seconds. I had read that you would totally lose vision for that part which freaked me out a little, but that didn't happen for me. Then they take the eyelid holder out and move you to the second laser.

Once again you are given the knee pillow and the stress balls. The second laser wasn't as scary for me because I knew they weren't cutting into my eye. They put the pesky eyelid holder back on your eye and tape your lashes down. You stare at a green flashing light that begins to look like a kaleidoscope for about 30 seconds. It's very loud and smells like an overheated hairdryer. But just like that, it's over and you can see.

The best part was that throughout the entire procedure, Dr. Alban kept up a running commentary of "you're great, you're awesome, looks good, you're amazing, keep going, great job, everything's good, doing awesome, looks wonderful, 20 more seconds, doing great, you're wonderful, no problems, it's great, almost done..." You get the picture. It would have been annoying if it hadn't been extremely comforting. I just kept thinking that if something were going wrong she wouldn't' be able to keep talking.

Then they took me into the recovery room and had me sit with Matt for about 10 minutes, gave me some nifty shades to wear, and sent me home. And I could see!

Before you start, they give you Tylenol PM to help you sleep afterward. The four hours following the surgery are the worst because your eyes will sting and produce unbelievable amounts of tears. My advice, take as much Tylenol PM as they will let you. I only took one and I couldn't fall asleep when I got home, so I suffered through the first two hours before FINALLY falling asleep. After you wake up, you aren't really allowed to do anything that involves your eyes for the rest of the day. No tv, no reading, no bright lights. So out of sheer boredom, I basically slept for 24 hours. Matt couldn't believe it.

The next day you go back for a follow up appointment, where I was told that everything looked good and I was seeing with better than 20/20 vision. At that point you can watch tv, read, etc. to a limited extent. You just have to use four different kinds of eye drops, sleep with eye protectors, and keep water out of your eyes in the shower. You also can't exercise for a week and can't swim for two weeks.

What they don't tell you is what your eyes will look like when you are done with the surgery. Because the eyelid holder puts so much pressure on your eyes, you end up looking like this:

I can't even believe I just put that picture on the internet. Supposedly that lasts for two weeks, so I am avoiding making eye contact with people whenever possible. The people in my new grad school classes probably think I'm crazy...or on drugs. But that's really the only side effect, other that dry eyes that need a break every now and then. And you can't rub them to make them feel better, so you just keep pumping the eye drops.

Is it a pain? Yes. Am I embarrassed by my creepy eyes? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes. At least it will be, once I stop carrying around a pharmacy in my purse and scaring small children with my vampire eyes.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with Lasik?

How I ate and drank my way up the east coast, part one

2012-01-16T23:00:00.000-06:00

I've been absent from blogland because I've been on an east coast adventure! I'm fortunate to have high school friends scattered throughout the country, so I'm always excited when my travel plans can coincide with a visit to see them.

I spent the past week in Philadelphia for a conference (more on that later) and realized that I could easily visit my friend Cristan in Baltimore the weekend prior. So off I went. I first visited Baltimore last spring and was pleasantly surprised by how clean and tourist friendly the Inner Harbor area was (until I almost got kidnapped in a fake cab on the way to the airport, but that's another story for another day.) Since I'd already explored the city a little bit I had no agenda for Cristan other that I needed to eat a crab cake. Having read my post Corey's amazing restaurant suggestions for us in Denver, Cristan and her boyfriend Terrence were bound and determined to one-up him. This could only turn out well for me.

Our first stop was a place called Alewife that we stumbled upon as a happy accident. We knew we were in for a treat when we realized the place had 40 beers on tap. And their specialty burger was topped with brisket and bacon. Wow. Cristan was off to a good start, it was delicious.

We then began a trek across the Inner Harbor, stopping along the way to check out some local shops, tour a lighthouse, and visit a couple of local pubs.

I have no idea what I'm pointing to, but clearly I was impressed.

I love how everything just looks historical on the east coast. The row houses, the brick buildings, the cobblestone streets. It makes me wish I knew something about history.

We ended up at our destination: dinner. Or should I say destination: crab cake. Um...wow. Mama's on the Half Shell, best crab cakes ever. In Iowa the crab cakes tend to consist of more breading than actual crab, so this was a treat. And my meal was rounded out by the best mac and cheese ever (and if you know me well you will know that's a big deal, I LOVE me some mac and cheese) and a signature Baltimore drink, the crush. Exhausted from walking and eating, we called it a night after dinner.

Day two started with an early breakfast at Blue Moon Cafe. After devouring a breakfast burrito we were off to check out Federal Hill. I'm not really sure what the significance of the hill is...but the view was great. My history teacher would be ashamed.

Please enjoy how incredible we look in this picture

We spent the rest of the morning exploring Cristan's neighborhood, including a local market that made me wish I wasn't traveling so I could buy some fresh fish.

Then Cristan taught me how to make origami jewelry boxes, because what trip to Baltimore isn't complete without some origami? I was very impressed with myself.

And after all that it was only noon, and time for me to catch my train to Philly. I hadn't ridden AMTRAK in years, so this was a fun treat for me as well.

I've given a lot of thought to the Cristan vs. Corey food battle, and I think I'm going to cop out and call it a tie. Although I might have to give the edge to Cristan because she ate at all the locations with me. If anyone else wants in on this battle I'd be happy to come visit you and eat my way through your city too!

I get a B for effort

2012-01-05T12:30:00.000-06:00

I bet some of you are wondering what happened to me and my grand workout declaration. Seemingly, I fell off the wagon because I haven't updated or posted about it in about 3 weeks. So for accountability purposes, I owe you a recap because there's nothing I hate more than a plot line that isn't resolved.

The week before Christmas, I just plain failed. Completely failed. So as Christmas Day appeared, I was stuck at 14 workouts (which is still WAY more than I would have done without the challenge). So I extended the challenge to myself until New Years Eve, figuring I should take advantage of my time off.

Well I didn't make it to 20, but I did make it to 17. And 720 out of the 900 minutes I wanted. So I'm giving myself a B on this effort. But let's be honest, had it not been for the challenge, I would have made time for approximately 3 workouts and about 150 minutes in the three weeks preceding the holidays, so I'm calling this a success.

Here's how my workouts broke down:

Day 1 (11/28): 5 minute run, 45 minute Zumba class, 15 minute weight lifting - upper body
Total minutes - 65

Day 2 (12/1): 3 mile- 28 minute run, 5 minute cool down
  Total minutes - 33

Day 3 (12/2): 37 minutes of Zumba DVD (yes that's a weird amount of time - I had to be somewhere)
  Total minutes - 37

Day 4 (12/3): 35 minutes of Zumba DVD - cardio party
  Total minutes - 35

Day 5 (12/4): 25 minutes of Zumba DVD - cardio party
  Total minutes - 25

Day 6 (12/5): 45 minute Zumba class, 20 minutes ab work on exercise ball
  Total minutes - 65

Day 7 (12/6): 25 minutes of Zumba DVD - lower body strength training
  Total minutes - 25

Day 8 (12/8): 25 minute Pilates DVD - upper body strength training
  Total minutes - 25

Day 9 (12/11): 3 mile walk through Denver (I realize this is a lame workout but walking at a higher elevation with a cold is a workout, I promise. I was exhausted and dehydrated...my two workout criteria.)
  Total minutes - 45

Day 10 (12/14): 1/2 mile warm up run (5 min), Zumba class (45 min), Stationary bike (10 min)
  Total minutes - 60

Day 11 (12/15): 35 minutes of Zumba DVD - back and core strength training
  Total minutes - 35

Day 12 (12/16): 35 minutes of step aerobics class - 15 minutes Pilates class
  Total minutes - 50

Day 13 (12/18): 40 minutes of lap swimming - 10 minutes stretching
  Total minutes - 50

Day 14 (12/20): 20 minutes of ab work
  Total minutes - 20

Day 15 (12/27): 20 minutes of strength training - 40 minutes of step aerobics
  Total minutes - 60

Day 16 (12/29): 40 minutes running - 20 minutes strength training
  Total minutes - 60

Day 17 (12/30): 30 minutes running
  Total minutes - 30

Total minutes overall - 720

So now we are in the new year and it's time to get back in the swing of things. Thankfully the weather has been nice enough to do some outdoor running because I HATE going to the gym in January and February. All those new year's resolutioners (yes I made up a word) make the place packed!

Did anyone else struggle to fit in workouts over the holidays?

The art that saved my bathroom

2012-01-03T20:30:00.000-06:00

Have you ever planned something out in your head, and then when it comes to fruition it is nothing at all how you planned it? That's exactly what happened the day I decided to paint my bathroom yellow. I had visions of a nice, calming, buttery yellow, but in reality I got this:

It may not be evident in the photo, but this is a very yellow wall. Like REALLY yellow. And I wasn't a fan for a couple of reasons. One, it was by far the brightest room in our house, which is primarily warm colors. Two, it was so bright in such a small space that the color reflected on the ceiling, making it look like a dingy off white. Not exactly the look I was going for.

So I needed to figure out how to tone this wall down in a hurry. After looking into wall decals and holding up every framed picture that we had in the house, the answer suddenly came to me. For quite some time I have been drooling over this beauty from my favorite blog, Young House Love.

I'd been dying to create a frame wall somewhere in our house, and on a recent girls' trip to Ikea, I realized that this was the solution to my bathroom crisis. Luckily Ikea has just about the most reasonably priced frames you can find, so my revelation was timely. And I had six lovely assistants to help me shop. Check out our haul from Ikea!

Luckily my frame purchase only came to about $20, despite a shopping cart full of frames. I decided to go with all white and ended up with ten frames of various sizes. Because I wasn't ready to commit to a layout, I created newspaper cut outs of each frame and taped them to the wall in various combinations until I finally settled on my final layout.

So it was time to hang the frames. I did this gradually as I either found or made the items I wanted in each one (more details on those steps are on their way), but I used the same process for each. This was the easiest way to figure out how to place a nail that I've ever tried.

I lined my newspaper cut-out up with the back of the frame, and make a pen mark on the newspaper where the nail needed to go.

Then I just taped my cutout back to the wall and nailed where my pen mark was. Simplest. Thing. Ever.

Oh and the very important, super secret step that you need to know if you ever do this yourself. You MUST knock your entire nail container into your laundry bin so that you can spend the next half hour picking up every nail individually. Awesome.

And when I was all done, I had this frame wall gallery. Each of the frames are filled with items that I either stumbled upon that mean something to us or things that I created that either reflect our lives, or I just like them. The frames totally transformed the bathroom from an eyesore to an eye-catcher. Erin 1, yellow bathroom 0.

I'll be back with what's in the frames in another post, because I've rambled long enough and I want to play with my puppy. So here's a close up to tide you over in the mean time.

Has anyone else had to come up with a creative way to transform a not so pretty space?