the haps

Posted on November 21, 2013November 21, 2013 by kelliwarren

Here’s what’s been going on lately:

My dad took us all (me, Mark, Taylor, Courtney and our mom) to the BYU vs. Stanford basketball game. Before the game we went to dinner at the Stanford shopping center where we spotted our first Christmas tree of the season! Of course we had to take some pictures in front of it!

I did a little crafting with my cute friend Steph. We painted a few pine cones, but mostly chatted, it was wonderful! (the pine cones don’t look so great in the picture but they are darling in person. I love them!)

glittered tips

And of course Mark cuddled with Leo. Doesn’t Leo look like he just loves it?! (Sorry instagram followers, I know you already get too much of Leo on there and now on my blog too. I just can’t help it!)

Also, earlier this year when Leo was a very mischievous kitten, he swatted my beloved Chi hair straightener off the counter and one of the plates broke off and was hanging by the wire! I could have died in that moment, for those of you who haven’t seen my hair dry naturally or with a blow dryer, I look like I have a lions mane, it’s out of control (i.e.- one time in college a huge group of us went to my grandma’s house in Draper for conference weekend. I fell asleep with my hair wet in a towel on my head. When I woke up in the morning my hair was pretty much an afro, *Melissa & Glenna-why didn’t we take a picture of it?!) Anyways, after pulling myself together I grabbed my straightener and the gorilla glue and went to town. It worked, but just for a few months, yesterday my trusty companion officially died on me. So I had to run to Ulta after work to get a new one. It was an inner struggle for me. I don’t know why, it is the exact same brand, same color, same everything. But a part of me felt like my hair will never be in control again.

However, I am happy to say that after using my new straightener today, my hair looks the same. Life goes on. RIP trusty straightener that I’ve had since my senior year of high school. We’ve been through some good times and some bad times together, and definitely some bad hair colors.

On second thought…

Posted on October 9, 2013October 9, 2013 by kelliwarren

This past weekend was General Conference, more on that later, but we also had the pleasure of watching the kids I used to stay with for a week during the summers when I came home from college. I love these 4 kids. The youngest one, Ali, wore her baptism dress to our wedding, before she even wore it to her own baptism because she wanted to match me, so cute! Anyways, it’s been a few years since I’ve watched them and I pictured them still being the little kids they were. But they are all grown up now, the oldest is a senior in high school and Ali is 10! We had a good time, it was funny to watch Mark and then hear him say, “How did you do this by yourself?” These kids have A LOT of energy and at the conclusion of the weekend I couldn’t help but think, “on second thought, maybe I do want to wait longer to have kids…” Granted, I know your kids don’t come out 4 at a time (usually) and 12 years old, but I couldn’t help but think about how good life is right now. It’s quiet and just the two of us (plus Leo, who is great because we can leave him by himself all weekend with a bunch of food left out, you can’t do that with a kid!) and we can pack up and go somewhere whenever we feel like it, aka freedom.

I’ll be thrilled when that day comes but for right now I’m enjoying this stage. I guess Mark’s going to get his way a little longer.

Now for some un-related pictures! Picture 1: Mark is the scout leader for the 11 year olds. He’s loving it… ha! 😉 #2: This is Mark’s favorite thing to do to Leo right now, he thinks this face is hilarious! It drives me nuts! #3: We are hosting our first annual Halloween party! (Annual is contingent upon this one being a hit…we will see) I’ve always wanted an excuse to use a wax sealer and thought Halloween party invites were the perfect one! It was so much fun and now I’m looking for any excuse to wax seal everything, bills, mortgage payment, etc…

snap shot catch up

Posted on September 25, 2013September 25, 2013 by kelliwarren

This year is flying by. I can’t believe September is almost over and fall is here! Since I am no longer in school and seasons don’t correlate with homework or finals, fall is hands down my favorite season. I love all things summer but there is something that brightens my soul when the leaves turn red and that crisp air allows you to snuggle at night. I get so antsy anticipating when it will be socially acceptable to make pumpkin cookies and watch Hocus Pocus. If it was up to me I would be doing those two things year round but Mark is not ok with it. I thought before fall is in full force and the holidays are upon us, I would post a little catch-up through my iPhone photos.

rachel — Darling Hermana Barker in Spain!

I picked up knitting, hopefully I can finish this scarf.

I made my first batch of Pumpkin cookies this week, too soon?! nope!

I went thrift shopping with my mom this past weekend and scored this lovely hobnail vase. I am also addicted to the Volcano candle…yum!

We had a huge rain storm this weekend, first of the season. Ironically our guest bathroom/guest closet flooded. The two were not correlated.

On a side note, I just got called to be the Beehive Advisor (12-13 year old girls). I will be wearing lipstick to church every Sunday from now on as to try and look a little older…*sigh…baby face trials

A different view of San Francisco

Posted on July 11, 2013July 11, 2013 by kelliwarren

please excuse the bird…I didn’t mean to flip the camera off, I was just struggling to hold the burrito that weighed that of a small child

What three year old can wink?! This one!

These girls did work on that banana split!

I thought this house was gorgeous with the succulents on the stairs

A post isn’t complete without Leo…who is now a lap cat!

While Dave and Lauren were here we went to San Francisco with them for a little day trip. I knew I was in for an adventure because Dave is not one to do the typical touristy day. He beats to his own drum and makes everything more fun. First stop of the day was the Mission. I had never been over to this side of the city, it was like driving into Tijuana or Ensenada! Dave and Mark love Yelp and Dave found the place that made the mission burrito famous. We went there for lunch and boy was it delicious! I scarfed down that monster and enjoyed every bite…I’m embarrassed to admit that I ate more than Mark and Dave but it was so worth it!

After, we went over to Lands End Trails and Seal Rocks, which I had never been to before. It was so beautiful, but a bit chilly. It’s on the West side of the Golden Gate bridge near Bakers beach. I will be going back there to explore the beaches. We drove around the city a little, went down Filbert street, the steepest street, went past Lombard street which was absolutely gorgeous filled with amazing bright hydrangeas, it was unreal! We wanted to go by again to get some pictures but it was too busy.

America’s cup is taking place in the city right now so it was packed! After vetoing Pier 39 due to the crowds we decided to head across the bay and over to Fenton’s Creamery, I was all for this decision. If you have not been to Fenton’s you are missing out big time! They have the most amazing sundays and even their food is great. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

It was also our niece Coraline’s baby blessing so we had a great time all getting together for dinner. I love this sweet little baby and she melted my heart when she smiled at me this weekend!

Confession time

Posted on June 19, 2013 by kelliwarren

leo — This is a completely unrelated pic of Leo. It makes me laugh because he totally posed for this.

When me and Mark were dating he would come over to my house a lot, obviously. My neighbor two houses down was a few years older than us and was always having problems. It seems like not a day passed without a visit from the cops. He and his girl friend seemed to have a toxic relationship and often took it out to the curb so they could smoke while they yelled at each other. One of mine and M’s favorite pass times was to put our ears against the window and listen to them. But that didn’t ease our curiosity and we found ourselves hiding behind his parked car to get a better hearing range. It was bad, but oh so entertaining.

Well, the other day I came home from work and as I was walking from my car to the front door I heard people talking, really loud. I looked around trying to figure out where it was coming from. As I looked around I noticed Mark and Leo sitting in the window. A big smile came to my face as I thought they were sitting there waiting for me! I said “Hiiii!” apparently loudly, and Mark whispers through the window “Shhhh, come inside.” When I get inside he tells me that our upstairs neighbor is fighting with his girlfriend, trying to break up with her. It was the best welcome home gift! Mark and I sat there with our ears to the window giggling as she whined and sounded so pathetic asking why he deleted her on facebook and that she still wants to be friends and facebook is harmless….blah blah. As I sat there like an immature 6 year old sister I realized 1. that I am sick and 2. that I am so glad I’m not dating anymore and M is wonderful and I am so lucky to have found him.

rekindling the fire

Posted on June 5, 2013June 5, 2013 by kelliwarren

I’ve been MIA from this blog lately, mostly in part because I have been unhappy with the look/feel of my blog. I don’t feel like it’s really portraying my style, whatever that is. But also because I have felt like I don’t have anything of much importance to talk about. My life is pretty ordinary and low key right now. Until I realized the other night that that is my life right now and although it may be mundane, it’s exactly what I need to write about during this stage of life.

So I am currently working on my blog look and design and have rekindled my blogging passion. You will be seeing much more of me on here!

In the meantime, here is a little video of us taking Leo on a walk with our nieces. I sent it in to AFV, I’m just waiting for them to highlight it on their next animal episode. Enjoy!