hold and speak

I know you've all been wondering, so let me just tell you now what my favorite app for my iPhone is. HeyTell, also commonly referred to as "ht" which is used when texting about heytelling. I'm not kidding you this app is genius, life changing even. Basically this app is like a walkie talkie. You select a contact from your address book press the hold and speak button and start talking!

So you're probably thinking "what do you talk about over ht, or I feel to stupid and self conscious about my voice." and you know what these are all the same concerns I had HAVE. I am still self conscious about my heytelling voice because ya know what people have told me that I sound stupid when heytelling. Okay ya maybe it got me down for a couple weeks and maybe I gave up ht for a couple weeks as well, but I'm here to tell you... don't listen to those hooligans just do it. HeyTell is life changing and it's a joke yes I said it, It is a joke people! If you are going to be serious just call the person up and have a conversation with them, k. So now you're really wondering what in the heck you would say over HeyTell, well my friends... let me give you a few examples and tips.

"Who would win in a fight Beyonce or Lil Wayne, and It's 2007 Beyonce?"
"Who ya likin these days?" - a personal fav.
"You have nice eyes."
"Babe, I love you... Over and out"

Also you can never go wrong with singing, quoting movies or awkwardly HeyTelling the wrong person. No matter what it is a win win situation, and we can never have enough of those.

And if you aren't sold on this app yet. Here are a few great customer reviews (via itunes) you won't want to miss reading.

"I use this app daily...kid u not. So easy to msg peeps you know vs calling them while u are driving. Launch app. Hit button. Speak...boomb done!"
"Ever receive a text message while driving and feel compelled to reply? Go ahead with Heytell and keep your eyes on the road."
"Good"
"Love it"
"It is the funnest gadget created in years. Works well in a car when u can't text"
"I really really love it.. So convent and fun"
"Great when you are too lazy to text or fuss with dragon"

Seriously people this app is great when you're fingers are tired and you feel lazy. I said it before and I'll say it again, life changing. Go download now! I'm always on the hunt for other great apps though... so now I wanna hear from you, what are your favorite apps?

Over and Out,

nicole

If she can do it...

Have you guys heard of the "Marathon Mom"? If you have watched the news at all this week I am sure you heard her story. If not go here. A woman named Amber Miller ran the Chicago Marathon... while 9 months pregnant. Then, only hours later gave birth. REALLY?? Sounds pretty crazy to me and everyone seems to have an opinion about it. How could she do that? Was she putting her baby at risk? Is she crazy?

My opinion? Ok, so maybe she is a little crazy but I think that as long as she could do it and not be out of breath then more power to her. Doctor's these days suggest you exercise while pregnant as long as you can carry on a conversation and not  be out of breath while doing it. I exercised throughout my whole pregnancy and was glad that I did. I was able to run up until about 36 weeks and after that just stuck to the elliptical at the gym. (I wasn't running 26 miles though!) It is supposed to be great for mom and baby if mom stays fit during pregnancy so I think it is great that marathon mom kept running, althought maybe 26.2 miles is a little much.

If you have read our "about" page then you would know that I like to run. I have ran a few 1/2 marathons myself but never a full marathon. I am a little terrified to run a full marathon. My Aunt has been dropping hints that I should run the Ogden Marathon with her next year. The race is in May so I would have plenty of time to train for it but.... I am seriously terrified. But if a woman who is 9 months pregnant can do it... so can I?????
Registration begins November 1st and fills up pretty quickly so I have to decide soon. So... I need your opinion. Should I go for it? Run a full marathon?? What do you think? If you have ran a full marathon give me some advice. Would you suggest it? LEAVE ME A COMMENT and let me know what you think. Cast your vote if you will. If I do decide to do it I will blog ALL about my training in hopes to get everyone else out there running with me!

Swooning

Ive been debating on whether I should share with you all what I did last Friday. Despite my families laughs and embarrassment for me, it's been decided I'm going to share it with you. This will make for a great start to this Fashion Friday post. Lets start with some photos for you all to swoon over. (I'm loving this swoon word thanks to Sara Bareilles via The Sing Off.)

Let me guess you're getting curious.

And now you're just jealous.

Alright now for the story. Last Friday I texted my good friend a text that went some thing like this, "yo what are you doing tonight?" he replied with "going to a dance party, you wanna come?" For a second I debated the thought of driving an hour to go to a dance party. Now that I'm in college dance parties are horrible, just gross people doing gross things. yep gross! So I replied with "ya maybe, when are you leaving?" and he said "in like an hour, get a sweet outfit together though." For those of you who don't know, It's cool (okay maybe just cool around here) to dress up like you don't have any steeze, In other words dressing up like you don't have steeze, is in fact steezy. Way cool. So cool in fact that around here if you don't dress up you get weird looks. But that all changed after high school, for some reason people are just interested in like impressing other people when they go to dance parties, weird. So there I was trying to scramble to find an awesome outfit. I had decided that me going depended on if I could find a sweet outfit to wear. As I went downstairs to find something steezy I came upon this great red 80's onsie number shoulder pads included, as shown above. I was sold, so I texted him back saying "I'm in." I didn't know it at the time and I definitely wasn't feeling the dance moves yet I was only feeling the outfit, but it was about to be the best dance night of my life, well maybe second best dance night. The next thing I know my friends and I were on our way to the dance party. The whole drive I was still not feeling like my dance moves would be up to par and then I began to feel like my outfit was a little too much. But there was no turning back now. Oh and by the way don't worry my friends were dressed in just as ridiculous outfits as me. It's cool. The hour drive was over and there we were pulling up to the dance party. Suddenly I was feeling a little inspiration of dance growing inside me as I saw everyone dressed in normal clothing. This was about to get good. We walked in and everyone looked our way. Okay so maybe not everyone but a lot of people did look at us funny. Don't worry though, we weren't embarrassed It's what we were going for. So we hit the dance floor and I kid you not, I probably had the best dance moves of my life on that dance floor. We all rocked the classy awkward dancing by ourselves, so great! I wish it would have been recorded for all of you to see. My personal favorite is when someone starts walking around and you follow them without them knowing, some of you might know this as ghosting. Good stuff. Anyways all and all it was my favorite Friday night since.... Summer. Here is the key though to having an awkward (awkward is a good thing) dance experience.

1. dress accordingly, so wear a onsie with shoulder pads its steezy. 
2. Don't plan out weeks in advance to go to a dance party. GO LAST MINUTE.
3. Keep your expectations low.
4. Don't get hyper before the dance, stay calm until you arrive, let your energy out on the dance floor. Seriously if you plan on dancing anytime soon keep those tips in mind they will change your life.

This leads into my next item, Like that great red onsie there are more great things to behold from the past. The red onsie is great for certain reasons..... like awkward looks and dancing, but this next item from the past is great for more classy occasions like dinner, church, prom, and looking fancy. Are you ready to see what I'm talking about?

I've been swooning over these shoes since I bought them. They are my favorite pair of shoes I've ever owned. Although I have only worn them once they do indeed keep my swooning. I bought them over a year ago from a vintage store around here and wore them to prom. My dress ya okay I admit wasn't really all that cool for prom, but the shoes were all I cared about. They are vintage and I love them. My plan is start wearing them more often, however we are approaching winter and these beauties are delicate so they may have to wait until next summer before I put them on again. The price we pay for beauty. Happy Friday everyone!

Much Love,

nicole

Mr. & Mrs. Key Holder

If you are like me, you love to look at other blogs. I get so many good ideas from every one else and it motivates me to actually try something new. I saw this key holder over at NatSprat a while ago and have been wanting to make it for craft night for quite some time. So when my friend Meagan and I decided to have a craft night I showed it to her and she loved it too. So of course we decided to make it. It really was pretty easy to make too.

We went to Michael's and found this decorative wooden piece on CLEARANCE for only $7. (Everything is better when it is on clearance.)

We sanded it a little with a fine sandpaper. (I think we used 220). It didn't really need much sanding but the edges were a little sharp so I would suggest sanding a tiny bit.

 Then, started painting. We used acrylic paint that we bought at Michael's that was maybe $1/ea.

Here is Meagan's:

 I have a serious obsession with turquoise, so of course, that is the color I chose.

 Using Meagan's Cricut we cut out our vinyl letters. We decided to use Mr & Mrs instead of His/Hers like the original one on NatSprat's blog.

After we had our letters laid out just how we wanted we committed to it and stuck them on! Always a scary moment because what if you mess up? Luckily the vinyl can be removed easily in case of an emergency. After our letters were one we lined up our hardware that we bought at Lowe's. We tried to find some at Wal-Mart, but just our luck they were all out of what we needed.

 With the help from my Mr we screwed in the hardware. (We were struggling a little with the drill) Then added some finishing touches by slightly painting the edges with black paint and.... TA DA....

And... I have actually already hung it up. Go ME! Any suggestions for something I can make at my next craft night?

XOXO,
Whitney

Braid Wednesday

It's Braid Wednesday and I've had a long day at work so posting pictures of how to braid seems next to impossible. No need to worry though, I've got a picture of my favorite braid along with the how-to from the one and only beauty department. So here it is.

Start this like a regular braid, but drop the top piece through to the bottom and leave it there.

Gently twist the 2 pieces you’re left with upward.

Add a new 3rd piece in between + drop it through.

Twist again and repeat. Keep going until you get to the back. Tie it with a clear elastic, tuck the end under, and secure with a bobbypin.

Image and instructions via thebeautydepartment


Here are a few other braids I'm loving

Fishtail

Outie Braid

The outie is what I rocked today. Innie and outie -braid lingo- ever since I was little thats what I called the two different braid, when I got to high school though I would ask my friends when braiding their hair if they wanted an innie or an outie braid they would always give me the "what?" look. I seriously didn't know I  it just my own braid lingo. So bare with me everyone, as you get used to innie and outie. Next Wednesday I'll post a tutorial on how to french braid the outie.

Happy Braid Wednesday!

Much Love,

nicole

Ooey Gooey Oatmeal Carmelitas

I have always liked caramel. But for the last year or so my "like" for caramel has turned into more of a "true love" with caramel. I used to want chocolate anything, now I prefer CARAMEL anything. Caramel icecream, caramel sauce, caramel candies, salted caramel, and the list goes on and on. My Aunt Cathy is famous for her Oatmeal Carmelitas and we have to have them at every family gathering. Recently I went to one of my best friends showers and was asked to bring a dessert and I was craving my Aunt's carmelitas and just had to satisfy my caramel craving. They are so easy to make and seriously delicious. Plus, if you are a chocolate lover, they have chocolate in them too... don't worry!

Here is what you need:

 Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chips, Baking Soda, Flour, Butter, Quick Oats, Salt, Jar of Mrs. Richardsons Butterscotch Caramel

Melt your butter. Don't be intimidated by the butter... just remember, butter makes everything taste better.

 Then, Mix flour, oats, b.sugar, butter (melted), soda, and salt together.

 Stir in the butter and it will look something like this...

 Spread half of the mixture on the bottom of a greased 9X13 pan.  Bake the crust in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.

 Warm the caramel in the microwave and add flour to the caramel and stir until well combined.

 Pour the bag of chocolate chips on top the baked crust. Then pour caramel on top of the chocolate chips.

 Sprinkle the remainder of the oats mixture and bake in the oven for another 25 minutes.

 Let them cool completely and then chill in the fridge for a few hours. Trust me, it will be
 a lot easier to cut them up into bite size squares. 

You really won't be able to have just one.

I absolutely love these but wonder how they might taste if I used my homemade caramel sauce in them?? If I try it I will let you know the verdict.

XOXO,
Whitney

Aunt Cathy's Oatmeal Carmelitas

Ingredients:

Flour – 2 cups
Quick Oats – 2 cups
Brown Sugar – 1 ½ cups
Butter – 1 ½ cups
Soda - 1 teas
Salt – ¾ teas
1 jar Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch Carmel (mix in ¾ c. of flour)
1 bag milk chocolate chips

Mix flour, oats, b.sugar, butter (melted), soda, and salt together.

Spread ½ of the mix in a 9/13 baking pan and bake for 10 minutes at 325.

Heat carmel to soften and then stir in ¾ cup of flour.  This makes the carmel so it is not sticky.

When you take the crust out of the oven sprinkle the bag of chocolate chips over it and then pour the carmel mix over the chocolate chips.  You can spread it a little to make sure the whole thing gets covered.

Sprinkle the rest of the oat and brown sugar mix over the top and bake it for another 25 minutes at 325.

Chill for about 2 hours before serving.

Quality

Last night I stayed up till 1 watching this.

Don't even waste your time watching it. At 1 in the morning it was only slightly entertaining so at 6 on a monday you would probably want to pull your eyeballs out. seriously. How is this companying affording such long commercials and such great actors and actresses. Beats me!

But you should waste your time watching these videos.

Never gets old. Love David

Yes I know that is a lot of YouTube videos, but you could just pick one and laugh your heart out. I secretely stay up late watching YouTube all the time and I love it. You should all try it out sometime, I seriously think you'd love it. Thumbs up everybody for rock n' roll, and have one happy Monday evening with the family.

Much Love,

nicole