R is for Ronnebeck!

1 | I haven't been sleeping very well - in large part I'm sure to my study habits. I'm trying really hard to do yoga, or take a nice long relaxing bath before I crawl into bed to turn my mind off, but somehow I still end up "working" most of the night. Last night I had dreams about one of my former co-workers and my boss trying to re-hire her (she was former for a reason). I kept trying to talk her out of rehiring her... it was a long night. 2 | Eric brought my New to me bike home on Sunday from Uncle Gene's house. I can't wait to get to work re-furbishing it so I can go for a ride. It needs a lot of NEW things... like wheels. Details. 3 | Tim's becoming ordained this weekend. Talk about a life event! 4 | May is basically gone all ready. I know that sounds pretty defeatist considering the 1st isn't even here yet... But... We have the weekends of the 3rd, 10th (the week of the 12-14) and the weekend of the 24th all booked up. Guess my every ot...

In retrospect... I'm so glad that we went and "invaded" our home last summer when I was there to visit. Shannon, Erica, Eric and I drove down the driveway, looked at the buildings, and enjoyed our scenery. We told stories, and pointed out the trees we planted, and where trees should be that we ran over with the lawn mower (Sorry Mom!).  It left an aching in my heart for this place, this home is what I think of  when I think Home in South Dakota. I mused with Eric that If we were millionaires we'd buy this place and use it as our "vacation home". This is the one place that holds all my happy memories from my childhood. And now, it's gone.    Every time I'd come down the stretch of road where this house stood I'd exclaim " I See my way down home!!!!"   On each occasion that I've visited South Dakota in the past 8 years, I've made a trek to this home to see it. Just to enjoy it. I'm so glad I got to share the...

 8 Years ago today... I was in the Kent/Des Moines Park and Ride puking in the bushes because I was SO Nervous about my first day at KMS. I didn't know If I could hack it in the big city. I didn't know a thing about being a Receptionist, and I didn't even know what a Broker/Dealer was, but I swallowed the lump in my throat and decided to take it head on. I've learned SO MUCH - an Immeasurable amount of life and work lessons from my 8 years at KMS, and I could muse all day long about the Farm Fresh 22 year old you see to the left and how naive she was. KMS has given me a gift of balancing a work life and a home life and still being able to give my 110% when I'm at work without losing my balance. When I walked in the door this morning, my co-workers had created this celebration from me, and after they arrived, it got bigger with gifts, and notes, and cards, and decorations. They wanted to celebrate me, and my achievements here, though If they would have kn...

1| Wow... where's April gone? Sounds cliche, but wasn't the 1st just yesterday? 2| My Cousin Nick announced his engagement to Brandi this week - Super happy for them! 3| #2 is what I don't love about giving up Facebook, I guess there was an announcement? I'm back on and off occasionally now that Lent is over. What I learned is that I didn't miss it. I don't miss the drama, and the insignificant posts. I understand it's a crazy good way to communicate to a mass group of people, but the daily updates of what that person was doing for dinner is just too much information for this brain to hack. 4| Studying is going good, though I woke up with thoughts of Moral Suasion this morning. Trust me, you don't need to know, but know that it is NOT a correct answer on the exam! 5| I started doing yoga in the evenings to relax my brain and body before bed time and lastnight it worked like a charm! I feel well rested for the first time in weeks!  6| Eric and I h...

A very Happy Easter to everyone... and while we are celebrating Christ's return, we are also Celebrating this little guys 6th Birthday Today! We took his annual birthday photos in our yard this year since you know, we have a YARD!! These photos are not only evidence of his 6th birthday, but also that he is getting totally sick of my antics with this birthday hat...

 $4 dress!

$2 skirt!

Shirt and pants for under $6!

My cardigan is a previous Goodwill find ($3.50) and my skirt was found this weekend in Tukwila ($3.00). The Skirt is from H&M and has pockets! My new favorite thing! 

Here's the post you've all been waiting for! I plan to wear my new finds to work this week, and take "selfies" so you can see how I incorporated my new finds! This morning I left the house around 10:30 which is later than I wanted. Thrift stores around here open at 10 and you want to be there early if you can, it cuts down on the amount of people you have to deal with. My first stop for the day was Des Moines Goodwill which is on Kent Des Moines Way and Pacific Highway. I normally find really great Pyrex here! I donated a few items today even! Here's the Des Moines Store - it's smaller than most, but it has a pretty good selection. I have a hard time finding stuff here sometimes, their organization isn't the greatest! The Pyrex finds were nearly impossible today. I only saw a few pieces, and none worth the asking price! Oh well! On to the clothing... Each store has different rules for the dressing Room. At Des M...

I am a very systematic person. I eat a hamburger from the outsides in (always), I eat yellow skittles first before the rest of the colors, and before I enter a thrift store I have a plan. It depends on the location, but I almost always hit the household items first, then clothes, then accessories, and lastly toys before hitting the checkout. It depends on what your priority is, but I think it's a good idea to go in with a bit of a plan. Here's what I've found to be helpful when I go thrifting, I hope you find it helpful too! The DO's & Don'ts of Thrifting DO! 1. Go in with a plan! Looking for skirts? Shirts? Furniture? Vintage Pyrex? Hit your hot spots first. For me it's the household items for Vintage Pyrex. Then, I start over at the beginning of the store and work my way through it aisle by aisle. 2. Dress for the Occasion. I know this sounds kind of odd, but hear me out. If you're going in to check out clothing items this really matters! You ...

Tomorrow I have a HUGE Thrifting trip planned - 3 Goodwill Stores, and a St. Vincent DePaul is calling my name. I am not an expert, but 65 pounds, 4 clothing sizes down, I consider myself a bit of an aficionado. I have worked in finance for 8 years, and even though Seattle has a very laid back attitude about what 'Business Professional' dress is, it took me a good 6 years to build a solid work wardrobe with lots of baseline essentials and a few pop pieces. I had finally built my clothing empire into something I could add to but in a pinch I usually had just the right piece for the occasion.  Like I said, that was 65 pounds ago. My XXL tops and size 20 bottoms quickly became obsolete as I tried desperately to keep them on my body using safety pins and belts. The reality had come, I needed new clothes.  I purchased my first size 14 jeans and Large top at retail, Old Navy none-the-less! The bill came to $38, and it was just two items, one single outfit, ...

 1 | This round of Series 7 studying is going muuuuch better, which means you won't be hearing much from me. Gotta stay focused! 2| We went to celebrate Gene & Christina moving into their new place with dinner on Saturday night. It was fun to have everyone together. 3| Eric and Lucas are 2 peas in a pod. Both of their faces light up when they realize they're in the same room together. It's adorable. 4| My Grandma's brother Clif passed away this weekend. He had just celebrated his 93rd birthday. I am sure he was welcomed with open arms, but I know there are a lot of people here that will still miss him. 5| Following a doctors visit on Friday, I discovered I have 13 pounds to lose instead of that 8 I've been agonizing over. Super! 6| Eric helped Gene & Christina move last week which meant me fending for myself after work, and let me tell you, I don't like it much at all! I love having a house husband. It's legit! 7| Wednesday Morning I ar...

Hello everyone! 10 on Tuesday here, the 1 weekend, 2 dresses post - Please excuse the vanity in the photos. 1| I bought the dress to the left here this weekend. It's a deep purple with an awesome silhouette. I fell in love almost immediately, I have no where to wear it too (yet) but, I couldn't pass it up for 50% off. I paid a whopping $3 for this bad boy at Goodwill. Probably my best find to date! 2 | This weekend was my "Get your wild oats sewed" weekend. I don't think I got everything done I wanted but I did get *most* of it done. 3 | Series 7 studying officially began yesterday (and no, that's not an April fools!) 4| The Dress pictured to the right (to the pink) below is my bridesmaid dress for the Blanchette Wedding in May, I'm super excited! I picked it up on Sunday and have only modeled it twice! 5| We're doggy sitting for Seven this week. What a change it is to have another dog around, but he's been really good, quiet, and ma...