koehmstedt

Have you seen This Fresh Fossil

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:27:51 PDT

I cannot get enough of this blog! I just found it this morning and I can't stop clicking through it (I've probably seriously messed up their analytics, but, oh well.) It's wonderful. From their freebies to their tutorials, it's just mesmerizing.

About them:

We are a young couple (24 years old), who hail from opposites ends of the country. I'm from sunny Orlando, Florida, while Tom is from frigid Omaha, Nebraska. We both randomly ended up attending college in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where we met on the first day and started dating a few weeks later.

Fast forward a few years, I managed to earn a Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts and Tom got accepted into Med School in his hometown in Nebraska. We went through a whirlwind summer: graduating college, driving halfway across the country to Florida where we got married, followed by a wonderful honeymoon, another drive halfway across the country to Nebraska, where I landed a Graphic Design job and we rented a place for about 6 months before embarking upon our latest adventure: homeownership.

We bought a fixer-upper of a house, but not one day goes by that we regret being homeowners. We are complete amateurs in just about everything, but we are not afraid to dive into anything head first. Yup, we pretty much just make stuff up as we go along, and it has been, and will continue to be, an incredible, fun (and sometimes not so fun!) learning process.

My favorite posts are:

Have a successful garage sale
Make your carpet look new again

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In love with Ryan Bingham

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:18:47 PDT

Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses were on Letterman last night and I fell in love.

Just a little f.y.i. from me to you.

Junky Star - Ryan Bingham

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I have a cold or something

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:29:47 PDT

via

And I feel like her up there.
Last week I posted on Facebook that my son Brettwas also sick, he decided to share his nastycold with me -- so giving our children are!
I'm a wreck.
My husband had to take the kids to school for me.Even though he did this for me, I still had to go to the high school,my youngest forgot his soccer crap.And, I did manage to work.Do 7 loads of laundryand 2 loads of dishes.Grocery shopped on-line (no way would they let me in the store!)
And now I'm going to pray for world peace so I can get better.
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Vintage Social Media Ads

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 12:40:31 PDT

I saw these ads over on Design Mom this week. They were designed by a Sao Paulo ad agency called Moma. I think it is their way of getting more of the Silent Generation and the Baby Boomers on the internet.

Whether it works or not, they sure are cute! ---------------------------------------------
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Fill in the blank Friday

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:10:47 PDT

Fill in the Blank Friday brought to you by Lauren from the little things we do. Come join the fun!

1. The most adventurous thing I've ever done is - when I left the nest for the first time, at the age of 19, I didn't just move out, I moved out-of-state - California to Wyoming - for a boy! {I married that boy, too, so it all worked out in the end.}

2. If I were a pair of shoes I would be - that's a toss up between rainbow flip-flops and chuck taylors - both are über comfortable and what I wear 98% of the time.

3. My preferred mode of digital communication is - email. Sure, I text, tweet and IM, but nothing beats an honest to goodness email.

4. I feel happiest when - everything comes together, fits perfectly and there is order in the universe. This doesn't happen much, so I'll go with when I have a hot chai latte, comfortable jammies, a good book and 2 hours of alone time.

5. A little dream I have for my life is - having each of my family members happy and successful.

6. The one modern convenience I could NOT do without is - my car + cable television... can you even imagine life without transportation?

7. Music, movies, TV or books: if I could only choose one to enjoy I would pick - books! There was a time not too long ago I would have picked TV, but a good read is so much better.

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happy hump day!

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:00:10 PDT

Just some random things I found while browsing Pinterest.

Sew Tara

The summer officially ended for us yesterday. The kids are going back to school today (insert angels singing) I couldn't be more excited. This summer seemed to fly by faster than any others. Did it for you, too?

via Carrie Koehmstedt on Pinterest

Brett's soccer game went very well the other night, they won 6-1. It was very surreal because they played the new high school in the area and half the local kids go to the new school and the other half to the old, so everyone is friends and everyone supported both teams. (No crazed soccer parents, okay there was one, but she is always a mcnugget short of a happy meal.)

9GAG

I'm still on the wagon when it comes to spending money on books. It's killing me because Mockingjay (Hunger Games Series #3) came out yesterday... so if anyone has been lucky enough to get this book would you consider sending it to me when you're done? xoxo

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koehmstedt.com is on Facebook

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:28:31 PDT

I've avoided this for the longest time and then today my Google Reader is packed full of posts (a lot of the blogs I follow attended Bloggy Boot Camp this past weekend) of how everyone is on the Facebook Page boat - and since I'm such a joiner... well, you know.

Right now I am the only one liking me on my pretty new Facebook page... so help a sister out and come on over and like me. If you want me to like you back, just leave me a link & I'd be more than happy.

{click}

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They Draw & Cook

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:10:20 PDT

This is one of the best blogs out there in blogland... no joke!

They Draw and Cook is the six-month-old blog Nate Padavick runs with his sister Salli Swindell that is all about inspiration — to cook or draw, or both. A new illustrated recipe is posted daily by illustrators and designers from around the world. They are not always in English, but this is not necessarily a problem.

Yummy!

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Happy Friday

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:46:22 PDT

Friday seems to have taken forever to get here this week.

So, this week:

I am loving this Garnet Hill t-shirt knock-off.

I am convinced my friend Ellen is secretly a librarian in disguise.

The cicadas are driving me insane.

I tried to kill myself yesterday mowing my lawn with a push mower. Unsuccessfully. But, the lawn looks fabulous! By the way, while I do this my kids click their tongues and shake their heads and the only help the offer is to check up on me every 15 minutes to make sure I'm not passed out in the drainage ditch, covered in mosquitos with the mower runing willy-nilly. I don't know what they'd do if they ever found me like this... but it's the thought that counts. Disclaimer: gardening is my absolute favorite chore - I'd rather do it than anything inside the house.

I really want to go see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World... but will probably have to wait until it is out on DVD.

My friend Kristi has her own affiliate program for her fabulous slipcover ebook... if you want to make some extra cash she really is offering a great deal - 20% of her sales will go into your pocket! She's such a generous genius!

What in the world is going on over at the Big Brother House?! I'm just sayin'!

Rachel is a tool for saying Ragan sucks at being gay - how is that possible?
Britney's mom saying she would support her daughter if she hooked up with Lane even though she's engaged to another man outside of the house - what?! Even though they would be the cutest couple EVER!
Thank you baby jesus that Brachel is broken up (for now.) They are both whiners and bullies.
The. Brigade!
Hayden, what's with the mouth-breathing and the shaggy hair? My daughter thinks you're H-O-T!
Meow-meow, that nickname has killed me from day one.
Matt, jeez, I just don't know about you - but you're game is awesome.

What else, what else...

Oh, I met with the infamous Justine from Brand About Town yesterday - so exciting I almost had a self-induced anxiety attack, but thankfully I got that under control before I embarrassed myself too much. Anyways, it's early yet, but here are some things we'll be looking forward to in the near future: things like this, baby! I'd insert a {squee!} here but I kinda hate that term.

Happy weekend everyone!

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Spooky Little Girl

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:00:01 PDT

I read a review today for Spooky Little Girl via Lavender and Lilies:

Spooky Little Girl by Laurie Notaro. I really enjoyed this more than her non-fiction. It reminds me of that show, Dead Like Me. Very funny.

And thought I would really like to read this because I adored the show Dead Like Me (my daughter and I actually mourned when it went off of the air.)

So, I hopped on the library website to reserve the book and they don't have it.

At all.

The library is slowly becoming my frenemy.... but the jury is still out.

That's all.

Oh, wait! If anyone has this book, would you consider sending it to me?

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Death is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.

Coming home from a Hawaiian vacation with her best girlfriends, Lucy Fisher is stunned to find everything she owns tossed out on her front lawn, the locks changed, and her fiancé’s phone disconnected—plus she’s just lost her job. With her world spinning wildly out of her control, Lucy decides to make a new start and moves upstate to live with her sister and nephew.

But then things take an even more dramatic turn: A fatal encounter with public transportation lands Lucy not in the hereafter but in the nearly hereafter. She’s back in school, learning the parameters of spooking and how to become a successful spirit in order to complete a ghostly assignment. If Lucy succeeds, she’s guaranteed a spot in the next level of the afterlife—but until then, she’s stuck as a ghost in the last place she would ever want to be.

Trying to avoid being trapped on earth for all eternity, Lucy crosses the line between life and death and back again when she returns home. Navigating the perilous channels of the paranormal, she’s determined to find out why her life crumbled and why, despite her ghastly death, no one seems to have noticed she’s gone. But urgency on the spectral plane—in the departed person of her feisty grandmother, who is risking both their eternal lives—requires attention, and Lucy realizes that you get only one chance to be spectacular in death.

vampires, what are you going to do?

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:09:00 PDT

Does everyone pose nude for Rolling Stone?

My favorite guilty pleasure did just that and all I can think is who was the lucky duck who got to splash them with the fake blood? That would have been fun/interesting.

Funny: my husband was sound asleep during the latest episode of True Blood and woke up during the shower scene and was all "what exactly are you watching?" And I'm all "this right here is the exact reason we are not cancelling HBO!"

Catch up on all of the episodes: HBO - True Blood

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In love with these night shots

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:09:00 PDT

If I'm reading his site correctly, each picture is shot using only one click of the shutter and a hand held light source.

Pretty snazzy!

portfolio: jeffnewsom.com

blog: voltronofawesomeness.com

contact: imakegoldrecords@gmail.com

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the Library

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:56:42 PDT

I went to the library during lunch today.

I got my new library card.

So excited.

With list in hand I went in search of the five books I wanted to check out.

And, they had none.

None.

And, there is a waiting list for each one of them.

I'm going to hang in there and see... we're talking waiting weeks, maybe even months for a couple of the books. Keep in mind with the Kindle it only takes about a minute to get a book.

A minute vs. forever.

Patience is my new friend... now I just need to figure out where I put my patience and where I can get some reserve.

part 2 of meme Sunday

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 10:12:32 PDT

26. What do you normally smell like? Soap or bug spray

27. Do you like Carrie Underwood? Yes, she has a great voice and is a beautiful girl

28. Been to “The Vegas”? Yes, many times

29. How far away do you live from your parents? 2,562 miles

30. Are you happy with your job? Yes

31. Where do you work and what do you do there? I work out of my home and I use my computer and phone for business purposes

32. What did you get in the mail today? It's Sunday... no mail

33. How do you like your steak cooked? No cow for this girl

34. Britney Spears…is she back? No, I think she would be better off raising her family instead of coming back

35. What do you usually order at Taco Bell? Nothing, I avoid taco bell like the plague

36. Have you ever sat all the way through Gone With the Wind? Yes, and I've read it, too

37. Have you ever been to Mt Rushmore? No

38. Is it just me, or was The Marine (w/John Cena) a really horrible movie? It was horrible, I stopped it within 20 minutes

39. Are surveys like the cocaine of myspace? What?

40. Where is your favorite place (that you have actually been to)? Maui - love that place, it's heaven on Earth.

41. What is your favorite candle scent? Fresh linen

42. Do you believe places can really be haunted? Yes, some places are just freaky

43. Do you smoke cigarettes? No, that's bad for you

44. Have you ever been to NYC or LA? Yes to both and I was born in L.A. county

45. How many states have you been to where all you saw was the airport? Oooh, probably 4

46. Do you think 50 questions is enough? Too many

47. Are you currently planning a trip? No, well maybe to the other side of NC

48. Is Ryan Seacrest gay? Should anyone care? Don't know, don't care

49. Do you take anti-depressants? Sleeping pills? Yes

50. What do you think about space travel? Sounds cool, but I'll wait until it costs under a fortune to try it out

Check out the other thieves and join the fun!

it's crafty 50 meme Sunday - a.k.a. I have nothing

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 09:57:09 PDT

1. Introduce yourself. Hi, my name is Carrie

5. Did you ever get into a bar and drink before you were 21? Suprisingly, yes

6. What countries have you been to? U.S. and Mexico

7. Do you watch MTV anymore? No

8. What do you think about Oprah? Not much, except when that billionaire song is on the radio I do wish I was smiling next to her and the queen

10. You need a new pair of jeans: what store do you go to first? Cato, then maybe Kohl's, I am so cheap it's ridiculous

11. Did you ever watch The O.C.? A couple times, it wasn't my type of show

12. What kind of car do you drive? Jeep

13. Honestly, is that car insured? Of course!

14. Do you like sushi? Beginner sushi - when most of it is pre-cooked, like california rolls and edamame

15. Have you ever been to Tiffany & Co. or Saks 5th Ave? Yes, both, I've bought sterling silver jewelry from Tiffany, but could afford absolutely nothing from Saks

16. Did your parents spoil you growing up? No

17. Do you like roller coasters? Yes, very much so

18. What magazine(s) do you buy regularly or subscribe to? I used to be a Martha fanatic, but with the internet I don't subscribe to anything right now

19. Do you remember the old WB show “Popular”? Nope

20. When you go out do you prefer to go to a dance club or to a bar? Bar

21. What do you think about gay marriage? The more the merrier

22. Who do you think will be the next president? Gosh, that's a frightening question... hopefully more of the same.

23. Are you registered to vote? Yes

24. Do you own an iPad? Sadly, no

25. Is your bathroom filled with beauty stuff? If you call soap and toilet paper beauty stuff then - absolutely

another Sunday

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 07:50:55 PDT

Outside my window.. there are a million bugs screaming {I live in the South}
The time is.. 10:25 am
Today I feel.. good and rested
I am thinking.. my front door and front porch bench need a fresh coat of paint
At the moment, I am thankful.. that I already mowed the lawn and don't have to do it today
I am going.. to go to the Farmer's Market and pick up some yummy treats
I am wearing.. t-shirt with golf themed flannel pajama pants
I wish.. the mobile pet groomer would just drive by and take pity on our four dogs
I am reading.. Murder Game
I am working on.. getting Carrie Loves updated on a more regular basis - so many blogs, so few ideas
I am hoping.. that my favorite player, Britney, doesn't get put on the block and voted out this week
I am hearing.. my dog snoring next to me on the couch
I bet you didn't know.. well, you know I'm broke, but because of this my son sold his guitar and the majority of his games in order to buy a new pair of soccer shoes that he wanted {not needed}
One of my favorite.. people in the world {Erin} has been in Myrtle Beach for a week being a nanny
My weekend plans include.. since the weekend is over I'll let you know I did a whole lot of nothing

this is exactly why they charge for pillows now!

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:32:20 PDT

Pillow Fight Breaks Out On Airliner

this moment

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:58:29 PDT

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

adorable and creative tattoos

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:35:44 PDT

I have my own tattoos, some days I love them, some days I hate them, but most of the time I just don't even notice them. They're just there. I've got one for each decade when I was 20, 30, and 40 - funny how that worked out.

It used to be that only the bad-ass people of the world would have tattoos. You know, people who have spent time in prison, or are soldiers, sailors, bikers and carnival workers. But now 24 percent of Americans between 18 and 50 are tattooed; that's almost one in four.

So of course creative people would step up to show their cleverness when it comes to tattoos...

Very cute!

(pictures via google images)

confession

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:28:42 PDT

We've taken a hit financially and have quite a few bruises to prove it.

One of my personal bruises has to be my reading habit (and when I say habit I mean addiction) it has taken a huge whopper of a hit. Going over our budget - because that's what you do when you're hoarding your last dollar bill like water in the desert - I found that over the past 12 months I've spent $450 on books, both ebooks and paper.. Yikes, but I can't help it... I am a reader.

There's no help for me. How do I know this? My parents have the addiction, too. It's like I was genetically predisposed to the extreme happiness that is reading. Like me, they go through a book a day and sometimes more.

So I decided I'm going back to FanFiction (for a while) and also I'm going to get me a shiny new library card - how's that for thrifty!? I hear our library in Smithfield is all the rage. They're even on Facebook, how's that for modern!

And now I have some extra time to notice that the kids aren't doing their chores and the slipcovers really need to be washed.

i'm in love with Pinterest

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:29:22 PDT

Crazy name... but great site!

"What is Pinterest? Pinterest is a place to curate and share things you love. Think of it as a virtual pinboard -- a place where you can post collections of things you love, and "follow" collections created by people you admire."

If you need an invite to join let me know and I'll be happy to send you one.

You can even find your friends on Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo and Gmail who are already signed up at Pinterest... handy!

Guess who's already on there... sfgirlbybay, Poppytalk and Lovely Clusters - design heaven I'm telling you.

It actually inspired me to update and re-do my Portfolio for Sweet Faerie Designs. And by updating my portfolio I discovered that more people than I thought have stuck with my designs... I am very flattered.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 07:03:19 PDT

I've had a real craving for all things peanut butter and choclate... I've even resorted to peanut butter and nutella sandwiches, on whole wheat bread of course, I'm not a total masochist!

I think I am going to give this recipe a go... if anything it should get me an instant fix and hopefully satisfy this recent craving.

Dirty, might it run in the family

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 06:18:01 PDT

No, I don't think so. My mom thinks Rob Pattinson is a dirty, stinky boy. I just think that crazy Brit is a self deprecating (maybe a little adorable) young man. He can literally say anything and who knows if it is fact or fiction.

For example, he's said to Jay Leno "I don’t have much of a sense of personal hygiene or styling or anything. I gave up washing a while back."

In a Details magazine photo shoot he said "I really hate vaginas. I'm allergic to vagina. But I can't say I had no idea, because it was a 12-hour shoot, so you kind of get the picture that these women are going to stay naked after, like, five or six hours. But I wasn't exactly prepared. I had no idea what to say to these girls. Thank God I was hungover."

And to GQ magazine "I just say the first thing that comes into my head, out of nervousness. During interviews I’m literally shitting my pants. I don’t want there to be a silence, because I’ll start crying."

Regardless, even dirty he still looks really nice.

Dirty or not, the man wears a Cal State Univ. Long Beach baseball hat... he's representing my hometown!

By the way, this is who my mom had a crush on during my teenage years - yes, the super clean, tidy and always appropriate Axl Rose.

p.s. I cannot wait for Water for Elephants to come out!

Flower Power

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:34:06 PDT

If you're a reader of my blog, you probably already know my mom brought us up on crunchy granola wholesome foods, educational toys, educational television (a.k.a. PBS) and Disney movies.

So, when I saw this clip- over on YouTube If these guns were real and they were around when i was a kid... maybe, just maybe we would have been able to play with toy guns. But then again, probably not.

Funny - I was watching Rookie Blue this week (my new guilty pleasure) and the character Dov Epstein says "my mom only bought us educational toys from Sweden... We were on a strict diet of peace, love and baby--whoa!" So one of those writer's either grew up like I did or had some crazy friend like me who they always had to share their toys, Twinkies and Pringles with.

It's a small world.

Mayhem

ckoehmstedt@gmail.com (Carrie) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 05:09:57 PDT

Allstate finally updated their sober commercials into something much more interesting and relevant. Dean Winters is funny and sexy in a hot mess kind of way.

Love them!