some loves

i love thursdays.

i love that netflix sent me {500 days of summer} today.

i love my mom's pansies.

i love that precious liv took 3 steps!

i love bazzill's new prismatics line of cardstock. {so much!}

i love homemade rolls from yesterday, even though i [really!] shouldn't.

i love that i belted every lyric to "semi-charmed-life" in my car today.

i love that when i'm changing a diaper, chloe sprints for the lysol air freshener automatically.

i love bumble&bumble hair cream.

i love cover girl makeup.

i love this year: it's been such a good one so far.

i love quarters. and dimes.

i love walmart.

and target.

and target commercials.

i love making forts for chloe.

i love laying in bed with myron
and laughing and being sarcastic about life.

i love the convenience of a text.

i love relief society.

i love jimmy fallon.

i love houndstooth anything.

and, i love, love, love
bedtime.

{sweet dreams!}

my favorite drawer

i never really wanted a china cabinet.
{not really my style}

but something i knew
i always wanted was a sippy cup drawer.

makes me happy.

a list

today's favorites

1.
remembering to return the redbox
so i don't have to pay 15 days worth of fees

2.
olivia exclaiming,
"holla!"

3.
drop-in costa vida
via audrey & nevaeh.

4.
finishing all the laundry
like, sheets and everything.
*a first for me.

5.
playing race car with the cart/my babes
in the parking lot at target.
{a strange tradition we have}

6.
an 8 dollar car wash
w/ lemon scent.

7.
being annoyed by
the loudness and repetitiveness
of the music at forever21....
and realizing i'm old.

8.
homemade salsa &
fresh cantaloupe in the fridge.

9.
successfully making it out of the house,
being social & having fun, like a big girl.

10.
going in the closet and
discovering that myron changed the light bulb
that's been burned out for like, 3 weeks.

daydream believer

i've always been one,
a daydream believer.

i recall writing essays in high school english,
about my plans for the future angie dixon...

3 prong-5 paragraph accounts of my future ideals.

{in retrospect, btw, they = rather entertaining.}

i would make forever-long lists of qualities i wanted in a husband,
names i'd assigned to my future offspring,
and hues i'd paint the walls of my 4 bedroom single-family-dwelling.

i planned exactly how many kids i wanted,
& how far apart...

i knew what car i wanted to drive
& how i wished my home to be decorated.

i had every corner of the rest of my life
hoped for & scheduled.

i believed that if i worked hard & made good choices,
it'd all come true....my wishes would be granted.

*ten years later.

i have a man that i adore with all my ♥ and soul.
& the feeling is mutual.
i have 2 babies that are all kinds of amazing.
i have faith in god.

and with those three things:
i mean, i have it all, really.

not everything went according to plan.

there's been setbacks & disappointments.
there's been unexpected turns & twists.
there's been stressors & still are.
everyone's got 'em, right?

i don't have a white picket fence
or lots of money in the bank.

but,
i'm still a daydream believer.

i'm just learning something in the process:

sometimes letting go of ideals
is the best thing i can do for myself.

sometimes just believing works better.

my mind & heart are better spent
just hoping that god will lead me
to the people, experiences & opportunities
that will stretch my capacity to love.

'cause i'm starting to really notice that the things i struggle with most
and are seemingly the hardest things for me to endure,
...the biggest inner battles i face on a daily basis...
teach me more about how to love.

and love brings perspective
to my daydreams.

'cause i know that love
is something i can really believe in.

just because

it's been a {really} long time
since i've scrapbooked just for me.

as in,
not for work, not for church, not for a client....
just for me.

*with no guidelines or price-points.

last night i was in a mood to create.
so i dug in my stash.

i did a layout usin' a little survey
i found on one of my favorite inspo-blogs.

it was fun.
like, hobby-ish.
i loved it.

4 wheeling

taking laps around the block with chloe
& her new bicycle is a very entertaining experience.

she's a quick little learner.
and the caliber of cuteness of her in her helmet...omg.

she has definitely inherited her mom's cautious driver gene.
{slamming on the breaks when we are within 50 yards of a garbage can.}

*remind me to take her out when it's not recycle day, k?

go chloe go!

morning protein

liv loves eggs.

& i pretend to.

500

[me & chlo' on the day angieinpink was born]

499 entries ago,
i drafted my first angieinpink post ever.

i'm so fond of this little slice of blogosphere
where i can share my life & thoughts.

it's a positive place for me to record my angie-days
*viewed through rosey-pink colored glasses.

in the real world, i often feel a bit misunderstood...
so it's nice to have an outlet where i can be legitly me,
say what i meant to say, and archive lessons learned.

what started as a fun hobby that consumed a lot of my time,
has evolved into a 15-minute every-few-days-er....

and as i thumb through old posts, i realize-
i've evolved too - into {what i hope} is a more
genuine & simplified version of myself.

...

i can't help but be grateful for the sweet souls
[you, my friends]...who care to check in with me.

thanks always, for your encouraging, kind, and friendly comments
but mostly, just for stopping by.

i love you!

germs

this has been both of my kids for the last two days.

exhausted.

and
very, very

hot.

fevers all around here @ the dunn household.
*except me [knock on wood].

makes me sad to see my babies sick.
{including myron}
i mean,
weren't we JUST sick?
i feel like we get sick kind of a lot.

and that got me thinking:
maybe i should be more of a germaphobe.

i'm so not.

i mean, i believe in the washing of hands
and using clorox wipes liberally when needed.
i keep a semi-clean house, *usually.
and we take certain precautions.

but what's this ten second rule all about?
no way. 1 minute, we're good.

binky fell on the floor?
what's a little protein gonna hurt?

myron's drink sitting right there tempting me?
of course, i'm taking a swig.

toliet needs cleaning?
who freaking cares: get er done!

diaper explosion?
i'm a big girl....bring it on.

***

in conclusion:
germs don't scare me.
but maybe they should.

*because they are hurting my feelings today.

easter dresses

it took 16 snaps of the shutter to get 1 photo of the girls
actually both looking at the camera.

but this is still my favorite one.

1,2,3,4

my first baby turned four today.

chloe is OBSESSED with birthdays,
and she's been waiting SO long for it to finally be hers.



she shared the morning with her bf's at preschool + funfetti.



....and while she was gone,

we decorated her room & left some gifts & surprises.

she loved her treasures & her new bicycle,



& her new special bed!

*my sweetest pal cori gave me this cute
headboard & footboard a while back...
so i touched it up with some paint &
oh em gee, chloe loves it.
she calls it her "princess bed."
{thanks mccoys!}

*and i've been pulling 3am-ers trying to
finish this quilt in time for the big day.

note:
i've only been working on it for 10 years!
*literally.

my mom bought the fabric my senior year for me
to make a bedspread for myself
and i'm just now finishing it
for my favorite 4-year-old.

it's done! i love it! yay!



we spray painted this cradle that my awesome dad
made when i was a little girl.

*the sentimental-ness makes me tear up, actually....

i thought chloe's babies might get cold,
so we made a blankie for them too!



...my amazing-in-every-way friend bev,
taught me how to make these cute banners!

....and i thought it'd be perfect
hanging right above chloe's sweet head @ night.

chloe makes me smile every day.

we had a simple, magical day celebrating her.

she is worth celebrating every day though.
she's one amazing girlie.

{i love you bowie!}

the pink chair

in the corner of the baby's room, there lives a pink chair.

it was a kmart blue light special circa 2006,
purchased in preparation for the arrival of chloe:


when it got a little worn, i did a ghetto-recovering job using a hotter-pink shower curtain that was on clearance at target for $6.34.

it's my favorite chair in the house.

many a-night i've spent rocking my girls in that chair.

...in that chair i can be found nurturing, singing songs, reading stories, or just being silent...

*i've even been known to just rock myself whilst watching my baby sleep.

in that chair i know who i am. i know my purpose. i feel god's love.

last night, i spent a couple hours in the pink chair with a sad-livy. and as we rocked, a scripture came to mind that has come to my mind many times while sitting in that chair.....

"be still, and know that i am god...."
psalms 46:10

through stillness in my little pink rocker,
i know, he's real.

i know he watches over us as we fulfill our own individual callings in life.
he's available to us as a constant voice of reason.
he makes unfair & troubling thoughts peaceful at a moments notice.

i'm grateful for my mission to rock my babies when they need comfort.
i'm grateful for the comfort i receive in return as i do so.
i'm grateful for my pink chair.

taking a break

i'll still blog,

but i'm taking a break from facebook for a little while.
*it's eating up too much of my time.

i'll miss you!
email or call if you need me, k?!

easter weekend

a super-fun egg hunt at gramps & gran's.
*some of those eggs have quarters in them!
i think chloe might be richer than me.

lots of this.
conference was so awesome.
loved it, & totally needed it.
and don't worry: that's water in my qt mug. {kill*me!}

i didn't take a picture...
but conference also means:
girls night out with my homies during priesthood session.
love you mom & holly!

a kick-off birthday bash for chloe's birthday-week given by grandma & mike!
complete w/ cake, balloons, little mermaid accessories & presents!
*she was a spoiled girl....thanks everyone!

and today, a summer-cut & color from the talented, audrey....

it's been a splendid few days.
we love our family.

i know that my redeemer lives

this i know for sure.
he lives.

he loves me.
he is my friend.

he lived a perfect life.
he is my example.

he has bourne my griefs & carried my sorrows.
he is my savior.

he rose again.
he is my redeemer.

happiest easter.