Gilt

Have you ever heard of the website Gilt.com?  One of my bestest girlfriends Blake introduced me to it ages ago and I find myself drooling every time I log into it.  It's a website with limited time offers on designer fashion, home, baby, and even vacations.  During March Madness college basketball tournament they even offered a deal on an Infinity SUV, and the deal was AWESOME!

Today, in fact, I noticed the name Chan Luu in the Gilt daily alert... and when I logged onto the website, there were so many amazing items and incredible deals, I was actually inspired to blog about it.  Here are a few things I was drooling over:

Chan Luu Bracelet

Chan Luu Earrings

Surya Cosmopolitan Hand-Tufted Runner

Be sure to check it out... even if all you do is drool over the items like me!  ;-)

Camping days are here again!

It's finally that time of year again!  This past weekend we broke out the camping gear and headed to McCall for a hiking/camping trip near Boulder Lake.  It was delightful.  There is definitely something about that mountain air. 

View of the Valley just south of McCall, Idaho

Boulder Lake, McCall, ID

The hike was perfect.  We were with some new friends who recently moved to Boise from Seattle, and we had fun talking and getting to know each other.  We stayed at the top of the mountain for quite a while because it was so nice in the sun with the light breeze, but around 5pm we hiked back down to the campsite near the lake in the first picture at the bottom of the mountain, and we hunkered down for the night.

Admittedly, I could have done without the mosquitoes, but thankfully our friends Dan and Kara came prepared with the bug spray David insisted we wouldn't need on the trip.  (Note to self: when packing for any trip, ignore my loving husband,  he always under packs and we are left scrambling... I still love you babe!)

After an awesome gourmet meal prepared by Dan and David, with the food that Dan and Kara brought for the trip, we all chatted for a while and then decided to tuck in for the night.  I was exhausted from a restless week of nightmares, and was ready to sleep soundly on our comfy new-ish camping gear with the sound of the waterfall nearby.

I wasn't sure we'd be able to let Linus sleep in the tent with us, because he's not very good at cuddling... I think he just gets too hot, but David thought we should at least try it out, and if all else fails, we'd throw him in the back of the car for the night.  Well, wasn't I surprised to find out that Linus is a camping pro.  He loved the tent and snuggling near our feet, and all three of us slept until 9am! 

We're so excited because now we have our sights on Stanley Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains for our next trip in a couple of weeks, and on that one, we won't have the car to throw Linus in (it's a five mile hike in up the mountain), so I'm super psyched that we can take him with us.  It's going to be so much fun!

Darling Companion

Last night after work, I met up with my dear friend Sheila and we went to see a movie that brightened my day.  Have you heard of Darling Companion?  I simply adored it.

It's not getting great reviews, which I am completely baffled by because its not only a well written and relevant story, but its got a great cast (Diane Keaton, Kevin Klein, Diane Wiest, and Elizabeth Moss among others).  In a world where we are all bombarded with the most horrific news story of the day (despite the truth or lack there of behind it), I found this to be an uplifting story of hope and faith.  I left the theater with a huge smile on my face, which was quite the change from the Grumpy Smurf I had turned into over the past few days.

If you need something to smile about, or just want to be entertained by a sweet story be sure to go see this movie asap.  It's worth every penny.

Grumpy

I'm grumpy.  I'm not really sure why... except that for the past few nights I've had awful nightmares that have kept me awake for half the night.  The worst part is that I can't remember what happens in the dreams so that in wake I might be able to make some sense of them.  I mean, I remember a tidbit here and there, but nothing substantial. 

For example, last night I woke up at least three times after having turbulent dreams each time I started to doze.  All I remember is the color green, the face of a college friend (Carla B.) and being in Vail, Colorado.  The night before I just woke up angry, and the night before that I woke up terrified.

What gives?!  Any suggestions to shake the bad dreams?  I'm all ears.     

A little bit...

I've been playing hooky from work this morning.  I didn't mean to, but I kept seeing things that needed to be taken care of... first it was the dog.  On a beautiful day like today, he definitely needed a walk.  When I arrived home, I made the bed.  While making the bed, I accidentally spilled over a glass of water.  While cleaning up the water, I noticed I needed to dust under the bed, and when I put the rags into the hamper, I noticed all the laundry that needed to be washed.  House cleaning ensued (including the massacre of about 20 flies- where do they all come from?!)  When I stepped outside to take out the trash, I saw my vegetable garden and decided to take a closer look because I've completely neglected it since I planted it a few weeks ago.  Its not doing as well this year as it's done in the past... I think I need my mommy to fly out to Boise to help fix it.  When I finished piddling around with the garden, I went to my desk and returned some work emails.  Next thing I know its 11:30am and I am meeting my dear friend Sheila for lunch at noon.  Where did the morning go?

Our house in the dappled sunlight.  June 11, 2012

I would probably be more concerned with being late for work, but... Well, let's just say, that's another story...

Do you ever have days like this?   I hope the weather is as nice for you as it is for me today.  Happy Monday.

I'm Back!

Late last night, David and I arrived back in Boise after a 10-day trip visiting family in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Virginia.  It was a lovely trip, and so good to see family and even squeeze in a visit with a few friends too.  If we missed you while we were in your neck of the woods, I apologize, it was hard to fit everyone into such a short period of time combined with all the family stuff we were up to, and I swear we did our very best.  We decided to do the multi-leg trip because it seemed easier and more cost and vacation-time efficient than going back and forth across the country on separate trips to see everyone, and now that we've done it, we've decided that it is officially the best way to do family trips, and it will be how we do them from here on out.  Next time, we're planning to hit up Charlotte too, and make it a Manchester and Lopez family tour rather than just a Manchester family tour. (More on our trip later... I'm waiting for a few photos to share with you!)

We finally got to meet our beautiful niece Madelyn

As many of you know I've been terribly lacking in my blogging efforts as of late and much of that had to do with May being so busy, but let's face it, it was also a case of writer's block.  And it was difficult to get into the groove of blogging without having my own computer.  However, today, David surprised me with a new iMac of my own, and a mission to get my blog back on track.  I'm so excited!!!

Thank you for bearing with me... I'll be getting you up-to-date on everything Kookoobirdie as soon as possible!  

Oh... and belated Rabbit Rabbit!  Have a delightful June!

Rabbit rabbit!

Here's to a lucky month of May!