I'm usually not a huge fan of the color orange, but I am in love with this color combination! I love it for decorating your home and outfit ideas! I think it's the perfect color combination to transition from summer to fall. Here are outfit ideas:
I also really like this color combo for home decor. Here are some really pretty ideas for your home:
I wasn't sure if I was going to write about my mom in my blog; I created this site as a creative outlet for myself to talk about fashion, make-up, things I love and my life in general. It has sort of been an escape for me. But today I decided that I just can't ignore one of the biggest aspects of my life and my family's. Especially today.
My mom has had health issues since I was about 14. She has a rare liver disease which is auto-immune so she did nothing to cause it. She was put on the liver transplant list about 2 years ago. Needless to say, it has been a roller coaster ride, often times a very scary and painful one. There were times my mom was in the hospital over Christmas and Thanksgiving and it just plain sucked.
My mom and family recently decided to pursue a live donor option and do a partial transplant instead of waiting out the National list not knowing if she would ever receive a new liver. This has been a scary process as well; there are no instructions on going about finding a living donor and my extended families weren't lining up to be tested to see if they were even matches. My 2 sisters and I of course got tested and only one of us, my baby sister Casey had a matching blood type.
Last week, Casey, who is just 22 yrs old and just graduated college went to the University of Minnesota to have a series of tests done (some painful) to continue the process to determine if she is a match or not. I cannot tell you how brave I think she is for stepping up and being so selfless to try to save my mom's life. Now, I know you're thinking "Well, she should. It's her mom" but until you are presented with this situation, you don't know. I'll be completely honest; when I was having my blood tested to see if I was a match, I was terrified. Of course I want to save my mom's life but it's scary to think of having such a major surgery. There are so many things I haven't done yet; get married, have children, start teaching, etc. So I don't want to take anything away from my sister's decision to undergo the surgery if she's a match; she is courageous, selfless, and will be my hero if it turns out she can donate to my mom.
Today, we will get the news on whether Casey is a match or not. I cannot tell you how anxiously we are awaiting this call. On one end, it will be joyful and such a relief if she's a match. One the other hand, it will be scary to think of both my mom and sister enduring such major surgeries on the same day. I have been doing a lot of praying and am just putting this one entirely in God's hands. I know the He has a plan.
My sister Casey and my mom
My mom is my absolute rock. There is no one on this earth that loves me as unconditionally as she does. She is my best friend who I can tell anything to, and she gives the best advice. I truly don't know what we would do without her. Throughout this whole process, she has kept an extremely positive attitude. She jokes the whole way through her many Dr.'s appointments and has the nurses and Dr.'s laughing as well. She is truly an inspiration. She is the best person I know, and deserves a chance to feel good again and get her life back.
I am writing this post for a few reasons;
1) Because this is one of the hardest, most painful things in my life and I wanted to be open and honest on here.
2) I want to promote organ donation. It is one of the most selfless things you can do and I am a firm believer! If I can inspire one person to become a donor, I consider that a success.
3) My family and I need all the prayers we can get right now. Please keep us in your thoughts today.
My family
If you would like to register to be a donor, please visit:
http://donatelife.net/register-now/
Hello! Hope you are all enjoying your weekends! I just got home from being "up north" for a family get-together. For us Minnesotans, up north means anything north of St. Paul/Minneapolis. We happened to go up north to Grand Rapids, MN. Haven't heard of it? Not surprised ; ) Think "North Country"- the movie with Charlize Theron where they work in the mines and the women sue for sexual harassment. That's where I was, ladies; The Iron Range. What a glamorous life I lead...
So first things first, Friday we get to our hotel, the Timberlake Lodge. It's nothing fancy; rustic but nice...
Our room
Cool Bar
The HUGE bathroom. It was much larger than it appears in this photo. I was lovin' it
Happy me. I approve.
Saturday we soaked up everything Grand Rapids had to offer (I hope you're sensing my sarcasm here). In addition to being famous for it's Iron Ore, Grand Rapids happens to be the birth place of Judy Garland.
Naturally, we took a tour of the Judy Garland Museum, which includes the house she was born in, clothing and jewelry that belonged to Judy and artifacts from "The Wizard of Oz", which happens to be one of my favorite movies! I'm lucky my boyfriend is so easy going!
Here's her house:
It was actually really cute and fun to see! Here are some of the other gems of the tour:
The carriage from "The Wizard of Oz"
Me and Dorothy's dress from "The Wizard of Oz"! I was excited.
Now back to hotels. Saturday there was a little mishap with our hotel reservation and we had to find another hotel to stay in. No big deal, right. WRONG! Ladies, what I am about to show you may be a bit disturbing. Don't say I didn't warn you. This is what I saw when I walked into the room at "The Sawmill Inn" (no joke, that is what it's called)...
The room had not been updated since about 1970 and had a very southwestern vibe, if you will. I was horrified- I felt like I had just stepped into a scene from "No Country For Old Men" and that Javier Bardiem was around the corner with that airgun. My boyfriend was a good sport and posed for some pics so you can really get the full effect:
Needless to say, I was happy to pull into my driveway today. Dorothy was right-there really is no place like home.
