MIA

Sorry, my posts have been lacking as of late. I've been working until 2 in the morning every night (even Saturdays and Sundays), posting when I have the energy on mostlyhappenchance and you know, just trying to survive. I promise when I get back from the show, I will try and post once more.

Some fun stuff:

1. We got our couch back and it looks amazing. Who knew our 20-year-old Mario flower couch could look so good? Our house is beginning to have the semblance of something real. I'll post pics soon.

2. In my "spare time," here are some wedding invites I've designed. Eva, who hand-drew many of the beautiful details did an amazing job printing them. She is so talented and a huge part of my inspiration to go the the National Stationery Show. If all goes well, thanks, Eva. If it's a total bust, thanks for nothing. :)

3. I leave for New York in 3 days!!! I will be posting here everyday about our adventures on my work blog. Hopefully, we'll have some good news to report. Cross your fingers for me!

The Never-Ending Story

A PLOT SUMMARY:

Two best friends start a stationery company, despite knowing little about such things as "invoices" or "money." Although the odds are long, these underdogs openly defy them and take the industry by storm with their impeccable style and strangely catchy vocal mannerisms. After being declared paper goods moguls, they retire to a luxe life of endless supplies of Bugles, long lunches and "America's Next Top Model."


No, this isn't the script for the next Hanna Montana movie. This is real life, people. Or at least we hope it will be.

As many of you know, we (Kristin and Amy) have been working for the last several months on a stationery line called Junky Heirloom. We got accepted to the National Stationery Show in New York in May and are busting our faces to be ready. We are going to be getting the initial run of our line back from the printers soon and we wanted to share it with you. We also wanted to document the whole story of our experience starting our own company and going out on a limb for our dreams. So we decided to start a new blog.

You can go to it here: mostlyhappenchance.blogspot.com

We are going to be posting on this blog every day before the Stationery Show to tell you what we're doing and show you all of the different aspects of our preparation. We hope you'll tune in with us and follow along. It should be interesting at the very least. We are also going to try to use the blog to help generate awareness of our company before the show, so if you want to tell your friends about it, we would love the support. If you have any suggestions, we welcome those as well.

Here goes nothing!


Kristin and Amy

All grown up... sort of

I've been talking about it for months and months. (I apologize to those of you who have been hearing me talk about it incessantly.) But, lucky for all you of you, we finally did it; we took the leap and purchased our first real furniture. Good-bye couch with a sheet! So long Ikea chairs! See ya later make-shift table! And hello "real" stuff.

First of all, I have to thank Heather for helping Craig and I put together a budget and focus on the task at hand. Plus, she has really taught me how to bargain shop. I HAVE been emailing her at least ten times a day and so far, she is still friends with me. Craig did tell me yesterday that I have to stop stalking her after I called her 3 times within the hour.



(Heath, I promise it will stop soon!)


After deliberating for a few days, Craig and I have decided to go with an eclectic look of modern and vintage.

Things we have purchased so far:

* Dark gray velvet to recover Craig's childhood Camelback-shaped couch
* 2 chairs- one Victorian and one arm chair
* Fabric to cover those chairs- a dove gray velvet and a graphic black and white print
* A table that uses reclaimed wood from asia (who said we weren't green?)
* These dining room chairs
* 2 lamps from DI (nothing a little spray paint can't fix)

And we are thinking about pulling the trigger on two of these ottoamans

We are doing loads of other stuff, too, including redecorating my workspace and finishing off the upstairs. I can't wait. Pictures to come in the next few weeks!

Where my girls at?

Last weekend, I went to Phoenix for a girls' trip. Now, this wasn't any ordinary girls' trip. See exhibit A:




This is my friend, Heather, looking hot as always. The entire trip was devised around a date for her... so you KNOW it was good. Needless to say, this trip had a lot to live up to.

Not to mention, some of the moms had never even left their kids overnight, so that was kind of a big deal. We wanted to go to Phoenix, so that we could lay by the pool, shop, eat and talk about girl stuff... believe you me. You don't want me to go into detail.

Here are the girls: Andy, Amy, Holly, Jenna, Jen, and me. (Note: Heather not pictured because she was on her date. Boo yeah! Our plan totally worked!)




We ate AMAZING food at the restaurant behind us (cornbread croutons? WHAT?) and even though we missed Heather, it was worth it because we got to hear all the juicy date details. Us marrieds were living vicariously through her.

Here we are at the Mondrian, where we stayed. It was perfect!




My top 5 favorite parts of the trip:

1. Calvin. Need I say more?

2. Jenna taking us out to eat.. and believe me, she knows her food. Plus, we ate at Grimaldis! That was our favorite pizza place in NYC and the nephew started one in Scottsdale. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was pretty close.

3. Heather wanting to kill the baby sitting behind her on the plane ride over.

4. Laying by the pool.... in March!

5. Staying up every night until at least 2 am talking.


And one more for good measure and because I can't resist.


6. Show and tell.



Thanks, girls! I had so much fun. Who needs kids when you have me? (See Andy below.)




Love you, sluts!

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

My little brother turned 24 yesterday and my aunt wrote the most amazing birthday post. Check it out; everything she says is so true! I thought that I would follow suit and let Tyler know how much I love him; always have and always will. Hope this year will bring you luck and love. xoxo.

Aren't you embarrassed?

Craig and I were at Wal-mart the other day. It's a long story, but needless to say, we weren't happy about it. Our worst fears were confirmed when we saw this car parked in front of us.





Oh wait... what is that library book in the window?





Oh, good. It's "Succubus on Top." I totally agree with Vicki- no other succubus will do!

PS Love the outfit.

Wallpaper

I love wallpaper. When Craig and I buy a house, I want to put really cool paper up but have been pretty intimidated about the actual "putting it up" part. So, I did a test run here in my apartment. There's a little nook in my studio and I thought it would look perfect with a busy wallpaper. Since we are renting, I found pre-pasted, easy- remove paper thanks to the apartment therapy blog. Then, I did what all smart people do. I googled how to put up wallpaper. I was pretty nervous because this wall paper has a very distinct pattern so has to be matched up perfectly. But, I have to say, I am impressed with my skills. I love how it turned out. What I didn't love is that is took me about 4 hours just to do this nook. Hopefully, I'll get faster with practice?





Now I just need to find something to put on that table. Maybe a great lamp?

Rockband: Friend or Foe?

As many of you may know, I've been against video games since, oh I don't know, the beginning of time. Then, this Christmas happened. We had some Christmas money to spend (thanks Gary and Mignon!) and Craig decided that we should use it for a "blu ray player" otherwise known as a PS3. After much debate, I agreed under some strict guidelines- no more than 1 hour a week. Well, that has been shot to hell, which on most days, makes me hate my life.

But then days like this happen:

(I've been meaning to post this for month. Sorry for being so slow.)




Holly's perfect score on vocals:




Is is really 4 in the morning?





Obviously, it is.




So, sometimes, the PS3 isn't all that bad.

Holiday recap

I love the holidays:

1. You eat and eat and eat. (New Year's Resolution: starve, starve, starve.)

2. You get to see old friends that reconverge on Zion (That's one perk about living in Utah. It was so fun to see the the Winkels, the Linds, the Bowens, the Thomases and the Perrys. We miss you guys!)

3. You don't have to work (I KNOW my Christmas was good because I stayed in my pajamas for 3 days straight. No joke. Gretchen called me out.)

We had the best time.

First, I went to CA to visit my family.

We went to Brookstone. Why do they sell this here? So you can practice bull-riding from the comfort of your own home?




The boys rocked the family Christmas Pageant initiated years ago by the Stone-von-traps.




We watched a ton of good movies.




And got in the Christmas spirit. (Jordan and Tyler DID wear this hat outside.)





Then, I came back to Utah Christmas Eve to be with Criag. I wrapped presents all day. I love doing it. I know, it's weird.





We invited ourselves over to Marc and Gretchen's for Christmas morning because what's Christmas without kids going crazy and opening presents?




These guys are so cute. Thanks Marc and Gretchen for letting us crash!


Then, we headed up to Craig's parent's house where we were greeted with a white Christmas. It was beautiful. This is the view from the the front porch.





I'm glad I have my new iphone or else Christmas wouldn't have even been documented. Hope you all had a great Christmas, too!

Self Defense?

Sometimes I worry about Kristin walking to her car by herself at night. I mentioned this to a friend and he told me that he had heard something about people using crazy bright flashlights as a crime deterrent. I googled it and I don't know if I'm just living right or what but this is what I found. I didn't buy either of these but based on the cover I think I have a working understanding of the techniques.

Phil's technique relies almost entirely on confusing the potential attacker with your unexplained use of a flashlight in broad daylight. Though somewhat effective Phil found there were some situations where normally non-violent people punched him simply because he was shining a flashlight at them in the middle of the day.


"Light Him Up!" had more parenting advice then I was looking for. Steve uses the flashlight as a tool to squelch Steve Jr's rebellions. Since Steve started disciplining with the flashlight Steve Jr. is back wearing the family t-shirt and haircut, but he's still not happy about it.

I think I'll buy her some pepper spray.

Early New Year's Resolution

So I'm ahead of the game on holiday pounds this year if having already gained more then last year is ahead or if the game is called "get really fat".

Luckily I've already found my solution:

I've got to get this book because I’m pretty sure at least one of those hands belongs to a woman (even if she is 80).

More to Fear Than Creepy Robotic Animals...

There was an article in the WSJ today about violence at Chuck E. Cheese's. I've always thought that place felt a little dicey. Apparently I should just be counting my blessings that no one ever pepper sprayed me because I played a game too many times.


Here are a few highlights (I think Michigan takes it):

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122878081364889613.html

It's Not Just The Economy...

Something's wrong. I've always liked Brooks Brothers' shirts but now that I've seen these little tootsies I may have to rethink some stuff, and yes I already double checked to make sure I was in Men's.

Lest some misguided chap try to justify his way into a pair. They're referred to as a "pump" so you know where you stand.





These could also be yours for $1,998. Not $1,999- rich people are way too smart for that.

Spread Christmas Cheer

Do you like Christmas? And Nie? Good because if you don't, you're a bad person. Since most of you aren't, I have a really cool thing for you.

My friend, Emily, an amazingly talented designer, has decided to use her skills for good this Christmas season. She has done a line of Christmas cards and 100% of the profits go straight to Nie. (Emily is the best like that.) Here are a few of my favorites:






If none of these catch your eye, she has done a TON of different styles to suit everyone's taste.

If you were already planning on buying Christmas cards this season, why not buy these and help out Nie? I know that a lot of you care about Nie and have been trying to figure out a way to help- maybe this is it!

To see more or buy these great Christmas cards, go here.

Squatters' rights

I got this off Wikipedia (so you KNOW it's true).

In common law, adverse possession is the process by which title to another's real property is acquired without compensation. Adverse possession is sometimes called "squatters' rights".

Exhibit A:




My old apartment. Everything is nearly moved out and in our new place.


Exhibit B:



The new tenant. She's moved in with all her essentials- cereal in a bag, fuzzy blanket, red sippy cup, and computer. Her new motto: "Hell no, I won't go!"

Moving Woes

So it finally feels like winter here in Salt Lake. It's cold.... like 45 degrees cold. (And to us Californians, that is NOT good.)

Well, Craig and I moved last Sat into our new loft and unfortunately, no one told us that we had to turn the gas on. And of course, no one was working on Saturday or Sunday. So, last weekend we froze. I might have had to wear this to sleep:




I was one pissed ninja.

Today, the gas got turned on, so things are looking up.

Run in with the law

In the past week, I have had not one but TWO run ins with the law. Now, I am normally a law abiding citizen, so why have I received TWO tickets in the past week? Because monkeys could do a better job running the DMV. The DMV has allegedly sent out our vehicle registration twice and we haven't received it (although we have paid for it.) It is infuriating. And now I have two tickets to show for it.


Which leads me to my next problem. My car has been out for a total of 1.5 hours this whole week. What are these cops doing? Paroling the streets for their biggest offenders- the dirty scoundrels with month-old registration? Don't they have anything better to do?

Craig reminded me that this type of behavior was a lot like my last run in with "those" kind of cops in '06. Setting: the times square subway stop. I was trying to go through the turnstyle and my unlimited card wouldn't scan in the machine. I was with a group of people who were waiting for me, I hear the train coming, so I decided to go underneath the turnstyle.




This lady was using the rookie over-the-turnstyle approach but being only 5'2 and low to the ground, I crawled under it.

Next thing I know, I have 3 cops on my A. I am surrounded and the very intimidating lady cop flashed her badge at me for intimidation. She could tell I meant business. When I showed them (right then!) that I had actually paid for the subway ride I was about to take because I had an unlimited ride pass, they didn't care- even though it wasn't MY fault that their dumb scanner didn't work. After a lot of yelling, a tickets, TWO trips to the brooklyn court (where I DID see a teen mom slap her child accross the face) and $200 later, the infraction was resolved.

Hopefully, these latest tickets won't come to that.

Happy Birthday, Craigster!

Today is Craig's 32nd birthday. I know, I know. Some of you are thinking, "I thought that Craig was already 32." Well, that's because I have been saying he's 32 for at least 6 months. In other words, I've been rounding up. But the good news is, now Craig can thank me because turning 32 isn't going to be that big of a deal; he's already used to it. You're welcome, Craig.

Unfortunately, I am working in Phoenix all week (making me the WORST wife ever) so I wanted to wish Craig a happy birthday all the way from Arizona. I love you like crazy and hope that our kids will have as awesome of a mullet as you did.

Hopefully, someone (anyone? anyone?) will make you a cake so you can then maul it....

I love you, Old Man Mills!

Speek

As many of you know, I have dropped off the face of the earth the last couple of months because I have been working my brains out. It's fun because I'm actually starting to have stuff to show for it. And here is the first installment:

Speek.

Our company's site has finally gone live! Check it out here.






It's really exciting because we have been working tirelessly over the last few months to make it happen. (For those of you who don't know about the company, Speek takes the money that advertisers spend to reach consumers and gives it back to the consumer and the causes they care about.)

But that isn't even the best news. As many of you may know, Stephanie Nielsen and her husband were involved in a plane crash earlier this year and we have partnered with them to raise money for Nie.






If any of you are interested in helping raise money, just sign up and select Nie Recovery as your beneficiary. Then, Nie and her family will get money for every ad you view. By just viewing a few ads a day (and only spending a few minutes of your time) you can help. Pass it along to any friends who may want to help, too. I really love this part of my job because it's the first time that I feel like a company I work for is actually helping people I care about. (No knock on TSG- we were totally helping the world by selling more chimichangas at Bajio.)

Hope you like the site!

More projects coming soon .....

(In case you want to put the Nie badge on your blog, go here and click on the Nie web badge and the html code will pop up.)

Thoughts at 1:15 am

These days, I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Why do I always take on more than I can handle? I think I have a problem, but I'll leave that for another post. Instead, let's break it down.

I am loving
...............................................................

Birthday cake
Paul Jacobsen and the Madison Arm
Friends that visit from New York
Covering my nuts
Water
Tickets to Hawaii
Heroes
Craig's cooking
Conference
Emailing old friends
Lunch
Looking forward to Oct 18
Focusing on the guys
Senior Financial Analysts
Halloween parties
Good phone calls
Carbs


I am hating
...............................................................

Still being up
Working too much
Moths
(Some) programmers
Saying yes when I mean no
Not exercising
Misunderstandings

It helps me to think of things this way. There are always more pros than cons.*