Change of heart??

Let me say this up front. I hate MacDonalds. Probably  always will. Although part of it probably does have a lot to do with the whole Super Size Me obesity thing, I really just think their food is super cheap and disgusting. However, I may have to have a change of heart... for the next little while at least. 

We've all had those kids meal toys that look really cool, but end up breaking while you're still at the drive through window. But, guess what Mickey D's is promoting right now? MADAME ALEXANDER DOLLS!!! What?! See for yourself here. 

Granted, they're probably just about as cheap as most fast food toys... but they're so adorable! I've had a soft spot for Madame Alexander dolls for many years. And yes, these may not be great quality (or even moderate quality), but I'm certainly not willing to pay full price for the dolls. I think a kids meal price is much more reasonable. 

So... who wants to go get 8 kids meals at McDonalds with me?

*amber*

The Dickson Dream Home: Numero Uno

So I have a confession to make. We are officially obsessed with having our own house. Someday. Far far in the future. When we don't have to worry about school anymore... Anyway, we've fallen in love with the idea of having a real home someday. You know, a place that won't be infested with spiders but have landlords that won't pay for pest control. A stove that won't randomly start the washer and dryer instead of the burners... oh yeah. That will be the life.

It all started this Summer. We've spent a lot of time at my parents' house this Summer for family events, things to do up in Salt Lake, etc. Every time we're there, we watch tv. Bad habit, I know, but we don't have tv so we take advantage of it when we can. Usually, the television ends up on HGTV. Thus, we have been watching lots of shows like "My First Place" and "House Hunters". And guess what? We've caught house fever! (Oh ya, and I've been watching Design Star on hulu all season... This is not a good combination)

As a consequence, our conversations lately have consisted largely of layout discussions, theoretical design questions, landscaping ideas, and plans for our future home. Now let me tell you, our dream home is turning out to be quite the little pad... completely state of the art of course.

Since our future nest has been on my mind so much lately, I've been noticing things that I like and good ideas everywhere. So I've decided to put some of those things on our blog. That way, I'll have easy access to all of my good ideas and I don't have to worry about forgetting things.

Thus begins... THE DICKSON DREAM HOME PROJECT! 

By: Amber and Seth Dickson

* * *

Many of my favorite ideas and inspirations have come from pretty pictures I've seen. Photographed rooms and homes always look so perfect don't they? But what happens when you take a closer look? Often, you find a lot of vignettes of random objects that don't necessarily go together, and furniture pieces that serve absolutely no function. But hey, they always photograph well, right?

Recently, I happened upon this blog by LA comedian Molly Erdman (who you might recognize from the Sonic commercials.) She takes pictures from catalogs and adds a story based on what is in the picture. I guarantee, as you follow Gary and Elaine through their perfectly photographed world, you won't be able to help falling in love with this blog and its perfect satire.

Here's one of my favorites:

The only things Elaine treasures more than her prized blue and white urn collection are the framed drawings of her blue and white urn collection.

Visit Catalog Living to see more goodness.

*amber*

First Anniversary Goodness

So basically, I am the most spoiled wife ever. Saturday was such a beautiful day... it couldn't have been more amazing.

The first thing we did to celebrate our anniversary was head up to the Salt Lake Temple. We hadn't been to the Salt Lake Temple since our wedding a year ago, so it seemed an appropriate time to make another visit. It was such a wonderful experience and we both enjoyed the remembering the covenants we made to each other. It was the perfect Anniversary activity :)

To find out why the temple is so important to us and our marriage, click on the picture to the right. 

After we finished up at the temple, Seth asked if I wanted to go to Caputo's for dinner. Caputo's is this amazing Italian market in downtown Salt Lake that we discovered earlier this Summer. I am completely smitten and will take any excuse I can to go. After the temple though, I was just in a peaceful, contemplative mood and didn't really feel like going to a bustling marketplace right then, so we ate at the temple and splurged on some yummy pie.

* * *

After that, we were headed home. I was sitting in the car, probably just babbling on about some random topic, when Seth pulled into a parking garage. What?? I had no idea what he was doing. We got out of the car and walked into a building, which I soon came to recognize as an Embassy Suites hotel. (My family has stayed at them on many vacations.) I was completely taken by surprise (even though Seth said I'd had plenty of opportunities to figure it out but was just too naive) and couldn't decide whether to be overjoyed or mad at him. Luckily for him, I chose the former :) 

We got to the hotel right during the Manager's Reception (what is known in other states as cocktail hour, haha) so we snagged some popcorn and pretzels and headed up to our pretty room. We got to go swimming, watch a few movies (with popcorn), hang out together, and really relax. It was only a one night stay, and we weren't very far from home, but it was just the getaway I needed.

In the morning, we went down to the complimentary breakfast which, at the Embassy Suites, includes a chef prepared meal of your choice. We ate omelets, french toast, hash browns, fresh fruit, and hot chocolate to our hearts desire. Mmm... After we checked out, we headed over to Liberty Park. We walked around for a while and just enjoyed the sunshine.

* * *

Thank you so much Seth. This weekend was absolutely perfect. But really, could my husband be any sweeter?

... The answer is yes! When we got home, he hit me with yet another surprise. He got us gift certificates to a nice little spa day! :) We'll each get to spend time in the oxygen bar, then head over to a nice long full body massage, and then try out what is supposedly the world's best massage chair... whatever that means. I am so excited... I've never had a professional massage before so I can't wait!

Mmm... Happy Anniversary Sweetheart. Thank you for everything.

*amber*

One Year...

I cannot beleive it has already been a year. Time has flown by. We've both grown so much more in the last year than we ever have in our lives, but we know there's still so much more we can teach each other. Every day, he amazes me. I am so thankful for the time we've had so far, and eternally grateful that we has so much more time together.

One year into Forever.

And I thought I loved you then.

I love you Seth.

Eternity, here we come.

*amber*

PS: I am aware that I haven't written on here for 4 weeks now. I just had to post something today. For all two of you that actually read our blog, Summer updates will be coming soon. Now I'm off to enjoy the day with my amazing hubby :)