{ If I had Kids... }

...I would be ALL ABOUT starting one of these in my neighborhood. The Walking School Bus program is designed to have local parents take turns walking neighborhood kids to school, rather than have them take the bus (or driving them, I suppose) -- promoting all things wonderful! So cool! Not only is it eco-friendly, healthy-friendly and community-/relationship- building, look at how cute their logo is! Note to self: must live within walking distance of kids school when starting a family and buying a home.

{ Skeeson has returned! }

With temperatures hanging out in the 40s in the mornings, I have officially declared the return of skeeson! (scarf + season = skeeson)

I wore this orange guy to work this morning in honor of opening day; I got it last weekend as the newest addition for the season. Time to bundle up, huh?

{ The iPod Brick }

I found this thick gem in one of my coworkers offices today, and I was totally entertained. iPods have only been out for 7 years (thank you wikipedia for this tidbit of information), but they have come a long way, apparently. This Generation One has an actual turn-y wheel -- it doesn't work by touch sensation -- and the connector outlets are huge. So funny.

It reminds me of a story I heard about a little kid in my church ward running into his home after his friend's parents had dropped him off. He grabbed his mom's hand, urging her to come outside and see this crazy contraption in his friends car. They got to their destination only to find that the little boy was mesmerized by the manual window roller-downer -- he'd never seen one before. Just funny.


Thickness compared to my ipod touch


Plug-in area

{ Yellows }

Cam's sisters were in town this weekend (YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE!! Thanks for coming Karlin and Anna :) ) and we got a chance to go up the Alpine Loop to see the yellows. The seas of changing aspens are by far my favorite part of color-changing bliss in the fall. So beautiful, no?

{ Ad Campaign - Making Face Time }

After a brief perusal, I've fallen in love with this ad campaign. Hats off to the advertising folks at Dentyne. I think it's an excellent example of being good stewards in the media while still doing your job (definitely a completely clever way to advertise for gum). I love this for two reasons:

1. In a world that is flooded with potential for a completely virtual life, I can't imagine a message that hits closer to home of the importance of getting out and living real life, and

2. It encourages two of my favorite things -- relationships and love (of all kinds). Nothing more important than that.

Seems kind of ironic that I'm blogging about my love of a campaign that encourages less computer and more people, huh? But hey, gotta get the message out someway :) I'll be sure to go hug someone after I hit "post."

Here are some of the other ads:




This one could be seen as a little heat-y, but we're just gonna say these people are totally married and they're laying in their backyard.

{ Skinny sleeves > Floppy sleeves }

In my opinion, skinny sleeves are better than floppy sleeves on shirts. It's only a small detail, but I think it makes a big difference in both how my shirts look and how apt I am to wear them. I bought this green shirt at Old Navy the other day, and after one wear, it was apparent that the sleeves were too floppy for my liking. So...I took to the sewing machine. After two small seams, I had myself two nicely fitting sleeves, and one of my new favorite shirts.


The floppy sleeve before I sewed it. The look on my face clearly says "I'm not sure why I'm wearing a shirt with such a floppy sleeve."


The seam I sewed in the armpit of my shirt to trim out the sleeve


The after product. See?! A skinny sleeve just looks classier and cleaner, don't you think?

As a side note, I've done this to a few normal t-shirts I have too. Kind of a cool effect -- tight sleeves with looser torsos. Good looking.

{ Alternative gift wrap }

Last Christmas, in an effort to use fun alternative packaging, I sewed all the Christmas gifts I gave inside little fabric pouches I made from funky Christmas tree fabric. It made for no hassle at the airport for transporting already wrapped presents, and it set my gifts apart, which is always fun. Today, for my good friend Marie's birthday, I decided to use yarn as her gift wrap medium. It took about two hours to crochet the little pouch I wrapped her dessert cookbook in. It probably wasn't the most efficient wrapping method, but it turned out pretty cute and in the end I think it was worth doing at least once. Yarn wrap? Sure, why not.


Marie with her gift.

{ Fall Hike }

Me and Cam took a hike up Provo Canyon on Monday to soak in the fall colors. We saw a lot of the reds, but I still need to go up the Alpine Loop to see the yellows (hopefully pictures to come). The hike we took came down into a really sweet bowl complete with a little family of deer. Not bad for a 45 minute outing.


Cam running up the trail ahead of me


Me with the reds of the canyon

{ I fell in love... }

...with this $200 bag at TJMaxx last Saturday while shopping with Kates. Needless to say, I did not leave the store with it. But I couldn't help but take pictures; it was just so beautiful! A bit big for an everyday purse, but it would make the perfect travel bag. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince myself I necessitated a $200 travel bag. If I was currently planning a trip to Europe, however, that would be a different story. If that bag is still calling my name in a couple days, I may need to get on that.


I like to call it the love bag. See -- a little/lot too big for a purse, but amazing for an airport/travel bag. And can the color get better than that?

{ Kates returns! }

After a 3-year absence, Kates has returned! And I am the happiest Nicki Schmidt on the planet. Katy lived with me, here in Utah, 3 years ago, then subsequently moved back to California after she graduated. I have been trying to convince her to come back ever since, and it finally worked. She's here to go to massage school for the next 7 months, but I'm going to pretend she came back just to play with me and take full advantage of the situation. Here's to months of longboarding, bike riding and snowboarding adventure!

{ Quaint lunch with Marie }

Working full time means that lunch time is coveted hour that I usually revel in. If I can walk to my place of eating, it's even better. And if I can read on the way, I'm in heaven. One of my favorite places to meet up with Marie is Pizzaria Seven Twelve. Sad for the restaurant, it's housed in an uncompleted building on State Street in Orem. But happy for me, it's a 3 minute walk from my work, and it is charming. The food is Italian inspired, and a chalk board on the wall houses one of my favorite quotes. I'm not sure of the exact wording, but it says something like "If you cook with good ingredients, you can cook simply and it is delicious becuase the food tastes like itself." Intuitive for most, I'm sure, but I like the simple truth it tells.

I love the atmosphere of Pizzaria Seven Twelve, so I took some photos to share last time Marie and I were there. My favorite features of the restaurant include delicious Euro-American food, white dishes and petite tables. It really is charming.


View of the inside of the restaurant from me and Marie's seat on the patio.


They bring out fresh, in-house made pita and hummus as an appetizer free of charge with every meal.


This captures the atmosphere. Me. Marie. Pizzaria Seven Twelve. Domino magazine. How could this not be a wonderful occasion?


The meal. Marie and I shared some sort of braised beef and mushroom with cheese pannino. Needless to say, it was delish. And the side dish of rice came with dried blueberries in it -- a lovely little palatable surprise.