introducing “almost exactly”

Category: everyday | September 14th, 2012


here it is folks! introducing the new look! i feel like a new person. :) (first off…a big thank you to the mister and his team for putting up with my craziness and making this happen!!) i have been wanting a new blog design for awhile and a whole new blog really. peace, love, & crafts was good to me but i felt like i needed some rebranding to fit with my current lifestyle. so almost exactly it is. :)

i desired to blog more. i found that writing about my life and the stuff around me was what i really wanted to do  (and it would allow me to write more posts more often). so that is the main reason for this new look and rebranding…plus, change is good, right?

to be honest, i didn’t really have an idea for a new title for the longest time and basically searched for ideas. i happened to come across this cute oxymoron and fell in love. so that’s how i got the name. pretty simple. i wish i had some awesome story that explained the significance behind it, but no. :)

well, there you have it. i sure hope you like the new look and layout. i especially love the simple and clean feel it has. bigger photos (which is always more fun) and not as busy on the side. i am still with the same url (www.kristenmcashan.com) as before, so you don’t need to do anything if you “follow” me.

i’m looking forward to boring you sharing with you more about my life and what not. and to start off the new blog i have a super fun giveaway to share, starting next week! excited! so be sure to come back and visit . :)

pinterest challenge

Category: DIY, everyday | September 7th, 2012


hey all you pinners out there: do y’all actually do the recipes, crafts, activities, DIYs that you pin?? i am guilty of not doing this lately. there are just so many awesome ideas, i’m a bit overwhelmed. ha. but after having my sis stay with us last weekend she inspired me. :) so i too want to join the challenge of doing at least 1 thing that i have pinned per week….whether it’s a recipe, craft, or activity, etc. :) i’m excited for this small but big challenge and encourage all of y’all to join too! maybe i’ll even get around to posting about it too! :)

**the photo above just might need to be my first project. i have been craving bubble tea for pretty much too long, so here it goes! thanks a cup of mai for posting this and catching my eye. :) you can follow my pins here!

colorado, part I

Category: everyday | September 6th, 2012


remember that time we went on a road trip….like 3 weeks ago? well i’m finally getting around to sharing some posts and photos from that. :) i thought i’d keep this part I simple and share my instagram photos. sadly, i didn’t take as many photos as planned….and i happened to take more photos with my phone than my slr. of course. ha.

**a friend of ours asked us if we could join him and his family on a road trip to colorado to cheer/help pace him on his crazy but awesome ultra marathon adventure called the leadville 100. for those who don’t know what that is….it’s pretty much a 100 mile race in leadville, colorado with mountains and all….and all 100 miles have to be under 30 hours (to get a medal). whew. so of course we were up for the challenge (i can handle cheering!). more about his race on the next post. :)

we took our time driving up there. with three cars and 4 kiddos we made lots of stops, but i wasn’t complaining since just about every time we stopped i had to go the bathroom. oh pregnancy bladder problems. ;) it was nice to get out and stretch every time too. p did awesome! i was worried about her in the car since we haven’t driven longer than 5 hours with her before. she still sits rear facing too, but all those movies and playtime in the back helped a bunch! (thanks to all those who let me borrow movies) :) it was such a pretty drive. i think i am used to my trips to dallas and I-35 (which is so not fun at all), and worried that it was going to be a super long I-35 drive. but we took the backroads and it made the trip oh so much better!

we enjoyed the wonderful weather up there even though i still got a sunburn on race day. what? not cool. our morning walks were amazing. we didn’t have room for the jogging stroller so we had our regular pram one and umm that wasn’t the most trail/hill friendly thing to push around but it worked. we walked alongside a river and  saw tons of chipmunks. the mountain views were so pretty. it was such a nice change of scenery.
we  stayed in a house with our friends and their family. lots of kiddos. never a dull moment! and more friends who live in colorado joined in on the fun too and brought their sweet puppy who became my snuggle buddy. :)  it was nice to just hang out and soak up the little community life where we were staying in buena vista. it was a work/live neighborhood. so pretty much all those who worked in the little local shops also lived just down the street or even above the shop. such a neat and close community.

when it was time to go the mister and i decided to drive straight home, nonstop. i was a little nervous about that but it worked out great too. we left right before P and i fell asleep and the mister pretty much drove throughout the night until breakfast time. after we ate i took over and could only handle 4 hours. haha. pretty sad huh? he finished the home stretch and we made it back by the afternoon. it was nice to be back home and see sweet molly waiting for us. (thank you to my sweet neighbors and sarah for loving on her for us!)

we were gone for a whole week and man it took me about a whole week to get back on track with reality…not to mention the crazy heat we came back too. colorado was a nice treat and tease for fall weather. if only it would get here sooner than later! i’m over the fact of me sweating when i just walk to the mailbox. ;)

more about the actual race on part II. thanks for reading my ramblings on our first real road trip as a family! lots of great memories with great friends. praise God.

new design = time…and a few photos

Category: everyday | September 5th, 2012





1. fav summer treat
2. latest order from PLC (my fav thing to make)
3. the mister preaching at church
4. P and her sweet friend
5. huge longhorn in our neighbor’s yard
6. P trying on her first dress up outfit (thanks aunt jeni!)

we have been in the finishing stages of the new design layout of the blog and i was told the best thing to do is to not write any new posts for a bit. it’s been a bit. ;) i am still here and alive. lots has been going on. excited to share all my posts i have lined up. is it weird that i am wanting to wait until the new blog goes live to publish the posts?? lol. well i figured i should write a little update and just say hi.

i think i can finally say we have gotten back into our daily/weekly routines here now that we have been back from our road trip. man, that took awhile to recover from….and i think coming home to 100 degree weather after having a nice break from it was harder than i thought too. haha. you would think after all these years of crazy summer heat that i would be used to it. (it’s different when you’re pregnant!) :)

well i will wait until the new blog is live to post more stories and events…and a few giveaways!!?? what? i’m going all out on this. haha. (ps…if any friends/companies would like to be a part of a giveaway on the new blog then let me know!) :):)

 

been a little busy

Category: everyday | August 9th, 2012





it’s been a little quiet on the blog lately. i blame that on life. ha. we have been busy with all sorts of things going on. this is my last week of having one of my fav babysitters in town for the summer. i have been taking advantage of that special time and running around town doing all sorts of crazy errands…especially the ones miss P wouldn’t mind missing like the car dealership. ha. we will miss you emily!!

miss P and i took a road trip back home for a few days last week and enjoyed some wonderful family time. it was extra special since we got to celebrate my niece’s birthday too! we even got a good fix of the olympics while we were there. we don’t watch tv at home, which i normally don’t mind at all, but i was sure missing out on all the olympic fun. so it was nice to see a few nights worth! gymnastics is by far my fav. along with volleyball and track…and swimming. and lots more. :) what’s your favorite??


oh and i’d like to give a special shout out to all those who have been putting in orders with PLC! i love making those bows! so thank you!! i’d love to see some pictures of your little ones wearing them!