Tutus and Chimps (or just a really random and pointless string of thoughts that needed to be shared for some reason)

So you know this annoying McDonald’s shamrock shake commercial?

The first couple of times I saw it I was so bugged because I knew I recognized the girl in it from somewhere, but couldn’t quite figure out who she was. And it bothered me to no end. Then one day it clicked and I was all “holy crap it’s Jody Sawyer!” If that name doesn’t mean anything to you watch the trailer below:

Man, I love me some Center Stage. Actually, even though I have zero dance ability I find myself loving all things ballet. Except I still haven't seen Black Swan cause even the trailer gives me the heebie jeebies. I’m a sensitive soul when it comes to movies.

But anyhoo, my next thought after arriving at this mind-blowing realization was “what in the world is Jody Sawyer doing in a McDonald’s commercial? And why isn’t she wearing her leotard or pointe shoes?”  

An IMDb search revealed that Jody’s name is actually Amanda and she was a legit ballerina but now she is trying to be an actress. Which, good for her and everything but it’s still strange to see someone that I know from one ballet movie that I first saw in Junior High pop up on TV ten years later professing her love for mint milkshakes. It weirds me out for reasons that I can’t really explain. And watching the commercial didn’t make me want a milkshake, but it did send me straight to my computer searching for Center Stage on Netflix. I wonder if the McDonald’s advertising department anticipated that effect. 

And while we’re on the subject of movies, I saw this trailer over the weekend and it just about made me cry:

Does this movie look adorable or what? 

Because cruises are for sissies

At my last doctor’s appointment my OB informed Mike and I that our job right now is to have tons of fun as a couple before Baby Butch joins our clan. He then started talking about how long I can safely fly, travel on cruise ships, etc. And since neither Mike nor I are particularly great at following orders, we were like “Meh, that sounds great and all, but I think we’d rather demolish our whole kitchen instead.”

Apparently our idea of fun consists of pricing out cabinets and tile, debating over paint colors, and stressing out over the state of our savings account. Throw the constant hum of power tools and a very cluttered living room into the mix and the party really gets started.

In all seriousness though, it might not be the smartest idea to take on this project at a time when we should probably just be soaking up the luxuries of kid-free life, but we both figured that if living without a kitchen for a month and doing all this work feels kind of overwhelming right now, it definitely won’t be any easier when we add an infant to the equation. Plus this is something that we have been wanting to do since we first moved into our place, and we are really excited to enjoy the finished product.

So instead of spending a week lounging on the beach in Aruba, we’re going to commemorate the final months of our pre-parenthood era by transforming our outdated, inefficient kitchen into something that looks more like this (although obviously a much smaller, budget-friendly version):

We’re going for a clean, airy, modern look with a bit of fun color. Cabinets, flooring, and countertops are taken care of—now I just need to decide on the backsplash. At first I was quite taken with that glass tile in the first photo, but now I’m gravitating toward something a little more subtle, like this:

But so far I've had a hard time tracking down something similar. Anyone know of any good tile resources?

P.S.- It really needs to be said that, although I throw the term "we" around a lot in this post, Butch is the one taking on the brunt of this task. In fact, he is spending his spring break working tirelessly on it while I scamper around trying to do the stuff that doesn't require inhaling dangerous chemicals, doing any heavy lifting, or using construction skills of any kind. Which means I am pretty much in charge of running the Shop-Vac while he takes care of the important stuff. My husband's legit.