A New Beginning

Since I ended my last post with the engagement of Aiden of Chelsea it is only fitting that I open up my new blog with the wedding day itself. This new blog of ours will consist of these people; these people that are my family and that I love with all my heart. We are missing Sarah Wood, my stepsister, who will also be a big part of this new writing adventure and who I also love dearly. 

This new blog will be about the Vandeclan6...and extended family. We are now Vandeclan7, but to keep things easy I will use the 6 only because that is what we have always been called. I am keeping this blog private to the above people and maybe some other family members that will be in it and would like to join. Maybe even Mr. Poop from a couple of Christmas' ago may even show up! 😄💩

This will be more than a journal than a blog and it will be for the people I love and the future generations to come. I added it to my ALL FRED UP blog only because I didn't want to forget where I started blogging, but this journal blog will not be called ALL FRED UP. I was thinking Vandeclan6...and more, but I am not sold. So the first order of business is a name. If one of you can think of something better I would love to hear from you. Our family is so creative, I know that we can come up with something fun. If you think of something, add it in the comment box below.

I love you all and hope that this is a fun way of keeping in touch. Oh by the way, did I mention you can contribute too? Just send me pictures, a title, and content and I will be honored to put it on OUR blog. 

I am including the speech that Sully gave during Chelsea and Aiden's wedding ceremony below. It is one to remember and one to share with the future.


The first time Chelsea came to the Vanderford household she was very well received. Everyone quickly saw she was hilarious, sweet, and all around pretty awesome. This was a good thing because just by seeing the way Aiden would look at her, we knew she was going to be around for awhile. Everything was splendid with the exception of a minor thing.

Every time I saw Aiden and Chelsea together one of them would grab the others face and say this phrase: “I like this face. This is a good face.” Each time I would have to stifle my nausea. It was gross. You guys were gross.

But then one day I realized what it truly meant. I could be completely misinterpreting this and it could just be a funny thing that they say to each other for a quick laugh, but now I see it as a declaration to one another to forever love each other no matter the face they have on that day. Through your lifetime you will see many of these faces and I have done you two the courtesy of writing down a few examples:

Chelsea: you will see his face when he is smiling ear to ear because you somehow made his grumpy self in to an excited bubbly school girl.

Aiden: you will see her face when you somehow make one of the happiest people in world that much happier.

Chelsea: You will see his face when he is in complete shock because what Conor Oberst is singing about perfectly describes his feelings, because Conor just kind of gets him, ya know?

Aiden: You will see her face when she is really annoyed because she is forced to share her food.

Chelsea: You will see his face when he is on the verge of a mental breakdown because Derrell Bevel decides to throw the ball in the redzone on first down, when we have one the best running backs in the NFL.

Aiden: You will see her face when she completely panicked because the plans she had for weeks now, changes at the last minute.

Chelsea: You will see his face when he is screaming at the TV during the live coverage of the next RNC.

Aiden: You will see her face when she is over joyed to be on the couch next to her husband singing along to her musicals.

Chelsea: You will see his face when he frantically tries to figure out what is going on in said musical because he was daydreaming about anything other than musicals for the first half of the movie.

Aiden: You will see her face when she is frustrated because she just can’t seem to win whatever board game you guys are playing at the time.

Chelsea: You will see his face when he is exhausted because it’s the tenth round they’ve played that night because it’s not over until Chelsea wins.

Chelsea: On another occasion you will see his face when he is smugly talking smack while beating you at a board game.

Aiden: And you will see her face when she is trying not to reach over the table and smack that face for it.

Basically, what I am saying is you guys should stay away from board games. They get heated!

One of you will see the look of uncertainty, terror, and excitement when the other suggests, “We should have a kid!”

And you’ll see the exact same look a year or more later when one of you says “we should have another!”

Both of you will see the look of confusion on each others faces when you never thought you could dislike the person you love the most so much in the middle of a fight.

And you will both see the look of relief on each other face when you can’t even remember why you were mad in the first place.

But most importantly you will witness the face you both will have later in life when you understand that the face you once knew so well is no longer the same. Because with time, faces change, along with interests and values. But you will not long for the face you once knew, because you realize that with each new face, you have fallen for them all over again. You fall deeper in love than you were before.

Many say when you love someone you will wear your heart on your sleeves. In my opinion a more accurate statement would be: You where your heart on your face. And I know it sounds silly, but with every feeling or emotion, whether it small or large, silly or serious, it will in some way show on your face.

So now when I hear Chelsea and Aiden saw “I like your face. You have a good face.” All I will hear is “I like your heart. You have a good heart.” “I like you. You are a good person. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”  

 

~Sullivan Vanderford

Drum Roll Please

Since the month of LOVE is almost over it seems appropriate to finally post about my big news. In fear that my words would not be eloquent enough I kept putting off this post. For some of you this is old news. Old news, or new news, it is great news and I am so excited to finally present it on my blog. Drum roll please…my son Aiden is engaged!

My future daughter in-law, Chelsea is the perfect match for him, and the VandeClan couldn’t be happier. They both have found each other’s lobster in one another. Chelsea is the sweetest, most loving, positive, pragmatic, joyful, and caring individual I have ever met. Her beauty radiates from the inside out. Chelsea’s smile will melt your heart and her optimistic outlook towards life will make you question any looming negative thoughts that may reside within you. She is a stunning, classic beauty that can be completely goofy and silly; she is a total kid at heart.

Aiden and Chelsea are both thought provoking, intelligent individuals and some of their viewpoints on life can be polar opposite. With differing perspectives they balance each other like yin and yang. Aiden and Chelsea's beliefs, opinions, and principles may not always completely align (like almost all relationships) but it is how they embrace these differences that far exceeds any young relationship I have ever witnessed. I know this makes them sound so serious, but that is far from the truth. They are giddy and silly in love, but with a maturity beyond their years that I admire.
  

Musically, Aiden and Chelsea are very talented. They literally make beautiful music together! They do not publicly perform, but every once in awhile we have the pleasure of sneaking a listen. Aiden on guitar and both of them on vocals is so perfectly harmonious.   

Aiden is the happiest I have ever seen him when in the company of Chelsea and that makes me happy.  The date is set in September 2015, which will be here before we know it. I am thrilled for this new step in my baby boy’s life and look forward to watching Chelsea and Aiden’s future develop before my very eyes. The love and respect that these two young adults posses for each other will undeniably stand the test of time and go down in history as one of the all time great love stories. I am privileged to be a supporting character.

Congratulations Chelsea and Aiden. I love you both with all my heart.

Photo Credit - Thank you, Kevin Antholt (Chelsea's Dad)

A Note About the Pictures – In the second week of December Chelsea went with her family on vacation to Hawaii. With help from Chelsea’s mom and dad Aiden planned to fly to Hawaii in the middle of their vacation to surprise Chelsea and pop the question. The pictures are from their time in Hawaii and the exact moment Aiden proposed!

Winter Where?

I have to admit I have been pretty excited that we have had such a mild winter in the Pacific Northwest this year. Me and cold just don't get along. I love the beauty of snow, but only from the comforts of being inside with a fire blazing.

Winter clothing is always a struggle for me. I love bulky sweaters, but don't always like the way they look on me. Layering makes me feel immense and it is so uncomfortable to try to get a coat on over a heavy sweater. It makes me sad that my favorite heels have to go on hiatus for months and that if I want to wear dresses or skirts I am confined to tights to stay warm. But in this post I embraced the thick knit sweater and tights and guess what?... I liked it!

Everything I am wearing is very old! See below pictures for similar items from the stores that I got mine.

Skirt: Ruche

Sweater: American Eagle

Boots: Blowfish
Photo Credit: Thank you, Delaney Vanderford

What I Covet - N&N... A Love Affair

Many of you know that my love for Nordstrom is a deep passionate adoration that dates all the way back to when I was a little girl. I remember going shopping with my mom to the mall and my favorite stop that we would make was to Nordstrom. The smells, the beauty, the piano player playing the theme song from Charlie Brown, “Linus & Lucy” made me giddy inside. When I was a teenager I was so proud to be on their High School Fashion Board. When I worked during sales and holidays I admired all the employees and someday wished to work for this fabulous company. Even though I never became a full time employee, I still get that little girl giddiness every time I walk into a Nordstrom store.
     
My affairs with Nordstrom usually begin with the catalog that comes in the mail. Holding the catalog tightly I chant, “The new Nordstrom catalog is here, the new Nordstrom catalog is here,” all the way from the mailbox to the house! I skip up the stairs with a silly grin on my face and flop on the couch ready to take in the beauty that is about to consume me. I slowly flip through the crisp pages carefully surveying each highlighted item and dog earring the pages that contain the must haves.

Next, I take the catalog to my nearest Nordstrom where the piano player has since retired and has been replaced by a playlist piped throughout the store. I quickly find my treasures and reevaluate what is truly a must have (in reality nothing is a must have, it is a really want!). I make my purchases and close my hands around the handle of my silver bags that I swing walking through the store feeling like a VIP. I usually make two more stops in the store. The first stop is to the accessory section where the hats are sold. I have an incomprehensible passion for hats, so I peruse through the new arrivals to see which one will be packed in a cute little silver hat box to join my other head wear neatly stacked in my closet. The second stop is to the MAC counter. My obsession for MAC makeup perplexes many. How many different color brown eye shadows can one girl have? Well who knew there could even be so many different shades?! With each launch of a new MAC collection my own MAC collection grows.

My shopping trips are always quick (don’t ask my boys though, they have no patience whatsoever!). My husband calls me a buyer not a shopper! I almost always know what I am looking for and I get in and out quickly and when shopping at Nordstrom I am always completely satisfied.

This “What I Covet” post is dedicated to the items that are currently on my on-line account Nordstrom Wish List.

Do you have a favorite store that you just love? Please share.  

Back In The Blog Saddle Again!

After going dark for many weeks now it is time for me to get back in the saddle and post something for the blog. And what a perfect day to do a bath post being that it is National Bubble Bath Day! I swear the only reason I even know this is because of Instagram. I am not sure how certain things get a day dedicated to them, but for me this one comes at the most opportune time since I wasn’t quite sure how to get back in the swing of things. It’s not that I don’t have anything to share, in fact I have some very exciting news that I am saving for another post… SQUIRREL!

The above paragraph was written a week ago and was my first attempt of a post after a long hiatus during the holidays. I have huge distraction issues and focusing problems that I am working to solve. Lately, the only thing that I have been able to complete from start to finish, without chasing a squirrel in the middle of the task, is cooking. I have been on a huge culinary campaign and loving every minute of it! Most days I cook and bake all day long. One day my husband Shannon came home from work and I had one dinner in the crockpot, one in the oven, and one on the stove! We were set for days, but that didn’t stop me from making something else the very next day.

Needless to say, I missed the opportunity to share a bath post with you on National Bubble Bath Day so I will talk about my new favorite cookbook. The Skinnytaste Cookbook has been my go to now since I purchased it for myself as a Christmas gift in the middle of December. I was looking for a low calorie cookbook that didn’t sacrifice on taste and Gina Homolka totally delivers! I have made over forty of the recipes from the cookbook and my family has been totally impressed and satisfied with each and every one. Every recipe is full of flavor and so easy to follow and did I mention low in calories?! I feel so good feeding these meals to my family knowing that they are so good for us. I know the luxury of being at home now is a huge factor on why my family is served a home cooked meal every night, but even if I was still working I know that Gina’s recipes are quick and easy enough that I would have been able to incorporate them in my nightly routine after work.



If you are looking for cooking inspiration I totally recommend that you pick up The Skinnytaste Cookbook. The pictures are beautiful and she also has invaluable tips throughout the book that are essential for cooking low fat/low calorie meals. If you would like to try out some of Gina’s recipes before you buy the book visit her blog Skinnytaste. She even has a contest going on right now where you could win her book. :)

Happy Eating!

Phew... I did it, I actually completed a whole post! I will do my best to keep up the momentum. Like I said before, I have some very exciting news to write about and I hope to get it out by next week. Thank you so much for reading.