The Larson Lingo

Kate's Rainbow Art Party

2012-01-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

Kate's 5th Birthday Party was this past weekend & it was a blast!

One of the reasons it was so fun is because Kate picked this theme for her party last May!
So, of course, I have been planning it in my head for the past 9 months.
The first thing I knew I wanted to make for the party was Rainbow Tissue Pom Poms!
Our house is so colorful with all the decorations! I still have some up :)
The morning of the party was slightly rainy & 3 of my friends texted me to let me know there was a rainbow outside...perfect timing for Kate's Rainbow Party. You can *barely* see it in the picture below:
{Adorable Rainbow shirts made by my friend Keri}

Decorations:
I had a kids table set up & I used rainbow fabric from Joann's for a table cloth.
I had markers & crayons in mason jars down the center of the table with rainbow pom poms hanging above:

The chairs had an apron for each party guest & I sewed on their initial using the same rainbow fabric. Since we were doing art projects, I wanted to protect their clothes.
The aprons were reversible, one side pink, the other side purple.
Kate's initial was on the purple side (her favorite color) and the other girls were on the pink side. It made Kate's stand out & more special for her :)
I got the aprons at Michaels this summer for $1 each! Score!

The invite that I made:
{available in my Etsy shop}

I also made a Rainbow Birthday Banner:
And, I had a Rainbow Pennant:
I also had rainbow colored flowers is big mason jars & balloons!
I made little signs with the same layout as the invite:
And, colorful straws & party plates/napkins:
Party Activities:

The first project the girls did when they arrived was put on their aprons & then decorate white paper bags with dot dot art, markers & stickers.
These bags would be used to contain all the art projects they made at the party.
The next project we did was canvas paintings. Each girl had an 8x10 canvas that they could paint on. I had fun sponge paint brushes & normal paint brushes.
There are some talented little artists!
The girls also made beaded necklaces:

I also had the girls make Sock Puppets. Kate got a Puppet Theater for Christmas & is really into puppets, so the sock puppets were really fun to make.
I also had our awesome babysitter Torrey at the party doing face painting/hand painting for the girls.
Kate got a rainbow, of course!
When we were going over the invite list, Kate wanted to make sure Torrey was invited. She loves her (and so do I!)
There was one other craft, but I forgot to do it at the party!
I realized it right after the party was over. Spin Art!
So, I had Kate make some for fun as we were cleaning up.
Party Food:

Because the party was from 2-4, I didn't need to serve a meal, so had snacks!
I had a rainbow fruit platter:
And, veggies with hummus.
There was Lemonade & Fruit Punch:
And, of course....a Dessert Table! You know me...I love Dessert Tables:
I got the K at Joann's for a few dollars & then spray painted it purple.
(I picked out all the brown m&m's and then added some purple m&m's from the Valentines m&m mix:
Dipped Marshmallows:
These were cute, but a pain to make:
Paint Drops? Nope, Cake Balls!
Funfetti Cupcakes in rainbow polka dot liners:
Close up of the toppers I made:
Dipped Oreos:
Aren't they so pretty?
I also made rainbow jello cups, but I FORGOT to put them out!!! Ahh.
After the party, I opened the fridge & saw them still in there.
My friend Heather made a cute pennant for me that I wanted to use for the rainbow jello.
My girls didn't complain that we had 8 jello cups left :)
The Cake:
My mother in law made the cake (as usual) and this rainbow cake gave her a run for her money because when she woke up Saturday morning, the cake had slid (she puts custard between the layers of her cake & the custard made the cake expand & slide) She was able to salvage the cake & I still think it turned out great!

The rainbow cake:
Close up:
I even found rainbow candles at our local party store!
One happy 5 year old!
The inside of the cake:
Yum!
Some of the party guests:
Favors:
The girls got to take home their aprons, all their crafts & I also got each girl a pad of white art paper, markers & box of crayons:
I got them at Target in August during their Back to School Sale. The markers & crayons were $.50 each!

It was a great party & so much fun. There were 8 little girls there & it was the perfect amount for an Art & Craft Party.
Kate told me that it was the best birthday party ever! I call that a success!
Thanks to everyone who came & helped celebrate Kate's 5th Birthday!
Now, it's time to start planning Claire's 4th Birthday party in September...I already have a few themes in mind :)

Linking up here and here.

Kate is 5!

2012-01-23T23:58:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been 5 years since God blessed us with this bundle of joy!

{Adorable Rainbow shirt made by my friend Keri}
Five. It seems SO old.

My sweet, kind, caring, bike riding, purple loving artist.

I am so lucky to be her Mommy.

It seems like just yesterday she was born. And now she is 5.

Happy 5th Birthday Katelyn Grace!

Insta January

2012-01-20T07:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday!
It's Insta Friday which means you can see what we have been up to the past few weeks!
We have had unusually warm weather this January which means the girls have been playing a ton outside. This girl loves to chalk.

Have you had these Chocolate Croissants from Trader Joes?
SOOOOOO good.

This girl is totally obsessed with her Tangled Wig & Dress. She wears it almost everyday. The wig is a rats nest now. That didn't stop her from wearing it to a princess party last weekend.
Sigh. Friday Night Lights.
It's an obsession, I tell you.
We got the entire series for Christmas & have been staying up WAY too late watching it.
We are on Season 3 & we have a new rule that we will only watch it on the weekend so that we don't stay up late during the week watching it! Can't wait to watch it tonight!!!

Someone was being sneaky & had some fun with the camera.

Guess who beat the Saints last week!?!?!?
My 49ers!!!!! Who Dat? WE DAT!
Such an awesome game!!! Can't wait for the NFC Championship this Sunday! Go Niners!!!

Our neighbors dropped off Krispy Kreme donuts on our doorstep over the weekend!
I LOVE our court!!!It FINALLY rained here this week. It hadn't rained in months!!!! So thankful for the rain.
The girls had fun playing inside & building little forts & playing with dolls.
I LOVE rainy days!

Someone has a birthday party this weekend, so I have been busy with party prep this week!

Kate picked out some flowers at the store for her party:
Helping me with party decorations:
I even busted out my sewing machine!
Can you guess what kind of party she is having?
Getting the favors ready:

Kate has been so opinionated with this party planning & it has been so fun.
Can't wait to tell you all about the party next week!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Linking up:

Pizookie: Cheater Style

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

You have heard of a Pizookie, right?
Also known as a pizza-cookie.
I am pretty sure BJ's Restaurant is the originator of the pizookie.
My first time having a pizookie was in 1997, my freshman year of college at Pearl Street BJ's in Boulder, Colorado. Since then, I have been HOOKED at this simple & delicious dessert.
Chocolate Chip Cookie topped with Vanilla Ice Cream & other goodies....what's not to like?
Since I first had a pizookie, many, many, many years ago, I realized that I could very easily & inexpensively make this at home.
So, here is...Mel's Pizookie: Cheater Style.

All you really need is this bag of Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix (yes...store bought mix...for shame! ha!) The reason I like this mix is because you can buy it on sale for $2. So cheap!
And, all you need to add to it is an egg & softened stick of butter, then mix.

Then, spread dough into a pie dish (I spray the dish with Pam)

Another reason I like this mix is because it has TONS of chocolate chips!

Bake your pizookie for about 20 minutes at 375.

When it is golden brown on top, it is ready. Do NOT over bake your pizookie!!!
I like them slightly under-done so that it is gooey & yummy. Nothing worse than an over cooked pizookie.

I usually let it cool for 15-20 minutes before serving it. Yum.

Now it is time to serve your pizookie. At the reastaraunt, they just dump the ice cream on top. But, I like to serve it individually.

Instead of just ice cream, I like to add other goodies! Go big or go home!

Here is my pizzokie topped with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whip cream & pecan bits.
Oh, yeah...and I eat it with a spoon.
Eating ice cream with a fork is just doesn't work for me.

So good. You will lick your bowl clean.

This is one of my last minute go-to desserts.
I always stock up on this mix when it is on sale.
I am all about the cheater pizookie because it is so easy & cheap and it is a total crowd pleaser!
This dessert is perfect for last minute plans. I always have the ingredients on hand. I have made this many times when we had youth group kids come over, game night with neighbors, or coming back to our house after dinner with friends. It takes 2 minutes to make & 2o minutes to bake. And, who doesn't love warm chocolate chip cookies topped with ice cream?
What are you waiting for...go make Cheater Style Pizookie, you won't be disappointed!

I've Got Answers, Part 2

2012-01-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

I finally have time to answer another round of questions from my Got Questions? post.

Here are the answers to Part 1.
Now....On to Part 2!
1. What would you do if you could have one "dream" day: a) by yourself b) with your husband c) with your family

Love this question! Okay, if I had a dream day all to myself, I would sleep in. Then, it would be time to head out for the day. (While I was gone, there would be a house cleaner at my house deep-cleaning my ENTIRE house! A girl can dream, right?) I would go to my favorite coffee shop & get a vanilla latte & cinnamon roll. I would then go get a manicure & pedicure. Then, I would head over to the Farmer's Market. And, I would go walk around the little shops in our downtown area that I never go in. Then, I would go pick up a sandwhich at my favorite lunch place. They have the best turkey, cranberry, avocado sandwich on freshly baked honey wheat bread! It is SO good. And, of course, I would get a Diet Coke & fresh chocolate chip cookie to go with it. I would get my lunch to go & go eat it on the big grassy area in front of the library & while reading a book. After lunch, I would go shopping at my favorite outdoor mall about 10 minutes from our house. After shopping for a few hours, it would be time for my 1 hour massage. Then, it would be time for dinner. I would get my dinner to go at Cheesecake Factory. I would get the avacado egg rolls, bang bang chicken & shrimp & a piece a Snickers cheesecake to-go. I would eat my dinner at home while drinking a glass of wine while staying up late watching chick-flicks in my spotless & sparkling clean house. :)

Now, if I had a dream day with Kevin, I know exactly what I would want to do. We would sleep in (because the girls would be at a sleepover at Grandma's house) Then we would go to breakfast at our favorite breakfast spot for omelets & coffee. After breakfast we would head to the Napa Valley for the day to go wine tasting at some of our favorite wineries. We would get lunch at Dean & Duluca and have a picnic at one of the wineries. After our day in Napa, we would head into San Francisco for dinner & a musical. After the show, we would go to the Buena Vista for Irish Coffee's. It would be a great day!

If we had a dream day as a family, we would surprise the girls & catch a 7am flight to So Cal & go to Disneyland for the day and then fly back that night. Our girls would be perfectly behaved on both flights & at Disneyland :) Our girls had so much fun at Disney World this summer. They talk about it all the time & want to go back. Going to Disneyland for the day would be such a fun thing to do with them. Maybe one day...!

2. I just wonder how you work and still have time to have great parties and everything else you do. Also you are always posting pictures of all the yummy food that you make...what are some go to quick dinners that you make?

I am a night owl. I do almost 100% of my party planning & party prep at night when the girls are in bed. I can easily stay up until 2am getting stuff done. So, whenever we have parties, etc. most of my time prepping for it is at night. I make all my labels, cupcake toppers, etc at night. And, the night before the party is when I prep all the food. Same goes with cleaning my house, editing photos, etsy orders & blogging.....I do all that at night! I just work better at night!
In terms of quick dinners that I make for our family, several of them I have posted here:
Taco Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Easiest Dinner Ever
Homemade Mac & Cheese
I also make meals that last more than 1 night so that we have leftovers. Chicken Enchiladas, Lasagna, Chicken Spaghetti, Chicken Tortilla Casserole, Fajitas, etc. We like Mexican & Pasta, so a majority of our meals come from that genre. I also LOVE the Pioneer Woman, so I make a lot of her recipes! The crock pot is also used once a week, check out this post for tons of recipes from blog readers when I had my Crock-tober link up!

3.
Are you and hubby both from CA? Did you grow up there?
If you could live in any other state what would it be?
Yes, we both grew up in California...born & raised! It is such a wonderful place to live & we are so lucky that both sides of our entire families live in California also. We never have to travel for holidays! If we could live in any other state, it would be ....COLORADO!
That is a no-brainer!
I went to the University of Colorado and living there for 4 years in college was a dream.
It is sunny in Colorado over 300 days a year. And, there are seasons. Oh, how I loved having seasons. I loved it when it snowed. SO much fun.
It is such a beautiful state (& we have a TON of friends who still live there)
Before we had kids, Kevin and I would talk about moving to Colorado (the price of living is so much cheaper than California) But, since having kids, moving there is out of the question. We have both sets of grandparents just minutes from us. You can't beat that.

4. What is the one holiday activity/tradition you do with your children that I must try?

In terms of a favorite holiday or tradition, I LOVE ALL holidays, so narrowing it down to one tradition is very hard for me to do! Like Kelle Hampton says, "I wave my Holiday Freak Flag at every holiday!"
I think of every holiday as a chance to celebrate and create tradition.
Basically, I use any holiday as an excuse to create something with my girls or throw a party.
I can't just pick one that you must do, but I will highlight some of my favorites!
My favorite traditions include my girls (of course!), spending time with friends & family and doing something that blesses someone else.
For St. Patricks Day last year, there was a lepruchan that came to our house & the girls had to go on a treasure hunt. That was SO fun.
For Easter, we make Empty Tomb cookies & read about the Resurrection.
On 4th of July, we spend the day with friends & family at parties & the parade and have the annual Sausage Fest and Jimmy's Homemade Ice Cream.
On Halloween this year, we had friends over for dinner before we went Trick or Treating and then all went Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. New Tradition? I think so!
My favorite tradition this year was Thanksgiving, when we made Pumpkin Bread for every family on our court and the girls and I passed them out on Thanksgiving. So fun.
And of course, there is Christmas...so many fun traditions. My favorites are Cutting Down our Christmas Tree, Wrapping a book for each day of Advent, Handing out Blessing Bags to the homeless & Candle the Elf.

5. I'm 16 and in high school. I'm interested in growing my faith, my parents don't go to church and don't have a religion base to teach me off of. Where do you suggest I start? Thanks!

What a great question! That is so awesome you want to grow your faith. Do any of your friends go to church? I would say get involved with a youth group at a church in your town, or see if there is a Young Life group in your town. Going to youth group when I was in high school was one of the #1 things for me that helped me grow my faith. I loved going to the weekly meetings & hearing the talks from our youth pastor. I was also in a Small Group with 6 other girls in my youth group & we met weekly to do a Bible Study. And, of course one of the most fun things about youth groups is going on the trips. Winter Retreats, Summer Camp & going to Mexico over Spring Break to build houses & help in the orphanages helped shape me in high school.
You might need to check out a few to see which one works for you. I know when I was in college (in Colorado) I checked out a few different churches/college groups on campus my freshman year before I found one that worked for me!
If none of your friends go to youth group, you could also see if there is a Christian Club on your high school campus. That would be another place to get involved & meet other Christians. It is so important to become a part of the Christian community to help you grow your faith, keep you accountable & have people praying for you & with you. Good luck! I will be praying for you!

6. I am curious how you find time to do all of your creative things and work, keep a home running, etc. What time budgeting tips do you have?

Well, I don't know if I am the best one to give advice on this one because like I mentioned earlier, I am a total night owl & stay up WAY too late most days. So, all the creative stuff happens from the hours 9pm-midnight! (But, I will mention that I have been SO good about going to bed earlier in 2012!) In terms of keeping my home running, well that is still a work in progress! First of all, Kevin is VERY, VERY helpful!!!! Every Sunday, I try to have the entire house cleaned & prepped for the week. Because I am a working mom, I like to have Monday start off on the right step with a clean & organized house. So, Sundays are when we do most of the cleaning. I meal plan for the week every Sunday so that I know what is for dinner that week. I like to prep Monday night's dinner on Sunday night so that when I get home from work on Monday, I can just pop it into the oven (or plug in the crockpot) Starting the week right, helps me stay organized for the rest of the week.
As far as other time budgeting tips, I am also trying to figure out a new system for our family so that Sunday's after church can be more relaxing & not so focused on cleaning.
My friend Erin has a great system that I am trying to implement this year!
This is a picture of her daily schedule:
And, she has a thing called Top 6 & every night she writes down a list of the Top 6 things she needs to do that day (ex: 1. make dentist appointments 2. pick up clothes at cleaners 3. return library books 4. pay mortgage 5. email Karen photos 6. charge camera batteries)

I think her system is awesome & I am working on it! And, I think it will help also help with my laundry situation (which, by the way, thank you for all your tips/comments on that post!)

7.
Do you take pictures for others, for payment? What program do you use to edit photos?
Do you offer prints or just give the CD?

Yes, I take pictures for payment on the side! I have been doing that for about 3 years. I use Photoshop CS3 to edit photos. I give clients the CD and I also offer printing from my professional lab if they want nice prints.

8.
What is your schedule/organization tips/secret to doing it ALL? simply don't know how you find time to teach (as a former teacher....HARD work!), raise a family, cook, do fun activities, blog etc. would LOVE to know what works and how you can accomplish things but appear to still be enjoying the moment!
How DO you do it all?!? :)

I DON'T DO IT ALL! Let me make that clear! :)
I have always been a high energy person. Some people have even referred to me as a spaz :)
I just try and channel my energy onto what I am doing at the moment.
I have learned to set boundaries....since having kids, I don't bring ANY of my school work home. I do all my grading at school & prep for the next day before I leave. That way, when I get home, I don't have to think about school :)
In terms of enjoying the moment, I am a glass is half full type person & try and have fun each day. Yes, there are days when the girls don't listen & I loose my patience with them, but for the most part my mantra is, Keep Calm & Carry On :)
I also try to include the girls in our activities, like baking & cooking. And, if I am working on a crafty project, I do it at the table with them while they are coloring or doing a craft.

9.
In your opinion, what is the best college in all the world?
The University of Colorado!!!! GO BUFFS!!!
Do you have more hours in your day than the rest of us?
I wish!!!! Then I wouldn't have to stay up so late :)
What is your favorite Bible Study of all time?
This is a good one...I have 2 favorites. 10 years ago, I did a Precepts study on Exodus and it was the first Old Testament Bible Study I had done. I had just graduated from college & moved back to California. I was the youngest one in the study, but that study impacted me in a HUGE way. It was SO hard & a lot of work, but I learned so much. And, it was the first time I realized that the Old Testament can & does apply to our lives in the 21 Century! God has a master plan for each of us and has since the beginning of time.
Another favorite Bible Study we just did with our Small Group this Fall was The Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearns. It was a great book & study. I challenge you to read it!

Are there words you don't like? (I don't like "tenderloin" or "chunk" or "moist" or...)
I actually don't have any words I don't like. But I have friends who don't like the word moist or ointment, so I make sure I say it to them all the time. ha!

Did you ever have boy names picked out?
We have had 2 boy names picked out since we were married!
If we had 2 boys (instead of 2 girls) they would have been named Luke James & Grant Thomas.

Surely you still work out. What's your routine?
Ummmm....I haven't worked out in 6 years, since I became pregnant with Kate in the Spring of 2006. I am one of those lucky people who has fast metabolism. Sorry. Don't hate.

10.
I love how thrifty you are! How do you find great deals and not spend so much on decorating...whether it be for the holidays or just everyday?

The reason I am thrifty is because I basically ONLY shop at TARGET!!!
I love that place. And, Target has sales ALL THE TIME, so I have scored some really good deals there. Most of my house is decorated with things from Target. Of course, I would love to shop more at Anthro or Pottery Barn, but the reality is...I have young kids and I can' justify buying expensive things that my girls will ruin! And, I don't want to stress about them ruining stuff, so I shop at Target. Same goes for their clothing. Gap Kids & Nordstrom have adorable clothing, but I just can't justify spending a lot of $ on clothes that my girls will grow out of in a few months or ruin because they play so hard in their clothes!
Most of the really good deals I get on clothes are on clearance. I get it AFTER the season & buy a size bigger for my girls to wear the NEXT year. I have done this several times for holidays. It works great! I do the same with decorations, I buy them when they are 50-70% off...after that holiday!

So, there you have it! Part 2!
I will answer Part 3 in the next few weeks!
If you have more questions, you can ask them!

Happy Friday the 13th!
I am counting down the hours until Friday Night Pizza Night and when the girls are in bed so Kevin & I can watch Friday Night Lights! (Almost done with Season 2!)

10 on 10 :: January 2012

2012-01-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

It's the first 10 on 10 of 2012! One of my favorite days of the month.
I love capturing bits & pieces of our ordinary days!
This morning started off bright & early getting ready for work.
I either curl my hair or straighten it. Today, I went with the straightener.
Claire's new Build A Bear that she made over the weekend with Auntie El. (It was a Christmas present from Auntie El) Claire named her bear....wait for it.....Claire Bear.
And, she is obsessed with it.
It was also a boots & skinny jeans type of day. I LOVE my funky brown boots!

Pretty boring day at school because it was a quiz day.

After school, I picked up Claire & she had picked some flowers at my Mom's house & wanted to give them to her friend Nicole.

After our flower drop off, we picked up Kate from preschool & then I dropped the girls off at my friend Becky's house so that I could go back to school for a staff meeting. I was in my car a lot today! And, it was a beautiful day...62 degrees & sunny. We have had amazing January weather!

When we got home, it was time to make the girls dinner. It was a grilled cheese type of night for the girls:
Kate playing memory on the laptop:

Getting organized to make some crafts for Kate's Birthday Party in less than 2 weeks!
My fortune cookie tonight (we had leftover Chinese food for dinner)

Loved my fortune.

Hope you had a great 10th!

Goals & A Word for 2012

2012-01-06T16:12:00.000-08:00

We are 1 week into 2012, so I thought I would blog about my New Years Resolutions & Re-cap how I did in 2011.

Yes, I am "one of those" people who does New Years Resolutions.
I don't know why I do them because I FAIL at some of them every year.
But I will still continue to make resolutions & "attempt" to keep them.

Last year, I called my list 11 hopes for 2011.
Here is how I did:

1. Go to Bed Earlier.
Sigh. I have this resolution EVERY YEAR. And, every year, I pretty much fail.
I did *slightly* better this year, so I am giving myself a D instead of an F.

2. Continue Meal Planning each week.
I give myself an A- with this. I was really good about Meal Planning for the week on Sundays & having a plan of what our meals are for the week. As a working mom, meal planning has simplified my life so much!

3. Eat Breakfast.
I give myself a B+ for eating breakfast. I stock up on Luna bars & keep a few boxes in my classroom & every morning I have a Luna Bar for breakfast somewhere between 1st & 3rd period. Ha!

4. Read 1 book a month.
I read 10 books this year (rather than the 12 I had as a goal) so, I give myself a B- on this.
I love reading, but I don't make time for it. Boo!

5. Date night with Kevin once a month.
Yeah...that didn't happen. I give us a C- on date nights. We had a ton of weddings, but that doesn't count as "date" night

6. Figure out a good cleaning schedule.
Yeah....not so much. We clean our house on the weekends because we are both too tired to do it during the week. I still need to figure out a daily schedule so that I am not spending my weekends & Sunday nights cleaning my house. I give myself a C on the cleaning schedule.

7. Stay on top of Laundry.
FAIL. FAIL. FAIL.

8. Host an Official Neighborhood Party
We wanted to host a wine tasting night with our neighbors this year, but we never got a date on the calendar, so I am rolling this over to 2012. I did invite all our neighbors to Claire's Cowgirl Party & most came, but that wasn't an official court party. We also hosted a pizza/mexican train game night at our house which was fun, but I still want to do a wine tasting party! I give us a C+ on this.

9. Eat more Vegetables.
I give myself a B- on this. Because of our garden, I at WAY more veggies than I normally do!

10. Plant a Garden & Grow our own Vegetables.
Totally giving myself an A on this. Our garden was AWESOME this year, especially being first time gardeners. I was so proud of our garden & it will be hard to top it this year. We grew so much. For sure a highlight of the year!

11. Potty train Claire.
We did the 3 day method with Claire in February & it worked great! More like 4 days, but still great. She has been diaper free since February & pull up (at night) free since March! Woo-hoo! I give us an A for sure.

So now, onto my goals for 2012.

1. Read 1 book a month. This goal is on here yet again. I LOVE reading, I just haven't made the time to do it on a consistent basis. I already have 4 books waiting for me to read...The Hunger Games Series & The Help. I am going to start reading this weekend!

2. Go on a date with Kevin once a month, no kids. So that we can reconnect & spend time together without distractions! I want to be intentional with this every month!! Even if we don't "go out" we can have date nights at home after the girls are in bed.

3. Try not to hit snooze 5 times when my alarm goes off. (This one is for Kevin). I am a REALLY heavy sleeper. And, I don't like waking up in the morning. So, it hit snooze on my alarm. A lot. It is a big pet peeve of Kevin's, so I am REALLY going to try and work on this. Old habits are hard to break.....

4. I am going to Simplify. We have so much "stuff". I am going to clean out our clothes, the girls toys and our closets every 3-4 months and donate stuff we don't need to those who DO need it. Less is MORE!

5. Keep my car clean. Kevin just detailed the inside of my car & spent 3 hours cleaning it. It looks AMAZING. It is so nice having a clean car. I want to keep it like this. Wish me luck!

6. Drink more water. I have been known to just drink coffee, diet coke & wine for several days in a row....with NO water. So NOT healthy. I am already off to a good start this year drinking lots of water. Hope I can keep it up the WHOLE year.

7. Figure out a Laundry System. Seriously. I am THE worst at laundry. I don't like doing it, I don't like folding it, I don't like putting it away. This needs to change. I am sick of the laundry pile & have got to get it figured out. Any suggestions are welcome :)

8. Host a wine tasting party for our neighbors. I really wanted to do this last year, but we never got around to it, so I want to make it a priority this year! It needs to happen!

9. No more piles! I am Queen of piles. It drives Kevin crazy & drives me crazy also. In our bedroom, I like to "pile" my clothes on a dresser or chair. I have "piles" in closets. I have "piles" in the laundry room. Just say NO to piles!

10. Set boundaries. I am a people pleaser. It is SO hard for me to say "No" to things because I am such a people pleaser. But, I have been learning that it is okay to say No and it is good to have boundaries. I have been working on this the last few months & it has been so freeing. However, I still have a lot of work to do in this area.

Now, onto my word of 2012 that I want to focus on.
NURTURE.
Nurture can be a verb or a noun:

verb

1.to feed and protect: to nurture one's offspring.

2. to support and encourage, as during the period of training or development

3. to bring up; train; educate.

noun

4. rearing, upbringing, training, education, or the like.

5. development: the nurture of young artists.

6. something that nourishes; nourishment; food.

I want to nurture my family, my friendships & myself.

My Girls:
Next week I am registering Claire for her Preschool (starting in the Fall) and in a few weeks I will be registering Kate for Kindergarten!!!! (Be still my heart). I feel like this is a crucial year for me to be nurturing my girls as they both head off to their respective schools in the Fall. I want them to know that they are loved, respected, smart, worthy & confident, especially as they walk into those schools.

My husband:
This year Kevin and I will be celebrating 10 years of Marriage! But there are still areas of our marriage that need to be nurtured. I need to work harder about nurturing him (& listening to him). I want to be a better wife. I am pretty lucky & don't want to take him (or our marriage) for granted even though I do sometimes.

My Relationships:
I want to nurture my friendships that I have had for years or even for a few months.
This past year, there were 2 friendships from various stages of my life that I felt had slipped for whatever reason (nothing bad, just grew apart) Those friendships were on my heart & I we were able to reconnect late 2011. It was SO good for my soul. I want to continue to nurture those relationships & other ones in 2012. I am so thankful for all the friendships/people that God has put in my life and want to make sure they stay solid.

My Relationship with God:
I don't know about you, but so often I put God on the back burner. I pray daily, but digging into HIS word, the Bible has become more of a chore for me. That is NOT OKAY. I need nurture my relationship with God and that not only includes prayer, but spending time in His Word. I need to become more disciplined in my time with HIM.

Myself:
I need to nurture myself. This has to do with Goal #10 of setting boundaries.
I want to focus on things that nurture me & my family and cut out the things that don't. Like, junk food, wasted time, clutter, etc. I want to focus on the things that do nurture....drinking lots of water, being creative, reading. I want to nurture those around me who don't have what they need....handing out Blessing Bags to homeless & continued work with Project 320 & NILMDTS .

So, there you have it. My 2012 Goals & Word of the Year.
What about you?
Do you have any Resolutions or Goals or Words you will focusing on in 2012?

Re-Entry

2012-01-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day Back to School after 18 days of Christmas Break.

It seriously felt like a month long break. So awesome.
Kevin was off work for 10 days, so there was lots of family time.
It was glorious.
Here is a snapshot of our Christmas Break:
Kate learned how to ride her bike without training wheels!
Going to see the Griswold house in our town:
And, the next door neighbor....CLASSIC!
We had plans to head up to Lake Tahoe for 4 days, but because California is having the warmest winter EVER, there is absolutely no snow in Tahoe, so we decided to just stay home and get things done around the house.
We "pretended" we were on vacation and had yummy breakfasts like Cinnamon Rolls, Monkey Bread & Chocolate Croissants.
We ordered dinner out out 4 nights in a row. Hooray for no cooking!

We did some deep cleaning around the house and Kevin detailed the inside of my car.
It is SPOTLESS. He is my hero. It took him over 3 hours. Yikes. My car was disgusting & now is so, so, clean. Love it!

There was lots of time spent in our pj's. I mean, it was almost embarrassing how much I wore PJ's over break. Some days I would shower & then change into a clean pair of pj's. Lazy at it's best! But, isn't that what Christmas Break is about?
If Claire wasn't in her PJ's she was wearing her new "Tangled"Outfit that Kate got her for Christmas.
Is that wig not the most ridiculous thing you have ever seen. She LOVES it.
But, it looks creepy on her because she is so not a blonde. Does not go with her coloring/complexion at all. If she ever wants to go blonde as a teenager or adult, I am going to show her these pictures as a reminder on why she should stay a brunette. Ha!

And, Kevin and I are completely obsessed with Friday Night Lights.
We got the entire series for Christmas and we have been staying up late (sometimes 2am!) watching them. So, so good!

I will be back later this week with my New Year's Resolutions.

For now, I am in Re-Entry mode with school starting up again.
But, I will admit...it was nice waking up this morning, getting dressed and actually going to work and feeling like a "normal" human being instead of staying in my pj's all day!
Wait...who am I kidding? I am already counting down to Spring Break! Gotta love being a teacher!

Dear 2011,

2011-12-31T21:03:00.000-08:00

Every year I write a letter on December 31st.

To read the other yearly letters, click HERE.

Dear 2011,

Here we are...another year in the books.
You are been a most memorable year.
A year of change, a year of growth, a year of ups & downs.
But overall, you did not disappoint!

Let's look at some highlights!
January:
My favorite part of January was Kate turning 4, throwing her a Cinderella Birthday Party & having Cinderella arrive at the party. It was pure magic & such a fun party!
Also in January, Kevin and I got to pour wine at the ZAP wine festival in San Francisco because our brother in law's wine was in the Top 100 for the San Francisco Chronicle.
It was such a fun event & I can't wait to do it again this January, since another one of his wines got Top 100!

February:
February was another fun filled month which started out with throwing a Something Blue {with a Twist} Bridal Shower for my younger sister.
Also in February, The one and only Pioneer Woman had a book signing in San Fransisco, and my friend Becky and I went!
Could we look anymore ecstatic?!?! It was SUCH a fun night & made me love the PW even more than I already do!
February held a milestone...Potty Training Claire!!! Such a great feeling!

March:
March held more pre-wedding celebrations and we had Rebecca's Bachelorette Party. During the day, went Wine Tasting in Napa in a limo!
So.much.Fun! Then we came back to my house & for an Around the Clock Bridal Shower.

March also means St. Patty's Day for this Irish girl.
We had a leprechaun visit our house, leave a treasure map & turn our food green!

April:
The highlight was of course April 2nd when my sister got married!!!
And, another big milestone in April. We became a crib-free house & Claire got a Big Girl Bed!
And, yes...I cried when we took the crib down.

May:
Oh, May. You were not a good month.
Claire was at the peak of her terrible 2's.
She wasn't listening, wasn't napping anymore & wasn't sleeping well at night.
My students last year were a very tough group and by May, I was D-O-N-E.
My energy & patience were non existent.
I was taking all my school stress out on my girls & Kevin and that was not fun for anyone. Yuck.
Also, in May one of my former students committed suicide and her memorial service was on my birthday. It was just an icky month. I was glad to see that month go.
2 highlights in May was that we celebrated 1 year of living in this house and Kevin built me garden boxes & we planted our very first garden!
June:
Although May wasn't a good month, June TOTALLY REDEEMED May.

June meant school was out & Summer Vacation was here!
It also meant it was time for our long awaited Disney Cruise & Disney World trip with Kevin's family!
Best.Vacation.EVER.
{Click HERE for my Disney posts}

July:
One of my favorite days of the year....4th of July!
This was the year I hosted my parent's annual 4th of July Party at my house (so that we could swim...it was 100 degrees out!)
This year did not disappoint & was such a fun day.
Already counting down the days until 4th of July 2012!

August:
We had our annual summer trip to Tahoe with my family which is always fun!
August was when my garden exploded with veggies! I loved going out to the garden each morning with the girls & picking veggies.
September:
Highlights of September were definitely Claire turning 3 and throwing her Cowgirl Party.
The Party had been planned in my head for almost a year. It was so seeing it come to life!
Another highlight of September was having a girls weekend & going to Blog Sugar.
Such an amazing weekend!

October:
Hands down, the highlight of October was my Grammy turning 100 years old !
Being able to celebrate her with all our family was incredible.
And of course, Halloween was a highlight.
This year, we had friends over to our house for appetizers/dinner and then went Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. It was so much fun.

November:
November is quickly becoming one of my favorite months. October will always be #1, but November is pretty special also. This November was a good one. I was super busy with photo shoots, but was able to get away for a few days during Thanksgiving break & my favorite part of the month was going to Pebble Beach for my Mom's Birthday weekend.
December:
This was one of my favorite Decembers that I can remember.
I think the reason I was able to enjoy it was because I actually had boundaries this year for the first time EVER & told people I wasn't doing photo shoots past Thanksgiving. By December 1st, I had everyone's photos done. I was able to truly enjoy the season of CHRISTmas, not feel rushed, not feel stressed and not feel overwhelmed with a busy schedule. Relishing in the glory of Christ's birth. I was able to soak in the season and enjoy it with Kevin and the girls. I will always look back to December 2011 as special and magical time.
Another huge highlight was being part of Project 320 and raising money to build a 4th well in Africa. Praise God for clean water!

So there you have it, some snapshots of 2011.
Tonight, I am sick, so I am ringing in the New Year watching Friday Night Lights and snacking on Saltines & Gatorade while the girls are sleeping & Kevin is at our court NYE party.
But, I am thankful for the chance to be still & quiet and reflect on all the 2011 has given us.
A year where God has taught me many things:
I need to trust Him more.
I need to have more patience. WAY more patience.
I need to love like He loves.
He has shown me grace over and over and over again.
He is our Provider.
He has done more than I could ever ask or imagine. EVER.
We have a good, good, God.

Thanks for the trials, tribulations, blessings & joys, 2011.

Happy New Year, dear friends. Thanks for reading!
May your 2012 be blessed!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T22:50:00.000-08:00

"I bring you good news of Great joy that will be for all people. Today, in the town of David a Savior has been born to you...He is Christ the Lord!"
Luke 2:10-11

My Favorite Things Party!

2011-12-22T21:41:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday night, I hosted a My Favorite Things Party with some of my close friends from church. I saw the idea to have a Favorite Things Party on Pinterest & knew I had to have one.
Here is my version of a Favorite Things Party!

I mailed out these invites to the girls:

I printed them on brown paper & tied bakers string around them (to play off the words to the song....Brown Paper Packages tied up with string...These are a few of My Favorite Things)

The invite stated to bring 3 of your favorite thing costing that costs $10 or less.
I have seen Favorite Things Parties where you bring 5 of something costing $5 or less, but because our party was small (only 6 of us) we did 3 presents.

Here are some snapshots of the party!
I made a veggie tree that I saw on Pinterest:

The PW's Artichoke Dip (and fun red & green toritalla chips!) and Bruschetta:

Brie with Apples, Pecans & Dried Cranberry chutney. SO good.

Cheese Plater:

Egg Rolls:

Meatballs:

I had little frames up with some of the words to the My Favorite Things Song.

Drinks (including a pitcher of Becky's cosmos!)

And, of course....The Dessert Table!
(Yes, I know there were only 6 girls at this party, but I can't help myself...I love making Desserts & having Dessert Tables!)

Another frame with words from the song..."Cream Colored Ponies & Crisp Apple Strudels"
So, of course, I had to make mini apple pie bites (aka: apple strudels)

Chocoalte Dipped Strawberries:

Red Velvet Cakeballs:

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream:

And, I had some roses in vases because of "Raindrops on Roses...."
I know. I am crazy. Embrace the crazy.
Susan & Becky:
Bridgette & Nicole:
Here is picture of all the presents:
I did a "theme" for my present. My theme was "Girls Night In" I had a bottle of one of my favorite Wines (Cameron Hughes 273) a copy of one of my favorite movies... 27 dresses ($4 on sale!) and a bag of 100 calorie microwave popcorn). Mine cost a little more than $10, but that is okay, because it is my party, I can do what I want ;)

I made 3 name "tags" for each person at the party & then we each drew 3 names to give our 3 presents to.
Once everyone picked 3 names we went around & each person said what they brought & why it was one of their Favorite Things. And then they gave out their gifts!

Kelly was the first to hand out her gifts. She brought her favorite breakfast bar & a bottle of Cupcake Chardonnay (great minds think alike!)

Susan's gift was handmade. It was a wine bottles & beer bottles spray painted with chalk board paint. Each person got 3 bottles & chalk. Such a cute idea!

Here is what I got. My friend Nicole's favorite mascara, Becky's gift of 2 journals, her favorite pen & some of her husband's home roasted coffee. Score!!

And, I got Bridgette's gift which is her favorite hand lotion from Restoration Hardware.

At the end of the night, I had everyone put their name back in the bowl so I could pick a winner of the Bonus Bag/Swag Bag!
I had another little bag of a few more of my favorite things to give out to 1 lucky friend.

That bag included:
A Diet Coke
A Starbucks Gift Card
A Bag of Trader Joe's Chocolate Kettle Corn
A bag of Trader Joe's Peppermint Pretzel Slims
& Glad To-Go Tupperware (which have the dip container attached. Genius!)

Group shot of all of us:

(Thanks for the photo, Becky!)

It was such a FUN night.
It was so great to have a smaller party so that you could have good conversation with each person. It was a much needed Girls Night with some of my favorite people!
We are definitley going to make this an annual thing!
Can't wait for next years party...I am already brainstorming what to bring!

Linking up with:

Christmas in the City

2011-12-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

Growing up, one of my favorite things to do during Christmas was to make the trek to San Francisco during the holidays to see all the Christmas decorations.
San Fran has fun stores....like a 4 story Nordstrom with gold escalators & a Barney's.
But amongst the fancy stores, there are homeless people on the streets around them.
I knew we would see a lot of homeless people, so I made 10 "blessing bags" and filled them with a $5 gift card to McDonalds, a granola bar, peanut butter crackers, fig newtons & a juice box. Each person we gave them to was so grateful. A little thing for us to do & a big difference to those who receive it.
My favorite thing to see as a kid was the big Christmas tree inside Neiman Marcus.

And, of course Macy's is always decked out:

Love the big tree in Union Square:

Auntie El & Kate:

Me & my girls:

Don't let my outfit fool you...it wasn't cold. It was WARM! Sunny & 60 degrees. I thought it would be colder & I ended up being too hot.
Ice skaters in Union Square:

Salvation Army donation.....love Kate's heart.
49er fans lined up to take the bus to Candlestick for the Monday Night Football game:

Bay Bridge:

The Ferry Building at the Port of San Francisco:

And, of course since we were in the city, we had to go to our favorite coffee place, The Coffee Bean!

It was a beautiful day in the city & so much fun spending it with my mom, sisters & girls!
It was a great way to kick off Christmas Break!

The Return of Candle the Elf

2011-12-19T22:29:00.000-08:00

Last year was our first year with Candle, our Elf on the Shelf.
This year Candle came back to our house on the first Sunday of Advent.

Kate was SO excited that Candle was back.

Candle showed up sitting with his name sake, a candle.
Like last year, Candle brought the girls their Christmas jammies (so that they can wear them all Christmas season)
Candle also left the girls a note reminding them that Jesus is the reason for the season.

Candle brought them a present in addition to their jammies.

The Little People Nativity Set!

We do Elf on the Shelf slightly different in our house. Our elf does not "watch" the girls and report back to Santa. That is just not our style. Our Elf just likes to move around each night & the girls look forward to finding his new hiding spots. It is the first thing they do each morning.
Here is what Candle has been up to the past few weeks:

Hanging with our Nativity Set on Day 3 & actually on a shelf on Day 4.
China Hutch on Day 5 & a Kleenex box on Day 6.
On Day 7, Candle wrote "Good Morning Kate & Claire" on their bathroom mirror.

Snow Angel on Day 8.

Turned the milk pink on Day 9 & in the mini-Kitchen tree on Day 10.

Dressed up in Claire's bathing suit on Day 11 & slid down the banister on Day 12.

Sleeping in the doll house on Day 13 & De-faced pictures on Day 14.

The rest of the photos he defaced that Day in the hallway:

(The girls thought this was the funniest thing ever)

Day 15 he hung out on the Advent Calendar & went for a joy ride in the Barbie car on Day 16.

Hung out in a stocking on Day 17 & brought the girls more Christmas books on Day 18

Was in the mixer on Day 19 & in the Christmas tree on Day 20.

Hid in their cupboard on Day 21 & in a vase on Day 22.

On Day 23, Candle was reading about Jesus' birth the girls favorite stuffed animals.

And, tomorrow is Day 24 of Candle's Adventures...I am glad he only has a few more days to hide this year because I am running out of ideas!
Do you have an Elf on the Shelf?
It has been a fun little tradition for our family the past 2 Christmas seasons!

Water for Christmas and A Winner!

2011-12-18T23:58:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it?

We built another well!!!
$5,130 raised in a week.
Lives will forever be changed because of YOUR donations!!!!
AMAZING.
Thank you, Thank You, Thank You!
I have to admit, I wasn't sure we were going to pull it off again this year.
After the first day, I wasn't very optimistic. And, by Friday we hadn't even reached half our goal.
But God had a plan & he surprised us once again & moved in Big ways.
The donations came flooding in this weekend & by 7 pm tonight, the well was fully funded.
I am humbled, I am in awe. Lives Changed. To God be the Glory!

Did you know that Project 320 was named because of the verse Ephesians 3:20?
"Now glory be to God! By HIS mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope."

This verse spoke SO loudly to us this year.
Thank you from the bottom of all our hearts for joining in with us this year!
Thank You for Giving water this Christmas.

And, I have a winner for my bundle!!!
Congrats, Jonnique!

I want to leave you all with the 2011 Advent Conspiracy Video
(turn on your volume)

[AC] Promo 2011 - International Justice Mission from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

Make these last 6 days of the Christmas Season count.....
Spend Less on Christmas.
Give more Presence.
Love like Jesus.

Insta December

2011-12-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it is December 16th?!?!

Not only does that mean December is half over, it also means that I am officially on Christmas Break! Can I get an Amen?!?!
2 and half glorious weeks off. Wooo-hoooo!!!
And, it means that Christmas is in 9 days!
Are you ready? I am!!!

Here is a snapshot of our December so far:

It started off rough. A marine from our town was killed in Afghanistan protecting his unit. He is a true Hero. I knew him...I taught his younger brother & I work with his uncle. Our town had a police/military procession when his body was brought home. I brought the girls downtown to pay respects as the procession drove through the downtown. It was one of the most heart wrenching, impactful things I have ever experienced. American flags EVERYWHERE. People lining the streets and it was SILENT as the procession came by. Heart breaking.

This really hit home to me. I have always respected and admired Military families, but this has brought it to a whole new level. THANK YOU to all of you out there who are Military families. The sacrifices you make for our country & our freedom are amazing. From the bottom of my heart, Thank you & God Bless you.

Moving on to more shallow things that pale in comparison to that.
Candle the Elf made his appearance again this year. More on him & his antics later!

I had a Friends marathon with my 15 year old & 18 year old nieces. We are watching them from the beginning, in order ( I have all 10 seasons!) I love Friends!
We had our court Christmas Party. Have I mentioned how much I love our neighbors?!?!
We also had Kevin's work party. Love an excuse to dress up!
I painted my nails for all the parties. I normally paint my nails with clear nail polish. I am so boring. But, I decided to be sassy for the holidays & paint them a color!
Our next door neighbor is a retired firefighter, so every year, our HOA has him dress up as Santa and the Fire Department brings a Fire Truck down our street to pick him up & take him to the clubhouse. It is so fun!

Earlier this year, Claire did a photo shoot for Le Top Children's clothing.
A few weeks ago, I got an email from Le Top & the collection had been launched.
This picture was in my email:
Here is the Frosty Days collection:

Starbucks Peppermint Mochas in the red cup, FTW.
I went to a baby shower for my dear friend & her miracle baby.
I made her an important dates print!

This year, I had a helper with my Christmas cards. Kate stuffed all the cards & envelopes!
She sat with me at the table for over an hour & stuffed almost 200 cards while I addressed them.

What was Claire doing while Kate & I were doing the cards? Putting an entire box of band aids on her legs. That girl loves band aids.

Kate had her Christmas Program this week. It was so cute!

She made us a plate for Christmas. I love it!

When I was making my glitter clothespins, someone (Claire) grabbed the glitter & dumped it all over the couch. Luckily her blanket was there to catch most of it.
Chinese food for dinner one night. It was one of those weeks!
So far, we have raised almost $2,000 for the Project 320 well. So awesome!
Can you spare a few dollars to help change the lives of a village in Africa?
$10 will provide one person with water for 10 years.
And, you can win prizes while donating. Be sure and check out the Project 320 Blog!
To those who have already donated...THANK YOU!
There are only 10 entries in my bundle so far....good chances to win a $50 Target card & Party Pack! Click to Enter HERE!
Picture of some presents from my students! Fun perk of being a teacher!
Hooray for Starbucks gift cards, I got a few of those!

So, I have this problem. I am obsessed with the cheesy Lifetime/Hallmark/ABC family Christmas movies. I have over 20 movies on my DVR. I can't wait to watch them over Break!
I plan on watching the movies & doing a lot of this the next 2 weeks:
Jammies. Hot Coco. Cheesy Movies. Love it.
All while admiring the decorations in my house.
I love the way our house feels at Christmas time.
Hope you have a great weekend and great last week of the Advent Season!

Linking up:

Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

2011-12-15T21:05:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to get a recipe to one of the yummiest & easiest desserts out there?

This recipe is courtesy of my awesome mother-in-law.
PEPPERMINT ICE CREAM CAKE
She makes this every Christmas for dessert.
She gave me the recipe when Kevin & I first got married and now I make it during the Christmas season when I am asked to bring a dessert because I LOVE anything peppermint/chocolate.
Here is what you need:
1/2 gallon of Peppermint Ice Cream
Package of Oreos (you will use the entire package)
1/3 cup butter
1 jar Fudge Topping
Candy Canes for garnish

Step 1:
Put Oreos in a gallon ziplock bag

Crush cookies with a rolling pin.

Yum.

Next, take the butter and chop it up into pieces.

Put the crushed cookies & butter in a bowl. Take off your rings & use your hands to mix it all together. Your hands will be quite messy...but it's worth it!

Press into a 9x13 pan & freeze for 30 minutes.

After 15 minutes, take out the carton of ice cream & let it soften for about 15 minutes.
Then, take out the dish & spread the ice cream over the cookie mixture.

I glop it onto the mixture in clumps.

Then I use a spatula to smooth it out.

Ta-da! Now freeze for 3 hours.

After it has been in the freezer for 2-3 hours, take it out & put the fudge on.
I microwave the fudge for about a minute & then pour it on.

Spread the fudge evenly over the ice cream. Put back in freezer for at least another hour.

I take the cake out about 5-10 minutes before I serve it. I also crush up some candy canes in a ziplock bag & use them to garnish the cake.

This dessert is so yummy and chocolately. It is a family favorite!

It is a great dessert to make because you can make it ahead of time.
I brought it to our court Christmas party & made it the night before. So easy!

The best part about this cake is that you can make it year round with other types of ice cream.
One of my other favorites is using coffee ice cream or mint chip ice cream (and, instead of candy canes as a garnish, you can just garnish with chopped nuts, some whip cream or more Oreo's!)
It truly is the most lovely & delicious Christmas dessert!

Enjoy!
Linking up here, here &

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

One of my very favorite things about the Christmas Season is all the happiness that arrives in my mailbox during the month of December.
I love, love, love Christmas cards...making them & receiving them!
For our card this year, I picked my favorite family photo from our November photo shoot.
I knew I wanted to highlight that picture & then have more pictures on the back.
And, I was feeling sassy and decided that I didn't want boring rectangle cards, so I made them into curvy boutique cards.
I may or may not have let out a squeal when they arrived!
The official 2011 Christmas Card:
And, a close up of the back:

{Linking up here & here}

I have gotten a few emails about our outfits, so I thought I would throw in a "What I Wore" into this post.
Me:
Dress- Target
Necklace- Brass Plum
Belt - Brass Plum
Boots - Kohls

Kate:
Sweater & Shirt - Target
Skirt - Old Navy
Tights - Children's Place
Boots - Target

Claire:
Dress - Old Navy
Headband - Target
Tights - Children's Place
Boots - Target

And, of course Kevin's outfit (I know you were dying to know that one!)
Shirt - Target
Jeans - Levi's

This was the first time I didn't have Kate & Claire totally matchy-matchy. I've come a long way, people! I like how their outfits complimented each other.

Now, back to Christmas cards.....Each day the girls and I eagerly await the arrival of our mailman (who is the sweetest man, ever...I will be making him some of my Christmas Cookies, he is just so nice)

I love getting the mail & finding out who sent us cards.
And, I love displaying the cards in our home for us to admire all season long.
This year, I decided to string some red pom-pom yarn in front of the window in our kitchen & hang our cards with glitter clothespins that I made:

This hangs by our kitchen table & I love looking at the faces of my smiling friends while we sit down for meals.

The whole view...I just love it!

Anyone else love Christmas Cards like I do?
It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

Know what else is wonderful? Clean Water!
If you haven't already, check out my post & enter to win my bundle that includes a $50 Target card and other goodies from my Etsy Shop! A new prize was added to the bundle today!
And, check the Project 320 blog for other giveaways & freebies that are being offered!

Christmas Cookies in a Jar + {Free Printable}

2011-12-13T07:31:00.000-08:00

Kate's Preschool Christmas Program was this week, and I wanted to give her teachers a little Christmas treat to wish them a Merry Christmas. She has 6 teachers that I needed to get gifts for, so I decided to be cost effective and make them something homemade, cute & inexpensive.

For Claire's Cowgirl Party, one of the favors I gave out were Cowgirl Cookies in Mason Jars inspired by Bakerella. They were a hit. Delicious, fun & easy to make.

I knew it would be fun to make them this year for Kate's teachers for Christmas.

Here is what you need for each Mason Jar:
(slightly modified from Bakerella)

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup m&ms (I used the Red & Green Christmas ones)
2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar

Put the ingredients in the order I listed:
First: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
Second: oats
Third: m&ms
Fourth: chocolate chips
Fifth: brown sugar
Sixth: white sugar

I use smooth 1 quart Mason Jar which I buy at Michael's for $1.99.
Then I add a piece of fabric that I cut out in 8 inch by 8 inch squares.
(I had this red polka dot fabric left over from Claire's Lady Bug Party)
I tied a ribbon around the fabric to secure it.
(I cut my ribbon into 18 inch strips)

Then I made labels for the front & back of the jars.
I printed them on sticker paper & then punched out the labels with a 2.5 inch scalloped punch.
{You could also print on normal paper & attach to the jar with double stick tape}

And, because I love you all so much, you can download my printables!
(On Kate's version, I put "love, Kate"...but for yours I just put a cute little Christmas tree which I actually like better!)

{click to download. Right click & then Save.}

Here is the back label which has the directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pour dry ingredients in a bowl.
Add in:
1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix & Roll into balls & Bake for 10 minutes.

{click to download. Right click & then Save.}

So, if you need a last minute teacher gift, hostess gift, etc. you can make these!
Enjoy!

And, if you missed it, yesterday was the launch of Project 320: 2011.
If you donate $10 to our charity:water page you can enter a raffle to win a bundle and other free prizes! Be sure to check it out. Change lives this Christmas!

2011 Project 320 Giveaway Bundle!

2011-12-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

2 years ago when we launched Project 320, we had no idea what to expect. The outcome was overwhelming, humbling & simply amazing.

We could not believe the outpouring of support for our little dream to build a well. A dream that was quickly expanded to yet another well.

Last year, with your help, we were able to build another well!

3 villages are now changed forever because they have fresh, clean water.

Together, let's build a 4th well!

Today kicks off the 2011 edition of Project 320!

Like last year, we invited anyone with a blog, be it one followed by millions or dozens, to host a giveaway. Handmade, vintage, or store bought. Freedom and creativity were the only guidelines. It could be one pretty thing, or a whole bundle of fabulous.

Here is my bundle!
I am calling this bundle, The PARTY PACK!
(If you know me, you know I LOVE to throw parties!)

Donate $10 directly to Project 320 Charity:Water Page.
and you can have a chance to win this bundle!

Prize #1
I am giving away 25 prints & envelopes of any invitation in my Etsy shop, Daylight Designs.
($35 value)

Prize #2
25 custom cupcake toppers of your choice ($15 value)
Prize #3
You will also get 25 custom favor tags or favor stickers. ($15 value)
Prize #4
Because it's my Happy Place, I am throwing in a $50 Gift Card to Target!
This bundle is perfect if you will be throwing a party, baby shower or bridal shower in the next year!

Prize #5
The important dates print customized for you! ($10 value)

An 8x10 printable with the important dates for your family! I have ours framed & hanging in our guest room!

Prize #6
2 items of choice from CM Handmade
Little boys' bowties or Girls' headbands ($24 value)

So, how do you enter to win this Bundle?

One $10 donation to the Project 320 Well equals ONE entry.

First, Donate at the Project 320 Charity:Water page.

Then come back to this post and leave one comment for each entry.

$10 equals one entry.

$50 equals five entries.

Make sure that either your email is attached to your profile, or is included in each comment.

The winner will receive all 5 prizes in this Party Pack!

Think about it.....$10 will give one person in Africa clean water for 10 years!
(For us, $10 is 2 Starbucks. Wow.)
Help build another well this year.
Win prizes & Save lives.
Thank you for making a difference this Christmas!

Be sure to check out the other giveaways going on at the Project 320 Blog.

10 on 10 :: December 2011

2011-12-10T22:01:00.000-08:00

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

Happy 10th! Can you believe Christmas is in 15 days? So exciting!
We are finally getting chilly weather here in Nor Cal.
That means footie pj's and frost on the grass. The girls loved checking out the frost on the grass this morning.

Coffee in my Christmas mug on a Saturday morning. Love this time of year.

A little Christmas craft I am working on....yeah for glitter!

Mid morning, I headed 2 hours north to Chico with my mom and sisters for my cousin's baby shower, so here is a picture of Highway 5. Good times.

We got to Chico about 30 minutes before the shower started, so we went to Peet's coffee & walked around downtown Chico. All the light posts downtown were decorated as candy canes.

Christine's cute baby bump. Only 5 more weeks until Baby Marissa arrives!

Presents. Lots and lots and lots of presents (there were 50 people at the shower!) That baby girl is hooked up with all kinds of cute stuff!

Look how cute these mini cakes are! They were SO good. I am not a big cake fan, but these were to die for. Lemony & delicious.

Me with my sisters, mom & Aunt Patty:

A beautiful sunset as we headed back home:

3 hours later and I am Home Sweet Home and relaxing by my Christmas tree in my pj's.

It has been a fun day, but a long day. Kevin had strep throat this week & I am fighting off a sore throat, hoping I don't get sick!
I am ready to snuggle up in bed and watch a Christmas movie!

Hope you had a great 10th and don't forget to check back here on Monday for a Project 320 raffle & giveaway!

Charity Water + Project 320 Update

2011-12-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

For the past few years, God has put something on my heart.

Water.
The lack of clean water in our world, especially 3rd world countries breaks my heart.

In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking for water. Women and children usually bear the burden of water collection, walking miles to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely to make them sick.
Time spent walking and resulting diseases keep them from school, work and taking care of their families.
This is not okay.

For the past few years, I have been a part of Project 320 with 5 other bloggers who also have a heart for water & with your help we have been able to raise money through charity:water to build wells for villages in Africa.

My husband's heart has also been broken by lack of clean water.
2 years ago, he was a small group leader for a group of high school seniors.
Our church had a pay it forward campaign and certain people at our church were given $100 and challenged to multiply that money or do something good with that money.
Kevin took $100 for his small group of high school boys and they decided they wanted to use that $100 to help fund a well through charity:water.
The high school boys set up a page on charity:water & then at school carried around a Jerry Can (the cans they use to collect water in Africa) and got donations from students & teachers. After a few months, they raised over $5000, enough for a well. The high school boys named their well project "LIFE WELL" because they knew that water is LIFE. And, by building a well, a village would now have new life. This was in the Spring 2010. They found out this Spring that their well was being built in Ethiopia. Last month, Kevin got an email from a woman, Viktoria, who works at charity:water saying she just came back from Ethiopia visiting the village where their well was built. The well was completed & working. The people in the village were so incredibly grateful. Here is a letter that Viktoria (who works for charity:water) sent Kevin:

Hi Kevin,

I work here at charity: water and I just got back from a trip to Ethiopia where we happened to visit the community where your well is currently serving people with clean water!

I thought you might like to see some photos, and a little video of it.

Also, the village gave us a beautifully framed photo of what their water looked like before, and what the well looks like after. They went through great lengths to go to the

nearest town and get it printed and framed, so I thought I'd mail it to you. If you can give me your mailing address, I'll send that along. I also have an Ethiopian scarf they gave me as a gift, so

I'll pass that on to you too.

You'll get a formal report from charity: water a few months from now, (it takes us some time to gather all the data and report back to everyone on their water projects) but I thought

I'd get this to you right away as I was just there.

Thanks so much for what you do for charity: water, I know the people here are so thankful, and so excited to be drinking clean water.
Viktoria Harrison

www.charitywater.org

Along with the letter, she attached these pictures of the villagers with the well:
Clean, fresh water has now saved this village. I get chills every time I see these pictures.
Close up of the plaque on the well.
It says Life Well, funded by Charity:Water.
The villagers were so grateful to Kevin & his group of high school boys that when Viktoria was in Ethiopia, they wanted to give her something to give to Kevin & the guys.
They took pictures of their water, before and after.
They traveled to another town to get the pictures framed.
Here are the villagers with the frame:
And, here is the frame that arrived at our house from Charity:Water via the small village in Ethiopia:
The village also sent an Ethiopian scarf that one of the woman in the village made as a thank you.
Amazing, Amazing, Amazing.
If this doesn't move you, I don't know what will.

Thousands of people die each day because of lack of clean water.
But, you can make a difference.
Here's how:
In 2009, Project 320 was formed & with the help of all of you, we raised over $10,000 and funded 2 wells. 2 villages in Africa have clean water because of YOU.
Last year, in 2010, we raised over $5,000 and built another well that has changed the lives of the people in a village.
It's 2011, which means it's time to build another well!
We still have water on our hearts and minds.
We still want to do what we can to change lives half a world away.

We are going to use the same model we used last year for Project 320.

Monday, December 12th will kick off Project 320 Giveaway week.

We are inviting anyone with a blog, be it one followed by millions or dozens, to host a giveaway.
Handmade, vintage, or store bought. Freedom and creativity is the only guideline. It could be one pretty thing, or a whole bundle of fabulous.

Each $10 donation to the 2011 Project 320 Well will count for one entry in one giveaway.

Each blogger is then individually responsible for choosing a winner, verifying the donation, and shipping off the prize(s).

Little things= Big changes.

First thing Monday morning, a linky will be set up on the Project 320 page for you to add in your giveaway post.
Then use social media for good and spread the word.

Until then, think of what you would like to give away.
Post our button in your sidebar.
Write up a sneak peek post.
Pray.
Be ready to help change the world one village at a time.

Can't wait to see what God does next week!
Let's build another Well!!!
I hope you will join us!

Cookie Exchange: Snickerdoodles

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

It's time for the 2011 Cookie Exchange!

I am excited to share one of my favorite cookies.
SNICKERDOODLES
I LOVE Snickerdoodles. But they have to be soft! These are!

Here is what you need:

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Like I have mentioned before, I am a cookie snob and I am all about soft cookies.
That is why for this recipe, you don't use butter...you use Crisco!

In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening , 1 1/2 cups sugar & vanilla. Stir in the eggs.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. I always add in a dash of cinnamon!

Stir into the creamed mixture until well blended.

In a small bowl, stir together the 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the cinnamon.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls.

Then roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Place on a cookie sheet (I always use parchment paper)

Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes.
DO NOT OVER BAKE!

I pull them out of the oven as soon as the edges are slightly brown. They might not seem like they are done, but they are. If you cook them longer, they will over cook and be as hard as rocks!
After they have cooled, try not to eat all of them!

And, like I always do....store them in an airtight container with a slice of bread in it (the bread helps keep the cookie soft!)

Now, grab a button & link up your cookie recipes!
The linky will be open until next Wednesday!

The streak has ended.

2011-12-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

One of my very favorite things about Christmas is crying Santa pictures.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I know that sounds sick & twisted, but admit it....
Crying Kids with Santa is HYSTERICAL.
I know from experience because my girls have had some classic Santa pictures.
Let's take a walk down memory lane to see how my girls have reacted the past few years.

2007:
Kate's 1st Christmas {11 months}
No crying, but Kate looks annoyed. She must have been thinking, "Get me off this creepers lap."
2008:
Claire's 1st Christmas {3 months}, Kate {23 months}
This is good stuff my friends, good stuff. This was my first intro to a crying Santa picture & I LOVED it. So funny.

2009:
Claire {15 months}, Kate {2.5 years old}
Pure awesomeness. Claire picking up where Kate left off.
(To be honest, I was hoping for a double crying picture in 2009, but 1 out of 2 isn't bad)
2010:

Kate {3.5 years old} & Claire {2 years old}
Last year was when Kate turned a corner, she actually SMILED! She was starting to LIKE Santa!
Claire kept the streak alive & gave a good show:

I knew that my time with Claire being scared of Santa was coming to a close now that she is 3 (that is when Kate started liking Santa). So when I took the girls to see Santa on Saturday, I knew my chances were slim that I was going to get a crying kid picture. I really, really, really wanted 1 more year of tears.
(I am not an evil mom, I swear. Nothing makes me giggle more than these pictures!)
Here is some snippet of our conversation on the way to see Santa on Saturday.
Me: Girls, are you excited to sit on Santa's lap?
Kate: Yes, I am going to tell him I want a puzzle for Christmas.
Claire: I cried on Santa's last year.
Me: (feeling optimistic): It's okay if you cry Claire, you will still get a candy cane from Santa.
(yes, I was trying to manipulate the situation)

But, all my hopes & dreams of a crying picture came to a halt when both girls ran with excitement to Santa's lap.
No fear or trepidation. Nothing but smiles.
2011:
Kate {4.5 years old} & Claire {3 years old}

You should have seen Claire, chatting it up with Santa. Telling him about the boo-boo on her knee & that pink was her favorite color. It was like he was her long lost best friend.

Sigh.
The streak is over.
All good things must come to an end, right?

On to happier things....Don't forget about the 2nd Annual Cookie Recipe Exchange Link Up THIS Wednesday, 12.07.11
Can't wait to see your cookie recipes!

Pinterest Test Kitchen {Christmas Edition}

2011-12-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

Anyone else shocked that it is December 1st?!?!
That snuck up on me....fast!
Since Thanksgiving is over, that means is it Officially Christmas Season!
This week has been full of Christmas crafting & baking, so here are 3 easy projects I pinned & made!

Pinterest Project #1
Snow Globe Gift Card Holder
Here is what you need:
- Empty jar & lid (or mason jar)
- gift card
-glitter
-ribbon
-tiny ornaments (or other embellishments)
- glue gun

Step 1: Take your lid & get ready to add ribbon to it.
(I used an old fudge jar & it had writing on it, so I wanted to cover it up. If you use a mason jar you won't need to do that)

Once your finish your lid, now it is time to glue the gift card to the lid using your glue gun.

Put on your lid (make sure it is screwed on tightly so it doesn't leak) and flip it over.

And, there you have it! A Snow Globe Gift holder!
This was super easy & took less than 15 minutes to make.
Such a fun way to give a gift card.
It won't damage the gift card
(I wouldn't keep it in the jar for more than 3 days)
Also, next time I am going to use a larger jar, like a spaghetti sauce jar because the gift card looked very magnified/distorted in my fudge jar.
(The reason I didn't use a mason jar is because I wanted to make sure the jar didn't leak when you flipped it over. Sometimes you can't get that tight of a seal on a mason jar lid.)

Pinterest Project #2
Wrap Christmas books for each day of Advent
I pinned this idea a few months ago & couldn't wait to do it for my girls.
We actually have a lot of Christmas books. 14 of them!

I individually wrapped each book & the idea is that on each night of Advent the girls will get to unwrap a book for us to read. (Kate will unwrap on odd days because her birth year is odd & Claire will unwrap on even days because her birth year is even)

I put all the wrapped books in a basket under our tree. The girls are so excited about unwrapping the first book tonight.

Because I only had 14 books, last night I ordered a few more books from Scholastic because I get a teacher discount & books were only $3. I also wrapped up one of the girls picture bibles and on the night they unwrap the Bible, we will read about the birth of Baby Jesus. (I think I will save that one for December 24th). Also, I am going to check out some more Christmas books from the library & wrap those up later this week so that we have 24 books.

Pinterest Project #3
Brownie Christmas Trees
Here is what you need:
Box of Brownie Mix, Green frosting, sprinkles, candy canes.

Make Brownies according to package directions.

I normally make my brownies in a 8x8 or 9x9 pan because I like them thick, but for this project, I made them in a 9x13 so that I could get more brownies.

After my brownies cooled for a couple hours, I cut a triangle out of paper to use as my tree template.

I then cut out triangle brownies.

Get your decorations ready:

You could use sprinkles, m&m's, or whatever!

Use your green frosting to decorate, add some sprinkles & break off some candy cane as your trunk. And, there you have it, a Festive Treat!
Here are some of the other ones we made:

A 9x13 dish would make 8 brownie Christmas trees (we only made 6 because we may or may not have been snacking on the other 2....)

This was another fun & very easy Pinterest Project!
Yeah for 3 Pinterest Sucesses this month!

Linking up with Jess:

Also, don't forget about the 2nd Annual Cookie Recipe Exchange Link Up next Wednesday, 12.07.11

2nd Annual Cookie Recipe Exchange

2011-11-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again....

The Larson Lingo's Cookie Recipe Exchange!
Coming to a blog near you...one week from today
12.07.11

Last year's Cookie Recipe Exchange was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again!

There were almost 30 recipes linked up last year, I can't wait to see what you link up this year.
I made so many of the recipes you linked up last year and was able to give cookies to friends & family during the holidays. I love trying new recipes!

On Wednesday, December 7th, I will put up a blog post with one of my favorite cookie recipes and I will have a linky up so you can link up your favorite cookie (or cookie bar) recipe!

It can be a recipe you have already blogged about, or you can post a new recipe.
It doesn't have to be a Holiday Cookie recipe (but it can if you want it to!)
Have you been wanting to spill the beans on a secret family cookie recipe? Now is the time!
Post your favorite cookie recipe or a "tried & true" cookie recipe!
Is there a cookie recipe on Pinterest that you have been wanting to make? Pin it, Make it & Link it!

Cookies, Cookie Bars, Brownies, Fudge....I can't wait to see what recipe you share!

Be sure to comes back next Wednesday to link up (or to just check out everyone's recipes!)
You can grab a button on my sidebar
<----------------------------------

For those of you who missed it last year, I hope you join in this year!
Start digging through your cookbooks & recipe boxes...
It's time to make some cookies!

Decking the Halls

2011-11-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

On Friday morning, we headed out to get our Christmas tree.
Growing up, it was my family's tradition to get our Christmas tree the Friday after Thanksgiving. Kevin and I have continued this tradition since we got married.

The only difference is that growing up we chopped down a Christmas tree in the mountains.
Kevin and I have done this *most* years, but not this year.
We were just too busy on Friday/Saturday/Sunday to head up to the mountains because we had parties, photo shoots & family events, so this year we got our tree at...... (gulp) Home Depot.
We had so much fun with the girls cutting down our tree last year, I was bummed we had to go to Home Depot this year.
We literally walked into the tree lot, saw an unwrapped 7 foot tree, held it up & I said, "It's perfect, this is our tree."
(The guy next to us had just unwrapped it & his wife didn't like it, so he continued to unwrap tree after tree after tree. He told us he was bitter it only took us 30 seconds to pick a tree because he had been there for 30 minutes!)

"Hauling" the tree all the way back to our car.

While Kevin was tying the tree on the car, the girls pretended the carts at Home Depot were sleds.
They were singing, "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way....oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh!"
The tree all ready to go!

As we loaded up the girls to go home, I was feeling bummed that the whole "tree" experience took about 10 minutes. That isn't what Christmas memories are made of!!!! And, my poor children were pretending that the orange Home Depot carts were sleds. Pathetic.
I needed a pick me up so I told Kevin to drive to the donut shop.
So now, if we don't cut our tree down in the mountains, we will go to Home Dept and then get donuts....Hooray for new traditions!

Donuts aren't complete without chocolate milk, right?
And...when I paid for the donuts, I got 3 dollars in change and the cashier gave me a $2 bill!!! FTW!!! So pumped. I am saving it. My Grammy used to give me $2 bills all the time :)

After we had our donuts, we turned on the Christmas music and busted out the Christmas decorations. It was the day after Thanksgiving...it's time for CHRISTMAS!
Decorating for Christmas warms my heart.

I love the way our home feels during Christmas.

This Willow Tree Nativity set was a wedding gift to us 9 years ago & Our advent calendar that my mother in law made for Kate's first Christmas.

It just feels so warm & cozy. There is something about garland & lights that soothes me.

The sparkle & shine of ornaments. I love it all.

Christmas countsowns. Charlie Brown Christmas. Cozy jammies. Love.

Tree during the day & tree at night.

Not bad for a $40 Home Depot Tree ;)

A Lovely Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T07:28:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving this year.
Our day started off with watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade while we ate breakfast & got ready for our day. I love the Thanksgiving Day parade (It is on my bucket list to go to NY and watch it live)
Then, it was off to the horse races!
For the past 50 years, Kevin's family has gone to the Horse Races on Thanksgiving Day.
It is such a fun tradition! I love going to the horse races
(It is also on my Bucket List to go to the Kentucky Derby one day!)
Because Kevin's family has done this for so long, they get a race dedicated to them & we get to go down to the track during that race to watch it up close & then you get your picture taken with the winning jockey.
It is the best seat in the house!
It is so fun to see the horses up so close, Horse #6, For the Win!

Here is a picture of some of our family with the winning jockey:

The girls also got their picture taken with some other jockeys because their outfits were pink & they wanted pictures with the pink jockeys!

One of my favorite parts about the races is the amazing breakfast buffet.
Eggs benedict, hashbrowns & bacon. Lots and lots of bacon. And, a mimosa, of course!

It was a fun day at the races. Then we headed back to our house & passed out Pumpkin Bread to all the people on our court.

Fall has finally arrived & our trees are bursting with color!

For dinner, we headed to my parents. I didn't get any pictures of the food, but it was SO good.
My mom & sister Elyse slaved away all day in the kitchen and made an amazing Thanksgiving Feast.

One of my favorite moments of the night was when we were watching the 49er game & Kate told me she wanted to take a family picture of my family (just my parents & sisters). It was so cute.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
Having a week off school was glorious, but now I am back to reality.
Just 3 more weeks until Christmas Break. I can't wait! I love this time of year!

Giving Thanks.

2011-11-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

So much to be thankful for.
My healthy & happy little family:

2 little girls who keep me on my toes:

This sweet girl who has a heart of gold:

This fiesty Daddy's Girl:

And an amazing husband who puts up with me & my shenanigans.

Thankful for a God who loves me,
Family & Friends who encourage & support me,
and a job that I love.

I am extremely thankful for our friend Steve Hoffmann who took our family pictures when he was in town for a wedding a few weeks ago.
(If you live in So Cal and need family pics, he is doing mini sessions this weekend!)

And, thank YOU for reading. I appreciate each and everyone of you taking the time to read!
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends & food!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for HE is good. His love endures forever" Psalm 107:1

A little R & R in Pebble Beach

2011-11-23T17:53:00.000-08:00

We kicked off Thanksgiving Break with a little Rest & Relaxation in Pebble Beach for my Mom's Birthday weekend.

It was actually a girls trip, plus my Dad.
Both Kevin & Jason had to work, so it was all us girls & Jimmy!
One of my dad's work clients has a house in Pebble Beach that my dad gets to use, so we decided to book it for last weekend. It's the cutest little beach bungalow & I just love it.
This is the view from the driveway:
The house is nestled right off 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach. This is our 4th time going & it is quickly becoming one of my happy places. I just love the Ocean Views & the uniqueness of the Pebble Beach golf course that is lined with Monterey Cypress tress.
If you haven't been to the Carmel/Monterrey/Pebble Beach area, I highly recommend it!
If you look to your right, this is what you see:
From the same spot, this is what you see if you look to your left:
We had a pretty lazy weekend at the house (mostly because it rained all day Sunday)
This is what we hung out & did. I edited photos & the girls colored. For hours.
Sunday we braved the rain & headed to Monterey for lunch & sightseeing at the Fisherman's Wharf.

Love all the boats in the Harbor.

Pretty much every shop in Monterrey is either a candy shop, gift shop or restaraunt that serves Clam Chowder.

We are all about the Salt Water Taffy!

Kate & her stash of candy:

The girls trying to check out the sea otters & ocean life:

Here is a close-up of Claire's lovely outfit that she insisted on wearing. I pick my battles with her. Clearly, I gave up on the battle with this classy outfit. Ridiculous.

We stopped for lunch because I had one mission for what I wanted to eat.

Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bread bowl. Mission Accomplished. YUM.

After lunch, it was time for more candy:

This cute shop had the most amazing caramel apples.

There were over 10 choices of candy apples. I chose these 2. Chose Caramel Chocolate Almond & English Toffee. Oh my yumminess.

On the way home we saw a double rainbow!!!
You can barely see the other one to the left, but it was there, it just didn't photograph well.

This is an epic moment right here....my dad, Jimmy FINALLY canceling their AOL email accounts. Really Jimmy? Paying for email for over 15 years?!?!? Not okay.
We say that Jimmy is "high-tech, low-tech".

Monday morning was Mimi's Birthday! One more year until the BIG 6-0.

We got her a GPS & celebrated with Coffee Cake for breakfast.

Happy Birthday Mimi! We are so thankful for everything you do for us!
It was a great few days relaxing in Pebble Beach being with my family.
I am truly thankful to have a family that enjoys spending time together
(and a family that puts up with my crazy kids on vacation!)
Hope your Thanksgiving Week has been fun as well!
I am out...the girls & I are now going to make Pumpkin Bread for our neighbors!

Thankful For You {Free Printable}

2011-11-18T00:18:00.000-08:00

Last week Julie & Jeannett launched the Happy Day Project.
7 days of spreading sunshine to others doing Random Acts of Kindness.
It was such a fun project. Did you participate?
(The girls & I have done 4.5 out of 7 items so far. I got a friend a book, I just need to go to the post office to mail it. We haven't done days 6 or 7 yet.....hoping to catch up & finish next week during Thanksgiving Break!)

Doing the Happy Day Project last week made me realize that there are simple things I can do to brighten someone's day. Once you do it, it is contagious & makes you want to do more!

I decided to piggy back off their idea and do something nice for Kate's Preschool Teachers.
Today is the last day of school before a week long Thanksgiving Break! (YEAH!!!)
Last year, I gave her teachers a little gift/treat at Christmas and the last day of school.
But after the Happy Day Project last week, I decided I am going to let them know more often how much I appreciate them. I mean, hello...I am a teacher...I know how good it makes me feel when I get nice notes or treats from students/parents. I am now determined to make sure my girls teachers know how much we appreciate them.

We made a Thanksgiving treat letting them know we are thankful for them.

Kate has 5 teachers, so I made each of them a mini-loaf of Pumpkin Bread decorated with a printable that I made & some ribbon.

My Pumpkin Bread recipe makes 7 mini-loaves.

PUMPKIN BREAD:
(Step by Step Instructions HERE)
1 15 oz can canned pumpkin
3 c sugar
1 c water
1 c vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 c flour
1 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1/2 t nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
3/4 t ground cloves
1 t salt
Mix ingredients together with a mixer & then Bake at 350.
If you are making mini-loaves it makes 7 mini-loaves & bake for 35-40 minutes.

While the bread was baking, Kate cut out the printable labels that I made.

After the bread had cooled for an hour, I put the clear lids on & then stuck a label on it.

I had twine on them, but Kate wanted orange ribbons on all the ones for her teachers.

I chose the wording, "We are Thankful for you" because I truly am thankful for her awesome preschool teachers. Do you have someone you are thankful for? If so, let them know & you can use my printable!

To download:
Click on the printable, then right click & save it.
Print it & cut them out!
I printed mine out on sticker paper & stuck it on the mini-loaf lid.
(Each label is sized perfectly for the mini-loaves!)

Next week we are doing this again, but we will be giving each family on our court a loaf & putting it on their doorstep Thanksgiving morning.
We truly are thankful to live here and have such amazing neighbors.

Know what else I am thankful for?
I have ALL next week off for Thanksgiving Break!!!! FTW!

Who are you Thankful for?
Spread some sunshine & let them know this Thanksgiving with a little note & treat!

Which side are you on?

2011-11-16T17:06:00.000-08:00

It's the great debate that happens this time of year.

CHRISTMAS.
When is it "okay" to start getting ready for it?
Both sides are passionate about their stances (myself included)

Which side are you on?
Team "Before" Thanksgiving or Team "After" Thanksgiving?

I am on Team AFTER Thanksgiving.
Honestly, it riles me up when I see Christmas stuff up before Thanksgiving.
And, like I posted last year, it seems that every year Christmas gets pulled out earlier and earlier.
For example, the girls and I went to the mall on November 1st to get a wedding gift.
I was SHOCKED when we saw SANTA at the mall. On November 1st. The day after Halloween.
I literally gasped when I saw this. Kate's reaction was one of my proudest parenting moments.
As we stared at all the trees, lights & elves at the Santa display, she exclaimed,
"Mommy, this place is just silly. Don't they know it isn't Thanksgiving yet?"
My heart literally burst with pride :)

A few days ago, I saw this picture on a friend's Facebook:
As if I needed another reason to love Nordstrom more than I already do :)
Well said, Nordstrom, well said.

This week and last week on Wheel of Fortune (yes, I watch it, don't judge!) is the Secret Santa Sweepstakes.
The whole stage is decked out in Christmas...the week before Thanksgiving? Really?

Anyways, back to the great debate.
I am obviously Team AFTER Thanksgiving.
Here are my Christmas "rules"
1. No Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving.
2. No Christmas movies until the day after Thanksgiving
3. Absolutely no Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving.
4. No peppermint mochas until the day after Thanksgiving.
5. No Black Friday shopping.

Yes, you read that right. I am the Anti-Black Friday shopper.
The fact that stores are opening at midnight on Thanksgiving night makes me a little sick to my stomach. Really? Really?

I feel like society is skipping over & forgetting about Thanksgiving.
It makes me sad to think that some people might rush through their Thanksgiving dinner so that they go shopping and get the best deals.
Isn't Thanksgiving about spending time with family and reflecting on all that God has blessed you with & all that you have to be thankful for? I don't understand why we want to skip over the holiday.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Christmas. One of my favorite holidays.
But, I think that is why I get annoyed when people set up Christmas stuff early.
I think it feels more important/sacred when it is celebrated for a smaller amount of time.
It looses it's luster when it drags on for so long.
I truly believe Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.
A time to celebrate the birth of Christ and God's gift to us.
When that becomes so commercialized & overdone it isn't as special.

I am literally giddy (like a kid on Christmas morning.... ha!) when I wake up the day after Thanksgiving because I know that it is the day that we get to go buy our Christmas tree, listen to Christmas music and Deck our Halls.
The day after Thanksgiving is (to me) the day that signifies the beginning of the CHRISTmas season, the most wonderful (and sacred) time of the year.

So, let me get off my soapbox and ask:
Which side are you on?
You are either one or the other..I don't think there is a gray area on this "issue".
Team "Before" Thanksgiving or Team "After" Thanksgiving?
I would love to hear your reasons also!

And don't worry if you don't agree with me, I have tons of friends who are on Team Before Thanksgiving and I still love them.....to each their own :)

I've got Answers, Part 1

2011-11-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

I am loving all your questions that you guys asked on my Got Questions? post!
I didn't think I would get that many questions.
You guys are nosey...but that is okay, I am nosey, too :)

I am going to do the answers in a few parts, so here is Part 1!
(Sorry it has taken me so long to answer, I was busy this weekend with 3 photo shoots. I am a photo editing machine right now!)

I am going to answer the questions in the order they were received.
I got some repeat questions, so I will group those together!
Question #1:
We recently decided to start a veggie garden. Can you let me know what worked and did not work for you. Also any other tips?

This was the first year that we have planted a garden. Both our parents had gardens growing up & we knew we wanted one. So, last spring, Kevin built me 3 garden boxes. They are 4 feet by 8 feet & 1 foot deep. Pictures of what I planted are here. We also ordered dirt from a local nursery, they had a special veggie garden mix & I will definitely order it again next Spring when we plant our garden. We planted our veggies in early May & this past weekend we ripped out the garden, so it lasted about 6 months. I don't plant a winter garden, but want to next year.
As far as gardening tips, I would say to get good dirt and make sure your garden is placed in an area that gets lots of sun. Also, make sure you space out your plants. I was a little "over excited" about our garden & planted too much stuff! Once things started growing, it got really crowded in my garden boxes. My pumpkin & watermelon vines took over garden box#1.
Our biggest garden successes this year were our tomatoes (I planted 5 Early Girl plants, 2 cherry tomato plants & 2 yellow pear tomato plants) I had SO many tomatoes, it was great! Next year, I won't be planting any peppers. None of mine grew this year, I had 6 different varieties of peppers & got nothing. I guess peppers are fickle & hard to grow.
When I planted the garden, I literally went to the local nursery & just bought tons of plants, they were only $1, so I figured to give it a shot. Some of my favorite things we grew (besides the tomatoes) were watermelon, green onions, pumpkins, celery & pickling cucumbers. I am a rookie gardener & I am learning as I go! Good luck & have fun!

Question #2
Where is your favorite place to go on vacation? With kids or without kids?

My favorite place to go on vacation with kids would have to be Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is my happy place (besides Target). We love going to Lake Tahoe as a family & go several times a year. This summer we went on our first "Real Family Vacation". Kevin's parents took all of us on the Disney Dream Cruise & that by far, was THE BEST vacation we have been on as a family.
(See my Disney posts here & here).
Someone else asked what was more relaxing, the Cruise or Disney World? The answer to that is the Disney Cruise!!!! I literally cried when we got off the boat. I wanted to stay on it longer. It was amazing.
My favorite place to go on vacation without kids is HAWAII.
I love, love, love Hawaii.
I first went to Hawaii (Oahu) with my parents & sisters when I was in college. Then, Kevin & I went to Maui on our Honeymoon and we went to Kauai in 2005 which was our "Babymoon" aka the last vacation we went on before we had kids. I can't wait to go back to Hawaii! Don't know when that is going to happen, but until then, I will be dreaming of Lava Flows & Hula Pie. Yum!

Question #3
What are your favorite blogs? Where do you buy Kate and Claire's clothes? What are your favorite recipes to make for your family?

My favorite blogs (I have too many to list, but here are 5 favorites!)
Joy's Hope
Whatever
Enjoying the Small Things
Mom*Tog
Pioneer Woman

Where do I get the girls clothes?
TARGET! I would say that 95% of their clothes & shoes are from Target.
They have a couple of things from Old Navy & Carters, but Target is the place I go for their clothes. I refuse to pay a lot for their clothing because they are so hard on it & they are so picky. One week they like something, the next week they don't. So, Target it is. And, for the past several years, Target has adorable clothes for little girls!

Favorite Recipes?
Most of my favorite recipes are ones that I have posted here on my blog.
My favorite appetizer is - Blue Cheese Crack
Main Course is - Easiest Dinner Ever and Chicken Tortilla Soup
Favorite Breakfast is - Monkey Bread

Question #4
What's your most favorite things to do with your kids?

In the summer, my favorite thing to do with them is to swim. They love being in our pool and I love it also! My other favorite thing to do with my girls (especially in the Fall/Winter) is to bake. I love to cook & bake. I bake treats 1-2 times a week & both girls love helping me. I am glad that at a young age they are (hopefully) learning to love being in the kitchen.
Another favorite thing that I love to do with them is to take them on 1 on 1 dates so that they have individual time with me (or Kevin). We don't do this nearly enough, but I LOVE it when we get those moments.

Question #5
Are you going to have any more kids?

That is a great question. I am pretty sure we are done. But, we haven't done anything 100% to finalize that. Such a hard decision to make that final. We both come from families with 3 kids and liked that....but me & pregnancy are not friends...I get really, really, really sick and barf 2-3 times a day from 6 weeks until 22 weeks. I don't know if I can do that again!

Question #6
Where did you get that great turquoise necklace in the above pic?
I'd love to know where you got that beautiful outfit you have on in the picture above!

That is the outfit I wore to Blog Sugar.
(I gave my friend Jess my camera & had her take my picture with my cotton candy!)
I got the turquoise necklace in Spring 2010 in the Brass Plum section at Nordstrom.
I LOVE that necklace. And, it was only $12. I wear it a lot!
I got my shirt at Anthropologie. It is one of 3 things I have from Anthro. I love it & got it because I had an Anthro store credit!

Question #7
Do you have the 35mm 1.8 or 1.4 for your camera?
What is your favorite zoom lens?
My 50mm 1.8 just isn't wide enough for the tight indoor shots. Any recommendations? Our lighting isn't always the best. Oh, and I only do this as a hobby, so is there an "off" brand of lenses that you prefer?
What kind of camera & lenses do you have?

I have the Canon 35 mm 2.0 lens. I love it!! I use that & my 5omm 1.4 95% of the time.
I don't have a favorite zoom lens....for the past year I have only used fixed lenses (50 mm 1.4 and 35 mm 2.0) When we go on vacation or to an event, I do bring my 28-135 lens so that I can zoom, etc. But, I don't love that lens. It is okay. I am just loving the fixed lenses right now!
I don't have any suggestions for off brand lenses. All my lenses are Canon, I haven't personally used an off brand before. But, I have friends who use Tamron (off brand) and they love them!
I am one of those brand loyal people & will always buy Canon :)

I have the Canon 50D camera. I got it 2 years ago. Love it....thinking about upgrading to the 5D, but need to save money for that first! Before the 50D, I had the Canon Rebel xti. That was a great camera also.
Here are all the lenses that I have:
Canon 18-55mm
Canon 75-300mm
Canon 28-135mm
Canon 55-200 mm
Canon 35 mm 2.0
Canon 50 mm 1.4

But honestly, I use the 50 mm & 35 mm almost 100% of the time!

Question #8
What design program do you use for your cupcake toppers?
I would love to know how you make all your paper design?
Do you make them all yourself or use templates?
How do you edit your pictures and what do you use?

The answers to all of the above questions is that I use Photoshop CS3.
For my cupcake toppers, labels & invites, I don't use templates, I just create my own in photoshop.
I edit my photos in Photoshop also. I don't edit all photos, just some of them. Most of the editing I do is enhancing the brightness & adjusting colors.

Question #9
How much did Claire's birthday party cost? (money AND hours spent making stuff)

This is a great question....I honestly have no idea. Ha!
Let me first say that we don't give our girls birthday presents....their party IS their present.
(My thoughts on this are that they won't remember what we got them for their "blank" birthday, but they will remember the experience of the party. Well, at least I hope so)
My other "justification" for throwing them big parties is that it doesn't come out of our family bank account. Kevin is not a fan of the big parties. He would rather just do a small family party and call it a day. But me? I love, love, love, love planning parties and executing them.
The money I make from photography & my Etsy shop is my "discretionary" money and I use that account for party stuff.

Back to the question...I had been planning this party in my head since January of last year.
So, when I would see something that I could use for the party, I would buy it.
But, I will try and break down some of the cost for you!
The pony rental was $125
The hats ($1.50 each) & bandannas ($.60 each) I got at Oriental Trading Company.
Hay Bales were Rented for $2 each
All the table cloths were actually twin bed sheets from my girls rooms!
The wagon wheel was a clearance item from Big Lots & was $7
I got flowers at the Farmers Market for $10
The frame was a clearence item at Michaels that was $8 & I spray painted it with pink spray paint that I already had.
I got the pie tins from a bulk restaurant supply store, and they were only $.10 each
The cowgirl boots were $10 each on clearance at Target.
The girls cowgirl hats were from Fair this summer & they were $10 each.
I got vintage fabric on etsy for the cookie jars for $12 (and still have tons left over)
The food/drinks were a bulk of the cost (I probably spent about $200 on food/drinks) but family members (my mom, sisters & mother in law bought and made some of the food/drinks for the party, so that helped cut down my cost)

And, my friend Heather made the pony cookies for me and let me borrow TONS of her stuff that she had from her sister in law's wedding (burlap, drink containers, mason jars, baskets, containers, bunting, chalkboards, corn hole game, photo props. That was a HUGE cost savings!) She also made the Larson Ranch sign & Claire's County Store sign for free because she is a good friend! :)

Some of the supplies I already had in my craft supplies, like the twine, pom poms, clothes pins, ribbons, sticks for cupcake toppers & Smores Pops & cardstock.
I made all the printables for the party (cupcake toppers, food labels & signs) so that didn't cost anything.
How much time did I spend on the party? A LOT of HOURS.
But, I love it!
I did most of the party planning in the summer when I was off school & I would do all the crafting for it at night when the girls were in bed.

Question #10
I would love to know any photography tips and/or blogging tips you have from your own experience.

Photography tips would be...Get off auto & start shooting in AV or Manual!
Practice, Practice, Practice!!!! Play around with your settings. Don't be scared to shoot in manual...it will change your life :)
In terms of blogging tips, I would say... Be yourself!
Blog about what you love. Visit other blogs. Comment on other blogs. Respond to people's comments to your blogs (I need to get better at this!!!!!)

So, there is Part 1 of the answers....I will do Part 2 and Part 3 later!

Got Questions?

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Happy 11.11.11!!!

Such a fun date!
As a math teacher & a numbers freak, I love it when there are fun dates!
And yes, I am posting this at 11:11 am because I am a math geek :)
Because it is a cool date & I have the day off school, I thought I would put up a
"Got Questions" post. I love it when other bloggers do this & you get to know more stuff about them!

I occasionally get questions in comments or via email (usually about my camera or home decor), so I thought this would be a good opportunity to answer any questions at once.

So, if you have a question for me, leave it in the comments & I will do a post next week with answers.
You can ask me anything... Photography, Food, Faith, Family, Random, whatever!
Ready, Set, Go!

10 on 10 :: November 2011

2011-11-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

Last month, I realized that I have been doing 10 on 10 for THREE years straight!!!!
I started doing 10 on 10 in October 2008 (when Claire was 1 month old!!) and haven't missed one since! Can you believe it?!?! This is my 37th 10 on 10!

Anyways, today was a pretty standard day.
It started out with me picking out Kate's outfit & her refusing to wear it because it has hearts on it & it isn't Valentines Day. Where does she come up with this stuff?!?!
And, then there's Claire who insisted on wearing flip flops today. It's November & it is getting cold...it is in the 50's & 60's. brrr.(I guess Claire isn't a wimpy Californian)
I opened up a new pack of pens at school. I love new pens.
These are some of my favorite pens. I am a pen snob, FYI.

One of my students gave me an apple today when he turned in his math test.
Classic. After 8 years of teaching, that was a first.

Today is my friend Shannon's birthday. Happy Birthday Shannon!
I am sending her this book that my friend Wendy wrote. And, it also goes along with today's theme for the Happy Day Project which is give a book to a friend. Perfect!
After school, I picked up the girls and Claire had to write an apology letter to our babysitter.
Kevin & I had a date night last night & Claire's behavior for our babysitter was AWFUL. Claire was just a disaster at bedtime & had an epic tantrum. Sorry, Torrey!!

Then, we were off to do errands, like buy a McDonald's gift card for a homeless person. (That was yesterday's challenge for the Happy Day Project, but we didn't have time to get it yesterday). Of course, a $1 Diet Coke was calling my name. Fountain Diet Coke is so, so, good.

We also picked up 18 lottery tickets for my niece Megan! Today is her 18th birthday! Whenever someone turns 18, we always get them 18 lottery tickets as part of their birthday present! It's a right of passage in this family!

One final picture of our 2011 Garden. We are ripping out this weekend. Nothing else is growing in this cold weather. Our 2011 was a big success & so much fun! I am already brainstorming what to plant next year!

Spaghetti with Homemade Sauce, It's What's for Dinner.

Hope you all had a great 10th!
I am super excited about having a 3 day weekend.
No school tomorrow because of Veteran's Day.
(I plan on staying in my pj's all day. And, it is going to rain. Love.)
Thank you to ALL the people & families who serve and sacrifice their lives for our freedom!

See more 10 on 10 fun here:

WIWW: 2011 Wedding Edition!

2011-11-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

This year has been the biggest Wedding Season for us ever!!

So many friends getting married!

Wedding Season kicked off for us early this year with my sister's wedding in April.
Then, we had 2 weddings in August, 1 in September, 1 in October & 1 this past weekend.

Figuring out what to wear to weddings is always fun, so here is WIWW - Wedding Edition!
(And, I included what I wore to 2 of the Rehearsal Dinners)

My sister's wedding in April, I was the Matron of Honor:
(You can see more wedding pictures here and here)
Dress: (Local Bridal Shop)

In early August, one of Kevin's high school friends weddings at a beautiful country club.
For the Rehersal Dinner, I wore my LBD. Here I am with my BFF:
Dress: Nordstrom (circa 2002...I wore it to my own Rehearshal Dinner)
Necklace: Nordstrom (circa 2010)

For the wedding, I wore this:

My dress: Nordstrom (Brass Plum)
Shoes: Payless Shoe Source
Bracelet: NY & Co
(I don't know where AK got her dress, isn't it SO cute?!?!)

We had another wedding at the end of August, Amanda & Bobby's
(On the left, Heather G., Heather M & I)

Dress: Nordstrom
Shoes: Target

In September (on 9.10.11) was Tegan's wedding.

Dress: Modcloth
(I LOVED this dress & this was the first & only time I wore it. When I got home from the wedding, the dress was totally fraying & unraveling. I called Modcloth & they let me return it. Thumbs up for good costumer service. Thumbs down that I had to return my cute dress!)
Shoes: Payless
Necklace: Banana Republic
Bracelet: Target

In October, we had one of our former youth group kids' wedding.

Dress: Kohl's (LC collection, circa 2010)
Shoes: Target
Necklace: eliot necklace

Last week, we went to the IJM Benefit Dinner. It wasn't a wedding, but it was fancy like a wedding, so I thought I would post those dresses also!
My dress: H&M...loved it & it had pockets!
Shoes: Payless
Necklace: Ann Taylor Loft

This past weekend, we had our final wedding of 2011.
Kevin & I read scripture.
Here is my Rehearsal Dinner outfit:
Dress: Forever 21 (only $14!)
Shoes: Target
Necklace & Earrings: NY & Co

Wedding outfit:
Dress: Nordstrom Rack (Borrowed from my older sister, Elyse)
Shoes: Payless
Necklace: Banana Republic
Bracelet: NY & Co

So there you have it, What I Wore to Weddings....2011 Edition!
Super excited about the 3 weddings we have next year!
(Maybe I need to branch out with my wedding style next year & not wear a strapless dress to every.single.wedding! ha! I didn't realize how many strapless dresses I own!)

Grammy's 100th Birthday Party!

2011-11-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

I finally have time to post about Grammy's 100th Birthday Party that we had last weekend!

Grammy lives in the Central Valley & so we all traveled there last weekend for her party.
This is the house that Grammy lives in...by herself! Isn't it adorable?
My aunt, uncle & cousins live in the same town as Grammy, so she is lucky to have family check in on her. We had the party at my aunt's house which is a few blocks from Grammy's house.
My job was to make cupcakes & cupcake toppers.
Even though Grammy wasn't announced on the Today show, Willard Scott sent her a Birthday Letter.

President & Mrs. Obama sent her a card congratulating her for become a Centenarian.
What present to you give to a 100 year old? I let the girls pick and they chose 2 dozen pink roses & a balloon.

My aunt had a matted photo of Grammy & we all signed it.
(Note: Grammy calls me Missy. She is the ONLY person who is allowed to call me that)

Grammy's name spelled out with Scrabble letters (aka: Words with Friends letters)

I found this 100 tiara at a local party store! Score!

My sisters & I with our only girl cousins with our Vodka Cranberry's in honor of Grammy.

(Side note: my cousin is getting her Masters in Genealogy and she has done amazing research on our family tree and found records of our ancestors all the way back to the 1600's when they came over on the Mayflower. Also interesting is that most of our ancestors had very long lives. Some even lived to their late 80's & early 90's in the 1800's. That is pretty amazing.)
Vodka Cranberry "cheers!" with Grammy!

A funny story from the weekend: During the day while we were having lunch (before the dinner party) We were going to my cousin's to make caramel apples & I told Grammy she should go home & take a nap before the Big Birthday Dinner Party. She told me that she doesn't nap during the day anymore because she is going to enjoy daylight while she can because it is dark 6 feet under!!!! Classic! Grammy has the best lines!

On the left: Flowers from my Aunt Patty. On the right: Grammy's 5 great-granddaughters.
We were instructed to wear pink (Grammy's favorite color!)
4 generations:

Grammy & all her "extensions" (that is what she calls her family)
All these people are a product of Grammy (her 2 daughters, their spouses, her 6 grandchildren & their spouses & her 8 great-grandchildren.

Waiting for the cake & more Vodka Cranberry's!

Happy 100th Birthday, Grammy!

Grammy, my mom & sisters:

Me & Grammy:

I love this photo of us.
It was such a wonderful weekend celebrating Grammy becoming a Centenarian and her 100 years of life. It was the first time all of us had been together in one place in almost 10 years. Who knows when the next time that could happen. When someone turns 100, you never really know.
The next day as we were leaving, Grammy sat with me and told me what a wonderful Birthday weekend she had.
She hugged me as I was leaving & said,
"I hope you know how proud you have made me. I am so lucky to be your Grammy."
Hello, tears.
Thank you Grammy for being such an inspiration.
We are the ones who are lucky to have you in in our lives as the matriarch of our family!
*****************************
In other news, the Happy Day Project started this week.

I encourage you to check it out & spread Random Acts of Kindness to those around you.
The girls & I made treats for our neighbors & I can't wait to do more this week.
Info here!

A full week, but a fun week.

2011-11-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

TGIF!

The past 2 weeks have been CR-AZY busy.
And, it isn't going to slow down this weekend!

Here is a snapshot of the crazy-ness Instagram style!

Red Ribbon Week dress up day & my cute red Target shoes.
Kate had lunch bunch at preschool. She was SO excited. I left a note in her lunch.
Kate got her preschool pictures back. Yay! She smiled!
Almost everyday after school I have a bowl of cereal as a snack.
I did this as a kid & still do it as an adult. I LOVE cereal.
Orange Sunflowers turn the water pink. Claire loves that!
Fun Halloween stuff. Getting Boo'd, Apple Cobbler, Pumpkin shirts & cat ears!
I was in charge of cupcakes & cupcakes toppers for Grammy's 100th Birthday Party.
I made my favorite, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
We were out of town all weekend & then came back Sunday afternoon & went straight to our friends Pumpkin Carving party. Like always, Kevin carved a zucchini from our garden.
Yummy "Eyeballs" that I made for our Halloween Party.
On Tuesday, we headed into San Fran to go to the IJM (International Justice Mission) benefit Dinner. It was a beautiful night in the city.

The dinner was held at the beautiful Fairmont Hotel.
If you are not familiar with IJM, check them out.
They are a wonderful organization that helps rescue people from slavery & human trafficking.
There were about 800 people at the Dinner.
Right before dinner, they told us they had a surprise for us.
The FRAY happened to be in the city that day & wanted to play for us!!
What the what?!?! So awesome.
They sang 2 songs, How to Save a Life:

And then they sang their new song, Heartbeat.

Have you heard that song before? If not, here is your chance. I video taped their performance! Such an awesome song.

Me & my younger sister after the dinner:

It was a fun night, but my feet were SO sore for 2 days after. Walking a total of a mile in the hilly streets of San Fran in cheap (but cute) Payless shoes really does a number on your feet. Ouch.

Now that Halloween is over, it is time for Thanksgiving decorations!

This weekend, Kevin and I are reading scripture at one of my sister's best friends weddings.
I have been practicing my verse, Philippians 4:4-9.

Hope you all have a great weekend.
Ours is filled with a Rehearsal Dinner, a Wedding, House Guests & some photo shoots!

Linking up with:

Pinterest Success!

2011-11-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

After last month's Pinterest FAIL Kitchen, I was a little discouraged about Pinterest.
In fact, I didn't even go on Pinterest for a whole week.
I was so bitter about my Pinterest Fails, that I was skeptical about Pinterest.
But, luckily, I snapped out of it & came to my senses and got sucked into Pinterest again.
So, all is right in the world, again.
I was very selective with what I decided to make for this month's Pinterst Test Kitchen.
I didn't want to have more Fails.
I am happy to say, this month was a Pinterest Success!

I have 2 things I am going to share with you.
First up, a recipe for:

White Chocolate Macadamia Bars

Ingredients:
2 sticks of butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 bag white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the butter and the brown sugar in a bowl and cream together on medium speed until a smooth batter is formed. While the machine is running, add the eggs and vanilla extract.
Sift together 3 cups flour and baking powder. Slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and mix on low speed until a dough is formed. Very gently fold the chips and nuts into the dough with a spoon or spatula.
Once the dough is all blended, spray a 9 x 13 pan with Pam or cooking spray. Spread the batter into the pan and place in the preheated oven.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until set yet still moist. Don't over bake or they will be too dry.
Let the bars cool & then cut them up!

Enjoy!
These were really yummy (and rich).
I love all things white chocolate & macadamia and these bars passed the test!
{Slightly modified from the original recipe found here}

The other Pinterest project I did was something that one of my friends pinned & I saw it on my Pinterest Feed.
I didn't pin it because I saw it & immediately knew I could make it right then...So I did!
It took me less than 10 minutes to make. Sweet!
It is an important dates print that I made in Photoshop, printed on a printer & stuck in a frame I already had!
Ta-da:
I LOVE it. I put it in our Guest Room.
I love that this print is visible in our upstairs hallway.
As a math teacher, I just love numbers and I especially love numbers that are significant & important to families lives.
I am thinking this would be a fun gift that I could make for people for Christmas or after they have their final baby! Easy, inexpensive & meaningful!
Now available in my Etsy Shop!

Linking up with Jess:

Halloween Fun

2011-11-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

Since having kids, Halloween has become one of my favorite holidays.
(Who am I kidding....I love all holidays)

Our festivities kicked off on Sunday afternoon when we got back from our weekend away at Grammy's 100th Birthday Party (more on that, later)

We headed to our friends house for their annual Pumpkin-palooza.

Kate drew this design all on her own. She was so proud.

On Halloween Day, the girls wore their pumpkin shirts that I made.

As soon as Kate got home from preschool, the girls wanted to put on their costumes.

This is the first year that I let the girls pick their own costumes. In years past, I was THAT MOM who had their Halloween costumes as a theme. You know me, I love a theme!
In 2008, they were a Puppy & a Kitty.
In 2009, they were a Ladybug & Bumble Bee
In 2010, they were Wonder Woman & Super Girl.

This year, they are older & have strong opinions so I let them choose :)
Kate wanted to be a Pirate Girl & Claire wanted to be Tinkerbell.
As I think about it...they still kind of have a theme & go together (Peter Pan has pirates & Tinkerbell, so they go together. I should have had Kevin dress up as Peter Pan!)

On Halloween Evening, we had several friends come over to our house for appetizers & drinks and then we all went Trick or Treating in our neighborhood.
I love any excuse to have a party :)
I made a few decorations to make my house look festive.
And, no party is complete without a dessert table, right? ha!

Banner I made out of cardstock.

Close up of some of the treats:

Yum, Blue Cheese Crack:
Spinach Dip:

For the kids, I made Mummy Dogs & had Mini-Pizzas:

My friend Kelly made yummy grilled shrimp skewers:

Becky made Chicken Satay & a thai peanut sauce. YUM!

Becky's neighbor Danielle made Roasted Pumpkin soup & sandwiches. So good!

My sister made meatballs & I made Taco Soup.
(I have made Taco Soup EVERY Halloween for the past 9 years)
Of course there were drinks!

Then we rallied the kids & went Trick or Treating!

On the court across from us, they were making Kettle Korn in their driveway!! So fun!

As I was taking that picture, I heard a voice telling me not to step on the grass.
It was this head that was on the table!!!! I had no idea it was a real person. Totally took me by surprise!

Another house was giving out Spiked Cider to the adults. I love our neighborhood!

Both girls were totally into Trick or Treating. After every single house, Kate would run down the driveway & shout, "THEY GAVE ME CANDY!!!!!" Such a fun age. Claire was just on a mission to get as much candy as she could & would have trick or treated all night if we let her.

We got a group picture of most of the kids:

We got home & handed out candy to other trick or treaters.

And, our court was all hanging out with the firepit going. So fun.

Spazzed out family picture! One has a sugar high, the other has a sugar crash.

Hope you also had a fun Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T16:41:00.000-07:00

Hope your day was full of pumpkins, candy & more treats than tricks!

From Tinker-Claire & Pirate Princess Kate!
Happy Halloween 2011!

100.

2011-10-27T00:11:00.000-07:00

Today, Grammy (my Grandma) turns 100.
100 years old!!!!!
Triple Freaking Digits!!!!
That is amazing.
Even more amazing is that she still lives by herself!!
At 100 years old! By herself! In her own home!
Amazing, amazing, amazing.
Grammy, FTW.
(Grammy at age 3 - circa 1914)

Grammy was born October 27, 1911 in the Blue Hills of Idaho.
She was the 3rd child of 7 children.
(She and her youngest sister, Jean are the only ones still alive. Jean is the baby of the family & is in her late 80's)
Her family moved briefly to Oregon and then settled in Eureka, California.
She married and then became a bank teller for Wells Fargo.
She survived the Roaring 20's, The Great Depression & The World War Era.
She is a Daughter of the American Revolution.
We have had 44 US Presidents. Grammy has gotten to experience 18 of them! That is 40% of our total US Presidents.
When she was born, there were only 46 states in the USA.

In 1952, she had a surprise baby at age 41...my mom!
She has 2 daughters, 6 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren.
(with an 8th on the way, my cousin's wife is due in May)
(Grammy on her 99th Birthday)

Grammy is a remarkable person.
She is the matriarch of our family and has been through so much in her life but always has a positive outlook on everything.
She is an inspiration to all who meet her.
To know her is to love her.
I remember at her 90th birthday party -10 years ago- my cousins and I were all telling Grammy that we just knew she would make it to 100 year old. We chanted Triple Digits!!!
She said if she did make it that long, then she wanted Willard Scott on the Today show to mention her on her 100th birthday.
I emailed them in September about Grammy, but I never heard back.
Sorry, Grammy. I tried. I really wish you could have been mentioned on the Today show!
But, we are going to throw you an awesome 100th Birthday Party this weekend.
I can't wait to celebrate Grammy this weekend with all of our family...aunts, uncles, cousins.
All of Grammy's favorite people together in one place to celebrate her. Can't wait.

Everyone always asks Grammy her advice for living so long & for being in such good health (physically and mentally....her memory is still sharp!!)
Here is her list of advice:
1. Surround yourself with your family and people you love.
2. Drink Coffee every morning.
3. Have a Happy Hour cocktail everyday (Grammy's preference is a Cranberry Vodka)
4. Stay away from hospitals & doctors.
5. Be positive.

Congrats on making it to Triple Digits, Grammy!
(I hope to make it to 100 one day also...Grammy is my inspiration)

Happy, Happy, Happy 100th Birthday Grammy!
I am SO proud to be your Grand-daughter!

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

2011-10-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about pumpkins is carving them so that you can make toasted pumpkin seeds!
Here is a yummy & easy pumpkin seed recipe for you to try out!
Here is what you need:
Pumpkins, Vegetable Oil (or Olive Oil) & Salt (I use Sea Salt)

Scoop the seeds out of your pumpkins:

Do not wash the seeds. It is good to have some of the orange stuff on the seeds!
Hollow that pumpkin out!
For every 2 cups of seeds, use 2 tbsp. vegetable oil and 1.5 tsp. salt.

Combine oil, seeds & salt in a bowl.

Spread out seeds on a cookie sheet.

Bake in a 250 degree oven for about 1 hour (or until seeds are dry, so maybe a little longer)

Yummy, Toasty Pumpkin Seeds.

After they are cooled, I store them in an airtight container.
They are such a fun snack. Even my girls like them.

So, when you are carving your pumpkins this week, be sure and save the seeds so you can make homemade toasted pumpkin seeds!

Also, I had an idea after I read some of the comments on the For the Win post yesterday.
It was so fun looking back at the past few weeks and remembering the big (& little) things that made me smile & exclaim, For the Win!
I am thinking maybe I will do a once a month FTW link up so that others can join in the For the Win fun! Maybe the last day of each month, so that you can look back on the month & post about things that made you say FTW! (It's just so fun to say!)
What do you guys think? Yay or Nay to a For the Win link up?

Think about it as you make some pumpkin seeds :)