Madeline Belle

We took Christmas pics this weekend.  Grandpa helped Mimi put on her shoes and she fell in love with my moms Christmas teddy bear.  She is sitting in front of our Swedish Christmas tree.

Aren't these the cutest booties ever!? Awww....I think I may have to buy these from Etsy. Wait, they're $29. Hmmm, maybe not. :) But they are cute to look at!

My Next Project

This is my next project after the Holidays are over (and so is morning sickness and exhaustion...well, I am still waiting for the morning sickness to really hit). I have been off the radar for a while, I just can't seem to get up enough energy to do...well, anything. :) Oh well, it's all for a good cause.

Cereal box turkeys! I think these are so cute and a fun idea for the older kids.

I love how heroic Max looks in that picture, like he is raising his light saber for a cause. HA! Love these kids!

The Bridesmaids

Rozlynn's Wedding

Yeah...seriously CUTE. Some people are so talented and I am an admirer of that talent and creativity. So props to you NUTMEG BOUTIQUE!

I know this seems a bit trivial after my last post...I think these booties are so adorable. They are from a cute blog I watch called BOUTIQUE NUTMEG, and these sure are pretty with bright fun fabrics!

The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo

I am writing in the wee hours in the morning because I have been glued to the TV watching a documentary on the violence towards women in the Congo called THE GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO.  I strongly feel that every woman should watch this, although it is graphic and disturbing.  But somehow I felt that I had to watch it, if not to pay some respect to the women who were brave enough to acknowledge what had happened to them.   

I know Opera did a special on this a couple of years ago, but I had never seen the film before this evening.  Powerful and something I will always remember, the faces of those women.

Gorsuch Children's clothing...love it!

I LOVE this style...why oh why?  The jacket only costs $1,300.  I know, I know mere pennys.  But why can't I fall in love with Wal-mart clothing or JC Penny clothing?  This is another one of those magazines I get in the mail that I am completely baffled about why I get it.  It is from the catalog Gorsuch and it's fun to look at.  I feel classier after flipping through the pages...then I look in the mirror and think hum, I should probably comb my hair sometime today.

I have just opened up a whole new door of projects into my world with Mod Podge!  Now you veterans of crafts may think...yeah, so.  Well, I have just discovered it.  I found this really cool dresser that someone restored using a funky print craft paper.  They glued it on the top and then added Mod Podge to seal it on there!  Wow, it's magic!

Projects

I found this really cute print online, now what to do with it?  I decided today that I love the idea of creating projects and I have so many fun ideas inside my head...but with two little and very energetic children and small living spaces I never get around to actually finishing them, and it is very frustrating.  

Today my sweet husband saw my stress and frustration and took the kids to the park so I could unwind and make sense of my Christmas projects (chaos).  It was nice and of course the kids had fun with dad and came home to a more put together relaxed mom.  

I think the moral of this picture is "always be prepared". You never know when you may need your brother's plastic Ninja sword in the middle of the night, so it would be safe to just sleep with one hand on it. hee-hee

My Chubby Pumpkin

This was Max's first Halloween and he was 9 months old. I'll never forget how adorable and jolly he looked in this costume. Don't tell my husband, but I am getting baby hungry again! But with Max and Maddie's energy I can hold off a little longer. :)

clothes I love, but can't afford

For some reason I get this catalog in the mail. I love it, don't get me wrong, but the price tag is a little too high for me (although they are having a great sale right now). I look at it anyway, because I am under the philosophy that one day I will be able to afford it and when that day comes I want to know where to find the finer things in life.

P.S. if you like shoes you'll have to look at the little girl clogs. I especially love the red ones.

www.hannaandersson.com

bizzybee creations stationary

In my boutique-ing days I had the opportunity to meet a girl named Emily who's booth was always next to mine.  She designs the most adorable stationary.  Here is one of her many simple yet affordable creations.  When you order her stationary you can customize it or leave it blank.  For more of her designs go to bizzybeecreations.net.  

First Snow!

We had our first snow last Friday! Max was so excited that he took Mimi outside with him and they had a snowball fight! :) I guess it's time to get some Winter gear!

Falling leaves

I love the Fall season. We have a huge Maple tree outside and just before Halloween all the leaves fell off. Steve went out with my "masters of destruction" and played in the leaves. love how angelic she looks here, if only she were always this sweet and calm...

Apple Farm

Some of my friends from SLC drove an hour and a half to pick apples and lavender!  I was so impressed that they actually came, that's a long way to drive with little kids.  But it was so much fun to have them there and Max and Madeline were so excited to have friends to play with.

Homemade Apple Pie in a Jar

Last week my friend Renee and her daughters came over to our house and we spent 5 hours making 18 bottles of apple pie in a jar. These bottles contain the most delicious, delectable apple pie filling you will ever taste! Made from my parents vintage Jonathan Apples.

Yum...Publish Post

Sunflower Wreath

Here is a sunflower wreath I made at my moms house. I used a medium size twig wreath, about 60 sunflower heads and wire. Et Voila! It took about an hour. I was amazed by how beautiful it looked, so I made another and hung it on the door next to this one. This was one of those moments when I stepped back and wanted to call myself Martha.

Turquoise & Coral

Here is yet another necklace and bracelet! I actually love these colors together. I think red is one of the best accent colors. It adds a bit of richness and class. Ha! Just my opinion...which is worth about 2 cents. ;)

Opals & Copper

This is a necklace I made during my necklace-making rampage. ;) I want to buy more beads but I have decided to exercise some self control and will not buy any more until I have made jewelry out of the stuff I have.

So here is one of 7 necklaces and about 10 bracelets I've made in the last week. These beads are opal and the pendant is a sort of copper/brass mix and handed down from my Great Grandmother.

Swoozies

I love this store! I first saw it in a "Country

Living" magazine my mom had. They were advertising really cute ironing board covers. A few months later I had the opportunity to visit it while in Alabama with my sis. It is the cutest store, filled with many wonderful items to make life fun and you home beautiful.

These are silhouette plates, an artist actually draws a silhouette of your child and puts in on a plate! If only I had money to burn.

For more fun ideas you can go to www.swoozies.com

Okay, so after hours and hours of endless, monotonous searching on my beat up lap top I finally found a dress for Mimi. She is the youngest of 5 flower girls in Roz's wedding (the rest ranged in age from 5-14), so it was nearly impossible to find coordinating dresses for them all.

Who knows if this will match the other girls, but it will work. :)