Painting Pa-weese

Marin was given an art set for her birthday. She asks to paint weekly. Here are photos of her from Friday morning.

Chocolate-Strawberry Thumbprints

Made these Chocolate-Strawberry Thumbprint cookies for the Bridal Shower. Yum! But the strawberries looked like tomatoes to me (tee hee hee). In the future, I think I'll try blueberries or maybe cherries. Despite the topping confusion, aren't they pretty?

Bridal Shower {Nest Is Feathered}

I have trouble sleeping. So most evenings, I doodle. I think. I sketch…especially when I can’t sleep. Above is my “sketch” for the Bridal Shower I helped my sister-n-law Christy coordinate.

Remember the boxed, bird nest invitations? The shower for Kabe and Chelsea was on Sunday. Here are photos showing my favorite elements from the evening. The theme was “Feather Their Nest.” The color pallet was natural “tree/limb” inspired colors with tiny splashes of turquoise and red (their wedding colors).

It was so much fun working with Christy and Kevin. Their food is always beautiful AND tasty. The barn wood bird houses and ostrich eggs were perfect accent elements that really added to the look and feel of the event.

Based on the theme of preparing their new home, we created personalized yellow pages based on referrals from fellow church goers. The little love birds from the invitations were enlarged and each bird posed a potential “home issue.” For example: garage door service, electrical work and lawnmower sales. We asked members of the congregation to write down names and phone numbers for local businesses they’d recommend. People offered lots of advice and everyone enjoyed perusing the referrals for their own needs. I was curious about pest control and window washing referrals! Have a couple names now, so, that’s nice!

Once the little birds were written on, they were placed on the trees or on the clothes lines with tiny wooden clothes pins. Note the tiny, blue paper flower that Kevin made…beautiful! Thank you, Kevin and Christy for letting me be a part of the fun event.

HOUSEwork

What a wonderful, busy week! Steven was on kelly break so I used some sick time and worked half days Tuesday-Friday. We took advantage of the time off and worked non stop from one in the afternoon until 8 or 9 p.m. every night. We accomplished so much on the house and really had fun.

Found these tiny pieces of old wall paper on the wall in the master bathroom. That's just one thing I love about old house living. The little treasures, waiting to be discovered. Tiny pieces of the past popping up. I'm excited because I think the colors and design in this wall paper will be wonderful inspiration for the bathroom decor. The wall the paper was attached too will be left exposed. I wanted to remember what's behind new sheetrock walls and enjoy the beauty of the wood. Part of my work this week was to clean the wall and add urethane. It turned out beautiful! I'm really excited about the texture it adds to the bathroom. Don't you L-O-V-E that old light fixture. Original to the house, rewired and touched up by yours truly. (My dream job: light restoration)

Steven built solid wood, custom cabinets for our closets. The last few items to complete the project are the seven, solid wood drawers. Here he is testing the size. His work is beautiful and precise. I'm super proud of the shelving and can't WAIT to use all of the space in these wonderful closets!

OUCH! Biggest splinter ever (Steven's hand).

Remember father's day? Well here is the next stage. The plumbers did their part (note the pipes near the bottom). We did ours this weekend. Removed the old siding. Insulated the walls. Hung new siding. Below is the first stage. I'll post picture of the final product later. Once we finish our part the plumbers will be back to install the tankless water heater. Little by little!

So Long Sarah {We Miss You Already!}

Sarah, does NOT like having her picture taken. I've never seen anything like it. She won't look at the camera! It's like she's on the FBIs most wanted list and refuses to be captured on film. But I found her weak spot. PROPS!!!! Give her something to be silly with and she shines. Not surprising. Fun + Silly = Sarah.

Our Sarah left for Peru yesterday. I know Joshua's heart it aching....hers too. A year and a half must feel like a century to them right now, but the scary thing is a year and a half goes by so much faster as you age. Time will fly...I promise.

Until then, Sarah, be safe, have fun (call Joshua often) and come home full of energy, love and stories of adventure.

Wedding Invitations {Kyle & Elizabeth}

My sister is getting married...

Most days, for me, it doesn't feel real. I'm sure to her it does. With only a month left she is feeling the stress.

She and her fiancé Kyle asked me to design their wedding invitations. Above is their one-of-a-kind, custom printed wedding invitation. They are planning a small, close knit wedding with primarily family and close friends and we are all super excited!!!! I wanted to be sure to include a picture of them on the invitations, their faces can't hide the love they have for each other. To watch them interact is the best way to see their chemistry. Both of them are so excited about this new stage of life...and so are we.

Hurricane Grilled Peaches

I’ve noticed that peaches are abundantly available lately, and since we are currently IN hurricane season, I thought I’d share this recipe for Hurricane Grilled Peaches. Why hurricane? Well, it was during the hurricane that hit in September 2008, that I was first introduced to Grilled Peaches, so adding Hurricane to the front just seemes natural. No natural disaster required to cook these. Enjoy!

Hurricane Grilled Peaches

Ingredients:
Large peaches (apples or pears)
Stick of butter
Cinnamon
Heavy-duty aluminum foil

Directions:

Wash peaches; cut them in half and remove the pit.
Place one pat of butter on each peach half.
Sprinkle the tops with a generous amount of cinnamon.
Neatly wrap each peach half in individual sheets of aluminum foil sealing the edges so that the steam is trapped inside.
Place on the upper shelf of a gas grill set on medium heat and cook for 30 minutes.

Topping Options
Scoop of vanilla ice cream
Ready-whip canned whipped topping
Chopped pecans or walnuts