Tuesday, April 27, 2010

a new member

A few weeks ago (3 to be exact) we invited a little girl to come and be a part of our family.
Her name is Lilly, and she's six years old.
She's got big brown eyes and 4 legs. :)



Isn't she cute?




Sorry for the blur, but it's too cute.

Miss Lilly is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
I've been smitten with corgi's ever since my
momma read me this book at the tender age of 5;
Little Dog Lost by Rene Guillot and illustrated by Wallace Tripp
I fell for them even more after I started reading
Alicia Paulson's blog and her chronicles of the life of Audrey
and then their new puppy, Clover Meadow.
I remember thinking, "Jesus, I really want one of those."
But after researching breeders I knew that it would
never happen.
But the urge for a doggy friend was still pretty strong
and we've been fighting it for about a year now,
seriously, it's very much like baby fever.
(try having baby fever and puppy fever at the same time!
Not pretty my friends, not pretty at all.)
I've been keeping an eye on Craigslist
for a few weeks and talked to quite a few people
but the only free dogs that were older than
2years old were labs or pit bulls.
We definitely weren't interested in pit bulls
and we've done the lab thing before
and we didn't think we wanted to do that again.
And then one day, out of the blue
there was an ad for a 6 year old female corgi.
With a sweet disposition, free to a good home,
and 6 hours of free training to boot if you wanted it.
I emailed right away and called the next morning.

3 weeks later, after several meetings
and lots of "talking it over"
Lilly came to stay permanently.
And our family is so happily in-love
with her foxy little face, bat radar ears and sweet smile.
I won't tell you all the nicknames she has
(Mike has some not so sweet ones for her)
but the most common is "Lilly girl"
Both of the girls call her that always.
And Olivia is her human
without a doubt
head over heels
make no mistake about it.
It was fast,
almost instantaneous.
It was beautiful to see.
And we are so happy to have a new member of our family.



Now we just need to work on the baby fever part. ;)



Monday, April 26, 2010

Little corners

Several weeks ago our realtor suggested that we repaint our cozy colorful home in a neutral shade. Talk about a hard decision to make! I'm definitely a fan of color and I have enjoyed my Tiffany blue living room (and bedroom) and my lavender kitchen. But, after multiple comments from other realtors about our {my} paint choices, we decided to make a change and pray that it gets us out the door and further towards our dreams. My sweet parents decided to come and visit us for a few days and help us get the house repainted. The day before they came, I wandered around the downstairs and took pictures of the favorite spots where my eyes would land throughout my day, spots of color and life. I wanted a reminder, however small, of my home the way it was. I thought I would share with you as well.


hand-painted jade egg from my grandmother's
mission trip to China
and a vintage plate


birdie statues and a {very} small stack
of favorite children's books


an old vintage lawn chair and
pink painted sap bucket


an birthday gift from sweet friend,
filled with the dried birthday bouquet
from my sweet husband


the "welcome" sign on our guest powder room


thrifting treasures hung on the wall


I love the yellow and green against the blue


my grandmother's sugar bowl
and a vintage plate
and part of a vintage crystal creamer and sugar set
all set on a shelf in my dining area


more plates on the same shelf


a hand made glass friendship ball that hung from the shelf

~~~~~

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not sitting around feeling sorry for myself in my big old neutral-colored cream painted house (well, maybe a smidgen, but that's all! I promise.) I'm having a little fun with it, trying some new patterns and mixing things up a bit (did you just hear my husband groan from the other room??) because I don't have to worry about something not working with the wall color, etc, etc. It's new and interesting and it presents a challenge to me, which I like.
Though I still miss those Tiffany blue walls...
Praying it's temporary and being positive and creative, that's my goal!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Love videos

During some of my blog walking/Facebooking/Tumblring escapades yesterday, I ran across some very delightful videos, some new to me music (now playing at the top of my playlist player) and meet some new (very delightful) people. I thought I would share a bit of the sweetness with you.

How cute is this couple? Make me want to grab Mike and smooch him and then go on a date with him. :)


Amy & Dan Engagement Film from IRIS AND LIGHT on Vimeo.

I found the video from this blog (Hi Sheena!), to this blog, and finally to Vimeo it's self.

And then I found this one on Tara Whitney's blog. It's a family one and oh, such a good reminder to make life sweet and do fun stuff with your kids.


Zawadzki Family Film from Michel Sandy on Vimeo.


Some day, I would love to do this. But, until then I will enjoy watching everyone else's. :)

Friday, March 26, 2010

Some days

Some days, it's all in the process. Doesn't always matter what the end result "is," just that there was a process.

Soften the butter
cream it with sugar
taste it
add the eggs
add the flour
and the milk
mix it well



spoon it into muffins cups lined in shiny silver
bake it
check it
bake it some more
cooling time

soften more butter
add some sugar
and homemade vanilla,
cocoa powder,
the darker the better
milk
blend
yum
3 girls fighting over who gets to like the 2 beaters
one settles for the spoon and spatula

yummy
delicious
good-looking
cupcakes
all in a row
on a white platter
set on a counter,
just to look at and admire
maybe a bit torturous to small ones,
but oh well
it made my day

some days it's the process and not the end result
that makes you smile
{but the end result was pretty sweet too, no?}

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

West Coast trip Take 2




the food
oh, the food


We nearly drowned in delicious
yummy over-the-top meals

Every table setting for breakfast and lunch
was beautiful.
Candles in jars,
flowers in glasses,
napkins, a candy bar,
little boxes of sweet words
of encouragement and love,
desserts,
fruit, fruit, and more fruit
Salads and cookies
lots of giggling
a little glass that kept being passed
full of slips of paper,
each one funnier than the last
a pause to say
"thank you Jesus
for bringing us all together"
lots of food photography

See what I mean?
(and do you see Nikki's legs stand on the window seat
taking pictures too?)


the hysterical game of "randoms"
some of us got quite tickled

dessert!

Our beautiful cooks, Dawna, Katie, and Nikki
and their meal below.


the candy bar
comprised of all of our favorite candies

the chocolate covered gummy bears that
our west coast girls are always raving about

oh so yummy
I was so busy enjoying the food I think
I forgot to talk during the meal

Yummy breakfast spearheaded by Courtney.
Some very funny quotes came about because
of the amazing strata.
And Andi's now-famous zucchini muffins.
I think I ate 4 of them.
I wish I could post the pictures of all of us
sitting around the table sharing this breakfast
but we made a promise to not share
no-makeup hair-not-fixed, tired, no-bra
pictures on blogs and FB.
It is one of my favorites though.
Heart you girls!


Our beautiful last dessert
fixed by Dawna and Katie.
A traditional Aussie pavlova with fruit.
It was divine and will probably
become one of our favorite summer standby's.

 
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