I'm Trendy!

A few years ago I found this trunk in my grandmother's
basement. It belonged to my Uncle Robert, who
died before I could meet him. His son, who is my dear
cousin Dennis, told me I could have the trunk. It must be over 50 years old.

It's dented, scratched and not in perfect condition...
but that's what makes it interesting.

I was excited when I opened up this season's
Pottery Barn catalog.

It looks like old (faux) looking trunks are in!

For once, something in my home is "trendy"!

Busy, but Blessed!

Hello! I'm back.
It's so hard to for me to find time to post these days!
It kinda bums me out...'cause I barely have time to catch up on
other people's blogs as well.

I guess I should look at it as a Blessing. It's a blessing that
my life is so full.

Full of:
a secure job,
kids,
a husband,
church,
friends,
small group,
music lessons,
tutors,
birthday celebrations,
bridal shower,
youth group benefit dinner
quiet times,
running a household,
etc. etc. etc...

Yes, thank you God for my full life!

Here's something else I'm thanking God for these days.
I finally got to say good-bye to my old friend
Mr. 17-Year-Old-G.E.-Super Noisy-I-Was-Waiting-4-U-2-Die-Dishwasher.
He served us well, and is now resting in peace somewhere...perhaps
hanging out with the Brave Little Toaster.

Now say Hello to Mr. Shiny-Energy Efficient-Super-Quiet-Whirlpool-Dishwasher!

Can I sing to you? "You are soo beautiful...to me!"

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

My sister always brings the yummiest looking cakes for my dad's birthday.
Maybe you remember this one from last year.

This gorgeous Tiramisu cake was picked out my niece, Amanda, from
Whole Foods Market.
Amanda is their newest cashier in the Santa Cruz store!

Doesn't it look Luscious? It was so yummy and healthy too!

Here's our septuagenarian and all his grandbabies.

My two babies are the tall boy in the brown shirt and the girl in the navy blue.

The three girl cousins: Tara, Summer and Amanda.
Aren't those Eurasian features so gorgeous {if I do say so myself!} ?

Swap Stuff for Marci

Now it's finally safe to show you what I sent my Easter Mini Swap partner,

Marci @ All Things Wonderful.
Marci has an adorable blog and even more adorable kiddoes.
Marci makes cute things with scrapbook paper and she likes to write about fashion.
Go check her blog out when you get a chance!

Here's the loot I sent Marci!
This being my first swap I wasn't sure what to send, but the
swap questionnaire Emilie had us fill out helped a lot.

I LOVE these mini Easter baskets. When I saw them I knew I had to decorate them for her little boy and girl.

Marci said she liked light blue and brown, so I made her a
family sillouette and added their last name initial.

Here are a few of the many eggs my daughter and I decorated for her.
I bought them already glittered, and then just added the trimmings.
Purty cute, eh?

I also threw in some chocolate {who can go wrong with chocolate?},
birdie post-it notes {everyone need cute post-it notes!}, and an extra bunny
cake mold that I never used. Hope Marci has fun making
bunny cakes for her kiddoes.
And last, but not least...a little
sign to remember what the season is all about!

You can also check out everything I sent her at Marci's blog.
I'm so glad you liked everything Marci...I had a blast!

Have a Blessed Easter

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it
is the Gift of God."
Ephesians 2:8

More Mis-treatin' in the Bathroom

I've been back at work now for a week and a half
so I haven't been able to post as frequently...

but here is a little project I worked on while on my 2 week break:

Remember these windows in my re-done master bath?
There's another pair in the opposite corner.

I finally got around to mis-treating them with one of these:

It was a pre-made curtain that I found a Walmart.
I just cut it into 4 sections, ironed down the edges, and then glue-gunned
them down! As the "Daughter of an Artist" who happens to
be a master of all things sewn...I'm ashamed to say that
I didn't inherit any of that sewing talent!!!

So the glue gun has become my bestfriend!

Then I simply tacked up the curtains with furniture tacks!

How does it look? Not bad, huh?

If you hang them much higher than the actual window
then it looks better.

And it makes you think the windows are taller than they really are!
I "dressed" 4 windows for only $14.00!

My First Swap!

For the first time ever I participated in a SWAP!
It was Emilie's Easter Mini Swap.
I admit, I was a little nervous about doing this...
'cause I didn't know if my partner would like what I send her,
and would I like what I got- or just pretend like I did??

Well, I can honestly day that I LOVE
everything that Marci @ All Things Wonderful sent me!

Isn't this a darling frame she made?
Hard to see here, but it's painted a very soft yellow and white.
Love the flower touch- soo cute!

And lookee here! Marci how'd you know I love beaded
bracelet sets like this? I already have a purple set and a dark-blue set.
I immediately put these on and wore them all day!

Okay, we're definitely on the same page, 'cause I sent her some Reese's too!

She also sent me some True Shimmer Botanical Berry Chapstick. Can't wait to use that!
Everything was all packed cute in pink Easter grass and striped tissue paper...it's so fun to get surprises!

I think my new frame will look good here for now amongst some of my Easter decor. It looks good even without something in the frame!
Thanks Marci!
You made my first swap experience a good one!

{I will be posting what I sent to Marci, but I want to wait
until she receives the package so I dont' spoil the surprise. Hope she likes it!}

Sweet Cousin Love

Over our Spring break we had some family visit
from Washington state.
My brother and sister-in-law and their 3 little ones:
Jonah, Sarah and Brenna came to visit for a week. We all went to the Micke's Grove Zoo. My MIL and baby niece, Kalie came too.

The cousin's ages range from 14 years down to 1 yr. old, but they got along wonderfully! There's my teenage boy taking his baby cousin down the slide- What a trooper!

Here's the twins- Jonah & Sarah, their little sis- Brenna, and cousin Baby Kalie
straddling Mr. Turtle. {I think every kid who's ever gone to Micke Grove Zoo has a picture of them atop Mr. Turtle!}

Here's Zach, Summer and Jonah monkeying around!

How fun it was to visit with our cousins who live so far away...
We won't see them again for a long while, and they'll probably grow a foot taller by the time we see them again!