Sunday Sweets: Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the best Dad in the whole wide world! <3 p="">

Pretty Pillows

Over the past several months we have been slowly collecting things for our new little apartment to make it feel more like "Home Sweet Home." Since we are of course your typical newly-wed-struggling-college-students, many of our additions come courtesy of DI and/or homemade. After we found our lovely little couch at DI, my younger brother decided it needed some pillows and was kind enough to purchase some for me (also from DI, we're big fans if you couldn't tell). I dug through my fabric bins to find some home decor fabric and I got right to work on recovering my new pillows!

The first pillow was tricky, as I attempted to recreate "The Easiest Pillow Cover Ever" that I have seen floating around Pinterest, but sadly for me it wasn't so easy... Here's what it's supposed to look like:

However, in retrospect, I think my decorator fabric was much to thick for this particular design, no matter how hard I tried to tie that blasted knot. I gave up and just bunched the fabric together in an effort to strangle the pillow, and one of those miraculous "happy accidents" of creating happened--it actually looked really good like that! So I quickly grabbed a needle and thread and tacked the fabric all around to create a lovely little flower!

For the remaining two pillows I kept it simple, although I did end use extra fabric from the first pillow and made matching piping. The best part was that I made one of these pillows completely wrong-side out, but didn't notice until I was totally finished and admiring them on the couch! I was so bummed out, and probably would have just left it that way, but since it didn't match its twin I had to fix it (my perfectionist gene). In the end though, I am quite pleased with the result:

Home Sweet Home! :)

Oh, and of course I can't forget to mention, my brother actually got me FOUR pillows, but I just couldn't recover the last one--it is perfect just the way it is. ;)

Dabbles with Flowers

Back in high school I was the very proud president of our school FFA! (Future Farmers of America, in case you didn't know) Yes, I still have the jacket and everything--one of these days I will have to pull it out for Halloween of something. :) Anyway... what actually got me into the FFA was my wonderful Floral Design teacher, Charles Bigo--that was by far my favorite class! We made all sorts of arrangements for holidays, weddings, or just for fun. I did the flowers for my sisters' wedding a few years back, as well as the flowers for my own wedding--while I don't do flowers all that often these days, it's still one of my favorite things to do. Fortunately, I have had a younger brother or two in high school the past few years, so when Prom or Homecoming comes around, I get to reminisce and get back to work! :)

This year for Prom, my instructions for the floral wristlet were simply: "Her dress is sky blue with silver accents." Not many flower options to match that description, but I took the challenge and was quite pleased to find that the local flower shop had some absolutely STUNNING orchids, and having never worked with orchids I just had to give it a try.

My little brother, all grown up! :)

Christmas catch-up--back online! :)

It's been such a LONG time! For the fourth time since we've been married (which has only been about a year and a half), we moved AGAIN! Haha, this time, however, we plan on staying for at least an entire year--for which I am EXTREMELY happy about. :) 

Anyway, because of our move and financial reasons, we have been without internet since October! I didn't think it would be such a big deal--I mean, I grew up without internet, I don't NEED it, right? However, turns out that these days internet is rather necessary in our lives, and at the very least, it is extremely helpful to have. We have been holding out for free internet from Google Fiber (we see the trucks around town all the time!), but they have yet to make an appearance at our apartment complex, so this past week we re-budgeted and made some changes, and now we're finally online! :)

Okay, so after that long explanation (and partial venting on my part, haha), time for a little look at Christmas this past year!

Having our very own apartment this year, you know I was SUPER excited to decorate! I mean, decorating is at least half the fun of Christmas, right?? ;)

Our lovely little sparkly tree:

The weekend before Christmas my husband got SUPER sick, which is very unusual for him, and had to stay in bed all day. I still had some ornaments to finish from a Relief Society crafting activity I had attended with my mother (and of course I didn't actually finish the projects during the activity--haha, I never do!), so I stayed with him and worked on my ornaments. If not for 12+ hours of nothing else to do, I'm not sure I couldn't have gotten them done--thank goodness for silver linings! ;) 

And, funny story, at the time I bought my Christmas tree several years ago, I also bought several things to put together a matching Christmas wreath. Sadly though, I never got around to making it, and had all but given up on the endeavor. This year, however, I decided it was time--I started working on it early in December, but admittedly didn't finish until just a few days before Christmas--but I did finish! (I'm like Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, I can't NOT finish things, even if it takes me a few years :P)

Along with our tree and Christmas wreath, we continued our tradition (well, decided it would be our tradition now, haha) of getting a new nativity for our collection. Throughout the years I have collected a few nativities from around the world (we love exploring the different cultures). 

My mini-nativity from Mexico (this one fits in the palm of your hand!):

Olive wood from Israel:

Hand-painted from Mexico:

 Last year my husband and I were pursuing at Deseret Book and fell in love with this strange little Celtic Nativity, as well as an Eskimo Nativity; we couldn't afford to get both, so we drew straws and the Celtic won (remind you of FROZEN?):

But this year I finally got to go back and get the Eskimo one! (I have been waiting all year for this).

And now, last but not least, my FAVORITE Christmas decorations from this past year--stockings that my mother MADE for us! Aren't they so beautiful?? They even have our names embroidered on them--I have the best mom in the world! :)

On Christmas morning, Vera was the first to find her gifts under the Christmas tree--and didn't let them out of her sight the rest of the day!

Happy Birthday Vera!

Three years ago today, I was living it up in London Town--but back home, my sweet little girl was coming into the world--and what would I do without my sweet little companion?! :)

Mama and Baby:

 Since Vera was the only surviving pup (her little brother died that same week), she was afforded a LOT of milk to drink, compliments of a very loving Mama--thus, she was a very healthy, rolly polly puppy! :)

She was SO little:

When I finally got to meet Vera for the first time, she'd grown quite a bit--but was still just as cute as ever! :)

When I got married last year, Vera came with--and my Hubby came to love her just as much as I do! :)

A now she's three years old, and still my bestest little friend and companion ever--Happy Birthday Little Vera Girl! :)

"A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME UNTIL IT HAS A DOG." ~Gerald Durrell

My New Nephew!

I'm an auntie once again--this time it's a little boy! This is my new little nephew, Isaac, born early yesterday morning:

Below I've included a picture of my niece, Heather, when she was born--Isaac looks a little bit like his big sister, don't you think? :)

What I Wore: Mother's Day Edition

A few years back she went crazy for Christmas, designing and making me SEVERAL beautiful ensembles (all my favorite items in my closet!) So, in honor of my ridiculously amazing mother, I wore one of her creations for Mother's Day:

Perfect for a bright and beautiful Mother's Day! :)

Mother's Day

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I am so grateful for a mother who did just that! As I've been working on my own home and new family with my husband, I realize more and more every single day just how much my mother did for me--nothing less than amazing! If there's one thing that stands out the most, especially lately after moving again, I realize how grateful I am for the home that she created for us; our house was never just a house, it was a HOME--a refuge of safety and security where we could always come home to and know that no matter what, we were loved. As I create my own home now, I realize that not everyone has been blessed with such a place, and many do not know the beauty of having more than just a house, or apartment, or place of residence--the beauty and blessing of having a HOME. What my mother did for me has influenced my life far above anything else; I know that I am who I am today because of what my mother has done for me and continues to do for me--She defeinitely made our house into a home every single day, and it's made ALL the difference in my life--I love you Mama!! <3 nbsp="" p="">

Take 39

This past month was my Grandpa's Birthday, and we were very blessed to have many members of our extended family who were excited to throw a celebration for him. They even gave the party a theme (which you know I just love), AT THE MOVIES, and my talented mother made my Grandpa a birthday cake and cupcakes:

 

I personally loved the popcorn ones--not only cute, but extremely tasty!

She didn't stop there--butter-cream, marshmallows, fondant, shimmer dust, modeling chocolate, 3D wires--it was amazing!

"Take 39"--since I can remember when asked of his age, my Grandpa always replies that he is 39 years old. :) Well, regardless of what his "physical" age may be, I support that at heart (and in action--he has more energy than I do some days!) he truly is still only 39 years young. :)

Happy Birthday Grandpa! :)

What I've Been Up To As Of Late...

Hey guys! So, I've been MIA for quite a while... and will be for another 2-3 weeks I think... but after that I am back and ready to party! So for those interested in the reasons for my absence, here you go:

Haha, I'm getting married! Yup, unbelievable, but true--best Christmas present EVER! Can't beat that. ;)

It's going to be fabulous--not only is my sweetheart so completely my other half (cheesy, but SOOOO true--let's face it, he's PERFECT for me), but my mom is making my wedding dress (finished today--it's her Sistine Chapel for sure!), my sister and I are making the bridesmaids dresses, and between myself and my family we're doing the decorations, flowers, refreshments, and cake--DIY wedding on a budget, but most definitely not cutting corners on style and beauty. Let's just say I'm super excited to celebrate my happily ever after. :)

Christmas Memories

I was very blessed to grow up in my Great-Grandma's home and live under the legacy of one very AMAZING woman. Many stories circulate around her life, including memories of how she painted her front window every Christmas--every Christmas was a different depiction surrounding the nativity, and each one was as beautiful as the one before it. My Grandpa asked me to paint the window this year, and I was super excited yet rather terrified--how could I live up to such a legacy? But, let's face it--I'll do anything for my Grandpa. <3 So this week I went to work...

and after three days of painting (that window was a little bigger than I anticipated), I finished! Now, I know it's not the masterpiece my Great-Grandma could produce, but I have a few years to catch up. :) For this year, here it is!

and yes, I acknowledge the pumpkins lining the stairs to the door--we are quite festive at my house. :)

and.... at night time!

Let the Christmas Season begin! :)

Hell and Back

I know it's been a while, but I still have a few of my favorite pictures from Michigan to blog about, so here we go:

So, while I was visiting my sister in Michigan a few weeks back, we decided one day that it was time to fulfill the saying and take a trip to Hell and back--literally!

Did you know that there is a town called Hell, Michigan? Seriously, there really is--and they play it up with a lot of fun, too. Apparently on Saturdays during October they have Halloween parades and parties galore, but since we went on a very cold and rainy weekday, not so much--but still a lot of fun.

And yes, we took the little one to Hell as well. :)

So, Hell is a funny little place, full of kitsch culture and whatnot--I totally felt like I had fallen into a colorful Scooby Doo Mystery.

The gift shop, Hell in a Handbasket, also has a post office inside, so OF COURSE I had to send my family a post card from Hell--I mean, how often can you do that?? Greeting from Hell--couldn't pass that one up. I chose the one with Hell's Chapel on the front (I totally want to come back and have my wedding here):

Ooh, and we can't forget the best part! I wrote out my postcard and handed it to the guy behind the counter, who then put an official US Stamp and postmarked it and everything, and then stamped it with a signature stamp from Hell, then started digging around in the drawers and cupboards looking for something. I had already paid and was feeling awkward just standing there waiting, so I was about to ask if I was done and could go, but then he finally found what he had been looking for: a tall, dark, blood red, spooky looking candlestick. He lit the wick and a puff of black smoke emerged (perfect for Halloween, right?). Then he took my postcard and held it up to the candle--it didn't appear to be doing anything (it's a postcard after all, not that easy to burn), but he was very careful and intent about it all. Suddenly he blew out the candle and showed me the postcard--the side with the picture was untouched, but the side with my writing was covered in black scorch marks (totally looked like black flames licking up the side of the postcard). IT WAS AMAZING! Best part of the whole trip. :)