Designer Get-Together!!

Last night we had a fun get-together with friends from school! It's hard to believe it's almost been a year since I graduated! There was an AIGA student portfolio review yesterday, so we had a "BYUI/Ricks College alum and current student" dinner. It was fun catching up with friends from school and seeing what everyone is up to! Julie (on the far left) is working at a scrapbook company and so is Natalie (in the middle) (Natalie was at CHA in Anaheim!), so it was fun talking about the current happenings in the scrapbook world! Bro. Burgener (in the middle) caught us up on everything that has gone on in the last year at school...it made me miss Rexburg! (If you've seen Project Runway, Bro. Burgener reminds me A LOT of Tim Gunn!) Heather (on the right) is working at a book publishing company and has designed several books that are at Seagull and Deseret Book! It's always fun when we get together! 

I love missionaries!

Funny story: Amy and I were coming home from running some errands, and the missionaries were walking through our parking lot, so we rolled down the window to say a friendly "hello." At the end of our little conversation, one of the elders hands me a piece of paper and says, " would it be ok if I give you our number?" I kind of looked at them a little confused, and then one of the elders awkwardly said, "Umm...if you think of anyone that we can share the gospel with, you can give us a call at this number." Amy and I just laughed.

Basic Dessert Crepe Recipe

This is possibly one of my favorite desserts! Now that strawberries are in season, I think I'll be having these more often! We had these for our dessert at our Easter get-together and they went over pretty well! You won't regret making these! Be careful though...it's hard to have just one!

Thanks mom for the amazing recipe! :)

Basic Dessert Crepes

Batter:

4 eggs

1 C flour

1/2 C milk

1/2 C water

1/2 tsp salt

2 T melted butter

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Mix well in blender. Pour about 1/3 cup batter into a 9" skillet and swirl around the pan until even. Cook til the edges start to pull away from the pan; flip. Cook 2nd side til golden. Don't worry...the first one doesn't usually turn out! Makes about 12 crepes.

Filling:

1 large package vanilla instant pudding

3 C half and half

1 tsp almond extract

Mix; fill crepes with filling. Top with fresh berries, chocolate, whipped cream, etc.

Enjoy!

Photo contest!!

Another contest, but this time it's Kelli's Happy Birthday Contest! Kelli recently returned from Paris, Africa and London and is giving away a matted 11x14 or 12x12 photo from her travels! To enter, simply comment on her blog and you're in the runnings for a chance to win! You'd better comment fast because it ends on the 27th! (That's in two days! Hurry!)

Click HERE to check out Kelli's blog, or click HERE to check out the official details on the contest!

And the winners are...

Marissa, Marshall and Karen!!! 

I decided that I wanted there to be 3 winners this year instead of just one, so I kept pulling names! Thanks for playing along! I loved reading about everyone's secret (or maybe not-so-secret...) Easter candy indulgences! I'm thinking that I'll have another contest/giveaway in the next few weeks, so keep posted!

Easter Candy GIVEAWAY!

This whole having Easter-in-March thing is really throwing me off! It just doesn't feel like it should be Easter yet!

What's your favorite Easter candy? I think mine is definitely just regular old jelly beans...specifically THESE ones! (Watch out for the spiced ones...those are kinda not good.) Tell me what your favorite Easter candy is, and you will be entered in my official 1st ANNUAL EASTER CANDY GIVEAWAY! No joke...I'll pick a winner on Sunday night and the winner will get a surprise!!!

Happy Good Friday!

post script: I hope you're not counting calories this Easter weekend, but if by chance you are, you might enjoy THIS little Newsweek article...it really keeps things in perspective! 

photo courtesy of newsweek.com

Welcome to my desk!

I was tagged by my friend, Lizzy House, and decided that I'd take a picture of my over-flowing desk and use some of the things found my desk to make a list of some things about me/things going on in my life right now! With that little intro...

1. On the wall on my left, I have notes pinned up from one of the last devotionals that I attended at BYU Idaho. My Stake President, President Foster, spoke at that devotional about keeping an eternal perspective and I've found myself referring back to these notes and the devotional transcript several times in the last few months. I specifically remember preparing myself spiritually for this devotional, realizing that it would be one of the last ones I would attend. In President Foster's talk, he shared 2 sure ways to stay close to the Lord. 1: Study the scriptures. Holding to the rod is a matter of life and spiritual death. 2: Be of service to others. It's what you do for others that defines who you are. Click here for a copy of the transcript! (Excellent Sunday afternoon reading!) (Like my note-taking style? It's kind of all over the place, but that's how I like it!)

2. On my computer screen, I'm visiting Heather Bailey's blog. LOVE her style! I find myself visiting her blog several times a week to get inspiration for projects I'm working on.

3. The pair of scissors hanging above my computer are officially my new *favorite* pair of scissors! I don't know why I get protective of my scissors, but I do! I got these scissors at CHA and had my name engraved in them, so now there's no questioning who's scissors these are!

4. The book on the right side is sitting on a large pile of papers...aka my 2007 tax stuff! I've been busy getting it all together and organized, out of the way and done for this year!

5. iTunes is currently playing "Someone Loved" by The Weepies. I'm currently enjoying this song...a lot.

6. The picture in the frame on the right side is a Mary Englebreit picture my mom framed for me...along the bottom it reads, "If you don't start, you won't arrive!" I keep this on my desk to constantly remind me that it's up to me to determine my future!

7. The lamp behind the picture is from IKEA...one of my favorite stores! I find that I like lamp light better than ceiling lights. This is a good little lamp for a good little price! $6.99!

My goal this weekend is to really get my room all organized, so hopefully by Saturday night, my desk will be all cleaned up! (We'll see if this really happens...)

One other thing I just wanted to mention that I'm really excited about--I talked to my mom on the phone today and she's coming out in May to visit!! I don't think I could be more excited! Mom's coming out for Women's Conference at BYU and staying a few extra days to play! It's hard sometimes not living by my parents, so it'll be fun to have her here for a little vacation!

It's what I do!

Just wanted to post some pics of some of the things I've done at work recently...I wish I had better pictures, but these kind of give you the idea of what I do all day!




We went on a litle "field trip" at work today to just kind of check things out at some different stores and see what's out there. One of the stops was a quilt shop where they had some of Heather Bailey's fabric...it's soo gorgeous!! Until recently, her work has only been in the fabric world, but she actually made her debut in Anaheim at CHA in the scrapbook world! I was soo excited to see some of her patterns in paper! Anyways, here's my little sneaky picture I took at the store of some of Heather's fabric. Go ahead and be excited about it!

'Member how it's already MARCH??

I switched my calendar over to March today...I have a sneaky little feeling that 2008 is going to go by f-a-s-t!

I received an email from a friend today that included my horoscope for 2008. Here's part of it:

"Grounded and practical Taurus will experience extra boosts of optimism and find time to bring creative projects to the forefront, this year. Your personal needs will be met the more you tune into your spiritual side, and your growth will be directly connected with your ability to accept your deep philosophical transformation. You will continue to work out how you can use your creative side to improve your finances."

I don't typically subscribe to believing in what horoscopes have to say, but found this one to be interesting! I've got a lot of work to do this year!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATIE!!

Happy Birthday to the bestest little 20 year old sister in the WHOLE world!!!

I was going through some pictures tonight and came across a *few* of Katie that you might enjoy. So pop some popcorn, get a drink and enjoy.

{...and you thought this picture was deleted...insert sneaky little laugh}

{Katie is AMAZING at making dessert...not always the prettiest thing in the world, but sure good!!}


{Katie is REALLY good at going cross-eyed while you're talking to her or while she's waiting for you to take a picture of her}


{Katie always knows how to laugh at herself in every situation!}


{Watch out. Katie + knives = not good situation}




{SISTERS!!}



Before Katie was born, everyone thought that she was going to be a he including the doctors...everyone except me. I knew I was going to have a little sister! I'm so glad that you're my sister!!
Love you! Happy Birthday!