Baby Evie

Miss Evie. Love this little babe. More often than not, she's got a smile on her face and is ready to play.

Trying to soak in as much time as possible with these little kiddos before they ship off to California! I might have shed a few tears just thinking about it. My brother-in-law has joined the Navy (yay!) and they'll all be heading out to Monterey by the end of the year (boo!). It still hasn't quite sunk in that come next year, they won't be a short ten minute drive away. It's just an excuse to head to the coast for vacation, right?

Dad officially retired a couple weeks ago, and the parentals have been back and forth between here and Houston a couple times in the last month or so, with one more trip planned at the end of the month. I couldn't be any happier for Dad! He's worked so hard, and I think he's rather liking the retirement lifestyle so far!

Life is busy. Life is good. Enjoying the last bits of summer.

Bubba Love.

Hi from Colorado :)

It's been a little while. Oops. Quick trip down to Grand Junction for the day for catalog press checks. Spending time at a press makes me remember when I worked in the bindery at Premier Graphics in Bellingham, Washington. I love the smell of fresh ink!

Katie dropped me off at the Provo airport this morning, and Bubba came running up and gave me a big hug and kiss before we took off. He knows the way to my heart! He is such a loving lil' guy and can't seem to get enough of his little sis, Evie. (He has been known to crawl into her crib at night just to snuggle up with her!) This pic was taken just a couple days after Evie was born--we were taking a bunch of newborn pics and Bubba couldn't miss out on the fun. Great smile, no? Classic Bubba face. Love this kiddo.

The last couple months have been a blur...a good kind of blur. Keeping busy with family (only 11 more wake-ups til Dad retires! Party!!) and friends and work. Stadium of Fire // Beach Boys concert: amazing!! Love them. Trips to Seven Peaks on Saturday mornings with Katie and Joe and the kiddos. Loving on Lizzy and Lucy, the parental's dogs who have temporarily made their home at Katie's place. Sound of Music at the Hale Center Theater. Keeping cool in all this 100* weather. Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days rodeo. Trips to the snowie shack for snow cones. Roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. Enjoying life.

new york

image via

It's been a good week. Finishing up a few last minute things (including brunch at Isabella's!) in the city and heading back home tonight. Highlights: getting caught in multiple downpours, Shake Shack, catching up with good friends, amazing food, staying with this lovely lady, birthday dinner and Just Dance, the National Stationery Show/Surtex, mastering the metro, the Manhattan Temple, window shopping, visiting The Met, and lots, lots more. It's been good.

Sweet Baby Evie

Sweet baby Evalyn Jayne, or Baby Evie for short. Gosh, I get kind of choked up thinking about this sweet little baby! She's pretty perfect. Time kind of stands still when I'm holding her. Evalyn is a special little name, and so is Jayne...names of some pretty special women in my life. How is it that a new baby can bring so much peace and evoke so much love?

It's been amazing watching her older siblings fall in love with her! Claire is a natural little mother to her, and Bubba is quite protective. The bow in the picture lasted for almost a week, til the Bubba-chub Monster decided she didn't need it any more!

Life sure is good.

Spring?

Woke up to snow this morning...after having 80* weather less than a week ago! Fingers crossed Spring shows her face sometime soon!

Oh...and pics of baby Evie (newest niece!!!) coming soon. She's pretty perfect.

Paper Love

12,000 pieces of construction paper can create quite an adorable music video! 

Song: Love Is Making Its Way Back Home

Artist: Josh Ritter

Signs of Spring

It's hard to believe it's the beginning of my fifth (fifth!) Spring season in Provo. Not quite sure where the time has gone. I love the transitions between seasons -- especially Winter to Spring.

I spotted some buds on the tree just outside my bedroom this afternoon, and it definitely brought mixed emotions. 99% excited for Spring, but 1% dreading the two weeks that it's going to smell like rotten fish around here. I wish the smell matched how pretty the trees are in bloom! Trickery, I tell ya.

It's Magic!

Cupcakes, available 24 hours a day?! Yes, please!!

Lately

loving: sunny saturdays, bike riding with the kiddos, longer days.
excited for: baby evie's arrival in a few short weeks! being an aunt is the best :)
sad: that my fave go-to, quick-fix photo editing program is closing.
made: banana bread. make it--you won't regret it. i just like the glazy-crusty-goodness.
listening to: bell and sebastian with a little captain & tennille mixed in.
enjoying: spring cleaning--at least getting a head start. getting rid of stuff feels good.

claire decided this weekend that we are officially "best buddies." we even have a song: you'll be in my heart by phil collins. sure love that kid ♥

Flashback

Twenty years later, and the glasses are back. Not a strong prescription, but enough to need 'em. Still figuring out if I like them or not. I think I need to do a little more shopping around to find some frames that I really love, but for now, these will work!

Ha.

Yes, that happened. Wacky Hat Wednesday at AC. When you show up to work without a wacky hat, you make do with what you have! Amy suggested ears, so we went with it! Courtney had cute little cat ears, and I had...mouse? bear? I don't know...cute, generic little ears. It worked. 

Thanks, Jen, for the pic :)

Inspiration: Alison Oliver

I've never really been a huge reader, but I love books -- especially children's books. I was at Barnes & Noble over the weekend and discovered the illustrations of Alison Oliver, and totally fell in love with her work! One of my favorite things about her style is the subtle use of pattern within the illustrations. So cute! I ended up adding Pride & Prejudice to my (small) book collection.

Totally unrelated, but I just finished watching Being Elmo on Netflix. Completely adorable, and totally worth watching. Enjoy :)

Sketch to Quilt

{Left: via Sarah Jane Studios blog. Right: via Cut to Pieces blog.}

How amazing is this??! It's no secret I love (LOVE!) fabric and quilts. Quilter-slash-artist, Angela Pingel, was inspired by a sketch my friend, Sarah Jane, included in a blog post, and created this amazing mini quilt. I n-e-e-d to learn more about raw edge quilting. So beautiful.

Oh, and the Heather Ross fabric in the heart thought bubble? Completely adorable.

Done Deal

Done and done. Birthday trip tickets are purchased. Couldn't be more excited!

Tea for Two

{Claire having a tea party with Pet Wock}

Claire is obsessed with rocks. A walk or bike ride is not complete until she's picked up at least a pocket-full of rocks.

I saw these little pet rocks while doing a little online shopping, and knew it'd be a hit with Claire. Sure enough, she fell in love as soon as figured out how pet rocks work. Claire and Pet Wock (or Pet for short...and still working on that hard "r" sound) have quickly become BFFs. Pet likes to sleep, have tea parties, go for car rides, eat cereal, sleep, watch Dora and Diego, jump on the trampoline, sleep, play with toys, read books, and we learned tonight that Pet likes to eat carrots.

Spending time with this girl is always the highlight of my day. I don't think I left Katie's house tonight until after Claire said "I luff you wiff awl my hawt" ten times! Good times.

I love my little BFF.

Paper Crafting & Patience

{video via Etsy}

Wishing that I had this kind of patience and wishing I had this talent! 

Video via decor8, featuring art by Nicole Licht.

14 Days of Love :: Day 14 :: Happy ♥ Day!

{stop motion video via nicolephoto.com}

Just wanted to share a few other last-minute Valentine's Day ideas!

• Add some love to a glass of milk with heart milk cubes 

• Cute way to wrap up some last-minute treats

• Good option for a candy-free valentine

• Sew-A-Heart valentine tutorial

• An easy way to add a little love: heart paperclips

• Cross stitch a card for your Valentine

• Darling little felt fortune cookies
• Free (!) Valentine downloads
• Adorable e-cards -- 10 different cards to choose from

14 Days of Love :: Day 13 :: Valentine's Party

Need last minute party ideas? Just a few ideas:

1 // Be My Valentine garland // Cut out some letters, attach some valentine ephemera, hang up and you're done!

2 // Valentine Tree // All the more reason I need to get a pink Christmas tree!

3 // Heart Shaped Pepperoni Pizza // Use a cookie cutter to cut out some pepperonis for a sweet addition to your pizza!

4 // Kissing Booth Sign // Totally adorable letterpress sign in pink & red. Love it!

14 Days of Love :: Day 12 :: Straws & Sodas

{images via papermash and the silhouette blog}

Such a cute, easy, and cheap way to dress up straws and old-fashioned sodas for a Valentine's Day party! Need a little inspiration for how to decorate? Spend a few minutes over on the Amy Atlas website and I'm sure the ideas will start flowing!

(Unrelated side note: have you seen this adorable Mary Poppins-themed party??)

14 Days of Love :: Day 11 :: Edible Paint

{image via How About Orange}

Decorate some plain dishes for the holiday with edible paint! Simple, cute, and it's likely that you already have what you need in your kitchen for this project.

How About Orange is one of my favorite blogs -- definitely a must-add-to-your-google-reader kind of blog. Muffin and I met Jessica while attending ALT. Super kind and totally down to earth. While everyone else was putting together their personal style boards for ALT, Jessica put together a "what to wear to the farm" style board! Awesome :)

Click here for the complete tutorial!