Since we moved, we have not yet set up our computer. It's really a pain in the neck because all my pictures on there and I have no idea how to use my mom's new Mac computer(s).

Sidenote: David and I recently counted how many computers are currently in use at my parent's house: a total of 7 if you count David's work laptop. Radiation anyone?

Anyway, I have to tell you about some things going on. First, Mother's Day was really sweet. We were going to be out of the house by Sunday, so David gave me my present early so I could enjoy it in our house. He picked me up the most beautiful bouquet of flowers, a delish bar of Godiva dark chocolate and 3 children's books (Flotsam, The Higher Power of Lucky and Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!)

Sidenote: I need to buy The Penderwicks. I am in love with these books and rightly so. They are charming, innocent and down-right lovely. Anything with this delightful of a cover must be good.

I love that David was thoughtful enough to get me a gift for Mother's Day even though I'm not a mother. More than that, I love that he was thoughtful enough to think of getting me a gift that I will use as a mother in the future. He's pretty darn great.

Moving has been quite the process. We were scrambling to get out of the house only to find out that we still haven't sold that darn sofa and we can't afford to move our piano! Drat! Now we are in the middle of figuring out the details but the transition to my parent's house has been great for one solid reason: my parents are awesome.

Our other exciting news is David's upcoming company party. Can I even tell you how excited I am? Is it OK that I'm this excited for a company party? Well, here's why I'm excited.

A) The company is not my company - since David recently switched jobs so we no longer have the same parties to attend.

B) The event is "out of town" (READ: Carefree, Arizona) and they are putting us up for the night at the Carefree Resort and Villas. Do I care how nice it is (or isn't)? No. Do I care that it is only like 40 miles from our house? No. Do I care that it is excessively decorated in the Southwest style? No. In fact, I'm kind of happy that I get to stay at a resort in Arizona. I've never been on the tourist side of things here in the Phoenix valley. Plus, I've never been to the North side of the valley so it should be fun.

C) I get to "gussy" myself up for the formal dinner and awards banquet that night. I'm going to look so hot - just you wait.

Here's the big problem: There's a BIG FAT nothing to do in Arizona in the summer. Maybe we'll get lucky and be blessed with some more of this awesome weather we've been having. I doubt it. Does anyone know of anything remotely fun to do in Carefree or Cave Creek?

Oh, and since I have no recent pictures to share - here's one of my favorite (less well-known) engagement photos. I thought I'd throw this in for good measure. I love California.

{christmas 2007 summary}

I love Christmas! Oh, it was such a grand time! We went to California this year to spend it with David's family and it was wonderful. We had so much fun with them and they spoiled us rotten. So much good food, so many wonderful presents, so much laughter.

I especially love my new phone. I've had the stupid Razr for 2 years now and I hated it. If you like your Razr, then please don't take offense (see my comment on the previous post) but it just wasn't working out for me after breaking 3 times. That insurance I had sure came in handy. So, I begged and pleaded with David to get me the new LG Venus with our renewal discount and he did! Yea! I feel so modern and cool now.

It was such fun to spend time with my in-laws. I really feel like we've moved to a new level in our relationship. We played their Wii for hours and busted up at the sound the cow makes when it jumps on the racing Wii Play game. We talked as we made orange rolls, enchiladas and set the table. We shared Christmas traditions around the dinner table and we laughed until we cried as we played games after Christmas breakfast. David's sister and I sang together at the Christmas program and I felt so good when someone at church took David's mom aside and said, "David's wife is lovely. He did very well. You must be so happy." Yep, still smiling.

Overall, I'm so glad that we had loved ones to be with for Christmas. I'm so grateful that we were safe, that we have people who love us and that we could celebrate our belief in Christ's birth and Divinity. It was a lovely Christmas and I hope yours was wonderful too! Thank you all for being my friends and for your wonderful influence on my life.

{all I want}

Have you missed me?

Christmas WISH list:

1) A Bloodhound puppy named Frankie












2) These awesome Zumreed headphones.










3) This stellar Danish grandfather clock that I fell in love with in Boston. Good luck forking out the $2,000 price tag.




















4) This super cute shirt from Shade.
















5) These slippers could easily rock my world.








6) Gilmore Girls Complete Series. Sigh. I miss them.

{gift cards}

If you are ever at a loss when trying to figure out what to get me for Christmas/my birthday/Easter/whatever - know this: I love gift cards.

People (or my husband) are always saying, "Gift cards are so lame. It's like you couldn't think of anything else to give them." Do you feel this way? For me, it's as if that person knows me so well that they got me a gift card because they know how much I love to shop and how much I hate to pay for it. My mom must agree with me because for the last 7 or so years she has given me a gift card to Nordstrom for Christmas. More often than not, I don't use the balance of the card almost until the next Christmas. I just buy little purchases here and there and each one makes me happy.

I currently have just under $300 worth of gift cards in my wallet right now. Most of the gift cards are pretty old (some over a year) but this is why I love having them: Some days, I just really hate my wardrobe/home decorations/makeup/cereal bowls but I don't have the pennies to purchase them myself. This is where the gift cards in my wallet come in.

For example, last night while David was at school, I went to Macy's to look for some black shoes for Stephen's wedding. I found these adorable peep toe pumps that for $47 on sale! At the cash register, I whipped out my Macy's gift card for $74 and paid for those puppies without paying a single penny out of my pocket. (That sentence had a lot of "p"s in it. Did you notice?) Then I bought mascara and eyeshadow from Lancome and got a free make-up bag! Woot for me!

Then, the V.P. of my company he gave me a $50 Visa card as a thank you for a big project that I did a few weeks ago. So, I headed over to Forever 21 and bought myself 2 delicious tops and a really, really, really awesome dress that I adore. The balance? $2.50. I paid it in cash.

Speaking of gifts (as it is The Most Wonderful Time of The Year) Jordan over at Oh Happy Day is currently compiling a grand list of gifts under $30. If you are looking for some great "little Christmas gifts" for friends or family, you should definitely check it out. I especially love this and this!

Many of you gave the nicest compliments about my Etsy items . . . unfortunately, every item is still residing in the shop. I can only assume the price tag was a too high so I've lowered my prices to promote some selling. If you like something, please buy! I am have scores of creative ideas for new products in mind; such as Christmas aprons, Amy Butler fabric bags, etc. but I can't afford to make anything until I sell a few things.

If you want something made (i.e. a painting, silhouette, Christmas cards, etc.) I will make it! Here are two sample Christmas card I designed for my family this year.

delicious goodies from grammy

As I said before, David and I inherited a lot of Grammy's things yesterday. Here are a few of my favorites:
I love this lobster pot. Inside is a steam plate to steam lobsters, crab and other seafood. It's sectioned off to cook your ingredients separately, like for a seafood stew or something. David's mom, Cindy, said it was a wedding present from the 60's that she had received two of and gave the other to Grammy.













I'm crazy about this rocking chair. It looks amazing in our bedroom. I love how simple and wide the back is. It's pretty old but it still rocks like a gem.
















I like this embroidered table cloth. I like that it is black and white. It has a lot of detail that you can't see very well from this picture but it is really nice. I don't know how often I'll use it, but I like it.









Grammy embroidered these two pillowcases years ago for each of the grandchildren. I love the look of "paper dolls" along the border.











When David's mom said I could have these glasses, I almost jumped for joy. I love them!

















And, of course, the infamous dining table. I have not been able to describe it very well but it looks so beautiful in our house. For how long she's had it, it's pretty amazing that there isn't a scratch to be seen on this solid wood table. As you can see, I really need to update the upholstery fabric.









Since it's fairly easy to recover chair covers, I figured I can really do something trendy and "right now". I'm not worried about it being traditional because I'm not going to have it for a long time. In a couple of years, I can change it to something else to suit the next place we live in. For now, I think I'm pretty set on this fabric:
As those of you who have been to my house know, I have some pictures framed in this same yellow with this same green around the area in ribbon. I just love it. Thanks to whoever suggested Amy Butler fabric.

I need to tell you how cool I feel right now. I got 12 (TWELVE) comments on my blog yesterday. It is a record for moi and I feel fabulous about it. My 23rd birthday brought me --

Birthday Loot:

- one painting easel for my Etsy work (husband)
- 6 canvases for my Etsy work (husband)
- 2 Anthropologie skirts (husband)
- 1 Anthropologie and 1 Nordstrom shirts (husband)
- 1 Nordstrom dress (husband)
- 1 pair of pajamas (sister-in-law)
- 6 colorful Crate and Barrel bowls (mother-in-law)
- 1 gift card to Bath and Body Works
- 1 Peony scented body cream (sister)
- 1 birthday card with other loot (mother and father)
- 1 awesome butterfly balloon (mother and father)
- 1 birthday dinner of salmon tacos with mango salsa at Tia Rosa's (mother and father)
- 1 Bosch mixer (mother)
- 1 unknown present still to be received in mail (best friend)

Seriously, I got a LOT of loot this year! Like, too much, maybe. I feel so spoiled! But thank you everyone for the rad presents, birthday wishes, phone calls, thoughtful cards, support and love. I have the best family and friends. Plus, David picked out all the clothes himself without any help. What a stud.

After dinner, my parents were going to the church to do Humanitarian service (i.e. quilting) so since David was at school until 10 p.m. I decided to go along. After an hour or so, David called to say that he was on his way home early! Hurrah! So, he picked me up early (I'm a bad person) and we went to the store to pick up a piece of German chocolate cake so I could blow out a candle (see picture of David in his skivvies) after which I fell asleep while we watched The West Wing . . . again.

David likes to pretend that he is Sam and talk about how awesome and smart and clever and good looking he is. David has a man crush. Heh heh.

Overall, it was a good birthday and I feel really good about finally having a year to be my favorite number, 23.