A Valentine for you!

I love Valentines Day. It's all pink and red and candy and glitter. Plus there isn't too much build up and you are done quickly. And it is a good excuse to send out valentine cards to your pals. It isn't the best photo above but here is a little printable card for you to print out, glitter and give to all your valentines. I am making fleur de sel caramels in dark chocolate to give with my cards this year. There are four to one 8.5 x 11 inch page and there are little crop marks so you can cut them apart easily. I made it so three say "Happy Valentines Day" and the one says "Be Mine" to mix it up. Sometimes you want to give a good Valentine wish but you don't neccesarily need everyone to be yours. Plus I know my kids get squeamish about saying Be Mine to their classmates for fear that someone might get the wrong idea and merciless teasing could ensue. (4th grade can be a little akward with the whole boy girl dynamic!) So print off and enjoy! And keep your eyes peeled because in a few days I will have another free printable! I love valentines day!!

Box of Chocolates Download

Party Favors!

I just wrapped up my two days hanging out at the lovely Pine Needle and I had such a great time! I met lots of people and got to hear some great feedback on Party Dress. It was a nice way to spend a couple of days. I made up some postcards to hand out and I ordered a ton so I have some left over. If anyone wants to have a couple, I would be happy to put them in the mail. Just leave a comment or email me (mobedatcomcastdotnet)with your address and I will get them in the mail. Just a little party favor!
Tomorrow is the Lego Robotics State Tournament which we are pretty excited for! I help the team and our head coach has family in town so I am stepping in and have to be there at 7:45. Ugh! Truth be told we didn't expect to be going to State so it should be a good time. A good chaotic time but fun none the less. I will be so ready for Monday to sleep in and have a fun day with the kids. I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!!
I am working on Valentines Day printable Valentines to share because I LOVE VALENTINES DAY!! Keep your eyes peeled for those!

Yowza!

I am so excited! I was invited to come and hang out at The Pine Needle, which is a fantastic local store, for their Open House! They send out a really nice glossy catalog every few months or so with their class offerings and special events. I got my copy in the mail the other day and flipped open a few pages and there I was! My kids thought it was so cool that something shiny and glossy that came in the mail actually had their Mother's photo in it! And if I am being honest, I thought it was cool too! So if anyone is in the area, next friday and saturday I will be at The Pine Needle in Lake Oswego and would love to meet you!

Hot find!

A couple of months ago M and I went to a school rummage sale. It was tiny and outside on a very cold rainy day. I wasn't so sure I even wanted to stop but then I found this whole box of super cool vintage dinnerware. It is Figgjo for Viking. I think the print is so cute and I love the colors and look at all this stuff:

I paid $15 for all of it. Initially I thought I would try to sell it on ebay because my husband and I sort of have this competition of who can find the coolest thing at a sale that we buy for a song but is worth a good chunk. The more I look at this though I think it is staying. Right now he is in the lead- he bought a big old glass fishing float for $15 or $20 and sold it for $185. I get too attached to the great stuff I buy though! Good thing they have more of this stuff on ebay so I can round out my set! It's funny too- I have not really ever been a huge 70's fan (been there done that!) but lately I am finding it so appealing. We got M an American Girl Doll for Christmas. Finally bit the bullet- those things are so expensive!! She picked out Julie the one from 1974. She has a banana seat bike and wears jumpsuits and has a ($68!!) fondue set! We did not buy any of the accessories because I think $68 for a tiny fondue set for a doll is ridiculous! Even if it so so cute it makes you want to buy it just to play with yourself! I had a banana seat bike and wore jumpsuits (and Hee Haw overalls...) and ate fondue. I am loving the 1974 Julie Doll and fortunately so is she!

Happy 2010!

2010. Doesn't that look weird? 2010. So futuristic and out there and impossibly here! It snuck up on me and the day came and went without much hoopla in our house. I am under some timelines and have a very full few weeks ahead of me so I shifted into gear right after the holidays and ,in doing so, sort of forgot to remember the new year. I will say that I am almost done with my second collection for Blue Hill and am very glad to have it nearly ready to send off to them. The first one was challenging in that it was my first time and I was sort of flying blind into a new adventure. Now I really want to do a good job the second time around so the pressure is still there, though in a bit of a different way. Bottom line is that I am sure having fun doing it though! I do think that the old year calls for a bit of reflection so I am picking a few of my favorite images to remind me of some of the good times of 2009. The one from the top of the page is so great to me. It is my son at the beach. He looks so tiny in front of that vast and beautiful ocean. It is from a weekend trip we took, just the four of us. We got home from the trip and I got laid off the next day. It was actually an exciting time and I was able to make some changes that I wouldn't have made otherwise. We are all happier now and it ended up not being a bad thing. That beautiful photo represents well to me the feeling of unknown openness that unanticipated change can bring.
Here are all of the sweets I made for my 40th birthday. We had 80 folks over to help celebrate and we asked that everyone bring toys to take to the Children's Hospital where my daughter had her heart surgery. I made food for 80 people which was a feat but we got lots of great stuff to take over to the young patients.

These are my favorite flowers from the whole year. Sayonara Dahlias, Chocolate Cosmos., Limelight Hydrangea and Hardy Fuschia. So pretty! Oh and I love love love that vase. I think I got it an a rummage or estate sale. Love it!

This was taken on my birthday. My sweet husband took the day off and we spent it, the four of us, fishing at the most beautiful lake. Fishing as a family was something new we tried and enjoyed this year. It was a really fun day. (I will say that a lot of my enjoyment of fishing came from never actually catching anything!)

This is our backyard. The Dogwood is one of my very favorites and when it blooms it is just breathtaking. I love our yard and our neighborhood and feel so lucky to live where things are so lush and green and the people are so very very friendly. It really is the best neighborhood. We have a neighborhood pool and everyone swims together all summer and bbq's and knows each other.

I love these funny cupcakes. I made them for my sweet daughter's seventh birthday. We took a small group of girls out to lunch and it was a sweet intimate birthday party and so much nicer than the big free for all parties we had gotten used to throwing. She had so much fun. We did the same for son- just a small group for a sleepover and they were such nice parties.

All i all I liked that we slowed down a bit this year. We did little things like having candles at every meal and took more weekends away as a family. We had a few curveballs thrown at us but I think we came out feeling pretty good and happy. I like the slowing down thing and so I am going to continue that in 2010. I like feeling like everyday should be a little special. I sincerely hope that 2010 is a wonderful year for everyone!