Pine River {Day 1}

I've been on hiatus from the blogging world...I've been doing some great things, with great people, and it's been keeping me pretty busy. I miss you all dearly : )

Obviously, I enjoy doing all of the things I love to do, but I like to do so much! How do I fit it all in the short time I have? I haven’t been crafting as much as I’d like to, but I have another custom order being worked out (more CD envelopes), and I’m SO EXCITED to get started! This is going to be great!

So what have I been up to?

We just returned from a five day camping trip up at Pine River, near Cadillac, Michigan. Talk about an amazing experience!! 5 of us packed a trailer and stuffed ourselves into the Jeep for a 4 hour road trip. We got to Coolwater Campground, set up our home away from home, and the party started. {more to come}

Felt Food Finds & More

I've been pretty busy, but things have cleared up, and now I get to share some fun finds with all of you!

My niece, Giuliana (aka Princess), is turning 3 this week! Her birthday party was yesterday, and it was fabulous. So, what do you get a 3 yr old princess for her birthday? Turns out this particular princess enjoys serving up hot meals from her kitchen set. Odd, for a princess, but oh so easy gift-wise! I found so many great felt food shops on Etsy that It was hard to control my spending. How do you choose between chocolate covered strawberries and swiss cake rolls? or a t-bone steak dinner and a spaghetti and meatballs dinner? what about the sushi? what about all of the breakfast options? There were so many choices! And who thought of felt food anyways? It's brilliant!

I went with:
　
+ Chocolate chip cookies and pancakes topped with blueberries and bananas from bugnikdesigns. These came super quick in the mail, and I was ecstatic when I opened them up. They were SO incredibly adorable and looked delicious! The cookies were a hit at the birthday party as Giuliana was happy to "nom nom nom" on them over and over again for pictures.

+ T-bone steak dinner, with a baked potato (with sour cream and butter) and a side salad (with cucumber, onion and tomato) from LittleMissSewNSew. TOO CUTE! The baked potato comes apart and can be two servings of mashed potatoes...and...my favorite part...the steak is raw on one side and grilled on the other! Genius! I love it! LittleMissSewNSew was delightful to order from. She was super friendly, and I got the package in the mail in just 3 days! The dinner came packaged in a to-go container - ready to be gifted. I like that the package included lots of information about the shop. I love to spread the word about the wonderful shops I find, so it is really helpful when sellers send business cards, profile cards, etc.

+ Veggies from PickleThings. I ordered these at the last minute, so I haven't gotten them yet, but I'm extremely excited. So far all of the felt food has been adorable and really well made, so I know these will be great, too.

To complete the package, I found a little silver tray and a big scarf perfect for a play table cloth while thrifting.

Packaging: I love old suitcases, but I never know what to do with them. I've had a little blue one sitting in the basement for years. It's in pretty good condition, and the inside screams "princess" with a mirror and everything. I think it's from the late 50's/early 60's. It's the perfect size for little ones, and I thought it'd be great for Giuliana to use for sleepovers. I packed all of her gifts in the suitcase and stuffed the little inside pouches with pearly bracelets and necklaces.

Now, how about a keepsake? I turned back to Kjrsten's fabric banner how-to and put together a banner for Giuliana. I changed it up a bit from my first banner - I used pom-pom ribbon instead of ruffles, I used a different color for the letters, and I added buttons. Since this was my second banner, it went much more smoothly than the first. I kept all my letter and flag templates from before, so that saved a lot of time. All of the cutting was done at home, and all of the assembling was done during our drive to and from Chicago last Saturday. The next morning all it needed was some cosmetic work to finalize everything and I was done! The first banner I made took me three nights. I think I could've done this one in one Saturday or Sunday. So, I'm getting better, and this time around it was actually kind of relaxing!

Sinatra Love

Another friend tied the knot - CONGRATULATIONS SAMANTHA AND ALEX! I don't think I've ever seen a happier, cuter couple. These two goofballs were giggling through the whole ceremony and reception. Their obvious crazy-in-loveness gave me goosebumps. I took my camera with me with every intention of coming home with a memory card full of great pictures, but I chickened out at the ceremony and kept my camera in my wristlet. Then, I forgot I even had my camera until close to the last hour of the reception. So...at the end of the day I walked away with just two pictures.

Me, Jenna and Nicole. Friends since grade school : ) We've missed Nicole since she moved up to Grand Rapids, Michigan, but it makes us appreciate the time we get to spend with her when she's in town.

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Jenna snapped this picture of Matt and me dancing - I LOVE IT! The rest of the world disappears when I'm dancing with Matt, and I don't care if I can't keep a beat because I'm in my happy place. We danced to Frank that night...Matt's arms around me, Frank's voice surrounding us...could it get any better?!

The little things...

It's the little things that make me grin ear to ear...

This weekend I got a fantastic surprise from my fabulous cousins in Chicago. I was completely shocked when I stopped by my parents' house on Sunday and found a package waiting for me. How odd! I cautiously opened it up and found another tiny package and a 10x magnifying glass. What could possibly be in this tiny little package?!

A letter!!!! How adorable!

I was speechless! This was such a creative and sweet way to send happy get well wishes (and what a creative way to describe what happened). There are no words to describe how happy I was to hear from my cousins. They are two of the coolest people I know. Thank you, Jim and Cheryl!!! I love you!!!

Check out World’s Smallest Postal Service. The story of what it is all about is really great. I hope to see them in my area sometime!

...In the crafting world…my handmade CD sleeves/envelopes have been keeping me busy. I'm working on two orders right now, both for incredibly talented photographers. I can't wait to ship out their pretty packages!

CD Envelopes

As promised, CD envelopes similar to the ones I made for Tiffany's Mix CD Swap are now available in my shop. I love making these CD envelopes {envelopes, sleeves, cases, whatever you want to call them}. Part of what makes them fun is their customizability. I've been having a really good time working with wonderful people to make just the right CD envelopes for their desired use. My first order was for CD envelopes to be used for three different graduation gifts.

I'm currently working with a couple different photographers to create custom packaging for their photo discs. Such a great idea! I'm thoroughly enjoying every second of this - I love collaborating with all of you!!

xo

Inspire Me

Nicolette, my itty bitty baby sister, turned 18 yesterday. I can't believe it! For her special day I dropped by a great little local shop, Inspire Me, to find a gift for her.

Inspire Me has 3 shops. The largest one is in Granger (Indiana) and has mostly clothes - men's and women's. The other two are downtown South Bend (Indiana) and are separated by just one shop, Circa Arts. They are smaller, one being full of upcycled and vintage accessories, home decor and furniture, and the other being stuffed with fabulous women's clothes, shoes and jewelry. I love the unique styles that Inspire Me carries, but I have to be careful because I could accidentally fall in love with a $125 scarf. Things can get pretty pricey in this boutique.

I found the prettiest, sparkliest tank ever and had to get it for Nikki (don’t worry, it was on sale). It screamed "I am fabulous!"...perfect for Nik's personality : )

The tank was from Free People, which, after browsing through the catalog, I found to be a pretty cool, very unique, brand. Of course, to get Nikki into the local gem that is Inspire Me, I threw in a gift card.

I have to say, my favorite part of special occasions is the card. Matt and I have discovered a few card companies that suit our personalities perfectly. Spark carries them all, and here is the one we chose for Nikki:

It went down perfectly. At dinner yesterday, we handed her the card. She opened it, read a little, and started cracking up. It got the attention of everyone at the table, and they were itching to read the wonderful message we must have written in her card. The card was then passed around, and, judging by the giggles, I’m confident everyone enjoyed it.

My other {equally fabulous} sister's birthday was last month. I wrote about finding her gift at Urban Lily, but didn't get pictures of her goodies. However, I do have images of the card Matt and I picked out for her. She had just had a baby, so it was somewhat appropriate:

Ahh...I love the unusual : )

{ Australia }

Matt went to Chicago yesterday to send his brother off to Costa Rica for a mission trip. It's always odd when Matt's not there when I get home...leaves me with a sort of empty feeling. Although wonderful, Daisy's hugs and kisses aren't quite the same as Matt's, and when I don't get a proper greeting, I don't know what to do with myself. It just throws me off a little bit, and I end up pacing, or cleaning/moving random things.

Just for kicks, here are a couple pictures of our precious Daisy Buchanan who greeted me yesterday:

When Matt got home he had a surprise for me - a book:


I'm always bugging him about moving to Australia, and I was just recently telling my new friend, Ann (from Australia), that Matt played along with me for a while, until he realized I was serious. So...is this like getting a puppy from your husband when you say you want to have a baby? "Why do we need to move to Australia, Baby, when it's all right here in this book?" Moving or staying, either way, I thought it was incredibly sweet of him to see this book and think of me. I love his surprises. I can't wait to sit down and learn a little bit about my dream home...or vacation - as long as I'm with Matt it doesn't matter which ; )

Hope you're all having a wonderful Wednesday!

peace & love

Lazy Days...

I just entered Diana's latest giveaway. She just introduced me to Dahliaville, a very cool Etsy shop. My favorite print is the Lazy Days. Since my accident a week ago, all of my days have been lazy ; )

Matt is spending time with his mom tonight. His youngest brother is in the Army and is based in Texas. He's finally home for a month, but unfortunately just in time for their other brother to leave for Costa Rica for a 6 week (I think) mission trip. Tonight all three brothers are together and spending time with Mom. Soooo....the house is TOO quiet right now. I did get out to the grocery store and I returned with a VERY exciting purchase...

CHIPOTLE MAYO!!! Have I been missing out on this or is it really new?

Matt switched jobs at work, and is now much busier than before. I just recently found out that the man has been so busy that he hasn't been eating lunch. WHAT?! No, no, no. Not my man!! He wakes up at 4 a.m. and can't even make it safely through a doorway that early in the morning, so I know he'll never make himself something to snack on at work. So, I put together some tasty treats for him for tomorrow.

A yummy chicken sandwich with pepperoni, pepper jack cheese, and CHIPOTLE MAYO!!! mmmmmm...

orange slices...

and a peanut butter cookie...

Now, try to tell me I'm not a good girlfriend hehehe ; )

Now the trick is getting him to remember to actually take his lunch to work. I think I'm on the right track. I left him a note on the bathroom mirror...

The refrigerator door...


and the door door...

I even put the food right in front of his Mountain Dew, which he NEVER forgets.

Think he'll remember? We'll see. Can you tell I'm bored?

After all of my pretend parenting, I decided to treat myself to a cookie. This was a special cookie though. How long has it been since you've dunked a cookie in milk? I've gone far too long without dunking. Tonight that changed...

I need to find something else to do now.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!!

peace & love

Hunches in Bunches

++CAUTION: gross pictures below – don’t scroll down if you can't handle wounds++

Well folks, it has been an interesting few days…I’ll just start at the beginning:

Saturday was a great day! Matt went thrifting with me, and we found some great stuff for my next swap {The Package Project}. I also found a little bench that will be perfect for my new sewing table once I sand and paint it. It was a productive day, and that night we went out with our best bud, Josh. It’s been a long time since we’ve gone out, and I was pumped. I even treated myself to a sugar free Red Bull (SO bad for you). When we got to the bar we had a nice surprise – penny pitchers and well drinks! That saved us some $$. The night got even better – our friend Siua came out!

The boys

We haven’t seen Siua in over 5 months. Once we all got the hugs in, we talked and talked and even squeezed in a couple games of pool. It was great. Then, while saying goodbye outside, we witnessed a motorcycle accident. It was horrible. The rider didn’t have his headlight on and hit the median. All I saw was a body flying through the air and sparks from the motorcycle sliding on the concrete. Josh called 911 immediately, and everything was taken care of. The man was okay and was more concerned about his bike than himself. I was useless. I just stood there crying. I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life, and it was a reminder of how mortal we really are.

Here comes Sunday. The weather was AWESOME! I’d say about 86 and sunny, though my recollection isn’t that great right now. It was perfect outside, and Matt and I stripped the Jeep down and took off for the beach. Lake Michigan is only about 45 minutes away, and it’s a beautiful drive.

Check out my sweet Jeep hair lol

So that was my weekend. Time to go back to work. It was another beautiful day and I was excited to ride my bike to work....let’s just say I won’t be doing that again for a while:

I was passing a McDonalds when a truck leaving saw an opportunity in traffic and flew out of the lot and into me. Apparently, I hit the hood first and then was thrown into the street. I didn’t slide on the pavement, thank goodness - I was only wearing a tank top and yoga capris. Instead, it was like Godzilla picked me up and threw me straight down into the concrete as hard as he could. When I landed I screamed and screamed and screamed. When I realized I was screaming, I was like “Okay…I’m obviously alive...now, do I have my teeth?” Yup, all there! So then I just cried until the ambulance came. A bunch of people ran out and made sure I didn’t move, and they kept traffic away. After confirming with the fireman that all of my teeth were indeed still there, I was taken to the hospital (around 8:15 a.m.) and was there until 6:30 p.m. Talk about a long day! I hurt my right arm pretty bad and fractured my nose. I also busted up my forehead pretty bad, as you can see, and had to get stitched up. I’m doing pretty well though. I’m really sore and my head has been pounding, but I have medication. I think I’ll be back to work by Friday. If you ladies need a good eye shadow, I HIGHLY recommend Clinique. I use “daybreak” daily, and that stuff lasted through this whole experience – tears, concrete, blood…even stuck around after having water shot into my face to clean the wounds. The nurse was amazed. That’s Clinique for ya – I only put the best on my face.

So yesterday was my first full day home after being all beat up. Matt stayed home from work and took great care of me. I was about to attempt to clean up my face when Matt stopped me and handed me some happy mail from Micaela. I smiled as best as I could. ; )

She sent a beautiful card, an adorable little notebook, and a bar of handmade soap.

Such a sweet surprise and at a time when I needed it most. THANK YOU MICAELA!!

The handmade mint julep soap smells WONDERFUL! I was happy to hear about her local shopping experience. Micaela – I’m so glad I met you; you make me smile : )

Today I got another surprise. One of the girls I work with delivered a cookie bouquet from everyone at the office. I love cookies! The frosted sugar cookies were gone in 60 seconds…okay well one was, but the other won’t be here for long. Big thanks to everyone at work!!!