Perfect Birthday Trifecta

So there is in Gilbert, AZ what is known as the "birthday trifecta" {thanks Susan!}. 3 amazing restaurants that give you a free meal on your birthday. I did not make it to all 3, but invented my own, perfect trifecta:

Free drink of choice from Starbucks, thanks to my new Iphone ap.

 Free lunch at Liberty Market

 My yummy, free caprese salad

 

 

and free dinner at Joe's BBQ

In between, my hubby spent the day with me. We went to some antique stores where we picked up a few items and went to the secret sale at Domestic Bliss and Found. Pure amazingness!

At lunch, Tony took this picture of me. So here I am on my 39th birthday:

 It's not fabulous, but it's me. That sure is what I look like on any given day so...anyway. I was looking at the pictures on the camera after he took a few, and stated they were pretty good. He said "it was easy, look at the pretty material I had to work with". And before you go "Awwww" this was followed by the eyebrow raise and a smirk as if to say "I got this husband thing down, don't I". Goofball!

Birthday Weekend

I had a fabulous birthday weekend thanks to my friend, Kimberly. Her family has a cabin in Forest lakes, a 3 hour drive from here. It was absolutely gorgeous!

We devised this plan when Kimberly found out Sophie has never been to the snow! She is truly an Arizona kid. And I'll tell you Forest lakes snow is SOOOO much more fun than Nebraska snow. We could play outside there for hours, it was perfect.

Tony and I shoveled a smooth path for the kids to sled and they loved it. 

 Sophie Sledding

 Celeste Sledding

 Kiddos' first snowman.

Our evenings were spent by the warm fire, eating yummy home made dinners, sipping wine and playing games with the kids.

Perfection.

 

OLW January Assignment

I am still very excited about One Little Word for 2012. I just finished January's assignments and so far I love it! Each month there will be a video to watch, then assignments for journaling, photography, art work, you name it, to help us focus on our word for the year.

First, we were to use an 8.5X11 album with We R Memory Keeper 9 pocket page protectors and C-Line 4X6 peel and stick pockets. After that it was suggested to use items from your stash, but what fun is that? I wanted some products that I could use throughout the book, and would last the entire year (or years if I keep it up). Here is what I chose (all product from the best place on earth, ETC.):

 Papers by October Afternoon, Farmhouse line, with Bazzill cardstocks in Dusk, Yukon Gold, Lagoon, and Sandbox.

 Added in some fabrics and trims by Moda, Urban Cowgirl line.

And some K&Co Smash Book Products.

And here is my album for the year:

 The class came with downloadable printwork, which I used in the cover's window.

The actual assignment is a title page (4X6 sleeve):

 Backed with a current photo (I cheated and used one from last summer) with the downloaded photo overlay:

 And our first 9 pocket page with 5 cards including our definition, thesaurus, why we chose the word, our intention with the word, and a quote with our word. The other four cards were freebies to do as we please:

 I love the process so far, and am really happy with the way it looks, too. Can't wait to see what they have in store for February!

One Little Word

For years I have been interested in One Little Word {olw} but have yet to participate. Well this is my year. I had pretty much decided to do it this year, but reading posts by two of my acquaintances sealed the deal.

So, unbeknownst to them, my inspirations to participate in olw this year were Jenny and Angie {you can click on their names to read about their word choices}. I love reading their blogs, and they inspire me for different reasons. 

Jenny is truly amazing. She has such a great story, and her enthusiasm for life is inspiring. Her word suits her so well, "intentional". My take on this is- to really live life, not just go through the motions of daily routine. To be proactive, and not let life simply happen. What a great word!

And then there is Angie. She is so humble and introspective. She talks candidly about her struggles to stay true to herself and her beliefs. She chose "focus"as her 2012 word. My take on this is- to focus on what is important, prioritize and cut out all other distractions. Focus on what is important and let that guide you in the choices you make.

I love both their words. I love that they can apply them to many aspects of their lives. My word needed to do that for me too. So without further ado my OLW for 2012 is.....

Mindful.

To me this means for me to be mindful of what I say and do. Mindful of how I treat others. Mindful of what I eat. Mindful of what and who are really important to me. Mindful of choices I make in all aspects of my life. So this year I intend to be Mindful. Wish me luck!

Pinterest Sunday (and Monday, and Tuesday,Whew!)-Tiff's Wedding Gift

This Pinterest Sunday I bring you another window...

{At least it is not another cupcake, ha!}

My coworker, Tiff, got married in Utah last month. She is just 19 and the cutest girl ever! She is having a reception here as well, so I wanted to make her something special. Her reception will be an outdoor, rustic theme and I think one of my old farmhouse windows will be perfect.

 

Here they are in all their pre decorated glory:

 A little background, Tony and I saw them behind a hardware store in New Castle, OK while visiting Tony's sister. The store was closed because it was Sunday, so we got them when we went back a few months later. Tony's sister must have thought I was crazy when she saw 10 old dirty windows in the back of the truck!

 They take some scraping to get the old paint off. I would like to leave some like this, this one had a nice turquoise color underneath all the other layers, but it did not match Tiff's colors of cinnamon brown, peach/ivory, and blush pink.

 After scraping some more, I painted the window frame the cinnamon brown color. 

It took me a while to find a font I liked that I printed to follow as a template for hand painting the song lyrics. I chose "Amazed" by Lonestar and it reads:

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side, Forever and Ever".

 A little dry brushing so it does not look too neat.

And some finishing touches, photos from their wedding, little antique jars, and fresh flowers I matched to the bouquet in the photos:

I hope the bride and groom like it!