Two Year Blogiversary Giveaway

Next Friday will be the two-year anniversary of when I began blogging. It has been a marvelous experience. I have been able to document day-to-day happenings and special occasions, record projects, and write out thoughts. Best of all, though, I have made some great friends! Some of you I knew already, and I'm touched that you care to read my writings, get to know me better, and leave kind comments. Some of you I met in the bloggy world; your fabulous blogs and responses on my blog grew into friendships which met needs at a very lonely time in my life. And some of you might even be readers who don't comment (yet). I appreciate the time you spend reading and would love for you to leave a comment or two so that we can "meet."

In celebration of the friendships I have developed here in the last two years, I am giving away a couple of recent projects.

The first is a camera strap designed to fit snugly on a two-and-a-quarter inch wide camera strap. The inside (the side which will be against the neck) is made of oh, so soft cotton velvet.

While the outside (the side everyone can see and admire) is decorated by a shirred ruffle in a cheery, though not overwhelming blue and white print (one of my favorites).

Included with the camera strap is a blue ruffle-flower pin accented with a vintage button.

The second item that I'm giving away is a small peachy-pink and brown clutch (or makeup bag, or whatever you want it to be).

Included with the bag is a peachy-pink ruffle-flower accented with yet another vintage button.

To enter this giveaway, just leave me a comment telling me which prize you'd most like to win (and hopefully I'll randomly draw one of each preference). : ) If you'd like you can also tell me what aspect of friendship you most appreciate. I'll be drawing the winners sometime next Friday evening.

cupcake heaven

this cake

(modified slightly

by substituting

Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa

for the plain cocoa

and by putting the batter into lined muffin cups

and baking for only 20 minutes)

combined with

this frosting

makes

delicious and lovely cupcakes.

You should try it.

[shallots]

M-grilled shrimp, rice, salad

T-macaroni and cheese and carrots (for Little Man's actual birthday dinner)

W-roasted broccoli and parmesan pasta

Th-grilled chicken, crispy smashed potatoes, butternut squash

F-minestrone soup and fresh bread

What are you making this week?

p.s. That is my new countertop in the photo above. Isn't it beautiful?

family photos

This afternoon I enjoyed the opportunity to take a series of family photos for some of our friends. The day was a little on the chilly side but was still beautiful, and the park where they chose to have their photos taken was the perfect backdrop for their lovely family.

more engagement photos

Here is a sampling of the second set of engagement photos I took for my artist friend and her fiancé yesterday evening. She had so many ideas for outfits and locations that we couldn't fit all of the photos into one session. This session was supposed to be of all black and white photos, but I just couldn't resist some color photos and a few with special effects. Once again, the time I spent with this lovely couple was fun and delightful. The fact that we were able to get some fabulous shots was just icing on the cake.

These first three photos were taken in the classroom where they met during a college class.

No, this isn't really how he proposed, but it sure makes a cute picture!

At the Zoo

There are lions and roaring tigers,

And enormous camels and things,

There are biffalo-buffalo-bisons,

and a great big bear with wings.

There's a sort of a tiny potamus,

and a tiny nosserus too -

But I gave buns to the elephant

when I went down to the Zoo!

There are badgers and bidgers and bodgers,
and a Super-in-tendent's House,

There are masses of goats, and a Polar,
and different kinds of mouse,

And I think there's a sort of a something
which is called a wallaboo -
But I gave buns to the elephant
when I went down to the Zoo!

If you try to talk to the bison,
he never quite understands;

You can't shake hands with a mingo -
he doesn't like shaking hands.

And lions and roaring tigers
hate saying, "How do you do?" -
But I give buns to the elephant
when I go down to the Zoo!

(The above poem is by A. A. Milne, one of my literary heroes. I added divisions to fit the number of pictures I had, and the lines don't necessarily pertain to the photos except that it's a poem about going to the zoo, and the photos were taken on a trip to the zoo. To read straight through the poem, go here.)

Last weekend we made the two-hour drive to the nearest zoo. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather or better behaved children. We had fun introducing the boys to some wonderful animals which they have never seen before except in pictures. Little Man and Brother seemed to enjoy the experience as a whole, but Little Man said that his favorites were the monkeys, and judging by Brother's response, his favorite animals were the ring-tailed lemurs.

more calligraphy stuff

I have a love/hate thing with custom projects. On the one hand, I love that people like my work enough to ask for something special, and I like making something that delights them. I also enjoy being able to creatively make something from an idea I didn't originally dream up; it broadens my perspective and give me fuel for future ideas. On the other hand, I hate how I always end up worrying that even though I've put all this work into it and maybe even bared my soul a little bit, they might not like it.

I completed my latest custom calligraphy project last week. It is for a friend from church who asked to have Zephaniah 3:17 calligraphied (is that even a word?) in an ornate script. She wanted it to be a short and wide calligraphy so that she can have a custom frame built for it and hang in a specific place in her kitchen. The above photo is of the finished text. I was happy and relieved when she liked it and even felt a little embarrassed (in a good way) when she went on and on about how perfect it is. : )

My other calligraphy news of the week is that I finally found a perfect home for my pens and ink in a wooden box that Mum recently handed down to me. It has all these lovely little compartments that are just the right sizes for my supplies. I love it

jeans that more than pay for themselves (true story)

So I bought this pair of jeans off of the clearance rack at Aeropostale a couple of years ago for about $8. They were really cute and fit me beautifully. I loved them and wore them until some of the seams in important places began to give out, at which point I put them into my pile of to-upcycle clothes.

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to make some custom baby bibs, so I got the denim pieces out of my to-upcyle pile and began cutting out bibs. It turns out that the pair of jeans mentioned above made four bibs. Two of them were the custom bibs which sold for $10, and the two others will bring in either $10 or $12 (depending on if they sell separately or in a set of two). That means that my well-loved $8 jeans will make me $20-$22. I feel so clever and thrifty about now. : )

Since I was already making bibs, I went ahead and used the rest of my denim stash to make still more bibs for selling at farmers' market. Not only are they fun to make, but they also are my best-selling market item this year.

I had a lot of fun using a variety of buttons to decorate the bibs this time in addition to my usual appliqués.

Labor Day Weekend-Family Celebration

Last weekend Benjamin's parents made the drive from Utah. We enjoyed their visit so much! One of the highlights was the family celebration of the two boys' birthdays with both sets of their grandparents.

Benjamin made a "fancy cake" (cheesecake) for Little Man who always asks to look at the "fancy cakes" in the bakery department at the grocery store. It was amazingly delicious!

We had candles, singing, and present opening, and after the boys went to bed the grown-ups played some games.

[Little Man gets some help with his new puzzles from Grandpa.]

[Nonna is much less uptight about her camera and I am

and let delighted little boys play with it.]

Monday Menu

[freshly baked bread]

M-roasted chicken, garlic-lemon roasted potatoes, green salad

T-chicken noodle soup and extra broth for freezing

W-chicken pot pie

Th-tacos

F-sweet and sour chicken

What are you making this week?