Some of my Fall Favorites....

I think this pillow cover is UBER cute! Check out Vintage Green Limited on Etsy.

Isn't this sign super cute? I love Blu eyed Girls Boutique shop on Etsy.

This decor was found on Frenchy's Blog

Found this cute decor on Larsen Loves
She has an adorable blog. I just stumbled across it today.

I am soooo tired 2-night. The 2 teen kids and I canned 29 Quarts of Peaches today. It took about 3 1/2 hours, but it kicked my BUTT! I am exhausted....

Not too exhausted to post though! I am getting so excited for FALL lately and have found some super cute home decor on the internet to show you!!

That is all I have to say 2-night. My head feels like it's about to explode (still have that nasty cold).....see you soon!

Dinner at Outback and Commonwealth Park

Commonwealth Park
Beaverton, OR

Alice Springs Chicken!

Last night the hubby and I went to this restaurant. It is one of my favorites! We don't go very often, but last night we were craving it, so we splurged. I ordered the Alice Springs Chicken with a baked potato. Have you ever tried that? It is sooooo yummy! I highly recommend it! The honey mustard is to die for!

After our delicious dinner, we went to a park that we used to go to when we were dating. It is a beautiful park with a huge lake in the middle. The path around the lake is about a mile. We haven't been there for about 17 years! I can't believe how much it has changed. It was nice to walk around it and talk and not have to be somewhere! It was a nice date with my hubby:)


Today I am feeling like crap and my nose is stuffed up, my body aches, etc.....I think I will lay around and rest. I hate being sick!! See you next week!

Have a great weekend....

Our last adventure at Seaside before School Starts!

I can't believe school starts for my kids in about 2 1/2 weeks! This Summer has gone by so quickly. We had a great time on our 2 week vacation to California, and now we are heading to Seaside on the Oregon Coast for 3 days with my parents. The hubs can't go, because he used up his vacation time on our CA vacation..... Bummer:)

We are staying in a Hotel right on the beach and hopefully the weather will be nice and Sunny with NO wind (fingers crossed!). Here is a few things I am planning on doing while I am at the Beach:

1. Of course my mom and I will go shopping at the outlets. Yeehaw!!

2. Playing in the motel pool with my kids! Actually I will probably be exercising in the tiny workout room connected to the pool!

2. Oh yea, this is SO me....sitting on the beach, relaxing, reading a book in a bikini.

See you on Friday!!!! Have a great week....

Watching Footloose with my 16yr. old DD

Isn't Kevin Bacon a hottie?

I had to fit this post in before I start blogging about Fall. It seems too early to start blogging about browns, oranges, and greens. I am still enjoying our Summer too much! After all our Summer here in Oregon didn't begin until July!!
I am hoping for an Indian Summer.

The other day I checked out the movie "Footloose" from the library. I looove this movie! The dancing is so cool and I LOVE Kevin Bacon! He is strangely hot:)
I had to preface the movie for my daughter by telling her their were a few cuss words (um...a lot of cuss words). I also forgot about some pot smoking, a few sexual innuendos (boy Ariel was a hoe) etc....Ok, maybe I shouldn't have let her watch it, but I really wanted to and I got her excited about it.

Now, we have taught our kids about what's right and wrong. Our DD knows that swearing is wrong, along with pre-marital sex and smoking pot (smoking anything for that matter!). That doesn't mean I should have let her watch it, but I don't think she was scarred for life because she saw it. I am hoping she learned some important lessons.

We had a nice talk about it afterwards and she was a little appalled how loose the girl was in the movie and a few other things, but I think it was a good thing to watch it together. She learned that just because you are a preachers daughter and he is really strict, doesn't mean you should go around doing the wild thing with boys and playing chicken with cars on the highway!

Did you like the movie "Footloose?" Does it bring back fond memories of when you were in high school?

I would love to hear your comments! I read each and every one.

Oh, and by the way, I found this video on U-Tube about a Footloose reunion a few years ago on the Today show. I thought you might like to see it! Go check it out:

http://youtu.be/mGb95VuiqCk

Fabulous Anthropologie Necklaces

Pretty- in-Pinking Necklace (my fav!)

"Akela" Necklace

I love this one "Pretty Pouf" necklace. Super Cute!

I love looking at blogs, websites, etc.... I probably waste far too much time, but I find so many cool ideas and lovely clothing, jewelry ideas!
I had never been on the Anthropologie web site and they have the cutest jewelry! Most of it looks like you could make it yourself. Sometime I would like to try making some of these.

My next post will be about Autumn and some of my favorite Autumn finds! I can't wait for Fall. It is my favorite time of year!!

Have a great weekend!

Last day for Giveaway and Italian Chicken Dinner

Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY on My Giveaway Today! The giveaway ends at 10pm EST. See the previous post to see what you can win!

Now on to the delicious dinner I made tonight! I got this recipe from my friend Sharelle and my family LOVES it! I especially love this recipe because I can cook it in the crock pot and I hardly have to do anything! It always turns out perfect.

Italian Chicken

1/4 c. butter or margerine
3-5 Chicken breasts
1pkg. Italian dressing mix
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1-8oz. Cream Cheese

Put the first 3 ingredients in a crock pot for 3-5 hrs on high. After cooked, cut chicken into pieces.
Add: Soup and Cream Cheese- re-warm through. Serve over rice or pasta. YUM!

This turns out great and your family will think your an awesome cook:)

I am doing a Giveaway on My Giveaway Today!!

8 Super cute cards with matching envelopes, 8 matchbook paper pads, and over 8 hang tags....all coordinating!! A $25 value.

Beginning on Friday, August 6th (tomorrow!) I will be doing a giveaway. Tiffany at Giveaway Today will be hosting it.

Your gonna LOVE it.....I am giving away a beautiful set of 8 Cards, 8 Tags and 8 Matchbook paper pads!! The paper is sooooo adorable.

Go to My Giveaway Today to enter! I am also giving a discount to My Giveaway Today readers, so be sure and visit my shop and you will get a 10% discount tomorrow August 6.

The Giveaway ends August 8 @ 10pm EST

Are you going to San Francisco.....

{Cute 8 yr. old's hand being eaten by a China monster thingy}

{Funny Scary Skeleton man on Fisherman's Wharf}

{Downtown SF}

{Trolley Car in SF}

Yes, we spent a day there with Grandpa. It is such a fun town!!! LOVE it. It's stinkin' crowded and overcast most of the time, but I still love it!

We visited Grandpa and went to China Town. LOVED it! Found lot's of good deals there. My kids got t-shirts for $1.88. I wish I would have bought one for me:(

We rode a trolley car, went to Ghiradelli's to get some ice cream, walked what seemed like a jillion miles but had a blast.

My favorite thing was this guy dressed like a skeleton with a HUGE head. He was hilarious!! He would pose with people and you could take your picture with him. Of course he wanted a donation.....

I wish I could have gotten a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was too foggy. It is such a beautiful place!!

2 week road Trip to California

Wow! i can't believe how quickly those 2 weeks went by. We had so much fun, there were times when I couldn't remember what day it was!

We began our trip by driving about 12 hours straight to Tracy, California (not so much fun). I get really restless when I am in a car for more than a few hours. My legs get REALLY restless and I want to scream and get out of the car! My husband however just wants to GET there, and doesn't want to stop. We stopped 3 times.

When we got to Auntie's house we stayed there for a few days. Here are a few pics from our stay with them.

My kids looooved the backyard at Auntie's house and enjoyed trying to find Tortia the turtle in their pond. I love that California has Orange, Grapefruit, and Lemon trees! I had to take a picture of these yummy looking Grapefruit that were growing on the tree. They were MUCH bigger in person. My kids enjoyed them for breakfast!

Sunday at the PARK and VACATION time!!

Here are a some pictures I took with my kids a few weeks ago. I don't know if you've ever seen a picture of me. That's me in the pink blouse (in case you thought I was the skinny long- haired hottie).

I won't be posting for a few weeks, but when I get back, I will have some super cool pictures to post!! You'll LOVE them:)

I will also be doing a GIVEAWAY when I get back as well!!



Hope your having a GREAT Summer!

Some of my favorite 4th of July Etsy Crafts

Don't these cookies look yummy? I love the red, white, and blue frosting!

Oooooh, and those cupcakes.....divine!! So festive. Those cute 4th of July tags are sooooo adorable!

I wish I had a kid the right size for that lovely little skirt! It is so cute!

I love Patriotic Wood Crafts!! These ones are really vintage looking and adorable!!

You should check out ETSY. They have something for any occasion! There are so many talented people there. Check it out!

Happy Birthday America!!

Pleated Pouch Tutorial- Skip to My Lou

When my kids were young I used to make some of their clothes, Halloween, costumes, etc. I kinda got sick of sewing and nothing I made ever really turned out like I expected, so I quit sewing for years.

Now I have found a renewed obsession with sewing purses, totes, etc.! I love how easy they are and they actually turn out the way I want. It makes me happy, so I have bought lots of pretty fabric and I am sewing every day now!

I told you I get obsessed about something, I buy all the stuff for it, and I can't think of anything else! I know......I am OCD.

At least I am accomplishing something:))

So here is my version of a pattern I found on this site:
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/04/27/pleated-pouch-tutorial/

She has the best tutorials and they are really easy! Trust me if I can do it, you can. Say to yourself: "I can do hard things." Only this isn't hard!

Above are some pictures of my cute Pleated Pouch. I love the way it turned out. I used some leftover jeans of my 8 year old daughter. She was so excited! I also added a cute matching yo yo. I think it turned out great!

What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday? Nah!

I thought about just posting these pictures and that was it, but I think they need a little explaining!
For Memorial Day we went to a beautiful park here in Oregon called Silver Falls State Park. They have the most beautiful Falls there and great hiking trails.
We hiked, got rained on, hiked some more, got poured on, then had a nice wet BBQ. It was fun though. Here are some cool pictures I took from our adventure.
Don't ya just looooove the Green? One of my favorite pictures is the moss covering that tree.....gorgeous!

What is your favorite picture? Leave a comment and let me know. I love to read your comments and thoughts!

on Fear, Depression and letting go....and HOPE

Tara, over at scoutie girl, wrote a post today on being stuck, feeling fear, and not giving into depression. she was candidly honest about her own struggles with depression and how she has pushed past them. so for we scout wednesdays, tara asked us to share our own struggles, whatever they may be.

I have never really posted about something like this before, but i felt like i have something to share about this that may help someone out there in blog land!

I feel like my childhood was normal and I had lots of friends, boyfriends, and I thought I was pretty happy!

When I got married, my husband was very supportive and encouraged me to be creative and find something I liked to do. I started with Tole Painting, then Scrapbooking, sewing, making jewelry and cards.....the list goes on.

I tend to be a little obsessive when it comes to trying new things....I want to buy EVERYTHING you could possibly need for the craft and more. I don't know why, that is just how I am. So I end up buying all this stuff and then I am too afraid to actually try it! When I do try something new, if I fail, or mess it up somehow, I get very discouraged and give up.

This has been my life and still is like this a little. I think having KIDS, an ETSY shop and a supportive husband helps A LOT!

You may be wondering what this has to do with FEAR or DEPRESSION, but it really is crippling to be so afraid of trying anything new for fear of failure. It doesn't help that I have severe PMS 3 out of 4 weeks of the month!

So here are 5 things I do to let go of my FEAR and DEPRESSION:

1. I believe in a loving Heavenly Father who I know loves me and wants me to succeed. It's not always easy to remember this and I struggle with this every day!

2. I am better at not giving up than I used to be. I try and remember that all these creative, talented people out there, failed over and over before they finally succeeded!

3. If I start having negative thoughts, I immediately try to either do something nice for someone in my family, or serve someone I know....even someone I don't know! By the time I have done this, I usually have forgotten what negative thing I was thinking of!

4. I exercise. I go for a run. It is proven to help depression!

5. Pray. OK, I know some of you may not be religious and don't pray. Well, advice to you is meditate. Take time to just sit and take deep breaths. Think positive thoughts!

I know these 5 things are nothing new and you have probably done some of them yourself at sometime in your life. They work for me and I am getting better! I am not nearly as unhappy and moody as I used to be (ask my hubby!).

I am an easier person to live with than I used to be. I have a long way to go....but now I have HOPE.

How do you let go of fear? How do you have HOPE?

My First Treasury!! Soooo many Fabulous Finds

If you have never heard of ETSY then you need to go check it out! There are so many Fabulous things to find there! Recently I found a birthday gift for my sister. I also love the FABRIC that I have found here on ETSY. I am an addict!

Recently I made what is called a TREASURY. I choose about 12 or so of my FAVORITE items that I have found on ETSY and made it into something others can see. I think it's pretty (but I am biased...I know!) I love the colors and had so much fun making it. To see all of it click here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bd1d485f72d8eefc48ec3f4/purple-and-yellow-lovelies

These pictures above are from my Treasury. Aren't they fun? I think so!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Monday Magic... I ♥ Mom!
Aren't these picks just great? Nay from http://moonangelnay.blogspot.com/
Made this lovely feature of some awesome gift ideas for MOM. I think they are lovely, especially those cute little magnets down on the left (they are from my shop!) Check out here blog where you can click on the pictures and check out the different ETSY shops!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

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