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1.28.2011

so

i just checked out this book from the liberry. 

& mark my words...i will learn to sew something from the book before returning it. 

i think i can. 
i think i can. 
i think i can. 
-the little engine that could

1.25.2011

my life is sweet.

i just had a great weekend in the outer banks with our friends...here are a few snapshots of the weekend.

we stayed here...

played ridiculous games...

played more normal games...

enjoyed being together....

laughed a lot...

danced...

woke up very tired on sunday from staying up late all weekend...

but it was great.

1.22.2011

{ fried fish tacos }

recipe credit

i made this delicious recipe for philip's birthday. i made my own fresh salsa (tomatoes, garlic, cilantro & salt) to top it & also fried the tortillas. it was delish.

{ Ingredients }

  • 1 cup dark beer
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 pounds cod fillets, cubed
  • 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
  • 20 (6 inch) corn tortillas
  • 5 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup salsa
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges

{ Directions }

  1. In a shallow bowl, whisk together beer, flour, and salt.
  2. Rinse fish, and pat dry. Cut into 10 equal pieces.
  3. In a large saucepan, heat 1 inch oil to 360 degrees F (168 degrees C). Using a fork, coat fish pieces in batter. Slide coated fish into hot oil in batches; adjust heat to maintain oil temperature. Fry until golden, about 2 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon, and drain briefly on paper towels; keep warm. Repeat to fry remaining fish.
  4. Stack 2 tortillas. Place a piece of fish and 1/2 cup cabbage in the center of the tortillas. Garnish with mayonnaise, lime wedges, salsa & cheese.

1.21.2011

jcrew factory lusts


I get an email every weekend reminding me that the Jcrew factory outlet is open. I usually do not end up looking, but they have a great sale going on this weekend so I thought I'd take a peek. Here's a few of my favorites...

Happy Friday!

1.20.2011

philip's birthday

I had a previous blog that I have canceled so I wanted to re-post one of my favorite memories of my wonderful husband in honor of his birthday today....{it was from July this summer}

So here I am...in the lovely state of New York. My life is so strange sometimes. My husband and I work for Young Life. And we get the privilege of working at the beautiful camps Young Life owns during the summer. Some would not consider this a privilege, but we do. We have to uproot and move our lives for a month, live in a house with other families, share meals together... And I love it...well usually at least.

Philip loves it, too. I think he feels more free to be himself here. Perhaps too free. While out to dinner last night, with some of our friends, we noticed it was karaoke night at a small local American bar on the river. Philip loves karaoke, but I have never seen him do anything like this before...he requested the song, "Pour some sugar on me" and as he approaches the mic he just goes ahead and takes off his shirt. What?

There were about 40 people in the bar, maybe more. And he belted out the song...a few of the waitresses brought some handfuls of sugar and threw it on him. A local woman came up to him afterward and said,
"That was a treat. I haven't seen that much skin in quite some time."
I haven't laughed that hard in awhile.


happy birthday philip! 
i love you. 

1.19.2011

{ 2011 to do}

{2011 Perplexed Birdies Calendar by Collete Papiere}
I do not really like resolutions, but I do like goals & to do lists...so I have a few for 2011 & thought I would share. Perhaps this will help keep my accountable to doing some of them.

{1} learn to sew - I know the basics, but want to sew a pillow sham & learn how to do the basics
{2} only go to the grocery store once a week - odd goal, but I ALWAYS end up having to go several times & it takes so much time & energy.
{3} live a neater/cleaner life. okay, totally not measurable, but I have noticed that I have this cycle of my house/car/etc gets messy as I am busy during the week & then it takes me all day Saturday to clean it up. I want to figure out how to live a more organized day to day schedule where I am not letting everything pile up.
{4} read a book a month - could be a spiritual book or a book for fun, but once a month
{5} get into two more local boutiques with my button jewelry
{6} exercise 3x a week - enough said.
{7} continue to blog on a semi-daily basis
{8} journal & remember what God has done - my friend reminded me this week how important that is
{9} redecorate our master bedroom - we love the colors, but Philip wants to build a new bed with  storage & I love that idea.

...so that is a start...i'm sure there's more...

1.14.2011

how to make a fabric covered bulletin board

{ make this cute bulletin board }

Supplies...
  • Home Decor Fabric (a few inches extras larger than the area of your bulletin board)
  • Cheap Bulletin Board (i got one at Ollie's...super cheap)
  • Staple gun
  • Hammer (i just used this when the staple didn't go in all the way to hammer in)
Instructions...
  1. Lay fabric on bulletin board to make sure it covers the entire surface area. If you have extra, cut it off, but leave at least a few inches along the borders.
  2. Align the fabric on top of the board to make sure the design is situated at the way you want it to look. 
  3. Begin by putting one staple in the center of the right side of the frame. Pull the fabric tight, then do the same on the left side. Continue putting staples on opposite sides, keeping the fabric tight. Repeat on the top and bottom sides, and make neat hospital corners when you reach the edges & staple them down. 
  4. Viola! Enjoy your fun + easy bulletin board. 

1.13.2011

new tags?

 have really wanted to do new tags for awhile, but haven't figured out what I wanted to do. I ordered an adorable handmade stamp from Rubber Stamp Press last week & received it today & I love it! I can't decide if this is actually how I will use it though. 
It was harder to get the stamp straight on there than I expected....but I wanted to share, what do you think?
happy almost friday! 




1.12.2011

where i make stuff

Here are some updated pictures of my craft room. If you remember a few posts ago, when we got finished with Christmas - it was a mess! It is getting better - still a little messy. I got a new bulletin board, which I covered with fabric. I will blog about how to do it soon. Also got a lovely new rug at TJMaxx home goods. Oh I love it...The room is kind of random, but I think it is coming together at the same time. 

And Lucy loves it too...which is always a bonus....

1.10.2011

christmas 2010 | a little late

Here are a few pictures that sum up my Christmas day...there are many more, but here is a taste...
...sorry it's so late, by the way!







always great food & great conversation

This picture is of Philip - doesn't it look light out? Oh wait, it is. It is because we got snowed in & had to spend the night there! I think I will remember this Christmas for a long time!

I am still celebrating the season! 

1.06.2011

{ wedding inspiration }

I am very happily married, but I just couldn't resist this awesome front page of etsy... 
I wish wish wish I had known about etsy when I got married two years ago because these things are so fun...


...and i want that initials pillow...

1.05.2011

crafter's block.

Do you ever get crafter's block? Like a crafty version of writer's block? I think I have it now. I have been really into blogging of late and have found myself reading other blogs and working on my own. I have worked on a lot of design things in our house, and have had a lot of fun doing that (but it can be an expensive habit...)

I guess this is a typical January slump-like feeling for me. It is hard to move on from Christmas. I want it to stay. This is how I feel right now...as far as crafting goes...

1.04.2011

blogs i love.

I know this is weird, but I have been falling in love with some blogs lately. Since I started blogging more frequently, I have started reading more blogs also. There have just been some stories that have gotten to me. I wanted to share them because they are so sweet & powerful.

{ Libby's }

I have been reading my friend, Libby's blog this fall as she is going through chemotherapy to fight cancer. As I would read her blog every few days, I would find myself thinking about how she has so gracefully fought this terrible disease, without complaining or grumbling, but trusting that God is in the midst of this really hard stuff...


 & then I found {Edie's blog }

I just stumbled upon it while browsing some blogs before Christmas. I fell in love with the turquoise cabinets, but it was her perspective on life that peaked my interest. I looked at her blog again a few days after Christmas and discovered that her house had burned down over Christmas. And then she shared her perspective on life in the midst of losing her entire home days before Christmas. Can you imagine? I cannot...


Then I found Kelle Hampton's sweet photography blog...

I noticed quickly that one of her daughter's has down syndrome. Kelle wrote up the birth story of her daughter Nella. Wow. It was just incredible. I have just started to explore her site, but I have thought about their story since I found her site. Really. I can't explain how good it is. Just read it.

See I make plans for my life all the time. And frequently they do not go as I hope. These women have felt simliarly, I'm sure. Our expectations are not fulfilled, which can cause us to be angry, disappointed...or you can choose to trust that God knows what he is doing. In the midst of all this hard stuff, I see these women rejoicing. I think that is what gets me. The belief that God is still good & is still God no matter what life brings...

What are you reading that is inspiring you?

oh  & i dropped Philip's name...since I am really the blogger...sorry boo... 

1.03.2011

craft room/study

I have been working on my craft room slash study for the past two days. It is not where I want it yet, but I thought I would share my progress. Looking at the before picture - I can't believe how big of a mess it was. Part of the problem is we just got back from break and I just kind of dumped everything in there. Part of the problem is...I always just put random thing in that room!


I also got some tubs at Home depot that I really think are pretty...
{I always find I need something pretty for some motivation}

This room is still a work in progress. I also bought a rug for my dressing room, but also liked it in this room. I haven't decided where it should stay yet (you can see the rug on the second picture) I am planning an inspiration board in place of she Escher print. I am thinking a big cork board or something that will allow me to put up ideas, etc. 
I'll keep you posted!