happy love day

Clint and I found this so cool shell on the beach at Mexico when we were taking a walk at sunset. How sweet is that! Our own love shell. I took it as a sign of our true love. (Thanks, of course, to our friends who stayed back at the beach house cooking dinner and playing with the kids--but that's another story. )

sunday morning hailstorm

Playing in the hail was a perfect way to start our Sunday morning.

Just don't ask why we need a baggie full of hail in our freezer.

weekend wishes

This is where I wish I was spending the weekend. Instead of holed up in my office working. Grrr.

draper temple

I've been working on some projects this week that I've had on my plate from before the holidays. This is one of them. I love how it turned out. After staring at it for two days now, I'm thinking of throwing the kids in the car and driving the 11 hour drive (each way!) over an upcoming weekend to attend the open house. Am I crazy to even be considering this?

my amazing thing for today

Have you seen this countdown of 1000 awesome things yet? Not only is it very entertaining and fun to read but it's a great reminder that it's usually the simple things that are the most amazing. My amazing thing for today is desert living. January (and February and March, for that matter) are amazing in Arizona. The high is supposed to hit 76 today. Perfect. I snapped this picture of Maddie and her friends out riding their bikes in the sun. Amazing day. (I considered writing about how amazing it is that the AZ Cardinals are one game away from the Super Bowl--but I don't want to jinx anything...)

empty mailbox

First Blueprint stopped publication. I still miss reading it. Over the holidays I heard that Cottage Living went defunct and then today I read that Home Companion and Country Living have shut their doors. What? H0w can this be? I am now down to two monthly magazines to look forward to. Sigh. (the above image of the current Domino is for a certain freind of mine who has a little crush on a Zooey...)

sumo love

What isn't great about sumo wrestlers? They are SUPPOSED to eat way too much and they get rewarded for gaining weight. And--this is the best part--they are proud to show their body off. I wish I had a baby to wear this onesie or, better yet, I wish it came in my size.

14 in dog years

I promise I'm not one of those crazy dog people but we did throw a little party for our puppy on Tuesday. It was one of my new year's resolutions to say yes more often to my children and they (Maddie and Sam anyway) were begging. (It's her birthday, Mom!) So I caved and said we could make her a little doggie cake (recipe from here and she LOVED it!). No decorations. No presents. Okay maybe a few doggie treats but absolutely not wrapped! No, not every puppy\dog in the neighborhood can attend. No, no friends--just our family. Okay, a few neighbor kids that couldn't resist the idea of puppy party can come (Maddie, as usual, announced it to pretty much her entire school). Happy birthday Duchess!

speaking of monograms

So much for my goal of simplifying...after reading this, I now want to design my own monogram. Love it!

everything's better with an m on it

I'm a sucker for monograms. My talented sister-in-law made this fantastic bowl for me for Christmas. It's the perfect size for a bag of clementines (which I'm all out of right now because they disappear like candy in our house...well, not exactly like candy...but very fast). I love it. Maybe she will write a tutorial on how to do it on her blog...

where's a book club when you need one

I started reading The Glass Castle today and was not able to put it down. And now I've finished it but I can't go to sleep because I keep thinking about it and I want to discuss it with somebody but it's 12:20 in the am and I have no one to talk to! So I'm blogging it. If you have not read this book, find yourself a copy and read it. Amazing and beautifully written memoir about a family who overcomes extraordinarily terrible circumstances. "Outrageous misfortune"--according to the NY Times review. Just when you think things can't get worse, you turn the page and they do. If you've ever blamed your childhood for anything or felt sorry for yourself for what you had to "endure" (or know someone who has), read this book.

a few pics from our merry christmas

Our annual "pose in front of the tree in our new matching jammies on Christmas Eve" picture--which our kids only endure because they know the opening of one present each is up next. Finding matching jammies gets harder and harder each year as the kids get bigger. This year, I tried first for a reindeer theme for all of us, then added grinch and finally ended with simply red.

Our annual "burst through the wrapping paper to see what Santa brought" picture.

I guess our children were on the good list this year. We only wish that we could have shared all the excitement and happiness of the day with all our friends and family.

sweet idea

I love this idea from Eddie Ross. And I think my kids will too!

never enough glitter and sparkle

It used to be rather difficult to find silver and white glittered and sparkling ornaments for my tree (and a few antique gold crushed glass glitter because I love how it ages). I really had to look. Now they're everywhere and I am forced to be selective. I try (really, Clint!) to buy just a few each year.

This gorgeous snowflake is what I added this year--Caitlin brought me three of these beauties home from her trip to Gettysburg. Love them.