princess wand

its been a rough go at things lately, but what better way to make a day brighter than a princess wand??

a little gift for a special birthday girl

i found it here

wedding videos

I've spent several hours the past two days using iMovie and iDVD (two programs that should make you want a mac) to create our wedding dvd complete with dvd menus and extras! It was easy to upload them to YouTube when I was done - so I did. The picture quality is pretty bad, but you will get the idea of what was going on. If you are interested? If not just skip this post all together!

First up is the ceremony (in three parts)



YouTube made me cut out the part where we played Somewhere Over the Rainbow...something about copyright..pfft!





Next up? Me being classy...



they made me do it??

After dinner My brother and his friend Alexis sang a song...I LOVED this!



After the toasts (too long to upload) was the cake cutting (cake that I made by the way!)



I adore that song from Juno

First dance to another of my favorite songs: The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson



Dance Party! If only the camera battery hadn't died...you could see the real crazy dance party!



Bouquet Toss. I had my florist make the toss bouquet a large bouquet composed of several smaller bouquets.That way more people get to feel special!



Garter Toss. The camera battery died before the actual toss, but it was so funny how Grant was while he took the garter off (i HATE this tradition too...)



Then we just kept dancing til we left!

Pillowcase Bag: a sort of tutorial

Yesterday, on a whim, I set out to make the pillowcase bag that I included in my Crafty To Do List. Martha has lots of great ideas, but her instructions leave something to be desired. I decided to take a few pictures and videos to make it easier for anyone else who wants to make one. It is really quite easy and took me about 45 minutes start to finish.

Start with a pretty pillowcase spread out flat on your cutting mat. Cut 1/4 inch off the bottom (the closed end)

Next you are going to cut the pillowcase in half diagonally - doesn't matter which diagonal, just pick one.

This is the part that kind of confused me. You are going to fold over and pin the 4 diagonal cut edges. Martha suggests a double fold of 1/4 inch, but that is too difficult and not really necessary so I just did one fold of about 1/2 inch. You can see two of my edges in the above picture and I did the same thing to the diagonal edges of the other half.

Sew all four hems. Again you are sewing the diagonal edges here.

After all four edges are hemmed you are going to place one half inside the other. This is sort of confusing so here is a video to assist.

is that clear? i hope so.

As I mentioned in the video you are now going to sew along the outside diagonal edges. This will rejoin the two halves. You can see above that the two are joined. You have to do this once on the front of the bag and again on the back outside diagonal edge.

This video reinforces the previous step and also the last few steps. 1. Turn the bag inside out and sew along the bottom - this closes up the bottom of the bag so your stuff doesn't fall out! 2. Turn it right side out again and knot the top.

Go places with your new bag! I think this turned out cute, but I'm not as in love as I'd hoped to be. Jess suggested some ric-rac...what do you guys think??

these just changed my life

homemade chocolate chip cookies. yumm. i've had a craving for these ever since this post claimed that the recipe was THE best. but THEN i saw this recipe. i was going to try them both but got lazy and only made the second because it had one less ingredient.

OMG these are good. they taste like they are from a specialty bakery...soft, chewy, chocolatey. so good. so so so so good.

do as she says and use a high quality chocolate chip and PURE vanilla extract. they are a little more spendy, but you won't be sorry. i made a whole batch of dough and froze half... i'll let you know how the second batch bakes up.

i seriously can't stop thinking about them. so good.

99 things

Sometimes when I want to avoid studying I find things like this to do...

Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (see photographic proof...i should do a tour of europe from my photos...)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning...ugh! mexican honeymoon. nuf said.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables...herbs count, right?
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping... i feel like its sad i haven't done this...
27. Run a Marathon...twice!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice...it was too expensive, but i did go to Venice!
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise..i get sea sick and people keep falling overboard
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors...no, but i really want to!
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language..started to when we were going to move to France
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing...on a rock wall? once?
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke...bachelorette party. so fun!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt...we saw every other gyser in Yellowstone, but were too lazy to coordinate the timing of Old Faithful
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud...um...i'm from Oregon
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class - does kickboxing count?
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp - no but I went to the Holocaust Museum in DC
67. Bounced a check...well, a debt transaction...i struggled to keep track of my balance in high school...
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a Quilt...no, but its on my to do list
73. Stood in Times Square - twice
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - humerus falling off a trampoline and wrist falling off a swing
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - contributed to one, anyhow...
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - my parents bought me one when they totaled my first car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House...just outside the gates
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury...no, but Eugene just summoned me...had to turn 'em down
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby...no, but i really want to!
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone...just got a new one!
99. Been stung by a bee...30ish at once...i was not a happy camper.

Pico de Gallo

Go make this. Its easy and delicious. We made the guac too... yum.

oh and look - i FINALLY know what the heck a fat quarter is!