urbanbundle

it’s been a while, but i’m back! busy holiday season and a wedding to cater (which i’m no pro at, just a decent cook!) and now i feel like i can breathe again…at least for a bit. i decided to submit for this weeks photo challenge at iheartfaces. the theme is “we heart kisses.” along with catering my nieces wedding, i took the photos for their invitation. we did a photo-strip format and this is one of my favorite photos from the session.

i hope you enjoy it!

be sure to go check out all the other amazing submissions at iheartfaces!

the theme this week at i {heart} faces is “autumn beauty.” i immediately went to this picture in my head. anya was collecting leaves at the state capitol this day and was running and fell down with her “bouquet”. she wasn’t the least bit happy to have me snapping away after she fell - her expression tells it all - but i love this picture. if you look closely, you can see me in the reflection in her left eye. neat!

be sure to click the link above to see all the other great entries this week!

since i took my first knitting class last year, i’ve completely fallen in love with this relaxing new hobby. i need to get back into the swing of knitting some more things for the holidays and gifts (look out family - there may be knitted items in your gift boxes this year!)

i’ve wanted to figure out a way to use the left over yarn i have laying around from various simple scarf and hat patterns i’ve knitted.

low and behold, i came across this site that will provide warmth to those in need utilizing a simple 8 x 8 inch knitted or crocheted square.

knit-a-square was created to allow knitters across the globe to create knitted squares that are mailed to a central location to be sewn together to create quilts for children in south africa suffering from aids - many of them orphaned and abandoned. these blankets are sent to these children in need.

i can’t think of a better way to use my new hobby to give back and send warmth to these children.

i’m getting started right away! how about you? knit-a-square (or two or ten) today!

this week at iheartfaces it’s pink week in honor of breast cancer awareness month. i wish i had a more profound photo to submit, but i just love this one i took of anya. the pink shirt she’s wearing and her pink lips and tongue really stand out against the green grass. be sure to click on the box above to check out all the other wonderful entries.

it usually hits me when i’m playing outside with my kids. watching the kids chase after bubbles blowing in the wind; hearing them giggle when they run through the sprinkler; watching as anya closes her eyes so tight to make a wish before blowing on dandilions and watching their seeds waft away in the wind. i always wonder what the weather is going to be like in 40 years. what will summers be like? will winter just be a few weeks in january?

here in california, where i’ve lived for 10 years, i’ve most certainly seen a change in the climate. it’s mid-october and the forecast is showing 80 degree temperatures for friday. our summers seem to start earlier every year. and the hot temperatures last longer into the fall months.

each year when the summer temps hit highs in the hundreds for days or weeks on end, and we are literally melting from the heat, i wonder how much hotter it will get. how much hotter can it get? on these days, it’s nearly impossible to enjoy fun activities outside with the kids unless you get them all in before the sun hits high in the sky - or 10 a.m.

we try to teach our kids about taking care of the planet as they grow up. it’s the only one we have to live on and we need to do our part (big or small) to make sure it’s livable. my 4 year old gets it. she’s learning about turning off lights and conserving water and recycling. climate is a harder one to explain. how do i tell her the ice caps are melting? how do i explain that polar bears might not be around when she has children? how do i explain to her that the coast line is changing?

these are questions i think about. i hope as a population, we will work together toward making things livable for generations to come.

we went to in-n-out burger yesterday.

i can’t help myself.

really, does it get any better?

i took some new photos for john’s badmouth article on in-n-out.

two words: animal style.

if you aren’t familar with those two words, go check out the badmouth article about the in-n-out secret menu.

holy french fries. no really, they are.

amen.

i’ve never done this before. here’s my entry into the weekly photo challenge at iheartfaces.

i just love this photo. a blast from the past - this was anya’s first visit to the beach…she was only 5 months old!

i realized after posting that i need to mention that my hubby took this photo. he gives me full rights to the photo. hehehe!

i’m beside myself with my latest kitchen gadgety thingy.
i received one of these as a gift. i’ve wanted one for a really, really, really long time.

are you one of those people that goes for the edge pieces on a plate of brownies? i sure am. in my humble opinion, that’s the best part of the whole batch! with this pan, you get an edge piece - are you ready for this…with every serving!

there are recipes for savory dishes cooked in this pan as well, but lets be honest here people - is there really anything more important than brownies?

i’ll be back with my first baking experience soon. i can’t wait!

*update*

here i am back with the completed brownies. drum roll please…

ta da!!! so yummy!

i found this talented blogger, rae gun ramblings, from a comment left here at urban bundle.

i just had to post about these super cute headbands! love the tutorial on how to make them as well…the possibilities are endless!

plus…you can go here and enter to win three of these awesome headbands! hurry, you only have until 7/18/09. so go…get outta here (but remember to come back)…i’ll wait.

john and i got married under some special circumstances.

we got engaged in february of 2002. we planned on getting married the following spring, but
john’s mom clara was diagnosed with very advanced colon cancer in may of 2002. we decided to do an
impromptu wedding so his mom could be there to witness our nuptials. we had about a day and a half to
get all the logistics ironed out. we only had two other guests at our wedding besides john’s parents; his sister katie and his sister mary, who was visiting from minnesota to help out with their sick mother.

i’m glad we were able to give clara this gift. i know it meant a lot for her to see her “baby” (john’s the youngest of 8.) tie the knot.

clara went to heaven on august 30th, 2002.

by the time our 1 year anniversary came around, we thought instead of doing another wedding, we would just throw a big reception. we were already married and felt we just wanted to get our family and friends together to celebrate.

in july of 2003 we threw a huge reception. we even did our own invitations.

my favorite thing of all was our “guest book.”

we decided to have a couple of polaroid cameras at the entrance and people were asked to take a photo of themselves and then write a message to the bride and groom on special paper we had sitting out.

the photo and the message got dropped in a bag and later we put them all in a book. i love looking back at what people said to us.

i think this means so much more than just a one line note in a guest book. the guests seemed to enjoy participating too.

we have lots to be thankful for and this book shows us all the people we are so blessed to have in our lives.

i’ll leave you salivating over our cheesecake (neither one of us is overly fond of regular cake - so we had these made instead.)