Merry Christmas!!!

We've had a whirlwind of a Christmas celebration. Wonderful, but quick! Friday night was a Christmas party with the Lindley family. Only 42 of us could be there. Then Saturday was just the immediate family of 15, including 5 children under 3. Sunday morning was just Hans and I, then off to the family gathering again, this time adding the grandfolks, for a cozy 17. Brunch, many gifts, and 3 hours later, we were all passed out in various spots and levels of sleep. After rejuvenating, we sat down to a wonderful Christmas dinner ala Norman Rockwell.

Here's a few pics to give you an idea of the wonderful fun to be had by all!

Hans is a magnet to all little tiny people in my family.

Christmas morning with the 2 of us. Showing off a few gifts from Hans' folks.

We took some family photos since the whole clan was together.

Me, Henry (18 mo.), Molly (9 mo.), Eleanor (12 mo.), Maddie (3 yrs) and Josie (2 1/2 yrs). These kiddos are such a joy!

Here's Maddie getting a kiss from her favorite Uncle.

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

GIVEAWAY!

So one of my FAVORITE food blogs is hosting a giveaway! Go and enter your name for some fabulous food prizes!!!!

I'm gunning for the milk frother!

http://www.krystaslifeinfood.com/2011/11/favorite-things-big-christmas-giveaway.html?showComment=1321460155623#c3836069369692478714

Where in the world is Carmen SanDiego?

Do you remember playing that game? It was supposed to help you with geography. I loved it. And I can still sing the jingle, "where in the world is . . . Carmen SanDiego? bum bum ba bum"

Anyhow, I bet you're not wondering what I've been up to the past month, but I'm going to tell you anyways.

Thanks to a very generous anniversary gift from my amazing in-laws I was able to build us a bonafide headboard! It has shelves and everthing. I love it. I'm still getting lighting and plugs worked out, but it looks awesome and I'm so proud of my handiness. Apparently my husband was exhausted from watching me work so hard, so he immediately christened it with a nap.

Celebrated 3 (THREE) years of marriage to an amazing fella. We went out for a nice dinner and took a half day at work. Hoping to still get a weekend away sometime soon too!

Went to Las Vegas for a couple days with my hubby for a work conference. Had a great time, learned a lot, but still not a big Vegas fan.

Those are the highlights, and now I'll try to keep you millions of readers satisfied with my more prolific updates in the future.

Love, peace and hair grease.

Disneyland!!! Oh, and my birthday.

So I left work a little early on Monday and went to Disneyland! We met up with J & J and little M to celebrate M turning 3. I think it was the most fun I've ever had at the Magic Kingdom. It's such a blast with a kiddo who's never seen it all before.

M's first ice cream cone.

She kept telling her mom, "look, no hands". It was so funny.

These two are literally best friends. Hans is M's jungle jim.

And this is a random shot from when we babysat a few weekends ago. M and I had fun with chalk drawings in the backyard.

Oh yeah, I turned 29 this last weekend as well. My husband did such a fabulous job celebrating me! We really had an awesome time. I only have this one pic though. But the weekend was full of eating, relaxing and gift-opening. Perfection!

Mary Roseanne's Giveaway!

If you missed the first giveaway, never fear, Mary Roseanne's is having another one! This time it's beautiful photographs by Caleb Weston. Click on either picture to find out how to enter to win!!!

Arrrrrrrrrr!

9:30 and a quick craft

Sitting at home blog hopping, I found this awesome tutorial to make these fun wall fans. So grabbing some scrapbook paper, scissors and a stapler, I set to work. 15 minutes later, I had these!

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Zig Zag Pillow

Took a half day at work yesterday, went home and got inspired! I've had this pillow project hanging around waiting to be completed, so I attacked it with my sharp scissors and can-do attitude!

So it was supposed to be more of the "chevron" look that's so popular right now, but it's really just a zig zag design. Using black and white, I put together triangles to create this lovely pillow for our new (old) chair. (Got the chair at an estate sale for $25!)

Also, FINALLY put some pictures up on the only wall space in our apartment. I think it came out nicely. Anyhow, happy Wednesday everyone!

Hooray for inspiration!

UNinspired Tuesday

I've been so lax on posting, I know, but I've been so UNinspired! Although, last night I did play around with some new envelope ideas to go with my new awesome cards. I didn't even have to ask my hubby what he thought, he just saw it and mentioned how awesome it is! What a guy. I love it when he notices the stuff I make.

Happy Tuesday everyone and here's to a hopefully much mor INspired Wednesday!

POTTER!!!

Hans and I saw the newest Harry Potter last night at midnight! We have closure! It was excellent! And so fun to be out with all the other HP geeks at midnight.
I made us badges to wear, using the HP font and felt pieces I had lying around.

I was going to wear it in my hair, but it was looking a little like a yamika (sp?).

And my oh-so-cute cupcakes! Little Potter glasses and lightning bolts! I had so much fun making these right up until we left. I'm a cake decorator BEGINNER, so I was impressed with even this much.

Giveaway! Birthday Banner!

Mary Roseanne's Blog is hosting it's first ever giveaway, and the prize is my eco-friendly banner! Go to the blog here to enter! And don't forget to enter every way you can for a better chance to win!
This is the last of my girly Birthday banner, and it'll be hard to give up. This is my favorite!

Hooray for Lynden!

I spent my 4th of July in beautiful downtown Lynden, Washington. The weather up there was actually better than here in SoCal. It was 73 degrees and sunny the whole time. It was amazing! I guess the best part was spending time with David, Rachel and little Molly. I love Molly, and I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm awesome.
So I baked a cake for a 4th of July BBQ with David, Rachel and some friends . . . So it wasn't completely cooled and this is what happens when you put cake together before it's ready. The cake prevailed and completely dismantled itself in warm protest. However, it still tasted great! (Those raspberries are a Lynden specialty, thanks Barbie!)
Here's my newest niece! Isn't she a doll? She's super content and easy. Sleeps 10 hours a night and is generally happy all day and she eats like a champ! I would say "You're so preeeeeeeety" in a sing-songy voice and she would smile every time, so adorable! Also, I made her that awesome buck head shirt in time for hunting season :)
It was a fabulous trip. Full of walks, naps, Harry Potter, kiddo time and lots of outdoors. All the things that make any trip great.

Caramel Popcorn AND Chocolate, of course.

So last week, on a whim, Hans and I decided to try our hand at making caramel popcorn. My darling husband is an expert popper in general, so I thought we should take it to the next level. It was so easy and so fun! Here's the tutorial I used in case you wish to caramelize your own life.

Hans and his beautifully popped popcorn, with all the kernals removed. So pretty.

And here's the final outcome. Ohmygoodness. It was amazing!
It made a complete mess in the kitchen, but totally worth it, don't you think?

Judith Louise or Amy Louise?

So this morning, after blow-drying my hair and putting on an Ann Taylor top, I looked in the mirror and saw my mother staring back! But it's my mother in the late sixties/early seventies. My hair is getting long and becoming a little beehive-y, paired with the ruffles on my top, I am officially my radical mother! (She's a foxy lady, so I certainly don't mind.)

$6.50

Ever since coming back from Bali, we've been a little bit lazy with our dinners. We may have become accustomed to having our food served to us on the beach, while we sip sparkling fruit drinks and only paying $10.

Papa John's has become our go-to meal for the past few weeks, which, don't get me wrong, is delicious, but not super healthy. But it's only $6.50 for a large pepperoni pizza, which feeds us both!

So I've decided to challenge us this week to come up with dinner every night for $6.50 for the both of us. Do you have any recipe ideas? I only have one so far!

I'm excited to see what we come up with, and please, no judgement if one of those meals is a pizza.

Bali Part I

Ok ok, I know we got back 2 weeks ago, but the lady has things to do! But I've finally transferred, cut down and edited a few photos for your viewing pleasure. Now keep in mind that I was busy enjoying my trip, so I didn't get a pic of everything under the sun, but just the things that really delighted me (which was mostly Hans and myself, little narcissistic, I think).

Here's Hans relaxing on one of the beds at Ku De Ta. We literally bathed in the sun while people served us snacks and delicious drinks. (Hans' favorite was a vanilla bean lime cooler, and I liked the sparkling lime!)

This is Hans kissing me right before we watched the SILLIEST dance performance we've ever seen. I didn't realize twitching was dancing, but apparently to the Balinese it's a very traditional twitching dance with importance to their culture. But Hans and I realized quickly that we just aren't the "cultured" type. The show was shaping up to be more than 2 hours, so we slipped out at about 45 minutes and giggled all the way back to the hotel.

Here we are on the scooter! This was right after a very UN-Mexican Mexican meal in Ubud. Hans was an expert driver, and trust me, it took skill to avoid cars, pedestrians, other scooters, stray dogs, giant potholes, monkeys, bats and etc. But we stayed alive, although Hans probably still has my nail marks in his stomach from my clinching him during our haring time on the bike.

I just loved this display, so colorful! This was right across the street from our favorite eatery in Ubud, called Kafe (really original, I know). They had the best sandwiches, burgers, snack plates and drinks!

Here I am lounging near the pool at our hotel in Seminyak, waiting for our driver to take us to Tanah Lot (the temple that's in the water, see below)

Ooh, so pretty, right? This temple really was cool. You can't go in it unless you're Hindu, but it's very enjoyable from the shore. You can walk up to this little pool where they'll sprinkle you with "holy water", which I believe costs money and has very little "holy" in it. But we sat up on the cliff and watched the sunset behind Tanah Lot while we ate plantain chips and had watermelon juice.

Bali Part II will be coming soon, scouts honor! I hope you're a little jealous, because you should be, it was magical and I really am missing it these days.

Potter!

I did it! I just finished reading the 7th Harry Potter! It was so fun to read all the books in time for the release of the last movie. It was my plan all along, plus I'm a late adopter. But I'm pretty sure I've just earned my husband's love. Yep, he makes me work for it. I have to read kids books, watch guy movies, stand in line for korean bbq at 10pm and countless other ways. Ha! I'm of course kidding.

But seriously if you haven't read them, these are a fun read!

(Bali pictures are coming soon, I pinkie swear!)

Planning my next trip . . .

So here's a blogger friend that's giving away a trip to PARIS!!!! Click the picture for a chance to win!

Welcome Home Me!!!

We're finally back from Bali! Seems like I was gone for so long, right? Right now my body is definitely paying the price of only leaving one day for recovery. It's midnight in Bali right now and it feels like midnight. My body also felt like it was 4 in the afternoon at 1:00 am this morning and refused to sleep anymore. Ugh!

But anyhow, we're back safe and sound. Just trying to recover at this point, although I'm so proud of myself for already getting all the laundry done and folded (Hans gets to put away)! Go me!

Many pictures and stories to come!

In 41 Hours . . .

I'll get on a plane for the following 14 hours! Then I'll be in Taipei for 3 hours and then back on a plane for 5 more hours! YIKES!

But then I get to be here:

and here

and here:

and here:

So I think the plane ride will be worth it. Don't you?

Around the House

It's amazing the fun and pretty things around my house that I stopped appreciating. I've taken sort of a photo diary of a few of my favorite sights in my little home.

These herbs (Basil, Parsley, Chives and Oregano) are the first plants I've ever planted from a seed and they are actually growing despite my black thumb! They're troopers too. I didn't know you were supposed to water seeds, until my husband told me that yes, you water seeds to make them grow. (Believe me about the black thumb now?)

This is the tree outside our window, and it's been blooming and smells so lovely!

I love this lamp. $6 at a thrift store, and my grey goose ($12 at anthro) and my Lady and Sons Cookbook (groupon) on my favorite side table (thrift store $10). I also love a good deal, can you tell?

This is the wall next to my bed and I just love it. Two pics from our wedding, some handmade embroidery hoops (yep a mustache to commemorate when H had a fancy 'stache), the S that I covered and adorned and some thrift store silhouettes.

What things do you have around your house that maybe you don't even notice any more, but that you treasure?