road trip

i am sooo excited to be taking my first official vacation of the year, but i'm even more excited it's with these girls to go see this girl!!

look out nashville!! i hope you're ready for all our laughing, dancing, and random uses of the word sha! :)

30 years

this past monday was my parent's 30th wedding anniversary. 30th! i'm so proud of them and can think of no other people better made for each other. i realize now how lucky i was to have such a great example of love and commitment growing up, and i am so thankful for that. so in honor of my parent's special day, we, the children, planned something fun just for them.

for the 30th birthday, the gift is pearl. then i thought, how i can get my dad a pearl gift?? let the brainstorming begin. with my parents being suckers for sentiment, the idea hit. we would all write letters to them on pearlized paper, surprise them with a visit, and cook dinner.

what's pearlized paper you ask? i'm not sure if it's even a word, but i do know that hobby lobby had just what i was thinking. and of course i can't just write a letter; i had to make an envelope to go with it.

fig. 1



fig. 2



fig. 3




fig. 4



and then i bedazzled it with fake pearls. i know, i know. classy :)



final product--sure-fire tear jerker.



and if the pearl-studded presentation didn't bring her to tears, then she didn't stand a chance with what i wrote inside.



it's a running joke to make her cry with the cards we give, and it never gets old. don't worry, my dad got his fair share of pearls too.

they were so shocked we came! me and mal made tacos and she brought dirt cake (yum!) for dessert. it was fun to be home again as a whole family, and i could tell they were soaking it up.

my dad had his present all ready of course with a note "do not open until tuesday." this drives my mom crazy because it's probably been up there for days (maybe weeks).

it was the sweetest thing. he got her two cards (gifts inside) because he couldn't decide between them, and they both said all the right things apparently. and then the water works began.

he made her read both cards out loud, including what he wrote. i will say the last card got me, and i had to fight back the tears. :)

30 years later and he's still stealing kisses. congrats mom and dad!

oh heavenly day

patty griffin is one of my favs that i discovered in college (shout out kendra!) and one of her newer songs (to me at least) has been on repeat in my mind for the last few days, so i thought i'd share.

it's a sweet song that pulls me back to the present when i often catch myself chasing the future.

photo: vol25

more weekend happenings

this weekend started out in a furniture store. we might be the coolest twenty-somethings you know, right? i've been looking for a recliner for the LONGEST time. a simple chair that has clean lines but doesn't scream "i'm a recliner." joel found this bad boy and while it might not be too easy on the eyes...it was one of the most comfortable things i've ever sat in.



later, we met up with this lovely couple to have dinner and a movie. it was justin's birthday celebration, so we celebrated by eating lots of food and topping it off with a pizookie (double chocolate...yum.) the movie of choice was inception. until that night, i had always thought girls were the only ones to travel in packs. i was wrong. the movie was pretty good, but there was a moment when i swear leo was channeling jack from titanic and it made me tear up a bit. ahhh titanic.



saturday was great because lauren was in town! i've known lauren since the 4th grade, and she is one of the sweetest, most kind-hearted people i know. and she laughs at everything too, so it's always fun when she's around.



i met up with her and betsy, and we decided to go to california pizza kitchen. we did a lot of catching up and a little bit of people watching. all around great fun. :)



after i got home, i helped joel put up his album cover art for his man room. i love watching the things he thinks to put up in that room, and this idea is soooo joel.



and of course as soon as i thought of painting my headboard, it started to rain. so we just hung around for the afternoon, drank coffee, and i couldn't avoid the fact that i needed to catch up on design work, so i guess it's a good thing after all because i got lots done.



after i cooked dinner, we decided to go get sonic (tcby was closed...boo) and watch a single man. such a great movie. i love this time period and have always been a huge colin firth fan. i listened to an interview on npr about it a few months ago, so i was excited to say the least when it showed up in ondemand.



sunday, my brother and his fiancee were on their way back from the beach and stopped in for shopping and dinner. we introduced them to the chimes and had a great time hanging out. i was so happy they came by!

whew! another great weekend with lots to do--i love summer. :)

summer softball

16 red shirts, 12 games, 5 rain outs, 3 strawberries gone bad, 2 home runs, 1 strained hammy and a broken collarbone, 0 official scorekeepers...

(you know where this is going...)

time spent with friends on the baseball field...priceless. :)

goooo ring mighty ducks!!!

good read [simple marriage]

simple marriage is another one of those blogs that helps me see the bigger picture. not only is it a blog dedicated to marriage, but it features ways to approach situations in life, general day-to-day issues, and keeping things simple so you can experience more. what i enjoy most is that it reminds you that marriage is so much more than being happy and in love--something i often tend to forget.

one of the reasons i keep coming back to this blog was the post the power of a family maxim. here is an excerpt that again make me wonder about my own perspective:

"Today we find many Christian believers living a status quo relationship with God that is more characterized as “business as usual” than a life demonstrating God’s power. Our focus is often more concerned with improving our standard of living than improving the Kingdom of God through our circle of influence. God has called each of us to live for a cause greater than ourselves – a life that is dependent on His grace and power to achieve things we never thought possible through our lives. This is His plan for your life.

The apostle Paul prayed that He might experience the power of the resurrection in his life. This power is available to you and me to live for a cause greater than ourselves.

How often do we live for a cause greater than ourselves with our family? Yes, we may be the protector and provider for the family, but to what end? What’s the point of putting a roof over the family’s head and food on the table other than barely surviving? Or we may be the nurturer and primary caregiver for the children, but why?

What is your family maxim or motto?

Are you living for a cause greater than yourself in your marriage? In your parenting?"

ummmmm. i don't think i want to answer that question.

so if you enjoy blogs that tackle interesting and sometimes touchy subjects in marriage, then give simple marriage a try.




good reads disclaimer: i haven't mentioned this before, but with all blogs that i share and other blogs in the blogosphere, i'm not suggesting everything the author says is truth. in the virtual world, especially, people are more likely to look credible, but don't let that stop you from disagreeing and constantly searching for truth. if something goes against what you believe, ask why, look it up, pray about it, talk to others. i love to read blogs, so i'm constantly reading and even if i don't agree with what is being said, i see it as a learning opportunity to dive deeper into my own beliefs or open my mind to thinking differently about something.

weekend happenings

so two of my best friends have recently joined blogland are putting me to shame with their frequent posts! in an effort to post at least once a week, i'm going to try my best to document the everyday things. and what better way than to track my weekend happenings? we'll see how long this lasts. :)



on friday, this guy showed up with these guys. i can only think of a few things that make him more excited than when he has a game of risk to look forward to. the boy lives for anything that has to do with strategy or competition--we couldn't be more opposite when it comes to games.



while he was finding new ways to dominate the world, i was catching up on design work and wrapped this little beauty to deliver to it's owner. seeing people's reactions after handing over the final product reminds me of why i do what i do. it's seriously one of the best feelings ever.



on saturday, i went to wives group where we talked about having a critical spirit. man oh man, do i struggle with this one. i took lots of notes to say the least. but during group, joel won the best husband award (yet again) and went to pick up this headboard. for only $10, it was too cute to pass up. thank you craigslist. i spent a good part of the afternoon sanding and cleaning it only to have it POUR when it came time to paint. ugh. i plan on painting it "heirloom white" and maybe putting a fun fabric where the mesh is. i'm not a fan of the mesh, but we'll see after it's painted. i LOVE the curves and details! i'll be sure to post an after pic.



so because of the rain, the ring softball game got canceled. but since so many people were already there before they called it, the guys decided to play "pull the trigger." i wouldn't even know how to explain it, but the guys seemed to have fun. the best part about joel playing softball (aside from watching joel do his thang of course :)) is that i get to hang out with all the girls on the sidelines. it's been such a blast; i'm so sad the summer league is already over. :(



and i'd have to say the highlight of my weekend was that natalie came for a weekend visit. we woke up on sunday, drank cappuccinos (because the gilberts are that fancy), and then went shopping. shopping proved to be a bust so we decided to go see the latest chick flick, eclipse. it was just so great to have her in town and not have any other plans than just hanging out. she is one of the funniest people i know, and it was just a great time full of serious talk, sarcasm, and catching up.

why can't every day be a weekend? :)