philly

And we're back! I have decided to divide our trip into 3 separate posts, so here is the Philly bit.

The first place we visted was Old City. The houses were absolutely beautiful and I simply couldn't get enough of the cobblestone streets.

This is Elfreth's Alley, the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the U.S.

Independence Hall

Love Park

skyscrapers in downtown Philly

the giant clothspin

getting our cheesesteaks

the city skyline

Boathouse Row behind the Art Museum

And last, but certainly not least, is a night shot from the Rocky Steps (aka Philadephia Art Museum)

Next up, DC!

Merry Christmas!

and we're off!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the nice comments on my last post! It was great to hear from you all!


One of the big, fun, exciting things we have been getting ready for the past little while is our annual vacation. This year the destination is Philadephia and DC. Jeff's brother is getting married in the Washington DC temple on Friday, so we decided to make a vacation out of it (especially because we were too busy to take a vacation this summer). We leave tomorrow morning - yippee!

As for the random picture, it's one I took in Shelley over Thanksgiving weekend with my new camera. More details to come...

Have a great week!

not forgotten

Yes, here I am, back to blogging. Life has definitely been hectic in my neck of the woods - getting ready for Christmas, directing our ward choir, helping plan a wedding open house, getting acquainted with my new camera (yipee!), prepping for a trip to Philly and DC (double yipee!), not to mention a few crafting projects. Busy, busy, busy! And too much to write about all in one post. Instead of expounding on my life in it's entirety, I'll share a few of my craft projects from the past few months.

Oh, how I love flowers! Fresh ones, printed ones, and even fabric ones! I've been trying to design a little pattern for these babies, but it still needs some work. I wear the little green one in my hair (attached with a bobby pin) and the bigger one is for a bag I've started making.

One of my new favorites in gift giving - handbound journals. A great place to record random thoughts, spiritual insights, shopping lists, or the cute things your little one does that you don't want to forget. Plus, it's a good excuse to use some of the stacks and stacks of beautiful paper I collect but never seem to get around to using.

And last, but certainly not least, is this darling little elephant! I've unsuccessfully searched for a free elephant pattern on the internet for quite sometime, so I finally broke down and bought this little kit for under $14 on Amazon. I did make some alterations to the original pattern, including the little tuft on the tail in the back, and was quite pleased with the results. What do you think?

graphic goodness

I just signed up to get this *free* downloadable calendar that can easily be converted to wall art, as deomonstrated here. I can't wait to print it out at home! Get it for yourself here.

Speaking of great design, isn't this print just gorgeous? It's a shower curtain I spotted at Burlington, of all places. I really love the bold black design against the bright white.

happy 11-11!

a few thoughts

Wow - what an election! I'm happy to announce that my candidate/boss won his race - woo hoo! Jeff and I enjoyed the local festivites with friends and co-workers, meeting our elected representatives and getting on TV. It was great!

As I walked through downtown Boise and past the Capitol today, I couldn't help but think how lucky I am. It has been my great opportunity to work for our next U.S. Senator these past few months in our wonderful capital city. What a blessing it is to live in this great country where we have the right and responsibility to make our voices heard in electing our leaders.

Although I have enjoyed following the local and federal races, I am definitely excited to get past the campaign mindset and on to actual legislation, policy, and effective government. Here's to our wonderful country and those who have sacrificed to make it what it is today. May we all stand up to preserve the Constitution of the country they founded.

happy election day!

Happy Election Day, everyone! Can you believe it is finally here? Make sure you get out and vote today to make your voice heard! In the meantime, please enjoy my attempt at a little political cartoon with the picture above, taken by one of my co-workers a few weeks ago.

CAPTION:

Mitt: Hi, I'm Mitt Romney!

Karla: Oh my gosh! I love Mitt Romney!

Jeff: Yep, she loves Mitt Romney.

mmm...

i love autumn

quirky tag

Barbara recently tagged me. I'm supposed to share 6 quirky things about me, so here goes:

1 - I really, really love flying. The first time I ever flew was when I was a junior in high school, but the novelty hasn't really worn off. I still walk around the airport feeling like I'm so cool, even though everyone else is there to do the exact same thing. I'm also fascinated to look out the window at the sights below (the picture above is one I took on a recent flight). I really can't describe how much I love to fly!

2 - I do not like blowing up balloons. I'm always afraid I'll blow them up too much and they will pop in my face. As a result, my balloons are almost always underflated (is that even a word?).

3 - I absolutely HATE the sound of forks scraping against dishes. It sounds horrible and it makes me cold. In fact, I just got a shiver thinking about it.

4 - I am somewhat of a triskaidecaphobe, meaning I have a fear of the number 13. I've been known to be so extreme that I can't even set my alarm clock to numbers that add up to the number 13, such as 6:34, 9:31 (31 is bad too because it is 13 backwards), etc.

5 - I guess the fact that I even set my alarm for random times like 7:32 and 9:07 is weird in and of itself.

and finally

6 - I love Star Wars. There, I said it.

Now, it's your turn (if you so choose)...

Amanda

Ariel

Kacey

Jen

Stefanie

Tenille

halloween

Halloween morning was so perfect here: overcast sky, wind rustling the dry leaves, and slightly cool but not cold. I loved it!

The FOE!

Shout out to all my homies from south Provo who know and love the FOE. Yes, you know who you are, all you former or current residents of Monaco and/or the Villa/Heritage. You will be amused to know that Jeff and I unexpectedly stumbled upon the FOE in Boise a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately (ha ha) it is not close enough to our place for us to hear karaoke night, but apparently all are welcome to attend their Saturday night dance. :)

jeff had a birthday - shout hooray!

Hooray for Jeff! Happy 26!

last night

was beautiful.

We met Mitt!

Through my job, Jeff and I had the opportunity to meet Governor Mitt Romney this past week! We both felt so lucky to shake his hand and get our picture with him (along with my candidate and his wife). Governor Romney was very personable and genuine; we felt privileged to meet him.

dear autumn,

The calendar tells me you are here, but the thermometer is telling me a different story. When will the 90 degree days end so I can wear sweaters, turn off the a/c, and make some delicious pumpkin cake? Please come as soon as you can.

Yours truly, Karla

hip hip hooray for Jeff!

Yay for Jeff! We just found out he passed all 4 of the CPA exams on his first try (hip, hip!) I'm telling you, he is one smart guy! And we are THRILLED his crazy days of studying are now behind us. We enjoyed a little celebration at Texas Roadhouse in his honor. Apparently he still doesn't like me taking his picture, but I'm posting this one from a few months ago. Feel free to post your congratulatory remarks to our budding, young CPA - I'll make sure he gets them. :)

Spud Day!

A little late, but here are some of my favoite photos from last weekend. Saturday was Spud Day - one of the biggest days of the year in little Shelley, Idaho. Oh, how I love being from a small town! Pictured above is one of the legendary *free* baked potatoes.

And here are the runners up to the legendary Spud Tug, which is a tug of war over a pit of mashed potatoes...Really. Great job guys - I'm so proud!

crafty craftiness

In case you think I don't craft anymore...

here's some proof to the contrary. :)

labor day weekend

Aahhh - I love 3-day weekends, and Labor Day weekend was no exception! We decided to make a trip to Oregon with our day off because I've never been there. So Monday morning we (finally) cleaned up some lingering moving messes, packed our lunches, and ran for the border!

Enjoying our picnic in the booming metropolis of Adrian, Oregon. Can anyone verify that people actually live there? :)

Mmm...our lunches included tasty homemade Oreo cookies (thanks for the recipe, Krista).

We may or may not have gotten lost on this dirt road,

but we eventually ended up on this one (a tribute to my high school alma mater)

and saw this lovely site.

Oh - and I didn't forget to color in Oregon on my map!

All in all a great day and a fun adventure. :)

welcome to beijing!

Like many of you, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the Olympics this year. I have especially enjoyed the swimming and gymnastics. And how about those Opening Ceremonies?! A-MAZ-ING! Go check out the pictures (including the one above) at this link I found on Jordan's blog - absolutely stunning!

A few months ago, long before the Olympics, Jeff introduced me to this song, the welcome song for the Olympics. He found out about it in his Chinese 101 class last semester. The way he described it to me was "a thugged up version of 'Do Your Ears Hang Low?' " I know, sounds random, but you'll see why. Make sure you pay attention to the subtitles for the occasional phrases in English. We've been know to randomly sing, "We are young!" or talk about our "glory day" in our everyday lives. We seriously love this song!

the fair

Yes folks, it's fair time in Boise! Jeff and I went to help out with a booth last week for my work. After our shift, Jeff was kind enough to walk around with me while I snapped some pictures. I enjoyed catching the bright lights and motion on my camera.

getting ready

take off!