greetings from dc!

Greetings from our nation's capital! I am here all this week for training - yipee! I am excited to do not only touristy things, but fun Senate things, too - like attending a committee hearing (yes, I am a political nerd). Hopefully I'll have have more pictures up this week to share...

a little late...

but I just wanted to mention Pi Day, one of my favorite days of the year (I posted about it here last year). As always, we celebrated with yummy pies, although a Saturday evening activity prompted us to move the festivities to Pi Day Eve (aka March 13). The classics returned (key lime, chocolate, and asphalt [aka mint chip ice cream and oreo]), and a delicious Raspberry Custard Pie, like the one pictured above, made its Pi Day debut. The one I made was definitely not as pretty, but tasty none the less. You can get the recipe here (note: I used a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust instead of the Pate Brisee).

Do you celebrate Pi Day?

Picture from Martha

little birdies told him

A little late, but here is a picture of the card I made Jeff for Valentine's day. How can you not love cute, little, blue birdies?

practice makes perfect

Speaking of my new camera, one of the fun new things I've been experimenting with is portrait photography. Last weekend I took this picture (and about 10 million more) of my sister in-law for her sister who is building her cosmetology portfolio. It was fun to pose creative shots and try to get an idea across in a single picture. I still have a lot to learn - and a lot of practice to go!

So...if you're in the Boise area, please let me know if you, your children, family, etc. are interested in having some portraits done by yours truly. I have been considering offering my photography services at no cost except the time to take the pictures to enable me to get some experience with portraits. You get a CD with the pictures - I get the practice. Let me know if you're interested...

my camera

Finally - an update on my new camera! After saving up for months, I finally got my birthday, anniversary, and Christmas gift in November (I needed it in time for our trip back east) - my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi. Despite my impatience and occasional whining to Jeff about having to save up for it, I'm so glad I did - hard work does pay off! The camera is amazing and I would definitely recommend it as a great starter DSLR. I also highly recommend B&H Photo - they are AWESOME to work with!

So, now that I had a new camera, I needed something to carry it in (besides the bag that came with it that just screams, "There is an expensive camera in here - steal me!"). This is the messenger bag I made so that I had something to tote both of my cameras in around Philly and DC. What do you think?

as promised

Okay - projects as promised!

First up is the bag I made for my mom for Christmas. Isn't this cordouroy print fabulous?

And here's the apron I made for Jeff's mom for Chritmas - inspired by one Megan made a while ago.

Washington's Birthday

Do you do anything to celebrate President's Day (which in fact is technically titled "Washington's Birthday")? Neither did I until this year. First, I studied the Constitution (and PS - Wikipedia is an AWESOME resource - great explanations for those tricky to understand articles and clauses). I still have a few Amendments to go through, but I'm glad I took the opportunity to read up.

Also, I decided to follow Martha's idea and make one of Washington's and Lincoln's favorites - hoecakes (farmers used to actually make them on their hoes!). Let me tell you - DELISH! Highly recommended with butter and honey. Next year I think I'll incorporate a cherry dessert...

And check out this other cute idea from that clever Martha.

i have projects...

I have projects

Yes I do.

I have projects

that I want to share with you!

to be continued...

addendum - philly

At Jeff's request, I am adding this photo of the future location of the Philadelphia Temple towards North Philly. The picture isn't that great (a nice camera can only do so much with a moving night shot), but you get the idea. It will be built in place of this parking lot in the city, much like the Manhattan Temple is in the middle of the city. Pretty neat, eh? Jeff is very excited!

Rob and Jolie's Wedding Festivities

The groom and his blushing bride

The Best Man and his girl

The wedding party, livin' it up at the reception in PA

"Winding down" at the end of the night

And some of the delicious cookies from the Open House in Idaho
(idea from here)

washington dc

Washington DC - our nation's capital! Although we only had a few short hours to tour the city (which seems to be a trend for Jeff and I with DC), we were able to squeeze in a few of the sights.

The White House

The National Christmas Tree

The World War II Memorial, one of my favorites

The Washington Memorial and the Reflecting Pool, with the Capitol in the backround

The Lincoln Memorial

The Korean War Memorial

Although we had hoped to get into the city earlier, the memorials looked absolutely stunning at night (particularly the Korean War Memorial)! I highly recommend a nightime visit to DC.

Next up, the wedding!

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?