Saturday it is!

I have so many projects waiting to be done - a bag for Amy, a gift for Ariel, headbands for our Enrichment activity next month...AAH! So much to do! As a result, I hereby dub this Saturday, June 30th as "Super Sewing Saturday." I'm going to wake up early and sew, sew, sew. Hopefully I'll be able to get some of these lingering projects done.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the gifts I made for Jeff's sisters. I love accessories (like these headbands and earrings), and so do they. But I don't love spending a lot of money for them. So what do I do? Make them myself! And who doesn't love fun packaging?

PS - If you want a free headband pattern, go here.

PPS - And speaking of free things, if you want a free Jamba Juice, go here.

Boston

So much to see - so little time! I was in Boston for 3 days, most of which was taken up by the conference I was attending. But, luckily, I was able to see a few things in Beantown. Here are some of the top experiences (in chronological order):

* Going out to dinner on Thursday night at a little kosher restaurant with a BYU vendor who is Jewish and from New York was quite an experience. I had some delicious salmon with butternut squash, along with a very unique pasta dessert.

* Driving around a couple of the many Harvard campuses was really neat (did you know there are over 50 colleges and universities in Boston?). The buildings were so beautiful - red brick, ivy covered, just like you would imagine. I saw the Business and Law Schools.

* On the way back from Harvard, I caught a small glimpse of Fenway Park! The lights were on for the game and I wanted to go SO BAD! I called in to see how much tickets were for the game the next night - $100-$200 a pop. I'll have to plan ahead next time.


* I stopped by a charming little shop in the South End called Thomas Park. There were so many hip handmade goods - headbands, aprons, handbags, greeting cards, and more. It was fun to talk to the shop owner and see her beautiful work.


* I rode the subway! The public transportation in Boston is amazing. Between shuttles, trolleys, buses, the subway, and walking I was able to get around the city for under $15.

















* Easily the best part of the whole trip was meeting up with Alex and Catherine on Friday night - we had a blast! We went to a very popular Italian restaurant on the North End called Giacomo's Ristorante. The calamari was great! After that, we walked to Faneuil Hall for dessert (peach gelato - yum!). They were so fun to be with and we were able to see quite a bit of the city by foot. It was the highlight of my trip!

























As for the somewhat random pictures - I was looking for good photo ops and just snapped a shot where I could. As the pictures show, Boston is a very clean and classy city. I also LOVED the Bostonian accent! I was called "Kah-la" a couple of times and heard it's expensive to "pah-k" your "cah" there, too! It will be so fun to back and visit someday with Jeff!

Boston and begonias

Well, it's finally here! I'm headed out to Boston later today for a business trip. I'm going to the eBay Live! conference so I can get some pointers on how to improve our eBay listings for BYU (yes - BYU sells stuff on eBay). Two of my goals are to eat some delicious seafood (yum!) and to learn how to catch a taxi. Hopefully I'll be successful at both.

While I'm gone, please enjoy the lovely begonias Jeff gave me for my birthday. Have a great week!

Button? Button? Who's got the button?

We went over to my grandma's house back in May when we were home for Mother's Day. She is an AMAZING seamstress - she sewed almost all of my dresses for high school dances. She and my mom also had a small craft business for a few years, as well. Needless to say, they are excited I am getting into sewing. While we were there, Grandma pulled out this old fruitcake tin, saying I didn't need to feel obligated to take what was inside.

MUCH better than a fruitcake...the tin was filled with buttons! I love buttons and was just thinking I needed to start my own little stash. I was so excited! Since then, I have pulled them out a few times and looked through them. I think I find new favorites every time! The little ducks are very cute, and check out the old Ex-Lax tin the smaller buttons are in!

I've also been reminded of the days when my mom would take us to the craft store as kids - back when I didn't like going. One of my favorite things was going over to the button bin and running my hands through all those buttons. Sometimes my mom would even let us pick one out and she would buy it for us (some kids get candy - we got buttons). I always picked the silver ones with a little bird-type thing on them. I wonder if I still have any kicking around my parent's house...

Anyway, I got an idea for a cute way to put buttons on a headband - I'll try it out and see how it goes. Now... picking the perfect buttons...

PS - It looks like I'm not the only one excited about buttons.

Drink up!

With summer just around the corner, I'm probably not the only one thinking about frozen treats! I found this "authentic" Zuka (now Jamba) Juice recipe in a cookbook my grandma gave me. I'm not promising it's the exact recipe, but it has helped me turn out delicious smoothies!

MANGO-A-GO-GO™ SMOOTHIE (from Jann Denney)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups pineapple sherbet

1 cup passion fruit/mango juice blend from concentrate

1/2 mango

3 ice cubes

1 Tablespoon plain yogurt (optional)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender capable of chopping ice. Blend until ice is completely chopped and sherbet is mixed in well.

This recipe is amazing! I use this recipe as an ingredient/portion guide and then choose my own flavor of sherbet, juice, and fruit. The only type of sherbet I would be wary of is rainbow (that may not turn out very good all mixed together). For the juice, I have used Dole, Hawaii's Own, and Old Orchard brands. For the fruit, I do about a cup of frozen fruit (Western Family has a yummy "Tropical Blend" of strawberry, mango, and pineapple). The smoothie pictured above was made using raspberry sherbet, apple raspberry juice, and the WF Tropical Blend frozen fruit. It was yum!

Another little trick - if you have a favorite at Jamba Juice you want to recreate, go to their website and look up the ingredients for substitutions.

ENJOY!

Good things...

(like this wallet I made for Leslie)

come in small packages

(like this cute little envelope)!

This wallet is the perfect size for credit cards, business cards, even a pack of gum (a little snug - but a fit, nevertheless!). I have one like it in pink and brown and love it!

* see additional views below *

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

I had a birthday, shout HOORAY!

In case you didn't know, last Friday, May 18th was my 24th birthday! However, I doubt you didn't know - I basically published it.

In fact, I did...

on my birthday party invitations!

Yep - I celebrated my 24th birthday like it was my 4th! I decided to have a party, complete with croquet ball invitations (see above),





















a croquet tournament (you can see Jeff lining up the perfect shot here),

















and a birthday cake decorated like a croquet course! Birthdays are so much more fun when you have people to celebrate them with! And thank you to everyone who brought me gifts (chocolate, flowers, and the gift certificate) - I am so spoiled!









I also have to give props to Jeff, my wonderful husband. Everything he did, from sending me mp3s of Primary songs, to wrapping my gifts in Christmas wrapping paper with masking tape, to picking out the "right" paper punch from Joann's made it a great day!

Tiptoe through the tulips!

We went to a wedding at the Bountiful Temple this past weekend - it is amazing! I'd never been there, but have wanted to go since I was 11. As expected, it is beautiful - inside and out!

I haven't seen many tulips lately (at least in good condition), but these were still lovely.

I like the sweet "Princess Pink" color.















And purple isn't my favorite color, but these are GORGEOUS!

April showers...

They weren't kidding about "April showers" - I had 5 baby showers within 2 weeks in April! I was busy making bags and burp cloths. I designed and made each one (you can see more pictures by clicking on the flickr badge to the right).


These bags have turned out to be a big hit! I've tried to make them the perfect size for quick errands - smaller than a diaper bag but bigger than a purse. They also have an interior pocket for cell phones, credit cards, or even a bottle. I've received rave reviews and hope they are as functional as they are fun!

Also, I hope Kristen, Sabrina, Kacey, Brooke, and Sheena like the colors I chose for their bags. One of the best parts about making these gifts is that I get to make something I think matches each of their personalities - so fun!

May flowers!

May 1st! What better day to make my first post? I love May for so many reasons - the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, not to mention by birthday on the 18th. :) So much to be happy about at this time of year!

I've been storing pictures for so long and have finally decided to do something with them (plus I'll finally have something to show for all those hours behind the sewing machine!). Enjoy!