Gettin' Organized!

My mother-in-law got me the coolest gift for Christmas: a new P-touch!  I'm a big fan of being organized; I mean, how else do you find anything?  Our junk drawer has been overflowing and caked with gross leaky pens and melted cough drops with rubber bands stuck in them and for way too long.  And let's not forget to mention the cabinets stuffed with rags, shopping bags, tissue paper, and gift bags falling out every time we open them only to fail in finding the scissors or tape.  But no more!  I only wish I had taken "before" pictures!  Thanks, Victoria, for knowing what I needed more than I did! :)

Mzungu in Zanzibar!

 

On our first night in Zanzibar, we went to the local outdoor food court for dinner.  It was a lively setting right on the water and the food displays were beautiful.  We got a plateful of fish from our first friend, pictured on the next page, and within minutes of sitting down to eat we were approached by three 14 year-old boys who wanted to practice their English with us.   Not 2 minutes into the conversation, the boys invited us to their village.  We had to explain to them that in our culture, we don't go to stranger's homes.  I was pretty embarrassed to admit it, but we wanted them to understand why we couldn't immediately say yes.  But sure enough, after about an hour of great conversation, we agreed to meet up with them the next day to walk the 45 minutes to their village.  Mzungu is the local word for "white person".  It is not a pejorative term, most of the time, but it is ubiquitous.

More Wedding Photos...

Thank-You-Card-Makin'-Machine!

This summer, I bought a huge stack of this cool textured paper from the the depot for creative reuse, along with some beautiful vintage wallpaper (looks like it was hand painted!) and some new paper and stamps from the Paper Source.  All this supplemented with magazines, catalogs, CD inlay cards, and other random paper, my crafting desk has been a factory of envelopes, envelopes liners, and cards ever since.  I love all the colors and textures.  Don't know that I'll ever be able to buy pre-made cards again...

More Teasers...

"bon-eevair"

my new favorite band: a cat-loving man (who also happens to be cute and called justin) from wisconsin and three of his buddies =bon iver.  beautiful, haunting, heartwrenching guitar melodies that make you FEEL.  comparable to iron and wine.  really good stuff!

Sneak Peek!

These are the teasers from our photographer; can't wait to see the rest!

I really like how this photo turned out.  It's sweet, and I love the quilt, made by my great grandmother... but I felt so awkward sitting like that, I mean, who sits like that?  And does anyone else notice something funny about this photo?

Happy Halloween!!!

1979 Was a Good Year...

Hit the Jackpot!!

On October 16, 2010 I married my partner of the past 3 years...

Not only do I feel blessed to have found the love of my life, but I have the added bonus of being embraced by a wonderful, fun, tight-knit family!  Thanking my lucky stars!!