photo wall

so i've spent about 2+ weeks arranging & REarranging photographs/frames on top of our coffee table. i figured it was about the same size as what i wanted on the wall so i taped kraft paper to the top and when i finally settled on a position for each frame i traced them onto the paper. then spent another 4 days measuring the hooks and frames and drawing them on to the paper. i made notes on the drawings of frames of what frame hung where & with what picture. THEN i hung the paper on the wall and hammered the nails into the spots i marked, ripped the paper off, (careful not to rip apart my notes), crossed my fingers and hoped things would turn out right! and guess what..... IT DID!!! TA DA!!

our kansas trip

we made a trip back to kansas this past weekend. it was so great to hang out & relax with family.
anyhow, here's a few pictures from our trip. enjoy!

24 of us bombarded the derby, KS village Inn.. here's a little panoramic view of the craziness.

kent, sarah & rachel. aren't those girls gorgeous!?

dunn-dunn-dun-dun! charade time!

above: kent drew "transformers" and had to act it out.. needless to say it was a bit difficult.

here's larry & diane doing their best at charades. diane's face just cracks me up!

cade wasn't too into charades but he did eventually figure out the trike on the stairs didn't work too well..

the hubster at the village inn. lovin' the 'stache huh?

i didn't take this. i just thought it was worth sharing frank martin's face. and we did watch the kstate game while we were there.

showcasing my newest painting...

drumroll please...... TA DA!

my newest painting.

it's for our kitchen and i absolutely love it. and i just had to share it.

now off to brunch w. the inlaws :)

happy sunday. more blogging later this week. promise.

autumn anticipation

As I was doing a little online window shopping I became completely inspired by all the things I love about fall... Just look:

I'm trying as hard as I can to patient and wait for autumn to get here. Technically speaking the first day of autumn or Fall as many call it begins next Tuesday, the 22nd. But for me, I start thinking about all the alluring autumn goodies as soon as the calendar says September 1st. Everything about this season makes me warm, cozy and happy inside. I love the leaves changing into warm, rustic colors. I love the deep browns and bright red and orange shades of all the fallen leaves on the ground; the pumpkin patches, apple picking, comfy sweats, new leather boots, apple cider, jack-o-latterns, thick wool sweaters, hiking through piles of crunchy leaves with more leaves changing color over head.. *sigh* I just love and embrace all of it..

Alrighty, well that's all for today. I just wanted to share my little collection of fall. Enjoy the weekend!

lake wenatchee camping trip

Evening All,

Still recouping from our camping trip... We took a nice little weekend trip over the mountains to Lake Wenatchee.

We packed up the car and left Friday morning(ish), got some breakfast and arrived at the campgrounds by 1:30pm (we really good time - about 2 hours total). We spent the rest of the afternoon & evening just relaxing at our campsite; setting things up and getting the fire going. Saturday we spent a few hours at the beach - I read (& finished my book) and Hubby swam/spalshed water at me from the Lake. Thanks to PCC's bean soup mix we had a nice big bowl of yummy soup to warm up with that evening. Sunday we made some pancakes and reluctantly packed up. We figured we had two choices: one choice to go home, or drive about 40 more miles East to Sonic... Needless to say we decided on a trip to Sonic Drive was in order considering 1) It's the closest one to where we live, 2) Hubby's have withdrawls from their Route 44 Cherry-Limeades, 3) I'll never been!! One word to say: YUMMMMMMM!

Back to camping.. We had a great time - we always do but being home is always nice. (We missed the kitties!) The weather was perfect and we had a pretty good campsite! Plus the in-laws are looking to buy property over in E. Washington so they actually came by the campsite we were at and visited for a while Saturday evening.

Rather than write all about our trip, I figure I'll just post pictures: Enjoy!

Notice the little picnic table condiment holder... FREE at a garage sale! Soo cute!

Our beautiful camp fire the hubby built.

Lake Wenachee view from the beach.

Lake Wenatchee again.

The Lake, again.

Leavenworth, Wa. We drove through on our way to Sonic.

Maypole in the center or Leavenworth.

One of my favorite pictures.

...and we're back!

Alright, well, it's been over a month since my last post and today's a lazy day at home (GO Labor Day!!) for us so I decided to use this time to do something productive... like blog.

I was actually supposed to be at the bakery today but weaseled out at the last minute because hubby had it off and we were needing an "Us Day". So we woke up at a semi-decent hour this morning and went for a walk to the coffee shop and then out to breakfast for omelettes (Yummmm!). Once we got home we curled up with our new books, (& the kitties) and read for a while then decided to go to some thrift stores...

Lord what a mistake that was. We first went the local Value Village; as we drove by we saw that they were having a 50% sale today. Score, right?! WRONG everyone else beat us there. There wasn't a parking space for atleast a mile I kid you not. So we decided to go to the Goodwill instead... Gotta love the Goodwill. The people who work there are far nicer than VV and I personally think you can kind more treasures there. We did from this horrific plaid comforter that is probably the most comfortable thing I've ever felt. It's a cali-king size so plenty to curl up with. We bought it specifically for camping and it is not to be seen any place other than the campsite or in the car being transported to the campsite. I also found four cute placemats. They're just a simple golden yellow, floral cotton print. Easy to clean :)

After all the people and parking lot battles we decided to call it a day and head home. I've been working on a painting for our living room the past two days so I spent some more time on that.

Then I got an inspiration to make peanut-butter treats. They're in the fridge right now cooling so I can't honestly guarentee they'll taste yummy but when you look at the ingredients it's a pretty sure bet they're gonna be yummy. Recipe below:

3/4 c. peanut butter (I was at the bottom of the jar so I used more like a full cup)
3/4 c. maple syrup
3/4c. trailmix (I got mine from the bulk bins at PCC... it's full of sunflower seeds, crystalized ginger and mango, cranberries, cashews, almonds and raisins)
1 c. cereal (Ideally I would have used rice crisps but we're out so instead I used hubbies Kix cereal)
1/4 c. chocolate chips (optional!)

This should be sweet enough but if your trailmix doesn't have the fruit try adding some agave nectar :)

Heat the peanut butter and syrup in a small saucepan on LOW heat. Takes about 5 minutes to get the peaunt butter melted and gooey. Either line muffin tins or prep a small casserole dish so the bars won't stick to it.

Once the peanut butter and syrup have melted and melded together (You should see some small bubbles rise from the mixture), add the trailmix and cereal, stir to combine & cover. Then add your optional chocolate chips and stir again.

Spoon into the muffin tins or pour into the casserole/baking dish. Toss into the fridge are resist for about an hour. Then enjoy!

I'm thinking of making another batch of these for the weekends camping trip... It'll like a trailmix treat bar - Enjoy! I'm off to the fridge for a treat and then to paint!

BIG weekend so far & it's only saturday evening

Alrighty, well like always the husband and I met at our favorite date-night spot on Friday night - Johnny's Sports Bar + Grill. The service is excellent (we usually get the same waitress), decent beer choices, the food is pretty good for being a bar & grill and you have a front row seat of the trains rushing by if you sit on the patio. Plus with $5 appetizers during HHour, how can you go wrong?!

It's always so refreshing to know we've started the weekend on such a great note. After a few beers and TONS of food, we headed home, I worked on a little craft/art project for our living room and the hubby read his new book. All of sudden hubby saids "We should think about getting another cat..." Needless to say forty-five minutes later we were off to PetsMart*.

[* A note about PetsMart & Purrfect Pals - When we looked into getting our first cat, Ike, we went to PAWS but were treated so rudely we vowed to never go back. We ended up at PetsMart. PetsMart allows Purrfect Pals Adoption Company/Organization to run their volunteer based program out of PetsMarts doors. We were floored with how great Purrfect Pals was and how in touch they were with their "sponsers" (adoptive parents). Each cat/kitten adopted from Purrfect Pals is spayed/neutered, given all shots, a micro-chip, treated for fleas & worms and has tested negative for FIV & Feline Leukemia. Purrfect Pals also confirms with each sponsers landlord, if necessary, to make sure a pet deposit has been paid & the animal is welcomed in the apartment. Also, they're 100% against declawing and before adopting all applicants are required to sign a statement vowing to not declaw. Purrfect Pals spends an average $375 per cat; but only require a $100 adoption fee. Donations are greatly appreciated. For more about Purrfect Pals, please visit their website: http://www.purrfectpals.org/indexTemp.asp]

Anyhow, I fell in love with 19 week kitten, whereas Hubby liked the "Mini-Ike" (black hair, bright green eyess) who was about 7 months old. After holding the kitten, and after she licked his chin, husband changed his mind and we filled out the paperwork right then and there. The conversation between us to decide if we should get her consisted of him holding her and saying "I think we need her"; I was convinced from the moment I saw her.

According to her paperwork she was 1.48lbs when she was 11 weeks old and I swear she can't be more than 2.5 now - she's just about all black with white on her chin, whiskers, all four paws and a white strip on her left back left which winds up her ankle - how cute!!

While I was at the bakery today he went over and picked her up. Now the only thing is to see how big brother Ike likes having a new little one around.... (NOTE: It's not been going well so far and I've only been home for an hour).

In other, more serious news.... my little sister was taken to the emergency room around 4am this morning. After 5.5 hours, 1 CT scan, a ton of pain meds, and an ultra-sound, the doctors concluded she had Appendicitis. She is now appendix-less and awaiting the chocolate-oreo-pudding pops I just finished making. Hugs + kisses to my little sister who's been a champ through all of this! We were suppose to go get her nose-pierced (18th birthday present!) this coming week but we'll have to see now.. Nonetheless - Keep your fingers crossed for a speedy recovery!

I'll share the pudding pop receipe (and more pictures of Princess Isla!) another day... It's almost my bedtime and I still need to shower, play some guitar hero with the husband and figure out what to serve for dinner tomorrow evening with my in-laws... Wish me luck!