a treasure chest

This week, I got my very own treasure chest from my mom. My great-grandmother's sewing chest...a whole expandable box full of all her thread, needles, and knick knacks! It meant so much to me - my great grandmother gave this to my grandma years ago. I never really knew either of them - I had never met my great grandmother and my grandma passed away when I was very young. This made me feel so close to them - knowing that we all share the same passion. And it makes me feel close to my own mother who passed this down to me - she was the one who helped me make my first dress...and trust me, that was not a pleasant experience!

I just love looking through the contents - you can just see the resourcefulness of their generations...all of the little hooks and snaps are held in my great grandmother's old prescription boxes. Small buttons are held in an old cigarette tin. Needles are kept tightly in place by part of an old card. I could definitely learn a thing or too about the waste-not-want-not mentality from these ladies.

Thank you mom and grandma and great grandma for this amazing gift...I promise to treasure it until I have someone to pass it down to!

we lost one

Handsome left today for his cousin's wedding back in Wisconsin. I stayed home with the pup...too much homework to do...bah.

I wore his shoes out to the garden a few minutes ago because I was too lazy to untie mine (please don't judge me). They were really big.

I miss him.

after the storm

If you happened to watch the Weather Channel yesterday (no, that channel isn't just for nerds...I like it too!) you probably noticed that the Midwest was littered with thunderstorms, damaging winds, hail and tornadoes.

We were blessed here and traded in a tornado for 50+ mile per hour winds, a good splash of rain, and a dash of hail. I'll take it.

Once the wind had died down and the rain water had soaked into my newly planted garden, we got this - the most gorgeous sky I have ever seen. I ran around the house for five minutes trying to snap a billion pictures without waking the puppy. One moment the beauty was there and the next second the sky was gray...it only lasted a few minutes, but it was breathtaking.

a weekend away...

This weekend, my parents and I made the trek back to my previous hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It was graduation weekend for one of my cousins and a family friend. It was two wonderful days full of catching up, vegging out, and not getting nearly enough sleep...

On our final night in town, my sister and I treated our parents to a night at Vino in the Valley - our favorite dining spot. If you are ever in the Wisconsin area - this charming open-air restaurant is a must! Enjoy a plate of steaming hot pasta that rivals Lake Superior for size...and the bread - oh, the bread! Hot bread delivered nonstop to your table as "That's Amore" is sung by the entire restaurant. It is the perfect place for peace, tranquility, and carb overload.

Please go...I promise you'll like it.

diana f+ wins my heart

The diana f+ - I never thought such a short little phrase could win my heart so easily. This spring, I was finally able to purchase one of these little gals all for my very own. Just a few weeks ago I let her loose on the open range. Handsome and I spent two nights driving around the area, snapping pictures.

There is something special about using real film in a camera - it makes you so much more selective and careful about what you choose to remember. Every shot feels monumental.

Not every photo turned out as I imagined, but it was still amazing. I could remember the smallest details about all of the shots - even the blurry, out-of-focus, oops-my-hands-were-shaking-a-bit-too-much shots.

I can't wait to let her loose again.

and then there were three

yesterday was an monumental day for our growing family tree...it was the day where our little family of two turned into a comfortable family of three. he cuddles. he snuggles. he gets really confused when you try to play fetch. he's quintin. and now he is all ours.

hmmmm...love.

my favorite blur ever

yesterday, i stumbled across a gem. no, not the sparkly kind (even though i really like those too), but a blurry gem. this gem.

this picture was taken right after handsome and i got engaged - almost four years ago (am i getting old? i did see a rather unflattering wrinkle by my right eye the other day...eek, i am digressing). i love this picture. i know that handsome is blurry and it looks like i am trying to eat his ear...but looking at it makes me warm and content inside.

it is just like love is supposed to be - 1 part out of focus, 1 part indescribable, and 2 parts giggling.

i am glad i have this picture.

the day my curtains died.

today was a wonderful day. yeah, i should have been working. i should have been doing the hoard of laundry piled up in my bedroom so that handsome didn't have to wear gym shorts in 40-something degree weather today. i should have done a lot of things. but i did this instead...see those curtains up there? yeah, those really long ones. just a bit too long for this gal.

see that kinda disheveled pillow up there? those white specks - well those aren't just subtle polka dots. those little buggers are lint wads. you heard me, lint wads.

now a special note to my sewing machine: thank you for hanging out with me this afternoon. I think we accomplished some marvelous things. my curtains are shorter. the lint is covered. and i got to use buttons. i love buttons. we are a good team.

a good day had by all.

i happen to know a wonderful lady...

mom and her four girls in branson, mo this fall

i have never been very sentimental on mother's day. sure, i picked up a card and a gift and gave my mom a quick hug - but to me it always seemed like one of those canned holidays orchestrated in a workshop somewhere to make someone rich. card companies. flower companies. whoever. someone was making a whole mess-o-cash just reminding us to do what we should do every day - tell our mothers how much they mean to us. how much they shape us.

this year was different.

this mother's day, my mom has cancer. i don't know how many more days i'll get to honor my mother.

today i made a special brunch and hugged the woman that has been my everything for the past 25 years. today i truly celebrated mother's day for the first time.

thank you mom, for teaching me how to be me. i love you.

handsome finds a lake...

we found a lake. a few weekends ago.

handsome - i just wanted to let you know that i love you even though you don't really have a butt. you are goofy and wonderful. and that is why i you are my favorite guy.

today's friday. yippee skippee.

return to sender

among my weekend projects was this little ditty. we just moved into our new place, and the mailbox, well - it had seen its better days. let's just say there is now one less nest of spiders in the world.

yes, i dreamt of a brand new mailbox to hang outside my door and greet everyone who entered, but the checkbook was screaming in agony from our move already and couldn't support another venture. solution: one can of spray paint, a paint brush, and a bit of latex enamel. the result: one cheerful and inviting mailbox by my front door.

i've never been so excited to get my mail.

babies and gardens and dinners, oh my!

(baby zoey this weekend...yes, my heart is currently melting)

whirlwind: any circling rush or violent onward course.

okay, so it wasn't exactly a whirlwind, and it certainly wasn't violent, but this weekend was a rush. a good rush, though - like the kind you get when you're trying to eat your grape popsicle in 90 degree weather before it creates purple pools of sugar all over your hands.

saturday, dale (the handsome husband mentioned in my bio) and I got to watch my dear and lovely pal's niece. yes, she is as adorable in person as she is in pictures. i think i have fallen in love with her.

although zoey was the highlight of our weekend, we managed to host two dinner dates (and i didn't even burn anything!!), plant a garden, and paint an end table. although i can't know for sure, i feel in my heart that martha would be proud of me. i feel so unnaturally domestic. (insert contented sigh here).