Girls' night...

One of my very best friends is getting married in less than two months and as her matron (still fun to say!) of honor, I have the pleasure of planning and hosting some pre-wedding events for her. Above is the "Internet-safe" version of the invitation I designed for her girls' night. My mom said she thinks they are "quite stylish." And I would have to say I agree...especially for being designed by an accountant. ;)

So happy to see you...

Upon returning to the hotel after work today, I was so happy to see that my luggage had been delivered. I completely forgot to mention yesterday that my missing luggage was actually my beautiful new luggage (another early birthday present). It's so lovely that I never want to let it out my sight again!


Losing my luggage did introduce me to three new makeup products that I now really like. In my attempt to gather the essentials last night I chose the least expensive blush (Love My Face in peach my cheeks), foundation (CoverGirl clean makeup in albino) and eyeliner (black Love My Eyes). These makeup "necessities" totaled less than $8 and all turned out to be a big success. (Lip gloss was also a necessity, but I already had six lip products in my purse so I was good there.)

Oh, and as an update to our traveling adventures: We got lost - very lost - on our way to work this morning. Evidently there is pretty much one road that gets you there, and it just so happened that road was closed. Thank goodness for the Garmin helping us, even though I'm pretty sure we stressed it out.

Adventures in Indiana...

Today is the first day of my summer of traveling for work. And let me tell you, it sure is off to a great start - I am in the middle of nowhere in Indiana...without my suitcase. On the positive side, we were lucky enough to find a 24-hour Walmart where I was able to pick up the essentials...and this super cute blouse (in bright pink). Luckily, jeans are acceptable at the location where we'll be working, so really this whole no bag situation is working out very well. Or maybe it's just my new yellow bag that keeps me smiling, but either way I'm looking at it as a mini adventure and am still happy! :)

Loving this new bag!

For a couple of months now, my mother-in-law and I have been obsessing over all the cute yellow bags in the stores. Yesterday, she gave me this lovely mustard yellow purse as an early birthday gift. I am absolutely loving it! It practically screams "Hello Summer!". And how can you not smile when you're carrying such a cheery yellow bag?

Disclaimer...

Before I go any further with this blog, I need to clarify something - I am well aware that the photos I take and post on this blog are not so impressive. Fabulous photo taking is definitely not my strong suit, so I apologize in advance if the photos leave a little to be desired. Luckily, I have a brother-in-law and friend with amazing photography skills so I leave the important stuff to them! On a positive note, I did ask for photo editing software for my birthday - maybe then I'll be able to help my photos out at least a little. :)

Happy late (and early) Mother's Day!

Yes, I know Mother's Day was last weekend, but we are waiting to celebrate it with my mom next weekend when we are all back home...so really I am just splitting the difference with this post today. And besides that, I am so excited about her gift that I just cannot wait any longer!

My mom is an avid sewer, creator and maker of all things wonderful. She is currently in the process of making my old bedroom into a new sewing room. What better way to help with that than make her a handmade gift room the newly repurposed room? I guess another good way to help would be to clear out some of the random middle and high school stuff I still have in the room. But for now, I made her these two bulletin boards out of cross-stitching hoops (one of the many crafty things she has taught me over the years), complete with buttons on the push pins. I hope she loves them because I cannot begin to say how much I love and appreciate her!

Don't worry, I am not spoiling the gift by posting this before giving it to her - she doesn't know the blog address (yet) since it is still new. Also, if you look really closely at the To Do List, one of the items is to "make ugly quilt block of the month" - but don't worry about that either. I promise I am not being mean; it's an inside joke! And can I really help that I didn't like a bunch of random batiks in strange patterns? :) But in all seriousness, Mom, I hope you have a wonderful late and early Mother's Day!

Love thy neighbor...

This weekend a sweet couple from down the street brought us the most delicious chocolate chip cookies as a housewarming gift. This is officially reason 1,872 why I love our new house! I thought I should share these reasons, but realized that might be a bit much for one blog post. So instead I bring to you...Reasons Why I Love Thy Neighbors:

1. On our first day in the house, they invited us to a neighborhood BBQ.
2. They have neighborhood BBQs - how fun is that?!
3. While we were moving in, two different neighbors came and mowed our lawn for us.
4. The next week when we (and by "we", I mean my husband) tried to mow our lawn only to find out that our brand new lawnmower wouldn't start, a neighbor came down the street to help. And after they still couldn't get it to start, he offered his lawnmower.
5. After the long move-in day, our neighbors gave my mom a mojito every time she went outside.
6. And, of course, I can't forget - they brought us delicious cookies!

I'm sure this list will keep on growing as the weeks and years go on. Thanks to all of our amazing new neighbors for being so welcoming! We love you already!