Turning 31

This birthday was very different from all the others. There was something about knowing I had Mark to celebrate with that made it all so much better. I'm not really a birthday person and I often try to avoid them, but Mark was so good to me. Of course he spent the day/week making me feel very special. 

Mark LOVES giving and receiving presents. He had been working on my present for about 3 months! He would get packages in the mail, make phone calls, write emails, come home late, all working on my present. He hid stuff around the house too. 

I opened up these beautiful earrings before work and couldn't be more in love with them!

I was nervous to tell my students it was my birthday. They are a little crazy this year and I was worried the added distraction would not help us. At the end of the day my room mom came in with a cake and they sang and then they went home! PERFECT!

Mark and I spent the evening together just having a fun date night. We went to Red Robin and had plans of going to Leatherby's, but we were too full. We went to Target and did this mini scavenger hunt while we tried to wait for our stomachs to be ready for ice cream. It didn't work! 

We had a full Saturday planned so we figured we would just pick up where we left off the next day!

We did make it to Leatherby's. We were stuffed, but it tasted so good!

 I love the pumpkin patch and Mark agreed that it was a perfect day to go. We had a blast picking out pumpkins, and of course came home with 5!

In case this wasn't enough celebrating, later that night the Urry family got together to celebrate Heather and I for our birthdays. We enjoyed food, chatting, a campfire, and more presents! 

We had a blast!

Herilooms

I'm a little bit of a sentimental sap. I love family stories, objects, keepsakes, etc. There is something about having things passed down from people that I just love, especially if it is something that I have loved since I was a kid.

I'm extremely lucky to have a generous Mom. I've loved her china that she got when she got married for a really long time. I always told her that some day I would love her china. My mom decided that since I was getting married and she still had her Mom's china, that she would give me hers. 

This picture clearly doesn't do it justice, but it is beautiful. This piece is actually one from my brother and his family that they gave to add to my new collection.

 I have this cabinet next to my recipe wall. The recipes are my Grandma Mutin's recipes. They are the actual cards she used, cover in all sorts of cooking supplies.

 While I was home in California my sister told me she had a bunch of crystal that Grandma Mutin had bought for us. She had gotten it to match the crystal that was once hers and now my mom's. She wanted Cami and I both to have enough pieces for a set. Thank you Grandma!

 My sweet Grandma Hoppes gave me this crystal vase and another vase that were given to her by my Great Grandma Hubbard and my Grandpa Hoppes. Mark brought me home beautiful "just because" flowers and I couldn't resist putting them in this beautiful vase.

I love having pieces in my house that are from my childhood, grandparents, parents, etc. 

Now I just want to throw a fancy party and use it all!

Applesauce!

I love applesauce! I especially love it on pork chops. My mother knows this and now my husband laughs at me as i dip every bite into applesauce. I grew up eating homemade applesauce. My mom and my grandma both made it and I always loved opening the cabinets and having it in there. I have made crockpot applesauce with my students before for Johnny Appleseed Day, but never at home to can. After reading up on it and talking to my mom I decided I wanted to try and make a small batch. I didn't follow a recipe, I just did everything to taste. 

I literally cored the apples, added some water, threw in some cinnamon and mashed it all together! 

I think it turned out great! Next season I'll be more on top of things and pick my own apples and do a ton more jars, but this was a great first trial run.

Bridal Shower Quilt

A long time ago on Pinterest I saw a guest sign in book that was a quilt. I mentioned something to my mom about how she could totally make me one of these someday. Well, for my wedding I decided to just do the traditional wedding sign in book. I did, however, decide to have my friends and family bring me a square of fabric to my bridal showers. I loved seeing all the different material and imagining this turning into a crazy quilt. I've always wanted to learn how to sew, and my mom has taught me as she helped me with projects throughout the years, but this would be my first solo sewing project! 

I set up show in the living room and dining room. Mark is very patient with my sewing adventures! I decided to just do it step by step. Well that meant turning on the machine, treading the bobbin, and threading the machine. It took awhile.... and Mark's help...and calling my mom about 10 times, but I did it! I started by sewing the squares together, but then realized I wanted the quilt a little bigger so I added a few of my own squares and some trim around the sides. The front seemed to go very well, but the back was a struggle. I just did flannel, but I made some mistakes. If you stand far enough back you can't tell, but every time I see the quilt I think, YIKES. 

BUT... I DID IT! 

I sewed a quilt, all by myself! Now I'm hooked! I already have more ideas and projects that I'm dying to do. Quilts, stockings, tree skirt. If you follow me on Pinterest, I apologize because you will be seeing more sewing pins from me!

I love looking at each square and thinking of the person that gave it to me. It's bright, random, and comfy. Babies love it too! I think I might have to make another one for a baby shower quilt someday!

California Surprise Visit

I married a wonderful man! Sometimes I really miss home and my fun family. Mark loves them too and was willing to take a couple days off and make the trip to California with me. We decided to surprise everyone, except my mom. We got in late Wednesday night just in time for my dad's birthday on Thursday. We had a great visit filled with family, food, and a little bit of adventure.

 I hadn't been to Armstrong Grove in a really long time. I'm so glad we were able to spend the afternoon walking around being amazed by these trees.

 The drive home wasn't bad either!

 The drive back always seems to take forever. The weather was all over the place, but it made for some fun.

I'm so lucky to have the best travel buddy!

A Day at the Races

Mark LOVES cars! 

We talk about cars, look at pictures of cars, go to car shows, etc. I know nothing about cars, but I do know that they are pretty and go fast. Since I've been with Mark I've learned a lot more about cars. I can even identify the pretty ones by name now and tell Mark when I see them as I'm driving. This is a major step for me. Mark really wanted to go to this race on Saturday because it would have more of high end cars that he loves. I gladly went with him because I love our adventure Saturdays together. We had a blast looking at the different cars, watching the them go fast and even seeing one car make an amazing comeback. All in all it was a wonderful day together. 

 The day of course had to be finished with a giant ice cream sundae from Leatherby's!

We don't always get to have an adventure Saturday, but we are trying to enjoy these days off together as much as possible. We realize that eventually it won't be just the two of us, so we better do all of these things while we can.

Happy September!

I can hardly believe it is September already, but so happy that Fall is here! I love this time of year and I can't wait to do some of my favorite activities. Lucky for me, I have a husband who is willing to go on mini adventures with me. He spoiled me and we took the corvette for a ride around the Alpine Loop. It is such a pretty drive and with the top down we had a great time. Some of the leaves were already changing and I loved seeing the pops of yellow and orange along the roads and on the mountain.  We stopped at Cascade Springs too and walked around enjoying the views. It was a great way to spend September 1st!