I Heart Crafts

I got some paint and glitter to make these little heart pins as gifts for Valentine's Day. I think they turned out so cute!


I also tried the felt rose tutorial from The Purl Bee.


Those little heart clips I made this weekend look so good on the gift bags!

Simple Saturday

Today I'm just enjoying a yummy lunch from Shiraz Mediterranean Grill and making some Valentine crafts!



I already had these hearts from Hobby Lobby, but had to make them into little clips when I saw what Heidi from My Paper Crane made!


Unlike a lot of the country, we're not snowed in, even though there is snow on the ground, so I was able to go to the craft store for paint and glitter! Yipee!

Red and Pink

I'm getting a little bummed by all of the cold, rainy, gloomy weather we've been having... so I'm totally ready for all of the reds and pinks for Valentine's Day!

I got these decorations from my Grandma's attic in a big clean out that my Mom and Aunts were doing. They are from 1984, making them older than me!

I love the animal decorations because they have fuzzy hearts!

I'm loving these buckets from Target's $1 section too! I bought a bunch of them for gifts.


Now all I need to do is get my V-Day crafting on!

30 before 30

Now that we're in the New Year, I think it is the perfect time to post the list that I've been working on. Some of my co-workers were talking about reaching milestone birthdays and creating lists of things that they want to do before they reach that age. It sounds really weird to say, but in the middle of this new decade I will be turning thirty years old. I still have 6 years before that birthday comes but already it is freaking me out. I remember my mom being a "thirty-something," so the idea that I am nearing that age is almost unbelievable.



I don't know what my future will hold and I'm excited to see what will happen. I decided to make this list of 30 things that I would like to accomplish before I turn 30. Some of them are small, some big, some costly, and some scary, but all of them are things that I am interested in seeing if I can complete before December 2015 when I turn 30 years old.

1. Learn how to crochet

2. Ride a roller coaster that goes upside down (Yikes!)

3. Read “The Classics” (Moby Dick, Les Misérables, War & Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo…)

4. Get a piercing or tattoo

5. Make a quilt for myself

6. Get Joe on an airplane

7. Visit Tara in Idaho

8. Ride in a hot air balloon

9. Move out of my parents’ house

10. Explore Europe

11. Go back to Brno and Praha, Czech Republic

12. Get a full body massage

13. Reach goal weight

14. Write a children’s book

15. Cook Czech food

16. Learn Spanish

17. Go to Japan

18. Get a Master’s Degree

19. Learn fancy calligraphy

20. Put together a book of family recipes

21. Get back into volunteering with local organizations

22. Set up a mutual fund

23. Get married

24. Start a family

25. Pay off student loans

26. Start giving blood again

27. Sell something on Etsy

28. Print out all the digital pictures on my computer

29. Pet an elephant

30. Make homemade marshmallows

Of course this list is in no particular order. We'll see how it goes!

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

2009 was pretty good to me. I got a job, spent another year with Mr. Joe, watched my nephew grow and learn, and had a lot of fun. Here's hoping the new year is even better for all of us! Hello 2010!

Fiesta Photos

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was planning a 50th birthday fiesta for mi madre in December. It was a wonderful time! We had margaritas and Mexican food and had a blast.

I was inspired by the fiesta hosted by Modern Marie, especially the invitations.







I really lucked out finding the Dala Horse cake pan at IKEA the week before the party. Having such a colorful party was really fun in dreary Winter. I highly recommend it!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and yours the best this holiday season.



Have a Happy New Year!