Tons and Tons of Photos!

WOW!! I had no idea I was so far behind in my 365 posts! A friend commented on my Facebook page today about how I hadn't posted in awhile. Good thing someone is keeping me on my toes! Check out what I've been up to! (Brace yourself, there are a TON of photos in this post!)
June 9 2010

This is me and my co-worker John. He has been a fire fighter for years and is leaving our company to travel the world teaching other fire fighters! Lucky! Check out the cute cupcakes I made for his last day! Click here.

June 10 2010

A view of the Minneapolis skyline. I snapped this while sitting in rush hour traffic.

June 11 2010

Here is my Sookie, sulking after a bath. She doesn't really like being wet, but she also doesn't like the hair dryer.

June 12 2010

Prepping decorations for an upcoming party (scroll down to June 19th for the end result!)

June 13 2010

My Paw Print Canvas. Click here for the full post.

June 14 2010

I was pulled over by a Fridley Police Officer. He was very rude and yelled at my about properly wearing my seat belt. I was pretty fired up about it given I actually HAD my seat belt on. So, to the Fridley Police Dept, I say....REALLY??

June 15 2010

Another crafty project (again, see June 19th!)

June 16 2010

My latest obsession....Sons of Anarchy. What a GREAT show! I am in love. Jax Teller...give me a call honey!

June 17 2010

I kept myself entertained on my 6 hour drive across Wisconsin by snapping photos of the local scenery. Here is a random farm, in the middle of nowhere.

June 18 2010

My parent's backyard. Their yard is inspiration for what I hope mine will someday look like.

June 19 2010

My trip to Wisconsin was to create a dessert buffet for my friend Tammy's 30th Birthday Surprise Party!! See the hanging yarn balls?! And the yellow cake stands?! Those are both from previous posts. Want to see all the sunshine sugary details? Check out my post here.

June 20 2010

This is a gas station in Wisconsin, selling beer, on a Sunday. Come on Minnesota! Get with the program!!

June 21 2010

Its official, I OWN my car!

June 22 2010

I saw this bumper sticker in the airport ramp at work. It sums up how I feel about a lot of things lately!

Thanks for checking out my pics, I'll try not to make your eye balls melt with such a large post next time! Ha ha!

Paw Print Canvas

Remember about a month ago I posted pictures of an upcoming project? Refresh your memory here. I wanted to create some wall art that would represent my family. I had grand intentions of being this amazing painter. As it turns out, I am not. So I turned to what I am good at....scrapbooking! Check out my "Family Paw Print" canvas!

Pretty neat hey? I started by spray painting the edges of the canvas with a bold blue.

I used some grunge board flourishes for accents. I inked them with distress ink and covered them with glossy accents.

I added a few grunge board brackets covered with Perfect Pearls.

In the center, a grunge board heart colored with distress ink and glossy accents. Then I topped it with the key hole that was done with Perfect Pearls.

Attached to the heart is a Tim Holtz swivel chain and a grunge board key. The key was also done with Perfect Pearls.

Each one of us covered a "paw" with distress ink and stamped it. This is David's "paw" print.

My little yorkie Sookie's paw print.

My staffordshire terrier, Caesar's paw print.

And of course, my "paw" print.

All of the papers were from the Little Yellow Bicycle Lucky Me collection.
This is the canvas on my wall. I haven't decided if that's the wall it will stay on, but for now, I'm lovin it! (Bada ba ba baaa!)

Burgers, Girlfriends and Fake Phone Booths...

June 2 2010

David cooked dinner. He grilled these amazing burgers. We enjoyed them at the picnic table with Bob the Flamingo.

June 3 2010

My sister and I cruised through this organic market and I was really amused by these peaches. I've never seen "donut peaches" before. They are so cute!

June 4 2010

These are my $1 flip flop score from the dollar spot at Target. I love them because they remind me of the 80's. I heart the 80's!

June 5 2010

Girls Night Out!! From the left: Melinda, Polly, Kelly and I went to the Sex and the City 2 movie. We had an amazing dinner at The Sample Room beforehand.

June 6 2010

This is what happens when you trim your dog's freakishly weird nails and then he wants to jump all over you. I have two more scratches like this on my foot.

June 7 2010

I'm not a big fan of smoothies, but I tried this recipe anyway. It was amazing! You can learn how to make them here. Delicious and low in calories! For real!

June 8 2010

I borrowed this pick up to haul that awesome replica British telephone booth. Oh yeah, more pics to follow with that bad boy!!

Time to Get Motivated!

May 25 2010

This is the start of our veggie garden. Since I took this photo, its basically doubled in size. David is apparently really into growing veggies!

May 26 2010

This is my coworkers and I at the Get Motivated! seminar at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis. Don't we look motivated?! From the left is my coworker Linda, me, Mike and Scott. The seminar had some really cool points, like when Colin Powell spoke. However there were also low points, like when the speakers tried to sell us their stuff. Overall we had a good time.

May 27 2010

These are my new bed sheets. I know, exciting right? Except it is! I went to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. There was this couple selling 1500 thread count cotton sheets for $35 a set. $35 Dollars!!! What a steal! They are super comfy too. I love them!

May 28 2010

Frickles!! I am in love with the fried pickles at a local restaurant. However, I got a craving and didn't want to drive across town, all alone just to order fried pickles. So I opted to make them for myself. They were amazing! Totally hit the spot! Want to try them yourself? Check out my tutorial here.

May 29 2010

This was a perfect day! My friend Heather and I went out to Delano, MN to Countryside Garden's Annual Peony Show. On our way there we spotted this little diner in the middle of nowhere. We stopped off for an awesome lunch. It reminded me of the little dive bars back in Wisconsin. What was funnier, when I ordered my bloody mary, the waitress said "Honey, I'm gonna need to see your ID, you look like you could be my daughter." The funny part is, her name was "Julie S." For those of you who don't know, my mother was formerly a Julie S. She is a Julie W. now, but Heather and I got a kick out of it none the less.
After lunch we went to the show. We wandered around fields and fields of peonies. They were beautiful! While we were there we heard some ladies talking about a local winery! Perfect!! We got directions and did a little wine tasting too! I brought home a bottle of Strawberry Rhubarb Wine. A perfect day out!

May 30 2010

I was playing around with the black and white feature on my camera when I noticed my two pups together on the couch watching out the window. They are so cute together!

May 31 2010

I got my first Etsy order from someone I didn't know! How exciting is that?! This is the order all packaged up and ready to go. The woman was trying out samples for her upcoming wedding. I'm crossing my fingers that she likes them and places another order! Whats that? You didn't know I did cookies? Check out my baking blog here. There is a link to my Etsy shop, and I love to take custom orders. I ship anywhere in the USA so check it out!

June 1 2010

I wasn't very inspired today. I was putting away some recent purchases and decided to photograph a couple of them. When I was in FL back in December, I had used my Mom's Olay face lotion. I don't know if it was the lotion of the vacation, but my acne cleared up!! I decided to use up the last of my newly purchased face lotion before switching. I've now gone to Olay, and hopefully my face will clear up again! I've also decided to be "pro-active" and I bought an anti-aging eye cream. Its weird for me to even be looking at anti-aging stuff. Where did the time go?

Remember...

Today is Memorial Day, a day we remember those past and present who have served our country. My brother is currently serving in the United States Navy and is out on deployment.
I wanted to post today with a special thanks to him.

This is my sister and I with Chris on the day of his Boot Camp Graduation.

This is my brother Chris waiving goodbye to my parents before his deployment.
Thank you to those who have served, are serving, and especially to those who have given their lives.
A friend posted on facebook today the following quote:

A Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman is someone
who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to
the United States of America for an amount up to, and including,
their life. That is an honor, and there are way too many people in
this country today who no longer understand that fact

I hope everyone remembered to take a moment today and thank those who have provided us the ability to celebrate this day.

Back From Cowboy Country....

I'm back in Minneapolis after spending much of last week in the Dallas TX area. Time catch up on my 365....

May 18 2010

I'm a big GNR fan, so upon arriving at the Hard Rock Cafe Dallas, I spotted this autographed copy of Rolling Stone with Slash on the cover!! You can imagine how excited I was!

May 19 2010

This is my Minneapolis co-worker Linda, my Denver co-worker Sheila, and myself having a couple of drinks at The Quarter Bar in Addison Texas. We spent a long day in meetings and rewarded ourselves with some Bud Light.

May 20 2010

Linda, Tammy (my co-worker from Indianapolis) and I decided that after 2 days of meetings, we needed an extra night to explore and party in Dallas. We met up with some Transnorm employees, with whom I do a lot of business. Holly and Jason were awesome dinner dates!! We laughed so much, we became that table. You know, the loud one that everyone hates, but is secretly jealous of because they are having so much fun? Yep, that was us at The Iron Cactus.
Thanks for a great night Holly and Jason!!

May 21 2010

For our extra night, we moved The Magnolia Hotel in downtown Dallas. A gentleman we met, who we called "FDIC" (he worked for FDIC) mentioned how awesome the detail was on the elevators. I couldn't resist taking a picture.

May 22 2010

On Saturday I was back in Minneapolis attending Kelly's graduation party. She just graduated from Nursing school. Here she is holding her niece Liza. It seems kids start partying younger and younger these days!! (Don't worry, the bottle was empty. Liza decided to make it her toy.)

May 23 2010

This is a shot from the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. My sister invited me to go along with her on Sunday. I managed to make a random impulse buy of new sheets for my bed. They were these amazing cotton sheets for $35! Who could pass up a deal that good? I might go back in the next couple of weeks for more!

May 24 2010

This is Sookie in the vet's office waiting for a booster shot. Doesn't she look excited? She was very brave getting a shot and a heartworm test. Awwww!

Playing Catch Up...

Wow! I didn't realize how far behind I was on posting my 365 pics! Sit back and relax, this is going to be a long post!

May 8 2010

This is Caesar's new toy, a Kong. Whoever invented this is a genius! He is teething right now, so its great! Fill it with peanut butter and treats, freeze, and he is entertained (and mouth soothed) for hours!

May 9 2010

Here is a sneak peak at a project I'm working on.....updates to come soon!

May 10 2010

Bruegger's Herby Turkey Sandwich on a Sundried Tomato bagel. YUM.

May 11 2010

This is about 1/3 of the containers of Royal Icing I have on hand for cookie decorating. If you haven't yet, check out my baking blog here.

May 12 2010

Salsa that came with the nachos I ordered at Old Chicago. It tasted like Windex. Literally. Gross.

May 13 2010

I randomly caught a rainbow over my house! Now if only I could find Cheer Bear! (PS. dont mind the tragic landscaping......

May 14 2010

This is the giant van load of plants my mom brought me to landscape my yard. Thanks Mom and Gary!!

May 15 2010

Sneak peek at the landscape projects....we still have a long way to go!

May 16 2010

My super hot shoes! I treated myself to these for my trip to Dallas.

May 17 2010

Random Frank Sinatra on the side of a garage in Robbinsdale.

Are your eyes about to fall out of your sockets?! I know, I need to keep up with these pictures so the posts aren't so long! Hope you enjoyed the pics anyway!