coming out of the fog...

I'm finally starting to feel a little better.



My dear friend Annalee and her adorable daughter Lilly came over to play on Wed.

Lilly made me laugh so hard, every time I tried to take her picture, this was the face I got. 

I won a spot in this class:

I've been slow at scrapping lately and I have tons of pictures so I'm hoping this class will help a little bit.

Look at my 2 favorite people, aren't they adorable.

I'll be back later with a more interesting update.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Stalled

I've been absent this week. I apologize.

I even have things to blog about, but I've been busy and now I'm sick, and the only thing I want to do when I get home, is lay on the couch or go to bed.



I will be back soon. I promise...with pictures to boot!



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Makin' Waffles

Nothing better than breakfast for dinner. Zoe asked to help make the waffles and she looked mighty cute doing it. She mixed everything and dumped in all the ingredients. If you look close you can see her tan lines on her little biceps, lots of time in the sun this summer.

I'm so excited I got to take these pictures. I couple weeks ago, I won a new scrapbooking line, from Lily Bee, called Domestic Bliss. These pictures will be perfect for that. You can see the collection here.



Finally, here's my crafty share.

It's that time of year when all the craft companies come out with their new products. In preparation for that, I'm trying to use up my stuff from last season and scraps. I made this little mini book to house some of my favorite pictures of Zoe from this summer. It's 4"x4" and it's bound with staples in the middle and Japanese washi (paper) tape.

I haven't finished the project simply because of lack of time + lack of a color ink cartridge (it ran out).

I know I keep saying that but truly life is just crowded right now.



I will do my best to keep the blog up for the rest of summer, but no promises ok? :)



Before I go, I wanted to share an amazing new recipe.

Yesterday while we were out and about, we stopped at a local fruit stand to get some fresh strawberries, we got some strawberries, but the blackberries looked divine, so we grabbed some of those too.

I had never cooked with blackberries before but after digging through recipes online, we decided to make our traditional apple crisp but with blackberries. It was delicious!



So here's my adjusted recipe. (Original apple crisp recipe by Betty Crocker)

Blackberry-Apple Crisp

Base:

2 medium apples (peeled and sliced)

3-4 cups fresh blackberries



Topping:

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup cooking oats

1/3 cup butter (softened)

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. nutmeg



Vanilla ice cream, on the side.



1. layer apples and blackberries in a greased 9X13 pan

2. mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. cut in softened butter, until mix is crumbly.

3. Spread topping over the fruit.

4. cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

5. enjoy!



Have a great week!



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Shh....Weekend Ahead

And I couldn't be more ready.

 Zoe in her new shades

Ryan is back from Scout Camp and we have NOTHING on the agenda for the next 2 days. :::big sigh:::



We've been having a great summer, but we have been so busy we're in need of some R&R.



I'm planning on being in my pajamas until at least 11am tomorrow :)



I do have something crafty to post, but I've been too busy to even snap a picture. So that will get done when my agenda free weekend is over.





Hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!



XOXO,

Holly & Co

Thoughtful Tuesday - Week 4 - Catch up

Wow, this weekend was busy. I'm finally coming out of the haze.



We got to have (almost) all of Ryan's family over for dinner on Sunday. It was a tight squeeze, 9 adults + 4 kids in 900 sq. feet, but we did have air conditioning! We missed you Cole! It was so fun having everyone together.



And it looks like our schedule won't be slowing down anytime soon. Coming up on the calendar we've got a visit to Santa Cruz/Monterey/Sunnyvale, my parents are coming for a visit, maybe a jaunt to the coast, our Ward Service Auction, another semester starting, and Zoe starting preschool.



The next few weeks are going to fly by and then my beloved season fall will be here! I'm already dreaming of apples and baking and sweaters...ahh...I can't hardly wait!



Ryan is at Scout Camp this week and thank goodness he's coming home soon. I've realized that even when he's busy at home, he is still at home and I really miss him when he's gone. I haven't been lacking for things to fill the evenings though, it just seems to be one event after another. Hopefully we can slow down this weekend, I think we all need a day unplugged.



I'll be back later this week with a crafty share.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

SaturdayFAIL

 Picture taken before the disaster.

So, here's my SaturdayFAIL story.



We'd planned to go to the movies on Saturday morning. Ryan & Brok were going to see Inception (which they said was the best movie ever!) and I was going to take Zoe to Toy Story 3. They started a few minutes apart and they ended at the same time. So we went, all was going well, until the movie started. Zoe was up and down and loud and all over the place. We ended up leaving so as not to disturb the other movie-goers, and headed over to the outlets.



It was hot, and Zoe was in a crabby mood. 3 stores, and each one the experience just got worse and worse. Ripping things off the racks, screaming, trying to get out of the stroller...ugh, it was a headache.

So I headed for the McDonald's to seek some refuge while the boys finished their movie. That didn't help. She tried to play in the playplace, she was too little to climb the stairs up into the slides, which brought on lots of tears.



She tried to eat other people's french fries that had fallen on the floor. Again, more tears from the "No" response I gave her.

As we were leaving she fell and skinned her knee.



When we got to the car, I discovered she had a blowout and there were no diapers in the car... thanks to my girl scout skills I discovered pj pants + burb cloth = diaper replacement for 20 minutes.

Memo to me: Potty Train.

Finally we made it home and put Zoe down for a nap, and I collapsed onto my bed and cried from exhaustion.



Thankfully my husband was wonderful and took charge the rest of the evening and even did the grocery shopping I was too tired to do. 2 points for Mr. Humbert.



I hope you got a chuckle from my SaturdayFAIL, and I hope your Saturday was better than mine.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Trend: Yogurt Bar

We've visited a few of these type places before, but I think we've found our favorite. We discovered it while on a dessert run the other night with the Stauffer family.





Tonight our concoctions were as follows:

Peach Mango Tart yogurt + fresh mango + fresh strawberries + granola = Ryan



Red Velvet Cake yogurt + Vanilla yogurt + fresh strawberries + Cap'n Crunch = Holly



Vanilla + Reese's Pieces + chocolate sprinkles = Zoe





Yes, I did let Zoe pick out her own. I was surprised she didn't pick more toppings. I think she was just so excited to get her very own bowl....small bowl...but still all hers.

You can see how happy she is here.

Ryan loves having his picture taken, especially while he's eating.

{Yes, that is a Perry the Platypus t-shirt}



Here's to welcoming the weekend.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

My letter

I know I said I would be back with my letter yesterday, but the terrible-two-fairy came to our house for a visit. So I'm posting it now.

I don't keep a traditional journal and generally use this blog and my scrapbook pages to document most of the things I want to say. But some things take up more than a 12x12 sheet of paper, so I wrote Zoe a letter and put it in this envelope.

I wrote about how life is with her at age 2. Everything from her curls to her tantrums. I told her about my worries about being a good parent and helping her grow up to be a happy, functioning adult. How I want her to fall in love, but also to guard her heart against boys that clearly are not worth the tears. My desire for us to always be good friends, but also my assurance to her, that if we are not, I will always love her with all my heart, Always and no matter what.

I know at some point in my life, she is not going to like me, and that's ok. But, I'm hoping by writing letters like this, she will find comfort in the fact that when she was 2, I was anticipating that day. Writing letters like this also help me keep life in perspective especially on the hard days. I'm hoping to write something like this every 6 months, maybe more often we'll see.





XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Thoughtful Tuesday - Week 3

I'll be back with details about my letter tomorrow.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

I wanna go to the beach

simply so I have a reason to buy this scrapbooking paper...

and these cards...

I hear waves in our future.

As a kid, my parents used to take us on what we called, "Adventures." We would drive to small moutain towns and go exploring. Sometimes we would go on hikes, or visit the gift shops, or get ice cream.

We'd sing folk songs on the drive, and play the alphabet game. These are some of my most cherished memories

After our jaunt to Tahoe a few weeks ago, I think Ryan and I both agreed we had tons of fun and will be adding more mini vacations into our schedule.

Next on our list is Redding/Mt. Shasta and then, Santa Cruz.

Any suggestions for either of these places? I've never been to either and Ryan has never been to Santa Cruz, so we could use some recommendations.

I am now in the market for a giant floppy sun hat. :)

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

An important letter & a date night

Last night, we all gathered at the Humbert's house anxiously awaiting for Brok, Ryan's brother to open his mission call.

Brok has been called to the Mexico Hermosillo mission, he reports to the MTC, in the late fall. We're so proud of Brok and not so secretly happy that we'll have a few more months with him here.









After the family gathering, Grandma Julie, graciously kept Zoe overnight so Ryan and I could go out on a date. We headed to Folsom to go to Fat's Asian Bistro.



Our appetizer was amazing. We were less impressed with our entrees. I got Sesame Chicken, which was good, but dry and Ryan got Thai Basil chicken and lo mein, it smelled like hot dogs and it tasted like hot dogs. He liked it, and thinks I'm crazy when I say it tasted and smelled like hot dogs, but each to his own I guess. Maybe we'll try it again and go for something different, but I was not impressed. Although the decor and service were great. Side note: make sure you go in the right bathroom, Ryan made that mistake. :)



I actually got some scrapbooking done today. That's the first time in a couple weeks I've actually scrapbooked. It seems like I've been working on lots of other craft projects and I've been getting behind in my scrapbooking.



Oh! I almost forgot, in the middle of our dinner date, my sister Jenni called, she is going to be having a little girl at the end of November. Yeah! More babies! More bows to make!



Ok well enough rambling for now...I've gotta put the little one to bed and finish making pizza..mmm...



Hope you're all having a great weekend. I promise pictures with the next post :)



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Day off

Monday, I had the day off because of the holiday. 

It was nice to finally be able to check things off my to do list.

Packed maternity clothes for my sister...check.

Cut vinyl for mom....check.

Edit pictures....check.

We took our normally Saturday day trip to Roseville, stopped at Noodles & Co. and Costco.

Came home for a nap, then off to cousin Asher's birthday party. 

 Zoe waiting for the cupcakes.

And the smiling birthday boy.

That night, I got an exciting e-mail. Pamela from ScrapStreet.com Magazine, requested to publish one of my scrapbook layouts! I'm not sure which issue it will be in, I'll let you all know. I'm over the moon excited.

I've got some baking/cooking to do tonight for a shower tomorrow, so I should probably get started on that.

Night.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Thoughtful Tuesday - Week 2

I'm really excited about thoughful Tuesday this week. I've had something to share for a few days but waited for Tuesday.



I went to lunch with a co-worker last week and had an wonderful, eye-opening discussion.

Over our lunch, we got to talking about her background.

She's Persian, born and rasied in Iran. She lived there for 15 years, before she was able to leave. She left to Turkey for 3 years and then was finally able to come to America. She went through all the proper channels and is now an American citizen.

She's stunningly beautiful and intelligent, and has one of the biggest hearts.

She told me all sorts of stories about what life was like in Iran and how difficult it is to be a woman there.

She taught herself English and speaks almost perfectly. I sat in awe of her for most of the lunch.

I didn't really have much to add to the conversation, I admit I am not well versed in the middle east, geography or customs. But she so honestly answered all of my questions.

After the lunch, I thanked her over and over for sharing her story with me.



With celebrating our country's Independance Day, this weekend, it really hit hard, how free we really are. From the tiniest things like wearing nail polish to choosing one's core beliefs, we really are free.



She has a little tagline up at her desk, "You're too blessed to be stressed. " :)



Happy Tuesday,



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!

We had a delicious dinner over at the Humbert's house tonight.

After dinner, the kids took a little swim.

Zoe got to show off her new bathing suit. {It was a steal! Under $5.00)

She had fun killing ants with cousin Taylor.

Do you see what I mean, her hair is just crazy curly when it's wet!



We had tons of fun tonight. We didn't keep Zoe up for the fireworks, she wouldn't have lasted. But I can hear them now and I'm thinking they are loud enough that she might wake up.



Off to watch the show!



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Mommy Daughter Date

Check out her new digs...She picked them out all on her own.



Last night, Ryan needed to get some reading done, so Zoe and I had a Mommy Daughter date.

We went over to Sunrise Mall and did some shopping. Starting her out early :)

Isn't she adorable? Her hair is getting curlier and curlier. I love it!



ooo Banana Bread is done!



Happy 4th to everyone! Missing all the festivities in Provo, :::sniff::: Proud to be an American and so grateful for all the men and women who have fought for the freedoms we enjoy.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Half-Way Done

Well we made it half-way through the year.

I went back today and looked at the goals I blogged about at the end of December, for 2010.

This is what I wrote in December:

For 2010 I want to:

* Be a roll around, on the floor Mom. I want to make sure I'm truly interacting with Zoe every day. It's easy to get lost in our routine and I want to make sure she gets my full attention in the short time we have together in the evenings.

* have weekly Family Home Evening. This has been hard this past few months with Ryan being in school on Monday nights, but after spending FHE with the Stauffers,

I really want to have this a weekly time together.

* Finish projects. I have lots of ideas floating around in my head that I get supplies for, but find it hard to complete these projects. My goal is to do one a week. I've already got my list for the first 20 weeks.

It was a nice reminder to go back and look at these. I've definitely improved in all of them, some more than others. Did you make goals for 2010? I encourage you to go back and look at them. Evaluate them, and change them if you need to.









I've hardly scrapbooked in a week or so...I've been working on other projects. (See goal #3)

This is my little nook/office/craft area. I cut these quote bubble out of chalkboard vinyl to keep to-do lists or funny Zoe quotes, or other notes. (the top right corner is a Zoe quote.)

 

 Ryan isn't a big fan of vinyl to decorate, but he's warmed up to these since I first put them up.

At first, he asking me if they were a joke.

I got my vinyl at Craft Vinyl and cut the shape using my Cricut and my Create-a-Critter cartridge.



This post has taken me forever to write to I'm gonna  wrap it up here.

Hope you're having a safe weekend!



XOXO.

Holly & Co.