More Letters

Pardon the blog changes again, it's a process, I like to change it up.

Let me know what you think, I went back to 3 columns again. I just can't stay away.

Moving on...so remember THIS POST where I wrote a birthday letter to Zoe 

and made an 8x8 page to put it in...Well I  ended up not liking the page I made.

 It just felt too blah.

Lucky for me when I was cleaning out my scrapping supplies, 

I discovered an envelope mini album that was perfect for this. 

Here's the made-over version.

I'll be continuing to use this as a way to save a letter each year for Zoe, and then giving it to her on her 12th birthday (there's just enough pockets!) For year one, I'm going to add some handwritten notes from when she was inside me, as well as notes from throughout her first year, since I didn't start this tradition until her second birthday. Here's a peek at the insides of the first few.

They aren't done yet, because I'm waiting for this stamp set to finish them. 

 I'm excited to keep this in her room and add to it every year. 

It's off to bathtime for Zoe and I'm needed to supervise :)

Have a great day!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

PS. Happy Birthday to this girl yesterday! Love you Nat!

Since Wednesday

Wow, Sorry guys, I've been in a little bit of a slump lately, just anxiously waiting for the fate of our future to be determined. It kinda blankets the house in a nail-biting, can't really think about anything else, type vibe, which is a killer for creative juices.

However, since the acceptance at BYU-Idaho, our nerves have calmed just slightly as we wait for more letters. This has cleared the anxiety just enough to get the creative juices flowing again.



I saw these letter flashcards at Homemade by Jill and I came straight home and made a set for Zoe. Here's the link to the download. (It's free) I cut out the cards and glued the corresponding letters together and then laminated them, for durability.

I've had these pictures sitting on my scrapbook desk for weeks but I was totally uninspired until now. I had so much fun masking with my new Mr. Huey, navy mist. Except that I had to go to church today with navy dyed fingernails.

We usually dress Zoe, but occasionally I give in and let her pick out her own outfits. This was yesterday afternoon, post nap. All her, right down to the brown mary-janes. Pre-nap, she was wear a dress my mom made her and a sweater. She has a style all her own. Yeah that's an understatement.

Oh, I almost forgot. I promised dress-up pictures. ( Please do not judge my photography skills based on this photo. It was late.) This is a bridesmaids dress that I wore when I was pregnant with Zoe, make-shifted into a dress for a 2 year old. Not pictured is the makeshift crown and jewels.

I must have been bit by the cooking bug today, because I cooked a full dinner for the first time in a long time. Ryan probably thought I forgot how to cook. Oh, and I also made some more oatmeal bread.

So yummy!



I hope you all have a great week.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Scalloped, mashed, baked, or fried

It's a good thing I like potatoes. I'd like to announce that my amazing smart, talented, hardworking husband was accepted to BYU Idaho! We are still waiting to hear back about BYU Provo, but at the very least we are moving to Idaho at the end of the year.



We are nervous but excited at the same time.



Sorry to be so short, I'm blogging from the iPhone and it's kinda difficult to write a lot.



P.S. Happy birthday to Zoe's BFF Ethan, we are so happy you are a part of our lives.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

A Test

Can you tell which one is me?

On Friday afternoon, we had a company BBQ with a character artist.

My co-worker Sally and I hopped in for a picture together.

In cse you're wondering, that's supposed to be me with my arms folded.

 Although the fingers look all weird.

On Saturday, Ryan got up early to golf with a friend and Zoe and I slept in until 9:40.

Yes it was lovely.

We took a trip to Target, which I usually prefer to do alone, but we got some popcorn and drink from the snack counter, and it was by far the best experience I've ever had with Zoe at Target.

She was so polite and saying hello and please and thank you.

mmm...maybe I am doing something right...

That afternoon, we had our Ward party, and I had told Zoe before her nap that when she woke up we'd go to a party. As soon as she woke up from the nap, she was commanding, "Mommy, it's time to go to the party!" and , "Mommy, put your shoes on, we're going to the party."

It was a great party complete with good food, better company, and lots of run around the gym time for Zoe.

Zoe has been talking about "the party" ever since.

I tried to scrapbook that night, and even printed off the pictures I wanted to use, but that's as far as I got.

Sunday, I got a new calling, I'm the 1st counselor in our Primary Presidency. (Children's Organization at church). I'm a little overwhlemed, but grateful to be working with all the wonderful kids in our ward.

While I was at meetings, Ryan made apple crisp, and his parents joined us for dessert.

The night ended with a lovely visit with Jamie.

Sorry to throw the the weekend all in one post, but I'm trying to play a little catch up.

Stay tuned in to the blog this week, I have some fun pictures of Zoe in homemade dress-ups as well as a layout or two. (or three :)

XOXO,

Holly & CO.

TGIF

I got in some scrapbooking time last night. Ryan was a little distracted doing homework.......

 And playing with his new iPhone. that I surprised him with. It was great!

For almost a year, he's been using a crappy Nokia GoPhone, because his Palm broke.

He was anxiously awaiting the day that he could upgrade.

Well that day is actually today, but I was able to get it early and surprise him yesterday.

But back to the scrapping...

Zoe's first day of Preschool

 

 

I think this is my new favorite page. I just love all the shades of blue and cream. And that heart stictched brad? Yeah I've had that for like 9 months, just waiting for the perfect layout to use it on.

 

This weekend we have some parties to go to, and lots of yummy food to eat.

That reminds me... I need to go grocery shopping I need to bring pasta salad.

 

Not too much else going on around here, just trying to keep ourselves distracted from checking the e-mail account constantly.

 

Hope you have a great weekend!

 

XOXO,

Holly & CO.

Crispy Fall Air

Crispy fall air....It's here to stay!

I love just the faint of a chill that's starting to become a permenant fixture in our days.



I love all things fall, and to celebrate, I indulged in a few fall essentials.



Shade clothing is liquidating and having an amazing sale. I bought this dress this morning for less than $20.

I have plans for this dress with a bit of layering and some jewelry, maybe even some boots!

I'm getting excited to head up to Apple Hill sometime in the next several weeks, maybe we'll visit more than once this year since it might be awhile before we get to come back.

Zoe last year at apple hill

Apple Hill leads right into my favorite part of fall...the baking...mmm.

Jamie and I made some white peach raspberry cobbler a few days ago, and I think it's all down hill from here. I can't stop thinking about apple crisp and sugar cookies and pumpkin pie.

(thank goodness I used the last of the butter for the cobbler)

What's your favorite fall food? If you've got a recipe, link me up!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Funny Face

Here's some beauties from the past few days.

Um yeah...nuff said.

She kept making all sorts of funny faces in the tub.

almost cross-eyed.

Bubble Beard.

Not too much going on around here. 

We're just playing the waiting game while we wait to hear back about Ryan's applications.

 Planning to do some scrapping tonight.

Hope you're having a great week.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Saturday with the Stauffers

Ok we'll start off with my favorite picture from today. Can't you just feel that little kid happiness? 

Living above our best friends, means we see them a lot. We borrow ingredients for things we're making, we drop of our kids for 15 minutes when we need to run to the store, mailbox, or just catch a breath. It's been so wonderful having the Stauffer's so close to us. But even though we see each other a lot, we don't always get to go out and do things together. We made special plans this weekend to spend some time together.

Our first stop was Bounce-O-Palace in Folsom. We got there right when it opened and for an hour we were the only ones there. The kids had a blast. I would definitely recommend to any family with kids. You only have to pay for the kids, adults get in free! I'll be the first to admit, I climbed right in to play too!

 Ryan got in on the fun too. He took the kids into one of the bounce houses and wrestled around with them and played basketball. There was a foam hoop in the bounce house.

Here's Noah. This was a little maze they had for the babies. Right behind him, you can see a little plexiglass house that they could climb through. He and Zoe climbed in there together. It was a tight fit.

We stayed for just over an hour, and we were beat. It got really hot in there running around and all the blower machines going as well. Next time I think I'll wear some yoga capris, it was too hot for jeans. I'd probably pack a lunch for the kids too. They have an area with tables for birthday parties, but if there aren't any parties going on, you could just sit there and eat lunch.

For lunch we headed to the famous Squeeze Inn, in Sacramento. The original Squeeze Inn was featured on Food Network's, "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives." They have since, opened up a few other locations and had to move from the original building because of a lawsuit (it was eventually dropped). 

This location has a bit more room, but not much. We sat outside to accommodate our large group

 There was a line out the door, because unfortunately our timing made our arrival right around noon.

 But our was probably only 20 minutes, and we were entertained by the train that came by.

We all ordered their signature burger, the Squeeze with Cheese. 

That large bubbly square protruding from my burger is called a cheese skirt.

 It's bubbly on top and crispy on the bottom. 

You can read more about it on their website here.

Now to answer the question that everyone's thinking...was it worth the wait?

My Verdict: It's a good burger. I've had better, but for what it is, it was worth it.

 I would definitely bring someone who was visiting here, simply for the experience. 

Ryan's Verdict: Willy's is better. The focus of a burger should be on the meat,

 their's was on the cheese, but that's their thing. 

Thanks Stauffers for a great Saturday. 

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Pretty Pages

doesn't this just make you want to cuddle up in a blanket and drink hot chocolate by the fire?

I love this plaid paper by BasicGrey. As soon as I saw it, I know exactly what I wanted to do. This is Nat & Gary's debut on my blog. Although this won't go in my scrapbook, I'll by sending it to my sister.

This is my favorite page that I did over the long weekend. It's simple but I love it. The heart banner took awhile to finish. I was inspired by these stickers. I loved these pictures of Zoe. You might just see them scrapped again, I love them that much!

Well that's all for today. I love 3 day weekends, because they make the week go by so fast!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Lazy Labor Day

We all had a wonderful Labor day weekend, although not all together.

Ryan and Zoe headed to the coast with the Humberts and I got a  3-day weekend all by myself. 

I spent 3 days watching girly movies, eating whatever I felt like making, drinking a 12 pack of diet coke, and scrapping my heart out. It was a lovely weekend. I also de-cluttered Zoe's room and got a bag of things to donate. Oh and I cleaned and made homemade soft pretzels. I got a lot done and feel very rested. I did miss my Zoe bug and my Hubby, but luckily they came back today, so I'm doing just fine.

On Saturday I got to attend a big first birthday bash for this adorable little boy.





*Ok, I've seriously tried to finish this blog post for like 3 days and it's just not really working*



Moving on....

I'll be posting some more of my layouts that I finished over the weekend, once I get a chance to photograph them.



Last night we celebrated Uncle Brok's birthday at BJ's. We shared a BBQ chicken pizza that was amazingly good.

Zoe kept looking over at the booth next to us. They had a little baby boy and Zoe wanted to play with him. She loves babies. She and I have that in common.



Zoe has been enjoying preschool. Last week was Red/ Octagon week. She had lots of fun pointing out all the red octagons that we saw on the drives home. She's also really into dress-up. Liz got this photo of Zoe and I love it. She looks like a cross between a diva and a pioneer.

Hope you had  a great long weekend too!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

If you normally skip my Scrapbooking posts, you can skip this post :)

Today is all about the scrapbooking!



First off, that layout I took down for publication is now available in the September issue of ScrapStreet Magazine. The link to my page is here (my page is toward the bottom, so scroll down)



Next up, I've been waiting months, literally since June when I started taking pool/water pictures for this line of paper. You might remember my post about it here. But I finally got it! and Here's the proof!

I'm actually kinda bummed I don't have a ton more water pictures because I *love* this wave paper. I had so much fun splatting the blue mist all over the page, sometimes getting messy is fun. Although I did look like I had Smurf fingers after I was done.



And Finally, I'm going to be de-stashing my scrapbook stuff a bit in the near future and will be selling small lots of supplies that I'm no longer going to use, everything from paper, to ribbon, to punches. If you're interested let me know and I'll send you the info and pictures and prices.



Well that's all for today.



XOXO,

Holly & Co