Sharing is Caring

which is why I post so many layouts right?

Sorry if this one looks a little green. I had to take the picture inside. I'd been waiting for 3 days to take it outside in good light and every night something has distracted or detained me from doing so. So I had to take it inside.

But the good news about that is that I'm finally starting to learn how to shoot my camera in manual mode, so I don't have to use the flash indoors. No where near good, but I'm improving :)



I finally caved and bought my first Studio Calico kit. I can't wait for those alphabet stamps. I love those Sassafras monthly cards too. I've got to find something great to do with those.

After searching and editing through more of the photos I took of Zoe, I have a few more to share. (They look way better when you click on them individually. I didn't sharpen them for the web before I posted them)

I'm looking forward to our family pictures this weekend. I bought Zoe a cute knit beanie to wear and she loves it. Now to decide about her hair, curly or straight? Thoughts?



Well I am beat. It's been a busy week and it's past my bedtime.'Night



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Fruits of my Labor

 mmm...the banana bread turned out yummy. Really yummy.

 I added toasted walnuts and it made all the difference.

My classic red Betty Crocker Cookbook never fails.

I attempted to get some fall photos of Zoe this afternoon.

I got a few gems, but mostly her looking at the ground.

 Oh well, they turned out better than last year.

I had a mini freak out today when I was purchasing some large plastic bins, realizing that we're only 6 weeks away from our move. We have a lot of packing to do. 

This week is packed with meetings, a shows, pictures, a family reunion and a farewell.

Pictures will be in plenty.

Have a great night!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Lego Love

New past time.

Thanks to Grandma, Zoe has learned how to build with the Legos, instead of just throwing them all over the floor. She still loves to throw them all over the floor but enjoys building with them as well. 

We build A LOT of houses and tree houses.

I took these a few weeks ago,on a lazy Saturday afternoon, similar to the one we had this weekend.

I've been gearing up for our Annual Primary (children's) Program at church. I was put in charge of the choreography and it took a lot of work by all to get all the kinks worked out at practice.It went off without a hitch! The kids did such a great job, even though they only had 2 practices.

 I'm amazed at how calm and quiet they all were. 

We have the best Primary.

I have been scrapping but haven't had a chance to get outside to take pictures, since it's been raining all weekend! Zoe and I made some banana bread and it's baking right now....

perfect end to a wonderful day. 

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

EveryDay Life

Could skinny jeans be any cuter on her? 

I love this two people.

Last night, I decided we need to get out of the house.

 Zoe hadn't gotten a new book for awhile, so I suggested Barnes & Noble.

She wanted to look at books for about 2 minutes, before she saw the train table.

 I looked at books, Zoe played trains, and Ryan played on his iphone.

We came home with two of my Zoe's favorites, Chick Chicka Boom Boom and Strega Nona.

We ended the evening visiting with the Stauffers,

who had invited us over just as we were leaving for the bookstore.

Such a Ham. At least she lets me take her picture.

After Zoe went to bed, Ryan started his homework, and I threw on some re-runs and got to scrapping.

I think this is one of my all time favorite layouts.

It made me smile so big when I finished.

Probably becuase of how happy that pony ride made Zoe.

She was so excited. Giggling and smiling the whole time. I'm glad I got to ride with her.

I hope we get a chance to let her ride again soon. There's a pumpkin patch close to our house that has them on the weekends. I think I might try and get in another ride before winter comes.

And finally, I got pictures of this layout.

I love how the border turned out.

 It took awhile to hand stamp all those letters individually, but it was so worth it.

(I know only a goat is picture on the layout, but we did see pigs, chickens, cows and sheep too)

I used Ranger Pebble inkpad and I love how subtle it is on the wheat cardstock.

I noticed on Sunday Zoe has grown out of a lot of her dresses, so it looks like I need to go shopping.

Fall clothes here we come!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Just some Sunday rambling

I discovered tonight that we don't own a single mug...how is that even possible? Seriously?!? Doesn't every home have a surplus of mugs? We've been married 3.5 years and we don't own a mug. I feel a slight sense of failure.

So I'm drinking my hot beverage in a glass with 3 paper towels wrapped around it. Mug Fail.



I've been scrapping the past few nights and I'm really pleased with how my layouts have turned out. I have a new addiction to Bazzill Basics, orange peel textured, Wheat cardstock. It's becoming a close favorite to my usual Kraft.

Here's a couple sneak peeks until I get them photographed.

Isn't that cow paper the best? It's actually the back of an advertisement by Studio Calico. Pure genius.

As I was going through all my Apple Hill pictures, I found this gem. She makes me laugh. 

50% Girly Girl and 50% Tom Boy.

I'm just finishing up some homemade pizza for my lunch tomorrow.

 I used this no rise pizza crust recipe and it's awesome!

I'm also enjoying a new show, Outsourced, on Hulu. It's a little different but funny.

Ok enough out of me for tonight. 

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Apple Hill 2010

We actually got in our Apple Hill trip! I was so excited. Last year, Zoe was a bit too little to appreciate and enjoy the whole experience. It was really busy this year, but worth it.

We went to a new farm this year, Apple Ridge Farms.



 I think Zoe's favorite part was feeding these goats. I hope the video works. Zoe was giggling so loud, it was so funny. People around us kept laughing at how excited she was.

This little goat was following Zoe all throughout the pen. 

Zoe finally got her pony ride.

We've been talking about this for a long time. Every Day on our way home, we pass by a stable with horses. She always talks about how she wants to ride them and how pretty they are.

I was worried that she would be afraid and cry and not want to get on, but she only cried when our turn was over.

We did stop by High Hill Farms to get our apple donuts. We picked up some apple butter, rome apples and fresh apple juice too. mmmm...



Zoe and I took long naps when we got home and Ryan went to bed early. It was a long but really fun day!



I've got lots of pictures to scrap! Hope you're having a great weekend!



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Decision Time

It's official. We are moving to Idaho.

Unfortunately, Ryan didn't get in to BYU, so we're heading up to  BYU-Idaho in 9 short weeks.



{ let the panic set in}



Not Panic about attending, just about everything we need to do from now till then.



{ Deep breaths...lots of deep breaths}



We've been busy this week, studying, errands, cleaning, etc. so I'll just share a couple of layouts I made last week.

 I've been meaning to scrap these pictures from mini golf in Tahoe forever. I actually forgot about them until recently.

I loved that I got to add some memorabilia to this page, I knew there was a reason I kept that card. If you open that card, there's a tag with journaling about our day in Tahoe on there.

Hopefully when I'm long gone, my kids will actually pull the layouts out of the pages and discover these little pockets of journaling.

I made this right after out trip last week, like just hours after. I misted the white cardstock with cream Mr. Huey and I love how it turned out. I usually don't mist a whole page, just splothes, like you've been seeing, since my recnet discovery and addiction to using mists on my pages :)



We're finally going on our Apple Hill trip tomorrow, hopefully it goes off without a hitch and I bring back lots of fun pictures.



Have a great weekend.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

It's OK + Make your own patterned paper

...to scrap things twice.

(if you want to see it bigger, you can click on the photo)

I made this 2-page layout over the weekend. All pictures from Zoe's 2nd birthday.

The page I had done previously, I didn't really like and it only had 2 photos on it that was very similar.

 I decided to include a few more for this set.

My favorite picture from that day is the one with the green lid on the left side.

 Jamie took that one. Zoe is pouting. It's just so typical her.

I still need to do a page with all the details from her party,

basically all my efforts need to be documented for my validation in spending hours on making cupcakes :)

On to making your own patterned paper...

I've had this idea in my head for a few weeks now and I finally got it out on paper last night.

It took me a LONG time but it was so worth it.

It involved alot more math that you'd think.

I haven't even finished the layout that goes with it,

but I wanted to show you the paper, before I cover it all up.

Lucky for me, my Cricut did most of the work.

I used scraps from my Cosmo Cricket Togetherness kit to cut all the patterned hexagons

and Bazzill Basics Dotted Swiss Cardstock-Salt for the white hexagons.  All the hexagons are 1.5 inches

I used plain white cardstock as a backing. I randomly laid out the pattern by gluing down one hexagon and building off of that. I don't know that that was the best way to start, as it did not make my pattern perfectly square, but I like how it's sort of falling off the page.

and voila, you're very own patterned paper! 

Happy Tuesday!



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

A shameless plea

Ok my blog world friends... I need your help.

So one of my favorite companies, Cosmo Cricket, is having a contest for a guest designer spot for November.

I would get to be on their design team for one month!

But in order to win a possible spot, I need nominations.



That's where you all come in.

I need nominations on this Cosmo Blog entry.  Just leave a comment on the post nominating me and you could also win some new CC scrapping goodies.



Thanks so much friends!



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

The Wedding Photos

I've always been nervous about scrapbooking my wedding photos.

It's been 3.5 years. 

You'd think I would have started on it by now. 

I've done a layout here or there, but I really wanted to do a whole album specifically for just the wedding. 

I wanted it to be all matchy and have the same papers throughout the whole thing.

Well now I've realized that's just not going to happen. 

So I have given myself permission to scrapbook the wedding photos, 

and if I get around to doing a whole album at sometime, then so be it.

Here's my start.

Better Together by Jack Johnson is our song.

Here's another one I did for a DT application awhile back.



Zoe has been at like a 200% normal energy level today and I am tired. sigh. So I'm just now working on dinner for Ryan and I. Spaghetti it is :)



Hope you all had a great weekend.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Old Town Sac

 Change of plans, we decided to go to Old Town Sac instead today.

While the first two pictures have real no meaning,

 I just fell in love with the sign-age downtown. 

Such a great mix of fonts and colors.

And can't leave out this little one.

We stopped for lunch at a cute little place called Steamers. Great Paninis.

Our trip got cut short by a false potty alarm from Zoe,

 but we headed home anyway to get in a nap and some scrapping time.

I'm on a baking streak today, I've already made 2.5 dozen chocolate chip cookies

 and cornbread muffins from scratch.

 ETA : The cornbread turned out great, however, was seriously lacking in flavor. So if you have a great cornbread recipe, hook me up!

Well this blog post has taken me like 4 hours to write, sad I know. Lots of starts and stops.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

a mini share

sigh, so glad it's the weekend. 

 I've been struggling with filling a 12x12 page, so I thought I'd try another card.

I used Studio Calico's Documentary collection for this one. 

Isn't that an adorable pumpkin? 

My mother-in-law grew it. 

I love it! Especially the long stem, so I can tie a cute ribbon around it.

We actually have plans to go to the pumpkin patch tomorrow. 

I'm hoping Zoe will be willing to take a pony ride. 

She points out the horses every day on the way home. I hope she won't be scared.

No more news about where we'll be heading, unfortunately. 

Have a great weekend. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some fun pictures to share.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Deal with It

The title of this post is one of our favorite lines for the TV show," Better Off Ted."



Lately, I'm not doing very well with this concept. Which can be attributed to the quietness of the blog.



See, the last time I moved more than 25 feet, was March 2007. I drove from Oklahoma to California, with a few stops in between. I was moving to marry the love of my life. Everything I owned fit into my 2-door Honda Civic.



I had my ipod chalk full of new music and a map and I was good to go. I left at around 5 am, there was beautiful orange sunrise. The tears I cried were when I passed the last Taco Bueno just before crossing into Kansas. And then more tears when I got stuck in a snow storm and had to drive through New Mexico.  But I was happy to go it was a new beginning I had been waiting for my whole life.



This time is different. Although I complain about California and it's weather a lot, it's still been my home for the past 3.5 years. I have friends here, we're established here, we have family here.



Right now, we are still uncertain what state we're even moving too. I'm a constantly changing mixture of fear and sadness and anticipation. Sad to leave this place (although not my favorite geographically speaking) , my friends, family and security behind.



I'm anxious to find out where we're going, where we'll be living, what we'll be doing. Trying to hammer out some sort of schedule or routine, so we all don't loose our minds. Finding enough time to spend with friends and family before we go.



I'm scared we're doing the right thing, scared that Zoe will adapt well, scared that everything will work out exactly the way I want it to. Which I already know it won't. God doesn't work that way :)



And then this morning I read Stephanie Howell's blog, a favorite of mine.

she wrote, " ...where God nudges you on the shoulder and says "you are not in charge". "I have bigger plans for you".



And just like that, an answer to a prayer. A gentle reminder in an unsuspecting place, that my Heavenly Father is well aware of me and my family.



It's now my goal to deal with it a little more gracefully than I have in days past and have this as a reminder that I am not alone or forgotten. It will all work out.





XOXO,

Holly & Co.

She

She is growing and learning at such a fast pace, it's scary.

 I'm constantly reminded how quickly they fade from one stage of life to the next.

She has a great memory.

She is independant.

She is aware of her emotions and other people's emotions around her.

She loves primary songs.

 Her favorites are ," I am a child of God," and "I love to see the temple."

She can sing both to you. All the verses.

She is loud. Her normal volume is a few notches higher than everyone else.

(this can make quiet places difficult for us to be)

She isn't afraid to dance.

She loves accessories, jewelry, hats, nail polish, shoes, you name it.

She challenges me daily.

She said her first prayer yesterday, with Mom's help.

She loves to read stories with everyone.

If I'm reading stories with her, and Ryan walks by the room, she'll get up and go and grab him by the hand and drag him into the room with us to listen to stories and vice versa.

She has perfected her fake cry.

She is surprisingly sweet at times.

She loves looking at photos and Mom's scrapbooks.

She also loves to take pictures, I see a trend :)

She occassionally gives awkwardly long kisses and it makes us all giggle.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

World Card Making Day

Happy World Card Making Day!

I'm sure you're celebrating with cake and presents....just kidding.



As you have probably noticed, I'm not much of a card maker. In fact, cards scare me.



But I just so happened to need a birthday card today, so I joined in one the fun.

Isn't that cupcake the cutest?

I cut it out from the MME playing cards. Other supplies are MME, American Crafts and Studio Calico.



I'm thinking I might have to try cards more often, this wasn't too scary :)



Hope you're all having a great weekend.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Small Surprise

I just noticed that one of my layouts is up on the Studio Calico blog.



Ethan is so cute. and I love that picture.

Let's talk about food!

So...It's still hot here.

WAY too hot for  October. In October, it should be hinting about snowing,

 but I guess that's my, grew up in Denver bias.



(Seriously, we wore winter coats under our Halloween costumes 4 out of 5 times)

And this Indian Summer/blasted heatwave is totally throwing off my fall cooking groove.



I was hoping by now, I'd be baking loaves of pumpkin bread and lots of soup.

Instead, I'm throwing stuff together, like beanie-weenies and peas. That's a complete meal right??



Ryan has gotten into hummus lately and so far I'm liking the addiction. I wasn't a big fan at first, but it's growing on me. I'm dipping carrots and pita chips, any other suggestions?



I baked these breadsticks on Monday, and they were SO good. A lot like The Pizza Factory in Provo, UT. I spread garlic butter on them right out of the oven. I also subbed white sugar for the brown sugar and it worked just fine.



I love my breadmaker.



Not much going on here except for our Dr. appt horror story yesterday.



Zoe went to the Dr. yesterday and it was a total nightmare. She started crying before they even weighed her. Sigh, it was a long 2 hours. And to top it all off she fell asleep in my arms right before she had to get shots. I had to wake my adorable sleeping beauty, to get shots. Then after they gave her 3 shots,



she was crying saying, " I so sorry Mommy. I so sorry." Worst. Feeling. Ever.



Yeah, I started to cry as I was trying to tell her, the shots weren't a punishment.

The nurse cried too. I think she felt almost as bad as I did.

But Zoe was happy to go home, and while we were driving home,



she said, "You ok Mommy?"

to which I replied, "Yes Zoe, I'm Ok."

then she said, "You take a nap Mommy?"

I said, "Yes, Mommy will take a nap too."



And that's what we did. We came home, snuggled and took naps. Oh, and had pizza at Zoe's request.

She deserved it.



Hope you have a great weekend.



XOXO,

Holly & Co.