Beach Bums, Missions and Lots of Chalk

Ok, this post is a month behind. I know I know. It's been a crazy month! So on Memorial Day we checked off a couple of items from our Bucket List. We went into Santa Barbara for the afternoon with our good friend Mr. P. We hit up the Sandbar Restaurant when we made it into town and had a great Mexican lunch. Then we hit the road up to the Santa Barbara Mission. I had been as a child when we would camp at Carpinteria state beach, but D and Mr. P had never been inside the museum. We wandered around the mission and took in all the history there was, and of course I clicked away at my shutter. We all enjoyed the cemetery and spent loads of time trying to figure out what the headstones meant. Mr. P wanted a photo with the old tree, but there were many signs telling people to stay off....so we obeyed. We made our way into the church and continued through the chapels and finally into the artifact area where we could see how the monks lived when the Mission first opened. Very informative and lots of cool things to look at.

When we finished the tour we went outside to where there was a big Memorial Day event taking place. Hundred's of artists were in front of the mission drawing up some incredible things with chalk. We wandered around and took some more photos. We then wandered around and took a little hike trying to find something else that was interesting, but realized after a 30 minute hike that we went the wrong way. We treked our way back to the truck and then back over to the restaurant to see if Mr. P left his phone, they had it. We hopped in the truck and made our way over to the beach where we wandered past the biggest home I had ever seen. We walked up and down, taking more photos and taking in the scenery. We saw a pod of dolphins just off shore and a lot of birds. We took in the salty air and just chilled in the sand before we made our way back home. It was a great day!

Wizards, Witches, and Wands

15 years and 8 movies later I decided to borrow the Harry Potter series from a friend. I'm through The Sorcerer's Stone and 3/4 of the way through The Chamber of Secrets in 2 weeks. Quick reads! I'm enjoying myself!

Happy Birthday Puppy and Operation Get Rid of Shit!

Ok I was going to post this on Sunday, but ran out of time. We had a busy weekend this past weekend. We went on Saturday and check three more things off our Bucket List. We went with Mr. and Mrs A, their baby girl and my mom to the Long Beach Aquarium, The Queen Mary and Bubba Gumps. I will post a longer entry and photo's about all of that.

Sunday was my and our puppy's birthday. She turned four! On Friday we went to Costco and bought her a new cedar chip filled bed and properly made it up with a throw pillow and her blanket in the corner of our room. She now sleeps like the princess she is. D also went and got us donuts to celebrate. Pup got a couple of donut holes (I know refined sugar, but she needed a treat!)

After that the fun really began. D whipped out the space bags we bought a month ago and we tackled part of the closet. We cleaned a little in their, under the bed and in a couple of drawers. We then made a stack for Goodwill and put the things away that we were keeping. My mom and I made a trip to Walmart to replace old socks and other things that were thrown away. Then to Sears to get her a carpet cleaner, to Goodwill to donate the items, and then to Target to get dinner. Once home we chatted a little and then mom had to head home. We said our goodbye's, went upstairs and prepped to watch a movie. The hubbs made me dinner and Root Beer Floats for dessert. We (the pup and I) couldn't have asked for a better day!

Fresh Squeezed Kindle Cover

In a desperate attempt to catch up, I am going to post this little craft project I did a while back. It still has yet to find a home, but I found the tutorial and I couldn't pass it up. I made some place mat's a while back with the Fresh Squeezed Moda charm packs. I had a ton leftover so I decided since it was fun and fresh that I would use them up. I found the tutorial on Pinterest and you can follow her directions here!

Cutting, cutting cutting away

Done! Whew!

Top

Lining

Completed!

It really was a blast to make and SUPER easy too! I didn't add Velcro to it because #1: I didn't have any on hand and was too lazy to go to the store to get some. And #2: when you sew down the edge on the flap it makes it stay nicely!

Now onto reading! This is bright enough that I don't need a light! :-) Happy Crafting!

The Silence is Deafening

For the past month-ish we have had major road construction on the off ramp over our complex. It starts at 6AM and continues through the morning. Sometimes it continues at night as well. This morning it was different though. Silence. Silence. No metal banging on metal, no grinding, no slamming. Just pure blissful quiet. I got in my car, drove past the pool and remembered....they are filming in our complex. I can thank Hollywood for a peaceful morning, but will probably curse them later when I try to find a parking place. Happy Thursday.

Congrats to The Halls

On May 27th our friends Mr. and Mrs. H finally tied the knot! Our good fried Mr. P picked us up and we headed out to Studio City's Sportsman Lodge to celebrate their nuptials. We arrived at the beautiful location as the bride and groom were taking photos. We mingled with other guests and then took our seats to wait for the wedding to start. Twinkle lights decorated the aisle and gazebo, and trees surrounded the area. Soon the music started and we got excited to witness such a great event. Despite a hiccup with the D.J., we were suggesting that we all start to hum The Wedding March, the bride made her way down the aisle escorted by her brother. They exchanged vows, and gave each other their first wedding gift. A red rose. Whenever they wish to express their love for one another, all they would have to do is purchase a single red rose and display it in their home. I liked the sentiment of that! Once they were announced we all headed inside to sign the guest book and find our seats.

We were seated with many other friends and even people that we knew outside of the bride and groom. It's funny how small the world really is. We ate a wonderful meal and drank some good beverages. Of course, my hubs cheated a bit and after the open bar was closed he just purchased soda's and spiked them with SoCo from his handy dandy flask. Once the dance floor opened up, we cut a rug. A little Salsa and some swinging hips. During the money dance I stood in the groom's line first, knowing full well that I would dance with both of them. It's my tradition. I told him that I would spin her and dip her! He was very impressed! Haha. When I got into the bride's line, her brother came up and asked to cut it. I of course told him that it was fine. He stood their for a couple of minutes before he turned around and asked why I was in the wrong line. I told him that it was tradition for me to dance with the bride. She always has to win the money pool! It was my turn and I did as promised. I spun her and dipped her and then let the little boy who was behind me show me up! We ate cake, danced some more and then said our goodbyes.

Mr. P and D

Mr. H

Mrs. H and her brother

So pretty

AWE!

First Dance

Centerpieces

Of course I don't go to any wedding without making something. This time I quilted some custom place mats. Here's how I made them:

 

Supplies:
Enough fabric to cut 5" squares to make (4) mats: total 48 squares. (I usually use a charm pack for this because they already come pre-cut at 5", but couldn't find any so I just used 5 fat quarters and it seemed to be enough.)
2 yds backing fabric (will be enough for binding as well)
Quilt Batting

Directions:

1. Sew your 5" squares using a 1/4" seam in 3 rows of 4 across. Sew all rows together to make the place mat top.

2. Baste, quilt, and bind as desired

There it is. Wedding recap and place mats! I hope they enjoy them as much as did making them! May their life be filled with love, laughter and a happily ever after!