paso robles

Matt and I have a little Valentine's Day tradition of going out of town every year.  We LOVE the holiday because, let's face it, we love any excuse to get out of town.  I'm the lucky duck because he plans it and surprises me every year.  I'm one lucky girl, huh?

This year we went to Paso Robles.  We love it there.  It is calm, small, and quiet.  We went to a brewery, Firestone, that Matt had been wanting to tour. 

He looks pretty happy!  

We went to some awesome restaurants, our favorite being Farmstand 46.  

On the way there we stopped in Arroyo Grande, a very cute town.  

Matt got his ice cream.

I got to take pictures using my new camera.

All in all?  Perfect weekend.  

happy heart day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  I hope you are able to be with the people you love today.

He is my valentine.

He is patient, loving, and kind.

He is incredibly generous.

He is the happiest, most optimistic person I know.  

He loves me, takes care of me, spoils me.  

Matt, I am so happy to have you as my forever valentine.  I love you!

oh happy day

So many reasons why this is a happy day:

1.  It is my first day of winter vacation. Two whole weeks of sleeping in as late as I want!!

2.  I'm lying on the couch listening to the lovely rain outside.  This is the 4th day in a row of rain and it is supposed to rain two more days!  So happy.

3.  The biggest reason of all????  My wonderful husband and I celebrated Christmas on Saturday and he surprised me with a glorious new MACBOOK AIR!!  I absolutely love, love, love it.  He spoils me rotten.

biggest project yet

Hi everyone!  I've missed this place!  I've been so busy for awhile that I wasn't getting on here.  Then we both got sick and it seems like all I needed was sleep!  In the time that I was gone, I completed the biggest project I've done yet.  I made 210 invitations for a client's sweet sixteen masquerade ball in New York.  It was fun to come up with something different but of course the best part was the fact that they were so happy with the product.

I couldn't have completed this huge project without the help of my wonderful husband - thank you, Matt!  We had a ton of fun but by the end, my fingers were definitely feeling a little swollen and chapped.

I wish I took more pictures of the process but I was on such a roll that I didn't stop to do it.  Here is what the invitation looked like.

It's kinda hard to tell but it had a lot of layering of paper, ribbon, and feathers.  Very masquerade ball-esque.  

Wrapping up and packing all of the invitations...  

I took this with my phone and you can't even tell how many packages there were there.  

It felt so good to accomplish something so big - I know it's not a huge order for a normal business but for a one woman show, it was!  

holiday tags

Here are some personalized Christmas/New Years tags I'm working on right now.

adhesive

Yes, I do use a huge amount of adhesive for every project.  This is my current favorite for the basic adhering needs - American Crafts This to That solid adhesive.

Check it out at Two Peas.

For my more intense adhesive needs (I'm a dork) I use Scor Pal.  This stuff is so stinkin sticky.  It will really work for any taping project.  

I've really only been able to find it at Amazon so far.  If you guys find it anywhere else, let me know!!

leaves

So this picture might not seem like a big deal at all to most of you - especially those of you who don't live in California.  But, as I was leaving school on Monday, this is the glorious scene that I saw... a small pile of leaves!  Yes, you heard me right...leaves!!!  It is feeling like fall here!  It has been the weirdest fall.  In the 100's one week and then cold and rainy the next.  I love the cold and rainy and make it through the hot just knowing the cooler weather is coming.  And then I saw these wonderful leaves.  So happy.

Ok, I've not done another truth for awhile so it's time.

day 5: something you hope to do in your life

I'm not going to think about this one a lot but instead say the first thing that popped into my head.  Travel. Travel a lot with Matt.  We LOVE our trips.  We love getting away, relaxing, and just enjoying each other's company.  We went to Maui in April and if money was no object, we'd go back every year.  It was the definition of vacation.  We had our little routine - same walk to get coffee from the same shop every morning followed by the same breakfast place.  It made us feel like locals (that makes me think about What About Bob...love it).  Traveling is one thing that we hope to never give up - even if we just go on small weekend trips.  We need it. 

Bill Murray's shirt in What About Bob?

Matt and I zip lining in Maui.