little things that make me smile.

sparkles make me smile. since (being now a resident of oregon) the glimmer of sunshine is something that makes me smile... simply because we see less of the sunshine up here. (by the way... did you know that in the springtime it isn't supposed to be 75-85 degrees? huh... just learned that). so for that i created my own glimmer... here is my replication of the shimmer in my new little house. these {antique glass crystals} were courtesy of my mom who works in a restoration store in the historic district of dallas/ fort worth, texas. i have carted these around with me for a while dying to find a place for them. here are the two things that i have done with them.

#1: at the bottom of the jars hanging in the bathroom {2 from pottery barn... 1 a canning jar}. inside the jar a tea lights... to add a little sparkle. (candles are not lit in this picture)

#2: hanging from my birdcage {minus the bird}, next to a lamp & candle that allow the glass to glimmer, glisten, & shine.
{{ps. more to come on our little adventures in oregon.}}

i know i will get an award.

i asked ash this morning what she was going to say when i got the award for being the greatest mom... she laughed and said, 'that's a good question.' i know i am bound to get one because the other day when she came home from school she asked me to make her something pink to wear for the next day because... well she was supposed to wear pink. when i asked what she was supposed to wear pink for, she said she had no idea, but that elle said she should wear pink. so since i had just found a large piece of fabric at the bottom of my scrap bin (which i will show another time & what i am doing with those scraps), which wasn't even a scrap, it was a little piece of heaven, i set out to make her a quick little shirt. i know what you are thinking... why hasn't anyone presented the award yet... well i am waiting. ash will give the speech! now don't you think i should get an award for it?

quilted memories

i quilted this all the way back in december... it was my christmas present to my little sister. it was a labor of love. the back of the quilt is my favorite part which usually is the case! going down the back (off centered) is a 'film strip' of pictures of her and my dad. the top picture being the hospital picture of my dad holding her (each of us have one with him). the bottom picture being a picture of her and my dad in hawaii a few years ago (her favorite) and in between are cherished memories of christmas past, father-daughter banquets, vacations in pismo, sailing off the coast of africa... i cried when i gave it to her. she cried too. more important... its usable! it now sits on her couch for everyone to see. a conversations started to share precious memories of our dad.

a better person.

i grew up in the same house as my dad. i moved out just down the street from my dad. i always lived down the street from my dad (with in a few miles) until 2 1/2 years ago when we moved up to san luis obispo. random thought right? well track with me for a second. this morning i am laying in bed having 'cuddle time' with both my kids. i told them that this was the best part of my day. thought process chain:... i hope i never take things like this for granted... i hope i always have memories like this that stay... how many memories have i taken for granted... i miss my dad... i took living close to him for granted... i miss my dad... i wish i had treasured more of that time and not simply thought of it as just hanging out but rather as an opportunity to gleam something from him... i guess i did learn... because of him i want to cherish & treasure these memories... i want to be a better person. i grew up in the same house as my dad. i moved out just down the street from my dad. i always lived down the street from my dad (with in a few miles) until 2 1/2 years ago when we moved up to san luis obispo. random thought right?

random thought... random picture from our adventure on saturday.

raw pictures.

two things struck me when i was looking at these pictures... first being the love of a boy for his dog. these two will play out in the backyard, chasing each other, jeremy trying to ride hurley, playing 'fetch' & tug. watching them wrestle in the backyard does my heart good. best friends. buddies. homies. second... these pictures are completely unedited. look how green the grass is & jeremy's eyes are pretty killer too.