Taking a little break

Hey Guys...

Just wanted to let you all know that I will be taking a week off.

This weekend is the American Cancer Society's Hoe Down for Hope event and I'm really excited to kick up my heals with some boot stomping fun.

Actually I'll be working my butt of for the rest of the week getting ready for the event., on top of being mommy, wife and working my full time job.

Please be patient I will be back cause I've been working on all kinds of stuff that I wanna share with ya'll!

And...

to top it off, just cause I love ya'll

and cause I appreciate you patience,

I'll be having a giveaway when I return.

So check back, dont go far!

I'll leave you with these pictures I shot at the beach last month

We sat on a picnic table under this tree at the beach.

Look at all that texture. I couldnt help but take a close up of it.

Have a great weekend ya'll and see you back next week.

Don't forget about the up coming giveaway!!!

Handstamping.... literally!

So a while back I bought a hand stamping kit from Harbor Freight.

Nothing fancy and it was only $5! yay!

And ever since then, Ive been dying to try it. I finally went to Home Depot and picked up some flat washers.

On Friday, I brought out my lil kit and asked the hubs to borrow a hammer.

He hands me a 32 oz dead blow hammer... is that what they're called??

Not just a regular hammer but the kind with weight in it so that when you slam it down it doesnt bounce and you've got more force behind it. Must be a mechanic thing.

So I got to stamping. I was going to stamp 3 washers Live, Laugh & Love and tie them around some large salsa jars I kept to put candles in it.

The first hit, hmm too light. Then again, hmmm not enough... bang, bang, bang. It took some force but I finally got the letter L on the washer.

Then the O... Bang, bang..... BANG!

Damnit! I caught my thumb, and boy did it hurt.

The only thing that kept me from cursing was throwing everything down right there and walking away.

And there I left it.

My thumb hurt :-( ouch

I cleaned up my mess before I went to bed, but I havent had the guts to pull it out again since.

The wound is still fresh... maybe another time.

Anniversary Dinner

So last week we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary.

My hubs took me to Tidepools at the Grand Hyatt Resort in Poipu.

I worked there for several years when we first got married.

I wish we had gotten there before the sun went down, this is such a beautiful restaurant.

You can see more pix here.

BTW, the photo in the banner at the top of the page, yup, thats where we sat. I guess being a former employee has its perks. Its a semi private hut with two tables, you dont even notice the other table there.

You can also check out their menu and wine list and dessert menus as well.

We were seated, love their staff and I'm not just saying that because I know them.

We started out our dinner with some pupus, thats local for appetizers.

Their crab cakes are to die for!

I actually dove right in and ate one before I rememberd to take a pix.

We also had the Poke, Poke, Poke..... all I can say is delish, delish, delish!

Sorry again, didnt get a pix.

We did pause for our pix, thanks to our waitress Marta!

I sooo wish you guys could see the waterfall just behind us.

We enjoyed a leasure dinner and of course was so wrapped up in talking story and the good food I again forgot to take pix of our dinner. I had the sea bass which was excellent and my hubs... of course... had the prime rib.

When I worked as a concierge we would go out to dinner all the time. Of course this was before a kid and a mortgage. Well, every place we go to my husband orders the prime rib (BORING, but if you know him you're not surprized) but along the way he created his own list of top 5 places on Kauai to eat prime rib. Anyone coming to Kauai, hit me up and I'll give you the scoops!

Tidepools was always no. 2 on his list with the no. 1 only passing it because of the size.

As of this dinner, Tidepools prime rib has climbed to first. He said their new cabernet jus bumped the old competition no matter the size.

Ok, so on to dessert. We always favor the chocolate soufle at Roys..

YUM-O!

But tonight we had the chocolate molten cake... OH-EM-GEE

I barely had enough time to take this pix before this happened...

No it didnt collapse, my non-dessert eating husband dove right in.

It's better than Roy's

Promise

It was really nice to get out and enojy my husband's company. We always put my son first and sometimes forget to connect with each other as husband and wife. It reminded us not to forget.

These fish were actually swimming around our table just feet away from our... well feet!

And on a lighter note... how's this picture of us back before we were married, I think I was 20.

Here's to another 10 hunny! I love you!



Bookcovers

I dont know what it is, maybe its the OCD in me.

Maybe I've been reading too many wonderful blogs.

Maybe its too much HGTV.

Whatever it is, Im driving my poor hubby nuts.

Sorry babe, you'll get used to it.

So the other night, I'm lying in bed waiting for the hubs to get out of the shower and I roll over and I face his side of the bed. We have this little wall that we put up some shelves so it didnt look so bare.

This is what I was looking at

Nothing spectacular just some nicknacks and our couples divotional books.

(thats us on our wedding day 10 years ago!)

So orignally our bedroom was brown, on brown, on tan, on cream, on blah...

I liked it at first and it was the look I was going for but it seemed to dull after a while.

Slowly by slowly starting with my temporary vinyl art I started introducing green into the mix.

So do you see from this pix, what could possibly be driving me insane??

Heres a closer look

The different colored books!

Hahaha.

The blue and yellow and pink was making me nuts. Such a small thing and I couldnt stop thinking about it.

Of course the hubs came out of the shower and told me to get over it, yea easier said than done!

So, of course the next day I had to go to our craft store and pick up these

Just a few sheets of scrapbook paper. This was gonna be my super cheap fix, they were just $1 each.

I covered them just like we did our books in high school and the brown paper bags.

(bad lighting I know, but its late and my room is dark)

See just like highschool, and Yes, Im also reading Kelly Cutrone's book.

Its very She-ra.

Tada! My books now match my decor.

Is that going too far?

Have I lost my mind?

But I really like that it matches.

I dont care if my hubs thinks Im insane.... whats insane is that he still hasnt painted that little hole he patched like 3 months ago. Thats insane!

HAHAHA

What do you guys think?

Im linking to:

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

Finding Fabulous

The Vintage Suitcase

Feature Yourself Friday

Live, Laugh, Love....

10 years ago today I married my best friend.

The man that I live for, laugh with and love deeply.

It's been a whirlwind last 10 years let me tell you. It's been great, but it isnt always wonderful.

We have our ups and downs, our trials and tribulations,

but we always come out ahead and stronger than before.

Last night before bed we read our daily devotional from The book Moments Together for Couples.

It was about couples that forget how to be together for more than just love. It talked about couples who face a tragedy or death of a child satistically divorce 75% of the time after 5 years.

I found that terrible and so sad. In all our years of marriage and even before, when tragedy hit we turned to each other for comfort and strength. Maybe thats why here we are after 10 years.

I thank God for being a part of each others life and all that he has brought to us and brought us through.

I dropped my hubs off at work this am and as I was driving away this is what I saw.

I pulled over to get a quick shot... only one quick one though otherwise I'd be late for work!

It just reminds me to be greatful for all the simple things in life that we are blessed with.

XOXOXO

ps, incase youre interested heres ther book

I linked up

Making Lemonaid

Oreo Brownies

Last week on Kevin & Amanda, she posted about these Cookies n Cream Oreo Fudge Brownies

They looked sooooooo yummy.

Last night I made fried chicken. I never know how long to cook them so they are moist but not raw. Raw chicken YUCK. To me nothing is worse than biting into your fried chick to find the center by the bone raw.

yuck... yuck... yuck!

So anyways, dinner was a little later than normal.

As I started washing dishes and my hubs and son were still at the table, those brownies poped into my head. Oh no, it was too late, there was nothing I could do to get them out except make a batch.

So its late, I didnt have all the ingredients and I wasnt going to run up to the store even though we live a stone's throw away. I checked my "PANTRY" hehehe and I found a bag of Ghiradelli's Double Chocolate Brownie Mix I had left over from that HUGE box I bought from Costco. Yay!

I lined my baking dish with Oreos

As you can see its late and I have horrible lighting in my kitchen.

I definately need better lighting.... or a kitchen makeover.

I mixed my brownie mix per the directions on the box and then poured the mixture over the Oreo linned pan.

Do you see all those lumps? Its chocolate chunks... yay! (insert squeel here)

Dont look at the stains on my baking pan, yes I know I need a new one...

but look at that Oreo peaking out in the corner.

I baked the brownies according to the directions on the box and 50 minutes later I had this:

I didnt even let it cool, I had to dig a corner out. Corners are the best, we fight over corners in our house.

Ooooh yummm... and its warm... wait let me give you a closer look

Ohh yea baby!

Its that good.

Now I got it stuck in your mind, go make your own, stop looking at mine :-)

Linking up with:

 The Thrifty Home

Show & Tell at Blue Cricket

Today's Creative Blog

Somewhat Simple

Hookin up with HOH

Creations by Kara - Look What I Made

Santa's Gift Shoppe

{Hoe Down for Hope}

{Dancing in Denim and Diamonds}

Thats the theme for this year's Hoe Down for Hope Event.

Its a fundraiser that I am proud to be a part of. It's an annual gala for the American Cancer Society.

The ACS is a great organization that helps with cancer research and assistance to those facing this horrible disease. Cancer knows no religion, race, sex, orign it affects us all.

Anyone interested in participating in any way can contact me or

http://www.hoedownforhope.org/

(note: i love this photo, i wish i didnt look so posed! I'm in the tree last one on the right in black)

Pumpkin Art

I have been seeing this cute Halloween and Fall art all over blogland recently.

Of course I had to jump on the bandwagon.

So what could I possably creat with this picture frame and two sheets of scrapbooking paper?

A pumpkin of course!

The picture really doesnt do it justice.

Sorry for the bad lighting as you can see out my door its night, late at night.

I put it up on my entertainment center and it looked so bare. Need more art!

Seriouslly people, 5 minutes. The possability of art is endless.

But then I thought of my new friend from Fall Favorites Exchange, I shall give it to her!

I hope her family enjoys it just as much as I do!

Im linking to:

Domestically Speaking

The DIY Showoff

Get Your Craft On

Hookin up with HOH

Santa's Gift Shoppe

Taco Night

We love taco night :-)

So easy, so fun & so delish!

Tonight we had the traditional hamburger tacos.

I like my lettuce "shreadded" so I roll each leaf up and cut in thin strips. Thats the way I cheat.

These are hands down the best tortilla's we've had.

Just add all the fixin's you want and yum-o!

linking to:

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

Just Something I Whipped Up

Blog for a cure....

 Lani from Who Knew Reviews is doing an amazing giveaway.Its her second annual Blog for a cure blog party and its a benefit for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.If any of you know me, you know I am down for a great cause.Even better with your donation as little as $1 will enter you in 22 different and great giveaways. 

Please visit Who Knew Reviews? and make your donation today!!!



Muse boards

wToday I logged on and thought I had hit the wedding jackpot!

(Wedding Cabaret)

Posted a PLETHORA of muse boards for the most darn right cutest ideas for weddings.

I couldnt pick just one to share with you

or two....

Ok, well you guys get the idea!

You have to go on over to (Wedding Cabaret)

and check them all out. So inspiring!

All photo credits go to Wedding Cabaret

Personally with Halloween around the corner I'd totally do a Halloween themed wedding.

Random Junk

I dropped my hubs off at work one morning and I saw this big pile of junk next to their employee parking lot.

I thought gosh, they let customers see this junk! What an eye sore!

But then I saw more...

Luckily I had my camera in the car.

(Note: I have to start never leaving home without it, I'm always missing great photo ops, like yesterday in the parking lot of walmart there was a family of about 8 chickens sitting in a shopping cart in the parking lot)

Apparently I have a thing for moss..........



Then I thought to myself... have I been stalking Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors too much to see the absolute beauty in these?

Labor Day Weekend Pt. 2

Im a little... ok a lot late getting this post out there.

Just wanted to share more of our Labor Day weekend.

My son, I love him.

But he also makes me understand why female animals sometimes eat their young.

I'm kidding, Im kidding dont get your panties in a bunch.

He's a very active and curious lil boy, I sometimes forget he's only a year and a half.

I remember my neice being so much more of a baby at that age.

Here he his with his first Oreo... atleast I think its his first Oreo, I've never given him one before this.

Oh how junk food makes kids so happy!

We try not to give him too much sweets, cause well he's active enough as it is we dont need to make him hyper. And I like to keep things healthy around my house.

In the begining of summer someone in blogland posted a week of towels. oh for the life of me I just cant remember who it was! I'm so sorry if anyone remembers who it was please tell me so that I can give them credit for this idea.

I enjoyed her ideas for towels, one week straight from hanging towels to making towel wraps.

 It was very cute.

Its been in the back of my mind since and so when I saw these cast iron fleur de lis hooks on ebay I instantly thought towel hanger for our backyard!

I picked these babies up for $10 and we hung them in our back patio for when we set up the pool for my son to play.

Yay serves its purpose and looks good too even when theres no towel.

 

I sat here under my umbrella that I got from CSN Stores with my winnings from the giveaway that Rachelle over at Fingerprints on the Fridge hosted and enjoyed my sunday.... actually it was Monday. Thats whats great about long weekends you just cant remember what day it is :-)

And watched my rascal run around the backyard and almost completely ignore the fact that I spent a good 15 mins blowing up his pool.

Must finish the day off with a popcycle that my neighbor actually snuck between the fence!

HAHAHA Classic!

It was a nice long weekend, cant wait for another one!