you're invited to a birthday party!

today is my birthday. 

i am 25.  

i have been thinking a lot about my past birthdays. man, i've had some great birthdays.

 i love reminiscing about my childhood and getting older just makes me want to do it more. 

i just love this picture. i think i am four. not quite sure. 

i think i am three. i don't remember anything about this party at all. it's just cute. i guess my theme was the little mermaid. if you look through my photo album, you'll see that a lot of my parties have disney princess themes. and i must have really loved that lunchbox because it's in a lot of photos too. also, we apparently ate kfc back in the day...

 

i am five. and for the record, this photo is not from my party but i couldn't find one from the actual day-of. this party was amazing. i had a cinderella "carnival". we lived in this little house behind a bigger house that had a full basketball court and my party was there. my mom planned all kinds of cinderella-themed games. we had this bowling game where we knocked over soda bottles with pictures of the wicked stepmother and stepsisters on them with plush pumpkins. we "fished" for prizes with the fairy godmother's wand. we probably danced or something, i can't remember for sure. it was really fun.

this starts the american girl phase. i think i was eight in this picture. i had two american girl tea party themed birthdays - eight and nine. all the girls brought their dolls, we had tea sandwiches, petit fours and lemonade. we played old fashioned games like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and clothes pin drop (see below). the first year we decorated straw hats with ribbons and flowers and each girl got to take theirs home. the next year we made matching ones for our dolls. the girls brought home old fashioned penny candy as a favor. it was so much fun. both times! 

i even wrote out all the invitations myself - and kept one for some reason? i sure am glad though! it is so fun to look back at my old handwriting. 

this was my sixteenth birthday. this was the year my family moved from california to massachusetts. why am i not with my family on my birthday? well, i'd already signed up for girls camp, youth conference and education week and it just made more sense for me to stay in california. so my good friend stephanie's family (the nordblads) took me in for that summer. they sure made my birthday special even though i was so far away from my family. 

these aren't all of my birthdays, of course. but they are ones that stand out. i sure have great friends and family. and if you have any questions why i like to throw parties and celebrate holidays so much i guess you could just say i was raised that way! :) 

virtual book club - apple slump recipe

what you may ask is an "apple slump"? well, it's basically an apple cobbler.

why are we doing it for virtual book club? well, this was a popular new england dessert in louisa may alcott's day and her family quite liked a recipe similar to this. 

on a side note - i guess because of the lovable (but homely) characteristics of both the dessert and her house, louisa nicknamed orchard house "apple slump". funny, huh? 

they sell souvenir copies of the recipe at orchard house if you ever find your way there. 

i had every intention of actually making and trying out this recipe but its july. it's too hot to turn on the oven and have a warm apple dessert. it's just not autumn yet - even if i want it to be. so here is the recipe for you to try out once the weather cools down a bit. 

wouldn't it be fun to go apple picking and then make this old-fashioned dessert from those fresh orchard apples? 

how far are you in your reading? any suggestions for next month's book?? 

recipe adapted from here. also that fun little tidbit about orchard house. 

ten on tuesday - birthday edition

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hey folks! my birthday is this week! so today i'm doing a round-up of birthday themed things i think are really cool!

1. this birthday party in a box idea from you are my fave is so fun. i love her whole "in a box" series.

2. the sweet tooth fairy has a birthday cupcake club! if you go into the shop and fill out the form for the birthday club,  you get a free cupcake on your birthday! am i childish if the 'fairy-fetti' is my favorite?

3. the original princess diaries movie came out right around my 13th birthday and going to the movies was my birthday activity that year. i love that movie. still do. probably always will.

4. i've never been to disneyland on my birthday, but i've been on it's! dan and i went on july 17, 2011 - disneyland's 56th birthday. it was magical. as disneyland often is.

5. i was supposed to be born on 8-8-88 but i was a week early. wouldn't that have been the coolest birthday ever?

6. how cute is this little birthday clothespin doll? i've got to make one like this. these dolls are so much fun to make!

7. i think birthday traditions are so fun! this list is a pretty good start. growing up, our tradition was breakfast in bed, but i think we should do more than just that! i love the idea of birthday pancakes.

8. birthdays are totally different with the advent of social media. i think it's fun. there's always a new notification whenever you get on. it might be because everyone is reminded it's your birthday... guess you can tell who your true friends are because they text you to make plans way before your actual birthday. (jenny!)

9. oh wow, this party idea takes me right back to my childhood. i loved american girl dolls (still do) and had two american girl tea parties as birthday parties. i almost wish i could throw this party now and that people would think it was as fun as i do! (there are a few pages with details so be sure to click through!)

10. i share a birthday with : coolio, jerry garcia, francis scott key, william clark (as of lewis & clark), herman melville, yves saint laurent and dhani harrison (george's son). apparently only famous men can have an august 1st birthday...

ruby + sandra

ruby's got a knack for sleeping in only on days when she needs to wake up early. it's kind of ridiculous. we are never on time for 9am church. 

anyway, friday we were supposed to watch sandra (ruby's cousin) while her big brother, alastor, got "thorns" at the doctors. thorns = 5-year-old-shots. 

it was 9:30 and ruby was sound asleep. but as soon as sandra came in to say 'good morning ruby!' she was up and ready to play. as you can see, ruby is in her jammies, hair uncombed and i think she has a soggy diaper. she refused breakfast. she (finally) had a playmate around and was going to play! the girls got a long pretty well until they both wanted to play with the same dollie. 

i snapped these photos really quickly just because these girls were being so sweet playing with the blocks together. it will be so fun to see them grow up and become even better cousin-friends! 

good things friday

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1. new girl is on netflix instant streaming. i'm already half-way through the first season and i just discovered it was on there tuesday. this is one of the few shows that i actually laugh out loud to. it's so darn funny.
2. my craft room in the up up stairs is finally clean and organized again and as soon as the weather cools down i'll start doing some more crafting up there. it's so nice to have a place where i can close the door and my unfinished projects will remain undisturbed until i can get back to them.
3. have you tried the blueberry simply lemonade? i've always been a fan of the raspberry simply lemonade but this blueberry one is ahead in the polls right now.
4. my birthday is next week!
5. ruby might have a crush on our neighbor boy, dex. all i can say is she kind of might have kissed him.
6. we had a little girls night out down at my friend deb's barn in payson. can i just say how picturesque rural farm life is? it really is so beautiful down there.
7. we had some new friends over last night - the jensens. it was really fun and i made chicken pot pies.
8. i'm so excited for this movie.

well, i think eight things is pretty good! happy weekend - we are going to spend it relaxing (i hope!).

virtual book club - little women printable

how far have you gotten in your reading? i haven't really gotten that far but that's beside the point... i'm still trying to figure out this downloadable printable thing so I hope this actually works! but here is a cute little watercolor that you can print out, slap in a frame and put on your desk! or wherever you please. this originally was an 8x10 so i'm hoping it will be about that size when it's time to print. let me know if it works for you. just click on this link to download  (it won't have the red headings on it).

next week's activity will be a cooking activity! :)

happy pioneer day!

i'm reposting this picture from last year. i just love baby ruby as a pioneer. oh, she was so little...

tonight, we're going to the annual uncle dutch pioneer day extravaganza! it will be a fun time filled with food and fireworks! 

ruby tuesday

1. whenever i ask ruby to say "mama" she says "dada". without fail. she only says mama when she is in distress or really sad.

2. ruby's still looking for dogs out the window. she is only tall enough to barely see out the window while she's standing on her tippy toes. it's a pretty cute. for some reason, this girl thinks the entire outside world is filled with dogs just waiting to walk by her window.

3. ruby is really happy when she gets her hands on the tv remote and can change the channels. she inevitably changes it to a spanish language station and then loses interest in channel surfing.

4. we've figures out this fun game for when we're driving in the car - i've got this mirror that faces ruby in the back seat. i can see her in my rear-view mirror and we'll drive down the road and just wave at each other. she gets a big kick out of it too.

5. whenever ruby is getting a piggyback ride, she'll hold onto dan's ears. i guess they are pretty convenient handles. if dan looks like shrek or stephen colbert in a couple of months, you'll know why.

four favorite artists

here are four of the artists i've discovered online that i just love. their work inspires me and i hope it inspires you too!

1. the black apple - i love her whimsical style. the flower girl series (which these are just a part of!) are my absolute favorite. she has a lot of other fun things too - check out her blog & etsy shop!

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2. sarah jane studios - her tagline is "illustrating childhood" and i think it's dead-on. her style is so sweet. her blog is one of my favorites and her shop is really dangerous because i want everything in it. oh, and she's got more than just prints - she has embroidery patterns and fabric with her designs on them. so cute.

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3. katie daisy - oh, where do i start with katie daisy? i love her sayings and phrases. her style is so fun and i love her use of colors! check out her blog and etsy shop!

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4. rifle paper co. - this is a recent discovery (although upon further investigation, i've liked their stuff for years). i especially love the vintage style and the way they paint flowers. here's the link to their shop. oh and if you're looking for something fun to do with your nails check out this rifle paper co. inspired manicure.

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alright! there are my four favorite artists. who are some of your favorites??

best. friday. ever.

1. ruby slept in. i really love that she'll sleep until after 9:00 am. she's totally my daughter.
2. i got an email from camille and am totally painting her a dandyroo temple. it's a good thing i read the email in the morning and not the night before or i wouldn't have been able to sleep.
3. ruby and i went for a walk/run around the block. my muscles are just a bit sore and it feels awesome.
4. went to harmony with elise. have you been here? it's so fun and there are so many things to inspire you! i got a couple of rolls of washi tape.
5. went to lunch at cubby's. have you been here?? it's really yummy. i got a grilled cheese sandwich that was out of this world. it had three types of cheese, tomatoes, avocados, carmelized onions and other stuff on it that i can't remember. oh boy, it was good.
6. dan cleaned up the whole house while i was out having fun. that boy really spoils me.
7. ruby took a good long nap. oh goodness. it makes all the difference when ruby takes a good nap.
8. i started (and finished) said painting for camille. guys, it is really so beautiful. i'm not usually this happy with my own work.
9. then camille started following me on instagram. i may have done a little happy dance.
10. we got half-price shakes after eight at sonic. yum.

you can't complain about a thing when you can easily count 10 good things that happened that day! happy weekend everyone!