all things chula

Project 52

2012-02-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

Do you see all this beautiful frost? Everything was white last Saturday morning when we woke up. It's really beautiful. It looks like a scene from the ice castle in narnia. I just love it like this, the frost and the snow (even though we have none now) makes me so happy.

Valdo and his art

2012-02-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I have really talked about his drawing here before, I don't think I have. I know alot of people in this world are amazing artists. Amazing. I think Valdo is an amazing artist. He does the most wonderful things with paper and pencil. I really want to share a few of his drawing with you and next week I want to share a watercolor he did for me so stay tuned for that.
Valdo took all these photos himself and I wanted to leave them just as they are cause they represent him, his work, and his art.

If you are interested in having a piece drawn up for you let me know. Send me an email at valechula(at)gmail(dot)com. It's usually around 30$ and he will draw up whatever you like. He works mostly in 8.5x11 and 8x10 sizes. But that can vary. He can do it all people, animals, words, you name it.
Have a lovely day everyone. I hope you make some creative time in your life also!

52 weeks of crafts- week 6

2012-02-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone! I am here to bring you another lovely craft. This craft I originally saw on A Beautiful Mess, mine is a bit different though. I choose to only use one photo and the rest are book pages and paint chips.
Let's get started!

Supplies:
Glue or mod podge
Paint chips
One photo or multiple photos
Scissors
A piece of board or cardboard
Book pages

Step one:
Start by cutting your book pages, paint chips and photos if you choose into the shape you are going to use.

Step two:
Begin gluing pieces down. I am choosing to only use one photo in my project so I am alternating between paint chips and book pages. ***Here's a hint. Let you chips and pages hang over the edge to make sure you are filling it all in correctly. Then when you are done trim all the excess.***

Step three:
Continue adding in pieces until you are ready to add in your photo, unless you have been using photos all along. I choose to add my photo in the lower right hand corner.

Step four:
Trim excess, hang and enjoy!

Enjoy this craft, and if you make it leave me a comment I would love to see it!!!

Layouts

2012-02-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

Tried a new Technique here! I really liked the effects. This one is done with Misting.
The photo is of my sweet miss Kona!

This one is made with water colors! This one I love all the texture on, its got a real mixed media feel to it. This is a photo of my Bestie and her Love!

Project 52

2012-02-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

Took Kona on quite a few car rides this week! She loves being my co-pilot!

Blog Design

2012-02-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
I just wanted to talk to you all a bit about blog design. As most of you know from reading my blog I have doing blog design for about a year now.
I love it very much. It is something I am passionate about! I just finished updating the Blog design tab in my nav bar so if you have a minute I would love for you to check it out!
I uploaded a bunch of past designs and pricing and packages info!
If you are interested in this or know someone who is, you can send them to my blog or give them my email valechula (at) gmail (dot) com
I have been working on 2 designs this week and one went up today.
Check out Danna's make over here at 3pinkcupcakes!!!

It was a pleasure to work on this "sweet" design!
If you have any questions on this feel free to send me an email or leave me a comment!
have a fabulous day!

Groundhogs day

2012-02-02T06:10:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like we are going to have 6 more weeks of winter, according to Punxsutawney Phil. I'm okay with that considering our whole winter has felt like one long fall day.
Let's take a look a some cute groundhog items today in honor of Phil.
Ground hog from a sweater

Adorable groundhog figurines

This amazing groundhog watercolor painting

This beautiful photo

Adorable keep calm poster

So tell me, are you excited about 6 more weeks of winter or no?

52 weeks of crafts- week 5

2012-02-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

This week I have a really fun project I wanted to share with you!
I have a bunch of this wood pattern fabric I have been dying to use for something fun. When we were brainstorming engagement shot ideas carving initals into a tree was an idea that came up. I think this project encompasses that feeling for the indoors!

Supplies
Hoop
Floss in matching colors
Fabric with wood design
Glue gun
White felt (not pictured)
Needle
Paint and paint brush
Scissors

Begin by cutting a chunk of fabric that is a bit larger than the hoop you are using.

Put your fabric in the hoop and tighten to desired tightness. Then turn over and trim the excess fabric. You could also fold the excess fabric in and glue it down if you desire.

Begin painting your design. You could go with just initials or your whole name as I am doing here.

Finish painting your design and allow to dry completely.

Cut a small heart from your white felt and using a small amount of hot glue attach it to your fabric between the names.

Add some hand stitching around the heart and there you have it! A fun tree carved inspired piece of art!
If you create this project, leave me a link I would love to see it!!

Layouts

2012-01-31T05:00:00.000-08:00

I have a few more engagement layouts to share with you today!

I am really excited to be getting these finished finally! I can't wait till I'm done to see them all together in one book!

Project 52

2012-01-27T05:53:00.000-08:00

This is what a winter day in Minnesota looks like this year. Cold, gray, and frosty, but no snow.

Layouts!

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

It has been far too long since I shared a layout with you all! First I had all that wedding stuff going on and then Christmas, but I am happy to be back in the swing of things and to have some work to share with you!
I am still trying to finish my engagement layouts. ugh, lol I know I am way behind but I will catch up soon! Hopefully!

(Remember the yarn word from my week one craft for 52 crafts?!)

I'll be back soon with more layouts to share with you!

Washi Madness for Cute Tape's first giveaway

2012-01-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

(Cute tape graphic from cutetape.com and washi tape strip from Pugley pixel)
Cutetape.com is having their first giveaway!!! Washi Tape is the inspiration behind the giveaway, so that's what we are going to talk about today.

I have been in love with cutetape.com ever since I saw this amazing doily stamp they carry. Then I browsed and fell even more in love. They carry the most amazing stuff, like this rockin' set of divine twine bakers twine! What about this too cute tape dispenser. But, what I love most in the store is all the washi tape, such as this flower one, this lace set, and the pink and turquoise set that has hearts, bunting, and music notes! Too cute for words!

I don't have alot of access to washi tape except for online orders but I have still managed to acquire a fair sized stash of all types of tape. The possibilities for crafting with tape are never ending, this is why I love using tape in my designs so much! The limit is only your imagination. Let me show you some unique projects made with tape.

This first layout was made using plain old packing tape and very interesting technique you can find here.

This next project is a mini album shaped as a house that I made. Washi tape was crucial in this design as it holds all my pieces together and also adds trim around each page.

In my new travel journal I used alot of washi tape. I embellished the cover and used it as dividers on my pages inside.

And here's a few other layouts and journal pages using washi tape.

This giveaway is so amazing the prize is

If I won this prize I would go on a shopping spree at Cutetape.com and share it all with my bestie!
Half of my washi tape stash now has come from her. Whenever she gets new tape she ever so carefully places strips and strips of it on page protectors and sends it to me! She is such a sweetie, and it would be so fun to go through the shop and pick out all the cute stuff we have been eyeing for so long!
So Go check out all the washi tape and other cute stuff at cutetape.com and read about the giveaway here. Find cute tape on face book here.
Join in the fun with us or just go and get inspiration to start building your own washi tape collection!

And just for fun I created this Washi Tape ad using the Got milk ad's as inspiration.

(washi tape strips from Pugley pixel)

52 weeks of crafts- week 4

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

This week I want to show you how to make a really cute fast bracelet! They are too cute for words.

Braided Bracelet

Supplies
3 strip of fabric from 18-20 inches long
Scissors
Matching embroidery floss

First tie a knot in one end.

Begin to braid and go all the way down to the other end.

Fold that end over to create a loop on the bottom end.

using your floss tie this loop closed.

There you have it, an adorable bracelet! To attach just slip the loop over the knotted end and there you go!
Enjoy!
If you make this craft, leave me a link I would love to see it!!

Travel Journal

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

So I know I have mentioned a few times now this Travel Journal I am doing with a few of my friends. I wanted to take today to tell you all about it!
So myself, Marlene, Renee, and Carrie are all doing this together. The brainchild behind this whole idea was Marlene and her idea was based off this video. She recruited us all and we are all very excited to get started on this project!
So the book is set up so that there are 10 or so sections to fill out in the book and that in each section there are 4 spots for each person to fill in. Then we each get a month with each book to fill in all 10 sections. I think this is going to be the best swap I have ever done!
Here's how my book is set up.

My cover.

Inside cover with directions and then the sign in pocket. I also left a spot to fill in my thoughts after the swap!

First page, pocket with postcard of Minnesota in it.

Second page, photo of me with journaling on the back.

Next is a favorite family recipe all written out with special hints and notes for a good turn out on the back.

Favorite quote with my reasons for liking it on the back.

The first blank page which I left for everyone to be able to do what they want on them. I chose to make a mini layout about me and Valdo.

Tell me about your city and or state.

What is your favorite song, and here I included pockets so they could insert lyrics for me.

Another blank page and postcard, photo, recipe, quote section for the next girl.

Smash your favorite color. This is one of my favorite pages in the whole book, and I think alot of this page is going to pink!!!

Scrap your favorite scenic spot, I choose to scrap pics from Lake Superior!

Another section for the next girl and the start of the 10 random things about you pages. These pages are so fun. There's room to scrap but also more envelopes to use!

Here's my 10 random things page and also the last section for the girls to fill in.

Here's the back cover.
So we are officially starting this on 1-31-12 so i will be sure to share more updates on this book in the future!

Weekend Re-cap

2012-01-23T06:16:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, Hope you all had an amazing weekend! We finally got a little bit of snow. A inch and a half on Friday and its snowing again now. Its really sad that a small amount like that makes me happy but its all we've been getting this year. Also because we are not use to having snow that inch and half on Friday caused a lot of problems for drivers. There was a record 682 crashes statewide on Friday from slick roads. That's a number I have never heard before and I hope a day like that never happens again.
On a brighter note I finished Gilmore Girls season 7 the final season. I never watched it on TV so I was watching it now. It made me sad to see it end! I was really into those girls and all the characters on the show.
I also got my Travel Journal finished, photographed, and packed up. I will show you all the whole thing in a post tomorrow.
Until then Happy Monday!

For you

2012-01-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

list4 by val on Grooveshark
I hope this leaves you feeling warm and cozy on this cold winter day!

Project 52

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

This week was my Dad's birthday and here he is blowing out his candles last Saturday!

Weather

2012-01-19T05:56:00.000-08:00

It's really winter in Minnesota today, minus the snow of course. It's -13 degrees right now with a windchill of -38. It's cold. I am wearing tights under my pants to stay warm and I work inside.
I took Miss Kona outside this morning and the second we got out my nostrils froze shut. Then you have to breathe through your mouth bring all that cold air into your lungs. That will really wake you up in the morning.
Poor Kona was sooo cold she would hold one foot off the ground alternating her feet. Poor thing.
I love snow and I really wish we had some now, it would sure be warmer if we did. We are below average by 4 feet of snow. We haven't even gotten a total of 6 inches of snow this year, it's very strange to me. I can't ever remember not having snow at all in winter cause things like this don't happen in Minnesota.
I know its not just us, I know alot of places haven't gotten much snow this year.
What's it all about?
Global Warming? Is mother nature just of course a bit? It seems like the weather is changing more and more.
We had two thunderstorms that were weird too. One in October and one in November. Real actual thunderstorms. Those storms don't happen in the fall and winter. Never.
California got hit with what I would call a tornado a couple months ago. When have you ever heard of a tornado in SoCal?
Is it just me or are you guys noticing how weird the weather is getting lately.
Tornado season gets worse and worse. Record out breaks of storms every where you look.
I don't know about you guys, But I am feeling very confused by Mother nature right now.....

52 weeks of crafts- week 3

2012-01-18T06:29:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone I am back with another fun craft this week. Let me first preface this post by saying I know the photos this week aren't great but I leave in the dark and come home in the dark so It's really hard to take good photos. But I think you will still get the gist of the it.
So onto the project!
JEWELRY DISPLAY
Supplies:
A tree branch or twig to your liking (I did go and cut mine myself with a hand saw but it was too cold for me to run around and get photos of this. Sorry.)
A piece of wood to use as your base
A drill with bits for screws and making a hole
Screws
(optional)
Mod podge
Paint brush
Fabric
or
Paint

Step 1
Gather the branch and wood you want to use as your base along with the other tools needed.

Step 2
I choose two small pieceS to make into my base. We screwed them together at each end from the top. You could also just use a single piece of 2x4 or a wood block. Get creative.

Step 4
Use the drill attatchment to make holes and cut out a hole where you want your branch to go. (note- we only drilled through the top board so that my branch did not go through both.)

Step 5
Run a screw through the bottom of your base into the center of your branch to ensure stability. (note- you could also use some wood glue to help if you like. we ended up not using it.)

You should be left with something like this.

Step 6
Decorate your base and branch.
I choose to mod podge fabric all over my base and leave my branch plain but you could really do whatever you want at this point. (note- if you spray or paint your branch at all make sure to use a sealer so no paint ruins your jewelry)

There you have it, your very own unique hand crafted one of a kind jewelry display!
If you make this craft leave me a link i would love to see your versions of it!

Friends

2012-01-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

I read two really good articles on friends this week that both really moved me. You can see Adri's here and Manda's here.
I haven't always had alot of friends in my life. Usually I have one or two really good friends that last for years. In the last 5 years I lost 2 friendships and both had been in my life for over 10 years. It was sad! I had a hard time with it and I still miss them. The thing is that at the time I didn't understand. I didn't know what was going on and why there was this sudden bickering and heartache where there had always been nothing but love before. I was feeling so hurt. It was a like a breakup only worse. Girlfriends are so much more important than guys. They are the ones who are there when the guys are all gone. I was completely incosolable. I felt alone and broken.
I understand now what was happening. We were growing apart. Going down the paths we were meant for. Sometimes it just works out that not everyone you meet on your path will be with you your whole journey. It sucks sometimes yes but it meant to be. I know now we were at the end of our journey together and that has helped me heal and continue to think back on them with fond memories instead of hurt over them being gone.
Even though I understand now that it all has purpose and meaning and that it happens that way for a reason, I seem to be a little more cautious now. Careful on who my friends are. More thoughtful on who I let get really close to me. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. Sometimes I feel like its better. Like my close friends are so special to me and we are the perfect set of best friends.
I know for sure that I want my friends to know how important they are to me. Whether they stay with me a lifetime or just a season. They are a part of my journey and I wouldn't be the same without them.
I would like to hope that I practice the things Manda talked about in her post, but as of now I am going to make the extra effort to really be there and be a better friend. I want to make the extra effort to let them know how much I care and that they are special to me and my life!
Have your told your girls today how much they mean to you?

Today He's another year wiser

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

lovely

2012-01-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

Everything Trying by Damien Jurado on Grooveshark
Enjoy!

Project 52

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

Week 2. So in Love!

In honor

2012-01-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

Of it being Kona's birthday week, I thought I would share some photos of her that were taken during our engagement shoot.

(thats camera equipment at the end of my driveway, not garbage, we are getting ready to head out into the field.)

Kona I love you so much!!!!! You are such a big girl now! You are so pretty and you bring us so much joy!

52 weeks of crafts- week 2

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I'm back with week 2 of 52 weeks of crafts.
This week I am making "ceramic" roses. Not actually, but they look like it once you are done!
I originally found this project on The Scrap Shoppe Blog.
Supplies:

Mod podge
Paint brush or foam brush
Colored card stock of your choice
Scissors
Glue
A sink
A towel for letting your paper dry
To begin take your paper to the sink and wet both sides. Make sure its completly wet. Use your hand to check for dry spots.

Next while the paper is still really wet roll/crumple it into a ball. Then carefully unroll it. I repeated this step twice.

Once you have carefully unrolled it, lay the paper flat and allow it to dry completely. I would say about an hour. If you do not want to wait you could carefully try a heat gun.

Now that your paper is dry we need to coat BOTH SIDES with mod podge. Make sure to allow it to dry completely before starting on the other side. Again you could use a heat gun here if you don't want to wait.

Next you are going to cut out a square of any size you like. I used about a 5inch square for mine. Then you need to cut out a circle. I kept the edges of the cirlce wavy which will add to the natural look of the flower at the end.

Now you need to cut out a spiral shape leaving a little circle in the center. Again I left my edges I was cutting very waving and did not try to cut straight at all.

To begin rolling you need to start at the outermost point. Begin to roll it tightly. You will be able to loosen it up as you go to allow the outer petals to spread open.

Once you have rolled the whole thing you are left with that little cirle you did not cut. Apply some glue there and press it on to the bottom of your rose making sure to hold until its stuck.

There you have it. Roses that look ceramic. They are so adorable and versatile. You could add them to any craft project, put them on a pin for you hair or a brooch. Even use them on a layout.

If you create these leave me a link, I would love to see what you create.

29 before 30 (Third update)

2012-01-10T06:52:00.000-08:00

Third update in blue

1-Have an amazing wedding to my "chulo" Valdo.

CHECK!!!! We got married on 10-29-11 and it was sooo amazingly perfect! I am so in love with my husband!

2-Re-decorate my scrap room

Done, I actually worked on this for 6 hours on saturday. I didn't re-do everything, but enough to make it feel new and fresh to me. The biggest change I made was a corner for Valdo so he can draw!

3-Re-decorate our bedroom
4-Get a car ( the trucks are such gas hogs)

This Friday night we are actually driving up north again to go pick up my sisters car that she just gave us. It's older but still in fairly good shape, and we think that with me working at the junk yard we can get it fixed fairly cheap.

5-Seriously clean out my stuff and donate what is not wanted/needed

I have been working hard on this. so far I have cleaned out my closet, my dresser, and the bathroom and gotten rid of gargabe and donated the rest! I feel awesome about it and I'm trying to work on one area every week!

6-Cherish each minute spent with my bestie when she visits!

This is being put on hold due to extreme circumstance preventing this! Someday soon it will happen though! I promise!

7-Work on the baby issues
8-Learn to cook more 'authentic' Spanish dishes for valdo

I Did finally get a recipe for really good pozole from Valdo's sister in law. I know its only one recipe, but it's a start.====I tried the pozoloe recipe this weekend and it was sooooooooooo good!! messy and a little hard to make, but worth it!

9-Work on all the new etsy Ideas I have
I have been working hard on this also. Making sketch's lists and drawing working it all out in my head.
10-Try a rhubarb recipe (now that I grow some of it)
11-Get/Learn photoshop
12-Continue my Walking 5 days a week
13-Get more serious about getting Healthy
14-Take another trip with Valdo

We actually took two mini trips with each other this summer. One out west and on up the north shore! Both were memorable and I can't wait to go somewhere new next time!

15-Have date night at least Once a month
16-Continue Saving money with the plan I have now
17-Go fishing more if possible

Valdo has been fishing every chance he has when we go up north. Now the lakes are frozen so they can Ice fish.

18-Do another round of p52

I am working on my second round of P52 and I am so excited! This si the best year long project I have ever done!

19-Make 1 layout a week
I think I'm right on scheldule with the layouts. and If I'm not some weeks I do 3 or 5 so It makes up for it!
20-Honestly start earlier on christmas cards and gifts.(no last minute stuff)
Got this started too as you can see here in this post: early x-mas
21-Try camping with Valdo
22-Spend more time up north and outside with Valdo and Kona

I was up north more this year than I have been in total the last 5 years. It was awesome! I love being there and so do Valdo and Kona. It just feels like home to all of us!

23-Paying off some bills
24-Taking as much time as possible to be creative in any form I can be.

I am working on this also by following through on the layout goal and also with my new project 52 weeks of crafts. This project is helping me create more than ever and work on projects that scared me before.

25-Work on laying out more goals for the future
26-Try some new food at least once a month
27-Get a better camera
28-Wear more of my skirts when we go places
I have been waering my skirts and dress's like crazy! and !!!! best part is I got 3 new dress's as a gift last week!!! can't wait to wear all of them!
29-Love life every day as much as possible!

I am slowly but surely checking things off my list! I am not sure I will get it all done, But I am going to try hard to complete it!

Weekend Re-cap

2012-01-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! How was your weekend? we are still having unusually warm weather here in Minnesota and we still have no snow. Its so weird. They say this weekend it might get below 0 for the first time this year finally. I wish it would snow too. Its so weird to not have snow. I go outside and everything is brown. It messes with me, makes me feel like it's spring not winter.
I didn't get anything on my To-do list done, but I guess sometimes you just need a weekend where you do nothing.
I did however make my first batch of pozole! Oh man it turned out soooooooooo good! Yum! I will say though it was harder and messier than I thought. And there isn't good ways to measure stuff so eyeballing it all had me a little nuts, but I think it will go better next time I try it!
I am hoping tonight to get some of the stuff done on my list that sat neglected all weekend. Wish me luck with that.
In other news, Kona turned 3 on Thursday. We usually make her and omelet on her birthday but I just got eggs yesterday so I think tonight we make try and make her an omelet.

This was Kona right after we got her. Isn't she such a little cutie! We really got lucky getting a dog with such a good personality. Shes sweet, always wants to play, and never barks unless asked to speak. I had never met a dog that didn't bark before. She's so adorable and full of Kona-isms. These funny little mannerisms and traits that only she has!

I think we would be lost without her now. She fills our lives up! She goes almost every where with us!
So Kona Happy Happy Birthday to you!

I remember

2012-01-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

Old Fashioned Letters by Jason Reeves on Grooveshark
This song brings me to this summer. To feeling alone, to feeling sad, and lost. I feel it in my soul all over again. I have all the letters tucked away. They are safe and forever a reminder of you. A glimpse into the pain yet hope of it all. I loved you more each day. I prayed for strength and saw my prayers answered.
This song reminds me of Love. Strong and pure. Everlasting. A strength of will to see it through. To not be lost in the pain. To hold onto to faith and each other. To know we vowed to be together in the good and the bad forever.
I hear this song and I remember.

Project 52 ( a new year)

2012-01-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

This blurry photo from New Year's Eve will be my week one photo. I know it sucks, but its documentation from the night. We went to Valdo's Brother's house for Pazole. It was so yummy! Then we started to get a bunch of snow and ice and had to head home early around 11pm at about 20 mph. We got home right before midnight. We wished each other a Happy New Year in bed watching Walking Dead. I wouldn't have had it any other way!

2012-01-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
I hope you are off to a great start with 2012! In honor of the new year and new goals I decdied to change up the look of allthingschula.com. Some things you may want to check out that are new:
The I'm Val tab in the nav bar.
The Drop me a line tab in the nav bar.
The 52 weeks link in the right sidebar.
The Moxie link in the right sidebar.

Also if you are interested in a free blog design drop me and email. I would be happy to talk to you about it!

52 weeks of crafts-week 1

2012-01-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

I have decided this year to add a new feature to my blog. 52 weeks of crafts. My plan is to work at creating one craft a week and sharing it with you all here. I decided I wanted to do this project to help me create more. To help me work on crafts I otherwise may not have attempted. To force myself to be more creative and accountable.
I have started a list on Pinterest of crafts I would like to complete. The list still has room so that this year as I see things I like I can add them in. The list is also flexible to change as I find that flexibility is the key to creating and completeing long projects.
To start off week one I want to share with you how to make yarn wrapped words.
I found this on Giddy Giddy blog. I hope you enjoy this project and will follow along with this year in my crafting goals.

Supplies needed:

Yarn
Pipe cleaners
Scissors
And maybe a movie to watch while working on this.

Begin to wrap, twist, and bend the pipe cleaners in to the word you want. You may use one or two pipe cleaners for width. I use the width of one and then added to the ends to form the next letter.

Once your word is formed begin to wrap yarn around one end. I left the tails hanging out because I think it adds more character but you may cut these off if you like.

Continue wrapping your whole word. You may change colors as often or as little as you like. I choose to change roughly at each letter.

When you are finished you have a lovely yarn wrapped word to display as you like. I also think these would make great embellishments on scrapbook book pages. Be creative, there are many possibilities for these.

I have also created a link to 52 weeks of crafts in the right sidebar. Here you will be able to go and look at weeks past as long as you like.

I hope you enjoyed this, if you make one leave me a link, I would love to see them!

My year in photos

2012-01-03T05:00:00.001-08:00

In January we started the year with big plans ahead of us. We celebrated my dad's birthday in January. It was fun and we were starting the year off right! Full of promise and adventure and planning!

In February Valdo and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary! It was a magical day and the week after that we went to my moms for a week! We visited duluth for the first time together and hung out with my family! We got a blizzard also that month! It was a great month for us!

In March we offically started wedding shopping. We had the plan and knew the look and details we wanted. My sister amy, my mom, and I had lots of adventures shopping for the wedding this year, thrifting and garage saling! It was amazing!!!!

We had alot more family time this month! We managed to get out on the lake for the last weekend of ice fishing and have a barbecue. As you can see there was already some water on the ice and it melted off completely a couple days after this photo. We made alot of great memories that weekend!

In may my mother and I found my dress! It was such an awesome day! We went to this little vintage shop in St. Paul and tried dresses on in a attic full of vintage settee's and dress's! It all felt really magical to me! I'm glad my mom was there with me!

June was my birthday is my birthday month and this year I turned 29! (30 hehehe) It was a great month for us full of lazy days at the lake and lots of quaility time of Valdo, myself and Kona! I loved every single minute of it all!

In July I spent more time at my moms house, preparing wedding stuff every spare second I had. I also got outside and tried some things for the first time! This was a very memorable fourth of July for me also! A tradition in the making maybe!

In August we continued our family tradition of going to Valley Fair. We have gone the last 4 years now! It's one of my favorite traditions! I hope one year we are all able to be there! It seems like every year someone has to miss it for something. Or maybe this year we can go to Wisconsin Dell's!

In September I got the chance to take an amazing road trip! I had the best time and so did Valdo! It was one of the most memorable things we have ever done together! This month gave way to a release of alot of pressure we had been feeling all summer! Finally things started to look up for us and we right on the verge of our wedding day! We were overflowing with joy in anticipation!

October was the most amazing month of the year! We got married! It was perfect, magical, and romantic! We had it outside like we wanted and I was in heaven all day! I'm so happy that Valdo and I are finally married after nearly 7 years together! I'm so happy to be spending the rest of my life with this amazing man who I am completely in love with!

In November we went on our honeymoon! It was perfect! We saw some amazing things as we traveled up the north shore of Lake Superior! We made great memories! I feel so blessed that we were able to have this time to ourselves! It is something I will remember forever!

In December we continued our tradition of our annual bowling night! It was the fourth year we have gone! I love these nights, they are so much fun! We are preparing to share a magical holiday with our families and to welcome the new year!

We had a very blessed year! Yes there was some struggles along the way, but overall it was a very good year for us! A memorable year! So many moments I have tucked away so that we can look back on this year and remember how far we have come!

Hello 2012

2012-01-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

(Photo taken by me of the Great Lake Superior in October)
Hello 2012,
2011 Was a big year for me. Alot of interesting and important things happened, but the time has come to say goodbye to 2011. To grab your hand and hold on tight as we embark on this journey together. I know you will be full of adventure. I know you will have surprises at every corner for us. I am looking forward to what you have to offer. Looking forward 2012 to getting to know you. To seeing our dreams realized with you. I know you may bring some storms, But really I am looking forward to those also. For I have faith in this.
Hello 2012, and welcome.

Happy Happy New Year

2011-12-31T05:59:00.000-08:00

project 52 (the last one in 2011)

2011-12-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

I have had so much with this! I can't wait to do it again next year. Now I only need to decide what to do with all these images. maybe make a mini out of them....
See you with a brand new round on 1-6!

...

2011-12-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

I WAS...Mis-guided
I AM...On the right track
I THINK...Prayer is good for you and your soul
I WONDER...When I will see my bestie
I WISH...Many many many things for Valdo and I
I SAVE...Way to much stuff
I ALWAYS...Try to think positive
I CAN'T IMAGINE...being alone in life
I BELIEVE...In bigfoot among other things
I PROMISE...to be yours forever
I LOVE...deeply and with all my heart
I SCRAP...to feed my soul

I got this from my Bestie's blog Ren is Lost in Paper. If you try this leave me a comment so I can check out yours.

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

2011 you have been a wild ride for me. You were full of equal parts joy and heartache. You brought me many moments I will cherish forever, and many moments I wasn't sure I would make it through.

We had some first time experiences. Valdo seeing duluth for the first time! It was magical seeing everything covered in ice in the middle of winter!

We had some lovely lazy days at the lake with our little family of Valdo, me and Kona.

We had some fun times four wheeling and agate picking at the gravel pit with my family.

I tried some new things this year. I don't know if I want to do them again, but they were fun to try!

I had the most amazing bridal shower this year thrown by my Sister Amy. It was the perfect shower and I am grateful and in awe of all my sister did for me that day!

Valdo and I had our engagement photo shoot this summer. It was so special as we planned and designed the whole shoot ourselves. I love love love how it turned out!

I took a road trip with my mom way up to northern mn and saw alot of beautiful places.

I also took a road trip with Valdo, my mom, and my stepdad out west that was amazing! One of the best things we did all year!

I saw duluth again and the whole north shore this fall with valdo! It was a special trip for us and something I will remember forever.

Most important of all, Valdo and I got married this year! I could not have asked for better year. Even though it was tough, It was so amazing at the same time! Goodbye 2011, I hope 2012 is even better than this year was!

Books read in 2011

2011-12-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

In 2010 I read 47 books. That's alot and I din't quiet get that far this year but I think I still read quite a few with a solid 32 under my belt.
-Awakened
-Keys to the repository
-Torment
-Vampire academy
-Frostbite
-Blood promise
-Shadow kiss
-Spirit bound
-Last sacrafice
-Evermore
-Bluemoon
-Shadowland
-Glass house
-The dead girls dance
-Midnight alley
-Feast of fools
-Lord of misrule
-Carpe corpus
-Fade out
-Kiss of death
-Ghost town
-Bite club
-River marked
-Return to paradise
-A bend in the road
-True believer
-Garden spells
-People of the book
-Water for elephants
-God mother
-The darkest secret
-Ill wind
Do you read alot? What type of books do you read? Do you set a goal amount for the year? I think in 2012 I am going to aim for 50 books!

Weekend Re-cap (Christmas)

2011-12-26T05:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas was amazing this year just like always! I loved that we made handmade gifts this year! I love that we were all there! I love that we played games like always and that Amy was crazy!!! It's what make Christmas, Christmas in our house! It wouldn't be the same without these things!

My mom made everyone a blanket this year! They are the fleece tie blankets! They are so soft and cozy we all wore them the rest of the weekend!

We did our ugly hat contest this year! If you remember last year we did ugly sweaters!

Valdo won the ugly hat challenge!!! woohoo for him! I thought it was funny he won since I won last year, but we all voted secretly!

The shenanigans that ensue at our house! I love my family, at least we always laugh!!!

We all got in the family photo this year! Back row: Chris(step father), Alex(brother), Eric(brother in law), Pete(sister's boyfriend). Middle row: Jr(brother), Mom, Me, Rachelle(sister), Valdo(hubby). Front row: Heidi(sister), Addison(neice), Amy(sister).
I hope you all had an amazing holiday with your loved ones and I can't wait to check out everyone's photos!
Have a great monday!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Little Drummer Boy by Faith Hill on Grooveshark

With lots of love from us to you, have a merry merry Christmas and a happy new years too!

Project 52

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

I finally got weeks straightened out and added in the photos I was missing so I am right on track to finish this on time. I already designed my logo for next years and can't wait to start it!

Handmade gifts -5

2011-12-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

Maybe for your gift you would like to cook something fun and interesting or bring an easy yet perfect dish to share. Here a few fun ideas I've found.

Elizabeth from Please Note shows you how to make yummy peperoni pizza loaves. (I bet they would be cute in muffin tins too.)

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Jan from Rufflewood share this sweet sweet jam dessert. It looks like the perfect thing to make with the jam I have from the wedding.

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Tara from Deer in a bottle has a recipe for Mini ham n cheese's.

MMMM anyone of these would make a fabulous dish to make and share with friends and family.
I hope you have enjoyed this handmade gift guide week. Have a merry christmas all of you!

Handmade gifts -4

2011-12-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

How about some simple and sweet handmade ornaments to hand out to your loved ones?

Jessica from Jessica Jane Handmade shows you how to step by step make an adorable birdie ornament.

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Tori from Voyages of the creative variety has the most beautiful ornament tutorial here.

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Michelle from Scissor quirk shreas a tutorial and pattern to make a sweet embroidered ornament.

All of these would look so beautiful on any christmas tree. I know your family anf friends would love to receive these as gifts!

Handmade gifts -3

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today I will show you some simple beautful ideas for things you can make as Christmas gifts with items you most likely have around your house already.

Rachel from Smile and Wave shares here how to make a flower bauble wreath.

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Elizabeth from Please note shares the cutest tutorial here for making a snowman.

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Claire from Fellow fellow shows you haw to make a cute votive holder.

I can't wait to dig in my stash and get to work on these adorable gift ideas!

Handmade gifts -2

2011-12-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today is part two and I am going to show you some fun yummy candy I have found online this year.

Heather from Sprinkle Bakes shares a fun tutorial for Coal Candy.

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Rubyellen from Cakies shares a chocolate crispies recipe. We have a cookie very similar to this every year but I can't wait to try this one!

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In this post Emma from Food coma has a recipe for homemade marshmallows.

These candies all look so amazing! They would make a fabulous gift for someone special in your life!

Vlog part 3

2011-12-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

vlog part 3 from valechula on Vimeo.

Hello ladies, I am finally back with part 3 of the vlog series I started this summer. I got this vlog idea from the Curious pug. click here to see part 1 and part 2.
Here's a rundown of the questions:
Pc or mac?
What phone do you have?
How tall are you?
What do you order at starbucks?
Closet item you can't live without?
Something most people don't know about you?
One thing to do before you die?
Food you cannot live without?
Quote or phrase to live by?
Most listened to song?
Hobbies?
Pet peeves?
Guilty pleasures?

If you do this video please share a link with me in the comments, I would love to see it. Also if you do all 3 vlogs I would love to see that also!

Handmade gifts -1

2011-12-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's the week before Christmas. Are you still stuck on some gift idea's? This week I'm going to show you some beautiful handmade ideas I found through out the web.
Today I will show you some fabulous minibooks,journals,scrapbooks that are easy to make. They would make a fabulous handmade gift for anyone in your life.

Elsie from a Beautiful Mess shares here how to make gorgeous fabric covered journals.

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Francine from Callaloo Soup shows you you haw to make easy spiral bound notebooks.

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Here Amy Tan from Amy Tangerine shows on the Hambly screen prints blog how to make adorable mini books.

I hope you enjoyed this first installment of Handmade Christmas from the web. Stay tuned all week as I share more lovely ideas with you!

Breaking Dawn (finally)

2011-12-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

A Thousand Years by Christina Perri on Grooveshark
I have made plans countless times since this movie came out to go see it! FINALLY, this weekend I am going. Forsure this time!!!
In honor of that lets listen to this beautiful song from the soundtrack!

Project 52

2011-12-16T08:51:00.001-08:00

Valdo and I!!!!

Do you travel?

2011-12-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

Image via weheartit
Do you travel alot?
When I was a little girl my family traveled all over the states. Me and my sister have spent alot of our days in the cab of a chevy S-10 pickup with my parents. I loved it! Even though now I have only glimpses of memories rather than full blown memories, I cherish every moment I can of it. It was adventurous and amazing.
I lived in 4 different states before we came back to minnesota.
My mother still really loves to travel and I have been on many trips with her later in life. We just took one this summer actually.
One of the things we like to do when we travel is keep track of how many states we have been in.
I'm in the number third spot right below my mother and step father with alex and heidi close behind me.
The 32 states I have visited (in no particular order)
Oregon-California-Nevada-Idaho-Wyoming-Montana-North Dakota-South Dakota-Nebraska-Colorado-Kansas-Minnesota-Iowa-Missouri-Oklahoma-Arkansas-Wisconsin-Illinois-Mississippi-Indiana-Kentucky-Tennesee-Alabama-Georgia-South Carolina-North Carolina-Virgina-West Virgina-Ohio-Texas-New Mexico-Arizona
Of all of these I have visited I think Colorado is my favorite next to my home state of Minnesota. Colorado is like Minnesota in so many ways it felt like home, and the added bonus was all the mountains we don't have here. I just loved it there. Its also one of the states I have visited more than once. 3 times I have been there.

I took this photo of Pike's Peak while I was in Colorado this summer! It was so beautiful there!

Whats you favorite state that you have visited? Do you travel? Alot, a little, never?

A little Christmas spirit from me to you

2011-12-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

christmas by val on Grooveshark

Wedding photos (reception)

2011-12-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

The reception was perfect! Almost no mix-ups, except we didn't have champagne in our glasses when the toast was done. Oh well we toasted with what we had. I loved the way the hall turned out and can't wait to get my quilt from my mom that she's gonna make with all the bunting we made! It was a lovely lovely evening that went by way too fast!

Everything at the reception was handmade. The bunting, the cake and all the wooden words through out the hall. My backdrop and all the frames were re-done by me. My cake bunting and guest book, even the jam that was my wedding favor was handmade!

My sister Amy gave us the most beautiful speech. I am so thankful to have her as a sister and friend as you know already if you read my regularily. I cried and stood up to hug her more than once!
"Let me first say thank you for coming and sharing this special day with us. I am blessed to be given the opportunity to give a toast for my sister Val. She is a truly amazingly talented and beautiful person inside and out. I couldn't be happier that she found her match Valdo. I know that you two will have an adventurous and loving marriage for decades to come.
I never new Valdo before he dated my sister so I don't have horrible stories to tell about him. But what I can tell you is that he is perfect for my sister. He is thoughtful, caring, has a great sense of humor, and he truly respects my sister. We are happy to welcome you into our family. Now your Stuck with us.
Val, you make the most beautiful bride. Thank you for letting me be apart of this perfect day. We have had our share of memories and adventures together. 80's night with the girls, our origami stage, misbehaving in public, our letters back and forth with yours always ending in p.s. I LOVE DONKEYS! And then there were some not so happy moments like the time we broke up and decided to see other people. Finally two minutes later after begging and begging, she took me back. I thought I had lost you.Val, you are an amazing person. I have never thought of you as a step sister but as my own sister and best friend. And I am thankful that we were able to be apart of each others lives.
To the bride and groom, may you love grow stronger with time. May you have many years and many babies together. And may you never forget why you fell in love. Felicidades y te quiero. Congratulations and I love you."

My wedding was exactly what I wanted! It was perfect! Except for the few people missing who we really wanted there, nothing else went wrong! It was a magical day and I will remember and cherish the special moments from that day forever! Thank you all for sharing this whole year of planning with me and for being so excited to see photos! It has been a pleasure to share my wedding here with you all!

Weekend Re-cap (Working with Valdo)

2011-12-12T06:40:00.000-08:00

I fully intended when I set out saturday to document the day. In reality it was a lot of work and I just didn't have the time to do it.

I have always known that my husband works hard for our family. I see how he does this everyday without complaint to provide a good life for us. To help us achieve our dreams. I just never fully understood how hard he actually works.
On Saturday i got the chance to go to work with Valdo for the day. I was skeptical but he seemed to really want me to go so I did. I put on My work boots (which are actually 200$ Doc Martins I have been guarding for a long time) and my grubby jeans and off we went.
We arrive before the sun even gets up. Its dark and cold and icy outside. Now I knew what he did was demolition. Its sounds hard yes, but some of it sounds a little fun too. Like knocking down walls. I would have liked to have done that.
No, today we would not be knocking down anything.
Today we would be doing something far less fun.
My husband and the crew he's on is working in an apartment building in Eagan right now that caught on fire. They need to be gutted.
Ripping out carpet and padding is about the easiest thing we did all day.
all the vinyl in the bathroom and kitchen floors needs to go. I at first didn't think it sounded to hard. no big deal. I thought it would maybe come up in big pieces. It did not.
Basically you use this big 3 foot scrapper and have to chip away and peel at the vinyl. Its so much harder than it sounds. You are half bent over all day and pushing as hard as you can with your arms all day. Oh and then sometimes you get surprises and there's 3 layers of vinyl. FUN!
I could see how back breaking it was. I could see Valdo's hands cramping and is brow constanly full of sweat. Through all of this he never complained. Never said I hurt, I'm tired, I need a break. He just kept working.
I worked as hard as I could and did as much as I could to help. In reality I don't think it helped that much.
I think some people have a good work effort and more strength than I could ever imagine.
Valdo does forsure. So today my respect for Valdo grew a 100 times. I fully understand what he does to provide for us now and I am so thankful for him in my life. It really makes me want to step up even more and help him when he gets home. Let him relax and have a nice dinner.
Have you ever gone to work with your partner? Do you know what they really do in a days work? Have you told them today how thankful you are to have them in your life?

Other than that, my weekend was pretty low key. Sunday I worked on my Bestie's x-mas gift and watched the final Harry Potter movie. I'm not a huge fan but I have seen all the movies and I thought they ended it well.
How was everyone else's weekend?
We still don't really have much snow here. It has only snowed twice and each time only a few inches which has melted. I'm starting to wonder what is up with mother nature? Will we even have a white Christmas in MN this year???
All I could say to him at the end of the day, was

Saturday Sounds like...

2011-12-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hold On You by Jeff Bridges on Grooveshark
If my planning is right I am decorating my tree, wrapping christmas presents, and taking photos with Valdo and Kona.
Happy Saturday to you all!

project 52

2011-12-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

I know this is a blurry photo, but it's an important photo.
This is me and Chessa. Chessa was a gift to me on my 15th birthday. She's and old lady now. Doesn't she look so distinguished? I think she's beautiful.
Although Chessa was my dog she didn't live with us very long. I was back and forth between my parents house around this time and after awhile my mom couldn't take of her anymore and couldn't make sure she got played with and everything. We gave her to my step father's aunt and uncle. They had a german shepard named Mojo.
I was so sad to see Chessa leave. Inconsolable. She was my first pet and I couldn't stand the thought of her with someone else.
I couldn't understand she would be better off with them. She would have a good long life with them. She did too!
Chessa is now 15 and believe it or not this is the first time I got to see her since she left my house years ago. Maybe it was best this way.
This weekend I saw her and almost cried with joy when I saw her! She's and old lady now and can't see or hear, but we layed on the floor together and I pet her for what seemed like hours. I told her I used to be her mama and how much I loved her then and love her still.
It made so happy to know she had not one best friend but two. Mojo and bullet. Mojo just passed and theres just Bullet left with Chessa.
I am happy she had a good life. I am happy they took her and gave her and great home when I was unable to.
I am over joyed that I got to see her one last time.
Chessa is very sick and old. My heart tells me she won't be here much longer.
I hope she finds Mojo when she's gone and that she know what a good puppy she was and how much we all loved her!

The Wedding (ceremony)

2011-12-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

Our ceremony was the most special part of the whole day! (obviously right) It was short and heartfelt. It was exactly us and helped us to remember everyone important to us who could not be there with us. I am so happy to have caught it all on video!

Me and my mom and step dad made the back drop. I loved it so much! My mom is going to use it as the backing to the quilt she is making me with all of the bunting.

Valdo walked in his sister in law and neice.

My oldest friend Chad walked my mom down.

These two were so adorable through the whole thing. After rehearsal Addie came up to us and said " I think he likes me you guys...." so sweet!

I swore I was going to try and not cry. I could not help it though. My lip was quivering and my chest got tight as soon as I heard my song start to play. I held it together as much as I could and with some deep breaths managed to make it down the aisle. It really flew by too fast. I'm going to hang on to the feelings from that day as long as I can and cherish every minute we had celebrating that day!

My sister gave the most beautiful reading! I loved the words and she did it so perfectly!

When I went put Valdos ring on his finger I had the wrong hand. I don't know what I was thinking. My mom says In a loud whisper "val thats the wrong hand." It made us all giggle and made a moment for us to remember always.

Our unity ceremony was important to Valdo and I. It represented all of those who could not be with us that day including Valdo's parents and my Grand father. I loved the tree and that it was something of my grandpa's we could use.

Mr. and Mrs. Lopez!!!!! We were both so happy and so emotional! crying and trying not to cry through out the whole ceremony! Valdo was extra emotional and I felt so sad for him! He was missing his parents! I really felt sad but I know they were there in spirit!

Oh what sweet sweet memories I am taking from that day! all of our loved ones there sharing the special moments with us. The heartfelt words and prayers that were spoken! It was pure magic!

Mucho moxie in 2012

2011-12-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

Every year me and my Bestie Renee pick out words for the year. Words to help remember where we are going that year and how we want the year to go. Words to help us stay strong, focused, in charge of our lives. Words to guide us and live by. Last year my word was FAITH. It was the absolute perfect word for me last year. I didn't even know how perfect it would be when I chose it. It helped me, taught me, calmed me, strengthened me. It gave me something to rely and to remember. It was and still is a word very dear to me! Full of so much meaning and memory. I have faith, I will always have faith, but this is a new year and with that comes a new word.
I started brainstorming this week on some ideas. Things like: hard work, perseverance, persistance...
Then I was browsing around in the thesaurus hoping to find the exact right word to describe what I want my word to convey.
There it was.
I knew instantly that would be my word. Its so funny too, when i saw the word I thought to myself I just heard that word this week and was going to look it up not quite positive of its meaning.
What a coincidence.
This word is everything I want to say. Everything I want to accomplish this coming year. The way I want to live my life this year.

It's perfect! I love it! It says everything I want it to say, everything I want to have, be, feel in 2012!
This year is going to be full of work, courage, dertermination, preseverance. Mucho Moxie! Mucho, Mucho Moxie!!!!
I am so excited for 2012 and my word!

What are you looking forward to in 2012? Do you pick out a theme or a word to guide you through the year?

Wedding photos (part 3)

2011-12-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Valdo and I were so blessed to have an amazing wedding party! Yes things did not work out exactly as we wanted and some of our loved ones were unable to be there with us, But our wedding party stepped up and helped to make our day amazing!

I love these fun ones the boys did! Valdo I thought may not enjoy all the photo taking, but he was smiling and happy through all of it, bless his heart.

This is my favorite photo of me and my sisters! They all look so cute and we had fun posing this photo!

Me with my Dad!

Me with my Mother and Father.

Me with all my parents.

Chad and I. I am soooo happy that we got this photo!

I love this group shot of everyone! So gorgeous!

I think this photo is so pretty! I love the colors!

All my brothers now and one brother to be! So handsome!

I would like to extend a huge huge thank you to everyone in our wedding party! We could not have gotten through it all without you! And even to those of you who could not be there you were there in spirit and we dearly love each and everyone of you!

Weekend Re-cap (Annual bowling)

2011-12-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

So it was our annual bowling! So so so fun! We have gone the past few years and it's one of my favorite traditions. You can see 2010 here. This year everyone one of us was there! Also for the first time my little Brother Alex brought a girl. WHAT? can this be happening? lol. Isn't my 17 year old little brother too young to bring girls to family functions?
We also got alot planned out at dinner. We decided what our X-mas was going to be and what everyone is bringing. We decided how we are going to change up the dice game this year and some other things! I am so excited for Christmas at my Mom's!

How was your lovely weekend? Does your family have any holiday traditions you do before christmas? Special outings you go on?

Saturday Fun

2011-12-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars on Grooveshark
Today is my family's annual bowling outing for Thanksgiving! I am sooooooooo stoked to hang out with everyone!
I love the bowling, love the atmosphere with everyone, love the banter, and love the dinner afterwards! Its fun of my favorite traditions we have!
I will be sure to get some photos to share!
Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

Project 52

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Wedding Photos (part 2)

2011-12-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

We had our first look and our formals on the lake outside the log lodge we stayed at. It was beautiful and even though the wedding was on 10-29-11 we got really lucky with the weather. It was a beautiful day! Beautiful and special for us!

The lodge and its grounds are truly breath taking! There's alot of "Minnesota" in the feel of the place. It's scenic and majestic!

My sister helped me down the lawn and ledge and back up the hill to where Valdo was. It was an exciting walk for me! Valdo looked so handsome over there!

It was the perfect moment! Perfect! If I could bottle it up and save it for ever I would!

I was really in love with the pretty back drop we had to take pictures. The sun, the warm pretty fall weather, my handsome Mr. Valdo, it all fell into place perfectly!

Music for you

2011-11-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

list3 by val on Grooveshark
In honor of my 1 month anniversary and posting the wedding photos, Enjoy!

The Wedding (Photos)

2011-11-29T08:45:00.000-08:00

Today Valdo and I have been married for 1 month! In honor of that I have some special photos to share with you! I will split the photos up in groups like I did with the honeymoon ones. I hope you enjoy these, They really make me happy!
I am going to start with the getting ready photos, I figure I will just post them in the order they were taken (mostly).

Valdo got ready at the Lodge we were staying at with my dad and his brother. It was perfect and the Photos of them getting ready make me so happy! He looks so handsome, all of them do!

These two were some of Valdo's favorites of the day! I think they all look so vintage and handsome!

All of us girls got ready at my moms house along with some other family members. It was perfect and low key just the way I wanted it. We Listened to my "Getting Ready" playlist and laughed. It was the best way to start the morning.

I wore my mothers pearls which my sister also wore two years ago at her wedding.

My dress was perfect! I loved the princess gown part and all the tulle made me feel so prefect! I felt like a princess for sure!

The ring bear book was a vintage copy of Pride and Prejudice that I decorated and Valdo cut the ring spot out.
The rings were custom made for us on etsy.

What do you all think? It a magical day for sure! I want to make sure and write down all my memories of it so I don't forget the special moments!
Happy 1 month married Valdo!

Weekend Re-cap

2011-11-28T07:08:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone. How was your long weekend? Full of turkey and love and shopping I hope! I had a 4 day weekend which was super awesome. My sister came to visit on Thanksgiving and we watched movies all day! Its was perfect for us! That night me and Valdo decided we would try the Black Friday shopping this year. We had never been and wanted to be able to say we had tried just once. It wasn't terrible to start with, we left the house around 8pm and went to michaels that was closing at 10. Valdo got some drawing supplies and I got a smash book. Then we had some time to kill so went and spreadout at a table at Mcdonalds with smoothies and waited a bit. around 10:30 we went to walmart to meet up with friends. We however never made it inside Walmart due to the parking lot troubles we figured inside would be even more crowded. From there we headed to target with our friends which wasn't really that bad either. We waited outside in line for about an hour which was fun and then everyone was super nice inside and everyone got what they wanted and we only waited only about 5 mins to check out. After that our last stop was Kohls. Now this was a mad house. You could barley find what you wanted cause everything was strewn all over the place by the time we got there. People were pushing and it surely lived up to all the confusion you hear is associated with black friday. Going to Kohls may have ruined black friday for me all together. I'm still deciding about that. So everyone managed to get at least one of the things they wanted and we go tto get in line. Two hour wait. what?????? The line wrapped around the inside of the store twice. Ugh! We are just about to leave when we realise there are two lines and no one knows it from the other line being so confusing. We jump in line. We end up only waiting about 20 mins! Thank goodness cause I don't know how much more pushing or shouting I can take. Me and Valdo finally arrived back home at about 3am and crashed right away. I think we may pass next year. It was a good one time adventure but something I would want to do again. We'll see I guess next year, but I'm seriously doubting it.
Then Friday was a lay low kinda day not much happening at all. Saturday night we had family and friends over for a bonfire which was fun! We played bean bags in the garage till 2am cause it ended snowing and raining most of the night which made having our fire hard.
Sunday was a day of relaxation and gearing up for the work week ahead. I finished season 6 of Gilmore Girls and worked on some more etsy stuff. So so excirted about all my new etsy stuff!
Here's me and Valdo passing time at Mcdonalds! He's already busted into his new drawing stuff and I'm smashing our Black Friday adventures already!

Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

Project 52

2011-11-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Thankful

2011-11-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

This year I have so many things to be Thankful for!
SO many things! Me and Valdo went through some tough stuff this year but us and our families were brought closer due to all of it!

Happy thanksgiving to all of you! may it be a blessed day for you!

Music on Wednesday

2011-11-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

val's Playlist 2 by val on Grooveshark
I am so in love with this song! I hope you like it too!

Photobooth round 2

2011-11-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Honeymoon part 4

2011-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

After we saw Split Rock we walked down the trails right to the beach. It was so amazing. You are surrounded by all these huge cliffs and bluffs, and in front of you is the largest body you have ever seen beside the ocean. It will surely take your breath away. Valdo had some fabulous ideas for pictures while we were down there and they are my favorites from the trip.

I am so happy that me and Valdo took this trip. This with the one we had this summer has been so perfect! We have seen so many beautiful things and spent so much quaility time together this summer. Our relationship is constantly growing and evolving and this summer was no exception. We grew closer every minute. Valdo thank you for that and for everything and for this amazing Honeymoon together! I love you!

2011-11-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

Well winter is finally here in Minnesota. We got 3 inches of heavy wet snow on Saturday! The roads were terrible and I had to use 4 wheel drive just to get on my road. When its such a wet snow all it does is make ice. Its pretty but not fun to drive on at all. And due to all the snow we put our Breaking Dawn plans on hold until next weekend! Hopefully we will have better weather.
I however did get ALOT of stuff done on Saturday. I am planning to re-open my Etsy shop on 1-1-12. I have been working hard on plans and ideas for it! I got alot done! I am very excited for this and cannot wait to share my progress with you all.
Sunday my mom came down and we went out shopping! We got our "ugly hats". We are doing hats this year instead of ugly sweaters. We got a bunch of stuff for the dice game. We also decided to make handmade gifts for everyone in the family this year. My mom is making somethings for us and I am too! I think my other sisters will make stuff too! It will be a sweet, simple and perfect christmas this year! I cannot wait! I'm most excited to play charades, and pictionary which are also traditions in our family!
Over all I had a really good week! It will be a short week this week also which is nice! I will be missing my bestie while she is on vacation, but I will find a way to pass my time, lol! I hope she's enjoying herself!
Have a happy Monday everyone!

Breaking Dawn part 1

2011-11-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

Yup, thats what it says! I'm a serious Twilight Fan! We are going Tonight on opening night after work! I am stoked!!!!!

How many of you are going opening night or waiting till later? How many of you are planning on seeing it? Are you a twilight fan same as me?
**** Plans changed and my friends had to bail on me... But my perfect husband offered to go with me when he heard the news! So Saturday morning I'm going to be watching the movie with my hubby!****

project 52

2011-11-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Honeymoon part 3

2011-11-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

After the Falls we made our way further down the shore to Split Rock Lighthouse. It is so amazing and majestic there. An old, it all feels really old and it is. Split rock was built in 1920 so she's 91. Thats a long life that light house and lived. And many many lives and ships were saved because of her.

The caves under the bluffs were amazing you could hear the watering shooshing in and out of them all the way up. We were 300 feet about the water.

Our first glimpse of the Lighthouse.

This marker told about one of the worst storms ever and it's role played in the building of Split Rock.

The amazing views from the balcony the lighthouse sits on.

Stay tuned for the last part of the honeymoon photos...

A 29 before 30 update

2011-11-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

Second Update:

1-Have an amazing wedding to my "chulo" Valdo.

CHECK!!!! We got married on 10-29-11 and it was sooo amazingly perfect! I am so in love with my husband!

2-Re-decorate my scrap room

Done, I actually worked on this for 6 hours on saturday. I didn't re-do everything, but enough to make it feel new and fresh to me. The biggest change I made was a corner for Valdo so he can draw!

3-Re-decorate our bedroom
4-Get a car ( the trucks are such gas hogs)

5-Seriously clean out my stuff and donate what is not wanted/needed

6-Cherish each minute spent with my bestie when she visits!

This is being put on hold due to extreme circumstance preventing this! Someday soon it will happen though! I promise!

7-Work on the baby issues
8-Learn to cook more 'authentic' Spanish dishes for valdo
9-Work on all the new etsy Ideas I have
I have been working hard on this also. Making sketch's lists and drawing working it all out in my head.
10-Try a rhubarb recipe (now that I grow some of it)
11-Get/Learn photoshop
12-Continue my Walking 5 days a week
13-Get more serious about getting Healthy
14-Take another trip with Valdo

We actually took two mini trips with each other this summer. One out west and on up the north shore! Both were memorable and I can't wait to go somewhere new next time!

15-Have date night at least Once a month
16-Continue Saving money with the plan I have now
17-Go fishing more if possible
18-Do another round of p52
19-Make 1 layout a week
I think I'm right on scheldule with the layouts. and If I'm not some weeks I do 3 or 5 so It makes up for it!
20-Honestly start earlier on christmas cards and gifts.(no last minute stuff)
Got this started too as you can see here in this post: early x-mas
21-Try camping with Valdo
22-Spend more time up north and outside with Valdo and Kona

I was up north more this year than I have been in total the last 5 years. It was awesome! I love being there and so do Valdo and Kona. It just feels like home to all of us!

23-Paying off some bills
24-Taking as much time as possible to be creative in any form I can be.
25-Work on laying out more goals for the future
26-Try some new food at least once a month
27-Get a better camera
28-Wear more of my skirts when we go places
I have been waering my skirts and dress's like crazy! and !!!! best part is I got 3 new dress's as a gift last week!!! can't wait to wear all of them!
29-Love life every day as much as possible!

Photobooth round 1

2011-11-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Honeymoon part 2

2011-11-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

Our second stop of the trip was a visit to Gooseberry Falls! I had never been there! Amazing! I'm ashamed to say I had no idea Minnesota had such beautiful waterfalls! There were many more falls to see but it was rainy and cold the other days so we didn't venture out to them all.
I wish I could have bottled up the scent at the falls for you all. It was a combination of moss, water, fresh air, pine trees, birch bark, and dirt! It was heavenly!

This was Upper Falls. Gooseberry Falls is made up of 3 different falls, Upper, Middle, and Lower. I can just imagine how beautiful the falls are in the spring when the water is really rushing or in the winter when its all frozen in place! Spectacular I'm sure!

This is up above the Upper Falls, where its just a stream right now. In the spring it will become a roaring river.

This is the Middle Falls. Here you could walk right out in front of the falls, and then look up and down to the others, it was magical!

Here is Lower Falls. After this last waterfall it becomes a little stream again full of trout and then flows out through the woods and off the shore into Lake Superior!

This was the view of the falls from where we parked the truck.
Gooseberry Falls was amazing! I'm unsure how I have lived in Minnesota most my life and never visited. We take for granted the gorgeous stuff all around us because we are here everyday. I'm going to make more effort to explor the hidden beauties of my state more often.
This was my Favorite part of the stuff we visited on the trip! I loved being out in the fresh air with valdo taking in all the sounds and smells of the wilderness around us!

Thoughtful Monday

2011-11-14T06:07:00.000-08:00

list1 by val on Grooveshark
This weekend was perfect! Me and Valdo have been so in sync. As most of you know we had some trials this summer that tested us. ALOT! Although some things are still hard, other things are looking up. Valdo is still having a sorta rough time but instead of getting angry and frustrated, he's staying postive and happy. I could not be more proud of him!
This weekend we gave each other some space to work on what we wanted to around the house. Valdo went out to the garage to work on the new car we got from my sister and I stayed inside and re-did my craftroom and put away wedding stuff. In the evening we both came in cleaned up and went to the store to grab fixings for dinner.
We cooked dinner together, taquitos, mmmm! Then we watched the ufc heavy weight title fight together! Really it could not have been more perfect!
Sunday we layed low. We hung out together all day. Caught up on our dvr shows, watched Matrix 2 and 3. Then ran out and rented some movies which we cuddled on the couch to watch together.
So sure things are still a little rough in our life now but we are learning that together we are better. We will do more and be stronger working together. We are learning that it does not benefit us to get angry over things that are out of our control but that through patience and faith we will be okay.
Let me tell you this is not something we learned over night. We have been together nearly 7 years and only in the past year have we come to begin to fully understand this. And sure we may have set backs every once in awhile where we forget, but those will be few and far between.
I am happy about all of this. I feel lucky to be with Valdo and to have what we have. Sure things are not perfect for us, hard still even, but we are perfect together!
I feel like I am only just now learning and really understanding what relationships need to work. The work you have to put in on a daily basis. Not that its hard work, just the simple act of being more aware and understanding of your partner. Sometimes thats all it takes. We all want to be recognized and heard. To feel needed and understood.
So today take the time to listen. To let them know you do care. To thank them for the time you spent together this weekend and the time you spent apart!

11 on 11-11-11 and a photo challenge

2011-11-11T10:27:00.000-08:00

1.I changed my blog design! I hope you get a minute to look around and explore there is alot of new stuff to look at! If you have any questions, email me at valechula@gmail.com or leave me a comment!
2.I have been married for 12 days now!
3.I have to work late tonight which sort of sucks....
4.This Saturday is a big UFC fight. I'm super stoked for it!
5.It snowed for the first time this year here a few flurries yesterday.
6.I hate that its dark here at 5 now. I feel like my day ends so soon!
7.I really need to work on putting away some wedding stuff this weekend.
8.I really wish I had some wedding pics to share with you already!
9.I wish I was at home crafting!
10.I already starting planning out what I want to wear on xmas, I'm such a dork!
11.This was a fun little list-y to make!

Now onto the Photo challenge!
Dear Lizzy is having a photo challenge at 11:11 on 11-11-11!

Here's my photo from 11:11

I was heading into target on my lunch where I got Valdo a game and had some pasta for lunch! I love going to target for lunch so I can sit and people watch!
I am linking up to Dear Lizzy with this photo!

project 52

2011-11-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

under construction

2011-11-10T12:40:00.001-08:00

The blog will look funky for awhile. I'm laying out a new design!

Am I older than I am?

2011-11-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

My pen-pal miss Tera had an interesting post yesterday, It made me think.
I'm about to be 30 in June. When I turned 29 last June I started telling people I was 30. I'm not sure why. Maybe deep down I really do wish I was 30.
My teens and early 20's were not good for me. Sure In the long run I learned from my mistakes but in reality I could have been just fine without making nearly as many mistakes as I made. I'm serious. And if I'm being really honest, I knew exactly what I was doing. But my headstrong rebellious nature told me I would be fine. SO NOT TRUE.
I was always a homebody as a young girl. I loved being at home with my brothers and sisters watching movies or just playing with each other. I never needed anything else.
After my "rocky years" growing up just could not come fast enough for me. I yearned for it! I wanted to be older and mellow and away from the rouckous youth I had been.
Sure my later 20's were good. I met valdo and all that jazz. But I wanted to be older still even then.
Someone once told me I was an old soul myself and thats why I have such a kindred spirit with older folks around me! Honest to heaven I would rather sit and crochet with my grandma than go to the bar with my mom.
I cannot wait to be 30 In June and to top that off I get to celebrate my birthday in April! My uncle is turning 40 in march so we decided to meet int he middle! I am soooo excited!
So maybe me wanting to always be older is me trying to atone for my teenage years, maybe it's me getting back to my roots, maybe I really am an old soul, maybe its my first born traits wanting to control everything. I'm not sure. All I can tell you Is next year I'll be 32 30.

Honeymoon part 1

2011-11-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! I hope you all had a fabulous couple weeks while I was off getting hitched to my amazing Mr. Valdo! Everything turned out just exactly how it should have been! We had the best time on our trip after the wedding! We went up the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. All the way till we were just about an hour away from Canada! It was gorgeous and despite the wicked wind we have had the last couple of weeks the trees still had some colored leaves on them! Me and Valdo are both outdoor-sy country types and this was exactly perfect for us! We loved it! I hope you find in these pictures just how scenic Minnesota truly is, and see what an amazing time we had!
We started out the trip at Canal Park in Duluth on Lake Superior which is on e of the Great Lakes for those of you who are not that familiar with this area.

At Canal park is the board walk you can walk out on, and right across the channel is the Wisconsin boardwalk with mini their mini light house also. At the start of the board walk is the lift bridge over the channel to let large ships in.

The beaches are so beautiful with all the rock and driftwood! I grabbed some driftwood to bring home!

The happy newlyweds!!!!!

Duluth in some aspects makes me think of what San Francisco might be like. Because its on hills near the water. The long streets on hills look like San Fran to me! Only colder and full of ice and snow in the winter!

The huge lift bridge.

I hope you enjoy all these pictures, I'll be back soon with another bunch of photos for you!

I'm really back now....

2011-11-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

Well everyone the wedding was amazing! Short and simple. Beautiful and heart felt. Everything we wanted and more. Of course the whole day went by way to quick. Once it started all my stress just melted away. I tried to focus on every moment but inevitably some of them are blurring together. I did enjoy myself! Me and valdo spent time together and have some cherished memories that will last a lifetime. I wish you all could have been there but you will be able to live through it again with me as I share the pictures here. I'm going to break it down into lots of smaller groups.
I thouroughly enjoyed all the time off we had together. But I am also very excited to be back and get back to normal. Weddings are awesome and so our honeymoons but not something I wanted to last forever. It make me happy we are in the calm of the storm now and sailing into the sunny open seas together!
I'll be back soon with pictures and also getting myself onto a blogging schedule again!

Hello!!!!

2011-11-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

Well I am back at work today, but this is still a pre-posted post. I know I am going to have a ton of catch-up for a couple days.
I just wanted to drop by quick and tell you all that some fun things will be coming up soon on the blog!
I will have a new blog design reveal coming up soon!
(I am learning more and more and this design has some cool stuff)
I will be sharing the wedding pics in installments!!!
I will talking about the fun things we saw on our time away.
Also sharing the story of our big day!
I am so excited to share all of this with you all! I hope you all enjoyed the posts while we were gone and I can't wait to see the winner of the giveaway!
Please know it may still be a few days till I'm back to regular posting, but the posts are coming!
Have a fabulous day!

Missing you guys!

2011-11-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Me and Valdo are still away enjoying our time together!I hope you all are enjoying the guest posts and giveaways!

A surprise.....

2011-11-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Guys I was able to jump on real quick and just quick share this ppic that one of my photographers had on fb for me already! I cant wait to see all my pics and share them all with you!!!
There's still more posts scheduled! I will be back next tuesday!
Love you all!

Guest post from Carrie

2011-11-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. My friend Carrie was so sweet to do a guest post for me while I am away! You can check out Carrie's beautiful blogs here: Blume and grow and here: Bubblegum life!
Enjoy everyone!

Hello beautiful people! I am so honored that Val asked me to share a guest post with you today while she is off getting married and doing all that wonderful wedding stuff!!! October has been a crazy month for weather here in San Diego, with extreme heat followed by the typical cool Fall loveliness. So, for my post I thought it would be fun to share what I like to wear on one of the cooler Autumn days here so far this month.....

On this lovely day it just so happens that my sweet friend, Stephanie and I decided to visit a couple thrift stores followed by a visit to this eclectic antique store. Surrounded by all these antiques that showed so much character, we decided this was the perfect place to take some photos of my outfit. My stockings are an Anthro purchase from last year. Who knew that I would end up liking floral stockings with a floral dress?!?

On the other hand I have always loved feathers, so after braiding a few strands of hair it seemed only natural to tie the ends with some leather and add a red feather into the mixture <3

In general I am a big fan of dresses. I find them flattering, comfortable, and easy to wear. This dress is from Target last year. I adore the bright colors and flowing pattern. A favorite combo of mine for this season is a dress with tights and boots. My boots are from Aldo this past Spring. They have been getting a lot of love lately : )

Thanks for taking a peek at this October Girl's version of comfy fun wear! Have a wonderful day!!! <3 Carrie (Photos by Stephanie Kelley, Photoshop Actions by me.)

Halloween

2011-10-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

So it's Halloween everyone! I hope you are having a great day! I hope you dress up and enjoy your selves.
Me and Valdo are on our honeymoon but we are still planning Halloween fun and still intend to dress up. I cannot wait to share my makeup this year with you! To tide you over while I am gone I thought I would share some images from last year with you!

Today is the day!

2011-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today I am joining my life with yours forever more. Today we join our families forever more. Today I am giving all of me to you. Heart, mind, body and soul. Today I make my promise to be yours, to take care of you, to be your best friend. Today in front of God, friends and family we will vow to be faithful in our love and trust of one another forever more. Today six and a half years together starts at day one. Day one of a new adventure together. Today I want to thank you for your love, creativity, passion, friendship, faith, honesty, and charm. Thank you for this day, for all these years together, and for the future before us. I love you.
Te amo chulo con todo mi corazon.

project52

2011-10-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Week 40
Today is my last day as a single woman. Tomorrow Me and Valdo will be husband and wife. It's amazing to think of it that way. Valdo I love you and I cannot wait!

BLOG TUTORIAL AND GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-10-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! Marlene my sweet friend is doing a fun guest post today and a giveaway! You can find marlene and her sweet blog here: My spot of sunshine! I cannot wait to see what you all do with the giveaway! Enjoy!

Hello everyone. Val’s away enjoying her wedding and asked me to post a blog post in her absence. So I’d love to share with you all how I like to add a little something extra to my handbags. AT THE END OF THIS BLOG POST I’LL TELL YOU HOW YOU CAN BE ENTERED INTO MY GIVEAWAY!!!

I always like to go down the jewelry aisle at Michaels, since its right next to the scrapbook section LOL You can pick from a wide array of beautiful charms, pendants and necklace chains or you can use any costume jewelry you already have – even pins. I also have a collection of fun flowers that I’ve picked up from stores like JCPenney, Claires, or the drug store. You can even make some handmade flowers out of felt or crochet them.

A word of caution before I begin! I have to tell you I don’t mind putting safety pins in my bags since they’re not really expensive bags. It also depends on the type of bag you have, some materials show the holes if you’re going to take the items on and off your bag.

Here’s what you’ll need:

handbag
needle nose pliers {I use jewelry pliers but I think if you’re in a pinch you could a regular plier}
safety pins
charms
chains
flowers

This is my bag before. I decided I would add a flower and a strand of charms to it.

I pinned down my flower first. Then I measure the chain and take off some links if it’s too long. I put one end of the chain onto the safety pin and pin it onto one end of the bag loop behind the flower.

Next I take the other end of the strand and attach it to the other loop on my bag. You’ll have to open the loop on the end of the chain with your pliers, attach it onto the metal ring and close it up. Then you can add your charms onto the chain.

And there you go… a pretty, embellished bag!

AND NOW FOR MY GIVEAWAY!!!

I’d love for you guys to embellish your bags.

So take a picture of your finished bag, leave a comment here and leave a link to your picture.

Everyone who participates will get their name in the drawing for a little something pretty from me.
On november 9th a winner will be choosen!
Can’t wait to see what you all come up with and I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Hugs, Marlene

Another wedding

2011-10-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have seen me mention on here a time or two, Wendy my co-worker and friend was planning her wedding right along side me. It was sooo amazing! We were able to shop together, give each other ideas, edit photos together from our engagement shoots, and support each other. Origionally my wedding was to be the week after hers which was super sad because she would have been on her honeymoon. Due to the challenged we faced this summer and us unevitably moving our wedding back she will be able to be there with us just as I was with her! Here's a few shots from her wedding. Enjoy!

A reminder

2011-10-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning all.
I wanted to remind you all that I will be away from the blog for 2 weeks now for the wedding! I have some fun posts scheduled of my own. I also have some GUEST POSTS and GIVEAWAYS set up! You will enjoy it all I think!
You will have a chance to get crafty, win craft supplies and look at some beautiful pictures!
I hope you all enjoy yourselves and good luck to you all on the giveaways!
I will see you in a couple weeks!

Project 52

2011-10-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am at home here.

Amy's birthday

2011-10-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my sister Amy's birthday. If you have read my blog for any length of time at all, then you know how close me and Amy are. We are like two peas in a pod and when we get together all sorts of chaos ensues. We cannot control ourselves together. In fact last Christmas we nearly got kicked out of my brother Christmas concert for being obnoxious. (We know that it was not appropriate to act that way) We just have too much fun together and feed off each others energy. My sister has been amazing to me. She is always there. This summer when things were really bad she was there. Throughout this whole wedding planning she has been there and helping me every step of the way wherever she can. She threw me the most amazing shower a girl could ask for. Amy is talented, caring, funny, and an amazing sister!
Here's me wishing you Amy the very best birthday a girl could ask for! Sorry I can't be there, but I will see you soon. All my love!

Wedding Wednesday

2011-10-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well the day is almost here! 10 more days to go. I can't believe it. It does seem a little surreal to me. I am always the planner, the do-er, the go-getter. Never am I the center of attention at the shin-dig. This will all be new to me. I hope I can control my controlling nods and not worry about whats going on around me that day and just focus on me and Valdo and having fun. I really hope I can. I pray it all goes smoothly even though I know it will not. I am really hoping it's not to cold that day and that there's no rain or snow. I'm excited to see all the projects I have been working on for over a year come together in one spot. I am excited to see all the fabric and colors and textures! I'm excited to see the lights and vintage pieces. I'm excited in general.
Me and Valdo have been together almost 7 years. Thats a long time. I can't be any happier than I am now knowing that 7 years is about to turn into forever! I am excited to see Valdo all dressed up and to do our pictures in the morning! I'm excited to see his face when he see's me in my dress. I have visions that it will be as lovely as the moment we met up for our first date. No one had ever looked at me that way before. With awe and joy. No one had been so impressed before. I know It will be like that.
I'm gonna try and keep myself off the sidelines that night. Usually I am the one watching everyone else dance. I don't like to dance. But I'm going to try and be there in the moment having fun. I'm going to smile and eat dessert. I'm going to play in the photo booth with all my loved ones. I'm going to breathe deep and take notice of the moments that I will cherish forever.
I'm going to say a little prayer in the morning for my grandpa Weir and I'm going to remember everyone who can't be there with us that day. I'm going to laugh and surely I will cry. I will be calm and open. I want to be a like a sponge and absorb all the love and memories that day, to remember the very best day of my life.

Weekend re-cap

2011-10-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went up north for the day to help my grandparents. They live in the country/woods on 80 acres. They have never had heat in their home. Every winter they heat with a wood stove in the basement. So every fall my grandpa goes in the woods and cuts firewood and hauls it home. This is getting harder for him especially since this year he had both hip replaced. Its too much. My uncle has been helping him the past few weekends so this time we deicded it was our turn and it was so fun! Fun and rewarding! I feel good knowing I was able to help them. So here's a few shots from the weekend.

Sorry the trees aren't prettier. All of our fall colors have fallen already due to strong winds and storms we have had. So now we will have leafless boring trees till spring. But Minnesota is still beautiful. I was looking at these pictures and thinking the view alone from my grandparents house is spectacular. I'm reminding myself to not take those things for granted. Yesterday all the sudden it got cold. I wore a jacket and gloves to work this morning.I hope you all had a fun fall weekend.

Road Trip Part 4

2011-10-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

As we headed out of Arizona and into Colorado I managed to see a couple more cool things.

Palm Trees!!!!

Pink cactus..... Who knew? Aren't they adorable?!

I have seen the Rockies before.They are amazing. These are some foothills of the Rockies in Colorado Springs.
While we were there we went to Garden of the Gods! If you ever get the chance to visit I really recommend it!!!

This is balancing rock.

The entrance and the view from balancing rock.

The one in the center farthest back is Pikes peak. It was soooooooooooo large!

Can you spot the kissing camels in this rock formation?

Mile High Stadium in Denver.

Downtown Denver was the only large city we saw that could maybe compare to The Twin Cities and I still don't think this does either.

This trip was amazing! I loved it and I am so glad we got a little break and relaxation before the wedding and after the summer we have had. It was exactly what we needed!
I didn't get many photos on the way back either. Sorry, I just am not into the cornfields that much and that about all it was till we hit Minnesota again. I'm happy to be home and excited to get to work on the remainder wedding stuff we still need to do!

Project 52

2011-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Week 38, Me and Valdo posing under Balancing Rock.