CONGRATULATIONS

to my cousin whitney on her recent engagement.
i am so happy for you.
and i can't wait to hear the proposal story!! :)

photo by FRESHphotography.
(amazing work...see more photos on the site)

sHe dEsiGns

i've been busy! getting lots of requests for blog designs and make-overs. its been a blast. one of my favorite parts is getting to know these wonderful people.

this one is for sarah. she's a fellow Scrap Outside the Box design team member. and how cute are her puppies?? *swoon* check out the full makeover HERE.

this was created for the adorable emjay. while reading my usual blogs i found hers and in the post i read, she said her blog was "under construction." so i e-mailed her and offered to help. she is so much fun, and has a terrific etsy shop. swing by her blog HERE and take a peek!

scrapbook royalty is a non-profit organization that is full of scrappy ladies who volunteer their time and resources for good causes. i got an e-mail from their founder, elena asking for help to make their blog look cute. this is what i came up with for them.
please stop by their blog and website for more information about this warm and giving organization.

this weekend my friend amanda and i are going on a roadtrip!! she invited me along to a wedding in montana. i'm so excited. its always good to "get outa dodge" and you know me...i *heart* a good roadtrip!
look for pictures and updates coming soon!!

have a safe and terrific weekend everyone!
i'll be back next week.
:D

"i think of cupcakes and i smile." ~dana

gosh, its wednesday already, but i'm still on a high from last weekend! i got invited to abi's mum and dad's 25 wedding anniversary party. it was a surprise for her mum anita. her dad, steve planned the whole thing... right down to the exact replica of their wedding cake. *sigh* so romantic and sweet!
it was a great party. :)
i got to hang out with my friends again...first time since the wedding in may. it was good to see abi, nate, brenna, and dana again. amazing how fast times goes by... but with some people, its like i never left. i feel that way with these terrific people. they are so kind and welcoming.

some other great quotes from this weekend:
"i fear for my dryness."
"something long with strawberries."

for those of me that have known me for a long time you will be no stranger to my "little pink notebook." for many years it was a literal notebook that i kept with me all the time and filled with those memorable quotes... the kind that when you hear again take you right back to those moments. people always would say: "get your notebook, shaina...that's a keeper!" and i did keep em. i have 5 notebooks full of such quotes.

now though, i keep them all in the "notebook" tool on my phone. brilliant i say! i totally have it with me all the time, and its even pink! hehe. i'm thinking i'm going to start incorporating some of these terrific quotes into my blog posts.

everyone needs a good laugh! :D

on sunday i also got to hang out with my other group of peeps in the tri-cities: the American Sign Language group. i went to their meeting and then out to lunch with everyone. it had been too long since i had a chance to visit with them, use my sign, and enjoy an all ASL meeting.

i've heard it said that a talk in english touches your mind and intellect... but a talk in ASL touches your heart. that is so true. there is something so moving about this language. something that cannot be explained in spoken or written words. i feel honored to understand this beautiful language.
*sigh*
i've missed it so.

there was an illustration given about sin. ~ god's destination and purpose for us as humans has always remained to same: perfect life. sin is just the detour along the way. our destination has never changed. ~

another thing that happened this weekend:
my friend marta knows a sister that has a business called Liberating Style. its is a clothing /accessory/ purse company for plus-sizes. she is starting up her website soon and needed some images to upload. so marta called me and asked if i'd model for her. i was sooo excited!!
so we got together downtown on friday night after work and got started with some accessories..mostly earrings, glasses, and bracelets.
dude, i was workin' it; top model style! haha! but i totally had a blast.

marta let me have a cd of the images, so i wanted to share some of my favorite. maybe not the best "model" ones, but the ones that i feel good in.

you've always wanted to learn....
and so have i!

its been a dream of mine to learn how to edit photos using things like brushes, frames, masks, and textures. and now here's our chance to learn it for FREE!!

jessica sprague, known for her brilliant teaching and digital skills is offering this free class as part of their 2-year celebration.
click HERE to sign up.
i think its gonna be awesome!!
:D

{things i love} thursday

its that day again...my favorite day of the week. :)
just a small post though. i have some of my stuff to share!

but to begin, my Flickr faves!! *swoon*
1. dont take my kodachrome too...., 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Lone swing sets creep me out., 5. hmmmmm......, 6. 24 june 2009, 7. the art of contemplation, 8. Bench Monday 1, 9. Untitled, 10. life is more fair than we can ever imagine if we are there to live it, 11. Untitled, 12. "Once there was a Princess. ...And she fell in love...", 13. Untitled, 14. Self, 15. Katie and Joy, 16. Untitled

there is also some new goodness up over at thePINKninjas. we're weekly over there!! hop on over and check out everyones "jacked face" and get some fun ideas about how to incorporate that into your scrapping. here is my take:

journaling says: "make friends who love to see you smile...and marry the man who knows what this face means." haha!! ;)

i also finished up another blog re-design!! totally LOVE this one! :) tara contacted me via facebook! i guess word is traveling. one thing she did that i really apreciated is sent me a link to one of her favorite paper lines that had the feel she was going for with her blog. that helped sooo much! here's the paper:

and here is her blog:


not bad eh?? she totally loves it, which makes me sooo happy.
i'm having so much fun designing. :) i've got another 2 in the mix, so stay tuned.

i hope you all have a wonderful thursday.

chris and i went to see transformers 2 last night. a cool thing about our theater here in our tiny town, is that it has a pizza parlor along with the concession stand. and along with regular seating inside, there are booths with tables. how cool is that?? so we called ahead, ordered our pizza and reserved a booth. and the movie was sooo good! even better than i was anticipating. lots of perfectly time comedic relief. brilliant! i enjoyed it, and the time with my baby.

on our anniversary...

i had a surprise little trip and dinner planned for monday night, our anniversary. i packed clean clothes for chris and went to pick him up from the plant. we drove to wenatchee, stopped by his mum and dad's place so chris could change and clean up. then we headed to applebee's and met up with a group of our friends for drinks and food. it was such a nice evening. :) so good to see everyone.

then yesterday my mum and friend sue came to spend the day with me. mum brought our anniversary / house-warming present: a lawn-mower!! just what we needed! and chris got right to work on our new little yard.


i'm eager to see what year 3 together brings... its been an interesting year 2. :)
i love this man, and glad to spend my life with him.

its a special day.

tomorrow the 22nd is our 2 year anniversary. *sigh* i can't believe how fast the time has gone by. i am still so smitten. this boy is my husband...my 'best of friend.'

i'm so glad that chris got off work early today. we could really celebrate together. he even bought me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers....


today (sunday) my canadian family came for a visit. its been too long since we'd seen them...my fault. but i'm glad they came down. chris cooked, and we had a lovely evening. my little sister katrina is just a ball. i'm sad that i can't be more a part of her life. hopefully she'll be able to come for a visit this summer and stay awhile. here are a couple pictures we took tonight.
i also wanted to share some recent re-edits of some of my favorite shots from our wedding. it was such a perfect day.
this was us....2 years ago.






happy anniversary baby... i love you to life!
<3