on moses lake

On Saturday evening Chris and I joined our friends Lindsey and Phillip for the Moses Lake Bluegrass Festival.  We sprawled out on the grass in front of the open air amphitheater and enjoyed a fiddle or two, the bango (my favorite) and a young girl with a voice like Alison Krauss.

It was a perfect summer afternoon...

Its not really our style of music all the time, but it was enjoyable for an afternoon of live music.  Grant County (here in Washington state) is amazing for hosting all sorts of free concerts and events during the summer.  I'm glad we took the opportunity and made a summer memory with friends.

What did you do this weekend?

rolling in the deep

Here is a little confession for you:  I am a huge Adele fan.  And her newest album just blows me away.  Her first single off the new album is "Rolling in the Deep."  Amazing beat and catchy melody.  Its a favorite "driving in the car with the windows down" song for sure!

But lately I have stumbled across some amazing covers of her song, and I wanted to share a couple today.


This is an a capella cover where the singer does all the sounds for the whole song using just his voice.  AMAZING!!


This is the super cute and super talented Maddi Jane. Love this video!


And here is Linkin Park doing the cover live. My favorite part is when the audience sings along. Chills!


This is the ever fabulous John Legend. I love the tone of his voice.


And to finish up, the amazing Adele herself. This is the very first video I saw of her doing anything from her newest album and its still a favorite. On a windy rooftop, with just a lapel mic and just a guitar for accompaniment. She blows me away!

Do you love Adele? What is your favorite song??

Project Three Hundred and Sixty Five

Here is this last week in pictures.

I thought I'd do something a little different with today's post and do a day-by-day explanation of what each pictures is from this week, just to mix it up a bit.

Day 29:  This is my make-up bag.  Its a little dirty, I admit.  But it is very clear that I am a fan of Avon.Mark products.  My favorite is the On The Dot eye color compact.  Shimmery, long-lasting color in a variety of "Shaina-approved" shades. ;) And their foundation is lovely.

Day 30:  We have been waiting for the new Fair To Midland album to come out.  Chris got tipped at work for picking up extras so he went to Hastings after work and picked it up.  We listened to it all the way through 3 times the day we got it.  We like to call the music style: folk metal.  Its hard musically, but lyrically its so whimsical and full of great storytelling.  LOVE IT!

Day 31:  Chris and I started to paint my office.  I have been planning the concept for my office space for awhile (see this post from a year ago!).  I got the shower curtain and its been cut and turned into curtain panels, and I color matched them to buy this paint.  2 walls are this purple color, and the other two we're doing grey...hopefully stripes!

Day 32:  The finished blog design I created.  See full details HERE.

Day 33:  Sunday after the meeting we went in service with the Russian group in our congregation.  They were working on their convention invitation campaign and taught us a presentation in Russian.  This was Chris' first door doing his Russian presentation.  We had fun!

Day 34:  I woke up at 6am to a thunder and lightning storm that turned into a downpour by the time I got to work that day.  It was hard to get a good picture from work, but there was sooo much rain!

Day 35:  This is the set-up at our Kingdom Hall where I do ASL interpreting.  We have our TV, DVD player and hats!!  :)

a new design

I am so excited to share my newest blog design with you.  I had so much fun working on this one.  The lovely Felecia   (who I know from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out) gave her friend MaryC my email and we got right to work creating an online space that would feel like home for Mary.  She answered the questions in my little questionnaire so I could get a feel for her design style and what she was looking for.  And this is what I designed just for her.

Mary was looking for something rich in color, that felt a little distressed but homey.  She wanted a place she would feel comfortable spilling her guts.  She sent along a file of her actual signature which I had fun incorporating.  And since I couldn't find any social networking icons that match the feel I was going for, I created some myself.  I think they are my favorite part!

Click through to see her full blog and read her two-part story explaining the thought process behind her brand new blog.  A Full Life with an Empty Nest.

Thanks so much Mary for choosing me for your blog design needs.

For more info on my blog design work click HERE.  I'd love to create a space just for you too!

another installment in The Hair Diaries

My hair is getting soooo long!  And I have made a deal with Chris that I won't cut it this year (aside from the necessary trim).  So in an effort to, well keep entertained I guess (lol), I've been searching online for some fun hair tutorials to try.

Elsie of A Beautiful Mess had one recently called:  "How to Style a Messy Bun."  It looks super cute and easy enough, so yesterday I decided to give it a try.

 I probably would make it "messier" next time, but I love how the purple peeks out at all the right places.
I also recently purchased a copy of the Twist&Pin ebook from Hair Romance, which is full of tutorials for some of the cutest and unique hair styles I've seen in awhile.  So as I try them I'll probably photograph and share the results.

What tutorials have you tried lately??

things I love thursday

I haven't done one of these features on my blog since April!  I think its about time.  :)

To begin, here is a collage of my favorite images from the web lately.  I find myself being drawn to rich and vibrant colors lately...

1. Botanicals VII, 2. Not available, 3. Not available, 4. Not available, 5. Not available, 6. yesterday's anthro loot  (the "not available" links can be found in my "beauty" Pintrest board!)

And now some of my favorite links and things from around the web:

ONE

A new book called "I Am Her" full of words like these:

TWO

Amy Seeley's new song "Highlights of Owls" available in this free download!

THREE

I totally enjoyed this post by photographer Tara Whitney where she shared her images from her shoot with the lovable Amy Tangerine.  I adore the feel of the images and the story they tell about this woman without any words.  Tara has a talent for that...

FOUR

Future Me.  Write yourself a letter to be delivered on a future date.  I think this is such a fabulous concept.  My senior year of high school we did this in English class and our teacher mailed us the letters we wrote the next summer, a year after we graduated.  It was so neat to read what was important to me then, and how my life and gone on the path I wanted and how it had differed.  And this electronic method seems easy and unique.  I'm gonna give it a try. :)

FIVE

The ever wonderful Kyla Roma shared Marie Forleo on her blog a few days ago and I have since been spending spare time watching all of her videos.  She has a great personality that shines through in her words and videos, and the wisdom she shares is just what I need right now in my life.  Here is my favorite video so far:



She's fabulous. :)

So, there is my {things I love} Thursday for you this week.  What have you found lately??  I'd love to see your links and/or thoughts in the comments.  And hopefully I'll make this at least a monthly feature again here on the blog.  Its fun, and its a great way for me to keep track of things that inspire me.

Project Three Hundred and Sixty Five

This is week 4 of our 5th year of marriage in pictures.

I am loving this project...even if only for the perspective.  For example:  the beginnings of the house next to us in the first picture.  The house only needs a roof and basic construction is finished.  The street we live on looks so different now then it did when we first moved in.  Its interesting to look back on pictures and think of how some things change, and how others stay the same.

We bought some amazing olive oil for when my parents came to visit over the weekend and ever since we've been dipping bread in the oil and some vinegar for a snack.  Yummy!  It was so nice to have my parents here for dinner and a visit.  I wish we lived closer to them and could see them more often.

This week was also my best friend Kelly's 5 year anniversary, so the second picture was from when we were buying them an anniversary card.  I can't believe how fast the time goes by....  Seems like just yesterday I was sitting beside her on her wedding day.

Aside from still feeling sick a little bit, it was a good week.  The sun has been out and its been feeling like summer.  Enjoying sandals, painted toe-nails and the sun up till almost 9.  :)

something I miss

Today I saw this video on Ali Edward's blog that made me miss scrapbooking soooo bad!  Most of my supplies are still all packed in boxes in our garage because I want to paint my office before I unpack.  So I literally haven't created a page since November 2010!

The thought behind this video moved me:  Make Everyday a Scrapbooking Adventure.  The lovely Shimelle Laine is the voice behind and the creator of it.  She inspires me.  I want to get back to living my life this way.  I miss sitting down to "glue bits of paper to other bits of paper, hoping to do so in an aesthetically pleasing way."  I want to scrapbook again!

Here is the video.  Watch and enjoy.


There are two things that she said that really struck me... so much that I wrote them down and want to add them here.

"Make a conscious decision to look at everything, even the most mundane events as something that has meaning...to give whimsy to things that can be plain and to mix this up just enough so that the day never becomes entirely routine." 

"Scrapbooking with intent can make you creatively free while helping you strive for your best personal experience in life." 

Yes!  And Yes!!!

So, with hopes of getting back to this part of who I am, I am going to paint and unpack my office and then create.  And then share on my blog.  My blog has been missing pretty paper, don't you think?  ;)

Project Three Hundred and Sixty Five

Here are days 15-21 in pictures.

Included in this week was our 2011 District Convention which focused on the theme "Let God's Kingdom Come."  It was a long weekend with lots of driving back and forth, but the encouragement was just invigorating.  Chris and I have enjoyed talking about what we learned and how we're going to implement things into our life.  I thoroughly enjoyed the dramas...Saturday was my favorite.

Once we got home, though, we both got super sick.  Like either in bed or by the toilet sick.  Its been a long time since I was that sick, and I missed service and work.  But in the meantime I have another blog design job in the works which is keeping me busy.

So that's been my last week.  And we've managed to take a picture every day.  :)

sharing with you

Today I felt like it was time for a new desktop background.  I searched through my "words" pinboard to find a quote I really loved and added it to one of my favorite pictures from my red-hair shoot.  And this is what I created.

I thought maybe you'd like to download and use it on your own computer, so I'm sharing.  :)  Click HERE for all the size downloads.

Let me know what you think!

Project Three Hundred and Sixty Five

Here is week 2 in pictures!

Things that make me smile right now:

• So You Think You Can Dance 
• planning for the convention this weekend
• catching up on news at the "salon" with Hannah and Lyndsey 
• sunflower seeds
• conversations in service

How was your week??  

See details about the pictures here: http://goo.gl/dBpjD

red hair

Once again it was time to visit "Hannah's Home Salon" for touch ups on my hair.  And since I so completely LOVED how it turned out last time, we decided to just do the same thing again.  Red and purple hair, baby bangs and fun layers.  And I got my eyebrows waxed for the first time ever. :)  This makes me so happy!

Its BLOG HOP time!!

It is the 3rd Anniversary for Scrapbooking from the Inside Out and in honor of that they're having a Blog Hop.  Being on the design team for SFTIO was a highlight of my 2010 and I'm so excited that they've included me in the hop today!

Now if you've arrived at my blog and are just now hearing of today's HOP, please jump back to Melissa's blog. That's stop number one! There are some amazing prizes and giveaways available.  You do not want to miss out!!

In honor of SFTIO, I wanted to share one of my favorite layouts from my term on the design team.  It was from the month of ENLIGHTENMENT.

So maybe you're new to this blog, or Scrapbooking from the Inside Out in general and you're wondering... "what's it all about?"  Scrapbooking from the Inside Out is more than just a kit club.  Their emotion-based kits encourage a deep self exploration with a theme each month that pushes you to scrapbook about yourself and the things that are important to you.  And on the forum you'll find a warm, welcoming community who share daily triumphs and struggles, and scrapbooking challenges that match that month's theme.  And even if you don't have a kit, you can participate and scrap right along with us.  We'd love to have you!

This month's theme is INDEPENDENCE.  Swing by and check out the inspiring layouts and projects created by the current and newly announced Design Team.  They'll also each be sharing a layout in the rest of this hop!

So make sure you keep on HOPING!  Your next stop is Pamela's blog:  HERE.
And keep going till you hit the Scrapbooking from the Inside Out Blog.  There will be lots to see along the way!  Enjoy!

Masquer's Theater

For the last few months Chris and I have been hard at work with the most recent play at Masquer's Theater called "The Doctor in Spite of Himself."  Its a seventeenth century comedy by Moliere (see details here).  Chris played the young man in love with the daughter who fakes loosing her speech so she won't have to marry someone else.  And I was stage manager on this performance.

This is the 3rd production Chris and I have been a part of, and its something we really love to do.  The Masquer's Theater is an intimate local theater in Soap Lake, and when we're involved in a play it feels like our second home.  The Doctor was our favorite so far...we loved the cast and crew and just had fun every performance.  The play is full of subtle humor and some laugh-out-loud moments.  So that was my other job: to sit in the audience and laugh.  :D  I love laughing... and even after seeing it so many times, I still genuinely laughed at the jokes.

I also took pictures one of the performances, so I wanted to share them here.

I made Shutterfly books for everyone and they should be here tomorrow or the next day.  I am eager to see how they turned out.

the last performance was last Sunday the 26th.  We're both a little sad its over, but I am eager for a bit of a break.  It has kept us so busy this last month!  This winter there will be a production of "The Wizard of Oz!"  I think Chris would make a fabulous Cowardly Lion, don't you??  :D

So now you know a little bit more about my life "offline."  Hope you enjoyed the pictures.