inspiration sandwich.

My sweet little sister, Chrissy, sent me a surprise in the mail while I was recovering from surgery. I was so excited! (finding fun surprises in the mailbox is one of my ultimate favorite things!!) I was completely surprised when I opened the package and there was a book inside, only because Chrissy's not a big fan of reading. So, I opened up the book and flipped through the pages to find places she had highlighted and made notes of her own that reminded her of us or that would help to lift my spirits. She's such a sweetie!
This book is so much fun, I wanted to share it with all of you! It's definitely quirky, and I love that. It's full of good insights, silliness and creativity. I love the whole thing, but I thought I'd pull out just a couple of parts to share with you....

"Feeling rich is born of simple things: good health, comfort, freedom and laughter along with being well loved."

"Write a love letter on a bed sheet with magic markers" (how fun would that be?)

"When I call for an airline ticket, I might ask if there's a special fare for people wearing raincoats or standing on their head at the airport. Then, the ticket agent and I can laugh together and become partners in finding the best ticket price. (I always fly at a great discount.)"

"Impossible means I'm possible! Plant all your impossible gardens, and see what blooms!"

You can see a preview, here. And you can buy it, here. If you don't want to buy this particular book, you should still take a peek at the site because there are other books and lots of fun items. So, head on over and check it out. (If nothing else now you might know what to possibly get me for Christmas! haha) It's definitely worthy of 5 stars in my opinion! Let me know what you think!

{thanks Chrissy for the sweet surprise, you're the greatest. I LOVE it!}

carnival pictures

I just sorted through the pictures I took at the party on Saturday and I'm a little bummed. I didn't get very good shots. The sun was so bright and then you combine that with the shade of the trees and also being a little too busy to truly realize what you're taking a picture of- well, all I can say is these pictures don't nearly do it justice. The event was incredible. Any event Tiff puts together is incredible! She is so creative and detail oriented.... you need to throw the party of the year, you call her. So, even though I'm less than thrilled with most of these pictures I wanted to show you so you could have a small glimpse of the greatness.


This is the adorable centerpiece Tiff created... LOVE IT!
Below are just a couple of the many sweets from the party.... Mini caramel (or chocolate in this case) apples and adorable train sugar cookies. The sugar cookies were their favor with a train cookie cutter.

Baby Reefy was partying too! Here he is with my hot mama! And mom and the girls at the "ring toss" booth.
Here is the "admission ticket" booth. Isn't it so cute?! The birthday boy loves Sponge Bob so there were some Sponge Bob accents throughout the party. A Sponge Bob jumpy house, a visit by Sponge Bob and this incredible Sponge Bob cake.

Two of my all time favorite girls.... I'm sad the picture of Kirra on the pony is blurred- not sure what happened there. She LOVED those rides! Look how adorable Mekena is... love that crazy balloon hat and that face painting is beautiful!

Here's a sample of two of the booths... they were too cute! The refreshments booth had the drinks and the mini apples.



Again, the two cutest girls at the party! Can you see a little more up close how incredible that face painter was? I love the idea of doing a princess by painting a crown on the forehead... brilliant!

So... there's a little touch of the coolest carnival party ever! It was great.... I was only a little sad because I really wanted to eat and eat, but because I was sick all I ate was a little fruit. (And of course apples are fruit, even if they are covered in chocolate!)

What do you think? You want your kid to have the coolest carnival party ever? Call Tiff!

carnivals & contests.

Whew! These past couple of days have been crazy! Between being sick, party planning, and working... I'm worn out!

Tiff had an event yesterday. A 5 year old birthday party. And of course, it's not just any 5 year old birthday party when you have the clients she does. It was a full carnival party and it turned out fabulous! Full of cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones, mini caramel apples, petting zoo, pony rides, games galore and more! (haha I rhymed! Can you tell I'm a little loopy?!) I'll post some pictures soon!

Now, I can no longer say I never win anything. Look below to see the wonderful blanket I won- how adorable is that!!! I entered the contest here and was so pleased to hear I was the lucky winner!

Blanket and photo courtesy of Star Looks Boutique

How was your weekend?

cupcake love.

I LOVE CUPCAKES!

I do.

They've been my new love lately... really. Everything about them is just so darn cute. I mean, honestly, have you ever looked at a cupcake and thought "that is sooo not cute"? NO, I think not! You look at them and think, "Oh my, look how cute that is!". Ok, or maybe that's just me because I've been having this cupcake fetish for a while now.

I saw a giant cupcake pan at Target, look.

I want that. Scratch that, I NEED that!

Now, you try to tell me this isn't cute. You can't, I know- because it is SO CUTE!

(thanks capital cupcakes for the CUTE photo)

Saucy over at "bloggedy blog blog blog" tortured me with her cupcake pictures, I almost licked my computer screen they looked so good!

I very well, may possibly need to be driving one of these around soon... with the price of gas and all, it seems like the economical thing to do. No?!

I just found the cupcakery blog, you know they've got to be full of cute sweetness!

And to add another apron to the collection, I most definitely need a cupcake cutie similar to the one below. (and you can buy it here.)

Oh the cuteness overload... what's a girl to do?!

Home Favorites on Friday

I'm a fan of Tip Junkie so I thought it'd be fun to participate in this "home tour" she's doing and share with you 10 of my favorite things in my house. Those of you who know me understand I have a very difficult time with favorites... like when you get those forms you have to fill out that ask you questions like "What's your favorite treat?", "What's your favorite color?", "What's your favorite book?", or "What's your favorite movie?", I always feel stumped and nervous- like if I don't answer right then there will be grave consequences. Silly, I know, just one of my quirks. So here's a few of my favorite things in my house today:

#1: Our table- it's a tall square, dark wood table and we love it. It's earned a few scratches and dings with the moves but it'll be around for a while so I'm sure there will only be more. This is one of the first things Jeff and I bought that was "grown up stuff" haha Before we bought this most of our furniture was all hand-me-downs which are great... but we loved being able to buy this. Even if it did take 16 stores to find it! (and the beautiful roses are a get well gift from Jeff's mom and dad, I love them, thank you!)

#2: the kitchen-

Unfortunately, who knows how much longer it'll be "our kitchen" but for now, I'm still loving it. I love the tall cupboards and how much space we have for storage. I also love that it opens up to the living room so that I can be in the kitchen, and still be part of the other things going on. (And I'm a fan of stainless appliances)

#3: the Kitchen Aid

I've only had for a short while, but I absolutely love it! It is so easy to use and the red makes me smile!

#4: my project desk-

If my whole office/craft room was complete then it would definitely be on my favorites list... but it's not quite there, so this is part of it that is my favorite. I love all of the work space this desk gives me to work on and the sides are all shelves, it's wonderful! Not to mention we got it from Pier ! at a great price, on clearance because of some silly chip on the corner. (thank you sharpie for fixing that!)

#5: my lovely lamp-

This was a love at first sight experience! (And another clearance buy, this one from "Home Goods") I just love it, and I knew I had to have it for my space and it's perfect!

#6: the Love-Sac

Although it may not be the prettiest piece of furniture, it's comfort outweighs the rest. It's one of those places you can't sit unless you have 20 minutes or more to relax, it sucks you in and you wont want to leave! We love having this, especially on movie nights.

#7: our signs & pictures-

We have a few vinyl and wood signs around our house, I love the personality they add. And of course pictures are a must, to me, they make a house a home. This is one of my favorites- it has our name and then it's just a picture of us under. (the lighting is not so great, but you get the idea)

#8: Live the life...

I absolutely love this as well. This is one of my favorite quotes and my mom bought this little piece to hang on my wall so I could always see it and be reminded to go out and live my dreams. (bad lighting again, sorry)

#9: my black stand

This is absolutely one of my favorite things ever! My sweet Jeffy made this for me for Christmas last year. I love it! I was originally going to put it out in the living room, but he thought it would be good by the bed. I thought I'd give it a try there, and haven't moved it. So, it's become a little bit of a "collector" but that's part of the reason I bought those red canvas bins for the bottom, to hide it's collections! This will always be a favorite for me!

#10: Guest Bathroom-

I know that might sound silly, but I found a set and I loved it. I usually don't really buy sets, but this one was a must. (And if I remember right, it was on clearance!) I loved the colors and design, and it matches the piece of art perfect. And that art is one of my favorites ever!

(oops, guess I could've tucked the tags under before snapping the picture.)

Thanks for visiting! I'd love to see some of your favorites!

Pleasantly Surprised

When I first saw previews come out for "Mama Mia" to hit the big screen, I thought it looked good but wasn't wanting to rush to the theater to wait in line. When my mom was visiting in August, we went and saw it- let's just say I'd rush to the theater to see it again! I loved it! I wanted to get up and sing and dance the entire time- I know, I'm a dork! It was full of fun, adventure, laughter & tears (yes, I cried.), friendship and discovery. Although I wouldn't give Pierce Brosnan a gold medal for his vocal talent I do admire he actually did his own singing. And the rest of the cast- I thought they were great! I give it 4.75 stars (just short of 5 because I didn't find the gay scenes necessary). If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for? And trust me, once you do, you'll have ABBA stuck in your head for weeks!

I heard mixed reviews about "The Host" so I thought I'd give it a shot. I started reading with really low expectations, and although it took me a while to get into it, I ended up being pleasantly surprised. It doesn't make it on the list of favorites, but it was entertaining nonetheless. Like Meyer's other books, the story line is pretty "out there" and off the wall. I was confused for a while trying to sort out in my head what voice was talking from what body, but I just went with it and found it enjoyable. It's a simple read, well, minus the confusion of who was who. Language is clean, so that's always a plus. And I'm a fan of happy endings. I wouldn't run out and grab it off the shelves if you don't have it, but if you happen upon a copy I'd give it a try. I'd probably give it 3.5 stars give or take...

What about you out there? Anything you'd write home about?

did you know today is

2 for 1

Jeff and I had a marvelous getaway this past weekend. We stayed in a place where they brought us breakfast, lunch and dinner- we had a great window view, the people were so friendly, and all we had to do was press the little red button (the "easy" button) when we needed them. Okay.... so maybe it wasn't a marvelous getaway but the rest was true. We were in the hospital this weekend, I ended up having to get my appendix and gallbladder removed. The pain started last Tuesday morning, when I woke up Wednesday and the pain was still there I tried to make a Dr. appointment but my doctor had to leave early that morning for a meeting so they said I could come in at 7am the next morning. I did and she suspected it was appendicitis and sent me to get a CT scan. The results from the scan showed my appendix was thickened and a little larger than normal, but nothing to rush to the hospital about. Towards the end of the day the pain really amped it up so I decided it would be best to go to the hospital and figure it all out. Jeff came home early from work and "our weekend getaway" began.

After a long process I was admitted to the hospital and they decided to send me to have another CT scan Friday morning. The doctor came to talk about the results and I was pretty shocked. He asked how I was feeling, where's the pain- all of those questions. Then he asked "Do you know you have stones in your gallbladder?" and I just kind of looked at him like "Hey doc, I think you're talkin to the wrong girl. I'm here for my appendix, not my gallbladder" Come to find out, yes- my appendix was enlarged and probably at the early stages of appendicitis. And I had 12 stones in my gallbladder so that would need to be removed as well. Hence- the
2 for 1 weekend special! I'm amazed at the progress in medicine and the things they can do. I have 4 small slits- 3 on my abdomen and 1 in my belly button, that's it, and both my appendix and gallbladder are gone! The pain is not so great, but I can't imagine if I had two large cuts across my whole stomach what it would be like. I hate the hospital because I'm a baby and I get really nervous... but I love it even more. It's great to know so many people are getting help, either to heal or to at least feel some sort of comfort in the process.


My mom, dad, and little Chrissy sent these to me in the hospital- a beautiful mix of flowers. Look how gorgeous that gerbera is!

I'll be laying low for the next week- so now I'm trying to think of some things that I can work on while "laying low". Thanks so much to all my family and friends for the support and love. And of course my sweet hubby who slept on the stinky hospital chair and stayed by my side through it all- you're the greatest, I love you!

happiness from the golden arch

Mekena and Kirra had dance today. Tiff said they listened so well they were treated to yummy McFlurries after class. Mekena summed it all up when she said...

"Mom, this is McLicious!"

A gal after her aunt's heart, addicted to ice cream! yummy!

expect the unexpected

Planned on spending some of my day laying here:


Instead, I spent some of my day laying here:


I am grateful to not be fearing this anymore, but sad for the people who are.

And I'm remembering the day we experienced 7 years ago.

I can't believe it's been 7 years. I remember getting into Barb's car and driving to school, she was telling me about how "some plane crashed into a building". That was all we knew at that point in the day. And then the news started overpowering, and the shock set in. It was a day I will never forget. I was glued to the TV for days on end, unsure of what to do next. It was amazing to me to see the flags everywhere, I loved that. I loved how the people in our nation bonded together in a time of tragedy to build each other up. We wept together, worked together, and united as the country we were meant to be.

queen for a day.

My birthday was wonderful- no, wonderful doesn't even describe it! It was fabulously incredibly awesomely wonderfully grand. Really, it was. Jeff is so good to me, I'm the luckiest wife in the world!

Saturday he pampered me like a queen, honestly, he made me a crown and everything! (isn't he so stinkin' cute?!) It was a day full of surprises!

First stop was to a little salon to get a manicure- not only did he take me to get a manicure, but he sat there and waited patiently the entire time! And then the pampering continued when he took me to get a massage. (I'm really not saying this to brag... just to emphasis how extraordinarily blessed I am!)

After all the servants pampered me, we went to dinner so they could wait on me even further. (haha I'm totally kidding!) We ate at "Kobe", scrumptious! The service was unbelievably amazing, the food was phenomenal, and the company- well besides being ridiculously good looking, was simply joyful! (My face did turn all sorts of red when the staff came out banging away on the giant gong. They sang "Happy Birthday" and some other Japanese song while they put a giant hat on my head (note: hat not pictured below, and for a very good reason.)Although I was red and embarrassed, it was quite fun.)

Even though I didn't think my belly could find room for anything else- I was quickly reminded I ALWAYS have room for ice cream. (or frozen old fashion custard in this case) Of course, served in a waffle cone with tons of sprinkles. Sprinkles make it not only yummy to eat, but fun to eat too- isn't it so cute?! (not me, just the sprinkles)

Sunday (my actual bday) was great as well. Another day of being pampered, which really is a girls dream come true! (being treated like a queen, day after day- doesn't get much better than that!)

We spent the afternoon and evening over at the Packer's with this cute group of little ones:

and some other friends as well. We ate a yummy dinner and Mekena and Rand made me my very own chocolate birthday cake. All the cute little munchkins helped me blow out the candles...

After another fun filled night, I was partied out! Jeff and I went home and had a quiet night, opened up a couple more presents and watched a movie. It was an unforgettable birthday!

Thank you to all of my family and friends who made me feel so special. And a special thanks to my sweet husband for treating me like a queen. I love you all!

Grandparents

GRANDPARENTS
Few can bring the warmth

We can find in their embrace,

And little more is needed to bring love.

Than the smile on their face.
They've a supply of precious stories,

Yet they've time to wipe a tear,

Or give us reasons to make us laugh,

They grow more precious through the years.
I believe that God sent us Grandparents

As our legacy from above,

To share the moments of our life,

As extra measures of His love.
~Author Unknown~

Happy Grandparents Day to all of the wonderful grandparents in the world and a special happy day to my sweet grandparents. Jeff and I are so lucky to have each of you in our lives. You have given us love and support, yummy food and full bellies, testimonies and strength, hugs and warm smiles, and happiness and friendship. We are so thankful to have you in our lives, and we hope you each have a fabulous day! We love you!

(and thanks to my sweet family for all of the birthday wishes so far. It's already been a great birthday!)

friday's favorite

Making this yumminess:

with this greatness:

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(I think we should think of a more clever name, any ideas?)

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 6-ounce package Craisins sweetened dried cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips (-I used chips)

Preheat over to 375* F. Using an electric mixer (**or your new favorite, amazingly wonderful red Kitchen Aid), beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in Craisins and white chocolate chunks (-or chips). Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes (-I tried 9min. my first batch and they were more than golden. Mine looked best between 6-7 minutes) or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

{**Thanks mom and dad for my new favorite toy, I love my Kitchen Aid!!!}

Breaking Dawn

I finished this last week or so, and I have to be honest, I'm not quite sure what I think. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of "Twilight" but this last book was possibly a little too out there for me. (Not that starting with vampires and werewolves wasn't out there enough...) It just didn't give me the same "I have to read, I can't wait to see what happens!" feeling, it was more like "I'm not sure I want to know what happens, and I'm getting a little bored with all the vampire names and people, but I should probably see how it ends." No offense to any of you who loved it (or to Ms. Meyer), because I'm sure most of you did.... Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood this time around.

I'm not even sure how to review this book... it wasn't awful by any means, it just wasn't soo incredibly fabulous either. So, maybe this time around I'll leave the review up to all of you, so now it's your turn to tell me what you think.

Oh, and by the way, have you heard about "Midnight Sun"? I hadn't until today, here's some info on it for any who are interested.

dog nap

I just got off the phone with my sister and had to share this (and mostly document it for myself) because I found the following conversation so amusing!

Mekena (my 4 1/2 year old niece... which she clearly reminded me about earlier tonight, telling me she turned 4 1/2 three days ago. genius.) : "Mommy, can I take a dog nap?"

Tiff (my beautiful older sister): "Um, sure. What's a dog nap?"

Mekena: "It's like a cat nap, only a little longer because I'm more tired."

Winner winner chicken dinner!

(okay, what's that from?! It popped into my head, and I don't know why? anyways...)

We have a winner of the giveaway folks! Drawn at random, the winner is Mal who said:

"I am also a HUGE fan of music! i found your giveaway on tip junkie and i am glad i did, not only for the giveaway but that it had to do with music! i also enjoyed One More Chance. what a great song. tell your husband to keep up the great work.-Mal"

Thanks to everybody for entering and checking out my hubby's tunes. He changes them up frequently so keep heading over to his spot to take a listen to his newest hits.

Congrats Mal, email me at amyandjeffmartinez {at} yahoo {dot} com with your information and I'll get your prize in the mail.