I should have posted this a LONG time ago...

AJ LOVES this video! I wish I could make a video of him watching this video! :)

The it's Friday, I'm in love series...

Brought to you by Summer at B is for...

Our new bedroom set! Except the nightstands aren't in yet so our old ones are still in there. I found a different bed that I loved but I hated the dresser and nightstands and of course they didn't have any other options in that stain. And Steve liked this one as well which was good. And it was on sale. And I got free delivery with a competitor coupon. Score!

My bear friend sitting on the bed is named Bearister and Steve gave him to me when we were dating. I sleep with him every night curled up in my arms when I am at home. I miss sleeping with him when we are traveling. I thought the name was pretty clever, since Steve is a barrister! ;)

And the beautiful quilt was made by my mom. We have had it since October but finally it is not drowning out the bed! It is called Coffee or Teal. Yeah, my mom is clever too. Although, it took me a month to get it... One day it just dawned on me.

My new specs! Aren't they super cute? I never wore my glasses before- now I don't want to wear my contacts! They are Kate Spade. Sorry the picture is so crappy (taken with my iphone) and my hair is a mess... That little one next to me is cute too.
I don't know what I'd do all winter without Aveda Hand Relief and Foot Relief. I bought the gift set for myself. I deserve it. ;)
And Paul Mitchell Spray Wax! LOVE! This stuff instantly picks up limp locks and adds a little pow! Only drawback it makes your hands so sticky. I use this whenever we go out at night and my hair looks lame all day and after this stuff is in it looks like I just walked out of the salon and had a pro (K-dog!) do it. I could have used it before I took the above picture! Ha ha!

Oranament Swap

Micaela over at Dolce Vita is hosting an Ornament Swap (sorry, sign up ended Nov. 7) which I immediately signed up for. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone gets! I think I may have to make one for my partner, the awesome American Bridget (Jones). I look forward to getting to know her better! She can't turn down a pomegranate martini. Sounds familiar... Definitely check out Micaela's blog. She is a girl obsessed with mail. And her mail is creative both inbound and outbound. I like that about her. :)

The it's Friday, I'm in love series

Well, it's Friday so it's time to tell you what I am in love (and not so much in love with at the end...) with this week...

1. Bloggers uniting for a blogger friend and her family...

Remember Summer? She is this awesome, awesome gal over at b is for.... brown, breathe & believe. Her daddy is down in Louisiana while she is in NYC. He has stage 3 lung cancer and was in remission but did some cautionary brain radiation which has effected him worse than all the chemo and chest radiation combined. What's worse is that the oil spill left him without a job and he lives quite a ways from the hospital where he has his treatments. So Summer started 'A Dollar and a Card for Daddy' to help cheer him up and ease the stress of paying for gas to go to treatments. She is a good soul and I pray for a speedy recovery for her daddy and her heart. I sent my card of to Butch yesterday with a fiver because it's the least I could do. Head over to her site to get his address to send him a card and a dollar! Make his (and her) day!

2. Jeans & sweatshirt weather!! I love the 60s- degrees that is!

3. Best of... in our local free paper, City Pages...

This annual survey cracks me up and makes me wonder. My favorite local restaurant, Basil, took the #1 spot for both 'Best New Restaurant' and 'Most Creative Cuisine'. Yum, yum, I love me some Basil! It doesn't hurt that we are friends with the owners and their daughter is one of our #1 babysitters. There is continuously one restaurant (uhmmm... 2510... uhmmm) on there that places in different categories that I just don't understand Wausau's fascination with. I think they are offering their customers a percentage off if they vote for them. Anyway, they have some funny categories on there like 'Grossest Bathrooms' where Wal-Mart tied for 2nd with porta potties. Hey, I won't go to the bathroom at Wal-Mart...

4. Filling my etsy shop with more to come. Go visit, NOW!! :)

5. An organized office!!

I cleaned and organized all my paper and whatnots this past weekend! Yay!! It was out of control in here.

6. Polito's Pizzeria's Garlic Knots...

Hell yeah. And after Wednesday night's gorge fest I will not eat another one for 3 months. Not because I don't want to but because of P90x. Which starts on Sunday. Which scares the bijimminies out of me. But I keep thinking of my super svelte bod in 3 months time and I will persevere!

7. It's Artrageous in Wausau this weekend.

This is my favorite weekend in this town! Tonight we will be hosting a table at the Woodson Art Museum's dinner after the preview of the 35th Annual Birds In Art Exhibit. We have two very talented artists at our table that I will tell you all about next week! Saturday I am going to the Festival of Arts with my mom after the Farmer's Market (gotta stock up the veggies for next week!). Sunday we are going to the Rib Mountain Fire Station Open House which AJ is pumped for. Nice little weekend, huh? Not sure if we'll get to Bed Bath & Beyond or Home Depot though. Don't know if we'll have any time. Hahaha...

Oh and one thing I don't love so much... Blogger's annoying spacing thing has got me frustrated!

The it's Friday, I'm in love series

Summer

1. PRESCHOOL: Well, I am always in love with this little guy- not just on Fridays!! But I am glad that he has started school, is loving it and I am getting back awesome reports about my little man.

2. Taylor Kitsch/Tim Riggins: Best thing to hit TV in a long time. I love Friday Night Lights, his character and mmmmm, just him! I am going through FNL withdrawal right now... How could you not think this guy is F-I-N-E, fine?!?!

3. Booking an Art Studio Tour trip with my mom in October. We're going to areas of Wisconsin I have never explored before. First up is the Fall Fresh Art Tour in towns along the Mississippi River like Stockholm and Lake Pepin and then we are heading a little farther east (but not too far) for the Falling Leaves Art Studio Tour in towns like Fairchild, Augusta and Fall Creek. Never heard of them? Not surprised, they are tiny! Well, you may have heard of Pepin because if you were a Little House On the Prairie nut (I was NOT.) it is where Laura Ingalls Wilder was born. Little factoid for you. I am really looking forward to hitting Abode in the town of Stockholm. My mom bought me a cool wall plaque from there last year for my birthday last month.

Art by Gail Pommerening

4. My paper order! Pretty papers came this evening and I can't wait to use them! I am in love with plaids, paisleys, and surfboards. Never been surfing but I am kind of obsessed with surfboards. For a long time, like 10 years... I know, I am weird. Love these that came- Oh the colors! :)

Paisley Parade by ki memories

Rusted Sun collection from Fancy Pants Design

Brooke Line from Crate Paper

There you have it. My first Friday Love Series post. Happy weekend to you all! We have plans to do... NOTHING! Don't you love those weekends too?

Happy Anniversary Steve!

At our first house with our dog, Cosmo. Sadly Cosmo is no longer with us... :(

In my Uncle Ron's sweet 1930's Ford Phaeton

8 years ago today!

I love you with all my heart!

Ethel Mermaid

I was asked to do a piece for an art auction at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau. I sell my cards in the gift shop there. It is called Just for the Art of It! and every artist is given a 12"x12" canvas for the Art by the Foot grid (last year's grid is on there). You can do whatever you want so I had a mermaid in my head. Before you think 'Wow, Ethel Mermaid is so clever! How'd she think of that?' I didn't think of it... Sesame Street did and I thought it was too funny to pass up.

My parents were on Sanibel Island, FL (the shelling capital of America) about 2 months before we were so I asked my mom to look for some purple scallop shells for the bra top and some other small shells for the base of the painting. So I used sandpaper along the bottom, found sea glass and tiny shells, acrylic paint for the water background and plants, glitter paper (yes, I punched out all those holes and glued them on... it took me around 4 hours!!) for the tail and other little fishies, paper for her body, a real starfish that my mom bought while in FL, seed beads for the necklace and fishy bubbles, embroidery floss for her hair and small silk flowers for her hair and for the plants. Overall, I thought it was pretty fun. Very kitschy! I almost didn't want to give it up!!

The auction was this past Friday night. However, I didn't post about it until now because all the pieces are supposed to remain anonymous until after they are auctioned off. I didn't go because I didn't want to see how much my piece would go for. The women that run the event (Katie & Jessica from the CVA), said that my piece was 'so you' which is really true, so anyone at the event who knows me would have easily picked out my piece. I had fun making it and pretty much did it the day before and day it was 'due'. Good thing I knew what I was doing in my head!

Mother's Day Gift

One thing you might hear me complain about is that I never get a handmade gift from my kiddo because I am always there helping him with it... Well, while we were in Florida we stopped (my mother in law, AJ and I) at a little shop that we thought was going to be a gift shop but it was a craft/quilt shop. They had containers of mixed beads and were doing make and take bracelets. We helped AJ make one for me which I absolutely adore! He chose and threaded most of the beads on himself (which is very tricky for a 3 year old but he has pretty good fine motor skills) and I am so proud of him! He enjoyed making it too. I have been wearing it everyday since he made it. Isn't it just too precious?


My parents just got back from a 3 week trip to Europe (Barcelona, cruise to Greece, Croatia and Italy and then another week in Italy) and they bought me this gorgeous purple glass bead pendant from Venice that I absolutely LOVE! These pictures don't do it justice!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I love you very much!

This picture just warms my heart of my mom and AJ- the little guy that makes me a momma!

Bunny Hop Swap

So do you remember when I blogged about a fun little Easter Basket Swap from Life from Pippy's Perspective and Deals, Steals & Heels? I thought not. Here's the link to my blog post. And below is what I received (!) from my super fantastic swap partner, Summer. Summer and I were supposed to get together when I was in NYC a couple of weeks ago but I wasn't feeling well so I cancelled. I was really bummed that we didn't get to see each other. She is so sweet and thoughtful and is going through a really hard time right now. I wanted to talk to her all about adoption since she is just starting the process right now. She was extremely generous to provide me with all this happy loot. I was beaming as I ripped into the box and dug through all the goodies.

A view of everything...

So most of it was in that cute green ribbon trimmed box with little chicks popping out of the bow but not all of it fit! There were mini baking cups, so sweet cupcake ribbon, that funky and most awesome coral and blue starburst cocktail ring, blue rose earrings, a little wood carved Statue of Liberty (which I really love since I didn't buy anything while I was in NYC...),

a tea cup and kettle print (we were supposed to meet for tea since we aren't coffee drinkers), flower stickers, fun notecards, a 'joy' silver stone, more fun girly notecards, twisty crayons (AJ wants these), nail polish in Lucky Lucky Lavender, ducky pez, honeysuckle spray perfume,

Garden fairies stickers (LOVE), veggie chalk with google eyes (AJ thought it was funny- looking forward to using it!), summer fruit lip balm, cute socks, a big chocolate bunny, a fleur de lis wax seal, flower print soap that makes my office smell like a rose garden (it's not in any close up photos, sorry!),

New York City t-shirt (we saw these everywhere when we were there!), a bright and cheery orange umbrella (I REALLY needed an umbrella!),

AND these so sweet fairy bookplates that are being sent by the etsy seller direct from England. I LOVE these bookplates and plan to put them in my most treasured books and even one on the back of my Kindle cover. I may even give a couple to some fairy loving girls I know... ;) Look at her wings! They are books- how clever is that?!?

I sent Sum a Dove chocolate bunny, a bag of the raspberry and blackberry gummies (her fave), some tea, a couple of CD mixes, a little box of chocolate truffles- there is a lady bug (dk choc and raspberry), pig (toffee & milk choc) , Easter egg (milk choc- I think) and a honey lavender caramel (the boring little square), a box of Summer notecards, a petal fairy, LSU flower, a stone bracelet that I made, a 'stache tastic' mirror and a ton of other chocolate in that box. The little gift card that I sent with it had a bunny with a mustache on it.

If you'd like to see what everyone else got in their baskets you can find out here. Thanks Summer! YOU ROCK GIRL! Love you!! xoxoxo

Book Review: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Another magical story by Sarah! She writes romantic Southern stories with a slight supernatural twist. There aren't werewolves or vampires or anything kinda 'normal'. It's something slight like the wallpaper that changes on its own with the occupants mood. All of her stories (Garden Spells and Sugar Queen are her other highly recommended reads) involve sweets which is a fun touch. I anxiously wait for her books and then relish reading them. I never want them to end (however, if they were neverending, I'd never get anything done!!) and am disappointed when they do. I want to be friends with her characters or live in their towns. That to me, is a great book.

My Girl Scout Cookies are here! Finally!

I have a total weakness for Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints. I intend to gain back the weight that I have recently lost by overindulging. Actually, I can resist Thin Mints but I bought some anyway. Yum! Those girls sure can bake!!


I was a Girl Scout until 8th grade. I thought it was a fabulous experience. I would have gone through high school but we didn't have a troop left. I really did love everything about it. So that is just some random knowledge about me. :)

Caught by Harlan Coben

Apparently March is the month for my favorite authors to release new books! Can't wait to read this one!! Hopefully it'll be available on my Kindle on its release date of March 23rd... If not I don't know what I am going to do!

JD Wolfe Pottery

I just bought this gorgeous platter from Jen over at JD Wolfe Pottery. The colors! The pattern! I could not resist it. And she's from Wisconsin. And she is sending some of her hubby's BBQ Dry Rub from his shop, Howling Wolf Sauces. Cannot wait to try that!! And I'll be sure to blog about it once I do! I wish they sold some in Wausau... I'll just have to buy it from etsy if I like it. I think I will definitely be a repeat customer at JD Wolfe Pottery!!

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

I couldn't be more excited! A new book by my absolute favorite author is coming out in 3 weeks!! Yay! I look so forward to reading this book cover to cover in a day. I don't care what is going on, I will buy it and read it that day. Can't wait!

I Heart Express

We don't have Express by us. The closest store is in Appleton or Eau Claire. I think Wausau could support an Express store easily. I was in Appleton on February 6th and tried on both this blue and white striped shirt and the black/charcoal pants. Loved them! The fit, the feel and the look. They were both super comfortable and flattering. The price tag, however, a little steep. I don't know when the pants price shot through the moon ($80)- I remember paying (years ago) what they are charging for the shirt ($50) for the pants. Anyway, I hung them back up after I tried them on, knowing that I could get a better price for them. And that I did! Five days later, I got an email of a sale and a coupon. The pants and the shirt were on sale and I had a coupon for $15 off every $60. Sweet! I ended up getting the pants for $41 and the shirt for $26 and since it was basically 1/2 off... I got the white shirt and the oatmeal pants too. I can't wait to wear them!

Holster not included... :)

The only problem is that the pants are a little long and I don't wear heels but they may be okay with my boots. I'll have to check it out.

Beautiful Blogger Award

Thank you to Mel at Chicago Girl Gone Mild for a lovely award once again! I feel like she's the only one who reads my blog sometimes... How can I change that? You know how much I like Mel's blog since I mention her all the time!

The rules are as follows:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and insert a link to their blog.
2. Pass on the award to 15 other bloggers that you think are great.
3. Contact the other bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
4. List 7 random things about yourself.


7 Bloggers (because I can't come up with 15...)-

• tea, afghans & photographs
• Majer Minutes
• Whimsy Love
• Paske Family
• Jones Family
• Magic Onions
• Operation NICE

7 random things about me (I am picking new ones that you haven't heard before)-

1. I am obsessed with recycling. I will bring a bottle home before I'd throw it in a garbage can. Las Vegas was disheartening because of the lack of recycling and the need for it there.
2. My favorite charity is Special Olympics.
3. I like to do quizzes and questionaires about myself. Stuff like this! :)
4. My absolute favorite book is Pride & Prejudice, I would have loved to have lived in the English countryside in the early 1800s.
5. I wear socks to bed- my feet are like ice cubes. I miss Cosmo (our old dog) most at night because he used to sleep in my legs and keep my feet warm.
6. I love coconut. Almond Joys are my favorite candy bar. Nestle used to make toasted coconut Treasures (similar to Hershey's Nuggets) that were divine. The cookie recipe on the back of the bag- awesome!
7. If I could have one super power, it would be to snap my fingers and be instantly transported anywhere. How cool would it be to have dinner in San Francisco and dessert in Paris and be back home to sleep in your own bed?!?!?

Happy 101

Mel at Chicago Girl Gone Mild listed my little blog as one that brightens her day. Maybe it would brighten Mel's day even more if I updated it once in awhile! Thanks girl!! :)


The Rules:
1. List 10 things that make you happy.
2. List 10 blogs that brighten your day.

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. My boys (MOST of the time...) ;)
2. Compliments on my work/creativity
3. Fresh, clean sheets (my husband and I talk about this all day on clean sheet day until bedtime... I don't know why making the bed doesn't work the same way but it just doesn't!)
4. When my little boy says, 'Love you, momma.'
5. Doing something nice for other people when they aren't expecting it
6. Baking a fabulous dessert (I'm not a huge dessert person but I love to make them for others. I do like chocolate though!)
7. Art fairs
8. Stumbling onto something that you absolutely need, want, love or is just perfect for a project, etc. (this happened to me recently with a website/CD that is so cool for a project I am doing!)
9. Really, really good food and wine
10. A book that I can't put down or a song that is played on a continuous loop

10 Blogs That Brighten My Day (in no particular order... BUT #1 is #1!!) :)

1. Lipowski Family (I know, I know- I write it! I love it b/c it has pictures of my family on it though!!)
2. Chicago Girl Gone Mild (I know she gave me this post but her blog is one of my faves!)
3. Crafty Crow
4. Whimsy Love
5. Paisley Wallpaper
6. Operation Nice
7. The Magic Onions
8. Majer Minutes
9. Hostess with the Mostess
10. Blue Yonder Ranch

2009 Rewind

Me and AJ New Years Day 2009

AJ, Luke and Annie (my nephew and niece, Steve's sister's kids) New Years Day 2009

AJ, Parker and Adreanna (my nephew and niece, my brother's kids) sledding on Boxing Day 2009

2009 was super great! Here is an overview of last year:

* all attorney dinner * Gainesville, FL * AJ turned 2 * AJ's playdate birthday party * painted the office yellow (straw) * tissue paper flowers with 4H East kids * Entered an art auction with a painting of a dog and a stone bracelet * Madtown * 1st Madison farmer's market of the year * UW Madison Spring Football Game (AJ's first football game- he LOVED it!!) * Visit with Paske's * Visit with Steph * Boston * FENWAY!!! * North End eating * History strolling * New, big TV, entertainment center and basement painted gold (while we were in Boston) * Block Party (so windy and cold!) * 7 year anniversary * Hillie's grad party in Minneapolis * June parties including one at our house * visit with Johnson family * #34 * Gary & Earlene come to visit * pimped out garage * annual family reunion (Koehler family) at our house * VEGAS!! * Spa at Bellagio * GREAT eats in the desert * coming home a winner!! * zoo with a bunch of Dietrich's * visit with Julie and family in Hancock * visit with Stacy and her girls * Minneapolis visit to see Carol, Mark and Hillie before Hill goes to Georgetown * party at Mella's (with croquet and my team won!) * girl's night out * fairy and gnome party at museum * visit with Steph and her boys * another successful Road Rally * fairy party at our house * Martha and Patrick's baby welcoming shower at our house * visit with Gary * 2 huge trees cut down in our yard- it changed everything! * Birds in Art dinner and reception * Wausau Festival of Arts * Firehouse open house * Talk Like a Pirate Party at John & Nancy's * visit with Mark & Jen * Apple Orchard * OctoBIRDfest at the museum * Pumpkin patch * Gary & Earlene visit * Trick or Treating with Mower Man * hired Nikki our super awesome babysitter * started volunteering at Boys & Girls Club in the Art Room * Jeanne's party * Click, Clack Moo at The Grand * Lucy's party * Kim's party *Thanksgiving up north * B&B Party * Wildtree Party at our house * Mobile Meals Holiday party * Chicago with mom * Met my blogger buddy, Mel in Chicago * One of a Kind Art and Gift Show (I will blog about this) * good eats in Chitown * Marty & Laurie's Holiday party * Mosaic star ornaments with 4H East kids * Steve's 35th and an awesome bottle of wine * Mella's holiday open house * Christmas * sledding on Boxing Day * Christmas with the Dietrich's * opened an ETSY shop!!

Whew! What a year! It seems we upped our popularity this year since it seemed like we were invited to a lot of parties but we also had a few too. Seemed like we were always busy and 2010 is going to be busy as well. Fun busy. We have a trip to New York planned for March and a family vacation to Florida (Captiva Island) in May that we are looking forward to and a few big projects for me. I opened an etsy shop to keep me on my toes (hopefully!) and I have a custom invitation job early this year (500 invitations) that will keep me very busy and up late at night.

Please visit my new etsy shop!! http://www.mypepita75.etsy.com/ It includes artwork from both me and my mom.