Summer Escape {Lakes}

While my family never had one regular vacation spot where would we trek every year, some of my fondest memories of summer revolve around time spent at various lakes.

When I was growing up, not only were my best friend, Jenni, and I close, but so were our parents, and thus my family was welcomed at their weekend getaway. Summer memories from my elementary school years are peppered with days spent at their lake house.

Country Living

The lake was only an hour's drive from our homes, but, at that age, felt much further. I was always anxious to arrive, and the car ride seemed to last an eternity.

Country Living

The house was on a small, private island, and, although it was truly only a short distance from the mainland, it always seemed an adventure to reach. We would load people and belongings into a rowboat and traverse the distance between the shores; each trip, I prayed for the boat to not tip in transit.

Thayer Allyson Gowdy

This is not a tale of the exclusive and wealthy, however, but rather of a simple family cottage that welcomed many; the home was shared by their extended family, and I fondly remember afternoons spent playing on the banks of the lake alongside my brother, Jenni, her sister, and their cousins.

House Beautiful

The island seemed enormous from a child's perspective, although, surely, like many things remembered from childhood, I imagine I'd be surprised to see it again through an adult's eyes.

Country Living

Whatever the true breadth of the land, it was large enough to encompass more than it's fair share of memories including one of the day Jenni and I were given the very grown-up privilege of taking the row boat out to circle the island alone; sadly, our experience came to a crashing halt when, not yet a quarter of the way into our trip, we lost an oar in the water and had to be rescued by our dads.

Country Living

Summers during my middle school and high school years included time spent with our extended family on lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin. The lasting images from those trips are of riding over waves, first on an inflatable tube, then later, water skis, and feeling the wind whip across my face as I was pulled behind a boat flying furiously across the water's surface.

Pia Ulin

I traded the lakes of the Midwest for those of the South when I was in college. There was a lake 15 minutes from campus, and although it was far from a glamorous retreat, my friends and I loved heading off to its murky waters. The best spots were reached via dirt roads, and it felt like we were world's away as we lay sunning ourselves on the lake's dark sandy shores.

Country Living

I moved one state over to attend graduate school, and during that following summer, there were two holiday weekends spent lakeside with my friends from school. An unseasonably chilling drizzle didn't dampen our spirits as we celebrated our friends' engagement over Memorial Day, but it did cut short our time on the water; cruising around the lake in our rented pontoon boat, while lacking the adequate gear to combat the cold rain, wasn't quite as much fun as had planned.


Our lake trip later that summer, over the 4th of July, proved much kinder, as we were greeted by beautiful, sunny skies and scorching temperatures, perfect for cooling off in the water.

Hakan Ludwigson

My memories of time spent on lakes has continued into my adult life too; E's and my house in central Texas is only a 10-minute drive from a lake where we watched a sunrise in the early days of our relationship, and since then, more frequently have viewed sunsets... have I ever mentioned I am a bit of a night owl? The lake also provided a perfect place for walks with our dogs and for an afternoon spent swimming the comfortably warm waters when my youngest brother visited us last summer.

Krakvik and D'Orazio

I know we aren't too far from a number lakes here in Houston, and I imagine it will only be a matter of time before we find ourselves making new memories in their now unfamiliar waters. Until then, I will dream of once again jumping into the refreshing water of a lake on a hot and sticky day, something that makes my list of things to love about summer.

Luscious, THREE INGREDIENT Chocolate Sorbet...Works For Me Wednesday

When our fearless leader, Kristen of We Are THAT Family, deemed this Works For Me Wednesday "Summer Recipes Edition," I knew just what I would make!
chocolate sorbet outside
This Chocolate Sorbet comes from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein (great book). It's so simple and so decadent tasting, I don't know why I don't make it ALL THE TIME!!!
chocolate sorbet
3 ingredients...that's it. It's dairy-free, gluten-free, fat-free, but more importantly....IT'S GOOD!!!

chocolate sorbet scoop
Chocolate Sorbet
(adapted from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book)

2 c. water
1 c. sugar
1 c. dutch-process cocoa powder

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the cocoa and continue whisking until the mixture comes to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat and strain into a bowl. Let cool several minutes on the counter, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill at least 2 hours or overnight.

Stir the mixture and add to your ice cream machine, following the manufacturer's instructions. Remove and place in a freezer safe container; press plastic wrap down onto the top to prevent freezer-burn. Let harden a few hours. ENJOY! :)

A few more ice cream recipes to cool you off this summer:
chocolate sorbet j scoop

Magnolia-licious sketch challenge for July

YAY! It's July! Time for swimming pools, BBQ's, lazy days in the sun, and a new sketch challenge from the Design Team at Magnolia-licious! This month's sketch is by the amazingly talented Jacque Beddingfield! I LOVE this sketch! I just recently got this beautiful Tilda (#341 Blowing Hearts) from Magnolia-licious, and I am in love with her. I just think she is way beyond precious.
I reversed the sketch cause I wanted Tilda to be facing the sentiment instead of away from it. I got just a wee bit irritated trying to show the true color of the layering cardstock. It's actually a very dark brown that looks awesome with the DP, but no matter what I did with my photo, it looks black.
I learned how to make these awesome flowers from my design team sister, Cheryl Rowley. She did hers with her scalloped heart Nestabilities. I don't have that set, so I just used the scalloped heart cut from the Doodlecharms cartridge with my Cricut Expression. (looks the same - that's why I didn't buy the nesties) I cut out eight for each flower and distressed the edges with chalk ink, punched a little hole on the bottom of the hearts, and then scrunched them all up. They're a lot of fun to make and I'm sure I'll be making lots of these in the future! Thanks Cheryl!


All layers are machine stitched, and the layer with Tilda is popped up from the card base. It's not very often that Tilda has ears, so I took full advantage by giving her pink pearl earrings!
The tag is another fun stamp from Magnolia-licious. I just tacked it down and ran it through my printer for the sentiment. It's double popped off the card. The DP is Basic Grey Bittersweet and the colored cardstock is Bazzill. White cardstock is cryogen white that has just a touch of sparkle to it. LOVE it!!

And a peek at the inside. That's it for today. So please be sure and visit Magnolia-licious Highlites. The other designers will be posting their cards as they get them done. We would truly love it if you would play along with us! Thanks for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! HUGS!

A few new pieces in the Etsy shop

I haven't done a big update to my Etsy shop for a while, so I've added three new pieces. Each one is very different, one of a kind, and fun. Enjoy!



Blue bloom



Blooming



Bridal headband


These ones are all finished and ready to adorn a pretty head.

Constance & Eniko

Cesare Paciotti F/W 09.10 Ad Campaign | Constance & Eniko By Mario Sorrenti



Cesare Paciotti just released their fall/winter 09.10 ad campaign, featuring models Constance Jablonski & Eniko Mihalik as shot by Mario Sorrenti.

It's a more luxurious feel then their last F/W 08 campaign, then featuring model Bianca Balti, and which I still like better, but this is quite good as well.

Cesare1Cesare2Cesare3Cesare4

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Louis Vuitton Is Missing the 7 Dwarfs

Madonna_for_Louis_Vuitton

Where are you guys? Dopey, Grumpy, Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, & Sleepy!

Having seen the first ad, here are 5 more. They're kinda growing on me, I must admit. [Via]

Madonna_for_Louis_Vuitton_07Madonna_for_Louis_Vuitton_08Madonna_for_Louis_Vuitton_04Madonna_for_Louis_Vuitton_05Madonna_for_Louis_Vuitton_06

JASON BOYCE

TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2009

JASON BOYCE by JEFF SLATER




Kalle

Kalle


NEW FACES AT EMPIRE

SHARDA, ERIKA, MEGAN AND SASHA - BRAND NEW FACES JOINING THE EMPIRE FAMILY FOR THE SUMMER

TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2009

Summer New Faces



Tuesday...

Hooray for short weeks!
Just a quick announcement, but Matt and I are giving ourselves a mini-vacation this weekend. We are leaving Thursday evening and will be back Sunday. Pieces purchased on Thursday/Friday that are not made to order will ship Monday.
Random photos...


garden2


We've been working on the yard quite a bit over the past few weekends. Here's a bit of our new lawn and some shade plants including hostas and viburnum. You can't see the hydrangea in this photo, but it's pretty big and blooming already.


garden1


Our new sidewalk full sun garden. We wanted it to look a bit natural and wild, while providing color. There are a few zucchini and tomato plants here as well. Low maintenance was our goal.


garden3


The alley garden I planted with a wild flower mix that is suppose to be good for butterflies and requires minimal watering. There were already some daylilies planted by the previous owner. Lots of lovely poppies. This side of the house gets tons of weeds for some reason. I see some in this photo and it drives me nuts.


garden4


We also planted bell peppers in the sidewalk garden. Did I ever mention that our sidewalk garden is big? We haven't planted it all quite yet.


garden5


I planted a bunch of pots again this year, and this woodland-esque one is my favorite.


garden6


The loyal dog (holding a down position until "released"). We've put Indy on a new training program. Have you seen those Perfect Dog infomercials? Well, we decided to get it for Indy because the one problem we have with her is that she wasn't coming when called in some situations. Well, after watching the DVD series (per the recommendation of a vet assistant who said it was really effective), we realized we had to totally re-program Indy because the traditional method of training with treats was all wrong (according to the DVDs). It really works! I can go on and on, but just wanted to mention because until the training is finished, she has to wear the special collar and leash that you can see in this photo.
Happy Tuesday!

Kathleen and Nick at Belle Mer in Newport, Part One

So the hot topic all week was the weather of course, and really it has been for a while, what is the deal?! But Kathleen and Nick got a bit of luck and it turned into a beautiful evening after pouring rain all day!

The girls got ready at Castle Hill in Newport. Check out this awesome bling shot!





More bling, because really you can never have a enough! I'm sure Kathleen will find reasons to wear these shoes again, they are so awesome!





Rub a dub dub, bouquets in the tub! These were done by the fabulous Stoneblossom crew headed by none other than Joyce.






How cute is Kathleen 'jumping' into her dress, she looks so happy!







They were running a little bit late so she had to run...







But there is always time for a spin or two...







Here are the guys before the ceremony which was held at the Cathedral of Peter and Paul in Providence.







These girls were having the best time all dressed up as the flowergirls, always a highlight of a little girls life I think. I guess it's bride-practice, see you in 20 years girls...







WOW! This is a grand entrance for the bride and her Dad. The isle is nice and long so you get the chance to really enjoy the moment.






This church is so dramatic and beautiful, this is such a serious photo, you can feel the nervousness.






Isn't this little boy the cutest, I just want to squeeze him! As I'm sure all the other ladies do too!







Even though you can barely see them there at the alter, they are there amongst all of the amazing ornate detail in this church.






A cool detail shot at the back of the church that was irresistible.






There they go, cascading back down the isle...married!







Always time for a smooch...






Shiney happy bridesmaid!








Oooooooh!!! Thank you awesome sunlight and veil combo gods!







Too bad Kathleen is so unhappy.







Getting back into the limo to head back to Newport for the reception...







Here is the fantastic detail that Kathleen had added to her dress, LOVE IT! Again, never too much sparkle!







What a hot couple!







Aww, how great is this moment!







Wow, more miracle sunshine...it was beautiful and dreamy for sure.






The ladies...







Maybe all that sunshine was coming from inside Kathleen?!







The men...







A very fun wedding party!







More 'hot stuff' from these two...






They had a lot of laughs together and really were having a great time at their wedding!







Whoa. Love this shot! It's so great when it all comes together for that perfect moment.







They even got crazy clouds in the sky, very cool!







Ya hoo! What a great time we had doing the formals, we just kept snapping and snapping. So much good stuff!

See you tomorrow for part two!

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