Whimsical Rags!

My moms Etsy shop, Whimsical Rags, is up and ready for shopping! She is an amazing seamstress. We were completely spoiled as kids, because she made the greatest Halloween and dress up costumes, not to mention clothes.
Take a look, and please pass it on to friends and family!

{hollywood glamour}

{fireman coat}

{cowboy vest and chaps}

{blue striped apron}

{pink stoal}

{pretty skirt-pink}

{pretty skirt-purple}

{red striped apron}

{mountain man}

Going Pink

Tomorrow I'm going PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness Month (october). So make sure to visit for "Breast Cancer Sucks" shop updates, giveaways, donation opportunities, and more!

Memory Monday {Tanya}

{Tanya is going to kill me for posting this, but I don't care. This sleepover was so fun!}

Tanya has been my best buddy since 6th grade. We didn't have the best first impressions of each other. She thought I was a gangster (because I had Doc Martins) and I thought she was a nerd (because she wore bows in her hair). hee hee
But she moved down the street from me, and we quickly became inseparable. Her mom and stepdad are deaf, and I was immediately in love with learning sign language. Some of our favorite things to do together were:
-On Sundays I couldn't play with friends, so we would write notes to each other, ride our bike to the others house, and leave it in a secret spot. Then we'd throw a rock at each others window and ride off. Back and forth all day.
-Playing college. We would pretend we were college roomates, had jobs, boyfriends, everything.
-Sing. We sang all of the time. Especially "The Rose" and Whitney Houstons "I Will Always Love You" and The Lion Kings "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"
-Making movies. Especially murder mystery movies. I can't believe how much Tanya trusted me, but she once let me stab a knife into the bed next to her! Like...a big fat SHARP knife. Goodness me!
-Dancing and jumping on the tramp. We would pretend to be her parents and imitate their voices. It probably wasn't very nice, but we got a kick out of it.

Tanya has always been a huge example to me. In 7th grade she got Ovarian cancer and had to have one of her ovaries removed. I stayed with her in the hospital whenever she had to have chemotheraphy treatments. It was during those stays that we both discovered the incredible movie "Jaws", played cards, and ate Wendys food my dad brought us. As hard as those days were, I'm sure more for her than me, I remember those stays at the hospital with great fondness.
She has been through a lot in her life. More than I think one person should go through. But Tanya remains one of the sweetest, most loving, generous people I have EVER met. She is truly an amazing friend, and I'm so grateful to have her in my life.
I am also grateful for her husband, Nick. He treats her so well, and is also an amazing person. They have the cutest little daughter, Olivia Mae. (Olly, to us Johnsons).

Fall? I think not

::This is what we do in phoenix when its almost October::

Smurfs

My cousin Amy posted this on her blog and I had to steal it. This was my all time favorite game when I was little. We have a video of me playing it when I was five, and passing it, I might add. ;)



I miss the good old days of simple times. Seriously. I love old school video games. Tom bought me a Sega Genesis for our first Christmas. I don't get to play it much, but when I do, its a party. Sonic, anyone?

Happy 21st, Squints!

Happy Birthday, Elise!

Today is my lil sisters 21st birthday! I can't believe it. Elise is six years younger then me, and we didn't get a long at all when we were younger. We were like two nerds fighting over a calculator. But in the past few years we have grown really close, and I have gotten to know her so much better, and it has been an honor!

Some things I love, admire about Elise:

-She is HILARIOUS. This girl is witty. The things she comes up with. She has me howling with laughter whenever we hang out. She's the one that introduced me to the word "anywhoodles" and I use it to this day. She also has the best laugh on the planet. She's really fun to be with! (look)

-She's smart. I remember when she was still in high school, my mom told me that Elise would miss classes and barely study, and still get A's. She's majoring in Biology, just like our dad, and wants to work with Manatees (just like I did, and still do). She rips through books like no ones business. (I think she read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in like...10 hours?)

-She's got a beautiful singing voice and an amazing talent on the piano. She's not a show off though. You'd have to catch her singing to know. She's incredibly humble about her talents.
-She's artistic. She does these amazing pixel dolls (I tried once and failed miserably), she can sew the cutest stuff, and she can draw.

-She has a huge heart. She is always concerned with the well-being of others, and since the first time my mom got cancer, has probably been the one out of all us kids to be affected the most. Which is saying a lot.

-This girl is going to make a rockin' wife! First of all, she's not high maintenance. She loves video games, she can cook really well, her movie taste is awesome, and she's beautiful.
-She's beautiful. I just said this. But let me expand on this fact. She has GORGEOUS green eyes, the cutest nose, and really pretty lips. Perfect hair, cute feet, and a curvaceous figure! And her smile is awesome.

-She's a good girl. She has brought my parents no grief whatsoever when it comes to making righteous decisions. She knows who she is, and where she is going.
-She's a wonderful aunt. Her two nieces adore her.

I could go on and on about my dear lil sister, Squints. I love you Elise, hope you have a marvelous birthday!

Custom order for :Baby Bumpkins:

Baby Bumpkins owner Becca asked me to make a sales log book. I had so much fun making it! The background paper is scrapbooking paper, and the rest (owl, tree, etc) are my original illustrations done in pen and ink and acrylics.

Homesickness

Homesickness is finally setting in as I read everyones blogs about fall. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year besides summer. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I love the smell of crisp autumn air, the beautiful colors of the falling leaves, and the scent of pumpkins. Its still in the 90's here. And as much as I love the heat and the palm trees, I am missing the season changes. I knew I would. I just didn't know how much!
Utah would be perfect for me if it had a beach, no winter, and a disneyland. Its not asking much, is it? ;)

Haircuts-what to do?

I'm getting my hair cut on Saturday. I can't wait. Its been two long months and its growing into a mullet. Now...I'm really just confused on what I should do. This is the cut I was aiming for last time, but I still have to wait till my bangs grow out to REALLY have the same do as Sarah Harding.


Or I could grow it out into a long a-line like Jenny McCarthy. (I think I'd want it just a little longer)
PLEASE help me decide. Take the poll to the left! Thanks everyone!

Pictures n stuff

Fudgecicles in the front yard!

I said, "lets go get the ball!" mae said,"run! oh! run!"

Aren't we lucky? This is pretty much our front yard.

Helping with the dishes

This is the outcome.

Uncle Abe gives Mae a horsey ride! Mae always asks "Abe go? Abe go?"

this picture is in the wrong place...

Playdough fun

My creation

Asian night at Thunderbird

Josh and Natalie

Thunder-Olympics

Mae decided to lay down on the cool floor. There was no air conditioning in this building.

Mae and Uncle Josh playing. I'm so grateful that we have friends that love Mae so much!

My playdough frog

The End

Me Want

I've been WANTING a new purse. Wanting is the key word. I don't need one. However, if I had an extra $42 laying around, I'd get this one:
made by Cuore on etsy.

My Future Dentist

I was looking through our mail the other day, picking out coupons we might use from those Value Pack things. And I came across this:

Does everybody else see what is wrong with this? For the longest time I was trying to find a caption underneath the picture that said "before" and then I was flipping it over to find the "after" picture. No such luck.
I mean, maybe thats why its "affordable" because they knock out half your teeth so they only have to do half the work. Or maybe the dentist really made someone mad, and this was their revenge. I'm so curious. I'm tempted to call their office and ask, "Hey, whats up with the crappy ad?"

Memory Monday {Stacey}

One of my favorite things to do with friends in middle school/high school was to make movies. Some were lame, some were funny. One thing we always did was dress up crazy and dance. Just dance. Sometimes with a strobe light. I look back and think...should I be embarrassed? Heck no. I was a teenage girl who liked having as much fun as possible, even if that meant acting like an idiot. (wait, I'm still like that)
Our getting jiggy with it dance tunes included No Doubt (of course) Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, and N'Sync. So, without further ado, some still shots of Stacey Shaw and I gettin' down in the Peterson basement.

Can you play?

this is how much fun you get to have with your husband after five years of marriage :) Can you tell we're soulmates?

Long time no photography

Its been awhile since I posted any photography, so here goes:

::My lovely mumsy doodles::

I couldn't decide between these two of my niece Caitlyn and Mae. Which do you like?

Who's There?

Like so many others, I am very curious as to who reads my blog. So leave a comment (even if its anonymously) and let us know you're there!

apartment tour

Many of you have been asking for pictures of our new place. I'm going to start with the most boring room first. I will post more later!