Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated Thanksgiving by ourselves this year. I miss my family year-round, but I definitely feel it the most when holidays and times for celebration come around. But it was nice to relax, hang out with Dale, watch movies, and play with Brighton all day! The garland above I made with this template. I love it! It's been hanging on our mirror in the living room since right after Halloween. I haven't decided if it's coming down in the next few days to make way for Christmas, or if I'll just leave it up. We can be thankful during Christmas, too, right?

This is Brighton and I at the table eating breakfast. Dale's family has a really fun tradition that I think we'll continue- they always ate pumpkin pie for breakfast. Trudy was telling me that she always felt that the pie was wasted because everyone got so stuffed on food that they couldn't find room for pie. The solution: have the pie for breakfast. Brighton thought it was a great idea!

Brighton fed herself some pie- we'd put it on the fork, and she'd eventually make it to her mouth. Sometimes she liked to put some on her finger and lick it off. I have some videos of her eating, but I'll put those up later. I don't really want to wait for the videos to load, but there's some good ones, so check back later!

The B-E-A-utiful chef, and our tiny meal for two and a half! We had some wonderful ham, with an oh-so-yummy brown suger glaze, homemade mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy, some yams (of course, I don't know WHY I didn't like them as a kid- they're covered in marshmallows for goodness sake!), cranberry sauce, and flakey biscuits! We felt the effects of the food quickly and retreated to the couch for some more lazy vegging in front of the TV. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Brighton's First Hamburger

We had McDonald's for dinner on Saturday night (I was lazy, Dale was starving, and we were out shopping- no way was I going home to make dinner). So we picked up some burgers on the way home. Brighton was excited for her first attempt at eating a burger. It pretty much fell apart before she got it to her mouth.

What A Steal!

Dale and I happened to go to Office Depot this past weekend, which is conveniently located next to Michael's and Marshalls, two of the best stores around. While there was nothing to hold my interest at Marshall's we did find some cool stuff at Michael's. We found these flower arrangements and they were on sale! For a steal! This one totally matches our house perfectly! We'll use it as a centerpiece when I've put the other one away for next year. This one was originally $50 and we got it for $6. I know, awesome.

This brown one I just fell in love with. I don't know why. Maybe it's the cool urn it's in, or those brown things with the holes in them, but I know that it's definitely because of the feathers. I couldn't pass THEM up!

So this one is going to sit on our dining table for fall. It was originally $40 and we got it for $5. I think I love them even more because they were so cheap!

Check out how fun it is!

So Stylish!

Brandy, this is for you! Brighton is starting to fit in those cute little clothes that you got for her! I had to take a picture and show you all how stylish Brighton is. She's even wearing her pants rolled up high like all the famous acctresses these days, mostly jsut because she's too short to walk in them.

And, yes, that is Harry Potter playing on the television. Brighton (mommy) loves these movies and I play them for her on a regular basis. She's fine with it as long as she gets to play with mommy's phone.

Brighton's Wardrobe Refashion

Brighton got this cute little outfit from Grandma Hibler. Grandma sent a bunch of cute second hand finds to us, and I really like this one. Unfortunately, there's a nice stain on the chest, which shows up much better in the picture than in real life. But I just thought it was a fun outfit (I love the pants), and maybe I could fix it up!

I cut out one of the little lollipops and appliqued it right onto a brand new shirt! I know, it's boring white, but I couldn't find any matching plain colored shirts, so this one had to work. I have three more lollipops, so I might just use them again for something....

Leaf Garland

I'm not sure if anyone would be interested, but I thought I'd put this up here anyways, just in case. I made a leaf garland to help bring the Autumn spirit into the house and wanted to show you how I made it, in case you wanted to make one for yourself, too! I bought a pack of these silk leaves from the dollar section at Target. Man, I love anything for a dollar. Does this ever happen to you- you see something for a dollar and you have to buy it simply because it's such a great deal? It happens to me all the time, and I really REALLY have to get out of that habit. Dollars add up!

The leaves were kind of organized by shape and color in the bag, so I threw them around to mix them up.

Just start grabbing them off the pile and sew them into a long chain (leave long tails on the ends so you can tie it up if you want). You can also cut them to fit a certain space and resew them together and put them somewhere new!

I draped them along the mantle for some fun color contrast, and I have another package that I'm going to sew together and maybe put on the dining room chandelier or anywhere else I can think of. If you decide to make one, let me know, I want to see it!

Anniversary Roses

Dale brought home some roses yesterday! Bright pink ones, too! The best kind, if you ask me...

Brighton's Bagel

Brighton just loves it when I give her something larger than bite size. I don't know why. Maybe it's that same concept that you can trick a little kid out of their dimes by giving them bigger nickels, I don't know, but she loves it. So we have these baby bagels and I decided to give her the whole thing. She was having tons of fun with it!

Munchin', munchin'.

Hello crazy! This was my favorite pose of the day.

Happy Anniversary To ME! (and Dale)

November 4, 2005 was a great day in my life! I married the greatest (and most handsome) man in the whole world! I know you think you married the best guy, but really, I did. Three years down, eternity to go. It's so crazy to think that Dale and I have only known each other for four years. I feel like I've never NOT known him. So many things have happened since that wonderful day that we first met. I know that I am a better person because of him and his great example to me. He is my best friend and I know it's so cheesy to say, but I love him so much more today than I did three years ago. He's the man of my dreams. He's given me every thing I've ever wanted- a pink ring, a two story house, and a baby.

This is Dale and I over four years ago when he and I flew to Arizona for Easter so he could meet my family.

A month later, we flew to St. Louis, MO so I could meet HIS parents. So insane.

That following summer, Dale moved to California for a job, while I stayed in Utah. I flew to visit him a couple times that summer. Here, I went and met the rest of his family in Fresno, California. We thought we would be funny and do a homecoming pose.

At the end of June that summer, he proposed to me in a hot air balloon! After the ride, to celebrate, we went and ate at IHOP, the only place that was still open. It still holds a special place in my heart. It was the coolest proposal ever, and I always have a great story to tell my friends.I was staying with my family in Coronado during that week. A few days after the proposal, Dale took me to a Padres game in San Diego. It was so fun! Doesn't Dale look so handsome?
Though it may not look like it, I was really having a great time! It was one of the greatest days in my life, closely following the day that Brighton was born!Happy Anniversary to Kim and Dale! To three LONG years together, and many more to come!

Brighton's Handmade Gifts

So, I've been meaning to do this for a month, and I have no idea why it's taken me this long! But I had to share the cuteness of these handmade gifts. Brighton got so many wonderful presents for her birthday (thank you to everyone who came and partied with us, and for all your amazing gifts) and I wanted to show everyone how crafty my friends are. The above is a pillow that Nicole made. I told her that Brighton's room is green and pink, and it goes perfectly! It sits in our rocking chair, and Brighton pulls it down and hugs it every once in a while. The back of the pillow is that amazingly soft fabric that most baby blankets are made of these days. Why didn't they make those like 25 years ago? I would have loved it.

Penny makes a lot of her own jewelry, and she made this little bracelet especially for Brighton! I love the little flower bead on the end, and that it's adjustable!

The most amazing- not that I don't love all the others, but I was truly impressed by the Stephens' gifts (read: Bri's gift)- was this cute little bag with a "b" on it. It was full of goodies like those below:

It's a sacrament bag! How awesome, huh? There's an I Spy bag, crayon roll, and a personalized ABC book!

Check it out! You use the picture on the back of the bag to find the little things in the window, the crayon's all have their own little pocket, and the book has a few family pictures in it! How awesome is that? Thanks again, everyone!

Happy Voting Day!

If you haven't voted yet, shame on you! Get on it! I follow this blog and she put up a really funny video that I wanted to share with you. Just follow this link and check out the funniness!

It's seriously so true isn't it?

Happy Voting Day!

Placemat Purse

I've been wanting to make one of these placemat purses for a long time, pretty much ever since Bri made one and showed it off to me and that was like April or May. I'm not sure if she put a picture of it up on her blog, but you have to check out her placemat tote. I'm going to have to make one of those, too. I've surrounded myself with crafty people and my life is so much better for it! Speaking of, I've been meaning to take pictures of some of the handmade gifts that Brighton got for her birthday. I'll get on that and let you bask in the awesomeness. Anywho, I've had the stuff to make this purse for ages, and I was just holding off until I found some ribbon that matched (it's a weird red) and I've been looking for something to embellish the top. Fringe or tassels? Ribbons or ruffles? I can't decide. That'll just have to come later I suppose.

So, I have a ton of purses (so many, it's sickening- if you're in the market for a new purse, just stop by and you can rummage through my closet- take some clothes and shoes while you're at it... SERIOUSLY) but I was wanting something for my baby scriptures and J.S. manual so they didn't get lost in my giant diaper bag. This works out perfect!

Look how at home my scriptures are! They love that super cute lining!

I've tied on the handles so that I can take them off and use them on other purses, too, which will come in handy because those little suckers are expensive. Isn't the point of making your own things to save money? Also, I reinforced the bottom by laying in some of that quick-count plastic canvas. I haven't decided what I want to cover it with yet, so it's naked for now. I hope this inspires all of you to go and make a placemat purse, too! If you do, be sure to let me know so I can check it out!