Posts Tagged ‘friends’
Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
If you follow my blog regularly, you’ve noticed that I occasionally spotlight a few bits of inspiration from a personal friend in my life. Some recents: Inside the homes of Lisa and Jen, my brother Kevin with his weight loss success story, and even my mom with a great tip for corn on the cob.
Today’s inspiration comes from my friend Tina. We met in Cleveland 10 years ago and she was my very best neighbor there. She was the first one to show up with cookies when we moved in, really motivated me to pick up running again between having babies, she’s just plain fun to be around, and yet – she is so far from being outwardly overzealous. Tina is genuinely kind, selfless, and humble. She is such a rock and probably has no idea just how much she is adored and admired.
 Not the greatest quality picture – and not even Tina’s best hair day – but this is us together just last month with another dear friend Sarah sandwiched in the middle. Our family was visiting their families in Colorado Springs.
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{ idea no. 1: giant photo wallpaper }
This is the first thing that catches your eye when you walk in Tina’s beautiful home. Um, hello picture lovers. Go ahead and pin this one. She used a favorite photo of their kids and had the mural made at MuralsYourWay.com. Talk about impact.
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{ idea no. 2: more photo displays }
She printed some favorites at Costco. Each square is a 12×12 size. The cheapest way to do this, according to Tina, is to put 3 images on a 12×36 canvas (in Photoshop), save that JPG, and print that size (which apparently they do now!). Then cut the 3 pictures apart. She dry-mounted each picture at Hobby Lobby and mounted them to the wall with my own personal favorite – Velcro.
She had these printed at PosterBurner.com and then had them dry-mounted at Hobby Lobby.
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{ idea no. 3: big-striped panels }
You might be inspired to take on this little DIY project. Tina picked up white canvas panels at WalMart, some red canvas from Hobby Lobby, and just cut out thick red strips of the red to sew onto the panels. So stinking cute.
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{ idea no. 4: healthy + delish }
Tina eats really well. In fact, their whole family eats really well. I about died watching their 10-year-old snacking on spinach. For real. Not Oreos or Peanut M&M’s. Noooo. Raw spinach. And don’t get me wrong – I love spinach. But my kids still balk at the idea.
So anyway – one of the things we ate during our visit was this. It’s a recipe she got from her ultra-healthy mother-in-law called Almond Pate (I think it’s spelled this way, and I think it’s pronounced pah-’tay but correct me if I’m wrong). Seriously, I love this and am working on making my first batch at home now. I’ll get it on the Recipes section soon. And I’ll get more recipes from her too.
Click here for the recipe PDF.
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{ idea no. 5: regular exercise }
 Tina, me, and David about to embark on a trail run in the mountains by her house. Incredibly refreshing to run through trees since we came from the desert.
Super dear friends Sarah, Katie, and Tina. That’s David and Sarah’s husband Eric too.
The Manitou Incline beckons me every time. This is my third time climbing one mile straight up, on crooked railroad ties. The altitude kicks my behind, my stamina is tested, and my time to the top is laughable – but oh man, how I love the challenge of hiking these stairs and completing the goal of making it without dying. Tina is kind to stay back with me.
Regular exercise is something we all should have in our lives. We know that. But like many of you, this is something that ebbs and flows in my world. Sometimes I’m really good and I’m making something happen on a regular basis. There are other times I could go months without so much as jogging around my neighborhood. This has become my reality of being a busy mom + business owner. Tina’s not my only friend who’s great about working exercise into her routine. But there is just something about being around her that motivates me to make it a priority, no matter what. I love her for that.
And I’ll let you know when that happens. ; )
Tags: friends, home decor, incline, tina
Posted in DIY, home, style & design | No Comments »
Monday, November 8th, 2010
Gratitude continues to be on my mind a lot. And now I have even more to be grateful for because I just spent a few days with some of my very dearest friends.
The destination: Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The occasion: We try to do this every year.
The secret to (9) thirty-something moms being able to do this: Amazing husbands and families who are supportive of our yearly girl time.
The best part of it all: I come home exhausted and yet completely refreshed. I am grateful for friends who uplift and inspire me. We all love motherhood. We all adore our husbands. This isn’t about escaping our lives at home. This is about reconnecting, reminiscing, laughing our heads off, and just plain having fun.
And it always, always feels best to come back home.
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We missed the peak of Fall colors, but Colorado Springs is beautiful and the weather was perfect. We spent a lot of time outdoors (thanks to our hostess with the mostest who happens to be the athlete of the group). I even experienced about 12 miles of mountain-biking for the first time and l-o-v-e-d it.
(We got a few cell phone pictures. No trekking around with an actual camera.)
Another big personal highlight was making it to the top of “The Incline” in Manitou Springs, CO. While it’s not literally vertical, it sure the heck felt like it. My sea-level lungs were not used to that altitude but it was sooo worth the climb.
I’ll claim the glow-in-the-dark legs on the far left. Those legs climbed over 2,000 feet, reaching an 8,595-foot elevation. Which is why we felt okay busting out the chocolate later on.
We can’t get together without some sort of creating or crafting. That’s part of what brought us together 8 years ago. My main project was putting together a couple floral arrangements for our friend who hosted everyone in her beautiful home. Isn’t this pot terrific?
And we helped her with a little mantel makeover. We found everything (pots, flowers, mirror, decor) at Hobby Lobby … and it was all 50% off so woo-hoo for that.
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Anyway — I’m happily back to “regular” life again and will soon be sharing …
- Winners from the holiday card design contest
- Free holiday card template downloads (resulting from the contest)
- Sneak peeks and more information about the new Project Life stuff coming early December
- Answers to your questions
…………..
But first — the randomly selected winner of last week’s Posh Lily giveaway is Becky in Port Orchard, Washington! Congratulations Becky. Just shoot an email to poshlily@gmail.com and she’ll hook you up.
Tags: biking, colorado, floral design, flower arrangement, friends, hiking, incline, interior design, mantle makeover
Posted in style & design, travel | 15 Comments »
Friday, June 18th, 2010
Yesterday was June 17th. An “ordinary” summer day. No holiday or major event or giant task. Lots of little to-do’s. But woke up feeling like it was going to be a good day. So I decided that it would indeed be … a good day.
And it was. Because every day just is.
Today, I encourage you to pay closer attention to the little reasons why it’s a good day for you. And then – of course – record it. Whether in words or pictures. Whether in a journal or on a blog or telling a loved one over the phone. I believe that when we record our blessings, we’re just become that much more aware of them. And therefore … happier.
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There are a million reasons why yesterday was a good day in my little world. Here are ten.
1. Good old-fashioned hose-down. You go, Claire. Take ‘em down sister. Note #1: This was very impromptu; hence the fully-clothed boys. Note #2: I assure you I do comb my daughter’s hair.
2. Daily drawings continue. Today Porter drew a custom space boy for everyone. So grateful for such good friends in our community. Good families. Good kids. Good people.
3. I caught up on four loads of laundry. Very good indeed.
4. I got to do a little unexpected spray-painting to help a friend with a little project. For sure good! Spray-painting is always a good thing. Helping someone in a pinch is even better.
5. Crew stood up in the bath and very intentionally – with a smirk on his face – body-slammed into the water, creating a tidal wave effect that covered my bathroom floor. The little stink. But my sense of humor won over my frustration in that moment and I’m grateful. We all had a good laugh over that one. Unfortunately this encouraged Crew to want to repeat the act.
6. David had a long day at work so the kids and I packed up a few plates of O’Henrys and surprised a few friends with a “hello” and a hug and these. It’s always good to tell someone you’re thinking of them.
7. One of those recipients is a brand-new friend. Meet Brenda Reed. Adorable, right? She really is. So is her little family. She is local to me. I knew she frequents my blog and follows me on twitter. I knew she has been diligent with Project Life and I’ve seen many of her POTDs (posted on her blog). They’re terrific. I thought it would be a good day to stop by her house and meet her. With O’Henrys in hand. It was indeed a pleasure.
8. When I saw this picture of us I noticed far more wrinkles than I realized I had. Like … a lot more. Sometimes I still think I’m 25?? BUT … I’m okay with that. Because wrinkles are good. Don’t hate me for saying that. I think wrinkles represent evolution and growth and add character to our features.
9. This evening I was properly put in my place. Being humbled is always good, right? Porter wanted to spend his money on this dumb machine at WalMart. We’ve never done it here before, but I’m quite familiar with how these machines work. And so I firmly expressed it.
“Porter, let me tell you something. It’s your money, but I want you to know how strongly I feel that this machine steals people’s mon—-”
Literally right at that moment, the darn grabber thing grabbed a toy. The look on Porter’s face was pure elation. And I knew that moment was golden for him. Because kids need to know that sometimes Mom is wrong. Sometimes Mom needs to have more faith.
Oh, and he immediately gave the toy to Claire. Because he’s that kind of a big brother.
10. Claire told me she loved me more than the marshmallows in her Lucky Charms. If you knew what those marshmallows mean to my four-year-old you would understand why I wanted to melt into a puddle on the spot.
That moment alone made for an instantly good day.
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This is the stuff of life. This is the stuff we put in Project Life. This is why I care so much about Project Life.
(Fine print: Those of you who have been patiently waiting for Project Life to become available again … we’re getting close. Hopefully just a few more weeks. I’ll be sure to announce when those kits arrive at Amazon.)
Tags: before & after, brenda reed, friends, good day, kids' art, love, o'henrys, Project Life, spray paint, summer, trampoline, walmart, wrinkles
Posted in family & children, giving, photography | 27 Comments »
Friday, March 19th, 2010
Michelle (from yesterday’s post) … I hope you’re reading this. I just have one more surprise for you, little miss giving-of-yourself-all-the-time. PeachyCheap.com wants to give you a $100 shopping spree on their site! They offer deals 50-85% off on scrapbook and craft supplies so it sounds like you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck.
And we want one other lucky winner to receive the same thing — a $100 shopping spree on PeachyCheap.com! Are you game? Leave a comment. Name, city, state. And let’s do something fun. In 3 words or less (it will be a challenge!), tell us why YOU should be the winner of such a shopping spree! : )
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What a warm response from yesterday’s post, by the way. I didn’t realize that I should have put a tissue warning, ladies! Thank you for your kindness and for the adoration shown to Michelle. Because several of you asked about my hair (of all things – ha!), this here is Jen … photography extraordinaire and hair stylist for the day. To answer the question: curling iron.
Jen happens to be one of the most amazing people on the planet. Everyone should have a friend like her. I am blessed with several girlfriends that I feel that way about … everyone-should-have-a-friend-like-this kind of friends.
Tags: friends, jen, peachycheap.com
Posted in Uncategorized | 1,264 Comments »
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
I was creatively fed over the weekend.
(Seriously, how amazing is this door? This color?)
Thanks to a super supportive hubby, I was able to spend the entire Saturday with some girlfriends as we enjoyed GIRLS DAY OUT. I am immensely blessed to be surrounded by amazing women in my life – near and far. Obviously we were looking forward to spending time with each other … shopping, eating, gabbing about life and just enjoying a break from kiddos and housework and jobs. Such a healthy thing to prioritize once in a while. I recommend it.
But I was also looking forward to being inspired. I was planning to be inspired. I felt it coming. You see, I am perfectly content in my little bubble of local retail. Besides, all I really need is Target and Costco, right? But on Saturday, I was so looking forward to bursting my bubble and heading to places I haven’t been before, seeing things I hadn’t seen before.
We started with the always-creative experience of digging, digging, digging that is called Last Chance (1919 E Camelback Rd, Ste 1 in Phoenix, AZ; (602) 248-2843). You’d think we were outside the Apple store on the day the iPad becomes available. Not quite that exciting. Just bargain clothes shopping. We walked in those doors at 10:00 on the dot. Right when they opened.
I am grateful my friend Karolyn forces me to go to Last Chance once in a while. Because I am usually not in the digging mood. But I geared up for that on Saturday and totally scored the best deals. My favorite find? Yummy. I feel like I’m walking on sunshine in these shoes (and they were $19 – yay!).
I promise I won’t go over the play-by-play of our day, but I have to tell you that it was so fun running into Allison Tyler Jones at her photography studio! Totally random, actually. We were next door at Domestic Bliss in downtown Mesa and Allison happened to be next door and happened to be wrapping up a photo shoot. You do know who she is, right?
First of all, how fun to see Allison! I first met her years ago (it must’ve been about 1998-ish?) when I walked into Memory Lane, her scrapbook store. I was overwhelmed with her store’s coolness and she was just genuinely kind and I felt support from her as I shared thoughts on wanting to publish a book about creative lettering (which did happen and it was my very first book). Allison was one of the early “scrapbooking pioneers” for sure.
Anyway. Super to see Allison and even more super to see her in this environment of where she evolved to be. Her style and vision and talent, combined with her sister’s interior design expertise makes for an amazing studio space. All of it. The studio. The offices. Even the bathroom. Amazing.
This is just outside her studio:
This is inside her studio:
No space was left un-touched. Check out this wall in the bathroom:
Amazing, amazing, ah-may-ZING. Thanks for the impromptu tour, Allison! Such a treat. You can see Allison’s photography here.
Moving on. More boutiques and home decor stores and fun, fun eye candy.
And let’s be honest. Some things just couldn’t remain as eye candy. Some things had a little voice that said, Becky, I am yours. Take me home. And so I did. Oh man, does this piece EVER have potential! I can’t wait to play.
Found that piece at The Crowded House in Mesa, by the way. I don’t think they have a website, but their address is 1927 N Gilbert Rd Ste 1, Mesa, AZ. Tel: 480-834-3002.
Speaking of playing … and last but not least … I can’t wait to get to work on this collection of happy colors!
The vision is there. It’s been in my mind for months and it’s just taken this long to make time for it. And thanks to Designer Blvd., my friends and I pulled together a mad collection of yumminess. It’s been probably 10 years since I last put together a real floral arrangement. Watch out. I am so ready.
Tags: allison tyler jones, color, designer blvd., door, flowers, friends, inspiration, Last Chance, mesa, retreat, yellow
Posted in style & design | 8 Comments »
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