i'm back!

after and extended break, and many crazy life changes, i am back! as the blogging continues revelations of those monsterous changes will come, but as for now i leave you tired and with the quote above. live, love and share the happiness!

laughter.

laughter. simple and sweet at any age. i love it. of all the laughs i have heard, my favorite has got to be my boys laughter. for the longest time i had each one of my boys laughs from when they were babies as a ringtone on my phone! it starts as a giggle then turns to a stomach cramping laugh that can't help but make you smile.

while i was pregnant with my first, laughter was a pretty big part of my pregnancy. previous to getting pregnant i was not the happiest person in the world, down right depressed actually. my mom would later describe it as a very long period with no laughter. suddenly, whether because of hormones or joy of a new life, i was laughing and laughing hard. everything was, "i'm gonna pee my pants" funny! from movies, to jokes, dinner conversations to silly words, i was a giddy little school girl. it truly was a great time. at the time i had moved back home with my parents, being a soon to be single mother and all, and everytime a laughter episode would erupt my family would be forced to join in. then, just as i was finally calming down my mother would announce, "it really wasn't that funny, jess, we were laughing at you". haha, i didn't care, it was funny to me.

laughter is truly the best medicine for all things in life. a measurement of good times in my life is the amount of laughter enjoyed. i think of the laughing cow commercial, "have you laughed today?"

house cleaning.

ok, while cleaning my house is not a favorite of mine, having a clean home is. my family and i have been living in our home for over a year and have yet to make it our own. there are a ridiculous number of things that don't have a place and so even when the house is spotless, it still look cluttered. so my hubby is out of town for a week, the kids are off to grandmas for the day. i have decided (once i am done blogging of course ^_^) to clean house. top to bottom cleaning and tossing out the stuff we don't need or use. yay! wish me luck! oh, and to top it off, i am surprising my husband so when he gets home from his business trip, he will arrive to a brand new home :)

buttons.

mini buttons are sooo much fun! these buttons were featured on theknot.com wedding blog. they were used as a wedding favor for a couples wedding and i think they are freakin fabulous! don't you?!

work. usually a favorite.

My first pochette announcement!! I was so excited to venture out and try a new invitation/announcemnt. The idea was fabulous and so simple (in my head) and then the "punching began". As you can see in the picture I use a small tool, that I was soooo excited about getting and still love btw, to "punch these slits in the pochette to hold a picture or whatever. Seem simple enough, punch, place picture, fold, tie ribbon and throw on a backing for added decor...well a 1/2 hour later while I am STILL punching the slits this fabulous idea became work...ugh! Long story short I am waiting for one more piece to arrive before I can show the completed product, and I know I will have a lot more of these to do...but for now I am happy to be done "punching" for the day :)

[story also blogged at chic design's official blog]

green.

green and white! whether it be for a simple backyard bbq, a themed birthday or a lavish wedding, i love it! this table set up came from an inspiration gallery on marthastewartliving.com

free writing kit giveaway.

WIN FREE WRITING KIT! CLICK HERE FOR THE ENTRY FORM AND CONTEST DETAILS AND RULES! (no purchase neccessary!)

heart.

hearts for haiti Etsy.com . shop for handmade items that you will love and help support a cause at the same time!! can't beat that! the piece pictured was donated by archaic designs for hearts for haiti and is listed at $90. however you can shop in all price ranges so check it out!

social networks.

gotta love it. for business owners, it is a fabulous way to advertise your products or services for free and for everyone else it makes it pretty easy to keep in touch with those you don't see that often. as for me, i use it for both. i grew up in three states and moved a loth within those states, so to have a venue to keep in touch with those i find dear has been amazing and i can't image the lost communications without it. thank you facebook :)

a good man.

a tribute to the change you dreamt of and how you lived your life to see that change happen. thank you for all you did, and the legacy you left!

marbleized paper.

marbleized paper you can make yourself! find out how here. it's pretty darned cool....

newest toy.

so i am kinda going tool crazy right now, but growth calls for expansion! here it is from basicgrey, the beautiful notch cutter...obviously the review to come!

my signature scent.

loooovvveee it! so i have been wearing it for a while, and it is by far my favorite scent of all time. although it is a fave, it is definately a scent i don't wear all of the time. it has a very unique smell and it pretty strong, so i save it for when i go out. anyway, that is my faavvoorrite thing of the day! thanks!

my newest toy.

yay! i just ordered this today to help make my business more efficient and i am sooo excited! it's by crop-a-dile, and it will cut perfect corners in my stationery with ease. at least that is what it promises...the official review to come once i get it!

wedding fun 2.

back from the bridal show, and i have to say it was exactly what i expected. that sounds bad, but it wasn't. it was actually fun. the vendors were super nice (at least the ones who weren't sitting down staring at you with a blank look on their face) and they were super informative. the main reason i went, as i mentioned earlier, was to check it out for my business as i plan to set up a booth in next years fair. every booth was created equally and it was up to the vendors to spice it up. some did great, and some failed horribly, but it was great researching plus the $9 admission was worth the information that i gathered. there was one pleasant suprise though, there was only one official invitation vendor there!! in every other category it was super saturated and it was kind of easy to say, "wow that booth had a nice presence, i will take their business card i guess". but to have no real competition (at this bridal fair) was really refreshing. all in all it was a fabulous experience, very informative and fun to boot. all of the free samples weren't to shabby either.

(photo courtesy of marcella's bridal in spokane, wa, she designed my bridesmaids dresses and does a fab job with all types of gowns.)

wedding fun.

so as i have already mentioned, i am married. however i am attending the spokane bridal festival today as research for my booth in january 2011. love in the air, wedding stuff everywhere....i am sooo excited to go! well, i am off and will keep you updated. did i mention i was excited?! ok...i am really going now :)

mmm candy.

candy buffets, nothing new but gotta love 'em. what a fabulous way to show off your theme or colors for your event while also giving a sweet treat as a favor for your guests! this picture is a great idea for a baby shower fit for a princess, but it is amazing the possibilities out there. design it yourself or hire someone to do it for yourself, but keep in mind that the time you save hiring someone might make the slight cost difference totally worth it!

tiffany blue.

what girl doesn't love tiffanys? i only own one piece of jewelry from the store courtesy of my loving husband, which i received as a christmas gift. definately a staple in my jewelry collection. the main reason i am posting this on my favorites list is not the jewelry (sorry tiffany & co) it is the color of the box! it is my favorite color of all time. in fact i love it so much it was my main wedding color...and of course the little tiffany box in the picture is pretty much what my favor box looked like, white ribbon and all.

creative space.

is it mine? no. do i wish? oh yeah! isn't it adorable? who couldn't be creative in this space...oh and the organization, it's pretty much awesome. from the desk in an open space with the curtainless window allowing a ton of natural light into the space. on to the simplistic art on the wall against the vibrant but not overpowering green. it is fabulous....just fabulous. and i found it here along with some other great room ideas.

dreamers into doers.

it's pretty self explanitory, but here is the break down...the basic motto of martha stewarts dreamers into doers is celebrating passion. celebrating achievement. celebrating you. pretty cool right? i think so, to get recognition for taking a passion or a dream and turning it into a reality or business is an amazing feeling. so if you have a dream that you have thought about turning into a business, or if you are already doing it you should check this group out. love it!!!!!

i want it. bad.

you have no idea just how much i want this bad boy. 2400 x 600 dpi, 700 paper capacity, printer, scanner and copier all in one! it is a printers dream and i want it! so bad. now if i just had $1000 buck lying around my dreams would come true...until i wanted something else :)

etsy.

although i am slowly starting to list my stationery products at etsy, that is not why i love it. it is an amazing site for small business owner sharing their crafts with the world. it is an amazing showcase with some very talented people and if you have heard about it yet....you are missing out!




in case your interested here's me.

mother side of me.

for all you mothers of baby girls out there, i came across this website with the cutest little headbands! although i only have boys, i can always appreciate adorable accessories for little girls. plus with a newly born niece, i plan to get one for my her. not to spoil the suprise or anything ;o)

dolce vita.

i love these boots!! this is the more extreme side of my style but if i could afford i would by these boots in a heartbeat! (as seen here)

fun and games.

so i love bejeweled blitz on facebook! yes i have fallen off the wagon a bit lately, but it is still a favorite game.

toot toot.

so i have to toot my own horn here, as i am an owner of a small business. i promise to keep this short and sweet, but if you like stationery products custom made then check me out :) chicdesignonline.net

darkest chocolate crepe cake

mmmm...thought i would start this thing with an AMAZING looking cake? you agree?! check it out here.