Miss Elizabeth is getting married!

Part of the joy in giving a gift is creating something thoughtful that creates a smile. I LOVE gifting and though a wedding registry is one of the most practical creations ever, it is fairly impersonal. So, with the batchelorette party of a friend of mine on the horizon, I had an excuse to wander the local Pottery Barn with all my left brain talent in tow. I must have spent an hour trying to find the right ensemble! Below is the gift I created, which consists of her pitcher, place mats and napkin rings. All it takes in a little creativity to make the ordinary, extraordinary! My goal was to give her a beautiful "bouquet!"

[After I took this, I wrapped it in cellophane & tied at the top with a Pottery Barn branded ribbon. Too cute!]

Did you find me??

Please leave me a quick comment so I know my directions work. Thanks!

Easter Bunnies!

We spent our last Omaha Easter with family in town. I always bring something sweet and try to make my creation very kid friendly for the three year old twins. This year, I decided to do my take on the Easter bunny cupcake. I made everything from scratch. They looked cute, but tasted terrible! So, I will share pictures and also the links to recipes that I would stay away from!

[my supplies, clockwise: sweethearts pink only, kissables brown only, dentyne gum cut in half (couldn't find chiclets!), chocolate twizzlers sliced]

[Finished product. For the ears, I sliced marshmallows in half, then sliced five wedges from each half. I then coated the sticky side with pink sugar crystals, put toothpicks in one end and stuck it in the cupcake]

[I found the gum horribly affected the taste of the cupcake, so I opted NOT to add them on most, mostly for the sake of keeping the kids from eating it. I thought they were actually cuter without the teeth!]

And here are the recipes I would recommend staying away from: Four Egg Yellow Cake & Buttercream Frosting. I consider myself a pretty good baker and yet, I clearly did something wrong. Let me know if you have any great cake or frosting recipes! I am always searching for yummy 'from-scratch' recipes!

[And this is why I do it!]

A Maven?

I was once described by a friend as a maven. She had just finished reading The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell which used the term to describe people who are "intense gatherers of information and impressions, and so are often the first to pick up on new or nascent trends. Gladwell also suggests that mavens may act most effectively when in collaboration with connectors- i.e., those people who have wide network of casual acquaintances by whom they are trusted, often a network that crosses many social boundaries and groups. Connectors can thus easily and widely distribute the advice or insights of a maven."

So, in discovering what I am really passionate about in life, I have decided that it is being a maven. I love to share with others, the research I do on products and projects and anything that I find interesting! (so you are thinking about how lucky you are to be my friend right about now, right?!? Hahaa ...kidding)

Anyhoo, this came to mind today when I found a new use for a product I have been using for years and wanted to share! I was introduced to the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser by my friend KT, who used it to clean her littermaid litter box, and then just threw the sponge away. Since this is probably the most disgusting household chore that exists, I experimented with the product and came to rely on it for much more than the litter box duties. It cleans up white door frames, refrigerators, coffee stained counter tops and today...it did its best job yet! I was caught in a slushy freezing rain storm the last time I wore my white puma sneakers and they ended up nearly brown by the time I made it in & out of the grocery store. I was pondering how to get them clean today and thought I would give the Magic Eraser a shot. Wise decision! They clean white leather up to the brightest perfect shade of white! So next time you contemplate how to clean those gray/brown kicks that used to be white, grab a magic eraser & get to work!

L O V E

SO... I really am not going to begin many creative projects since I fear making a horrible mess in our super-clean-ready-to-show-at-any-second home. So I am going to spend the next couple of months diving into my new photography hobby. I want to learn as much as I can before my European extravaganza so I figure most of what will be to come on here has to do with what I see through a lens. I am really into artsy photography [see previous post] but some moments are just those you have to catch without being artsy. This was one of those occasions! I try to foster a home full o' love. Apparently it is working!

[Oh, my babies all love each other. I'm feeling like an accomplished furbaby mama!]

[and NO, he is NOT supposed to be on the bed!!!!!]

Rusty update...

I cant believe it has been this long!!! Our home went on the market this week so we have been feverishly working to make it sparkling and perfect. Mission accomplished! Please send us some real estate luck so we can get this place sold!

[I snapped this after we had a good cry together. I was so worried about him and he knew it. Can't you just see it in his eyes?]

I wanted to give those of you, who are kind enough to care, an update on Rusty. We hooked him up to a holter monitor, which is a 24 hour monitoring of his heart (basically a 24 hour EKG). We were looking for PVC (premature ventricular contractions) that were the evidence of an arrhythmia. As a breed, normal boxers usually have about 50 per day. Those with severe boxer cardiomyopathy have PVCs in the thousands and tens of thousands per day. Thankfully, Rusty only threw 32 during the time he was monitored, putting him in the normal range. [for those of you with medical minds who read this...all were singlets and in rhythm, which is super encouraging] When you have more than one of these extra contractions in a row is where you really run into trouble. So...for now our directive is to treat our little boy as normal. There are a few studies that have been conducted using fish oil and with some pretty decent results that show the number of PVCs are reduced with high enough supplementation in the daily diet. So Rusty drools for his two capsules each night and chews them like candy. He is back to doggie daycare and has no idea anything was ever wrong!

[Rusty wired like a suicide bomber. Poor little guy!!! This was off his daddy's cell phone camera, so excuse the quality! He tolerated the vest without the cone, thank goodness!]

No End in Sight.

Let me preface this post with this: my blog is not about politics. It is about creativity and education. The subject matter is creative education about politics.

As a lover of documentary film, I find myself searching for works of art that are informative, unbiased and can hold my attention. I usually tend to shy away from political pieces as it is hard to find anything that comes out of Hollywood representing anything but the far left. About a month ago, we received the film No End in Sight from Netflix and have had it just sitting in our house not really enthusiastic about watching it. We finally got around to it this weekend and it is by far, the best documentary I have seen. If you think you have an opinion about this war, watch this film and see what more you can gather. The film includes very little narration and is composed of first hand accounts from extremely credible sources: insiders in the pentagon, white house and battle field. I am more passionate about this, given the state of our country's future, than anything I have ever written on this blog. [correction: learn doggy CPR, then watch this film]

As a political moderate who usually leans left, I thought I knew who I was voting for. After this film I have a new candidate; and its not who I thought it would be.

"THE MOST IMPORTANT MOVIE YOU ARE LIKELY TO SEE THIS YEAR"

2007 Academy Award Best Documentary Feature Nominee

Help please...topic: RUGS!

I am in need of a new rug to spruce up the entryway for when we put our home on the market next week. I have exhausted the options within driving distance and am looking for some online help. Please let me know if you have any suggestions...

I am just kicking myself for not learning how to tile & tackling this floor. We have lived with this awful linoleum and I have some words of wisdom...if you have a rubber backed rug, don't let the sun beat in on it or it will discolor the linoleum underneath. Our floor is ruined...which is why we need another 30"x50" rug. I could just buy another one like this (cats have annihilated this one) but I am looking for something plain & basic that is different...


I am always asked about this piece of furniture in the hallway so I thought I would share with you one of my home organization workhorses. I HATE having mail all over the place. Well, I hate any clutter really. So this is my little mail sorter. There are six basket drawers; four small, two large. The small baskets house 1) my mail 2) hubby's mail 3) financial mail 4) coupons. The large baskets hold 1) my large mail/magazines 2) hubby's large mail/magazines. Tadaaa- no clutter! Everything gets sorted the minute the mail gets walked in the door and if it doesn't have a place to go then its new home is the trash can. :) The empty plantar on the top is our outbox. [& the bell hanging from the door is not some quirky decor; it is how Rusty tells us he needs to go potty]