Show and Tell

Merci

Today is Friday, August 12

Here are the verses that spoke to me this morning:

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

"But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters:  The time that remains is very short.... Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away."

Kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

Before I continue (sometimes it's just best to let scripture seep into your heart, so I decided not to expound on it today... :) ), I want to just say that I have been gently chastised (thank you, dear blog readers!) and am over saying crazy things about not deserving attention, blah, blah, blah. Every person deserves love and attention and I'm so very thankful for every prayer and other little bit of attention that our family has been receiving. Being in the spotlight is not a comfortable place for little ol' introverted me, but I'm now going to accept the position that the Lord has put me in as gracefully as possible and MOVE ON! 

 

At Britt's encouragement, I decided to try a cardmaking challenge. The first one I came to when scrolling through my backlogged Google Reader, was Card Patterns Sketch 127. So, that became my target. Took all yesterday afternoon, but I did come up with a card.

 

 

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Not perfect, but not bad for a first foray back into the world of creativity. Smart girl, that Britt, encouraging me to do a sketch challenge. :)

AND TELL:  stamp is from Papertrey Ink (Think Big Favorites #3); cardstock is PTI (Stampers Select White); patterned paper is PTI (Bitty Box Basics), Bo Bunny (Abbey Road Sky), Cosmo Cricket (Material Girl line); ink is Stampin' Up (Melon Mambo); doily is Martha Stewart; flowers are Prima (Fairytale Roses); rub-ons are Heather Bailey; rhinestones are from my stash.

I know that some of you have been waiting for photos from the wedding festivities and I'm starting to get there. I just have this need to do things pretty much in sequential order... that's one reason you've been having to wait for so long. (Yes, I'm an interesting mix of OCD and "oh, whatever"... :) )

So, the morning of the wedding, Ken & I went over to the reception site to see how the set-up was progressing.

Not so much going on there, but how's it looking here?

And now?

The reception was held in the ballroom of the Sir Walter Apartments (formerly THE hotel for movers-and-shakers in downtown Raleigh, just a couple blocks from the Capitol). Now it is subsidized housing for senior citizens, but their gorgeous, kinda kitschy, ballroom was available for a great price and was the perfect location for Britt & Kenneth's event. We couldn't use the lobby area in the picture below, but I thought you might like to see it.

The windows of the ballroom have really deep window sills...

which we used as a display area for family photos (I'll show you that another day), but we also used them as perching areas for additional seating. Britt was not interested in having an event with placecards. She wanted people mingling, dancing, and having fun — not just sitting in their "assigned seats".

One more set-up thing to show you — when we went to the Sir Walter, Kenneth's parents and aunt & uncle were there sprucing up the bathrooms.

They were really doing a bang-up job!

Anything you might need.

I had no idea that they were planning to do this and it was such a sweet and thoughtful touch. It elevated the dingy, institutional restrooms to practically starring roles. And, unfortunately I didn't get pictures of this part, Britt had cut profile silhouettes — one of each of them — and they were being mounted on the restroom doors... Kenneth's for the men's room... hers for the ladies room. Super cute idea, huh?

Tomorrow is the monthly stamp club meeting that I attend, so I'm hoping to go — head-full of stitches and all. I made my cards earlier in the week, so I'll plan to post those tomorrow, too. Along with more getting-ready-for-the-wedding photos. :)

Thanks so much for spending a bit of your time here with me. I love your visits and relish your words of encouragement. Hugs to you! 

you're such a treat

Ah, the first day of school. Here at last.

I like to take a little treat for the teachers on the first day of school — kind of a welcome back and I'm glad you're here offering. This is the card that I made to go with the plate of goodies. It was inspired by Card Patterns Sketch 80.

 

 

 

 

 

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Lately it seems like everytime I finish a card and get it photographed, I think "oh, I should've done this" or "oh, I should've done that". Maybe I should make a checklist for myself to look at as I'm designing a card. I think I need a list that says things on it like "texture", "dimension", etc. Seems so obvious to automatically think of these things — but obviously not to me! Gosh — having a brain over 50 years old is getting a little scary! (Please tell me I'm not alone!)   

AND TELL:  stamps are from Unity (June 2009 KOM: perfect in every way, July 2010 KOM: Happily Ever After); cardstock is Stampin' Up (Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight) and Papertrey Ink (Stampers Select White, Rustic White, Kraft); patterned paper is from Sassafras Lass (Cherry Delicious line); ink is SU (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi) and PTI (Dark Chocolate); red stickers are from my stash.

Before I go back to a few more Oregon pictures (I'll do that on the next post) I thought I'd show you one picture that pretty well sums up my entire Labor Day holiday weekend.

Yep. Food. Specifically burgers. And desserts. This picture was taken Saturday night at the house of some friends down the street. That burger with bleu cheese and american cheese and onion and tomato and whatever else I put on there was huge. Thankfully I have a big mouth. And I ate every bite. And then I had a nice sized piece of chocolate fudge layer cake. And then when we left there we went to our next door neighbor's house (where they were having a family backyard campout) and joined them for s'mores. And then we went home and had blackberry cobbler with ice cream. That was just Saturday. Ridiculous. But delicious. :)

So — a few days ago when I spoke of making potato salad and blackberry cobbler, you asked to tell you how they turned out. Um, the potato salad was the worst I've ever made. But the next day I doctored it up with more sauce and it was much better. Much closer to Grandma's. But not quite there. {sigh} The blackberry cobbler (made with this recipe from the Martha Stewart website) was easy and tasty. Ken especially likes it. I'm not a huge cobbler fan — I prefer my desserts to be much sweeter — but it was good enough that I may make it again. With more sugar. :)

And I think that's it for tonight. I really need to get to bed — because tomorrow is another first day of school. When some kids only come on Tuesdays and Thursdays and others come on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you get more than one first day of school. Keeps that first week really interesting.

Thanks for stopping by today. I really appreciate your visits and hope to see you again soon!

Another Birthday!

Our brother-in-law Michael is having another birthday. Another miracle birthday. I probably should've made a "Happy 2nd Birthday" card, since this is the second birthday he's had that the doctors said he wouldn't see. Nothing like a new lease on life to make you see things in a different way and start truly enjoying your blessings! (The picture of Lynne & Mike was swiped from their blog — a blog started by Lynne as a way to update friends and family on Mike's condition, it has evolved into a wonderful chronicle of life being lived that is quite often hi-jacked by Mike to tell stories of his current and past adventures.)

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I tried to make a card that incorporated stuff that it seems guys like... dimension, texture, sort of masculine colors, and wood. Not sure if you can tell, but that tan layer is actually a wood veneer. As a wood craftsman, I think Mike will appreciate the wood on his card. And I love the way the edges inked up. The buttons don't really scream "man", but I put them in anyway. At least they're not pink, right? And, I used twine instead of ribbon — that has to count for something... (Oh, I also used Card Patterns Sketch 79 as my starting point — switched it around a bit but, since they said that was A-OK, I went for it!)

So today Lynne and Mike are having a big blow-out everyone's-invited party for Michael up at their lake house in Indiana. Wish we could be there. Or that the card, at least, could be there. Unfortunately, as seems to be my m.o. as of late, the card isn't even mailed yet. Once again, there I go extending people's birthdays. So — happy birthday, Michael! Hope your day is fabulous and that you keep confounding the doctors by having many, many more!

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Through the Trees); cardstock is Stampin' Up (Marina Mist, Early Espresso); ink is SU (Craft White, Early Espresso) and PTI (Tea Dye Duo); wood veneer was purchased at Paper Source; buttons and twine are from PTI (Vintage White & Cream; Rustic Jute); also used PTI's Woodgrain impression plate.

Now some more Oregon pictures. I've debated about how to organize these for my blog. Since I use the blog both for paper crafts and for, well, my life stuff... I've decided that I can just do whatever I well please. haha. :) Those who are interested in cards and stuff like that can just read the first part. Those who don't care about all that creative stuff can breeze past it to the personal stuff. How's that? You get to choose! (As if I had to explain that to you!)

Since I mentioned my dad yesterday I thought I'd share some of the "purpose" of our trip to the coast — it wasn't just for the fabulous food that I showed you yesterday. There are a couple memorials to my dad over there that we wanted to visit — one is a memorial brick at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.

The last time Mom had visited she noticed that the brick was fading so she sent them an e-mail asking if it could be re-etched (or whatever) — and we were all pleased to see that it had been done. And you can see how boldly it stood out in comparison to the others around it. Pretty impressive service after just one e-mail!

Mom keeps a membership to the aquarium, so admission was free for all of us. Nice. Of course, we had to walk in and check out some of our favorite exhibits...

like the three tunnels through different ocean habitats. I think seeing the seaweed from under the water is interesting. I'm used to seeing it washed up on the beach after a storm. And it's pretty gross.

 
The picture below isn't that great, but it shows what I ate for lunch swimming around.

It's that flat diamond-y kind of fish. Yummy halibut. 

And, here is the deep ocean with the sharks and stingrays and that sort of thing.

My favorites are the jelly fish tanks.

They're mesmerizing. I could just stand and watch them for a long time.

The colors from the tide pools, with all the starfish and anemone, are fun to look at, too.

Not a lot of action there, though. And I'm not too into touching them, so I don't stay too long there.

There's an aviary, also.

Hah — as if! You may know how I feel about birds. I didn't even enter the aviary. But outside there were these viewing windows into water and this is what we saw...

 
crazy... the stuff nightmares are made of. Forget sharks...

be very afraid of the diving and swimming birds!!

But — I think the seals and sea lions had the right idea of how to enjoy the day's beautiful weather (can you see them?)...

Especially that big guy on the rock. Wonder what he had to go through to get what must be the most coveted spot for sunning?

 
And gorgeous it was. I'll talk more about that another day... with more Oregon coast pictures... and something paper crafty, too. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. I love that you take the time to spend a bit of your day with me. And I hope to see you again soon!

  

Butterflies from Boo-Boos

I'm sure I'm not the only one that occasionally has stamped images that simply can't be redeemed. They're smeared. They're incomplete. There's just something wrong with them. Tempting as it may be, I don't wad those up and toss them into the garbage. Instead I punch them into other shapes. And this card, my second for Card Patterns Sketch 72, uses 16 butterflies — all of which were punched from stamped goofs.

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I used vellum for the sentiment tag so that the butterflies underneath it weren't completely hidden. And to add a little extra interest, I stamped the tag with a design using Versamark ink and added a little flower bud made from circle-punched scraps.

AND TELL:  stamp is from Papertrey Ink (Mega Mixed Messages, Daily Designs) plus a bunch of other partial stamps; cardstock is PTI (Kraft) and Stampin' Up (Bliss Blue, vellum) and lots of scraps; ink is Versmark and Stazon (Jet Black); twine is PTI (Rustic Jute); butterfly punch is from Martha Stewart and scalloped circle is SU. 

OK — I think that's it for now. Yesterday I said that if I got around to doing a second try of this Card Patterns sketch that I would probably have two posts today. But I changed my mind. This is it for the day. I'll be back tomorrow, though. Have a great evening! And, thanks for stopping by. 

Lotsa Scraps

I made this card using this week's Card Patterns sketch as inspiration. And, I guess I can say "inspiration" because I've developed a bad habit of glancing at a sketch, turning my back on it, creating, and then turning back to find that I left an integral part of the sketch out. Oh, well. Sketches are pretty much just a starting point anyway, right?

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The "Thank You" sentiment is from one of my very oldest Stampin' Up sets. I'm thinking it was a hostess reward that I chose after my first party. And, I still like it and the three images that came with it. So — back in the drawer it goes. I'm not doing so well at culling out my old sets, am I? Maybe that means that I just have extraordinarily good taste that hasn't changed over the years. :)

So, since I forgot to add any twine or ribbon or even a strip of paper to create some vertical interest, I may have to try this sketch again. We'll see. If I get a chance, that might mean tomorrow will be a two post day. Wow. Haven't done that for awhile!

AND TELL:  stamp is from Stampin' Up (Thank You Blocks); cardstock is Papertrey Ink (Rustic White) and SU (vellum); patterned paper is a bunch of scraps trimmed into 1" squares; ink is StazOn (Jet Black); rhinestone is from my stash.

Now I feel like there should be a trumpet fanfare playing... or a parade marching by... or cheerleaders shouting a victory chant... or something. Today marks Day 31 of the Flylady Beginner BabySteps. Day 31 of 31 days. I did it. Woohoo and yea, me!

Before I tell you what Day 31 says, let me just report that my house is not perfect. My life is not perfect. But — surprise, suprise — I'm not perfect either. And, this side of heaven, I won't be. So, this isn't about perfection. It's about gaining a measure of control (over myself) and doing a little something each and everyday. It's about establishing enough of a routine, that many things become automatic. I buck a routine with just about every fiber of my being, yet — I know that when I keep to one (with some flexibility, of course!) I am a much happier person... and, hopefully, more fun to be around.

So — as I write this, my sink is full of breakfast and lunch dishes because I didn't get the dishwasher unloaded this morning. A couple of the things that I bought while out running errands are sitting on the counter still. There's a hot spot building on the kitchen island. The dog's bed cover is in the dryer and I haven't done a load of clothes today. Only one bathroom got a swish & swipe this morning. But most of that can be taken care of in short order. And will be. And, I know that it's only going to take me a matter of minutes to do it. And, just as importantly, I know how it all got to be this way — last night I stayed up too late (drat that monthly PTI release party!), didn't complete my before bed routine, and got up too late to finish my morning routine before leaving for work. There truly is something to this routine stuff, you see. And it's been good for me to have my eyes opened to it (again). 

Day 31 — it's really like a pep talk. Or a big hug. A gentle reminder to keep looking at your control journal morning, afternoon, and evening — and another reminder that you don't have to do everything Flylady suggests all at once. The more you do (regularly), the easier it gets and the more you can do. And the more you want to do. As she says, "You don't have to see the top of the staircase to take the first step. Or the 30th. Just keep FLYing (Finally Loving Yourself)." [That was the Janelle paraphrase. :) ]

Hope you've had a wonderful day! Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Sometimes you just need a reminder.

Here's my reminder for the day. You can let it be your reminder, too. I used Card Patterns Sketch 71 as my inspiration for this small card (4-1/4" x 4").

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Since my life doesn't always go as I plan, this is a good reminder for me. Some things are out of my control. Nothing is out of God's control. I just need to be still... and know... and trust.

AND TELL:  stamp is from Verve (Psalm 46:10); cardstock is Stampin' Up (Vintage Violet); patterned paper is Webster's Pages (petite papers triple pack: Seaside Retreat, Garden Gala, Nature's Storybook); ink is Papertrey Ink (Plum Pudding); rhinestone brads are SU (Fire Squares); also used circles punched from old church choir music. 

Yesterday after work I had lunch with a friend and that put me behind for the entire day — thus no post yesterday — and no Flylady update either. So — let's start here today... I did put a little thought into a basic weekly plan and penciled a bit into my Control Journal. I'll try this out for a few weeks and see if I can make it work. If not, I'll make adjustments. One kind of funny thing — when I was growing up, Saturday morning was always spent cleaning the house. My mom is great with routines and she had one down that worked for her. Now, I'll admit that I was not crazy about the fact that her routine involved me dusting and vacuuming every week. Guess I've been rebelling ever since (by only cleaning when absolutely necessary). Poor, Mom. You tried your best — I just happen to have this rebellious teen in me that hasn't grown up yet. :) In Flylady's plan, she spends an hour cleaning her house on Monday mornings. Since I work away from home, that day/time doesn't cut it for me. A few years ago I tried doing a different household chore every afternoon when I came home from work — you know, dust one day, vacuum another, change the sheets another, etc. That worked pretty well. Until I started a blog. haha. Now I'd rather spend my afternoons making things and blogging. But — Ken does a volunteer job every Saturday morning and is out of the house, so it finally occurred to me that Saturday morning would be the perfect time to do what Flylady calls the Weekly Home Blessing Hour. How funny that I'm back to what my mom tried to train me to do all those years ago!

Well, Day 26 of Flylady's Beginner BabySteps is to read the first line at the bottom of her e-mails. I think she's changed the way the e-mails are formatted since the baby steps were added to the website, but she was talking about how it may take a month to form a habit so she has chosen a different habit for her "flybabies" to focus on each month. July's habit is the Swish & Swipe. I think the e-mails used to have the habit of the month listed at the top of the bottom (got that?) — then she would have a few more lines underneath. Now the top of the bottom (haha, sorry, can't help myself...) says, "You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?" And that in itself is not a bad reminder for me either as I sometimes have a tendency to "throw out the baby with the bathwater." So — there you go. Day 26. Just five more to go and I'll have done (and reported on) each one.

Well, that was two reminders for today — 

1. Is your life a mess? Be still. Know God. Trust Him.

2. Is your house a mess? Just jump in and do something.

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back tomorrow with more. Hope to see you then!

  

Music & Scripture

They often go together, don't they? I love it when I'm reading my Bible and come across scripture that I know must have inspired a song that has been embedded in my brain from childhood. Like "Great is Thy Faithfulness" — Lamentations 3:21-23. Or "I Know Whom I Have Believed" — 2 Timothy 1:12. Or more recent songs like "Forever" by Chris Tomlin — Psalm 118:1 (among others...).

I have two cards for you today — both using sheet music from my stash and both following this week's Card Patterns sketch 58. You know that every time I see a sketch that incorporates small shapes I think of my collection that I punch from small, odd-shaped pieces of paper before discarding the scraps. It's hard to resist a sketch where I can use some of those!

The first card also fits in with the latest Everything But the Kitchen Sink challenge to use string (or floss or hemp or twine or...).

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The bow is made from three strands of different colored embroidery floss that has been braided. Don't think I'll be doing that very often as it took quite awhile, but I do like the effect. Especially for this soft and gentle card that seems compatible with the idea of being still and listening for God's voice.

AND TELL:  stamp is from Verve (Psalm 46:10); cardstock is Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss, Vintage Cream) and Stampin' Up (Pink Pirouette); ink is PTI (Spring Moss); also used lots of items from my stash —sheet music, pre-punched circles from scraps, DMC embroidery floss in pink, green, and yellow, and a gemstone and rub-on that were both from K&Company.

The second card incorporates my current favorite color combination. Love Hawaiian Shores paired with Summer Sunrise and a bright green, especially with some red-orangey pinks mixed in.

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We adopted this verse for our son when he was in high school. It will always make me think of him, so much of the time I spent creating this card was also spent praying for Ian.

AND TELL:  stamps are from Verve (Jeremiah 29:11); cardstock is Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, Vintage Cream); patterned paper is My Mind's Eye (from the Confetti collection) along with assorted scraps; ink is Stampin' Up (Green Galore) and PTI (Hawaiian Shores); also used pre-punched or die-cut shapes, ribbon from Michaels, and a K&Company flower-shaped gem.

Yesterday I promised a look at my stacks of old choir music.

 
Oh, let me show you another picture where you can get a little peek inside that box.

Yes, I have more than I could possibly use in my lifetime. Or probably in 100 lifetimes. I'd love to give it away. Maybe you'd like some?

Here's the deal, though. I can't afford to mail it all out to all of you. Would you be willing to pay for postage? I'm willing to stuff a U.S. Flat Rate envelope as full as I can get it with an assortment of music, if you're willing to send me $5.00 to cover the mailing cost. I don't want to mess with Pay Pal or anything, so can we just make this an honor system thing? (I have great faith in you and know that I won't be disappointed!) If you would like a big, fat envelope containing an assortment of old, used choir music, leave me a comment. I'll send you an e-mail to get your information and get the envelope in the mail to you. I'll do this until all the music is gone. I have a hard time imagining that there would be enough demand from my blog readers that I would run out, but I do suppose anything is possible. So, it's first come, first served.

Now — be sure to read this, too. Keep in mind that this is used music from a church choir. Because it's used, there are handwritten notes on some of it. Things like "loud" or "unison". Or portions may be circled. Or crossed out. Some people used pencils. Others used ink. Or highlighters. For the most part, these areas are easy to work around if you don't want them to show in your design. Also — keep in mind that it's from a church choir. Because of this most of the music is sacred and will have spiritual references. If that will bother you, you may want to look for music somewhere else. On the other hand, if it seems sacrilegious to you to cut up spiritual music, keep in mind that this music was on its way to the dumpster. You're helping to save the environment and give the music a new life. :)

Hopefully all that is clear. Oh — if you are out of the U.S. and still want some we'll just have to figure out the shipping cost. I'm not opposed to trying to make that work for people overseas.

And, one more thing, since Friday is my blog's first birthday I'll be announcing a little giveaway. Some music will be included with the rest of the items, but probably not as much as you'll get in that stuffed flat-rate shipping envelope. Just thought I'd give you a heads-up on that.

Questions? Just ask. And, thanks so much for stopping by for a visit. And for your sweet comments and encouragement during this first year of blogging. You make it all fun and worthwhile! See you tomorrow! 

  

Lucky Me

Today is not just St. Patrick's Day. It's my friend Margie's birthday. We've lived just down the street from each other for over 20 years. We raised kids together. Our families have vacationed together. She's the one who pushed encouraged me into craft designing in the 1990s and we attended Society of Craft Designers conventions together in Nashville and in Salt Lake City, and HIA in Chicago. And, boy, do we have some stories to go along with those trips! (Yes, we're old enough that neither of those organizations exist by those names anymore, but they were IT in their time.) We don't see each other often enough, but I still treasure Margie's friendship and want her to know that. She's one of those people who inspire you to try new things, making you think anything is possible. Lucky me that she's my friend.   

I used this week's Card Patterns sketch as my starting point for Margie's card. After that, I took inspiration from the holiday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The shamrock is formed from three hearts that have been stamped using the rock 'n roll technique (ink with lighter color then roll stamp edges in darker color) along with a hand-cut stem. To make the sentiment I used "You're a" from Star Prints (actual stamp reads "You're a super") and "True Friend" from In Bloom (part of a much longer sentiment). And that's a perfect example of why I love clear stamps. It's so easy to ink up just portions and put them together to make your own sayings.

The inside of the card is stamped with a simple "Happy Birthday," leaving lots of room to write a personal message to my good friend. 

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Heart Prints, Star Prints, In Bloom, Fresh Alphabet); cardstock is PTI (Stampers Select White) and Stampin' Up (Green Galore, Glorious Green); patterned paper is scraps from my stash; ink is Stampin' Up (Green Galore, Glorious Green); rhinestones are Kaiser; baker's twine is Martha Stewart; also used a Sizzix embossing folder (Snowballs) and Stampin' Up's Stampin' Write marker in Green Galore.

So — here's what's going on at the preschool today.

Appealing, huh? It's Green Eggs & Ham day in the 3 year old classes.

Some will like them.

 
Some will not.

 
:)

Hope you have a fabulous St. Patrick's Day! Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Wishes

Here's the out of my comfort zone card that I spoke of yesterday.

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We have distressing, we have inking, we have a sentiment on an angle. I tend to like things neat, tidy, and squared up. (Those of you who know me in real life can stop laughing now!) My physical spaces may be disorganized and messy-looking, but my inner-self likes pure, bright, clean colors and straight, parallel and perpendicular edges.

The card was inspired by yet another sketch challenge site:  Card Patterns. This is the first time I've played along with one of their sketches, but I've followed them — admiring their sketches and the creations of their design team — for quite awhile now.

AND TELL:  stamp is from Unity Stamp Company (Savor the Journey - January 2010 Kit of the Month); cardstock is Papertrey Ink (Kraft, Ocean Tides) and Stampin' Up (Confetti Cream); patterned paper is from Kaiser Craft and Creative Imaginations; ink is Stampin' Up (Ruby Red) and PTI (Tea Dye Duo); button twine and button are from PTI (Rustic Jute; Vintage White and Cream); also used Stampin' Up's Birds & Blooms dies (Large Flower, Flower Pieces).

We've had a beautiful day. Temperature in the mid-60s — just like it should be this time of year. Not that I spent much time outside in the weather, but I did put the top of my car down after my workout at Curves (I drive a Volkswagen Eos, hardtop convertible) and that was kind of fun. But for the seasonal allergies that are beginning to rear their ugly head. :( 

Well, I need to start getting ready for the regular Monday night company. The crock pot has been cooking away all day, but now there are all those other little preparations to do.

Hope your day has been lovely! Thanks so much for coming by for a visit!