We've Been A-Workin!

This was sent to Mum (Jim's grandmother/ T's Great Grandma) today, but I thought it was so cute I wanted to share it with everyone. T's hands are the feathers and feet are the body. He was SO proud of his work. He walked around pointing to his creation saying, "Turkey. Turkey."

I finally got pictures up on my shelf. It's not perfect yet, but it's getting close-er!

Have you ever made one of these? Super easy! It's a picture board made out of a cork board. That fabric is from a thrift store and cost pennies. I have buttons but I'm not sure whether I want to add them yet. I like it!

I am SO proud of this one! My friend was moving and was going to give this coat rack to a thrift store. It was not in perfect condition and needed a little (read a lot) of TLC. I stripped it, sanded the heck out of it and then stained it. I'm SUPER pleased with the outcome...and it was free!

I have a small obsession with T's book shelf. How cute is kid stuff? Really. Does it usually look like this? Heck no. But when it does I get a big smile on my face. Cuteness.

For some reason I'm really likin on random patterns lately. Don't know why. Just sayin.

Halloween Par-tay at our Pad

Twas the night before Halloween and all through our house

There were jailbirds and pirates

and a sweet little mouse.
The kids jumped for joy

and then went trick-or-treating

while the big people conversed

and did holiday eating.

Out little pirate enjoyed his first Hallows Eve bash

and wasn't even scared by this guy in a mask.

These girls made my heart melt

and so did this little guy,

And this cutie pumpkin-bum

Oh me, oh my.

Diana's Baby Shower

This cute girl is having a baby any minute now (yeah, you read that right...how much would I LOVE to look that good at 9 months pregnant!) so we threw her a baby shower. It was so much fun to get all the girls together to eat, talk and laugh like we were twelve!

And we were actually pretty productive--look at those awesome onesies we made. I found a tutorial online and they turned out even cuter than I imagined; and hecka easy!

Melissa & Me.

I obviously rocked the can't-say-baby-steal-everyone's-clothespin-game!

Zoraida & Alison.
And PS--Zoraida got baptized yesterday. Hooray!

Catherine, Donna & Laura.

This picture honestly almost makes me wet myself! Donna told the girls to do their best Bronx-face, and this is what we ended up with. Donna's face is priceless, especially because you almost never see her without a huge smile!

The night was so fun that we decided not to wait for the next baby to arrive. Once a month we're going to get together to partay! Can't wait till next month!

A 15-year-old girl TODAY

I love Taylor Swift and I'm not afraid to admit it! She is beautiful, talented and a very gracious/humble celebrity. I really respect that she writes her own music and I confess that Mr. T and I have had many-a-dancy party in our living room listening to Swifty herself. So when I heard that she was coming to the TODAY show, I immediately started scheming! They advertised fan passes that enable people to see the concert in the front row, and I sent them a super-sappy letter about my love for Taylor and desire to see the concert. Two days later I had a fan pass in hand and was counting down the days until I could go see her perform! Hooray.

I spoke with a few friends and said, "I know I'm like a 15-year-old girl, but do you want to see Taylor Swift with me?" A friend named Catherine got back to me and said, "I'm pretty much a 14-year-old so you are one step ahead of me!" With that...we planned our trip. The line for fan passes was seated at 6 am, so we decided to be there at 5 to be safe. Little did we know that real 14- and 15-year-olds had camped in line (some spent days in line) to be front row! We ended up being in the middle of the crowd, but we could still see Taylor and we could still hear her fab voice. It wasn't the front row seat I had hoped for, but hello...I was at a Taylor Swift concert for free. I was definitely not complaining!

My camera is obviously not perfect (the first pic is courtesy of the Wall Street Journal!), but as you can see we still had a great view of Taylor. She changed outfits in between numbers (and looked adorable in both) and sang the songs from her new album. I loved her giddy laugh when Ann Curry read the reviews her new album has received, and I love how she is as smitten with her fans as they are with her. I was nervous that I would be disappointed after the concert because I really respected her as a musician and person, but I can honestly say that she exceeded all my expectations. It was incredible.

After the show we were walking to the subway and we ran into Taylor's band. And yes, I knew it was her band. And yes, I know their names. And yes, I semi-freaked out. They were just as sweet and gracious as she was, and took a picture with me (well, half of them...the other half were being mobbed by 15-year-olds!) I was thrilled. The whole experience was so fun and exciting and I feel so blessed to live in a place where these events are possible.

OK--girly rant over! I will now happily step back into reality, back into responsibility and back into being 25! But every once in a while, it's fun to be 15 again!

Halloween Party fit for the KINGSbridge Ward

Jim and I were recently called as Activity Co-Chair in our ward and the Halloween Party was our opportunity to hit the ground running. We did a lot of PR, planned like heck (and prayed even harder) and luckily it turned out to be a total success. The Bishop told us to plan on 40-50 people...and we had 80! Luckily, we had enough food and enough fun for everyone in attendance!

The Decor:

The Picture Place:

The Eating Arena (Soups, Salads, Rolls and Goodies):

Mummy Races:

Donut-eating Contest:

Beanbag-tossing:

Cutie Kids:

Big Kids:

Cookie Decorating: