4 Kennedys and A Dog meet Lyndsay and the Johnsons

I have a "blogger buddy" named April Kennedy. She's talented, spunky, a great mom, and so down-to-earth. We've been "online" friends for a while now. I met her when she contacted me to revamp her blog, 4 Kennedys and a Dog a few years ago. And we've e-mailed ever since. And this week I had the pleasure of hanging out with her whole family for a few hours! Their family was on their way down the 5 for their annual summer vacation. And seeing as I am right off the 5, they all stopped by. It was like meeting up with an old friend! I wish all my favorite blogging buddies lived right around the corner, don't you? Fast friends:

You can find April's blog here (renamed as an extension of her business):

If you haven't checked out the Funky Vintage Kitchen Etsy shop yet, you should hop on over! You can find the shop HERE. She sells really cute aprons, cake plates, jewelry, you name it. Lots of great items to make you feel pretty in the kitchen!

This little poster went to market

Looky—it's for sale! Click on the little octopus button to get yours.
(And head over to the Blog Guidebook where I'm giving one away!)

I've also created some new high-res seamless digital patterns (that means you can repeat them to create large areas of pattern) that I created for use in digital scrapbooking, blog design, and other personal projects. You'll find the "Big Top" line in my Etsy shop:

Feelin' Groovy

Don't you just want to be happy? I seriously do. And I am not always happy. Sometimes I'm frustrated with the kids, or I hate the state of my house, or I think I'm looking a little lumpy in my jeans (yes, even little me...isn't that annoying how we do that to ourselves?). Whatever it is, every single woman has those days, and sometimes often. Here are three things that happened to show up under my nose as I was having some of these feelings lately. And I thought, "I have to share these, because every woman needs to have a 'Happy Arsenal.'" So check these out for a little boost:

The Blog:
"Serendipity Factor"
The Book:
(which is actually a printed and bound version of a beautiful talk found HERE)

The Body:
Cardigan Empire's fantastic post on body image.

Come back tomorrow! A cheery little poster will be for sale. Weeee! :)

Be. Do.

There are a few things I would like to be able to do. So I started a list. I am not going to try to DO all of these things, which is why I won't call it a Bucket List. But I can work on a few.

So here's my Bullet List:
• sing...really well
• play the piano (and not just the Jurassic Park theme song)
• pop and lock
• french braid
• create pastry dough that is authentic and flaky
• ride horses (again—I rode English back in the day, and I wasn't too shabby)
• sew small and adorable clothing for my wee ones
• not be nervous to speak in public (I am not going to work on this one...because it makes me too nervous)
• cultivate my green thumb (which is currently brown-ish)

What's on your bullet list?



illustration © Lyndsay Johnson

Get your craft on!

Do we all know about Paper Source by now? Because if you don't, get thee hence! It's my favorite spot for quality paper. They have a bunch of great crafty and gifty items, as well. And their new colors are delicious. See? (Peacock....eeeeeeeee!)

And right now it's all on sale. Ridiculous sale.
Click the button below to find your way over there:

Miss Maya

I haven't photographed Maya with my "real" camera in a while. I am always finding myself staring at her plump cheeks and pouty lips, so I thought it was high time that I document them properly. She's getting so big so fast—and more beautiful by the day.

CampIN

We would love to have a campout here:

But, alas, it feels like this outside:

So we had CampIN last night in our dining room:

Wes got the bedroom all to himself last night. Finn and I slept pretty well on the blow up mattress. We stayed up really late watching Toy Story from the comfort of our tent. And this morning the kids are all over the novelty of a tent bed in the house. Maya keeps tripping over the entrance. She trips EVERY TIME, no matter how many times she does it. But I have to admit—it's kind of cool to look over and see the tent still set up. It makes me want to take an afternoon nap in all of that fluffiness in there. You should try it! It's a great distraction from the TV, which seems to be on more than I would like now that it's too hot to play outside. Here's to the Great American CampIN. Ha. Good times!

photos courtesy of Wes, and my trusty little iPhone

This afternoon...

Greece: TAKE TWO

(for Take One, click HERE.)

Let's try this again, shall we?

Meet Greg:


Meet Katia:


I like to call them "Gratia"


They fell in love, and a couple of weeks ago got married in beautiful, sunny Greece:

There was a ceremony, kissing, applause, dancing, toasts, fireworks.
It was all very magical:
(or so I am told)

Before I got fantastically ill, I did have 1.75 good days
(but let's not be too nit-picky).

There was beaching:

Swimming:
(apparently I've got the"hands on hips" pose down pat)

Exploring:

Family:

Even dancing in the streets:

The thing that's kind of great about blogging
is that I can make 2 days stretch into a whole, amazing trip!

But I think Maya was very happy to have me back home:

Stay tuned for Take Three, in which:
• My parents return from their extended stay in Europe exploring Santorini, London, and the Scottish Highlands (luckies)
• Which will allow me to obtain and post the infamous photo of me hooked up to an IV in a room which looks suspiciously like a submarine
• I prove that I was, indeed, intended to be in the wedding party, and I don a bridesmaid dress