Say it ain't SEW...

Yes, it is SO! I have started sewing!! I'm so excited about this new endeavor much to the surprise of many of you (mammaw exclaimed "wow! I guess you're just a late bloomer!"). I had been talking with Steve about buying a machine for awhile, but finally caved and bought a brand new Brother machine from Costco when they put out a mega coupon. So far it's a good little machine!


I wanted to start sewing for lots of reasons. 1) fun 2) to make beautiful things! 3) to make more responsible choices about buying "new" 4) to give handmade, one of a kind, from the heart gifts. So far so good! It's not to say that sewing has been without frustration. I've ripped out more seams than I care to think about but I have made a few cute things and that's been really satisfying! And I never knew how many fabulously beautiful fabrics were out there - I can hardly bear to cut into them! Here are a few of the things I've made so far. I plan to post pictures as I create. Hope you like!

Tag Baby Blanket

Wrap Skirt

Apron

yes I know the pic is crooked - Steve was being "artistic" =)

cute little basket for notions
(I took the picture outside for better light)

And this is the fabulous set of fabric I got yesterday - I've got something fun planned for this!

Weekend at the Coast

This past weekend we got a much needed mini vacation and headed to Angie & Case's family vacation house at the beach. Case & Steve have been working together for several years now and the Farnands have become dear friends to us here in Portland!

We had a lovely time visiting with them, their daughter Morgan - the cutest almost 2 year old ever - (she is now saying my name which thrills me ;) "is tee na" could be heard throughout the house all weekend!) and our friends Jesse and Michelle. We cracked fresh crab, walked through town, played games and just had a relaxing time together.

We also all brought our dogs which was an adventure. We woke up to a beautiful day Sunday so we walked the dogs down to the beach. It was so wonderful to see Parker sprint across the sand uninhibited! He ran, and ran, and ran with no target in sight! Just running to run. (he also stopped to smell everything and greet everyone on the beach with a sandy jump of course!)

Thanks so much friends for a fabulous weekend!

Morgan, Me, Angie

Me & Steve

Jesse, Michelle, Kuma

Morgan!

Mom & Dad's Visit March 09

Today wraps up my 2009 Spring Break. All in all it has been an amazingly relaxing week. My mom and dad came out from Texas for about 5 days and we shopped, relaxed, & ate at our favorite spots, but the highlight of their visit had to be our hike on the Oregon Coast at Cape Lookout. It has been pretty cold here so we all started the day out a bit hesitant to say the least. We layered up with our long underwear, turtlenecks, hats and gloves and headed out. During the 1.5 hour drive we only became more nervous as the temperature dropped to 39 degrees and rain and hail periodically assailed us! But despite the low temperatures (especially noticeable to my Texan folks) and weather excitement, the hike was fabulous. We all got a good workout during our 3.5 hour mud-trek(!) but the views were amazing. We hiked through the lush green and alongside an almost sheer drop off to a point two miles out into the Pacific Ocean. It was breathtaking. To top it off we even saw a whale. It was a great adventure!

2008 - Year of the "I DO"

Well, I attempted to start blogging in 2007 right around the time when Steve and I got engaged. Didn't turn out so great! So 2008 has officially come and gone since my last post - oops! - I pinky-swear promise to be a better blogger in '09. I suppose after this entry I will already have blogged more in 2009 than I did in 2008...that's a start right?!

To re-cap 2008 in a nutshell...WEDDING! 2008 was a whirlwind year of planning, planning, and more planning culminating on sunny July 19th when we vowed to love each other through thick and thin for as long as we both shall live! July 19th, 2008 was the most amazing day of our lives. Now 8 months later we still find ourselves reflecting, laughing and comparing notes on the day!

We were so blessed to have had family and friends from all over the states (Wisconsin, Texas, Minnesota, Tennessee, to name a few!) fly out and show their support and love for us. Words can't begin to express our gratitude. It was amazing to see so many people we loved from so many of our life stages...college, high school, elementary school...come together.

Here are a few pictures from the day!

Portland's Street Car

Amazing Women! Thankful to have them in my life!
Sarah, Jessica, Jamie, Ashley

Steven and "The Men"!



Family!

The end of 2008 marked another great first for us - our first Christmas together (physically)! It's hard to believe that we've been together for 6 Christmas's now and because our families are so far apart we've always gone our separate ways. This year we took two weeks and flew to Appleton and then San Antonio. Despite many, many delayed or canceled flights, all worked out in the end and we had an amazing time with each of our families. It was really special to share the holidays together with each others' families.

That pretty much brings us to 2009 and while there are many details of 2008 missing...this post is long enough! I promise to be better this year. Until then,

C & S

Sunny Texas!

It is Thursday July 12th and I'm just about to pack up and head back to Portland after spending a week in sunny San Antonio with my family :(

It has been so awesome and I'm so bummed to leave.

Steve was here for the first 4 days and we had such a great time! My parents , sister and aunt and uncle have been so great and have made our engagement really special. My mom threw a mini engagement party for us. You can check out some pictures on picasa and video of Steve's mad cork popping skills on youtube!

We also spent a lazy afternoon floating down the Comal River and I tried on wedding dresses for the first time with my mom, aunt and sister yikes!

I can't believe this trip is almost over...

Wisconsin Trip

We just got back from an AWESOME trip to Wisconsin!

We got to spend some great time with Steve's mom, dad and grandma. Steve got a much needed Brewers fix when we went to Miller Park to see the Brew Crew take on the Astro's game with Andy, Shelley, Zac and Jeremy! I got to spend time with my two great friends Jessica & Jamie. I even met Jessica's little boy Drew for the first time. What a babe!!

Kev & Jill's wedding reception was a blast! All our love and congratulations to them!

Thanks all for such a great trip. As always, the time flew! Can't wait to go back :)

We're Engaged!

Yes, Steve and I are officially taking the plunge!

This weekend we took a side trip to Crater Lake on our way to a friend's wedding in Grants Pass. We'd been wanting to see Crater Lake ever since we moved out here, but it is about a 4.5 hour drive from Portland, so we just hadn't made the time until now.

It was sooo beautiful, really breathtaking and I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day!

We hiked around a little, stopped for drinks at the lodge and then towards the end of the day Steve and I stopped to sit and look out over the lake before hitting the road again. That's when he popped the question! Little Parker was even there for the big moment! ;) We are so excited and hope all of our friends will be able to make it out for our big day. We're hoping for something next summer, preferably July. We'll keep you all posted!