DIY: iPad Pouch

Sew your own iPad pouch! 

It's just like sewing a pillow, but leave the top open and attach a flap! Add a button or Velcro to seal the pouch. I'm still looking for the perfect teal button for my pouch. I just used extra fabric from a previous project but I look forward to purchasing cuter fabric to use for the next one.

 

Now I'll feel better about sticking the iPad in my purse or bag without it getting scratched. 

Sunny Coffee Day

First of all, Happy National Coffee Day! I hope you celebrated with a coffee-filled treat as I did. 

What a fabulous, gorgeous, warm, sunny day in the Pacific Northwest! Even though my day included working for the majority of the hours, I was able to enjoy the outdoors while on a long walk along the river. Have I mentioned that this is practically our back yard (check out the pics below)??? The river and surrounding area is so beautiful and truly shines on a day like today. There is a pathway all along the river that leads to Starbucks, so I of course had to take part in enjoying another pumpkin spice latte in the middle of my walk. Bonus: met up with Catherine and caught up on our busy weeks' happenings.

 

 

A great phone chat with my Mom and good ol'  Taylor Swift on the iPod kept me company on my walk. 

 Isn't this just gorgeous?!?!?  Truly made my day . . .

Hope you got to enjoy the sunshine today. Hopefully it is not our last sunny day of the year.

Favorite Finds: Tea Pot & Bangle

With each new week, I will try to share a favorite item that I either have or have recently discovered. Starting it off with this great Tea Pot and my favorite jewelry item right now . . .

 

Sea Urchin Tea Pot. An absolute favorite. Love the small details and white porcelain.

 Hand crafted and locally made by Beyond Jordan Studio.

 My favorite part about this tea pot.... My own Dad made it!

Favorite Item #2: This bangle!  Bought in Portland from Cargo.

Was finally able to wear fall-ish clothes yesterday and LOVED it. Kind of look more like Christmas. Can you tell that I am excited for Christmas?

Lynsey Love

Meet Lynsey. She is first of all SO gorgeous, SO fun, and the most loving person I'll probably ever meet. She is currently teaching in Myanmar and I miss her! Just thinking of her today, I found some old pics that I took of her last year for fun! By looking through them, I'm sure you can tell how much personality she has! Proud of you and miss you Lyns!

 

1. She has style and can pull off anything

2. She can get up in front of anyone and do just about anything

3. She can brighten anyone's day

~Thanks for being a fab friend~

Wish I could afford a ticket to Myanmar to visit!

Smor·gas·bord & Sweet Tea

Peanut-butter chocolate fudge brownies. They turned out DELICIOUS even though I didn't follow the recipe from previous post (surprise, surprise).  

-White chocolate

-Peanut Butter

-Vanilla

-Half & Half cream

-Dark Chocolate

-Milk Chocolate

*Optional- add nuts or coconut on top!  

original recipe/inspiration found here.

*Over stove top, mix/melt white chocolate, peanut butter, add a few drops of vanilla. Pour into glass pan. Then, do the same with the chocolate layer. Mix/melt dark chocolate and milk chocolate & half and half. Can also use cocoa powder into the mix. Pour over cooled peanut butter. Cool for 3+ hrs in the fridge. The top layer turned out tasting more like a choc ganache. So yummy and super easy!*

Sweet Tea, Fried Okra, & Fried Chicken and Waffles, + more! Andrew and I enjoyed a southern dinner treat tonight with our friends Brandon and Catherine. Went to Miss Delta in NE Portland. The best part by far was the sweet tea that had PERFECT flavor. Felt like I was back in Texas with the fam!

Never heard of fried chicken & waffles but Andrew was feeling adventurous. Also.... he couldn't get enough sweet tea. So good!
Great food, great company! 

 Fishtail braid .... I think? What do you think?

Leaf Art for Fall!

Today has been a wonderful, productive day! It all started with a beautiful morning nature walk with my friend Catherine (she just lives a mile down the road AND just got a bomb.com new job as an ER nurse! So excited for her!!!). We enjoyed a long walk along the Willamette River and a Starbucks stop and then began our crafting! 

I also accomplished a TON on this day off including cooking a whole chicken (this deserves a post of its own as this is a huge step for me to cook something with bones in it!.... coming soon).  

I Painted this leaf to stamp onto paper.

 

These are some of the leaves we picked up on our walk!

 

This crafting wouldn't be complete or fully inspired without an iced pumpkin spice late! So good! 

 

I used the leaves we found on our walk as inspiration. I painted inside the black stamped leaf that I had previously purchased and then went over the lines with a black pen. I loved the feeling of having a paintbrush in my hand again..... it's been far too long! I also tried to stamp the leaf on paper after painting it. Below is a smudged-in/filled-in version of that stamped leaf. I haven't put this large leaf on a card yet but have a fun plan for it!

  

This is one of the sweet cards that Catherine made! I think it fits fall perfectly without being obvious (via leaves). The colors and simplicity are perfect!  

I truly enjoyed today. It was a gorgeous day and I got to spend time with a new friend! Feeling blessed and thankful.