Meet Me On Monday

Meet Diana of Our City Lights

1. How did you come up with the name "Our City Lights"?
I love the bookstore, City Lights in San Francisco, and I love the song, “City Lights” by Umbrella’s (one of my favorite bands), so the mixture of both blend well.
2. What is your favorite object or location to shoot pictures?
I love old industrial buildings, street art, and train tracks. It may seem ugly to us, but through a camera, it looks amazing.

3. I'm seriously in love with all your photos. They have such a wonderful, dreamy quality...like a dream I want to be in! What is your favorite photo that you've ever shot?
I think this shot reprents a lot of us- we are whimsy, tender, youthful and even in the darkness of it all (metaphorically and literally) we still have each other. Cheesy, but true!

4. You and your husband are seriously the cutest. I loooove your wedding photos and that you had a library themed wedding! How did you two meet and how long did it take you to plan your amazing wedding?
We met online, at a really embarrassing site (Christian Cafe). I only signed up for a favor for a friend, the more referalls, the more free weeks you get on the site, but I tried to look as unattractive as possible and said I was a librarian. I wasn’t looking for anyone, just did the favor thinking that was it. That was enough to catch Scott’s attention because he’s a librarian also.

A couple months later, we were planning a wedding in less than 4 months, with 550 guests, and we stuck with a budget of $4,000. We just did everything ourselves, and even if my head was spinning, it was fun planning such a quick wedding and challenged our creativity.

You MUST read her "How to have a library themed wedding" blog posts Part I and Part II.

5. What's your idea of a perfect weekend?
Getting up early, taking the train to LA and walking around the downtown, visiting museums, some vintage shopping, and some great vegan LA restaurants, then coming back home just in time for the fireworks, and hot chocolate in Disneyland.

6. How long have you been taking photos and what made you want to take photos?
I’ve been taking photos for about 11 years, actively, and after posting them on flickr, and Blogger, I didn’t expect the response! I invested in a professional camera, and that was enough inspiration to keep shooting.

7. I love that you are such a huge supporter of books, reading and the library. What are your 5 favorite books?
In no particular order, here they are!
The Glass Castle by Janette Wells, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, Post Office by Charles Bukowski.

8. What words best describe you? Pick only 5. ;)
Artistic, Studious, Dark, Loving and Distracted

9. Share your idea of the perfect date, spending no more than $20.
Homeade vegan meal (something comforty and fattening), I embroider while he knits, with a Netflix movie. We are easy to please :)


10. I love your 6,768 project. What made you decide to start that project?
Ana B. from On Dressing Up contacted me. I was scared because of the challenge. I was getting to know her and to collaborate with someone once a week required effort, commitment, and trying to keep the fervor of the project seemed too hard at first. Now, if it ever happens to not be a part of my life, it’ll be so sad. This project has disciplined me more than I thought.

11. What's your favorite online place for inspiration? and offline?
Online would be flickr- it’s better than weheartit.com I think, and it has all kinds of amazing photographers to discover. Offline would be Disneyland. It sounds cheesy, but after years of renewing my pass, I still find something new on Main St., or the coolest spots to discover.

12. Between you and your husband, how many books would you say that you both own?
Actual books, and between our Kindle collection? I honestly genuinely can tell you there are hundreds! Our home looks like a messy library. After we got our Kindle’s, we try to just buy first-edition collectible books, but we love everything about a book, it’s sad to just throw away a paperback for us.

13. What's your favorite quote?
It’s not a quote, but it’s worth quoting- “Charm is deceptive, beauty if fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord should be Praised” Proverbs 31:30.

14. Where is your favorite place you've ever visited? If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you choose in this moment?
I went to New York for a few weeks on my honeymoon and it was amazing. I felt like I wasn’t there long enough and I can’t imagine how people go for a weekend without crying on the way home.
If I could be anywhere, it would be my mom’s kitchen. Nothing beats the home you grew up in and being married, I always try to bring that feeling of home in my own, but it’s never the same.

15. What advice would you give to a young woman about to graduate from high school?
Save your money! Seriously, I love my designer bags/clothes but now, some of them are out of style, or just collecting dust and I wish that money would be sitting in a CD account right now. I didn’t learn how to handle money independently until years after I moved out. Plus out of all the issues women have, debt is not the thing you want to bring into a marriage.

Check out Diana's:
Blog
Flickr
Etsy

Thanks so much, Diana!!!! You are an inspiration!
She has a wonderful giveaway going on today at her blog. Be sure to check it out!
(one of my faves from her shop)

Also be sure to check out her etsy shop for some amazing prints!!!! (And I know for a fact that they're beautiful because I have a lot of them and can't wait to hang them on my wall!!!!!

How I Spent My Weekend...

"How I Spent My Weekend"

by
Inspired Mess

Doesn't that sound like a book report that you have to read in front of the class? Ha!Ha!

Saturday started with some amazing happy mail from my dear friend Jeane.
She sent me 25 envelopes to open one each day of December.
Now how awesome is that????
I'd seen the idea somewhere (but can't remember where, sorry) and wanted to do it but hadn't given it much more thought. You can arrange them in a Christmas Tree shape on the wall!!!!
Soooo excited. She's so awesome. Check out her blog here.

I also got 2 projects done that I'd had in my head for weeks!
So happy with them.
The first was some embroidery hoops on the wall in our living room to add some color!
I included some of my favorite fabrics and love the color it adds.

The family picture hanging is to be replaced by a huge 2 feet x 3 feet family picture whenever I can find a frame for it!

Secondly, I created these canvases.
I'd seen chandelier 12x12 canvases before but could not afford them so I decided to make my own! I used pictures from my Paris trip and our visit to Versailles that had different chandeliers.
I cropped them and added a cool brush effect on the edges and ordered them in 12x12 from scrapbookpictures.com. (all cropping and editing done on their site!)
Then I just modpodged them to the canvas.
I love them.

Both those projects make my eyes super happy! =)

I made a visit to a resale shop that I'd never been in before too!
I scored this awesome American Tourister train case luggage piece and some other goodies!

Check out these awesome sewing patterns! How fun is that???
(And to be honest, of course I just wanted them for the packaging so if anybody else is interested in the actual patterns just send me an email! ha!)

Check out the train case! It just needs a little cleaned up.
And it still has the tray inside and the pouch!
I can't decide to keep it for carrying crafty projects during travel or to sell it in my etsy.
What do you think?

I've also ALMOST got my crafty room all organized and that makes me soooo happy.
But don't worry! For those that asked for pics of my crafty space in the last blog, I took "before" pictures as well so I'll definitely be sharing both. But cleaning up the room was on my to-do list for the weekend. Actually it's been on the to-do list for at least a month but whatever.

I also finished two custom embroidery pieces that I totally miscalculated the time on finishing. Future pieces were removed from my etsy, lol. After the first one, I raised my price by $20 and then after the second one, I took the listing out. Live & Learn, right? =)

I also almost have my ornaments for Kimi's ornament swap finished.
I made lots of little clay buttons today by using a glue pen as a rolling pin and a mini lotion bottle lid as a cookie/clay cutter! I'll finish those up early this week and get them sent out!

I also decided on my card for Ashley's card swap so I'll be doing those this week and getting those out too!!! (pictures of both to come!) Can't wait to get everything back! Those will be some super fun packages!!!!
Not to mention, this swap and this one that I'm also doing.
Yikes! hehehe (I couldn't help myself.)

You must check out Laura's (Violet Bella) super awesome giveaway she's doing this week!!!!
Amazing prizes (that I realllllly wanna win!!!)!!!!
Go here and comment to win!!!

Hope you have a wonderful Monday! Yay for short weeks! Yay for Thanksgiving!
You won't want to miss my "Meet Me On Monday" tomorrow!!!!
I have an amazing person to feature with some awesome interview answers.
Happy Monday to you!!!!

Happy Saturday!!!!!

So, Grayson loves to dress up. All the time.
These are his latest choices. It's not even 10a.m. and he's changed 3 times already today.
I love that about him.
Every morning, we hear "Can I wear this to school?"
This was earlier this week...
(his superhero cape & mask from our Superhero adventure nite)
What I didn't know was that Brian let him take it in his backpack.
So he wore it at school all morning and on the playground, lol.
The next day he asked to wear this fancy cowboy belt.
I forgot he had it on so he wore it to school like this.

Thursday nite, he asked to wear these shin guards the next day to school.
On his arms.

Last nite, I came home to this.
It's supposed to be a pirate.

Looks more like a "dancer" to me.
But it cracks me up.
I love that he loves to dress up.

Yesterday we were at the end of the day. Our boss had already told us to leave and she was outta there. Tonie was working like a mad woman to get mail out. I was not helping too much.
Ok, I wasn't helping at all.
Instead I found this label maker and was making labels.
Tonie got "employee of the month".

I got "Dude, where's my label maker?"
This next one's for Mandy. =)

I have LOTS to do today and this weekend!
So much to finish and start and work on and do.
Perhaps I should run the dishwasher too????
(No clean spoons)

While I'm working away, you can leave a comment of a picture of something of mine you want to see! Yes! I'm jumping on the bandwagon with everybody else. =)

I originally saw it on this post of Janel's.
Go ahead and comment and name anything in my life you'd like to see a photo of! It can be where I sleep, create, the view from my living room window...anything!

Early in the week (likely Monday), I will make a picture post showing you all of the things in my world you were interested in seeing!

If you're playing along and I haven't already commented on your post, leave me a comment letting me know!!! Fun!!!!

Happy day to you! Make some magic today.
I'll be back with loads of pics of the pretties I get done.
Ready, set, Go!!!!

Thankful Thursday

I haven't been uploading Thankful Thirty pictures this week so I'm doing my Thankful Thursday post! Soooo much to be thankful for today!!!!!! Including...

Welcoming Sophia Grace to the World!!!!
She weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 20" long.
She wasn't named until she'd been in the world for a few hours.
She is veryyyy smart. I can tell. We had quite the conversation this afternoon.
She is soooo beautiful & precious!!!!

So thankful for the c-section going well and Katie feeling good and baby being ok.

Also thankful that Brian has some overtime once again!
Here he is getting ready to leave for work right after I got home this evening...

(Also thankful for a husband who tells me "You look beautiful" this morning. hehehe)

And Look! It's my meds!
My 3 months of injections arrived today.
So tonite I'll take my first one in a couple months.
They don't help with symptoms but are supposed to help to make relapses come fewer and farther between. It's really a bittersweet thing.
I know I need them and am thankful that I'm able to get them, but I still hate taking them!
But hopefully the pill form of treatment will be approved very, very soon!

I'm also thankful for the kids' bedtime.
Tonite has been the worst nite ever dealing with Grayson.
He has pushed me to my limit.
It was absolutely unbearable this evening.

What are you thankful for today?

Coming tomorrow...a little game & my ultimate wish list.
(not so appropriate after Thankful Thursday, but whatever.)

Inspired Wednesday

All of the following photos are from Spool No. 72.
They don't have a really large selection but I am in love with how they photograph their products. I also love their about section that tells more about the store.
(I think these are some great ideas for photos for etsy shops too!) ;)

And some inspo wire photos for Talisha...

Vee's lovely area above her desk

Found on flickr here. Love the paper crane in her hand.

Found on flickr here & I love the lights!

Ms. Kara's lovely room

Need some more inspiration? Check out all my other Inspired Wednesdays here.
What's inspiring you today?

Me, Unplugged

What would be your "theme song" be in a movie about you?


MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com
(the song doesn't seem to appear, but it's "Imperfection" by Saving Jane)

Where is your favorite place for a girls' nite out?
Winery!!!

What is your favorite sports team?
St. Louis Cardinals, baby!
Washington Redskins are my 2nd favorite, but we won't talk about them.

What is the last picture you favorited on flickr?

*source*

Where's your favorite place you've ever been?
Paris, of course! (out of 500+ photos, I'll spare you and only post one. ha!)

Favorite family vacation?
We've only had one and it was pretty awesome...

Our NC trip this past Summer.

What's your favorite place for a weekend/road trip?
Chi-town
(ice skating at Millenium Park)
(a wonderful weekend in Chicago with Brian when we saw Bon Jovi and Daughtry)
2nd would be Springfield/Jacksonville, IL to Talisha's apartment.

When is your birthday?
June 1st!

Where did you grow up?
I lived here until I was 3 and then my family moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where we lived until I was in 8th grade. (The move was quite heartbreaking.) Then we moved back here to Southern Illinois and I still live in the same small town of 1,100 total people.

What are your favorite magazines?
I love getting Creating Keepsakes & Family Fun and I must get Lucky every month. (the magazine, ha!) I also love getting Anthropologie & Toast for the inspiration and AMAZING pictures!

Share a favorite recipe:
(this is one of our family faves and one that the kids ALWAYS love to eat!)
Taco Crescent Bake:
1 tube crescent rolls
2 c crushed corn chips (fritos)
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 c sour cream
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
Unroll crescent dough into a rectangle; press into baking dish (13x9). Seal seams and perforations. Sprinkle with 1/2 chips. Set aside. Cook beef. Stir in tomato sauce & taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Spoon over chips. Top with sour cream, cheese & chips. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Enjoy!

What's your favorite concert that you've attended?
I've attended some really great shows. Concerts are one of my very favorite things to do.
Here's the ones at the top of the list: Sister Hazel (above) & Josh Kelley (below) at the Morton Arboretum in Chicago.
It was a magical nite and definitely one of my all-time faves with two of my two all-time favorite artists.

This is my excited face at its finest...
I was soooo excited because that paper has Josh Kelley's road manager's (or whatever he was...he was a douchebag [the manager guy], but we didn't care.) cell number on it.
Talisha & I got to work Josh's merch table last year.
We felt soooo cool!
But that didn't stop us from acting like total dorks and taking each other's picture behind the table. It was an awesome night.
Another awesome nite was seeing Emerson Hart (former lead singer of Tonic) live.
If I didn't love him before, I definitely did after his show.
He is an AMAZING story teller.
And, of course, Coldplay..
UH-mazing!

Name some groups/solo artists on your "ultimate concert wish list":
Brandi Carlile; Saving Jane; Ingrid Michaelson

Tell us a random fact or secret about yourself?
I can't refer to myself as "woman". True story.

What is the last thing you wrote down?
"drano, sandwich bags" (2 things we reallllllyyyy need around here!)

Where/when do you get your best ideas?
3 places/times...when I'm in the shower (especially on a Saturday morning); during drives alone in the car; right before I fall asleep

What are your 3 most cherished memories:
Besides the fact that I have a hard time remembering anything, this is really tough...
1. Wedding day, of course
2. Paris, mostly because I really felt like "me" after that trip.
3. When Grayson started sleeping all nite. (after nearly four years of being up 5-10 times a nite...it definitely takes its toll on you!)

What's my most favorite craft I've ever made?
Wow. That's a really tough one.
Scrapbooking would be my Favorite Things mini album.
My mobile makes me pretty happy.
Embroidery would be this little treasure (that's still available in my etsy) ;)
I have a number of things "in progress" that will definitely be at the top of the list if I ever finish them! =)

How has MS affected your life now that you were diagnosed and what do you do differently?
Well, on good days, I honestly can forget that anything is different.
Until I crash later that day because I'm so tired or in pain.
On bad days, I just have to realize that it's ok to slow down or not do anything.
And it's also ok to feel bad or down about things...as long as it doesn't last long and I pick myself up and start again the next day.
The main thing that bothers me is not being able to do some of the things with the boys like I used to and them realizing that. (like long walks, being too tired a lot or having to tell them that I don't feel well.)
Loud noises greatly bother me so living in a house with small (rowdy) boys does not help. They constantly get yelled at to quiet down and that makes me feel bad because they're kids and they're gonna get crazy.
But mostly, I treasure the small things, the important things, because those are the things that truly matter.

Who is your idol?
I don't really like the term "idol" but there are many people that I greatly admire...
Anybody who has the courage to stand for what they believe in and truly not care what others think. People who do whatever they must to live their dreams and make them come true.
People who overcome adversity and encourage and inspire others each and every day.
I sincerely admire NieNie. She truly makes me want to be a better person.

You are always so happy and have that beautiful big smile.
How do you stay so positive, especially with your battles wtih MS?
Awww, thank you. I try to be positive, but I don't see myself as that much of a positive person. I think because I know all the doubts and worries that constantly go on in my own head.
I truly believe that negative people are toxic.
If you don't like something or if life is that miserable, then change it.
There's just too much tragedy and sadness in this world. Don't contribute to it.
Despite any trials that I may face, I have a deep joy in my heart even in the face of adversity and I can only contribute that to faith in Jesus Christ.

Your favourite craft?
I think this depends on what I'm obsessed with at the moment. Ha!
Right now it would be embroidery and making decor for our home.

What would be your perfect date with Brian?
One of our favorite things to do together (if it's not a concert) is to go to St. Louis and have a nice dinner and go shopping. He's the perfect shopping companion...driving the car to the door if need be, carrying bags, etc. (not even kidding). Tho he gets told to quit following me around. ;)
A "perfect date" I've always dreamed of doing is packing a picnic lunch and finding a great big field to picnic, watch the sky and share dreams.

What keeps you inspired?
I have these creative highs where I am sooooo inspired that I don't want to sleep and just have idea after idea. Then it lulls into a "downer". I believe that's when I need to create all those things until the next "high" hits.
Whenever I'm lacking inspiration, I just have to browse thru flickr or weheartit. Undoubtedly, I will be inspired. Blog reading keeps me inspired. I'm fortunate to have soooo many amazing blogs that I follow. I'm inspired every day by so many amazing & creative minds.
If I need an extra boost, I'll pick one of my favorite blogs and read thru archives.
Music is a great inspiration to me, as I think it is to many people.
Some days I just think I have weird mind, lol. There's just soooo much I want to do that I can't even imagine ever being bored.

Things you should know about me:
*I'm horribly forgetful. Blame it on the MS, my meds, whatever. But if I don't write it down, it's as good as gone!
*I always say what's on my mind. If you don't wanna know the truth, don't ask me.
*I'm almost always in pain. And sometimes it makes me grouchy. ;)
*I hate drama, especially girly drama.
*I'm one of the most impatient people EVER!

And THAT was probably more than you ever wanted to know about me!
But if other questions arise, ask anytime!
Feel free to answer some (or all) of these questions yourself and link me!
I'd love to know more about each and every one of you!

Hello, out there!

Hello, Tuesday! (My eye color looks different depending on what I'm wearing and I couldn't get over the color of my eyes in this pic.)

Woah! Feel free to welcome me back to the land of the living. I don't know what was going on with me the past few days. I felt like I was living outside my body or something. It's been very weird. But it was nice to just take a break from computer stuff and work on other things and get my head wrapped around all these ideas I've had lately!

And play with this little cutie in our office yesterday!
She's our co-workers new baby and isn't she a doll????
She was tugging on my camera strap in that bottom pic and was growling for the first time.

Soooo cute!!!!!

Those of you that know me well, know that I'm not a dog (or any animal) person, but I think it's changing. As long as the little one is a cutie.
I've thought about why I became that way because I always had a puppy growing up.
And I think it goes back to my last little dog....Tooter.
My mom was out of town and had went with her sister to see their brother in Washington state.
I looked all over and couldn't find my brother anywhere.
I looked out in the backyard and I yelled outside, "What are you doing?"
(I was probably in 6th or 7th grade.)
He yelled back "Burying your dog!"
Nice, huh?
He thought I already knew that she had died.
But I didn't and that's how I found out.
Then we got rid of my other dog (Shadow) when we moved to Illinois.
No other animals ever since, except for my dad's dog Bongo.

Yesterday's "Meet Me On Monday" didn't work out like I had planned so I'll resume that next Monday with a very special guest. (You will love her if you don't already! I promise.)

In the meantime, I'd thought I'd share more about myself. I'm working on an awesome survey that I've made up myself. (So it's not the one that's going around like wildfire!) BUT! I thought I'd welcome some questions. I've really enjoyed getting to know some other bloggers on a more personal level than just the crafty stuff. (Tho, of course, I enjoy that too!!!!) So I'm opening it up for questions. On anything....work, craftiness, home, kids, MS & anything to do with it, Anything! I'm pretty open so I'm not shy about much as long as it's respectful and not anonymous. =) Ask away!!!! I'll post a big "About Me" later tonite. (And if you don't want to leave it in the comments, feel free to email me!)

In the meantime, look out for little robots.
They're sneaky little creatures.
Don't forget to ask away!!!!

P.S. I've added some 'Stache Stashes to my etsy!
I'll be adding some cutesie little 'stache stash felt pouches soon!