Greetings From Missouri
Hi y'all! Just wanted to post a quick update about our trip! We are just about to head out to Tennessee for the second BBQ competition of the trip, but before we do that I had to share about the Missouri leg. After driving for 3 days, we made it to the American Royal BBQ competition in Kansas City where the team competed in two back to back competitions. They knew it was a tough competition and only hoped to get "a call," to be placed in the top 15 in any category, where they'd be announced and receive a ribbon. The first day was the Invitational where they placed 2nd in ribs out of 165 top teams in the nation. The next day was the Open where they competed against 615 teams, including all of the 165 teams from the day before. The day before's awards only made the team more nervous knowing that a top call was totally possible. With no calls in the first 3 categories, and after really bad brisket scores the day before, we thought it was time to go home. When the announcer got to the top 4 in brisket, he let everyone know that everyone
Calvary Chapel Canyon Hills, Harvest Carnival on Halloween
Looking for a fun and safe environment to take your kiddos on Halloween? Our church is hosting a carnival: Calvary Carnival! Lots of candy, fun, exciting games and jumpers. Plus free hot dogs, cotton candy, & pop corn. And you can enter to win a iPad Mini (!!!) along with other fun prizes! It will be located at the school where our church regularly meets, Canyon Hills Middle School. But this year it has expanded quite a bit! I'm really looking forward to it
Our Weekend Getaway to Northern California
Last week I posted about my time at the Walt Disney Family Museum, which was the whole point of this trip, but while we were going up there with our friends Lauren and Kellen, we made the most of it with stops for dinner with friends, touristing around the city, and getting to attend our friend's newly launched church! First stop: Bakersfield! Our friend Kathleen moved there 2 years ago and this was my first visit to her new hometown! It was definitely an overdue visit. Aren't these 2 too cute! Plus I got to see the Little Free Library in person that I had posted about a few months ago (thanks to Kathleen's blog for the tip)! And of course when we had dinner at Eureka Burger, I just had to get the burger with the fried egg. Because it's the best. Oh and hot sauce, and bacon. There was no question there. Okay and just one more food photo
Loving Life thru My Lens
This past week was just so fun
Disneyland Secrets: Hidden Mickeys and other Fun Facts
Many people are shocked to find out I only truly fell in love with all things Disney[land] just when I met my hubby 10 years ago. I grew up on Disney's movie magic and loved the random trips we took as kids but it wasn't until Andy pointed out the random holes in the wall on the Pirates of the Carbibbean ride and asked if I could see the Hidden Mickey—that my love for Disney grew into a passion. From there, my obsession with all things secret—and even mythical—about Disneyland began. I found an outdated website with Hidden Mickey sightings, printed out pages and pages and went through the park marking them off one at a time. Yeah, Andy kept his distance from me on those days. :) What kept me so entranced by these hidden gems is the artistic detail the park Imagineers tended to. All this "hidden stuff" is just bonus fun to an already amazing place to visit. It's what kept me going back trip after trip, year after year. It's these small details that place the quality of Disneyland over an other amusement park. So I just wanted to take some of these little gems and share them with you!
The Wagoners’ Christmas Photos in the Snow, Big Bear
When Lauren and I first talked about getting some new photos of them taken, all she wanted was to take them in the snow. So 2 weeks later, we all drove up to Big Bear, randomly stopping along the road to take some pictures. It had been awhile since the 4 of us had hung out, and I'm so glad my hubby was there with me to help us get smiles from his best buddy. Seriously, isn't Lauren just gorgeous! The snow really suits her. :) This is by far my favorite photo of the day. And we stopped for one last photo on the way home
Grayson’s First Bug Birthday Invitations
I can not believe this little boy is now one year
The Vintage Marketplace, June 2013
The Vintage Marketplace held it's second craft fair of the year in Rainbow, CA this past weekend. Lauren and I got to go after several hours garage "saling" while on dual matron of honor missions for the upcoming bridal showers we are hosting. With such success shopping garage sales, we only had an hour left to peruse the beautiful French themed shops. Add in the 100 degree weather, I wasn't up for my usual photo tour but I did manage to snap a few shots upon first arrival! The following photos are from the shops of Vintage and Shabby-d Up Furniture and Frills, Rooster Creek, and Ta Da! Designs of All Kinds. Thanks for joining me on this quick trip to the Vintage Marketplace! Their next show is in September, hope to see you there! You can see more photos from previous trips to the Vintage Marketplace here, here and here.
The Vintage Marketplace, March 2013
I love going to The Vintage Marketplace, a craft fair held four times a year in Rainbow, CA. This time, Amie got to join me and we were on a mission for wedding decor and ideas. In addition to the overload of inspiration, Amie was able to buy quite a few decorations for the wedding from vintage metal serving trays to lace doilies for the centerpieces. Junkyard Gypsy I just saw Junkyard Gypsy for the first time on our last trip, I just love their vintage signs! Sweet Magnolias Farm While I love looking at the products these shop offer, their storefronts alone are such a work of art and decorated differently each time! Broke Jewels I love browsing the different necklace pieces that Broke Jewels offer, so many options to create your own unique necklace. They are on Etsy too! Earth Cookie Creations This is also a favorite stop for me! Gotta stock up on the amazingly creative scrapbook cards from Earth Cookie Creations! Each one is such a layered treasure down to the smallest detail. She even wrote a blog post about the fair that you can read here. I bought this first card for my grandma-in-law's birthday! Loved how bright and cheerful it was. Plus she has a
Seattle Trip Tips
So now that my major bridesmaid duties have past and our anniversary hotluck is over, I am ready to start looking forward to October and the wonderful adventure that Andy and I will be taking come Ocotber 15 (my hubby's 30th birthday!!!). Which leads to, what should we do and what should we see in Seattle, Washington? Heck, what about the way up there and back from sunny So Cal? But before I get these amazing trip ideas, let me tell you we did a whirlwind of a trip there and back in 2008. Seattle 2008 We started the day off right with a ferry trip in