Monarch Post

September out takes

I always have photos that never make the "blog story". September had lots of those extra photos taken while we made the most of the last days of summer.

So here are the favorite edits for September... in random order :) 

Surprise flowers from a BFF who lives thirty miles away in SLC... I don't get to see her nearly enough.

The flowers were sitting on the kitchen island when I got home one night... along with my mail... Federal Jury Duty summons.

Talk about the good and the bad.

Friday after school neighborhood water/hammock fight.

No one cried and everyone had fun. Yay for a win win.

And yay for the September fashion parade that heads out the door for school every day.

It's fun to see what she puts together everyday... how ridiculously cute is that owl backpack and that wild lunch bag! (They make me almost want to go to school again.)

(Tilly's backpack Old Navy lunch bag.)

The neighbors roses across the street, second blooming in cooler weather.

Someone's homemade garden stepping stone I spotted on a walk... love the quote.

An afternoon feeding the ducks at a park.

And a weekend afternoon at Hogle Zoo. The zoo has been renovated over the last few years and I like it so much more now... the animals seem happier too.  Tibetan prayer flags on the top of the tiger hill... so pretty blowing in the breeze.

Monkey exhibit...

And my new crush I found at the zoo....

Oh man, I fell hard for this guy :)

We watched him for twenty minutes... we were totally captivated by his joyful backstroke. He would dive under the water, stand up at the step/glass right in front of us, launch himself backward, while pushing off with his huge legs (and a huge splash), and then he would gracefully float backward for about thirty feet. He repeated his diving show for us for about twenty times- doing exactly the same thing every time. 

Except for our dogs, I've never felt so connected to another animal.

He loved looking at his audience...


and I swear he was smiling... look at that face!!

I want to go back one afternoon just to watch him again.

**********************************************************************************

It's gorgeous in Utah today... low '80s and deep blue skies. I hope it lasts a little while longer.

(Can you believe it's October 1st already?!)

Did you do anything outdoorsy and memorable in September?

How's your Monday going?

Mine's good... the  usual... cleaning, washing, baking, making.

XOK

exploring...

I had that serious sewing session last Saturday, and a walk while the dog was getting a haircut. I explored one more old neighborhood with my iphone handy :D (Love that last photo especially with the old rosebush laying across the sidewalk.) I'm off to go exploring again in the morning, but this time on a vacation... for a week! Got my tennies packed and The Help, it's been sitting on my nightstand for three years waiting to be read.

When I get back, I'll have finished crafting projects to share, an Etsy shop opened soon soon, and hopefully, fun stories from a week in the mountains... (it's been a crazy busy week here).

Hope you've got something fun planned for the week ahead!

Love,

me :)

summer camp

Sophey's week at church camp was a big success. She loved it. Hardly got homesick and said she only cried once... when she got hit in the face with a wild volleyball lob.

It is GORGEOUS at Camp Tuttle. It's fourteen miles into Cottonwood Canyon, east of Salt Lake City. The air... oh, my gosh... the air smelled wonderful. Fresh, clean, pine tree wonderfulness. And the temperature was in the eighties, which after our one-hundred degree plus week, felt almost like an autumn reprive.

We explored the camp. Rustic cabins all named for saints. St. Francis for the boys. St. Margaret for the girls this week... They smelled old and just the way old church cabins should, I think.

Mike wanted to stay too.

And I think Jesse had second thoughts about deciding not to go... they play golf frisbee here even... his new favorite sport.

I have to admit, I was worried about her going for a whole week, wondering how this girl with the color-coordinated sparkly shirt, shoes, and glitter nails would make it in the great outdoors. But she was a trooper... and loved all of it but the five-mile hike. She said a squirrel threw a pinecone at her and hit her in the head on the hike. Who knew there were angry squirrels lurking in the woods with pinecone grenades ready to launch them at girls with glitter nail polish? Rude.

We were invited to an outdoor service when we picked her up at the end of the week. It was very moving, sitting there in a church made just by God, with pine tree pillars and an endless sky for a cathedral roof. Bird song. Kid song. And a few raindrops on our cheeks at Communion... it was so lovely.

Sophey and her new found friends held a funeral service too while they were there for some butterflies. It made me want to be a kid at camp again. I remember when I held funerals for dead bugs and birds... such sweetness.

XOK

ummm... colorful water and ya, that's about it.

My last "gee I took a lot of iphone photos and never posted them post" There is so much to do in the summer... we are packing it all in.

Before the 4th, Mike and I somehow managed TWO date nights in one week. Totally wild, and totally unheard of for the two of us. Dinner in Salt Lake one night and one evening at the new outdoor mega shopping/theatre complex being built in our town. It was a looovely night... We saw Moonrise Kingdom  It was the quirkiest movie I've seen since Napoleon Dynamite. Very funny and unpredictable. Except for the scene with the wire-hair fox terrier, who looked just like a young Winston, I would have given it 4.5 stars. (I was emotionally undone for five minutes after the dog scene... really awful). After, we sat and watched the new water fountains just built by the theatre and ate gelatto. Mine was named something like "proscuitto" only I know that's like an Italian coldcut, so it wasn't that, and it tasted like custard and cashews and Heath bars.  Wow.  I had a half order of the "proscuitto?" stuff and a half order of fresh raspberry gelatto, since I couldn't make up my mind between them. The raspberry gelatto was THE BEST raspberry anything I've ever had, just like fresh off the vine warm sunshine raspberries, but cold :) I could develop a gelatto problem int he near future.

The summer evenings in the desert are so nice in Utah. Warm and dry and nearly bug free. We watched everyone milling around the water show and sitting and chatting at the tables and benches scattered around. Little girls in ballet tutus ran around on the grass doing cartwheels while the sun set behind all of it. Beautiful evening.

Our 4th was so low-key it was almost off the radar screen. Mike was just home from Europe and jet-lagged. I was pooped for no particular reason. We stayed home and roasted hot dogs and s'mores over the firepit (Winston almost caught his tail on fire trying to snatch a hotdog), watched the golf course fireworks like always since they are right by our house, then migrated to the front yard for the annual neighborhood firework "competition". I think we took second or third place this year :)

The drinks were my big attempt at finding a way to be festive and lazy all at the same time. (And they sort of tie in with the water fountain photos, so there ya go). I hunted around Pinterest and found the recipe. (There are bunches of similiar ones). For mine, I bought SoBe pina colada, blue Gatorade, and Gatorade G2 ( I think that's what it was... it's the low-sugar version). I stood at the grocery store debating for five minutes, wondering if the kids were too old to be excited over something like this. But you know, they were super excited. I added leftover wedding shower drink umbrellas for further "Martha" excitement. I think I successfully copied a recipe and was lazy and it was pretty cool. Wow. Ha.

We spent this past weekend getting Sophey ready and off to church camp. She's there this whole week. It's the longest she's ever been away from home and she isn't with any girls she knows. But she really wanted to go. I'm sorta freaking out about it; I'm sure she's just fine... she will definately have conversation material more interesting than colored water when she gets home :) Pretty sure about that. 

Off to the craft room.

XOK 

 

Farmer's market fam.

Our day selling at the local Farmer's Market.

My things.

Sophey's cute hair clips...

and fabric rings.

Recycled collage apron from an old shirt and dress.

Kid aprons by me...

Kid purses made by Sophey.

And last but oh not so least... Jesse and Mike's beautiful birdhouses...

 

Aren't they just gorgeous!

 

Lots of work. Lots of sweating. One brand new tent snapped in two as we put it up... it was dismantled in pieces... I doubt I can get a refund (oh, what a sight we were).

But we did it.

We will do it again.

We sold stuff and got a million smiles :)

 

And the food was awesome  ;)

 

XoK.

 

I sewed me some Valentine's Day luv...

I feel like I'm always driving lately...

two more Dr appts this week, still working on my bum foot...

kid chaffeuring, ballet ( two nights a week), a baseball tryout,  fabric stores, etc.

You know how it goes, I'm sure.

 

But today I got to drive to a favorite happy place of mine and drop off

my freshly sewn Valentine hearts :D

It's been pretty gray and dismal weather wise lately.

And gray just isn't my favorite color, you know?

But I finished up my hearts and they are cheery.

And so is the sweet children's and mom's shop I sell them at...

******************

But my computer is uploading s.l.o.w.l.y again tonight.

So I will love you and leave you with lots of cheery photos

(and less words).

for a February day.

The white hearts are from a recycled bedspread.

And the flowery ones are made from a thrifted pinecone hill pajama top.

The polka dots and paisley are new fabrics.

The beads were from a vintage necklace.

 

I took lots of photos, because it was fun : D

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

and now for the shop... stinkin adorable today!

 

*ALL TUCKED IN*

There.

Are you cheerier now...?

Good.

Mission accomplished ;)

 

XO!

uh...stuff

Hey! I'm here... with yarn...

and uh... January excitement :)

The last two weeks I've been cleaning and organizing the house

and dropping off loads of stuff to the thrift store...

and... then going into the thrift store to see what "needs"  to be taken home...

'cause that's what I do :)

 

The yarn is for an afghan I AM going to make this year for THIS HOUSE.

I never finished the last one I started, didn't like it.

I decided a good way to stay organized would be to tape a piece

of  yarn to the labels so that I would know the brand if I need more

since I'm making up my own pattern.

I'm thinking of something like this one here.

 

I spent one nine hour day cleaning my craft room.

It was  scary in there...

I should have taken a picture of the before,

but I was too embarrassed,

and I didn't want to scare you. ha ha.

It's nothing fancy and I won't be in the pages of Where Women Create anytime soon...

but this is a happy place for me.

and it feels SO GOOD to be in here when it's really clean.

Not perfect, but much better.

Cute new red wicker baskets courtesy of  Michaels after Christmas sale.

(What is that fabric doing hanging down the back...hmmm.)

And cute new fabrics to round out my stash... heaven.

I've started making complete sock monkey outfits.

This is one basket of materials gathered to make a monkey and designer outfit. :)

(I'll show you the finished outfits pretty soon... getting there.)

tabletop inspiration.

shelf top inspiration.

I started prayer art journaling in the mornings too...

I'll tell you more about that later.

Clarity.

I like that.

In other news,

our warm, snowless winter finally ended.

It is FREEZING COLD today!

Soup has been on the menu around here lately.

White chicken chili from a mix last week.

I've never made white chicken chili, so I played it safe with the mix.

It was good.

Too spicy for the kids, but not me.

I like it hot.

And I've been stopping for lunch lately at my favorite fast-food Mexican place.

Heat right now in any form is good.

Lizard art, hot pink cacti, and purple booths:

It is the tackiest, craziest looking place you've ever seen-

and exactly why I like it...

 that, and the great add-on bar full of jalapenos, salsas, and killer chipotle salad dressing.

I picked Winston and Greta up from the groomers one day after lunch at the crazy Mexican diner.

And no, he did not have Mexican leftovers- this is his normal,"whoo-hoo I'm going for a ride!" look.

I was so happy when I saw their fur/color coordinatedpolka dot bandanas...

Probably weirdly happy over that.

I hope that's just the designer in me...

Or it's just the weird in me :) 

And while were on the subject of weird.

My feet win.

They are homely.

But I would be fine with homely now, if they were just working...

The left one is the normal one-

ya, the one with the big gap and the second toe heading west.

It's inherited

from my Mom's side...

the Warner toe.

(You'll see it everywhere at family reunions- serious :)

Three of our four kids have it too...

Definately a dominant gene.

(Leftover from my monkey ancestors tree-climbing days, I guess ;)

 

I have been to SIX  Dr. appointments (two podiatrists and one chiropractor) in two weeks.

Apparently, I have a predislocated second toe (the bruised one).

I woke up with it like that one day,

without injuring it.

(The bruise is from acupuncture.)

The podiatrists are telling me I will have to have surgery to correct it...

But I'm giving the chiropractor a shot at it for awhile.

If it's not better by March, I'll have the surgery.

It's slowing me down right now,

by evening I am just done

and I've got my feet up.

YUCK.

And that was probably just TMI, but it's life- right?

 

Except for the bad feet scenario,

I have the best feeling about this year...

I'm not sure why,

But I think it's going to be really great...?!

Mike woke up the other morning  feeling just the same

and I'm hearing other people say it too.

Bring on 2012!

I'm excited to grow my business and to grow as a creative person...

I think the vision thing is finally in place for me.

It's about children, gardens, life, creating, spirit,  joy...

why did it take so long for me to get it?

S.L.O.W. learner...

 

How about you?

What are you thinking/ feeling about 2012?

 

**********************************

Okay, I'm stopping here for now...

It's taking me forever to load photos for some reason,

and I need to get to work.

No Dr. appointments today-

I have the day to spend in my craft room.

(YAY!)

HAve A HappY FRIDAY,

XO!

 

(P.S. the blog is under construction... I'll have a new one in awhile, but the zinnias are kinda cute for now, aren't they?)

 

 

 

 

saved

Hi. I just gotta tell ya... somedays when my Mom works in her studio all day, I get so boooorred.

Bored. Bored. BORED.

The kids are at school and it's just me and Greta. Let me tell you, you can only stare out the window, bark at the cats outside, chew your foot, and stare at the wall (like a sitting panda bear) for just so long...

Sometimes I watch and wait for the kids to come home.

I love the kids so much.

Luuuvvv, luuuuvvv, luuuuvvv the kids.

(Wag, wag).

And then Corbyn came home.

He asked me if I wanted to go for a ride.

A ride? A RIDE?

Serious?

Really?

Are you really serious??? 

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy.

Oh boy.

Greta couldn't go today...

Corbyn said it was a long ride and she just gets too nervous in the car.

(This was fine with me).

(My Mom took her out the next day for a little ride.)

Goodbye boredom...

Heeellloooo open road, rock and roll stereo, wind in my fur, treats at the drive-thru!

Adventure!!

Whoooohhoooo!!!

 

Lickey kisses and paw shakes,

Winston

 

 

fall-ness

Hi guys. I'm back again. I've been working away in my studio, getting past my creative hurdles, and every day I think-- I need to post those how-tos! And ahem, haven't got there... but I will one of these first days.

Never made it to the SLC farmer's market this summer either with the upended summer that it was. I realized there were only a couple of more weekends left to hit the market. So Mike, Sophey, and I headed out for a day in Salt Lake.

The dogs are one of my favorite things about the farmer's market.

We went to the new Whole Foods store and did some shopping after the market.

And then we went to a favorite little consignment shop, Emiliejayne's.

But I dawdled behind and took house porch photos,

because I like to take house porch photos in the fall.

(Don't ask me why).

Emiliejayne's is loaded to the top with stuff, but it's all organized by colors.

And somehow, that just seems to keep it from feeling claustrophobic.

And it appeals to the organized part of me (which is usually a small part, but hey...)

Why didn't I buy that lamp or those glasses? They are awesome.

Cute idea for a wreath. I think an embroidery hoop would work for it.

Had to show you the crazy blue lady!

My husband is a trooper... When he posted on Facebook what he was doing for the day, Ainsley said he had lost his "man-card".

He just laughed.

But he did get to pick dinner at a local microbrewery. So he had his fun too.

We all had fun.

It's good to go and explore the city sometimes; it gets the ideas rolling again.

In other news around here... I've been sewing. A butterfly skirt/costume for Sophey.

TIP:

If you are going as a butterfly for Halloween, please make sure your wings can shake it, baby.

It's working... oh ya.

And I'm working...

 

I've got a studio full of projects in the works for sale soon--

cute things for kids and their mammas...

tea towels (that's a sneak peak above), totes, aprons, toys, pincushions, pillows, hair doodads,

AND... a zoo ful of half-naked sock monkeys who may begin rioting if they are not properly dressed soon.

That would be bad.

Gotta go work ;) 

Hope you are enjoying the day, and thanks so much for stopping by.

XOK

Sun*day on a Friday

 
I'm backtracking for a post today... last weekend we threw a wedding shower for Ainsley and her girlfriends at our home. It was a craaazy busy week and I want to do a post on it, but the cool craft/wedding idea went home with the-bride-to-be without a photo; I'll have to retrive it and photograph it before another post.

But before the kids went back to school, I helped organize a fieldtrip with our church kids to Salt Lake City. We went on a hunt to find God in places other than our own church.

 
 

It was a gorgeous sun-dappled August day and Salt Lake city was wearing its finest dark aqua-blue sky for us.

 
The Cathedral of the Madeline is a stunning old grand dame with wonderful bones; she's painted so beautifully too. Feels like I've stepped back into time and Europe when I walk through her doors. It smells really old, spicey and just polished... with Lemon Pledge.

 
Loved the baptismal font.

 

 
 
Sunlight streaming through stained glass takes my breath away.

 

 
The kids were so attentive and well-behaved.

 

 
After the tour at the Cathedral of the Madeline, we went to a sister church, St. Paul's Episcopal in SLC. The kids were given snacks prepared by St. Paul's.  After the snacks we toured this lovely old church and the grounds too.

 

 
Each child was given a disposable camera with the instructions to take pictures of where you find God today. Lots of photos of flowers and other children were taken... the kids always get it.

 
 

 

 
Oh, those doors with all the kids charging out... such joy to watch.

 

 

 
After our tour at St. Paul's, we went to The Salt Lake Peace Gardens. Various ethnic communities in the Salt Lake valley have each planted their own gardens, all of the gardens then make up the entire Peace Gardens.

 
 

 

 
We had a sack lunch picnic at the Peace Gardens (we packed sack lunches the night before for all the kids). After lunch, the kids climbed trees (more fun apparently, than the swing sets) and played freeze tag to burn off energy... the parents watched and wondered how the kids had so much energy in ninety degree weather. I said "youth is wasted on the young". We all agreed.

We made one last stop at a funky place called Gilgal Gardens. Lots of stone and scripture creations there, but this on the side of a trash can made everyone laugh

After the Peace Gardens and Gilgal Gardens, we headed back to our church for music, communion bread-making, scrapbook-making, pizza, annnnd a sleepover.

We were gluttons for punishment :)

 

 
 

 
 
The cameras were rounded up and taken in for one hour development. Scrapbook supplies were spread out and the kids snipped, glued, and colored away.

 
 

The kids were fascinated with the film negatives-- they had never seen photo negatives and wanted to know what they were for?! (Ya, really).

They asked if the negatives could go on their srapbook pages.

I told them they could do whatever they wanted to-- it's art!

And the adults felt old.

 
 

 
We finished the day with a short, lovely outdoor communion service. 

The kids each held a small lit (!) candle; there was only one slightly singed head of hair-- whew.

In the morning we were served breakfast by members of the parish; the kids rolled up their sleeping bags and got their rides home.

And the adults tried to unroll various muscles after spending the night on the floor...

I went home and slept on the couch for four hours.

 

It really was a beautiful day... all in all.