a little bit of me.

{cha cha cha}

So I'm packed...  and almost ready to go, i have to be at the airport at an ungodly hour tomorrow morning (ie before 6am)... and totally excited to be headed to Vegas again.  This will be my 3rd trip to Vegas...  And the fact that it involves Scrapbooking makes it that much better.

Hoping to meet some new people, and see some faces that I recognize, and just enjoy being with a bunch of people who love this hobby as much as I do...

If you are attending the show -- be sure to stop by the Queen & Co booth on Wednesday (I'll be there!)...  and I'll also be hosting a Make-N-Take at the Memory Makers booth on Tuesday from 10am - Noon...

Safe Travels Everyone!

{dreaming of palm trees}

Aruba...  Jamaica...

Ooooooooh, I wanna take ya...

To Bermuda, Bahama....

(sing with me everyone!)

C'mon pretty mama...

Key Largo, Montego...

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

OK - You get the picture...  i have no idea if those lyrics are even right (i tend to just make up my own sometimes)...  but that song has been running through my head since Monday afternoon...  WHEN....  I booked a cruise and airfare for Eric & I (& Toby, who will have a nice Florida vacay with my Mom while we cruise!).  We will be spending a week in Florida late next month...  and 4 nights aboard a cruise ship...  YAY.  SO exciting to be thinking about Palm Trees right now...  The cruise stops in Key West and Cozumel - both places that we've been, and yet we don't care.  As long as there are fruity, frozen drinks involved -- SIGN US UP!

And in the spirit of Palm Trees....

 

(*I, unfortunately, can not claim credit for any of these fabulous images!)

{Sneak Peeks!}

So, SO excited to be able to share a little peek of some of the new Queen & Co. product line here...  Wendy, the owner of Q&Co has come up with such a fresh concept...  it's just so girly, and colorful, and totally 100% FUN.  She sent us (the DT) samples of the new line about a week and a half ago, and none of us had a clue what to expect.  It was all one big surprise.  So..... when I opened up my box I found something very similar to this:

All of the new product is packaged in traditional make-up containers...  and stored in what is called "the perfect bag"........  YUM-YUM-YUMMMMMMMMMM!  I seriously almost peed in my pants when I opened this up - it's THAT CUTE!!!! :)  and the color lines that the products come in are just DELISH!!!

So... here comes the really, really good part... :)  Hope that if you are attending CHA, that you're also attending the PUB dinner...  because the first 200 attendees will be sporting one of these goodie bags (shown above!  or similar -- i am not sure if its a mix of color lines, or just one line - but each color line is FAB...  take my word for it!)...  Isn't that incredible?

I for one, am planning on attending the PUB dinner - but have not yet registered (gotta get on that!).  SO i will miss out on all the other manuf goodies...  but still know that it's going to be a super-fun event.  Please, Please leave me a comment if you'll be there, so I can look for you!

And, since I'm sharing...  here are 2 layouts completed with the new Queen & Co. products...

*The first (Beautiful) about something so totally sweet that Eric said to me about a week ago -- it warranted its own page... :)

*And the second (She's All That) about my gorgeous sister, Kristi:

{hair & tea}

Ok.  Here's something i betcha didn't know about me.  I have curly hair.  Not nice, soft curls...  No.  I have what I like to refer to as the nasty, frizzy, what-is-this-mess-if-left-to-dry-naturally type of curls.  I have fought curls for most of my life.  I think the greatest invention to date is the flat iron.  My flat iron (the T3 ceramic - if you happen to need a GREAT flatiron recommendation!) is my best friend.

My curls + long hair, cause concern when it comes to getting a haircut.  So many stylists just don't get it.  I had an amazing guy in Philly who cut my hair.  It honestly took him 2 hours to give me a cut -- but it was worth it.  I can not tell you how much i miss Randall...  So since we've moved to MN, i've only had one cut - it was just ok.  I have been putting off going back (since September) in hopes that I can find someone better.  I haven't.  So I finally broke down and went back in today...  still just ok.  If anyone has an MN aveda salon stylist recommendation - please email me...  I'd love to hear!

Best part about today was discovering that Aveda sells their amazingly-intoxicating comfort tea.  Always look forward to the tea that they serve in their salons and stores -- Never realized that I could make it for myself at home.  So now I am sitting in front of the TV (watching A. Idol) and enjoying the delish tea.  Good stuff!

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

PS - I am just now realizing how boring of a post this was...  haha.  (sorry!) But....  this is pretty much all I had to talk about today...  this...  AND the amazing new Queen & Co. product line that is debuting at CHA in a week and a half...  Have been working on sample show layouts and projects, and I'll be able to post them next week!!! :)

{catching-up)

Catching up on my blogging and realized that I was tagged a few days ago by the ultra-cool Melanie, who may soon-be-moving-to-a-city-near-you...  So excited for her as she waits to find out what's next in line for her and her hubby...  reminds me of exactly where Eric and I were a little over a year ago...  and if someone would have told me that I would not only be living in MN, but loving it...  i would have LAUGHED...  ok - on to the quiz:

Four jobs you have had in your life:

1. BabyGap (high school!)
2. Accountant
3. Executive Assistant
4. Stay-at-home-scrapbooker  :)

Four movies you would watch over and over:

1. Walk the Line - amazing.  my new favorite movie.  EVER!
2. 16 Candles - classic.  'nough said.
3. Wedding Crashers - it *just* arrived in the mail.  the unrated edition.  on the agenda for this weekend.  should be fun.
4. Legally Blonde  :)

Four places you have lived:

1. Pembroke Pines, FL
2. Orlando, FL
3. Philadelphia, PA
4. Centerville, MN

Four TV shows you love to watch:

1. The O.C.
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Desperate Housewives
4. The Bachelor :)

Four places you have been on vacation:

1. U.S. Virgin Islands - St John and St Thomas - honeymoon bliss.
2. Las Vegas - fun times with Eric.
3. NYC - will always hold a special place in my heart.
4. Cozumel - :)

Four websites I visit daily:

1. www.scrapsupply.com
2. www.twopeasinabucket.com
3. www.weather.com - yep, i'm a weather dork and LOVE the 10 day forecast.
4. www.rccl.com - a recent daily addition, since Eric and I *need* a vacay.

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Anything Mexican that doesn't involve meat - enchiladas, burritos, tacos, quesadillas...
2. salsa & chips
3. salsa & chips :)
4. thai food - green curry is my most recent fave in the thai venue

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. I'm at home, in my studio, pimped-out in sweats and a long sleeve t and can honestly say that there's no where else I'd rather be...  :)  so good to be able to say that...

Four bloggers I am tagging:

1. Becky
2. Ali
3. Jessica
4. Nisa

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

{berries!}

I was one of those kids who had to BEG my mom for any type of cereal with *marshmellows* in it...  For some reason, it was ok to dump tons and tons of sugar on my Cheerios, but i could just as well forget about even thinking that we might pick up a box of lucky charms when we were out grocery shopping...  Sometime before my teen years, Mom relented and let us buy the sugar-coated *marshmellow* cereals...  She probably got to the point where she really didn't care anymore, as long as we would just shut-up about it... :)

I still have a special place in my heart for any cereal that involves a good amount of sugar...  When I was out shopping this week, I spotted this...

On sale for $2 a box...  I treated myself.  Eric was completely grossed out, but I have to say....  these little berry lucky charms are pretty damn good.  Brings back the childhood memories...  Good stuff!

{1.8.06}

So happy to see this layout come home last week....  (when I mailed it off last Summer, as part of my MMM entry, I really didn't know if I'd ever see it again!)...

And now it's back home, in my album.  Good stuff.  And since I can't really post it to my online gallery, I thought I'd upload a little photo or 2 here!!! :)

Spent today at a home show in Minneapolis with Eric.  We got some FABULOUS landscaping ideas for our backyard.  Hopefully some of these ideas will be put into gear this Spring...  Seems like we have a ton of projects to tackle once "Spring" hits.  Tons of ideas, Tons of projects, and hopefully TONS of time...  we'll see!

And a big "Thank You" to everyone for the vote of confidence on the blue bedroom.  I LIKE it.   I think we're going to go with it...  Eventually!  :)

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

{P-Barn}

So I got the new Pottery Barn (Winter) Catalog in the mail yesterday (along with Williams-Sonoma and P-Barn Baby -- it was a REALLY good mail day!)... and it totally changed my attitude towards blue...  Here it is:

Before seeing this, I would NEVER - EVER have even entertained the thought of blue anywhere in my house, let alone the bedroom.  But something just popped - and after I stared for about 10 minutes, I read the tag line: "Time for a Change"...  and i said, "You know what P-Barn - You're right - It IS time for a change".  And then I called Eric at work at told him about my P-Barn/blue revelation, and he laughed.  I like to think that I lighten his day.  :)

Our current bedroom is ALL white.  I'm serious.  White walls.  White Ikea furniture.  White sheets and duvet.  Color used to freak me out in the bedroom - thought it was too distracting.  I think I'm ready for a little color.  Maybe even some blue.  SO our new Spring project (*hah - we are still firmly in winter - so this gives us a LOT of time) is to renovate our bedroom.  Might even attempt the chairboard railing (is that what they call it?) as shown on the walls in the P-Barn room...  hmmm.  Blue... :)

{2006}

Wishing Everyone a Happy, Healthy 2006.

Eric and I spent New Year's Eve with friends, in Minneapolis, sharing wine and lots of delish food.  Woke up this morning to a fabulous brunch that a friend prepared, and then headed home to just nap on the couch and watch movies all day.  Feels awesome to have done "nothing".  And surprisingly enough, The Dukes of Hazzard was a pretty funny movie -- some great one-liners thrown in intermittently.

Just need to say that I feel so grateful to be where we are right now -- happy to be in a home we love, lucky to have found a network of friends so quickly after moving 1/2way across the country, and blessed to both be doing work that is meaningful.

Can't wait to see what 2006 has in store for us...  great things, I'm sure of it.