Foodbuzz Festival

I'm super excited because this weekend is the fourth annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival. Last year was my first trip and I had a blast.

I'm in the Bay Area already and starting off our weekend with some wine tasting. Tonight we have dinner at La Jardinere and tomorrow is packed full of activities! I cannot wait for all of the delicious food and wine the awaits me!

30 Days to Give Aloha

One of the guys that I graduated with (go Bulldogs!!) has started a blog, The Aipa Project. I love it because it talks about health and fitness AND the Hawaiian lifestyle. If you know my parents, then you know we are into Hawaii (okay, so it's my whole extended family)! We just love the islands, the attire, ukuleles (my dad and mom are in a uke group), the atmosphere -- pretty much everything aloha. The last time we went was in 2010, and I want to go back again very soon. Anyone with me?

I digress... Daniel recently wrote about 30 days to Give Aloha. As he puts it:

Go 30 days straight by sharing the gift of Aloha and then let me know how it has changed your perspective on life or maybe opened up new opportunities. In an earlier piece I mentioned – to live is to give – manawale’a. We must give willingly and freely without any expectation of receiving. This challenge will only work if you get into that mindset while giving Aloha to others.

Pretty awesome, right? [I added the bold]. I am going to challenge myself to 30 days of giving aloha. I'm not sure if I will go in order or just do one thing each day, but I'm excited to start. And I will probably give away some aloha fabric / handmade items in that time as a part of my journey.


With some of my Hawaiian friends in 2010 --
these ladies have taught me a lot about the spirit of aloha!

Do you want to join me in 30 days of Giving Aloha?

Pinecone Pattern

Last year I made an adorable little pinecone and I LOVED it! It is still one of my favorite crocheted items, and possibly my favorite fall decor item. That's how much I like it! Sadly, the pattern disappeared from the internet. I have it printed at home, but feel bad just giving it away to other people (it's not mine to give, right?).

My little pinecone

Anyways, I digress. Planet June released a pinecone pattern today and I have to say it's fantastic. I know I usually only post free patterns, but there were a few of you asking for that pinecone pattern, so I just had to share this one!

I have not bought and used this specific pattern, but I can attest to the fact that her patterns are awesome. The products always come out looking like they are supposed to, possibly even better than you expect. So, if you were sad because you could not crochet that pinecone before, you should go buy this pattern. If you want, you can totally buy me a copy too! I would love to create some of the other pinecones. :)

And in case you were wondering, these are the (free) patterns from June that I crocheted in the past: pumpkin, pear, whale, candy cane, poinsettia, and christmas pudding (loved this one too)! The only pattern on my list that I have not yet completed is the rose.

Wedding Coordinating

I have always wanted to be a wedding coordinator. I just love it and think it fits my skill suits very well! Lucky me -- I was able to fully coordinate a wedding this past summer. It was a fantastic experience. The day was cray cray, and I still want to be a wedding coordinator -- just call me J.Lo!

Prepping for the rehearsal dinner with the ladies from my church

Preparing with wine and "The Wedding Planner," the night before. ;)

My gift to them -- mugs and a plate that everyone signed at the rehearsal dinner.

The groom's adorable sisters!

How cute are they?

The girls were told to find pink dresses (MOH in mustard) -- I thought they were so cute!

Toasts from the best man.

I thought I lost this picture on my phone, so glad I found it!

I was so glad to take part in this special day. The whole wedding was planned in a matter of weeks (no, it was not a shotgun wedding, it was a military schedule wedding). It was crazy and that was before I stepped in as coordinator. The family said they were blessed to have me, and I really enjoyed it. Anyone else need a wedding planner?

Evolution of a Blanket

This blanket has been a long time coming. First, my mother in law gave me this awesome rainbow of fabric. I was not sure what I wanted to make...but then I knew a rainbow ripple was calling my name!

I started it before Christmas. Yeah. Almost 10 months ago....

It continued around the first of the year with a toast of champagne...

Then little kitten decided she would nap under it while I was crocheting...

It made it all the way to a local coffee shop for a crochet date with a friend...

It even watched some Brian Regan with other friends... all the while growing bigger and bigger.

Halvsies (the other kitten) also wanted to nap under it while I was working... how could I say no?

And now? Well, now it is finished and they can nap on top of it all night long!

And yes, I often had to put this little blanket aside to work on other projects. It did not take me 10 months of time devoted solely to this... that would be pathetic!!

Check the project page for full size photos (once I finish uploading and editing them, that is!

Fourth, Chicken, Etc.

Emily makes some amazing Instagram collages. I wish my Instagram photo dumps looked as good as hers! Okay, really she just knows how to put two photos side by side! haha I'm back with another edition of "catching up my blog in time for a NewlyWife update." Here we go!

Instagram albums. Yes please! I love them!

Matt and I roasted a chicken together... It was fun!

Matt with our friend's grandson. He will be an amazing dad someday!

I got ready for the Fourth in style this year... lots of projects.
This was my hair bow. :)

New bow for the front door. Makes me feel incredibly patriotic!

Fabric tied wreath. In love!

Turned flip flops into sandals with an old t-shirt!

Braiding a t-shirt into a headband. Note the manicure. :)

First time we put up a flag. It was awesome. Matt is awesome and finally got us a flag!

So I'm only two months behind now! haha Next update -- a wedding that I coordinated. That's right. I coordinated a wedding. It was awesome!

Sharing the tub

This is from July. No idea why it did not post before now. But yeah. Here it is. And guess what? The tile is finished. More pictures to come soon!

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You were totally weirded out (by the title), huh? Thought I was talking about something other than working on the tub enclosure? Sickos! Haha Anyways, I am super excited to say that we are almost done with the tile in our guest bathroom. I'm sad to say that we have been working on it for over six months (we had to stop production during the academy). I'm also sad to say that momentum is at a zero right now. Please send some love my way that we might get the energy to finish!!