I still can't figure out the best way to post these big scrapbook pages that don't fit in our scanner.
I have been taping them to the back of the office door, lighting them just so, and then taking a photo.
Seems tedious.
But laying them on a desk or counter and hovering above with the camera is not really doing it for me either.
Still exploring that one.


i love presents - giving and receiving . . .
but the catch with me is that you can't just go to the store and buy me a bottle of perfume.
oh no.
i like presents that are meaningful, creative, and thoughtful.
these kinds of presents are sort of lost on herb.
he appreciates the sentiment.
thinks they're sweet.
says "thank you".
but really, for herb, cards and little handmade gifts don't communicate the massive love they are intented to communicate.
now, folding all of the laundry and cleaning off the counters . . .
that sends my man through the roof.
but a handmade gift . . . ehh.

however, he told me that the little book i made him while we were dating is something he looks at again and again.
so, i thought i would try my hand at making him one each year . . .
here is the little book i gave herb for our anniversary in november.





And . . .
A little peak at what i am working on now . . .
My sweet friend stacy asked me to make a collage for her son's room that could also work in other rooms of her home, later.
Right now, I have two putty colored canvases and i am cutting circles.
We'll see.

. . . And the Winners Are . . .

In these little bags, you will each find a pretty little pair of bobbles for your ears! ENJOY!

Sarah, if you could email me with your address, I will pop these in the mail to you! cara@herbandcara.com

Also, I simply must share this guy with you:


I passed by the larger (and much pricier) version of this little guy several times before breaking down and deciding i would be sad if i left the island without him! And though my view of him has changed just a little bit since herb called him Elvis and our innkeeper called him Richard Nixon, i still love him!

And in case you need proof that we were actually on this glorious vacation, here are a few pics of herb and i from the trip . . . (were you begining to think that i just downloaded a bunch of pics off of google images?)

Last Call!

I have two beautiful pair of earrings from Mexico to give away!
SO, if you have not already, throw your name in the hat (ie: comment box)
and i will draw them tomorrow morning!

On Our Way

The flight is at 11:40am.
The plan is to leave at 9am.
Guess who was ready at 8am with bags packed and a "can do!" attitude?!?!?!


Tell you what, if you leave a comment while I am gone with your name and your fave vacation that you've been on, I will draw two names when i get home and send out a little souvenir from mexi-co-oh-my-goodness-we-are-going-to-have-so-much-fun!

(BTW- my post about the weather not being perfect a few few days ago was totally cheeky . . . not at all actually complaing. oh no, this girl is quite grateful for all of the little treats and luxuries I have been given!)

Thanks

When Herb and I started dating, one of our jokes was that we couldn't wait to get married, move to the suburbs, and buy a mini-van for me to drive. In this tongue-in-cheek, "no way in the world will this ever be our reality", fantasy, I would be a scrapbooker with a bad haircut.

Well, something odd happened along the way. I actually became curious about scrapbooking. It began our first Christmas when I was buying stocking stuffers for herb. I found a small, sophisticated black scrapbook in the dollar section. I bought it. I didn't have time to do anything with it before Christmas. But for Valentine's day, I used it to tell our love story. I used some pictures, but mostly my handwriting, doodeling, and passages from my old journals. I love love loved making it and it is the one handmade gift I have made him that he goes back to over and over again.

But still.
Scrapbooking?
I bought a magazine.
And a few pretty patterned papers from Target.

And I let it all sit, tucked away for about six months.
Somewhere in there, I saw an article in a magazine by this girl . And i figured that if she could scrapbook, so could I.
Then, I saw this gal's blog and thought . . . "oh, yeah . . . scrapbooking. i have all those pretty papers tucked away. I can do this. If they can do this, I can totally do this."

SO, thanks Elsie and Jody for scrapbooking.

Today, Elsie shared her favorite picture on her blog. And asked "us" to show ours.
Sort of a less dirty version of "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

So, here are a few faves from the past couple of years.

I of course love this smoochy italitan honeymoon picture.

And then there are these two which perfectly show off my husband's character . . . hard-working and playful! Plus, who gets the chance to help two old italian fishermen dock their little boat!?!?!?

WHERE Has That Girl Been?

Well, the OCD monsters seem to have crept in and taken over these past few weeks . . .
I said I was going to engage in Advent and blog about it every day . . .
and then I missed a day.
and then another one.

and then the voice inside that says,
"If you can't do it just right, then don't do it at all!
What's the point?
Oh, and by the way, because you are a Christian, by nature,
you believe that NOTHING can be done just right."

And then you KNOW nothing happened after that!

SO, I was MIA for awhile.

here are a few little thoughts and tidbits . . . .

I have now tired three times, and failed, to make Christmas candy!
I had a group of ladies over last week to make candy with me . . .
three types of candy were on the roster . . . .
I was in charge of one of them.
It ended up in the trash.

So, we enjoyed the other two kinds of candy for a few days.

And then I decided that a toffee recipe should not be able to stump me . . . .

So I tried again.

This time, I wised up and didn't triple the recipe.
This was helpful in making it more manageable when stirring . . . .
and also when throwing it away -
again!!!
At least I didn't have THREE pounds of almonds and THREE pounds of butter to throw away this time!
That was a $20 Christmas candy mistake!

So, I decided to make something more simple today.
Peppermint Bark.
Easy.
Couldn't be easier.
Melt white chocolate.
Crush up some candy canes.
Stir together.

Well, I somehow managed to burn the chocolate.
On top of that, it didn't melt.
It just didn't melt.
Is chocolate that picky? Can it choose when to melt and when to clump????

But if there is one thing I am, it is determined.
Mix that with a mild (maybe make-believe) case of OCD . . .
and well, I am not finished!
I still have fudge and macaroons to make!

We'll see.

This year I made my own Christmas cards!
That makes the list of "things learned the hard way"!
We made 100 cards . . .

and next year . . .
a 20 pack from this great place.

But . . .
they did turn out great!


Today . . .
it is snowing.
Really snowing.
So bad that Herb didn't even take the Mini out today.
It is all public transportation all that time for that boy today!

I think I heard him yelling at Mother Nature as he left the house today.
Sort of a "bring it on" thing!

He was as a giddy as a school girl as he left to "go on an ADVENTURE!!!" (his words!)

I am doing laundry . . . . and things like blogging and making yet another unnecessary Christmas stocking stuffer for my mom . . .
putting off the things I don't want to do . . . like paying bills and filling out my billing sheet for work. Keep in mind, I don't have that many clients. This is not rocket science! But, I have a little bit of self-sabotage mixed in with that OCD!

I have an art project that I am working on . . .
being paid to do!
she is buying the supplies . . .
and instead of paying me for my time, I asked her to display the piece in her shop with my name and number displayed.
She is a small business owner with a LOT of creative souls (and soles) tromping in and out of her doors all day!
I can't believe i am being paid to do this!
I have been praying for something creative to do for work . . .
Counseling is something I am good at, but don't always have space in my head or heart for it.


How about these AMAZING earrings I received in the mail this week from Herb's folks!?!??!


And . . .
Our "first" Christmas decorations:

A Few Random Things

**** i love jesus but i have a really tough time getting into a lot of the music that other people who love jesus tend to make. BUT i am lovin' the "Who We Are Instead" album by Jars of Clay. Have no idea how old this album is . . . no idea how or when this little gem made it onto my iTunes . . . but I am so glad.
Find it.
Groove to it.
Love it.
Thanks.

**** Our friend Jake gave us a gift certificate to this sweet place, complete with credit to the lovely spa next door. On Friday, we got a jump start on Anniversary Week Celebrations! I sent Herb on a scavenger hunt around town . . . picking up little gifts and clues along the way . . . we met at the hotel (that was weird, never met a man at a hotel before. felt sketchy even though it totally wasn't! :) we had a great dinner, laughed, rested, read, had room service, and walked over to REI the next day. Fun fun times!

How Could I Forget?

Friday was my sister Amy's birthday! I adore my sister! She is wise, kind, and hilarious! And even though she has yet to forgive me for the Barbie Incident of 1989, she is by far one of the best people I have ever known! Here is to number 27, hot stuff!!!!
This is a picture of the card I made her. I also sent her a fabulous wool and felt bag (that almost didn't get packed into the box because it is so adorable), a tambourine, some Mexican Pumpkin candles, some bubbles that you blow out of a squeezey rubber fish, an ice pack in the shape of Mr. Bump (from a children's book we used to read), and some other goodies!