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Friday, May 31, 2013

New Photopolymer stamp set and a little stampin' sale!

So to kick off the new catalog's debut, Stampin' Up! is offering three of their sentiment stamp sets at a 25% discount!  You can snag this sale today through June 30.


Sassy Salutations
Sweet Essentials

Petite Pairs

Also to help kick the excitement up a notch (like we needed more!), they have released another photopolymer stamp set!  These sets are so versatile and easy to use, it's no wonder they're catching on like crazy.  The newest set is called "Wanderlust" and calls out to all of you wandering travelers out there...

Wanderlust  $13.95  133452
Here's a reminder of the photopolymer stamp sets that have already been released:
Designer Typeset  $13.95   132956

Bombs Away Birthday  $13.95   133411
Show & Tell 1  $13.95   133450

Show & Tell 2   $13.95    133481

happy crafting,
angie

The new Stampin' Up! catalog launches TODAY!

Today's the day we've all been waiting for so long!  The brand new annual catalog of all of your Stampin' Up! favorites makes its grand debut today!

Sales from it begin at Noon Mountain time, so contact me now to set up those orders!  Take a little looksie...  just go ahead and grab a pen, paper, and calculator to so you can keep up with that wish list that is bound to grow and grow and grow!



Retiring products from the 2012-2013 catalog are still available through June 3.  However, the Spring catalog ENDS today, so hurry and snag up your wishes from there while you can.

Visit my website to place an order 24/7!

happy crafting,
angie

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful:

--for a quick weekend trip to go visit my grandma.  She had to have her other leg amputated on Sunday (making her have both legs amputated in three weeks).  So my middle sister and I are loading in the Suburban with all of our wee ones to go get in some visiting and help my mom with a few things she needs up there (and provide her some moral support...).

--for my oldest sister.  She has been a HUGE help this past week, helping me organize two really big events that I'm in charge of.

--for nights and nap times without tears.  As well as modern medicine for helping my toddle tot feel better.

--that I got a little motivation this past week and actually got quite a bit accomplished!

be grateful, give thanks.
love, angie

Hoot Knows Jewelry

A sweet friend of mine, Brooklyn, personifies beauty to me.  She was gifted with sparkling eyes and a contagious smile.  Her sense of style is modest and trendy, and she accessorizes with the best of them.  On top of this, her humble and soft spirit compliment her passionate love for Jesus.  I'm telling you, the girl just radiates beauty!

See what I mean?  Beautiful.
She's a fellow blogger and has also begun making and selling her own jewelry line, Hoot Knows!  We were able to stop in and visit with her and her husband a couple of weeks ago, and she allowed me to peruse her stock and select some pretties to keep as my own.  I could hardly decide what I wanted because I wanted all of it!

I managed to narrow my choices down to two pairs of earrings and two necklaces.  They are perfect!  Simple, yet they make a statement.  L.O.V.E.


I got these two pairs of earrings, "Pearly Whites" and "Jade Love Birds".  
The pearls are so classy.  Not only do they go with every single thing imaginable, but the drop design adds a perfectly simple touch of sparkle.  
And the birds are so sweet.  I am loving the oil rubbed bronze color, not to mention the mint color the jade stones take on.  They add just a little fun and whimsy to any outfit.

Although I don't wear jewelry all that often (especially since my wee one decided they look like really fun toys), I have worn each of these pieces multiple times since I got them a couple of weeks ago!  Since I don't wear earrings every day, I usually can't leave them in for more than an hour or so before they start hurting my ears.  And then I pay for it once I take them out by having sore ears sometimes even into the next day...  But these earrings have not bothered my ears at all!  They're light weight and made of good material.  I barely remembered I was wearing them until I'd catch a glance in the mirror.

And the necklaces are so fun!  Both are oiled bronze in color, one with an oval owl pendant (I am so into the owl phase that's happening now), and the other is a dangling charm peacock.  He jingles when I walk which makes him even more festive in my opinion :)  The chains also add quite a bit of character, being they're not the normal thin and plain ones.


I know it's a little blurry (thanks to cropping an iPhone photo), but this gives you an idea of how perfectly these necklaces accent your wardrobe (this is the Peacock).  They are the perfect length, size, and weight; and they're also the perfect combination of detail and simplicity.  


Plus, she brings out her crafty side even more and provides your jewelry on these beautiful placards made of sheet music.  Just a beautiful touch that makes the homemade love clear...

So here's the really good news!  Brooklyn is offering a discount code for all of my "dancing" readers!

Here's what you need to do:

  • Visit her website and check out her really cool stuff! 
    • She's always making new things to replace what sells so the inventory will not always be the same--and she also does custom work if that's something you're interested in!  
  • Put the pretties you want in your cart and enter the code: DANCING10 (must be in all caps) to receive a 10% discount!
Help support my sweet friend and her talents--and get yourself some trendy trinkets and some unique Southern charm in the process!  Give her some love, blogland.  You'll be glad you did.

love, angie

**as of today, she has not yet posted any of the necklaces.  However, she is planning to add some more product in the next few days.  If you're interested in a necklace, contact her directly using the contact button on her website!

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

the best song I'll ever write...

I am by no means a lyricist.  However, I do enjoy writing (hence the blog, ahem).  It's always been my favorite and most effective means of communication.  If I'm upset or angry, I want to write a letter to express my feelings.  If I'm thankful, I like to write a note of gratitude.  I write out our year's synopsis on our Christmas cards; I leave notes around the house for my husband to find; I have narrated my child's first year in her baby book.  I love to write.

So I may not write song lyrics, but I do love to write.  And on top of that, I absolutely love music.  And the key to a good song to me is not only in the instruments or melody or musical ability--no surprise here, it's in the words.  If written properly, a song can hit me in my deepest core and express what my heart struggles to ever so poetically.

So when I first heard this song, my heart wrapped around it immediately.


Arabella, my sweet daughter, you are my best story, my best artwork, my best song.   My life and example is slowly helping scribe you into the woman you will become one day.  It is not an easy task, and it isn't even always fun.  It's demanding and exhausting, yet exhilarating.  Each day, a little bit more of your story gets written.  I strive to give it my all, and can only "pray that you hear Jesus in it when you're older..."


I love you, my angel...my sweet, precious, beautiful gift.  

love, mama

Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Day

I've had the privilege to tour the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery twice; the first time, Hunter and I were able to break from the group to visit the grave of a friend and fallen soldier.





Those moments hit hard.

Last night, we watched Zero Dark Thirty, the movie based on the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden.  When the scene came of the soldiers boarder the aircraft and then their sitting and waiting, knowing those might possibly be their last moments alive...I was really overcome with the gravity of these situations that these men and women volunteer to step in to.  And that they do it any way.  All I could say was that I could never imagine getting on that helicopter...or getting off of it...or walking into that building to meet who knows what...  But they did.  And they do.  And they will.
   

Those moments hit hard.

Touring the World War II, Vietnam, and Korean War Memorials in Washington DC...  Watching my students' faces as they take in what they're looking at...seeing them circle together and pray...seeing the gravity strike them.







Those moments hit hard.

Getting the call that one of your husband's close friends growing up has died in service...and then having to deliver the news to him.  Watching him grieve through that situation and not being able to do anything.  Seeing the family embrace their new vacancy.  Sitting through his memorial service when he was much too young to die.


Those moments hit hard.

So today as you celebrate Memorial Day, be sure to celebrate more than a day off or a family get together.  Celebrate the lives that were given for you and me.  Celebrate the families who are getting together even though someone is missing.  Give thanks for the service and recognize the loss.  Celebrate the bravery; celebrate the sacrifice; celebrate the freedom.



We cannot thank them enough.  But that by no means gives us reason not to try.
love, angie


a little bit of lately...in pictures


Before we went to Ruston to settle in with graduation festivities, we headed over to see my grandmother in the hospital.  She had had her right leg amputated about a week before this.  Sadly, her left leg had to be amputated today.  I'm so glad we were able to stop in and visit her for a bit.  She was in a good mood and Bella showed her all of her new tricks :) 


Arabella in her sweet little smocked Tech dress.  Beautiful little bulldog...


Hunter took this picture of her on our way to Ruston--can we just take a second to realize how big my kid has gotten?  Geez louise.




Hunter got his Grandmaw's little aluminum boat this past weekend on our way home and we took it for a spin on the water in town.  Arabella loved the animals and the wind and the water; the lifejacket--not so much...  He's hoping to get her fishing on it sometime soon.



Hunter and AJ had some quality tim together the other night while I was at my Stamp Club.  I came home to find my little grease monkey all decked out helping daddy work on Speed Racer (the alias we use when talking about his little '89 Nissan 240SX).  She was covered in grease--as was my door to the house from her dragging her greasy little fingers down it.  It's all about the story though...  And she really is daddy's little helper.


She got serious about her napping at the doctor's office...


Just kidding!



So she got herself a pillow, her blanket, and her binkie and snuggled up on the floor in front of me on the couch.  I must say it was pretty adorable...and it made her seem like a big kid.


what a lovely life I've been blessed with...
love, angie

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Louisiana Tech Graduation

So the weekend after the wedding, Hunter's youngest brother and his fiancee graduated from our Alma Mater, Louisiana Tech!  (He had just proposed a few days before!)  We were so excited when BA decided to go to Tech--his first quarter even overlapped my last one, so we got to spend some time up there together.  That school and our memories there mean so much to us.  It was so neat to get to share in some of that again with BA and Nicole that weekend and welcome them into the Bulldog alumni family.

They both graduated with degrees in Mechanical Engineering (making Hunter even more proud and excited), with Nicole having the highest GPA of all of the ME's in their class!  It was a great time with family and a great time for pictures--so brace yourselves...






All of the ones standing are the graduates from the College of Engineering and Science
880 graduates.  Dr. Reneau's last commencement ceremonies after 47 years of service to Louisiana Tech, 26 of those as President.









Sensational Six.  Three brothers and their ladies; we go together well

How bout them dawns?!  Four Louisiana Tech Bulldog Graduates

We were also able to pack in some favorites that weekend including two trips to the Dawg House and my unmissable trip to the Beehive.  I was also able to take my sister-in-law around town and show her our old stomping grounds--that was fun since she'd never been to Ruston.  Hunter and I both realized on that trip just how much of a home that little town was for us.  Driving around and spending time there felt more like home than Texas ever has...

Our best friend, Clay, came over that afternoon so we even go to squeeze in some special time with him too!
So in three weekends in a row, we were hitting the pavement hard (Hunter to the NRA convention/AJ and I to visit our best friends; Kentucky wedding; Ruston for graduation).  The travel back to back to back weekends just about wore us to the bone...but all three of those weekends packed some incredible memories and experiences that we loved.  We'll be in recovery mode a little while longer, but don't worry, we're still busy around here...and probably always will be :

make your memories count.
love, angie