Harrison Hot Springs

I can't even begin to explain how wonderful Harrison Hot Springs is. It's a place you have to experience for yourself. But let me mention just a few of the reasons why I love it there:

1. It's only 1/2 an hour from my parents house so leaving our son with them overnight was so convenient.
2. Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa (http://www.harrisonresort.com/)
3. Harrison Lake and the surrounding luscious green areas - so beautiful.
4. The World Sandcastle Competitions (http://www.harrisand.org/)
5. The Black Forest Restaurant
6. Desert, Dancing and Live Entertainment at the Copper Room in the Resort.
7. The 98 degree pools and the enticing hot tub (pictured on their home page).
8. The Spa - ahhh.....
9. The free upgrade to a room on the top floor of the hotel with a breathtaking view of the lake. (Although I must admit a King size bed is almost daunting - it's huge!)
10. The hike to Bridal Veil Falls.

I honestly can't wait to go back to Harrison. It was the most enjoyable, relaxing weekend and I miss it there already. I was honestly concerned about spending that much money on a hotel. I didn't want to walk away feeling like we paid way more than it was worth. I'll admit in the end I still think it was a lot of money BUT I also feel like it was worth every penny.

(I know, I know - some of you are thinking: "She's actually posting pictures? What?" In my defense I just loaded 3 months {translate: 369 pictures} worth of pictures onto the computer. So maybe other pictures will actually be popping up soon too...)

Links...

OK - these sites are just a few sites I had up on my screen today....

http://www.etsy.com/ Handmade crafts anyone? I've seriously been considering selling my own crafts here. I wonder how much I should charge?

http://www.reallchic.com/ I really want to order the soaps and candles this company makes. I mean - when it looks so good you want to eat it - how can you resist?

http://www.inkandspindle.com/ Right now they only have the blog going - but here you will be able to order hand printed textiles. (I believe you will also be able to have your own design printed! How cool is that?)

http://www.cocomyles.com/ This company makes bridesmaids/formal dresses. You choose the top and the bottom style, the fabric, the color, and a few additional things. (They have 4 tops styles with sleeves!) The prices are amazing. This is perfect for weddings with several bridesmaids because you can reserve fabric bolts so the fabric for all the dresses matches perfectly. The other fun thing is all the bridesmaids could choose their own style of dress but match the fabric.

http://www.personalizationmall.com/ I love ordering things from this company. I have a canvas picture of my husband holding our son on his Blessing Day with a poem I wrote. Tons of people have asked where I got it - this is the site. It's a great way to personalize something.

Celebrating Forever with My Love!

Back before I had any idea of who or when I would marry I already knew where. It would be in an LDS Temple. I remember explaining to a friend of mine why it was so important for me to marry in the temple. Here's sort of how it went:

Friend: "What is the temple all about anyway? I mean, it's like a castle, so pretty, but what do you do there?"

Me: "Well, one of my favorite parts about the temple is that we perform marriages there. It's not like a normal civil marriage, the couple is married for eternity not just time. We believe that we live forever so it only makes sense to be married to the one you love for eternity."

Friend: "Oh, How Romantic!" (Now it's not just what she said but how she said it. Imagine her voice dripping in pure delight and slowly emphasizing each word.)

At this point her phone rang and the conversation ended (we were working at a call center).

I'll admit her reply had me surprised. Most people don't know how to respond when I tell them about temple marriage. They are shocked by the idea of being married forever. For them, just being married for this life is a long time. So when she thought it was romantic I was really intrigued as to why. I had never connected temple marriage and romance together. I'm not sure why - but she's right. It is romantic. When I married my husband August 20, 2005 in the Seattle Temple it was such a wonderful experience. What made it even better was knowing that he was going to be with me for eternity!

3 years have gone by - and quickly. I can't believe how fast it's gone. I'm so glad we have forever together or I'd seriously be panicking about not having enough time in this life. My husband is my best friend, he's my greatest support, and he is the most wonderful man I know. Not only that, but he is an awesome father too. Who could ask for more? Being married for eternity helps us to have a different perspective on our marriage. We don't want to get out, we want to make each other happy and we work hard to make our marriage better. So when 3 years have gone by and I can say I love my husband more than ever it makes me so happy! It sure helps to know he feels the same way.

Here's to us love, and our eternity together!

When your room feels like a Mexican Restaurant...

I studied color theory in my Interior Design class. I know how important color choice can be and how different colors can be influential. But I wasn't prepared for the difference a subtle cream undertone could make.
I chose our paint colors for our Master Bedroom. It took forever, perhaps because I'd already chosen colors for every other room in the house - so when I finally chose a cream with a red accent wall I was so relieved it was over. Unfortunately I didn't double check the cream color before I painted the whole room. I finished it and stood back and thought there was something off. Then I decided it was just that I didn't really like the red. The next day I decided it was definitely the red, the cream just didn't work with it. The cream looked too orange and it was making me feel like the room was a restaurant, not a romantic room.
So I decided I would rather repaint one wall. I grab my paint fan, pull out the green that was choice #2 and put it up to the cream. It didn't go either. How odd. I knew the cream was supposed to go with either one - in case we decided we didn't like the red. I was so confused. I whipped out the cream chip at that point. The cream on the wall seemed off, by just a little. Why? So I double checked the can. It was the wrong color. Argh. What do I do? We got the cream replaced with the correct color.
So today the room is cream (the brown based cream, not orange based) with a red accent wall. It looks fantastic - no longer a Mexican Restaurant. Hurray!
I just have to finish up the red accent wall. We're striping it with gloss/flat in the same color. I'll let you know how that goes.

More Free Patterns

So another one of my favorite fabric designers - Heather Bailey - has a new free pattern. I never thought I could drool over a pincushion pattern - and yet here I am drooling. Hope you all enjoy!

The sidebar on her blog has other free patterns and tutorials as well!

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/

A little about me Mosaic Style

1. Maggie's, 2. Empanada!, 3. http://flickr.com/photos/robertlz/2408352447/, 4. Blue Color Bilbao Guggenheim Perspective, 5. I'm nobody..., 6. Italian Soda, 7. Cataratas del Iguazú 012 / Iguassu Falls 012, 8. Schokosoufflé mit Kirschen, Schokocrèpes und dulce de leche Eis, 9. { She's Happy ,,, 10. Family Portrait, 11. Friendly, 12. RENO

My friend posted this on her blog and challenged her readers to make their own. So I'm going to do the same. If you read this and have a blog you now have to do one yourself. Here's how:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker. Choose 3 columns with 4 rows.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name. (kid version: favorite animal?)