{ Enjoy the little things } Countdown ~ 3

In theme of our Friday photo prompt, today I am celebrating the little things : )

This little collection of Fall treats are now neatly nestled inside pretty mugs (from Anthro) on my kitchen table, aka. I decided to make a mini candy "bar".  I thought it would be a fun way to enjoy the yummy treats I bought from Bate's Nut Farm.....

1. Butter toffee almonds
2. Cinnamon Bears
3. Peppermint Taffy
4. Chocolate toffee almonds

Can you tell I am going through an almond phase?!?!

Ryan and I have already found ourselves standing and chatting, while we snack on these treats one at a time.  Enjoying all the delicious flavors.  We decided that we both really like the chocolate toffee almonds with the Francis Coppola Pinot Noir (Diamond Collection).  And that I really like the extra spicy cinnamon flavor in the cinnamon bears.....Although, I think we both ate more of the butter toffee almonds than anything else.....and enjoyed a little quality time : )

Maybe I can make a trip to get more sweets for Thanksgiving or Christmas?!?!  Anyone have a recommendation on what treats to try next?

Have a beautiful day!

<3 Carrie

{ Your appointment with Friday } Countdown ~ 4

Hello Lovelies!  Thanks for stopping by this weekend.  Gloria and I have a brand new photo prompt for you today.....

Let's Celebrate!

First off, Sunday is Halloween.  What a fun holiday.  I love the costumes, decorations, tricks and treats, scary movies, haunted houses.....I could go on and on.  It's a blast and definitely a form of celebration!  And honestly I am hoping that some of you decide to snap a pic of some crazy Halloween costumes, and maybe even a cool party.  But of course there is more to it than just Halloween.  I also really enjoy celebrating the everyday.  The little things that add a bit of spark.  A beautiful friend that means so much to you.  And personally, for me this prompt symbolizes celebrating a new beginning.  Gloria and I have a new project to share soon, and we are getting excited!!!  So, let's all celebrate together!  Choose what *celebration* means to you right now, and then take your photo when you're ready.  As always you can make it simple, or an event.  What sounds inspiring?

To celebrate with the rest of us, all you have to do is leave a comment with your link, or add your photo to the Project Monday Flickr Group HERE.

Have a fun Halloween weekend!!!

<3 Carrie

{The Sweetness of Life} Countdown ~ 5

A little cupcake treat for you : )

And a countdown to the beginning of a new project Gloria and I are excited to share with you.  Only 5 days till the reveal.....we are getting excited!!!

See you tomorrow for Your Appointment with Friday!

<3 Carrie

An Enchanted Trail.....

.....led the way for my first backpacking trip, courtesy of my lovely sis Amber and her sweetie Waylon.  

I have been wanting to share these pics for a while, and decided that tonight was the night.  The date of these photos is 8.9.10 (August 9th, 2010)....kinda cool, huh?!?!

What are my memories of this trip?  Well, let's see.  We backpacked 2/3rds of the Ozette Triangle, and camped at Cape Alava.  The hike there was fast and easy, and I remember arriving just at dusk.  There were seals barking SO loud!  It sounded like they were everywhere, but you couldn't see any of them.  We set up camp, ate dinner in the dark and almost immediatly were surrounded by a LOT of bandit looking raccoons walking up to our fire.  They didn't bother us too much, but we kept having to shoo them away.  Silly little critters.  I slept great.  Below is the photo of our actual campsite.  It was surrounded by lush bushes and trees on all sides except for the space you can see leading up to the beach, and a small hole that we crawled through on the opposite side.....it was a little tricky with our backpacks on.....



Our view from the campsite, sitting on a log looking at the beach.....



I am pretty much a physical whimp, so thank you Amber and Waylon for carrying all the extra stuff like our tent, the bear canister, our food, etc.  Here is me being a dork with my tiny backpack..... 

I remember walking along the beach, and not being able to see the ocean, just all these big beautiful rocks.  The fog was thick and dense, and the cool weight of it felt great on my cheeks.  Being worried about my feet getting wet, I had decided to wear rainboots with cozy wool socks.  Boy was I glad I did.  This was the terrain for half of our hike.....

We climbed up the side of a cliff and followed a narrow trail for a small part of the way.....



And this is my self portrait for that day.  I was listening to my summer playlist on the trusty ipod, so you can barely see the white cords from my earbuds.  It was very peaceful, walking along the lonely beach, just the three of us, listening to pretty music, the fresh air filling my lungs with happy.....



And then we came across these awesome Native American petroglyphs.....



And here is Amber and Waylon being super cute on our hike back to the car.  I love this photo.....



Originally when Amber told me that the hike to (and from) the beach was easy because it was on a boardwalk, I had no idea that it was a trail actually made up of boards that you walk on.  It was really cool.  The wood would creak under your step, and was the prettiest shades of brown from being wet. You were surrounded by a thick, green forest with lots of tall trees that seemed to touch the sky.  All together, it made for a very romantic feeling end to our adventure.....



.....and a wonder filled summer memory : )  Thanks sis!  Even though we are hundreds of miles apart, I will never forget how beautiful you are inside and out <3

Lots of love,

Carrie

Project Monday

Hello and happy Monday to you : )

Gloria and I each made some sweet mail for our projects this week.  The prompt was Wish you were here, so I decided to make some postcards with my photos.....

To assemble them all I did was print my images out into 4x6 inches.  I wanted my postcards to be a little thicker, so I also cut a thin piece of chipboard into the same size, and adhered the front and back to each side with a spray adhesive.....

We would love for you to join along with our sweet mail project, so here are same fun images I created for you to download.  Just click on the individual images or the word HERE to download each one.  There are three different colors, and two different fonts to choose from.....

Download HERE

Download HERE

Download HERE

Download HERE

To mail my postcards i had to use a first class stamp since they were thicker than the allowed thickness for a postcard stamp.  For more info on the requirements to use a postcard stamp, just click HERE or visit usps.com.

And as always, if you decide to play along we would love to see!  Just leave a comment with the link, or upload your photo to the Project Monday Flickr Group HERE.

I will be mailing my postcards all out this week, and I can't wait to write all the little love notes and for people to start receiving them!

Have a great week!!!

<3 Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

Hello again lovely people and welcome back to Gloria and my Friday photo prompt!  We are so happy you stopped by : )  This week we have something a little different to share, so just let your imagination take over and you are sure to enjoy yourself.  The prompt is.....

Wish you were here.

So, the thought behind this prompt is this:  Around the Fall season we all find ourselves a little busyer than usual and it only gets more crazy as the holidays approach.  How fulfilling would it be to take time to send someone a sweet note letting them know you're thinking of them and wish they were here?!?!  You could send it to a dear friend down the street, letting them know you are looking forward to the next time you get together for coffee, or to a family member who lives far away and tell them you wish they were here to make pumpkin bread with you.....really, it's just an excuse to send lovely snail mail to someone special.

Step 1 ~ We want to make doing this a little bit easier and lots of fun for you.  So, here's the plan.  You follow our photo prompt and take a cute photo of where you live on a map.  Any kind of map.  And it could be a photo of your city, state, county, whatever you want just as long as it represents you in a way.

If you've seen Gloria's blog already you know how simple and sweet her photo is.  I love that.  It's personal and absolutely perfect.  I decided to do a couple different kind of photos.....just placing tiny flowers on a map with Fallish colors seemed nice to me.....kinda like I'm sending them flowers, ya know?  Then, I wanted to layer a map over a Fall photo of me (wish I had one of me and Ryan to use....another time I guess).....like I want them here with me.  Last, I decided to make a mini instax photo just for fun with hot tea, butterflies and yarn.....craft stuff I'm using right now, like I want them to come play with me.  And these are just a couple examples of ways to take your photo.  I even thought of cutting a leaf out of the map, placing it in the sand at the beach and snapping my pic.....I think if you get a little creative, it's easy and totally fun. 

Step 2 ~ Come back here on Monday, and we'll have a special download that will help turn your photo into sweet mail.  (Plus, Gloria and I will show you how we made ours.)

To play along, just leave a comment with the link to your photo, or you can upload it to the Project Monday Flickr Group HERE.

Have the best weekend!!!
<3 Carrie 

Daydreaming.....

.....about Washington today.

This past summer, the mornings would start out all misty and foggy and after only a couple hours it would look like this.....

I took these photos while at Vision Landscape Nursery.  I remember waking up early to get a ride with Amber, and it was so cool to see the sun peek through the leaves and make the dew sparkle at it was rising that morning.  

Just feeling a little Sequim homesick today, I guess.

Have a lovely evening : )

<3 Carrie

Wednesday ~ Heart Flutter

Heart Flutter #1 ~ A wonderful afternoon with Ryan.  I am still daydreaming about this beautiful place.  We visited the San Diego Safari Park because we wanted to do something "Fallish", so a walk through their botanical gardens was perfect.  And it was a great day for it too.  It was a little misty and overcast, so I wore a scarf, hat and mittens, Ryan a sweater, and once we arrived there he grabbed a warm mocha too.  It was divine.  All the orange on the ground, the cool air in our lungs making our cheeks pink.  The sound of the babbling brook that followed us most of the way.  Creaky wooden bridges and old benches.  Lush fern gardens, an occasional lily pond, AND a sweet baby elephant!  Take a look.....



















Heart Flutter #2 ~ Dark Reese's.  I am in love with this dark chocolate and peanut butter heaven!!!

Heart Flutter #3 ~ This movie.....

You have to watch the trailer.....

The Secret of Kells  is dark and mysterious, light filled with hope and strength, and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and rich to watch.  Honestly I had no idea it even existed until it recently became available for instant viewing on Netflix.  And the timing was perfect, since this San Diego weather has been reminding me of our trip to Ireland a couple years ago.  We actually had plans while there to see The Book of Kells, but couldn't because it's room was under renovation.....but back to the point, I think this movie is pretty special, and that's about it for today and my current obsessions.  See ya tomorrow!!!

Enjoy your evening!

<3 Carrie

Homemade *Trinkets*

Made these little trinkets to slip inside a friend's card for her birthday.....

1. two small tags
2. mini star garland
3. thick brown and white bakers twine
4. a tiny flag with the letter "A"

I figured she could use them on a scrapbook layout, to wrap a pretty package, or some other handmade crafty piece of fun : ) 

And today is the perfect day in San Diego to sit at home and just make stuff all day!  It has been pouring down rain since late last night, and right now I can hear the sound of raindrops outside my open windows.  The most fragrant cinnamon, caramel spicy scented candle is making me hungry for baked goodies, and I'm sipping my sweet and spicy hot tea in a beautiful mug with pale vines crawling up the sides.  I think after this post I'm going to work on a new design (currently mulling around in my head) for my "Fall Flutters" wreath.....and then start making a list of handmade Christmas presents for this year (I know I'm behind schedule, but whatev....).

See ya tomorrow!!!
<3 Carrie

Project Monday

Hello beauties!  Welcome back to Project Monday, where Gloria and I each share a project made from our Friday photo prompt : )

I have been making pages for my "Fall Means" minibook, and this week was no exception.  The prompt was Comfy Cozy, so I decided to make my page out of soft, snuggley fabric.  I took a piece of felt, sewed it to a piece of fabric and folded it in half to make the pages.  Here are all the pretty pieces I used.....

The month of October has been really great for me.  The weather has been mostly overcast and cool.  It makes me want to go on leisurely strolls outside, breath in the fresh air, enjoy the cool damp breeze on my skin, and then come home and snuggle up in a fluffy sweatshirt, wool socks, and sip on a hot cup of tea.  But, most days I'm at home working on my constant flow of projects, on the computer, or doing chores.  On these days, I'll open up all the windows, turn on my orange twinkle lights and listen to sweet music until Ryan gets home.  Then I get to enjoy a wonderful evening together, cuddled up on our futon watching a movie, chatting and winding down for the day.  

These are some of the things I remember when I look at these *October Happy* pages.  I think they will be really perfect inside my minibook.....great memories, fluffy depth and texture, plus I made it a little wider than the rest of my pages, so it will stick out some.....just for fun.

Gloria made a beautiful layout, so make sure to stop by her blog today for more inspiration.  And if you decide to make a fun project with your Comfy Cozy photo we would LOVE to see it.  Just leave a comment with the link, or upload it to our Project Monday Flickr Group HERE.  There are some amazing and inspiring photos from this week.....thanks to you beauties who took such lovely photos.  All your Comfy Cozies are so perfect to me : )

For our next photo prompt/project we have something a little different planned, so come back Friday to check out the first part.....and we might even give you a little hint about the second part (just so you're prepared ; )

Have a great week!

Love, Carrie