Good bye 2010...

2010 was quite the year. For me personally it brought lots of highs and lows, sort of like a roller coaster and if you know me I hate roller coasters. I can honestly say I am glad that this year is over and I am glad that Jesse and I are starting this journey through the new year together... soon to be husband and wife.  I used to be scared of change, but after this wacky year I'm not afraid anymore. I'm ready to start my life and not stand by watching as it passes me by. We've got some big plans for 2011 and even if 2011 has some surprises to throw our way I  know we will accomplish our goals, because together we can do anything we put our minds to. I'm really grateful I found Jesse and that he is willing to put up with my craziness and still able to love me through the good times and the bad. I know with out a doubt that I want to marry him. By this time next year we will be married. Let me tell you... I can not wait! Until then... Au Revoir... Adios... Arrivederci... Sayonara...Aloha...Goodbye... Farewell 2010! Bring on 2011... I am ready and waiting.

Happy New Year Everyone!

 I hope you get to spend it with the one or ones you love.

Love,

Erin & Jesse

Matching outfits...

Moe & Me in our "matching" outfits.

When we went shopping we both picked out the exact same black flowy cardigan.

 

 We bought matching shirts in different colors and I printed birds on them both.  

Her's is white and has a small pocket. Mine is red and has no pocket, but the birds are the same.

I really liked how the bird came out.  

This pictures shows you better how the full shirt looks.

The days after Christmas...

I realize we hadn't taken a picture together in ages, so I made Jesse pose for this one the other night. I love it. I think it turned out great. One of my favorites of us for sure.

Jesse went rock climbing with the guys and I went shopping with the girls on the 26th. Everyone else went out to eat for dinner, but we decided to stay home and relax. We did however go out for a nice dinner of Pho the next night with everyone. There is a phenomenal Vietnamese place on Federal that's cheap and looks like a little whole in the wall, but we all love it. It's become a sort of tradition to go there when Moe & Ben are in town. I'm going to miss it when we move away.

Christmas Day...

Our friends Monique & Ben came to stay with us for Christmas. Moe's twin sister, Michon and her friend Ali came to celebrate with us as well, but they live in Denver so they didn't stay the night.  We had quite the houseful. It was alot of fun though. Jesse and I made a big breakfast for everyone. We opened stockings and presents. We lounged around in the afternoon. They all went for a drive while Jesse and I went for a walk around the lake since it was such a beautiful day. Then Moe and I made a big dinner roast, green beans, rolls, roasted potatoes, mushrooms, veggie pizza appetizer, etc... Then for dessert Moe brought cheesecake and Ali made a date pie. Mmm mmm.... Good stuff!

 Ali & Ben opening presents.

Michon & Monique opening their matching presents from us.

Jesse raked in the gift cards this year. Always a good gift for him, 

because he is so hard to buy for.

Ben reading his book about knots. He's really into rock climbing, so Moe got him a book all about making proper knots. He loved it.

Moe showing off her kitten necklace Mish got her.

Ali got 2 gift cards to REI. Now he can get all his equipment for rock climbing (he just started).

Michon showing off the cute purse Moe got her in Taos.

Jesse showing off his animal figures that Moe & Ben got him. 

He was eyeing them at the hardware store the other day. They're anatomically correct, so they're perfect for drawing models. We might have a collection of them soon.

Showing off the circular scarf and feather earrings that Michon made me.

It was a great "Friends Christmas".  I'm so glad that Jesse and I didn't have to spend the holiday alone. Having guests made it more fun and special like Christmas is supposed to be.

Christmas Eve...

Our stockings

Our little crooked tree before I finished decorating it.

On Christmas Eve Jesse & Ben could not wait to open presents, so we let them each open one gift of their choice. I opened a couple too, but that's just because I had more to open than everyone else since my parents shipped my presents here. This was actually my first official Christmas away from my family. It was strange, but it was good. We talked and skyped with my family & most of Jesse's. We had a house full of people and 2 big meals. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Ben opening his new Ugg slippers.

Jesse opening his present... and modeling his Broncos Snuggie 

that folds up into a pillow when not in use.

Modeling my new jacket and snow pants.

Kayden's going to be so excited, because now I've got all the gear to play in the snow. Except now we need some snow. We've had nothing but really beautiful weather lately. The forecasters said we should expect anywhere from 5-10inches of snow tomorrow. Yikes!

Headbands...

Well over a year ago I purchased 2 feathered "coasters" or so they were called by Urban Outfitters. I don't remember how much they cost exactly, but I do remember they were on clearance and I had a vision for them. Being the procrastinator I am it took me a lot longer than it ever should of, but last week my vision was realized and VIOLA!

Headbands... They were also Christmas presents for people. 

I attached them to metal headbands I got 3 for $3.99 I believe and then I added on some fancy pieces that I found in the jewelry making clearance at the craft stores. I didn't spend more than $2 on the center pieces. For less than $8 a piece I made 2 beautiful headbands. I almost wanted to keep them for myself. Too bad I didn't buy anymore of those feathered coasters back when I had a chance.

Prints...

This is a print that Jesse did ages ago when he worked at the screen print shop. He printed it on some hoodies for his friends. We had hoped to copy this design and replicate it on some prints for Christmas presents this year. Due to the fact that we have limited space, only stencil equipment, and not actual screen print equipment we did not accomplish that feet this year. We're also procrastinators if I didn't mention that. Hopefully next year we'll have the space and the equipment to make some really neat stuff.

The following are actual presents for this Christmas, but I'm pretty confident that the people we made them for don't read our blog, so I'm going to go ahead and post them.

Scarves... I printed designs on 2 scarves for presents this year. Holy Cow! was it a lot of work. I had no idea it would take so long, but the pay off was amazing. Honestly out of all the stuff we printed this year the scarves came out the coolest. These are only pictures of them in the process of being printed. I wish I would have got better pictures of them especially once they are finished. Maybe the recipients will take pictures of themselves wearing the scarves and allow me to post them in a later post. 

Space Invader... After talking video games all day at work Jesse was inspired to come home and make a stencil of one. Here is a shirt and a bandanna he printed up right away. He was so excited. They turned out pretty good. 

A random sampling of gifts... These are all prints we made on shirts for presents. There were more, but I forgot to take pictures of all of them. We spent an entire day printing shirts. I was pretty impressed with us.

Hammond's Candies...

Kayden and I took a tour of the good old candy factory last week as a fun treat just before Christmas.

 

Did I mention that he couldn't decide what to wear, so he ended up leaving the house in his police officer shirt from his Halloween costume. That and he had toy handcuffs on one belt loop and his radio on the other side. People were quite impressed with is get up. I was just happy that he finally decided on a shirt to wear.

Out of all the things in the candy store he chose 2 gumballs and a little thing of cotton candy for himself. He chose candy covered popcorn for his mom.

The Jeongs...

If you've been reading this blog regularly you will remember seeing posts about Denton. He is one of the little boys I used to watch part time before I got this full time nanny position. Denton is one of my most favorite kids ever... no joke. He's just the best. Jesse feels the same way. He's one of those kids that makes people want to have kids.

Denton aslo has some awesome parents and an adorable little sister, Fiona. While I'm not spending 3 days a week with him like I did all summer I do occaisonally babysit for him and his sister. Jesse has been tagging along with me on these sitting adventures. Denton is my little buddy, but whenever Jesse's around I barely exist. Fiona on the other hand was slightly hesitant of Jesse at first, but as you an see from the picture... she is in love with him now. She kept cuddling up to him and not wanting him to put her down.

While my mom was staying with us just after Thanksgiving the Jeong's invited us over for dinner, because they wanted to meet her. Myrna made a fabulous vegetarian chili and we brought some tasty ice cream cupcakes for dessert. After dinner Jesse, Fiona, Myrna, Denton, and I spent the night rocking out to Jesse's music, Micheal Jackson's Thriller, and Denton's favorite song The Ghostbusters Theme song. Fiona insisted on being held and being in the middle of the dancing action. What a work out! We were all passing her around as our arms started to give out after a while. Coincidentally that weekend was also Miss Fiona's 1st birthday. We brought her presents... a pair of cute new shoes (which she loved), a bouncy ball (that lights up), and an animal book (she loves reading & usually tries to steal her big brother's books). The food was great, the company was great, and we got one heck of a work out dancing the night away. I wish I would have snapped more pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving...

Back to Front: Me, Jesse, Chelsey, Dave, Mom, Dad

My family came to visit us for Thanksgiving and it was a bit of a whirl wind weekend, but I'm really glad they came. I hope everyone enjoyed their visit as much as I did. 

My parents drove in Wednesday evening and my brother and his girlfriend came the next morning. We had Thanksgiving dinner around 12:30 and it was delicious. Jesse's work gave us a 14lb turkey for free. Mom and I made cranberry sauce, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, deviled eggs, veggies & dip, and last but not least pumpkin whoopie pie cookies (thanks to Martha Stewart's recipe).  Friday morning we did some shopping and nearly froze our butts off. Saturday we scored some more deals and ended up buying shirts for Jesse, Jared, & David to wear to the wedding. Originally $50 a piece we got all 3 for $73. Score! On Sunday Chelsey, Mom, and I went to Evergreen while the guys stayed home and watched the Broncos play. We walked around and explored all the cute little shops in town and then enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Creekside Cellars (love that place). Sunday evening Dad, Dave, and Chels decided to drive back home before the weather got bad, so we said our goodbyes earlier than expected. My mom stayed until Thursday (today) to help me with wedding planning. It was great to have her. I feel like we accomplished a lot and it was much easier to do so with her here rather than 645miles away talking over the phone. Date... Check, Flowers... Check, Food... in progress, Classes... in progress..., Dress... in progress, Guys outfits... in progress, Center pieces... Check, My shoes... Check, My jewelery... Check, Venues... Check, Guest book... Check, DJ... Check, Guest list... Check. Now there are about a million other things to figure out, but we have 9 months to do that so I'm not too worried. Next up figuring out a photographer and making the invitations. I'm definitely Thankful mom was here to help me get some of those things checked off my list.

It was a good Thanksgiving. 

I'm glad we got to spend it with family.

Feeling Charitable...

I'm always in the mood to help others and I try my best to be charitable by donating my time, my money, and anything else I can. Today I found 2 different ways to donate and I thought I would share them. 

1.) I signed up to be a bone marrow donor today. It's easy, it's free, and it could help save a life. All the info is on this website http://www.marrow.org/ . If you are between the ages of 18-60 and in good health you should check it out. Signing up does not mean you have to donate and the donation process has become easier over the years. Check it out for yourself.

2.) While checking my email I found this video on the yahoo home page.
 http://news.yahoo.com/video/health-15749655/little-boy-battles-cancer-with-monsters-23154740
I found it touching and adorable. Maybe because I work with kids and my fridge is often covered with their artwork. In fact as I type this there is a picture of a purple and pink snail monster battling a purple dinosaur on our fridge courtesy of Miss Leah one of the 5yr olds I often babysit. Of course I had to investigate further into where you could purchase this boys artwork. I found this http://www.etsy.com/shop/AidansMonsters?ga_search_query=aidan+&ga_search_type=seller_usernames his etsy page and I snapped up my favorite drawing right away. I'll be framing it and hanging it prominently in our house. I love kids art work and this ones is special, because I know the money is going to a good place. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...

We take that saying to heart around here. We wash out ziploc bags and reuse them. We recycle almost everything and we attempt to cut down our waist as much as possible like using cloth napkins instead of paper ones. If we could compost here we would do that too. In our efforts to keep waste to a minmum we've decided that this year instead of buying boxes, wrapping paper, and gift bags that will most likely be tossed after the holidays we're going to put our gifts in reusable shopping bags. I found a good deal on some today and they even come with a smaller bag that could be used as a lunch bag. This way the bag is part of the gift and can either be used for shopping or re-gifted. I know they aren't very Christmas-y styles, but I still love them especially the two on the end and I have someone in mind for each of them.

They're obviously all for women. I haven't figured out what we're going to do for the guys just yet.

We'll probably end up doing what we did last year, creating our own wrapping paper from simple brown paper and paints or markers. Brown paper is recyclable unlike most wrapping paper.

We're also attempting to make most if not all of our Christmas gifts this year too. Wish us luck!

Wind damage...

A couple days ago some crazy winds came out of nowhere and took over the city. It sounded horrendous and made walking or driving very difficult. But sadly it seems the tree in front of our building got the worst of it...

It was a young tree as you can see and from the outside seemed perfectly healthy, but upon further inspection you can see where it split there is some discoloration. Poor thing must have been infected with something. We are so incredibly lucky that it fell the direction that it did. Had it fallen straight back it would have landed flat out on the Lexus. If it had fallen to the left it would have knocked down the fence line between our building and the next. Had the other half fallen backwards there would have most likely been damage to the buildings roof and windows. We're very grateful it fell the one way that it didn't harm anything. Our landlords came to inspect and will be back this weekend to chop it up for firewood. :(

Baby Gifts...

It was only a little over a month late, but we finally finished our baby gift for Jesse's newest nephew Landon Lee Buckingham (born Oct. 1st). Originally I had planned a project to make for him that was very intense and very time consuming... yeah, needless to say I changed that plan quickly. I ended up making him a picture frame (that hopefully matches the color scheme of his new bedroom). As I said in the previous post Jesse is really getting back into the design business especially when it comes to prints on clothing, so we decided to try out hand at making some quality onesies for the new little guy. We bought a pack of plain white ones and some dye. I colored some yellow, some green, and we left some white. Jesse worked on drawings and worked and worked on them. We ended up changing our mind on designs numerous times and then his procrastinating nature got in the way again and thus our gift was delivered a little late. Good thing we thought ahead and bought onesies that were meant for 6-9month old babies. Whew! Dodged a bullet there. Hopefully he and his parents love all our hard work. This might be our new thing... making onesies for new babies. I guess you can say Landon was our guinea pig and I think, so far at least, our little experiment turned out pretty awesome.

Check it out for yourselves...

The picture frame that inspired the final onesie designs. 

The 4 designs we came up with. Jesse's pretty talented.

The monkey turned out to be our favorite. Jesse doesn't like the tiger, but believe me after the adjustments I suggested he's a lot better looking. I think he's cute.

The Polar Bear is right up there as our 2nd favorite. The giraffe obviously took the most work and I especially love how is ground turned out. Kudos Jesse!

The finally finished baby gift. Sorry it took so long Linsey! Hopefully you guys love it and will get lots of use out it.

As I said Jesse is the artist and I'm the muse. I help him come up with ideas and then give him ideas on how to improve his original sketches. We really do work well together. I've even been known to pick up a pencil and help him improve his drawings, but I'm honestly not as talented as he is. He constantly impresses me. Now that we have 4 letters of the Alphabet down maybe we should go for the whole thing. Hmm... 

P.S. You better bet when we have a kid we'll be making all kinds of clothes for them.

Team Artwork...

As you may know Jesse's true passion is screen printing. He interned at a print shop for a while and fell in love with the process. He used to burn screens in the bathroom of his old tiny apartment. He's been saying for years now that he wants to start his own print shop. He has designed shirts for friends, a local non-profit, and even sold a few at a local clothing store. I got him a couple books about screen printing and stenciling for his birthday. Since then we've been making shirts together just for fun. We've made a few for friends as gifts, but mainly just playing around making shirts for ourselves. This has really got his creative juices flowing, so he bought himself a book about starting your own screen printing business (it came complete with plans on how to build your own 4 color press, which he intends on doing soon) and he got himself a stencil cutter. We've been having a blast lately. We're planning to build the press with help from my lovely family, since we are lacking tools and the space to build it. Then we'll really get to designing and hopefully start selling stuff on etsy.com. Baby steps... I'm just glad that he's finally taking the steps and not just talking about it. This is a good thing.

 Taking over the kitchen table.

Screen print test.

The stencil book I gave him for his bday.

Luchador Mask Print.

Humming Bird w/flowers Print.

Stereo Print.

The gray and black striped is my my long sleeved shirt and the black and gold is Jesse's t-shirt.

 

 

There will definitely be more to come. In fact we have some more designs finished, but they're gifts for people, so we can't show them off on here until we give them away. We've also made an art list and every week we've decided to at least work on if not finish one project on the list. It's funny how we need to make this a priority when its something we love doing, but sometimes you just get tired and lazy.  Lists are helpful for me, I just hope they work for Jesse to and we can keep up this pace. I think we make a pretty great creative team. I see myself as the muse and him as the artist. It's worked well for us so far.