just released

new to the abk design collection.... fabric banners!



i have loved these for a long time and finally have found some extra time to launch my newest collection. they measure 3 yards or 108 inches long and  are made with unique fabrics (robert kaufman, amy butler, moda just to name a few) found at one of my favorite local sewing shop (sew to speak).


i think these banners are a great addition to any party decoration, bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, a child’s room or play room, or just an addition to your everyday decorating. it was fun mixing fabrics to create this halloween banner below to accent my fire place.

many more to come... but just wanted to share a sneak peek of what's coming.... let me know your thoughts!

yipeeeeeee......french hen farm barn sale

you won't want to miss this sale.... i'm pretty sure i will be taking a day off from work to go shopping! hope i find some good "finds"!

Cherry on Top Award

AWARD- cherry on top

thanks to my blog mentor mattie, i received this exciting award!!
the cherry on top award for beautiful blogs, with that little something extra- there are a couple things you are supposed to do with the award but I can only do 2 out of the 3 since i am still new...

1. If you had a chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?
i always dislike these types of questions and struggle with an answer.... BUT if i had a chance to go back and change one thing in life i would have to say how hard school work was for me. it was always a struggle and didn't come natural to me so i just didn't want to do it. i was the worst speller and my worst subject was english/grammer (my mom was even an english teacher). the subjects i favored were math and art (i don't think art is technically a subject either). regardless i made it thru grade school, high school, and college. i manage to have a great job and use spell check often!

2. The second thing you have to do is pick 6 people to receive this award. You then have to inform those people on their blog about the award.
yikes... this is the one that i can't do.... i don't have 6 people to give the award to yet. :)

3. Thank the person who gave you this award.
thank you mattie! you are not only a co-worker but a great friend and i appreciate all your help and encouragement. believe me when i tell you i could plan my wedding over and over again. i loved hearing and reading about all your awesome creative wedding ideas. your wedding truly was the best i've been to in a long time all your work paid off with a beautiful day. thanks for inviting us and sharing all your thoughts along the way. hope we do start a blogging club and can share and learn more.

country living fair- columbus, oh

to go or not to go…. it's that time again for the country living fair this weekend at the historical ohio village.. i have gone the last two years and having a hard time deciding to go or not to go this year…..


reasons to go:
~ the village is really cute and the perfect setting for this event
~ makes me think of fall
~ $5 subscription to the magazine
~ amy barickman will be giving a demonstration on "sewing vintage" on friday only

reasons not to go:
~ if i went on saturday i'd be rushed... we have a wedding
~ crowds
~ no real deals
~ if i go on friday i'd have to go alone and take a day off from work
~ some of the demonstrations/events seem to be the same as last years


Link to: Country Living Fair

hmmmmmmmm......

i miss my life... i miss my planner

i really have missed using my planner all summer long. i can't wait to get back to the days that i can open my planner everyday and see what i have going on (other than work). work has taken over my life and honestly i can't wait for my life to take over work again.  we have had a few weekends with friends but i haven't been able to really enjoy them.

actually i am going to start from scratch and get a completely new planner this will help me weed out old information and hopefully make me feel like i have some control again. some might think i am a little obsessive of my planner but it has been my key to saving me time. after all, that is what a planner is supposed to do right? i keep a list of birthday, anniversary, baby, sympathy messages within my planner to help me while on the spot. i know keeping important information like log in and passwords are not supposed to be kept in a planner but again this has saved me time in the end. i rely on my planner a lot and especially more and more since i can't seem to keep things straight in my head anymore.

i used to think that i needed the franklin planner system and had a semi medium planner book... but over the last 5 years i took it down a size to fit in my purse. this has been even more helpful .... i don't use the day to day pages that franklin system has just the overall month to month cally and than lots of extra tabs for web address/passwords, card messages, stamps, return address labels, christmas lists, and anything else that comes to mind.

here is my old planner...

here is my new planner :)....

here is to being organized again and having my life back!!!!

havin fun

today we went looking for the park with the tree house - i had no idea how cool this park was and its practically in our backyard- we defiantly will be going back to explore more!
the sisters' garden is a combination of a country garden with a working windmill and a secret garden where you can look for the wise owl. this was only one area that we had time for today- i have a feeling we will be back next weekend for more.

blog worthy

we are blog worthy! i was excited to see that our family photos were posted on our photographers blog (http://julieranee.com/theblog/) i  have been a huge fan of her for about 3 years and my husband bought me a gift certificate to have our family pictures taken for my birthday. i am so happy that i received this as a gift because i would never have bought this myself. we had such a great time and i really had a hard time picking which photographs to purchase... i wanted them all. (please tell me that i will receive this as a gift again next year)!
i bought two frames from pottery barn outlet in february and actually have them hanging on the wall in the living room waiting for pictures. i have two pictures that hopefully tell a story about us that will fit perfectly. 
she told me two weeks until we will get our pictures... good thing i am so busy at work right now that they should be done by the time i get back from anaheim.