glad this hasn't happened to us

This post is pretty funny.

our new place of residence

yes, the for rent sign is still out front. 

wow.

we. have. so. much. crap. After we move in, we need to have a yard sale to get rid of a bunch of the stuff we didn't already get rid of when packing up. It is crazy how I can go from living out of 2 suitcases for 18 months on my mission to having this much stuff. We don't even own couches and we have so much! Jake and I need to simplify our lives. (mostly me, I am sure about 70% of it all is my fault).

In packing up our stuff, Jake told me I can't buy fabric for a while.  Looks like I need to get my butt in gear and use if for all the things I had planned when I purchased it.  If anyone ever wants to come help me sew, come on over to our new place!

moving

Yes, super random, I know. But we have been looking for a cheaper place or a house we could rent for a little bit. Last week a place suddenly opened up that gives us the same space, less cost in rent and a house! There is an upstairs apartment that 2 girls rent out but it will be nice to have a place that is more private. And hopefully, no noisy neighbors!
We also get a garage and a tiny front yard and a front porch, so that is exciting. The not exciting part is moving and packing and yes, buying furniture. The place we live in now came with washer/dryer, couches, a kitchen island and some end tables. Moving to a new location only comes with a washer & dryer, so we went couch shopping yesterday and ordered some and also picked up the other pieces at different places. Hopefully it will feel like home with our things.
Our Lake Powell trip is next week (if certain deadlines are reached by then) so, since we need to be out by the end of the month, we need to be out by Friday. So we are slowly moving everything out. Hopefully we can get it all done in time.  Jake will be doing most of it since I work every day. Luckily, he doesn't work on Mondays and Wednesdays so that is nice.
We are hoping that you all are doing great.

fathers

Happy Father's day everyone. Dad, I love you so much. Thanks for all you do.

I have become.

I have become a collector of fabric. I usually have a plan on how to use it when I buy it. Usually.  However,  I don't always use the fabric and follow through with that plan. When I have a project I want to make it usually takes me about 3 months to actually finish it, if I finish it. Or if I even start it.
For some reason since I was able to somewhat successfully make a rag quilt at Christmas-time and also sew together a quilt that was already pieced in May I think that I am now a quilter and can actually make more quilts. Ha! I guess I get a point for being optimistic there.
Needless to say, that optimism has definitely spurred me to open up my wallet and buy some cute fabric. Sometimes it is just too cute to resist! (Maybe next time I am tempted I need to remind myself that I can't even sew a straight line or a 1/4" inch seam.) I now have fabric for 2 more quilts and also a cute roll-up that was waiting in my mailbox today so one day I can hopefully attempt to make this quilt.
This fabric is so cute!! even cuter than the online picture when I ordered it. 

sun!

the sun is out today and it is a miracle! I really don't have anything exciting to blog about except that.

Oh, and if anyone is interested, I have a coupon for 15% off your order at Ballard Designs. expires June 30. online code is SLJUNE10.

Hopefully it is sunny where you are!!

two exciting events

today I am announcing two exciting events in the life of Kristen:

1. The world cup starts today!! So fun to watch.

2. I got my Martinique quilt back from the quilter yesterday and she did a wonderful job. It has pretty flowers and vines in the stitching. Now I just get to figure out how to do the binding. It will be a lot bigger project compared to this small project where I learned how to do quilt binding. I just hope I can cut and sew the fabric and everything ok to get it ready for the stitching part.
Here are some pics. The pretty brown paisley is my fabric on the back of the quilt.

hope

these pretty wildflowers bring hope to me on a rainy Thursday afternoon that some day soon the sun will come out in Utah. It was out in Colorado while we were there but apparently it's not coming out in Utah....

faith

Monday night we planted our garden. When we started the plants several months ago, they were just seeds. They have slowly grown and (hopefully) will continue to grow now that they are in the ground and not in our apartment window that barely gets any sun.
Here are some pics of the growth of our plants:

from the first sign of life

to over growing their little container

to looking a lot smaller once they are in the ground (pics to come)

this is truly an act of faith. I hope that we will be able to reap what we sow. 

sunday yum

shish-kabobs with fried rice for dinner last night= yum!

Star Brite Boutique

We will be in Sandy for a boutique tomorrow from 11-3. If you are interested in coming, the address is 1180 East 10600 South.

quote for today

 Unless life also gives you water and sugar, your lemonade's gonna suck. :)

swap party

In an effort to get to know more ladies at church, I am throwing a party tonight. I'm crossing my fingers that it turns out well so that I can throw a few more throughout the summer. It may be a small group, but it will be fun.

more ribbon fun

there's a blog out there that has wordless wednesdays. i'm pretty sure if I were more committed to my blog I would do that too. so here's a try: