happy 27th loo-loo!

For Loo-loo's birthday my mom decided we should surprise her by taking her to Build-a-bear to make a new "bear". She loves that place. Every time we go to the mall she begs me to buy her a new outfit for one of her many animal pals.

This time she chose a very cute grey kitty. And she dressed her up as Cinderella. Loo-loo was so excited she could hardly contain herself! And my mom and I were glad there was no party going on to frustrate her.

What a ham!

We took some shots while my mom paid...

All packed up in a little blue tote, perfect for Loo-loo to carry.

My mom gave her a few coins to throw into the fountain...

And since we just happened to be downtown, my mom and I strong-armed Loo-loo into going to Settebello, home of the best pizza in Utah.

I had the best arugula salad with goat cheese and balsamic dressing. Mmmmm. And my pizza was amazing too!

Dessert, of course.

I had the stracciatella- the chocolate chip one. Soooooooooo good!

Princess/Cinderella themed Family Party:

I had this extra cake, and some leftover frosting so we played a little prank on Loo-loo. She knew about the princess cake, so when I yelled "surprise!" she was not satisfied with this one. "Where is my Cinderella?" she demanded. So I brought out the real one...

And the next post will be all about this fabulous cake.

Loo-loo, kitty Cinderella, and cake Cinderella.

Here is Stevie and Nick getting food. We had salad and individual pizzas cooked on the grill.

Danny.

Here is my pizza- I used all 3 sauce options- red, alfredo and pesto. I topped it with fresh mozzarella, basil and pepperoni.

Happy birthday girl!

Nick's birthday is one week after Loo-loo's- so we celebrated it too. My mom made him a cheesecake and all of us gave him money in cards- so no exciting opening presents photos of Nick.

Smile! See why I am such a photo taker?? I get it from my dad.

Me getting ready to cut up my creation. She was delicious by the way...

And now for the presents!

Loo-loo doll. New and improved over the one I made her last year...

Like by a TON. I've gotten a lot better in a year...

Cory & Mal.

I found this huge bubble wand for a dollar- and my brother was fascinated with it. It was hilarious, and Loo-loo didn't even notice. He was trying to get the biggest bubble possible- but was just getting lots of small ones. Can you see the blurry bubbles?

Every princess needs a tiara and wand...

(magic wand noise)

Happy happy birthday Lindsay Loo-loo!! I love you!

sleepover pals for leah

These little gals have been quite a hit.

Isn't she sweet?

Little Leah will fall in love with her new pals, just like I have...

heather

So you know Heather Bailey, right? No? Well. She is the best pattern writer in the world. I couldn't follow a pattern until I made Effie & Ollie the elephants. I learned SO much from that pattern. I love her style, her wit, her ideas, her fabric, her blog, her photos, her recipes, her studio...she inspires me in everything she does.

There are so many of her patterns I have yet to try...

And so many fabrics too...

So of course I follow her on Twitter. So she tweeted that she would be at Material Girls for a meet & greet on May 13th. I got there early. Really I did. But only cause I thought she said 5, not 6.

And I brought miss Claira pig- my most prized sewing accomplishment. She was so very difficult, but so very worth it! And Heather loved her.

And- while waiting at the fabric store for her to arrive, all the gals at the fabric shop were stunned by my pig. One lady even asked if she could take a photo of me and my pig. They didn't have one made up to showcase because she looked too hard. Yep. I like me a challenge.

And you can't tell at all- but she is 5 1/2 months pregnant! (Heather, not the pig.)

Congrats Heather! Keep writing patterns! And designing fabric! And challenging me to be a better sewer!

P.S. I had her sign this pattern...

Then I made a lil butterfly with the new bamboo felt I've been itching to try out. It's sooo soft.

I love all the little details.

anniversary, part 6: the grotto

...pssst...

it's loo-loo's birthday today!

The Grotto. A catholic garden sanctuary. Last time in Portland we went to the Japanese Garden, so this time I wanted to a different one.

This is part of the outdoor chapel. It's a sort of cave in the mountain that they have turned into an alter. It's so gorgeous. If we were catholic, went to church, and lived in Portland, we would go here.

It was lightly raining when we were there, but there are so many trees that we didn't get wet.

I love the candles. We asked what the white ones were for- but the guard didn't know. He said it was one of the many mysteries of the grotto.

Green things grow everywhere here, I love it.

You could buy these candles at the gift shop and light them for your loved ones.

Roses on the altar.

One of the many trees that shade the outdoor pews.

Flowering bushes everywhere.

The indoor chapel.

Simple.

The patron saint of cancer. I never knew there was one...

I love mosaics.

Little waterfall.

It was so peaceful and quiet walking through these trees.

And did I mention how green it is?

On the way back to the hotel, we spotted the widest rainbow either of us had ever seen.

We went back the next day to explore the top part of the gardens, since is was on the way to the airport.

This is the meditation chapel. It sits on the edge of the cliff, that overlooks the bottom part of the garden. The wall is floor to ceiling glass.

I wanted to actually meditate here, but there was a wedding going on and it was kinda noisy. I don't know where they were from- but the wedding party was gorgeous. The bride and groom were dressed head to toe in gold, the bridesmaids in a shimmery coral, and the groomsmen in black. They were speaking a language I didn't recognise, but I thought it was the perfect place to have a wedding.

A tiny chapel that looks like a fairytale cottage.

This is the monastery where the monks and nuns live. There is a huge rose garden in the front- but it was just getting started. I'd love to see it in full bloom...

As I've said a million times, I love moss.

There was this teeny leaf poking out of the moss...

While trying to get this shot, I had to bend over quite a bit- and Danny was embarrassed as my dress got shorter, and shorter. I got it though. That's whats important.

It was the perfect end to a perfect vacation.