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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas Cheer!

Have a wonderful Christmas! The hubs and I are going out to celebrate together tonight, with family gatherings up the waa-zoo over the weekend. Blessings to you and your families!

 

 


{Source}

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Ribbon Wands!

DIY project for my dear friend over at Colors of Honey, ribbon wands! After seeing these darling wands at Ruffled, Kirby couldn't possibly skip the opportunity of having these at her wedding. So, her sister who flew in for the holidays, came over and we went to town. Here are some of the pictures detailing the process. Directions can be found on Ruffled's site.



Here's Amanda with our super duper wands!
A few red, a few orange, a few gray and a whole lotta ivory/white!




Fun, right?

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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Phographer Alert - Amber Kvamme

Hello you all's. When I was about eight years old I met a very dear friend, who I'm happy to say is still a close friend today. We grew up down the street from each other, made tree houses, went sledding, dressed up for school dances together...pretty much everything teenage girls do.

Anywho, I know her entire family...very well, and was so excited to invite them all to my wedding this past summer. Heck, my long-time friend even left work early to pick up my flowers and arrange my centerpieces at the last moment.

AND, her younger sister Amber, a budding photographer to say the least, took the liberty and pleasure of taking some snaps from her point-of-view as a guest at our wedding, without even being asked. Yes, this family is that sweet.

Here are a few of the beautiful shots she gathered that even our paid photographer didn't catch!





Isn't she fabulous? Thank you Amber for your candid participation at our wedding! For all of you in amazement, more of Amber's shots are on her site. You might even catch a few more glimpses from our wedding.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Amalgamate: My Love for Trees and the Environment

For Blog Action Day 2007, I wrote about my love of trees. To read about this year's post on water...go here.


My last ''Amalgamate'' post. A post from...a while ago:


So today is an e-reknown holiday, "Blog Action Day." 

And here I sit thinking, 'what can I post today to help others become more environmentally aware?'

If I asked you what you do to help preserve, retain, up-keep, sustain, etc....our environment? What would you say?

I'd guess that a majority would say they recycle. A handful would say they reuse. And another few would find ways to reduce. (If you aren't familiar with the lingo, visit
 here.)

But how much of this is more here-say than actually doing? I'll be the first to admit that I talk a lot more than I act, especially when it comes to talking pro-environment.

But imagine a world without trees? I find it quite impossible. But someday...who knows what our detriment might look like?

Visit the
 Alliance for Sustainability to see more ways that you can help leave a smaller footprint. 

"What better gift can we give this precarious earth than a generation of children [And adults] who have learned to know and love the natural world?"

-Robert Rockwell



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Thursday, November 25, 2010

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

My favorite part of Thanksgiving this year? The fact that I get to sleep in with my husband on our first turkey day as a married couple, wake up easy, drink some coffee, read the paper, and have the time to reflect on how blessed we are.


Of course the moment noon strikes we’ll be rushing out the door, hoping from family to family, socializing and eating. We probably won’t sit and relax most of the day.

But, without even realizing it, I’ve gotten my wish for Thanksgiving – to be home for at least part of the holiday with just my family (just D and I).

I’ve been a little irked lately that it’s nearly impossible for us to start any new holiday traditions as a newly married couple since we have ALL our family within driving distance. It’s something many people long for, and something for which we’re equally thankful for. But we spend half the day driving from place to place. Part of me wants to stay home on this blistering blessed day (the weather is pretty much deathly). And, up until this week I thought we would be running around all day. But…dot dot dot…I’ve been pleasantly informed that we actually don’t need to be ANYWHERE in the morning. Which is, bliss.

Anyways, for all of you traveling to see loved ones today, count all your blessings (and your frozen toes if you’re in MN). For those of you without loved ones today, be comforted and thankful. There’s so much to be thankful for. Fresh water, a warm shelter, loving friends and family, and a generous Savior.

"[Jesus] said, 'This is how you should pray: Father, may your name be honored. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us our food day by day.’” Luke 11:2-3 NLT


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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Beauty Defined

Wikipedia reads: "Judgments of beauty are sensory, emotional, and intellectual all at once."


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Monday, November 22, 2010

Amalgamate: Beautiful Snow

In September I announced that I would be working on decluttering the blogosphere, and shutting down my former blog, It's Miller Time. With this, I'm reposting some of my former material on manifesting inspiration to save and preserve my thoughts of yore.

Enjoy a post from November 2007, Beautiful Snow:


A beautiful friend shared this beautiful poem with me. Enjoy.

http://www.christian-truth-ministry.com/beautiful_snow.htm



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Friday, November 19, 2010

Midwest Home Show: Nov. 19-21, 2010

Yippee! I'm going to the 20th Annual Midwest Home Show this weekend! Over 200 remodelers, landscapers, designers and home improvement people to steal  learn home improvement tricks from.



Come join me and experience the Room&Board's Midwest Home Lounge & Design Center, learn how to green your home with MNGreenStar, or score amazing savings on NKBA's kitchen and bath sale!

Anybody else get giddy about attending home shows?

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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Read This: Place Your Bids

Who doesn't love online auctions, contests, or give aways? Well, I always do. Kirby at Colors of Honey posted a sweet post on her friend's auction, the proceeds go to help a family start their family. The listing for the action is at 32 Auctions. And Kirby's pieces are this beautiful hair clip and these fun cross-stitch wall hangings!


If you didn't notice, the hair piece is the one Kirby made me for my wedding!

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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

morning routine in the works


I sit here and smile with a cup of warm coffee. My first daily Star Tribune,
found lying in the driveway this morning.


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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Iris and Lily


So this picture was originally tiny, so it might be a bit fuzzy. But this is a photo of my beautiful bouquet my Dustin sent to work for me. Gawww embarrasing. Since my buds are not yet bloomed, this is a marketing photo. I can't wait to see them in full bloom like this!
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Friday, October 29, 2010

Deck the Yard with...bounds of Hallow

Just a breezy day, driving back home from the inlaws' cabin...I spotted this:


Oh yes, that's a house with its ENTIRE lawn flaunted with Halloween decor. I'm guessing they probably rocked $1000 or more on these animated, lit, and blown up figures. It made my evening. In fact, I couldn't resist pulling a U-ey and taking a few more shots.


This is my efforts of trying to get as close as possible while stile trying to be inconspicuous with my phone sticking up in the air out the car window.




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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Dilemma: choosing your bridesmaid dresses

Nope, this isn't becoming a bridal blog (at least as far as I can see). But, I do have soo many talented, creative friends -- and my bestest friend happens to be in the industry. So, when she posts something sweet, cool or relevant I tend to enjoy reposting her (and others') material.

A reader asked Kirby for some advice when it comes to picking bridesmaid dresses, whether to stay with a single dress option, give her girls color options, or provide style options. Me -- I chose to pick a single color/dress but with multiple style options for my six bridesmaids to choose from.

My lovely ladies here~


And although I loved loved loved my bm dresses (search Cotton Cady) from JCrew, there are soo many more fun alternatives you could do if this isn't your cup of tea. For some more great ideas visit
Kirby Margaret @ Colors of Honey.

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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Read This: Fab Freebie: IKEA, IKEA, IKEA!

Gosh, you may have already gathered that I'm in love with Young House Love (YHL for future reference) and their amazingly cute blog life. Their post today has me yipping with excitement though! I can't stop smiling.

Some days I wonder how super it'd be to stop working so that I can do so many of the things I long to do. But practicality always steps in, I need the money. I need to pay my bills, la-ti-da.

Our wonderful furniture friend -- IKEA started up this amazing thing called "The Life Improvement Project." Purpose something like...simply to improve the world of others. Wonderful, right? Well, IKEA contacted YHL to do a little give-away...a $350 gift card to IKEA, and a little promo on their new program.

Sherry and John write it well, so I'll just share their explanation: "'...The Life Improvement Project' where {IKEA will} award one philanthropic individual $100,000 to take a one year sabbatical to help others (start a non-profit, volunteer for a year, etc). Plus they’re hosting free seminars in their stores about improving your life through your living space."

So spread a little blog love, go visit Sherry and John at YHL for the possibility to win at IKEA, or write up the ways you long to help others over at The Life Improvement Project.


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Monday, October 18, 2010

For Drier for Poorer: Wedding Highlight Video

So opened my reader this morning to discover my MOH beat me to the punch at posting my wedding highlight video on her blog, Colors of Honey, so I figure I better get on the ball also. :)

Out of all the things I paid for on my special day, hiring a videographer was by far one of the best investments I made. They were with Dustin and I ALL day, and captured every single moment. Thank you Capture Studios for all your hard work and fun!

Readers, enjoy!


Dustin + Sheena // For Drier For Poorer from capture studios on Vimeo.


To spot some photos of us getting ready, visit my girl's blog at Colors of Honey. Our amazing photographer was Chloe of Chloe Photography!

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Friday, October 15, 2010

Living Water: Blog Action Day

Water. The single most important thing we consume. What would we do, where would we be without it? Dying of dehydration, that’s where, sadly.


This year’s Blog Action Day is all about water.

I’d like to talk about living water. Yes, there are worries about the actual water we drink on a daily basis, but I believe the real concern is peoples’ lack of living water. Living water is that provided by Jesus Christ. His promise to bring life and life abundantly to those who believe and follow Him.

Jesus, the Source of Living Water:

John 7:37: “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as[c] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

John 4:7-14: “When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’

The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’

‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?’

Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’"

{source}

To read about my post on 2007's Blog Action Day - read about my love of trees.

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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Read This: Foundations of an uncluttered life...

It's hard to keep things clean and organized when the seasons change. Especially when you're uber busy (aren't we all, right?). As you clean the closet this fall to make way for winter sweaters, warm pajamas, etc. remember some tips from Unclutterer.
This post begins with a quote by William Morris, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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Monday, October 11, 2010

Leaves

photo.JPG


This weekend was SUPER beautiful in the Twin Cities, sunny and 80 degrees. Yeah, I know. Pretty much unheard of for October around this area. Hope everyone enjoyed the outdoors a bit!

Although a lot of it was raking up leaves, and preparing the outdoors for winter, it was still very nice to be outside. Happy Monday!



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Friday, October 8, 2010

Happy Friday!


"Wine is constant proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

-Benjamin Franklin

Enjoy a glass and relax.


Happy Friday!



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Thursday, October 7, 2010

Let's just call this fall week...another Amalgamate post

Smother in the beauty of fall.

Some lovely photos outside at the U of M I took a couple years ago, and were from my previous blog, It's Miller Time.









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Fall trail blazing

My dear friend Shelly and I went on a walk through some nature trails behind the Tamarack Nature Center this past weekend. And, we took our four-legged friends with us. I grabbed the in laws' dog, the furry brown and white, Cavachon. My friend's dog is half long-haired chihuahua/half chinese crestid.


It was super beautiful out, prime time in the cities I think. We walked for about an hour and a half (tiring out the dogs) and didn't re-walk a single trail. AND, these trails are less than a mile from where I live and I didn't even know they existed!

There was a point in the trail where it turned into a board walk which led out to a dock on a lake/pond also. Missed that photo op, but I definitely plan to return soon and show Dustin.

Enjoy more of fall's beauty. It's only around a little bit longer!

 





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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Amalgamate: Into


Amalgamate - to me, merging two blogs into one. Another post at 3pm from my previous blog.


Frustrated, 
Anxious,
Hesitant (yet willing),
Wary, concerned,
Fearful, brokenhearted,
Bewildered, unknowing,
And unchanged,
Risky…
Righteousness,
Merciful participation,
Humble adoration,
Provision, security,
Visioning, the deep,
Fulfilling, meeting,
Community.



"All that you touch 
You Change
All that you Change
Changes you.
The only lasting truth
Is Change."


~Octavia Butler


“It isn’t enough to talk about peace; one must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it; one must work at it.”  


~Eleanor Roosevelt


“It would be naïve to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems… However, with faith and perseverance,…complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace.”  


~Jimmy Carter






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Amalgamate: Photos on the 'Go Twins!' Star Tribune Album


In 2008 I posted some photos of the year's Milwaukee trip for the Twins vs. Brewers games on the Star Tribune's 'Go Twins!' album. 


Although this is another amalgamate, tonight is the Twins' first post-season game. Whew hoo!


Enjoy, and Go Twins Go!



My friend Dan=Twins Fan



Friends at Miller Brewery



Ron Gardenhire is a sexy beast








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