Beauty and the Beast

Well, almost. These are our pets: Frank, the cat, and Tealk, the dog. Both are amazing little personalities and our lives' aren't the same. But how could we live with ourselves knowing the either one of these furballs would have lived a life in a kennel or at the humane society in a cage. Nope. Not these two.

Love the soul patch!

Frank is also fond of break-dancing...

The Monster.

This is what we have dubbed: "The Thing." It's where trolls come from.

And, yes, our animals are color-coordinated. 

Rawah Wilderness - A Challenge

The basics stay the same but the colors change. And you never know what to expect. I love the Rocky Mountains.

We took a two-day, 20-mile hike through the Rawah Wilderness for Steve's 25th Birthday this past weekend. It was moderately difficult, and if it wasn't for him, I may not have had the courage to press on. Press on. He challenged me. We made it over Grassy Pass (11,250 feet!) and onward to camp at Lower Sandbar Lake.

Blue skies. Not a soul in sight. Quiet moments. Reflection. Hope.

Happy Birthday, honey - I love you!

50 Projects: 52 Weeks (15. Amber Necklace)

I've been meaning to post this project as well. I made earrings to match; sadly, they have disappeared where all good earrings go - to that mystical Land of Good Jewelry, Missing Dryer Sock, and Other Notions...My friend, Jen, and I shared beads one afternoon at her house. This necklace has bits and pieces from our afternoon together; it also has a few beads leftover from my wedding necklace and other memories of my mom and I making jewelry together (her Christmas present also has a similar theme to this amber-stone inspired necklace)!

I'm really diggin' mustard-colored beads with sea-glass accents...

50 Projects: 52 Weeks (14. A Little Bit of Perfect)

Collaboration. 

I cannot take 100% credit for this, as the idea and the gift was not my own. Steve had been waiting over a year to finally be able to create this project. The only thing I can take credit for is the clashing of creative minds to figure out how to make the mounting happen.

You see, my wedding present is a love letter. And with that letter came this photo - a picture of the sunset at Hot Water Beach, Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand (2009). We camped there. The photo hangs across from our bed as a reminder of some of the most amazing moments we've had as a couple (don't worry, I bawled when I read the love letter this past Christmas)!

Steve found inspiration in a photo that was adhered to "floating glass" at a Caribou Coffee shop. The glass was thick. Really thick. And we were drawn to it. He wanted to recreate that. Together, we found a really great glass company in town - Black's Glass. The price was VERY reasonable and they are very creative and knowledgeable people. We also found these clips to offset the glass from the wall and it gives it a finished look. We, ideally, wanted holes drilled in the glass and these stainless steel offsets would appear to float. If you ever need a hole drilled in glass - just know this - it was cost you more than the glass itself. And we needed four holes. So we nixed that idea.

Here is the final project:

This photo is a little piece of Heaven.

So, consider this project a 1/2 project, as Steve was the creative genius! 

This is another photo (at sunrise) of Hot Water Beach:

I wish I was there. . .

Love Means...

Love means...

saving the center of the pan brownies for your husband because you know he prefers it over the corners.