coconut mochas and good friends and good conversations

So Starbucks has these coconut mocha drinks that are amazing (a fairly obvious conclusion since I'm raving). If you like coconut at all, this will be your new fav. It is like drinking a liquid Almond Joy candy bar. And that is amazing.

photo cred: starbucks

The one thing better than a coconut mocha is drinking a coconut mocha with a good friend. And I got to do that this morning - a little bit of refreshing and encouraging girl time. I forgot how much I love doing those kinds of things. I just get so busy with life.

So stop, get a cup of coffee/tea/whatever, and go have a good conversation with a real person, face to face!

not to brag...

Not to brag, but I have an amazing husband!  And soon to be dad.  =)  This is what he got me for Mother's Day.

I'm having so much fun with this new toy - playing games, blogging, reading blogs, and so much more!  And I love my husband.  =)

happy mother's day!!!

I am a very blessed girl.

I didn't always like to admit it, but yes, Mom, you were right.

You were right when you said plucking my eyebrows would be more work than I would ever really like doing but you also understood why I wanted to be a "big girl" too.  =)

You were right when you said that taking care of your own house is worth doing...I just didn't want to admit it.

You were right when you made me get up early every Sunday morning to develop a habit of worship in your children.

You were so patient when you kept washing clothes and cooking food when I never said thank you.

You were my support when I was having a rough day at school, work, or any time.

You were my example of love and obedience in Christ.

You are my mom and I am more thankful for that than I can ever say.

And since I got married, I now have two moms!  

Happy Mother's Day!!!

what a weekend!

When I got to last Friday, I was excited looking forward to the weekend.  We had dinners planned with friends, creative overload with some new jewelry projects (check out my shop to see some of what I was working on), church, and a Sunday afternoon nap.  =)  Let's just say that things ended up a little differently than I was planning.

We did have an amazing dinner at Ciao Italia.The hubby and I had this place recommended to us a year or two ago and we have fallen in love.  I know not everyone who reads this blog is in the area but if you are able to go, their paninis and salads are to die for (just check out the pictures on their yelp page).  Traditional Italian stuff like imported meats make the experience second to none.  Maurizio and Rosanna are amazing restraunteurs and now friends.  So we got invited to their special barbeque that they invite regulars to and had an amazing meal.

superbly seasoned short ribs, skirt steak, handmade Italian sausage, and a little salad with their house balsamic dressing - yes, yes, it was AMAZING!

But then, things got interesting.  The hubby got sick and the headaches that come with it often threaten to turn into much worse migraines.  So it was a late night on Saturday trying to help ease the pain.  But it made me deal with how helpless I can feel when I just want to make him feel better!!!  

Then things kept progressing.  I made the trek to church on my own this morning, letting the hubby keep sleeping.  I help by playing piano at church and took care of that and came home to my husband...who had managed to slice his thumb open while washing dishes to try and help me out.  My husband is the greatest...but sometimes he hurts himself in his greatness.  =)  

And then - the news.  The news that one of the men who had been fighting against the philosophical and economic freedoms that Americans and Western civilization has developed over the last hundred years is dead.  It is anyone's guess what the future holds.  But we are living in changing times.  And yet, to quote a twitter post I saw tonight, "Don't celebrate death, celebrate justice."  God bless America...

anyone else feel overwhelmed right now?!

For starters, I admit it - I woke up this morning and had to go and find a picture of Kate formerly-Middleton's wedding gown.  Anyone else see it?  What did you think of the royal wedding?  I was determined to continue with my life because I thought, "Fairy tale wedding?  Psshaw.  That's great but what about my stressed out and humdrum life right now?"  And then I woke up this morning and thought, "C'mon, Aime.  Another couple is promising to love and honor each other for the rest of their lives.  Be happy for them and she is obviously going to be beautiful so go look at the pictures!"

Weddings are just precious times and things to be cherished and I firmly believe in "fairy tale" weddings no matter what your budget is or if you are marrying a prince or not.  It is your special day and the fairy tale part comes from seeing the man of your dreams standing in front of you, you wearing a beautiful dress, and promising to love one man and one man exclusively, as long as you both shall live.  So celebrate true love and everything that comes with it - especially the party after the ceremony!  =)  I had no clue my father was such a good dancer until we had our father/daughter dance at my wedding.  It made me almost start crying while we were dancing (apparently, my mom was crying).

i'm not sure what it looked like to everyone else but it felt like a scene from an old movie!  that's how good of a dancer he is!

And speaking of weddings, the reason why I titled this blog post what I did is because I am getting to "take part" in several weddings this summer!  Which is totally exciting.  Except that now I'm realizing that I need to get my rear in gear and start pumping out all those lovely wedding jewelry designs that have been rolling around in my head.  So you will all get a chance to see some of those things next week hopefully.  I also have a few very good friends getting married and since I dabble in graphic design, I designed some different wedding invites for one couple.  Here's a sample - what do you think?  

So there is a little bit of how crazy life has been.  But in good ways.  I really have been so blessed - I have nothing to complain about in life and my gracious God and Savior still cares, provides, and forgives for me when I get finicky under stress.  One of my biggest blessings is my mom.  And since Mother's Day is right around the corner, I am having sale in the shop.  Use coupon code "mothersareamazing" to get 15% off your entire order.  Hopefully it will make some of your shopping a little easier.  =)

Have a beautiful day!