Wall Art

I've been on the hunt for fun and creative decorating ideas - the key being that they are economical. Lately I've been annoyed by my white walls and without the option of painting, I was looking for anything to give them a little color. Thanks to the Michaels.com website, I found a great way to get some color and texture on the walls, without spending lots of money.

All it required were nine12 x 12 inch styrofoam squares (an inch thick), nine 12 x 12 inch sheets of scrapbooking paper in coordinating colors, and some one inch ribbon. Glue the scrapbook paper on the styrofoam square and then glue the ribbon around the edges. Voila! An inexpensive piece of art.

Before - gluing the paper on the styrofoam

The finished product - all nine squares. I love the colors!

A little closer up

On another note, I also finished some window coverings/scarves for my living room. Again, I just felt like it was desperately missing something. So, I found some really cheap shear fabric and did some hemming and they were ready to go. Now I'm working on something for my dining room windows.

Girls' weekend in Minnesota

I have the greatest friends! I wish we got to spend more time together. I miss the days back in college - hanging out at the apartment, listening to music, watching movies, dancing, laughing, etc. Well, this weekend was like a roadtrip back in time :)

I drove with two friends from Chicago to Minnesota, for my best friend's bridal shower. Julie and Liz jumped at the opportunity to go with and spend time with Britt and her family. The drive was quick and fun. Friday night we went out to walk around the mall (our version of exercise) and then out to a girlie movie.

Althea, Liz, Julie, Britt

Such a sweet girl, Althea. Can't wait to meet Baby Yee!

Saturday all of us got to hang out with Britt, Bryan and cutie Althea. The girls spent the rest of the day together, and I was off and running to get things ready for Janna's shower. The other bridesmaids and myself hosted the shower and my parents were gracious enough to let us use their house. We had soooo much fun. Great food, great girls, great gifts, great decorations! After the shower a group of us went out to dinner at one of Janna's favorite places, Maxwell's, and then out for some dancing. It's been awhile since I stayed out that late, but it was well worth it.

The Bridesmaids

Thanks to Martha Stewart and the Hostess with the Mostest blog for decorating ideas

Yummy Food

Just a few shower "activities" and some great party favors

The Bride-to-be and her mom

Love this girl!

Enjoying some good food at Maxwell's

The bridal party enjoying a night on the town

Dancing with the girls just like the good old times

I came back to Chicago feeling energized and relaxed. I told Julio that I was going to have to have girls' weekends more often...not sure he was too thrilled. He spent the weekend taking care of Samuel and did a great job. Now it's his turn for some refreshment and personal time.

Haircut

So, Samuel finally got his first haircut! He's been needing one for awhile, but it's a little tricky since he has two cowlicks that go in opposite directions. So, our friend Angela agreed to help us out and came over to give Sam his haircut. Thank goodness for Angela! And Sam did such a good job...he literally didn't move. I don't think I've ever seen him sit so still. So, it was a successful endeavor.

Before

Another before - he's obsessed with putting on his shoes!

During the haircut

What a face!

And the final result!

Time flies

I do not know where the month of January went! Alas, I have not been good at keeping the blog updated, as life seems to get busier and busier. I can't even remember all that happened in January; how sad is that?! What I do remember is that the first part of the month I came down with Shingles (not fun!!) and I turned one year older! Julio was busy with two J-term (1 week intensive) courses and spent some time trying to rest before the new spring semester begins.

I just spent the first week of February at our denomination's Midwinter meetings. They were held in Chicago and I was able to help facilitate some lunch forums and connect with various pastors and church leaders. It was a very full week and I'm glad to be home. One of the highlights was seeing our friend Pablo, from Ecuador, and spending some time with him. It looks like we will be helping out in Colombia this summer as they have a 6 week discipleship school for students in Latin America. We will only be there 2 of the 6 weeks, but will help by teaching various courses.

Visiting with friend, Pablo

In other news, Sam seems to grow each day. I was amazed after not seeing him for just a couple days, how much more grown up he seems. He's got a vocabulary of a few words (some English and some Spanish) and is in to everything he can get his hands on. He runs around the apartment trying to hide from mom and dad. He's started to really be able to feed himself with a spoon (though it gets extremely messy). He is continually making us laugh.



We are all so anxious for spring and summer when we can get out and play in the parks. I guess we'll have to wait a few more months for that to happen. In the meantime, I hope to take more pictures and post more regular updates :)