:: sponsor welcome ::

Please welcome my newest sponsor... Urban Rain.

This little shop is full of trendy items for the everyday. Joanne makes sure that items are as beautiful as they are useful. Her cleverly simple magnet set will do its job on your fridge, yet look stunning. Plus, aren't accessories always a must for the everyday?!! Therefore, Urban Rain's floral bobbies will sure be useful holding hair back, at the same time adding a bit of a sweet touch. I am also totally a ring girl, so the rings in this shop are just my cup of tea! Obviously, there are a lot of pretty goodies to choose from at Urban Rain!

Urban Rain is kind enough to give one Cakies reader a $25 gift certificate to spend however they please at the Urban Rain shop. Here are some things you can do to get a chance to win this lovely little prize:

1. Visit Urban Rain and leave a comment telling me your favorite item.

2. Blog, tweet, or facebook about this giveaway and leave separate links here.

Easy peasy, right? Those overseas are welcome to join in! If you do all the things mentioned above, you can up your chances 4 times.

The giveaway will end at 8am PST on Thursday, August 5th and will be announced sometime that morning on this post. Good Luck!!! Thank you so much Urban Rain!!!

urban rain shop...

*****
The winner is... crafty mom!!!

Congratulations! And please email me to claim your prize. Thank you to all who entered!!!

*****

vintage tins

Friday, already? Wow. I am totally glad! It has been nice getting things back to normal around here and I can see my floor again now that everything has been cleaned up (kinda). Yesterday, I caught up on most my emails and went through iphoto deleting tons of pictures because we are running out of space on our computer. I am snap happy so we had tons of doubles, triples, quadruples from one shot, so you can imagine how full our hard drive is.

Also, one thing I have gathered from some of your emails is that many of you are requesting more recipes, is that right? We will hopefully try to get more out there, but it is difficult cause I am not the cook and Ben doesn't blog. I must convince him to get on this space and share what he cooks! Something, I am looking forward to is the cooking that will utilize our freshly planted herbs. We planted them in some vintage French tins and I think they look most lovely that way. I went back and forth between planting them all together in a bucket, or in the garden bed, but I really like the look of this much better.

There are still a few herbs I would like to get like garlic chives and another cilantro because the one we had died, but currently we have basil, sage, tarragon, hot & spicy oregano, and chives. Anyone have any other herb recommendations?

I am planning to do a shop update sometime Monday morning, which will include these dollhouse pillows (includes a giant one). I meant to do it today, but Friday snuck up so fast, so it will have to wait until Monday.

Time to get started on my Friday... I am craving Indian food, so I am hoping we can get some tonight. Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to come back tomorrow to meet another Cakies sponsor!

p.s. My sister is hosting a giveaway and has a little interview. Plus a couple weeks ago, I did a short bit about our summer table for The Stir. Check it out here (scroll down to see ours).

yesterday's clouds

Yesterday evening I spent a whole lot of time looking up. True and Brave were playing games in the yard, Soul was next to me in her little rocker, and Ben was working late. The evening was cool and was quite reminiscent of Autumn. As I could hear the happy laughter of my girls playing nearby, I was enjoying looking up at the vast sky and being reminded of how small I am in comparison to God and his wondrous creation.

It was an almost perfect evening... if only Ben didn't have to work.

p.s. so... what do you think of my black and white umbrella? i love it!

polaroid tuesday: catch up week

week twenty-six:

Our little companion in Sonoma.

week twenty-seven:

First batch of tomatoes.

week twenty-eight:

We love tomatoes and apparently, tomatoes love us.

renegade craft fair

My first official craft fair was quite eventful. There was a lot of stressing and prepping as I didn't know how much to have on hand. One day I was so stressed that I started working out and five minutes into it I got frustrated, slapped the tv with my hand, and took off my tennis shoes and hurled them at the front door. A bit overdramatic? Maybe. But I was so stressed. Don't worry, the girls were already sleeping in bed and Ben was the only one to witness my crazy rampage. I pulled a couple all-nighters, it reminded me of being in college, and praise God it all went well and seriously it was all God!

The weekend was very full as we had all three girls with us at the show. Day one they were cool with going to the show, but on day two they said, "We don't want to go to the show anymore." Despite their protest, they came because they had no choice and still did just as well as the day before. Our little Soulie was a bit crankier the second day, but was such a little trooper chillin' in her little play yard all day long.

Things I loved about Renegade:

1. I got to hang out with my booth neighbor Danni (and Nick).

2. Meet some of you lovely readers. You seriously are too sweet and we so so appreciate all the love and support you give us! And I am real short in real life, aren't I?

3. Getting to meet the other fantabulous vendors. Did you see Susan's moccasins? Or Emily's headbands? Or Margaret's Pencils? Or Christy's scarflettes? Or even Amanda's beautiful flowers? All lovely people with lovely handmade things.

4. Made me thankful for my friends who braved the heat to come support me (and bought me treats).

5. I got to be with Ben (and the girls) all the zippity-doo-dah long day!

A good time was had and this won't be the last craft show for Cakies just yet. I didn't have time to take pictures, but thankfully Christian was there and was able to capture some. Thanks Christian!

It came and went and now I can breathe easy. Well, just a little as now I have to switch gears and get ready for Brave's birthday next week, then my mom's 50th bash, so I guess the story never ends. That's life though, right?

Today I made sure to get a lot more hugs in with my girls to make up for being the busy mama that I was for the past two weeks. As far as shop update, you can expect one very, very soon and a couple dollhouse pillows will make their way in the shop, so stay tuned!

p.s. big thank you to Lin, Jenny, Stephanie, Amy, and of course my sisters Reinna and RJ for doing things to help me get ready for Renegade. Seriously, I couldn't have done it without you!

*all photos taken by christian cruz.

pictureless recap

Renegade was tiring. I am exhausted. Readers are the best. We had lots of fun. Met lots of rad people. Time to get my house back into working order. Be back soon with a full post. xoxo ruby

*edit- just added picture (taken by Christian Cruz at Renegade), so this post isn't so picture-less anymore.

my root beer float

I wanted one and had the ingredients left over from a recent church family get together at our place, so I made one. Here's how I make mine (not that it is original or anything)...

ingredients for my root beer float:

1 1/2 scoops of vanilla ice cream

1 cup of root beer

a generous sprinkling of cinnamon on top

The cinnamon just does it for me... it gives it a little extra oomph! It was the perfect little de-stresser from my afternoon of preparing for Renegade. One more day and I have some more loose ends to tie up before I am completely ready. Well, ready or not... here I come!

Any of you planning on going? Please be sure to stop by and say hi and don't be shy to let me know you are a reader. It is always nice to meet a reader because it is like meeting with an old friend!

Wish me luck (or pray for me) please...

p.s. winner announced and i have a couple polaroid tuesdays to put up still, but just haven't had any time to scan. i will breathe easy on monday... sort of.

from garden to table

We picked lots of tomatoes from our garden yesterday. We have about 29 varieties growing, so the result should be lots, right? Some plants are doing so-so and some plants are really flourishing, we will get it better next year. In the meantime, we will enjoy the harvest that God gives us.

The girls had a blast picking them and then devouring them. I have a feeling this space will be seeing a lot of tomatoes very soon because we love tomatoes! Plus, don't tomatoes make such pretty pictures?

Tell me about your favorite dishes utilizing fresh tomatoes. I would love to hear about it!

*****

just some things:

- last day for giveaway

- this looks yummy

- this photographer will be in san francisco in a couple weeks, so if you want to book something or a consultation for something later, send him an email asap.

*****

soul and boogie

Late, but not too late as she is still in her seventh month. See her at six, five, four, three, two, and one month.

two boxes

These two boxes provide my girls countless hours of fun this weekend. The box has tranformed from car to boat to house to slide and lot of other things in between. Oh! And the balls of foil they are holding can be deceiving because it isn't just any foil... no sir, those are moon rocks! I tell you, non-toys are way more fun and engaging that real toys.

What did your kids (or you) play with this weekend? Me? My sewing machine. all. weekend. long.

*****

latest giveaway

*****

:: sponsor welcome ::

Please welcome my newest sponsor... Sweetie Pie Bakery.

I love felt of all kinds and am so excited to share about the shop of another felt lover and creator. Sweetie Pie Bakery is full of yummy you want to eat them goods (but don't cause they are made of felt) and step-by-step tutorials so that you can easily make your own. I want me some cherry pie, macaroons, and some donuts! Oh and can't forget the adorable cake stand that has to display all the delicious treats! My girls are always playing in their "kitchen" and these are the exact toys that would get them absolutely giddy! I am sure they would make you happy as a clam too!

Lucky you, one Cakies reader will receive a $40 credit to shop their heart out at Sweetie Pie Bakery. Here are some things you can do to get a chance to win this lovely little prize:

1. Visit the Sweetie Pie Bakery shop and leave a comment telling me your favorite item.

2. Stop by the Sweetie Pie Bakery blog and share a post you love by leaving another comment here.

3. Blog, tweet, or facebook about this giveaway and leave separate links here.

Easy peasy, right? Those overseas are welcome to join in! If you do all the things mentioned above, you can up your chances 5 times.

The giveaway will end at 8am PST on Thursday, July 22nd and will be announced sometime that morning on this post. Good Luck!!! Thank you so much Sweetie Pie Bakery!!!

sweetie pie bakery shop...

sweetie pie bakery blog...

*****

Random robot has chosen... S and E Frazier.

Congratulations!!! Please email me so I can get you in touch with our sponsor. Thank you everyone for showing some love for this yummy shop!!!

*****

working

I am working like a horse for the upcoming fair and I think you all know that cause I keep talking about it (hope you don't mind). Lots of good things have come from my crazy working: 1. I have been working on some new things (like the ones pictured above). 2. My best friend was over and it was like old times chatting and crafting together. 3. If no one buys anything from me at the fair, my shop will be fully stocked.

There still is lots to do. I. mean. lots. Oh boy! My weekend is sure to be full and busy. What are your plans for the weekend?

evening gardening

Aye! The heat has hit and it is nasty (at least to me). I hate the heat and love cold and gloomy weather, so now anything that needs to be done outside has to wait until the evening. Last night, the girls were out helping Ben plant some herbs and I took a break from my work to join them. Plus, little Soul needed a little supervision (and food).

Growing our own herbs makes me pretty giddy as now when I want some chives, I can grab some outside. I love chives! Especially on a baked potato, which sounds real good right about now.

The girls really love getting dirty outside, but I do admit that sometimes I cringe because of the inner neat freak inside me. If you look closely, Brave was outside without a shirt and prior to sweeping she was laying on the floor on her belly moving all the dirt around. I was really itching to stop her, but I let her have some fun.

Kids will be kids and I guess getting dirty is all part of the fun, but we did go inside after and I immediately put them in the bath! Once we get things a bit more squared away in our yard, we will share a little tour.

Hope your Thursday is happy so far!

we went away

Early Friday morning, we dropped True and Brave off at Grammie and Grumpy's and made our way north to the Napa/Sonoma area to celebrate our five year anniversary. It was kind of a spontaneous trip as we just decided on Wednesday, but we are so glad we got away for a bit, with our special little companion because I am her breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Friday consisted of a nice long drive, but I love road trips, so this was not a problem for me and we made a quick little stop in San Francisco. I have to say that I absolutely love that city! Then, we were off to Sonoma to check into our hotel, which we got an amazing deal on via priceline, then we headed to a yummy dinner at The Girl and The Fig.

Saturday started off at Cornerstone Gardens and we had fun looking at all the different areas (and taking fun pictures in each area) and came home with so many good ideas for our garden.

Then, we grabbed food for a picnic lunch at Jack London State Park, after which we decided to visit a few wineries. Then for dinner, we just picked up food from The Girl and The Fig again and ate it on the balcony of our hotel room.

Sunday we made a few other stops before we headed back home... Chateau Sonoma, Bouchon Bakery, Woodhouse Chocolates, and then a picnic lunch at Oakville Grocery. All lovely and perfect to end our little five year celebrating and to send us back home full, excited, and more in love with Northern California.

So that was my weekend and thus the reason I have been absent in this little space. Also, because first thing Monday morning I took off running and am working like crazy for Renegade, but a nice little vacation was just what we needed! Plus, I just like being with my Benny!

Thanks for the anniversary wishes friends! We definitely had a fun time celebrating five years of God's goodness and grace in our marriage and we are excited to keep experiencing God's goodness for many more years to come!!!