I met Cara last year through Craft Saturday in Des Moines. In her own words, Cara “is a writer in Des Moines, Iowa (which is cooler than you think). And as much as she never expected to, she loves all things Martha. Just try to pry the knitting needles out of her hands. She’s always trying new recipes and DIY projects, and she hopes you’ll try them too. She’s also always working on herself, and there is oh so much work to do.”

I read Cara’s blog for her crafty updates, her dog photos and commentary, but mostly for her recipes. One of my favorites is inside out egg rolls, which is pictured in the screenshot above.

So, check her out. She’s also a fellow Des Moines Register Featured Blogger.

I received these pretty packages in the mail …

They’re CDs that I designed for my friend Flip’s band The Half Hearts. My friend Kim did the paintings and I created the layout. They had them professionally printed and packaged and sent me a couple for my portfolio. Sooooo exciting! (probably WAY more exciting to them though!)

My friend Lora who is a hair genius is doing it.  Tomorrow.  Early AM.  Awesomeness.

Wish me luck! She will make it awesome. She always does.

I met Kim back in 2002 at Wartburg College. We bonded over not wanting to be at Wartburg and both having less-than-ideal roommate experiences and the need to get out and experience something else. Kim went to Iowa and I went to ISU. She ended up in NYC and I haven’t seen her for years.

But, we keep in contact and I actually helped her build her website and her blog.

Kim writes about all sorts of interesting things. Mostly, she finds beauty in unexpected places and finds a way to brighten everybody’s day.

One of her cute little bunnies that she posted all over the city to remind people that somebody loves them.

Her adorable, but mischievous kitty, Lavi.

And one of her beautiful paintings.

You should check her out!

Anyway, that was kind of a mouthful.

So Nick, Mark’s brother, turned 30 (which, guys, I realize I’m getting closer and closer to that. No more birthdays. Seriously.), and he christened his house that he bought back in March or February with a nice little get-together. Mark, Ben, Mark’s dad and I showed up with some Moosehead Lager (my new favorite beer) and a bottle of Jim Beam. We were ready to roll.

Ben and me (also, check out the epic cleavage! what up?)

Beautiful scenery … one of my favorite parts of heading to MN.

I love the lilypads in all the little ponds and lakes.  I actually ran 6 miles on Saturday on the Gateway Trail and went past a few of these. It was so refreshing — not to mention, it was about 5 degrees cooler and a lot less humid. So much easier and more enjoyable to run!

… not beautiful scenery. I giggled when I saw this guy driving by. But then I quickly realized this is probably going to be Mark someday.

Related: this truck pulled into the gas station we stopped at on the way back. The guy left the truck running, took up two spaces, and pretty much gave off an all-around aura of douchebag. Seriously. Who drives this?

And I must mention, that nothing makes me more happy than a new pair of big, cheap earrings. I love going to visit Minnesota for so many reasons, and sadly, one of them is to hit H&M for some adorable cheap couture. I picked up a skirt, a dress, a scarf and 2 pairs of earrings for an unbelievably low price. Why we don’t have one of those stores here is beyond me. Regardless, I am happy to have some new earrings!

Introducing: HUMP DAY Blog Love (get it?)

My first spectacular post is dedicated to my friend Kelly’s blog [insert clever title here]. Kelly’s blog focuses on … well … everything.  It doesn’t really have a focus, and that’s kind of the point. You’ll find a little bit of everything here, and she’s not afraid to spill it all.  Kelly’s a spectacular and entertaining writer who, by day, is a project manager. She’s also talented at making hilariously badly photoshopped images (don’t worry guys, they’re bad on purpose — she’s actually GOOD at photoshop).

Kelly’s perfectly sculpted Greek bod

She’s taunting us from the Dt. Dr Pepper can

Not to mention, this girl does it all — wonder woman.

She has a hilarious way of making everyday trials and tribulations entertaining.  One thing’s for sure, no matter how bad your day is, Kelly’s day was probably worse — at least that’s how her blog reads.

Anyway, check the sale out. Tell her chimes sent you and she MIGHT give you an even better deal!

<3

Calee

A friend of mine is having a baby soon and she had a shower last weekend. I made her a cute blanket but wanted something else to put with it. I had made some applique onsies in the past, but wasn’t in the mood to deal with my sewing machine and small little pieces.

So, I found an adorable solution: ruffle butt onsies!

There is a pretty fabulous tutorial online already, so they were pretty easy to figure out.

Without further ado, here are the pix of the finished product. Enjoy! They are cute.

Sooo hot.

But luckily, my booth was at the cusp of where all the ventilation came together. Which was good for me. And people kept stopping just to talk, and would end up buying something. Which was also good for me.

I’m almost out of wares! I need to step it up this month and create in order to make it to next month. I am down to one box total of everything.

All in all, it was a success.

Not much of a recap, but nothing too exciting happened this time around. I’ll probably blog more about next month.

I didn’t take any pix of the shower … I felt weird because it was mostly family and people I didn’t know very well.  So, just in case you’re wondering, this isn’t a blog post about babies.

I decided that since I made the trip, I better hang out with my parents for a bit and make a stop or two on the way back to make it totally worth my gas money.  I wanted to get back by Sunday for sure so I could do some more crafting for Market Day, since it’s on the 26th.

My dad was mowing the lawn, so I didn’t get to spend much time with him. But he did find a little bitty froggie that my mom and I put in my niece’s bug box for her to see when she got home later.

My parents also managed to pawn off a box of VHS tapes and my SNES on me.  I recently inherited a TV with a built-in VCR, so I was interested in getting some VHS tapes. My parents were interested in cleaning out the closet of what used to be my room.

(My Girl and Miss Congeniality may or may not be mine …)

After a bit, I decided to head out and go to Iowa City to see a friend of mine from high school. I always love the drive from home to Iowa City … so pretty!

My friend works at a tattoo shop and was getting off at 8 PM. Just in time to get some drinks! I wanted to go to some of his bars, because last time I went to Iowa City I went to clubby bars, and I’m not a fan of those. Give me a dive bar. Please.

Of course, he delivered. We went to this awesome place called Deadwoods that was just my style.  I had to take pix of it to show the beau that Iowa City had some bars that he would like. (He’s a Cyclone through and through … he won’t have anything to do with Iowa City). We also went to this amazing place called The Oasis, which my friend happens to work at as well.

My friend Matthew at Deadwoods, with some Leinies. YUM!

After eating my delicious food from Oasis, I headed out for the long drive back to Ames. It was dark and I was ready to be home.

Finally, after a stop at a gas station and driving through a couple of thunderstorms, I made it home. Well, at least what we consider home sometimes: Welch Ave. Station in Ames. Mark and our friends were waiting for me (not sure if they were waiting for me … but they were excited that I showed up nonetheless).

Mark even (reluctantly) took a picture with me.

All in all, a pretty exciting day. Definitely a departure from my normal Saturday of staying home and crafting and working out.