Pocket Full of Sunshine

So - I think I am going to do a total revamp! New blog, new look, new everything. I have enjoyed this blog and making updates (even if no one reads them!). But, with the start of 2011 and new things going on in life - I decided it's time for a new blog.

More to come including the link to the new blog!
Happy 2011!
Sarah

December 21, 2010

Baby Jackson - 3 months

My friend, Emily, asked if I would come take 3-month picture of her little boy, Jackson. I told her that I hadn't ever taken shots of babies - but this would be good practice! He kept the smiles a bit hidden, but I got a few :) He was so good during the shoot and I just adored looking at his cute chubby cheeks. We had such great time! I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you:

December 16, 2010

Cabin Weekend - Fall 2010

This fall we went away for the weekend with our parents. It was so nice to just get away and relax, relax, relax! We read, slept, chatted...and played a LOT of mexican train. We are so grateful that our parents get along and we can enjoy activities with both of them! We are also happy that Peter's aunt and uncle let us use their cabin!!

November 10, 2010

Hot Air Balloon Ride!

It was a beautiful (hot!) October evening and Peter and I got to enjoy it from an aerial view! We received a gift certificate when we bought our house to go on a hot air balloon ride. Although we got the certificate in May, we saved it - knowing the view would be spectacular in the fall with the colors. We had such a great time floating above the countryside! It was such a wonderful experience that I would highly recommend!

October 9, 2010

Away with my homegirl

Abbey and I decided to meet halfway in between our houses in Clear Lake, IA. We found a cute Bed & Breakfast (Blessings on Main, I highly recommend!) to stay at for a night. There was a fall festival going on in that town that weekend - so that added to the fun! We spent hours upon hours talking and catching up on each others lives in depth. This fall has been a bit rough for me, so a dose of Abbey was just what I needed. We enjoyed the (crisp!) fall weather that weekend, drank coffee, and of course enjoyed the breakfast the B & B provided. It was such a wonderful time and I am so thankful for her friendship and a GREAT weekend away!!

September 20, 2010

Working From Home

Last week I was working from home on Friday. I love working from home. I don't know if I would want to do it every day, but the days I do get to I just love! I love waking up 5 minutes before I log into my work computer. No changing clothes, no showering, no drive to work, no anything. Just me, my computer, and a cup of coffee.

This particular morning as I was working from home, my cat Jojo insisted on sleeping on my paperwork while I was trying to work. It was one of those days when I needed to spread my papers across the table so that I would have easy access to them. It was a little bit tricky with a furball kitty cat on top of them! So, I would promptly move her over to grab the paper I wanted..in which she would promptly move BACK on top of another one of my papers and proceed to fall asleep. Even though this was a vicious cycle throughout the day...I just thought she was so adorable, I had to take a picture!

September 4, 2010

My Dad's 60th

When we asked my dad what he wanted to do to celebrate his 60th birthday, he replied "be with my family." So, that's just what we did! My sister & her husband came in town from Chicago and we did all the activities my dad wanted to do as a family. First on the agenda: breakfast and shopping at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market:

Next, we went to downtown Minneapolis to Brit's for dinner and lawn bowling. We had to wait for a while to get a spot for bowling, so we just had drinks & appetizers while we waited:

Bring on the lawn bowling (girls against boys, duh!):

After bowling we ate dinner. It was such a lovely warm August night to be sitting outside and enjoying the food and company:

On sunday, everyone came over to our house for lunch & birthday cake:

After lunch, the boys went and played a round of golf while the girls went out for coffee and chatted the afternoon away:

Happy birthday, Dad!

August 31, 2010

Tubing on the St. Croix

This is the 4th year in a row that we have celebrated my friend Juliette's birthday on a boat on the St. Croix river. This year was extra fun since Juliette was 8 months pregnant! Lots of food, sunscreen, swimming, and cruising around the river filled the wonderful summer day!

August 30, 2010

Stay tuned...

I have a few posts coming! I hate to publish a post without pictures. I FINALLY uploaded two memory cards full of pictures to my computer. Which means I will post some blog entries soon! Stay tuned...

August 6, 2010

Windows

When I was in Europe in June, I took a lot of pictures of windows. You just don't see adorable windows with window boxes quite like this in the U.S. I just loved them! I think I am going to make a collage in one of the rooms of my house with pictures of windows and doors from Europe. If I do - I'll be sure to post pictures of how it turns out. Here is one of my favorites:

July 27, 2010

Some Favorite Sites

I read a lot of blogs to get ideas for parties, card-making, crafts, decor, etc. I wanted to share a few of my favorites!

http://eatdrinkchic.com/

(This site has free stationery printables. An example is pictured above. This site has a free template to make the floral gift tags)

http://daisypath.com/
(timelines that you can add to your blog)

http://eatdrinkpretty.blogspot.com/

(one of my favorites! Lots of examples of yummy food and decorating for events)

July 26, 2010

Photo Book

I made a photo book on Snapfish.com of our Europe trip. Check it out!

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/projectshareewelcome/l=8576655013/p=208211279730353068/g=124369060/cobrandOid=1000/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/otsc=SYE/otsi=SPBKlink/

July 16, 2010

Austria & Italy = Dream Vacation

It was wonderful, amazing, beautiful, perfect.

It was the first time Peter and I have travelled to Europe together & we enjoyed every minute. The weather was hot - but bearable. Sometimes I think I am a European ...just stuck in the life of a Midwest American girl. I just love the coffee, the trains, the wine. Take me back!

Our timeline: June 25: Flight to Munich Germany via Amsterdam
June 26: Arrive in Munich, hop on a 2 hour train to Salzburg, Austria
June 26-27: Salzburg June 28 : Travel day - 8 hour train from Salzburg to Como, Italy (30 min from Milan)
June 29-July 2: Como, Italy
July 3-4: Florence Italy July 4 evening: Travel 2 hour train from Florence to Rome
July 4 evening: Stay in Rome
July 5: Fly home!

Some highlights of the trip:
1. Salzburg. Yes, the whole city. It's beautiful, clean, and walk-able. It is now on my list of favorite cities!
2. Mountains. In Como, Italy we were surrounded by mountains on every side. And our hotel was on a 7-mile long lake that was surrounded by the mountains. We saw beauty like I have never seen before in all my life.
3. Food. Food in Italy is the best. We had many dinners in Italy with the Cargill group. 4-courses were normal. Let's just say I had to go on a post-trip diet :)
4. Marriage. I love my husband and I love travelling with him. We are compatible travellers and love to visit the same things. He is such a great navigator...I love that about him.