Wren's Nest

90's grunge

2011-10-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

Well with the new baby in the house I haven't gotten a whole lot of opportunities to be creative. But fall is here, which means fall clothes, which means layering and combining whats in my closet to make al new outfits. Well now I also have someone else's closet to play with, and he is much more of a challenge. With a humungo head that is hard to get shirts over, large chubby legs, and a cloth diaper bum, this kid has all sorts of sizing issues. All of this means that mommy just has to get creative. Which is ok by me.

Take today for example

I call this, what Erin looked like in high school. All it needs is Airwalks. The pants are 2 T rolled up to kingdom come. All clothes were garage sale purchased, and I am so glad i bought so many different sizes! Who knew I would need them so soon! I think this is going to be a fun few days trying his "new" cool weather outfits.... well at least it will be for me... Isaac hates having clothes put on him :)

WEBSITE!!!!!

2010-05-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

It's quite a long time in coming but here it is! The website! There is still much to add and maybe some things to change but it is a beginning.

www.wrenbender.com

With the new website may fairly soon come a move of the blog. This blog will probably wait until there are new members of the nest and be a more personal look into my life, and the creative side will be attached to the website.

Enjoy the site and let me know what you think!

Website, website, website

2010-04-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

Today's project, as it has been for it seems like forever is the website, website, website, and it's still not ready to show you! But I felt like blogging and at least sharing with you one of the pretties from my collection.

I guess because today is not really a normal blog, I have decided to give you a not really normal bird... But who can go wrong with a fish with wings?

Luke and I found this guy on our honeymoon in Durango, Colorado, and he combines Luke's enjoyment of tropical fish, and mine of birds.

In other news we currently have 2 doves nesting on our front porch. One in a plant right beside the door, and the other in a hanging basket on the other side of the door... I know I like birds but this fear of me causing baby bird abandonment if I leave my house through the front door is a little nerve wracking! Hopefully I will get the opportunity to take some pictures soon, and hopefully the babies will really hatch. I can't believe how appropriate that would be to be able to chronicle this adventure for you here on the nest.

Well have a great day, and if you come and visit take care when you walk up to the front door. You may be confronted by a frightened bird, who although she/they will not harm you, they most certainly may startle you as they themselves are startled from their perch by your arrival....

Garage Sale!!!!

2010-04-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

All right ladies and gents, today's post has to do with one of my not very creative, creative endeavors this week. I have been making hot pink Garage sale signs! Woo hooo! I have also been separating out plants like a mad woman, battling ants, and being startled by lizards. So come by and help me make room in my greenhouse for the ever expanding plants! The money I earn from selling plants goes back into the greenhouse for soil and really cute pots like this one from Hobby Lobby,

who also happens to be the bird of the day!

It's a neighborhood wide garage sale and there are always great finds, so come prepared to shop! Let me know if you need the address and I will e-mail it to you.

Have a great day!

The Melissa Invitation

2010-04-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

As today is Wedding Wednesday, and as I am finally DONE with my brothers wedding invitations and they are out for the world to see, I will now show them to you! May I present....

Hand cut accents, raised to give a subtle shadow, Cream colored card stock layered over a canon brown.

Hand lined envelopes and custom designed stamps, really what could be any better?

FleetwoodCuellar.com

A matching custom website!

And for today's glimpse inside the nest here is my favorite door stopper who does not stop any doors

Matthew 6:26

2010-04-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

All right Ladies and Gents, the spastic blogger returns. There has been a bit of chaos here at the nest. The two smallest occupants had decided that the whole house was now a litter box so a massive cleaning spree had to be called for! The house is much cleaner now and work has been happening in many areas.

I have really been thinking hard about what direction I want to go as an artist and designer and how to even start! I feel like in some ways I already have a lot going for me, but nothing to pull it all together, and to many projects on my plate. So now that my brother's wedding invitations are done (more on those tomorrow maybe) I have decided to finish up the projects that I have been procrastinating on and then really start building a website and getting some other things under way.

Today's bird is my procrastination project complete! (well almost

Proof that there has been work going on in the studio, look at this mess!

The finished bird project for my client and friend, Ms. Shirley Webster. Now I need to call her and tell her that after months of waiting it is finally finished and we can go get it framed.

This makes me wish I knew what else to draw....

Well enjoy, and stay tuned because soon enough I think I may have some more things to show you! Now I am very hungry and ready to start moving on to the multiple other projects on my list.

Wedding Wednesday

2010-03-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

The nest is positively brimming with ideas at the moment, none of them fully complete and all of them surrounded by the complete mess that is my house so for today we shall look back instead of forward. Since it is Wednesday, and I am currently working on wedding things, I will give you some of my favorite things from my wedding. Hopefully next week I will have everything to the point where I can show you the completed current project!

These beauties were made for me by my amazing friends in Louisiana for my bridal shower. They were just so pretty that I couldn't help but use them in the wedding to go with the origami birds!

We definitely didn't have the most beautiful wedding location, or the biggest budget, and these added another tough of elegance and beauty to the occasion. Some of them still live in my house in my kitchen window sills, and today's birds have taken residence there.

These guys were dirt cheap at target after Christmas, and do they look like Christmas? I was so glad they had some left, and I will have to show you their red cousins at Christmas time, right now they are packed away. These birds are a lesson in shopping after the holiday season for things that transcend the holiday and can be used all year long!

Encourage

2010-03-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to a ladies retreat in Louisiana where we were encouraged to use our gifts and talents to reach the world for Christ. The retreat was with my former church, and these ladies are amazing. They really are what the title of the retreat called them to be "Dangerous Women". If they feel led to serve in a certain area, and there is not a ministry to serve in that way, they start one. They have already made a significant impact in Lafayette, Louisiana, and many other parts of the world. Their courage and faith inspires me to no end.

Today's bird is from one of the ministries highlighted this week, Raven & Lilly, a ministry based out of Los Angeles California.

This beautiful coffee sleeve was made by women in Africa. Raven & Lilly's mission is this :

We are intentionally focused on creating economic opportunities for the disadvantaged.
We support women's empowerment programs that comply with fair trade standards. This ensures women are valued and rewarded for their work.
We seek transparency and accountability in all of our transactions.
We encourage our artisans to develop independence.
We desire all of our artisans to work in a safe and healthy environment.
We use recycled and remnant materials when possible.
Proceeds are sent back to the artisans' communities to help with education, healthcare and micro-loans.

We focus on women because many women have little or no opportunity to rise above the cycle of poverty or their circumstances.

70% of the world’s poorest people are women
2/3 of those who cannot read or write are women
At least 2 million girls per year are at risk of undergoing Female Genital Mutilation
AIDS is becoming a women’s disease with women increasingly bearing the brunt of the epidemic
80% of refugees & trafficking victims are women
100 million girls are expected to enter forced marriages in the next decade

I don't drink coffee, but this had to become the newest addition to my collection!
Raven & Lilly is so amazing to me because I am constantly thinking about how I, as a designer, can use my skills to impact the kingdom, and these women have done just that!

What are your gifts? How might you be able help through the gifts and talents God has given you?

Manic Monday

2010-03-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Today is a hectic day at the nest. A big project to finish, a house to clean before at least 10 people are coming over tonight for LifeGroup. I have a pretty slow paced life comparably, but there are definitely times when I get overwhelmed. I tell you all this in relation to today's bird.

This Little book is about the size of the palm of my hand and is a great travel companion. It was given to me recently by my friend Nancy, and it is a real treat. It now lives in my purse and helps me remember things. I have a nifty iPhone that you can store things in, but do I do it....... not really. I love the feel of pen on paper and making and crossing things off of lists, so I have little books everywhere. I am always thinking of new projects, or thinking of good blog topics, or just all the sudden remebering something I have to do. I believe the little book, or if your good at putting things on your phone is so important whether you are a creative or not! Inspiration is everywhere and you need a way to remember it on days like today when there are just so many other things to do!

A great book I was given this weekend put it like this :

"Take note of what you are doing when inspiration strikes. Maybe you'll begin to notice a pattern between your good ideas and your activities...... Carry a small notebook with you everywhere... and take the time to jot down ideas when they occur to you."

Kari Chapin -The Handmade Marketplace

Some other great little books I have come across are these

1. Mini Moleskine, always wonderful, especially for sketching. Has a built in bookmark, an elastic closure and a pocket in the back. I found this guy at Barnes and Noble
2. These are also Moleskine and the thing I really like about them is if you are working on multiple projects at once and want to keep them separated these are great. You can either write on the cover itself, or create labels for then and have a few of them with you at all times without feeling like you are weighed down by a mountain of notebooks
3. These little babies I found at Target in the dollar spot in a 3 pack. They would also be great for multiple projects, but they are not always available so you just have to keep your eyes open for them because every season they typically have something similar in that seasons patterns or colors.
4. Paperblanks also makes wonderful journals and mini notebooks, this one even has a magnetic closure, bookmark and pocket. I found this at an art museum, but I have seen similar products at Barnes and Noble as well.

What holds you thoughts from escaping into the unknown forever? My husband has a small pad of sticky notes with him at all times that helps his engineer mind remember things from details of a design, to "remember to get some milk on the way home".

Trepidicious Thursday

2010-03-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

I am currently waiting on a very expensive box that contains all the paper for my brother and future sister-in-laws wedding invitations..... We are going out of town tomorrow early and I paid extra for expedited shipping. I feel a little bit like this guy.

Hopefully it will come soon, it is already 6:30... but while I wait I will share some World Market pretties with you, which is where I found this guy.

I am a big fan of pattern design, and right now World Market has some great patterns. This one is a rug.

Wedding Wednesday

2010-03-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

In honor of my friends Daniel and Ashley Porterfield's anniversary, today is wedding Wednesday.

These little guys are near and dear to me, they were a Luke find in Anthropologie and they ended up being the topper for our cake.

The cake ended up being a little funky (note: never get a wedding cake from target) but the topper was just right. Thanks to our great photographers DallasinFocus for the beautiful image.

Happy Anniversary Daniel and Ashley!

Target Tuesday

2010-03-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

Today's wonderful bird finds are again from Anthropologie. They combine two of my favorite things. Bird related items and graphic design. I love old tins and ads.

Target also has some really great design for Easter that I had to stop shopper traffic to take a picture of.

I am always amazed at the things people can do with paper.

As for the oddity of the day I found this little guy. I purchased something similar around Halloween, a set of little vinyl figurines, now they have adapted them for Easter...... I have to say it doesn't really work for me, despite it's cuteness. Easter is about conquering death, this little guy.......

Fun Finds in Farmersville

2010-03-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

Today's pretty is from Anthropologie, and yes, I know, if I could only bring the whole store home with me!

Some other fun, unexpected finds happened on our trip to Farmersville, Texas, for a Geo-caching event. The event was one where you walk along a trail and pick up trash, while getting the caches in the area. The trash was..... not so pretty... ew. This little store that we happened into looking for a restroom on the other hand was very nice. Unfortunately I neglected to get the name of the store, but it sold a smorgasbord of wonderful yarns and handmade goods, only a little bit of which I show you here. Doesn't it make you want to pick them up and feel the fuzziness!

These hats were really great too.

Mundane

2010-03-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

This morning I was reading in my get geared up to create book "The Creative Habit" by Twyla Tharp. She is a choreographer in New York and has great things to say about how not to be afraid of the blank slate. Today I read this:

"We want our artist to take the mundane materials of our lives, run it through their imaginations and surprise us."

I am sure she was thinking more than just actual physical materials, but when she said this, this bird art popped into my head. I have posted these pictures before on Facebook, but they deserve to be posted again here. Talk about the Mundane surprising me. This big guy can currently be found at the Anthropologie at North Park and he is amazing. Mostly composed of newspaper with a rubber pot holder for a beak. These things are as mundane as they come. I would put this guy in my house behind the blue couch of awesome (which incidentally is gray) but he would probably be a bit to big and freak out my friend who is not super fond of birds.

BUDGET

2010-03-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

Here at the nest we are currently working on the BUDGET. This is not extremely creative our beautiful (well maybe a little creative in how we make thinks work...) So while Luke enters in receipts and I will share some pretties with you.

Not quite birds, but bird related. This lovely display is from Pottery Barn at the Galleria. I am tempted to take this idea and place it over the island in my kitchen except for the fact that

a. I don't really want to hit my head on a bird cage accidentally while cooking
b. I don't really want pieces of dead limb and moss falling in my food
c. I would have to buy bird cages and they aren't currently in the BUDGET
d. a pot rack would be much more useful....

oh well....

In addition to this I share with you a great quote that my friend Kate said at LifeGroup the other night.

As Christians, we should aspire "for our creativity to be so incredible that people wonder what is the source of that?"

It's not word for word, but it really made me ponder.

temporal/eternal beauty

2010-03-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

Today is a gardening day here at the nest, and on gardening days I find some beautiful things, like parsley. Parsley as I normally see it has never been particularly beautiful to me, although it sure tastes good. While cleaning up my herb pot I came across this :

Yep, that's parsley. The gorgeous salmon color, and the lovely brittle delicacy put me in awe. Talk about going gracefully. We don't usually think about beauty in death, death is usually a sad ugly thing, but does it have to be?

I have been currently reading John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life, and he has a whole chapter called Magnifying Christ through Pain and Death. In the book he says this:

"But how are we to magnify Christ in death? Or to put it another way: How can we die so that in our dying the surpassing value of Christ, the magnitude of his worth become visible?"

John Piper finds his answer Philippians 1, the high point of which I find to be verse 21 : "For to me, living is Christ, and dying is gain." My sincere hope is to be able to go out one day like parsley, with the beauty of hope in that to die is gaining a greater intimacy with Christ.

But for now I am still here to be used in whatever way God sees fit. And since I am here I shall give you something to cheer you up! A bird of the day!

This guy was in a Northpark window around valentines. I chose him for today because he was quirky, and the rocks match the parsley :)

To yous day

2010-03-02T14:06:00.001-08:00

Today's bird is a modern art store find. Luke got me one of his buddies one year for Christmas. Some day I will show him off as the bird of the day. To go along with today's bird, a quote:

"Whenever something is of tremendous value to you, and you cherish it's beauty or power or uniqueness, you want to draw others' attention to it and waken in them the same joy" - John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life.

My hope is that I may be able to do this with what is of tremendous value to me, which incidently, is not birds. The birds just remind me of something greater and they make me smile.

Hours of owls

2010-02-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

Spring is trying to, well, spring at the wrenbender house despite the fact that it is currently 37 degrees. I noticed this little guy on Sunday while walking in from church. He is ready for it to be warmer too.

And of course for the fun bird of the day, we have mr. owl from the Modern art store at North Park. Oh how I wish he were cheaper.

sat around all day

2010-02-20T15:25:00.001-08:00

This image is a great one I bought off of istock I liked it so much. It is currently the background of my phone. I have dreams one day of making a wedding invitation for someone with it, it is just so sweet.

oops

2010-02-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

ooops, forgot about my bird friends yesterday, that doesn't mean you get too it just means you had to wait a little longer to see this cutie from urban outfitters. That is assuming anyone looks at this thing :)

we-nest-day

2010-02-17T16:16:00.000-08:00

Another great Urban Outfitters print

And the great Anthropologie window design using plastic bottles. Genuis. I want to be one of their designers when I grow up.

2010-02-16T10:59:00.000-08:00

This weeks focus will be birds in print, this one is from Urban outfitters.

For some added fun, these are the cool current window Displays for Nordstom's, Even though they don't Include birds.

Birds of the Day

2010-02-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

So I like the idea of Blogging but I haven't been doing it...... Mainly I like taking pictures of the great things I find or even the pretties I own so...... I am going to start (and see how long it lasts) bird of the day showcasing the great bird art I find or own. If you have any great bird finds I would love to see them!

Today's birds are in honor of valentines day. These are the current Fossil graphics at their North park store, so cute.

Lowell Kindinger

2009-04-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

In October we found out that Luke's grandpa, Lowell Kindinger, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in an accident. It was a really sad time for us and Luke's family. Luke and I made the almost two day drive to Ohio. All of the leaves were changing on the trees, so it was a long but beautiful drive.

The memorial service and funeral were a celebration of a life well lived. Luke's grandfather was one of the most compassionate and giving men I had ever met, and the turn out showed how much he meant to so many people.

Even when carrying the casket the grandchildren couldn't help but have smiles on their faces, which would have made him happy because he never lacked a smile on his. He is greatly missed.

I was able to meet a lot of the family that I had yet to, and see some places that were significant to Luke growing up. We also got to visit with one of his friends from PNG and see her house and the wonderful chickens that they had. i just had to get some pictures for my mom.

The State Fair

2009-04-05T19:22:00.001-07:00

The state fair had some great sculptures. And of course we can't forget about Big Tex!

THANKS!

2009-04-05T19:01:00.001-07:00

This is something new I have been messing around with lately. Having a bit of fun with all the magazine textures I tend to collect. Starting making these to send out as a thank you for the gifts from the wedding. A BIG thanks to everyone who did give us gifts and helped with the wedding preparation and clean up. We are so very blessed by the generosity of our friends and family.

Fun cat picks!

2009-04-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

Introducing the cats was an interesting event. We are a blended family now and the kids don't like each other too much, although it has gotten MUCH better. One of Inde's favorite things is to be either in or under something, so we tested this with some junk mail that we were going through. How much could we bury the cat?

He let himself get really buried!

whew, long time

2009-04-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

all right so it's been a while, well a very long while... a lot has happened and I can't catch it all up, but I am going to post some fun things that have happened to us since we have been married.

First off some great pics from a new paper place in North Park.

And More Birds

2008-03-28T12:13:00.001-07:00

More pretty birds found on my shopping journeys. These are at Mardel's Christian bookstore. Go figure.

Around the House

2008-03-28T11:37:00.001-07:00

In recent news : I am still among the unemployed although I have had plenty to keep me busy. I have a couple freelance clients and am finally enjoying the ability to get some things done. I also have an interview at Hancock Fabrics on Monday. At first it was a little scary and depressing, but now it is getting to the point where my schedule is filling up and I am feeling overwhelmed again. I never thought I would feel happy to be overwhelmed. One of the things keeping me occupied is the green house. I never knew I would like plants so much.

The birds are beginning to take over the office. We have started folding birds for the wedding and I have a feeling they will soon take over Luke's house.

So recently I have been bringing things over little by little to what will be my new home (mostly the stuff that just doesn't fit in my old one), and we have been purchasing some things from flea markets. I have had fun arranging them and bringing in some of the plants from the green house. Mom gave me a bunch of her beautiful pots that she made and they are now some of the decor for the dining area.

another mom creation, as well as our cake topper that Luke found, both of which currently reside on the fireplace mantle.

The Shops at Willow Bend

2008-03-28T10:08:00.001-07:00

All right, haven't blogged in a while but that doesn't mean that I have been looking at things. A while ago Luke and I went to The Shops at Willow Bend intending to finish our registry at Macy's only to find out that that particular Macy's did not have bridal registry capabilities. So we took the opportunity to walk around that mall. Of course my favorite location is Anthropologie. Their store display made me think of how I would like to do a little girls room some day.

details

Also Around the mall were their signs advertising the shops in the mall by type. Very compelling signage.

Websites!

2008-02-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

Well I haven't been blogging in a while, with everything so crazy. But if you would like to see what I have been up to you can check out two new sites created by yours truly.

lukeanderin.us
and

thewrendesigns.com

Saddness, confusion, excitment, and fear

2008-01-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

So the new news in Erin Land is that due to cut backs at the church, and low funds, I have had to be let go. I will no longer have my job at the end of February, and am currently looking for a new one. So, sorry that I have no pretty pictures to post, I will get some new stuff up soon. I am just in an interesting state of fear with a little bit of excitement as to what God would have me do next.

Countdown

2007-12-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

So, Lord willing, Luke and I will be married July 5th :)
There are still a couple things up in the air that might change things. We want to make sure that Luke's parents can be there, so the day may have to change. But we are hoping for Fireworks (and an easily memorable anniversary).

Decor and More!

2007-12-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

All right kids, Christmas.
After almost 50,000 straws

And countless man hours

Unorthodox came togetherwith the graphics

and the community project

and the multitude of straws

The stage set

The trees strung with lights
and the straw wrappers strategically placedthe pvc pipe hung

and the stage lit

And then the people enjoyed :)

Another eventful Christmas experience has been just the fact that I am in Texas. And as we al know, everything is bigger in Texas. Including the light displays. Luke, our friend Aduma and I decided to drive through a light spectacular on our way back from visiting people in Longview.
For 20 dollars we saw the most lights in one location that I have ever seen.

The entrancedriving through the light forest

Oh, did I mention this is in Texas?
with a little respect to Louisiana, see the alligator?
Fleet elementary?
The wedding couple ( yes I just had to take a picture)
all the water looked like it was flowing
and the birds moved from one location to another
and the flowers were.... flowers.
can you spot the flying cow?

the lion and the lamb.

The whole experience was a mixture of beautiful and just plain strange. Overall it was a blast! And the end segment was a whole nativity story theme, but unfortunately the camera battery died. :(

Engaged!!!!!!

2007-12-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

So I know I said I would post pictures of the Christmas decorations when they were finished, but something else has taken a bit of my attention. :)
After staying up 'til 3 o'clock in the morning on Saturday Luke and I decided to play hooky and sleep in during church because we were completely exhausted. The plan was to celebrate the finished design, as well as our 6th & 7th month anniversaries this Sunday since we weren't able to early due to my illness at 6 months, and being out of town for the 7th. So we had a late lunch and enjoyed relaxing at Luke's home Sunday afternoon, then at 3:30 I left to go get all spiffy. We had talked about going to the park after we ate so while getting ready I packed some jeans and my shoes (the official shoes that started our whole dating in the first place.) At 4:30
Luke showed up all clean and shiny in my favorite shirt of his, which I picked out for him before we ever started dating. He also brought a beautiful pink rose bud from his rose bush out front of his house. We made our way to the Melting Pot, and excellent fondu place, and had a wonderful meal! Fillet Minion and chocolate....... yum.
After we ate we made our way to the park, and I slipped on my jeans and shoes, so as not to freeze in the chilly air. We get out of the car and Luke said he had a present for me. In the back of the car he showed me a potted white orchid:). So beautiful! I thought that was the end of the presents. we walked a little ways and sat at a bench and cuddled a little bit and watched the ducks at the pond. He told me that he loved me, and that the more time he spent with me, the more time he wanted to, and that he wanted me to be with him always. Then he got down on one knee and said "Will you marry me?" And I very quickly said yes, and began bouncing up and down, smiling like a giddy idiot. It was wonderful. The ring is aircraft grade titanium, and the diamond is suspended in tension for the setting. So cool. Exactly what I would have gotten. The perfect mix of design and simplicity. The park itself was of significance because one of the first times I hung out with Luke he and Amanda and I went after church and walked around and ended up getting horribly lost. Five miles later, my Church shoes were just too painful, so they ended up leaving me beside a Jahovah's Witness Church, and running until they found the car. It was crazy. It was also the park that we went to to try out my new shoes the day Luke bought them for me. The shoes were his way of asking me out, so it was all the more special that I was wearing them last night. We also frequented this park the night we had our first real fancy date. It was a wonderful night, and a wonderful experience. We went back to Luke's house and called friends and family and just smiled at each other in delight.

Well stay tuned and I promised to show some pictures of the madness that is strawland, here at Firewheel, and keep anyone who cares informed of wedding progress and such.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-26T12:42:00.001-08:00

So This weekend has been amazing. One of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had. In part due to the man in the picture below. It's crazy how different a holiday can be when you have someone special to share it with. But on top of that I spent it with a group of 23 and sometimes more people who are some of the greatest people you will ever meet. This time last year I would have never expected myself to be in Kansas for the next Thanksgiving with a group of people I barely know but who are fast becoming like family.
Why Kansas you ask? Well it is the home of the Hawthornes, a family that takes in stray college students over the holidays. The Students are invited by their sons Curtis (fjord) and Craig (Grey). (Many have chosen to stray from there families in favor of the Kansas get away, and quite a few, including Luke, are repeat offenders.) The weekend was so Laid back that over 4 days it was up to you to pick your pace, and be as active or lethargic as you chose.

The weekends events included :
A ridiculously hard puzzle and Games! : Munchkin, Settlers of Catan, Axis and Allies, Polish Ping Pong, and Stupid (don't ask)

FIRE!

Keeping Warm

New Friends

And Friday evening it began to snow

And everyone went out to play and experiment with the coals of Thanksgivings fire.

There was the lift

and the placement

the fan & the flame

The cutting of the hole

The realization that the hand saw just isn't going to cut it & the introduction of the drill

The onlookers

The Supervisor/Enabler tries his hand

The hand gets really hot

The Laura watches with delight and stands far back with healthy fear

The mission is accoplished

The crowning glory (the phoenix rises from the ashes)

The final act

The morning comes covered in white

As does the car

Other events of the weekend :
*Sheet rocking basement rooms
*Eating
*Taking random quizzes about how well you will survive the zombie apocalypse
*Eating
*Figuring out why the router doesn't work
*Eating
*Driving back home in the front seat, smiling that you are the girlfriend of the driver, and not crammed in the back of a Mazda 3 with 2 other people for 6 hours
*Eating

The littlest birds

2007-11-20T22:19:00.000-08:00

So this weekend Luke and I went to Weatherford TX, and I was introduced to his Grandparents, and a large contingent of his family. It was a blast! Large gatherings always make for adventure. On Saturday we went to Traders Village, an interesting schmorgusborg of trash and treasure, and explored it's rows of shops. The best of which was a shop with beautiful little birds.
The other little beauty is Lilia, Luke's 2 year old niece, and his cousin's daughter Larrisa. They were so sweet and cute, especially covered in Cheeto dust.
And last but not least.... Yes I let Luke take a picture of me.

I think the greatest story of the weekend would have to be when his adorable Grandma demanded attention, and when holding her hand up was not enough, she smacked Luke's sister Gwen and said, "Gwen, tell her to be quiet." "Her" being Luke's aunt. It was great. She is feisty and quirky, with a great sense of humor.
Other than that this weekend consisted of moving, moving, and.... more moving...... fun fun fun. Anyway I am currently in Kansas with over 30 people, most of which I don't know. :)
It's great fun. So far we have worked on a puzzle, slept, ate food, worked on the puzzle again, and now I sit here while a large group of Letourneau students and alum play munchkin, and debate whether or not someone has died from the giant nose.
Happy Thanksgiving all!

Ideas and more

2007-11-16T10:19:00.001-08:00

All right, so I have come up with an idea as to what I would like to do with this blog thing. I am a huge fan of the blog print & pattern and the idea is to do something similar with the things that inspire me, the things I see that other people would like that I know and the final products of my work. Anyway, I think it will be a fun way to fill people in on the world of Erin.
And so it begins.

So in church world Christmas is a main event that usually involves lots of time and effort, or this year running around with my head cut off. Between Having mono at the beginning of this month and still trying to recover, moving to a new home and all the joys that are happening with that (while trying not to do to much so I can fully recover) and all the Family festivities of this time (while trying not to do to much so I can fully recover) it has been interesting.But as for Firewheel, the sermon series will be unOrtHoDoX. which makes some fun and interesting Christmas decoration ideas. On an outing to the mall with Luke we came across the beautiful store anthropologie. It's window display was awesome.

upon closer inspection was the realization that the "ice" was straws, so the idea is born to use this as the unorthodox Christmas decorations at church. One realization I've had in church design though is that everything has to be BIG! so when thinking of what might happen for the Worship Center, it had to be bigger than straws, or we would have had to do so many straws that it would be impossible construction time, especially on a tight schedule. What is like a straw but large? I thought to myself. Thus the idea of replicating the idea with PVC pipe is born. How this will turn out I'm not sure. And as it unfolds I will be sure and update you. Please be praying that it all works out. Things that happen in my head sometimes don't play out on paper.

The rest of the images are other pretties I found on my trip to North park mall, and some

detail shots of the straw-cicles.Window detail Barney's New York window display featuring the very "in" green theme.
Nordstrom's Thanksgiving Graphic

Painting in Nordstrom

White House Black Market window display

wow

2007-11-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

Alright so I am going to start trying out this blogging thing to help people keep informed in the world of Erin, since I am quite horrible at it. Don't expect much. :)

Wren's Nest

90's grunge

WEBSITE!!!!!

Website, website, website

Garage Sale!!!!

The Melissa Invitation

Matthew 6:26

Wedding Wednesday

Encourage

Manic Monday

Trepidicious Thursday

Wedding Wednesday

Target Tuesday

Fun Finds in Farmersville

Mundane

BUDGET

temporal/eternal beauty

To yous day

Hours of owls

sat around all day

oops

we-nest-day

tweet

Birds of the Day

Lowell Kindinger

The State Fair

THANKS!

Fun cat picks!

whew, long time

And More Birds

Around the House

The Shops at Willow Bend

Websites!

Saddness, confusion, excitment, and fear

Countdown

Decor and More!

Engaged!!!!!!

Thanksgiving

The littlest birds

Ideas and more

wow