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Friday Favorites: Far Away Friends

 

(best selfie ever, right?!)

Today's Friday Favorites is

Far-Away Friends.

"Little" Sara and I lived close and worked together when we first became friends. Then, college separated us and life took us on our way to different states, with different men and different adventures. Today's Friday Favorite means a lot to me, that after so many years, more than 12 we've remained friends!

 

While Sara was home for Christmas we were able to sneak in an afternoon together! I haven't seen her since the babies (twiners) have been born, because understandably her and Josh's travel has been very limited :)

 

Look at those little girlies---how cute are they?! :)

 

Allyson and Sara just kept saying, "you have to hold both of them at the same time to know what it's really like!" 

I can't even imagine Sara and Josh's real-life, 24 hours a day, but a glimpse of it in December looked pretty fantastic, at least from the outside. I'm sure there are rough moments and I know exhaustion too, but look how sweet they are :)

 

Now residing in California, I was lucky enough to see Sara while I was traveling for business at CHA. She drove into Anaheim, scooped me up and we had dinner together, just the two of us! It's so wonderful to have friends in different places, it makes it that much more special when we see each other.

Happy Friday readers. I hope you have a great weekend, full of friendships and laughs. If you have a friend that lives far away, take some time out of your day to give him or her a call, if just for a few minutes :)

 

Visiting the Getty Museum

After CHA closed I was fortunate enough to extend my trip one extra night. A close friend of mine had planned a trip to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.

 Fist off, it was a beautiful 80-degree day!!! The museum is fairly new, built in the late 90s all made of stone. It sits on top of a mountain, almost like an acropolis, just huge and awesome!

The views of Los Angeles were breathtaking and since there wasn't a cloud in the sky you could see for miles and miles!This was my best attempt at a selfie, a reflection of us in one of the huge window panes :)

We took a tour of this exhibit including somme stained glass windows from the ancient Canterbury in the UK. Very biblical, inspiring and colorful too! I loved it.

The architecture of the Getty is beautiful. I loved it. We visited other galleries as well including some beautiful and well-known oil paintings by the one and only Vincent Van Gogh. Walking through the galleries and enjoying some time out in the Getty Gardens really took me back to college, when I studied abroad in Italy.

 

The Gardent were beautiful. I could only imagine how much more lush they are in summer when the trees are full and the flowers are in bloom.

I feel so blessed to be able to spend time with Nilmarie. We live so far apart and yet, still find time to see each other time and time again. It's pretty cool.

 

 

 

 

Giveaway with TamTam Design Studio

My friend Tami and I go way back. We've worked together side-by-side, shared stories about our puppies and enjoyed a glass of wine together every now and then. Fast forward more than five years, and we've both moved back to our midwest roots, gotten married, and began our own entrepreneurial adventures. Today I want to share more with you about my friend Tam Tam & what she's doing today ... okay let's be honest: I want to brag about her and giveaway one of her latest products to a lucky reader!

Blossoming to a life from a love of gift giving, paper and pretty patterns, Tami O'Malley created TamTam Design Studio, an award-winning gift & stationery studio in 2007. Inspired by the sweetest most simple joys in life (like fresh flowers, holding hands and birthday parties), Tami's desire has always been to share her passion for living, giving & loving with others.Today Tami lives just north of downtown Chicago, with the love her life (hubby Chris) and two very pampered puppies. Her personalized designs are currently available on her website, TamTam Design, her greeting cards line in Papyrus Retail Stores across the country as well as Papyrus Online and her new ipad/kindle cases through Keka Cases.

From the moment you spot TamTam's signature style, you'll find it's the perfect reflection of Tami herself - girly, good and gracious. This simple philosophy and love of life is what inspires Tami to follow her heart (over trends) as her guide to create the life she loves...one that includes less perfect and more present, less worry and more fun, less buys and more love!

A couple weeks ago Tami sent me my very own personalized Monogrammed Notepad! How cool, and she made sure to add lots of pink for me ;) Thanks TamTam! Here's what mine looks like!I've already used he first five pages up with lists of things to get done around the house and in my home studio. Notepads and to-do lists are must-haves for organized go-getters like me!

Isn't it darling? TamTam's Monogrammed Notepads combine happy design with your personal monogram to keep your day stylishly organized. Personally, this is one of my first personzliaed pieces with my new last initial, "S" for Smokovich :) The finished size is 5.5"x8.5" and includes 50 single-sided pages, each printed in full color!

Tami always designs and sells Get-To-Do Lists:

Your to-do list deserves a happy place to, one with room for thoughts and appointments and the occasional doodle. TamTam's lively and colorful lists will help you chip away at your day, making sure you can focus on what matter most. (Like less laundry and more FUN!) Called get-to-do rather than just-to-do because we're proud of all we get-to-do!

Personalization allows you to make yoru TamTam item your own, or a perfectly thoughtful gift for a friend. To-Dos also measure 5.5x8.5" in size & include 50 pages.

Now....don't you want to win one of these beauties?!

I told you she was talented :) One lucky winner will receive their choice of a personalized notepad or a get-to-do list. Retail Value: Starting at $18.50+shipping is included :)

Here's how you can enter to Win (Please complete all of the following to be considered):

1. Like TamTam on Facebook

2. Follow TamTam on Twitter

3. Follow tamtam_design on Instagram

4. Leave a comment here below telling me which product you would choose if you are the winner...the to-do list or the notepad?!

I will announce a winner on Friday, October 4th right here! See you back here again real soon :) Happy Monday!

For more information about Tami, please visit TamTamDesign.com

Inspiration Unlimited Recap

I probably should have pulled my camera out of my bag more often. (I always end up saying that), but the hours and days fly by at IU & before I know it's all over ;( Here's a few of my favorites from IU 2013 that just wrapped up this past weekend.

These two, Ginger and Teresa, sure do have a lot to celebrate each year. Both have become dear friends of mine, ladies that I admire and respect so much for all their hard work & success. The impact that successful women can make in this world is worthwhile & amazing.

Thank you for inviting me to be a part of IU again. Teaching Pre-IU allowed me to design more than one workshop and spend a lot of one-on-one time with students. 

As always, I was in good company during Pre-IU with people like Vicki Boutin, Joey from Bazzill and more! Ginger you do an awesome job at picking a diverse group of styles!

I find it very entertaining event after event to look through my camera afterwards. Jenna (my assistant) often snags the camera and takes some of me teaching. They always crack me up because they are never flattering....my mouth is open, I look bossy, etc. etc. :) Here's just a couple :)

This woman, Faye, came up and gave me a handmade gift during our workshop. How thoughtful and sweet of her. The beautiful card inside is a masterpiece--and now in my office at Bella :)

The InstaLove class was the biggest hit. I probably could have sold 50-75 more kits of these. Sorry ladies....I never quite know exactly what everyone is going to take-to. Thank you for your overwhelming support! You'll just have to wait until next year's pre-IU :)

These two (below) were crackin' me up during class. They were a hoot, working together, helping each other, or not helping each other ... lol, you had to be there!

During the closing ceremonies this lucky lady won her deposit for 2014 for free!

Before heading off to Scrapfest in Minnesota, Teresa reminded us Saturday night to be thankful for each moment we have, and to document them because we don't know what's next. 

IU is such a wonderful event filled with friendship, common bonds and the love of crafting. I say it time and time again that I don't take my job, or my career, for granted, ever, and I just think it's so incredibly "cool" (for lack of a better word) at how scrapbooking can bring women together in this way. IU holds a special place in my heart and I can't wait to return for Pre-IU 2014. 

Thank you Ginger Nelson for putting this event together and making it all happen. You and your volunteers are the reason it's such a success. Bella Blvd loves you :)

Inspiration Unlimited Recap

I probably should have pulled my camera out of my bag more often. (I always end up saying that), but the hours and days fly by at IU & before I know it's all over ;( Here's a few of my favorites from IU 2013 that just wrapped up this past weekend.

These two, Ginger and Teresa, sure do have a lot to celebrate each year. Both have become dear friends of mine, ladies that I admire and respect so much for all their hard work & success. The impact that successful women can make in this world is worthwhile & amazing.

Thank you for inviting me to be a part of IU again. Teaching Pre-IU allowed me to design more than one workshop and spend a lot of one-on-one time with students. 

As always, I was in good company during Pre-IU with people like Vicki Boutin, Joey from Bazzill and more! Ginger you do an awesome job at picking a diverse group of styles!

I find it very entertaining event after event to look through my camera afterwards. Jenna (my assistant) often snags the camera and takes some of me teaching. They always crack me up because they are never flattering....my mouth is open, I look bossy, etc. etc. :) Here's just a couple :)

This woman, Faye, came up and gave me a handmade gift during our workshop. How thoughtful and sweet of her. The beautiful card inside is a masterpiece--and now in my office at Bella :)

The InstaLove class was the biggest hit. I probably could have sold 50-75 more kits of these. Sorry ladies....I never quite know exactly what everyone is going to take-to. Thank you for your overwhelming support! You'll just have to wait until next year's pre-IU :)

These two (below) were crackin' me up during class. They were a hoot, working together, helping each other, or not helping each other ... lol, you had to be there!

During the closing ceremonies this lucky lady won her deposit for 2014 for free!

Before heading off to Scrapfest in Minnesota, Teresa reminded us Saturday night to be thankful for each moment we have, and to document them because we don't know what's next. 

IU is such a wonderful event filled with friendship, common bonds and the love of crafting. I say it time and time again that I don't take my job, or my career, for granted, ever, and I just think it's so incredibly "cool" (for lack of a better word) at how scrapbooking can bring women together in this way. IU holds a special place in my heart and I can't wait to return for Pre-IU 2014. 

Thank you Ginger Nelson for putting this event together and making it all happen. You and your volunteers are the reason it's such a success. Bella Blvd loves you :)

Running for Sam

This morning I am running the Liver Life 5k put on by the American Liver Foundation to raise money for Liver Disease Awareness. Liver Disease quickly took the life a very, very close friend of my dear sister Nicky and brother-in-law Kurt.

His name was Sam Henke. Here Same is with his surviving wife, Amy.

and here with my brother-in-law Kurt. I, personally, had only met Sam a few times at summer pool parties at my sister's house. He was always happy and having a great time. 

Melissa and Amy formed a team to honor Sam's memory. Our team name this morning is Sam's Striders, and together we have raised more than $5,600 for the research of Liver Disease. I want to take this opportunity to thank those of you over the past several months that have made donations on my page to support my run today and for giving so generously to such a great cause, and a great girl in Amy that is still trying to find her way in this world today. 

If you'd still like to make a donation today you can by clicking here.

Here's an excerpt from my Live Life 5k Fundraising Page:

Many of you know my younger sister, Nicky. Well, last fall one of Nicky & Kurt's dearest friends, Sam Henke was diagnosed with liver disease. Before the diagnosis Sam was an active guy playing soccer, and living his life like every normal 29 year-old. Sam and his wife Amy both stood up in Nicky and Kurt's wedding in April 2011. A mere 3 months later Sam's condition digressed quickly and on January 2nd, 2013 God called Sam to his heavenly home at such an early & young age, leaving Amy a young widow. 

As the pain of a sudden loss is very relate-able for my family and I, I have registered as a participant in the Liver Life Walk, to help show my support and love for Amy and also for Sam's family. To show my support for my younger sister and for Amy especially, the pain and suffering is all too familiar. I had met Sam quite a few times just hanging out at the pool, BBQ or at sporting events with friends. It's my prayer that participating in this event Amy will realize how much love is surrounding her as she continues to endure day-by-day without her one and only true love. 

Please join me on this journey in whichever way you see fit:  Participate as a walker/runner on the "Sam's Striders" team, or Make a donation to sponsor my run. Together I know we can make a difference in liver disease research in Sam's Honor. The event will take place at Veteran's Park on the morning of July 27, 2013. 

TOP 20 PICS: Wedding Photo Studio

At our wedding, after dinner we revealed a Photo Studio and lounge area on the stage at Turner Hall. The handmade paper pinwheel backdrop and fun props, including a life-size Justin Beebs were a hit!

Guests made their way up and after a quick 1-2-3 went home with fun photo strips that looked like this:

Fast forward a couple weeks and Steven & I now have copies of every single photo taken! Hilarious, cute and funny we looked at more than 500 photos of our friends & family, and chose these 20 as our most memorable, favorite, funny and clever shots from the night!

Without the 2011-2012 Bella Blvd Design Team, this Photo Studio wouldn't have been possible! Thanks to their awesome gift last spring (see post here!) , it was put to great use!!!!

PS-Sneak Peeks and reveals for all my new collections with Bella Blvd will begin tomorrow on the Bella Studio Blog! Join us in the fun with new products and win-it-before-you-can-buy-it givewaways all week long! It's going to be a lot of fun!

Brewer Bachelorette Bash Recap

There's a lot going on these last 30 days before the wedding: One more bridal shower, this Brewer Bachelorette Bash, my Bachelorette weekend in Vegas, and countless final crafts, counting and organizing! Last weekend we lucked out with the (literally) one sunny day of the entire week for the Brewers vs. Cubs game at Miller Park! Angela and Nicky put together the tailgate party packed with food, games, drinks, and more! It was a.w.e.s.o.m.e.

All my peeps were there from the mothers and sisters, to friends and little peeps too! So happy they all came out to party with me...even in the freezing spring wisconsin weather!

We had a hilarious tournament bracket of bags....the boys sure would have had a good laugh seeing us girls not knowing how to keep score! Not to mention each game to 4-ever! :)

Because not everyone of all ages can obviously come to the Bachelorette weekend in Vegas, I thought a game at Miller park would be fun for everyone...much cheaper and such a great Milwaukee tradition. Even some of my bridesmaids are young including Anabelle, Madelyn and Josie---so this way they were still involved in the pre-wedding party!The little peeps had a blast...so cute!

Nicky had these fun "Last Swing before the Ring T-Shirts" made up for everyone. We all were no. 18 :) Love the details! And...they made mine pink :) Do they know me or what?!

Here's the crew just before heading into the game!

Allyson disappeared for a bit....only to reveal a sign she was busy whippin' up :)

Opening Day 2013: Brewers

It's been a couple years since I've joined all the friends at Miller Park for opening day. Tailgating is one of the best pastimes us Brewers (and Packer) fans love! I think we parked the cars around 9:30am.  The first pitch wasn't until after 1pm so we had plenty of time to party :)

 And the boys went to work, unloading and assembling (or trying to at least) some grills :)

That giant piece of chicken is for me :)

You never know what kind of weather you're gonna get come opening day. Some years it's 70....but this year is was 25....yes, degrees! yikes.

I found a super cozy spot in the back of the Jeep and pretty much partied from there the whole morning :) It helped block the wind....and the coolers were great foot stools :)

Don't let the sunglasses deceive you....it was flippin' cold!!!

This next one, the boys would like to call, "JENNNNNNNNNAAAAHHHH!"

We did eventually make it into the sold out game....and it was super awesome----- Sarah, Mandie and Dan got us extra tickets in this awesome party suite---food and beverages with tvs, and an awesome view!  We ditched our Standing Room Only tickets and went straight to the club level :) 

And....we won in extra innings!Great Day. Good times!

When Friends Move Away-A Bella Layout

Have you had any close friends move out of state far away? Do you miss them like I miss "my" Gail?

It's hard to believe that Gail moved almost 2 years ago now, but at the time it feels like I haven't seen her in forever. We used to scrapbook together lots, she always popped in at Bella for our mother/daughter kind of talks and we shared so many secrets.

Recently I created this layout to cheer me up, after reminiscing over these photographs in my picture pile.

Gail is in Atlanta with her hubby, and loving it there....but I miss her! We don't chat on the phone as much as I hoped, but when we do it's always great to hear how she's doing and what new things she's up to!

The layout is a great mix of soft, friendship colors including products from my Plastino and Thankful Collections. 

Plus some Stick Pin Flags and Crochet Flowers.

Scrapbooking is often very therapeutic for me, and this is a perfect example. Even though Gail's so far away making the layout made me smile, and tell stories about her to the people I was with while creating it. Gail---if you're reading this---I miss you....I miss our talks!

Packer Party with the Wedding Party

The Packers played the Saints last Sunday when we had 25+ of our favorite peeps over at the house celebrating our engagement & getting to know each other. 

Remember the invitations...?? (I shared with you last week?)

It was a beautiful day for football, friends and family! Here's a peek at the get-together.

I put together a couple simple centerpieces from things I had around the house and added some green & yellow colored candies, Packer beads & Tundra Towel souvenir.

In the kitchen where dinner was served I used a couple of Steven's bobbleheads & drew up a sign for drinks....

Inside and out were some fun Green & Gold balloons!

We had more food than one could even imagine; Appetizers galore including Veggie pizza, chips and dip, taco dip, Jalapeno popper dip, crab dip, sausage/cheese & crackers, and it just kept coming and coming. All the girls were in charge of bringing an appetizer==it was delish!

Some friends brought desserts! Check out the cute cupcakes Morgie made!

Here's some of my favorite pics from the day:

Steve's cousin Mike (groomsman) & one of Steve's brothers, Dan (best Man) on right.

Bummer about the sun streaking in this photo. From left to right is Jeff (Usher), Kevin (Groomsman), Mike again and Justin (groomsman). These boys have been friends with Steve for years! 

Mine and Steven's parents along with grandparents were also invited to the party. Great picture of Nicky and dad!

Jenna of course, will be one of my bridesmaids-actually standing up with her hubby Justin (on the right!)

Morgan, my bestie and Maid of Honor, and lil' sister Nicky (bridesmaid).

Little Lauren will be our Flower Girl and just barely two years old come wedding day!

Allyson, not pictured, is also one of my Bridesmaids and brought along her little peanut, Alayna (below)....it was her first-ever Packer Party ;)

My nieces and nephew, including Madelyn (above) will all be in the Bridesmaids and Carson will be the our Ring Bearer.

From left to right: Nicky's husband, my brother-in-law, Kurt, is a Groomsman. Of course, my older sister Angela will be standing at the altar with us that day, and Steve's long-time friend, Thomas, will be an Usher.

I had to share this one...I think it was all those beers and "touchdown" shots he consumed between the hours of 12pm and 7pm...

...but shortly after everyone left we cleaned up and snuggled on the couch to watch the rest of Sunday Night Football and he was out...like a light...in literally 2 minutes.

I didn't get photos of everyone---even though I really should have done the "guys" and "girls" thing, but not everyone was able to make it so it wouldn't have been complete. It was such a fun day, I love having people over at the house enjoying each others company and good time. Plus, I think we have leftovers for the entire next 2 weeks. LOL. Thank you everyone for coming! It was awesome. We wouldn't have our wedding day without all of you!

5k Mud Run: Dirty Girl

Remember when I told you about Dirty Girl? Well, it was a blast, to say the least, and today I have a photo recap for you! August 19, 2012:

We were the Filthy Five, check out our fun team outfits we put together!

Five Strong. United. :) lol. 

With great support systems showing up to cheer us on, take pictures and check out all the dirty girls :) 

Someone apparently didn't tell Angela there was mud ;)

It was only a matter of time until we got down and dirty! We climbed....

and we crawled....

and ran our way to the finish and stayed together as a team!

It was a blast and at the end we took so many pictures.

Nicky even had mud in her teeth---disgusting!

And when it was all over...I even got some dirty kisses from my Mister Mister :)

I would highly recommend the Dirty Girl 5k. It's a great for friendship building, conversations, girl fun and exercise too!

Dirty Girl Nation

Have you heard of it?

I hadn't until Katherine emailed me a couple months ago and asked me to be on her team. The event is this weekend in Waukesha!

Dirty Girl is a 5k mud run for women of all ages and athletic abilities. A portion of all registration fees is donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Dirty Girl was founded in 2010 & held events in Wisconsin, New York and Colorado in 2011. The Dirty Girl Mud Run Series is expanding across the nation in 2012. Females ages 14+ complete a 5K obstacle course consisting of a series of difficult, but manageable, tasks including wall climbs, stomach crawls, cargo net climbs, tire tests and conclude with a mud-filled pit.

Check out all those obstacles! The 11 are described on the website:

1. H20MG - Water Pit

2. The HangOver - hanging tires

3. Barn Burner - Hay Bale Climb

4. Loop De Loop - Tire Weave

5. Tire Pump - Tire High Step

6. Just Get Over It - Wall Climb

7. Utopian Tubes - Tunnel Crawl

8. Get A Grip - Cargo Net

9. One Ugly Mudder - Mud Hill Scale & Descent

10. Jail Break - Fence Jump

11. PMS - Pretty Muddy Stuff, mud crawl

Oh boy, should be fun! Our team, named the Filthy Five consists of myself, Katherine, Polly, Angela and Nicky. I'll be sure to give you an update sometime next week. Hoping we'll get some fun pictures. Besides the dirtiness and exhaustion is looks like they have some fun things planned. It should be a really fun experience and I'm so looking forward to it!

If you want to know more about Dirty Girl, visit their website here, or "like" Dirty Girl on Facebook to stay current with events and photos.

(Photo Credits to Dirty Girl via DirtyGirl(dot)com)

What are you doing this weekend?

Harry Potter Wedding Shower Part II

Welcome to Part II. We took so many pictures that night, I thought I'd share them in another post.

Here's a shot of the room. I don't have a great picture of the dessert buffet that had so many fun and clever candies because you wouldn't believe it if I told you----that about 10 minutes before Guests arrived I grabbed my camera to walk around and snag photos of the place---and NO MEMORY CARD! omg, seriously are you kidding me? We remember every detail but that. So, thankfully Sheri (friend & guest) walked around and snapped some pictures. With the low lights and all the candles, it was tricky to get the candy buffet.

The table centerpiece included Harry Potter books, candles, bottles, a wand and a cool Golden Snitch thingy that Morgan spotted at Barnes & Noble. I bough the lace fabric on clearance at Walmart and trimmed it for a quick table runner.

It just so happens that my family room's accent wall is painted mustard yellow----a perfect fit for the maroon and yellow Gyrffindor colors, right? I took down my normal frames, and we decorated the shelves with that awesome 3-D Harry Potter movie poster (another lucky catch-Morgan's brother used to work at Blockbuster and saved some posters!). On the lower shelf were tons of battery candles (Michaels), and photos and facts from the Harry Potter Series that I printed and framed. I learned plenty during that process let me tell you! Things like,

A Muggle is a person that has no wizardry in their blood. lol.

We kept all the lights off in the house and set the Harry Potter mood with candles. 

We stretched the movie poster with Twine to cover the television and I made that garland out of Harry Potter book pages! (Lucky for me all Harry Potter books were on Half-Price Books Special the day I went in to buy them!) There was a flash used for this picture---but you can see the battery candles on top of the mantle, and the glass owl too......

Morgan was in charge of the Drinks Station in the kitchen. She did an awesome job. We simply used a hanging chalkboard to let know guests that they could help themselves to the fridge filled with coke, diet coke, beer and water. But the silver tray was full of Butterbeer (white wine), Liquid Luck (Goldshlager shots), Pumpkin Juice (can't remember...Morgie dropped food coloring in those glasses though), and Polyjuice Potion (Baileys Irish Cream).

The Bride, myself, Beth (mother of the Bride) and Morgie took the liberty to throw back the shots of Liquid Luck. ;)

Even Mio dressed for the occasion. Everyone loved him! As guests headed out, we had them stop at this table in the foyer to self-address an envelope for Alyssa. That way thank-you cards are a breeze when she's ready to write!

Guest went home with custom-made Harry Potter sugar cookies of the Howarts School Shield, and brown bags from the Sweet Shoppe (dessert table). The game winners scored Harry Potter movies, Owl salt & pepper shakers, Barnes & Noble gift cards and movie theater popcorn!

And after everyone left the Bride and mother-of-the-bride stuck around for movie night, Harry Potter showing at which time we may or may not have gotten a bit silly with all the props around the house (look at those sweet little glasses we discovered at Second Street Antiques)!

Thanks for a great time girls! It was memorable! Love you Alyssa!