Addicted

It is obviously apparent at this point that my husband and I are seriously addicted to ice cream. It went from stopping by Marble Slab on occasion, to grabbing a half gallon every two or so grocery store trips, to going to Braum's to pick up tubs 3 times in one week. Yes, it happened. This week. Really. So I thought I'd dedicate today to favorite ice creams. (And then I better head off to workout!) Here are my faves, at the moment. What are yours?

Rules to Live By

{image via here}

So today was a snow (really ice) day here and my dear daughter got to stay home with me. I was really praying for this day because I just miss her... It was a shock to my system on the first day of kindergarten when she was gone away from me for seven hours. She went from being my little partner, by my side for 5.5 years and then, poof, she was gone the majority of our waking hours. (She was fine, of course.) So I was going to make the most of our day. We started out with a fire and some cuddle time on the couch. Then breakfast, something quick as not to have to waste too much time cleaning up. And then we started on a little art project (Thanks, Miss Aimee & my sweet friend over at Kotori, for the inspiration). Then we had some quiet time for everyone, reading or doing whatever. I thumbed through my previously dog-eared magazines to see which articles I really wanted to tear out to revisit later. I came across Rules to Live By in my October Parents mag (okay, I'm a little behind). It was so perfect for the day. Here's the rundown of it, as it appeared:

1. I will get my kids up earlier so we can spend a little time together before the day starts.

2. I won't talk on my cell phone while grocery shopping with my kids.

3. I will remember to be at eye level with my child when I need his attention.

4. After work, I will spend five minutes with my kids before going through the mail or returning phone calls.

5. I will plan at least one outing or special activity with my kids each week.

I loved re-reading this after a morning of quality time. It felt good and reassuring. So simple, really. Admittedly, though, there are days that I would have read that and felt some guilt for having broken the rules. It's sounds so, "oh yeah, of course that's the right thing to do," but it's easy to slip into the haste of life. It was a great refresher. And oh, it feels so good to put into practice!

Shower Gift Idea for ya

Have you ever hosted a wedding or baby shower? There's a lot of planning that goes into hosting this type of event, and then you usually purchase a gift for the guest of honor as well. Why not take care of the gift at the same time you order the invitations? Here's a neat gift idea for you: 

Go ahead and order coordinating thank you cards when you pick out the shower invitation. The thank yous will coordinate with the invites and match the theme of the shower. Go ahead and wrap your gift in a gift bag, but leave the envelopes out for now. At the shower set out the envelopes next to the guest book (you can even go ahead and affix a stamp to each for added ease). Instruct all of the guests to address an envelope to themselves. Before moving on the the opening of gifts you can slip the self addressed, stamped envelopes in the gift bag with the custom note cards. Just imagine how pleased the busy bride-to-be or mom-to-be will be to get such a thoughtful, unique gift (and you don't have to shop their registry)!

These images show this idea for a recent Sip & See shower. Here is the invitation, coordinating note card, and matching address label. (These are from Perfect Sentiment.) Makes such a nice gift!

Inspired

I was in Border's just the other day to pick up my book club book. This purchase was in the budget (new year's resolution #1), and in order to stick to this said budget, I called ahead to have them pull my book, made sure I had my 30% off coupon in hand and then put my blinders on. Somehow I still found myself perusing the aisles... I'm a complete sucker for bookstores!

This simple, silver spiral-bound sketchbook called out to me from the bottom shelf. I picked it up, thumbed through its thick pages of bright, blank paper. I resisted and put the book down. I picked it back up. I set it back down and resolved not to purchase it. I drove myself home, but my mind was on all the things I could fill those beautiful blank pages with... Well, I found myself back on that same aisle two days later. And I even made a special stop off on my way home for a new mechanical pencil to use with it. It has extra thick lead! Oh the joy!! I'm inspired already... Maybe my wedding invitation line will come to fruition sooner than expected. What inspires you?

Beauty Hurts

My sweet daughter just turned six and her birthday present was quite painful! A short time after she her fifth birthday (where she had her inaugural Barbie party in which we initiated the first buxom beauty into our family... a short year later we have a bin full of Barbies and one Ken) she asked us how old she had to be to get her ears pierced. We were stumped for a few short seconds... We looked at each other and since neither of us wore a look of shock or alarm, we all agreed upon her next birthday. There was one thrilled little gal! She brought the subject up on many occasions... We talked about the whole process, (including the painful part).... She window-shopped Claire's Boutique, daydreaming of her first pair... She got to where she could spot a set of pierced ears from across the room. So when the day finally arrived, she was ready. She was not nervous at all. She bravely climbed up into the salon chair, picked out the perfect pair, and readied herself for her newly adorned lobes. The piercing lady pulled her hair back and started marking the spots to be pierced. Once we all agreed on the perfect spot (I have to admit, I took this decision a bit too heavily, as if this were a life-altering decision), it was time to get on with the task at hand. After the first earring was affixed, my daughter was shocked with the amount of pain she was in and cried a lot, surprising us all a bit. She was a trooper though, and through sobbing shoulders, the second ear was pierced. My sweet girl was quite upset about the whole process, until she was brought a mirror... She quickly recovered as soon as she saw her glittery-eared reflection. Her first lesson in beauty... Sometimes it hurts!

Who is PS~Erin?

I'm a lot of things, but when describing myself I usually start off with my biggest roles: A mom (to two very cool kids). A wife (to a man I dearly love). An artist (well kindofsortamaybe)... Why don't we start there, with that incredibly meek attempt at a statement:

My first career aspirations went something like this, "When I grow up I want to be an artist". Well, this was all fine and dandy, except for the fact that I wasn't particularly outstanding at drawing... or painting... or sculpting... or really any medium I tried. My parents were so kind as to not squish my ambitions despite the obvious, and just encouraged my interests. Well, to no one's surprise, I didn't grow up to be a famous artist, or even an oh-so-cool starving artist. I became a teacher, a career I really dug. Then a mom, a job I feel blessed to have. And then I discovered photography and photo-editing and a bit of graphic design, and finally I found a creative outlet for my artistic desires. An artist was born (sortofkindainaway). Go me!

Top 10 Reasons to order PS Valentines

10: You want your Valentines to be fun & different.

9: You are already dreading spending 45 minutes on the seasonal aisle at the grocery store while your child chooses just the right box of character-themed valentines.

8: Your little one has changed so much since your Christmas card photo.

7: You didn't send out Christmas cards this year.

6: When someone mentions Valentines Day you have not-so-pleasant flashbacks of "encouraging" your child, well past her bedtime, to sign her name just 12 more times on those aforementioned Valentines.

5: Grandma and Granddad LOVE getting mail!

4: You have the cutest picture of your children and were just looking for a reason to send it out to all of your family and friends.

3: You just can't resist anything and everything personalized!

2: There's that 10% off special for ordering by February 1st. (See previous post.)

1: Perfect Sentiment Valentines are so flippin' cute, how could you not?! (toot toot)

A Quote To Share...

Sometimes things just resonate. I was blessed with this experience over the weekend... My sweet sister passed this thought along to me and I just keep thinking about it. It's such a simple statement, but it could not make more sense to me. How much better/easier/softer would this life be if everyone kept this thought close at heart? I hope your day is met with people who feel just this way!

My Baby's First Cut

This is totally off the topic of cards, but I just had to share these scrumptious photos of my son's first haircut. I stressed about this first crop because I'd never gone to get a little boy's hair cut before. I hadn't even accompanied my husband to any of his hair appointments, as he usually shears his head in the garage. I decided to go for it and took him to a funky, little barber shop. He did splendidly, with no fits at all! Here's the photo diary of the trip.... My big little guy. I could just eat him up!

Any fun haircut experiences you'd like to share?
I'd love to hear them!

Showing Some LOVE:

Place your Valentine order by

February 1st & receive a 10% discount.

Gotta LOVE that!

(Just mention the blog when ordering.)

Valentines Valentines Valentines

The '09 line of Perfect Sentiment Valentines is officially here! There are three styles to choose from: The simple, fun, not-too-frou-frou 4x5.5 cards; the classy, personal 5x5 photo card; and the 2x3.5 cute, little lolly pop tag. And without further ado, here they are. Let me know what you think!

4x5.5, flat or folding:

5x5 flat or folding:

2x3.5 Lolly Pop Tags... Just insert a candy treat!

COMING SOON: VALENTINES!

Check the website soon... I'll be updating it with some way cute valentines!

Ring in the New Year with a New Year's Greeting!

Are you lamenting the fact that you didn't send out Christmas cards this season? Not to worry! Send out a New Year's card! January is the perfect time to send out a greeting to your loved ones. (or those folks that somehow got left off of your Christmas card mailing list this year... how does that happen?) Any of my holiday Greetings can be modified to be a New Year's card.

Take a look these samples. The first one is the Holiday Scroll card with a few modifications. It works great as a New Year's card ( and take a look at how flippin' cute those girls are)!

Did you get a great family picture during the holidays? This next card used a family picture from their December wedding.

Just pick your photo and the design you like, and I'll do the rest! Here's to starting the new year off right. Happy 2009 to you and yours!