4th of July

The Kids

 Dear Familia,

I had a wonderful 4th of July in AZ this year. We stayed at the Fort McDowell Radisson for fireworks and pool time on the 3rd and a movie marathon on the 4th. It was great.

Along with being proud to be an American, I am also proud to finally have accomplished one of the many things I either "pin" or "bookmark" to do sometime in the future. Tie Dye 4th of July shirts :) Miranda at one little minute did a fabulous DIY for this project and it turned out amazing...the kids even did most of the work!

If you check out her blog, also check out her "Project Repurpose". I originally found her blog because of this post and I promise that someday I will figure out how to do it! Probably need a sewing machine and any sort of sewing knowledge first though. Haha. Also, Lysh, for baby #2 I will make sure we get you set up for "Project Baby" :)

Love,
Jem

PS Next year, everyone should definitely come visit Zane and I in DC for the 4th. Come on, fireworks in our Nation's capital. What could beat that?

What is 4th of July without a star?

Paislee Press

Dear Familia,

It's my goal to do 1 post a day until I start school in late August. Today, however, I am headed to 1st Kaiya's birthday party and hanging out with my family on my last day in AZ for a while. I thought it would be fun to share another blog for you to check out. I found Paislee Press through Twig and Thistle. Liz is a super cool design genius and mother of two ridiculously adorable girls. She has some pretty amazing DIY projects, but explore her site for some great "memory keeping" ideas. This is one of those blogs where you she makes things look so easy and so beautiful. Here are some links to get you started:

Max Costume

Photo Wall (definitely happening above my school desk while I am away)

Photobooks

Giveaway :)

Enjoy!

Love,

Jem

One Green Generation

Dear Familia,

Before I talk to you about shampoo/conditioner, I thought I would take some time to profile one of my favorite blogs...the one that gave me a homemade deodorant recipe and gave me the final push I needed to do a cleanse (more on that another day). Melinda created One Green Generation which is a blog about sustainable and eco-friendly changes everyone can make in their lives. She doesn't post all that often, but she has some really great posts that I go back to day after day. Here are a few:

Deodorant

Shampoo/Conditioner (post to come)

Cleanse (post to come)

Melinda is pretty good at giving a good story about what she's done to make changes in her life without making you feel like you are a terrible person for not having made the change yourself. I definitely like her.

Love,

Jem

Smitten Kitchen

Dear Familia,

You absolutely must check out this food blog, if you have not already. Smitten Kitchen is by far and away my most favorite of the food blogs and top 3 of blogs in general. Deb is a food genious and makes me want to spend 24/7 in the kitchen. She also has a ridiculously adorable little boy...just cute. I have literally at least 50 bookmarks of recipes to try from her site.

Recipes I love:

Rice Crispy Treats (from this weekend)

Pie Crust Tutorials 101 & 202

Cinnamon Rolls

Here are a few I want to try soon:

Pasta Dough

Whole Wheat Goldfish Crackers

French Onion Soup

Love,

Jem

Design Mom

Dear Familia,

Up next, Design Mom. Gabrielle is one crafty lady (and mother of six...and Jordan's sister!). Like Jordan, she is living abroad right now, but always posts cute things from around the web and fun DIY projects. Here are some faves:

Several VDay Projects

Alphabet DIY

100 Dresses Project

Watercolor Calendar

(image via since I could not save from the original blog)

Love,

Jem

PS You may notice from a few of these blogs I am highlighting that there is a significant number of Mormon Mom bloggers. There are only subtle clues in their blogs and, for the most part, it really doesn't come up. Just a disclaimer in case you think I'm trying to send a message or something.

Twig & Thistle

Dear Familia,

Today's blog: Twig and Thistle. Kathleen is all about pretty packaging and equally pretty DIY projects. Some of the things she posts are ridiculously gorgeous. Here are a few of my favorites:

From her "Well Sent" series, an amazing 1st birthday invitation

From her "Well Branded" series, a deliciously designed restaurant paper suite

DIY from Kathleen, 4th of July party set (you know I love her)

DIY she found for me, paper covered books

This is definitely one of my top 3 blogs.

Love,

Jem

Oh Happy Day!

Dear Familia,

As Zane will definitely confirm, I am obsessed with blogs. I follow at least 50 on my google reader (future post?). I am going to work on creating links to my favorites on a sidebar, but for now I am going to do some random posts on some of the best blogs out there. First up, Oh Happy Day!. This blog just got a new redesign that is very pretty, but it's been on my reader since I started with the whole blog thing in 2009ish. Jordan, the blog creator, does so many fun DIY projects and right now she and her family are living abroad for a year! Here are some links to a few great posts:

DIY Postcard Birthday Poster

Valentines Day DIY

Love her old home office

AND Jordan is doing a Paris giveaway: http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris

So ya, check it out, see what you think! Hopefully I can do a few more this week.

Love,

Jem