Adorable Items from Debonair Designs on EBay

Hey guys!  I just have enough time for a quick post for now.  I promise I'll get to my Movie Love tag post and my "Versatile Blogger Award" post...hopefully sometime next week.  Unfortunately, as the school year is beginning to wind down, I'm starting to feel the snowball effect of countless upcoming activities! :{  I'll do my best to keep up, though.  Oh, and Tess and Maggie were finally able to get a post up on their blog.  You can see it HERE, and you'll be happy to know that it finally features Jenna. :)

Anyway, I was browsing through eBay tonight and noticed that my friend Deb from Debonair Designs has 3 beautiful spring ensembles listed.  Two of them only have a couple of days left.  The colors she chose are absolutely stunning!  I really love the hats that come with the outfits, too. :)

Here is "Kimana III", modeled by the lovely Gotz Little Sisters Lily.  Click HERE to see the auction.

I love the beautiful shades of blue that she chose for this set! :)

Next, we have "Ahoy", modeled by Deb's beautiful Alexander Girlz doll, Hayley.  You can view the auction HERE.   

Doesn't she look ready to set sail? :)

And finally, we have "Jardin", once again modeled by Hayley.  Click HERE to view the auction.

I love the beautiful spring colors Deb chose for this set. :)

I have purchased Deb's work before and have been very pleased with her craftsmanship.  Her prices are very reasonable, too.  I always love seeing the creations she comes up with each new season. :) 

I'm Still Here!

Hey guys!  This week has ended up being really crazy...sorry for the lack of posts.  Thanks to The Doll Wardrobe and Phoebe for awarding me with the Versatile Blogger award. :D  I hope to get that post up soon, along with the others that I've had waiting on the back burner.

Yesterday was really fun.  Hubby and I actually got to get away for a bit for the first time in over a month. :)  My mom was really sweet and watched the kiddos while we went to see a movie together.  It was so much fun...it felt like we were dating again. :)

Today, I'll be visiting with out of town family, so I won't have much computer time.  Just wanted to let you guys know that I hadn't forgotten you. :)

Oh, and I'll let Belle, Maggie, and Tess know that they need to get a post or two up soon as well. ;)

Bollywood Songs that Make Me Happy! (or Bollywood Reviews 2...sort of!)

Okay, so here's the deal.  I procrastinated a long time on my second Bollywood Reviews post.  (Duh!)  And unfortunately, I haven't had Netflix, my major source for watching Bollywood movies, for about 6 months now.  I went back to work on my second Bollywood Reviews post and realized that it had just been too long for me to remember everything about the movies.  I didn't feel right reviewing them when it had been that long since I'd seen them.

I didn't want to leave everyone hanging, though.  So instead, I came up with an alternative:  the post you're reading now.

One of the things I love about the Bollywood films I've seen is the music.  While there are some songs that are too sensual for my taste and my conscience, there are a lot of really fun songs out there, too.  I've decided to share some of my favorites with you in this post.  Some are songs I enjoy because of the acting that takes place during the song.  Some are songs that have really fun choreography (which makes me wish I was way more coordinated!).  Others have beautiful melodies or chordal progressions.  And some just flat out make me smile! :)

You'll most likely notice that these songs feature many of the same actors.  That's partially because I tend to find the actors I like and try out their other films.  It's also because there are a lot of movies done by the same Bollywood actors in the same genre (romance, action, etc), so it's easy to find films starring the same people.  [I'd also like to take a moment to apologize to my aunt that there are no Hrithik songs featured in this post.  I know, I know, how dare I do a Bollywood Songs post without "Beautiful Man"...but hey, I've got some fun Shahid songs at least!  Sorry Mimi, you'll have to go back to my original Bollywood Reviews post and watch "Bole Chudiyan" again.] ;)

Another quick note:  I tried to find as many of these with English subtitles as I could, but for some of the songs it just wasn't possible.  So for those songs without subtitles, I'll try to give you a brief idea of what they're saying.

Oops...and one more thing:  some of these songs feature bare midriffs, and Bollywood dances involve a lot of hip action.  Just wanted to issue a warning for those of you who are offended by that.

So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite Bollywood songs for your viewing enjoyment, in no particular order:


"Aaya Re" from Chup Chup Ke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ECsSN3pHU
This film stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor.  While I didn't care for the film on the whole (it was a bit too over-the-top on the humor for me...plus I have a hard time enjoying films where the main character lies throughout the entire thing, even if they come clean in the end), I really love this song.  I think it does a great job of capturing the sweetness and innocence of young love.  An interesting bit of trivia, here:  this is one of the common fantasy sequence songs often found in Bollywood films, and incidentally the only song in which Kareena "sings" (although her voice is provided by a playback singer).  In the rest of the movie, she is mute.  Oh, and the guy at the end of the song is her brother, not a love interest.  I can't remember why he looks so upset...it's been a while since I watched it!

Sorry, this is one of the ones without subtitles.  Basically, he's saying:  "Fallen, fallen, my heart has fallen for you"...and a bunch of other sweet stuff. :)

P.S.  Use caution if you do a YouTube search for "Chup Chup Ke".  Apparently there was another movie with this title that was a lot more sensual.


"Balle Balle" from Bride and Prejudice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoLtHqS_LhA
This movie starred Aishwarya Rai (I still haven't figured out how to pronounce her first name!) and Martin Henderson in the title roles.  Also featured in this video are Naveen Andrews, Namrata Shirodkar, and Indira Varma.  I don't know if this film would be considered strictly Bollywood, since it was made in Hollywood, but it definitely has the feel of a Bollywood film (it was made by the same people who did "Bend it Like Beckham", which I never saw).   It's been a while since I've seen this one...I know there was some innuendo and at least one very sensual song.  As a Jane Austen fan, though, I really enjoyed seeing a Bollywood take on Pride and Prejudice.  The differences in culture worked really well for the well-known story line.

In this song, Balraj (Mr. Bingley...the guy wearing black), William Darcy (Mr. Darcy), and Balraj's sister Kiran (Miss Bingley) are at a wedding in India.  This is the moment when Balraj and Jaya (Jane...on the balcony in the pink) see each other for the first time.  And Lalita (Lizzy) is the one in orange and pink.

Unfortunately, I had to change the link, so this one doesn't have quite all of the song.  I've included another link that has the whole song but much lower picture quality:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnZRN1XBvDY


"Saj Dhaj Ke" from Mausam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C87WJjQKLNI
Another Shahid movie! :D  I must admit, while I really enjoy Shahrukh's work, Shahid is quickly becoming my next favorite.  This guy can dance!  His leading lady this time around is Sonam Kapoor.

I can't really say much about this movie, because even though I watched it, I wasn't able to watch it with subtitles...so I had no clue what they were saying!  I will say that there were some really fun moments, but the climactic scene at the end was a little too hard to believe, in my opinion.

Once again, this one doesn't have subtitles.  I found the translation online, and it sounds like Shahid's character and his friends are basically teasing the groom (the guy in the tux) for wanting to be all fancy and "English" instead of sticking to his roots.  I really love Shahid's acting in this song. :)


"Nagada Nagada" from Jab We Met:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4lNAOlvnWk
Shahid and Kareena again.  This movie was had some really fun parts, but also had some swearing and innuendo that I did not appreciate.  Oh, and the song during the end credits was really sensual.

Anyway, this is my favorite song from this movie.  Aditya (Shahid's character) has been asked to sing on the spot for the whole crowd by mischievous Geet (Kareena's character).  I chose the clip I did because it was better quality, but for those of you who want to know what he's saying, you can see a lower quality clip with English subtitles here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkq0eh-n08c

By the way, I dare you to watch this song without having the urge to move your shoulders. ;)


"Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3RlOzVeruE
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai stars Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji.  This is apparently a really well-known song, and the movie was a big hit too.  While I really enjoyed some parts of this movie and the idea of the story line, it was another one that had more swearing and innuendo than I was comfortable with.  It had some great moments, and this song is one of them.  It's just fun and lighthearted and catchy (warning, you may have it stuck in your head after watching it!).  ;)

UPDATE:  Sorry guys...this link doesn't work and I can't find another version.  For some reason, this particular song isn't available in the US.  If you ever get a chance to hear it, though, it's really fun. :}



"Aisa Des Hai Mera" from Veer-Zaara (you knew I'd get a Veer-Zaara song in here somewhere!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3e8x4NY6Hw
This one is still my all-time favorite Bollywood movie, and probably will be forever. :D  Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta play the main characters.

This song takes place early in the film, and is basically Veer (Shahrukh) introducing his country to Zaara (Preity), who is from Pakistan.

Whenever I watch this, I want to go to India! :)


"Ajab Si" from Om Shanti Om:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfGzxmLn400
This is another Shahrukh one (What can I say?  He's my favorite!).  Deepika Padukone plays the lovely Bollywood actress Shantipriya, as well as a modern character, Sandy.  I've already explained this movie in detail in my first Bollywood Reviews post, so I won't say more here.

This song happens towards the beginning of the movie (in the 70s sequence...which you could probably tell from the clothing!), when Om gets to see Shantipriya on the red carpet.

I love the beautiful melody and lyrics of this song. :)


"Haule Haule" from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwZQoqZfihU
This is one of my husband's favorite Bollywood films (and coincidentally, another film I reviewed in my first review post).  Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi stars Shahrukh and Anushka Sharma in her film debut.

I love how cute Suri (Shahrukh) is in this song (cute as in "Aww...", not "Wow!").  He's supposed to be kind of nerdy in this movie, by the way.  He wants nothing more than to win the love of his beautiful young wife.

I also like this song because it's the one Bollywood dance uncomplicated enough for me.  I can actually do this one without looking like a complete moron. ;)

Oh, and there is some very super mild sensuality in one short part of this song.  I'm probably being overly cautious, but I want to play it safe. :)


Okay, these next two are also in my first Bollywood Reviews post, but I had to include them anyway! ;)

"Hamari Shaadi Mein" from Vivah:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRJiJUwelRA
I love how fun and lighthearted this song is. :)  As I explained in the earlier post, the basic idea of this song is:  "My wedding is coming up and I'm super excited." ;)  Oh, and Shahid's character Prem is so excited that he keeps thinking he sees his fiance on the plane when she's not really there.


"Yeh Ladka Hai Allah" from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2kGpQ8_qAg
(I recently had to replace this link.  The video quality is beautiful, but there are no English subtitles...only Greek. :}  For a lower quality version with English subtitles, click HERE.)

Even though this one uses Allah's name in a way that I wouldn't want to use my God's name (for more on that, you can read my first review post, which I'm not going to link again, since I already linked it twice!!), I really love Shahrukh and Kajol's acting in this one.  They're so cute together. :)

This song always makes me want to dance...as long as no one's watching!  These dance steps are a little more complicated than "Haule Haule". ;)


And in closing, here's a great fan-made video I found set to "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun. The song recording is from the cast starring Bernadette Peters.  The video features Shahrukh Khan and Kajol Devgan, 2 of my favorite Bollywood actors, in clips from several of the films they've starred in together.   I think this YouTuber did a fantastic job...they even had Shahrukh and Kajol acting during the silences of the songs! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbGvm73XRlI


Well, that's it!  I hope it wasn't too annoying having to click all of the links. :}  Which songs were your favorites?

Charlie Love

As many of you know, my Charlie doll (formerly known as Mia St. Claire) had a pretty serious eye problem when I bought her on eBay.  Her right eye was broken and could not close properly (see pic below).

Thankfully, Charlie's eye was able to stay open when I fixed it manually.  She could never close her eyes correctly, though, and I had to be really careful about where I took her.  I didn't want anything getting stuck inside her eye socket and damaging the eye further.

Well, thanks to Jodybo on the AGPlaythings message board, Charlie had a little "surgical procedure" (aka eye swap), and now she's as good as new.  The hazel of her eyes is slightly different (it's now the same shade as Rebecca's), so I thought I would take some pics to play around with her new look.  I'm very pleased with the results.  I'm also seriously considering taking Charlie with me on vacation this summer since her eyes are now working properly.  I can't wait to see the photos I get! :) 

For now, I hope you enjoy the photo shoot as I share a little "Charlie love". ;)

Hayden and Emma were both happy to have their sister back.  Charlie was just relieved to have her head reattached to her body! ;) (I shipped Charlie's head by itself for the eye swap.)

More posts to come...slowly but surely! ;)

Little Gal's Cinderella Party

Okay, I'd like to start out by saying that last week was really crazy.  I started Weight Watchers on the 14th, which has been going pretty well overall (today was my first weigh in and I lost 3 pounds!!), but I've been in that stage where I'm just HUNGRY and I'm eating carrots and oranges like there's no tomorrow.  Also, I perhaps procrastinated just a teensy bit and therefore had a lot of last minute cleanup to do the morning of the party before Little Gal's guests arrived.  I'd also like to mention that my hubby was once again working another 11-15 hour Saturday after working a full week.  So due to these factors (and also throwing in 3 children with sin natures to match their mother's), ;)  I had a complete emotional breakdown on the morning of the party.  Which of course resulted in the fact that I was NOT completely ready an hour before everyone arrived like last week's party.  And while things were much better once everyone got there (it was mostly family, so not nearly as stressful), I was a bit out of it and not quite as on top of my game.

For those of you who are wondering, there really is a point to all this. ;)  Basically, I just wanted to explain why there weren't nearly as many nice pictures for this post as there were for Middle Gal's. :}  But enough excuses from me...on to the pictures I did get!

I was so pleased with Little Gal's beautiful Cinderella cake!  Isn't it impressive? :)

Here's a closer look at Cinderella.  We used another Chelsea (FKA Kelly) doll to play the part.  She is holding a Chihuahua, for those of you who are wondering.  "Cinderella's" skirt was made of cake (the most AMAZING cake known to mankind...part cake crumbs and part frosting all mixed together!), and then her actual dress was made of candy clay.  Her black choker was a black hair band.

Another look at Cinderella.  The sleeves apparently gave my aunt fits.  One of the sleeves refused to stay in place on her first few tries!!  

The pumpkins were gingerbread cookies covered with orange frosting.  The grass surrounding the pumpkins and the coach were Hershey's Kisses (another birthday request) covered in frosting.

The pond with the Happy Birthday message was made out of candy clay, just like Cinderella's dress.

Candy clay was also used to hold the four candles in place (since we didn't want to stick them in Cinderella's skirt...that wouldn't have looked as nice!).

The gingerbread trees were such a big hit at Middle Gal's party that my mom and aunt decided to do more for this party. :)

My mom really outdid herself with Cinderella's coach.  The coach itself was made of 3 gingerbread cookies of different sizes, stuck together with frosting.  The wheels were also gingerbread.  The blue of the coach and its door and top were made of candy clay.  The white of the wheels was frosting, while the blue swirls were candy clay.  Mom was hoping the coach would stay in place for the entire party!  The cookies were attached to the "sky" (a board covered with blue cellophane) with several skewers.  To help keep things in place, Mom propped up the front of the cake board (under Cinderella) to keep it at an angle.  

Apparently she didn't need to worry...it was really hard to get the cookies off of the skewers! ;)  We had to do it, though.  Little Gal requested the door of the coach as her cookie. :)

One last view of the whole thing.

The party itself was a breeze.  As I mentioned before, almost all of the guests were family, so I just got to relax and enjoy spending time with my loved ones as we celebrated Little Gal's 4 years of life.  I felt bad about my hormonal meltdown before the party, but I suppose everyone is human. :}  And thankfully, God is always ready to forgive my mistakes.

Well, 2 parties down...now just one to go!  I'm really glad it's not this coming Saturday, though! ;)

More posts to come in the next couple of weeks...I have a lot of drafts in progress that I'm trying to complete. :)

Sharing a Dream

Hey guys!  Just a quick post today, since I'm supposed to be cleaning my house for Little Gal's party tomorrow instead of blogging! :}  Blogging is way more fun, though. ;)

As you've probably noticed, I changed my blog header.  I know Jenna and her blossoms weren't up there for long.  Don't worry, her header may make another appearance sometime soon.  Until then, you can enjoy it here:

(As always, you can click on the picture to make it bigger.)

Okay, on to the present.  For about 2 years now, I've had a story slowly taking shape in my mind and on paper. It's a story that I'd really like to finish, whether I end up publishing it professionally, trying the self-publishing route, or just making it available for my family and friends.  I've talked about it a little bit here and there.  

The release of the "Once Upon a Time" TV series has been exciting and frustrating at the same time.  On the one hand, it means there's definitely a market for the type of story that I'm writing.  On the other hand, there are a few story concepts that the writers of "Once Upon a Time" came up with that have some similarities to mine, which makes my job a bit more difficult! 

[Side note here:  Since we're on the subject of "Once Upon a Time", I just wanted to mention that I don't really feel comfortable recommending it.  I will always love the "Skin Deep" episode, featuring Belle and Rumpelstiltskin as Belle and the Beast, but the series has gotten progressively darker with each week.  It appears that it will be continuing in that direction.  So, while I have enjoyed some parts of the series, I don't feel that I can recommend it in good conscience any more.  Okay, that's all.  Moving on!]

The other day, I was feeling a bit discouraged.  My stories (there will be 3 books) are still so far from completion.  There are apparently two TV shows in production that are based on "Beauty and the Beast" (which is the main story my first book focuses on).  And every week, little details here and there on "Once Upon a Time" make my story idea less and less unique.  

Then, yesterday, I buckled down and did some writing.  I did some research on the location I've chosen for the setting (it's a real location), and once again, I was reminded of how real these characters are to me.  I've known my 2 main characters for over 10 years, and I want so badly to share their story with everyone.  

Most importantly, the Lord really seemed to be directing me to write these.  I would love to offer fairy tale stories with conservative morals and an uplifting message (which is often lacking in some of the current productions).  I don't know what route I'll go, how successful they'll be, or if they'll ever see the inside of a publishing house.  I just know I have to write them.

This shouldn't affect my blogging too much (especially since I've been a bit sporadic lately), but I do plan on trying to schedule more writing time along with my blogging time.  My goal is to finish my rough draft of my first book and start on the rough draft of the second book by the end of this year.  I wanted to share this with all of you so that you can help keep me accountable. ;)  I'll try to update you here and there on my progress.  

To help inspire myself to keep at it, I used one of my illustrations from college in my new header.  While the story is not going to be the same as my original Beauty and the Beast story I wrote, the characters and their design are the same. I'm also including two other original illustrations in this post for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure, as the case may be). ;)  Here they are:

"The First Evening"

I'm not entirely pleased with my "Beauty" character in this one (I'm keeping the names a secret for now).  I've spent too many years sketching Disney characters, so I end up making my heroines unrealistically skinny, quite by accident!  Also, the proportions on her arms seem a bit off.  I like the rest of it, though (although "Beast's" right wrist is at rather an odd angle). :)

"The Return"

One of the best scenes in any Beauty and the Beast story.  I really love how this one turned out. :)

"The Garden"

And here's another copy of the header picture.  This is the very first illustration I did for my story, and I also used it as the cover art for my original B&B story that I gave to my family and friends.  The only issue I have with this one is that "Beast" is supposed to be a lot taller than "Beauty".  Hmm, maybe he's kneeling or something...although that would mean he was REALLY tall! :}  

I've shared these with all of you to get some feedback, but also to help motivate myself to keep pressing on.  My only request is that no one use these pictures without my prior permission.  Well, okay, I guess I have two requests.  I would also ask that you reference this blog if you use them.  These represent hours of work, and these characters are like real friends to me.  Any of you who write will understand that, I'm sure. :)  

I'm excited to see where the Lord leads with this project.  Even if my stories don't end up getting published, at least I will be able to say that I finished my project.  And if nothing else, I'll be able to provide my friends and family with another entertaining gift a few Christmases from now. ;)

Middle Gal's Snow White Party (Finally!!!) ;)

After weeks of postponement, we finally had Middle Gal's friend party today. :)  It actually went amazingly well. I was completely ready an hour before the party's start time for probably the first time EVER!!  Normally, I'm running around finishing all of the last-minute details minutes before the guests arrive!

The house looked really nice...although I went over the most important instructions of the day with my girls before everyone got there:  under NO circumstances was anyone to open my bedroom door.  Nor were we to discuss the fact that we couldn't open Mommy's bedroom door...or why.  (Let's just say that on party days, my bedroom serves as a hall closet for all of the last minute boxes and items I can't fit anywhere else!)  :}  It really was a shame...I'd love to be organized enough to give a complete tour of the house without the fear of that ONE ROOM that you just pray no one will enter! (Hey, just keeping it real here...lest all of you think I'm some perfect supermom-homemaker or something!) ;)

Anyway, the party itself was lovely.  I go for a very low-key birthday party approach, especially for the 6 year old age range.  No games or special activities.  We have free time in the playroom until everyone arrives, we eat cake (or whatever dessert we're serving), we open presents, and then we have more free playtime.  It usually works without a hitch and keeps me a lot less stressed (trying to organize anything involving glue, scissors, and a group of Kindergartners is an instant strain on my sanity!).

My mom and aunt really outdid themselves with the cake/dessert this year.  Middle Gal requested cookies and Hershey's kisses instead of an actual cake.  Here's what they came up with:

And for those of you wanting a closer look:

Adorable...need I say more? 

"Snow White" is a friend of Barbie's little sister, Chelsea (formerly known as Kelly).  I found this one in the Valentine's Day goodies at Target.  I bought her specifically for her hair and eye color, and because she was wearing that perfect red Snow White bow in her hair!  The kitty came with another Chelsea friend doll.  

Her clothing is made out of candy clay (it has a similar look to fondant, but tastes better), and her skirt (underneath the clay) is made of cake.  My mom and aunt wrapped the doll in plastic wrap before decorating her to protect her from the cake and frosting.  They cooked the cake in a small bowl to make it the right shape, and then cut a hole in the center so there would be a place for the doll's legs.

These lovely trees were made out of star-shaped gingerbread cookies of different sizes.  Mom and my aunt frosted them with green frosting, put a skewer in the largest cookie, and stacked them on top of each other, placing each star in a different direction so that the points would look more like tree branches.  At the very top, they used frosting to hold together the small cookies and then added a frosting-covered Hershey's Kiss to make the point.  The bushes surrounding the trees were Kisses decorated with frosting and flower-shaped sprinkles.  Yum! :)

A closer look at the bushes.

They also used the candy clay to make letters on the cake board.

Middle Gal loved her cake and cookies!

She was really excited when she found out the kitty was plastic and she could keep it!  (Kitties are her favorite animal.)

I loved the detail on the sleeves! :)

It was actually fairly inexpensive to decorate and provide goodies for this party, which is always nice when you're on a tight budget. :)

The tablecloth was sent to us from my mom's cousin (the one who sends us so many hand-me-down goodies).  There were several leftovers from her daughter's Snow White party, which was such a blessing!  The tablecloth was still in it's packaging!

This cute Snow White wishing well decoration was also among the party leftovers.  It took me a while to figure out how to get it together without instructions, but I finally got it! ;)

The plates and napkins were from Dollar Tree.

And speaking of Dollar Tree, almost all of the goodies for the goody bags were Dollar Tree specials! ;)  The bags themselves came in a package of around 25.

Each bag had a sheet of stickers (cut from a large $1 sticker pad-Dollar Tree), a princess spinning top (4 for $1-Dollar Tree), a princess mini notepad (4 for $1-Dollar Tree), two Snow White crayons (only one pictured...$1 for a box of princess crayons-Michael's...I bought 4 boxes), and a necklace and ring (all courtesy of my cousin...she's given us tons of play jewelry over the years and I've had it set aside).

Today, when I realized I hadn't gotten Middle Gal a balloon (which is a long-standing tradition at our house), my mom and my aunt found a princess one at Dollar Tree.  It even had Snow White on it! :)

All in all, it was a great party.  Middle Gal had a wonderful time with her friends and got some nice gifts, too.  Even her Kindergarten teacher stopped by to celebrate with us! :)

So, one party down...two to go.  Next weekend is Little Gal's Cinderella party.  I really hope I know what I'm doing, throwing two parties in a row.  At least this next one is just family! ;)  

Almost Spring Photo Shoot

The weather has really warmed up in the last week, so flowers and blossoms are popping up all over! :)  Our neighbor's trees have some incredible blossoms right now, so I decided to take some pics.  Sadly, our nectarine and cherry trees had to be pretty severely pruned this year, so their buds are almost non-existent. :(  Good thing our neighbors have such gorgeous blooms for us to enjoy! :D

I decided to use Jenna (fka Rebecca) for this photo shoot since I haven't had a chance to introduce her on Tess and Maggie's blog yet.  I thought this might make the wait a bit more tolerable. ;)  (You'll notice further on down that Middle Gal's Nahji got in on the photos, too.  My daughter wanted me to take a picture of her doll, too!) ;)