Memorial Day Weekend

Working for a church, I usually have Mondays as my day off.

I love being off on Mondays most of the time,

but it prevents me from having the same days off
as my non-church working friends.

That's why I love holiday weekends!

It gives me a chance to do super fun activities with my friends

who normally work a Monday-Friday work week.

Most of my friends are at youth camp this week,

spreading the love Jesus to more than 100 junior high and high schoolers!

I so miss them, and wish I could have gone,
but I am busy, busy, busy planning kids' camp.

Since our friends are gone, Mr. CJ and I decided to have a fun day with each other!

We are major Type A personality planners!

If any of you speak Myers-Briggs, he is ESTJ and I am ISTJ.

Can we say, control freaks?

Anyway, we decided to plan a day of spontaneity...

who does that?!

Isn't spontaneity supposed to be... spontaneous?

Here's what our day looked like:

It was perfection.

What did YOU do this weekend?

Also sending out a special thanks this Memorial Day Weekend 
to my favorite veterans:
Grandpa Vern, Mike, & Justin
Thanks for all you do and have done to keep us safe!



Pretty in Pink Butterfly Cupcakes

A while ago, my darling friend Erin asked me to make cupcakes for a

Vintage Tea Baby Shower she was throwing.

I had been dying to use a decorating tip I found in the book, "Hello, Cupcake!"

and it just so happened, the design fit the party theme perfectly.

Here are the cupcakes:

The cake was a delicious lemon rasberry, with lemon cream cheese frosting,

and white chocolate butterflies to top them off.

For the complete party post, head over to Erin's blog, Naturally I.

Marley & Me

This weekend, my friend Kristine is visiting friends in Denver.

I have been entrusted with her pooch, Marley.

 

Isn't he adorable?!

Personally, I'm loving my new adirondack chairs in the back!

We have been having lots of fun together playing in my backyard.

I tried to take a picture of the two of us,

but this is what most of them turned out looking like.

Blurry. One of us not looking. Blankets disheveled. Flip flops lying about...

I suppose you can't win 'em all, right?

Happy Weekend!

Language Matters

Sometimes, I think in an accent.

Weird?

Well, I mean, sometimes I think in Spanish...
like I speak Spanish (and sometimes German)
in my head instead of English,
but today, I caught myself thinking in an accent.

Example: I was texting my friend Leah to see if she wanted to go shopping tomorrow
and this is what came out of my fingers,
"Hola, you want to go chopping tomorrow?"

Chopping?! Like carrots and celery?! Seriously.
I am not a good Spanish speaker.
Maybe in an alternate universe, I am from South America. No?

Oh well. Glad she still loves me. Weird accents and all. :)

Embrace the Camera: Baby Izzy

Remember last week when I said my darling friend Beth was about to give birth?

Guess what?! Isabella Chloe Tsutsumishita has arrived! She was born on Tuesday, May 24th around 8:30pm and was 7lbs 3oz, and 20 inches long. Yesterday, we got to have our first (of many) lunch dates!

Love her.

I'm Embracing the Camera with The Anderson Crew (hosted today by Amy), and you should too. :)



Best Birthday (Party) Ever!

I have the best friends. For reals.


When I turned 26 a couple of weeks ago, a few friends wanted to do something awesome. They threw me the best party I've ever had! They know my love for all things 80's, costume parties, and being a nerd, so what other party would you have than an 80s/nerd themed costume party?!

Check out these AH-MAZING photos:

The girls.

The nerds.

The CAKE!

The planner/MC: Owen!

We played Family Feud. It was the Smith family vs. Jones family. We were the Jones family, and despite the excited looks on our faces, we lost.

We danced.

We were seerenaded by these two.

And a grand time was had by all.



Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to all of my friends who came and participated in such a fun evening. I feel blessed to have friends that want to celebrate me in such a personal way. Everything, from the cake being my favorite color, to the costumes, to the song choices, was perfect. I loved it.

Special thanks to Owen, Jessica, Jordan, Emily, Michelle, Jennifer, and Pastor Galen & Talitha. You guys are THE BEST!

Embrace the Camera: Moustache Love

Ahhh... I love Thursdays. Why? Because it's Embrace the Camera Day! Woo!

Wanna know what I’ve been up to (and the reasons for my blogging hiatus)? In the last 14 days I have:

-signed papers for my new house

-spent time with a friend in the hospital

-turned 26!

-had a totally rockin’ 80’s-nerd themed birthday party--thrown by my magnificent friends

-attended the wedding of a dear friend

-moved into my new house (ahhh! yay!)

-bought a way-too-expensive refrigerator that that flooded my closet through the kitchen wall :(

-hosted a baby shower

and

-had friends stay with me from out of town

I try not to complain, but that is A LOT of stuff happening! Each and every one deserves its very own blog post, so for today, I am embracing the camera. 

Last night 9 of my favorite people and I had taco night and watched 3 episodes of “The Voice”…totally in love with that show! Can I get 3 cheers for Javier Colon?! Amazing! Anyway, I brought leftover cupcakes from my little man-themed baby shower, and these chocolate moustache lollipops were the cupcake toppers. Delish!

Super fun! Love these girls! And by the way, Beth (girl on the right), is about to give birth to little Isabella Chloe! Can’t wait to meet her!