go irish!

Jonathan and I attended our first ND game this year. The Irish were here in town to play the Huskies. What a beautiful fall day for tailgating, watching the game in mittens, and securing another W.

houston, we have a party

Our first annual McDiffett Sisters Reunion was held in Houston, TX. The line-up included the oldest five girls, and our two token McDiffett husbands.

We had a blast! We started out the weekend going to the New Kids on the Block reunion tour concert. If you can picture it- thousands and thousands of screaming women, 80s dance moves, fabulous mixed drinks, and laughing hysterics from all of my sisters. I don’t think it could have been topped!

A Donnie Walberg quote from the concert: “I’m the only single one out here tonight, and I’m lookin’ for a girl. Can you hear that? All of you single girls out there….and those of you that aren’t and don’t even care.” Yep- that was us. Ha! Talk about feeling 12 years old again. Gotta love those Walberg boys. They never go out of style.

We also spent the weekend wedding dress shopping with Megan- McDiffett girl number three. She made every dress look amazing! And I think Dana and I were secretly picking out our dresses for a second time down the isle. Ya know- just to get to wear another incredible dress. That would be worth it, don’t you think?

We also made our way to Blanco’s, a traditional country western bar filled with cowboy hats, live Texas-only bands, sticky shuffleboard and 50-year-old couples two-steppin out on the dance floor. Fabulous, I tell ya! Megan and I kept our eyes pealed for George Straight. It felt like something right out of the movie Gone Country. We all had a great time.

Shuffleboard Scoreboard:
Hannah & Nat 15
Jonathan & Tom 3

“We knowww.”

We made a trip to the Galleria Mall downtown, ate at Houston’s famous Crave Cupcakes, stopped by the Presidents Heads sculptures and ate authentic tex mex. Brisket tacos, fajita meat queso, and dusty tequila. Mmm mm.

Thanks to Dana and Tom for hosting our first reunion! We sure made quite a few memories. Here is the full album of pics.

pillars

For the first, oh, 40 pages I thought the book was just ok. Average to be honest. I had to admit that the subject was very interesting, and I really hadn't ever read a book like it before, but it just didn't grab me. Well, with our moving to Seattle, driving cross-country, multiple trips to Alaska, a very very long flight to Thailand, and a few weeks now without a job- I slowly picked away at reading 973 pages of what I had only heard raving remarks about. And then, when I least expected it, around page 200- I was a gonner.

I can safely say that The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is one of the best books I have ever read! Ken Follett's historical novel is about the building of a cathedral in Kingsbrige England in the middle of the 12th century. And until I read this book, I never would have imagined a craft to be so sexy. His characters are so incrediably complex that I find myself thinking of them all of the time. Even wondering how they're doing. After all, that's what makes a good book great. Only when you can actively take a character with you, captured in your imagination, for the rest of your life has a writer really done himself justice.

And, for what it's worth- this is one of the only books that has stirred my emotions to the core. You will simply loathe some of the characters in this book. At times, I found myself sizzling mad, incrediably overwhelmed, and surprisingly happy. The Pillars of the Earth, added to Oprah's book club in 2007, has definitely found a place in my heart, and a space on my bookshelf. Enjoy!

favorite things

A man and a woman's favorite things. I started thinking about them today and was caught off-guard. Yeah, the typical would be different. Sports for him. Shoes for me. But when I really started asking questions, it turned out that we humans are really more alike than we are different. When it comes to Jonathan and I, the real difference is only noticable in the pictures. His is action. Hers is color.

Hannah's favorite things:


Jonathan's favorite things:

the canvas story

I've had three large canvases for almost 4 years now. And, they have unknowingly turned into one of my pride and joys. The canvases have been painted over about 5 times with different materials and for different purposes. Ya see, I most likely have a problem with re-decorating. I can't stand to look at the same thing for too long. (I'm sure you have noticed my blog header change at least once every couple of weeks.)

The canvases have held paint and crayon and marker and oil and charcoal. And this is the first time that I have thought about recording the canvas story. Because it has turned into just that: A story. They originally had a red poem painted across all three. Next, they had green and blue squares drawn over all of them with crayon. Then I used charcoal and oil to mix everything together in a weird mural. About a year later- I got sick of it all and painted over the whole thing with thick brown paint. And they have been that way ever since. Until today that is.

I recently bought gold spraypaint to paint a mirror frame, and had some leftover. So, I decided to make stencils and spray our initials onto the canvases. And, Voila! New dining room art!

nkotb baby!

I'm getting so excited to fly to Houston next week for the first annual McDiffett Girls Reunion. This year- it will be Dana, me, Megan, Natalie, and Caitlin attending. Bethany didn't make the 21-or-older cut. We'll be staying in Dana and Tom's new house in the historic district. And she has a full itinerary in place for us including restaurant reservations, bar-hopping hot spots, wedding dress shopping for Meg, and of course- the New Kids On The Block concert. What could be better?

Despite getting to see eachother the last could of years due to weddings, we wanted to try to start something that will force us to get to see eachother on a regular basis. My sisters have become my best friends in the world. Growing up, there were always rivalries, cliches and drastic differences in interests. This was mostly due to some of the age gaps. But as we have grown up, finished college, are of legal drinking age, and have been either engaged or married, there is something that has changed. We have all realized in some way that we are incrediably grateful to have grown up in our bustling family. It's a realization that we will always be a part of one huge connected circle. It's the laughter level, new babies, Christmas dinners and the night before wedding days. It's the back-yard wiffle ball games, the sledding trips, and the movie nights. It's oh so comforting. It's oh so fun! Can't wait to see you all in a few short days!

Growing up. It happens to all of us one way or another. See for yourself. New Kids on the Block then, and now.

colorbutton

I'm starting small. For such a long time I have wanted to devote more of my efforts toward doing what I absolutely love- photography, graphic design, and paper works. So, I've decided to start a quaint little business of designing confection paper products like announcements, address labels, invitations and greeting cards. I have no idea how the whole thing is going to work- but I'm jumpin' in for now. I intend to keep this a side-job until and unless it gets bigger then anticipated. It might also be a nice distraction if I stay home for a while when I start having kids. Don't worry- no time soon folks!

The site is only temporary for now, as the links haven't even been established. But I've been having a lot of fun thinking about all of the possibilities. Take a look at the future of colorbutton. For now, I'm selling on Etsy. Let me know what you think!