Milk Carton Derby

Yesterday I went to one of the annual Seafair events. Every year at Green Lake they hold the Milk Carton Derby. Pretty much anyone can enter this race. Every entry has to utilize milk cartons in some form or fashion. It's seriously something I look forward to every year, I mean, have you ever seen a milk carton derby?! I forgot my camera once again (what is happening to me?) but I'll post these from a couple years ago...

Some entries are more worried about the engineering aspect...(above)

Some are there just to get a laugh...(above)

Some are there to show off (rightfully so. A duck made out of milk cartons is impressive, is it not?)

And some just take it way to seriously! There are milk cartons in there somewhere.

What would your entry look like?

To sister!

Today is July 9th. Today, Tom Hanks, Courtney Love, and Fred Savage are celebrating their birthdays, oh and O.J. Simpson (playin a little jailhouse rock...). However, none of them hold a candle to someone else born on this day:

MY sister, Christy!

I've been blessed to have a person like her in my life! She has always been an example for good to me. She's been my accomplice, my advocate and my friend. She never ceases to amaze with her accomplishments, drive, and ability to work hard. She is extremely talented; she sings opera, plays the piano, has her own wedding photography business, is very athletic, is mastering the art of healthy eating, and has recently become a wonderful mother, and she's beautiful on top of it all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTY!

With love,

Your little sister.

On the 4th day of July...

This year my 4th of July was conventional, in an unconventional way.

Instead of heading into Seattle to find the biggest crowds and the best fireworks display, we headed the other direction, the country!

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I missed out on so many good photo ops; hopefully I can do the day justice with my words.

There's just nothing like a small town parade. Our destination...Carnation! It's the total storybook small town: one main street with ma & pa shops lining both sides, houses with white picket fences and screens on their front doors, trucks and corn fields. (And Starbucks)

I could write a blog and a half about the great chances you get to people watch at parades...but I wont.

The parade was basically free advertising for local business, but I'll mention the things that I loved about this one:

- The only float was a giant tooth ...

- The kid riding in a canoe on the flatbed of a truck, head on hand with an expression of total disgust, when he should have been chanting some tribal song...

- I saw a mule for the first time...

-The city council member trying to ride a Segway...

- The squad of antique...tractors.

- The jacked up fire truck...

- The Mariachi band...

- Mexican horses doing this fancy trot called a piaffe- it's legit. I had to look it up because I thought the horses were just totally uncoordinated. I still think some of them where...

I felt like it wouldn't be the 4th of July unless we had BBQ, or grilled something! Well...Since we don't have either, I did the best I could. A couple months ago I decided to invest in a George Foreman Grill. This little machine has changed my life. I have found a renewed enjoyment of cooking.

Here is the meal I made for Father's Day!

Anyways I brought my George Foreman outside, plugged it in (with the help of extension chords) and fired up the grill!! While the chicken cooked I blasted Ray Charles singing America, the Beautiful, and took in the warm summer evening, the music and the chicken on the grill! Ha! With a little BBQ sauce, we had a legit 4th of July meal. (Along with corn on the cob, watermelon, and a blue cheese, pear, and walnut mixed green salad with a vinaigrette dressing)

We headed back out to Carnation for the fireworks. As we waited for the show to begin... a local band serenaded the crowd with covers of those...forgettable bands such as Blondie, Bad Company, Styx, and a few other disco bands that seem to have slipped my mind...Maybe it was the feather boas wrapped around the microphones that I just couldn't get over? Hm.

This year had all of the best elements of a 4th of July...each unique to say the least...I wouldn't have it any other way!

So what now?

I can't believe it has been almost 2 1/2 months since I got back from Europe! Time has flown and all I can say is that life is full of surprises. Here's a quick update on what I've been doing.

First of all, I have to say that interior design is my passion. It is what I've chosen as my career, it is the hobby I love most, and it just makes me happy!

At a young age I started looking for opportunities (beyond my own bedroom) to decorate and design! I was lucky enough to work for a Realtor/Designer team who would "stage" homes for sale. Not only did I get to witness the process of it all, I actually got to decorate here and there.

Ever since then I've taken every opportunity to design, decorate and redecorate any space I could!

I came home from Europe hoping another opportunity would arise. I started searching locally here for interior designers/decorators. I found Kathy Hamilton of Hamilton Redesigns. She agreed to let me assist her on her projects until she stopped for the summer months.

Needless to say, I loved it! Kathy was fantastic to work with and let me jump right in to perfecting the "final touches" of her projects. The first main project I worked on was a multi-million dollar apartment overlooking Pike's Place Market downtown. I didn't take my camera, but I wish I would have! The view from a high-rise apartment overlooking Seattle is something else.

The second project was in its final stages. I helped a lot with the small details: the accessorizing and furniture configuration. Here are a few pictures to enjoy! (FYI the homeowner wanted to hang their own artwork...hence the bare walls.)

For kicks I thought I'd add a few shots from projects I've done in the past:

Two years ago I redecorated my bedroom at home. I'm planning on making a few new changes but I decided to throw these in. The pictures are all originals from a family trip to Europe.

I got plexiglass custom cut to fit this desk. Not only does it protect the surface but provides a whole new approach to displaying pictures! I reorganized these shelves adding a few new gems from my semester abroad.
This was a fun one. I lived in this apartment for less than 3 months but my roommates and I wanted to do something fun. It was Spring, the weather was getting nicer and all we wanted was color! If I had more of a budget, for the wall art I would have stretched fabric over canvas boards to give it more dimension. Sometimes you just have to get creative...

This was a holiday decoration from another apartment. Again, I tried to just use what I had. The little details can make all the difference.