We arrived back home yesterday from an amazing vacation. I had full intentions of posting about it today, but there are more important things to talk about first. I need to write about someone who has impacted my life in so many ways. Sheri Bird, or "Sheri-mom," passed away late last night from a valiant battle with Glioblastoma (an aggressive form of brain cancer, which ironically took my dear Aunt Lisa last August as well). I am so grateful I was able to visit with Sheri at Lindsay's house a few months ago. That visit to Idaho will always be a special memory to me.

Sheri will be missed. So, so, so much. But her passing is a bit bittersweet since she is reunited with her sweetheart, Keith, who passed away seven years ago. They are together again. Smiling, joking and laughing, just as I will always remember them.

Sheri had the most infections laugh. Her smile could brighten anyone's day. She always thought about others before herself.

One of my favorite memories of Sheri was in middle school when I missed the bus in the morning. Both my parents were working at the time, and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get to school. Oh wait! Call Sheri-mom. She'll take care of me. Sure enough, 5 minutes later Sheri swings by my house wearing a bath robe and towel on her wet head of hair. That's how selfless she was -- she would take 13 year-old Camille to middle school in a robe and towel on her head.

I will never forget the brilliance with which she lived her life. I hope someday I can be more like Sheri, which includes being able to make that uhhhh-mazing raspberry tart that she would whip up anytime I came home. It's the little things you remember, you know?

But for now, my thoughts and prayers are with the Bird kids. I love you guys, more than you know.

Kitchen Window // Pendant Light

I have been searching online and in various stores for a simple little pendant light that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to hang above our kitchen sink. Why was this search so hard? I wanted to replace the boob light that was above the sink (as mentioned here with a before photo of the kitchen). There were a lot of lights I almost purchased, but then hesitated because even though they were "in style," I didn't feel like they fit my house or my style. I finally found exactly what I was looking for in my very own backyard. Ok, maybe not my backyard, but just down the street at good ol' Home Depot. That place sure has taken lots of our money. :)

   I love it! I think any day is a successful day when one more boob light has left my house. I'm just sayin'.

I even splurged and bought one of the old fashioned Edison bulbs. They are really cool looking, but I was surprised at how the light it gives off is very, very yellow. It's also not super bright, but then again since the pendant hangs a bit lower than before, you wouldn't want a really bright light right above your head.

Details on the roman shade are HERE. And for comparison sake, a before picture of the sink:

I Will Run to You

I know this video has already been around for a few weeks, but I still can't get it out of my head! I've watched it way too many times. I just think it's super sweet, romantic even, and such a creative commercial. 

Additional reasons why I love this commercial:

• I am a Nike addict. It's true. I just love their clothes and shoes. They make good stuff.
• It's about running! Yay!
• I want her running outfit
• It encourages me to keep running longer (I mean, come on, she runs across the country! ;). I have a half marathon in a few weeks so I've been racking up the miles to prepare. True to form, the long runs I've been on lately inevitably kicked my butt. At least I'm out there, right? right?
• She can run and sing at the same time! And still look pretty!

P.S. The blog got a bit of a face-lift earlier this week! It's about time!

One Year Older... and Wiser?

Yesterday was my birthday! It was a great day. Thank you to all of my family and friends who helped me feel so very loved. I truly, truly appreciate all of the thoughtful gifts, phone calls, texts, visits, and yes, even the Facebook posts. There's nothing like Facebook to make you feel like a million bucks on your birthday, right? :)

Anyway, we did most of our celebrating last weekend with my family and a few friends at one of our favorite Thai restaurants. My actual birthday included a yummy lunch with my dear friend, dusting off the ol' golf clubs at the driving range, and dinner with Russ at the Cheesecake Factory. It was just what I wanted. Low-key and surrounded by those I love.

So yes, I'm one year older and have now entered my "late twenties" (eek!). But the wiser part? That is still up for negotiation. :) Here are some glimpses from the day. Thanks again everyone!

 From left to right:

A surprise (and amazing) gift on my porch from my dear friend Megan

Birthday balloons from my in-laws

A new purse from my sister. She has awesome taste.

Tom Flats!

A Nathan Hydration Belt to save me during my long runs

A heavenly candle and stationary, two things a girl can never have too much of :)

Makeup bag!

Remember THIS BAG I made a few months ago?? It may be one of my most favorite make-up bags ever.

Today I was checking up on one of my faovrite blogs, Say Yes to Hoboken. I love Liz Stanley's fresh and innovative approach to crafts, fashion and life in general! She really is one talented chica. Anyway, her post today was about a little makeup bag she sewed together, and I was so excited to say.. hmm... that looks a lot like the one I made! What are the chances?!? I like the idea of using a bold color zipper to add just an extra little pop of color.

These little bags are popping up everywhere. If you haven't tried it out yet, give it a whirl. I think you will surprise yourself with how "do-able" they really are. I used THIS tutorial, but Liz's tutorial looks like it is really easy to follow.

image via

Privet House @ Target

It's no secret that Target has some aaaa-mazing stuff for decent prices. I love when different designers come to Tar-jay and bring a new, fresh style to an already awesome store. I just spotted the upcoming Privet House, which is due to be in stores on May 6th. We are in the midst of pimping our outdoor space and I'm envisioning some pretty awesome summer parties and barbeques. Picture a Lewis Outdoor Oasis. Got it? Good. I'm pretty sure some of these items from Privet House are now on my Outdoor Entertaining Wish List.

What do you guys think? Will Privet House @ Target be on your spring/summer wish list, as well?

Rachey Pachey

This weekend was fabulous. My family was in town (more on that later), we celebrated Easter, and the weather was fantastic. But one little surprise visit stands out from everything else. One of my oldest and dearest friends, Rachel, came into town. She, her husband and cute little son are living in Pennsylvania (which is really far away!). I haven't seen her in years, so catching up felt really, really, really good.


Rachel and I have been through a lot together. I met her when I was a wee nine year old and we became fast friends. Some of my favorite memories that stand out:

* When she let me cut and highlight her hair. I think we were like 14. She was very trusting.
* Flying to San Diego together in high school. We thought we were cool.
* Surviving elementary, junior high and high school with the help of each other.
* Driving around in her ginormous Suburban blasting the music.
* Her nick-naming me "Happy Meal." It stuck.
* The time she came snowmobiling with my dad and me, and successfully launched her machine into a tree.
* Our Humanities Senior Project -- we danced on the stage as flapper girls. Awesome.
* Tons and tons of piano recitals, competitions and performances together as we were in the same piano studio.
* Doing her hair for her wedding! Again, she is very trusting.
* Russ and I practically running over to her house after we got engaged. She was the first friend we told, and she started crying because she was so happy for us.

... and last but not least...

* Having a dear friend who knows me better than most people I know. I can go years without seeing her (not by preference of course), but when we finally get together we can pick up where we left off.

Love you Rach!

The Puzzle

I quite enjoy puzzles. I know, I'm a nerd. Russ, on the other hand, does not enjoy them quite as much.

Still, being the loving and sweet husband he is, he gave me this awesome puzzle for Christmas. He said it reminded him of when we were in France a few years ago and after a long day of sight-seeing we finally found a little pizzeria off the beaten path, perhaps similar to the scene in this puzzle. The pizza, mind you, was amazingly delicious even though none of us knew exactly what we ordered (you know, with the language barrier and everything).

But there's more to this story. This puzzle turned out to be ridiculously hard. Note to self: impressionist art becomes incredibly difficult to put together when broken into 1500 pieces. I spent the first few months of this year working on the puzzle piece by piece when I happened to be watching a show or a movie. I was anticipating finishing and framing this puzzle as a piece of art -- partly because we think it is pretty, and partly because I never want to do it again. :)

Little did I know, I was going to do it again. One day my ever-so-precious nephews and niece were over. Soon Russ realized the house had gotten a little too quiet. He runs upstairs to find Brigham (who is almost 18 months) literally dancing on my puzzle. His dance moves were so good he successfully broke the whole puzzle into 1500 pieces once again! :) Call me crazy, but I may have wanted to cry. A lot. But since big girls don't cry, I just smiled and said we would do it again.

This story has a happy ending! As my family was over this last weekend watching general conference for my church, we all worked on it together and got it done in TWO days! What a testament to teamwork, eh?

Isn't it pretty? Perhaps I could say that I thought it was so pretty I wanted to do it twice. :)

And that is the end of the story about my puzzle.