I Could Make That :: Braided Scarf

Several weeks ago I got a text from my sister early in the work day:
Mo: Have you seen Teaka's blog today?
Me: Ya I have, isn't that a great idea? They'd be so easy to make!
Mo: Great! Cause I'd like one for my birthday please :)

Well that makes shopping for her gift uber easy! lol...

Our friend Teaka had posted a tutorial on her blog Life Like Honey of how to make a Jersey Braided Scarf.  As I read through her instructions I thought, this looks easy enough that even I could make this... and so I did!  Two of them in fact and they turned out great, my sister loves them!  (I would like to steal them back...but I've been told to keep my paws off!...maybe I'll just make ones of my own lol!)

So this got me thinking... I've seen several scarf tutorials on Pinterest that look relatively easy... and well, I'm kinda cheap when it comes to buying scarves - I love them, but not often loving their price tag... so I thought, well lets give this another try...

I found a tutorial for a Braided Scarf that could be made from large tshirts, and apparently a "pattern" that would create a replica of a much more expensive scarf from Anthropology!  So Tuesday after work I stopped at Value Village, found a couple of very large men's tshirts and headed home to start creating.

And today, I'm wearing it :) (please forgive the poor iPhone photos... I was the only one awake in our house at 7:30 this morning!)

Happy Thursday! :)

Saying Goodbye to Summer...

I cleaned out our flowerbeds this weekend.   With only a few exceptions, all our plants had been frostbitten and were looking not so pretty anymore.  As much as I dislike winter, I can't deny that it will arrive at some point lol, and I figured it was time to get this part of our yard ready for the pending cold. I figured it out the other day that we enjoyed watching our plants grow for over 5 months...not too bad for the Prairies!

At the end of September, while things were still growing, I snapped a few shots of our flowers...I'd say our rookie year was a success :)

 The pots on our front step... I loved coming up the walk and seeing all the color...

 I will definitely plant the front bed differently next year... It looked nice but it certainly didn't have the "pop" that the back bed did...live and learn :)

 

These were the pots on the back deck...when I look back at photos of how small the plants were that these started from...such an incredible process :)

 Our back flower bed turned out even better than I had dreamed..it ended up as a mass of color, where you could hardly tell where one plant ended and the next one began :) 

This delphinium actually got blown over in a bad storm mid summer and the single stalk broke... then over the next few weeks the base just kept growing and before long we had 5 new stalks blossoming!  This is one of my favorite flowers in our garden...

This dahlia plant was one of the plants that had been chowed down on by a mouse and eaten nearly to the ground...a little fertilizer later and it was bigger than a basketball with blossoms almost as big as my fist! 

 

So much color...exactly what I had envisioned that first weekend in May when we planted these tiny flowers...

So long summer...

The Hook Family...

This was my third year in a row capturing the Hook family, and I think this is my favorite shoot yet!  Andrea and I actually were classmates in high school and we reconnected a few years ago when I moved to Medicine Hat.  She is wonder-mom - seriously I may have to ask for lessons when I have kids :)  She and her husband Brent are parents to three little men who have personalities that are larger than life, and have the baby blues and mischievous grins to go with.  I've had so much fun seeing these guys grow up and change, this shoot was much different than our first! 

Thanks Brent & Andrea for your friendship and for allowing me to capture your family year after year :)

I Do :: Jeradan & Jillana...

I don't think I can remember a time when I haven't known Jeradan and Jillana.  When I heard that they were dating and then that they were engaged, it was one of those relationships that just seemed "right" :)  Jeradan and Jill have amazing servant hearts, and are incredibly gracious individuals.  And on their wedding day they were no different.  Even though the weather was not cooperative with us and we quickly had to restructure our photo plans, these two just took it in stride with a smile!

The day was such an honor to be a part of... I think my favorite moment of the day was pretty much every time they looked at each other.  It seemed as though the two of them communicated so much to each other in just a look...the sparkle in their eyes, the smiles on their faces...it was truly a joy to witness their I Do's.

Jeradan & Jill I wish you a lifetime of smiles and happiness and God's amazing blessings :)

And a huge thank you to Toby Ning for being an amazing assistant :)  You made my job so much easier!