Happy Halloween!

Halloween is just not the same without little ones around to enjoy it. Since Spencer and I don't have any kids of our own, we tagged along at the Leavitt's Halloween party and watched their kids enjoy Trick or Treating. So cute. Ryleigh was "Mother Nature", Kennedy was "Major Flirt" and Emerson was "Elmo." It was so fun to see their excitement and so funny to watch Emerson running in circles after she had a little too much candy.
A quick update on us: Tara and I filled our first wholesale order and delivered it this week. It was a ton of work but we're excited about going down that road. Check out tilliedesigns.com. Our letters and plaques should be on their online boutique as well as in the store in the next few weeks.
I won the "funniest" pumpkin prize at the ward pumpkin carving party...and then someone decided to take it home with them.
Spencer won a copy of "Surfs Up" at the grocery store earlier this week. Super cute movie for those who haven't seen it.
October has been great for pictures appointments. Love those Christmas cards.
and, we're so excited to leave on our first real, and much needed vacation next Tuesday. Hawaii here we come!

One Crazy Week

So last week was crazy busy. Spencer and I were both sick, he worked crazy hours all week and half a day on Saturday. I ran ragged between photo appointments, ward activity errands, holiday market shifts, a haircut in there somewhere, wholesale letter appointments and supply runs, and who knows what else. It felt like there was a lot going on, but I cant think of much to say about it. Just one of those weeks I guess. On a positive note, we wrapped up the week with a fun surprise. My little brother Nate had a job interview in Denver on Monday so he flew in Sunday night and had dinner with us. We hung out in the hot tub surrounded by four inches of snow that had fallen that morning, and I was able to see him for a couple of hours Monday afternoon as well. For those who don't know him, Nate is the best! He's so smart, super fun, and totally cool; rare combination I know. He's graduating in April at the top of his class with a business degree in finance. The company here in Denver wined and dined him well, and we're crossing our fingers that he and Julie end up our neighbors next summer. Hopefully Alisa and Andrew will find a residency here in about a year and then Mom and Dad can come once Dad retires and the rest of the "Freds" can follow. I've got it all figured out it'll be so great, just pack your bags.

Estes Park, Colorado

A couple of months back I got a call from the Stake Single Adult rep asking me to give a photo seminar at their retreat in Estes Park, CO. Even though the logistics changed as the date approached from a two night hotel stay and two days comped meals deal; "a second honeymoon" was how it was phrased. To a "bring your own toilet paper, ear plugs and you might be split up and sharing rooms with the singles campout. We worked it out and ended up having a lot of fun.
We passed on the overnight thing altogether, and went to a Wayne Brady improv concert Friday night instead, and then we drove up early Saturday morning. The workshop went well, we cashed in our lunch tickets at the cafeteria, and then Spencer and I spent the rest of the day checking out Rocky Mountain National Park. It was kind of a misty cold day, but the colors outside were amazing, and we even experienced our first snow of the season when we hit the top of a mountain at almost 13,000 feet elevation. You can see from the picture I shot out the windshield that it was coming down pretty good. Have I mentioned how much we like Colorado.

Our last "Paris Street Market"

This past Saturday was our last market for the season (high-5 Tara.)
It's funny to think of how much better and more efficient we've become at everything since the first one in June... uuugghh that was pretty ugly. We've had a lot of fun, a little frustration of course, and a lot of hard work. We've both been covered in black and cream spray paint for 6 months, and we even have calloused fingers from it. Tara has dealt with a checkerboard lawn all summer, and i think we've surprised our husbands at how much 2 girls can really move around.
It'll be nice to have a break, especially from the 3am market mornings, but we're excited to get going on next years market season, and we're thinking of renting a space at a local antique store between now and then. I just got a call this morning from a lady that has a store at Cherry Creek, that is interested in selling some of our items, and the exposure at the market for my photography has been amazing. I would say 80% of my business comes from people that saw my work at our booth.
It's turned out to be a pretty cool experience.
I've attached some pictures from the September market, so you all can see what our space looked like. I like the one of all the people shopping, that's my favorite part!

Good Things

I just got back from the gym and the Travel Channel was on while i was in there. It was the "Taste of America" program and they were doing a special on Utah Jello. They say it's the official Utah state dessert. Anyways, they kept showing the SLC temple and talking about how Mormons love jello because it's an inexpensive way to feed their large families, and they showed how to make lime jello with carrots, and at the end they had a big family gathering and everyone brought a different jello mold. Hilarious! The gym was pretty full, and I had to stop riding the bike because I was laughing out loud. Sometimes it's funny to be a Mormon.
So I have a better recipe to share. My mom-in-law sent me this last week. It's a re-creation of a "Corner Bakery" panini. We had Sunday dinner with the Leavitts last night and tried it, it was awesome! The Ghiradelli Ultimate Fudge brownie mix is pretty awesome too.

Panini:
Fresh thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breast (found in the fresh meat case, sliced paper thin-ours says "perfect for scaloppini" on the package.
Provolone cheese sliced
Knorr packaged pesto sauce prepared (or your favorite pesto)
Fresh basil, rough chopped
Fresh baby spinach
Sun dried tomatoes from a jar-rough chopped(or dried worked well)
Sourdough bread/butter
Spray a pan with cooking spray and heat to medium. Cook chicken until done. They are pretty thin and cook fast, so take them off the heat right away so they stay moist, we even covered ours with foil afterwards.
Brush bread with pesto, top with cheese and cook in buttered pan until cheese is melted and bread is toasted.
Add chicken, basil, spinach and tomatoes and top with another piece of bread, toasted the same way.
LOVE IT!

Here's another good thing, The Rockies are in a 3-way tie for the playoffs. It's pretty fun to be in a city that loves their sports teams so much and that actually has pretty good teams. So far Spencer and I have been to a Rockies vs. Cubs game, A Rapids pro-soccer game, and an Avalanche pro-hockey game. Loved them all, especially the Rapids game, and now we just have the Broncos and Nuggets to go.
And, I just had my first full week of photography appointments. I had one a day for the whole week. So fun!