Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Can I tell you what this West Coast girl absolutely loves the most about East Coast living?
We're close.
Close to what you ask?
Everything.

Yes, perched in our cozy townhouse in South Eastern, PA we are close to heaps of amazing places.

Lancaster, PA - 20 minutes
Hershey, PA - 20 minutes
Philadelphia, PA - 1 hour 15 minutes
Harrisburg, PA - 30 minutes
Baltimore, MD - 1 hour 20 minutes
Washington D.C. - 2 hours 30 minutes
Atlantic City, NJ - 2 hours 30 minutes
New York City, NY - 3 hours



See?
We live in a charmed location!

And this afternoon we are packing up the car and heading out to Washington D.C. to visit our good friends Bryan and Chelsey. I haven't been to DC since I was 13 years old so I am very excited!

Have a great weekend!

It's 12:55 AM

A friend in need.

I hopped in the car,
stopped by a gas station to grab some junk food,
and arrived at her front door 15 minutes later.
Crying.
Hugging.
And now we are peeling and melting crayons together
and laughing hard.

How do people live without girlfriends?

A Whole Lot of Crafty Going On!

Dude.
Have you checked out my craft blog lately?
I just updated it by transferring past crafty items from this blog over there.
It's really shaping up and I am proud of it!



And I have a major, huge-o, bunch of projects coming in the next week as I share with you how I planned a baby shower from 2,000 miles away. From invites to favors to decor to cupcake toppers to the matching Thank You cards and everything in between.

And don't forget that Valentine's Day is upon us and I have a cute home decor project planned as well as a Craft Book review of a new book that I just ADORE!

I updated everything so you can now....
subscribe to the blog,
become a "follower"
or add it to your blog reader.
It's all ready to go!
I hope to see you there!

just so you know...

this family is not above going out in public and/or shopping forinvitation sized envelope dressed in full disney princess costumes.

Thinking Thoughts at 2:06 AM

I never feel that I should write posts for this blog too early in the morning because I get very pensive and thoughtful during the wee hours. However, I thought so many different thoughts today about life in general, that they will not sort themselves out until I write them down.

It's funny how life works. It seems that it is a constant rotation of new challenges, some minor and some more difficult. But our life lately has been so very....normal. And a normal life is a very un-normal situation for me to be in. And this normality makes me nervous. Like something is coming or should be coming or is about to happen. Everything is flowing along smoothly. Or is that just how life goes sometimes?

Any thoughts, readers out there in the void? Do you have a generally smooth life with only occasional bumps? Or is your life like mine which is mostly bumpy with occasional smooth moments. Do you get this same feeling of impending change when life is calm for a season?

Best Gift for Children

My In-Laws gave the girls what I consider the best Chirstmas/Bithday gifts a child can be given...wait, is this the part where I say love? No, I mean an actual gift. Pay attention Grandparents out there (do any Grandparents read this blog?) because here is my fave gift ever.

A year long membership to our local children's museum.

In amongst a heavy ration of new toys, new books and new trinkets that get spread around the house, loved for a season and later forgotten...a membership to a children's museum builds memories, knowledge, fun and lasts an entire year.

Matt's parents gave the girls a year admission to the Hands On House here in Lancaster, PA but they also upgraded from the Family Membership to the Contributing Membership. And that means free admission for our entire family to 100 other participating museums across the US and Canada during the 2010 year.

And here's my suggestion to parents of children who receive this sort of gift. Mark specific times and dates on your yearly calendar when you will be visiting these museums. The Hands on House is about 20 minutes from our home, so I have scheduled visit there twice each month. But the even more amazing Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia is one of the additional 100 museums included as part of our Contributing membership. Since it is about 1 hour away from our house, I have scheduled on our calendar 3 visits during the coming year and another 3 visits to the Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore, which is also just 1 hour away.

Having it marked on your calendar means you and your kids will get the very most out of this priceless gift during the coming year!

A Minor Switch Up

So, my good friend and crafty partner in crime, Jenny Lemmons, has a blog and then a separate blog for her craft projects and a third blog for her quilts. I thought this was kind of kooky at first, but I feel like my own blog is getting a bit complicated. Maybe that Jenny girl is on to something! So there has been a slight change.

All of my craftiness will now be on my new craft blog em-il-ie handmade.


So let me clarify a bit.

This Blog will remain, but will be streamlined into my family life only. Stories and pictures of the kids, re-tellings of our daily adventures and what we are all up to. I will share my Project 365 photos and give photography tips. And don't forget recipes!

However, I will keep the I'M CRAFTING link in the sidebar so you can see what's up over at the craft blog.

The Craft Blog will feature crafty items only. This will be for sharing tutorials and other crafty ideas. I will also be reviewing craft and sewing books there....in essence it's 100% crafty goodness. I hope to start selling what I feature on the craft blog in my long-neglected Etsy shop.

I have shifted the current craft tutorials and freebies over to the new blog. And I hope those of you who are interested will join me there!

I'll be making a slight adjustment to the blog badge for this blog so it no longer read Emilie Handmade.

Recently...

01.11.2010 - Evangeline rummaged through the front hall closet today until she located Ella's winter hat. It was so big that when she tied the strings you could just see a 2 inch triangle of her face. Oh, and that's a summer dress of Ella's which she put on inside out and backwards. Hooray for mixed season dress-ups!

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01.14.2010 - When Matt's parents were visiting we took them to Wilbur Chocolates. There is a small museum and free chocolates. You may think you like Hershey's kisses, but that's only because you have never tried Wilber's Buds. SO much better!

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01.12.2010 - A street sign that is very familiar to our family.

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01.17.2010 - Tonight was Family Night and we spent a wonderful evening with Grandma and Grandpa Ahern, talking about families and creating family portraits.

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01.19.2010 - We visited a local library tonight to hunt for a book I need for Book Club. The girls sat quietly and colored together in the Children's library. I love these moments.

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01.21.2010 - Today the girls and I went to support one of my Sunday School students, Amanda, as she played in a JV Girls' Basketball game. We were very rowdy spectators and constantly screamed "Go #44!"

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Ode to Dana Delaware

Now, to tell you something utterly and undeniably fabulous!

Did I ever tell you about Dana Delaware?

I was on a scrapping team a few years back and posted a brief message on the private DT forum to let everyone know I would be absent for a month because we were preparing to move to Delaware from Utah...a 2,000 mile journey. I received an email from a woman on the team who I had never chatted with (named Dana) saying she lived in Delaware and would help me in any way should could. Well, over the following months Dana, who I began calling Dana Delaware, helped us more than you can imagine. She mailed me rental magazines, scouted out apartment complexes and even negotiated a great price on the apartment we finally went with. On the day we moved in her Hubbs came to help Matt move our belongings up three flights of stairs. Meanwhile Dana had me and the girls over and bought us pizzas. All of this from a complete stranger.

Well, Dana Delaware and her family did not remain strangers for long. We often had play dates with Dana's kids and mine, Dana invited us over for our first official "Crab Pickin", we went to Craft Fairs together and met for lunches at the local Mall. When my kidneys acted up and I was hospitalized, Dana watched my kids for 3 days straight.

It was not hard to see that Dana was easily one of the nicest people I had ever met. And her family is equally wonderful.

Two weeks ago Dana emailed me and said she had a car for our family! It needed around $400 work, but we could have it if we could come and get it from the dealership to which it was towed when it broke down. We headed to Delaware last weekend to get it. Matt and his Dad picked up an $80 car part and got to work. 45 minutes later it was ready to go! We drove it back to PA and the following day Matt and his Dad replaced the spark plugs and got it running like buttah! Total cost=under $100.

Yesterday, for the first time in months, Matt drove the new car to work and the girls and I were able to go to the public library, the store and the post office. We can also make Doctor's appointments without worrying if we will have a way to get there. Dana will never know the impact her kindness has made on our family.

There are some truly amazing people out there and Dana Delaware is one of the best among them. She is kind, generous, smart and a true friend. I feel lucky to know her and her wonderful family.

We are WAY excited to have this car!

Blog Etiquette

I have 3 things I want to say about people leaving negative comments on my blog....

1. I have NO PROBLEM with people disagreeing with me. In fact, I quite like it. I have always loved hearing others opinions and why they feel they way they feel about a variety of topics. These differing opinions often lead to really interesting and thought-provoking conversations. But a debate with rude insults, harsh words and personal attacks can never lead to an enlightening conversation. THAT is where I have an issue with rude blog comments. If you wanna disagree...PLEASE DO...but do it respectfully.

2. People always say that I need to get tougher skin, that I CHOOSE to publish a blog so I am CHOOSING to open myself up for negativity. I am probably the LEAST offendable person on the planet...seriously. But can you imagine how it is to start your day, a fresh new day with plans and possibilities, by opening your email and reading snarky and personally attacking comments directed towards you? From strangers whom you have kindly invited into your life, much like I would invite someone into my Living Room? As a rule of thumb I consider all blogs to be someone's personal space and conduct myself as I would if I were a guest in their home.

3. Blogs are intended for debate and challenging ideas. That's why you started a blog in the first place, right? Nope...I started this blog almost 5 years ago because my daughter was in the NICU and each and every day was a struggle for me. Our loving family members far and wide were calling to get updates and I just couldn't share heartbreaking news over and over again each day. So I began this blog (thanks to our friend Bryan) to keep them informed. I never expected it to be any more than that. I don't need/want it to be an inspiration to the masses, but I have met MANY wonderful people and formed MANY wonderful friendships because of this blog. So going private would be really sad.

I guess I just wanted to further explain my feelings on this issue.

Pretend Fish with Balloons

We had our Family Home Evening last night with two honored guests, Grandma and Grandpa Ahern. We went through the lesson as planned and talked about family member's responsibilities. Then came the activity where we each drew a portrait of our family. Matt, Ella and I all turned out a variety of funny portraits showing our family members with crazy clothes, funny hair and big smiles. But then we saw Evangeline's picture.

It looked like this...

She pointed out Ella, Daddy and herself. "But, Where's Mommy?" I asked.
She grabbed a crayon and got back to work. And this was added to the picture...


"Is that Mommy?" I asked.
"No, that a fish for Ella in a bowl." she replied.
"So....there's an imaginary fish, but NO Mommy?" I asked and then added, "If it's a picture of your family....so you should draw Mommy!"

She grabbed a crayon and got back to work. And this was added to the picture...


Finally I was included!
"Oh, there's Mommy! And I'm all green!" I exclaimed.

To which she replied, "No, that's not Mommy! That's a balloon for the fish."

And I left it at that.
Mommies get no respect!
We all laughed until our cheeks hurt.
Just another touching FHE moment brought to you by the Ahern family.

Discussions on Fashion

Many of you have commented and emailed me today about what I meant when I made this comment about Drew Barrymore's look at last night's Golden Globes..."the dress color is much too close to her natural skin tone".

As a general rule you should not choose clothing too close to your skin tone. This washes you out and minimizes your presence. Drew probably wanted to stand out on the red carpet, and this was a bad decision if that was her aim.

Look at the example below. The first is Drew's dress as she wore it. Then see how it COULD have looked in rosy pink, the very popular purple and my personal favorite...orange.


Can you see that had this dress been a different color it would have made her POP amidst the crowds? If she wanted a very soft look she could have gone with a very soft pink, a pale yellow or a light grey.

But seriously, don't you think the orange version is to die for?!

2010 Golden Globes Fashion Wrap-Up

Alright, I have to say overall that this year's Golden Globes was I pretty well dressed event. At award shows in the past year there were A LOT of fashion mistakes, punctuated with a few stand-outs of style, but this year may be turning over a new leaf...well, of course their were still serious crimes, but a lot of really great looks strolled down the red carpet as well. So let's get right to it!

BEST DRESSED FEMALES...

Toni Collette looked glowing in this beaded gown that was perfectly fit to her body. And the hair and make-up are also flawless.


Kristen Bell looks young and fresh in this short gown. I would have gone with a different color for the shoe, but she looks fantastic anyway!


Ginnifer Goodwin always gets it right and tonight was no exception.


Jennifer Garner looked great in this gown (you had to see the back of the gown...it was amazing!) I feel torn about her hair style, but I think overall she looks really good.


Anna Paquin looks like a a sleek, stylish lead actress in this golden gown with a high back and plunging V neckline. Gorgeous.

BEST DRESSED MALES...

Leonardo DiCaprio gets it sooo right in this well tailored suit. He looks like a flawless male movie star.


Corey Monteith from Glee also makes a statement in a slightly shiny suit that is well cut and perfectly age-appropriate.

BEST DRESSED COUPLE...

Emily Blunt and John Krasinski both looked fabulous! His hair is a touch too wet looking for my taste, but overall they look smashing!


USE AND ABUSE OF PURPLE...

Jane Krakowski looks stunning in this glorious purple gown. This is a perfect example of the dramatic effect you get when your gown color is dramatically in contrast to your skin color. Nicely done!


Fergie also looked stunning in this soft lavender gown. I was not crazy about the hair, but she makes up for it with the gown's clean lines and flawless fit.



However, Sandra Bullock looks weird. The top of the dress is okay, but the bottom is a waspy mess resembling tissue paper.


Leona Lewis also struggled, despite wearing the color of the night. This gown does not fit properly and is puckered, wrinkled and bunched in all of the wrong places.

CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR...AGAIN!

Once again, Drew Barrymore almost got it right. However, the tumor of fabric jutting out from her hip is awful and the dress color is much too close to her natural skin tone.

MUCH TOO CASUAL...

Julia Roberts looks ready for a nice casual dinner, not the Golden Globes.
For shame, Julia! I expect more from you!


And Michael C. Hall nabbed an award and a spot on the too casual list with his inappropriate black beanie. *UPDATE: Many angry blog commenters have let me know that Michael is fighting cancer...hence the beanie. Sorry Michael! I didn't know!



Perrey Reeves looks similarly too casual in this cocktail style dress.


WORST DRESSSED...

I have slammed Tina Fey for always showing up in boring black gowns, but this get-up made me long for the sleek and more boring days. The cut and print of the dress plus the ill-matched shoes make for a laughable look...but not in a good way.



Kate Hudson's dress was supposed to look structured, but just looked stiff and awkward. Add the crazy shoes and you've got a disaster.


January Jones' headband is so completely distracting, but not distracting enough to move focus from her oddly constructed dress which visually cuts her body in half too many times.


Juliana Margulies managed to look like a Trekkie. Am I right?! And check out the hair frizz. I know it was raining and all, but other actresses somehow pulled off a managed hair-do, so you can too.


I will never understand how she did it, but Amy Adams managed to make herself look chubby in this ill fitting, 50's inspired, green gown and mom-hair. The cool orange heels tried to save it, but couldn't. *UPDATE: Bun in the oven or not, we have seen GORGEOUS preggie red carpet looks in the past....this is still a horrid choice!


And maybe the worst dressed woman of the night, Julianna Moore made grave errors in every single aspect of this look from the neck down. It's just plain awful.


Whew! Well, what do YOU think?