Our Saturday

First, just a reminder: tomorrow is the last day of the giveaway. If you want a chance to win, go get yourself entered!

Hans and I had a wedding to attend this past Saturday. Since I was sick, I almost didn't make it. By the time Saturday arrived I was feeling better and decided to go. I brought my camera along hoping to get some wonderful pictures to share with you. 

The church was a beautiful old Danish church with intricate carvings, a lot of paint, and gold foil. Of course, I didn't realize until AFTER were were in, seated, and the wedding was beginning, that my camera was still in the car! I blame it on the cold I have, clearly, it was detrimental to my brain.

I made a mental note to remember it for the reception. 

Do you see where this is going?

Yeah, I forgot it again. 

The reception was almost over when I finally remembered it, but I managed to get a few pictures.

It's hard to see, but here's one of the many songs we sang.

This was a very, very tasty Ripasso!

One of the centerpieces, so simple, and elegant.

♥ the candelabras!

Hans listening to one of the bazillion speeches.

There were 130 of us in attendance.

Dessert was fabulous! We had ice cream cake.

The bottom was a meringue, then chocolate, raspberry, and vanilla cream.

Of course there was Moscato.

Hans was licking his dessert off his arm.

The coolest part were these logs.

Just cut out an 'X' add a little lighter fluid, and set aflame.

They were so beautiful in the night, and nice and warm.

Although it was 12 hours after we left that we arrived home, it was a great night and I am so glad I didn't stay home.

Hoo Are You? #53

Here are this week's questions!
1. What are some of your pet peeves?I have a ton of pet peeves. Inconsiderate people, not cleaning up after yourself, leaving doors open, slamming doors, and my husband has a habit of scrolling back and forth on a web page for absolutely no reason while we're both reading something. That drives me bonkers! I have a lot more, a whole lot more. There's just no way to list them all. Must be the OCD in me.
2. Do you have a favorite or lucky number?I've always had a thing for the shape of the number 2, but I tend to prefer purchase things in 3's
3. What is one of your family traditions?Hmm...that's a tough one. Probably the annual family Halloween Party. Or well, there used to be one. My cousin, Jen, and I love Halloween, so that was our big thing.
4. Is there anything you are OC about?I think the question for me would be, "Is there anything your are NOT OC about?" I am an obsessive compulsive true perfectionist. True story.
5. What is your favorite kind of food?Most likely anything I shouldn't be eating. Really, though, Mexican (Tex Mex) is my favorite. It reminds me of home!

I'm a winner!

I never thought I was the 'award type'. 

Yes there is a type.

 Those people, who get awards, seem to get them easy and often. I was never the type. I never even won at Bingo when I was a kid. 

Well, to my surprise I have received TWO awards, less than 24 hours apart! Holy Guacamole Batman! I need to go get a lottery ticket ASAP!

My awards:

I received the Liebster Award from Lovely Light, a sweet bloggy friend who is living in South Africa. 

The Liebster award (“Liebster” is the German word for dear, sweet, darling, beloved) originated in Germany.

The aim of the award is to bring more attention to blogs with fewer than 200 followers, that may deserve some additional attention. 

These are the rules in accepting this award. 

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them. 

2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. 

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the Internet – other writers. 

5. And best of all – have fun and spread the karma! 

6. Right click on the award image and save it to your hard-drive and then upload it to your blog.

Don’t forget to add it to your sidebar.

In no particular order, the bloggers I chose are:

Becky @ Creatively Content

Kathy @ Alter Everything

Amanda @ Little b

Emily @ Insanity Rules

Emily @ Blue Babes Create

Now, the 2nd award comes from Emily over at Insanity Rules. 

The Rules: 

Copy the award image into a post. 

List 10 things that make you happy. 

Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day. 

Put in a link to their blogs. 

Notify the award receivers. 

Recipients should link back to the sender’s blog.

10 Things that make me happy:

1. Rain, particularly when the sun is shining.

2. My husband.

3. Having everything clean, neat, and organized.

4. Bright, colorful flowers.

5. Lush green grass between my toes on a warm summer day.

6. Being at the beach, wind blowing, the smell of salt water, I never want to leave.

7. A big hot cup of fresh coffee.

8. Getting to visit my family and friends back in the US.

9. Being creative.

10. All the sweet comments and wonderful followers I have here.

There are so many bloggers that brighten my day. I will have to get back to you on this one, I'm not sure how to narrow it down to just 10!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week! Thank you ladies, again, for these awards.

Silent Sundays

Sunset outside my kitchen window.

My Husband Makes Me Sick!

Hans and I are no longer friends, at least not this week. 

Why?

He made me sick, literally.

 I've been progressively getting worse the past 3 days. Thankfully I've not had a fever, that would just be icing on my symptom cake. I feel like there is an elephant sitting on my head.

I am sneezing every 30 seconds.

I think I coughed up at least part of a lung, if not the whole thing.

My nose is the Niagara Falls of slimy snot. (I certainly hope you weren't trying to eat.)

I'm pretty sure I look exactly like this guy.

The evil, evil man loving husband is out out getting some more Kleenex and medicine. 

I am quite miserable today. I even had my own little meltdown making lunch. I burned my finger on the pan, threw my grilled sandwich (thankfully it stayed mostly in the pan), and then proceeded to cry like a baby while Hans put my food back together. 

If I'm not back for the rest of the week it's because the Elephant is squishing me. 

Wish me luck, and if you have any tips and tricks to help me get better soon let me know! I'm starting to get desperate.

Linking here:

Bacon Time With The Hungry Hungry Hypo

Lettuce Wraps

Hans and I decided to make burritos last night for dinner. I wasn't looking forward to the calories in a tortilla. So, I opted for lettuce.

Hans happens to be a tall stick with hollow legs. Of course, he went full force with the tortillas.

When it comes to burritos, we're a little unconventional. His had ground beef, cheese, lettuce, peas, bell peppers, and peanuts. He cannot eat anything unless it has peas and peanuts.

For mine, I added ground beef and cheese. Topped with zucchini, onions, and corn sauteed and seasoned with a pinch of sea salt, chili powder, cayenne, and lime juice. Then I finished it off with some chopped tomatoes.

I will definitely be making this dish again, it was wonderful!

Linking here:

Bacon Time With The Hungry Hungry Hypo

Hoo Are You? #52

1. Do you prefer to use a regular pencil or mechanical pencil?

Definitely a mechanical pencil, the plain 'ol wooden pencils get dull too fast and I like a nice sharp point. (Really, I prefer a pen any day.)

2. What is your favorite color in the crayon box?

Although a 'granny smith apple' green is my favorite color, periwinkle was probably my favorite of the colors.

3. Bottled glue or glue stick?

That depends on whether or not it's a hot glue stick. If it's hot glue, I'm there! Otherwise, gimme a bottle!

4. calculator or do it in your head?

Calculator, my husband is enough math nerd for me.

5.Favorite subject while in High School?

This is a tough one. Academically speaking, I'd probably have to go with Anatomy & Physiology.

Create

I've been working on giving my little craft corner a little more personality. I've been loving bright bold color combos, like red & turquoise & yellow lately. So, I thought I'd just go with it and see what I could come up with. 

It's not finished yet, but it's got a little more personality. What do you think?

If anyone is interested in the 'create' picture, let me know and I will post it as a printable.

Hope you're all having a great week, and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Linking here:
Digital Scrapbooking Made Easy
Quilted Euphoria
Bacon Time With The Hungry Hungry Hypo

Feature and Giveaway

*This giveaway is now closed*

Last month I stumbled across this amazing Etsy store, Joanniel Creations. As soon as I saw all of her beautiful pieces, I knew I had to share her with you. 

Jo is a stay-at-home mom from Montreal who has been making jewelry for the past 5 years. She specializes in hand crafted jewelry designs, which are feminine, elegant, and classic. She's got a perfect piece for every woman.

I absolutely love this red and turquoise ring.

Or these hand painted turquoise and red earrings, that were shown on the front page of Etsy!

I am pretty sure I need these antique silver Hug a tree earrings.

Those of you who know me, know I have never been a fan of gold jewelry, but I am totally diggin' this hand painted turquoise and gold collage necklace.

Jo's got some awesome jewelry in her shop, and I'm going to give you some!

 She's custom made a pair of turquoise gemstone earrings for 1 lucky reader!

These earrings are real plated silver with beautiful turquoise stones, measuring 1 3/4 inches and are valued at $19.99.

To Enter:

1. Publicly follow Vibrant Serenity via GFC.

2. Leave a comment telling me what item is your favorite in Jo's shop.

3. Follow Joanniel's Blog.

4. ♥ Joanniel Creations on Etsy.

5. Like Vibrant Serenity on Facebook.

6. Like Joanniel Creations on Facebook.

7. Follow Vibrant Serenity on Twitter.

8. Purchase an item in Jo's shop for 3 extra entries.

That's a possible 10 entries!

This giveaway will run until Wednesday, August 31st. 

I will announce the random winner (and email that person) on Thursday, September 1st. The winner will have 24 hours to get in touch with me before a new winner is chosen.

Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry, and include your email in the comment (unless it's visible on your profile).

Good Luck!

**Update: I forgot to include this when I posted originally, but this giveaway is open to everyone, worldwide. 

*This giveaway is now closed*

Linking here:
Dittle Dattle
Homemaker on a Dime
Mommy Of Two Little Monkeys
Mommy Digger
Someday Crafts
Digital Scrapbooking Made Easy
Bacon Time With The Hungry Hungry Hypo