Craft Day Projects: Stuffed Birdies

Crafting is obviously very cathartic to me & being creative with a friend is so much fun. That's why at least twice a year Chelsea & I get together and craft for hours together. This time we tackled some stuffed birds & two random other projects: leaf garland headband & a cute coaster.

Here is the pattern we used: Mister Blue Bird.

Here is the link to the pinspiration for the headband: Leaf Garland Headband.

It feels so good to see the finished projects all lined up like that!

Back to School

Wait? It's summer? Back to school! We just celebrated getting out of school!

Not me! Getting back to school is actually a celebration for me. See I graduated in 2010 & with two almost-made-it-to-med-school attempts under my belt, I'm taking some more classes to broaden my biology experience.

My first lab was yesterday for anatomy & physiology. And in just one session I learned nearly all the bones and structures in the skull. Holla!

Fresh office supplies make me giddy. Fresh notebooks waiting to be filled. Fresh pens ready to write and doodle. Binders for organizing, books for reading. It just brings back so many good memories from studying in college.

There are few things more fulfilling than learning!

What are you excited about this summer?

Pictures of the week

Nothing too crazy to report this week!

Did this... (hoops)

 ate this...

and celebrated this lady's birthday!

Happy June! Flip that calendar!

[from this book]

[from this calendar]

Today is a solemn day in my history. Three years ago, after sixteen long years of life, we had to put my childhood pup to sleep. I am so thankful for all our fun memories. I know that my childhood was more adventurous and rich because of her! Love you, Stevie!

Happy Friday, all. I know I'm glad it's here!

Happy Birthday, Chels!

My home girl turns 24 today, holla!

Happy birthday, Chelsea! I have so many memories from a friendship that spans almost 15 years.

In middle school you wrote in my yearbook "I am the clown who came to town & signed your yearbook upside down." It really ticked me off. You sealed our fate, because after a journalism class freshman year, yearbook became one of our most famous high school adventures.

We traveled to Spain together and both fell in love with Español. We laughed at a hand drawn butt-crack in Spanish class so hard that I blacked out and we almost got kicked out. We watched an entire Spiderman movie with someone's bluetooth glaring its blue light at us. We rode a bus to Minnesota for summer camp. We faked a nose injury to get free ice at Sonic. We were two of twenty people at the Rockies game to wear 'staches on mustache night...

Your birthdays are epic memories in my book of life (see Nicole in a Spongebob poncho circa 16 with Princess Leia buns...) and I'm stoked for this year. A year for more memories, more smiles, & much more of that contagious laugh!

Happy birthday, love! Thanks for being such a great friend.

Happy happy birthday, dear friend! You are 24!

Caribbean Recap

Oh, how I love vacations. We had an amazing time cruising around the Caribbean. I was able to spend some good quality time with the family & see the adventurous side of everyone. My mom bought a GoPro camera before the trip & we managed to get some great pictures snorkeling in Grand Turk (more pictures to come).

Sunrise over Turks and Caicos  my ocean man. His first stop after we ported was the ocean.

Love the universality of the Church. A lovely Catholic Church on St. Maarten.

A picturesque alley in Puerto Rico.

And a storybook ending with a lovely sunset in Miami (& us almost missing our flight...). More pictures to come.

Linking up here for the first time:

Getting the Groove Back

This is the story of how Stella Nicole got her groove back.

See, I've been battling with myself about this blog, where I want it to go, what I want to get out of it, what the purpose is behind it... and I've finally made up my mind.

Life is a journey, an adventure, an occasion. I've always been fond of chronicling it. Heck, I was a yearbook editor for two years in high school. I was co-historian of CSFL in college (see my roommate and I wouldn't dare run against each other, so we made them create a dual position for us). Coincidence? I think not. I like documenting, looking back, and remembering.

I've never been good at the "what I wore" posts and things along that nature for a variety of reasons. First, I spend 40+ hours a week in scrubs and with a future career in health care, I don't anticipate that changing much. I try to look presentable (at least) when I'm not in scrubs, but truthfully it doesn't matter all that much to me. I love shopping and I love new clothes, but fashion is something that has always eluded me. Every time I feel I'm being fashionable, it comes out looking trendy or forced and I realize these are the pictures I'll look back on and laugh at what I'm wearing, and that's fine by me.

I'm not sure where this puts my shop, as self-promotion is something else I'm not very good at, but I'm open to all the possibilities. An extended hiatus for now. We'll see what happens.

The purpose of my blog is to express myself and chronicle this great adventure of life. Yes, that includes crafts and sewing (so that won't change). If you notice a shift, this is why. I'm good at reporting, narrating, journaling. And most of all, I enjoy chronicling it just as much as I enjoy looking back at it. Even in my blog, I've gotta stay true to myself, so even though things might change a bit, they will be purer and hopefully better overall.

Thanks for sticking with me.

An Issue Too Important Not to Blog About

This post might make you feel. 

It might make you feel mad, inspired, annoyed, relieved, angry, upset, insecure, sad, or any other emotions that get stirred up when this heated issue is discussed. 

Proceed at your own risk.


Today is a solemn anniversary in America.

Abortion is a heavy issue. Regardless of your stance on this issue, I'd like you to ask you one question: do you know of someone who has (or have you yourself) had an abortion? I bet if we were in a room together, nearly all of us would answer YES. We all are affected by abortion, in some way, shape, or form.

The Pro-Life movement is something that is near & dear to my heart, and so not blogging about something this important would be against my better instincts. It's an issue that has been taboo for far too long. 

Did you know Norma McCorvey, also famously known as Jane Roe in Roe v. Wade, is PRO-LIFE. She has devoted her life to overturning a law that she was responsible for creating. Hearts can be changed!

I was sitting in O.R.'s offices when I noticed a fetal development poster. The progression was so obvious, the eyes were so sweet. It hurt my heart, just looking at them. I ran outside and finally, it dawned on me. 'Norma', I said to myself, 'They're right'. I had worked with pregnant women for years. I had been through three pregnancies and deliveries myself. I should have known. Yet something in that poster made me lose my breath. I kept seeing the picture of that tiny, 10-week-old embryo, and I said to myself, that's a baby! It's as if blinders just fell off my eyes and I suddenly understood the truth — that's a baby!

I felt crushed under the truth of this realization. I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn't about 'products of conception'. It wasn't about 'missed periods'. It was about children being killed in their mother's wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third trimester stuff. Abortion — at any point — was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear.

You may be asking: What can I do? 
Well, for one, we can stop being silent about this. This issue has been taboo long enough. Talk about it with your friends, mothers, boyfriends, husbands, mentors, sisters, anyone who will listen. Let them know that you are there for them. 
Open up the dialogue. Ask for or offer help.


I'm not trying to preach at you or chide you. I'm trying to give you a new perspective, to point out truths you may be unaware of, to open your heart a little bit, to challenge you, to shake you out of complacency.

[source]

Rejoice!

I spent the weekend relishing in the season: exchanging gifts, spending time with family, celebrating mass, seeing the Nutcracker ballet.

Last night we had our annual Christmas gift exchange, a delicious dinner & we went to the Blossom of Lights at the Denver Botanic Gardens. 

Lights and merriment.

Laughter and memories.

We played Christmas carols from our coats (thank you smart phone + Pandora) We may have upset the scrooges around, but it made our spirits light and tuned us into the spirit of the season. Our toes froze & subsequently warmed in that peculiar spicy painful way. 

It was a merry night.

Yours waiting in joyful hope,