On the Nightstand:

I just finished The Help. Oh my, i LOVED it. Stayed up until the wee hours of the morning multiple nights in a row. Thoroughly enjoyed the story and was sad when it was over! Next up : Eat Pray Love. And of course the latest Creating Keepsakes always stays close by.

In the mail:

I got some of these fun goodies in the mail from Two Peas. It's been a loooong time since i've placed an order (long time= 2 months. ha!!!!) But the day the new Jenni Bowlin line was available, especially the Halloween and Christmas chipboard buttons, I had to order them. I know they will sell out fast. Also threw in the Studio Calico balloon rub-ons for good measure. ;)

Recent Purchase:

(ummm other than the items listed above)... is this fabulous mirror. TJ Maxx for $25. Not too shabby! Totally reminds me of Suzanne Kasler's new line at Ballard Design. (like this mirror) But cheaper of course. Did you know Suzanne Kasler used to be an interior designer in Indianapolis?

Surprised By:

Jordan's reaction to Jonah's first day of pre-school. Wow. Completely caught me off guard. We walked him into school (just like last year), and came back to the car, and this happened. She kept reaching toward the door and crying for Jonah. Not because she wanted to go to school too; she just wanted him. Bless her heart. I cried with her (wasn't thinking that was going to happen either). Then I realized they have been together ALL summer. Yes, they went to Summer Camp... but they were BOTH there (although in different classes, but still). Always close by. A bittersweet moment.

Wondering When:

(photo from last fall)

It's acceptable to start decorating for fall. (i am thinking after Labor Day?) I am ready for warm fall decorations in my home. The smell of pumpkin spice candles. Open windows. Pumpkin Bread. This week the weather in Indy cooled down to the 70's and 80's. SO NICE. Maybe that's why I am thinking about this (???)

Inspired By:

The life of Daniel. I just love this Bible Study by Beth Moore (and we are only in week 2!). It is incredibly relevant to our society today. Daniel was ripped away from his Jewish culture and family and taken to Babylon- a place that was completely focused on everything exterior and worldly. Things like: Looks, Youth, Aptitude (Daniel 1:3,4). Sound familiar at all? Daniel was able to live IN an extravagant, excessive culture without being poisoned by it. I am inspired by his integrity, and excited about what God wants to teach me personally through this study.

These Two, This Week:

Getting used to a new schedule. Going Back to School for him. Alone time with mama for her. Both of them missing one another. Being more conscious and deliberate about our morning routines, because that too will be changing in a few weeks (AM preschool).

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you are having a lovely week!

A Little Lily Bee Love!

Happy Tuesday, Friends!

Today I have a new Lily Bee layout to share with you, featuring the beautiful accessories of the Lily Bee Lovely Line!

I had SO much fun creating this layout. These are some of my favorite photos of Jordan and her best friend Claire, taken at their two year old photo shoot. When creating this layout, I challenged myself to go a little out of my comfort zone and use the Lily Bee Accessories (Chipboard pieces, Die Cut Frame and Rub-on's) instead of Pattern Paper.

Okay, i cheated a little, and punched these butterflies out of pattern paper, but that's it!!! : )

Let's talk about the Lily Bee rub-on's for a moment. I. love. them. The quotes and thoughts are so heartfelt and really inspired me with my journaling for this layout.

Journaling Says: "Always enjoy the simple pleasures of life-- like giggling with your girlfriends, running, jumping, cupcakes, ice cream, jumping on your bed... having a child-like heart."

They grow up so fast, don't they? I cherish this carefree time in my kids life, and hope they embrace the little things as they grow older. I hope they find contentment in the every day joys of life.

Feel free to stop by the Lily Bee blog! I included more details about the design and step by step instructions on how I made this is layout.

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you are having a lovely week so far!!! xoxo

So long, Summer.

Today marks the end of summer vacation in the Hufford House.

Tomorrow Jonah starts his PM preschool. We are excited to get going, but are a little sad that it's time to say good-bye to summer.

It was certainly a good one.

One that was filled with swimming, zoo visits, laughter, gymnastics, playing with friends, not much yard work (woops) , the splash park, date nights, movies, face paintings (three to be exact), fireworks, lightning and thunder, car rides, Michigan, and much much more.

I am not gonna lie-- i am sad to say goodbye. (and even more sad that a year from now we will be getting ready for the first day of kindergarten- can't handle thinking about that!) Summer was good to us this year.

BUT I am hopeful and excited for the year to come.

So... thank you summer, for everything. Here's to the new school year! Here we go!!!

half as hard, and twice as good.

When I am down and need to cry till morning,
I know just where I am going.



When I'm in need of sweet commiseration
To speak out loud.



Raise a glass to friendship
And to knowing you don't have to go alone.



We'll raise our hearts to share each other's burdens
On this road.



Every burden I have carried,
Every joy--it's understood.

Life with you is half as hard,
And twice as good.



With my good news you're dancing on the table:
Baby's born, a celebration.



The joy of life, oh what a sweet communion,
Shared with you.



Every burden I have carried,
Every joy--it's understood.

Life with you is half as hard,
And twice as good.



I know we're growing older,
Can you imagine what that will bring?



It's all a mystery to me now,
Except this one thing:



It'll be half as hard, and twice as good.

Lyrics and song by Sara Groves (video/music below)


Six years ago, a group of seven girls began a Bible Study. Not knowing each other really well, we thought it would be a great way to build friendships and dig into the Word of God.

Little did we know how much we would grow. Grow close to the Lord and close to one another.

Over the years our group continued to develop strong bonds as we shared in each others struggles and joys. There is something so sweet about walking along someone. Loving them well. Holding one another accountable. Praying for one another. Being the hands and feet of Jesus.

I am so thankful for the dear friends the Lord has brought in my life. And I am reminded what a huge part of my life my monday night girls truly are. Just this month we began our seventh year together and a new bible study. (love that beth moore!). So looking forward to growing with each of you!!

ETA: how do you make these video screens smaller? ack!

Zucchini Muffins

Growing up, my best friend Jann made these incredible muffins-- zucchini muffins. I have to admit i was a little hesitant being that 1) i was in Jr High, and 2) the word zucchini was involved (i love zucchini now). But oh my goodness, these were amazing. So amazing in fact, that Jann won blue ribbons in 4-H for these zucchini muffins.

I pulled out the recipe last weekend and made these with the kids. They had SO much fun. Especially with the part that included the food processor. Yes, sometimes it's a pain to get the old f.p. down, but believe me, it's well worth it.

This recipe kind of reminds me of Mrs. Seinfeld's sneaky foods (remember that book?) however you don't have to spend the whole day pureeing, just a few seconds. And besides, the veggies are super fresh this time of year. A great and different way to eat them. The kids LOVED it! Enjoy!!!


Zucchini Muffins

3 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 c oil
2 t vanilla
2 c ground zucchini
1 c sugar
3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
3 t cinnamon
3 c flour

Mix eggs, oil, vanilla, zucchini, and sugar by hand. Stir the dry ingredients together and add to the egg mixture. Mix well. Pour into greased muffin tins.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Looking Ahead

Photography by Carpenter Photography and Design

When I graduated from college, i thought it was the strangest thing ever to buy a weekly planner that began in january.

For as many years as i could remember, calendars began in august and ended in july. Why? School. The start of a new school year, a new beginning, new classes and teachers.

Now that i have kids of my own (even though they are in preschool), i am beginning to have that feeling again, Almost like august is our second New Year's.

This week we met Jonah's new teacher at brookschool (his afternoon speech focused preschool). He begins school in a week and a half.

Even though i will miss him so much and miss our relaxed summer schedule, I am so excited for him. Excited for all the possibilities and opportunities ahead. That boy, he shines in that atmosphere. He absorbs his surroundings and grows daily. I can hardly believe the changes that have taken place in his speech and communication within the last year. and i can't wait to see all he accomplishes this year.

And me? i will be going on adventures of my own in September. Greece. with my mom. I can hardly believe this amazing opportunity to be with my mom in a beautiful country and to be surrounded by amazingly creative women (like her, and her, and her). To take scrapbooking classes, practice and play with photography, and meet new people. To sleep in. To eat good food. To be inspired. To dream. I can hardly wait.

(i must say, i really wish todd was going too, but he assured me that he was okay with skipping out on this one. haaa!!! a scrapbooking trip is not really his thing :) but, bless his heart, he is staying home with the kids and will be taking care of them 24/7. what an amazing husband i have!)

Fall. So many wonderful opportunities ahead. a time to start fresh and be inspired. A second new year, if you will.

What are you looking forward to this fall?

Some scrappy and catching up

Good morning!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

We have had a FULL week (hence the blogging absence!)... however, i am so proud of myself- i took a TON of pics with my camera (real camera, not iphone- ha!) this week... hoping to get those edited soon.

It seems like we are trying to pack all the summer into the next few weeks as much as possible. This past week we finished up swimming lessons, summer camp, and spent time at the water park.

Yesterday we spent the day visiting Todd's family in IL. We went to a celebration/fair, had water fights, and a cookout. lots of fun. Jonah had his face painted for the third time this summer. We started the three hour drive back home at 8pm. The kids were asleep in about 10 minutes... leaving todd and i a much needed QUIET 2.5 hours to just talk and catch up-- it was so nice!

Anyway, I wanted to share two layouts i have done in Kelly Purkey's sketchbook class. It's an online class that sends sketches and examples to help get you going creatively. i have LOVED it. It's been nice to create just for fun and to have a starting point!! AND i am making a point to use the items in my stash that i have been hoarding/saving... time to put them to paper!

I love these little pics of Jonah at the Lake over the Fourth of July. He just loved every minute of it. You can tell by his face. :)

The kraft prinited paper is My Minds Eye. Love the text on it. The butterfly punch is by The Paper Studio (hobby lobby). It's HUGE- love it. The mini papers, journaling tag, tickets, and alpha stickers are by Jenni Bowlin. (I have been hoarding these products forever, and it felt great to finally use them.) The "4" chipboard was black. I painted it creme, distressed it a little, and then sprayed it with red mist to "copy" Jonah's messy face :) I had alot of fun with this sketch!


Here is my second layout, based on Kelly's second sketch:

I based my layout on Celine's version of the sketch and LOVE how it turned out. This is a pic that Jennifer took on our Cruise in January. I was originally going to journal about traveling, but the more I thought about the more this topic came to mind,

"note to self. don't be afraid to hand over the camera and be in the picture. don't be missing when it comes to our family pictures. don't worry about what you look like, just do it. you will be so thankful. Note to self: be in the pictures."

Does anyone else struggle with this-- being in the pictures? not that i am avoiding it, but i am always the one Behind the camera it seems!

Supplies used: Paper, fabrips, starburst rub on, stickers, journaling cards (punched) by Studio Calico. Travel journaling cards (Punched) by October afternoon. Stitched card by sassafras. Binder punch by EK Success. Circle punch: marvy. Circle Calendar Transparency: little yellow bicycle (?), Mist: Maya Road (creme), Tattered Angels (black).

Hope you are having a GREAT Weekend and soaking up these summer days!!!

Dishtowel Art.

A few days ago I was shopping in Anthropologie.

My goodness, I can get completely lost in that store. The clothes, decor, home goods, the dishtowels, the smell of burning candles... wait a minute, did I just say dishtowels??

Ummm, oh yes. Have you noticed their dishtowels?? I realize this is not the typical item one might shop at Anthro specifically for (or blog about) but I couldn't help but notice/fall in love with these pretty little towels.

For example, this one:

Are you kidding me? Since when do I drool over dishtowels?! (note to self: i am definitely getting old).

I quickly purchased this gem and was on my merry way. As I held on tightly to my white anthro shopping bag with the little red handle, I knew this dishtowel would never be any old dishtowel. It would never see my messy counter, it would never cleaning up spilled cheerios, never clean dirty sticky hands. Oh no my friends, THIS IS ART. I had big plans for this little dishtowel.

I decided I wanted to frame a portion of this towel. Why not? It's a great design and would look perfect in our bar by the kitchen. I keep a stash of Ikea Ribba frames in our house (really i hoard them. Since ikea doesn't ship frames, i always stock up on these frames when i shop at chicago or cincy ikea. the opening of the frame is 12x12-- perfect for the scrapbooker. perfect for enlargements. just perfect, really.) I knew this would look great with the simple design of the frame!

I chose a section of the towel to showcase in the 12x12 opening .

I then cut the towel (and gave about an extra inch on each side). As you can see, I didn't use special scissors, just our regular "kitchen scissors". (I also plan to use the rest of the towel in other smaller frames)

I then taped it down over the frame. This took a little bit of time to position the towel exactly where I wanted it and to get it straight. Make sure to stretch the towel as it's being taped down so that no wrinkles appear.

And this is the end result! A cheap(er?) way to have fun a fun, vintage, one of a kind look!