Intimidating Photo Shoot

Yesterday morning we did our first baby photo shoot for Neverland Nook. It starred my high school friends baby Rozelyn (only 4 weeks old). She did an awesome job. Poor thing was awake the whole time. I think having so many people around her and moving her around kept her awake. I personally only have a four legged, adorable, lovable, best dog in the world child; so I am a bit intimidated by the little baby.  I think I was more overwhelmed then her.  Her legs are all spindly and thin, and she just looks completely breakable. I love creating things for children, but man, they are the most intimidating beings on this planet. Here's a little preview of Rozelyn at work:

This picture provided by Gotcha Studios

All in all, we're pretty excited to showcase this new (intimidating) little one at Neverland Nook soon!

xoxo

~Sabrina



Running just as fast as we can...

Well, with only four girls signed up for my Girls on the Run team they are allowing my team to move forth and run together!  Which is awesome, so the school won't lose the program and hopefully more girls will sign up for next year.  I have been a pretty good runner for the last two years.  Jarret and I have run numerous 5ks and Girls on the Run has been one of them.  I have been a little off the running path lately and have been gearing up again.  Leslie and I decided to go running on the golf course paths near her house this morning.  Whew!!!  It was tough.  We did have to stop and walk a bit, but it's a start.  We're going to run every Friday morning together.  It's a good goal and Avery loves it!

We also saw a rainbow while out.. Kinda hard to see, but always a good sign.  That's the second rainbow I've posted on this blog in the past couple of months.  Hopefully I have more to picture in the future! :)

Here's to a lucky day for all of our readers!

xoxo

Sabrina



Cutest Beggar!

I was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today and Dexter decided to be the cutest beggar in the world.  I warn you, being that his hair is completely black you can't see his face that well, but he is the cutest dog in the world!

Just had to share his cuteness!

xoxo

Sabrina



Good Day Sunshine

I can't believe it is late January!!!  Yes we don't live in the north where it is much colder, but usually it is pretty cold here!  62 degrees today!!!  It is amazing.  It's like the beginning of spring, one of may favorite times of the year.  I took Dexter on a nice little walk this morning and couldn't help, but to snap some pictures along the lake side with my iphone.  The sun was beautiful as was the rest of nature.  Shadows were intense!  I love it! 

                                  Dexter's little tail ^

                                                              

Hope you're day was as beautiful as ours! 

xoxo

~Sabrina

Life Doesn't Always Give you Lemons

Today I took my first CPR/First aid certification class. Now, it sounds like such a good thing to do, which it is, but I struggled almost the entire time. Yes I was able to do the compressions and save my dummy, but when we got to the first aid part I was about to faint. I'm one of those people who can't see blood, someone getting a needle, a spider on TV or in person, or even a snake... Today, I had so see all of those things during training. Ugh, but if you're in trouble I'm certified to help; that is if I don't pass out before you after seeing all your blood after you've got bitten by a spider and while trying to insert your epi-pen you got mauled by a snake.

Now certification training was for the Girls On the Run group I'm supposed to be coaching. I say supposed to be because it turns out only 4 girls signed up at the school I'm volunteering for and they say they can't run it if less than 8 signs up. That, and the second volunteer completely backed out of helping out. I'm beginning to see this as a sign of this whole situation possibly being not meant to be. Upsetting, but life doesn't always give you fresh lemons.

Leslie and I had our first official quarterly meeting for Neverland Nook last week.  We got a lot accomplished and had fun the whole day.  Although at the end of the day we were both exhausted.  Even better, I got to greet Leslie with a Neverland Nook sign on my new chalkboard wall.

I'm just looking forward to another pancake morning with Jarret tomorrow morning... Our last batch of pancakes had a little heart on one of them.  It was too cute! <3

Until next time...

xoxo
~Sabrina

2-4-6-8- Who, What, Where, When, Do you APPRECIATE?!

Once again I have been inspired by my favorite blog, that is not ours :), The Lettered Cottage.  One of their posts was about choosing your "word of the year."  A word that helps you throughout the year and motivates you.  Their words (the husband and wife team) are "up" and "reach".  They have some beautiful notes from some of their family and friends about their own "word of the year," so I have been inspired to have my own.

My 2012 word of the year is.... Appreciate.

By definition, appreciate means:
 1. to be grateful or thankful for
 2. to value or regard highly; place a high estimate on

 3. to be fully conscious of; be aware of; detect

 4. to raise in value

Yes, there may be times when you don't feel much appreciation, but there is always a chance to be thankful, even in the worst of situations.  Don't you feel better when someone says "thank you"?  Shouldn't we put a greater value on whatever it is we find important in our lives?  Don't you like it when a person in your life is more aware of who you are and what you are saying?  And, what could be better then to raise value on anything?  If we do a little more appreciation, we just might get some more back in our lives.  Leslie and I have received so much positive feedback from customers over the fact that we include a hand written thank you note in each package we send out.  It is because we are truly appreciative.  Trust me, your hand gets tired after writing several in a row, but it is so worth it.  We are so thankful for the support from every customer.

I am truly appreciative for so many things in life.  Some bad moments that I have overcome, some great moments I never want to forget.  Every day I wake up I am lucky and every day I go to bed I am lucky.  I appreciate myself.  If you appreciate yourself you can be a more positive person, someone people want to be around, love, and appreciate.  So with this new year I promise to be more positive and even more appreciative then I ever have before.

I appreciate Jarret for being my best friend and a supportive husband.

I appreciate Dexter for being my "little guy" and the best pup!

I appreciate my parents for raising me to be the best person I can be and giving me everything they could.

I appreciate my brother for being the best older brother a sibling could ask for.

I appreciate Jarret's parents for raising such an awesome person.

I appreciate Leslie for being an awesome "bestie" and being a great business partner.

I appreciate Leslie's family for having me invade their home and their wife/mother.

I appreciate my friends, Neverland Nook customers, and you (reader of this blog).

Being appreciative can start with a simple "thank you."  If it wasn't important, they wouldn't have made a holiday surrounding "thanks." 

Thank you for reading!

xoxo

~Sabrina

PS - If you'd like.. leave your word of the year on our blog or on our facebook.. We'd love to be inspired by you guys!!!   We'd appreicate it.. Sorry, had to geek out on you :)

Wedding!!!

My wedding photos are finally here!!!  I have to share several, well lets face it, I have to share a bunch!  We received about 400, so you're lucky you're not at my house or I'd really bore you! :)  Let's start at the beginning...

Getting ready!  The headband was perfect! (Headband made by Enchanted Atelier and purchased at a beautiful bridal boutique where I also got my dress called J Majors)

Jarret and I saw each other before the wedding to take photos.  Best decision ever!  Sweetest moment too! :)

Our "ride" was awesome!  It was a 1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud.  Our driver was named Tony and was the nicest guy!  (Car from Royal Rides)

My dress is Tess by designer Lea-Ann Belter and was bought at J Majors.  The staff is great there and really cater to you.  My mom made the black belt, which had beautiful crystal embellishments on it.  Thanks mom!

We got married in a small chapel owned by the state.  It was adorable.  We had a really short ceremony that we wrote (lasted maybe 7 minutes).  Jarret walked down the aisle to Blackbird by The Beatles and I walked down to In My Life by The Beatles.  Then we ended the ceremony with Good Day Sunshine by..... drum roll please.. The Beatles.  (odd note:  Leslie and Michael got married 7 years ago - before I even knew her - by the same officiant we did and on Oct. 16 ~ Jarret and I got married on Oct. 15 and had the date picked before I knew Leslie.. weird)

Adorable streamers bought at a fellow etsy shop: Craft Up Your Life

Our first dance was to Nora Jones "Come Away With Me".  We danced a waltz that was beautifully choreographed by our dance teacher Lauren.

Our cake "topper"! I made it!  So proud of it.. Had to include Dexter! <3

We danced and had fun with friends!  (pictured here are Jarret's college buddies from the University of Dayton)

Leslie and Micheal dancing and having fun!

The end to the best day!

Hope you enjoyed these! :)

xoxo

~Sabrina

I'm so excited...

I'm so excited!  We have a ton of Valentine's hair accessories up and they are getting a great response!  Leslie has worked so hard at getting them all put together and posted!  She is a bow ninja!  She took what I believed was my worst felt creation and made it beautiful with all her layers of ribbon!  I love it! 

I'm also excited because I finally got to go on a movie date with my husband.  We have been trying to for over a month.  Saw The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  It was great!  I loved the books, and the movie did a great job following it.

I'm also excited because I'm a Girls On The Run coach!  Jarret and I have run the 5k for Girls On The Run the past three years (it's actually in our neighborhood... yes we paid to run 3 miles in our neighborhood).  I'm really excited and nervous.  There is a lot more to it then I expected, but I think it will be really fulfilling!  I used to never be in great shape growing up (not that I'm in perfect shape now), but I had no confidence.  I'm not going to lie.. I think at one time I probably weighed 185 lbs.  Now for some that may not be a lot if you are overweight and for others you may think that is very overweight.  Whatever it was, I was unhealthy and had a problem with over eating.  about two years ago I was in the 160s and still hated that I couldn't find the strength to beat food, so I got the strength to go to a therapist.  It really helped.  I started to like myself more and found the confidence I never had before.  I had lost 30 pounds and for the first time in my life weighed 135!!!  I was never even that thin in my teens.  I have now held at 138 and 140 and am happy.  I may not have the perfect body to others, but it is pretty good to me.  I'm healthy, can run a decent speed with longevity, and have an inner strength I never had before.  Most people may think I'm crazy for putting myself completely out there for you all to know what I weigh, but it is just a number and I want to help inspire the girls I teach to find it in them that what others think, doesn't really matter.  It's what you think about yourself and just being simply healthy is all that matters!

And on my last excited note:  I got Dexter in my hoodie and he is aDOGable!!!!!!

Have a good day!!!

xoxo

~Sabrina

A long post, my apologies





It has been quite a while since I have had the chance to sit and blog!  I have been really busy!  Christmas season was WAY better than we ever expected it to be with orders.  Capes were a hit and were ordered just about everyday even leading up to three days before Christmas.  I was sewing capes on Christmas Eve-Eve.  We had a very nice Christmas.  Jarret's parents were at our house for the weekend and my parents and brother came over on Christmas day.  I got to meet Leslie's brother-in-law on Christmas Eve and her sister a couple of days later on her birthday.  It has been a really nice holiday season.  I decided also that I wanted to redo a couple of rooms in the house.  I'm not yet done, but I have been inspired by another blog, a very good and popular one: The Lettered Cottage, to tone down my colors and go with a more rustic look.  Now considering our office is overtaken with our Legos and my sewing it still has a bit of a modern look, but it looks much more spacious and bright:

The office BEFORE:

The office AFTER:

The kitchen BEFORE:

The kitchen AFTER:

Chalkboard wall!!!!  Woohoo!!! 

So, yes it has been very busy and I have so much more to share, but I think this blog post has been long enough for you with crazy pictures.  I apologize for the pictures not being awesome, I don't have a professional camera or the know how in taking pics of rooms, but I think you get the idea!  I will end with two more pics:



Dexter was not so excited I was painting and not playing!

This next pic is one of my best friends from high school's new baby!  Susan, she is gorgeous... Introducing Miss Rozelyn (1.4.12)

xoxo

~Sabrina