I love Switzerland!

And the Swiss flag is SO AMAZING!!!

Did you know it's square, rather than the traditional rectangle flag shape? A red rectangle with a white plus-sign {not to be confused with the white background and red plus-sign for the red-cross....}.....

Sooooo, I decided I needed to involve the Swiss flag in my kitchen decor......

Because I want one.....

Happy memories.....

I sanded and painted and VOILA,
Two "brand-new" stools for the kitchen.










Now as to why I have such a passion for Switzerland?
One of my very favorite childhood memories took place in Zollikofen Switzerland:

My parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was just a wee-little-one...  And we got to go to the Swiss temple together as a family to be sealed for time and all eternity when I was four years old.....!!!  we rented a Volkswagen bus and drove through the night from our little home in Utrecht, the Netherlands....  I slept on the floor, and when I woke up:  we were in Switzerland!!!!  It was like a fairy tale for a little girl like me....

I remember it well.... and I remember especially how I felt.....  Wow, I thought those ladies in the temple were angels, directly form heaven.  They probably were....!!!!

In the picture I am the little girl in the middle. The bear and my brother are on my left, my father on my right. 
My sisters and mother must have been close by....  We weren't much into taking family photographs growing up, so this is as good as it gets.......   I LOVE IT!!!!!!   Brings back all those good and happy feelings....!!!

So now I get to look at the Swiss Flag all the time in my kitchen, and remember those warm fuzzy feelings.....Ahhhhhh.....

I'm a lucky girl!!!!!


They are not the right height for our bar {too short}, but we use them all the time anyway....
As it turns out it is super-handy wonderful to have a portable flat surface around the kitchen.  {Makes for great climbing too.....}







P.S.  I     In the pictures below {click on them and they will gt bigger} you can see how the stools match the vintage red oven we have {came with the house!!!!}.  Yee-Hah!!!!
P.S. II     Note how we use the oven as a dry-erase board for everything form  'art' to chores to positive quotes.....

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How to sew a super-easy tankini for you or your kids. 

This tankini was super easy to make.
All I did was buy a bikini on clearance at the end of the season. 
Then I took off the clasp in the back and sewed it together.
I measured the circumference and added some swimsuit Lycra-style fabric to cover her belly.

Voila!  A new tankini!

Tankinis are great for playing in the sun and water with.  Nicer than swimsuit, because potty breaks are much easier....
Her is my sunshine jumping on the trampoline after school, with a sprinkler underneath....

Enjoy making your own super easy tankini.....
:D

Linking up to
Between Naps on the Porch

He told the Ucon Story at the beginning of his talk, and brought up Ucon again a few times as his talk continued.

This is roughly how his story went: 

President Kimball was speaking to a young missionary. He asked, “Elder, where are you from?”
“Oh, I’m from Idaho?”
“Where in Idaho?”
“Eastern Idaho.”
“Well, where in Eastern Idaho?”
“Oh, near Idaho Falls.”
“Well, where near Idaho Falls?”
“I’m from a small town northeast of Idaho Falls.”
“Elder, are you from Ucon?”
This missionary was surprised President Kimball would know where Ucon is.
President Kimball said to him, “Elder, let me teach you something. Any time anyone asks you where you are from, say, ‘I’m from Ucon, Idaho!’ If they say, ‘Ucon? I’ve never heard of that,’ then say to them, ‘You’ve never heard of Ucon? It’s as big as Chicago!’”
Not as many people there, but it’s as big as Chicago.

We love you President Packer!!!! (especially here in Ucon....!!!!)

P.S.  This is a true story about Brother Farnsworth from our very own ward.  He has told us about it in a talk once.

Remember the Knotty Bag I made a while ago?
Well, Haute Handbags liked it enough to feature it in their current 2012 Spring Issue...!!!
Lucky us.....!
WOW!
I was completely speechless when I got to see the pages....
The colors are amazing, the photo's great, the model lovely!!! They have outdone themselves again!!!!
 I am honored to have been represented in such a fashion....
And it looks even better in their pages than it does when I get to take the amateur photo's....  They are so talented...

Pages 102-104 give a three page spread on the Knotty Bag:

• Lots of great pictures
• Sewing Instructions
• Great Photo's
• Springy Colors

So run on out to the store to get your own copy...!
You'll LOVE it!

The FREE detailed illustrated sewing instructions of the Knotty Bag, are available for you and the bottom of this post...  :)

The FREE detailed illustrated sewing pattern for the Knotty Bag is below. 
Just click on the PDF file below, download... , sew, and enjoy!!!!

I hope they call me on a mission to the United Kingdom....
...or to the U.K. ....
...or to Great Britain....
...or to England ....

When I was a youth I was able to go on a temple trip to the London Temple (which is really quite a ways outside of London, in  town called Newchapel).  I have fond memories of that trip and naturally this temple and country have a special place in my heart....

So when I acquired a wonderful old waterfall dresser, I transformed it into a United Kingdom flag-dresser, which I affectionately dubbed "I Hope They Call Me On A Mission To The U.K"
Dedicated to this special country....

... and ...
.... this dresser is also dedicated to my good friend Esther (whom I grew up with) who actually served her mission in the country of Great Britain...
Lucky girl!

I was going to sell this dresser, but .... I quite like it and think it will look great in my son's room.....

And who knows....
... perhaps he will serve HIS mission in the United Kingdom!

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