May12

Happy Mothers Day from friendsfavz! 2013

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Happy Mothers Day!IMG_9414A tribute to my MOM!

(My mom seen here with my dad, me and three of my sisteres)

My mom would tell you that I am a person of few words. She would send me off to camp when I was in grade school and pack paper, envelopes (all addressed and stamped) and a pencil for me to write a letter when I was away at camp.  The camp counselors always gave us time to write a letter home but I would sit on my bunk and stare at the paper. I could never  think of anything to write, so I never did and would bring back the empty letter to my mom.

Well, Mom this is to make up for all the words I did not write in the past.

My mom is the mother to six beautiful daughters, so she tells us. People use to say that she looked like one of the sisters when we were teens and we would all giggle at the thought. My favorite memory growing up is when my mom would dress up in her “fancy” clothes. They did not have the opportunity to go out much but she did have a dress that I loved. It was a  beautiful yellow 1960′s shift dress with a yellow feather boa trim on the bottom. Just like you would see one of the movie stars wearing. She looked wonderful in it too. I loved that dress and would often go into her closet and look at it. What I would do to have that dress today.  She always had her makeup done and her hair fixed (thinking back I wonder how she always had a fancy hairdo when she had no blow dryer or hot curlers.) The house always seemed clean and she made a huge dinner for us every night. I often wonder how she managed to keep the house, kids, events in order and keep calm too?

Now as an adult I most treasure the help my mom has been to me as a teen and into my adulthood. I remember we would come home from school, even as teens, walk through the door and yell to mom “I’m home”.  Never identifying ourselves by name because she surely knew us by our voices. We felt secure because we knew there would always be a reply of “OK”. She sacrificed years to “be there for us” and ready to listen when we needed to vent.  She is still great at listening and I realize what a rare quality this is and how much I  value her ability to listen without judging.

I cannot tell you how many times my mom has come to my rescue to rock sick babies or give a helping hand.  She surely has a gift to soothe babies and get them to sleep.  Now, I still call her for tips on how to cook certain dishes or for her advice on how to raise a teenager and still maintain your sanity.

Thank you mom for all your unconditional love ! All in all, yes, I have a wonderful MOM!

Do you have a favorite memory of your mom growing up? Share with us in the comments, we would love to get to know you and your mom.

PS.To Mom:  At camp I swam, ran, made new friends, didn’t like the food and had a fun time!

Love always, Karen

May7

New Thing Tuesday – Rhythm or Not, You can Dance!

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IMG_0109I signed up for and attended a new dance studio class this week at Arthur Murray.  I have been searching for a beginner to intermediate dance class during the days and finally found one in Bellevue, Wa.  Today, I learned a few steps of the West Coast Swing and I think this is my new favorite dance. My dance instructor said, you can decide some of your own steps in the West Coast Swing as the girl and not have to do exactly what the lead is doing. My eyes lit up when he said that and he chuckled a bit realizing that I would enjoy a little creative freedom in dance.

I also learned the basic steps, turns and form to the Meringue and the Rumba.  After two hours of dance my head was a bit fuzzy trying to concentrate and my instructors kept testing me to see if I could do all the steps and talk at the same time. Luckily, I passed and am on my way to the next set of classes.

As much as I love the private lessons, I may have to search for a group class that will fit my parent of a college student budget, a bit better. At least I have narrowed down which dances I like the best and enjoyed dancing with someone who is well trained. I thoroughly enjoyed my private lessons and think this is a good way to go if you want some special attention.  I think I will search for a group swing class, especially a beginners West Coast Swing series.

Do you like to dance? Or do you have a recommendation on a dance club, class or teacher that you would recommend to others?

* Check out the Seattle Dance calendar created by Ron Bolin http://www.seattledanceinfo.com/calendar.shtml for dance events around the Seattle area.

*I have attended the Maltby Community Dance Events on the first and third Fridays and love to learn from Doug and Penny! Visit them on facebook at Matlby Community Dance for updates and news.

-Karen

Apr23

New Thing Tuesday – Inspiration House

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Ruffles and Rust decorated a new home by the Mietzner Group in Snohomish and called the event The Ruffles and Rust Inspiration House.  Yes, I was definitely inspired by the creative decorating in this house. They brought together seven vendors who blended vintage with modern and came up with ideas to inspire us all. If you missed this wonderful event you can still visit the Ruffles and Rust Square in downtown Snohomish, or at their web site at rufflesandrustsquare.com
- Karen

Apr10

friendsfavz/kidfavz, Print Design Nails with Emily

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Wednesdays we devote to the young people in our lives.

I have so many young people in my life and I love how creative they are.  Today Emily is going to share, How to Paint your Nails with a print design. Thanks for visiting with us Emily!

-Karen

Apr8

Mod Mondays

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Welcome to Mod Mondays! This is where friends share what is hip and new! This week I checked in with Natalie, a junior in high school to see what the younger generation is finding fun and new!
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Lacquer nail polish at the salons seem to be all the rage, last longer and do not chip like regular nail polish. To create this look at home Natalie got a new Gelish nail polish, Top it off, top coat,  and mini UV gel light to make her nails look like she got lacquer nails from a salon! I found the polish for under $5, Top Coat for $15 and mini UV light for under $25 at Sally Beauty Supply. I saw her nails and they looked really great!

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I am currently looking for the ultimate place to get my nails done.  Yesterday I tried a new place, Lovely Nails in Bothell and loved the warm rock massage on my legs. However, I am always in search of the “best” salons.  I like a place where they are gentle with your toes, since  I tend to be incredibly sensitive and enjoy a pedicure when they have a soft touch. I find it  hard to relax during a  pedicure when you feel like someone is tickling your toes. Are certain features more important to you when choosing a nail salon? If you have a recommendation I would love to hear it and share with our friends here at friendsfavz.

Join us on Wednesday for  a How to video with Emily as she goes through the steps to create  print nails.

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- Karen Baughn

Apr2

New Thing Tuesday!

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This week I tried a new wine, Milgrandt Vineyards Pinot, with my friend Laurie! ImageLaurie was telling me about a twitter event that she joined in on Thursday night with Sean P. Sullivan @wawinereport. He chooses a wine that everyone goes out and buys and tries on the designated Thursday night. Then he begins to asks questions to the twitter followers.

He started out with questions about the label and ended up with, is it a buy or sell. They all join in and comment on the wine and it becomes a great community event. I caught one of the tweets that night and was wondering what was up and tried to follow. I must admit that I am often baffled by twitter. I found the wine they were talking about but didn’t realize that it was a virtual tasting event. I forgot about it until we had Laurie and her husband over for dinner and she walked in with this wine, the Milbrandt Pinot, for us to taste. She told me about the twitter event and then it all made sense.

I looked it up later on twitter and saw all the chatter going on that night regarding the wine. I think the consensus was that it was a light and crisp Pinot for a good price at $13 a bottle that would go well with many foods. I am now following Washington Wine Report so I can join in the next tasting! What fun. I will keep you posted when the next virtual wine tasting event is, in case you want to join in the tasting too.

You can also check out Washington Wine Tasting at  www.wawinereport.com/

Have you tried a new wine lately that you would recommend to a friend?

Karen

Mar31

friendsfavz Easter 2013

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Happy Easter!

Holidays are a great time to get family together. I want you to meet our extended family. Janell and I are number two and three of six girls and our two youngest sisters are identical twins! If you are wondering how my Dad survived, well we will just say he is very quite. It is hard to get a word in edgewise with six daughters! Today we had five of our siblings with kids and grandkids along with our Mom and Dad at the lake!

My adorable 10 year old  niece Belli, brought this tasty creation with her to our Easter celebration.  They are multi-colored  Easter Egg cakes!  I found a recipe for the cupcakes online at http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2011/04/easter-cupcakes-baked-in-real-egg.html

They were a tasty creative treat!

-Karen