A conversation with Madison & Ryan with Indi prints.

I was so impressed with my Kingstongirl tee-shirts, Madison & Ryan made. They do such great work. They were able to on many projects for the local events, festivals,  and business. Thank you Indi Prints for buying ad space! :) 

How long have you lived in the area?

Madison: I have lived in the Kitsap area my whole life (22 years) moving between Indianola, Kingston and Poulsbo. But Indianola will always be my hometown (hence the name IndiPrints :)

Ryan: has lived in Poulsbo his whole life (24 years)

How much family history do you have in the area?

Madison: My family (great-grandparents) bought their first home in Indianola in 1922. At first, it just served as a summer home but my grandparents fell in love with it and made it their permanent place of residence. Ever since then we have had great pride in calling Indianola our home. My father, his two brothers, his sister all still live in this small community and I plan to do the same when I get older and buy a home.

Ryan: Ryan's family history is on Bainbridge Island a huge part of his family lives in the Kitsap area.

 What is your favorite thing about the area?

Madison: I love the beauty of our surroundings. I tried to live in Seattle while I attended the University of Washington, and found myself coming back to Indianola every weekend. Having the water and the moutains both in such close proximity make the Kitsap Penninsula a gorgeous place to live and work. I also enjoy that we can still maintain small-town communities, walking down the street in Indianola I know almost everyone and thier families by name and it makes you feel so at home and secure.

 What would you change if you could about the area?

Madison: I would stop the huge amount development. While I'm not naive and realize the area is growing and more is needed to accomidate that growth, its so sad to see what once used to be forest turn into Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Not only that but what is being built is huge and in excess and detracting from our beautiful landscape!

Where would you like to see your business be in 5 years?

Madison: We would like to be making a profit instead of in the hole from starting this business :) We would like to have a wide variety of clients and hopefully many repeat customers!

 What is the hardest part of having your own business?

Madison: At the moment, the hardest part is putting so much into it and trying to get our name out there and as of yet, not seeing a whole lot of interest.

Where would you like our town to be in over the next five years?

Madison: Ideally I'd like it to not change too much. I would like more people to become aware of their impact on small business instead of just doing what is easy and going to a big chain store. I know its something that as a young person I wasn't even aware of until I began working at the bookstore and realized how often you hear people in the store comment that they'll just go to Barnes & Noble later or shop on Amazon.com. It's so important to support local businesses because you're supporting your own community, even if it might cost a little bit more.

What is your favorite thing to do in our town?

Madison: My favorite thing to do by far is to go to the beach! Pretty much any hot day during the summer you will find me and my family at the Indianola beach enjoying the weather and the scenery!

What is your favorite Store in town? 

Madison: I really love working and shopping in the bookstore (Liberty Bay Books). I also of course love the Indianola Country Store and Deli because of the history and the sense of community. Also, my aunt & uncle just opened an art studio in Poulsbo called Indi Studios and its full of art from Indianola artists and soon IndiPrints will have some original designs in their store!

 Do you give to any local charities you work with? 

Madison: At the moment we're so new we're just working with getting the business going, but do offer a discount to customers who are purchasing shirts for fundraisers and other charity events so that the shirts are cheaper and they can make a larger sum of money for their cause.

What is your business motto? 

M&R: Committed to giving you the best!

Tell me anything you would love to share about your business

M&R: We're just really passionate about our business and are really excited to start getting some bigger jobs and making some beautiful apparel! We will beat any competitors price quote and offer many options for discounts!

The Christmas Story Production at the 5th Ave in Seattle.

We had a great time at The Christmas story at the 5th Ave theater in Seattle. “Hub’s” and I had a wonderful night. When I found out that I was going to go see the production of my favorite Christmas movie of all time, I felt like an excited little girl. Like a child eagerly awaiting Christmas morning. That is what I felt like and my “Hub’s” did as well. 

Walking into the 5th Avenue theater you start to feel like you are about to be part of something special, this magical feeling comes over you and when you walk past the ushers down to your seats. You feel so small in this larger then life theater.  The Stage for the Christmas story the musical. from the first impression with its bright red and radio studio theme, you know your in for a great treat before the curtain comes up!

They take on a brand new adaptation of the classic 1983 film, "A Christmas Story: The Musical". The show brought back to me the fond memories of the film and left me with a wonderful sense of hope for this new family tradition I hope that it will become.  

In case you haven‘t seen the movie that is shown incessantly over the holiday season (sometimes for 24 hour periods nonstop) You live under a freaking rock!!  Here's a rundown for you anyway, I wont hold it against you too much, 

You get to follow the quest of young Ralphie Parker as he plots and schemes to convince his parents and Santa too! That the one gift to become the best Christmas present in the world, is a Red Ryder 200 Shot Carbine Action Air Rifle. The problem is he keeps running into obstacles of his Mother, his teacher and even Santa as they warn him away from the gift with the familiar, "You'll shoot your eye out." But Ralphie is tenacious and will have his prize!  

we are also able to get to know the rest of the Parkers and their neighbors as we dive into the world of story originator Jean Shepherd. Complete with bullies, major awards and triple dog dares, the story takes us back to a simpler time. A time to escape back during the few hours that the play takes to tell its delightful story. It was just what I know I needed. 

While we were there we were able to enjoy a special treat when the boy who played Ralphie Now 39, Peter Billingsley was in attendance telling all of us that this movie  "has always meant a lot [to him] personally." Billingsley switched from a successful child acting career to a successful producing one. He's is the man producing this musical version of the movie at the 5th Ave! You might have heard of some other production he has been a part of as well..... like  "Iron Man" and "Four Christmases" serving as executive producer. Being that he loves the Christmas Story like no one else can might have been the added love that made this show so wonderful!!! 

The Live show is a charmer and is over the top with talent.  the feel of the original material intact and still hits all the important parts, hitting the nail on the head in all the right spots.  that have become so familiar and a staple for most of us. The play made me truly feel like it was the start to the Christmas season.

Keeping the wonderful theme the costumes,  that look like they were transported right from the movie by Elizabeth Hope Clancy, In my mind this helped me see it as the new theatrical holiday standard by which all of the other production around the holiday Should be judged. 

The Children in every single scene that they were in all were show stoppers! The play will only help springboard their careers. They held their own and demanded you to sit up in your seats and take notice. They were a pleasure to watch. The funniest part of the entire show was the FUdddddddddggggggggggeeee part! It was wonderful to see the Children and the adults play & interact together. 

the songs "Ralphie to the Rescue" and "A Major Award" were both complete show stoppers and crucial to the story. “Sticky situation” broke out in song when the triple dog dare was thrown down. I sing it all the time and my “Hub’s” at first thought that it was cute now finds it un-bareable. I truly wish that they had the music for sale for us to buy. It is one I would love to have in my Holiday collection.

The cast was amazing, Hand Picked perfectly having amazing style for the time period. Clarke Hallum plays the scheming Ralphie an adoreable young man that I just wanted to put him in my coat pocket and bring him home. with me. His voice is right up there with any of the adults on stage. He was as intended the star of the show! 

Anne Allgood was lovely as Ralphie's Mother and her Vocal talents in the Second act where she picks up her son after his fight only to turn around and covers for Ralphie had me with a lump in my throat choking back the tears. 

Frank Corrado was the perfect narrator & when I was sitting there I truly thought it had to be the Original narrator of the movie! As he weaves this wonderful tale for us in the fun theme of a radio drama. 

Ralphies “Old man”, was played by the talented show stealer, John Bolton With his over the top antics and especially with his fun & zealous "Major Award" number! He was made for this role or maybe this role was made for him. 

You have one more week to enjoy this great Production! Do yourself a favor and buy this for a loved one and put it under the tree! 

"A Christmas Story: The Musical" plays at the 5th Avenue Theatre through December 30th. For tickets or information contact the 5th Avenue Box Office at 206-625-1900 or toll free at 888-5TH-4TIX (584-4849) or visit them online at www.5thavenue.org.

* Thank you to the 5th Ave for sharing their wonderful photos!!!!!***

I loved the bucket list! I think it was so amazing to check things off your life list. I have a copy of the places to see before you die ( both in the world & just the USA) The other day when I was watching my girl Rachel Ray there were some really cute young guys on the show and they were talking about having to host a cooking show so of course they were on Rachel’s show! Their show is on MTV ( a secret I don’t share but I have to watch most of their shows! I miss the Hill’s and LC so bad!) THis show is called Hill’s and LC so bad!) THis show is called The Buried Life. 

The show is about a group of friends who created a list of "100 things to do before you die" and they travel across the globe to fulfill each goal. AND...when they accomplish one thing on their list, they help someone fulfill something they wanted to do before they die, on their lists. . I also found many girls that blog that have done this as well. :) I am super excited to get started. 

So, wish me luck. I have 1001 days to complete this list. Cheers to my count down.....That's when this list will end and a new one will begin!

MY 101 LIST FOR 1095 DAYS: Will be done on December 18th 2013

Red means that I am working on it. Blue with a line means I have done it! 

1  Become a Mommy! 

2. Clean the Garage.

3. Build an emergency fund with at least 8 months of income in it.

4. Join the Gym. ( and go! ) 

5. Start and open a non-profit for women that have lost their fertility under the age of 30. Help them have babies through IVF.

6. Take a Yoga Class and stick with it. 

7. Order something at a restaurant that I would never order!!!

8. Learn my mom’s chocolate cherry recipe.

9. Take a cake decorating class

10. Go to movie mid day all alone.

11. Attend a wine tasting…and try to like it! ( I don’t like wine its too dry!)

12. Cook Hubs a candlelight dinner. 

13. Make Kingstongirl a household name.  

14. Volunteer at the Children’s Hospital

15. Volunteer at the Ronald McDonald house.

16. Go to the SAM and see the Picasso

17. Attend the Race for the Cure

18. Host a dinner party for a few close friends

19. Get plants for my home I don’t have them because they never live.

20. Take a photography class.

21. Order prints of all my favorite pictures

22. Find a new hobby. 

23. Join a book club

24. Take a cooking class with the hubs.

25. Backup all my pictures to an external hard drive

26. Send handwritten letters to my close friends and tell them why I love them. 

27. Write and finish my series of travel books....

28. ....then get them published.

29. Read more books

30. Master baking a cake from scratch, frosting included

31. Go to Disenyworld at Christmas time. 

32. Go down Hwy 101 through California on the coast.

33. Re-new my vows with Chris.

34. Take Hub's to San Fransico

35. Go to Paris for my 10th Anniversary.

36. Spend my birthday in Vegas

37. Go to the theater in Seattle. 

38. Get all my photos from Highschool, to 2010 in scrapbooks. 

40. Get a will made up for Chris and I. 

41. Clean out my closet and donate old clothes to charity

42. Start swimming again. 

43. Learn to sew again. 

44. Spend more time with my Grandparents and soak in their stories. 

45. Quit drinking Diet coke. 

46. plant a veggie garden

47. spend a day at the beach.

48. Take a picture of each house I have lived in and put it in a photo book.

49. Go to Mexico

50. Go more green.

51. Take Chris Kayaking on Lake Union and Lake Washington

52. carve my name in a tree ( CG+SG at the devils punch bowl OR.)

53. Drive from the west coast to the east coast.

54. Visit Hawaii

55. Road trip from Seattle to the Florida keys.

56. Throw a winter ball.

57. Drive by myself to See my friend Yvonne in Montana

58. Climb the Eiffle tower

59. Send my mom flowers. 

60.  Get a Nikkon Camera.

61. Have a weekly radio show.

62. Pick a cookbook and make something out of it everyday.

63. sit in one sitting and watch the entire Starwars series.

64.Go to Italy

65. Go on a Disney Cruise

66. Buy a VW bus van

67. Go to Mount Ranier

68. Go to Crater Lake

69. Stay at the Cresent Lodge

70.....Klaloch lodge

71. Eat dinner at the Space needle.

72. Get a farmers market tent.

73. Be a part of a Full summer season of farmers market.

74. Be on the NY Best sellers list. 
75. Meet Rachel Ray.
76. Host a New years eve Ball. 

77. Spend a weekend in Portland.

78. Take a photography class

79. See the Macy's day parade 

80. Watch the ball drop in time Square

81. Get professional pictures taken, headshots, of myself

82. Buy a new Kitchen aid. 

83. re new my vows with my hubs.

84. Build a huge blogger network.

85. Visit Uncle Tony & Aunt Mary in Texas.

86. Spend a weekend in Palm Springs.

87. Learn to bake like my Mom & Cook like my dad.

88. Knit a sweater.

89. Play the flute again.

90. Make celebration cakes kits for all the food banks in the area.

91. Become a Chamber member for 10 towns. 

92. Be the women of the year. 

93  Read all my childhood books over again.

94. Ride in 25 parades with Kingstongirl.

95. Go to my Nephews B-day party in June.

96. Let past hates in my heart go away.

97. Make and sell things on Etsy! :) 

98. Re decorate the bedrooms in our house. 

99. Save enough for a new Apple Desk top. 

100. Be happy and laugh everyday. 

101. 

Meet me Monday!

Do you regift...and if so, do you have a re-gifting horror story?

No I don’t re-gift. The reason being is that a few years back both sides of my family did a gift exchange.  My aunt (only by blood not by anything else) gave me a cookie jar, I love snowmen so I thought for the very first time in my life that she gave me a gift. I opened it with this small feeling of exceptance from the aunt that never really seemed to give a shit about me.  I almost shit my pants when I say a gift tag, and the left over cookie crumbs. The note said 

to: Shitie Aunt  From: Your secret Santa Charlie.  My mom, Dad and hubs saw it, others in my family think I was making it up, that I wasn’t being truthful. Needless to say We don’t do the gift exchange on that side of my family. 

I guess I would think about re-gifting if it was A) a great gift. B) Neither party would know one another and ever be able to trace it back to being a re-gift. 

2. Do you know what you are getting for Christmas this year?

No...but I've already received the only thing I've ever wanted in life... Tune in for my Christmas eve blog post.

one year I was totally into Twin peaks, I had asked my parents to get me the long list of Twin peaks items, The Laura Palmer diary, the 50’s pleated skirt, a sweater that would go with the skirt, all the thought my mom put into these gifts and I opened the gift bags and saw all the gifts, but that Christmas morning I had to act surprised and the empty feeling was awful..... then my mom and Dad gave me a letter and inside it said we know you peeked but we still wanted to make it special. So we are taking you to all the places that the twin Peaks show shows us! So we got the cherry pie, see the falls! It was great. :) 

I never peeked again at anything! Also I got to say I love my surprise’s!!!

Who brings the most gifts in your family, you or Santa?

Well We do one gift from Santa to each of us, most of the time it is the big gift. 

We can’t wait until the day when there are chubby cheeked babies sitting around the tree! Hub’s and I both know that  nothing will be better than rising on Christmas morning, all bleary eyed and rumpled with sleep to watch our children ooh and ahh over their Santa stuff!!

Warms my heart just thinking about it!

4. What store do you love to by jeans from?

Well if I am on a budget then I will say Old Navy, or the Gap! I love their boyfriend jeans at the Gap or the Sweetheart jeans at Old Navy, If I have a gift card or my mom and Dad tell me that they are buying me some new clothes for my birthday, we go to Nordstroms and I get the JAG jeans and they are like wearing butter! & my butt always looks great! Not like a back with a slit in it. I have the flat butt all the women have on my Dad’s side of the family have! 

5. Christmas meal: Big, All Out Meal or Snacks and Apps?

Big meal. (Yes,Daddy’ O...that's my vote!)

Our Christmas Eve is a freakin' marathon of Christmas cheer! I love it! Starts with Chris and I having a big breakfast, then we start to make the rounds this year it will go to our close friends to drop off Cinnamon Rolls for them to enjoy Christmas morning. Then to my in laws for a quick hello ( we eat snacks here!) to that side of the family. 

Then the big extended clan comes over to a hall we have to rent because our family is that big!!!! We see Santa! He makes a stop for all the kids! This is where “Hubs” asked me to marry him. :)  ( WE EAT A POT LUCK DINNER HERE!!!!) 

Then we go to my Auntie Lisa’s house ( My Dad’s sisters house) where we do my Dad’s side of the gift exchange. ( we have snacks and we eat home made cheese cake!)

Christmas Day, my “Hub’s” working on Christmas morning this year, so I’ll stay in bed for as long as I can, so I don’t get tempted for opening my gifts. I will watch the Christmas day parade eating something that is in the fridge.  Later that day we will do dinner with my Parents and exchange our gifts. That night when its just the “Hubs” and I we will open our gifts. 

Even though it is a busy two days, it is what Christmas is all about, friends, family, food, gifts of laughter and fun! 

Happy Holidays! may this week be magical and full of moments that turn into wonderful memories. :) Check in Friday for my xmas eve post. 

Super blog hop for Saturday! :)

Surfin' Saturdays: Week 24 Blog Hop!

I love meeting new friends and that is what these blog hops are all about so relax and make some friends!

A conversation with Heather from New York owner of Scrapping Your Way!

How long have you lived in the area?

I have lived in New York City for over 20 years.

How much family history do you have in the area? 

Both my parents were born and raised in New York City. However, I am the only one living in New York City these days.

What is your favorite thing about the area?

I love the energy of the city. The simple fact that when you open your door and step out into the city there are these amazing opportunities out there for anyone to grab. There really is no one favorite thing about the City that I love.

What would you change if you could about the area?

Nothing

What made you start your own business? 

I started to not like what I was doing anymore. I realized that my job was taking up a tremendous amount of my personal time. The fact is, I did not have anytime to do what I loved which was to craft. 

Hence, I began to take steps to make what I wanted to do, as reality. I still had my day job while working on the outer shell which would be the business itself.

I was working in a Publishing job that made me restless. I started to not like what I was doing anymore. I realized that my job was taking up a tremendous amount of my personal time. The fact is, I did not have anytime to do what I loved which was to craft. 

While I was working in Publishing I came up with an idea to create scrapbooks for people. Not to make the actual books, but to create a scrapbook using people’s photos. I had the idea, but I then had to see if there was a market for my idea. I did some research and discovered that people did create scrapbooks, but not as a service. 

What is the hardest part of having your own business?

Since I work from home, it is hard to “shut down” and have down time. 

Where would you like our town to be in over the next five years?

I would love to be see the same customers I work with now, in five years. I would love to continue to do what I do, and that is craft. 

What is your favorite thing to do in our town? 

One of my favorite things to do is run in Central Park. Central Park itself is so beautiful. It is a tourist attraction with so much to do. 

What is your favorite Store in town?

I do not have a favorite store at this time.

Do you give to any local charities you work with?

I do not work with any local charities at the present time.

What is your business motto? 

There is not one business motto I go by. When I create a product I do tell people the following:

“We only promote a product that we would personally use when creating all handmade products.” 

I tell customers this whether it be a scrapbook, handmade cards, paper die cuts, scrapbook kits.

It is important for me to put the best product out there I can. If I am not happy with the end product, I will not sell the item to anyone. 

 Tell me anything you would love to share about your business.

When I came up with the idea of creating scrapbooks for people using their photos, I thought all I would be doing is strictly working on albums.

However, the business is more than creating albums for people, it has morphed into creating handmade cards, scrapbook kits, and die cuts for people. 

What a great girl to review and do ad space for! She inspires me to the fullest. Her ideas are amazing. Heather you are adorable and I am glad that my blogging made it so we could meet up. Check her link out on my Right side of my blog with the other ads 

Here is her Link; scrappingyourway and her etsy shop or her fan page on facebook

Enter to win a giveaway for Diapers by the Slice.

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If you are looking for a baby shower gift that's a bit on the fun side, a great gift to be the one at the shower that will be the envy for the best gift! How fun will that be! :) 

One lucky reader will win a diaper cake by doing the following. 

Get one additional entry for each of the following you do.

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