book layout design | a life history by bernice cheshire

picking the books up from the print shop is rewarding. seeing all those stacks of collated paper, ready to roll, is pretty rad. however, picking them up from the local bindery is my favorite. watching fifty volumes of a book (that i designed!) slide into boxes for me to take home is a pretty amazing feeling. this was a super top secret mission, but i had to snap a text pic to dan of our new arrival. when you create a book, waiting on its completion is like waiting for a baby to come. "it's here!!"

dan's sweet grandmother, bernice cheshire, recently wrote her own life history by hand (click the last image below, her old school process of cutting and pasting handwritten paragraphs is the best). her daughter, my mother-in-law, shanna has been a key role in making her mother's book come to life and shanna solicited my knowledge in book design. it was a big project to take on. doing work for a family member adds tremendous pressure, especially for a beloved grandmother! of course i jumped at the chance to help. i love grandma bernice so much and have very much adopted her as my own.

bernice is ninety-five and has so much vitality, strength and stamina! bernice remember details of our lives, works in her garden and hosts parties and fixes salads for potluck suppers. she still laughs at dan's jokes and loves my littles when we come visit. she is always smiling and chooses to see the sunny side of life. bernice is a heroine of mine. it was truly an honor to assist in creating this book for her. she is a wonderful writer and has written a lovely history.

months ago we were sitting at my kitchen table and she was hesitant about creating a book and distributing it. she wondered who might like to own a copy of her book!! (we had to convince her that taking it to the copy shop and spiral binding it was not the best route for her incredible story!) luckily she grasped the vision of creating a beautiful bound book to enhance her writing and highlight it with the photos that illustrate her life. she has been graciously excited about putting this project into my hands ever since. here's a peek at the finished book...

 

easter weekend 2013

easter sunday dinner and egg hunt at amy's home. the teenagers taught benji about trading; their candy for his money. (benji gave up his money willingly without any trade. it was pretty cute.) good thing i have nieces to teach me everything i am missing on instagram, snapchat and youtube. p.s. i laughed my head off at this you forgot the blueberries clip. #thankssophie.


darling easter table. the food was so good, i was too busy eating to photograph.


the golden egg in the exhaust pipe trick.


oma and opa hosted an event to remember: an egg hunt (ears provided), the bunny hop, talent show, an egg roll race (i am dying to photoshop that grass green!) and easter sweets galore. it was warm and sunny and a perfect park day. i love watching benji (and seth!) play with their cousins.


dan provided the glazed maple bacon donuts. they actually tasted pretty good. not sure i ever need one again. admittedly, looking at this photo now makes my stomach a bit squirmish. (the kids thought it was an april fools trick. yuck! bacon!?!)


best easter loot: cool band-aids. genius thinking, mom!


my easter boys in their sunday best. in my opinion, little boys belong in plaid. (i'm gonna have to roll these babes to sears or something to get a decent photo of them together!) bummer i didn't snap a picture of myself yesterday; i was actually dressed properly. ha!

hope you had a happy easter with you and yours. xo.

recently / christmas 2012

christmas, christmas time is here. can we even believe it? the countdown is almost done! i hope you and yours are enjoying a cozy, warm christmas season. this month we've crunched in a lot of christmas-ing. we've enjoyed creating christmas traditions within our home. we got a stubby little tree from home depot! benji's pick. i fed seth while dan and benj decorated. the girls got in on the annual cousins candlelight party and we took our boys to the christmas lights on temple square. i have done a lot of secret christmas shopping with seth in tow. we've been addressing envelopes and drinking my favorite fancy hot chocolate (the ticket kitchen shop!). we've hung out with santa. present wrapping and singing carols (loud, for all to hear). we attended benji's first preschool nativity program (he was the innkeeper)! had a little dinner party (a good excuse for using christmas dishes!) and served cheesy pull-apart breadsticks. a trip to anthropologie makes the season bright. among other dishes, i cooked my first real turkey! dan was so excited, i put it in the fridge with a gift tag on it saying, to dan, love your wifey. the fridge is stocked with ham and homemade cranberry sauce, and gravy! my first gravy! and a pot of turkey noodle soup with homemade noodles. (come visit. we have food. ha!) we've had game night (yay quirkle) with friends and eaten rice pudding (i look forward to it all year long). oohing and ahhing over pretty christmas cards. i even glittered snowflakes with my nieces and later, bundled up for a family date night to park city (a cozy bookstore, some window shopping and pizza too).

a four year old makes christmastime magic and his little brother is getting his first tooth!! he is the happiest baby i know; smiling at everyone and drooling like crazy. we are still looking forward to: chinese take-out on christmas eve. candy gingerbread houses. the christmas story from the bible. remembering Christ and His gift of life eternal. reading favorite stories under a new christmasy quilt (thank you abby and whit)! delivering cookie dough neighbor gifts. more christmas movies. stuffing four stockings! santa claus surprises. and a family reunion to boot (with my entire family. hooray).

hope you have a very merry christmas. xo.

and the george bailey award goes to...

my dear great-aunt marie. one of our favorite songbirds passed away today. i am thankful i had the chance to see her (and sing to her!) one last time. marie truly lived a wonderful life. i'll never forget her love of dominoes and card games. her love for singing and chit chat. marie was in the mormon tabernacle choir and played dolly in the musical hello dolly long ago. she had such style and always wore costume jewelry and shimmery seasonal sweaters. she had a gorgeous case of red dishes. she loved red! i served sparkling cider in some of her glasses just last sunday night. they are on my top shelf, always ready for a holiday party. when my family lived in england, she sent me letters with puffy cabbage patch stickers. my four year old self lapped up all her attention. i remember a family sing-along, sitting in her lap, rocking side to side, singing you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey. her beautiful voice booming in my ear. now i do the same with my little ones. she played the ukulele and was always up for late-night shenanigans. she had a big personality and a happy, hearty grin.

all is calm,
all is bright.
sleep in heavenly peace. 

love you.

p.s my family had a christmas tradition of giving George Bailey Awards to loved ones who had made a special impact in our lives that year. i have fond memories of my family–all around the table–writing letters to neighbors explaining how important they were to us. read more about it here.

image via It's A Wonderful Life

recently / octoberfest

+ goodies for good ghouls and boys.
+ staining our new front door! hooray for the do-it-yourself movement.
+ the cousins carnival. abby hosted an amazing autumn carnival for the kids. tons o' fun.
+ cutest haunted house beanbag (pumpkin) toss ever, created by my sister amy.
+ tractor rides and firetrucks with old friends. so happy to hang with hilary & co.
+ legos, superheroes, nursery rhymes. this big imagination stage is awesome.
+ two tuckered out little fellas. i love family naps on my bed.

p.s. i can't remember autumn sunshine feeling this good. yay, october.

autumn brunch in the backyard