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Friday, September 30, 2016

Grand Rapids, Michigan

The next day of our Michigan sojourn was spent in Grand Rapids. The only thing I knew about the city before visiting was that my Mom went to college there. We ended up driving by the school at one point.

We started our day by walking around the extensive Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. I loved the juxtaposition of natural, plant life with man-made sculptures. There were so many amazing pieces throughout the gardens!

This sculpture is by Kiki Smith. The name immediately sounded familiar and it's because one of her pieces, Wolf Girl, was shown in a Gilmore Girls episode. I also featured Wolf Girl at my Gilmore Girls themed birthday party.
After the Gardens, we headed to Robinette's Apple Haus for lunch. Walking in, it smelled amazing from all the apple cider donuts and other goodies. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed sitting outside at one of their picnic tables and did some people-watching. Later my mom was telling us she would go here for lunch while in college.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Holland, Michigan

Recently Charles and I traveled to Michigan for a couple family events. The major reason was for my paternal grandfather's memorial service. He passed away in late August. We took the opportunity of going to Michigan and spent a couple days doing some sightseeing. Our first day was spent in Holland. Holland was settled by Dutch immigrants and they have kept their Dutch culture intact through various tourist spots and such. I remember visiting once as a teenager with my mom and sisters. I thought it would be fun to show Charles the area.

Our first stop in Holland was a late breakfast at deBoer Bakkerij. I had the Blue Raspberry Bliss Cakes and they were so yummy!

Then we went to Nelis' Dutch Village. Most of the park was closed since it was a weekday, but we walked around outside and went into the gift shop. Part of the gift shop is a candle carving area. The candles are amazing! We watched a video in the shop of how they create the candles and it was very interesting to see the whole process.

Then we headed over to the Windmill Island Gardens Park. This was our favorite part of our Holland visit. It's a beautiful park with a windmill that was shipped over from the Netherlands in the 50's. The windmill tour was fascinating and offered great views of the whole park. It would be neat to visit during tulip season.

After that we visited "Big Red" which is the Holland lighthouse. There is a state park beach there, as well. We enjoyed walking around and then sitting on a bench overlooking the water. Holland is really a lovely town!

Our last stop before heading back to the hotel was Bowerman's Blueberries Farm Market. You can pick your own blueberries there, but we just perused the market. We left with some blueberry lemonade, blueberry cinnamon bread and the best fudge I've ever had.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Design: Thrift Shop Hours

Our base Thrift Shop is adding some hours in October and I was asked to create a flyer to promote it. Since the new hours are starting in October, I decided to go with a fall theme for the flyer. I saw something kind of similar during a Google search and thought it would be fun to create something like it.

Fonts used
Adorable
Quicksand


Monday, September 5, 2016

Design: Family Feud Social

The next social I was asked to create a flyer for was a Family Feud Game Night. My design centered around the logo. Mostly it was helpful in coming up with the colors to use in the rest of the flyer. It should be a fun evening! I'm a little bummed that I will miss it. We'll be traveling to Michigan for my Grandpa's memorial service.

Fonts Used
Quicksand
MeganHand


Thursday, September 1, 2016

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

A couple months ago we got some free peanut butter from the USDA food giveaway on our base. I was inspired to make a breakfast item using the free peanut butter. Since I very much enjoy the peanut butter and chocolate combination, I thought muffins would be a good vehicle for those two flavors. I found a recipe on Pinterest and really, really enjoyed the finished product. The recipe is from Chocolate, Chocolate and More. I found that I thought they tasted better after each day. They are best served warm so the chocolate chips are a little melted inside.


 Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 1/2 t salt
1 T baking powder
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil (although I think we used coconut oil)
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin pan (spray cups or insert cupcake liners)

Stir together flour, salt, baking powder and chocolate chips in large bowl.

Combine milk, eggs, sugar, peanut butter and oil in a separate bowl; combine ingredients until just moistened. Do not over beat.

Fill muffin tins. Top with a few chocolate chips (optional). Bake for 14 minutes.


Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Design: Open House

I was recently asked to make an Open House flyer for my base's Cinderella's Closet. Cinderella's Closet is a dress-borrowing service which is fantastic for those ladies attending the Air Force Ball that is coming up in September.

Fonts Used
Cursif
Perpetua Titling MT
Century
Quicksand


Friday, August 12, 2016

Design: Luau

I am loving being the Publicity chair for my base's Officers' Spouses' Club! It gives me a chance to use my creativity and passion for creating flyers. The first social of the club's calendar year is coming up and it is a luau! I enjoyed creating this one because it reminded me of my trip to Hawaii earlier this year.

When creating a flyer for a luau there are so many beautiful colors you can use. I searched for fun graphics to use and base my color choices off of. I was lucky to find the hibiscus image with all the colors I love. Pink is my all-time favorite color, but I also love yellow, green and aqua. 

Fonts used
Quicksand
Hawaiian Punk