BOISE STATE GRADUATION 2013

My baby sister--who is not so much a baby anymore--graduated from Boise State last weekend with a master's degree.

I am so proud.

Rebecca Jolley is a master of English, rhetoric, and composition. 

The graduation ceremony was a miserable, three-hour affair. BYU-I ingeniously divides up the majors into different buildings to makes the ceremonies go faster. 

But not Boise State. After the 2,000th student's name was announced, I was ready to sell my LIVER on the black market to make. it. stop.

In my defense, I was sick. And I had forgotten my phone back at Becca's apartment, so I had nothing to do but wallow in misery. But then, as if to make up for what they just put us through, glitter rained down from the ceiling for the last 10 minutes. 

Apparently, falling glitter makes me happy. 

Becca was blessed with some awesome friends during her Boise State experience.

Her best friend Kevin, graduated with the same master's degree.

A Hawaiian friend in their major, had the matching leis made for her and the other 4 master of English, rhetoric, and composition graduates.

We continued to take many, many pictures, but I'll only share the few successes. It's not that Becca isn't pretty to look at. 

She just seems to have an inability to be photographed with her eyes open. 

Lovely lady.

This is my new favorite picture of my family.We had such a wonderfully happy weekend and this picture just seems to illustrate that. 

With the Big D.

I think our parents did alright by us, don't you?

In exchange for the cost of her master's program, Becca accepted an assistanceship and taught 100 level writing classes. Here she is in her classroom. 

And here she is by her desk...looking all professor-like.

Then Becca showed us around Boise. We picnicked, window shopped, admired local art and mocuments, and watched giraffes fight at the local zoo. 

Seriously people, if you have never seen giraffes fighting, you're missing out. Go YouTube it. 

We also oohed and awed over countless geese and their new hatchlings. 

Don't mess with the mamas. They mean business.

Goslings in a row. 

I took more pictures of these guys than I did of Becca. It's embarrassing, really. For your sake, I'll only share 5% of them.

Last one.

I suddenly have the urge to snuggle something. 

And finally, Becca's happy dance. It had to be shared. 

Next time you see her, ask Becca to demonstrate this happy Snoopy dance. It is hilariously accurate.

Bursting with Love and Pride,

Rachel

RON WEASLEY PILLOW

This was my Christmas present to The Beck. My sister is in love with the Ron Weasley character. I thought I would share the idea for any other Harry Potter fans out there. 

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When I saw her pin a similar pillow of him on her Pinterest wish list board, I figured it would be easy enough for me to piece together. 

All the fabric came from Wal-Mart clearance bins, my own scrap collection, and a decorative pillow that doesn't match my house anymore. I made the scarf out of soft fleece to give it texture and help it stand out from the rest of the pillow. 

It took me over an hour to make the one pillow, but I imagine it would be a lot faster for those who actually know their way around a sewing machine. I'm still learning.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.

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The brownie pan to end all brownie pans. Andrew won't come home anymore to find every single edge piece carefully carved out with only the gooey middle left behind.  

Ha! Who am I kidding...now there'll be nothing left!

My purse exploded with a strange sound on our way out for dinner. What I found inside was Andrew's cleverly hidden gift to me: my very first smart phone. 

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I hope to learn to operate it in the near future. Keep me in your prayers.

I received the sweetest, homemade birthday card from my little sister. I labeled it for you so you would understand the story. Cute, huh? Her likenesses are impressively accurate.

In case you're wondering, this is not from one of my 5-year old twin sisters. Or the eight-year old. It's from my twenty-four year old sister in grad school. But it tops the list as one of my most favorite birthday cards ever. 

Did I tell you Lane is living with us right now? Well, he is. And he enthusiastically announced that his gift to me would be homemade gyoza. 

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Even if I didn't LOVE the stuff (which I do), I never would have argued with him. He and Andrew lit up like Christmas trees discussing all of the Japanese ingredients they would need to purchase. 

Deep concentration. Lane and I are filling the won ton wrappers and sealing them shut with water. The insides consist of cabbage, pork, mushrooms, and a whole lot of spices and herbs I've never seen before.

Gyoza...pot stickers...mandoo...about the same delicious thing. We ate lots and lots of them with sticky rice and chopsticks while I tried to follow Andrew and Lane's story swapping about their crazy experiences in Japan. 

Anyway. It's official. I am 27 now. I suppose I should start feeling like an adult sometime soon...

When did you guys start feeling "adult-like?" 

MOVIE QUOTE MAGNETS (homemade gift tutorial)

All families have their own favorite quotes and silly, you-had-to-be-there inside jokes. Upon joining my family, I'm sure Andrew was completely lost trying to follow some conversations. One of us would say something off-the-wall (that undoubtedly came from a favorite movie we had just been reminded of)...we'd all laugh hysterically...and then Andrew would sit there awkwardly wondering what the heck was so funny. 

Anyway. I decided to take a few favorites and create a special birthday gift for my sis. Of course, you don't have to use movie quotes. Other ideas might include names, photos, clip art, boldly patterned scrapbook or wrapping paper, monograms, etc. 
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But here's what I did. 

First, I typed and printed off a bunch of quotes in varying fonts and colors. Second, I took a flat glass marble (found at any craft store), laid it over the chosen quote, and traced around it with a pencil. This ensured the paper fit the shape of the glass just right. Then I cut it out.

Next, I used mod podge to attach the paper to the underside of the glass marble, so the quote was visible through it. An extra protective coat was brushed over everything.

Then, I took magnets (also from the local craft store)...

...And hot glued one to the back of the flat glass marble. 

That's it. It's ready to stick to the fridge.

The finished products were cute and personal...some serious, some ridiculous. Here are a few. 

(How many of the movies can you identify? Answers are listed at the end of the post.)

The above quote is from a movie I can recite from memory we watched it so often as kids. 

That scandalous quote at the top comes from a hilarious, family-friendly favorite. Becca's impersonation of this line is so spot-on I couldn't resist including it. 

The one on the far right is an unexpected quip from a beloved magical character.

All three of these come from the same Shakespeare play (made into a movie with the likes of Denzel Washington, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thomspon, Keanu Reaves, and Kate Beckinsale). We love this movie. 

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"These mashed potatoes are so creamy."

While You Were Sleeping

"You had a child with the new maid?!"

Oscar

"Hey, ho the wind and the rain."

Twelfth Night, by William Shakepeare

"I do love knitting patterns."

Albus Dumbledore, from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

"Sweet, Beatrice!"

"Man is a Giddy Thing."

"Sigh no more..."

Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare

How'd you do? What's your score out of 5? Any favorite movie lines of your own? There are so many great ones, I've already thought of others I wish I'd used...

WEBSITE WEDNESDAY {jolleyonmovies}

Then you have to check out THIS site!

Let me explain why I love it:

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1.) Its snarky synopses and movie reviews hold just the right mix of the profound and the cynical to keep you entertained and informed.

2.) Movies geared toward all ages and interests are included: action, sci-fi, romantic comedies, children, movie adaptations, new releases, old classics, and even TV series.
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3.) Not sure if that show will be appropriate for you or your family? Find out the reasons behind those ratings.
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4.) Can't find the specific show you're looking for? No worries. Click on the "requests" tab and fill in your suggestion.
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5.) The site may also be run by my lil' sis. But WAIT! Don't be so fast to roll your eyes. I promise I'm not biased! This girl can write. I wouldn't post about it if I didn't sincerely think so myself.
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6.) If anything, the clever writing will make you laugh out loud. It's seriously hilarious.


GO AHEAD! Browse around for your next movie rental, and give her some blog love while you're at it. Let her know where you came from too. I am SO going to be the favorite sibling after this.


P.S. You can also like the Facebook page HERE.

CRAFTY GRADUATION GIFT {tutorial diy}

My sister recently graduated from BYU-I with her B.A. in English. The timing of her internship and the start of her master's program are such that she won't have an opportunity to walk across the stage when her name is called. No graduation cap, no hand shaking with university dignitaries, and no smiling photographs with family members. Poor Becca, right?

But graduating is kind of a big deal. Something to celebrate--something to be really proud of!
Being the wonderful sister that I am, I couldn't stand for this important event to slip by unrecognized.
So I made her a present--a special, personalized gift to commemorate all that she has accomplished, and all that she has yet to accomplish in that bright future of hers.

I bought the fattest letters I could find (greater surface area for maps) and painted just along the edges. The rest I would be covering up, anyway.

Then I pulled out my scissors and thrift store atlas and went to town! Our spare bedroom was--and still is--a wreck.
The hardest part of this project was cutting and piecing it all to fit properly on the wood letters.

I originally got my idea from HERE, but I wanted to make this more personalized.
So I included bits and pieces of everywhere she's lived or vacationed to that might mean something to her: Gilbert, Mesa, Flagstaff, Provo, Orem, California, Nauvoo,Washington D.C., Mt. Rushmore, Rocky Point in Mexico...

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...and many, many more. This girl has been busy!
I visually separated each destination with super thin, white strips of paper, and cut the Eiffel tower image from a vintage map of Europe I bought for $1.00.

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Then I decoupaged over everything several times, and it was ready to hang on a wall or display on a book shelf.

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Then, almost by accident, I came across THIS free printable that was a perfect fit in every way: Becca loves to read, the "knowing" and "learning" matched the occasion of graduation, the colors matched, and it even used the word "GO" in capital letters.

Divine intervention, I'm tellin' ya! I never could have come up with anything better myself.

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I printed it out on photo paper, mounted it on scrapbook paper, hole punched the corner, and tied everything together with raffia.

A picture perfect graduation gift that I even got to hand deliver when we visited her in New York last week!

And she loved it.