Thorne... minus the E.

Did anyone know it's hot in North Carolina in June? And muggy?? Holy moly. I thought I could handle the heat. 90 and humid is just plain awful though!!! Despite the weather, we had so much fun last weekend in North Carolina for the Thorne Family Reunion.

We attended a funeral when we arrived for Stefan's grandmother, Maggie. She passed away just before the reunion, and it was perfect that so many family members and friends could be there to celebrate her life. I loved hearing all the stories about Grandma Maggie because I heard Stefan in so many of those stories. She made sure her kids were well-disciplined and showed respect. Discipline and respect might as well be Stefan's middle names. Her demeanor, love for her family and love for life were truly wonderful to hear about. It made me see so many of Stefan's traits in his dad and now, his grandmother. Simply beautiful.

The family reunion was really fun--- meeting so many Thorne's from all across the country. I thought I had a huge family.... this one is pretty big too. I love learning about genealogy and the Thorne's are uncovering so many different family lines all over the place! We even got more information about the Thorne vs. Thorn differences.... 

This is what we already knew: When Stefan's dad was born, they misspelled his name on his birth certificate. He was supposed to be "Setler Thorne, Jr." However, his birth certificate reads "Sellas Thorn Jr." They completely messed up the first name, and dropped the "e" on the last name. We were known throughout the reunion as the Thorne's without an E. Everyone knew us.

This was new to us: During one of the meetings, another family member was talking about genealogy and she said that in her research, they found that the original name was spelled T-H-O-R-N (no E!) and over time, the "E" was added!!! There's also another line of Thorn(e)'s out there that added an "S" at the end.... Thorns. Very interesting. But we all felt good hearing that the Northwest/Southwest Thorn's have the correct spelling of the last name. :) You know how I am with misspelled words!

Thorne, Thorns, Thorn.... we're all the same family, and I definitely felt that throughout the weekend. We had so much fun and can't wait to see everyone again!

Wannabe Blogger

A couple weeks ago, my friend Dawn and I went to an Arizona Crafters Night Out at Sweet Cakes Cafe in Mesa. It's a fun event for a bunch of crafty bloggers/business owners in Arizona. Before you start laughing that I was at a CRAFTING event because I'm not very crafty, I want you to know that I sponsored the event for my Stella & Dot business. BUT.... because I was a sponsor, I was lucky enough to be able to buy a ticket in advance! (They sell out like hotcakes!) But, since I didn't want to go and just sit there as the only non-crafter, and non-business blogger, and have people wonder what business I was doing there, I got my friend Dawn a ticket too. You see, we're both blog stalkers. 

We got to the event and felt like we were among celebrities. Blogging celebrities. We follow all of these blogs, and then when you meet the people who are behind the keyboard, you kinda feel a little weird introducing yourself. It's almost like you have a post-it note on your forehead saying "I'm the one that got your site views up to 56,000 last month." Two good things here: 1) I didn't introduce myself and say that, and 2) they didn't know how much of a blog stalker I really am. 

See, I can be crafty.

We made these cute cupcake toppers, thanks to Kim at the TomKat Studio. Yes, she was there. Second time I've been in her presence. She's famous to me, okay? 

We had so much fun, and towards the end of the event, Dawn and I had a blogging epiphany. More to come on that at a later date.... :)


And since I don't have a "real" camera yet... these photos were all stolen from Dawn & Jessica from Sierra Studios Photography.  

Long weekend in Seattle

We had a whirlwind trip to Seattle a couple weeks ago... started out with a graduation party for my nephew, Zak who graduated from my alma mater, Curtis High School on Friday... The weather couldn't have been more perfect to have an afternoon BBQ!! Stefan made some delicious ribs, we had my mom's famous potato salad, ham dip, a fruit pizza, fruit salad, corn and cake. My brother and his wife put together a picture collage of different pictures of Zak-- I remember when he was born and can't believe how quickly time flies!!

The graduation was, to be honest, just like any other CHS graduation. Mr. Cowan, my biology teacher back in the day retired after 30-something years teaching. Other than that, it was pretty much the same. :) After graduation, Stefan and I met up with some friends at none other than the Ale House. 


Saturday we celebrated our friend Breanne and her husband Danny's wedding at the Tacoma Country and Golf Club in Lakewood. The wedding was absolutely beautiful!! Perfect amount of people, beautiful setting and decor, great food, and such a fun reception! (Stefan even did the dougie). It was great to see some old friends and pick up like there was no time in between the last time we saw each other. We had so much fun creating some fun little words with the scrabble pieces at the tables :) Even though we were exhausted after the wedding, we met up with some friends at E9 for a little karaoke. No, not me.... we watched/listened, and when they kicked someone out, we figured it was our time to leave, too. Gotta love Tacoma.

On Sunday, I had brunch with my good friend Jordan in Seattle before heading to a trunk show in Wallingford with an old friend from intermediate school/junior high/high school! It was great seeing AJ, her sister, mom and meeting some of her friends! 


We ended the trip with a wonderful dinner at Shenanigans. I simply cannot get enough seafood when I'm back home. Definitely one of the things I miss most about the PNW! Until next time!!