{wildflowerstudio}

Tag sale goodies

2011-06-09T12:01:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago Oscar and I joined a good friend of mine, Bridget, and her son for some local tag sales. I haven't had the best luck finding great vintage things around my small town, most of the time the tag sales here are filled with baby gear and clothing (great if you need it, but I do not).

Bridget was on the hunt for a coffee table and book shelves, so O and I came along mostly for support and help hauling her purchase home.

I was pleasantly surprised however at the few that we stopped at, as I found some great goodies.

I picked up this little tea plate to add to my collection.

Oscar got another chalk board, and I like that this one has a little ledge to hold his chalk too.

I found this old quilt, it was only .25 cents and all it needed was a good washing to be usable.

I also, grabbed this sweet little child’s chair for .50 cents. Oscar loves that he can climb up on it and get off all by himself, as it is the perfect size for him right now.

Bridget and I also split up a stack of vintage trays that were a steal. Anytime I see a vintage tray I like I pick it up, and have used them for many things throughout my house. I plan on sharing some of the ways I use the trays with you soon.

Bridget seriously scored big time at the tag sales, she snagged up a sweet vintage coffee table (that I am already lusting after), and she got a great deal on it too. She also ended up going home with a cool old classroom clock, an antique orchard basket, and a heavy duty mirror. She didn't find the bookshelf she was looking for, but summer is just beginning and there are going to be many more tag sales to check out, so I have faith that she will find a great piece.

Stay tuned also, for a little redo we are working on in Bridget's great Victorian apartment. Sometime within the next couple of weeks I am headed to her place to update her space by shopping around her own house, and with a little paint and some simple DIY projects I will give a new life to old pieces. We are both excited to get going on this makeover, and I will defiantly share with you our before and after photos, as well as some great tips for doing the same things in your home.

Watercolor May

2011-06-03T07:10:00.000-05:00

This spring has been quite wet here. And although I love a good rain storm, it was hard to get my yard work done, garden planted, and play time in outside because it just wouldn't let up. The last week of May it would rain for a while, then the sun would come up, and then it would rain again, it continued on like this until memorial weekend. Then it was like a light switch turned on and mother nature realized that it was the unofficial start of summer and we need some warm sun.

We were itching to get out of the house, so every time the sun would peek through the clouds that last week in May, Oscar and I would throw on our shoes and head outside until the rain started again.

Even though it was tough to spend a lot of time outside, the rain made everything so pretty. There was a wonderful aroma fo lilacs and fresh rain in the air.

The grass and trees turned green, the gardens started to bloom bright colors, birds chirped back and forth to one another as they gathered up worms, and from time to time a faint rainbow would frame the sky.

I finally got my yard work started (really, it is never finished), my garden is planted, and we are waiting patiently to enjoy some fresh veggies and fruit from it. And of course we have been outside playing any chance we get.

I have been eagerly waiting for summer to begin, as I have a lot planned for Oscar, John and I. We are looking forward to picnics at the park, watching some baseball games, going for bike rides, taking swimming lessons, digging in the garden, visiting the zoo, and much, much more.

It is going to be a great summer, let's just hope the weather cooperates.

Grocery List

2011-05-31T13:06:00.001-05:00

After my Grandma passed away we were going through her belongings and I found a great cream wool cardigan of hers. I asked if I could take it home, and since it was the middle of summer, hung it up in my closet. There it sat until the following winter. When the weather had turned bitterly cold, I grabbed that cardigan to keep warm and instantly smelled my Grandma. I was so surprised that after months of hanging in my closet it still carried her scent. It wasn't the smell of her perfume, and I don't think I could ever actually describe it but it was just a smell of comfort, love, and warmth. I remember that smell as I sat on her lap as a young girl, and just from the smell of that old sweater, I was taken back to many happy memories of her. I got so much comfort wearing that sweater and the scent that it still carried, that I held off on washing it as long as possible. However, the time to wash it had finally come, and I new that after that it would never smell the same. I reached into the pockets to make sure they were empty, and my hand felt a piece of paper that I had never even noticed before. I took it out, and there in my Grandmother's handwriting was a shopping list.

* Candy

* Potatoes

* Plates

What more could you ever need?

Of course there would be candy - and of course it would be the first thing on the list. She had a sweet tooth, and her candy dish would always be full, there would always be cookies (Fig Newton’s or gingersnaps to be exact), and rice crispy bars waiting to be shared.

In the final months of her life, she was quite ill and eating was a chore for her, but she could always have a little candy, and whenever you brought a small bowl of jellybeans (black being her favorite) over to her, she would give you the sweetest smile...like a small child. I loved seeing that smile, so I made sure her little candy bowl was always filled.

I like to imagine what this little shopping list was for. Were they planning on having all of us over to their house and that is why she needed plates? Were the potatoes for my Grandpa's yummy soup? If my assumption is correct, I know we all had a wonderful time visiting, I am sure my Grandpa's soup was delicious, and I am sure my Grandma shared her candy with all of us.

The sweater has now been washed many times, and although it no longer smells like her. I still enjoy the comfort it brings every time I put it on, but I really do cherish that shopping list left in her pocket. I have plans to frame that list, but right now it sits on my dresser, when I am getting ready in the morning it always brings a smile to my face and is a great start to my day, remembering her.

I received some things of my Grandfather's also, and one special item makes me giggle whenever I see it. That will have to wait until another time to share however, because the weather is beautiful out today and I have a little boy standing by the window waiting to get outside and play.

An Oscar Adventure - week 5

2011-05-27T11:01:00.003-05:00

like mother, like son

2011-05-26T13:05:00.000-05:00

We love our Moccasins,

and we especially love when we both wear them on the same day.

An Oscar Adventure - week 4

2011-05-24T09:11:00.000-05:00

2011-05-16T11:34:00.000-05:00

I believe that one of the best things about raising children is seeing the world in a whole new way. Everything is new to them and everything is absolutely amazing. Whenever we see anything blowing in the wind (grass, trees, flags, garbage, etc.) Oscar stops dead in his tracks and blows it (like he is blowing out candles on a birthday cake) I really do think that he believes it is his "job" to be the wind and he is very serious about it. Going for walks with him has become a brand new adventure for me. Before he came along, I would walk fast, listen to my iPod and look straight ahead, but now, with Oscar we take our time, we look up to the trees and "blow" on them for a while then we notice a bird flying by and stare in amazement at it until a colorful flower catches our eye. We pick up sticks and examine them over and over, we throw rocks into puddles and watch in awe as ripples form where it hits the water. All of these things I have seen a million times and sadly didn't stop to notice until Oscar. I am so grateful for him, he has reminded me to slow down, take notice and enjoy all the little things.

We were on our way to my Aunt and Uncle’s anniversary party a little while ago and John stopped for gas. I could hear Oscar in the back seat “oohing” and “awing” so I turned around to see these buntings blowing in the wind. I immediately got out and snapped some pictures. He was right they really were cool. Normally I would of never even noticed them, but Oscar spotted them instantly and he “blew”…and “blew”….and “blew” while we drove away. Good job buddy, you really are the wind.

Yesterday we were outside and Oscar was instantly drawn to the puddles in our driveway. I was letting him throw rocks into the puddles, but he wanted so badly to get right in there, and I was getting stressed out trying to keep him from sticking his little foot in that muddy puddle every chance he got. Then it dawned on me, why can’t he get wet? It is warm enough out and who is he hurting by getting his shoes and clothes muddy? Nobody. Everything is washable, including him. So the next time he went to stick his foot in the puddle I didn’t stop him. He was EXTATIC! Stomping around in that puddle brought him so much joy. He didn’t care when he fell down on his but right in the middle, instead he sat there and splashed around. The smile on his face was priceless. I pray that he never grows into a stuffy adult, I hope that he always jumps in the puddles instead of walking around them. And I hope that I remember what is more important, keeping a little boy clean or letting him explore the world around him? I want to always choose to let him explore, it is much more fun for both of us anyway.

We are looking forward to spending some time outside today, I am sure we will have some mud to play in, flowers (dandelions) to pick, bugs to watch, and of course a job to do…”be the wind”. What are your plans today? Whether you have children or not, take some time to play and maybe stomp in some puddles.

a birthday party and a little tutorial

2011-04-29T11:35:00.000-05:00

We celebrated my ~~baby"s~~ toddler's birthday last month, and I have been meaning to post a little bit of the party, but the month got away from me, and now April is slipping away too, I wish time could just slow down a bit.

The week of O's birthday was a rather rough one for me, John left the day before Oscar's birthday for work and was gone that entire week. This was the first time he had been gone so long since Oscar had been born and we both O and I cried our eyes out as his truck backed out of our driveway, but we got thru it by keeping very busy and doing lots of snuggling at night until daddy returned home. I was also a little emotional because my little baby, was growing up into a walking, talking toddler and it is just going by too fast for my liking, I also was NOT looking forward to turning 31 that same week, but thank God for great friends and family who kept checking in with O and me, making sure that we were ok.

We had planned on having a small birthday brunch the weekend after O's birthday so that his daddy would be home to celebrate with us, but at the last minute I decided that I needed to do something special on the actual day, whether daddy was there or not. So I invited a few people over to enjoy some cake and ice cream with us. It was such a nice time spent with family and friends reminiscing and laughing, and Oscar and I really enjoyed having the company over to keep our minds off of how we were missing daddy like crazy.

He eats his cake just like his mommy...with both hand and as much in the mouth as possible.

Oscar got some great books to read. We love books in this house, they are the perfect gift... you can never have too many, they don't take up much space...and one of the greatest things in this world is snuggling up with my little guy and reading book, after book, after book, after book, after.....

Like I mentioned this little cake and ice cream party was pretty last minute so I didn't have much time to prepare, but I knew I wanted to make some kind of cake for O's big day.

I am sure you have seen the famous rainbow cake posted out on blog land. I created something similar last summer for an uncle's birthday party, and decided to do the same for Oscar's cake. While the rainbow cake is beautiful, and I am sure delicious, I don't have the time or energy to do THAT cake. So I improvised on mine a bit.....ok a lot....I used a box cake mix.

I did the same thing last year for my uncle's birthday cake, but I made his the entire rainbow. For O's cake I stuck to 4 colors. This tutorial will do any version of the cake, and I have added some side notes for the full rainbow cake.

For this cake I used a box mix and a can of frosting. I am sure you could use any cake mix that you prefer, but you want to make sure it is white so that your colors will be vibrant.

As far as frosting; you can use pretty much any color or flavor, but my personal favorite is good ol' butter cream.

* I used two cans of frosting for this cake, one for the layers and one to cover the outside.

* you can also use two boxes of cake mix to make the layers of your cake thicker, if you plan on doing a full rainbow cake I recommend this, but for my 4 layer cake one box worked out just fine. (if you plan on making the full rainbow cake (6 layers), you may need an extra can of frosting too, as I had just enough to cover my 4 layer cake.)

Prepare your cake according to package instructions, and then divide up the batter into individual bowls, one for each color you will be doing. ex: if you are making the full rainbow cake you will need 6 different bowls. The original rainbow cake blog post suggested that you use a scale to evenly divide your cake batter, but I didn't do this. I simply used a measuring cup and put one scoop of batter into each bowl one at a time (like I was dealing a deck of cards out) then when I came to the end of my batter I eye-balled the rest to even it out. I haven't had a problem doing it this way, but if you would like to make sure that all of your layers are exactly the same thickness, follow her instructions for dividing up the batter.

Once I had my batter divided up into individual bowls I used gel food coloring to get the colors I was looking for. I used the table cloth as a guide to my colors. I wish I wrote down exactly how many drops of each color I used for each color, but I didn't, I just kept adding until it looked right.

To get the blues more "vintage looking" (less bright) I added a small bit of red to the color.

To tone down the red, I added a bit of blue, and to mute the yellow down a little I added drops of blue and green.

If you are trying to get the same look with your colors, my advice is to take it slow. Mix the main color first, after you get the intensity of the color you are after, add very small drops of the other colors to tone it down, mixing after each drop of color. You would be surprised how quickly you can go from a vivid blue to icky brown if you add too many drops of red.

After all my colors were mixed,

I lined the bottom of round cake pans with parchment paper and made sure that the sides were greased so that I could easily get my layers out when they were done baking.

Then poured my colored batter into the cake pan (one pan for each color), then placed all 4 of my pans in the oven to bake. I used the box instructions for baking temp and time, but watched them very closely. The lighter colors were very close to the baking instructions on the box, but I did take the darker blue and red out a few minutes early since they baked up faster. Just use the instructions as a guide, and stay close by the kitchen during baking time, every one's oven is different, and depending on how thick your layers are or how dark your colors are, the baking times will vary.

When your layers are all done baking, you will need to let them cool before assembling your cake. I like to use a cookie sheets flipped upside down with a sheet of parchment paper on top for my cooling rack because I never have enough room and it works really well for me to move the layers around with out breaking them this way.

Line your cake plate with 3 to 4 pieces of parchment paper so that they are covering the plate itself, but are easily removed once you are done decorating the cake. (I like to use 3 strips of parchment paper about 2 to 4 inches wide and I lay them across the outer side of the cake plate, leaving a large triangle where the cake will go)

Lay your first layer down on the cake plate and add a thin layer of frosting across the top.

You can really go easy on the frosting here, just a little to act as a glue for the next layer, too much frosting and your layers will slide off each other.

Continue doing this layer by layer, once I have the inside of my cake assembled, I like to add a thin layer of frosting all over the outside of my cake. At this point all my frosting is soft and more likely to move around, so I then place it in the fridge for a few hours to "set a little".

When my cake frosting has "set" and is easier to work with, I simply add more frosting to the outside working from the top of the cake to the sides until it is evenly covered.

Add any type of sprinkles, jimmies or candies to the outside that you would like, or just leave it plain, what ever your little heart desires.

I personally like to use sugar sprinkles on my cake. I love the little crunchy bites they give to a very smooth cake, and everyone at the party must of agreed because there was not a crumb left on any one's plate.

I had a entire file saved up of birthday ideas for Oscar's first birthday, but didn't do any of them. I wanted to have a big party, have favor bags, send out great invitations and make a big deal out of the whole thing, but I am so happy that those plans didn't work out and instead we had a laid back simple party. I was under no stress and was able just to sit back and soak in the entire day. When Oscar is older, I will be able to tell him exactly what we did on his first birthday and who was all there.

When John got back we had the Grandparents over for breakfast and lunch but I was too busy enjoying the day with my husband, family and Oscar that I completely forgot to take pictures. Sorry.

An Oscar Adventure - week 3

2011-04-12T22:27:00.000-05:00

An Oscar Adventure - week 2

2011-04-04T22:24:00.000-05:00

Oscar walks!

2011-04-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Oscar has been talking a few steps every now and then, but today he just took off and didn't stop! I just happened to have my phone handy so I was able to get some of his first steps on film!

An Oscar Adventure - week 1

2011-04-02T23:32:00.000-05:00

Because (in my mind)....

2011-03-14T22:31:00.000-05:00

...there is no sound in the world that is better.

and here is a video of Oscar watching a video of Oscar.

{I love how when he hears his name he picks his head right up.}

and....

here is a video of Oscar, watching a video of Oscar, watching a video of Oscar.

Just kidding.

I hope you all had a very giggly, happy, silly day. We sure did.

Our day

2011-03-10T23:38:00.001-06:00

Having a ball...

2011-03-10T14:08:00.001-06:00

30 for 30 and some random phone numbers

2011-03-10T13:52:00.001-06:00

As promised, I am posting some more of my 30 for 30 outfits. I really wish I remembered what we did on these days, but I have no idea...heck, I can't even remember what I did yesterday! I do however remember the phone numbers from most of my friends from high school...even though 1) none of my girlfriends actually live at these houses anymore, 2) nor do most of their parents, and 3) all of them have cell phones, so the fact that I remember these numbers is just plain silly, but yet there they sit, in my brain taking up valuable space. If I could just replace (***) ***-7906, (***)***-4602, (***)***-7914, (***)***-5693 ...etc, etc, with what we did on these days, I would have a much better blog post for you today. But I don't, so for that I am sorry.

Stay tuned for the rest of my 30 for 30 outfits, and some more useless information from me.

She's about to POP! themed baby shower.

2011-03-09T23:04:00.001-06:00

My sister, Ashley and I hosted a baby shower for my cousin this past weekend. We had so much fun planning it, even if we ran into a few road bumps along the way. For example...as I mentioned before, Oscar got sick, which really made it quite difficult to get some of the last minute baking and crafting done...so Ashley said that she would pick up some of my slack, well then at 4:30 am the day of the party, Ashley got called into work! She had to fly off that morning and would return back about the same time the party was ending. Lucky for us, we have an awesome family that all pitched in last minute to help make sandwiches, pick up random items from the store, and help me set up. We finished just in time for the party to begin, and hopefully nobody saw us frantically trying to pull it all together minutes before they arrived.

She's about to POP! baby shower.

{Photos}

1. Personalized labels for the water bottles that said "She's about to POP!"

2. Enjoying some popcorn.

3. Ashley made lots of these tissue pom-pom to place around the room.

4. Cake Pops were a hit! I used this website as my guide, this was my first time making them, and I was just going to do a test run, but they were so easy and turned out great that I used my first batch at the shower.

5. The boxes I made for the popcorn bar all lined up ready to be filled.

6. The soon to be Mom and the soon to be Grandma!

7. As prizes for the games, I dyed muslin to create a ombre scarves in grey, navy, and sky blue. I used my own technique, but Martha does something similar here.

8. The invitations, we stitched together two pieces of vellum paper to slide the invitation into, then we filled it with confetti, so when they pulled the invitation out, the confetti came out too.

9. Flavored popcorn bar. {Saltwater Taffy, Sugar Glaze, and Cheesecake} We ordered from Kalli's Popcorn Shop, and would recommend them to anyone, the popcorn was so good, they bent over backwards to make our popcorn the colors of our party, and put up with many phone calls from me to get the perfect shades of blue and gray.

10. My cousins, aunt, and new baby Grayson, wearing some of the scarves I made.

11. Snap, crackle, POP bars, with miniature bunting.

12. The glasses and straws ready for drinks. The paper straws are from here.

It has been a while, hasn't it?

2011-03-08T13:43:00.001-06:00

First off, I want to thank all of you who have asked me lately where I have been, and if I am ok. We are fine here...kind of. Oscar has been sick, but I think we have finally found out what is causing his high temps and sleepless nights, so hopefully he will be back to his regular self soon. Add that and a few other projects I had to finish up and that doesn't leave much time to blog. I am sorry. I do have a long list of things I want to share with you, however, so expect a overdose of blog posts in the next couple days.

One of the things I have been working on is a sign and decorating ideas for Sticks and Stones. This sign is now hanging up in the window of the new store. I am so excited for Sonja, and the crew at Sticks and Stones. And I am super excited to have another store to do displays in.

She has the cutest clothes in her shop, and it is always so much fun to come up with decorating ideas for here store.

Stay tuned to my blog and Sticks and Stones' blog for more information on the new store.

*I did finish up my 30 for 30 project, and will be posting photos of the rest of my outfits throughout the week.*

some new videos

2011-02-23T21:46:00.000-06:00

This first video I took of Oscar is a little jumpy. I was giving him a bath and trying to keep putting his toys up on the ledge and keep and eye on him at the same time, so I apologize if it make you a little sick. The night before, when I was giving Oscar his bath, I kept lining up all his toys along the edge, and he would take each one down while clearing his throat and throw it back into the tub. He didn't do that this time, but he still didn't think that they should sit on the side of the tub. He does this with anything you line up, whether it is on the couch, our bench or windowsill, so funny, it cracks me up every time.

This next video we took after about 15 minutes of Oscar throwing his ball around. He just started using the word "ball" and I got so excited for him, I think that is why he gets so excited about throwing it. He is playing off of my enthusiasm. No matter the reason, he is super excited and so much fun to watch play. I seriously do not know what we did before him, but I am pretty sure that we didn't laugh this much at just each other on a daily basis. (Well maybe I did this much laughing before, John is pretty funny...have you ever seen him dance? It is great... now that is a video I should have!)

*note: just to forewarn you, Oscar is pretty noisy, so if you have your volume turned way up, I would take it down a few notches.*

a day of crafts

2011-02-23T21:17:00.003-06:00

I spent most of day 16 crafting up a storm. I have been working on these props for a friend who is photographing a wedding at the end of the month. I wanted to see how they looked in pictures and so I decide to multitask and test the props while we shot the 30 for 30 outfit. I like this outfit, and yet, I have never worn any of these pieces together, so I guess the challenge is doing exactly what it is suppose to be doing. Remixing all the old items in my closet into completely new outfits.

Along with working on the props for my friend, I have also been busy getting stuff ready for a baby shower I am hosting for my cousin, and planning Oscar's birthday party. My mind has been a jumbled up mess of different ideas and projects running thru it constantly, but I actually prefer my mind that way, running on creative energy as opposed to sitting still.

Want to know a little secret, that black sheer shirt that I have on, it was actually a dress, a sort of maternity dress (not actually maternity wear, it is from Banana Republic and it really is not that racy, it had a slip under it). I purchased it for a wedding when I was newly pregnant, and wore it as a dress until my belly got too big, then I worn it as a shirt until the day Oscar was born, it worked out great as a grow-with-my belly piece. About 2 months after I had Oscar, I needed a shirt for a little party, but I was still carrying around some baby weight. I grabbed that old dress/shirt, cut off a few inches and worn it as a tunic with skinny jeans and bright red heels. I loved that outfit, I am not sure if it was because I felt pretty in it, after months and months of not feeling so pretty, or if it was because it covered all the "problem areas" I had yet to loose after Oscar. Either way, it is the one maternity piece I still have, and would ever wear again. Now I like it because it still covers any "bits" that I am not feeling so great about and I like that the belt around the middle accentuates the skinniest part of my waist and tricks the eye. This shirt was actually one of the first shirts that I grabbed when I was choosing my pieces for my challenge, and until recently I haven't mix it in much, which is sad because it really is versatile. Expect to see much more of this shirt for the last half of the remix because I plan on recreating many more outfits with this old thing.

Plays well with others

2011-02-22T23:23:00.002-06:00

We had another play date today, with some of my girlfriends from high school and their cute little boys. It was so nice catching up and letting the boys play. Oscar was quite shy at first (another trait he gets from his mama) but after a little time just sitting back and watching he decided to join in the fun. He was just warming up and feeling secure enough to get off my lap and play, but unfortunately it was getting late and we had to go. I clearly saw how much these play dates are needed not only for him but for me as well. I want him to feel comfortable making new friends and playing outside the comforts of his living room, so I am looking forward to many other play dates this spring and summer.

Do you hear that Jill and Brigette, expect to see a lot more of us!

I really do like the outfit I chose to wear for our little get together, it felt very bohemian-chic. Like something Nicole Richie would wear to a play date, I know the resemblances between us are uncanny. I have been told I am the spitting image of her. *completely joking - in case my sarcasm didn't come across. But seriously, the lady at Wal-Mart comments that I look just like Rachel Ray every time I accidentally choose her lane to check out at. And then she gets a really disappointed look on her face when I tell her I really can't cook. I have also been told that I look a lot like the girl from Napoleon Dynamite - you know Deb, I guess these are a nice second to Nicole Richie. Back to my point, great outfit for a play date, comfy and looks pulled together but yet still relaxed.

And, did you notice that today is day 15! That means that I am 1/2 of the way done with my challenge, and despite a short a short little meltdown a few days ago when I felt like all my outfits were dull and boring, I have enjoyed doing this challenge and am looking forward to doing it again this spring.

I think I can, I think I can...

2011-02-21T23:09:00.000-06:00

This past week flew by, and I didn't get a single post up, so I am once again trying to catch up. That is why today, you are not just getting one outfit, you are getting days 11 through 14, and I still have days 15 and on that I have yet to post on. Oh well, we will get there.

I think one of the reasons, I have been procrastinating posting these outfits is because, I was never really super excited about any of them. After catching up on what all the other 30 for 30 gals are up to, this seems to be a common problem as we reach the halfway point for out challenge, so I am just going to push on through and look for some inspiration, and hopefully will come up with something new and exciting to me. I have noticed that there are a few pieces that I have hardly worn or haven't even worn yet. So I am pushing those to the front of my closet, and I set a goal for myself to incorporate them into my outfits this week.

Day 11 {Sunday}

Day 12 {Lover's Day}

We started out Valentine's Day with special heart shaped pancakes for my littlest Valentine, although he had no idea because I cut them up into safe bite sized pieces for him. Oscar had a Dr appointment at 4:00 that day, so John and I decided to just have a nice dinner at home as a family.

I did however get a nice little treat from him (milk duds) which are this girls choice of chocolate, he knows me so well. Oscar made him a little card and I got him a small little gift too, so Valentine's Day didn't go unnoticed at this house, we just don't get to mushy and romantic. A quiet dinner with my two guys and a box of milk duds to myself are my idea of a GREAT Valentine's.

Day 13 {Dinner with a friend}

On Tuesday, I went out to dinner with a good friend. I had been wanting Mexican food all day, so I was happy when I was able to talk her into fulfilling my craving. It was nice to get out of the house alone, it had been a while. This outfit was not as disappointing to me as the others from this week had been. I am glad I added a pop of color with the turquoise necklace, without it I am afraid this outfit would of been another boring ensemble.

Day 14 {a very cute dinner guest}

On Wednesday, Oscar had a new little friend over for dinner, (I was babysitting for a friend), they were so cute together, they kept smiling at each other across the dinner table. They both ate all their dino-nuggets, neither of them would touch a green bean, and they both settled on a banana instead. Later on they played so nice together, and when it was time to settle down we all snuggled on the couch to watch a little Madagascar. I can't wait to get these two boys together again!

As dull as this outfit may look, it was great for what our plans were that day, which included cleaning, and cleaning and more cleaning. Preparing for Oscar's little buddy to come over. I actually didn't have this outfit on for long though, shortly after these pictures were taken, we sat down to lunch and I had an entire sippy cup filled with apple juice spilled all over me, I won't say who did it, but I was quite a sticky mess. So I threw on something else, it was from the 30 for 30 wardrobe, but it was less than exciting. So boring that I didn't even bother to retake my pictures in it, but if you are curious, and need to know... it was a grey shirt and black pants! There...gosh you guys are nosy.

Thanks for sticking with me through that looonnnnggg post, I am going to get over this halfway hump and get excited about my outfits again. I think I can, I think I can.... oh, but wait, I am still not done, I have more outfits to get caught up on, so check back, I am going to try to get those up soon.

Our day went a little something like this, sleep in (a little) with a 11 month old sleeping in for us means 7:45! Had a nice breakfast, played, worked on a few projects, napped, ate again, ran a few errands, ate, got ready for bed, slept. Pretty exciting huh. Perhaps it was my lack of adventure on a Sunday afternoon that led me to this {yawn} outfit. I am not saying it is horrible or anything, but after looking at the pictures, I know I could of done better. However, this outfit is MUCH better than the "old uniform", so I think I get a pat on the back for that, don't you?

A Lovely Project

2011-02-15T13:24:00.000-06:00

{* note: I set up this post to publish yesterday, but I must of done something wrong because it never showed up. So here it is...a day late, oh well. I am working on my blogs from my 30 for 30 from this weekend, and Valentine's Day but my blogger is not letting me upload photos for some reason so they may not get up today, we will see.}

This is a little project Oscar and I did for our loves for Valentines Day. I laid out a piece off fabric in front of Oscar and put a few globs of red and white paint on it and let him go to town rubbing it all around. When the fabric dried, I cut out rectangles big enough to hold a gift card and backed it with interfacing and a contrasting fabric. Sewed them together, wrote a little message inside, added some snaps and filled it with a gift card.

Later, these pouches can be used as a coin purse, jewelry pouch, or small card holder.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Day 10 - Past, present and future

2011-02-12T23:39:00.000-06:00

{Past}

Yesterday, we went to Ikea with my aunt, mom and my sister. All three of us need the chocolate cake from Ikea on a regular basis, so we meet up there for a day of chocolate, shopping and conversation. It was a great day, and of course I left with a trunk full of new toys for Oscar. I didn't buy a thing however, my aunt and mom spoiled him this time. I do love Ikea's toy department. Everything is so well priced and I like that most of it is made of wood or fabric, instead of the battery operated plastic ones you find everywhere else. Being new to this whole motherhood thing, I don't usually dish out advice, I am usually the one asking the questions, but this is my first piece of advice for any other mother that wants it...shop at Ikea for your toys, you will be pleasantly surprised. Now, enough of my life changing toy shopping wisdom, this is what I wore for our Ikea adventure. I am surprised at how much I am wearing skirts, I only threw a few in because I really didn't think it was practical for a stay at home mom to wear skirts everyday, but I was wrong. To me, they are actually more comfortable to wear than jeans and when you throw a pair of thick tights (which are actually more like leggings) underneath it makes playing on the floor with your little guy doable.

{Present}

Today I didn't wear something from my 30 for 30 wardrobe. I woke up, and threw on my "old clothes" with good intentions of scrubbing the house from top to bottom. It started out great, John was gone for the day so I had to try and entertain Oscar while I worked. He was playing so nice while I mopped the kitchen floor, and scrubbed the sink and stove. I was just about to give the cupboards a major clean out when I peeked over at Oscar to see what he was up to and he look so sweet playing with all his toys by himself, AND he look like he was having so much more fun than me! So I nixed the cleaning idea and decided to play instead. That is what Saturdays are for anyway, play. Our house looked like it had been turned upside down when I finally put him to bed for the night, but that is ok because we had so much fun. We read his books a million times, literally, we practiced clapping and I tried really hard to get him to walk. We had snacks that weren't all healthy, and when he took a nap, I threw in a movie that I haven't seen in a while and ate some more unhealthy snacks. It was great, everybody needs to throw in a day like today every once in a while.

When John returned home, Oscar was showing off some of the tricks we had worked on (the soooo big game), and we were both rolling at how funny he is. Every time we would say "Oscar is sooo big" he would throw his hands up in the air and then lunge forward. Well, just watch the video, my description doesn't really do it justice.

As you can see from the video, my living room is quite a mess. I think we had out every single toy out today. And to be honest, it still looks that way right now.

{future}

Tomorrow, I will get dressed in a 30 for 30 outfit, but I can't promise that I will clean my house.

Day 9 - The weather and other interesting topics (or maybe just the weather)

2011-02-10T22:48:00.000-06:00

I am about to complain about the weather again, I feel like that is all I do, but hey, it's cold and there isn't much else to talk about. It was cold today, and I couldn't get warm, even inside. I started out the day in just this light sweater and kept adding layers as the day grew on. Rumor is that it is going to get nice next week, like 40 degrees folks! I heard that from several people today...see I am not the only one talking about the weather. As you can see I managed to do my laundry last night, and boy was I glad I did or else I would of been really cold with no pants.

I am sorry this post is pretty dull, but I am a little tired and still cold, my brain just doesn't work when I am tired AND cold. So I am going to sign off for the night, and chit chat with John for a little bit before we head to bed. Do you want to know what our topic of conversation will most likely be? You guessed it...the weather.

Please come back tomorrow, I will try to find something else to talk about.

Day 8 - Breaking the rules?

2011-02-09T21:22:00.000-06:00

I have a BIG confession to make. This skirt wasn't originally in my picks for the 30 for 30. At first I had a navy blue skirt from J.Crew in the mix, but when I went to put it on it had a big rip in the back, and then I remembered that I wore it to a picnic last summer and got it caught on a nail on the darn picnic table. So out of the remix it went and in came this black skirt. They are pretty similar in shape and navy and black aren't too far off of the color wheel from each other, so I hope I am not breaking any major 30 for 30 remix rules here.

Whew, I feel so much better getting that off my chest!

Now on to my outfit pick for the day. I really love this ensemble I think it feels pretty, and sweet, and very romantic, and it kind of reminds me of a ballerina. That is why Oscar and I had a dance party in our living room today. I showed him all my sweet dance moves from way back when I was in ballet, and he showed me a few break dance moves he has been working on. We make a pretty good dance team together and are thinking about taking our talents to the streets.

Now I am off to do some laundry because I have worn all of my bottoms for the remix, therefore I do not have any pants to wear tomorrow, and pants happen to be a very important part of my daily wardrobe so I guess it must be done!

Check back tomorrow to see if I actually did my laundry or not, just kidding, I promise I will be fully dressed from head to toe.

Day 7 - Comfy sweater and a cute baby

2011-02-09T01:25:00.000-06:00

I had to grab Oscar for these pictures for 3 reasons. 1) he was awake from his nap a little early, 2) most of my family and friends read this blog to catch up on what my little side kick is up to, and I was afraid I would lose all their interest if they had to look at me in basically the same outfit for 30 days. and 3rd) well obviously Oscar makes every outfit cuter!

We had a fun day today, my parents stopped over with pizza for dinner, and Oscar entertained all of us with his jibber jabber and hilarious facial expressions. He is getting to be such a ham!

Also, these pictures do not do his hair justice, it is ridiculous! It keeps getting longer and longer, but refuses to lie down. He gets comments on it wherever we go, and I secretly hope it stays this way for a long time because I am so in love with it.

Day 6 - Mixing Patterns

2011-02-09T01:11:00.000-06:00

I love when I see others mixing their patterns, but every time I tried it out on my own it just never seemed to work out for me. Then my much more fashionable sister came over and helped me put some outfits together for the 30 for 30 and immediately pulled these two tops out of the pile and placed them together. She made it look so easy, good job Ashley!

You would think that it was so nice and warm out from looking at these pictures, but don't let that sun pouring through the windows fool you, it is cold. So cold that I put off all my activities that involved leaving the house and decided to do some redecorating today instead. Perhaps I will post some pictures later, if you are good.

Day 5 - Easy like a Sunday morning

2011-02-09T01:02:00.000-06:00

I am playing catch up here and trying to post all my outfits so that I am actually on track. The problem with playing catch up is that I cannot for the life of me remember what the heck we did on Sunday! I am sure it was very exciting like jetting off to Paris for a nice lunch and some sight seeing, that's the kind of thing we like to do on Sundays. Actually, no now I remember...we watch the Puppy Bowl, and then turned to the Super Bowl hoping to catch some good commercials and we watched the horrible half time show. And then I put Oscar to bed and snuggled next to John to watch some more TV. There, that was our Sunday, almost as exciting as jetting off to Paris. Maybe next week.

However, if we were in Paris I think I would look more like a Parisian rather than a tourist in my outfit. It is very classic, comfortable, and looks good without trying to hard. I like that in an outfit. Turns out what I chose to wear isn't just good for touring the Louvre, it also works great for some lazy Sunday activities too.

Day 4 - Getting out of the house in style.

2011-02-07T13:22:00.000-06:00

Since we have been hanging out at home the last few day, Oscar and I both needed to get out of the house for a while, so most of our day was spent running errands. Nothing too exciting just the bank and post office, but we did make a stop at Target, which is O and my happy place. This time however, I went straight to the formula and diapers, and stayed clear of the woman's department. I can't seem to come home from target without something little for me. But I am sticking to the rules of the 30 for 30 and so I decided not to even tempt myself this time. I did however grab a little treat for myself at the check out counter for being so good, but I don't think that is breaking any rules. Kendi never said a girl can't have chocolate.

It was actually kinda nice out so this outfit worked out great, all I added to it for our outing was a hat and a scarf. The blazer kept me plenty warm, which was really nice, you have no idea (until you have a child of your own in winter weather) how exhausting it is to get a winter jacket and hat on them and then carry them along with their diaper bag and your purse to and from the car and store. I swear that winter jacket makes Oscar 10lbs. heavier. And then to do it when you are all bundled up in your winter gear! It almost makes me want to stay inside until spring. Back to my point, the outfit worked out great because it meant no winter jacket for me, one less thing to put on and take off.

I am kinda over the whole tucking your pants into your boots look, but continue to do it, and probably will for a while because it is so nice when there is snow and ice melt on the ground. It keeps your pants from getting all wet and gross on the bottom. So as much as I am tired of the whole look it really does serve a nice purpose for now.

Day 3 - Jewel tones and a walk on the wild side

2011-02-07T12:57:00.000-06:00

Today was spend with a lot of cuddling and reading books. At first I thought Oscar wasn't feeling good, but I think that he just wanted to snuggle with his mama today, which is just fine with me. This outfit worked out great for our lazy day. It really is as easy to wear something like this as it is to wear the old yoga pants and baggy sweatshirt, but looks SO MUCH more put together.

Day 2 - Stripes, ruffles, and new bangs.

2011-02-07T12:42:00.000-06:00

On a whim this morning I decided to cut my bangs, and I am enjoying them...for now. I will let you know in a week how I feel. Anyway, I really liked this outfit today. I got the gray shirt at Sticks and Stones ( a boutique in Mankato, that I do some store displays for), and haven't worn it as much as I should, it is so comfortable and really makes a ordinary outfit something special.
Along with getting out of my usual everyday wear, I decided to throw on some lip stick. It is amazing how much a little color on your lips can do for your confidence. So far I am having fun doing the 30 for 30, I feel so inspired choosing my outfit for the day. I would recommend everyone to try and do something similar to the 30 for 30 every once in a while. When I go to my closet and look at the clothes I have chosen for my challenge my eyes start looking at each piece differently and numerous outfit possibilities start to appear, as opposed to before, when I would try to pick something out, my mind went blank and I was almost overwhelmed, so instead of putting new pieces together, I would throw on things that I have worn time and time again together.
I am easing up to the camera a little bit more than the first day, today I took some shots of tequila before my photo shoot. Just kidding.
Check out what Linley wrote on why she remixes. It is exactly how I used to look at my closet, and I love all of her outfit remixes too.

Day 1 - Vintage plaid

2011-02-07T11:58:00.006-06:00

I have to say I really eased my way into this challenge, and didn't think to far outside of the box for day 1...which by the way is the main point of this whole remix! But either way, I got dressed today and I don't have yoga pants on, huge accomplishment for me!

And one more note, I really do not feel comfortable in front of the camera, so please, please, do not make fun of my forced smile and awkward hand placement. I tried my hardest to look natural and at ease, but the second I hear the camera start to click my whole face tightens up like I just bit into a lemon. I will try to work on this!

You can buy happiness at Ikea

2011-02-05T22:45:00.001-06:00

At a recent shopping trip to Ikea, Oscar scored big on some new toys. I brought home this tunnel and was not prepared for how much excitement it would bring! Even the big kids (aunt Ashley and grandparents) have to give it a try when they come over.

I also picked up these felt vegetables while I was there, thinking that they were going to be more of a teaching tool later on rather than something he would enjoy right now, but I was wrong. He likes these too. He has even been known to bring the onion up to bed with him. Now if only I could get him to like the real thing just as much!

Cleaning House and the 30 for 30

2011-02-05T18:20:00.004-06:00

You may have noticed that I cleaned things up a bit on the blog. That's what winter in Minnesota does to me, it just gets a little too long and I start nesting, only unlike last year, I am not nesting waiting for a little baby to arrive, this year I am nesting waiting for the first signs of spring. I am so longing for some green grass and warm days, but for now I will just have to settle for a green blog title I guess. Along with cleaning up my blog, I have been busy cleaning up our house as well and finishing up all those projects so that when spring finally arrives I can go out and play.

Cleaning up our house and my closet inspired me to do this challenge. It is a 30 for 30 Closet Remix challenge put on by the Kendi. The rules of the game are...

You have to choose 30 items from your closet and remix them for 30 days creating 30 new outfits. (Accessories do not count). And during the 30 day challenge you cannot spend any money on clothing items for yourself, which is going to be very sad, because I just got two emails telling me that Anthropologie and J.Crew have some great sales going on. (long sigh).

I am so excited about this challenge, since I left my job to stay home with Oscar, well, lets just say I have been in kind of a fashion rut. I feel bad for my poor husband who has seen me in yoga pants and sweatshirts day in and out. I knew I needed to change that, not just for him, but for me. I am so happy to be Oscar's mommy and I feel so blessed that I get to stay home with him, but right now the way I look doesn't say happy mommy, it says sad tired mommy, and honestly that is not the way I feel at all. Oscar needs to be proud of his mommy, and John deserves someone who will at least make an effort to look good for him (although, he is so sweet and would never tell me to change anything). And I need to not loose who I was before Oscar came into our life, I used to love fashion and took great pride in what I wore. I am looking forward to getting back to that and remixing my closet.

So, here are the items I have chosen for my 30 for 30 challenge.

6 shirts
+

4 cardigans
+

3 dressy shirts
+

4 blazers
+

2 skirts
+

1 dress
+

4 pants
+

6 shoes
= 30 items

Let the closet remix begin!

The Best Place on Earth.

2011-01-12T21:15:00.000-06:00

Did you know that Oscar loves books? Yep, it is true he will sit and listen to you read for a long time. And I do believe that sitting on Grandma's lap while reading a book...well, in Oscar's mind that adds up to a perfect day.

A new year.

2011-01-01T12:24:00.000-06:00

2010 was great...fantastic actually. My best memory from 2010 (and will forever be one of the best memories of my life) was the day Oscar was born.

We have had so much fun watching him grow in 2010 and are looking forward to all the new adventures 2011 will bring.

I am starting off 2011 with a 21 day detox diet, and have hesitated to write about it for fear that I might fail, but I decided that I am going to update you from time to time on how it is going in hopes that by writing about it I will stick to the plan and make some healthy choices. I will be following the detox plan from Kris Carr's book Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark and Live Like You Mean It! There are a few of us on board including this lady and her Mama and if you would like to join us feel free to email me and we will all support each other as we eat our veggies and drink our juice. I did some stumbling around on the web for other detox plans and found that Martha Stewart is also doing one that is similar, but not quite as strict check it out too if you are interested. I am planning on combining the two because I really like her workout plans.

I am also looking forward to 2011 because of the shop I have been telling you all about for months and months now, well it will be opening up SOON. I promise. I was overwhelmed and very grateful for all the Christmas orders I had just from posting a few things here and there on this blog, but by the time I had those orders filled and Christmas came around, I was so sick of my sewing machine that I needed a little break, but NOW, I am ready to get back on the horse and sew, sew, sew for the shop. I have some fun ideas and am excited to launch them in 2011. I will let you know as soon as I "open shop".

"May your coming year be fill with magic and dreams and good and madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you are wonderful, and don't forget to make some art - write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope somewhere in the next year you surprise yourself." - Neil Gaiman

Bow-Tie Pillow Tutorial

2010-12-28T22:48:00.000-06:00

This pillow came about because I was making a bow-tie for Oscar, and decided that it would look pretty cute on a pillow too.

2 yards will be plenty of fabric for a 18 inch pillow.

You will need to cut...

2 pieces that measure 19 inches x 19 inches (this will allow a 1/2 inseam on all sides of your pillow)

1 piece that measures 6 inches x 32 inches (this will be the band that goes around the pillow)

1 piece that measures 2 1/2 inches x 4 inches (this will be the middle of your bow)

2 pieces that measure 10 inches x 6 inches (these will be your bow)

Starting with your pillow (the two 19 x 19 inch pieces) pin them together right sides facing each other.

Sew these pieces together using 1/2 inch inseam. Remember to leave an opening at one end so that you can turn it right side out and stuff it. Zig-zag your seams. Turn your pillow right side out and fill it with stuffing. Hand sew your opening together.

Next take your long piece 6 x 32 inch.

Fold it in-half length wise.

Sew together leaving the ends open.

Zig-zag your seams and turn right side out.

Press your long piece with the seam running down the back of the fabric.

Next we will be making the bow. Take your two 10 x 6 inch pieces and lay them on top of each other, right sides facing each other. Sew together just like the pillow with an small opening for turning right side out.

I DIDN'T use a 1/2 inch inseam on the bow however. I just used my sewing foot as my guide.

Turn your bow right side out and hand stitch the opening closed.

Next take your small piece (2 1/2 x 4 inches) and fold lengthwise. Sew it together lengthwise leaving both ends open. Flip it right side out. You are doing the exact same thing to this piece as you did for the longer piece (the band around the pillow). Press this piece with an iron with the seam running down the back of the fabric so that it is not seen from the front.

Next, fold the piece in half so that the seam is on the outside and sew the ends together.

Flip it around so that the seam is on the inside of the ring you just created and slip it onto the long band that we started earlier.

Sew the band together the same way. I double stitched the band so that it was stronger because it is going to be very snug on the pillow and will be under some stress.

Now slip it onto your pillow so that it fits snugly around the pillow.

Slip your bow thru the middle of the ring, and fluff out the sides until you like the shape.

Using a needle and thread, do a few stitches on each corner of the bow and right in the middle to hold it in place.

I am really loving my pillow collection happening on my couch, I wonder how many more I can sneak on there before John says enough is enough.

My Helper

2010-12-27T20:08:00.000-06:00

I am going to be posting a pillow tutorial tomorrow, but I had to share some pictures of my adorable little helper. These pictures were all taken in a span of about 10 seconds.

Every time I lay a piece of material out on the floor, Oscar is drawn to it immediately, and can't help but crawl all over it, messing it all up. It does make it very hard to cut out a pattern, but he is having a blast so who really cares?

The Christmas Story

2010-12-21T14:10:00.000-06:00

Oh I just LOVE this! Sometimes as adults we get so busy shopping for presents, decorating the house, baking goodies that we forget the real meaning of Christmas. Well, these children do a wonderful job of bringing you back to the Christmas story, and the reason we celebrate.

Happy Holidays from The Slattery's

2010-12-13T22:02:00.000-06:00

Freezer paper stencil on pillow tutorial

2010-12-05T14:56:00.000-06:00

I have had a few questions about some of the pillows on my couch, so I thought I would share some tips with you on how to make some fun pillows for your own house. My goal was to do a whole month of pillows and feature one each week, I am going to try to stick to my plan, but I am already struggling getting getting the first one up. First I had major issues with my sewing machine, and then my printer started acting up. Neither of the two are fixed, but I borrowed a sewing machine from my mom, and I just used the printer the way it was... I will look at it later. (You will see in my the following pictures the problems I had with my printer.) Anyway.... here is the first pillow of the month. I wanted to do this one first because I think this would make a awesome Christmas gift for Grandparents. Here we go...

You will need the following supplies.

freezer paper (can be found at most grocery stores)
paint
paint brush
something to cut your stencil out with, scissors will work fine, but I prefer to use a x-acto knife to make the intricate cuts.
marker
printer
a photo of your subject
fabric
sewing machine
needle and thread
Poly-Fil

1) Choose your picture. I snapped this picture of Oscar the other morning, if you have a more willing participant have them stand to the side so that you have the shape of their shoulder's to work with as well.

2) As you can see my printer didn't want to print any magenta, but that was ok for this project. You can outline your object that you want to cut out in black permanent marker to see it better, but this step is not necessary if you can see it ok under your freezer paper. (Like I said earlier, I had to work with what Oscar was giving me that morning, so I had to improvise with the shoulder placement. If I was able to capture a photo of him from the side I would trace his shoulder's and chest as well, but I just drew them in for this project.)

3) Lay a piece of freezer paper SHINY SIDE DOWN on top of your stencil and cut it out.

4) Your should have two pieces at this point.

5) Lay your freezer paper SHINY SIDE DOWN onto your piece of fabric where you would like the image to appear. Iron directly on top of the paper. The heat from the iron will adhere the freezer paper to your fabric creating a stencil to work with.

6) Paint directly on top of the fabric and freezer paper, I like to work my way in from the stencil so that I don't pull up any of my edges.

7) While the paint is still damp, carefully pull back the freezer paper starting at one corner.

8) Once your paint has completely dried, turn your pieces together so that the right sides are facing each other. Sew your pillow together leaving a small opening at the bottom to stuff your pillow.

9) Turn your pillow right side out

10) Add your batting to your pillow, and hand stitch the hole closed.

I made one for myself that matched our living room, and I also made one for my mom on plain white duck cloth.

I also added a little tag along side of each pillow with Oscar's name and the year.

My plan is to do one of these for John and myself as well, and continue to do one each year so we can see how much we have changed.

I really think this is such a nice gift for grandparents, gather all the grandkids together and get a profile shot. If you have older grandkids, they would probably love to get in on the action too and help paint their own pillow. A bunch of these on the couch with each grandkids silhouette would be lovely.

I am already working on my pillow for next week, so stay tuned...

Coffee Sleeve Tutorial

2010-11-26T19:42:00.000-06:00

I think these coffee cup sleeves are a cute gift for teachers, co-workers, your favorite mail carrier, babysitter, friends, sisters, mothers... the list goes on and on.

They are very easy to make too.

The supplies you will need are...

a coffee cup with a sleeve
scissors
pen or marker
a glue gun and glue sticks
piece of felt
any other fabric scraps, ribbons, buttons, anything that you would like to use to personalize it.

1) Remove the original coffee sleeve from the cup and carefully pull it apart. Lay it out flat on your piece of felt.

2) Trace around the coffee sleeve.

3) Cut out your new coffee sleeve from the felt.

4) Fold it in, and over lap the end pieces. You can use your original coffee sleeve as a guide to see how much you should over lap.

5) Pull back the top flap.

6) Apply a line of hot glue from your glue gun.

7) Lay the flap back down and let the glue cool.

8) Pull up the top flap so that the bottom of the inside flap is exposed.

9) Apply a dot of hot glue. Allow to cool.

10) Decorate, and give with a favorite coffee drink.

You can use anything you would like to decorate your coffee sleeve. Make it special to the person you are giving it to. Encourage them to carry it in their car or purse so that they can save a little bit of paper when they order their next coffee to go.

This is the one that I did. I delivered two of these with hot lattes to two special girls on Thanksgiving morning to let them know I was thinking of them that day.

If you don't feel like making them, and live in southern Minnesota, swing by Sticks and Stones.... I have been busy making 500 of these babies to be handed until Christmas...or until supplies last.

I haven't decided if I am going to put some in my shop yet, but I have been taking a few orders for them, so if you have no desire to make them but would like some to hand out to your favorite people contact me, I would be happy to see if I can accommodate your order.

Christmas Garland Tutorial

2010-11-17T09:41:00.000-06:00

This is the Christmas garland I have been making for a store display, and I thought it would make a nice tutorial. I am using polar fleece because I like that it doesn't fray, and it is the perfect material for winter. However, I think this garland would work well with other fabrics. I can see it in a ticking stripe for a more homespun look. Or some bright twill, heck, a pretty sheer fabric could be beautiful as well. Go ahead and experiment with different looks.

Materials needed

Felt or any other type of material that you would like to try
Straight edge
Scissors
Sewing machine
Thread in matching color

First lay out your material and use your straight edge to make your marks for cutting

Next, cut your pieces out.

If you want a longer garland, sew two of the strips (or more) together to make one long strip of fabric. You will ultimately want 4 pieces the same length for your garland.

Gather your pieces together, and lay them on top of each other. If you are using more than one color, alternate colors.

Continue sewing straight down the center of your strips. Remember to back stitch at the beginning and the end.

After you have your 4 pieces sewn together, make many cuts towards the center of your garland. Be sure not to cut into your stitches. Do this for both sides.

Hang throughout your house, on your tree, back of chairs, over mirrors, windows, etc.

I can see this garland in many different colors. I am loving the mustard yellow and pink combo I did. But you can be more traditional and use red and green or red and white. OR... let your imagination go wild and think out side the box of traditional colors for Christmas this year. We are at our house.

The beauty of this garland is that it doesn't have to be perfect. None of my lines were perfectly straight, and my cuts were all different widths, but when you are all done it looks great.

I have another fun tutorial coming up soon for some home-made christmas gifts, so check back.

Cheerios

2010-11-16T19:36:00.000-06:00

I just love when Oscar snacks on Cheerios. He talks the entire time, and it's not just jibber-jabber, he really is telling me a story. If I could only understand him! He goes from excited, to serious, to funny, to almost sad, I can't get enough.

Today I decided that I wanted to capture him while he was eating. Here are some of my favorite images of our "photo shoot".

I love how he hooks his little toes under the tray on the high chair.

Don't you just love the Cheerios on the floor, on his shoulder, and on the foot rest. Nobody said he was a neat eater.

A bit busy.

2010-11-09T21:57:00.000-06:00

I truly feel like one of Santa elves lately. I have been working the night away on so many projects. First, I am working on a Christmas redo at Sticks and Stones and my mind has been running wild coming up with some fun ideas to do in the store, now I have to actually make it a reality, which is always the hard and time consuming part. If you have never been to Sticks and Stones, you must stop by. She has the cutest clothes and a great supply of beads, along with many beading classes. And, you have to stop by to see the store when it is done up for the holidays.

I am also opening my own store, which has been very exciting, and so much work. I have been hunched over my computer finishing up some of the little things that go into launching your own line, and when I am not on my computer, I am sitting at the sewing machine humming away and making pretty little things to sell.

I am also so excited to decorate our house for Christmas, and have some great ideas for decorations. Of course, I have to make most of them, so on top of all the other ideas I have running through my head, I am also storing my ideas for my own house in hopes that soon I can focus on our Christmas decorations (hopefully I will get to them before December 25th).

And if that is not enough, my favorite "roll" that I need to play is mom to Oscar and wife to John. I love my time with them and I am not willing to sacrifice that for any other task, which is why I am doing most of my work well into the night. So while John snores next to me and Oscar's sweet little night noises play on the baby monitor, I work away.

If you have emailed, called, or texted me and I haven't gotten back to you, this is why.(I promise to get intouch with you very soon.) And if you see me wandering around the store talking to myself....well, now you know, I am not going crazy (yet) just working some ideas out in my head.

Like I said I have been busy opening up my own Etsy shop, and my dear friend Krysta is hosting a giveaway on her blog. And....guess what one of her favorite thing happens to be... a necklace from my holiday line at Tickled Pink. She is doing such an awesome thing, I encourage you to check it out and participate. She truly is beautiful INSIDE and out, isn't she.

And stay tuned here for information on the grand opening of my Etsy shop.

We are what we eat.

2010-11-08T21:04:00.000-06:00

Before Oscar was born cooking a great meal seemed like a nice idea, but I would preheat the oven and put the pizza in instead. Now that Oscar is here, I realize that soon he will be eating the same meal I am and I just can’t imagine filling his little tummy with all the preservatives and “fake” food that I was putting in mine. So for a while now I have been trying a new recipe here and there, doing “test runs” for when Oscar eats “big people” food. I also want Oscar to see us eat good food and someday I want him to learn how to prepare healthy snacks for himself, and if it is possible to choose an apple over chips (do you think I can make that happen?). It is very important for me to teach him about where our food comes from and to show him how simple foods can come together to make a beautiful meal. I love this website for that exact reason, beautiful photos, simple foods, and delicious meals.

It is so nice that Organic baby food is sold everywhere, however, I feel like I don’t have many choices when it comes to variety. I want to expose Oscar to as many fruits and vegetable now and hopefully he will keep trying new things throughout his life. I have been making some of his baby food to fill a void in the lack of fruits and vegetables available to us. So far we have tried homemade avocado, banana, and pumpkin, but are excited to try many others. I refer back to this website often , if you are interested in making your own baby food check it out.
And....for dessert one of my all time favorite websites.

I love the photos, I love the font, and the cupcakes....my goodness the cupcakes!

What are some of your favorite food websites?

Oscar wants to ask you...

2010-11-04T21:55:00.000-05:00

If he should grow a mustache?

Baby Charlotte

2010-11-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Quinn's Grandma was my first grade teacher. Then in 2nd grade, I moved schools and Quinn was in my class, we have been friends ever since. We lived together in college, we were in each others weddings... and now we are having babies together. I went to meet her sweet little Charlotte, who was only a little over a week old, and the sweetest little baby you will ever see. My wish is that Charlotte and Oscar will know each other as they grow up and will be great friends.

She was such a tiny little peanut, and I think she looks a lot like Quinn.

Charlotte even put her Halloween costume on for us.

Isn't she the cutest little chili pepper you have ever seen. She looks so warm and comfortable, I sort of want a chili costume of my own to wear on these cold nights.

Ummm, I also had to show the chandelier in Charlotte room. It is almost as cute as she is, and if I wasn't so short and their ceiling was not so high I may have tried to sneak it home with me. I'm only kidding...sort of.

I had to make something for Charlotte, and although I love to make things for Oscar, I had a GREAT time coming up with some girly ideas to bring for Charlotte. I only had time to do two of them, but next time I visit I will be sure to make some more girly gifts for her. Girls are just so much more fun to dress up...sorry Oscar.

First I made her a pair of cozy pants. I made them out of a maternity sweater I wore last year. They were super easy...look for a tutorial on these in the future.

And then I made her a little hat. I made sure it was nice and warm and had some flaps to cover her tiny ears. I fell in love with this hat, so be sure to check my Etsy shop (opening soon) for some of these.

Congratulations Quinn and James on your sweet baby girl, I am so in love with her.

My Little Lumberjack

2010-11-02T23:40:00.000-05:00

Oscar was originally going to be Elvis, but I had some issues with making his costume, so last minute I decided to make him a little lumberjack. And I think he liked it. I know I did.

At the end of the day Oscar changed into a skeleton for the evening. He was such a good little trooper letting me dress him up, but to be honest, he is most days. We had a great first Halloween with him and are already coming up with ideas for next year. I hope you all had a nice Halloween as well.

Oscar and His Dad

2010-10-27T22:57:00.000-05:00

Oscar just admires John. He gets so excited when he gets home from work. And, John is GREAT with him. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful husband to me and an awesome father for Oscar. Look at these two, all snuggled up together on the couch. Aren't they cute?

Blessed, I am.

2010-10-22T23:46:00.000-05:00

It is a tough job being Oscars Mommy, as you can see he is such a grumpy baby. Seriously, that last photo just gets me, he already knows how to work the camera.

Super Easy Hat Tutorial

2010-10-11T21:14:00.000-05:00

Oscar had a hat I loved from Baby Gap that I paid a pretty penny for and wouldn't you know it, we loose it in the mall parking lot before snow is even on the ground! I looked at every Baby Gap in Minnesota (I even called one in Wisconsin) and looked around on line for one to replace it, but no such luck. I pouted for a little while and got upset with myself that I didn't check to see if we had it before I drove off, and then...while I was hanging up clothes in my closet, I realized that I had a old sweater that I hadn't worn in a while, and came up with the idea to make a hat for Oscar out of it.

You can use this tutorial for a hat for anyone in your family, but all the instructions I have provided here are for a infant/toddler hat. I plan on making one for myself soon, and will post pictures of it once I am done.

Here is what you need
* an old sweater
* measuring tape
* scissors
*sewing machine
*needle and thread

If you have a hat that you like the fit of, I suggest you use the measurements from that hat as a template.

1) Take your old sweater and lay it out flat

2) Measure around your head and subtract around 1 1/2 inch. (I made this hat 14 inched around)

(Use your judgement on the circumference of the hat, the weave of the sweater was pretty loose,so I took a little more than 1 1/2 inches off, but if you have a sweater with a tight weave don't subtract as much.)

You may have to play around with this a little bit. I ended up taking O's hat in a little bit more after I was finished because it was still a little loose. Error on the side of it being a little loose at first, you can always take more off, but you can't put more on.

3) cut your sweater to the desired length using the base of your sweater as the "bottom" or "brim" of your hat.

4) cut up the length of the sweater creating a flat square of material. I wanted this hat to be on the floppy side so I cut my length 9 inches. (once cut, my material measured; width 14inches x length 9 inches)

5) fold your material in half, if you are following my measurements your material should now measure width 7 inches x length 9 inches.

6) sew up the side of your hat. Now you will have a open end on the bottom (where the head goes and an open end on top.)

7) Do a running stitch along the open "top" of your hat. You can do this by hand or with your sewing machine.

8) pull your stitches tight and tie off your end.

9) trim any loose threads, turn right side out, and you are all done!

Fall Gathering 2010

2010-10-10T23:14:00.000-05:00

We had a fun little picnic this weekend to celebrate my brother visiting from the Navy. We met at a park on a hill overlooking all the trees which were all beautiful reds, oranges and yellows. The weather was great and food was delicious. We had a few bugs bother us, Oscar needed a nap and we were missing a few family members, but other than that...the day was absolutely perfect!

Oscar loves these girls!

Oscar and Grandma take advantage of the beautiful backdrop.

We decided that we needed a family picture too!

Oscar and Daddy

We seriously had to do a song and dance just to get Oscar to crack a slight smile that day... he was in dire need of a nap, but despite the lack of sleep, nothing could stop him from practicing his crawling.

He had us all on the edge of our seats thinking that he was going to crawl for the first time that day, he is getting so CLOSE!

I just love that EVERYONE in our families adores Oscar just as much as we do and wants to spend so much time with us. We are looking forward to the next family get together.

The Swing

2010-10-06T16:22:00.000-05:00

O loves the swing. I mean he LOVES.THE.SWING. The swing is outside, Oscar love the outside. The swing is right by Norton the dog. Oscar loves Norton the dog. The swing is right under a tree. Oscar loves to watch the leaves on the tree. So why wouldn't he love the swing? I really think Oscar would spend his entire day in the swing if I would let him.

I just love this last series of shots, he was so relaxed and peaceful just looking at all the things surrounding him. We should all be so content to just sit and watch the leaves fall from time to time. Shouldn't we?

Welcome October

2010-10-05T11:16:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year. The weather is perfect & the trees are changing color. I get to dig out all my comfy sweaters and jackets. I wear big cozy socks around the house. I just love it. AND.... October also means Halloween. I am excited to dress Oscar up this year.
We just started decorating for the season and I wanted to give you all a little inspiration too. Because I don't think I am alone in my love for this month.

inspiration found here and here.

Baby Onesie

2010-10-03T10:45:00.000-05:00

I am excited to share my first ever tutorial with you, it is actually a very easy one...no sewing required!

{and it is a great way to use up all those left over sewing scraps}

Lately all of my friends, relatives, myself, friends of friends, friends of relatives...{you get the picture}... have been having babies. That is how this great baby gift came about. I was looking for something on a budget but yet thoughtful and cute.

Tools needed:

* Onesies, one for each month (1 through 12)

(or you can use t-shirts to and make them for a 1year old on up)

* Iron

* No-sew iron on adhesive (I use Heat N Bond Ultrahold)

* Fabric scraps

* Iron on transfer paper

1) Gather your scraps and iron on your adhesive to the back side of the fabric.

2) Print off numbers - remember to make them large enough so that when the proud parents are taking pictures of their chubby little baby you can clearly see how old he or she is.

3) Cut out your numbers and trace them onto your scraps

4) Cut out your numbers, peel of the backing on the adhesive, and iron onto the onesie

5) I also printed off the word "Months" onto transfer paper and ironed them onto the onesie.

* make sure to read the instructions on your transfer paper, I had to mirror the image on my computer first so that "months" read correctly, but each brand is different.

Your DONE... I told you it was easy!

Parents will love to snap a picture of their ever growing baby in these onesies to mark each month... and ... they will love you for such a thoughtful gift.

{I hope to do more of these tutorials, so stay tuned!}

Gone Too Long

2010-10-03T00:16:00.000-05:00

Wow! I have been a slacker.... not ONE blog post since APRIL !!!! Hey, don't judge, I have been having too much fun with Mr. Oscar. Here is a little recap our last 6 months….

Oscar

March 21, 2010

Oscar was born at 5:35 and…

{he was just perfect}

Oscar 1 month

{The first month of our life with Oscar was filled with pure joy}

and a million questions…

“Is he sleeping too much?” “Is he sleeping enough?” “How much should he be eating?’ “Is it normal for a baby to snore when he sleeps?” “How many diapers should I be changing a day?” “What kind of formula should I use?” and so on….

Then came month 2

And we settled into our roll as parents, we became more confident. We knew what cry meant he was hungry and which one meant he was tired. Oscar slept on my chest every night because I loved to smell his sweet baby breath and feel his soft fuzzy head under my chin.

{Life was good.}

Oscar at 3 months

Oscar surprised us this month by sleeping all thru the night, he also went from being a newborn to an alert baby who smiled and cooed at us.

{I thought life couldn’t get any better, I was wrong because soon…}

Oscar was 4 moths old

And Oscar not only smiled and cooed at us, but he began laughing at the stupid faces we were making. Oscar also decided at 4 months that sleeping thru the night was for the birds and that mommy and daddy were so much fun to be around that he would like to play every 2 hours throughout the night, he also started teething which meant LOTS of drool and chewing on EVERYTHING!

{life with Oscar was so, so sweet.}

Oscar 5 months old

I loved Oscar at this stage, and he LOVED his Mamma! He learned how to give great big hugs and big wet kisses, which, of course I could never get enough of. I do believe that two of Oscar’s favorite places are Target and Barnes and Noble (they happen to be my favorite too.) Oscar started riding up front of the target shopping cart and he was so proud of himself for doing so… he would squeal with delight all the way through the store. He was also still teething!

{life was beautiful}

Oscar is now 6 months old

I can’t believe how fast time has gone by, and I cannot remember my life without Oscar in it. Oscar loves to dance and he has some awesome moves, which he totally gets from me. He loves when we play the harmonica for him, even though we have no idea what we are doing… to him it is beautiful music. He is such a happy baby and cuddly too. He is still teething, poor guy, but I think soon he should be getting those bothersome teeth in… I hope. He loves when we go out or when people come to visit us, but he also keeps his eye on me and makes sure that I don’t get to far away. He loves to play with hair and is not very gentle about it. Oscar talks all day long and sometimes in his sleep too. He is not sleeping through the night again but is slowly making his way to his crib, which isn’t really as bad of a transition as I thought it was going to be. Oscar loves to walk and dance, and he does both at the same time... to him they go hand in hand, which makes me laugh all day long.

{isn’t life grand?}

also, most of these are from my iPhone, so please excuse the blurriness!

Visiting Jesse

2010-04-21T14:43:00.000-05:00

We spent last weekend in Chicago for my brother Jesse's graduation from the Navy.

This was the first time Jesse got to meet Oscar, and Oscar just loved him.

It was a little chilly in Chicago so we spent one day at the Museum of Modern Art.

This is Oscar as modern art.

Jesse is off to California today for 9 more weeks of training, and then he gets to come home for a few weeks.

I am SO looking forward to him coming home.

We miss him a lot, but are so proud of him.

{Lovely Krysta}

2010-03-05T21:05:00.000-06:00

Do you remember these beautiful pictures Krysta Manthe did for me last summer?

Well she is doing a giveaway!

Go here for the info and enter for a chance to win...you're crazy if you don't.

Spring and Baby Fever

2010-03-03T20:12:00.000-06:00

My talented friend Tara took these the other day. Aren’t they cute?

Soon that snowman will be a puddle, I won't be bundled up in winter gloves and scarves, and very soon that belly (hopefully) won't be so round.

Only 2 more weeks until baby comes! Can't wait!

Spring on the other hand may take a little longer.

{Jesse}

2010-02-22T22:01:00.000-06:00

Today was a hard day. Today my brother Jesse left for the Navy. Jesse and I are only 5 years apart, but for some reason since the day Jesse was born, I have worried about him like a mother. When he was a baby, I worried when he cried. When he was a small boy, I worried when he got hurt. When he went to kindergarten, I worried that he would be scared. When he went to middle school, I worried that he wouldn't make friends. When he went to High School, I worried that the older kids would be mean to him. When he got his license, I worried that he wouldn’t wear his seatbelt. When he became a young adult, I worried that he wouldn’t make good choices. And tonight, as Jesse is alone in his hotel room, waiting to leave for boot camp tomorrow morning, I am worried that he is as sad as I am that he is leaving. I am worried that he is going to regret his decision, and not be able to come home. I am worried that he is scared. But, thinking about all the time I have worried about Jesse, everything has been ok, and I know that with this new adventure, this too will be ok. He will get to see things and places that I probably will never get the chance to see. This will probably be the “best decision he has ever made”, and I am excited to hear the amazing stories he will have to tell when he gets back. But, that doesn’t mean that I am going to stop worrying, I will probably worry about Jesse for the rest of our lives….that’s what big sisters are for.

{Baby}

2010-02-03T10:16:00.000-06:00

We have been VERY busy with a kitchen remodel, which I am so excited about. It has been a little stressful trying to get everything done in time for baby's arrival, but my parents have been wonderful and were here all week working hard.

I can't wait to post pictures of the finished product.

When my mind is not on the long list of things that need to get done before our little guy gets here, I am constantly wondering what our baby will look like.

Will he look anything like this?

I am measuring 2 weeks bigger than I should be, so of course I am freaked out that I am going to have this HUGE baby. I imagine him looking something like this....

I wonder if our baby will have lots of hair, or be completely bald. Will he have brown, blonde or maybe red hair? Will he really take after his daddy and look like this?

No matter what he looks like, he is running out of room in there! I am so uncomfortable, and I can't imagine that he is comfortable. It won't be long now...6 weeks, give or take a few.

And we can hardly wait!!!

{Delightful}

2010-01-19T11:21:00.000-06:00

This morning I woke up to this handsome face...

and this magnificent view...

It was a lovely morning.

Enjoy YOUR beautiful day.

Engagement Party

2010-01-15T18:57:00.000-06:00

We had an engagement party for my cousin Dain and his new fiancé Jessica.

Look at her beautiful ring.

and the really good cake.

my Mom and Sister brought these cute little Deviled Eggs with their pictures stuck in them.

It was such a nice party. And they are such a cute couple, can't wait for their wedding.

{Nesting}

2010-01-14T19:50:00.000-06:00

As the belly grows...

...so does the baby gear.

I am so excited about all the baby things that I have been working on. Here is just a sneak peek of a few of the projects that have been keeping me busy.

I found this mobile but was not about to pay 100 dollars for it, so I made my own. I have to say, I kind of like mine better.

Our little guy is due in March, and as we know in Minnesota, it can still be quite cold here, so I have been busy making some hats to keep his tiny little head nice and warm. Every time I finish one, John and I start giggling, we can't believe something so little will fit into it.

Many, many, more things to come.

So Sweet

2010-01-11T14:52:00.000-06:00

Bless their hearts.

Fran and Marlo were at the Mayo Clinic, while they waited for their appointment they played a little piano. Marlo is 90 years old, and they have been married for 62 years!

I love this video, and I hope this is John and I in 60 years...I guess I better sign us up for piano lessons now.

The Betty Draper Evening Gala Gown GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-01-04T18:34:00.000-06:00

The Betty Draper Evening Gala Gown GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

I wasn't so lucky on the last give away, but this dress is just as cute and I am hoping that it will be mine. Please let me be the lucky winner!

The Milk and Honey Maternity Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-12-30T22:41:00.000-06:00

The Milk and Honey Maternity Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

{I would REALLY like to win this dress}

Grandma B.

2009-12-30T22:27:00.000-06:00

I was organizing the pictures on my computer when all of a sudden a photo appeared that took my breath away. I took these pictures of my Grandma Bleninger’s hands about a week before she passed away, and forgot about them until now. I have always wanted to do a post about my Grandma, and I think now, as we wrap up 2009, is a fitting time to remember such a great wife, mother, sister, and grandmother.

She was such a sweet lady. She was a quiet observer, she let us do all the talking and was very content just listing to our thoughts. Many, many times she watched all 10 of us grandchildren at the same time, and never once do I remember her loosing patients with any of us. I remember her helping me get to sleep by gently running her hands down my forehead and over my eyes. I would try to open my eyes in between strokes down, but eventually she would win and my eyes would stay shut for the night. When she became ill, I spent nights just rubbing her back, sometimes for the entire night, those were some of my favorite moments spent with her. I feel so lucky that I had the opportunity to spend so much time with my grandmother. My New Year’s resolution this year is to remember the things I have learned from my Grandma Bleninger and try to incorporate them into my life.

{What Grandma Bleninger has taught me}

Always eat breakfast

Go for a walk every day

Do less talking and more listing

Don’t be so quick to throw things away

And enjoy your dessert

{LOVE}

2009-12-29T16:03:00.000-06:00

Nolan house from Drew Tyndell on Vimeo.

I found this video Daydream Lily and instantly fell in love.

Maybe its is because I love Bob Dylan (*I was born in the same hospital as him, you know*),

or maybe it is because I cannot drive past an old abandoned house without dreaming of how beautiful it would be fixed up,

or maybe it is because I cannot get enough of ankle boots and flowing flowered dresses and cannot wait until spring to sport my own version of this outfit.

Either way I love this video, and I hope you love it too.

Christmas with the Slattery's

2009-12-27T18:28:00.000-06:00

Takara and Emily got cameras

Emily also asked for hand sanitizer for Christmas...a girl after my own heart.

Maddy

John

Carson

*deep into his new video game*

Caitlin

Takara, Emily, and Caitlin

I just love this picture!

Jackson

Jackson's hands, don't you love the dimples

And Takara's feet, so sweet.

Children make Christmas so much fun. They were so excited from beginning to end, and so grateful for all their gifts. The little girls each got a doll, but it was put in an old check book box...they were so excited to get checks! They kept jumping up and down say "we can write checks, we can write checks!" It was so cute. I can't wait until next year when we have our own little guy to spend Christmas with.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T12:02:00.000-06:00

{merry christmas}

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T19:33:00.000-06:00

Snow canceled our travel plans for Christmas this year, but I can't complain too much because is was beautiful outside. I love waking up to fresh snow on the ground. We didn't get as much as I expected, but they say more is coming so we are staying put. I spent most of the day baking and knitting (all the things you should be doing when a blizzard hits).

Norton even had a blast in the snow today... for a few minutes anyway, and then just like his mom (I mean master) he enjoyed looking out the window at all the snow while we snuggled up in a nice warm house.

I hope every one is safe and warm just like the Slattery's are today!

I also wanted to share the pictures we took for Christmas this year. I especially like these, because being pregnant, I am not looking so hot in pictures these days....so this shot just shows my legs, which I can live with.

And then....

a very cute one of Mom and Dad.

Lemm Family Christmas

2009-12-22T18:47:00.000-06:00

Christmas with my Family

Ashley

We played games for gifts...it was a great time.

Ashley and Sam

Jesse

John

Mom and Dad

John

Dad

May your Christmas be filled with love and laughter, surrounded by family and friends.

I'm Back

2009-12-21T20:01:00.000-06:00

I know I have been gone for a while, but things just got busy around here. But I do have some exciting news! I am pregnant...27 weeks pregnant to be exact. We are expecting a little boy in March.

We have a long list of projects to get ready for our little guy, but I hope to be a better blogger and keep you updated more often.

Around The House

2009-05-28T19:41:00.000-05:00

This corner of my house is in my bathroom,

I like it because not only is it pleasing to the eye,

but it is also functional too.

The umbrella on the box I found at an antique shop,

it is an old ashtray,

but now it keeps track of any rings, bracelets,

and earrings that I take on and off.

The wooden box,

also found at an antique shop,

stores all my "special occasion" jewelry,

and other junk.

The green bowl,

I got from a thrift store,

and the yellow bracelet in it was my "something borrowed" from my wedding...

{I borrowed it from my mom, but I guess now you could argue,

that since I was married almost 2 years ago,

it could be "something stolen"}

And the clock is from Ikea,

and one of my favorite things

is hearing it ticking when all is queit in the house.

John and I are off to a little vacation this weekend with my family,

sooooo...... photos from our trip when we get back.

In my yard....

2009-05-26T21:19:00.000-05:00

There are more of these than I would care to admit....

....but the kid in me still cannot resist blowing on them,

and watching all the little seeds scatter all around me.

And this handsome face, is patiently waiting for me to

quit playing with the dandelions already....

....and start playing with him

I am very happy that my snowballs are blooming beautifully

{they are just a few years old, and it was a rough start for them}....

....and now look,

they are so big the branches cannot hold up the heavy blooms.

{it's the little bush that could!}

I hope you all had a great long weekend.

Blueberry Pie Refashioned Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-24T21:35:00.000-05:00

Blueberry Pie Refashioned Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Well....she has done it again, the very talented Kathleen at Grosgrain, has come up with yet another dress, that has my name written all over it. Pretty, pretty, please with cherries on top let me win this dress!!!

Thank You

2009-05-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

Dear Husband,

Thank you for letting me put my ice cold feet on you at night, and thank you for not falling asleep until you are sure that they are warm.

That is really nice.

Oh and thank you for taking me out for ice cream last night too.

That also, was really nice.

love, S

Norton Love

2009-05-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

This is usually how it goes....

Relaxing on the floor....both Norton and I are about ready to close our eyes for a little nap....

and then....

Norton decided to let me know how much he loves me by....

attacking me with kisses....

and I must admit, I like it!!!

{OK so all of these pictures are less than flattering....but I liked the sequence}

Come Float Away, Come Float Away, Come Float Away With Me.

2009-05-13T22:13:00.000-05:00

I love this idea of camping on the water....

Do you?

These tents/rafts are in Holland.... I say bring them to the land of 10000 lakes!

and don't forget the Dramamine!

Warning: Not a good idea for sleep walkers.

And Then I Fell In Love With a Bike

2009-05-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight....thinking about all the goodies I can cart around in the back of this bike!

I am going to start with the husband and the dog!!

click the link, and check them out for yourself!

I dare you not to fall head-over-heels in love too.

The Little Things That Make Me Happy....

2009-05-05T19:51:00.000-05:00

My sister Ashley
Gnomes
Sun dresses
Sewing
Cotton candy
Tea
Getting Freckled
Riding a bike
The smell of lilacs and fresh cut grass
Yoga

Polaroids
Fresh sheets from the clothes line
Taking Norton for a walk
Live music
Hammock naps
Camping
Vintage fans (especially when they work)
Red high heels
Pixie Sticks
Making my husband laugh

oh and the color yellow

Well... Happy Birthday to Me!!!

2009-03-26T19:57:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I celebrated my 29th Birthday, and I have to say it wasn't as traumatic as I was anticipating! I don't know what kind of emotions next year will bring, but the big 29, came and went without one tear.

My beautiful, talented, friend Krysta took some photos of me and had them finished for my Birthday, so I thought I would share them with you.

I spent my Birthday "day" shopping at Anthropologie with a friend, and my Birthday "night" having dinner with family. It was a nice relaxing day, spent with some very lovely people.

It's A Good Life

2009-03-19T09:24:00.000-05:00

Today is Thursday, it is almost 9:30 in the morning.... and I am still wearing these

I have already eaten 2 of these for breakfast....

I wish it was nice enough to being outside doing this....

But, really I should get off my butt, and start doing this...

Whatever your plans are today..... Have a great Thursday.

I'll Be Back

2009-02-17T22:32:00.000-06:00

I am writing this from my iPhone because of a little accident between my laptop and a broken squishy ball! My poor computer is being fixed and will be out of commission for 3-4 weeks. I will hopefully have many great stories to share when my computer and I are reunited.

Birthday wish list

2009-02-02T00:53:00.001-06:00

I know my birthday is more than a month away, but I am starting on my wish list already.

1) to put up my picket fence

2) a new camera

3) an Airstream that I can fix up

2009-01-28T19:02:00.000-06:00

As I was wrapped up in reading blogs today, I visited on of my favorite blogs Oh Happy Day and ready some terrible news... Domino is leaving us.

I feel like I am loosing a good friend.

I felt this way when I heard the news about Bluprint magazine, and Country Home, these magazines have been there through many bubble baths, sleepless nights, plane rides, car trips, and sick days on the couch.

A sad good bye to Domino, you will be missed along with all my other cheep thrills, Pushing Daisies, Polaroid cameras, my discontinued Clinque products, Blueprints, and Country Home.

Me in a collage

2009-01-26T23:43:00.000-06:00

This is me - by slls on Polyvore.com

I have been playing around on Polyvore a lot lately, it is very addicting! This is a collage of items that I think describe me best.

1. The clothes (Jeans, shirt, cardigan, boots, and purse) are the typical "Stacy outfit"... nothing to exciting, but always classic and comfortable.

2. The dog of course is for my Norton, I love that fuzzy little guy so much it makes my heart hurt!

3. The aviator sunglasses represent the sunglasses I got from my Grandpa Bleninger (they were the glasses he wore when he was flying) and I cherish them so much.

4. The red Moleskin planner is the exact planner I have, and I never leave home with out it... in fact, if I do, I have a panic attack!

5. The Stella beer is my choice of drink when I actually visit drinking establishments, which is rarely.

6. This bike is my dream bike, I fixed up a bike this summer, and although it turned out very cute, I guess some paint and a sweet little basket, were the least of its problems. I took it around the block, but that is as far as we could go before the chain locked up. This summer I hope to have a cute bike that actually works.

7. The camera in this collage is much nicer than the one I own, but I girl can dream can't she.

8. If you catch me sitting on the couch, I am most likely reading my Skinny Bitch in the Kitch book, looking for a new recipe to try. Since I have become a vegetarian this last spring, the Skinny Bitch books are my food bible.

9. The Starbucks cup... do I even need to explain this one, if you know me, you know that I am usually on my way to a Starbucks to get a soy Carmel latte (thanks Krysta for turning me on to this), or on my way home, with one in hand.

10. The apple and water, represent my New Years resolution... which is to eat more fruit and drink more water (which I am proud to say I am sticking to).

11. The leaves represent my favorite season... fall!

12. And the tennis ball, is a HUGE part of my life ... no I have not picked up the game of tennis, the tennis ball is there because if I am not throwing it for Norton, it is being shoved in my hands for the next toss. I am not kidding you, I swear I spend 90% of my day tossing that ball around. With all that time playing fetch, I cannot understand why Norton's Vet says he is over weight!

and in case you were wondering why I don't have anything for John in my collage, I searced high and low for something to represent him, but I couldn't find anything good. But don't worry he is on the top of my list of things that are most important to me (tied with Norton). :-)

So there you have it, my life in a collage. Expect a lot more of these because, like I said it is so addicting. I am challenging Krysta and Ashley to come up with a collage of the things in their life. I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-01-21T21:08:00.000-06:00

The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!!

I am linking Grosgrain again, this time she came up with something that would fit me!!! And I am in LOVE!! If you haven't checked out Grosgrain yet....you must, she is so talented! Please, Please, Mrs. Pretty, Skinny, Talented Grosgrain, pick me to with the Lunch Date Blouse giveaway!!!

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-18T09:24:00.000-06:00

Well 11:00 last night was the only time John and I could find to do Christmas pictures (truthfully it was John who could only do it at 11:00, I think he thought he would get out of it if he gave me such a ridiculous time.... but oh no baby.... you can't get out of it that easy!) Anyway it was quite a fiasco, I forgot to pick up the tri-pod from my parents, so I had to keep stacking things on top of one another until I got it the right height. And I forgot to get batteries, and of course the ones that I had in my camera worked for about 2 pictures and then went dead, so we emptied every remote we could find, dug through every drawer, and purse, and finally came up with enough batteries to get some pictures done. After all the fuss, they didn't turn out that great.... I like the test ones the best. I think they are kinda cute, do you think our family will mind if they don't see our faces on our Christmas card?

cleaning house

2008-11-26T10:27:00.000-06:00

Well these photos are a bit random, but I was cleaning up my computer and found some images that I have never posted about. Here they are.... enjoy..... and have a wonderful turkey (or in my case non-turkey day)!

I know that this room has been on other blogs, but I just love it. The colors are so soothing, and the room has a great feeling.

I am instantly drawn to rooms like this.... clean, bed crisply made, and sun pouring in from the windows (maybe that is because my room is never free of laundry, and my bed rarely gets made)!

I love everything about this house.... I am ready to move in today, please! The awnings, shutters and the details on the shutters, the GREAT front door... in Tiffany blue!!!!

With winter creeping in, I especially love this back yard, is it bad to say that I am ready for summer?

I kept this room because I love the chairs, and the red on the door, widow and cabinet. In fact, when our kitchen is done, I think I am going to try and paint my cabinets red.

I love the crispness of the colors of these rooms, and I am sure that I could not resist them because they are red and yellow (two of my favorite colors). I think these rooms are great because they are traditional, with a very fun twist. I could see both of them for a little girls room, a guest room, or even my bedroom for that matter.

Wouldn't you love to wake up to such a cheery room?

Sources
http://www.marthastewart.com, http://www.betterhomesandgardens.com, http://www.domino.com

29th Birthday

2008-11-06T18:10:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Baby!

I love you, and I love that for the next 4 months you are older than me!