Sew Crafty Saturday: Before & After Again

before

after



art can be found on my Pinterest board



family banner

hope the Polaroid frames keep me organized

We added the cork and rulers to our pantry wall over a year ago. It looked nice in the beginning, but over time it started to look like a junk drawer, so I decided a little spruce up was in order. I changed the banner, added some art, and a space for each family member. Dan got me these neat Umbra Polaroid frames for Mother's Day and I think they are the perfect label for every one's little section. I feel so organized.  Let's just hope I can keep it looking tidy for a little while longer this time.

Fabulous Find Friday: Good Deeds, Please

Do you remember Lilly's marble jar? We loved it and it worked well, but like anything, over time it got put away and forgotten about. Recently, I stumbled across these good deed cards over at eighteen25. I love the simplicity of a punch card and consider these a very fabulous find. Lilly wrote her own name on her card and earned her first punch by letting her sister go first without any prompting, now that's a good deed!
I'm even planning on using these with my kindergartners in the fall, so head on over there and print some out for the little sweethearts in your life.

Wee Ones Wednesday: Palm Springs

The girls could not get enough of this slide, even Iris went down by herself!

Right after this picture was taken, Iris got some water wings and told us, "I do it!"

Don't laugh, but Lilly slept in the closet. We put some chair cushions on the floor, covered them with sheets, and she was in heaven.

This car was the coolest thing in the museum. The volunteer told us that they wash it every 6 months.

Iris was the sweetest little chef.

This rope maze was pretty neat. The kids hooked on to one rope and had to go over and under to get to the other side.

Last week, we went to Palm Springs with my parents. I was a little worried about the heat, but with sunscreen and a pool near by, I had nothing to fear. We could hardly get the girls out of the pool and went twice a day. We also visited the Children's Discovery Museum of the desert. It had a lot to offer, but I have to say that painting on the VW bug was the best part. My sister and her family came down about half way through our little vacation. The cousins had so much fun being together, I didn't even notice until I got home that I didn't have any pictures of them playing together. I suppose I was too busy enjoying the moment!

Misc. Monday: Date Night

I just realized that my last few posts have been little endorsements. I can't help it; I have to share my favorites with you or else I feel like I'm holding out! Saturday night, I got to take my man and our close friends out to Pechanga to see the Avett Brothers. Do you know them? You should! They are so much fun and they love to sing about love. Lilly and Iris both have sing along favorites, and I'm sure you would too. 

Fab Find Friday: Waffle Love

I don't usually blog about food, but I'm in love.
with a sandwich in a waffle.
 not a sweet, breakfast waffle, but a crispy , light waffle.
the pull pork, 4 cheese, green eggs and ham, pastrami are amazing.
i cannot leave without devouring the lemon cream and berries.
I ate there twice last week.
I've taken 8 people there and they are now in love.
Bruxie has changed my life.
I thought you should know.

Misc. Monday: Aw, Summer!

You didn't think we forgot the garden did you? It's definitely not as extensive as last year's, but we have had a playhouse to work on! I can't wait to make a caprese salad, and can you see how many strawberries are about to ripen up? Yum yum...
P.S. Can you believe that picture of Iris from last year? She was bald!

Fabulous Finds Friday: Right @ Home

The frame originally came from Ikea. I love how the three photos look together!



Here's how it looks on the wall. The wall is actually a little alcove, so it's a discreet  & perfect spot.



Since I was writing about family photos, I wanted to show you how the hall to our bedroom is adorned with the girls from year to year.

Our little computer desk is another way I am able to display photos. I love the clipboard because there is no commitment and I can change the pics easily.

I have a string of family and friends hung up on the chalkboard. It's inexpensive, cute, and can be updated at anytime.

I've had these photos for awhile and knew I wanted to group them together somehow. Large frames can be expensive and looking at thrift stores for something specific usually leaves me frustrated. You know how you can stumble across something amazing, but can never find exactly what you are looking for? Single 8x10s can look so small and lonely, and I don't have a bunch of family photos in small frames around the house.

I was sitting on the couch one night this week, and noticed a Paul Grimm print that was living in a perfect frame. It wasn't my favorite, so I asked the hubby if he would mind if I took it out for a while, and by the time he was out of the shower, I had my new picture hung. I was on such a roll that it never occurred to me to take a before picture. I love how the frame transformation turned out. I just stretched fabric over the wooden frame back and secured the photos to the fabric with glue dots and put it right back. My girlfriend stopped by the next day, noticed it right away, and said how great it looked, so I'd say it's a success (and it was free), now that's a fab find!

Wee-Ones Wednesday: More Summer Fun

One of Lilly's favorite things to do is...

make her cousin laugh!

Here's a few pics of two more summertime fun times. These adventures happen to be with my little sis and sweet, baby Sophia. We just love spending time with them. I know I say it all the time, but man, these girls are growing up quickly.

 One of our latest adventures was visiting Irvine Park. You have to pay to get in because it is a regional park, but their website is full of coupons for all of their fabulous activities, so it's not a big deal.We rode the train and went to the little zoo. Lilly asked me if she could ask the conductor if we could take a picture with him. I was so proud. Later, she asked me if she could feed a goat, only to chicken out after watching me do it. When Iris saw me getting slobbered on, she was all over it, "My turn!" Her laugh at that goat's slobbery kiss was infectious.

Next, we tried out Buccaneer Bay in La Mirada's Splash water park. I'm not a huge fan of water parks; I've spent too may summers taking kids there when I worked at a day care center. Floating hair and band aids gross me out! Yet, I found this one surprisingly clean, small, and organized. It seemed a little expensive to me for a city park, but it's no where near the cost of Raging Waters. The girls loved it. Penny's nieces were kind enough to come and play with the kiddos. We needed it because the girls can't swim yet. The little ones had to wear life jackets which I thought was weird at first, but then quickly appreciated. It's nice because there's things for kids of all ages to do.

Misc. Monday: Choo Choo Soul

Yesterday, we went to the La Mirada Theater for Performing Arts to see Choo Choo Soul live in concert. If you're not familiar with them, and I don't blame you, they play music videos between shows on Disney Jr. It's pretty fun, upbeat children's music. I particularly like their version of the ABCs. Anyhoo, it was one hour of fun that everyone could enjoy. Let me tell you, my girls have moves!

Sew Crafty Saturday: Summer Wreath

This wreath, like many projects, was not planned. Dan went to see a band play, the girls were asleep, and  I had just finished the book I was reading. So what's a girl to do? I had purchased the wreath form for something else, but it's from the Dollar Tree, so it's not like I can't get another.
I simply ripped some fabric and wrapped it around the wreath, cut circles of varying sizes with pinking shears to make flowers, and used scrapbook paper & letters for the welcome bunting.
I made a simple template for the pennants by folding a square of card stock twice, and then I drew a straight line from the right folded edge to the the bottom left corner. I'm only telling you this detail because I briefly searched online how to make pennants, and many of the tutorials involved a ruler and math, which was just way too much thinking so late at night! Once I was ready, I folded a scrapbook paper square in half along the top and traced the little template. I did wind up making two templates in order to achieve the size I wanted, but now I have two different sizes, so it was well worth it. A few buttons were added to the flowers, and viola!  I used the glue gun for everything, so it went pretty quickly.

Fabulous Finds Friday: To Make or To Buy?

I sometimes find it discouraging that it can be cheaper to just buy something, than to make it. This has been the summer of window coverings around here. I had the curtains in our bedroom from before I got married and they were long over due to get replaced. My plan all along was to make new ones, but after visiting some local fabric stores and shopping online, I was a bit bummed at the cost yardage was going to set me back. A few days later we were at Ikea, (so Lilly could have her favorite meatballs for lunch) and I walked by these beauties for $14.95 for two panels. That is a steal! I got two packages, replaced the ones over the sliding glass door (not pictured) and this little window too. I had to trim the curtains for the smaller window, and I now have some lace left over for crafting. How fun is that?
Since I was taking pics of  the window, I thought I would show you a few other recent fabulous finds in our bedroom. I reorganized all my jewelry (hoping I would accessorize more often) after purchasing the pretty bird cage at Cost Plus. It was on sale for $19.99 and I had the $10 off $30 coupon, so I couldn't resist! I think the folding ruler is the most charming addition though, and she was only $4 at house 8810. I also got the Moda hankies over the window there too... I just had to get them in order to get free shipping, but I'd say it was a great purchase since I had no use for them when I originally put them in my shopping cart.  Have you ever been to house 8810? It's another fabulous find. Everything in their store is so cute!!