helping hand

Paige brought home a special reward today for being such a great helper at school!

wordless wednesday

new beginnings

Paige started kindergarten today. She was so excited and helped to comfort the other kids that were crying.

B2S: part deux

I love Laptop Lunches. Paige started using them when she went to Mother's Day Out. They are perfect for toddler-sized portions, they keep everything neat and they are environmentally friendly.

If you need ideas for fun ways to pack you Bento, check out the Vegan Lunch Box. Jennifer is a very health-conscious and creative lunch packer. I've used lots of her ideas.

Of course I'm not vegan (not that there's anything wrong with that) but you can adapt lots of the recipes.

I have found that it is very hard to find a cute carrying case for the box, but last year I bought one of these Stephen Joseph bags, and it fits perfectly. You can even drop an ice pack or a Capri Sun in the front pocket. Paige has the butterfly and it's really cute. (they even come with matching note cards to leave in your kid's lunch)

back 2 school: part one

Do you remember the commercial from a few years ago that had a dad skipping through the school supply aisles at KMart (I think) to the tune of "It's the most wonderful time of the year"? That about sums up the mood around here. School starts Tuesday and it's not coming fast enough. Our big girl is starting kindergarten!!

We are soooo lucky that she will have the same teachers she had last year in PreK. (PreK and K are taught in the same room) Mrs. G is one of the most gifted teachers I have ever met. She made such a connection last year with Paige and the skills she mastered in her class were remarkable! I can't wait to see the growth she has this year.

We've been doing the usual B2S prep...new clothes, planning out the week, etc.



Aren't these darling???



This year her school is providing all the school supplies so, all we have to bring is her nap mat and backpack, both of which we used last year. (I cannot say enough good things about Hanna Andersson backpacks. They hold up so well, I couldn't find a reason not to use it a second year.)

I finished up the bows to match her school clothes.



I also found these cute monogrammed headbands on etsy.



Moms of girls (especially those who don't like big bows) will love She Does Hair. Be sure and check out her links to other girly hair-do blogs.

Stay tuned for B2S: part deux....LUNCH!

i'm a planner

Am I the only one who is already planning Halloween costumes? Last year Paige was sooo sick on Halloween and Justin was working so we didn't get to go out at all. :( Brooke missed her first Halloween.

I think this year we're going to have a ladybug and a witch. I don't know who is going to be which yet. I can tell you they will both involve tutus....

idhtbptbb

I came across The Nester about 3 months ago. I immediately fell in love with her style and straight-forward approach to decorating. No complicated patterns or long lists of supplies. She is the ultimate McGyver of crafts. Her "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" mantra is something I need to apply to more than just decorating.

I knew I wanted to attempt one of her window mistreatments, so I started with my kitchen window.



She was right! It was easy AND beautiful!!!! (did I mention cheap???)

Note: Please be careful when mistreating your windows. It is very addicting. Trust me, you'll be looking for naked windows everywhere. Even in other people's homes. It's a sickness, I know.

So, a few weeks ago I went to JoAnn's during their 4th of July sale. I was looking in the decorator fabric section for some fabric to use on my living room windows. That's when I found this:



In the clearance section.

And it had a red dot.

This thick, gorgeous designer fabric was marked down from $27 a yard to...wait for it...$4.50!!!! Wheee!!

I snatched up all that was left. Unfortunately there was not as much as I had hoped, so they don't reach all the way to the floor, but idhtbptbb.

I would still like to eventually add a fringe to the edge, but I had them put together in about 10 minutes. Justin hung the curtain rods for me (cuz he's handy like that) and TADA!







And do you know what the best part is?? I finally get to add this to my blog!!!





Thanks Nester for all of your inspiration and generosity! If you're ever in Texas, we'll make a run to Hobby Lobby together!

My next Nester project is going to be this. I just have to work up the courage to cut up the girls' old baby clothes first.

so long Dolly!

Well, Dolly didn't end up sparing us that much. She ended up turning north just before land fall, which put her about 100 miles south as a Cat 2. We went to bed Tuesday night thinking we would get some rain and wind, but nothing extraordinary. However, by Wed morning Dolly had strengthened and began moving NW. By lunch, Justin had been sent home for the day and the wind and rain had picked up. The afternoon was a little windy and it rained pretty steadily. The girls were stir crazy, bored and I swear the barometric pressure does something to my patience level.

Last night the rain and wind bands began increasing in strength as the storm moved farther inland. Around 3 am we lost power and the wind was gusting at probably 60 mph. It sounded like a tornado all night. Paige freaked out and ended up in our bed.

We had to get up early so we could get Justin to the airport for his flight to Utah this morning. It was soooo much fun showering, getting dressed and putting on makeup by candle light with no a/c. We left an hour earlier than we had to just so we could ride around with air conditioning!

Our electricity was finally restored around 11. The rain still comes and goes, but I think the worst is over.

I was able to complete several projects while stuck inside so I'll post those after I get some pictures. Until then here are some pictures after Dollypalooza '08.

The worst:


puddles


this used to stand up straight!


more puddles

if only the pay was better

62 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

esto es hilarante

Those 2 years of high school Spanish and 4 years of Dora the Explorer are really paying off for me now!

*you will need to pause my playlist at the bottom of the page so you can hear the video*



adiós, amigas!

hello dolly

Looks like she might spare us this time, but we will definitely get plenty of rain!

tagged

Wow, my very first tag! And by Julie, one of my very favorite crafters. You must stop by Joy's Hope and say hi and check out her cute ideas.

Okay, here goes...

Here's a little bit about me:
A. Attached or single? Attached.
B. Best friend? Justin.
C. Cake or pie? Pie, apple.
D. Day of Choice? Monday, because we get back into routine
E. Essential Item? Philosophy's on a clear day cleanser.
F. Favorite color? Turquoise.
G. Gummy bears or worms? Worms, sour.
H. Hometown? Riviera,TX.
I. Favorite indulgence? Spa treatments and nice hotels.
J. January or July? July.
K. Kids? 2.
L. Life isn't complete without? God.
M. Marriage Date? June 3, 2000.
N. Number of brothers and sisters? One brother.
O. Oranges or apples? Oranges.
P. Phobias? funeral homes and snakes.
Q. Quotes? "A photo says, You were happy, and I wanted to catch that. A photo says, You were so important to me that I put down everything else to come watch."Jodi Picoult from My Sister's Keeper
R. Reasons to smile? Kids' random thoughts and conversations.
S. Season of choice? Fall.
T. Tag 4 people: Colleen, Holly, Lyndsey, Margie (get a blog already.)
U. Unknown fact about me? I hate public speaking.
W. Worst habit? Biting my nails. Ewww.
X. X-ray or ultrasound? ultrasound...one of best part of pregnancy
Y. Your favorite food? Really good fresh fruit
Z. Zodiac sign? Libra.

okay, that took a long time.

rainbow bright

I love you thiiiiisssss much!



Who makes their kid wear a crocheted hat in 98 degree weather? I do!!! It was worth it to get these pics.

i've got my new shoes on

Brooke has finally gone upright! She's been working on this whole walking thing for a while now, but quickly realized that it's just easier to be carried. About 2 weeks ago, though, she hit the ground running! Since we're country, I haven't made her wear shoes up until now. So, here's her Keds debut!

pinkalicious

just a couple of candids from today.





and bathing beauty

i can can

I've been putting off the jelly canning for a few days.

precise measurements + 2 wild kids + boiling liquids = BIG disaster

So, after the girls were down for the night, I got out the supplies, sterilized the jars and set to jellin'. I cooked the jelly and Justin handled the hot jars.

Coming out of the bath


The 'scum' off the top. It's yummy!


Our babies...waiting for the *ping*

father's day flashback

I just realized I never posted the finished product!

J's Father's Day present from the girls.


I actually put the 3 photos in a black frame with a white mat, but I thought the pink was cute, too!

I got the idea here. Thanks Megan! I can't wait to update it each year.

fruits of our labor

I am no pioneer woman. I enjoy online shopping, cable tv, my SUV, cell phone and all the conveniences that come from my middle class life. Probably the only thing I have in common with my colonial counterparts is the amount of wild game in my freezer and on my wall.

So in an effort to combine family bonding with budget living, I decided that we would head out this weekend to pick wild grapes to make into jelly. We woke up bright and early and drove south to search the oaks for some Mustang grapes.



It was not what I expected.

The pickings were slim. (I am hilarious!! )

The few grapes that we found were in bunches of 2 or 3 and were usually higher than I could reach. So, J performed many a balancing act to retrieve what we could.



Paige enjoyed collecting the balls of moss.



And poor Brooke had to spend the day in the cheap seats.



When we called it a day, we had only filled about a quarter of the ice chest. After all the grapes were washed and de-leafed (that's the technical term, btw) we ended up with just over 11 lbs!



Next up...my adventures in canning!

when strawberries attack

just swingin'

splish splash

We met a few friends at a local aquatic center for a playdate. The kids had a ton of fun until they closed us down due to lightning.

Paige and her friend S practicing their "float."

christmas in july

Here are a couple of pictures of some beautiful pink glassware and cute polka dotted cups that my Aunt Martha sent to me.



Wouldn't these be perfect to bake cupcakes in?


I see a tea party in my future....

reduce, reuse, recycle

One other fun thing I got to do in Mesa was browse some of the shops downtown. I came across this boutique (I guess I've outted myself as to the source for my blog name, lol) and fell in love. I would move in there if I could. It was so me. One of my favorite pieces was a centerpiece on a dining table in the front window. It, however, came with a price tag of nearly $500. I took mental notes and decided to try to pull it off myself.

So, I stalked Hobby Lobby until the pieces I needed were 50% off. I started with this:


then added pieces from my old centerpiece


then used some of these from my kitchen


and finally added a few of these from the side table


and ended up with THIS!


It was easy-peasy and cheap!

Please consider this as my contribution to the environmental movement.