Have I Mentioned I LOVE Baby Showers?

No?  Well, I do.  There's something just so cute and cuddly and sweet . . . 

the baby doesn't even need to be there and I love it!!

I recently worked with a friend who was throwing a shower for her expectant sister-in-law.

Since they didn't know if they were having a girl or boy she wanted to go with a gender neutral theme.

The mom and dad-to-be had registered for green cream bedding with little lamb embroidery and that was our inspiration.  The hostess has been to celebrations at my house before, and knew exactly what she wanted

me to repeat - in baby form!  So here are the water bottle wrappers, 

the baby banner,and the diaper wreath.  

The family's last name starts with a K, and they have been calling him/her

 "Baby K"

so we used that moniker a few places. 

 (I think it would be cute to keep calling the baby that

AFTER he/she arrives, but this is coming from a mom who referred to her youngest as 

"baby" so often that at age two if asked his name he said, "baby" . . . 

there's a thin line between cute and embarrassing sometimes!)

The hostess is making a coordinating diaper cake - this mama will be set for diapers

(at least for a week or so!)!!

She also ordered a lamb cake from a local bakery and lamb cookies to give out as favors.

I can't wait to see the pictures!

Let's Try This Again . . .

I started (ha! a bit of an overstatement!) this blog because I was addicted to other people's blogs.  I loved reading what other people were doing, getting inspired by their projects, seeing what people's houses/lives/kids looked like.  It was a community that I really wanted to be a part of.

But life is crazy!  At least my life is.  And even though I don't feel I  accomplish much on a usual day (you know, besides getting kids off to school, doing laundry, making meals, cleaning up, crafting, entertaining a small child, reading blogs, pinning . . .), adding "writing a blog entry" to that list just seemed impossible.  In short, I didn't want to.  I didn't want to compare myself to other bloggers, I didn't want to clean my house so that I could take really cool pics of my projects, I didn't want to become invested. 

Oh boy, am I lazy.

Anyways!  It's time I started DOING something.  I've been a SAHM for over three years now.  That's just crazy to me.  And I'll be honest, I'm getting bored.  Bored and lazy.  Not a good combo.

Maybe putting what I'm doing on this blog will focus me.  Make me realize that I do DO STUFF!  

So, I'm going to give it a try.  My goal right now is to do two posts a week.  They might not be much, but something!

Now I'm off to put together an orbeez lava lamp and draw the floorplan for my parent's new condo.

You'll be hearing from me soon.

Cloudy with a Chance of Drawers

This past week we (and by "we" I mean me and my dad!) 

have been working on a project in my daughter's room.  

It involved (my father) cutting through a very large portion of wall.  

Our house was built in the early 1940's so this was not a 

simple sheet-rock tear down.  

This was plaster.  Thick, strong, super dusty plaster.  

I didn't expect it to turn into a photo-op so I don't have any pictures to show you, 

let's just say that when he opened the door to her tiny room 

we had to wait a bit for the air to clear before we could see him.  

And he was standing three feet inside the door.

After opening all the windows and turning on a fan it
didn't take long for the dust to clear.
But it did leave a lovely coating on everything,
and I mean EVERYTHING in her room.
Since I was all "gett'r done" about it
I did not think to cover things or put things away.  

Yuck.  

Luckily the end result was lovely if I do say so myself!

Here is a before shot of the wall just inside and to the left of her door.

On the other side of that wall is attic space.  

At that point a very short and thin slice of attic, but usable space none the less!  

We used these instructions as a guide.  

We purchased a dresser off craigslist that was the right size and shape
and went to work (and, no, I don't have a picture of that either!)

Once installed and trimmed out I painted, and painted, and painted some more!  

And caulked a bit too!

Ta-daa!

The "dresser" is white to match her trim and the drawer pulls
are the original painted aqua, the accent color
we are using with purple in her "big girl" room.

And "PRIZE!" as my two-year-old would say.  

(That's "surprise" for those of you who don't speak Harry)

I lined the drawers with this awesome polka dot fabric from JoAnn's.

She loves the space that it freed up, and she adores the pop of aqua. 

 BUT - I was mistaken when I thought this would turn into a whole room makeover.  

I was looking forward to packing up toys and cleaning up 

knick-knacks and making her room more big-girl chic.  

No luck.  

I guess I was pushing it expecting a 10-year-old to get rid of her "stuff"!  

(as you can see from the pics, it didn't take long for her to add her own

embellishments - a MN Twins poster!)

Oh, well.  It looks just like I was hoping it would - like it's always been there.  

Stay tuned for her lamp re-do, side tables, and wall art 

(so she's not ready for big-girl chic,
do you really think I was going to stop with a dresser?!)

OH!  And thanks Dad :)

Falling for fall

I love fall.  And fall loves me.

My children were born in the fall (well, late August, that's fall in Minnesota!)

I got married in the fall.  

Okay, that's all I've got.  But those are pretty good, right?

I love the leaves changing and the crisp air.  I love the sense of anticipation -
a new student, a new mother, a new wife.
Although none of those things are new to me this year,
I still remember when they were!  

And that feeling comes back to me every fall.

But the whole Halloween holiday in there kinda throws me every year.

I love the colors of fall - the reds, golds, browns and oranges.
 Just not orange and black.

I love the gourds and pumpkins.  Just not hacked up into silly faces.

I don't particularly enjoy the creepiness of the holiday or the gaudiness.

Regardless, it is October and Halloween will be here before we know it.

I have kids that are planning their costumes and mapping routes, 

so it's time to get a little (teeny-tiny) bit in the spirit!

I do not have a mantle, so this console table in our living room
is what gets dressed up every season.  

A pile of books, a small lamp, and a clock stay there year round,
and a picture of my kiddos 

(that should really be changed out soon!).  

I normally add some candles - for fall two candle sticks that I got from my mother
that say "Autumn" and "Harvest" 

(For about a day and a half I had a hurricane full of candy corn and a candle there, 

but my little man decided the temptation was too great,
so it got dumped out and these are the replacements!)
Another frame holds a picture or a saying - this one says "Eat, Drink and Be Scary", 

downloaded from Craftily Ever After.  Love Jessica.  

Of course now she has a super-cute downloadable Halloween subway art 

thingie that I just may have to print off too!

Anyway!

Above the console table is a long mirror that I stuck some bats and a spider to.
Gotta love the cricut!  I just cut them in vinyl and stuck 'em on.
Okay, really what I did was cut a super cute pumpkin frame
that ended up folding in on itself b/c I was way
too excited to get it up to think about the best way to apply it.
 *sob*
So THEN I used the black left-over from inside the wasted frame
and cut out the bats and spider.
Still looks pretty cute so I'm going to
climb out from under the table and pretend to be satisfied.  

Also hanging is my Halloween DIY art.  My butterflies are much cuter,
but kinda summery, so away they flew,
replaced with little circles of cute, whimsical Halloween paper.
I thought about cutting it into bats or spiders (I don't have a pumpkin),
but it seemed a little too cutesy.
 Don't worry though, I have my eye on the Thanksgiving cartridge,
so these boring cute little circles will be gone in a few weeks! 

I do adore the shadows that appear when the lamp in on.

Now I'm off to cut out more bats.  Apparently they are "cute" 

and my daughter wants some in her bedroom!

Here it is!

Here it is!  Kinda.  Sorta.  Ya gotta start somewhere right?!

I've been an (accidental) SAHM for the past two years - spending my time mothering, crafting, 

baking and decorating on a budget.  

And when I say budget I mean 'shoestring'.  

My husband and kids appreciate what I do 

(at least I think they do . . . well, at least nobody complains.  much.), 

but in the past two years I've realized there is a whole world of craftiness out there in the blog-world! 

 If I enjoy it so much, why not join it, right?  RIGHT?!  

So here I am, jumping in!
(okay, that's not me.  Those are the kiddos.
And they're not jumping, they're just watching)
Welcome to my life!