Category: Personal

Adie and Joya's cupcakes and canvas birthday party

5/3/2016

I don't know why I haven't done this before.. but when you have two daughters that are 2 years and 10 days apart, you have a birthday party double header in ONE day!

We did my 7 year old's party from 1-3pm and my eldest daughter's 9 year old party from 3:30-5:30pm! I stuck with the same theme for both...

Cupcakes and Canvases

I had the privilege of using my professional artist step-mom, Susie, as the teacher. This was actually a very cost-effective party. I had a friend do the cupcakes, purchased all my table items and decorations at the Dollar Tree and used my 40% off coupon at Micheal's' to purchase the 8x10 canvases for $12 for 10 of them. And the ONLY place that (the right) washable paint is at is Target. My (handy) hubby used scrap wood out of his stash to make each girl their very own easel. They took the easel and canvas home as the party favor.

It was an exhausting day but I'll be doing the birthday party double header again in the future!

I usually keep snacks simple..

Here's a pic of the easels my hubby whipped up. The girls were in awe that they got to take them home!

My step-mom drew the butterflies on the canvases first.. that really helped with time.

My hubby has ALWAYS done crazy things with his tongue when he's concentrating. My Joya got this gene from him!

Here's a picture of the end result! Aren't they amazing artists!?!?!?

Half an hour break in between the two parties to clean out brushes and sweep up the cupcake crumbs. Onto my 9 year old's party!

Not quite sure why my Adie-girl picked a penguin.. but she did! And it was adorable!

My eldest daughter is more quiet and laid back... most of the time she's more mature than I am. I LOVE it when I get a laughing picture of her like the one below. Just love it!

Well that's an amazing penguin painted by a four year old, if you ask me!

Joya and a buddy obviously thought it was appropriate to change into a leo and sombrero for the 2nd party.
Didn't they do amazing with their paintings?

And here's a self-portrait of what I'm always doing at the girls' parties! Documenting all the fun!

Thanks for visiting, guys!

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Mud Room Reveal

1/26/2016

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yet another room (nearly) finished in the new casa!
basically i was beyond ready to have this space complete. i am a big supporter of not having any papers on the refrigerator. all my girls' school papers and sports schedules were hanging from the frig and it was driving me batty. when we dreamed of this space i knew i wanted it to be crazy functional and a spot where things could be hidden in a tidy-like manor. so this is what i came up with...

the mud room tour, folks!

these two images are what you see when you look from the dinning room into the hallway to the garage door. the double doors on the right are my pantry (and you couldn't pay me money to open them and show you right now... they are also on the "find calm out of chaos" list as well.

my hubs made me the awesome arrows and i got the frame at goodwill for $1 and the "hello" chipboard from america's greatest store, hobby lobby for $2. The metal hanging basket is an Ikea find.

originally purchased the metal Ikea wonderfulness to be on our kitchen back-splash but i love it here more!

below is the wall across from our coat/shoe cubbies. the command board is a big board that my hubby routed lines in to mimic the look of shiplap. he then framed it with trim we purchased at the Habitat for Humanity Restore for $1/8ft piece.

the medium sized clothes pins are also from the most fabulous store on earth, hobby lobby.

here's the view from the garage door looking in. every family member has their own coat/backback hook and drawer for their shoes, amen.

the door at the end of the cubbies goes out to our backyard. we also have a sliding glass door off of our dining room but figured it would be nice to have another door into our mud room. i've been happy it's been there!

and you may be thinking, "man her mud room is mudless and clean!"
that's probably because I just cleaned it because i was blogging it today. this place is usually filled with mud.. hence the name mud room. =)

my hubby is not a fan of the "bless this house" circle sign.. but I loved it. =) it's a bit of updated country and it's colorful so it's a win in my book.

-and there you have it! another room (basically) complete. i'm trying not to decorate this house too quickly because I LOVE the process of making it look homey and for it to feel like "us". =)

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my office

1/8/2016

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i haven't done nearly a good enough job at updating my blog with personal things! our lives usually move at 100MPH and in january and febuary we get to hibernate a bit.
it is muuuuuch needed!

so have i been doing with my free time? i'm decorating our new house!

first room up is my office. when we selected our house plan we knew we wanted an office. i was finished with studio work but still wanted an area where i could work and entertain brides for consultations.

and then pretty much dreamed up a space and it's become a reality. so, so blessed i am!

started with an inspiration office. she's one of my favorite photographers and i love the way she decorates. loved the color and the feel of her office.. just knew my personality wanted a bit more color. showed that site to gal that helped me with interior design decisions through our house process.

she helped me select a gorgeous paint color (refresh by sherwin williams) and suggested a charcoal wall (iron ore by sherwin williams) on my wall with all my build-ins. we had an open house since our home was a building trades home (i should really do a post about how high school juniors and seniors built our home.. i know!) i'm sure open house attenders were wondering what in sam-hill i was doing with a black-ish wall. the build-ins weren't in by the open house.

looks like a chalkboard wall. =) but sadly the hubs isn't a big fan of chalkboard walls...

my hubby is crazy talented so i drew up pictures of what i wanted my build-ins and desk to look like and he created a space i don't even believe is mine. he covered that chalkboard-looking-wall right up.

this is the view from our staircase...

we still have crown molding to add to the tops of the cabinetry. also some pulls for the cabinet walls. =)

i love interesting lighting. but lighting is craaaaazy expensive. got a little creative and purchased this wind chime at hobby lobby for $7.50 and my hubby wired it. topped it off with an Edison bulb and it's perfect.

love the shadows it casts on the ceiling too.

like I said.. if there is a way to do or find something inexpensively then i'm going to find it.

the below couch was brand new at a local furniture shop that has a clearance room. i had to do a triple take when the price tag said $129.

i'm for serious.

it had some dirt on it and after some scrubbing i brought it back to it's original glory. and I LOVE IT.

white end table was purchased at a garage sale for $8 and I chalk painted it. right side table was found at goodwill for $4 and it too desperately needs some chalk paint.

I think I need two matching lamps for my end tables too. just for looks.. not for light. this room is CRAZY lit up.

i found my favorite ever rug at rugs usa. super happy with the quality and was even happier with the price tag. =)

not sure i'm completely in love with my floral prints.. they may get a re-do. =) but for now they will work.

i knew i wanted a round mirror of some sort but couldn't make up my mind on what it should look like. so i grabbed a simple circle from hobby lobby in the candle section for 1/2 off.. it was $3. added some burlap to hang it and like the outcome.

the wire basket on the wall.. this is fun.. our grandparents gave us a deep freeze about a month ago. WITH food in it! after my chin dropped as i looked in the freezer with the gift of all the food i noticed that crazy awesome wire basket. it was meant to help layer frozen foods in the freezer but i had different plans for it. =)

and side note.. i totally told darin where it came from after it was up on the wall. =) i'm super sneaky like that.

and the good news is that there are two of this wire baskets.. that baby is NOT going to stay in the freezer all hidden and gorgeous! heck to the no it's not!

the extra desk space behind my work area is for my ladies. they craft, color and draw there. i scrub, wash and magic erase that area because of mentioned "craft" activities.

i looked at garage sales, consignment stores and furniture stores to find a cool chair for their space and whad'ya-know.. had that beaut in my garage. it's a photography prop i've used for YEARS!

and oops.. just saw that the cross fell over. gunna stand that thing up asap!

and this is my view from my office.
we framed the door frame for french doors and didn't put them in because we didn't know if we wanted to close off the space or always have it be open.

with my hubs taking is masters classes and me having a bridal consultations when the ladies are home (happens every once in awhile).. i think we'll add some french doors.

now i'm on the search for the coolest ones ever!

that concludes my office tour! hope you enjoyed! i LOVE it!

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Adie and Joya's cupcakes and canvas birthday party

Mud Room Reveal

my office

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