mom challenge

i saw this on a blog that I visit often and found it to be so thoughtful that i wanted to share it with you-
isnt it true? another day passes that is another day closer to our babies leaving home someday- it makes tears well up in my eyes to think that someday my house will be 2 quite- i wont have someone needing me everyday- i wont hear the giggles, the fighting and the wonderful stories of  imagination from my beautiful children-some of my favorite parts of the day are when lucas insists on a morning kiss- when nolans morning hair makes me giggle-when lucas asks to hear stories from when i was little- hearing nolans voice starting to make new words- our play time together and watching my boys as their brotherhood bond grows- but when my children are sleeping and i sneak into give them that one last kiss at night- as i stare at their sweet sleeping little faces- i think how lucky i am- lucky to have such- healthy- happy- creative-playful little boys- this is my gentle reminder to give a little more- and each day remember these simple little things that make life such a joy-

i will be printing a copy of this- to get yours  Go to iMom to print out your own copy.

vintage luggage

 this weekend was crazy days in excelsior- i found this awesome piece of vintage luggage at a flea market for- are you ready??? .50 cents!! yes, .50 cents!! SCORE! you need to know something about me- i have the BEST sense of smell ever! honestly- i can smell like a hound dog! ha...so- anyway- this sweet little piece of luggage really had a horrible old smell  inside- airing it out for years would not have helped- so i had to take matters in to my own hands-

i opened it up and started ripping all of the guts out- it took a while and i kind of wish i would of wore a mask- it was so stinky- after tearing it all out - i gave it a good scrub down- taped it up and got it ready for its make over-

i used a berry pink that i had already- i did go ahead and spray the inside just a soft coat to get rid of the smell- it still stunk even after the fabric was out and it was washed- then i went to town- sprayed the outside with a good couple coats and then used some polyurethane to top it off- after the kiddos were in bed- i pealed the tape off and it looked great! i loved how the silver and pink looked together- then- i started on the inside- i took fabric that i heart so much and that i already had- and finished it off with a ribbon binding- that i also had-

so what do you think? LOVE?? me too!! can you believe this adorable thing came from that brown- smelly thing?? and for only .50 cents- i am pretty happy with my vintage find and make over- i plan to use this for carrying yarn- craft supplies etc.


-birdie

living room part 1

hey followers! did you notice i was a bit MIA this week? want to know what i was up 2? well- again- i am one to be known to change things up more frequently then one should- but- when you stay at home all day and look around at the same walls and same decorations- change is really a must for my well being! ha!
i recently found some owl prints on etsy- they are printed on old dictonary paper- so cool! I really like them and they are a great addition to our living room- but-once i saw my favorite blogger share her new entry make over with some stenciling- i had the idea to spruce up my owls. here it goes- beware- this is so fun!!

before

after- it added so much to the room! eeeek!

before

after

so- are you in love 2? this is how i went about making over my walls-

first- i went on line and found a pattern i liked- you can order stencils but they can be kind of expensive- so i then enlarged the pattern i found and printed two onto stronger card stock paper that i had- then cut it out. second i measured the space around the pictures i wanted to frame in- using a measuring tape and level- i used paint tape to frame it in- i used the same paint i had previously used to paint the mattes the photos are on-

tape your stencil well onto the wall and paint away- as you can see i used a sponge and tapped the paint onto the wall- i was glad i made two stencils- half way through i needed a new one- the other was falling apart-

this is where i finished up one night and started with a new stencil the next night- once it was done- i wanted to frame it in- i went to my local hardware store and got molding and a can of black spray paint- semi gloss. sprayed them and let them dry over night- then my go to guy ( carl- he is the best at all things handy- thank god for him!) measured and cut the pieces to fit perfectly!

here is carl and i working away! well- carls doing the work i am just holding stuff in place- the staple gun FREAKS ME OUT! so every time it went off i would either make this face or yelp!

once again the finished product! i LOVE it! shea likes it too! he is so good about letting me decorate and create and not fuss at all-  thank god for him too!  keep checking back for living room make over #2- i am starting it this week- but still need to make some estate and garage sale stops to find a few pieces- it will be a fire place/mantel make over!  

my mango salsa

i fell in love with lakewinds mango salsa last summer- i was buying it so much-it wasnt cheap- i needed to start making my own- but it had to taste like lakewinds-so- i experimented- which i rarely do with cooking- but i gave it a go- and i found the taste i was looking for- i want to share my recipe with you- well- b/c its that great!

3 fresh mango

1 small bunch of green onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

handful of cilantro chopped

juice of 1/2 a lime

yummmmm.....

after you are done chopping- add it all to the bowl

sprinkle some

sugar-chili powder-salt & garlic salt

mix it up

tada! mango salsa

super easy-super yummy

needs to be eaten w/in 24hrs..you will have no problems

if you have a trader joes- the organic blue corn chips are the best

mango tango baby! enjoy-

sunday scissors

i had a little time to craft today- when i went into my hide out space i wondered what i would create- i wanted to make something i could finish-(haha my sister is laughing right now..b/c i am known to want it now/do it now)  i figured i had about 45mn until someone was looking for me- i was opening my drawers where the felt lays- hmm- felt today? yes! i absolutely love working with felt-so i went to grab a pair of scissors to start creating and it came to me- a safety cover for my scissors- or will just say- a cute cover instead of safety- here it goes-

i picked the colors of felt i was going to use- then- i got the DMC thread that would match- a needle and scissors to do the job as well- you need sharp scissors to cut the felt nicely-

I cut out 2 pieces of brown felt- making sure the scissors would fit-

then i cut out my blue bird (no pattern) just cut as you want it- then after i had all my pieces cut- i took the thread and started stitching-stitch your picture on first then the two pieces of felt together- it went super fast- i used all 6 strands so the stitching would stick out-

ahhh! blue bird- arent you so cute! i am so glad you are mine-what a lovely way to spend my 45mn alone-looking at my birdie :)

slippers anyone?

this photo is from the etsy site-

bought my pattern for the oma house slippers for 5.50 off etsy- i got my pattern within 12 hours- i was off the next day to joanns to get the new yarn to start my version of the oma house slippers-

sewing club is the first sunday of each month for the past 8 years now- this sewing club sunday i got to enjoy making my new slippers on the patio with the sun shinning down on me and the beautiful view of the lake-

the pattern was very easy to follow-

my first slipper finished- as you can see- i changed the color pattern from what she had- i wanted a border-

 i love how it turned out- but i needed to add one more thing-

yellow flowers!

finished product-

they fit perfect- i just love them-

you can get the Oma House slipper pattern here- http://www.etsy.com/listing/62872279/oma-house-slippers-pdf-pattern-sizes-3

i think i might take orders for christmas gifts- if you are interested- i have not set a price yet-

grass-dirt-water-sun and fun

these last two days in MN have been hot- that doesnt stop my kids from scratching at the door to get out and play- so the afternoons have been spent in the back yard swimming and soaking up the fun- i got to sit back and watch my boys really enjoy playing together-no screaming or hitting- just giggles-here are some shots from my thursday afternoon with the two little blondes that i love more than anything-

my sweet baby-xo

nolan loved it- giggles the whole time

typical picture- the smaller one pushing the older one

i love the dirt and grass all over them

love this boy

looking forward to spending a holiday weekend with all my boys- happy 4th to you and your loved ones-