Bon Appetit

Dining room sneak peak.

After a little more playing around with accessories and the hanging of the pics on the wall we'll have a room ready and waiting for dinner guests.

Full photo shoot coming soon!

The (almost) finishing of the dining room project snowballed into the complete tearing apart of my family room decor~at 2AM last night. Hmm...now what? The possibilities are endless!

Don't worry hubs, no painting involved. Promise!

Weekend At My House

It's project time!

hi ho...hi ho...it's off to Home Depot we go. 

That would be me singing in a happy, excited sort of way.

For the hubs it would be in a bit of a grumpish, annoyed sort of way.

To the best husband ever,

I know after the last house you are soooooo over projects BUT just wanted to let you know that I think you're the coolest guy on the planet for loving me no matter what surprise projects I throw at you! XOXO

And to prove my love I painted you a (pink) love letter on the wall. 

Let's just hope the people who own this house after us never take down the ginormous chalkboard you're about ready to make and hang over this love creation.  

Yes, we made a 8ft x 4 ft chalkboard for the dining room this weekend. It's a cutey!

SO, 

 tickle me PINK the dining room is approaching done and I LOVE it!!

Pics to come soon. 

It's Monday. Make it a GREAT one!

P.S. Is there such thing as too many chalkboards in a house? I didn't think so.

It's Friday! Dinner At My House

If you came to dinner this weekend at my house we would eat something like this:

 (because i could eat toasted cheese and tomato everyday!)

We would drink something like this:

(by my imaginary pool of course.)

We would have happy conversations around my new dining table like this:

(score! mine came from downeast home...bargain!)

And enjoy the beautiful PINKness I painted on the walls. Yep, pink.

Remember the secret paint color and location from a couple days ago?

 PINK dining room!

 (no this is not my actual dining room. mines not quite done yet. ran out of paint. stay tuned.)

And lastly....
my most favorite part....

 We would all snap our fingers and sing along to this catchy song. Download it! It will put you in a happy mood!

Happy Friday all!

HA! HA! HA!

Yeah right!

An alternative for salt and vinegar chips and Red Robbin fries?

I doubt it.

But, if you're curious click here.

P.S. A little random but I really like THIS post about spending time with kiddos. If you've got kids I recommend reading it.

ZERO Checks

 These beautiful creatures exist in my town. To learn more read below.

No I haven't gone kookoo. Okay maybe a little.

So yesterday went nothing like I planned.
Zero completion on my To Do list.
Instead I attended a ballet barre class at another gym and I hated every minute of it. It was horrible and boring and the instructor kept talking about the "patella"and I wanted to yell at her and her fancy pants vocabulary. It's a knee! Just call it a freakin' knee lady! And during her winded lectures of multi planer and spinal articulation I couldn't help but stare at her arms. Her perfectly shaped itty bitty beautifully toned arms. And then I really hated her. Enough of that.


After that I made a stop for some paint. I cannot reveal what color or where it's going yet because my husband knows nothing about it and he just might kill me. It's my little secret. Well, not really anymore now I guess. Love you hot cakes.

Then my sister informed me that the return address on the card I sent her said Gilbert, WA. She was wondering where that was. I told her it's a very magical place where rainbow unicorns dance to OMD and the sun always shines (but doesn't give you wrinkles) and your family is always near by. It is also a place abundant with beautiful shoe stores where the shoes are always free. Sounds lovely doesn't it?

The evening ended with football practice at the most annoying park ever. With the two younger siblings in tow not stopping to smell the roses wasn't really an option. Ducks, stinky water, rocks, dirt, swings, and a starving, exhausted mom. What to do? Cross your fingers there are fruit snacks hiding in the bottom of your purse and smile. Just smile.

Today's a new day. Phew!
I'm definitely taking a nap.

Weekend At My House

This weekend I was smothered in everything kid. Haircuts, swimming, puppet shows, story time, bike riding, playgrounds, temper tantrums, pizza making...you get the idea. So, what's on the agenda for today? Can you say Mom time?

Mom time TO DO  list:
1. Catch up on Project Runway.
2. Make (my favorite) coconut bread.
3. Walk past the laundry.
4. Browse my latest In Style mag. (Just in. 2013 best beauty buys here.)
5. Wax eyebrows. (Interested in this new kit.)

And that is what I'll be doing today. Check, check, and check!

I hope you all find your Monday to be a great one. A really, REALLY great one!

P.S. I'm sure some of you have noticed a few changes in my posts. Where's TT or FFF? I'm over it. Thinking about a reinvention of this spot. Just not sure what, where, when. Until then, I'm just playing it by ear.

Playing Favorites

I absolutely love an inspiring quote that makes me happy. 

This one makes me extra happy. I think it just might be my new favorite.

Don't forget to smile!

Enjoy your weekend.

Insta Step Pepper

 

"Buy me, buy me, buy me", the shoes whispered to the innocent girl strolling by.

"Rainbow laces! I know you can't resist me."

"I will match all your stretchy pants."

"Good point", thought the girl. 

"May I try these on?" asked the girl to the shoe salesman with the gnarly teeth.

"You should get them, get them, get them", said the shoe salesman with the gnarly teeth.

"But my husband may divorce me if I bring home another pair of shoes", said the girl. 

"Not if you model them in your birthday suit", suggested the shoe salesman with the gnarly teeth.

"Point taken. I'll take them."

The End. 

Here, let me save you from the shoe salesman with the gnarly teeth. Click HERE.  

P.S. For the record, the shoe salesman did not make the "birthday suit" suggestion (ew). If he had I would have probably ran for my life.

Here's To Health

This sums up the ENTIRE health circle for me. It takes effort. Effort every single darn day. And I promise it doesn't take a whole lot of effort. Just forward moving effort.
AND....

making good choices.

I really like most of these snack ideas.

Find effort. Choose well. Get some sleep.
Take care of you!

P.S. 
My heart aches today for the Boston Marathon incident yesterday. I sat on my couch and cried while I watched the news.
It just doesn't make sense.
Why?
Why?
Why?
It angers me a lot really.
Stupid!

Weekend At My House

 {soaking up the sun}

Whoo whee...What a weekend we had!  Filled with fun, sun, and friends. Lucy's birthday party was a smashing success. Yes siree, patting myself on the back for that one and relieved it's over.  Truth is I'm really not the birthday party type.

The sun is in full force here. Not that it's never not in full force but, we were able to hit the outdoor pool~whoop! whoop! Not our personal pool (shucks). I'll have to give platelets before we can afford a pool of our own. Someday (sigh) someday.

Ok enough blah blah blahing...

Discovered THESE crazies. Pretty sure they're calling my name. What do ya think? A bit bumble bee-ish? Swimming pool...shoes....swimming pool....shoes.....???
 (They are for yoga and barre classes.)

I really, really, really like THIS cardigan. But I also really, really, really want a pool.

Mint and slug bugs and polka dots? Come on now. CUUUUTE!

Speaking of a pool...these sunnies are so fabulous. In fact, they are so fabulous there are no words to describe how fabulous they are! Um hmmm FABULOUS!

And THIS swim suit? To DIE FOR girlie cuteness!

It's Monday. 
 Wanna go for a swim?

Make it a great one!

P.S. I'm teaching my first cycling class tonight. I'm so nervous I could poop my pants but, I'm soooo excited too! Come join me. I'll save you a bike and promise to go easy on you!

One Of Those Days

ugh.
that's all i can think to say right now.
i've been sitting at home waiting and waiting and waiting...
on other people. (painter, tile guy, electrician, etc.)
you see, they give you these "windows".
8-12 pm, 10-2 pm, 8-5 pm, you get the idea.
and they're always running behind.
always.
it messes up my schedule.
it messes up my day~like makes me stay home and do laundry. phf..
it puts me in an annoyed sort of mood.
3 days in a row i've been waiting.
3 days.
and it's still not over.
i even had to reschedule my hair appointment so that i could... "wait".
as if. that alone is like end-of-the-world stuff right?
guess i better digest a pb and nutella sandwich (or two).

p.s. a little project while i was waiting. it took me longer to clean the brush than to complete my masterpiece.

yes, that would be a queen mattress on a king bed frame. what can i say? that's the way we roll around here. a little dose of ghetto!

p.s.s. discovered THIS blog during my waits. i really like it!

The Hunting Game

Working on a new collection.

GLOBES!

(for Kelson's room)

Don't  you just love a good hunt?

Wish me luck.

Because Color Makes Me Happy!

entry | kitchen | family room

Life's too short to live in black and white. 

(or brown and cream if you're in AZ. blah!)

Add a little color. It will make you smile!

My apologies for the  fuzzy pics. I was too lazy to retake with better lighting.

A BFF Weekend

This is my best friend.
The two of us in many ways are about as opposite as they come.
And then in many other ways we could be identical twins. 
When we're together we laugh and laugh and laugh some more.
Then we eat. Mostly dessert of course.
Then comes more laughing. 
She rolls her eyes at my ridiculous outfits.
I tease her for her thrifty ways.
She tells me I have a big butt.
I tell her she has a bigger one.
And then we laugh some more until I have to pee. According to her I have to pee all the time.  
We both love shopping almost more than our husbands. Almost.
We both love sparkles, polka dots, and the color PINK.
We both value our health.
BUT, most importantly we both respect our friendship.
She tells me I'm fabulous and I believe her. I tell her she's the awesomest and she believes me.
We support each other. We're honest with each other. We believe in each other. 
I'm so lucky to call her my friend.

Happy Monday everyone.
Make it a great one.

P.S. You'll be relieved to know that that hideous silver plated cat I'm holding (pic above) did not make it home with me.

A Boy and His Box

What's the fun in toys when you've got a box?

My body is so sore today I can barely move. I taught a class Monday night and kicked my own butt. Whoops. I ran into a lady yesterday who attended the class and she said she wanted to punch me in the face.  Fitness instructors don't take words like that as threats. They're more like compliments to us! I'll have to tell ya all about it. To give you a hint it's called plyometrics. My secret whoop booty weapon. I have a handful of ideas I'd like to share I just haven't had time to sit down and compose them. So, stay tuned. 

For the rest of the week my "Peeps" aka BFF is coming to town. 

I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. 

We're going to shop and eat our way through Scottsdale. 

Hope all is super happy and healthy your way.

Keep smiling and we'll see ya soon.

Weekend At My House

let me just cut to the chase and confess that i spent the majority of my weekend being annoyed and moped around the house wishing i had this and wanting that. all those wishes and wants of course had no significant importance to me or my family's well-being. no, just beautiful "things" for my home. being patient sucks. that's all i have to say about that. finally sunday evening i (sorta) got over myself and pulled out some of my old crap and cleaned up the disastrous bonus room that has been a dumping station since we moved in. and when i was done i admit there was satisfaction. is it my ideal? heck no. does it work? yeah. i know, i know. stuff is just stuff that doesn't matter. it just doesn't matter. and even though i truly know this i will still go on living my life wanting things. beautiful things. sorry about that. it's just who i am. does that make me a horrible lady who is all wacked up with her priorities? somedays probably. i'm not perfect. but never will stuff come before my family. and that has to count for something right?

hope you all had a lovely easter. our day was quiet but nice. in my opinion prince charming won the spring ensemble award with his bow tie and seersucker jacket....that he picked out all by himself. impressive right? man he's got some serious swagger!

it's monday.
make it a GREAT one.

p.s. my kids are so freakin cute it's ridiculous. :)