Three Kids. Or, Survival of the Fittest

So, we now have 3 kids. Lilly is 5, AJ is 2, and Edie is 8 months. Wait, what?

Bayou Road Photo is awesome!

Three little pancakes. Aren't they sweet? Edie just started crawling and pulling up on everything, Andrew is talking in sentences and thinks everything is yellow, and Lilly can almost read on her own & tie a shoe, so there's a lot of win happening here. I sometimes can have coffee alone. A fence on the backyard was my saving grace. Because, get outside.  

Antique Salvaged Door Entry Storage Solution

If you're anything like me, your entry way can get to be a mess. I have no before pictures, but I will describe it for you... A gorgeous salvaged piece of barn wood flooring, mounted on the wall with an iron key holder to hold our keys. A pair of salvaged antique, peeling-paint, rickety and so gorgeous corbels from a porch were used as brackets to hold a cabinet door posing as a shelf. On the floor, was a boot tray for everyone's shoes. Sounds moderately cute and functional, right? Well, you're wrong.

This is the story of how I fixed that, and made this:

82 Pounds of Peaches

Ok, maybe not exactly 82 pounds, but it sure looked like it.

My mom and I took Lilly and AJ to a local orchard for some peach picking. We absolutely love pick-your-own fruit!  There's something so fantastic about either getting on a hayride or parking between rows of trees, wandering through fields of orchards with a gigantic empty box. I truly think I belong on an orchard or farm, so picking-your-own fruit is right up my alley.

French Bread Board Face Lift

I did a super quick morning DIY project! We were given an adorable French (or Macy's, no one knows) bread board from my husband's aunt. It sounds awful, but I hated the color, it was really gross looking and had seen better days (not in the antique-sense of the word) and was otherwise in a basement for decades with whatever was crawling on top of it.

Letting Go of Control and Learning To Pick the Biggies

Our 1 year old boy makes me insane. I N S A N E. Crazy. Nuts. Stressed out. Lunatic. The kind of insane when you can't remember the last time you got dressed, did your hair (possibly showered) and looked presentable enough to speak with other human beings, brand of insane. I'm not sure what I expected when we had our son, Andrew (AJ, Hammy), but I'm pretty sure it was the exact opposite of what it's turned out to be.

Pie Safe with DIY Chalk Paint

I hate painting furniture. Whenever I do, it always dries tacky and I am really awful at not getting brush marks in it. The only pieces I've redone that I'm totally in love with, are the kitchen island and Lilly's dresser. Both I painted from the same can of paint (which was free but normally high-quality paint). I think it's the quality of paint I must use that gives me crummy results, rendering me hating to paint furniture. Read: I'm cheap.

Holiday Cuteness!

Oh, Monday. Monday.

I heard somewhere that today was supposed to be the most depressing day of the new year, not the 1st or 2nd. First real Monday back and all I suppose? Doesn't matter to me, I've been freezing for weeks now; my seasonal misery just blurs together during this time of year. I need sunshine and 50 degrees. I'm just glad the snow has melted here, I cannot deal when it gets all dirty and brown and gross. Good riddance.

Andrew's Birth Story

So, I've been a little busy with this little hambone. We'd like you to meet Andrew John! Arriving on the scene June 18th, an enormous 9 pounds, 11 ounces and 22 inches long.

   

How To Save Tarnished Silverware

I've gotten my hands on some of my mom-mom's silverware. Tarnished silverware. Incredibly, disgustingly tarnished silverware. This is the story of the silverware, and how I saved it from another 20 plus years plopped in a box, stored in a basement.

Buffet to Kitchen Island

In an effort to fulfill my dream of having a kitchen island with seating, Andrew and I are making one from a thrifted buffet table, plywood and elbow grease. This project is going to be posted in parts because I can't stand to not share it as I go along! This whole project is part of a Pinterest Challenge I've joined, which you can read all about right here.

Gold Letter Step Stool Tutorial

Lilly has this old step stool, that my mom bought at a garage sale when I was a little kid. It's something that you should sit on while milking a cow, or something. When we stole borrowed the stool from my mom for Lilly to use when she started potty training, it was a very blah shade of brown stain. I couldn't take it, so we painted it bright white to match everything else in our non-blah-brown house. After staring at a plain white stool for the last 6 months or so, I saw a stenciled step stool and got the idea to use her initial for the stool, just to add a little glam. Because trips to the potty require a little glam, right? 

So now she's got this...

Spray Painted Door Mat

Most of my upcoming projects are going to be for our new house, and as soon as I saw this, I knew it was going to be our new welcome mat. Our current house has a tiny step, which requires a special, ugly, boring, grey mat. Our new house has a giant porch, which calls for a big, cute mat. And, here it is!

Mustache & Lips Pacifier Clip Tutorial

I put together a little pacifier clip tutorial for you guys.  I made the first mustache pacifier clip for a friend who just had a little boy, which you can read about in my New Mom Comfort Gift Bag post. When I had Lilly, I had this super cute owl clip I purchased from someone on Etsy, and since I'm due again, I figured I'd just make a pair, since we don't know the sex again. A lot of you mentioned that I should add these to my Etsy shop, so I'm going to do that too!

New Mom Comfort Gift Bag

As I'm sure you know, a friend added a new lil' man to their household last week! I love little babies; he's totally gorgeous, wrinkly and incredibly snuggly. I put together this gift bag for our visit to see them, which includes soothing necessities, beauty necessities  and something to dull leftover pain.  Not to mention, an extra something cute for the baby. 

Easter Recap!

Oh, Easter Weekend...
There is nothing like blogging out in the sunshine, am I right? Except for the squinty eye/screen glare problem, but I'm so toasty I can totally deal with that. Today's temperature is floating around 60 degrees here in Philadelphia, so Lilly and I are out enjoying some sunshine, sidewalk chalk, bubble blowing and spring blooms. Which is such a nice relaxing change from this weekend.

Our Easter Weekend was the busiest weekend we've had in a long time. I felt like Easter crept up on us, and I didn't plan ahead for much of anything. Like dying Easter eggs. Oopsies. I am probably going to do it later this week simply because I bought the kit, and it's the one time I bother making hard boiled eggs.

Perfect Projects for Spring!

It's official!! Spring. It's here. I have one crocus that's bloomed in our front yard, and our tulips, daffodils, mums, orchids and tiger lilies are sprouting. Even the rose bush has new growth. I can't wait for some less-crisp air, though Lillian and I have been spending our afternoons lately in the back yard where there's full sun for the better part of the day. Patiently waiting for those mid-50's!

With the arrival of spring, I've made a boatload of things...

Golden Easter Basket Tutorial

I'm a basket kind of gal. I don't like those Easter baskets that are plastic and pastel, that are doomed to sit in the basement only to see the light once a year, since you can't throw them out because you spent more than $2 on them. Holidays are the enemy for me; stores are always filled with unitasking items. Since I'm a cheapskate thrifty shopper, I refuse to spend money on costumes and holiday dresses too. Instead, I like to make costumes and use them in Lil's dress up bin, and her holiday dresses are always something she can wear at least for the season. Since I just got her Easter gear, I think it's important to let you know that Lilly acquired gold gladiators. GOLD GLADIATORS. And her dress is gold, white and coral pink. No pastel taffeta here, folks. 

Where was I going with this post? Oh yes, her basket. This year, I decided to raid my mom's basement for a nicer wicker basket that can multi task for Easter as well as to hold some of Lilly's tiny hair accessories. She's a hoarder of headbands.

So, I made this little cutie: 

Coffee Sleeve Thank You Note - Gift Card Holder!

I used to teach swimming lessons for 15 or so years, and getting a little something special at the end of a session of classes was the best little surprise ever. My favorites were handmade pictures from the kids, a home made treat, and Wawa (only the best convenience store ever), Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts gift cards. One of my girlfriends is Lilly's swim instructor, and of course I've got to reward her amazing skills with a coveted Starbucks gift card. 

But no generic holder would do, obviously. And I didn't want to go with the predictable swedish fish or goldfish cracker baggie and a "thanks for teaching me to swim like a fish," because almost 3-year-old Lilly doesn't actually swim like a fish (she does back float, go under, blow bubbles and tread water for a few seconds like a champ though) and I know a coffee card would be more appreciated, though I'm not discriminating against free food. Lifeguards love that too.

Chalkboard Menu with Food Coloring Frame

I don't know about you, but I have this problem where I make a dinner menu for two weeks, with a matching grocery list, then halfway through the meals, I just lose control of my dinner plan. My solution was to make a chalkboard for my kitchen that would stare at me when I hadn't filled it in, thus making me feel guilty. The guilt part totally works. 

Here is my chalkboard menu, complete with a frame I painted with craft paint and food coloring.  And if you'd like the recipe for the cornbread taco casserole, I've got you covered! Because that, my friends, is amazing. 

Basically, I wanted a big enough frame so I could write anything I needed to jot down - renegade groceries, nightly dinner or a week's worth of meals. So, I hit the local Goodwill and found a mirror in a frame for $2.99. Sold! Add some craft paint and chalkboard paint, and you're off to the races.

Fabric Covered Magnet Board

I've been so excited to share this project with you all! Lilly has been turning out a boatload of artwork, and we were running out of places to display the favorite pieces. There's only so much room on the fridge. We came up with this... 

A fabric covered magnet board for her bedroom!  I am so in love with how it came out, and so is Lilly. She's so proud of herself and all her art. Want one? It's pretty easy, especially since you won't have to repeat my painting fail.

I had originally thought about doing a magnetic chalkboard, and decided that would end in disaster because Lilly knows what a chalkboard is and where her chalk is kept. It's all in the living room, where I can watch her not draw on non-approved surfaces. Then I had the fleeting thought of a cork board - which is just stupid because push pins spell disaster. I mentioned that I really wanted just a magnetic board for her to use, and he suggested some sheet metal. Genius.