7 months later…

I decided I should post at least twice a year.  :)  The truth is I love blogs.  And I love keeping one.  But when it comes to setting aside time to post, I’m just not that motivated.  I’m hoping to play catch-up with a couple of posts over then next few days.  Let’s start with a family update!

This year we got the wood stove up and running.  And then practically hugged it everyday until May.

We learned to ice skate.  And by “we” I mean the kids, NOT me.

We played in lots of snow.

The boys used their life savings to buy a guinea pig, and his name is Reepicheep.

We celebrated Easter.

And this picture just cracks me up!

Micah took his training wheels off his bike, and is a riding fool now.

Jed and Micah finished up Kindergarten and Pre-school.  Here’s Micah and Larson on Grandparent’s day.

And here’s Jed’s Kinder graduation…

So proud of those boys!!

Meanwhile, me and the hubs celebrated our 8 year anniversary!  Larson surprised me with the most beautiful (and tastey) picnic date you’ve ever seen.

Sometimes we picnic in our front yard, and on one special day, a squirrel stole Seth’s sandwich.  He took it to the squirrel chair on our tree, and I couldn’t help but die laughing!!

We took a weekend trip to Seattle to visit with Larson’s Dad.  Beautiful!!

And, my oldest baby turned SEVEN!  Oh my.  I don’t seem to have any party pictures on my computer yet, so I’ll upload those later.  It was AWESOME!  A Nerf Gun battle with a bunch of Kindergarten boys can’t be beat.  Here’s the b-day boy with his requested breakfast of cherry and cheese danish and orange cinnamon rolls.

That’s all for now folks.  Be back soon with a house update!  And that should make for a fun post!  And my adventures in craftiness too!  Waay too many project there.  But still a fun post!

2012, whaaat?!?!

The title pretty much sums up how I felt when I realized I haven’t posted since August.  Whaaat?!?!  I’m so bad!  Well, I thought I would just pop in to say it was a great year, and I am really happy to say I crossed a lot off my insane resolution list and I am actually happy I did that.  However, I tried to write a new list and fell short.  I guess I just don’t need too much improvement after all my hard work last year! lala!  Totally kidding.

Here’s my list and I’ll try to match some pictures and be suave like that, but no guarantees.

1 – Obviously, lose 20 lbs.

• Failed.  But not miserably… happily failed.  I baked and ate as much as I pleased and still managed to lose a solid 9 lbs that stayed off even through the holidays!  I didn’t actually think I lost weight either, it wasn’t until I whipped out this list in January that I realized I DID, in fact, weigh less than last January!  Woo-hoo for the anti-diet!

2 -Paint the wall in LVRM behind the bookcases that I don’t want to move.

• Crap. Did I seriously put that on my list?  Did I seriously go a whole year without painting that wall?  Oh well – I’ll just roll that one over to the 2012 list! :)

3 – Read my book list

• Double crap.  Apparently I  no longer read.

4 – Finish this granny square blanket already!

• Hmmm.  This list has a depressing start.  No, it’s not finished…. but I did work on it!  It’s bigger this year than last, and it has all it’s ends woven in.  It sits pretty on my chair in the living room.  Folded.  So no one can see the un-finishedness of it all.  And for kicks, you can see me laying on it as I seamed it together (photo by a small boy) –

5 – Get new doorknobs

• Blurg.  Didn’t do.

6 – Organize my linens and laundry room

• Ah ha!  I did it!!  DIIIIDDDDD ITTTTTT!!!!!! Don’t believe me?  Check out this post of yore.

7 – Actually decorate my office nook shelves and paint the shelves.

see it for reals here.

8 – Get a hair-do

Done, and not done.  I need to actually up-keep said hair-do.  But I think I’ll call it my Anna Wintour bob.  You know, the one you might always have because it just feels right….

I don’t take pictures of myself.  You’ll have to deal with Anna and her crossed arms.

9 – Learn to do make-up (not joking.)

• I made a valiant effort, and I can officially say I am the wearer of lipstick now.  (I wear eye make-up, but still don’t understand foundation/powder or any “fancy” eye shadow techniques!)

10 – Get glasses

• Done and done.

11 – Get all my art framed properly

• Not done.  But started.  I think I have 2 more small etchings to be framed.

12 – Teach my dog some agility tricks

• Oh, ya right.  Of course I did that.  Top priority!  Tip-top!

13 – Jazz up the master suite with some new bedding/lighting/side tables (Like this minus the poster bed.)

• Kinda in the middle of that still.  I did change my vision for the decor.  Going with Navy, greens and white.  Grey walls, dark brown furniture.  Check out my pinterest board for my bedroom here.  Love this vibe

14 – Install wood floors!!!

• Oh baby!  I love them!  Lumber Liquidators Praline birch pre-finished engineered wood.  I worried about how they’d hold up because lots of people are snobs about pre-finished, and others are snobs about the engineered, but it’s been a dream!  It’s in the kitchen, and I spill all the time on it – no prolls!  Dogs wildly running and fighting on them? check.  Three insane boys running, shooting, pushing furniture all over it? check.  Still awesome looking?  check!  There is my review in a nutshell.  I can’t remember exactly what we paid per sq. ft. but it was something stupid cheap like $2/sq. ft. What’s not to love?!

15 – Redo the bathroom

• Done!  We kinda had to do this sooner than planned, and I’m so glad because it’s done and tiled.  Our first time tiling.  We used white octagon and dot tile from Home Depot and charcoal grout.  New vanity, new toilet, new tile = LOVE!

Here’s an install shot for ya:

16 – Grow grass in the backyard

• There’s always next year!

17 – Get or make some dang throw pillows for the couch

• Done, but strangely still need new ones.  Mine have made a few too many forts and fought a few too many battles.  :)

18  – Re-finish the dining room table (liking this style – found here.)

• DID IT!!  However, I don’t love it and am scheming how to be back in fellowship with my table, but the fact remains that I did it.  So There!

19 – Try a fish recipe (maybe Tilapia?)

• I did eat fish this year.  Surely that counts for something, right?

20 – Get a good family photo

• You be the judge –

21 – Sew myself a skirt

• I did!  And I hated it and never wore it.  :)

22 – Organize my computer photos and files

• Husband did! score!

23 – Go on more dressy dates with the hubs of my youth

• Well, we did actually go on some dressy dates, but we need to step it up a notch in the fun category – dressy is fun, but fun is funner.

24 – Be able to do the Tracy Anderson Mat DVD all the way through (I’m just gonna say that is one wicked hard workout!)

• I am the champion!  I so totally did it!!! *cough-once-cough*

25 – Take each of my boys to dinner and a movie.

• Nope.  Didn’t.  I’m lame.  But don’t worry too much for their souls, their daddy takes one every week on a night date.

Well, there you have it – In addition to these things, my favorite accomplishment  this year has been painting my boys bunk bed orange.  It’s hilarious and awesome.  We spruced up their room, moved Seth to a twin bed, and I finished the first of the three quilts I have planned for them.  I felt crazy painting with such a wild color, but I’ve grown to love it, and they certainly think it’s the shizz.  Maybe that’s for another post though!  Hopefully it won’t take me 5 months!

Check out the things I knit this year over on ravelry – I finished that teal sweater, and made everyone slippers to name a few!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Too many projects at once

I need to focus and execute.  Ever have that problem?  I’m getting very close to my birthday which means I ought to be focusing on my resolution list of things to do before I’m 27.  Which I kind of am, but kind of not ….

I am sewing this duvet cover:

#13 – Jazz up the Master suite… on its way!

Also sewing this quilt (times 3) for my boy’s room:

#16 Grow grass in the backyard = not going to happen!  So I fixed up my boy’s room instead.  These quilts are a part of that, and a much-needed part I might add!

And I’m still knitting this.  Pattern here.

…Started a new knitted throw inspired by this one:

but wait – I haven’t finished this one and #4 on my list!!

  I started to re-finish my dining room table (which is on my list at #18) and I am really forced to finish that one quickly, seeing as it’s difficult to feed my family around our coffee table.  Really difficult.

So that’s basically what I’ve been up to.  School starts on Monday and now I’m busy with haircuts (mine too!  Hurray for #8 being checked off!), finishing up T-Ball, labeling school supplies and last-minute doctor appointments for shots.  Fun, but crazy.

Here’s my friend’s post that seems applicable.  It’s titled, “A Wind Storm?”  And like all of her posts, it is a must-read!

Cheers!

Bethany

I’m a bad blogger…

… sorry about that!  We’ve been busy this summer with house projects (mostly) and road-tripping (to San Diego!) and sports and family visits and bug catching (not the sickness kind, the creepy, crawly kind) and baking and knitting (because Idaho really doesn’t have a summer!).  Yup.  A lot of stuff.  All very, very fun, and I am totally loving our mild summer!

Here are some pictures of what I’ve been up to while I’ve been busy NOT blogging.

Our best Easter picture…. (ya, it’s been that long!)

It’s a road trip!  Complete with antler sling shot and marine buzz cuts!

We hit up Lake Tahoe on our way down…

And a Padre’s game to get a sneak peek at the new Marine, my bro-in-law, AKA Uncle Drew.

The Petco Park in San Diego is so rad!  It’s built right into the downtown, check it out!

Then we got to hang out with Grambo and RoRo at the Hotel Del Coronado.  This isn’t the best picture, but you get an idea of how gorgeous this place is!  And the beaches are sparkly gold!  We had so much fun!

Micah spent most of his time collecting snails, and carrying them with us everywhere!  We went to the fantastic San Diego Zoo and if you asked him his favorite part? … THE SNAILS!!

A picture of us hanging on the beautiful beaches of Coronado…

We also got to spend time with my brother and his adorable girlfriend, April, who came all the way from Brooklyn, NY!  We haven’t all been together in a really long time, so it was fun to be able to spend Mother’s day and my mom’s birthday together.  Here’s my favorite picture of the trip… my brother pouncing on some weird seaweed creature out in the La Jolla area.

Family Picture!!!  (A Summer Miracle!)  Taken in La Jolla.And now on to the real reason for our trip… Drew’s Graduation!  Here are all 13 cousins on Family Day, sporting their family tees!

And here’s the company honor man himself….

We did a little sight-seeing in San Diego, and here’s Lars and I with the kissing statue in the distance behind us.  It was a great trip, and I have waaay to many pictures that still need to be sorted and posted.

BUT!  At least I’ve broken the blog silence!  I have bunches more to post on, but right now, my messy kitchen is calling me.  :)

How has your summer been?  Has anywhere else had a MILD summer so far?  It has sounded like heat-wave after heat-wave EVERYWHERE… except here!  My hot tip for enjoying the heat if you have it… Margaritas and Misters… that’s right, you heard it here.  They make the heat oooh soo nice!  So go install those mist-masters on your patio this weekend, and you’re welcome.

Cheers!

Yarn-Wrapped Easter Tree…

Well if I hadn’t waited until 9 pm to photograph my final pictures they might have looked better.  But alas, I said I would post today and I meant it.  :)

Here is how to make a yarn-wrapped, tree branch, glitter rock, Easter tree to add a little cheer to your home as you celebrate our risen Lord.  Nothing quite says, “Jesus is risen!” like a branch smothered in hot glue and then wrapped with yarn.  So get on it!

Hot glue your wrapped branches into place… figure out how you want them before you glue and insert.  :)

Boom.  Almost done.  See those rocks on the left?  I spray painted them with glitter spray.  You can jazz them up however you want, or use those pretty pebbles you can buy at the craft store.  Whatever works to cover the green floral foam.

(ya, bad pictures… real bad.  Sorry!)  Glittered rocks – check.  Easter ornaments – check.

If this style  isn’t what your after, check out my Easter tree of yore.  That one was just as fun and easy, but I don’t really have the perfect spot for it anymore. This new one fits great as our table centerpiece.

How are you all celebrating Easter?  Anyone else getting their craft on?

the view from here is nice

Just here to show you some happy scenes from our house this weekend.

I’m going to try to post again today to show you my Easter tree… so go find some tree branches and get your glue gun hot and ready!  :)

This caterpillar was with us all week!

Made these streusel-topped muffins… and the ranunculus!!  I LOVE them.

*(If you try that recipe, I highly recommend reading some of the suggestions in the reviews.  I added cinnamon and vanilla to the batter and also tweaked the streusel a little bit with flour and some cinnamon and white sugar.  They were delicious!)*

Do I even need a caption?  The long-awaited birthday present has arrived…. my floors!  :)

WA-HOO!!!

Can you spot our new tree?  It’s an Autumn Blaze Maple and it’s supposed to grow 3-5 feet a year and the foliage turns fire-red in the fall.  We planted it in honor of Levi‘s 2nd Birthday. (Thanks Mom & Ro!)

Yes, the view from here is nice.  Lily thinks so too.

Still knitting

Well, what can I say?  While there technically are flowers out, I don’t know if I would say “Spring has Sprung” just yet.  The weather is…. not good. And so I knit….

(Jed’s Adventure Sweater – here for pattern, here it is on ravelry)

And knit….

(A bulky mobius cowl for me, here on ravelry)

And knit….

 

(Ballband, log cabin and clover tweed dishcloths)

And knit…..

(Socks for Moo, here on ravelry)

And knit…..

(Atelier for me, one sleeve down! Pattern here)

And knit until my fingers bleed or the sun shows it’s vitamin D giving face – which ever comes first……..

(Classic Raglan for Micah, pattern here)

 

I wasn’t kidding.  I’m still knitting.  What are you all up to?  I played pranks on each member of my family this morning… a first for me!  I think I can get into April Fools’.  I’m already brewing on what I’ll do next year!

Randomness

My post titles are great.  I’m quite distracted today by a particular dress I’m trying to get my hands on.  This morning I went on a wild goose hunt to make a similar skirt just in case I can’t get the awesome dress in time for Easter.  Oh, the joys of living in the boonies!

So now I’m writing a post to distract myself from my dress distraction.

Here are some of my favorite things I have on my “want to make” Pinterest board right now.  I love Pinterest, BTW.  And I want to make all of these things….

Just crazy cool.  My friend has already constructed crazy knitting needles to make something like this.  (Found here).

Fabric Worm quilt – here.

I want to make some of these for my boys room – and we already have some crates! (image via door sixteen)

Skirt tutorial found here.

And thanks to this lovely, I need to brush up my embroidery skills.  What would not look better with some embroidered flowers on it?!  I guess maybe a men’s shirt… or pants (!!!).  But that’s about it.  Found here.

 

I gotta run to pick up a child from Pre-school!  Thanks for helping me get my head out of the cute-dress-cloud!

Cheers!

Procrastination

I have been procrastinating on posting.  I have tons to post about, but I’m just not focused enough to actually sit down, write, upload photos and hit publish.  Either way, I’m just going to start somewhere.  How about that CRAAZY resolution list I made?  Let’s start there.

Books to read (or re-read!) this year – I’ve crossed off The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and have begun Prince Caspian.  Still slowly working through King Arthur.

As for my 25 before 27 list?

I can cross off the following:

6 – Organize my linens and laundry room

(Pardon the pictures, most were taken from my phone!)

I hung the curtains, painted the laundry side’s shelves, and organized all the shelves.  I plan on hanging a curtain (possibly drop cloth material?!) to cover the linens and laundry.  I’m also thinking about hanging some bamboo roll-up shades to cover the shelves above the washer and dryer kinda like this.

I use that dresser to store all my boys play clothes in.  It makes laundry put-away super simple!  When they get dressed in the morning, their jammies go straight into the laundry bin and they dress themselves right there in the laundry room.  At night we have them take their clothes off in the laundry room, and then they run upstairs to put on their jammies.  My husband came up with this system idea and it’s been working really well for us!  It keeps the laundry a lot more manageable than having multiple baskets around the house.  We only have one so I always have a pretty clear picture of how I’m keeping up with it.

7 – Actually decorate my office nook shelves and paint them

This was a project I took on when my husband went out-of-town for a week.  I thought it would take a day or two.  I was soooo wrong.  It’s took me a full week, and I was working hard!  I guess that means I should show you a before shot.  It’s horrid.  Shield your eyes.

Before –

AHH!!  That was really, really bad!  Good thing there’s an after shot!

After-

And this little guy I found at a thrift shop is just too cute!

Here’s the other side of the nook, again – get your sunglasses on!  Before shot – up ahead!!

Before –

And after –

(IGNORE FLOORS!  IGNORE FLOORS! IGNORE FLOORS!)

10 – Get glasses

I pick them up on Friday!

17 – Get or make some dang throw pillows for the couch

Paired a new green one with some vintage Crate and Barrel blue ones:

Then on my pair of white chairs I got some green ones with cream flowers:

22 – Organize my computer photos and files

My hubby tackled this one!  Thanks, Babe!!

23 – Go on more dressy dates with the hubs of my youth

I actually wore a dress on our Valentine’s day date!  Big step for this lady!

And I should mention we are ridiculously close to #14 – Install wood floors.

They are stacked behind my couch just waiting.  We have a plan of attack to prep our very lumpy, bumpy, and sloped floors, and installing them should be a breeze after that step!  So close, I can smell it.

See?  They’re here!!!

And I don’t want to talk about goal #1– Obviously, lose 20 lbs.

Let’s just say that my body apparently likes to GAIN weight when it’s starved of food.  I’m persevering though.  It just might take longer than I hoped, I have until September 21st though!!

So there’s a quick update.  Besides goal #1, I’m pretty happy about my progress thus far.

Hope you all are enjoying your spring!  Cheers!

 

Etsy Faves

Everyone knows that etsy is home to some of the coolest and most creative items to be purchased.  But have you ever dug a little deeper and looked at all the fug etsy has as well?  Crafters with a screw loose?   Ya, I do that when I’m bored and need a laugh.  I highly recommend it.  Anywho, here are some of my favorite things I’ve found on there.

I stumbled upon this artist, Sharon Schock, at some point and really liked everything she did.  Some of her stuff is really reasonably priced for original work too!  Isn’t this one gorgeous?

If you’re a dog person, these dog puzzles are so awesome!  I think it would be cool for kids and grown ups to fiddle with, and it would look sweet on a shelf to boot (although, I would paint it white!)  Found here.

And I’ve loved Sarah Jane’s stuff for a while now – here is her etsy shop, and here is her blog.  I’m totally smitten with her cheerfully nostalgic style to her work.  I love it all!

I’m digging these leather journals and such from in blue.  This one would make a good valentine’s day gift.

Isn’t this necklace/scarf so cool?  I think it’s a fab idea and I like the choice of colors.  What do you think about it?  Found here.

I’m pretty sure every hipster needs this mug.  And I mean that as a compliment.  I think it’s awesome and funny, two things I always look for in my coffee tea mugs.

Link up your etsy faves in the comments!