blessed..

we had our gingerbread house competition.. now I have an entire village... xoxo Christmas is coming

sometimes inexpensive...

surprises you...
I found this Dr. Teals eucalyptus and spearmint bubble bath at the grochery store for cheap.. like $5 bucks cheap and it is AMAZING..  has almost turned me into a bath taker.. I was feeling kind of run down and crudy and thought a bath sounded relaxing and soothing.. so when I was grochery shopping, I picked this one because it said relax and relief on the bottle.. little did I know it was going to be exactly what I needed and really shocked me on the healing effects it had on my body.
Go get some... trust me..

* I do not advertise or get paid to endorse products on my blog.. I just really loved this product

My sis and her husband have expanded their bike line... this time for the little ones

almost makes you want to have another little one so you can get them this bike..almost little sis..
check out her blog too.. 

o'christmas tree

I saw these cute felt christmas trees over at Alice Lane Home's Blog..

thought to myself now there is an easy Christmas craft....

believe it or not I had everything already on hand!
However if you don't it is a pretty cheap craft.. felt is 4 for a buck at Hobby Lobby.. those cone shaped styrofoam things were 4 bucks and I had the antique wooden spools and can't remember how much I paid for them, but I did a search on Etsy and they are only a couple bucks each depending on what size you are wanting... 

I hot glued the cone to the wooden spool... then I just cut the felt to what I thought resembled the Alice Lane ones and used a hot glue gun adding them starting from the bottom and working my way to the top.. 
that is it..simple.. and cute

Happy Felt Christmas Tree Making! Link to your blog in the comments if you make one and post it for all to see.. I want to see them all :) 

this was a project to say the least..

I needed a table... ya know a big one that all 8 of us could sit at.. I was discussing this with J and was depressed that all that ones I was falling in love with were expensive.. like the potterybarn one I was obsessed with was $2400.. when he looked at it he got that look in his eye and was like "babe I can make that"..  he had a lot of reclaimed wood available to him and I knew he had fancy tools..

I was like seriously? Are we going to take on this project.. so we started looking on the Internet for DIY farm tables and I came across ..tommyandellie.com..

So we followed their instructions.. kind of working with what we had as well...and making our own decisions along the way.. like our table is a bit bigger and I decided not to do the breadboards at the end..

There was a lot of working with this saw...

 and this one....



 and then there was an OBSCENE about of sanding..planing.. and more sanding..
(I did end up buying a belt sander)
We decided on the jacobean minwax stain and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

 2 weeks of constantly working on it and it was ready for Thanksgiving... I absolutely love how it turned out and everyone could not believe we made it.. I apparently suck at taking pictures of tables.. I could not get a good one.. but here it is.. we are currently using the Ikea chairs we already had, but I am planning on buying 8 new chairs.. I think I am going to do 6 wood ones and the two end chairs I want upholstered..

all in all the table cost us about $250 to make and part of that money was buying a belt sander to save my sanity. This table makes me happy... and it is a heavy sturdy table that will last us forever!

If you have any questions let me know...we also have been asked if we would be willing to make some for others and we are contemplating it.. if you live in the phx area and are interested let me know too and we can chat!

prepping for Thanksgiving...

oh hello new farm house table... you have been A LOT of work...
but we will most definitely enjoy eating our turkey on you..

(more details posted soon on the making of this table)

booooo

Hilton Head

We are back from Hilton Head...

We did some exploring in Harbor Town

and of course there was golf.... 5 days of non stop golf to be exact...

J in front of the leader board.. I was proud of him even though he didnt play like he wanted to..

but ya know the courses are much different in SC...
as they tend to have gators everywhere... lol
we were a mess... freaked out every time one of his balls landed by these 12 ft guys just chillin..

it was an adventure to say the least...

leaving on a jet plane....

Couple more days until we are on our way to SC for J's golf tournament...
I am really proud of him.. even though this trip will be all about golf.. I am still excited to sneak in some time to explore Hilton Head.. any suggestions on what I have to see or do while I am there?

In other news.. someone has learned how to take pics of herself with the iphone.. lol

and so it begins.. 

Lalaloopsy.....

SOLD

I just posted on craigslist but thought I would post here as well for anyone interested..
I bought this Pillowfeatherbed Lalaloopsy Halloween Costume for Hailie last year online and it was too small.. so she ended up being Strawberry Shortcake instead..  she only tried it on once in the house.
It is a size 4-6.. Sells for over $30 online.. I am selling it for $20..comes with the pajamas and the wig..
Email me if you are interested..  :)
This year she wants to be a ghost and we have a very cute idea for it...

fall..

apparently my table choices on my last post were no good... everyone's input was a big NO to both.. so the search continues...
My mom came to visit this last week and we took one afternoon and volunteered in Hailiegirls classroom..
SO much fun being a mommy.. hailie was ecstatic when we both walked in.. we were asked to do an art project with the kids to put up on the bulletin board.. mom and I were ambitious and went with two projects..
I saw the cutest felt  leaft garland project here and then we decided to have the kids do a fall scene.. we had them use a straw to blow paint around to make a tree..
END RESULTS were ADORABLE and the kids had a blast :)

at least this was more successful then my table hunt...lol

need design input...fast

Found these two tables on craigslist for CHEAP..

not sure if I am crazy but I am thinking I really love them..

What do you think?! Please comment fast!! I need some input !!!

Below is the space in our new home I would put the table.. I hung big black and white photos on the wall that arent in the below picture and am thinking of gray chalk painting the table and chairs..

What do you think??

this one?

 This one?

 Here is the space...

or am I crazy????

here is some inspiration on what I am wanting it to look like..

THOUGHTS??!

loving this new free app..

found via here

Martha Stewart and the American Made Award..

I love my sister and brother in law and of course MY super adorable nephew baby B..
they are such a dynamic duo.. so talented in so many ways and their mom and pop shop
Heritage in Chicago is creating all kinds of buzz..

including getting the attention of someone pretty cool..

umm her name is Martha Frickin Stewart...

They are honoring creative entrepreneurs.. and having a vote for audience choice award..

and Mike and Melissa were selected as finalists..

so I ask that you (my audience) go HERE and read their story..

After that you are surely to fall in love with them and VOTE for them!

Thank you xoxo

chaos ensues

we are moved in..
now the organizing and decorating begins.. it will take some time
the boys were excited to have the world at their fingertips (lol) I have some fun plans for their room

buried...

in boxes

115 degrees out..perfect time to move..

but I am excited about a fresh start and hopefully last time I move like forever..

oven...

I used Marthas recipe for a magically clean oven using baking soda..
reviews say it is amazing and has little work involved..
you mix baking soda with water to create a paste then slather it all over the inside of your oven.
Turn it to 350 for 10 minutes and then let it sit overnight..

my dirty oven before...

 my clean over after..

it did get it pretty clean..and there was no gross self cleaning oven smell... however the easy peasy wipe off part isnt exactly true.. I scrubbed it down pretty good with a rough sponge.. but now it is clean for whomever moves into our house..

multi-tasking at its finest

parent pick up line... my demise.. soooo slow..
well throw your tweezers in your purse..

natual light and a line going nowhere = perfect time to tweeze your eyebrows...

and they start today...

just been enjoying the last couple days of summer with my babies....

cousins

my sister is the most amazing photographer in the world...love her.. and loving this picture of our babies..
have a good weekend..

p.s. She took the photos on my header as well..  If you want an amazing photographer..go visist her site here

just realized she is featuring Luke and Hailie on her site..lol..didn't know that..

crazy cool....

One creative family we are :)

My sister and her husband were just featured on apartmenttherapy for their amazing bike and coffee shop in Chicago.. It is being boasted as one of the best up and coming concepts in Chicago and they are just killing it over there with their awesomeness.. they also had an article in Show Pony Magazine where my newphew B is just the cutest that cute can be.. seriously I think everyone goes to Heritage just to see B.. not for the bikes or Stumptown coffee... lol

then I found out today hailies bday party made their best kids party post.. and I am so honored and excited...



LOVE US SOME apartmenttherapy.com and Show Pony Magazine!

We got a house!

So life doesn't always go in the order you thought it would.
J and I were suppose to be getting married in California on November 3rd...
However, this house found us.. and we are in love..
So instead of paying for a wedding.. we are buying a house...much smarter investment I think.. as we don't need all the hoopla for a wedding.. we will just get married at the courthouse and celebrate in our new house!
Here are some quick snapshots.. we close on Sept 1st.. so it is moving fast..

 we are even going to have a front courtyard :)

this kitchen is my dream kitchen.. gas stove..huge.. love

we have a lot to do in the mean time.. There is going to be so much decorating fun to be had :)
Speaking of I am selling a lot of Luke's current stuff... Thought I would post it here first then I will do craigslist..
so if you are local and are interested in any of the below just shoot me an email   lukeandhailiegirl@gmail.com

  Potttery Barn Kids Ship.. It sells for $150 new..  I am going to sell if for $50 SOLD

Ikea bed..sells for $99 new.. I am selling for $50 SOLD

Pottery Barn Kids pirate mast (letter L).. sells for $99.. I am selling for $50 SOLD

I have Luke's approval on all the above selling ;) I will be posting more as well in the near future..

7 in a very lalaloopsy way..

 





I will post more tomorrow on sources and DIY projects and the craft the girls did :)

photos courtsey of Geoff Rowe..