Home is Where You Hang Your Tutu

I have been on a decorating kick lately... the need to clean, rearrange, paint is pulling at me. We are very lucky in that even though we rent our house, we have a pretty free rein to paint and decorate. Every year when our lease is up we talk about living somewhere else and we stay because it is a great house on a really nice street in a city we love.

sitting on the steps, watching the kids play

 Still, there are always things about the house that we wish we could change- the teeny backyard that is too small for a swingset, one bathroom (that is going to be a HUGE issue in a few short years with 3 girls & myself in the house), a garage that is too small to fit the van, and a sidewalk that is butt up against the street.

Well, a good friend of mine and I were talking the other day and she mentioned that she would love to move and just rent out her house. She then jokingly said that we should rent her house! Um... yes please!!!!  It just so happens that she has an awesomely big house complete with a ginormous backyard, a laundry room that is not in a scary basement, 2 full baths, and a room that serves as an office/family room.... love, love, and more love.

She is looking to move in the spring, which is when our lease is up- again perfect! Let's just say that we met a couple years ago and everything just flows between us, from Usborne to having our kids play together. It was meant to be!

So, I am not going to make any more changes to our current house in the expectation that there is a gooood chance that we will not be here past April. But, I am seeing inspiration for the rooms everywhere! (I just saved a vanity table from the trash and am trying to find the perfect color to paint it!) Here are some decorating things that I am loving:

                                Source: twinkiechan.com via Connie on Pinterest

How easy is this? 

Just take a wooden base, a cheap garden decoration, glue them together then spray paint!

                                                                        Source: remodelingcenter.com via Connie on Pinterest

Maybe I can get the hubby to go along with these colors...

and oh the backyard that I would have!!!!

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: punkrockbarbiedoll.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I love this idea of movies hanging out in the backyard!!

So yeah, that is what is on my mind... I am so excited and hope that everything works out and we can get into a space that is more suitable for us. Happiness!

Loving My Lakewood!

Well, today has been a pretty busy day! Here is the rundown of my day:

9:00am- taught a Mommy & Me baby dance class
10:00- went to Borders to check out the sale since they are going out of business
11:00- went to Nicky Nicole, Aeropostal, the Apple Store, and oogled Anthropologie from a distance since I am banned for the time being because I would never leave!
12:00pm- ate at Chipotle with the family and a friend- yummo
12:30- headed to Trader Joes for some Mandarin Orange Chicken- did I mention I need a 12 step program for this stuff?!
1-3pm- hung out at home, watched the kids ride bikes, tended to my computer additions such as Pinterest and Etsy.

3pm we decided to head over to the Lakewood Street Walk. It is this wonderful community extravaganza where the main street is shut down, all the businesses and community organizations come out and have healthy related booths, and everyone walks around having a good time. This is one of the many reasons why I LOOOOOOVE living in Lakewood, OH. COMMUNITY!

Yes, it was hot and steamy out and yes, we had already had a pretty long day. But I love joining everyone in the city at events like this. Here is the list of everything the kids and us go tot do (and we spent a total of $4.50!)

*Tye Dyed shirts for free
*Watched belly dancers, break dancers, fencing demos, skateboarders, jazzercisers, and square dancers
* Decorated Cookies
* Got to win beach balls for answering health questions
* Ran through a field of sprinkers
* Did an obstacle course
* Got their name written in Chinese and spoke Mandarin to the exchange students
* Got snow cones, frisbees, suckers, pencils, bracelets, and balloons among lots of other things
* Watched Army dudes climb a rock wall that was HUGE!
* Played Four Square, cornhole, and other games

... and that is just the stuff I remember!!! Neat huh?! There was even more things to do and see but I was getting hot and sweaty... when we all got home we showered off and lounged in the air conditioning. Anyways, here are some of the photos from today!

On Sunday...

On Sunday Klint and I took the kids here:

It was simple, beautiful, and foreign all at the same time. Take this city girl out of the city and you have an interesting time! The girls loved seeing all the lavender plants blooming, real dragonflies, and a quaint little cabin where they dry the flowers.

I love summer, not for the hot weather (ick!!) but for the fairs and pick your own fruit farms. The smells of fresh fruit makes me smile and dream of pies baking on windowsills and salads topped with lush berries! Even though I wouldn't know what to do with myself in the country, there is something about it that is just calling my name. We will see....

On Saturday...

This past weekend I had the joy of having a wonderful little picnic with some wonderful sorority sisters of mine. We met up on a not so sunny, kinda chilly summer day at the beach, ate some great food, took photos, saw some weirdo teenagers taking photos that borderlined on creepy, let our kids play with each other, and laughed like we haven't laughed in about 9 years! It was fabulous, to say the least.

Heather and her little boy, Sam

I love that I can pick up right where we left off, no matter how many months or years it has been in between chats.  These ladies are friends and sisters in the truest sense of the word. There is nothing that I can't tell them and nothing I wouldn't do for any of them.

Carena and Miss Moira

Carena and her daughter, Hailey

Sam decided to take Leslie for a walk, so cute

The girls and all of our babies! Leslie and Heather are expecting little girls this fall!!

It was so nice seeing everyone and I know now that we are all having our families and growing up, we will see each other more often. I especially love that my girls will grow up with aunts who will look out for them and care about them as much as any family would. Thank you ladies for a lovely afternoon!!

101 Bits of Summer Fun

Wondering what to do with the kids this summer? 

Well check out this free printable list of fun summer activities- 

everything from dancing to washing the car!

Get your copy here and leave some love!

And if you like to take photos here are two nifty printables to get you thinking about those awesome summer photos. There is list of 10 can't miss photo ideas for each month as well as a checklist if you have traditions and events that you know you want to capture. 

Happy Day Friends!!!

To the Top of the World

Ok, well not really, but for us it was close enough! On Tuesday we went to a wonderful place called Stone Mountain. It is the largest chunk of granite on Earth and even as huge as it is to see, only 1% is visible! We took a Swiss cable car up to the top and then hiked down and around back to the car. I am not going to lie.... it was very hot and sweaty since I was wearing Moira, and Klint and I even got a hint of a sunburn... but it was so nice to be hot! Gabby and AJ loved the hike and I believe that the grownups did more complaining than the kids, lol. Here are some photos:

It was a wonderful day, full of sunshine, friends, and adventure!

Definitely a place I will be going back to!!

Under the Sea

Monday we headed out to the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world!! I knew that I was in for a supurb time, but had no idea that I was going to be in awe the entire visit! Words can't describe this place.... hopefully our photos do it some justice. =) These are just a handful of the photos we took, I can't wait to print some of these out!