New House, New Look

I love this, want this, need this!
Not only is it organic, but it is soooo inexpensive, especially
considering that it is Pottery Barn!
Aren't the colors beyond beautiful?
(click on the pic for the link!)

Simple Pleasures

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the simple pleasures in life that I enjoy. I have no aspirations of grand wealth, high fashion, or fantasy vacations. Instead I dream of long bubble baths, fresh cut daisies, and summers spent at the beach right in my own backyard.


One of my favorite pleasures lately is passing on little things that I love onto my girls. They have a love of animals that reminds me of my youth, when puppies "followed" me home (or I borrowed them from neighbors!), Gabby realized that she likes making things, and AJ has a love of lotion and accessories that rivals that of a teenage girl! Both girls really like nature and flowers, tidying up, and window shopping.

These are the things that I love having in my life. My simple pleasures....

Conquer Cravings! Tips from Yours Truly!

By now statistics show that most people have given up on their New Year's resolutions. Of course the most popular ones are to diet and exercise more. I can honestly say that I am keeping up with my vows to go to Zumba more often than not and to chill on the goodies after 8 pm.

In college I tried to get an eating disorder (apparently all the dancers are doing it!) but thanks to my supreme lack of self control and will power I was the ballerina with the loaded bagel and full fat latte. It is just not in me to deny myself yummy goodies all together. But here are some tips I have picked up to help curb the cravings when I am bored or upset.

1. Go paint your nails!
It is hard to eat with wet nails.... if the craving lingers add a top coat.
2. Brush your teeth.
The minty-ness will squash any food cravings for sure.
3. Go find your favorite pair of jeans and think about how sexy they make you feel.
4. Put on some music and dance! Can't eat and dance can you?
5. Find your guy and seduce the heck out of him...bye bye cravings for food!
6. Sure, you can have that brownie/ice cream/cake.... go eat it by your kids though
and you will surely have to share at least 75% of it!
7. If all else fails, call your best friend, confess your cravings,
and let her talk you out of them!

Catch-Up Time + Some Award Giving!!

For the last month or so my life has been nutsy- we are in the process of selling our house, we have been searching for a new house (which was drama in itself), I have been teaching more dance classes, and then of course there is the daily stuff like keeping the house "show-clean" while entertaining 4 kids daily. Whew! No wonder I have been neglecting my Etsy store and the blog. Well be patient with me for another month or so and I promise things will get back to normal!

*****

We signed the lease for a house today! It is on a lovely street here in Lakewood, has lots of great features like a new furnace (no more $600/month gas bills!) and central air. Plus a garage (we have never had one), a fenced in yard, and tons of storage space. Best part is that while we decided to rent for a year to catch up on some bills and such, it is 100% rent credit meaning that ALL of our rent goes towards the down payment when we decide to buy it. (love love love that!)
So, we are going to be packing up and such for the next month... let the madness begin!

*****

I have been so slow about accepting some great awards I was given by a lovely fellow Etsian and Blogger- J.Leigh Designz! I am supposed to accept them and then pass them on to people that I think represents the meaning of the award. So here is goes!

First was the Kreativ Blogger award.

I would like to pass this on to:

Cartwheel Soup
Tea With Frodo
Southern Girl Rambling

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next is the Proximidade Award.
Here is the description of the award from J.LeighDesignz blog.
I know I am supposed to pass it on to my 8 favorite blogs,
but there are so many that I like.
So here are some that I feel are definitely worth checking out:

1. Autumn Olive
2. Belua Designs
3. Robot Love
4. I Love Plum
5. Here to There
6. Ocean of Creativity
7. Leah's Lovlies
8. Our Suburban Homestead

So there ya go... an update of my life plus some awards to lots of really great ladies! Now on to the packing, the cleaning, the painting, and the decorating.

Sockies For Me, Sockie For You

Browsing Etsy I discovered a super cute store that just opened featuring tons of animals made out of socks. Since buying the book Sock and Glove and making my own animals I have a new appreciation for these fun creation. Aren't these darling????

Come check out the shop here!

Epic Fail

"Epic Fail" is a pretty common phrase in our house, meaning something does not go according to plan in a really bad, messy, or disastrous way. And today I discovered a blog devoted to all things "FAIL"- failblog.org I love pictures that are sarcastic, smart assed, and humorous. Videos are even better! Here are some of my faves from the site:

lovin scrapblog.com!

how cute did these turn out??? more to come i am sure!

Mommies Can Be Trendy Too!

I believe that it is an urban myth that once you become a mom you lose your "cool factor". All of a sudden just because you are in charge of another human being you are doomed to wear "mom jeans", granny panties, and listen to soft rock. Ha!! I can't say that I am the fashionista of motherhood, but I would like to think that I have retained at least some of my pre-baby sex appeal and unique style.

Today while browsing at Old Navy I saw the most perfect dress for mommies big and small, pre-baby, carrying baby, and post baby. A dress that hides the bad, showcases the good, and is machine washable. I think it is even prettier in person than in the pics!And once you have the outfit you know other moms are going to want to chat you up... so give them one of your new Mommy Calling Cards from PaperRamma. They come in a cute little carrying case complete with a strap to attach to your purse!

March Print and Give

Here is a notepad I created in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. The words are from an old Irish Blessing. Enjoy and pass on the good luck! Click here to download it in different sizes!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

This week the kids are learning about colors. We got some books from the library about rainbows and the colors that make up our world and have been doing several activities the show how colors are everywhere. One of the crafts that we did is making rainbows using the never-ending box of colored noodles. Here are some pics of the great artwork and two of the books we picked out! (Spooky just wanted to say hi!)