Tickled Pink Talk

Boating fun!

2011-09-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

C is having loads of fun catching jellies off the side of our boat. How lucky we are to live where we do! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Last days of summer fun!

2011-08-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Having a lemonade stand has been on our list of summer fun all summer, now we can check it off! $4.00 made so far!!

Valentine Cookie fun!

2011-02-13T19:21:00.000-08:00

I volunteered to make some heart shaped cookies for J's 4th grade Valentine's Day Party. Apparently the 4th grade goes all out! It was fun making them this evening (although I am beginning to think i have a hard time saying "no"!!)

the royal icing in just a tad of water so it doesn't dry up.

the cookies after piping the border.

and the final product! I have a lot of fun working with royal icing. :) Good thing my darling husband is working on the laundry though, these took a while!

Happy Valentine's Day Dear Blogger Friends!

some snapshots of what we've been up to!

2011-02-08T05:13:00.000-08:00

Just like most of the East Coast, we are buried under LOTS of snow (although to answer Lori's question, no I am not personally buried), and actually it is currently snowing again. (sticking my tongue out and making raspberries).
Here are some snapshots of what we've been doing...
My dad helped me make a headboard for the Master Bedroom. Plates make a great tool for creating that perfect curve!

getting ready to measure...


the finished product! LOVE. now I just need to tear down the wallpaper. sigh.

The boys have been having fun playing in the snow!

our back deck.

this is from before we got completely dumped on!

we have been skiing a lot!

And I have been doing a lot of this:

But really, would much rather be doing this...

I hope you are all surviving the winter, enjoying the first signs of spring (if you are lucky enough to live where that is happening) and I am hoping that this post will get me back to blogging! Time to get the camera out again. All these photos were taken with my iphone.

My office/studio take 3!!

2010-11-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

The crazy fall updating continues here at Casa Tickled Pink. You can see my old studio (the first one in this house) here and my inspiration for my studio here and here! Phew! Here is the room before:

Here is MY finished product...

installed the chandelier! yippee!!

the wall that was behind the bulletin board was very damaged, so I covered it with paper!

this is a trundle bed, so we can still accommodate guests.

close up of my ribbon/paint center (and the wrapping paper covered wall!!)

another one of my grandmother's dining chairs, and a desk I got at a rummage sale for $5! fabric for the chair is from a shower curtain purchased at T@rget.


storage bins from bath section at T@rget. hence the shower curtain.. Bins handy for tools etc!

Well, this is my space! Oh, I will add a picture of the chandelier before once I get it on to my computer (it currently resides in my phone!)

All I want for Christmas...

2010-10-27T05:53:00.001-07:00

Is my 2 front teeth!!!

How cute is he?? So excited! The second one came out around 2:00 in the morning. I sure hope he wasn't wiggling it all night....

Our Family Room makeover

2010-10-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

You can go here to see the family room before before, and then our first after. Here are pictures from our most recent after...
I had slip covers made for the striped couch and the two chairs, after being inspired by this and then TOTALLY lucked out by finding an existing slipcover for my other couch for $100. That's right, $100!!!
I happened to have the curtains (from Target) on hand already, they used to hang in our attic in our old house, so all in all this was a fairly budget friendly makeover!

I still REALLY want to paint the brick, but John does not....sigh.

some fall decoration

love this whale! A friend gave it to me for my birthday.

notice the leftover fabric from J's room???

this is my $100 slipcover! Yippee!!

What I've been up to!! UPDATED

2010-10-20T06:48:00.000-07:00

Oh my, it has been quite a while! I have been a busy bee recently updating our second floor. (among a miriad of other things!!) It seems that while most people get spring fever and do major overhauls in the spring, I like to make changes in the fall. Coinciding with school starting perhaps?? heehee

After 5 years of sharing a room, J decided he wanted his own room. We are fortunate to have 5 bedrooms, but John and I each had one of the rooms as office space, and the other room was being used as a small guest room (often referred to as my niece's room). Let the switch a roo begin! John moved his office into the guest room, I moved my studio/craft room to his old office and my studio became J's room. Here are the before and afters of J's new "big kid" room. Pictures of the other spaces coming....

this was my studio, but we had already moved my stuff into another room.

another view before. I painted this desk glossy black. Will be seen later!

I really loved having pink and green walls, but J wanted nothing to do with them!

here is the after! Our inspiration for the room came from the curtain fabric. Not sure if you remember my valances in my studio, but I re-purposed them to be the green and white pillows.

I have 2 skateboards to mount as shelves above the desk. They are just not up yet.

The bedroom set was my dad's! Love that! Oh, and we have a mirror to add above the dresser.

I also got my grandmother's dining room chairs out of storage and painted one for J's desk chair.

before...

And AFTER!! I am SO loving glossy black right now!!

FINALLY hung the prints... Curtain fabric is from Jo-Ann Fabrics

love how the colors totally match :)

and added the skateboard shelves too.

I got these 2 skateboards at Target for $10 each! Just mounted them with "L" brackets

just a close up of the pillows on the bed.

So I think I have achieved a room which J loves, has a subtle skateboard theme, and will be a room he can be in for quite some time!

I am also going to re do 2 more of the chairs. One for my desk, and one for my vanity. I may use the 4th for my SMALL desk in my kitchen, but it is REALLY small. Not sure the chair will fit well...

I am planning to post some more before and after's once I have them finished!
xoxo

First Day of School (finally!!!)

2010-09-08T05:26:00.000-07:00

I can't get this one in the right place...

J's first day of Kinder (I hadn't started doing the signs yet)

C's first day of nursery! (OMW how cute is he???)

Someone not being very cooperative!!

ok, that's better!

out take

Oh my word! They get big SO fast!!! Here are this years photos: (taken very quickly before the downpour happened! so much for walking to school...)

C was very excited to start his first day, and was very cooperative with picture taking as well (notice that wasn't so much the case way back on the first day of kinder)

I cannot believe how big J is getting! sheesh! But he still humors his mama and lets me take the pictures with the sign :)

and the two brothers! They wanted to take a picture in their sweatshirts, because as I mentioned last year, you may see a theme throughout the years. This year the sweatshirts are actually new ones....

It's the most wonderful time of the year......

Fun dinner out

2010-08-18T19:35:00.001-07:00

The boys and I had an errand to do last night around dinner time and
since I seem to be uninspired to cook these days, we decided to have a
little dining adventure. We drove north until we found a place we
wanted to eat at! We ended up in Gloucester and had dinner on the
water. I really love a good adventure with my boys! It is really so
great that all we need is a full tank of gas and a little cash!! Too
bad John couldn't join us, but then again he isn't quite as
spontaneous ;)

Have fish. Will travel!

2010-08-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

Sigh. After six weeks we are on the ferry leaving our favorite place,
Nantucket. Since we were gone so long, we brought our fish,
Snickerdoodle, along for the ride. Yes, she is named for a the
cookie. And her travel container fits nicely in a cup holder!

Here she is on the ferry amongst all our craft supplies. We are on
the slowest of all the ferries so we came well equiped! Clay seems to
be the activity of choice and we have quite the marble factory going!!

the Pan Mass Challenge

2010-07-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

A great friend and John after a century ride to benefit Juvenile Diabetes research

On August 7th and 8th, my husband John will join more than 5,000 other cyclists in the 31st Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, a bike-a-thon that raises money for cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. This spectacular event raised more than $35 million last year by donating 100% of all rider raised funds to the DFCI. The PMC holds the promise of helping eradicate this disease which affects millions each year.
To help the PMC team reach their 2010 goal, John has been asked to raise over $4,200 to participate.
He will be riding 190 miles over the two days. Will you please support this great cause? We are asking people to consider the following three donations:
•.25 cents per mile = $50
•.50 cents per mile = $100
•$1 per mile = $200

Although any donation at all would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!!

Please go to his personal page to make your donation online to support this great cause:
http://www.pmc.org/egifts/JR0285

Ahhhhhhh!!

2010-07-27T15:51:00.001-07:00

A night out with John!! :)

Anyone know where we are now?

2010-07-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

here we go surfin'!!

2010-07-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

J had his very first surfing lesson yesterday! We have had the fliers from The Nantucket Island Surf School collected from the past 3 summers, and finally decided that he was a capable enough swimmer to start some lessons. Oh my! He was THRILLED to be taking a lesson and he had a blast. I think that C wants to try next week. :) That will be fun because John will be here and will be on vacation as opposed to working remotely. So much better.

"look mom! no hands!!"

and even though he didn't want to take a surf lesson, C had a BLAST boogie boarding!

My view right now!!

2010-07-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Pictures of J surfing to come later!!

The view from the porch

2010-07-22T05:02:00.000-07:00

Storms came through last night and today the weather is absolutely
glorious!! J has a surfing lesson today and then we will stay at the
beach. Enjoying being with friends and family but really looking forward to John's arrival on Saturday!

Cloudy day fun!!

2010-07-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

We are at a Marble Swap! The boys have been looking forward to this
all week. Works out perfectly that it is a cloudy day. Good old
fashioned fun. Love Nantucket!!!!

Happy 4th!!

2010-07-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to board!!!

2010-06-30T11:21:00.001-07:00

Bookgroup

2010-06-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

I host our book group next week. We are reading Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Have you read it? Should lend itself to an interesting conversation. It was an easy read, but I have to say, i didn't really love it. Because I am hosting, that means I cook dinner for everyone and then get to pick the book. I think I may pick The Map Of True Places. We read the Lace Reader last year and I have heard this one is even better!

Now I just need to figure out what to make for dinner....All of the book group members are great cooks, so it is somewhat intimidating to come up with a great menu! I will let you know what I make!

Friday Follow Blog Hop

2010-06-11T08:23:00.001-07:00

I am playing along with Maryland Pink and Green today with her Friday Follow Blog Hop. Feel free to join in and find some new fun blogs!!

Last Day of School

2010-06-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

We have arrived at the last day of school! Here are the boys with their flowers for their teachers. Every child brings in a flower and a gorgeous bouquet is created for their teacher with all the offerings. Really, the bouquets created are beautiful! I wish I could say the hydrangeas are from my garden, but they are from my dining room table, from an arrangement I had for a meeting hosted here on Tuesday. I like to send the boys in with peonies, but this year they bloomed so soon, they are gone now. Last year the boat was in the yard blocking all sun, so we did some irises. Maybe next year....
After school we are off to the unofficial official beach day at a local beach. Luckily the sun seems to be coming out. I am frantically trying to get the house in order before these two handsome small people descend on my life for a few months!!!
Have a lovely weekend!

2010-06-10T05:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I picked the boys up early from school ( I know, WHAT was I thinking with only 2 days left!!!) and we headed to the commuter rail so we could hit the Scooper Bowl. We were originally scheduled to head in today (because it's my birthday) but it is raining, and the weather people actually predicted it right. So off we went yesterday.

When you arrive you are given a spoon. DO NOT THROW AWAY said spoon. This happened to us last year. Seriously, I think we ALL threw our spoons away after the first ice cream last year. We were graciously given a second spoon, but we were determined NOT to make that mistake this year. The ice cream was great. My favorite was the mango sorbet from ciao bella gelato. Mmmmmmm. For a list of all the flavors available go here. The crowds were pretty crazy up at each vendors booth. Before John joined us, I was afraid I was going to lose a boy. They were great though and did a pretty good job sticking with me. J gets easily distracted though, so we discovered early on he should NOT be in front!
After gorging on ice cream (J had 10!!!) we walked through the North End and went here for dinner. We didn't eat much, but just needed a little something not sweet. Then we walked back to the train, jumped on the 6:10 and had the boys in bed by 7:30! Perfection!

My little sneek...

2010-06-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

Funny story for you all:
Yesterday C had a field trip (tidepooling, so fun!) and was allowed to come home right after instead of going back to school. John was home (although working in his office) and C wanted to stay home when I went to get J. I also had to go to UPS to send the table pictured in my last post (YAY!!) Fine. C was told he could stay home but needed to find something quiet to do. I left, got to my car, and realized I had forgotten something. (that fast) Came back in the house just in time to see C's body very slowly and quietly slipping into the living room (through the dining room). Uh oh. I knew he was up to something! I asked him to come back into the kitchen and show me what he had. Um, he had a 1/4 c. measuring cup FILLED to the top with sugar that he was planning on eating! OMW!! Needless to say, he was NOT allowed to stay home when I went to pick up J nor was he allowed to stay home when J had his dentist appointment later in the afternoon. We are in serious trouble with this one. Serious trouble.

and he looks so innocent...

Been busy!

2010-06-02T13:35:00.001-07:00

Sorry for my absence! I have been completing my last project for
Tickled Pink Designs. Hopefully I will start the business up again
someday, but for now my studio is closed. I need to be able to devote
more time to my family right now!! These boys are only young once! :)

School auction 2011

2010-05-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

We announce the theme tomorrow. With props. Any guesses??

Happy Mother's Day!!

2010-05-09T04:55:00.001-07:00

May Day

2010-05-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

C and J before school.

I know I posted this as a sneak peek, but we had SO much fun making these tissue paper flowers. There is very little that Martha Stewart.com can't handle :) You can go here for a tutorial.
I think they turned out quite well, if I do say so myself. ;)

C and a bunch of faceless first graders doing the "Sasha"

J getting ready to start the Maypole dance

Maypole dance in action! They sure went fast....

Completed Maypole! Woohoo 3rd grade! Excellent job :)

Phew, I'm EXHAUSTED and I only have 3 more events to get through in the next week (+ 2 days)

I totally forgot to take pictures of the food tables. sigh. They looked great though, pinky swear! We made tiny maypoles for the cakes out of dowels and ribbon. Super cute. J and C both did awesome. May Day was followed by a great lunch at the club. Overlooking the harbor on a sunny day. Perfection.

May Day decorations sneak peek

2010-05-06T13:51:00.001-07:00

Guess where we are??

2010-05-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

CRAZY BUSY!!

2010-05-04T05:30:00.000-07:00

image from Martha Stewart.com

Hello blog world! I have a crazy busy couple of weeks ahead, but do want to get some posts up soon. May Day is this Friday at school and I am one of the two moms in charge! The third grade dances the Maypole dance, and it is such a rite of passage at school. J is in 3rd grade this year, so a very special May Day is in store. I will have a post with pictures etc. soon! Pinky swear!

the 40th Anniversary Party

2010-04-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

My sister and I (and our husbands) hosted a 40th Anniversary Party for my parents this past Saturday. It was a bit all consuming this past week, making sure we had everything ready. It ended up being a really nice time to celebrate such an accomplishment! Here are some photos of the event.

this is a picture of the original cake

and this is the copy for the party. The invite had a picture of them cutting the cake.

the 40th is the ruby anniversary, so we went with a red theme. Candles were NOT allowed at the place we rented so I found these flameless ones at Amazon. I set them on some red glass beads, just to add a little height.

of course I had to make some cookies!!

the flower arrangement for the buffet table

and finally....

since the party was only for about 30 people, the ENTIRE bottom of the wedding cake was left over. I was responsible for dessert for Easter dinner...so...I scraped off the flowers, added that frosting to the top to have a smooth surface, and voila! An Easter Cake! J and C had fun helping with the jelly beans!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-04-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Well I have been planning our weekly menus since the start of the school year (that's my New Year) and thought I would finally jump on the band wagon and post our menu (You can go here to see many more menus)
I plan breakfasts and dinners and lunches just seem to happen and are never all that exciting!

image courtesy of about.com

Breakfasts:
Monday: French Toast
Tuesday: Muffins and smoothies (still need to make the muffins...)
Wednesday: Cereal (woo, super exciting!)
Thursday: Scrambled eggs and bacon
Friday: Bagel day (John has this at work, so we do it at home too!)

Dinners:

Monday: Anniversary Party leftovers
               (Chicken Piccata, Grilled Salmon, Asparagus, Bread)

Tuesday: Turkey Burgers on whole wheat buns
                Veggie tray, Pineapple chunks

Wednesday: Grilled chicken (supposed to be 80 here on Wednesday!!)
                    Salad with corn, black beans and avocado

Thursday: Baked Burritos, whole grain chips, salsa and salad

Friday: Homemade Pizza, veggie tray

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T05:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with family and friends.

(I'll be back tomorrow with an update of all I've been doing the past month!)

CAN NOT WAIT!

2010-03-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

I am flying to Florida to go here to spend some much needed time with this handsome guy!!!

Spending the next few days getting ready! I can not wait to leave, and meet up with this guy! (he is away on business (shocker, I know) and we are meeting up at the airport!)

I will miss my other two guys while I am gone though....but as I explained to J yesterday (when we drove John to the airport) He and C will eventually go to college and get married (maybe) and leave, and then Daddy and I will be stuck with each other, so it is very important that we spend some time together now, so we can still get along when it is just the two of us...:)

Now I just hope the weather cooperates....

Valentine's Day Cookies

2010-02-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

After being inspired by her and this article in Southern Living, I decided to try to make some Valentine's cookies of my own. I usually do make heart cookies, but have been wanting a more "finished" look for them. I have never used Royal Icing before, but recently read about how versatile it is, so I thought I would give it a try. How fun! Here are some pictures of my results. I am pretty pleased with how they turned out, although I haven't actually tasted them yet.

I'm also having fun experimenting with my camera! Happy Valentine's Day!

No snow is fine, but no power?!?!

2010-02-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my earlier post, we had a snow day, but with no snow. Fine. I had a good day with the boys. We needed the day anyway. Yada yada yada. As the day was coming to an end, I made some pizza dough so we could have homemade pizza for dinner. I was supposed to head out with some girlfriends, so the pizza would be easy. While I was making the dough, the boys were playing outside. I noticed that the wind was increasing, (we live up on a hill right near the ocean) so I called the boys in, put the dough in the oven to rise and we continued with our Valentine assembly (Must finish Valentines.) All of a sudden the lights went out! At first I thought perhaps a fuse had blown, but nope. The power was out. It was quite interesting to see the boys reactions. They were both pretty scared, but didn’t want to show it. We gathered candles, called the light company and sat down to make a plan. Pizza was out as a dinner option, since I have an electric oven, so we decided to go out to dinner, in the hopes that when we returned, the power would be back on. We got our coats and headed to the garage. I got in the garage and realized I had no idea how to open the door manually! Luckily one of my neighbors came to my rescue. Very easy really, but I just didn’t know what to do! I am really going to have to learn more about the workings of our home, now that DH is going to be traveling as much as he is! Anywho, we went to dinner, had a lovely time and when we got home, the power was back on! We were all relieved to say the least! No more thinking about where we were all going to sleep, how we were going to stay warm etc. And, most importantly, I was able to go out as planned, thanks to my wonderful sitter, who let me just play it by ear. All is well here at Chez Tickled Pink, DH gets home around 2 this afternoon, as opposed to 2AM, so that is grand. Now I just need to go put away all the candles! (and finish the dishes I was just about to do when the power went off...)

Un Snow Day

2010-02-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well, due to the forcast the boys school was canceled today. But, really NO SNOW!! I did need the day with them though. We had a project to complete...

Can you guess what we are doing???

Does a closer look help???

We made these last year too.

Here is the (almost) finished product

They still have to be attached to the heart doilies, but as far as I am concerned, the Valentine's are finished!! Phew! 68 crayon hearts ready to be delivered tomorrow. Assuming we have school. And I really never assume anything.

Easy winter craft...

2010-01-23T06:26:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my last post, J was home sick for a good portion of the week. He was recovering from pneumonia, so while he needed to be home, he also wanted something to do. Luckily our new issue of Family Fun arrived the first day he was home. After he looked through the magazine, he asked if we could make the winter sun catcher together. I looked at the directions and it looked easy enough, so we began. (I tried to find an online picture, but no luck!)

The first step was making some colored ice cubes. Since we have an automatic ice maker, we no longer have any ice cube trays, but we do have a silcone mold for making Valentine's crayons, so we filled that with water and added food coloring.

After the ice cubes were frozen, we filled a cake pan with water and set a plastic cup (filled with water) in the pan (to make a hole for the ribbon) We added the colored cubes (hearts) to the cake pan and froze again.

Here is our finished product, hanging on the back deck so we can enjoy it (until the pouring rain expected tomorrow and Monday) from the breakfast table!

A fun and easy project to keep someone entertained (and more importantly, not exerting himself too much!)

a little of this, a little of that...

2010-01-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day this week that both boys are off at school! It was a crazy morning, but it is great to be able to get out of the house again. :)

This is what both boys have been doing most of the week. Poor guys. :( Feeling better today and went off to school ready for jeans day! Oh, and Uno's lunch day! I LOVE Fridays! If we can't have a chef, Uno's is a great thing.

This was my attempt to recreate the dinner I had in NYC. What I made was yummy, but not quite the same thing. Shrimp, sundried tomato risotto (made with fish stock, thanks Shan) and broccolini. I think the shrimp needs to be grilled with more herbs. A project to work on!

And this is my new obsession. I received a Cuisinart from my darling husband for Christmas and have been having fun attempting to make the perfect loaf of bread. Again, another fun project to continue. My oven cooks pretty hot, so I am working on figuring out the ideal length of time to bake the bread.

I need to go to the Mill Store (unfinished furniture) to pick something up for a client and to look for a new TV stand for our playroom. I think we are going to upgrade to a flat screen down there and re-locate the wii. It is currently in our family room, and I'm not sure I like it there. Not sure I like the idea of having it in the playroom either. Any opinions out there??

Have a great weekend!

xoxoxo

Tickled Pink Tuesday

2010-01-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

I am getting back to work with my hand painted children's furniture business Tickled Pink Designs and thought I would feature a different piece/design idea every Tuesday.

This week we have the monogrammed table and chair set. This set can be customized to match any decor. Let me know you saw this on my blog, and receive FREE shipping when you order!

Martha Stewart Show recap - FINALLY!!

2010-01-18T17:12:00.000-08:00

Pots and Pains and I arrived bright a early last Thursday for the Martha Stewart Blogging show. We had to be there by 8:30 (so we got there around 8:00!)

Here is the studio before the show started. Notice the bags on the rug to hold it down. I just loved the lighting in there. I wish I had kitchen lighting like that!

Here is the audience getting ready. We were all to be live blogging/twittering from our seats, so there was plenty of tech support around to make sure everyone could connect to the proper router. These women in purple and orange got to pose with Martha at the end of the show. I overheard that they have a vineyard...

Here we are in the FRONT row! The camera was never on us though. Oh well, I certainly enjoyed our seats! I kept feeling as though my computer was going to slide off my lap!

oh how I love this faucet. And the marble counter top. I would like both please.

It was hard to blog and pay attention, and since I only had my phone camera (these are shots that P & P took) I couldn't upload anything during the show.

Brian Williams was originally supposed to be the main guest, but I am assuming he was in Haiti. (and if not, it wouldn't look so good for the NBC anchor to be on Martha!) So Martha's daughter, Alexis was on with her friend, Jennifer Koppleman Hutt. I have to say, Alexis was extremely rude. I have a few other choice words to describe her, but I won't. Let's just say that if I were Martha, I would have thrown her off the set. Jennifer was hilarious though.

The show went by really fast. There was some cooking, baking, and a craft. Oh, and Martha's shoes! I must post a picture of Martha's shoes....

We had a great time in the city. It was fun to get away for 24 hours. Pots and Pains really knows the city well after living there for 3 years, and I don't know the city at all, so it was nice to have her take me around. Like we said after the show....

Let's do this every week!!!

To see more about the show (guests etc) click here.

And we're live!

2010-01-14T07:01:00.001-08:00

Post 100 - Live from The Martha Show!!!

2010-01-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

Y'all, I can't believe this is only my 100th post, but it is! How fabulous that it is from the Martha Show?? I am tickled pink. How fitting! In case you aren't following me on Twitter, we are in the front row. Pictures will come later, pinky swear!

Waiting....

2010-01-14T05:37:00.000-08:00

Here is Pots and Pains/ Pickle Chatter and myself in the waiting room...

NYC!!

2010-01-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

We had a great afternoon/evening in the big city. We arrived smoothly
and my lovely Joy tunic was at the front desk waiting my arrival. I
like it better in real life!

Sent from my iPhone

The Martha Prep continues...

2010-01-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

I spent the day yesterday shopping with my mom for an outfit to wear on Thursday. (So much FUN!! - I hadn't been shopping in a long time -trying to be frugal after all). We ended up at Nordstroms. I have avoided Nordstroms in the past because I thought it would be just too pricey. Well, what a great experience we had there! I found a short sleeve, dark pink, rufflely sweater (I will take a pic) that was on sale and quite reasonable. The closure hook was not quite in the right place, and the sales associate called the alterations dept. who came right up and fixed it! At NO additional charge. I am SO shopping there more often!!

So that is ONE of my options. With a black shirt underneath and black pants. And a lime green necklace. or maybe my pearls....hmmm.

My other option is this

I purchased this from Persnickety Palm in Leesburg VA. I just discovered this store, and this piece from Shopaholic in Alabama . It was on sale, plus and addtional 20% off!!! Oh, Linda at Persnickety Palm was SO helpful. So helpful in fact that she is overnighting the shirt to my hotel in NY. I had left a message on Sunday, but they were closed Sunday and Monday. She isn't even charging me any additional shipping!! Now that is FABULOUS!! I think my lime green necklace will look good with this too. Will wear with black pants.

Today I am trying to get the house ready for my departure. I am heading to the grocery store momentarily. I have been cleaning and doing laundry. Still need to make up some pizza dough for Thursday night. I will be home, but will arrive so close to dinner that I won't have time to make the dough then. And the of course I have to host the JAS meeting here tonight! AGH! I don't have time to host a meeting! I need to pack!

Martha Stewart here I come!!

2010-01-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

My friend Pickle Chatter and I are off to NYC next week to go to the Martha Stewart Show!!! I am SO excited! It is a blogging episode, so we will be blogging live from the show. Anyone else going???

Now I need suggestions about WHAT TO WEAR!!!!! Aghhhhh! I think a shopping trip is in order....

Suggestions more than welcome! (Please, I'm desperate here, I NEED suggestions!)

Thank you!

2010-01-08T08:18:00.001-08:00

Thank you for all the well wishes as the boys and I embarked on a road trip to Philadelphia to attend my grandmother's funeral. The travel went off with out a hitch (we made it in 5 1/2 hours!) and the boys were phenomenal. Movies in the car certainly helped, but J in particular, was extremely helpful. John was able to fly down and join us Wednesday night, and it was great that he could make it. (and drive home!!)
How amazing that my boys got to know their great grandmother for as long as they did. She lived in the same town as my parents for the last 3 1/2 years, so J and C were able to see her on a regular basis. J (who is 8 1/2) was much sadder than I anticipated during the service. He is REALLY going to miss his Nonna!
As my mom mentioned at one point over the passed couple of days (hard to believe we were only gone for 36 hours!) My grandmother lived until she died. I can only hope that someone can say that about me someday!

my CVS trip

2010-01-05T10:28:00.001-08:00

Well, I have been reading some "frugal mom blogs" recently and decided it was time for me to give this whole couponing, CVS thing a try. Why not? I have the time, and if we can save money this way, it is silly not to right? I spent Sunday evening with the paper (the circulars and coupons that is, John actually read the paper part!) I also had $7.50 in ECBs (extra care bucks for those not familiar with this whole thing) from my fall spending.
I actually broke my transaction up into 3 (yes, there was NO one else in line!!)

Phew! So I got about $78 worth of items for about $33. Not $500 worth of items for $2, but not too bad for a first start!

It's SO quiet around here...

2010-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Good Morning! Happy New Year! Merry Christmas! (It's been awhile since I've blogged, hasn't it?)
My boys (and John, my third boy) all headed back to school and work after two weeks of being home. It's SO quiet here this morning. It's great! I have to admit, while the second week of vacation was WONDERFUL, the first week was a bit not. I yelled. A lot. At the boys (not John so much!) The week before Christmas. ugh. I didn't want to be so stressed, and really, I wanted to enjoy having everyone all together, but it was crazy the week before Christmas. We were able to really relax and enjoy ourselves the second week. Maybe playing wii together helped...I rock at archery! And we went sledding! Even me. And even though we didn't go anywhere (not the norm here in our small coastal town) I know the boys had a great break. (I only know this for sure because they actually told me!) So apparently memories of Mommy yelling have gone to the wayside. But it did happen.

And then we have this morning. I wanted so badly to have everything all organized for them to head back to school (John is on his own on this one!) I put their snow stuff in the dryer so it would be ready for the morning (you know, one less thing to worry about, yay me), made sure everyone had school appropriate clothing to put on (dress code) and went to bed. Only to be woken this morning by "Sweetie, what time do you get the boys up?" "Um, 6:30, why?" "it's 7:06" "Oh, S%#@" NOT the way I like to start my morning!!! So much for a stress free first day back. I did manage to get the 2 very tired boys off to school on time and they were even fed and had their hair brushed (phew) and once more I am SO wishing their school had a chef. Packing lunches is really the bane of my existence. (I love this phrase! My great friend W used to say it all the time) And I did remember to restart the dryer, so they were able to head out in warmed up winter gear. ;) (muttering the whole time about how they don't really like school all that much and they want to stay home, C even started to play the I don't feel well card, but I think realized that wasn't going to get him anywhere!)

Can you tell I'm trying to be a bit more real here this year? I do love to cook, bake, craft, decorate etc. But I also oversleep, yell and tell my boys to stay in the playroom while I work on other things. And while I do think our boys are cute and all around good kids, we certainly have our issues. Maybe this all leads to some of my goals for this year...(in no particular order, blogging is certainly NOT my top priority!)

Be more real here
Yell less
Excercise more (more is used loosely here, it's been a while since I exercised AT ALL)
Be more present with J and C (and not just for the great blog photo opps!)
Listen more

I think that is enough for now, don't you?? I'm off to attempt to "CVS" (you know, get $200 worth of items for $2.00 - I'll let you know how successful I am!)

xoxoxo

Christmas House Tour - Come on in!

2009-12-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

This sled greets you as you walk in the foyer. (I trash picked it probably 15 years ago, when living in Somerville) Please notice this is where Sam (one of our elves) chose to hide this morning :)

This bowl is usually filled with beach rocks, but during this season it gets filled with Christmas Ornaments.

Our Christmas cards get put in the Merry Christmas sleigh. This was my parents, but I snagged it a couple of years ago. I went with white bows this year, and really like the simplicity. (I think I got the idea last year from "Journey to Our Daughter)

And here is our simple nativity. It is paper cut out, and really beautiful! I think it if from the Art Institute of Chicago.

This gets left for the big man in red.

Now on to the Dining Room....

above the piece of furniture we trashed picked back in the fall

wreath on the window (notice the lovely snow outside!)

and our table - sparkly silver topiaries. I love em, John hates em!

And finally the Living Room

my collection of Byer's Choice carolers

Our tree. This one has all the collected ornaments, including all the ones John got as a child

hey, we live on the coast, what can I say!

We have a tree in our room that has only gold ornaments on it, and an artificial tree (with colored lights!) in the playroom with nutcrackers on it, but those pictures didn't come out well...

Hope you enjoyed the little tour!

Christmas Prep

2009-12-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

Well, here at Tickled Pink Casa we have been busy getting ready for Christmas! (and FINALLY got some snow to make it all perfect!)

We decorated gingerbread houses

Cookies were made for gift boxes...

(these are oreo bonbons - so easy and SO yummy!)

All packed up and ready to go to John's office... (well, I did stick some gingerbread house cutouts in that blank spot!)

The boys had their winter concert...

(hey, no chatting!!!)

J played the handbells (BIG deal for the 3rd grade!)

And we had our traditional lunch at the club after the concert!

So nice to see them all dressed up! Although C did say to me while getting ready that he HATES the days I get to pick his clothes! lol :) And then he asked, totally stunned, if this was what Daddy had to do EVERY day! Yes it is...yes it is!

Christmas house tour coming as soon as I get some snow pictures from outside! :) Brrrrrr.

Not our Christmas card photo,

2009-12-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

but I LOVE this picture of the boys! It totally captures their personalities. :)
Busy, busy with holiday prep. Back soon with some pictures of our recent activities....

a few more glimpses of Christmas

2009-12-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

Oh, where will you hide next, our elf on the shelf??

(this elf was one of my grandmother's Christmas decorations! I always thought they were SO ugly, and now here we have it~and I think it's kind of cute..)

I needlepointed this for J and it was ready Christmas Eve on his first Christmas.

I'm still working on C's and he just turned 7 and is now attached to his stocking that I purchased at TJ's for 9.99 and put his name on. Maybe the one I started for him will be for my first grandchild...

Our family room mantle. The nutcrackers are from the show last year. J's is the blue one and C's is red. Surprised?? ;)

I think we are getting our tree tomorrow (after watching Santa arrive on the lobster boat) so I will have more pictures of that after it is up and decorated!

Christmas Craftiness

2009-12-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

In becoming inspired by Pink, Green and Southern's craftiness, I have dragged the ole sewing machine out of the closet and attempted some sewing of my own this holiday season! I am even reading the manual and really enjoying my machine! I wish it had monogramming, but I did what I could!

Here is C in his new t shirt. (I am even starting to figure out how to do simple personalizing!!) J has one too (not sure if his 8 year old self thinks it's a little "too cute" but he says he likes it) only his has a blue "J". I sewed teeny tiny buttons on for the eyes, but the rest is felt (most of which I already had!) And the t shirts were on clearance for $3.00. Not bad.... P,G & Southern, those curves are challenging! Any pointers??
Both boys have said they will wear their shirts to our small coastal towns Christmas Tree lighting tonight. Hopefully it will stay unseasonably warm :)
And I'm calling for hair cut appointments for the boys right now! C looks a bit like a rag-a-muffin!

Book Group (otherwise known as great conversation!)

2009-12-02T05:16:00.000-08:00

I hosted book group last night. Only 4 of the 7 of us could get together, so we tabled book discussion and just enjoyed catching up! We are a great mix of women. Most have kids, but not all. Many different choices for schooling our children: Public, independent and Waldorf. Makes for some great conversation. Some are work out of the home moms, some not. We really have it all covered! A couple of the women I really only see at book group, even though we live in the same small coastal town. We have been meeting since C was a baby, so it has been almost 7 years! LOVE IT!

I made recipes from the cooking classes I have been taking (YUM!)

Menu

Carrot and Parsnip soup with Grated Apple

Hearty Irish Barley and Bean Salad

Fresh Greens with pear, pomegranate and goat cheese

and chocolate covered pretzels for dessert!!

We were supposed to read this:

I have heard great things about it, so I'm glad we tabled the discussion until next time!

Instead, I read this! I LOVED it!

The boys and I deliver the gingerbread house afterschool. Keep your fingers crossed that we get it there in one piece!

The finished product

2009-12-01T05:11:00.000-08:00

A group of Junior Aid members came over to decorate a gingerbread house last night. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. The first picture is what we started with (I made it using Bob Vila's plans!!) Then we just went to town! I am already looking forward to next year....definitely cutting out the windows and using Life Savers for the glass. Maybe we'll even stick a light inside??? The possibilities are endless...

Now I'm off to deal with an exploded milk bottle in my fridge. Yuck.

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2009-11-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

I love my kissing ball that hangs in our living room! Our candles are in the windows and we get our main tree for the living room this weekend.
Been super busy...last week C turned 7, I hosted Turkey Day, we went to opening night of the Nutcracker, had friends for dinner and took a nice break yesterday. Whew!!!
Tonight some Junior Aid members are coming over to decorate a gingerbread house for the upcoming gingerbread house festival and I host book group tomorrow. Yikes, I get tired just writing about it, but tis the season, and fun will be had by all!

Extra hour of sleep for who, exactly??

2009-11-01T04:28:00.000-08:00

Still waiting (not so patiently) for the end of Daylight Saving to actually mean an extra hour of sleep versus getting up at the crack of dawn. I'm just sayin'......

Boo!

2009-10-31T15:37:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!!

(too bad you can't see them glowing!!)

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-26T18:05:00.001-07:00

The boys had the day off today (professional development day) so we took advantage of the gorgeous day and went to finally pick out our pumpkins. What a beautiful day it was. (when the boys weren't at each other!!)
They got candy sticks in the store.
Posed for pictures (almost perfectly)
never too old to pose in the pumpkins! (well, at least not too old this year!)
And back to school they go tomorrow. Phew! I didn't need any professional development today. ;)

Holiday prep...

2009-10-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

Christmas cards ordered. Check. (go here to see many fun designs!) And these were on sale! Double check :)

Tagged!

2009-10-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by The Entertaining house to play along here! You can only answer with one word. I am supposed to tag 6 others, but if you want to play along, feel free! :)

1. Where is your cell phone? kitchen

2. Your hair? brown

3. Your mother? witty

4. Your father? caring
5. Your favorite food? crazy maki
6. Your dream last night? no dream, migraine!

7. Your favorite drink? varies

8. Your dream/goal? working on it

9. What room are you in? Family room

10. Your hobby? art

11. Your fear? heights

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren’t? skinny

15. Muffins? pumpkin

16. Wish list item? granite

17. Where did you grow up? Lexington

18. Last thing you did? lunches

19. What are you wearing? jeans

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pets? fish :)

22. Friends? Fantablulous

23. Your life? busy

24. Your mood? mellow

25. Missing someone? my hubby

26. Vehicle? minivan

27. Something you’re not wearing? watch

28. Your favorite store?

29. Your favorite color? pink
30. When was the last time you laughed? this morning
31. Last time you cried? ???
32. Your best friend? John

33. One place that I go to over and over? school

34. One person who emails me regularly? Jess

35. Favorite place to eat? LoLa41

Show us your life - What you make...

2009-10-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is continuing her show us your life series and is featuring crafty bloggers this week. Head on over and get some early holiday shopping in!

I have linked my website up to her fun list of websites/etsy shops. Here is an "action" shot I took last week when I was finishing up a table and chair set. So much fun! If you are interested in seeing more of my work, you can go to my website here.

Grrrr

2009-10-14T14:11:00.001-07:00

I just spent more on shipping than the actual items for C's Halloween costume. Grrrr. I had just realized that he needed the costume for a party on Saturday....

Playroom - Updated edition

2009-10-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I wish Candice Olsen would pay me a visit!! Actually, maybe just the lighting genius of Chico...you can see the "before" pictures here. I really haven't done too much, but am attempting to have this room be more family friendly. The big white piece that housed our art supplies, is now in my studio. Moving the island has allowed for a lot more light and I had this striped fabric already (bought for another project). I just made a valance (the second is almost finished), hung some curtains ala Candice and slipcovered the dreaded poker chairs.
I have also hung some black and white photos (that I just ordered directly from iphoto and framed in $5 frames from Wally world)
From apple picking (last year, when I actually remembered my camera!)
One of my favorite shots from the summer! Doesn't get much better than being covered in sand :)

Now if only the ceiling and lighting fairy would come pay a visit. sigh.

Hi ho hi ho is back to work we go....

2009-10-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Once again I need my hand slapped for being a inconsistent blogger! Ugh. I have been working again though, and so my attempt to manage all aspects of my life falls short....

This is not the exact table and chairs I have been working on, but similar in design, with the monogram in the middle. Seeing as I have two boys, this is totally my girl outlet!! (no worries, my boys certainly have some hand painted, monogrammed items, just not pink and green!)

It has been quite an adjustment having them back in school. We had a summer filled with lots of togetherness, which was great, but Momma was ready to have her house back! And then they left... and I had no idea what to do! So it was perfect timing when an order came in. and it is actually fun to be working again. but, it is a bit scary too, because when I am painting, I get SO absorbed in what I'm doing, I lose track of my environment, and then we have pile ups of laundry, no plans for dinner, and a not so happy hubby. Maybe I need an administrative assistant. or live in help. Since neither one of these are realistic options, I proceed with caution.

John is traveling so it is inevitable that I have a child home sick. yep. J has been home for the past two days with asthma issues (we are having to "neb" him every four hours, and he is still wheezy.) But believe it or not, I have no dirty dishes in the sink! And I get to go out to cooking class tonight. Yippee! I will post the menu tomorrow, but think mushroom, squash, and scallops. Mmmmmmm.

Many thanks to those who checked in! I will try to be a more consistent blogger...Do you think there is a support group for bloggers who can't stay on top of it all??

Gabi

New England Fall weekend

2009-09-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

We had one of the best family weekends we have had in a long time! The weather was perfect, the kids were relatively well behaved and we had some fun activities!! We started out by having a family game night on Friday. We were lucky that John could get home a bit earlier than usual so he could have dinner with us, and more importantly join in in the game. We played this. I don't know if any of you have played this before, but we had SO much fun!!

On Saturday we got up, had our usual Saturday morning breakfast of egg sandwiches (made by John - yum!) and got ready to go apple picking. We met up with some great family friends and what a glorious day it was! We got to the orchards before the crowds, picked apples, ate cider donuts, looked at the farm animals and then had time to go here to play on the beach. What a day!! The only downside was that I forgot my camera, so all our pictures from Saturday are from my phone....

This pig, which isn't in the photo, weighs in at 1,000 pounds! He is a REALLY big pig!!

Sunday was another absolutely beautiful day so we went here to watch a polo match. Every Sunday afternoon people come up, tailgate and watch polo. This was our first time going, and we had a blast. This isn't our tailgate, but I wish it had been. Next time....actually we all had so much fun we are going back in a couple of weeks.

We were able to walk around the field and see all the horses as well. What an amazing day!

Ten Years!

2009-09-11T05:53:00.001-07:00

This was taken ten years ago today! What an accomplishment! This was taken after the ceremony (which was at St Paul's Church on Nantucket) on the beach in 'Sconset before the reception here. We drove from the church to the beach in our old Jeep Grand Wagoneer that my friends had decorated with hydrangeas. perfect. We had a really FUN day, following a HUGE rain storm the night before! John had purchased the silly hats at a local store in town, and the guys had fun accessorizing their outfits! (just for the pics)
It was a wonderful day then, and I am happy to have spent the last 10 years together and look forward to many more! :)

Look what we trashed picked Monday!!

2009-09-10T05:39:00.001-07:00

Seriously, someone put this on the side of the road with a free sign on it! John went out for a bike ride Monday morning (yay John) and called me a couple hours later. I, of course, thought he was hurt or needed help, but no! He said he was standing guard by a piece of furniture and I had to come right away to pick it up. So I grabbed the boys, we hopped in the minivan (how fortunate that we have one) and away we went. It does need a little TLC, but we have been looking for a piece for our dining room, and this will work out quite well. and, come on, it was FREE! By the time I got to John, he was chatting with the owner's of the piece. They helped us load it into the car and everything. They had had the piece for 30+ years....
Not sure what we will store in it though. Maybe linens?? Maybe some silver that we have from John's family? Not sure yet. I do think we need to do some rearranging though. This should be centered on the wall, and currently there is a mirror there....not bad problems to have though!
I am off to the paint store to get some paint for our 1/2 bath floor. I will hopefully post some pictures of that project tomorrow!

First day of school and I'm BACK!!!

2009-09-09T05:08:00.001-07:00

Well, here they are, ready to go! This day has been looked forward to by me for many weeks, and now that they are off, believe it or not, I miss them! (although the silence in the house is quite lovely...) You can go here and see the first day pic from last year...C was certainly more cooperative this morning than last year. Must be because he is in 1st grade now. :)

Just an out take, but I love how happy he is!!

When did this happen?? I can't believe he is off to 3rd Grade! (and yes, he seems to be wearing the SAME sweatshirt in all the pictures!! He is going to look awfully silly in that when he is a senior in HS. Seriously, I must have bought them big to begin with...)

And this one, off to 1st. Oh, they seem to be growing up SO fast...

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and I will be back soon with updates from ours. We had a great time on Nantucket and took our first ever family road trip (and all lived to talk about it)

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Playroom Edition

2009-06-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

It's time once again for Show Us Where You Live hosted by Kelly over at Kelly's Korner! This week we are showing playrooms (or laundry rooms, and my laundry room is boring, so i am only showing the playroom!)
The boys' (I include my darling hubby in this description) playroom is in our basement.

Train table that is now mostly used for Legos and Playmobile
Storage of all the wooden toys and legos (these pictures were taken awhile ago, all the legos are now stored by color in those bins you are supposed to use for screws, or they are stored all over the entire surface of the floor. I have a love hate relationship with legos)
Puzzles (that are going to be donated to a younger cousin soon) other toys. I painted the picture with the rubby ducky when I was in high school. I'm so glad to have it hanging now!

Arts and crafts. This island was in our old kitchen, works great as an arts and crafts table! The cabinet has been relocated to my studio. They just get a bookcase now.
This door is the reason we have our alarm system activated! The door and windows provide great light though! We are so fortunate to have them on our basement! Oh, and I just realized these pictures were taken before we had the baseboard moulding installed. It looks much better! Trust me.

And finally, John's playroom! This is where poker happens.
This is the mural I painted on the stairs going down to the playroom in our last house. I need to do something for the boys in this house....Not sure what though!

Thanks for stopping by!

Day out in Boston

2009-06-12T11:50:00.001-07:00

Well, schools out and it has been cold and rainy, so no beach for us... :( Yesterday we decided to take the train to Boston and go the the Museum of Science followed by a stop at the Scooperbowl and then dinner at Pizzeria Regina in the North End. Yum. We had a great day, the rain held off (for the most part) and the boys were thoroughly exhausted when we got home!
Balancing at the musuem
Dinosaur fossil.
Here are the boys at the scooperbowl. No idea who that little girl is.....guess she likes getting her picture taken! It was $8 for adults and $4 for kids to get in to enjoy all you can eat ice cream! J jut thought that was the best thing ever! I think he had 10 bowls. C (who finally got a haircut this morning) probably had 5 bowls. He likes ice cream, but not nearly as much as J. We will definitely be going back next year! John was able to meet up with us around 4, so he got to enjoy some ice cream and join us for dinner. Fun!
After the ice cream, we walked the North End Harborwalk (never knew about it before....) and went through a rose garden for Rose Kennedy. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this gorgeous bloom.

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Offices (and Guest Rooms)

2009-06-04T16:42:00.001-07:00

Time again for Show Us Where You Live Friday's! Hosted by Kelly over at Kelly's Korner. This week is home offices (and I am also going to share my guest rooms, since I didn't get pictures taken that week!)
Welcome to my studio/office! This is one of my favorite rooms in the house. (for my regular readers, you may remember I posted about this space earlier)
My rarely used iron. Desk (door with file cabinets). Sewing machine, paints, brushes, etc.
Hot pink wall!
Paints. (Rainbow order. Of course.)
Other supplies. Pencils, more paint, markers. Paint fan deck. All these pink and green bins were red. Love spray paint!
More storage (that means more paint!) And fabric. And my drill charger. Yes, I have my own drill!! ;) Love the trees out the window!
Iguana. J made this in school last year. Love it.
Exercise ball. Used less than the iron.

Hubby's Office. (see the boomerang??) SIL spent some time in Australia and brought this back. I've never tried throwing it though. I need to make some window treatments. desperately. Maybe this desk would look good painted a glossy black????
this also functions as a guestroom. This was my dad's bedroom furniture.
need something on the wall here. hmm, maybe some black and white photos??
Our other guestroom. (Pays to have our boys sharing a room!!) :) This is where my 4 yr old niece stays when she comes for a sleep over. I love this room. I sleep in here when I am sick.
I really love the view! All those trees. This bed has a trundle, so we can sleep two in here.
Thanks for stopping by! You all left so many nice comments last time! Please comment again, and then I can visit you too!

Cheers!

Beach Day!!

2009-06-01T05:40:00.001-07:00

Off on the Kindergarten Beach Day! Will be back with photos and weekend updates later......

Portobello Parmesan Recipe!!

2009-05-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the promised Recipe!! Enjoy. I think I may make these tonight... Portobello Parmesan by Mollie Katzen from The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without (Hyperion, 2007) Makes 4 single or 8 shared servings There are so many ways to use a portobello. This one can be a light main course if served whole, or a substantial appetizer or side dish if cut in half. Assemble the ricotta mixture while the mushrooms are cooking. After you cut open the tomato, hold it over the sink and squeeze out the juice and seeds before slicing it. Use a skillet with an ovenproof handle so this can go directly from the stove to the broiler. Make this dish just before serving — it tastes best fresh from the broiler. Ingredients 4 firm portobello mushrooms (4-inch diameter) 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 3/4 cup ricotta cheese 1 teaspoon minced or crushed garlic 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 medium-sized ripe-but-firm tomato, thinly sliced About 1 tablespoon thyme leaves (or about 1 teaspoon dried thyme) 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1. Remove and discard the portobello stems, and scrape out and discard the gills, being careful not to damage the mushrooms' edges. (Okay to leave a few gills around the edges to protect them.) 2. Place a large skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. 3. Lay the mushrooms cap-side down in the hot oil, and let them cook undisturbed for about 10 minutes. Turn them over and cook on the other side for 10 minutes, then flip them over one more time. 4. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, garlic, and mozzarella in a small bowl, grinding in some black pepper, to taste. Add about 3 tablespoons of this filling to each mushroom cavity (okay to do this while they are still in the pan, if you can), spreading it gently into place. 5. Arrange a few tomato slices on each mound of cheese and sprinkle the tomatoes first with a little thyme, then with a nice coating of Parmesan. Heat the broiler. 6. Place the pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the tops of the filled mushrooms turn a lovely shade of golden brown. (Watch carefully so they won't have a chance to burn, which can happen quickly!) Remove from the broiler and serve immediately

Rainy Day Projects

2009-05-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well, here in the Boston area, we are experiencing some cold, rainy weather. Ugh. To pass the time, we have been doing some rainy day projects... J and C spent a good part of the afternoon writing with sticks dipped in food coloring. Seriously, this keep them busy for over an hour. And it wasn't nearly as messy as I was anticipating, although I am glad we covered the table with newspaper before hand!
They actually spent a good part of the time making different birds. Fun, fun! :)
Now my project. I was taking pictures of the boys room (you'll see them tomorrow) for my Friday Show Us Where You Live post and I realized that the boys have the last remaining piece of furniture from John's bachelor apartment. It will be obvious tomorrow! Anywho, the boys needed a new chair for their desk. I found this at a thrift store. It was only $20. Just in need of some paint. So that was my project. I painted the chair red, with navy finials and a navy star and all it needs is a gingham cushion (0n its way as I type).
Voila, new chair for the desk! (that still needs to be painted, but that is for another rainy day)
Be back tomorrow with the boys room (and maybe the guest rooms, since I didn't have my act together to post those last week!)

Book Group

2009-05-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

Last night was bookgroup. What a great time we had!! There are eight of us, and we were all able to be there. We will have one more meeting before we take a break for the summer. Only "beach" reading for July and August!!! My friend Jess hosted, but at my house. Perfect! Especially since John is once again playing golf (I mean traveling) for work. Here is the dining room set up for dinner and discussion.
And we read this:

What a GREAT book. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy a book written entirely of letters, but I really loved it. Let me know what you thought if you have read it too!

And book group wouldn't be complete without a wonderful meal! Jess made Parmesan Portobellos and they were SO delicious! The recipe is from Mollie Katzen's book "Vegetables I can't live without" I will have Jess email me the recipe, because these were SO good!!! We stayed up way too late and had such a great time. What a special treat!!

Show Us Where You Live Friday -Children's room edition

2009-05-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

******UPDATED*******

Yay! Time for Show Us Where You Live Friday - Children's Room/Nursery Edition! No nursery here anymore, so here we have our boys room.

Come on in....if you dare! I think we have found the wizards castle..:) I don't have any "before" pics of this room. Just think flowered wall paper and bright blue wall to wall shag carpet!!! Seriously.

So, it really isn't that scary (well, sometimes it is VERY scary, but not today!) Here is the boys room. They decided they wanted to share a room about 3 years ago, and we haven't looked back since! Certainly makes it easier to travel etc.... This is the view when you walk in the door. (After getting past the wizard sign and all) I got this knock off PB rug at Overstock and it was quite a deal! The desk you see is a work in progress. I found it for $5 at a rummage sale and am slowly getting it painted....it works out great though. The boys share the middle drawer and then each have 3 drawers of their own. See yesterday's post for the new chair I painted for the desk! The beanbags get jumped on quite a bit....

ok, I couldn't take it anymore! I had to add this picture of the new chair. Big improvement! I am waiting for the navy gingham seat cushion to arrive.....

Whoops! Just noticed there is a picture missing from the boat frames....wonder where it got too??? I got white lampshades at Tarjay and decorated away! J's is wrapped with bias tape then ricrac and then I painted the J using acrylic paint.
This lamp base was my father's when he was a boy. I love that it is in the boys room, and fits with the decor too! ;) Again, just got the shade at Tarjay and painted his monogram on it! It could use a little more embelishment...
This is obviously Jackson side.... I painted the letters for them. They have to have some thing painted by their momma!!

and this is Chase's! (J likes blue and C likes red, so this color scheme works great!

I made these curtains when we lived in our old house and couldn't bear to leave them. That's why they don't really fit the windows, but I like them, and more importantly the occupants of the room really like them! The valances were fun, although I did get into a few fights with my sewing machine!

View from other corner of the room. I would still like to add crown moulding in this room (as well as all the upstairs rooms....someday....Chase just recently decided to sleep with his head at the opposite end than he used too...hence the sailboats going different directions! :) He's quite a character, that one!Jackson's footstool. He came up with the design, and I did the painting. What a good team! ;)
Thanks for touring! (I only wish it would stay this clean...)
I can't believe I originally posted this without a picture of these pillows (J has one monogrammed in navy) I ordered them from here. (She does fantastic work!!) :)
Please feel free to leave a comment, so I can visit you!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2009-05-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

A friend emailed this to me this week, and I thought it was fitting to post...
I hope all the mother's out there have a wonderful Mother's Day and to those waiting to be a mom, you are in my thoughts and prayers!

This is from Anna Quindlen:

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, have all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there some thing wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the, 'Remember-When- Mom-Did Hall of Fame.' The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pick up. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, 'What did you get wrong?'. (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get onto the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Living room edition

2009-05-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Once again, I am participating in Kelly's "Show Us Where You Live" Friday. I LOVE this idea. I love to see other homes. The Kitchen edition was so much fun! And now I bring you to our Living Room. Again, we had do quite a bit of work on this space, so I will start with the before pictures...
They were taken in the midst of our "remodel" so all our furniture is in the middle of the room. We added crown moulding (with some help from an extremely generous local contractor!!) and painted. I had some window treatments made and we found two side chairs that work well with my grandmother's furniture. (I have posted on this room before, but I don't think we had found the chairs yet...). We moved our china cabinet from the dining room into the living room and then had fun accessorizing! I mostly repurposed things I already had, plus a few additions from Target and Brimfield antique market. Ok, without further ado....the after!

This is the view from our foyer. The room off to the right is our dining room.Our china cabinet. I actually do use our china! This cabinet works really well against this wall. It was my grandmothers.
I love this little arrangement! I absolutely love my window treatments!!! The two chairs are two of our dining chairs, but they fill this space well. I had the tea set, it was a gift a few years ago, and I never had a great place for it. Table is from the Brimfield Antique Show. I think it was maybe $25! And you can't see them, but the feet are metal claw feet that match our dining room table (which you will see when we get to the Dining Room edition!)
These are the two chairs we found. I love how they mimic the lines of my grandmother's sofa and chair, yet are more contemporary. The lamp is from the Christmas Tree Shop! J gave the nautical chart to John as a gift and the colors match the new colors in our living room and its HUGE so it works great on that wall.

And finally, a picture of our china. I have Lenox Liberty. After 10 years of marriage, I still love it.

OK, on to the family room! Of course, keeping to tradition, here are the "before" pics.
We had literally just moved in, hence all the clothes on the couch! (notice my husbands embroidered pants there??)
Lots of great storage, but SO dark...
And the "After" (really just about 3 gallons of primer were used in this room alone!!) The same wonderful seamstress made these treatments that made our living room window treatments.

This (above) is the view looking in from the kitchen

View from foyer - So my big question (and never ending debate with John!) is: Do we paint the brick or not paint the brick???? Please give me your opinions!

I found these Ball Jars at Brimfield (LOVE that place....anyone want to go next week???)
Just a beachy grouping...

I made this Nantucket basket for my wedding (along with 5 smaller ones for my brides maids.) We all carried our flowers in them and they were my gift to the bridesmaids. For some reason, I haven't made another one since!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

My Kitchen - Part of Show us where you live!

2009-05-05T11:25:00.001-07:00

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner hosted a Show Us Where You Live Friday Carnival and even though I am a tad late, I thought I would show you all my kitchen! (and I am ready for the Living Room edition this Friday!)
This is our kitchen a few weeks after we moved into our house (built in 1969) We had already replaced the fridge and replaced the carpet (yes, carpet!!) with wood flooring.

Before....

(I just realized there is stuff everywhere! We were still in the process of moving in!)

And AFTER......

We had the cabinet doors painted (and painted the rest ourselves). We extended the counter at by the stove so the boys have a great place to eat breakfast, we replaced the stove, and got rid of the ugly hood. Unfortunately, last summer a bathroom upstairs leaked into the kitchen, but fortunately that meant we got to replace the ceiling (no more popcorn!) and add some recessed lighting and the pendants over the stove. I have to say, now I LOVE my kitchen! Oh, and we covered the "island" with beadboard as well as the soffit over the cabinets. We live near the ocean, so we have tried to have a bit of a beachy theme throughout the house.
Looking in from the dining room
my cake plate that was a gift from John and next to that, our fish, Wakefield. (who is 4 1/2)
How I make sure we are where we need to be! This is a life saver!
I have found these copper tea pots at various places. One was even trash picked! I love the plate above, it is from the late 1800's and has a picture of Nantucket on it. And the poem underneath, it is a verse (underneath the "Love") from Corinthians that we had read at our wedding. It was painted by Jen at Laineybug Creations. It is a great reminder to me just about every day!
This is a calendar that I get from Santa every year for Christmas. It is Susan Wallace Brown. I love it. (thanks Santa!!)
My favorite part of our kitchen in this rug. We got it at Claire Murray on Nantucket this past fall. It is a scene of town and the harbor. The only downside is that it is under my kitchen table! I really love it though! Thanks for visiting! Looking forward to having you over again on Friday to see my Living Room. :)

Mexico cont...

2009-04-02T07:36:00.001-07:00

This was J's 8th birthday! He sure is going to have high expectations for next year... ;) Here is J making the dolphin, Melissa, dance. This was such a COOL experience! I have wanted to swim with dolphins ever since I read "Ring of Endless Light" by Madeline L'Engle.
C was a bit hesitant to get right in the water with the dolphins, so he was made "assistant trainer" and LOVED it! He eventually joined us all in the water.
Back at the resort. Had to take a picture in front of the pink flowers.
And this is what we did most of our time in Mexico. Floated around in the pool on yellow tubes. Seriously, I think we may forgo any international travel until the boys are older and just go to Arizona or Florida. All they want to do is swim in the pool.....
And C doing his thing in the pool.

The boys school has their auction (held every other year) on Saturday, so I will be busy with that the next couple days. Unfortunately my next posts won't be nearly so tropical....

We're back!!

2009-03-30T11:31:00.001-07:00

The boys just went back to school today after being on break for the past two weeks. We went here and had a fun time. It was great to be in the warm weather for a few days!
This was the highlight of the trip for C! He LOVES birds and to be able to hold a macaw was just the best! :)
Here C is posing with an unsuspecting iguana.
And J with the same iguana (it was J's 8th birthday this day!!)
A view from the park we went to. Pictures of our Dolphin adventure to follow! (that was super fun)
Our trip started out a bit rocky, we had to make an emergency landing in NC. Only after landing did we discover the Captain had to turn off one of the engines! But all was well, and we eventually reached our desired destination. Had tired, whiny kids for the first day, and then we all settled into Vacation mode.
Good to be home, and glad to be back to our normal routine. Planning our next trip to be sans small people! ;)

Weekend fun!

2009-03-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

We hunted for treasure....

We played in the sand...

we found treasures...

we watched the water...

and today it is doing this!

We had a great weekend. My sil was in town and we had gorgeous weather so Saturday we went here for the day and had a great time playing on the beach. It was in the low 60's and sunny. Yesterday we stayed in town, but again, it was sunny and in the low 60's and we took advantage of low tide and went hunting for beach glass (and snails, and crabs...)
And today....well, today it's snowing! I wish I had a picture of my house from yesterday....
But, the weekend was a hint of what is to come. Hopefully soon.

Cooking Class

2009-03-04T05:39:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to a "girls night out" cooking class/demonstration. It was FUN! and yummy.
The evening was at the chef/caterer's house and the attendees were mostly mom's from J's 2nd grade class. There were 10 of us. Here is the menu:

Crostini with sauteed feta topped with a raisin/pinenut sauce
Mussel and Leek chowder
Chicken with a marsala wine/dill sauce served with: organic green salad baby baked potato Apple Blackberry crisp/crumble topped with fresh whipped cream

Delish! I am still stuffed. :)

Spring Swap

2009-03-04T05:35:00.001-08:00

Confessions of a Semi-Slacker is hosting a spring swap. Should be fun, head on over and sign up.

An almost finished studio

2009-03-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

This is my studio before. Dingy wall paper, too cluttered... just a mess!

Another before picture (even more before based on the furniture arrangement)

And "after". I painted my desk top (can't believe I went so long with it in the natural wood!). I still need to make my valances, maybe later today...

I got rid of the "natural" wood bookcase (actually I swapped it out with this storage cabinet from the playroom) and I have all my plastic bins of craft stuff in there. Also, most of my big cans of paint fit in the bottom cabinet.
Still need to: install peg board on the pink wall so I can hang my tools and wrapping paper/supplies. Coming along though!

Just Ducky time again!

2009-02-27T08:27:00.001-08:00

Time for the Just Ducky trunk show again. I have my trunk show next week.
If you are in the Boston area, and would like to view the clothes, please email me and I can send you directions. The clothes are great! J and C wear them all the time :) Also, if you see something on the website, let me know and I can help you order it.

i have a dream....

2009-02-24T04:55:00.001-08:00

to become a "pie let" (pilot). How cute it this?? I love C's inventive spelling!
I'll be back later today, because Preppy Sue tagged me for the bag tag.

more progress/project

2009-02-22T12:02:00.001-08:00

Here is the progress on the studio so far (actually I have cut in towards the ceiling, so the painting of the walls is complete. - just have to touch up the trim) I love the colors. On the pink wall, I am going to have a peg board and hopefully some cabinets. My desk (door on file cabinets) goes under the window and I have some white shelving to put up.

As for my project: I found these red metal buckets and Walmart on sale ($1 ea) and knew I could use them for something.....

Add 1 can of pink spray paint and 1 can of green...

and I have some really cute storage containers for all my brushes, markers etc. to put on top of the shelving.

I am so excited to get this room done! I am under strict orders NOT to hang any shelving until John returns from his trip this week. I don't know if I can wait that long.....

Just for fun...

2009-02-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

I borrowed this from One Fabulous Mom, it looked like so much fun and a creative way to get to know a little bit more about me! You just bold the ones you have done!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (but I really want to!!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland or world!! (irrational fear of people in costume!)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (and no one would want me to!)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (only on Nantucket)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (several)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (and I never will!)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year's Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish counts, right?)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

This was fun! Makes me want to travel though. I tag anyone who want to play....

Pink Giraffe Giveaway

2009-02-19T07:47:00.001-08:00

I meant to post about this right after Christmas, but since I took a little break from blogging around that time, I never did! This apron was a Christmas gift from my sister and I LOVE it! Seriously, it makes working in the kitchen much more fun. :) It was purchased at The Pink Giraffe. She is running a give away right now for a great monogrammed lamp shade, go check it out and enter! I have purchased other monogrammed items from her and they always arrive in a speedy manner and look great! As a matter of fact, there are a couple of things en route as I type! :)

100th Day of School

2009-02-18T06:18:00.000-08:00

Today is the boys 100th Day of school. The Kinder class had to wear T-shirts with 100 of something on them. C picked out googly eyes and we had fun coming up with a design. His teacher also had googly eyes, so I am sure that made C feel good about his choice :) Surprisingly he was the only one with his monogram on his shirt....hmmmm.

and here we have the back....

Even though J didn't have to do a t-shirt he wanted to get in on the photo action.
(this one is for you Mom and Dad!)

Studio Progress

2009-02-16T10:37:00.001-08:00

I think I have made my color choices for my studio/craft room. I have this remnant from a fabric shopping excursion with my mom and I think I have enough to make two valances. The main wall color is going to be Summer Lime and then one wall (that will eventually have cabinets on it) will be Spring Azalea (one shade lighter than Hot Lips). I can't wait to paint!!

Here are the boys ready to help with repairing the walls. Grandma and Grampa gave them the aprons and saftey goggles as part of their Christmas present. (Can you tell we do a lot of projects??) Walls have been repaired and I am ready to sand tomorrow and hopefully get a coat of paint up. I will keep you posted with my progress. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T09:31:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! We started our morning with our traditional breakfast of waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. yum. When John and I shared our first Valentine's Day, 11 years ago, he gave me a waffle iron and made me breakfast with said waffle iron. We still have waffles almost every Valentine's Day (or the weekend closest) I made the waffles this morning, and he was in charge of the coffee (very important!!), turkey bacon and sausage.

As I have mentioned previously, one of my Christmas presents from John was a gift certificate for stripping the wall paper in my studio/craft room. That is what he is working on today. Doesn't really sound all that romantic, but let me tell you, I am so happy to see that paper coming down. Now all I have to do it pick a paint color....the boys are routing for "hot lips". Now, as much as I want the room to be pink, I'm not sure an entire hot pink room is the look I'm going for....

The last picture is of a canvas I ordered from here. It has a verse that we had read at our wedding and I thought it would be a perfect little something for John. I have hung it in our kitchen and I am very happy to have brought a little red into the room. (Ok, maybe I really wanted it for me) Nice reminder of our wedding ceremony, and a little kick in the pants for me to be more patient etc! :) Jennifer did a lovely job with it and it arrived super fast! Thanks Jennifer! :)
Enjoy your weekend!

Valentine's Preparations

2009-02-11T18:00:00.000-08:00

30 nut free, dairy free, egg free cupcakes (from this recipe) cooling for C's Valentine's party - Check. (Lucky for me the Kinder is decorating them in class!)

48 crayon hearts ready to be delivered - Check. (50+crayons unwrapped)

(hearts right after they came out of the oven)

Hand made Valentine's for 31 friends and 2 teachers (both 2nd grade classes)- Check

(C made his Valentine's too, but no photo!)

Whew! It has been a busy afternoon! But we had a wonderful time getting everything ready for the celebrations tomorrow. (No school on Friday because of conferences.)

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's! John and I are heading out on Saturday to have apps at the bar at one of our favorite places, and I am looking forward to just relaxing and hanging out with my hubby!

New stepstool

2009-02-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

I am getting all my outstanding orders completed over the next two weeks, so I can get up and running again with a fresh start. This is a stepstool I just shipped out last week. I have to admit, if I had a little girl, I would do this design for her! I love the way the monogram on the top step turned out. The bottom step has butterflies on it. You can go here to see my other designs. (this picture was taken before I put the poly finish on, so the finished product is nice and shiny, I also removed all the pencil marks!!)