Lasso The Moon

Love Notes

 

I have to take a moment here and say something about my Ethan. 

He's six and is in kindergarten this year. 

I was so nervous about sending him.  He's sensitive, easily distracted, and has a hard time sitting still.  I mean, he's a six year old boy.  They are rarely a perfect fit for the classroom.  The night before his first day, I was up all night crying and praying for his year.  That his teacher would be encouraging and gentle.  That his beautiful spirit would not be changed.   That he would learn!

But he is thriving in school.  His daily behavior report comes home sunny every day.  And he is soaking up information like a sponge. I wasn't sure if my mile-a-minute, flip-off-the-couch, lego-crazed little guy would ever slow down enough to try reading, but he is!  And writing, too.  We've been finding love notes from him all over the house.

(I had a cold last week)

(Daddy is the best)

I love when kids start to figure out letters and words, and it finally starts to click.  The whole world opens up before them.  So fun to watch.   This week Ethan's been home from school with a stomach virus, but that gives me a little extra time with him.  I love you, my Ethan.  I hope you are feeling good soon!

Entryway :: Paint the Front Door Black

I have loved black interior front doors for years, and was anxious to get working on my own this weekend.

I found a couple of excellent examples as inspiration.

seen here.

found here.

via

via

I like to have some examples to show Donnie in case he hears my plan and is all You want to paint the door WHAT color??  Although lately he's been pretty much game for anything.  (That's right.  Give the crazy pregnant lady what she wants.)

To get this project going, I started by taking all of the hardware off of the door.  I took out the door knobs on the inside, but left the deadbolt in place in the doorjamb, because those are a beast to put back together.  I did tape around it so it wouldn't get covered in paint. 

Then it was time to sand.

I used the orbital palm sander that Donnie gave me.  Practical, creative gifts are the best! It made quick work of the cheap, ugly paint job that was on the door when we moved in.

Sanding a painted surface is messy.

Very messy.

Even the baby was covered in paint chips!  Make sure that you use some kind of eye protection, and maybe something over your mouth too, to keep the paint dust out.

After the sanding mess was mostly cleaned up, I got out my brushes and paints.

Once again, I used the Zinzer Bin Primer.  This stuff is intense, so make sure you are protected from the fumes, and that you have something strong to clean your brush after you're finished.

Once that was dry, the door took 3 coats of Martha Stewart's Francesca that I had mixed in a Glidden Satin base.  I love this color.  It's a true black, but it has a soft tone to it, and it looks GORGEOUS in the satin finish.

Ready to see the difference one painted door makes?

Before:

And After:

Every time I walked past it during the day, I thought Man, I love how that looks! Then it got dark outside, and every time I walked past, I jumped a little because I thought the door was open.  But it's been a few days now, and I'm not quite so jumpy at night.  I really love how it looks, and now I can't wait to get those walls painted.

So, what have you done this week to make your house more like a home?  Share your stories and links in the comments!

 

 

 

How to make Chocolate Covered Strawberries in Tuxedos

I made these little guys for Donnie for Valentine's Day this year.

They are so much easier than they look.

Here's what you need:

white chocolate or candy coating

dark chocolate or candy coating

large strawberries

toothpicks

wax paper

************

Make sure your strawberries are clean and dry before you start.

Melt your white chocolate according to package instructions.  If you are using the microwave, please stop and stir it every 30 seconds, because it has a tendency to hold its shape, and will burn without you realizing it.

Dip each strawberry's front into the white chocolate.  You only need to dip the front, as this is the "shirt" part of the tuxedo.

Dip each one, and let them cool completely on wax paper.

Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate, again stirring frequently to prevent burning.

Dip each strawberry into the chocolate at a tilted angle...

First one side:

And then the other.

Be careful to leave a triangular patch of white in the front.  The chocolate should form a "v" around it.

If your chocolate is starting to cool at this point, heat it up a little and grab your toothpicks.

Use a toothpick to draw a little bow-tie and some buttons on each one.  It might take a little practice to find your groove, but you can always eat your mistakes, right?

I picked the best three for my sweetie, and stashed the rest in the fridge to share with the kids.

So cute, and SO much cheaper than buying them at the store.

If you make some, let me know how they went over!

 

Valentine's Day 2013

Here's a look at our Valentine's Day this year.

The kids took Valentines to school.  We went the non-pinterest-inspired route this year, to save pregnant me from too much stress.  They made these all by themselves.

They are construction paper, markers, and store-bought valentine cards and candy.  These are exactly the type of valentine's cards that my siblings and I made as kids--orchestrated by my creative mom. 

Cinnamon rolls (from a can!) with heart sprinkles.

I made the tuxedo strawberries for Donnie.  We like to keep things simple for Valentine's Day.  Do you have an unspoken (or spoken) set of gifting rules for different occasions?  I think valentines should be consumable.  Made of paper and string, edible, or of the floral variety.  Something that says, hey I love you! without breaking the bank.  I would be much happier with a post-it that said something sweet than a diamond bracelet for Valentine's Day.

Donnie knows this all too well. (Let's just say, the year he bought me an SUV instead of a card was a little tense.  I know, you probably think I'm insane.)

He surprised me with chocolates and a hilarious card that sings a love song in Spanish. (I don't know Spanish!)

We didn't have a sitter lined up, so we put the kids to bed early and made ourselves dinner.

He grilled the steak, I broiled the lobster tails, and we met back at the kitchen for a quiet meal alone.  Exactly like we did on our first married Valentine's Day 10 years ago.

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!

 

Thrift Therapy

Found some great stuff while thrifting this Sunday.

My mom came over to relieve me for a couple hours, since Donnie had been out of town the whole weekend.

This sweet little vintage child's chair is perfect for Emma's girly turquoise bedroom.  The price? $1.21

And on the other side of the store I found this:

Double wedding ring quilt with a perfect blend of pinks and blues.  In "good" condition, with only a handful of rips or stains. 

They even look darling together!

The quilt was only $6.50.

I felt a little guilty using my tiny home-improvement fund to take these home, but for $7.71, there was no way I was leaving them there. This is why I keep going back.  You never know what you might find.  This is also why I try to never bring something home from a thrift store that I don't love.  Because the perfect something is waiting--you just have to keep looking.

I've already put these two treasures to work in a photo shoot.

You can buy the bunny here.

Entryway :: Inspiration Board

Since the post in January about resolutions, I have been anxious to get going on my #1 goal: Making the House a Home.

I'm starting at the front door, with the entryway.  The room is long and narrow, and a little dark.  The only light is from the overhead fixture, and the windows in the dining room. 

The house-flipper-grade-brown tone is doing nothing to lighten this room up.

For the most part, the room is functional.  There is a place to hang backpacks and keep things off the floor.  But I know it could be better.  More inviting and quite a bit brighter.

So I've thought of a few things to help, that won't also break my piggy bank.  Because that's the size of my budget.  Right now the home-making fund is at a whopping $150.  I guess we'll see how far that goes, and I'll try to add to it as we go.

Here are some of my plans for the room.

1. Mirrors, to borrow some light from the adjacent dining room. Via

2. Board and Batten wall treatment. Via

3. More hooks! Via

4. A longer bench or side table. Via

5. Black interior door. Via

You can see more cool entryway ideas on my pinterest board, "Entryway."

 

Woolie Girls

Look who found their way into the shop today!

They are made from felted sweaters and vintage sheets.  Perfect for those early-spring gifting  occasions coming up soon.  Equally appropriate for little ones and grown ups who love having something snuggly around.

Thoroughly tested and Esther-approved.

Find yours here!

 

Welcome, 2013!

Do you make resolutions?

I do it every year.  Sometimes I mention them here on the blog.  Like this.

And sometimes they are too personal.

But I always keep them.  Every year.

I love making resolutions. I see the beginning of each year as a fresh start.  A time to take inventory of my life, and decide if I'm really on my way to becoming the person I want to be.

I have never made a weight-loss resolution, or one with a definitive ending (like I'll save $5000 or something like that.)  I don't want to look back at the end of the year and realize I gave up, or just missed the mark.  So my resolutions are always about a direction of improvement, not an end goal. 

Here they are for this year:

I'll explain a little. 

1.  Half-way through last year we had a college student over at our house, and he looked around and asked Donnie and me, "Do you think your house represents who you are?"  To my disappointment, my answer was no.  We have lived here for three years, and we've done a few things to improve the place, but there are still 7 rooms (out of 10) that are the same dingy brown as the day we moved in.  This year that's going to change.  I plan to move from room to room, starting with the entryway, with the goal of making our home pretty, comfortable, welcoming, and functional.  (That last one is a constant concern of mine.)  Some rooms will take very little work--maybe just a coat of paint or something new on the wall.

There's just one tiny hiccup in this plan.  Cash. I'm going to have to be extra clever, because this resolution coincides with an extremely tight budget!  (You know...new babies are small, but they require big budget cuts!)  So I have decided to fund the entire home-making project with money that I'm able to bring in outside of our family income.  My birthday is coming up, too.  I'm asking for gift cards from Home Depot, Home Goods, etc.  I am so excited to see where this resolution get us by the end of 2013!!

2.  I have mentioned before that while I'm creative in many areas, cooking is just not one of them.  This year, I'm working on that.  If you have an excellent, simple, healthy(ish), and yummy recipe you'd like to see me try, please send it to me!  I have already found a few recipes that are perfect for me, and I'm going to share them with you as I go along.  I'd really like to start filling a notebook with family-approved options, and maybe have a few of them memorized by the end of the year.

3. This has continued to be important to me.  At the same time, it is VERY difficult for me. Slow down, keep calm, don't try to do too much, don't try to save the whole world.  Just do small somethings that will make life better for my family, my neighbors, and myself.  The Lord continues to teach me what doing something small even means, and if I listen to Him, surely I'll be able to keep this resolution, one small something at a time.

So, there they are!  Do you make annual resolutions?  Do you keep them?  Do you hate the idea and want to tell me why?  I'd love to know!  Leave me your opinions and resolutions in the comments!

 

Could I have your attention for a quick announcement?

I have no idea why I've kept this news from you for so long.

It's big.

HUGE.

We are having another baby.  Soon.

In just four months!

We already found out what we're having.

It's a boy!

Now, let me take a minute and tell you something about these photos.

I waited three days after the big sonogram to tell the kids they were having a brother.

It had to be perfect.  Like pinterest perfect.

I bought the balloons.

I decorated the box.

The box was too small, so I opened the bottom, taped it up, and called the kids outside.

As I set the box on the ground, one of the balloons popped on the dry winter grass.

We got the kids ready, and told them to open the box.

The balloons floated out.

The kids were like, Huh? 

We forgot to tell them what the color of the balloons meant!  They had no idea what they were looking at!  Haha.  Donnie laughed at me.  I laughed at myself.  We stuck the balloons back into the box, replayed everything, and snapped some decent pictures.

Makes me wonder what's really going on behind the scenes in all those perfect pinterest pics, how bout you?

 

Goodbye, 2012

Some of my favorite moments from the past year...

When I look at my everyday life, I sometimes have the tendency to focus on what I wasn't able to accomplish, what I didn't finish, what I still haven't figured out.  Today, I took a minute to think about what I did do, and let that wonderful feeling of accomplishment propel me into the new year.

Goodbye, 2012. 

I can't wait to see what next year holds in store!