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Thursday, January 31, 2013

I would wear this...

ocean necklace



1.  American Vintage cotton shirt, $28 / 2. Floor length skirt / 4. Leather shoes, $95 / 5. Flat sandals, $52 /
3.  Ocean Necklace Fire Crackle Agate and Amazonite by ikeandco

I was indecisive about shoes.  Because I liked both of them.  And I would wear both of them.  I would probably throw on a navy blue cardigan (perhaps striped) or a denim jacket with it.  Just in case you were wondering.  I am ready for summer {if you couldn't tell}.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Never Ending...

Y'all this week seems completely never ending.  Seriously.

Chris had two late nights on Monday and Tuesday.  We ate eggs and toast on Monday and frozen pizza on Tuesday.  Ugh. 

Quinn had a crazy, crazy melt down when I picked him up from school on Tuesday.  He wanted to play outside and was mad that I was there to get them.  Nevermind that it was raining.  He laid down in the lobby of the school (in front of 5 other families) and blocked the door.  The girls and I had to wave good bye and get in the car before he would join us.  He screamed in the car for a good 10 minutes before I pulled into a parking lot.  Big sigh.  The spanking was close.  And then I said this...

Your behavior right now makes me very sad.  I was really happy to see you this afternoon and couldn't wait to get home to spend the evening together.  I was going to make a pizza and we were going to laugh and have fun and read stories.  I'm sorry that you're not happy about this too.

And then, I kid you not, the child said this...

Oh.  Is it cheese pizza?  Do you have a napkin in here so that I can dry this up?

And then he was fine for the whole rest of the night.  What the what.  My kid is bipolar for sure.  There is no other explanation.

Wednesday and Thursday are both dance nights and then we sail into the weekend.

Amen.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Where she gets it from... {craft room}

I think I have posted about my craft space a billion times, but it is the space that I love most in my house.  I love how it has evolved...when we moved in five years ago (and for the first year that we lived here) it served as a dining room.  Like, a real, honest to goodness, dining room.  We had an oak table and chairs, buffet, and china cabinet.  But the room wasn't quite big enough for all of that.  And it has cream colored carpeting, which is just silly in a dining room with three children, if you ask me.

So after using it maybe four times in the first year, we decided to list the furniture and Craig's List and make it a more usable space.  With the money from selling the furniture, we ventured to IKEA and bought my craft table + some other things that I don't even remember.  At the time, I was a scrapbooker.  In a big way.

And since then, I've moved things around about a billion times (which has all been properly documented on this blog).  Chris has painted it for me - not once but twice.  And lovely things have happened in here...





1 pen & paint made just for me!
6 pen & paint // 7 fabric and hoop from hobby lobby, postcard from pam garrison //
 8  fabric and hoop from hobby lobby
twine + mini clothes pins + pictures printed from instagram 
{making rainbows and blue ridge craft weekend} //
9 fabric and hoop from hobby lobby, postcard from katygirl designs // 10 pen & paint
11 pen & paint // 12 um, yeah, that would be a signed picture of the lumineers{thanks, Abby!}
13 silhouettes of the girls from disney {not going to disney any time soon?  try this shop!}
14 word art made by moi // 15 love block by bubblewrappd


{canvas + modge podged old book pages + printed instagram pics + washi tape}


cork board from hobby lobby filled with some of my favorite things - notes from my children + fun business cards + lisa leonard calendar + athens notecard from natty michelle + church notecard by jamie calkin + stained "glass" painting from Casey + notes from sweet friends



I think this might be where Chandler gets her desire for a craft room from.  Do you think that, too?  ;)

Monday, January 28, 2013

My Baby...

...just doesn't look like a baby anymore.  We picked up his glasses on Friday.


I was glad that I was holding his hand on the way out, because he almost fell four times.  When I asked him what was wrong, he said, "Mom.  Everything is just so big!" Poor boy.  It was just normal size - everything before was just that much smaller.  Ugh.

We let him pick where he wanted to eat his first meal as a boy in glasses.  He chose Waffle House.  Big surprise on that one.


{he was giving me a thumbs up...only he can't...he does it with his pinkie.every.single.time.}

Saturday morning he wanted a haircut.  So that he would look even more handsome in his glasses. 


Such a big difference, right?  :)  He really is so very cute in his glasses.  If he thought I took too many pictures of him before...well, let's just say my pictures of him many have doubled.  

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Chandler's Craft Space

In the fall, Chandler started lobbying for a craft room.  Seriously. 

So we compromised and Santa brought her a craft station. 


The desk and chair are both from IKEA.  We live about an hour or so away from one, so getting there was no easy feat.  Chris started putting it together two weeks before Christmas and realized that a shelf was missing.  So then he had to drive back to IKEA to get the shelf that had been left out of the box.  Ugh.

Chan is a crazy good crocheter!  She uses the top cubbies for yarn storage and the bottom cubbies to keep projects, and jars of supplies (hooks, buttons, stitch markers, etc).

She made the circle garland at her sewing class.  The wild and crazy flower art was made by my mother in the 70's (when she could have gone to the Art Institute in Chicago, but my grandparents told her no - that's where all the hippies were...um, yeah.  It was the 70's.)



Hanging on the wall?  Clipboards for her ideas, project and plans (so far she has plans for a sweater for Quinn - measurements and a sketch), fabulous art from Pen & Paint and something wonderful and true by Chrissie Grace Art

Even though it's not a craft room  I think she loves it.  I mean, I know I love it.  :)

Saturday, January 26, 2013

I would wear this...

pink, gold, bronze, pastel



4.  long sleeve top / 2. Cream shirt / 1. Dsquared , $305 / 3. TOMS suede wedge heels


And I would wear these IKE & CO accessories... 



Czech Glass necklace {with this outfit, I would wear it either as a doubled necklace or a wrap bracelet} 
//
 palest pink opal Czech glass earrings

Friday, January 25, 2013

Quinn sings!

Last week may not have been Quinn's best week at school, but he found a way to make his teacher "happy forever."

After continuing to find his way onto his friends' mats during nap time, he was sent to time out in another teacher's classroom.

When he came back, he told his teacher that he would like to sing a song to her...a song that would make her "happy forever."

And so, my four year serenaded his teacher with You Are My Sunshine.

{she's the best and had him sing it a second time so that she could film it}


At home, the night that this happened, Chris asked Quinn if he has now learned to sing to his teacher to get out of trouble.  He replied, "No.  Only when she is very, very mad."

Awesome.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Work in progress.

Chris has so graciously, kind of, sort of by default, given me one side of the house.  The front room and the dining room have for years been known as the library and the craft room (sounds so much more fun, doesn't it???) and they are almost always listed as a work in progress. 

I seem to get to a point where I think I  *might* be done but then decide that I'm not.

The latest addition to the craft room?  A full on shipping station.  I've been talked into printing my shipping labels at home and the printer was on the floor for a few weeks while I decided if I was going to stick with it or not.  And aside from not seeing my post office ladies, whom I love dearly, it's a pretty sweet set up.

Please consider it a work in progress...


I've already changed somethings since I snapped this picture...I added some vintage baskets (the locker one I got at Lakewood and another one) to hold all of my boxes and mailers, and I have big plans for this table.  I'm thinking that there might be a modge podge project in my future.

I am hoping to take some actual pictures of the space this weekend.  If I can ever stop creating (a mess) long enough to clean up (move things into another room) for it to be an area you would actually like to see.  (Trust me, most days its not - a flaw in the design of having three kids and a dog.)

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

I would wear this...



Seafoam green



1.Tshirt dress / 2. J.Crew jean jacket / 3. Isabel Marant suede ankle booties/ 4. Clutch



 And I would wear these accessories from IKE & CO with it...

white czech glass earrings  //czech glass necklace {can also be worn as a wrap bracelet!}

My new favorite dress. {WIWW}

I saw this dress at the Loft over the Christmas holidays - not on sale - and not during a time when I should be spending money on myself.  But I loved it.

So I waited.  And waited.  And finally they had a new arrivals sale and I snatched it up!  I am so very glad that I did!  I love it!  I've worn it a few different ways now, this is just the day that I happened to remember to take pictures... {and I know that you're excited about my slightly blurry cell phone pics}



boots {target -a few years ago}
green cardi {banana republic outlet}


necklace - IKE & CO 
earrings - IKE & CO 

{I loved this set so much that I made one for you and one for me!  I love this necklace because it also works perfectly to be wrapped around your wrist for a chunky bracelet!  And the colors are perfect for Spring!}

**For what it's worth, one of the reviews on line said that it was too long...For me it is absolutely perfect!  I am almost 5'8 and it hits a little above my knee - still great to wear with tights and boots - and long enough to wear to work and not feel awkward.  My plan for the spring is to wear it with my converse.  Just in case you were wondering.

{linking up with The Pleated Poppy!}

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Q.


Trying to take a good picture of Quinn could be a full time job.  Seriously.

In other news, Quinn and I had a morning at the optometrist yesterday.  You see, in the fall, in had his vision screening for PreK and didn't quite pass it.  But his grandmother was giving the test and we (Chris and I) thought that maybe he was fooling around or that because it was his grandmother, maybe she was being over cautious.  But, apparently, he didn't and she wasn't.  He really has some vision problems (including astigmatism and problems with depth perception).  Gah!  His glasses will be here on Wednesday or Thursday and I must say, he is quite the lady killer in them.  Think, the little boy from Jerry Maguire.

Monday, January 21, 2013

an MLK story and one year ago...

There are a few things (ok, quite a few things) that I love about teaching children.  And I love talking about MLK and Civil Rights.  I especially love these topics with small children.  This past week in the library I read some nonfiction books about why we have MLK Jr. Day and talked about what his "dream" was with 1st grade students.

These are some of the things that I learned...

+ a lot of kids think that his last name is Jr.  {makes sense if you think like a 6 year old}
+ they don't know what the word "minister" means
+ his dream, in its smallest form, is translated by six year olds as, we all get to drink from the same fountain  {I hate to rain on this parade, but I've seen how six year olds drink from a fountain and I think I sit that one out}

In one class we had this conversation...  {names have been changed}

 Max:  He said it was ok that I'm black and you're white.  We can still be friends.
 Me:  Yes!  Absolutely!  We can definitely be friends!
Autumn:  And I'm peach!
Me:  Oh, ok!
Sam:  And Isabelle's peach!
Isabelle:  No I ain't!
Drew:  She's not peach, she's mixed.  Jose's peach!
Brian:  He's not peach.  He's Mexican.
Me:  Okay, so let's go back to our story, shall we?

Sometimes, little kids are like a runaway train.  Just sayin.

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

Last year on MLK day, I slept in, woke up without an alarm, came downstairs, Chris made a pot of coffee for us and pancakes for the kids.  I checked my email at the kitchen table and I already had 4 sales in the shop (kind of a lot of a Monday morning in January) with a ton of traffic from The Pioneer Woman.     She had written a post about earrings from my shop...

...and then I did a little dance in my kitchen...in my pajamas.  Just sayin.

Thank you, truly, thank you, to all of you that were around before PW and to those of you that are still here.  :)

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

If you have the day off, I hope your three day weekend was wonderful.  Quinn has an eye doctor appointment today and I'm getting my haircut.  The girls have declared it to be a crafting day.  Chris (I'm sure) will be staring at some spread sheets.  And tonight at dinner we'll talk about how the world has changed...for the better...because of this man...



Sunday, January 20, 2013

Lakewood 400 Antique Market

Let's talk about one of my most favorite places.  Lakewood 400 Antique Market.  Do you live in the Atlanta area?  Have you been there?  If not, you must go.  My parents have been friends with the owners for years and my mom used to drag me as a teenager to it when it was still located at the Lakewood Fairgrounds.  As an adult, I will happily meet her there (it is now in Cumming) as much for the Italian sausage and a funnel cake as for the abundance of fabulous antique dealers all in one place!

And speaking of meeting up, I did meet my parents up there on Saturday!  Just the three of us - no brothers, no husband, no kids - just us.  Now don't get me wrong, I love, love, love my family, but having an afternoon just the three of us is kind of a treasure.  We figured that it had probably been 12 to 15 years since the last time it was just us.



Oh, how I loved being in this booth!  Mom and I oohed and ahhed together in this one.  I'm not sure that I had ever seen so much Pyrex and such a variety all in one little space!


I have a system when I shop - sometimes it works for me and sometimes it doesn't - Saturday it failed me in a big, big way.  I usually walk through the whole place, remember what I like, and then sit and eat a funnel cake while going through a list of pros and cons for each item.  I was in the middle of my funnel cake when my mom said, "Hey!  That little boy has your globe."  And, sure enough, there was a little boy in a stroller holding the globe that I was going back for.  It was adorable - a smaller one with a red base - AND only $10!  Gah!  Heartache!  I skipped a couple other things that I really liked - a Chicago platter, a few typewriters,  dog figurines for Q, a painting of the Last Supper - but this is what I did come home with...


...a tin globe with cute country flags on the base, a gym locker, bingo cards, movie reels, a needle point blue jay in a ridiculously old (translate = falling apart) frame and a bust of Shakespeare.  Because everyone needs a bust of Shakespeare, right?  Chris is creeped out by him.  I figure that's his problem.

{If you want to go, do check their website - it lists the weekends that they are open - only once a month!}

Friday, January 18, 2013

I'm back {and I'm gonna be better at this}

Busy.  We've just been busy.  For months, it seems.  And somewhere, in all the busyness, and craziness of it all, I seem to have lost my voice.  Lost what I thought I was supposed to be saying on this blog.  Which is silly.  Because really, this blog doesn't have to be some big scary thing and I should just write.  Without worry.  Without fear.

One day, I want my children to read this blog and have it be a timeline of us.

I want to be able to look back on it and see how this little shop of mine started one Thanksgiving week while sitting on the couch, listening to Christmas carols.  It was just a tiny little fleck of a dream. 

{and now some pictures of my kiddos...because they are just too cute to pass up}





And some randomness...

I've fallen in love with Nashville.  So much so that in a conversation with a friend I said something along the lines of, "Yes!  That's just exactly how Rayna felt about Juliette!"  Lame.  Really lame.  But I can't help myself.

I've had some amazing antiquing finds lately...including this...


...a vintage pull down map of Athens-Clarke County.  I spied it at a shop in Jefferson - Red Hound Antiques - but didn't get it.  Chris wasn't with me and a 5 foot down pull map isn't just a little somethin' to hang on the wall.  So I came home and told him about it.  He had some errands to run and stopped by the shop to take a look.  And he came home with it.  What sold him on it?  That it came in the box from Rand McNally address to Mr. Kelly at Snow Tires in Athens.  A place we were sad to see close.  Now we just have to find a place to hang it.

My youngest brother came home for Christmas.  He lives in Texas and got engaged in September.  This was their first time back and I was so glad to be able to pass out some hugs.  They spent Christmas Eve with us and I know that the kids were so glad to have Uncle Matt with them on Christmas morning.  I was glad that Chalise and I were able to have some good girl time with my mom later in the week.  I'm excited for there to be another girl officially in the family.

{now here's a silly picture of them in Q's rocket ship}


Did you notice...new header?  Just tryin to spruce things up.  I like it.  Thanks, Molly!  I completely love working with you!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Why Hello! {and happy new year!}

Guys, I'm having a hard time keeping up these days.  But that's kind of obvious, right?  So, I'm just going to do the best I can do when I can do it. 

And I'm having a hard time writing most of the time lately.  The girls are getting bigger and my parenting worries are bigger, but I'm hesitant to write about it because, well, they're bigger, and they like their privacy. 

Work and those worries seem to be all consuming for both Chris and I, but again, nothing blog appropriate. 

And I've decided that my word for 2013 is going to be efficient.

Which will probably be followed by the word frustrated.

I need to be more efficient with things in my life this year - the way I take care of my home, the way I handle things at work, the way I run my etsy shop, the way I blog...

But (and I'm not gonna lie, here) I get very, very, very easily frustrated with technology, with learning new things, with knowing there has to be a better way out there and not knowing what it is or how it works...Gah!  And then I am overwhelmed.  Which usually leads to me just wanting lay on the couch and do nothing.

Not good, people, not good.

So.  Learning to be more efficient in 2013 is a goal of mine.


If you have any great tips for efficiency...send them my way.  Like how to get my pictures from my phone to my computer without having to plug my phone (which is all the way in the other room) into my computer.  iCloud?  Is that what I need?  Which is why this post has no pictures...in case you were wondering.