bittersweet

If you loved the quote that I posted from "Cold Tangerines" then you should head over here, she is giving away Shauna's new book "Bittersweet".  Good luck!

cold tangerines

I am re-reading one of my favorite books (cold tangerines).  I came across a paragraph that says better then I ever could how I wish my thought process was every day....

"I don't want to wait anymore.  I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day.  I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold.  The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another.  That's the drama of life, swirling all around us, and generally I don't even see it, because I'm too busy waiting to become whatever it is I think I am about to become.  The big moemts are in every hour, every conversation, every meal, every meeting."
~cold tangerines by Shauna Niequist

desk revamp

I have this desk (below) that my computer has been sitting on for about 4 years now. I have disliked the desk since we bought it. It has never matched and we bought it because it was cheap and we needed something. So yesterday I did something about it!

I took some brown paint we had left over from our basement and painted everything except the white draw and the top/sides.

Then I took a some super cute paper and decopodged it on the top and sides to make it look "quilty".
I love it!

It now looks like it belongs in the house and less like it got stuck in the house.

Antiques to Treasures

This past weekend my mom and I went to Traverse City to do some antiquing.  We had so much fun walking through endless antique stores and various other types of stores.  These were my great finds (granted on was on from and antique store).  So the first one is this amazing linen/cotton blend that is going to be some inspired by something in a store we saw up there (pics to come when done).  The shoes, yes I got those from an antique store also...love them and they fit great!  The platter (i have two) is going to become something else...you will have to wait and see on that one.  The last two are just fun little things for me.  If you have never been to an antique store I highly recommend it, I love looking at old things and seeing how you can use them again or make them in to something new!

T Shirt

So this was a first attempt...I would do a lot different in the next one, but all in all a good first attempt.  The idea came from Matt, he was watching a movie and saw a girl wearing a shirt with a collar like this and said he thought it would look good on me.  So my brain started turning and this is what I came up with.  I had the material and the blue is an old shirt of Matt's cut up.  So far I like it, we will see how it handles the real world of mommyness.  Sorry about the pics...it was a lot harder to take pics of myself than of my cutie-patotie little diva model.

Happy 4th

We started our celebration of the 4th a little early with a new top. We are headed up to the cabin for the weekend. We are going to go to the parade up there and so I decided Addi needed a festive top that wasn't overly 4thy (so that it can be worn more than once). I borrowed a top from that a friend had bought at a craft fair and fashioned this after that. Turned out pretty cute. I would also like to note that my little model in the making came up with her poses all by herself (I am in big trouble)!

DIY wrap bracelet

I saw a bracelet like this in a magazine the other day and loved it...the one in the magazine was over $100 (a bit out of my budget).  I went to the mall the other day and searched all over for a knock off version and couldn't fine one any where so, I made one.  I found the instructions here.  I got all the supplies at Hobby Lobby for a ton cheaper then the original.  It was supper easy to do and only took a couple of hours.  I used beading wire instead of the thread, but just because I couldn't find the thread in the color I wanted.  I love taking things that I have seen in the stores or magazines and making them myself.

haircuts

So I gave the kids haircuts the other day...Addi's ended up a bit shorter than planned but very cute.  Gavin was a bit harder to keep still but he is going for the messy look so it works.  I think my hairdresser friends would be proud.

Addi's New Top

So this was my project for this week...turned out cute.  I have changes that I will make on the next one.  It is the perfect summer top for this heat!  I might make one for myself :-)

Isn't she so cute, what you don't see is that I had to bribe her with mini marshmellows.

Happy Birthday to...

...Addison and Gavin!  We had two birthday parties this past month, one first birthday party and one third birthday.  Can't believe how fast time is flying by!

Febuary...

So this month has been a bit crazy around here....I got a new job at MVP as a MOD.  We celebrated Gavin's first birthday (pics to come later).  Matt was offered a job up in Ludington, MI.  We are celebrating Addison's third birthday the friday.  Life seems to have sped up by 120% in the last couple of months.
We are still figuring out all the details about the Ludington job...like a place for Matt to stay up there till we can get the house sold.  The house hopefully will be on the market soon (anyone want a realy nice fairly new house in Hamilton?).
So lots of prayers for all the details to be worked out.  We know that God is going to work, we are just waiting to see which way.

Looking Back....

Wow it has been one of those years where you look back and think, did this all really happen in one year! It did! Have a happy new year everyone!