The Hot Pink Polka-Dot

Mantle project - done!

2012-02-17T09:54:00.003-05:00

My first project of the year is finished! Wahoo! When we had the floors installed this past fall we felt like our mantle and stair rails needed to match the floors. I thought about stripping, staining, poly-ing the mantle and when I looked at the detail of the mantle, I realized it would be a ton of work. Plus, I think it would visually look too heavy when stained dark. We ended up painting it white and are sooo happy with it, even Jeff was surprised we waited this long to paint it.

Eskimo Baby

2012-02-15T22:53:00.000-05:00

a cloth garment worn by Eskimos over the parka.

a parka of lightweight cloth, worn especially by Eskimowomen and children in summer.

Look at my little peanut in her kuspuk - C.U.T.E!

Mirror, Mirror on the wall

2012-02-14T23:34:00.001-05:00

Freebie for YOU!

2012-02-13T12:50:00.001-05:00

If you have been reading this blog for half a minute, you know we have a first birthday coming up! Does anyone else have problems with what to get a one year old for their birthday that falls only two-ish months after Christmas? Jeff and I thought about what to get Naomi for a few weeks and decided a bean bag chair would be perfect. She doesn't really have a seating area in our living room that fits her size and she will get a ton of use out of it. I have seen those cute chairs on Land of Nod but they are pretty pricey but then again so are the bean bag chairs from Pottery Barn and The Company Store. $169 for a bean bag chair is not chump change in this house!

I scoured the internet looking for a good tutorial and free pattern. I found a bunch of tutorials that did not include patterns or the pattern was not to scale. That leaves too much room for error to me, so using my handy-dandy AutoCAD program, I drew the pattern to scale! You can get a copy of the pattern, here.

Breakdown of costs and links to material suppliers:

4-4.25 cubic feet of bean bag fill - $27 (one 3.5 cu ft bag, one 1.75 cu ft bag - save the extra fill for later)
Lining fabric for the bean bag insert (white - 4.25 yards) - $10 (waited for a sale!)
Fabric for the bean bag cover (color of your choosing - 4.25 yards) - $10 (found the fabric in the clearance rack - wahoo!)
1 Zipper - $3
Thread - $1.50
Embroidery - $10 (Yes! M.A.M)

Directions:

1. Print out the bean bag chair pattern. Make sure you print it on 8.5"x11" paper for it to be properly scaled. Using scrap paper, finish creating your pattern templates as pictured below.

2. Starting with your bean bag fabric for the insert, layout, trace, and cut your pieces. Don't forget - the side panel pattern, needs to be mirrored when tracing it or traced on a fold. Also, you do not need the handle pattern for your insert.

3. You should have one bottom, one top, and 6 side panels.

4. Sew the insert together -- side panels first, then add your top and bottom (more detailed directions to follow below -- Steps 12-16). Leave a small opening at the top of the bag. Flip your bag right side out, fill with beans, stitch top closed.

The beans came in a huge box! You can see they are about the size of a large, sweet pea.

Here is my full bean bag chair with the opening at the top. How much fill you put in your bag is up to you, however, you will want to leave some room in the bag.

You can seal up the bag with your sewing machine or by hand.

Leftover fill.

5. Now, we are going to start on the cover. Cut out your side panels - remember to mirror the pattern when you are tracing.

6. I sent a panel to my friend, who owns her own embroidery and applique business, to embroider Naomi's name on it. I placed the embroidery 8" up from the bottom of the panel to the bottom of the lettering. This font is called dandelion.

7. Finish cutting out all of your pieces, if you have not already done so. You should have 6 side panel pieces, 1 handle piece, 1 top, 1 bottom, and 1 zipper.

8. Fold the handle in half, with the wrong side of the fabric facing out. Stitch a straight line on the side opposite the fold. Flip right side out.

9. I placed the seam, in the middle and....

10. Ironed it flat. Set aside for later.

11. Next, I worked on the zipper. Follow the directions that come with your zipper. I placed the zipper on the panel at the bottom, so when it is closed, the zipper touches the floor and the zipper teeth run up the side of the panel.

I chose an invisible zipper in the longest length I could find. It was 22" long but I would recommend a longer zipper to accommodate a fuller bean bag.

12. Start stitching your panels together. This pattern is designed with a 1/2" seam allowance. Remember this pattern is being assembled inside out. Repeat this step for all six panels.

Half of the cover complete!

All of the side panels are stitched together.

13. Now we are going to work on the top with the handle. I folded the circle in half to figure out where the handle would be placed. pin your handle in the middle of the fabric and pin. Then, start pinning to the top of the panels. You will need to pleat the panels as you go around. I had about 3/4"-1" pleats. This is your fluff room, expansion space for the fabric so that when you sit in it, you don't blow out a seam.

14. Before I stitched it, I checked the opposite side to make sure things looked even. Make sure the seam of the handle is facing down.

15. Stitch in a circle. Take your time and repin if necessary.

16. Repeat the pining process for the bottom of the bag and sew. The pleats on the bottom are about 1/4".

17. Open the zipper and flip the cover right side out, stuff your insert in, and zip it up! Stuffing the insert in is a little bit like catching a greased pig but after some moving and shaking -- Voila! You are done!

Top view with handle

Cute huh?!

Remember our zipper... here is how invisible it is.... less likely to draw the attention of curious little hands! You can also purchase a locking zipper if your little one is extremely curious!

Clear as mud right?! Well, if you have any questions, leave them in the comments an I will be sure to address them. Oh, and please link up if you make one of these; I would love to see it! Enjoy!

Score!!!!!

2012-02-10T22:49:00.001-05:00

Craigslist hunting pays off! I picked up this bamboo mirror, yes, it is on my craigslist shopping list, for a sweet $30. After a fresh coat of paint and a wipe down with Windex, it will be the perfect addition to... to... well, where couldn't I use this mirror?! I am more than likely going to use it in the dining room. The room has a cute chinoiserie print bench in the room so I think the bamboo would compliment it nicely!

Adios, windowpane looking mirror....

The Next Best Thing

2012-02-09T21:19:00.000-05:00

The other day I introduced you to Casa project #1 for 2012. Our family room is on the list for this year too! Really, the items I want to add and change are more like a long weekend project. We already replaced the flooring and fan in this room so we just have a few odds and ends to attend too!

To finish off this room:

add crown molding
spruce up the furniture layout
change out the sideboard table for a dresser (I have good news, I *may* have scored my campaign dresser for this room.. eeeppp so excited!)
recover a few of the pillows
rework the drapery
the biggest change -- I am painting the mantle and built-in cabinet white!!! I thought about staining it to match the flooring but when I came to my senses about how much work that would be, I decided that painting it would be best!

An Adele kind of night

2012-02-08T15:52:00.000-05:00

The other night I stayed up waaayyyy toooo late! This generally happens when Jeff is out of town. After Naomi goes to bed I clean, craft, clear off the DVR, workout; basically the stuff I don't take care of when she is awake. Either way I crafted some cute bows and listened to Adele. It was a nice way to decompress and end the day despite the hubs not being here.

Pom-pom bow

I loved this color combination

Rosette bow

Again, I loved the color combination

Over-the-top bow

Fun, fun, fun!

Party in the house tonight!!!

2012-02-05T22:36:00.001-05:00

Wow-wee! The superbowl was pretty good this year; the game was close, the entertainment was, well, entertaining, and the commercials were filled with lots of laughs. We stayed close to home for the superbowl had our own little mini-party.

I would be remiss for not mentioning our game time food. I tried two new recipes that were absolutely delicious!

Power-packed nachos - it makes you feel less guilty about indulging!

Ingredients:
Tortilla chips
1/2 cup of taco seasoned meat (you could do turkey or beef)
1/2 cup of spinach (I used frozen, cut leaf spinach)
1/4 cup diced onion
1/3 cup salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup beans (refried or black bean)

Directions:
1. Place tortilla chips evenly on a baking sheet.
2. Layer the remaining ingredients.
3. Top with cheese.
4. Bake for 5-8 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
5. Serve hot! with salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, etc.
*There is no wrong way to make these nachos... make them with extra toppings like olives and jalapenos, take away the meat to make them vegetarian friendly.

Eli Manning's Lace Cookies - hey, if you can't play the game, eat like a champ!

Ingredients
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 tbsp. flour
2 cups white sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks melted butter
2 eggs, beaten 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
1. Put the oats, flour, sugar & salt in to large bowl & mix well.
2. Pour very hot melted butter over mixture & stir until the sugar has melted.
3. Add eggs & vanilla. Stir well.
4. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
5. Cover cookie sheets with ungreased aluminum foil.
6. Drop ½ level teaspoons of the mixture on foil – 2 inches apart.
7. Cook about 10-12 minutes.
8. Watch carefully. When cookies are completely cooled, foil will peel off.
9. Store in airtight containers.
10. Makes about 6 dozen.
*This recipe is from Loukoumi's Celebrity Cookbook.

Your Invited

2012-02-03T23:12:00.001-05:00

I am tickled pink with the the birthday party invites! I just took them to the local print shop, printed them, addressed and stamped the envelopes, and they are sitting by the door ready for the mail! Eeepp! I just love them! If you live in the nearby area, you are getting some fun mail next week!

Have you heard of ishareprintables.com? They have fantastic printables and they are free! This invite was on ishareprintables and was very cute; I loved the bones of it but tweaked it to work for our party. Hop over there and enjoy looking around!

The Loo

2012-02-02T22:34:00.000-05:00

Bloggy friends, meet one of my 2012 house projects... the guest bathroom. I already gave this room a slight face-lift but it is ready for a bigger overhaul. The toilet broke when we had the earthquake a few months ago and with our expanding family, we constantly have a need for more storage! Plus you all know that I think linoleum is spawn of the devil! I have already started scoping out good deals and getting things together but here is what I have planned...

Up next... Design Boards! I'll show you what the final look *should* look like!

I shake my tail back and forth!

2012-02-02T11:34:00.000-05:00

Hooray! It's February! Does anyone else feel like January drags on forever? To top of our day, it was 71 degrees outside. We spent most of our morning soaking up the fresh, warm air. This afternoon I tackled a quick craft during Naomi's naptime-- a dino tail!

One of my Florida friends had her first child right after I found out I was pregnant with Naomi. Time got away from me and I realized I never sent a gift for her son. I blame it on a condition I like to call newlyprgenantandthenhadababy-itis! Either way, she is now due with her second baby, a little girl. I have been crafting away for her little lady and thought I should make something fun for her little man.

This craft was quick, easy, and a great way to use up extra fabric. We let Naomi test drive it this evening. Two thumbs up and kid approved!

Scrap Fabric Craft - Rag Wreath!

2012-01-27T22:06:00.001-05:00

Birthday party crafting is coming along! All I have left to finish at this point is the beanbag chair! I can't wait to share that with you but for now, I am going to share my too cute rag wreath. This craft cost me less than a dollar! To be fair, I had all of the supplies around the house but even if you were to purchase everything, it would not be more than $10.

Supplies:

Wreath form

Long Scraps of fabric

Scissors

Floral Wire

Step 1: Using your scissors or a rotary cutter, cut 1/2" lines at the top of your fabric

Step 2: Where you have cut the fabric, tear into strips.

Step 3: You will end up with a huge pile of scrap fabric. The pieces were quite long 12", 18" etc. I cut them into 6"-7" long pieces.

Step 4: I started tying each piece onto the wreath. Make sure to double knot them for added security.

You can tie them around all four wires, two, one, three, whatever works for you! The beauty of this craft - you can't mess it up!

Step 5: Keep tying!

Step 6: More tying!

Step 7: Still more tying!

Step 8: Just a few more ties!

Ta-da!

I think the back is just as pretty as the front!

Make a hanger for your wreath with floral wire. I used two 1/2" clips that I had laying around.

Bonus step: Since this wreath is for a birthday party, I wanted to add a cupcake detail to the center. I secured it to the wreath using floral wire.

Here it is on the front door.... sooo cute!

Sweet as sugar

2012-01-27T00:19:00.000-05:00

Here we are staring down the end of January! We have been enjoying an unseasonably warm winter and watching Naomi learn and explore new things. This past weekend we had a nice, quiet time at home as a family. It was nice to take a break and enjoy family time....

My two loves!

Sweet moment!

It's official, they love each other!

Adrenaline baby!

Wild baby hair!

I love this girl!

We laugh at how far her feet are from the stirrups :-)

Thinking hard!

Cute baby face!

Fun Mail

2012-01-24T00:39:00.001-05:00

Can you believe Christmas was almost a month ago?! Not wanting to ruin our friends Christmas card surprise, I have held this post. My friend, Whitney (last name edited for privacy ;-) asked me to design their Christmas card. Can I just say, Christmas card costs are out.of.control! Keeping the wallet in mind, these cards are designed to be postcards. Whitney eventually chose the final design and I loved receiving a copy in the mail! What did you send out this year? Postcard, traditional card, email, or nothing?

Let Them Eat Cake - Cupcake Banner Tutorial

2012-01-20T15:48:00.000-05:00

Birthday party crafting is the best! Seriously, the best! I just finished the cupcake banner I previewed for you all the other day. The inspiration for this banner came from Pinterest. Anyone else out there hooked on that site? I love the access to fantastic ideas and I am a visual person so it is my cup o' tea!

My biggest pet peeve on Pinterest is when someone takes another persons photo, uploads it as there own, and doesn't link back to the original blogs tutorial. Thankfully, Katie Watson, placed a watermark on the photo so I tracked down the original post.

Cute huh?! Unfortunately for me the original chipboard set is sold out but where there is a will, there is a way. I found all of the supplies I needed at either Wal-mart or Michaels and spent about $10-12 on this craft!

Supplies:

Chipboard sets - Michaels - $1.00 for a set of four
Scrapbooking paper - Michaels and Wal-mart - prices varied between $.25 and $1.00
Tulle - Joann Fabrics - $2.00 each
Glitter letters - Wal-mart - $.97
Scissors, hot glue, spray adhesive, glitter if you would like
Garland to attach the chipboard to for hanging purposes (not pictured) - Michael's - $3.00

1. Since Michael's did not have the cupcake shaped chipboard sets I had to make due with what was in stock. They had rectangles and flowers. I traced out a cupcake liner shape on the rectangles and cut the flowers in half (see upper left in the picture above.) I used a pair of scissors to cut out the shapes.

2. Now comes the fun, creative part... I cut out my scrapbooking paper to layer on top of the chipboard. Using spray adhesive, I glued the paper to the chipboard. I used hot glue to attach the top of the cupcake to the bottom and then added the tulle, circles, and letters with the hotglue at the end.

3. The garland I purchased came with these perfect circular beads that I used to attach the cupcakes to the garland with a little bit of hot glue.

Voila! A cutie-pie birthday banner. Seriously, there is no wrong way to do this, so experiment and have fun with different colors and textures!

Party Time

2012-01-18T22:52:00.001-05:00

This is how I spent naptime today. I love it when we are both refreshed after naptime! We can't wait to celebrate Naomi's birthday in a few short weeks!

Craigslist Shopping List

2012-01-17T22:25:00.001-05:00

It's 2012 y'all and that means new projects at the casa! I am getting all of the projects lined up, costs broken down, and vendors secured. I will go over all of the various projects in the next week or so but for now, here is my craigslist shopping list. I have a love-hate relationship with Craigslist but I am determined to find the gems others so quickly get rid of and if you happen to live in our area and see any of these items at our local thrift stores or flea markets, puuuhhh-llleeeeaassseee call me and tell me!

1. Bamboo Chippendale Chairs (2-4)

If I get four, I will use them in our eat-in kitchen area. I am getting rid of the parson chairs that I have loved so much for something a tad bit more petite! If I get two, I will use them in the master bedroom to create a cozy seating area.

~~2. Bamboo Mirror~~
Score!!!! on 2/10

Where couldn't I use this thing?! This is one of those pieces that is so versatile.

3. Campaign Dresser

I love these dressers! I plan on using it in the family room to store the mini Toys 'R Us that is accumulating in the open spaces of that room.

4. Chesterfield Sofa

Aaahhh, the chesterfield sofa. This would be a gem of a find and I am ready to move on it when I see one! I am planning on using this in the living room to create more of an old-English type study. We have a few pieces of furniture in that room that we plan on selling to make room for this beauty!

Okay, so what's on your home improvement shopping list for 2012?

Technology... it's a beautiful thing!

2012-01-16T23:26:00.001-05:00

Before we had children I never used the camcorder function on my phone very often. For that matter, I really only used the camera to take pictures of the horses that were in the parking lot of the local supermarket or when I was too lazy to get my regular camera out. Now that we have hit major cuteness levels at our house I use my phone all.the.time to capture some pretty cute moments. See for yourself...

An oldie but goodie... she *thinks* she is walking....

We let Naomi start doing the wheelbarrow at night on our way to the bathtub.

Naomi turns on her puppy when she is waiting for us to come get her up in the morning....

We have decided that we could watch her play for hours. Now, if only we could translate baby babble!

Naomi loves this book and opens it over and over and over and over....

Daydreaming

2012-01-15T21:38:00.001-05:00

Confession: I have been daydreaming, daydreaming about another home improvement project. Our guest room currently looks like this....

I have been thinking about the changes we will make when we end up having more children. Why I am thinking about this now when a)Naomi is still in a crib and b) I am really NOT pregnant, who knows, but it is fun to daydream! Ultimately, Naomi will move into this room and the nursery will remain the same. I love the idea of two twin beds in this room, yes it is a small room, but the extra sleeping space would be fabulous!

My sister and I shared a room for a good part of our growing up and truly, it was a wonderful experience. One that I want my children to experience. So that brings me to two inspiration rooms...

I love these Jenny Lind beds. *Swoon* I am starting my craigslist hunt for these beds since that can take quite a while. I will store them until we are ready to use them once we find them. Don't you just love the spindle detailing?!

Seriously, my dream. Our little guest room can't handle this many beds but room enough for all of our future children to share - love it!

Love at first sight

2012-01-11T23:33:00.002-05:00

Little Missy loves her snuggly blankie. Every night, to get to sleep, she needs her binky and snuggly. Last night, after an upset tummy, it needed to go in the wash. She could.not.wait for it to come out of the dryer.

Hehehe... we hid one of her binkies in the handle of the dryer... yes, she did find it!

Watching her blankie go for a spin.

Caught me taking pictures.

Found her favorite binky!

This is a cheeky face if I ever saw one.

Checking again on her blankie!

Must.investigate.further!

Still not quite done!

On the move again.

All is right in her little world as she sleeps peacefully with her blankie and binky!

Here's the skinny

2012-01-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

So folks, here is the skinny. This new, fresh, clean, sparkly, year has no resolutions attached to it. {Insert sigh of relief here.}

Resolutions seem 99% silly to me. I say 99% silly because there are a handful of people out there who make and keep their resolutions. Kudos to you!

I have made and kept resolutions before - one year I decided I would make the bed every.single.day. It meant a lot to my hubby and - whadayaknow?! - I actually kept it! Then there are years I make resolutions that don't last until Valentine's Day, like the I-Will-Go-To-Bed-Earlier resolution!

I will say, however, I believe in goals. They seem more attainable without forced timelines. Are you ready for this year's goal? Here it comes....

simplify.

Yep, that's it - simplify.

Last year we had a busy year. We saw lots of changes - some welcomed, others not-so-uh-welcomed. In the end I felt very moved to start simplifying around here. We started, truthfully, last summer with our *stuff.* {See, aren't you glad I didn't wait until New Years?!} You know the superfluous *stuff* that hangs out in your closets and drawers that you don't *need* nor ever really use?! Needless to say, the weekly donation pick-up truck was quite busy around here.

Now we are starting with the less tangible *stuff* - our priorities, our time, our commitments. We are getting healthier, not just weight-wise. We are getting rid of the *stuff* that takes time away from each other. We are getting rid of the things that neither fulfill, nor build-up.

We realize this is one busy world we live in and the world is not going to protect our family, our little slice of heaven on earth, we have to do the protecting. No, we are not going to be shut-ins, merely, we are going to focus on what matters and makes a difference for our family and within our community.

We are pairing down.

Will we travel - yes! Will we have adventures - yes! Will we beautify the things around us - yes! Will I still blog, craft, cook, eat, entertain, party, explore, navigate, grow, mature - yes! But the extra stuff that can go, will be going!

We want to experience and appreciate the Kairos of it all! {Yes, read the Kairos post from momastery because it was kind of the last push we needed in making this decision.}

Why do I tell you this? Because I want you to help me stick to it, but I also want you to not be offended when we say no to things or tell you that our priorities have changed. It doesn't mean something is wrong, it just means we are simplifying, mmkay?

I pinky promise to update you periodically on where we find ourselves throughout the year in making this new goal work. In fact, I will probably even tell you about the things that don't really work for us. It's all part of the growth and change thing right?

Here is to simplifying!

Adios 2011

2012-01-08T23:45:00.000-05:00

2011 will go down as one of the most life changing years in our house. We welcomed sweet Naomi into our family, we celebrated triumphs like my brother graduating from USNA but we also saw our share of sadness as Jeff deployed for a good portion of the year. Those tough times are meant to grow us as people. Our year could be defined as one of change and growth and for that, I wouldn't change a thing ;-)

To read the 2008 recap post, click here.
To read the 2009 recap post, click here.
To read the 2010 recap post, click here.
January

We celebrated New Year's with family and getting a sneak peak of our sweetie
My first baby shower
Had my maternity photos taken
Hosted a fun baby shower for a friend

February

March

We welcomed our little love into the world

April

Naomi took her first road trip to Annapolis

May

Jeff headed out on deployment
Naomi and I visited Annapolis for my brother's graduation

June

Angela and Dustin visited from Jacksonville
Naomi and I made a quick trip to see Whitney and Brad in the Outer Banks!
We decided there would be no more Mondays for quite a while
Even though Jeff was not here, we celebrated anyways

July

August

September

October

November

December

Favorite Things

2012-01-08T22:11:00.001-05:00

Have you heard of Pick Your Plum? If not, you must, no, you NEED to check them out. Especially if you are a craft junkie like me. If not, no need to worry, they sell all kinds of nifty-gifties and have great inspirational pictures to help even the least crafty among us! Here is how it works: they feature an item a day - rings, hats, vinyl, ric-rac, custom stamps - for a super steal price!

A few months ago they ran a sale on "A Few of my Favorite Things" vinyl. It was just the item I was looking for to finish up some of my holiday crafts. To finish the craft I needed a board, some ribbon, and smaller frames - nothing too crazy! I gave my mom the set below for her new office because sometimes our favorite things, aren't really "things" ;-)

10 Points for me!

2012-01-03T23:58:00.002-05:00

This was Jeff's favorite gift of Christmas and you want to know a secret? It cost less than $10 to make! What, you say! Yep, $10. I purchased a pack of three black shadow boxes from Michael's for $10. Then I purchased two sheets of coordinating, acid-free scrap book paper for $0.49 each, Wal-mart printed the picture for $0.19, the sticker was from a set on clearance for $2.50, and the medal was from the Bravissimo line on clearance for $0.99!

A little prep work and some hot glue later and taaa-daaaa... one meaningful gift that did not break the bank! My husband may or may not have shed a tear over this little wonder as he showed it to everyone in the living room on Christmas Day - ten points for me!

Although it's been said, many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you!

2012-01-02T20:00:00.000-05:00

This Christmas ranked as our top Christmas EVER!!!! It was fun, simple, and special. We had an absolute blast at my parent's house and Naomi enjoyed all of the new experiences we introduced to her. Instead of posting a ton of pictures, I figured a slideshow would be best! I captioned the photos and you can skip through them as you would like! Enjoy!

Meet and Greet

2011-12-29T10:29:00.000-05:00

Boy, we were brave. We went to the mall on December 23rd to have pictures done with Santa and survived! Phew! It was, afterall, the same day that there were fights and riots over the release of the new Air Jordan shoes. Really people, they are just shoes!

Anyways, we went to see the jolly man in red.

My mom made Naomi a sweet little outfit.

We waited in line for a little bit.

Naomi didn't know quite what to think of it all.

Then it was our turn!

After the handoff

and a little stare down

we had one happy baby and a really cute picture!

These two pictures crack me up....

Naomi paid for her Santa photos!

Haul Out the Holly, Put Up the Tree Before My Spirit Falls Again!

2011-12-22T23:16:00.000-05:00

I cannot wait to show you these pictures! Every year as I prepare my holiday tour of homes post I always want to post pictures of my parents house during the holidays. This year we are celebrating the holidays at my parents and I am able to show you their amazing decorations.

Christmas is huge in our house. Not necessarily gift-wise but celebration-wise, it's huge! I love how we decorate our house but it pales in comparison to my parent's house. A lot of their decor is very Williamsburg inspired - sugared fruits, magnolia leaf garlands, nuts, candles, etc. Other parts pay homage to our various family heritage and then there are those iconic, classic Christmas items that their very nature evoke a sense of warmth, memories, and hospitality.

Welcome!

The fireplace in the great room.

Naomi's letter to Santa.

Santa's cookie plate and milk mug.. soo cute (The set came from Sam's Club)

I love these vintage glass ornaments on the coffee table.

There is nothing like the patina you find on a vintage glass ornament.

So pretty!

Next to the fireplace is the first of many trees. The Native American tree.

Detail of an ornament.

Native American Nativity at the base of the tree.

Entertainment center and the nautical Santas.

This was my dad's stocking as a child!

Love this!

Little wooden tree on the landing going up to the loft.

Nativity set behind the sofa

The family tree in the great room.

Feather tree... the original artificial tree.

My mom made this Native American Santa... and when I say made it, every part of it was hand-crafted and it started out as a tomato cage.... and people say I'm crafty!

Native Santa

Lots of Garland

The loft has a little tree....

The midshipmen tree. All of the ornaments are made by the midshipmen my parents have sponsored over the years.

View of the family tree from the loft.

Nautical tree in the kitchen

Entryway

Music/Library room

I love these sweet little touches.

Even the piano has sweet little holiday touches.

Looking into the music room at the Chrismon tree. All of the ornaments are silver and gold.

Foyer

White German tree

The German tree is covered in beautiful, delicate glass ornaments.

The dining room.

You can never have too many nativities!

The buffet

Another little holiday vignette.

I hope you enjoyed this little snippet into my parents holiday house! Have a Merry Christmas!

Our Little Cupcake

2011-12-15T22:57:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I am already starting to plan Naomi's birthday party. My sweet little love will be one before we know it! March - it's a good month for a birthday! It gives me January and February to plan and prepare. Speaking of planing and preparing, don't ya just love Pinterest for fun ideas?! I typed in cupcake birthday party and oodles of pictures and ideas popped up! Above is the inspiration board for our little cupcake's birthday party. Bring on lots of crafting!

Deck the Halls

2011-12-14T20:16:00.003-05:00

"Frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside

Painted candy canes on the tree

Santa's on his way, he's filled his sleigh with things

Things for you and for me

It's that time of year when the world falls in love

Ev'ry song you hear seems to say "Merry Christmas,

"May your New Year dreams come true"

And this song of mine in three-quarter time

Wishes you and yours the same thing, too."

Welcome to our home! The holidays are such a warm time of year for us. This year, the holidays are all the more special with our newest addition, Naomi, experiencing her first Christmas. So, come and stay for a bit and enjoy a window into our home!

This year I spent some time pairing down the decorations we did not need to highlight the ones that are meaningful. Real Simple Christmas - that is our theme for the year!

The Family Room

My grandmother gave me this sweet nativity set for Christmas right before I got married. I wrapped some icicle garland and snowflake lights to add a little pizzazz!

Our family tree full of all sorts of childhood ornaments!

Three stockings this year. Want to customize a store bought stocking (trust me, it's easy and cheap!)?

The Kitchen

Our little wooden Christmas tree. Want one for your home - head to Michael's for the wooden cutout, lights, and paint. It costs about $15 to make!

A little vignette on the kitchen counter

I filled a terrarium with pine cones and ornaments!

The kitchen table.

I love the burlap with the pine cones, cranberrys, and greenery!

I added this porcelain tree to my Christmas collection a few years ago.

My grandmother has a behemoth one that is beautiful. Seeing this one always makes me think of our many Christmas' spent at their home.

The Dining Room

I normally decorated the kitchen with all of the colorful ornament decorations but decided to move it into the dining room. The gold tinsel tree is decorated with a patriotic theme this year!

A little mistletoe!

I am in love with this tree!

The buffet has various apothecaries filled with ornaments!

The Stairs

Our garland doubles as our Christmas card holder!

The Loft

My crinkle Christmas tree!

The garland in the loft!

Odds and Ends

My new addition this year - Thanks Stacey! I love it!

Our little officer nut cracker!

Even the bathroom has a few Christmasy touches!

Thanks for visiting! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

To view how we have decorated in years past:

2010

2009

2008

A little less wise

2011-12-14T17:14:00.001-05:00

Well, four wisdom teeth and $569 dollars later I am a little less wise but hopefully, I will no longer suffer from terrible migraines!

You may be wondering why I chose to have this surgery during the holiday season. Simply put, I now have a good reason to stay away from all of those holiday sweets thus also skipping out on all of those holiday pounds :-)

Anyways, I am feeling well and very minimally swollen at this point so we shall see how things go.

I am off to get another yogurt! Oh, and can anyone tell me what the tooth fairy is paying out for these suckers......

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

2011-12-08T17:55:00.001-05:00

Jeff and I have these stockings....

His grandma made them for us and we love them. Unfortunately, Grandma is not knitting anymore so we had to go to plan B for Naomi's stocking.

I knew I wanted something knitted, that had the same general feel as ours. Eventually, once our family is complete, we will have a few cute knit stockings, all of them uniquely different from the others! I found a knitted stocking at Target for $13.00 and decided to personalize it just a bit!

This craft is quick and requires very minimal skill and supplies.

I found the matching yarn at Wal-mart and had a multi-pack of sewing needles as well as the scissors. I did use a little bit of fray check to secure the loose ends (not pictured.)

A rare picture of me crafting... that sneaky hubby of mine :-)

I used a piece of graph paper to create a template. That way all of the stitching and letters remained consistent. I followed the stitches of the stocking as I was stitching her name and after an hour... voila - a personalized stocking! Alrighty, get out there and get crafty! What little crafts and loose ends are you working on for the Christmas season?

Oh, Christmas Tree!

2011-12-07T20:56:00.001-05:00

The other night Naomi helped us place the star upon the tree!

Cute, cute, cute!

What are you doing?

Look Ma, no hands!

So proud of herself!

Let's get this show on the road!

What is this thing?!

I think I can do it!

So pretty!

Let me help you Da-da!

I can do it without even looking!

hhmmppfff!

My two loves!

Happy Christmas Y'all!

Chocolate Spoons

2011-12-02T22:15:00.001-05:00

Our neighbors are pretty awesome people! There is so much I could say about how wonderful they are but suffice it to say, they are pretty much like family to us.

This year was extremely busy for our family and with all of the transition, they were there to help us and encourage us when we needed it. When Jeff was deployed, they would mow our lawn and take care of any lawn maintenance, help me move furniture, prep for a hurricane, hook my entertainment center up to their generator when our power was out - what can I say, they are true friends!

To say "Thanks and Merry Christmas" I made them a gift basket and included some homemade treats! One of the homemade goodies I included are chocolate spoons! These are great for parties or to give as gifts with a jar of hot chocolate mix. All I did was melt about two cups of chocolate chips on low heat. Then, one spoon at a time, I would dip the plastic spoon into the melted chocolate, let the excess run off, and then sprinkle with sprinkles! I let them cool on a plate and then bagged them up. They can be swizzled in hot chocolate or a cup of coffee. In this case, I poured four servings worth of hot chocolate mix into a mason jar, topped it with fabric, and secured a tag and spoons to the jar with twine. Voila - an easy, fun, and usable homemade gift.

p.s. The printable on the giftbasket was free! HowDoesShe gave away over a dozen printables as their Christmas gift. There is still time to snag one for your self by clicking here.

Christmas Jammies, Advent Calendars, Holiday Traditions - Christmas Rocks!

2011-12-01T22:26:00.001-05:00

I am in love with the Christmas season. Really, that time from Thanksgiving through Christmas is so unique and special. I found a Christmas card from last year that said, "Next Christmas will rock with a little one around!"

Tonight we started our family Christmas traditions with Naomi.... Christmas jammies, advent calendars, Christmas movies... aahhh, I love it and, thanks to my new camera, I captured some pretty tender moments with our little one as a family. Enjoy!

Subway Tile Backsplash!!!!

2011-11-30T09:24:00.001-05:00

Wahooo! The new kitchen backsplash is in! Merry Christmas to me :-) I know what you are thinking, "Didn't you renovate your kitchen over a year ago?" Yes we did and I hemmed and hawed over what kind of backsplash I wanted. I was stuck between a subway tile backsplash or a beadboard backsplash. Ultimately, we decided that the tile would be significantly easier to clean, especially in a kitchen.

I love the classic nature of subway tile - clean, crisp, timeless! I picked up the tile at lowe's for .26 cents a tile which is just about $2.00 per square foot. I added a little pizzazz over the range with a shell mosaic tile inset and rope border. The shell tile was $9.89 per square foot sheet and I only needed three sheets! The rope border was $1.16 a piece, also from Lowe's. All of our other supplies (mastic, grout, sealant) cost us around $30. We already owned trowels, floats, and sponges from tiling our floor but those supplies would probably total around $30 as well. What an easy way to upgrade and change the look of your kitchen and, thanks to my hubby and pappy, it is complete! I am pleased as punch with how it turned out!

Turkey-Lurkey

2011-11-29T16:40:00.001-05:00

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a wonderful time with family and introduced Naomi to the holiday. Here are some of my favorite pictures!

Happy girl on Thanksgiving!

Practicing her walking while wearing the turkey onesie I made her the other day!

They love each other!

Breakfast - homemade cinnamon buns and eggie casserole - yummy!

Pokey joined in the holiday fun!

Part of our feast!

Thanksgiving buffet!

Naomi and her Great Grandma

These sugar cookies were too cute!

Naomi and her Pa-paw have a special bond!

My first ride since having Naomi and being pregnant - Mach Tower at Busch Garden's Christmas Town. The 240 foot drop was an excellent reintroduction to amusement park rides!

Melt my heart - these are the best moments!

She wanted to try the lemon... didn't even phase her!

Watching Naomi eat the lemon.

The decor!

So pretty!

Family time at Bush Gardens!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Pumpkin Roll with Ginger Buttercream

2011-11-27T21:40:00.001-05:00

Every Thanksgiving I like to try and find something new to add to our bountiful feast. This year, upon recommendation from a friend, I made a pumpkin roll. I made one the very first Thanksgiving I hosted five years ago but this recipe is different. The stuffing for this pumpkin roll is mascarpone cheese and crystalized ginger - a wonderful compliment to pumpkin. The recipe is easy to follow but requires lots of time! It is worth the effort and is very delicious! Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the cake:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus extra for dusting

For the filling:

12 ounces Italian mascarpone cheese
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup minced dried crystallized ginger (not in syrup)
Pinch kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 18 by 1-inch sheet pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the paper.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt and stir to combine. Place the eggs and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light yellow and thickened. With the mixer on low, add the pumpkin, then slowly add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Finish mixing the batter by hand with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake the cake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched.

While the cake is baking, lay out a clean, thin cotton dish towel on a flat surface and sift the entire 1/4 cup of confectioners' sugar evenly over it. (This will prevent the cake from sticking to the towel.) As soon as you remove the cake from the oven, loosen it around the edges and invert it squarely onto the prepared towel. Peel away the parchment paper. With a light touch, roll the warm cake and the towel together (don't press!) starting at the short end of the cake. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, confectioners' sugar, and cream together for about a minute, until light and fluffy. Stir in the crystallized ginger, and salt.

To assemble, carefully unroll the cake onto a board with the towel underneath. Spread the cake evenly with the filling. Reroll the cake in a spiral using the towel as a guide. Remove the towel and trim the ends to make a neat edge. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve sliced.

Ribbon Turkey

2011-11-22T20:50:00.001-05:00

Recently I saw this cute little design on Pinterest.....

Cute right?! I love these cute appliqued shirts but the cost can add up since I do not have my own applique and embroidery machine. I thought I could achieve the same look without the expense and in a short amount of time. Want to get the look, follow this quick tutorial below!

Here is what you need:

Iron
Ribbons
Pins
Needles
Shirt or Onesie
Thread
Felt
Scissors
Heat n Bond Paper

Directions:

Using a scrap piece of paper, cut out a turkey shaped template.
Use your template to cut out your turkey shape on a piece of felt.
Cut out your turkey shape on the heat n bond paper.
Using your iron, attach the heat n bond paper to the felt turkey. Set aside.
Next, prepare your ribbons. Cut to desired length, fold over, and pin to shirt.
Attach the ribbons to the shirt with either a quick stitch or you can use more of your heat n bond paper. Layer more ribbons to get desired look.
As you are attaching your ribbons, check to make sure all of the ends of the ribbons will be hidden under the turkey body.
Then peel the paper off the back of the felt turkey and iron on to the shirt.
Using your thread, run a quick stitch around the edge of the turkey body and beak. Add two stitches for the eyes.
The end result will look something like this....

Aren't the little loops so fun and whimsical?

And there you have it, a fun Tom, or in our case, Tammy the Turkey shirt!

Eight Months

2011-11-21T20:02:00.000-05:00

I promise not to be one of those parents that constantly exclaims, "Where has the time gone?!" Naomi is over eight months old and I know where the time has gone - night feedings, cuddles, lots of laundry, deployment, travels, weddings, visits with friends, long walks, tummy time, practicing rolling, practicing sitting, practicing crawling, scooting, sleeping, eating, exploring, learning, doctor's appointments, meeting new friends.... the list could go on and on. I feel like the past eight months have been pure bliss and that we have jam packed them with lots to do!

This past weekend I did Naomi's eight month pictures. My mom made this cute little outfit for her to wear on Thanksgiving and I created the headband. Little muffin enjoyed playing with the leaves and sitting outside while I took her picture. She also paid me very little attention and had no intentions of looking at the camera. Thank goodness for the new camera and the rapid shutter.

On to the pictures... pardon my lighting, I have been experimenting with the camera to get the right lighting, shutter speeds, lenses, etc.

"Look, I can sit up all by myself!"

"What is a leaf?"

"So interesting!"

"What do I do with it?"

"Definitely, whatever you do, do not eat it! Yucky!"

"I like to crunch the leaf in my hand."

"Whoa, there are a lot of leaves!"

Watching your child exploring something new: priceless!

Baby Soft

2011-11-18T23:02:00.005-05:00

The Christmas craft train is chugging right along at our house and I am soooo glad. I took on a few more crafts this year for the holidays and was feeling a tad bit overwhelmed. Then I scheduled my wisdom tooth extraction for December 14th figuring it would help me keep off those pesky I-enjoyed-one-too-many-holiday-treat pounds but then realized I need to have all of my gifts done by midnight December 13th not knowing how long my recovery will be.

That being said, this next gift, the recipient does not read my blog hence the early post, is my first attempt at the cut chenille quilt. If you are looking for a good tutorial, I referenced one found here on Aesthetic Nest's website. Since this is for an adult and not a baby, I made the quilt 45 inches wide by 60 inches long, a good size quilt for a sofa throw or a lap blanket.

This quilt took far longer than most of my quilts since you spend a majority of your time quilting lots and lots of rows but the end result is really quite nice. It is also a great quilt idea if you like the pattern of a fabric and don't want to chop it up for a pieced together quilt.

A couple of things I would recommend....

I purchased ready made binding and did a more traditional binding method with a hidden stitch. If I tried to bind the way the tutorial instructed, I would go cuh-ray-zee. It would never be perfect enough for me so I just do that finishing by hand and hide the stitches.
Definitely purchase the chenille cutter tool (sometimes they are called Slash rotary cutters). I tracked mine down at a quilt shop for $16.75 and it was worth every cent! I could not imagine cutting the layers of fabric by hand. Even if I never made this type of quilt again, I still would have purchased the tool.
Also, once you wash this quilt for the first time to fluff it up, clean out the lint trap of your dryer. Ours was FULL when it had completed drying the quilt.

Don't you just love the texture?!

I loved this fun print!

The hand cut chenille is soooo comfy and soft!!!! And there you have it, another crafty gift, completed and ready for wrapping! Yahooo!

Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la

2011-11-14T23:32:00.007-05:00

I promise, I am not going to post about watching Christmas movies or listening to my favorite Christmas tunes, at least not until after Thanksgiving. In our house we enjoy savoring each holiday and celebrating it to the fullest so any Christmas festivities, must be saved for the day after Thanksgiving.

That being said, I will be posting about some of my Christmas crafting (hey, I start that pretty early to make sure it is done in time for Christmas Day!) Well, those gifts that either the recipient does not a)read my blog {hello, grandparents} or b) cannot read my blog {Naomi is not like the e-trade baby and does not use a smart phone in bed}.

This year was my biggest undertaking of crafts for the holidays. I can tell you that 95% of the people on my list are receiving a homemade item or two. Hooray for personalized, homemade items!

One of my favorite gifts this year is for Naomi. She L.O.V.E.S. soft, cuddly fabrics, she is very much her father's child I tell ya! When my friend, Winnie, recently started her own applique business, I figured I could make a personalized taggie blankie.

I chose a soft chenille fabric, silky border, and lots of ribbons to add texture and visual interest. I just love how it turned out and I can't wait to see what Naomi thinks of it.

You know us, Disney fans, I had to choose the Minnie Mouse applique pattern with the Disney script!

The fabric is soooo soft!

You can see the Mickey ribbon that planted the idea.

Here it is! I snapped these few pictures right before I wrapped it and put it away for the holidays.

What kind of Christmas projects are you working on?

Because you are going to ask!

2011-11-11T10:14:00.005-05:00

One of my facebook friends j.u.s.t. asked for opinions on a DSLR camera. Funny thing is, my new Canon Rebel T2i j.u.s.t. arrived in the mail yesterday. Happy early Christmas gift! I know that in the next few weeks I will be getting questions about why we chose the Canon over the Nikon so I am including a portion of the message I sent to my friend on here. Plus, if you happen to be in the market, you can use some of the handy links we checked out to make the decision that is best for you and your family. We learned fairly quickly that cameras are so incredibly different and that, like vehicles, they come with loads of options and features and are at multiple price points making them an incredibly personal choice.

First, my background with DSLRs, I was using a Nikon D40x at work to capture all of the pictures at company events. Part time corporate communications specialist, part time photographer! I loved all of the features and ease of use that the camera offered.

When we had Naomi and I stopped working, I realized how much I missed the camera and that we were quickly going to outgrow our point and shoot camera. As Naomi has become more active, capturing pictures without the flash has been near impossible. Flash to me, washes out the pictures and I like the option of changing shutter speeds and apperature settings to allow more natural light rather than employing the use of flash.

Considering DSLRs offer rapid shutter settings, different lens options, versatile shooting modes - essentially a lot of customization, we knew we wanted to stay with that category of cameras. Although, for someone starting out with a DSLR, you need not be intimidated, almost all come with a full automatic mode which is great when you want someone else to use the camera to take your picture or as you learn how everything works.

Thus began my research. Prior to starting I really ruled it down to two manufacturers - Nikon and Canon. A lot of my friends use canon and rave about them so I did not want to limit myself based on prior experience. Additionally, I did not already own hundreds of dollars of lenses so I was a blank slate, able to go in either direction.

We read this review first. Since we were looking to spend no more than $1,000 on the camera we felt that the review leaned slightly in favor of Canons at that price point. I then asked friends who owned Canons about some of the negatives and for non-professional use, they were not experiencing any of the issues brought up in the review. Most of them were unaware of the cons listed in the report like "noise" at higher ISO levels.

We looked at the features between the two manufacturers and felt like there was more bang for your buck with Canon. We bought the T2i because we liked that it captures both photo and video - we will use both with Naomi. Not all Nikons, especially at this price point, feature video capture on their DSLRs but you have to decide if a feature like that is worth it to you. Not to mention, Canon cameras are higher on their pixels than the Nikon cameras at this price point. We want the flexibility of printing our pictures at any size and leaned in favor of the Canon.

Once we decided on manufacturer, we then went to this website to compare different models (this site is great for comparing multiple camera models and manufacturers, weighing the pros and cons in a non-emotional way.) We quickly ruled it down to the Canon T2i and the T3i, which was recently released. I wanted to see if the price difference was really justified. While the link above favors the T2i, I had to be careful with that because I knew the T2I was more recommended by fellow consumers since it has been out on the market longer and more people own it. Needless to say, most professional researchers were saying the T3i did not improve upon photo quality and the improved features, external flash improvements and flip out screen, etc., we did not feel were necessary but you may like the flip out screen and feel it is worth the extra money. Totally a user choice.

What made the difference to us with the T2i was the weight, size, start-up time, sensor cleaning, image quality, video, external mic jack, $, etc.

We purchased the camera body with kit lens on Amazon as it was a significant savings compared to Overstock.com, Abes of Maine, Wal-mart, and other retailers. I thought I would start out with the kit lens just to get used to all of the features of the camera first but Jeff purchased the fish eye, wide angle, and telephoto lenses for me to try out and enjoy. All of the lenses Jeff purchased feature Canon's Image Stabilization technology making it much easier to capture excellent photos!

As you can tell, I am already enjoying the camera and trying not to go overboard taking unnecessary pictures of ev.er.y.thing! :-)

Wiggle Room

2011-11-10T09:58:00.000-05:00

Life lesson #45938134... Always leave a little wiggle room in your budget for a good-deal-purchase!

The other week Jeff was talking about wanting to build a display cabinet for some of his cars. For those of you just joining us, you may not know that my husband has a small-ish collection of diecast cars from the Disney movie, Cars. For those of you that know about this collection, you know it can never be defined as "small-ish."

Either way, the units Jeff looked at online were either way too kitchie or just not right for our house. We ultimately decided on the piece above. Don't you just LOOVVEEE it?! It will give Jeff some display space and some more much needed storage space for our loft and our quickly expanding toy selection.

Doesn't it look just like Pottery Barn?! Well, let me tell ya, we found this gem at JC Penney and bought it for less than half the Pottery Barn price. Also, did you know, you can order items in store with JC Penney AND use two coupon codes?! Hello 10% off and free shipping!

It looks like Christmas is arriving a little early in our house this year and I can't wait to show you how it transforms our loft.

Baby Dedication 2.0

2011-11-09T08:37:00.011-05:00

Does anyone else feel like they are living in a whirlwind? It has been such a busy few weeks packed with travels, home improvements, appointments, etc. and now we are staring down the holidays!

A few weeks ago we dedicated Naomi at church. We had wanted to do it much sooner but a little thing called deployment took up a majority of our schedule this year. We did, however, squeeze in a quick onboard dedication right before the ship left, just the three of us. I will be sure to post those pictures soon too. It deserves its own post though since it was such a different and unique experience.

Needless to say, this dedication was a lot of fun. We were surrounded by family and friends as we dedicated our child in thanksgiving to the Lord. Thanks family and friends for supporting us as we start this new chapter of our lives!

"Mama, what is going on?!"

Jeff was using the camera to capture candid shots of us cooking...

Naomi and her Pa-paw - She is in LOVE with him!

Dedication day - Proud papa

All of the ladies

The gentlemen

The family

What is a celebration without tons of food!

Yummy cake!

My sister-in-law was able to join us and took some pretty sweet pictures....

During the dedication. Naomi wore the same dedication outfit that my sister, brother, and I wore when we were dedicated.

I told Jeff to from here on out tell me when my resting face makes me look like a goober!

Naomi went down for a nap after church and was ready to see all of her family!

My little love of my life!

Such a happy girl

"Hello peeps!"

"What is this stuff?"

"No Mama, I did not eat any cake!"

"Hhhmmm"

"Do you mind?"

Fist bump!

Let them eat cake...

2011-11-06T22:01:00.005-05:00

Yes, we are THOSE parents, the ones who don't take life too seriously and let our child eat sweets occasionally. Recently, I ordered a cake for Naomi's dedication and that night we let her try a piece of cake.

She isn't one for sticking things in her mouth so unless we fed her the cake, she pretty much enjoyed smashing it to smithereens! We had a good time watching her shuffle the cake around her tray and try to figure out what it was.

"What is this stuff mama?"

"It sure is squishy!"

"It sure is fun to play with!"

I love her little face in these pictures! Are you one of THOSE parents too? When did you first let your little ones have an indulgence?

We're going through changes...

2011-11-03T23:22:00.006-04:00

Our foyer has seen some changes since we moved in over two years ago.

Here is what it started out as... yellow walls, blue door, brass hardware and light, linoleum, carpet = hot mess!

Bye-bye sunshine yellow, hello biscuit!

Then I painted the door red and changed all of the hardware on the doors!

Once we realized our neighborhood was the stomping grounds of many solicitors, who disrespect your family time and are bold enough to look in your windows to see if you are home, we decided on thermal drapes. Hey, we are energy efficient about keeping prying eyes from, uh, er, prying!

Finally we replaced the light. Pottery Barn has a similar light but it will set you back $250 bones! So when Overstock.com started carrying this look-a-like for $150, my wallet gave me a sigh of relief!

Oh, and the ledges, this house has quite a few. What to do, what to do.... I am not a fake plants on ledges that collect dust bunnies the size of small children kind of person. I much rather prefer vignettes. We had these two antique trunks and Jeff's Titanic model that I could see falling prey to small hands so the combination is perfect!

Last but not least, we have new floors now - wahoo! Goodbye linoleum! What a much nicer way to welcome our guests!

She did it again!

2011-11-02T23:20:00.009-04:00

When Jeff returned home last month from deployment we were able to squeeze in one last photoshoot with Simply Serendipity Photography. That's right folks, our photographer has moved to San Diego.... all of you San Diego residents are lucky ducks!

Jessica does such a great job at mixing textures, editing, and capturing our personalities to provide us with the most beautiful photos. Even her candid shots are spectacular and some of our most cherished photos. Here are some of my favorites from our shoot....

Thanks Jessica for ALL of the wonderful moments you have captured this year with our family. It might be a while before we have another photoshoot but this certainly was not our last!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:58:00.004-04:00

Halloween is officially over and we are just hours away from the beginning of November! We had a nice day today - a walk around the neighborhood, Naomi had a nice afternoon nap, and Daddy came home from work early! It's the simple things in life, I tell ya!

Tonight we broke out the Halloween bib for dinner and Naomi had "Halloween" food - sweet potatoes, brocolli, and yogurt. Say it with me now, "Yummm!" Naomi also enjoyed some white grape juice in her sippy cup. We have been working with her and so far, she seems to enjoy drinking something different so she doesn't mind the delivery method.

Such a big girl!

Happy girl!

After dinner we dressed Naomi up for some trick or treating. I had done my hair and make-up during her nap time. I was looking for a time to try a WWII inspired hair and make-up style so Halloween seemed like the right time. My costume, we titled it, the not-so-desperate-housewife!

My little Rosie the Riveter!

Ready to trick or treat!

Man, I love this girl!

When I say we trick or treated, we really only went next door and then came home. Since Naomi cannot eat candy, it was rather cold out, and it was so close to bedtime, we opted to stay close to home and hand out candy.

Ringing the doorbell.... "Tricks or Treats!"

And this is what we look like after handing out a ton of candy and getting a very tired little one off to bed! Hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween!

Before and After Extravaganza!

2011-10-25T10:36:00.006-04:00

I have been perusing my photos of this house from the time we moved in up to now and, Whoa!, we have been busy! I probably should do a room by room update so you can see the changes because I think it is quite drastic and for the better!

Here is the first room from the great Reno-pacalypse 2011! The powder room, loo, water closet, whatever you want to call it, it was a hot mess! Here is how it looked when we first moved in....

Bad mirror, awful faucet, and don't even get me started on the contractor grade towel bar - yucky! For the safety of your eyes, we did not even photograph the light fixture, it was B.A.D.

When we did our initial move-in we changed it to look like this....
New mirror, faucet, and hardware.
Unfortunately, the toilet and sink had to stay even though they needed replacing. Not sure how the original owners did it, but they managed to eat the finish off of the pedestal sink that was then stained yellow from who knows what. Not pictured - the flooring, that spawn of the devil stuff they call linoleum! I guess I should apologize if you had to use this bathroom before we fixed it up.

As we were prepping for all of our home improvement work, we decided to have the bathroom floor replaced since all of the other flooring downstairs was being replaced and we happened to have flooring leftover from our kitchen reno. Then it snowballed into "let's replace everything in this bathroom since it needs it and if we are taking it out to put flooring in, junky stuff isn't going back in!" kind of project!

Eventually, we ended up tearing out the trim because it reeked of urine thanks to the little kids who occupied the house before us.
Aaahhhh new travertine tile!
We love tile placed on the diagonal!
Then I got it in my head that this little bathroom could be a gem. Since it was so small, I decided to have our contractor install a board and batten type trim detail to the room as well as six inch baseboards and six inch crown.
My husband wanted a throne.... this thing practically requires a step stool to sit upon it!

Are you ready for the afters? Really? It is going to blow your socks off!
Welcome to our new commode abode...
The view from the doorway
New soap pump... I loved the antique glass look.
New vanity with lots of storage!
New floors with the same rug as before.
We picked up this map of the Caribbean on our recent cruise and it looks perfect in this room. Truthfully, I wanted to wallpaper above the board and batten with a map patterned paper but that isn't everyone's cup of tea and when looking at resale, we opted for a nicely framed map instead!
Better view of the map.
We reused our oil-rubbed bronze hardware.
View of the crown from the toilet. Lowes is carrying a line of trim replicated from historic homes throughout America. This was the crown in the Woodrow Wilson house.
The new toilet.
We picked up another picture on our cruise that just suited this new bathroom and so there you have it, our new loo!

Want to get the look:

Toilet - The Devonshire by Kohler - Lowes - $230
Vanity - Allen + Roth - $199
Mirror - Better Homes and Gardens for Wal-mart - $30
Light Fixture - Wal-mart - $14
Hardware - Home Emporium - ranged from $4 to $8 per piece
Soap Pump - Target - $12
Rug - World Market - $20
Various Trim (Battens, baseboards, crown, quarter round, etc.) - Lowes - $75
Travertine Tiles - Floor Trader - $2.25 per square foot
Faucet - Home Emporium - $45
Frames for artwork - Michael's - $20

Like I said, I used a lot of the items we had previously installed like the hardware, mirror, and light fixture and leftovers such as the flooring. Our investment in this space was the trim, toilet, sink, and minor supplies like caulk and grout. If you are looking for a good Board and Batten tutorial, please click here. The only deviations we made from this tutorial were, no boards since our walls were not textured, I did however paint the walls with the glossy trim paint to make it appear more cohesive as if we had installed the boards, and I picked out trim that would allow us to install more quickly without requiring 45 degree cuts. That means purchasing trim that does not taper and has more of a shelf type edge to it allowing you to butt up your 90 degree cuts on the battens with the trim.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

2011-10-24T10:23:00.005-04:00

This will go down as one of my most favorite Falls ever! The season that is, I did not have a favorite fall to the ground :-) Jeff is home, we have our little munchkin, and we are *finally* passing on fun traditions. This weekend we went to the pumpkin patch.

We went in the mid afternoon to pick some pumpkins, purchase some home-grown canned goods, and ride the very iconic, horse-drawn hayride! Our friends Sarah and Jack, their wee one Henry, and Eric and Andra joined us for a fun afternoon. Later that night we had everyone over for some hearty Chili and enjoyed beautiful fall day!

Walking the aisles, looking for pumpkins!
It's starting to fill up!
Our little love!
A very full wheelbarrow!
Quality family time!
Waiting in line for our horse-drawn hayride! Lovin' the sunburst!
On our hayride
Naomi "holding" the reigns.

Wedding weekend

2011-10-19T17:17:00.002-04:00

Does anybody else feel like this year has just FLOWN by?! It is already the middle of October and I still have loads to do before Christmas!

This past weekend we went up to Annapolis for a wedding and to see some friends of ours who we met in Florida that were traveling to DC for their anniversary! It was a quick weekend but we had a great time!

Naomi and I waiting for the wedding to begin! Can you believe her hair even has hairspray in it... it is sooo wild?
The beautiful bride and groom.... we realized the last time Jeff and I were at the Naval Academy Chapel for a wedding was our wedding five years ago. We had fun reminiscing!
My stone cold fox of a husband was in the sword arch.
Hanging out at the reception.
Naomi, a true girl, already loves looking at everyone's accessories! My mom, queen of necklaces, is one of Naomi's most favorite people because she always has an accessory on to study!
Here is a group shot.
Sunday we picked up our friends, Josh and Rebecca, and showed them Annapolis and the Naval Academy.
We realized it had been over two years since we saw Josh and Rebecca since they now live in Alabama and our various trips to Jacksonville have not lined up.
Naomi was happy to meet another "Auntie" and "Uncle" and we had a great time catching up with some of our dearest friends!

The BEST EVER!!!!

2011-10-18T16:57:00.004-04:00

When I was planning for Sarah's baby shower I wanted to try some new recipes along with some of my faithful standbys. This stuffed mushroom cap recipe was new for me and after serving it at two parties, it has been deemed a keeper by everyone who attended!

I found it on allrecipes.com, where it had rave reviews! I made a couple additions to the recipe which I will note below. Otherwise, try having just one and ENJOY!

Ingredients

24 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1lb ground Italian sausage, browned
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
In a large skillet over medium heat brown Italian sausage and drain.
Add oil, garlic, and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and breadcrumbs. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Salmon Salad

2011-10-17T00:00:00.001-04:00

I recently made this salad for the baby shower I recently hosted. I wanted a refreshing side salad that had lots of veggies and a punch of flavor! This salad is best served cold and perfect for baby showers, bridal showers, potlucks, or a quick side to accompany dinner! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Mayo (You can substitute sour cream)
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1/4 Cup Horseradish
1/4 Cup Fresh Dill
1 tsp Salt
1 lb of Pasta (your choice of shape)
2 Cucumbers - peeled, quartered, and sliced
4 Medium Tomatoes - Diced
1 Small Onion - Diced
1 Large Can of Salmon

Directions:
Cook pasta according to the directions provided on the box, drain, and cool. Add tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and salmon. In a separate bowl mix mayo, sour cream, horseradish, dill, and salt together. Pour over salad and stir until well mixed.

Chop Salad - Outback Steakhouse Style!

2011-10-16T17:06:00.002-04:00

Isn't this just the most colorful salad?! If you have a mandolin food slicer, this is the perfect salad to make! It is a copy-cat recipe from Outback Steakhouse so you get the restaurant taste without the restaurant bill!

Outback Steakhouse Chop Salad

Ingredients:

Pecan Pieces (1 Bag)
24 Pieces of Angel Hair Pasta
4 Cups Chopped Lettuce
1/3 Cup Chopped Green Onion
1/4 Cup Shredded Red Cabbage
1/4 Cup Shredded Carrots
1/4 Cup Crumbled Blue Cheese
1 Bottle of Girard's Champagne Dressing

Directions:

Saute pecans and set aside to cool.
In saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to boil. Break angel hair pasta into bite size pieces, add to boiling water, and boil for 2 minutes.
Drain pasta and add to the pecans. Saute until noodles appear crunchy.
Combine vegetables in a large bowl and top with blue cheese (if you are like me and don't like blue cheese, you can serve it on the side for guests to add later) and pecan-noodle mixture. Drizzle with champagne dressing and serve!

Rosie the Riveter

2011-10-13T21:14:00.003-04:00

I am so excited about holidays now that we have a little one in the house! I had been thinking about what Naomi should be for Halloween this year and I thought, "How cute would Rosie the Riveter be?!" We don't do traditional around here so dressing her as a pumpkin would just not do :-)

Want to copy the look:
Bandana - Walmart - $1.00
Jeans - Old Navy - $5.00 (Ours were hand-me-downs but they always have some in their sale rack)
Yellow Waffle Weave Shirt - Children's Place - $8.00
Plaid Shirt - Target - $6.00
Lunch box - The Smithsonian (about 10 years ago!) - $10.00
I will be making a Rosie the Riveter Button from some supplies I already have but you can purchase the pin for $2.00 on Etsy!

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

2011-10-11T18:01:00.000-04:00

We are in the midst of Reno-pacalypse 2011 here at the casa! All summer we had been preparing for this week. Pricing, shopping, comparing, prepping just for this one week were we would be installing our hardwood floors, new powder room, kitchen hardware, foyer light, and any other home improvement our little budget and time would allow.

I really, really, really wanted exposed wood steps. I love the look of the dark finish treads and the white risers. Unfortunately, it is a shot in the dark as to the condition of your steps underneath the carpeting.

Low and behold when our contractor removed the carpeting, what did we find, but really poorly constructed, if not, down right dangerous, stairs. There is no runner down the middle of the stairs to provide support, the risers were constructed out of plywood, and the stairs rested on 1/4" {yes, the " indicates inches!} of wood on each side. Needless to say, we were quite thankful that at no time during our occupancy anyone, to include house guests, fell through our steps. Yikes! I knew the hardwood floor install was the biggest chunk of both time and budget, I just didn't realize it would be this much!

So here we are, finishing up our projects and now, mama has a brand new set of stairs.... what is it they say - two steps forward, one step back?!

Traveling FAQS!

2011-10-10T14:54:00.007-04:00

Boy did we receive a lot of questions about our family vacation. I figured rather than address them separately, I would post it to the old blogger-roo!

Did you take Naomi? Yes!
How old was she when she went on the trip? 6 months.
Why did you take her? Whoa this one is a doozy and probably my most asked question (even by strangers)! She is a) still nursing, b) a part of our family, hence calling it a family vacation, c) we enjoy being around our child, shocking I know!, d) Jeff just returned from a four month deployment where he was not around either of us, do you really think I could pry her from his arms?! e) it's not like Naomi is running all over the ship and causing trouble.
Did you feel like it was a vacation since you were taking care of your child the entire time? Oh boy, yes, it was still a great vacation! We had a great time reading, relaxing, swimming, movies, shows, dinner, essentially, all that we would do had Naomi not been with us, we were able to do with her. She is such a laid back little kiddo and very easy to take care of and entertain. We did manage to have a date night since the ship provides excellent child care for the littlest of travelers.
What did you think of the childcare onboard the ship? It was great! It was extremely secure, the facilities were excellent, and the care providers were highly qualified and very well trained in what they were doing. We actually doubt that most of the people we would consider leaving Naomi with here at home have the level of training and education that the care providers onboard the ship had.
How did Naomi handle the airplane? Great! The white noise put her to sleep about 5 minutes into the flight and she slept most of the trip!
With a little one, you must have packed a lot of stuff. How much did you pack? We traveled VERY light! One suitcase and one carry-on each. Disney provided a crib, high chair, and fresh fruit and vegetable purees for Naomi so there was no need to pack lots of baby equipment or food.
Did you have to pay for Naomi? Disney offers a few weeks out of the year where cruises are free for children under a certain age. However, if you end up paying for your little one to tag along, it is VERY reasonable! Some cruise lines charge the same for children as adults but if your child is the third or fourth cabin member onboard a Disney Cruise, they sail for as little as $175 (depending on length of cruise).
Are you worried about the sun exposure in the Caribbean? Simply put, no. Naomi's swimsuits are all treated with SPF, she wears sunscreen and hats whenever we go outside, and we always looked for shady spots to hang out under to protect her skin.

Things we did to make our trip easier!

Jeff or I would wear Naomi in her front pack when we were riding the buses or flying on the airplane. It prevented her from flying into the air during those pesky pockets of turbulence or speed bumps.
We spent a mini-fortune on the travel sized anit-bacterial wipes, lysol cans, hand sanitizer, and febreeze! We would treat surfaces, hands, and the air (hello, poopy diapers!) Oh, and those lovely Arm and Hammer diaper disposal bags are great for containing unpleasant diaper odors.
We took her stroller everywhere! We would use it for feedings, sleeping, walking around the ship, lounging around the pool deck, etc. All of the features we love about our stroller like the huge sun shade, the back that lays flat, all-terrain wheels, etc. really came in handy as we maneuvered around and kept our little one comfortable!
With a little one, I pack WAAAYYYY in advance! I started setting aside everything about 4 weeks in advance to make sure I did not miss any essential and important items.
Nothing like Murphy's Law for teething or some other kind of medical issue to arise when you either don't have access to or have to spend the equivalent of a mortgage payment to purchase medicine. So, I picked up all new bottles of tylenol, mylicon, and teething cream to have just.in.case!

Truly the smiles in our pictures are genuine and our experience was restful and memory-filled!

Two Words... Disney Cruise

2011-10-04T22:28:00.007-04:00

And we're back folks! Last week we spent an A.MA.ZING week cruising the Caribbean onboard the Disney Magic. I can't say enough good things about our vacation. It was so refreshing to spend time as a family!

September 23rd: Naomi took her first flight! We flew into Jacksonville to visit with our sweet friends! We had a great day seeing everyone! Here is what it looks like trying to get a picture of oodles of mamas and a lot of babies...

September 24th: We drove down to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Magic...

September 25th: Our first day at sea! We spent a lot of it lounging around the pool, reading books, relaxing, and preparing for formal night...

September 26th: Second day at sea! Hey, I could get used to this relaxing, no cleaning, gourmet meals, rock star lifestyle! We also participated in our first of many character breakfasts.

September 27th: St. Martin! Wahoo! We took a neat bus tour around the island and learned a lot about this little island, occupied by two countries, with very amicable results. For dinner, Jeff and I snuck away to Disney's adult only restaurant, Palo's, courtesy of Disney's fantastic childcare.

September 28th: St. Thomas! We did some shopping at an open air market and headed back to the ship for a dip in the pool. The water is gorgeous at St. Thomas but it was very humid and hot!

September 29th: Our third and final day at sea and semi-formal night...

September 30th: CASTAWAY CAY! By far our favorite island! Disney's private island is great - no street market hecklers, beautiful beaches, and tranquility - ahhhh!

October 1st: Our last morning onboard. We had a nice breakfast and disembarked to head home. Just before leaving, Jeff wanted me to take a picture of Naomi in her baby life jacket. I could not stop laughing because she made the most hilarious faces the entire time...

So there you have it... our vacation in a nutshell ;-) Next up... tips for traveling with an infant!

Governor's Mansion Summer Peach Tea Punch

2011-09-29T12:07:00.002-04:00

Here is another recipe, yep you guessed it, from the baby shower I hosted recently. This recipe received RAVE reviews from every party goer! It was sooo good! You just have to try it at your next get together!

Ingredients

4 cups water
3 family-size tea bags
2 cups loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1 (33.8-oz.) bottle peach nectar
1 (6-oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup Simple Sugar Syrup (Please see below for directions)
1 (1-liter) bottle ginger ale, chilled
1 (1-liter) bottle club soda, chilled
Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Preparation

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan; add tea bags and 2 cups mint leaves. Boil 1 minute; remove from heat. Cover and steep 10 minutes.
2. Remove and discard tea bags and mint. Pour into a 1-gal. container; add peach nectar, lemonade concentrate, and Simple Sugar Syrup. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
3. Pour chilled tea mixture into a punch bowl. Stir in ginger ale and club soda just before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Simple Sugar Syrup

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Preparation

1. Bring 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is clear. Cool to room temperature.

Baby Bird Cupcakes!

2011-09-28T12:12:00.004-04:00

This post follows a series of posts relating to a recent Baby Bird Shower I hosted. To read about the event, please click here.

Here is the Triple Chocolate Cake recipe I used for the cupcakes. Instead of making this recipe in a bundt cake mold, I used a cupcake tray and baked them for 17 minutes.

1 pkg. Devil's Food cake mix
1 (4 oz.) pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
1 (12 oz.) chocolate chips
1 3/4 c. milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, chocolate chips. In a separate bowl combine milk, eggs and vanilla extract. Add egg mixture to dry mixture and mix by hand until blended. Pour into a greased 10 inch (3 quart) bundt pan.

Bake 350°F for 50-55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Remove from pan.

To decorate your cupcakes:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut (about 5 ounces)
Yellow and light-blue food coloring
Chocolate buttercream frosting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until light brown, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating pan once. Set aside to cool.
Lightly frost cupcakes with 1 cup chocolate buttercream; set aside. Tint 2 tablespoons reserved buttercream pale yellow; place in a pastry bag fitted with a #349 Ateco leaf tip; set aside. Tint remaining buttercream light blue; place in a pastry bag fitted with a #11 Ateco plain round tip, and pipe three bluebird heads, 3/4 inch in diameter, onto each cupcake. Using leaf tip, pipe yellow beaks. With a toothpick, add melted-chocolate eyes. Form each nest with 2 tablespoons toasted coconut.

Whooot... Whooot!!!

2011-09-26T12:10:00.000-04:00

One of my besties, Angela, just had her second little bundle of joy, Bradley a few weeks ago. During the Summer, I was busy coming up with fun nursery themes for sweet baby boy. Ultimately, Angela and Dustin decided on the Owl themed nursery I had concocted.

Initially, this little project started out as a I-will-just-make-a-pillow-for-the-rocker idea. Yeah, then the pillow turned out so cute and Angela had opted not to purchase a bed set with a quilt, so it kind of snowballed and, poof, I started making a quilt too! I love how everything turned out and I think it is going to look splendid in his new room!

Naval Academy Art

2011-09-25T11:46:00.001-04:00

Can I tell you... I love buying gifts for my brother right now. He is in his first place and a recent college graduate, put all of that together and you get someone who has lots of home start-up needs. Baby Brother celebrated his 23rd birthday a few weeks ago and I finally finished his birthday gift.

Having lived at the Naval Academy for a spell and then moving away, you kind of grow to miss the place. It holds a lot of family memories for us - our house on the base, playing frisbee on the parade field, running around the base... we loved living there. Needless to say, Aaron has picked up and moved clear across the country to California! I know he is enjoying it out there but I also know how much you miss little reminders of what grew to be home.

This gift really is two birds with one stone - fun and functional. I found some great, detailed shots of the Naval Academy, edited away, and voila - art! One wall will be a little less bare!
Oh yeah, I am posting these pictures before Aaron receives his package... but like most brothers, he relies on emails and facebook posts to stay up to date rather than read my blog :-) Jeff, however, did email Aaron to let him know boxes of diapers would be arriving in preparation for our upcoming trip... haha! Little does he know what the box actually contains{Maybe we will have to tell him to open the box!} *Insert maniacal laughter here*

Lime Fizz

2011-09-23T00:01:00.002-04:00

One of the drinks I served at the Baby Bird Shower I recently hosted was lime fizz. I love lime! It is one of my most favorite flavors, not to mention, oh so refreshing! This recipe is super easy and inexpensive!

Ingredients

Crushed ice
3/4 to one cup lime simple syrup (See directions below)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 1/2 cups chilled club soda

Preparation

Fill a large pitcher with crushed ice. Pour Lime Simple Syrup and lime juice over ice. Add club soda, and stir gently to combine. Serve immediately.

Lime Simple Syrup

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lime zest
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Preparation

Cook sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in lime zest and lime juice. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Homecoming!

2011-09-21T10:52:00.006-04:00

You all may have noticed something different about my most recent pictures or maybe that there is an addition to our pictures.... perhaps, like this guy.....
On Friday, September 10th, we picked up Jeff from the airport. It was an 11:15pm arrival and we were prepared for a two hour customs wait. Thankfully, Jeff was the second person out the door and we were soooo glad to see him.

Naomi did great and was as excited as can be for midnight :-)

Naomi was not interested in shoes or accessories that late at night. Keeping it real folks!

We did capture this cute little picture.
Aaannndd to make our trip to the airport a success, we changed Naomi back into her jammies for the ride home but not before a quick game of toss.
Reunited and it feels so good!

Pavlova - Sooo delish!

2011-09-17T14:34:00.005-04:00

I had never heard of a pavlova until one of my parent's friends, Rosslyn, made one for a get together about a year and a half ago. She was telling me they are quite the rage in Australia where she is from and even brings the pavlova on a cute little pavlova dish that has the recipe right on it. It, however, is not an "Americanized" recipe, so I asked Rosslyn to please send me the American version.

Pavlovas are a meringue type dessert that is light and, once topped with fresh fruit, very refreshing. We could also entitle this recipe "The Magic Disappearing Dessert" in our house since it never lasts very long. I hope you enjoy it just as much as we do!

Pavlova

Beat the whites of 4 eggs with a pinch of salt for 5 to 6 minutes (mine took about 8-10 minutes, just keep an eye on it,)
Gradually adding 1 cup of sugar,
1 teaspoon of vinegar,
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence, and beat until stiff.

Sift 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and fold in lightly.

Wet the bottom (upside down so it slides off easier once cooked) of a
pizza tray with cold water, then heap mixture onto the damp surface.

Using electric oven: preheat to 400 degrees, then set at 250 degrees
and bake undisturbed for 1 & 1/2 hours . . . no longer.
Using gas oven: bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees then for further 1
hour turned to low (300F).

Top pavlova with whipped cream and decorate with fruit as desired.
Recommended are: fruit salad or sliced strawberries or crushed
pineapple or banana.

Baby Bird Shower

2011-09-14T23:03:00.009-04:00

We do not slow down in this family I tell ya. We picked Jeff up from the airport on Friday night and the next day hosted a baby shower for a dear friend. Sarah is due with her little man in just a few short weeks and we spent the afternoon celebrating her little bundle o' love!

In keeping with her very classy nursery, I chose a bird and garden theme. Sarah is one for trendy ideas and attention to detail, which I hope is evident in the following pictures.

I have a few posts planned with various recipes from the shower and craft ideas. I spent Jeff's deployment crafting and preparing for this shower so there are lots of little details to show you. For now, enjoy the pictures of our fun afternoon!

Food:
Salmon Salad
Ham Sandwiches with Mustard Poppy Seed Sauce
Chop Salad
Mozzarella Salad
Pavlova
Triple Chocolate Cupcakes
Stuffed Mushrooms
Lime Fizz
Governor's Peach Tea Punch
Water

I hung a wreath from the ceiling with the menu inserted in it.
My plate - delicious! I love mixing different textures like china and mason jars, burlap and white crisp linens. The look worked well for this party!
This idea came from Martha Stewart's website and was super easy to do! The nests were toasted coconut and the little chicks were pipped icing with chocolate dot eyes!

Decor:
Lots and lots of birds, florals, and garden-ish embellishments!

Sign on the front door

Dining room
Embellished wrought iron chandelier
Details on the table
My mom had this terrarium she was getting rid of so I snagged it for the shower!
Sarah's chair had it's own special tie back.
Everyone else had these tie backs. You are going to die when I show you how inexpensive these are to make!
Sarah's plate!
Outside the dining room.
The kitchen table.
Little details.
Favor table
Robin egg soaps - also easy to make!
The living room
Coffee table with little bird die cuts. Guests answered three questions on the bird die cuts.

Entertainment:
Photobooth
Know your nursery rhyme game
Baby Genius Game

Games with favors... homemade salt scrub
Photobooth! By far, everyone's favorite thing and also a great alternative to the guest book!

And of course, out littlest hostess with the mostest is looking forward to her new friend arriving soon!

121 Days

2011-09-13T22:46:00.001-04:00

I am happy to say that after 121 days, our favorite hubby & daddy has returned! We have been enjoying lots of family time these past few days and taking lots of pictures like this.... (and for those who were wondering, Naomi has accepted Jeff back into the family and is an even happier baby than before, if that was at all possible! I think I have a Daddy's girl on my hands and I love it!)

Love at First Sight - New Hardwood Floors

2011-09-07T22:28:00.003-04:00

This project has been a long time coming. Pretty much since the day we moved into our house two years ago we knew we would want to replace the flooring. Now with a little one and mobility looming, we are finally getting around to replacing the carpet throughout the downstairs and up the stairs.

Today I went to Lumber Liquidators to purchase our new handscraped hardwood floors. After reading many reviews, we chose Mayflower's Sundance flooring. Why handscraped, you may be wondering? It is so incredibly forgiving and with a little one, it is reassuring to know that little dents and dings from wear and tear will only add to the character rather than mean a refinish job. Stay tuned for before and after pictures in a few weeks as our contractor works to install the floors.

Ready for Fall?

2011-09-04T01:22:00.001-04:00

Are I all ready for Fall? There is so much I enjoy about the season; the cooler temperatures, crunchy leaves, the smell of cinnamon, yes, please!

Today Naomi and I were shopping in Michael's and I could not resist trying one of the turkey visors on her. It was sooooo stinkin' cute on her. Then it hit me, this is Naomi's first fall. As Much as I miss Summer and don't look forward to Winter, I am so excited to start new family traditions and introduce Naomi to the fun of Fall.

So, what are some of the things you look forward to during Fall? Any special traditions you enjoy during this time of the year?

The Hot Pink Polka-Dot

Mantle project - done!

Eskimo Baby

kus·puk

Mirror, Mirror on the wall

Freebie for YOU!

Score!!!!!

The Next Best Thing

An Adele kind of night

Party in the house tonight!!!

Eli Manning's Lace Cookies - hey, if you can't play the game, eat like a champ!

Your Invited

The Loo

I shake my tail back and forth!

Scrap Fabric Craft - Rag Wreath!

Sweet as sugar

Fun Mail

Let Them Eat Cake - Cupcake Banner Tutorial

Party Time

Craigslist Shopping List

Technology... it's a beautiful thing!

Daydreaming

Love at first sight

Here's the skinny

Adios 2011

Favorite Things

10 Points for me!

Although it's been said, many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you!

Meet and Greet

Haul Out the Holly, Put Up the Tree Before My Spirit Falls Again!

Our Little Cupcake

Deck the Halls

A little less wise

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Oh, Christmas Tree!

Chocolate Spoons

Christmas Jammies, Advent Calendars, Holiday Traditions - Christmas Rocks!

Subway Tile Backsplash!!!!

Turkey-Lurkey

Pumpkin Roll with Ginger Buttercream

Ingredients

For the cake:

For the filling:

Directions

Ribbon Turkey

Eight Months

Baby Soft

Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la

Because you are going to ask!

Wiggle Room

Baby Dedication 2.0

Let them eat cake...

We're going through changes...

She did it again!

Happy Halloween!

Before and After Extravaganza!

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

Wedding weekend

The BEST EVER!!!!

Ingredients

Directions

Salmon Salad

Chop Salad - Outback Steakhouse Style!

Rosie the Riveter

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Traveling FAQS!

Two Words... Disney Cruise

Governor's Mansion Summer Peach Tea Punch

Ingredients

Preparation

Ingredients

Preparation

Baby Bird Cupcakes!

Ingredients

Directions

Whooot... Whooot!!!

Naval Academy Art

Lime Fizz

Ingredients

Preparation