First Christmas Project of the Season

The weekend before Thanksgiving was my annual boutique and it was awesome this year! Good Day Sacramento came early on Friday morning and did a couple segments with our group. It was fun to hear so many people say that they stopped by because they saw us on TV that morning. Especially when they came looking for something specific.
Even though I love “boutique week,” it’s always a relief when it’s done because I can start working on something for myself without being under a deadline.

Every year I say I’m going to make some Christmas stockings and I finally did it. I used bits and pieces of a couple different tutorials from Diary of a Quilter and Fabric Worm. They turned out better than I expected, although I still need to work on sewing while turning. I just can’t seem to keep it even.

I think the tree and the sequins stockings are my favorite.  I will definitely be making more before Christmas is here.

Linking To:
Reasons to Skip the Housework, Sugar Bee Crafts
Blackberry Vine, Coastal Charm

Ruffle Apron

I have never been much of a sewer, but after seeing Krista Maurer's Ruffle Apron Tutorial, I knew it wouldn't be long before I really got into it.  This apron was so easy to make and I love the way it turned out.  The ruffles really make it look like I know what I'm doing.

I ended up making two at the same time.  I wanted to give them away as Christmas gifts, but I think I'm going to end up keeping one for myself.

Linking to:

Beyond the Picket Fence, Somewhat Simple, Katie's Nesting Spot

Shabby Creek Cottage, Fireflies and Jellybeans

Buffet Redo

I found this buffet on Craigslist a few years ago for $40.  It came with a hutch so it was a pretty good deal.  When we moved into our current house, we used the bottom half to hold the TV until we could find something better.  We ended up really liking the set up, so we kept it.  The only problem was, the buffet hadn't been painted yet.

It sat in our family room like this for almost a year, through parties and holidays.  My mom was so embarrassed for me.  Every time someone came over, she would tell them that it would be painted soon and that's not the way it would stay.

Finally, before a big family party, I took it out to the garage and painted it.  The original plan was to paint the bottom and stain the top a dark brown, like our dining room table.  For some reason, the stain would not take, so I had to paint the whole thing.  I used a flat interior paint, distressed the edges and then used Minwax Finishing Paste to seal it.  I love the way it turned out.  I have a hard time with the gloss paint because it leaves too many brush strokes.  With the flat paint, I don't have any.  The paste gives it a smooth satiny finish. 

It's been painted since May and I don't have a single scratch or ding on it.  The finishing wax is so durable!  Even with both my girls opening and closing the doors constantly, it is still holding up. 

Linking to:
Making the World Cuter, The Girl Creative, Sumos Sweet Stuff
The DIY Showoff, Keeping it Simple, C.R.A.F.T.

Summer/Fall

It's been much too long since I've posted anything.  After awhile I kind of forgot I even had a blog.

We've been working on a bunch of things around the house, so I'll share those soon!  But here's a look at a few of the things we've done this year.

We spent a lot of time working on the yard.  We planted a lot of plants and put up a new back fence.  Still no grass, but we are making progress.  Very slow progress.

Spent a weekend in Lake Tahoe, stayed in a horrible motel, Sidney got really sick, ended up in the ER.  Luckily everything was fine.

Spent most weekends in the backyard playing in the sprinklers.

Went to a Giants baseball game.

Madison started her second season of soccer.  Did a lot of bribing to make a goal.

Made her first three goals in the same game!  She got a new barbie doll and a chocolate sundae from McDonalds.

 Started Kindergarten.

Spent time with cousins.

Picked out some pumpkins.

Went Trick-or-Treating.

Run To Remember This Memorial Day

It's been awhile since I've mentioned the group my sister started almost four years ago, Wear Blue: Run To Remember.  She started this group after her husband died overseas. 

This weekend, she is asking as many people as possible to run (or walk) on Memorial Day to remember our fallen soldiers.  If you are a runner, or a walker, and you would like to pledge some miles, she would really appreciate it.  The goal is 6,460 miles - A mile for every life lost in the Global War on Terror.  As of this post, 5,812 miles have been pledged.   If you are interested, please go here and pledge your miles for Monday. 

If you are interested in running with a group, you can see some of the meet ups here. 

I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!

We Had A Great Easter

Project Life Week 10

This week we went to a lottery drawing for a charter school we are trying to get into and when they finished I realized my number was never called.  Turns out they forgot to add two bags of numbers to the lottery pool so they had to call everyone that got in and tell them they had to do it over again!  Ha!  I've never seen so many angry people at an elementary school.  We went back two days later and still didn't get in.

I did get another week done in my project life album.  I didn't have much time with everything going on this week, so this layout is super simple.

Project LIfe Weeks 8 and 9

We've had several busy weeks lately and I just can't seem to keep up with everything.  As soon as I came back from Hawaii it got crazy at work and at home. 

We've been trying to get Madison into any school except the one in our district, but no luck.  The private school we applied to was full, the first charter school had a lottery and we didn't get in.  We ended up number 143 on the waiting list.  I have one more lottery tonight and I'm waiting on two letters for an inter-district transfer.  I hate this part of parenting.

In between all of our craziness I finished a few project life pages.

This first week was huge for me.  It's totally silly, but for me, it was huge.  I've been dying my hair since I was a sophmore in high school with my friend Mandy in her bathroom.  Ever since I can remember, I've wanted blonde hair.  Not just blonde, but super blonde.  Christina Aguilera blonde, Girls Next Door blonde. 

I finally made the decision after 18 years, to try my natural hair color.  I just got tired of paying so much money every couple months.  I'm still getting used to it.

The next week was my rainy Hawaii trip.  We had one sunny day and then three full days of rain, thunder and lightning and flash flood warnings.

I still had a great time, but it's really hard to take pictures when you travel by yourself.  I ended up with a lot of scenery pictures and pictures of my feet - in the sand, at the airport, etc.

I included an insert for the two pictures Mike took of the girls while I was gone.  It's not much, but at least he tried.

Project Life Weeks 6 and 7

I'm slowly getting back into the groove of things after my trip to Hawaii.  It was great, but unfortunatly, mostly rain.  I'm working on uploading all my pictures so I can share them!

Here are my project life pages for weeks 6 and 7:

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The Luckiest Girl and PL Week 5

I’m pretty sure I’m the luckiest girl in the world right now with the most amazing sister ever.  In a few short days my sister is sending me to:

(photo)

Kauai!  She called me at work this week and wanted to know if I wanted to go to Hawaii with her.  It took all of ten minutes to say yes, take time off of work and reschedule all of my appointments.  I’m so excited I can’t stand it right now.   It’s hard to concentrate on anything else but I did finish another Project Life page.

This week Madison was grounded for the first time ever and I (at 34 years old) finally had my wisdom teeth pulled.  I was so nervous I was shaking and I almost told them to stop and reschedule.   But I did it and it wasn’t bad at all.

Project Life Week 4

I’m so behind.  But not as behind as I am on my December Daily.  Yes, it’s February and I’m still trying to finish it.  I didn’t have much time to put this together last week so it’s super simple.  That’s one of the great things about this project.  For those weeks I just cannot get to it, I just stick in the pictures, write down what I want to say and I’m done.