For Wreaths.

Thanks to my Instagram feed I have become aware of so many amazing artists and artisans out there in the world. One of which is a floral designer from California, Moon Canyon. I don't know too much about them other than their amazing and beautiful floral arrangements that they post. I was inspired by a wreath that I saw and I knew I had to make my own version.

Materials:

Grapevine Wreath from Michael's

Trimmings from the bottom of our Christmas Tree

Branches from the tree in the backyard, with berries

Thin gauge wire

Wire cutters

I was out in the falling snow cutting down low hanging branches feeling very merry. I was happy to know that other than the wreath, we had all of the required materials in the house.

I swept the Christmas tree branches along the bottom and secured it with the wire. Then wove the berry branches into the wreath and on top of the greenery. I wanted the branches swept to the side and kind of loose and falling to add to the dramatic look. The lion on our front door was happy to have some company and it only took me about twenty minutes total. Did you make a wreath this year? I'd love to see if you did! 

Happy birthday Dad!!

New Traditions.

We haven't had a real Christmas tree in years but this years. But this year with an eager toddler and a bigger house, we decided that a real one was the way to go. We headed over to the church near our old house last Friday night in the cold, wet snow and picked out a winner. O was so excited "we need a 'tah fa da top!" (translation, star for the top).

When we got home he ran around the house in complete delight (and nudity) to celebrate the arrival of the tree. He helped get it in the house and up in the stand, those photos are excluded due to content…The next day we got a star and had the decorations up by the end of the weekend.

He is mesmerized by it and has to give anyone that comes by a tour of the tree. I'm so excited to start new traditions with our little family. He is so delighted with the littlest things that it really puts a smile on both of our faces. From one happy house to yours, Happy Friday!

Measuring the Day.

I had a very happy return home to my favorite boys and was happy to spend the day solo with O on Wednesday. My patience was restored from my little getaway and it was funny to pay close attention to just how our minutes are spent.

We spent 30 minutes trying to put on a pair of socks. 10 minutes running outside avoiding getting into the car. Two 20 minute chase scenes, one was about putting pants back on, the other was just laughing, hiding, and chasing. 20 minutes at the BMV, behaving and making friends. 30 minutes on task doing some sort of desired activity. 22 minutes walking home from the playground looking at sticks, acorns  (coconuts he calls them for some reason), leaves, and squirrels. And so on. I did my very best to just laugh at just how very determined he is not to do what I ask, even when it's something he wants to do. Happy Monday, may you measure your day in happy moments!

Just the Mama.

Well after two and a half years I finally had a full on weekend on my own. JJ had a fun boys trip to Chicago which left all of the mamas in Cleveland with the kids. Anticipating it made me nervous which is a funny thing since he's my kid. But the feeling of being alone for days at a time with my own child freaked me out, no buffer, to tag team, what was I going to do?! I know that I'm lucky though, he's a good kid and there a so many amazing people that do it alone out there. 

 

We were just fine. We played with friends, stayed up too late, went to the market, played so more, ate waffles, and you guessed it...played so more!

On Saturday morning he told me in an annoyed voice that "he was taking the train to Chicago." As if to say, I'll find that Papa. We checked out a new playground and found this cool map. He wouldn't listen long enough to show him where Chicago was.

I feel lucky to have such a cool kid and lots of friends to hang with when the husbands take off. I hope they do the same when we all leave next month because it certainly makes things easier. Happy Friday, I hope you have a great weekend! We have a wedding and birthday parties so it should be another fun one!

Before and After: Laundry Room

Happy Monday! JJ has been busy working on the house and yard so I wanted to share the most photogenic of the two completed projects. The other is a roof and it's not all the exciting to see. Behold, our shiny, new laundry room! One of the nicest features of the new house is the first floor laundry room! What a dream...I don't have to go in the basement and it makes things just a little bit easier.

When we moved in the room was fine but it had it's setbacks. Those white wire racks were falling out of the wall, the window in the back was covered in that protective plastic but had about one thousand bugs in it, and it just wasn't very inviting as the main entry to our home.

So JJ got to work painting and repairing the walls. We already our own washer and dryer so we gave the ones in the previous photo to my brother-in-law. The front loaders were just a little sleeker looking but didn't quite fit into the wooden braces that the previous owner had made.

We picked a brighter, cleaner blue for the walls and mounted hooks at our height and ones at O's height too. There is a cabinet with shelves for detergent and other laundry related things plus a bin that we use as a hamper. JJ built a shelf for the machines to sit on so I don't have to bend over and bump into the door behind me (gasp). Plus the cubby below is perfect for collecting our shoes! It's glorious. 

The only thing that we didn't replace is the floor, also known as JJ's arch enemy, but that will come. It's such a nice, functional room now. That husband of mine sure is handy!

Crib Sheet DIY.

Sometimes you just have that a-ha moment (for lack of a better term). But the obvious just becomes so clear. I've had my eye on some fancy new sheets for Little Man's bed but I cannot bring myself to pay some of the ridiculous prices out there. Friday I was just about at the point of breaking down and doing it, buying yet another new thing that we can live without, when it occurred to me that I could probably just make it. Enter this MADE tutorial. I cannot tell you how happy I am with the results!

All you need is 2 yards of fabric and 80 inches of 1/4 inch elastic and a long enough nap from the little one to get it done. Her tutorial is so simple and straight forward I don't really need to walk you through it but here are my step by step pictures anyway since I took them.

1. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and widthwise with the outside edges lining up.

2. Cut out 8 x 8 inch squares from the folded corners.

3. Fold over and iron a pocket to thread the elastic through and pin.

4. Sew the four corners together to create the corner pockets that wrap around the mattress. She recommends a serged edge but I don't have a serger so I did this stretch stitch and then a straight stitch to ensure that it will stay secure. I looked at sheet we already have to figure that out. Make you you unfold the elastic pocket before you sew the corners in. Next you sew the elastic pocket seam closed with a straight stitch.

5. Use a safety pin to thread the elastic through, sew the elastic together then sew the pocket and put it on!

The woman at the cutting counter thought I was nuts to use this fabric for a crib sheet, she said "it will keep the baby awake!" I doubt it. Look how happy he is. If you make it let me know!

In The House: The Boy's Room.

When we were preparing to move we asked the child what color he wanted his new room to be, "YELLOW!!" he exclaimed, so we set forth with that as the plan. After some extensive online searching and one color swatch later we decided that yellow just wasn't going to work. It was too babyish for him and we just didn't love it. So here's what we did instead.

These are the before shots. The top is from when the house was listed and what it looked like when we first saw it. The minty green wasn't that objectionable but it was old and needed some freshening up, not to mention I immediately slapped up these test swatches so something had to be done.

We went with Mindful Gray. We both agreed that it was a nice cool neutral and I thought that the name was nice too. I had high aspirations of getting a mural wall done too but at this point I need to move on. There just isn't enough time in the day!

One of my favorite things about his room is the art collection. I know I talked of it before but we've added a few new things that I think are so perfect! Plus most of them are local artists, The alphabet by Oddball Press, Numbers by Little Monster Shop, Knitting Bear from Made in the 216 by Kiddo, Isaac & Oliver Go for a Ride (the man on the bike) by Grey Cardigan, The Oldest Olive Tree by Four Fish Ink.

The star pendant light is pretty fun but we've had issues with how it functions. This bulb doesn't send off the prisms that the previous one did but it works all the time. Fair trade off. And what little boys doesn't need a Cerberus toy?! Our guy acts like it's totally normal thanks to his Uncle.

And just in case you were wondering what was happening during this photo shoot... O created a pillow party with the pillows from our room. It was perfect as the runway for his brand new airplane and served a a softer cushion for his jumping practice. Hope you like and hope you have a very Happy Friday!

Derby Day.

How was your weekend? Ours was filled with fun and sun! And a little bit of Derby, and not to brag but my horse won!! My guys donned two of my favorite new bow ties for spring! O is wearing the seersucker, JJ is wearing the chambray and they both looked oh so handsome! We decided last minute to have a few folks over to enjoy the new house and to watch the race. 

These days it seems that the children outnumber the adults and they do their best to rule the roost. The fun part of having kids with your best friends is that even if you aren't in the room you know they are being looked after. They will get that extra serving of food if you didn't hear the request, and they will be told no when it's appropriate. I have no concerns that my friends will pick the correct option. They lighten the mood when things get tense and share silly stories about the hilarious life of a toddler. There is nothing more affirming than hearing that someone else's child did the same (totally frustrating) thing just the other day. But when you look at these ice cream covered youngsters there is nothing but joy to share. Have a good Tuesday!

Three Things.

This three things post is dedicated to yesterday. We had such an awesome day enjoying friends, the weather and new things! I am lucky to say that so many of my friends are close and in town and the best part is the O loves their kids! We checked out the new Acacia Park in Beachwood/Lyndhurst and it's just awesome that the Metro Parks bought that space and kept it green for all of us to enjoy. 

I know I've talked before about the wonderful brightness of yellow (now currently O's favorite color) but the dandelions in our new back yard are so cheerful and I love it. We played with a new yellow bubble wand too. Then our bike trailer arrived so we got to take an inaugural ride (after at least an hour of shared frustration...). Happy warm weather!

In the Details: The Master Bath.

It is very likely that one day soon, this post will serve at the before photos. Our charming little master bathroom is day by day providing us with new challenges. First the toilet, then the sink, and now the shower. We are hoping that we can fix this shower too but things are looking drippy right now so it's a toss up.

The room is nice and bright and we love all of the white tiling too. I'm just hoping that we aren't on our way to a total shower demo because we don't have another one right now and I truly don't like baths. 

We've rehung my favorite Rise and Shine poster and the little details throughout do make for a nice room. This shortened post is brought to you by my impatient child. Have a good day!