Happy Weekend!

hyde park, London, England

clues-

• major road rash on child's forehead (see last post of D on scooter)
• "aaaachooooooo!", "bless you"
• dirt under fingernails
• white hairy legs that should stay hidden, but want to see sun

answer- Spring is here!

Creative Juices

This was hilarious when my D tied his skateboard to his scooter and put his new Valentine pups on for a ride. Pups did not stay on for too long so he eventually tied him to the skateboard. It was so funny to see the pups bounce up and down.
E has the fourth grade task of a mission project. Long ago she took art lessons from our talented friend. Instead of building the mission she asked her teacher if she could do a painting of it.
I love the cherry blossom branches that have just peaked out of the cold weather. This is my no cost flower arrangement in my entry hall.

Happy Spring!

no cent decor

This spot in my home has always intrigued me! I have had trees in urns there, a garden chair and even potted perenials! Nothing has lasted and nothing feels right. Here is my recent attempt. What is exciting is that it was all free (not originally).

Spring is my favorite time of year and all of these things I had hanging around.

I really love it...for now!

This potting bench has been all over (outside and inside). Before we redid E's room, it was actually serving as a bookshelf for her. I got it over ten years ago at Cost Plus World Market. When I asked hubby to help me carry it downstairs this morning he just rolled his eyes.

(Not the twinkle I was referring to in my last post).

This bird feeder candy dish was on sale at Michael's for $6.99! I did not have any candy laying around (since I eat it all) so I put white chocolate chips and they looks SOOOOOO cute!

Hope this inspires you in some way!

a few of my favorite things

I have been called a person "who knows what she likes". Well, I do! Here is a list of some of my favorites. Is there anything that you do not like that is on my list? I'd love to hear about it. Anything on my list that would be on yours? Tell me about it. Or tell me your own list...

• naps
• San Francisco (my parents courted here, lots of memories)
• See's candy
• chandeliers
• the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night
• jeweled crowns
• Josh Groban's voice
• when my daughter makes up her own songs and she thinks noone is listening
• the song "Moonriver"
• anything scented rose
• front porches
• Nutella
• my son's imagination for building things
• flea markets
• small beach towns
• Emma by Jane Austen
• NYC
• Disneyland
• chocolate souffle
• pink peonies
• the twinkle in my hubby's eye

just a little romance

Valentine's Day, for me, is just really a chance for me to go crazy with pink.

Above is my kitchen table dressed up for some love filled meals. The cabbage plates were something we received as a wedding gift 13 years ago. No matter what my tablescape has, I always seem to use them. The table cloth I found in Giverny, France. The precious pink salad plates are from Homegoods. The pink pitcher is from Anthropologie.

All things picked up over the years to create something that makes me happy.

A number of years ago my aunt gave me this wicker desk. It had a leather top that I was not crazy about. So I spent a few hours cutting out flowers and other romantic pictures, mostly from Victoria magazine. I then decoupaged them around our wedding invitation. With an inexpensive piece of glass cut to fit on top, I have a romantic writing desk. It is one of the things I love. Right now, it is situated next to my side of the bed as my nightstand.

tween room #6 - closet = really done!

I could not live with such a beautiful, new room for E. and have her closet such a mess! She is really lucky to have an enormous walk-in closet, but more room = more mess. The biggest problem was that her folded clothes never fit in her hand-me-down baby dresser. She was also using baby hangers so many of her clothes would fall off onto the floor. UGH!

**BEFORE**

First I removed all the furniture that was not working (the dresser, my old hamper, a cardboard drawer set). Then I went to Target and bought the wire shelves (on sale for $12.99) and bins ($6.49 each). I made tags for each bin labeled :

1. socks
2. "lingerie" - I prefered undies, but she wanted lingerie. sigh
3. p.j.'s
4. shorts
5. pants
6. tee shirts
7. long sleeves

I also bought adult sized hangers in black.

She really has no excuse to be unorganized now!

**AFTER**

tween room #5- done!

Here is a completed look at the wall unit. Hubby came up with the idea for the glass piece and I loved the idea of a modern twist with all the traditional elements (good job hubby!)

Makes it much more grown up I think.

We went back and forth about how to support the heave piece of glass, we came up with regular metal brackets attached to the wall. If you plan on doing this just make sure the brackets are attached to studs in the wall. We covered the metal brackets with felt. This was such an easy and inexpensive way to go, we totally recommend it.

That glass is not going anywhere!

Handmade Gift Idea

A good friend of mine wanted to fill an embellished paint can for her child's teacher.
The inspiration was ladybugs ( a favorite of the teacher).
I spent the day with her and this is what we did.

There are so many great ideas of what to fill these paint cans with:

• teacher: essentials for her desk (cough drops, breath mints, cold medicine, etc.)
• baby shower: pacifier, onesie, bottles, etc.
• friends: book, bookmark, tea, mug, stationery
• kids birthday: art supplies, t-shirt, small games

We picked up the paint can at Home Depot. Don't forget to attach a metal paint can opener (with ribbon). The quart size cans DO NOT have the metal handle, only the gallon size does.

have fun!

I LOVE Mondays!

I really do! Today my children went back to school after having six weeks off (we are on year round school calendar). Don't get me wrong, I loved having my children home...but it is a neverending vacation of all of our routines. Now we can get back to reality.

Mondays, to me, are a fresh start and new beginning! I always feel rejuvinated after having everyone home on the weekend. If you hate Mondays, below are some things that I do (not EVERY Monday) that I enjoy having as part of a renewal routine.

• go to the gym
• strip all beds
• clean toilets
• vaccuum and mop floors
• clean out refrigerator and restock with essentials
• clean mirrors
• Weekly TO DO list (on my iphone, of course, that way I can email hubby's list to him) ;)
• clip fresh flowers and arrange in different rooms
• clean junk out from car

Do you have any Monday refreshers that make you feel organized and renewed for a new week? If so, I would love to hear them!

Ready or not, here we come!

...here we come! Hubby is so excited to take us to Tokyo and Hong Kong in May! We will be there for two weeks, instead of two years! He has graciously cashed in his business class ticket for our four coach tickets. This is a huge sacrifice for him!

Since hubby will be working for a good portion of the time, the kiddos and I will be on our own. If you have any suggestions of what to see in and around Tokyo or Hong Kong, please let me know!