Aqua {LOVE}

Hello everyone, happy almost Friday!!! It is still hot hot hot over here in SoCal but I am dying for it to feel like Fall. Arg!

I wanted to share with you a little house update that has my heart goin' pitter patter. It's no secret to many of you who have been reading this blog that I loooooove me some aqua. It is my go to accent color always, and I use for pretty much every holiday. After bugging my husband for quite some time, he finally broke down and got to work (my nagging can feel like Chinese water torture, I'm told - lol). I could have attempted this project myself, but I tend to defer to the hubby when it is a major feature in our home. I get a tad......sloppy-ish when I paint, so it is best if the things that require precision and care get thrown his way.

Here is the before shot of our front door:

(sorry for the half-in-the-sun pics).
It's not a bad color by any means, but cranberry just isn't really "me."

Ready for the after shot!!??

Isn't it just the happiest front door ever!!?

I love it sooooooooooooooo much!!!

A special thanks to my sweet hubby for doing all the hard work (and doing it oh so well).
Life is {Aqua} and sweet!!!

Outside the box: Rotating photo display

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a nice weekend :) Thanks for all the painted pumpkin suggestions from my last post. I'm giving it some careful thought and will reveal my decision soon. Today I have a bit of a funky diy for you. A bit quirky and outside the box. Some may hate this (be kind) and some may love it. I absolutely LOVE this and have been wanting one for a long long time.

Backstory:
I saw this in the potterybarn catalogue a few years ago and was in love!! I wasn't in love with the $129 price tag though, and also didn't have the space in my tiny starter condo.

Fast forward to this past Friday while I was helping my mom work in the UNICEF store that she volunteers in and BAM!

This came home with me :)
They weren't using it in the shop anymore and it was just sitting in the back. YAY! Now, I know it's not as streamlined or elegant looking as the PB one, but f-r-e-e- is definitely the price for me!

Ready to see the after!!?

Gold goldy gold!!!!! Woohoooooo!!! Wanna see her closer up??!

(Sorry for the glare on the photos, it's a bright sunny day here in SoCal)

All I did was give her a good cleaning, and spray her with a matte gold spray paint (2 cans worth).

I had some fun in pic monkey adding dates and texts to some family photos. I also made sure to print them in "lustre" vs "glossy" so there wouldn't be so many finger prints.

My kids are having a blast spinning it around and looking through the photos. Heck, I am too!
Look at this one from last Halloween at Disneyland (notice Noah's face and Hayden's thoughts about it). Funny!

Haha!!!

So, what do ya think!!? Am I crazy!? are you clicking "unsubscribe" as we speak??!

 

 

Looooooooooooooooooooooove it!!! Lol! I know, I know. Crazy ;)
Have a wonderful week people!!!

Opinions pa-lease etc.

Hello everyone! Happy hump day :)
I have finally loaded up my Etsy shop with spooky goodies so if you are looking to spruce up your haunted house, head on over and shop till you drop!!
The latest addition (back by popular demand) are the book page spider medallions...

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make these this year because I couldn't find these particular spiders/webs anywhere. Luckily, my girl Cassie came through and sent some my way. Phew! Close one!!

Now, for a vote. Opinions pa-lease!
My signature Halloween/Fall decor for the last few years has been my painted pumpkins...

As you know, aqua is my go-to color for all holidays.

As most diyers/bloggers do, I'm tempted to change them up a bit. My hubby wants me to leave them alone and loves them as is, but I am totally torn. Truth, I don't really feel like re-painting them. Lazy. But is having the same thing year after year a bore? Am I just rambling? I don't know. Thoughts? Haha!! Heeeellllp.

Getting into the groove

Happy Tuesday everyone!! I hope you are having a great week so far. We are getting into the groove over here with our new routine(s). School and soccer are in full swing, and we will soon be adding dance to the mix. My early morning wake up call (6:15am) resembles what I would assume running into a brick wall feels like (I'm a true night owl and typically don't get to bed before midnight). All in all we are settling in nicely. Noah is having a GREAT time being a first grader and Hayden started preschool today. She really likes her teacher and has already made a little friend. Noah's soccer team is called "The Daredevils," and he gets to be starting goalie at the next game. He's thrilled! Here are some pics :)

First grade goober :)

 

{Love}





 

(Noah is in burgundy in the middle)



 

It was a HOT day on the first game...red faced and sweaty. Ewe!



 

Below is my intagram from after I dropped Hayden off at preschool. She was so excited and got right to playing. The parents stuck around to hear the story "The Kissing Hand." Then we exchanged hand kisses and I was on my way. Alone. For 3 whole hours. ALONE. Ahhh, sweet. I missed my little side kick - but not really that much (haha).

 

Oh, and yesterday I had the GREAT pleasure or meeting one of my close blog friends in person. I got to spend the day with Jenna from The Mommy Diaries. She lives in Kentucky, but was in town to visit her inlaws and they live about 40 minutes away from me. Her and her adorable son Grayson came over for a playdate. We had a wonderful day chatting and playing, and even got in a bit of crafting while Grayson took a nap. It was so much fun!!

(Jenna has a baby girl bun in the oven. Isn't she such a cute and petite pregnant girl!?)

 

Hayden and Grayson made fast friends and had so much fun running around together. It was really cute to watch :)

 

 

Lisa and Ollie even came over to hang for a bit which was an added bonus :) 

 

So, there you have it. Summer livin' has officially come to an end. Fall is knocking at the door (even though it has been sweltering lately) and we are having a great time!!

 

I'm rapidly trying to fill my Etsy shop with holiday goodies, and after that I plan to d-i-y some stuff :)



 

Later gators :)

HaLlOwEen Invasion - Etsy style

My Etsy shop has been taken over by goblins. Ok - not really. But, I am trying to get a jump start on some fun Halloween goodies in the ol' shop. October-December were my busiest months in 2011 and I would LOVE a repeat of last year.

Take a look at what I have so far:

Book page medallions....

 

 

Fancy Schmancy Felt hair bows.....

 

And dessert flags......

 

 

I'm lovin' all of that orange and black ;)

What do you think, are you gearing up for pumpkin patches and trick or treating?! Keep the goblins off my back and go shopping!!! Lol.

 

I hope you all are having a great week!



 

 

End of Summer FUN

Noah starts school tomorrow (I tried not to sound too super happy when writing that - Lol). The end of Summer crazies are in full effect and we are ready for more structure and routine. At least I am :) The last week or so we have been  cramming in some Summer fun and checking some more items off of our Summer list.

We did a few pinspired activities....
First on the list was pool-noodle marble races from this pin.

This was a super fun and easy activity (although we ended up with marbles all over the place).

Next on the list was making soap clouds from this pin.
Here they are watching the magic happen...

All you do is put a bar of Ivory (only Ivory works apparently) in the microwave for like a minute and a half. After it cools a bit, you have this bad boy!

At this point, Hayden ran screaming into her room because she was scared that the cloud was going to get her. She was hysterical. No idea. She's a funny one for sure ;)

After the trauma of the soap cloud, we made slime from this pin :)

(below pic was made using Photo Gird on my smart phone)

"look mom, I made a hot dog out of my slime.".... (um, sure, hot dog. right. ewe.)

Hayden didn't run away from the slime, which was a nice change :)

The next day we had a water balloon toss :) My fingers hurt, but it was worth it!

Last up from the Summer list was a backyard camp out :)

Josh and I sat by the fire while the kids played in the tent before bedtime.

The actual "sleeping in the backyard" part is a daddy/kids activity. I tucked them in and enjoyed some quiet alone time inside our cozy house :)

Other than Hayden wetting the bed (arg) it was a successful camp out :)

Noah starts first grade tomorrow - FIRST grade! Yikes! Such a big kid. Hayden doesn't start preschool until the 11th so her and I may have some more beach/pool days in our future.

Happy end of Summer everyone :)