Saturday, July 30, 2011

Smitten Saturday: little a's room

whew. this has been a crazy day! 

today was my youngest's birthday, and we spent all day making special memories just for her. in honor of her special day i am doing a Smitten Saturday about all the things that are inspiring me for her big girl room make-over. she turned 3 so we want to get her out of her toddler bed and make all her crazy furniture match! 

so, here you go!

No. 1} mmm. pretty granny squares.
No. 2} EVERYTHING this girl does for her blog is RIDIC. especially her own daughter's room. i just want to move in. 
No. 3} this delicious poster of California is my fav for 2 reasons: 1) i love CA, 2) the colors are tasty.
No. 4} i like the idea of using a string of lights as a night light. it's so enchanting.
No. 5} mmmmore granny squares!!!
No. 6} this makes me want to change my name to Wanty McWanterson. 
No. 7} such a sweet little library, don't you think so Leah?
No. 8} i love the wall art, perfect for a little girl's room! and that bed! oh. 
No. 9} can you tell i love granny squares? ha!
No. 10} cutest.
No. 11} such a pretty shade of pink for that dresser
No. 12} if i can't find a good metal headboard for her twin bed i may just go with one made of pallets and a door like this.
No. 13} my girl loves tea, and i love these colors. perf!
No. 14} i'm sure she would love to see her name in lights yarn.
No. 15} (um, what was SUPPOSED to be no. 15... i guess i forgot to number it!) i would love to do a dollhouse make-over for the one from my childhood. maybe someday. 
No. 16} ACK! why is it so pretty!? and EASY!??!?!

did you miss Smitten Saturday? i DID! i love putting together inspiration boards and seeing all the pretty things i love in one place. it makes my eyes feel good.

here is a little peek are LOTS of pictures from her day of celebration!

 starting out the day right, with a mountain of whipped cream a well rounded meal!

 first bike. {stop growing little love, just for a bit.}

 dressed up for a proper tea party at The Victoria Rose.

 tea, scones, devonshire cream, lemon curd. dang.


 then we came home and had a balloon party. 

and i made the best strawberry cake there ever was on the face of the earth ever ever. 

 and of course we had to tap into our mexican side and partake in a little pinata violence. (sidenote: why do they make pinatas out of your favorite character? i don't understand why anyone would think that a little kid who loves Dora is going to want to get all her friends together and beat her with a stick!) 


 and now she's 3. for some reason this was a hard one for me. i love my children but i think this signified that i no longer have any babies. both my kids are big kids now. 

my, how time flies. i hope i am treasuring it as much as i think i am. 

what is making you smitten this Saturday?

Monday, July 25, 2011

DIY vintage storage crates

almost a year ago i was flipping through a Serena & Lily catalog in search for the perfect theme to my little boy's room. i was struck by these super cute vintage crates with a modern twist with the red casters. i have been on the hunt for something that would be easy for me to recreate myself and have finally found it! 

while hanging out at Cherish's house, and being inspired by all the cute vintage crates around her house, she mentioned that she purchased them right around the corner and for only $5 each!!! wha? we jumped into the car and swooped some up right away! then we headed off to the supply store and bought some casters. i couldn't find any red ones right then and there, but remembered that i had some red spray paint left over from the school chairs i painted. 

and with that, a new project was born.


i covered the wheels with foil, thanks to a little tip from Cherish, to protect them from getting paint on them. then i sprayed the heck out of those bad billies. 

future DIYer. be still my heart. 

LOVE. 

you can't really tell from this pictures, but they look awesome. actually, i'm probably the only one who really cares... but i do! it's all in the details. 

xoxo,
tara

p.s. my computer broke on friday! nooooo! i swiped my husband's laptop and am sneakily blogging while he puts the kids to bed. please pray my computer get's fixed soon or send me money so i can buy a new one, cause i've got a lot of great things to share soon!!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

My Instagram San Diego

so... i'm gonna vomit pictures all over this blog. be prepared. if you follow me on instagram then you've already seen them. 

if you've been following this blog for any amount of time then you would know that my family spend 4 weeks in our hometown of San Diego, CA. i kept a picture diary via my instagram app on my iphone. here are all the pictures!
family
 5am in the Grapevine.

 first stop, breakfast in San Clemente. 

 these cups always remind me of the Flinstones. (?) ha!

 second stop, haircuts for the kids! we LOVE Judy, their hair stylist. if you live near Otay Ranch then go to Pigtails and Crewcuts and ask for her, you WILL NOT be disappointed. 

 hair did. 

 third, and most important stop, Pho Hiep Grill. our fav Vietnamese restaurant. ever. ever.

 first beach day! La Jolla Shores. it was freezing.


 mmmKristi. how i miss you so deeply.



 view from outside our room at Pt. Loma Nazarene University.

here are some pics from my day with one of my best friends in the whole wide world, Heather. we went to the Little Italy Farmer's Market.






after that we went to Seaport Village.



 Heather and her husband Aaron are currently making their way via a moving truck to St. Louis. a piece of my heart is going with her.

for Father's Day we attended out previous church that my husband was the worship leader at for almost 2 years. afterwards we enjoyed some froyo and a sweet time with good friends, Matt & Paige. ugh. we miss them. 
 bros & beards. 


 Paigalicious. 

 one of the many fathers in my life. 

 more of the same, plus my brother. 

 chicki poops. 
 my sister and my daughter.

 the set for the camp. insane.

 a day with my other best friend in the whole world, Bekah. and a surprise visit from her sister Brandi. i wish i was their sister!!!! 

 Eeek! Bekah just so happened to have a random container of my fav chai mix in her garage (wha!?!?!) and gave it to me! that girl knows how to love me. 

 sweetest sight for my eyes. my baby girl worshiping. 

 Zack and Big A hosing down the students at Rec. 

my nephew graduated from Kinder and we had the privilege of attending. 
 proud cousins.


 proud Tia. 

 proud mommy.

 VITTORIA! i lovs her. deeply. 

 a visit from sweet Kahea. my kindred spirit. 

 and her heart, Hawea. 


my husband and i got a couple of dates in too! so nice to have family around. here are some shots of a date day.






 laughter is the key to my heart. he's the funniest!

my niece turned 10!!! double digits!!!!

church with the O'Meara's.
 kisses for Baby Girl O'Meara.

family beach day!


 she never stops singing. never.


my first born was in the Opener, a play to open the first night of camp. heart. melting.


 visit with my mentor, Melinda. wish upon a star we could be closer! 

playdate at Jackie's house! 


 little a, Ems, and Big A.

one perfect day with my brother. 
 some people say they look alike. 


 some people say we look alike. 


 our Rainbows.
 photo booths with my brother are my fav. 

swappin' it up at Koby's swap meet. 







Aaron, Heather's husband graduated from nursing school... AND passed the board exams!!! graduation party:
 myself, Julie, and Heather. we all worked together prior to children.

 the children. minus one. 
 there he is.

girls night with Nikki, my high school best friend. 
 getting ready.

 drinks at The Pearl in Point Loma. 

 luh-huv her. 


 a night with Leah and her fiance Andy (not pictured)! 
 besties since 6th grade!!!! ( i have a lot of besties... and i love them all so muuuuuuch!)

can't get enough of the beach. 

 beach living.

last visit with Heather and Aaron before they move. {tear}

first trip to Legoland. 
 he just found out. 







 my nieghbor, Stephanie, and he family were there that day too! 






 all tuckered out. 


 little a workin' the keys with Holly. 

 girl night with Holly. such a sweet time.

here are most of our favorite people on staff this summer:
 Joanna & Colin

 ZACK!

 Andy

 Trevor and Sean



 Shaun

and... the long road home. we JUST missed Carmageddon, but still got crazy traffic. for some reason we decided to deviate from our amazing plan of driving through the night and left at 1pm. not wise. it took us 9 (F.) hours to drive home. 9!!!!!
 but i came prepared. a belly full of our fav Pho and a Thai Iced Tea for the road. (actually, if it weren't for the tea i totally would have passed out from the full belly. ha!)

home sweet home.