what we wore wednesday

i don't really think i'm all too stylish. i love classic, clean outfits without too much fuss. i don't have a ton of accessories, although i should since i do make jewelry. nonetheless, the only reason i thought it would be fun to do "what we wore Wednesday" was because i am a MAJOR control freak. letting my kids pick out their own clothes would force me to exercise losing control, in a non-harmful way. 

also, i tend to wear the same thing several times a week. when i worked full time before having kids i had my favorite outfits, but i had to rotate them about every two weeks so people didn't see me in the same thing all the time. well, my kids don't really care what i wear so if i didn't get a stain on it, i'm gonna wear it again. what?

anyway, here's Big A. he chose is vintage inspired Superman shirt from Old Navy; green, blue, and white plaid shorts from Target; and boat shoes. he also chose this pose. he thinks it's what super heroes do when they are resting. ??? that's cool buddy. also, his face is ridiculous. he is always this serious, always. love him.

Little A chose a lovely flower skirt (she will ONLY wear skirts or dresses, i don't even try to get jeans on her anymore) and a pink tank top. she paired it with brown riding boots. not my first choice but she looks great. i'm actually super impressed that my kids didn't totally pick super random patterns today because they usually do if i let them. they must have known something was up...

 my daughter wanted her hair down, but it grows straight into her eyes so i always have to keep it out of her face somehow. i'm still learning how to french braid so this is what she got, it looks more like a corn roll! and that huge tulle puff is also her pick. 

here i am. Big A took the picture. mexican hair. black cotton dress. gray leggings. faux snake skin sandals that i LOVE. i added the cuff for you, do you like it? 

this is what we wore today. exciting, huh?

hearts.

felt toadstools

i've had these glass cheese domes for a while with nothing permanent in them. i've been wanted to make some felt toadstools for them for a while and i finally got around to it. 

the red felt makes me cringe a little because it doesn't match any of the colors in my house, but they look more traditional and i love the pop of color in my bay window so i think i can get over it.

each toadstool is two red circles with white french knots, stuffed and sewn together. i used a rectangular piece of tan felt for the stem and sewed it in a tube shape and stuffed it before attaching it to the bottom of the toadstool. easy enough!

while finishing up this project my son got very interested in sewing. i let him use my leftover scraps of felt and embroidery thread to cut and sew a few pieces together. he was very serious about it, what a cutie! he made a little mobile o sorts and hung it from the top bunk to hang over his head.

what do you think? i think they are adorable! 

Smitten Saturday

two blogs on one day, what? it's getting crazy up in he-ah.

since today is saturday i thought i would share my fav office chairs because writing the last post on the ottoman i'm currently using was KILLING my back. i need something proper to sit on people. and quick!

No. 1} super cute.
No. 2} very mad men-ish. at least that's what i think.
No. 3} classic.
No. 4} love it.
No. 5} mmmmmmmm.
No. 6} fav.
No. 7} i would feel super important and a little grandma-ish in this chair.

ok, my back is about to snap and my son is fighting his nap that he needed to take super bad because he didn't sleep at all at Hume Lake so i gotta go lay the smack down.

hope you are smitten today!

Girl Time

so after my awesome trip to SD i came home and unpacked my bags. then i packed them again to head up to Hume Lake for a little weekend trip with the family. my husband told me that my daughter had a fever a couple days earlier but it went away so we were all ready to go. we like to leave for long drives during naptime to ensure that the kids sleep in the car. while my girl was sleeping she started coughing and it sounded TERRIBLE. i instantly had a bad gut feeling. missing my family and really wanting to spend the nice weekend away with them we kept driving. half way there and at the base of the mountain her cough started sounding more like a bark and i had to turn around. 

so the boys went without us and we had a little girl weekend. friday was shot due to 2 1/2 hours at the doctor and an hour waiting for a prescription for an ear infection. but i decided to make today a fun girlie day.

we woke up, discovered it was raining (what the?!?! i thought fresno was supposed to be like Hades this time of year, not that i'm complaining...), ate some eggs, and right after breakfast we did each other's make up. she chose a lovely shade of blue for my eyes and i chose lavender for hers. she applied my eyeliner and mascara like she was running from a rabid dog a pro. i unfortunately had to wash it off shortly after, but it was fun for pictures.

while i enjoy doing girlie things with her, i also crap my pants a little with this glimpse into the future.

soon to be 3 going on 13. ay. 

you couldn't pay me to leave the house like this. what?

later on i decided to use the 3 bananas that made me gag just looking at them were just a tad overripe for my taste to do some fun baking for banana bread. 

here she is, patting my left breast. one of her favorite things to do. i think she wants to just make sure they're still there since you can't ever really see them. hahahahahahaha

it's gonna be in there a full hour, sweetie.

don't we look so cute in matching aprons? a while back i made some wedding invitations for a friend whose daughter was getting married and we traded the aprons for the invites. she made them from a vintage table cloth and they are SO SOFT. i love love love them. 

the rainy day has been redeemed. what are you doing today? if it's not raining where you are and you are, say, at the beach or something... don't tell me. wink.

happy saturday!

Graduation Announcements for my brother

this week, my little brother graduated from high school. 

i left my kids and husband at home early tuesday morning to make the 6 hour drive down to San Diego so i could be there for this special moment in his life. on the drive down i laughed thinking about all the silly moments we've had together and i cried thinking about how he is all grown up and those silly moments are so few and far between. if you were driving next to me you probably thought i was looney. well, i am. a little. 

my brother was born when i was 11 and i was in the labor and delivery room. the moment he came out i vividly remember a wave washing over me and i could not contain the love nor the tears and i knew i was forever changed by this tiny person. over the years we have enjoyed such a special bond and at times i get nervous that that bond will be lost now that he is an adult living his own life. i so desperately want to grasp for it but i also know i need to let him go. 

i am so proud of him, he's made such mature choices in his life so far and i trust him to continue making those good choices. i know he will make mistakes somewhere along the line and i will be here if he needs me. i am committed to praying for his future, his education, his love for Jesus, his future wife and family, and his dreams. 

i had the privilege to make his graduation announcements and i loved every second of it. my sister chose a folded card with a photo by Jackie Wonders. 

my sister also wanted the inside to be a timeline listing his accomplishments during his 4 year in high school. he's been very involved in sports, and also music even though it's not listed. we are very excited for him to have been accepted into UCLA with a partial academic scholarship! woot. woot. so so proud.

myself, the GRADUATE, and my older sister

Mike, i love you and i am so excited for you to start a new season in life. i'll miss picking on you in person but now that i have an iphone i can pick on you on ichat! YES! 

you. are. the. best. EVER.

Smitten Saturday: a day late

on today's post for Smitten Sunday Saturday i'm going to share with you the dining room chairs that inspired a whole new make over for my dining room (in my dreams). 

i realize i didn't make a post last Saturday for Smitten Saturday. i had plans to make an inspiration board filled with all things footed, because i seriously love anything that has a little foot or pedestal on it. it just makes it so much more charming and delicate. alas, i could not find enough inspiration for a whole board. the footed bathtub and anthropologie mugs would have been sad and lonely. so i'm combining my love for all things footed with the dining room chairs i recently spotted and loved at World Market. 

back to my post: 

this is my current dining room, sans the Christmas decor. (i'd totally be nervous that i was a hoarder who couldn't put her Christmas decorations away because i had to see them to know they're still there... if i still had them up....but i don't. i promise. i've been watching a lot of Hoarders lately. heh.) the computer is no longer super ghetto at the kitchen counter with that hideous office chair, cringe. it has a desk now and can be seen here. we purchased our dining room table at the Encinitas Street Fair back in 2007. i love it. it's solid wood and weighs like 4547874367 pounds, but i love it. probably because i never have to move it. i leave that up to my Mr. (thanks honey!) our chairs are from IKEA. the art on the wall is a large piece of black and white damask wrapping paper (that matches my dinnerware) that i framed with an IKEA picture frame. we're renters so the chandelier and floating shelf came with the house and we can't change them. there is nothing about this room that i love, other than the table. 

here is my inspiration board:

No. 1} i love the modern update on these traditional serveware pieces.

No. 2} the dining room chair that started it all! i would love to see them surrounding my table. so charming & country.

No. 3} i already have these latte bowls and i love love love them. 

No. 4} cutest cake stand, ON THE EARTH.

No. 5} we would need some matching bar stools. obvi.

No. 6} isn't this the sweetest cupcake stand you ever did see? me too.

No. 7} i'm totally making this table runner. totally.

No. 8} and,  i die. 

ok. so i like blue. what? i'm trying to get away from the animal magnetism that the color robin's egg blue has on me by adding some shades of dark teal, emerald green and cobalt blue around the house. i'm most attracted to deep, rich, jewel tones, but my Mr. is semi-color blind so he's pretty picky and we can both agree on the the robin's egg blue. it's just starting to take over. and i'm a little scared. help. 

so what are you smitten about today? 

custom bunting

my first custom bunting order!!! woo hoo! i was contacted shortly after opening my etsy shop to create a custom bunting that said "JOY". the only thing my client requested was that it match the color scheme of black, brown, and dark red like the colors in her home. i had so much fun putting this together and am super thankful she loved it!

i think my favorite details is the medium size black ric rac as a border around each flag.

or the micro-mini pinwheels. i love them both. 

if you are interested in custom bunting please contact me for pricing. they are the perfect decoration over a baby crib with your child's name, or even a big kids room that needs that extra little something. i've also made a few for weddings as sweetheart table decorations or just for photos props.