Tuesday, June 12, 2012

library tote bag

guys. i made a tote bag this morning. 


we go to the library every week. it's part of our Wednesday routine. when we check out books we usually go way over the limit of 25 books and i shove them all into a reusable grocery bag. i have destroyed several already and my shoulder usually aches by the end of the trip from trying to carry them all to the car. 

what can i say, we love books. 

i have had it set in my mind to make a tote back that was large enough to contain all the books we get, and somehow be reinforced by its own wrap around handle. i scoured the internet for hours trying to find the perfect tutorial. here is the one i used. it was so easy! it probably took an hour. 


the only think i changed from the tutorial was instead of sewing the handle ends together, i tied them in a knot. i could foresee them coming undone with the weight of all the book and wanted to ensure this wouldn't happen. 


i got my denim from a nasty curtain panel purchased at goodwill for $1. the material i used for the lining was the light gray cotton leftover from my daughter's quilt. i have TONS of denim left over and am going to attempt a maxi dress for my daughter. not sure how a denim maxi dress would look. what do you think? 

anyway, i love it. 

can't wait for tomorrow so i can fill 'er up with new books!

xoxo,
tara

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Sunday, June 10, 2012

father's day gift inspiration round up

hey guys. father's day is in A WEEK. are you ready? 

i'll be honest. i'm not. its been nuts around here. it was the last week of school for Big A *tear* and that was filled with extra activities and his final ceremony on the last day. then we got slammed with a crazy cold. i feel like i'm on the verge of sneezing ALL. DAY. you know, watery eyes, a tickle in your nose... but sneeze never comes. good times.        not. 

noooOOOWWWwww, we're getting ready to pack for 4 weeks at HumeSD. 

SO. MUCH. GOING. ON. 

but my husband is soooo special and i want to make sure he doesn't feel forgotten in the midst of all the craziness. he has been at the forefront of my mind, and making him feel honored on father's day. 

so i've been compiling inspiration for father's day gifts and i thought i'd share my favorite ideas from some of my favorite blogs. 

(via)
i've got to say, this is my favorite. i've been wanting to get my husband a record player for quite some time. him being a musician limits his hobbies to buying expensive music equipment, which doesn't happen very often... so i thought this would be another great musical avenue for a hobby!

(via)
this is just rad. as is everything on this blog. i love the detail and thought put into this. and what man wouldn't want to know how to properly tie an ascot?

(via)
for the dad who loves wine. my husband is not a drinker, but my own dad loves to relax at the end of the day with a glass. such a fun way to make it special.

(via)
a love note journal for the man who's love language is words of affirmation... which is pretty much every man. 

(via)
we have family movie night every week in our home and it's something i know my husband treasures, why not make in into a great gift?!?! such a cute idea.

(via)
what a great way to take something necessary and make it something special. 

(via)
 more words of affirmation, and you could even include notes from the kids (or tiny drawing from the ones who can't write yet!) in such a cute little package.

(via)
i put a package similar to this together for all the dads in my family a few years ago. it was a big hit!


here's the inspiration board i created for father's day last year.

oh how i would love to speak to my husbands heart in ALL of these ways! now to choose just one. 

ugh, so hard. 

what do you have planned for your dad or baby daddy??!! haha

love tara!
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Thursday, May 31, 2012

what we wore

this is how i feel right now. 

get ready for total randomness. which i think i said last time. which leads me to believe this is becoming normal. ugh.

1. i'm discovering that i'm an emotional eater. more and more i find myself seeking comfort in food. after an especially difficult day with my second born (which is also happening more regularly) all i want to do is have a red velvet cupcake. or a lightly toasted sesame seed bagel with cream cheese. or buttered sour dough toast with a fried egg. these things bring me joy right now.


2. i've officially fallen off the paleo bandwagon. if i cook or meal plan it's all paleo, but the cheats are no longer cheats. they are part of my new everyday. 


3. churros are magical. like a unicorn horn, covered in cinnamon and sugar. crunchy AND chewy. with the power to make it all ok.


4. i think i'm spiraling into hysteria. i just said churros are magical, people. i need help. 


5. today, after my daughter threw a crazytown fit at a friend's house, then started kicking me as i carried her to the bathroom to discipline her, i went straight to Costco and downed a slice of cheese pizza and a churro. don't judge. now i have grumble gut. 


my daughter is a precious gift straight from the Lord in heaven. but she doesn't always act that way. and God must really think i am an exceptionally strong person to give me a daughter with her temperament. but i certainly don't feel that way. 


but i will not give up. i love her too much. now is the time to put the hard work in. 


even if i gain 10 pounds in the process. 


this is my life.

pray for me.

tara

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Friday, May 25, 2012

font love friday + what we wore

guys. 

this week has been FUNKY COLD MEDINA. 

that's why this post will be a little funky too. i didn't design anything this week but am super inspired by fonts and typographical illustrations all over the web so i thought i'd share some with you and give you a little eye party. i also took some pictures of us wearing clothes for a what we wore wednesday post but never posted about it... so i'm including them. 

happy long weekend. 






this is my tattoo inspiration. as soon as my husband approves, and we have extra cash, i want to get something similar to this on my back.












i'm over my mexican hair. this was wednesday and it was looking pretty unspectacular... so i washed and straightened it today and love it. 



no more mexican. at least for a while. like Christmas when we make tamales. that's the only other time i'm really mexican. 


little a is loving the leotards lately. that's a funny word. leo-tards. LEEEEOOO TAAAAAARDS. hahaha. i'm totally tripping out. 


if anyone wants to get her some leotards i would be one grateful mama. that's all she wants to wear lately and she only has TWO. fun times.


this guy.


he got to pick out his own shoes and is very excited about it. 



"mom! take a picture of the bottom of my shoe!". yes, very excited. 

here are lots of pictures of my silly kids. you're welcome.




ok. great. 

sorry i didn't tell you where any of our clothes are from. i hope to be back to normal brain functioning levels next week. 

but i can't promise anything. 

love tara.



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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

i made a quilt!

all by myself! for the first time!

(can you tell i'm excited? just a little...)

oh man. this project was so much fun, and i learned a TON about sewing embarking on something i know very little about: the world of quilting. i sort of made a quilt one other time, but had the constant aid of my best friend, Bekah. she is an expert. the quilts she has made are beautiful and perfect. when i was pregnant with my son we took on making him a mini quilt. we picked out the pattern, the material, cut, sewed, and pinned everything together. then she finished all the binding since it was so close to my due date with him. 

but i can't really take any of the credit because she did all the hard work. since she lives 8 hours away now, this time around i was on my own. 


i tend to be a self-starter, in the sense that if i see something i try to figure out how to make it. thank goodness for online tutorials because i wouldn't have gotten very far without them. i did want to choose a simple pattern and color palette so it could grow with her and become a timeless treasure (hopefully!). sticking with solid colors also helped ease my worry of making any mistakes, since they wouldn't be so visible. 


i chose a solid cotton in pale gray for the top, and a solid flannel pale pink for the bottom (for extra softness. also, my daughter doesn't like the feel of sheets, she says they're too crunchy and cold), with an all white binding. i also chose to machine stitch the entire thing. i just DO NOT have the time or patience to hand stitch anything this large. 


for the pattern on top made 4 1/2"x69" strips (twin quilts are 68x86, and by doing horizontal strips that meant i needed LOTS of fabric since a bolt of fabric typically runs 44" in width). then i just sewed them all together. for the bottom, since i wouldn't be seen as much, i made the strips as large as possible to cut back on sewing. i think they're something like 22"x69".


then i used a really thin cotton batting and spent FOREVER pinning that sucker on my living room floor. it was a BEAST! due to time and children running around, i had to roll it up and put it away a few times before finishing all my pinning. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. my fabric shifted every. single. time. and i had to almost start over pinning. frick. i suggest pinning it all at once if you can. after all that pinning and re-pinning i finally got to sew all the layers together. 


i'm pretty impressed with the binding, if i do say so myself. i used this tutorial for cutting the binding, and this one for machine stitching the binding. 

now that little a's bedding is complete i just need to work on getting her ghetto mattress off the floor and giving her an actual headboard! here are some of my inspirations for what i want her bed/headboard to look like:

Source: etsy.com via Tara on Pinterest

i love this one made out of pallette wood! only i think i would white wash it. 


this one is my number one fav. i've been scouring Craigslist trying to find one for months with no luck! boo.


i just love how pretty and rustic this little bed looks.


i'm down with painting an old wooden bed in my favorite high gloss colors!

all in all i would totally do this again. in fact, i plan on make two more quilts for my son's bunk beds this summer. i will now be accepting gift cards to Joann's. wink.  

xoxo,
tara



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Friday, May 18, 2012

font love friday

hello! happy friday!

today for font love friday i'm gonna share the entry way wall art i made recently. my entry way has been looking pretty cluttered lately and i have been feeling the need to simplify it. it previously had a charging station (that was not plugged in because there is no outlet on this wall, so it wasn't charging anything), random books that needed to be put away, a change jar, art work and posters from the kids that needed to be put away, "treasure's in heaven" treasure boxes where the kids earn marbles when doing an act of kindness, and some clothes or hair clips from friends that forgot them here. that's A LOT of stuff for such a small area. and since it's the first thing people see when they walk in, i wanted it to make a much different statement. 


the quote actually comes from lyrics of a Watermark (Christy Nockels band with her husband) song. i just love that it makes such a bold statement, that we desire Jesus to INVADE our home, with his truth and light. and we want to proclaim that to all who enter our home. 

Come, come in
Invade all You see of us
Any man, who'd walk Your road is welcomed here
And You're the only one

Chorus:
Jesus, come and walk the halls of this house
Tread this place and turn it inside out
With Your mercy...
Jesus, teach us the prayers that open these doors
Until Your light floods in and illuminates these floors
And let Your truth be on our steps and in these rooms
Jesus invade...

Reach, reach in
With the hand that heals all our suffering
Conquer all that is not of You
Bring Your spirit throught
As we fill these walls with Your praise

Chorus

Bridge:
I call for angels
I call for mercy
I call for freedom
In the name of Jesus
In the name of Jesus


to make this i spray painted a canvas with chalkboard paint, made lines across every 2.25" apart with regular chalk, then traced a Helvetica 2" stencil with a white chalk pen.

Helvetica is such a classic type, i love how this turned out. 

have a great weekend!

tara

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

what we wore

you're about to get some randomness. don't mind me. 

i am so tired lately. my routine is off and it's really starting to affect my day-to-day functioning. i have my coffee every morning, and as soon as it's done i wonder if i can have another. then again in the afternoon! i think it has to do with the fact that 3 days a week i'm waking up earlier than normal to do crossfit (at 5:30am!). 


i usually wake up between 6-6:30am, and take my showers at night, but on the days i work out i am waking up at 5am and showering after my work out. my body is out of rhythm! do any of you work out early some days? what do you do to keep your routine in check? should i just wake up at 5am everyday so i can feel normal again? that does not sound awesome, but i'm over being sleepy ALL THE TIME. 


{WHAT I WORE}
shirt gifted / jeans chor from Marshall's / sandals TJMaxx / what i did nothing exciting.. just a walk around the block so the kids could ride their vehicles


i am really starting to like my natural hair. this is the third time in a row i've styled it this way after washing it. i only wash it every 7 days, so i've been wearing it like this for a while. straight out of the shower i just comb it with a wide tooth comb, blow dry my roots with my head upside down, and while my ends are still moist i add a mixture of leave in conditioner and coconut oil. then i let it air dry. soooooooo EASY!

sidenote: my sweet boy is having bully trouble, and it's breaking my heart! there's a boy in his gymnastics class that has been punching him repeatedly while they wait for their turn to work on a skill.  we've only been to two classes, but it's already pretty concerning. we want to make sure we're teaching Big A how to respond in a biblical way, while protecting his confidence and tender heart. 


{Big A}
sunnies target dollar bin / shirt target / shorts hand-me-downs / shoes children's place gifted / what he did demonstrated his sweet scooter skills while "jumping" off the "ramp" he found (raised sidewalk crack)


he has his next gymnastics class tomorrow night, so we're praying over how to coach him for when it happens again. if you think about it, will you join us in prayer? thanks.


{little a}
dress old navy / jellies old navy / what she did figured out that she can ride super speed on her bike


i love these shoes, i wish i has some in my size.


little a is getting so big. she'll be 4 this summer. most of the time she seems 3 going on 4, in every shape and form... but sometimes, like in this picture, i still see glimpses of her from when she was a baby. (must be the cheeks) i miss that. i miss my babies. they're growing up too fast. 


i'm not sure that i'm ready for these guys to be dealing with hard concepts like bullies, and being physically capable of riding their bikes faster than i can run... but these are the things that we are being handed right now, and it is making my heart ache. 


i just want to make sure i'm capturing their innocence, and holding it closely to my heart. i want to never forget these stages, or the ones they've grown out of. 


second sidenote: holding your coffee in one hand and your camera in the other hand is not the wisest choice while your children are riding their bikes, because when they fall it's really awkward running with your hands that full... 

just saying. 

tara


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