Modern Age

We are finally and slowly stepping into modern technology age. Seth finally got his flat screen tv (I had to cap the size--I did not want a monster thing taking over my living room). I got to upgrade my brick-size cell phone and ordered a camera phone with mp3 capabilities. And we have DVR. Everyone tells me once I have it, I won't want to live without it. So I'll see if that's true. First use on the DVR list is recorded all of Dora the Explorer.

{via InStyle}

Table Lamps

I'm on the hunt for new bedside table lamps for our bedroom makeover. These are the few that I'm wishing for, wishing for---remember, I have a very minimal budget. So I'm going to have to either find some knockoffs, wait for them to go on sale or make do with our old ones and change out the lamp shade or something like that. We'll see...




{top left: Stray Dog Designs, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn
Center left: Stray Dog Designs, West Elm, Circa Lighting
Bottom Row: Shine Home}

I Like Me Candy

Lucas loves his candy, and he eats is up in one breath--loading up his little mouth with as much as he can. Recently his request every morning has been "egg", meaning one of his candy-filled Easter eggs. And then he says to me after scarfing down a handful..."mommy, I like me candy."

Polariod Blog

I really like these polariod photos by prop-stylist Jen Gotch. They are just so delightful! It makes me want to buy a polariod camera.

{via Decor8}

Skiing First Time

We took Stella skiing for the first time this past weekend. Seth and I have a huge desire to teach our children to gain a love for the mountains, since we both grew up around them. Living where we currently do, we'll have to make the best of our limited resources. But it was really good to get Stella on the bunny-hill mountain, and it only took about 15 minutes until an emotional breakdown. We didn't push it and stopped when she wanted to stop. I was actually excited to take some speedy runs even though I was snowboarding on granules. It's always nice to get the wind blowing through the hair. I think next season we'll buy a family pass and make good use.

Fresh Flowers

It's feeling like spring around here...well, at least in the house. I do see a few buds outside breaking ground.

Easter Sunday Best

Right before we headed off to church, I took a few pictures of the kiddies in their new Sunday attire. Stella had to have all her jewelry on, her gloves on, purse in hand and her new satin jacket on or, as she says, she would not be beautiful like the princesses. This is something I'm trying to teach her that beauty comes from within. Lucas, on the other hand, hates to wear anything that restricts him like the jacket and tie--but he forgot about it after awhile.

Yummy Moist Cake

I made my first "real" cake this weekend for Easter dinner--lemon coconut cake with four layers! I was really nervous that it wouldn't taste good because most of my dishes always come out not quite like they should. I also had a really hard time getting the coconut shreds to stay on the cake sides. But the cake was mouth watering and so moist. And you know when people are going for seconds, it's a good sign. Thanks Jori for the link!

Creative Displays

I like this idea of covering a section of the wall with inspiration or previous designs. It could also be used for holding cards or photographs.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Have a great weekend.



Easter eggs Stella decorated with her daddy.

Heat

Have you ever had something that you usually always have, and the minute you don't have it you feel like you took it for granted and you wish you were more thankful for it? Well, I learned that lesson this week. Let's just say this was not the best week--it actually started out all wrong. We woke up Monday morning to a slightly cold house. Seth went downstairs and turned up the heat. I proceeded to get the children dressed. Finally, Seth left for work--I am still getting everyone ready. Within a few minutes, I smelled smoke and ran downstairs following my nose which led me to the basement. I immediately see the inside of our gas boiler on fire. I panic and call Seth. Meanwhile as I'm talking to him on the phone--he gets pulled over by a cop for talking to me on his cell phone. Great! Anyway, he tells me he turning around and not to touch the boiler. So....I wait for a second and am pacing and panicking. Seth is taking too long, so I call our gas company. They arrive almost at the same time Seth arrives. Immediately, they shut everything down and ask me where my carbon monoxide detectors are--good question. I know I have one but can't find it. I do remember setting one up in our house when we moved in. Anyway, the gas guy proceeds to tell us that it would of been a matter of minutes and we would of died from carbon monoxide poisoning! The levels in the house exceeded by a 100 points over the regulatory level! Very, very dangerous! Whoa this was a sure slap to the face--a wake up call to make sure my detector is positioned in the right place and checked often to make sure it works. Talk about being watched over! Wow! I have been sending numerous prays of gratitude for the protection of me and my children. And many thanks that this incident happened in the morning time and not at night when we were sleeping. What a blessing.

Well, after the boiler was turned off, the gas company red tagged it with "danger"sign, told us we had to get it fixed, and they were the only ones who could turn it back on. And off they went, leaving behind two small space heaters. We had no heat for three days! Thank goodness it wasn't below freezing outside, but we are still in the winter months up here in the northeast. We were cold and missed our warm house. So, why did it take so long to fix? The lovely thing about living in an old house is that most things in the house are old too--like our boiler. It was over 40 years old! We were trying to figure out whether to fix it and get a few more years out of it or replace it. And through must research, estimates and talking to a lot of technicians, we felt that the best and safest thing to do was replace the boiler with a new one. And those suckers are not cheap! Looks like no renovation jobs will be done this year---boohoo. But updating the boiler needed to be done. And let me tell you--we feel like we are living in luxury now. We've got heat and it heats fast and efficient. My stove cooks the food really fast. Oh, how we missed our heat. And I hear that our $390 gas bill will decrease since we have a more efficient boiler.

So, the moral of the story is--everyone should have a carbon monoxide detector (even if you have a new house or a new boiler). Know where the detector is. Check the batteries twice a year during Day Light Saving Time or get one that plugs into an outlet. Always pray for gratuity of your life and your family and the simple stuff like heat!


{editor's note: I think this is my longest post! Sorry for the long read.}

Amorlogy Weddings

If I could get married again...okay let me rephrase that. If I could have another wedding party for me and my honey, I would hire Amorlogy Weddings. This girl knows how to coordinate a wedding that is fun and different from the rest. And I like her use of simplicity with color--not so ruffly and overdone. She's got a lot of fun ideas.

{lovely images by Jaime Hammond Photography}

Crocheted Baby Dress

Can someone pretty please crochet this baby dress for my little Stella? I'll pay for the pattern and yarn. Any takers?

Birdhouse Frames

These darling, unconventional birdhouse frames are now on sale. Get them here.

Keds

I use to wear Keds all the time when I was a kid, and I'm starting to be fond of them again. They've really come a long way from their classic lace-up canvas shoe.

Red Door

I've been waiting patiently for my next issue of Domino to arrive in my box, so I can see this actress's office that was designed by my favorite interior designer Ruthie Sommers. Love how the first thing you see before you enter is a red door.

Happy Birthday Heidi

Happy Birthday to my dear friend Heidi and not to mention her twin sister Katie! I feel so lucky to have her live so close and nearby. I think she's the only person I know out here that I knew before I moved out here. She has expectional taste in fashion, interiors and music. She's my decorating mentor. She treats my children like she's their aunt, and they LOVE her. She's family. And it's nice to know that she's there for me when I need her. I like to think that I'm her escape from the city and she's my escape from the country. It's always fun to go stomp around Manhattan with her.

(note--this picture was taken on our mini-trip up the Hudson River during the bursts of autumn colors.)

Framed Wrapping Paper

My friend did a really cute idea of framing wrapping paper--similar to the pictures below. She hung a trio of frames in her living room and it came out really good. Inexpensive art that looks expensive. A good place to get wrapping paper is Papersource and cheap frames at Ikea.

{photos via Flickr--here and here}

Easter Basket?

I'm contemplating whether to do Easter baskets this year. My kids are still young that Easter baskets can be filled with little toys and candy etc--nothing too big. But I don't want my kids, as they get older, to think that Easter is a small version of Christmas. A basket filled with presents along side the chocolate eggs. I see that going on right now with my older sisters who have teenagers demanding a "good" Easter basket. Any suggestions? I'm thinking maybe making our Easter baskets a tradition of receiving a new book or something simple like that.

Easter Egg Hunt

Today has not been a very good day, and I'm tried and exhausted from all the chaos. This week is going to be a long one. But we did have a really fun weekend. Saturday was super busy. We started off the day at our church Easter egg hunt. It was a lot of fun as usual with a lot of eggs to be hunted for. Of course the weather was a little nippy--so no Easter dresses were had. One of the older children at the egg hunt felt bad that Stella only had so many eggs and gave her a few to fill her basket up. Seriously, when they say "go"--it's really hard to catch those eggs. Lucas was content with his one egg he picked up as long as he could eat the candy. Then it was off to the children's museum for some playtime with daddy. We have a season's pass now, so we have to make good use. After which, naptime and since Seth was home I was able to take Stella out for some one-on-one Easter shopping. Then we headed to a birthday party and lastly ended the day playing at the park until the sun went down. I love long days. You get so much done!

Happy 1st Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my young blog. Can't believe I've kept this up for a year and have had fun while doing it. I think we'll make cupcakes this weekend in celebration--maybe pumpkin or lavender or blueberry and lemon. Doesn't that sound good?! My girlfriend gave me a cupcake recipe book not too long ago and now I have a reason to bake away. Here are some things I've learned while blogging:

• I'm not much of a writer. If I write too much it takes me too long and then I get antsy and waste a lot of time trying to get my thoughts down in words.
• I'm a visual person. Need images to get my point across.
• There are a lot of talented people out there and I love feeding from their ideas.
• Blogging connects people together who have similar beliefs, interests, trials and life situations and I love that. I love that I've reconnected with old friends and have also made new friends. I love that my family can keep tabs on me and vice versa.
• Having a blog encourages me to complete projects and start new ones so I can share with all of you. ;)
• Blogging offers a creative outlet and a place where I can share all my ideas.
• Opportunites and new outlets have opened up for my jewelry business.
• I have learned that I have to REALLY limit my time on the computer or I could spend all day blogging and reading blogs.
• And of course, blogging gives you all the opportunity to see my darling little family who are my pride and joy. Kisses!

Cheers to another year!

{via Martha Stewart}

Fame Us

This book by Brian Howell would be a good coffee table book. It's crazy how much these people look like the real thing. Nothing like some celebrity impersonators--I feel like I'm in Vegas.

Look at that Closet

I like checking out celebrities closet--like this one. There is always the wow factor. Not only is it fun checking out all great clothes and shoes but how organized and color coordinated. Wow...



{via InStyle--Eva's jeans and Nicky Hilton's flats}

Vera's Spring Line

I'm liking the Simply Vera spring line--the printed jacket is cute. Has anyone bought any of her pieces?

Ice-Cube Tray

Do you have some ice-cube trays laying around the house? Use them as a jewelry storage, then stack the trays and store them in a dresser drawer. Cheap and convenient. No more knots.


{via Real Simple}

Lighting Completed

Well I finally got our lighting completed in our hallway and entryway. I've learned a few things during this process--1. lighting is expensive! 2. measuring is very important. Of course I was on a budget, so many of the lights I liked were nixed. I needed to find lighting that had a nickel finish because other lighting in the house has that finish as well as door knobs. And I needed to be somewhat conservative for resale value. I definitely wanted a schoolhouse pendant for the hallway and bought it here. My entryway was my problem child. My ceilings are only 8 feet high, so that really limited what I could choose---really limited. Also the width of the entryway is not very large, and I still needed to find lighting that would give enough light since that was the only fixture in the area. So, I ended up choosing the Soho chandelier because it's a period-style light to the age of the house, the length worked and it's nickel. Not my first choice, but it will work.

Diverse Dining Chairs

I love this idea of using different fabrics for your dining room chairs. Why not, right? I think it's a fun idea. Just got to be careful that all the colors complement each other.

{via from Cottage Living}

Spring Knock-offs

A few knock-offs I've seen this week...

Laila Azhar blouse $244

Banana Republic blouse $69

A Common Thread $320

Old Navy halter dress $30