A couple weekends ago we ventured out to shoot some fun valentine photos. Jay actually rented a camera and a lens to try out for the weekend so it was perfect.
Trying our best to capture more pictures and videos of the kids because these days, weeks, months and years are going by way too fast for my taste.
We broke it up into two separate days at two different locations and managed to get some cute shots.
Here are some of our favorites…
{The sweet burlap heart banner can be purchased here. Your generosity will help Ali fund her mission trip to Haiti. I plan to keep mine up all year long….it adds a touch of “happy” to any space.}
The kids had “Formal Day” at school on February 13th since they had a 4-day weekend for President’s Weekend. They exchanged valentines and received HOARDS of candy ~ my friend, Leslie, dubbed it “Valoween” ~ appropriately so!
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Well, Superbowl and Valentine’s Day are over…to me, those are the two big days that kind of kick off the first couple months of the new year.
So here we are one week away from February and I haven’t taken the time to sit and blog. When I read other blogs, I start to miss the daily/every couple days entries. My GOAL is to sit down more and chime in even if it’s just a new healthy recipe I’ve discovered or a little craft I whipped up or a little facelift to the house or a fun, frugal find I came across along my travels.
I miss this space and connecting with you.
Here is what we’ve been up to in the new year {instead of blogging}…..
{Researching monthly quotes for our chalkboard. I love updating this inspirational piece that hangs in the hub of our home. I have another old/outdated framed graphic that I’m going to spray paint and turn into a second chalkboard. It’s on the list of “Things To Do”.}
{This little gallery wall was swirling around in my head for months. I had finished re-doing the aqua table over the summer and couldn’t wait to get something hung over it. This happy space is in our master bedroom and I just love it. It took me awhile to source the makings of this space, but I love the way everything came together. The mirror is from Target clearance, the “I” & “U” hooks are from Anthropologie clearance, the sweet little chalkboard hook with the heart {with hat} is to help support my friend Lena and her heart for Acres Of Love here, the 8 X 10 prints on the clipboards were a gift from sweet Lindsay at my baptism last Spring and can be found here and the smaller 5X7 prints can be found here and here.}
{I love finding printables to stick in these two red frames with the change of seasons or holidays. I just searched FREE Valentine’s printables on Pinterest and voila!}
{Over Winter Break we had some friends over for the day and the mamas made these fun canvases that I spotted on Pinterest. We had to break the boys away from the PS3 and the girls away from their Rainbow Looms to paint their hands and feet, but I adore the way they turned out.}
{I love that Holden’s birthday is in February because it gives me something to focus on after the letdown of the holidays. I always start planning and shopping for goodies in January and let the party planning begin. This year he is having a few little boy buddies over for an early morning pajama party…more fun details to come!}
{With the new year comes the promise to eat less and exercise more. I try to drink plenty of this water daily and find it a little more interesting than plain old H2O. Add a sliced lemon, half a peeled and sliced cucumber and some fresh mint leaves to your water. I refill the jar several times before changing out the produce. Per Pinterest, this concoction is good for detoxing. I’ll let you be the judge 😉 }
{I’m trying to be better about reading the calorie count when in restaurants. On our Santa Barbara day trip last Sunday, I ordered this crispy Asian salad with less than 350 calories at silvergreens. I didn’t eat the roll, but the salad was delicious and filling.}
{At home I’ve been trying to create flavorful, lo-cal versions of my favorites. I could eat pizza every day all day, but with this BBQ chicken tortilla pizza, I don’t need to feel guilty. Ezekiel sprouted grain tortilla, 2 tbsp BBQ sauce, red onion, cilantro, 3 strips of precooked chicken (TJ’s), 1/4 cup lite mozzarella cheese and some Sriracha drizzles added after baking for 8-10 minutes at 325*. It’s around 300 calories and will most certainly take care of your pizza cravings!}
{With friends posting about Snow Days and single digit temps in other parts of the country, it still amazes me that we are on the beach and the kids are frolicking in the surf in mid-January. Our MLK weekend was made perfect with a little day trip to Santa Barbara and we hope to do more of these throughout the year. It’s so easy to get holed up in our little valley, but it sure was nice to take a drive up the coast for the day and still be home in time for dinner and a relaxing evening.}
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So, that’s what’s been goin’ on ’round here for the past several weeks. It’s been nice to have a break from soccer, but Spring will get busy again with baseball for Holden and AYSO for Elliott along with some after school enrichment classes that start up next week! Just taking it day by day……
I hope you all have had a great start to Twenty14.
Here it is almost mid-January and I am just now sitting down to review 2013 with my annual one-picture-a-month to relive just some of the highlights of our year.
{Vegas with Lolo & Lola in January}
{Elliott’s First Reconciliation in February}
{Palm Sunday in March}
{Neon Day in April}
{First Holy Communion in May}
{Shooting a pirate commercial in June}
{Savannah, GA in July}
{Last hurrah of summer in August with friends in the OC}
{Spent the day as superheroes in September}
{GoPro-ing at Legoland in October}
{Frolicking in the country with dear friends in November}
{Family day at The Grove to celebrate the season in December}
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It’s never easy to select just one picture, but I love recalling memories made over the previous 12 months.
Santa shimmied down the chimney of our local Westfield Mall on November 15th.
The kids walked right on up and had a seat on his lap on November 17th.
No line.
No waiting.
Holden had all the time in the world to talk Santa’s ear off about Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack.
Elliott simply requested an iPad Mini.
We were in and out again this year.
I am happy. I have my 5×7 ready to be framed and perched on our holiday mantel.
This is the 9th year in a row that we’ve gone to a Westfield Mall for our Santa picture. I am all about tradition when it comes to this sort of thing. Each year I display all our Santa pics from 2005 to present. I love seeing how much they change from year to year.
We were fortunate and never had any tears when it came to Mr. Claus. Elliott & Holden were always eager to have a seat on Santa’s lap and whisper their wishes into his ear.
I must add, however, that Elliott and I went around and around about her wearing this darling ROXY plaid flannel for the pic. She had other ideas which involved Justice shorts and a tank top {her argument was that they were purple and matched Holden’s outfit}. After explaining to her {OK….bribing} that I wanted them to look festive and “winter-ish” she reconsidered and ditched the Justice idea.
I am happy to say that I have a good handle on Christmas this year. Several little gifts purchased and wrapped. Classroom goodies in the works. Annual family ornaments purchased.
After Thanksgiving we have exactly 26 days until family arrives, feasts are prepared, Christmas Eve Mass is attended, gifts are scattered under the tree and egg nog is sipped in anticipation of Santa’s arrival.
For as much running around and stress that I am prepared for, I am also looking forward to having a seat, putting my feet up, staring at our old-fashioned trimmed tree and listening to Christmas carols old & new.
But not before giving thanks with a turkey and all the fixins a week from Thursday…
For the past few years I’ve drawn up a Summer To-do List. Last year we were not very successful at crossing off our items, but we DID have a fantastic summer!
This year I tried to make the events a little simpler so we can {check} away….because we all know a to-do list immediately becomes less daunting when you see check marks all over the place and know you’re making progress.
So, without further ado, here is our Twenty-Thirteen Summer Bucket List:
1. Rita’s for dessert. I hear it’s ah-mazing! Line-out-the-door-and-around-the-corner ah-mazing.
Thinking about ordering Iced Coffee or Mint Oreo Cream Ice….
2. Pizza at the pool. This rolls over every year and I don’t know why because it’s such a fun and easy one….going to do our best to check this one off once and for all this year!
I’ve always loved the photography trick of having the bulk of a picture in black & white and then highlighting one thing in it’s original color. This concept is nothing new, but recently I viewed some Instagram pics with this filter and knew I had to download the app ASAP. Come to find out it’s FREE and oh so much fun! It’s called Camera360 and the filter is MagicColor.
Thanks again, Jane!
I went back into my camera roll and chose a rainbow of pics to play around with….
So fun, right?
I’ll do my best to try NOT to overuse and abuse this filter…..
We cheated and celebrated Elliott’s birthday a little early this year {her actual birthday is May 29th} with a small sleepover {deep in the woods}!
She and I decided to do a girly campout by taking it up a notch and embracing all the joys of camping, but with all the benefits of home. I thought it’d be fun to get a huge tent and sleep out in the backyard, but after seeing a snake in the park at Holden’s soccer party the other afternoon and knowing that we have nocturnal critters that scamper around the backyard changed my mind real quick. We just went with the good ‘ol bring your sleeping bag, pillow and favorite stuffed animal and crash in the living room option.
As I’ve mentioned many times before, planning my kids’ parties is labor of love. I always have a theme in mind literally 12+ months in advance and pick up things here and there and stash them away until party time. I hit all the Target after holiday clearance sales and keep my eyes peeled for things at Dollar Tree and stuff throughout the year that fit with the theme.
For the invites, I just used some darling blank notecards that I got on clearance at Target for under $4. I spotted the camping stickers well over a year ago at the 99cent store anticipating a campout party in our future.
I’m loving the big chalkboard that I painted lately ~ it’s so fun to change up the message…this time it welcomed all glampers.
I was offered to take home a manzanita centerpiece with dangly crystals from our friends, Francis & Melissa’s, wedding about a month ago. I repurposed it in a little tin bucket and hung a couple hot pink paper lanterns in the corner of our great room.
After Easter I found some Spring-y decor marked down 75% at Target. I grabbed the last tablecloth and sort of worked off that color scheme. Oh and it didn’t hurt that we had her first holy communion party last weekend…I left up the balloons and hoops which coordinated well, I thought.
{cafeteria trays are from Target and collapsible camo water bottles are from 99cents Only…..and are BPA free!}
{banner is Spritz from Target and I added torn bandanas from Wal-mart}
I found matching jammies at Justice on super clearance and bagged them up in brown paper gift bags with glittered initials ~ just use a stencil or freehand your letter with a pencil, outline letter with school glue, fill in letter with small drops of glue, smooth around with a q-tip to cover the whole letter and then douse in glitter. Let sit for 10 minutes, shake off excess glitter and lay flat until completely dry. Gramma Kathy picked up the zebra peace sign tags ~ every second graders favorite combo. Thanks again, Mom!
{Moose Creek sign $1 @ Goodwill. Forest animal friends wrapping paper for photo booth back drop 90% off after Christmas at World Market}
I searched our three local Goodwill stores for some afghans for a granny chic vibe. It took a few months to settle on three that I really liked and that the price was right…
{to “disinfect” thrift store finds like these, just machine wash in warm water using your favorite detergent, add a little extra fabric softener than you normally would in your Downey ball, hang dry or dry in dryer and then spray with antibacterial Febreeze}
For the cake, I decided to do a DIY ice cream cake. I found the ice cream in a square box {at Wal-mart}, not a carton, and just tore open the box and cut layers of ice cream to stick in between the two layers of cake. I just baked the cake in a 9X13, cooled it, cut it in half before adding the layer of ice cream. I cheated and used Betty Crocker frosting ~ the smaller container covered this cake perfectly. Keep frozen, but let sit out 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving.
I sent Jay and Holden off to the movies and dinner and invited the mamas to come over and hang out for a bit. We ate chili and cornbread and the girls had biscuit pizzas, mac n cheese and Elliott’s favorite, cucumbers and ranch.
{cupcake liners and picks from Sur la Table}
{Goodie Bags are my fave ~ journals: free @ REI, mini notebooks: Target, branch pencils: TJMaxx, critter hair pins: Justice}
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We went to the pool for a couple hours secretly trying to get them tired out!
The girls got all showered and in their jammies at the pool…
{lots of screaming and peace signs}
After dinner my friend Hollie set up her projector and they watched a movie in the backyard…
…followed by ice cream cake…
Then a few photo booth antics before hitting the sack…
They were all tucked in their sleeping bags by 11:00pm watching something on the Disney channel…then at a surprising 4:45am they were all up chatting with the lights on! I went down and started a pot of coffee and cleaned up the kitchen. By 6:00am most of them were asleep again only to be awoken by the smell of donuts and icing & sprinkles waiting to go atop.
{Hello Kitty was on her best behavior}
I had a big thing to attend at church yesterday, so the campers were packed up and ready to return to civilization around 8:30…
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Needless to say, I was EXHAUSTED, but obviously it was well worth it!
EIGHT is a big year….halfway to a driver’s license! Yikes. How can that be.
There was lots of swimming, squealing, Justin Bieber-ing, running, jumping and laughing.
I think it was perfect.
Thanks for sticking around through this long post and all the details. I love reading party posts on other blogs and learning about how they all come together.
I use this blog as a sort of digital scrapbook for down the road so we can look back and remember all the milestones, birthdays, celebrations and day-to-day goings on.
As always, I thank you for your readership and for following along!
Can’t believe it’s been over a week since I posted….I was doing so well and then things got extra busy I guess.
Two weekends ago I took a little getaway down to Carlsbad and attended a ladies retreat that was hosted by Mission Hills Community Church. Some friends {Richelle, Julie, Stephanie & Amanda} were extremely involved in the planning and I was fortunate enough to partake and enjoy the fruits of ALL their labor. As I mentioned before, this weekend away was my Christmas gift from Jay and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
The theme of the retreat was “Blessed” as quoted in Jeremiah 17:7.
The decor team transformed the meeting room at The Carlsbad Inn into a colorful place of worship with burlap, adorable buntings and banners, milk glass, hoop art and the retreat’s color scheme ~ aqua and yellow. Every eyesore in the room was covered with beautiful antique and vintage pieces for the most pulled together, cohesive atmosphere.
Little handmade cupcake liner flowers peeked out of Mason jars and watering cans…
We were spoiled with all sorts of treats…tote bags, beautiful handmade journals, logo’d insulated plastic cups, darling coffee cozies and the most lovingly made {blessed} signs as we wrapped up and said goodbye to a wonderful weekend!
We had the chance to make necklaces with hundreds of little graphics and designs to choose from. I chose a seashell to remind me of this special weekend meeting and visiting with women all with a breathtaking ocean view as the backdrop.
It wasn’t too bad waking up to this view two mornings in a row…
{Saturday}
{Sunday}
We ate like queens with the most thoughtful continental breakfast spread each morning as well as Panera for lunch and a dessert table each night that was to-die-for.
For dinner we were on our own to explore the town of Carlsbad and pick from loads of little restaurants all within walking distance.
It was truly a weekend that I will remember forever. I met SO many sweet, godly women, but one of them will always touch my heart ~ thank you, Maria, for our chat. So grateful that HE paired us up and I had the chance to get to know you and hear your testimonial. XO
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Upon returning home to my little family that I missed so, was the usual Sunday evening frenzy followed by a busy week ahead.
We missed soccer practice the previous week due to a day of illness, but were ready to get some practice in for our first games this past weekend…
{One Ninja & one Pink Panther}
I also attended a first holy communion retreat with Elliott this past Saturday. She painted a glass, made a quilt square and kneaded her own unleavened bread to prepare for this sacrament in a couple months.We both thoroughly enjoyed it and I almost snuck a glass and painted one myself! So fun….
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Today, and everyday, I am counting my blessings. They are most definitely abundant and I no doubt recognize them.
Today I am blessed with new friends, a stronger faith, a healthy family and so much more.
I hope you’ll take a little time out of all the craziness and chaos and remind yourself how blessed you are!
Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
