• Animals,  learning

    Turtle Power – Turtle Lays Eggs

    Not the Mutant Ninja variety, but an actual turtle graced our home with her presence recently. One morning the kids ran outside to play and not 2 seconds later they come storming back in, “Mom, Mom, MOM!” Why do kids not wait for a reply? My kids don’t even give me a chance to reply before the “mom” is screamed in their loudest, shrillest voice possible. I digress. “There’s a turtle outside!” Okay, I thought. There’s probably a cute little turtle out on the street. We’ll go check it out. Boy, was I wrong.  Isn’t she gorgeous? Her shell was bigger than a basketball, I’d say. She was in our flower…

  • Crafts,  decorating

    Lamp Base Filled With Yarn Pom-Poms

    My 7-year-old daughter’s bedroom is almost done. Or done enough. Is it ever really done-done? We are blessed that she loves to read. When we put her to bed at night, she will stay up and read for awhile, so a lamp on the bedside table was a must! The colors of her room started out as grey and lavender. However, now her favorite color is blue. Who can keep up? Instead of starting all over on her room design, we compromised by adding navy into the mix. That way we could keep her existing decor, but freshen it up with her new favorite color. The next time she changes her mind,…

  • travel

    Travel: Zoo Atlanta

    The great thing about moving to a different area is that everything is NEW and EXCITING! Especially if you are 4 and 7 years old. On our bucket list was, of course, visiting the Atlanta Zoo! So, off we trotted one morning last week. Zoo Atlanta is located in Grant Park and we ended up parking on the far side of Grant Park and then walking through the park to the zoo entrance. The zoo is much more compact than others I have visited, such as the Portland Zoo. I’m attributing this to smaller, daytime viewing areas for the animals to roam in, but that was just my impression. The good…

  • Family

    Weekend Fun

    Dear Summer, Please don’t ever let your sunshiny goodness leave us. Sincerely, The Girl Who Only Freckles But Maybe Someday They Will All Connect Into A Tan We’ve been spending a lot of time at the pool this summer. This also means that I’m buying sunscreen in bulk and constantly have a load of pool towels in the wash. Totally worth it though since I am now a big fan of the tennis/swim neighborhoods they seem to build everywhere in the South. It’s definitely not what we are used to, so we are soaking it all in. Plus, if you have shades as cool as these… It’s on afternoons like this that…

  • DIY,  Makeover

    Zero Gravity Chair Repair On The Cheap

    We tend to keep things for a really long time. In this case, our two zero gravity lounge chairs have moved with us from Minnesota to Oregon to Georgia. That’s a lot of miles, baby! I’d guess that makes them 8 or 9 years old. While we do store our outdoor furniture indoors during the winter, 8 summers is still a long time to be exposed to the elements. And let’s face it, aging gracefully is hard to do. When you start to sag, sometimes your only option is to do a little nip, a little tuck… Ahem. We’re still talking about chairs, right? When we pulled the chairs out this summer, we…

  • friday funnies

    Laugh Out Loud Moments

    Some pretty stinkin’ funny things happen during motherhood. I mean, they aren’t funny at the time, but later. I’m sure they are funny later. Right? Right? Like that time I let my son pee in a sippy cup…in the backseat of the car…in front of my husband’s office. I won’t even tell you what happened to my hand that was holding the cup. I do need to get more hand sanitizer though. Never hold the cup. Words to live by. And, of course, it is perfectly reasonable to wear the fire hat while watering grass seed. The good news is that his hard work paid off and we finally have…

  • Food

    Dave’s Killer Bread Copycat Recipe

    You know that point when you grow up and realize you’ve got to make your carbs count and white bread just isn’t doing you any favors? I’m totally kidding. A life without carbs…where’s the joy in that? However, I have moved passed my white bread phase onto a more heartier bread. It started for me several years ago when I tried Dave’s Killer Bread. If you live in the Northwest, you’ve probably heard of it and I hope, for your sake, that you’ve tried it. It combines the smooshie goodness you associate with white bread with the benefits of “healthy” bread (fiber, protein, whole grains, etc.). Plus, the story of…

  • Crafts,  learning

    Teacher Appreciation Gifts

    We moved to Georgia at the tail end of the school year. I was so thankful to my kids’ teachers for welcoming them into their classrooms with open arms and hearts. They truly made the transition so smooth. And hey, they only had to put up with my kids for 8 weeks! So before school ended, we whipped them up a little homemade appreciation gift of strawberry freezer jam and anise biscotti. The kids helped! I know the teachers probably would have appreciated a gift card even more, but I’m trying to teach my kids how special it is to give the gift of your time. In the age of…

  • Uncategorized

    Hi!

    If you are coming over from Knock Off Decor, WELCOME!  I am just so darn excited to have a project featured on a site I visit all the time for great ideas and inspiration. Picture me doing my happy dance right now! I’m pretty new to the world of blogging and love having a place to share ideas and connect with other folks. Thanks again for visiting! Share this:

  • decorating,  DIY,  Makeover,  Running

    Racing Trophy Display Door

    My husband became a runner when he was 36 years old. Turns out, he’s really good at it. (I try not to hold that against him.) If you are new to the world of running, let me enlighten you. Some runners become so enthralled with the sport that they start running races. It keeps you motivated in your training and many runners even enjoy *gasp* these races. Crazy, I know. For every race you enter, you will receive a running bib with your number on it and for every race you complete you will usually earn a medal. Before long, you’ve got medals hanging from doorknobs (classy) and you’re looking for your checkbook in the junk…