• 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…

  • decorating,  DIY

    Pottery Barn Shelf Knock Off

    Update: Just found out this posted is being featured at Knock Off Decor. HAPPY DANCE!  Who loves Pottery Barn? *raises hand* Me! Me! ME! ME!!!! Who loves Pottery Barn prices? *crickets* Yeah. So, what’s a girl to do? Convince her husband to make something similar. Check and double check. (And for the record, I did help.) Here’s how the Pottery Barn “Holman” ledge looks: (image taken from Pottery Barn website) These gorgeous shelves at Pottery Barn are $69 plus shipping/tax for a 4 foot version. Say what??? Ours are 5 feet in length and were made with scrap wood we found in our garage when we moved in. SCORE! We did buy a…

  • Family

    Actually Enjoying the Beach

    The beaches in the Pacific Northwest are epic. Big waves, amazing rock formations and unbelievable views. Oh, and did I mention cold? How about windy? Check and check. Don’t get me wrong. There are those few precious days of warm temperatures and no wind and we savor them. If it gets really hot, little kids might “play” in the water, but no one is swimming. The only time I have experienced actually swimming in a warm ocean was in Maui. (I know, woe is me.) So, now that we live in the Atlanta area, I was excited to take the kids to Florida for their birthday. We chose to do…

  • Food

    Easy Strawberry Freezer Jam – fresh and delicious

    I used to be scared of making jam. There’s no such thing as an easy strawberry jam recipe is there? Making freezer jam sounded complicated and like a heck of a lot of work. Plus, it never tasted good enough that I’d go through the trouble to make it myself. I have enough to fill my day, thank you very much. Then one day I tasted strawberry FREEZER jam, courtesy of my in-laws. I swear the clouds parted and my taste buds did their happy dance. It was so. darn. good. Possibly the best strawberry jam recipe ever! I was finally motivated to put on my big girl panties and attempt to…

  • Family

    Shades

    Last year we went to a 4th of July parade in a small Oregon town. I love a good parade. The sense of community. The Americana vibe. High school marching bands. The sense of unity – at least for an hour – between townsfolk. The possibility of kettle corn. My kids love the candy. Just keeping it real. If candy collecting was an Olympic sport… The local frozen yogurt place had a float in the parade. By float I mean a pickup truck with a banner attached. Tomato. Tom-ah-to. I guess it was prudent of them to not throw frozen yogurt at the crowd. So instead, they handed out sunglasses.…

  • Uncategorized

    Sneak Peeks

    We’ve been busy around here. So what else is new? So I thought I would share a few sneak peeks of what we are up to. First, strawberries are in season in Georgia. Say WHAT??? To this Oregon girl, strawberries in April are like an early Christmas present. We usually have to wait until June in the Pacific Northwest. We picked up 6 gallons of strawberries from Washington Farms in Watkinsville, GA, last week. It yielded about 48 cups of crushed berries for freezer jam plus a few for eating. Seriously, these were the best berries we’ve ever had the pleasure of eating! Next, I saw a picture in the…

  • Crafts,  Makeover

    Footprint Step Stool

    It’s possible I’m feeling a little sentimental. My baby does turn FOUR in less than a month. How did that happen so fast? Anyway, we’re working on making over our powder room. There was just something about the patterned wallpaper from 1986 that wasn’t going to work in this century. I’m crushing on the grey and yellow combo lately, so that’s what inspired the overall color scheme for the powder room and for this mini step stool makeover. (And, yes, I will show you what’s happened in the powder room, but I’m not quite done with it yet. Stay tuned.) It seems that during the preschool years hand and footprint…