Flower Box Book Rack

While I was on my spray painting binge last week making the bubblegum machine, I also painted a little shelf to put in the living room to use as a book rack/magazine holder. I wanted something in a bright color that could hang on the wall since enough of our floor space is already taken up by baskets of toys and books. I was at Joann's a few weeks ago when their unfinished wooden furniture and decor was 50% off, plus I had a 25% off coupon that was good on sale items. I found a flower box that I thought was cute and after all the discounts and coupons were applied it ended up costing $7.50. Not bad, plus I knew I had enough spray paint leftover from my sewing table to do the whole project. So home it went.

I used this paint (again, my favorite brand and type of spray paint and a great choice if you're like me and not the greatest at spray painting anything):

And after letting it sit outside for about two full days, it was brought in to sit on my dining room table for another week and a half until we had time to do anything with it.

And ta-da! A new book rack:

Happy Monday.

~Stacy

Almost My Favorite Month

So April showers have indeed brought flowers (no waiting until May necessary). Three more days until May--which is one of my favorite months. It's the prettiest part of spring and sets the stage for summer minus the heat and humidity. May, June and July; those are my favorites. And October, but let's not think about fall right now!

I think the only times we went inside today were to eat and drink and to get Charlotte up from her nap. We went to the park, the farmer's market, and spent the rest of the day working in the yard and building something that shall be revealed later next week :)

Farmers markets. Cookouts. The scent of freshly cut grass. Ice cream and popsicles. Parades. Bright flowers everywhere. Bike rides. The beach. Flip flops, shorts and tank tops. The constant smell of sunscreen. These are things that start with May. Ahhhh.

Have a great weekend.

~Stacy

Project Pinterest: Flower Pot Bubblegum Machine

It's been forever since I've done a Project Pinterest post. I've made plenty of things from Pinterest in the past few months but just about all of them have been recipes. I'm usually too wrapped up in making sure what I'm cooking or baking is edible to remember to take any pictures. So I'll just stick to crafty things :)

This project was one that caught my eye just because it was cute and fun.  I pinned it and didn't really think I'd ever do anything with it until one day when Charlotte was sitting with me looking at all the pretty pictures on Pinterest. We were looking at my Projects board and I told her to pick what she wanted to make and we would go to the craft store and get whatever we needed. So she picked this. It isn't very functional and definitely not a problem solver but whatever. The whole thing cost me about $2.50 and now I have a candy dish.

The project? A bubblegum machine made out of a terra cotta flower pot and a glass vase. The original pin can be found here and the site it originated from is here.

I bought the flower pot and vase but everything else I already had. It took three coats of spray paint to get it evenly covered and shiny, and after painting I left it outside for 48 hours to make sure it was completely set and the paint smell was gone. I planned on putting M&Ms in mine and didn't want any residual paint odors.

Here's the paint I used, leftover from a past project:

This brand and type of spray paint is great. I love that there's no extra step of priming involved and even if the first (and second) coats look like a hot mess it all comes together at the end and I get a smooth, shiny finish. My spray painting technique is appalling, so the fact that I can make something look presentable is amazing.

A certain someone ended up in the background on this photo when she heard the M&Ms hitting the glass:

After just one day the M&M level is noticeably smaller...

Happy pinning!

~Stacy

Curing the Crabby

I've mentioned (probably more than once) that we are in the midst of another round of teething and it has been anything but fun. Charlotte is a good girl, but when teething hits her (and it hits hard) her patience becomes nonexistent and her fuse is super short, rendering her angry and teary over things that would normally not cause any reaction (like waking up from a nap almost inconsolable because her soccer ball was downstairs. True story).

It's important to me to have some sort of agenda on most days. Nothing major, just something to go and do that gets us out of the house. If the weather isn't nice enough I try to find something to do with her indoors, even if it just means running an errand or going to the library. On the kinds of days we've been having lately, getting out is even more important for us--both her sanity and mine are at stake. On this particular day I knew from the moment she woke up it would be a rough ride for us if we didn't get out, pronto. She loves to go places and doesn't really care where we go--she likes to take car rides, see people, and do things (even grocery shop; she loves it. That makes one of us). She could be having ten meltdowns at home but as soon as we go "bye bye" she chills out. So yesterday we left in the morning and pretty much stayed gone all day except to stop home for lunch and her nap. It was 85 degrees (??) and no rain, so to the park we went. The wind almost blew her over a few times, but otherwise it was just what we needed.

I could watch her run all day; it's hilarious. She kicks her legs out when she really gets going so it looks like she's run-dancing. One arm sticks straight back and the other one pumps like crazy, head bowed, plowing forward. She does nothing halfway. That's my girl :) 

Oh, and if you have a youngster who is teething molars and are having trouble finding things that might help that don't involve medicine I suggest trying Zo-li Gummy Sticks. These are great because they're made for back teeth, unlike most teething rings or chew-y things that are geared for new teethers and focus mainly on front teeth. It's not a total fix, but it seems to help.

Have a great weekend!

~Stacy

Portrait Party Open House!

I've been rifling through my fabric stashes and working like crazy to get enough bags and accessories ready for an event I'm really excited about. My good friend Christine is a photographer and runs her own business called Christine Seeholzer Photography. She is hosting a Mother's Day Portrait Party at her home (where she has a portrait studio) on Sunday, May 5th. This is really a one stop shop for all of your Mother's Day needs--she's planning quite the event! There will be mini portrait sessions available, along with a Mary Kay representative who will be hosting three spa-makeover treatments as well as a makeup artist. Want to get your hair done? You can do that too. Need to do a little shopping? Well, that's covered as well. Several vendors will be onsite offering goodies like Scentsy gifts and lotions, customizable jewelry courtesy of Origami Owl, lots of gifts and accessories from 31 Gifts, and me. I will be there with a table full of bags and maybe some other surprise items :) Oh, and if you're not sure what to do with your kids while you shop and get pampered, no worries. There will be a babysitter on site to take care of that. See, I told you she thought of everything!

 So here are the details:

Mother's Day Portrait Party hosted by Christine Seeholzer Photography

Where: 32550 Walker Rd. in Avon Lake, 44012

When: Sunday, May 5th from 11A-4P (Open House)

The portrait shoots will last about 10-15 minutes each. If you would like a makeover prior to the shoot there are three mini sessions (at 11AM, 1PM, and 2PM) for those. Please email Dawn at doindanews@sbcglobal.net with your preferred time and include a picture so she can create a customized color palette for you! 

Check out Christine's site for more detailed information and "like" her on Facebook to get more updates and info. 

And here's a little sneak peak at some of my inventory:

Obviously I'll have many more things for sale than that...but that gives you an idea of the colors to expect. Bright, cheerful, and very spring/summery looking. Perfect for mom (or you)!

~Stacy

The Best I've Never Seen

There is an ever-growing list of books and movies and television shows that end up being super popular, and in some cases, instant classics. Every year I say I'm going to watch one of these shows or movies or read one of these books, but I don't. Why? Because I can't seem to work up enough excitement about them to go for it, even though it seems like the rest of the population already has.

So here's a list of the best I've never seen, along with a couple I wanted to like but just couldn't get into.

1) Star Wars. I've never seen a single one. The closest I've come to watching Star Wars is Spaceballs. Seriously. I am not a science fiction fan at all, so that's the reason why I've never tried to take the time to watch these movies. Nothing about the story really grabs my interest. But at the same time, I kind of feel like I should give them a chance (the first three, anyway) simply because they played a significant role in the whole cinematic experience and paved the way for many a sic-fi story. So in the interest of fairness, maybe I'll see what all the fuss is about. Someday.

2) Braveheart. Isn't this supposed to be one of the greatest movies ever? Yeah, I've never seen it. I know the general storyline and that gives me enough info to know that I'd probably need to spend about 85% of the movie averting my eyes.

3) Downton Abbey. This one falls under the "I wanted to like it but just could not get into it" category. Have you ever just wanted to like something that you keep going with it long after you lost interest, hoping that something would spark? That's my relationship with Downton Abbey. I kept having to rewind the first couple episodes because my mind was wandering. By the third and fourth episodes I found myself writing out my grocery list and I knew it was time to stop. I'm just not meant to love this show like an alarming amount of the population seems to.

4) The Help. I've never seen the movie or read the book. I borrowed the book once from my sister-in-law and once from the library and both times never ended up getting around to reading it. I don't know why--I'm interested in story and would like to get through it. Maybe because the subject matter is so difficult (as in sad and angering, not intellectually taxing)? I have to be in the right mood to want to read something really heavy. Regardless, this is one that I want to make an effort to read (don't really care about the movie, the books are always better).

5) Twilight. Okay, I'm going out on a limb by saying this is one of the "best" things I've never read, but in this case "best" just means "insanely popular." Vampires. I just don't get it. What is so fascinating about vampire love stories that made these books sell a gazillion copies, get turned into a billion dollar movie franchise, and spark popular TV shows like True Blood, not to mention countless copycat books, shows and movies? There is literally nothing appealing about these books to me. So tell me Twilight fans, is it worth it to read them, despite my lack of interest? I try to bear in mind that I wasn't the least bit interested in Harry Potter for the longest time and finally read the books last year and absolutely loved every page. But based on what I've heard, I suspect the main characters of Bella, Edward and Jacob couldn't hold a candle to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

6) Anything by Jane Austen. I've literally read nothing by her. I feel embarrassed saying that, but there you have it. Where should I start?

7) Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, and a bunch of other classic movies I'm supposed to love. Okay, I technically have seen Gone With the Wind but I was in high school and found the movie to be waaay too long and really quite boring. But it's not really fair to judge it based on that, so I should probably revisit. I've never seen Casablanca, Citizen Cane, or It's a Wonderful Life (in full, at least. I fell asleep).

8) The Voice. People go nuts over this show, and everything I've been hearing recently is about how great this season has been so far and how it's the best show of its kind, blah blah blah. I know myself well enough to know that if I watch a reality competition show I WILL get sucked in. Swiftly. It doesn't really matter the competition--singing, dancing, dating, modeling, fashion design, cooking, surviving. If I watch, I will begin caring about utter nonsense to the point where I will be forced to devote two to three hours of my weeknights to seeing people compete over dumb things and finding out who wins. Also, Adam Levine drives me crazy. And not in a good way.

9) Survivor. I've never seen a single episode of this show, which is probably on it's 412th season by now. See #8, minus the Adam Levine part.

10) The Wiggles. I threw this in as a parent category, since it seems like everyone with a child under 5 has been subjected to hours of The Wiggles. I've seen snippets of this show, and frankly I find it creepy. Why are so many kids shows creepy?? Teletubbies? Those things were horrifying. Right now she thinks Sesame Street is the only show on television, so we'll stick with that. I could take or leave Big Bird, but he's nowhere near as creepy as a Wiggle or Teletubby.

So that's my list. I know there are dozens more, but naptime just ended :)

~Stacy

Finding the Good

Yesterday I needed to get my teething, tired, cranky baby outside in the warm sunshine while I had the chance. It doesn't matter what mood she has been in the rest of the day--if we get to be outside, she automatically perks up. We visited my grandpa and then went to nearby Coe Lake, which was sort of like stepping back in time. I think the last time I spent that much time around that area was when I lived right down the street, almost seven years ago. We had our prom pictures taken there, it was where I used to watch fireworks in high school and college, and Chad and I took many walks as a newly married couple (with Henry) around this park. It was a little surreal going back with my own child. It's always been a pretty area but more hiking paths and bridges have been added in the past few years that make it even better. Add a partly sunny, 70 degree spring day and it made for a lovely afternoon :)

She got to pick flowers at Great Grandpa's house:

The way the sun hit the water made it so sparkly...the pictures don't do it justice.

We watched ducks:

The gazebo! It's a Berea landmark and the backdrop for many a formal dance photo from my high school days.

She was less interested in flowers and more interested in picking up sticks and launching them, javelin style.

So interested in sticks, in fact, that she preferred counting them from her perch on this rock over watching the squirrel who was three feet away. And she loves squirrels. Usually when she sees one she waves and asks me "Mommy, I hug it?" and I have to try to explain that squirrels are for watching, not hugging.

And then as soon as we got in the car to head home I heard the breaking news story about Boston. It made me sick to my stomach and my thoughts go out to the entire city and everyone affected by such a terrible and senseless thing. So I guess if you ever wonder why I blog, maybe what happened yesterday is a way I can try to explain it. Because when I come here, I know that it's a place where only good things exist and I can focus on the positive parts of the day, no matter how small. If I'm having a bad day or if it seems like all that is taking place out there is sad and hopeless I can come here and reset. It is a reminder that the horrible things that can happen in this world are not the only things that exist. There is good out there. It's just a little harder to find sometimes.

~Stacy