what was once new...

i had big plans for recycling a dresser, similar to what we had done HERE. but unfortunately, i just couldn't find the right piece of furniture. scratch that.... i couldn't find anything. you would think that months of searching thrift stores & garage stores, i would have found something. but nope - nada. the few things i did find were small & really, really, really over-priced. so, we ended up with something from ikea. the only drawback to our to our nice, new dresser was that it was powder blue.... which doesn't exactly scream little girl. luckily, a can of paint is cheap. so we slopped on the paint (literally, because i don't like things that look perfectly perfect), took some sand paper to it, added a few vintage-esque knobs & viola! we have ourselves a new, old dresser.

a personal best.

the hubby & i have an on-going buzz lightyear battle. unfortunately he usually kicks my butt. i can safely say that on this trip though, i wiped the floor with him. he had a measly 400 & something thousand. that doesn't even compare to my 693,800 points. yep! you read that right, 693,800 points, pardon me while i gloat for a bit, but i'm feeling like a proud mama. i may just have to frame this picture & display it prominently. want to learn the secrets to racking up the points on buzz? go HERE.

don't they know?

you are not supposed to eat ALL of a pregnant women's cookies! lofthouse frosted sugar cookies, are seriously the BEST. definitely one of my favorite indulgences. i went upstairs, leaving a completely full box of cookies (10 in total). i came back downstairs only to find a completely empty cookie box & sprinkles on the ground. i think my boys need to be taught a lesson.

pinching their pennies.

i think it's time i invest in a piggy bank for my boys. lately, they've been scavenging the house looking for all sorts of loose change & "millions of dollars" as gavin calls the paper money. they know &/or have found all my hiding spots for change & have completely cleaned me out. today i stumbled across this pile of money on one of their dressers. before i could gather it up, gavin quickly informed me that he was saving up for the hungry hungry hippos game. at the rate he is going, this little thief will have enough money in no time... too bad half of it is foreign currency leftover from our travels. he doesn't quite understand why his favorite store, target, won't take the british pounds, turkish lira, indian rupee, or euros he's got in his stash. maybe i'll have to wrap up his precious hungry hungry hippos game & give it to the boys as a gift from the "baby".

ben & jerry's FREE cone day

don't forget.... tuesday, april 21st is FREE cone day at ben & jerry's. who can pass up FREE ice cream? especially when it's this HOT out?! so mark your calendar, tie a string around your finger, cover the house with sticky notes... whatever will help you remember. then on tuesday, april 21st, find your nearest ben & jerry's HERE, pack up the kids & head on down for some FREE ice cream.

image via ben & jerry's

decisions, decisions.

way, way back, what seems like a zillion years ago, i thought i had things figured out. of course that particular quilt was more purple-y & girly in the traditional kind of way. but i pretty much assumed it had been hung on the wall to stay. but now that this quilt has arrived home & is currently testing out the spot on the wall, i'm having a hard time making a decision. it really isn't that big of a deal, or at least that's what the hubby is continually telling me. but, right now it is a big deal, at least to my sanity. this simple decision will have a huge, no astronomical impact on the entire room. whichever quilt is chosen will ultimately play a big part in the decision regarding what color to paint the powder blue dresser (perhaps a bright tangerine for a little pop! or maybe we don't paint it at all?). it will also effect (or is it affect?) the wall hangings, light fixtures & all the other little odds & ends that will play apart of making this room "hers"... in the end, this simple quilt decision could totally & completely shape this little lady's personality & life-to-be. okay, so maybe i am being just a bit over dramatic, it's just the hormones talking. but seriously, this is a big decision, & i hate making decisions.

something old, something new...

vintage bed sheets, some new onesies, &  just a wee, little bit of trim, & this little girl of mine has some new dresses to lounge around in. thank you carrie for the inspiration & chelsey for the instruction. another "to do" has now been crossed off the list.

today's project.

after all the chores are done, i'll be pretending i know how to crochet. hopefully, tonight i'll be able to cross another thing off the "list".

i'm hungry for easter.

the best part of any holiday is the food. growing up, & even now as an adult, ham is always the star of our easter meal. i thought i'd pass along one of our family's favorite ham recipes, borrowed from our good friends art & peggy.

ham a la art & peggy

1 whole ham: wash, cut off fat & cut slices in the top.
cover the entire ham with mustard & bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
after baking, dump the grease.

then, mix the following ingredients together & pour over the ham:
2 cans of whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup to 1 cup of water
2-3 Tbsp. mustard
2-3 Tbsp. brown sugar

after you've poured the mixture on the ham, return it to the oven & bake at 350 degrees, until the ham is done (approximately 1-2 hours), basting every 15 minutes.

& although, ham may be the star, we all know no easter meal would be complete without loads of sides & desserts. our menu hasn't been finalized, but here are some of the recipes i'm drooling over...

ham & asparagus quiche
honey yeast rolls
layered tortellini spinach salad
maple whipped sweet potatoes
raspberry asparagus
carrot souffle
sweet spinach salad
home cooked pole beans
deviled eggs
& if you're not in the mood for ham, this spring stuffed chicken sounds yummy!
1-2-3-4 lemon cake
grandma's carrot cake
lemon freeze with raspberry sauce

so what are you hungry for this easter?

image via wikimedia

soon, i'll be breaking out my mickey ears.

a couple of nights ago i had the opportunity to get together with several women entrepreneurs. we chatted, we snacked & we learned a TON thanks to two incredible women, heather fish & patty vogan. both are amazingly successful business women & are just as superhero-like in real life. the night was incredibly powerful. &, there is no way i can possibly convey all that happened. but, whether or not you are business-minded, anyone & everyone can benefit from what i feel is a very important lesson they both stressed over & over... always, always, always stay true to yourself & your goals. whether it's in business or simply in life, decide now what your ultimate goal is, what your desired end-result is, & work backwards - figure out HOW to get there, don't just let it happen. as patty says "life is always a fun adventure live it by DESIGN not DEFAULT!"

if just a couple of hours one night can have had such a profound impact, i can't even imagine what will result from an entire weekend. you & i both know that i love any excuse to spend time at the happiest place on earth. but this particular weekend, you just might want to join me. if you're in the southern california area, or if you're willing to hop on a plane or in your car & head on down to the oc, & you're interested in meeting some incredible women, networking & learning about marketing to women online, then you definitely want to sign up for THIS. i'll be there. i'll be very very pregnant, but i wouldn't miss it for the world. & maybe, i'll even wear my mickey ears.

something pink-ish is hanging in the closet.

three weeks to go. wow! as i re-read that sentence i get chills up & down my spine. but it's really happening. & after much assurance from my doctor that she really is a girl, i've finally started to give in, just a bit, to the power of pink.

here's my first attempt at crafting a little ensemble for her to wear. (click on picture to enlarge). but i couldn't make only a dress, every little girl needs some matching accessories. so, i whipped up a blanket to match. i'm sure once she sees it, she'll be drooling to wear it.

this is me, smiling.

why am i so happy you might ask? because i've just completed my third round of cavity-filling dental visits. yes sir, my THIRD round... i told you i had a lot of cavities. but now i can proudly proclaim to the world that i am cavity free! yippee! & luckily for me, there were no crowns or root canals necessary. even that tooth i cracked a year & a half ago was able to be simply filled. thank goodness! now i can cross another thing off "my list". slowly but surely, i am going to be ready for this baby. now if i can just get that dang song from grease out of my head... "brusha brusha brusha!"

pictures of my big, fat, pregnant belly.

this is a picture of me, my big 'ole belly, & if you squint really hard you can kinda see my shoes way down there. i guess it's kind of a good thing, because i still can, kinda see my toes peeking out beyond my belly... just a smidge. with only weeks to go, i've been pretty good at avoiding the camera lens. but all that is going to come to an end. against my better judgment, but at the request of THIS wonderful lady, i'm going to do something i swore i never would do... a pregnancy photo session. i have to admit, i haven't got the slightest idea of what i'm getting myself into, but i'm sure it'll be fun. i can't promise i'll share the pictures with the world via the internet, i'm not sure i'm that brave, but you never know. i just might surprise you. heck! i never thought i'd let anyone take pictures of my big, fat, pregnant belly & here i am, doing just that... so anything can happen.

this is what happens when i go the bathroom...

no, no - this isn't the result of an edward scissorhands inspiration that came to me suddenly while sitting on the pot. instead, this is the work of my own personal edward scissorhands - my 2 year old. apparently he didn't think that my carrie-inspired re-usable shopping bag had enough flair to it. so, he found some scissors (& i'm using the term "found" very loosely here. what i really mean to say is he went to my locked sewing cupboard, i guess the "child locks" no longer are a match for him, & purposely got out a pair of scissors) & started snipping away. who knows? he may have had a real vision here, unfortunately for him, i caught him in the middle of the act & prevented him completing his "masterpiece". now, my over-the-shoulder bag is more of a clutch, but it's okay, it's still cute. hopefully, this will be owen's "scissor story". it seems every child has one, & this is way better than the story of gavin giving himself a haircut.

progress.

her walls are still (& probably will remain) a boring shade of beige. the recently purchased dresser is still powder blue & there isn't a whole lot hanging in her closet. but yesterday, i did manage to hang a quilt on the wall, silently proclaiming the room "hers". granted, i'm not promising that this particular quilt will stay on the wall, i am retaining the right to possibly make a change, depending on how this quilt turns out. but for now, it'll due. so, just in case you were starting to worry that she was going to make her grand entrance into this world, & i wasn't going to be prepared (because let's face it, you might not be worried about that, but i certainly am)... i am still taking those "baby steps", slowly, ever so slowly i'm making progress.

happy april fool's

maybe you're like me & you just realized today was april fool's day. i guess i should publicly apologize to my boy's here, for not being very "on the ball" these days. it's okay though, that's the great thing about april fool's, most of the best tricks & pranks require very little to no planning. so if you are looking for a few quick & easy gags check out some of these:

martha stewart's list of 13 pranks
family fun's mega list of pranks
& my personal favorite prank ever

hope you get 'em good!

image via martha stewart.