Every year we buy a gingerbread house kit from Costco. They’re awesome!
This year’s kit came with two buildings. So we have a Girls’ house and a Boys’ house.
Dare I say whose house I liked most? TeeHee.
Regardless, we all had a fantastic time licking our fingers 
Posted in Crafting, Decorating, Family, Holiday
If you know me in real life, you know my favorite color is aqua. I’ve always wanted to have an aqua-colored Christmas, but it just seemed too tacky. Not to mention all my Christmas decorations are red and green.
I’ve been freed!
This year all the magazines and design blogs are showing aqua and white Christmas decor. So I took the plunge. I got some gorgeous Martha Stewart aqua-colored glitter, and some styrofoam ball and trees, and I went plum crazy. It’s stinking cute, I must say. Here’s a little preview:
I have to admit I’m a little nervous about having some folks over this season. Will they think I’ve lost my marbles? Or that I’m just terribly tacky? Oh well, sometimes you just gotta let your heart sing the song it was made to sing–off key or not.
Posted in Crafting, Decorating, Holiday
Do you remember how I went kicking and screaming into Autumn in the past? Well, this year I decided I’d decorate early (on the first day of fall) in order to try to embrace the change. (Not to mention we had a really hard summer and I was itching for the relief I hoped fall winds would bring.)
I did a little. Of course, they look prettier in the evening, but I just didn’t get around to taking those shots. Just imagine.
I have to admit it did feel odd having out pine cones and pumpkins while it was still in the 90′s. And next year I will probably wait until the leaves outside start to change and the temperatures drop. But I’m proud of myself for stepping out and changing things up a bit. I know it’s small and silly, but it shows I’m not entirely set in my ways.
Posted in Decorating, Nature
I decorated this window over a year ago. It’s been sitting behind my couch since then. Hubby finally hung it for me just in time for this Christmas–a little early gift.
Check out my little KONOS Tree for All Seasons done up in aqua Christmas decor. I love living on the water! I have so much freedom to do things that just wouldn’t fly inland.
Posted in Crafting, Decorating, Holiday, Seasonal
Brooke bought a set of bunkbeds for her Liberty doll. I didn’t take a “before” shot, but they were uncushioned, covered in a red calico print.
Brooke added a 2″ thick foam cushion and used a pillowcase to re-cover them.
Aren’t they just adorable? You can see how we just wrapped them like Christmas gifts on the ends. We could have taken a little more effort to match up the stripes on the ends, but I wanted Brooke to be able to do this by herself without getting frustrated.
She wanted to add pillows, but we didn’t have any pillow forms. So we made them ourselves out of felt and leftover toulle. She liked the crisp white look so much, she didn’t even want to make a pillowcase for them.
I’m so proud of how she’s learning to create beautiful things herself.
Posted in Crafting, Decorating, Learning, Mothers and Daughters
The boys were completely clueless after receiving a plastic grocery bag as a clue to the theme of their bedroom.
The girls were excited to reveal the new theme…can you guess yet?
I managed to catch their initial reaction
to their new MILITARY room!
Their daddy was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, and the plastic bag was a makeshift parachute. In this photo you can see him during a jump.
If you look closely in the photo above with the girls, you can see him in the jungle. The boys LOVE having photos of their dad and his army gear all over their bedroom.
Brian wanted a teddy-bear theme. We managed to make him happy with this pilot teddy bear.
I think it’s safe to say they’ll enjoy this room for years to come.
Posted in Crafting, Decorating, Family, Fun, Parenting
Talk about giddy! We were too excited to wait until after breakfast to reveal the new bedrooms.
The boys made hearts out of hot pink hawaiian leis to greet the girls.
Look at what else greeted the girls:
and this
and this.
Look at this cute shelf.
I changed up their closet drapes with a little RIT dye
and some pretty fabric (necessary when I dried the drapes in the machine and they shrunk.)
The girls were so surprised! They really didn’t know what to expect.
Brooke went straight to her desk/crafting area. It was the one thing she wanted in her bedroom.
Even though Brea cried when we took out her crib, she was thrilled to meet her new trundle bed
and find her own stash of books nearby.
She invited us all, and I mean all, to join her.
Didn’t the boys do a FANTASTIC job?!
Posted in Crafting, Decorating, Family, Fun, Parenting
The kids were most excited about the “challenges.” They’re crazy stunts that earned the right to sleep on the couch rather than on the floor in sleeping bags. Those spots were highly coveted.
It’s all fun and games til someone gets a pie in the face.
I’d say this was the messiest challenge!
Just before bed, when the girls would nestle all snug on the couches, the kids exchanged clues. They’d kept the room themes secret from one another thus far.
The girls gave the boys a plastic grocery bag. Any guesses? They were truly stumped.
The boys gave the girls a tube of hot pink lip gloss. They were excited at the possibilities this sparkly gem brought.
Stay tuned for the Big Reveal!
Posted in Decorating, Family, Fun, Parenting
