Keep Calm Over Done?

There was a great post on Curbly yesterday about the Keep Calm and Carry On Posters that are often seen on design sites these days. Apparently some people think they are "So Over". I admit that I have seen my fair share of these posters in a variety of colors and variations on the internet but I have to say I still love them. Also I'd like to point out that much like the author of the Curbly post I have never actually seen one in person. A few weeks ago I saw this take on the classic British war time poster on the Etsy Shop Megalerie and I was smitten.

I love how it keeps the integrity of the slogan, but it gives it a new spin. It's refreshing. What do you think? Is it so over? Or do you still appreciate the history and meaning behind it? There are some great comments on that post you should take a look at if it is something that interests you.

100 Posts & A Great Way To Spend 15 Minutes

According to blogger this is my 100th post. I don't really feel like it is though. Just because I feel like I'm just getting back into the swing of things with blogging. I mean December was the first month I really started taking it more seriously. So really I feel like this is my 40th post. But when I saw 100 I won't lie. It felt pretty good.

Today I spent 15 minutes adding to my ever expanding Valentine's decoration collection. I really don't have much in the way of Valentine's stuff. So I'm trying to add to it this year. Last week I found these cute little vases in the Target dollar bins (I'm a dollar bin fanatic). I think they actually cost $2.50. I thought they would look cute with some Pom Pom flowers in them on my mantel. There are a few different ways you can go about making pom poms, but this is the method I used. I think it's the easiest way because you just wrap the yarn around your fingers. You don't need a Pom Pom maker that costs around $7. I love the way they turned out, and they were so easy and fun to make. I love crafts (there I said it! Crafts!) that I can complete during nap time. This one I could have done several times over during nap time. It's instant gratification. I think this would be an easy one for kids to do also.

Here are a few other things you can do with yarn Pom Poms...

Make a Wreath

Make Garland. You know I love a good garland.

Use them to Wrap Gifts. She also gives a great tutorial on how to make them.

Have fun with this one! The possibilities are endless!

Garland... Not Just for Christmas Anymore

I feel like every holiday deserves some sort of Garland. I made this one last year for Valentine's Day, but seeing as though it was paper it didn't last. My sisters made similar garlands last year also, but out of felt. So really this idea came from them. However Valentine's Garlands are all over the internet. Just do an image search and you will find awesome inspiration. This is a great project to get your kids involved with. If your child is old enough to cut out simple shapes then enlist them to help cut out the hearts. Kids love crafts! For this one I used 4 sheets of felt (2 red & 2 white). I made a pattern for the big hearts first and cut out 9 of the red and 8 of the white. Then I just trimmed the pattern a little smaller for the small hearts and cut out 9 white and 8 red. Glue gunned the small red to the big white and the small white to the big red, then sewed them all in a row. I quickly learned that my hearts were too fat to do it end to end. So side by side it will have to be. It really doesn't matter. It looks cute either way, but if you want to do it end to end make the hearts a little longer rather than fatter. It really is very simple and takes no time at all.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!

The winner for the Vintage Bow Give Away Is...

Leslie Quinn! Hooray! Email me today and I will get them in the mail!

I'll probably do more giveaways from time to time. So don't forget to tell your friends when I do!

Check back later this afternoon for a great Valentine's Day project!

I Heart You...

Sorry for no post yesterday. It was a real blah day. I was so uncomfortable all day long. So what do I do on a blah day? Drop all my responsibilities and curl up with My Life In France. So far it's a delightful read.

Anyway on to today. I think my sisters will know where this one is going just by the picture. Come back tomorrow to see what Valentine's Day Project (Do you like how I call my crafts projects? I don't know why I can't just use the word craft. It's strange.) I'm working on today.

Also it's the last day for the Vintage Trimmings Bow Giveaway. Don't forget to leave a comment on that post by the end of the day today. I'll announce the winner tomorrow morning.

Texture

I'm in the process of looking for new bedding for my bed. I'm thinking along the lines of plain white, but with texture. Then adding pops of color with the pillows & sheets. I love this duvet from Urban Outfitters. I think it might be towards the top of my list. Another good option is the Pintuck Duvet from West Elm (and on sale to boot!). I still feel like I have to make a trip to Home Goods and The Outlet Mall before I make my final decision.

Monday Meal Day

Monday's are the days I sit down and pour over recipe books, magazines, web sites and more to try to decide what to make for the week. I'm really bad at meal planning. I like fast, easy, healthy meals, that don't require a lot of ingredients. Sundays are the exception as I usually like to make a nicer dinner on Sunday and dessert. During the week however I go for easy. I have somewhat of a formula. Certain days I set aside for certain things. Like every Friday is sandwich night, and we usually eat out on Saturdays. Thursdays are dedicated to left overs. But Mondays give me a head ache. This week I decided to try to plan several weeks at a time so I don't have to stress every Monday about meals. I like to cook I just don't like planning and preparing for it. I found a great website that has several free printables to help with things like this. Some great tools to help keep you organized. It's called Mommy Tracked. Today I decided to utilize the eat sheet. I'm hoping it will give me some direction. How do you handle the task of planning your families meals?

Vintage Trimmings Bow Giveaway!

I can't believe I'm just now getting this up, but it's been a really busy day! I made 9 hair bows and I love everyone of them! The patterned bows are made with vintage sheets and the solids are just from my own scrap stash. They are all made with vintage trimmings from my Granny. I haven't done a giveaway in forever (since my previous blog days) so I've decided to give away 3 of them to one lucky reader. If you would like to win them just leave a comment on this post telling me which one is your favorite. If I had to choose mine (which is a tough choice) I think I would have to choose the polka dot one. Leave your comment by Thursday of next week. I'll announce the winner Friday morning. Don't forget to tell your friends. Giveaways are more fun the more people sign up!

A Bag Full of Vintage Goodies

A couple of Thanksgivings ago I was in Utah at my parents house with all of my sisters. My amazing Granny had passed away a couple of months before and we had the privilege to go through all her old sewing boxes. She was an incredible seamstress. There were boxes and boxes of fabric, ribbons, notions, anything you could imagine. Some of it was fabulous, some of it was straight out of the 80's (and not in a good way). It was fun. So the other day when I was going through my craft boxes I found my plastic baggie stuffed full of vintage rick rack, seam binding, bias tape, ribbon, appliques and much much more. How had

I not gotten crafty with this yet?!!!? I was especially drawn to the lace seam binding. Honestly it is way too pretty to be used on the inside of a garment. This stuff needs to be seen. So I started thinking of ways I could use it. I've been thinking a lot about Miss. S and her hair lately. So with the inspiration in my little plastic baggie and this tutorial I came up with these.

And can I say I'm in love with them. I plan on making several more over the next couple of days. You might even be able to win a few if you check back tomorrow. I've been itching to do a giveaway!

She makes me laugh. Sometimes her facial expressions are just so funny! Needless to say she loves her new bows!

From the Library of...

I'm busy today and tomorrow preparing for a Young Woman's activity. Although I have a couple things up my sleeve that I would like to share with you. It's just going to have to wait until I get a talk written and a video edited. So today's and tomorrow's post may not be a 5 star event. Hopefully you'll enjoy them any way.

I'm an advid reader. I'm sure a lot of you are too. These are a few books I would love to add to my collection right now.

The Creative Advantage Book by Guillaume Wolf This book looks really interesting. I'm always looking for new creative inspiration, and news ways to tap into my creative side. I would love to see what this is all about.

Gunn's Golden Rules by Tim Gunn I don't know why I haven't picked this one up already. I'm pretty much in love with the man. I started reading the sample on my iBook iPad app today and I'm already loving it. So this is a must. I can't wait to read some juicy gossip with some words of wisdom thrown in from our very favorite reality show mentor.

Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray I've been wanting to do more embroidery and become more proficient with the skill for a while now. I think this is the book to get me going. It looks like it's right up my ally.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier This should actually be first on my list. It is the book I'm supposed to be reading for book club. So I really need to go pick it up.

I'm always looking for new books to read. What are some of your favorites?

Baby Boy Fabric

I was worried about finding fabric for this little guys bedding. I kept finding really cute options for girls, but I really had to search for boy's fabric that met all my criteria. This is what I've decided on for the main fabric.

They have this same scallop pattern with a little green in it too. It's super cute but I think I'll stick with the blue and grey. I feel like it's neutral enough to mix and match with other colors around the room and not look disjointed. My Mom is probably looking at this and rolling her eyes. She doesn't understand my love of grey. What's even worse for her is I really want to find a grey polka dot fabric for one of the accents. Maybe the crib skirt. Sorry Mom. I'm excited to get it and get cracking on his bumper.

My Favorite Receiving Blankets

When I had Miss. S my sister Jessy gave me three receiving blankets that we used all the time. They were really simple. One layer of flannel with the edges finished. The reason they were so great was they were huge, the flannel sticks well to itself so she couldn't wiggle out of it, and they were warm but not too warm. Living in San Antonio that was important. I knew when I got pregnant this time around that I wanted plenty of those same blankets. So when I was in Utah my Mom and I bought enough fabric for five. These blankets are so easy. A cut of a yard and quarter of fabric will make a square on most fabrics (most flannels I think are 45 inches wide. Please correct me if I'm wrong). So you buy 1 1/4 yards of fabric make sure it's a square and then finish off the edges. I did this by folding the edges over twice, ironing them, then sewing them in place. That's it! You have a receiving blanket. Pretty easy! When Miss. S got older and no longer used the blankets I made these jammies for her! So you can get multiple uses out of one piece of fabric.

This is the first thing we have for this little guy. We haven't purchased or made anything else for him. No cloths, no toys, not a thing. I only have 10 weeks left so I better get things going!

Just because I love it

My Grandma had tissue box holders all over her house. I was lucky to get one when her house was cleaned out and sold. This tissue box is so cute it's even worthy of Granny...

I Love It!!!

found on Gnome sweet Gnome

Pretty Little Organizers

Since I'm in organization mode over here I've been making little mental notes of things I need that would help me in this undertaking. Of coarse it always helps if they are pretty.

We have mail issues over here. These mail hooks from Old New Again are perfect. If I had these next to my front door I would be infinitely happy.

I realized when I was sending out Christmas Cards this year that it sure would be helpful if I had an address file. This one is so bright and cheerful. You can feel good about it too knowing that it was made from recycled album covers. From Freestyle Gifts.

We have the dinkiest plastic desk organizers. No style at all. This one however has plenty of style! You can pick it up over at The Paper Source.

I love BIG calendars. Growing up my Aunt always kept a huge calendar on her kitchen door, and I was always amazed at how well she kept it up. I guess with 10 kids you really have to keep yourself organized. I love this one from Simple Shapes.

Keeping House to the Power of One

I have been working really hard this past week cleaning, de-cluttering & organizing. I have to admit it hasn't been easy & I still have a ways to go. I have never been the best at being neat and tidy. I've been saying for the past three years that I'm a really good stay at home Mom but not a great housewife. However with the impending arrival of baby #2 that mentality has to change. My kids and husband deserve to live in a house that is neat & orderly. Not to mention I need to set a good example for my children for when they get older.

With all my hard work this past week I was able to get a lot accomplished but like I said I still have several things that need to be worked on. However with each completed task and each room organized I'm feeling more and more confident. I've spent a little time looking up tips & tricks this past week and I've figured out some that really work for me (and a lot that don't). The biggest being think in terms of one. One month, one week, one day.

1. One month. Learn to tackle one big task a month. I actually started this back in December. Dishes have always bee an issue for our family. If the dishes get out of control (which they often do) then the rest of the house is soon to follow. So I concentrated on the dishes for the entire month. Putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher right away, running the dishwasher when it's full, emptying the dishwasher in a timely manner. Always keeping the sink free of dirty dishes. You know what? It worked. Doing these things became a habit. It isn't hard for me anymore. Better yet I get some weird satisfaction seeing my empty sink. For January I'm concentrating on laundry. Hopefully I'll see the same results.

2. Once a week. Do each room once a week thoroughly. Pick a day and assign a room. For example Wednesday is the bedrooms, Thursday is the kitchen, Friday is the living room ect. ect. This is the day to get all the nooks and crannies. If you are picking up throughout the week then on this day you should be able to quickly do a deep clean. Do all the things that you don't have to do everyday like, dust, vacuum, mop ect.

3. Once a day. Wipe down all flat surfaces once a day. Doing this forces you to pick up because you actually have to have your flat surfaces clear to wipe them down. Also one load a day both of dishes and laundry. It's so much easier to do a load of laundry once a day then to let it build up and have 8 loads to do all on one day. For me right now I don't actually have enough dishes to do one load a day, but I know when we have more children that will change. So if I can manage to do one load of dishes a day I think I'll be ok.

So those are my big three. It's worked so far so I think I'll keep going along those lines. I don't want to make this into a one time organizing spree, but I want to create good habits. So I know this will be a process for me. I already feel so much better, and that's a start. What are your best cleaning & organizing secrets?

Stay Tuned

I wanted to post something else but I'm having some trouble with the photos. Stay tuned though cause I think it's a good one. Let's just say I was busy this weekend. Very busy. So instead I thought I would share just a few of the little things that made me happy this past week. My grocery store finds!

1. Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Hand and Body Lotion 32oz

On Drugstore.com it says it's $5.99 but I think I got it at my grocery store (HEB) for around $2. Seriously cheap. I know what you're thinking right now. It's a myth. Cocoa butter doesn't really help stretch marks. However I got stretch marks in high school when I went through a growth spurt. I got them when I was a freshman in college when I gained a lot of weight. I did NOT get them when I was pregnant with Miss.S. I used this stuff everyday and not a single stretch mark was formed. So I'm using it again, and knock on wood I hope it works again. Plus the smell reminds me of the beach and it makes your skin feel so good. So for $2 it is well worth it.

2. Target Brand Premium Cotton Balls.

They don't have a link on their site for this specific type of cotton ball, and you do have to be specific. If you get the Jumbo Cotton Balls they aren't as good. You have to get the Premium. On the bag it says "Cotton Balls Premium Jumbo Plus Size 100% Cotton All Natural" Then in bold italics it says Puffier Stuff. They were not kidding. These cotton balls are huge & wonderful. Also around $2. Totally worth it for the feeling of luxury when taking off your eye make up (I know. A little dramatic.)

3. Degree Clinical Protection Fine Fragrances Classic Romance

I know I know I know $7.49 is pretty steep for deodorant. I don't care. It's worth the splurge. The name is really corny but it smells so good and it works so good. So right now it's my favorite. When I first got it Denny would compliment me all the time on how I smelled. I figured it had to be the deodorant cause I hadn't changed anything else. Plus the clinical protection really is that much better. Trust me I live in San Antonio.

My Two Favorite Vacation Pictures

Oh how I love that face!

A Problem

Embarrassing to say but yes this is one of our junk drawers. YIKES!!!

You see I have this problem. I'm aching to do something creative again. I have all these ideas of things that I want to do and try. However I feel like I can't be starting projects until my house is completely organized and clutter free. If you know me even a little bit you know that that's a tall order. I've made some progress though this week. I de-cluttered my computer, cleaned out the fridge and food cupboards, started on clearing out my photos, I bought plastic bins and organized all toys, I kept my kitchen clean all week, and a few other small things here and there. It's a start at least right? Well I hope this weekend when Denny is home we will get a lot accomplished. This weekend I want to get all our junk drawers cleared out and closets organized. That would be a huge accomplishment. Oh and laundry. Lot's of laundry. Hopefully next week I'll be ready to tackle something more fun. Something creative!

Southern Utah Bride Magazine

image found here

I just wanted to let everyone know about Southern Utah Bride Magazine really quick. The talented Jimmy Bishop from Gideon Photography has put together this stunning piece of work. It's really beautiful. There is so much inspiration for Brides all over the country within it's pages. So please go check it out and become a fan on Facebook. I promise you will be impressed!

Organization Step 1: De-cluttering the Computer

Yesterday I spent nap time de-cluttering my email accounts. You would never believe how much work that was. Are you like me where you have a problem deleting unwanted and unneeded emails? It's a big problem with me. I didn't know it was a problem until my Husband wouldn't let me put my email account on his iPad because of all the crap it contained. So I went through and unsubscribed to all businesses sending me advertisements. Deleted most emails that I didn't need anymore. Deleted all corney forwards. Read all unread mail. I'm embarrassed to say it was quite the task. It was the first step though in simplifying and organizing for the New Year. I think it's good every now and then to go through your computer and delete things you don't need. Emails, files, pictures ect. Frees up space on your computer and makes it run smoother. Since I spend a lot of time on my computer this will make life much nicer for me. Today I'm tackling our photos. Which is an even bigger task. As this is the number of photos we're working with. I need to delete all the duplicates, out of focus and just not very great pictures. Wish me luck cause I'm going to need it.

Starting The Year Off Right

I know I know. It's already the fourth! Yikes! I love New Year's. There's always so much to look forward to. It's almost like having a clean slate. 2010 was not the easiest of years, but I have to say I learned a lot this past year. It had it's good moments, but I'm definitely ready to move on to 2011. In 2010 I made several New Year's "Hopes" (resolutions sounds so strict) and actually accomplished some of them. Yay! This year my biggest focus is adding this baby boy to our life. There are a couple more things that I want to keep in mind though through out the year. I want to really simplify my life. Which means getting rid of a lot, organizing the things that are kept and not letting the "things" around me effect my mood. If I simplify my surroundings I will be a much happier person. Also by nature I'm a pretty shy person. Along with that I'm extremely self conscious. Sometimes this makes it hard for me to take chances. This year I want to try to put myself out there more, be a little braver. Over my vacation I watched the new Alice in Wonderland (heard not so good things about it, but ended up loving it). One part in particular has stuck in my mind. The Mad Hatter says to Alice "You're not the same as you were before. You were much more muchier... You've lost your muchness." Later in the movie Alice does something very gutsy and asks the Hatter "How's this for muchness?" That's what I'll be looking for this year. My muchness. So my two words of the year are Simplify and Muchness. Just three New Year's "Hopes" to think about (including Baby Boy). I think I can handle three. I feel good things on the horizon for 2011!

Hello Friends!!!

We're back from our trip to Utah. It was wonderful and much much needed. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a spectacular New Years. I'll be back tomorrow with some real good posting!