Daddy Daughter Pancakes

I've had so many emails lately asking if we are still doing our Saturday morning pancakes. I should say if Shane is still doing them. All I do is snap a few photos and eat them. Well, yes, he is still super daddy and making his awesome breakfast concoctions. I will make sure to start blogging them again. For now, here are a couple from the archives that I never got around to posting.

Remember this daddy daughter date? Well check out what came about the morning after:

I know. He's a pancake artist. 

And the sweetest dad.

Too advanced for you? Try the candy corns as an easy halloween breakfast.

Back from my weekend away. Missed my babies. Sleep in until 11:30am yesterday.

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Sneak Peak.

Helping with my sister's baby shower today. This is what we are drinking. More details soon to come. 

Oh, by the way. I'm spending the entire weekend sans kids! Thank you Shane. Hope you and the kids are having a great time back in Boise. I'm having a great time here in Utah.

Apple Cider Punch (recipe from BHG)

Ingredients
6 cups apple cider
2 cups orange juice, cranberry-raspberry juice, or orange-mango juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 750-ml bottle sparkling white grape juice

Directions
1. In punch bowl, large pitcher, or pitchers combine apple cider, orange juice, and lemon juice. Slowly add sparkling white grape juice. Serve immediately. 

Via Eat Drink Pretty

Getting the band back together

Loved high school. 

Getting together with my two best high school friends reminded me of that.

However, after finding a box of "memorabilia" while at my parents house,
 I was reminded once again....

you couldn't pay me to go back. Drama!

The scary thing is, I will have to go back to high school. At least watch my daughter go through it. And she will be going through high school in a world of Facebook and texting and whatever else they can come up with in the next decade.

 And no matter how much I will want her to believe it, she will ignore my assurances that "None of this will matter in a few years."

Maybe being a 30-something isn't so bad. 

Though I'm feeling a little uncool not having bangs....

What's making me happy today.

This little sweetie.

and

This little ballerina.

Waking up to a crisp autumn day.

Getting a surprise late birthday package in the mail

and

Listening to happy music.

What's making you happy today?

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Halloween Countdown

Our Halloween traditions? How much time do you have..... 

The first thing we do? Decorate! 

To see the other 90% of our decor, you'll have to visit. 

(The super cute "boo" ornament is from Modern Crush.)

In clarification. And opening myself to severe judging.

Thanks for all the great comments and emails about my living room. I feel like I've had a bunch of visitors in my new home :)

One thing I totally forgot to mention. This house is a rental. We aren't allowed to paint or screw anything into the walls. We have a year contract, but after that, we will be buying a new home. Hopefully in this neighborhood since it's awesome. (I recently discovered one of my blogging buddies lives just around the block!) I mention this as several of you had great paint color ideas, but alas, it was the first thing I asked the landlord about and I was brutally rebuffed. (What movie is that from?)

As this is such a temporary residence, we have a "use what we have" position on decorating. Other than the new rug and new hall table, we used what we had from our last home. Oh, and the bookcases are new, but they are intending for our future library. In our new house, we will probably replace almost everything and banish the dark couches to a basement or theater room.

April - like all your ideas. I agree with you on not liking the TV above the fireplace, but that's where the cables are. Also, while I would love a set of three Modern Bird Studios pieces, that would run me over $800, so I'll probably wait on that.

We love this home for now. While it doesn't have the charm of our last house, it's incredibly functional for our needs. With 4 bedrooms we can finally have a guest bedroom. This is really necessary since often our house guests stay a couple weeks or more. The one difference is in our last house we had a dining room that served as the play area. There is no such space in this house.

And now for the judging part.

I have decided (and need to inform Shane) that the master bedroom will now be the kid's playroom. I know. Horror. But the more I think about it, it just makes sense. We are buying a new king mattress this week to save our backs from our old queen size. However, I don't want to buy a new bedroom set until we get into our permanent home and I get a feel for the style. I'm just going to throw the mattress on the floor. The master will consist of a mattress, an alarm clock, a lamp...... and lots and lots of toys...

So there you go. For the next year Shane and I will be sleeping in the playroom.. It may not be romantic - but we can always stay in the guest room if we don't want to be surrounded by toys. I can shower and get ready with the kids right next to me (can you say long bubble bath!) I can relax in bed with a book as they play together. And the penultimate perk? My kids rise and shine at 6:30 am. If I am sleeping in the playroom, I can just bring them in to play while I doze. I am absolutely gitty at the prospect.

While it's good for now, sleeping in the playroom is bound to mess with my head. I am asking you to watch for any warning signs. For example, hearing me say something totally monstrous like: "I have no need for a babysitter since I never want to be apart from my kids." Or if I suddenly appear in public wearing "mom jeans" or skip that completely and wear my flannel pjs to the store. Play doh scented candles? Winnie the Poo diaper bags? - Time for an intervention.

Please watch me for signs of such terrors and inform me immediately if such symptoms become evident. For the next year I will try to combat the onset of such lameness by devouring design blogs in an attempt to design my future "kid free" master bedroom.

My New Living Room

One whole room is finished and I actually like how it turned out. (Shocker, I know.) Shane and I wanted to incorporate colors that were really "us" (don't worry, lot's of yellow in other rooms) and make it feel like a comfortable place to relax. I still have a few things I'm going to change. I'm going to have a green plant replace the flowers on the small table. Also, we have to work on a way to hide the electronic equipment on the mantel.  And I want a really cool upholstered chair in the open section. But other than that, it works. Especially compared to the "before" pic.

Another possible arrangement. (Rug will be centered if we go this route.)

Which one do you think?

Sorry these pics are a little dark. I am in a photography funk right now.

Like the big painting on the wall? I had a basic idea of what I wanted there, but I couldn't find it. So I bought a large canvas and painted it.  I'm no artist by any stretch, but it's kind of fun to have something "original".

One more angle.  

Scroll down to the next post to see how we did the canvas wall.

That photograph in the corner was the first piece of "art" Shane and I ever bought. At an art fair in Salt Lake City. We were newlyweds and the $65 price tag (unframed) was huge for us, but we loved it and decided in years to come we would be happy we bought it. We were so smart.

Room for our books.

My Modern Bird Studios piece has a place.

Finally a place to put our Smashing Pumpkins tribute. Signed by the entire band. I should say "my" tribute, since I was the one who met them backstage. Shane was so mad when he found out I didn't invite him, but we had only known each other a couple weeks at that time. (And inviting him might have tipped him off that I was secretly in love with him, and I was playing that fact close to the chest.)

Bought a new rug. The colors were so perfect, I couldn't resist. 

My new shelf from OldNewAgain. Saw it on Peppertowne and fell in love.

My last living room was all about the family photos. This time, I am limiting it just a couple. Of course, the hallway is going to have a ton. :) That will be my next project....

Canvas Wall

I stared at a blank space on the wall for a while, until I figured out just what I wanted. 

We went to Lowes and grabbed a ton of paint samples. We compared until we found 6 shades that matched our new carpet. 

We bought those shades in mini sample sizes. (Under $3 each!) Then we got 6 canvases at Hobby Lobby. 

Family paint night.

How do you keep a 16 month old busy when there is paint around? Two words. 

Spaghetti and lollypops. 

And....Done.

Halloween Fashion Statement

I think these TuTu leg warmers are hilarious. 

My Etsy addiction is worrisome. I admit it.