Month: August 2010

We have a piano…..

Yay, we have a piano!  We have always wanted one, but just never had the extra money.  Well, this weekend, we found someone who was getting rid of their paino…..actually, they were throwing it away!!!  Who throws away a piano!  Luckily, my friend, who lived nearby, and has grown boys, helped us put it into the mini van.  Then, when we got it home, Christopher and my father-in law, along with our neighbor and his two sons helped get it into the house!  Right now, it is sitting in the foyer…but I think I like it there!  We figured we might as well decide if we like it there before we move it anywhere else!   River loves it.  She can’t wait to learn how to play!

I can’t wait to search for a really cool and funky piano bench!

How My Life Would Be Better With a Serger….

Sew Mama Sew! is having a contest.  The theme is “How My Life Would Be Better With a Serger”.  This is my entry for the Sew Mama Sew! Back to School Giveaway…..

My name is Oscar Husqvarna.  I’m a 12 year old sewing machine from Sweden.  I’m a traditional machine, looking for a long-term committed relationship.

While I have a wonderful seamstress, I have yet to meet the serger of my dreams.  My perfect serger would have 4 thread sewing, an adjustable stitch length and a can-do attitude.

I have a playful personality, but I’m a hard worker who believes in team work.  I’m a reliable machine whose favorite projects are quilts and home décor.

I love the outdoors, taking romantic walks in the park, and keeping all my feet and needles well maintained.

I’m interested in looking for someone who can help me embellish knits, improve my hems, and put the finishing touches on a sexy cocktail dress.

I’m looking for a serger that I can settle down with  and I dream of one day hearing the pitter- patter of little bobbins.

If you are a serger, looking for a good sewing machine to work on the rest of your  projects with you, let’s get together for a simple pattern and see where it leads….

Homemade Frappuccinos……

This summer, we’ve been having WAY too many of these!  They are much cheaper to make yourself than going to Starbucks..especially when you are having 3 at a time!  I normally don’t let my children drink coffee..but hey, it’s summer time!

I just add ice, coffee, chocolate syrup, some milk and a tiny bit of sugar…..mix it up in the blender….top with whip cream and add a bit more chocolate or caramel sauce…and you have it….a yummy summer treat!

365 Stories….


We have a “book” called 365 Stories. It will eventually have 365 stories, but as of now..it probably only has 80!

Some day it will have 365 stories…some day.

I can’t believe we started the book six years ago. I must say I had hoped to have all the days filled in by now. But, life got in the way…..

Sometimes Quinn will write the story and do the illustrations, sometimes Tuesday will draw the pictures and Quinn will write the stories or sometimes I will make the story! It is a little bit of everything..all creative!!

It actually is quite fun that the stories are spanning many years. We started it when Quinn was only 4 years old and River wasn’t even around! Now she is old enough to start working on some stories. On holidays or special occasions, it is fun to see what type of story the kids come up with to memorialize that event! They love going back and reading the stories over and over again!

Memory Boxes….

It’s that time of year again..time to get ready for school! One of the items I buy every year, for each of my children, is a new memory box. They aren’t anything fancy, just a large tupperware style container. Each one of them has one from preschool onward.

They keep them in their rooms and they love to look through them from time to time. Instead of starting a new memory box each year, we start them each new school year. That way they are organized by grade level. The rule is..once the memory box is full…no more stuff goes into it…so they need to edit what they want to keep and what they want to throw out. They can put whatever they want into their memory boxes..not just stuff from school…tokens, tickets stubs..whtever!

Hello Green Kitchen….

After our trip to Long Beach Island, my husband took our kids to Maine for 4 days…I had 4 days by myself!  I don’t think that has happened in about 5 years!  So, of course, I had to do a project!  Our kitchen has been in need of a makeover..BIG TIME!  We haven’t done anything to the kitchen since we moved in…except get new appliances….I spend so much time in the kitchen, yet I couldn’t stand how it looked!

I couldn’t take it!  The previous owners had put red and white striped contact paper on the ceiling!  I had ripped it down and half of it still remained.  Also, we had gotten a new light/fan and where the old fluorescent light was..there were holes and discoloration!  In other words, it was a mess!  I love bold and vivid colors and I wanted a bright green kitchen……well, I think I got it!!

The ceiling took me a lot longer than I expected, so I wasn’t able to finish everything I hoped to finish!  I still need to paint the cabinets white, give them new hardware and put a tile backsplash behind the stove!  That is the next project.  But, for now, I’m happy with the changes…now when I go into the kitchen, I smile instead of moan!  Now, I just need a new kitchen floor…..

Thrift Store finds…

Over the weekend, I went with my good friend, to a great little Thrift Store in Philadelphia.  It was such a neat store…so many little nooks and crannies….we could have spent hours there…wait, I think we did!

I found this adorable porcelain cup for River……look at that adorable kitty!  Then I found an adorable kitty plate…..I just couldn’t resist.

Also, I had been looking for little tiny finger bowls?  for oil….these were perfect!  What a fun weekend!