a special wish.

before the day runs out, i have to send a special wish to my twin sister lisa... happy birthday!!!  i love you so much... thank you for always being by my side no matter the distance that separates us. and thanks mom for giving birth to us forty years ago today!! (even though you thought you were having a big baby boy!) can you believe we are now forty??? 

hello monday.

how was your weekend? our weekend highlight was a friday night dinner we shared among friends. i made four different pizzas and an antipasta salad and served an apple cake for dessert. (i found the recipe here). the weather was cooler and it was the  perfect night to have the fireplace burning. i am loving this cooler weather and the way we seem to be surrounded by vibrant hues of red and gold everywhere we go. it seems to make the days a little bit brighter even when it's totally gray outside like today.  

hello monday.  hello wonderful brightness of fall.

friday + the weekend + some things.

 

happy friday. has your weekend officially begun yet? i am so happy it's friday. i'm looking forward to enjoying a cool fall weekend at home. i am hoping we'll enjoy smore's by the fire and i want to spend some time in the kitchen baking. i have a basket of apples that i need to use, so i am thinking an apple pie with a cheddar crust is in order.

whatever your plans, i hope you enjoy the weekend! here are some things you might enjoy too-

diy- festive fall fabric pumpkins 

love this thanksgiving pie topper

funny party idea

25 ways to wear a scarf- what a great tutorial

and, a simple and inexpensive hostess gift

happy friday. happy weekend!

{photo via martha stewart}

my little saint and some tears.

today, sia participated in the all saints day parade at her preschool. as i packed the costume in her school bag this morning, i couldn't help but become a little teary-eyed. this costume has been worn by all of my children. slade first wore it just after he turned three during his very first year of preschool. and, today sia wore it for the last time. next year she'll be off to kindergarten. i am definitely a mama who is sad about her babies growing up.
 

halloween.

hope your halloween was wonderfully fun as ours. we had such a great time with some of our closest friends and neighbors.  and, our subdivision seemed like it was filled with thousands of kids and adults walking the streets in merriment. it was such a great night to be out and about. needless to say, we had a puppy, ladybug and rock star that were quite happy with all of their treats at the end of the night too!

hope your halloween this year was a good one!

now he is eight.

my sweet slade turned eight years old yesterday. 

jeff and i woke him up early with birthday wishes

and surprised with a brand new bike before he went to school! 

i cannot believe how quickly my little boy is growing up!!

happy, happy birthday slade!!

happy monday & two weeks later!

so much has happened in two weeks!! i just took a big gasp of air when i sat down and realized it has been a whole two weeks since i've last been here!

so.... let me catch up you with the most exciting, best news ever for our family.... jeff came home a little more than a week ago and this time it is FOR GOOD!! can i just tell you, i am gushing with happiness! after 3 long years, his company has moved him back to a job here in atlanta. whoooo hoooo!! no more monthly weekend visits. no more goodbyes. no more missing my husband (and daddy) because he is more than 800 miles away. he is home and our family could not be any happier. and so, for the past week i have been absorbing the awesomeness of having my husband back at home. it's where i've been... indulging in being back together as a family! today, i think the reality that jeff is home for good has finally settled in and for that my monday is very, very happy!!  hope that you are having a happy monday too!!

happy monday + some things.

how was your weekend? we had a last minute visit from my dad on saturday, who is staying with us until wednesday!  my kids have been keeping grandpa busy, while i have been trying to work on a few projects here and there.  i missed posting my usual friday, so, here are some things i've seen and wanted to share with you. hope you enjoy them now...

glow stick lanterns for halloween might be fun

ten ways to amaze the kids 

perfect cup of soup for this weather

what does your favorite color tell about you?

love this, diy party candles

such cute costumes!

have a happy, happy monday!

she's got spirit.

   

i love my sia for all the happiness and love she immensely generates everyday. she is always smiling!! she is my one child that i can honestly says beams of happiness all of the time.

she was so excited today was spirit day at her preschool.  and, in honor of spirit day, we re-fashioned her plain preschool t-shirt with a few cuts and stitches here and there and added some iron-on letters, paint and glitter (which isn't showing in these pictures).

 and, of course, she insisted on wearing preschool logo tattoos too!

sia loves her school and totally thinks it rocks! i think she rocks for showing so much school spirit and being the happiest little girl ever. she can totally brighten any day of mine. i am truly blessed to have such a happy spirited little girl.

 

UPDATE:  Sia came home from school with even more excitement.  She won the Principal's Award for the Most School Spirit... whoo hoo!! Way to go Sia!!

enjoy the weekend.

happy first day of fall. although i have a true love for summer and being at the shore, i am looking forward to the cool, crisp days of autumn. it is definitely my favorite time of year to be in the kitchen. already i am feeling the urge to bake and cook.  during the past week, i baked biscotti, caramel cookies and buttermilk biscuits. tonight, i'm craving a pumpkin & sage pizza and this recipe for butternut squash ravioli will definitely be on my dinner menu soon. i just love all the flavors and foods that represent fall.

this afternoon, my girls started the weekend off by enjoying a game of hopscotch while i began making pizza dough and prepping the toppings.  it seemed like they jumped, hopped and skipped for hours.  i am sure with this beautiful weather, they'll be hopscotching throughout the weekend too.  

whatever your plans, i hope you enjoy this first weekend of fall. and perhaps, you'll enjoy some of these things i've seen and thought i'd share with you-

creating fun photos with chalk

thirty adorable hand-made masks for kids

maybe we should replace our bed for this

i would go glamping 

can't wait to make these paper mache tea cups

i am loving this site of inspiration & ideas from ikea

would you try galaxy nails?

love this reminder to remember when

 

happy weekend. happy fall.

anxiously waiting.

last wednesday night, jeff arrived and he left again on monday morning. our long weekend together always brings a roller coaster of emotions. the excitement of seeing one another again... the contentment of just being together... the happiness of a family united... and then the struggle of saying goodbye. over a three year span, we've said goodbye dozens of times, yet it is never easy. jeff leaves and i have to find the strength again to be on my own. sometimes it takes me a day or two to get back into the flow of daily life at home without jeff here, but thoughts and dreams of us being back together as a family under one roof never leave my mind. i am anxiously waiting for that day to arrive.

{image via irenesuchocki}

weekend craft: birdcage.

{image via honest to nod}

when i spotted this adorable birdcage in a recent land of nod catalog, i wanted to make my own. luckily, the catalog also included a link to the land of nod blog, honest to nod, where you'll find lots of crafty things and things to try. and so, over the weekend sia and i decided to make (our version) of this sweet little birdcage for her bedroom.

although we used an empty 2-liter bottle as the directions instructed, we chose to wrap our bottle with fabric strips (cut from a old baby crib sheet) instead of fabric strapping and used bright pink twine instead of multi-colored embroidery floss. it was what we had on hand and seemed to match sia's room perfectly.

and, sia already had the perfect stuffed birdie she wanted to hang inside, so we chose not to make one, but could've easily done with fabric scraps too. you can find the complete directions and tutorial for the land of nod birdcage and little bird here.

sia decided to hang her newly crafted birdcage next to another birdcage which hangs next to her bedroom window. isn't it sweet? if you haven't been to honest to nod, then please check it out.. there are many things to craft and try.

the weekend.

as of right now, there is officially only an hour left of the weekend. so, i didn't mean to, but i missed wishing you a happy weekend. i hope whatever you did, it was happy and here are some things you might enjoy too-

good question... what would you take?
seriously want to do this in my office
make a golden alligator pinata
almond + orange cupcakes- yum!
beautiful apple cider lattice cookies
think my girls would love these for fall
and, have you see issue #2 of styled yet?

hope your weekend was happy!!

(p.s. jeff- see the picture above?
this is how i am going to paint the office floor!!)

{image via coastal living}

we remembered.

and never forgetting 9-11, ten years ago today.
today, there were so many ways that we remembered.

{image via my sister, lisa}

i'm here. you're there.

perfectly said.
i am still missing my husband tremendously.

{image via yellowheartart}

stormy weather + togetherness.

it seems as if labor arrived and we quickly said goodbye to summer. it has been so dreary, dark and rainy since monday. i don't like this weather at all. especially, weather that creates tornadoes. and monday we had the perfect weather conditions for one.

i had been out buying paint when the tornado sirens began to blare. i had just walked into the store and employees and customers were being asked to take cover in a back training room. my heart stopped, i was alone. i had left my children at home with my mom and i didn't want to be away from them now. definitely not now. my first thought was, i needed to get home. i wanted to be at home. so yes, i disregarded the warnings, i left the store, got into my car and drove home. i was just in front of the tornado.

i now know a tornado definitely touched down not from where i had been and not far from our home at all. some of the homes in our neighborhood have been damaged and many trees are down. scary, yes. lucky, yes. thankful, yes. and very happy i was able to safely get home to be with my children. after i got home, the sirens continually went off, it continued to storm and we lost power, yet we were all together and i couldn't imagine it any other way.

happy, happy weekend.

do you have any fun and exciting plans for labor day weekend? slade has a football game on saturday afternoon, but besides that our calendar is empty... (hoorah!) i would love spend some time painting and perhaps we'll enjoy a day or two by the pool. whatever your plans... have a happy, happy labor day weekend!! here are some things you might enjoy too-

easy to create art for your walls
newspaper nails
would you let your kids paint with squirt guns?
perfectly said
were you a kid of the 80's?
and, diy.. dixie cup garland

{image via heygorgeous}

happy september.

although it is only the first of september and my children have been back in school for a month now, i am already missing summer. actually, i am missing the jersey shore and i wish we could sneak back before fall truly arrives.


maybe it's the fact that our temperatures here are still in the 90's each day. and maybe because labor day weekend is upon us. i am just feeling like we should be at the shore celebrating with family and friends and enjoying the last big weekend of summer.


being at the shore is one of my favorite places to be during the summer. it always has been since i was a little girl and i think it will always will be. thankfully, my children enjoy it as much as i do and together we love to spend countless summer hours there.


how about you, does it feel like it is fall where you are at? and where is your favorite place to be during the summer?

happy september!
(even though i am still dreaming about summer!!)

the weekend + some things.

do you have any plans for the weekend? i will be thinking about all of our friends and family who live in the northeast and who are buckling down in preparation of hurricane irene. i know my sister has already evacuated from her beach house. i hope and pray all are safe and well.

since we are not expected to receive any of the predicted storms, the girls and i will be cheering on slade and his team at the first football game of the season on saturday. and, i plan working on a few small projects around the house. maybe I can even get my kids to help.

whatever your plans, i hope you enjoy the weekend and be safe if your in the path of hurricane irene. here are some things you might enjoy this weekend too-

diy - easy flower garland
a new braid to try
a breakfast banana split... yum!
crazy wall art
mood boards to love
create a fun lunch for the kids

hope the weekend is a good one!

have you seen this yet?

of course... i seriously want to make this. how very cool and fun! my kids will absolutely love this art project. i first saw it here.

{image via whatever}

cookies and cream cupcakes.

just before the school year began, we got together with some of our closest friends to celebrate the last weekend of our summer break. i was asked to bring along a dessert to share and when i saw these cookies and cream cupcakes via bakerella, i knew the kids would love them, especially mine. not only is there a whole oreo cookie on top of each cupcake, but there is a whole oreo cookie inside too! you definitely must try these! the recipe and directions can be found here.

personal note: the recipe says it makes at least 12 cupcakes. i had enough batter to make 12 regular-size cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes. i used bite-size oreos for the mini-cupcakes-inside and on top.

just because...

he is soooo cute!!

my little boy slade is playing football this year and he looks so darn cute in his uniform i can hardly stand it. (i know slade would rather me say he looks tough, but cute he is!!)

already sunday.

hope your weekend has been happy! it's already sunday evening and i am feeling like the weekend has truly flown by. although we have been back in school for almost a month now and it really feels like it should be fall, it is still very hot here. all weekend long, i have been dreaming about being back on the beach.

whatever you're dreaming about or doing this weekend, i hope it's been happy!!

right now loving... baubles by the handful
and amazed by sticker walls
exactly what i wanted to do to my dining room chairs.
and, i am such a fan of white in the kitchen
i bet sia would love this donut sandwich
do you look like any of your relatives?
i will be stopping by home depot to pick this up

hello monday. hello happy moments.

don't you just love moments when your children seem so extremely happy and content? when even eating an ice cream cone turns into an absolutely hysterical event. lately it seems, my children have been so very silly and giggly together. they love to make one another laugh and love to see who can be the silliest. i love all the laughter. and i love to remember wonderfully happy weekend moments again on monday. hello monday. hello simple happiness.

back to school: for the teachers.

we gave these giant calculators to the teachers during the first week of school. this clever idea (via eighteen25) was the perfect gift to give, especially since all three of my children are very happy to be back in school and already loving each of their teachers. we found the giant calculators at the dollar store (yes.. just a dollar!) and the tags are printable here.

do your children like to give their teachers a back to school gift?

homemade waffle cones.

since my entire family loves ice cream and we always have it in our freezer, last week i decided to make homemade vanilla waffle cones. with this recipe and a pizzelle iron, they really were extremely easy to make. i don't think i will ever buy another box of ice cream cones again.

good morning monday.

good morning first day back to preschool for sia.

to my husband.

happy anniversary to my amazing husband.

can you believe it's been nine years already?
(i am so excited that you are coming back home tonight to me!!)
i love you... XO