did i tell you?

one evening last week after we put the kids to bed, jeff decided we should paint the kitchen. i've been wanting to do it for such a long time (i have never liked the red that came with the house). so, after i came down from kissing the kids goodnight, jeff was already in work mode- taking off outlet plates and cabinet doors, prepping walls and stirring paint.

i really do love to paint and usually i can endure staying up really late, as i am always the last to go to bed. however, after only two hours of painting, i became really, really tired. yet, quitting and finishing the next day was not an option for my husband. so as he painted, i quietly curled up on a chair in the living room and fell very comfortably asleep.

my wonderful husband let me sleep as he finished painting the kitchen alone. not one but two coats of white were needed to cover that red. and when i woke the next morning, everything was back in place. cabinet doors were back on, pictures were hung back on the walls and the kitchen was cleaned.

i know my wonderful, ambitious, thoughtful husband didn't want me to come down to a mess in the morning. he wanted me to see the kitchen as i had been envisioning it for some time now. and, not a mess, but nice and clean.

so, now our kitchen is white. so bright. so full of light. i am loving it! here is a glimpse of it now--

i'll share more later after i've made all the finishing touches.

say say my playmate.

so sweet.

a reminder of the song we have always sung to our little sia,
only replacing "say, say" with "si, si"

...it was the first song she sang on her own too!


i found it here.

garage sale.

we're having a (huge) garage sale this weekend- starting tomorrow and continues saturday. i've been busy this week, organizing, pricing and cleaning items to sell. a lot of baby and toddler items. i am so amazed at how much stuff we have accumulated over the years. stuff that has been sitting in our storage area. stuff that we don't use anymore and stuff we haven't used in awhile. it really isn't necessary to hold onto so much stuff, is it?

i'm back.

image via here

the weekend was wonderful. the weather was a bit cooler and we enjoyed our weekend outdoors at home.

i loved waking up each morning with three smiley faces crawling into our bed and not having a schedule or a plan for the day. our days just fell into place. we enjoyed walks to the playground and playing outside. we made complete dinners on the grill and then when it became dark, we roasted marshmallows and made smores while sitting around the fire. i am loving that we are starting to see a glimpse of fall.

now, the kids are back in school, back to a scheduled day. and i'm back to my daily routine but rejuvenated by a wonderful weekend spent right here at home.

celebrate the weekend.

do you have any fabulous plans to celebrate the weekend?

my kids are off from school for three days and i am looking forward to spending a long weekend together. perhaps, making a trip to the farmers market, family dinners cooked on the grill, ice cream cones, swimming and maybe we'll work on some projects around the house. no real plans for the weekend, just enjoying the time together, the five of us.

whatever your plans are, celebrate the weekend! and hope you'll enjoy these things too--

family photos with balloons

what i'm gonna do with my peaches

cute toddler backpack to make

ever seen a bathtub couch? (wow... it's pricey!)

clever stencil tricks

ice cream cone pinata

bananas + cupcakes = yum!

kindergarten project.

what do you think of elle's transportation project??

the assignment was to create a means of transportation. it could be anything that travels by land, air or sea. we chose the hot air balloon and created it out of paper mache. i have always loved the technique and was excited to introduce it to elle. i think she did a wonderful job choosing the colors and painting. with my help, we created the basket out of a small take-out box covered with pieces cut from an old straw hat.

she was definitely proud to turn it yesterday. and i hoping her presentation goes well today.

happy monday.

i hope you had a wonderful weekend. we absolutely did. jeff arrived home at 4am on saturday morning. each child woke up and was greeted with an awesome surprise... daddy!! there were lots of hugs and many smiles too! and then, we made a breakfast of 4-grain pancakes and eggs... all together. it was extremely nice. the kitchen was full of excitement.

and that was just the beginning of a very busy weekend of baseball games, birthday parties and catching up with friends. i was very thankful to have my husband by my side through it all. we also were able to enjoy a quiet night together, just the two of us, making a dinner of gnocchis with crab after the kids were in bed for the night. i loved the conversation. and i loved that jeff was sitting next to me... finally. (and dinner was really, really good too!)

so, now it's monday. he is here to stay, hopefully for awhile at least. today, we will be busy catching up on household chores and errands while two of our three children are in school. then it's homework and a quick dinner of fish cakes & homemade fries before baseball practice tonight.

as busy as i am... it's a very, very happy monday to have my husband home again. hope your monday is happy too!

p.s. the kids made this banner for their dad with the hopes that he would be coming home soon. i hung it upstairs in the foyer after the kids went to bed so that it wouldn't ruin the homecoming surprise!! i think they did a wonderful job taking turns painting the letters.

wonderful weekend & homecoming.

illustration via studio mela

i told you on monday something wonderful was going to happen. i've been waiting all week and wondering just when?? and finally... tomorrow, wonderful it is...

after driving all night long, my husband will be pulling into our driveway... finally! he has been working and living away from home for just about two years. his job is complete and we will finally be living together as a family should. i can hardly believe it's true.

what's even better is, i am trying to keep it a big surprise for slade, elle and sia. i can't wait to see their faces tomorrow morning. they really don't know daddy is coming home... (shhhhh!)

needless to say, our family will be enjoying a wonderful homecoming this weekend. i think our home is going to be overflowing with happiness. i hope you enjoy your weekend with whatever makes you truly happy too. and... here are some things i thought you might also enjoy-

vintage earrings, so easy to make

wouldn't it be fun to do this?

a lovely use for a pretty pillowcase

band-aids with total bling

return address stamp (i love)

fun paper pots

art with positivity & meaning

beautiful rings made of soap

nie nie's back to school feast

see you back here on monday with details of the homecoming!!

sweetness + simple happiness.

i am loving all the quiet moments sia and i have together. i wrote about my smiley girl here. just this morning her sweet little voice said to me, "mommy... when daddy is home and we are all together...our whole family... i mean our whole family... can we go get an ice cream cone together?" how sweet. a simple ice cream cone. family. just being together. i love my sia for her sweetness and simple happiness.

beautiful i love you.

this made me smile. i love this.
found it here.

a party of favorites.

i am loving the idea of having a favorite things party. you and your guests share their favorite things among all the party goers. everyone gets to take home 5 favorite things that were brought and shared. i found the idea here via inchmark. it's such a fabulous idea. i haven't hosted a party in such a long time and i'm thinking this is the next one to have.

p.s. - one of my favorite things is to write with a fountain pen.
this one can be found here.

cute booties.

even though it's still so hot, i've been dreaming about cooler weather, skinny vintage cords & booties. i think this may be the pair i'd like to have. i'm ready to start layering up for fall.

i love summer and usually cannot wait for it to arrive come spring. but this year, it seems like it has been excessively hot for such a long time. i'm definitely ready for crisp cool mornings and wearing these cute booties!!

happy monday.

it's the beginning of a great week!
something wonderful is going to happen.

just wait and see...

p.s. this is the fourth week of school and it's still so hot, it feels like we should be at the shore!! it's hard to even think that fall is just around the corner. does anyone else feel the same?

a step behind.

all week i have absolutely felt a step behind. have you ever felt the same?? it's saturday and i am wishing you a happy weekend. this weekend, i am hoping i can catch up and be where i need to be and do the things i need to do and enjoy some play time with the kids.

hoping you'll have a very happy weekend. enjoy these things while i am trying to catch up.

let them eat cake (i'd go if i could)

an obsession with skateboards

beautiful wedding by the river

amazed by yarnbombing

happy, happy balloon wreath

new online magazine, i'm loving it

have a happy weekend!!