Life is Good

Today he is 7

Today is his seventh birthday.

We celebrated as requested with a Lego Ninjago themed party in the backyard.  It was an interesting day, Marcus has had a tough couple days and unfortunately it flowed right into the party.  After singing him Happy Birthday, we had to coerce him to blow out the candles. It was an off day, but one still to document.

In honor of his 7 years, here are 7 things about Marcus right now.

1.  He loves playing baseball and sliding into home.

2.  His favorite colors are Gray, White and Black.

3.  His all-time favorite past-time is wall ball.  He is a fierce competitor.

4.  He is a collector and architect of all things Lego.

5.  He loves watching Swamp People with his dad.

6.  He loves junking with his mom.

7.  He is as always, unconditionally loving and affectionate.

Despite a challenging day, we had wonderfully fun moments and thankfully captured on film.

Happy Birthday Bear.

I love you

Prom 2012

McKenzie is out the door and off to her first prom event.  No, I did not cry.

Granted I always cry during proud moments for my children and tonight was no different, I think I was just so busy I forgot too.  I was most proud of how calm and collected she was and how beautiful she looked.

I was a mess...all day.

Of course there has been last minute errands, there always are and prom was no exception.  We started off being quite prepared and ordered her dress online.  Something quite different, she and I don't like to fit into the conforming box.  We like to be just a bit different.

It was not quite that simple, but I'll spare you the chaotic details of two different dresses, dyeing a slip blue to complete the original one, shoe shopping the night before, no MAC appointment, major farmers tan, bruised shins from softball and oh yes, I forgot about a boutineer until 30 minutes before her date arrived.

But in true last minute fashion, it all came together in a beautiful package...

and the dress was lovely too.

She is going as a group with most of the girls from her softball team and their dates.  Her date, Connor Davenport has no idea what he's gotten himself into.

So back to the boutineer...
After realizing we didn't have a prayer in the world to find an open florist I improvised with flowers I had gotten for mother's day, washi tape (wasabi as I like to call it) and a scrap piece of ribbon.

All in a days work.

Happy Easter

XOXO Casey

Wordless Wednesday

Happy St. Patrick's Day

And a little, green love note today from my toothless leprechaun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Project Update

Last weekend I tackled the home office space.  I had even photographed my progress but just couldn't bring myself to sit in the space a minute longer to post the completion.

This has been an ongoing project since we bought our home several years ago. It was a built-in entertainment center which sits at an odd angle of the room, so I knew I wanted the television elsewhere. 

I debated on whether to use this as a craft space...but seriously a girl just needs her own room!

So we cleared out the entire space of all cabinetry and when we remodeled the kitchen we added some cheap in-stock white kitchen cabinets and cheap black formica counter top to stay consistent with the quartz in the kitchen as its an open floorplan. 

Again...cheap was the key to this project.

I didn't want to leave the space open as it tends to get messy, but I didn't want doors so I elected to add curtains. As this space is taller than a typical curtain panel, I had these custom sewn using cheap Target panels in two colors with a decorative trim in between. 

The shelves I ordered from Ballard Design as they seemed to fit perfectly in this space.






I purchased a few items from the new Martha Stewart collection at Staples for storage and combined with containers and binder I already had.

A little bit of this and that.

and things that make me smile.


Can you tell what was the common element from the previous post?


You guessed it, that fabulous iMac.  We have been limping along for seven years with a lemon of a PC and have swearing daily to buy a Mac someday.

Welcome...Someday!

Project Update

Chalkboard...check!

This was my first attempt at silver leafing and it wasn't so bad.  I am already planning my next project, though I did learn some quick lessons.

1) It can be quite messy, so do not do a big project on the kitchen counter without a drop cloth.

2) See No. 1 above.

I started my chalkboard with a frame I picked up a couple years ago at the 52 Mile yard sale with Sarah.  I paid a whole dollar for it!  It was hung with a grouping of frames in my bedroom for a while, but am slowly using them for other projects.

I started the project by taping off a square the size of the frame and removing the light switch cover, which is the main reason I chose to use the wall as the chalkboard rather than a board inserted into the frame.

I rolled on three coats of chalkboard paint and spray painted the light switch cover with the same brand of chalkboard paint...

and viola!

Be forewarned that chalkboard paint can be a bit addictive. Not quite chocolate addictive but it's one of those, you can't paint just one kind of things.

If you look close enough, you'll notice the butcher block wasn't exempt either.

Weekend Projects

It seems every week I get inspired to tackle several home projects right up until the moment I step through the front door on Friday evening. Then I ponder on it for hours until I find myself at Sunday morning realizing I have not done a thing.  Not to worry, I am typically the queen of "crunch time".

This weeks project is to organize the computer/desk area.  There have been some recent additions, so I thought the rest could use some sprucing up.

Here are some of my inspirations:

                                             
                                                                        

                                                                          
Our space for our home office is in what use to be a space created for a custom entertainment center by the former homeowners, so more like a closet which has influcenced my concept over time to something like this:





We have had the basic structure of the desk top and drawers in place since we remodeled our kitchen, but the rest has been a hodgepodge of crap.

So playing off the above concepts, we'll see how far I get.  Do you see a pattern? Check back after the weekend to see the progress.

photos via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6           

Chalkboard Message Centers

This weekends project is a re-purposed chalkboard for daily messages.  Now I'm not talking about the ones you see on Pinterest with 'Love You', and 'Be Calm Carry On' type crap.  I'm talking about a message center for the [get] real women...you know the kind that says, "Would somebody pick up some damn milk already" and "Don't forget about the boy after school, its cold and he might get wet".

And while I love the message board above and would really love if my home was even one page of the Pottery Barn catalog, my menu board would often say, "Kraft Macaroni and Cheese" and "Take out pizza, pass the paper plates".

I've noted several ideas to use for this message board:






And my personal favorite that won't fit into this space, though will most definitely appear in a future project!

So here is the space I am working with:


Try not to notice all of the unfinished projects like the back splash and trim...but if you will notice the space on the wall where the aprons hang.  That hook is coming down and up will go a re-purposed chalkboard. 

I decided to use one of the many frames I've picked up over the years which you can see here.  Which was once here.  But if you know me at all, things don't stay long in any one spot around here.

Well, just like Millie in Because I said So, who can sense that her souffle's are done, I can sense that my paint is dry and must get back to the project at hand.

Check back soon for the finished results.

photos via pinterest

One Little Word

Well it has only taken me until February to post my One Little Word.  If you were one of the unfortunate souls to have been on this roller coaster ride with me since, oh say, last May you would understand why.

And yes, some of those days were the throw up your hands and scream days...but not the good kind.

But here we are in a new year not too bad thus far and I am bound and determined to get this rollercoaster back on track and as it should be.  So my one little word for the year is Comeback.

This is a year of serious possibilites and change...and hours spent on Pinterest.

I just love Pinterest for stating the obvious:

Happy 2012!