Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Home Tour Tuesday: Our Kitchen!

Welcome to our kitchen! 

We spend a LOT of time in here. I wanted it to be clean and fresh, but feel cozy at the sometime. We went with shaker style cabinets and an oversized sink to give it a farmhouse feel, and finished it off with Carrera Quartz countertops (which are incredibly durable!). And I love how the dark hardware, light fixtures, and stools really warm up the space so it doesn't feel too sterile. Most of the accessories in here came from HomeGoods and antique stores. I told my decorator I wanted a "fancy farmhouse" look in here, and she really listened! We could not be happier with the space!  






















Monday, June 29, 2015

Girl Day!

Last Friday Liesl and I had ourselves a girl day!

We started the day off with some silly faces. We call this one her "mean mug" which she will give before bursting into a fit of giggles. 



Then I decided to paint her toenails for the first time! I've been wanting to do this for awhile and today seemed like the perfect day. We went with pink, naturally. 

She was so excited! I was too - it felt like a girl mom right of passage.


She was a little wiggly during the painting process, but nothing a good show couldn't distract her from! I reached for Netflix to find a good girly show for us to watch since big brother usually dictates which cartoons they watch, and I tried my hardest to get her to watch Angelina Ballerina with me. It looks so cute and Liesl can usually be found dancing and twirling, so I thought she would love it. However, it turns out Liam has already had too much of an influence on her, and she was adamant that we watch the new Curious George movie. Good thing it did not disappoint! 


We ended up watching it again Sunday night so Liam could see it too! When something for kids involves jungle animals AND rocket ships, it's bound to be a winner. The kids enjoyed it and I even found myself laughing at Houston, voiced by John Goodman, and tapping to the music by the Plain White T's. Thank you, Netflix, for yet another good pick!


Look at that concentration while her toes dried! 


And dry time is also a good time for some snuggling. 



Then sister was ALL about showing them off! She wouldn't stop pointing and smiling! 


To continue our girl day and to go along with the Curious George theme, we made some banana muffins! 


Liesl was all about helping me at first, and then she got a little grumpy. Little did I know...


Not long after we made our (delicious!) banana muffins, sister began throwing up and continued to do so for the rest of the night. And then Will was four hours late getting home from his business trip thanks to a crazy storm that rolled in. 


All of the above promptly ended the fun girl day we were having, but at least I can say that MOST of our day was special! 



This post is sponsored by Netflix and the #StreamTeam. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Friday, June 26, 2015

Five on Friday!

Happy Fri-YAY! Today is extra exciting because Will comes home after being gone ALL week! We can't wait to have him back!

I'm linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for...



Now settle in for my most random assortment of 5 on Friday yet...

1.

Do your feet a favor and treat them to The Face Shop Smile Foot Peel asap! It is by far the best product I've tried to get rid of dry, dead skin, and it's so incredibly easy. 

The directions are in Chinese so I'll give you a run-down. Put on the included booties and pour the solution inside - chill for 60-90 minutes with them on - I would suggest walking around some to make sure the solution reaches all areas of your feet - take them off and rinse your feet - be patient for 5 days while nothing happens - on day 5 or 6 layers of you skin will start to magically peel off and you will be left with smooth, baby soft skin! I think it was on day 7 that I took a long, hot shower and that helped finish getting all of the skin off. You're not supposed to peel the skin but I would gently rub my hands up and down my feet and the skin was literally rolling off in chunks. Kind of gross, but mostly awesome! 



2. 

The Bobo Books!

A good friend of mine got Liam the original Bobo book, I Must Have Bobo, for his first birthday and it very quickly became a favorite. Well the other day we were strolling through Half Price Books and I spotted a second Bobo book! I had no idea others had been written! We immediately got it and have read it nearly every night since. AND I just got on Amazon to grab a link for them and saw a THIRD Bobo book available! They are such cute books and all about a little boy named Willy, his best friend, a stuffed animal named Bobo, and their adventures involving his cat Earl who also wants Bobo for himself! 



3. 

The Nordie's Anniversary Sale is SO CLOSE!

I'm so bummed I didn't get my catalog to preview the sale -- I'm thinking it got sent to our old address??? I don't know, but I missed out on getting to browse it early, so I'm fully counting on Sheaffer to tell me what I need to get. I relied on her last year and she did NOT disappoint - you need to be following her if you're not by the way. And I kind of love that this sale just happens to fall right around my birthday! Hint, hint family. I'm not above gift cards or just straight cash :) 

4. 

My "procedure"

So I mentioned on my What's Up Wednesday post that I was having a little procedure done that day. Well, I got a chemical peel. It's not really a procedure but I didn't know what to call it. Last fall I got shingles (Yep, shingles. That virus that typically only older adults get that causes incredibly painful blisters? Yeah, that.) and I have a deep scar on my face from one of the blisters that popped. I've been to the dermatologist a few times about it to talk options. The least invasive (and to be honest, the cheapest) option is getting a few rounds of chemical peels to try and soften/flatten the scar. It won't completely remove it, but at least if it's flat I can cover it up better with makeup. Some of you may think I sound incredibly vain now, but it is smack dab in the middle of my face and it bothers me, so this was a personal decision of mine to try and fix it! As for the chemical peel itself, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't hurt at all! It stung a little at times, but for the most part was pretty relaxing. The hardest part has been keeping myself tucked away because I cannot be out in the sun and it's starting to itch like crazy! I should start peeling over the weekend and hopefully be back to normal come Monday or Tuesday. Now, fingers crossed I don't traumatize my children as my face begins to peel off, ha! 

5.

And my most exciting announcement - Home Tour Tuesday!

I decided to start a little series for our home tour! Now, not every room is ready so it won't be every Tuesday, but as they are finished (and I get around to photographing them) I will showcase them on Tuesdays. First up next Tuesday will be our kitchen! Our living room, dining room, and back porch are all ready to go as well! I have had the best time over the last 4 months making these rooms feel like us and fit our family, so I hope you like them! 


Enjoy your weekend! 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

What's Up Wednesday!

Today I'm linking up with Mel, Sheaffer, and Shay for...



What We're Eating This Week...




I made a big batch of vegetable soup on Monday and since Will is out of town this week, I'll be eating on that until it runs out. I wish I could share the recipe, but I actually got the soup mix from the peach orchard we visited last weekend and then added ground beef. It looks just like the one I've linked above though if you want to make your own!

What I'm Reminiscing About...


Disneyland! I've been seeing pictures of families vacationing at Disney recently and am having major Disney withdrawals. It doesn't help that Will is going to California in a few weeks and is staying directly across the street from Disneyland. He keeps teasing me about how he's getting a Disney view so he can watch the fireworks every night, and I keep teasing him that he's going to be surprised with some stowaways in his suitcase if he keeps bringing it up!

What I'm Loving...


That Will's birthday is next week! He's a typical guy and doesn't really care that his birthday is coming up, but I LOVE to celebrate...and especially to celebrate him! This ear will be more low key, but Last year was his 30th and we did it up big!

What We've Been Up To...


Everything! I gave a big recap of our busy month on Monday. Yesterday we went to the Perot Museum and tonight Liam has t-ball!

What I'm Dreading...

 Nothing at the moment. I'm a little anxious about a procedure I'm having this afternoon, but not dreading.


Collecting some new and fun craft/activity ideas for the kiddos for the summer. It's getting HOT here so we are going to need some indoor entertainment on standby for those days we just can't handle the heat! That's my Pinterest board above - I need to get better at pinning, but there are some great ideas on there that I am looking forward to trying with the kids!

What I'm Excited About...

Getting out of town with the hubby soon! More details below... :)

What I'm Watching/Reading...


Fraiser. Still. I just can't get enough of Dr. Fraiser Crane!

What I'm Listening To...

Nothing really unless it's the radio in the car or the kids music channel on TV. Also, I'm listening to Liam sing his vbs songs on repeat; it's pretty darn cute. And at this exact moment I'm listening to Flip or Flop.

What I'm Wearing...

A lot of shorts and tanks. I stocked up on some cute shorts at Loft recently. Also a lot of workout shorts and tanks. Basically any version of shorts and tanks that won't make me turn into a complete puddle as soon as I step out the door. By the way, I just saw that all tees, tanks, and shorts are 50% off at Loft right now! 

What I'm Doing This Weekend...

Nada! Laying low! Sleeping In! (ha, fat chance on the last one.)

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month...


Will and I are going to SEATTLE! I'm tagging along on a business trip and then we are staying a few extra days. I'm SO excited! Neither of us have been before, so if anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!  

What Else Is New...

Not much! Just chugging along enjoying the sunshine and trying not to melt!

What Are You Doing For 4th Of July...


4th of July last year!

We are joining friends for their neighborhood block party! I'm picturing a very Wonder Years-esque party with the kids running around with sparklers and all the adults sitting around in lawn chairs and playing corn hole in the cul-de-sac. Doesn't the term "block party" just sound so retro? I don't think I've been to a block party since I was the kid running around with sparklers. Maybe it's just me, but I'm really looking forward to it!


Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Blueberry Pickin'

The other week we met some friends at our local blueberry farm for some blueberry picking! While it was already so hot even though we went at 9am, we all had a great time. The blueberries they grow are organic and so juicy; maybe the best I've ever had! They also have a cute pumpkin patch in the fall. It's not huge, but if you're local, I'd recommend a trip out there! It's called Blase Family Farm. 



The two mainly picked the green blueberries, put them in their mouth, and promptly spit them out. Then they just wandered around. #nohelp #yourefired #goodthingtheylookedcute 



These two on the other hand were really into it! 












Afterwards, the boys helped make some delicious blueberry muffins. They only picked enough for one dozen muffins, so we may have to make a second trip out soon!