bloomers shoppe

a giveaway!

2012-02-13T00:21:00.000-08:00

visit lindsey over at her blog for a bloomers shoppe giveaway! all you have to do is leave a comment. it takes 5 seconds. and you get $10. free. to shop. for your baby. or niece. or grandbaby. or better yet, YOURSELF. go. NOW. hurry! it ends tomorrow.

love day

2012-02-09T00:03:00.000-08:00

vintage valentine $5

the perfect gift for the perfect teacher: a bloomer bookmark! don't settle for assembly line chocolates. give something original!

visit the shoppe for more valentine's day pretties!

A GIVEAWAY

2012-02-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

because it's a GOOD day! head on over to the shoppe to enter! giveaway ends today at midnight.

winter?

2012-02-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

has it left for good? if you say yes, i may just cry. i am NOT ready for spring, because spring lasts about 3 minutes and then it's the dreaded S U M M E R . however, because the weather really has been so beautiful, i've been INSPIRED. lots of fun colors. lots of fun fabrics.
raspberry
lilac
lavender
aqua
teal
celery
cream
white
dove gray
these are the best colors ever. and that's our spring 2012 collection.

BOOM!

holler-back girl

2012-01-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

is anyone reading this dusty old blog anymore? like, seriously. because i know i personally, used to read TONS of blogs. i LOVED it. come to think of it, i'm actually not sure how i read so many blogs back then. {oh wait, i didn't have kids}. when i stopped reading blogs, i stopped BLOGGING. it's a world i haven't been a part of for a loooooong time. and i used to have some good ole faithful readers here, back when it was rae events. but now i find myself wondering if i am typing to myself. {THAT'S always fun. although, i'm not gonna lie, i'm an external processor, so even if this is just to myself, it's therapy. and it's free.}

i'm realizing now, that after billions of days have gone by none-blogging, i may have lost all the (what, 30?) readers that i once had. i also realize that i don't have the time (nor the energy) i once had to read 50 blogs a day, and comment, and all that goes with that, in order to GAIN readers. and if I don't have the time, lord knows you don't either. {although i'm not really sure who "you" is at this moment.....} the point is, if i had a giveaway would there be any readers to enter said giveaway? because if i won a giveaway that i hosted, it may be a little strange.

if you are alive. and breathing. and happen to read this. you can give me a holler-back. and maybe i'll host a giveaway. if not, i'll just keep talking to myself.

{all photos are random. and basically because i like them}

snow? winter?

2012-01-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

is it just me or has it JUST started to feel like winter? i LOVE it. and i'm not gonna lie. there is a slight fear in me that our winter is going to last for all but a week and i'll be stuck with my 37 scarves having only worn 3. plllllease winter, last until june.

so, while it's been a LITTLE cold, i've been sitting by the fire, crafting up some more wintery bloomers (while my kids throw gold fish & cheerios at me). check out the shoppe to see what's available!

new at the shoppe!

2012-01-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

sweet love lacey bloom, $8
headband, pin or clip

winter dream, $11
1 lacey lady filled with pearls
1 rosette & 1 felt bow

triple mum, $10

the wren, $12
3 raw silk rosettes (steel blue/purple)
with pearl embellishments

winter spiral $8
woven cream cotton with gold & silver intertwined
3 pearls & feathers (optional)
(approx. 3")

THE WINTER BEACH

2012-01-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

one of our favorite bloomers yet... the winter beach! a woven cotton, intertwined with gold & silver foil, filled with layers of multi-colored pearls. this is an absolute beauty. adorned with two white feathers. wear it on a scarf, cardigan or in your hair! $10 want one? check out the shoppe!

winter ONEderland

2012-01-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

on december 30, 2010 i had two babies. my life changed forever (everyone always says that). and on january 7, 2012 we celebrated their first birthday. i realized half way through planning their party (back in november?), that it was really more for me than them. i like parties. i love planning. details. pretty things. crafting. and well, lincoln & wren? let's be honest. they could have cared less. they did enjoy their cakes (more like, lincoln enjoyed his cake), but the decorations and hoopla? i'm sure they could have passed on all that. but for me, it was a part of processing this whole big year of change. accomplishment. joy. love. challenge. LIFE. and so i continued on with the party planning. by the time the party actually got here, i decided next year we'll be having their party at chuck-e-cheese. yum.

okay, so on to the fun stuff. decor, crafts & CUPCAKES. woodland creatures. snow. and stumps. if you have ever read my blog, you know winter is one of my favorite things in life. thank the lord my babies were born in december. sure makes it easy for me to decorate their party. especially after having my wedding in january. basically, everything was borrowed from my wedding or my mom's, sister's or my christmas stuff. except the cupcakes. those were fresh. i love FREE stuff.

a bloomers wreath!

lincoln's one-year banner. i love this idea. each baby had a banner on both sides of the fireplace. thank goodness there's two!

a wintery table full of tasty treats...

and lots of critters!

cream cheese, peppermint & buttercream frosting. don't think it gets much better.

first birthday cakes with mini-buntings. my favorite thing.

seriously... snow man milks? thank you pinterest for that.

little buntings all over the house. in all, i think i made 8 banners for this party. that's a lot of paper.

i used a screen from our old house, backed with chicken wire to display photos of the babies throughout the year. a lot of photos were involved with this party.

who doesn't love hot cocoa bars?

i'm so glad i hung the high-chair buntings straight. honestly.


he really loved his cake this much.... he really enjoyed ripping the bunting off his tray. and i let him. after all, it was HIS party. not mine. (i think.)

she could have cared less. clearly, does NOT take after her mom.

and the only picture of the two of them, sans high chairs. how lovely.

wren wasn't appreciating picture time with the cousins...

i can't believe i have 1 year olds. wow.

BLOOMERS

2011-11-22T22:51:00.000-08:00

some fresh bloomers in the shoppe!

the mermaid $7

fresh cut $7

the purple jewel $8

visit us at the shoppe!

from one season to the next

2011-11-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

6 months

how do you catch up after it feels like YEARS have gone by? well, i don't think you can completely. and i really don't think one can ever catch up in this world of mommy-hood so i won't even begin to try. but i will say this. i thought planning parties was fun. or that planning weddings gave me an adrenaline rush. i thought checking-off my to-do list was satisfying. well, i had no clue what was ahead. december 30th of 2010, lincoln & wren were born. the sweetest, most perfect, precious, satisfying, adrenaline-rushing things ever given to me. oh, and the most exhausting.

i haven't been planning parties. or weddings. or showers. i haven't even really been decorating. i've been mommy-ing. and it's the most complicated, beautiful, rich & satisfying job i've ever had. over a year has gone by and i haven't even glanced at this blog. cause it hasn't mattered really. i've cared more about feeding, diapering & playing with my babies than writing on my blog. and let's be honest, i've been more worried about my hot cup of coffee in the morning and wondering if i'll get a shower that day than coming up with some snappy post.

after 10 months though, i'm feeling a little more rested. a little more like MYSELF. and i've started crafting again. and boy does it feel good! i love DOING things! i also love PLANNING things. (duh). but it's different after having kids. planning weddings & parties requires all. your. attention. anyone who's been to a wedding can attest to the detail & planning it takes to pull it off. i don't have the same drive in planning someones party because i know what it takes. it requires too much of me right now. and quite honestly, i don't WANT to do it (for a living, that is). perhaps i'll wear that hat again some day down the road, but for now, it's sitting nicely on my shelf.

because i naturally like to be busy, i have found something else to fill my time (if having twins wasn't enough, huh?). and that's what this post here is all about. transitioning from one thing to the next. rae events was good & fun & satisfying for my creative a-type personality these last few years. but i am even more excited about this next little adventure. because it's creative. fun. pretty. i get to be home with my kids. and it's FOR my kids.

although i never thought i'd be a headband-flower-adorning mom with my daughter, i am. (let us not get confused with the large bows & over-sized silk flowers). and i never knew how much fun it would be to make her precious creations for her sweet little head. but i've had a BLAST. and so i've started selling my creations. they're nothing new really. especially in the pinterest world. but not everyone actually has time to make the things they WANT to make. i'm not in this to make it BIG. i'm having fun & possibly making a few bucks while i'm at it. over the coming weeks, rae events will transition to BLOOMERS SHOPPE, where you can see and/or purchase handmade felt, lace, burlap and other flowers. and of course this blog will always remain a place where i talk about life & things that i like. if you're still interested, i'm happy for you to stick around. :) perhaps there will be more interaction in this coming year than there was in the last! here's a little peak inside bloomers shoppe...

burlap & lace $6

poofy bloom $7

bloomer bands $6

and my little bloomer-inspiration- wren taylor

and lastly, can i just say there is nothing more fun than crafting, playing with your kids & listening to christmas music? holy cow. i feel so blessed

rachel <3

there and back again

2010-08-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

we are home after 6 months of traveling, although, it feels more like a couple of years! we went to a lot of beautiful places, and met some extraordinary people.

it's easy to be inspired in pretty places like greece...

a new home

2010-01-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

12 days into 2010 began a new journey for us... we hopped on a plane (1 day after our 3rd anniversary) and stepped into a new world (and new home). we left everything that was comfortable, safe and KNOWN, and moved in with about 40 or so other people. we didn't know anyone except each other.

and yet we have never felt so at home. so welcomed. so safe. isn't it amazing how god can do things like that? we choose to say YES - even though everything seems strange and crazy and doesn't really make sense - and he comes and meets us in that exact place and says, DON'T WORRY, I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU. BETTER CARE OF YOU THAN YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF YOU. we're so silly sometimes. thinking we can care for ourselves better than he can.

we have been at holmsted manor in cuckfield (pronounced cook-field), west sussex, england for 10 days and yet it feels like we've been here for months. relationships have been formed, memories have been made, and god has done some great things. we are so honored and thankful to be a part of this amazing adventure. sometimes i really can't grasp the fact that god CHOSE us and WANTS to use little ol' us. what a loving and redeeming god we serve.

here are james and i in the front of our new home... it's quite a breath-taking place. very easy to find jesus here. this particular morning (all these photos), it started snowing and stuck for the entire day.... it was beautiful. the top photo is the long driveway leading up to our home and the second photo is the rolling hills surrounding our property. thank you jesus for your beautiful creation.

we feel like we've jumped in with both feet and are fully embracing all this season holds for us. by god's grace we have transitioned so smoothly. thank you to our dear friends and family for loving us and praying for us so faithfully. we are fully aware that without your faithfulness we wouldn't be here. we pray you are blessed just as we are through this process.

we love you and miss you ~ james & rachel noel

"for this reason i kneel before the father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. i pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. and i pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of god. now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in christ jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! amen." ephesians 3

it happened. again.

2009-12-29T10:00:00.000-08:00

christmas is officially over. and we are sad. it happens every year. we don't like taking down our tree (even if it is crumbling by the second). i don't like taking down our christmas village. and i especially do not like taking down our wintry table.

but it has to happen. and now we wait for another 11 months until we get to enjoy our home like this again

(you can tell i am enjoying the packing up part as much as the saying-good-bye-to-christmas-part, with my coffee and muffin on the table, laptop on my lap, and food network in the background. no, no, i am not a procrastinator. promise.)

CHRISTMAS

2009-12-23T12:56:00.000-08:00

i hope you have a wonderful christmas, celebrating jesus' birth, life, and love; enjoying family and traditions; and savoring each moment as beautiful memories. merry christmas!! this year, i will be enjoying christmas in a christmas-red cast half-way up my leg. promise me you'll take your time down the stairs. if not, you'll end up like me; immobile.

it's the most wonderful time of the year

2009-12-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

decorating a small space? decorating with little to no wall space? decorating with a small (oh wait, a zero, zip, zilch, non-existent) budget? decorating with no mantle? decorating with no kids? decorating for your favorite holiday?

welcome to my life. (and my blog). we live in a tiny home, with little wall space and no mantle to show. we have no christmas budget to speak of (who does?), nor do we have any little tots running around. this makes for a lot of reusable, cheap, and totally impractical decorations. take that tree up there (from here) for example. it is balancing (i'm not really sure how) on my table; defying gravity. (side note: for the last two years, my husband has said this is the last year we are doing this). will we do this when we have two toddlers running around our house? are you crazy?! for now, why not balance our trees on tables surrounded by candles? i like this tree, because in small spaces, you have to go UP and this tree does just that. draws your eye upwards.

i love my home. i do. i really do. we have done so much to fix it up ("we," as in my husband and father-in-law), but when i say it's quaint, it is quaint in the literally, smallest of ways. our living room holds 4 people, uncomfortably. we can squeeze them in, but that means you will be sitting on my lap. because of that, i have learned to make do by purging unwanted or unused items, and trying to get creative in our small space. thanks so much for stopping by! if you're here for the first time, you will quickly learn that christmas is my favorite time of the year. if you're not new, you are probably tired of hearing me say that. either way, won't you join me as i show you around our quaint little 800-square foot house? it won't take too long. remember, i said it's small.

PART A
the living room
come on in...

the tight space makes bringing in a christmas tree very tricky. last year, our tree was here. this year, because we had central air and heat put in our home, we removed my favorite little heater. i was extremely sad to say good-bye to my faux-fire place, but happy to have 2-square feet more of living space for our christmas tree. (because that's what really matters 12 months out of the year, where you put your christmas tree, right? that's what i thought).

the christmas village that my mom started for me years ago is one of my favorite things to set up. every year i wish i could sneak into this little christmas town and live for the winter.

my husband became a firefighter back in may, so a crew of firemen joined our christmas village this year.

i wish i had a lake outside our house where we could go ice skating...

penguins became my favorite animal when i was 9 0r 10 years old. this is one of the figurines i actually allow to come out of hiding.

remember i mentioned the totally impractical decorations around our house? these are some of them. the village sits on every shelf of our book case, and is covered in an inch of snow. the first couple shelves are easily reachable by little hands. will i pour 3 bags of fake snow on the bottom shelves of my bookcase when we have kids? probably not.

this really is the point of it all. jesus coming to earth as god, in human form. a gift. a miracle. my mom gave this ceramic nativity to me when i first got married. her aunt made it for her years and years ago. i don't think i need to say that it is very special in our home.

this is where the "reusable" and "cheap" decorations come in. i gathered a few ornaments, beads, snow and a few candles, and placed them on a special cake plate. it's nothing new or innovative, but it sure looks cute and festive, doesn't it?

since my husband and i are equally obsessed with christmas and winter, it was no surprise that we would get married in the middle of january and have a wedding full of wintry trees and snow. lucky for me, i have a couple trees and snowy branches that i reuse to decorate my house with.

can you tell i painted the windows on our door? i guess you can say we are a bit over the top with wanting that "winter" feel in our home. oh, and when you don't have a mantle, where do you hang your stockings? this year we're trying the window. we'll see how that works out.

more easy and cheap decorations. it makes for that cohesive feel in the living room. :)

i think the winter table is always my favorite. since this scenery doesn't exist outside our home like it does for many people, we try to create it for ourselves inside.

last year, this table was full of candlesticks. this year, i decided to add some birch, evergreen, and lots of ornaments. i like it so much more.

and i finally found a home for my little reindeer!

the last stop in my living room is at my christmas jewelry tree. aside from my nativity, it means the absolute most to me. it was made up of my grandma's jewelry one year, while she was still alive so she could enjoy it. you see, christmas was her very favorite time of year. she loved the decorating, the shopping and the gifts. oh, she LOVED the christmas gifts. and the greatest gift she ever received was on christmas day, 1997.

she had been very sick and was in the hospital several days leading up to christmas. we took her presents to the hospital one evening and opened them for her so she could see what we had gotten her. that's how much she loved presents. however, none of our presents that year would compare to the gift she was yet to receive.

early, early christmas morning, while it was still dark outside, my grandma went to be with jesus. she was finally free of her hurt and pain and she walked into this pain-free world on her most favorite day of the year. her entire life, she knew jesus was her greatest gift. but, on that christmas day, she received jesus like never before. every time i see my grandma's gaudy jewelry tree, i think of her love for this beautiful season, and the grace god gave her when he brought her home early that christmas morning.

PART B

the kitchen (this is real quick. don't blink, or you'll miss it.)

when you live in a small space, you decorate your refrigerator. and your stove-top. and your message board. and your adjoining door. and your empty wall. you squeeze it all in. everywhere.
our kitchen doesn't really match the rest of the house at all. it's pinks, reds, and greens. but i like it that way. although my favorite decorations are the blues, silvers, whites, and golds, i love the playful colors in the kitchen. who says it all has to match anyway?

PART C
the dining room

our dining room decorations are some of my favorite! i love the combination of evergreen with birch, snowy branches, and all my little rustic animals.

i purchased the birch tree on the left a couple years ago for several dollars at an after-holiday-target-sale. i also had a bag of birch chips from pottery barn (that i never really knew how to use), so i decided to make a little tree to go along with the big one. i had some left over birch, so i decided to make a wreath too. not much beats cheap, and nothing beats free. birch chips, a foam wreath (that i already had from michael's), fresh cranberries (yes, they will die and i will pull them off after christmas), fresh evergreen trimmings from our tree (again, they will die, and i will re-glue new ones next year), and lots of hot glue.

i am loving the combination of natural elements with ornaments... here i have pinecones, snow, birch, and more evergreen mixed in with ornaments.

*thanks for stopping by! i wish you the happiest christmas season as you celebrate what's most important: jesus, love and life* AND, if you haven't gotten enough of christmas decorations, head on over to christmas tour of homes, and check them all out!
PEACE. LOVE. JOY.

a christmas tour

2009-12-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

this year i am joining the ever-growing "christmas, tour of homes" with the nester. i thought, hey, why not! it's really no big deal, just a fun way to look at other people's decorations, while sharing some of your own. because i love christmas so much, i love to see what other people have goin' on in their home. do you like to be nosey too? if so, you can join too! all you need is a blog or flickr account, a camera, and some festive decor to share. (go here for complete directions.) either way, if you are stopping by here sometime monday, i would love for you to come on a little tour of our home with me!

until then, have a wonderful week (hopefully) full of christmas music, christmas movies, and hot cocoa. :)

eye for an eye

2009-12-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

i love christmas decorations so much, i wish i could leave them up year round. that would be weird though, wouldn't it? if you came to my house in june and there was a christmas tree in the living room? a dead christmas tree nonetheless, since my husband and i don't believe in fake ones. so no, i don't think i'll be leaving it up all year, but i sure wish i could.

you know what else i wish? i wish i could see all your pretty christmas decorations. even if i don't know you i want to see them. i want to see christmas through your eyes. will anyone let me? pretty please?

if i show you mine, will you show me yours? eye for an eye, right? (wrong context? well, you get what i mean). can we set a date? any volunteers? i know you have some pretties out there that we all need to see... c'mon... JUST DO IT (oh, wrong context again...)

well, i will post mine if you post yours. give me a date and i'll be there... (i promise i won't stand you up).

new things, new places

2009-12-01T14:51:00.000-08:00

i hope you had a lovely thanksgiving with your friends, families, loved ones...and with all that food. :) i am so happy we have officially entered the holiday season; it really is my favorite thing. our home is decorated in pine, snow, ornaments, and smells of cider; and most importantly, full of thankful hearts for who jesus was and IS in our lives.

those of you who visit this blog from time-to-time, expect my postings to be somewhat "event" related, and oftentimes they are just that. but many times, my posts are completely unrelated to events or design, and focus more on personal thoughts and adventures. why? well, for one, this is my blog and there are no rules. and two, while i own an event design business, that business does not own me. what i mean is, this little, tiny business is just a fraction of my life. there are so many bigger things that make up who i am, and in essence what this business is. if i were to solely post event related talk on this blog, it wouldn't be ME. i like to talk about the flowers i see outside and the birds chirping out under my bedroom window. i like to go on and on about how much i love christmas. and i really like to brag about my nieces and nephew. do any of these have much to do with planning your wedding? no, but for me, it has much to do with living life and being inspired by it all.

so, this is one of those times. a time when the post has absolutely nothing to do with events, design, planning parties, or arranging flowers. what this post IS about, is living LIFE, risking some, and embarking upon new adventures. i said here, almost a year ago, that this was going to be the year of completion - the act of finishing something; bringing it to an end, and entering into a new season. i even proclaimed on my blog: here is to NEW things, NEW seasons, and NEW growth. happy NEW year and NEW seasons to you. never in 30 years did i think those NEW things, NEW seasons, and NEW growth would lead my husband and i to where we are today. that is where this post comes in.

in this process of god closing doors and opening new ones, we have found ourselves 43 days away (fittingly one year after the "year of completion post") from boarding a plane, destined for west sussex/surrey, england, where we we will live for approximately 3 months as we partner with an amazing organization called YWAM. our first 3 months will be full of training as we participate in the DTS (discipleship training school) program. the last 3 months will be spent (most likely) in a third world country, where we will get to share the love of jesus with other people, in other cultures. words really can't begin to express how excited and honored we are to do this. we know it's not all going to be easy, but still so worth it. i share this with you, mainly because this is a huge change in our lives! but also, because this blog will look very different in the coming months. i am not sure exactly what will hapen, but it may become stagnant for those 6 months, or become more of an update hub for our friends and family and anyone else interested in following our journey. for now, here is our home (along with the picture above) for the first three months: holmsted manor, in west sussex, england.

i suppose we will drive down little streets like this...

isn't it amazing to look back - in hinds site - and see all that has happened in one year? it is exciting to think what will happen in this coming year... happy christmas season! and thanks again, for stopping by. ;) ~rachel

BEFORE & AFTER: a bathroom

2009-11-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

a couple months ago, my husband and i had the pleasure of doing our very own "extreme home makeover" on a small, small scale. my mother-in-law called me months ago and asked if i would be up for re-decorating (in her words, "sprucing up") her bathroom. i OF COURSE said YES! how can i pass up an opportunity to design and decorate, while spending someone else's money?! i can't.

the plan was to get the bathroom done in ONE day, but it didn't quite happen like that. i am proud to say though, that we started the shopping and measuring on a sunday, and the bathroom was complete by thursday! we went with a light brown (taupe), champagne, and white color palette. take a look...

BEFORE:
AFTER:

(new light fixture!!!)

by just changing the light fixture in this room reallly helped out, but my husband's brilliant idea to add a frame to the mirror really took it to that next level. that project was his little baby... he thought it up, designed it, shopped for it, and built it; and i think it turned out lovely! that piece alone really updates the bathroom.

some new hardware to update the space.

the ginkgo sconces were a great find, because my mother-in-law loves ginkgo trees. i was thrilled when i found these on CLEARANCE for $6! they were both an iron black, so i spray-painted them white to match the space.

because this makeover was on a smaller scale, we mainly did decorative fixes. we couldn't afford to change the flooring or the yellow-tiled counters, so we needed something a bit dramatic to alter the space. i was so excited when i found this big shabby chic etagere from target because it really transformed the little space. plus, it created storage space and many more places for me to decorate. :) here is a look inside...

(new light fixture!!)

i had so much fun shopping around for old glass vessels to decorate with. i ended up buying about 7 pieces, mainly clear, but wanted some more color; so, i added water and blue dye to the decanter below. i really love the contrast it creates between the blue water and the taupe walls.

i love this old brown pharmacy bottle

i scored this miniature milk-glass trifle for $6 at the local antique store! i filled it with cotton-scented wicker balls, which not only look cute but bring a nice scent to the bathroom.

i bought this little white dish with the idea that my MIL could place her jewelry in it at the end of the day, without the fear of forgetting where she last left it.

i just love the clear bottle below. it is actually a beaker from an old chemistry set; how cool is that?!

this was a really special project for me. these three frames hang on the back wall, opposite the mirror. prior to this makeover, there was no art in the bathroom. it was important to me, to bring in some art to make the space more personal and intimate. however, i didn't want to just throw up any piece of art that i liked because this space wasn't for me. i really wanted it to be special. i was thrilled when the idea came to me to frame pictures of three of the main crops my in-laws grow. i found pictures of each crop and antiqued them to get a vintage feel. from the top down is: cotton, almonds, wheat.

although a perfectly fine chrome towel rack came with the pack we bought, i really wanted to make a custom towel rack for this little bathroom. it was a fun and more importantly, cheap, little project. i picked up 2 corner blocks or crown molding and a thin piece of wood (sorry i can't remember the size). i also bought two iron hooks to hang the towels on. i realllly wanted to get two different antique-looking hooks, but they were all so expensive at the antique stores! so, i opted with the $1.50 special at lowe's and you would never know the difference. (if you look closely, you can see a screw. yes, i still have some touch-ups to do).

(i realize these pictures are really quite horrific. i have a nice camera, just don't know how to use it. ESPECIALLY in a small dark space. aaagh.)

thanks for stopping by!

REAL WEDDING: jeff & giorgiana IV

2009-11-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

the reception! we did three different centerpieces... a manzanita tree with hanging button mums and spider mums, which sat on the base of the tree that was filled with large river rock. the base was covered in brown butcher paper and a chartreuse ribbon.

the second was an extra tall cylinder filled with large river rock and curly willow, topped with a pom-pom of spider mums and bear grass.

the last centerpiece was an average sized fish bowl, filled with large river rock and floating button mums. it was topped (using a clear floral dish) with spider mums, button mums, ivory roses, curly willow, and lemon leaves, to mimic the bouquets.

the bride and groom met in a skate shop, so their favors were skateboard sugar cookies. how cute is that!?

i've already shown you this cake before, but it's so cute. why not take a look again...

i am so drooling over these landscape portraits. the beautiful mountain/fog/lake backdrop would have been perfect for our winter wonderland. especially if those mountains were snow-capped!

REAL WEDDING: jeff & giorgiana III

2009-11-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

i love this pier. and i love this picture. i would so blow this up and frame it in my house if it was from my wedding. it is sooo cool.

details of the brides bouquet...

because the bride's wedding dress was custom made, i was able to get a piece of fabric from her actual wedding dress to wrap around the bouquet. we finished it off with a brown satin ribbon and a chartreuse brooch.

here you can see the bride's bouquet was made up of spider mums, button mums, bear grass, and large white roses to mimic the roses on her and the bridesmaid's dresses.

this really has absolutely nothing to do with the details of the flowers, but i loved this picture! to me, it totally looks like it's out of a magazine or something. so vogue. one more post to come with some of the details from the reception! stay tuned....

REAL WEDDING: jeff & giorgiana II

2009-11-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

i started posting about this wedding last week and have a few more posts to share. i love these two pictures of the bride and groom. such sweet moments.

check out the fog over these mountains? talk about a beautiful backdrop!

we made a "memory" bouquet in honor of the grooms late mother...

the bouquet was placed in a vase at the front of the ceremony and the bride and groom took a moment during the ceremony to honor his mom by placing it on the seat where she would have been sitting.

i could not help but post this little sequence. i have not seen doves at a wedding since i was a little girl... it seems like no one does it anymore! but i kind of like this old tradition making it's way back.

the wedding & reception were at the pine's resort & ducey's lodge on bass lake; the beautiful photography was done by dani mac photography; and the wedding was coordinated by brooke dyar (reached at brook79@gmail.com). this meant we were only doing the flowers for this wedding and it was a nice little change! never before have i shown up a couple hours before the wedding and left before it started! :)

unfinished business

2009-11-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

as i was going through some archives, i realized i never finished posting about this wedding. how on earth did that happen?! i'm really not sure, because i loved this wedding. the location was gorgeous, the bride was beautiful, the weather was quite epic, and the photographer did an amazing job capturing it all. let's not waste any more time talking about it and let's get right to the pretty pictures.

here are some pre-wedding pictures of the bridal party...

this little flower girl was too cute. the bridesmaids each wore big spider mums in their hair. it was different than the typical orchid, i loved it!

i love these mossy rocks and the rustic feel of this picture.

the bridesmaids' bouquets were all similar yet each a little different with the whimsy bear grass poking out at different places...

not sure why, but i love this huge umbrella!

i love the face the groom is making here...

again, i am loving the rustic feel with the rocks, antlers, and beautiful wood of the venue...

this picture is just awesome. i wish i could do bigger pictures on this here blog because some of the faces on these groomsmen are pretty priceless.

the grooms boutonniere had one spider mum, bear grass, and a small piece of curly willow.

pictures of the ceremony, reception, and bride & groom are to come...

join us

2009-11-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

if you are in the central valley area (or not, and you want to drive), you should join us for the 2009 created to worship conference. it is sure to be a great weekend, full of lots of worship, teaching, and practical workshops, featuring rita springer, cindy rethmeier, and tony sanchez. find all the details here.

REAL WEDDING: Fall Tones

2009-10-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

i was so lucky to be a part of such a fun wedding last weekend.

the wedding & reception were at country M ranch, in between visalia & tulare. it was a cool venue - one i had never seen before. there was a big barn with beautiful -huge - red doors in front. i can't wait to see the pictures of the bridal party standing in front of them.

the bride & groom sat at a round table with their 5 bridal party guests. their little two-tiered wedding cake was the centerpiece with the bride & bridesmaids' bouquets (this pic was pre-reception).

the gorgeous flowers and manzanita trees (& hanging initials!) were done by tulip. that girl rocks!

i mean, who doesn't love a candy bar? i think people that don't even like candy, like candy bars at weddings cause they are just so cool.

the bride and sister-in-law to the bride (who planned & designed much of the wedding), made these fabulous cupcake stands with 2 round cardboard cutouts, a martini glass turned upside down, bronze spray paint and some funky gold ric-rac! i think they turned out so awesome!

three different styles of cupcakes, one with a fresh mum on the top! cupcakes & cake made by shelly wade.

the bride said she didn't want a typical wedding feel at the reception, yet still wanted it to be beautiful of course. we had a lot of fun putting it all together that day... it's so great seeing everyone's hard work come together. my favorite part of the day? probably the sublime and 311 tracks that were played while guests were seated. seriously, awesome.

flowers - tulip design studio
photography - tiffany aicklen (not the above photos, thanks iphone).
cupcakes/cake - shelly wade
venue - country m ranch
day-of-setup - rae events

fall has arrived

2009-10-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

and i could not be happier! i love this time of year, mainly because it means summer is OVER! i love the fall weather, the cool breezes, and the pretty trees - i also love bringing my jeans out of hibernation. one of the biggest reasons i love fall though, is because it means winter is right around the corner! uggs, scarves, hats... mmm, i can't wait! :)

this recent change in weather called for some fall decorating around our little farm house. i really like fall decorating because it's so simple. half of my decorations are just candles! doesn't it just seem so fun to put out lots of candles in the fall more than any other season? i'm not sure why that is... perhaps it's the sudden change in weather and the romantic colors of the trees and leaves, or maybe it's just the delicious maple/walnut/baking/brown-sugar/vanilla chai/candied pecan/sugar cookie scents that we so desire our homes to smell like in autumn...

another reason decorating for fall is so simple is because it's all around us! i love natural elements, so i try to incorporate that into my decorations and fall is a perfect time to do that... i use the same cotton and wheat every year from my father-in-laws fields and store it away in plastic bins. i also use corn and curly willow that i store year after year. it makes for festive and very cheap decorations - which is the most important part to me!

just because autumn conveys a woodsy and outdoorsy feel, does not mean you can't include some sparkles and glitter!

tabletops

i'm not sure why but most of my fall decorations have been purchased on the clearance rack at target at the end of the season. take these pumpkins for example, i bought two boxes of them last year at the end of november for 1.50 each... regularly $7! shopping after the season can be the best way to build up your holiday collection.

what is your favorite thing about fall? happy autumn to each of you and thanks for stopping by!

for me?

2009-10-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

yes, this time it was for me.

for all those faithful readers out there... you have listened to me moan, groan, and complain over the last couple years through my adventure with school. and i thank you. it was a long journey, yes, but one that has quickly (and thankfully) come to a close. on august 10th, i {virtually} attended my last day of school. on september 12th, i walked in the northern california commencement ceremony at the arco arena in sacramento.

(yes, i am a phoenix).

and on september 25th my husband (along with my sister, and the rest of my family), threw me a beautiful graduation party.

i decided that night that i was in the wrong profession. my husband and sister are the ones who belong in the party planning world. just look.

they didn't miss a single detail. the candles,

the lights,

the music, (oh the music! including special selections from the twilight soundtrack! :),

the food, (have i told you about my obsession with appetizers? well, the party was full of the very best ones. bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, artichoke dip, brie, chicken skewers, spinach & feta in phyllo dough. oh the food!),

the drinks (a special cocktail for the evening - lemon drops - my favorite!),

and the desserts (chocolate covered strawberries, creme puffs, and the most beautiful - and delicious - cake with triple berry buttercream filling!)

it was the perfect evening and way to celebrate the ending of a big chapter in both our lives (my husband was just as thankful for me to be done as i was.)

i was so blessed and honored to be a part of such a beautiful night. here are some more fun pics from the evening.

i love this picture of my niece and nephew helping my sister light all the candles for the spa

my sis :)

sweet friends :)

can you see my niece (on the right) in her party dress? she was so excited about it and no doubt, so cute in it.

the party girls :) my mom & sister

fun cocktail tables and graduation paraphernalia

my sweet, sweet husband and i after a wonderful evening

another party

2009-09-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

2009 is the year of the surprise! ...and apparently the year of the "color" themed parties. i recently shared with you my mom's 50th "sparkling & pink" surprise birthday party that i threw with my sister. well, little did my sister know, i was planning a surprise party for her all along with my brother-in-law!

this party was all about 30 and all about ORANGE- my sister's favorite color. it was a family affair, which made it fun! we all pulled together and did different things to make it special for my sister.

the lounge... originally created for the adults, but obviously enjoyed by the sweet (30 some) children at the party!

there was even a custom-made orange plexi coffee table!

the birthday girl finally enjoying an adult (aka margarita) moment in her lounge.

we not only hung tons of chinese lanterns with brown and orange ribbons, but we also hung blown up pictures of my sister from childhood until now. everyone enjoyed the trip down memory lane... graduation pictures, jr high volleyball pictures, riding horses as a little girl with her now sisters and mother-in-law and pictures as recent as our trip to hawaii this summer.

we definitely didn't go short in the food department. :)

it was a fun party... and the best part, my sister was SHOCKED out of her mind! she literally jumped straight in the air, out of her flip-flops... in the end, the anxiety, butterflies, and lies were all worth it for that very moment! happy birthday sister! i love you!!

**edited to add: in my excitement to do this post, i forgot to mention the fun activities at the party, in addition to the purpose of the big screen you saw in some of the pictures! first, my brother-in-law created the most adorable, amazing, and wonderful "happy 30th birthday" video for my sister with my 2 little nieces and nephew. the video was definitely the highlight of the evening... and if i had a copy of it, i would definitely post it here for you to see. later in the evening, once the sun went down, the big screen became the movie theater where we showed karate kid... my sisters favorite movie! the kids loved it... and so did the adults! they pulled the couches over from the lounge and cozied down for the night.

we also started a huge bonfire once the sun went down with all the yummy stuff to make s'mores! another one of my sisters favorite things :) ...the party also included night swimming with two lifeguards on duty (though i'm not sure if anyone besides the kids did any night swimming) ;)

a sparkling 50th surprise

2009-09-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

a long lost hello :) i hope everyone has had a lovely summer! for me, this has been a very full and exciting few months! my husband and i were blessed to spend over three weeks in hawaii with my family and some very close friends. it was a perfect vacation... i mean, really, how can you go wrong in hawaii? as i promised some months ago, i have some fun pictures to share with you. these girly-sparkly-pink pictures are from a surprise birthday party my sister and i threw for our mom. it was a great day with her best girls (no, not just us). :)

a butter-vanilla white cake with almond roca buttercream... seriously? yes, yes.

don't you love lemon bars?

and creme puffs... they are so feminine and delicious!

crystals and diamonds really were the theme behind the whole party... because if you know my mom she LOVES her sparkles!

it was a sweet little luncheon with yummy food, sweet treats, and precious friends. my mom was blessed and at the end of the day, that's all we wanted!

the pre-party at the appetizer table...

hopefully it won't be so long until the next time we meet. but until then, happy september! (can we seriously be 4 months away from ending this year?!)

good-bye

2009-06-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

i'd say it's been a while, huh? sorry about that... guess there is not much to say here on my end. however, i thought i'd give a formal good-bye for the summer...and perhaps longer? we are headed to hawaii for 3 whole weeks and we could not be any more excited!! i guess we will eventually make it back to reality when the time comes, but as of now we are in full vacation mode and i don't see myself coming out of it for a while.

i have some fun pictures from a wedding and from a beautifully sparkly-girlie party my sister and i threw last weekend. perhaps when i am out of vacation mode i will be a bit more interested in my blog? hmm... i don't know. we'll have to see about that. until then, i wish you all a happy memory-filled summer. (that is, if any of you are still poking around here to read this.) :)

for now, i leave you with...... ALOHA

reality

2009-05-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

i feel like a bird in a cage.

but my husband reminded me today that birds still sing even inside their cage.

our birds still find joy in their little cage...my husband said they sing and chirp even though they can't spread their wings as far as they want to.

that's how i want to be.

and i am thankful i have a husband who teaches me that.

i <3 memorial weekend

2009-05-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

for as long as i can remember, it has been tradition for my family to head to the coast on memorial weekend with my grandparents. over the years the numbers have grown, from 6 people in the family, to 7, then 8, to now, a grand total of 11 people. we have almost doubled in size! it is crazy and wonderful... and usually very loud.

i love all holiday's and any excuse to celebrate life, but memorial is definitely one of my favorites because i know i'm headed to the beach! ...and i know i will get some much needed extended quality time with these favorite little ones...

ethan michael - 6 years

grace kathleen - 2.5 years

lana kate - 11 months

i hope you have some fun plans this memorial weekend, even if it is just relaxing around the house and doing yard work... enjoy the small things! see you next week! xoxo

little luncheon

2009-05-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

i had the honor of hosting a luncheon this past weekend with some of my best friends for some of the amazing women in our lives. it was fun. simple. beautiful. and special. really special. here are the invitations...

i loved these cute little lables from michael's

front and back of the invitation

who would have thought a 100+ degree day would be making an appearance in may? it doesn't matter how long i've lived here, i never get used to it.

the hot weather called for lots of iced tea.

thank goodness for shade and breezes...

cost of the invites? free, already had the paper
cost of the decorations? free, i cut them from my yard (except the cute daisies my sister bought me)
cost of the food? a few bucks...we all pitched in.

i am all about cheap and easy these days...and working together with friends not only helps the pocketbook, it really is more fun. the more parties i throw, the more i realize it really is about the company. and not just the company you invite, but the people you throw the party with. it's fun to do things with friends... i'd kind of like to do it more often. and i think i just will. :)

flowers 101: topiary

2009-05-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

a couple weeks ago we made rose topiaries in my floral design class. they were so cute and a lot of fun and actually were really quite simple. we all planned to give them to our mom's for mother's day. it was a great idea. every mom would love it. however, i didn't keep mine alive so well and didn't fancy up the pot like i had planned to. so when i woke up mother's day morning and raced around the house to get out the door, i decided to leave it because it wasn't looking it's BEST. my mom was sad when i told her about it. she said, "i'm sure it's beautiful, i would have loved it." and it's true, she would have. i don't know what got into me, i should have taken it but i didn't. now i'll just have to make her another one...a better one. a prettier one. one i remember to keep alive. :)

these little guys would make great centerpieces for a shower! our topiaries were on the smaller side with only 5 roses, but you could really beef them up and do 10 roses or even 15 carnations. how chic is that?

if you want to give it a try, this is all you need:

fresh flower oasis soaked(1/2 brick depending on container)
sealed container (terra cotta pot with lined-floral foil on the inside or a ceramic pot)
5-10 roses (or flower of your choice. just remember, it must be strong stemmed)
1 piece of curly willow (i would actually like a few pieces of curly willow myself)
1 small piece of twine
several pieces of rafia
spagnum moss
1 thin piece of floral wire

basically, you fill a sealed pot (so the water does not drain out) with oasis. normally the oasis sits about a 1/2 inch above the pot when doing an arrangement, but with a topiary, you want the oasis flush with the top of the pot or even a bit lower because eventually you are going to fill the top with moss and you don't want it falling out.

typically you trim roses at a diagonal because they have strong woody stems. however, for topiaries you want to cut the bottom of the stems as straight as possible, that way they stick straight up in the oasis.

next, you pick your straightest rose to be the center and tallest flower. while holding the rose, slowly add the other roses into your hand, placing them evenly around the tallest/straightest rose. once you think it is even, tie the bouquet with a small piece of twine at the neck of the roses in order to keep them secure.

(see that droopy little rose up there? sad little thing. so you know, the rose is NOT supposed to droop like that. this topiary was a week old and the roses were several weeks old. it should last longer then that if you water it and take care of it.)

the third step is the only step you have to be careful on... take the bouquet of roses, find the middle of the oasis, and push all of the stems down until you get the desired height you are after. you only get ONE shot at this! do NOT take the stems out of the oasis once you have put them in or else you will have a huge hole and the oasis will be unusable. in other words, take your time, pick the best spot and then stick those stems in with all you've got! NEVER LOOKING BACK! :) (ok, it's really not THAT big of a deal, but you get the idea).

once your stems are in, you're good. now it's the fun stuff. take a piece of curly willow, stick it in the oasis near the stems of the roses and wrap it up and around the topiary. as you can see, i wanted my curly willow to peek out the top of the roses...that is because i like silly things like that. most everyone else hid their curly willow between the roses. do whatever you want with it! just make sure that the curly willow wraps up and down the stems the same way. do not criss-cross the curly willow.

take your few pieces of rafia, make a handheld bow leaving a long end so that you can wrap it around the stems at the same angle of the curly willow. once you have the bow attached and the rafia wrapped around the stems, take the small floral wire bend it in to a U shape and place it over the tail of the rafia and stick directly into the oasis. this doesn't have to be fancy, it's just to ensure your rafia is secure.

lastly, take the spagnum moss and submerge into water for a couple minutes. take it out of the water and begin pulling it apart and playing with it. start placing it on top of the oasis and pressing into holes where you need to. it is very important to use spagnum moss for this arrangement as it is the only moss that is alive.

pretty darn simple and really cheap. especially if you have terra cotta pots laying around your house...how cute to have these as centerpieces at a shower or party and let people take them? i know i would love it.

pretty pictures

2009-05-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

i was excited this morning to see some pictures up on the photographer's blog from our bass lake wedding a couple weeks ago. hopefully i will be getting some more detailed shots to share with you soon, but for now, shoot on over there and take a look at this lovely wedding and slide show. i am sure you will enjoy it... plus, she has some awesome engagement shoots like this one, this one and probably my very favorite, this one! what one's your favorite?

add our button to your blog!

2009-05-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

as promised

2009-05-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

we had a lovely wedding this past weekend up in bass lake... while the rain changed the plans and moved the reception indoors, it didn't matter...this place was beautiful! i was able to snap a few pictures once we were done setting up, but of course the photographer's will be much better. once i get some of those, i will do a full preview of the wedding flowers and the gorgeous location. for now, here is a sneak peak of what we did!

one of the three centerpieces

another centerpiece...

these boutonnieres were so fun! i love those little green button mums...

the cake was gorgeous...i kinda wanted to stick my finger in the back of it and taste the frosting... (but i didn't, i promise).

hopefully i will have some more to share with you soon...i am excited to see what the photographer captured. she does some pretty sweet work from what i've seen so far. check her out here.

thanks for stopping by! -rach

custom invites

2009-05-04T13:10:00.001-07:00

my husband is graduating the fire academy in less than four weeks. we are excited to say the least. it has been a wonderful, yet draining four months. i can't begin to express how proud i am of him for all of the hard work he has put into the academy on top of his full-time job. it's been rough. but he's been amazing. anyway, the point of this post is to show you the fun little invites i did to celebrate his big accomplishment!

you can't have a "graduating the fire academy" invitation without some flames. that just wouldn't be right.

busy bees

2009-04-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

lots of things are goin' on around here!! i've been busy designing a few invites (that are super fun), and we've got a big wedding on saturday! in between those fun things, school work, being a good wife, and taking care of our new pet (more to come on that later), there just isn't much time left for blogging. but, i promise i will be back next week with some fun pictures to share! i hope you all have a fantastic weekend! please pray NO rain on saturday...the wedding is OUTDOORS!

a sneak peak at what my next couple days will look like...gonna be up to my ears in these...

lots of these...

this...

and some of this...

happy thursday, friday, and weekend! :)

treasures: before & after

2009-04-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

i obtained this cute, yet weathered little table from my grandparents a few months ago. i have been looking for a bird cage stand for months now and never could find what i was looking for. when my sister and i saw this table at my grandparents, she said, "why don't you use that as your bird cage stand!?" she's so smart.

although i liked the table a lot, it needed a little tlc. my husband secured the top as it was a bit wobbly, and i gave it a little make over with some white paint.

since we've had our cute little birds, they've sat atop these black benches.

say good bye to the benches, and hello to the new bird cage stand

please don't mind all the bird food everywhere. they like to throw it out of their cage. and i'm sorry but i wasn't going to vacuum it up just for this pic. i'm too lazy for that.

yes, please

2009-04-27T10:51:00.001-07:00

these match my house perfectly with the birdcage motif and light blue background...

love the sweet little owls
found at z gallerie

entertaining

2009-04-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

these lanterns are fabulous! although they are nothing new in the retail world, they would be new to my home! i would like a set for some backyard entertaining. and for $15 - $38 bucks, that's not a bad price at all. this cool {NOT HOT} weather just begs for some backyard dinners, doesn't it?

precious, precious & precious!

2009-04-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

look what my husband found this morning? he emailed it to me cause he knew it would make me smile. :)

ahh, if only this little nest was at my house! i just love it. i asked my husband if he could steal it from the dairy and bring it home to me so i could raise the precious little birdies...umm, his answer was no. :) but seriously!! how precious is this little nest and all those eggs? i can hardly stand it!

invites

2009-04-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

i ran across some invitations i did a while back that i never posted about and it's been a while since i've posted something crafty, so i thought it would be a nice little break! i always think it's fun to get ideas and inspiration from invitations, don't you?

the 'cute as a button' theme was for my sisters 2nd baby shower...it was such a cute shower that matched all the bright colors of the invitation...lots of bright gerbera daisies, oranges, and lemons, and limes. too bad we didn't get one picture! why are showers always so crazy?! :)

these invites were so easy! we bought "fill-in-the-blank" packs of invitations at target and printed out the information on colored pieces of paper instead of using the "fill-in-the-blanks." we glued different colored buttons on the top of each invitation as a face, and topped it off with a tiny ribbon and a curly-q drawn on for hair. super easy!

this is a sample invite we used for this fall baby shower. invites had either brown or yellow felt leaves glued on the front.

this invitation is from a baby shower i did a few years ago for my friends first baby shower!

we did one invitation in two colors...the shower was chocolate brown, lime green, and hints of pink and purple.

we layered two pieces of card stock on top of each other and used eyelets and wire to create a mini clothesline.

we used mini-clothespins to hang tiny dresses and bloomers (cut out of green and purple fabrics) from the clothesline. unfortunately, we only cut enough dresses for the invitations that were mailed out to the guests, which meant i never got any for my invitation. (why do i always do that to myself?!) you can imagine a cute little dress hanging up on that clothesline though can't you?

well that's all for now! if you'd like to see any more invitations or custom paper design, you can find it here!

are you ready?

2009-04-18T12:32:00.001-07:00

and coming soon. tuesday's forecast, lemoore, ca: 100 degrees. need i remind you that it's april? i am not ready. my house is not ready. my husband is not ready. the real question begs, will we ever be ready for 100? lol. i can't even answer this.

our humble home has no ac and no fan in our bedroom (have i ever told you my husband and i are sleeping inferno's?). alls we've got is a swamp cooler that hasn't been used in months, which will most definitely reek of polliwogs. to do list?

-hose out the swamp cooler
-buy a fan for bedroom

so my question is, are you ready for 100?

today

2009-04-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

i am thankful for these 3 things

1- the windy cold weather so i {have} to wear a scarf
2- nature walks
3- coffee to keep me warm on the walk

our easter

2009-04-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

contained a little bit of this...

a lot of this...

(check out the pink boots!!)

i have 2 favorite progressions of the kiddos while hunting eggs...first is grace. check this out:

what you can't tell is she literally walked like this for at least a minute. i think she was trying to scare the egg or something. maybe she was trying to sneak up on it??

a little more sneaking...

proudly turns to show everyone that she conquered the egg!!

and she bounces away with her pony-tail flying in the wind....amazing.

here is my next favorite set...this time with ethan.

so i tried to hide an egg high up in a tree cause i knew ethan would love that. i honestly thought he would ask his dad to help him. but boy was i wrong, this boy is a problem-solver! ethan didn't even think twice before grabbing a stick and going after that egg...

look how perfect that stick is!

voila!

do you like our hobbit hut?

here's lana making her famous face of the day...she's only 9 months, but she wanted to hunt those eggs. i could feel it.

gracie 2 1/2 years old...as sassy as she is cute.

some of this...

even grandma enjoyed it :)

A LOT of this (eating that is...)

the kids enjoyed lots of this...

it was a beautiful day!

don't you love our wind-beaten blossoms? boy that wind was ROUGH! but who cares, this day was all about family, the kids, and yummy food. just bein' honest here folks! i'm not sure how many times these vases flew over... i stopped counting after 1/2 the table cloth was drenched in water. lol

lana was content with her one EMPTY easter egg. :)

some of us did this...

and we all did this...

thank you jesus for dying for us. thank you for giving us life and love and family. you are the best gift ever.

i got caught

2009-04-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

my cute husband secretly snapped some photos of me when i was out picking weeds... er, i mean flowers in our front yard (aka the wheat field) for the easter table. i was chatting with my mom on the phone, while trying to balance on the border without falling into the wheat which had a couple feet of water in it, while also trying to cut the flowers. it was quite interesting...

i kind of had to jump back. lol

although i almost fell into the water one time, you can see that i eventually triumphed. thank you mother nature for producing such pretty weeds. so, what did you do on your easter tables?

progress

2009-04-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

remember this?

after a few hours in the yard, we now have this:

now that the friendly weeds are gone,

i just have to decide what to put in their place... flowers, huh? but what kind? any suggestions?

i have never liked dirt so much.

spring break

2009-04-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

although i don't get a spring break (don't feel bad for me, i'll finish one week sooner than all the rest of you punks! oh, wait, my program goes through the summer too. well, sucks for me.) anyway, although i personally don't get a spring break from school, i love spring break this year. i love it with my whole heart. why, you ask? because i get to have dinner and cook with my husband 8 nights in a row!! that means we get to hang out before the sun goes down!! that my friends is glorious in the fire-academy world.

today we decided to go on a little run together. because of spring break, we are both missing our weekly work outs which is NOT good...in other words, it's now on US to get a work out or not. ugh. i hate when it's up to me. so, we decided to take a jaunt around the ranch. jamesy ran a little faster than me (okay, a lot faster), while i hung back, took my time, enjoyed my music (thank you sister for being the best dj ever), while enjoying the scenery.

at one point, i looked ahead and james wasn't in front of me anymore. i looked all around and saw his little body directly across the field from me. geez, he had already gone up, over, and back down the field...he's a fast little critter. i wasn't pressured at all, just enjoyed the beautiful day out there...i soon finished the 'gone-up' part, and was now working on the "over" part and couldn't even see james at all anymore. i was running directly next to a wheat field when i looked down and saw all these tiny little daisies! yes, you might say they are weeds, but i say they are lovely. i paused the run for a quick second to grab as many of these daisies as i could. i continued running with iPod in one hand (wish i owned a shoulder strap), and daisies in the other. quite a while later, james came running back towards me to get a longer run in. i looked up and saw him dying laughing. dying laughing as he watched his wife run toward him with a bouquet full of "weeds." glad i can still amuse him after all these years. (ok, really just 7).

now that the pretty weeds are arranged on our dining room table, i get to go tackle the REAL weeds in the yard. not looking forward to it so much.... hmmm...

(mom, this double post is for you. i'm sure you are happy to see me back to the happy postings! well, i hope you are thinking about me at the beach. i will enjoy my daisies here in the valley while you enjoy the ocean. for some reason that just doesn't seem fair...)

cure for the bleh's

2009-04-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

so i realize i haven't posted since my "bleh" day... it's not that i have been feeling that way for a week, it's just that i've just been busy, and quite honestly haven't felt like blogging. do you ever feel that way?

so, after a case of the bleh's, i went outside to pick myself some more flowers. for me, enjoying god's creation is definitely one way to get rid of those bleh's quickly. and we all know i love flowers. :) i have to say, i am real happy with this lilac tree. it is still blooming incredibly!!

(please don't look at the yucky door frame that is missing the molding. yuck, yuck, yuck.)

i love having fresh flowers next to my bed...it is so cheerful! (and smells good too!)

we have NO counter space in the bathroom. literally, the only counter space is ON the sink. lol but i still managed to get some fresh flowers in the there.

bleh

2009-04-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

i'm having one of those days. it's not that i did anything wrong, i'm just having one of those days. i went to bed at a reasonable time last night (even got to go to bed WITH my husband, not 5 hours later), had a great nights sleep (9 hours!), woke up, had coffee, went to aerobics and had an amazing, kick-my-butt workout, and came home. but since then, this day has just felt weird...do you ever have those days? i am motivated yet un-motivated, i am energized yet i am sleepy...what the heck?! today has been a good day and yet i just feel kind of annoyed and BLEH. i hate that! i don't want to feel BLEH, i want to feel happy and energized and joyful...what do you do when you feel this way?

it must be bad when i do a post without any pictures. you know how much i HATE doing posts without pictures.

i sure hope i am out of this funk tomorrow.

i miss you.

2009-04-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

there comes a time when the almond trees must grow and produce a fruit, but i'm just not ready. why does the blossom season have to be so short?

for some shocking reason, the green leaves just aren't as inspiring as the blossoms.

flowers 101: easter arrangement

2009-03-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

i definitely do not win the award for best tutorials. i want you to know though, that i do have the best intentions in doing the tutorials...it just never works out so well.

this week we designed a long-and-low (horizontal) table arrangement for easter since we don't have class next monday. that means i have to try and keep this puppy alive for 2 weeks. eeek.

step 1: start with an empty bowl/vase

step 2: i forgot to snap a pic of the oasis without the greenery. so here is a pic after some stragglers got in there. this week we used multiple greenery's. i used leather and salal (lemon-leaf).

step 3: we were told to use A LOT of greenery this time. unlike other weeks, this week the greenery was our friend. :) however, you still don't want it too long...it can never be longer than your flowers.

step 4: insert filler. see those little white berry looking things? i really like them. unfortunately my flower instructor couldn't remember the name of it. :)

step 5: insert 3 carnations to create the line in the arrangement.

step 6: insert 2 more carnations to create the horizontal "long-and-low" look we are going for.

i missed pics on the next couple steps... oops.

step 7: sorry. insert the purple pom-pom daisies sporadically around the arrangement to give it the rounded feel. we weren't looking for a spiky arrangement.

step 8: insert filler flower. i used a lovely filler called lavender wax flower. (it's those tiny little pink flowers)

step 9: begin inserting tulips for color and line

step 10: 3 tulips total are entered

step 11: insert 2 roses for additional color and line in the arrangement.

step 12: insert the focal flower of the arrangement. we used 3 yelloween oriental lilies for this arrangement. fortunately for me, the lilies haven't even started to open so hopefully they will be perfect for easter!

step 13: insert bear grass for a whimsy, ethereal feel.

step 14: i came home and decided to insert some curly willow into mine. why the heck not. :)

so what will you be putting on your easter table? fresh flowers? egg cups? branches? birds? please share! give us all some inspiration!

when i grow up

2009-03-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

i want a big pretty tree like this in my front yard. (that is, if i don't live here anymore.)

these blossoms smell amazing! i wish the tree lasted all year round. :) cheers to another monday...

god lives in the rays

2009-03-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

this is all i need some days to be inspired and filled with hope.

i'm real thankful i live here, in an oak-tree, bird haven. i feel god when i walk down this pathway.

yummy combination

2009-03-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

i am very excited for this upcoming wedding in may... isn't the color palette fabulous?? yay for fresh colors and fun brides!

flowers 101: symmetrical bouquet

2009-03-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

i am really disappointed. i planned on providing a full photo-tutorial of this weeks arrangement and my lovely phone died shortly after the second step. ugh! i guess you will just have to be creative and fill in the 30 steps i didn't get pictures of. :)

step 1: pick your straightest flower to determine the highest point of the arrangement. (again, carnations were our skeleton, but this would work well with roses or other strong-stemmed flowers. it all depends on your budget.)

step 2: use the same flower from step one to create the triangle skeleton of the arrangement. insert one flower on opposite sides, parallel to the table. this step creates the boundaries of the arrangement. nothing will go outside of these three flowers.

step 3: because the carnations acted as the skeleton of this bouquet, 3 additional carnations were added to the middle in order to create uniformity and the desired rounded flow we're going for.

step 4: small pieces of greenery were added to cover the oasis. for this particular arrangement, i used leather, myrtle, and either pittosporum or rhamnus (i can't remember!). greenery is never taller than the flowers. remember, when customers buy a bouquet they are buying the flowers, not the greenery.

step 5: two tulips are added where holes exist in the bouquet.

step 6: the focal flower is added. in this arrangement it's a rose.

step 7: lastly, the filler flower is added, which in this case was aster, or novi belguim, september flower, monte casino...whatever you wanna call it. (i used white aster and purple in my arrangement. i started with just the white and it felt so boring so i added one stalk of purple for a small punch!) sporadically place the aster to fill in the "empty" spaces.

step 8: a finished arrangement.

i had to include two close-ups of what i thought were by far the best flowers in the arrangement. my husband and i have decided that parrot-tulips might possibly be our new favorite flower. don't they look like little dragons?

hopefully next week i will have a full step-by-step (with pictures) tutorial of our easter arrangements for you. thanks for stopping by and happy arranging!

treasures: wine cooler

2009-03-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

we didn't register for a wine cooler when we got married. we weren't big into wine then. shame on us.

so i was real happy when i got this piece a few months ago...hand-crafted by my grandpa's sister. so, now we too have a wine cooler. and it's got a lot more heritage than this one.

ps. i also love how it matches our new tureen.

treasures: ceramics

2009-03-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

we love to eat soup. soup of all kinds, but particularly home-made soups. my grandma knows (and appreciates) our passion for soup, so i was touched when she passed down this beautiful ceramic tureen to me.

i have yet to use this inherited vessel but i can't wait for fall to come so we can try it out. it is the very first tureen for this soupy-family. can you believe that?

do you like soup? what's your favorite recipe? do share! i would love to try it out. (although i will ashamedly admit that i will probably change a few ingredients. i'm a little silly like that).

farm sink

2009-03-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

while you might expect to see a sink similar to this in a farm house, these little beauties have become quite the rage in non-farm houses. and it's obvious as to why people oooo and aaahh over these things. i mean, just look...

(i love this kitchen. love this kitchen. those open air shelves are amazing. and can we talk about those glass cupboard doors. gorgeous! so fresh, clean, and airy. love, love, LOVE! ...i also love the yellow, black, and white kitchen above. that is too cute.)

ok...speaking of fresh, clean, and airy. ummm, HELLO!! i know my mom is going to love this kitchen, as do i. it is like shappy-chic perfection. and really, it's not necessary, but i would LOVE a double sink. lol

another kitchen i would love to cook in.

so here is the deal. i am coming to you again for some help. we have a farm sink in our sweet little farm house. it is different than these pictured above (and is authentic and old might i add) with the bottom portion of the sink crafted out of metal. we have been debating {again} as to what color to paint the metal portion. we could obviously paint it white, but why in the world would we want to do that?! before i tell you our latest thoughts on what color to paint it, i would like your true and honest suggestions. (of course because you did so good the last time!)

you see all the grey and rust colored looking primer? all of that will be painted. there are also four doors that will be hung once they are painted...one door on each side and two in the middle (to hide that ugly trash can!) each drawer has a stainless steel handle just in case you would like to know.

ok, so tell me...what color do you think we should paint our farm sink? fyi - our kitchen is primarily yellow and white with black and khaki accents. and the fridge of course.

**updated to say: what kitchen would you choose from above?

flowers 101: week 3

2009-03-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

this was definitely by far my favorite week so far in floral design. i finally i got my hands on some lover-ly flowers like these hybrid lilies. and tulips... well, who doesn't love tulips. curly willow is always one of my fav's so that was exciting too. some carnations still snuck their way in there...but that's ok. they are cute and peppermint-y looking. i'll let them stay.

green treats

2009-03-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

happy st. patrick's day to all you irish (& non irish) people out there. i have always loved st. patrick's day. for one reason specifically. from the time i can remember, my mom would take my sister and i to mc d's after school to get a shamrock shake. it is the best. the best.

her and i look forward to it every year. we usually have at least 2 or 3. well, what did mc donald's decide to do this year? not bring back the shamrock shake. what the heck is up with that? i don't understand why they would take something so minty and glorious and not so unhealthy away. i googled 'shamrock shake' and learned that my sister and i (and her poor kids who were SO looking forward to it) aren't the only ones annoyed about the whole thing.

enough of my venting.... my husband has to take dinner to the fire house tonight where he volunteers. so, in honor of st. patty's day i made a couple little treats for him to take to those hard working fire fighters. :)

some fudgy brownies with reese cups on top...all men love chocolate and peanut butter right?

i kind of happened upon these little cake cubes... i actually had some un-frosted chocolate cake left over from something else so i decided to cube it up and make some green frosting to make it festive. i think these men will be happy. :)

happy st. patrick's day! sorry if you are a fellow shamrock shake lover. i am getting ready to write a letter. i am not happy!

well, i took your advice

2009-03-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

remember this bad boy?

well, after a little of this...

we were ready to go. (my cute mom came out to help me...there she is taping off the fridge. you go girl).

3 & 1/2 cans of "sea glass" (robin egg blue) spray paint later and we had a finished product. see for yourself...

(i was not going to show you this next picture due to the incomplete projects it exposes. that is, until i realized what a good picture it is of the fridge. so, i have laid down my pride and i am showing you the picture as much as it pains me...

...notice the trim on the right-hand side that has yet to be painted? oh wait, you DIDN'T notice? good. you're a good friend. :)

so what do you think? it's partially because of YOU that our fridge is painted this color. what do you have to say for yourselves?? all i have to say is THANK YOU. i am SO glad you talked me into the teal and OUT of the black. i love, love, LOVE this color. it is definitely my new favorite spray paint. now i just have to find other projects to paint...

real wedding: part III

2009-03-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

remember this fishy shower with these whimsy invitations? well, featured below is that lovely girl's wedding. this wedding was gorgeous! i am a bit partial seeing as the wedding was for my beautiful cousin and because i am in love with that teal/orange combination, but still. anyone in their right mind would say the details of this wedding were nothing shy of perfection.

the orange roses paired with the mini orange orchids were stunning. the orchids definitely brought in that "beachy" feel my beautiful cousin wanted. and aren't those floor vases incredible? if you can't tell, the vases were filled with shells most of the way with a white starfish suspending from the top. it was a subtle, clean way to bring in that look she wanted and i think it was executed perfectly!

the unity candle table resembled the gorgeous floral pieces with the floating starfish.

this is my favorite moment! a happy {and beautiful} bride and groom!

ok... now, on to the the reception! :)

a few goldfish livened up the bar area

miniature versions of the floral pieces from the wedding adorned half of the tables. can we say exquisite?! i loved that coral piece on the bottom with that gorgeous teal raw silk!

the venue (via verde country club) had a beautiful mantle and fire place. it's one of those things that you can't ignore because well, it's permanent. so instead of fighting against it, you gotta work with it. coral and goldfish tied it in well with the rest of the decor.

these have definitely become the hit of the party these days, right? i don't care how many times i see it, it is still just as fun!

check out those seashell vases. so cool! and vases with coral etched into the glass? we found those at tuesdaymorning for only $15 bucks a piece! look how huge those things are! it was a steal.

lastly...the scrumptious wedding cake. just looking at this thing makes my mouth water...look at that buttercream! WOW! and it was as tasty as it looks.

real wedding: part II

2009-03-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

while i was organizing the blog the other night and looking through some of the archives, i realized i never finished up this wedding. i promised details and never followed through. well, i thought i'd switch things up today and do just that! enough of spring decorating...let's look at a fabulous wedding!

the wedding was obviously teal and orange in color with a nod to a 'beach' theme. these plexi boxes with the beach glass that held the escort cards are genius. i love them.

the "coral" you see above was actually flexible tree branches (i think from pier1?) that were spray painted to look like coral. i told you spray paint was amazing.

guest book table with all that luscious fabric. i heart that color.

each table was named after a beach that the bride & groom love. there was a beautiful pic on every table of the beach that went with that table.

this was a fun candy bar! and this thing got RAIDED. the reception had not even started and people were filling their boxes as full as they could go. most popular? home-made chocolate shells and the blue gummy sharks. who would've thought? more to come...

(apparently pictures cannot be viewed in internet explorer when uploaded from picasa albums. umm, that's stupid. this post has been updated to reflect the pictures that should have been included with the original posting).

before & after: spring crafts

2009-03-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

with a few simple materials, i gave a much-needed update to some of these older, plain, or just not-so-good-looking pieces:

before

after

most of you probably have these materials just laying around your house waiting to be used on a fun project...

spray paint. this is one of my favorite crafty items because you can easily update the look of something just by changing its color. and for $4, that's a cheap makeover.

a little spray paint love...

before

after

glitter. thanks to my mom, glitter holds a very special place in my heart. over the years she has been nick-named the glitter queen, and rightly so. she just does glitter right. back to the point, i wanted some new birds for my springy-decor, so of course, i headed straight to michael's. they had some plain birds for $2+ and had similar glittery birds for $4+. instead of paying michael's to pre-glitter my birds, i bought the plain ones and decided to glitter my own! i saved almost $10 by buying the plain birds and using glitter i already had at home.

(i always swear that i will never use the iPhone again for pics and yet i keep coming back to it. convenience is such a nasty evil.)

before

after

i simply painted the tacky glue on the birds with a paint brush and then sprinkled the glitter over the glue. i did each bird differently....some were covered completely in glitter, while some just got a glittery tail. don't be afraid to do things your own way. that's what creativity is all about!

before

after

happy decorating!

tabletops: spring has sprung!

2009-03-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

on this side of the world, spring is in the air. i see lots of windows down when i'm driving, smiles on faces, and already, i have seen lots of flip flops. people love spring. it's like a new beginning, a fresh start. i think it makes people happy; energizes some, gives hope to others, and flat-out brightens most peoples' day.

as soon as the blossoms started popping out a couple weeks ago, i could hardly wait to decorate. in all honesty, i just wanted to chop down some of those bloom-filled almond trees and bring them inside my house. but that would be bad. very bad. so instead, i decided to get crafty. i did NOT want to spend a lot of money. instead, i wanted to use what i had already. so that's exactly what i did. i went shopping in our cellar (i love old houses) and in our back room and found lots of treasure worthy decorations. i made one quick trip to michael's for spray paint, new birds, and fun lil butterflies. about $15 later, some branches, a pile of junk, a few bottles of glitter and a couple cans of spray paint, spring has officially sprung in the trig's household.

scrap branches i found in the "burn" pile at our house, paired with smallstumps birch tubes. a freshly painted bird cage with those fun wired butterflies i found at michael's sit on faux grass i already had (i think it was from michael's as well).

cute little guy

i originally wanted to hang the bird cages from the ceiling with fishing line, but due to the "old house" issues, i decided it was best to not hang them. (although i very much wanted to). i did not want all three bird cages sitting directly on the table and i definitely did not want them to be at the same height. so i had to get creative. how could i elevate the bird cages without putting holes in the ceiling? i decided to use some of the clear square and rectangle vases i have by filling them with faux mossy stones and placing them on their sides with the bird cages on top. then the entire entry table was covered in spanish moss along and of course some more branches. :)

i feel like i always struggle trying to come up with a center piece for our coffee table. our coffee table is directly in front of our tv (as most people's are), so to do a tall centerpiece would just be silly (especially because we have an extremely low couch). but for whatever reason, coming up with a low centerpiece for this table just isn't easy for me. i always feel like they look silly and i end up taking apart whatever it is that i made. that is until this project... i really love how this little centerpiece turned out. it just makes me happy. and in the end, that's what it's all about, right? i don't know about you, but that's the only reason i decorate my house. because i love it and it makes me smile each time i see every little detail.

the moss, mushrooms, and bird combination is just so earthy and raw, yet cutesy too with those glittery butterflies, isn't it? i love it.

this tree was born out of an idea to bring springy colors into the house. i saw some lovely branches outside and thought it would be fun to turn one into a tree. i had this silly idea to hang circles of different colored paper from the tree to resemble the spring and easter season. after a couple days of thinking about it, i remembered that i had some old scrap-book paper in just the perfect colors! i wasn't sure how it would turn out so i just went for it. and i am so glad i did...i just love it. it's so playful and silly...goes well with all the butterflies and birds flying around the living room. :)

it's hard to tell, but i actually spray painted this entire tree a khaki color. i was curious as to how it would turn out as compared to the natural brown branches. result? i love the color and i especially love it up against my blue walls. there is something about chocolate brown, blue, khaki, and white that just works. it works well. the problem is, on these skinny branches, it's hardly noticeable unless you know i painted it. conclusion? waste of $4, waste of 1 hour painting, and waste of losing the feeling in my index finger for 1 week.

here is the moss i harvested from the roof-top! so far so good, i am keeping it alive as much as i can tell. i am definitely keeping those sprouty-weeds alive that's for sure...they just keep growing! the first thing i did was fill the ceramic bowl with small rocks, then placed the moss on top so that it would act as a drainage system. i decided if the moss doesn't do well, i'll just go harvest some more.

my MIL bought a dozen farm eggs for us last year and i just about screamed when i opened the container. who knew eggs could be so cute? light brown, dark brown, cream, green. lord knows we couldn't throw those shells away! so what did that mean? it meant me blowing all the egg out of each shell. i then soaked them overnight in bleach water in order to clean the "raw" eggy out of the shell. they are now ready to be used for spring decorating! (btw, i do not recommend blowing eggs. my cheeks hurt for one month afterward. surely michael's has to have good enough faux farm eggs, right?)

when you are short on counter space, you even decorate your stove.

these are so cute aren't they? my mom gave them to me last easter. :)

she also gave me these fluffy chicks...i love them sooo much. i wish i had 5 more of them.

so how 'bout that! why don't you pull out some of those old treasures that you've stuffed away, grab some spray paint, glitter, and that ever-faithful glue gun, and spring-up your home! more than anything, i hope you're inspired to take a step outside to see how you can bring some of the outdoors in. after all, it will be 107 degrees out (in the central valley at least) before you know it and all you will want to do is shut the outside OUT.

happy spring and happy decorating. :)

treasures: bird cage

2009-03-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

don't let imperfections postpone time with loved ones... the quirks are what make it memorable.

i heard that quote from something on tv yesterday. it was referring to the home and i thought it was so good. i need to remind myself of that more often. nothing will ever be perfect. there will always be something i want to change/fix/etc. but i can't let those little things steal away from what is most important... family, friends, life, love, memories... it's just not worth waiting until you have the PERFECT home in order to entertain and live fully and happily. it's just not worth it. who knows what will happen between now and then. life throws crazy curve balls and i am learning that more and more. so don't let the little things, the imperfections, postpone time with your loved ones. those are truly the most valuable treasures in life.

as for tangible treasures, today's treasure is something i found about a year ago at a local antique shop in visalia. i was planning a baby shower with some friends for my sister and her 3rd bird. i mean baby, yes baby. since it was her 3rd, the theme, 'another little birdie joins the nest' was a given. with that kind of theme you would obviously expect to see bird houses, nests, and possibly birds? ah, yes, real birds. real, cute, sweet, little finchie birds. oh, sorry. back to the treasures. so, i went on a hunt for fun bird houses/cages for the shower. i found a lot of really cool antiquey bird houses at one antique store but they were a little too pricey for my liking. so i kept looking.

one day as i was driving to work, i decided to turn down a different side street (i like being random like that. i like to switch things up. especially when it delivers such an excellent outcome as it did in this story.) as i turned down the street, i noticed an antique store i had never seen before. it's nestled back off of main street and i fear often missed because of its odd location. i immediately noticed multiple birdcages. of course i pulled over. this lady had treasures goin' on for days, let me just tell you. it was extremely cluttered, but then again, what antique store isn't?? i found some not-so-good birdcages that i was considering, until i came across these. how many cages do you see there my friends...?

four cages in one? yes please, i will take them all thank you very much. i think the lady was asking $45 for them and i walked out spending $30. ahh, the joys of antique shopping. these were exactly what we needed for the shower. and four for the price of $30? $7.50 a piece...not too bad if i say so myself. :) i have recently given these bird cages a make over for my spring decorating. can't wait to show you.
if you haven't read the story of the real-live-birdie's from the shower, you must take 2 minutes to do so. it's a heroic tale of a husband that loves his wife so much that with some determination and a steady hand, he became a bird-catcher.

before & after: living room

2009-03-05T01:00:00.000-08:00

last week (or the week before), i showed you the before and after pics of our bedroom. well, now it is time for the living room! i really, really, really wish i would have gotten "before" pictures before the painter started. the walls were soooo dirty. so just imagine all the before pictures with grimy tan-colored (from all the dirt) walls, ok? shall we begin?

starting off at the very edge of the room is the nasty threshold between the kitchen and the living room.

before

after

here is a picture just a few steps into the living room from the kitchen (don't mind all the appliances in the middle of the room. the flooring in the kitchen was being laid and the walls were being painted. so all the kitchen junk was moved to the living room).

before

after

this is where the heater sat (and currently sits) in the living room...look at the difference in the carpet. yuck.

before

after

i love our heater. keeps us nice and warm. :)

this picture was taken from standing in the kitchen, peering through the living room, looking at the master bedroom door.

before

after

this view is from the opposite side of the living room looking at the door frame that leads into the kitchen. (the black circle in the right hand corner is what our "fireplace" plugs into.)

before

after

i love our double fan. :)

ah, our guest book. i actually like reading this. people wrote such funny (& surprisingly long) things!

i do apologize for not getting more "before" pictures. i really didn't do a good job of that. nonetheless, here are some more angles and views of the room without before pics.

this picture is taken from standing in the master bedroom door frame looking into the living room (obviously).

a shot of the entire room

this is technically our front door, but is actually our back door. (does that make sense?) we rarely use this door, except for when we sit on that cute park bench (i think i have sat there one time), or when we eat lunch at the picnic table (which i plan on doing much more often in this lovely weather).

there is our sweet little rickety picnic table, with the glorious blooming almond trees right behind it. makes for a wonderful view at lunch time. :) (i also must say that i love this door. it's so old. and so fragile. and i heart it so very much. where can you find doors like this these days?).

here is our entry table that my crafty husband built for me. (i should have gotten a better picture of it because it is fabulous. for that i am sorry.) and yes, those are all self portraits you see. we have no kids.

look at his craftsmanship...he is such a perfectionist. and for that i am thankful :)

apparently we do have one picture in our home other than ourselves. of course it is of our 3 favorite precious-munchkins.

it would NOT be right to do an entire post of the living room and not show where the birds live. there is this little corner right to the side of the entertainment center where they fit perfectly. for now their cage sits atop these two (of four) benches which were hand-made for us as a wedding gift that we love. however, i don't really LOVE them as a bird-cage stand. we have a cute little white table (from my grandma of course) that will hold them perfectly, we just haven't had time to "clean it up."

hope you enjoyed visiting our home yet once again. i wish i had the curtains hung for you to see (and for my own sake. can anyone say privacy?), but ah well, what are you gonna do. there are always more important things on the list.

who needs PB?

2009-03-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

directly out our back door (which is actually the front door from where we park), is a barn. a big old barn. (that is so lovely).

attached to the barn is a little room. it used to be the milk man's something rather, but i can't remember.

the roof of that little room is old. and i have always noticed that it looked somewhat mossy, but i never checked it out up close. well, friday afternoon my hubby got the ladder out and i got up there to check it out for myself.

boy oh boy, that roof is covered in moss. i couldn't believe my eyes! (and my father-in-law couldn't believe how excited i was about that.)

i used his little scraper to carefully remove some of the moss off the roof and told my husband all i needed to do now was find the perfect place for it in our home. i realize it's probably really weird to some people to want to bring moss into their home. but hey, people BUY moss like crazy these days (myself included), so to get it for FREE is awesome! i'm not complaining that's for sure. :)

some old treasures. i love walking around out there...it's like a small museum.

i especially love this old radio flyer.

i found the perfect spot for my "live" moss in some of my spring decorating (hopefully to be posted tomorrow). now we just have to wait and see how long this lovely moss will live. (out of its element that is).

one week ago

2009-03-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

i showed you this.

the blossoms had started but were very random. some trees had 'em, some trees didn't.

just one week later and the trees are covered in lovely white blossoms. nature sure moves fast, doesn't it?

please excuse the bad quality pictures. i have been too lazy to take my camera outside and have been using my phone instead. lame i know.

i had a fun weekend with lots of crafting time. i have been inspired to spring-up our house so i worked on accomplishing that goal. :) i was planning on posting some pics but it will just have to wait as i haven't finished yet. last night we were down at the pet ER with one of our little finchies (yes I called him a finchie not a finch) because we thought he broke his foot. :( he is home now but still in a delicate stage. he can't even be with the other birds right now. it was a sad night. and my house looks like it threw up pastels and branches. hopefully it will look better once it's actually decorated with this stuff! i hope you had a great weekend!

PS- are you excited for the bachelor finale tonight?! cannot wait.