Get Crafty

I'm not likely to get much crafting done this Christmas, what with another move on the way, but I still posted some of my favorite finds from around the Interwebs over on Potential Projects. Give it a look!

What crafty plans do you have in the works this season?

Kitschy Calendars

I mentioned a while back that I'm going to showcase my love for vintage, kitschy decor when we move into our new place. One of my latest additions to the stockpile of items I've been collecting are these old perfectly aged fabric calendars.


The 1975 one (Mark's birth year) is my most recent Etsy purchase, from DollFood. The 1981 one (for my birth year) was a gift from my mom, from another Etsy seller. It's hard to see from the full length shots, but they're both accented with sequins.


A little kooky, I know. Certainly not everyone's cup of tea. But they've got a great vintage look and fun, bright colors. And they sparkle, and everyone knows that sparkles are the new black (name that children's tv show reference)! I plan to hang them in our dining area, front and center on the wall behind the dining room table. Now just to find a couple other things to put with them...

Yum

Hope you're enjoying your Turkey Day. I know I am.



Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude

I was digging around, looking for some Thanksgiving-related quotes and found these:

Not the lovey-dovey sayings you were expecting right? Me neither. But reading them really sent a shock through me about how little I express my gratitude to people in my life. Particularly to the women who make it so wonderful.

I'm grateful to be surrounded by a group of friends who pray for me and my family, even though I haven't made it to our Bible study in months. Friends who buy rings for my little girl, just because. And who take her for early morning walks to get chocolate milk and look at slugs.

I'm grateful to have a nanny that loves my little girl like she was her own. A nanny who never complains about sticking around if Mark and I are running late. A nanny who tidied my house and entertained my daughter while the house was on the market. And who teaches Charlotte to say please and thank you.

I'm grateful to have sisters-in-law who are always thinking of us. Who fill in as babysitter at a moment's notice. Who step up as family photographer for every special event. Who wrangle all the children during family gatherings. Who pass tons of cute girl clothes my way.

I'm grateful to have a sister who is also my best friend. Who I get to hang out with at work and at home. Who gave up half her room (ok, a little more than half) so my family would have a place to stay for a while. Who is quick to pick up Starbucks for me and paint my little one's nails.

And I'm grateful to have a mom who is a fantastic role model. Who doles out advice with nothing but the best in mind. Who takes pictures of Charlotte even when I forget to. Who spends hours trying to get her to bed when I can't deal anymore. And who always puts her children before herself.

I'm beyond blessed.

Christmas Cards

For Charlotte's first Christmas we included a photo of her in a standard card. The photo was cute, but overall the card felt a little generic. For Charlotte's second Christmas (last year), I handmade cards that included a photo of her on them. Not to pat myself on the back, but I think they turned out great! They stood out and really showcased her adorable mug. But, they were ridiculously time-consuming and required easy access to my craft supplies. I'm short on both time and supplies this year because of our move.

As a result I started this holiday season undecided on what to do about Christmas cards. Should I slip a photo in a card like year one? Try to pull together enough time and supplies like year two? After checking out the selection at shutterfly.com I'm choosing option three, purchasing holiday photo cards.

I've used Shutterfly to order prints in the past and was more than pleased with the quality, price and speed of delivery, so I have high hopes that this year's Christmas card process will go equally as smoothly. I've still got my work cut out for me though, because Shutterfly has tons of options. First up, the flat photo cards:



Of the 300+ options, the four above are among my favorites (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right). I love that there's so much variation in design, from classical and traditional to hip and modern, and the choice to use a single photo or multiple. There are similar choices for the folded cards below (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right), not to mention the option to include photos and a personal message on the inside of the card.


Have you checked out Shutterfly's offerings? Which are your faves? And don't forget to peruse their non-holiday card selection. I'm considering some of the calendars, address labels and gift tags. So cute!

Photo Shoot

Mark and I spent a little time after church yesterday taking a few photos of Charlotte for our Christmas cards. I did the actual picture-taking and Mark did the Chuck-wrangling. He definitely had the harder job!

I was excited to snag what I think is the perfect Christmas card photo! Now I just have to pick out cards, which may be difficult since there are so many that I like. Maybe I'll show you some options tomorrow. For now, here are some (unedited) shots from our "photo shoot" that won't be gracing our cards, but are adorable nonetheless.


Want to see more of Charlotte's outdoor antics? Check out my mom's blog.

Walt Disney World in Pictures

So we're three weeks past our Disney trip (has it really only been that long?!) and it occurs to me that I've yet to go through my pictures. Which is especially sad because there's only 187 of them. Yup. There were over 1200 on Charlotte's first trip and a scant 187 from this one. And of those 187, this is the one I like best:


I know, I know. Pretty pathetic. Neither girl is looking at the camera. They're not doing anything especially exciting (although they occupied themselves with that little puddle for quite a while). And there's nothing that really shows that you're in Walt Disney World, unless you're well-versed in Disney trash cans. Which I am. (10 points to anyone who can identify the location!)

The only excuse I have for the lack of photos is that a Disney trip with a 2 year old is hard. I mean really hard. I majorly underestimated how difficult it'd be to wrangle her. That combined with the heat just made it too difficult to lug out the camera. Ah well, there's always next time.

But, since I've got nothing to show for this trip, check out this adorable video of Chuckles on her last Disney trip, when she was just 16 months old. So cute!!

Peter Pan: Etsy Style

We've spent lots of time watching Peter Pan as of late (the live action version, not the animated classic). It's one of Charlotte's favorites and she asks for it regularly. Here are a few etsy finds that remind me of the movie:


Thank You Notecards by Whimsy Whimsical
Arrows by Sweetshorn Vintage
Blue print by Kathy Hare
Cloud Mug by Karin Lorenc
Pocket Watch Book Page by Black Baroque
Spyglass Charm Necklace by Earring Nation

P.S. With Two Cats is doing an awesome giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to Tiny Prints. Check it out.

Bedtime

I mentioned in Monday's post that I'm looking forward to Charlotte's new room, complete with big girl bed. Well, we're actually on the hunt for a big girl bed now.

She's passed the height recommendations on the crib (something I only noticed when we had to partially disassemble it to get it in my parents' house), but even more importantly than that, Chuckles seems to prefer sleeping in a bed loaded with blankets and pillows to cuddle with. We're trying to make everything as comfortable for her as possible, since she hasn't taken to the move very easily. And we're hoping that getting her accustomed to a new bed now and taking that new bed to our next house might soften the blow of the move and help her adjust a little better.

I love the look of Jenny Lind beds (I wish I'd gotten a Jenny Lind crib actually) and so have decided on a Jenny Lind toddler bed. My first choice of color would be white, but I can't find a white one in stock anywhere. So I have a dilemma. Do I get one of the other finishes and leave it as is? Or paint it white? Or perhaps even paint it a fun, punchy color?

Here's a few inspiration images I've found. They're (obviously) all of cribs but I'm sure you can imagine them in toddler bed form. What do you think?



Photo Credit: Melissa Esplin, Nicole Balch, Caroline Drake

American Pickers

How have I missed this show for so long? Oh, I know... it's not on the DIY network, but rather the History (blech) Channel. Luckily, you can also catch full episodes online.

Have you seen it before? Do you love the idea of digging through an old barn and finding a steal as much as I do? Well, minus the spiders, snakes and general ick.


P.S. Want to see some other great picks? (Yup, I embrace the cheeseball.) Check out the new stuff posted over at Potential Projects.

We're Out

We're officially moved out of our townhouse and into our temporary housing. I'm beyond excited!! And while Charlotte is still adjusting, she's pretty pleased with her new accomodations - living with "Gwamma", "Apa", "Sue Apa" and "Manny" (AKA Gramma, Grampa, Super Grampa and Mandy).

She's got quite the charmed life here, complete with coffee (a cup of milk with a splash of coffee and sugar), ice cream and cookies galore. The other day I came downstairs to find her laying on Mandy's bed, propped up on about 10 or so pillows, with a tray of food in her lap watching the tv. Must be nice.

Now that packing is behind us and we're quickly approaching the closing date for our new place (that'll be mid-December), I've turned my attention toward planning the decor for it. Here are some things I'm looking forward to:

* A coordinated palette for the whole house - mostly soft greys, greens and blues on the walls with lots of white and then pops of color throughout.

* A new couch for the living room that isn't faded from the sun and stained from a toddler.

* Kitchen cabinets painted teal and white with butcher block countertops. It sounds a little crazy, I know, but check my inspiration image below:


* Scouring thrift stores and Craigslist for unique pieces that I can redo (which will also let me check an item off my 30 Before Thirty list).

* A fireplace mantle that can be decorated for all the holidays and seasons.

* A bright and cheery room for Charlotte, complete with a "big girl bed".



My mind is going a million different directions though, so in about a week I'll probably have changed all my plans. We'll see...

Ohdeedoh

Check it out folks... my Charlotte's project is being featured on ohdeedoh, the fantastic children's website run by Apartment Therapy.


Color me super duper surprised, and admittedly a little giddy!

And don't worry, I'm not disappearing from blogging, even though the two week wait between posts would have you thinking otherwise. I'm just taking a quick break while getting things packed up for the 6 weeks that we'll be living with my parents. I'll be back to the regular schedule soon!