Wishlist

I am a pretty impulsive shopper.  When I find something I like, I want it right this second.  No matter what.  These are a few of the things I'm lusting after.

1.  Madewell Tote…OR…this pretty pink cross body

via Madewell

I don't know if it's Valentine's Day, or the anticipation of Spring…but this time of the year I always have a hankering for anything pink.  Isn't this pretttttty?

2.  Sweedish Hasbeens

via Swedish Hasbeens

3.  Lookmatic specs

via Lookmatic

4.  What Katie Ate cookbook (broke down and bought this via Amazon already)

5.  UO rug (this one's in the mail…)

via Urban Outfitters

6.  Ikea kitchenette

via IKEA

Plus about 25 other items from IKEA.  Word on the street is there is on opening up in K.C.  In 2014!!!  There is no way on God's green Earth I can wait that long.  The husband and I are contemplating a trip to the nearest IKEA during my spring break.  Actually, he doesn't know that's my intention of the little road trip.  I'll spring it on him last minute and play completely dumb that we stumbled on to the place!

Happy February
M

Twenty Thirteen

My best friend moved back from Minneapolis!!!  I love it.  And her.  SO much.  Here are a few pics from our NYE night out with friends.  Hope you had a great night celebrating.  We started 2013 off in an extremely lazy way.  Laying around, eating, and watching football.

 Sean "made" us slushy daiquiris before we went out.  From a pouch.  

 Red lips for a night out!

 Blue Sushi with friends.  Sushi fail for Sean.  We had to order pizza for him afterwards.

 My old college roomie, Corissa.  I haven't seen her in FIVE years.  She lives and works in Brazil!

 Kim.  Done-zo at 10:30.  She may have been roofied.  Not really…she's just a light weight now days.  

 Tony…partying hard in his very expensive NYE hat.

 I do believe our conversation had merged to discussing why WWF is now called WWE.

 Today it is Twenty Thirteen.  I listened to this this afternoon while making snacks for football watching/napping.  Kim suggested it…  (Specifically this song, because it says "I'll be your Grahm")

Yet another food fail in my attempt to make my husband step out of his 'Merica male eating habits box and be more "worldy".  He ran, gagging from the kitchen, outside to wretch the brie up.  He claims it tastes like baby poop.  I'm trying to acquire a taste for it.  I say it tastes the way an old, ancient suitcase smells.  

I'm still eating it though.  

Happy 2013!

Christmas Time Once Again

Holy schnikes…Christmas has come and gone.  Why is it it goes by SO fast?!?  We're one week down in our break, and unfortunately Add has to go back to school this week.  ;(  Grahm and I are going to miss her on Thursday and Friday.  We've had a pretty great break.  First off, it was a white Christmas!  The kids got to play in the freezing cold + snow, but they're still hoping for more so daddy can make a heaping snow pile to slide down.

We hosted Chrstimas Eve at our tiny little house again this year.  And of course, I was running around like a mad woman at the very last minute cleaning floors when the first guests arrived.  Wouldn't be Christmas otherwise…or any other family function for that matter.  Procrastinate much?

Christmas morning was lovely.  Add woke up extra early…after Santa had visited and made the delivery, but before Santa had hit the hay!  So of course, she climbed into bed with us (both of our kids' favorite place to be).  Santa didn't leave huge gifts this year, but Lamb and Bear had a spoiled holiday, you can be sure.  I think they're favorite gifts are their little "iPad" Nabi devices.  The three grandkids got those from Maam and Grandpa and they were thrilled!  Tate got his own little Leapster "iPad".
Sean and I didn't exchange large/expensive gifts this year either.  I suppose we're trying to be a little more frugal in hopes of our house plans coming through.  I purchased (and wrapped) a new pair of Sorel snow boots up for myself from the husband and stuck 'em under the tree!  I love them.  (Mom and Courtney went out and got some matching boots during the after Christmas sales.  ; )  Sean got a comfy new pair of Brooks tennis shoes…thank goodness they came in the mail in time.  (His other little gifts did not.)

So now, the littles are staying with Grandma for a couple of nights and Sean and I are home alone.  We went and spent a couple of gift cards this afternoon and then spent $40 seeing a matinee!  Yikes.  We saw This Is 40, and it was great!  It was hilarious.  I spent the quiet evening drinking candy cane tea, painting my nails for NYE, and attempting to watch The Dark Knight Rises in-between my phone/computing.   Tomorrow night we're going out for drinks and sushi with my best friend Kim and her hubby Tony, and our college roomie Corissa.  Corissa is back from Brazil for a couple of weeks and I haven't seen her in about four years!  It'll be great and I'm sooooo excited that Kim and Tony, and their handsome little baby boy Lou, have moved back down into this neck of the woods.  We went out for dinner and drinks the other night with some gals from high school and it made me realize how much I missed her and love her!

Have a great rest of 2012!

XX

I Am Blessed

Here's to kicking off a nice (and long-awaited) Thanksgiving break.  I have spent the better part of tonight editing photos and trying to figure out a layout + design for this year's Christmas card.  While doing so, I listened to Addie read page after page out of her school book.  Chuckled at Grahm sneaking Cheez-Its to Macie and Rex (our miniature schnauzers).  Sipped on hot apple cider and snacked on pretzels + TJ's Cookie Butter.  There was Christmas music playing in the background, while everyone here was snoring softly.  Finally.  Got our Christmas card just perfect.

My kids are the best thing that has ever happened to me.

I love them more than life itself.

I am blessed.

-M

Right Now

These are the things I'm doing.  Right Now.

>I'm Reading
About 10 different books.  Simultaneously.  Can we say ADD?  Here's my list.
-Gone Girl
-The Five Love Languages of Children
-Love and Logic Magic, For Early Childhood
-The Message
-Looking For Alaska
-book 1 of The Dream Trilogy; Daring to Dream
-The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Told ya.  It's ridiculous.

>I'm Eating
Lots of junk.  Like, half a dozen Dunken Doughnuts in less than 24 hours.  Every week I tell myself "THIS IS IT."  The diet/work out starts NOW.  And every week I fail. But really...this is it.  I caught sight of myself from the back in a truck-stop bathroom, and it was NOT GOOD.  I will use My Fitness Pal and keep track of my calories.  But fo' realz.  Pinterest is killlllin me.  Lots of good recipes=chunky mama.

>I'm Watching
NASHVILLE.  Ooooohhh.  Emmmm.  Geeee.  I love this show.  I am sad when it's over every Wednesday night, and cannot wait for the next week.  In the time between, I frantically download the music from the episode.  Love it.  I love Connie Britton and am quite smitten with Deacon (that's the leading mans characters name).
New Girl.  I love Zooey Deschanel and would watch her watching paint dry.  She's got the best style and I love her dorkiness and quirkiness.  I really want her and Nick to get together already.  Plus, the character, Schmidt, is sooooo funny.  Frickin' hilarious.
Happy Endings.  Another romcom television series.  Cracks my $hi* up every single week.  Did you see the episode where they dressed up like the Jackson Five.  Dave was dressed up as Latoya and everybody was ridin' his ass about everything.  Baahaahaa.  This week, Brad and Max were rocking the bar mitzvah scene. They were known around the Jewish scene as Boys to Menorah.

>I'm Excited
About Christmas!  I am planning on getting some little twiggy Christmas trees (twiggy branches) spray painted and set into old rustic galvanized buckets this weekend.  I have my lists going and am threatening my children with the notion that the big guy (SC) is upstairs already checking his list and putting somebody I know on the naughty list.  Mama-of-the-Year award please?

>I'm Listening
To CHRISTMAS MUSIC!  I usually start about the week before Thanksgiving, but with the end of the world coming soon, and all...  I just bought James Taylor's At Christmas.  It's soooo good.

>I'm Pinning
Like a mad woman.  I have been crazily pinning ideas on Pinterest for Christmas decor and possible renovation ideas, if we happen to move.  I'm addicted.  I'm thinking of fixin' up a kitchen like so.

How crisp and clean does this look?

Absolutely love, love, love the white up top and the turquoise on the bottom!  Genius.  

Open shelving?  Yes please.

This floor?  Easy way to fix up yucky flooring!  Wait.  Did I say easy?

all via pinterest

XX

This Old House

We toured the house tonight...  The one I cannot get the picture to download.  It has major potential and it was chalked full of OLD JUNK!  We were lucky and had first dibs on the stuff inside.  I walked away with a beautiful old armoire/hutch (THAT I LOVE), a very stunning buffet (that I've already imagined painting and distressing either yellow, turquoise, or red), and a cute little dresser (undecided on the future of this piece)!

Some of the highlights are definitely the cute little back yard.  I'm already imagining a couple of patio areas near the fire pit and the back stoop area.  I can imagine pretty little wild flowers and big green hostas growing along the side of the house.  I've imagined our swing set in the backyard and traipsing through the fallen leaves as we come in through the gate when we get home from school each afternoon.  Here are some pretty garden areas.

via pinterest

via pinterest

My next favorite part is the fireplace.  A REAL WORKING FIREPLACE.  I've already decided we would paint the brick white and could decorate the mantle with twinkling Christmas lights and stockings.  I can hear the crackling fire on a chilly winter night.  Eeeek.  Check out these painted fireplaces.

via pinterest

via pinterest

And one last one.  If I needed a splash of color.

via pinterest

As we head upstairs, there are three bedrooms and the bath and one of the three bedrooms has french doors that lead out to a summer sleeping porch!  Yes, you heard me.  A sleeping porch!  Instantly, I thought this could be Addie's room.  But, then I thought she might be a little nervous about the doors at night.  So then I got to thinking, what if they shared a room and we made this darling little spot a toy room?  Then, in the spring and summer they could use the porch area as a space to play and paint.

Alright, are you ready for this?  On the second floor there's a stairway that heads to the attic.  I'm hearing Kevin McAllister whining about having to sleep in the creepy attic with his pop guzzling, bed-wetting cousin.  This space could be a killer craft area!  It's huge...and it has built in cabinets/drawers that could house billions of supplies.  Seriously.

Now don't get me wrong.  There are definitely some updates that need to be made.  The kitchen is the first thing that needs some sprucing up.  It's peach and corally/brown, but nothing that a little paint and/or wallpaper, as well as a new floor couldn't fix.  Here are a few rustic, country kitchens I adore.

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

The whole joint is wood floors, except for the big ass master bedroom.  So that carpet would need to go  ASAP.  Again, pretty easy fix.

Still crossing my fingers.

You May Have Noticed

That I am the suckiest blogger on the face of the planet.  And that I've changed my blog name.  Again.  I am back.  For some reason, even though I get to be home during the summer months, I find that I am more of a frequent blogger during the fall and winter months.  I suppose it's because it's cold outside, and it's nice to be cozy and computing on the ol' MacBook.

Not much is new.  I'm back to school and it's the same stressfulness that it was last spring.  We have a newly remodeled and beautiful school now!  And we're all being reunited (and it feels soooo good) tomorrow!  I have missed my partners in crime...we're referred to as BLM.  I teach in an extremely high poverty school and these kids are going to be amazed with this beautiful new school.  The library is... To.  Die.  For.  I want to spend all my time there!

I'm going to be a new auntie in December and am not-so-patiently awaiting the arrival of the second little girl in our family.  We refer to her as Ruthie.  Ruthie Buthe.  Buthe rhymes with Ruthie.  Poor chick....she's doomed because we ALL call her that.  Even her brothers, who are 2 and 4!  I have a baby pair of Minnetonka's in my shopping cart that are just waiting to make their way to Ruthie.  I'm hoping that having Ruthie present will subdue my EXTREME baby fever.

The only other bit of exiting news, is that we are kind of house hunting.  I love our old farm house.  It's got lots of character and it's where my Grandpa lived as a boy.  My mom tells stories of her and her cousin, here playing hotel out in the 100 year old pine trees that line the north side of our house.  We're content in our little farm bungalow, but with my ever-growing collection of "antiques" the space is getting tight.  But there are two houses in the quaint little town of Malvern, Iowa that I have my heart set on.   They're both fixer-uppers...right up my alley!

Even comes complete with Christmas lights!

Not getting my hopes up.  Not getting my hopes up.  Not getting my hopes up.  (I've already designated where the Christmas trees would go in one of them.)  It probably won't happen...but I can dream of owning a HUGE old house in town.  They're both exactly the type of house I love.  Old.  Big.  Charming.  I keep day dreaming of us there; of Sean out raking leaves and the kids playing outside running in our yard, while I'm inside making soup on a cool fall afternoon.  We'll see.

This is the first one...  Look at those trees!

I can't get the next beauty to git on my compUTER!!!  Grrrr.  This one is actually coming up for sale...or so we've been told.  This looks like the best possibility for now.  My fingers are crossed.

XX