Baby, Baby, Baby!!!

I almost forgot to mention that I'm going to be an auntie again on Monday or sooner!  Keep my brother, Stephen, and his beautiful wife, Michelle, in your prayers as they are scheduled to have my little nephew on Monday.  At this point the little guy is breech, so that's no fun.  Praying that it all goes well. I can't wait to meet this new little man!!!  I stole some pictures off of FB...hope they don't mind:)

A Slow One

So the hype about the rain storm WASN'T hype at all!  It has poured all day long.  There are flash flood warnings all over and a lot of the city is without power.  Bible study even got cancelled, so that was a bummer.

We got out a little this morning.  I went to yoga for the first time in forever.  I can't remember the last time I had gone.  It was nice to be back.  I'm trying to start going back to all my classes (zumba, pilates, yoga) because I seemed to feel a lot better about myself when I was going all the time.  The girls seem to enjoy the social time, too.  I'll see how long I can keep it up.  

On my way home from yoga, I got a text from a friend from Church to see if I wanted to come over for a visit.  She has three little girls that Monroe and Kiki love, so they were beyond excited to play for a bit.  We ended up staying for lunch and then headed home for naps.

I made the girls' supper, but Mark and I were craving something from this little Asian place down the street, so I ran out and picked us up some food.  It was so good!

Sweet and Sour Tofu and Teriyaki Tofu with Vegetables...AMAZING!  

I think I'm going to start working on my second craft for the Creative Pay It Forward Challenge.  I sent out my first project, the fabric rosette necklace, this week to Miss Tracy.  I hope it arrives soon and that you like it, girl!  

This has been the most thrilling post, huh?!  Sorry!  It's just been one of those slow days.  I'll try to have something more exciting for you tomorrow.  

Our Love Story

It's been a VERY full day.  We were out of the house pretty much all day and when we finally made it home, we played outside for the rest of the evening.  It was just so nice out and we couldn't pass up the great weather, especially since it's supposed to torrentially rain tomorrow.  I can't think of the last time that I've been this tired.  The girls were exhausted, too.  The only thing they were more of than tired, was dirty.  I mean they were pretty yucky.  I'm talking brown bath water dirty.  But now, they are squeaky clean and sleeping like little angels in their beds.  Rosie even fell asleep on her daddy when he was holding her on the couch this evening.  It was pretty cute.

Before I head to bed, I've been meaning to post this little project for awhile.  I saw something like this on Pinterest at someone's wedding, but I liked the idea of putting it in my house for Valentines.  It's a time line of our love story.  Luckily, I kept a journal in college, so I was able to get all the dates correct.  The only thing I couldn't find was when we got engaged!  Isn't that horrible?!  Luckily, my mom keeps all of her old day planners and tonight she looked it up for me.  Anyway, I don't love my handwriting, and will probably rewrite it another twelve times before it actually makes it to the wall, but I thought I'd share it with you.

I'm linking up with the "Dog Days of Winter are Over" Linky Party!

My Playlist

I'm loving the music I've been working out to this week, so I thought I would share what's on my playlist.  Enjoy!

Finger Print Guestbook Tree

When Kay asked me to draw a tree for a fingerprint tree for her to use as a guestbook at Lila's party, I gladly agreed.  It didn't seem like a hard project and I figured I could do it quickly.  Boy, was I wrong.  I haven't pulled out the colored pencils in FOREVER and I didn't realize how hard a tree is to draw.  I'm embarrassed to even show you my finished product.  I went ahead and made two different options for her to choose from.  I hope she likes one! They are going in the mail tomorrow morning.

I had to blow the dust off my colored pencils!  I haven't drawn in years!  

Tree Option #1 

Tree Option #2

Happy Birthday, Lila Beth!  I can't believe you turned one today!  You are as precious as they come. Love you!

Me plus You equals Love

This weekend has flown by!  I can't believe it's already over.  The ice storm hype was just that...hype.  So, church was not cancelled and I had to end up singing.  It went just fine, but I'm so glad to have it over.  My nervousness has been hanging over me like a black cloud and as soon as I walked off the stage, it was gone!

Yesterday afternoon, Maria, Jackie and I packed in Maria's van and headed out on a little girls trip to Charlotte.  We went for dinner and to do a little light shopping, and it was so fun.  The Cheesecake Factory was packed, I mean uncomfortably so, but we stuck out the hour long wait and enjoyed every bite of the tamale corn cakes, avocado egg rolls, macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes and french fries.  Yes, we got all of those things.   You only live once, right?  Don't worry, we also got cheesecake for the road.

We weren't able to do a ton of shopping because of time, but I did get a few little things from IKEA.  I'm the most excited about the easel I got for Rosie and Kiki.  They are in love with it and have played with it all day.  The $15 was definitely worth it!

I love these washable Crayola white board markers!  

We didn't get home until pretty late, but I'm so glad we did it.  After my plentiful dinner yesterday, I knew I needed to hit the gym, so I got there early and had a nice workout.  I also ran a few errands and then met Mark and the girls for lunch at my favorite restaurant, Strawberry Hill.  Then, I headed home for a little crafting date with my friend, Renae.

Yesterday, she texted me to ask what my plans were for today.  We had both pinned the same Valentine's day craft on Pinterest and she wanted to know if I was interested in doing it together.  I was super excited because I love to craft it up any chance I can get.  I was also excited about getting to know Renae a little bit better.  So, we spent the afternoon putting our own spin on our "pinned" idea.  I tried to find a tutorial for the project, but the link takes me to this blog, and I've searched and can't find it.  It's pretty self explanatory, though.

We used watercolor boards and taped them off evenly with painters tape before painting them with black craft paint.  It took forever to dry so we ended up using a hairdryer to speed up the process.

Renae's son finger knitted a chain and she used it to make her heart.

I cut a heart out of felt and glued on buttons using clear tacky glue.  

Our finished products...please excuse my appearance, I hadn't changed/showered after the gym! 

It's found a home on the mantle, along with the other Valentine's decor we made a few days ago. 

I can never pass up an International Food Fair.  I've actually been known to hold my own at our house in the past (Remember, Kay?).  Anyway, the area churches put one on this evening and we decided to give it a go.  The girls had so much fun and Mark and I enjoyed trying some of the International foods we love (spring rolls, sushi, corn dogs?).  We ran into a few friends we hadn't seen in awhile, so I'm really glad we went.

Well, that's been our busy weekend.  I'm about to start on a project for the cutest little almost one-year-old I know.  One of my besties, Kaylee, asked me to work on something for her littlest's first birthday party.  I'll show you when I get it done.

I'm linking up with the "Dog Days of Winter Are Over" Linky Party over at The Francis Family Blog.  Do you want to see some other Pinterest projects put into action?  Check them out here.

Date Night

Our date night was really wonderful.  There's sure something special about alone time with my hubby.  Every time we get some, I always wonder why we don't do it more often.   We ended up in downtown Asheville at a little Mediterranean restaurant.  I've always wanted to eat at a restaurant where you sit on cushions on the floor and my dream came true last night.  Next, we did a little shopping, stopped at a little coffee shop for a warm drink (it was FREEZING out) and finished our date at Tupelo Honey for dessert.  Well, actually we finished our date at Target since we were out of trash bags, because this is real life and not the Bachelor.  It can't all be helicopter rides and fantasy suites:)     

Enjoying our vegetarian platter and spinach pie.  Such a great place to eat! 

I love this guy and his yellow pants:) 

All the schools are closed today or closing early because we are expecting an ice storm later this morning.  Nothing yet, but it's pretty dark out and it's 23 degrees...yuck!  I didn't get groceries, so hopefully we'll survive the weekend.  I'm supposed to sing a solo at church tomorrow, and if this ice storm keeps that from happening, I wouldn't be too torn up over it.  

Since we are stuck inside, I'm going to try and finish up some projects.  Stay warm! 

Throwback Thursday

Seems to me that I wasn't made for the late hours.  I got home after ten because, after bible study, I went and got my hair done.  You may say, what kind of sketchy place do you get your hair done at ten o'clock at night?  Rest easy, my talented friend does hair occasionally out of her home.  It's so nice to have that flexibility.  Anyway, back to the late hours...I got home after ten and needed some time to unwind and didn't make it to bed until after midnight.  So, long story short, I am lagging a bit behind this beautiful morning.

Today, we are headed to a playdate with some friends.  I'm sure it will be great fun, but I'm a little nervous to take Kiki out in public these days because she is quickly becoming a bit of an insurance liability.  She is constantly flinging herself off of things.  She jumps off the couch, climbs anything and everything, and yesterday, I came in her room when she woke up from her nap to find this...

Granted the bed can be lowered another level and I have that on my list of to-do's for today.  

She's just kind of going through a naughty stage and it's making me pretty perplexed.  She's as smart as a tack and knows exactly what's going on at all times.  I can't put anything past her.  Whenever I ask her to do anything she doesn't want to do, she looks at me with annoyed eyes and says, "No!".   I get the "stink eye" from her a bazillion times a day.  She hits Rosie, but quickly follows it up with a kiss and a hug, as to try and avoid getting in trouble.  She runs away when it's times to change her clothes or her diapers, she hides in her bedroom when it's naptime, and the tantrums, oh the tantrums.  I've mentioned that I was a tantrum thrower as a kid, so I guess I'm just getting my just desserts. 

Now, just to be fair, she can also be the sweetest thing in the world.  She has the best smile, only made sweeter by her dimple.  She loves to hug and kiss--loves to sing, laugh and pray.  She can actually be quite precious.  It's just those bad moments, are REALLY bad.  I struggle with how to punish her though, because she still looks like such a baby to me, but I know that she's very aware that her behavior is not appropriate.  Ugh!  The joys of being a parent.  Any sage advice?

On a completely different topic, I'm loving the idea of Throwback Thursday that I've been seeing on Instagram and other blogs.  Pictures have always been so important to me, so I thought it would be fun to bring some out of the archives.  This morning I started looking back at old albums and thought I would share a few random ones that brought back old memories and made me smile...

The "80's Handshake" in College.  Be honest, you are totally jealous of those outfits, aren't' you?! 

This picture cracks me up!  We call it our couples "Glamour Shot".  We had been given a free photography package from JC Penny that included a 13x19 of this print.  It was ginormous and we never picked it up because we didn't know what we would do with that big of a picture of ourselves.  I like to think it's currently hanging in one of the JC Penny employee's homes right now;)   

My little brother and I found interesting ways to entertain ourselves.  He's a pastor now and I'm toying with the idea of posting this on his Church's FB page.  

I loved this girl then and I love this girl now.  

Friends Forever 

Some of my teacher pals at the Education Club Banquet!  Was that the one we planned, Courtney?  

Tonight, I'm going on a hot date with Mark.  We haven't had one of those in awhile, so I'm pretty excited.  Rosie has been dreading having a babysitter, but I have all day to warm her up to the idea.  Fingers crossed it works.  

Toffee Time

Thanks for all of the positive feedback yesterday!  You really know how to make a girl feel good!

Not much to report today.  Another good day at home.

I did get something fun in the mail today.  I got my American Eagle rewards mailing (yes, I still buy stuff from there and I'm over 30--so sue me!) and who was inside but my sweet little cousin, Emily Beth!!!  Isn't she the cutest?!  You can watch her "meet the cast" video here.

She was also the first thing I saw when I went to the AE website!  Why do I feel a little bit famous all of a sudden:)?

I've got a lot on my "to do" list this week.  I have to watch seasons 1 & 2 of Downton Abbey.  Yes, I'm behind.  A friend let me borrow it, and I can't wait to immerse myself!

I would have already started watching them, but I'm using my kid free time reading my book club book.  Since it's in February, we chose a sappy book and I'm LOVING it!   It's SafeHaven by Nicholas Sparks.  The movie's coming out soon, too!  Yay!

Have I mentioned that my sister-in-law, Michelle, just started an online toffee business?  Well, she did and it's called The Silver Tin.  Did I mention that it's the most amazing toffee ever?  Well, it is!  I'm telling you it's the best stuff I've ever tasted, especially the white chocolate almond kind...heavenly.  Well, we got some in the mail today, and there's a very good chance it won't make it through the night.  Mark can't stop eating it and I'm not doing so well either.  If you want to check out her website, go here.  Although, there probably won't be much toffee made for awhile, as she's about to give birth to my little nephew any day now!  I can't wait!!!

I better go!  I need to stop Mark from eating all the toffee!  Good night! 

Blacklisted

We took it very easy today, and it was so nice.  We stayed in our jammies for a lot of the day, did art projects, sang, danced, read books, ate, napped...just had some quality girl time.  It was so nice.  I think we all really needed it.  

Rosie decided that she wanted to "dectorate" for "Balentines", so that's what we did.  The girls had fun coloring with Valentines-ey colors.  I cut hearts out of their drawings and mounted them on scrapbook paper.  When I went to my parents' house in October, I was really excited to find two frames that I had used in my classroom back when I taught.  They are the kind where you can easily switch art work out, so I brought them home and we used them for the first time today! 

My sweet little artist 

I love this little face 

Kiki's Picture

Rosie's Picture 

Our "dectorated" mantle 

I had kept these ginger ale bottles from when Stephen and Michelle came to visit.  The ginger ale was pretty disgusting, but the bottles were so cool.  

My "two minute garland".  How much easier can you get than cutting hearts and hanging them with clothes pins?! 

Today, I was talking to Rosie about Martin Luther King, Jr. and she freaked out on me.  For some reason she got in her head that he was coming to her house.  She wanted nothing to do with him and as much as I tried to tell her how he was all about peace and helping people, she immediately placed him on the same blacklist as Santa.  So now, we can't mention MLK in our home.  Don't get your feelings hurt, MLK, she's scared that Jesus is coming to her house, too.  Sometimes, all you can do is shake your head.

Before I run and watch the Bachelor (my guilty pleasure), I wanted to show you another quick project I did on Sunday.  We bought this sofa table for our entryway eight years ago from Target.  It's been through a lot in those eight years (and 5 moves) and it had the scratches and dents to prove it.  I knew it needed an update, but I wasn't exactly sure what to do.  I finally decided to paint it black and distress it a bit.  

  

Before (I had already started sanding it before I took the picture)

After...It was a very easy way to update an old piece of furniture.  I'm really happy with the results. 

My Thrifted Piano

Well, my $100 Goodwill find is finally finished and I couldn't be happier!  This project took a lot longer than I had initially thought, but I know it will be in the family for a long time and I can already
imagine the little fingers banging out songs for years to come, so it's totally worth it.

After sanding, it took three coats of yellow paint to cover the piano.  I used Cornmeal by Olympic which can be found at Lowe's.  After painting, I used an old cloth to rub Minwax Wood Finish Stain in Ebony.  This step was very frightening.  I seriously thought I would have to start all over, because it just looked dirty!  After a lot of rubbing and sanding, it ended up getting the weathered look I was going for.  Actually, the stain made it look a little more weathered than I had planned, but I like it.  I finished it off with Minwax Fast Drying Varnish.  

The piano's music stand was broken off when I bought it.  I looked online to see if I could find a replacement, but I didn't have any luck.  Then I got the idea of using a wrought iron wall hanging.  I looked at a few stores and ended up finding this one.  It was a REALLY ugly copper color, but the size, shape and price were perfect, so I brought it home and painted it black.  It works perfectly!  

Like I mentioned before, it was a big project, but I'm so happy that this piano lives in my home now!  Do you want to see some more inspiring Thrifting Projects?  The Francis Family is hosting another awesome link-up this week!  Go check it out!