merry, merry

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, all!

We had a great Christmas. The eve was spent at home celebrating with the smalls and then we headed for St. Louis the next day. It was so great to see everyone. Anyone who knows me knows that I haven't always been close with my family. But I am making the effort and I think that was all that was needed. I really enjoyed the time there. Plus we went to REI to get some additional snowboard trip gear and got away for a kid-free lunch at a restaurant with actual cloth napkins! What more can a girl ask for?!

I started making tutus about 2 weeks before Christmas and ending up selling them to some lovely girls big and small. Add some cats and a stuffed animal to that and the story is complete. It all started with making some for my butterfly nieces in Portland (who have not actually received theirs yet...spoiler alert, Erin!) and Aaron said "you could totally sell those". (Yes, he said totally). And I did. :)

Speaking of Aaron and making. He made the most amazing play kitchen for Lola. It is incredible, better than any I have ever seen. He was working on it up until the end. We are still painting it...pics to follow soon. (I am so proud of this man!)

Oh, and I won the most amazing jam-packed box of cute from Elsie at A Beautiful Mess that included the sweetest painting, some stationary items and poprocks! I am loving her boy's music, too! She and the rest of the Red Velvet Art girls will be opening a shop in Springfield in Feb that calls for a roadtrip! Thanks, Elsie.

Aaron is off work for the week and the boys are doing all things Star Wars...legos, Wii games, battling with cardboard tubes.

Lola had a great time in St. Louis. She has learned to harness the power of her cute and manages to make friends everywhere we go. Here's hoping that power is only used for good.

We don't have huge New Year's plans. Some friends are hosting a wine tasting and we have been given the fantastic gift of a mother-in-law who enjoys the company of our smalls. Should be fun.

Gave up resolutions years ago. But it's already shaping up to be a wonderful 2009. Here's wishing the same for all of you!

(If you are still reading, sorry if this sounded manic and rushed...trying to blog quickly before the boys finish their last game.)

alive and well

I adore blogs with daily/weekly updates with features, inspirations and general on-goings, don't you? It is sometimes such a high to see what so and so will do next. You girls (and guys) are amazing! This is not one of those blogs. Sorry, kids! I am lucky if I update once or twice a month. I always promise to be better, but yeah...

So here is the latest in photo form. With inspiration drawn from Sugar City Journal, I have been elevating the mundane. I've also really been enjoying the trend of brightly colored remakes of bad "came with the house" chandeliers. I have pretty much been painting and/or decoupaging anything that will stand still.

Oh, and we also installed a new floor in the make-shift kitchen. For those who do not know, we are slowly but surely remodeling the first floor to include a new kitchen. We are lucky to have a full kitchen upstairs to use during this process. In a previous attempt I painted the upstairs kitchen floor with outdoor paint. It looked great for about 10 minutes and then disaster. So, a year later enter another temporary but so beautiful solution.

The house is in random states of disorganization with a million projects in the works on all three floors. Aside from that, we are all doing well. Riley is really enjoying first grade and the new school. He has also started playing soccer through the Y. Action shots to follow after tonight's practice. And Miss Lola is so lovely. She is growing and learning everyday. She will be 1 at the end of the month and we are gearing up for family to visit from St. Louis to celebrate. I can hardly wait.

More soon my lovelies. xo