spread happiness

Thank you, thank you, thank you…

to Kelle and Meg for mentioning me on your blogs this week!

You all probably already know who they are, but you can visit their blogs below…

And, THANK YOU to all of you who are new visitors to my blog this week because of them.

I hope you will come back for more!

First, Kelle from Enjoying the Small Things included one of my Instagram photos on her Friday Photo Dump.

My photo is the the middle one in the top row. She also had some great ideas for road trips…which I will use when we go on a road trip later this summer.

Second, yesterday Meg from whatever shared a photo of one of the globe lamps from colton + cadence that I sent to her for her Craft House!

See that?! She said my blog is adorable.

Anyway, these two women are inspirational to me, so it was an honor to be mentioned on both of their blogs this week. They both seem to enjoy life to the fullest and share that with others.

They spread happiness, love, and creativity, which is what I strive to do, too.

On Friday, I will have our summer list on the blog…inspired by Meg!

By the way…

I will be listing more globes lamps at colton+cadence soon…with pom-pom trim and decoupaged undersides…like what I sent Meg and what my giveaway winner won last month!

home is…fun stuff.

{through the rearview thursday}

There are times when I get caught up in life and blogging takes a back seat to other things.

However, there are a lot of things that I wish I had taken the time to blog about.

Some happened before I had a blog.

Some just didn’t get documented because I am too busy living.

I don’t mind with life gets in the way, but there are things I still want to document after the fact.

So, I am starting a new post series called {through the rearview thursday}.

Tune in on Thursday’s where I will catch you up with things I haven’t taken the time to and fill you in on and some of my BB (before blog) life!

Also, stay tuned for a giveaway and big announcement…

home is…continuing to document life when living gets in the way.

unexpected

It’s been quite a week.

Ryan’s been traveling for work.

Ben has been sick.

And, the weather has been wacky!

We have had more snow showers in the last week than we had all winter.

That’s not saying much for Portland, but it’s also saying a lot for Portland.

We don’t get much snow.

Rain, yes.

Snow, no.

So, while the rest of the country was enjoying spring or summer like temperatures today, let me remind you what winter looks like.

It started around 5pm on Tuesday Wednesday night…

Just falling, not sticking.

If you follow my Instagram feed (homeisablog), you may have seen some photos taken at 1am…I couldn’t sleep.

This morning we got outside early.

And, built a snowman.

“Hello, Snowman. I am Lala.”

(for the record, she no longer wants to be called a baby girl)

Ryan was worried about our recently sowed spinach, lettuce, and kale. I found (and knew from experience in Colorado) that snow insulates, so you shouldn’t cover your plants in the snow.

Despite the fact that it wasn’t even a normal school day for the little guy we declared it a “Snow Day!”

The little guy plowed snow with his new monster truck.

Our snowman watched happily.

The little guy decided the shovel was a better plow.

Lala gave it a try, but she wasn’t into the hard labor. According to her, snow pants were not acceptable fashion this morning.

So, I took some photos.

The little guy visited with the snowman.

And, posed for a photo.

Lala decided sitting in a chair under a blanket was warmer than playing in the snow. (Did I mention the not wanting to wear snow pants?!)

She’s smart, but…

…she’s got to learn to be tough if she’s gonna hang. We’ve got camping, skiing, and lots of other outdoor activities to do.

So, I snapped some more photos while the kids rested and played.

The blue sky was peeking through.

I am sure the Camellia would have been just fine without the snow.

There are definitely more to come.

By the afternoon, our snowman was all the snow that was left of our “Snow Day!”

He’s slumping a bit.

Looking watch over our garden.

By dinner, the kids were over the snow.

Lala moved on to dress up.

“Bat-Lala to the rescue!”

She was telling me that she needs a Lalaloopsy costume.

I agree.

These kids were raised in Oregon…they’re not used to snow.

We’ll have to see what our snowman does at night.

Stay tuned…

home is…an unexpected winter storm during the first full week of spring.

so lucky

Oh, it’s been a week.

The good news is that right now everybody is resting.

This guy has been really sick…

emergency vet sick.

We’ll find out more when we go to our regular vet tomorrow morning.

I’m exhausted.

I was up 3 nights with Ben when he was sick…including Saturday night from 1 am on.

The good news is that we all slept through the night last night.

Ben is no longer vomiting.

I had a few hours to myself last night when the kids were at our health club for a party.

I got some things done around the house (one of which was cleaning up my craft closet).

It snowed for brief periods today…and was sunny…and rained…and was just cloudy and cold.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Despite all the rough stuff going on, we still managed to have some fun last week!

Spring is trying to show up around here…

So we play outside whenever we get the chance…even if it is snowing!

And, my friends have been amazing offering to help me out with Ben or the kids while Ryan is traveling.

Thank you all for your prayers, positive energy, and offers to help.

Did I mention I am…

 home is…a little luck.

{thrifting} a new adventure

I’ve done my share of treasure hunting and antiquing, but thrifting is a new adventure.

I went last Saturday with the kids.

{these game pieces remind me of baby girl and the little guy}

And, again, this morning while we waited for it to warm up.

Here is what we found…

Not sure what I will do with these, but I picked them up anyway.

I have no idea who Edward L. Lawson is, but he crossed the Arctic Circle before I was born. I thought this was intriguing.

I have big plans for these embroidery hoops.

These guys are already working.

Storing art supplies for the kids.

These beauties are the MAIN reason that I took my first trip to Goodwill last Saturday. I found the white one today and the others on Saturday.

The little guy found this and I LOVE it! Obviously, handmade.

These games will go to good use, too. We have both of them already, but I love the look of these “vintage” ones.

I love the red and white theme here…great for the backyard movie night I would like to do this summer!

Last June, at the Farm Chicks Show, I contemplated over croquet mallets which were $4 a piece. I didn’t get them, but this made up for it…the whole set for $7.

We even had an amazing day to try out the croquet set in the backyard!

I am addicted, now.

To thrifting, not croquet.

Although, I could become addicted to croquet, too.

home is…a new adventure.

happy leaping hump day!

Or, is it happy humping leap day?!

I have to admit, I borrowed that from my longtime friend, Manny. I thought it was great when he posted it on his Facebook page.

So, what are you doing with your extra 24 hours?!

Same old, same old?

Me too.

Anyway, wanted to share a few random things that made me smile today…

Source: designsponge.com via stephany @ on Pinterest

Aren’t those flowers fabulous?! I mean, go big, or go home, right?! Thinking of what I could do with a couple of those…

Source: ideashomedesign.net via stephany @ on Pinterest

That slide…AWESOME! I would love to put a slide on the little guys bunk! I’ll have to think about that one a bit…

Source: megduerksen.typepad.com via stephany @ on Pinterest

Isn’t that house pillow adorable?! One of these days, when I have some mornings with no kids at home, I will sew more. Until then, I will collect ideas. This is one of them.

Source: houseandhome.com via stephany @ on Pinterest

This adult version of a reading nook. I LOVE it! Now, that’s how we could get some use out of our wall tent that has been folded up in the garage for 6 years!

Source: megduerksen.typepad.com via stephany @ on Pinterest

Meg’s non-dining room is so inspirational. Look at all those sewing machines set up for Craft Weekend! I would love to do this with our dining room…especially with the globe lights!

Source: flickr.com via stephany @ on Pinterest

I’ve been a bit obsessed with globes and maps lately. You’ll find out why in a future post. For now, you can see some of my inspiration on my maps & globes Pinterest board.

Source: etsy.com via stephany @ on Pinterest

And remember in when I was feeling like this? Well, now I am beginning to feel good about getting stuff done. Yay!

Well, that’s about it for now.

Go do something memorable during your extra 24 hours today! Even if it is just taking an extra 20 minutes for yourself.

home is…being thankful for more time.

rollerskating at oaks park

I took the kids rollerskating today.

The little guy has been rollerskating at Oaks Park for almost exactly 2 years.

Baby girl put on rollerskates for the first time this morning.

I was so nervous the first time we took this outing…almost exactly two years ago.

I wasn’t nervous this morning.

The kids were excited.

I even thought about putting skates on.

The little guy fell. A lot.

Moved. A lot.

Wanted to go fast. A lot.

He skated much better when he wasn’t holding my hand.

Baby girl wanted to wear big skates like her brother.

Baby girl fell.

Didn’t want to move.

And,when she wasn’t pouting, I carried her.

The one rule for parents is that you cannot wear skates and carry a kid…good thing I didn’t get skates.

It didn’t go exactly as I had hoped, but we did it.

And, we’ll do it again.

They both enjoyed the cookies and milk.

And, after all was said and done we decided that we would go back again.

home is…getting out and trying something new.

quick catch up…

Just a quick catch up from me!

Welcome to all of my new followers, and thank you for visiting!

Between my SITS day, a Facebook feature, and a blog critique party my blog has been busy.

I, however, have not been busy blogging!

I did want to mention a few things I have learned over the last few days…

First, from all the SITS girls that visited and left comments…you all are really nice people!! If I am feeling down, I am just going to go back and read through some of your thoughtful comments. You all made this momma very happy!

Second, I have to start watermarking my photos! I have heard about this a lot…through Instagram, Pinterest, and, most recently, through the blog critique I participated in (you can read more about that here and see the checklist we used here). 

Third, I am far from a “grand opening” of my etsy shop, colton+cadence. I might have a “soft” opening and get a few items in there occasionally, but until both kids are in school this fall I do not have the time to dedicate to it. So, I want you all to stay tuned…I will post on my home is… Facebook page and the colton+cadence Facebook page when I put any items in the shop. So, “like” those Facebook pages to get the most updated information!

Fourth, having a four year old is harder than having a two year old…and I have both! Man, if you have or have had a four year old (particularly a 4 year old boy) please tell me I am not crazy! He’s majorly testing his boundaries and it is majorly testing my patience, energy, and emotions. He is like “dr. jekyll and mr. hyde” lately. Last time I had a not so terrible two year old, I also had a newborn, so I don’t remember much of it…and it really never seemed that bad (although my husband will tell you that I told him otherwise in all the texts I sent him that first year of having 2 kiddos). Anyway, I know {like everything else we have gone through with kids} that this too shall pass, but I hope it passes SOON!

{yes, that blur in the background is his two year old sister}

Fifth, thank you to Jennifer and Amy for critiquing my blog. I found your critiques very insightful and will make some changes based on them! I also had fun critiquing (and visiting) Amy’s creative blog. And, I made a visit to Jennifer’s beautiful blog, as well!

Finally, if you are a blogger (or photographer, or computer geek) how do you watermark your photos?

(for photo software I am currently using iPhoto and Picasa…I make my collages and add text in Picasa)

home is…trying to keep a calm center.

happy, happy…

SITS day to me!

Blogging Resources for Women

What is a SITS day, you ask?

Well, here is the low down…

So, to make a long story short, I am the Featured Blogger for today.

I’ve got to admit, I’m a little nervous…

I really never thought *my* SITS day would come.

I just thought I would get involved to read other blogs and learn some things.

And, here it is.

Yay, me!

I have butterflies in my belly…

I started blogging as an outlet when I became a stay at home mom to my little guy in 2008.

I made the hardest decision in my life (and the best) to leave a job I loved and stay at home with him full-time when he was 9 months old (until that time I had worked part-time from home or bringing him to the office with me…yeah, I had an awesome boss).

I was starving to still be connected to the world of interior design.

So, I started a blog.

Then, I started another blog to keep family updated on our adventures in the Pacific Northwest.

Eventually, I decided to merge the two as I found that there was beginning to be some overlap.

Now, I write about the adventures of our family of four (we had our second…a little girl…in 2009), my projects, crafts, and anything else I feel like writing about.

I started blogging for myself, then eventually for my kids, and now I find it fun when I inspire others with what I write here.

In the end, I write about what makes our home a home because {of course} home is…what you make it!

Thanks for visiting me today.

Still have butterflies…

I hope you will take some time to look around and let me know what you think!

You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (homeisablog), and Pinterest.

home is…sharing my blog with the SITS community.

the much hyped snow storm

the much hyped snow storm

finally showed last night.

big fluffy flakes,

like rockets in the night.

down came the rain,

and washed the snow away.

the much hyped snow storm

is history today.

home is…a little tune to itsy bitsy spider.