{our home} restyling

August 15, 2013Leave a comment

Thanks for your input on the rug…I promise to let you know which one I choose with a post here soon!

In the meantime I have been getting the house put back together…

Of course, it takes me longer than the “normal” person because I have to “restyle” everything as I put it away…in the kitchen.

Or, I decide to run to Target because our laundry room, which never had a rug, needs a cheery aqua rug!

Of course, trying to keep the kids entertained makes lots of new messes as we go along!

Ben needed a new rug by the back door so it wasn’t too slippery for his old legs (yeah, i need to clean the glass, too).

And, yeah, we needed a little back to school countdown decoration in the un-dining room.

So, you can see, it just takes me a bit longer to get things back to normal. We’re getting there…one mess at a time!

home is…always changing things up.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

{whatever craft weekend} part 1

August 11, 2013April 6, 20202 Comments

Do you remember when I said I would tell you the story about the time an Instagram friend whom I had never met in real life invited me to be her guest at Whatever Craft Weekend in the middle of nowhere Kansas?!

here it is…

One evening in the middle of February I got a text from my Instagram friend Erin (some of you may know her as @tweetpotatopie).

It wasn’t completely out of the blue because we had traded a few texts prior to that, but this one said, “Call me as soon as you can!”

It was somewhere around Reece and Lorelai’s bedtime and my phone battery was about to die, so I asked if I could call her in the morning.

She said that she would text me the next day if she still needed me.

The next day rolls around and sometime in the afternoon I receive another text to call her. She also tells me that it will be well worth it!

I was intrigued and called her right away.

We chatted briefly. It was so fun to put a voice to a face that I had seen for months on my phone!

Then, she asked if I knew about Whatever Craft Weekend.

OF COURSE!

She said her “number” was picked and she wanted to know if I would like to go with her!

WHAT?!

I was in complete and total shock.

I was in tears. I couldn’t stop shaking, smiling, and crying.

I. WAS. GOING.

Of course, I had to run it by Ryan, but it was pretty much set in stone.

My name had been on the list for over a year and was resigned to the fact that if I ever got very, very lucky I MIGHT get to go.

Man, did I get lucky!

3 months later…

There we were…two Instagram friends who had never met in real life picking at the barn at Whatever Craft Weekend in the middle of nowhere Kansas!

I’m starting in the middle of the weekend because it was easiest to start with the photos from the barn.

I could have snapped photos there all day.

In fact, this is just a small sampling of the photos I took that day from my Nikon.

Rows and rows of rusty metal and worn wood.

Some of my very favorite photos were taken with my iPhone, but I will save all of those for a post of their own.

It would have been dangerous if I had been able to bring back more.

Erin and Megan drove down in Erin’s suburban and they filled it up!

Isn’t it beautiful?

I’ll be back soon with more about the rest of the weekend…until then, you can read Meg’s post about it.

Oh, and Erin, she is just awesome. I’m glad to now call her more than just my Instagram friend. She is a blessing.

home is…making new friends.

life at the lake

August 7, 2013April 6, 20202 Comments

the kids, my parents, my sister, my niece and i spent a week at lake pend oreille in beautiful northern idaho.

the first night, reece was throwing his hook into the water…

by the next day, he was catching fish all by himself with one of topher’s mepps spinners!

uncle buzz and aunt michele have tons of water toys at their lake house…

reece and sasha got out on the jet skis with topher and uncle buzz…

while lorelai played on the beach with meme.

reece also go out on one of the hobie cats with uncle buzz…

and meme got some time on the water, too.

my 95 year old grandfather was up there with us, too. he couldn’t make it down the stairs to the water, but enjoyed the view from the patio…

my parents rented a house for all of us about 6 miles away and we ate dinner there every other night…it was a way for all of us to have some quiet time, but we still had a beautiful view of garfield bay and the lake.

i ran three times while on vacation…this was my halfway/turn around point on my first run.

and, here is where it ended (near the house where we were staying).

running errands by boat is awesome…

on sunday, topher took my sister and i into town by boat so we could do a little birthday shopping for sasha. the girls rode into town with us and back to my aunt and uncle’s house with topher.

reece and sasha made the trip back to town with topher to pick us up.

returning to the lake house, we were greeted by these two little dock dogs…lily and elmo belong to my cousin and his wife…

that’s my cousin, greg…

and, this is his beautiful wife, natalie. our first visit to the lake was for their wedding last august. they just celebrated their first wedding anniversary! (you can see the posts from their wedding here, here, here, and here)

we took the boat out to watch greg on the air chair…he makes it looks way easier than it is.

you can see topher on a jet ski in the background…marley, who is the original dock dog, was sad that she couldn’t come on the boat, so he took her for a ride on the jet ski.

i can’t wait to see the go pro video of all my cousins giving it a try next week (we missed their visit by a week…maybe we can all be there again together next year)!

we celebrated the kids birthdays…july 5th, august 1st, and september 8th.

and, watched the baby bald eagle…

watch us.

the days of playing on the lake melded together…slow, relaxing, fun…i have more photos and video on my phone that i think i will need to add in another post.

looking good for 95…

we took the boat into town for dinner and were joined by my cousin and his wife.

uncle buzz, topher, meme, and aunt michele…a good looking bunch that make this family fun possible.

seriously, life is good at the lake.

saying goodbye is hard, so instead i say, “see you next time.”

home is…one of my happy places.

backyard movie night

June 30, 2013April 6, 20206 Comments

happy summer!

you’d think i was new to this blogging thing with how long it took me to write this post!

well, i’m back and have lots of things to share with you, but first…

we had our first backyard movie of the summer saturday night.

it didn’t all go as smoothly as planned…

lorelai had complained about her stomach hurting before we ate dinner.

i dismissed it.

she didn’t want to eat much dinner, but i asked her to eat 3 pieces of her hot dog.

she chewed…

and, chewed…

and spewed.

she got so sick.

all over the dining room, kitchen, and bathroom.

this was a first for us.

almost 6 years of parenting, and this is the first time we had to deal with a vomiting child.

she fell asleep while i was holding her on the floor of the hallway after her bath.

she cried and cried about our friends coming over for the movie.

we texted them and let them know what happened.

we were still planning to watch a movie, but wanted to inform them of lorelai’s sickness in case it was a virus.

luckily, they decided to still come over…they said, “it’s gonna take a lot more than a little vomit to keep us away!’

don’t you just love good friends like that?!

in addition to lorelai’s sickness, we also had a few technical difficulties:

1. peter pan was an HD movie and would not play through our projector, so we had to choose another movie (luckily we have plenty to choose from)

2. this time of year it stays light until after 10pm in the pacific northwest, so once we tried another movie we found it was still too light to watch it.

the kids thought it was fun to watch it on the laptop and that is when we changed our game plan…

we went for a quick walk around the neighborhood, regrouped, let it get a little darker, and chose a different movie.

jackpot!

the girls settled right in…it was the newest tinker bell movie, secret of the wings.

once we moved the cozy coupe and the “trailer” up from under the playhouse, the littlest of the bunch was happy.

eventually, we could all sit down and watch the movie…

or, sit back and relax in the chairs around the fire pit.

the movie ended, and shortly after that lorelai got sick again.

i took her upstairs to another bath and i snuggled her in bed with towels at the ready.

she was so sad.

luckily, that was the end of it for her sickness.

she ate fine all day sunday, and other than getting worn out from the heat, was back to her normal self.

so, i had a few questions from instagram followers and thought i would post a few tips for outdoor movies, so here it goes!

essential supplies

1. projector

2. laptop, iPad, or iPod

3. speakers

4. movie screen (i made ours from a painters drop cloth)

5. extension cords

you’ll want to get a feel for how everything needs to be set up…do you need a table for the projector? how far should the projector be from the screen? what connects to what (i.e speakers connect to the laptop, laptop connects to the projector)?

we always do a test run by ourselves or with neighbors for our first movie of the year…there are bound to be some minor glitches and you want those worked out before you invite the entire neighborhood!

fun stuff

1. snacks: last night we just did popcorn and popsicles. last fall we had a theme and centered the snacks around that. or, you can just have everybody bring their own snacks.

2. drinks: just like the snacks…keep it simple, BYOB, or provide something that goes along with the theme of the movie

3. blankets: thrifted quilts are awesome for backyard movie nights…i have a stash of them and put them on the air mattress and on the grass. in the cooler months i stick a few thrifted afghans on the chairs around the fire pit and in a basket on the deck in case people need one.

4. chairs: use what you have or ask everybody to bring their own

5. twinkle lights: twinkle lights just make the whole scene magical. we have ours up year round in our backyard and it just sets the scene for a festive evening.

backyard movies have become one of my favorite things about summer in our backyard. we hope to have a lot more movie nights well into the fall…as long as the rain stays away!

home is…back at it with backyard movie night (and blogging).

did i tell you…

June 5, 20133 Comments

about the time a friend from instagram invited me to whatever craft weekend?

not yet?

i will.

it’s a good story.

home is…still recovering my iphoto library.

impatiently patient

May 29, 2013April 6, 20201 Comment

hi!

i’m writing this post on my phone.

my computer has been out of commission as we recover all the lost photos.

so, i just wanted to let you know that i’ll be back with some fun posts once my computer is working again.

home is…being impatiently patient.

poof!

May 23, 20134 Comments

Two days ago I was trying to clean up photos in iphoto and I got a dreaded pop up.

I began to freak out.

Years of photos.

In fact, I had just downloaded photos from a field trip I took with Reece the day before.

Photos I deleted from my camera as soon as I saw them on my computer.

Then…POOF!

Gone.

Our computer guy has reassured me that he can restore them from our backup.

Next week.

It makes me thankful for this blog…and what I have done here for the past 4+ years.

If all was lost, I would still have this.

And, to keep it in perspective after the loss that people have endured this week in Oklahoma, it’s not that big of a deal.

Here’s the thing…

I take LOTS of photos.

I take photos of my kids that nobody ever sees (which I eventually will put into photo albums for our family).

I take photos of our home and garden…mainly for the blog.

I take photos on my phone.

I take photos for my etsy shop.

I take LOTS of photos, period.

So, here are a couple of questions for other bloggers and photographers…

What photo management software do you use?

What photo editing software do you use?

How do you manage a workflow to not duplicate and triplicate photos?

How do you backup your photos?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

home is…always learning from my mistakes.

attitude is everything

May 6, 2013April 6, 20201 Comment

We’re fighting seasonal allergies around here.

Mine start in March, and start to clear up about now, but the kids are having a rough go of it right now.

Lorelai and I were up at 2:30 am…and haven’t been back to sleep (she slept for 20 minutes right around 6 am).

I was throwing myself a pity party this morning.

I don’t do well without sleep.

I was in tears this morning…feeling sorry for myself.

It didn’t feel good.

So, I decided to change my attitude.

Not always an easy task, but it can be done.

The kids and I went to school and gave Reece’s teachers a gift for Teacher Appreciation Week.

(i will blog about it later this week, but until then you can check out what we did the last two years here and here)

Both of his teachers said they had had rough mornings and that the gift helped them to feel better.

Spread kindness.

I realized that in the hurry to get out the door we forgot Reece’s lunch.

I texted Ryan, and he offered to drop it off at the school.

Accept help.

Lorelai and I went for a run down to the river. The endorphins and vitamin D surely helped to boost my mood. In addition listening to a little Maroon 5 and Adam Levine helped push me harder…I ran 3.75 miles the longest I have run in over a year.

Get outside.

Get moving.

So, I’m still tired, but my mood is better.

Attitude is everything.

Our weekend was pretty awesome.

The weather in the Pacific Northwest has been amazing the last week.

We centered our actvities around being outdoors…

the Kentucky Derby…

and Cinco de Mayo…

When all was said and done, we had tired kiddos.

When Lorelai and I got home from our run, she picked a flower from our garden for me.

I could really be Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail…

Kathleen Kelly: I love daisies.

Joe Fox: You told me.

Kathleen Kelly: They’re so friendly. Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?

home is…turning a frown upside down.

{inspired} you are strong

May 2, 20133 Comments

I’ve been inspired by some recent posts about running from some of my favorite bloggers out there…

Meg wrote about running her first half marathon.

Nici wrote a guest post over at Kelle’s blog about battling an eating disorder and running.

Maggie wrote about her relationship with running.

In addition, a local momma who used to push me to my limits in her Stroller Strides classes wrote about her experience at the Boston Marathon and shared her story with her facebook friends…she was right near the finish line as the bombs went off…and, luckily, is home safe.

my running story

The past two springs were tough on my health for one reason or another, so my exercise and running routines got set on the back burner.

I found plenty of other things to fill my time (thrifting, etsy, decorating our home, sewing, creating)…and my belly. Almost 10 pounds heavier, I’ve decided it’s time to get back into shape.

So, I’ve started running again.

When I can, I run a quick route down to the park with Odyssey. He loves it. I love it. And, it does both of us a lot of good.

This week I had missed my runs with Odyssey with kids being home from school sick, and Ryan out of town. The weather today was much too beautiful to run on a treadmill indoors, but I was itching to go for a run.

Not just itching, CRAVING it.

I NEEDED to go for a run.

I thought about Nici’s post and I pulled the BOB dualie out of the back of the car (where it’s been riding around for months) and pumped up the tires.

Lorelai hopped in and off we went!

Long story short, I ran farther and longer than I have in a LONG time.

An older woman running the older direction said, “Wow! You are strong!”

And, I crossed paths with another momma friend, who is also a runner, and has put together a fundraising race in the very park we were running in…go check out the foundation website and the race facebook page…and sign up to run with me (I will be running the 10K).

I run because I like to.

It feels good physically (when I run…maybe not so much afterwards).

It feels good emotionally.

I can do it alone.

I can share it with friends.

I can share it with my dog.

I can share it with my little girl.

And, it doesn’t hurt to hear people say, “Wow! You are strong!”

my very first running inspiration

You know who it is?

My sister.

She was always faster than me.

A better athlete than me.

It was like she didn’t even have to try and she learned to do hard things…like back flips.

She never took gymnastics.

When we were in college she worked at a running shoe store.

She ran 1/2 marathons before I had any idea what a 1/2 marathon was.

She ran in the snow.

She ran in the rain.

She ran to places in Boulder I didn’t know existed!

I had no interest in running.

She asked me to go, but I rarely did.

One of these days, I hope that my sister and I can run a race together.

I’m not into running for more than 1 hour at a time, so I like 10k’s, but I might run a 1/2 marathon if she would run one with me!

and a winner…

Thank you all so much for leaving a comment. So fun to read what you would or would not change. Seems that most of us were happy with our special day! Life is good!

The winner of the $50 minted.com credit is tara (@etsetara)!

Please send me an e-mail at homeis{at}stephanytaddeo{dot}com so I can get you your prize!

home is…running inspiration.

wouldn’t change a thing…maybe

April 28, 201311 Comments

My husband and I are way past the newlywed phase.

This October we will have been married 13 years.

If I had it to do all over again I wouldn’t change a lot, but the options for personalization and making your wedding YOURS are truly endless.

Just a quick search on Pinterest will give you all kinds of DIY wedding ideas, tutorials, and inspiring photos.

When we were planning our wedding I thought we were stepping waaaay out of the box by sending our save the date as a newsletter with stories about how we met, etc, our rehearsal dinner invitations on post cards, and {gasp} square wedding invites!

For instance, have you visited Minted, yet?

They have some of the most amazing invites designed by independent designers.

I might have chosen something like this…