share your joy

November 25, 2013April 6, 20204 Comments

Well, hello there…it’s been a while.

Last time I posted I was at the halfway point of a 12 day business trip…Ryan was on the business trip, not me.

The following weekend, and all the days combined had me wiped out.

The kids and I fell asleep together at 6:30 almost every night until Ryan got home.

We crafted, got Christmas decorations out, and snuggled together a lot.

It was good.

When the kids were really young, and Ryan traveled every week it was HARD.

I complained A LOT.

Sent angry text messages to Ryan.

Left him messages where I was crying or screaming because I was so frustrated that he was gone.

It was what we had to do.

The sacrifice we had to make for me to stay home with the kids was for him to be gone for work.

No matter how many times Ryan told me that, or I told myself that…IT WAS HARD.

But we did it.

I did it.

And, you know what?

I am stronger for it.

I know that I can take care of things around here.

I know I can keep my kids safe.

And, now that they are older, it’s easier.

But, man, are we glad that Ryan is home!

My parents are coming to visit us for Thanksgiving. They get here tomorrow. I can’t wait!

Traveling with young kids can be tough.

Traveling with young kids during the holidays is not something I want to do.

I am so thankful that my parents will come out to Oregon to share our new traditions.

We cook fabulous food, enjoy wine, build fires, watch football, the boys go hunting, we cut our Christmas tree.

It’s awesome.

And, this year we will celebrate my dad’s retirement from a 37 year career at Xerox!

On to new adventures.

Oh, and remember what I did with the JOY marquee from Target?

I’ve seen them all over Instagram and asked people to share them with the hashtag #sharejoymarquee.

Here are some of the photos…

Anny (@oakhart) used a frame from Goodwill and rubber cemented atlas pages to the cardboard backing on the frame. She cut a hole in the cardboard behind the J to run the wire through (so the cord runs down the back of the frame against the wall). She used command hooks (but hot glued them to the board) to hang the letters on and used twist ties to keep all the wires together behind the letters. Don’t you love it?

My IG friend, Courtney (@cottagemommy) used a bit of nature, and some vintage touches with her JOY. Courtney had her house featured on Life Made Lovely’s Holiday Home Tour last year…go check it out…it’s gorgeous!!

And, here is a beautiful antique holiday mantle from Kelli (@alongthedirtroad). She has a lovely blog that you should also go check out! Don’t you love the pinecones, burlap, and greenery?

If you are on Instagram and were able to get a JOY marquee from Target (I also hear that Orchard Supply Hardware has something similar), please share your JOY by using the hashtag #sharejoymarquee.

If you are NOT on Instagram you can e-mail me a photo of your JOY marquee and I will share it on the blog! Just send a photo to homeis@stephanytaddeo with the subject “share joy marquee”.

Have fun, and share the JOY!

home is…sharing new traditions, new adventures, and joy.

{colton+cadence} vintage maps

November 5, 2013April 6, 2020Leave a comment

Sometime in February or March the kids and I drove up to Tacoma to pick up some maps.

I won a bid on Goodwill.com, but it was for local pick up only.

So we drove almost 3 hours one way to get them.

I am so glad we did.

One was a nine map classroom set.

Illustrated American history maps.

Starting in the 1600’s up until the early 1900’s.

My dad remembers this set from elementary school.

That was in the 1950’s.

Although it was a hard decision, I split the set up and decided to sell some in my Instagram shop, @coltoncadence.

Three of them have sold.

There are still two available.

They are gorgeous.

Vibrant colors.

Detailed drawings.

I’m probably going to regret selling them.

I’ve never seen anything like them.

It’s kind of like telling the story of the first Thanksgiving.

One of the maps that is still available has the Lewis and Clarks route on it.

I kept four of them for us.

One is in the playroom.

One is in the little guys room.

If you want one, go check out what’s left (1829 and 1790)!

home is…an illustrated history.

{embrace the camera} a week of challenges

October 11, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve been taking part in an Instagram challenge that Ashley and Emily started this week.

{you can read more about it on their blogs…Under the Sycamore and The Anderson Crew}

Here are my photos…

{monday}

{tuesday}

{wednesday}

{thursday}

Today’s challenge is FACES…you’ll have to come back to see that one! (or follow me on instagram)

home is…being challenged.

community

September 6, 20131 Comment

com·mu·ni·ty

/kəˈmyo͞onitē/

a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

I’ve felt an overwhelming sense of community this week.

Overwhelming in a good way.

It began the last week with a visit to the zoo with my momma friends from friday playgroup. We haven’t met regularly this past year due to school scheduling conflicts, but we try to get together when we can. A couple of us were talking about how, with the big kids in school all day, we would be able to get together on Friday’s with our little ones again.

And, just like that, we have friday playgroup on the calendars again. I host the first one at the end of this month. Oh, how I have missed those mommas. We have gone through a lot together in 6 years of raising our babies together. I am so thrilled to be able to share Friday morning’s with them again!

Community.

On Tuesday, the little guy started kindergarten at our neighborhood school. He can ride a bus to school, but we are walking distance from the school, so we choose to walk.

On Tuesday, we walked with our neighbors.

On Wednesday, we walked alone, but started to recognize the same families and kids walking together. On Wednesday afternoon, I rode the little guy’s bike while baby girl rode hers so they could ride their bikes home from school. It was so fun!

By Thursday, I was introduced to other moms in the neighborhood by mom’s I met walking around our neighborhood, etc.

This morning, it was raining, so I drove the little guy to school, but the momma’s (and dad’s) in the neighborhood were still out there walking together, coffee (and umbrella’s) in hand. In the future, I’m not going to let a little rain deter me from walking to school. How awesome is it to know they people in your neighborhood?

Community.

Wednesday evening, I went to the parents open house for baby girls school. It is the same preschool we have gone to since the little guy was three. This will be our fourth year there. With all the “newness” of the neighborhood school, walking into the open house on Wednesday was like coming home. The familiar faces of the wonderful teachers. The faces of the parents who I have seen every morning for four years. The same stories that the director tells every year as she goes over the information she has to share.

Not to mention, while I was walking in another mom asked if she had seen me that morning at the elementary school. Yes! I was there. Our sons are in kindergarten together. Their family is moving in down the street next week. As we were talking another mom chimed in. SHE lives around the corner from us and has a son in first grad at the local charter school and a daughter one year older than baby girl. She said another neighbor had told her about our outdoor movies and how fun they were!

Community.

I have also jumped back into a fitness routine. I went on a run Tuesday morning and to a yoga class at our health club yesterday. I love to see the same people on my running route and to share a commonality with the people in yoga and at our health club. Baby girl was even able to reunite with her friends from school at the childcare. Tomorrow, I am going to attend a new class with our next door neighbor. Getting healthy with others is awesome.

Community.

And, finally, online. On Wednesday, at school, I was approached by and Instagram follower who has a child in the little guys class! She introduced herself to me and I was so glad that she did. The sense of community that I find on Instagram and by following blogs is amazing. I love seeing the homeschooler’s starting their school year; the moms sending their kids to preschool for the first time; the moms finding more time for themselves, and their passions, now that their kids are back in school. Just to know that other moms are sharing the same experiences as I am all over the country is awesome.

Community.

I love all of this.

It’s what I want for my family.

It’s what I want for my kids.

It’s what I want for myself.

Community.

home is…a feeling of fellowship.

{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.

{through the rearview} old photos new life

May 16, 20133 Comments

throw back thursday

or

flash back friday.

either way…

either day…

people post older photographs on instagram.

it might be a year, or 10, or 30.

about a month ago, i was cleaning (on thursday, i clean), had to put something away in the attic, and pulled out two photo albums.

one my sister made for me.

the other was one i just put together with photos my mom passed along to me.

the kids loved looking at them.

and, to do anything to procrastinate (did i tell you i am a procrastinator?!), i posted a couple on instagram.

it’s fun.

and, you know what it reminds me of?

that i had an awesome childhood.

that is why i do what i do for my children.

it is fun to have fun.

to go on adventures.

learn something new.

play with friends and family.

i’m going to use these photos, and many more, to write some posts about my childhood.

i think it will be fun.

and, it’s fun to have fun.

home is…being reminded of my childhood.

cock-a-doodle-do at four in the afternoon

April 10, 2013April 6, 20203 Comments

Just checkin’ in.

During the winter months I want everything cozy and warm, but it was starting to feel heavy and cluttered.

So, I’ve been rearranging.

Spring cleaning.

Lightening things up a bit.

I’ll share it all with you soon.

For now, a few photos from {m}iphone…

He’s getting used to the empty space in his mouth and alreay has another loose tooth.

She has such a fun personality. Singing, dressing up, making up stories.

Put this back up on the chalkboard in the family room…it is kind of “dog themed”.

A few of my favorite things found a nice spot in a vintage crate on the wall in our kitchen.

Lorelai is writing her name at school.

A jar full of little people in the playroom.

We have ants. The kids are both mesmerized and terrified by them. They will hold snakes, walk up to big dogs, feed goats, but ants…it might have something to do with the ants that were all over me at the refuge over spring break.

The last of the camellia are blooming and falling to the ground. There’s a big mess to clean up. I wish they lasted longer.

She let me put a braid in her hair. I love it when her hair is out of her face.

It was a nice morning to share my coffee with Odyssey. Then it got windy and rainy. Then sunny. Then rainy. Then sunny, again.

Trader Joe’s had bunches of ten daffodils for $1.29. I bought 5 bunches. They brighten up the craft table.

Mail makes me happy. This afternoon we pulled into the garage just as the mail man stopped. I got an unexpected package from an instagram friend. Homemade jam and this beautiful granny square garland. I absolutely LOVE it!

This oldy, but goody dowloaded with my other photos. I decided to share it because everybody else is sharing photos of their newly hatched chicks. I want chickens, but Ryan isn’t so keen on the idea. Maybe next year. For now, I’ll visit other peoples chickens and be happy that our neighbors have a rooster that wakes us up every morning…and all day long.

He’s cock-a-doodle-dooing now…it’s 4pm.

I would like to read up about raising chickens and I know there are a lot of you out there who know about it, so if you have some good recommendations please let me know!

home is…just chicken in on a Wednesday afternoon. {get it?!}

{in the shop} on instagram

March 7, 2013Leave a comment

So, this morning, I posted a bunch of vintage Fisher Price toys on Instagram.

Not on my @homeiswhatyoumakeit profile, but in my instashop @coltoncadence.

This is where I post colton+cadence updates and, this time, posted the items directly for sale in my Instashop!

So, if you are on Instagram, you can claim an item by commenting with your PayPal e-mail!

If you aren’t comfortable with that, you can still visit the colton+cadence on etsy where there are a few vintage Fisher Price items in the vintage playroom section of the shop.

And, use the coupon code “solucky15” to receive 15% of your purchase until St. Patricks Day!

home is…feeling a bit lucky today.

{collecting} vintage playroom

February 25, 2013April 6, 202014 Comments

When I started thrifting less than a year ago I also started some new collections.

My collections are of items that I have always had a fondness of, but never knew how to find them…until I started thrifting.

One of my favorite collections is my vintage fisher price collection.

These toys come from the days of my youth. I am not sure I ever had any of them, nor do I recall playing with any of them (although I am sure I did at some point), but they take me back to when I was a little girl.

I say it is my collection, but it is really for all of us…as are most of my collections.

The toys fill the shelves in the playroom (remember the playroom…something I thought we would never have).

The kids, most days, will pull the vintage fisher price off the toy shelves before they choose any of the newer toys.

For me, I love…

…the simplicity…

…the graphics…

…the bright colors…

…it all just makes me happy!

I imagine that these toys will go into the attic (or my creative cottage) to be stored until my own kids have children of their own.

And, just like my kids do when they visit their grandparents in New York, they will play with the same toys that generations before them have been playing with.

When I come across duplicates of what we already have I put them into colton+cadence or post them for sale on instagram.

If you are interested in starting your own collection you can follow @coltoncadence on instagram or visit the vintage playroom section of colton+cadence on etsy!

home is…collecting something that makes you (and your home) happy.

they should make an app for that

November 6, 2012Leave a comment

Are you on Instagram?

I’m addicted and have been for almost 1-1/2 years.

You should download the app and follow me (@homeiswhatyoumakeit).

If not, you can still view my instagram photos on my new Instagram web profile!

You can click the link in the sidebar on the right to see any of my new Instagram photos on the good old inter web!

Also, have you heard about the new Afterglow app? It’s also addicting.

Download it.

Did you vote today?

They should make an app for that.

home is…cool apps.

stephany taddeo

home is what you make it

Tag: instagram

{colton+cadence} vintage maps

{embrace the camera} a week of challenges

community

com·mu·ni·ty

{whatever craft weekend} part 1

here it is…

3 months later…

{through the rearview} old photos new life

throw back thursday

or

flash back friday.

cock-a-doodle-do at four in the afternoon

{in the shop} on instagram

{collecting} vintage playroom

they should make an app for that