{field trip} diverted

I completely diverted from my plan this morning and took a field trip downtown.

I made a stop at Goodwill and found some vintage Fisher Price that I don’t have in my collection.

After that, I stopped at Grand Marketplace.

I love strolling through this place looking for treasures and inspiration. Often, I see items that I already have displayed in ways I have never thought of. And, personally, I love seeing the prices that are being asked for things that I have snatched up for bargains while thrifting!

The item I added to my wish list today was this set of wood and metal theater chairs…

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I know I can find a spot for them…somewhere!

After that, I kind of ambled my way back towards the highway and got sidetracked by pennant banners stretching across a street…so I stopped.

I wandered.

I found treasures.

My background in office design came pouring back into my mind.

I will go back.

I want this…

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and this…

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I know. Crazy. BUT, if you take off the pad that is normally used for patients to lay on to be examined and put on a pallet wood or butcher block top…totally cool table!!!

There was an amazing amount of retro office desks…that were all sold. It made me wonder what catalog I might see them in soon…with astronomical prices. Goodness, they were gorgeous. No room in my house, though!

Oh, and walking around the basements of the old buildings with the old furniture…so cool. I love exploring old places and seeing old stuff.

home is…taking a field trip.

when it rains…

…it pours.

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OR,  like we say around these parts…it Portlands!

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So,  you put on your Poppa’s muck boots, your fuzzy hat, and go jump in some puddles!

home is…dancing (or jumping) in the rain.

regrets…i’ve had a few

mine are…

1. not spending a summer working on a family friends ranch because social (high school) obligations were more important

2. getting rid of my jeep wrangler

3. not becoming a “ski bum” after college

But, life is good anyway.

Do you have regrets in your life?

home is…having regrets.

 

february

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  ~Proverb

It’s always a tough month for me.

It’s like the adrenaline that is left from the holidays of last year pushes me through January, Valentine’s Day gets me through mid month, and then I crash.

And, sometimes, it feels like MY world crashes in around me.

MY world.

MY world is different from your world, which is different from everybody else’s world.

We all have our struggles.

We all have our triumphs.

They are not the same.

My struggles are smaller than some, but bigger than others.

My triumphs are bigger than some, and smaller than others.

The struggles seem to repeat themselves…and I wish they wouldn’t.

It’s like the record repeating itself, groundhog day, our washer that won’t finish a cycle, a bad habit.

I want it to be different this time.

I want more triumph, so next time there will be less struggle.

home is…breaking bad habits.

 

 

wild thing…

I am the mom that does not give candy to the kids classmates on Valentine’s Day. Believe me, my kids eat plenty of treats and that is why I try not to give them on Valentine’s!

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The little guy is really into animals, so I wanted to incorporate that into the valentine’s he gave to his friends.

I searched Pinterest and found some great ideas…you can see them on my valentine’s day board.

This is what we came up with…

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I used perforated business card paper and printed the saying on them.

We tore them apart, punched two holes in the paper, the kids signed their names on the back (make sure to do this before you tie the animals on, but after you punch the holes) and tied each animal on with twine!

I found the animals at JoAnn Fabric, but you can also find them at Michael’s.

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The kids loved them!

Also, here is our no candy valentine from last year…

{home is what you make it} color my world valentines

My favorite part of valentines day was spending time in the kids classrooms…

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and Lorelai’s homemade valentines…

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When I was assembling the animal valentines, Lorelai asked me for paper and tape and ran up to her room. She made her own valentines using her own crayons and some pictures she cut out from a book.

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I love that she wanted to create and give on her own.

We stamped them with a “homemade with love…” stamp and signed her name.

home is…homemade from the heart.

snow much fun

A mother nature imposed break from the real world was exactly what this family needed.

snow days

The forecast early in the week said we might get a lot of snow on Saturday.

When we had snow flying on Tuesday and they hadn’t even predicted it, I knew it was in the cards.

I started to stock up on the essentials on Wednesday.

Meal Plan:

  • Turkey Meatloaf
  • Chili
  • Chicken Soup
  • Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

In no particular order. Just warm food for bodies that have been playing in the snow.

Additional food items:

  • Milk
  • Coffee
  • Hot chocolate mix
  • 1/2 & 1/2
  • Wine
  • Beer
  • Fresh fruits and veggies

And, the fun stuff (all on clearance this late in the season!):

  • sleds
  • snowboard
  • snowball makers
  • snow shovels
  • hand warmers
  • hats
  • mittens

I picked the kids up from school after their early release on Thursday and the flakes flew!

This Colorado girls heart was full. I know I can always drive up the mountain for snow, but snow that “sticks and stays” in our neighborhood is so rare for us. The last time we experienced it was 10 months after we moved to our current neighborhood. Reece was about 18 months old and we just pulled him around the neighborhood in the wagon.

Five years ago.

We’ve had small snow amounts since then…enough for snowballs and a snowman that might last a day, but nothing “big” as far as Portland standards are concerned.

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This was Lorelai’s first big snow.

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This has been fun.

The kids aren’t whining about being cold.

They don’t want to be carried.

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We are all having fun…TOGETHER!

And, with one more snow day today, we will make the most of what’s left of the snow before the rains melts it all away later today!

home is…snow much fun.

are you ready for some football?!

I love football.

If you know me, you know that.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that.

I am a Denver Broncos fan.

I have been my entire life.

I grew up in Colorado…lived there for 30 years.

So, while I live in the Pacific Northwest, where everybody else is cheering for the Seahawks, we will be united in orange at our house on Sunday!

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When I was in Colorado for the baby shower I stocked up on Denver Bronco gear for the whole family!

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Our outdoor chalkboard needed to be updated, so I went with a vintage Denver Bronco theme.

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Leftover decorations from the baby shower gave me a jumping off point for the Super Bowl…we’re just having a few friends over, but MY team is playing so I have to go big.

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They look red in this photo, but these Chuckie T’s are bright orange. I love them. AND, Zappos got them to me in less than 24 hours! Amazing service.

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Of course, this gave me an excuse for fun crafting…felt football and pennant garland!

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No orange and blue to be found in the Pacific Northwest, so I ordered it. Guess where it shipped from? OMAHA! OMAHA!

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Pigs in a blanket are ready to be cooked on game day!

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Lorelai and I even made some Denver Bronco shrinky dinks…I may make some more to add to the football bead necklaces I ordered.

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Today I finished out bulletin board decorations and made a Super Bowl Snackadium (search for “snack stadium” on Pinterest to find ideas on how to put one together…I was not able to do a tutorial as this was trial and error that worked out)…to be filled with snacks on Sunday!

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I love to sew paper garland…it was the first thing I sewed on my sewing machine. I also used paper straws and cupcake liners for one of the garlands!

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Penalty flags made from lollipops wrapped in yellow cocktail napkins will be a treat for our younger crowd…and probably some fun for the older crowd, too!

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home is…getting ready for the big game.

 

 

 

 

lighting up the world

Globes.

They are everywhere.

Really, they have been the last few years.

A few weeks ago mother in law emailed me asking if I had seen the February issue of Country Living because a project looked  similar to the globe lights I was selling in my etsy shop, colton+cadence, last year.

vintage globe lightcountry living::february 2014

When I finally got around to buying a copy it was similar, but not the same. {I love the idea of drilling the holes and may give this a try if I find a globe thirfting}

Then, when I flew to Colorado last weekend I picked up the new Vintage Style magazine and found another photo of a globe light just like the ones I was selling on etsy.

The fact is, I wasn’t the first one to come up with the idea.

I mean, I had it in my head, made one for a graduation gift a few years ago, and then started selling them on colton+cadence.

When I started selling them on etsy, there wasn’t anybody else selling them, but I did see a few photos of similar lamps on Pinterest.

There are still only a handful of shops that sell them and I am not sure why.

Maybe it’s because they are so easy to make on your own.

Anyway, they seem to be HOT right now, so I thought I would share my tutorial {originally posted in August 2013} on how to make them once again.

{diy} globe pendant light 1

It’s much like my tutorial for the mason jar pendant light, but easier!

Supplies:

  • globe
  • pencil
  • exacto knife
  • light kit (i get mine at IKEA)

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How to:

1. Cut globe in half…most globes are made of cardboard or chip board and are put together as two pieces at the equator. You can cut along the equator with an exacto knife, but there usually a supporting ring of thick chipboard at the equator that you cannot cut through. I actually put pressure on the equator (with my hand, elbow, or knee) like you do with those pop open cans that cinnamon rolls come in. I do it all the way around the equator…careful not to crush the globe…and it usually comes apart on it’s own without any cutting!

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2. Trace around your light socket at the top of the globe and cut a hole with your knife. There is usually a metal ring in between the layers of the chip board at the top and bottom of the globe (where they usually attach to their stands). This is usually the same size as the socket, so if you hit metal, just cut to the outside of the ring and you should be OK.

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3. Insert your light kit into the hole and secure.

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4. Insert light bulb. I always use a low wattage (40 watt) or fluorescent bulb for safety since the globes are made of paper.

You can also embellish you globe on the inside or outside like I did with these…

{diy} globe pendant light 2

home is…making the world a little brighter.

oh boy

I spent last weekend in Colorado so that I could co-host a baby shower at my mom and dad’s home.

boys love toys {a baby shower}

I was in charge of the invitations, decorations, and activities.

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My mom provided a beautiful venue, and with help from my aunt, delicious food to snack on!

It all came together on a sunny, Saturday afternoon in the Colorado foothills.

I have to say that i think it turned out fabulous!

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The main decoration was actually our activity of decorating onesies for the baby.

Vintage toys, bright pendant banners, tissue puffs, paper lanterns, and scrapbook paper flags were scattered around the food and activities for extra pops of color.

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The decorating a onesie activity took most of the first hour, but was a great ice breaker for a large crowd of people.

Once most of the guests were done with the onesie activity they began to eat and  fill out a “Wishes for Baby” sheet that the parents can make into a book or put in a scrapbook.

The last 45 minutes were spent watching the baby momma open the gifts. So much fun!

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Best of all…I got to spend time with some of my favorite ladies that day! My mom, sister, niece, aunts, and cousins!

I will follow up next week with the details about how I made the decorate a onesie activity pretty easy for a big crowd of people, and the rest of the details about the invites and activities!

Stay tuned!

home is…celebrating new babies.