odds and ends

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First…

I promised my Instagram and Facebook followers a recipe for the Pumpkin Spice Playdough we made yesterday.

Here is is:

It’s not mine…came from the kids school newsletter.

Second…

Been adding a few things to colton+cadence this week.

Third…

I also had a little fun with flash cards around home tonight.

It was soooo easy.

You need:

  • flash cards
  • background paper (I chose a paper bag)
  • frame
  • scissors
  • glue
  • sharpie or pencil

Cut paper to fit frame.

Arrange flash cards.

Glue into place.

Place into frame.

Hang on your wall.

I also made this one where I added the year we were married, the year Reece was born, and the year Lorelai was born.

home is…fun with flash cards.

they should make an app for that

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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!

home is what you make it on instagram

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.

joy to the…

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It wasn’t supposed to rain yesterday and we didn’t have any big plans so I proposed that we take some Christmas card photos in the backyard.

Easy enough.

Gather branches that have fallen from the Douglas Firs, write a little something on the outdoor chalkboard, and throw in a little vintage red.

joy to the world

Oh, and how about some globes?! Yes, perfect!

Joy to the world!

Get on the trikes.

Move a little closer.

Lorelai, stop looking at your brother.

Reece, stop making funny faces.

Fine.

Everybody look at somebody else and make a funny face.

We look happy, but I had just stepped in the middle of his parenting. It’s all starting to go downhill.

The kids wanted to take more photos…meaning, they wanted to use the camera.

Lorelai took some of the boys.

Reece took some of the girls.

And, then the joy was gone.

It lasted all of five minutes.

We may have gotten one good family shot.

home is…a gold star for effort.

happy…

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Friday.

Weekend.

November.

I’ve been trying to write this post for the last couple of days, but for one reason or another got sidetracked.

An awesome workout got in my way.

Then my computer did not want to work.

Lorelai got snuggly.

She fell asleep on the way to pick up Reece.

Errands had to be run.

Dinner had to be made.

Furniture had to be moved for carpets to get cleaned.

You know, normal stuff.

I went wine tasting with girlfriends last weekend.

The Willamette Valley was beautiful.

The wine was good.

The company was unbeatable!

I’m happy Halloween is over. I just didn’t get into it this year.

I love the pumpkin patches and fall, but Halloween just wasn’t a big deal to me this year.

However, I was thrilled that the kids decided to go with classic costumes…all their own idea!

The downpour that had been going on for two days stopped right after dinner and the skies cleared for a beautiful evening. Trick or treating was short lived as our ghost had trouble seeing and walking, but he was a trooper and decided that handing out candy (and eating candy) at home was a lot of fun, too!

 

The witch collection is put away and I will do a bit more rearranging and organizing before I get the Santa collection out.

 

I’ve started running again and it feels good.

Nothing crazy, but I am following the “Ease into 10K” app on my phone and it gives me a goal to reach for each run.

When the weather is nice I have been running outside and pushing Lorelai in the BOB. When Reece was her age I was still doing Stroller Strides 3 times a week and pushing BOTH of them! She is so happy sitting in the stroller, taking in the sights, and talking to whatever stuffed animal friend she brings along.

 

 

When I’m not wearing my running shoes I’ve got my boots on. It is definitely boot weather around here. My Frye’s and Hunter’s are my favorites. Lorelai loves the red cowboy boots I found at the Farm Chicks Show in 2011!

 

 

This is what November looks like in our backyard. It’s a little neglected, but still beautiful. My happy place.

 

 

When we are inside we are spending time learning, playing and growing.

Both kids love writing and drawing.

Our vintage books are always fun to look at and read.

I think I need to sign Reece up for more climbing classes.

Lorelai is my snuggle bug.

 

 

 

In Oregon, everybody votes by mail.

It makes it easy.

I voted.

 

 

I have added some fun vintage items to the shop.

Some of them are perfect for Thanksgiving.

Go check them out!

 

 

And, last, but not least…

 

 

I’m having fun with the vintage flash cards I have found and will be adding some flash card items to colton+cadence soon!

home is…finally getting this post done.

collecting

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My name is Stephany, and I am addicted to thrifting.

And, collecting…

Vintage globes.

Vintage Pyrex.

Vintage toys.

Vintage scales.

Vintage map puzzles.

Vintage games.

Vintage thermos’.

Vintage children’s books.

Vintage school chairs and desks.

Vintage suitcases.

Vintage paint by number artwork.

Vintage afghans and quilts.

And my newest obsession…

Vintage flash cards.

I’ve got some fun ideas for these. You can see some of them on my thrifting Pinterest board.

home is…collecting treasures.

{our home} mad for plaid

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One of the things I love about living in the Pacific Northwest is that fall lingers.

The first signs start to show in September…apple farms, cooler nights, shorter days

October brings changing leaves, boot and sweater weather, and pumpkin patches.

Wait…it’s not over!

The leaves still change color well into November until the rain settles in and our thoughts change to winter on their own.

Given this fact, the quilts and afghans we used for picnics and outdoor movies during the summer have found their place in our home for use everyday…and I was inspired.

Specifically by the plaids in the quilts…probably somebody’s old ripped shirt that could no longer be worn.

I thought about making some pillow covers out of thrifted plaid shirts, but wasn’t having any luck. The shirts were too expensive (i.e. one shirt could cover one 20″ x 20″ pillow, but the shirts I liked were all $13-$19).

Then I searched the internet for pillows, but just couldn’t find something I liked.

Then, I went to Target yesterday. I found two large plaid pillows and thought, “Perfect,” but they were $30 each.

So, I wandered…thinking about my options…and stumbled onto some woven throws on clearance for $8 each. I figured that even if I could only make one pillow out of each throw that I would still get each pillow for only $8, but they weren’t plaid.

I bought five of them and was on my way home when I figured I should just stop in at the fabric store and see what they might have.

Plaid flannel was on sale for 50% off!

I found five patterns I liked and bought one yard of each.

We had 10 forms to cover.

I covered them all and have lots of scrap for more projects…

Our family room is ready to keep us warm through fall and winter.

In the end, I got 10 pillows for the price I would have paid for the two I saw at Target!

I have plenty of fabric for more projects…maybe something for colton+cadence!

home is…letting fall linger.

{pieces of me} october 2008

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If you have read a couple of my posts this month (yesterday’s and this one) you know I care a lot about Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Did you also know that it is Infant and Pregnancy Loss month?

If you’ve been around my blog for a while (or know me personally) you may know that I had my first miscarriage in 2003…one month after my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.

What I haven’t written about is the second miscarriage I had in October 2008.

Ironically, Infant and Pregnancy Loss month.

We had been in Maui.

I was 13 weeks pregnant.

We flew direct from Maui on a red-eye to Colorado to spend a weekend at The Broadmoor.

Both were reward trips that Ryan had earned at work.

We dropped Reece off at my parents house in Genesee and drove down to Colorado Springs.

I was hanging in there, but feeling a little off.

And, then I started bleeding.

We had to leave The Broadmoor early.

We stopped at an Urgent Care on the way to my parents house, but they couldn’t help me.

Honestly, after that I can’t remember exactly what order things happened in, but I do know that we went to the ER where they confirmed that there was no longer a heartbeat. For some reason, we went back to my parents house…maybe to wait until the next day for a D&C?!

I was in a lot of pain and bleeding, so we went back that night.

I had gone through a miscarriage at home before.

I couldn’t fly on a plane to go home to Portland in my condition.

On Saturday, October 25th, 2008 we lost our second baby.

I’m sharing this with you because I think we all need to share our struggles. Our hard times.

I’ve had some. I continue to have some. And, I will have some in the future.

It is Infant and Pregnancy Loss month.

If you have lost a pregnancy, I have been there with you.

home is…sharing pieces of me.

he’s my hero

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Ya’ll.

Yeah. Ya’ll.

Well, after more than one glass of wine I get a “Southern Drawl”. Some might call it a slur, but I like to call it a drawl.

So, ya’ll…

My husband impresses me daily.

I don’t write specifically about him because this blog is mine, not his.

His business is his, not mine.

So, I mention him, but don’t necessarily write about him.

Anyway, I have to tonight because he told me an awesome story.

He flies for work.

No, he’s not a pilot, but he is on an airplane every week. Multiple times (and thanks to this we get perks like flying first class to Maui).

Anyway, he was on a flight home today…flying first class…which he deserves for how much he travels.

During one of the announcements the flight attendant mentioned that you could add a donation for Breast Cancer Awareness Month to your purchase of a snack or beverage.

In first class, you don’t purchase snacks or beverage.

Towards the end of the flight, Ryan asked one of the flight attendants about the donations. She said that people rarely make donations and that none had been made on the flight.

Ryan told her that he would like to make one.

She told him he could make a $1 or $5 donation.

He said, “I’d like to make a $50 donation.”

She burst into tears.

Someone she was close to was battling breast cancer.

Another flight attendant also knew someone fighting breast cancer.

And, the passenger next to Ryan knew someone fighting cancer.

Soon, one of the flight attendants walked by Ryan and said, “He’s the hero on this flight.”

“Oh, I’m no hero,” replied Ryan.

He just did what he felt was right.

I know him. He was going to make that $50 donation whether the whole flight had made donations or not.

That’s just who he is.

I love that man, and I am so blessed that he is mine.

home is…being blessed by the people in your life.

how do you take your coffee?

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We had an emergency this morning.

Of course, we try to avoid them, but sometimes they happen.

The good news is that nobody was hurt.

I threw on my boots, grabbed a bra and put it on as I ran down the stairs.

I was in the car by 8:03.

Within 15 minutes I was home.

I burst in the door and raised my hand up in the air…I had what we needed to solve the crisis.

1/2 & 1/2

It was a “creamer emergency”.

Yes.

Emergency.

Both Ryan and I take our coffee “with cream”.

Not. Milk.

We actually use 1/2 & 1/2, but we both cringe at the thought of putting milk in our coffee.

There was enough for each of us to have a first cup, but beyond that we were in coffee crisis mode.

Ryan had to be on a call at 8:30, the dogs still needed to be fed, and both of the kids were still eating their breakfast.

I elected myself to run out and save the day.

Thank goodness Trader Joe’s opened at 8.

Thank goodness it is only a 3 minute drive from our house.

Thank goodness I know the store like the back of my hand and was also able to throw a couple of other necessities into my basket.

Seriously, I was in and out in less than 9 minutes…

1/2 & 1/2.

2 bunches of bananas.

2 boxes of breakfast bars.

Oatmeal.

2 packages of frozen Mac & Cheese.

2 packages of pumpkin bread mix.

Chocolate chips.

Yogurt.

1 gallon of milk.

1 bag of white cheddar corn puffs.

10 chocolate chip z-bars.

I pulled into the driveway at 8:18.

Crisis averted.

Ryan got on his call.

I poured another cup of coffee…with cream.

How do you take your coffee?

home is…funny little quirks.