Baby Steps with Decorating

Slowly but surely we're decorating around here. We've been so lucky at thrift stores, craigslist, and yard sales at find fun, pretty things. Now it's just putting it all together.

And, keeping it clean. But, we won't talk about that one.



I'm so happy that we finally got some things hung up over the couch. The blank wall was driving me crazy. I originally planned to paint that mirror and put it in Finley's room, but decided instead to keep in in the living room. I'm glad I did. I put arranged the hangings, Eric hung it, and we're both happy with how it turned out.



A print from KeepCalmPosters hung in the dining area. (And a good reminder for me). We still need a clock above that window thing. Butler's window? I think that's what Eric calls it.



I picked out the color for Finley's accent wall and my amazing mother in law painted it. Thanks Ellie! I really love this color. And, isn't the chair neat? My husband (the midcentury lover) got it for her.



I couldn't help doing a photo shoot with my girl while the big boys watched a movie and Silas napped. The color looks way more green than it really is with the photoshop effect. But, the baby is pretty darn cute!

Happy Half Birthday, Little Princess!

(It was actually yesterday, but I was too busy to post.)

I can't believe my girly girl has gone from this



to this in six short months.



The other day a lady I know was talking about the season that she's in right now, as a grandma, is the best season of life. That as she was raising her kids she couldn't imagine anything better, but the this time of her life is better.

And, honestly, I can't conceive of anything better. I love l-o-v-e love (did you get that it's a lot of love from the spelling it out?) being a mom to my sweet little ones. Of course, we have difficult moments, but I love the ages that they're at, I love the time of life that Eric and I are in, and I find myself wishing that I could just freeze time.

I want to savor each and every moment I have my my kids. Time is so fleeting. I want to enjoy everything they say, hold them every time they ask, and not allow anything to get in the way of truly cherishing them. I'm thankful that they're growing up in a home that's safe and where they know that they are truly adored.

And, that was a totally random tangent that I wasn't expecting to go down. What can I say?

The Camping Trip

Well, we survived camping.





And, ok, we actually had a lot of fun.



The nights were freezing (there was still snow on the ground!), but the days were pleasantly cool, the company was great (we went with five other families that included 18 kids), and the boys love love loved it!



The first night Silas woke up crying several times. It was the only time he'd ever slept out of a crib or pack and play, so each time he moved or rolled he'd wake himself up. Eric brought him into his sleeping bag with him and he finally settled down. The second night we dragged the pack and play into the tent and he didn't wake up once.



The highlights for Judah were the hike, where he got to throw snowballs, and, for all the boys, the boat ride. Eric bought these enormous marshmallows for the s'mores each night. They were a huge hit!





As much as I was nervous to go, I'm glad we went.



And, I can't wait to go again next year.


Have a good weekend! And, maybe next week I'll have some crafty goodness. Maybe.

Camp

This week Judah and Samuel are at day camp at the gym. While they're doing crafts, swimming in the pool, and having an all around great time I'm missing my two little helpers.

Silas and Finley and I have been walking them there and back each day and staying to work out. We've been running the neglected errands. It's crazy how, when you have four kids, two seem so easy.

Wednesday Farmer's Market

I love Farmer's Markets and in my small(ish) city we're really lucky to have lots of them and lots of fresh, local produce available.



Today while the boys were at camp Silas, Finley, and I visited one of my new favorites. Our family visits the downtown Saturday market every week, which is our favorite, but we're not going to be able to this week. So, instead we went to the Wednesday morning one by Tinseltown/Trader Joe's and, what was formerly, the Old Mall.


Silas enjoying his bran muffin from Tin Roof.

The was actually several more vendors this week, so this one is definitely growing. Two of my favorite vendors, Guzzetti's Catering, with their delicious Indian food (get the Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan), and Tin Roof Bakery, are there.



Besides our bread and Indian food we, also, got carrots, garlic, an onion, potatoes, strawberries, peaches, and green beans.



Chico, also, has a Thursday night market, which is our least favorite. It's too crowded with all the kids and a popular hangout for the high school and college crowd.

And, a new, small one on Saturday and Sunday at the Butte College Chico Center. It's new, so there isn't as many vendors, but it's also much less crowded than the Saturday downtown market.

Pretty Dresses

Here is one of the two vintage dresses that I got the other day. I'll post a picture of the other one next time I wear it. I like the other one better, but this one is super comfy!


I am so, so excited about my first Misha Lulu purchase. I've been wanting to get one of the dresses for Finley for awhile and planned to while we were in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, the shop that we visited only had a few Misha Lulu item and none even close to Finley's size.

Have you heard of The Mini Social? It's a members only site that has discounted items (like Gilt)- this one being for babies and kids.

I just found out about it today and I cannot WAIT to get the dress I ordered (which, also, happens to be deeply discounted). I, pretty much, wanted to order every single thing on the site, but decided on this dress. Isn't it pretty?

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the man who would let me ride on his bike seat while he pushed it along,
took me to Sutter's Fort and the Exploratorium
(and gave me a love for museums and history),
and likes to talk about "the Republicans."


(picture from my sis in law)
Happy Father's Day to the man who raised his son to be hardworking
and provide for his family,
does the poopy diaper changes,
and likes to talk about "the liberals."

(And, Happy Father's Day to my grandpas, too!)


Happy Father's Day to the man who is politically moderate,
the best pool man around,
is so funny with his dry sense of humor,
wrestles with his boys,
and laughs at their jokes,
is always trying something new (beer/mead brewing right now),
loves to learn new things,
is steadfast in his love and commitment to me,
and the kids,
and is all around pretty dang amazing.
I could not have have imagined a better father for my children.
You truly are the best.
We are so incredibly blessed by your life and the way that you love.


We love all of you and are so thankful for you!
Love, Morgan, Judah, Samuel, Silas, and Finley

Bye!

via

See you soon!

Felt Flowers

Another yard sale score was sheets and sheets of wool felt in lots of pretty colors. Here's the felt along with some fabric I, also, got.



You all know I love flower headbands, so, of course, I had to make some felt flower headbands.





And, I had to add this cute picture I took yesterday. The boys love their sister. And, I'm pretty sure she loves them, too!



Linking to Tea Rose Home, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Much Ado, Creations By Kara

Success!

I have this friend who, for the past six years that I've known her, always has the best yard sale and thrift store finds. During the handful of times I'd go I'd walk in, see nothing I like, and walk about.



But, I'm slowly getting the hang of things and falling in LOVE with yard sales and thrift stores. The key is definitely to be consistent in going and not being afraid to dig. I'm definitely not a digger, but once you find a few things you love it encourages the digging to come out! :)



I, also, know exactly what I'm looking for and only go to 4-5 specific yard sales each week. If we see some that look good along the way we'll stop, but only if they have what we're looking for.



You can't really see the clothes that well in the picture, but I found TWO really cute vintage dresses. I've never found a cute dress before, so I was so excited when we randomly stopped at the Salvation Army (which is in the same shopping center as our new favorite frozen yogurt place) and I found two of them.



I got this "1930s Art Deco" dish set for FREE. I'm surprised how often people say, "you can just have that." So fun! And, don't you think it makes the best tea party set? I think we'll have lots of those in our future. Although, Eric served the boys their cereal in the bowls this morning.

Anniversary weekend and a super cute print!

I'm been meaning to post, but feeling a little uninspired. We've been fighting a cold and, in turn, waking up more in the night and feeling tired. The kids are all feeling good, but I'm still tired.

I have made some felt flower headbands and baby leg warmers. That's productive, right?

Eric and I had fun celebrating our anniversary. We went to the In Motion party (just the two of us, our very first time since Finley was born) on Saturday night and then my in laws watched the boys and Eric, Finley, and I had a delicious dinner at Red Tavern. Not to mention our frozen yogurt, lots of family time, and a cake from Upper Crust made for a perfect anniversary weekend.

As a gift I bought Eric this super cute print from the vol25 etsy shop. He loves airstreams (he says he wants two- one for an office and one to use for traveling) and I love cute prints, so this was perfect. I ordered it on the 6th and it came yesterday. Such fast shipping!



She, also, sent the cutest notepad and a little card with a hand written note. I've already put the post card and business cards (which have mini prints on them) on the refrigerator. Excellent customer service makes me giddy, so I had to share with you and tell you to buy something, too. I'll definitely be making another order. Aren't these cute?

7 Years

Seven years ago today we were married. I'm so thankful for my husband and the amazing man that he is.



Some of you already saw these photobooth pictures when I posted them on twitter. But, I kind of love them. The ones with the kids are hilarious, too. I'll post them soon!

Reading back through my old anniversary posts (6 years, 5 years, 4 years, 3 years) makes me so thankful and grateful for where we are. We've survived difficulties, had four beautiful babies, traveled a little, moved a lot, and gotten to know each other more everyday.

I was thinking about marriage the other day. One thing I know that I've struggled with before (and I'm probably not the only one) is not having the same excitement as a new relationship. There's no more pursuit or long phone calls or awkwardness/nervousness. But, then I realized we DO have that...we have amazing memories of our courtship.

But, really, being an old married lady is better than a newlywed. I don't have to say goodbye to Eric anymore. I get to go to sleep next to him and wake up next to him and share my whole life with him. The blessing in that doesn't compete with temporary emotions. Eric is the perfect husband for me, he is the perfect balance. I am emotional, he is steady. I am loud and obnoxious, he is quiet and thoughtful. I stay home with the kids, he goes to work. I am a blogger, he's a blog reader. :)

I love you, Eric. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have you in my life and call you my husband. You are such a man of character and I am so, so proud to have you as my husband. Thank you for loving me in so many different ways- from always forgiving me to letting me buy cute clothes. You are the best in the whole world!

Stuff I Like

Today is our last official day of kindergarten. I'm so proud of my smart, amazing boy. Tonight we're having a little graduation party to celebrate our first grader!!

Onto the pretty things...


I love this fawn wall hanging from Skunkboy so, so much! It would be perfect for Finley's room!


This swimsuit from Anthropologie is the prettiest I've ever seen. (Although, they do have lots of pretty ones!)


Love Kerri's crafty area wall at Simply, Me.


I want this same Ikea shelf thing as Thrifty Decor Chick.


I love Caitlin's photo wall on Caitlin Wilson Design. I need to get mine going above the couch!

An Estate Sale and Photoshoot

On Saturday we had one particularly successful estate sale visit.

After Eric was done looking around he sat down with the kids to wait for me. One of the ladies running the sale spotted them sitting there and had her sister come over and look. Then, she got her husband and her camera. She had me sit down with them to take a few family photos.

With people milling around, there were were posing for pictures on our new couch! Including the couch, we scored the cute turquoise teacup, two vintage handkerchiefs, a vintage sewing book, a dog book, and 3 hats for the boys- all for $12!