Naki & Nina's Double Dare Challenge

Well, hello there! It's been a long time since I shared some paper crafting of my own, but I'm here today with something fun! My dear friend, Naki, has recently been in a bit of a crafting slump as well, so we did what we do best - challenged each other! That's right! We've brought back Naki and Nina's Double Dare Challenge! Haha!

Our Double Dare Challenge was something silly we came up with ages ago to inspire each when our creativity was feeling a little low. We've turned to the challenge before when we have needed a creative boost and we knew we needed something again to get us back into our craft spaces! Believe it or not, this is our 35th challenge! Whoa!

We each pick a challenge item that we combine together to make a Double Dare Challenge. We've sometimes come up with some crazy combinations! Our picks for this round were lots of fun!

improve one of your old designs from the past (the older the better)!

use something you have been hoarding in your stash!

Are you ready?! Let's get crafty! To get started on this challenge, we both had to take a trip down memory lane and look at some of our oldest cards and creations to inspire us. I decided to use one of my favorite first challenges as my inspiration! Here's the original post from 10 years ago!

Even after all this time, I still think this inspiration photo from Moxie Fab is so beautiful. 

Here's the card I made for the challenge!

And here's a peek at my original card design! 

I've destashed so much since I haven't been crafting as much. I don't even own the stamps that I used on this card anymore! I still love the white stamped image on kraft paper and knew I wanted to create a similar look. 

I had fun creating the background for my updated card using some beautiful floral stamps. In hind sight, I do wish I added a little more of the blue/teal color to my card. It ended up looking a little more for a bride than a birthday girl, but I'm still loving this! The hoarded item I decided to use was my Nuvo Crystal Drops! I'm not actually hoarding it, but I've been unsure of what to do with them, so they've been sitting up on my shelf until now. The Nuvo Drops were actually a gift from Naki and happened to be the perfect color for this card! 

Here are the DEEtails:

Paper: Baked Brown Sugar cardstock, Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock, White Vellum cardstock

Stamps: Bigger Blooms (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: VersaMark

Embellishments: Neptune Turquoise Nuvo Crystal Drops, white scalloped ribbon (American Crafts) White Stampin' Emboss Powder

Hope you like it! We'd love for you to join us in the challenge too! You can link your card in the comments below or join us on Instagram by tagging us @deesignsbyninadee and @notesfromnaki with #nnddchallenge. We Double Dare you!

Christmas Part 2

I'm back today to share the rest of our daughter's Christmas pocket pages. These pages are her favorite photos from December and Christmas at home. 

Lots of puffy stickers on these pages! These are some of the goodies that she got with her gift card she received from Easter. 

Our little girl is always confused and finds it kind of humorous when she sees stitching on scrapbook pages (because sewing if for fabric, of course!) but she's getting adventurous with her pages and asked me to sew lines across her tab on this photo! Let me tell you, I'm kind of a nervous wreck doing stuff like this for her! I'm so scared I'm going to mess up her beautiful work! 

She's on to the next project now... I can't wait to share! This blog may soon turn into DEEsigns by Audra Dee since this little girl is doing way more crafting that I am these days!

Christmas in July

Since she's all caught up on her four year old photos, she said she ran out of photos and asked what she should scrapbook next. Hahaha. Our little girl was thrilled when we told her she could start working on photos from last year! She immediately asked if she could print Christmas photos first!

For Christmas, we traveled to Ohio to visit family. When she was working on her pages, she decided to show the different activities she did with each set of grandparents on each page. The left side shows photos with her Grandma and Bumpy and the right side shows photos with her Grammie & Grampie. 

She received a gift card to Felicity Jane for Easter from her Grandma and spent it on some Christmas goodies to decorate her pages. Of course, she dug through my stash to find some fun stuff too, including the snowflake sequins and fake snow, which she requested to be made into another "sprinkle pouch" so it would look like snow on the photo of her and my mom in matching winter coats. It's hard to see, but she added the "Brrr" to this photo which makes her giggle so much.

This page is the one she is most proud of. She studied a video from Sheree Forcier to learn how to make a "flip up". She is a mega fan of Sheree and was so excited to learn this technique! She also asked me to sew the ribbon for the tag on this card, which I love. I just adore all her little hearts and stars that she sticks here and there on her pages. 

So proud of this little girl and her work! I'll be back soon to share more!

Blankie

Before our daughter was born, I had an idea that I wanted to make a blanket out of her baby clothes. I just adored all the teeny tiny outfits that we were accumulating. I knew that she would only wear her clothes for such a short period of time and I wanted some way to preserve her adorable outfits. So, as she outgrew her outfits, we carefully stored our favorites in a bin to someday be made into a blanket. Fast forward four years and I am finally done! 

I've actually been working on this project for quite some time. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my hubby and I started pressing, cutting, and planning shortly after our daughter's first birthday. We decided we wanted to stick to a black and white color scheme with dog prints scattered in here and there to match her bedroom decor. 

We searched all over Pinterest as we were planning out a design, and decided we liked a plus sign design, a nod to our little girl's initials - A.N.D. We also played around with dimensions and liked having 1 solid panel on the back, 11 squares across, and 16 squares down - these numbers were picked specifically to correspond with her birth date. Yes, I suppose you could say that we're super sentimental!

The overall size is a little smaller than a toddler flat sheet, which is also almost the exact same size as my own blankie that our little girl stole from me a long time ago. It worked out perfectly because I used her black and white poodle flat sheet from her toddler bed as the backing for the blanket - a perfect match! 

Our daughter seems to love it. In fact, when I laid it out onto her bed for the first time to take some photos, she peeked in to see what I was doing. As soon as she saw the blanket and her monkey family, she dove onto the bed and started snuggling everything! I kind of love it too! 

An Easter Page

Oops! I can't believe I forgot to share the pocket page that our little girl did for the Felicity Jane Kids Create Challenge here on the blog! I've been starting to post a little bit on Instagram, actually starting off with this page, and have neglected to keep up on the blog!

Our little girl has been watching Sheree Forcier's pocket page process videos and was super excited when she saw her Easter pages. She could not wait for Easter so she could scrapbook her own photos! Normally, our little girl loves planning and celebrating holidays, but this brought an extra element of excitement for her. It was so cute watching her as she went around the house snapping photos to document the event.

 

When she found out about the Felicity Jane Kids Create Challenge, she immediately announced that she would be working on her Easter page. She got to work right away and was so focused. She was so proud of her completed project! 

The egg photo was one that she snapped herself. She added the cute little sequins to decorate it. She also drew that little chocolate bunny and cut it out to make her own little embellishment. She wakes up early each morning, usually before anyone else, and will go into the office to work on her little scrapbook. Or she'll ask to watch a "Licity Jane" video on her iPad to learn some new ideas. 

I may be a little biased, but her work is so adorable, I can't get over it. I absolutely love the days that she brings out her scrapbook and wants to sit down and read it together. We still read every single caption on every single page. 

A Little Project Life

Hello! I hope you all are healthy and safe out there! 

I wanted to share a bit of craftiness that we have been up to while cooped up at home. 

I bought a few new things from Felicity Jane and brought out my Project Life supplies, with the intention to start working on scrapbooking some baby photos. But, I actually haven't had a chance to use any of it, because my little girl has taken over my craft space!

My little girl has recently discovered YouTube, which I know most kids enjoy. But unlike most four year olds, I'm sure, she has been watching ladies who scrapbook. Her favorites to watch are Sheree Forcier's pocket page process videos. Of course she wanted to try her hand at making her own pocket pages.

She received a little camera for her birthday, so scrapbooking her photos seemed like the perfect next step for her. I printed out a few photos for her and she got right to work! She started on the photos she took on her birthday when we took her to National Harbor to ride the Capital Wheel as a birthday surprise. 

I must admit it was a little painful to watch her dive right into all my new Felicity Jane goodies and just slap them onto her pages, but but I loved that the fact that it was getting used (and not hoarded!). Her favorites are the Jenny Word Stickers and the Chipboard Stars. I might have to order her some more! I guess now I have a good excuse to buy some more stuff, right? 

She had so much fun with her first pocket page spread that she was eager to print out some photos from her birthday party. I made the little sequin packet during her nap to surprise her. She was quite thrilled. She wanted to make presents for her gift table, since she took the photo before any guests had arrived, so I helped her tie little bows onto pieces of paper that she cut into present shapes. I've gotta say, I envy her decisiveness when it comes to crafting. She is definitely a girl who knows what she wants. 

 

I'm so thrilled to watch her through this scrapbook process. The smile on her little face each time she finishes a card or picture is priceless! She's now working her way through February and told us that once she is done with her four year old pictures, she will be scrapbooking her baby pictures. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get some time to play too! 

Her scrapbooking has brought us a lot of smiles, too. We love that she frequently brings out her scrapbook to share it with us (and with anyone she FaceTimes). We look at the pages with her and read all her little captions. Yes, all two pages! Hahaha. Hoping to be able to share more pages soon! 

Take care!

You Are My Sunshine

I've been feeling crafty lately so I'm here with another card today.

Our little girl is super duper into reading. She has always loved sitting and listening to stories and from a very young age, scolded us for not teaching her all the letters so she can learn to read. In fact, she recently received the 500 by 5 award (for reading 500 books before the age of 5) from our local library and is now on a mission to read as many books as she possibly can on her own (it's been a month now and she has already read 24 books).

We've been so proud of her so I made her this little card. I also wanted to surprise her with a little bookmark, since she is always trying to steal mine! I love this stamp set that I won from a card making challenge last year from Paper Smooches. It was perfect to make a card to celebrate our little girl.

Here are the DEEtails:

Paper: Artist's Loft 140# Watercolor Paper, Crushed Curry cardstock, Pacific Point cardstock, I Am... paper pad (Simple Stories)

Stamps: Sunnyville (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, VersaMark

Embellishments:  Black Stampin' Emboss Powder, Daffodil Delight 1/4" Cotton Ribbon, Daffodil Delight Pompom Trim, Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, White Stampin' Emboss Powder

Tools: Kuretake Gansai Tambi, laminator

You Make My Heart Happy

I can still hardly believe it, but our little girl recently turned four! She definitely makes our hearts happy!

For Valentine's Day, she has been asking for a chocolate heart and a card. She enjoys all things crafty and loves handmade cards, so I thought I would surprise her with a handmade card this year.

Her favorite colors are pink and purple so it made sense to incorporate both on this card. The hardest part was probably finding a sentiment that I knew she would enjoy. She has recently taken an interest in cursive writing, so I thought she would be tickled to see some on her card. 

Here are the DEEtails:

Paper: Artist's Loft 140# Watercolor Paper, Blackberry Bliss cardstock, Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock

Stamps: Lovely Amazing You (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: VersaMark

Embellishments:  4mm Marshmallow Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), White Stampin' Emboss Powder

Tools: Kuretake Gansai Tambi

Happy 2020!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

And just like that, it's 2020. WOW. How did that happen? 

As usual, school started, life got busy and I just dropped everything, including this blog and all my goals... But I'm back again. I can't promise much, but I'm here at least for now! 

I'm working on finalizing my 20 for 2020 challenge. I have so much fun with these, even though I don't ever finish all of them. I'm still making my way through 19 for 2019 and 18 for 2018, but having fun the whole way.

I'll be back soon, but for now, here's a recap of the challenges for the past two years...

19 for 2019

1. Be the ultimate villain - DONE!

2. Get a mani/pedi - DONE!

3. Replace clothing basics - DONE!

4. Make a capsule wardrobe - not started

5. Read 6 new books - DONE! See what I read here!

6. Find a planner I like and use it - in progress

7. Make a home binder - in progress

8. Fix or replace something old in our house - just getting started

9. Sell some stuff on ebay - DONE!

10. Get a new plant - DONE!

11. Decorate the play room - not started

12. Hang up artwork and photos - in progress

13. Organize photos - just getting started

14. Make 2018 photo books - DONE!

15. Update our family blog  - DONE!

16. Make a quilt - in progress

17. Try a no spend challenge - DONE!

18. Save an extra $500 - DONE x 2!

19. Take a vacation - DONE!

18 for 2018

1. Build LEGO Disney Castle - DONE! See details here!

2. Find pants that fit and look good for work - DONE! See them here! 

3. Create artwork for our home - DONE! See it here!

4. Get e-mail inboxes to zero - DONE! (and undone...)

5. Konmari - almost done!

6. Make a card organizer - not started

7. Paint a room or closet - not started

8. Read 4 new books - DONE! see what I read here!

9. Start Project Life - not started

10. Sell stamps and craft supplies - in progress

11. Clean the attic - just getting started

12. Make something from Pinterest - DONE! Check it out here! 

13. Complete an ASCA course - DONE! See the not so exciting details here!

14. Finish 2016 & 2017 photo books - in progress 

15. Set up the Craft Room/Office - almost done!

16. Make 12 cards - in progress

17. Organize my School Counseling Curriculum - in progress

18. Change my name - DONE!

Painty By A Girl

We finally hung up a piece of artwork in our living room! You may recall that one of my goals this year was to hang up artwork and photos. And one of my goals last year was to create a piece of artwork for our home. I guess I can't really take full credit for this one, because the art was made by our three-year-old. 

She has been begging to paint on her easel so I finally dragged out an old canvas that I had basically ruined when I tried to start a painting last year. I gave it a fresh coat of gray paint one night and put it out for her the next morning. She was thrilled! The colors she used were pretty limited since I have mostly neutrals, but I mixed up a little bit of red and blue paint that I have left over from one of her birthday parties and made a muted pink and a bluish gray. A few days later, when she was itching to paint again, I brought the same canvas out and let her layer on some more colors. The original painting had a LOT more pink and blue on it, but she decided to cover a lot of it the second time. 

Since it was our daughter's artwork, we let her decide where to hang it. She scoped out some blank walls in our house and decided on this one for her masterpiece. It sits directly across from our front door, on a small wall between our living room bookcases and the hallway and the opening to our dining room. It's so cheerful to be greeted by her painting when we come home and she is just tickled to have contributed to the decorations in our home. Best of all, when we asked her to name her painting, she immediately announced, "It's called Painty By A Girl." Love it. 

19 for 2019 Progress

Halfway into the year and I'm excited to share my progress so far on my 19 for 2019 list! I know it technically isn't the halfway point in the year, but today is my birthday, which I always consider the mile marker for the halfway point in the year! So, Happy Birthday to me and let's see what I've been up to this year...

1. Be the ultimate villain
I did it! I've beat my hubby with all the villains! Earlier this year, we also got the expansion pack and I've already mastered 2 of them! Woohoo! This was has been lots of fun and I'm glad to have included a fun challenge again this year.

progress: DONE!

2. Get a mani/pedi
So I didn't actually go to a nail salon to get mani/pedi, but I did my own fingers and toes using ColorStreet (one of my dear friends is a Stylist). I think that counts!

progress: DONE!

3. Replace clothing basics
Recently when I was in the dressing room with my mom, she poked fun at my unraveling undershirt... So I guess this was one that was overdue. Haha! This weekend, my hubby took us out shopping with the main intention of buying basics and I'm happy to report that we found some stuff that I like!

progress: DONE!

4. Make a capsule wardrobe

My plan for the summer is to figure out what I need to add for a functional wardrobe. I just need to spend some time with this.
progress: 0%

5. Read 6 new books

DONE! See what I read here!

6. Find a planner I like and use it

Last week, when Target had their teacher discount for school supplies, I picked up some different planners to try out. Of course, I got some other fun planning supplies :) Can't wait to play with them!
progress: 10%

7. Make a home binder

My home binder is coming along...
progress: 60%

8. Fix or replace something old in our house

We desperately need to replace the sliding glass door in our dining room. Last week, I bugged my hubby enough to go out and start window shopping. Literally. LOL
progress: 10%

9. Sell some stuff on ebay

DONE!

10. Get a new plant
At the end of the school year, I acquired a plant from one of my friends as she was cleaning her classroom for the summer. Though this wasn't quite what I had in mind, I was happy to adopt her plant, so technically, I would say I completed this one! LOL. 

progress: DONE!

11. Decorate the play room

My brain has been working on this one... I'm super excited to start planning!
progress: 0%

12. Hang up artwork and photos

We're working on this one!
progress: 25%

13. Organize photos

Making very slow progress here too. I've gathered all the photos in one central location (our bedroom closet) and I want to try to pull out a small stack each night to sort. I just haven't quite made a habit of it yet.
progress: 5% 

14. Make 2018 photo books

Earlier this year, our daughter discovered our past photo books and has been really enjoying them. It was just the inspiration I needed! I made our photo book from our Disney trip along with a couple others from past years, including our Japan trip in 2017, and we are loving them! I think we are just going to make one more for the year and then we'll be done for 2018!
progress: 50%

15. Update our family blog

I'm pretty pleased with the updates I've made and am happy to say that I'm done!
progress: DONE!

16. Make a quilt

I've been working on this one! I spent a LOT of time planning the design on the quilt and collecting the fabrics that I wanted to use. Everything is cut and pinned and I'm ready to start sewing! Now I just need to set up my sewing machine...
progress: 50%

17. Try a no spend challenge

Back in May, Hubby and I tried a no spend challenge. I honestly thought that it would just be a silly little experiment since we are pretty frugal people. Our total spending for the month of May ended up being $700 less than our average monthly spending! Holy smokes. I still have no idea where we managed to save $700! I actually did the math several times because I couldn't believe it was right. It's made us become a lot more mindful of our spending for sure! I actually think I want to do it again.
progress: DONE!

18. Save an extra $500

DONE x 2!

19. Take a vacation

We're going in September! WOOHOO! Hubby just renewed his passport and our itinerary is planned. We've started gathering what we need for the LONG day of travel and making lists of all the cool stuff we plan to buy. We're getting excited!

progress: 25%

I'm pretty pleased with the amount of progress I've made so far... Here's to a busy summer!

Thanks a Bunch

I did it! I finally made a card! It seriously took me about three days to make, but I did it! I even snapped a quick photo so that I can share. 

As I've been cleaning, decluttering, organizing, and relaxing over the summer, I've been itching to get crafty. I had a little basket of goodies that my friend, Naki, sent to me last year when I declared that I would try to make 12 cards in 2018 (I only made 3). One of those goodies was the Paper Smooches Best Buds stamp set with this cute jar of blossoms. My original plan was to go vibrant and whimsical, but Naki suggested I try a metallic embossing powder with light watercolors. Boy, was she right! Thanks, Naki for your insight and advice! :)

I'm finally entering a challenge as well, which is something I haven't done in FOREVER! Paper Smooches has an Anything Goes challenge this month which makes it super easy and super fun to play along! 

The DEEtails:

Paper: Artist's Loft 140# Watercolor Paper, In Color 2014-2016 DSP, Lost Lagoon cardstock, Sahara Sand cardstock, White Vellum cardstock

Stamps: Best Buds (Paper Smooches)

Ink: VersaMark

Embellishments: Winnie's Sparkly Shaker Selection (Little Things from Lucy's Cards), DMC thread, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

Tools: Kuretake Gansai Tambi, Many Thanks Die-namics (MFT)

Summer To Do List

I finally did it! I sat in my office (crammed in a tiny corner) and made something!

I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm not a big fan of the phrase "bucket list"... call it what you will, but this is our Summer To Do List, our Summer Fun List, or our Summer Wish List. I was inspired by this project that I found on Pinterest and was determined to make one for our family.

My little girl requested a floral pattern/theme, despite my gentle push towards some other summery patterns and prints. We sat down together as a family and brainstormed some fun activities and then I made them into tags. It took me a while and I was actually a little worried for a bit that the summer would be over before I even had a chance to finish, photograph, and post this project, but here we are!

I dug through all my supplies and gathered whatever I could find to create these little tags. It's been such a long time since I've sat down in my craft space that I honestly didn't even remember a lot of what I had! I've been weeding through my stamps and supplies and selling things on e-bay little by little, but I still manage to have TONS of stuff!

The tags that we have are as follows:

• blow bubbles
• pick berries
• make ice cream
• swim
• board game
• pick flowers
• tea party
• have a picnic
• visit a museum
• visit the library
• ride bikes
• fireworks
• paint
• catch bugs

Now we just have to go do all these things before the summer is over! Thankfully we were able to knock off a few during our recent trip to visit family. I'll be posting some pics soon!

Currently... July 2019

Hi there! We were out of town last week so I'm a little behind on blogging... I'm officially on summer vacation and loving every moment! Here's what we have going on around here...

WATCHING: Music???
LOL. We are so behind the times around here when it comes to media and technology... After a big storm, the sound on our TV cut out, so we ended up getting a new one a few weeks ago. We aren't big TV watchers, but our little one loves to watch Disney movies and hubby plays games at night, so a working TV is helpful. A TV with sound is also a plus. We got a smart TV this time around and linked our Pandora account to it and our little girl is constantly requesting to "watch songs on the TV." She literally plunks down in front of the TV to watch it flash the album cover of her favorite Disney songs. What a silly girl!

READING: Hands Free Life by Rachel Macy Stafford

I just finished this awesome book. I absolutely HATE doing things out of order, and I was frustrated with myself when I realized that I accidentally got the sequel to Hands Free Mama before I read the first one. But quite honestly, I couldn't make myself stop. It took me a long time to read the entire book, mostly because I just wanted to sit with each story and let it resonate. I finally finished it last night. I just loved it and I can't wait to read the first book now.

LISTENING: to The Greatest Showman Soundtrack
I haven't seen the movie, but the songs have been stuck in my head. I think the kids at my school were singing them and they just kind of got stuck in my head since school let out. Anyway, I sort of became obsessed and now I'm listening to the soundtrack. non. stop. Sorry, Hubby. ;)

EATING: giant marshmallows (*I don't know if these are the actual ones we got)

That's right. You may remember back in May, our daughter was on a mini marshmallow kick. Well folks, we have upgraded to GIANT marshmallows! LOL. They are still a "special treat" for days that she has good table manners and the thought of them make her so giddy. Love that little girly! 

DRINKING: lots of water... again!
So long ago, I only drank water. It has been so inspiring watching our daughter truly love "fresh, cold water." Recently we decided to buy a large Brita water dispenser and start filtering water from our tap. We used to drink only bottled water, because I just didn't care for the taste of our water. We started to take an extra step in boiling our water before filtering and I can honestly say that our water is delicious. Plus our daughter loves that she can dispense "fresh, cold water" whenever she wants. 

WEARING: this sleeveless jersey swing dress
I've talked about how I got a few of these sleeveless jersey swing dresses from Old Navy last summer and they've become a staple for me again this summer. They are simple, comfortable and cool to wear. I usually pair it with a fun necklace and am good to go! I am such a black dress girl, but there are lots of fun patterns and prints if you want more variety! I'm also eyeing this one to add to my closet...

MAKING: progress on my 19 for 2019 list!
I'll be sharing details soon. I'm excited to report that I'm about halfway done with my list, which is pretty fitting since we are halfway through the year!

PLANNING: our trip to Japan
(The photo above is from our visit in 2017 to Tokyo Disneyland - my FAVORITE place on Earth)
We'll be heading to Japan in the fall and I'm so excited! I'm slowly starting to plan... rounding up my shopping wish list, putting aside things to that I need to pack, buying a few necessities... On our itinerary so far is Meiji Temple for Shichi-Go-San (the reason we are going to Japan), Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea (reason #2 & #3 LOL), and Arashiyama Monkey Park (have I told you our daughter is obsessed with monkeys?!?) 

TRYING: to clean up my office
I know... I know... I keep saying that I'm working on my office and really, I am! It's just always difficult because it easily becomes the dumping ground for anything and everything we don't want little toddler hands to get into! I am really making an effort to get it craft-ready because I'm really itching to craft!

WANTING: a new desk??? 

I don't know if this is a move in the right direction, but I'm wondering if a new desk will help make my office space more productive. It might make it feel more like an office space and less like a dumping ground... Hmmm... I'm on the hunt!

FEELING: relaxed
After a busy and stressful school year, I'm glad to be having the time off and am feeling a bit more relaxed. 

ENJOYING: summer!

We just got back from a visit with family and it has been such a nice way to start off our summer. Our daughter is at such a fun age and I am really trying to soak it all in!

Roses Again

Our daughter received a fun little paint with water set for Easter. I mentioned before how she has been enjoying doing little "art projects." Painting is sometimes one of the things she chooses to do. She has inspired me to get out my watercolors too and I recently sat down to paint some roses. 

I scrolled through some old photos on my phone to find just the right inspiration and came across this one again. You may recall that the same photo inspired me to make a card last year. Apparently I still love this photo. I think that may have also been the last time I brought out my water colors. 

Our roses just started blooming last week and we have been thoroughly enjoying the hint of pink in the morning and the heavenly scents. We have been loving having fresh flowers from our garden in our home. Our little girl has even been asking for her own roses for her bedroom and requested to take two small vases of flowers to her teachers last week.

I am no gardener and will be the first to confess that I have killed many a cactus in my lifetime. It was my hubby's idea to plant three pale pink rose bushes to celebrate the birth of our sweet baby girl three years ago. I never expected for them to be so gorgeous and bring such happiness to our home. It is extra sweet to see our daughter so joyful about our roses that we planted just for her. 

Currently... May 2019

Hi there! Has 2019 been flying by for you? Last month was a blur, especially because I spent half of the month sick - I honestly can't remember what was happening while I was so out of sorts. I'm feeling better and trying to get back into the groove of things. Here's what is going on with me (at least for now!)

WATCHING: Cars 2
I've told you before how our daughter loves Cars. For her birthday, she asked for Cars 2 and Cars 3 (we had been watching Cars 3 on Netflix and the original Cars on DVD, but had never seen the second movie). Let me tell you, Cars 2 was a winner! She loves the fact that they travel, especially when they go to Japan, and loves the spy movie action. It's a favorite around our house. 

source

READING: Little People Big Dreams Board Books
Our daughter loves to read. She takes two books to bed with her every night and "reads" in bed until we tell her lights out. We've collected a few books from the Little People Big Dreams board book series and they are currently her favorites. She asks us to read them to her constantly, offers to read them to us, and always has two of them stacked next to her bed. The illustrations are mesmerizing and the stories are engaging. They have been a huge hit around here and we are excited to add to our collection!

LISTENING: to Young House Love has a Podcast
I've been a long-time fan of YHL; in fact, I used to read their blog back when they were "This Young House!" I always enjoy their podcast antics and love hearing what they are up to. 

EATING: mini marshmallows

Somehow our daughter is convinced that mini marshmallows are a "special treat" so we munch on them as dessert after dinner on days that she has good table manners. They are so special to her that they are on front and center display in our glass cabinet. Being three must be so joyful!

DRINKING: various teas
I finished off my favorite English Rose Tea that I shared with you previously and now am on the hunt for a new favorite. I've just been trying out whatever sparks my interest, but haven't found anything quite as lovely yet.

WEARING: a lot of black
You know I love black. I've been reading The Curated Closet, which has encouraged me to feel even more comfortable wearing what I love. 

MAKING: wedding signs
I've been working on some weddings programs, menus, signs, and more for a good friend who will be married at the end of the month. I am so loving how everything is turning out so far!

PLANNING: to fix up the blog
I know this blog is due for some major updates. Now that I'm sort-of back to blogging regularly, I think I really need to get to it!

TRYING: essential oils
I really have no idea what I am doing, but we have recently started trying this OK for Kids essential oil line and our daughter just loves it. She loves to put "beach on her feet" as part of her after-bath routine. 

WANTING: to write some better posts

I may be being hard on myself, but I honestly haven't had many blog-worthy moments. I'm trying to get back into the groove of things so that I can share some of my life but it's honestly just as exciting as I've been able to share. Haha. I've been cleaning out some photos and such and found some stuff that I never had a chance to blog about, so I'm hoping to find time to share some blasts from the past. Stay tuned :)

FEELING: curious...
I've started to become more and more interested in Instagram. I don't really do any social media, but I keep getting drawn to various IG accounts. I'm thinking I should join at the very least so that I can follow some of my favorites... What do you think? Should I make the plunge? Or is it too dangerous? Will I never look up from my phone again? LOL!

ENJOYING: "art projects" with our girly

Recently, our daughter has been carrying armloads of papers, stickers, and all sorts of other goodies, and says "Are you ready to do an art project?!" They mostly consist of drawing something, adding stickers,and taping pieces or paper (or sometimes whole notepads) together. I love her spirit and she inspires me to want to do REAL art projects with her soon!

Hope your year has been enjoyable so far. I still can't believe it is May already! What's new with you? Do share!

Six Books

Hello! I promise that I haven't gone missing... I've just been sick for the past couple of weeks and it has been kicking my butt! We are finally on Spring Break and I've been able to rest a bit. I'm back today with an update on my 19 for 2019.

It doesn't seem too long ago that I posted about finally finishing my 4 books for my 18 for 2018 project. This year, I challenged myself to read 6 books. And I'm done!

Remember when I told you I wasn't really a reader? Guess what! I've become a reader! Granted, I mostly read kids books, but I'm reading... In fact, I finished one of these books in 3 days. THREE days! It used to take me an eternity to finish a book. And here I am a quarter of the way into the year, having read 6 (actually 9) books.

Here's what I've read so far:

Book 1. 

The Life Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story

by Marie Kondo

I've mentioned before that I'm a fan of Marie Kondo. I decided to read the manga version earlier in the year. It was a fun and quick read. From a marketing standpoint, it's pretty brilliant, since you can basically understand the whole method without reading the full book. 

Book 2.

As Old as Time: A Twisted Tale

by Liz Braswell

I can't tell you enough how much I love this series. I'm sorry if you're tired of hearing it. What amazes me is that each book is written in its own unique way. I can't explain. You'll have to pick them up and read them for yourselves!

Book 3. 

Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff

by Myquillyn Smith

I got this from the library on a whim. I wanted something to read while I figured out what I wanted to read next. I used to follow The Nester's blog when we lived in our apartment and always enjoyed her outlook of looking for temporary fixes in our temporary home. I really like the way she talks about the order of making a room in this book. I've always wanted a rug in my space, but now I'm desperately needing one in our home! 

Book 4.

The Magic Misfits

by Neil Patrick Harris

I like Neil Patrick Harris and was curious to see what his book would entail. It is exactly what I would expect from him - the magic, the humor - it's all very him. Hahaha.

Book 5. 

Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen

by Serena Valentino

You know I love a good twisted fairy tale, so I was excited to read this one. It was more of a pre-quel and a glimpse into the life of the villain. This one had me on an emotional roller coaster in an unexpected way!


Book 6.
Better than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits
by Gretchen Rubin

I'm a fan of Gretchen Rubin's podcast, Happier, which prompted me to read her book, The Happiness Project, last year. My hubby actually gifted me with The Four Tendencies for Christmas, but I wanted to read Better than Before first.

Other Books I've Read:
These are other books that I've read cover to cover. I just didn't include them in my official list because of the format of the book. Clearly I'm into home organization and decorating right now!

The Complete Book of Home Organization 

by Toni Hammersly

The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals
by Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin


The Adventures of Robin Hood
by Roger Lancelyn Green

So this is a real novel, but the reason why it didn't make my official list is because I didn't read it for myself. Most evenings, we read a few pages from a classic novel to our daughter. She is amazingly interested and our novel collection is growing. We love these Puffin Classics because they look so beautiful on our bookshelf.

So there you have it!

The six, no, NINE books I've read so far this year. Perhaps I will be back again with an update of even more books... What have you been reading and loving lately?