My own space...

I have been researching and checking out different stores that I could sell the furniture that I re-do along with other stuff I find. I settled on Qcumberz (at 7th Ave & Indian School) and moved in yesterday! It is just a small 50 square feet space but I think it is perfect for me!

 I painted the wall a nice cheery color and gives a little pop to my black and white pieces.

I'm very excited to see how it goes!

Present at my door

 I found this huge black garbage bag on my front bench one day when I came home this week and below is the message that was left with it...

Yep, it was a big bag of poop!

Honestly, it made my day. I loved the gift and that it came from one of my neighbor that I met at the yard sale we had a few weekends ago. I have known this neighbor by saying hi as he and his wife would take their walks but never really much more than that. When he stopped by our yard sale we started talking about gardens and come to find out he does a lot of gardening and does some volunteering at a community center with their garden. He looked at my garden and we talked about composting...I know, exciting stuff.  All this to say that I love getting to know my neighbors more and that he left me a big bag of poo at my door! :)

Beauty

I read this a few weeks ago and have been holding it near in my heart since then.

It is beautiful and true.

Poetry Cafe

This week Dylan had a "Poetry Cafe" at school in the evening. His teacher is so great, had the room decorated so cute and even had us get in the full poetry reading vibe by having us snap for applause instead of clap. :)

The kids had written poems and had to read in front of the microphone.

Dylan was very nervous but did a great job! He read a poem about the color red. :)

Red is a bursting heart
Red is a fire alarm

Red is a S folder
Red is Ms. Sleasman's coffee cup
Red is Ms. Sleasman's editing marker.

We were given a little book with all the poems they have worked on in class, this is my favorite one (he had to fillin the sentence with 1 word)...

I could carry 100 oranges but I couldn't carry 100 erasers!
I could eat 100 animals but I couldn't eat 100 monkeys!
I could put 100 pencils in my desk, but I couldn't put 100 stars in my desk!
I wish I had 100 brothers but I am glad taht I do not have 100 sisters.
:)

Full Bedroom makeover

Just some pictures to capture the full redo of the room. I built the beds and on the end of Cadence's bed I built on a desk area for her. Took down the dark shutters, painted the trim white and sewed some easy curtains with ribbon tie backs.

Since the beds took up more space in their room now I decided to use their closet space for some toy play area. Here is the before (it has a raised platform because a air conditioning vent goes through that space.

The dollhouse that Mark built fits perfectly along with the dress up clothes.

I also found this really great antique dresser for $50. I painted it and used black glaze to bring out all the detail. I love the way it turned out!

I finished the room up with some details with the names that my mom had made and were in the room previously. I added paper flowers and thumb tacked them into the wall. There are three different layers of scrapbook paper cut out in leave/flower pattern that lay on top of one another and then curl the edges just a bit and pin them into place.

I also found a hanging light chandelier (you can just see it in the top right of picture). I removed the wiring and candle stick like light bulb areas. I put a hook in ceiling and tied a pink long ribbon for it to hang down. I really like the added feature.

Close up of the flowers. :)

The girls like their new bedroom and I'm also really happy with the end result. A few more details and then I'll be done. Mostly just sewing a quilt for their beds. :)

New beds for girls

I finally finished up a bedroom makeover for the girls' room. I saw someone who had made beds that were made from pallets and thought to myself...I can do that! :) So after finding some pallets and some other salvaged wood I started building. Didn't really have a specific plan in mind...just kinda figured it out as I went along.

Only needed a chop saw & sander and of course a screw gun. I did end up having to buy a few wood supplies but in the end didn't spend more than $22!

Here is the work in progress.
I got it together and thought I would just leave it rustic. I put a bit of paint on randomly and then sanded it off to just leave a touch of it behind.

Got it into their room and decided I didn't like how really rustic it was for what I wanted to do in there so took them back outside for a nice coat of paint and a few more finishing boards. Oh, and I had to add a diagonal board across the bed for support...they were a little too wobbly.

After a nice coat of paint they were back inside (sorry about the bad picture :))

Here is the final product. I added a shelf big board below one of the beds for the toy storage and left Cadence's bed (one on right) open space. The kids love crawling back there and using it as a hide out. :)

I'm happy with the way they turned out and am glad I gave a try at building something myself!

Swinging from the branches

I have had this rocking chair for many years now and it has gotten pretty wobbly recently. I saw the idea to make a chair swing (on Pinterest) and thought this chair would be perfect for a re-do. All I had to do was saw off the legs and I screwed a few boards to bottom for reinforcement and then drilled a couple holes in for the rope to feed through.

And...
here is our new chair swing. I love it!!
It's charming, peaceful and the kids love it.

Another reason to enjoy the outdoors. :)

Tempe Town Lake Ride

On Sunday late afternoon we went for a bike ride at Tempe Town Lake. The new bridge is open now so we went and checked it out. It was a little windy out but such a nice day! We brought along a pizza for dinner and found a perfect little spot to have our meal. :)

At night the bridge is lit up, the picture didn't capture how really cool it is. So glad we went and did something special.

Janae turned 6!

Today we celebrated Janae turning 6. She had a party at her house with all her friends. Dottie the clown made another appearance this year and the girls loved her little performance about being a princess. :)

Happy Birthday Janae!

Winter Garden

My garden is doing great. This is what we picked this morning. The kids have been eating the snap peas off the vine and our brocolli is amazing & full. Only problem is that it is all ready to be eaten at the same time!
We pulled up some carrots for the first time also today. They are round ball carrots and were delicious!


I love having the kids eating right out of the garden!