ideas.

inspiration.

the great energy that comes from within.

jess brown rag dolls.

i want to buy new bedding, a new frame. mmm, mmm, love the color.

ready to take on the patio. ready for work. my energy is strong.

Really?

EVERY wednesday. What was I thinking?

It's good to set your expectations high, I guess.

This week I love starting over. My mood was down in the dumps after the weekend and now it's not so much.

Suprises.

Roses are the best surprise... well, except for surprise pregnancies, surprise money in your pocket, and maybe a surprise vacation.

Thank you BISSEL for saving my sanity.

So I have my mom's OLD steam cleaner. It works, it's cool, kinda bulky but whatever.

My mom let me borrow her new one though...

And if I wasn't already married to Mark, I'd probably marry this cleaner. Now, only if it operated all by itself. A girl can only dream ;)

Uhhh...

Have so much love in my heart but no ideas in my head right now. My brain seems to have shut off this week, REALLY.

I'll be back next week. Promise.

But here's a little something, I do love this poem:

"This is just to say" by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

Could spend lots of time surfing this site.

UncommonGoods

Cute, right? Only 35 to 40 bucks.

And there are so so so many other awesome and interesting gift ideas.

Makes me want to give a gift...to myself :)

Heart vase

Baby-Gami, awww

Customizable Couple Pillow

Stress Relief

Absolutely love this candle (Bath and Body Works Stress Relief Candle). No joke. Actually, I love anything, lotion, soap, bath salt in this scent.

Anyways, this candle REALLY works. It's not one of those candles that smells great but doesn't smell that way when burning. It smells better when it's burning, it fills up my whole apartment, relieves my stuffy head and makes me SMILE!

Magic carpet.

I bought this rug at a clothing swap. It's the first real decorative purchase I've made for my home, ever, really. Crazy, right? Everything we have was either a gift for our wedding, a hand me down or a gift for some other occasion. Mark and I are apparently good at attracting what we want into our lives :)

Anyway, I brought it home at night, my girls were asleep. So I unrolled it in the living room and just looked at it for a while. I love it.

Ada loved it too. First words out of her mouth when I showed her: "A magic Carpet!!!!"

I fell even more in love with it.

Anyways, I put it in the bedroom, the girls have lived on it, slept on it, played on it and loved it too. Now we are getting ready to move. I want to unroll it when we get to the new house and be excited so I cleaned it really well, cut off all of the loose threads, rolled it up and put it away. Can't wait to see it again.

That's a lot of loose threads though, right? Crazy. I should've been keeping up on it but of course I didn't. Who cares, I made up for it.

Rag dolls.

So adorable. By Floret.

And this... free rag doll pattern.

being a mom.

Searching.

The endless trail the internet can lead you on... google images, more specifically.

All these things, things, things.

Diet Coke-a-Cola

This book puts me to sleep every night.

This shelf is neat...want one for our new place.

Loving these throws from Pottery Barn. (Wish that was my couch with all four throws...)

Might just make someone's day.

Even thinking about it feels good.

Excited Love.

Should I change my caramel apple routine to these?? Or do both?? Hmmm.

Getting excited for Xmas :)

DIY Monogram Mugs Tutorial a la Design Mom.Com

Love lyrics.

If you do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.

(probably also love post-dating more than I should)

I am alive.

"A little girl can be sweeter (and worse) more often than anyone else in the world. She can jitter around, and stomp, and make funny noises that frazzle your nerves yet just when you open your mouth she stands there demure with that special look in her eyes. A girl is Innocence playing in the mud, Beauty standing on its head, and Motherhood dragging a doll by the foot."

Maybe I was just waiting for something to strike me. I've been out of the game for a bit with some terrible headaches and finally having two babies is taking its toll on my energy. But I am alive and there's no time like the present to start doing what I want to do...

On Thanksgiving it will be three years since I found out I was going to be a mother. What a frightening day. Although I was married to the man I love and we were perfectly ready to take on the responsibility, the idea of actually doing it put a knot in my stomach.

She came to be the best surprise I've ever had and if you know me, you know I love surprises :)

Some days she leads me on a bumpy path to my wits end and I can't understand why God chose me to be her mother...then Mark comes home from work and I see his example of patients and love and watch Ada's eyes light up for her daddy. She teaches me patients.

She is intelligent beyond words. I want to brag about her to everyone I know but she is also shy and wise about who she shares her smiles, dancing and singing with. She teaches me humility.

I look out the window at the rain and frown, she says "Mom, are you upset?" She can read my emotions quickly and she is so sweet and understanding already. Her hugs are meaningful. Her kisses are not given sparingly, you know you're special when she gives you one. She teaches me love.

customBAKEDcakes

Love making them. Don't so much love the clean-up, but am thankful for my cake-skills and tools none the less!

A two-year-old's imagination. . .

I love to watch her play in her own little world.

My Paper Bag Skirt.

Thanks in part to this tutorial, love of this skirt, and my improving sewing skills. I made this:

Love it.

I will be posting a tutorial in the near future on my other blog.