To Show Appreciation

Because I really do work with the best women . . .

Because Swedish Fish are one of favorite candies (sour patch fruit salad might have taken over first place)..

Because I found mini fish bowls for $1 . . . .

Because any project that involves candy and sitting on the table makes her happy . . .

Thankfully, eighteen25 has great ideas.  I used these for the women I work with in my church, but am planning on doing it for Teacher Appreciation week.  I did it last year, but they all have new teachers, so you can be sure I'm doing it again!

Snap Trim Pillows

Lately, I have been doing some custom work for one of my interior designer friends.  I love doing it.  She designs, I sew the top, then she sends it off to the "work room" to finish the pillow.  I love seeing what she comes up with.

These pillows use this snap trim.  I'm not sure what it is called but I love the industrial look of it. I would have never have thought to use this as decorative!

For the numbers, I stitched them down about 1/4" from the edge.  This allows the edge to be frayed.

These pillows are going in a boys room and have his favorite numbers on them.  I can't wait to see the finished room!

Coco Penny Winner

I forgot to post yesterday that the winner of the Coco Penny Giveaway is:

Alisquire

Email me at laurelmacd@gmail.com with your contact info and I will pass it on.  Congratulations.  You will not be disappointed.  The quality of this product is impeccable - they are gorgeous!

Happy Easter

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Happy Easter.  It has already been a fantastic, uplifting day.  I am strengthened.  And the day is only half way through.  There is oh so much to be grateful for.

COCO PENNY Giveaway

I am so excited to introduce a new company, Coco Penny, to you!  They sell the most darling flower accessories and embellished onesies.  The have an awesome selection and great prices!  I couldn't pick just a couple of pictures - they have so many pretty things!

From their site:  Affordable and chic, Coco Penny offers hair accessories for women of all ages and embellished onesies for babies and toddlers. Fasten to hats or bags, freshen up sweaters and scarves, or wear in hair or on headbands - deliciously fashionable hair candy.

I would love to attach these to a belt, a sweater, a bag, a headband.  They are not just for babies - I would totally wear these!

Mary,an owner of Coco Penny, is my college roommate and you would be hard pressed to find a girl that's more gorgeous, intelligent, and classy.

Anyways, time for the giveaway.  Coco Penny is offering a $25 gift certificate to a lucky person who:

1. visits the Coco Penny site and comments on something they'd use the gift certificate for
2. goes to their facebook page and "likes them."

One winner will be chosen!  Good luck!

Breakfast Routines

Anyone who knows me, I mean really knows me, knows how I crave routine.  Spring Break is nice and definitely welcomed, but there are routines that I hardly ever break.  They make my life easier.  I also know that I've passed this onto my kids.  They love routine, they function better with routine, and life generally goes pretty well.  I am not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of girl.

The routine I get the most comments on from friends and family is our breakfast routine.   It's what we do and we've been doing it for years.  I took pictures of what we ate for breakfast for a school week.  Remember, I have a daughter with severe allergies, plus I rarely eat what my kids eat. Also, I'm not a foodie blogger.  I don't have time to take my pictures outside to get optimal light and serve them on cute plates with matching napkins.  With these pictures, I have three starving kids who are waiting patiently for me to take the picture before they dig in!

 So without any more explanation . . . this is what we'll probably be eating most days of the week.

Monday Muffins

 My husband happened to be home at breakfast time, so he gets a plate too.  On the menu for the day, maple spice muffins, cottage cheese, and peaches that I canned last summer.  M. has a gluten-free breakfast bar.  And I drink a Green Smoothie, can't get enough of these!

Tuesday Toast and Eggs

Can you guess which plate belongs to which person?  The two big kids get scrambled eggs with a whole wheat bagel thin and a side of peaches.  G. has a slice of ham, because he is a carnivore and loves meat.  M. has tapioca bread, cottage cheese and peaches.  I have scrambled Egg Beaters with spinach and peppers on half of a whole wheat bagel thin.

Wednesday Waffles

This is G.'s favorite morning.  I make whole wheat cinnamon waffles for the oldest two with a side of applesauce.  M. gets a gluten free, egg free toaster waffle.  I ate a grapefruit and a cup of Greek yogurt.  G. eats about 3 of these before he heads for school!

Thursday - nothing starts with Th, so I usually do Cereal/Oatmeal

But on this typical day, nobody wanted cereal or oatmeal.  G. has granola, M. has tapioca bread toast with almond butter, and I. has a bagel thin with peanut butter.  I probably had a Green Smoothie, and so did M.

Friday Free Choice

I didn't take a picture - it usually ends of being a free for all.  M. likes Gorilla Munch and a smoothie, I. tries to get as much sugar as she can cram into a breakfast, a G. usually eats everything that is left over from the week (muffins, or waffles).

So to recap:

Monday Muffins

Tuesday Toast

Wednesday Waffles

Thursday cereal/oatmeal

Friday Free Choice (it used to be french toast)

I have done this so often, that if I didn't make waffles on Wednesday there would be mutiny with my kids.  I don't always make the same muffins, and I try to offer a variety of fruit and dairy.  G. and M. usually have milk when they wake up.  I'm not a nutritionist so please don't judge.  I'm just trying to give my kids a breakfast that they'll eat, that I can throw together pretty quickly, and I feel pretty good about it.  The routine helps me from thinking "what am I going to feed you" while they are banging forks and spoons on the table waiting for food.

Anyone else have routines with their food?

Love Is . .

. . . a six year old son who sees his mommy stretched a little too thin so he decides to make her bed because he knows made beds maker her happy.

Oh Anthro . . .

you get me every time.

This tiny colander had me at hello.

It's perfection.  So were the strawberries that were gone within a minute of taking these pictures!

Grateful Sunday



source

 What a week!  I am exhausted and anxiously awaiting an early bedtime tonight!
I am grateful:

• I. has finally gotten into Harry Potter books - a series which I love!
• Google (I've probably mentioned this before and still am amazed I ever lived without it!)
• a fun day at the museum
• grandma and grandpa were here all week.  I'm grateful for the effort they make and for how much they love my husband.
• blossoms on our new pear tree plus daffodils blooming!
• pansies brought by from a dear dear friend
• a pedicure gift certificate
• Tom never comes home grumpy!

It's going to be a great week!  What are you grateful for?

Costume Review

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by CostumeDiscounters.com with the opportunity to review a costume.  Normally, I love to sew my kids costumes.  I love that they get exactly what they want.  BUT .. . . my youngest has wanted to be Ahsoka Tano for about a year and I've just ignored her because I wasn't sure how, exactly, to swing that!

The girl has orange skin, hardly any clothes, and I don't even know how to describe her hair.  But she's wicked cool and almost a Jedi!

The kids and I searched for hours on their site.  They have so. many. girls. Halloween. costumes!!.  We searched and searched.  When we found the Star Wars Costumes, the kids started to get excited.  Well, actually, they were excited the entire time!

I decided on an Ahsoka child's costume in my baby girl's size.  To say that M. is excited would be an understatement!  It's a little big, but it is a size 4-6 and M. is only 3.  It did fit around the tummy, though.

The shipping was quick, the selection is unbelievable, and working with them was a pleasure!

And for times when you just can't figure out how to make the costume yourself - this was awesome!  Thank you for this opportunity - we love it!

Bench Makeover

Finally - I finished this project.  It only took about 6 months and most of that time was spent getting my mojo up to do it!

I got this bench at a Richmond America Model Home Sale for about $30.  I liked the size and the legs, but everything else was wrong.  The cheetah fabric isn't exactly my style, although I. loved it and wanted to keep it.  It was really really dirty and scuffed. 

I ripped off the fabric and planned on just snipping off the buttons.  Little did I know that they were actually screws.  I had to do some more ripping apart - finally everything came off.  I spray painted the legs black.

Next, I covered some buttons.  Because I used upholstery fabric, which is thicker, even this was harder than I planned.  I think I broke about 10 buttons!

At this point, after getting a couple of buttons in it, I started to panic.  I was sure that it was too wrinkly and that I couldn't pull tight enough.   I thought I was dumb for doing this - and thoughts of  "why do you always have to re-do something, just go buy it," came in my head.

Good thing I persisted - I love the way it turned out.  The fabric is interesting, but still neutral. 

I stapled and stapled and wrapped the corners like a present. 

Bye bye cheetah print - hello beautiful clean bench!  And after it is put in place, I remember how much I love making something and the process is just as rewarding as the product!

It's been awhile - linking up here