Apparently, Halloween candy makes for a perfectly good breakfast the day after. Especially when shared with your favorite sister, a soft blanket and your pal Dora.

I don't know about your weather, but the past few days here have been overcast and sprinkly. Decked out in the infamous velour tracksuit, I literally holed myself up 1/2 the weekend on the couch with my cookbooks, and discovered....it's amazing what you can make with a little bit of flour. Like my new favorite recipe ever....Cinnabon cinnamon rolls! And YES, they taste just like them! You have to try them...you're family and friends will LOVE you! And don't be scared about the yeast and kneading dough part......if convenience food girl here can do it, so can you.

Here's some pics of the process.

Funny little moment. Today after lunch I told the girls to go brush their teeth. "No thank you", Luci politely declines as she walks into the other room. "No thank you" repeats little sister as she marches behind big sis into the other room. "You don't want to get rotten teeth" I say. "What are rotten teeth?" asks big sis. Well....glad you ask I think to myself as I google it and come up with this blog with nothing but rotten teeth pics.

Wanna learn how to make this cute jeweled bib necklace? Head on over to Love Stitched to check out my tutorial.

Today I was in the company of fairies.

Don't you just love loggin' on to the home page of ETSY? You type those 4 little letters into your google browser....wait for it to load....click.....anticipation for a second, some of us longer than others and then wham...there it is! You are greeted with the home page 12. Instant eye candy! And it rotates a few different times a day.

The title for this post was actually going to be Fun Job Friday, where I was going to talk about what a fun job it would be to be the front page picker for etsy and then share a few quips about the training for such a job..etc, etc, etc. Welllllll.....although I am too busy to organize the office and pick up the play area.....apparently, I managed to find time to research this highly important matter. And good thing! Because I may have just found your new part time hobby. Yup, that's right.....click here and find out how you can be the etsy picker too!

Hope you all have a good weekend and do something FUN! We will be finishing up a play kitchen we are making for Lola's 2nd birthday.
♥

There's this little blog I read about fashion and such by the darling Sydney Poulson. And every Thursday she does an Awkward/Awesome post. I often wonder how she comes up with fresh material for each Thursday's post. Then I started jotting down my own list and was surprised with how long it got. Like seriously, folks.....I'm talking enough for 5 future posts. And keep in mind, this stuff has all happened to me and most within the past two weeks. So here goes........

AWKWARD:
* Staring out the window facing the neighbors house, daydreaming; only to come out of it and realize they are watching you watching them.
* Getting in line to pay for groceries......realizing your wallet is at home on the computer desk where you left it when making that online purchase. (dang it, next time I'll use paypal) Then watching them, in front of everyone, wheel your entire shopping cart away (to place in the walk-in) while you promise to return within 35 minutes.
* Sneaking in some bites of your favorite coffee ice cream while cooking dinner.....getting caught by your kid and having to share your stash.
* Trying out your new perfume hubby gifted you with....then getting told by your six year old that you smell like their grandmother.
* The pic on the top right of moi. And what am I supposed to be doing with my hands....oh yeah I know, I'll put my thumbs in my pockets..... how very avant garde of me. wink

AWESOME:
* Realizing that this year you'll be getting a sizeable tax refund....that is unless your state doesn't issue IOU's again.
* Being surprised with an extra anniversary present the week after your anniversary.
* Mid week date night at home with a new release and take out from your fave restaurant.
* An uninterrupted conversation with your husband. (ps. we have four kiddos)
* Sleeping in until 9:30 on the weekend.
* The pic on the top left of my sweet Luci.
* 1/2 off day at your local thriftstore.

I'll be linking this post up here:

So, I usually save the makeup routine for Sunday mornings and going out on the town. How-eva when I saw Ashley's self portrait challenge I figured, why not get dolled up midweek and take some self portrait pics. And you know what? It was actually kinda fun. You don't have to worry about posing for someone. And your weirdo surprise expressions will no longer be a surprise because you're lookin in the mirror as you're shooting. You should totally try it sometime!

Have a great Wednesday!

I'm so excited about the new year and all the possibilites. Kind of like these sparkles sitting by my desk waiting to be made into something pretty.

So here's my to do list for 2011: (in no particular order of importance)

* Lose weight. (This one never makes it off the list.)
* Try a new hair color.
* Read my Bible more (anything would be an improvement on last year).
* Visit Disneyland.
* Post a minimum of 2-3 blog posts per week.
* Accomplish a project everyday. (Could be a craft, sewing something, organizing the laundry room, cooking a new recipe...etc.) By the end of the year, I should have a clean organized house, lot's of cool handmade stuff and a recipe repetoire not limited to tacos, spaghetti, lasagna and chicken.

So, has anyone been keeping their resolutions so far? I'd love to hear how it's going!

It's a little late, but here's to a wonderful Christmas and wishing you all a Happy New Year as well........Cheers!

Want a fun gift wrapping idea? Burlap. It's super cheap (like $3/yd at JoAnn's) and I love the rough texture.

Every year our family looks forward to the Holidays and the different traditions that go along with it. Leaving cookies and milk for Santa is a must. Now that the boys are getting older they've started thinking about the reindeer too. So in addition to leaving a bowl of carrots for them, we have started the tradition of reindeer food as well. It was a hit last year and we will definately be doing it again this year.

Delilah. The newest collection of fabric by Tanya. These are only a handful from the collection. Can you tell the pink and red colorways are my faves? I can't wait to get my hands on some of this. Can you just see Delilah being made into sweet ruffle pants, vintage looking pillows, buntings, aprons and more? Love!

What started out to be this kind of day.......you know the one where it's overcast, everything goes your way, the kids get home from school just as you are pulling the pumpkin bread out of the oven. You ice it and make hot cocoa to go with it, turn on the tree lights, cue up the holiday music. Well, today was not that day. That day was called Friday.

Today is the day where I am finally trying to get some blogging done, crafting done...etc. and all I can hear during naptime is MAMA...MAMA.........MAMA! This I am actually used to. Trying to get Lola to nap these days has proven quite tricky. So I let her talk/whine it out for a while and go in to check on her a few times, and then finally commit the mama no-no...I gave her a bottle of milk. (I know, I know all about bottle rot. The 4th child is the only one we have done this with. And we make sure to take it away after she falls asleep and we usually brush her teeth after.) Well, today I went through all the usual steps of getting her to sleep (check on her, check on her, give bottle, wait, take it away, wait) and finally, after a prolonged period of this whining I went in to check on her. By the way, my definition of whining- making any one syllable word into two. With Mo-om being the top contender.

When I walk in, she is standing up saying "I poop"! (I'll spare you the pictorial) Diaper is off and planted dirty side down onto her pillow and it looks as if this pint size Picasso has fingerpainted the crib, bedding, clothes....etc. So I take the soiled clothes off and run her to the tub. I start the bathwater and say "hold on" to the side of the tub while I get the wipes. I am gone only a few seconds and upon my return, I hear a soft little voice say "oh no" as I look down to see her riverdancing in a puddle of urine. I clean her up and the floor up and get her settled in to her bubble bath and against my better judgement utter the words "I'll be right back" as I dash down the hall to her room to grab the soiled items and throw them in the wash. Poke my head in the door to check on Lola again. She smiles and says "hi". I start the laundry then return for operation: clean up baby. As I'm going to pour the shampoo/bodywash into my hand nothing comes out but some water which someone has tried replacing the real deal with. "What happened to the shampoo?" I ask. This cute little munchkin face looks up at me with a great big smile and says as she points "Down there". Lovely.

If rainbow leggings could solve the world's problems it would be a more colorful place. Thankful today that they solve this little girl's. If she is grumpy, fussy or tired, I'll reach in my bag of tricks for this instant pick-me-up. I am rewarded with a great big smile every time.

Are these not the cutest picnic boxes you have ever seen? Boxsal picnic boxes are eco friendly, modern day, reusable picnic boxes. I'm crushin' on the Todays Date (shown above). I have just added fall picnic to the top of my to do list!

Still decorating for Halloween? Here's a simple inexpensive banner tutorial that will have your house looking festive in no time at all. Don't sew? Omit thread for hot glue and and you can join in the fun too!

This weekend flew by much too fast, but I made sure to bring the camera to remember the awesomeness. The boys spent the weekend with their cousin which left two little girlies, Karl and I. Wow! We had forgotten how quiet is is with 2 out of 4. It was almost like we were on a date. Almost! Well....since the movies were out of the question, we decided what to do with ourselves. Since we all adore shopping (I am lucky to be married to a man who loves to shop as much as I do) we decided to hit the mall.