welcome spring

Nothing says spring like windows open, birds chirping, the warm sun, green grass and of course a little girl with a daffodil in overalls.  Now, you can really tell that Jay was out of town yesterday for a couple of reasons: I opened a couple windows early in the morning and did not think to close them until I heard the heater kick on last night.

And the most evident. C wore overalls all day long.  I think they are cute, especially with the bare feat.  Add the flower and bam you got a spring day that Dad is not home!

We have been busy around here preparing for Spring.  All of the snowmen have officially been packed up, I have no more wanting of snow, so bring on the warm weather. Obviously I had to replace some decorative items in the family room, so of course I had to hit up Ben Franklin and Michaels.  I made two wreaths, two frames and redecorated the mantle for just pennies.  Here are our new additions...

First I dug out some of the gazillion coffee filters that I have in my pantry, soaked them in yellow food coloring and water, dried them out, (that was the hardest part) glued them to a wreath form and I have one wreath that makes me very happy.   A more plain and classic version (if coffee filters can really be classic) has  been floating around blog land and pinterest and I have been wanting to try one for a while.  I am not really sure what Jay thinks of it......it is brighter than we usually decorate with, but it just reminds me of those crazy daffodils that are everywhere!

Next I painted some beans a robin's egg blue color to fill some vases.  Michael's has little tiny cans of spray paint that I never knew about...so much more cost efficient than buying a huge can.

Upon rooting around Michael's I found some moss that is attached to a clear mesh paper.  I love moss and with the coupon that they always have, it was pretty inexpensive. I got two 99 cent frames and now I have two very springy picture frames, that really add some much needed color on the mantel.

Overall, I am happy with how everything on the mantel turned out.  It is something new and fresh to our house, just like spring!

As for the wreath on the front door...not totally thrilled.  I am still kinda stuck on those cute little rosettes that I made with the sexy wreath in the winter, so I wanted to try a different more woodsy version.  It just doesn't do it for me.  I am not redoing it, I do not have time, I have a very important birthday party coming up in less than a week.  I think I do have time to rip off the flower cluster at the top left, those ones really bug me for some reason.  Oh well, you have some sexy times and some dud times..life lesson!

Hope you are getting to enjoy what spring we have had so far...it is such a refreshing season!  As for me and Charlotte we might go try to plant, or dig or fertilize something with her in her overalls!

-melissa

how to get a sweet ride

 

My flight into Fort Lauderdale arrived at 12:06am. One of my favorite childhood movies takes place in Fort Lauderdale among other places. Never been to this airport before. It's a big vacation spot, so the rental car company is open 24 hours. I make my way over the Budget car rental area and I see a nice size line. Apparently a few flights were delayed and all arrived at the same time. Budget must have also been running a sale. That's why I chose it several weeks ago. It was a super good price.

Obviously, it's late. People are ready to get their cars and make their way to places like hotels, homes and resorts. For as many patient people, there are impatient people and I think I ran into the most impatient person I've ever met. If this guy sighed once he sighed 73 times. I'm a pretty patient person so I got out my phone and watched some Wonder Years episodes on Netflix, but several times I paused or turned down the volume so I could hear what Mr. Impatient just behind me was complaining about this time.

Again, everybody is just trying to get to where they're going and I understand that, but this guy just kept on going. At one point he faced the rental counter and at a level 8 on a volume scale of 1 to 10 says, "c'mon...I've been standing here for an hour." The rain man side of me knew it had only been 24 minutes. Then he starts to try to get others on his side with this misery loves company attitude, but luckily no one joined in. We made our way to the front of the line and it's my turn so I hand over my license and credit card and get things started. The employee next to me had just finished up so Mr. Impatient ended up next to me again and first thing he says to the employee is, "you guys are just sad, i've been here for over an hour." Only been 41 minutes at this point. He continues to be a jerk and eventually the employee says, "I'm not going to be able to help you if you are going to be disrespectful." This seemed to change his demeanor a bit. He got his car. Often times rental companies don't have the car you requested so they give you something bigger and better. Of course this guy didn't want an suv, he wanted the car he had reserved which is understandable, but c'mon dude. Anyway, maybe this is just me being judgmental, but it made for a fun evening.

Because of same issue I ended up getting free upgraded to a 2012 white chevy tahoe. It's a sweet ride. It's got a button to swing in/out the side view mirrors. It's got heated seats (not so great in south Florida). It's an awesome car and while some might think a 41 minute wait was horrible, for me it was the reason I got a sweet ride while I'm here in Florida. Enjoy your weekend and don't be a jerk because you may get a sweet ride in the process. Probably not....but maybe.

-jay

disappearing nine patch

Quilting is in many ways just like magic.  It took me a couple of quilts to figure this out.  Most of the time you will see a quilt and say to yourself, "Golly, I could never make that!".  What you do not know is that a good amount of the time, quilting is just a bunch of smoke and mirrors, just like magic!  One of my favorite examples is the disappearing nine patch pattern.  It is my go-to baby quilt pattern.  Mostly because when I make baby quilts I either have limited time or I am pregnant and do not feel like sitting hunched over a machine for hours. Here are some examples of disappearing nine patch quilts I have made over the past year or so.

I like them because it appears that they have been pieced together very slowly and meticulously...not so!  See how it is done and why I think it is so easy!  Sorry about the super lame graphics, it was the best I could do with techy hubby on the road.

First piece together a block that is three squares by three squares, you can make them any size you like.  I typically make them roughly five inches.

After you have one big square you are going to cut the square into fourths.  Now, you will have four independent pieces that includes an original whole block, two halves and one quarter.  Next, flip and match those squares any way you like.  See...not hard at all.  Just some smoke and mirrors!

-melissa

planners who love planning

Jay and I are big planners.  Even when we were kids we had a plan for everything.  I am not sure if Jay was a planner before me, but if he wasn't, I sure made him one!  Many people I know are not as planning happy as Jay and myself, but still love a good plan.  Today you will get to see two planners that I have been pouring over daily the last couple of weeks. First up the planner/organizer I made for our dinner schedules.  This planner is an Ikea chalkboard that my mom painted green for me many years ago and recently got a new purpose in life. The days of the week magnets are super easy to make.  All you need to do is print out the letters that you want in your favorite font and cut them out to create a stencil.  Next, glue different colored fabrics to magnetic paper, I actually decoupaged the letters because I had tons of it left from Christmas Crafting.  Trace the letters onto the fabric and cut out!  Super easy!  I also did this technique when I made a letter board for my nephew for Christmas.  We use this planner weekly.  I like it because it is not as obtrusive and tacky as some that have been floating around the internet.  I just needed something that was simple and pleasing to the eye!

The second planner that I have been devoting so much time to is a planner that Jay made for me a while ago.  It is a party planner to help me prepare for C's big one year bash that is coming up.  It seemed that I had all these ideas floating around in my head.  If I did not get them down I would forget and I hate having ideas scattered on several pieces of paper.  So I sketched something up, everything I needed to plan a party: theme, invitations, guest list, menu, decorations, activities, cake, tabletop and what to wear.  Many people may not put this much thought into a party, but I know a whole lot of people do!  So, my particular copy looks like it has been around for a while and I do not want to give away any of the great things I am cooking up just yet for her party, so here is a free download for you! Hope you enjoy planning!

-melissa