Vacay.

I'm on vacation! Well, sorta. The Husband's mom, dad, sister, her husband and their three boys are staying with us this week. They drove all the way from Ohio and Missouri (The midwest, people! -That's just for you, Jen.) to be with us here in Arizona. That's a total of twelve of us in my house, six of which are kids aged six to ten. All is going well. Nobody has a black eye yet.

Anyway, that's why I am MIA this week.

Also, I was going over my blog stats this morning (I told you it was only kind of a vacation) and saw somebody found my blog by searching:

"where can i buy frosting in paris"

You have no idea how much that made my day.

Buy This, Try This: Paris and what to do with Heirloom Tomatoes

It's Wednesday! Are you inspired?

I'd love to buy:

This dress from Old Navy. I used to {LOVE} sundresses in the summertime, but three kids later, maxi dresses just seem like the way to go. Like a muu muu but way more socially acceptable.

{Old Navy}

I adore this necklace from Piano Bench Designs on Etsy.

{PianoBenchDesigns}

I big fat puffy heart Paris. Did you know that? Here are The Husband and I in 2003. I noticed he looks almost exactly the same, but I do not. Huh.

I'm {GOING TO} Make:

This Heirloom Tomato Gratin. Oh gosh, I am so hungry right now.

{Woman's Day}

 In our last basket of produce from Bountiful Baskets Co-Op, we got some heirloom tomatoes. I wasn't exactly sure how to use them... to be honest, we usually get at least one fruit or veggie that I've never used before... and sometimes I'm not even sure of what it is. And that's part of the fun of it! I already made a swiss chard quiche this week and I never would have normally considered swiss chard.

(Side note: The Husband breaks out in giggles like a 12 year old boy over the word "chard" because it sounds like a similar word that ends with a "t" instead of a "d".)

*sigh*

But anyways... I was talking about being hungry, so back to the appetizing things!

My soul sister Jen (who painted a couch for her sewing room!) and I hit up the Goodwill  last Saturday (half off day! Woot!) and although it felt a lot like Black Friday for thrifters, we both scored some great stuff, including a tart pan.

(She actually found it first and I ended up buying it. I don't know how that happened, but I'm about 75% sure I didn't swipe it from her.)

So now I simply must make a tart. And I am dreaming of this Lemon Tart. Oh godness, I adore lemon desserts!

I have to go eat something.

Patriotic Summertime Moss Wreath

Officially, officially summer vacation at mi casa. It's the first Monday since school let out and it was absolutely time to update the saying in my big ol' chalkboard!

{My newly-6 year old told me he could make better suns than I did.}

It was time to update my door wreath, too. I was thinking fresh, fun, and super easy. Like, a monkey could make it easy. So I came up with this!

Memorial Day is on the horizon... and well, I like to do it up red, white and blue style pretty much all summer long. U-S-A! U-S-A! (My husband is in the Air Force, so I'm allowed to do that.)

All this took was:

A grapevine wreath- I fell in love with this one from Michael's, but you can get a less attractive and cheaper version at the dollar store. I just happen to live much closer to a Michael's.

Moss- I stumbled upon this kind at (oh, I am shamed to say it...) Walmart. Two bucks a bag and I have to admit, it's pretty good stuff! It even smelled like outside. (Strange that I liked that since I do not like the outdoors. At all.)

Premade flower embellishments from -again-I swear I live 5 minutes from it, ok?- Michael's. I'm not the kind of crafter who makes everything, like my friend Jen. I keep the premade embellishment companies in business. Just doing my part! (U-S-A! U-S-A!)

And... The trusty hot glue gun

Lay down some newspaper (moss is adorbs but mess-ayyy) and glue on your moss. Initially, I was going to cover it entirely, but I liked the mixture of the vines in it, so I just covered most of the front.

Embellish away! I did, in fact, make ONE flower on my own. I had the metal sign from last year, probably from Hob Lob.

Yes, my front door is depressingly mud brown. Everything in the desert is brown! I'm considering painting it red, but I'm not sure it will gel with my tan stucco house... It's a thought.

Have a good one!

Link partying with:

Random Musings...

It's been a busy week. Last day of school stuff, birthday and bowling party for the new 6 year old boy, yadda, yadda, yadda...

So. Busy week = random stuff. Let's begin.

I finally completed a project that I had been putting off for months. Not too get you too excited, but it looks something like this:

Don't worry! It only looks like that at about step 3. The finished product is way, way, cuter and contains far fewer bits and pieces of foam. I'll show you next week.

I uploaded pics from my camera and found this:

Evidence that at least one of my children helped themselves to my computer and watched Annoying Orange videos on YouTube. Are you familiar with Annoying Orange? It's exactly as the name implies.

I have concluded that old fashioned mustaches are the new bird. They're everywhere and I'm not exactly sure why we (yes, myself included) like them so much, but we do. We just do!

EQUALS

I totally bought my daughter this:

{little miss momma}

School's out! Day one of summer vacation and my kids are already bored. One took a 2 1/2 hour nap! They delivered these to their teachers yesterday...

I used FREE printables from Skip to my Lou. Love it!

Cookie cake is preferred over regular cake by children 10 and under. It was a shared party, so we had both. Yes, of course I ate both!

And I would have eaten more of those darn kids would have left me.

Happy weekend!

Sound the SALE Alarm!

Oh, happy day! One of my favorite DownEast Basics tops is on SALE today... the Ruffle Love tank:

Only  $8.49 (Half off!) with code FBRUFFLE

I have it in the yellow-y color. My friend Jen saw me wearing it and decided to make her own version for one of her girls. I am not that crazy crafty. If you're not either, you'll want to snag this deal.

Fresh, Fabulous... FAST! Thrifted cookie jar makeover

Another Monday... and the last one here before summer vacation. Ack! So much to do, so little time. I'm choosing to think about that rather than dwelling on the heartbreaking fact that my babies will be going into fifth, third, and first grades. Make. It. Slow. Down.

Had some quick fun with the spray paint today. I found this adorable but slightly-too-70's canister at my favorite Goodwill several weeks ago.

I thought I could live with the gold and brown, so I left it for awhile. She felt like a cute but musty smelling polyester-clad lady living in my kitchen. Needless to say, she just didn't fit in.

So...

A little primer and my favorite crisp white spray paint is all she needed for her modern makeover. All the dimensional interest minus the offensive color scheme. She is now our official summertime cookie jar.

Congrats, honey! We knew you could do it!

Linked up to Thrifty Decor Chick

So... What's Up?

What's Heather been up to this week? Well, not enough laundry, for one. I personally feel like I've done plenty of laundry, but that hamper is still full! Laundry is far and away my least favorite chore. I don't know why... I really do like clean clothes!

I picked up a great thrifted chair. I am dying to doll her up, but I don't know exactly what to do wth her. I'm thinking that yellow should be involved, but I'm torn on whether I should make it really fun or just cute and functional.

I'd hate to ruin it. What do you think?

I had a geniune CRAFT FAIL on this frame. I attempted to revive an old frame by covering it with fabric. It sounded SO. SIMPLE. Let's just say that at this point, spray adhesive and I are not on speaking terms.

But I did successfully paint this nightstand. One more thing crossed off the Master Bedroom Prettying Up List!

See? I don't ruin everything. And I'm not gonna lie... the thing that pleases me most about this painting project is that I only used a sample container of paint on it. Woot! Don't underestimate the amount of paint in those little things!

So... what's up with you?

Mom Musings

Happy belated Mother's Day, mamas! Yesterday I was woken at 8am on the dot by The Kiddos, The Husband, and a tray bearing a belgian waffle, yogurt, coffee, flowers (not to eat...I think), and a mimosa which upon meeting my lap immediately crashed, broke, and spilled all over my white comforter. That is my life with my gang in a nutshell. {I love them.}

(You can really just feel the love and complete lack of irritation at the end of this photo session, can't you?)

When you're a mom, you:

Buy cereal in bulk.

I have 18 boxes in my pantry right now. They will be eaten in order according to how sugary and brightly colored they are. The Crunch Berries lasted a day. The Fiber One took up residence 6 months ago.

Are compelled to not change the station when Taylor Swift comes on the radio

even if you are not really a fan.

Eat last.

Thanks, kids, for saving that last bite for when I just sit down to my plate. Come to think of it, that even happened to me at a restaurant yesterday. I smell conspiracy!

Get misty at school performances

even if it's not your kid performing because every child suddenly becomes absolutely precious when they're singing in unison on a stage. Oh, unless your kindergartener is the kid who refuses to sing and just stands there in plain sight, hands in pockets, glaring at you for having your camera out.

Choose restaurants based on how loud the ambiance is

Sometimes you even decide that Olive Garden might be too fancy for your family.

Give up on manicures

except for special occasions. No, no manicure. Just the pedicure today. Yes, I know my cuticles look bad. You already pointed out that my feet are "very rye", thank you.

(Yes, that was me to the korean man who does my pedis at the nail salon. He insults me, but gives a mean calf massage.)

 

Choose the family's bedding based on ease of washing

Quilts, you're in. Bulky comforters? Hit the road.

*see breakfast spillage tale above for lesson in remorse.

Sit through kid movies

like Alvin and the Chipmunks. And Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. In a theatre.

I feel significantly less intelligent for having watched them.

But that's ok. It's the Sunday mornings filled with spilled breakfasts, handmade coupon books (including one for 10000 gitresteses -get dresseds in 5 year old), bouquets of button flowers, books about you pointing out that you a) love Target and cupcakes b) don't like cats or seafood and c )are awesome... reminds you why you do what you do.

And with that, I have to take my boy to the orthodontist to get a retainer removed. The ortho said to come back in 10 weeks for that. That was about a year ago.

There's no such thing as a perfect mom, right?

Easy Peasy Seashell Wall Art

I recently had one of those trips to Michael's where lots of stuff called out to me.

"Oooh, I'm fun!"

"I'm only a dollar! Buy three!"

"You could make something totally cute with me!"
"Oh my gosh, your hair looks GREAT today!"

Alright, the last one only happened in my mind, but the first definitely came from this polka dot adhesive fabric paper I found in the scrapbooking section. Adhesive backed fabric! Had to have it. Before I even got home, I knew what I'd do with it.

I know, it was a shame to dismantle such a lovely piece of anniversary art (from Goodwill), but it was for the best. So, I tore the sucker apart and spray painted the frame white.

While I was waiting for the paint to dry (It does not take long when it's 98 degrees outside.), I sorted through my bag of seashells from my beach trip Michael's and picked three winners.

I covered the carboard backing of the frame with the fabric paper (It really is stiff like paper.), popped it back into the frame and hot glued the winning shells on.

Seriously EASY. Because that's how I roll.

And she looks lovely in the powder room paired with my vintagey-beachy print I already had in there. It's a challenge to get a good picture of a small bathroom with no natural light, but trust me. It looks tres cute.

Now I'm left trying to think of something fun to do with the rest of my not fresh from the beach seashells. Wheels turning...

OOPS! I didn't forget about Teacher Appreciation Week. I made Butterfinger cupcakes in a jar for The Kiddos' teachers.
(I might have also decided I needed some appreciation, too.)

I'll leave you with this: It made me laugh so hard, my kids had to come in to see why I was crying.

Link partying with:
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/

http://www.remodelaholic.com/

http://www.findingfabulousblog.com/

http://tidymom.net/2011/camera-bag/

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
http://www.fingerprintsonthefridge.com/
http://www.whipperberry.com/
http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2011/05/linky-party-a-giveaway.html
http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday

Life Can Be Such a Time Suck.

Hello.

I told myself I would try to write a new blog post Monday through Friday.

Oops. Fail!

I really don't know some of you blog girls find the time.inspiration.motivation. I know my readers probably don't want to read about how I spent most of my day at Brakes Plus and how tomorrow I get to go to Discount Tire. I don't want to cause that kind of crazy jealousy between us!

But I've had my thinking cap on.

And I really have a bunch of projects that I am dying to dig into. Painting, of course, and even some sewing. (I know!)

And I'm going to start running. I really am. So far, I have only been thinking about it, but I printed out the Couch to 5k plan and am going to get a move on. Because this is the only body God gave me, right?

I just need more hours in my day. Ooh, or a personal assistant! I'm very good at telling people what to do.

Life calls...