{tech savvy}

tech savvy is something i am not.  things that are intuitive to others on the computer, usually aren't to me. it's no wonder that i have never downloaded my cell phone pics...i had no idea how.

but recently, i decided it was about time to figure it out.  it only took one online chat with samsung and a visit to radio shack. not too bad!

mind you, some of these pics are as old as last summer...

ice cream ar friendly's

this is his fake smiley face

daddy, mommy, & owen lunch date

prison break date night

in the van

they got stickers from g'ma

celtics game...sweet seats!

asleep on g'ma val

circus

blowing kisses to text to g'ma

phone as entertainment in costco.  notice miles in shopping in his pj's

aiden & g'ma liz

{extreme couponing}

have you seen the new show Extreme Couponing on TLC?  it chronicles families who have taken couponing to a whole new level and are saving an unreal amount on their grocery bill. while I don’t see myself subscribing to all the practices I have seen on the show (stockpiling food in all rooms of the house, cutting coupons each week the equivalent hours of a full-time job, buying things you don't need or don't donate just because it's a good deal, etc. ) it is more than a little intriguing and has me wondering how I can save our family money at the checkout counter. 

i am all for frugality, but am maybe a little uneducated in how to go about it.  don’t get me wrong, our family does google searches for promo codes when ordering online, utilizes sites like groupon.com, livingsocial.com and restaurant.com, but we don’t get the paper and rarely search online for grocery store coupons.  watching the show a couple times and checking out the links to coupon sites on their website has me excited to try my hand at clipping! 

so...any tips or tricks you find helpful?  websites for deals, etc.?

{decorate}

truth by told, i am a little addicted.  a little addicted to anything design...magazines, blogs, books...anything with pretty and inspiring pictures.

so, when one of my fav design blogs authored a book, i couldn't NOT get it.  i used some of my Christmas money and pre-ordered it sight unseen.  (i never do this.  i always check it out at barnes & noble first and give books a test run to make sure i am ready to plop down cold, hard cash for them.  i just knew i would love this one and i totally do!)

so much eye candy in here.!  some favorites are...

i love the colored frames & unexpected white one

the color & texture on that cabinet is divine!

aiden would love that hugs pillow. 

and these pillows would be fantastic in her room too.  gorgeous color!

i could see my entry table painted like this

cute decorations for vases...doilies, bakers twine & washi tape

i gotta get me some of that tape.  ;)

{REUNION open house & gallery}

this last weekend we celebrated what God has been doing at REUNION...  with none other than a PAR-TAY!  we celebrated our 4 year anniversary, the release of our conspire cd and the move to our new offices complete with an art gallery of attenders works.  it was such a fun night with friends that have become family.  the music was incredible and the artwork beautiful.  the food was delish and the photo booth a HIT!

 

thanks to my honey and everyone else who put time, energy and talent into pulling this event off. it was good times!

{organized simplicity}

one of my 2011 resolutions "intentions" is to simplify.  simplify our home, our finances, our routines...and anything else i can think of.  for me, when things are orderly and neat, when they make sense and are intentional, i feel like i can function at my best.  it creates a calm and peace in our home that we so desire.

the first thing i set out to tackle is the clutter in our home.  the things we have that don't work, don't work for us, we don't need, don't love, don't use, have too much of...you get the picture.  i am going through the house room by room asking myself questions like "do we love it?, do we use it?, does it belong here?, if we were moving, would i pack it?, is it something i find beautiful to look at?", etc.  i am trying to be ruthless, knowing that simplifying in this way will only make managing our home easier.  less stuff to pick up, put away, dust, store, search through when looking for something i really need...just less things to fill my mind and available space in our home.  it helps to visualize our preferred future and what we really want to surround ourselves with.

already it has felt quite freeing to pack up boxes to donate and bags to throw away.  i want to surround my family with things we love and appreciate and not just more stuff for the sake of stuff.  and if another person can use or benefit from what was just cluttering our home, that's even greater incentive.

i heard about the book Organized Simplicity somewhere online and immediately ordered it to help me figure all this out.  i felt like i needed a roadmap and a little bit of a pep talk.  i devoured this book in no time.  i highly recommend it if you are looking to simplify as well.  she offers some great suggestions.

so to keep it real, i've gotten the playroom, bathroom, and boys' room done. the master bedroom is almost done and i've started the office.  i called and scheduled an amvets pick-up for next week to help keep me motivated.  the downstairs is gonna take a while, but next week is spring break for the kids and i hope to take a big chunk out of it.

wish me luck!

{you are fab!}

I spotted this great Compliment Bunting here and fell in love.  I can think of so many uses for this, but I think I might save it for my kids' teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day (sshhh...don't tell!)

Check out the link above and you can download a .pdf for free!

{red dragons}

we are, once again, spending our saturday mornings at soccer.  miles just started his spring season for the red dragons and had his first game this last week.  as we expected, he totally loved it!  his team won 3-1 and he scored his first goal of the season. 

he wants to play so bad!

we are wholly anticipating the best thing about his season is going to be that miles has two REUNION friends on his team.  we already had our first cookout following the game...so fun!

{pokin' around the barn}

while we were at grandma t's farm, i poked around the barn a bit and found a few "treasures".

isn't this thing great!  it is full of nails and screws and such, but has such potential in an office or playroom too. 

it reminded me a bit of this...

via brookyln limestone

all we need is a cabin in vermont to hang these babies in...

or how about these stainless steel cabinets?!

a little elbow grease and these could be fantastic!

via Urban Grace

or maybe on casters

via Country Living. photo credit Don Freeman

dad B...know if you ever want to get rid of any of these, they have a home in boston ;)

{the madison children's museum}

while on our trip, we spent a day at the children's museum in madison.  what a different experience than the children's museum in boston (which we totally love)...$3 parking and a parking garage attached to the building.  it's the little things that get me excited!

some of our favorite things...

water play

the table had a hole to stand in to reach the center.  brilliant!

saddle on the climbing structure

i loved the idea of displaying kids' artwork in old window frames

side view in case i decide to diy this!

huge window for painting on. they spent SO MUCH time here

paint, spray, squeegie off, repeat

cousin sydney & aiden

restaurant with felted wool food.  miles is flipping pizza in the background.

the "felt pie" made from upcycled sweaters. real pie plates & then felt fruit inside.

if my kids were a little younger, i would maybe take a shot at making felted wool food like this.  my kids seriously played here way longer than i imagined they would.  it was really cool! check out the website here.

felt pizza

riding the cow outside (we were in WI after all!)