Makin' it more homey

I have this internal game I play with myself.  I hate spending money, but I have rather expensive taste.  I LOVE Pottery Barn (and where I'm from, that's expensive) but refuse to pay $45 dollars for pillows.  I like to call it "frugal," my husband likes to call it "cheap".  Whatever you call it, its workin for me right now.  

So when we moved in to this dream house of ours, I set my frugality on high and frequently visited my two favorite places to find little treasures.  Ross and TJ Maxx.  And boy did I hit the jackpot.  The first wonderful find were these fabulous baskets!  If you need baskets of any kind, go to Ross.  They have some amazing ones!  These were $8, $10, and $12! (please ignore the mass of toys coming out of them...).

 I got home and found these in my Pottery Barn catalog.  These cost $69-199.  A PIECE!  My Pottery Barn radar clearly went off :)

 

And then there was the floor.  We had this little cheap rug we bought pre-babies.  What you don't know about rugs before you have kids is that it really needs to be thick and large.  It is no longer something to break up floor space.  It is a play area, fall catching, movie watching, horsey-riding, grasshopper hopping area that must be comfortable!

So I went to TJ Maxx (not to buy a rug, but to entertain a cranky 2 year old) and I saw this ah-may-zing rug.  A few of them actually.  The price hurt my feelings a bit, but as any of you who have had to buy an area rug know, any good one is gonna cost you!  So I went home and discussed it with hubby and brought him back to get a second opinion.  And then it made its home with us.  And we love it.

 

So, just out of curiosity, I flipped through my Pottery Barn catalog.  And what do ya know?

Not bad, huh?

Happy Saturday!

Lately we haven't had many Saturdays to just be a home.  Spring semester is usually pretty crazy for us.  (Not to mention the addition of tons of sickness this year).  Though the sickness isn't totally out of our house yet, most of us felt good enough to have a little family time last night. 

I've had supplies to make Valentines suckers for a month now.  But the week of Valentines I was too sick to do laundry..much less make (really messy) candy.  So last night we took the opportunity to roll our sleeves up and make a lil sumthin' sumthin'. 

Here's what you need:  Some sucker sticks, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and sprinkles.

1) Melt some chocolate.  Place marshmallows on sticks (hold your breath) and dip.  

 2) Smack yourself for buying cream colored dining room chairs that the toddler uses to help you cook everyday

 3) Gently shake off excess.  Smack self again for chair purchase.

 4) Place chocolatey marshmallow into cup of sprinkles.  We used non-pareils.

5) Be aware that if Daddy is involved, you may have fewer suckers than you planned...

6) Explain to child what "a few" actually means.

7) Let set until hardened.  And you will have these cute little guys to give to friends for Valentines day...or eh...February 27th!

8) Use ungodly amount of extra chocolate to make everything in your house a delightful treat.  (Daddy made this very pretty graham cracker creation).

9) Enjoy! (and use every cleaner in house to clean off brown chocolate and red non-pareil stain from chair.)

Forgive me...

I have been on an unintentional blog hiatus.  It isn't because nothing is going on with us.  Quite the opposite actually.  In the past four months I've battled bronchitis 3 times, gave birth, celebrated 3 birthdays and Christmas, traveled to who knows how many cities, counseled girls on relationships, learned that a long hard prayer had been answered, seen way too much brokenness, taught a 2 year old 10 letters, watched WAY TOO MUCH Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, witnessed my little man learn to roll over...both ways, joined a small group, loved a small group, nursed a sick baby...twice, and sat down a couple of times in between all that! 

The Lord has been hard at work lately, expanding our capacities and teaching us a ton.  I have much to say but little time to say it.  Life has happened and I'm trying to keep up.  But in the midst of craziness, it has been very very good. 

And just to keep you checking in....