The {Unplanned} Haircut

As probably 95% of little girls have done, Avery gave herself a lovely little haircut this week, much to the dismay of her mama.

And when I say haircut, I mean she chopped off about 1/4 of her long curly hair, plus she gave herself a 1/4" bang smack in the middle of her forehead.

Nice.

So...it was hairdresser Salena to the rescue.

For your viewing pleasure, here is what it looked like before it was fixed (her bangs crack.me.up!)...



Cutting it ALL OFF (no, I didn't cry, but if my mom would have been there, she totally would've bawled)...



Avery was quite proud of her cut-off pony. We donated it to Locks of Love.


And here she is today. My little 3 year old looks years older!




She's wearing a headband I made for her out of scrap fabric. I cut the fabric in circles, then hand sewed the circles together with a button, and attached it to a head-band with hot glue. Super easy!
This short haircut will be so much easier to maintain (not nearly as much food in the hair!), but I must say, I will miss those curls!

Puttering

This is how I spend mornings when Jack is napping and Avery is watching a video.

I putter.

I'm a putterer.

And I have a thing for mirrors.

I also have a thing for little tables, fun dishes, cozy blankets, old books, and vintage aprons. But that's a whole 'nother thing.


I saw this mirror at Goodwill last weekend and kept going past it, saying no, and going past it again...and finally, I gave in.


And, really, for $3, it wasn't like it was going to break the bank. But I did have to paint it. It was an ugly brown veneer, so I gave it a quick painting and sanded the edges, and here you have it.

Sometimes there are no words

My heart is so heavy right now for my good friend Beth. She is 32 weeks pregnant and just went to the hospital to deliver her baby, who is not expected to survive.

Beth and her husband have two adorable kiddos and the last few weeks have been an absolute nightmare for them. You can read their story here.

I can't imagine what they are experiencing, but they are trusting that God has a plan for them, despite all they are going through. Beth, we are hurting for you and praying for a miracle!!

Updated: Beth had a little boy, Josiah, born this afternoon. He went to be with his Heavenly Father who is holding him in his arms and loving Him like no other. We are grieving for Curt & Beth - there really are no words to describe what they are going through.

~ ~ ~

Last Sunday night we had the opportunity to hear the unbelievable story of my blogger friend Mary June's sister's survival in the Haiti earthquake.

You can hear Rodney & Lillian's story here. It really is an amazing story and worth listening to!

Swap Par-tay!

So I held my first "Swap Party" last week, and it was so much fun!

I invited about 10 friends to come with up to 10 items each to swap. And the items could be anything. We had clothes, shoes, books, pictures, jewelry, vases, the list goes on and on.



I had clothes pins for everyone with their initials. They used these to clip onto the items they wanted to claim. If more than one person wanted the same item, we put the clothes pins in a basket and picked a winner.




I had tags available for people to write a description of their item (if they wanted) and attach it to the things they brought.


I definitely want to have another party again! It was a fun way of getting rid of things that I don't have room for and to get some fun things for myself. And the best part, it was all free!

Destruction

And that's when she discovered that she should put her office things out of reach of her children.

If you need me, I'll be in my office...organizing.

Happy Thursday peeps!

Baby Love

My brother Kyle and his wife Heather had this beautiful little baby girl born on Jan. 14!

Just two days after Jack's birthday! She really is amazingly beautiful isn't she, but I suppose that's what you would expect since she looks just like her favorite aunt. Oh, yes, that would be me!

That was a joke, kids.


Her name is Nya Grace, and I had the awesome privilege of meeting her just 10 minutes after she was born!


Welcome to our world, little Nya! You are loved!

Birthday Boy

My littlest turned one year old last week, and we had fun celebrating!

Jack is such a sweet little guy!! He's pretty mellow, laid-back, and easy to care for, and we love him to death!


Auntie Sara going in for a squeeze...


He wasn't sure what to do with his cake, but after awhile he got the hang of it!

I'm so looking forward to seeing what the next year holds for him. There will be lots of new things as he grows and becomes a toddler, and it's so much fun to watch him change before our eyes!

What I'm Listening To

Do you use Pandora? If not, you must. It's a website where you can set up your own radio station for free.

Right now I'm listing to my Edith Piaf station - romantic French music. As I send out an endless amount of emails to clients. Makes me feel like I'm sitting in a Parisian cafe instead of at my kitchen table.

And makes me yearn to go back to Paris. Ahhhh...

My name is Aimee & I am a snob

Well, I'm not an overall snob (at least I hope not!). I'm just a little snobby when it comes to certain areas.

Yesterday I was making pancakes for lunch with Avery (yes, they have lots of nutritional value!), and I realized that I'm a pancake syrup snob.

I must have real maple syrup with the pancakes. None of the fake sugar syrup stuff.


However, I must say that my pancakes were quite below par. They were made with help from the Bisquick box and were flat and tasteless as could be. But no worries, we just pored on the maple syrup nice and thick and we didn't even taste the pancakes. That's the point, right?

Moving right along. I'm sure you are just riveted by this conversation. Sorry, it's nine am on a Saturday morning and my brain is a little fuzzy.

I'm also a toilet paper snob. Oh, yes I am. I cannot stand the cheap, thin gas station toilet paper that feels like sandpaper. Just can't stand it. I have to have the soft, quilted, multi-ply stuff. Must. You know how I like to save $, but I will not compromise on this.
Are you a snob, too? Please tell me I'm not the only one who has these issues!

Some of you have asked about a tutorial to make these fabric flowers and here's a good one to try. They really are very simple and easy!


Happy Weekend Friends!

Flower Power

My Frenchy pillow was looking a little bare, so I added these little posies I made from the leftover fabric and a hot glue gun.

They are cute, shabby, and I just love 'em!



I woke up to this beautiful scene this morning. GORGEOUS! Why don't you come over, grab a big old yummy mug of hot chocolate with globs of homemade whipped cream, and chat with me while we stare at the snow?

Frenchy Pillows & Such

Some of you had asked about the color of my hallway walls. It is La Fonda Wild West Green by Valspar. I adore this color! Not too dark, not too light, just perfect!

Above is another book wreath I made following The Shabby Nest's directions.

And here is a mirror that I pulled out of the attic the other day. The home's previous owner must have left it up there, and I kept looking at it thinking, "I've got to find a place for it!".


And so up it went in our family room. I love how it's black around the edges and the mirror is wavy from age. And the curves are just yummy!



And just because I probably have ADD or something, I decided to try to hand at making a pillowcase this morning. Granted, it's very basic and my first try at this, but I still like the way it turned out!


I used iron-on paper to put the writing onto the unbleached cotton fabric, and I definitely want to try this again. Every time I try a new project I learn something new!

I am loving this COLD weather, as long as I don't have to be outside in it! Makes me want to hunker down, get my sewing machine and painting supplies out, stay in my pjs all day (yes, I paint in my pajamas!) and PLAY!!

Sibling Love

The other day during lunch Jack "passed gas" very loudly. {Insert: We do try to train our children to behave in the most polite way possible, but for some reason 11 month old little boys just don't respond well to this training.}


Avery responded, "Mommy, did Jack fart or was that a lion?".



In my limited experience, three year old girls are the funniest little creatures on the planet.