Winter Mantle

So I've recently been fluffing the family room a bit and thought I'd show you what my mantle looks like right now.

It's pretty simple really - mostly white (which I love) and I added a bit of color with the branches.

The branches were a lot of fun to make. I just cut down a branch from a tree outside and spray painted it white.

Then I made the flowers out of napkins following this tutorial. It really is the simplest tutorial and requires only tissue paper or napkins, tape, and hot glue.

I printed out this verse from Hebrews which I had pinned here, and framed it in a simple white frame with a white matte.

I found the clear and green glass light covers (at least I think that's what they are) at a barn sale.

So, that's what it looks like right now, but it will probably change soon. I think I might have ADD.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who is constantly changing things around.

Look-A-Likes

I love looking through old photo albums of our families. My parents only a few pictures of them and my grandparents when they were younger, but husband's family has pretty many old pictures.

They facinate me. It's like looking into a different world, and I wonder what their lives were like all those many years ago.

Over Thanksgiving I was looking through hub's mom's old photos and I was amazed how much baby Violet looks like her. It was uncanny.

Here is Violet and her Grandma and you'll see what I mean...

Same wild, curly, dark hair, same mouth, same chubby cheeks, same eyes.

I love it!!

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

What I Wore Wednesday {Thrift Store Edition}

Here's my "What I Wore" post for the week!

Blue cardi: Yard sale (J. Crew)

White top: TJ Maxx

Jeans: Goodwill (Ann Taylor Loft)

Shoes: Walmart

As you can see, I find my clothes at all kinds of different places and I'm not a store brand snob. If I see cute shoes at Walmart (I know, it's rare), I pick 'em up.

My closet is a hodge podge of mostly Goodwill/thrift, Marshalls/Ross/TJ Maxx, and Target. I love the thrill of the hunt! Where is your favorite place to shop?

Go! {and don't worry}

Happy Monday morning friends!

We don't have school today, so we are lazing around. Well, I should say the kiddos are lazing around. I have a hard time lazing. It's not in my DNA to laze. I'm working on the laundry, dinner for tonight, and painting some sweet canvas art pieces. And I'm listening to Pandora playing The Civil Wars station on my computer.

Outside it's a snowy, slushy mess, so we aren't going anywhere today. Which is my favorite thing to do. Not go anywhere. I love the cozy house on a cold wintery Monday.

Recently, I've had a lot of worries on my mind. Some big and some really small and dumb. But you know how it is, there are always things that need to be done, financial worries, relationship issues, sickness, stress about the kids....there's always something.

And what I've been learning about the annoying thing called "worry" is this: DON'T DO IT.

Yes, it's a command. By God. This is what He says to us (Message Bible):

^"Don't fret or worry.

Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.

Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." Phil. 4:6-7

And here's a practical thing I've been doing when I start to worry. First of all, pray.

Then focus on the present. Focus on today. It won't help to think about how I'm going to get through the next week or the next month. Take things a day at a time.

If you are going through a hard time, I encourage you (and me) that you will get through it. You will. Don't worry about tomorrow. God knows what you will need tomorrow. And he has supplied everything you need today.

Trust Him. And remember that He is by your side every step of the way. You can do it. You'll mess up sometimes, but that's ok. You are still precious, unique, and loved. 

Now GO! And live an amazing life!

{The art in this post is a custom sign that I created out of a barn door for a client.}

My Jack

Today we are celebrating my little guy's third birthday.

J a c k  B e n j a m i n

:: Named after my dad.

:: The biggest snuggler you'll ever meet. I could hold him half the day and he would be perfectly happy. I was recently cleaning the house and he came to find me and ask if I could read him a book. I told him that I couldn't right now. And he said, "Mommy, you're too tired to sweep right now. Can you come sit on the couch and read?".  How can I resist?

:: He loves food like no one else.

:: He has amazing blue eyes, just like his daddy.

:: He is very laid back and it takes him forever to do anything. His personality reminds me very much of my brother Kyle.

:: He's easy to please. Just give him some crackers and he's a happy guy!

:: His cousin Nya and his friend Asher are his favorite playmates.

:: He always needs to sleep backwards in his bed, with his head at the foot of the bed.

:: He's usually the first one of the kids to be up in the morning. And he needs his cereal pronto.

:: His favorite toys are his farm animals, his new dump truck, and Matchbox cars.

:: He loves to stay in his jammies all day.

Happy Birthday to my favorite little man!!

What I Wore Wednesday {Vacation Edition}

This is the vacation edition of What I Wore Wednesday today ~ ~ ~

Friday:

Dress: Goodwill (Old Navy)

Yellow cardi: H&M

Shoes: Yardsale (Target)

Belt: borrowed from a friend (thanks Chandra!)

Saturday:

Flowered top: Marshall's

Jacket: Goodwill

Skinnies: Kmart

Shoes: Ross

And this has nothing to do with today's post but I just had to share. When I was at the beach last week, this group of college guys randomly serenaded an old women sitting in front of me. It was pretty cute.

Back to Reality

Wow, it was a harsh reality coming home from sunny, warm Florida to a frigid and windy 24 degrees in Pennsylvania!

Sheesh!

But as much as we treasured our time away, just the two of us, it is really good to be home munching on my little ones, and getting back to the normal routine.

Although at one point last night when we came home, all the kids were crying at the same time for different reasons, things needed to be unpacked....well, I sorta just wanted to get on a plane right back to Florida.

Anyway, here are some photos from our long weekend.

We stayed in Sarasota close to Siesta Beach in this gorgeous place (my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's vacation house):

The pool by the house. The blue skies and warm sunshine was so amazing!

We fit some shopping into our time. And we hit one of my favorite places...

In case you aren't familiar with Plato's Closet, it's a chain of consignment stores all over the country that sells trendy used clothes geared toward younger people. The closest one in my area is in Exton, Pa.

I found this cute ruffly jacket. Totally didn't need it, but it was too cute to pass up! You know how it is.

Husband is a ginormous Baltimore Orioles fan, so we visited their spring training stadium which was close by. It was a beautiful place.

Someone left a door open in the outfield, so we were able to sneak in. Hubs ran the bases, checked out the dugout, and had a HUGE smile on his face the whole time! He totally turned into a 10 year old boy when he stepped onto the field!

Then we did some house hunting for a vacation home for ourselves. But nothing was quite large or fancy enough to suit us.

Here's my favorite. But it only has 6 bedrooms, and we need at least 10. You know, for all our kids and the staff.

This one wasn't quite palatial enough. Our house would need to have at least 5 turrets and 20 balconies.

As you can tell, we would fit right in with this neighborhood. With the gates and the luxury cars, it fits us so well.

And it would be a must to have a house right on the water with a dock for our yacht. That is a necessity.

Maybe the next time we go, we'll find the perfect home. And we'll invite you to come stay with us! I promise! :)

Happy back-to-reality Monday!!

I spy with my two eyes

A palm tree. And tropical flowers.

Heaven!

The husband and I are taking a last minute trip to the Sunshine State with no kids.

No. Kids.

Amazing.

Thanks to our rock star family and friends who are taking care of our little brood, we are enjoying every minute of our little vacay.

First up: BEACH (duh)

More to come! :)



Be Strong

I love, love, love the idea of teaching our boys to be STRONG.

To take care of others. To push through despite adversity.

To be motivated. To challenge themselves. To protect.

This is a custom sign that I recently made using an old salvaged barn door that I stained a dark walnut color. I took some photos of it in Jack's room, hanging above his bed.