pumpkins, ponies, and soup

It was a l o n g day. Some fun, some rough.

pumpkin patch

ponies

giant slide

hay ride

tears

nap

poop {on a pillow}

fighting

chalk board

butternut squash soup

bike ride

bath

quiet!

Here are some pictures of the fun parts!

simple skirt

While I was catching up on blogs yesterday I stumbled upon this SUPER easy diy skirt. i love that her daughter's name is ashlyn too!Seriously people, it took me maybe 10 minutes... and only minimal sewing skills are needed {very minimal} I only glanced at her pictures and went from there.. I know she used a serger around the edges, but I don't have one - jealous - and didn't want to spend the time to hem all around. If you use a knit {tshirt type material} you do not have to finish the edges because it really doesn't fray. I pretty much always take the easy way out ;) have fun!

did i forget to mention that i made it during naptime, and actually made it so long she pulled it up to be a dress? {below}

We've lived in our house almost a year now, and I have a confession to make... there is almost nothing on the walls. Maybe it's because of our time in college dorms or apartments, but I always think twice {or 3 or 4 times} about putting something up. Probably, it also has something to do with my fickleness (a word?) I am constantly changing it up in here! Well I've decided it's far past time to get some things up on the walls, and so, slowly but surely I will be posting my DIY art here. Today I tackled a small project in the kitchen. There's not much wall space in our narrow galley style kitchen, and we're planning to remodel this summer, so I needed something easy, and cheap that I could change when the mood struck me. Just like most of my projects, this DIY was not my own idea - but I cannot remember where it came from in order to give credit. As soon as I figure it out I'll post the site.

I decided to paint the word l o v e above my kitchen entryway...

to remind myself, when I look up {from cooking, scrubbing dishes, mopping floors}

of the reason I'm doing these things!

But I might want to change it, right? So I used a chalk pen instead!

First, I printed out the letters in the size I'd want them (above)

next, I cut them down to size... not perfectly, just smaller

then, color the back of the letters with regular chalk

tape in place

press firmly to trace over the letters. it works better with a pencil, a pen's tip is too fine.

remove the paper and you will have a faint outline like this one

then just fill it in with your amazing Chalk Ink pen and you have this...

sure, if you have great penmanship you can just write it without all the hassle, but mine's atrocious!

fireplace

When we first moved into our house I wanted to paint the fireplace white. When we got to Lowe's to buy the paint, the paint guy talked me out of it {actually, he bullied me out of it... but that's another story}. Almost a year later I finally did it... and love the results!

before...

after...

sweet graphics (and they're free)

I've been trying to figure out a way to scrapbook for my kids without actually having to buy all the scrapbook supplies and spend hours upon hours putting it together. I just don't have the time... This took me 10 minutes to put together

thanks to this talented lady via Ashley Ann

Good bye dear friend!

Before we bought our home, David and I were fortunate enough to live in an apartment complex owned by the University we graduated from. Everyone there was a recent graduate, newly married, and there were many young families. We liked to think of it as the "married dorms". We'd share stories of marriage & parenthood, and play board games late into the night with our baby monitors lined up in the courtyard. Some of our best friends came from that time in our lives, and now one of these families is moving to Idaho. The Newberys have become some of our closest friends. Emma introduces their son as, "my Brody." We met them at the park today {probably for the last time}, and Kate put her awesome photography skills to work on my girls. We love you guys... and can't wait to visit Idaho!

let's hear it for the boys!

It is so easy to come across DIY's for my girls... anything that turns out pink, shiny, or "fancy" and they are enthralled. But little boys are much more difficult. I stumbled across this one - Genius!

check out the creator at her blog, homemade by jill.