We have an addition to our family.

We welcomed home a bouncing baby betta fish. Sex to be determined. Apparently you aren't able to decipher the sex of a baby betta until he or she grows to be a big betta. Like most of the animal kingdom, if our fishy turns out to be male, he will be stunning {big fins, great color}, if our fishy turns out to be female, she'll be plain and drab. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what this little fishy grows up to look like.

This little fishy is Grace's and she couldn't be more thrilled. Our hope is that she learns some responsibility in caring for her new pet.

She has named him/her Kermit and then changed it to Baby and proudly proclaimed that she is the fish's mommy.

Riley is skeptical of the newest addition to our family. She might even think this is a fancy new water bowl {I tease, no worries our fish is safe and sound}.

I think our little fishy is also happy to be part of our family. Love is definitely in the air. I suspect a romance is blossoming.

Grace loves her new fish so much, I caught her trying to walk around with the fish bowl cradled in her arms. I found her, just as the water was beginning to slosh out of the bowl. I saved the bowl and the fish before complete disaster struck. Grace is still trying to grasp the concept that fish are only to be looked at.

If only we had a pet that Grace could cuddle with...

Happy 100th Birthday - Bathroom

Happy birthday dear bathroom, happy birthday to you...

You may have already gotten a glimpse into our bathroom from my Quick Bathroom Updates post, where I detail the transformation our vanity underwent {before picture on the left, after on the right}.

Our bathroom was remodeled on a budget of almost nothing. Most of our projects involved the help of my dad but this project was done almost entirely by my talented husband.

After some blood {ok, maybe not blood}, sweat and tears {yes, with every home improvement project there are tears} we lovingly updated our bathroom {before picture on the left, after on the right}.

Removing the bulky cabinets made a huge difference. We {actually, he, the husband} built a new radiator cover that we use as a bench, hopefully giving more of a spa feel to our bathroom.

With some inspiration and stained glass {that can be bought at any hobby store}, we were able to give the tall oak cabinet a custom look by removing the wooden panel inserts and replacing them with the glass.

Using some gel stain, we covered the dated oak finish with a dark, rich mahogany coating. We added some crown molding to the top of the cabinet and bronze knobs to the drawers to give it a more finished look {view of the cabinet from the bathtub, where I perched trying to get this picture}. Can you believe this is the same oak cabinet?

My decorating philosophy with our bathroom was 'decorate with what makes you happy'. Instead of hiding away all my meaningful mementos in a box, I dug them out and put them on display in our bathroom. Most of which were from our honeymoon and other travels.

This may not look like much to the casual observer BUT this shelf makes me smile every day and brings me back to happy memories of my engagement. The picture of the sunset, is the sunset in San Jose del Cabo on the night we got engaged. I was a little annoyed that in the midst of a romantic moment {getting engaged}, my fiance stopped to take pictures of the sunset but will now admit that I appreciate I have that picture now. The vase contains sand and shells from that same beach and the scroll a special poem.

The corbel supported shelf, my husband built, displays more treasures from our travels, another picture from our honeymoon, some coral, 2 tiki men {these tiki men were given out by our hotel, much like chocolates left on your pillow at turn down service}...

and we have glass bottles filled with sand from each place we've visited. It's interesting to see how different something as simple as sand can look from region to region.

All the pictures in our bathroom my husband in took, matted and framed. I love the idea of filling our walls with personal pictures from our adventures.

So, that's the story of our 100 year old bathroom.

I hope we made our house proud with the updates we made.

We are proud to be part of our house's hundred year history. Happy Birthday Bathroom!

Heart Clay Ornaments

After my sappy 'Happy Valentine's Day' post from earlier, I decided to round thing up on a creative note with one final Valentine's day craft.

A friend sent me a link to Marie Grace Designs, specifically her clay ornament recipe. The recipe called for staples I already had in my pantry so I decided to try it out.

I grabbed my heart shaped cookie cutters {they certainly have gotten a lot of use lately - cookies, bird seed feeders}, my typewriter stamp set and I got busy creating.

The best part, when you are done creating you can just set it aside and forget about it while it sets up {I feel like Ron Popeil doing an infomercial for clay ornaments, just set it and forget it}.

They dry a bright white and have the delicate look of porcelain.

I've always been a fan of salt dough ornaments but now that I have tried this clay ornament recipe I am now a convert. Make sure you head over to Marie Grace Designs to get the recipe and have fun creating some ornaments of your own.

Red Velvet Crinkle Heart Cookies

Anyone that is a fan of pinterest has probably seen and can certainly appreciate this quote: Thank you pinterest for helping me feel creative even though I've really just been sitting at my computer for 3 hours.

When I pinned this recipe for semi-homemade Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod. I decided to step away from the computer and start baking.

What stopped me from pinning and got me to baking is how easy this recipe seemed. In addition to a few staples you should already have in your pantry, the main component to this recipe, a box of red velvet cake mix. This is the kind of baking I can handle.

In addition to licking the beater blade,

my little helper also assisted in covering each ball of cake dough in powdered sugar.

Into the oven as round balls coated in powdered sugar, out of the oven chewy red crinkle cookies.

Even after baked, soft enough to cut out some heart shapes.

Even the scraps were pretty {and equally as delicious}.

So what has you inspired lately?

Goodwill Hunting Roundup

Yes, it's time again for another Goodwill Hunting Roundup. I couldn't be happier with the deals I found this month. You never know what you are going to find and that's what keeps me going back.

When I saw this globe, I couldn't get it in my shopping cart quick enough. I was in disbelief that no one had grabbed it before I had a chance. This globe is in perfect condition and has a solid wood base. Are you ready for this, I paid $3.99 for it.

My husband has developed an interest in English pond boats. He found a few on Ebay that are admittedly very cool. So, when I saw this mini knock off of an English pond boat for $1.99, I thought I might win a few brownie points and impress my husband with my find.

For $2.99, this metal gardening basket brought a huge smile to my face. I have been hoping to stumble upon one of these. Thanks to pinterest, I've been inspired to, hopefully, hang this in my kitchen and fill it with fresh fruit.

When I saw this adorable houndstooth mod dress for $1.99 {it was originally $3.99 but it was orange tag day SO it was half off}, I decided it would be an adorable addition to Grace's wardrobe.

This chair is ah-mazing. I spied someone walking around contemplating buying it, which, of course, made me want it even more. As soon as I saw they were going to pass up this beautiful chair, I claimed it for my own for $4.99.

I picked up this little bird for .99 cents and this picture frame for .49 cents AND they just so happen to be a nice addition for Valentines.

I am a sucker for anything white that can be added to my kitchen. This fluted dish was only $1.99. It was too pretty to pass up, plus it makes my sugar cookies look even more tempting.

Ok, confession time, I am a HUGE fan of American Pickers. They are always taking about finding things that are 'a piece of Americana' SO when I found a vintage Morton Salt trivet for .49 cents I decided it was a piece of Americana I needed to own.

I scour the toy/game aisle each trip I make to Goodwill. This past month, I actually bought Grace her first Ken doll for .99 cents {no picture, sorry}. All the Barbies were so excited, they found themselves fighting over who was going to marry him.

I also found a set of Circus Animal Lacing Cards for $1.99. They have a cool, vintage feel to them. It won the Oppenheim best toy award {bonus!}. What made it an even better find, it was in perfect condition.

Last but certainly not least. I had been thinking about buying an overhead projector. I have a growing list of overhead projector projects. I wasn't sure I wanted to invest $30 in a projector {which seems to be on average how much they run at a thrift store}. Lo and behold, this Elmo projector was listed for $24.99 BUT I stumbled upon it on a day when all pink tags were half off SO for $12.50 it was too good to pass up. I can't wait to start creating!

If you still haven't hit your local Goodwill {or even if you have and were hoping for a few new tips}, head over to Thrifty Like Me {someone equally as excited about thrifting as I am} to read her 7 tips for scoring at Goodwill. Then head out to Goodwill and score some good deals for yourself.

Happy thrifting!

Seeking Help from:

Admittedly Unoriginal But Still Adorable Valentine's

It's been many years since I have had any personal experience passing out Valentine day cards. When I went to school Valentine day cards, included candy. I was shocked to learn that in some schools candy isn't even allowed. Of course, I realize why and want to be respectful SO for Grace's preschool Valentine's...

We opted for a dino-mite theme. I found a package of 12 plastic dinosaurs at Party Central for $3.

Using my Silhouette, I drew out a stegosaurus pattern {if you want to use mine, send me an email and I'll send you the file}. Then, using some colorful card stock, I cut out a dozen stegosaurus.

I used some bakers twine to affix the dinosaurs to the stegosaurus cut out.

So, even though I have seen this idea done several different ways, I have high hopes that the 3 year old crowd will be impressed.

Here's hoping that you also have a dino-mite Valentine's day!

 

Eraser to Stamp Tutorial

Pink erasers can be so much more than a standard school supply...using an X-Acto knife, you can transform your eraser into a stamp.

Grab yourself some erasers. If you have to raid your kid's backpack to find some, I won't tell.

Draw out a design. Being the perfectionist I am, I like to draw out a pattern on paper first and then trace it onto the eraser.

With an X-Acto knife, cut into the eraser along the design line. Then, cutting from the side of the eraser toward the design, start to cut away the excess parts of the eraser. When your design is fully cut out, grab some ink and try it out.

So, I mustache, what you think of these erasers turned stamps.

These were so easy to make, in honor of Valentine's Day...

I carved out a few more erasers.

The possibilities are endless. Happy Stamping!

Linked up and a big thanks to: