School Days

Yes, like everyone else, my child started school last week for the first time! Olivia and I were both very excited. She happily went left me to go start her school career. I envy her! I wasn't excited just because it means being able to run some errands with just one child, but because I REALLY LOVE SCHOOL! I wish I were going! Or teaching. I miss teaching so much (not enough to put my children in daycare, but enough that I know I will do it again one day when they are all in school).

I love the start of a new school year, school-supply shopping, new classrooms, new hopes and dreams of what the year will hold. The smell of new textbooks, art supplies, it is all so much fun. I loved every year of my schooling and always looked forward to going back after summer vacation!

And so..... I was also enthused to start my own class last night! I have to renew my Florida Teaching Certification (you have to renew every 5 years), and since I am not currently teaching, I have to take some college courses to do so. Darn:) I started a painting class last night at the local state college (where I could actually be teaching myself if I was so inclined....). Just registering for my class and getting my parking decal, etc was so much fun. Yes, I have a masters, and now I am taking a course at the state college. But I don't care!!! Its school!!! Hooray for school!!

anyone else with me??

Envirosax for cheap!

I normally don't do this, but I had to post this deal for you all (and of course if 3 of you buy it I get mine free!  pretty pretty please?!). On living social today (deal ends in 11 days) you can order a set of these 5 envirosax. There are 4 different style groupings to choose from, but I chose the ones pictured above ("After Dark").   These things are normally $40 PLUS SHIPPING for a set of 5. I have a couple and I have always wanted to buy more, but the price detered me until now! But these ones are cheap: $22 plus FREE shipping! woo hoo ($4.40/bag)!!

Why do I love these so much? I use these all.the.time. They roll up really small and are water-resistant so they make a great: beach bag, pool bag, throw in your purse just in case you need an extra bag-bag, I-don't-want-to-bring-a-purse-in-my-suitcase-bag (I can't ever fit a purse AND a diaper bag when I travel, so I usually throw one of these in my suitcase and use it as a purse. Its also great if you buy lots on your trip and need to use this as a carry-on).  These things are also tough, mine have never torn and I've used them for some HEAVY stuff.

Seriously people, I wouldn't do an entire post about these if they weren't the greatest thing since sliced bread. I promise you won't regret it! Buy em here, but you only have 11 days (I'm guessing the good styles will sell out first)!

O.B.S.E.S.S.E.S.E.D

I wrote on pinterest that there are no words for how cool these are.  someone else wrote a word: ugly.  We definitely have different tastes because when I first saw these Holst + Lee necklaces last week I thought I had died and entered super-cool-necklace heaven. They are made of everyday, simple materials, yet put together in such a way that makes them take on a whole new life. seriously nylon rope, brass nuts, and embroidery floss????  Check them out here.

Eff.

so sorry but can't remember the source and I didn't pin this! its from tumblr...

I love this hand-drawn "F." I wish my blue-eyed freckle logo was in this font.... Anyone want to make it for me? I suppose I could do it myself....

Fab and Jessica Swift

First of all I need to tell you all why I have been S. W. A. M. P. E. D lately. Its a little site called... FAB.COM!!! what?! what?! No its really a HUGE site and they want to sell my headbands on there! So.... I have been making SIX HUNDRED AND FORTY HEADBANDS with my own two hands, scissors, and glue since I found out (late November).

Sign up now and I will let you know when they are up and available to buy! (It is after Christmas, but not long....) and they will be sold at a discount. A good one!

If you haven't heard of Fab.com yet then let me tell you it is the coolest of cool 3-day-sale sites. It features super cool, modern, hip things for your body and home. I fall in love with new things on there everyday.

On another note. Jessica Swift! I bought one of her calendars last year and it has been one of my favorite kitchen decorations all year. Seriously, every month features a new cool design with bright, juicy color and pattern and I can't get enough. And what I love about her calendars, compared to most you find on etsy is that there is actually space to write things in! I love a cute calendar, but I need somewhere to write the stuff I have going on too. Anyway, just thought I'd share!

And while I was browsing her site (love her motto "Live Color to the Max") I saw lots of other things I began coveting...

Seriously? Those boots rock.

New Traditions

This is the first Christmas that we have a daughter who is aware of it being Christmas! I am so excited to start family traditions, borrowing some from my own childhood. My parents always did a great job at creating fun traditions for all of the holidays and I want that for my own daughters.

So I saw the above photo on Pinterest (via Poppytalk) and thought it would be a fun one to incorporate on "St. Nick's." I basically just went to the dollar store, got a few candies and trinkets and wrapped them in crepe paper (from the dollar tree as well), glued the end down and added some scraps from my headbands!  The fun thing about these balls (a mexican tradition I believe it said) as that you find more prizes as you unwrap them, which kids love of course.

I stuffed the Christmas ball into the sock she left out on the eve of St.Nick's as well as a few other fun things.

(pictured above with the ball are the cinnamon dough ornaments that I made with my mom. So fun and easy! Olivia thought they were cookies, thus the decapitated one on the bottom right:))

Handmade Charlotte for Anthropologie!

The other day I had a dream that Anthropologie called and asked if I would sell my headbands at their stores (the felt feather fascinator to be exact) and I was like heck yeah (even though in my mind I couldn't figure out how in the WORLD I would get them all done). And then they told me I had to make 75 of them to give their employees for free at the home office. And I said no. I just couldn't do it with my 3 1/2 month old baby (and 2 yr old). I didn't have enough time. So the deal didn't go through. I woke up and told my husband that I didn't regret that decision. crazy.

Fast forward to a day later when I found out my fellow Atlantan (okay I was only an Atlantan for 3 yrs) crafter Rachel, of Handmade Charlotte actually had something like this HAPPEN TO HER!!!! Well, I don't know exactly how it happened, but she emailed me to tell me about her new line being sold on Anthropologie.com for little girls!!!! WHAT??? How cool! And get this, she lives on a farm and has 5 as in 1,2,3,4, FIVE kids. What? And she and a friend sewed everyone of these pieces themselves. No India outsourcing here (which having worked for Anthro, I know they do a lot of).

Check out my two faves:

 cutest little warm winter bloomers ever

 love the detailing on this coat!

So cute right??!! Olivia/Amélie has a pair of her bloomers that my friend Lesley bought me. They are very well made, and absolutely adorable. And Rachel herself? Well she is funny, quirky, and super nice, so support her and check out her line for Anthro!!!

If you didn't already... make this.

 please excuse the grout. I live in an old apartment. can't get the stuff completely clean!! too lazy to photoshop it out:)

I just wanted to repost this tutorial because it is one of the simplest, easiest, most played with things I ever made for my daughter Olivia. I love how many ways she uses these foam shapes. I had only thought of them as being used to make art pieces in the bath/shower, but she sorts them by color, by shape, counts them, puts them on her arms, legs, and belly. The possibilities and educational opportunities are endless! See the old tutorial of mine here.

EEK! washi tape magnets

Good ol' pinterest helped me finally use my beloved washi tape. I have had some of these rolls for 3 years. untouched. And the pretty red ones my friend Danni sent me from Thailand! But I loved them so much that no project seemed worthy of their use. Until I saw and pinned this. And last night I had 40 minutes of free time which I hadn't planned anything for, so I made them....

Washi tape (though if you just used the adhesive magnet strips you could also stick on some scrapbook paper or cool fabric)
+
Adhesive Magnet strips (or other magnet backing found at craft stores) (OR if you want to be cheap, or recycle, you can use those free magnets you get from sales people! you would just need to glue the white paper on top to cover the ad.)
+
white paper if your magnet is black and not coated with white already.
=

They are definitely not serving a real function right now, but I love how they look on my fridge! Okay now go make yourself some! (Dearest Danni, if you still read my blog I made some for you with the tape you bought me and I will be sending them to Thailand sometime in the nearish future.)

SheBlogs SheBlogs

 buy this here. I know I want one!

get the tutorial here

Check this girl out. I swear I read her blog and felt like she was articulating my own thoughts! But Funnier! She is blunt, she is real, and she is a riot to read. Oh yeah and she sells super cool mobiles and makes crazy awesome 80's inspired shirts for her daughter.

Before I had the baby...

The month before I had Amélie (I found out how to put the accent on!) I was working on lots of projects because I knew it would be a while before I could do any of that again (and believe me, everything that I didn't finish beforehand is still sitting there waiting. and waiting.) I have lots more to show you all, but for today I am just going to give you a peak at a few random things I did that were inspired by pinterest!

I made 22 meals and froze them! I knew a few people would bring me meals, but I hated the thought of  grocery shopping and making dinners while trying to balance a newborn and a toddler. I've seen this a million times on pinterest but never got the guts to try it until now. I bought THIS book  which teaches you the secrets of freezer cooking and also has tons of recipes! I probably could have figured out most of it from researching more on the internet, but its nice to have all the info in one place. Here is what I made:
pizza dough/kits (with cheese and veggies already portioned out) 4 nights
tortilla soup (4 nights)
chicken/cream cheese/beef rolls (4 nights)
chicken enchiladas (3 nights)
pulled bbq chicken (3 nights)
Hawaiian chicken (3 nights)
pre-cooked and pulled chicken for a tortilla salad (1 night)
A lot of these meals are just needing rice, fresh veggies, or some tortilla chips which is no problem. And let me tell you these things have SAVED me! I think this is my new way of cooking. First of all, it takes me no time to have dinner ready and then I am only spending around $30/wk to get the rest of the essentials (milk, bread, fruit, veggies, and some fun stuff). I DO use coupons though, so that helps. My initial cost for the freezer meals was only $60. I didn't buy any fancy meat though, like I would've liked (fancy as in free-range).

Okay I could go on and on, but let's just say freezer cooking is the bomb!

I saw this several times on pinterest and though it might be overdone, I still kinda loved it. Its this picture frame, and I just cut a piece of board to fit the frame and painted it with chalkboard paint, and spray-painted the frame yellow (no priming). It had two holes so I used my trick to hang it:)

 Last, it was my husband's birthday (and then Olivia's)  so I wanted to put up some simple decorations for our family parties. I had seen these on pinterest as well, and let me tell you they take very little paper and time to make! so simple (and so much cuter in person)!  I didn't have time or energy to make anymore decorations though and since it was just my parents, brothers and sisters coming over I didn't feel any pressure to put on something over-the-top. I still haven't taken them down...

And her name is......

 The day she arrived. Olivia likes her....sometimes!

 with her daddy

 unfortunately this serious contemplative pose is the only one that came out okay...

 she has dimples!!!

It took the Social Security lady telling us she needed our papers by 8:30 am in order for us to choose a name for our new baby... If you don't remember we had troubles deciding. Alas, the nurse visiting our room at that moment helped us make the final decision, and the name is......


AMELIE FRANCES KORTMAN!!!!
Amelie (Ah-may-lee) (from the list---in the end my husband and I agreed on either Madeline or Amelie) **also happens to be my favorite movie ever, but that is coincidental....ish.
Frances (because of Francisco-my husband's name, Francis-my father's middle name, and Francisco-my husband's great grandfather)---and because you may remember he really liked the name "francisca" and was really trying to get that one in there at the last moment!

She arrived after a very easy delivery (yay!!!!) on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 11:45 am. 8lb 1 oz, 20 in.


SIDE NOTE: thanks to everyone who has let me know they can help me out with my blog! I was contacted by someone who actually said they could help me do the whole thing!!! Thanks everyone for offering your knowledge and expertise, I really appreciate having so many people that read my blog, and ones that were willing to help me make it better.

Check My Momma Out!!!

A few months ago my very cool mother started a couple Etsy shops. Grandpa's Pocket and The Kitchen General. She came up with the name for Grandpa's pocket because she absolutely loved her grandpa and whenever she would see him, he always seemed to have something fun for her in his pocket (candy, trinkets, cards, etc). If you look at her ad to the right, you will see a photo of him in the background.

Anyway, my mother has an eye for vintage/antique things. So she picks them up as she shops around, and then lists them in Grandpa's Pocket! Whenever we go home my sisters and I try to call dibs on different items in case they don't sell (or she just gives them to us). Its fun having a mother with such awesome taste! If you don't believe me, check some of her current items out (below)...

How cool are these Vintage Wedding Cake toppers!!!! I mean seriously. If I were doing my wedding again I would totally figure out a way to decorate with these! (If not on the cake, then perhaps by the guestbook??---I had a vintage typewriter that people typed out their message on).

and how about these pretty vintage shoe trees? In one of my all time favorite colors. How pretty to display near your boudoir.

These are vintage hand-embroidered wallhangings. How pretty! I love embroidery and that is one thing I KNOW I will never take the time to do. Takes waaay too long, better to just buy someone else's pretty work:)

I. want. these. glasses. My mom has an awesome collection of vintage frames she sells on her site, but when these came up I started to covet...

Awesome patent leather purse that I could totally see Joan on "Mad Men" carrying around.

And lastly, this colorful (and my favorite combo of colors as well) French "Milles Bornes" card game! This would be so cool as decor (line up the cards in a grid on the wall), or to use for collage, or for decorating a children's room... I don't know but I seriously love these cards!  (I am a sucker for French stuff....)

The Zen of Clean Toddler Painting...

When my husband Francisco asked me what I wanted for Christmas I couldn't think of anything. I just told him to figure out something I would love. Easy right?? Ha, its cruel I know. But this man really knows me and he got me things I definitely wanted but never thought to ask for! Among those things was a....

Buddha Board! Its a board that you paint on with just a brushed dipped in water. Franc was a little bummed when I exclaimed it would be great for Olivia. I wasn't bummed at all! I have been wanting to paint with Olivia more, but its just so messy. This board dries a few minutes after you paint on it, so it creates no waste and no mess! I also enjoyed it, especially taking photos of the images it created as the water evaporated from the board (pictured above).  (we bought it on amazon.)

I need your advice!!

 Okay so I have a couple dilemmas I need your advice on. 1. which photo? 2. which card?
This photo (above) I love, but I am not looking, which is fine to me, but maybe not to the recipients? and Olivia isn't smiling...

This photo is perfect BUT its blurry. And I am not talking about the texture I layered overtop to make it look vintage, but the actual photo was slightly blurry! DANG IT. yes there were about a bazillion other photos taken but this is THE only one where everyone is looking and smiling (we didn't have these done profesh, its just a snapshot on my camera). If you guys choose neither then I will look back at my photos again...

Dilemma TWO: Which card do I choose?? I have decided to go with Shutterfly because they gave me a deal I can't refuse:) And I have had good experience with them and cards before....

Okay this isn't me (its a stock photo), but I had a bunch of these types of "All Occasion" cards made by shutterfly when we got back from our Europe trip. I put photos from the trip on the insides and outsides and I use them to entertain Olivia at church. The quality of the paper and the photo are superb. Better than I had even expected. So I totally trust Shutterfly with my Christmas cards, I just need to decide which one fits my personality the best, and would look the best with out photo.

Now as you look at these cards picture our photo not the photo on the card at the moment....

option #1 cheerful and bold

option #2 cool and simple

#3 (this one would look completely different with our photo behind it)

not very Christmas-y but I like the design....

There are things I like about them all! Seriously though, there are waaaay too many choices on Shutterfly (which is a good thing!), and I didn't even get to all the pages. I like the flat style because it does the job all on one surface. I have never ever been good at sending out Christmas cards (I've only done it once and that was because it doubled as Olivia's birth announcement--she was 5 months already), so I am hoping that by doing it this way I will actually do this thang!

I always put this pressure on myself to create these totally original artistic cards and therefore I never get them made or mailed. So this year, much like my holiday decorating (which I just did today by the way), I am K.I.S.S Keeping it Simple.... silly.

And P.S. isn't this address label cool? I am a sucker for that font... I don't know what its called but it kind of like Engravers MT, which is a basic font but I love it. And of course the bright colors on this thing are calling my name.

P.S.S. (If you want to know the awesome deal I am getting check my facebook status  to learn how you can get it too....)