Bargains for baby

I always cheat myself out of the big "purchasing" moments in my life.  I refused to go to prom.  I didn't buy a real wedding dress when we got married, but had someone make one that I really didn't like.  Then I didn't buy any kind of a nursery set for either of my two boys when they were born.  With Ewan we were strapped for money, and I just bought stuff here and there, super-cheap, not-good quality stuff.  Then with Fynn, I think since he was the second, the idea of a fabulous nursery theme wasn't on my radar.  But I decided that with this baby, I really did want him to have a nice, matching crib set, especially since he'll be in our room until we move someday.  We won't even put him in the crib until he's four or five months old, but Target had some of its cutest stuff on 50% off clearance, so I just *had* to get it.  Hopefully it will be around for a little longer so I can keep adding pieces.  You can see the things I did buy here and here on Target.com, although it's not on clearance on the website for some reason.  It's probably only exciting for me, and the baby couldn't care less, but I'm just excited I finally was able to indulge in the moment and have a matching set for him.  

Very very very clumsy Kelli

Alas, it was not to be. And it's all my fault. Even Fynn is better around the breakables in this house than I am. Leave it to me to try to move a large piece of baby equipment next to a small table with precious ceramic cats on it.
I am so very sad. Meep. As mentioned before, this belonged to my grandmother. and it was so fabulous. So, which is appropriate to say? "Thank goodness it wasn't the fish?" or "If only it had been the fish?" (To view the kitty in all its former glory, click on the link above.)

I've never loved something so much in all my life.

A fitting last tribute to Black Apple before I go private. Next time I have money to burn, this will be hanging on my wall:
That quote? That quote is amazing. If you can't read it, it says, "If there is no love in the world, we will make a new world and give it heavy walls."

R.I.P. Wilma

See that big tree? I've just this very moment named it Wilma. It resided in our front our yard, and was a major selling point for the house. It has housed a family of woodpeckers, held my birdfeeders, given us shade, a resting place, provided a ladder for my cats to the roof, as well as a place for them to nap. About six months ago, that large branch behind Ewan's head fell down for no apparent reason.
Then two weeks ago, Bryce walked outside to find the trunk was splitting down the middle. The only thing keeping that branch on the left from falling to the ground was that it had cradled itself up against another branch. We're pretty sure a fungus was killing it slowly, and after consulting with a man with a tree company, decided it needed to come down. Meep.
The boys stood here for twenty minutes and watched the men work. Motionless. Riveted. Fascinating stuff, you see.
I thought they were leaving me some height of trunk. I was wrong.
But Fynn had fun playing on it.
The funereal shot.
We are sad. Meep, Tree. Meep, Wilma.

Indulgence and Abstinence

Bryce and I decided to bite the bullet and finish painting tonight. If we hadn't done it, it would be sitting partially done for months. It went a lot better and faster tonight, as we had a very special, short helper:
He had fun, and ended up with surprisingly little paint on him, considering.

Bryce and I were able to get a lot of projects done over this little vacation of his, and I am so excited! But one drawback of all this "hard labor" is that over the last few days, we'd look up and realize it was nearly 6:30 and we had taken no thoughts for dinner. It has been a fast-food fest, and we feel disgusting. So not only for financial reasons, although that is a big part of it, we are going on a complete "fast food fast" for the entire month of March. It seemed to come to Bryce in a moment of inspiration during our family prayer. We are going to make it a matter of prayer and faith, to see how much better we feel at the end of the month, much like Daniel's challenge to Ashpenaz. This is going to be difficult for both of us, since he has more late, late nights ahead of him. When he's at work late, they often buy him take-out, and when he works late, I often don't want to cook! Plus, I do love my fries. But we're determined, and hopefully this can be the start of a life-long change.

I hate painting. No, really I do.

Bryce worked so many hours the last few weeks, he took two days off so we could get some stuff done around the house. Project Number One was painting. We were originally going to have a "painting party," but Fynn's accident put off our plans, so we had to do it in the middle of the week. So it was just me and Bryce; Sarah watched the boys for us (thank you). I had a minor heart attack at first because the color was waaaaaaaayyyyyyy too bright and dark. But we were able to lighten it with some white paint Sarah gave us (again, thank you), and the result was nice. We still have at least one more wall to go, but here is my favorite wall where I was able to hang up my newest prints from Christmas and my birthday. We may actually have a painting party to finish the rest, perhaps after Ewan's birthday party, which is rapidly approaching.

That red cat belonged to my grandmother, actually given to her by my parents. I love it so much, and I think it looks so good there next to the fish bowl. However... I highly doubt either one can stay there, due to a little midget who lives with us who goes by the name of Fynn. He has a penchant for destroying shiny things. And who am I to put an innocent little fish in the line of danger?

Swooning part deux

I don't have quite as much this time, but here we go:

Etsy artist Dan-ah Kim. I unfortunately don't remember where I found this, but enjoy her gallery. This Wind-up Bird was my favorite, and I also loved Lady Hitchcock and Meet Me by the Water.

I found this one one Cuteable, Baxter the Love Pirate. Found at the Etsy shop here, Tiddlywinks.

And here is the website Missy referred me to, Kindergallery.com. And Isak is my favorite artist on there.

Asking a ridiculous favor...

I have been wanting to paint our living room for two years now, and I've had a very specific color in my head. A color which is hard to define, but which I usually describe as the of the wings on my Tinkerbell figurine. Then Miss Black Apple posted some pictures the other day, and I realized that her bedroom is the very color I want. I have some paint color card thingies from Behr, and I am trying to figure out which one matches! If any of you have some time, click on Behr, from there click on "Start Color Smart" and do a search these colors: Botanical Tint, Sweet Rhapsody and Cool Jazz. Which one matches? Or are they both wrong? HEEEEELLLLLLPPPPP. I don't want to regret my living room paint like I regret my kitchen paint!

Swooning

Bryce has a "man date" with Keith tonight, playing Guitar Hero. So while I wait for Ewan to fall asleep, I've been browsing the Internet, looking for things I would buy right now if I had a ridiculously substantial bank account. Here, I'll share what I found, Cuteable style:

~~I would probably never actually use this, but so cute I'd pull it out just to stare at the image instead of the mirror. Find it here at Modishhandmade.com.

~~I'm very fish-minded lately, and adore this fishy abode, found here at Wrapables.com.

~~My heart stopped when these popped up on my screen. Click here for their natural habitat at Givesimple.com.

~~So delicate and pretty, would make a lovely Valentine. Home at Lochers.com.

~~This wants to be in my living room. It told me. But it said to get a new rug first. I found it at Designhole.blogspot.com. View.

~~Tweet tweet, also at Modishhandmade.com.

"Someday," by Yellena. This may be my most favoritest thing I have ever looked at. It's not even expensive. Doesn't change the fact that I'm seriously considering robbing a bank so I can do some major shopping on the main website, Yellena.com. Thanks to Poppytalk Handmade for leading me there.

Hoot, Hoot

I won a free subscription to House Beautiful, and recently got my first issue.  As I was looking through, they had this fabulous, whimsical print of a cute owl.  I loved it.  So I tracked down where to find it and - lo and behold! - it came from Anthropologie!!!  Imagine that.  Behold it here.  I think I'd have Britney Spears shave off my hair for it.  (The bird print is pretty darn cute, too.)  I know owls are actually quite trendy right now, but I've always loved them.  I've always loved anything woodsy, birdie, fairy, toadstool, whimsical, etc.  Hence the blog header Missy made for me.  I think it comes from a childhood of devouring all of Lucy Maud Montgomery's books.  I used to sit in my classes in high school and doodle mushrooms all over everything.  I think people thought I was a big of a druggy. And speaking of mushrooms, I'll be posting a picture of another cute find a little later.

An Improvement

A few days of the bettas in the first pathetic little tank, I decided they deserved better. Now they have more room, pretty scenery and some friends. There are some little aquarium bulbs I've put down in the rocks as well, and they should grow fast. I've always loved the look of a nice, clear fish bowl. If I am the only one who finds this blog-worthy, indulge me.

Fizzle with his seahorses.

Pop with his octopus.

Warm weather rant and Christmas Cleaning Fairies

I'm fed up. It's 80 degrees outside! Give me a break. I'm sorry , but no, Jimmy Buffet, I don't want to spend Christmas on Christmas Island. How am I supposed to feel the Christmas spirit when I had to go grocery shopping in a bikini* to ward off the heat? I mean, yeah, there's good will toward men, peace on Earth, yada yada, that's all fine and good. But I want SNOW! ICE! COATS! FROSTBITE! Sledding on a chunk of plywood attached to the back of my big brother's Chevy truck!* Or something equally as ridiculous and fun. The fact that I literally have not owned or worn a coat in over a decade speaks to the sad state of Christmases lately. I had hope on Thanksgiving, but alas, it's lost. I can accept there won't be snow, fine, but good grief, give me at least some rosy cheeks and the need for hot chocolate! (*Disclaimer #1 * I did not really shop in a bikini, that would be horrifying. But I wanted to. Disclaimer #2 * Sledding on plywood attached to the back of my brother's truck really happened, on the icy streets of Grand Prairie. I was probably 12 or so. And it was awesome.)

On another note, after a very busy week where I had something going on every day and had no time for house work, I was having a major breakdown on the phone to Bryce over the ridiculously filthy state of my home, and how I wouldn't have time to clean it properly. Then Mariah, our sister-in-law and Mary Ann, Bryce's mom, pulled up out front. While I was glad to see them, I was distressed because my house was so icky. But oh my gosh, they CLEANED MY HOUSE! Seriously. Mary Ann dusted and scrubbed my bathtub, Mariah vacuumed everything and made my bed, they put up toys and dirty clothes and I was able to clean the kitchen. My house looks awesome, and my major crisis was averted. Thank you so much, ladies. Now the house will be clean for our tree we're going to pick out tomorrow. I am so blessed to have the family and friends I do, and I hardly deserve it.

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

I take things for granted often. I complain about my house constantly. I don't like the neighborhood, there are so many trees in the back that the shade won't allow for a garden (but I would complain if there were one tree less, not as much "scope for the imagination"), it's a shoe box, the bathroom is a matchbox, etc. I know how blessed I am to have a house with a huge backyard, a house that requires no cosmetic fixing-up whatsoever. I just get bratty and forget it sometimes. I need to take some lessons from my son in humility and gratitude.

I took the boys outside to play this morning, and Ewan was running around the yard, joyfully crunching his feet in all the leaves. He suddenly stopped, looked up at all the tree tops and the sky around him, and turned himself around, arms out, Sound of Music style. He tried to say something, but seemed almost overwhelmed by the fun, the wind, the trees, the magic he was feeling. He then looked at me, smiled and said, "This is a great place to live."

Taking Donations

See, I thought I wanted this couch. But then I saw this one. And oh, my gosh, I would cut off my own toes for that second one. Which is OK with me, because then I'd have an awesome couch on which to recuperate while I learned how to walk again. And when I learned how to walk again, I would wear these shoes. How can you wrong when the description includes this sentence: "this vintage-esque pair seem touched by the green fairy."