father's day round up

Do you have any Father's Day traditions? In my opinion the perfect Father's Day consists of as much yummy food as possible, a good Father's Day card and/or gift, and just laying back... man style:)

I used to think guys were hard to shop for. I now think that I was just making things too complicated for myself. I used to go from store to store looking for things I thought they would like- a new grooming kit, a nice pen and notepad, etc. etc. But as time went on I noticed that they really didn't end up using much of the stuff I got them.

Maybe your man, or your father appreciates small sentimental things, but I've given up on the never-ending hunts for the perfect little man gift. Even when I went out of my way to get a tool he wanted or something he had mentioned he wanted a while back I got the wrong brand or he had changed his mind.

The one thing I never seem to go wrong with though when it comes to gifts for my husband or dad is... CASH. So simple. So boring. Yet, so effective.

Anyway, here are some ideas for the men in your life this father's day. I even threw in a few fun ideas for any of you that may have one of those rare gem's in your life that appreciate small sentimental things:)

Cards:

Martha's cute crafted cards:

Gotta love letterpress:

Gifts:

My go to guy gift list:

1. Gift Cards to his favorite store or restaurant

2. Magazine subscription

3. Money, money, money

Click here to see the Daily Digi's awesome idea list.

Food:

The perfect day foodwise for my husband would probably include the following-

Breakfast-

Huevos Rancheros

Image here.

This is our favorite way to make it-

1. Warm corn tortillas on a skillet with a little oil.

2. Blend small can of green chiles, can of your favorite salsa (we like Herdez), a can of tomatoes, and a can of green enchilada sauce (we like Hatch). Then warm it in a small saucepan.

3. Poach some eggs.

4. Layer it all up- First the tortilla, then the egg, then some cheese, then the red sauce, then a little sour cream and green onion. Soooo yummy!!!

Big Lunch/Dinner-

BBQ

Image here.

Ribs, a chicken, a turkey, a roast, etc. My husband loves to BBQ or smoke big hunks of meat. And the best BBQ sauce is Sweet Baby Rays. I take care of the sides and the dessert.

(Dessert)

Mississippi Mud

Image here.

Find our favorite recipe to use here.

Evening Snack-

Popcorn & Apple Beer.

I like air popped popcorn with a little butter and salt. My husband likes theatre popcorn and recently discovered how to make it from home. The key to making theatre popcorn at home? The Whirly Pop. Make as directed and add a little extra melted (real) butter.

Other:

Did you see Jordan's cutest ever Father's Day Hero kit?

Or Bakerella's Fast Food Fun?

Of course, Martha has tons of oh-so-cute ideas.

style vs. comfort/dream vs. reality/country mouse vs. city mouse

Do you know what your style is? There are all sorts of online tests you can take to help you find the real you... stylistically speaking. Every style test I have taken has told me I am pretty practical when it comes to style. Minimalist, comfort-oriented, sporty... all things that quizzes say I am.

When I try to pin my style down I find myself stuck somewhere in between two polar opposites. One version of who I want to be is kind of like who my grandma was. Feminine. Hard working. Living the good life on a farm in the country. The other version is a sophisticated lady living in a loft in some big city- modern furniture with clean lines, spacious, artsy, still feels warm and lends itself to easy entertaining.

Who I am today is a lot closer to who my grandma was than the sophisticated lady I once dreamed of being, and I am happy about that. I would, however, like to think I have a little of both in me. What I really want is a farmhouse in the country right outside of a big city with good shopping. A medium sized house furnished with modern furniture with clean lines, spacious, a little artsy, feels warm and lends itself to easy entertaining. A fair amount of land for my kids to run and play in. You get the picture... anyway, on to the point of this post.

My problem with trying to bring "my style" to my home is that it is not really realistic for my lifestyle. Maybe I am drawn to white couches with clean modern lines because I know I will never have them... you know, the whole the grass is always greener on the other side issue.

I love interiors like the ones often featured here (example below).

Click here to see more of the above interior.

Beautiful right? Realistic for me.... um, I wish.

Reason # 1:

I have kids. A white fabric couch with two little boys running around? Yeah, not happening.

Reason # 2:

My husband is a big guy who puts comfort as #1 priority when it comes to furnishing our home. Don't get me wrong, I love being comfortable, but stylistically speaking, the most beautiful things don't really seem to be as comfortable. Oh and did I mention he is a big guy? He is 6'7" and was an offensive lineman in college (that is meant to be a nice way of saying he's a big guy without mentioning his actual weight). Our first couch lasted us a year. Lesson learned. No couches with wooden frames. Ikea doesn't quite cut it for people our size unfortunately either.


Beautiful:


Comfortable and more practical(?):

Pottery Barn often feels like it comes close to my style. It just seems a little overpriced for what it is to me and I don't think I can trust my kiddos with fabric furniture.

One of the hardest things to find in my opinion that is stylish and comfortable is a rocking chair. A rocking chair is really the one thing I am most willing to spend a little money on. I am one of those people that needs a rocking chair. Go ahead. Look for a stylish looking and comfortable (and reasonably priced) rocking chair. I dare you.



Do you really think nursing a baby in the middle of the night is going to be that comfortable in your beautiful Eames rocking chair? As comfortable as a La-Z- Boy?

This is the closest thing I have found for a somewhat modern looking and kid friendly rocker. It's actually a glider. And I really do love it.

I guess I will close this before I ramble on too long about this. What, you say, I already have? Oh well. I have thought about it a lot. Am I destined to a life full of comfortable leather furniture because of my practicality??? I suppose there are worse things in life;)
But please, if you can, show me the way to stylish, comfortable, kid-friendly, big husband friendly, furniture.

birthday list

June is my birthday month.

Today is my little sis' birthday (Happy Birthday Ali).

If you want to get me a gift for my upcoming birthay, any of the following items would be great.

Perfect summertime shoes (er, I mean sandals according to Sanuk):


I got a wannabe Bosch for my wedding. I loved it until it died and the wannabe Bosch company is no longer in business to sell me replacement parts. I am told Bosch's don't die. Oh how I would love to have the convenience of a big power mixer back in my life, preferably a Bosch:


Oh and while I am using my bosch, I would love to be able to listen to my iPod:


Any of these would be fun... not that I have time to craft these days, but someday...


I could go on with camera equipment and computer program upgrades, but I don't want to get too greedy. Ha!

Okay Universe, I've put this out there, now its time to have these manifested in my life. Tehe:)

whoa.

Someday I really do hope to do a better job of keeping this blog up. I have high hopes for doing better this year. We just bought our first home. It feels good to know that we won't be moving this time next year.

This is the 16th time I have moved since I moved out of my parents home 10 years ago and my 9th move in my 6 1/2 years of marriage. That is a lot of time spent moving, settling in, making friends, etc. etc. It feels good to be establishing a little firmer roots in a small cute town.

You'd think I would learn to live with less stuff with all those moves, but inevitably each move has felt harder and it seems we have acquired a LOT of stuff in the few years we have been married. I am looking forward to having a garage sale soon and doing some major decluttering.

Anywho... the one part I love about moving- is the good clean feeling you have after moving out of one place and completely settling into another. Oh and decorating. I suppose I will miss those two things and have to figure out how to redefine those two things I love while staying in the same home for more than a year.

Here are some things I am hoping to purchase for our new diggs in the next little while:

Want this for my little boys room:


I also would like to make some sort of pennant banner or garland for my boys room.

For our room, I am waiting for Paul to make me a head board like this. I am guessing he will get around to it by this time next year.

(...Speaking of this sort of thing, have you seen this blog?)

Then there is the wall across from our bed. We only have one bathroom in our home so I am making the area across from our bed a vanity for me. I have a long mirror that is set low and above that mirror I am considering some of these options:

This quote:


This graphic:


Or a combination of three Prints something like any of these combos (I am thinking of designing my own... have I mentioned how I love type based posters?):

From this shop:


Or these from here:


Or these:


I love that I can customize the color combos on so many of the above.


Other things I have considered for said wall include a modge podge of things like our wedding picture, wedding invitation, initials, silhouettes, etc. etc.... something along these lines organizationally.

Or a shelf with line with the above sort of combination???? Can you tell I have thought a lot about what to do on this wall;)

Any thoughts?









Also wanted to share these things I fell in love with in my searches:
Other things I found to love on etsy along these lines:

This:


This:


Also if you are LDS, check these out:

Primary Bird

Persimmon & Pink

Sugar Fresh

West willow

Have Joy Designs

type type type

the kiki comin shoppe


Gotta love all the options out there!!!
And... just kidding though I am sure I could go on and on:)

happy new year and happy valentines

I know I am late on the new years thing. Two thousand and TEN. I remember writing a paper in elementary school about what I thought life would be like in and after the year two thousand and I think I remember stealing ideas from "The Jetsons" and "Back to the Future." Though I am not sure we have come quite that far yet, I am excited about the new year and all of it's possibilities. Is it possible that it already seems to be flying by? Where has January gone???

Wanna see the cutest headband/earwarmer ever that my mom knitted for me?

Cute, right? I sent her a link to this pattern and voila(!). Four days later this beauty arrived in the mail. I loooove it. I hope to learn to make it on my own to give it as gifts.

Click here to see my favorite free valentine printables I have seen thus far this year.

merry christmas

This was my attempt at a 'gingerbread' house this year. No gingerbread here but we still had fun:) Be gentle in your critique as I had my three year old helping me and was bouncing my 3 month old babe in the bjorn while creating this. For endless inspirartion for your gingerbread house visit Martha's no bake cookie cottage photo gallery.

thankful

Sorry I was a total slacker on doing any cute Halloween posts. Somehow Thanksgiving seems to be here already and I figure I better post something before Christmas has arrived.

Here are some of my favorite Thanksgiving day inspirations:

Saw this adorable (and so much fun) kids table in this months issue of Country Living.

and then was lucky enough to find it on the web as well on it's creator's blog. I say, do this at the adult table too!!

This idea from Real Simple would be super cute coupled with the idea above:


Real Simple's more sophisticated table-scape is right up my alley also.


I also love the idea of sending cute "doggie bags" home with dinner guests (again from Country Living)!


Wanna see some pics from my Halloween? Click here.

Have some leftover Halloween candy? Save it for making Gingerbread creations!

Want some inspiration for next year's Halloween? This was my favorite homemade costume idea I saw this year.