My Nest

I have been in this new house since July, and this has been the first house that I know I will be in for a long, long time.  For this reason, I am burrowing in deep this season.  I have been making all attempts to make our home a cozy one, and Paul is handling the bigger renovations.

Take my advice with the home improvements:  go slowly.  We are in such a rush to make the house our own, and are used to having to move after a bit, so we have been making rush decisions.  (Like having carpet installed before part of the basement is fully painted!)  

I just returned from a spontaneous trip to NYC with one of my great friends, so I want to be at home even more.  It was fabulous, as expected, but home always feels good afterwards. 

One of the advantages to having moved around a lot, is having friends all over.  Now, I apologize to those friends at this time, because my online presence has been minimal.  I haven't returned texts, emails, FB, blogged, etc.  I have been in the here and now with the family and where I am right now.   I will be back soon!  This is a result of my nesting, my retreat, my snuggling in to HOME.  

Making PINK MILK with almond milk+strawberries

Homemade Advent Calendar in progress

Courtney & Soleil snuggled in

Making zipper pouches 

Running errands together. 

The easiest decoration ever

A bit off subject, but we started putting up the Christmas decor, and I must share this with you!  I had a coupon from shutterfly to make any photo a stand up, hard plastic/glossy material decoration.  I quickly found a free printable online, and used it instead of a photo.  Instant Christmas decoration!! It is quite good quality and will last over the years.  

I wish you all a cozy and restorative Thanksgiving weekend.  

Corners of My House and Random Blathering

I kind of stole the "Corners of My House" title from one of my favorite blogs, Soulemama.com.  She posts photos of her cozy spots in her home, and it always inspires me to feather my nest and make it look intentional and loved.  As we unpack the new house, COZY is my theme.  I plan on staying in this house for a long, long time, and cozy is very important to me.  We are still not finished, but here are a few shots:

 This is my dining room, and the big armoire will hold all of my crafting things.  Thanks, Marja, for the craft-in-the-dining room inspiration!  That chandelier has GOT to GO, by the way.

 The Princess Room.

 Inspiration for my bedroom.

Our Library.

And the random part of the post.  If you don't read regularly, this is where I chatter on about what I have been up to.  (That's basically most of this blog!)

Biggby's is a local coffee chain in our area, and I was much in need of caffeine one afternoon, on the way to the park.  Little did I know that they would give me the most gigantic iced coffee ever!  I put the leftovers in the fridge, and drank off of this thing for 3 days.  

Best benefit of living in the Lansing area?  I can pop in and see a sibling when I want.  (Isn't his puggle adorable?)

Hooked.  I mean, completely and utterly OBSESSED.  

(This is Game of Thrones, in case you don't know.   Must be viewed with red wine.)

Practicing up with new face paint techniques.   This was a study in flower petals, which I loved.  I love watching face painting and traditional acrylic painting tutorials for inspiration:)

Long story short, I helped out a new creperie to get their chalkboards finished.  Yes, they gave me a crepe as payment, which was DELISH.  I was happy to have a creative outlet amongst the unpacking.

Enjoy the end of summer.... it is fading away fast.

My Command Center

My Command Center.  I did not create this term--my little brother, Andy, gets credit for the title.  My mom has a place in her house that is where she sits with her coffee and her computer, a blanket, a dog or 2, and settles in.  He calls it her Command Center. I have one of those places as well, and the red couch is it.

I start my day here, and usually end it here, too.  I plan things, plan to create things, drink coffee, facebook, email, and sometimes even just sit and listen to music.

My favorite "Command Center" activity: drinking coffee. 

I leave my pile of magazines in this spot, and use it to rip out inspiration.  I write down or "pin" new recipes here, and review my week's itinerary.  It is one of my favorite spots in the house.
Where is your "Command Center"??

A recent magazine article that inspired me.

Project 4: Fall Decorations

I have actually been working on a crafty project all week for Tate's school, but since I don't want to spoil the surprise, I will have to post something else for Week 4.

Here are our fall decorations and a few photos of our neighborhood Harvest Party that we had last weekend.  I think it will satisfy my "Project 52" requirements, since it was creative work to make sure the party and all the decor happened!

 Our bubble maker!

The favorite soup of the day.

The coolest soup bowl cozy!! My neighbor, Nessa, made this and Mom, pleeeeeeeease make me one! (Did mention that Nessa made it without a pattern?  Awesome.)

Soups, Plain Noodles, and Bread.  Simple but yummy.

Our new fave: Apple Crockpot Cake! 

  Just add apple pie filling (or we just cooked up apples with spices and a little brown sugar in butter)+yellow cake mix+a teeny bit of hot water+melted butter.  Cook for 2 hours on high and it magically makes cake.  Sticky, yummy, appley cake.  Serve with ice cream!

I love this time of year!!!

Where did July go?

We took a spontaneous trip to Michigan, (and by spontaneous, I mean, we decided the night before to leave at noon the next day), and somehow I lost a month.

Our summer camp hasn't progressed as planned, but that is ok--we have had lots of fun activities any way.  The weather has finally cooled, so my current favorite activity, is drinking the coffee outside, while the kids play in their pjs/underwear.  Yes, underwear.

Random Things that we have done, in no particular order:

Play with Moon Dough.

Rediscovered the View Finder.

 

 Jam with the cousins.

Freezer Paper T-shirts (google it for instructions:)

 Dyed Rice for the Sand Table (This was a total hit. Again, google...)

Hang Out with Family,

Check out Real Estate.  In Michigan.

A box and markers.

 Visitors!

A snake cake, constructed entirely by kids.

Cardboard Tubes and Tape.

Tap Light, Paint, Books about the Solar System.  

(stole this from Play at Home Mom.)

The summer is going by wayyyy too fast.

Around the Home

I made this for a friend who moved into a new house. 

 I had to hide the felt sunshine from the kids, who wanted to play with it. 

Soleil loves to plant things.  

Unfortunately for these garlic and onion plants, she also likes to un-plant things. 

 

 I need this!  It looks really inspiring, with checklists and daily tasks.