Remembrance

"For love of country, they accepted death."
James A. Garfield

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Shhh, the Quiet Book

Well, I told myself I was gonna do it {at the end of March}...and today, I finally finished it: Baby M's "My Colors" Quiet Book

I found the tutorial for the Quiet Book {HERE} on the Everyday Celebrations blog and ordered the pre-cut iron-on letters from her Etsy shop {HERE}

I'd recommend, anytime you try out a tutorial, you should probably pay attention to the actual instructions rather than look at the pictures and try to "wing" it. While I didn't necessarily have a disaster, I did orient my pages all flush right...not thinking about how they would be sewn back-to-back. First I gathered all my scrap remnants and organized them rainbow style =) Then I took 6 sheets of white felt a cut them in half {makes 12 pages total}. Then I arranged each of the page layouts before sewing.
I didn't use a ruler, nor did I pin the scraps to the felt so many of the pages are wonky...I like to pretend I meant to do this on purpose. I call it "child-like" creativity.


Then after I realized I shouldn't have oriented every page flush right, I arranged the page order and then sewed the 12 sheets back to make 6 pages back-to-back.
To bind the pages as a book, I used 2 metal brads for each page. The Everyday book has 1 really cool ribbon rainbow poof on the top left of the book, but I decided to go a little less frou-frou and just used 1 ribbon per hole to bind the book.

Whew!

This was fairly labor-intensive, but likely because Mason was awake for 2/3 of the production. He likes to push the pedal on my sewing machine. It's a good thing I'm quicker at turning the machine off before he reaches it each time!

Here's the inside pages of the book:

Back of the book:

Whew! I'm tired now. Life's been a bit upside-down lately but it's all good! I am slowly catching up on my blog reading & posting {I've missed almost an entire month!}.

Oh and remember the Sweet Baby Treats craft post {HERE and also HERE}, well check out Cristi's {of Charm Home} supercute Baby Cakes {HERE}. And you should definitely check out her blog in its entirety {HERE}, she's a darling Atlanta designer with a penchant for a sort of Southern modern traditional style...love it!

Well Baby M is already asleep, but I can't wait for tomorrow when he can try out his Quiet Book at Church. Let's just see if he actually stays quiet though...

Snowflakes That Stay On My Nose and Eyelashes

There are a few of my favorite things:

1. Driving down the highway of life...on the way to Happy: There are a number of "unknowns" for the future, but I am absolutely certain there are only good things in store for Baby M and I.

Jeremiah 29:11

2. Quirky trophy head: This goofy guy would be great for Baby M's "big-boy" room...particularly if I go the western route. I'll keep him bookmarked {HERE}

3. Subway Tiles: They are a classic, on my dream kitchen wishlist. *sigh*

4. Dyson Vacuum: This was a birthday/Mother's Day gift for myself {pre-5/7!}. And I have to say that my Dyson definitely SUCKS in the good sort of way!
5. Baby Flashcards: Baby M is on a developmental fast-track. I actually found these flashcards a while back at Anthropologie though and love the cool artwork on each card.

6. Anna Spiro's Absolutely Beautiful Things Blog {HERE}

7. Baby M: Of course!

Lately

It's been a very busy time lately. My parents came in town for my youngest brother's graduation last Friday {yay Batman!}:
And then Saturday we partied it up at a close family friend's wedding. Here's Mom & I:

The whole night I was chasing this:

As he sought out the loud speakers so he could boogey down like this {seriously, Baby M was a dancing machine...all night!}:

And then after the weekend, we've somewhat calmed down {well compared to the hustle and bustle of traveling and late nights out} to feel more at home like this:

Happy Hump Day!

A Lovely Day

Baby M did a Happy Dance to celebrate my birthday...

He knows that Mommy is "Queen of Cinco de Mayo"
That evening we celebrated at Brio Tuscan Grille...and had the most amazing pasta {SC Chickies, what on earth was it called?}

My SC Girls treated Baby M and I to a wonderful Birthday Dinner- it was an awesome meal and as-always fun company and conversation!

{glad we picked Italian rather than the next door Mexican place...it was filled to the gills}

The entire day was wonderful- it's been very busy and I'm still catching up but hope to do more this weekend {like read blogs from this week...I feel so out-of-touch}.

Holy Guacamole!

Did you know it's Cinco de Mayo?

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Did you know it's also my Birthday?

Well it is...all day long.

Yay!!!

{Martha Stewart}

Alright, the countdown officially begins! This is the last year for my 20s & it's a little tough for me this year realizing that my youth has is fading. So here it is...here's the "bucket list". The pic looks fuzzy, but you can click on the image & it should enlarge {not that you necessarily want to read everything, but if you did...}

Mom, check out #22!

Love Shop Prints

{The Love Shop}

{The Love Shop}

{The Love Shop}

{The Love Shop}

{The Love Shop}

{The Love Shop}