Some last minute magic

My sweet little boy has been wishing for snow on Christmas morning all month.  Well low and behold, living in the tropical climate of south Florida, I can pretty much promise that it isn't going to snow.  But thanks to this super easy #anthrohack the boy will wake up to a snow flurry in his room on Christmas morning.

So here is this very easy DIY.

you will need:

parchment paper

glitter

glue gun

lots of glue sticks

fishing line

Lay out your parchment paper.

Once your glue gun is good and hot, start making snow flake doodles.

Don't worry about glue stings, they can be removed at the end.

tip: you want them to be on the thicker side so they don't break.

Before the glue has a chance to set, douse those suckers in glitter.

I did about 4 at a time.

Allow the snow flakes time to set and dry the entire way through. 

Remember we made them kinda thick, so allow for extra drying time.

Carefully peel them off of the parchment paper, and 

remove any unwanted glue strings.

Attach the fishing line and they are ready to hang.

I made close to 40 glue gun snow flakes and I can't wait to sneak into the boy's room tonight and hang them from the ceiling.

Merry Christmas!!!

DIY: Yarn Letter Ornaments

I love Anthropologie, but really....who doesn't? I rarely ever buy anything from there though, I have a really hard time justifying their hefty price tags! When I received the latest holiday catalog my heart skipped a beat.  I just fell in love with these little ornaments...

                                              

(source)

Well at $8 a pop, I couldn't possibly afford to add one to every gift that we give this year.  So the boy and I decided to make our own.  Here's how:

Step 1

Materials:

collected sticks and twigs

yarn, string, and ribbon

scissors

hot glue

Step 2 

To make this project a bit more educational, 

I had the boy first draw a picture of the letter that we were going to make.  

Then I would trim the twigs down to size,

 and have him arrange them as the needed to be.  

Then I hot glued them in place.

Step 2

Loop the ribbon around the top of the letter where you want it to hang.

Don't worry about how sloppy the knot or ends look, 

they will be wrapped and covered.

Step 3

With you choice of yarn/ribbon/string combo, 

start wrapping tightly around the sticks.

Don't forget to tuck your ends in so that they can be wrapped up.

This entire project cost me $5.  I was able to find all of my yarn at a local thrift store, and then pulled the rest of my string and ribbon from my scrap box.  While I am not doing the entire alphabet, I am making about 25 ornaments to use in gift wrapping.  Happy Crafting!

Wynwood Part 3

Wynwood Part 2

As promised, another round of my favorites from our last trip to Wynwood.  In these pictures I really focused on the simple messages.  Not all the wonders of Wynwood are huge, insane murals.  There are a lot of positive messages, sweet stickers (or slaps as they are known in the graffiti world), shout outs to lost friends, and even really cute homeless kids....oh wait, no that's my kid, filthy and taking a street nap.

inspiration lookbook: beautiful bones

for a long time growing up and even still now, I thought that I wanted to be a medical illustrator.  In the many anatomy classes that I took in high school and college, my favorite thing to do was draw the skeletal system.  It's so eire and beautiful. So in honor of October and Halloween quickly looming near, here are some of the most beautiful skeletal images.

(source 1, 2)

(source 3, 4)

(source)

(source)

Wynwood Part 1

We went to one of our favorite spots yesterday. The Wynwood Arts District in Miami is a street art lovers playground.  I always find myself with tons of pictures on my phone of some of the amazing masterpieces, but this time I bucked up and brought my real camera.  So instead of bombarding you with them all right now, I am going to break it up into a few blog posts. Enjoy!

So I have this chair...

I have this chair...well it's really a stool. It's in my kitchen wedged in between a beautiful antique cabinet and my not so beautiful teak Formica counter tops. But at about 4:30 in the afternoon the sun comes in to my kitchen window and shines right on this spot. It's become my happy place. I go and I sit. The boy enjoys a few minutes to himself and I enjoy a few minutes of spacing out. No one bothers me as my bum falls asleep on this precarious little perch.
Moral of the story. Find a quite place and allow yourself to tune out the world. Even if it is for just a few short ass numbing moments.

Thankful Thursday: Boys with Brushes

Today's Thankful Thursday has no cute quote reminding us that we should show gratitude or try to be better human beings....it's simply one single thing that happened today that deserves recognition and praise.

As I was sitting on the sofa this afternoon, somewhere between my crazy caffeine buzz wearing off and talking myself into a shower, I was confronted by the boy. With a brush.  Raised up over his head. Honestly my knee jerk reaction was to protect my face (since every object in our house has become some sort of ninja weapon lately).  But much to my surprise, there was no "HIIIII YA!" or black eye (and yes...I actually flinched), rather there was a sweet little voice asking if he could brush my hair.

I quickly agreed and sat down on the floor under his little feet that dangled off the side of the couch.  At first, I anxiously anticipated every stroke, expecting a smack or a snag to really rattle me.  Then once I realized that he genuinely just wanted to brush my hair, I started to ponder.... why?  All I could come up with was this: he was embarrassed by what the fuck ever was happening on my head....did I mention that it was before my shower, around 1pm....use your imagination! ha!

After a while I was able to just sit.  I wasn't scared he was going to hurt me, and I had come to grips with the fact that he was going to judge me for the rest of my life.  So I let it all go and just enjoyed it.  Each sweet, sensitive stroke of the brush relaxed me just a little more.  It brought me back to a time when I used to bribe my little sisters for back rubs....there is just something about those tiny people hands!

My grooming session only lasted for about 10 minutes.  But I was thankful for every millisecond of it! And I will make sure that it happens again!

Senior Portrait Time!

Just a quick reminder! 

It's time to book your senior portraits! 

Contact e.trumble photography

to secure a spot now!

inspiration lookbook: style my fall with layers

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

DIY: Haunted House Marble Maze

The boy has been very interested in all things that are maze and puzzle related lately.  I, being quite the puzzler myself, fully support and try to nurture the obsession.  So with all this in mind, and Halloween right around the corner, I thought that we would throw together our own little haunted house maze.  Everything needed to make this maze I pulled from my giant container of "this could be crafted" materials.  The hubs gets on my case about keeping things like shoe boxes and toilet paper tubes, but as any good crafter knows....you never know what kind of supply you are going to need.  So, here we go!

Step 1:

Gather your materials:

a shoe box lid

poster board

glue

scissors

pencil

paintbrush

paint

stickers (decorations are optional)

*tip: I was going to use elmer's glue, but realized that we were out. 

 I opted for super glue, and in the long run was really happy that I chose it 

because of how quickly it dried.

 Step 2:

Cut an opening large enough for your marble to fit through at the beginning of the maze.

With your pencil draw a sketch of your puzzle keeping your end point in mind.

*tip: Keep the size of the marble in mind when 

making your twists and turns and openings.  

Take it from someone who did a lot of erasing.

Step 3:

Cut strips of poster board about 3 inches wide.  

Fold in half and then have another quarter inch lip folded up on either side. 

*tip: Keep your poster board handy.  

I ended up cutting way more strips than I thought I would have needed.

 Step 4:

Glue the internal wall along the paths that you sketched in step 2.

Step 5:

Paint the entire maze.

After your paint is dry, you may decorate however you would like.

thankful thursday

(source)

Today was one of those days.  I felt it in my bones.  My joints ached before ever making myself vertical out of my bed.  Getting both feet on the floor was like moving a ton of bricks. 

I got a bit cynical thinking about "thankful thursday".  Gratitude shamtitude.  I would be grateful for a few more hours of sleep and no responsibilities for the day.  Well, once I decided to get over my one person pitty party and face the facts...well, lets just say, it all starting spinning out of control.  And by "it" I really mean the boy.

You see when he's not feeling well, he's wild.  He doesn't listen, acts out, and tortures anyone and anything that gets in his path.  It's hard to feel sorry for the little bugger,  but you have to do what you have to do.  By about 3pm, I wasn't sure who was going to snap first...me or the poor dog (she been taking a beating from the boy lately - although, that bitch....she can go hid and take a nap whenever she wants).

So 3pm.  We've all lost our cool.  The boy is crying for no reason at all, the dog is hiding, and I wanted to find myself in the fetal position in the corner rocking like a crazy person.  And the it occurred to me....THE BEACH! Here comes the gratitude bit.

I quickly strapped on the suits, slathered the sun screen, and dragged the boy out the door.  It was time to send all that crazy out with the tide.  Something about the ocean, the waves, the sand in unmentionable places, the sun, it heals us both.  We took a day that could have defeated us both and turned it into one of the best evenings.

There is not much that can't be cured with a little salty air and being buried in the sand up to your neck.  Today I am so thankful that I have to ocean to wash away the weight of the world.

Joys of Parenting: (Super)Hero

This morning I was shaken from an almost perfect nights sleep by a little boy foot drop kick to the face! Rise and shine! All of us piled on top of each other.  Trying to regulate a grouchy dog, a grouchy mom, a grouchy dad, and a wide awake toddler has become sort of a regular morning routine.  So I started with the bribes and threats.  I was trying to buy myself just five more minutes, when my little monster informed me that he had a tummy ache.  "Mom, my tummy hurts so bad because I am so hungry." says the boy.

So as the guilt hit me like a ton of bricks at the realization that maybe I hadn't fed him enough the night before, I pried myself from my cozy nest of pillows and blankets to make him something to eat.  Like a zombie I dragged myself to the kitchen, wondering why the sun wasn't up yet.  I threw some frozen pancakes into the toaster oven and proceeded to the coffee (which I always manage to mess up when I am that tired). Ding. Now I had pancakes and strawberries on the table, coffee grounds on the floor, and my eyes still closed.

Breakfast ended after three half eaten bites.  Three. That was all.  Then I was informed that he was too full.  I wanted to scream! But settled for cartoons and coffee that was too hot to drink.  As we sat there snuggled on the sofa, the bot turned up and looked at me and said: "Mom, you are my hero!"

I was in disbelief. His hero? What did I do? So I asked him.  Well turns out that hero keep people from starving to death! So there it was.  I stood there over my next steaming cup of coffee, donning my imaginary tights and cape, saving the universe at 6am....one half eaten pancake at a time.

my friend jess...and the man of her dreams!

I had the absolute pleasure of being apart of my best friend Jess' wedding this past weekend. It was a picture perfect Connecticut soiree and every detail was just amazing!  Seeing all of Jess and Jonny's hard work was like the icing on the cake (that her mommy made) to their storybook romance.  Lots of memories and new friends were made.  Best wishes to the newly weds! Mr. & Mrs. Hack!