My Baby's 6 Months Old!

Obviously not my big baby! 

He's almost 5, which is another mind blowing fact.

The younger, sweeter baby which I am referring to….

Sparkle & Stone.

It struck me the other day, 

after my very first Colorado market,

that all of this crazy snowballing dream was really 

coming to fruition.

All of my hard work and literal bloody stumps 

and endless chipped and broken nails

were for a reason.

Something was really happening here,

and people were actually liking it.

Thinking about the fact that it's only been 

6 months since our very first market makes my jaw hit the floor.

While it seems like just yesterday, it also feels 

like we've been doing this for so much longer.

 

But the point of all of this isn't to 

boast about how awesome the past 6 months have been.

(although they have been pretty fucking awesome!)

The real point of all of this is to recognize the 

real reason behind all of the success.

First and foremost,

I have to thank my husband.

Not only was his choice to shake up our family 

dynamic a huge catalyst for me finally 

getting off my ass and chasing down my dream,

but it was also a great use of his free time to be my 'do boy'.

This man has run the gamut for me.

I have had the craziest of request 

for construction work on table displays.

He has sat countless hours at markets by my side 

selling things to all kinds of crazy bitches.

And all the while with a giant smile on his face,

most likely cursing me through his teeth, 

but a smile on his face none the less.

If it were not for him,

I literally couldn't do this.

The second person, 

my original baby, Ash.

This kid is a champ.

I will leave out all of the bribes and threats 

that I've delved out to this kid over the past 6 months,

and say this….

All those long hours and shit eating grins,

the boy has done 'em too.

Not many kids could pull it off like he can either.

Trust me I've seen it.

He's become quite the salesman,

and loves nothing more than being my 

"assistant" on market days.

You can tell by the crazed look in his eyes

in the picture above that sugar is involved.

Lots of sugar.

Lastly, You guys.

All my Bitches.

(I mean that in the least threatening kind of way.)

The people that love me and support me 

are really the reason that 

all of the time and work has become a success.

I have met some really amazing people in the past few months.

You guys are the inspiration and the drive.

There isn't a single market that goes by that I don't 

leave with a new friend/customer.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I can't thank you all enough for all of this.

While I am throwing out thank you's,

I also have to give a great big shout out to 

a new friend/customer, Lauren Defilippo.

Lauren is also new to CO,

descending from NYC.

As soon as I learned this about her,

found out she was a photographer,

and realized how totally awesome she was,

I knew we had to be friends.

Lauren was at the Denver HaHo,

photographing the event and was so kind to share these 

images that she captured of our booth.

Thank you so much Lauren for capturing something that I 

never have time to, and for being totally RAD!

Check out her website…

www.laurendefilippo.com

...and while you are perusing the inter webs…

click the "SHOP" button above to head over to 

Sparkle & Stone 

Dad, I can clearly see your nuts.

Well folks, after eight years of hinting around about how much I'd like to see it happen, I finally convinced the hubs that he'd really like a pair of boxer briefs.  Yup.  I've been dreaming about this day.

The hubs used to be a competitive diver. All of his stories about his high diving days usually end in him being ridiculed for the "Speedo".  Yet all along I've been imagining what that would all look like wrapped up in a sexy little package (every pun intended….except for the little part! I've got your back babe!).

So the other day, after a long hike, he finally came to me and said the magic words…. "I think I'd like some boxer briefs!" I had to stop myself from falling on the floor all "whoa is me" style.  My husband is hot, he doesn't need any help in that department, but I can't lie….I ran to the store!

These are them.  Hello hot stuff! 

Thanks to Target, my hubs had a brand spankin' new pair of men's size medium low rise sexy pants.  Like a giddy little girl I paced back and forth waiting for the shower to turn off so that I could get a preview of my mans new underpants.  He called me into our bedroom and I raced to the closed door, only to be beat out by a curious little 4 year old boy.

In one feel swoop the boy had crushed my wildest fantasies all with a giant bellowing laugh.  It was an uncontrollable, slightly uncomfortable laugh.  One that came up and out of him so hard and fast that he almost looked a bit embarrassed and shocked by it.  And then he said it, the words that from that point on will make me laugh until snot runs out of my face….. 

"Dad, It looks like you pooped your pants right where your nuts are!"

Just like that.  We laughed for a long time.  All of us.  I then eyeball raped my husband.  And then we all laughed some more.  Through out the rest of the evening we all laughed pretty hard about the nut comment, but I made sure to express to the hubs that I didn't think that the boxer brief wearing was a joke, and that I really loved it….but dear, we can all clearly see your nuts now! 

Project 52

15.  I love how much you want to be like your Daddy.

You two inspire each other and me more than you will ever know.

Discover your backyard...

Yesterday's Geocaching adventure was one for the books!

We started our day off exploring the Loggerhead Marinelife Center 

and checking out all of the rescued sea turtles.

If you are in the South Florida Area and you have not been here....you must go!

After kicking around there for a while we were off the Geocache.

I told you we were obsessed!

The boy loves it so much, he actually has asked to do it everyday since we started.

Yesterday was a hot spring day, yet perfect for a beach and dunes hike.

It always blows my mind that some of this natural area and scenic views really do exist

in our very own backyard.

So, we set out on foot from the Loggerhead Marinelife Center,

north up A1A.

When we got closer to our first cache we dipped into the canopy of sea grapes.

The sticks and leaves where pilled deep on the ground,

and with every step can a lot of cracks and crunches,

which the boy found hilarious....

I was just waiting for someone to step on a snake.

This is the "Shut up mom! And stop worrying about snakes" look that they gave me!

We found that well hidden container buried in a rotten log,

and when I looked up from the adventure,

this is what I saw.

What a magnificent view.

From there we headed due west.

I couldn't stop laughing about us emerging from the over grown sea grapes

 for long enough to cross A1A, and crawl through an over grown hole

in the scrub forrest...

Into the deep wilderness. ha.

We were blessed with a few minutes of hiking up hill in the shade...

but from there on out it was full sun,

and very hot.

This is the part where I have to tell you what a trooper my kid it.

There were many points of the trip that I thought:

"This is it.  He's going to break down because of all of the walking and the heat!"

But that boy of mine held strong and never complained.

It's so awesome to me that he's that into our new family adventures.

So up the trail we went.

When we reached the top of the hill 

we found a great little place for an impromptu picnic. 

None of us could eat fast enough, 

we all wanted to continue!

So, Onward.

Our last cache gave us a little more trouble.

But that's what makes the discovery so much sweeter.

We hiked about a quarter of a mile in the wrong direction 

before we realized that it was happening...

my fault since I was holding the map and the compass.

But it's hard to be upset about the extra walking when you get to see beautiful sights like these.

After lots of walking and searching we finally decided that we needed to trek down a

very overgrown path (which my legs were not happy about).

This was another one of those 'scared mom' moments...

but the view...

oh man that view! 

Do you geocache?

Or are you like me as of a week ago saying:

"What the heck is Geocaching?"

You can learn all about it here!

DIY: Pot O'Gold Terrarium

This weekend I put my boys to work

to help me make a 

"Pot O'Gold" Terrarium

just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

Here's What You'll Need:

A medium sized vessel 

medium sized rocks (enough to fill the bottom)

High quality spray paint

gold decorative glass

cacti or succulents

soil

painters tape

a rubber band

A rock to be painted

Step 1:

Use the rubber band to mark a guide line

around the outside of the jar.

Begin taping the inside of the jar, 

using the guide, making sure 

not to leave any gaps in the tape.

Tap all the way to the top rim and create an

overlap to shield from overspray.

Step 2: 

While holding the glass up to the light,

spray in 5-10 very light even coats on the inside of the inside of the jar.

Make sure to let each coat dry before applying the next.

This is the part where you really need to pay attention.

Be very cautious of your paint running.

Note that we are using a very high quality paint,

NOT Rust-O-leum!

Step 3:

While the hubs was literally watching paint dry,

I had the boy paint a beautiful rainbow

on a white rock.

Step 4:

You are now ready to put it all together,

I would highly suggest waiting a full 24 hrs

before adding your rocks and soil.

You can find a full list of direction 

on assembling a basic terrarium here.

After everything was all together we added 

our rainbow to our "Pot O'Gold"

we are ready for the Leprechaun's to come.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Project 52

Watching you stretch with your Daddy seams like the perfect ending to a crazy fun weekend.

My Pinterest Closet

Are you in love with Pinterest?

Me too!

Do you ever find yourself pinning away and wishing 

that the outfits in the picture were really in your closet? 

Yup, Me too!

So I thought it might be fun to try and emulate 

some of those adorable styles we all wish we had.

I call it:

"My Pinterest Closet"

This outfit was pretty simple and easy to 

put together.

Here's what I wore:

worn in American Eagle jeans,

Hello Apparel tee (here is a link to their shop),

boyfriend cardigan from Target,

a vintage set of beads, 

and the hubs hat.

Funny thing, and I didn't even plan it this way...

I went grocery shopping in this outfit too.

If you would like to join me and be featured in

"My Pinterest Closet"

email me (erintrums@gmail.com) your inspiration photo and your copied outfit.

Project 52

Watching you two 

splash and squeal with joy

brings so much sunshine to a rainy day.

30x30

Last night as the hubs was settling in from a long hard day at work,

I said to him:

"Want to have a sketchbattle?"

His eyes turned on with excitement.

I continued:

"One word. One hour. No other rules."

Once the shock and excitement wore off, he answered:

"Is this Day 7?"

I gave him a nod.

"God damn it, I love you!" was all he could say,

and it was on...like donkey kong.

The hubs got straight to work.

Working diligently, like a master, 

as if he was making sure to make the best of every single second of that hour.

I love watching him.

He pays so much attention to every detail and attacks them with such intent.

I, on the other hand, 

work more so as the mood takes me.

Dabble here.  Doodle there.

This was my first 'sketch battle' you know.

And I have to admit I was really nervous.

 We had so much fun with this, and will be doing it far more often.

Even found a black book for myself on clearance today! 

Score.

I told the hubs to pick the word.

I was too nervous that I was going to blurt out something 

stupid and cheesy like "LOVE". 

So here they are...

our interpretations of the word 

"KICKS"

30x30

I had on simple request for 

Day 8....

Honey, You're making dinner.

Needless to say,

He nailed it!

30x30

Do you know who attended Day 15's activity?

Just me and the hubs.

Thanks right, just the grown ups.

We don't really "go out" much, 

and I couldn't remember the last time that we ate a meal in public with out the boy.

Day 15....Brunch Date.

It was a beautiful south FL winter morning at the beach.

No one minds waiting 45 minutes for a table when this is the view.

Brunch was delish.

The conversation was amazing.

The boy loves his new babysitter.

All was right in my almost 30 world.

30x30

Yesterday's 30x30 was one that I was not looking forward to.

(yes-I am a day behind now... I figured it was going to happen eventually)

The hubs loves scary movies...like really loves them.

Me on the other hand...terrified.

But, knowing how much it meant to him I wanted to really plan a scary movie date. 

One where I didn't try to immediately fall asleep on the sofa.  That's my normal defense against scary movies.  Not this time. This time I would "watch" the entire movie.

I mean, I am almost 30...time to grow up and face my fears.

To ease my pain the hubs set up a cozy little floor fort with popcorn and all.

We snuggled on with our hearts racing, his with excitement, mine with fright.

As the opening credits started to role I kinda thought for a half a second that I might enjoy this movie.

The soundtrack was starting off awesome and the cinematography was very cool.

Well, I made it about 10 second in before my face was buried in my hands and I was trying desperately not to hear the screams and shrieks booming from the surround sound.

I made it through the entire movie.

Most of my time was spent hiding from the gore. 

And the hubs rewarded me when it was all over with a

high school style make out session.

Moral of the story:

I hate scary movies.

But I love making that man of mine happy....

and I love making out. haha

Our Christmas: In Pictures

my week in instagrams

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. broken car A/C i wish i had car A/C
2. the hubs did the easter basket shopping this year.  i just couldn't find the time to get alone and too the store. but i will tell you what...he may be doing it every year! he got great stuff for the boy, but here is the kicker....he knew that we were not going to be able to fill that basket full of candy with out devouring some our self, so he bought candy for us to eat while we were playing easter bunny! love that man! he knows me and my sweet tooth far too well!
3. i borrowed a pattern for some super cute shorts from a friend...they are almost finished!
4. i had a great all day date with the boy on wednesday.  gym, coffee, story time, happy meals, thrift store, ice cream....it was a great day!
5. i can't tell you how excited i am about my amazing vintage kitchen ware finds! i was so lucky this week! i can't stop starring at the cabinets! haha
6. we met up with my dad, stepmom, and baby sister on thursday at Seaworld! it's my new/old favorite place! it was my favorite as a kid and now it's my favorite place to take my kid!
7. the hubs had a friend over for a paint/skate man-date. it was so nice to see him getting "him" time.  doesn't hurt that his buddy sam is a great guy!
8. surfing is not like riding a bike. it's been around 8 years since i have surfed on a regular basis. needless to say it felt great to get my board in the water on sunday, but i got my butt kicked! drank a lot of sea water. at one point when the life guards started blowing their whistles at me i thought it was because they were going to come rescue me....they just wanted me to move. i felt a bit defeated and the hubs had to have a conversation with me about my "bad attitude" (which i was later able to laugh at - i was really embarrassed by my poor performance). moral of the story....i need to surf try not to drown practice more.
9. i can even begin to tell you how lucky i am to have a husband that is good in emergency situations.  the dog ran full speed into the boy last night, resulting in a face slammed into the concrete.  needless to say there was a skinned face, busted lip, and a whole lot of tears.  what do i do? panic, turn white at the sight of the boys blood, and have to leave the room while the initial assessment is made so that i don't freak the poor kid out. the hubs, on the other had, must have been a paramedic in a former life. he just jumped right into that bloody mess and saved the day.
10. we had the most unconventional easter sunday supper of my entire life.  after all the chaos settled down with the boys face, we were hungry and it was late.  too late to really start cooking dinner. a good fact to know: chinese take out delivers on easter.

best date night ever

thought i would share some quick photos from our best date night ever! saturday we attended the dropkick murphy's show in pompano beach and our lovely friend tara and kelly were able to get us in back stage.  we were going out in style! 

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. this week i marched my butt into a gym and signed up for a membership.  i have been feeling fat and tired lately and there is not point in just sitting around in my misery.  gyms are really intimidating to me and especially now that i am older.  it seems that the older i get the more insecure about myself i am becoming.  walking into a gym to me is like that classic movies where girls are being hazed by their sorority sisters and they are circling all the fat on their bodies with markers. ugh.  all the hard bodied girls who wear makeup to exercise and have a more fashionable gym attire than my normal everyday wear. yikes. well i decided that i wasn't going to let any of it get to me. i was going to face my fears and insecurities and i was going to exercise. in a gym. with other people.
2. one of the best things about being a gym member is having access to group fitness classes! and i took the best yoga class this week.  i can't wait until wednesday so i can go back for more.
3. my crafting productivity has been at an all time high lately.  the hubs and i have been powering through some projects. keep your eyes peeled this week for my new jewelry hanger, magnetic make up frame, and next week i will share some goodies that i made for a friends baby.
4. i have been trying to cut back on my diet coke consumption. and surprisingly i am doing very well. i am down to one a day and killing it! and best thing about it....i am substituting all that diet coke with about 64 extra oz of water a day.
5. we have been having some crazy weather lately. i am not going to lie... i really love it. we went for a hand full of days with constant rain, then a few days of 90° blue skies and today we woke up to some very chilly 40°.  mother nature is keeping us on our toes down here in south florida.
6. we had a super family fun day saturday. we woke up early and headed to the city diner for breakfast, scooted over to bed bath and beyond, then decided that it was the perfect day for the beach.  we got home threw together a picnic and cruised down to the ocean.  this was the first time this year that the beach was genuinely packed with people. holes were dug, waves were rode, sandy sandwiches devoured.  a great day was had by all.
7. the hubs and i went on the best date night ever saturday! i think that we agreed that it really was the best date ever. we met up with some friends for dinner at an awesome burger joint, burgerfi. then we went to see the dropkick murphy's at the pompano beach amphitheater.  this was the first show the hubs had been to since before the boy was born. and boy we were going out in style.  my girlfriends, who are long time friends with the band, got us all access backstage passes. we were on stage, in the green room, and post show hanging out at the busses drinking the band beer. it was all a dream come true for the hubs and i was so happy that i could make it all happen for him! best date night ever!
8. oh and where was the boy this whole entire date night? at his first ever slumber party. my fantastic friend christine offered to take the boy. he proclaimed her little girl to be his girl friend. so cute! he spent the night with their family, partied it up, and from what i am told was an angle! he was so tuckered out the next day that he actually passed out on the sofa....so cute.
9. the boy and i had some serious luck garage sale-ing this weekend. he scooped up a hand full of matchbox helicopters and airplanes, and i found an adorable mid-century side table....for only $1. it needs some serious work, but for a dollar....i'll buy that project!
10. my friend christine passed me on some seriously amazing vintage fabric for my birthday! i am so excited of it's possibilities! and there is a lot of it too so i am thinking that there may be some larger projects in my future! can't wait to share them with you!
9.

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. the easiest grocery shopping trip i have had since the day the boy was born. this kid has a new fascination with my iphone. he actually asked if he could sit in the cart and play the pbs kids app.  which is a far different tune then his recent wanting to walk on his own and raise a ruckus at the store. so i went with it. and he was an angle!
2. we met up with our new friends, tracy and sinjin, at their hotel pool for a swim date. it's been a while since we have been in a pool and i have to say....i have missed it so so so much! we may be trying to get to the lake lytal pool soon if the weather stays this warm!
3. the hubs has been completely over worked this week (trying to insure that he get to take his vacation... un-interrupted) but can you believe that man of mine has still found time in his crazy morning routine to make me coffee before i get out of bed....did i mention that he doesn't drink coffee....he's so good to me.
4. and while i am on the topic....i love it when the hubs has my back. he totally went off on this girl for making fun of my "cliche" mustache tattoo. he verbally ripped her a new one, and shut her up real quick by commenting on her coy fish tattoo...."so, speaking of cliche, are you asian?" i love that man.  he's always go my back.
5. do you guys watch up all night? it's quickly becoming our new favorite show. the hubs and i want to meet the writers - we are pretty sure that they might be getting some of their material from us. watching that show is like looking in the mirror. sometimes the roles are reversed, but for the most part the relationship that christina applegate and will arnett share is just like me and the hubs.....now if i only had their house and her waredrobe! hehe
6. it's been a long time since we've had an at home play date, but we invited sinjin and tracy over to play in the sprinklers and drink coffee.  the boy has forgotten how to share his toys with others, so we are going to have to do these dates more often, but it was so much fun playing the yard.  they also brought a serious goodie bag full of birthday treats for me. i mean just too sweet! it was full of mustache paraphernalia and some really beautiful goodies for the house! all wrapped up in the coolest re-usable shopping bag - which i will most definitely be sporting as a purse!
7. i made one of my favorites this week for dinner - raw veggie pizza. it is really hands down one of the easiest most delicious meals! and i had too many chopped up veggies so i made veggie burritos the next day for lunch.....but the kicker this time was some {to die for} sweet corn relish made by my friend kelly hogrebe.  i seriously can't stop thinking about how good it is. it's taking a lot of will power to not eat the entire jar in one sitting! she should seriously quit her day job and start selling this full time!
8. the hubs vacation started saturday! we kicked off the week of adventures by making the trip to my mother in laws house. the hubs sister was in town from atlanta. we had a blast hanging out with her and his brother.
9. we dodged rain drops and made it over to hollis gardens and barnett park. the boy had such an awesome time. and i snapped instagram pics like it was my job. barnett park looks like it popped off the pages of a dr. seuss book. it's one of the coolest parks i have ever seen. the colors and shapes are just crazy. the boy loved it. and hollis park was breath taking. beautiful plants and flowers lined perfectly manicured lawns, and you would not believe the size of some of the produce that is landscaped into the mix. just stunning.
10. today we are up bright and very very very early! when the hubs asked me what i wanted to do for his vacation i knew that i wanted to take a trip to webster antique and flea market. so her were are, 5:30am ready to go find some treasures! needless to say, i didn't sleep a wink last night. i am so excited.

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. we were stuck indoors for most of the week due to some freak tropical storm that came lingering through. well the boy and i had finally had it and i told him to get his rain boots and bathing suit on. we waited for a break in the rain and marched outside on a mission to stomp in every single puddle in the neighborhood. man was it fun!
2. my mother in law came into town for a few days this week. we had so much fun going out to dinner for my birthday. we went to the old key lime house. it was our first time there and instantly became a new family favorite! can't wait to go back!
3. the hubs and i got out of town for a night alone. well really the hubs had to work in orlando and i just tagged along for the ride. but we did squeeze in some alone time...i mean it's only been a whole year since we got to spend the entire night alone.
4. while in orlando i went to my absolute favorite salon of all time ever, alchemy! hehe....got a super cute new hair cut. thanks for your brilliant work trish! i also had an entire afternoon to myself. all alone. it's weird being alone when you are so used to having a toddler sidekick. i wandered the streets of college park on my own time schedule. looked at every single article of clothing at a vintage/re-sale shop. ate lunch in silence. sat in a park and read.  and i hate to admit it, but i didn't get lonely once...not for one second. it was kinda the best afternoon i've had in a long time.
5. the hubs and i got to spend some time with his/our best friend as well, uncle boom (that's what the boy calls him). a.k.a dennis brought us to his favorite tattoo shop and the hubs and i got our ink fix. i did it. i finally got my finger mustache tattoo.
6. my dad and step mom got me a kindle fire for my birthday. i never knew how badly i wanted one until i had it. at first i was completely overwhelmed by the technology and afraid to let the boy touch it. but after playing with it non-stop for a few days i have finally warmed up to it. and the boy, well the boy loves it as well.
7. the hubs got me a my very first iphone for my birthday! let's just say i am obsessed!
8. so i never really understood why people were such angry bird geeks. it was only last week that i was telling the hubs that i just didn't get the draw. i didn't understand why every store that i went in was selling  angry bird plush toy, t shirts, coffee mugs, and any other paraphernalia that they could slap a triangle shaped bird onto.  this is where i hang my head in shame. the hubs and i have been playing it non-stop since getting the kindle. i swear they should call it crack birds. it really is like crack.
9. i got new plates for my birthday from the mother in law. while this may sound silly to some, i have been dying for plane bone white china for a long time. i had long grown tired of the plates that we received for wedding gifts. i mean white goes with everything, and i wanted something that i could mix and match with my few random pieces of fiesta ware. i am in plate love!
10. we went to a birthday party this weekend for tanner, one of the boys besties. it was a super fun party at twisters, a kids gymnastics place. it was so awesome to see the boy and his friends completely fearless and bouncing around. and i am not going to lie i got such a huge kick out of the red power ranger character that showed up, per tanners request. i almost peed myself laughing at the horror on kelly's face as she not only discovered that the power ranger was most definitely a woman, but that she admittedly couldn't really play with the kids because she "couldn't really see out of her costume"....her costume, might i add, was completely falling apart. if you know kelly, then you know that she doesn't half ass anything, especially when it comes to costumes....i could see her eye start to twitch as she thought about running to her car to get her glue gun and fix this power ranger up. this is one of the many reasons i love you kelly! moral of the story....tanner loved the power ranger and not one child mentioned the fact that he/she had boobs!

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. after a few weeks of having to skip ballet (due to the hubs insane work schedule), i went at if full force. i felt like i was having to make up for some lost time. i was so incredibly sore come tuesday morning. like 'take one step out of bed and fall on the floor' kinda sore. and i am not going to lie...my calves...they still hurt. they will probably be better tomorrow....just in time to make them sore again.
2. the tuesday duck park followed by taco tuesday lunch date is really starting to become quit the tradition. but this past tuesday, i was pleasantly surprised to find one of my friends, lily, from orlando working at the restaurant. she was in town doing some interviews for managers and was just sitting down to eat some lunch when we rolled up. how awesome for me! so it was great to spend the hour over tacos, swapping stories of how we have been for the past year or so, and chucking over the boys antics.
3. we had an amazing story time this week. the boy has been so good at story time after spending a few months away from it. he sits cross legged and listens and answers questions and tells little stories. it's really cute. we love the lake worth library and story time!
4. the boy and i went to our first real beach playdate of the year. it's crazy to think about it being january and playing in the sand and sun, but it happened. we ran up and down the beach. splashed in the waves. and we both suffered our first sunburn of the season. note: sunscreen expires.
5. i finally opened my etsy store this week. i have talked about and planned for this shop to open for what seems like years. but i did it. i finally did it. if you haven't stopped by yet, please take the time to check it out.  i will eventually adding some vintage clothing and some of my handmade goodies. if there are any pieces that i have made and featured here on the ole' blog that you would like to purchase please let me know and i will list them for you.
6. i was asked this week to be a featured blogger for UK shopping blog called Shopaholic. I am so stoked for this opportunity and it just kind of blows my mind.
7. after the hubs crazy work schedule this month, spending the past two days with him has been amazing! i always love it when he is off, but these have been really good. we've stayed up way past our bed times trying to take advantage of every minute that he doesn't have to be at work.
8. oh man i made the best mac and cheese friday night for dinner (and i can't wait to finish off the leftovers for dinner tonight!) i used this recipe from country living, but added a bit more cheese and an entire package of thick cut bacon. it was amazing! by far the best homemade mac and cheese ever!
9. we took the boy to the fair last night. it was a blast. the last time when just the boy and i went, he didn't want to go on any rides. this time (probably because his daddy was there) we went on tons of rides. at first the hubs and i were super nervous that the ride was going to start and he was going to freak out and we were going to just have to sit there and watch him panic. or as the hubs declared...he would have jumped in front of the ride so they would have to stop it.  so we waited and waited for the first ride to start. i could feel our nerves getting higher. then it started. the boy looked a little unsure at first, but then almost in an instant a smile spread from ear to ear and he was laughing so hard. he loved it. it was pretty much on after than. he rode so many rides alone, and we even found a few that we could all ride together. we ate more deep fried food than i care to admit to. played carnival games. and touched a lot of stinky farm animals. the boy was passed out in my arms before we even got to the parking lot!
10. this may seem silly to some, but i have to say that this is one of the biggest highlights of my week....we finally got a new rug for the family room. i loved our old rug. simple cream colored shag. or at least it was when we got it. over the years the dog and the boy have destroyed that rug. the few beginning months of potty training is what really did it in for that poor rug. but now we have a lovely mustard yellow pee free brand new rug.