I Never Want To Move Again

Oh.My.Goodness.

No matter how prepared I was.  No matter how detailed my checklist was.  No matter how much I got done in advance...

Moving sucked monkey toes.  Isn't it funny how no one decides to return phone calls or answer your pleas for help on moving day?  Not to mention, we literally had two weeks to get it all done.

But we're here and I'm extremely grateful and in love with our new place.  It's a blank, white canvas and I'm beyond ready to paint it and get out as many Pinterest ideas as I can.  With that said, here's a couple of teaser pics:

**New Deck in Backyard**

**Front Door - Living Room Area**
(Can we just say 'hello exposed wood Cape Cod feel?')

**Wall of Built Ins - Living Room Area* 

**Staircase (which I l.o.v.e.)**
(Can't wait to cover those walls in pictures!)

**Boys' Bedroom with their own Balcony** 

**Jordan's Room with more Built Ins** 

So that's about it for right now.  I'm currently obsessed with all the bright spring colors: turquoise, coral, lime green, yellows... so you can bet you'll be seeing those in my new place.  Let's just say I already have turquoise curtains up in the living room.  Ohhhh yes.

On that note, can someone please buy me a couple of these pillows?

They're only $120.00 over at RosenberryRooms.com.  Come on people, help a girl out.  ;)

So I promise, once the unpacking is complete, start checking back for updates inside AND out.  I may dive into the green thumb world after all.  

XOXO

A Turning Point in Life... Or Two or Three.

A lot of changes have been happening for our family, hence the short MIA period.  Let me just break this down for you:

So, we finally had our first broken bone in the family.  It just so happened to be my 5 year old little dare devil... go figure.  He was running upstairs to come downstairs, missed the first step and fell straight to the landing.  He had a clean break right on his growth plate at the bottom of his humorous.  All is healing well and he's adjusted just fine.  Better than I would have, but kids are so resilient.  

In January, we found out the home we currently rent was being put on the market for sale.  I had a feeling this day was coming, but definitely was not prepared for it.  I can't believe how much crap we have accumulated in 3 years here!  Talk about de-cluttering and garage sale time.  By the beginning of February, the house was listed, open houses began and walk thrus with agents were occurring on a regular basis.  I just love keeping 2,600 sqft clean at any given moment of the day for potential buyers.  However, I keep this home in my prayers daily for it to sell because our landlords have been absolute saints and we adore them.

On February 15th, we signed the papers for a long term lease on a large townhome with TONS of character.  Therefore, this blog will most likely turn into a transformation of our new place since I've been given total creative freedom by our new landlord.  Yes to paint, moldings, etc.  Hope Pinterest is ready for me to conquer a lot on my "Home" board.  Hopefully, some of you can get inspiration from my little crazy ideas.  And just wait until you see the pictures of the deck in our new backyard.  Talk about V.I.E.W. of the city... and yes, we get to stay in Chino Hills even though we looked all over the county.  Did you really think I would budge on that one?  Sorry, but you just can't beat Chino Valley school district.  It's ah-mazing.

I'm going to go missing for a couple weeks while we get this move finished.  I feel like I'm drowning in boxes and deadlines, and my OCD is on overdrive.  Here's just one example of post-its covering my kitchen that state: EMPTY; If there are contents, what they are; What date said contents should be packed.

But really, I never want to do this again until we buy property in the south once the kids are in college.  Mr. Crazy better make me a southern belle someday or else.

Til next time, Happy Moving!

XOXO

Countless Hours in the Laundry Room = Mini Makeover

Are you like me where you feel like you spend endless hours a week in the laundry room?  It seems that no matter how much laundry I do, the pile continues to grow.  When we lived in our first apartment together, I HATED doing laundry.  The complex had a common laundry area so it was always "Are you done using this machine?", "Damn I ran out of quarters.", "This person hasn't been here, I'm removing their stuff.", etc.  HATED.

So when we moved into our first home, having the "luxury" of the washer and dryer in it's own room in the house was a definite improvement.  I remember one of the first nights where we were able to put the last load into the dryer and then go to bed without worrying about our clothes getting stolen was amazing.

Being a stay at home mom now, I wonder how I ever got laundry done when I worked.  Was I on crack?  I must have been because I feel like I'm in my laundry room almost every day... well, 3 kids and 1 Mr. Crazy definitely contributes to that.  ;)

One day, as I'm loading towels, I looked around and thought, "Bleh."  There are so many cute and cheap ideas out there for making over laundry rooms.  What the heck was I waiting for???

***drum roll please***

I found these pictures at the Dollar Tree.  Yes, please.

Do you like my little lost and found signs?  We have a real problem with that Sock monster in our house, so it's a great way to keep track of missing pairs.  I'll put up a tutorial of it later this week.

Then a simple shower rod (yes, shower rod) and curtains pulled back with ribbons complete the look.

I found this sign on Pinterest and decided to recreate it using words printed on tissue paper and mod-podging it onto a canvas.  Yes, that really works!

And seriously, the "Iron... Ha Ha" part is sooooo me.  Mr. Crazy always asks if I'm in a fight with my iron.  The answer is yes.

Total Mini Makeover Cost: $6.

I know it's not much, but it makes me feel MUCH happier when I'm in that small space.

What do you think?  Hopefully, this can give you some inspiration to make over a small space of your own with minimal materials.

XOXO

Recent Adventures with Sneaky the Elf

Boy has Sneaky been fun this year!  Even though there are those moments at 11:30 at night when Mr. Crazy and I look at each other half asleep asking "did you move the elf"?  But the second the kids find him in the morning make the late night adventures worth it... especially since I'm one who doesn't just like to move our elf... I like to create a scene of what he froze doing.

So without further ado... here is a continuation of our Sneaky Elf on the Shelf pictures:

Do you have an Elf on a Shelf?  Where has yours been spotted in the mornings?  I would l.o.v.e. to hear your ideas!

XOXO

Taste the Rainbow

Since Pinterest has become the new love of my life (sorry Mr. Crazy), finding ideas (and the time to do them) has become a main objective.  Knowing that my birthday is a mere 5 days away but we celebrated last night, I knew I had to try the ever-so-tempting Skittles infused Vodka that I saw on there.  I've created my own tutorial... and let's just say, the day and a half wait for the infusion was very well worth it.

Here is what you will need:

Vodka (6 ounces per bottle) - don't skimp on this step... buy Smirnoff or better.

5 empty water bottles

2 bags of skittles

Coffee filters

5 containers (I didn't have clear jars or flasks, so plastic containers sufficed.)

Funnel (because they make everything easier)

First step is separate the Skittles by color.

Then fill each water bottle with approximately 6 ounces of Vodka.  Take a shot if you feel the need.  Stay sober.

Put each set of colors into separate bottles and shake shake shake like crazy.  The more shakin, the better.

Don't these look super pretty so far???... just wait until you taste it!

Let sit overnight so the candies can dissolve more.  And if you want, shake a bit more before going to bed.  I told you shakin is good.  ;)

The next day, you will need to filter out some white sugary foam that forms at the top of each bottle.  I simply put a coffee filter in a funnel and filtered that way.  This process takes a little while so the more funnels you have to "multi-filter", the better.

Then voila!  You have Skittles flavored Vodka!!!

I put these in our freezer to chill prior to the party.  You can mix it with Sprite, Mountain Dew, Ginger Ale.  Have it on the rocks for all I care.  Just drink responsibly... and taste the rainbow!  We sure did.

Who knew Skittles + Vodka could be so awesome?

XOXO

Today = Baking Like Crazy

With the exception of a couple hours spent at a loud pizza place for my son's soccer banquet, I have been in the kitchen since 8am baking away.  Being a recent SAHM, I'm trying to get my baking business off the ground so at home is where I can stay... for good.

I am participating in a Christmas boutique in the Los Angeles area tomorrow so I'm working on four orders of Monkey Bread, two dozen Mochaccino Cupcakes, two dozen Sugar & Spice Cupcakes and last but not least, my super yummy Hot Chocolate Cookies.  It's ok... you can drool.

So while my cupcakes are in the oven, I just wanted to quickly update how our Elf on the Shelf, Sneaky, was doing.  He sure is a mischievous little elf.  Here is what he has been up to:

It's been so much fun in the morning to watch my kids run around looking for where he is... and even better when they actually find him.  

Linking my previous post to the following party!

Sunday Showcase

Check out her page - she has soooo many great ideas!

Happy December 3rd!... and Happy More Baking to me!

XOXO

  

Elf on the Shelf - "Sneaky"

Today, November 30, 2011, we welcomed a new member to our family... our own Elf on the Shelf.  I have been wanting to do this for a couple of years now and felt the kids were very ready for "him" this year.  So I bought the set at Barnes and Nobles and created little personalized letters for the kids.

I built "him" up all week long and boy were the kids excited.  They kept talking about how they were going to find him, what crazy things he was going to do, how good they were going to behave... yes, let's see how long that one lasts.

So tonight, the doorbell rang and on our doorstep was the book:

*props to Mr. Crazy for running around the house so quickly*

I opened the door and told the kids that there was a "special guest" at our door... they knew right away and came hurdling down the stairs screaming with excitement.  I told them the book meant that he was in the house somewhere and they needed to find him!  So the search began under beds, in the bathrooms, on a shelf (ha ha get it?)... but alas, he was hiding with the Christmas presents:

I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was for them not to touch him.  It was quite hilarious if you ask me.  They grabbed their letters and treats and read them aloud.  Their little faces... I can't get over them.  Filled with so much joy and excitement.  I could barely take pictures.

So Mr. Crazy sat down with them and read them the Elf on the Shelf story so that they would understand he reports to Santa every night while they're sleeping and that if they touch him, his magic goes away.

Welcome to our family, Sneaky.  I plan on having lots of fun moving you around and helping the kids find you in the mornings.  Hopefully, you'll be quite an incentive for my children to behave a bit more...  I will be forever grateful.

I hope you Mommies out there try this, too.  I really love how much fun my kids are already having with it... and when they're happy, I'm happy.

Linking up at:
Sunday Showcase

XOXO