snow dayzzzzz

we have had *so much snow* this winter.
craziest thing ever.
i guess the groundhog and the persimmon seed were right.
this is a very wintery winter.
especially for the south.
i don't think we've had a good snow in 3 years.
i guess we needed to make up for that.

this current round o' snow.....winter storm maximus, i'm told..... has been so. pretty.
it started while we were in church yesterday and was pretty much a winter wonderland by the time we made our 5 mile trek home.
it's that super powdery, big flakes, with sunny skies...perfect kind of snow.

although a bunch of our fun plans for yesterday were cancelled, it did turn out to be a perfectly lovely day of staying at home and cozying up with my faveys.

today was a sunny day and not too cold so the kids and i decided to take a trek back behind our house for some snowy adventure.

there are woods and a creek behind our house.
the boys kept saying, "it's narnia!"

one of our favorite things is outdoor exploring so this was just bliss.
ruby is happiest outside so she was pumped to be out in the snow.

we tasted a little bit of that perfect looking snow, but not too much since the last big snow we had this winter, finley ate so much of it that he got a stomach ache.
#lessonlearned

we were so excited to make it to the creek.
sawyer really wanted to get in it.
i took that as a teaching moment on why we don't get in creeks in the winter. :)

we spent a good while down there throwing snowballs into the creek.
i had a death grip on the back of ruby's coat but she did still manage to face plant it in the snow once.
luckily, she was so happy out there that it didn't phase her much. :)

this was the best snow day.
the only thing that would have made it better was to have AJ home.
but i cannot complain...it was a really great day.
plus my sweet neighbor took the boys sledding for an hour in the afternoon so they got sledding fun and i got some sweet quiet time.
i'm sure the extra vitamin D today didn't hurt either. :)

and just to give you a smile on this cold winter's night....i am going to humble myself and show you my hot mama snow outfit.

oh yes. hot-tay.
AJ's ginormo pants {no, my legs are not that big} stuffed into my winter boots.
80's-tastic coat.
scarf hanging out.
men's gloves.
not pictured here: my giant bug-eye sunglasses.
i was a sight to behold.
thankfully, only my kids, neighbor kandice & the birds got to see this special look.
......and now the internets. you're welcome. your night is now complete. :)
sweet dreams.....


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diy play kitchen

i've known for quite a while that i wanted to diy a little play kitchen for ruby for christmas.
i had pinned some ideas on pinterest.
i had thought i would build something out of an old cabinet.
eventually i realized i needed to just re-do an existing play kitchen for time's sake.
i scoured craig's list and thrift shops for months until i finally found one from a neighbor for $40.
it is small and just perfect for her.  yay!

so this is what it started out looking like:

it was the perfect size and shape.
perfectly ready for me to sand and paint and update!
it sat in our attic for a few months until....you know...the weekend before christmas.
of course.
it needed a good amount of sanding and then i painted it with 2 coats of valspar paint {tropical spray, i think} that i had left over from her dresser.

most of these photos are from my iphone....sorry about the quality.

i used a silver drawer pull that we had on hand for the "towel rack."
i whipped up a little towel with some terry cloth material i had and some fun floral fabric.
and then added her name, because the cutsier the better, right?

all of the "oven knobs" are knobs from hobby lobby.
oh my gravy. have you looked through their knobs?
they are amazing.
they're often half off which is a far cry from their very similar looking counterparts at anthro.
i mean. she just needed crystal oven knobs, right??

the sink knobs are also from hob lob...i have a giant crush on mercury glass.

the "back splash" is scrapbook paper {also hobby lobby} that I just mod podged on.
i painted the burners silver with some silver paint that we had from painting ornaments. :)

seriously, we used so much that we already had.
i spray painted this hook that i found in my box o' odds and ends.
i made her the little pot holders when i was making her towel.
i love them...so little and cute and seriously probably took 10 minutes to make.

my mom got her the cutie pie red, wooden pots & some play food for kitchen.
she plays with them all constantly. :)

before and after!

christmas day!

it was so fun surprising her with this.

i'm not sure who was more excited, ruby or aj and i....or the boys. 

we were all so pumped to see her open it. :)

she did not disappoint. 

she loved it and got right to work playing with it. :)

this was such a fun and rewarding project.
i love it when what is in my head actually turns out. :)

what about y'all? diy anything fun lately?



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ruby's room at the new house

and by new, i mean, we've lived here 7+ months.
:)
i realized i haven't shown y'all around much since we've moved to this house so i thought i'd show you ruby's room.
it is honestly very much like her old room.
except that she actually lives in it now, so it's not quite so pristine.
and she has a closet in this room.
bonus.

welcome. :)

it should be noted that i did not stage these photos at all.
these pics are pretty much how it looks every day.

also, the walls are painted dolphin fin gray (behr) just like her old room.
that was the very first thing we did before we even moved boxes in.
also, we brought her chandelier. :) had to.

this is her reading chair.
we read her books there, daily.
her favorite is "no, no, noah." :)

chalkboard from her shower, hooks with her many accessories, fabric art from the sis-in-law, and baby dresses.

the top one was my mom's baby dress and the bottom is the one i made for ruby.
it was so big on her....hard to believe now.

i found the gold curtain rod at the walmarts on clearance. yes. please.
the curtains are a vintage coverlet, cut in half.
i didn't sew up the sides or anything crazy like that.
the little scrappy garland is from her first bday partay.

her bed....pretty much the same as our last house, except lowered down.
she refuses blankets 98% of the time, but we always go in and cover her up after she's asleep.

that vintage bassinet is one of my favorite things in her room.
all my kids slept in it, as well as my niece, nephew and little sister.
it now holds her many "babies."

okay, yeah, we hardly use that changing pad anymore.
but we do use it sometimes and i just can't bear to get rid of it yet.
i have used it for all four of my kids and i'm sentimental and i am no where near ready for her to have a big girl room.

the gallery above her bed is ever-changing.
i need to add some more current photos.....

ruby in utero.
mama and boy hands loving on her even then. :)

the little angel picture was a gift from my step-mom years ago and i've always loved it.

vintage botanical print.

i love this print from french press mornings.
{i won it through a giveaway on this vintage grove!! yay. hoo.}

and lastly but not leastly...her closet.
it is super nice for her to have an actual closet in this house.
which is chock full of her cutie clothes and shoes.

so that's her little room.
girly and pink and perfect for her. :)

more details of the specific items in her room can be found in the "ruby's nursery" tab at the top of the page. :)


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reason #792 to shop at thrift stores

you can come up with cutie pie outfits like this:

i found these adorbs kelly's kids pants at the thrift store for two bucks.
they retail for around $36.
boom. stickin' it to the man.
and seriously, anything with a big ruffle at the bottom is perfection.
so stinkin' cute.

ruby had an extra black shirt in her closet so i dug through my fabric stash and found some red fabric to use.
i googled an arkansas shape, printed it out on card stock and used that for my pattern.

then i just sewed the shape right onto her shirt.
i didn't iron it or use interfacing or fray check.
i like to live on the edge like that.
also, i don't have time to make this a big drawn-out project.
i like the way the edges fray a bit on the shape after you wash it.

so this whole outfit cost me $2 and i think it's pretty darn cute.
and ruby loves it.

while i had all the materials out, i quickly made another shape to make a fun arkansas hoop art for my booth. :)

that black & white jersey material is an old t-shirt that i cut up.
i also used it for ruby's head band.

i love doing craft projects....especially when they turn out how i wanted. :)

and yes, this totally fueled my thrift store shopping even more.  :)

happy monday, y'all......what are you creating lately??

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