Big Day!

It's a very exciting day...our foundation is being poured today! Is there anything more exciting for a boy and his bud than a front row spot as the concrete trucks arrive?

DownEast Basics Mixer: Spring Preview!

If pallet projects and baby birthdays weren't enough to pull me out of my blogging vacation, an invitation from my friends at DownEast Basics certainly is! Early this week my dear friend Michelle and I left our boys at home for the evening and attended the Spring Preview Mixer with our local blogging gals at the Tucson Mall. As usual, it was a fun night out! Not surprisingly, the Spring line is full of bright colors and dreamy textures. Michelle brought her camera and snapped some great pics of our favorite looks... I think this polka dot sweater is super cute and would be such a great transition piece for Tucson winters--perfect layered with jeans & boots on cooler days, and great for cool mornings over a tee or with a cute skirt on warmer days. Doesn't this yellow number make you want to host a garden party or something? So cute. And then she snagged this one of me trying on the dress that lots of us went home with--I'm picturing it with a cute necklace and cork wedges, as soon as the weather warms up a tad. (Speaking of weather, did you hear that it snowed in Tucson yesterday? Craziness!) I came home with that cute striped dress that I can't wait to wear, plus a couple of solid tees from the Clearance rack (30% off Clearance prices? Yes, please!) and the gift card in my goodie bag was used toward part of my purchase...Thanks DownEast Basics! And thanks to Michelle for the photos...head over to her blog post about our night and read about building a "look" for your whole family with a few key pieces too! P.S. Celebrate @DownEastBasics spring style on Pinterest for chance to win $500 spring break shopping spree! www.downeastbasicsblog.com/?p=3693 Oh, the damage I could do with $500 at that store... :)

Pallet Project: Ottoman

A few years ago one of my boys poked a hole in our leather ottoman. I had intentions to try to patch it somehow but that just hasn't happened, and sadly, over the years the hole has only gotten larger. So this weekend I finally bit the bullet and bought some supplies to build a new one...out of pallets! I've been stockpiling pallet projects on Pinterest for quite a while now so it's fun to finally make something happen. Stay tuned!

Back!

Eeekk! How is it that nearly 6 months have cruised by without a new posting from me? I guess that's what one mobile baby and his 2 big brothers with full school, social and sports calendars will do! It's been busy, friends. All good, but wow, 3 kids is a busy gig.

But! I feel fancy this morning after downloading the mobile Blogger app to my phone. So now I'll surely have lots of blogging time on my hands, right? We'll see. We're up to some fun and exciting stuff around here and I do want to share though, so stay tuned. How 'bout a few photos in the meantime? If we're FB Friends, you've already seen 'em, but it's a good recap--we've done some traveling, my 3 boys are still darling, we're knocking down walls and adding space, and last week, my baby turned 1!

Love Letter to Tucson...

We've been busy over here with lots of fun Back to School stuff. It's good, we're all ready for new routines. Yesterday I met my friend Rachel at Brandi Fenton Park for a few photos to go along with my Love Letter to Tucson for her new blog. Read it here. Thank you Rachel for taking my new favorite photo of 2 of my sweet boys and I...wish my other guys were in it too!

Happy Day for Youth On Their Own

A few weeks ago I received an email from one of our favorite non-profits here in town, Youth on their Own. I receive emails from them a few times a year with various requests, and if time and finances allow, I will make a donation or stop by the grocery store for a few bags of groceries to stock their pantry. This email was a request for backpacks and school supplies, and something about it made me want to do more. I sent my mom and sister an email with the suggestion that we have a "Backpack Stuffing Party" at my house, and the wheels were in motion...

My sister and I pooled our cash, along with a few cash donations we received from people who wanted to participate but couldn't attend...and we shopped like crazy for every school supply you can imagine.

Then my mom and sister stumbled on a mega sale on backpacks and were able to buy 20 really nice backpacks for only $160!

Friends and family arrived at my house with empty backpacks in hand, ready to stuff. We sipped some cold drinks and snacked on cookies and enjoyed each other's company while we worked. In no time, and with very little effort, we had 40 backpacks stuffed with notebooks, folders, paper, pens & pencils, glue, snacks & gum, erasers, boxes of tissue, highlighters, rulers, and zipped back up.

Talk started about how we can do this again next year, bigger, with more friends and more backpacks. I already can't wait.

If you are out school supply shopping with your kids this year, please consider picking up a backpack and a few supplies for Youth on their Own. I assure you that your children will jump on board enthusiastically, and you will appreciate having the opportunity to talk to them about the importance of gratitude and community service.

Best of all, one homeless teen or youth will have one less thing to worry about on the first day of school this year.

Norway Photo Book

Shutterfly is having their Friends & Family sale, which means photo books are 50% off, with free shipping on orders over $30. It's such a deal, I've created my 2nd photo book in 2 days! Now, to get back to rocking babies, laundry, and dinner making...

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly allows you to customize your photo book just the way you want.