upstairs...

i know that i have mentioned many times "the work upstairs" and now i will finally share a glimpse of that work with you. as you can see the painting is finished, and the closets are just about finished (they were difficult to photograph), and next on the list is that beautiful floor. it has many imperfections but we think that will give it a bit of an antique look. i am so excited about this project. i can't wait for the kids to move upstairs... we are all getting so crowded down on the main level. i am also so excited to see how the furniture fits in. i have spent quite a bit of time scouring craigslist for deals on dressers and beds and what not. it will be so nice when they finally have the space to get organized. i will have to take a picture of their current tiny bedroom so you can see what i mean. they are also so very excited and ask constantly when they can move up to their new rooms. it's kind of funny.... we never intended for it to be this big of a project but it will be so very worth it when it is done. you may have guessed this already but the sage green room is layla's and the blue room is maiko's. oh, and the silly photos of layla... i just printed those out and taped them to the inside of the glass on matt's hunting cabinet. i love those silly photos.

oh, february

well.... that month disappeared in the blink of an eye. i think my calender has a mind of it's own now... skipping through days faster than it should. 

many things have happened since i last visited this place. my sweet ollie (the youngest of the four) had her second birthday and we all celebrated her. then a week later i had my 28th birthday and i was spoiled rotten. i am so thankful for all of the wonderful people in my life! after my birthday, my amazing sister in law and her wonderful beau came to visit and we celebrated our birthdays together (she also took a whole lot of amazing pictures that i am planning on sharing in the near future). and through all of this matt and ian and thomas have been continuing to work on the upstairs project... which is getting sooo close to completion... i cannot wait to show you. all of the walls, ceilings, and trim have been painted. the carpet has been ripped out, along with some old linoleum. the base boards have been removed (after we saw the wood floor underneath and decided to refinish it too). and the attic spaces are almost complete... they put insulation in them, finished them with plywood to conceal the holes and exposed nails and spiders (my goodness), they were wired with pull string lights, and they were spackled, primered, and painted. there is still a great deal left... but i think we are over half way. it is very exciting. i feel like this project will actually change our entire home environment in the most wonderful way.

the valentines above were so fun to make. maiko and layla wanted to make glowstick valentines and the tutorials and free print-outs are here, here, and here. eislee's love bug valentines were my favorite! so cute. we hot glued the butterflies on (she said only butterflies). the free print-out and tutorial for that one is right here. i know that valentines day is over but i was thinking if you really liked them you could bookmark them for next year. 

well, i hope you had a great day of love and i plan to post again before february slips away completely.

flowers and babies

• cappuccino in one of my new dishes.... it's like a beautiful rainbow in my cupboards

• dried straw flowers from my mother in law's garden and a pincushion made by eislee's teacher brighten my desk

• paperwhites in my windowsill make the entire room smell of sweet flowers.... aaahhh

• and a special visit from my sister, brother in law, and new nephew.... oh, baby snuggles.... he really is as sweet as he looks. there is nothing like a newborn baby.

life is full of sweet little things and i am loving them.

a beautiful beginning

jude peter mento
born 12.31.12 at 3:45am
8lbs 21.5"
perfect.

what an amazing way to bring in the new year. this is the first birth that i have witnessed from the outside and i am in awe. there was so much love, strength, and such deep feeling. i think every one of us walked away changed forever by this amazing experience. one beautiful loving couple becoming a family. i cannot wait to tell my nephew about all of the love surrounding him on the day he was born. oh sweet jude... we love you.

at the end of it all

what a crazy wonderful holiday we had. it all happened so quickly with so many things going on. and in a flurry of paper and lights suddenly it is all over and we are left feeling thankful. thankful for many gatherings with friends and family that we haven't seen in far too long. thankful for so many very, very thoughtful gifts that have already brought us much joy. and feeling very humbled and reminded of what is truly important as yet another year comes to an end so very fast.

oh, this busy holiday

such beautiful colors we are getting now... it's like a special easter egg hunt every time i go out to the coop.... duck eggs too! our americanas lay the minty green beauties, and either our cuckoo maran or our welsummer (or both) lay the deep chocolate brown ones... just lovely.

carrots and parsnips sauteed in butter.... kale steamed with a little water and drizzled with a sauce made up of apple cider vinegar, honey, and olive oil... currently two of my favorite things (especially together).

i just love the sweet little christmas programs... although i vow every year that i will quit trying to record it... the recordings never turn out very nice and it really takes away from the show. do you see my little eislee in the back there? she had a very special part this year pulling the little wagon at the back of the train... she was perfect.... so brave.... so oblivious.... so adorable.

one of my favorite things about the christmas programs is all the singing done absentmindedly at home. often times in the car eislee will sing "a fleece navee dad!"

we wrapped some presents up in newspaper and topped them with ribbon... i love how perfectly simple it looks... i wrap all of my presents with newspaper now... i just really like it.

we are planning to make jewelry for all the teachers with these pretty wooden beads, but of course we haven't even started yet.... hmmm.

my lentil soup... lentils, tomatoes, carrots, parsnips, celery, yams, and spinich... my favorite soup.... actually it's more like a stew really... but either way... i finally wrote down a bit of recipe as i was making it this time... i do a lot of that "a pinch of that" and "just add it until it looks right" kind of cooking... so making a real recipe is pretty hard for me.

i can't believe how close it is to christmas! we don't even have a tree yet... i suppose we will get one soon and keep it through new years. i do love christmas trees. the reason we don't have one yet is we were finishing the painting in our living room (thanks to someone called thomas... and to lisa for recommending him). thomas has not only finished our living but he is almost finished painting the entire upstairs... yes! 

if you like christmas music you should check out pandora's christmas station. it is wonderful! i can't get enough of it. they play every single one of my favorites! nothing makes it feel like the holidays more than nat king cole singing "have yourself a merry little christmas"... in my opinion anyway. 

enjoy the season friends! it is already almost over!

a little bit of christmas

so what do you think of the chocolate door? be honest. i'm not quite sure about it...

our new advent tradition (we changed it last year) is as soon as they are ready for school they get their treat for the day.... chocolate is wonderful motivation.

half of the little village that finds a new spot every year.

christmas books on the bed stand... a sure sign of the season.

eislee's favorites.... her favorites she must hear every night are "frosty the snowman" and "gingerbread mouse" which she calls "snow white and the mousey one" and she expects me to sing both of them.

layla's mess of a desk... next to my mess of a desk.... i sure have enjoyed the company but sharing the mess is driving me a little crazy.

they all love to "borrow" mommy and daddy's camelbak water bottles so this year in their stockings they will each get one of their own.

the painting is complete in layla's room (thanks to some outside help). i just love the colors... two shades of beautiful sage greeen. you can hardly tell (even when your in the room) but the ceiling is a much lighter shade than the walls.

i just love the holiday artwork they bring home when they're small... i have started keeping it in an envelope packed away with all the christmas decorations so that i can bring them all out each year.

the last of the winter squash.... i save these pretty green ones for last because i love the way they look next to red.

paperwhites... i don't think mine will bloom by christmas but i love the idea of them blooming along with the new year.

it's been very busy around here lately and i know i have been neglecting this space but i am so excited to show you all that has been happening! so much progress! happy holidays friends!