a scrappy kind of day

i got this magazine at joann's the other day and it has inspired me to really start scrapbooking more. i've been in such a rut--overwhelmed with supplies, too many pictures, etc. anyway, this magazine has some really cute layouts and all of them take less than 1 hour to do. if you can find this magazine, i recommend you get it (if you have a coupon--i wouldn't pay 14.99 for it!)
these pages were all based on layouts from the magazine and didn't take long at all. it took me longer to pick out all my papers and embellishments than it did to make the pages!

the first one is pictures from vacation last year. it just so happened that another sister from our congregation and her family were in florida the same time we were. we went to dinner at this place that was a replica of an old treasure ship. pretty cool!
another one from last summer's vacation. i love the colors in this one. (i would so love to be there right now!)

one of mckinlee when she was losing teeth--i just love those gap-toothed smiles!

that's all for now~hopefully there will be some more tomorrow!

just some random pictures

nothing too exciting to blog about. mckinlee is in waco visiting the grandmas--i will go on friday, so that will be a fun weekend. i've done a lot around the house today...laundry, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms and dusting. now i'm going to reward myself and scrapbook for a little while! here are some pictures i've meant to post but didn't.
here's mckinlee's teacher this year--Miss Texada. she is the sweetest thing and mckinlee is going to miss her!
here's mck's 3rd grade teacher. we absolutely loved Mrs. Henderson! she is moving to a different school and we are so sad :(

some of mck's classmates at their end of school party.

we decided to have part of our family worship night outside last week. we studied our watchtower lesson until it got too dark--it was a nice change!

i made these stuffed peppers for dinner the other night and they were pretty good (if you like that sort of thing!)

not a great picture but i was trying to get a self portrait of how swollen and bruised my face was after my dentist visit the other day. my cheek was so swollen chris thought i had something stuck in it! even today it is so bruised (a nice celery green and butter yellow color) i think the dentist hit a blood vessel when she was numbing me! not a pretty site!

a nice shot of my pretty petunias

that's all i've got for now. if i get any scrapbooking done, i'll post pictures tomorrow!

the office (not to be confused with nbc's version)

welcome to chris' office. it's friday--next stop on kelly's tour of homes: offices!

this is looking into the office from the dining room. the huge leaf we got at pier 1 (i think) and it fits perfectly!

most of the wall decor came from hobby lobby. the green banker's lamp was a graduation gift to him from my family before we were even dating!

i love this little corner in his office. the chair was one of the first pieces of furniture he bought when he left home. i think we got the lamp at hobby lobby.

he loves motorcyles and old memorabilia (is that spelled right?) some of the things on his lateral file were his grandfather's (like that old cheese box that his grandfather made into a little tackle box--isn't that cool?) and the license plate that has his initials on it

we loved this clock since it looked old even though it isn't. we got it at world market.

another old looking thing...but it's not. it's a radio we bought at hobby lobby!

that's part of his 15th year anniversary gift (the golf clubs, not the chair!!) the chair we bought at sam's years ago.

both sides of his desk have these cool lighted shelves where he displays more antique pieces and motorcycle stuff!

thanks for looking! stop by kelly's korner for more office ideas!

last day of school

ever since mckinlee was in kinder or 1st grade we have taken pictures of her wearing the same thing on the first day of school and the last day of school. it's such a neat way to see how much she has changed. so here she is in august 2008 on the first day:

and here she is today june 2009 on the last day:

she looked at the pictures and said, "i don't look very good in the morning!" that's ok--none of us do! SUMMER is officially here!!!!! i am so ready~

mckinlee's room

it's friday...kid's rooms on kelly's tour of homes. mckinlee recently did this to her door with benderoos (of course i would never let her write on our doors!) and it absolutely cracks me up!

this is right inside her door. she keeps cards and letters friends and family have sent her. (a little cluttery imho!)

this is the view from her door.

this is the view once you step into her room. the furniture was mine when i was young. in a few years, we'll redo her room and get her new furniture since this really isn't her style. the bedding and most accessories came from target--the white comforter i found at ikea really cheap! i'm pretty sure the paint is pool blue from sherwin williams.

this is looking into her bathroom. i loved the fabric streamers and was determined to find a way to use them in her room. the purple paint was already there when we bought the house, but the room was an awful pepto bismol pink. so we kept what we could in the bathroom and painted the room aqua. she loves it! she is not into pink at all, so her pick was aqua, purple and lime green.

these cute little boxes and the word are from target too and hold some special things like a doll from one grandmother, a bear from the other, a frame danielle made for her when we moved and a picture of mckinlee and i when she was a baby.

just another view from the other side:

sometimes, these little hooks are overflowing with purses--i think they're going to fall off of the wall! i like it when it's neat like this!

this clock is hanging in her bathroom. i made it in a heidi swapp class at a scrapbook convention. at the time, it didn't match anything i had. so i was glad when it went so well in her room.

this is the rest of her bathroom. i couldn't find the shower curtain i wanted, so i bought some more of the fabric streamers and made this using a clear shower curtain liner. i though it turned out cute! this room was also pepto bismol pink, so it got repainted too!

more accessories from target. in her jars she keeps just a portion of her extensive lip gloss collection! the child has more lip gloss than i've ever had!!

this is hanging on her lingerie chest. it's the dress she wore home from the hospital. she was originally supposed to wear a different one, but when she was born, she was so little my mom had to go buy her another one!

thanks for taking a peek at mckinlee's room--she'll be excited to read your comments!

summer blooms

i am so glad summer is almost here! it is truly my favorite time of year. i love planting flowers in my big pots out front (and watching them stay alive! i have, not so much a green thumb, more like a black thumb that desperately wants to be green! but i think 2009 just might be my year!) my hibiscus are incredible right now. there are so many blooms on them. everyday i look out, and another one has bloomed!

as you can see, my sweet potato plant is going wild! i'm afraid it's going to take over my whole pot. i can't remember what the purply-blue flower is (maybe lobelia?) but in real life, it is so vibrant and pretty!

this is a day lily that i just got this past weekend. i really hope i can keep this alive because it is so beautiful! i love the orangy-yellow color.

here are some of my herbs. the big pot on the left is garlic chives, rosemary is in the middle and the pot on the right is filled with: variegated oregano, spicy globe basil, lavender, tansy and lemon thyme. (i still need to plant them.) the pot in the back is a banana plant and will be huge by the end of the summer!

lastly, here's my little pot of oregano that i can't wait to use!

when i plant all my different kinds of mint, i will post another picture. they smell so good!

maybe i should do a post at the end of the summer updating what i've been able to keep alive!

dining rooms

well this friday is dining rooms on kelly's tour of homes. here are various shots of mine. in the spring/summer i put out this bamboo looking table runner and my "summer flower arrangement!" i love my dining room because it's one room that never gets cluttered!


hope you enjoy the tour. sorry if there's too many pictures.

on that blank wall i want to add some big canvases of pictures of our vacations.

sorry...just realized this is the same picture and i don't know how to erase it!~

this is how the dining room looks in the fall. i usually just have that metal leaf bowl with decorative fruit in and the tall candle vase on the table. (dining set from world market, rug from home depot, wall hanging from kirkland's)

this is looking into the dining room from the kitchen:

i missed the kitchens tour, so i decided to include my kitchen here in dining rooms! this was one of the best selling features of this house--when i saw this kitchen, i didn't want to leave! this is standing in the laundry room looking into the kitchen.

this view is from the dining room:

this is looking from the mud room into the kitchen.

i usually put something on the top of the refrigerator and the counter that is for the particular season we're in. it's spring now, hence the flowers. (my sister would tell me to take it all down--it doesn't look very "pottery barn"! i know she's right--but i still put it out! hee hee :)

this is my little area where i keep my calendar, schedule, keys, etc. it tends to get very cluttery and drives me crazy! i love it when it's all clean and neat like this picture.

i love this window! i put a bird feeder in that tree and have seen some of the prettiest birds there. (and i don't even like birds!) the framed piece is a little project i did with the caps of honest tea bottles. each one has a wonderful quote on it and i couldn't bear to throw them away, so i got a big frame for 50% off at hobby lobby, took the glass out and glued the caps on a sheet of cardstock. i think it turned out cute.

the area behind the cooktop changes too. right now there is this metal piece i got from michael's. sometimes there are 3 metal leaves or various other things there--sometimes it's just plain!

this is the breakfast nook. table and chairs are from pier 1. i also love the bamboo window shades. they were there when we bought the house and went with our decor, so we kept them. i never close them--i love the light filtering through them! the picture on the wall is not what i want to keep there, but for now it's staying.

thanks for looking!