get minted

i love sending handwritten letters to people.

it's such a rare thing these days, but i try to do it very once in awhile.

and i try to have my kids do it too. just because i think it's something thoughtful i can teach them. and i'm sure grandma's and aunts love getting sweet handwritten cards. i know i would.

in comes minted.

they have the cutest stationary. and i am so in love with their journals.

one of my new years resolutions is to keep a journal.

so i ordered this cute journal and put on the front

Thankful

Have an Attitude of Gratitude

it turned out super cute i think.

i ordered a travel journal too. just for fun.

plus when you sign up through this link, you'll get a $25 credit.

i got an email a couple days after i signed up that said i could get free shipping too.

so for $7, i got two of the cutest journals around.

check it out. they would make adorable gifts.

twisted silver ... i can't stay away

i used to wear jewelry every single day.

since having kids, i don't do it as much. but i do at least wear earrings.

that's where twisted silver comes in.

i am DYING over their jewelry. i just love it.

i secretly bought myself three pair of earrings to sneak them in my stocking.

then jake kept seeing the little twisted silver boxes around the house wondering how many things i have bought from them. i don't really want to admit that, but i can't pass up a good thing. and right now, until december 20 they're offering 50% daily deals.

i seriously can't pass it up. you can get free shipping too.

check out their upcoming deals, you won't be disappointed.

i'm loving the tibet necklace and the flatiron brass bracelet.

love them!

christmas books

thanksgiving for us is never too exciting.

since we don't have family here, we usually go out to eat.

it's kind of lonely.

so i'm already looking ahead to christmas and getting excited.

one of my favorite things is reading a different christmas book each day.

the kids love it and we usually end up reading 15 books a night by the time christmas comes around. they love to read them over and over again.

here's a list of our favs. i'm hoping to add a few new ones, so leave any suggestions you may have.

merry christmas curious george

you can do it, sam

a christmas dress for ellen

yes virginia, there is a santa claus

llama llama holiday drama

Santa Claus: the world's number one toy expert

the night before christmas

the longest christmas list ever

my story of the first christmas

the christmas sweater

a wish to be a christmas tree

the berenstain bears and the joy of giving

duck and goose, it's time for christmas

bear stays up for christmas

merry christmas big hungry bear

mrs. wishy washy's christmas

merry christmas mom and dad

merry christmas stinky face

snowmen at christmas

polar express

mortimer's christmas manger

it's christmas david

clifford's christmas

maisy's christmas day

olivia claus

froggy's best christmas

a very marley christmas

i've seen santa

merry christmas, splat

shall i knit you a hat

when we're helping we're happy

we didn't do very well with day 7 of the Happy Day Prjoect.

but we will for sure do it soon. it takes a little more preparation than the others.

i think it would be fun to do on thanksgiving day or weekend. what a good way to think of others.

one of the days when we gave something to someone who is homeless, kelan was with me.

he asked me why they don't have a house. and told me we have room at our house for them. so why i don't i let her get in the front seat of the car and let her live at our house. it made me tear up, and i wish i could have. unfortunately that is not the way the world works. but it's hard to explain that to a 4 year old.

i love this image that poprocksdesign has over on etsy. my kids absolutely love this song, so i think it would fit perfect on our home. but as i was doing this project the past week i realized it is totally true. and doing service is addicting. i couldn't stop thinking about what i wanted to do next, or who i wanted to do something nice for. it wasn't the best week for me personally, and i had some lame health stuff going on. i was happy to have something else to think about instead of feeling sorry for myself. service is addictive! so try it, see for yourself how happy service can make you.

day 6

day 6 of the happy day project was to appreciate those in service.

we made some super yummy pumpkin choc chip bread and had some vitamin water ready to run out to the mail-woman. she passed our house so quick that jackson had to chase her half way around the block. i've started christmas shopping and i always do a lot of it online. i realized that our mail-woman had to get out and deliver stuff to our door a whole lot lately. i told her the other day that i was sorry, and she told me that it's just the beginning for her. she'll be getting a good work-out in the next month and a half. i don't personally know anyone serving in the military right now (at least not to my knowledge), but i really appreciate them. i think about the sacrifices they make, and the sacrifices their families make on a daily basis.

my favorite pumpkin chocolate chip recipe

2/3 C. shortening

2 2/3 C. sugar

4 eggs

1 (16 oz) can pumpkin

2/3 C. water

3 1/3 C. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves

2/3 C (optional) nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips

heat oven to 350. grease pans.

mix shortening and sugar. add eggs, pumpkin, and water. blend in flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. stir in nuts, raisins, choc chips. pour into pans.

in the small pans i get 7-8 loaves. bake for 45 min.

i dropped off a book by richard paul evans to a sweet friend of mine today.

day 4 of the The Happy Day Project was one of my favorites.

i love books, so how can you go wrong?

i'm reading unbroken by laura hillenbrand right now.

i've heard nothing but greatness about it, so i'm excited.

there's nothing i love more than wrapping myself up on the couch in my heated blanket, next to the fireplace. sipping on hot cocoa. the quietness after the kids go to bed. it's the best.

we went to the book fair at the school tonight. it made me happy that i've already instilled in my kids a love of books. i only let them pick out one book each, and it was such a tough decision for them. they wanted too many of them. here's a few of our favorites.

The Magic Tree House Series

Library Lion

Magic School Bus Series

any book by David Shannon

Guess How Much I Love You

Pat the Bunny

Leslie Patricelli books

i can't wait until december 1st to start reading our christmas books.

so happy i started the tradition. and i can't wait to add to my christmas book collection this year! any must-read christmas books you suggest?

plum district + pear tree

so excited that plum district is offering pear tree greetings today.

you can get $40 worth of the cutest stationary, christmas, cards, invitations, announcements, and more for only $20. i bought a few of these last year for christmas cards and stationary for the boys. they had really great customer service too.

if you haven't signed up before, i think you may even get $5 for signing up.

day 3 + rascal and natasha

today was day three of the happy day project.

which was give a giftcard (or two or three) to someone that's homeless.

i love love loved the post by jeanette at life rearranged.

read it. it just may change your way of thinking. cause it did for me.

oh and p.s.

did you watch the cma awards?

taylor swift was perfect as always, but i really loved rascal flatts and natasha bedingfield.

have you heard there song together? these are two of my favorites so i have to love it.

today

today we did the happy project. day two.

i used my cute postcard art from the dreamy giraffe to write a few notes.

aren't they adorable?

so excited that HowDoesShe blog is having their second birthday.

that means you can get $30 to spend at paper coterie FREE.

and you know me, i love free.

torn between two honda colors. crystal black pearl. or polished metal metallic.

opinions?

today i'm thankful for two things. more than that. but these two stick out today. #1 - that my husband has a somewhat flexible schedule. if i need him in an emergency he can tweak things to help out. #2 - pinterest. i just love it so much. i love all the inspiration. it makes my mid reel, and i love that. if you need an invite tell me. you'll soon be thankful for it too.

happy day project

i started a fun project today.

have you heard of it? it's called the happy day project.

and it's all about spreading the sunshine.

can't wait for all the fun things we'll be doing this week.

check it out, they have the cutest printables to go along with each day.

holy smokes. this rug is amazing.

i would never want my kids to lay a finger on it though.

the colors are perfect. love.

i have a new favorite brand of shoes.

and i'm obsessed.

have you heard of seychelles?

i hadn't until my girl trip earlier this month.

we were shopping at nordstrom and i fell in love.

i'm kinda picky with my shoes. and i usually don't spend very much either.

but i'm a changed woman after seeing these and buying my first pair.

they are super comfy and so cute too.

6pm always has them on sale too which is nice.

and endless is one of my favorite shoe sites to shop through. i like that they have free shipping and returns, just in case they don't fit.

i love these wedge sandals. perfect for summer.

and these pumps are adorable too. kinda sad my birthday is over, now i can't buy myself presents and feel ok about it. i'll just drop some hints to the hub for our anniversary in a few months. size 7.5

blurb book

i was super excited to see the package from blurb on my doorstep.

i was so surprised when i opened it to see how thick it was.

it is at least double the size of my last one.

but i love it. i mean really love.

it is a lot of work to keep a blog and even more work to get it printed.

i have been doing them 12 x 12. and i think i'll stick with doing that size.

i love looking through them and remembering all the fun things that i would have otherwise forgotten. and reading all the funny things the kids say and do.

decisions

a rug can change the entire look of a room.

luckily jake's in the business so he can score us one for an insane deal.

i am dying to repaint my red wall something a little more soft and subtle.

but i'm waiting to get a new rug to make sure it matches well.

this is number one on my list, i just need to commit and it's mine.

what do ya think?

i think i'm in love.

and i'm definitely in love with the fact there is no fringe.

pretty sure it's a keeper.

love this lamp from pier one.

think i want one.

and this clock is amazing in real life.

just wish it was a different color.

McCall Getaway

at the end of the summer last year we took our little family up to McCall.

it was such a fun trip that we wanted to do it again this year.

the only thing we didn't like was the price. we stayed at the shore lodge.

it was amazing, but it was also $250 a night after fees and whatnot.

so this year we're going to stay here, at the hunt lodge.

there is a deal at livingsocial. it's less than half the price.

it includes a jacuzzi suite, breakfast, cookies, and bonus for my kids....an indoor pool.

woo-hoo! it has great reviews on tripadvisor, so hopefully it will be great.

too bad it's not on the lake like the shore lodge is, but for this price i couldn't pass it up.

it must be used by june 30.

randomness

i'm so sad. one of my kids' favorite places to play, rafiki, closed. and they aren't

opening a new one anytime soon.

holy moley! i am almost done with my blurb book for 2009-2010. i remember paying around $80 the first time i made one. i just checked prices after spending hours making this one, and it is going to be around $180. WOAH! i guess i have a ton more pages, and maybe their prices went up.

do you patch your kids' jeans? or buy them new when they got holes?

jake got me the cutest prints from etsy for christmas . now i just need an ikea so i can go get their ribba frames for them. i can't find any frames i like as much. i'm so excited cause i got a utah, brazil, idaho, and california print. love them!

we got our parents these family trees for christmas this year. i think they turned

out so pretty. i want one for myself someday. my favorite thing is that the green leaves show the country/state the person was born in. it's fun to see where our ancestors are from.

i wish that i would come home one day to find this in my master bath. it's so much better than a plain builder mirror. pretty sure jake would never do it for me though.

someday i want a house with a hidden room. preferably a book room full of books and comfy chairs with electric blankets to keep me warm. this one is pretty awesome.

toys

i love when we buy gifts for the kids that get played with over and over.

here's a few that are extra popular at our house.

automoblox

have you seen them? you can take them apart and switch parts with different cars.

kel loves them. he doesn't have a ton since they are a little pricey, but i think they are

something to buy a few every now and then for gifts cause they get used a lot. i just hate

when pieces go missing.

magformers

my mom got these for the boys for christmas and they have already been played with for so many hours. kel is still a little young to follow the directions, but he makes up his own ways of making things.

Fisher Price TRIO

kel is obsessed with these. he loves to make all sorts of things. the boys always

fight over the eyeballs so they got a couple new sets for christmas. the zoo set is pretty cool and includes a lot of pieces. kelan has played with these more hours than i would have ever thought.

any popular toys at your house?

bachelor talk

what did you think of michelle on the bachelor?

wow. i am convinced she is doing this just to get attention.

she totally wants to have the villain image.

and that's exactly what she is.

i'm thinking he ends up with chantal.

and emily will be the next bachelorette. she is too sweet for brad.

that's all my bachelor talk for the week.

i'm obsessed with the color yellow right now. i just can't seem to get enough.

i love my oilcloth tablecloth, because i can just wipe it so easily.

i bought one awhile back from modern june on etsy, and i have been so happy with it.

but this one has caught my eye at anthro. i keep waiting each week for it to go on sale, but i'm not sure i will really buy it when it does. i'm just afraid the kids will ruin it. because really, there is not a day that goes by that they aren't painting, coloring with all sorts of things, playing play-dough, stamps, and everything else messy. isn't it pretty though?