Madison

Guess where I'm going?

We are going to a UW Schools Studen Senate Gayla (spelled right?)

Anyways, I have never been away from my kids for more than overnight, so I'm excited/nervous about this!

I have a dress being shipped in from New York. That's how excited I am.

Beautiful Madison, I haven't seen you since I was almost too young to remember...

And do you know what they have in Madison???

Yeah yeah, sure they have the capitol...

...but I can't wait to step foot in...

...POTTERY BARN!! hehe

I've never been to one, can you tell?

So I know this place is extremely expensive. I've visited their site. It's crazy.

So I'm going to scour the place for ideas. Maybe a Clearance item or two.

I think I can make these:

Shape some steel wool, spray paint it black (dark brown?) and stick a Dollor Tree votive in it.

Thanks for the idea, Pottery Barn!

I also have my eyes set on these:

They are pretty cheap for the set of 6. I love the numbers on them!

And I'm sure that Pottery Barn must have other things not listed on their site, so we'll see what I come home with!

Vinyl Clock Deal

I recently got this vinyl clock at Younkers on Yellow Dot:

There's 5 different styles, mostly for your kitchen or living room.

I chose this one, because the princess is spoiled.

Just letting you in on a deal ;)

Anyways, sorry I know it's been a little slow around here. I'm in an accelerated class at school, and it's kicking my butt. So after March 9th, I'll be my usual productive self.
School comes first!

Perennials

I'm lazy.

Okay, maybe not with renovating and crafting, but I'm the laziest gardner you will find. I don't do annuals. Well, I do hanging baskets, but I never plant annuals.

I want an easy-maintenance perennial garden. All you have to do is spread mulch and de-weed every spring.

That's it.

I know, you're thinking "Yeah, and pay the $1000's for it!"

So this year I'm growing my own perennials. Seed packets are cheaper than mature plants.

That's what I decided those ugly herb planters would be used for.

(Originally they were going to hold office supplies for my craft room, but that reno can't be started until Summer)

Here's my army of perennials:

Hopefully this thrifty tactic will work =P

Goals for this year's garden:
1. Build a proper arbor for the swing my grandfather build.
2. Split my rhubarb. They are getting overgrown.
3. Plant a rasperry bush. Or two or three =D
4. Transplant another lilac bush.
5. Mulch mulch mulch. I never end up mulching. It will be done this year!
6. Finish the concrete patio.
7. Contain the epidemic of bearded irises that have taken over my backyard. Those things multiply like rabbits!

It would be an accomplishment if I even do two things on that list, haha!

Bathroom Organization

Does anyone's bathroom vanity look like this?

I couldn't even change out the TP without an avalanche of magazines toppling over.

So I bought a mesh magazine rack from Walmart for $6.50, and screwed it into the cabinet door.

If you do this, just make sure that the door still closes properly. This may not work if you have a really small cabinet door.

Mmmmm....organizational bliss....

My husband, upon existing the bathroom, "Honey, I think that magazine rack is my favorite thing you've done to the house."

;)

Double Digits

The sweet pre-teen years.

Today, for Valentines Day, I was given a pre-teen.

Pre-teen: 10-12 years of age.

Wow....

But of course, this hasn't been an overnight ordeal. Today it finally hit me that the cute/funny/obnoxious/cocky/flirty things he's been doing lately are predecessors to the era of being a teen.

How could I miss that?

Examples:

1. Blushes everytime you mention his girlfriend.

2. The first step to doing homework is putting in his earbuds to his MP3 player.

3. Taunts and teases his dad whilst playing video games ("How do you like that, punk?!")

4. Dots all his i's with a heart when he spells his girlfriend's name. (Way too cute!)

5. INSISTS that he needs to wear boxers from here on out.

6. Steals his dads Axe body wash and cologne. (hahaha...and uses WAY too much!)

7. He has to come with me to buy his clothes. Ya know, just in case I pick something lame-o.

8. Carries a wallet. (Really? What do you have that's so important in there?!)

9. Sits next to his girlfriend in class. Ladies man =D

10. Most importantly: his prayers at supper have gone from "Dear Lord, thank you for video games" to "Dear Lord, thank you for food, our house, family, and friends, Amen"  I.E. the kid's showing a great sense of morality. I'm proud!

And of course, throwing him a killer birthday bash was on my February To-Do List, so here's some highlights of that:

Except, of course, I forgot the birthday candles. lol.
But he got to blow them out on a piece of cake at home ;)

Happy Birthday William. We love you, and look forward to a lifetime of your quirks!

You know what that means? I'm ahead of schedule for my To-Do list. Does it surprise you that it's "For one day, be caught up on laundry..."? Nah, me neither...lol.