Thursday, September 25, 2008

{next...the dining room table}

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Dude. Seriously. This is unacceptable. I blame Prima :D You can't even see the beautiful shiny woodgrain of my formal dining table. And it's huge. Seats 12, with 2 leaves in. And they're both in. Ugh.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

{organization}

such is life


I am no domestic goddess, and I don't pretend to be! I wish I were more like Monica on Friends, but alas, I hate cleaning. It's a shame too, because I'm rather good at it when I do it. It's motivation and organization I lack. So, in an effort to become more domestically adept, I am trying to get my home, my kids, my office, my LIFE organized. I'll let you know how long that urge lasts ;) My first attempt: cleaning out the fridge!

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I took a photo for several reasons:

  • I'm a dork.
  • evidence that I did it before it gets messed up.
  • an example to show the little people (and not so little people!) in the house what it's SUPPOSED to look like.

    So if I can organize my fridge, who knows what else I can do! Watch out world! LOL

    latest layout:



    I've been so busy with the opening of the new store, that I haven't been doing much scrapping lately. So it felt so unbelievably good to sit down and create a page! It came together quite easily. Probably because I haven't done it so long, and probably because I was using fabulous LilyPad Goodies!

    Credits are right here.



    Here's to organization!
    Cheers!
  • Monday, September 22, 2008

    {something different...}

    such is life


    It's way past time for a change! What do you think? Better, huh? It's so nice to change things up once in awhile.

    Thank you for all the birthday wishes! We had a great one! Alex is finally at the age where he understands birthdays. For weeks now he's been watching TV and saying "I want that for my birthday!" at every toy commercial he saw. Too cute. He ended up with these faves:









    And here's the big boy on his big day:





    i got some fun toys too!

    The kids have been playing this more than I have:



    I've been wanting to try this one!



    This was something I spotted while in Florida, at Anna Maria Island. My parents were sneaky and picked it up for my birthday!



    shoppe talk


    We have some very interesting things going on over at After Five Designs, now that we're open!



    We have a storewide sale, a chance to win my entire store, plus more things coming this week! Check out the blog this week for some wonderful freebies!

    Hope to see you during our week-long celebrations!

    Cheers!

    Tuesday, September 16, 2008

    {it's my birthday!}

    So...I'm 33 today. But even better, it's Alex's birthday too! He was born on my birthday 4 years ago. My plan was that his birthdays would replace mine from now on. Surely no one would want to take attention from a kid, right?? Well, unfortunately, it hasn't worked out quite that way. I received 4 happy birthday texts on my phone before I even got up this morning! My mom is already arguing about buying me a present, even though I told her I don't want anything. Seriously, I don't. I have everything I want. How many people can say that? I'm perfectly happy right where I am.

    Life is good :)

    Welcome 33. You don't scare me.

    Cheers!

    Monday, September 15, 2008

    {almost done....}

    such is life


    with Breaking Dawn.



    I waited and waited for Audible to get it, even though my teenage daughter had the book in her hands the day it was released. Call me weird, but I'm attached to the voice of Ilyana Kadushin as Bella. I really wanted to hear the finale in the voice that has now become the voice of Bella. To me, anyway.

    So they finally got it, and I'm about 3 hours from the end. I predicted a lot of it before the book was released, but I'm really happy with all the little twists and turns I didn't expect. I haven't been able to put it down long!

    As for all the Midnight Sun drama, I'm really disappointed. I'm refusing to read the pirated copy, with the hopes that she will change her mind and finish it. :(

    shoppe talk


    I've posted the first of the sneak peeks on the a5d Blog! I will be introducing each of the new designers with a little peek of their products every day until we open (on Friday!). So go check out my post on Amanda Resende! She will be amazing :)

    Cheers!

    Friday, September 12, 2008

    {colors}

    such is life


    Ah....life is good. Busy, but good. It seems that every year as the kids get older, there's just more and more things we have to do. Guitar lessons on Monday. Dance on Tuesday. Dance and choir practice on Thursday. Dentist appointments, hair appointments, doctor appointments, orthodontist appointments. Plus time in between for homework, dinner, grocery shopping. Must. find. way. to. get. organized. Housecleaning has never been a priority of mine! LOL

    The temperatures are starting to drop here just a bit. The light is starting to take on that autumnal cast. I love autumn, but I will miss the summer, my favorite season. Thankfully, it's still hot enough to enjoy the new pool! One of our favorite times to swim is at night, though. We all take an hour out of our schedules to get out there as a whole family and splash around. I'm sure our neighbors love the noise!

    We have color changing LED lights in the pool that just look SO cool at night! It has 12 different programs we can set. We like the one that slowly goes through all the colors. I took this photo of Helen at night, using my timer. I just set it on the patio table and let it take a photo on a slow shutter speed:

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    I also managed to catch some of the other colors:

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    We hope to have a few more weeks of swimming left. I will miss the pool, but I am excited to start decorating for Halloween!

    Alex was invited to his first birthday party! A friend of mine has 3 boys, 2 of which are close to Alex's age (2 and 5). When the middle one turned 5 last week, Alex got to go roast hot dogs and make s'mores. He's still a bit shy, so we take advantage of all the social occasions we can! Here are the 3 younger boys on the couch after a day of swimming:

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    Ed and his dad have been building a gazebo over the patio in the back. It will act as our own kind of "pool house." I call it the "pagoda," 'cuz I'm weird like that, and I like to have my own little names :p (also, it looked like a pagoda when they built the frame, so their is logic behind my craziness). I'll be sure to take an after photo when we get the bluestone laid on the patio. In the meantime, here's an interesting one I caught of Ed (doesn't he have the sexiest legs???):

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    While they worked, I blew bubbles with Alex. Caught this gem. My favorite photo to date, I think. Well, maybe.

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    Cooler weather always makes me want to go work in the garden. I'm getting my list of autumn garden chores together for a free weekend. Hopefully before winter! I noticed I had a water lily in the pond the other day:

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    Lots of cleaning up, dividing, and moving to do out there.

    That pretty much catches up all the life stuff lately. Now, on to bigger news!

    shoppe talk


    ah! Designs is upgrading! I'm being joined by some awesome new designers at our new home:



    Our grand opening celebrations will be starting REAL soon, so stay tuned for details. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to get the latest news in your inbox, and bookmark the blog where we will soon be showing some sneak peeks! We are all very excited, and we can't wait.

    It's after 5. No more work. It's playtime!

    Cheers!

    Friday, September 5, 2008

    {a little peek...}

    ...at what I've been up to!





    Cheers!

    {totally forgot...}

    That I was tagged!

    Both Amy and Jennifer gave me this:

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    I suppose I have to keep this going. So, here are the rules:

    1. If you've been tagged, you can put the logo on his/her blog.
    2. Link the person from whom you received the award.
    3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
    4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
    5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.

    Therefore, I tag:

    Catherine
    Mabel
    Camila
    Joyce

    and that's all, because everyone else on my list has already been tagged!

    Cheers!