Sunday, July 31, 2011

Diving into a bowl of cherries

I love eating cherries, but I normally don't get them because they're quite pricey.  Imagine my delight when today's paper showed cherries on sale!

Horray!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

OMG(litter)

Look at Crafty Chica's diy floor.  Isn't it amazing?
It's time for a dance party!

Maybe one day I too could have a girly, glittery room.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Circus Smirkus

Here's a confession:  I dislike clowns.

I find them quite scary.  They like playing tricks on you.  They wear garish clothing.  They have oddly proportioned bodies.  Plus, they wear tons of greasepaint, so I can never tell what they actually look like.


Yet, even this self proclaimed "clown-aphobe"* couldn't help but feel inspired by Sam Ferlo's story.  He's a 14 year old clown-in-training who wants to follow in his dad's very large footsteps. (See this NY Times article for info and photo.) 

Perhaps they're not scary after all?

If you're in the New England area, you can see Sam and other talented kids performing here.
 
* The official term describing a fear of clowns is coulrophobia

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Strawberry cupcakes

I'm off to attend a baby girl's birthday party.  Luckily I don't have to travel too far because her mom lives in my building.  

6 strawberry cupcakes for 6 months of life.  Happy birthday!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Goodbye, friend!

Our friend left yesterday morning and I miss her.  Here are some photos from our adventures together:

Hubby riding an old bike at the Grand Rapids Public Museum

Light fixture from the haunted Felt Mansion

Grand Haven's musical fountains

Doll display from Grand Rapids Public Museum

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Three cheers...



Photobucket
for beaches, sunsets, and good friends!


Note:  Thanks friend for making this .gif for me!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Hand painted onesies

Yesterday, friend and I went to a onesie painting party.  Below are the lovely hand painted goodies that the ladies made for Baby Chuck Norris.

Click to see captions

Friday, July 22, 2011

Crane's Pie Pantry

Luckily today was cooler and we got a chance to take our guest around town.  We stopped by this cute restaurant and had a bite to eat.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Windmill Island

Yesterday hubby, friend, and I ventured out into the 90 degree heat to visit Windmill Island.

We wanted to trek to the windmill, but a wall of heat held us back.

So we took a couple photos and cooled off at nearby Barnes and Nobles.

Today we're going to just stay inside and enjoy the ac.  Stay cool everyone!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Early morning tai-chi and muffins

Sometimes baby Chuck Norris likes to do early morning tai-chi.  Today I woke up to his shuffling hands and feet and couldn't fall back sleep.  Since I was already up, I decided to bake some strawberry and banana muffins.  

Does anyone know how to get a muffin top?

They ended up being tasty and moist, but the strawberries took on a strange fleshy texture (yuck).  Next time I'll try using blueberries instead.  

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Guess who?

Today we picked up a friend from the airport.  She'll be staying with us for a week.  I'm very excited!  Can you guess who she is?

Hint:  These toes have known each other since  the 1st grade!

Monday, July 18, 2011

RIP Tom 1

Sadly, when Tom's red exterior,
Spoke of his flav'ry interior,
My hand had to act,
The fruit I did snatch,
And I savored his taste so superior.  


Saturday, July 16, 2011

Orange you glad? I am!

Whoa!  I think Tom 1 is going through tomato puberty.  He's looking more and more like a mature tomato!  (Here's a photo of Tom 1 and a tomato that I purchased from the grocery store.)

*Sigh*  He's growing up too fast.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Charlie Potter

As this post goes up, hubby and I are at the midnight showing of the last Harry Potter movie.  Although Charlie couldn't join us, he donned his Harry Potter spectacles to mark the end of the series.


Thursday, July 14, 2011

Feeling crabby?

A couple of weeks ago, hubby and I spotted a used travel changing pad at the thrift store.  It looked just like this one:


We didn't purchase it because it was a already stained.  But, the idea of using a cute patterned changing pad stayed with me.  So, when hubby bought a sewing machine, I suggested an idea for his first sewing project.  Here's how hubby sewed baby Chuck Norris's changing pad:
   
First, we picked out the fabric.

Then, hubby followed this blog's directions and sewed this pad.

"It's soft to the bum.  Four paws of approval."   

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Check

We just finished putting away the Baby Chuck Norris's clothes.  Hooray!  .

Inside this dresser (mod podged with wrapping paper) lies a ton of gifted outfits... thank you!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Scrabble baby decor

The area above Baby Chuck Norris's crib was looking a little bare, so I decided to decorate it.  I wanted to put up something fun and not too heavy (just in case it fell and bopped baby on the head.)  After wandering through the craft store aisles, I finally decided on this homage to Scrabble:

12 points! (Hmm... was I subconsciously inspired by this book?)

Oh the wonders of card stock, cardboard, and ModPodge!

Friday, July 8, 2011

A deck full of Toms

Perhaps the curse of my black thumb is being lifted?  Not only is my deck tomato plant still alive, it's actually growing more tomatoes!  During a routine watering, I spotted three new tomatoes.

A tiny Tom 3 grows above Tom 1 and Tom 2.

And if you look up higher, you can see tinier Tom 4 and tiniest Tom 5.  Can you spot them?


If all goes well, we just might have enough for a salad (by August)...  

Thursday, July 7, 2011

One store, many stories

"It would not just be items mingled, but also stories."  ~Masamichi Tohyam

I recently watched this Etsy video on this blog.  I loved the store owner's sense of style and philosophy.  Second hand items have history and it's neat that you can uncover part of their stories at his store.  Enjoy!


There's No Place Like Here: Pass The Baton from Etsy on Vimeo.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Independence day images

Hubby and I celebrated 4th of July with some friends. 

We ate a delicious grilled meal. 

Then we sat outside and watched the fireworks. 

Some fireworks were patriotic red, white, and blue.

Others were shot so high, it felt like we were contacting aliens.

These reminded me of funny deep sea creatures.

These look like dandelions set aflame.

I also tried out sparklers for the first time.  I loved them.

Hope you had a wonderful July 4th too!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy July 4th!

Here are two photos of Charlie wearing his new patriotic bandana.

Mom!  I'm not ready for my photo yet!
That's better.  Happy July 4th!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Transportation

I keep listening to this piece of music over and over again. Somehow it transports me somewhere else. I'm not sure where this place is, but it's a place more beautiful and more hopeful than here.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Cheering up

I found this video on a friend's blog and couldn't stop laughing.  There's something about exaggerated dance movements and hammer pants that brightens my day.  Enjoy!