Weekly Photo Wrap-Up: Spring Fling

I totally get why some people suffer from seasonal depression. I personally don't, but the onset of all the wonderful spring weather always makes me so much happier and I begin to realize how much I've been looking forward to being outdoors again. I just love all the clean air, budding flowers and rainy mornings. It's a constant reminder of the new life that spring brings each year.

I've been forcing my kids to go outside as much as possible. Actually, they've been forcing me more than anything. From the moment they're up in the morning, they beg to go outside and don't seem to get why the neighbors wouldn't appreciate their loud yelling at 7AM. We've been going for walks, playing at local parks, and just hanging out in the backyard playing hide and seek. It's so cute, Haley is the worst at hide and seek. She makes all kinds of noise when she goes to hide and when she gets impatient, which takes like 10 seconds, she'll tell you where she is. I love it.

Shannon and I have also been looking forward to these warmer evenings so we can run outside to train for the upcoming 5K that we're both running in! If you remember back to our New Year's resolutions post, it's something we both have been wanting to do. It's a first for both of us, so we're excited (and a little nervous!)

How about you, has spring sprung in your neck of the woods? What are you looking forward to?

LIVE: An Outfit & Some Shopping!

Let me first start by saying that I spent a good 20 minutes putting this post together before blogger had a brain fart and deleted the entire thing. So now I'm writing this again and I'm annoyed!  But, I'll get over it quickly. No biggie! 

Last weekend it was sooooo warm.  Pittsburgh's had a cold cold winter (not much snow, but lots of cold).  The sunshine and warmth was so welcomed.  We decided to take full advantage of it by waking up early, hitting an estate sale, our favorite antique mall and then onto lunch at our favorite french cafe and some small local shopping.  We ended the day with a movie and then pretty much passing out.  It was so exhausting!  We had a blast, though.  And of course, like any good blogger, I was snapping photos like a crazy tourist so I could share them all with you!  I'm hoping that you all see how awesome Pittsburgh is so you will want to come visit!  (is it working??)

outfit details:
top: Everlane
jacket: XXI
pants: Calvin Klein
scarf: I have no idea who made it, I bought it at a farm. Seriously!
crossbody & sunnies: Marc by Marc Jacobs
We're going out saling again this weekend and I can't wait!  It's the best way to get me out of bed on a Saturday and keep me productive.  I usually come back from saling with so much inspiration and lots of projects in mind!  So stay tuned!



Disney Recap and What The Heck Are We Going To Do About Google Reader??

The cyber world is buzzing with the news that Google Reader is being vaporized.  So, what do we do? There are 3 easy solutions to keep following eat.sleep.make. if you rely on Google Reader.

1. Bloglovin - Just another reader
2. Facebook - We always link to new blogposts via our FB page
3. Subscribe via email - get our posts emailed directly to you

You can find links for all 3 of these in our right sidebar.  I, personally, prefer actually visiting the blogs.  I connect through our Blog Love page.  Nothing really beats seeing the beautiful designs of the actual blogs.  

Hopefully, this very strange change being issued doesn't shake any of you too much.  Fortunately, there are so many great ways to stay connected nowadays.  

Now onto the fun stuff!  I spent last week in Disney with my husband, mom and aunt.  We had a blast!  Well, other than me being sick 5 out of the 8 days.. I didn't let that stop me from having fun, though!

We were fortunate enough to stay at the brand new Art of Animation resort.  It was simply amazing!!!

Panoramic view from hotel room.

I fell in love for the first time with Hollywood Studios.  I never cared for it before, but this time around that all changed.  I adored the Pixar Parade the most!  (And we went on Star Tours 4 times.  I'm a nerd.)

Top Right:  On the way to Disney!  Bottom Right:  Building a Droid in the Star Wars gift shop!  Bottom Left:  Sick in Epcot trying to keep myself together.  :(

Epcot kicked off their annual International Flower and Garden Show.  The topiaries were amazeballs!  Plus, all the countries in World Showcase had special menus and kiosks for the event.  I highly recommend making your way there some year for the show!

Needless to say, I was happy to get home.  We had fun, but I had had enough of the crowds and craziness.  And I missed my animals!  We've decided next year we're going somewhere tropical and for grown-ups only.. maybe St. Lucia??  Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm feeling mucho refreshed now, though, and so ready to create things!  Happy Friday!!

Love is a Plate of Chicken Wings

1. The foam block pit  2. Jumping on the trampoline

3. Treasures found on a nature walk  4. Playground graffiti (I love how someone scratched "poop")

1. Hot chocolate on a cold day  2. Connor "helped" put the dishes away

3. Mustache fabric!  4. Bob the Builder in the rice table

Valentine's Day is gone and we're onto the next holiday I guess. We were in Walmart last night, and they already had the Easter aisle stocked. I have a certain soon-to-be-4-year-old's birthday to plan, I can't be thinking about Easter eggs yet! While at Walmart, I spotted a guy who most definitely forgot to get his girl a gift on Valentines Day. His arms were full of a roses, a stuffed animal, and he was browsing the boxes of chocolates. I bet he got an earful :)

So, how was your V-Day? For our Valentine's Day, my husband and I went to Hobby Lobby, then to Quaker Steak and Lube for chicken wings. When you have kids, any time spent sitting at dinner without having to yell, "Don't throw that on the floor again!" is a good night. There have been many occasions when my husband has surprised me with flowers and chocolates, but for one night, all I wanted was not to have to force feed anyone chicken fingers, fish crayons out of my son's nose, or apologize to my neighbors for excessive noise. Basically, it was the perfect night. I loved having alone time to spend with my husband and just talk.

Remember just talking? Yeah, it's good stuff.

Yes, the kids came up plenty, but there are many days when we both just collapse in bed at the end of the night without having any real conversation. It was nice to just date each other for a night over a plate of chicken wings.

Have a great weekend all!

Baby Dedication and Lots of Goings On

Happy Friday all!  So much has been going on lately, but when is that not the case??

As I'm sure some of you have noticed, Jen has been doing most of the posting lately.  (and her projects are AWESOME, so that's okay)...  But, I thought I'd give some explanation.  I'm in a rut.  A deep, seemingly never-ending creative rut.  I do plan on doing a more in depth post about this, probably in the next week or two, but I thought I owed you all a reason for my absence.  I'm fortunate enough to have a wonderful sister-in-law and blog partner who holds me up when things get rough.  She's been so encouraging and such a great support.  Hopefully, I'll find my way out of this creative abyss sometime soon. 

In the meantime, check out some of what has been going on.



Probably the best thing that has happened over the past few weeks was that this little guy got dedicated at church.  Flynn was born on 10-11-12 and I got to witness the whole bloody thing because my brother was across the city on a job when Lindi went into labor... he literally walked in the room 30 seconds after I cut the cord.  (despite my disgust, I gave in and cut it.. I couldn't let a stranger cut Flynn's cord!)  That's Flynn up there with his Great Aunt Laurie (my aunt).  He's the happiest, most pleasantly adorable baby I have ever seen.  It was so great to see his life being dedicated to God.. and having the whole family there to support.  I know there are amazing things in store for this little bug!

Cabin Fever (and Ideas to Beat It!)

1.You've got a sprinkle right there... 2.Dinner 

3.They love each other sometimes :) 4. Playing in the rice table

1.Finger painting 2.How many licks does it take to get to the center of the Blowpop?

3.Candied almonds 4.Biggest glasses ever

We're having some cabin fever at our house, and it's not helping that the weather seems to be confused. Yesterday and Monday it was in the 60's, and today it's snowing. How can I plan for this kind of weather?? One day we're out building snowmen and the next we're in shorts at the park. It's especially confusing for Haley who I have promised to take to the pool in the summer. How do you explain to your 3-year-old that the weather is a little bi-polar lately and while yes, we may be wearing shorts today, that doesn't mean it's summer yet because it's actually winter and it's supposed to be 27 and snowy tomorrow?

Sigh.

My kids are very active (they take after me, I can't sit still!) While that's great and all, a trip to the gym isn't exactly their idea of a good time. We've done finger painting, movies, made homemade playdough...but I'm starting to run out you guys. I may be crafty, but can I make a confession?

I suck at coming up with creative activities for my young children. Like, big time suck at it.

I only became a first time stay-at-home mom as of this past summer. Before that, my husband and I were very blessed to have on-site childcare at our office, so we were able to work while someone else watched our kids (and we got the added bonus of seeing them whenever we wanted to.) Now that I'm home full time, I'm finding it really difficult to come up with activities for two very active children under 5. So what am I to do? Go to Pinterest of course.

Here are some resources I found for indoor activities for those of us with bored kiddos:

10 fun ways to get their wiggles out - indoors from Circle of Moms

9 recipes for everything from Flubber to moon sand and window paint at Frugal Village 

 Snow painting at Really Quite Lucky (OK, this is an outdoor activity, but how fun is this?)

100 winter activities at Living Intentionally

Just a few of the many ideas out there to beat the winter blues. Hopefully some of the ideas will help you (and your kiddos) stay sane this winter!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nail Polish Shopping, Nike Fuelbands and Lots of Cute Animals!

 Happy Friday everyone!  We are so excited that it's the weekend!  Check out some photos from our week.  It was a fun one!

Weekly Photo Wrap-Up: Snow Days

Snow. We've had a lot of it recently and apparently there's more to come this weekend. I'm one of those wimps who loves how snow looks when it's freshly fallen, but I don't want to get any on me. I blame it on living in VA for most of my life where 1/2 inch of snow got school cancelled.

Those were the days.

This was the first "big snow" my kids have seen. As you can imagine, living in Tennessee previously meant very little snow (if any) so my kids were thrilled to go out and play in it. Well, Haley was anyway. As it turns out, Haley is just like my husband - the two of them were rolling around in the stuff making snow angels. Connor on the other hand sat with me on the sidelines trying to make sure the snow stayed on the ground where it should be, rather than in his socks or gloves. We were both happy with the arrangement until the snowballs started flying and I took one right to the face. I was pretty much done after that :)

How's the snow where you live?

A Lot of Everything in Photos!

To say the last month has been busy is an understatement.  It's been insane.  And to make it all just a little more crazy, I had to go and crack a tooth in half on New Year's Day at dinner.  It resulted in majorly painful surgery and might lead to even more surgery.  Happy 2013 to me! 

But, that's okay.  I'm focused on finished my sketchbook for the Art House Coop's Sketchbook Project by January 15th... (eek!), getting back to the gym, and attempting to get ahead on DIY projects.  So there is definitely more than enough going on to keep my mind from focusing on the pain in my face.

We also celebrated Jen's birthday this week!  I'll leave it up to her to decide whether or not she share's her age.

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!



Weekly Photo Wrap-Up: Christmas Parade

1. Connor and Papa  2. Fire truck

3. Marching band  4. Flag wavers

5. Green fire truck 6. Old car

7. Santa!  8. Haley and her candy cane

The big day is next week! I'm sure this weekend will be packed with present wrapping, last minute shopping, and lots of holiday parties for everyone. I haven't wrapped any presents yet, so you know what I'll be doing :)

We've had so many fun local events going on in our city lately. Have I mentioned how much I love my city? Pittsburgh is such a tight knit, family-focused city. There's always something to do here, especially during the holidays. We recently went to one of the local parades and the kids had a blast! There wasn't a lot to it, but nothing beats free hot chocolate and cookies and a parade of local bands, vintage cars and trucks. Connor was hooked on all of the fire trucks and old cars that went by. He's been really into toy cars lately, so it was really fun to see how amazed he was when he saw them in person!

Shannon and I will be taking a little break next week to celebrate Christmas and spend time with our family. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas holiday. May yours be filled with family, friends, and joy.

Giveaway Winner, Handmade Arcade & BE Taylor

What a week it's been!  Filled with craft shows, Christmas concerts and a giveaway!  Ready to wrap this thing up? We are!

Ladies and Gentlemen... the winner is....

Rebecca Godlove!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and all the new followers we've gathered.  We love you all and couldn't be more grateful for the support and encouragement you've all shown us since getting this blog started. 

Until the next giveaway.. which hopefully won't be too far away.. we've got some things in the works and we're excited to share!!



Weekly Photo Wrap-Up: Santa Claus is Comin'

Christmas is in full swing in our town. The weekend after Thanksgiving was over, it seems everyone has gotten in the Christmas spirit. Tons of houses in our neighborhood are decked out in Christmas lights, stores are playing carols over the speakers, and everyone is rushing around doing their Christmas shopping. This year, I got my act together and finished my shopping right before Thanksgiving. Most of my motivation came from wanting to avoid the crowds of holiday shoppers, but what I really wanted is to relax and actually enjoy the holiday season so that I can more appreciate moments like this one:

My daughter met Santa Claus and absolutely loved him! I actually had to tear her away because she was talking his ear off :) It isn't the first time she's sat on Santa's lap, but it's the first year that she's actually understood the concept of Santa Claus. I know a lot of families don't do the "Santa Claus thing," but I grew up with fond memories of Santa and the magic that he adds to the season, and my husband and I plan on continuing the tradition. Connor, on the other hand, wasn't too excited about the idea of sitting on a stranger's lap, even if he did offer gummies. That's probably a good fear to have ;)

So what did Haley ask for? My Little Ponies. I'm glad she's making it manageable for Santa this year!

1. Talking to Santa 2. Giant gingerbread house

3. Haley riding the train 4. Connor riding the train

In addition to meeting Santa, we also got peppermint milkshakes and went on a drive to see Christmas lights around the area a few nights ago. Every house, no matter how little or how many lights they had up, got an excited gasp from my kids. It's amazing to me that so many people have already decorated their houses! Pittsburgh is such a festive, family friendly town, and I'm so proud to be part of it. It's so refreshing to live in a town that really comes together to celebrate the holidays in a big way.

---------------------------------------

Don't forget, our Stuff Your Stockings handmade gift series starts up Monday with some great guest posters! We have some wonderful handmade ideas to share with you for the holidays.

Here's what else we did this week:

1. Magnetic Advent Calendar  2. Knight Birthday Party  3. Knight Invitations  4. DIY Knight Tunic

Weekly Photo Wrap-Up: Fall Fest and Preparing for Rosewood

1. Haley getting an elephant on her cheek 2. The obstacle course

3. Connor's first hayride 4. Leaves

This past weekend, the cold weather took a little vacation and the temps were in the 70's. I didn't want to waste what I was sure would be our last warm days in PA before winter rolls in, so a neighbor and I took our kids to a local fall festival. 

There were some indoor activities like crafting, cider tasting, and an indoor obstacle course that the kids all loved. There was also a beanbag toss where you could get candy if you made it in. Connor decided to bypass the game portion and went straight for the candy. Of course he won them over immediately and got his hands on several suckers. It's kinda hard to resist his little squishy face in front of you when he stands there begging, "Tandy?" over and over. And over. In other related news, our 8 1/2 pounds of Halloween candy is almost gone. Yeah, he hasn't been deprived of tandy at all.

5. Checking out the scarecrow 6. Silliness with friends

7. Enjoying a juice box on the hayride 8. Mastering the hay maze

Outside, we took the kids on their first hay ride. They both loved it, and I enjoyed watching how excited they were to wave at all the people as we passed by. It's wonderful observing these little moments in my kids' life and remembering how magical everything is at their age, even if it's just a hay ride to me.

9. Being a fire fighter! 10. Connor in the "big truck"

11. Trying to figure out how to work the horn 12. Future fire fighter?

We wrapped up our visit by checking out the big fire trucks and construction vehicles they had on display. Connor's just recently gotten into trucks, so he was overjoyed to be able to climb into them and press all of the buttons that we never let him touch. He figured out how to honk the horn on one of the trucks and it made his day.

All in all, it was the perfect way to celebrate the end of the warm days. Now, we're ready for snow!

Check out what we shared this week:

                           Harvest Napkin Rings                                       Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

Also if you're in the Mt. Lebanon area of Pittsburgh, be sure to come check out the Holiday Preview Party at Rosewood tonight! It's going to be a fun night of shopping, crafting and socializing. If you follow us on Facebook, you may have seen a little sneak peek of the trees we'll be making with all of the guests:

Shannon and I had a lot of fun making these together this past week, and we can't wait to show you how you can transform a few household materials into cute little Christmas trees for your holiday decor. We hope to see you there!