Country Livin'

by Holly

I LOVE 3 day weekends!  This past weekend was no exception.  We kicked off the festivities with the Western Days Parade in beautiful Valley Center.  Now this is country living at it's finest.  My husband was raised there on an avocado ranch, and every year they parade VC's finest down the 1 main street in town.  I like to think I live in the country, but where I live is big city compared to VC.  The best part was that we got to spend a lot of time with our family.  My boys got to play with all their cousins and we all had a great time.

Of course we had to start the day with the local pancake breakfast.  Nothing like eating your breakfast in the parking lot of Ellie's Country Lace.  But they were seriously yummy pancakes, so NO ONE was complaining.  

The bummer part of the day was that the main reason for going to the parade is because my father-in-law drives one of his old cars in the parade with all the grandkids inside.  Unfortunately, his car broke down on the way to the parade so we had to settle for sitting on the sidelines this year.  Still fun!

We saw lots of horses, homemade floats being hauled behind tractors, school bands, firetrucks, clowns in busses (yikes), and all the local girl and boy scouts.  I didn't grow up here, but it is fun to watch my husbands family recognize and talk to many of the people going by.  They tell stories about how they know them and grew up with them.  Ah, small towns.



 And how can you not melt when you see this pretty one in her pigtails and pink cowgirl boots...

Next year I WILL wear cowgirl boots!!!  Gotta find some first, but I WILL wear them.











So, I hope you all had a great weekend.  I hope you got to spend some special time with your friends and family.  And I hope you got to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day.  For me, my weekend was summed up in this moment...

Simple, beautiful.  My boys carrying the flag to hang outside our house. Thank you to ALL of the men and women of our armed forces who work hard so that we can enjoy pancake breakfasts, pink cowgirl boots, and country livin'.  Happy Tuesday everybody!

POLL: Boy or Girl

by Mollie

  My husband R and I have decided not to find out if this baby is going to be a boy or girl.   We did the same thing when I was pregnant with Zoie and it was a really fun adventure.  Some of our family aren't so happy with us because they want to know but we are sticking to it and refusing to find out.

 

  So I decided it might be fun to start a poll for those of you who read our blog.  But here are some facts that you need to know first.  My due date is June 23rd so I officially have 24 days left... not that I'm counting or anything!  Zoie only came 1 day early and she was 7lbs 13 oz at birth.  Here are some pictures of my belly so you can get a good idea of what we're working with. :)

 Here is how the poll works... 

 1.) Follow the blog

 2.) leave your comment here with what you think the gender of the baby is, the date the baby will be born, and the weight of the baby

3.) as soon as we know the facts you will receive an email with a coupon code!

  The 3 people with the closest guess will receive 15% off in our shop!

  Its crazy to think that the little baby is almost here.  I am busy nesting (reorganizing every closet in the house), washing newborn clothes (the gender neutral ones that I have), and taking naps (sleeping through the night isn't an option any more).  I can't wait to meet our new little baby!

Blessings...

New Items in our SHOP!!

by Mollie

We finally have new items in our shop! Lots of fun stuff for you gals out there, headbands, crocheted headbands, necklaces, and tons of fun pins and clips.

Blue flowered Headband

Summer colors flowered headband

Girlie Pink Flowered Headband

   We have lots of crocheted headbands in stock now! They are super comfortable to wear because they tie around your noggin...no pinching or pulling and you can wear them all day without a headache! We have a lot of fun colors and more colors coming soon.

Crocheted Headband

   Also just stocked up on Ruffle Necklaces.  A cute pop of color and fabric for your wardrobe.  Always dresses up my mommy uniform of jeans, tank-top, and a sweater. (hehe)

Coral and Pink Ruffle Necklace

Orange and Teal Ruffle Necklace

  Last thing we added are a TON of flower clips.  Cute vintage inspired fabric flowers backed with an alligator clip gives you tons of options on how you want to wear them! Attached to a headband, straight in your hair to dress up a pony tail or french twist, or clipped onto your favorite sweater to add some swagger! 

Vintage fabric flower pin

  Go check out our shop! We are so excited to share our new creations with all of you!!

Blessings!

Carnival Days.

by Holly

Hey everyone! Summer is almost here (at least in San Diego) and carnival season is upon us. This last weekend was no exception. My sons' school had their annual carnival and I just had to join in on the fun. The theme this year was "Stars and Stripes: A Tribute to America." Our community has a lot of military families in it and we wanted to honor them. So that is exactly what we did. The entire carnival was decorated with red, white, and blue and it was such a perfect day.

We got the giant balloons at Party City. They were so festive!

One of the fun things we offered was a photo booth. Now this could have been taken 2 ways. First of all, it was a fun backdrop for friends to be silly together. Second it was a fantastic opportunity for families to have a professional quality photo taken for just tickets (carnival tickets, that is).
So, of course my family had to get in on the fun.

Little man can't not make a silly face. This pic is sooo him! And I'm just trying to avoid getting my eye poked out by Lady Liberty's spiky crown.

The photographer was a friend of mine. Check her out at nikkicrockettphotography.blogspot.com. (Sorry, for some reason linking is not working for me right now, so we're goin' old skool) She took some great pics and then simply e-mailed them to whomever was in the photo. So great! We were also able to get the amazing backdrop donated from Jolene at SagebrushSerendipity, which was fabulous! She offers some great photo backdrops at fantastic prices. Check out her etsy site, etsy.com/shop/sagebrushserendipity. When she found out the purpose of our carnival she really wanted to show her support and we are so thankful. Throw in some fun photo props and we were ready to go.

Here it is all set up and waiting for some fun family to jump on in. Thanks to my good friend, Courtney, for letting us borrow her white couch. Gutsy move girl!
It was such a fun day and we were able to raise money for the school and honor our military families. Yay for carnivals!

YeLLoWMeDaiSY also had a booth at the carnival. We didn't sell much since families were there to have fun, not shop. But that means that we have tons of stuff that we will be listing on our etsy site in the next few days. We've got a bunch of our roll and go carmats in fun new fabrics and Mollie has been working on some super cute ruffle necklaces. So check back with us in the next few days.
Happy Thursday!

Simple Prayer Sticks

by Mollie

  Each night when we go to sleep we pray with Zoie.  We always thank God for keeping us safe and we like to pray for our family.  A good friend gave us the idea of making her prayer sticks and I have finally gotten around to doing it.  Its a simple concept...put pictures of your friends and family that you would like your child to pray for and have them pick one stick each night and pray for that person.
   Zoie LOVES to say all the names of her family and we loved the idea of spending time in prayer for each special person in our lives.

  The craft itself is pretty self explanatory....
    Step #1 - print off pictures
    Step #2 - cut them out.  You could choose to back them on cute scrapbooking paper or laminate them.  I was in a hurry so I just cut them out.  I would love to embellish them later.
   Step #3 - attach them to craft sticks with either glue or tape.
  Step #4 - put them in a can or jar for your little one to take one out each night.  I am going to put mine in an old mason jar and make it cute with some ribbon or something.

  

I can't wait to start using these with Zoie tonight! I know its going to make our bed time even more special.  God is so good to give us such a loving family and now we get to teach our little daughter how to pray.  Hope you are all having a great week.

Blessings!

The doctor is in.

The stuffed animal doctor, that is.  Now I am not a fan of stuffed animals, but they seem to creep into the house anyway.  When big man was born, we were given an insane amount of cute little stuffies.  At first, they were cute, but now they have overrun the boys beds and can create quite a headache in keeping up with their maintenance.  Yes, they require maintenance.  Most of which centers around the constant washing of these imaginative little creatures.  By the time little man came around, we kept him to 3 stuffies in his bed and that is it!  I am sticking to it.
So, after our recent camping trip, big man noticed a hole in his most prized stuffie (a snake).  That discovery has forced all injured, maimed, and tattered stuffies to be accounted for and my job has begun.

Don't they look pathetic (this isn't even all of them)?   And so, because I love my children (not necessarily the stuffies) I WILL spend today replacing stuffing, cutting loose threads, and patching holes.  And the look on the boys faces when they get home from school and realize that mom actually did what she said she would do weeks ago, will be thanks enough.  Until next time, when all my patients return and I start all over again.
How are you spending your Tuesday?  Hope you have the chance to cross something off your to-do list and make someone's day special as well.

Simple Basket Liner

by: Holly

This past weekend, I joined my boys on our church's annual camping trip (I say that I "joined" them because this hasn't always been the case).  It was a great weekend of hanging out with great friends and enjoying the beautiful outdoors.
That being said... it was SO much work!  Camping is a tough job, especially when you've got to get everything ready to go, AND everything re-ready to enter your house after it is over.  There is still a mound of campfire smelling laundry blocking our garage door.  (Next week I'll get to it.  I promise.  Just hop over it.)
So what does this have to do with a simple basket liner, you ask?  Well, in the "putting everything back together" stage after we got home, my husband decided to do a little garage cleaning before the camper, once again, blocked an entire section of shelving in our garage.  He found 2 baskets full of old VHS tapes (remember them?).  Now the tapes themselves will be finding good homes elsewhere, but the baskets were emptied and left by the back door.  In my never ending search for great storage, I thought maybe I could spruce them up a bit to store fabric in.  Here is the solution that I came across...

Super easy basket liner.  Here is what you need if you want to make one...

A basket (duh)
fun fabric (how much depends on the dimensions of your basket)
measuring tape
scissors
hole punch
coordinating ribbon
*optional- I chose to coat my fabric with vinyl so that I could just wipe it clean if I needed to.  You can also find some cool oil cloth out there that would save you this step.
iron-on vinyl
iron

First, you need to measure the inside of your basket, up the sides, and add about 8 inches for the fabric to hang over the sides of the basket.

You want to cut a strip of fabric lengthwise and a strip of fabric widthwise, so measure both ways.  Then you cut your two strips of fabric.

At this point, I laminated my fabric following the package instructions.  Another nice thing about laminating it, is that you can trim the edges nice and neat and you don't need to worry about fraying or hemming.
Next, I layered the fabric in my basket.  Width piece across the bottom and over the sides and length piece over the top of that with the edges hanging over the front and back of the basket.

 Then I used my hole punch to punch holes about an inch up from the bottom of the fabric at the corners.

Then I put the ribbon through the holes and tied a bow at each corner.

Here is the finished product in her place of honor, the laundry room...

Now this may not be exactly the use that my husband intended for these baskets.  But they're pretty, simple, and practical.  And after a weekend of camping, they bring me joy in this little room that I will be spending A LOT of time in for the next few days... or weeks... or however long it takes me to get that smell out of our clothes.  Happy Tuesday everybody!

Cleanliness

by Mollie

If cleanliness is next to godliness then i'm in big trouble.  I would love to be one of those stay at home moms that always has their house put together but no matter how hard I try I am CONSTANTLY falling short!!!

Sometimes I fantasize about having a magic fairy (or housekeeper) to come clean my bathroom and put away the laundry but then I come back to reality.

I am just not a naturally clean person, clutter and mess seem to follow me wherever I go (guess that goes back to me being a free spirit...check out this post) Thank goodness R is not a naturally clean person either and has sympathy and patience with me.  Now that I am in my 3rd trimester I totally have the nesting bug and want EVERYTHING to be neat and organized but the energy bug has not bittten me yet because I get about 45% into the project and tucker out.  I do still get a thrill out of new cleaning products although most of the time they sit under my kitchen sink.

.  Now don't get me wrong...we don't live in a pig sty and Hoarders (if that show doesn't motivate you to get off your bottom and clean i dont know WHAT will!!)  isn't going to be knocking on my door anytime soon..I'm talking about dust and dishes and toys and stuff that is ALWAYS around!  Lets just say  my house does NOT look like this...

or this...

or this...

Anyone else struggling with envy right about now?!?

  So i decided to get my act together and try a new cleaning regiment.  I stumbled upon a GREAT blog, Clean Mama,  that I have been following for awhile and decided to invest in some of her printables to get me going.   I have them printed out and on my refrigerator door.

 They are already helping me have a daily regiment of a few simple tasks to keep our home in tip top shape.  They say it takes 2 weeks to build a habit and only 3 days to break it.  So here is to building my habit and making my cleaning attitude go from this...

to this... 

If I can be any encouragement to you about keeping your house clean then take it! otherwise pray for me! :)

Blessings. 

  

Big Bowling Birthday!

I like alliterations.  They make things easy.  So, along with the QBM this weekend, it was also my Big Man's 9th birthday on Saturday.  (insert sigh here)  When did he get so old while my age has stayed exactly the same?  Strange, I know.  Now, I LOVE birthdays.  I tend to go all out with whatever theme they decide upon, much to my husband's dismay.  Knights, pirates, trains, even polka dots.  You name it, I have done it.  But it gets trickier as they get older.  Now it is no longer about the theme and more about the fun, cool factor.  So that is where bowling came in.  I am so glad that bowling is making a comeback.  It is such a fun and inexpensive thing to do with kids.  Perfect for our family.  Big man got to pick a few friends, we loaded them up in our "tank" and we were off.

Oh my goodness, they had a great time!

We ordered a pitcher of root beer and a bucket of tater tots to snack on (served in a cool galvanized bucket), the gutter bumpers were up, and they were good to go.  It was such a simple thing to do, but Big Man came up to me in the middle of it all and told me thank you, that he loved me, and that this was his funnest birthday ever.  Melts the heart!!!
And to top it all off, he got to go home with his own bowling pin. 

It was a great deal... $30 dollars for everyone's shoes, or buy the bowling pin for $20 and get the pin and all the shoes for free.  Fantastic!  (Ask your local bowling alley if they have a deal like that.  They are always trying to find ways to get rid of old pins and the local police department can only take so many for target practice.)  My husband wrote "Happy 9th Birthday" on it with a sharpie (once we got home) and we are going to have all the boys sign it.  And now it sits proudly in his room.
This could not have turned out better, and the important thing was the Big Man felt celebrated for the great kid that he is.  Pure, simple, fun.  Now I have to start thinking about next year. :)

BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe

by Mollie

Taking a little break from crafting today on the blog and thought I would "spice" it up with a family recipe that is always a hit! This is my families favorite meal! My hubby R would be pretty content if I made this 4 nights a week... i can't blame him, its pretty delicious.  I made it the other day because its super easy to double and I was bringing a meal to a friend and her family. 

Start with bacon (always a good start)  Chop up 5 slices and put in a skillet with a drop of olive oil over medium high heat to crisp up.  (there is more in the picture because i doubled the recipe)

Once the bacon is crisp remove with a slotted spoon and put on a plate with paper towel to absorb any extra grease.  

Add 1/4 of a chopped red onion ( i would add 1/2 of an onion but R is not a big fan so I lessen the amount).  Allow the onion to get translucent and sweet. 

Once onion is cooked add 2 cups of chopped chicken.  ( i cheated and bought precooked chicken...3rd trimester makes me NOT want to cook)  

  Allow the chicken to get warm and absorb the flavor, i like to add some pepper to add some more flavor.  Add some bbq sauce (i don't have exact measurements, its more a feeling).  Add bacon back to the mixture and stir it up.

Spread out the pizza dough and spread a light layer of bbq sauce over the dough. 

Add your chicken mixture and spread around.

Put a thick layer of mozzarella cheese on top and garnish with cilantro.

At this point I covered one in foil and added baking directions for my friend.  

If you are keeping the pizza for yourself (which i highly recommend) then preheat your oven to 425 degrees and bake for 13 - 17 min until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.  

I hope you like it, Z normally eats it up faster than anything else I put on her plate.  ENJOY!!!