My Greenbrae Cottage

Dining Table refinish with Annie Sloan

2012-09-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen that commercial for Staples that ran in August and September a couple years ago, "It's the most wonderful time of the year..." with the kids going back to school and mom suddenly left with all this free time on her hands? Well, it's a bitter-sweet time for me with my babies off to kindergarten and my big guy in 3rd already. I won't ask where the time has gone, because I

No Waste Cut-Out Sandwiches

2012-02-14T11:39:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine’s Day!! For my kids’ lunches today I really wanted to make heart cut-out sandwiches. I’ve never made cut-out sammies before because of the waste factor. I didn’t want to just toss the extra bread and didn’t know what to do with it. But this morning I got a rocket scientist idea! I used the left overs to make Eggs in a Basket! Well, ok, it may not be rocket science after all, but

Melted Crayon Valentine Hearts

2012-02-03T20:56:00.001-08:00

Hi Friends! It’s hard to believe we are already into February. All of my kids are talking about Valentine’s Day at school so I surprised them the other day with a fun Valentine’s Day craft at home…a sneaky way for me to get more fun Valentine’s décor up in my house! This idea is far from new or original…in fact I got it from none other than Martha Stewart herself. None-the-less it’s a fun one!

So, how did I score?

2012-01-28T21:44:00.001-08:00

Hi there Friends! Gung Hay Fat Choy! With it being the Chinese New Year and all, I figured it would be a good time to revisit my House Goals from 2011 and see how I scored. And then, of course, set some new house goals for 2012! Ok, ok, give me a break…I guess I’m a month late on this whole goal setting thing, but it’s really never too late, is it? Ok, good. So last year for the first time I

Driftwood Mirror

2012-01-21T17:14:00.001-08:00

Oh hello there! Thanks for stopping by! Long time, no see. Last summer my kids and I gathered a garbage bag full of driftwood from the beaches of Oregon. I wasn’t quite sure how I’d use it, but I had plenty of ideas: driftwood star like Pottery Barn’s, a driftwood Christmas Tree like Restoration Hardware’s, a driftwood wreath like Cottage & Bungalow’s? I think they are all SUPER CUTE. But

What to do with a narrow window

2011-11-01T21:16:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends! Happy November! With only 2 months left of 2011, I figured I’d better see how I’m doing on my House Goals for 2011! I’m proud to share: I checked one off today!! Goal #11: Do something about those shutters in the master bedroom that got torn to pieces by the wild animal we live with. For a year these dingy, used-to-be-beige, half eaten shutters have been hanging in our bedroom.

Word Art

2011-09-19T22:11:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends! I am increasing intrigued & inspired by some of the wonderful word art I have been seeing around. There are so many many wonderful ideas all over the internet, but I came across this one locally last week. I love it as a whole and also love each of the little sayings on their own. Oh the possibilities! I have my eyes open for just the right medium on which to create my own! This

Spray Painting an Armoire Dresser

2011-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hi Fabulous Friends! Last year I picked up this great armoire/dresser off Freecycle and it cluttered sat in my garage for quite some time. Then a few weeks ago my brother moved into a new place and was in need of some more clothes storage. Enter: the dresser that has been living in my garage for a year! I had put off refinishing it as I didn’t really have a place for it to fit in my house.

A {nother} Fall Wreath

2011-09-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hi Y’all! Happy {almost} Fall! Ok, that was so cheesy I couldn’t resist! But seriously, there’s a crisp breeze in the air today, telling us fall is near. I LOVE it!!! As promised, I made another fall wreath for my front door. Do you recall the first one I made, almost solely out of burlap? If not, you can see how I made it here. But alas, I wasn’t totally satisfied with how it looked against

A Fall Wreath

2011-08-29T22:04:00.001-07:00

Hi friends! School is in full swing around here, so that means I only have my twin girls home with me full time! With so much extra time on my hands, it’s time to ramp up my projects around here, don’t cha think? No Bon Bons or soaps for this mama. I took a look at my 2011 House Goals and realized one easy I have left is to paint my son’s room. I need to get on that. So I’m in the impossible

Potato & Egg Salad: Cooking with kids!

2011-08-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hi-ya! As you read this, my family is off camping for one last summer hurrah before school starts {this Thursday!} We tried to make meals very easy, so we prepared as much ahead of time as we could. The day before we left, my girls and I made potato salad. Since many people seemed interested in ways to incorporate kids in cooking, I thought I’d share some more ideas! We’ll start with the

Twin Girls’ Bedroom Tour

2011-08-17T23:19:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends! Starting this week, I am going to give you a tour of my house, or at least most of it {there are a few spaces you just don’t wanna see.} Today we’ll begin in my twin girls’ bedroom cause there’s too much pink and sweetness to resist…also it’s next in line for a make-over, so I want to show you before it changes! By Christmas their room will hold 2 twin beds {somehow?? haven’t

Quick Curb Appeal Project

2011-08-14T18:17:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends! I sure have missed you!! What a crazy busy summer we’ve had!! Super fun, but no time to blog. I’m not sure how moms with young kids are able to blog all summer. My hat goes off to all those mom blogs I’ve continued to follow during the dog days of summer. It’s camp “mom” around here…my 3 kids have been with me 24/7 all summer, as well as our cone-headed doggie. Don’t get me

Beachy Hostess Gift

2011-07-19T11:19:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends! Wow, here we are full-fledge into summer. I’ve missed you! I almost forgot I had a blog for a while. Does anyone else feel like summer is the most challenging busiest time of the year as a mom? {It’s camp mom around here!} A good friend of mine recently said, “Summer vacation was clearly not created by a mother of 3.”Cheers to that! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been having TONS

"Whole Package" Protein Packed Lentil Couscous Salad

2011-06-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

Hi-ya friends!Ok, I guess I spoke too soon in my last post about summer officially being here because all the rains were gone....it POURED today... a full-on winter storm in N. Cali...what's up? I have 3 new cans of spray paint sitting on my porch feeling neglected! I don't know if this happens to you, but a lot of times when we get working on a project, we get so involved that we sometimes

Fourth of July Rag Wreath

2011-06-23T16:35:00.001-07:00

Hi and Happy Summer! It’s officially summer and has finally stopped raining in N. Cal, Yay!! I have been sooo wrapped up in my master bedroom remodel, I have been neglecting the {kids, cooking, laundry, bathrooms} rest of the house/decorating for summer. Then I saw this rag wreath the other day on Twin Dragonfly Designs and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I loved coming home every

Been to Costco lately?

2011-06-21T22:43:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends! Long time, no see posts…I know, I KNOW! So sorry. I have a million excuses for why you haven’t heard from me and could dedicate an entire post to all each of them {the last week of school, graduations, end of year parties, my new smart phone, a 2nd dog to take care of, daily swimming lessons, oh and did I forget to mention, a TON of work spent on my master bedroom!} But I won’t bore

If You Give a Room New Floors…

2011-06-12T23:10:00.001-07:00

Ok, those of you with kids…have you heard of the series of books by Laura Numeroff: If You Give a Pig a Pancake or If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? Well, that’s what happened around here this weekend! {If you haven’t heard of the books, basically it’s a comical sequence of events that follow “naturally” from one simple action.} So do you remember how we started refinishing the hardwood floors in

Happy First Birthday!

2011-06-08T16:14:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends and Family!! Today marks the 1 year anniversary of my first ever blog post!I started this blog one year ago today to chronicle the renovation of my master bathroom….and today I was all set to post the absolute final “After” post of the master bath {you know, the “Studs-to-Spa-in-3-weeks- bathroom”}…but I’m not quite finished {that 3 week deadline came and went so fast!} But really

Picture of the Day {bet you’ve never seen THIS!}

2011-06-07T13:51:00.001-07:00

Need an explanation? I am dusting the cobwebs off the ceiling of my master bedroom, getting it ready to be painted. Wanna see more craziness? This is my “bedroom”, aka the playroom. Do you like the window coverings? My attempt to block the street light from spotlighting us all night. Sheesh! My kids think it’s the coolest fort mommy has ever built. Here’s the playroom from another angle…

Happy Birthday Cupcakes!

2011-06-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends and Happy June 3! I’ve been meaning to tell you about my favorite kitchen specialty gadget for quite a while and just haven’t gotten around to it. Well, today is my your lucky day! I mean, it’s my lucky day too…I’m having a little birthday party for myself and inviting my 8 favorite preschoolers. {You see, I participate in a preschool homeschool program and today is my day to host

Sneak Peek this Week

2011-05-31T17:41:00.001-07:00

Hi friends! I hope you enjoyed your long weekend and that you had a bit more sun than we did in California. But not to worry, we didn’t let the rain stop us:Do you know what you are looking at? This is my husband working in our front courtyard on the crown molding for our master bathroom. {Maybe the courtyard should be a project in and of itself in the near future, ya think?!}That umbrella is

My “Whole Package” Greek {protein packed} Orzo Salad

2011-05-28T14:06:00.001-07:00

Hi and Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Yay! My family will be BBQ-ing with friends twice this weekend {we’re just pretending it’s not STILL raining here in Nor Cal, seriously?} ……so in the spirit of efficiency, I am going to serve the same dish 2 days in a row! I have been playing around with Orzo Pasta lately, and have created a few dishes that ended up being hits! Today I’ll share my “Whole

Beachy Mantel Details {summer mantel}

2011-05-26T07:33:00.001-07:00

Oh, this is just too exciting! I’m gearing up for my first ever mantel linky party! When I first started blogging last year, I didn’t know what a linky party was and I didn’t have a mantel. Since then I’ve done quite a bit of partying and decided I *needed* to install a mantel so I could keep up with the Jonses jump on the band wagon. {To see my mantel installation click here…and to see when I

A Little Garden Time

2011-05-22T21:13:00.001-07:00

Do you remember my fall garden last year? I decided to pull out all the flowers from the planter box in our front courtyard and replace them with an edible garden. With a nice winter harvest under our belt thumb {and broccoli rabe coming out our ears}, we were excited to plant a spring/summer garden this weekend. After 2 failed attempts to buy veggies from big box stores, we ended up at our