Sabby In Suburbia

Let It Snow: The commuter edition

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:19:00 +0000

So here I sit here on the train contemplating how bad the drive home from the station is going to be tonight for Rambo and me. Rambo is my commuter buddy that's taught me the ins and outs of Chicago train commuting. He is a Metra veteran, a knower of things. Things that I never knew exsisted. This whole commuter subculture.

Anywho, Rambo and I face our second snow storm commute this evening. It's a fun one. I decided to blab a bit on the blog and try out my new blogging app, Blogsy. More on that soon.

I snapped a few pics with my iPad from the lovely view from the train car...

Hope this evening finds you warm at home...and NOT fighting the fight of the snowy suburbia commute.

Happy Friday to all!

WOWN Holiday Photo Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:04:00 +0000

Another long overdue post…I sound like a broken record. I just couldn’t let these adorable photos of my WOWN friends and their families go unshared.

This was unchartered territory…mini-photo shoots of several families all in one morning. It was a challenge. It was fun. And it went surprisingly well!

Here are some highlights…

My boys were up first and didn’t disappoint.

Handsome little devils…emphasis on devils.

Neighbor Katie generously hosted the entire shoot in her living room where she has TONS of great natural light. We did half of her family shoot there a while back .

Her girls…cute as always.

And the rest of the crew…

I must say that I have a very good looking group of friends with seriously adorable little ones. And well behaved too! No joke. I was really worried about having this many little friends all in one place. Not one melt down. Not one tear. Christmas mojo?

And last but not least, we did a very special first Christmas shoot for one of Katie’s good friends that just happened to be visiting from out of town. Her little boy is such a blessing and it was great fun sharing these moments with new parents.

And that’s just the highlights. Even though I’ve started working again, I’m hoping to do this shoot next Christmas season. It was great fun, everyone was really pleased with the results and I learned more about my hobby. A win win.

So, how did I get the Christmas light bokeh look? It was super easy and well worth the extra effort. I’ll be back with that set up soon. Seriously. I promise.

Times…they have changed

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:36:00 +0000

As the title says…Times…they have changed. Not changing. CHANGED!

SAY WHAT?!?!

Well, I’m not sure if any of you have noticed my absence in blogland lately or not, but I feel like an explanation is WAY overdue.

First and foremost…Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my wonderful readers. I haven’t responded to many of you lately and I apologize. Life has been beyond crazy and I’ve had to make some harsh decisions about my priorities. Family first, of course.

I’ve mentioned my previous life as a science nerd. I’m a lab rat to the core and loved my career.

My previous job ended over three years ago and this little blog was the result of me being home full-time for the first time in my life. The kids kept me busy, the blog kept me sane.

Being home has been a surprisingly great experience. I never thought I would be able to swing the full-time stay-at-home mommy thing. I’ve always worked and juggled motherhood. Turns out that losing my job was a gift I never knew I needed or wanted.

Not only have I experienced my kids (good and bad) in a whole new way, I also learned how to do a barrage of new things that I wouldn’t have had time for otherwise: photography, cooking, crafting, DIYing. All along the way, I’ve met some amazing new friends via blogging, several even in my own area. It has been such a rewarding experience.

Alas, I’m a career girl at heart. I missed my work. I missed my field. I felt like I was missing out on something that I went to school and worked so hard for. Over the last year, I’ve kept my eye out for jobs in my field (I’m in a really specialized science area). And finally, one day, a position was posted that fit me perfectly. The commute and location???? Not so much.

I applied. I interviewed. I got the job. I struggled with the decision to actually accept the position. Can I handle commuting to the city? How can I be away from my family that many hours a day? Who’s going to make dinner? Photography? Is that over now too?

Then the positive…WOW! This is such a great lab. Such a great group. It’s both clinical and academic. I haven’t come across many jobs like this over the last three years. Would another position like this one come up in the next few years again? When B goes to big boy school next year and I’m still home, will I kick myself for not taking this job?

So much ran through my head. So many discussions about it all with my husband. Ultimately, it was up to me. Derek has been 100% supportive to whatever I chose to do. And I decided in the end it was too good to pass up. I accepted the job and started working full time December 12. Yep, right in the middle of the holiday craziness.

It’s been a whirlwind over the last month. First, preparing to start the job during Thanksgiving. Coming up with meal plans. Stockpiling food. Finding the right childcare. Figuring out my commute. Then the actually job began and Christmas came too. No crafts were made this year, although I bought everything with the intention of making these again for friends. Sorry friends. I didn’t make that lovely Prime Rib from last year either. Nope. This year, with all the job craziness, we made the holiday festivities simple.

And you know what? It all worked out. We had a great Christmas with both sides of our families.

The boys got matching jammies…

We hosted a wonderful New Years Eve gathering with neighborhood friends.

And now we’re enjoying a few lazy days together.

So, there you have it. My absence explanation. I have so much I would love to post about, but I’m not sure when I’ll get around to it. I’m hoping to keep the blog going. It just might take a different direction. Stay-at-home mom turns working mom again.

Again, thanks to all of you, my friends and readers, for continuing to read my blog. Please bear with me during this HUGE life change. Here’s to a happy and prosperous 2012!

Ballard Designs & Modern Family: Destiny?

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:00:00 +0000

I LOVE Modern Family. In fact, I think the family dynamic between Claire and Phil is hysterical and somewhat oddly similar to Derek and I at times. I mean we don’t have a deadbolt on our bedroom door or anything…

Ok. That was an awful tease if you haven’t watched the show. To understand the above door lock segment you’ll need to watch this…

Where was I? Oh. Yes. Modern Family is brilliant. And so are locks on bedroom doors.

Anywho, I often refer to Derek as “Phil” when he pulls a Phil-like action. Or when we’re watching Modern Family, I’ll just knowingly look over at him with raised brows. Like, “Yep, you know you’re SO PHIL!”

Best of Phil…

Unfortunately, he also gives me that same look saying I’m Claire. And Claire isn’t the fun one. I may be guilty of acting a little like this sometimes…

So, I’m apparently not fun all the time. Boo. Happy-valen-birtha-versary to you too!

She’s all Type A and perfectionista. Ok…I see the similarities. Claire is also a blond. Another check.

Well, imagine my delight when two of my favorite things collide. Coincidence? I think not.

Sabrina & Phil. The holiday edition. Immortalized for all time in the 2011 Ballard Designs Holiday catalog.

It’s fate.

It’s a holiday miracle.

Ok…maybe not so much, but it did give me a good much needed chuckle.

Modern Family – Favorite Phil and Claire quotes:

"...you can't have two fun parents... You know that kid Liam who wears pajama pants to school and pays for things with a hundred-dollar bill? Two fun parents.” – Claire

"Honey, you're doing that thing where you say what I want you to say, but your tone seems mean." ~Phil

And last, but not least, a quote that I’ve actually said myself about a month ago…

"I know I went a little fast back there, but really 40's the same as 35." – Claire

And don’t even get me started on their Clive Bixby and Julianna alter egos.

Thanks to Phil, Claire and all the other Dunphy’s for making us laugh…at ourselves!

Mom’s Frame Redo

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:04:00 +0000

My mom offered this adorable frame on a visit home this summer…

Ok. It’s not adorable at all. To me, the little girl is creepy. As is the country blue color scheme circa 1985.

Complete with dusty ribbon and doily trim to boot!

Mom didn’t seem to mind my idea of giving this piece of “art” a complete makeover, so I went to work on it. First, I dismantled the entire thing. Next, I went straight to my trusty can of Heirloom White.

Then, I ordered an 11x14 print of a picture I took of my boys last year.

Yes, I’m a little obsessed with walking away shots. Its one of the few ways to get a natural look with my kiddos.

The frame wasn’t a standard size (14x18), so I bought a 16x20 mat from Michaels with an 11x14 picture opening. I had to cut an inch off each side of the mat which is cheaper to do than ordering a custom mat. I put the whole thing back together after giving the glass a good cleaning and had this…

As usual, its hard to get a good picture of a picture.

I took it back home this past weekend to share with my mom.

She LOVES the result as much as I do.

All together, I spent around $7 for the entire project. I purchase most of my prints through Adoramapix. Check them out. They are a great professional lab and their prices are very reasonable.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

New Wall Art from Easy Canvas Prints

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:53:00 +0000

My boys are my favorite works on art. My walls are covered with photos of them. So, I was SO excited when the awesome people from Easy Canvas Prints contacted me about reviewing their photo canvas products.

Easy Canvas Prints is an easy to use site that puts your photos on canvas. As you can see, the results are wonderful. Please keep in mind that a picture of a picture doesn’t do the clarity justice though.

I wanted to do a family photo shoot again this year, but time got away from me. Luckily, I found time to snap a few of the boys, which I used for this great canvas.

The Easy Canvas Prints site itself was a snap to use. I really like the feature where the show how your canvas will look over a couch to give you an idea of size.

My canvas is a 12x18 with mirrored images on the sides.

They also have the option of wrapping the image on the side or using a solid color as well.

The quality if the canvas is great too! Nice and heavy, like a true work of art. OH and it comes ready to mount on the wall as well. The canvas was shipped with extreme care…lots of wrapping to be sure it didn’t get any bumps or bruises on its journey to my house.

Thanks to Megan and Easy Canvas Prints for this great opportunity. I love how this turned out and know it will a cherished piece in our home.

Check out Easy Canvas Prints on Facebook! “LIKE” their Facebook page and get 50% off & free shipping on your next order! Great idea with the holidays coming up!

One more shot since my boys are so darn cute…

I’m sure I’m not going to get them to hold hands like this I years to come.

Kid Chatter: Fall, moles and Big Boy schools

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:44:00 +0000

Braden: “Mommy, when will the snow come?”

Me: “Do you see how all the leaves are turning color and some of them are falling on the ground? Well, when all the leaves fall off, then the snow will come.”

I find him later, plucky leaves off all of the trees.

Me: “B, what are you doing honey? The neighbors probably won’t like you doing that.”

Braden: “I’m getting all the leaves off the tree so that we can have snow.”

Smart kid.

Then he had a near panic attack the other day when I was taking his temperature. I noticed he had a brown dot under his arm and thought it was a piece of fuzz.

Me: “Oh…that’s not fuzz. You have a mole under your arm.”

Braden: “Whaaaaa??? Is it bad? Will it hurt? Oh NO! Not a MOLE!”

I tried to reassure that we all get them. I showed him some of mine. Didn’t help.

Braden: “I got a mole!!! It hurts so bad. I have to show daddy. Ouch!”

Lanham mostly relishes the fact that he’s the older brother. He’s gets to attend the “BIG” school and even the fact that he gets to pack a lunch each day is something to brag about. Braden watches in envy. However, Lanham doesn’t always see the green grass of grade school. Nope. Here’s what his response to “Get dressed for school.” has been lately.

Lanham: “Ugh. Again? I have to go to school every day. And every day is like a weekend for Braden. He’s so lucky.”

What he doesn’t realize is that Braden totally wants to be in that big boy school each and every day with him. Rather than going on crazy bargain hunting shopping trips with mama.

Love my kids. Love their chatter.

And I put the best snippets here so that I never forget one little tidbit of it.

Shutterfly Winners!

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:14:00 +0000

The winners for my Shutterfly Card Giveaway are commenters:

#1 (no joke #1 actually won!) – Theresa

#11 – Tracey from Just Another Mommy Blog

#6 - Sally from Blessed Existence

Congratulations! I will send you your codes via e-mail for you 25 FREE Shutterfly Cards!

Winners were selected using the Random Number Generator at Random.Org.

Thanks to all who entered and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Down Home – Fall Harvest

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:55:00 +0000

My love for the wide open spaces of my childhood runs deep. It’s a place where I can let my hair down and my camera go wild.

There is always something beautiful to shoot. Something that I need to capture with my camera to remind me of where I came from.

Luckily I have a very understanding husband. He knows that his country mouse turned city mouse wife needs to go home, get dirty and relax now and again. I love you, Derek. Thanks for getting me.

A few months ago, I headed back home for a night to hang out with my family and hopefully get some shots of corn country during harvest. The weather wasn’t working so well for me this time. No blue skies. Mostly overcast.

However, I had a blast four wheeling with one of my lifelong hometown buddies and petting this ol’ gal…

Buckcephus. Or Buck. Poor girl got named by boys.

We visited a farmer friend that I used to bring treats to back in the day during harvest.

Of course, he got out of his tractor and said, “Where’s my brownies, girrrrrl?” Home. Things never change.

That’s the coal mine in the background.

Off we went to this cool old bridge hidden amongst the corn. It crosses over a stream that people from home call it the lake ditch.

Not going to lie…I was FREAKING out about walking over this thing. Obviously, IDOT hadn’t been out for inspections in quite a while. Trees were literally growing in the boards. I faced my fears, and tried to snap away at this awesomely rusty piece of history…while sitting in poison ivy.

All the while being laughed at by my supposed friend from home. Apparently, I’ve gotten “soft” living up north. Or so he says.

The view below was pretty cool too. The water level was so low from the summer drought that you could see this huge catfish hanging out.

Not the greatest pictures of the fish, but we were pretty high up remember.

I barely snapped this last one before sundown.

It was a cold ride back, but so worth it. Just what this stay at home mommy needed to re-charge the batteries. Call me crazy, but this is my “fun time”. Well, this helps a little…

The end.

Heirloom White Love: Candle Holder & GW Lamp Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:52:00 +0000

Heirloom White spray paint from Rustoleum has some sort of mysterious magical properties. It can turn Goodwill junk into decorating gold…er..white. Off white actually.

Remember my question to you all about candle holder dilemma?

Five or three or four??? Well, I left the four candles for quite a while. Then I found these at GW a while back…

Then waited a little longer because this whole life thing kept creeping up on me. I finally got around to busting out my Heirloom White on these guys and here’s what I have now.

Yep, FIVE!

Phew. Doesn’t that make the world seem a little more in order. I mean really. Who has FOUR candle holders? That’s so unbalanced in the world of decorating. Although in the world of math, four is probably better than five, but that’s the nerdy me creepin’ out a bit.

I do have to note that the above picture has one lopsided candle that makes me cringe. Just sayin’.

Moving on…

So, while I was spraying away, I also made a BIG improvement to this little lamp I found, also at GW.

Don’t laugh. I saw its potential and jumped at it…not that anyone else was looking for a possible bed bug infested Lion Kingish stuffed animal adorned lamp or anything.

How could I go wrong with a $4 price tag? I couldn’t even get a lamp shade for that price. And the size was perfect Lanham’s desk. I can therefore work with pastel lions.

First, I had to remove Simba from his perch. Or is that Nala? Either way, I took a pair of pliers to the poor thing and ripped it off.

Kind of felt like the defacing of baby Jesus from a few DIY episodes back. As you can see, the lion removal left me with a pencil eraser size whole, but I’ll deal with that later.

A few coats of Heirloom White and now I have this…

Despite the messy cords (this is a pre-teen boys room after all), I really like how it turned out. I left the hole of Simba for now, but then came across another issue.

During the day we have this…

However, once its turned on, we have this…

Fail? Not sure what to do here. I’m pretty sure Lanham’s not going to dig have a Lion King shadow box on his desk in his big kid room.

Ideas and suggestions welcome. Please!!! I spray painted the shade because the images were printed on the outside. Guess that wasn’t good enough. I could try to cover it in fabric? Never ventured there before, but I’ll do anything to prevent buying a shade that will cost more than this entire lamp.

Until then, Mr. Big Boy will have to deal with the Circle of Life. Just don’t turn it on when your friends are over honey.

Photography : Oh Baby!

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:26:00 +0000

I haven’t posted much on the photography side of things lately and these little ones needed some face time on the blog for sure. I’ve been lucky enough to have some great friends and family members allow me access to their precious bundles so that I can get some infant photography practice.

Photographing infants is a whole new ball game. Capturing their innocent cuteness is a pleasure.

First up, my friend Sarah (monkey baby shower Sarah) had her baby earlier this year. I got some really cute shots of him at around 4 months.

Auntie Sabby got him this monkey hat…

Baby “E” has been such a blessing to Sarah and Jon and their families. He’s such a good boy and he SO handsome!

I just wish we could all see each other more. Hmpf.

We also welcomed a new niece to our family this spring on my husband’s side.

Baby “T” is perfect and has these eyes and lips to die for.

Angelina lips, no?

Finally, I got to shoot Baby “J”. He was only 5 weeks at the time and this is the littlest baby I’ve worked with so far. It comes with all sorts of challenges and was excellent practice.

He also reminded me of Braden’s crazy nursing schedule. Hungry little dude.

I’m a sucker BIG TIME for perfect little baby toes. This was only one of about a hundred that I took.

Ack! I love those feet!

So, there you have it…my first work with infants. It’s a work in progress, but I still LOVE how the above shots turned out. As with all aspects of photography, try, try and try again.

I have to give a big thanks to my friends Sarah/Jon and Nina/Scrappy, as well as my brother and sister-in-law for letting me work with their perfect little homegrown nuggets. Mwah! I hope they enjoyed the resulting images as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Halloween – They all tried to spook me

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:36:00 +0000

“1, 2 He’s coming for you”

“3, 4 Better close your door”

Yep, the stuff nightmares are made of. This song and The Walking Dead. I’m not a fan of horror flicks. Yes, I’m intelligent enough to know they’re completely fictional. Doesn’t seem to matter. Remember this admission? I’m the girl that still worries that this guy is still lurking in my dark basement…

My husband enjoys watching me squirm during horror films. I “watch” the entire things with my thumbs in my ears (to prevent me from hearing the gore) and the rest of my fingers covering my eyes. Sounds like fun entertainment, huh? Well, maybe for D-man.

So, you can imagine how thrilled I was tonight when we were at the party store looking at costumes and Freddy theme song comes on.

And then the next thing I know, my boys start humming and singing along with it! ACK! Nothing creepier than coming out of a store of horror, into a dark parking lot and then having two little voices singing “1, 2…3,4 blah blah blah”.

Of course, I look over at Derek and he’s thrilled. Watching me squirm is so much fun. Love you babe.

Me: “Great! Next thing you know they’ll be standing in front of mirrors saying ‘Candyman’.”

Derek: “Hey Braden! Say ‘Redrum’.”

Seriously? Yes, my beloved was trying to conjure up some “Shining” thoughts. Nice touch. Did I mention it was our anniversary a few short weeks ago? I much rather have a Giant Metal Chicken (confused, see here).

Clearly what he wanted was something like this video from “The Shining” movie which is beyond creepy to me. Especially since we have the occasional sleep walking boy in our house.

However, what Braden said, in a sinister little voice was this:

Jokes on you babe.

****Don’t miss my Shutterfly Holiday Card Giveaway!****

Time To Send Out Some Holiday Cheer With Shutterfly!

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:01:00 +0000

Can you believe that its time to start thinking about Holiday Cards already!?! Yep, with Halloween quickly approaching, I’m scrounging around for a recent photo of our boys and need to find the perfect photo card to use this year as well. I loved last year’s card…

We’ve used Shutterfly for the last few years for our Christmas cards and loved the results.

If you’re ga-ga for photo Christmas cards like me, then you really need to check out all the great designs available at Shutterfly. They have the cutest styles and we always get the nicest compliments on our Christmas cards.
I’m so excited about their 2011 Christmas Card collection.
They have everything from bright and fresh…

To simple and elegant…

Love this one too!

With some many cute options, it looks like its going to be hard to choose which to send out again this year!
And if you’re looking for a high quality personalized gifts, check out Shutterfly’s Photo Book options. I’ve had several books made through them and love the quality of the books. Their software is super user friendly as well.

Shutterfly has been extremely generous to me and my readers this year. Three (3) Sabby In Suburbia readers will receive 25 FREE Cards each from Shutterfly! What a great boost for the Christmastime budget!
To enter this giveaway:
You have three (3) possible chances to win per person. Please leave a separate comment on this post for each entry.

Become a follower of Sabby In Suburbia...or tell me that you already follow!
Leave me a comment and tell me… What’s your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving? Valentine’s Day? Ground Hog’s Day? Let me know!
Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave me the link to it.

Small Print:

Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you! Preferably your email address.
You must be a resident of the US or Canada.
Giveaway ends Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 10pm CST.

Disclaimer:
I am a participant in Shutterfly's 2011 Holiday Card Promotion. I received 50 free cards in conjunction with this giveaway. All opinions expressed are 100% my own. I used Shutterfly way before I started blogging and truly do support their company.

Fall Returns, Bring on the Soup: Creamy Mushroom & Potato Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:17:00 +0000

Fall is here and my soup cravings have returned. This recipe was another instance of shopping the pantry and fridge and making something new. Sometimes those don’t work out so well, but in this case it totally hit the spot.

Creamy Mushroom & Potato Soup (printable version)

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion
1 pound of mushrooms (I like to mix white with baby portabellas, but didn’t this time.)
2 teaspoons paprika
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced medium, equaling 5 cups diced
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups of half and half
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup sour cream, additional for garnish
salt and pepper to taste (I add more than you would think because potatoes soak up a lot of salt.)

In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter, then sauté the onions, mushrooms and paprika for 5-10 minutes or until onions are translucent.

From this:

To this:

Reduce heat, add the flour and cook for 3 minutes more stirring constantly. Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the sour cream.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook covered for 30-45 minutes. Turn off heat and whisk in sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Add a dollop of sour cream to each serving bowl, if desired.

Hope this recipes finds its way into your fall cooking! Happy Fall everyone!

And the winner is…

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:46:00 +0000

Commenter #16…Julie

Congrats on winning the Proud to Support Pink Freschetta Giveaway!

I sent you an e-mail about this prize, Julie. Looking forward to hearing back from you soon!

Thanks to all of you that participated!

Kiddo Chatter: Deep thoughts with Lanham

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Lanham is a deep thinker. It comes from out of no where and I kind of think he’s a little genius waiting to explode into his own. Until then, he provides me with occasional nuggets of how his brain works and I have to share them here or I’ll kill myself later trying to remember them all.

This first conversation occurred last spring when he was just a measly (ha!) 2nd grader.

Lanham: “So everyone that goes to college is a “servicer, right mom?"

Me: “Huh?”
Lanham: “Well, Mamaw (my mom) is a servicer.”
Me: “What in the world are you talking about?”
Lanham: “She services people. That’s her job.”
Me: “She is? Honey, I don’t think that Mamaw would like that title.” <snicker, snicker, I couldn’t help myself>
Lanham: “Where did she go to college?”
Me: “Mamaw has a clerical job, but she didn’t go to college.”
Lanham: “WHAT?!? She didn’t go to college? Then how does she even have a job, mommy!!!!”
As if that was the strangest, most absurd idea EVER. A person without college = no job???

Wow…times have changed. And we had a LONG talk about all the different kinds of work there is in the world. From doctors to truckers…we all have a place in the workings of things. He still looked at me like I didn’t have a clue…although that’s quite common on a lot of things these days. I guess I should be proud that he has aspirations, even at such a young age, to further his education. For some reason, it just bugged me that he didn’t think there were any other options for anyone. Or maybe I’m the foolish one for thinking this isn’t truly the case. Thoughts?

This second conversation happened during this past fall baseball season and I immediately shared it on Facebook. However, since I’m lame and don’t link my FB with my blog, I had to post about it here. I may be repeating myself for some of you…sorry.

So, while driving to baseball practice, Jessie’s Girl was playing on the radio and I, of course, was belting it out with Mr. Springfield.

Me: This was popular when I was about your age, maybe younger.
Lanham: Does this guy still sing?
Me: It's Rick Springfield...I'm not sure????
Lanham: Well, he probably doesn't sing anymore because he's probably DEAD. Geesh...that was a long time ago...yep...probably dead.
Me: WAH???
Lanham: I bet if he's still around he has a big beard. Yep. Old guys love their beards. Papa has a mustache.

How we got from Jessie’s Girl to facial hair, I don’t know. But I promise you, this kid is a genius. I mean, what kind of brain flow chart geos like this:

My homemade Mr. Einstein’s does, that’s who. Love you Lanham…and that noodle of yours.

DIY Chore Chart: A work in progress project

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Both of my boys are at an age where they need to have daily responsibilities. Some of them are things that they should be expected to do (unpack backpacks, clear dishes after dinner), while other things are what I would call chores (taking out trash/recycling, feeding the dog). Chores = allowance.

Currently, I’ve found myself constantly reminding them of each and every thing they need to do and its driving me a little crazy. My life revolves around lists, so why not give them their own little To Do List and bring the level of chaos down a notch?

A chore chart? Yep!

I bought this metal magnetic board from Ikea a few years ago while remodeling the laundry room and never used it.

I’ve stumbled across some great ideas for chore charts and knew that I wanted something magnetic. Something that the boys to could move from “To do” to “Done”. My laundry room leftover was perfect for a chore chart!

I think Ikea might still carry this item. Here’s the label…

To dress up the plain magnetic board, I used a plastic valance from an old blind.

Using a miter box, I mitered the corners and glued it all together to make a top and bottom to the chore chart. I’m not going to lie…this plastic valance was a major pain to cut through with a miter box. However, it didn’t cost me a dime so I went with it. Obviously a piece of wood or MDF trim would work great in this situation.

Once I had the metal framed out, I moved on to setting up the actual chart. I knew I wanted to make magnets to delegate the chores for each boy. So, I scoured my newest BFF Pinterest for some inspiration and found this great magnetic idea from Emily at Not So Idle Hands.

Emily even shares a PDF file of her homemade magnet clipart. I used a few of Emily’s chores from this great PDF…

And then mixed in with a few of my own clipart chores that I made using PowerPoint…

Next, I cut out the chores I wanted to use on my chore chart. I feel like this is a work in progress and we’ll be adding new chores as we go along. But this is a start…

To make the magnets, I followed the same steps I used to make my necklace pendants. However, I glued on magnets instead of putting bails on the glass squares for this project.

I used PowerPoint (yes, again!) to make “To Do” sheets for each of the boys and one that is combined for the tasks that they both need to complete daily.

The Extras area is for the magnets at the bottom. Things they normally don’t do a on daily basis, but if they do them its like a bonus round. We’ll see how this goes.

Then, I simply attached these sheets to the framed metal board with tape. I didn’t want to use anything permanent, since I might want to change this set up in the near future.

After that, I added my magnets in the right places and stood back to look a my frugal and helpful creation.

Using things that I already had in the house, I hope I’ve made something that’s really going to create some order around our house.

I went over watch each magnet stood for with the boys and they were actually excited about this set up.

No joke.

Again, I think this is a work in progress. I have the basic bones done and we just need to see how it works out for the boys. I’m already finding that its hard for them to have the “Shared” chore area since they often complete these tasks at different times. However, until I make more magnets, this will have to do.

Hope this inspires some of you to bring some order to your daily chores. I’d love to hear any ideas that you might have for me to improve our system. Work in progress people!

I’m linking this post up to the below parties! Check them out for some fabulous inspiration!

We’re Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:02:00 +0000

Just a quick post to say sorry for my absence. My husband and I took a much needed vacation to Riviera Maya area of Mexico. It was gorgeous and SOOOOOOO relaxing.

Fruity drinks included…

We visited the Mayan ruins of Tulum while we were there.

The ancient city is perched on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Completely breathtaking!

Now we’re back to reality and recharged to tackle the upcoming holiday season.

And these little monsters…

Yes, we got them Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) masks. A big hit!

BIG THANKS to the grandparents for making this trip possible. They watched our boys and kept the Persico machine running while we were away. MWAH! Oh and they provided a cute Welcome Home as well…

Thanks Mamaw, O.W.O. and Gammy!!!

PS: Don’t forget about my GIVEAWAY!

Freschetta – Proud To Support Pink

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:20:00 +0000

As most of you know, October is National Breast Cancer awareness month. I know that this disease has affected most of us in one way or another. Most recently, my friend Brandie.

Freschetta is doing their part to support research by presenting the Freschetta "Proud To Support Pink" Program and I was happy to spread the word and participate.

When you purchase specially-marked packages of Freschetta pizza and artisan pizza crusts between now and October 31st, look for codes that you can enter at www.ProudToSupportPink.com. For each code entry, the makers of Freschetta products will donate $1 to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to support breast cancer research, up to $50,000.

The Freschetta homepage also has a place for people to share their breast cancer journey or the journey of a friend or loved one. These stories will be displayed on Proud to Support Pink and on Freschetta's Facebook page to inspire all those who read them.

In addition, each week in October, Freshcetta is giving away 50 pink iPod Shuffles, as well as donating 50 pink iPod Shuffles per week to four cancer centers around America to be enjoyed by breast cancer patients during treatment.

One of my lucky readers will win a Proud to Support Pink prize.

The prize includes:

One Coupon for a FREE Freschetta Pizza (Value up to $8.39)
(2) pairs of Freschetta PROUD TO SUPPORT PINK® earphones. One for you to enjoy and one for you to share with a friend or family member!

You have 3 possible chances to win per person. Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

Become a follower of Sabby In Suburbia...or tell me that you already follow!
What’s your favorite pizza flavor? I LOVE Freshcetta’s Brick Oven line.
Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave me the link to it.

Small Print:

Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you! Preferably your email address.
You must be a resident of the US or Canada.
Giveaway ends Friday, October 21, 2011 at 10pm CST.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Disclaimer: Freschetta® provided a product or sample for this Review & Giveaway. Opinions and thoughts are of course my own!I

Homemade No-Sew Sachets On A Dime

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:12:00 +0000

(Be sure to enter my GIVEAWAY HERE!!!)

We are fortunate to have a very large master closet and I love it. What I don’t love about it is how it gets so musty all the time. It’s a long skinny room (directly above our long skinny laundry room) without any windows. Of course its packed with clothes and shoes, so its bound to get musty.

I was getting tired of paying for those little sachet packets that last about one minute so I decided to make my own. Here is what I did:

First, I grabbed a few of the boys’ old T-shirts from my Goodwill donation pile…

Then, I cut 5x10 inch pieces out of the T-shirts, one piece for each sachet.

Next, I folded the pieces in half (lengthwise) and used permanent fabric glue on the two sides, leaving the top open for filling later.

While the fabric dried, I mixed plain white rice with several sprays of my favorite scent from Aveda.

Aveda gives one Personal Blends Pure-Fume fragrance bottle to each of its store card holders every year as a birthday present. LOVE fab freebies!

They’re wonderful, especially if you like aromatherapy type scents.

I didn’t measure the exact amount of rice to spray ratio. Just be your own judge and be sure to coat all of the rice, stirring well to get it all distributed. Even though the smell was powerful, I added a little more of the spray knowing that the rice will absorb some of the scent over time and it will be inside of the sachet.

Finally, I filled each sachet with the scented rice, leaving enough space at the top to close the sachet with a ribbon.

Using leftover ribbon from my wedding (no joke!), I made a double knot at the top of each sachet. I left several inches of extra ribbon on each side of the knot so that could tie them in my closet like this…

These simple no-sew sachets would be great for drawers as well. I left the tops open and tied them with a ribbon so that I could refill them in the future. However you could glue the top after filling if you like.

So far, so good. And the closet smells like my favorite shampoo. It’s not quite a spa, but better then eau de dirty sock.

I’m linking this post up to the below parties! Check them out for some fabulous inspiration!

Happy Birthday To My Hubby! A chocolate mousse pie kind of day

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Happy Birthday to the D-man: supportive husband, amazing father, part-time caramel makin’ elf (don’t believe me, see here) and all around yin to my yang.

To celebrate his own personal holiday, I indulged his inner-choc-o-holic and made his favorite: Chocolate Mousse Pie.

When we first got together, he told me about the “AMAZING” chocolate pie that his mom used to make. Grandma “Bob” provided me with said recipe and I’ve made it for his birthday each year since.

I have to say the recipe’s ingredients didn’t WOW me at first…chocolate, cream cheese and graham crust? Something just didn’t fit. However, I’ve grown to enjoy the stuff and love making his day special each year with this simple and easy to pull together pie.

Chocolate Mousse Pie

1 pkg. (4 oz.) Baker's German sweet chocolate
1 pkg. (3 oz.) cream cheese (softened)
1 container (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1/3 c. milk
2 tbsp. sugar
1 ready made graham cracker pie crust, 9 inch

Heat chocolate and 2 tbsp. of the milk in saucepan over low heat, stirring until chocolate is melted.

Beat sugar into cream cheese; add remaining milk and chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping, blending until smooth.

Spoon into crust. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours. Store any leftover pie in freezer.

Here’s the birthday boy, sneaking a few licks from the bowl last night…

I suppose it is YOUR day…

Oh and I can’t forget to mention the yummy peach cobbler my mom made for his birthday too. My dad was nice enough to bring it up to our house this weekend. Quite the treat for Derek since I have this whole aversion to cooked fruit thing. I’ll leave that soap box for another day.

Thanks mom and dad…he loved it!

Happy Birthday, Dear Derek, Happy Birthday to you!!! I hope I didn’t embarrass you too much. I mean, think about that poor Victor. You’re lucky.
Mwah!

Put A Bird On It

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:55:00 +0000

I require a certain amount of comic relief in my daily life. It comes in all forms from my husband, my kids and life in general. And when those sources run dry, I take a peak at The Bloggess.

Now, word of WARNING, she is NOT by any means politically correct or Rated-PG. So, if you’re easily offended, remember…you’ve been warned. Twice.

Today, its all gloomy outside, baseball has taken over our world again and I’ve got a million+ projects half finished surrounding me. I needed some Bloggess. She didn’t disappoint and I actually found something that many of us DIY bloggers could have a good chuckle over…

Birds. In the crafting/DIY world, they’re everywhere. Pillows, throws and DIY artsy fartsy burlap stuff. Apparently, the folks at IFC’s Portlandia have taken notice.

Where have I been? This show is AWESOME!!! Or at least this little clip was pretty darn funny. Kind of reminds me of the famous Catalog Living site.

You know that lovely couple, Gary and Elaine, and their starfish…

…and gourds…

The Portlandia tidbit was courtesy of The Bloggess in a post concerning her most recent Zazzle project paying homage to Portlandia the only way she knew how…with a dodo bird. If you need a laugh, check this post out.

And if you decide to peruse her blog a little more….well, you’re in a for treat. However, if you get offended…I’m sorry. She’s awesome to the hundredth power. She's amazing and disturbing and I love her. I need her like I need an Oreo Blizzard. But since there isn't a DQ in my living room, I read her and reach for another Pop-Ice.

My Bloggess Faves: Beyonce & Copernicus. Enjoy!

P.S. Did I mention my strange and unusual addiction to Pop-Ice? Oh yep, I did…HERE. I could be on that crazy ass "my strange addictions" show. You know the one where the ladies eat glass and dryer sheets?? Yep.....my body is full of Red dye #4. And #6. Better than dryer sheets I suppose.

Photography Fun: Using Textures

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:15:00 +0000

Just wanted to share some of the stuff I’ve been playing around with lately in Photoshop Elements. I happened upon Kim Klassen’s blog via Ashley Sisk of Ramblings and Photos. Kim is a master of textures and even offers up several free tutorials and textures! I had no excuse not to try it out on some of her techniques on my floral shots.

Here’s what I’ve done today…

SOOC image

Image cropped and texture added:

The textures work so well with my floral images.

SOOC:

PW’s Soft Faded Action and Stained Linen textured added:

I couldn’t believe how easy it is to apply textures either. Why haven’t I tackled this before? A few clicks and tweaks and this will be perfect for my “art-on-the-cheap” attitude. I’m looking forward to playing around with this more and possibly making some art for my mom’s entryway. What do you think mom?

Thanks to Kim and Ashley for all the inspiration. If you’re interested in dabbling with textures, be sure to sign up for Kim’s newsletter, where she share a weekly texture. They’re wonderful!

Freezing Tomatoes: The cheaters guide to faux canning

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:26:00 +0000

First off, let me report that our tomatoes have been less than ideal this season. I’m not even going to post of picture of them…they are just so creepy sad looking.
Somewhere between our cold/late planting spring, scorching hot summer and wind storm things just went south with our maters. Blossom End Rot and Blight. Bleck!
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed the fruits of our plants immensely this summer in forms of salsa, salads and one of my favorites…

…freshly sliced tomatoes with cottage cheese and a little fresh ground pepper. It’s delicious. Try it!
Last year, I had enough tomatoes to try out canning them myself for the first time. It went fairly well and the smell of the process reminded me SO much of my childhood.

My mom and grandma were big canning queens. Aren’t you proud mom???
Unfortunately, this year’s sad and much smaller yield prompted me to do what I’ve also done in years past: Freeze them suckers!
I know that to those who may can each year, freezing tomatoes must sound awful. However, it’s a simple way for me to preserve the bounties of summer. Freezing tomatoes doesn’t result in the same tomatoes that you get from canning, but the flavor is SO there. I use them for dishes in the winter where I really want fresh homegrown tomato flavor. The freezing breaks the tomato’s “meat” down a bit so they are best used in simple homemade marinara, where the tomatoes flavor is the star, or in soups and stews.
Freezing Tomatoes
What you will need:

Tomatoes (duhhhh!)
Large stock pot full of boiling water
Large bowl of ice water
Large bowl for tomatoes after peeling
GB (garbage bowl a la Rachel Ray)
pairing knife
quart-sized freezer bags

First off, get your stock pot water to a rolling boil.

While the water is coming up to a boil, rinse the tomatoes and make a small “X” on the bottom of each one like this.

It helps with the peeling process later.
Once your water is up to a rolling boil, place 4-6 tomatoes (depends on stock pot and tomato size) directly into the water.
I don’t have a picture of this because it happens fast so use you’re imagination. Stock pot, boiling water, tomatoes bobbing.
Watch carefully and remove each tomato after 30-45 seconds. Place them directly into the ice water bath.

You’ll often see little splits in them like this:

Do not leave them in the boiling water too long. You aren’t cooking them!! Just blanching.
After a minute or so in the water bath, remove the tomatoes to a cutting board and peel each tomato.

The peeling should come off easily. If it does not, put the stubborn mater back into the boiling water for a few seconds. Then ice water and try peeling again.
After peeling you’ll have this:

Now you’ll need to core each tomato using your small paring knife.

I like to gather my cored and peeled tomatoes in a bowl to hold them all until I’m ready to freeze. Otherwise they leak their yummy juices all over the place.
After all of the tomatoes are peeled and cored you’ll have this lovely bowl of goodness…

As I mentioned before, I like to keep a garbage bowl handy for all of the peelings and cores. Thank Rachel Ray for that one. Saves a lot of mess by not having to sloop all of the tomato carnage to the garbage can.
Tomato carnage in GB:

Next, I quarter all of my tomatoes and measure out one quart at a time. Once I have a quart of tomatoes, I pour them into a quart-sized freezer bag. Be sure to squeeze all of the air out of the bags.

Now the bags are ready for the freezer. I like to use this brilliant “pizza” freezing technique.

Highly technical as you can see. Basically I use my frozen pizzas to create a flat surface for freezing. I find that having flat frozen bags is much easier for freezer space. Then you can put them upright like files when they’re solid. I do my basil pesto this way as well.
So, there you have it. Freezing Maters 101. Hope I didn’t offend the canning purists and maybe shared some new info to gardening newbies. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

I'm linking this to Tasty Tuesdays:

Photography: What I’ve been up to

noreply@blogger.com (Sabrina) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:40:00 +0000

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted any of my photography. I still feel like I’m learning something new with each and every shoot. Luckily, I have loads of family and friends with gorgeous little ones for me to work with.

This spring I got to shoot my neighbor girls again. They are too funny!

I’ve been taking pictures of Maddie for years now and its fun to see her changing from toddler to little girl.

We snuck in mom and dad too!

My neighbor bud and her man…

I set up my background in their living room. They have GREAT natural light in there. No extra lighting needed.

Little sis, Mary Kate is a hoot! Her mom would probably beg to differ sometimes, but this girl has some ‘tude.

To end the session, Katie had this great idea to let the girls dive into ice cream cones. It turned out great!

Hope you enjoyed seeing my favorite little neighbor girls as much as I enjoyed shooting them!