La Famille

dearest robin,

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:42:00 +0000

We're ready for you!

We've been getting your "room" ready, vacuuming, cleaning toilets, shopping, meal planning...and I think we're ready.

Sophie has set out all the proper princess attire by your bed, should you feel the need to sport a crown at any point during your visit.

We have goodies for you....

You're the FIRST familiar face we'll see in THREE months. CANNOT wait to see you, friend.

FOUR more hours!!!!!!!

xo,

{alicia}

my mother aka: pollyanna

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:44:00 +0000

Sometimes my mother seriously drives me nuts....

ok, just keep reading.

I call her to complain, vent, spew and here's why she ticks me off:

she doesn't do it back.

Like she turns it all around and plays the stupid "Glad Game" on me.

She's impossible to complain to. I'll even say, "mom, just be crabby with me!!"

She just laughs...LAUGHS! Ugh, mother!

But I realized something when you tip things upside-down like that...you feel good, or at least better.

I might say, "ugh! this gross white carpet is so hard to keep clean."

She'll say, "oh, but doesn't it feel good under your feet."

Seriously??

So, it's Monday....and for a Monday, I'm pretty darn excited about it. I owe my mother for my cheery disposition. Thanks mom... ~~even though you drive me crazy~~ ;)

School: A challenge? Do my kids get on my nerves? Do I want to go in the closet and cry because I just explained the same thing 30 times?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Mom's version (and the true version): I get to be with my kids each and every day and I will never never regret that. I have the luxury of taking my time teaching something that might be a challenge to one of them and who cares? Nobody's keeping track...it's ok.

Rain: It's been really rainy and gloomy. Boo.

Mom's version: Everything looks beautiful after a rain. Kids can splash in puddles. The cool air feels good. A little rain never killed anybody. And it makes for fabulous reading days.

And candle-burning...I got this at Target. (a couple people asked)

Also, I'm LOVING the Guernsey book :)

Meal Planning: It's tedious. I don't like going to the grocery store. It's expensive. I want a cook.

Mom's version: I get to take care of my family by making them meals. My kids are not picky. I have a friend coming TOMORROW!!! yeah!! and she and I will have a blast cooking together this week :)

Bottom line is I am blessed...like super blessed and I forget sometimes.

So, yeah mom :)

Happy Monday, peeps.

xo,

{alicia}

friday::saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:07:00 +0000

This week was a blur. When your planner looks like the above picture, it's bound to be a busy one. I was in my workroom for about 8 hours straight on Thursday...my poor children. But thank YOU for your orders and support! Everything is shipped and on it's way.

Friday was errand day. And can I just say, Friday was a really dumb day.

I headed out the door with three kids in tow, and these:

Here's how it went:

appointment at 9

Target afterward, tried a "shortcut" and added 40 minutes to the morning

lost my debit card

to the bank to replace debit card

Target

Post Office

lunch at McD's (ugh)

Grocery Store

Redbox

Redbox rejects my temporary debit card

CVS

CVS tells me I don't have the right insurance card

Home to find the right card

Can't find

Unload car

Still can't find card

Husband saves the day

Back to CVS

Try Redbox again

Rejected again

Home

3:30pm

Ugh!

Somehow in the putting away of groceries, I purged my counter tops and cleared them all off and rearranged. I don't know what it is about that but I love my counters alllll cleared off. It felt good, like I actually accomplished something.

Spaghetti for dinner.

Baths

Stories...we love this one.

Sweats, popcorn, True Grit...it was good.

My darling little boy-clone of myself is quite the list-maker as of late. He's been making lists for the weekends. Here's todays list:

Yes, it says clean AND school. Yes, I'm mean. No, I don't care.

Academics were back-burnered both Thursday AND Friday (Friday is usually our make-up day) and we needed to get in our math and history time.

Also, I made my kids clean/dust/pick-up/put away/clean mirrors/wipe floors/vacuum and MY oh MY does it look niiiiice! The boys' wives will thank me one day.

Now if it would only stay this way till Tuesday night when my dear friend, ROBIN, gets here!!

They checked some things off their list and Jack and Jarrod headed to Target to fulfill Jack's tooth-pull prize. Noah chose to stay back so he could finish his math and play the NEW GAME when they got home.

He finished his math way too fast and had too much time to kill before they got home. He camped out by the door...with a chair...and his bible. mmmmk...

Finally, they made it!!!

(Dad is the hero today, that is for sure!)

I'll give you one guess at what the boys are doing right about now :)

They also brought lil' ol' me a gift....

I've been looking for a fedora FOREVER...don't you think I just needed one?! And they found me one at Walmart of all places. I must have a little pinhead...none of them would fit, but this one fits great! I love it.

So now, Sophia's napping, the boys are playing, Jarrod is reading.

Today is SOOO much better than yesterday.

It's 4pm, my coffee mug is full and steaming, and I have a pile of books and magazines waiting for me.

Sayonara, sweets :)

xo,

{alicia}

PS: Don't forget about free shipping in my shop till the end of the weekend. Code: WINTER12

free shipping for you

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:57:00 +0000

Good Day, beautifuls.

I just wanted to tell you 'ello and that I added a couple more thingies to my winter line yesterday. I've been feeling the need to paint lately, so here's what I came up with...

I have a couple of these and then a couple more Patchwork Heart banners...but one is spoken for. So that makes one. My mad math skills frighten me sometimes!

And also, since I'm sure you hate paying shipping as much as I do, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING in my shop today through Sunday! Just use this code: WINTER12 when you check out.

So, shop away, sweet things :)

See you next week!!

do y'all know ms. amy?

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:50:00 +0000

I received an email from Amy quite a while ago...a year? I can't remember, but a while. She told me about herself and how she'd been reading my blog for a while, but had never commented. (amy!! shame on you ;)) And how she and I had all these similarities like homeschooling, creative creating, and junking!

Well, since that first exchange, her and I have emailed/called/texted every week AND she's started her own blog. Amy is just an all-around awesome person, and I think you should all get to know her...

She's super fun...like, they have an ice skating rink in their backyard. How fun is that?!

They live in beautiful Montana (not nearly close enough to NC) and they go on these amazing camping excursions almost every weekend in the summer.

She has FOUR little girlies...can you even imagine??!!

Look how sweet...

Amy is constantly baking with them, crafting, playing...

She also makes these adorable little blooms that you can pin or clip to pretty much anything you can think of. She sent me some for Christmas...and some for Soph too and they. are. so. cute!!

(here's mine)

And also, Amy has a spot at the antique store where she lives. So she has a booth area and she changes it out for every season. I love that! I want to buy everything in it. She adds her handmade goodness too...

Here's what her booth looks like now for Valentine's Day...

And what it looked like for Christmas...

And for fall...

I just love it! Don't you just want to shop here!?

So, this is Amy. She is fun, talented, adorable, and so genuine. I just love her. We will meet someday...we're hoping this is the year.

You must go check out her blog now...ok? Ok.

Blogging is so darn cool.

xo,

{alicia}

everyday busy and my new winter line

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:25:00 +0000

Saturday morning: my Banker husband is getting yet another tattoo, my brother is in Vegas getting his credit card stolen, and then there's me...making chalkboards in my garage.

You know, just a typical Saturday.

I've been working this weekend on tying up loose ends on my Winter Etsy line and getting it all photographed and listed. And I'm done...hooray!

What is it about life that sometimes you have absolutely nothing going on and then just like THAT you're super busy? Is there an in-between stage where you're kinda busy, kinda not...just right?

All of the sudden I'm making plans, getting ready for visitors, filling in dates on my calendar.

We are so excited to have a stream of visitors coming starting in 10 days here and there until April. This is exciting and stressful all at once, do you get me??

The house will be clean that first day of their visit and then it'll be downhill from there. I'll have an itinerary of fun stuff to do and then when they leave my kids will think I'm super boring.

Life is all about balance. Balance and contentment. If we are busy, we want to not be so busy. If we are not busy, we are bored. I want to be content in all things. A work in progress is what I am.

And speaking of work, and if you are a fan of plaids and felts and coziness, go see my latest Winter Line in my shop...I'd be so happy if you did :)

Have a great week...busy or not so busy :)

xo,

{alicia}

just cute

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Kids are so darn cute. Are they not? I just love 'em...

Tuesday night, Jack's loose tooth #2 was just dangling there like loose teeth do. Jarrod offered him a king sized candy bar if he'd let him pull it.

No deal.

Then he offered Jack $10.

No deal.

Then he offered Jack Mario Cart, the Wii game on his wishlist.

Mouth open.

Tooth removed.

Simple as that.

We've got some leverage here, people.

Then I forgot to share this in my Christmas post, but here's a note from Noah to Santa...

I know a lot of people don't do "Santa" but we do. It's just fun. My kids know Christmas isn't all about Santa, but it just gets 'em goin' you know?? So ya, we do Santa. And my nine-year-old is still a believer. Heck, I might even still be. I love their faces. Their excited little faces.

And here's the last bit of cuteness:
I shared this little ditty on my facebook page, but never shared with y'all.

My sweet little bug is completely in love with love right now. She wants to get married. And she wants to marry my brother. I just love that. Whoever does marry Jesse is a lucky girl...but for right now, he's taken...by Sister.

We were at Goodwill scavenging and she scoped the wedding dresses in all their lace taffeta like a hawk zeroing in on a pitiful little bunny rabbit.

"I want this for my wedding when I marry Jesse. Let's just buy it so someone else doesn't buy it."

Oh sweet thing, no one in their right mind would buy that white hot mess.

She's obviously been worried about the financial side of the wedding affair, because she came up with the idea (all on her own, mind you) that Jesse should purchase the dress for her. Lack of money problem solved...have your man pick up the tab. Good thinkin' girlie :)

Here's her thoughts...

a crafty weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:20:00 +0000

Jealousy Alert: I just spent a dreamy weekend away, so if you're feeling really stressed and really need a weekend away you might want to skip this...I'm feeling pretty spoiled right now. (spoled, if you live where I live)

My new friend Sarah and I have had this dream/idea of throwing our very own craft weekend someday...but we were both feeling like now is not the right time. So we decided what we did need was a weekend away to have some girly/craft/junk/ikea time.

I told you it was dreamy...

This is Sarah Tucker of Create Studio. You probably already know her, but if you don't you really should. She creates some of the cutest things out there. She just opened an Etsy shop...she makes and sells cowl-neck scarves and much more...I'm wearing one she gave me in that pic up there. Super cute!!

Sarah has the perfect getaway spot, her parent's lake house right outside Charlotte. We had the whole house to ourselves. It was so beautiful and serene. The lake is about halfway for both of us, so we met Friday night there. When I got there, Sarah had all her supplies set up. She even put up a festive banner. It definitely helped to set the mood :)

Friday night, our intentions were to jump right in and get crafting, but we were much too chatty. I showed her the proper way to make stove top popcorn and we talked and ate till the wee hours of the night.

Saturday morning we had a yummy breakfast at Starbucks and headed to this fab.u.lous flea market! It was SO fun. Since moving here, I've been wondering if I'd ever be able to find fun, cheap junk again...it seems like it's all more expensive here. But we hit the mecca and both of us did GREAT!

How cute is she just digging through a box of old patterns?? I mean, really??

And they were 3/$1. Cheap-o deluxe! I'm going to try to incorporate some into some mixed media pieces. (I'm taking Jeanne Oliver's new online class and I just know I'm going to learn a ton!) And Sarah's going to frame some for her studio.

Heres' a picture of our loot. Sarah got this adorable sewing kit basket chock full of OLLLLDDDD sewing notions. I got an old book, that green tackle box thingy, that t.n.t box, patterns, and see that pile of wire on the bottom? Its an old shelf from a grocery store. I'm going to use it in my studio...someday ;)

After junking, was IKEA...where neither one of us bought one thing! I know, insane right?!? Don't worry, I'll make up for my mistakes later.

After IKEA was crafting into the wee hours once again. I made lots of stuff for my new Etsy line. It'll be ready very soon....I can't wait to show you what I've been working on! Sunday morning was more crafting and then goodbyes.

We had such a fun time. I left relaxed and refreshed. I think being away for a few days makes me love my family so much more. Noah made dinner for us on Sunday and it was delightful. I just love my little people. And my friends. And crafting...all weekend.

Thank you, Sarah, for a fabulous time!! I needed it badly! Thank you :)

xo,

{alicia}

happy.

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Just a happy lil' post:

Finding the tiniest patch of ice and turning it into an ice skating rink to hold the "Train Ice Capades"....Imagination=Happy :)

My mom coming to visit in approximately 4 weeks and 4 days...Moms=Happy.

PS: this is not my mom, it's me...just a little younger version of the original.

Wild holly branches growing in my backyard...nature=happy!

Super fun side-projects to plan, encouragement from friends, fun mail, sweet cards from Karen ;), stressful projects simplified...Happy!

See that black blob by her feet? It's a dead mole. He's frozen stiff. She is convinced he's hibernating...just sleeping. Optimism=Happy!!

Impromptu whisker drawing...Washable markers=happy...

A pile of yummy plaids and warm colored felt...Being Creative=happy happy!!

Turning that stack into yummy plaid/felt creations...Hand Made Crafts=Very Happy!

Have a happy happy weekend, friends :)

xo,

{alicia}

ready for routine

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I had a wise friend tell me when I started homeschooling to take off or at least greatly simplify school during the month of December. She was right and I've heeded that advice since we started homeschooling.

School in December consisted of math and reading. That's pretty much it...they did some daily activities on their own, but it's always been very laid back.

Well! It is now January 3rd and it is TIME TO GET BACK into a good ol' routine!

I've made some adjustments to our school this month. I've taken a lot of time these last couple weeks to really streamline and organize our schedule.

I'm looking to find that balance between super structured and NOT schooling at all. It's a constant battle of me not wanting to be the "scary scheduled school marm" or the "my kids can't add 2+2" mom. It's a balance, I guess.

One thing I did was make these busy boxes for Sophia...

I didn't buy anything to do these, just stuff I had around the house. But she's only going to be allowed the box for the specific day. I'm hoping this will keep her busy and entertained so we can get our work done. She's not really bad during school, she just wants to be part of everything...this way she's still at the table with us, but just keeping herself busy.

I'm planning on switching the activities our regularly to keep them fresh and fun.

The other thing I did differently is eliminate our schoolroom.

*gasp!*

I know, right?

Well, the whole sleep all together in one room thing wasn't really working. They were keeping each other up ALLLLL night :-/

The other thing was, I felt like our schooling kept gravitating upstairs anyway. So we're doing school at the dining room table this semester to see how it goes.

The homeschool bookshelves are now housed in the family room downstairs and the kids each have their daily baskets to carry to the table every day.

I'm hoping to get a cabinet of some sort to hold daily work in the dining room, but we'll make it work for now.

So I've officially got the time line of the American Revolution on my dining room wall...how's that for home decor?? :)

(ps: I think this townhouse is sucking all my decoration mojo from me...I have no creative juices left...)

SO, here we go...school's back in session!!

Our fall semester was kind of a disaster...with moving and getting settled, it just was hard. We got all the necessities done, but necessities are no fun...we want the fun school stuff too. So this semester, I'm going for fun...easy, simplified fun :)

Yeah for newly refreshed routines!!

{alicia}

2012 reads

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:04:00 +0000

I did not write down a ton of goals and resolutions this year. I feel like there's been enough change, stretching, bending, growing just naturally happening around here based on our circumstances. BUT I did make a few goals and wrote them down. One goal? Read more!

I love to read. I already do read a lot, but I actually made a list of books I read in 2011 (it's incomplete because I can't remember them all) and I made a list for the books I want to read in 2012.

Here's a list of a few of the books I read last year:

-Jane Eyre

-Pride & Prejudice

-The White Queen (SUCH a good book!)

-Cleopatra's Daughter

-The Soldier's Wife (loved this one too!!)

-Same Kind of Different As Me

and....

here's my list for this year so far:

-The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society

-Little Women

-The Twilight Series (i've never read these! *gasp!*)

-The Paris Wife

-To Kill a Mockingbird (rereading this. i love it)

-A Reliable Wife

-The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

-Anne of Green Gables (i've never read this either!)

SO...is there anything else I need to add?? There's also several parenting books that I like to reread every year too. I'm going to keep a running list of my read books on the side of my blog, so I can actually remember what I've read :)

Hope you had a great holiday weekend!!

xo,

{alicia}

2011: A Year in Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

2011 was a year of some major transition, from hair to geography to jobs, we covered it.

Looking back over this piece of web space is like a dream world...how could this have all just happened in one year?

I'm sure every year feels like this when you look back. It seems like forever-ago, but yet like it shouldn't be over yet.

So here it is, 2011 in a few photos and links to past posts:

{I met Ms. Brandi...eek!}

{Fun Things}

{Moving? Yes. Moving.}

{Goodbyes}

{Hellos}

{New Traditions}

{And a Whole Lotta Love}

Through this change-full year, I've been learning to stretch...be ok with things, let go of some unnecessary expectations. And hopefully by this time next year, we'll have transitioned from the transition period and see how much we've grown. It's not all been easy, this year of 2011, but it's all been worth it. Very much so, worth it.

I pray 2012 finds you and yours happy, healthy, and cozy.

I will be spending the weekend organizing, recording goals for the year, hiking?, and watching movies.

Have a great weekend!
See you next year!! (sorry, I just couldn't resist)

xo,

{alicia}

highlights of a low key christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I loved this Christmas.

Here's some highlights:

Christmas Eve was busy with preparations so I didn't have to do a darn thing on Christmas day. I set the table for Christmas Eve dinner before church so it was all ready. This year, I set each place with the last week of ornaments from our Jesse Tree.

So after dinner I read the Nativity story and the kids put the ornaments on our Jesse Tree.

We did it by candle light. It was lovely.

Some of our traditions are: Christmas Eve service, a yummy Christmas morning breakfast, Christmas day with family, and new jammies.
We did all that again this year, minus the family part. But we did Skype with them, which was SO fun! we loved that!

Christmas morning is what they've all been waiting for...when the paper and craziness really happens. Here's a few snaps...

She's eating chocolate. It's like 8am. She doesn't think we know what she's doing. Oh my gosh, I was laughing so hard. Every once in a while she'd pop her head up with chocolate all over her teeth...kinda gross, kinda cute :)

The Crayon Maker from Santa rocked! And so did Jenga! And by the way, she wore that crown ALL day. I don't know how her head didn't hurt!

Here's a little video I made of us on Christmas Day, just to show you how laid back it really was. At one point during the day I was like, "oh my gosh! everyone is quietly doing different things...this is amazingly quiet. i must document!" so I did.

Jarrod is putting together a dresser I got him from IKEA. He loves it.

Noah is building a giant roller coaster from KNEX.

Sophia got her FIRST Barbies for Christmas, so she's all about the Barbies.

And Jack is playing DS.

Oh. And I'm recording the activities, looking more tired than I really am :)

Enjoy.

(music is Joy to the World by Sufjan Stevens)

By the way: I love this week. It's like the pep rally before the new year's goals and plans.

This week I'm taking Christmas down, writing out a few goals for 2012, planning my winter etsy line, planning school for this semester, and filling in my new planner...how bout you? Are you ready for the new year??

xo,

{alicia}

here we go, it's Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:02:00 +0000

December 23rd makes me remember when I was a little girl.

It makes me treasure what I have, being a mom of little kids making memories.

When I was little, my dad would tell me the same stories every year. That dude should write a book of all his crazy stories...I still don't really know which ones were true and which weren't...

so we had a conference call with Grandpa Bill to hear the story about chasing down Santa Claus and accidentally making him fall over...

Everyone is smiling, secreting, can't wait to see what their stocking will have in them Christmas morning. We're all eating badly...sneaking cookies. (I'm sneakily eating Mexican tea cookies before my kids wake up...)

I was balancing my checkbook in the computer yesterday. It was raining, so I thought the little *rustlerustlerustle* (ever so faintly, mind you) was just the rain.

No.

It was a little Christmas elf-person, sneaking Puppy Chow...covered in powdered sugar.

I laughed.
It's Christmas.

We had a torrential downpour last night with thunder and lightning.

What the??????

It's December for heck's sake!

I'm used to blizzards, not thunderstorms...

Crazy.

Magic.

We made these collage thingies yesterday.

I love how they turned out.

Sophia decided they should stay out all winter, because they are wintery.

I agree completely.

Sophie's

Jack's:

Noah's: (he totally gets the whole depth perception thing. I love that)

So here we go, it's Christmas!

Here's our card. Greetings to you and yours.

I'm going to love love love on my babies this weekend. Soak up all the magic there is to be had. I'm ready. I'm excited.

Merry Christmas, y'all.

xo,

{alicia}

a new spin on advent calendars

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:14:00 +0000

I feel like maybe I've been on a little bit of an unplanned blog break. I've kinda just been soaking in life right now...doing some "me" projects, doing some Christmas things, catching up with friends, planning for our Christmas fest this weekend. We'll be here, just the five of us for the first time ever. Don't be sad for us though, it's gonna be AWESOME! We're SO looking forward to kicking back, milking the day for all it's worth, staying in our jammies, and enjoying each other.

But why I'm here today is to tell you something we've being doing every day this month and you should totally do it too.

Advent calendars are cool and everything, but remembering to buy little treats or trinkets to fill it up can be tricky. Then add that to all the crafts, activities, and other things you want to do in December and I can get overwhelmed pretty quick.

So here's what I did this year. I got the general idea from pinterest...here's the link. But I modified it to fit us. Like I didn't want to do the whole elf thing. I know a lot of people are doing elf things, but I just can't. I'm sorry :-/ So at the beginning of the month I made a list of all the stuff I wanted to do this month with my kids...I'll show you my list in a sec. Then I made little cards, envelopes, etc telling the kids what we were doing each day. I think next year I'll put all the cards on some yarn and hang it or something, but for this year I just sat them on the counter every morning before they got up.

A lot of these pics are blurry. Sorry about that...

The cool thing about this is that I feel like we did so much this December...all stuff I wanted to do anyway, but it wasn't stressful because it was like ONE thing a day...most of the time with very little prep. Also on the days when I didn't have a craft or event or whatever, I just did something fun...like "snow balls" aka: powdered sugar donut holes or a felt Christmas tree that they could decorate that took me all of 20 minutes to make. I also did a couple days with just a little gift...like a new Christmas CD:

Today their card said "go caroling" and guess what we were going to do anyway today with the homeschool group?? Yep. Genius, I tell ya! :)

So here's our list:

1. Paint Christmas pottery

2. Make hot chocolate and write letters to Santa

3. Get Christmas tree!

4. Family game night (I wrapped up a new game)

5. Make cards

6. Have breakfast for dinner and eat in our pj's

7. Starbucks night!

8. Craft

9. Make snowflakes

10. Bake cookies

11. Make ginger bread houses

12. Go shopping

13. Wrap gifts

14. Craft

15. Movie night (I bought "Little House on the Prairie Christmas" trying to relive my childhood)

16. Drive around and look at lights

17. Go see the gingerbread houses at Grove Park

18. Felt Christmas tree

19. Take treats to a neighbor

20. Snow balls (powdered sugar donuts)

21. Go caroling

22. Craft

23. New Christmas music

24. Open ONE gift (it will be new jammies...it is every year.)

25. CHRISTMAS DAY!!

So that's it! So fun! We all loved it!

Hope you're having a great week...now I better get ready for caroling...

me me me me me...ahem.

Ready!

Nothing to do with nothin' really, but she's dancing with a monkey and I love it.

xo,

{alicia}

doing a new thing

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:11:00 +0000

Sometimes creating for the pure sake of creating, is just what a creative soul needs.
This cross country move has proven to be more twisty and complicated and taxing then I thought.
But little things like creating something you had no idea you had in you is like a calm serum, just when you need it.

I took a "Christy Tomlinson" online art class a couple weeks ago and it has completely opened my eyes. There are many areas of craft....many of which I've been too afraid to delve into. This class, even though it was just a simple, fun class for Christmas, has given me that push to do new things. Try new things...

These are little magnets. The embellished Altoids box and magnet bit was my creation. Christy showed them as ornaments...I pictured them as magnet sets.

So I made these sweet little magnet sets for some gifts to give.

This is the other big surprise to me...

I've always loved mixed media art. I've always loved the messiness, grittiness, distressedness...

but never never would I have ever guessed I had it in me to create it myself.

Christy Tomlinson is SO fun to watch create and SO encouraging. She gave me that push to try it.

So I did...

There's a lot I don't like about these pieces, things I would change...there's still so much to learn, but I love what I created so far.

It felt so good this week to just sit and create...just for me.

Therapeutic really.

So here's to ignoring me misspelling my own name on watermarks, trying new things, exploring new avenues of art, and WeeKEnds!!!!

xo,

{alicia}

tuesday; organized craft rooms, centerpieces, and other happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:52:00 +0000

Tuesday was good. I'm finding I have good days when I don't have to go anywhere...just me in my little commune here, which is totally what it feels like because there's so many people in this one little area. But it's like everyone in the commune knows everyone including us, but we don't know any of them...weird. We know the neighbor above us and the one beside us...but they know everyone. Weird.

Anyway, back to Tuesday.

We did lots together. Lots was accomplished...

like talking for an hour to a friend, finishing my wrapping of gifts,

and taking self photos like this:

I texted this picture to my mom, kinda sort making fun of her...we have fun like that.

It said, "I'm drinking coffee at 2:30pm wearing funky glasses...who am I?"

Yes, the answer was her...

I even asked all three kids wearing those glasses,

"hey! who am I??"

"GRANDMA!!!!!"

(ps: i don't wear glasses, they are sophia's play ones)

Anyway, her phone is all messed up so she didn't get the pic and ruined my joke.

Boo.

We walked around the commune(ity) and I acted like I was tying my shoes repeatedly while I actually was snipping little snippets off the trees for the centerpiece on my table...

I know people were watching me...I just know it! It's like the hills have eyes, but not...you know??

Anyway...

yesterday afternoon I actually accomplished a major thing!

When we moved in here I kind of just shoved stuff in my craft corner and left it...

not very organized-like or productive-like when you're trying to work on stuff.

So here it is...all nice.

See that white cabinet in the back? That used to be my TV cabinet.

That door desk used to be my computer desk.

And that green table behind the door desk used to be in my kitchen...

whew!!

I didn't take "befores" so you just have to trust me that it was messy...k?

If you're looking at that top pic, to the left of that is a bookshelf that was also in my living room. I have a bunch of craft supplies on it now.

Remember all my storage in my old craft room??

I needed some more storage for all my STUFF!

The green table is now my cutting/creating table.

I'm not sure if I can hang things on the wall "legally" so I have a lot of things leaning...

the wire shelf is stuck to the wall with Command strips, holding

my original Becky Strahle painting of our old house.

The inside of my cabinet was the worst part...but now it's nice.

See the labels??? Yeah for labels!!!

Ok, so that felt realllly good to get done.

I stuck an easy dinner in the oven and sat down to read to the kids for a bit while it cooked and while we read I felt like I got hit by a ton of bricks...

After dinner I laid in bed and wrote some thank you notes...Jarrod bathed the kids and put them to bed.

I finally got out of bed around 8:30 since I was still in my clothes and said goodnight to the kids. Being all in one room, they totally goof off and don't go to sleep. So I got mad at them when I went in to say goodnight and they were all up and being crazy.

I went to the living room and sat in the dark and looked at my tree...it is so pretty at night.

But then I felt bad for being crabby and mad right before they went the kids went to sleep, so I went back into their room and hugged and kissed them.

Then I had a bowl of peppermint ice cream and looked at my tree again in the dark...

and wrote a couple letters some some older lady friends of mine...on some brandy new stationary from a friend ;) thanks Dara!!

So ya, Tuesday was good overall...besides ruined jokes and feeling a little sickish and kids not going to bed...

Today? Ballet. Christmas craft. Packaging orders. Post Office. Finish a couple Christmas gifts...but first?? Carmel Rolls at Carissa's!! Better go while their still warm!!

Happy Wednesday, y'all.

xo,

{alicia}

coffee time: talking about weekends and christmas houses

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:03:00 +0000

Hi guys :) I'm joining Amy and friends for coffee this morning...thanks for coming. If you're hoping to just stop in for a quick sec, good luck because I'm in the chatting mood...

and there's like 20 pictures in this post, so stick around for a while.

This weekend was good. We had a date night and got our Christmas shopping done.

We had a delicious dinner and time alone was really nice. We do that every year...dinner and shopping. It's a good tradition.

On Sunday we went to the National Gingerbread Competition (there must be a "national competition for everything) to see all the gingerbread masterpieces.

Pretty incredible...and edible....(i had to!)

We also wrapped gifts and finished a few little projects.

I completely ripped off Lemonade Makin' Mama's idea here and sprayed these cheapo stools white and stenciled a number on top...she knows about it...and she's ok with it.

I contracted in my darling second son to do the distressing. I think he did quite well.

We may be on to something here...professional distresser??

Also this weekend? One of my etsy items made the front page on Sunday!!! Hooray, right??!!

Ok, now enough weekend talk and more Christmas talk...

here's some pics of my living room all Christmassy...

This grey cabinet is the one I just bought at IKEA. I love it. I bought it so that I could use it in lots of different areas, not just for the TV. I can see this as a sideboard table, buffet, craft cupboard, in the bedroom...so many options. Yeah IKEA!

Some of these aren't really that Christmassy, but I've never shown you my living room before...I don't have a whole lot out or up. But I like the simple for now.

It took me all of one hour to decorate our temp home for Christmas.

Now on to the lower level...

we have a like a family room of sorts that's pretty big, so it is used as a play area and my craft area. My craft area was pretty messy at the time of this photo shoot...

I want to really organize my space today. When we moved in here, not long ago, I just kind of shoved stuff here and there and haven't really organized...that's my goal for today.

So...on to the nicer part of the room.

We got two real trees this year. The kids love having allllll their handmade ornaments on their own tree. I love it too! Just look at this tree!! There's hardly a bare branch!!

So there's my Christmas house. Hope you enjoyed the tour and your coffee...

Happy Tuesday!!

Join Amy for more fun posts HERE.

xo,

{alicia}

holy thursday!

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:01:00 +0000

It's crazy to think how much difference a week can make.
It's not at all like I am or was in a deep depression or a super unhealthy mental state, but it was just like last Friday's post just showed how much life was catching up to me.
But honestly, 7 days, a few runs, some creative outlets, and I feel. so. much. better than last Friday.
Knowing this just makes me want to tell everyone having a hard time to just hold on...it gets better...for really reals, it does.

Having a super productive day after weeeeeeks of feeling like I don't accomplish anything really helps too.
Yes, yesterday was like...HoLy ThUrSdAy, yo!
It was one of those days that I almost set myself up to fail...creating this long list of stuff that I thought for sure wouldn't happen.
But Praise Jesus! it did happen...in a big way.
What you ask did I accomplish? Well, I thought you'd never ask!

-Ironed a giant pile of clothes...yuck, but YEAH!
-Taught math...even did the supplemental section for extra practice with Noah
-Did a kiddie craft with the kiddies
-Made my Walmart list to go to Walmart today
-Called the church to ask about something...has been on my list for a week and a half
-Hired a babysitter for a Christmas party we're going to
-Did my bible study
-Packaged all the gifts I'm sending out to friends and family
-Finished the handmade gifts that I packaged up to send to friends and family

handmade gift: exhibit A

-Made lunch...hey, I did it
-Kicked the kids outside for a good two hours to play
-Cleared off my desk, filed things, returned emails
-Made dinner
-Went to art class and painted a fun painting...SO much fun! I loved this!
Extra Credit (wasn't even ON my list!):
*Spray painted some stools I've been wanting to paint almost since we moved here.*

So yeah!! right!? Don't be feeling bad on yourself if you had a NOT so productive day yesterday. I was DUE! It's been too long...way too long.
Think I can have two in a row?? I better not get greedy! :)

Have a terrific Friday and I'll be back Monday, Wednesday, Friday with more pics on the stool project, pics of my painting, and some other fun stuff we've been up to.
Happy Weekending!

xo,
{alicia}

@ annalea's today!

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Hey lovelies :)
I'm at Annalea Hart's today, talking about advent and all things adventy
so come over how about??

See you there!!

Good Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:42:00 +0000

Good morning, girlies (I'm assuming here.)!

Here's what I decided: if your life is stressing you out, you write blog posts about good stuff.

Stuff that's made you happy as of late..."hooray" things.

Are you a "hooray" person?? I like it. I usually sing/say it.

Hooray!

So...here's some good stuff accompanied by pictures of my adorable children when we went downtown last week to eat a yummy lunch and paint Christmas pottery.

-Christmas cards done and sent, all except for the last 10 or so in which I ran out of cards...more on order....

-Fast shipping

-The smell of my Christmas tree

-The soft pretty light it gives off

-Working out 2 of three mornings this week and feeling SO much better about life because of it.

-How running provides Prozac-type results.

-A smallish house that takes literally 30 minutes to clean and 1 hour to decorate.

-Three little sweeties that give me grace for not being a perfect mom.

-Three little sweeties and their letters to Santa.

-Making new memories.

-Starting new traditions.

-Accidental phone calls from new friends that turn into half hour conversations.

-Purposeful phone calls to old friends that leave me smiling and encouraged.

-My mom and the mental picture of her smashing out her counter top with a hammer...she's hilarious. You would love my mom.

-Boxes in the mail from my mom.

-Boxes with Christmas gifts at the door.

-"Wrapping Gifts" on my list today.

-Watching my guinea pig baby get so consumed in a book, he nearly misses dinner...he loves to read, I think.

-Listening to my little kinder read the longest book he's ever read and grin ear to ear about it.

-Having my "little mama" tell me she wants to be just like me when she grows up.

-Finding just the right gift.

-Getting somewhere just in time.

-Nearly skipping out on our first homeschool group gathering because I didn't feel like going, and meeting a TON of terrific moms that are fun and sweet.

-Exchanging numbers with new friends.

-Having your kids thankyouthankyouthankyou for something you didn't really want to do, but it makes it worth it that they're so happy.

-Husbands that aren't in Charlotte. (thinking of you EQ and LA)

-Friends that support and love on me.

-Art class tomorrow night...I'm going to wear a beret and smock ;)

-Plans

-Plane tickets

-Goals

-Comments from people that I had no idea read my blog and feeling so flattered!

-My banker...if you're new here, it's not what you think ;)

-Fired plumbers that gave me the creeps.

-Blogging.

-"Me" projects.

-Taking pictures.

-Moments alone.

-Letting go of expectations for now.

-Rummikub.

That's all I've got for now, chicas. I love that you come over here everyday. Really, I do.
Thanks for being one of my "good stuffs" :)

xo,
{alicia}

not so deep, not so dark

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:08:00 +0000

Hi.
I'm back.
I'm trying to form together groups of words in my head to express just how thankful I am for you these last few days. Even before I finished proof reading my post on Friday to see if it made any sense at all, God started blessing me. My friend, Carissa, came to the door at 9am bearing pumpkin scones...blessing? I dare say, yes!
I was in a funk and needed some phone freedom, so I stuck it in a drawer in the kitchen. But as we did school I could hear the *ding*ding*ding* and I knew you were forming a group huddle to help me out. I saved those emails for later...
Later brought a lifesaving text from Carissa, who had just read my post and wondered if she could take my kids for a few hours so I could decompress a bit. Could you?? Ummm, yes!
I spent a few hours alone going for a run in the park on gorgeous trails with the gorgeous(?) squirrels, browsing at the fabric store, picking up a few groceries alone, and making dinner for Jarrod and I to eat...alone. Before he got home though, I sat down with my Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks and savored...and I mean savored, each and every one of your comments, emails, texts, facebook messages. I honestly cannot recall a single day I've been blessed by friends so much in one day.

I couldn't help but bawl over your
encouragement
advice
suggestions
support
personal stories
personal struggles
and love.
I just kept thinking to myself how deeply loved I felt and feel still.

Your words have stuck with me. They're printed out now and stuck in my journal for safe keeping. I plan to read and reread your encouragement when and if I slip back into dark and twistiness.

You
gave me permission to slack on school this month
take naps when I need them
give myself a break
told me my kids were brilliant :)
told me how you've gotten through transitions that were difficult
gave me scriptures and quotes
{Amy}, you offered to take my kids for the afternoon if you didn't live 1,000 miles away and Carissa beat you to it, but I love that you would have...I know you're super sweet like that
Amy G., you serenaded me, which is so you and I love it
Glenda, you let me know that how I feel is so normal...and I loved that. It's good to know when everything feels so NOT normal
Alexis, you mentioned getting it out there is part of the battle which was so true! I felt better almost immediately after hitting "publish"
and
Cindy, you compared my situation to having a new baby in the house and how it changes everything...when you said that it was like a light switch went on. How I feel right now IS a lot how I felt when I had my babies and life just seems so out of whack and "normal" days and schedules and regular seems SO far away....

But I know something else about having babies and the changes it makes in your home....
It's never really the same, but it does eventually get better. It does. I know this. I've had three children...I know.

So I just want to say thank you thank you...so much. I've cried at my computer, in the shower, making my bed, eating lunch over your words and how loved you make me feel. I feel like we just had a pow-wow with 50+ women in my living room, lifting me up...helping me get on my feet and move on.

Thank you again...you have no idea what you did for me this weekend.

Much love,
{alicia}

PS: my bible luckily did not blow up today...

a deep, dark post

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:35:00 +0000

hi.
i've decided to be brutally honest today. when you see a post with me typing in all littles, you know it's going to be serious. it means i've got too much on my mind to bother with capital letters.
i have a lot on my mind right now, for the past 7 weeks, no wait 3 months i have.
since we moved here 7 weeks ago, jarrod has been in charlotte for 6 of them.
i. am. exhausted.
he got home last night, finally done with work there...but for some reason i don't feel better. i mean, i'm glad he's home but there's so much of the last 6 weeks that i've been blaming on his absence and i think i realized that maybe all the heaviness and stress of the last several weeks haven't been because he was gone.
besides solo parenting, there's been:

$19 library fees
being late for everything because i don't know where i'm going
walmart...enough said
busted gallons of milk on the front steps
lack of sleep
lack of exercise
lack of sleep
lack of exercise
lack of routine
lack of motivation
pushing, digging, running on my own stamina when i have none. zero.
a leaky ceiling from a broken pipe of some sort in the apartment upstairs
the gaping hole in the ceiling now to fix the leaky pipe
the gross, disgusting plumber that accompanies all these plumbing points
lack of sleep
lack of sleep
kids that take advantage of a slack routine
night time accidents five minutes after i finally get to sleep
and then again the next night
stuff that i want that's in storage in south dakota
boxes in the garage
boxes in closets
searching through boxes to get things i need. (i am refusing to unpack every little thing, only to have to pack it up again.)
icky plush white carpet that shows every crumb on it.
lack of windows in the house...there's 3. total.
not owning a house...i know renting is right for right now. i do. but it doesn't make me feel better about the situation.

going to richmond was a nice break. a much needed reprieve. but now we're back to all this. and jarrod's home now, but will that make everything improve? i don't know.
i knew he had work in charlotte before we moved, so i was prepared...or so i thought. i did the ol' rocky routine: self-pep talks, a few one-armed push ups here and there. i wanted to rise to the occasion, being twice the parent because one of us was gone and i was determined to suck it up for the whole team and have a grand ol' time with the kids and enjoy my evenings with tea and magazines. i failed miserably. there's been many days that i've cried on and off all day, simply because i am dying for normal. routine. schedule. order. and i feel like it's just gone. i come awake at night and lay in bed for hours without sleeping. last night, even though jarrod was here, it was after 2 before i fell asleep. then i can't get up early, which is so essential for me.
i don't know what i need.
should i take a sleeping pill?
should i curl up in my comforter at 10am like i feel like doing?
should i make more charts and schedules?
should i get into the fetal position and stay there till jarrod gets home?
should i hire a nanny/chef/maid?
i don't know what i need, but i feel icky and i don't like where i am emotionally.
i feel really far from the Lord, like i'm wondering if He remembers i'm here, struggling.
when i feel like this, i'm almost too ashamed to crack my bible. like it'll blow up in my hands for being so absent.

i don't mean to be a complain-y blogger. i know so many have it so worse off than me.
it's just where i'm at. and i feel like a faker if i just show you a post about my new cabinet from ikea. so, this is what you get. a deep, dark post without photos.
sorry.

i'm shutting off my phone today and unplugging the computer.
i have a house to decorate and kids to educate.
if you think of me this weekend, i could use your prayers more than anything right now.
i'm gonna enjoy my family this weekend and get our christmas tree and maybe, just maybe i'll be back monday with a more chipper outlook on life.

thank you for staying with me through this deep, dark post.
it means the world.

xo,
{alicia}

ps: my sweet friend, carissa, brought me a pumpkin scone just now...maybe things are looking up. :)

what's in charlotte?

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +0000

So we joined Jarrod in Charlotte while he was there for some work stuff on Sunday night and Monday. We were there for about 24 hours and this is my synopsis.

Hotels.

Lots of them.

We stayed in one.

I checked for bed bugs.

There were none.

The kids ran down the hallways and got ice in buckets.

Fun.

Ms. Frat Pack!

I met the Suzette Mahoney of The Frat Pack + Me. She was just as sweet as I expected. So easy to talk to. So adorable. She chose the cutest little french cafe for us to have lunch. It's Amelie's. (pronounced Ah-ma-lees...i thought is was like Ah-meel-ia or something like that. not so.) And the Pioneer Woman was there (not Monday, but a different day) and posted about it and everything. So ya, it was good...

Suzette and I could've chatted all day, but she had to go pick up her son and my kids were in a French cafe. So you can about imagine.

Yes, time to go.

I loved meeting you, Ms. S! Next time it's IKEA time!! :)

Speaking of IKEA................

after we left Suzette, we went there.

And went there big.

If you've never been, just imagine a big, no HUGE warehouse type thing that lures you in by adorable room settings, convincing you you need to be more organized and hip. Then you keep walking and following those arrows on the floor and you pop out in this huge warehouse part and you take a trolley thing and load it up with boxes of furniture!!!!

YES! It's awesome!!

Although, is does tend to be more stressful when you're there alone with three kids

and you're trying to buy boxes of heavy furniture

and push carts (or buggies if you're in Asheville)

and trolleys

and chase kids

and carry purses

and text people

and write things down

and sign up for rewards programs so you get a discounts

and pay

and unload

and load into your car.........................

I nearly left a kid to fit all my stuff, but it turns out I didn't have to.

And everyone was all snug as a bug in a rug. or a car.

My 24th hour in Charlotte:

Cars.

And lots of 'em.

And rain.

And lots of it.

I am getting out Christmas stuff today.

We're buying our trees (yes, treeS) on Saturday.

I thought I left all our Christmas CDs in storage in South Dakota, but I found them.

So it's gonna be a Rock Around the Christmas Tree kinda day.

Also, because I'm so Christmassy and Katy was so sweet to ask me, I'm guesting over at Scotty Boy And Katy Girl, talking about Christmas things. Go see me and say 'ello.

So ya.

Ok.

Bye.

thanksgiving with the Strahles

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Thanksgiving 2011 has turned out to be a holiday of firsts. We have never spent a holiday away from our families. We have definitely never spent a holiday in Virginia. But we did both of these this thanksgiving.

Wednesday night, the kids and I picked up Jarrod from work and drove several hours to our sweet friends, the Strahles in Richmond, Virginia.

They just moved there in July from Minnesota...we just moved to Asheville from South Dakota last month, so it only seemed right that the Midwesterners -turned-Southerners spend the holiday together.

I will admit there was an element of fear to this trip. This was only the fourth time I had ever hung out with Becky. I was wondering how it would go...

would our kids get along?

would the guys be awkward?

would it be strange spending a holiday with friends?

I have to say the Lord totally and completely blessed our time together.

We had an absolute blast and my kids are asking when we're going back! (i wanna know too!)

No awkwardness, no misbehaved kids, no strangeness...

we were busy and completely relaxed all at once...

it was blissful.

I brought a couple craft projects to keep little hands busy while Becky and I cooked the big feast. The stars aligned, dinner came together beautifully, and we ate ourselves into food comas.

The whole weekend our kids were so good. I have to say I was a little shocked on my kids' end...there's usually bickering of some sort going on at least several times a day. I'm not sure if all they're ages were just right or what, but they were like little angels...

maybe they knew the mamas were going Christmas shopping on Black Friday.

Hmmmmm...

And shop we did! We did our little part to stimulate the economy ;)

Becky finished allll her shopping (I know, don't you just kinda hate her just a little bit...)

and I got a lot done on my list. We laughed through most of it.

While the guys were home (pacing and checking the online banking every five minutes), Becky was driving me all over Richmond finding deals and bouncing ideas off one another.

Black Friday shopping absolutely MUST be done with a friend...must!

She took me to Trader Joe's (I had never been). Here she is finding the cutest little teeny tiny potatoes ever!

We also went to this adorable little shop way out in the middle of no where.

I love little shops like this.

We left on Saturday feeling blessed so much.

Becky and family made us feel just like part of the clan. We were wined and dined and entertained. We had movie nights, loads of laughs, blessed adult conversation, and plans for our next get-together.

We have people.

And I must say, being 1500 miles from family...it feels sooo good to have people.

My guy and Becky's guy had lots of bonding time...they were to the point where they could give each other a little crap, which is always good. This is a "ha-ha-nice-pink-camera-strap, Strahle" shot. Yes, my guy had the cam...

I learned a lot about my friend. She learned a lot about me. We had some really sweet time together. She inspires me in so many ways. I just love that girl.

I love you guys...thanks for giving us some family here in this foreign country we now call home. Thanks so much for a beautiful weekend!

xo,

{alicia}

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And for all y'all, it's Cyber Monday!!

Click the pic below for a special Cyber Monday deal in my shop! Yeah!!