Out of all the fish in the sea...

I really like using pails for storage. I have a pail at the computer desk and a pail that holds all of my bathroom stuff (hair dryer, brushes, styler, etc.) I saw these fun pails at Hobby Lobby and thought I will modge podge cute paper on it for Mr. J.

Pail-Hobby Lobby

Paper-Paper Source (LOVE that store)

Modge Podge

Paint Brush

 This was such a quick project. 

While in line at Michael's, right by the checkout where all the treats are put for kids to beg their parents for just 1 candy, I decided if cowboy wanted 1 he could get Swedish fish. Here came the finish for my pail. SO cheesy...out of all the fish in the sea, I'm so lucky you chose me! In the movie, The Holiday, Kate Winslet says, I love cheesy, I'm looking for cheesy (or something like that.) Sometimes I need to be a little more cheesy, romantic so here it is. I will be honest, when we got home and actually opened the bag, the fish were stale and hard so the one hanging is only for decoration. I added popcorn and candy so we could have a fun little date night, which will be topped off with a movie rental from blockbuster express. Even though the rentals are only $1, there are always codes and we haven't paid for a rental in forever! I get so excited to go stand in the rental line and know that I will end up paying nothing to watch this movie. We barely go to movies because of Mr. J's work shedule, we have kids, bla bla bla, and then when we get the chance to watch it, it's FREE!

A few of my favorite tutorials

Grandma NEEDS one of these! She would love it if I made one of Cowboy J and Little Miss L to hang in her living room. Thanks Sassy Pepper for sharing this! It is so adorable!

Obsessed! Mark my words, I will be making these for Little Miss L's room! Her room is garden theme {pink, green and white, details later} and I have a ton of felt leftover from the wreath so thanks to this cute momma for the wonderful tutorial.

I need to start simplifying this year! I think this organizer is fabulous! It looks so clean and organized and I love the colors! Kristina, from A Home Made by Kiki, has done a bunch of great tutorials on simplifying. Head over there and see what spot she can help you "simplify!"

Little Miss L has quietly communicated to me {in her 15 month old way} that she adores this vanity and that it would go PERFECTLY in her room. Kim made this masterpiece from this, what a great eye she has!

These are the most darling keys I have ever seen, along with the roosters, frame, and seashell display {just to name a few} that Kristi, at The Speckled Dog, has glazed and she gives simple how to directions on how to glaze it up! Beautiful!

I don't splurge on many things, but when this went on sale at Anthropologie, I snagged it! I love it, but am so glad Sarah, from Welcome to the Good Life, posted her version of it. I need one in a few colors!

So Mr. J and I took the kids to Home Depot this weekend for a family trip to get some storage stuff and I saw all of the materials Jessica used to make these candlesticks. Poor Mr. J had to do a whole walk through so he could hear everything on my "wants" list. I love these and want to make them asap!

Such a cute idea! I didn't know how easy it could be to swap the flowers out! Love her post, her directions are so clear!

Looks like I have some shopping & crafting to do!

Awnry Child=Advantage for the Momma?!

Have you ever thought, "oh just one quick errand and then I'll put the kids down for their nap?" Or, "this should really only take a second, they won't have a breakdown in public." Well, a few days ago after a super duper fun trip to a new indoor play area, my kids were getting close to their breaking point. Joann's was in the same strip as the play place so I decided that since I had to return 1 tube of sparkly frosting, that I didn't end up needing, I could do this 2 minute errand with both kids. Little miss L had her shoes off (she's only 15 months and is just getting used to them) so I had to hold her and try to entertain her as the helpful person behind the counter was ignoring us. At one point, there were 2 people behind the counter trying to help 1 lady, and 1 gave the other the ok to help me to which she blew off. I tried to politely smile even though I'm thinking I could have made it through the normal checkout line by now since they had gone through 5 customers. During the obnoxious calculations in my head and knowing my 2 minute errand was now past 5, Little miss L knocked herself in the face with Cowboy Woody and is screaming and big J is asking for a drink/treat/money. He knows when I'm distracted he can get anything. I'm feeling the sweats start to come on and the eyes start to move towards me. My favorite is when people say, "oh it must be getting close to nap time." I've heard it at all times during the day and I think, they are kids! They aren't always going to be 100% happy running errands! I get self conscience and feel like all my momma flaws are visible like I look too young to have 2 kids. I'm not the most patient person. I stress easily. I only ran in with my wallet. No drinks. No toys. No snacks. The only thing I could hand my kids were coins. Another flaw, Little miss L's went straight to her mouth. Shouldn't I know better?! So my turn is finally up and all I'm there to get back was $2.99! I bought 2 frosting tubes and used 1 coupon so she accidentally returned the cheaper one. I just simply asked if she could return it again so instead of getting almost $2 back I could get almost $3. Yes, I'm ridiculous, but I love a good deal. She said she couldn't do it again, but handed me a $10 off card. I smiled and said thanks and sprinted out of the store. I was thinking, what a bummer, I'm sure it's $10 off $50 and I don't have that much to buy at Joann's this week. I buckled the kids in, got in, read the card again and it's $10 off $10 or more!! Yay! So instead of getting my $1 back I added about $8 to it! I'm sure she felt bad for the stressed and frazzled me! The sale is for next week. Thank you Joann's!

From Bland to kinda Grand

So the hubby and I have recently moved... which means new space to work with :). I'm a minimalist and like clean-looking, simple, neutral decor. BUT that doesn't mean I like boring empty wall space. So when most of the boxes were unpacked I realized something had to be done with our big empty wall space. I have been wanting to put together a cute but not too busy wall-frame collage. A quick run to Target and some help from Mr. H with the hanging and voila, my boring wall is now lovely!

The Before:

And the After:

I didn't really know where to start with a frame wall. I basically picked out the pictures, found some old frames I liked as well as buying some new, and started hanging from the middle then we just made our way out. Not a huge project, but it definitely makes the room look a lot better!

P.S. The beautiful flowers you may have noticed were a surprise from my Mr. tonight!! I was so shocked, he is so thoughtful and sweet. I love love love fresh flowers, and these definitely made a wonderful ending to my day :)

xo

Valentine's Rosie Wreath

Who doesn't love a fun wreath?! A few months back (ok a lot of months back) I found this pretty wreath. I love felt flowers and had to put it in my "to do" list of crafts. This is what I decided to make. Enjoy!
List of supplies:
-glue gun
-any color felt (I used 6 light pink and 6 dark pink and had some left over flowers)
-scissors
-optional: initial (got mine at Hobby Lobby), paint, pearls, tulle or lace

I cut out different size circles. 3 inch, 4 inch and 5 inch and they do not have to be perfect!

 Spiral cut each circle. I did 3 at a time. Spiral cut in until you get to the middle and there will be a small circle left. I use this part for the bottom of the flower. Roll the flower in from where the tip of the scissors are and when you get to the circle, put a dab of glue on it and fold it under the flower.

 This heart wreath is thinner than the circle wreath so it was very helpful to position a few flowers before I glued them on. Once everything was glued on, I wanted to spice it up a little more. On came the pearls and little bunches of cream lace to add to my cream initial!

 My favorite Valentine's decoration for this year. I just got it and loved the colors of the sign, so the wreath kind of matches it. Isn't is so cute?!

Lessons Well Learned

*I NEED girls nights...not just an errand to Wal Mart, Hobby Lobby or to get gas. A real night out with friends and actual grown up conversation.
*Guittard chocolate chips are AMAZING! They are so hard to find and not many stores carry them. I can always find them at Safeway/Vons. I have gone as far as to tell my husband while looking for possible moves that we have to make sure our grocer carries these prior to the move. They make any normal cookie dough the best!

*Try your best to save the relationship.
*Drive throughs were made with momma's in mind. There were few, if any drive throughs in San Francisco. I probably abused them when we moved. Not having to unbuckle and buckle, lock, unlock and make sure you have all your belongings just to grab some quarters makes life a bit easier.
*No matter how close to on time I am, I always feel rushed.

Wivelyhood Memories

I have made some pretty great memories during these past 5 years of wivelyhood...Starting off with the moment I was asked to become someone's wife! Mr. J and I were headed to his parents home for Easter and I thought maybe/what if/he could be proposing. I was hoping for a huge ordeal because I thought I was quite the princess, but was expecting something simple because Mr. J was in school. I thought an easter egg with a ring in it would be sweet, but NO that was not the case. He left me early in the morning and went and set up some mountain with a yummy breakfast came back and got me in a helicopter! We ate breakfast and he proposed quickly to which of course I said yes, went into shock and got right on my cell phone! I usually do that when I get nervous and it probably helps ruin the moment. Thanks to Mr. J for making his parents not think, but know I was high maintenance! I loved it!

A little under 5 months later, we were married for time and all eternity in this sweet temple. I loved it, the day was perfect, and I was in lala land. So much that I didn't realize the groomsmen were taking a nap after the ceremony and missed the majority of the pictures!

About 18 short months later, we were blessed with our sweet little boy. Back labor was horrendous and I would recommend getting an epidural asap if that's what you have. He has made our life sweeter and sweeter and is constantly teaching me about patience. He is too smart for his own good and this bundle of joy has taught us what life is all about!

We were living in Provo and my sister was living there also going to school. I asked Mr. J nonchalantly if there was anyone he could set her up with, since she was the nonaggressive sister and boom his TA fit the criteria. Whoever knew Mr. J could be the matchmaker type?! We went on their first date with them and the rest is history. Their wedding was magnificent. Yes, we have a massive family. I'm pretty sure the photographer saw all of us and didn't even attempt to get everyone to smile at her and say cheese on 3. We were missing a brother, sister in law and niece.

Two years and 9 months later came the birth of our little girl. It was fast and painful and we have been on the go ever since. Labor was both easier and harder with little miss L. Actual labor wasn't as bad as the first but when I got to the hospital, no time for an epidural and was at a 7. Got a bed and she was out 15 minutes and 3 pushes later. Love her to pieces!

Wow, 5 years! These are only 5 huge occasions, births, and events! Who knows what the next 5 will bring!

About the wives

Once upon a time during the late 80's a newly married couple was surprised to find out they were having a baby girl. Why is that surprising? Well, she came after dad had 5 boys in a row...And 2 years and 51 weeks later came girl #2 followed by 2 more boys. Simple math; 7 boys and 2 girls sandwiched in there equals 2 lucky girls that would be clueless when it came to marriage, housework, and finances.

Mrs. J (on the left) is older, has been married since 2005, has a sweet boy, a precious girl, loves great deals, and can be a real firecracker.

Mrs. H (on the right) is the younger sister, has been married since 2007, is intelligent, loves traveling, and is the easiest person to get along with.

We both love chocolate, Mrs. J's being white chocolate and Mrs. H's being dark chocolate. We are very different, but very much alike when it comes to trying to keep it together and enjoy the ride!