diy {dipped side table}

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i spotted this table in a west elm catalog recently and thought to myself, ‘self, i can do that.’  so i did.  mine is a little different though:  it’s taller, instead of the ‘dipped’ part being raw wood, i painted it gold, and mine only has three legs, but who’s counting, right?

{west elm table}

what you’ll need:  a table like this (i would cut the legs down a few inches in this one – it looks pretty tall), gold paint, painters tape, and a smallish paintbrush

i had painted my entire table white a while ago, so i went straight to the legs.  i guesstimated that the dipped part on the west elm table measured up to roughly 1/3 of the leg.  i wanted to see a little more gold, so i measured up 10 inches and put the tape there.  make sure it’s on securely – you don’t want any bleeding under the tape.  then get your paintbrush dipped and get to painting.  i did about 3 – 4 coats and sanded (lightly!) in between a few of them.  when i’m painting, i use this to sand between coats – it’s almost like a buffer.

and voila!  it doesn’t look like a million bucks, but considering i have less than $15 invested in it, i’m a happy camper.

i’m off to slap a coat of polycrylic on this bad boy, and then i can put it to work.  might be fun to put neon pink or yellow on yours!

summer {staples}

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last night, we had a dinner that makes it feel like summer.  grilled chicken, sweet corn on the cob, and chinese coleslaw.  i usually keep it pretty simple on the chicken – olive oil, salt, and pepper – grill, done.  i boiled the corn, but if i had been thinking we would have grilled that too.  here’s my recipe for the chinese coleslaw.

chinese coleslaw

  • 1/2 pkg coleslaw
  • 1/2 pkg broccoli slaw
  • 2 tb green onions
  • 1 red pepper, sliced thinly
  • toasted almonds
  • crushed up ramen noodles (yes, the 25 cent pack)
  • i added a little feta cheese when i had some leftovers for lunch, and i would add some in the future

dressing

  • 1/2 c rice vinegar
  • 2 tb vegetable oil
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 c sugar (this changes a little every time, i usually just taste along the way until i’m happy)

what also comes with summer is grass, and the mowing of it.  it feels kind of good to do it the first few times each season (we are equal opportunity mowers in this family).  the short guy is really into the lawn mower right now – i’m tellin’ you, this kid loves anything with a motor!  i was having a girls night out last week, and because we were leaving town, the lawn had to be mowed.  so, before i left, i helped jared get b in the backpack and they mowed together.  it was pretty darn hilarious.  i am a crazy safety person and perpetual worrier, so i promise you that he was fully secure and could never escape this thing.  don’t call family services.

Categories eat

a favorite {fast lunch}

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warning, this is healthy, but honestly, i think it’s so full of flavor that you might not notice.  it requires a small amount of cooking, but it’s only about 5 minutes.

lemony spinach

serves 1

  • 2 large fistfuls of baby spinach
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 – 3 T water
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • dash cayenne pepper (omit if you don’t like it spicy)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • sprinkle of feta cheese and sliced almonds
heat a pan on medium.  once hot, add olive oil, spinach, and water.  cover and cook for about 5 minutes until the spinach is fully wilted, stirring a few times along the way.  after the spinach is done cooking, add lemon juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne and cook for another minute or two uncovered.  plate the spinach, and add a sprinkle of sliced almonds and feta cheese.  yum!
pair it with a hunk of chicken or whatever you fancy.  today, i paired it with some leftover sweet potatoes and i was a very happy camper.  and now, i can eat my body weight in chips and salsa tonight at chicas’ night out.  you gotta pick your battles, right?

Categories eat

baby blues

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i had the great pleasure of taking pictures of my good friend, natalie’s, beautiful boys this past weekend.  natalie and i bonded during our stint at the university of missouri j-school, and i’m lucky to have her here in KC.  now we’re bonding over mama stuff, and it’s amazing to see our babies grow up together.  i hope they’re all good buddies one day.

these boys both have amazingly blue eyes, and we had lots of fun playing in their backyard.  here’s a sneak peek of sweet parker and bennett.

{parker}

{bennett}

green machine

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sorry for the lapse in posting, friends.  we have been out in denver, ‘the sunshine state’ (old school anyone?).  it was a great few days with my whole fam-damily together, and we had a fun time doing touristy stuff.  more on that later.  today, i’m pointing you toward a cool little article about a green building.  sounds pretty awesome to me.

Categories do

spoonflower

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i am always on the lookout for new fabric sources, and i think spoonflower is a really great one for some more modern prints.  the other really awesome thing is that you can create custom fabric by submitting your very own design – a la project runway!  i spent some time on their website recently, and here are a few that caught my eye.

i’m always up for a polka dot, and i think the irregularity of the dots is charming.

{rainy dot}

a floral print without being so literal.  love that it looks like watercolor and you can see the splatter of the paint.

{c’est la viv garden lark}

i would want to slather my walls in this washed out leafy print.  reminds me of being at the beach and big tropical plants.

{tropicali morning}

this is so intricate that all you’d need is a pillow.

{malachite}

this print is pretty big, and would be really pretty on a chair or bench in a little girl’s room.

{fifties rose}

i’m bookmarking this for beckett’s big boy room.  i’ve always had a thing for whales.  weird, i know.

{whales}

the love of locks

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as much as i loved chopping 8 inches off my hair and donating it last fall, i am really wanting it to be long again.  there is no shortage of cute hair styles right now, and i feel like every time i turn around, i see something i want to try.  the trouble is that i’m in that in-between stage – ugh.  just a few more months and i can start getting a little more creative.

{all via my pinterest}

and my personal favorite, although i can never seem to get it quite right.

18 months

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beckett is turning from a toddler into a little boy before our very eyes.  here’s what he’s up to these days…

the short guy’s language is really taking off.  all of the sudden, it’s like his speech switch got turned on.  he is trying out most of the words we say to him, and learning new ones all the time.  a few favorites are ‘no’ (more on that in a bit), ‘car’ (as previously mentioned), and ‘outside’.

he and miller are very best buds.  miller lets b lay on him, bounce on him, prod and poke him in exchange for a few bites of his every meal.  beckett happily obliges, and thinks it’s pretty hilarious.

the climbing has really increased – chairs, stairs, and everything in between.  he comes by it honestly, though, as both jared and i were climbers as wee ones.  i think we’re in trouble.  when he’s not climbing or running, it’s book-reading time.  he will sit and let us read to him (if he’s in the mood) for a quite a while.  b is still a pretty great eater (knock on wood!).  grapes, avacados, yogurt and tortillas are current favorites, but he’s been known to like spicy buffalo chicken too.  that’s my boy!

our darling beckett has learned the art of ‘no’.  in fact, that was his first word to me this morning – yay.  the protesting has also begun – arched back, crying and all.  i’m just waiting for it to happen in public – yikes.  unless it was his idea, he’s thinks it’s the worst one he’s ever heard…unless it’s watching for cars or going outside.  it looks like he’s getting a jump on the terrible two’s – dang!  i thought he might be the one kid who would skip them.  :)

but with all that is spicy, there is so much that is sweet.  oh, he’s so darn sweet.  he is blowing kisses and giving spontaneous hugs and flashing a toothy grin and running to daddy when he comes through the door.  it’s all just happening too darn fast.

to infinity and beyond

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while cruising the interwebs, i stumbled onto these pretty amazing photos taken from the hubble telescope.  it’s impossible for me to wrap my mind around the magnitude of what is out ‘there’.  we are just a small speck in a never-ending sea of universes, which is hard to believe.

you can download high-resolution images from their site, and i think they could make some pretty sweet art with all of the colors and marbleization happening.  i’m thinking white frame and white mat, and you’ve got something pretty sharp for your wall.  we’re slowly trying to get our play room in the basement into some kind of order, and i’m thinking that  a few of these would make a cool addition.