Apr 23 2012

Happy Earth Day

by Crystalyn

We had some fun plans for Earth Day, but the weather wasn’t so great and I still had a pretty bad headache from hitting my head so hard on Friday night. So we just stayed home and enjoyed a long family nap time. The nap was nice, but I hate the feeling of sitting around the house all day being lazy.

We did go outside to enjoy the beautiful, but chilly, evening though. And as usual, the minute I walked out the door I started feeling a little better. Juniper and I took a short walk down to the main road and picked some wild flowers. We found yellow, purple and white flowers. Juniper was pretty sad that we couldn’t find any red ones. On our way home, Juniper asked me to carry her. She had completely worn herself out running along looking for flowers. As I carried her, we talked about how beautiful the earth is and how much we love the flowers and the clouds and the sun. I really enjoy our conversations when we go for walks just the two of us.

We ran into a neighbor of ours who was fishing at the little lake down the street, and he taught Juniper how to use a fishing pole. He cast it a couple of times and let her reel it in. To say she was excited is a slight understatement. She didn’t even need to catch anything, just getting the lure back was enough for her! I’m thinking we’ll need to find her a little fishing pole sometime in the future.

And just for fun, here are some Earth Day related links that I am loving today.

  • This printable Earth Day Pledge from babalisme is adorable. I will be hanging on to this one for when the kids are a little bigger.
  • The Happy Earth Day Coloring and Activities Book from the United States Environmental Protection Agency looks really cute.
  • I love these little grass ladies from Meet the Dubiens. They are so much cuter than the store bought ones, and a great way to recycle!
  • This 40 Tips to Go Green at Home post on Simple Mom is pretty great. A lot of them are pretty obvious, but there are quite a few on there that I could work on. (Except for #2, we switched all of our lights to LED because they are a lot better than CFLs.)
  • RebeccaPlants.com is a fun resource for outdoors activities.
  • This Love the Earth print from KilkennycatArt is so stinking adorable.
  • I really like these produce bags from Flip & Tumble, but these DIY ones on Delia Creates are so cute. I’m thinking things would fall out though, but maybe I’ll make some and see! They look super easy.

Categories: Life | 1 Comment »

Apr 21 2012

Lessons Learned From Green Paint

by Crystalyn

This is how my weekend began…

Do you know how hard it is to clean an entire gallon of green paint off a kitchen floor while there are two kids freaking out in the next room? Hopefully you don’t. And if you do, I can truly say I’m sorry. It’s no fun. Now, add on top of that a possible mild concussion from whacking your head TWICE on a cabinet door. Oh and then add in a bunch of flour being dropped on the floor by a sweet little girl who was helping me make a cake before the paint dropping fiasco.

By the time Shaun got home from work, I was so done. And I was trying so very hard to not lose myself completely. I struggle a lot with not being completely in control of my emotions. Sometimes I get really sad for no apparent reason and I hate it. It’s getting better. But last night I could feel it sneaking up on me and it really took all of my will power to fight it off.

So fast forward to this evening. I had been trying all day to get myself in a better mood, my head was still hurting, and the house was a disaster as usual. It seemed absolutely impossible to get anything done. As I was sitting in my bedroom staring at the huge pile of laundry that needed to be put away, I remembered the green paint in the kitchen. I remembered how useless it seemed when I first started cleaning it all up. And with all the other bad stuff going on, I just knew I had to keep going at it until it was done. Eventually it didn’t seem so pointless, and then after a lot more work it was done. So even though I was feeling pretty crummy, I just started putting one thing away at a time.

I found this shirt in the closet while I was cleaning and wore it to remind myself that I am awesome. The green paint might not be totally cleaned up, and there might be a bunch of toys all over the living room. But I’m feeling a whole lot better mentally, and that is all I really care about right now. I’m not a very good mama and wife when I’m feeling crazy. Tonight I’ll finish up the laundry, and then tomorrow I’ll worry about the rest of the house. One thing at a time.

And if you are wondering. We made this strawberry rhubarb coffee cake and it was amazing.

Categories: Life | 1 Comment »

Apr 20 2012

365 Days Outside > 90-94

by Crystalyn

Day 90
We had quite a rainy morning today. It rained so much that our little river came back, and stronger than ever! Juniper and I had so much fun sending the boats downstream over and over. There was quite a fast current, so she had to run to keep up. At the other end of our yard, the “river” pretty much becomes a giant swamp. We have a pretty awesome yard.

Day 91
Daddy and Juniper spent some time in the garden today during Flynn’s nap. Shaun snapped a few pictures on his phone for me. Juniper spent the whole time digging up worms. This was the biggest one she found.

Day 92
We spent a lovely afternoon outside as a family today. We walked around the house and looked at all the new things that have grown. One of our trees has neat flowers! Apparently it is called a tulip tree and I love it. Too bad the flowers are all too high up to admire!

Day 93
Walking around downtown today was so much fun. The weather was nice and we saw lots of interesting things. Like a guy on a unicycle cruising down the road and a couple guitar players jamming on the sidewalk. And look! I got a picture of Flynn smiling!

Day 94
During Flynn’s evening nap, Juniper and I spent a little more time out in the garden trying to get it ready to plant. Which of course means Juniper spent more time digging up worms. She is so funny, she had 4 worms in her hand at one point and kept going on and on about how cute they were. She had a mommy worm, a daddy worm, a baby worm, and a grandma worm. She put them back down so they could eat dinner. Dirt, of course.

Categories: Misc | 1 Comment »

Apr 18 2012

A Perfect Wednesday

by Crystalyn

Downtown Columbia is a pretty fun place to walk around. Oh, I’m sorry, I mean “The District”. (haha!) I left work a little early today and we drove downtown to check out Cool Stuff, a store that is going out of business. Which is a sad fact in case you were wondering! I think they should have named the store Awesome Random Stuff. They had a whole case of candy tins! I managed to only buy a few of them. Those anti-gravity mints crack me up and the rose flavored ones are actually quite good. Maybe when it is closer to their last day and things are more on sale I’ll go back and grab some of the other ones. We also bought a miniature deck of cards for some reason. Juniper found a pen shaped like an ice cream cone that we let her buy. And Flynn.. well, he wanted to eat everything in the store regardless of it’s editability.

Then we walked around for a while, hitting up a few more awesome stores. We finally found Poppy, browsed around in Blue Stem, saw a guy riding a 6ft tall unicycle down the road and made a stop at Slackers where I found pretty much the funniest album cover ever and left with a new record. By the time we got to the Alpine Shop, both the kids were pretty tired of it all so we started back to the car. When we got home, we went to a garage sale up the street and found a few fun things there as well. Then I made Crispy Cheddar Chicken for dinner. (The recipe is a definite keeper!)

I’d say it was a pretty good day.



Categories: Life | 2 Comments »

Apr 17 2012

Go for it.

by Crystalyn

My friend Carley shared a quote on her Facebook page today that really stood out to me. As soon as I saw it I knew I needed to print it and hang it on my wall. There are so many things I want to do in my life, and the only thing preventing my progress is my own hesitancy to just go for it. I am the only thing holding me back, and I need to stop it.

I put together this image on my lunch break. If you want to print it too, you can find a nice big copy on my Flickr page. I got the amazing watercolor background texture from cgarofani on Deviantart. I love the colors, and I can’t wait to find the perfect frame and hang it on my bedroom wall, right next to my “Happy Life” quote. It’s good to surround yourself with positive thoughts.

Categories: Misc | 1 Comment »

Apr 17 2012

My Poor Camera

by Crystalyn

You may have noticed lately that my photos aren’t quite as nice as usual… Well, maybe you haven’t noticed. Maybe it’s all in my head. Just trust me though. Ever since my camera lens died a couple of weeks ago, I have been using my Nikon Coolpix. Which I love, it’s a great little camera. But it just doesn’t produce the same quality as my Nikon D40x, which I am missing hardcore.

We called the repair people, and they said it would cost $150 to fix the lens. A new one costs $100. We’re getting a new one. Of course, Shaun took this news as an opportunity to have a little fun with my broken lens! We took it apart and looked at its insides. I love taking things apart, by the way. And if it wasn’t broken already, it sure is now. It has been added to my craft room pile to be used in a future creative adventure.

We have already decided which new lens we are going to buy, we just have to make the purchase. I’m excited!

Categories: Misc | 2 Comments »

Apr 16 2012

[What I Wore} To Work

by Crystalyn

This morning was a little hectic. I had a conference call and some last minute design work for Little Me Tea, and then my boss called to remind me that my time sheet was due this morning and the HR department was calling him in a panic. So I got dressed as quick as I could, ate some waffles and headed out the door. When I got to work, caught a glimpse of myself in the window and realized I sure did pick a crazy outfit! A TMNT t-shirt, striped sweater, polka dot skirt and of course my bright red shoes without shoelaces. (Juniper decided to “fix” them for me and I still can’t find the laces.)

I was feeling a little self conscious at the grocery store after work because people kept looking at me. I use to struggle with my self image, but over the years I’ve learned to embrace my personal style. The more mismatched patterns and bright colors the better in my opinion. Yeah. I’m awesome. That is my absolutely favorite skirt by the way. It’s super comfy, and has the best pockets.

I have never been a fan of sweaters. Just don’t like them. BUT this past winter I realized that I love wearing v-neck sweaters with t-shirts underneath. I’ve got a few nice sweaters now that make me feel a little fancier than usual when I wear them, but the fact that there is usually a Boba Fett or Spock head sticking out the front entertains me to no end. I guess I’m just easily entertained.

(You can totally see the freckle on my lip in this picture. It drives me crazy!)

Shaun didn’t quite understand why I was so intent on taking photos of my outfit today. He said, “You dress like this everyday. Why is this outfit special?” Well, it’s special because I decided to make it special! And it reminds me that it pretty much doesn’t matter WHAT you wear, as long as you wear it like you mean it! And if people at the grocery store look at me like I’m crazy? Well, they are right. I am a little loco.

Categories: Fashion | 4 Comments »

Apr 15 2012

{Etsy Love} Patterns

by Crystalyn

Now that my freelance project is 98% wrapped up, I have been spending a lot more time in my craft room. I started sewing myself a dress last night! I’m kind of winging it… and surprisingly, it’s not turning out too terrible. It definitely needs some tweaks though. I’ve just never been a big pattern-user. But I want to change that! I want to learn how to follow patterns so I can easily make more than one of anything I sew. (Or I need to learn how to draft my own patterns! Even better.)

Someday I’d like to be able to have a booth at a craft fair. And to do that I’d need to build up some inventory. First I think I’ll buy some patterns that allow for commercial use, and then I’ll start refining my own designs and patterns to sell. It’s a nice dream.

There are so many cute patterns available on Etsy. Here are a few of my favorites. Some of these even allow you to sell the finished product. I just want to buy them all and fill my house with adorable handmade toys. (Because my house totally needs more stuff in it…)

1. Chickadee by jennylovesbenny
Isn’t this little chick adorable? I had a hard time picking a favorites from this shop. Her little bears are so cute, and you have to check out this little green elephant. I love him!

2. Miniature Teddy Bears by catgabriel
Tiny adorable bears! What’s not to love?!

3. Pony Plush Sewing Pattern by valleyviolet
This is a pattern that I need to buy. We are big fans of My Little Ponies in this house, and this pattern is perfect. Is it sad that I think my husband would love a Derpy Hooves doll for his birthday? Maybe just a little.

4. Betsy & Basil Bunny Softies by retromama
These bunnies are so cute, and they look pretty easy to put together. Maybe next Easter I’ll make a bunch for my many nieces.

5. Henrietta Hippo by 529MasonStreet
Now, hippos aren’t the first animals you think of when you are sewing dolls. But they should be! Look how cute they are! I know a certain someone who totally needs a hippopotamus for Christmas. :)

6. Parkland Stufflings by Gingermelon
I have been a fan of Gingermelon’s shop for a long time, and I absolutely love everything in it. I really can’t pick a favorite, so you’ll just have to go check her out and look at them all. I think my first pattern purchase will definitely be from this shop.

7. Ginger Bear by CatMaessen
This little bear kills me! Just look at that big red nose. So cute.

8. Wee Mouse Tin House by mmmcrafts
And of course there is this cute little mouse. He has been in my favorites for a long time now. I know Juniper would love to have a little mouse in a cute little bed. She loves putting things to bed. She doesn’t much enjoy GOING to bed though.

Categories: Etsy Love | 4 Comments »

Apr 13 2012

365 Days Outside > 83-89

by Crystalyn

Day 83
We were invited to a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt today. There were LOTS of people there! We ended up being about 10 minutes late (As is typical around here…) and pretty much all of the eggs were gone. The family who hosts it go to our church, and they are super nice. They filled up some extra eggs and threw them in the backyard just for Juniper. She was so happy.

(The pictures from this day are still on Shaun’s phone… I will update this post when he gets home from work!)

Day 84
We spent Easter Sunday at the farm in Hermann. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun. Juniper was slightly terrified of the cows! Well, that’s an exaggeration. She liked them, unless they were walking towards her when the other kids were elsewhere. I guess she didn’t want to be alone with the cows haha!

Day 85
When I got home from work I found these pictures on my camera. MY CAMERA! The new charger came in the mail today, so I can use my little green Nikon again.

Day 86
We went for a quick walk today, down the street to look at the lake for a bit. When we got home we played in the front yard, throwing helicopters in the air and moving the rocks around.

Day 87
We bought a swing for the deck today! It is so nice to finally have a place to sit down out there. We were going to buy a table with chairs, but decided we don’t really need another table. We think the swing was the perfect alternative. (I love that picture of the three of us, too bad Shaun got cut off! And Juniper took that one of Shaun, can you tell?)

Day 88
Juniper spent her morning enjoying our new swing while she worked on practicing her letters. I love that she enjoys writing. Hopefully when she is in school she’ll still enjoy homework this much!

Day 89
Once the rain stopped for the day, it was the perfect weather for blowing bubbles on the deck. Since everything was wet, the bubbles were sticking everywhere! Juniper got a real kick out of the bubble covered plants and wood.

Categories: 365 Days Outside | No Comments »

Apr 12 2012

Dirty Diaper Surprise

by Crystalyn

For Easter this year I thought it would be really fun to make some surprise eggs for the kids. (I got the idea from sarahjanestudios.com. Hers are so cute!) So I bought lots of cute little toys, and Lindsay and I got together for some crafty time. We ended up with a bunch of dirty diapers. At least that’s what they looked like!! Not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed that they weren’t adorable. But hey, Juniper thoroughly enjoyed her egg. THAT was adorable. She would get so excited whenever a little gift would fall out.

But I’m lame, and I couldn’t shake the thought that I could do a better job. And then it hit me, if I put something squishy in the middle, it would be easier to get the shape right because you could press the toys into the middle. Does that make sense??? Not really. Anyway, because I’m so lame I decided to sew a cute little bunny and try again. This time I had a little helper. I don’t know what Juniper liked more, wrapping or unwrapping.

Well, I was at least right about one thing. The soft center made it a lot easier to form into an egg shape. Of course, it still looked quite a bit like a diaper.. A cute sticker covered diaper. Maybe a different colored crepe paper would help that. So was it worth the 20 minutes it took to put it all together just so Juniper could unwrap it all 10 minutes later? Yeah, I’d say it was. Even though she helped me wrap everything up, she still acted super surprised every time a toy fell out. She’s pretty cute. In fact, as soon as we were done she asked if we could wrap it back up and do it again. Sorry girl, that aint happening. Maybe I’ll make another next Easter.


Categories: Holidays, Sewing | 1 Comment »

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