that girl's got style

My sweet baby girl keeps growing up without me giving her permission to!

Is there something I can do to make her stay little just a little bit longer?

we've got mail!

A few weeks ago, I found these cute little mailboxes at Target in their Dollar Spot (gotta love that little section for having some random goodies!) I snagged two of them, one for each of the kids, but then a couple of days later I read on Michelle's blog how she had purchased one for everyone in the family, including her and her husband. So, I decided to go back to get two more for Mommy and Daddy.

Of course, my mind was racing with all the fun things I could do to decorate and that was my favorite part...coming up with ways to spruce these mini mailboxes up!

Cute, but they just needed a little something extra...

Add some fun scrapbook paper, some matching ribbons, some diecut letters for each of our names, and a simple little embellishment to complete the look...


I'm planning on using these every day next week in honor of Valentine's Day and give the kids (and Ryan) something special in their mailbox...it could be a little treat, a note, or whatever comes to my mind! I hope to use these for future years as well, and will look forward to the day that Austin and Mikayla can give us little notes and treats, too!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

Our good friends, Kara & Jason, came into town with their two sweet girls last Friday. For Christmas this past year, we had decided that we would spend some family time together instead of giving each other gifts. They were so generous to make another trip to Portland (we promise we'll come to visit you next!). Back at the end of October, Ryan got an e-mail advertising cheap tickets for the Playhouse Disney Live! show coming to the Rose Garden in Portland. This was the perfect idea for us to spend a night together as a family, and the Moore family was on board!

We started off the evening attempting some dinner at Red Robin, but apparently everyone else who was heading to the show had the same idea. The place was packed with families and the wait was 45 minutes. So, instead we opted for Burgerville across the street and had our meal in a matter of 10 minutes.

Our Family

The Moore Family

After dinner, we walked to the show that was just a couple of blocks away. As we stood in line for a short while, Mikayla was excited with anticipation about what was going on.

Waiting in line outside...so excited!

Waiting for the show to begin!

The minute the show started, Mikayla's eyes lit up and she instantly started singing and dancing. It was so precious to watch! Whenever a character would come on stage, she would say its name. She would also participate in the singing and whenever they asked the audience to help them out. At one point in the show they brought up a few kids to help out, and Mikayla wanted to go up on stage so badly. Maybe she's not as shy as I thought?

Singing right along...

Austin was a bit of a handful, so it was a good thing we had lots of snacks on hand. There were a few times where he was mesmerized by what was happening on stage, but most of the time he just wanted to get down.

Our little mover

We realized that the show was definitely more suitable for the older girls, but it was still fun to all be together as a family.

Chloe & Mikayla

And, after the show was over, this little man felt like he was finally free! He ran and ran and ran...

I'm free!

It was a very fun evening and after the kids were finally in bed and asleep, we enjoyed chatting and playing a little Guitar Hero (my first time, and loved it!)

Rock stars, maybe?
(I think we got booed off 4 out of 5 times!!)

It was so good to catch up and we really enjoy our times when we can be together. The last time we spent time together was when we went to Bella Beach back in September. Next time, we'll try not to let that much time go in between...we have plans to visit them in Coos Bay sometime in March.

yum! yum!

It's that time again...

Time to share the things I love, and for today it's all about Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches.





They are my favorite sweet snack after a long day. Instead of filling up a bowl with calorie-filled and fat-filled ice cream, I just grab one of these beautiful things (in chocolate or vanilla), and it quenches my craving for some sweetness. We buy them by the box at Costco since they are a little more spendy if you were to buy them in separate packages (and we just got our Costco coupon book and there is a coupon for these!) Time to stock up again!

**For Weight Watchers fans, they are only 2 points each.

Head on over to The Diaper Diaries to find out what other bloggers are lovin'!

a rainbow of colors

Yesterday, I tackled clearing up my creative space so I can be creative and productive! As I was cleaning up all the piles, I realized just how much scrap paper I had leftover from project after project!

For Works For Me Wednesday, I thought I would share my quick and easy tip for those who are crafty and can't bare to toss the leftover scraps of paper for what could possibly be used to create something in the future.

I started organizing the leftover scrap paper by color years ago, especially so I could use them for creating greeting cards because most of the time I only needed small pieces of paper. There are many systems you could use, but mine is the cheap version. I just took gallon-sized Ziploc bags and separated out the colors. For awhile these bags were just floating around as I tried to cram them in different places that I thought might work, but I finally found something yesterday to put them all in to contain the bags.


I just so happen to have a place for this right under the desk and I still have space for my legs when I am sitting.

This simple system works for me! And it also helps me to get motivated to create cards because everything is organized and easily accessible.

Find out what works for others and head on over to Rocks in My Dryer For Works for me Wednesday!

claiming back my creative space

I didn't have any plans to tackle a project today other than a lot of just being with my kids, but somehow it happened!

After a morning at Bible Study, then lunch, it was time for naps, which meant a little bit of "me time". I guess Austin didn't think mommy needed that much "me time" because he ended up not napping very long and waking up fussy...oh joy! And, of course, like normal, Mikayla had just fallen asleep after a good half hour of talking and singing to herself. So, in an effort to keep the house quiet and avoid Austin running down the halls and bursting into her room, we trapped ourselves in the play room so his big sister could take a good nap.

Other than the toys spread out all around my feet, it was my desk that was screaming at me to do something about the overflowing mess! So, while Austin played to his heart's content (and made even more of a mess), I got to work on trying to uncover what once was my creative working space.

BEFORE

AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER

My only regret is that I didn't do this last week before my friends came in town and stayed in this very room with the cluttered pile. (So sorry, Kara & Jason!!)

Head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom for more Tuesday Tacklers.

just a sprinkling of decor

For the first Tuesday of the month over at The Lazy Organizer, we are talking about the parts of our homes that we enjoy and give us inspiration. I love to decorate, so I thought I would give a mini home decor tour for the upcoming Valentine's Day.


Valentine's Day doesn't usually get much in the way of home decor, but this year I thought I would add a little bit just for some extra fun and color! My main goal was to do this without spending too much money, and I think I was able to accomplish that by adding a little bit of creative thought into it.

Normally I'm full of words, but today I'll let the pictures do the talking!

check out the wreath transformation here

check out the candy bucket makeover here

Go visit The Lazy Organizer for more Talk About a Home Tour inspirations.

muffin tin monday...barely

Mikayla had an impromptu muffin tin tonight for dinner. We barely squeezed it in, but as I was preparing our dinner tonight, I had a little extra time to create something for this week's color-themed muffin tin - all things yellow!

Our muffin tin included (clockwise, starting from top):
bananas, applesauce, vanilla pudding, parmesan cheese bread, spaghetti (Mikayla is a "no sauce" girl), and corn...
of course with a glass of yellow-tinted milk on the side

For more muffin tins to brighten your day, visit Her Cup Overfloweth.

mini makeover monday

Valentine's Day is almost here, and I thought this year I would add (create) a few special touches around the house...and I'm always trying to find an excuse to be creative!!

During Halloween, I created a candy bucket to hold all the candy for our trick or treaters.

So, when I saw this tin at The Dollar Tree, I thought it would work perfectly for a candy bucket for Valentine's Day. On its own, it's nothing special (especially since the design was already peeling off), but I saw a vision.


I got out my Modge Podge (one of my favorite crafting supplies these days), and some cute paper, along with matching ribbon, and went to work. I found the perfect little embellishment in my scrapbooking supplies to finish it off, and here is my transformation...


I don't like to keep candy out, especially since I've been trying to cut back on that and I don't like my kids wanting it all day long, but I'll leave it out for guests (and to work on my willpower) high enough out of the reach of wandering hands because I think it's a cute little addition to my simplified Valentine decor.

This is a quick and easy project to do that makes a big impact on cuteness. I might head back to The Dollar Tree to pick up a few more tins that I can transform for more special occasions. I think these would make cute little birthday gift baskets.

Come back tomorrow because I plan on showing off a few more Valentine Day decorations (I won't be going overboard), and if you'd like to see my Valentine wreath mini makeover, check it out here.

it's round up time!

It's the end of January and The Org Junkie is ready to round up those disorganized spaces. This year she is focusing on smaller areas of the home instead of entire rooms.

January's "challenge" (as I like to call it), was the filing cabinet. And, oh baby, was this a good one!

There were two main problems I wanted to get figured out to make this area a little more user friendly and pleasing to the eye (even though no one else sees it on a regular basis since we keep it in our bedroom).

Problem #1:
I'm a label making freak, so my files were already labeled, but the issue was that the two drawers we had were stuffed full of who knows how many years of what, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I wonder if we ever look at.

To make some room, I did some purging of things that I knew I wouldn't need anymore. I also took out all of the household kinds of things (paperwork for appliances, etc.), along with the HUGE folder of tax information all the way back to 2003 and filed them away in a smaller filing box we had already been using for even more stuff (which was also a mess!).

**Added bonus tip** I ended up putting all of the files that hold the receipts for the bills we pay on a monthly basis, since these are the things I file the most. I wanted them all grouped together because I was tired of searching for them since they were all spread out because everything is alphabetical order. Wish I would have done this a long time ago!

BEFORE - filing cabinet (top drawer)

AFTER - filing cabinet (top drawer)

BEFORE - small filing box
I ended up throwing away half of this stuff, thank goodness!

AFTER - small filing box
includes information for our van, tax information from years past
and all household information (indoors and outdoors)

Problem #2:
The biggest problem I have with the filing cabinet area is that I don't have a good system to file papers away in an organized fashion. Therefore, many times it looks like the picture below. Piles of papers, and random things to put away. It stresses me out to see piles, but yet it keeps piling time and time again. I knew I needed some kind of system to help me not have to deal with the filing right away if I was busy, but yet avoid the piles.

BEFORE - filing cabinet area
this isn't even at its worst!

I found this wire filing basket that I had already purchased in our computer armoire in the living room. I hadn't been using it for anything special other than a place to put papers out of the way, but I knew I could make better use of it in this area instead.

I made a couple of files to start with and as I go along, I may find other things that I might need to add. The two files I have are 1) 2008 tax information, so that whenever we receive something we need for filing our taxes, we can just plop it in the folder, and 2) "to be filed" papers, so instead of letting things that need to be filed stack up and be in the way, I'll just slip them in the folder and they're all together for the day I decide to file them in the large cabinet. There is also a space in the wire organizer for magazines.

The small black organizer is for my husband to put all of his receipts and various notes he finds in his pocket, car, etc. That way they're not just floating around everywhere and he knows (and I know) right where to get them if we need them.

And, of course, nothing feels complete without a picture to spruce up the space. This is my husband and I snorkeling in Hawaii on our honeymoon.

Nothing like seeing a clean, organized space and dreaming of vacation, right?

AFTER - filing cabinet area

Although these were small changes, they were necessary changes and I look forward to being able to keep a clean area not only here, but also on the dresser next to the cabinet. Oftentimes all the stuff would spill onto the dresser, and it was not pretty. It's been almost a week since I've finished this project (I did it in two phases), and there is yet to be clutter in sight. That's a success if you ask me!

For more filing cabinet transformations, visit The Organizing Junkie's January Round Up.

something was missing

I usually don't decorate much for Valentine's Day, but this year I had the itch to do a few things that might bring some different color into my decor, even if it's just for a short while. I like pink and red...just not too much pink. We have red couches, so many of my candles and a few wall decor pieces have some splashes of red already. I plan on showing you some of the little touches I've made, but first I want to show you my little transformation that I am quite proud of. Because, you see, I don't usually have "the eye" for being able to transform things like some awesome crafty bloggers I have read (yes, Carrie from Buzzings of a Queen Bee, I'm talking about you!), but I thought I would give it a go!

I found this cute little wreath at Marshalls during their after Christmas clearance sale at the end of December. It was marked down to $10 and then I got another 50% off of that, so I picked this little baby up for $5. I was originally going to use it for all-year decor, but I couldn't quite figure out what was missing, or quite find the perfect spot for it in my home.


At the beginning of the week, I took it to Michaels Crafts with me to see if I could find some ribbon that I could add to it, but then this caught my eye, and for only $2.99, I snagged it. It looked a little shabby on its own (and sorry for the darker picture), so I began to wonder what I could do with both of these finds if I put them together.


After I got home (maybe a few days later), I took out my thin-gauged wire, wire cutters, and hot glue gun, and went to work like MacGyver.

And this is what I came up with....


Nothing too fancy, but I think it turned out pretty cute. I like simple. And I like cute. This Valentine's wreath will now welcome our guests during the month of February. And one of the best parts about it was that it only cost $8 to make, and I had some fun in the process. Any chance I get to use some creativity, I'm all over it!