{ v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n, we're gonna have some fun }

I'm off to beautiful, colorful COLORADO for a week of rest and relaxation.   

I've been counting down to this week for months!

Here are just a few awesome things I'm looking forward to...

Sleeping in.

Fantastic restaurant meals.

And perhaps, best of all.

What's your favorite thing about vacations? 

Have a lovely week, and I'll see you back here in a bit ;)

{ summertime, and the living is easy }

In my mind, this weekend marks the beginning of summer.  Are you excited?!!  I am.  I'm getting in the mood by thinking of all the fun activities we've got planned on our summer list.
 Ahhh, I can practically taste the fresh, cold lemonade already.

What's on your summer list?

{ a new look! }

Hi there, readers!  I'm so thrilled to unveil my little blog's new look!  It brings a big smile to my face, and I hope it does the same for you :) A million thanks to the sweet-as-candy, Jessie Donovan, for her help in creating my fresh and happy new design.  She was even able to incorporate a watercolor illustration that I did of my little Georgia many years ago. 

 Jessie is a doll to work with, and I can't thank her enough for her help.  

Happy Thursday, everybody, and  thank you, as always, for

 stopping by my little place on the web! 

*some details are still being tweaked, so please forgive any temporary wonkiness you might see

{ bedside blooms }

I woke up to a truly beautiful surprise this morning.
The Mr. snuck this vase of gorgeousness

onto my bedside table early this morning before I awoke.

Yep, he's a keeper, for sure. 

They're so lovely that I just wanted to stay

 in bed staring at them. 

Isn't it remarkable how happy fresh flowers can make a girl?

  Oh, it's the simple things. 

{ story & snack sundays - pb&j sushi }

Every day my boys and I love to gather a huge stack of books, a big pile of pillows and plop down in a cozy spot for storytime-a-rama.  We try to devote two half-hour blocks of time per day to reading, one in the morning and one after nap time.   It's a special time that I treasure.  On Sundays we have an extra special storytime tradition that we do at our house: we make a tasty snack that's inspired by one of the books we've read.  Yesterday, we read (for the billionth time), Amy Wilson Sanger's awesome First Book of Sushi.  It's part of an adorable series of board books
 that focuses on different types of wordly cuisine. 

Happy Jack loves to repeat the fun phrase,

"Big, BIG futomaki has so many grains of rice!". 

 And while these little guys aren't too keen on real sushi just yet, they were on board for sampling a little PB&J sushi snack. 

We got out our Fred Chopstick Kids Chopsticks Holders and our favorite, silly plate to make things even more fun. 

Okay, now steaaaady.

Got it!

Oops. Where'd it go?

Hey, they LIKE IT!

Aww, brothers :)

Fingers crossed that I can get them to

 eat real sushi someday soon :)

Hope you had a fabulous weekend too!

{ color combo crush - yellow + white }

I'm crushing big time on anything yellow and white these days. Maybe it's simply because it's spring time. Maybe it's because I've got a gorgeous bunch of daffodils on my table right now. I'm not sure. Whatever the reason, it's a problem.

I need to stop buying yellow and white clothing.

But I just love the cheery, happy feeling that

I get whenever I spy this sunny shade!

1, 2, 3, 4,

And now I can't shop again for a whole year ;)

Are you loving a certain color combo right now?

{ chalkboard door }

I finally got around to painting my interior garage door with chalkboard paint.  This icky door was in need of a lot of love.

Yikes. 

But, now it's the perfect spot for:

visitors to show off their artistic abilities... 

showing off to your little bro that

you can write your name...

and every day ordinary kitchen business...

I even finally typed up my own grocery list template.  I've been wanting to do that for like, I don't know... FOREVER. 

 It sure does make life easier!

I got the idea for this here originally.   I tweaked it to fit my own shopping needs.  If you're interested, you could download mine *here, and make changes as necessary.  Easy peasy.

I also hung up these fun wire letters that I picked up from Urban Outfitters on clearance. 

They were $3 each! Score.

Now I love seeing this view as I zip out

the door for the day's activities.

* Google docs doesn't have any cool fonts, and they removed my formatted check boxes, so if you'd like my exact grocery list (editable), leave me a comment with your email, and I'll happily send it to you :)

**Update: I uploaded a PDF of my list too :)

{ shut the front door }

Spring always has me thinking about the exterior of houses, landscaping and curb appeal, in general.  While, we don't have the budget for a major overhaul right now, I've been thinking I'd like to paint our exterior door, add some plants in vibrant-colored pots, and maybe even some new house numbers to help give a much needed shot of beauty to our sad, little front stoop.  I'm thinking BOLD.

 I've found a lot of inspiration out there.

The soft color of this yellow door is so sunny and sweet.

A nice subdued blue could be nice.

 This fantastic green door is sort of iconic because it was on the cover of Blueprint Mag awhile back.  Sniff, sniff.  Still grieving about the demise of that excellent publication.

Wow. I would paint my home these exact colors if I thought I could get the Mr. to agree to it.

This is absolutely perfect, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, our home is sort of an annoyingly indecisive gray tone, so I think we need to go BIG or go home with color to really make an impact. I've had this image tucked away for inspiration for a while, and I love everything about it. 

In fact, I already own that adorable plaid mat, so I'm practically halfway there already, right?

Riiiight? ;)

Does spring have you thinking about curb appeal?  Do you have any outdoor home improvement projects underway or on your mind?

*via real simple, cottage living, blueprint, diy network, country living

{ real recipe - yellow curry shrimp }

I'm a saucy kind of gal.  That is to say, I just adore sauces of all kinds.  I also love spicy foods. Yum.  I fell in love with this spicy, yellow curry sauce that I recently picked up from Trader Joe's.  I swear I want to marry it.  This stuff is delicious, spicy and makes it a breeze to whip up an impressive meal, lickety split.  I'm talking 15 minutes from start to finish! A warning though, this stuff has quite a kick, so if you have normal kids (unlike mine), you might want to skip this one for the little guys.  My Jack and Grant devoured this stuff though.  Jack took a bite, then said,
"Ahhhh, my mouth is on fire!". 

 Then he would continue on eating, giggling the whole time. Wacky kid.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs - olive oil
1 package frozen stir fry veggies
1 bottle Trader Joe's Yellow Curry Sauce
1 package Mahatma Yellow Saffron rice or 2 1/2 cups Thai coconut ginger rice or jasmine rice or brown rice, or whatever rice tickles your fancy
14 oz. peeled, deveined, uncooked shrimp
*optional: 1 cup chopped fresh cabbage, a handful of chopped green onion

Directions:
Cook rice according to package directions.
Heat oil in skillet or wok. Add veggies (and fresh cabbage, if using) and saute for 2 minutes. Then add 2 Tbs of water, cover and let steam for 4-5 minutes.  I think the veggies taste best when tender, but still crisp. Uncover, add shrimp and green onions and stir fry for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add yellow curry sauce and let heat through. Serve spooned over rice.  Yummy times a million.  Spicy too :)

Makes 4 generous servings

{ wednesday wrap session }

I LOVE giving gifts to friends and family.  My favorite part of gift-giving is wrapping up that special something with pretty paper and embellishments.  I like to experiment with different kinds of bows, flowers and toppers.  These days, there are a gazillion beautiful gift toppers for purchase.  But I like a crafty challenge, so instead of buying something,  I always try to see what I can create with things I already have around the house.  Some call it being cheap. I say I'm being creative ;)  This gift was for one of Happy Jack's

 sweet little girl friend's birthday.

And this one was for an adorable baby boy we know.

Fancy, fun and F R E E.  Gotta love that! 

{ tortured by tolix }

Stunning, stackable, and available in a rainbow of delicious colors.  That's the story of the industrial chic amazingness that is the French-designed Tolix chair. I have lusted over these chairs for years.  YEARS! I need them in my life someday. 

Too bad they also cost $295 each. :(   

 There are plenty of knockoff options out there, but none of them are in our price range either.

 Design Within Reach version -$250

Pottery Barn version - $245 

 But, HAPPY day!  I just found a gorgeous look-a-like from Home Decorator's Collection

 for the insane price of $79 each!

I want EVERY C O L O R

Here are some examples of how perfectly wonderful they look paired with a rustic table.

  

See?  So lovely, right?  I need some.

Happy weekend!

*via pinterest

{ rainy day blues }

I LOVE rainy days.  Really, I do.  But we've had so many this spring that I'm beginning to forget what the sun looks like.  So, whoever is doing the rain dance, you can stop now.  Please and thank you ;)

*via pinterest

{ it might be monday, but at least it's may! }

I couldn't be more excited that it's finally MAY!  I've got picnics, sunny bike rides, and fresh fruit-picking on the brain. I'm so looking forward to getting outside and enjoying some of the beautiful things nature has to offer.

  Come on, SUNSHINE!

Speaking of fruits, this is very clever and quite true,

don't you think?

*via  pinterest, annika vannerus, picnic, richworks

Happy Monday!  What are YOU excited about this month?