Monday, July 18, 2011

{ happily ever afters }

ELLE magazine
 Ask most girls under age ten what "happily ever after" means and they're likely to respond with ideas about kissing frogs, princes, and riding off into the sunset. During my time working in the children's room at a library, I helped countless little ladies who were eager to get their hands on the perfect princess story (which most likely involved the helpless princess being rescued by a handsome suitor, aka the knight in shining armour). Bless their little hearts. I've never been a fan of fairy tales (or pretty much anything produced by Disney, for that matter) because it's my belief that such things give children, and girls in particular, a wildly unrealistic view of relationships, and our world in general.  But that's a topic for a whole other Oprah-oh, wait!...does that saying even apply anymore?!  Anyway, I've been thinking about happily ever afters lately.  What does that phrase mean exactly?  To me, it means finding bliss in my everyday life.  My happily ever after is CRAZY imperfect, but I wouldn't change it for the world.  It looks a little something like this:


Notice how no one gives a lick that mama has her heart set on the perfect family portrait?!  Nope. Our happily ever after is uncooperative and dirty and silly and messy and sleepy and funny and unbelievably LOUD.  But it's altogether wonderful, because it's ours.  Isn't that the great thing about life?  We're in charge, darnit,  and we get to write our own  happy endings!  So get crackin' on yours already, will ya?!  I read this quote recently, and I just adore it.  It's a great reminder to love your life 

I took a few minutes to create a version of this print that's been floating around the internet. And, because my mama taught me to share, I thought I'd pass it along to anyone who might like one too.
Download your own free {5X7} here

 Oh, and these are wise words too.



Download your free {5X7} print here

Speaking of happy...I can't tell you how much I enjoyed my blog break last week. We had a wonderfully relaxed, slow-paced week around here, and I even got some fun projects done. It's amazing how much one can accomplish when one stops blogging about doing things, and actual spends time doing them instead! I'm taking a new approach to this little blog of mine: I've decided to spend 20 minutes per day (during nap time) devoted to posting, and I'll stop when that 20 minutes is up, or whenever it stops being fun-whichever comes first. This will most definitely results in fewer posts. But you guys are all beyond awesome, so I know you'll be okay with that. ;) 

Monday, July 11, 2011

{ summer blog break }



I've decided to take a break from blogging for a bit.  I'm feeling a tad disenchanted with blog writing, reading blogs, and my time online, in general.  I need to re-focus on some things in the real world.  So please excuse my absence. I'll be back soon...at least, I think I will.
  I hope you enjoy your week :)

Friday, July 8, 2011

{ real recipe - peanut noodles w/ chicken }

I don't know about you, but I often find myself scrambling to come up with healthy, delicious dinners that will please my whole family.  So when I hit on a winner, I tend to get overly excited, and I always feel the need to share! We're HUGE fans of Thai, Indian and Asian-inspired dishes at our house, and so it's no surprise that this little diddy has been in heavy rotation around here lately. 

 I hope you like it too :) 

*add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce for a little kick
Happy cooking {and eating}!

 
 
h a p p y  w e e k e n d  t o o !

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

{ wednesday wrap session }

Sometimes you just gotta go all girly and sparkley, ya know?
This gift was to welcome a darling little lady bean to the world.


Papyrus has some of the most beautiful papers and gift toppers right now.  I went a little crazy there recently.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

{ giggly grocery morning }

Who lets a morning filled with tons of boring grown-up errands, including grocery shopping prevent them from some hilariously goofy dress-up fun?
             Not my boys :P
via kimberly wagner photography
You would not believe the huge grins, giggles and high fives we received this morning.

Let's hear it for injecting a little (or a LOT of) silliness into mundane, humdrum tasks!  Don't you just LOVE the way little ones are so good at having FUN no matter what they're doing?  Hope you've got a big smile on your face as you get back to real life after the long holiday weekend.

Friday, July 1, 2011

{ happy 235th birthday, america! }

I swear she doesn't look a day older than 210..... maybe 215, tops! ;)
Here's hoping your holiday weekend looks a lot like this!

h a p p y {independence day} w e e k e n d !

Have fun and stay safe.