Yearly Archives: 2011

Sunday Souvenir: Back to School

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I’m a little late posting this week because I’ve been away from my computer working on Jax’s kitchen all weekend. In fact, I’m trying to write this on the iPad from bed with a toddler asleep on my arm!

In honor of everyone heading back to school, this is a photo of me in kindergarten, presenting the month of June. Yes, I’m old. Let’s just not do the math to figure out just how old! I loved my kindergarten teacher, Mrs Jackson! I remember being confused as to where to go my first day of 1st grade and she helped me and gave me a Snoopy folder, which I still have.

In middle school, I took a class that let me do a “job” for the last period of the day. I got permission to walk all the way to my old elementary school to be a teachers aide for Mrs Jackson. It was so rewarding and the kids would rush over to hug me hello in one huge bear hug.

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Kitchen Progress

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Here is where I am after a day of working on Jax’s kitchen. I ran out of red spray paint and still need to do more coats to cover where the clock was. I need to touch of the silver and attach the faucet and knobs. The sink tub is all done. I have to do a few more coats of the blue on the counter and then paint the burners black. Looking good so far!

Friday Follow-up

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Don’t forget to enter our necklace giveaway by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter, then commenting here by 12 noon EST tomorrow!

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a great week! I’ve been super busy between work, rebraiding my hair and two large craft projects. Oh, yeah, and a toddler!

Jax had a spill yesterday while playing with sidewalk chalks with the sitter yesterday. He’s at that age where he thinks he is invincible (maybe that never ends for boys?) He took a few layers of skin off his forehead, but didn’t fuss about it.

Jax’s baby apple tree is doing great! So well that the roots were popping out the top and bottom of its little pot. So we went to the store yesterday and bought it a larger pot and some soil. It looks much happier!

I decided on my color scheme for Jax’s refurbished toy kitchen. I had thought about doing the tall cabinet as a magnetic fridge door when I got an amazing price on magnetic primer, but then I couldn’t get the door off! In the end, I decided I’d much rather save the primer for when I refresh his chalkboard. Then he can play with magnets on it! (I like these…) So the main body with be the same apple red as his chalkboard frame. the sink, door handle and shelf will get sprayed silver. The knobs are going lime and aqua to match his table. And the counter will be aqua. Because there was a lot of water damage on the counter, I will have to do some camouflaging there. I have aqua glitter paint if I want to do a retro glittery look then clear coat it. Or I can try a more speckled look. The glitter is certainly the easy route.

My quickly Photoshopped color plan (minus the clock)

So far the kitchen has been scrubbed, partially disassembled, sanded, and partially primed. I can’t take the clock hand off because they are on there with a strange brad. I’ll have to hand paint that area. My next step is to test the silver spray paint. If that works (I got a very small can) I will get it in aqua and lime for the knobs and counter.

Thrift Store Gems

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We hit the motherload at the kids’ thrift store today!

Jax has been having trouble sleeping due to teething, so we were up and ready for our day a little late. The local kid’s thrift store opens at 10 am, so we had breakfast to waste a little time before heading over. I was hoping for some board books and was keeping my eyes out for a wooden kitchen to refurbish. I didn’t expect to find one (they always had small, ugly plastic ones) so I planned to drive over to the adult thrift store after to check for small hutches I could convert.

But, what did I see when I walked in the door? A 100% wooden (be it mostly MDF) kitchen for $12.25! It is missing the large door (the shopkeeper offered to hold it for me if it turns up), but I think I’ll leave it open and put wire baskets on the shelves. The backsplash shelf is broken off but intact. The faucet needs to be reattached and some of the knobs are glued together a little wonky. All-in-all it just needs a good scrub (there is dirt and mulch inside it), a sanding, several coats of paint and some nails and screws.

I’ll have to get some number decals for the clock as it will get painted over. I’m thinking bright red for the whole thing, with all the door and accents in silver. Maybe a magnetic primer under the “fridge” door for magnets. Should I do something special to the backsplash? It will have its shelf halfway down. I love that the sink is wood so I can paint that too! If any of you hardware-inclined friends have suggestions on reattaching the shelf and faucet, let me know – L brackets under the shelf? This is going to be a fun, quick project now that I only have to paint!

     

We got lucky in other ways at the store too. I found 4 great board books for Jax. He is BIG into being read to now, and I have to read him at least a dozen books every night (or the same one 10 times!) The thrift store is great for books because they sell them for 10% of the cover price – meaning they were all 59 – 79 cents each! We found: Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? A Lift-the-Flap Book, Peek-A Who? (which has a mirror in the back), Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?.

I also got a Melissa & Doug Rainbow Stacker for $1.75. He has stackers, but those are his favorite toys and I like that this one is more advanced with smaller holes. He has to concentrate to put it together. We found Stride Right boots 1.5 sizes up from where Jax is now for $2.50. They are in perfect condition.

Do you thrift shop? I used to in college and only recently started up again. Reusing is great for the environment AND your wallet!

Necklace Giveaway!

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Time for a giveaway! The prize is a necklace handmade by me and perfect for fall. It would look great with both work and casual clothes. The necklace is made of beautiful green-blue stone beads with hints of yellow, round wood beads, small glass seed beads and a wooden pendant. The clasp is magnetic, so it’s easy to put on and off.

To enter, like us on Facebook (if you haven’t already). For a second entry, follow me on Twitter (if you haven’t already). Then come back here and leave a comment letting me know which of the two you completed. Make sure you leave an email address so I can contact you if win.

The contest will run until noon on Saturday. I almost want to keep the prize for myself, but I have one more pendant to make my own.

Good luck!

Link-o-rama!

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Did you have a nice weekend? They always go so fast… Jax has started teething again. He’s working on his canines now. Rough nights ahead!

I love having a little boy, but I am a little sad about the lack of Hello Kitty in my house. I grew up with her (and My Melody & Little Star Twins!)

Here are some fun links I’ve stumbled upon recently:

Hello, Pancake!

Enjoy your Monday!

Sunday Souvenir: My First Day of Ballet

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This photo always makes me smile. This was my first day of ballet. I took it when I was 4 and loved it. The teacher was a sweet family friend. I used to love this one dance we did where we put on pretty tulle skirts and were little windup dolls with cardboard and tin foil cranks. When my mother passed away from breast cancer shortly before I turned 5, my ballet classes were forgotten.

When I was in middle school, I rediscovered my ballet teacher in the community center by my school. I happily took classes from her until I graduated high school.

Did anyone else have one of these neat ballet boxes? They were more often in pink and had a little compartment at the bottom for your ballet shoes. They actually have one on Amazon!

       

Check out Ronalyn’s Sunday Souvenir: The Adventures of Esa and Zed

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Jax’s 18 Month Painting

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Two hands? Why not!

We are keeping up with our monthly canvas paintings and I’ve really noticed a difference now that Jax is 18 months old.

He recently mastered dipping his food into sauces and dips. He calls it “di di” (dip dip). I laid out four plates of paint for him (hiding the bottles – he gets very distracted if he sees them), handed him a paint brush and told him to dip dip. And, he did without hesitation. He had a lot of fun dipping then making a few paint strokes before choosing a new color. It really looked like he was starting to understand he could paint a new color when he dipped in one first.

At the end of the painting I helped him make hand a foot prints on it to have a record of how big he was at 18 months old. Then we cleaned up together, with me washing him off and him splashing in the tub of water.

It came out great and he had so much fun! I’ll be hanging it on the wall as soon as I paint over the staples on the edge of the canvas.

Finished painting

Loving It: Gray & Aqua

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ACQ63VQU5386 I’ve been obsessed with the color gray since spring, but I’ve found my new favorite color combination: gray and aqua!

How sweet is this pom-pom hat from EcoStreet on Etsy? Perfect for boys or girls! The aqua is subtle in this BKE cardigan, but it would look great over a bright top. Or you could mix all the blues and grays in this drapey cardigan. And, I think I need a fairy godmother to get me this fringed purse from my wishlist! I may need to make my own version of this Lucky Brand necklace. More stuff: turquoise bracelets, baby boy zip-up fleece jacket, China Glaze nail polish, kids Yoga Mat Flip Flop, turquoise and amethyst earrings, and an infinity scarf on Etsy.