Leaving on a jet plane...

Yup, you read it right! Jason & I are going on a mini-vacay JUST THE TWO OF US!! I know, I know, I can't believe it either!! Can you hear the excitement in my typing?



This will be our first vacay, sans kids, in 8 YEARS!!! We are beyond thrilled! This worry free, relaxing trip would not be possible without my amazing parents, whom will be strapped with my sweet little darlings for 4 full days! Good luck Mom & Dad (& thank you) :)

They will never know how much we both appreciate this!

Where are we going you ask? A place that I haven't visited since my 5th grade year...



The Nations Capital! DC, here we come! Even thought my guy didn't win this election year, it will still be so much fun to be dorky tourists & enjoy the sites!

The home "beautification" projects as mentioned in the last post are FINISHED! I am so happy it was completed before we leave on our trip! Pics to come soon...

Have a great weekend!

Random Sunday Chatter

What a beautiful Sunday morning! The Wise fam has been a bit out of sorts this past week, due to a little home beautification (is that a word?...Mom, you out there?)! We are enclosing the back screened porch into a lovely playroom for the girls, complete with wrap around windows! We also made the decision to paint the inside of the house, such an easy to decision to make right?...not so fast! The painting portion has been hell! I knew, that I would have to remove pictures, etc...from the walls, well that all just sounded too easy! Oh my! My house has been an absolute disaster area & I am so obsessive compulsive about keeping it tidy, that I have been "off my rocker" so to say, the past few days! Everything, and I mean everything, in my home is in complete disarray!! I have taken many deep, cleansing breaths & counted to 10, at least 100 times! Needless to say, I will be OH SO HAPPY when the painters are finished, crossing my fingers that day will come tomorrow & I can get my home back in it's original order!!

I wanted to also share a cool website, Artsonia. A wonderful place to scan & upload all of your children's artwork from school & keep it on file! You can organize, share & even purchase items with your child's artwork! Just the site for me, as I have many totes filled to the brim with Chloe, Hannah & Shelby's art! I never have the heart to throw anything they make away, & this gives me a great place to keep it all organized! Perfect for the OCD mentioned in the paragraph above! You can find the site here, just sign up & start scanning!

These boots

Take my picture Mama, 'cause I really love my MOO cow boots that Nana gave me! ~ Shelby



Today is the third day in a row that Shelby has adorned her MOO cow boots from Nana...I see a trend :)



Don't you just love random Wednesday morning "togetherness"

Valentines Day

This post is long overdue! A quick update on CPSIA...a one year hold! So all of my wonderful designer friends can keep the creative juices flowing! I am so glad, as I have a big addiction to handmade! A real victory for them all!

I think I have been bitten by the "crafty bug", I am redesigning different rooms in my home & found some SUPER cute ideas for Valentines day in Family Fun Magazine (one of my new favorites!)

Chloe, age 9, thinks some of the store bought Valentines are "babyish" as she calls them, so I was on the hunt for some ideas for older girls & I hit the jackpot! For somebody like me, who can't sew a button, I am feeling quite proud of myself!

iPod Valentines, perfect for the 9 - 12 year old set!! The instructions call for 4" circles of aluminum foil to wrap around Reese's miniature cups, imagine my luck when I browsed my local craft store & found...guess what...4" pre-cut heart printed foil in the Wilton handmade candy aisle!!!!! Totally made the edible "ear buds" that much cuter, can you hear the pride on my voice??!! Instructions here...



And Hannah's Valentines! This just involved her fave candy: Tootsie Rolls & some card stock! Instructions here...



I am also working on a "Jar of Joy" for each teacher...I sent home pre-cut heart for the children to write sweet notes on & we will put them all together in a sweet bucket! Anytime their teachers are having a bad day, they just reach in to pull out a little joy!



Another cute teacher idea...a small tube of hand lotion, two pieces of card stock traced with your child's hand print, cut out the hand print & write...here is the clever part!!...
Mrs. so & so, you deserve a hand!!
Add a few foam heart stickers & your done! Instructions here...So cute!







This will be Shelby's Valentine...I haven't assembled hers yet, so this is the pic from the magazine, such a cute & simple idea! Instructions here...



My kitchen counter is a huge mess as a result of this "crafty bug"!
Worth it though, as I think the girls are excited about their Valentines this year!



Next, my house. I have scoured through issues of Southern Living, Better Homes & Garden, etc...and have come up with some cute ideas! I am attempting to create my own headboard for the master bedroom, more on that later. I am going for a "cottage chic" look...lots of white, some shabby, some birds, some vintage. The more I write, the more I think I am trying to combine several different looks here! We will see how this all turns out! Here is a peek...I love the framed floral canvas (yes, I framed it myself, more pride!), it screams Spring!





Send me a comment with your V-day ideas, if the "crafty bug" has been to your house!