thinking about 39...

yesterday was my birthday... 39 years old... how in the world did that happen so quickly is what i would like to know... it seems like yesterday i was belting out "the sun will come out tomorrow" in the back yard while my mom was making sandwiches and kool-aid for myself and the neighborhood kids... now i'm the mom making the sandwiches and the kool-aid...

so... i've been thinking about this whole 39 thing... it's my last hoo-rah of a year before 40... the number doesn't bother me so much... it's where i'm at in regards to where i feel i should be in life... you see, i'm still not quite sure what i want to be when i grow up... 

i love my husband and my daughters... i love being a wife and a mom... those things i know for sure...

being a student on the other hand is getting rough...

take for example... i've been up since 4 am because i was studying for a make up test that i had to take this morning... my momentum with that whole thing is wavering... i'm pushing myself forward each day but i can't take the fact that i've been back in school for 3 years and i probably have a little over 4 left if i'm looking at things realistically...

it's hard... and what i usually do when things get hard is quit...

  i want this degree so that i can just say that i did it already... i know i need to do this for myself... so for now i'll keep plugging along...

however... i do feel that i need to inspire myself to venture more in the direction of where my creative heart is... making things has always been a big part of who i am... 

so... this year {between 39 and 40}... i'm going to step out of my comfort zone a little... i need some sort of plan so that i feel like i'm holding true to myself... like setting some goals in regards to my handmade things... i think that might be a good place to start... {kind of thinking out loud here :)}

so here's to my 39th year... and to finding my way towards what i really want to be when i grow up...

{these flowers have nothing to do with this post... they were just my fun project for the night...}

have a happy day~

angie

hi there...

it's been a little while... i had every intention of making a "random things going on around here" post last week... but then i got sick on wednesday and that was the end of that notion... today is the first day since then that i've actually been up and moving about...

blah... being sick is not fun... 

prior to being knocked down i had the chance to do some fun things... 

like stopping back in at my favorite antique stores... ichabod's treasures and lou berry's... walked out of there with two things i had to have... i'm telling you... if you're local, you have to stop in...

i have been looking for a blue mason jar for a pretty long time... a happy find for me...

and as soon as i saw this laundry cart i knew i couldn't leave it behind... do i leave it this color or paint it a light aqua?  i'm kind of swaying towards the aqua... thoughts???

i've seen these cute bowls in little 

boutique-y stores before... guess where i found these ones... giant eagle... who knew?  if i only had an extra $29.99 they would have been in my cart :)...

i recently attended a cupcake tasting at the B&O station in downtown youngstown... such a neat place... and the cupcakes were fantastic... i won this pretty daisy print from the silent auction... it's for my friend keri... she's going to love it...

operation weight loss was slightly derailed by this roasted red pepper and fresh mozzarella sandwich from jimmy's... once again local friends... if you've never been to jimmy's,  you've been missing out... it's an italian specialties store that has a HUGE bakery selection {tiramisu and turtle cheesecake... torrone...}... they also have a hot foods counter, a wonderful sandwich selection, pepperoni rolls, homemade pizza... hand-tossed salads... it's all de-lish!!!

barnes and noble is one of my favorite places to go when i have a little free time... i stop at the starbucks counter... then i scan the newest magazines... and then i head over to my favorite section and sit down right in the aisle...

this cover... loved the colors... loved the title... it came home with me...

here's an exercise from one of the pages... i had to choose five colors that i'm drawn to... mute them down with white and create a pattern... it's all about getting inspired... i'm really liking it... a fun activity book for this kid at heart :)...

and this show right here... 

how in the world have i waited so long to tune into this?  now i'm trying to play catch up... i am hooked... and fascinated with the clothing... how pretty are all of the hats?... i think they need to make a comeback... or maybe i'll have to have a downton get together and hats will be required... that might be kinda fun ;)...

and finally... meet madison... our cat... and my study partner...

which speaking of studying... i need to get back to that... i have an exam on wednesday...  wish me luck! 

have a happy day~

angie

happy day surprise...

remember the happy day surprise concept that i shared with all of you a while back? {if you missed it you can check it out here}...

i wanted to cheer my mom up... it's been a little rough over the past week or so... my spunky gram ended up in the hospital with pneumonia... it wasn't good... but she's doing  better now... my mom is a worrier and i know she's been stressed...

so i put together a little bit of happy to brighten up her day... 

i found this cute pink wire basket in the dollar bin at target... you never know what fun things you can find there...
and i just added things i thought she would like...

this little felt bag is brimming with fat quarters, trims and a few old spools of thread... {there's even a dove chocolate bar wrapped up in some of that fabric}... i made a  "be happy" tag and tied it on with some ric-rac... { i love ric-rac}

in the center there is a copy of "the best of flea market style" which i know she'll enjoy... there is a vintage postcard as a placeholder tucked in between the pages...

i used an empty bottle from my latest izze drink from chipotle... {do you save those? if you don't, you should... they make the perfect little vases for your window sill}... i added a cute washi tape band around it... i stopped at a local florist and picked up a little bit of spring on this freezing cold february day... fresh flowers in the house = happy...

there are some blank tags, bakers twine and some thin jute and lace for her to make some of her own tags... some fun green ric-rac... and a vintage {never been used :)} hankie that has the sweetest stitching... 

i hope she enjoys it as much as i enjoyed putting it all together for her...

have a happy day~
angie

early bird or night owl?

my parents are both early birds... rising with the entire day ahead of them...

{artwork by maizie}

 and growing up that's what i was used to... up early... full of organization... the route for the entire day mapped out... my mom's early bird gets the worm mentality still holds strong... she would rather sit in the parking lot for 10 minutes and wait for a store to open up than to go later on in the day... 

i, on the other hand, am the person who races to a store 10 minutes before it closes... not one aspect of my day planned out... flying by the seat of my pants... i'm too tired to plan... because... i'm definitely more of a night owl...

{artwork by marina}

once i put the girls to bed for the night... my time begins... doing homework... cleaning up from dinner... getting to a project that i've been wanting to make... a little computer time or watching a show that i want to watch... fitting all of these things or even some of them into an evening takes a while... before you know it... it's 1:30 {sometimes 2:00} in the morning and i find myself mindlessly enjoying re-runs of king of queens to extend my "me time" when i should be in bed catching up on some much needed sleep...

i'm starting to wonder if early birds and organization go hand in hand while night owls and total disarray seem to be a likely pair...

next week i think i'm going to try something new... i'm going to try heading to bed by 11:00 and try getting up a little earlier...  i want to feel more refreshed and rested for these kiddos in the morning...

because honestly... i'm exhausted... and even though kevin james is a hoot... averaging 4-5 hours of sleep a night is not...

how about you... are you an early bird or night owl?

have a happy day~
angie

happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day :)

last night was spent baking and preparing valentines with the girls...

first up were the loaded cookie bars {recipe from here} that i found on pinterest... 

i changed the recipe a little bit... i excluded the macadamia nuts because i knew the girls wouldn't eat them with that addition... i also had to bake them for about 28 minutes instead of the 22-25 minutes that was the recommended bake time... if you give them a try... just keep an eye on them since all ovens bake a little differently...  

 sugar cookie dough, m&m's, peanut butter chips and chocolate chips...

they are super sweet...

the girls loved them...

then we moved onto their valentine cards...

this year, i took a drawing that they each made {you can see that post here}... i scanned them... and had them printed into wallet sized cards with rounded corners {thanks michelle at mmgphotography for getting them printed so quickly for me :)...}

they signed the backs of them... we hole punched the corner... and tied them to their treat bags with cute, patterned ribbons... i'm so happy with how they turned out...

marina chose kitkats and kisses...

 {lovebird}

and she chose this little flower to give to her teacher...

maizie chose kisses and m&m's...

{valentine girl}

then we packaged up some of the loaded cookie bars for maizie's favorite teacher...

i'm thankful to be spending some time in marina's classroom this afternoon... i love seeing all of the creative valentine boxes that they bring in... and the looks on their little faces as they excitedly pass out their cards to one another...

have a happy {valentines} day~

angie

ten on 2-10-13

have you heard about the ten on ten photo project? {if not, you can check it out here...} i kind of love the idea... the whole gist of ten on ten is to capture 10 moments throughout your day... on the 10th of each month... it's to help with remembering the little moments that make up our everyday lives...

so here we go...

while the girls were at ccd this morning, john and i stopped at panera and had breakfast together... their asiago bagel is my fave...

last night my friend keri surprised me with an early birthday present... we've been friends since 6th grade and she definitely knows me... i had to snap a photo of it... check out this basket of stamping/gift tag making supplies she chose for me... {love it}... thanks, friend :)...

i am a stair stacker by nature and earlier in the week i went to tjmaxx... i purchased two wire baskets marked "1" {for maizie} and "2" {for marina}... all week, when something of theirs ended up downstairs that needed to go back up to their rooms, i put it into their baskets...

it's really helped to contain the clutter on the stairs and they like the idea of having their own baskets... win/win... {wish there was a "3" and "4"... john and i could have put them to good use, too}...

in between cleaning my office, i've been catching bits and pieces of one of my all time favorite movies... ferris bueller's day off... haha... i swear i watched this movie every weekend for years when i was younger... you know it's a good one when you can hear the lines in your head before they even say them :)...

this office of mine... phew... it's been out of hand... for way too long... i have plenty of storage in here... but somehow things end up in here that don't belong... i have quite a mess on my hands... and in my organizing,  i've come to the realization that i'm slightly obsessed with cards/stationary items... i really should focus more on sending out these bits of cheer in the mail instead of stockpiling them... {think i'm gonna work on that!}...

this little table is getting painted by john as i type this... it's for our bedroom... the color is hazy stratus... a nice soft grey color... kind of hard to tell in this pic but can't wait to see it finished... 

i took piano lessons in 6th grade and quit... i hated to practice... oh how i wish i would have stuck with it... i love that maizie is enjoying the cello so much... her sweet teacher is helping her learn the beginning of secrets by one republic... she's pretty excited about that... {and so am i}...

tonight... marina was reading junie b. jones has a peep in her pocket to me... such concentration on her little face sounding out those words...

i worked on my "here" and "gone" tags today for my jars...

and i'm happy to report that i am down 2 lbs. this week... not too stellar but i'll take it... i just have to keep the momentum going into next week... 

now i'm off to analyze a piece of artwork for my art class... it's due tomorrow... and as usual... there's no minute like the last minute around here...

have a happy day~

angie

cinnamon sugar donuts...

when i was little, my mom would make homemade cinnamon sugar donuts as a special treat... i remember her pulling apart frozen bread dough and having the fry daddy all ready to go... once she pulled them out she would toss them in a brown bag of cinnamon sugar and give them a good shake... they were SO good...

fast forward 30 some years later... i wanted to surprise my own girls with this treat... only i didn't have a fry daddy... 

what i did have was a large skillet... and if you have one of those... and purchase the ingredients below... you can make this yummy version of cinnamon sugar donuts, too...

{don't they look tasty?}

here's how i made ours...

you'll need:

large skillet

tongs

oil

1 can of pillsbury grand biscuits

a small circle cookie cutter or other small round object that can be used to cut a circle from the center of the biscuits

                     butter 

cinnamon sugar mixture... {i didn't measure at all... i just poured some sugar into a bowl... and added cinnamon until i had a nice light brown color}...

how to:

heat up about 1/2" of oil in the bottom of a large skillet...

while that's heating up, remove your biscuits from the package... using a small circle cookie cutter or other small round object, cut a circle from the center of the biscuit... {you'll end up with 8 yummy donuts and 8 yummy donut holes}...

using tongs... place the donuts in the pan and turn them in the hot oil until they are puffed up and lightly browned on each side... 

  while the donuts are browning, melt a small amount of butter in a bowl... have this ready for when you pull the donuts out of the hot oil...

once the donuts are slightly cooled, dip them lightly on both sides in the melted butter and then dip each side in the cinnamon sugar mixture... {the butter helps that sugar stick}...

put them on a plate for your family... and watch them quickly disappear... they are that good!

hope you enjoy...

have a happy day~

angie

marina's over the rainbow birthday party...

i mentioned a while back that marina had an over the rainbow birthday party... some of you may have even seen this picture on my instagram or facebook page... {it was just a little sneak peek photo that i took with my phone}...

my sweet friend michelle from mmgphotography was kind enough to offer to take pictures for me that day... and i'm really excited to share them with you...

first off... her birthday cake... marina's absolute favorite cake in the whole wide world is cookie cake... this little gem is from sam's club... a double layer of chocolate chip cookies with cute colorful polka dots... can't go wrong with that... {she had the same cake last year only with red and pink dots... all you have to do is ask the nice people at sam's to switch up the colors for you and they will :)}...

a peek into the dining room... i punched flower shapes from colorful card stock and stitched them together to create the rainbow garlands...

the white tissue paper pom poms hanging represented the clouds...

and i just layered our table with a white tablecloth and different fabric remnants in bright cheery colors and patterns...

in our breakfast nook... more fabric was layered as a table covering... another little detail from the day were the mason jar drinking glasses... i punched more of the rainbow colored flowers that i used for the garlands... and hand stamped each girls name onto a white sheet of paper... hole punched both and tied them around the neck of the jars with colorful fabric strips... {the stripey straws are from hobby lobby}...

{close up}

i had the most fun setting up the candy buffet... pink, hot pink, and orange pom poms hung from the ceiling from a mixture of bright ribbons... more of the paper punched garland was used as part of the backdrop...

the girls {l o v e d} this... they had so much fun filling up little cellophane bags with their treats...

{jolly rancher lollipops... how to here}

the birthday girl reaching for a ring pop...

do ya like her bracelet? this girl has her own little style... it's actually a napkin ring :)

each of these polka dottie felt squares contained a bracelet kit... 

my friend keri put together individual bags of colorful beads for each girl... 

the girls enjoyed this activity... they unrolled their felt square... laid out their beads in whatever pattern they wanted {the felt helped to keep the beads from rolling all about} and then they strung them... we attached the toggle clasps and each one of them went home with a hand made bracelet... 

{we were so busy finishing them up that we forgot to take a photo... oops... i promise... they were cute :)}

another request that marina had for her special day was a rainbow shirt... this request came the night before the party... we were out and about and there really wasn't anything rainbow-y enough so i bought a white shirt at target with hopes that i could do something cute to it prior the party... about an hour before the guests were to arrive, i was whipping up a shirt... {i'm always so last minute}... 

i was pretty happy with how it turned out because i wasn't quite sure how i was going to make it... i just started tearing strips of fabric... gathering... stitching... swirling the gathered white strips for the clouds... marina smiled so big when she saw that little shirt... it made all the crazy last minute rushing worth it...

 the girls did a lot of just dancing in between eating, happy birthday singing and gift opening... they were all so sweet and well behaved... i'd say the day was a success... 

marina was happy and that's what was most important to me... i hope that she'll always remember her over the rainbow party...

thanks for letting me share all of the details with you :)

and thanks so much to michelle for capturing my sweet girls 7th birthday...

have a happy day!

angie