House Tour {Kitchen}

Well, I think it is about time to get this show on the road.  It is time to resume this house tour.

Here’s a little peak at our kitchen.

This is the room where I spend most of my time; my kids think it is a 24 hour café.

Hence the reason I made this café sign.  I made it from fabric, burlap, pom- pom trim, and chipboard letters. I attached it to the old lattice that hangs over our bar.

Speaking of our bar, this is where my kids spend so much of their time.  Most of the time there is a homemade treat in the glass cake stand.  Well, on a good day that is.  The kids eat lots of snacks up here. 

The bar stools, were ones that I found at a thrift store.  I loved the old look of them.  Little did I know that they are a collectable.  I was surprised what they are worth when I looked them up on Ebay.  I liked them even more then when I bought them for $5 a piece.  I had planned on painting them and recovering the seats, but I like them just the way they are for now.

My favorite appliance in my kitchen is my red Blendtec.  It is the most amazing appliance ever.

I decided to go with the fun vintage look in my kitchen.  I found this amazing blue depression glass at a flea market. 

The matching veggie tray and cake plate have to be among my favorite pieces that I own.

Here are a few more vintage pieces I have picked up.  I love this canister set.

This picture brings me joy when I am cooking.  This was such a great day picking blackberries with the kids and the Moes family.

I made this art piece with a discount frame, burlap, some old spoons, and some spray paint.

This is that wall that separates our office from our kitchen. I think it ties the two together well.

These cherry plates bring the fun to the room.  I also found these at a flea market.

On top of our fridge, is a lamp.  It stays on all the time.  I enjoy having a light on at night just in case the kids need to get up for something.  I know they won’t be stumbling around as they make their way to our room.  I also keep my cookbooks here, and part of my milk glass collection.

The most important part of our kitchen is command central.

This is where I keep it all together. 

I file important documents here.  Files for the kids, receipts, stamps, bills, and anything pressing that I need to work on.  I also have a little on going projects and goals list here.

Up on my cabinets I keep a calendar and weekly to-do list to keep us all on the same page. ( I will be sharing these printables soon.)I will be sharing the files for March; so stay tuned.

This drawer is where I store 4x6 note cards.  I write down little things about the kids that I don’t want to forget on them.  I also keep homemade cards here for gifts.

This little basket, is where I keep all the junk we need or things that may need to be fixed.  It is our little junk basket.  We also tuck our keys and sunglasses here too. 

…and this is where my camera goes.  I like to have it ready to go at all times. 

As you can see, our kitchen is where we live.  It is the heart of our home. 

I hope you enjoyed your little peak into our heart.

Valentines Day Re-cap

We had a great Valentines Day.  It was a busy Valentine’s Day.  Mommy was really tired come mid-afternoon which didn’t leave a whole lot of love for my main squeeze.  I always thought this love holiday was about that man I love, but since the kids have been in school I have learned it has been mostly about them. 

To Jonathan: Next year I pledge to make it more about YOU!!

Here is a peak at what kept us so busy.

I wanted to show you how cute the treat ended up for Isaac’s Valentine.  You can read about those here.

I think they are just so much fun, and perfect for 4 year olds.

We made these delicious cookies for their teachers.  I will share the recipe soon.

I started the morning by putting together a big Love lunch together for all the teachers at the kids school; Lasagna, homemade bread, salad and desserts.  It was a lot of work, but our teachers are worth it. I also have lots of great helpers.

After I got them all started, it was time to visit Isaac’s class for his party.

Thankfully it wasn’t my turn to plan this party.  I just got to sit and enjoy it with him.

He is the cutest preschooler, and he loves his teacher. She is wonderful.

Then it was back to the kid’s Elementary school to wrap up the lunch with the teachers.  The two little kids enjoyed a little lunch of their own with Jex in the lunchroom.

Then off to Stella’s Valentine’s party.

They had yummy banana splits, and enjoyed opening their class valentines.

Stella absolutely adores her teacher, Mrs. Blakely.  I am thankful for her too.

By this time, I was sure the little one would have a break-down because she was so tired.  She proved me wrong again, she is so good at rolling with the punches.  She also looked so adorable.

…and she just rolled right along as we went to Jex’s love bash. I am his homeroom mom, so I got to plan all the goodies for this one.

Heart shaped Krispy Kremes(which were adorable, btw), and homemade strawberry lemonade.

I love hanging out with my awesome 3rd grader.

He loves hanging out with his great teacher, Miss Hartsfield.

When we got home, I crashed on the couch.  I was exhausted.

I was thankful the kids parties were all at different times. 

I am always grateful to spend time with them in their classrooms.

Luckily, I didn’t have to make dinner.  There was lasagna, bread and salad left from the teacher’s lunch.  That was a bonus, and it was the perfect Valentine’s dinner.

Jonathan got home from work late, but made sure to bring me the sweetest gift.

He is so thoughtful, and I totally failed. 

I put too much time in to the kids this year.

I will do better next year.

I still love my Valentine, and I am so grateful he chose me almost 13 years ago.

I love my whole family.  Love is wonderful thing.

I love Valentine’s Day.  I think it a beautiful holiday.

The gift of Music [and more about me then you probably wanted to know]

For those of you who really know me, you would know that I am my happiest when I am listening to music.

I love country music.  I also like pop, but country is in my blood.  It is who I am. I was raised listening to country music. I have a greater appreciation for it now that we live in the South.

A few more random facts about me:

Some of you may not know that I follow the country billboard chart every week.

My husband and children know that when mom is in a bad mood all they have to do is turn on some good old country music, or something with a beat and my attitude changes.

I also find exercise to be so much more fun when I am listening to music I love.

I can tell you the name of almost every country artist that you hear on the radio, and I have probably read all the information about them on Wikipedia.  (don’t you just love wiki?) It’s like my own little gossip magazine, but a place that holds actual facts.  I like that about it; I like facts.  I enjoy learning about people, especially people who make music.

Ok, I know you are all starting to think this girl has got to find better things to do with her time.

Thankfully, my husband has also grown to appreciate country music as much as me.  We both have a love for it, and we enjoy talking about the different songs and artists we enjoy.

Country music talks about real life.  There are great stories to be found in the words of a country song. 

Now that you know all this about me, you will understand why I believe I got the best Christmas gifts ever this year.

I haven’t talked about my Christmas yet.  I have been saving the surprise.

This year on Christmas morning, I had two really big boxes from Jonathan to open.  When I opened the first box, I found a blanket inside that we already owned.  I had to laugh at Jonathan’s creative wrapping style.  When I unfolded the blanket, an envelope fell out.  Inside the envelope were tickets to see Rascal Flatts.

Next, he had me open the other box.  I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I assumed it might be another pair of tickets.  I had been talking to him about an Eric Church concert that might be fun.  I thought it might be tickets to that.  Much to my surprise, when I unfolded another already owned blanket, and opened another envelope; I was shocked. 

The first thing I read on the tickets:

“My Kinda Party” Jason Aldean. 

Now for those of you who really know me, you would know that Jason is my favorite.  I can listen to his albums over and over.  I love all of Jason’s hits that play on the radio, but I enjoy the music he picks for his albums more. The songs that don’t get any air time.  He has a knack for picking great songs.

I was so surprised to see his name on the tickets, because I knew he was not coming to Little Rock this year.  Jonathan stumbled upon a concert that Jason added in Jonesboro which is 2 1/2 hours from us.  I was ecstatic.  Even better news, Luke Bryan was coming with him.  He is also a favorite.

I have thought about these two gifts for weeks.  I have been on the countdown, and it was finally time.

Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Lauren Alaina on Feb. 3rd in Jonesboro.

It was amazing.  The best part was when Jason Aldean got off the stage and came to the back of the pit and stood right in front of us. He sang one of our favorite songs with Luke Bryan, “we rode in trucks.” I got that on video. I love it even more when they sing acoustic.

I loved sharing this with Jonathan.  He is the cutest cowboy I know.  Jonathan grew up on a farm, raising cattle, and hauling hay.  I love when he gets dressed up and goes back to his roots.

All three artists were amazing.  It was a wonderful weekend.

is it even worth sharing these yucky phone pictures? I guess to show that we enjoyed this together.

I only had my iphone for this venue.  I could kick myself for not taking my real camera. My phone doesn’t take the best pictures.

Just six days later, Jonathan decided to surprise us one more time.  He brought home tickets for Jex, Stella, and I to go with him to a small concert venue.  This was so fun for the kids to be up close to real country stars, and hear them sing songs they hear on the radio.

This concert was a benefit for St.Judes.  All of the proceeds went to help the cancer research center.

It was one of those venues with open seating, all really close to the stage.  We had to wait outside for close to an hour for the doors to open.  It was a cold cold night.

So grateful I brought my nice camera to this one.

It was so much fun hanging out with our two oldest kids. We are pretty luck parents.

We saw: Kip Moore, Josh Turner, and Lauren Alaina(again) on Feb. 9th.

For those of you who don’t know, Lauren Alaina was on American Idol last year.  The kids really like her. She was just as good the second time.

After the concert, Jex told me that Josh Turner is his new favorite.  He was pretty awesome.

And last but not least:

Rascal Flatts, Sara Evans, and Hunter Hayes on Feb. 11th in Little Rock

This was amazing.  All three artists have a sort of spiritual quality about them.

 

I enjoyed all of them.  Flatts put on quite a show with amazing backdrops and props.  Most of their music is uplifting with a wonderful message.

My favorite part of the night was when they sang their last song; “He’s not the leaving kind.”  If you haven’t heard this song before, the title is referencing God.  While they sang, a whole fleet of Marines took the stage.  I was brought to tears.

also taken with iphone

I must say that the last few weeks have been awesome.  It was a wonderful gift.  I love gifts that leave lasting memories.

Thanks Jonathan for sharing a great life with me and making it fun too. You always put so much thought into gifts.  I love you for that.

P.S.  Jonathan just told me that he bought us tickets to see Miranda Lambert in April.  I love you J!

P.P.S.  Speaking of Music, I am in love with this song right now. Just to prove to you that I like other music outside the country world.

Winner {Dress me up fun custom onesies, leggings, and more}

And the winner of the giveaway this week is:

ajohnson 

She said:

“I love the purple elephant, no wait, the black necklace, um I mean the purple elephant! They are all so cute!!”

Unfortunately, I don’t have any way to get in touch with you.  Please leave me a comment with your email so we can get you your prize. 

I am so excited for you.

Thanks to all who entered, and thanks to all of you who read my blog.  It means so much to me.

Thanks to Lindsay for such a fun giveaway.

Now don’t forget to check her out here or here and get 10% off your next order when you mention you saw her here.  You can also contact her through her email which is: lindsaydrobbins@gmail.com

Andrea

What I have learned Thursday…

This weeks What I have learned will be scattered with some pictures of my favorite little ballerina. Well, I have two favorite ballerina’s.  I just happened to take some pictures of this one this week.  She wears a dance dress-up every day. I just have to share pictures also.

What I have learned….

I must say that the last few weeks have been full of learning experiences.  I feel like Heavenly Father is always trying to teach me something.  I think I need to work a little bit harder at listening.  That way he wouldn’t have to work so hard to refine me.

I have been thinking a lot about Faith this week and what it means to me.  I always thought that I was a pretty faithful person, but I have to admit that this past year has been a very faith trying year for me.

It has made me take a step back and think about what the word faith really means.

After a great conversation with my sister this week, I felt my understanding of faith increase.  She has been such a wonderful example to me of faith.  We have all had trials in our life, but Kristin’s trials have been more public.  People have been more aware of the trials that she has gone through.  Through it all, she has been an example of faith to me.

 

This week,  she explained faith in her own words, she told me “Sometimes it is just easier for me to hope.  When I hope for things, I watch that hope turn into faith.” 

It got me thinking about hope.  This past year, I have had a very negative attitude.  I think I left all hope aside.

 

I found this wonderful quote this week while reading my scriptures:

“There are to many of us who put question marks instead of periods at the end of what the Lord says.  We must learn to trust the Lord.” Harold B. Lee

This is my resolve to change my attitude.  I am now putting periods at the end of what I know to be true; no more questions from me.  Well maybe a few. I am not perfect yet.

 

I am having more hope for the future, and in turn plan to watch my faith increase.

Thanks to a wonderful sister who helped me see.  I believe that we are given family and friends to help us become better.  It is important to call on them in times of need.

One more beautiful thing I have learned this week.  I love my sisters.  I am thankful for them.  I am glad they are some of my closest friends.  I hope that we are teaching our own children just how important it is to forge friendships with their siblings now.  Family is forever, while most friendships come and go.

On that note, don’t forget to enter the giveaway from my other awesome and talented sister; Lindsay.  Click here to see what it is she is giving away. You won’t want to miss it. Giveaway ends tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for always listening to me as I share what I am learning in life.  When I take the time to write it down it helps to make me better.  It gives me a place to come back to and reflect.  I hope my words help you in some way also.