How to Create a Reading Nook Your Children Will Love

Here's something exciting.  I am being featured on the Time Out for Women blog today!  I had so much fun putting this post together because it took me back to my teaching days and gave me a chance to showcase my absolute favorite corner of the entire Blue House.

Read my tips on creating the perfect reading nook HERE.

xo,
anne

Yard Crashers!

(Optional Post Title: My husband, the Hero)

We hated out back yard.  It was non-functional and ugly.  Some decent grass, a few pathetic plants the builders put in, and a whole lot of weeds and nothingness.  We never ate or played out there; it was just a wasteland. 

For the last couple of years, we talked about putting a patio in, but never got serious about it.  Then, this spring, Taylor said, "I think we should really do the patio this year."

A few weeks later, I began planning Jessie's baby shower.  I really wanted a garden party.  I thought at first of using my parents' ranch, but the logistics for that were pretty crazy.  Taylor was in China at the time, and one night during one of our skype sessions, I proposed: "How about getting that patio in by June 23rd?!"  Taylor didn't hesitate to agree.   I love him.

At first we thought we'd hire some friends who do work like that with pavers.  But once we found out what they charge, we decided to do it ourselves.  (Read: we decided to have Taylor do it himself.)

It was an immense amount of work, and I was so impressed with Taylor's know-how, physical strength,  and commitment to the project.  Because we took a week off to go to Utah for Grandma's funeral, he really had to push it in the last week.

Here's basically how it went down:

1. Lawn Excavation

(The remaining lawn took quite a beating in the process, but it is coming back!)

2. Gravel

3. Leveled Sand and Pavers

4. Landscaping

Want to know something cool?  Taylor learned every bit of the process from HGTV, and especially DIY's Yard Crashers.  See?  TV has value.

I think the best part was watching the landscaping go in.  It was Saturday morning, just hours before the baby shower, and Taylor drove the truck up, absolutely stuffed to capacity with trees and bushes.  He got it all in the ground and mulched just in time for the shower.  Which, I kid you not, got rained out.  (Next blog post: How to Host an Indoor Garden Party.)

Terribly ironic, huh?  But now we have a patio.  I can't wait to furnish it and live out there all summer!  (Don't you worry, Taylor is going to build the patio table.  Because he's manly like that.)

I can't even begin to say how cool I think my husband is and how much it meant to me that he was up early in the morning, and working past dark every night (working around his work schedule and triathalon training!) to get this project done.  Here's what he's getting for his upcoming birthday:  a massage. 

(Big shout out to all of Taylor's help: brother Tanner and his kids (Katie was an absolute animal hauling pavers!), Tanner Shumway, Jake Morris, Matt Lake, cousin Nate.  Thanks for being our Yard Crashers crew!)

Happy Halloween from the Blue House!

Time to get my beans and rice cooking, gather up the skeleton, cowboy, and monkey's costumes, dig out my purple wig, and ready the trick-or-treat basket (which I may or may not have snitched so much from last night that I made myself ill). I think after circling the neighborhood we better come back for some of Nana's pumpkin-chocolate-chip bread and Mexican hot chocolate...

Happy Halloween!

xo
anne

Just in time for fall

I am here to report that we are back at the blue house. Safe, sound, and upchuck (that's what Grandma Tillie would say) free. (Three cheers for Dramamine!) The trip home was a raving success. Here is what we looked like for 12 solid hours.

Rog snuggled with his 'muntees'

Blaine watched oodles of Baby Einstein and Thomas the Train and I praised our DVD player yet again.

Check out Mr. Serious Pants. (Drinking a nasty Red Bull is serious business.) He is a machine. 12 hours, 0nly stopping for peeing and fuel. Way to work it, dear. (Whoa. That is quite a shot of my large nostrils. My apologies.)
We rolled in last night and our house smelled like smoke. (Because of these fires in our valley last week that evacuated several of our near and dears.) Even though I was sad to leave Utah, it feels good to be home. I like my blue house. I like being with my stuff. (How does that saying go? "Home is where the Kitchenaid is?") I like cutting my last few hot pink zinnias and putting them in my green vase and planning all the magic decor that will go up in 2 more days.

This morning was Blaine's first day of our little pre-school co-op. This is the best shot I could get of him. He was too involved in puzzles to say cheese. After pre-school while we had our 2 extra boys for the afternoon, Nana stopped by, toting 5 gallons of milk and juice, eggs, bananas, and English muffins, because 'there were great coupons at Fred Meyer.' I really like my mom. Then Blaine and I made chocolate chippers while Rog napped. We took the cookies to share after dinner at my parents' house. We dined on salad and homemade bread and discussed England, grass-fed beef, and the latest in Newsweek. Then Rog made his best animal sounds for Grandpa. I really like my dad.

It's good to be home after all.

Blaine's Room Makeover

I'm not a designer. I'm new at decorating. This was the first time I painted a room. I learned a lot. And I'm happy with it. The thing I'm happiest with is that I learned that you can use what you have and make something great without having to spend much. This is my nod to yard-saling, inheriting, refurbishing, making do, waxing creative, and remembering that a kid's room should fit a kid.

It started with a bed. A Deseret Industries (Utah's Goodwill) special that we brought from that glorious state. I outfitted it with my mix-matched bedding from college (why this girly girl chose blue pin-striped sheets is still a mystery). Then one day I got the idea to have Blaine paint a canvas for his headboard. That's his original work, which fact I love.

Next we acquired this desk from my friend, Jessie's yard sale. Taylor sanded off the old scribblings and refinished it. Above it we hung a great picture and quote of Blaine's great-great-grandfather, N. Eldon Tanner, from whom he gets his middle name. The vintage books are from here and there, and tickle me unceasingly. The colors on the Babar book inspired the paint colors on the headboard and...

also inspired the colors for this pennant banner that I made last week. I am obsessed with pennant banners. They are the easiest things ever to make and cute up a space instantly.

As it was all coming together, I remembered this great red trunk I had picked up from a friend a few years ago. It was housing all of my missionary mementos, which I relocated. It now serves as a little ottoman at the foot of the bed and holds...

...blankets, stuffed animals, and sometimes Rog.




My sister-in-law Melissa gave us this little shelf that she was getting rid of (if you know Melis, she is always getting rid of something!), which made a great little bedside bookshelf for Blaine.

Fab wooden abacus courtesy of Nana Cookie (via PBK) and lawnmower courtesty of Aunt Sherri (via IKEA). Can't say enough about our love for good, solid, classic wooden toys (how many junky broken plastic toys have I had to perform superglue surgery on?!)


We were thrilled to inherit this dresser from Taylor's parents. He refinished it the same color as the desk. The painting is a James Christensen of Jonah in the whale, courtesy of my sister, Kathryn. It's a greatie. Love all his work. The dresser is great for holding all of Blaine's clothes, and also for holding Rog.

I have left the opposite wall completely blank, as I am anticipating moving Rog's crib into this room within the next couple of months. It will go against that wall, and then we can decorate accordingly. It's funny. I always pictured myself decorating sweet, pink, girly rooms, but I've loved creating this little space for my boys. They are loving it.

Did I really just post pictures of hand soap?

Well I have like affinity things to write about, and pictures and video footage galore to share, but it is late and I am tired.

So for now I will show off one of my latest projects that is tickling me pink (and blue). I have talked about Prize before. It is my favorite store. I am obsessed. A while back I found these two square-shaped cards there that I wanted to frame. My mom, that clever little bargain finder that she is, spotted square frames at Craft Warehouse for $3.99. $3.99! I spray-painted them ivory to match the cards and hung them in my bathroom. I love love love them.




They match our his and hers soaps perfectly. (I am such a dork.)

And the most beautiful part of my bathroom right now is the destruction zone. Last week (while Taylor was in the Netherlands) I discovered that my bedroom carpet was wet. Turns out it was a bathtub leak and the water was traveling under the linoleum, under the wall, up through my carpet. Awesome. Good thing I have pretty pictures on my wall.

Oh and p.s.--for your Trivial Tuesday, maybe you can tell me who I was quoting in my very first sentence today.

Plus it was like 70 degrees out!

On this Palm Sunday I watched four glorious hours of General Conference (marveling particularly at Elder Holland's words (as I do every six months!)), dived into a pot roast dinner a la Rozanne (that's my mother)and wondered how people could possibly not love eating meat, shot hoops with the cousins (who educated Blaine on the art of peeing outside), practiced "This is the Christ" with the choir for Easter Sunday, enjoyed a visit from Grammy and Grampy (who shot this perfectly candid and accurate picture of our family at the blue house (some photo-shopping necessary)) printed out all 357 tax forms we need to fill out, saved tweny bucks by cutting my husband's hair, and took a deep breath of anticipation. For this is the week that my family comes together for the big race.

Ooh I just got the chills.

Springy

My flowers are blooming!

See?

And the spring is making me feel extra cheery. (Em, I know you think Autumn is the best season, but really? Even better than this?! Did you see exhibit A:Hyacinth and exhibit B: Daff??) And I have put that cheery energy into making up silly games with Blaine, taking more walks, and finally hanging up some things in this blue house I have now lived in for almost a whole year!

About a year and a half ago I bought this paper on the right and was so obsessed with it. I wanted to wallpaper my whole life with it. But I couldn't find just the right purpose for it, and didn't want to waste it on the wrong thing. But then I got the idea from my latest Better Homes and Gardens (where I get 99% of my ideas) to frame it. Simple as that. I found some corresponding paper (on the left), made a mat out of cheap white cardstock, and used some old frames my mom had given me. I like how one is matted and the other is not. How's that for a two-dollar project? They're in my eating area and tickle me all day long.

Then Taylor brought some of the spring inside. How incredible is that gradient color on the inside of a daff?!

And holy cow, if you think that mantle is sweet (albeit simple), just wait until I unveil my Easter mantle tomorrow. You might faint for its cuteness.

p.s. Oh my gosh, I am suuuuuuuper impressed by how many of you got Flower Drum Song (see below)!! I guess it's not as obscure as I thought. Put your cupcake orders in now!

Musical Beds and Home Improvement

Well it sure has been a weird morning. It started at about 3 a.m. when Blaine appeared in our bed. He snuggled up with his Dad and went back to sleep. Shortly thereafter I heard Rog screaming and spent the next couple hours trying to feed him and figure out why he wouldn't go back to sleep. Finally I just put him back in his crib (crying), hopped in Blaine's empty bed, pulled the white cloud over my head, plugged my ears, and drifted back to sleep. And thankfully, so did Rog. (I know some of you think that letting a babe cry is cruelty. But I believe it works. So let's just agree to disagree.) Some time later I heard Taylor drive away and then fell back into my coma. When Blaine came into the room wondering what in the heck I was doing in his bed, I had no idea it was practically 10:00! He told me he wanted Macaroni and cheese for breakfast, and I thought, hey, what the heck, it's not like anything else normal is going on here. So he had blue box (at least it was 50% whole grain, but it was still a neon orange breakfast!) and finally Rog woke up. So here we are at noon and still in our jammies. (OK, that part is not so weird.) Anyway, I blame it all on Daylight Savings Time.

So I wanted to show you some of the fun home improvements we've been up to over the weekend. I got these great IKEA frames about a year ago, before we left Utah, and I finally got some of the photos Kate took of us put in them and Taylor helped me hang them. (How cool is the level application on the iphone?!) I'm tickled with them. (Why do we like looking at pictures of ourselves so much? Maybe it's vanity. But I tend to think it's just a little bit of healthy pride mixed with love.)

My mom took me to Kohl's on Friday, where I found a perfect rug for our entry. We don't have an actual entry, it's just like "Hi! Welcome to our kitchen table!" So I wanted it to be small. It's a nice deep red with chocolate brown print. And it met my "under $15" requirement.

I like the way it brings out the red flowers in the painting we bought last year at the Beehive Bazaar.

And on Friday evening, as I was making Christina's tomato soup and garlic & mushroom grilled cheese sammies (followed by strawberry shakes-yum!), this was my view out the window:

Taylor made us raised beds for a garden this summer! Wahoo! We are so excited! We get to plant the beets and peas this week!

And, though my tulips, daffs, and hyacinth are still mostly in the ground, my Mom's daffs are shining forth. So she shared the love with me.
They make me smile.