Summer Organization

This is what my deck usually looks like most summer evenings.  Swim trunks hanging off furniture, getting the cushions soaked, and towels, hung over the deck railing and eventually falling into the mulch below.  I’m not complaining about the sight of little boy swim trunks because seriously there is nothing cuter but…
              

…extra laundry does make me angry.

3 messy boys + 1 blank wall = an idea:

A set of hooks and  buckets for life jackets, water shoes and pool toys.  I found the buckets at my 2nd home (the paint isle at Home Depot of course).

                                      

                      

Happy summer!

Warming Up A Cool Room

I love our new master bath floor:

      

It is a huge improvement over this mess:

The downside of marble is that it is inherently cool, slippery and stains.  I found our solution to all 3 with the West Elm Ikat Links Rug.

                              

I like that it adds a little edge to a very traditional room.

Much better.

iCan’t Stand the Wires!

Thanks to all the iPhones, iPads, work phones, etc. we are left with this tangled mess that I’m pretty sure just about everyone can relate to:

                                           

The only thing I may have more of than wires is baby soap thanks to little boys who seem to get dirt in crevices I wasn’t even aware of:

 

I traced my phone on the empty soap container with a Sharpie.  Note to self: put the Sharpie away before a 3 ft tall creature attempts to write on your dining room wall with it.

Cut the plastic doing your best to not lose a finger or thumb in the process.  Texting would be a total drag without a thumb.  Lay the cut out container on fabric to determine the size you’ll need.

Sand the edges to smooth out any rough edges.  Coat the container with Modge Podge and wrap the container like a present (I put the seam in the back and the bottom).  Let dry 12 hours.

Voila!  I spent a total of 20 minutes on it, used materials I had on hand and still have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs.  Can’t beat that!

Cowboy Birthday Party!

We celebrated our baby’s 1st birthday party over the weekend.  I still can’t believe that was our last 1st birthday party…sniff, sniff…ok, moving on.

We welcomed our guests in cowboy style with a “Howdy” sign made of rope.

To get in the cowboy spirit we asked everyone to ‘git their gear’ on their way in (bandanas and sheriff’s stars).

                                          

Even the 4 legged cowboys got into the swing of things.

                                    

The kids panned for gold (play sand, pie tins with holes cut out and fake gold coins from the party store).  This cost less than $10 and my kids are STILL playing with it.

               

                        

                                            

We had a cowboy boot pinata

                    

The kids were given their own special meal of PB&J, apple sauce and “cow chow” served in a berry pint container and tied with twine and a tag that said “good grub.”

I made a sign for the birthday boy’s high chair using paisley JPG’s found on google and some paisley ribbon.  We used a bandana for his bib.

The cowboys and cowgirls were each sent home with a good bag full of cowboy themed goodies, tied with twine and the 1st letter of their names made out of twine. 

To make rope letters or signs mix 1/4 cup of Elmers glue, 1/8 cup cornstarch and a few tablespoons of water.  Dip the twine or rope in the mixture and form the letter, phrase or name on parchment paper and let dry for 24 hours.  I used this method to create the letters for the kids’ names and a ‘cowboy up’ sign for the beer.

Last but not least a shot of the birthday boy himself with his birthday present (the few moments his brothers haven’t taken it from him).