books.

are you a book person or an e-reader type of person?  maybe you are not a book person at all.  maybe a magazine person.  maybe a tv person.  i am a book person.  i love the feel of a book in my hands.  i love the smell of a book.  i love the look of stacks of books anywhere and everywhere.  i love books.  i love the idea that there are many books on our shelves that i have read and many left to discover.

shelves of books make me happy.  makes me feel blessed.  books can be expensive.  may people don't have books.  i love to share and give books.  a book makes the best gift.  my mama recently cleaned out her book collection, to make room for more books i am sure.  we are a book family.  she gave me 5 large boxes of books and said that if i would take them to the half price book store then i could have the money.  bonus.  i of course went through them.  OldestBoy and SportsBoy went through them.  and then i called my book loving neighbor sue (hi sue!) to go through them.  she came down, sick even, and left with a paper bag full and a smile!  books are happiness. 

books bring knowledge.  books bring adventure.  books bring comfort and peace.  books can save you.  they can bring you out of that dark place.  they can help you see more clearly.  if you have a chance, give a book to a child in need.  give a book to anyone.  you never know how it may help or change them.  sometimes it can just be the idea of escaping from regular life for a while.  a little bit of relief from the everyday stress.  whatever the help, know it was somehow needed.  i love books.

little mama.

$3 mud room redo.

yes, you read that correctly.  $3.  that is all i spent on this redo.  i re-used everything i already had.  yep, i'm green like that.  oh yeah, and on a tight budget.  like no budget.  i will not even show you what this little room looked like this morning.  you might not want to be my friend, it was that bad.  picture this: shoes(many), muddy baseball stuff, tupperware(no idea), dirt, lots and lots of dirt, dog dishes,dog food container, random jackets and mittens.  everything ends up in this tiny dump all space.  this is our main entry as a family.  all guests use the front door with the nice entry so we can fool you that we are clean and organized. :)  but our family got the crap spot.  this mudroom is in our basement so to me it always feels icky and dark.  i needed to brighten it up and make it happy, like the rest of our home.  ready?......

this is as "before" as i am willing to show.  i am all about keeping in real, but honestly.  the room has workable tile, oak trim-not my favorite but fine, and builder beige walls.  which to me just look like dirty white.  yuck. it did have a weird corner bench built in all the way to the left.  a few whacks of my hammer later and it is history.  oh yeah, WorkinMan is also out of town!  hi sweetie!   and there is Baby in his mismatched socks, that yes indeed, he did wear to school, helping me paint. 

shazam!  isn't it amazing what a little paint will do!  i went to my local hardware store and got a can of "oops" paint.  $3 a quart at my place.  it is a robins egg blue color.  horrible photos in this dark basement with a cloudy rainy day outside but you get the idea.  like i said, everything i already had.  the bench was a crib at one point.  someone fashioned it into a bench and it has sat in my shed for years with not the right spot for it.  now it has a home.  the rug is from ikea, few years ago.  the mirror is made with old red barn wood.  mama gave it to me years ago, and it has hung here but not looked so cute. 

the bookcase was mine.  gave it to mama.  she used it for awhile and now i have it back.  she didn't need it anymore and i never pass up a bookshelf.  i use them everywhere!  this one holds everyday shoes.  and in the bins are hats and mittens.  it seems like we need them year round here, so ours just stay out.  on top are some of my favorite accessories that have been stashed away with no great place to display them.  now they also have a home. 

this is one of my favorite old signs.  now i see it everyday.  under it are simple white hooks for jackets.  hard to see.  and that door leads to the garage. 

so there you have it.  i just wanted to show you that with a couple hours, less than $5, and some workable stuff, you can make a cute and functional space for your family.  hope you all have a lovely day!

little mama.

fun giveaway!

i have talked here before about my good friend katy and her awesome talent in photography.  katy is a lovely, God fearing woman and caring friend.  she is having a giveaway on her blog that i think everyone would be interested in!  her giveaway is for 4! 10x10 prints like the ones below.   just leave a comment on her blog and you are entered.  if you win she will ship them to you!  how great is that!!  these are lovely and would make great mothers day gifts!  please stop by her blog and also check out her amazing photog skillz.  if you are in the minneapolis area and would love to create a wonderful memory with family, children, girlfriends, just about anything- katy is your gal. 
enter her wonderful giveaway at:
http://minneapolisphotographer.com/blog/gentle-reminders-wednesday-giveaway-minneapolis-family-photographer/#comment-96

hope you have a lovely day and that the sun is shining where you are living.  and while you are at it, send some our way.  thanks so much!

little mama.

happy easter.

happy easter from our crazy house to yours!

OldestBoy, Baby, and SportsBoy.


little mama.

lots going on.

hello there friends.  lots is going on in life right now.  mostly good.  life is good.  baseball is in full swing for the boys.  altho our spring weather is no where to be found.  which has made for some very chilly practices thus far.  oh well.  soon enough i suppose. 

WorkinMan and my 12th anniversary in on easter sunday so we decided to celebrate on saturday instead.  we love baseball and went to a Twins game together.  it was lovely.  chilly but so fun!

tomorrow is easter and we are very excited.  we all love to dress up.  especially the boys.  i will try to get pictures up of their fabulous outfits.  have a lovely easter weekend with your family and friends too.  much love!

little mama.

some things that make me happy.

happy things...

smiles from a dear friend.

snuggling little boys

campfires at the cabin.

(this may or may not involve wine.)

owls.

brothers who are getting along.

a night out with awesome friends.

this bag.

ikabags from france

via etsy.

the awesome support

this woman gives

my mama.

little mama.

hello again!

sorry to have been a way so long.  last week was very busy. last sunday was my sisters first wedding shower.  she is getting married in august.  so her fiance's parents were in town.  it was very nice to see them.  then the week was just plain full.  WorkinMan back to work, me workin at Baby's school, then a field trip with SportsBoy, and then more family into town.  my mama's parents and sister came into town on wed and left on sun.  we loved having them but their visit was just too short!  my sister, brother, and i hosted a birthday party for my mama on saturday.  there were tons of people around to give her love.  it was so wonderful!  mama starts chemo today and so far it is going very well.  keep her in your prayers.  i will hopefully be back tomorrow with a list of things that makes me happy!

beauty stuff.

hello all.  happy friday.  don't know about you but it has been a long week.  glad the weekend is here.  went today with my mama to the mall.  the mall people.  haven't been there in ages.  went to get my MAC makeup. come to think of it, that was probably the last time i was at the mall. to get makeup at the MAC counter.  we also went to get mama some skinny clothes.  since her diagnosis she has lost over 25 lbs.  which is scary and lovely at the same time.  double edge sword.  i am sure she would rather be cancer free and plump but here we are.  so off the J.Jill we went.  her favorite store.  she got some super cute stuff!  so now she can feel a little more comfortable in her clothes and not feel like she is wearing my dads pants.  while we were there we stopped in at Sephora.  love that place.  i was in need of some concealer/spackle.  :)  i ended up with this stuff.  love the name.  anything with balm in the name, i am all about. 

it's called Time Bomb by the balm.  it's great. it's thick.  and it covers.  love. 

on the beauty subject i have been wanting to try the Sally Hansen nail polish strips, with the patterns.  i bought the flowers called Girl Flower and I also got the butterflies called Fly With Me.  here they are...

p.s. i have no idea how to rotate this picture. 

i think they are super cute.  they were easy to use and from what i have heard last quite a long time.  Dainty Squid did a review on them and said they lasted 15 days for her.  that's longer than traditional nail polish lasts for me. i am super hard on my hands.  i will let you know how it goes for me.  they are fun and i will defiantly be trying the other patterns.

so that's about all.  i might be a little m.i.a next week.  we have family coming into town.  my mama's sister and her parents.  can't wait to see them.  it has been too long.  they are from the south and always tell it like it is.  they have not seen many of my tattoos or nose ring or dark hair.  eek! :)   i am sure i will have some funny stories to share!    hopefully the sun will come out where you are!

little mama.

peeps and updated coffee table pictures.

hello all.  wanted to show you a little banner i made yesterday.  can't remember where i saw a picture of it, if you know, let me know and i will link to them.  just know this was not my idea.  i went the simple route.  using glue and string.  the one i saw was sewn and had fancy ribbon.  i just wanted simple and easy.  modify this craft to your liking.  on with the pictures....

It's a Peeps banner ya'll!  love.  i made mine pink.  made a yellow one for my mama.  it's just felt, a simple bunny shape, yarn and sharpie for eyes and nose.  super easy.  i did 5 bunnies, because i have a doll house size mantel.  you could do more.  the bunnies are double sided so it can hang in a window.  easy peasy.



mine is far from perfect.  perfection is not what i am striving for.  cute and fast is.  so it is lovely for us.  like i said you could sew around each bunny, use cute ribbon.  whatev.  use what you already have at home. 

you might remember a while back i sanded down my coffee table.  when doing so i revealed many colors underneath.  nice.  but one of those colors, the main color was forest green.  i really am not fond of forest green.  we don't play well together.   i kept it that way for a bit, like 2 weeks, to see if it would grow on me.  it did not.  so i decided on the first nice day here in minnesota i would strip it.  here is a reminder of what the before looked like....

and here she is all stripped down...

the wood was previously stained a dark color almost black.  so i stripped it down to where the black and the oak show through.  beautiful.  i love how simple it looks now.  too busy before.  the child size windsor chairs also got an update with white spray paint.

so there ya have it.  if you don't like it the first time, try again.  it's only your time.  hope you have a great day.  the sun is shining here so that is a bonus! 

little mama.