christmas photo dump.

here are photos of our life and around our home this christmas.  enjoy!

merry christmas from
workinman, littlemama, oldestboy, sportsboy and baby.

im not washing any more glasses.

now i don't mean that im never washing another glass, like ever.  but im not washing 13 glasses for only the 5 of us who live here.  this is how im going to solve the problem.  while browsing pinterest this morning i found this.

brilliant.  not my idea.  but brilliant.  so i scrounged around my house to see what i had that i could make something like this but more my style.  hers is nice but a little too nice for me.  and i wanted to use what i already have here.  spend no money.  so this is what i came up with.

i collect old cutting boards.  don't ask me why.  i just like the way they look.  but sometimes im nervous to actually use them for food.  ya know.  so i have this old one that i really like.  i found some glass knobs to use as feet.  then i found some scrapbook paper that i used in place of where she has coasters. 

see the old cutting board.  then i gorilla glued the knobs to the bottom.

 then i cut squares the size i liked out of paper.  no measuring, just eye balled it.  glued them down with my glue stick and put a layer of modge podge on top to make it water proof. 

i found this name plate thingy and tacked it on with a scrap of paper behind.  this making a cute label and just kind of finishing it off.  not necessary but cute. 

so here it is all finished.  Baby's cup sits out on the counter all the time.  he uses it off and on all day.  so now it at least looks like i meant for it to be there and less messy.  my boys are old enough to remember which patterned square they put their cup on.  but you could also do letters or numbers or names.  make this yours.  its fun to see a "pin" come to life.  give it a try!

thanksgiving decor.

halloween is over. thanksgiving is coming! in our house we don't pass this decorating opportunity.  i feel like Thanksgiving gets passed over for Christmas.  now don't get me wrong, we love holiday decor just as much as the next family but if we put it out too soon then we are tired of it before Christmas even comes.  also it is a great time to remember to be thankful before the craziness of Christmas comes.  so here is how we do it.....

and this last picture that SportsBoy took of me.  just because it's funny! 

little mama.

hello monday.

hello Myles.

our attendant on the Minneapolis Queen.

the boat we took this weekend.

for my sister's bachelorette party.

big fun.

yes.

i think he must be 12.

hello snazy new haircut.

almost ready

for the weddin'.

hello clean countertops.

ahh.

hello new boxer cups.

from Targets dollar section.

looks just like our Baxter.

hello cute new frame.

bought with Kohl's cash.

price-free.

love.

hello sneak peek

at new wall of frames.

lets just say,

Katy Hall has outdone

herself.

again.

http://www.minneapolisphotographer.com/

hello first night of

football practice.

we.are.ready.

little mama.

we now have a pillar.

pillars.  can't say that i have ever thought about them.  im not much into architecture.  it's fine.  i can take it or leave it.  our house was built in 1969.  it was super plain.  being the young couple we were when we bought it we just wanted a decent place to live.  we have done our share of sprucing up.  tore out carpet, put in hard wood floors.  took out cabinetry and put in open shelving.  built a privacy fence for the backyard and a picket fence for the front.  but the bones of the house have stayed the same.

bring in friendly and talented woodworker neighbor/friend Tim.  his wife had wanted 2 pillars she thought.  after he built them she decided she only wanted one.  so they asked us if we wanted a pillar.  hmm. i guess im not sure.  but i am always willing to save good projects from the burn pile.  so i went over and had a look at hers and decided that maybe we also could use a pillar.  hers has a lot of molding on it.  ours is more simple.  more our style.  their decor is a little more refined than ours.  one free pillar, free trim and leftover paint and i now have myself a bit of architecture.  go figure.

this is the view from the living room.

this is the view from the kitchen.

this is the view from the hallway.

note i did not pick up

one thing before taking

this picture.

there are cleats in the floor.

toys all over.

real life people.

this is the view coming in the front door.

i actually quite like it.  especially for something i never thought of before.  WorkinMan really likes it so that makes me happy.  so never be afraid to think outside your box a little bit.  for me bright colors are the norm for you pillars might be.  you can blend styles very easily if you make the item your own.  

little mama.

where have i been??

i see that blogging is taking a backseat to life.  i guess that is natural.  i am a busy mama of three boys.  three boys that are now all in baseball.  heaven help me.  we have baseball every night of the week.  and some of them overlap.  thank goodness for family!  we are not used to going somewhere every evening and now we are.  such is life.  so we have been doing a lot of this....

yes. they are both
on red teams.
go figure.

OldestBoy waiting for his chance
up at bat!



we have had a few changes around the house.  my parents were getting ride of their brown leather sofa. and we decided it would make a good fit for us.  now usually i am not a fan of leather.  but here was my thinking.... our sofa had seen better days.  it was 10+ years old and had been through three boys and a boxer.  it was starting to wear.  not pretty.  so it was in need of a slipcover or we needed something new.  that is not happening.  not practical to get a new sofa while we have young ones and also not in the non existent budget.  and i also figured that if we could squeeze 10 more years out of the leather then it will have served its purpose.  and it is starting to grow on me.   first, what it needed was some lighter pillows.  Ikea to the rescue....

forgive the awesome picture.
baby is not feeling well.

so off to Ikea me and mama went.  i only use down pillows on my sofa cuz they are the most comfy.  i was going to get covers for the pillow inserts i already have but couldn't find anything i liked so i got their fabric instead.  love the graphic houses.  so i sewed myself some covers!

i was also able to get in a little junkin.  i have had a few items on my list that i am always on the lookout for.  one being a mounted set of antlers.  i have no idea why.   so this is what i finally found...

not enjoying the wood plaque.
but until i think of something different,
it will stay.

we also found this darling little guy. 

adorable.

i love gnomes.  and baby loves snow white.  so its a win win.

i know, super exciting stuff right!  so glad you stopped by.  even tho i had no life changing news for you.  it's always nice for you to come around.

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.

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.