Ellie's Circus

The party for Ellie's 5th birthday was a smashing success. She is still talking about it play by play. We had a plethora of popcorn, cotton candy, cookies, and cake which make for some extra giddy children. We had a spot to get photos taken and a face painting station all under a tent of red and white pennants. My sweet sister was suppose to be the one doing the face painting, but Ellie and KJ thought it was more fun to paint her face, ha! A party for my favorite girl with friends and family makes for one lovely night. I must admit I am a bit exhausted, we also had a wedding to shoot on the same weekend, so now I rest. Oh happy day!

Ellies top hat made by me
Ellie and 5 stickers printed from here
Ellie's dress: Hijkids
210 feet of pennants: here
popcorn and face painting signs: Hobby Lobby
popcorn machine: a friends
top hats: here
cake stand decorated by me: petite square
Oh Happy Day printable: here
cupcake pennants made by me: lollipop sticks and this
Invites in case you missed them: here

You're Invited!

Today we are having Ellie's fifth birthday party although she doesn't actually turn five until the 28th. She is beyond ecstatic and has been talking about her fifth birthday party since before Christmas. After a trip to the circus she decided she wanted a party just like it, of course I was going to oblige. I gathered and ordered most everything before my surgery and today Kellen is in charge of setting up. Not an easy task for him since I am not one to hold back on a good party. Ellie made the invite list and I designed the invites and printed them at home. Okay so maybe my inspiration was completely taken from a recent baby shower invite we received, loved the three fold idea in sweet little envelopes. Hope to post the party next week!

a few other parties of mine here, here, here, here, and here

A Good Day...

Today is a great day for several reasons; first of all, Paula had her surgery on Wednesday and everything went very well! She is recovering now and is in a slightly medicinally altered state for a awhile, hence the husband turned guest blogger (a real honor by the way!). Secondly, today also marks our sixth year of marriage! You all get to enjoy spending a few minutes a day with her on Two Ellie, I have the honor of spending every day with her as she excels as a wife, mother, blogger, and an incredible friend. The last six years have been an incredible adventure and I can't wait to see what's to come. Here are a few gems from our big day 6 years ago...

Isn't she beautiful?

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers this last week. I know Paula is excited to return next week. Until then...

Weekend in Review

We had a wonderful 4th of July. I checked off every last item off my list so now I am just going to relax and just enjoy my family. Over the weekend I majorly cleaned and organized so Kellen will only have to play keep up for the weeks that I am out of commission. Oh, but don't you worry I also found time to take the kiddos to a friends pool, do a little shopping, and enjoy a 4th of July cookout. We also had fun using Kellen's fathers day present a fuji instax instant mini film camera. Definitely the coolest thing we have gotten in awhile. It's never practical to lug around all our pro equipment for the little moments.

Project Crazy

We have had quite a busy weekend which happens to be spilling over into this week. Friday Kellen and I headed to Atlanta for a bit of shopping. Kellen surprised me with a few new dresses and we stopped by ikea for this shelf to organize our little office area. Saturday we had yard sale to raise money for KJ's new mattresses for his new big boy bed. That evening we celebrated Father's Day by heading to the Lego store and buying the kiddos first set of Lego's. Okay so maybe that wasn't Kellen's actual gift but just an added bonus. This is the most amazing father ever...

and this is the most amazing Lego city...

So for the rest of the week I will get to actually organize the office area, finish Ellie's room by doing a bit of sewing, I am going to paint both Ellie's and KJ's beds, hopefully finish converting KJ's room to a big boy room, finalize paint choices for the kitchen cabinets, and make more Lego fun. Oh, and let's not forget cleaning out the garage of all yard sale leftovers. This is going to make for one crazy week. Don't worry I will share each project as it gets checked off my list.

Heading Home

We are heading home from the beach today. We had the best time and I will share more next week. This is the work of a self timer. It only took a ridiculous amount of tries to capture one decent family picture. I will treasure it always. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a happy mother's day to all the mama's.

Thank You

Thank you all for your sweet, sweet words. I wish I could let you all know how truly happy you all made me feel. Blogging is such a funny world and some of the friendships I have leave me feeling very blessed. I feel much better and things are lining up. I may not know it all but I have comfort in knowing we are in God's hands. So all in all I am going to learn how to lighten up and not worry so much about the little things. And what's a post without a picture? I made this pillow the other night, just a simple envelope back and I now realize I should have ironed it better. It's Barbra Barry for Kravet. I got it from Jenny.

GROWING

I am feeling a bit uninspired as of late. We are going through a time of change and uncertainty. Hopefully after today and a few meetings things will be a bit clearer. I am one of those who enjoys knowing the future of life, but that can not always be the case. So I am once again having to reaffirm my faith in the Lord. Of course, that makes this the best place to be. Thankfully I have these two to keep me on my toes...

{we call him buggy}

{a bit of sweet sass}

And this one to do this thing we call life hand in hand...

{a pic taken by the family of one of our brides, love them}

Oh, and for those who are wondering I am a mere 5'3 on a good day and the husband is a good 6'7. I always forget the height difference until I see a pic like this. We are quite ridiculous.

THREE

My little man turns 3 today. It is a very bitter sweet moment for me. He is our last child and 3 no longer feels "baby". That's a hard concept for me to swallow. Anyway, we had a surprise birthday party for him on Sunday and yes that means I did not watch the Oscars. We kept it small, just family. He was so excited and couldn't believe all the presents were for him. Here is my sweet boy...

His favorite movie is Cars, but I couldn't bring myself to go to Party City and load up on the typical so instead I did a movie theme and used all his Car car's as extra decor. Popcorn bags ready to be filled...

We had Car's playing and what's a movie without candy?

The centerpiece was a cake idea, well in this case, cupcake idea I found in this book. The confetti was made using tin foil and an extra large hole punch.

I had a cake plate full of mini cupcakes topped with a single marshmallow. He was so excited he blew out the candles before we finished singing Happy Birthday, ha!

Me and my little man...

I guess he will be my baby forever though... Did I mention how hard this is for me?

Details:

over sized balloon- I Luv Sugar {Jennifer was wonderful to work with. The balloons were a last minute addition and she got them to me fast- Thank You!}

popcorn boxes- Hobby Lobby

movie theater candy- World Market {on sale $6 for 6}

popcorn canisters- Target $1 aisle.

I have a guest blog over on So Chic today... Hostess gifts galore.

Outfit to Room...

It actually snowed here this past week and we took full advantage. This is my Ellie who could have not been more excited. I liked her outfit and thought it would make a cute outfit to room...

Outfit to a bedroom...

{via Oly}

A bed that mixes ornate and casual into one.

{via Urban Outfitters}

A ruffled gray quilt.

{via Jayson Home & Garden}

Two gorgeous side tables.

{via Katie Armour}

A vintage conch dish to leave my jewelry of the day in.

{via Jayson Home & Garden}

Two stunning horn lamps.

{via flickr via The Vintage Laundry}

A chair that packs a pretty punch to sit in the corner.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Getaway

My husband is one sneaky man. Friday morning he handed me an envelope with a sweet note telling me to pack a bag for the night. At the same moment my sister showed up to watch the kiddos. While riding in the car he handed me another envelope with a print out of the hotel we were staying, the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta. He say's he choose this hotel because he thought I would love the design which I did. As we neared the hotel he handed me another envelope with a good amount of money to spend on whatever I fancied. Needless to say we had a blast and I felt beyond special. I am quite smitten with my man I must say.

Oh, and what did I buy? I fabulous dress from Club Monaco and an insane amount Ribba frames for a new gallery wall we are working on. I will share both soon. I even have money left over for future desires, so fun.

Surprises

I just love a good surprise although I am not too keen on waiting for one when I know there is one to be had. My husband has been teasing me with a so called surprise for the last couple of weeks now. He says this is the weekend for me to get it. My skin is crawling with excitement. He says its not only good, but really good. He knows me well and I am already certain I will love it. I will be sure to share next week. Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Oh, and I almost forgot how much I love having fresh flowers in the house. They really can brighten up the dreariest of days.

Learning to Simplify

Well, I am half way through this and I have been learning a lot. The biggest change I have been feeling is to simplify so that is what I have been trying to do, although it is taking a bit longer than I had hoped. I always keep my home free of clutter, but that does not mean my garage does not store home goods for my one day home. Well, I am getting rid of all the "things" I have stored up. If I have no use for it right now then its out. I also cleared out about half of my closet. If I have not worn it in the last 6 months then it is gone, even if I still loved it. I did the same with my kiddos clothes. I still have to go through the toys and the laundry room. All in all I am feeling if the Lord is telling me it is okay to have a nice home that looks good and its okay to dress nicely, but I don't need the excess in order to do so.

All this leads me to this great book that was recommended to me by a friend. I have not been able to put it down. Leah Richardson not only has a beautiful eye for design, but really focuses on making it God centered. It is definitely speaking to me right now.

A big thank you from Donna of Livi & B for the Beautiful Blogger Award. Her blog is fabulous, be sure to check it out.

A New Lamp for the New Year

Before we left the beach I took one more look in Tracery to make sure there was not something I so desperately needed/wanted. Well, I came across the Edison Lamp that I have admired for some time. I bought it with no where to actually put it. Officially my lamp addiction has gone completely out of control. I still love it though and I will find a place for it surely. Anyway this leads me to my New Year resolutions of some sorts...

- This year I am going to learn how to cook. I hope well, at least for my husbands sake.
- I am going to put to good use our new spin bike after I get the full go ahead to work out again and no we did not spend that much of ours in case you are wondering.
- I will not buy a new lamp for a whole year, okay maybe 6 months. I must be realistic.
- I will finally do our backsplash in the kitchen.
- To be more cheerful when doing house work. I am hoping my new toy will help.
- As a couple we are going to try to grow our savings account which in turns means less spending. This lady inspires me greatly in this area.
- More one on one dates with the kiddos.
- To live more simply, which I started last year and flopped miserably towards the end of the year. {Which means I may be having sale sometime soon: home goods, children's clothing, my clothing, etc.}

I am sure this list will be added to, but for now this one works.

Tracery Interiors, the Shop

Tracery Interiors Shop and 30A Funn hosted a fun-filled afternoon. We got to decorate party hats for the New Years which made for a perfect afternoon date for Ellie and I.

I had the pleasure of visiting with Bess, the Tracery Interiors blogger, once again. She is absolutely adorable and was gracious enough to allow me to take some photos of the shop. Let me just say that I would be more than happy to have the whole store move into my home.

Recognize this coffee table? It's just as gorgeous in person...

I really wish I learned how to do these from Bess, aren't they fabulous...

Of course I could not walk out of there empty handed so Ellie helped me pick these out...

This very well may be my longest post ever, but there was too much goodness not to share. I hope you all have a wonderful New Years. See you Monday in 2010, so crazy right?

A Day at the Beach

Our first day at the beach could not have been any better. The kiddos rode their new bikes. Ellie is a champ KJ can use some more practice. The weather is cool, but perfect. We took strolls on the board walk and truly just relaxed.

Even though we never actually plan it Kellen and I always seem to match our children. I really don't mind dressing like my daughter, she already has more fashion sense than I.

That evening we headed out to Seaside and went to my favorite cupcake stand. There is a row of air-streamers serving up what your heart desires and mine always desires a cupcake. This time around I went for the special and got a salted caramel cupcake. I am not a huge frosting person, but this one I could eat a tub of.

As for the rest of the week, well not sure, but I do know I will be attending this.

Merry Christmas!

Tomorrow the kiddos and I will bake Jesus Birthday cake and after they go to bed hubby and I will get busy wrapping and putting gifts under the tree. I am so very excited to see my little's ones faces when they see their gifts. This year we did bikes, shh! Oh, and here is a Christmas card from our family to you.

{we use tiny prints for our cards just in case you wanted to know}

Joyful

This past weekend we finally put up our tree. I do not recommend waiting till the week of Christmas to find a tree because the pickings are quite slim. This year our tree is a bit on the sad side. Our normal huge tree filled with ornaments and our home all decked out just did not happen this year. Since my sinus surgery I have been functioning at 50% on a good day, but the good days are not many. Oh, and did I mention I blacked out and wrecked my car with my son in it. At first they were going to total it, but now it seems they are going to try to fix it but I won't have it back any time soon. Oh, and my son was fine, praise God. So this is my sad excuse to go along with our sad tree, but on a high note my kiddos LOVE it and that's all that really matters.

I only grabbed our favorite ornaments for the tree this year. Less clean up for later. Every year for Christmas my kiddos each get a new Krinkles ornament. My plan is when they grow up and have their own families I will give them the ornaments to hang on their tree.

I also added mercury glass acorns from Pottery Barn. I bought them last year after Christmas and got them for a steal. I just adore them.

So our tree may be pitiful, but we are full of joy. It is still Christmas time and it is a time to celebrate, woo hoo!

Little Red Dress

Last night Kellen went out on a date to Mannheim Steamroller. We had a blast even though we were the youngest people in the place by at least 15 years. We never heard of the musical Broadway group before, but were in need of a show so we went. Anyhoo, the little red dress is by Badgley Mischka and was a steal on Rue La La a invite only site with huge sales of name brand goods. All this to say if you want an invite to Rue La La, Gilt Group, or One Kings Lane a home goods discount site then let me know. I just need your email and I will send you an invite. I have bought clothes and shoes for the kiddos and a few things for me from Gilt, One Kings Lane and now Rue La La and have been quite pleased. I love discount pricing on things I normally could not afford and thought you all may too.

Happy Birthday!

This is my husband and he turns the big 30 today. I love him, I really really do. I am proud to be his wife and thankful God brought him into my life. He is my best friend, partner, and lover. He is all mine, all 6 foot 6 of him. Oh, and the beard is new he hates it, but I love it, so he keeps it. Today is a day to celebrate so that is exactly what we will do starting with cake in bed...

Happy Birthday to my hunk of burning love!