I've decided to show up at my blog today.  Who knew Spring Break, crappy weather, and crazy kids could get me to post{finally}.  I've been thinking lately about totally re-naming, re-doing, re-everything-ing my blog.  It's about the only way I think that I will ever get over my posting slump.  I need to re-invent myself.  Soooo, consider this a warning-POQAL's days are numbered.

 

In honor of the crappy weather and my crazy kids, I am posting pictures of the vacation Todd and I took a few weeks ago.  It officially had WONDERFUL weather and NO kids....it was heavenly.

{Caymen Islands}
 

 

 What a great time we had!  Sun, relaxation, fun with friends, it just could not have been any better.

Now, because my mom has been patiently waiting for update pictures of my living room, I am posting just a few sneak peaks as it is nowhere close to done.  I have a few things to finish, something yet to paint, pillows to purchase.  It could be a while before the big reveal. 

 

A space that is done is the hallway.  I ended up painting it{for the 4th time in 3 years!} and putting all the family pictures I had scattered throughout the house in one area. 

The gallery wall starts behind the front door entry way....

 

turns the corner and goes up the stairs....

 

 

...

and ends outside the master bedroom. 

 

I'm happy with the change in location.  I love all these pictures and wasn't ready to take them down or update the baby faces, but I needed to see them in a new light.

 

Alright, I'm outta here.  I have some arguments to settle.  Apparently someone is rubbing Sloan the wrong way and he's in my face telling me about it.  See you soon...

 

color cravings

 

I'm cold, I've been sick{strep throat!}, and the couch has arrived{along with a few other things}.  I am what you might call a hot mess on the inside and out{I did mention pink eye earlier this month didn't I?}.  And while the ups and downs of winter seem to have mostly had me down{and not craving color but actually anything with lots of sugar}, I've decided to celebrate spring before it arrives with some color and try to muster the energy for change. 

 

Paper Source wrapping paper makes me smile.  I've never even used it to wrap anything. This paper won't be wrapped around a box either-I have plans for it in my craft room...

Earlier this month Joanne's Fabrics had a rocking sale{60% off}on decorator fabric.  Although I didn't have our couch, I decided to take a chance on fabric I thought I would like for pillows.  It's different then what I would usually choose{a few options for sure}, but a dark brown couch is throwing me off a bit.  I'm scared...

We moved our sectional out.  Oh I hope it all comes together...like magically and with no additional costs{as if}.  In the big box is our new fireplace doors-I'm thinking Todd is going to love installing them.  For the record-my kids have heard curse words before-haha.  The small table on casters is a purchase from World Market.  I bought two and I'm hoping they work as a side table.

 

It's really too bad we have to put the couch in front of the window-it really is a warm and cozy place.

There is no doubt I'll be painting the living room walls{again, but hopefully not again again}.  This is where I must take a deep breath and find the gusto inside to do it.  Who would have thought I would be dragging my feet to re-decorate.

 

Something I do have the energy for...shoes. I love the UPS man-tell me I'm not alone.  Not only did her deliver shoes while I was down and out but my new Kindle Fire as well.  Birthday money spent. 

 

I'll be back...sometime in the future...hopefully feeling way better...with pictures to share..

 



it's a rainy day

I pray, I pray, that Knoxville's rainy season has come early-we are getting some serious rain, which makes me seriously unwilling to leave my house{mainly because I don't have to}. Sloan and I stayed in pajamas until after noon{I know!} and while I cleaned and roasted a chicken{because I had nothing better to do}, he had fun with some already forgotten Christmas gifts.

Today I played with him.  Sometimes I really have to take a couple deep breaths to play.  House work can keep me pretty distracted from having fun.   I know I'm not the only mom who reminds herself how fast this stage will go, how quickly he won't want me around. How it's important to enjoy these little moments.  I find myself already saddened by the speed at which Holden and Asher's preschool days went.  Remember when  your whole life revolved around nap time-I already refer to them as the good old days.  Today I reminded myself that I still have a preschooler{!}, we don't have to be sick to stay home.  We can just be sleepy, and play, and not watch the clock.  

So on second thought, I don't hope that Knoxville's rainy season ends soon.   In fact, I think I'm going to start wishing for more rain, more chances to forget what time it is, and more time to just play.

It's now or never

Wow, getting back to blogging has been painful.  Parts of me have considered never posting again, but the sentimental side always wins out.  This blog is my scrapbook of family life and I want it, so here I am, recommitting to POQA.  Chances are my boys will never be overly impressed with my thoughts and pictures. There is no way they will think my decorating has any redeeming qualities, but forge on I will in the name of family documentation. 

With that said, I feel like I have one foot in 2012 and the other planted firmly in hum-drum January{have I ever told you I despise January.  I know, blah blah blah Sarah, it's only a birthday and your only turning 39 and that's just like turning 40 and there is just no need to be upset because your 40s are great and wonderful. It totally doesn't matter that your face is falling down all around you.  I mean, who cares that your skin is dull and the whites of your eyes just aren't that white anymore.  I mean your healthy and so is your family, get a grip! Stop complaining that things are sagging and you're certain your nose is growing. Jeez, didn't you read the memo, gravity is not your friend sista...get used to it}.

Ummm, where do I go from there?  Oh yeah.  Anyways, there are a lot of pictures from Christmas that I want to post, but in order to get this blog thing going I need to move on to this particular day, in this particular year.

First, I would like to announce that we ordered a new living room couch!  I know, exciting stuff going on up in here.  I am forever grateful to my wonderful husband for agreeing that we needed one and I am doing a happy dance on our nearly pooped out sectional as we speak.  It won't be here for several weeks, but just the thought of it's arrival has gotten me all worked  into an organizing, re-arranging, purging sort of FIT.  The timing could not have been better considering we were off school for what seemed like 3 dog years and then Holden and Asher had the nerve to be sick these past two weeks.  Needless to say, I have had some time on my hands.

Now, for the pictures and the projects.  This is where my OCD is going to reveal itself.  I am all over the place.  Will you please just love me despite my stamp/label obsession.  I feel very vulnerable here.   Will you also love me when I post pictures of things that I love and then three months later claim it was certainly the worst decorating idea I ever had.  It's just me, and I guess I think it's fun or would have stopped years ago.  This is just what I do to entertain myself and make my little nest more nestable. Although there will come a day when I won't care as much and I will admit that I sometimes look forward to that moment.

Alright, so here we go...

*NOTE*  It took me a couple days to get this post up due to my very pesky computer.  In the meantime I caught an episode of "Clean Freaks" on HGTV and it has made me feel like an amateur organizer.  If you ever want to get inspired to organize your life down to the very frozen food in your fridge, you need to watch that show!

I looked for my before picture of this closet but couldn't find it.  Sorry for the terrible picture but the hall is DARK.  Anyways, after we woke up to a leaking roof on Christmas Eve{hooray us} and the only way to get to that part of the roof is through a creepy door in our linen closet, I was forced to think about maybe really organizing it since everything was hauled out  and put onto the bedroom floor.  I started by painting it{a job I previously was certain I would never do}white because it had not been painted in 55 years{it was vintage Martha green}.  I painted the shelves and put clear contact paper on the surfaces where things would be stored.  Then, just because I was bored and the kids were driving me crazy and it was gross outside, I stamped cardboard labels for all the drawers.

 

 Never accuse me of not knowing how to really live.

 

{pottery barn}

My next project was inspired by the Pottery Barn Catalog that showed up in the mail, you know, the one that has nothing to do with Christmas and so you take the time to actually check it out-maybe that's just me.  I had been unable to figure out what to do with the back of our brown couch in the sun room since last spring.  I had moved an antique chest behind it to use as a sort of console table, but every time I put something on it I was unimpressed.  Thank goodness for professional "vignette" setters at Pottery Barn. They gave me some ideas and I shopped my house.

I'm happy.  Todd looked at the picture and then at my version and said..."um, they didn't have a lamp on it".  I know silly, but in the Land of Pottery Barn they don't really need appropriate reading light.  We do, and I think the lamp looks like a lantern, which is what they have in their picture.  I don't know, it's fun for now and I had all the stuff, which was the very best part.

 Ok, I didn't have all the stuff.  I had to shop the second hand book store for coffee table books.  Is it just me, or is there a lack of coffee table books in your life too?  I don't know why I don't have any, maybe because up until now my little punks would have used the pages to make paper airplanes.  Well, they are now on my list of things I need to have more of.  Coffee table books and better alcohol in my liquor cabinet.  Just making my New Years resolutions ;)

  From another angle...

 

 and another...I love our sun room.  I never want to live without one.   It is by far the best part of our house-maybe not a surprise since we live in a 1950's split level-ha! 

 

 This is my other favorite room.  I just love, love, love it.  If we were building a house and I was designing a kitchen, it would totally be another version of this{more upscale would be ok!}.  I do not think I will ever get sick of  the warmth of the counter tops and the crispness of the white cabinets.  Now I am able to love it even more because I finally found a rug.  Geez louise have I ever been on a search.  Here is what I don't understand...why can't they make more rugs, that can be washed and have rubber backs.  They are pretty tough to find{cute ones at least}, but low and behold I found this one at Target{loved it so much  bought one for my bathroom too}. It can be washed{probably every other day because I am a slob} and it has a rubber back{no boy's going for a ride on this!}.

 

 Flower frogs.  Here is what must happen...when you see one for sale-you must buy it. You will not be sorry.

 Soooo, this picture is for my mom.  Again, the lighting is super horrible{I guess the sun was shining that day, it not shining any longer-Knoxville has gone into it's wet season}.  In anticipation of the new couch I have been moving furniture around.  You pretty much need to have been in my house to weigh in on how this looks in this spot.  We have a weird family room, with one of those really strange TVs-strange as in huge and mounted on the wall, and it has been difficult to arrange furniture around a TV and not a fireplace.  So, I'm not going to say anything else-my mom needs to state her opinion....I'll have to let you know what she thinks because she doesn't leave comments-for all the same reasons that I will never receive a text from her.  I love you Mom!

Y'all have a great week.  I have pink eye and want to cry, but I am hoping to be back with more posts soon. 

week{or two}in review

 

I have been wandering around my house, and this review I'm posting is an attempt to make me feel like I've accomplished something in the last week and a half.

 

 i ordered my Christmas cards by December 1st!

 

do you k now why I ordered my Christmas cards by December 1st? 

 

 because I laid the family picture idea to rest 

 

that does not mean people were any more cooperative

 

 it was however, much easier to fake "merriness" individually.

 

{i believe with all my heart that in 15 years this person will cooperate}

 

the leaves are a fallen in East Tennessee. Cleaning up after these trees was not something we considered when we bought this house.

 

lots of times I thank my lucky stars for all our cheap labor.

 

this Fall Holden started mowing.

 

Todd only yelled at him like 50 million times before he got it right

 

a major improvement from a trial run this summer.

 

ahhh, the joys of family life.

 

Todd has himself new lawn toy.

 

  {it's safe to say Todd will be yelling 5 trillion times when Holden straps this thing to his back}

 

 

Holden had his first dog sitting job over Thanksgiving

 

i have never really considered getting a small dog before but she was kinda fun

 

{meet maiden}

 

i don't want to become one of those weirdo dog people, but I saw a different side of myself when she was over

 

my family should  be scared

 

 

this is my latest craft project

 

{Christmas card scrapbook}

this project has been sitting on our dining table for two weeks

 

i think it is the reason I'm wondering around my house

 

avoidance

 

i haven't decorated for Christmas yet either

 

we don't even have our tree up

 

i'm not feeling very inspired

 

i'm also a touch lazy

 

 everyone is sick so that's my excuse

 

Todd was in bed for three days straight

 

i just can't wait to get what ever he had

 

i've taken to drawing on the walls as an exercise in avoidance

 

actually Holden had some buddies over and I was eavesdropping on their conversations from the top of the stairs

 

drawing on the chalkboard seemed like the perfect cover up

 

did you know 9 year old boys talk about atomic farts A LOT

 

i'm not sure what I thought I was going to hear, but all and all I was pleased

 

speaking of my 9 year old

 

we had a "date" on Sunday

 

he escorted me to The Nutcracker

{asleep before we even got there}

 

WOW, he looks thrilled

 

oh my gosh, you should have seen his face when I told him what we were doing on our afternoon out

 

PRICELESS

 

he hung in there, he won't admit it but I think he had fun

 

truth be told I think he was watching so intensely because he was hoping for one of the dancers to fall into the orchestra pit.

 

boys

 

it kinda makes me laugh to think how cool he would have thought that was

 

ahhh, the joys of bringing up well rounded children

 

something else happened for him to add to his list of life experiences

 

a trip to the emergency room for stitches...well actually glue

 

He fell up the steps last week and split his forehead open

 

it became a life experience for Todd as well when he got to take him to the hospital

 

dads should always be in charge of blood and such

 

{just what will this boy look like with braces!?}

 

he was brave

 

he's told anyone who will listen all about it

 

he is his father's son!

 

Have a happy Monday y'all.  I'll be back later this week.

 

pretty enough to drink: starting the holidays off on the right foot

 

Need I say more

 

cocktails and the holidays just go together

 

I'm a gin girl

 

twenty years ago I used to be a vodka girl-oh the memories{or lack of-ha!}

 

I will never be a martini girl because those things go down waaay tooo fast

 

so, this is my new favorite drink

 

not that gin and tonics are new and amazing

 

my dad just introduced me to a little something special

 

 

 

 Fever Tree tonic

 

 whole star anise

 

 lime and an orange

 

cheers!

 

 

Now, this has nothing to do with adult drinks

but I suggest you sit down and make the kids share

 

this year I put all our hot chocolate fixings out on display

 

the kids love it

 

hot chocolate making has become an art

 

everyone has their own technique

 

two peppermint sticks, twelve mini marshmallows, whip cream to the ceiling

 

its a new adventure with every cup

 

my favorite part is the cute paper straws

 

the kids can't stand them

 

little punks

 

I tell them to go ahead and just drown in whip

 

I'm going to sip in style!

 

now, get out and enjoy the season

 



crafters unite!

 

What could be better than a visit from a great friend for the weekend?

 

 

I'll tell you ... that great friend and you crafting your little hearts out!

I mean really, we were productive. 

 

 

Books were being destroyed

 





 

Darling things were being created.

 

More on the book page trees a little later.  Thanks Tisha and G. for coming to hang out with us.  We miss you so much.  Next reunion is at your house after Christmas ...that should give us plenty of time to search Pinterest for inspiration :) 

 

 

*note: next reunion

i'm making sure to

shower before we

take the pictures!