Kobe's 1st Birthday Party

It's hard to believe my lil baby is a year old already!!My first blog post was about the lil cutie.He's loved so much and is so fun right now.He's not walking yet because of some issues with his right foot,but we're getting chiropractor treatments to fix that.I love his cute curls,his 4little teeth and well,basically everything about him!!He loves dancing to music,being read to and playing with his Daddy.His favorite thing to do right now is tear everything out of the kitchen cabinets.

I decided to have an airplane party last fall already,so I could look for stuff ahead of time and make a lot of the stuff to save $$.Airplane stuff is not quite as popular as Spiderman,etc. so I'm glad I had plenty of time to shop and create things.I wanted it to be blue/gray/orange,vintage/travel-themed and fun.I think we accomplished it.I didn't have much time to take pictures of things before the party started so bear with me on these.I used Printshop to make his party invitations and printed them onto postcard paper.They were made to look like tickets.I don't have pictures of the whole tickets.My neice and nephew took the guests' ticket stubs as they came in the door.

  I printed these posters up and put them inside the door.

 This was the kid's "Baggage Claim" area.I filled mugs with coton candy and topped them with airplane cutouts with the kid's names on them.They had blue & orange M&Ms and Tootsie Rolls to snack on too.Brown paper bags held a toy airplane and airplane pictures to color.I found the little gray airplanes at Walmart in the clearance section.Scrabble tiles spelled Fly Away and Airborne.

 I drew an airplane and framed it.The food labels were made of cardstock paper and stickers.

I used twine and clothespins to hang up a pic of Kobe from each month.So hard to believe he used to be soo tiny!! 

 The food table-Guests grabbed utensils and plates off the trunk and suitcase.An old map hung behind the table.I hung clouds made from cardstock paper covered with quilt batting from the ceiling.I bought the red airplane at Hobby Lobby at 50% off.I made a paper airplane garland to hang on the front of the table.Cupckes were stacked on a d-i-y stand on top of an old ammunition box in the center of the table.Drinks(in pint-sized mason jars)were packed in an old suitcase.I used twine instead of ribbon for the balloons for a vintage feel.

Fun decorations.I found an airplane puch at Hobby Lobby on clearance and punched airplnes out of an old atlas.

 Slim's old globe piggy bank and a chalkboard sign..

I'll transalate this for you-Pilot Stuffers=Hot Ham&Cheese Sandwiches
Passenger Pleasers=Party Mix   
Blue Skies=Tapioca Dessert
CloudCakes=Cupcakes
Frozen Clouds=Icecream Cups
Insructor Buttons=M&Ms                                                             
Clouds of Cotton=Cotton Candy
Jet Fuel=Sweet Tea

A friend of mine made the cupcakes.They were delicious!!The toppers were made from cotton balls hot-glued onto toothpicks.I punched out airplanes and hot-glued those on top.

 One of the best pics I got of him all night=/.He looked handsome in his adorable aviator hat(from Ebay) and his little leather Air Force jacket.

 It was so much fun to watch him open his gifts.He sat there with sparkling eyes,literally oohing and aahing over all his presents.

This was his 2nd!! cupcake-after he was cleaned up a little from eating the first one.

I love my lil chubster soo much!!

Tulips

 Tulips-Their simple beauty somehow speaks to me.They speak of spring,cheerfulness and simple quietness.I bought them in memory of Shyloh Jem-the baby we lost thru a miscarriage on March 12,2010.(Also my Mom's birthday)I always buy a bouquet of flowers that day.I still shed a few tears-thinking of what could have been.Losing a child you never met,got to cradle and kiss is hard to explain.Your dreams are shattered-you grieve deeply and a lot of times alone.You have no face to put to the child you loved and prayed for.I may never know why this precious wee one didn't get to stay and meet us but I do know that it taught me so many things about trust and letting go.It drew my husband and I closer together.I have this feeling that it was a girl-I always end up with pink flowers somehow.

I hope they brighten your day as much as they brightened mine!!

Kitchen Shelves

I am so happy with my new shelves!!I can see my pretty dishes now instead of having them hidden behind frosted glass doors.Its such fun to decorate these big,long mamas too.Right now,I just have white dishes,some clear glass ones and tarnished silver.That wall seems so bright and cheery!!I love white in the kitchen!!It makes everything feel so fresh and clean.Lots of pictures of white ahead --> =)

  We got this HEAVY dresser for free from a repo barn.It had pink flowers on the drawers.Last year I hurriedly spray painted the drawer fronts with flower paint(yes,you use it to spray paint flowers)leftover from our wedding.It fit perfectly where the other cabinet had been!!

I have used this chippy white frame everywhere!!

 Our wedding unity candleholders-minus the white bows.

 An old wire frying basket.

 My Mom bought these Princess House salt/pepper shakers for our wedding.

I have lots of goblets-probably 40 or more.Most of them went into storage.

Tulips brighten my day and my shelves.They really popped against all the white and silver.

Now a  few quick before and after shots-

Much better right??Whatcha think about the new star of the kitchen??

The Beginnings of a Kitchen Renovation

  Hello,folks!!It seems like ages since I posted.I've been busy with a lot of projects this year,but haven't got around to posting about them.One of the bigger projects was redoing part of the kitchen.
  I could spend hours drooling over kitchens-even tho cooking and baking aren't at the top on my favorite-things-to-do list.I love well organized drawers and cupboards.I like stacks of pretty dishes.I really like my kitchen-it's big and has lots of cupboard/counter space.I don't want to complain-I know my kitchen is nicer and bigger than probably over 50% of the ladies' in this world.But it isn't my style.I used to cut out pictures of kitchens--back before the days of Internet and Pinterest.They all had one thing in common-white cabinets with a farmhouse/french theme.I know that's the rage in Blogland right now.I liked it long before that.I used to dream of cooking in a cute white kitchen when I got married.I didn't get one.I got one with laminate oak cabinets,green striped walls,green countertops/backsplash and a big weird shaped island.But,I'm slowly working to change that.

Here is my kitchen.It is really lacking in style.And yes,there are dirty dishes piled up.Me and Hubby got inspired to tear down the cabinet above the island one night while eating supper.No more head-bumping while wiping off the counter-a big problem for an almost 6 foot lady who hates dirty counters!!!This cabinet also blocked the view from the livingroom.There is a flourescent light beside it that was covered with a plastic cover and an oak frame.We tore down the frame and cover.The light will be exchanged eventually and an old/old looking beam put up to cover the small hole in the ceiling where the cabinet had been.

The only thing we kept in the cabinet was my many goblets.

Looking into the livingroom.Imagine me at the stove-doing a half-squat to talk to Hubby who is sitting on the couch.OK,don't imagine.The visual isn't pleasant.And why are some of the only pictures of the kitchen full of dishes and toys??

Hubby did the work while I did the happy dance!=)

I thought I had a pic of this left wall,but you get the point.4 frosted glass paned doors on top and 4 wood ones on the bottom.We tore these cupboards down as well.

So much space!!I couldn't believe how much bigger it felt.Wide open,baby!! I didn't get pictures of the next steps because I did most of it myself.I took down the chair rail trim and put up beadboard wallpaper on the whole wall.I could've saved more money if I would've went up halfway with it-great after thought.But I'm happy with how it looks now.

I found a gallon of mistinted paint at WalMart for $8.I wanted white,but this was cheaper.My cream colored dishes don't stand out as well as I had hoped.I may still repaint one day if it really bugs me too much.=)

This lil guy got into the paint when I forgot to put the lid on.Thankfully,none went in his mouth!!

We bought shelving wood shelving and brackets at Lowes.I painted them plain old white with some paint I had on hand.Hubby had a few frustrating moments hanging them.He discovered after hanging them that the floor under the shelves has a dip in it,so they aren't hanging perfectly level.But you really don't notice it once they are full of dishes...We'll pretend that anyway.
   Stay tuned for pictures of the finished product!!