There's Something Fishy About This Lunch...

I wanted to surprise my daughter with a special lunch the other day so instead of just a regular peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I decided to create a little underwater scene.

I just cut the sandwich with a cookie cutter, put on an icing eye, and drew a mouth with an edible marker.  The bubbles are just slices from the narrow end of a carrot and the seaweed is carrot shavings.  I used carrots because that's what we had, but any fruit or veggie could be used, really. 

Ashlyn loved it and thought it was funny that when she wanted more and I gave her the scraps, I called them sea snakes.  :)  Do you create fun little meals for your kids?

BLUE?! Make It Pink!

I couldn't help making a Sleeping Beauty reference for the title of this post.  :)  I mentioned back in my water marble nail design post that hubby and I redid a small side table as my Christmas present so I had a reading/nail painting area in our bedroom.  I wanted to share our before and after pictures.

Hubby found this table somewhere (for free... yay!) and brought it home with this exact project in mind (I forgot to take before pics before we started sanding, but it didn't look too much different).

It was already a pretty color and I liked the distressed look, but it was going to go next to my awesome peacock blue chair that I fell in love at first sight with at World Market a couple of months back.

The picture doesn't do the color of this thing justice.  ♥

 

So the different blues just didn't look good together.  So I thought... what about bright pink?  I told hubs about my idea, but wasn't exactly serious about it because I didn't think he would like it.  And it was going to go in our bedroom, so it mattered to me a lot.  But he actually got behind the idea and thought it would look good.  Then I got the crazy idea to paint the insides of the drawers a different color and hubs said we should find a paint that matches the chair (we actually got spray paint that was perfect).  LOVE!  Here are the after shots.

I wish I took some during shots, but after lightly sanding everything, we just used some painter's tape and spray painted the inside of the drawers blue (Rust-oleum Gloss Protective Enamel in Gloss Night Tide).  Then we painted everything else that beautiful, fun pink (Glidden Brilliance Collection 2 in 1 Paint + Primer in Pre-Dawn Sky).  I want to say we did 3 coats of the Pre-Dawn Sky.

I also had this cute little shelf thing that someone gave me.  I didn't think to take a before shot, but it was white with some flowers and vines up the sides.  We spray painted it the Gloss Night Tide blue to match the chair and inside of the drawers. Now everything is together in my little getaway in our room.

I use it as a reading nook and to keep all my nail stuff tucked away (with my favorite and/or most used polishes on the shelves).

Isn't it just too fun?  I absolutely love it.  Thank you for the awesome Christmas present, sweetie!  And for my birthday coming up?  Well, I found out what his present is early... supplies and labor for another project involving a fairly large piece of furniture we already own.  I've just started prepping it so I will share pictures after it's all done!  What projects have you tackled lately?

Movie Night - Robin Hood

We had our first movie night of 2013 just the other night... Robin Hood! 

Head on over to Disney In Our Blood to check out what all we did.

January Book Review - Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

The first book I read off my TBR pile was "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by  Ransom Riggs.

"A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows."

description from Goodreads

This book starts off very strong.  I was instantly drawn in by what was going on with all the stories and cryptic messages from the main character, Jacob's, grandfather.  The vintage pictures shown throughout the book (which are authentic pictures the author found, with only a few being slightly altered) makes this book different and gives it a somewhat creepy vibe without making it a horror story, which this is not.  I went through this book fairly quickly and enjoyed it.  The only thing I could not get into is the romance that comes along when Jacob travels to the island.  It didn't ruin it for me but it didn't add anything, either.  The ending also leaves plenty of room for a sequel but it doesn't make you feel like you're being left hanging.  All in all, I'm very glad that this challenge came along and gave me a reason to make time to read it.

Next I will be reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld!

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

Okay, so I'm jumping in on this challenge I found Sunday morning.  It's the 2013 TBR (To Be Read) Pile Challenge where you read and review all the books that have been in your TBR pile (from 2012 and earlier)!  Hmmm, I guess the title was kind of self-explanatory, huh?  Anyway, there are a lot of books I've been wanting to read AND hubby's grandparents sent us a gift card to Barnes & Noble (WOO HOO!) so this is just awesome.




I'm going to put myself in the "A Firm Handshake" level (reading 1 - 10 books this year) because there is a lot going on this year.  Plus you can always move up in levels, but not down.  So if I read more than 10... YAY!

What do you think?  Want to join in on this challenge with me? 

Making Time To Learn Something New

Back story: I have two older brothers who are 11 and 13 years older than me.  The younger one, Michael, loves to play the guitar.  I remember being 5 or 6, sitting on his bed, listening to him play.  He would always play fun things like the Flintstones theme or other songs I liked.  It's always been one of my favorite early memories.  Ever since then, I've wanted to learn how to play the guitar.  Well, 20 some years later, I am!  Hubby and I talked about getting a joint Christmas present and somehow the topic of guitars came up and he was interested in learning, too.  So we purchased an inexpensive bundle (guitar, case, pitch pipe, pick, extra strings) and a teach-yourself-to-play book and it came in a few days ago. 

I am so excited to learn something new, especially something I've been wanting to do for so long.  It will be fun to learn alongside Aaron, too.  Today I encourage you to do something you've always wanted to do, whether it be learn to play an instrument, go on a trip, or get a book you've been putting off reading!  If you do take that first step in tackling a dream today, please let me know about it in the comments.

Water Marble Nail Design

Happy New Year!  Hubby found and redid a small table for my Christmas present.  I wanted a little table next to my favorite chair in our room and this was absolutely perfect!  I will share before and after shots soon.  Anyway, I keep my nail polish and nail art stuff in this table.  I was so excited about it, I decided to do my nails in a color scheme I've been excited to try (you can click the picture to enlarge).

A month or so ago, I tried water marbling for the first time.  I was really nervous because I've heard that it was hard to get right.  However, I found this tutorial by cutepolish on YouTube and it is awesome.  I got it down the first time and it's worked for me every time I've tried it. 

After a coat of clear polish (I use Sally Hansen Insta-Dri 110), I put on 2 coats of OPI Swimsuit... Nailed It! on all but my ring fingers.  For my ring fingers I put on 2 very thin coats of L'oreal Greycian Goddess, then did a water marble with the blue, grey, and black.  After it all dried, I topped everything with a top coat and voila!  I absolutely love it!!

Have you ever tried water marbling?  What's your favorite color combo for it?

Colors used: OPI Swimsuit... Nailed It!
                     L'Oreal Greycian Goddess
                     Wet n Wild Black Creme