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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

That kid's mind is like a sponge...

So as I said earlier, I had the nephews over the weekend. Kurt was here, but for a good part of it I was alone, which was a first...and a challenge to say the least, but it was fun and exciting as usual with those two.

On Friday night we had to go to a little birthday shindig not far from our house, so I bathed them when I got home and we raced out the door.

As with a lot of kids in America, we passed a McDonalds and they suddenly became "starving." I told them that we were going to a party where there would be food, so no Mickey D's! I don't usually dig on stuffing them full of fast food anyway, but I was actually really thirsty, and so were they, so I finally agreed to just stop for some drinks.

Iced tea for me, fruit punch for Kyle, and Sprite for Caiden.

Then they saw the billboard with the pokemon toys. Like I said, I dont like to give them fast food, but I learned a while back that you can buy the toy for $1.70 or somthing. I know its dumb, but it means a lot to them. They had been at the hospital ALL day with Kurt's uncle who has pneumonia until I could get to them after work, and they were SO good...so I asked the lady for 2 pokemons to go with our drinks.

On the way to the party, they were playing, as boys do with action figures...and "fighting" them. This is what I heard:

Caiden: "My guy's name is super megatron, he has powers, and he will EAT you!"
Kyle: "Well my monster's name is RONALD and he wants to go to OFFICE MAX!!!"

I personally never go to OfficeMax, but I am sure Aunt Donna must take them...too funny!!

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle

As with most people, I have an enormous amount of crap in my house shoved into drawers and closets. I also have a (bad?) habit of picking up things at thrift stores and garage sales that I think I can use later on.

I also have an infatuation with spray paint and the fact that it can totally change  the way that you use or look at an item.

I went looking through my thrift store crap and found a few things that I wanted to make into a pretty little candy dish for work. We were using a Thanksgiving themed basket, complete with leaves and pumpkins. I work in a brand new office with beautiful woodwork and granite counter tops...the dumb basket just didn't fit in well.

So here we go...


I started with these 2 little little beauties. Both of them were in my stash of crap er things I have picked up at thrift stores with every intention of using. The salad bowl was $1 and brand new with tags on it...and the little candle stick was $1 and needed a little work to get wax off of it...no worries, I'm going to paint it anyway!

Then I sanded those bad boys down. I didn't even really do that great of a job...just took the finish off. Don't spend more than 10 minutes on it...its not going to matter in the long run!



I glued them together using gorilla glue, simply because that is what I had here in the house. I put some weight on it and let it dry overnight.

Coat of spray paint and ta da! Not too shabby..except the girls at work say that it should be bigger (to hold more candy, naturally.)
*I have seen similar projects on other blogs, so by all means, I am not taking credit for "inventing," this, just showing what I did and how to make it your own!

Monday, June 27, 2011

So much for that.

Instead of spending my weekend relaxing and blogging some cute new pics, projects, and listing some new things in the shop, we spent our weekend like this...


And I wouldn't want it any other way! Being their aunt is such a privilege! Cute project, thrifty finds, and of course Wieners on Wednesday to come later on this week!

Friday, June 24, 2011

...

and by soon I mean as soon as Kurt's uncle gets out of the hospital and we don't have 5 and 8 year old boys, 2 puppies running  the house and some decent weather. Its just not been a good day. Good things to come though!!

Coming Soon...

Good stuff coming tonight when I get home...keep your eyes peeled ladies and gentlemen!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Portillos

Kurt and I have really had to cut back on our expenses since moving into this place. One of the ways that we have done that is by not eating out often, if at all. Once in a great while, we will grab Pot Bellys on the way home from church, but thats it. No McDonald's breakfast or Starbucks, etc
The last time we went out to a sit down dinner was in January with my best friend Laura when we were in Virginia. The last time we went out on a dinner "date," was our anniversary last October. We are taking this pretty seriously. Plus, we like cooking at home. We finally have our own kitchen.

Well. Tonight I was crabby, and it was raining and Kurt had a long day, so I broke down.


OMG...if you don't live in Chicago, you don't know what you are missing!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Oscar found a friend...


 So here we are relaxing on the couch watching TV on a Monday night.  Oscar rings the bell to go out, as he does several times a day, and we let him out. A few minutes later he starts barking wildly, so Kurt goes out to see what all the commotion is all about.
He has somthing pinned in the corner. Kurt calls me, he tells me to bring the camera. Does he know me or what?

Kurt says its a frog, its clearly a toad. Remember that Kurt grew up in suburban Chicago and did not have the luxury of chasing and trapping toads as a child like I did :)
So I picked it up, otherwise Oscar would have stood there all night barking at it.

Hello there.


See, Kurt...its not a Frog...because it didn't turn into a prince :)


So I let Osc sniff it and say goodbye...please excuse the pasty stems. Its been a rough summer thus far.

And I walked it to a nice, grassy place where it could be FAR away from our dogs!!










Down Home Sunday

I just hung this collection of wedding pictures above the couch. I'm tyring to decide if I should add to it or not.

Happy Father's Day!

My dad is Amazing. He truly is the reason that I because the adult that I am today. He taught me to stand tall, to make due with what life handed me, to laugh when I wanted to cry, and to be strong, creative, and free willed.

There is no one in this world who can make me laugh the way that my dad can. Seriously, within 3 minutes, he can have me on the floor, clutching my belly because it hurts so bad from laughing over God-knows-what?? And its always been that way between he and I, since before I can even remember.

My Dad works at a funeral home, that's not funny at all right? I seriously don't know how he manages sometimes, but he does. He provides for a wife and a disabled child on a slim budget after loosing his job 5 years ago. He never missed a beat....just kept on going. That's my Dad.


Happy Father's Day, Pops! I love you!

I also have 2 amazing grandfathers who of course I don't have any pictures of on my computer.

My Dad's father, Ted, came here from England as a 13-year-old child with his brother, John during WWII. He basically had nothing with him but the clothes on on his back. He managed to become a successful businessman, make a beautiful home for his family, and provide for them. He is the original "rags to riches" story.

My mom's father, Commander William Dorow, was a pilot in the Navy and the father of 5 children. An avid golfer and historian. He is now living in Suffolk Virginia and giving historical tours for a living.

My father-in-law, Bill "Rosie" Rosenbergh, died 11 years ago this Christmas. He was loved by everyone. He helped everyone in the family with the smallest or largest of projects. Even if it was just bringing them a cup of coffee on a bad day at work, he was there for them. He was very active in our church. He got a college scholorship to Colorado for football and wrestling, but only went for one year because his father, Jack Rosenbergh, passed away and he had to come home and help take care of his mother. Kurt misses his dad every day, and I missed out on knowing  very special man.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

No pics...what the heck?

Blogger has issues, so much for fathers day or Down home on Sundays posts getting done today. Grr.

Katie's baby...

I've been friends with Katie since 5th grade. I have had a lot of friends give birth in the last few years, but this will be the first "old" friend, or a friend that I grew up with from a very young age. I am so excited for her and I can't wait to meet baby Avery.

Since she is back home in Virginia and I am here in Chicago, I was not able to make it for her shower, but don't you worry...I have some surprises up my sleeve for when Avery arrives. I was browsing etsy for some ideas on what to make this sweet baby girl this morning and fell in love with some of the adorable things that they had for momma's like Katie.

Katie knows pretty much everything about every animal and creature that roams the earth, especially locally in Virginia. Her parents, Carol and Hal, are experts and spent hours and hours teaching Katie and her brothers about all of the different species of deer, snakes, frogs, frogs, fish, turtles, etc, etc, etc that call Virginia home.
Here is my girl with a massive snapping turtle...once in high school she jumped into a pond after one of these and put it into my car because the owner of the pond was going to shoot it. Man, I hope she doesn't kill me for stealing this picture from her facebook!

Katie is also able to take normal, every day objects like PVC pipe...and make them into beautiful things like chandeliers! Man, I wish I had a picture of that thing!

She decided the moment that she found out that she was having a girl that she did NOT want any pink around the house or on her baby. At first I was like OK, no big deal...but its REALLY hard to find outfits and stuff that are not covered in the signature "baby girl" pink!!

Anyway, what are you getting at here, Emily?? Well, etsy has this feature where you can make a "treasury list" of things. Basically its just a collection of things you like for one reason or another. I've made a few before, its also another way to draw attention to your own shop because people look through your lists and then they can see who created them. I made one for Katie this morning and the stuff I found is SO stinkin' cute!! Go on over and take a peak...and if anyone wants to purchase all that stuff and send it to baby Avery, please do...ha ha ha

Thursday, June 16, 2011

There is hope for this world.

I drive to work every morning on Meacham Road in Schaumburg. Its pretty busy and there are several very large businesses along the way, so there are tons of cars turning on and off the whole way. I'm pretty used to having to stop and/or slow down near the Motorolla plant, the turn for Ikea, Panera, the daycare, etc because of this.

Today however, all FOUR lanes were at a COMPLETE stop in a strange place. There are no driveways or side streets around at all. I was kind of annoyed but interested to see why 10+ cars would be stopped in the middle of the road and then I saw....

An ENTIRE family of Canadian Geese.
Momma.
Daddy.
8 fuzzy headed babies.

I was seriously impressed. Usually Chicago drivers are so busy with themselves that they will run PEOPLE over, let alone a cute little goose family! So what did I do? I pulled over and took a picture of them in the drainage pond that they were headed to, isn't that what everyone does on their commute to work???
It was raining, I didn't have a lot of time, and despite my quacking loudly at them, they wouldn't look. But I like their fuzzy heads...too stinkin' cute! Reminds me of my little cousin, Lincoln!

He has a cute little fuzzy head too :)




Sassy Pants

Our Lyla has quite a big personality for an 11 pound pup. She LOVES giving kisses and getting belly rubs from anyone she happens to sucker into sitting next to her. We adopted Lyla in April of 2010 and within a month we found out that she had a liver disease. Because of this, her vet does not feel that it is safe to use anesthesia in order to spay her.

Soooo....what does that have to do with anything? She's in heat...again.

We survived her first heat about a year ago. It really wasn't that bad. Our vet warned us that this one would be worse. She said that this time around she would be like a teenager in heat...grrrreat.

This is just the first day, but so far, she is cracking me up. She rolls around on her back making silly crying/cooing noises and does NOT like wearing her diapers, even though I bought her some really CUTE ones!!
Twitterpated!

Momma, please don't show people pictures of my diapers!!

Cute fleece diapers. Very sassy to go with her personality!
Check out those nips! Wowza girl!

We will see how cute I think this is in another week!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Down Home Sunday (on Monday...)

Since I had a migraine yesterday, we will do this today.

This is a little spot next to my stove with another collection of happy things.
handmade trivett by my beautiful God daughter, Elizabeth (shes 11 now, she was probably 5 or 6 at the time,) Owl cookie jar from Home Goods that I got for Kurt for Christmas, Mickey timer from Disney World, Homemade granola, Olive Oil from Twisted Olive in Naperville.

Have a good week!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Homemade Granola

Super easy, and usually cheaper!

Ingredients
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup hot water
2/3 cup honey (can add some maple syrup to this as well)
6 cups rolled oats (old fashioned, not instant)
3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, hot water and honey. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, pecans, and walnuts. Pour the honey mixture into the oat mixture and stir until the oats and nuts are evenly coated. Spread out the granola onto 2 baking sheets. I usually use parchment paper too to keep it from sticking.


3. Bake for 10 minutes, stir/flip the pieces and bake 10 more minutes, or until toasted.


4. Allow granola to cool completely before stirring in the raisins, golden raisins and dried cherries. Granola will harden as it cools. Break apart Break apart any large lumps, and store in an airtight container at room temp.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Happy Anniversary...

...to the best parents a girl (or 3) could ever ask for!!!
...and tomorrow to my in-laws!!!

And boo on blogger for not letting me upload pictures today!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

um Yes Please...

Now, don't get me wrong...I'm not saying I want to sell all of our belongings and move into this egg with my husband and our two rowdy dogs...that would be insane.
I just want to have it. I want to put it in my parking space behind the house for a rainy day!
Overnight guests? No problem!
Trip to my Mom and Dad's? Perfect!
Camping? Ideal!
Need to get away from everything and just sit outside and read, paint, crochet or internet surf?
Ahh...that would be nice!
Wonder how Osky and Lyla Bug would take to it??



Down Home Sunday

Every Sunday I'm going to post pictures of one little corner or another of our home. While this is not MY first home, and not HIS first home...it's OUR first home, and we have had a wonderful time making it our own. As usual for me, it's still a work in progress :)

So, here is a little corner of our guest bathroom that makes me smile everytime I go in there!
Just a little collection of happy things!

I got this at a garage sale for 10 cents. Its pretty rediculous. Its a hand-blown glass dachshund with 2 little glass dachshunds inside. I don't think that I would ever pay more than 10 cents for it, but for the price, it looks cute in the bathroom, right?


One of my favorite photographs...ever. I don't even know what year it was taken, but this is my grandma and grandpa Briner outside of their first home. My dad gave it to me in a frame for Christmas one year. I love how happy they look, and how my grandpa looks JUST like my dad!

 Crazy soap dispenser. I made this at one of those paint-your-own-pottery joints in Occaquan, Virginia. I have always loved those places, but this particular outing was special to me because it was with my best friend, Laura and her amazing son, Ryan.
Shells from the BIG mason jar. The jar is from a place I went to on Cape Cod called Christmas Tree Shop. I know that they exsist in other places, but I have never seen one since. The shells have been collected over the years from family vacations to Virginia Beach, trips with friends to Cape Cod, Key West and the Outerbanks. There are also some sharks teeth from girl scout trips to Camp Coles Trip a million years ago.

Amazballs!

Woman lives in 90 sqaure foot apartment!

Hurricane Emily?

For some unknown reason, I decided to google the hurrcane "names," for this year and wouldn't you know...right there at #5 for the season...Hurricane Emily!
Poor Kurtie has been living through Hurricane Emily since 2008...poor guy!

Next year..Hurricane Oscar!
Fierce...huh?

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Quick craft/gift idea..

Last week we were invited to a surprise 40th birthday party for our friends, Sam and Liz. They are an awesome, fun-loving couple who are both celebrating the big 4-OH with Kurtie this year. Since I was in the hospital, and then at home recovering for a few weeks, I didn't get to do much shopping.
I wanted to do somthing cute and funny, but not somthing that would just sit on a shelf collecting dust. So, this is what I came up with. I thought it was funny (probably because I'm not the one turning 40 this year..haha) and I know that they will enjoy the lollipops with their super cute kiddos, Emma and Nathan. Once the bucket is empty, they can throw it out, or use it to store or organize pretty much anything!


Clear paint bucket- Michaels (somewhere around $5 or $6)
Ribbon scraps to tie onto the handle-free from my stash
3 packages of lollipops-Meijer (you could also use hard candies and still write SUCKS on it)
Craft paint-free from my stash

Friday, June 3, 2011

This neighborhood...

Since moving here in March, I can honestly say that I love living here. The first day that we met with the association manager, I knew that this was the place for me and my family.
I love the beautiful lanscaping and the fact that I don't have to maintain it.
I love the free pool and 24 hour fitness center.
I love parking my car directly behind my back gate.
I love saying good morning and hello to all of the neighbors that I see.
I love that we have a state trooper as a next door neighbor.
I love watching my dogs romp around in their own yard!!

But...
You knew that there had to be a but...
Lately I have been getting annoyed with little things around here.
Maybe it's because I haven't been feeling that great, so I'm just crabby in general.
Anyway...
I hate that the garbage man comes at 7:30am EVERY SATURDAY MORNING!!
I hate that they don't allow bikes, skates, or skateboards on the sidewalks...so the kids are all in the street!
I hate that Aurellio's pizza is so desperate for business that they stuff a menu in my mailbox every day.
I hate that some people have assigned parking and some don't...so annoying.

Enough! For God's sake its Friday...time to lighten up!!
For those of you who have not visited, this is our new digs...

Wipe your paws, bitchez!