for all the dads

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

love notes [round 2]

another day filled with fun [hidden] surprises from the hubby. he's pretty good at making his family feel loved.  btw... i excluded the notes of a personal nature...  ;)

 on my laptop (my favorite note.... only because my husband wrote pitter pat!)

my closet wall

 upstairs hallway

the kitchen sink

the laundry room cabinet

(sorry for the awful photo... bad lighting in there!)

the downstairs powder room

danny.... you're a keeper. thanks for making me feel so special! xoxo- erin

summer loving

sorry i'm not posting as regularly. summer has crept into my veins and i'm getting a little lazy. that's what happens when the sun comes out and everything is green! this is what i've been up to....

a lot of this...

unkie pretty much hates it... it's like baby torture!

more of this...

i'm eating a lot of these...

honestly, the greatest things on earth... wish they weren't candied!

when it rained, i did this...

yes, i do drink the target brand boxed wine 

(the chardonnay is really good... promise)

i've been dealing with this silly goose...

now that he's successfully climbed out of his high chair, we're trying to get him to eat at the table. who knew it was so difficult to teach a toddler to eat off a plate!

i've been enjoying these...

aren't window boxes the greatest?

and finally... i've done a little crying over this....

first day of preschool

last day of preschool :(

while i teared up... this is what he did...

have i ever told you how much i love cooper??

grasscloth and gymnastics...

sorry to all of my bloggy friends, i've been out of commission finalizing my 2010 holiday card line for shutterfly.com. holiday cards are their biggest sellers, so it's been a long process! if i owe you an email... i promise to be in contact soon!

on to more exciting stuff! grasscloth wallpaper.... my love for it and thoughts on how i can incorporate it into my home (or potential new home). to honor my love for grasscloth... i have changed my header!

here are some inspiration photos..... photos that are so lovely, you may have to avert your eyes!

so

source: decor pad

source: decor pad

source: nate burkus

can you even believe that mirror! the lamps! the red bow!

source: palmer weiss

source: decor pad

i'm not a pink girl, but i'd gladly change for those those lamps and curtains!

source: decor pad

after reviewing all of these photos, i believe grasscloth wallpaper works best in dining rooms and hallways. where would you put grasscloth wallpaper???

gymnastics
we have some pretty big news over here! before i tell you the news, here's a brief backstory...


reilly started gymnastics last fall... right before thanksgiving. anyway, she loves it, especially when they get to jump on the trampoline! but what 7 year old wouldn't like jumping on a trampoline. right?


anyway.


a few weeks ago reilly (and coop) had their big extravaganza gymnastic show. they did great! i was a proud mama! after reilly finished her beam routine, a kinda scary looking (yet official looking) lady pulled reilly aside and had her do a few gymnastic-y type move thingies. as quickly as she was wisked away, she was back. so i thought nothing of it.

the next saturday, during reilly's gymnastics class, the same lady and another man, pulled reilly out of class. this time she did some mat stuff and some work on the bars. then again, back to class.`

seeing an opportunity to bolt,  dan and i sneaked out of gymnastics to go to the local produce market. upon our return, we were pulled into a private meeting. very serious stuff was said and reilly was asked to be on the gymnastics pre-team. needless to say we're really excited for reilly. the gymnastics team is quite good, they have several nationally ranked gymnasts.... some even in the top 3. so again,we're very proud..... but good-gosh, it's a time commitment!! reilly is at the gym 7-1/2 hours a week! bye bye to our no schedule, lazy-days summer :(


here are a few extravaganza photos....

reilly's beam routine

 reilly's bar routine

our little coop-man acting like a monkey

 yay reilly!

yay cooper! (he wouldn't get down.... loved the cheers!)

 

i just can't help myself

i read so many wonderful design and family blogs and all you ladies really inspire me. time & time again, you post an image that just stays with me. an image that i refer to again & again. soaking in every detail.

here's my latest obsession.... personalized bunk spaces. i obviously don't need 4 bunks (only 2), but how fantastic. right? now, i just need the perfect room to accommodate built in bunk beds!

hey hubby.... you know how you've discussed building the boys bunk beds? Do you think you're capable of this????? (please say yes.... i love you)

 source

to die for dining room

honestly, i love this room. i'm not sure why. the dark blue paired with the dark woods and white? the amazing? the arm chairs with the fun pillows? the artwork over the buffet? i don't know... I LOVE IT ALL!

possibly an inspiration for my new dining room???

source

wisteria favorites

now that we're kinda getting close to [fingers crossed] selling our home. i'm saying that because we've had a lot of activity and i feel we finally have our house priced correctly (thank you gina!). here's hoping someone will place an offer!!

so.  i've mentally [already] moved out of this house and into a few new homes i've seen in the mls. i know... bad idea erin.

we don't need to completely start over design-wise, but we will have more space and do need a few items. here are a few of my favorites from wisteria. i probably won't buy these exact items... i'll most likely thrift similar items or find more budget friendly alternatives. but if i had the big bucks and wasn't increase my mortgage payment... then i would be calling up wisteria asap!

new kitchen table

trestle table - $2,499 (yikes!)

i know i won't find this exact table in a thrift store, but maybe i'll find a alternative that has the same feel. elegant yet rustic. right now our kitchen table is to small for our family of 5... we're in need of something bigger. something that can seat 6.

dining chairs

 oak x-back chair - $129

i'm pretty certain i can find a set similar to these for far less. craig's list here i come! possibly some bentwood chairs that i could refinish?

a set of living room chairs

either a set similar to this...

european spindle chair - $599

or a set similar to this....

french colonial armchair - $799

i think the spindle chair would be a little difficult to find on craigs list or a thrift store, but i've seen a lot of substitutes for the french colonial armchair. which chair do you like?

side tables

i like both of these side tables. the prices aren't horrible, but we'll see. i'm thinking the round would look great in the living room (between a set of one of the chairs above) and i'd like the square table next to the sofa in the family room (right now i'm using a tv tray (yuck!).

venetian bamboo-leg table - $399

french industrial end table - $279

kitchen island stools

cooper's draftsman stool - $159

even the name is perfect! you know coop will love to sit on one of these while eating his cereal! i've seen a lot of options similar to these stools.... maybe even vintage.

coffee table

oh, how i love this table! perfect for the family room!!!! where could i possible thrift this????

french industrial coffee table - $579

entry mirror

scallop edge mirror - $249

now, really don't need a new mirror, but i really love this one. hey, maybe my existing mirror will break in the move? you never know:)

living room lamp

i have a beautiful pedestal table in my living room. it was my grandmother's and i adore it... i mean really love, love, love this table. anyway, it has a horrible target lamp on it with a pretty funky anthropologie lamp shade. it really needs to be changed out. and i love this lamp, almost equally to my table.... a perfect match!

 baluster outline lamp - $279

the lines and the rectangle shade... oh my! maybe it will go on sale? i can only hope, cuz hubby isn't going to enjoy a nearly $300 lamp, especially with 3 kids who like to throw balls and play with spongy swords!

has anyone seen anything similar at let's say homegoods or pier one? please say yes!!!!

well, there they are, my wisteria favorites. hope you have a happy thursday!

xoxo, erin

this and that

yep... this is another one of those posts! a few catch-ups with what's been going on. warning to non-friends and family.... this post contains far to many photos of rocks, eggs and one particularly cute giant.

coop's current obsessions
coop is currently obsessed with 2 things....

collecting uninteresting rocks

and band-aids.... LOTS of band-aids

chickens
reilly's first grade class just wrapped up their chicken hatching experiment. all the children waited patiently for 21 days until it was HATCH DAY.... which incidentally fell on a sunday. so we spent several hours of our sunday watching tiny holes in eggs.

it wasn't until later that i found out that the baby chicks poke a hole in their eggs, then fall asleep for 12 hours. unfortunately we were watching them sleep... bummer! but there was one new chick that we got to stare at for awhile... i guess he was the early bird (pun intended) :)

i'm pleased to introduce you to daisy (named by reilly & her buddies)

the rest of the two hours was spent doing this...

we are the giants, the mighty mighty giants
reilly's t-ball team switches to pitching and hitting half way through the season. now things are getting pretty interesting. and wowza my little giant can hit! i was a little nervous at first, seeing as i've never practiced with her. she did very well....

up to bat, number three from the giants team..... reilly!!!

 
 good game

 the mighty giants

that's my girl... the only girl on the team