Sneaking in some healthier eating habits!

So I have been on a quest lately to get my girls & us for that matter to eat healthier..Emmie pretty much lives on mac&cheese alone with some fruits and other stuff thrown in occasionally but vegetables are a battle for both my girls! I got my hands on the book - Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld and have a huge grocery list for today!

Planning on making LOTS of fruit & veggie purees to stock my freezer with and start sneaking them into meals as often as I can!


Since its summer and I dont have to rush around in the mornings I plan on making this pancake mix recipe to have on hand that I found on one of my FAV cooking blogs:

http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2010/06/oatmeal-pancake-mix.html

& this smoothie recipe from another of my FAV blogs to make different variations for bfast & snacks!

http://www.howdoesshe.com/popsicles-for-breakfast

Wish me luck and please share recipes or tips and tricks that you might have!! :)

Transformation time!!! From Buffet to Vanity!!!

So, when we first starting gutting and remodeling our 1876 built home I knew I wanted the convenience of new but the charm and look of old! Hard to sell the hubby on it since he grew up in NY and I grew up in AZ, he hates all the "old junk" and I ♥ it! :) He tells me stories how they used to break up clawfoot tubs with sledge hammers to get them out of houses and toss pieces of vintage furniture into burn piles..AAAHHH, I know I scream with each and every story!

Our house was quite a disaster when we bought it inside and out! It was a 2 family and had not been taken care of on either side. We knew it would be a total restoration but we were young with no kids and lots of energy...well 7 years later we are still not done and now we have 2 kids, WAY less energy and while we don't consider ourselves old yet we feel old! ;)

We did our master bathroom & bedroom first. While I started out thinking the kitchen would be the first room I quickly realized I could cook in a really bad kitchen easier than I could deal with a really nasty bathroom! So we made a beautiful master suite but I didn't get my way of refurbishing a dresser or buffet into our vanity since we were pushing for a quick finish with my mom coming to visit from AZ we needed a decent bathroom STAT! So, much to hubby's dismay I have never given up on this dream.

Now 7 years later we realize we need a dual vanity in the girls bathroom (already & they are only 1.5 & 5.5!!) So I see my window to finally get my way! We will take the 2 vanities in our bathroom & move them upstairs to the girls bathroom and voila an open space for my dream vanity!!! I spot this beauty on Craigslist for only $50 (which I remind my hubby several times is WAY less than a new vanity from Lowes!!) It is a buffet and literally the measurements are PERFECT for the space, allows for 2 sinks and still have counter room, plus storage in all those HUGE middle drawers!!!! It was a hard sell but finally he gave in, usually he submits sooner or later when he knows I will battle to the death on certain things!!!

Ok, so long story short.I know WAY too late ;)

Stay tuned for updates and pictures but I leave you with the pictures of our current bathroom and this buffet as we picked up, untouched yet! I am now thinking that metallic gold sponging paint I was so in love with is gonna get a makeover too..still like the gold but maybe more of a wash over the walls instead of the big blotchs!

FINALLY!?!?! Last day of school!!

It has finally arrived! The last and final day of Kindergarten for Savannah! Its been a long year but in other ways its flown by!!! Started off with lots of tears and fighting every morning to get on the bus. She has since learned to love school & her teacher Mrs.Bailey was THE best ever! Here is a picture of her with Savannah today when I picked her up (yea, I am THAT mom, the one who make everyone get those kodak moments whether they want to or not! ;)

Here are some pictures from this morning, much like the pictures on the 1st day of school! She has grown up so much over the past year, it makes me smile but at the same time almost cry! My little girl is getting so big so fast and it makes me want to keep Emerson small forever and never let her turn into the big girl her sister is fast becoming!

Bring on the summertime fun :)

Happy Fathers Day!

Today is Fathers Day and Dave got a new bike (very much wanted and needed since his current bike he has had since high school!?!?) and a book all about daddy that Savannah made at school! Happy Fathers Day to the father of my 2 beautiful girls, and to my dad who I miss each and every day but even more so on holidays like today!


We have had a busy week and with only 3 more days of school left we are anxious for some down time! There was a family picnic @ school on Friday for all the kindergarten classes, at Savannah's request we brought pizza & lemonade - her 2 FAVORITES. Such a great time and fun to see her in the school setting we never get to witness with all her little friends. We took the jam we made as teacher gifts and handed them out to everyone so she wouldn't have to lug 11 pints of jam in her backpack this week!



Savannah had her last soccer game on Saturday and played more than she has the whole season, go figure?!?! Pop-O came to watch the game so that made Savannah super happy!

Garage Sales + Strawberry picking = GREAT Saturday

So...I have been extremely jonesing for garage sales this summer! Savannah is doing soccer and the games are Saturday mornings @ 9am. Being a good mommy I want to be there and support her but this is putting a serious damper on my bargain hunting season! ;) Today soccer was cancelled due to rain...so went out & hit up a few neighborhood sales! Not as productive as usual garage saleing since I was unprepared and spur of the moment but managed to get some goodies!

Beautiful platter for 50cents!

Amazing antique hanging planter for $1!

Awesome gold chunky frame for 10cents!

Later this afternoon, the rain had stopped and the sun came out so we went to Tre-G farms in Manlius and picked strawberries..the crops are ready EARLY this year so we took advantage..STEAMY afternoon to pick berries but my plan is to make strawberry jam for Savannah to hand out as "thank yous" to all her teachers @ school! Never made jam before in my life but found a super easy recipe for freezer jam from one of my FAV blogs http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/search/label/I%20am%20cooking%3F So I am gonna try it out!

I am ordering some super cute personalized labels from a website I just found when I googled canning labels, this lady is SOOO super nice and can do anything you can dream up!!!! http://www.labelcreations.com/ & I plan to get fabric and ribbon and all the vintage cuteness goodies tomorrow to put these gifts together! I will post a pic of our completed projects before we take them to school next Friday, wish me luck!! :)

Memorial Day 2010!!

I know Memorial Day has come and gone.....but with a house full of guests I didn't manage to get a lot of computer time!!! My mom brought my 3 nieces and 1 nephew from AZ to spend the holiday weekend! Such an amazing week spending time with those kiddos, its been WAY too long since we have not made it back to AZ for a visit since Spring of 2009!

So fun to see all the cousins together and getting to spend some great quality time with them. I have such an amazing family, these kids are all fantastic and I love them so much!!! My 3 beautiful nieces teaching Auntie Nichole how to text, watching those crazy girls be silly together and seeing Kellen & Savannah hit if off so well and have so much fun playing together!!! The time went by way too fast and I am already looking forward to our next visit with them!