Organization (It's not a dirty word)

photo from msliving.com

I have a huge need to organize right now. It almost feels like the "nesting" instinct when I was pregnant. So I better take full advantage of it and organize the heck out of my life and home. I have a few plans, like bringing in my little secretary desk, which has been in storage and I have missed so. I have also decided that for me to enjoy organizing I need to use pretty organizational aides. Here are some pretties that I have found and if these office products can't help then there is no help!

You can find these here

I have a huge crush on pretty file folders. I want to buy them all!!! But I need somewhere to put them. And I love, love, love clip boards! I refuse to pay what they want just because they stick a piece of contact paper to them, so I will make my own.


You can find this here



You can find these here

Isn't this idea amazing? One more project added to my ever-expanding-list of things I need to make. I just love using everyday objects in new and interesting ways. Makes me smile:)

Merry Christmas!

Image from LDS.org

"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And ... ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:1012).


Image from flickr.com/photos/jeremyhall

So Cute!!!!

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

My Current Project

I'm remodeling the bathroom in my parents' home. Here are the before pics. Right now it is a black hole but soon it will be a beautiful, inviting room. Well, as inviting as bathrooms go.

Before

During

Stay tuned for "after" pics. I hope it's done before Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!

Everyone needs to check out Design Mom's 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway. She always has amazing gifts that anyone would love. Just click here to check it out and maybe you will win!

12 Days of Christmas Ornaments from Land of Nod.

Let The Holiday Baking Begin!

I love to bake at Christmas time. Maybe it's the cold weather keeping me inside that gives me the need to nest and make sure my family is well fed. Or maybe it's all the recipes that come out for holiday baking. Whatever the reason, I love it. (And so does everyone I share with:) Here is a small selection of what I will be baking this Christmas season. Enjoy!

Brownie Lollipops


Sugar Spritz Cookies
verybestbaking.com

I got one of those cookies presses last year and I haven't used it too much. But I will!

Finnish Ribbon Cookies eveningedge.com

One of the sisters in my ward made these for Enrichment and they were so delicious! The lemon adds an amazing flavor.

Mexican Wedding Cookiesjoyofbaking.com

In the Dec. issue of Real Simple they had these cookies in egg cartons and then I knew I had not been saving all my egg cartons in vain. What a perfect gift for friends and neighbors.

All recipes are posted on my food blog, click here

Ana's Art

My daughter Ana is quite the artist. She has been drawing these amazing pictures as long as I can remember. When she has some down time I can always find her with a pad of paper and a pen, typically a black pen. A couple years ago she started drawing her pictures on the computer and because she is truly gifted, the computer drawings and the paper drawings look exactly the same. Here are some of my favorites....

"Self Portrait"


"Kilala Princess"


"New York City"


"The Late Night"


"Around The World"

Thanksgiving

Our pretty Thanksgiving tables.

I had so much fun hosting the Thanksgiving feast this year. Good food, good family, good laughs....it can't get much better. Hope you all had a great day too!

See more Natalie Portman videos at Funny or Die

My Fall Favorites

Anything Thanksgiving I love Thanksgiving and I feel that it has been passed over lately and everyone focuses on Christmas. I give each holiday it's own time and love it for what it is. I wish I could make a beautiful table complete with placecards, center pieces and butter cut to look like leaves. It's not that I can't, it's that I have to cook and get the big meal ready and I'm just happy to have food on the table not in their pots they were cooked in. Someday when I get that wait staff and chef then I can focus on the decorative part of Thanksgiving. But until then I'll just eat a whole lot of pie. Yum!



Galway Boot by Dubarry of Ireland These boots are completely waterproof and warm. They are made in Ireland so I'm sure they are everything promised. And you'll pay a pretty penny but obviously worth it.



Arched Persimmon Overcoat by Anthropologie This coat is such a great color. It would bring out all those amazing leaves falling around you.


Molten Chocolate Bag by Anthropologie I really need (ok, want, whatever) a dark brown purse.

Play Tent by Restoration Hardware So I don't have to keep building blanket forts that are sub-standard and keep falling on our heads. And what kid doesn't love a teepee?

My Latest Project

Last weekend (and also the upcoming weekend) I participated in my very first Holiday Craft Boutique. I made these chalkboards and they were a hot item. I especially like the pink one. If I had a little girl that one would not have been sold.



This is a cork board. I love this fabric.

VOTE!

I'm doing it, are you?

My Baby Had a Birthday!!!

I really don't like this whole growing older deal. My baby is supposed to stay a baby forever! He's growing up too fast and before I know it, he'll be a 1st grader and then it's all a whirlwind after that. I better make sure I kiss and hug on him a little more and hold him as much as I can. Here he is with his "Excavator Cake" that I found on Family Fun.

Pickin' Pumpkins

For Family Home Evening we went to Purdum's Pumpkin Patch and farm stand in New Plymouth, Idaho. It was such a fun activity! They had an area set up with straw bales, an old truck and pumpkins everywhere for picture taking. Then we rode on a trailer pulled by a really old tractor to the pumpkin patch.



It was full of pumpkins of every color, size and shape you could imagine. The kids were in heaven. I told them they could choose any pumpkin as long as they could carry it. Mia broke the rule and had a nice gentleman help her, but her HUGE pumpkin was atleast 100 lbs. and I wouldn't let her get it. She found another nice sized one and was just as happy. Van went right to the white pumpkins and found a great one and didn't let go.

Along with pumpkins we also got some amazing veggies. The peppers were almost as big as Van's head! We had such a great time that I think we'll have to make this a tradition. I love traditions! And Fall!

Pumpkin Problems

Please don't let your pumpkins drink this season. This is a serious situation. Just look at the results.....

White Party

Amy Atlas


Someone please give me a reason to have a party like this.

Chocolate-Marshmallow Spiders-YUM!

We had a great time eating spiders! These are super easy and we all loved them. Just take a large marshmallow, push in 8 pretzel stick legs and drizzle with melted chocolate. Try them and let me know what you think.





Spider Guts, ewww!!!!

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween! I love the pumpkins, ghosts, costumes, black cats, candy, tricks, treats, smells, and everything fun about it. It takes you back to your childhood like no other holiday. Most people remember every costume they ever wore and all the adventures of trick-or-treating. I love taking my kids out now and seeing the excitement in their faces when they realize that all they have to do is knock on a door and people give out CANDY!!!

Here are some of the fun things I have found to try and make. Hope you can do some too!