Oops. I missed Friday. Happy Monday! Linking up photos from my past 1.5 weeks with Jeannett at Life Rearranged.

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We leave in 3 WEEKS FOR ITALY!!!! I’m so excited. We are staying in Grosetto and taking trips to Rome, Siena, Florence and Cinque Terra. Any recs on places to eat, things to see and kid friendly activities? Isaiah is coming with us but we are leaving Hudson with my parents (nervous already to be apart from him that long!). Since he just turned two, it would have been over $1000 to take him on a trip that he would not remember, so we made the tough decision to leave him here. I know it will be better in the long run, but I am going to miss that curly haired character!

Thanks to my friend Jenetta for the fun vintage italy book :)

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Last weekend we had friends over and Daveed taught Holly how to make pasta from scratch.

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Little bits of Spring around the house:

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Last week was spring break for Isaiah. We started it off with a 3 hour park playdate with a ton of friends from church. The boys had SO much fun!

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Later that day, we met up with Daveed at Sea World for a few hours. The boys favorite exhibit lately has been the arctic. Hudson loved watching the walrus and polar bears swim.

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Isaiah had been asking to make a star wars terrarium (daygoba) for a long time. We finally ran to Home Depot and whipped it up.

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He had a tough star to the week with listening. As a result, he ended up loosing all of his star wars stuff. Shirts, books, toys, everything. He still found a way to “play” star wars :)

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When we were visiting my family this weekend, my mom pulled out my old lite brite. I spent so many hours on that thing as a kid. Isaiah loved it! I wish that the new ones were even half as good as the old ones.

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Date #11 out of 50: A hike at Torrey Pines. One of my favorite spots in San Diego and it was such a nice time to connect and enjoy nature. (if you are new to my blog, you can find out more about our 50 dates project here.)

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Saturday was a great day to fly a kite at the park with good friends.

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Since we were going to stay down in San Diego for Easter, we spent some time with my family in Orange County on Saturday decorating eggs. You can bet there were a few star wars ones.

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One of my least favorite things on holidays? Trying to get a good family picture. I’m know that my boys are little, wiggly and full of energy (especially with lots of holiday sugar) but, nonetheless, I still always fight to get a quality picture. At first, I thought that this was the best one we got yesterday, my eyes almost closed and all:

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Then, as I was looking through the photos on my camera, I came across this gem and realized that I like it even better. We are not perfectly posed, but that is real life. This captures my boys personalities and I love it.

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Hudson was much more into our neighbor’s dogs than finding eggs:

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Cookie decorating (the tongue is always out when he is super focused):

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My husband was inspired by a dish he saw Mario Batali make on Iron Chef and he decided to recreate it yesterday. It was his first attempt at homemade ravioli and it was delicious! They were egg-shaped with goat cheese, sage and an egg yolk inside. He cooked them perfectly- when you cut into them, a bit of the yoke ran to mix with the butter & parmesan to create a sauce. I was highly impressed!

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Happy April everyone!

I know I say this a lot, but I cannot believe that it is Friday again! This week has been fun but crazy (just ask the half painted bookshelf that has been hanging out in my garage since last Saturday…)

On Fridays, I share my instagram photos from the week both to recap life (a little scrapbook of sorts) and to link up with Jeannett at Life Rearranged.

Happy day after Valentine’s Day!

Last Saturday, we had dinner with friends and ended the night making ice cream with liquid nitrogen (thanks to my friend’s husband). It was really cool- definitely the first time I can say that dessert came from a science experiment :)

They approve of the ice cream:

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I don’t have a picture of this, but my husband preached on Sunday at our church. It was awesome! If you want to hear his sermon, you can hear it here.

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That night, my husband and I had date #5 out of 50 (our goal is 50 dates in 2013!). My husband, who is an incredible cook, made my favorite pasta from scratch. Here he is teaching Isaiah how to make the pasta dough:

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Side note: Daveed had always wanted to learn to make his own pasta. For Christmas 2 years ago, I signed him up for a class at Sur La Table. He loved it and has been making me fresh pasta ever since. The gift that keeps giving back to me :)

It takes a looooong time, so we fed the kids and then had our own dinner after the kids were asleep. He also made us tasty drinks and artichokes and we watched the Grammys while enjoying our amazing meal. Thanks babe for being awesome!

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Isaiah watched Mary Poppins for the first time (one of my childhood favorites!) and when the song “Step in Time” came on, he couldn’t help but get up and dance all over the house. It was hilarious!

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He found this book at the library and is so stoked to get crafting:

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The first line of the book is “may the glue gun be with you”.   :)

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Living in San Diego is great. It was 75 and beautiful today. I thought about going to the beach. In February. Also, there are so many cool things for kids to do here. All of the kindergarteners from Isaiah’s school got to go to Sea World this week for a field trip. He talked about it for weeks leading up to it and I am sure we will be hearing about it for weeks to come.

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I am so glad that I got to go with him. He held my hand often and wasn’t embarrassed in front of his friends. I know that is going to change some day, so I fully enjoyed his excitement over me being there.

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Isaiah’s valentines:

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I call this giving the kid what he wants while still making it crafty and homemade. I saw the idea on the blog Inchmark and he loved it, only to find (2 days before valentine’s day) that there was no downloadable template. Enter superdad and his photoshop skills.

At first, the perfectionist in me cringed a bit when Isaiah wanted to color all over them. I loved his sweet little hearts though. Makes star wars a bit cuter :)

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Valentine’s Week breakfast:

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The day before Valentine’s Day, we headed up to Santa Barbara to visit my husband’s grandma. She’s been sick and Valentine’s Day was her 85th birthday, so it was really special to be able to see her and share some love. The boys love their GG.

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When I married my husband, it was a great added plus that I got a grandma. I grew up without any grandparents, so it has been really special to get a grandma in my 20′s. She is wonderful and treats me as her own. We love you grandma!

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Thanks to my wonderful mother in law, we got to sneak away for the night and had brunch for our Valentine’s date (also date #6 of 50). Breakfast was delicious and we even had enough time to walk around State Street and shop a bit.

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I am so thankful for my man.

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It was a whirlwind trip, as we were back home less than 36 hours from when we left. Fun and good, but I am glad to be back at home, ready for a mellow weekend.

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I hope the love of Valentine’s Day spills over into the weekend for you friends!

Merry Christmas! Our family wishes you a beautiful day, reflecting upon the amazing gift of Jesus.

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photos by the wonderful megan ann photography

Thanksgiving is over, which means christmas time!!! It also means christmas music. Which also means that OUR CHRISTMAS ALBUM IS NOW AVAILABLE!!!! Woo~hoo!!!

My husband and I released a Christmas album last night and I am so proud of it. You can order it here.

To entice you a bit more, our kids sings on it. Cutest thing ever :)

My husband is having a black friday sale as well: if you purchase the Christmas album (“Bright Bright Bright” ) you can get his worship album, “Broken Hallelujah” for 50% off!

Also, today some of the vendors from the Queen Bee Market will be having a black friday sale on instagram. Look up the hashtag #qbmblackfriday and you’ll find lots of great stuff you can claim right there on instagram! I will be selling some of my holiday banners at discounted prices before I list them in my etsy shop. My instagram is @courttoney

Happy Christmastime everyone!

I was not planning on listing any thanksgiving banners in my etsy shop, as I am stocking up for Queen Bee Market, but after many people asked, I decided to make what I have in stock available to all of you :)

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There is a very limited availability of thankful, give thanks, happy thanksgiving and blessed banners available in the shop. Once they are gone, they are gone, so grab one while you can :)

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I will have more at The Queen Bee Market in Carlsbad, which is November 16 & 17. If you are local, I hope to see you there!

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**If you are my mother, don’t look at this post. Or just pretend to be surprised when you open your card this weekend :) **

I stumbled across a couple of super cute free downloadable Mother’s Day cards and wanted to share them.

This super cute card & tag is from my friend Lori at Paper & Thread.

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I love this simple watercolor card from How About Orange. So pretty!

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Now, back to figuring out what gift I am going to get for my mom…

I’m linking up to InstaFriday with Jeannett at LifeRearranged. Here is a look into my week through instagram photos:

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Isaiah’s valentines for his classmates. I had aspirations to make really creative ones, but then the reality of time set in. So I printed off some that I found on pinterest and Isaiah & tied lollipops to them. He didn’t want to give them to any of the girls in his class- ha! (I made him, of course) My husband was giving him tips on how to ask a girl to be his Valentine. Isaiah just started at him like he was crazy.

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Heart pancakes, heart watermelon and pink milk with heart straws. A sweet Valentine’s Day breakfast.

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Hearts. Heart mini banner I made for our mini banner stands (which will be in our shop soon!), heart sugar cookies & a glittery heart banner. I have fully enjoyed having pink, red & hearts around my house of boys.

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More pink milk with dinner (his favorite new drink). My husband & I made secret message valentines for Isaiah (thanks Pinterest!). We wrote him notes with a white crayon and then had him paint with watercolors over it to reveal the message. He loved it! The little card I made my hubby. Isaiah showing off his lips lollipop.

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To celebrate Valentine’s day, we decided to have a late dinner after the boys were asleep. My husband is an amazing cook. He treated me to homemade pasta, which is no simple process. He was in the kitchen for hours kneading the dough, rolling and  cutting the noodles and then made a delicious sundried tomato, pancetta & rosemary cream sauce and some steak as well.  It was amazing. Pretty much my favorite at-home meal ever. And having dinner at 9:00 and being able to have full conversations was awesome. I love that man.

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We used our china and family heirloom vintage waterford crystal. While wearing sweats. Because we are fancy like that.

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My husband, I mean my son *ahem*, got nerf guns for Christmas. At least 2 times a week, our home gets transformed into a war zone. One of my husband’s best friends lives in the other half of our duplex and he often gets sniped as he comes home from work. This turns into a half hour of nerf darts zooming all over our house. I have a feeling this is going to be a part of my life for years. It’s pretty entertaining to watch- funny boys.

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Hudson has had a bit of a rough week. Getting 3 teeth, has a bad diaper rash and has decided to express his new views on baths and diaper changes. He doesn’t like them. Which he gets across clearly by screaming at the top of his lungs, wiggling and standing making the task of cleaning him pretty much impossible. He also now has a bad cold. Despite it all, though, he is a happy little guy most of the time. I love coming into his room after his nap and finding him bouncing in his crib with a huge smile on his face.

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I went to an open house at a school that Isaiah may go to next year. Kindergarten. What????? I don’t know who told that kid he could get so big.

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Have a happy weekend! Daveed is up in the mountains for a high school winter camp, so we are laying low and hoping that Hudson’s bad cold goes away. Any tips on making a 1 year feel better?

print by etsy seller Love Sugar

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope that you have a joy-filled day celebrating the ones you love :)

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Our day, so far, has consisted of heart shaped pancakes & watermelon, pink milk with heart straws and mini cupcakes and valentines taken to preschool. I am so thankful for my three favorite men- my hubby & boys and I feel so blessed to have their love.

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When reading in my bible today, I came across a few lines in the study part (I have the ESV study bible) that I loved & thought I’d share:

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“Our love expresses our gratitude for God’s gracious love to us, and imitates it as a model” &  ”Love is a principle of action rather than of emotion”

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Happy love day!

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Also- if you want to see a super cute heart themed wedding, perfect for Valentine’s Day, hop over to Green Wedding Shoes. I love it all!

For our winter party, I wanted to make a heart wreath. I had a foam heart base left over from a baby shower I helped throw and my initial thought was to yarn wrap it. But- as I learned from that baby shower- yarn wrapping a heart takes WAY longer than it should. Like 2-3 hours long. I needed something I could start and finish during my boys afternoon nap.

I found a package of red heart doilies at the grocery store for $1.50 and thought that they would look cute wrapped around the wreath. It turned out great and- seriously- was SO easy and fast! I had the entire project done in about 20 minutes.

photo by Nikki Crockett

All you need is a foam heart wreath, a package of doily hearts and a glue gun. Under $10 total. Quick and cheap? My kind of project.

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You don’t need to do anything to the foam wreath- I wanted the white to show through the holes in the doilies. Starting at the bottom point of the heart, take a heart doily and wrap it around one side of the point. The doilies will not wrap all the way around the foam- you want to try to center them so they cover all of the visible area when you are looking at it straight on. Once you have it placed where you want it, lift up half of it and put a dot of hot glue on to anchor it. Then, I just dotted a bit of hot glue around the edges and gently pressed the doily down.

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Work your way up one side, slightly overlapping each doily. Sorry I don’t have any photos from the beginning- I totally forgot I was going to do a tutorial until about half way through :)

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On the straight bottom edges, the doilies lay flat very well. Once the heart starts to curve, it gets a bit trickier. I would place it where I wanted it, glue it down in the center and then play around with it a bit to get it to lay flat. You will have to fold or tear some of them on the back side to get them smooth.

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When you get to the top of the heart, make sure to line up the edge of the heart doily with the center point of the heart.

When you get to the top on the other side, slightly layer the last doily over the other center doily so that the point of the heart is covered.

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Glue down any pieces that are sticking up and you’re done!

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I finished mine off with some red and white striped grosgrain ribbon to hang it.

Every season, my husband and I throw a party, celebrating what we love about that time of year. You can see past parties here and here.

We had our winter party last weekend and it was SO much fun! Winter is always one of my favorites because we have a soup potluck- every guest brings a different type of soup and we get to sample them all. Yum!!

Since Valentine’s day is just around the corner, I dreamt up a white and red party with lots of hearts. It took a lot of convincing to get my husband on board with that vision, but after assuring him it wouldn’t be pink and cheesy, he gave in :)

This year, I have started having a guestbook-of sorts, where I have our friends write down their favorite things of the season. For this party, I had a large heart on the wall and had guests write their favorite things about winter on small hearts that we taped on. Being in San Diego, most comments revolved around it being 75 degrees. So much for fires, hot chocolate and sweaters!

Found a $1.50 package of red heart doilies at the grocery store and turn them into a wreath and garland.

We set up tables on the porch, which I covered with white sheets (much cheaper than renting linens for a small party at home!). On the long tables, I hung a simple white paper & bakers twine garland from a wooden stand that a friend made me.

I cut placemats using my cricut and found these heart napkins at Target- aren’t they perfect? Each place setting had a paper soup bowl and mason jars for sangria with heart paper straws. I purchased the plain white bowls on etsy and then stamped them and added a bit of bakers twine.

We also had one round table, on which I had one of the mini banner stands that we sell- making sure everyone knew that “we heart winter”.

I covered our dining table with striped wrapping paper (that I found for $0.50 after Christmas!) and put on another stand with a mini banner, saying “we heart soup”.

Even though it was in the 70′s that day, we had a great time celebrating winter with soup, sangria, good music and games.

You can recreate all of this decor easily for Valentine’s Day too!

A big thank you to my friend Nikki for coming early to take these photos. I am so appreciative!

Sources:

Photos: Nikki Crockett Photography

Straws & Bowls: etsy shop InTheClear

I linked up this blog with Mique’s Pity Party