1. ruffle socks from Pink Bow Bath Boutique 2. floral clothespins 3. picture frame 4. whatever art print {in the shop} 5. rose candle holder 6. ruffle clutch 7. 1 yard each light pink & bright pink ruffle ribbon 8. set of 4 ruffle note cards with envelopes 9. posy ring from Poppy & Pearl Co. 10. ruffle apron

A few highlights:

Isn’t this ring the prettiest thing? Bobbi from Poppy & Pearl Co. makes a few different styles that are so lovely.

{click the image to visit her shop}

The ruffle-topped socks are really fun too. They add a pretty, feminine look to skinny jeans and boots when left peaking out of the top.

Visit Pink Bow Bath Boutique to shop

The ruffly apron is from Pier One … they have a few cute options … don’t you think making dinner is more fun when you are wearing a girly apron?!

A random winner will be selected on February 29th

{the comments are closed on this post. Make sure you click on the button to enter}

Country Living featured this version of a homemade memory game in the December issue.

Since my little potty-mouth loves playing games, I thought it would make a special christmas gift.  After thinking through different objects I could use on the cards, I decided on a photo of each of the kids in our extended family. Then I figured I should create a game for each of the families and the idea for cousin memory was born.

There are 11 cousins {with one more on the way} so I used a photo of each little darling on two cards each.

A combination of photoshop, illustrator and digital printable papers {plus the cousins’ cute faces} made for a colorful and special memory game.

I followed the instructions from Country Living {printed the images, cut to size, used spray adhesive to attach to mat board}. I probably should have sealed them with mod-podge, but I didn’t finish the games until the night before our family christmas celebration, so I skipped that part.

The kids think it is fun to see their faces on playing cards.

You could do a similar project using any image or clipart that is meaningful to you:

memorable locations {first date, vacation, first house} for a special game for your spouse

favorite toys for your kids

items around the house to help a toddler learn objects

colors

shapes

gardening images for a gardener in your life

I could go on and on. But I’ll stop.

All to say, it is a simple and inexpensive project that makes a delightful gift.

You can read the original Country Living article here.

Let’s start with the most pressing issue that I’m hoping you can give some mommy-wisdom about.

Potty talk.

See this sweet four-year-old face? He looks innocent enough.

But each morning, without fail, I’ll say “Good morning Mason!” and this is his response:

Seriously. If its not fart, its a phrase that includes some combination of poop, pee, head or eyeball.

He’s got a potty mouth.

I know it may be normal – especially for four-year-old boys – but I’m not a big fan. The older boys were never this bad and so we are at a loss for how to deal with it. Half the time we laugh {because he seriously is funny and just so cute} and half the time he sits in time out. But neither are very effective.

So, any tips for banishing potty talk? I’d love your advice. I wish there was a chapter in Mrs Piggle Wiggle about the topic and I would give her cure a try.

I’ve been wanting to make these apple chips for a while and finally gave them a try this weekend.

They were very easy to make, taste great and I would definitely make them again.

Are you a Bachelor watcher? I am. Pure smut, but I love it. I’m behind a week, so don’t tell me who is off.

Want to know how I justify my Bachelor enjoyment? I say it is Biblical. Have you read the story of Queen Esther? King Xerxes was the Bachelor and Queen Esther received the final rose after he dated lots and lots of eligible bachelorettes. Read the story for yourself here. And if you want a more in depth study of the story of Esther, the Beth Moore study is pretty much amazing.

P.S. I’m kidding … I don’t think dating 25 women at once is biblical. It just does sort of happen in the Bible. Not saying its how it should be done and clearly the results aren’t all that great since nearly every couple breaks up in the end.

Carnations were buy one get one free at the grocery store last week, so I grabbed two bunches.

Even carnations can be so beautiful when clustered tightly together. For $4.99 I have pretty flowers on my coffee table that will last at least a week {another benefit of cheap flowers – they last forever}.

The winner of the JANUARY GIVEAWAY is …

Congratulations! Please send me a note with your address and I’ll pop your package full of kiddie delights in the mail.

The February Giveaway is coming soon …

For those of you who use Mac computers and are not quite sure how to use the symbols on the new Fancy font or the Emily font, I have created a short video sharing how to find and use them.

I hope this is helpful.

If you need help installing the font to your computer, I did a short tutorial at the end of this post: 25 Favorite Fonts

And if you are using a PC, there is a photo tutorial for how to install fonts at the end of this post: My Handwriting Font

You know you need a new mattress when you willingly choose a queen size blow-up bed on the floor of the guest room over your own king size bed in your own room.  Maybe we’re just getting old but our backs were hurting and my arms and hands were going numb which were not enjoyable ways to wake up each day.  One night we decided to try out the airbed that was still inflated from Christmas house guests and we’ve been sleeping on it since.  Its actually surprisingly comfortable. And no sore backs or numb limbs. However, it would be nice to move back into our room and sleep on our own big bed, so we’re now in the market for a new mattress. Any suggestions?

Are you bored of my randomness yet?

Hmmm … what else do I have for you …

I read this book and loved it. I mean, really loved it.

My best friend and I are starting this new bible study. Very excited about it.

I’ve been on a pin-fest. You can see my pinterest boards here.

This song is really good.  Sometimes I just listen to it on repeat really loud. It drowns out the kids in the back. You should try it sometime.

My brain feels better. Thanks for letting me ramble about these very random tidbits.

{ 1 . 2 }

Years ago, my former boss brought me back a calligraphy pen and ink from her trip to Italy. I was so excited to try it out and figured it would be super easy to turn my handwriting into calligraphy with just the flick of a nib {that’s the technical term for the metal pieces that go in the pens – not to be confused with my go-to treat, the twizzler nib}.

It didn’t go so well.

Then I met Lindsay {of Lindsay Letters – who created that fabulous O Holy Night print and will be debuting a new LOVE print here on the blog in just a few days} and figured since she is a pro, she could surely give some pointers and it wouldn’t be too hard.

Again, the pen and ink proved too complicated for my impatient hands {have you ever tried it? the ink sure does splatter!}

I have yet to learn how to use a real calligraphy pen {although it is on my list of skills to master someday} and have just stuck with my fake calligraphy technique. I thought I’d share it with you today.

First, choose a good fine tip ink pen.

I usually like these pilot precise extra fine pens the best, but just bought the foray stylemark at the office store and it’s a good one too.

Now, write your letter. You can do it in pencil first if you prefer, or just freehand.

To give your letter the calligraphy look, you will need to make all of the down strokes thicker and filled in {as if you were writing with an angled calligraphy pen}.

Every time your pen stroke goes downward {as seen with the arrows above}, just draw a close line and fill it in.

See how easy it is?

Here’s another example.  I wrote the word love in cursive:

then filled in the down strokes:

Doesn’t it look fancy?  You can transform your handwriting to make it look like calligraphy very simply and easily with just a few extra pen strokes.

If you would like a faster way to make fancy handwriting, I have created a new font for you using my own fake calligraphy.

Isn’t it cute?!! You get a full alphabet with lots of extra symbols, doodles and words.

Now its even easier to fake calligraphy.

Purchase the new fancy font by clicking the button below.

So here I am, in all my colorful glory:

#1   cardigan: old navy   shirt: old navy    jeans: seven flare    flats: old navy {p.s. I should have put on makeup}

#2   sweatshirt: banana republic   long-sleeve: marshalls   jeans: seven dojo   flats: old navy

cute flower in my hair: allora handmade tulle fluff {click here to shop}

#3   shirt: ann taylor loft   jeans: banana republic wide leg   slippers: oldies from target   ring: stella & dot

#4   shirt: target   long-sleeve: target   jeans: seven a-pocket   boots: even older oldies from nordstrom

#5   puffy vest: gap   long sleeve: marshalls   jeans: seven dojo   hat: my son’s {i’ve always had a pretty small head …}

#6   I am a walking advertisement for target – all but the boots were purchased there.  boots: dsw {civico 10 remmington riding boots}

One good perk of taking photos of my outfits is being able to see what I look like through different eyes. And now that I know, I will never again wear outfit #5.

Valentine’s Day is commercial … yes, I agree … but it is special, too.

It gives us an excuse to bake a cherry pie

 to serve our kids pink milk and pie crust cookies for an after school snack

to sip hot cocoa with heart-shaped marshmallows out of a dainty teacups

and indulge in frosting covered cupcakes.

It encourages us to send our loved ones handwritten notes

and deliver prettily packaged treats to our friends.

I like that Valentine’s Day has turned February into the month of sharing the love.

I was inspired by Valentine’s Day when creating the JDC | monthly february collection.

It is full of red, pink, whimsical flowers and fancy writing.

And is available now.

To receive these printable goodies, and new ones each month, you are invited to join JDC | monthly. It is just $7.99 per month {your first month is free!}.

{to learn more, please click here}

For a day or two.

And it was.

Then the temperatures rose and fell and we woke to this:

The most spectacular icicles I have ever seen.

Each tiny branch, each little leaf was covered in ice. Frozen solid.

It was so beautiful, this ice storm.

But equally destructive.

Many trees could not hold the weight of the ice and they split. Branches fell on houses, roads and power lines. Which meant major power outages for hundreds of thousands of us around here. It was a crazy week.

. . .

I had a lot of work to do. I had a list of things I wanted to do. And a list of things I needed to do. Pretty much all of those went out the window.

School was canceled and the roads weren’t very safe, so we were home bound for the entire week – which is not normal for me. I like to get out. I like running errands. I like when the kids go to school.

On Thursday morning we woke to no power. I think this was the first time the boys can remember not having power and it was fun to see their excitement and curiosity about it.

When I explained what it meant to be without electricity, No. 2 said excitedly, “so that means you can’t use your computer?!!”.

Ouch.

So we played Uno and drank hot cocoa warmed on the gas stove and waited for daddy to make it home from work.  Then we spent the next two days with friends who have generators and made a party out of it.

We painted our nails. We read magazines. We collected icicles. We played with flashlights. We gathered for meals.

It was a really nice vacation right in our own neighborhood. With amazing friends who take care of each other.

It was not the week I had planned. I am behind on work projects. I didn’t get to do the errands I wanted to run or the tasks I needed to accomplish.

But I’m pretty sure this week was just what my kids needed.

And probably me too.