Valentine's Decor

I'm CRAZY about Valentines Day and always have been. Other than Christmas, it's my favorite holiday to celebrate. Growing up my mom made even little holidays a big deal around our house and I loved it as a kid. So of course I want to do the same for my kids. I've had lots of fun decorating this year and worked with things I mostly had on hand. Here's a peek around my house this month.

Vtine quote on adorable sign stand my friend made for me (LOVE it):
I added this felt heart banner to a red plate I already had:
My mantle. I had the LOVE letters but they were covered in patterned paper so I redid them by wrapping them in yarn (do you love my new frame? - Allen hit it out of the park with my Christmas gifts this year - I love love love it!)
Beloved apothecary jars:
Dining room table:
Living room:
Kitchen window. I loved the ornaments in the window at Christmastime so much that I decided to do it again. At one point I thought I would decorate a tree for every holiday and bought a bunch of Valentine ornaments to use for that (what was I thinking?!?) (Excuse the flash, it is gloomy here today!)
Front Porch sign:
Add my new valentine pillows into the mix and we were completely DECKED out this month. It has been super fun and I will be sad to take it all down in a couple weeks! Be back soon with an update on our V-Day celebrations!

Back-to-School 2011

The kids went back to school last week! Where did the summer go?! Since the school Carter and Makenna go to has every Friday off (which we absolutely love), school starts a bit early here. We are slowly adjusting to having a schedule again and tweaking the routine to make sure everything runs smoothly again. Other than being on a more strict sleep schedule, the adjustment to being back in school has been pretty smooth. I'm still getting used to the drive and trying to adjust my little girls nap schedule so I'm not always waking them up to do pickup.

The night before school started we got supplies organized, school bags packed and paperwork filled out:


Allen gave the 3 oldest kids fathers blessings:


We made fancy caramel apples to give to the teachers on the first day (and a few extra to have as an after school snack). This is for sure my new go-to BTS teacher gift - they were a big hit!:



On Monday morning the kids were up and ready bright and early. We had a fun breakfast, took pictures and were out the door.


Carter wouldn't even let me come to his classroom with him. I dropped Makenna in her classroom with her bags of supplies and asked her if she wanted me to stay. I thought there might be some tears but she bopped right in, found her friends and waved goodbye. Just like that they were settled into school. Sigh. When did they get so old and independent?! After school drop-off I got together with some girlfriends and went to breakfast. I was surprised at how EASY everything felt having only two kids with me!

After school we had a little visit from the Back-to-School fairy. She brought Harry Potter Legos for Carter and new dresses for the girls with matching dresses for their American Girl dolls. Everything was a big hit! For dinner the kids chose to eat at Red Robin for a little BTS celebration and we talked about their first day! Everything seemed to go off without a hitch and they both seem very happy in their classes.

Miss Addison starts preschool (!!!!) after Labor Day and I just can't believe she is already old enough to go. She is anxious to start and asks me every day when it will be her turn for school!

Here are my BTS decorations.
My jars have crayons, rulers, apples and wooden letter magnets in them.

Dining room table:
(shhh... I just might be counting down the days until September when I can pull out my FALL home decor!!)

Welcome Summer!

Ok, not really. It feels anything but summery here today and the weather this week is supposed to get even more cold, rainy and windy (such a weird spring weather-wise). Anyway, I always feel like there is a weird decorating lull between Easter and the 4th of July and decided to do something about it this year! It's a bit early to have summer decor up but I know the next couple weeks are CRAZY with end of year activities and then the kids will be home so I decided to get it done while I can.

To me nothing says summer like bright and citrusy colors. I've been crafting like crazy this week. On my front door:



{The wreath is straight on my door, I promise. Somehow I didn't manage to get my camera straight though}


Summer banner:

Apothecary jars:

{I glittered the turquoise and orange balls and they didn't quite go according to plan but it is DONE enough for me. The small jar has gummy sour watermelon candy!}

We have a busy summer this year. On the schedule is piano lesson and swimteam for both C&M, Swim lessons for Addie, Dance camp for the girls, Star wars camp for Carter, 10 day trip to Denver, 1 week trip to Florida for the Frost family reunion and hopefully lots of relaxing, days by the pool and good times. I have some fun ideas up my sleeve for this summer so stay tuned!