Knock knock just recently sent me a few parenting products that they just added in stock, that I love. Since I started blogging over 4 years ago, I stopped journaling. That's a pretty big deal since I've been semi-regularly journaling since I was 6. My very first journal entries were all practically the same (which I find so hilarious). Why did I think it was so important to journal that I had breakfast?

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Roughly translated, here's what it says:

Sunday 4-1991 (I was 6 1/2). Today we ate breakfast, and then we ate lunch. We went to church. Today it is ma may. Today we went to school. I went to go home. I got a snack. I got (something). I watched TV. I loved watching TV.

May 1991  Thursday is May. My mom had her birthday today. I gave mom a note on Peggy's birthday. Mom had a happy birthday. We had a good breakfast.

Gosh, I can't believe that was 20 years ago this month!

Whenever Penelope does something funny, I often think oh I'll remember this forever. Of course that's never the case. I was overjoyed to get Knock Knock's parenting journal. It's full of hilarious quotes & it focuses on the imperfections of parenting. The front cover really says it all

(click on image to enlarge)

Since receiving the journal I've written in it pretty much every other night; if not, every night. It's great to document all of the Penelope-isms & track Felix's growth. Oh, Felix ROLLED OVER today. WHA? Penelope didn't roll over until she was at least six months. I'm in trouble.

Knock Knock also sent along Parenting Flash Cards (so hilarious & the perfect gift for first-time parents) and a Let's Pretend Pad. Chris & I  just laughed & laughed while we read the parenting flash cards. They're hilarious!

I'm not sure if Penelope is old enough to play with the Let's Pretend pad, but after she seemed so interested in air stories last night, I might give it a try soon. Just barely I've started telling air stories to Penelope; it was something that my parents did for me as a kid. I loved those! Basically my parents would sit at the foot of our beds & we'd all contribute to a made up story. It was so fun!

Knock Knock was so nice to send these goodies my way & offer to sponsor a giveaway. I gladly accepted for a few reasons:

• I love everything Knock Knock
• I need a journal
• I want you to share your playtime activities with me

Yeah, I need ideas for things to do with Penelope. We're in a rut these days. All we ever do is go to the park, run errands or watch TV together. Every once in a while I'll bust out the paints or playdough, but other than that, our days are pretty boring.

SO, if you're interested in some free Knock Knock stuff, I'd want your best ideas for fun activities to do with 3 year olds. Let the best idea win! Here are the contest guidelines:

• Check out knockknock.biz - they've got cool gifts & organizational products for parents & (non-parents, too). What's your favorite item?
• Comment, leaving your best idea for a fun, kid-centered activity
• Comment on THIS POST by Tuesday, May 3, 11:59pm MST
• Only 1 (one) comment per person
• No need to be a parent to enter
• Open to US residents only
• 1(one) winner will be chosen by me & announced Wednesday, May 4

I'm sure It'll be super hard to decide on a best idea, I know. I'll be featuring my favorite ideas here as I do them with Penelope & let you know how they go! Thanks for your ideas in advance!

I painted my nails red yesterday. I feel so girly & put together when I have a fresh, bright coat of paint on my nails.

• top: hand-me-down from Carrie
• belt: thrifted, $1
• jeggings: H&M, $15
• shoes: Alice + Olivia for Payless, $30

TOTAL: $46

I've been working on graphic design today (can't wait to share it with you!), so there's not much going on besides that. I have decided (thanks to all of your kind, but honest comments - they don't always go hand in hand so thank you!) to say goodbye to the living room lamp. If you want to rescue it from craft hell, it'll be waiting for you at the 45th South D.I.. But seriously- if you really want it, just email me. I'll let you have it for free. You just have to send me pictures of what you end up doing with it; whether it's shooting it with your 12 gauge shotgun, hog-tying it to the front of your truck as a hood ornament or actually rescuing it & making it look awesome. Penelope had a great idea yesterday for repurposing the toilet paper shade - a LEG LAMP! How brilliant is that for a Halloween costume? Penelope always sports bare legs & my heels around the house as it is, so adding a lamp atop her head is perfect. I was literally rolling on the floor laughing when I discovered her in the living room wearing this shade. Who is this girl? How did she become so hilarious?! I love Penelope.

Last year's Easter outfits were really fun to shop for, but this year I wanted to make something (like my mom did for us girls when were young). I didn't have much of anything in mind when it came to our outfits; especially with Penelope's, I just flew by the seat of my pants on that one. I just knew I wanted the boys to have matching bow-ties. I came across this rad bed sheet a few weeks ago & scored it for a whopping $2.50. I fell in love with the ikat-style pattern, the muted color palette and the hem. I hate hemming clothes, so I was particularly excited when I saw how great the hem was on this bedsheet. Inspired by the Cotton & Curls's paper bag skirt tutorial, I made a paper bag-type skirt with a few differences. Because I wanted a fuller skirt, I opted out of the box pleats & did an elastic waistband instead. Want to make your own? It's super simple:

• measure your waist & the length you want your skirt
• cut out fabric 2.5 times the width of your waist (for a full skirt like mine) at the desired length + 1 inch (two inches if you need to hem the bottom, too)
• hem the top & bottom of your skirt using a 1" hem
• cut out elastic at the same measurement as your waist
• pin the elastic about 1 inch down from the top of your skirt, in sections of eighths
• using your widest zig-zag stitch sew the elastic onto your skirt, stretching the elastic to match up with the fabric as you go
• sew the two ends of the skirt together & trim threads
• wear the skirt with a belt just below the ruffled top
• VOILA!!

If you'd like pics of this tutorial, give me a shout out in the comments & I'll get one published soon. For Penelope's dress, I flew by the seat of my pants. Again, being inspired by the box pleats from cotton & curls, I thought if I did a square dress + pin-tucks at the yoke + a ribbon around the waist, it'd be simple & still have shape. Done. Perfect. Looking back, I think I would've made her dress a little shorter. On the bright side, she is growing like a weed, so the length will be perfect in a month or two. BONUS, Penelope likes this dress!! YAHOO. She was more than happy to wear this ALL day, which says a lot. She opts to sport just the diaper most of the time. I totally cheated on the bow ties. I meant to make real bow ties, but since my sewing machine was almost completely broken at this point, I just made bows with my hot glue gun & glued them onto elastic. I cheated, but at least Chris (and his brother) didn't have to learn how to tie a bow tie just minutes before church. Each bow tie I made took 2-3 minutes. Not bad. Overall, I spent under $3 (including notions) for our Easter elements. For more pictures & a break down of all of our Easter outfits, head over to the fashion section.

• top: thrifted & refashioned, $6
• belt: thrifted, $1
• jeggings: H&M, $10
• boots: thrifted, $4

TOTAL: $21  

Since working on my hand-lettering, I've sort of looked for every excuse possible to address snail mail. So naturally I'm going to go all out on invitations for Penelope. Right? I feel like invitations are the key to any party. The invitations are supposed to give  a preview to what can be expected at a party. In this case: dinosaurs, pink & orange. For the design, I used my own handwriting, Bebas (my fave) & Gotham. I hand-illustrated the dinosaurs & heart. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE INVITATIONS I kept the invitations simple. The envelopes were just the perfect size for a quarter sheet of paper, so I ganged up 4 designs to a page & made sure that the design didn't have any bleeds so I could just cut the 8.5x11 inch paper in fourths. Once the design was done it took about 30 minutes to cut, stuff, seal & address the envelopes. Easy peasy. I only sent out 10 invitations, so addressing them with my super fancy handwriting took no time. Instead of licking every single envelope (I know there were only 10), I made a dino sticker (using Avery's 2" labels) and stuck that on the back. Looking back this would've been the perfect place to put the return address, but that'll just have to wait until next time.

• C L I C K   H E R E   T O   S E E   T H E   P A R T Y   D E T A I L S •

• C L I C K   H E R E   T O   S E E   T H E   F A V O R S   •

Saturday's dino brunch plans went without a hitch! I had invited just her aunts & uncles over for a little brunch to celebrate her third birthday. A few aunts & uncles couldn't make it so there were only 8 of us. It's so much easier to plan a small party like that! So much easier, in fact, that I sorta went overboard. I mailed out invitations, made napkins with dinosaur decals on them, calligraphed place cards & made little favors. I was just so thrilled how everything turned out, I can't help but be so excited to share it with all of you.

• T H E   M E N U •

The menu was simple, but coordinated with the party colors: orange, yellow & pink. I served cut fruit - pineapple, strawberries & oranges; fruit-garnished yogurt; dyed, hard-boiled eggs; lemon water & my own variation on Lemon Pull-Aparts. Since the theme was obviously dinosaurs, it was so fun to play into the theme with hard-boiled eggs. I used the same Dying method that I used last week & arranged the eggs in a "nest" of coordinating tissue paper.

I switched up the Lemon Pull-Aparts by baking them in cupcake cups & adding strawberries to the glaze. I consider them a breakfast version of cupcakes. YUM!

I believe I spent about $25 on the food. Again, I kept the menu super simple.

• T H E   D E C O R •

I didn't have to do too much for the decor. I already had the orange table cloth & the garlands (from decorating Penelope's old room), so that was simple & easy! I had found the yellow display thing at a thrift store ages ago and took this party as an opportunity to give it new life. I just spray painted it a bright yellow.

My mother-in-law gave me the yellow cupcake stand a while ago for my birthday & I just recently picked up the large cake plate from Target for $14. I thought that was a great deal for a white ceramic cake plate.

I made the napkins from the same fabric I used to make Penelope's chevron pillow & just cut it with pinking shears as I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time ironing & sewing (especially since my sewing machine is on the fritz). I made little brachiosaurus decals using my Silhouette & flocked iron-on material & used that to decorate the corners of the napkins. The napkins cost little to nothing to do (besides the cost of buying pinking shears, but I've needed a pair for ages).

The yellow dinosaurs were a $1 Walmart find & I spray panted those bright yellow to match the decor. I found the rad sparkle ribbon at Michael's for $2. This was a great decoration idea, as it's a toy for Penelope afterward! I was considering hollowing them out & planting wheat grass in them (like these dinos via here), but there was no time & I'm sure Penelope would've made a big mess out of them anyway.

The Lemon Water dispenser was one of the big ticket items at $20 (great deal, though!). I found it at Target. There was a yellow one available, which would've been perfect for this party, but I feel like white is a little more versatile in the long run.

While I was at Michael's picking up frames & various party supplies I came across this T-Rex hat for $4. It doesn't match any part of the decor, but I couldn't help get it for Penelope because it's so adorable. She has a similar tiger hat that she wears all the time.

I bought the yellow bucket from Target for $2.50. It's a pretty rad vase, except that it leaks. Luckily, I can fit a mason jar in there no sweat. The white flowers (chrysanthemums?) cost $5 & the daffodils & tulips were from a neighbor's front yard (thanks, Judy!).

• T H E   G I F T •

The biggest ticket item was Penelope's gift. It's pretty much the whole reason why I had a dino-themed brunch in the first place. I can't remember whose blog I found it on (Ardor? Say Yes to Hoboken?), but someone posted about these rad Noah's ark toys ($$!) and while browsing through the rest of the shop to see if there was something more along my price range, I came across this dinosaur story box! It took some consideration, since I don't normally spend $70 on toys. However, considering the coolness & handmade factors, it was worth it. I bought it back in March & believe me it was SO HARD to wait until Penelope's birthday to give it to her. She loves her new toy. I'm so glad I got it for her!

• P E N ' S   S H I R T •

I purchased this pink shirt at Walmart for $3 &  added the dino decal. Penelope LOVES it. It took about 5 minutes to make since I already designed the dino graphic for the invitations & favors.

• T H E   F A V O R S •

The favors were pretty simple. As I've already mentioned before, I designed & printed everything in house, so my costs for the actual bags were nil. I just spent $5 on the jelly beans & chocolate eggs.

We had a great time hanging out & giving Penelope some much-needed attention. I was so happy that everything went as planned (actually better!). Even though I perhaps went a little overboard, it was a lot less stressful than last year's party. I kept things fairly simple & reused where I could. Overall I was pretty cheap. Including everything, I spent less than $170 (and that includes everything - even my splurge on P's toy). Besides the food, everything I purchased can be used again for future entertaining, thus reducing the cost by quite a bit. I have a feeling I'll be entertaining quite a bit in the future between all of our birthdays, so I may as well invest in some good party supplies.

I'll be posting her invitations tomorrow & the printable version of the favor pouches soon. Stay tuned.

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• C L I C K   H E R E   T O   S E E   T H E   F A V O R S   •

I had a great time making/assembling our matching outfits for Easter, dispite my broken sewing machine. ME:

• earrings: thrifted, $1
• top: H&M, $10
• necklace: Vintage Oddity, $18
• belt: thrifted, $1
• skirt: handmade, $1
• shoes: thrifted BCBG, $9

TOTAL: $39 CHRIS:

• shirt: Nordstrom Rack, $30
• bowtie: handmade, $.50
• belt: sorta handmade, $15
• slacks: Target, $20
• shoes: Macy's, gift

TOTAL: $65.50   FELIX:

• bowtie: handmade, $.50
• onesie: carter's, gift
• leggings: handmade, gift
• socks: hand-me-down

TOTAL: $.50 PENELOPE:

• dress: handmade, $1
• leggings: Target, $5
• shoes: thrifted kenneth cole, $3

TOTAL: $9   My brother-in-law got a bowtie, too. Scott went to church with us today, so we were one matchy-matchy-matchy-matchy-matchy family! FAMILY TOTAL: $115 We had all of the other clothes on-hand, so the "Easter bits" only cost us $2.50. Pretty freaking rad.  

Our neighbors watched Penelope while we went out tonight. Hooray for babysitting swaps!

• top: Forever 21, $17
• necklace: Vintage Oddity, $18
• jeans: Forever 21, $15
• shoes: thrifted, $3

TOTAL: $53

Chris took the day off work & took the kids. After the insanity of taking care of Penelope this week, it was much appreciated.

• top: thrifted, $3
• necklace: vintage oddity, $18
• jeggings: walmart, $13
• shoes: thrifted nine west, $5

TOTAL: $39

3 years ago today, my life was forever changed for the better. Miss Penelope Pearl came into this world! I can't believe she's three years old now. It's just nutso. She's growing up really fast (although when she smears poop all over her door, not fast enough). She's so fun to dance with, talk to, cuddle with & just be around in general. I wouldn't be nearly the person I am without her & her amazing spunk. A few weeks ago, Petite Lemon sent me this adorable growth chart for Penelope & Felix (they will share a room at some point). They even printed it in the colors of my choice (that's my favorite). Penelope loves to point out all the different animals – the stegosaurus being her favorite. Did I mention she loves dinosaurs? I love the quality of their canvas growth charts. Even though Penelope has ripped this thing off the wall too many times to count, you'd never notice by looking at it. She has even gone so far as to crumple the thing up & the ink didn't crack or chip. Granted it's only a few weeks old, but Penelope has been one crazy girl recently. She destroyed her computer in a matter of minutes; she yanked all the keys off & broke the springs while doing so. Her nickname is destructor and it most certainly fits.Good luck & Happy Earth Day!

After giving it much thought, I need help. But not in the psychiatric way, thank heavens. I'm so excited to see my blog growing as much as it has, but if I want to keep up with the demand of it all (and not neglect the kiddies), I need to take on an intern. I'm looking for someone who's:

• 18 or older
• Lives in Salt Lake area
• Has own transportation
• Has some social media experience
• Has HTML/wordpress experience (a plus but not required)
• has a computer & know how to use it
• Motivated & honest
• Can give ~10 hours a week (during daylight hours) to help with emails, orders, sponsors, tutorials, editorial calendar, etc.

The perks of being my intern:

• Learn the ins & outs of social media & its platforms
• Learn calligraphy, sewing, design & whatever else your heart desires
• Have use of my studio & tools
• Some monetary compensation given (on commission basis)

This position would be great for someone (student or otherwise) looking for experience in social media/arts & crafts/design. It is a 2 month commitment with the possibility of becoming a long-term, better-paid position. Please submit resumes to ISLYBLOG at GMAIL dot COM. Thanks!!  

Right now I'm working on getting all of the final details of Penelope's birthday Dino brunch ready. Like I mentioned yesterday, I'm totally getting carried away, but I'm having SO much fun! I just finished making the favors - packaged dino eggs. I just bought Sweettarts jelly beans (SO YUM!) and Reeces pieces peanut butter eggs & filled my little favor bags. For the bags, I designed & printed the chevron on lightweight paper, then cut the pouches out using my Silhouette. For the stickers, I used Bebas font & my own writing along with my own hand-illustrated dinosaur. I printed them on Avery 2" circular labels & stuck them to the outside of the pouch with glitter ribbon underneath. The chevron was inspired by this gorgeous (and ridiculously expensive) swimsuit & the pouch was inspired by these pouches. Both of which I wouldn't have found if it weren't for Pinterest. I've been avoiding signing up for yet another time waster. I've avoided it for just about a year. But then caved this last week. It's actually been great since I've joined. I've wasted way more time on it than I should, but I've found so many awesome & inspiring things on there!! If you'd like to sign up, leave a comment. I'll send you an invitation.

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• C L I C K   H E R E   T O   S E E   T H E   I N V I T A T I O N S   •

 

Today my sister & nephew came over to visit & dye easter eggs with us. It's been at least 8 years since I've done it & both Em & I had no idea where to start. So, thanks to Not Martha (via Designmom) we got instructions for dying Easter eggs & they turned out perfectly. I don't ever remember getting my Easter eggs this saturated when I'd dye eggs back in the day. This Saturday our little family will be celebrating Penelope's THIRD (!!) birthday with a pink & yellow dinosaur-themed brunch. It's going to be a small affair, but my mind is going wild with ideas on how to make it a fun/special day for her. Just today I thought it would be so fun to have dyed hard-boiled eggs. Get it? Dino Eggs! I know I'm biting off WAY more than I can chew –as usual– but I just can't wait to see the surprise & excitement on her face when she sees her favorite things in one room: dinosaurs, aunts & uncles.

It's nuts that it was just 2 months ago Felix came into this world! The time has flown by, but it feels like he's been part of our family forever. Do you ever get that way with friends or new family members? Felix is a dream baby, I'm very fortunate that he's been so easy. All he does is eat, sleep & suck on his pacifier. Fattening him up is coming along quite nicely. Look at those side rolls!! I love chubby babies. This is quite possibly my favorite photo that I've taken of him so far. It's like he's shouting for joy, "I've made it to two months!"

Gosh, I love these Forever 21 sleeved dresses. I can't get enough.

• dress: Forever 21, $15
• cardigan: local boutique, $15
• belt: thrifted, $1
• shoes: Urban Outfitters, $10
• purse: refashioned, free

TOTAL: $41

This weekend was crazy productive!! Chris & I replaced the serpentine belt on our car for under $50. The dealership wanted to charge us nearly $500. TAKE THAT sucka! I was thrilled that we (mostly Chris) were able to do that ourselves. After that, I taught a fabulous calligraphy workshop. It's always so rewarding to see how much everyone learns & improves over the course of 2 hours. I had a blast & I hope everyone else did, too. It was so fun to meet some wonderful new ladies & practice calligraphy. I didn't take any pics or record any video (it was much too busy with Penelope & Felix for Chris to do it), so I'll be hosting another class in the near future so I can get it filmed.In the mean time, if you'd like to stay updated on when the online course will be available, click here to receive the email. Dani, who was the one motivating me to teach the class in the first place, brought a GIGANTIC box of goodies. These goodies ranged from sweaters, vintage (never been used) bed sheets, to ribbons & holiday decorations! It was like Christmas going through the pile of goodies. One of the sweaters was the above Banana Republic sweater. My cousin & I were wondering when Banana actually sold that thing. The late '90s? The thick knit as a tank really doesn't work, in my opinion. Seeing as the tank was perfectly symmetrical, I thought it'd make a much cuter hand bag than anything else. Here's what I did:

• I flipped the top inside out
• matched up the side seams at the armpit & hem
• drew a curved line across the bottom
• sewed a tight stitch along that line
• cut off excess fabric
• turned back right-side out

All that took less than 10 minutes to do. It gives a bohemian/hippy look to me with the knit & camel color. I dig it. Do you?

Me -

• cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft, gift
• cami: DownEast Basics, $2.50
• belt: thrifted, $1
• skirt: handmade, $2.50 (fabric c/o Lost Bird Found)
• shoes: Uptown Cheapskate, $30

TOTAL: $36 Pen -

• cardigan: thrifted, $2
• dress: handmade, $2 (fabric c/o Lost Bird Found)
• socks: no clue
• shoes: thrifted Kenneth Cole Reaction, $2

TOTAL: $6

• top: DownEast Basics, $10
• belt: thrifted, $1
• skirt: H&M, $5
• shoes: H&M, $10

TOTAL: $26

For Christmas, my parents gave Penelope & each of her cousins a Melissa & Doug alphabet set. I love it. The primary colors, hidden illustrations  & simple wood letters are adorable! However, Penelope had a really hard time playing with it. Maybe she's a little young for it, or maybe I just got so annoyed at her chewing & throwing the letters around. Every time we played with the alphabet it was more like a game of 52 card pick up. And I was always the one picking up. It really is a shame when you have such high hopes for a toy & it completely backfires. For the last little bit I've been thinking that perhaps Penelope & I could get more use out of the letters if they were magnets. Last night I picked up a roll of magnetic stripping & spent over an hour sticking little magnets to the backs of each letter. I was really excited to see Penelope's reaction in the morning. Her reaction wasn't so awesome. She kept screaming "I DON'T LIKE IT!" While she picked off every magnet of each letter she got her hands on. It took me another hour to clean up & glue the magnets back on; this time Penelope was "helping". Now she likes them. I think. I'm pretty sure she'll have fun playing around with the letters now. If not, I definitely will.

I guest posted over at a friend's blog two weeks ago & I totally spaced sharing it with you!! Bri over at Collected asked me if I would share with her readers my collections. I don't really collect so much as I hoard from thrift stores. I guess a better way to put it is: I collect good deals. Click on over to Collected to read more about my collections. Today & tomorrow are the last two days to sign up for my calligraphy class! There are two more spots available, so hurry & sign up! For you out-of-towners, I'm going to have my sweet hubs record the class, so I can offer that plus an e-book on how to practice calligraphy. It may be a month or two before it's available, but I thought I'd let y'all know it's coming!

I think Pen might grow up to be a photographer. She loves playing around with my timer & camera equipment.

• earrings: AnnilyGreen, $4
• top: H&M, $10
• cuff: handmade, $2
• jeans: Forever 21, $15
• shoes: Urban Outfitters, $10

TOTAL: $39

I bought these white canvas shoes at the thrift store a couple of months ago (for $2!) & they've been sitting in my 'to do' pile ever since! I've been in a painting mood lately so I went to town on them today. My attention span is much too short to do the same thing on both shoes, so I switched things up. The chevron shoe is my favorite, though. I think I'm going to consider these a work in progress because I think it'd be really cool to cover every inch of these shoes in fun, bright patterns. Have you ever painted shoes before? I think it's perfect for little kids' shoes because it doesn't matter if they get scuffs or dirty. Just add more paint!

This is what I wore to paint the legs of my kitchen chairs. The maintenance guy stopped by & said if I wore heels I'd be a regular June Cleaver. Dresses while projecting on a warm day are actually quite comfortable.

• dress: thrifted, $6
• belt: thrifted, $1
• shoes: Forever 21, $10

TOTAL: $17

I went out to Cafe Rio with the sisters today. YUM!

• cardigan: thrifted, $4
• dress: Forever 21, $13 (my fave dress, ever!)
• wedges: thrifted, $3

TOTAL: $20

I had so much fun designing last year's Easter candy box, I just had to make another one. With Easter just around the corner, you've got just enough time to print, cut & assemble these little bad boys to give to friends, family or house guests for the Easter Holiday. This printable includes a lid that has "Happy Easter" on the top, but if you're looking to use this box for an occasion other than Easter, just punch a hole in the bottom box, thread coordinating ribbon through & use it as a little basket for goodies! Click the button below to download. This printable is free for personal use and should not be distributed without my consent. If you would like to use this for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

Here's my DIY dress code:

• ponytail
• nerdy glasses (thank you, insurance)
• husband's old polo
• cheap leggings
• gross shoes (which were too gross to bring inside)

Despite the depressing weather this weekend, we got quite a bit of projecting done! We sanded the dresser all the way down & built a kitchen table. The table is a couple of coats of paint away from being finished & the dresser, oh the dresser. . . It's no where near being done. After my complete craft fail on Friday, I've been second guessing myself ever since! I totally appreciate everyone's comments on what to do about my toilet-paper plastered, cub scouts craft disaster. I may give it another shot, but I'm keeping my eyes open for new lamps at this point. I'm also thinking about adding color to the living room, but I haven't the faintest idea of how to incorporate it. There may be a reason why I got a C in my color theory class in college besides my hatred of guache paints. I might be seeking professional help soon. There's a big part of me that wants to just spend the whole day projecting & getting stuff crossed off my list, but now that Penelope seems to have given up her blessed 4 hour nap, progress has been slower than molasses. I feel like I've gone 90 miles an hour all day today & only have 50 yards to show for it. I'm getting really excited to show you my final product! In the mean-time, anyone interested in buying our old table? I'm listing it for $20 (or best offer). Click here to see the classified listing.

Today I went to Bijou Market & hung out with friends. Oh what fun!

• top: H&M, $40
• cardigan: DownEast Basics, $15
• belt: thrifted, $1
• jeggings: H&M, $15
• boots: thrifted, $6

TOTAL: $77

Most of the time, if I get a vision for something it'll turn out rather well. However, there are times when something vexes me so much, no matter what I do I can't seem to get it quite right. This has been the tale of our livingroom lamp. It's a cool, retro lamp, but I feel like the previous color scheme was making our livingroom a bit stuffy & old looking. So I painted the base white. I thought that'd fix the problem, but the lamp bugged me even more. This time it was the way the lamp & the shade played together. Chris bothered me to re-do the shade, but I wasn't quite seeing the vision. THEN, I saw the ruffled anthro shower curtain & thought that perhaps adding some texture to the shade would fix the problem. Now this is what I've got. I'm not sure if I like it or hate it. I think it still needs help, but I want your opinion. Pretty please?! Should I put it out of its misery & find something better or is there some miracle thing that could be done to make this lamp really shine? Oh please I hope you'll help me out!

I have to give Madeline a million thank yous for finding my dresser for me. I swear she spent all of her waking hours browsing KSL classifieds. A couple weeks ago, I got a phone call from her saying that she'd found the perfect dresser. It had just been posted like 5 minutes prior & I needed to call the guy on it. I was currently at the bank, so I rushed home, looked up the listing & made a panicked phone call to see if it was still available. Much to my surprise, it was!! These things go in a matter of seconds. Seriously. He wasn't going to hold it for me for very long, so I packed the kiddos back in the car & headed to meet the dresser of my dreams. Granted, it's not the long & low style that I was hoping to find, but I love it anyway. It'll fit perfectly in our bedroom with enough space to spare for a full-length mirror (in the off chance I ever find one I like). It definitely needs some TLC, but it's solid wood with dovetailed joints. The guy listed it for $75 and sold it to me for $65. YEAH, he went down even though he got a million calls on the dresser from the time I called to the time I showed up (15 minutes!). SWEET. Maybe he heard my Penelope whining in the back of the car & took pity on me. Bartering with babies works, folks. I'm thrilled to have it! The plan is to strip it & stain it yellow. YELLOW! I'm so excited. It's going to match my rocking chair. I am worried, however that it might be too much yellow, so I've been thinking of painting the drawers bright white. What do you think? Should I paint white accents somewhere on this dresser? If so, where?

Rhodes Rolls asked me to bake up something using their rolls from a recipe of theirs (or my own) & share it on their blog. I love Rhodes rolls, so I was happy to oblige! Rhodes are my saving grace since I can't make bread to save my life. Since I've blogged (and made) my favorite sticky buns before, I thought I'd try a new sweet bread. Rhodes's Lemon Pull-Apart recipe is absolutely fantastic & super simple. I whipped it up in no time & it makes for the perfect sweet roll for spring. I ate half the pan of rolls, I kid you not. They're so delicious and worlds better than orange rolls, in my opinion. Click here to see the recipe with step by step photos & instructions. Thanks, Rhodes for having me on your blog today!

Last night I recovered my camera strap with grey patent leather. It took about 10 minutes. Lickety split, hu? Seriously, what can't you do with leather & PVA glue? After I finished up the cover, I felt like it looked a little plain, so I made a little decal with the name of my camera: Sigurson. I name my electronics, by the way. I have quite a few baby names that I know will never be used for an actual baby, so I pawn them off on my electronics. My external hard-drive is Betsy, after my grandmother; my iPhone is Juniper, after Benny & Joon and my camera is Sigurson, after Sherlock Holmes's Smarter Brother: AKA Gene Wilder. While everyone I know hates the name Sigurson, it fits my camera perfectly. Do you name your electronics? Also, I named my bike. Persephone, Sephie for short. She's queen of the underworld & only comes out for spring/summer. So fitting for my bike. I think I need to make a decal for my bike, too.

I've had a few requests from readers to see if I'd be teaching a calligraphy class any time soon. You interested? Next Saturday, April 16th, I'l be holding a calligraphy workshop at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah. Come join me from 1pm - 3pm for an artsy afternoon & learn how to take your handwriting to the next level!

Click the "buy now" button below to sign up for the class.

The $47 fee includes the workshop + all the materials you need to get started. All you have to do is show up! No returns or refunds. Here's what a few people thought of my class:

• Simple Lovely
• Padgett Hoke
• Oh Hello Friend

I hope to see you next Saturday! Feel free to comment/contact me if you have any questions. Missed the class? Subscribe to the blog for info on future classes or check out My ongoing online class at istilllovecalligraphy.com!

• top: thrifted, $4
• jeggings: H&M, $15
• moccasins: thrifted, $6

TOTAL: $25

This post is brought to you by Ruche.

I'm feeling pretty good about my post-partum body even though I'm 15 lbs heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight. Scales are stupid, you know that? Some days I'm really happy with where things are and other days I'm just miserable & prickly. The reason? I don't always wear clothes that fit. Which leads to the post-partum clothing conundrum. . . Do I buy new clothes or do I wait until my clothes fit? I always like buying new clothes; but if I'm going to lose the weight eventually, I don't want to invest in a garment that won't fit in the future. Then again, if I don't buy clothes that fit me now, I'd just hide my unbuttoned jeans under an uncomfortably tight shirt and ultimately be unhappy with my body. It'd be great if I could get back to my pre-pregnancy size because I have a lot of clothes that I'd like to wear again. But they're just clothes. For now, it's more important that I eat right & like the body that I have right now. Not last year. Since Felix, I've bought a few new things and kept a few pregnancy clothes in the rotation. This method has been pretty good thus far, but perhaps a bit boring with the only two pairs of pants that fit. Ruche offered to send me a little something last month, so when I was browsing their items I immediately gravitated towards their tiered lace skirt. It's adorable, whimsical & has an elastic waist. It's the perfect garment that will be able to fit me now and if I end up losing any weight. It's adorable & super feminine. I've worn it a few different ways & thought I would share those with you: With the spring weather this week, I couldn't help but wear this skirt with some sandals & a casual top. I love that this skirt is transitional. I've got the summer look at the top, then this above, more wintery look. I wore this to my friend's wedding reception. I liked wearing the bold, dark tights with such a light & airy skirt. Contrast is fun. This is what I wore to church a few Sundays ago. It's a little more romantic. I thought it'd be fun to wear it with all similar tones for a monochromatic look. I think the next time I'll wear this outfit with coral lipstick and maybe a bright necklace for a little pop. I've loved wearing this skirt. The soft elastic waistband is incredibly comfortable, which makes me feel good about myself. Thanks, Ruche, for sending it my way!