Erin, Author at The Sunny Side Up Blog

Travels

05.08.12

A mini getaway

We’re back. Kenny and I. From a mini getaway – sans kids. Yes. You heard me right! When we received a letter about Kenny’s 10 year Law School Anniversary celebration we were so excited. We have such fond memories of our three years in Charlottesville, Virginia and love traveling back to reminisce, re-live the good old days, and most importantly to eat at our favorite bagel bakery and to say y’all every chance we get. My mom flew into San Diego to watch my kids for the weekend (an angel straight from heaven!) and Kenny and I fled without looking back.

We had the best time. From the minute we were in the car alone riding to the airport. It was magical. We had long conversations with no interruptions. No passing back crackers or a binkie. No intercepting an almost fight about who is going to play with which barbie first. We held hands. We laughed at each others’ stupid jokes. We were a couple again. Young and in love. Well sorta young, and mostly just in love with the fact that we were about to spend three days together with no kids, no responsibilities, and no kids. Did I mention no kids?

We woke up each morning and went on our favorite walk. The Thomas Jefferson Parkway trail right next to our old apartment. Also right next to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

This picture is from our walk in the Fall. It’s our favorite place to visit when we make a trip to Virginia. We used to walk this trail every weekend together and talk about our plans. Our someday family. All of our dreams for the future. It felt surreal walking our trail now, 10 years later, after so many of those dreams have come true. Made me feel incredibly grateful and incredibly old all at the same time. :)

Our walk ends with this bridge which takes you to Monticello. They were just starting to build it when we left Charlottesville in 2002. Isn’t it beautiful? Just like the rest of Virginia. I think Virginia is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

It isn’t a trip to Charlottesville without eating at our favorite bagel bakery. Bodo’s has the best turkey bagel sandwich ever. EVER. And y’all know I’m a turkey snob. (Did you catch that y’all? Rollin’ right off the tongue). We may have eaten here a time or ~~ten~~ two over the weekend. This place never disappoints.

The law school grounds were simply breathtaking. Just like I remembered them.

Almost as breathtaking as they are in the Fall.

We loved touring the school and catching up with all of Kenny’s friends.

Kenny was fortunate to go to law school with a group of amazing people (several are friends for life). They have all gone on to do incredible things with their degrees.

I felt smart just taking their picture. :)

Kenny’s main partner in crime. I used to come home from working round the clock to hear about my husband’s day which usually included more time spent playing Xbox with Will than actually studying law. These two were always up to no good and it’s a real treat to listen to them re-live some of their moments together. Good times indeed.

(Virginia trip – Fall 2009)

Unfortunately this was a fast trip and there wasn’t enough time with all of the reunion stuff going on for me to visit my Virginia friends. Bummer! Just means we have to go back again soon.

(Did you hear that mom? Should we get another trip on the calendar?)

The kids had a ball while Kenny and I were gone. Couldn’t wait to tell me about how grandma let them eat two donuts in one day, didn’t make them wash their hair until the day I was coming back, and most importantly, how grandma bought them new razor scooters at Target.

Oh my.

It’s always quite the party when grandma’s in charge.

My mom was a saint — really. Aside from the donuts and the no hair washing and the totally spoiling my kids part, she read with the girls and helped them get a jump start on next weeks’ homework, sat in on a therapy session with Kole, re-stocked my pantry/fridge with groceries, and had my laundry done and my house perfectly clean when I got home. Not an easy feat with my crew around! I was so happy I cried. Then I cried again when she left. She cried too. I think it was a combination of not getting to see me more, knowing she’ll miss the kids, and just sheer exhaustion. Mostly just sheer exhaustion.

I’ve been a bit out of sorts today. I blamed it on the time change but really that’s not it at all. I’m having “post vacation/mom isn’t taking care of everything anymore” let down. It hasn’t been pretty. I got nothing done today. Kole was clingy to me and I was clingy right back. We will both feel better tomorrow.

It was such a great trip. Visiting Virginia always is.

xoxo, Erin

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Q and A

05.03.12

Q & A

I received a really sweet comment and a great suggestion by a reader on my last post. Here is part of what she said…

“I think you should have a question and answer day! You know how Becky does Feedback Friday? Not that often so that it doesn’t take away all your other great posts. I always have lots of great questions for you.”

Thank you! Such a sweet comment from an anonymous reader. (BTW – I have to say I feel pretty lucky to get so many sweet comments from “anonymous”- Once in a while a snarky one will come along, but for the most part I get sincere, heartfelt comments and for that I am truly grateful! So thanks again to all of you for your kind words. They always make my day.) Anyway, back to the comment. I think it’s a great idea! I don’t know that I can commit to a regular schedule for a question/answer post because I’m having a hard time committing to anything lately that doesn’t involve Kole’s therapy, the new house, and regular mom stuff, but I really would like to do more Q & A posts on the blog. I get a lot of really great questions and I do my best to keep up, but sometimes I fall short. My computer time is pretty limited (9:00 pm until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore) and if I answered everyone’s questions I wouldn’t have time to blog. Hopefully that won’t always be the case, but it is at this stage in my life. So from now on if you ask me something in the comments or an e-mail and I don’t get back to you right away it’s because I think your question is something other people might also be curious about and I’m saving it for a Q & A post.

So! With all of that being said. Here is the first of my Q & A series…

“Where did you stay in Palm Springs? The place looks great!”

I had SO many questions about our Palm Spring resort after I shared some pictures of our Spring Break. We stayed at the Westin Desert Willow Villas.

We have a time share in Maui with Westin Resorts (I talked more about that here). Kenny and I love Westins so much and we love the Villas. Lots of room for the kids and a kitchen so you can eat in the room. Whenever we travel (especially with the kids) we always stay at Westin Villas. There are two Westins in Palm Springs and we stayed at the newer location. I really liked it! We were staying in a room that was further away from the pool but men come and pick you up in little golf carts and take you back and forth.

My kids thought riding the golf cart was the best part of the trip. :)

There was a huge slide, but Addison didn’t meet the height requirement (Ellie did) which was a bummer for us. The didn’t have a great shallow kiddie pool (which was ok since Kole mostly just wanted to run around the pool instead of swim in it) so overall I’d say a great place to swim – especially if your kids are age 7 and up. Lots of pools (one had a huge movie screen at one end and they played movies for the kids each night at 8:00 pm).

It was a fun trip and I would definitely recommend staying at the Westin!

“After moving from Virginia to San Diego how did you go about making new friends? I’ve just moved and it’s something I have to learn again. I’m curious how someone who has had the same experience I have (moving cross country to a place where you know no one) went on to create something good for yourself?”

I think this is such a great question! I grew up in a beautiful smallish community and was surrounded by family and friends who I had known my whole life. I never had to “try” to make friends. Everyone knew each other and knew my parents. I went to high school with the same kids I went to Elementary school with. I had always had lots of friends and family around me. I was pretty sheltered and I loved it. I had every intention of getting married and buying a house down the street from my family and being happy and sheltered my whole life. And then I married Kenny. My Kenny who had big dreams of travel and law school on the east coast and moving out of our smallish town and making a life for ourselves somewhere else.

We moved to Virginia and I made friends with some of the teachers I taught with, but I really didn’t have a lot of time for girlfriends. I was working three jobs and when I did have a break I wanted to spend time with Kenny. Then we moved to San Diego and all of that changed. Kenny started life as an attorney and was working all the time. After teaching two years I had Ellie and became a stay at home mom. All of the sudden I was home all the time. I was used to working. To being busy. To doing my hair and getting dressed every day. Life felt so different when I started staying home. The days all just ran together. I was happy and depressed and overwhelmed and bored all at the same time. I quickly realized that I was going to have to create a life for myself if I was going to be happy. I also quickly realized that I was going to have to step outside of my comfort zone.

I had seen other moms with little kids in our neighborhood so one night I typed up a flyer about a play date at the park. I still remember what it looked like. It had the date and time and a cute little butterfly on it. Then I walked around my neighborhood and went door to door handing out the flyers. (Yes! I handed out flyers for crying out loud!) I introduced myself and invited any moms who were home with little kids to meet me at the park. I still can’t believe I dared to do that! But I was so desperate to make new friends and to get myself out of the house and out of the “new mom rut” I was in. Then on the day of the park playdate I was scared to death that nobody would show up. But they did! Four other moms with kids in tow met me that day. We all introduced ourselves and got to know each other a bit. We decided that it was hard to visit at the park while we were chasing our little ones around so next week we would meet at the same time and place in our neighborhood cul-de-sac. The next week one of the moms invited another neighbor. And a few weeks later another mom came. Before I knew it, my park playdate had turned into a regular get together in our cul-de-sac with over 10 moms and a whole crew of little kids running around. We met in the cul-de-sac by my house every Tuesday afternoon for years. Those moms are great friends of mine to this day and we still hang out and chat and carpool. Our kids have grown up together and are also great friends. It always makes me happy remembering that I was the one who initiated our friendships. Even though I had to be a dork with flyers to do it. :)

Through the years I’ve made lots of other friendships. Sometimes they just happen – you meet someone somewhere and just instantly click. But most of the friendships I’ve made have happened because I put myself out there. Go to activities in your church, community, at work, etc. If you meet someone with similar interests ask them if they want to go on a walk or grab something to eat. You have to step outside of your comfort zone and be friendly and initiate a get together. If you’ve met some nice people at work or in your community, invite them over. Kenny and I love meeting new couples and going out on the weekends. If one of us has met someone new that we clicked with we always see if they want to bring their spouse and get together for dinner (with fingers crossed that our spouse will click with their spouse! :). Or we see if they want to meet at the park on a Saturday afternoon with kids and have pizza. A few months ago we initiated dinner with a couple we briefly met at one of Kenny’s client/firm parties. We LOVED them. Had a great time and have been getting together with them once a month ever since. We’re heading to their house for a BBQ in June.

It’s hard to start over. And it’s hard to step out of our comfort zones and to be the one who initiates a friendship, but every time I’ve done this (and I’ve done this a lot) it gets a little easier. The more you do something, the more natural it becomes to you. The initial nervousness always goes away and most of the time the person you attempt to get to know is happy to have a new friend too. :)

“Love the way you organize your home. I need some ideas to organize my closet. Would you take a picture and show us how you organize all of those beautiful clothes you have?”

Just did a closet organization post! You can check out the details here. I also store additional clothes in my dresser and at some point I’ll get around to sharing how that is organized.

“I know you have mentioned in the past that you have a small list of blogs you read each day. I would love it if you would share those!”

Well. I have to be honest and say that I am not checking blogs all that often anymore. Once I had Kole I started just checking blogs once every few days and this year because of my crazy schedule I hardly check them at all. It makes me sad! I miss reading blogs! If I can sneak in a few minutes of computer time during the day I usually respond to e-mails and then head over to Pinterest or other house sites to get ideas for my new home. Then if there is a minute to spare I check on a favorite blog or two. Usually I don’t read blogs during the week and then I catch up on all of my friends’ blogs and other blogs I enjoy on Friday night after the kids are in bed. I don’t post over the weekend so I take the night off and relax from a busy week catching up on all of my favorites. There are SO many amazing blogs to read but I’ve found that I just can’t do it all and it’s better for me to have a small blog list so that I don’t lose hours on the computer — which is SO easy to do when it comes to blog reading! So that being said, I’m happy to share my list of Friday night go-to’s!

Clover Lane – A favorite for sure that I’ve mentioned several times. I love Sarah to death. She is an amazing friend, an amazing writer, and an amazing mother. Her blog always makes me try a little harder to be a better mom.
No Biggie – written by Kami – another friend I’ve made through blogging who I simply adore. Always fun ideas and tips and amazing photography on her blog. We are going to meet someday. It’s a goal of mine. :)
I Heart Organizing – I think my heart skipped a beat the day I discovered Jen’s blog. An organizer’s dream!!
Centsational Girl – She really is sensational. That’s all I can say about Kate. Her decorating is beautiful and so is her writing style.
Home Stories A to Z – I love Beth and her fun home projects. She has been so sweet to feature me a few times in her “tips and tutorials”. I always enjoy her blog and checking out what other people are up to during her link parties.
House of Turquoise – Jaw usually hits the floor when I view this blog. Gorgeous interiors. My “pin it” button gets a workout whenever I stop by.
Just me, my soldier, and our 4 little chicks – Stephanie is the sweetest. Wife of a military man, mom of 4 girls. I relate to her SO much. She writes from the heart. Sincere and honest and real.
Becky Higgins – Well. What can I say about Becky? THE Project Life creator. I’ve been a fan since I created my first scrapbook in high school. All hail Queen Becky!

So that’s it! My favorites and my Friday night go-to list.

Well! I think we can all see why I have a hard time keeping up with answering questions. I’m a bit wordy to say the least! :) Hopefully the next Q & A won’t be quite so long winded.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Any other tips on making new friends? What is your all time favorite blog? Any other questions for a future Q & A? Tired of asking me questions and not getting an answer? I’m working on it. :)

xoxo, Erin

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Addison

05.02.12

More Spring Decor!

Sharing more of my Spring decor today! Yes I recognize that it’s the beginning of May and almost summer. My current schedule doesn’t allow for much “me time” to play with my decor (and by not much me time I mean no me time) so it took me longer than usual to pull everything together. The good news is that all of my decor works great for summer too so I’m good to go until Fall! I’ll share pics of all things “Spring” soon, but for now, here are a few updates…

I was looking at my Pinterest boards a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that I was pinning A LOT of pictures of clear jars and bottles inside of baskets. I love that about Pinterest. You can get a real sense of your style and things you are drawn to without even trying. So after viewing some of my favorite inspiration pictures (I’ll have to share those in another post!) I created my own little Spring centerpiece with clear bottles in a basket. I already had the basket, the skinny bottle, the flowers, and the mason jar. I found the larger bottle holding the flowers at Home Goods and knew it would be perfect to complete the look!

Some of my inspiration pics had silverware inside of jars so I tossed some forks in the mason jar. I just think it looks so cool. And my girls think it’s so cool to grab a fork for dinner out of the basket. (It’s the little things.) My lemon tree was bursting as usual and I LOVE to have lemons in my house this time of year. I tossed some in a clear jar I’ve had for years and also added some to the bottom of my fruit basket. They smell so good!

I especially love the way the yellow flowers and lemons coordinate so well with all of the other yellow throughout my house. There is a lot of yellow going on around here. It’s making me happy. :)

Oh what’s that? More lemons? Don’t mind if I do. :) When we met with our landscape architect the first thing I told him was that I wanted lemon trees. I will miss the little tree in our current backyard that we planted when we first moved here. It has grown so much. Kind of like us. (And now I hear Kenny singing “A Whole New World” in the background – his standby whenever I get sappy.) But I can’t help it. Aside from looking and smelling so good, lemons are perfect for life metaphors.

When life gives you lemons…

K. I’ll stop now.

So I’ve mentioned before how OVER my couches I am. I’m holding out to buy new couches for the new house. Since I’m stuck with these for another year I bought some new pillows that work with the green but also tie in the yellow.

Every time I look at these couches I think of that song from Sesame Street “One of these things is doing its own thing…” Anyone else remember that song? They definitely don’t match everything else going on in my house right now. I tried slipcovers but they didn’t look good with our carpet so I’m stuck being patient. I don’t like being patient. But while they aren’t the look I’m going for, these couches are comfortable. VERY comfortable. Perfect for blogging. :) Guess I can be patient a bit longer.

I was mid photo shoot taking these decor pics when a certain someone woke up from his nap.

Addie loves getting him out of his crib.

She also loves all of my lemons. Especially the really big ones.

I love that her shirt matches the decor (not planned, but I’ll take it!).

Two of my best accessories.

xoxo, Erin

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Ellie and Addison

04.30.12

Productive Weekend

I just spent the last few minutes happily checking off a very long to-do list. I had the most productive weekend I’ve had in … well … forever! Why was I so productive?

Because I had three less people to take care of! On Friday afternoon Kenny packed the car and took the girls camping for the weekend. Kenny and I grew up camping and it is really important to him that our daughters have the same outdoor experiences that we did growing up. Since I’ve become more of a once a year “glamper” instead of a once a month camper Kenny decided to join a group of dads that do fun activities with their daughters once a month. Most of the time they camp, but they have also done other fun things (horse back riding, ice skating, etc.). The girls LOVE this special time with their dad. It seems they have a bit of their father in them and really enjoy camping! Kenny LOVES that they are spending time in the great outdoors. And I LOVE that all of this is taking place without me having to sleep in a tent. :) Win win win.

The captain of the ship.

And his overly excited crew. Ready for another adventure.

In flower and strawberry sunglasses no less.

Because the best rule of camping is to come prepared.

And because they also have a bit of their mother in them too. :)

So! Back to me and my most productive weekend! While the girls were roasting hotdogs and marshmellows over an open fire, Kole and I were having our own little party at home. We woke up early on Saturday (thanks to my two year old alarm clock who still hasn’t learned the beauty of sleeping in) and we headed out on a walk. It was a beautiful morning. Sun was shining, birds were chirping, and the ocean breeze felt better than ever. I just knew it was going to be a productive weekend! After our walk, we ran a few errands – including a stop at Staples which is always a favorite because of my never ending love for school suplies. Then we came home and while Kole took a nap, I tackled to-do #1: organize my magazines in my new magazine holder!

Ta-da! Isn’t it beautiful!? Kenny hung it a couple of weeks ago for me and I haven’t had two seconds until this weekend to go through my magazines. I tossed the ones I didn’t need and filed the keepers. Best birthday present ever! :)

The only spot we had to hang it that made sense was this corner next to the TV. I wanted it close to my couch (Kenny and I each have our own) so I could access it easily during my down time at night. My goal after 8:30 PM is to land on my couch and not get off of it. Unless it’s to get some popcorn. Or to plug in my laptop. Or now, to grab one of my favorite magazines.

I cut out some fun yellow scrapbook paper and labeled each cubby: Miscellaneous (for magazines like Pottery Barn, Ballards, and In Style that I get in the mail and want to save), Organizing and Decor (some of my favorite magazines ever!), Kitchen and Bath (my largest stack of keepers), and Church (for all of our church magazines).

Isn’t it lovely!? Everything has a home. I can’t wait to move it into my scrapbook room in the new house! It’s a good thing we’re moving because I’m running out of space to decorate in my current house. There isn’t a blank wall left! And that is a true tragedy. Indeed.

Below my white beauty sits my little stash of baskets. Tucked away behind the couch with all of the essentials we need to get through the day. The girls have their books. Kole has his diapers, wipes, and toys, I have my treasured magazines in a beautiful organizer, and Kenny has a happy wife. Once again a win all around!

Aside from organizing my magazine stash, here are a few other to-do’s I tackled during Kole’s nap time and bedtime:

– mini clean out of the fridge, freezer, and pantry
– cleaned out my purse and balanced my checkbook (I’m not in the negative Kenny – rest easy)
– organized all of the girls’ recent school work and Kole’s baby stuff for PL albums
– touched up a few walls with paint (something I’ve been wanting to do forever)
– watched the movie City Slickers while I cleaned out my in box. (I love that movie. Always makes me want a pet cow.)
– took lots of pics for future blog posts
– washed all sheets – including Kole’s crib sheet – which aside from cooking is my least favorite chore.
– cleaned the entire house top to bottom
– caught up on ALL laundry

Just in time for my campers to come home and unload. Bringing half of the outdoors home with them.

And a whole lot of new laundry to fold.

xoxo, Erin

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Ellie and Addison

04.27.12

two islands and everyday pics

I SO appreciate you all! Thank you to everyone who shared kitchen tips/opinions/advice. I seriously read through the comments three times with a notepad in hand! I think a few of you have talked me into adding a mini fridge in the island (great suggestion!). Having two dishwashers was mentioned and that little feature has been in the plans since day one. I’m all over it! Some of you mentioned that you couldn’t picture the two island thing. I have been doing a lot of research to figure out if I want to do this and I landed on this picture:

This is not at all what my kitchen will look like, but it does give you an idea of the two island concept. This picture came with an article discussing why two islands like this are better than one large island when designing a big kitchen. They basically pointed out all of the same things my cabinet guy mentioned. Our kitchen is similar to this picture in that it is a big square shape with the stove behind the island and the main sink to one side and the fridge on the other. These two islands are approximately the same size mine would be if I did two. One would be for food prep with another sink and dishwasher (and maybe a mini fridge!?) while the other island would have bar stools and would be for eating/entertaining. Picture these two islands connected to make one HUGE island. That is the other option. Just thought I’d share this picture in case anyone is a visual person like I am! In fact, I’m such a visual person that designing this house on paper has been really hard for me. We had a 3-D rendering done of the outside of the house and I was like “Oh! Is that what it looks like!? Kenny said “yeah – you designed it! Didn’t you know what it would look like!?” But unless I get a clear visual it’s hard for me to picture exactly how everything juts in and out. So different than seeing it flat on paper. Several of you have asked if I will share my floor plan. Yes! Of course! I will share so much of this process with you that I bet by the time this house is built you will all be so sick of reading about it! If you stick with me through it all that is! I just want to wait a bit to post the floor plan because we are still making minor tweaks and changes. There will be a lot more to share once our plans are final and have been approved by the city and we are breaking ground (hopefully sometime around July). Right now we are dealing with boring stuff like city codes and the structural engineering (snore). I can’t wait to get to the good stuff! More kitchen layout meetings please! :)

I didn’t have time this week to pull together a Fashion Friday post, but I bought some really cute stuff at Banana Republic! Hoping to share it all next week. For now here are some random recent pics…

A few from our Spring Break in Palm Springs:

We were always the first ones at the pool in the morning…

and the last ones at the pool in the evening. We took a three hour break mid-day for Kole’s nap which worked out perfectly because that was when the pool was hopping with people. We timed things just right so that we were almost alone in the pool most of the week. Loved that!

Of course, I spent a great deal of my time not swimming, but chasing. Kole swam a little, but seemed to prefer running around behind all of the lounge chairs in the dirt. I was ok with it because I learned a long time ago what to expect when you travel with little ones. Lower your expectations and you will have a fabulous time! Remember: It’s not a vacation. It’s a family trip. Jut viewing it that way makes a difference for me. I wrote a post all about it a few years ago. :)

And a few pics of our annual weekend walk. We always let Kole out of the stroller for a bit….

and then the girls run ahead while one of us wrestles with Kole to get him back in the stroller.

The girls had a trial run for their upcoming dance recital. They had to go to dance class this week with full hair/make-up/costumes on. It was the first time I’ve ever put make-up on them! Kind of fun. :)

Well. Not so fun for Ellie. She was SO not impressed. She likes her dance (hip hop dance to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”) but the costume was WAY too itchy (shock) and the make-up drove her crazy. She couldn’t wait to come home and take it all off and get back in her pajamas.

She wouldn’t even let me take more pictures. Just the one above and then a nice “enough mom” pose.

My little ballerina on the other hand…

was a TOTALLY different story. What a ham! She loves her dance. Loves her costume. (Who cares about comfort when you are wearing something so sparkly!?) And especially loved the make-up. So funny. She was beyond excited for me to put it on her. “And can you put some of that stuff on my eyes mom!? The stuff that makes them colorful? And can I have some lip gloss? The sparkly kind! And that black stuff on my eye lashes? Do it just like yours mom!”

Then I couldn’t get her away from the mirror. :)

When we got to class they used her as an example because her bun was in the perfect spot on her head (high – not low). It was her day to shine and she grinned ear to ear the entire class.

I’m in trouble with this one.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo, Erin

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New House

04.25.12

Kitchen ramblings

Some of you have asked if my new kitchen will be white. Most of you know that the answer is YES!

(Old picture of my current kitchen. Decor is totally different now but I’m too busy designing my new kitchen to take a more recent picture of my current one!) :)

I have loved white kitchens all of my life. I’m proud to say that I loved them even when they weren’t the trend! I insisted on making our current kitchen white when we built our house ten years ago and at the time dark cabinets were all the rage. I love the clean look of white and I especially love that it is the perfect backdrop for any and all decor. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of white kitchens!

So speaking of my NEW white kitchen…it is off to a good start! Today was so fun. We met with our builder and cabinet guy for a couple of hours. I had so many pictures to show them – so many ideas of things I’d love to incorporate in my kitchen. I did change the plans from three ovens to two. I also made sure the microwave was in a prime location. :) I’m thinking of bagging the warmer too. Will I ever really use it?

(Kids! Your dino chicken nuggets are ready! Guess I’ll put them in the warmer until you get downstairs!)

;)

I mentioned in our meeting that I don’t exactly love to cook. They laughed and told me that with this kitchen it was time to start. They were on board with most of my ideas. But. They are trying to talk me out of my big island. And I think they might be right. When we first sat down with my architect my “house wish list” included a big kitchen and a big master closet. My architect went above and beyond my wish list and gave me a really big kitchen and a really big closet. Kitchen and clothes storage will not be a problem in this house! Because I have a large, square kitchen I was picturing one large island. My cabinet guy has been trying to convince me that I’d rather have two separate islands (each would still be plenty big) instead of one extremely large one. A few things he pointed out to me:

1) Two islands fit better filling up the space in our design. (It’s hard to explain this without sharing the floor plan – but he’s right on that one.)

2) A huge island can become an obstacle that is a pain to walk all the way around. Traffic doesn’t flow as well.

3) A huge island can be difficult to clean (hard to reach in the middle!).

4) With two islands specific zones are created (one island for food prep and one island for eating/entertaining).

5) Two islands would mean more cabinet space.

I think that last point is what sold me. As much as I love the look of one big island, I think they have me convinced! (Although I still keep going back and forth and probably will until I absolutely HAVE to make a decision since I suffer from DMD – decision making disorder.)

We discussed style for the cabinets in my kitchen and butler’s pantry along with different options for my oven/range/hood. I could NOT wipe the smile off of my face! Kenny was a good sport. He sat and nodded and smiled and let me take charge. He may have looked just a tad quesy whenever my cabinet guy said “that’s a great look…we can do that…it will just cost a bit more…” but I’m happy to say that he made it through the entire meeting without breaking into a cold sweat or passing out in his chair. Success!

Our next step is to decide on our kitchen appliances so we know exactly how much cabinet space we have. I’ve been debating our appliances so much over the last couple of weeks that I had a dream the other night about a Sub Zero fridge and a Wolf oven range. In my dream we had moved into our new house and the knobs on my oven range were all red and I wanted black. Then the new fridge wouldn’t open and I was stressed because Addison really wanted some string cheese. HA! I woke up thinking “black knobs and easy to open fridge door…got it.” I have a feeling that won’t be the last dream I have concerning this house. I can see why so many people say that when you build a house it is a part time job and becomes all consuming! Which is why I’m blogging about it tonight! I can’t get it out of my mind!

Another thing I think I was talked out of today was a built-in bench for my breakfast nook. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the look of benches in breakfast nooks….

Source: houzz.com via Erin @ Sunny Side Up on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Erin @ Sunny Side Up on Pinterest

Source: thekitchn.com via Erin @ Sunny Side Up on Pinterest

Aren’t they charming!? But a few good points were brought to my attention:

1) When one person wants to get out, everyone has to shuffle out…
2) Not super comfortable – especially for adults…
3) Locked into this look…
4) A pain to clean if someone spills something (a regular occurence for my crew).

So I’m thinking that as much as I love the look, function is key and a simple table and chairs will be most likely be filling my breakfast nook.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Does anyone have one large island or two regular sized islands? What do you like/dislike? Kitchen warmer – useful or not so much? What about benches for your dining nook? Pros/cons? Any other kitchen thoughts/suggestions? What would be a must have for you if you were designing a kitchen? Anyone else ever have a dream turned nightmare about not being able to open your new fridge when your daughter is in desperate need of some string cheese!? Talk about stress!

xoxo, Erin

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Food and Cooking...or lack thereof

04.24.12

Recipe Round-Up

I knew this week was going to be a busy one so I did something I normally never do. I sat down Sunday night to make a meal plan. I may be organized when it comes to my home and time management, but you all know I have never had it together when it comes to cooking. I wanted to just make a couple of my easy stand-by recipes so I went to my blog to look a few up. It took me too long to find what I was looking for so I decided I’d make a post with links to all of my recipes. Hopefully this will help me the next time I’m in the mood to whip up something in the kitchen. I’ll put this post on my sidebar and update it every time I share a recipe. These recipes are far from gourmet, but if it’s a favorite of mine you can count on it being kid friendly and easy to make. So maybe this post will help one or two of you as well! Just click on the link to see the full recipe.

BTW – tomorrow we are meeting with our builder and cabinet guy to start planning the kitchen layout! I’m so excited about it. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve! Our cabinet guy sent over a sketch of my kitchen with what he thinks would work in the space. He has included three ovens and a warmer.

Clearly we need to get to know each other a bit better. :)

{WHITE BEAN CHILI}

{EASY FRUIT DIP}

{CREAMY PASTA}

{BANANA BREAD MUFFINS}

{SALAD IN A TORTILLA}

{CHRISTMAS PRETZEL HUGS}

{HALLOWEEN TREAT}

{SUMMER SALAD}

{TRI-COLOR PASTA}

BON – APPETIT!

xoxo, Erin

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home decor 2

04.23.12

Spring picture frames (3rd times a charm)

Popping in to share a quick picture frame update!

Since it is currently Kole’s turn for the birthday spotlight, we are seeing plenty of this little guy when you walk in my house.

So I decided I’d use pictures of the girls to update my dining room frames for Spring. Fun. :)

In December I replaced the yellow frames with white frames and scrapbook paper for more of a wintery look. Which I loved because we don’t get much of a winter here. Changing around my home decor is the only way to feel the seasons! But now for Spring I’ve gone back to the yellow frames.

I chose some of my favorite pictures I took a few years ago of the girls…

The yellow/aqua combo is making me so happy and while the winter theme was a fun change, this definitely feels a little more… sunny. :)

And now. For your viewing pleasure. I present. A look back at the frame switch around. I call it “tour through the seasons.” Oh yes. You are THAT lucky. (And I am that sarcastic.)

{THE “BEFORE”}

{FALL}

{WINTER}

{SPRING/SUMMER}

Sometimes little changes make a big difference. And sometimes little changes make a little difference.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but either way, change is good.

Enjoy your day!

xoxo, Erin

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fashion2

04.20.12

Fashion Friday

I know. Can you believe it!? I actually managed to pull together a Fashion Friday post. Nothing too exciting. Just what I wore this week. I’m going to have to make this a quick post since I went to dinner with friends tonight (got home at 10:00 because we can’t stop gabbing) and then caught up on American Idol with Kenny (listening to his ever so witty commentary the entire show). Now it’s after midnight and I’m getting an “I had a crazy day and then talked too much with girl friends and then humored my husband for the rest of the evening” headache. Do you ever get those? Tylenol just doesn’t cut it.

Simple navy tee from Banana Republic. The roses near the right shoulder turn it from a wear around the house tee to a wear out and about tee.

I think I’ve shared this Forever 21 top before. Have I? It’s super short so I wear a black tee underneath it. My fancy up-do is becoming a staple lately. And by fancy I mean not fancy.

Purple top is from Banana Republic. I bought it when I was pregnant with Kole. It’s maybe not the most flattering top post baby, but I like the sleeves and it’s comfortable. You can tell from the three tops I’ve shared so far that comfort was on my mind this week. You can also tell that our weather hasn’t been as humid since I’m sporting straight hair. Ok. This is a fun game. What else can you tell from the picture? I can tell from my rambling that I need to go to bed.

I bought this blue top a couple of weeks ago. Forever 21 for 10 bucks!

I love it for Spring. It’s so lightweight and feminine.

I wore it for the first time to Kole’s first Easter Egg hunt. Funny now I’ll probably always think of that when I wear this shirt. Or I won’t. But now that I typed that I for sure will. Can you tell it’s late and I’m tired tonight? Have I mentioned that already? When ever I get overly tired I start to ramble and laugh a lot. It’s like I can’t talk enough and suddenly everything is SO funny. My sister does the same thing. We think we are HILARIOUS when we stay up late together. Then we wake up the next morning and wonder what in the world was so funny the night before. I wish my sister was here right now. Kenny is asleep on the couch and he just isn’t cutting it.

Here’s a newish dress I wore to church last Sunday –

Whoa! Time to adjust the camera settings. :) But isn’t this picture cool and ghost like?

Ok. Now I’ve got the lighting figured out, but what in the world was I doing with my hand? I look like I’m about to curtsy for y’all. I said “y’all” because Kenny and I are going to take a little trip back to Virginia next month so I’m practicing up on my “y’alls”. I said this was a “newish” dress because I bought it last summer in Utah and Sunday was the first time I’ve worn it! I sort of forgot I had it and re-discovered it when I cleaned out my closet. Yea for an upcoming trip and a re-discovered dress! :)

It’s just a simple peasant dress. Fun detail on the top and gathers above the waist.

I want to find a belt to wear over the gather above the skirt but haven’t found the right one yet.

The shoes I wore with it are from Nordstrom Rack. A neutral wedge! How very predictable of me.

I am literally falling asleep mid-sentence with my laptop on my lap. (My mom will not be impressed.) Enough rambling for one night. I’m off to bed! But I’m going to take some Tylenol first.

Even though I know it just won’t cut it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo, Erin

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organization2

04.19.12

Master Closet Organization (take two)

On to the rest of my master closet re-do! To truly appreciate this minor turned major project you first need to witness the sad state my closet was living in. I now present to you the before and after!

(drum roll please…)

{BEFORE}

{AFTER}

Ahhhhh. Like I’ve said before, all is right in the world when all is right with your closet. :)

Couple things that were driving me crazy about this closet:

1) It’s the only place that I have to store extra home decor which always makes it look like a cluttered mess. I don’t handle clutter well.

2) THE HANGERS! I began hating my big brown hangers two weeks after I bought them. They took up SO much room and they were total dust collectors. I don’t handle dust well either. I was running out of room and couldn’t squeeze one more shirt in this closet. Kenny’s solution was to buy less clothes. Silly man. My solution (the right and only solution) was to buy new hangers.

And that’s exactly what I did. :)

After researching a variety of hangers I finally decided to get these Huggable Hangers because my main goal was to save space. I bought these at The Container Store, but you can also find them at Target. My Target didn’t have the grey ones and I wanted grey. I also wanted an excuse to go to The Container Store. :) They aren’t too expensive ($1 a hanger so $10 for a pack of ten) but when you are buying over 200 hangers it gets a bit costly! I justified this little purchase to my husband by swearing that these hangers are coming with us to the new house and I won’t buy new hangers again for a long time. And let me tell you – I really meant it! I LOVE these hangers! LOVE LOVE LOVE them. Nothing slips off of them, they are so thin and lightweight, and they seriously doubled my closet space!!

The baskets I shared in my first closet post hold hats, belts, scarves, and travel bags.

They fit perfectly on my side of the closet. And don’t they add a nice pop of color!? They make me smile every morning when I waltz in to get dressed. :)

I mentioned that I majorly cleaned out my clothes. Three huge black garbage bags to Goodwill. I can honestly say that I only kept what I really love and wear. When I’m sorting through clothes I always ask myself two questions: Is this something I love to put on? Did I wear this last season? If the answer to either of those questions is no then I toss it! I also organized my tops by color (aside from the extra warm stuff I keep at the far right). I do this often because it makes it easier for me to find and put away my clothes. And because let’s face it. I suffer from OCD. Just a tad. :)

Next to my tops are my jackets and coats.

Next to my jackets and coats are my skirts and dresses. (Jeans were relocated to my dresser.)

Here’s another thing I love about these hangers.

They come with clips you can attach for skirts and slacks. Perfect!

You may remember when I shared my bathroom drawers that I mentioned my curling irons and blow dryer have been moved because the drawer that used to hold them now looks like this:

To solve that little problem I bought this fun Chevron basket to hold my curling irons.
Up high and away from little hands!

Some of my shoes are located in our little make-shift mudroom in the garage, but most of them stay in the closet. Lined up nice and neat until a certain someone gets her hands on them…

So that’s it for my side of the closet!

Kenny’s clothes got a makeover too. :) I organized all of his slacks, dress shirts, collared shirts, and long sleeved shirts together.

His belts and ties are organized on this little tie holder I’ve had for years from Bed Bath and Beyond.

I moved some of my home decor to my laundry room cabinets, but still store most of it in this closet…

I’m excited that in my next house I’ll actually have a place for home decor.

But this works for now.

Remember how I said my new hangers saved me so much space?

Check it out! I fit all of my clothes and still have SO much room! Looks like it’s time to go shopping!

So that’s it! Master closet is completely organized. A project I was thrilled to check off my list!

Thanks for hanging in there with me! I hope I didn’t crash any computers with picture overload.

I got a little excited about this one. :)

Enjoy your day!

xoxo, Erin

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organization2

04.17.12

Master Closet Organization (take one)

Well. I was hoping to share my complete master closet makeover with you today but I’m going to have to break it up into two posts because I took TOO MANY pictures. Not the first time. Certainly won’t be the last. This closet ended up being a major undertaking. I started it in January and didn’t completely finish it until March. And it’s not that it’s that amazing of a makeover or anything. It just took forever because I went through every. single. article of clothing I own to decide if I should keep it or toss it. And I tossed a lot. Several bags went to Goodwill. New organizers were bought. Lots of organizing took place. And now everything is right in the world. Because everything is right with my closet. :)

Aside from my clothes, I also needed to organize some accessories.

So I bought these fun baskets from Target. (Ten bucks each baby!)

Then I made some fun labels for them. A lot of fun was going on at this point.

I decided to just use the same labels I made for my linen closet. Quick and easy. (I just circle punched some scrapbook paper.) Plus I have a thing for clothes pins. And for the color yellow.

It’s hard to see my handwriting in these pictures (click on the pic if you want to see it closer.)
Or instead I’ll just make it easy for you and tell you that these baskets hold HATS, BELTS, SCARVES, and TRAVEL BAGS.

My belts.

Kenny’s hats.

My scarves.

Our travel bags.

Before my closet makeover most of this was dumped together in an over crowded plastic bin.

Now everything has a place.

In my closet, not on my hutch. :)

I’ll show you their real location and the rest of this little project tomorrow!

But aren’t we off to a lovely start!?

xoxo, Erin

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Ellie

04.13.12

Ellie’s dream house

Such sweet comments from my last post! I know I’m sounding like a broken record…thank you for your comments…you’re all the best… but seriously, thank you for your comments…you’re all the best! Your kind words really do mean so much to me and I am completely convinced that I have the best blog friends out there. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to respond to a lot of you today. We spent the last four days in Palm Springs and drove home today. I’m exhausted! It wasn’t a vacation, it was a family trip. And let me tell you – there is a big difference between the two! A vacation includes some relaxing and with my two year old along for the ride, there wasn’t much of that going on. But we did have a great time. We somehow always do, despite the fact that a great amount of craziness accompanies traveling with three little ones!

Sharing a quick picture of Ellie’s dream house today…

This is Ellie’s dream house. It is a cookie. Everyone in her 2nd grade class was supposed to draw a picture of their dream house. Now you would think with all of the “new house” talk that has been going on around here that her dream house would have included Nantucket elements along with rock, peaked roofs, white moldings, and a porch. But nope. That would be her mom’s dream house. Ellie’s dream house is a cookie. Because she likes cookies and she thinks it would be cool to eat her house.

I love 2nd grade. And I especially love my 2nd grader.

What was I thinking spending a fortune on our architect when I could have just hired my daughter!?

Speaking of our “new house” we submitted our plans into the city this week!! YEA! I’m excited.

It will most likely be three months before they are approved. The fees you have to pay and the hoops you have to jump through to build in California are just plain crazy! This state definitely plays by its own rules. But I am SO excited about how my house is turning out! It’s just so very… Erin. :) It has been so fun seeing all of the elements and styles I love come together to make my home. We are meeting with our builder tomorrow to discuss next steps. He has been getting bids and also wants to give us an estimate of what my “dream home” is going to cost us to build. I’m thinking tomorrow will either be a very good day or a very bad day for my husband. So cross your fingers for me that we get good news and Kenny doesn’t blow! ;) We are also getting ready to meet with our cabinet guy to start designing the kitchen! BRING. IT. ON. I have been dreaming about this kitchen for years now. You know. The one I’m going to organize and decorate and bask in its glory while I cook in it as little as possible. Of course, with my Ellie around, we will be baking plenty of cookies.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo, Erin

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