Our {First Ever} Vegetable Garden

For awhile now I have wanted to plant a vegetable garden. We had one when I was a kid and I loved helping my dad with it and eating fresh veggies right out of the garden. So of course I wanted to do the same for my kids. I also think it’s important to teach them that fresh food doesn’t come from a grocery store. Someone has to work hard to grow it.

This weekend, while the weather was warm (crazy Texas weather, it’s been in the 50’s and 60’s this week), we successfully planted our first garden. We have 2 varieties of tomatoes planted at the back, some green beans and bell peppers (also at the back), basil, cilantro, banana peppers and strawberries in the front. Obviously I have more room to plant but this was just to get us started (and all that our Lowe’s had). So I hope to plant some more in the coming weeks.

Originally I thought I was going to plant in another part of the yard, but discovered it didn’t get enough sun. So I moved to plan B and was lucky enough to see this 2-tiered raised planter bed from Lowe’s for only $90. We bought about 5 bags of soil and 5 bags of compost, some plants and we got to work. From start to finish, it only took us about 5 hours.

We started out by marking about a 5’ x 5’ area and dug up all of the sod (ok, weeds).

Once the sod/weeds had been removed, I added one bag of good soil to the ground and tilled the soil (just a little, ‘cuz I was anxious to get to the fun part!). Here’s what it looked like just before we put the planter box down.

The boys put together the planter box (which took about 15 minutes and was super easy!).

While the girls watched and took self-portraits :)

And here’s the box ready to be filled with our soil and compost.

This was everyone’s favorite part (kids + dirt = happy).

Then we planted our veggies and gave them a nice drink of water (note: this image has been strategically cropped because my son was naked at this point, except for his sneakers, of course!)

Then we finished out the day by playing in the water hose (ok, the hole in the water hose that was inadvertently turned into a sprinkler). All in all, a great day!

I do still plan to do some research about keeping the squirrels and birds out of the garden because I certainly don’t want them to eat our veggies! But for now, the use of my son’s realistic looking snake seems to have kept them at bay.

So how many of you have gardens? Are you seasoned gardeners or newbies like us? Any tips to share (especially about keeping the critters out)? Are any of you Texas gardeners?

Truth Be Told Tuesday #4

Welcome to another week of "Truth Be Told Tuesday." This is the day when we all share a "truth" about our real life...not the perfect bloggy life we often portray, but the real nitty gritty of life. This is our way each week of supporting one another in our imperfections by keepin' it real.

Truth Be Told, one day last week, I had pepperoni, potato chips and chocolate chip cookie dough for lunch.

Ok, now it's your turn! Tell us your "truth" in the comments, or blog about your truth (so we can see pics!) and leave us the link.

Please spread the word about "Truth Be Told Tuesday" because the more people we have participate, the more fun it is! So feel free to Facebook, Tweet or post on your blog about it!

Also, if you're not already a fan on Facebook, you should totally become one! People share some fun truths over there as well ;)


P.S. ***Don't forget about my FREE BATH CLOTHS offer!***

FREE Bath Cloths!

Hi friends! I'm feeling particularly generous on this Monday afternoon, so figured I'd offer you all a freebie from my Etsy shop. This week only, I am offering a 2 FREE BATH CLOTHS with every purchase!

The Bath Cloth is great as a washcloth (either in the bath or to clean up little faces after meals); as a shield to protect little faces when rinsing in the bath (that’s how we use ours); or throw them in the diaper bag for on-the-go messes.

There are 7 different styles to choose from. Feel free to mix and match!

Just let me know in the "notes to seller" which ones you want! Happy shopping :)

White Walls…Boring or Chic?

As you know, I am slooooowly working on redoing my living room. One of my biggest issues with this room from a design perspective is that the room is fairly dark. There are 2 skylights, without which the room would feel like a cave. But other than when the sun is directly over head, the room is dark. I hate the color on the walls currently and I’ve been trying to figure out what color to paint them. Obviously, I want it to be a light color to brighten up the space. So I was thinking about white. But is that totally boring??? Or is it super chic??? I’ve never painted a room white before. I’ve always painted rooms with some color because I hated the white walls.

Here’s what the room looks like now (you can seen I’ve already been testing out some colors). Notice I’m finally building my globe collection!

The other dilemma is this monstrous fireplace. It’s dark and stone and takes up this entire wall. (And yes, I realize that painting is up waaaay too high; I just threw it up on the existing nails to get an idea of what I want on that wall). Whatever color I choose has to go with this big stone wall. I’m not planning to paint it, but it could use a good scrubbing!

You’ve seen the other side of the room from my side table, bookshelf and wreath projects.

Here are some inspirational pictures from across blogland that make me think white walls are definitely the way to go!

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

So what do you think? I love the way you can use pops of color against white walls. I think my turquoise table, orange bookshelf and globes would be beautiful against a white background. Do you have white walls in your home? Is that by design or did you just inherit them when you moved in?

Crayon Cleanup...HELP!

Anyone know how to clean crayon off of a window screen???




Any suggestions? Or am I destined to keep this masterpiece forever?

Truth Be Told Tuesdays #3 - Pee Pants

It’s Tuesday…and you know what that means! Today is the day when we all share our “truths” in an effort to support each other in our imperfections.

I am LOVING this series and I LOVE reading your comments each week. They crack me up and I can pretty much relate to almost all of them! The more people that participate, the more fun it is, so I’d love it if you could share the link on Facebook, Twitter or your own blog and encourage everyone else to join us on Tuesdays!

So as always, I’ll get it started.

Truth be told, one time my daughter peed on my lap and I wore the jeans the next day (it was mostly water anyway…at least that’s how I justified it)!

Ok, now it’s your turn. Leave us your “truth” in the comments. Or blog about it (we ♥ pictures!) and leave us the link in the comments. And don’t forget to spread the word ☺

Some Amazing Women

As you know, I’ve spent the last 2 weekends selling my Happy Baby Designs stuff at some local craft fairs. It’s been a looooooong couple of weeks, but it was so much fun and I met some awesome women. These women are super cool and also happen to be super talented! So I want to take this opportunity to introduce you all to them.

First up is Anna from The Joy Cottage. She has some mad quilting skills and I just love all of the fabrics she uses. And as if she’s not busy enough with her business, her 2 year old son, and being a college student, she’s also working on launching her own fabric line and quilt patterns! You can learn more about that project at The Striped Feather Company. Go check out her blog and her Etsy shop, and I promise you won’t be disappointed!

I’ve got my eye on her Family Name Pillows ;)

Next is the lovely Sarah Zamora of Original Youth. I am so in love with her colorful portraits of women. She also paints some amazing abstracts. If you’re in the DFW area, chances are, you’ve seen her work at craft fairs and even some local galleries. This girl is everywhere and seriously is going to be famous someday. She also happens to be super sweet and down to earth and it was a privilege to get to know her.

Go visit her Facebook page to see more pictures of her beautiful paintings. Or better yet, “Like” her on FB and find out about her next event and go see her in person!

Meet Rachel from 3 Bears Studio. I was lucky enough to be her neighbor at the Cowtown Indie Bazaar. We bonded over bathroom breaks and chocolate. She paints the sweetest animal pictures with the cutest sayings on them. These would be so cute in a nursery or little kids room…or anywhere in my house! She definitely has her own style and the colors she uses are just awesome!

This is one of my favorites.

I am bummed that I didn’t get a picture of my friend, Tamara from Pegged, at her Funky Finds booth, but I still have to introduce you to her. She makes the cutest “peg people” I have ever seen. Actually, I’ve never seen anything like these so not only are they cute, but they’re also totally original!

Seriously, is this not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? Perfect for that Star Wars lover in your life!

And how about these custom wedding cake toppers painted to look like the bride and groom? I LOVE this idea!

She has so many other cute peg people, including a princess set, peg doll necklaces, and custom family sets. You have to go check out her store!

And last but not least is Jenn from Hippie Bliss (with her adorable daughter). Jenn makes the cutest mixed media, decoupaged matchboxes. Who knew matchboxes could be so stylish?

She also makes beautiful jewelry. She uses antique pins and brooches and mixes them with modern beads to create stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces. I love the combination of purple and orange in this necklace.

P.S. She’s a sucker for Peanut M&M’s! ;)

And finally some pictures of my booth from the Cowtown Indie Bazaar. (To see pics of my booth from the Funky Finds Spring Fling, go here).  I feel so fortunate to be a part of this amazing, handmade, indie artist, small business, community of women.

I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting these amazing women. Go check out their shops and you might just find something you can’t live without ;)

And don’t forget to come back tomorrow for our third installment of “Truth Be Told Tuesdays.” I really missed it last week!

Linking up here:


Get Your Craft On

The Best of {Blogging} Intentions

Well...I had every intention of keeping up with my regularly scheduled blog posts this week, but I've been so busy! Busy sewing, busy spending time with my family (here at home, in Austin, family visiting from out of town), busy recovering from last week's Funky Finds Spring Fling, busy preparing for this weekend's Cowtown Indie Bazaar.

So while I wish I had some fun, crafty tutorial to share with you, I got nothin'.  But I promise I haven't forgotten about all of you.  And I promise I will get back on track next week.  And just so you don't think I've been totally slacking, here's a look at the bath cloths I finished for this weekend's Cowtown Indie Bazaar.

So I’ll be back next week, with pictures from the craft fair this weekend, Truth Be Told Tuesdays (I seriously missed it this week!), Future Project Friday and hopefully some other fun stuff!  Have an awesome weekend and if you’re in the DFW area, come by and see me on Saturday!

Back in the Swing of Things

Well it’s Wednesday and I think I’m finally recovered from this weekend.  As you know, I sold at the Funky Finds Spring Fling on Saturday and Sunday.  It was a lot of fun, but very exhausting!  Then we drove to Austin on Monday to visit my sister and didn’t get home until late.  So yesterday I did a whole lotta nothin’. 

I intended to post this week’s “Truth Be Told Tuesday” yesterday but by the time I caught up on emails, Facebook and reading everyone else’s blogs, I ran out of time.  So we’ll continue with “Truth Be Told Tuesday” next week.

But now I have switched gears and have started beefing up my inventory for the Cowtown Indie Bazaar which I’ll be selling at this Saturday (3/19, 9a-5p at Will Rogers).  If you’re in the DFW area, come by and see me! 

Here’s what I’ll be working on between now and Saturday!  Bath cloths and Child Aprons were the big sellers at the Funky Finds Spring Fling so I want to make sure I replace all that I sold!

And now, I’m off to sew!

My Funky Finds Booth

Today was the first day of the Funky Finds Spring Fling.  It was a lot of fun, I met some great people (even a sweet follower of the blog; hi Laura!) and saw some amazing handmade items.  I also managed to sell some of my own stuff!  It was a long day and I’m exhausted, but I thought I’d share some pictures of my booth with you. 

I’ll be back again tomorrow for those of you that are local!  Come by and say hello!