color kick...

I had such a fantastic day today! From the moment I opened the windows and felt that breeze I knew it was going to be a good one. {I've already had it with humidity and we've barely dipped our toe into June so I'm thrilled to be able to keep the windows open and let the curtains fly!}

Anyway, today was a "free" day for me. Free meaning that I didn't have much that NEEDED to be done and my mom was taking Scarlett for the day. I planned out a few errands a couple of fun projects. First up was a trip to the store to buy Stephen King's latest, Joyland.

Come 9 pm I will be engrossed.

I'm big into COLOR lately and I've been updating areas in the home to reflect my phase. I'll give you a peek of a few small changes I've made.

Here is a ten minute update that I made over the weekend...

That delightful wooden tree used to be plain old brown. During the winter I painted it bright pink and orange on a whim. I didn't LOVE it but it made me feel a little cheerier than the brown did. This past weekend I decided that I had spent too long not loving it and needed it to be blue and yellow immediately. I've been adoring it ever since. I love that I can paint it any color I want whenever I feel like it and I even left the backside brown in case I want to switch it up.

My friend Kim is having a birthday party for her youngest son and I offered to make the cupcake toppers. The theme is Super Mario Brothers and while I'm not used to using primary colors I think they came out pretty cute!

For Mother's Day I received one of those hand print cards from Scarlett... (thanks Dada). I've been wanting to do something with it but wasn't sure what. Well, after scoring two super-bright colored picture frames at Kohl's for zip my next move was clear ...

Cute, right?

When I bought my book today I also picked up some bright yellow spray paint. There's a hanging tea-light candle holder in my dining room that I've been itching to spruce up and I decided today was the day...

however...

Yeah, I am NOT feelin' the yellow. (Although I love the yellow picture frame on the table - the second of the two free frames from Kohl's). The candle holder just looks weird. You can't really even see it! It needs to be red... or orange. But I have to admit I didn't love spray painting it... it was kind of a huge pain in the ass. Haha.

So, there you have it - my little projects. I really, really enjoyed my day today. Nobody pissed me off. People in stores were friendly. I found sales. I returned things I knew I wouldn't wear. I listened to awesome music all day. The house is filled with fresh air ... actually Scarlett and Daddy just got home and Scarlett just filled the dining room with the scent of I just crapped sooooo ... there goes that! Gotta put the Mama hat back on. I hope you all enjoy your night and I'll be sure to let you know if Brody is mysteriously bright aqua tomorrow.

P.S. Daddy just went to change the diaper!! He's a peach.

The Scarlett Letters #10: The First Birthday

Dearest Scarlett...

Here are some pictures documenting your very first birthday. I leave you no guess-work - you can see it all right here.

I wanted to make your party colorful and sweet just like you! I found lots of ideas online (some that I stole completely and others that I tweaked) and had a blast creating a special theme for you. We chose to give away pumpkins to your little friends as their favors. They were happy to choose their own pumpkin to bring home!

You wore the hell out of your birthday dress - SO. STINKIN. CUTE! Mama went crazy looking for a dress sweet enough for you and after lots of "not-good-enoughs" we found the perfect one! You only kept your ponytail in for about four minutes but man did it look cute for those four minutes. After you demolished your cake we changed you into your big-girl shirt letting the world know that 'YOU ARE ONE'!!

I really wanted to make a cake just for you. I bought a yummy cake mix and pink frosting with sprinkles. I baked the cake and cut it into a circular shape, stacking one circle on top of the other to make a very Dr. Seuss-esque shaped cake. It was super cute. But, since Mama is certainly no baker, when I went to frost your cake it turned into a deliciously hideous mess. I had to dump it and send Daddy out for a twenty dollar quick-fix. It was cute enough but just not what I really wanted for you. I tried, Sweetie... but you were happy as a clam with your sugary snack regardless!

Your birthday party was on a Saturday with all of your friends and family. You had a really great day! Barely a twenty minute nap the entire day and you were so pleasant! You love to be around the kids and you had no problem sitting with anyone - even the people you had just met for the first time! Your real birthday fell on a Monday and since Daddy had to work we spent the day with Grammie and Gram-Gram. Grammie had an afternoon cupcake lighting for you. And when Daddy got home we went to Toys R Us where you got your balloon and crown and we picked out your Minnie Mouse Ride-On that you love so much. (Mama & Daddy love it now too since Daddy broke off the VERY sensitive shifter thing that annoyed the crap out of us every-time you moved an inch)!

You really had fun opening and playing with all of your new toys. You got LOTS and LOTS of clothes too! Thank God because our arsenal had run out at 12 months! Some of your favorite gifts were: the talking/scurrying kitty-cat, a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse lift-the-flap book, a Minnie Mouse plush doll, your Fisher Price house and your plastic puzzle. While Mama loves all of those toys too, I also am very happy that I found your adorable pink rocker at HomeGoods during their half-off moving sale! You love to sit in it like a big girl and slide out of it within about ten seconds.

Although it is very bittersweet for your friends and family to see you growing so quickly, we had a wonderful time planning and celebrating your first birthday. You are becoming such a character - it's making it a little easier to let go of your baby days... but not TOO easy. Love you so much!
XO
Mama