Yard Sale Friday

My usual partner in crime- Hanna- wasn't able to join me this week, but I had an excellent substitute. My friend Melinda braved the early morning to scour Tualatin for some hidden treasures, and hidden treasures we found.

lampshade: .50 cents
nail gun: $2.00
level: .50 cents
chop saw (with brand new blade: $20
spray texture: .50 cents
pantry shelf organizer: .50 cents
The Busy World of Richard Scarey- Cars & Trucks/ Where's Waldo: .75 cents
crocheted baby blanket: .25 cents
aqua bumbo seat (the exact one I registered for!!): $1.00
bumbo tray attatchment: $2.00
vintage, dovetailed drawer, library card holder (I am SO in love with this and have plans to redo it): $6.00

Total: $34

We got a house

After months and months of looking, breaking ties with one realtor who wasn't really working for us, seeing the market slow down and less and less houses becoming available for more and more money, and putting offers in on 3 other houses, we finally found a home for us. It's not our dream style of house, but we are so thankful to have found a place in a great location, on a cul de sac, with great neighbors, with no major problems, that's got a great layout, with enough space to bring our sweet little baby girl home to! We're hoping to close on June 13th.

Yard Sale Friday

A decent day of yard saling with my friend Hanna. No big purchases, but with moving to a new house looming I found quite a few project materials for super cheap, as well as a few baby items...

Classic children's books ("Goodnight Moon", a couple Dr. Seuss books, and "Richard Scarey's Best Word Book Ever"): .25 cents each = $1

BBQ cover: $1.50

Polyurethane: Free

Paint Rollers, Paint Guide, Wood Putty, Sanding Belt, Grey Paint, Screws: $1.25

Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation: .50 cents

Cabinet Child Locks: .50 cents

Brand New Yankee Candle: .50 cents

Picture Frame/Gutter Guard (to make jewelry holders): $1.25

Leap Pad & 4 books/cartridges: $2

Total: $8.50

Yard Sale Friday

Well I finally had a yard sale buddy go with me this week. My sweet friend Hanna was available to join me on my search for cheap treasures, and it was so nice to have some company. We hit up a neighborhood yard sale in Wilsonville and crossed some items off my "to find at a yard sale" list, got a few items for simple updating at our new house, plus a couple of fun finds. 

brand new schwinn bike pump: $3.00

brand new agricola (german strategy game usually $50-$70): $3.00

soap pump: .50 cents

2 strands of Christmas lights: free

scentsy plug in: .50 cents

white organizer box: .25 cents

Sandra Boynton book-"One, Two, Three": .25 cents

*not pictured: 

shop vac: $5.00

10 lb box of tile grout: $2.00

166 -12x12 ceramic tiles (to be used to tile our new houses bathrooms): $25

TOTAL: $39.50

It's a...

Healthy baby! We had our big 19 week ultrasound to find out what we're having and more importantly measure the heart, brain, and body of our little baby. How fun it was to see our little baby now with distinguishable parts (as opposed to our 10 week ultrasound where it looked like a little bean), flipping all around inside my tummy. What an absolute miracle. Lying on the table I remember just thanking the Lord every time our ultrasound tech said "there's the ________, it looks normal." Another overwhelming sense of thankfulness came after she went over it with a doctor and came back in the room and announced it was a "perfect baby". What a blessing! Our ultrasound tech was a little grumpy, and didn't take or give us the best pictures of our little one, but the news we received was the best. Oh, and we found out we're having a little girl!!! Not what either of us had pictured, but so incredibly excited!

Yard Sale Friday

One of my favorite seasons is upon us. Summer. Not only for the heat, outdoor activities, and time off, but also for the yard sales! Although I terribly miss the weekly tradition I had going with my dear friends in Yakima, I have began to venture out a few Friday's on my own down here in Wilsonville and hope to recruit a few friends to join me eventually. Despite despising yard sales, Jake so patiently went with me to a few last Saturday and I was stoked on our finds.

large wood frame (will probably be used to make a chalkboard), 5 strands of Christmas lights, 2 timers, an excessive amount of replacement bulbs: $2.00 

elastic, zippers, velcro, 8 drawer pulls, 3 knobs: .50 cents

soap dish, metal measuring spoon set, lazy susan (for organizing kitchen cupboards): .50 cents

24 Bernstein bear books (pretty much the entire collection): $4.00

4 small garage hooks, 2 large garage hooks, 1 badminton birdie: $1.00

total: $8.00

FOOD show

My dad works in the food business. What a fun industry to be a part of! Lucky for me he was invited to a food show here in Portland, and (knowing how incredibly fun they are) he got extra tickets for my mom, my sister, and I. What is a food show you might ask? It's basically Costco sampling on crack. Rows and rows and rows of vendors line up their tables and give out free samples of their product. However unlike Costco giving you small little tastes, you are given full on sliders, ribs, lattes, ice cream bars, pulled pork sandwiches, shrimp, beer, wine, cakes, cookies, teas, smoothies, yogurts, chips, fries, soups... you get the picture. There is literally offered everything under the sun, and you just get to walk around and eat whatever you want for free. Being 18 weeks pregnant and just coming out of the nauseousness phase, it is not exaggerating to say this was a dream. Jake got to join us on his lunch break for an hour, which was great! Oh and on top of walking around and gorging yourself, they also give you a bag upon arrival that you fill up with packaged samples to take home. We were there from 9-4. It was a lovely day.

the booty

Feather Your Nest

I know I've written before about a shabby chic home boutique that my sister in law and a couple of friends put on in Yakima, WA. It was time for this years spring edition (the boutique is held twice a year during the spring and the fall). Even though we've moved south 3 1/2 hours, I still was eager to participate. I'm slowly and constantly creating items in prior months with Feather Your Nest in the back of my head the whole time. But it isn't until a couple weeks before the event that I kick it in to high gear trying to bust out multiples of all the crafts I have stock piled on Pinterest. Luckily, it all got done in time and I sent up quite the inventory of handmade dolls, diaper clutches, crinkle toys, pup tents, wreathes, knit scarves, hair clips, bow ties, and zippered pouches. Thankfully it was a super successful event for me. Not only is it a blessing to make a little extra income, but even more so to realize that people actually like the stuff that I create enough to purchase it.

Easter Weekend

We had a lovely weekend celebrating our Savior's resurrection! Friday night we got to play tennis with our friends Chris and Katie. Saturday we had our usual cinnamon rolls while watching survivor. Then we headed out to the farm and worked on tilling the rows and planting some of the starts from the greenhouse into the ground. Later that evening we headed to Jake's parents house and helped them begin to pack (they have to be out of their house by April 25th), baked and prepared food for Easter dinner, and hung out a little. Sunday morning we went to church at Athey Creek and it was so encouraging to hear a bunch of people give their life to Christ! Jake and stopped by home to pick up our desserts to take and give each other Easter baskets, then headed out to the Antis's for Easter dinner. It ended up being so lovely and sunny that most of the day was spent lounging on the patio and playing lawn games. We ate to our hearts content and also played a few strategy games as well. We ended our day by stopping by the farm to quickly spread a little slug bate. It was a productive, fruitful, and festive weekend.

It's Been Awhile

Reality is that no one really reads this blog on a regular basis. It is more a form to document life happenings for our family then to blow up into a megablog at this point. That being said, I haven't posted in quite some time due to some big changes going on that I finally needed to document. We are currently pregnant with our first little one! I am 13 weeks along, and due in mid October. We are stoked. Other then constant nauseousness, tiredness, increased peeing (I used to sleep completely through the night, solid as a rock!), and a sore chest everything is going super well. We had our first ultrasound at 9 weeks and saw our little one's heartbeat for the first time. We opted not to do any genetic testing (as it would never change our mind on wanting to keep the little one), but our doctor did recommend that we get tested for being cystic fibrosis carriers as it would change our prenatal care if our baby was found to have it. Unfortunately, I tested positive for being a carrier. Thankfully though, Jake is not a carrier meaning there is no possible chance our baby could have it. It is a constant miracle to have the Lord fashioning a life inside of my womb. With all the worries that can easily creep in about your child's well being, He has given us a perfect peace in knowing that everything is in His hands. We are excited to learn from the Lord as we trust Him to fashion us into parents who train up our child to love and fear Him. So thankful for this little blessing, and my sweet husband!

Some New Items In My Etsy Shop

As far as crafting goes, I have a lot of mood swings. Some weeks it's all I can think about to constantly be busting out new projects, or producing multiples of one to put in my etsy shop. Then other weeks I'm just busy with working and day to day upkeep of life and don't touch a single piece of fabric or my sewing machine. Lately  it's been the former. Here are a few of my recent projects that have recently been posted in my shop.
fox doll:

 raccoon doll:

 little zippered pouch

 kid's bowtie

SCORE!!!

As stated previously, I had the privilege of pillaging Red White & Blue thrift stone in Gladstone on my birthday. Some days of thrifting you leave with your tail tucked between your legs- bummed about leaving empty handed. Then on other days you score Anthropologie product for value menu prices, and this was one of those days.

vintage lace curtains: $5 (two large panels not pictured)
glass honey dispenser: $2
gold bangles: $1.50
wood bangles: $1.00
necklace chains: .50 cents/each

 

Here's a better shot of the honey dispenser. It's two pieces (the bottom catches any honey that might accidently drip out), and check out the cute honeycomb pattern ebbed into the glass.

The lace on the curtains I plan to use for projects such as this, and the necklace chains for something like this or this. If you can't tell, I'm stoked!

Oh Happy Day

My 27th birthday was yesterday. When I read my card from Jake I paused and said,  "Am I really 27?!". That seems so old. Despite the inevitable increase in number, I had such a wonderful day. Jake asked me the night before if I would get up early on my birthday and hang out with him before he left for work. After agreeing, I woke up to a handsome husband, Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, and freshly brewed Stumptown coffee. We had a lovely little morning together before he headed in. Then my sweet sister in law and mother in law treated me to lunch at a fancy little restaurant in downtown Oregon City. Holy moly, the smoked gouda and bacon mac n cheese was incredible! Knowing my love for thrift stores, they took me to one of my favorites- Red White & Blue- and were patient with me as I perused to my hearts content. I made it back home just in time to greet my husband and we took off for the evening. He had registered me the night before for any restaurant in the area that had a freebie on your birthday. I LOVE free things. We went to Changs Mongolian Grill and got a whole free meal, to a Dutch Bros nearby for a free large coffee, to Jack in the box for a free cheesecake, and to another Dutch Bros for a free large coffee. There were moments that you feel a little embarrassed for just hitting up the free stuff (like when Jake sat with me at Changs, just sipping on his water as I scarfed my stirfry- our original plan to take it togo and share it was thwarted when we were told they didn't have togo boxes), but it also makes us giggle and feel like we're pretty smart. We still have a free Red Robin burger and appetizer, a buy one get one free blizzard from Dairy Queen, and a free entree at Moe's southwest grill that we couldn't fit in for fear of a tummy ache. We ended the night going to our friends, the Tuma's, cozy home (being joined by some other friends- the Niehus' and the Easterlys) and playing dutch blitz until our palms were sweaty, our hearts were racing, and our brows were glistening. Happy birthday phone calls from my family, birthday cards in the mail from grandparents, and the typical well wishes from random facebook friends were the cherries on top. I am so blessed by the sweet friendships the Lord has given me.

Guess Who- Hayes Edition

Substituting pictures of your family in the classic game "Guess Who" is not a new concept, but I finally got around to making it for my nieces and nephews this year for Christmas. It was relatively simple. I just used microsoft word to size the pictures and type the names underneath, then printed them out and cut them to size. The kiddos loved them!

The Best Christmas Season Ever

According to my sweet husband, he this year was the best Christmas season of his whole life. I'm pretty sure this was due to the fact that we packed December with festive activities around every bend. A local tree lighting ceremony, snuggling down to Christmas movies, cutting down a tree with my in-laws, going to our church's Christmas play, another church's Christmas play, a Christmas concert, going to see the Nutcracker, cross country skiing, seeing the peacock lane Christmas lights & Christmas ships down on the waterfront, cookie baking, making gifts together, Christmas shopping, Jake's company Christmas party, lots of Christmas music, celebrating with both our families. I think that covers all of it. We went all out in the Christmas cheer category this year. It is such a blessing to live life with my wonderful husband by my side. What a joy it was celebrating our Savior's birth together!

Advent Calendars

                                                 

While down in Eugene over Thanksgiving, my sister wanted me to help her whip up an advent calendar for their family. "Whipping it up" ended up being synonymous with shopping for fabric for a couple hours, staying up until 1:30am, and racing to put the finishing touches on it before we headed home. It was fun though and some great time with my sister. It's just a basic fabric pocket advent calendar that she will fill with pieces of a nativity scene, activities to do, and treats.

I had started working on a cardstock version for Jake and I and finished just in time for the first of December. On the back of each tag is an activity to do that day. The black rectangles on the front are chalkboard paper, so we can plan the calendar each year and change the date on the activities if need be (ie. we might get our tree on a Sunday this year and not want to plan to get it on Monday next year).

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we went down to Eugene and celebrated with my family (since we missed last year with them when we were in Kenya). We had a lovely Thanksgiving feast at my aunt and uncle's house, celebrated my dad's birthday, did a little shopping, went to the civil war football game, played some games, and hit up the $1.50 movie theater a few times (the boys went to three movies over the weekend).

One Pot Dinner

Have you ever tried the Birds Eye garlic chicken skillet meal? It is super delicious. I hadn't had it for a long time, and then some friends made it for me for dinner one night (they got the jumbo bag from Costco). Since I didn't want to pay probably around $10 for the premade stuff, I decided to try to make it myself. It turned out pretty identical and was cheaper too. Here is my made up recipe:
                                                

1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 can of corn
1/2 lb of rotini pasta
1/4 of a costco rotisserie chicken, picked and shredded
2 Tbs butter
6 cloves of garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 Tbs flour
1 1/2 c milk
1 1/2 tsp dill
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

-sautee carrot and broccoli in a little olive oil until crisp tender, add corn
-boil water and cook pasta until al dente, stir into veggies
-add rotisserie chicken to veggie/pasta mixture
-melt butter in saucepan, add garlic and cook until lightly browned
-stir in flour and let cook for a couple of minutes
-whisk in milk, stir in dill, cayenne, salt and pepper
-toss garlic sauce with pasta/veggie/chicken mixture

-Eat!

Date Night Chopped

We don't watch a lot of TV, but we have been watching some episodes of Chopped here and there online. We were trying to decide on what to do the other night and on a whim Jake came up with a game plan. We ran to the store, had a budget of $4 each to buy ingredients with, came home and revealed them to each other, then had to use what the other person had bought (along with pantry items) to create a delicious dinner in 30 minutes. Mayhem ensued, and a plate of waterchestnut/pepper/onion/& chicken sausage stirfry and a plate of smoked cheddar/broccoli/bacon/tomato sauce pasta with broccoli salad were the results. I was hesitant to do it at first and wasn't really in the mood, but in the end it was a great time. I didn't get any pictures of the food cause we were so hungry by the time we were done, but here is the resulting disaster in our kitchen:

The Pumpkin Patch

Every year we venture out to the pumpkin patch to have some homemade apple cider & pumpkin doughnuts, pick out a pumpkin, taste fudge samples, and walk around the farm. We did that this year as well. Although we tried our best to find pumpkins that were narrow and tall (cost of the pumpkins is based on the width not the weight), it still would have cost us 7 bucks to get two small ones. So after enjoying the atmosphere and tasty treats, we followed a sign to a small pumpkin patch without all the hoopla. It was $2 for any pumpkin, and paying was on the honor system. I feel like we got to experience the best of both worlds.