Five-Year Staycation

My husband, Chris, and I celebrated our five-year anniversary this past week. We would have loved to take a trip, but with four little ones babysitting is a big undertaking! So, we decided to to keep it close to home and stay at our favorite local hotel, the Havana. (In the picture above you can see my husband waiting very patiently while I take my photo.) Here are some other photos he waited around for me to take (and I was lucky enough to get him to take a few, too):

the lobby

our room

candelabra

Our cute little fridge, with my husband for a size-comparison, of course (he's about 6').





Attempting to take a timed photo from on top of said fridge.

Some of the goodies in our fridge.

Me very happy with a Mexican Coke (from the fridge).

There was an intermission between checking in and dinner (we couldn't miss our youngest son's final t-ball game!). But afterwards we had dinner at Ocho, the hotel restaurant.  

The restaurant has such a cool look and feel to it (I'll show you a couple more pictures in a bit). The inner wall is the outside of the hotel itself, with an additional glass-paned wall (which rises) looking over the Riverwalk. It's very small, but perfect for a quiet, romantic evening.

Here's a shot of the hotel at night.

After dinner we walked along the river and had some gelato at my favorite ice cream place, Justin's.

We returned to Ocho for breakfast in the morning--doesn't it look like an awesome place to spend your  morning?

I enjoyed a yummy omelet with avacado and bacon and an arugala salad (Chris had something with a bunch of meat) and plenty of coffee, of course. 

Doesn't look like the coffee helped much though, does it? Don't we look tired? I guess these five years have kept us pretty busy ;) I think we were just trying too hard to hold a smile while our sweet hostess figured out the camera. 

We're thinking of making the close-to-home getaway to the Havana more often (thanks to my wonderful mom for staying overnight with the kids). We did make a stop to an antique store on our way home and celebrated later that evening with a special treat for the kids--I'll post about those later!

Any favorite staycation ideas in your neck of the woods?

(By the way, this post is not sponsored either by the Havana, Ocho Lounge, or Justin's Ice Cream Company, although if any of them ever want to offer us any freebies for our next anniversary, they're totally welcome!)

Thrift Store Party Plates

You wanna see my plates? C'mon, you know you want to!

Side Window Sunshade Tutorial at Me Sew Crazy

Today I'm blog sitting for Jessica over at Me Sew Crazy with a Side Window Sunshade tutorial to help keep your little ones cool in the car during this amazingly hot summer.

If you don't already know Jessica and her blog, you have to check out her awesome sewing skills. I first came across her blog through the spring wardrobe collections she made for her daughters. Isn't she amazing??

I hope y'all enjoy my sunshade tutorial--let me know what you think!

Back to the Sewing Machine

It's been a while since I've posted about any sewing projects around here, hasn't it? Well, a photographer friend of mine asked to take some pictures of Miss Amelia for her portfolio, so of course I said yes. And of course I had to put her in something handmade! Want to take a peek?

I found the pattern for this sweet little crossover pinafore at Smashed Peas and Carrots. Amelia already has a couple crossover tops like it, but I was always too intimidated to try and make my own pattern from them. It was actually very easy to make (although I did adjust the length of the straps because they were a little too long on my skinny girl).

I love the style of this pinafore, because there's no messing with pulling clothes over baby's head. You just cross the pieces in the back and button the straps in the front. 

I even made some bloomers to match from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby. 

And some yo yo barrettes using the tutorial found over at Sew, Mama, Sew.

And then I made a blue pinafore to match Amelia's sweet baby blues. 

 

They're not perfect, but they sure are sweet, and so is that blue-eyed baby!

Stop back by on Thursday, I have another little sewing treat I can't wait to share!

The Importance of Being Bored

It's important to let your kids know what it's like being bored. Sometimes even a little every day. I don't mean completely ignoring them while you eat bon-bons, or feeling their arm and telling them they don't feel like wood (that's what my mom did when I complained about being board bored--it drove me nuts!). 

But I do mean stepping back and giving them space to do their own thing.

Like reading a book...

...playing with the toys they already have...

...exploring the world around them...

...drawing...

...or even hanging out with their siblings.

Being a kid is about discovery. If we don't give them time to just be they won't learn to appreciate the things they have, or the things you take them to do, or what their own interests are. And you'll go nuts trying to entertain them at all times. So cut yourself some slack this week and let your little ones spend a little time being bored...I'm sure they'll quickly find something to do!

One Birthday Down

Okay, so this one doesn't really count for the party-planning checklist. My husband's birthday is at the beginning of July, and being a summer birthday, I guess he grew up without a lot of hoopla. So sweet and simple our celebration was. We went to the flea market earlier that morning, and I made Chris' favorite pineapple upside down cake for after-dinner dessert.

We didn't have enough candles for years, but we crammed on the ones we did have, and the kids went crazy singing happy birthday (of course). 

Then there were handmade cards and gifts to open. I put together a super-simple scrapbook of Chris' time at the fire academy, his graduation, and his station. He graduated from the academy a few days after his birthday two years ago, and I thought it would make a good album (plus I've been meaning to work on more scrapbooks). 

After getting the kids settled with the babysitter, we went out for a little date...

...which included a movie, popcorn, and then a couple drinks at The Friendly Spot afterward. A wonderful evening with my guy. 

Now for those real parties in need of planning...

All in a Day's Work

A busy, but joy-filled day. I'm a little pooped. How was your day?