Hey guys!

Oh my goodness, this desk.
THE. DESK.

For the last ten days this desk and I have been through some things, let me tell ya.

The first time I spotted this desk, which is actually an antique sewing table formerly belonging to my father in law, it was in my in law's basement under a mountain of totes in their storage. This was before my husband and I were even married, and I knew it needed to be rescued.

Fast forward to my husband and I getting married and moving within the same month, no wait, I'm lying - the same WEEK. (Because I'm clearly a glutton for punishment.) I knew right away when we found this place that that little sewing table belonged smack dab in the center of my work area, so I made the mad dash to save it from it's cobweb covered life.
I have this thing where I say "it just needs a little love" about all damaged things. If I had a dollar for every run down, abandoned, decrepit house I've driven past and said aloud to my husband "it just needs a little love" I would have enough money to BUY one of the abandoned, decrepit houses and give it all the love it could ever want or need. When I got the desk to end all desks it was in rough shape, but for the past year and change I've made do with it's bumpy textured surface (done with a sprayable "rock texture" paint by my in laws many moons ago) and not-so-pretty cup style drawer pulls. My sewing machine is too big to fit in the dedicated sewing machine spot inside of the desk, so it lived on top and the surface was less work space and more catch-all with drawers. 

Finally after Christmas, after reviewing my goals post again, I couldn't take it anymore and brandished a home depot gift card that I've had since our wedding shower from the depths of my wallet, looked to my husband and declared "The desk is getting a makeover."

We headed off to Home Depot on New Years Day to look at paint colors and establish the things I would need. I've never, ever redone a piece of furniture before so I was truly flying by the seat of my pants with only information from the internet and knowledge from tinkering around with other projects clanging around in my head. Thanks to my awesome dad, I had sandpaper, scraping tools, eye & face protection as well as access to a bunch of other tools should I need them, so that saved me a ton of money and time! I picked out a beautiful blueish grey paint from Behr in a shade called English Hollyhock. (It's absolutely stunning in person, though my camera captures it only as grey - so pardon that.) I wanted something soft that wouldn't stand out in my work space, in a nice calm colorway to keep my area peaceful. 

The day of the second, I spent ALL DAY while my husband was at work scraping the desk down. Mind you, it's January. In New England. So I did all of this in my apartment. (Hello to my beautiful landlady, if you're reading this I PROMISE I kept the mess contained!) I spread an old tablecloth out on the floor, plopped the desk on top of it and got to work while listening to Nicki Minaj on my nifty bluetooth headphones I got for Christmas. It was an excellent work out, I'll tell you that much! It took me 40 minutes to scrape down ONE side panel by itself!

After the bulk of the desk was scraped down, on the third we went and picked up all of the supplies I needed! The paint I got was the Behr paint and primer in a semi-gloss, in the sample size. I used one and a quarter sample sized pots (8 oz per pot) to do this project. I honestly could have gotten away with just the one pot, but I used a little splash of the second to cover any missed areas and to double coat the drawers. Better to be safe than sorry! I also grabbed a mini foam roller with some replacement rollers just in case, a second scraper with a more narrow edge to get into the crevices of the drawers I had yet to scrape, a small paint tray, tack cloth, two sanding blocks with angled sides in two different (high and low) grits, wood filler, and a handle for the fake drawer on the front of the desk. As far as the four functioning drawers on the sides go, my dad (luckily!) had four vintage crystal knobs tucked away in his various bits and bobs. He's had them since before I was even born! He never had a purpose for them and they were the perfect fit for the aesthetic I was going for so he gifted them to me! He's the best, that one! The old hardware for the knobs was rusted and gross from age, so I had to get screws to fit, washers, and nuts for the back to keep them in place. (It was easier said than done. The knobs are long, the drawers are thick and the screws had to go completely through the knob and then through the drawer - it was a peculiar size, I got talked down to by some dude while looking, but it got done after all.) I soaked the knobs sans hardware in a dish soap/white vinegar/baking soda mix and scrubbed them with a soft bristle toothbrush I had kicking around to get any and all gunk off of them from sitting in my dads workshop for years upon years and they cleaned up super nicely! It was another great money saver (comparable knobs at HD were roughly $4 a pop!), and after the $25 gift card I only spent twenty dollars and change to get all of my supplies!

We got home and I put my husband to work sanding and scraping the drawers while I sanded the last bits of paint off of the body of the desk, filled some of the holes from the old pulls with wood filler, and wiped the whole thing down with the tack cloth. All while keeping his sanding/scraping area WAY away from my "clean" area! (And while simultaneously binge watching Making a Murderer. Frustration makes the time pass quicker, after all!) 

Once it was all scraped, sanded, filled and wiped down to the best of my ability, I could paint! I was so excited to start, it was definitely the best and easiest part of the whole process. The paint went on like butter and dried SO fast. I did 2 coats on the whole body of the desk and the same one drawer before calling it quits for the night. It was super late by that point! I didn't feel more than two coats was necessary anyway, the coverage of this paint is awesome. By far the best I've used for anything!

(Some of the photos in this post were taken on my iPhone. Sorry if the quality is a little off - I didn't want to be juggling my nice camera with messy hands!)

Hey guys!

My goodness, it's been a minute.

First things first, let me start by saying I hope you all had a beautiful bunch of holidays filled with warmth and love. Our holidays were BUSY this year. We spend a lot of Christmas Day going from house to house, and I hosted friend Christmas for the first time ever this year! Which means, while bouncing from house to house I also had to bake, cook and clean! I think I pulled it off well, considering I was also apparently coming down with some kind of sickness too, unbeknownst to me. My son brought home a germ or two from school and boy oh boy did it kick my butt! Fever, chills, the whole nine. Right now I'm on the upswing, but I was down for the count for a few days there! I even fell asleep on the floor last night while my husband went to see Star Wars with our pals. Just me, Property Brothers and all of my project life cards spread out on the floor. Snooze city. I woke up this morning with a lot more pep in my step so let us hope that it's all over. I HATE feeling gross like that!

This year I was apparently a SUPER good girl, because Santa (both secret and otherwise!) brought me everything I asked for! As referenced in my post about my 2016 Goals
 one of the biggest things I wanted to do this year was start a Project Life album, and my husband (err... Santa...) bought me some pages, an album and a box of cards (the "Honey" edition by Lori Whitlock, which is what's pictured in the photos throughout this post!) . My secret Santa (my Brother in Law) got me the 96 piece box of the Vanessa Perry "Inspire" edition watercolor cards and pieces as well as the big 616 piece box of the "Favorite Things" edition by Heidi Swapp. I tore open the boxes like a madwoman, flipped through all the cards with wide eyes and a fluttery heart...and then came crashing into the realization that I had nowhere to put all this stuff.

One thing lead to another and I wound up over at Michaels the day after Christmas, neck deep in SUPER AWESOME sales, and came out with an entire cart full of storage solutions that were each 70% off. Plus coupons and gift cards, I spent next to nil to get my "office" looking prettier than a peach in the sunshine! I then spent about 3 or 4 hours going through each and every drawer in my area, throwing things away, breaking things, organizing and reorganizing, and I've gotta tell ya- I am in love with my space all over again and I'm not even DONE YET. (I still have a desk to repaint in the spring!)
It's a good feeling, y'all.
I found things I had forgotten I had, got a few splinters and scrapes, and consolidated the excess down to zip. Which goes back to the aforementioned goals post - "getting rid of the unnecessary" and "create a better studio space"! It feels awesome to be accomplishing small pieces of things ahead of schedule!

(A crappy phone photo of my WIP studio area! Hooray!)

Once I found the storage, which turned out to be these super cute metal drawers in pink and white that fit my cards perfectly (And on sale for 6 whole dollars a piece! I mean, honestly. How could I possibly resist?!), I sat down with my Honey edition cards and organized them, first by R.O.Y G. B.I.V (or in the case of this collection, rainbow, black, then colors), then by "journaling" side and patterned within those groups for both the 4x6 and 3x4 cards, then by just patterned and just words.
Sounds like a lot, but I like to know what I'm looking for!

I then put them in to my little pink drawer with the 4x6 cards separating the colors, the 3x4 patterned cards laying down horizontally and journaling cards standing up vertically! All 616 cards fit into the drawer with ease and are able to be looked at and pulled out for use very easily, I'm super happy with it! I had leftover Kraft paper from making our Christmas cards this year and used some down the middle so I can put in my Favorite Things cards after I sort them all.
(You can see the kraft paper divider in the title image for this post!)

It takes a little while, but I sat there with my tea and some shows and got through it all fairly easily.

Last Christmas I was gifted several rolling carts and I cleared almost an entire side of one to be used for scrapping as well! I have all of my stickers and embellishments in there now, and have more room just in case I fill up these metal drawers, should I be given any more kits or pick anything else up during sales in the future.

Needless to say, I am super stoked to begin the 2016 year!

 How do you like to organize your craft supplies?
Your Project Life things?
Do you have a system of your own?
Comment below!

Love,

Fawn.

Hey guys.
It's been a busy few weeks with us getting ready for Christmas, and attending several winter/holiday themed events in the area. I've been working my little fingers off, both at home and at work. It's been a hectic few weeks!

I've been wanting to write a post like this for a while. I know I'm not the only one that feels the pit growing in the bottom of their stomach once the summer comes to a close, knowing that the "big" holidays are right around the corner.

I'm going to let you into my world a little bit here. Bare with me.

When I was very newly 18 years old, my mom died. The day before Halloween. My then favorite holiday. I had planned on dressing up as Tinkerbell for work and was so excited about it. Instead, I went into work on Halloween night in my pajamas, puffy faced and crying to put in for the longest leave I could possibly take. I cried through the entire grace during Thanksgiving that year and spent the majority of Christmas Day curled up into a ball in the corner chair in the living room of my first apartment, wrapped in a blanket and sobbing while staring at a fake tree that I couldn't stand. 

Two sets of holidays later and I was together with my now husband. He got me as the black wave of grief was turning more into a tide, coming in and out but never fully consuming me like it used to. Now seven years after her passing I can manage my sadness, anger and jealousy better even though it seems as though it's more unpredictable. Some days it's a still pond, some days a waterfall. My soul aches over the fact that she will never meet my son - who is her twin in both looks and personality, or my husband. Each Mother's Day and birthday is a double edged sword. I miss her on hers and on mine. I still wonder how different my life would be if she were here, another setting at my dinner table for the holidays, and certain songs and movies still squeeze my heart tight. Major life events like the birth of my child and my wedding day felt wholly incomplete. But I have ways of making it more manageable and I'd like to share them with you.

These are things I actually do, during the holidays and really - every day that is harder than normal.
I promise.

- Practice Self Care.

Take time to be alone if you need to. Allow yourself to cry. Go for a long drive through the country, or maybe to your favorite city! Window shop. Take a bubble bath. Put your headphones in and dance it out, or just allow yourself to drown out the world with the music. (Noise cancelling headphones are THE best!) Treat yourself to lunch. Meditate/do yoga. Go for a walk and appreciate the world around you. Bake! Read a book. Create something pretty.
Or, sleep! Sometimes a nap when I'm sad is exactly what my soul needs.
(Sometimes it's hard to do "positive" things, such as create, if you're having a really tough day - and that's okay! You have to do what feels best for you!)

- Remember Them as Much as YOU Can Handle. 

Don't force yourself to surround yourself with things of theirs of things that constantly remind you of them if that's not what you can handle. I have a few of my moms things in our house, and had things of hers at our wedding. My wedding dress even had similar details to hers to honor her. I have a photo of myself, her and my sister on my dresser to remind myself of the type of woman I aspire to be each day.
But her ashes? Her ashes are at my dads. Because I can't handle having them at my house. And that's okay! I go to the cemetery to visit and talk to her frequently, but only if I know I'm having a day where I can handle it mentally in a positive light and not even 1% less.

-Have Someone You Can Talk to About Your Feelings.
(But Respect Their Boundaries if it's Someone They've Lost, too.)

I speak very openly about my mom with my sister because we both know when the other one is feeling too sad about it to continue, but won't do the same with my dad because he's much harder to read and a lot more closed off. Talking with my husband (who unfortunately never met her) really helps me too because he's my safe place and allows me to sob it out if I need him to be a human Kleenex. A best friend/spouse/family member that can give you all the hugs is wonderful.
(Having a counselor or a therapist is a great idea too, but this isn't something I personally follow.)

- Do Something That Would Make Them Smile if They Were Here.
On my mom's birthday every year I go to the bakery and get a carrot cake cupcake and a cup of coffee. She loved carrot cake and it still makes me feel like she's close by. It's a little thing, but it brings back lots of positive memories.
 

- Make a Donation in Their Honor
I frequently donate blood because blood transfusions prolonged her life and I had made a promise to her as a young teen that when I came of age to do so, I would, so other people could also get help!
Think of something that was special to them, or something that helps people with the same disease or situation they were in if that's how they passed. (Such as The American Heart Association and similar) Or you can do things such as donate books to nursing homes, volunteer, work at a soup kitchen and so forth! Good karma & keeping their memory alive. Win-Win!

But most importantly:
Remind yourself that you are a human and it's okay to feel lost, sad, jealous, angry, robbed of something special, and any other emotions that come along with grief. 
 

Deep breaths and surrounding myself with positive energy seems to be what works the most overall for me. 

What works for you?

Please share in the comments below, you never know who you could be helping! 

Be well and merry this holiday season. 

Love, 

Fawn. 

Hey all!

Today I'm going to do something a little different - my very first tutorial!

I've seen a few different doily dreamcatcher tutorials around the web, but was super eager to make my own and figured I would share with you guys!
The sky is the limit with these, they can be as busy or as simple as you want it to be.
I mixed vintage and modern elements with feathers that match the colorway of our living room, but with a pop of royal blue and some copper tones to spice it up!

Lets get to it!

Supplies:

One round doily! I'm in love with "pineapple" doilies, but whatever you love works best! 

Embroidery hoop that accommodates your doily, I used a 12 inch hoop for mine. You want there to be a little gap between the doily and the hoop itself so the doily is able to be "suspended" in the middle

Cotton crochet thread

Aleene's tacky glue or your glue of choice. (I use Aleene's for everything!)

Ribbon/beads/crystals/buttons/whatever you wish to jazz it up with!

Feathers

Small vice clamps, I used these to hold things in place while I strung up the doily, or while things were gluing. Totally optional, I just like having a "second set of hands".

(I got my ribbon at michaels, but everything else except for the doily itself, and the buttons which are vintage, from Hobby Lobby.)

So the first thing I did was sit down and do my layout. I laid out all the feathers and crystals on my work surface and decided what flowed best and how long I wanted my strings hanging down to be.

Following that, I took my ultra sparkly gold ribbon and wrapped it around the embroidery hoop, starting at the screw of the hoop and wrapping in such a way that the wood of the hoop still showed through so it would still have a natural feel to it. Once I got around the hoop and back to the screw I added a little bit of my trusty Aleene's and clipped one of my vice grips in place.

The wood showing through was important in my case because I wanted it to match the hoops (pictured below) that I made for our wedding. I made these by stretching thrifted curtains and remnant fabric from JoAnn's through the embroidery hoops, cutting off the excess fabric as close to the hoop as possible and hot gluing all around the seam of the hoop in the back. These hung around the porch of the cabin where our reception was, as well as in the gazebo where we said our vows, and now reside in our living room! We have 13 of these bad boys hanging up, and they make me smile every day!

Moving on!

After wrapping the hoop in the ribbon, center your doily how you want it inside the hoop.
Starting with the top point of the doily and using the cotton crochet thread, weave the thread through the loop at the edge of the doily (whichever works best for you - mine was the outermost point of the "pineapple!") and around the hoop, stretching the doily as you work. Repeating until all the points are secure and smoothed out nicely. Don't worry about it being perfect! I went until the thread was at the point being held down by my vice grips, cut off the excess, added another drop of glue under the sparkly ribbon, tucked the thread underneath and clamped the clamp back down.

(Before I attached the doily to the hoop - centering the doily & watching people spend insane amounts of money on houses on HGTV.)

Following that, I took my crochet thread and cut 9 (excessively) long strings from the spool. I wanted them super long to be able to adjust as need be.
Feel free to be more precise, you know, if you're a show off. Haha.

After deciding which of crystals and feathers I wanted to be paired up, I took the crystal, put it to the nozzle of my glue bottle and squeezed until the hole of the crystal was completely full of glue and then slid the feather inside. Once dry, the glue is clear and you can't even tell it's there! Magical!

I then took one of the aforementioned super long strings, put the tip of the string inside the hole of the crystal full of glue and pushed it in until the tip of the thread touched the tip of the feather that's inside of the crystal. Thus, coating the string in glue, and holding it in place for eternity. I used a sewing needle to aid in this process because once the glue touches the thread it doesn't always cooperate. Patience is key. Repeat until all of your crystals and feathers have a matching string friend.
(And your hands are most likely covered in glue. No? Just me? Okay.)

These pairings take a while to dry!
(Mine took a few days!)
More patience, darlings.

I added the small white beads (and my brass buttons on the strands that contained the feathers that are going to hang centermost) while everything was drying. Do not, however, slide the beads down until everything is dry. You can risk dislodging the string from inside the crystal, and that's no bueno.

 Once your crystals are dry inside enough to support the weight of the crystal on the string and hold up the feather (and please for the love of popcorn, make SURE they can) you can start attaching the strings to the hoop! 

Making a loop with the string, come under the hoop and put the feather/crystal combo through the loop you've created, then pull tight.
(I'm demonstrating the string being under the hoop, but looped to pass the feather/crystal through in the crappy cell phone photo above)

After that was set, I took a little ribbon and my handy dandy glue yet again, made a loop for hanging behind the screw of the embroidery hoop, clamped it and let it sit to dry for the remainder of the afternoon. When I came home I hung it up and couldn't be happier with the results!

And that's it!
It's a great weekend project, and I love how easy this can be made to fit any room of a home. Bedroom, living room, even a nursery! The options are endless!
Make one of your own? Post a link to it in the comments below, or shoot me an email!
I would love to see!

Love,

Fawn.

Hey all!

With 2015 coming to a close and Thanksgiving THURSDAY (yes, already!) I figured I would do a #goals post.
Hashtag. Goals. 

Haha.

Pickle & Pear: Goals 2016!

- Project life and/or finally scrapbook our wedding and honeymoon. 

I've wanted to start officially scrapping for so long and project life albums always come out so gorgeous. I would love to do one page monthly! These pages here and here really inspire me!

-Read 3 books over the course of the year

This sounds small but it totally isn't these days. I have about 20 books on the shelf with bookmarks in them that I haven't touched in ... A while. 

- Read to my little guy more. 

Same umbrella. The problem with working late means that usually when I pick him up he's either sleeping/almost sleeping or falls asleep in the car. It makes our bedtime book time non existent most days. Not an excuse though, I need to carve out more time. 

- Manage our budget better. 

This is a loaded one. We have a lot of things we could allocate differently as far as finances go. We've already done a pretty good job whittling down the unnecessary but I know there's more I can do! (Always!) My bestie Laura is the budget queen and is going to show me her ways. Thank goodness - numbers make me queasy.

- Get rid of the unnecessary. 

This goes under the previous one as well. We've done really awesome with donating our clothes and small things like that this year, if I do say so myself, but there's so much more we could donate or sell! I'm really trying in earnest to declutter our somewhat tiny apartment, it's so satisfying!

-Stay on top of eating breakfast every day. 

I am so bad at this, you guys. Like, super super awful. My husband makes me a cup of coffee in the morning, I'll drink it in one gulp as I'm putting my makeup on and get halfway through my work day before I realize - hey! I'm HUNGRY. And dizzy. And feel gross/sluggish/angry/etc. So then I usually eat something terrible for me (like a Dunkin donuts breakfast sandwich...) and feel worse. Packing small and actually healthy breakfasts is a bit of a challenge with my line of work and how much I rush around all day every day, but something I need to commit to. 

-Keep up with my blogging schedule. 

Or you know, actually come up with a proper one. I bought a planner and a wall calendar to assist with this! This is my first time actually fully committing to a planner, too! Year of change!

-Get Pickle & Pear into at least 2 local stores. 

Our craft community around here is just starting to blossom a bit more and I feel like it's a good time to get myself back out there!

- Plan one day a month for myself, one for a date night. 

My husband and I tend to be passing ships with our schedules, and we never really make time to find a sitter/have a proper date. We do payday takeout and watch a lot of our shows together but nothing beats an excuse to wear my favorite red lipstick and dress up all fancy out on the town! 

As far as a day with myself goes, back at the beginning of the summer I took some of my vacation time and had a day out in town while little man was in school to just be alone and explore! I used to do that a lot before my big guy and our little guy came into my life, and I forget sometimes that self love is super important too! I spent that whole day drinking delicious coffee, thrift shopping and wandering in the perfect weather and I'm definitely WAY past overdue for more! 

- Create a better studio space. 
 The word "studio" is a very loose term. My work space is actually a little section of our living room I carved out. I get beautiful views of the sunset every day, the snow in the winter, and the cute birdies on the fence next door. I'm in eye shot of the TV so I can watch all of my shows while I work! (Hello, Parenthood - my newest Netflix addiction) But, the redeeming qualities basically end there. Because we're renters I can't hang shelves, which means I have ugly, industrial looking rolling carts flanking each side of my desk. Infinitely functional and I'm so thankful for them, but they're not the cutest things to look at. My work station chair is actually one of my dining room chairs. My scissor fob/ stitch marker supplies sit on the bottom shelf of a particle board bookshelf that used to be my sons across the room. It's kind of a chaotic little nook and doesn't have much "flow."
I would love to revamp the space: Add some inspiring art, FINALLY buy a nice chair, and maybe even throw a new coat of paint on desk and give the old particle board shelf a face-lift once the weather gets nice again in the spring!

- Refrigerator organization!

My husband laughed at me for this one and said "this one makes no sense! You have all these other big goals and then you want to make the fridge neat?!" But I do! Ever see those pretty pictures on Pinterest of people with these fridges full of mason jars and labeled bins and those adorable fridge mats? I crave it!! Our fridge is decently sized but crammed full of nonsense and since I'm the one that does the majority of the cooking - why not make it pretty?! (And more functional, of course, but pretty totally takes the lead.) 

 -Plan at least one trip out of the state, day trip or otherwise

Last spring I went down to Gettysburg and it was such an awesome trip - I never wanted to come home! I felt so carefree and I LOVED exploring the town, trying new foods and seeing all of the history. Plus the people in town were the absolute sweetest! (in addition to the picture perfect weather all week - people were walking around in jackets and I was in sundresses!)
I haven't gone on a vacation with my husband since our honeymoon (eek!) so heading out to explore another state and seeing all that another town has to offer would be wonderful. We're thinking of hitting Vermont for our 2 year wedding anniversary so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that we can actually make this goal come true!
--
And that's it for now!
I'm looking forward to this time next year where I can write about what I've actually accomplished!

If you have a "goals" post of your own, feel free to drop it in the comments! I'd love to see what you guy envision for the year!

Love,
Fawn.

Hey guys. 

This isn't going to be the most positive weekend update, and I'm sorry for that. Please hold tight. Brighter posts are coming. 

(Also let me add in; for those of you that follow me over on Twitter - yes I was supposed to post a tutorial on Friday. I got into step one and realized I'm missing something essential to finish it. I'm aiming for this coming Friday. Bare with me. This is all new to me still!)

-

(If you're interested, you can click here to find some reputable places specifically for donating to the victims of the Paris attacks.)

When my husband finally came home from work I was exhausted, both from the news and from battling this cold all week so we called it quits early after some Chinese food and a little bit of comedy to try and turn our moods around. (John Mulaneys new comedy special on Netflix is absolutely hysterical.) We laid in bed and the sir couldn't fall asleep at all. Once I actually fell asleep I had bad dreams all night. I tossed and turned and woke up several times.

Finally on Saturday morning after about an hours worth of sleep, I woke up to a message from my best friend/coworker that just said "Oh my God, Chuck." And my heart dropped from my chest down to the pit of my stomach immediately. I logged into Facebook to find that the same pals that did pumpkin carving and all of that with us (in my fall updates post) had a horrible house fire the night of 11/13 that completely destroyed their house and all of their belongings. My husband came into our room and I was white as a sheet, and since I'm forever the bearer of bad news in this house, had to tell him what had happened. Chuck's cousin Pat got ahold of us shortly thereafter and gave us the lowdown and I just cried and cried. I'm an extremely sentimental person as well as a very sensitive one and because they essentially are my family I just fell apart. I keep saying it over and over, but I'm so thankful they weren't home and that everyone is okay. They are absolutely wonderful people that I personally couldn't imagine my life without. You know how there's just some people you bond with on a soul level? They are those people to me.
(If anyone would like to donate, there is a GoFundMe up and running for them as well.)

We headed out for me to be able to grab a coffee while we contacted some people about physical donations and decided that while we were out I could use my Kohl's coupons to get some clothes for my little big man. This growth spurt is still happening, and the more I get him dressed the more I come across clothes that are getting smaller and smaller. Even the coat we just got him for winter, the inner light fall jacket is already creeping up at the sleeves. It's incredible! I ended up getting him a stack of Jumping Beans stuff (Some of which is pictured as the photo for this weeks post, and I got it all with a 15% off your total purchase coupon. Mom jackpot!), that way if he grows out of it by spring it won't be so detrimental to my wallet. Everywhere I go people tell me how huge/tall he is, I'm almost scared to see what he's going to be like as a teenager!
We ran over to the mall as well and it was Santas first day on the job! Bee is OBSESSED with Santa and Christmas right now, so I was very excited to have him meet the jolly ol' fella. We walked to the center of the mall and he was walking around outside of his designated sitting area so I told kiddo he can say hello if he wants. As he was waving hello, Santa came right over to him and said hi, complimented him on his Peanuts sneakers and asked him about his beloved stuffed animal. This was a VERY one sided conversation because my child was wide eyed in stunned silence. All of his answers were barely audible whispers and he totally had ZERO idea what to do! It was Christmas magic right in front of my eyes, and with how emotional my day had already been, after we said goodbye to him (and he booped kiddo on the nose!) I just burst into tears. It's something I'll remember for a lifetime. I was super annoyed that the "assistant" wouldn't let me film the moment (she did everything but swat my phone away...sigh.) because I would love to re-watch his face lighting up over and over again. I don't know if anything else this year is going to top that moment for me.

Sunday we went on an outing with my father to do something I'll discuss at length at a later time. My dad is a blacksmith (and super cool!) and at some point I plan on doing a whole write up on him/what he does/what we've accomplished together. We had a great day! He made me some orange flavored cinnamon rolls which always take me right back to my childhood. He spoils me! Bug has been SUPER cranky lately, what with the growth spurt/coming down from a cold/general threenagering, so it was a bit of a challenging afternoon, but overall a successful one.
After dropping my dad off, we grabbed some lunch at Panera, where my son refused to eat turkey because it's him, and he refuses to eat anything even vaguely not shaped like, I don't know - waffles? He hates anything we offer him until he's given no other option, then he tries it and loves it. It's one of those frustrating motherhood moments that I'll laugh at someday.
(Right? Hopefully? ...Bueller?)

November has already hung us out to dry, and we're only heading into the third week. Thankfully we have some things to look forward to in the next couple of weeks with our friends doing a comedy show this weekend, as well as a benefit for Chuck & our other friends the night before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving itself, and holiday prep, which means I can FINALLY start getting into the Christmas mood and take all of my decorations out of storage! Yay! I love transforming the house into our little winter wonderland and can't wait to share that here.
All that aside, I'm just really hoping for a brighter December, both on a personal level and globally.
My fingers are crossed.
It is the season of loving, giving and being thankful after all.
Love one another & be well.

Love,
Fawn.

(This post title comes from my child that is forever asking that exact question!)

Hey all! Happy Wednesday!

Right now I'm desperately fighting off a cold-turned-sinus infection, and would love nothing more than to be sleeping the day away. Unfortunately, work and toddler wait for no colds. (Mucinex is my BFF right now, and I've been carrying my own special box of tissues around from place to place as several of my coworkers are also facing the same runny nosed fate as myself currently - which means there are tissue thieves abound!) I feel terribly sluggish and sleepy, and I'm so annoyed that I can't taste anything. Especially because I had a work function to go to today and it was catered with Italian food.
Know what's worse than not being able to eat Italian food? Not being able to eat free Italian food.
Literally the worst. 

Anyhow, on a lighter note, here's what I've got going on right now! 

Currently: 

Watching - HGTV programs with my husband on Netflix. It's our "thing" at the moment, and his commentary makes me laugh until I cry every. time. / @Midnight on Comedy Central / Bobs Burgers (We still need to watch season five. Whoops!) / This mermaid afghan tutorial!

Got a "currently" list of your own going on right now?
Leave a link below or tell me what you're into!

Love, 

Fawn.