{Update} .. the painted couch ..

I woke up to more traffic on m' blog than the usual three hits I get a day {bestie, mom, sister} so I figured that Apartment Therapy {aka my biggest refer-er on the ol' world wide web} had mentioned my silly painted sofa again.

Yep. I was spot-on.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/hot-posts/before-after-painted-furniture-cabintery-projects-best-of-2011-163312

I also got a few new comments, asking for an update or more info. So, here is where I actually answer a question in my comments. Don't die of shock or anything.

Victoria said...

Now that you have lived with the sofa for six months, can you tell us if it has softened up? How does it wear now? Are you still happy with it?

I am still absolutely smitten with this sofa. It hasn't cracked or peeled, but it does get very dusty (disclosure: I live in Arizona right on a mountain preserve, so we have more than your average dust + wind} so I wipe it down with a damp cloth weekly monthly {I probably should weekly, but I am not the tops on housekeeping} Also, on the arms  {where you might have those slip-cover things to prevent wear?}the paint is wearing more there. I have plans to touch it up but, ya know. Life.

Overall, still a project in the success column. Except for that HIDEOUS fabric I chose for the cushions....

Yeah. Totally kidding :)

Christmas, already?

12-ish shopping days 'til Christmas, friends.

Are you ready?

{gorgeous photos taken by my wendy- I will share more later- cuz I don't wanna spoil the families Xmas card excitement!}

My husband turned 40! {or} Life is HARD sometimes. But always GOOD.

{In as few complain-y words as possible, an update as to where I have been, for those that wonder: The mysterious sickness is still affecting my 12 year old son {he was attending school in a wheelchair up until 2 weeks ago- now he is on homebound. Ugh.}; Threw husband a surprise 40th Birthday party, complete with secret out-of-town guest - my mother in law!; Took trip number 9 {in less than 2 years} to Chicago for 8 yr old's JDM check-up; My oldest son broke his arm at football practice; .... And then? Life in general. Plus, I have been cheating on this blog with my other lover: sheknows.com. Although I don't know that many more people read my drivel over there than over here? The pay is MUCH better :) Check out the most recent articles here,here,here and here.}

Now. Onto the fun!

Because I am COMPLETELY INSANE, in the midst of all of my chaos, I decided to throw my dear husband a surprise 40th birthday party. Thank GOD I had TONS of help from my great friend, the SHARYNATOR {and her entire family} and MY MOM!!!! and too many other people to name. I DO get by with the help of my friends{and family}, there is NO DOUBT.. I am lucky because Michael does not pay attention to ANYTHING that is happening around him. Plus? He pretty much doesn't much pay attention to ANYTHING I say. Pulling off a surprise party for someone as easy going as him? ALMOST easy as pie. {I did end up spilling the beans the morning of the party that I had something planned because Piper was super sick with asthma and needed to go to the doctor and Michael was nearly HORRIFIED I was planning on stepping out for a bit to take care of some more pressing matters and when I requested he take care of things? Yeah. Our marriage may not have survived that. Oh well.

  

There was a FREAKING DUST STORM at the beginning of the party. I nearly DIED. So much work could have just blown away. Luckily it blew just a little and was dusty for only a bit. And then there was a rainbow.


Crisis averted. 

{this is me asking if I should move the stereo inside.}

{or? making a fool of myself on the mic. Probably the latter.}
{if we are ever at a party, even if I am not drinking? PLEASE don't ever let me have the microphone.}

{a lot of times my husband looks like a Chester. It's a shame, but he knows.}
{admitting is the first step fo real fo real.}


I am going to TRY to keep the pictures light, but PLEASE feel free to pop on over to flickr to check out all the tomfoolery :)

One of my favorite projects was the mustache straws. They were super hilarious!
I just love that the 'stache is so popular right now. 

{inspiration here}

Equally enjoyable was the drink tags. I stamped random 4 letter words {some 5 when I ran out of kid-friendly words}on metal rimmed key tags and just hole-punch and tied them to the plastic glasses {for kids}and around the rim of the mason jars {for the adults}Like glass charms or name tags, only MORE HILARITY ENSUED.

The photo booth was AWESOME. Seriously. I am going to set one up at EVERY PARTY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. It was super simple. SUPER SIMPLE. I will dedicate a post to how I set mine up soon. For now? My fav pics:

{is this perfectly timed confetti throwing or WHAT?! love it :)}

{my niece, katelynne.}

{camden, dressed for Homecoming - it was a masquerade theme}

{the birthday boy and his momma, who flew all the way in from Michigan to surprise him!}


I kept the food simple and crowd-friendly. My mom made most of the food and prepared just about everything for dinner.
{I know I am lucky. My mom rocks.}

{the cupcake table- chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. gluten free for our family.}

inspiration for the lollipop jar

Can we all just agree that the cupcake toppers are some of my MOST HILARIOUS work? I still LOL when I see them!!!!



Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the drink table once it was completely set up. Sad. So, so sad. You'll just have to trust me, it was CUTE. And the pomegranate margaritas from Costco? SUPER DELICIOUS and why my face is red in most of the later night pictures. I don't know what it is, but I may be allergic to tequila. Bummer.


Wow. I totally lied when I said I was going to keep the pictures light. Don't hold it against me, ok? I hope we can still be friends, but I totally understand if you never want to speak to me again, especially if you are on dial-up. Until next time, friend.

Got an extra prayer or positive thought handy? Send it my way.

My 12 year old son, Brighton, is sick with something that no one can quite figure out. He spent 4 days in the hospital getting scanned and poked and prodded. {And I got to fully visualize some serious problems with our beastly medical system in this country. But that? I will save THAT post for another day.} For now? We could use some positive-ness thrown our way, if you have any extra laying around...

After just getting past the high of Kennedy finally being off steroids, this is one BITTER pill to swallow. I am hoping it ends up just being one crazy, mean virus :)

today is a REALLY good day. {I am going to celebrate with a donut. Or 12.}

In case you didn't already know, this little chick ^ is my youngest, Kenny. She is the smartest kid we've created {don't tell the other 3}, the kindest soul I've ever met {it's true} and a complete and total fashionista.{like her momma.} Also? She was diagnosed with Juvenile Dermatomyositis on September 22nd, 2009. JDM is a rare, life threatening neuromuscular autoimmune disease where it's basically all hands on deck as your immune system attacks your muscular tissue by breaking down and blowing out your blood vessels, specifically in the muscle tissue. Good times. Oh, and no cure? Rock On! We hit the Genetic Disease With a Possible Environmental Trigger JACKPOT. {I kid.}{I laugh because if I didn't, I'd be crying.}

But, guess what, friends?! Today we are CELEBRATING a GREAT MILESTONE! Today is the first day since diagnosis almost 2 years ago that Kennedy is STEROID FREE!!!! If you have never personally taken steroids or known anyone that has, that might not sound like a biggie. So, let me tell you why it IS Quite A Big Deal. Steroids are indeed a life saving medication. Prior to the advent of these wonder drugs, autoimmune diseases and diseases of inflammation regularly killed people. Because of this? I LOVE ME SOME STEROIDS. But for real? They are an absolutely devastating drug to endure. The side effects are ghastly. Weight gain. Massive and devastating stretch marks. Bone death. Cancer risks. Cybil style mood swings in a bottle. And? If you ask Ken, the aftertaste of the liquid stays with you alll dayyy longggg.

This ^ is Kennedy about 6 months before diagnosis. You can see her telltale JDM rash. She was laying in bed because she was weak, but I thought it was because her sister was sick {asthma flare} and she wanted some extra attention because of all the attention Piper was getting. Man, mother guilt is REAL.

This is Ken ^ about a month into treatment. We cut her hair short because it started to fall out from the {actually very small dose}chemo shots she was getting. {about a month after, someone clued us into folic acid supplements which helped save the hair, YAY!} But wow. The changes in my little girl happened faster than I was prepared for. AND? STEROIDS MAKE YOU CRAZY! Like, instantly bi-polar. Fun times.

At one point, she was getting 1000 mg prenisone infused EVERY WEEK. Dude. Seriously.

It's been a super hard two years. These pictures used to be sad for me to look through. But honestly, not anymore. They humble me. I look at them as a GREAT REMINDER that no one is merely what their packaging looks like. I wish more people thought that way... Because for real? We got used to people staring and judging whenever we went out, mostly if we ever dined out. I can only guess what they were thinking and judging.... Mostly, I would guess they thought I was a bad mom. Boy, and I felt it.

Sometimes I get a little pissed off about it. Its not all sunshine and unicorns pooping rainbows around here 24/7. But then I stuff those feelings down with a donut :) {or.... 12} {I wonder why my pants are so tight....} {Cure for tight pants??? BUY BIGGER PANTS! ba-dump-bump!}

But today? I am glad to report that the next time we go to Disneyland, it will likely not require a use of a wheelchair.

And my little warrior had her port removed almost 3 weeks ago, so hospital stays? Hopefully will soon become just a distant memory.

This is Ken a couple of weeks ago, drawing artwork for Make-A-Wish. I smile and cry when I look at this because she has come so far. While she is still on the rest of her meds {of which there are many} she is a FIGHTER and she is winning the great fight, I just KNOW IT. We take it day by day, especially since there is no cure {yet}.  We have learned to adapt to the fact that her and the sun are total frenemies. {I tell her she is going to have the most beautiful, wrinkle free skin when she is old like me} and hopefully one day soon, she will reach remission. And today? I am, without fear of what could come tomorrow, going to CELEBRATE today. I think at the height of the chaos that 'roids brought into our life, I promised a pony ride the day she was off the juice..... I guess I better start googling some horse stables.....

{gluten free} pumpkin muffins with maple cream cheese frosting - make this now.

My great friend, The Sharynator {as in - a fun combo of her name and The Terminator? Get it? Yep. I am a great friend.} bought me a can of pumpkin a few weeks ago, after we had just heard about the great pumpkin shortage of 2010 and started to kind of PANIC and FREAK THE FRACK OUT because we noticed our local grocer was not stocking the pumpkin like they used to but then she spotted it on the shelves of another market. {Food Ciiiiiiii-Tay! - if you've ever shopped there, you know what I mean. I LOVE shopping there. Especially FRIDAYS!} and picked us each up a big ol' can. {oh holy run on sentence} And I have been staring at it ever since, because my trusty pumpkin bread recipe just isn't going to work this year {since we've been gluten-free since January} and I hate to waste time making things that are going to end up tasting like sadness. BUT I have tried to start to give myself credit for finally getting a handle on what gf flours work for what and so I decided {after a successful foray into making pancakes with what I had on hand vs an actual recipe}to try to modify my bread recipe into gf muffins. They turned out SO DELICIOUS I am going to share them with you:

Ingredients needed to make 24 regular sized muffins + 24 mini muffins:

{Halve the recipe to make about 18 regular sized muffins}

1 c unsalted butter {2 sticks}, softened

1/2 c brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 c granulated sugar

2 tbsp honey

4 large eggs

2 tsp gf vanilla extract

2 c canned pumpkin

1 1/2  c gluntinous rice flour {widely available at asian or int'l supermarkets for VERY inexpensive- I can get it in AZ for about 99 cents a pound}

1 c sorghum flour

1 c tapioca starch

1/2 c almond flour

2 tsp guar gum

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup buttermilk {you can substitute powdered buttermilk + water}

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tins with paper liners OR grease and flour the cavities. In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients: the flours, guar gum, soda, powder and spices. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugars and honey until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add vanilla and pumpkin and beat until well mixed. Add the buttermilk and flour, alternating between the two, until everything is mixed together. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

To make the delicious frosting, whip together 1/2 c softened butter, 1 block softened cream cheese, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp maple flavoring and 2 tbsp half and half. {start by adding 1 tbsp and add 1 tsp at a time until you reach your desired frosting consistency. Add more half and half as needed} Frost your muffins once they are completely cooled. ENJOY!

Gluten free baking does not need to be scary :)

{make this!} The yo-yo headband that you ALMOST forgot about :)

Hi friends!  When I became a total star ... started on my quest for craft world domination ... made my television debut last week, this headband was one of the two YO-yo-yo projects I intended to talk about making. And then we took so long talking about the tank top and, well, actually just MAKING a yo-yo, I never actually got to this one. I am quite certain there might be one person out there that is interested in this, so One Person? This is just for YOU :)

The headband is pretty simple, just a collection of yo-yos on a felt base. 


To make one of these little suckers, you'll need:

-A plastic headband - I bought a pack of 5 at the dollar store, for, well, A DOLLAR :)

 

-square fabric scraps or a charm pack - stack them up in rainbow color, because that's just really more pretty to look at :)

-yo-yo makers in various shaped and sizes {or an old trashed cd to trace if you don't have a yo-yo maker} 

-a handful of buttons or flowers or stacked felt flowers {I will show you at the end how to make a simple one} and at least 8 finished yo-yo's.

A piece of white {or any coordinating color} craft felt, cut into a bean shape, approximately 4 inches long.

To start, make your yo-yos. Don't have a yo-yo maker? Go here. Now, glue the felt piece to the underside of the headband, starting where ever you'd like your patch of yo-yos to be. I did these off to one side {and since there is no front or back? It can be worn to either side}.

Start building your patch by first covering your headband with three large yo-yos. Securely glue the yo-yos to the felt as well as the headband. Then just glue the rest, overlapping, over the rest of the white felt, covering the felt as much as possible. Trim away any edges that aren't covered.

To make a quick beaded and stacked felt flower:

1} cut a small, bigger and biggest circle out of felt. {smallest is about the size of a penny}

2} Glue and stack together. Once all glued together, put a generous ball of hot glue on the top in the center

3}Carefully push the glue spot into a pile of small seed beads {while the glue is still HOT}

4} Let the glue dry and then flick off any loose beads