Insta-Friday

It's Friday!! We've got weekend packed with family activities planned, and I'm so ready!

But first, here's a peek back at our week...

he didn't like his spaghetti one bit.

#nottrue #bathtime
(notice his crossed feet?  he always does that and I love it)

there was a crazy thunderstorm happening outside (in Michigan...in January...it's nuts!)

but things were nice and cozy in my craft room.

(anyone notice anything different about the Michigan pillow???)

I'll give you one guess which item was NOT on my Target shopping list

Claire has been talking and talking about the animal encyclopedia in her classroom at school.  So I bought her the same one and surprised her with it.  Wow, we have both learned a ton about animals this week!  I love seeing her excited to learn.

new pillows, heading to Rebel soon!

 

have I mentioned that I gave up drinking Diet Coke?  I haven't had one now in 3 weeks, and the truth is, I don't really miss it. And a possible added bonus : running for the last week has suddenly felt a million times easier.  The two may or may not be related, but regardless, I'll take it!

awww. my boy's first time sledding!

be.still.my.heart.

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Have a great weekend!

insta-addicts : find me on Instagram as coraannedesigns

My Love of Craigslist

I've been a fan of Craigslist for some time now, both for buying and selling, but might have just scored my best Craigslist find to date!

We recently purchased the Greyson dining table from World Market.

 We needed a large table, and I loved the look, size and price of this one.  My goal from the start though was to have chairs that did not perfectly match the table.  And anyone who has bought dining chairs knows that they are NOT cheap!

 ~

So I searched and searched on Craigslist for weeks, and as I was just explaining to Eric that I was giving up, this diamond in the rough appeared :

SIX, MATCHING, BENTWOOD, CHAIRS, $140!

We called the man immediately (enter : racing heart, sweaty palms, just hoping we weren't too late!)  And we got them!  AND, the man delivered them to us (how nice is that?!?)

 My original plan had been to paint them, but when they arrived, they were even prettier than I thought they would be.  I think we'll live with them as they are for some time and then decide whether or not to paint them.  (Always easier to paint than to remove paint, right??)

And the deal only got sweeter when I opened up a Crate and Barrel ad this week and saw their version of this chair for a whopping $129 each.  And I got SIX for $140, yessss!

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I probably should have waited until the dining room was complete to share this piece of it, but I promise, the after pictures will come soon enough!

My Go-To Salad Dressing

I'm finding that one really good use of this blog is for storing recipes. I have recipes in cookbooks, on recipe cards, on Pinterest and in my head....it's time to start keeping them in one spot. So from time to time, you may see me posting one here, as a way to share them (of course) but also as a way for me to organize them in one place.

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Here's my new go-to salad dressing. You can whip it up quickly, and it's so light and tasty on a salad.

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3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1/4 tsp honey

1 clove garlic

black pepper

 ~

Give it all a good stir and add it to your salad.

It has such great flavor, that you don't need to add much at all. 

 Enjoy!

 

Fresh Start Sunday

Source: beautifullyrooted.com via Amber on Pinterest

Insta-Friday

Happy Friday and greetings from frrrreeeeezzzzingg cold Michigan!

The coldest temperature I saw this week was -1, that's insane!

 ~

Here's a peek at our week...

It was 11 years ago that he and I went on our first date.

By the end of the night, I knew I was going to marry him.

He claims he needed until our second date to be certain, but I'm so not buying it.

I've now made it almost two weeks without caffeine.

I found I was drinking caffienated beverages just because they were available,
rather than because they sounded good.  Here's to kicking bad habits!
(And drinking more water!)

a project in the works

(oh how I really hope it turns out!)

If I must grocery shop, it might as well be with a cute companion

my lunch, every day.
#addicted

hello, Mr Refusing to Take a Nap....

...and learning to climb on the furniture

(he also discovered the joy of splashing his hands in the toilet this week, GROSS!)

Eric and I were able to sneak off to one of our favorite Northern Michigan spots for a night.

Yesssss!

it was cold!

 

a stop at our favorite Bed & Breakfast/Winery

(our dog is even named after a room here...awwww!)

and off to dinner!

Even though it was only one night,
it was so nice to get away and have some alone time with this guy.

Back to reality...contractor woes + the love notes I left him on our walls

 you know when a workout stops feeling like work and starts feeling really good?
#winning
~
Have a great weekend, stay WARM!

 

Clipboard Wall

I've been using my craft room for nearly two years now, and have several ideas of ways I would still like to decorate it, but for whatever reason, deciding what to do with this large wall over my counter has always plagued me.  I've toyed with the idea of art, but I already have my two pieces over the ledge (to the right) that I like.  And I also entertained the idea of a bulletin board, but those tend to get messy, and since I manage to make enough of a mess while creating in my craft room, I really didn't need a bulletin board contributing to that!

I've had this picture from The Pleated Poppy pinned for some time...

Source: thepleatedpoppy.com via Jill on Pinterest

I love those little clipboards in the corner, and finally just decided to go for it and create my own clipboard wall.

I got to measuring the wall and knew that I wanted the clipboards to fill the entire space, so the best number turned out to be 8 clipboards, in two rows of 4.

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I purchased the clipboards at Office Max for $1.99 each!!  And I also purchased a set of white mug hooks that only cost a few dollars for way more hooks than I needed.

I used the smallest drill bit I had and drilled small pilot holes,
then I added the hooks and this project was complete!

I love that these clipboards allow me to change up my lists and decor as much as I like.  There are so many cool free printables available now, I'm sure I'll be switching it up on a regular basis.  Here it was when I first installed it.

And now it looks like this!

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I'm loving this so much, I'm already eyeing other places in our house I could add a clipboard or two...the kid's playroom might be next!

Fresh Start Sunday

Source: trustingtruth.tumblr.com via Jill on Pinterest

Fresh Start Sunday

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

~

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

Insta-Sunday

Happy Friday Sunday!

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend.

Here's a peek back at our last week...

my craft room and I have taken a break for a few weeks.  It's been really nice, but now I'm starting to itch to get back in there.  (oh, that clipboard wall, it's new!  I'll share soon!)

checking in on Lake Michigan (brrrr!)  Is it summer yet?!?

I finally got on the bubble necklace bandwagon, and I kind of like it!

we spent New Years Eve at home this year which was totally okay.

Delicious take out from our favorite restaurant + some good wine made for a really nice night.

"Mom, don't you wish that the grown up's church could be more like the kid's church?  We get to sing, do projects, and have play time" - Claire, age 5

merry (late) Christmas to my feet!

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Have a great start to your week!