Monday, July 12, 2010

the end :: a new beginning

the time has come to move on. it's been nearly 5 years since i started this blog, and it's time for a change. oh, don't worry, i'm not quitting, just moving! (to a self-hosted wordpress blog) yea!

Picture-1

head on over to the new site and check it out! there are a lot of great new features! the new home will also involve a few changes. while i’ll still be posting photos of the day as well as my other daily features, i really hope to introduce more crafty tutorials, before & after projects, and free downloads for all to enjoy.

oh, and don't forget to add our new site to your blog reader so you don't miss anything!

Friday, July 09, 2010

july 9, 2010 :: nighttime waves

1_photooftheday

070910

family friday :: campground visit

6_friday

over the long weekend we went to visit some friends at a campground near our home.

flying

the boys had a blast. they enjoyed flying through the woods,

fin and roe

hanging out on the wood post barriers,

life

and walking on the beach.

silly boys

and who can end a day without laying like a wet noodle on a wood post? not these boys!

Thursday, July 08, 2010

july 8, 2010 :: shakes

1_photooftheday

070810

thrifted :: folded measuring stick

5_thursday

foldingyardstick

this week's thrifty find is a folded measuring stick. i found this beauty at the same flea market as my tea box. it's actually from the same vendor! it was marked $15 but crossed out and marked down to $5. when the seller wouldn't budge on the price of the tea box i asked if he would throw the ruler in for free. when he said "yes", i was stoked!

unfolded

not sure what it is about these old folding rulers, but they grab my attention every time i see one. i think it's the wood/metal combination along with the amazing old patina. this one unfolds to 72 inches!

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

fresh snapped photos :: a 40th anniversary costume party

12_freshsnappedphotos

i had the outrageously amazing opportunity to shoot some photos at an event this weekend. it was a 40th anniversary costume party at the most gorgeous venue i've ever seen in my life. it felt like i was in italy, right here in wisconsin! crazy. the party was at a private residence that was built in an old quarry. the tall buildings you see are what used to be the old kilns for the quarry. i got to climb a very scary, wooden, spiral staircase up one of them and take some shots from the top. (you can see part of the old rail road tracks that used to haul the stone out of the quarry on the very top of the first photo) here are some of my favorites. you can see the rest here.

IMG_9763_blog

here are two of the 4 kilns all lined up making the property look like a castle.

IMG_9482_blog

i'm not really sure what's behind the curtain, but people were going in to try on costumes for the event. could have been a whole other room back there!

IMG_9702 copy

this is what i walked through to get to the very scary spiral staircase i mentioned above! that's the inside of one of the kilns.

IMG_9515 copy

one of my favorite things to photograph of the day was this fortune teller's wagon! love, love, love everything about this thing!

IMG_9507 copy

i somehow amazingly caught a rainbow in this shot. not sure how as it wasn't raining.

IMG_9426 copy

one of the rooms was filled with marionettes hanging from the ceiling. eerie and cool all at the same time. that same room held a secret little room that opened when you pulled the right book out of the bookshelf! seriously, this place was amazing!

IMG_9522 copy

i love the bare parasols with the ribbons blowing in the wind. such a beautiful and simple decoration.

IMG_9518 copy

more of my favorite wagon!

IMG_9661 copy

and here are the king and the queen of the evening. happily married 40 years.

you can go check out more of the venue and the other attendees' costumes here.

july 7, 2010 :: brothers

1_photooftheday

070710

that's what he said wednesday :: stainy

4_wednesday

roe & buzz
*the baby enjoying a few moments with a friend's buzz lightyear action figure.

we have another food-related that's what he said wednesday today. seems the baby is full of them lately!

last night we were having dinner that included beets from our CSA crop share. i warned the boys that they should be careful not to get them on their clothes because they would stain.

after taking forever to eat his dinner and being prompted to eat MANY times, the baby finally broke down and said he couldn't possibly eat his beets because they were "too stainy".

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

july 6, 2010 :: in the middle

1_photooftheday

070610

things i want tuesday :: crocheted necklace

3_tuesday

necklace

amazing crocheted necklace from lavenderfield just made it on my things i want list! :: $46

Monday, July 05, 2010

in other news :: holiday weekend

othernews

i'm still enjoying a long holiday weekend today with some great friends, but i thought i'd leave you with a little eye candy! i enjoyed taking some photos of our little friend wren (daughter of mari at small for big). i also had my first paid for photo shoot this weekend! i'm eager to go through the hundreds of photos and start picking my faves. but for now, time for more holiday! see you all tomorrow.

wren

Saturday, July 03, 2010

photo of the day :: month in review :: june

1_photooftheday

a couple days late, but here's the june photo of the day, month in review.

june mosaic

Friday, July 02, 2010

july 2, 2010 :: dandy delphinium

1_photooftheday

070210

family friday :: angry face

6_friday

definitely not the best quality photo in the world but too funny not to share. lately, every time the baby sees me with my camera he says: "take a picture of my angry face" and then begs to see it on the camera screen afterward. here's one of his best.

angry face

Thursday, July 01, 2010

july 1, 2010 :: fantastic floral

1_photooftheday

070110

in other news :: home made laundry detergent recipe

othernews

if you follow me on facebook or twitter, you may have heard me mention that i was going to attempt to make my own laundry detergent. i was shocked at the responses i got to my posts! everyone wanted to see how it turned out and try it themselves. i did two loads yesterday and things seemed to come out a.o.k. i didn't notice any residue or anything crazy on my clothes and they came out smelling clean. so, here's the recipe for the detergent i made:

laundry

this recipe makes a total of 10 gallons of liquid detergent (although, you only need a 5 gallon bucket, you'll see why later)

5 gallon bucket with cover (we got ours at home depot for about $3.00)
4 cups hot tap water
1 fels-naptha bar of soap
1 cup super washing soda (by arm & hammer)
1/2 cup borax

grate the bar of soap into the 4 cups of hot tap water over medium-low heat until it's completely dissolved. (this bar of soap is much harder than i expected. grating it took some time and a lot of muscle. next time i might chop into small chunks with a kitchen knife and then put in the food processor)

next, fill your 5 gallon bucket 1/2 full with hot tap water. pour melted soap & water mixture into bucket along with the washing soda and borax. stir until all powder is completely dissolved. finish by filling bucket to the top with more hot tap water. stir again, cover, and let sit overnight to cool.

once cooled, mix thoroughly and pour into a used laundry soap dispenser until 1/2 full. fill the remainder of the dispenser with water. shake to mix thoroughly. you will need to shake dispenser before each use as the detergent gels.

i didn't use any this time, but if you'd like you can add essential oils to make your detergent smell prettier. use approx. 20-30 drops per 5 gallon bucket.

for front loading washers use 1/4 cup per load
for top loading washers use 5/8 cup per load

as for price, this 10 gallon supply cost us approximately $5-$6 dollars. (that's including the bucket!!!) the fels bar cost approx $2. the borax was about $4. the washing soda cost about $3. the borax and washing soda came in big boxes and we only use between 1/2 and 1 cup for 10 gallons. we'll have enough of those two for about 10 more mixes! so the only thing we need to buy next time is the fels bar.

one thing to note, we had a really hard time finding the super washing soda. i would recommend calling around before you run out to get some. we tried 4 stores before coming home and calling around. so far we only found 2 places locally that carry it. you can always order it online, but it obviously increases the cost quite a bit because of shipping charges. even so, the box will last quite a long time and overall, not add a ton of cost to the mix.

i also found a recipe for fabric softener which i'll try as soon as my current sheets run out! i'll be sure to share if it works well.

thrifted :: kitchen canisters

5_thursday

i scored these awesome kitchen canisters at the same estate sale where i bought my little chicks and our new chair. (as well as a million other items!) got these on day 2, so they were half off. SCORE!

vintage canisters

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

june 30, 2010 :: cheesy

1_photooftheday

063010

that's what he said wednesday :: headache

4_wednesday

lately, the baby hasn't been eating his dinner very good. it's not so much that he's being a picky eater, he's just distracted. he likes to do things like pull sandwiches apart and eat everything in the middle first....really, anything that will take him longer to eat his dinner. often, when being told to stop goofing around and eat his dinner, his favorite response has been: "but i'll get a headache if i eat it."

roe_eating
*enjoying a muffin father's day morning
Blog Widget by LinkWithin