Another New Adventure

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their "day of rest" as much as I did ... there's nothing like your two year old throwing a humungous fit on your way into church to really start your day off on the right foot. (Because Jay has had to work the last few Sundays, church has been a bit of a challenge, but at least I get a lot of sympathetic looks!)

Anyway, enough about that. What I really want to tell you about is my new little venture. As a combination of finding a creative outlet and trying to earn a little extra cash for a much-hoped-for Disneyland trip this fall... I've opened an Etsy shop to sell my handmade doll clothes! Pretty fun, right? I opened the shop last Monday, as many of you already know, and I already had my first sale. It was very exciting, I tell ya!

So... if you're like me and have a slight obsession with American Girl dolls (or any other 18 inch doll, for that matter), check out my shop for some cute but inexpensive options to outfit your your daughter's doll. I will be updating it weekly so if you don't see anything that you can't live without now, keep checking back. To celebrate my grand opening, enter in the coupon code "grandopening" at checkout for 10% off of your order! Yeah! And please feel free to pass this on to any and all of your friends that may be interested.

My two newest creations ...

1930's Style Polka Dot Dress

Linen Pants with Butterfly Shirt

Thanks all, and have a fabulous Memorial Day! And don't forget to visit my shop at www.etsy.com/shop/MrsFear

Dining Room Update

Can you believe it's been almost 2 years since we moved? Since we normally move every year, this is quite a feat! Happily, we have no plans to move anytime in the next 20 years... besides, our decorating style is not exactly resale friendly - there is not a white wall in sight! (Nothing against white walls, of course. They're just not for me.)

There was, however, a lot of beige grasscloth wallpaper when we moved in. Here is the dining room... just looking at this picture makes me smile. It brings back that feeling I had the first time we stepped into this house, that immediate feeling of "home."


Nevertheless, we changed it all. :)

Our interim solution was to paint the wall, change the chandelier, and paint our furniture. We were never really thrilled with it, though, because it was such a mish-mash, as evidenced below:

So we decided to put our furniture on craigslist, and throw caution to the decorating wind.

Here is the final product:

We added the same "wood" to the wall that we have in the entryway, changed the lighting to some light blue pendants we found on clearance at - of course - IKEA, added corrugated metal to the ceiling, and of course had the new stained concrete flooring installed. We replaced the railing with two IKEA bookshelves serving dual purpose as storage and room divider. We plan on putting some type of countertop on the bookshelves so we can also use it as a buffet.

We also added some new furniture and decor, but kept the lime green wall and the original beige grasscloth wallpaper. I think it came together quite well... it's currently my favorite room in the house!

Some details:

The floor ... two shades of grey concrete with a metallic blue epoxy. So much easier to clean than carpet!

The dining room side of the shelves... the perfect place to store the kids' craft supplies and our bulky kitchen items, like our crockpot.

The new lighting and the ceiling. They were both Jay's idea and I am very happy with how they turned out.

View from the kitchen door. The big mirror is another IKEA bargain. The color coordinated bottles were from Crate & Barrell, and reminded me of a stretched 7UP bottle we had in my house growing up. (My mom has since given it to me, but I'm too afraid to put it out and within the kids' reach.)

So there you have it! Another project complete, only about 100 to go. :)

Happy Day

Last week, our sweet Beatrice turned 7.

She was so excited for her birthday that she could hardly sleep the night before. She loved everything about her day ... from bringing the famous Fear Family peanut butter rice krispy treats to school, to receiving cards from family and friends, and of course, having cake and opening presents. She was smiling all day long. (Which is not out of character for our goofy little girl.)

Bea is currently obsessed with the Disney movie, Tangled, so Jay made her a cake complete with "floating" lanterns.

The Tangled obsession has not trumped the gum obsession, though.

And nothing probably ever will. :)

We love you, Beatrice!

You Know Dinner's Bad When...

... no one stops the cat from doing this:

(Don't ask how I managed to mess up fettucini alfredo ... it's a mystery.)