Hostess Gifts

So my friends hosted a shower for me and I made some hostess gifts. It was very simple and reasonable to make. Here are a few pictures of the final product.
I made Brown Sugar Scrub, tied cute ribbon I had, attached a bath scrubby, and made a label. Below you can read the label.I thought they turned out super cute and was something that could be used by my hostess. And I just noticed the typo....oh well lesson learned. Opps!

Without Further Ado....

Here is the finished product......
There are no baseboards yet. It is still a work in progress. But enough delay.

This is the entry way.



This is the view from the dining room.




This is the view in the living room.




This is the kitchen minus the frigde.


Okay. I know I could do a better job posting but I just thought I really just needed to get it done. Please excuse the mess in the background. But I do really love my floors and my casita.
A big thank you to my hubby for agreeing to take on the challenge and my father in law for jumping right in and making the dream of a wood floor come true.

A story

I started this post so long ago........and just wanted to share the story in pictures ....enjoy!

164 days of chaos = amazing floors

Okay, so April 29, 2010. I came home to this. My furniture was being moved to begin the tearing out of tile.


Everything had been moved and stored. And on April 30th I came home to this. The dust of tile being destroyed by my wonderful husband.

This was the beginning of the chaos. It was only suppose to take a few weeks. Little did we know how much work it really was.

From a pile of wood in the garage.

To a beautiful gym floor. Yes, it is an old gym floor that was pulled out and recycled. So the 3-point line and free throw lines are still on the floor. It is really neat to see. Excuse the awful pictures (this is all I had on my computer).

Below is the dining room. If you look carefully you can see the lines of the old floor.

This is my father-in-law finishing the last part of the floor. I really don't know what we would do without him. We are indebted to him for life. (This is not the only project he has taken on with us).

The floor has now been completely installed. It took 164 days from start to finish. One hundred sixty four days of moving furniture, tearing out of tile, laying of sub floors, pulling of old nails, and the unending work of installing these beautiful maple hardwood floors. One hundred sixty four days of chaos, chaos with an intent, a small idea and dream come true.

And in approximately in 12 days they will be refinished to a beautiful English chestnut color and will look amazing.

Keep posted for more photos of the finished product. I can't wait!!!

Alayna......

This is Alayna's first day to eat cereal....

Actually her first day was 2 weeks ago but I am finally posting it.

She is getting so big.....Just thought you would like to see her.



Here is the first time in a high chair......Not exactly a happy camper.


Here is the first spoonful of cereal......
What is this?
Noooooo! I don't want to!!
Let's give it another shot.....(after getting my bottle).
Hey, where are you going? This stuff is good.
What? A girl can change her mind.

Glasses......a Milestone Moment

So guess who joined the club of glass-wearing cuties? None other than my oldest niece, Katie. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I visited her.


She is the type that is super quiet and doesn't say much but you could tell that she likes them. Which is great for kid to like something that makes you different.

Here are a few pictures of her in her glasses.


Doesn't she look like a big girl? And so much like her mama?

Things I have bought the little one.....

So as paranoid as I normally am. I have yet to buy BGR (baby girl ramos) anything that is of importance. You know like a crib or bedding. No, not I. I have bought her stuff that makes me happy and hopefully will make her happy too. Here are a few pictures of that randomness that I have purchased in the last 6 1/2 months.

Her first dog..... Isn't he adorable?

Some soft blocks she can play with and not hurt herself. They make noise in their own unique way. The red one jingles. The blue one rings. The yellow one quacks. And the green one shakes. They also have the color written on them in several languages, including Spanish. Pretty exciting.

Her first phone.

Wooden building blocks. She can learn her alphabet and build towers. A multipurpose kind of toy, what more do you want?



Then there is that frame that I found for $5. Yes, I said five dollars. And to seal the deal, it is that ABC's with the Sesame Street gang. The same guys I grew up watching.


And if you know anything about my father-in-law you know his love for turtles. So BGR has to have a turtle of her own. Presenting her own little turtle.



Then there is the colorful wooden stacker that sways. A good learning tool for colors. See I was thinking of a purpose for it.


This next one is not finished yet. I am going to have to paint it and make it hers. I haven't thought of the color scheme yet but it should be fun putting it together.


And last but not least, one of my favorites, the drumming bear push toy. He claps his when you push him. I realize that in the future I might regret this purchase but who could resist this cuteness.

So what have I learned about myself in this process. That I like old stuff, classic toys, and particularly wooden toys. Something about them makes me think of my toys I grew up with. I love the new amazing toys that are available for kids nowadays but I like the stuff that makes me think of my childhood. And in a way I want my little one to play with the stuff I know and remember so well. I want her to be full of imagination and creativity. But most importantly I want her to have fun, to truly enjoy her childhood.