They had all kinds of island treats and fruits. We bought a pineapple and I'm a little dissapointed to say that it wasn't that much better than the pineapples I buy at my local grocery store. I think the distribution of fruit is pretty good these days, and you don't necessarily have to to all the way to Hawaii to find a good pineapple.

That's it for now!

And in case you were wondering where Grandpa was during all this madness, he was right there, chilling in the spa. Even the crazy jump contest and pool fights aren't enough to phase him. Doesn't even come close the madness he deals with at work every day. Thanks for everything, Grandpa!!

It looks like I'm going to have to post about this vacation in segments, because there is too much to post all at once. I'm going to start with the house we stayed in. My mother in law spent hours online looking for the perfect house that would fit all 10 of us comfortably. She definitely found it!

Upstairs:

The downstairs:

The view of our street from the upstairs patio:
The house was huge, and had amazing views from every angle. John's parents were generous enough to give us the master suite because we had Devan and needed a bathtub and a king size bed. She loved bathtime in her huge bath tub!

Renting a house is totally the way to go. I loved not having to get out for housekeeping, being able to do laundry and not having to share our pool with a whole hotel of strangers. Also, there were amazing sunrises every morning and I had a pefect view from our street.

Check back later for more!

I may have mentioned this before, but Devan totally has John's sense of humor. Tonight Devan and I went to In-N-Out for dinner with my Mom. When my mom finished ordering, the cashier read the order back to her. When he was finished he said "Is that all?" Devan replied "And Poop!"

So this morning Devan woke up super early, and I was anything but ready to start the day. So I popped in some Backyardigans, and took a seat at my computer. I was doing my usual web surfing and decided to check out Whip Up. It's been months since I last visited this site, and I was thrilled to find so much cool stuff! Here are only a few things I found:

Paper Downloads. LOVE these. I always have lots of cardstock on hand, and its perfect for these FREE downloads.

link
link
link

Also-

matchbox books


necklace rack (So excited to try this one!!)


mason jar lights




Okay, so the mason jar lights require a little more than the stuff you have lying around the house, and also an electrician. But I love them!

Home Depot. Can't live without it! I recently discovered a little corner at my local Home Depot that I never knew existed before. A shelf where they put all their returned or messed up paint cans. You can purchase these paint cans they call "Oops" quarts or gallons. An Oops quart is only a buck! And the gallons are only 5! Such a good deal.

I bought this can for fun. The color was nice and I knew I could find something to do with it. Heres what I found:

I found this picture frame along with another I bought at the Salvation Army for a few bucks and painted them.

This frame contains a few sentiments from our recent lifes experiences. A few months ago when we didn't know where we were going to be living, working, etc, John happened to get these fortunes that seemed to give us some hope for the future, even though we didn't typically look to fortune cookies for advice or comfort. And the card is from the bouquet of flowers John's company sent me on his first day. Just a little reminder for us that things always work out, no matter how bleak the future looks!

I like to have pictures and decor that means something to me in my home, rather than a generic picture or artwork that I just bought at a store. I've also framed a poem John wrote when we were dating, his missionary tags, diploma, wedding certificate from the temple, an amazing painting of myself, done by my good friend Jo, and much more. (BTW- I wouldn't have framed a picture of myself for fun. This is actually a portrait, and Jo is such an amazing artist it would be silly of me not to frame it. It really deserves it's own post and hopefully will get it soon!) Back to my post-

Heres my most recent endeavor. Before:



This is a drawer from a nightstand that is currently in my Mom's house. It is part of a whole bedroom set that belonged to my grandmother. My mom wanted to get rid of it and buy new furniture. I took it off her hands. Well, one drawer at a time, at least.


After:

I really like the end result, however I'm afraid I may have bitten off more than I can chew with the entire set. The hardware is going to be the most expensive part- the handles I chose are $3 each. I think I've got 12 drawers total, which sure beats the cost of buying a brand new bedroom set which would probably cost me $1000+.

Look for me at Home Depot. I'll be there a lot until this project is finished!

She has no idea how lucky she is!

Oh, and Devan wasn't the only one who got gifts this weekend. I got a little gift myself. I asked my Dad if he could get me a lens for our camera and he did. He got me this one. For under $60! I get it in a couple days, just in time for our vacation. I am so excited! Thanks for everything Dad!!

See you there!

I discovered this wonderful little surprise one day when making this recipe.

This is probably a common ingredient for more advanced chefs, but I had never used it or heard of it before. It's like chicken bouillon, only better. It's perfect for things like chicken pot pie, or chicken noodle soup, when you don't want to sit around unwrapping twenty little bouillon cubes or use 4 cans of chicken broth.

Everyone in our house has officially caught a little summer cold and the other night I whipped up a batch of chicken noodle soup from scratch and I used the Better Than Bouillon. It was a hit. Devan ate two bowls, including the vegetables! That's rare. And John even said it was the best chicken noodle soup I've ever made. Which is a compliment from him because he has a very "discerning palette" as he likes to say.

I should comment that it is very strong, so if you do use it, make sure you use it to taste. And in the above mentioned Paula Deen recipe, she calls for 1/4 cup of it, which I think is too much. Aside from that, the recipe is great. And you can find Better Than Bouillon in any grocery store. Give it a try!

I have been wanting to make Devan a "real" quilt for a while now. Before she was born I made her several baby blankets and rag quilts, but never a full on patchwork quilt with three layers and hand-sewn binding. I had reserved some of my favorite reprodepot purchases specifically for this project and there were finally no more sewing projects looming around in my brain that I had to make. I was so excited to start sewing, so excited in fact, that I started out right off the bat making mistakes. And the mistakes kept coming. And coming. Seriously, you'd think I'd never sewn a thing in my life. Literally, from the moment I began cutting my fabric to the last hand-sewn stitch in the binding, I made a million mistakes. I don't know what happened. I should have quit somewhere along the way but was so in love with my fabric choices that I couldn't admit that I had practically ruined the quilt that I wanted my daughter to carry with her throughout her life.




Well I finished it and I guess it looks okay. John says no one will ever know, but you can't say that to a quilter. Go ahead, enlarge the image. You will see all the little mistakes that plagued me every day since I started sewing. Oh well.



Onto more succesful projects: John made dinner. And it was terrific. He found this recipe by Rachael Ray. BBQ meatloaf that is definitely worth trying. I'm not a huge meatloaf fan, but these were good. And a great solution to my ground beef troubles.


Thanks for a delicious dinner hubby!

Not only do I not see similarities between Devan, Violet and Shiloh, all I do see is John. The end. Who do you think she looks like?

In our ever evolving world, I have begun to notice more and more my traditional style of parenting. I make most meals at home; we rarely go out to eat anymore. We bring our little family to church every week and almost never skip a Sunday. I am a stay at home Mom and I cannot imagine a day without my sweet child. I've trained my 2 year old to help with the laundry already and line dry my clothes when I can. I prefer to go to bed early and wake up early, hang out on my front porch, sew, and take my daughter to the park. And I LOVE being a Mother!

And yet, somewhere in between my strong views of being a Mother lies the "traveling with a DVD player" dilemma. My initial response is, of course, no. However, my awesome sister bought us a portable DVD player last year just in time for our trip to the east coast where we flew to Forida and drove from Ft. Lauderdale to Raleigh. I have to say- it was a lifesaver. We used it on the plane and in the car during the long days of driving. We've since used it on shorter trips as well and it has equally good results.

I became comfortable with the decisions we made regarding when to use or not use the DVD player. Plane rides, and really long car rides when entertaining options are limited or non existent. However, I soon found myself with an even bigger dilemma: What do you do when you suddenly find yourself the (very grateful) recipient of a (like new) hand-me-down car that comes with more bells and whistles than you know what to do with, including a standard built in DVD player?!

While John spent time admiring the leather seats and navigation, I skipped straight to the DVD player. Could I hide it from my two year old? If I used it once would she always remember? Will she have a fit everytime we get in the car?

I am happy to report that my experiences with having a built in DVD player have been better than I expected. Yes, she does know that it's always there, but she also knows that we don't always watch it. In fact, this week I drove to my Mom's house and on the way there she slept the whole way. I was a little concerned for the ride home because after passing one accident, one stalled car, inching along the 405, changing my mind and taking the 101, then the 5, I figured she'd surely need something to get her through the 2+ hours of driving home. I was wrong. What did get her through it? Lots and LOTS of toys, singing, snacks, talking, music and one ring pop. Yes, it would have been considerably easier to have popped in a DVD, but where's the challenge in that? I didn't go through 9 months of pregnancy and 4 days in the hospital to stick my baby in front of a movie every chance I get. Yes, my daughter will grow up to have real memories of her childhood. Which will hopefully make up for her many trips to the dentist as a result of having too many ring pops!

This past week my Mom came to visit for a few days. Devan LOVES it when Grandma is here. She almost completely forgets I exist. Take this little conversation, for instance;

Devan and Grandma were playing on the porch. I walked out to join them.

Me: Hey guys, what are you doing?
Devan: Mommy, go finish your emails.
Me: I don't have any emails to finish.
Devan: Mommy, go back inside the house, your feet will get dirty.

I can take a hint. But really, how does a 2 year old come up with such a compelling argument? It must be the attorney gene from Papa Mow.

Have I ever mentioned that Orange County has no thrift stores? Okay, maybe only south county. But seriously, it's almost impossible to find a thrift store anywhere past Irvine. So whenever I'm visiting my Mom I make sure to make a few trips to some thrift stores. This weekend I found some particularly good deals.

We stopped by the Salvation Army and I found a chair for my kitchen table for 5 bucks. It needs a little TLC but that's what I'm all about. When we moved I only took two chairs with our table because the other two were slightly broken and I really wanted to buy a whole new set. We bought one red chair when we moved in and now I'm really into the whole mismatched chairs look. I also found a flannel sheet that looks and feels brand new. It was 2 bucks, pink, and has a wintery pattern of snow flakes and snowmen. It will be perfect to make some winter pj's for D.

On the way home we happened to pass an "Estate Sale" aka, garage sale. This woman had tons of sheets and bedding for sale and I found these great vintage like sheets. ( I say vintage-like because I really have no idea what makes something vintage). I fell in love with them right away and immediately thought of making a pillowcase dress when I saw the cute eyelet trim.


I got two flat sheets for a buck! That's a lot of fabric. When I got home I found a tutorial and got to work. Here is the finished project:
My model was not very cooperative, as usual. And shortly after these photos were taken she ate mac n cheese for lunch which resulted with me throwing the dress right into the wash.

It was really simple to make. And if you had an actual pillowcase I'm sure it would be even easier. I've found I really love dresses for Devan because they make everything easier. Diaper changes, laundry, getting dressed, etc.

Perfect summer dress. Pefect for an upcoming hawaiian vacation we have planned. I think I'll make a few more and throw them into our suitcase with a bottle of suncreen and be done. Hope everyone is having a happy Monday!

Several months ago while we were shopping in Joanns, my Mom bought Devan a ring pop. Devan loved her ring pop and it kept her quiet the entire time we were shopping. So, the next time I went to Joanns I bought her another ring pop. As it often takes me a long time to pick out fabric, I found the ring pop to be the perfect solution.



Devan started asking for ring pops more and more. She would say "Whats this stores name? Do they have ring pops?" Like any good mother would, I fibbed a little. In fact, I may have lead her to believe that Joanns was the only store that carried ring pops.

So, the other day we were checking out at Target. I saw some ring pops while waiting in line and decided to grab one because I had several more stores to go to and it was getting closer to Devan's nap time and I didn't want a cranky 2 year old on my hands for another hour or more. I paid for it and took it out of the wrapper to give to her. Her eyes got big when I handed her the candy and she then said with great enthusiasm: "TARGET HAS RING POPS!!???!!!"

For those of you who live near a Target, you must go. Here is the bounty I scored this week:

I'll start with the most expensive.

Shoes: $2.98

Orange and white shirt: $2.50

Blue and yellow polo shirts: $1.77 each

Shorts: $.98

4th of July doggie shirt for next year: $.39!!!

I think that shirt is probably the best deal I've gotten in a long time, if not ever. I cannot recall spending 39 cents on a shirt ever before. I know most people aren't as crazy about finding cheap stuff as I am, but if you are, make a trip to Target!

Run down to your local 7/11 and get your free Slurpee. It's free Slurpee day today, July 11th!


Don't drink too many free Slurpees or else you will incur the wrath of the dreaded "Brain Freeze"

A couple weeks ago I was trying to get Devan ready to go to the store. I told her "Devan, please hurry up and find your shoes so we can go to the store". She then looked at me and asked,

"The fabric store?"
"No" I said.
"The grocery store?"
"No, not the grocery store."
"What store, then?"

Apparently we go to the fabric store and the grocery store a lot. Maybe too much? Oh, and every day when John asks her what we did that day she responds "We went to Ross".

Here is a photo I found that got me thinking about gettin' old.

Can't wait!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs green beans

3 T soy sauce

1 T sesame oil

1 t sugar

6 garlic cloves, minced

Directions

1. Cook green beans 4-5 minutes in boiling water

2. Combine soy sauce, oil, sugar- set aside

3. Drain beans

4. Spray skillet, place over medium heat. Add garlic, cook, stirring constantly until soft. Add green beans, cook stirring and turning until well coated. Add soy sauce mixture, continue to stir and turn until most of the liquid is absorbed. Enjoy!

Okay- it's really very simple. Once I put the sauce on the beans I keep them cooking until they are very tender; this way they have more time to absorb the sauce. Also, I double the sauce and add a little more garlic than what is called for. So good and good for you! I like to make these to add a little variety to dinner, instead of making a salad like I always do. Try them!

I need new recipes for ground beef or turkey. In a bad way. I always buy it cause it's usually pretty cheap but I always end up making the same meals, which usually consist of spaghetti sauce, tacos and the occasional hamburger or meatloaf. If anyone out there has a favorite/good recipe involving ground beef, please send it my way! The Strategically Placed Amigo family members will be very grateful!