The holiDO list: Christmas cards!

It's so nice to cross something off of a to-do list, isn't it?

In fact, I don't know what part of the process is better: getting organized by making the list, or feeling accomplished by crossing things off the list.

Either way, I crossed something off my holi-DO list... Most of my Christmas cards are addressed and ready to go! They just need stamps, then out the door they'll go.

As I mentioned before, I created cards with the Martha Stewart Craft Studio app and purchased envelopes from Amazon.con. The app was great, and I'll definitely use it again (especially since a certain little guy celebrates a huge bday in a few weeks!), but I'm still on the fence as far as printing goes. I used Snapfish for this project, and while it was super easy, quick and cheap, I'd like to find options for printing on different types of paper (cardstock, etc.).

I'm happy with the outcome... I just know the process can be improved upon, seeing it was my first card project.

Ho Ho Ho!

So, here's how the whole meeting-Santa-thing went down...

When I heard that Santa would be at an event (Christmas in the Village) in Hillsboro Village, I knew it'd be a great opportunity for Jett to meet Santa without dealing with the mall craziness... I was fully prepared to do the mall thing, but this sounded like so much fun! I figured that since it was a one-time thing that the line might be long, so we got there early and were only the fourth or fifth family in line.

Jett isn't wary of strangers, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing. I did wonder, though, if the big guy in the bright red suit with rosy cheeks and snow white beard would frighten him a little (like a couple kids in line ahead of us who seemed more than a little frightened). Nope. After Ryan handed him to Santa, Jett just sat there, mesmerized by Santa's beard and gloves. No tears, not even a peep.

Santa said to Jett, "I saw you earlier!" since we had passed him on the sidewalk before getting in line.

Oh, and this Santa... I'm pretty sure he was the real deal (and not just one of his helpers)! See the pic below and decide for yourself... ;)

Merry Christmas!

Holi-do List

I see this Christmas as a blueprint for years to come... Of course, it's just as special as any Christmas, but we're starting to get a feel of what kind of traditions we want to include every year.

Here's the to-do list so far...

Decorate the tree... Done! And in future years, we might have a real tree, but for this year, we are sticking with our artificial one. I do need to find some new stockings, though... And an ornament for Jett's first Christmas.

Christmas cards... I believe we've hit the halfway mark on this one. The cards have been designed and ordered, but we have yet to receive/address/mail them.

Shopping... As with the above task, I believe we are about halfway there on this one. Santa even sent one gift early, haha (see pic)!

Visit with Santa... TBD (But we have a plan!)

See the lights at Opryland... TBD (We have a plan for this, too!)

Other Christmas-y things we might do... Bake cookies, collect things for donation, watch Christmas shows/movies.

So fun!

Upholstery Fun!

Last night, we got to work on a project that was a long time coming...

Years ago, my grandmother gave me a dining table and chairs that she and my grandfather had had since the '70s. And while I've always loved the set, I haven't ever been too crazy about the off-white fabric on the cushions, not to mention the stains they've accumulated after years of wear and tear. And cat hair... They show so much car hair!

So, yeah... It was time to say buh-bye to the off-white early-90s fabric and helloooooooo to something a little more "us".

My first task was selecting fabric. What I had in mind was a navy ikat pattern, but I knew I'd settle for anything close. After coming up with nothing at Michaels (Apparently they don't sell fabric), I stopped in the adjacent Walmart, since I needed a few groceries, too. Much to my surprise, I found a few suitable options (at good prices) at the discount store we all love to hate. The fabric I chose has a white swirly pattern on a gray/black, almost denim-y textured background. Not navy ikat, but good enough for this project.

After choosing the fabric, I let Ryan lead the upholstering process, since he knows a thing or two about it (his stepmom owns an upholstery shop)... I traced the pattern onto and cut the fabric, then removed the piping from the seat cushion (We decided to not remove the old fabric, in order to give a little more structure to the cushion, since our new fabric was a little thinner than the old fabric.). Ryan then did the hard part... Stapling the new fabric onto the cushion. After that, he just had to screw the cushion onto the chair, and voila... New chairs!

It took us a little less time than we had anticipated, and only cost about $50 in supplies (And would've cost less if we had a staple gun on hand.)... Not too shabby!

Overall, this was a great project... Low cost/effort but huge impact... We are already brainstorming our next upholstery project!

All-Natural Grout Cleaner

I'm always on the lookout for effective all-natural cleaners, so when I read about a baking soda-based scrub, I figured I'd give it a try.

The scrub is quite basic... About 1/2 cup (ish) baking soda mixed with 1 tablespoon (ish) dish soap. Then you can add as much water as you'd like, to create a paste. Martha Stewart also adds a little essential oil (like lavender or peppermint) to hers, which would be a great addition.

I first used it last weekend to scrub the shower and part of the tile floor in the bathroom (Only part, because Jett woke up while I was in the middle of it, and I never had a chance to finish. Oops!).

While I thought it did a fine job, it was no miracle worker, and didn't leave the shower sparkling clean.

However, Ryan decided to give it a whirl on Monday and got to work on the tile floor. The main difference is that instead of the sponge I used, he used old toothbrushes to really get down and dirty with the grout. And OMG did he do a good job. The light-colored grout was back to its original state, amazingly enough. I was seriously impressed.

So, the bottom line on this natural cleaner is that it works, but be prepared to use some major elbow grease, and make sure you have the right tools (like an old toothbrush) on hand.

Yesterday, Aunt Linny invited us to join her at her school’s fall festival. It was a beautiful fall day and so fun!

A lot of the activities were for bigger kids, but I think Jett enjoyed the people watching!

A couple things were apparent to me during this outing:

1) All of the moms at this school are super skinny… Like size 2 or something. Even those who were toting their newborn babies were quite thin. Srsly?!

2) East and West Nashville are very (very!) different, but both are wonderful. Don’t believe me? Go to an event in Belle Meade, then go to a pizza place in East Nasty directly afterwards. See?!

Last Friday, I decided to tackle the project of organizing my teeny-tiny closet.

Since it’s so tiny, I have to rotate my clothes at the change of seasons. And since the weather was finally cool enough to wear light sweaters, last weekend seemed like the perfect time to swap some clothes.

Also, I had recently read about maintaining a high closet GPA on younghouselove.com… The idea is that everything in your closet is graded on a scale of 1-10 (So, my favorite Marc Jacobs dress would be a 10, whereas the cheap-o top I bought because of the price yet never like to wear would be a 6) and you aim to maintain a high average of all the items in your closet.

So, keeping these things in mind, I set out to organize. First, I removed anything that was a) too summery (and therefore not suitable for fall layering) or b) had a low grade / hadn’t been worn in 6-9 months (I figured that if, after 6 months or so, I still didn’t really like the lower-grade/hardly-worn items, it might be time to take them to Goodwill) . After this step, I had plenty of room to add the fall/winter clothes.

Now, thankfully, I have sweaters close at hand AND a higher closet GPA, so to speak… Making choosing outfits that much more fun!

Yay for closet organizing!

Album of the week: One Step Closer by The Doobie Brothers.

Music is essential, which is one of the many reasons I’m happy that Ryan is able to stay at home with Jett on the weekdays… He’s so good about taking time out to listen. Often times, I forget, or am lazy (And therefore will just switch to a Sirius/XM channel on the TV… Which counts, I suppose). Ryan is good about exposing Jett to some good ol’ vinyl, though.

Nice.

On Saturday, we ventured out to the Dyer Observatory in Brentwood to check out Bluebird on the Mountain. It’s pretty much what it sounds like… Bluebird Cafe transported to a beautiful outdoor setting. And it was lots of fun!

We packed a picnic of sandwiches, cheese, crackers and wine (And Pumpkin butter from Trader Joe’s… Can’t forget to mention that deliciousness that I discovered on Saturday morning!), bundled up Jett, and were on our way.

It was tons of fun even though it was a little rainy (and pretty chilly), so I can imagine how awesome it’d be on a nice and starry summer evening.

The songwriters of the night were great, too… They showcased their songs, which have been performed by artists like Darius Rucker and the Dixie Chicks. Most impressive was ‘I Hope You Dance’… It seems like everyone knows that song.

So yeah… Bluebird on the Mountain - so fun and SO Nashville. Love it.

Yesterday we had an adventure of the pumpkin patch variety…

We headed out to Lebanon for farm animals, a hay ride, some good ol’ country air… And pumpkins!

I’m not going to lie… As we pulled up and noticed there was only one other family at the farm, I wondered if we were going to be victims of vampires or zombies (Too many scary movies, perhaps?)… But alas, we survived. And not only did we survive, we had a good time, too!

I remember going to a pumpkin patch when I was a kid and having a blast, so I always knew that when I had children, I’d like to make it a tradition. And even though Jett might not remember this trip to the pumpkin patch when he’s older, he sure had fun seeing the animals and touching the pumpkins! Plus, it’s always nice for us city kids to take a trip out to the country every now and then.

So, if you’re thinking about taking a trip out to a pumpkin patch this year, do it! So fun and fall festive!

Last night, Ryan and I watched this gem of a movie.

It was so whimsical and wonderful, just like Wes Anderson’s other movies. And while some of his others have taken awhile to get into (I need to give Rushmore another try… Maybe third time’s a charm?), this one had me at hello.

The main characters - Sam and Suzie - are great, but the long list of supporting roles (played by Bruce Willis, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, to name a few) is super impressive too.

As we drove to Jett’s nine-month appointment this morning, I asked Ryan what he thought the point of the movie was. We both took away a couple things: That its good to keep perspective… Sometimes we can worry/focus on things that aren’t as important when you step back and look at the bigger picture. Also, we both felt like we could learn a thing or two from the kids in the movie. As adults we seem to loose that child-like wonder… And why? So we can focus more energy on adult-like things like finances and the six o’clock news? We have responsibilities, that’s for sure… But recapturing the wide-eyed wonder of youth is important, too.

Thanks for reminding us, Wes. :)