Addiction...

There are some addictions I have going on right now....

The first is books.  I have had an insatiable appetite for books this summer.  My previous relentless house projects have given way to this new obsession.  I will say that my bank account likes this addiction much more than my house project obsession...  But back to books,  I can't read enough of them.  For the first time in my life, I have started reading a new book before ending the previous book. And while reading those two books, I have listened to books on CD in the car during my commute to and from work.  The obsession does not seem to be letting up any time soon.  I just picked up two more books on CD from the library tonight and another one to actually read because I am almost done with the one I am currently reading.  I fear that I may run out of great books to read.  I am not kidding, I seriously fear this even though that is absurd and irrational.  So if you have read any great books lately, I would love some recommendations!!

The second is Fitbitting.  

I got a Fitbit Charge in May and I have been determined to reach my step goal of 10,000 steps daily.  There are only a handful of days that I have not done so (like today).  I don't get a ton of steps at work (to my surprise) so I really have to work at it.  I get to work 20 minutes early for a walk, try to take one at lunch which does not always happen, and then take one in the evening which may entail dragging the kids and the blind dog along.  As a result, the kids and I got to see some pretty cool stuff!  There is a small airport at the end of our road.   Sydney and I saw a couple electric planes being flown around one day.  Several times, we have seen small planes taking off and flying around.

Right before this plane took off, the pilot actually unhitched his window, said hi and waved to us.  It was pretty cool!  When the weather cools off, they set off hot air balloons from this tiny airport.

It has been so fun to see these things and have these memories with the kids!  All this walking has made me consider taking up running again.  I had not run since before I was pregnant with my second pregnancy.  I have never really been a "runner" even though I participated in cross country in high school a few years and I have run a few 5Ks and an 8K right after I had Sully.  But I was basically too lazy to step it up this summer.  That is, until I received a text from a friend asking if I would run a half marathon in November with her.  You read that right, a half marathon.  And I just went ahead and agreed to it.  What?!?  So I am starting my 3rd week of running a few days a week.  During the week, I usually have to run in the morning because I just can't swing it in the evenings.  And I have to say, this might be my newest addiction.  The "running high" is a real thing!  Pretty much addicted to to it.  I am having to go 2 days in a row without running this week and it is killing me.  In the past when I was training for a running event, I looked forward to the days I could rest.  Now I dread the days I have to rest.  It is bizarre and I have never felt like this before!  I don't even care about losing out on sleep to run.  I get some time to myself.  To think.  To write loads of blog posts in my head and never get them "on paper."  AND I can get 10,000 steps before the day even starts!  I even ran in the rain one morning.  I am officially a crazy person.

Addiction...

It has been like forever since I did an addiction post.  Maybe its because I have not had an "addiction" lately.  Or maybe I did but I was just too lazy to write a blog post about it.  In any event, I have one now and have the energy to write about it.  So without further ado, my current addiction is....

































Staining with this combo.

I love the dark walnut alone.  However, the Classic Gray alone is way too light for me.  But the combination of the two with 3 parts gray to 1 part dark walnut (thanks for the ratio tip, Sonia;))?  Yup, fav stain color ever!

For instance, it is great on wooden crates...

On a large floating shelf...

(This floating shelf was my latest DIY project and I am not quite done styling it yet so this is only a teaser.  The shelf post will be coming soon.  Now that the shelf is up, there are a million other projects I feel I need to tackle.  Domino effect.)

And on some DIY signs I made for my Mom for her birthday...

(Not sure why these look darker here but in person, they are more consistent with the color of the other photos.  Maybe because this is an iPhone pic at night.)

I think it is pretty neat that there is a range of tones that come out with the stain depending on the wood.  Its a surprise every time:)

And I have big plans to sand down our bedroom dresser and stain it with this mixture (which leads me to a whole other project, master bedroom redo including our new king bed, making and upholstering a headboard, "new" nightstands and switching out the mirror above the dresser).

Stay tuned for more staining projects....

Addiction...

It may already be well known that I have an addiction to finding and collecting vintage Fisher Price Little People toys.  However, I recently went on another eBay bidding spree and snagged 3 new buildings with accessories.  I am working up to a whole village and then someday I will have one room in my house devoted to having it set up full-time.  Too much?  Anyway, I came home to a big box on my doorstep today and seized the opportunity to use it to bribe my child into eating a somewhat balanced dinner: small bowl of spaghetti, 3 squirts of applesauce squeezee in the mouth and some cheese and crackers.

Then we opened the "present"

 A children's hospital...

 "He's on the roof."

 Yes, that crank is for an elevator.

 And an A frame...

 Complete with rug, full kitchen, fireplace, glass sliding doors, dinner bell and a variety of decks and balconies.

I could not pass up the A frame because it reminds me of one of our annual Kosloski/Groth weekends, as in the one last year, when we lost our dog.  But is was still super fun and the neighbor, whom is also good friend of the Koslos, lived in an A frame so we did spend a good amount of time over there and swimming and fishing off of his dock.

There is still one more gem I am waiting for but I had to share these immediately!

PS- Have you watched the movie Behind the Candelabra yet?  I am pretty sure the Michael Douglas deserves an award.  He was fantastic!

Addiction...

Like many other humans out there, our little family has developed a strange obsession with Costco.  I like it for buying my Keurig coffees and Sully's diapers.  Clayton likes it for the food samples and clothes (yeah, the clothes...no lie).  And Sully likes it for the giant hot dog.  Overall, its a win-win-win for us.




It was one of those samples that turned us onto our own personal crack....




Annie's Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn:

The hubs, myself and Sully were completely over-the-moon in love with this stuff.  We even used it for bribing purposes with Sully ("You can have some popcorn if you eat some spaghetti first" or "you can have some popcorn if you drink your special juice."  The special juice was a concoction of Augmentin and juice- very special.).  It took us 5 1/2 days to eat a giant bag.

But that is not all!  We struck gold again in the snack department.  The other must-have item was this salsa:

I can't take credit for this fancy photo, found it on the salsa's website.

If you aren't a fan of cilantro, it probably isn't for you.  But we love cilantro and it took most of my willpower not to just drink it.

So pretty much the most successful and fruitful Costco trip on the planet.  Oh yeah, Clayton got a nice, classy button down shirt too.

Addiction...

I am going to be perfectly honest here.  I have not been able to stop messing with these shelves.  Not.one.single.day.this.week.  The hubs totally called me on it today, too.

Every single thing with the exception of one urn-like item I found in my house.  Unfortunately, I just don't have enough books and crap to fill the spaces.  Don't you feel bad for me??

The bottom has really not changed much with the exception of adding a few blankets to the right side. It is really working great to have the open shelves.  Sully just goes and picks his books out, no problem.  He also turns around the airplane, bus and truck on the middle second shelf so that they are facing the wall (I have no idea what that is about).

The top still needs some love.  But I am trying to hold off until we get the lights in on Sunday.

Also, I can't stop listening to the Lumineers.  You will recognize this song from the commercials for Silver Linings Playbook (which by the way, the song in NOT in the movie- super disappointing).

PS- this is happening today...
If you feel so inclined, click on it and check it out.  Harper's dad, Andrew Bohacek is plunging for Special Olympics!!

Happy Saturday!!

Addiction...

I currently have 2 addictions.





1.  The song "Home" by Phillip Phillips

I am not kidding (I even told the Hubs this), if anyone really, honestly, truly sung this to me, it would be all over.  I would be theirs.  I can't help it.  I listen to it on You Tube non-stop.  Anyone want to go to a concert next year?!?

PS- after I told the Hubs about this, he sang me the Ooooohhhhh part about 3 hours later.  I informed him it was the wrong part.










2.  Knitting.

I actually knitted all 6 of my bridesmaids hats and scarves for gifts for my wedding about 8 years ago.  I had not picked up a knitting needle since then.  Until now.  I watched a few You Tube vids as a refresher and I was good to go.  I just finished a Christmas gift for my niece, Harlie, and started a hat for a friend's newborn who is not yet born.  Up next:  a Gnome hat for the Sul.  I can't wait!



BTW- I am up to 95%!!!!  And I can smell better and swallow without swallowing 14 times!!!  So worth it!

Addiction...

I have two addictions right now.





1.  The muffin tin.

This is really weird, I know.  But I really cannot stop making foods in muffin form.  Granola, mini chicken pot pies and variations of, not to mention real actual muffins.  I can't get over how perfect the serving size is.  Mind-blowing.

2.  Black liquid eyeliner.

L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner 

This stuff is fantastic!  Thanks, Sarah, for introducing me to this amazing product!  The felt tip is perfect and is so user friendly.  I have actually attempted the entire eye lined with black eyeliner, something I would never have done before.  See my Sunday eyes below.

Go buy some.  And start wearing it on Sundays.

Addiction...

Lots of you may already know what my new addiction is but in case you haven't been paying attention I will just go ahead and tell you.



My new addiction is......

























My Instagram app on my iPhone!!!!  Why?  If you have to ask, you clearly do not have the app.  You take a quick pic of whatever, add a filter, add a comment if you want and you can instantly link it to your social media accounts.  The filters are so cool because it gives your pics a more vintage-y feel (and you all know how I like vintage-y these days, right?).  In addition, it is like a form of social media in itself as you can follow other Instagrammers and see all the latest pics on a live feed.  Social media + photography with filters?  Shut up!

Here are some of my Instagram pics:

Addiction...

And my new addiction that I have indulged in every.night.this.week is......

Oh.my.God. is all I have to say.  Seriously, go get some now!  It will be your new addiction too!  I like mine with a few swipes of chocolate syrup.  Now go!

Addiction...

My not so new addiction is...

Starting with Sully's birth announcement and following through with picture books and invitations and then our Christmas card, you can really make some great, personalized things.  I so love everything I have made on Shutterfly and here are all the cards...

And just for the hell of it (Merry Christmas to me), I went and bought myself a new lens for my camera.

Now I am obsessed with mastering bokeh photography, or at least practicing it a lot.  Bokeh is the blurring of highlights within a picture (basically).  Wikepedia has a much more in-depth definition so feel free to reference that if you need to.

(Oops, Sully is just a bit fuzzy in this one)

Yes, I did try to practice some bokeh with my pics of my Shutterfly cards (you guys are good for noticing that).  Well, have a fab Tuesday!

Crack for Babies

I am back with a new addiction post.  However, this is not an addiction of mine so much as it is for Sully (although, I do really like them too). 



Wait for it...






Wait for it...

Yep, Gerber Cinnamon Maple crunchies.  Oh my, you would have thought they slipped some sort of baby nip into these given the way he reacts to the mere sight of the container.  If he spots them, it is all over and there is no way he is not getting some.  He eyes get huge, he pants, flaps his arms and squeals with delight.  I must say, they are pretty good but I don't have quite the same reaction to them as he does.

I would like to wish my hubs a very happy 32nd B-day today!!!!  We love you!

Have a wonderful Sunday all!

Addiction...

My late summer/early fall addiction is......

ICED MOCHAS from McDonalds!!!! 

OMG so delicious!  Hey, it is a great way to get a serving of dairy since I do not drink plain milk as I find the taste completely repulsive.  I highly suggest you get it made with whole milk verses the skim milk option- much tastier with whole milk.  Seriously, just try it;)

Addiction...

Ok, it is time to just admit it.  I am completely, utterly, 100% addicted to...





THE DOLLAR BINS AT TARGET!!!

I kind of knew this for awhile but today it really became obvious.  I was at work when daycare called to say that they forgot to tell me Sully needed more formula and would it be possible if I could bring some during the lunch hour?  Ok, no biggie, of course I could as I could easily swing by as I was driving from Janesville to Madison for work.  I could just "quick" stop at Target and pick some formula up there.  I probably had about 10 minutes to perform the task at hand.  What was the first thing I did when I get into Target?  I head to the dollar bins, of course.  It did not matter that I was just at a Target about 3 days ago and carefully looked through the dollar bins at that time.  It did not matter that I only had a few minutes to get a very essential item so I could make it back to work on time.  Of course there is always time for deal-finding.  (For all of you judging me for using formula and not breastfeeding, I will have a post that explains the reason for using the more expensive but perfectly healthy alternative to breast milk another day)  Lets look at some sweet dollar bin deals that I have gotten the last few times I visited that treasure trove...

Foam letters and numbers



Foam people and animals

Little boy sunglasses

Wooden pirate mask

Bath books

And most importantly, the bug hat

Am I crazy or are these items irresistable?  I better be careful before I end up on an episode of hoarders.