three things Thursday: a kitchen tool, cukes, and my Coach cross body

It's been awhile since I wrote a three things Thursday post. Here are three things I'm loving right now.

On a girlfriends' getaway last fall, the condo we stayed at had this cool OXO Good Grips 2-Cup Angled Measuring Cup. We were most likely using it to make another batch of chocolate chip cookie dough cookies. :) What I love, is that it allows you to read the measurements right from the top, instead of the side--so cool. I also love the super pointy spout, so I bought a second one for filling my iron with water. I found mine at Target and have also seen them at Kohl's.

a sweet little sentiment

 

happiness | Macargi Tahiti

photo from Slim Paley

 It's no secret I love beach cruisers.

photo from Tumblr

And vintage bikes. Both with baskets.

memory keeping: take twelve challenge

I decided to take the "Take Twelve" challenge over at Ella Publishing. You shoot 12 photos on the 12th of each month. This is my first month. It was a bit difficult to get started. I tend to over think things. :) I actually spilled over into June 13th. Once I got started, I ended up with more photos than I needed though. Here's the result.

1. My favorite breakfast: plain yogurt, fresh blueberries, a sprinkling of Grape Nuts, and pecans. I eat it just about every morning.  2. Ella's roly poly. She named him/her Precious. We had a discussion about what they eat. We need to look it up. 3. Cleaned the front porch today. LOVING the new storm door.  4. On the bookshelf--me, First King of Shannara (one of Lynn's favorite series), Lynn, Beyonders. Next on my list, Little Bee and City of Bones (both borrowed from DIL Ashlee). 5. Grocery shopping. 6. My sweet granddaughter Madi. She loved making her own jewelry by stringing beads on pipe cleaners. 7. My favorite sunglasses. 8. Success in the garden. 9. Preston was selling his mom's cookies so I bought some oatmeal white chocolate chip with toffee bits for dessert. Sooooo good. 10. Best part of my day--lunch with my son, Patrick, then a little furniture shopping together. Back to his and Ashlee's new home to show me the new washer and dryer and what they've accomplished. 11. A new box of crayons for Ella. Life is good. 12. Ella's breakfast + Cheerios. We're a little more lax in the summer. :)

A little glimpse into our lives--simple stuff. Yep, it was fun.

Kim

stuff i love: miss plunkett accessories

I've had a lot of inquiries about the sweet necklace in the bag on this post. 

Here it is on my Ella Bella. She's super girly-girl and loves it as much as I do.

Paper Coterie: about a girl book

This little package arrived in the mail yesterday.

Ella's teacher, Debbie Reiber, asked each of the students in her class and their parents to make an ABC or numbers book. They'll be displayed at the "Look at our Books" program on Friday, after the children put on a special program. Ella has been bouncing off the walls with excitement.

three things thursday: jewelry, kitchen towels and organizing craft projects

I saw a little girl's necklace on Etsy awhile back I thought was so sweet. It simply said, "loved." I knew I wanted one for Ella, but it was more than I was willing to spend for a five year old.

I was at a boutique a couple of weeks ago and came upon a booth named Lia Alana Originals. There was a a darling CTR (Choose the Right) necklace I loved and was going to get for Elles. Sheri, the owner and designer, mentioned that she could also stamp any other words on the pendants. In about 20 minutes I had a "loved" necklace for Ella. I was thrilled and Elles loves it. 

three things thursday: polka dots and princesses

Three sweet and simple things I'm loving right now.

image source: MADE blog

One. This little polka dot skirt--especially with those pink tennies. There's a great tutorial on how to make it here. If you don't have a little one, at least click over to see Dana's photos--they'll make you happy.

P.S. Jen and I talked about doing a mini class on making a skirt like this. Sound fun?

image source: Sweet Paul magazine

Two. A PINK POLKA DOT shake. You know I love polka dots and pink and ice cream. When Ella saw this photo, she asked if she could have it for her birthday. Oh yes! Perfection. Check out how simple the recipe is and the rest of the e-zine here. You. will. LOVE. it! 

Darling straws are a must! Go here.

peace

My goal for this past year was to find more peace in my life. I’m happy to say I feel like I’ve accomplished that.

Our oldest son, Patrick, is becoming quite the photographer. He’s even been published! (Moms have bragging rights.) He enjoys outdoor photography.

Patrick took these photos out the front door of his friend's family cabin in the Fairview Lakes area this last week. I love them because they look so peaceful.

And a big “thanks” and “I love you” to Patrick for shaving off that awful beard! (It was a Christmas present just for me.) :)

punch it, margaret!

Me, Marina, Marci and Jen

Yep, it was one of those weekends. I laughed myself silly. I love these girls!

fall leaves

I am in awe of the fall colors in Utah this year. I don't know if it's because we had more than normal moisture this summer or what. But I drive around and just take it all in.

This row of trees lines the road at the end of the main street that runs through our hometown. I love anticipating seeing the colors as I drive down the road. These trees are all the same variety and yet each one is a totally different color. It's very cool.

This is the city park. I walk down the trail along the creek and through this park as often as I can. It's amazing.

loving this little find

I went to a boutique in Pleasant Grove yesterday. I found the girls some flower hair clips and two of these teacup pedestals for me.

I've been wanting somewhere to set my jewelry when I take it off at night. Perfect. I actually bought the other one for Kate, but I'm not sure I can part with it. I may have to make her a different one. I gave Patrick my old set of dishes when I bought my new green ones. They'd be perfect for this project. I may have to take them back. :)

My mind has been going crazy with other ideas too. I can put a small pumpkin on it for Halloween. It's just the right size for a cupcake or a few of these cookies, then wrapped in cellophane and tied with wider sheer ribbon for gifts. Any other ideas?

three things thursday

My favorite holiday to decorate for is Halloween. Not the scary, icky, eerie Halloween, but the smiley jack-o-lanterns and fall colors Halloween. Lynn and the kids still love holiday decorations.

I've found some great deals lately. Things I've been looking for for awhile. Wanna see?

I love this porch. The lanterns, the urns, the bright orange pumpkins and the fall leaves. I love the door too.

This is a page from last year's PB catalog. (I've kept it in my "holiday" file.) I love their style and products, but they can be quite expensive. I do splurge sometimes, but then I love to mix my great deals in with the pricier stuff.

four things friday

I missed three things Thursday, so I'm posting four things Friday instead on Saturday. I was actually done on Friday, I just needed to take one more photo. What I'm loving right now:

I have loved this print ever since I saw it in a home decorating magazine years ago. It's the perfect reminder for me. It's actually a propoganda poster from WWII commissioned by King George VI that all measures were being taken to protect the people. Haven't seen it in this apple green before. I forwarded the Etsy link to Lynn, just incase he wants to surprise me (wink, wink) or add it to my Christmas gift list. I would use a different frame for sure.

Lynn and I walk a lot. I've purchased Saucony walking shoes the last couple of times because they are so comfortable. Lynn (my Mr. Consumer Reports) read some articles and the Asic Gel Running Shoes are the leading athletic shoe right now. It was time for both of us to turn in our Sauconys (not only are they getting worn, we want to break new shoes in for Disneyland), so we tried on the Asics. LOVE them! The more I wear them, the more I love them. And they come in green!

My friend Brenda Birrell loves to shop yard sales and turn her finds into colorful and delightful "new" furniture and accessories. I'm loving this table and chair set and the lovely, cheery pillows (great price at Pottery Barn). Her husband, Larry, actually surprised her and painted the set. I sure wish my husband would surprise me and paint my office (hint, hint). Wouldn't you love to just sit here with a great book or gather with some friends or play games with the kids?  You can see some of her other finds around the store at Pebbles in my Pocket or maybe she'll post more on her blog (big hint).

My patient husband went to three different fabric stores with me yesterday so I could finish getting the fabric for cuddle quilts for Ella and Madi. (He did get lunch at the Pie Pizzaria, so it was worth the waiting I hope.) I want to make them for Christmas. These are Madi's colors and Ella has...take a guess...pink and green. It's a line by Riley Blake I've had my eye on for awhile. I need to get better at purchasing while a store has the whole line. I just try to finish up one project before starting another so I don't get bored with projects-in-waiting.

Have a great weekend!

three things thursday

I haven't posted "three things Thursday" for awhile, but have had a lot of requests to keep it up. Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

ONE: Gardening Boxes
We had high hopes for a beautiful little garden last year, which quickly turned into a disaster. Our lettuce was so bitter we couldn't eat it and our tomatoes all split. We grew beautiful little pumpkins to decorate the porch, then some idiot teenagers stole every last one--all 14--right off our front porch! I was so mad.

We decided to give it another try this year.

So far so good. We've actually made salads with our lettuce and it's really good. We also planted a zucchini plant, tomatoes and that's a pumpkin plant around the corner. You can't go wrong with these square foot gardening boxes. We put ours rights in the planter area in the backyard. I'd seen a yard on one of our walks that had done the same thing and I loved the way it looked. Of course it'll look better when we get more foliage around it. We purchased our garden box here. They deliver and set up the entire thing, soil and all. We may add two more smaller boxes down the side yard next year if we get a bumper crop. That's bumper, not BUMMER again!

***update: Our lettuce turned bitter again. Anyone have any ideas why? Maybe we're not picking it quick enough.

TWO: Memory Banners
You know I love banners. And I know you've seen this one from Ella's birthday. I made a little change to it though. I clipped memorabilia and a couple of photos from Ella's party to the banner. There's her birthday invite, the bingo card, a photo of Ella holding up four fingers, another photo of Ella with a cupcake and her finished craft we made at the party. Ella loves to look at it and remember her party. As usual, she's already started planning next years.

For those of you in my ward, we're planning a Super Saturday for fall. I'll be teaching a celebrations banner class, so start gathering fun fall or holiday-themed papers.

THREE: Ziploc Big Bags
You'd think I work for Ziploc since I love their products. Here's a new one I just found.

I've seen them advertised forever. We're having shelves built in the garage to store camping/emergency/gardening stuff. I was trying to figure out how the keep things from getting dusty out there and remembered these bags. They're great! The large sized holds Ella's life vest and the XL size holds our little travel cooler. I love that I can see through them instead of having to rummage through bags to figure out what's in them.

Happy Thursday!

three things thursday

Today's three items are very random, but they're favorites.

One: Sometimes you just need a little bit of sweetness and these chocolate delights hit the spot. I love them. Dark chocolate has antioxidants, so you don't have to feel guilty about eating them. :) The key is to freeze them. (My sister-in-law hides them in the freezer in an empty box of something her family doesn't like.) They're not the same just out of the bag. I eat two or three every day. They're a little pricey, but I stock up when they go on sale at Target for $3.00 a bag.

Two: When I used to travel for business a lot, I would look to see if the city I was going to had a Container Store. I love all kinds of containers and I love these in the kitchen. They're the Ziploc brand Twist 'n Loc rounds. They have a screw on lid instead of the pop on kind and they're heavier weight than others on the market. They also come in different sizes. The medium ones are three cups and the small ones are one and a half cups. Even though I don't microwave in plastic, they are BPA free.

I use these containers a lot to freeze in. I purchase the big bag of Tillamook cheese at Costco and divide it up into both size containers. They stack great in the freezer. I also pre-cut peppers and onions for fajitas and freeze them and veggies for cream of chicken noodle soup. The medium is a great size for freezing leftovers too--unless you have a large family--then you could just use multiples.

These come in packages of two most of the time, but often you'll find them packaged with two medium and a bonus small one. They have them at Walmart right now in new lid colors for $2.00. (They rang up at $2.50, so I took my receipt to the service desk and got an adjustment.)

Three: This is actually the random item. This little piggy arrived for Ella's birthday. It rolls around on the ground and laughs hysterically. It came from Ella's grandparents. (Yes, I told them they were wicked! :)) So Ella is thoroughly impressed by the pig (and laughs hysterically right along with it), while I was thoroughly impressed by how it came packaged. The box was packed with these long bags (I'm assuming newspaper bags), filled with paper from the shredder. We're working on being more "green" in our home, so I thought the idea was genius. I usually end up using plastic grocery bags to pack items for shipping, but then I deplete my supply for the small wastebaskets in the house. Such a simple idea. I love it.

three things thursday

Three things I love:

One: I love sets of bowls, but I especially adore these mini bowls from Anthropologie. They are the perfect size for so many things. They catch extra buttons and baubles in my studio. They're great for snacks for Ella (she uses mini spoons with them) or for just the right amount of ice cream for me. I could never decide on just one color, so I have one of each. They just came out with this delightful robin's egg blue. I also like to mix and match and stack them around the holidays for splashes of color. The mini bowls are $2.50 each and the regular size in the same design is $5.00. 

Two: I have this thing about foam soap. I love it and I notice when stores and restaurants use it in their restrooms. I've been purchasing this specific brand and scent in bulk for years. It's the Coconut Lime Verbana from Bath and Body Works. So many people I gift it to or use it in our home end up buying it again. One year I gave it as the $5.00 prize at Bunco and added a sparkly snowflake ornament tied with a red and white gingham bow--simple and so nice. Some of the girls are still buying it. I also love that it matches my decor. That's so important! :) I have one in each bathroom and one at the kitchen sink, so we go through it quickly. Bath and Body Works has specials often, so I stock up when the price is right.

Three: I love these colors together. Those green shutters are delightful. I'm a pretty neutral person and have been trying to add more color to our home lately. Patrick told me a few weeks ago, that our home was pretty "basic" or something like that. Whatever it was, it's true. Then I told Ella that Patrick would be moving out soon (not because he made the comment about the lack of color in our home :)) and that the hallway bathroom would be hers. She looked around at it and said, "It's not very cute." Seriously, I get the message!

3M Command hooks

I love when bloggers share products they love. This is one of my favorite things:

What I love is that these 3M Command Hooks leave no holes. When you're done using them, you pull a strip at the bottom and they come right off. You can buy just the sticky strips if you run out, so you can use the hooks over and over. I have them on hand at all times and use the clear mini size most. I use them on my armoire, fireplace mantle, vinyl fence or railings to hang banners, like this:

Ella's adoption day celebration banner on the back vinyl fence. I used them on the armoire and fireplace mantle to hang the banners for Ella's Pinkalicious party decor.

I have five that stay up along the porch soffit to hang my paper lantern pumpkins in the fall...

...and my sparkly snowflakes in December. I use a much larger size hook to hang my Christmas wreath on the front door.

hit bottom

Yep, I've hit the bottom the bag of this delightful munchie.

I found these sweet potato chips at Costco last week and except for a couple of handfuls that Lynn was able to get to, I ate the entire bag myself! I'm addicted. I don't like regular fries, but I love sweet potato fries and and don't like regular chips, but these are amazing. Too bad they're so pricey--six bucks a bag! It's worth the splurge. Headed back to Costco today.

sweet contest

You all know my favorite digital designer is Crystal Wilkerson. She speaks my style--so simple and not overly distressed. She made a big announcement yesterday that her designs are coming IRL. Yep, in May she'll have her papers on the shelf. I'm very excited. Here's a preview:

My favorite is the floral print on the white background at the end. You can never go wrong with those delightful dots though and that pink stripe is oh, so sweet. I signed up for her giveaway (now I'm wishing I'd chosen the real life paper instead of digital--oh well, I'll love them both). So I'm passing along the information so if I don't win, someone I know might. Just leave a comment on her blog here and cross your fingers!