mousepad makeover

As much as I would prefer to just not have a mousepad, our mouse doesn't work without one. I've been resenting the Dell mousepad that we've had for years, and I finally did something about it. The Graphics Fairy has all kinds of cute vintage graphics over on her site, and I snagged this one because it sounds like our house. :) If you need a mousepad makeover, consider heading over to her site for a cute image to print & glue to your existing mousepad!

adoptive families contest

So, I realize I'm intertwining social media sites by posting on my blog about facebook, but I want to recruit as many voters as I can for this contest. :)

We are entered in an "adoptive families" contest sponsored by Allison Hilyer Photography on facebook, and I really need your votes! It's easy to vote; just follow these 3 steps:

1. Visit her facebook page {here}


2. Like her facebook page


3. Find the 'Goins' photo in her 'Adoptive Families Contest' album, and "like" our photo.

Each "like" for our photo counts as a vote. The contest ends Tuesday, April 19th at 9:00pm. PLEASE vote for us, and tell your friends to vote for us too! Don't forget, you must like her page before you can like our photo.

THANK YOU ALL!!!

{ And when you're done voting for us, go visit her website

& check out her awesome photography skillz! }

I spy...

A few goodies I've been spying online lately...

definitely over the glass-top dining table, with a 1-year-old. and this one comes with a leaf! think: old mismatched dining chairs and a wooden bench, all painted white to contrast the gray-brown table. ahhhh. from ikea.

simple elegance for our entryway. from ikea.

I work from home, and my work space is super inefficient. this antique white desk would help me get organized, while looking cute at the same time. from CSN stores.

this indoor/outdoor rug would definitely brighten up our deck! from World Market.

this white quilt would definitely simplify the bed-making in the mornings...and it's machine washable. yes please. from Target.

DIY yarn + pinwheel wreath

I was inspired by Kimba of A Soft Place to Land to do a yarn-wrapped wreath for spring. Since doing my daughter's pinwheel-themed birthday party a couple of weeks ago, I've been kind of obsessed with pinwheels, so I wanted to include pinwheels on mine...I mean, who doesn't love pinwheels, right?

So here's how I did it:

I bought a wreath form {for some reason Hobby Lobby only had these straw ones, and none of the styrofoam kind, but whatever...it was 50% off of $3.99, and I was ready to get started instead of shopping around}, a skein of this fun green & turquoise yarn {ok I bought two, just in case, but I only used one}, and 3 pinwheel picks {also 50% off right now at HobLob}. Total cost: under $7! Holla.

Tape the end of the yarn to the wreath, and start wrapping the yarn around the wreath. Recruite help from an adorable 1-year-old if you can.

You will begin to think it will take all day to finish, but it won't, I promise. Keep wrapping. Distract 1-year-old with puffs if necessary.

Whew! Finally finished.

I wanted my pinwheels to still turn once I attached them, so I cut off the sticks but left the pinwheels intact. I then glued them to floral pins so I could stick them into the wreath. {Sorry I didn't include the floral pins in the "ingredients" pic above...they were an afterthought. :)}

Attach the pinwheels to the wreath and hang. I decided to use regular ole twine instead of cute ribbon, just to keep it simple. Voila!

It makes me smile as I walk up to the door! Especially when Natalie starts "blowing" the pinwheels. :)

pinwheels + pennants

So, our little Nat turned one.

{insert cliche, "they grow up so fast" here.}

I seriously can't believe that this little angel:

Is now THIS little angel:

To celebrate, we had a birthday bash at her Granmama's house. I got the inspiration for the party from Hostess with the Mostess, mainly from this party, but also from lots of other pinwheel-inspired parties on the site.

I found some adorable invitations from Sweet Papers, and got her to customize the colors & layout just for us:

I loved that I could print them myself & save money! Sweet Papers also customized the coordinating tags & toppers, which I printed on cardstock for the cupcake toppers and label paper for the cup stickers. Inexpensive, and easy!

Here are a few more pics of the party. It was such a fun time, and we were so blessed to have so many friends and family come out to celebrate our sweet Natalie!

{cupcake toppers designed by Sweet Papers & assembled by me}

{pink pinwheel from Hobby Lobby}

{stickers on cups designed by Sweet Papers}

{small pinwheels from Hobby Lobby}

{free printable alphabet bunting from Ruffled - this is so cute, I may need to make one for the house!}

{free printable small bunting from Daily Suze}

{enormous pinwheel from Hobby Lobby}

{yeah...didn't get a "before" pic of the smash cake, but it was ADORABLY decorated by my mom's co-worker to coordinate with the pinwheel design from Sweet Papers}

{also didn't get a good pic of the birthday girl's sweet getup, but we made her a t-shirt from transfer paper that coordinated with the pinwheel design from Sweet Papers}

{So apparently, we owe a good deal of our party stuff to the awesome work of Sweet Papers! Go check them out for birthday party invitations, baby announcements, shower invitations, and more!}

featured in Southern Child Magazine!

Southern Child Magazine included our adoption story in their April/May 2011 issue. Check it out!