Happy St. Patty's Day!

I am not even a little bit Irish, but I can pretend today!  I had a little adventure in cuisine this morning:  I'm trying my hand at corned beef brisket with potatoes, carrots, and onions. It got loaded into the crockpot this morning.  I love crockpot meals...it's like a little surprise waiting for you when you get home.  I'm even making some Irish Soda Bread.  I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

I didn't do much St. Patty's Day crafting with my students this year...we have our state standardized testing this week, so I've been busy preparing them for that.  We did take a little break to make these quick Irish mobiles:

They look cute hanging from our ceiling.

The kids made rainbow paper chains:

And we added a shamrock at the bottom:

They traced a shamrock pattern on white paper and cut it out.  Then, we dipped bubble wrap in green paint and stamped it on the shamrock.  Easy, fun, and festive.

Have a great day everyone!

Wednesday: One Small Thing

Hello there!  Happy Wednesday!

Today is the first installment of a new Wednesday feature called "One Small Thing."  I'm hoping to share some ideas for greener living with you wonderful readers.  However, I am a greenie-in-training myself; so if any of you have good ideas to share, by all means - share them!  Simply send me an email with your tip, and you (and your blog, if you have one) may be featured here! 

For our first tip, let's take a trip to the laundry room.  Doing laundry may be my least favorite chore ever, partly because it's neverending, and partly because I don't have a laundry room.  I have a laundry closet.  But that's another story.  So to get myself geared up for this post, let's first look at a few photos of beautiful laundry rooms.  These are rooms that I would actually like spending time in.  In fact, I would probably never leave these laundry rooms.

Ahhhhh.  A soothing laundry/mud room, complete with fresh flowers.

via houzz

Look at all that storage.  And a sink!  I'm loving the all-white vibe.  Makes me think clean thoughts.

via houzz

 

This last one is one of my favorites.  I'm nuts for this fabric.

via design*sponge

Let's kick off One Small Thing with a really easy way to use less energy in your laundry room:  WASH YOUR CLOTHES IN COLD WATER.  Did you know that up to 90 percent of the cost of washing clothes comes from simply heating the water?  It's true. Cold water cleans your clothes perfectly well, so only use hot water if your clothes are very dirty.  Isn't that easy?  You're one step closer to a greener home.  :)

 

Have a great Wednesday!

Leather Cuff Bracelet Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of the Signature Vine Leather Cuff Bracelet from Art of Spirit Leather!

The lucky winner is:

Commenter #96! 
brittanykennedy1 said... 96 i follow via gfc - yellowdemon91

Email me to claim your prize!  Congratulations!

Weekend Roundup: Things I Loved This Week

Happy Saturday, friends!  It's supposed to beautiful in PA this weekend....we're hoping to be outside often!

Here's a list of things that caught my eye this week:

Wouldn't your kids eat their lunch if it looked like this?
I'm saving my pennies for this chair.
This is the cutest Etsy shop ever.
Yum.
Look at the pretty necklace she made!
The new Lonny magazine is out.  Full of inspiration.

Have you entered the leather cuff bracelet giveaway?  Click here.

More Stenciled Onesies!

Don't forget to enter my leather cuff bracelet giveaway!

I recently made two freezer-paper stenciled onesies for a colleague's baby shower.  I thought this cat-eye glasses one was hilarious, but I was a little afraid that I was going to be the only one at my work who had that sense of humor.  Luckily, it was really well-received.  Thanks to Ashley Ann for the idea!

I love giving homemade gifts for showers and birthdays.  It's usually easier on the wallet, but there is also something sweet and special about homemade gifts. I know that the gifts I cherish the most are the ones that someone made just for me.  :)

Visit this post for my step-by-step tutorial for freezer paper stenciled onesies!

Linking Up To:

Happy 4th Birthday, Twinkies!

**Don't forget to enter my leather cuff bracelet giveaway!**

Charlotte and Gavin turn four today.  Four.  How is that possible?  I can't believe I have two little four-year-olds.

The photo above was taken by their Aunt Sarah at our bowling birthday party last weekend.  I love it because it totally encapsulates their little personalities.  These two are such good buddies; they would do anything for each other.  As you can see, Charlotte often talks Gavin into things that wouldn't otherwise be his idea of a good time:

Doesn't Gavin look thrilled to be dressed as Tinkerbell?  What a good sport.

We've come a long, long way from our NICU days:

My little guys are fighters.  And I count my blessings every day for the spunk and the spirit that they have shown since the day they were born.  Little miracles, they are.  Four-year-old miracles!

Here they are preparing to blow out some candles.  Please ignore my terribly ugly bowling lane cake.  A baker, I am not.

Happy Birthday, Charlotte and Gavin! xoxoxo

Giveaway: Leather Bracelet from AOS Leather!

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

Oh, do I have a fun giveaway for you today!  It seems like leather bracelets are popping up all over the place in blogland and in magazines lately.

CC Skye Gold Screw Bracelet

Stella & Dot

 Even celebrities like J-Lo have been spotted in their leather bracelets:

And Johnny Depp's been wearing this one for years and years:

Let's just stop for a moment and admire the yumminess that is Johnny Depp.  Okay?  Okay.

I recently bought a few leather bracelets from a great Etsy shop called Art of Spirit Leatherworks.  I was super-impressed with the quality, design, and beauty of Kathy's handmade bracelets.

Just look at some of the lovelies available in her Etsy shop!

These would look great with any outfit, especially in the summer with bare arms:

I wouldn't mind seeing Michael wearing any or all of these:

Would you like a leather bracelet, too?  Well, you're in luck!  Art of Spirit Leather has offered to give one lucky Tulip and Turnip reader a signature floral vine wristband!  I think it is the perfect accessory for summer, and would look fabulous with any summer attire (or winter or spring or fall attire!).

Here's how to win:

1. Visit Art of Spirit Leather's shop, and come back here to leave a comment telling me about a product you love.

For extra chances to win:
1.  Become a follower (I would really appreciate it!)  Post a comment telling me you did so.
2.  Blog, Facebook, or tweet about this giveaway.  Make sure you come back here to leave a comment telling me you did so!

Good luck!

Giveaway is open to U.S. Residents Only.  Winner will be chosen randomly via random.org.  Winner will be announced on Monday, March 14.