DIY Mini Shelf

When Lily started school, I felt like we needed a place to hang her backpack and lunch box.  I made it my mission to find the perfect holder.  I finally found one with five hooks at TJ Maxx and hung it up in a spot where I thought was convenient (at the bottom of the stairs).  It will also double as our stocking holder during Christmas time!

Once I hung the hooks, I thought the wall above looked a little bare. My husband teases me saying that I want to cover every square inch of wall space just for the heck of it, but I really wanted a shelf!  I was envisioning a pop of green somewhere on the wall, so I needed a shelf to hold a fake plant. 

Maybe it's true.  Maybe I will hate my style ten years down the road. But right now, I'm loving the farmhouse look. I don't want everything to be whitewashed or tattered looking, but I like a little bit of the distressed look.  So I designed a shelf to fit the exact space I wanted to fill and went with a bright white followed by a natural wax seal to get more of the whitewashed look. 

Here's what went down.

First, I found some scrap wood in the garage.  Mike has a pile left over from various projects, like making shelves for the pantry or a closet for the down stairs bathroom. Next, I used the chop saw to cut triangles to use as corbels for underneath the shelf part.

After cutting the boards, I dusted off the router.  I hadn't used it in a while, so I had to refresh my memory on how everything worked!  After a few practice cuts, I ended up just using a super simple shave to make rounded corners and edges.

Once the corners and edges were all rounded, I cut the corbels into a shape that I traced myself.  It wasn't perfect by any means, but I like to "wing" and "eye" things.  I think it slightly irritates my engineer hubby, haha. After tracing them with paper, I used a scroll saw to make the wavy cuts.  The wood was a little thick for this project, but it worked.

After this step, I got really into making the shelf and totally forgot to snap pictures!  Mike helped me attach the corbels to the shelf/ledge part. Then I got to work staining, painting, sanding, painting again, then waxing.  Lastly, I attached these little teeth hooks I had in a picture hanging pack. Voila!  I really like how it turned out!  The green pop is exactly what I wanted :)

August 2019 Adventure Roundup

August was a busy month. Lily started Kindergarten, and we're finding our new groove with just the littles being at home. I think everyone is adjusting pretty well. Here are some pictures to document our adventures of the month in no particular order:

Visit to the Coffee Farm

Lily's first day of Kindergarten!

Kawela Bay Adventure

Pizza making workshop and kitchen tour at California Pizza Kitchen with MOMS Club

Evening picnic at Kailua Beach

Keiki Biathlon 

Backyard dinner with friends

Dog Beach picnic and Emma's first Man-o-War sting

Family Hike (+Uncle Jordan) up Diamond Head... Lily's choice before school started!

Club Connection at the park with MOMS Club (a.k.a. scooter club)

Cary pretending to be big :)

Mommy's woodworking project

After school park play

The start of rotational babysitting/date nights!

Morning mall dates

Backyard swimming with the neighbors

Sweet church friends

Sewing craft night with my girlfriends

Thursday beach days

Toddler Treks to Lyon Arboretum

Saying goodbye to a friend :(

Friends visiting from Arizona :)

First homework assignment

Birthday party at Ice Palace

Beach Day with the Byrds

DIY Cloth Napkins

Aren't these just so pretty?!

I'll be honest.  Cloth napkins are such a foreign concept to me.  

Cloth napkins are at fancy places like The Olive Garden and upscale steakhouses.

They were seriously NOT on my radar whatsoever until I overheard two friends talking about them at a park play date.  

I do cringe every time I run out of paper towels. Thinking about dropping $20 on something that literally gets thrown into the trash seems so silly.  Don't get me wrong, I like using paper towels, but I thought it might be nice not having to buy them as often at Costco.  I'm guessing hoping the 12 pack of giant rolls will last MUCH longer now!

Here's what went down to make these babies.  I did a few at home, then finished the rest at a friend's house when we got crazy on a Friday night and stayed out late for craft night ;)

I'll be honest though... if you're really looking to make these, this is the video tutorial I watched.  Probably much easier than trying to follow my instructions!

What you'll need:

• Fat Quarters fabric (got mine from Walmart). You can buy them individually, or in a bundle with colors that go together. I think a pack of five pieces was $5.44
• Iron
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Thread & bobbin

                             

                                

You don't need to wash or trim the fat quarters!  All you do is iron each edge about half an inch and then again at one inch.  Seriously, watch the video if you are going to make these.

Essentially, you iron every side, then cut and fold every corner to make mitered edges.  Finally, you sew each edge. Here's a picture progression of what I remembered to photograph:

The girls are pretty pumped about these and are excited to set the table now!  They like to use them as place mats too :)  Happy crafting.  If you decide to try these, let me know how they turn out and what patterns you choose!

Daily Wisdom

I love that every morning I get to wake up and start afresh.  It truly is a gift!

Last night, as I prepared the house to start another week, I began thinking about a verse that I really loved and clung to in high school.  I served as president for our (very small) Fellowship of Christian Athletes club, so this resonated with me.

Luke 2:52 says that, "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man." Of course the passage is talking about Jesus in the temple in his youth as he began teaching and carrying out His Father's business, but I think we can glean some wisdom from Christ's life.

In my mind, it was a perfect way to structure some of the routines of my life and it gave me a goal to work toward:

1) Grow in Wisdom
2) Grow in Stature
3) Grow in favor with God
4) Grow in favor with Man

When these four areas of my life are balanced, I just feel better.  So, this week I've decided to focus on Wisdom. Proverbs has a lot of wisdom to offer us. I think I'll start there.

Since today is August 12, let's start in Proverbs 12 for a few examples:

• "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid." v. 1

• "An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones." v. 4

• "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice." v. 16

That's all I've got for today.  Time for breakfast/school/drop-off.  Have any wisdom to share?  

A New Normal

My three little monkeys are finding the most adorable joy in climbing up the family step stool to flip onto the couch.  This Saturday morning, Pandora is playing in the background, and rather than my usual frustration with the shouting and sisterly banter, my heart is bursting with joy that I'm here in this place.  What a gift it is to see my one and a half year old play with her big sisters.  We're turning a proverbial corner and I can see it happening right before my eyes.  No more babies (at least for now) are lying in Rock-n-Plays or sitting up in Bumbos. There are no baby gyms or walkers or Jumperoos hiding out in the corners of our living space.  Just a one, three, and five year old playing "family" together in this moment with a card board "Ninja Blender" box I just received from Amazon. I think this is the first time I've taken note of this.  I'm glad I did because it all happens so fast.

In exactly one week, my first born baby girl starts a new chapter in her life.  She starts kindergarten.  It's a new chapter for her, but it's also a new chapter for me--one that is bitter-sweet. 

The Kindness of a Mirror

Have you ever glanced at a mirror after a long day and been shocked by what you saw looking back at you? A couple of weeks ago, we went to McDonalds with some close family friends after an afternoon at the beach. My friend came back from the bathroom shocked that I didn't tell her about the sand that lined her entire neck. I laughed because it really was a lot once she pointed it out, but to be honest, I didn't even see or notice it.  Then when I came back from the bathroom, I asked her how she let me leave the beach with such crazy hair.  I'm talking Medusa level crazy--saltwater, windblown, static electricity all combined.  

Sometimes even the best of friends fail to notice our shortcomings. We may see something in someone else that seems a little off, but oftentimes we're so self-focused that we can't pinpoint what it is.  Usually though, good friends will let us know when they see something seriously wrong.  Maybe not sand or hair issues, but real heart issues--depression, struggle, isolation, distance, judgement or gossipy tendencies.  Proverbs 27:17 says "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Let's be those friends who tell one another when they need to look in the mirror. Let's BE those friends who point one another back to the Gospel that we so often forget or neglect. And let's NOT BE those friends who get defensive when someone does point us to the mirror! Let us welcome the truth that is spoken in love. We humans are flawed, and we'll never quite get it right on this side of heaven, but it's a good reminder to keep your eyes open for ways to encourage and sharpen those around you. Speak the truth in love.

I hope I never forget that it's the kindness of the Lord that leads me to repentance. God's kindness has lead me to the understanding of the grossness of my sin and my need for repentance, but ultimately my need for a Savior.  Though it doesn't always seem kind, it truly is the kindness of God that tells me to look in the mirror. To see my sin and turn from it.  

"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" Romans 2:4