A November of Gratitude: Week 2

What a great message, and the more I find, the happier I become!

Tangibles

I know, you're thinking, things??  I have a feeling this list will not be what you anticipate.  Possibly, they'll be things you'd consider quite the opposite.  But, the beauty of this month of gratitude is appreciating what we have, all of it!  

1. Our Puppies

Logan

Lil Bit

Oh, these guys!  The unconditional love they show to us is unmatched.  But there is nothing more amazing than watching them with our son.  Logan took some time to get used to having a new little guy in the house, but he is very protective of his baby brother.  Lil Bit came into our lives around Colin's first birthday and has forever been as sweet as she can be with him.  Truly tolerant and lovey with her little boy!  So glad he has some furry buddies to grow up with until we bring home a sibling for him!

2. Our Happy Home

  So, lately I have been running a list of all of the things that I want to change in our house; replace the carpets with hard woods, re-painting, etc.  Again, finding the gratitude in what we have.  When I think about it, our home really is beautiful.  We have a gorgeous cul-de-sac lot with a giant fenced yard, perfect for the dogs and baby.  We have plenty of space and all of the rooms that each of us need (man cave, playroom and office included!).  We really are so blessed to call it ours!

3. Stretch Marks

 Yep, those.  Now, I'll be honest, this picture was from a Google image search, not my own.  I decided I'd rather not make you all throw up in your mouths at the rest of my mid-section.  That said, I am happy and quite proud of my stretch marks.  No, seriously.  They are the marks of growth and change, but most importantly the marks of me becoming a mommy.  Now, I can't blame pregnancy for the ones on my "cheeks," however the ones on my chest and belly are reminders of my time carrying Colin. And, while being pregnant was not my favorite time in my life, I will always appreciate these ones when I pass my hand over them for the blessing of being able to carry and deliver a healthy baby.  We women are so lucky to have that.

4. Piles (and Piles) of Laundry

Laundry is certainly a tedious and never-ending task, especially when your family starts growing.  Living in a house with two males and two dogs definitely keeps my laundry room on a regular cycle.  But the beauty of that is actually living with them.  If I didn't have the piles and baskets to wash and fold, I wouldn't have a reminder of how many people I'm blessed to be surrounded with.  Grateful for endless laundry, who knew?!

5. Cookbooks

Ok, I know this sounds crazy, but I am not what one would call a good cook.  I'm not awful, and I am trying to learn, but what OCD girl could learn something without exact measurements and instructions?  I remember Christmas baking with my mom and sisters from a very young age.  That has always come easily, given the precise directions.  The Betty Crocker cookbook above was the first one I can remember and, even though the cover is no longer attached, we all still use it when at my parents' house.  The other two above are my favorites and go-tos.  The top is one I actually created of family and Christmas recipes as a gift for my family several years ago on a site called TasteBook.  Such a cool site that lets you pull in your recipes and pictures, as well as published ones.  They are binder-bound and hard-covered, but make sure you add a clear plastic protector page of your own while cooking!  The bottom one was a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law that she created on Shutterfly.  Another precious collection of family recipes and reminder of the warm welcome my in-laws have always given me.  Entirely grateful to learn the craft from the greats; Betty, Terry and Melanie!

6. The US Military (and their families) 

As Veteran's day is approaching, we all need to take a moment to thank the amazing men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom.  It may not be something that we do every day, and definitely not often enough, but their sacrifices keep us not only free, but safe.  I'm not sure there are words enough to cover the thanks for that.  I've always thought even the families at home were heroes in their own rights, as they sacrifice their time with their loved ones.  We are all touched by these brave soldiers. some of them closer than others.  Thank you to all of them, but especially our cousins Bryan, Robbie and Josh Hill, and our amazing grandfathers, Dan Donovan, Denver Clark and Bob Hill, who fought in WWII.  You are all my heroes!

If you have the time or means, some great places to donate or thank them are:   Wounded Warrior Project & The Bert Show's Big Thank You (they do it every year!)

7. Weekends

by Heather Stillufsen

Maybe the least tangible thing on this list, but no less important for being so.  Besides, this is tangible, right?

 

Anyway, definitely thankful for my lovely weekends.  It could be for many reasons; I worked retail for way too many years, sleeping in, relaxation, etc.  But the biggest reason is the bliss of two straight days to spend with my sweet family.  There is nothing better than having this time with my boys!  As I did in a previous post, I will leave you with a song that fills my heart every time I hear it and thank God that I am lucky enough to enjoy my Saturdays with them.  "Saturday Morning" by Rachael Yamagata.  You're welcome.

8.  THIS Blog

Oh so many thanks to give for this!  What an amazing forum for my sister and myself to share our dreams and ideas!  I can't tell you what a precious gift that is.  We truly love it and thank each of you for coming back to read our crazy rantings post after post.  Thank you also to those of you that helped inspire us to FINALLY start this and find joy in it (friends, co-workers, siblings, parents and especially Deed, you know we had to do it for you!)  Forever grateful for this opportunity and hopeful we can watch it grow!

Guys, again I will encourage you to start your own list.  I really can't explain the difference it is making in my attitude, but also in my heart.  So many things to be grateful for.  Join me for Week 3, when I dig into the intangibles that keep me smiling.

xo

Baking Therapy

I have to be honest. I've been in a bit of a funk this week. Maybe because the weather has been a little icky, maybe the time change has thrown me, maybe because three out of four kids have been sick, or maybe it started with closing two of my fingertips in the garage door. But it isn't really the blues. It's more of an anxious yet exhausted feeling that is hard to explain. Like a rung out towel. As Holly Golightly puts it, it's a case of the Mean Reds. "The blues are because you're getting fat, and maybe it's been raining too long. You're just sad, that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid, and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?" No matter the reason it began, after moping around for a few days I've decided to get myself out of it.

Whenever this happens to me, I don't go to Tiffany's. Unlike Holly, I bake. One of the best methods of therapy for me is baking. It rarely even matters what I bake, I just love to do it. There is something so comforting to me about the whole process. Gathering the ingredients, measuring them, putting them all together and the smell that fills the house while waiting for everything to finish in the oven.


There are a few things I need to have before I get started. First of all, music. While I love many different types of music, standards from the 40's and 50's have my heart. There's such a strong sense of nostalgia for me (which makes no sense since I was born in the '80's), something so familiar that just always feels like home. I started with Nat King Cole. If you don't have The World of Nat King Cole, well...you should have it. Seriously, buy it on iTunes right now. You Stepped Out of a Dream and Walking My Baby Back Home. You're welcome.

 Another thing I love to have while I bake is a good cup of coffee. Honestly, I love to have a good cup of coffee just about any time, but especially while I bake. My husband gave me a beautiful French Press for Christmas last year and THAT is the way to brew coffee. Coarsely ground coffee is poured into the bottom of the press, then nearly boiling water is poured over the grounds. About four minutes later, the plunger is pushed down filtering all of the grounds through to the bottom, leaving the best coffee you've ever tasted. Whether you like light or darker roasts, flavored or unflavored, regular or decaf (Mom...), you will truly achieve the best flavor using a French Press. I leave mine black because, well, I love the taste of coffee, not sugar and cream.


Ok, so once I have my music on and coffee brewed, I can start collecting my ingredients. This is something I never used to do. I thought it was a bit of a waste of time so I used to just grab what I needed as I went. I have found it to be really helpful and much less of a stressful mess to set everything I'll need out beforehand. It's all just a part of the process now.

I decided to make one of the ultimate comforting baked goods- banana bread. Even if you don't like bananas, I have to believe you like banana bread. The two just aren't even in the same category. I have tried countless recipes, some without the brown sugar, some with whole wheat flour, some use melted butter rather than creaming softened butter. One thing I've decided for sure is that banana bread has to be made with sour cream. I mean, it feasibly can be made without. It just won't be as good. So after plenty of trials, I've come up with my favorite banana bread recipe. Here it is if you want to try it out!

Banana Bread

·         ½ cup butter

·         ½ cup sugar

·         ½ cup brown sugar

·         2 eggs

·         ¾  teaspoon vanilla extract

·         ¼ teaspoon almond extract

·         2 or 3 bananas, mashed

·         ½ cup sour cream

·         1 ¾ cups flour

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         ½ teaspoon salt

      Start by sifting the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until light. Add the eggs and extracts followed by the mashed bananas and sour cream. Stir the dry ingredients in just until incorporated. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before cutting.

It's always fun to package up baked goodies and give them to family or friends. But it's nice to have some treats around for our own family sometimes too. Every time I bake something special, my sweet husband asks "do we get to keep this or are you giving it away?" Last night was one of those times that I could tell him to help himself! He only had one piece so I hope he hurries home from work today. Because I may have to have an extra piece. Or two.

So if you find yourself with a case of the Mean Reds, here's what I recommend:

1. Turn off Adele's new song. Don't get me wrong. It's beautiful. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful. But this song will not help you out of a funk. Pinky promise. Turn it off for now. "Hello?" No. Goodbye.

2. Turn on some happy music. Whether it's Nat King Cole, The Who, Tears For Fears, Edith Piaf, Bunny Berigan, Glenn Miller, Outkast or even Christmas music (you know how I feel about this- it's always a good time for Christmas music). Whatever makes you happy. 

3. Make yourself a good drink. The perfect coffee, a dry martini with extra olives, a good dark beer, club soda with lime, raspberry lemonade, chocolate milk. Whatever is your favorite. 

4. Bake something! It doesn't matter if it's from scratch or straight out of a box. Just mix some good ingredients together and throw it into the oven. Even if you typically don't like to bake. There is just something so comforting about all of this. Trust me.

Sometimes I still want to Kool Aid Man straight through the front door and take a quiet walk...for about a week. But I can't tell you how many times this has pulled me out of that kind of slump. I'm not a therapist and obviously this personal remedy isn't a replacement for actual, professional, long-term therapy. But for a quick fix to help your general well-being, try it. Even if the process somehow doesn't help you, eating whatever you bake surely will!

Next time, I plan to get all dolled up in a fun swingy dress and heels (like Ann Miller's in On The Town) with a ruffly apron and the perfect shade of red lipstick, put on some olllllld Frank (the Tommy Dorsey days), pour a talllllll glass of red, and bake something absolutely spectacular. I've got your number, Mean Reds.

xoxo

A November of Gratitude: Week 1

by Heather Stillufsen @ Rose Hill Design Studio

November.  New month.  New time change.  The month for being thankful.  New therapy session around the lunch table at work.  Our lunch therapy sessions usually start with what's bothering us and in my case, usually some whining.  No one wants to hear that, however a friend explained to me that negativity will breed more negativity.  I never thought about it that way and was profoundly affected by the idea.

This November, I am trying something new and exciting.  I wouldn't say that I'm an entirely negative person, or ungrateful, but upon taking a closer look at myself, I find that I do breed the glass half empty thoughts and I need to fix that!  And so, inspired by the wise Felicia Cushenberry, I am looking to lift myself up in attitude by expressing those things for which I am grateful.  Compiling my list has overwhelmed me (which is a GREAT thing), the more I consider, so I have narrowed it to just a few per week.  And, because I am a "list girl," I have organized them into categories: People, Tangibles, Intangibles and Treasures.  The list could really have 500 categories, but I will spare you all and keep them short and sweet!

People

I'm positive that none of us would survive this life without the ones that we love and hold dear.  I am forever grateful for all of the people that have been put into my life.  But, the most important are the ones that surround us on a regular basis and touch us in our everyday.

1.My Colin Patrick

my sweet, adorable baby boy

People always tell you that having a child will change you.  And I think that scares a lot of people, but you really can't know what this means until you are in it.  Until I held that tiny wriggling boy on my chest in the delivery room, I thought I understood.  I had NO idea.  I didn't know I was capable of feeling for someone the way that I do for this sweet boy.  He brings joy to me every day with even the tiniest things and I really revel in all of them.  My favorite part of every single day is when I take him up to bed.  This is when I get full one-on-one time to sit and rock him, snuggle him, read to him and sing to him before he goes down for the night.  Watching him grow and learn and giggle on my lap fills my heart to near bursting and I can't think of any better way to end my day.  

2. My Love

my handsome, goofy, loving husband. Jordan

This man.  On the day he came into my life, forever was a far thought from my mind.  Jordan changed that, immediately, and without even trying.  He swooped in spinning me with his swing dancing, cracking me up and talking my ear off all night.  And he kissed me sweetly goodnight on the forehead, like a gentleman.  I was a goner.  He became my best friend and has kept me laughing and feeling safe ever since.  He goes above and beyond to take care of our little family and I couldn't have picked a better daddy for our sweet boy.  I look so forward to my Friday evenings in grubby pjs with him, snuggled on the couch, laughing at our favorite recorded shows.  He makes me so happy.

3. My Family

my tribe: Maggie, Annie, Kevin, Virg, Bart, Denise, Chris, Dad & Mom

Oh, they are SO my tribe.  Don't get me wrong, my sweet little family are my tribe, but the family that raised me are the cloth I was cut from.  I say "they" raised me, not because my parents were incapable of doing so on their own, but because everything we've ever done seems like a group effort.  And, in my opinion, that's as it should be.  My parents are those sickeningly cute people who have been married for nearly 40 years, have five children and still adore each other.  They are the reason I am a completely hopeless romantic.  They are unbelievably supportive and have always encouraged us to be who we are and be true to it.  And they gave me some of the best gifts in my life; my sisters.

I look forward to the day when we can bless Colin as we were both blessed with siblings.  There is nothing that makes a childhood more fulfilling.  Sure, we spent our time fighting and messing our rooms up and bugging each other, but these girls are the best friends I've ever had, hands down.  I can be goofy, dorky, make-up-free me around them.  I can read their thoughts and usually crack up simultaneously.  They each hold a piece of my heart that can only be held by someone that speaks the strange low-voiced language that we somehow all adopt when together.  I pretty love them, that is all.

4. Nieces and Nephews

kisses to Norsey, Conkey J, LeLe, Matty, Jimmy Man, Fi and ColeBug

Oh, these beautiful babies!  I have always looked forward to the day when I would have a baby, but until it was my turn, I was thrilled to share my sweet nieces and nephews with my sisters.  I can still remember when I found out my sister was expecting her first baby and I could not have been more proud or excited.  I have done nothing but benefit from having each one of them in my life and learned so much watching each of them grow.  I am thankful that I could learn through them how to raise my own baby to be happy and thrive!  And Colin is more than blessed to grow up along side each of them. 

5. In Laws

the Hills: Clancey, Ron, Melanie, Ashton, Kendall, Justin, Whitney, Adam and Cole

Most people don't really think before they get married about the people that come along with the one they say "I do" to, but I am more than happy with the ones that came with Jordan (as well as the ones who chose my amazing sisters).  I gained this amazing second family in the Hills and even more sisters and brothers to love.  They have a great family dynamic and closeness, like the one that I grew up with, which is so important to me.  And though some are very far away, I know how blessed we are for the time we have with all of them, especially now with Colin.  Thank you for making "in-laws" a good thing!

6. Extended Families

Beyond our little circle of families, we are surrounded by love.  We have these amazing examples of love and family that extend far across the miles in our aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.  I am beyond grateful for the stories, the childhood memories and the new memories that we're making with all of them.  Colin is a very lucky boy to spend time with all of them and especially his great-grandparents.  I know that is something he (and we) will cherish for a long time to come.

7. Friends

love you Jessie, Kimmy, Randy, Amanda, Sammy, Linds & Ang

We all go through our lives making and moving on from friends, but it's the ones that stick with you that really make an impact.  My friends from growing up and my friends from college will all hold a special place for me (especially those that I lived with).  But sometimes, you make connections that you know will last and I have a small group of those that I know will continue on with me through the years to come.  They've known me through crazy, drunk, moron, popular, new mommy, hermit, etc.  And believe it or not, they still like me...I think!  They keep me smiling and know that very moment when it's been too long since we last saw each other and need to break away.  Here's to many more years of breaking away for crazy, probably drunk and definitely hilarity!

These are the tip of the iceberg guys, but already I feel my heart swelling with love and positivity.  As I take this journey to rid myself of the negative, please join me and pick out the things/people/moments that make your life great.  I promise, it will take over and change you for only the better.  Come back next week when I delve into the tangibles (no, not Starbucks) that are changing my attitude to gratitude.  And in the words of a man whose bones I would marry (ask anyone on this list), "count your blessings" with me.

Haunted Graham Cracker Houses

Haunted graham cracker houses are one of my favorite little projects to do with the kids this time of year. They are similar to the gingerbread houses we do at Christmastime, but made with chocolate graham crackers and decorated with Halloween candy! We have been making them every year since our oldest two were around two and three years old. They are really easy and so much fun to make!

The kids love them because they can decorate them however they would like...while sampling the ingredients as they go, of course.


We started doing these before the days of Pinterest, which is probably a really good thing for me. Only because I would want to try to recreate things which would likely fail. Have you seen those elaborate, gorgeous gingerbread haunted mansions? Yeah. That's not what we're doing here. At all.




This is one of the first projects I worked on with the kids that I learned is a lot more fun when I stop trying to micromanage. I help them get their basic structure together but then I let them go crazy.

I always love seeing what their imaginations dream up. Black licorice trees, orange gumball pumpkins, marshmallow ghosts, candy corn fences, Oreo gravestones and graham cracker crumb dirt.





I like to have everything set out so they can see what they have and so they can reach it all easily. This year, we invited friends to join us so I made sure to set up ingredients on each side of the table. It's not a bad idea to have a plastic tablecloth down for this one. Trust me. It is also really helpful, if you have more than one kiddo working on these at a time, to be sure they each have their own piping bag (or plastic baggie) of royal icing. This way, you won't hear "May I have the icing now" which quickly turns into "Hey! I need the icing! Gimme that!" around here.

I put together a list of materials/ingredients we have used in the past that work well but the great thing is that you can use just about anything to make your very own...

Haunted Graham Cracker Houses

-Chocolate Graham Crackers (walls/roof)
-Sugar Cones (roof)
-Graham Cracker Crumbs (dirt)
-Royal Icing (the "glue" to hold everything)
-Candy Corn (fence)
-Marshmallows (ghosts)
-Orange Gumballs (pumpkins)
-Reese's Pieces (house decor)
-Oreo Cookies, halved (gravestones)
-Black Licorice Twizzlers (trees)
-Rolos
-Hot tamales
-Gummy worms/bears
-Mini chocolate chips
-Halloween sprinkles

When they started they were taking their time, working very carefully on their little houses. After weighing them down with pounds of candy, and globs of thick icing their houses were definitely looking a bit more, um...dilapidated than when they started...definitely spooky!

After they finished their houses, we headed outside to run around and burn off some sugar while the icing set. When we came back inside, the boys did another quick Fall/Halloween project I had set up.

I keep seeing these cute little paper towel roll bats pop up on my Pinterest feed. They look simple enough so I gathered up the materials and let them get to work. We glued black construction paper around a section of a paper towel roll first. Then we cut wings, fangs and eyes from foam paper and glued those on. That was it! We forgot to fold the ears in at the top before the picture, but they were having too much fun flying them all around the house!

We were so happy to have our friends with us for this little project this year. I hope it's something all of the kids will remember and want to do every year!

xoxo

Pampering Spaaahh Baby Shower

Becoming a mommy for the first time was quite possibly one of the best things that have ever happened to me.  I never knew I was capable of such intense feeling, until they laid Colin on my chest in the delivery room.  Frankly, I lost my mind and have been head over heels ever since.

You can imagine how excited I was when one of my closest friends, Jessica found out that she was pregnant with her first baby!  I was so thrilled to welcome her to the mommy club, but as is the norm, she was understandably nervous about all that she was about to go through.  So, my dear friends and I decided that we would throw her a shower that would not only provide her with the things she and baby would need, but also help to relax her before his arrival.

Jessica and her hosts L to R, Amanda, Randy, Kate & Kim (Randy and Kim were not able to be there day-of, but they were part of the planning all the way through!)

With relaxation and baby boy’s nursery colors in mind, I set to work coming up with a cute logo for our “Spa.”  I wanted to create something simple that would invoke the spa atmosphere, but personalized for Jess.

Logo complete and ready to be applied generously to all of our party details, I began the invitations.  One of my gracious co-hosts, Amanda bravely offered to have the shower at her home (despite the fact that we intended to have self-service spa sessions) and the guest of honor chose a lazy Saturday afternoon.  Setting perfection.  Of course, I made sure the invites included her registry information, but Amanda had a great plan on an additional fun inclusion for them; a diaper raffle!  Totally brilliant idea from the four time mom, in order to build up Jessica’s supply for when baby arrives.  I think all mommies know that one of the most expensive things a baby needs are DIAPERS (and lots of them).  Guests were encouraged to bring along a package of diapers for entry into a prize-winning drawing.  They turned out to be pretty adorable:

Once the invitations were out, I hit my usual spots for ideas; Pinterest, Hobby Lobby, Amazon, Home Goods and yes, Dollar Tree (I’m NOT loaded, y’all).  Amanda was working on the menu and decorations, while I concentrated on activities and favors.  There would be spa stations, and the raffle, as well as BINGO that centered around Jess' gift opening.  These girls would be taken care of!

We wanted to set up small self-service spa stations for the guests around a large table.  This would allow them to socialize, as well as pamper themselves in the same area.  We set up two stations each for facials, manicures and pedicures around Amanda's dining room table (See?  BRAVE)
I wanted the ladies to be well-supplied while they pampered themselves, so I decided to do a "pamper me bar."  Through the years I've been doing parties, I've accumulated quite the collection of jars and vases for bars such as this, so those supplies were on hand.  The spa supplies were another story entirely.  And so, I began with a site that I had used several times before, nailsupplies.us.  They are priced unbelievably for a non-licensed commoner, such as myself and that is very appreciated!  Amazingly, while browsing, I discovered a collection I had never heard of before...ready for it?  Jessica Cosmetics.  Yep, her very own name.  I found the perfect signature shade that not only matched our theme, but also had "boy" in the title!

Supplied with two dozen of these, matching moisturizers and base and top coats, I dove into the accessories which I knew would be needed to complete each girls' service.  Armed with coordinating favor bags with logo stickers, the girls could pick and choose what they liked and take home treats for further spa treatments at home.  

As I planned more, I was more confident with the task at hand and decided to do some additional crafting for the "bar."  This can prove to be a great idea...or a sad failure.  In my case, there was a little of both!  The three that made it to the table were the Kool Aid Lip Balms (done in Blue Raspberry Lemonade flavor/color), the Creaseless Hair Ties (in matching aqua and gray) and the Homemade Bath Salts (colored aqua and displayed in individual tubes).

And of course, my beautiful, sad little failure...the Bath Bombs.  This may seem like an easy DIY, but I can assure you, for the girl who skipped over Chemistry in high school and avoided it in college like the plague, it is not.  I followed the directions exactly, with one adjustment (which is listed in the instructions as an IF).  I added more water, since they seemed too dry.  DON'T add more water or your bombs will be ruined, as evidenced by the photo below (courtesy of my husband and captioned "Nailed it!").  Even perfectionists with OCD fail sometimes!

Needless to say, the bath bombs were eliminated from the final cut.  I'm fairly certain no one missed these horrifying things.

As the day came closer, Amanda had assembled a banner, framed some adorable printables to display around the shower and mastered another craft I failed on a previous occasion (Stained Glass Votives-hers were done in aqua)!

The printables were so cute, I have to share and give credit to the designers!

Perfect Gift, Little Boy, Colby K & Relax

Decorations and spa stations set, we went to two grocery stores and began prepping food.  This of course, had to keep with the theme and with Amanda's expertise in cookie frosting and melon slicing, we had some lovely results!  We put out "rolled towel" turkey wraps, fruit cups, cheese and crackers and made sure we had some sweets.  The table below housed the coordinating Lindt truffles, "cucumber" cookies, aqua frosted cupcake minis and the "nail file" wafer cookies.

And as is necessary when lots of women assemble to celebrate a new baby, we served a bit of champagne (with OJ and Blue Curacao),  The Mimosa Moons were a hit and matched perfectly, though we did have to call for emergency refill supplies!

The day was a huge success and Jess went home with tons of goodies off her registry, as well as diapers to last for quite some time.  I'm pretty sure she will still be using them for months to come!  The girls helped pamper her and give her a day to remember long after Colby made his debut.  Having a newborn is not exactly relaxing, but I know her life is changed forever in only the best way.  And I'm beyond thankful that we were the ones to honor her as she waited for him.  Love you Jessie!

Jess' sweet boy, Colby (isn't he JUST??!!)