The Mirror (Updated)

I found this mirror at the Salvation Army today. The tag was illegible, and even though it could have been $6.99, the owner said to ring it up at $4.99. If that wasn't good enough, today was green tag day! 50% off! The frame was gold. I finished off the last can of spray paint from the bed, and hot glued some shells onto it.

I didn't realize that this picture was blurry. Ugh.

I can't wait to paint the dresser white! I think coral sheets are next on my list to obtain....

Please ignore the blind that is already broken. I dropped it while trying to hang it.

 The white blinds add so much. Now the question is: do I make a chiffon curtain that goes the length of the window to hide the blinds at night and still give us a little privacy during the day? (I love having the light, but those windows directly overlook our neighbors deck, and they are always out there.) Or, do I make a swag? I have about 5 yards of sand colored chiffon ($1/yard at Wal-Mart!) to use. I kind of wanted to make a canopy, but that's difficult to do with the windows the way they are. In our next house...

My collection of pretty things. I think they are perfect over my nightstand.

Adventures in Spray Painting

I do not think I am blessed with the talent of spray painting things well. I don't have the patience to do multiple light coats, and the bed frame was a little difficult because of all of the round things (ha, my vocabulary is failing me). However, it is done, and back in our room...

My nightstand is back on the other side of the bed. It's the same color as Zach's, but a different style.

Oops. Thought this one would rotate itself...

Tony loves playing on our bed. He will throw himself back in slow motion and it cracks me up.

Now to hang the new blinds and drapes...the nightstands and dresser will have to wait until after summer break. I'm wondering if coral ought to play a part in the room's color scheme??

Hopefully this weekend I can share pictures of my first meatza, Zach's pemmican making, and other tasty discoveries in paleo living.

Love,

Jess

All you need is some ocean breeze...

...but maybe you can feel it just by looking.

The bed looks funny because it's still sitting away from the wall. The room is a pretty good size.

This is our room. It was a very bright, dark bubble gum pink. I thought I could live with it, until I saw sea foam colored bedrooms on Pinterest. Then I knew the pink had to go, and be replaced with something more soothing. This is perhaps a little bright, but I will probably be glad of that in during the long winter. I intend to spray paint the bed frame a sand color (the name on the can is almond, but sand suits my purposes), and put up more pictures. I have a set of photographs from Zach's beach to go on his side. White blinds with some chiffon drapes and it will be absolutely lovely.

It feels so good to finally be finished with the painting - I started it a week ago! Thankfully I remembered a tip from one of my Mom's friends: put your brush (and roller in my case) in a ziploc bag in between painting sessions. Mine survived very well!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

{pretty}

I don't know what I would have done without my Mom and siblings here last week. Their help with Tony, and different projects was great.

This is my dining room before. Please excuse all of the mess.

 Ta-da!

This was not your typical beaded board as I think of it. It was strips of two "rows" each, nailed to the wall, close together. Painting it took what felt like forever to get the paint into the deep, deep grooves. But now it is done, and I love it so much. The color of the wood was pretty, but the window frame was another, darker, stain, and it felt like too much different wood. Now it's white and bright.

Once I have some spare time I'm going to update that china cabinet with a coat of paint. 

The trim around this window was also very dark. I don't understand that. Now there is color. I have decided to tear the shingles down and create a shelf on top of the cabinets, then repaint the cabinets either white or light yellow (you can see some of my inspirations here). The brick will be replaced with tile, too. 

{happy}
At the beginning of July my parents had all of my unconfirmed siblings confirmed by a Byzantine Catholic priest. Emma, Monica, and Teddy also received their First Communion. It was a huge blessing for my family, and I am so happy that the priest was willing to do it. It was beautiful. Nicholas asked Zach to be his sponsor, and I was asked to be Monica's sponsor. I still can't believe how wonderful it was. I hope that more bishops decide to follow Canon Law regarding the sacraments - Baptism, Confirmation, and then First Communion. That's how we are going to do it, and we just can't wait for Tony to be old enough to receive more sacraments!
 

Emma Therese Marie Veronica

Theodore Charles Ignatius Thomas (More)

Zach and Nicholas Sean Michael Joseph

Monica Louise Marie Rose and I

{funny}

Tony is already working on becoming a good handyman so he can help me out when Zach is too busy. Right now Tony helps me by pulling books off of the shelf.

{real}

I was so happy yesterday morning: I had laundry on the line before I went to my appointment at the clinic. My clothes line is broken, but one side is still useable until Zach builds me a new one. My one wish is that the diapers wouldn't come off the line so stiff. I kind of wrinkle them up before I use them to soften them a little, but they're still rather scratchy. Oh well. I'm just happy that I can dry them on the line.

Birthday Festivities

A birthday nap. After searching unsuccessfully for a birthday shirt, I made this one. Simple, but easy and cute!

We had such a grand time celebrating Tony's birthday. Part of my family came up early in the week to help me do some things, and my Dad and Gabi arrived Friday night with Uncle Kevin.

A little photo display in the family room.

I had so much fun decorating for Saturday's party. We had my family, Kevin, some of Zach's classmates, and another family from NYCC/church over for dinner. We managed a completely gluten free menu, that was super easy, too - Chicken BBQ with coleslaw, Primal Potato Salad, Tropical Fruit Gazpacho, Cantaloupe, and GF cake and cupcakes.

Coconut Cake. It was quite a hit

The little people ready for cake!

"...and many more!"

First piece of cake.

Flowers from the Market. Perfect for our barnyard theme!

More pictures and birthday cards. (With the mirror that finally made it onto the wall - thanks Dad!)

I have been waiting to use this frame since Tony was born. It felt like forever. Now I can't believe it's full of pictures!

So much for a picture with Uncle Kevin.

One year as a family of three.

It was such a blessing to have family and friends here. It means so much when people make the time to be around for something special. Tony was lucky that both of his Godparents were able to make it.

I can't wait to share pictures of everything we accomplished last week! The house looks so lovely, and I could not have done it without my Mom and siblings! (A special shout-out to my Dad for all of the little, but necessary things he spent the day doing!)

Much love,
Jess

Happy Birthday, Tony!

I cannot believe that my sweet little boy is ONE!

I couldn't believe how white and slippery he was!

Such a tiny little body. Now his legs hang off my lap while he nurses.

We also celebrate the anniversary of his birth into the Church today!

Anthony  Benedict Joseph - a Child of God and an Heir to Heaven

  12 months later he has five teeth, with another getting ready to come through, is starting to stand alone, and is still such a joy to Zach and I. 

Tapping two rocks together was a lot of fun at the beach yesterday.

Daddy giving Tony a big rock.

I thank God every day for you, Anthony, and I love you so very, very much. Life wouldn't be the same without you!

Love,

Mommy

Food, Festivities, and Love

It has been on my mind for a while to write a little bit about food. And to recommend that if you cannot have a garden, that you should join a CSA - Community Supported Agriculture (not Crop Sharers Anonymous like I always think in my head when I read CSA). We found an organic CSA here, and for the large share it comes to about $23 a week. I think that is a great deal. It's a lot of vegetables. The only difficult part is that you don't know until Thursday what can be picked up on Saturday at the Market, so you have to meal plan on Friday. I haven't been meal planning for this reason, but I'm getting more organized. If you can deal with that, and only using in season produce, you'll love it. If you aren't very adventurous with veggies, it will force you out of your comfort zone. I've made Kohlrabi Home Fries, Napa Cabbage Slaw, Roast Beef with Baked White Turnips and Sweet Potatoes. The slaw was super easy - I made a dressing of apple cider vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, and a little salt. I didn't have any other vegetables to go in it, but it was perfect with the pulled heart bbq.

This is one week's veggies, minus the napa cabbage: kale, lettuce, chard, kohrabi, radishes, white turnips, cilantro, parsley, green onions, and a spicy leafy thing - arugula, maybe.

 The Market that we pick our share up at is huge. There are so many vendors with good meats, veggies, eggs. It's a lot of fun to walk around and see so many people offering real food. There's also a good variety of ready to eat ethnic foods, that smell amazing. We tried Cuban chicken fricassee last time. Delicious. Oh, did I mention the fresh flowers for sale, too? SO beautiful! Far better than any florist! If there is a farmers market in your area, check it out! The one in my hometown is really tiny, but if you live in a decent sized city, there should be a good market.

One sad little kohrabi fry left. They disappeared so fast!

 We were invited to Bar-B-Que for the Fourth of July with two other families. The husbands are both third trimester students, and the one couple has a little boy who is just older than Tony. I was asked to bring a side dish, and in the end decided to make two things: Tropical Fruit Gazpacho and Primal Purple Potato Salad.  

Primal Purple Potato Salad, recipe found on MarksDailyApple.com

As you can see, I didn't use purple sweet potatoes (you can only get them at Asian markets), but it was still super tasty. I even made my own mayonnaise! (Thank God for the immersion blender. My last few tries with mayonnaise have failed.)

I love to make things look pretty. The only mistake was that all those lime slices made it a little too lime-y.

I have been dying to make this gazpacho since I saw it in Make It Paleo. Pineapple, mango, coconut, and lime juice? Sign me up. It said six servings, but I made a double batch, since I didn't know what kind of size they would be. It was very refreshing, with a pudding-like consistency. My blender didn't make the coconut as fine as it was supposed to be, but it gave it a bit of crunch. As a side note, the double batch was more than enough: we served it again in the evening at a little birthday party for Zach's classmate, Wegayah. (Along with gluten-free truffle brownies and ice cream.)

Our Independence Day dinner: Chicken salad, potato salad, and steak with homemade barbeque sauce!

The mayo made another appearance in a garlic and rosemary aioli that went into chicken salad for dinner. The aioli was super easy to make, and I don't think I've had better chicken salad (except for my Mom's recipe that uses cream cheese and water chestnuts).

Ta-da! Peeled, cored, and sliced pineapple!

Have you ever seen one of these things? The previous owner had forgotten some things in the kitchen, and I almost threw it away. I'm so glad I didn't, because it made peeling and slicing the pineapple so easy! (As you can see, I was so impressed I took pictures of the process!)

This statue of the Holy Family was a wedding gift from our dear friend Dan. I love having it on the table as a reminder of our calling to be a little Nazareth.

I hope that everyone has as lovely a day as we did. Zach had to study in between the BBQ, and having Wegayah and his girl, and our friend Matt, over for dessert, but it was a wonderful day. 

It is so nice to be in our own home. We can entertain our friends, and just enjoy life. I'm finally getting a grip on things, and getting organized. That feeling of accomplishment is wonderful. It is a great thing to be queen of the home. I would not trade my place in life for anything!

Much love,

Jess