Clearing Up

(The view from the soccer field last Saturday)

Do you sometimes take the larger picture for granted?  I do. Both literally & metaphorically.  Sometimes when I'm outside I narrowly take in only the lesser details. My immediate surroundings.  The lawn with the bikes strewn all across (no mistaking the demographics of this household).  The shaggy flowerbeds. The front door in need of a new paint job.  The crabgrass that seems bent on conquering with a determination Napolean would admire. Things I want to change.

(Another soccer field view)

But every once in a while the clouds clear and I see the real picture. Smell and hear it too. The beauty of the mountains and valley we live in.  The fragrant scent of cut grass, trees in bloom and the air following the storm.  The happy sound of my children at play.  The essence of home.  Things I would never change.

(From our front porch)

Life has been extremely busy. Chaotic. Stressful to the point of wanting to escape from it all and take my husband with me. But those clouds are clearing as well, and I am beginning to see the  light.  My world is beginning to look like this again...

There is beauty all around.

Bargain Hutch

A few weeks ago I happened upon a bargain of a hutch - only $15.  A price I couldn't walk away from. Although, one of these days I'm going to need to learn how to do just that.  We're kind of running out of room.

I was crossing my fingers, hoping it would fit on the blue desk in the family room, and it must have been meant to be, because it fit perfectly.

This desk is where I originally wanted to put the china cabinet - but it wouldn't fit. Now I'm thinking of using the desk/hutch combo as not only a homework station (my kids really do keep their school stuff in "their" drawer) but also a place to display pretty plates. Wouldn't those blue shelves look swell all loaded up with white dishwear? I heart milk glass.

But truthfully, those shelves are already filling up with books, papers and other family clutter. Maybe some wicker baskets would be a better idea.

Perhaps both?

On a side note,  I have used the same quart of Valspar paint for all of my "Dusty Spruce" projects - chalk-board frame, desk, chair, bar stools & now the hutch.  I'm pretty impressed with the one coat coverage of the Valspar Signature series.  Paint is cheap - guess that's why we're friends.

What Color is Spring?

How about PINK?

Sewing with Scraps

I love Etsy.

I recently purchased a bag of fabric scraps for $9.99 and this is what I came in the package:

All of those fabrics on the right were at least a 1/4 of a yard, some of them even a 1/2! 

I made a top for my oldest daughter and still had some of the daisy chain print to spare. 

I was digging around in my sewing room and found some fabric I purchased a while back from Quilt Taffy. ( I think it's from the Seaside Rose collection). 

I made a skirt for my youngest daughter with the charm squares.

And this coordinating top with the yardage. Such pretty fabric. 

I've been wanting to try a simple pillowcase type dress pattern for a while (google pillowcase dress tutorial and you'll find a bunch).  This one was for my youngest (2 years old) so I scaled it down quite a bit. I used a 1/2 yard of  2 dollar fabric from WalMart and lavender fabric from my scrap drawer for the trim.  So this dress ended up costing a dollar.  

It was super easy and I love the way it fits.

Now if it would just warm up so my little ladies could wear their new summery garb.

While I'm on the subject of bargain fabrics, I've added some new vintage sheets to my collection.

  

I found the two on the left (pink and yellow) brand new in original packages at the thrift store. 

Oh, happy day!

Springtime in the Desert

Last weekend we finally hit the road.  We headed to Southern Utah for some much needed fun in the sun with family.  My hubby's family is big - 8 kids.  Even bigger now that everyone is married, with kids up the wazoo.  Almost everyone was able to go on this little adventure.

We spent time in Snow Canyon.  This is a regular stop for us.  The kids LOVE the orange sand dunes.

There are also great little hikes for kids.

Every year we take pictures of our heads peeking through this hole.  The following is evidence of the differences between the genders. 
 First off, our sweet, cooperative girls...

Next, their crazy brothers...

Dorks.

We also spent time at Sand Hollow where half my in-laws were camping. 
Can I just tell you how much I love the contrast of the orange sand against the blue water.

Of course, any time we are out in the wild, the boys are on the hunt for possible pet candidates.  This time they caught 1 lizard, 2 horny toads (one of them pictured below) and found one large snake.  We weren't sure what kind of snake it was so we left it alone.  Despite the begging, none of these animals came home with us.  Not after the last snake episode.

More pictures of Sand Hollow...

And my favorite...

We also spent a day at Zions National Park.

It was Free Admissions day, so the place was hoppin'. They no longer allow vehicles in the park, instead you have to park outside and shuttle in. Kind of tedious when you have a whole slew of kids in tow, but the scenery was worth it.

The hike up to the Emerald Pools was slow going with little ones.

But the views were spectacular.

 

About 30 seconds after the following photo was taken, this little guy fell in and things got pretty rough (wet, tired etc.).  This was the farthest point in the hike.

But we made it.  All 2.6 miles of it.  No small miracle.

One pro to the no cars allowed rule, you can stand smack dab in the middle of the road without having to worry about getting plowed down.

We had such a good time, nobody wanted to come home.