Fabulous Find Friday

So I've discovered the FREE nodcast podcast on the Land of Nod site. It's great family fun and you can't beat free! The latest download is from the Barenaked Ladies. Go get it!

You know when you find a blog that you have to go back and read through all of the old posts...Marta's dear diary stories is just like that for me. Marta is full of inspiration and beautiful writing. I honestly don't even remember how I discovered her but I'm sure glad I did.

And lastly, I must get this book. I think it might be perfect for the apron swap I'm going to be doing from here.

Bring on the paint!

We're in full weekend preparation mode. My parents will be visiting and we have big projects planned for around the house. Oh how we're looking forward to the chaos beginning. Actually, Lucas and my dad will be doing most of it while my mom and I make comments about how we think it should be done.

It feels like Noah has gained another pound as it's definitely getting harder for me to lug him around in the car seat these days. He loves to roll around which is fun but makes it much harder for me. I used to be able to set him down to play, leave the room to get something and come right back to find him in the same spot. Now, he is never in the same spot. I think he'll be crawling in no time. Oh...I hear him waking up from his nap. I'm sure when I go get him I'll find him on his tummy (when he started on his back) in the opposite corner of the crib he started on, with his head popped up like a turtle. Or...I might just find him like this.

Weekend preparation

The Johnson family is gearing up for a busy weekend. My parents are coming and we're sending the house into chaos mode as we plan to paint and put down new baseboards. We've been living in our current home for four years now and I've been wanting to do this forever! So...in preparation I'm trying to get the Mother's Day gifts together and ready to go.

I gave you a sneak peak in my last post about one of the gifts. I think personalized jewelry is such a wonderful and thoughtful gift, and who wouldn't want to be reminded that they have grandchildren who love and adore them! So cute! I think I need one of my own with N's name on it...



And of course what goes great with personalized jewelry? Why a personalized card of course!

Oh, and if you're in the Phoenix area, come check out this. It's going to be so much fun I can't wait!

Show her that you care

For the past couple of weeks tons of ideas have been floating around for great, unique Mother's Day gifts. I figured I'd join in with a few of my own...

Want to create your own cookbook? It's simple with Tastebook. I love this idea and what a great way to keep track of all of your online recipes. I want one of my own.

Personalized jewelry. Beaducation is a great resource for learning how to stamp custom jewelry.

I've always been a fan of coupon book idea. Who wouldn't love to have the house cleaned, a back rub, a cooked meal, a free night of babysitting...so many options to choose from! You can find a template here from none other than Martha.

Oh, and I got the new issue of Domino Magazine and it's of course filled with tons of inspiration! Hmm...that could be a great gift for mom too...hint, hint to my husband.

New bride

I think every new bride deserves to see her new initials in print. Afterall, there's dozens of thank yous and special notes to get caught up on after the honeymoon, might as well do it on some cute stationery. I decided this set, for my friend, needed something a little unexpected for the back...I just love surprises.

Keep in touch

We live far away from all of our family. After having a little one, it is even harder to be far away and for our family to not get to experience Noah growing and changing every month. I discovered this idea here by Rebecca Cooper and thought it would be perfect! The concept of this mailable is to send a card each month with 4 2x2 photos showing updates from that month. You can write on the back of the card marking special events that occurred. Make sure to include the binder ring with the first card you send. She has three other fabulous ideas of how to keep in touch with family as well. We're sending these to the grandparents.


Below are templates to help make it easier for you to make your own mailable.

Fabulous Find Friday

So I decided I'd have a theme Friday post about fun finds that I come across throughout my shopping and blog hopping week.

Everything right now has had a strong focus on the environment. We've gotten rid of lots of our plastic containers, we recycle, eat organic, used natural cleaners, bring our own bags to the grocery store and so on. I even went and saw this movie and she works for an organic food company!

I've often thought about all of the packaging that is so overdone on products and that is when I discovered a natural product line, LUSH. Some of their products do contain packaging but I love the fact that you have the option of buying shampoo and soaps without any packaging! They do offer a reusable tin to put the shampoo in but it's great because you can just keep reusing it instead of throwing out that shampoo bottle every time it's empty. I haven't tried it yet but it's definitely on my to-do list.