wheat grass!

spring has sprung!  it's wheat grass growin' time again!  it's so easy- a snap!  and it makes thee cutest centerpiece for easter brunch.

here's how to grow it!

happy growing!  happy spring!

©2012 brightsides, all rights reserved.

mirror mirror

mirror mirror on the wall, who's the busiest boy of all?  jack!  oh my holy, holy heck.  he's the cutest little maniac i've ever met.  i've been calling him punk & bubbie lately.  l❤ve this boy.

it's so great to see him finally feeling better.  he's been fighting a horrible bronchial virus on and off for a month now.

he's been mr. miserable-cranky-pants ☹ 

sam & jackie playing on our bed last saturday. i think i'm the luckiest girl alive. happy late st. patrick's day!  i'm about a week behind.

©2012 brightsides, all rights reserved.

21% off your entire brightsides designs order

today is my birthday☺ all my facebook fans & blog followers (follow by email ❤ submit in text box right below my home tab)
 please take 21% off your entire order today* to celebrate with me!!  use code: happy21

and like always, I offer free shipping on all items after the first, so load up your cart and save! stock up on birthday, baby shower, wedding, anniversary & mother's day gifts here 
i now have shop sections making ordering easier!

i eat up reasons to celebrate!  let's party!  spread the birthday love & invite your friends!
oh, and we'll say i'm turning 21 too!

*offer valid today only (march 21, 2012)

the missionary with a mustache

my cute cousin ben's mission farewell was yesterday.  i heard he gave an incredible talk!  i'm so sad i wasn't able to be there...  i was home in bed taking care of a sick little boy.  

ben is going to mexico!  isn't he so handsome? yesterday they had a mustache party (way rad) & delicious mexican food back at their home to celebrate.  gosh dang!  i wish i could have captured that!

here are some of my favorites from the shoot

p.s. i can't draw good lookin' mustaches

best wishes ben!  you're gonna kill it out there!!  no doubt the people of mexico will love you :)

©2012 brightsides, all rights reserved.

The Mr & Mrs Collection

wedding season is definitely budding!  it's time to order some unique, personalized gifts!  

 this took some serious time!  whew!  i've been working on this collection for the last month and i am now ready & excited to show them off :)  

first on the list, made for each other (above) has a clean, modern feel.   

you can purchase this one here

p.s. all of these prints you see in this post are offered in tons of different colors at no additional cost.  brighten up a small apartment with some fun hues!  see our custom color chart.

two little love birds sitting in a tree, h-u-g-g-i-n-g!  love birds (above) is a charming little print that makes a darling wedding, anniversary & engagement gift!  

or a nice "just because" treat ;)  you can purchase this one here

lucky in LOVE
the newlyweds (above) is a bold print that makes a great addition to the master bedroom! Personalized with the couple's name and wedding date, this screams UNITY to me :)  this particular print looks better with longer last names. 

you can purchase this one here

ahh, the house print (above).  so my cute mom had the fabulous idea to "re-decorate" this house and add a mr & mrs along with their wedding date to make the cutest wedding and anniversary gifts!  genius i say!  she's so creative!  thank you mother!  love it!  

you can purchase this one here

and last but not least, mr & mrs smith.  i made this for our master bedroom last year and would be happy to customize one for you too :)  i love it's simplicity.  this one looks better with shorter last names.  you can purchase this one here

thank you for taking the time to view my collection!  i hope you see something you like :)

have a great weekend!

©2012 brightsides, all rights reserved.

st. george parade of homes 2012

sunny st. geezy is calling me back!  a few weeks ago, we went on our annual st. george parade of homes trip.  

here are some of my favorite rooms and pictures from the tour.  i liked this sliding glass door(above)and this ultra modern continuous indoor/outdoor fireplace(below).

this bed above had a pipe canopy that we thought was a pretty cool diy.  it was just made out of painted copper pipe.

i heart these doors and planked ceilings above.

now here is the real show!  talk about class!  take a close look at this rig(above).  sam spotted it en route.  we went back to take a pic.  there are only two words for this: wow & wow

ah yes, we taste tested.  a lot.  this sugar cookie found at the swig was quite dynamite.  p.s. if you ever go to st. george, utah, you must hit swig.  it's a drive through drink shack.  it's genius.  you should have seen all the mini vans & suburbans full of moms and kids cruisin' through that joint for a soda and cookie lol.  love.  that's my kind of wonderful!

well another great trip with great peeps!  thank you mr & mrs sol for the memories!

©2012 brightsides, all rights reserved.

lynn wilson burritos - glorified

on saturday we cooked up these little babies for lunch!  bean & cheese with green chile lynn wilson burritos.  glorified.  

this is how we do 'em baby!  nuke for 1 minute on high, add a little melted white cheddar and zap for another minute.  then add a dollop of sour cream and garnish with some fresh chopped tomatoes and lettuce.  super easy, super delish, and el cheapo!  sometimes i can find them on sale for 50¢ each!  love that! 

i  just read that mr. lynn r. wilson died march 2, 1993.  i think i'll declare march to be national lynn wilson frozen food month!  get psyched family, i'm thinking tamales next!  

thank you mr. wilson for making awesome frozen mexican food!  

peace out friends and happy microwave magic!
now what to make tonight.....

©2012 brightsides, all rights reserved.

jack be nimble

howdy!  halle-freakin-luia it's friday!  anyone else feel the same way?  man it's been a busy week!  i want to climb in bed and not get out until monday!  

just to give you a visual, sam said i looked like i got in a bar fight last night before i went to bed lol.  i was trashed! 

before i put my jammies on, i wanted to show y'all my latest Etsy shop addition!  you may remember seeing this print in my son jack's nursery...  after cute kellie saw it on my blog, she asked it she could buy a print.  um, yeahhhh!  why haven't i added it to the shop?  dunno.  i guess i forgot?  so i dug it up, revived it a bit, and put it up for sale.  thank you kellie for reminding me i had it!!

this classic nursery print makes the perfect addition to your little JACK'S room (they're name doesn't have to be 'Jack' - it's a nursery rhyme :) or super darling as a GIFT. 
offered in butter, charcoal & hampton blue (as shown) as well as any other colors found on our "custom colors" listing. 

you can find jack be nimble here

i hope your weekend is delightful!  it's going to be sunny here!  that makes me smile :)

p.s. watch for my MR & MRS collection!  with wedding season right around the corner, i'll be adding unique, personalized wedding gifts to the shop!  i think they're pretty rad - i hope you'll like 'em too - we'll see :)

©2012 brightsides, all rights reserved.

addiction

There was a neighborhood "Protecting families from Pornography" class that I sadly missed the other night.  

Thankfully one of my friends that attended typed up these amazing notes about it!

Here's a paragraph from her post. I learned SO much!  

Statistics say that most pornography addicts start between ages 10-14, with 11 the most common age. And it can even start sooner. She shared some terrifying statistics from http://www.fightthenewdrug.org/. Pornography is very personal, private, accessible, and acceptable. It is so scary how big a problem it is for our kids. She stressed that it is not a matter of IF our kids are exposed to it, but WHEN. We have to expect that our kids will be exposed it pornography and we have to be prepared to help them when the time comes.

The biggest thing about helping our kids is to never shame them, no matter what they do. They have to feel like it is safe to talk to us. If they feel shamed, they will lie about any experiences they do have and we will be unable to help them.

I promise, you'll want to read more here

thank you so much for sharing your notes brita!  i pray these will help many, many people.
Knowledge is power and safety!

paula deen talks funny

 we were watching paula deen make these delicious looking chocolate cookies and anne turns to me and says, "mom, she's... weird!"  "huh?"  i said.  "hers talks funny!"  she replies.  i started laughing and just about said back to her, "yous talks funny!" 
i didn't even attempt explaining accents.  maybe i should have.  hmmm.  she's four. 

today i'm grateful that maple syrup isn't as sticky as the regular aunt jemima kind. 
as i staggered in on a waffle making session this morning, half asleep and not at all ready for a new day, all of the sudden i hear annie and sabrina shouting at each other while syrup is dripping down the cupboards. it came out too quickly as they poured almost the whole entire bottle on anne's eggos this morning. deep breath. liquid stick. it was all over. i yelled a little. then i felt bad because i new it was an accident. the maple syrup bottle is not kid friendly. it has a ginormously wide pouring spout- or whatever you call a syrup container cap. dumb. they'll learn. 

annie looked too cute the other day with her freshly curled hair. i felt the need to document that i do fix  her hair.    

most days it's a hot mess!  my neighbors can attest to that!
  
rat's nest or not, i will always love hers!  

©2012 brightsides, all rights reserved.