[not just a housewife]

okay, so if you haven't been frequenting not just a housewife, you've been missing out!

stacy is a freakin' rockstar!  she's the sweetest little thing you've ever met, and yet the toughest chick i know all rolled into the most darling mom & homemaker ever!  honestly, i don't think this lady is afraid of anything! 

she owns her own power tools and knows how to use 'em!

stacy and i first met at her wedding :)  she married my husband's cousin!  so, i guess you would call us cousin-in-laws!  i instantly knew we'd be friends!  she's just so friendly and fun and easy going!

what i love most about stacy is that she makes the most out of every situation.  no matter what her circumstances, she rolls up her sleeves and does whatever she needs to do for her family.  

stacy has four adorable busy little boys and is phenomenal with them!  they are all SoOo good and well behaved... it's very apparent her and her husband spend a lot of time teaching them and giving them oodles of attention and love.   

i wanna be like her when i grow up!

check out what she's done! 

 

she completely remodeled her kitchen from floor to ceiling.  she refinished her cabinets & painted this retro checkerboard ceiling all by herself!  this woman has skillz!  isn't it so cute?

using her OWN power tools, stacy built this great little end table and was just on good things utah to show how!  

okay now, seriously, look at this ceiling!  sOooo beautiful!  "why do walls get to have all the fun?" stacy says.  

and get THIS?  better homes and gardens are featuring this room in their august magazine!  

if that's not the ultimate over the moon honor, i don't know what is!?!  lucky ducky!

and to top it all off, she entered this picture (above) in the "coolest space in your place" contest and she's one of the top 5 finalists!  make sure to go here to vote for her!  today is the last day, so hurry up!

you can read more about her stencil tutorial here. 

stacy has always loved parties and created yet another blog dedicated to children's birthday ideas.

stacy explains that she doesn't throw parties to impress anyone.  she says kids rarely notice and have a blast no matter how much you spend!  

she believes parties should be creative but they don't have to be expensive.  love that!  so true!  

here's a s'more cake she made!  so creative!  love this!  

for this recipe and instructions as well as other fabulous birthday ideas, go here.

thanks to stacy for letting me feature her blogs and all of her incredible work!  

make sure to check out more of her awesomeness here and here!

[the girl's room]

so yesterday sam's work had a team building activity at miller motorsports park!  it was a little scary, but so fun!  

more details and pictures coming soon! 

a couple weeks ago when i was featured on 6th street, i sent kirsten some of these pictures to add to her feature friday post but haven't put them here on brightsides yet.  

so, today's the day.

pink, pink, and more pink is the palette along with some pale blues and white.  

this room NEVER looks this clean, so after i picked it all up and made it picture worthy, i sat and enjoyed it for a half a second before it was trashed again.

i should show them these pictures periodically daily to remind them how nice their room can actually look!  why must they wear five different outfits each day, throw them on the floor and collect so much junk?

three bugs in a rug!  

our girls all wanted to share a room, so we happily bunked them up!  hopefully we can finish our basement soon... it's getting a little tight in here.

 these darling sarah jane prints are perfectly pink & pretty and i think go so nicely here in the their room.   i just love her work!  she's beyond talented!  i'm pretty sure i've said this before, but she's definitely one of my idols and totally living my dream!  

and yes, for all you fish lovers, sparkles is still in fact alive!  you can kind of see her and her bowl in the picture above :)

she's stayed afloat for almost a whole year now...  we wonder how long she'll keep swimming around?  

we found these great white bunk beds at costco at the beginning of the year and couldn't

resist buying them; they were such a great deal and so strong and sturdy.  

nice bunk beds can be expensive!

their bedding was purchased at pottery barn and the dressers are ikea specials :)

©2011 brightsides, all rights reserved.

[he makes my heart sing]

it's hard to believe my little dream boat is five months already!

he's 17 lbs of goodness, has two little bottom teethies, and he squeals and kicks like crazy in the tub!

we think he's going to be a blondie.

he loves his sisters.

they make him giggle and grin and coo.

he's kind of a mama's boy and totally flirts with me.  you know i eat that up!

oh, and he loves to jump!  he'll jump himself to sleep in his johnny jump up.

we call him jumpin' jack flash :)

my sister kate told me what my little nephew tyler said once and it completely melts me.  it's the sweetest little saying and perfectly describes how i'm feeling.  i'm going to steal it for a minute if that's okay:

he makes my heart sing

is that just the most beautiful quote you've ever heard?  and to come from a little 7 year old (i think at the time) boy?  he's so poetic!  love him!

i'm so excited for today!  i'll have to tell you all about it tomorrow!

also, hugs and kisses to my sweet friend brandi who recently lost her mom.  i love you!

©2011 brightsides, all rights reserved.

[only one good idea away]

we joke with our friends about making millions and how something we'd really love is only one good idea away, like inventing something really rad (chad) and perhaps dropping a wad on a lake house, cabin, beach house... you get the idea.

well, yesterday we were texting back and forth with them, sending them pictures of cool homes we found, and they shot back this photo of their gorgeous view from steamboat springs. 

 breathtaking isn't it?

in thinking about it, there are so many amazing spots like this!  so many places i love!  it would be hard to pick a favorite.  that's why we need two really good ideas!  no, really everywhere we look beauty can be found.

i remember driving to california through desolate desserts, dying to get to disneyland and complaining about how boring the drive was.  my mom would quickly chime in and comment on the spectacular scenery, chastening encouraging us to appreciate and find the beauty in everything.  at the time, i'm sure i rolled my eyes and specifically wondered if she'd ever find some place not pretty.  i can't recall her ever doing so.  

now as a mother myself, i catch myself saying the same things;  trying to teach my children to look on the bright side, to make the best of what they have, and to be grateful for all we've been given.

so for now, i'll enjoy where i'm at today and soak in all the splashes, giggles and sunscreen i can!

seeing jack in the pool for the first time and loving it is my oceanfront property :)  

what is your paradise today?   we'd all love to hear!  do share! 

have a  glorious weekend!

[friday i'm in love]

ewww! so we've been dealing with a broken refrigerator the last couple of days.  we have no idea how long it was running broken and it reeked!  like something died bad!

so, we heard this tip and i just had to share, it's brilliant!

to remove smells from your refrigerator and/or freezer, fill it up with crinkled newspaper and let it soak

up the smells.

it's magic!

try it!

*cleaning any spills and/or removing bad food recommended first

these pins made me smile this week. 
 

Source: cafepress.com via Amelia on Pinterest

and have you ever heard this song?  it's my new fave.  i'll probably listen to it way too much, wear it out and then won't be able to listen to it for years.  but that's okay, it's so pretty! 

take a listen & let me know what you think!