finger, I mean body painting,

After a quick run to Target yesterday for a few household goods, and a stop at the dollar spot we came home to an open afternoon that needed to be filled with some sort of activity. The humidity has made us housebound, not wanting to do anything outside (we squeezed out one walk this week in town and to the bank- it was flat out gross,) We all know Momma goes bat-shit crazy after a few days in the house. We scored a few finds at the dollar spot. Two of course that Stella took a liking to immediately- hmm.. I wonder why?

The other two, I like. The tins have a small chalkboard on them to label them. I thought these would be a cute touch to her nonexistent at the moment art table for two that is going to go into her playroom. The other is a set of three blank art books. I thought these would be perfect to start a collection of her finger paints and date them as we go.

When we got home she went down for a nap. This gave me time to fill up her pool and set up her paints, paper and such. I decided to leave off her clothes this time when painting and we would paint outside- that way I could stick her right into the pool for a wash down. I wasn't sure really how much paint was going to get on her, but the pool was there if needed. Apparently, her body looked more appealing to paint then her art paper.

The rest is history...

Thank goodness for the pool. 

Stella.

  Little do you know your art work is loved by many. One of your very first cavnas is displayed front and center in Grandma's kitchen. Each piece that you make is a one of a kind and they are all filled with love. Your little hands created them, and they are beautiful. Keep painting little darling. 

Love, Momma

the little things...ten of them.

I am loving everyday with little miss Stella. I am truly blessed to get to experience all that I do with her. It doesn't take much to please me lately. I really have learned that it's all about the little things... I put together a list of ten things. Ten things that are currently pleasers to me...

1. The smiles I get from a quick ride in the laundry basket are priceless. 

2. Whether it be waking up in the morning, waking from a nap, or waking up during the night to be changed, she can't lay a smooch on me fast enough as I am picking her up out of her crib. Talk about a heart melter. 

3. Without a doubt I have a sweet tooth. I would give up a hot dinner night after night, to indulge in a hot dessert. The past two nights, when Stella is sound asleep for the night I have made Rick and I a hot dessert. I bet you can guess the main ingredient? Yes, peaches! Monday, I made us (was going to be grilled, but mother nature said otherwise) roasted peaches topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and granola. Yesterday, I made a peach crostata, topped with vanilla ice cream. Baby fast asleep + hot yummy dessert = pure heaven!

4. I really do wait all year for cherries to be in season. I can't buy them fast enough this time of year. I also can't open the fridge without having one :) They are not the easiest of fruit to share though...that damn pit!

5. Stella's funny faces have me at snort. 

6. These kinds of moments.

7. I always find it challenging to find the perfect time to polish my nails. Toes are easy because I don't need them like I need my fingers. I try to either paint them as soon as she falls asleep for her morning nap, or wait until the weekends when Rick is home. I always feel when I finish painting them, and they are still wet, she is going to wake up. I sit there like a mad woman, blowing on them to make them dry faster. Love me some fresh polished nails. 

8. Nana loaded Stella up with bubble equipment. I never knew how much light headedness a bubble machine would save me. :) 

9. This hair. 

10. Don't get me wrong, waking up to Rick's smiles in the morning are great..but these smiles, simply perfect. I am sure Rick would second me on this one....:) "good morning sunshine."

Peach Picking

Okay so we broke the rules. But who doesn't give one ten juicy peaches a try while picking? On Saturday we took Stella peach picking back at Melick's Farm. It was hot and buggy, but all worth it. We set out to the peach trees with a wagon and a couple of baskets for the peaches. 

Nothing better than biting into a soft, ripe peach and the sticky juices running down your arm. Stella wanted to take a bite out of every peach that we picked. 

We like to work for our fruit..

15 lbs of peaches later....

Stella and I have some baking and cooking planned for this week! We made a little checklist and on it reads: peach crisp baked in mason jars, peach cobbler, peach frozen yogurt, peach iced tea, and peach pecan muffins. We are going to turn healthy fruit into naughty treats!

Another fun adventure crossed off the Summer bucket list. :)

Dining room/ Playroom Overhaul

Because I have all of this exta nonexistent time on my hands, I like to create projects for myself around the house. not really. I remember when buying our home, I was super excited to finally have a formal dining room, to find out that I would only use twice a year. If I am being honest, I think the room is a complete waste of space. Every function that we have, everyone and I mean everyone either always crams in the kitchen or hangs out downstairs in the basement  pub. Our perfectly primped living room is now happily and comfortably lived in. A messy home and a happy home! Toys everywhere! It really looks like a toy bomb when off.

For another home project...we have decided to do a dining room overhaul! Dining room to playroom. A playroom would get way more use than a dining room. And I just might get my clean living room back ;) Our dining room now, is not only dark cranberry red but striped on the bottom half, that I am sure is going to be hard  a nightmare to cover. 

I am a sucker for color in a home. I really enjoy walking into each room and being welcomed by a new color scheme. I wanted a warm neutral room that would be non-gender specific. I chose to go with a dusty soft blue shade and will do kid color accents throughout. I really have a vision for this room, that I hope I can fulfill.

The color is a bit different on the computer than on the paint swatch- but you get the idea. 

Some other items that I have my eye on to complete this dining room/ playroom overhaul is this aquarium gravel rug or this candy dot rug. I just love the fun colors in both of them. I also plan on purchasing Stella this teepee for her first birthday, which will either go in the playroom or her bedroom- not sure yet. Perfect magical place to read a book.  I also love this table and chair set from Ikea that Rick and I can put our own finishing touches on and make it a one of a kind just for Stella. 

Of course there are another million and one things I would love to get to complete this room but those are a few that I absolutely love. This is by no means going to be quick project. My free time is usually already spoken for- showering, laundry, paying bills, those kinds of things. So finding time to trim out and roll is going to be a challenge miracle!  Although, by the look of Stella's artistic skills, I may just try throwing a paint brush in her hand ;)

Oh, the faces...

Stella has really been making Rick and I laugh these days. Laugh hard. What do they say? Laughing adds years onto your life? Well, at the rate we are going, we should live forever. The faces this girl makes are just comical. And she makes them all day long. Now that her top four teeth have all pretty much broken gum, it makes her goofy faces even more funny. I probably couldn't even describe the funny face if I tried- she scrunches her face, closes her eyes, shows her top and bottom teeth and blows in and out of her nose really hard. It sounds like she is going to blow out a snot rocket. Every now and then, we get lucky enough to catch a snot rocket or two. 

Everyday she seems to grow up more and more, right before me eyes. It feels like just yesterday she was a teeny tiny baby that fit in my one arm and all she did was stare and smile. In a blink of an eye, she is blowing snot rockets at me, standing on her own, making silly faces at me, talking up a storm, and practically jumping out of her baby Einstein. Honestly, where the hell does the time go?

One of our can't live without baby items is her baby Einstein jumper. She absolutely loves this thing, and I love it because she can swivel in her chair while in it, but the whole contraption is stationary. I also love it, because she is able to go buck wild and wear off some of her stored energy. Too bad she can't pass that extra energy my way...

Cheers to a What's cooking Wednesday! Today's goodies are going to be brownie peanut butter chip cookies. I'm drooling....