We Got the Sillies

I thought it would be fun for you guys to see some of the silly things that go on here in the Caranci household. :) 

(Puppy has to join in too)

Edie is not to be left out, either!

Amidst the silly, there are often serious convos too, usually when Daddy is trying to read:

But then it just turns silly again. :) 

What, haven't you ever seen a dining chair rocket ship before? 

Happy Thursday!

A Painting

The older I get the more I really enjoy having things in my home that actually mean something. Not just decor to fill a space or empty spot, but something that reminds me of someone or gives a deeper meaning than just something pretty to look at. This is the most recent thing I have put up that has just that kind of meaning:

For my birthday this year, one of my favorite besties (Tabatha) painted this for our master bedroom. I actually saw a similar painting she had done and had in her own sunroom and joked that she should just give it to me for my birthday. I just loved the colors and they matched perfectly with our bedroom color. Well she one-upped my request and painted this stunning ocean scene! 

I've been having such a hard time nailing down how I wanted to decorate our room, and when I saw the original painting at Tab's house, it's like it all came together. It was so peaceful and calm, which is the exact sentiment I wanted our room to convey. I could visualize other things that would fit the theme and it all came together in my head. Now I just have to make it come to fruition, but the biggest piece of the puzzle is here!

She so perfectly captured what I envisioned, and it is so meaningful to have a piece of Tabatha's art in our home! Thank you to my dear, sweet friend. You crushed it. :) 

Valentine's Day at the Caranci's

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays! Not only do I get to have some time with my Shmoopy, but we get to show the kids some extra love too. Here's a pic of their lovey gifts:

Hello Kitty doll, bucket and candy, Cinderella pez, and a card for Eden:

Dalmatian puppy, new matchbox car and a Mario pez with card for Harry:

Some snacks to share:

Eden got this dress from Meme and Pepe for Christmas so we saved it for Valentine's:

Harry was harder to catch for a picture, but I found him a shirt that had a robot and said "love machine" on it, very appropriate for our boy:

I also put a few things around the house to be festive, including this canvas we made with Eden's hand and Harry's feet:

Love birds!

My favorite decor:

Even the front porch got in on the spirit!

Hope you and yours had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Big Boy Bed

I can't believe it, but we no longer have any cribs, pack and plays, or toddler beds in this house! It's all big girl and big boy stuff now. After re-doing Eden's room for her birthday in December, I've had in the back of my mind to do Harry's for his birthday in April. Some good friends of ours happened to be cleaning out and getting rid of a twin bed frame with trundle, and it sounded perfect for Harry's room! So we moved from this:

To this:

Doesn't he look so little in that big bed??

Little, but happy! :) 

You can't tell me that isn't the cutest boy you've ever seen!

Since his bed and dresser are white, I would love any ideas from you lovely readers about how to make his room look masculine and boy-ish. I like rustic, classic looks for a boy room, so let me know what ideas you have! His favorite color is red and he loves Lightning McQueen so I'd love to be able to incorporate that with easy-to-change-out details, too. 

The time is passing so quickly, but it is exciting to be moving on to the next stage with my sweet cuddle monkey!

A Valentine Craft

I saw on pinterest last year sometime the idea of using a pool noodle to make a wreath. So I bought one from the dollar tree and it sat in my closet until last week! Finally pulled it out and decided to try it. My first thought was to cover it in yarn for a home-made looking wreath for the front door. So I pulled the noodle into a circle and taped the ends to make a circle. The tutorial I was reading said you could actually cut it in half and make two wreaths for the price of one, so I pulled out the serrated Cutco knife and split it up:

Since my noodle was green I thought maybe giving it a light covering with a solid spray paint color would help the yarn not to have to be so precise in it's coverage. Well, for the first time in my life, spray paint failed me. It would appear that it doesn't adhere well to foam! 

So I scratched the painting idea and decided to try wrapping the yarn. At this point I also decided to do heart shapes instead of round for Valentine's Day, so I shaped the circles into hearts (this took a little eye-ball measuring when I cut the edges at an angle to fit together at the bottom of the heart, but nothing too strenuous).  Once again, I just taped it up into the shape I wanted. 

After spending about 10 minutes wrapping the yarn and only getting about an inch of the wreath covered, I quickly gave up on the yarn idea. Who has the time or patience? This was supposed to be a quick craft and already had taken too much time with all of my failed attempts! In an effort to wrap things up quickly (and literally!) I grabbed some leftover fabric I had and cut 1-1 1/2 inch strips out and wrapped it around the foam heart. Voila! Easy peasy, why didn't I start with this idea? I liked the idea of hanging them a little whopper-jawed (crooked, for you non-southerners), so here's the one in the entry:

And the other on the garage door:

The one inside is my favorite (the heart shape held better on that one, and I like the gray/white fabric much better than the plain white) - I was very pleased with how they turned out! Only a few wrong turns to get me there. :) 

Recipe Review

I haven't posted about a new recipe in a while (mainly because I can't even seem to keep up with blogging about important stuff!), but this one was so good I had to pass it along. 

As most of my new recipes, I found this one on pinterest. Here's the link for the actual recipe: Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring.  I'm still trying to mostly stay away from gluten, but every once in a while a good carb-filled sweet bread type dessert is necessary. :) Enter the sticky bun:

It. Was. Delicious. I was a little hesitant when I saw that it called for syrup (strange, no?), but it tasted like heaven! Ooey gooey amazingness. Just right for some comfort breakfast food! I had all the ingredients on hand and it was very quick and simple. I will definitely be trying it again!

More Snow!

NC has been hit with the most snow it's seen in many years! We were scheduled to go on a beach trip this week, but for several reasons decided to cancel. And I'm so glad we did! We would have missed this beautiful snow. We have somewhere around 6-8 inches and it's still coming down. Here's some pics from all the fun:

After a little while outside, Harry realized it was much more enjoyable to be warm inside with me and simply watch through the window. Smart boy. :) 

Eden, however, couldn't be convinced to come back inside. She absolutely loved it - the cold and wet didn't seem to bother her at all, and she would throw herself down to make snow angels, have a blast clearing off the grill and table, and just running around having fun. I'm so glad she was able to experience it!

Giving the camera a wave:

And we ALL love the fact that Jason is home with us!