dinner is messy.

no one tells you how messy kids can be. 

it's quite cute and makes you do more loads of laundry than you ever dreamed of before having children.

the 90's weren't that bad, right??

i went to jazzercise this week.

and for some reason that reminds me A LOT of the 1990's. 

maybe that's when it started?

maybe it's because secretly in my head, Jazzercise is Zumba's ugly cousin.

anyways, i digress.

I WENT because my new friend Heather is also adopting, but from Ethiopia, 

and tonight's class supported their adoption process.

heather and friends after class

they are adopting baby Arthur and were matched with him just two weeks ago,

and they waited more than a year for a match!

now, they are waiting on a court date to go to Africa. 

we have been able to share so much together in such a short time, and i love their precious family. 

she's been a great friend to get to know. 

 

and our adoption update? 

well,  i've thought about giving you guys an update several times, but it just isn't the right time yet. 

i'm not trying to be secrative, but i don't think i'm quite ready to share the newer details with the whole of the intranet yet. :)

so, thanks for being patient and thanks for your prayers. 

i will just say, it's been a much different process than we ever imagined and we have some big decisions and possible changes to make and we're still in the thick of it, so i'll share more when we know more and make a decision. 

thanks for stopping by. 

rachel

vintage inspired new additions.

here are some new additions to the shop,

just in time for the weekend. 

enjoy.

                          i'll fly away. 

                    out to sea.

                    the sunrise.

embracin' it

 

happy early weekend. 

diy: making your drawers cute.

i'm really excited about today's do it yourself project.

i'm gonna teach you how to line your ugly drawers :)

do you have a desk? vanity? even kitchen drawers that are bare and need some love?

i bought this vanity (that i turned into a desk) at good juju last month and am in the process of tweaking it a bit 

           see the ugly inside?

       1. find what you want to line your drawers with. i chose an old map I had of Kansas City.

      2. next cut away!

      as you line the drawers you can do two things: 

         either cut the paper exactly to the dimension of the inside (which is hard!) 

   OR

       cut approximate measurements and then make creases on every edge

            then, fold the edges back and place that upside down in the drawer.

                          instant perfection! kind of...as you see i started with the first way of 

         cutting the paper, then decided folding was easier and better because i can't 

cut a straight line well! 

              yeah, Kansas City!

 

                then, push your drawers back in the desk and admire your work 

         ...and grab a mug of coffee

new friends.

our friends to be...above our front door wreath. 

diy: GARDEN STYLE.

we decided to finally plant a garden this year. 

it can be a big process. 

here are some BASICS we learned in the process.

i hope it's helpful.

1. be sure to till the ground before laying down anything. we rented our tiller for $85 for a couple hours. well worth the cost.

2. Once the ground is loose, add your soil. Apparently there are TONS of different kinds, but find one that suits your needs.We chose an all natural kind.

3. Find out what cold weather veggies/fruits you want and begin to plant in March/April. Our local hardware store had a great list of when to plant what. 

4. Find an attractive man to plant your lettuce ;)

5. Pull up any weeds. They will ATTACK your garden later if you don't.

6. Dont' pull up the actual plant. You will need to re-plant it if you do. :)

7. And... be sure to plant broccoli. because it's good for you ;)

ta da. a garden! 

well, it's kinda more work than that, but you get the basics.

have any other tips for us new gardeners ?

a little lonsie love.

to brighten your weekend. 

cheers!

texas...

so we just got back from a visit to my parents. 

i loved the time away and break from "normal-cy"

london loved it too.

a small bummer is...

i bought this new camera  and was excited to use it to capture london's cute little moments and have photos for the blog and on and on. 

(before this camera, photos have been taken with either my iPhone or my sis's rockin canon 5d. so...this camera was a good in-between.)

and the day we left for TX, we lost it :( bummer of bums. 

i can just see some TSA agent using it right now while he's out having a drink with buddies ;)

anyways, here are some photos from our trip...with the iPhone. 

enjoy.

daddy shows lon's a picture book, while i tried on clothes at one of my favorites, LuLu Lemon.

getting ready for the pool. 

getting excited for the pool. 

enjoying the sun...safely though, safely kara ;)

the hottie husband. 

just gotta throw that one in there.

zumba is my outlet.

i love being a mom and my sweet times with little lon's. 

however...something i look forward to every week

is my zumba class

oh my gosh.

have you tried it? 

it's amazing. if you like that salsa, hip-hop, gangsta, booty dancing kinda workout. 

it's not for the faint of heart. 

one of my favorite teachers just left our studio to move to seattle.

she is an amazing instructor. 

this is a photo from her last class she taught. 

the image doesn't do this class justice.

there were more than 40 people there to say bye!

and boy did it kick my butt. 

i love me my zumba.

new lovlies.

i just added some new items to my shop.

i'm so excited. 

i had to wait a while for the supplies to come in from the vendor, but they arrived last weekend 

and ta da!

a couple new lovlies are born. 

i don't want to be that friend that keeps saying, give give give. buy buy buy.

i'm totally aware that can be annoying. 

and the Lord continually reminds me, I need to be giving of myself and time as well. 

so, no pressure friends. 

but if you're interested i'd love for you to hop on over to the love is rising etsy shop, take a look around and if you like, make a purchase for you (or a friend) and  help us be one step closer to bringing our sweet baby home. 

loves, 

rachel

here are some of the lovlies i posted this weekend. 

heart drop necklace

circle drop necklace

btw: my sweet friend emily is hosting a giveaway on her BLOG for some earrings from my etsy shop. so hop over there to enter and get details. it's open till thursday evening.

blueberry cake...gone wrong

i was all excited to post my first recipe on the BLOG for

Blueberry Cake. 

it is amazing. straight from the Hummingbird Bakery in London.

i started off well. 

                     look at that amazing cake pictured in the background!

                        things were coming together well.  fresh blueberries!

                     floured the pan nicely

             and then the catastrophe. i turned the bundt pan upside down on the cooling rack, and this happened. 

what did i do wrong? 

this is what i hate with cooking. 

when you spend the time, effort and money to make something AMAZING and it turns out not working.

oh well, i'll try again soon and post the SUCCESS on the blog.