Easy Valentine Tissue Tassel Garland

Earlier this week I got a little bored during naptime, which is code for "I was procrastinating the laundry." I realized that I didn't have any Valentine decorations up on my mantle so I began feverishly googling an easy idea using stuff I had on hand. Thus I found myself trying my hand at tissue tassels.


Now previously this has been kind of a final frontier craft for me. I figured that there was no way I could get tassels looking exactly how I wanted them and would probably tear the tissue paper up in the process. I was only half wrong. The tassels weren't quite how I wanted them, but they were passable, and I did not tear up the paper. At least not the majority of it.

I used this tutorial from HGTV, written by The TomKat Studio, which is a really fun party blog, if you've never checked them out before.


I posted on Instagram (follow me here!) that this is one of those crafts I would heretofore rather pay someone else to make. Mostly because I couldn't feel my fingertips after from rolling all those little paper tassels up. It felt like I rubbed my fingerprints off.

That probably won't stop me though. Those red and white tassels are just begging for some dark blue friends to join them in cheering on our guys and girls in the Olympics starting tomorrow!

Mama Monday: Cook Children's Urgent Care

We're recovering from D-Now weekend over here, but I wanted to jump on the blog for (what I think is) an important Mama Monday. A lot of my local friends read on here (hi friends!), so I'd love to let you know about a little gem I discovered this weekend in our community.

My kids were packed off Friday evening at suppertime to grandparents for the weekend while Mr. G and I transported students around for the weekend. About 8 PM as things were really getting started in worship, my mom called to say that my oldest (who had been fine two hours earlier) was crying that his ear hurt.

(I think he's had one ear infection in three years, and I can't even remember that one.)

By 10:30 she called me back to say that he needed his mommy. By 11:30, I was meeting my dad at a Whataburger in Midlothian, TX in the pitch dark. My little guy could not stop crying about his ear. I've never seen him like that before.

During one of our Cook Children's ER visits, I had spotted a little something called Cook Children's Urgent Care, right across the street. A quick Google search revealed that they were open 24 hours a day, so we headed straight downtown for a middle of the night visit.


Image via Cook Children's Urgent Care site
Within 15 minutes of walking in the door, we were in triage. Within 20 minutes, we had seen an awesome pediatrician, and shortly after, we had some numbing ear drops and a popsicle, all while watching Kung Fu Panda right in our exam room. My little guy showed night and day improvement in a matter of minutes once the drops were administered.

Before we left, they dispensed us the drops for pain. A tech stopped by with our dismissal packet that included the diagnosis, after care instructions, a dosing chart based on his weight for common OTC pain meds, list of 24 hour pharmacies in the area, a note in case I had to miss work, and the prescription to drop off.

I can't say enough good things about the efficiency of the facility, from the front desk to the exam room. What a blessing to know we have such a wonderful place to turn in the middle of the night when my kids just need some relief.

I'm so grateful for the wonderful care we have in our community here in Fort Worth. I thanked everyone we came in contact with for being open all night. Thank you again, Cook Children's!

Mama Monday: Toy Wrangling

One of the things about having children so close in age is that when one outgrows a toy, the other is not far behind in age range to play with said item. Due to the fact that they also get new toys for Christmas/birthday/good behavior/general cuteness, you can imagine that toys in our home multiply quite quickly. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of our family and friends because my children have no shortage of things to keep them busy!

That being said, toys will march through the house and take over faster than I can say "preschool frat party." And if I'm not intentional with picking up and teaching our children to pick up too, that is exactly what this place begins to look like.

Originally we had intended that our study would be an office for me to work from home on occasion since I had always planned to be a working mother. However, now that I'm staying home with our children, it stands to reason that most of my "working from home" work would occur in a play room. Jack started calling it a toy room about a month before Christmas, so it was time to begin the transition.

It's taken me some time to get used to the idea of having a playroom, if I'm being really honest. Growing up, my toys were kept in my room, which seemed just fine to me. The idea of needing a separate room to keep toys in seems like a first world problem to the max, however, since we are home quite a bit, I see the need-slash-want for a place to corral everything.


Inspiration pic
I can't find a source for this picture. If you know where it originated, please let me know because I would love to give proper credit. I love this room.

While I realize this is a dining room, I think the colors work great for a play room, and we even have a play table in the center of ours. The overdyed turquoise rug is already in place, and I love it against our dark wood floors.

Up next we need to decide on a good storage solution, and then we'll be ready to hang some decor on the walls. Then comes the task of actually keeping the toys in the toy room. That'll probably be the hardest of all!

Where do you fall on the play room spectrum? A necessity? An indulgence?

Five on Friday: Valentine's Date Night

I'm linking up again today with more about Valentine's Day for a Five on Friday with The Good Life blog!

For the past several years, our Valentine dates have consisted of dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant, Joe T. Garcia's. It works out fairly nice now that we have children since it's casual, and they can join right along in our tradition. (We are Aggies, and Aggies love tradition.) My parents never celebrated a holiday like that without us (now, their anniversary? yes, we stayed home!), so it seems right that we would include our kids.

But if I were going out on a fancy date night for Valentine's Day, here's what I'd be deciding on:


C. Luce Poppy fit and flare dress.

This style is flattering on so many body types. Reviews say it runs small. Bonus, it's machine washable!


Geojacquard Dress
The two reviewers of this dress give it 5 stars. I keep thinking I'm totally over the high-low look, but this one is done really well. I like that it either looks lined, or the back of the fabric is black so you can't see a weird back fabric print in the "low" part of the high-low cut.

Am I making any sense? It's one of my pet peeves about high-low cut skirts.



Printed Fit and Flare dress
I noticed this one in store last week. A great heavy weight material that will be perfect with boots for a while until the weather warms up. V-Day and everyday! It comes in just a skirt too.


Pleated swing dress
This would be a departure for me, but I think it would look so cute with patterned black tights and black heels.


River Island Sleeveless Ruffle Shift
This one is on super sale, and I feel like someone should snap it up. That is a gorgeous pink and apart from V-day, this one could get a lot of miles at weddings, special dress up nights for vacation, even Easter. Very cute!

So tell me, on a scale of jeans and a t-shirt to LBD, where do your Valentine plans fall?

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I would use personally! Thanks for reading!

New Ruffles at my House

This is kind of one more Christmas post, but I'm busy nesting over here. I'm decorating the house for Valentine's Day and moving things around to create a "toy room" (Jack's words, not mine) in what was formerly known as the study. In the process of all this, I snapped some shots of one of my favorite Christmas gifts.

On my mom's side of the family, the adults draw names at Christmastime. My cousin's wife got my name this year. She's a talented seamstress, and when I started brainstorming some suggestions for her for me, it was a no brainer. I have been wanting a neutral, ruffled table runner for a while, but I don't think my sewing skills are quite up to par for it. So I threw that out there to Andie as a possibility.

She took it and ran with it, and I love the results!


And yes, that Christmas greenery on my chandelier is the next thing on my list to take down and store. I forgot to do it before we put all the other Christmas decorations in the attic, so I'm dreading having to pull a box down from up there to put it away. I'm always scared I'll fall off the ladder.


She did such a beautiful job. I love the lace trim and box pleats, along with the grosgrain trim. It's perfect! Now to keep my crumb crushers' fingers off of it! She just recently listed it in her Etsy shop, if you've been on the hunt for something similar.

She also subscribed me to Southern Living for the year. Such a perfect combination!

Weekending

I had a really sweet weekend. We have quite a few exciting things coming up, so to spend it at home in anticipation of those was nice.

Saturday morning, praise the Lord and hallelujah, I had a hair appointment. My hairstylist books up fast, and about the time I decide to call for an appointment, she's solid for two months. I had an awesome, restful morning with a Pure Barre class and trip through Bluebonnet Bakery for a diet coke and a petit four before climbing into the chair for a trim, highlights, and blow out. Along with a copy of February InStyle. Yes and yes.

I wised up this visit and pre-booked my next appointment right before Easter. And then I wrote it in my planner. Such a novel concept, I know.

Saturday evening we loaded up to try a new pizza place in the shopping strip across from the TCU campus called Pizza Snob. It's a build-your-own pizza concept, and we all liked it a lot! Even Annabelle had her very first bites of pizza. The crust definitely made it.


And then we happened to be right next door to Cold Stone Creamery.
Sunday was a full day. We are prepping for D-Now, and I'm coordinating the 11th and 12th grade groups. Between rounding up drivers to move kids here and there throughout the weekend, getting t-shirt sizes for adults helping my groups, making sure food is covered, encouraging students to sign up, and various other tasks, I have a long to do list. This is right up my alley, so I'm glad to be able to serve the Lord in this way. We're excited about the weekend!

Mama Monday: Review of the BOB Revolution Duallie

Last week I sold my practically brand-spanking-new BOB Revolution Duallie. The reason? I straight up was not using it.

I bought it back in April, about a month before Pure Barre opened here in Fort Worth. With Pure Barre, I've found a workout I love, and all that running I envisioned to chase away the baby weight went by the wayside.

Here was my experience with it while I had it:

Pros: It is a fabulous, smooth ride. Great suspension and lots of mesh pockets to store stuff: toys, sippys, etc. It folds up easily, and unfolds fairly easily as well. It's incredibly sturdy and well made--like the Hummer of strollers. You could run over anyone on the trail in this thing. You can purchase a baby carrier adapter, separately, and still have a preschooler in the second seat.

Cons: It's heavy, weighing in at 34 lbs before you add two children to it. (Of course, if you're getting in shape after baby, this might be a pro for you!) By the time I got the kids ready and loaded into the car, plus the stroller loaded into the back of my SUV, I had already gotten a workout and was worn OUT. This really discouraged me from hitting the trail to run on a whim. Also, being a side-by-side double stroller, it's incredibly wide. I would like to take this opportunity to educate the mommies of America that this is not a stroller to take to the mall. Stores in the mall are not set up for side-by-side double strollers. Please and thank you!

(If you're looking for a great mall stroller, catch my review of the UppaBaby Vista here!)

Retailing around $500, it was too expensive of a stroller to continue to let lay in my garage, dejected and unused as I stepped over it on my way to Pure Barre. Thankfully, it resells quite nicely.

I love doing reviews of products because usually I take to the Internet to read everything about something before I purchase. I hope you find my personal experience helpful!