Ballet Pink + Glitter + Ribbons = DIY Dresser

This might just be my new favorite transformation project yet!  We'd been in desperate need of a solution for my daughters' over-crowded dresser.  They've always shared a single dresser.  When they were babies, we had plenty of extra space.  During the toddler and very early 'kiddish' years, the drawers were quite full, but still adequate.  As elementary-aged, fashion-aware young girls, they have simply outgrown their shared dresser. With narrow drawers stuffed to the brim, crammed with various frippery, and horribly lacking order, it was far past time to come up with a new solution.  All things considered (we needed a specific shape structure to fit in the room, drawers large enough to grow into, and a defined budget to stay within) we looked for a long while before my mother-in-law finally found this beaut:

Fit for a princess, no?

Martha Stewart Living

Glitter Specialty Finish

in Sahara Red

I used Martha Stewart Living Glitter Specialty Finish to get the sparkle effect on the drawer fronts.  It needed many coats to get the look I was going for, but turned out just as I'd hoped!  Here's a close-up of the finish:

A Perfectly Simple (or Simply Perfect) Birthday for my WonderBoy!

How many sweet grandparents in grocery stores have told me that, "It all goes by too fast" and to "Enjoy them while they're little."  When my kids were babies, I would politely nod my head and agree with these well-meaning strangers, but my sleep-deprived brain didn't quite register their kind remarks as truth.  Lately, though, the weirdest things have been happening.  My babies are growing up.  Case in point: Jedi just turned 6!  Unbelievable!

6 balloons = 6th Birthday

Our sweet Jedidiah is the resident cuddle connoisseur, devourer of every written word, fierce protector of all family members, and owner of the most honest smile I've ever beheld.  Words can't define my love for this kid.  

For his party, we hosted a Build-a-Bear event for him & some good friends to celebrate together at the local mall over the weekend before his actual birthday.  Everybody had a great time and went home from the party with a Build-a-Bear.  He designed a bright green, clover-covered bear dressed in Spiderman PJ's, wearing glasses, and that plays the Star Wars theme on it's paw.  Very unique, but just exactly what Jedi wanted.

For his birthday, though, we just had a simple little dinner at home.  He created the menu: hand-tossed pizza with a variety of toppings for the main course.  The cake was super specific.  He wanted a pineapple/vanilla Angry Bird checkerboard cake.  

Honestly, pineapple is not the easiest cake to make in a checkerboard, nor is it super pretty to decorate.  I twisted this around and around in my brain for quite a while before finally deciding on a method for the cake and a way to make it 'Angry Bird-y.'  This is what I came up with!

Of course he loved it!

He had to knock down the mean little pigs' tower before we could light the candle for him to blow out...

 Success!

 ...and the pineapple/vanilla checkerboard.  It was hiding in each individual slice!  I'll do a tutorial on this someday soon, I promise.

His favorite birthday gift of the year was this little fishing lure.  It is, after all, the world's #1 lure!  (Says so right on the package... see?)   I thought he'd be psyched about the fishing rod with the sparkling, light-up reel, but no.  The little lure was the big pow.  So fun!

We're all counting down the days until opening day of fishing now.  In the midst of a season filled with birthdays, grade testing, flower sprouting, spring cleaning projects, and summer planning, we get these occasional moments to pause and appreciate.  These little ones are getting big...   

...and I'm determined to enjoy every little second, because it does indeed go by so fast.

Hello again!

This blog, it seems, has been deeply hibernating for the winter.  After a sweet Thanksgiving, it seemed somehow necessary for the writer/reporter/teacher/cataloger in me to take a little break.  Life 'busy-ness' needed to slow down to make room for more appreciative living.  

We pared down.  We pruned.  We cut back.

It was blissful.

Our schedule has been refined.  My priorities have been revisited and shuffled accordingly.

Feels good.

I've been taking time to invest in my marriage.  Homeschooling has been tackled with increasing gusto.  Housekeeping projects have been getting checked off my list at a consistent and steady rate.  I almost feel like I'm 'on top' of things.  Almost...

There's still laundry.  Always, always, always laundry.  

Our Newfie is growing at an alarmingly fast rate... she's about 7months old and is MASSIVE!  I knew she'd be a big girl, but she's already (oh-my-goodness-holy-cow) huge.  It's quite wonderful.  She's still very much a puppy, though, and approaches life with boundless enthusiasm.  Potty-training has been a unique adventure. Enough said.

Luci and I have registered to participate in World Concern's Free Them 5K together in May.  Our training has been... s  l  o  w.  We started following the 'couch to 5K' program and have loved it so far.  When we actually take the time to run, that is.  The training, admittedly, requires more devotion than we've given it.  Just another thing to work on.  

These and all other things considered, blogging has taken a little turn on the back burner.  I have missed it, but the break has been restful and pretty sweet, actually.

Now, as springtime awakens my garden, it threatens to wake-up this blog, also.  I am considering a quiet little restart.  Just writing when there is something worthwhile to say or posting a recipe when I come up with one just too good not to share.  It might be fun to post a short 'how-to' for craft projects or homeschooling lessons every once in awhile.  Only when the mood strikes.

Maybe someday, this blog will travel back up towards the single digits of my priority list, but not quite yet.  I love that it's here, though, waiting for me to show it some occasional love, but not demanding daily attention.  

For you, sweet reader, I am thankful for your faithfulness.  Even during my bloggy vacation, A Simple String of Pearls has continued to enjoy daily visits from both new and old friends via Pinterest, Facebook, or personal referrals.  I am humbled to have been recognized as a Top 10 Variety blog on the Homeschool Blog Post. It is wonderful to be thought of as such. Thank you for reading and caring.  I am sincerely happy for this odd little relationship we have, you and I.  

Meanwhile, tonight is burgers-and-oven-fries night for dinner and the kids are psyched.  After our meal, we're going to play Uno and maybe take the dogs for a walk before bedtime.  Life marches on here at the Young home as we continue to enjoy the day-to-day.  

Loving the journey.