Salmagundi: Part 2.

If you forgot or have no idea what "Salmagundi" means....let me remind you.

I know what my next child's nursery is going to look like. Here it is:

Is that not gorgeous? Crisp and natural. Love it. It could go for a boy or girl! I don't think Ofir would let me hang a chandelier in the baby's room, so let's forget about that part. Don't even think about stealing this idea! I will know. How will I know? Your baby's room will be all white--Duh. :)

And no, I am not pregnant. Just browsing and brainstorming. When am I not brainstorming? How does one shut off their brain for a bit? I've never been able to master that.

While we are talking about being pregnant, I found this picture deep inside a folder on my computer and it made me smile real big. Here was my very first weekly-pregnancy-picture we took last year. I was 16 weeks:

Goodness, we had no idea how wonderful that little baby inside of me was going to be! :)

Switching pages.

I am addicted to coffee. Decaf though. Is that possible to be addicted to something that it not addictable (Not a word, I am aware.)? If I were addicted to caffeine-filled coffee, that would make sense. But, decaf it is. I have figured out that caffeine-filled coffee makes me sick. I feel queasy and shaky all day long when I drink caffeinated coffee. Yuck. So I will stick to my non-addictable decaf coffee in the morning. If you like Peppermint Mocha kind of stuff, you must put this in your coffee:

Delish, I promise. You HAVE to run out and get it now though, as this is only a seasonal delight. Run. Go. 

Hope you have a great day!

Love,
The Non-Pregnant Decaf Coffee-Drinker Extraordinaire

The hoarding continues. And Dreams.

Yes. The hoarding continues. Seriously, this one is bad.

Again, my cell phone went missing. Like...ALL DAY missing. I periodically looked for it throughout the day and it was no where to be found. I checked E's normal hiding places. No where.

Wanna know where this kid put it?

Guess.

OK, he put it in the garbage bag that was in the kitchen that I conveniently tied up later in the day and put in the big garbage can in the garage.

Here's the details: As that day was coming to a close and all hope was nearly lost (Don't you love how dramatic I am? Charming, I know.) I had a feeling that he may have, in fact, ever-so-sweetly thrown my phone away. So I asked Ofir to call my phone and lo and behold, the damn trash can started to ring.

Yes, I dug through the garbage. The coolest part? It was welded against the ground hamburger meat styrofoam tray thing.

YUCK.

Someone help my child.

****

Do you have weird dreams? I sure do.


Last night I dreamt two things.

One, all of my teeth were loose and rotten. I had to keep pressing my tongue against the upper teeth just to keep them from falling out. If you have never dreamed about your teeth falling out, consider yourself lucky. They are awful.

Secondly, I dreamt that I was on a bridge with Ofir and there were tons of Great White sharks in the water below. People were scrambling to get away from them and they started eating people. Then Ofir and I were suddenly in the water trying to get away. And then the dream flips to a shore on a beach and there are pieces of people all around me that the sharks had left behind. WHAT is wrong with my mind? Yuck. If you have never dreamed about sharks eating you and those around you, consider yourself lucky. They are awful too.

What do you dream about?

Someone's Trash is Another Person's Treasure.

Not that an old, gorgeous buffet table was trash, but it certainly was not being put to use. Remember, I told you before that I was getting my hands on a fabulous buffet table that used to live in my Grandma's dining room (Good 'ol Geeg. Or Grand-Ma-Ma in my cousin's language :-D)? Well...I picked it up (and by I, I mean my husband and brother) on Christmas morning from my mom's garage. I couldn't wait to get this puppy home.

Here she is:

You can't really make out the color, can you? Well...she is a cool icy-blue mixed with a seafoamy greenish color. I am the best at explaining colors, I know. Those cut outs are kind of a bronze color, as are the knobs.

Anywho, she is a beaut.

I gave her a few knicks and scrubs and now she looks like this in my living room:

Can I get an Amen? Hallelujah? Something?

What was the TV on before, you ask? Ew. Let's just say typical bachelor pad-like style--black, glass doors with stacks and stacks of DVD's on display. No thanks.

So where are the DVD's now, you ask? Here, my friends...here:

Hidden for no one to see. Well, except for now...but that is for blogging purposes ;)  You will never see these again. Well, unless you come to my house and wish to watch a DVD.

Tea with TV, anyone?

Some may call an antique silver tea set on your TV stand silly. I call it adorable.
Love,
Old Buffet Table Turned TV Stand-Maker Extraordinaire

Christmas. In a nutshell.

Let me start off by saying that this was a wonderful Christmas! Great family time, great food and way-too generous grandparents for Ethan was what this holiday was all about. We love our family and couldn't have asked for better! Ethan had a blast with his three rounds of family fun and presents:

Having fun and digging into his new toys at Gammie and Papa's on Christmas Eve

Opening his stocking and presents with Mommy and Daddy on Christmas morning

Ethan's new Radio Flyer at Eilee and Grandpa Mike's at our Christmas Day brunch

Now, for the interesting parts. The interesting parts are interesting, aren't they? So, we will go with those stories. Remember the cute cream tarts I said I was going to make for Christmas Eve? Well, they were made. And this was what happened to the cuteness:

Awesome, huh? Yes...that's our foot-step-side-rail-thing on our SUV. It was a sad day in Kristina's tart-land.

Wiping my tears and moving forward. I may continue to wallow in my own sorrows, but I will try not to.

OK. Seriously. Moving forward.

Christmas Eve night we had a great time at my dad and Janine's. Janine is his girlfriend. Although, that sounds so high schoolyish, dosen't it? Let's call her his significant other or my future stepmom. There we go. Yummy beef roast and potatos and copious amounts of other starches and carbs were consumed. Mmm.

The funny part, and by funny I mean super annoying and frustrating, was that I drank diet coke and liquor (which I very rarely do) very very late at night and that caffeine kept me up, staring at the ceiling until 4:00 AM. I got a total of three hours of sleep by the time Christmas morning rolled around. This is what I looked like on Christmas morning:

I may look festive, but Ofir was actually holding me up at this point, so my knees were sure not to buckle and give-way.

"Wow...she looks tired, puffy and 10 days post-partum."

I know that's what you just said to yourself.

Christmas brunch at my mom and stepdad's was great as usual. Aside from my narcoleptic tendencies, we had fun and enjoyed our annual breakfast casserole and I made croissant bread pudding, which was delish and I didn't even drop it on the floor. I was proud.

Christmas in a nutshell.

Festive Dessert.

Look at this cute little dessert that I am making right now for Christmas Eve dinner tonight at my dad's:

Southern Living, DECEMBER 2010



Coconut Creme Tarts

• 3/4  cup  sugar
• 1/3  cup  all-purpose flour
• 4  large eggs
• 2  cups  milk
• 1  cup  sweetened flaked coconut
• 1  tablespoon  vanilla extract
• 1  (8-oz.) package frozen tart shells
• Sweetened whipped cream
• Additional coconut

Whisk together sugar, flour, eggs, and milk in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 10 minutes or until a chilled pudding-like thickness. Remove from heat; stir in 1 cup sweetened coconut and vanilla. Cover and chill 6 to 24 hours. Bake frozen tart shells according to package directions, and cool completely. Spoon custard into tart shells. Dollop with sweetened whipped cream; sprinkle with additional coconut.

Cuteness, huh? I haven't made these before...but I am looking forward to trying these little guys. Deliciousness in it's own mini pie crust? Yes, please.

Merry Christmas Eve and an early Merry Christmas! I am finally feeling the spirit, people. I was worried there for a minute--not excited about Christmas? What was wrong with me? Well...I had my reasons for the lack of excitement--but I have gotten past that nonsense. I won't bore you with my reasons.

Love!

Keepin' it real.

Ree frequently does posts titled "Keepin' it Real."  She shows her millions of readers that she is just a normal gal who has a MESS in her house, either from cooking or her children. Well, I would like to show my 6 1/2 readers that I am, indeed, normal too.

Here 'ya go. Keepin' it real:

If you forgot the high hopes I had for this play area and the neatness that I was certain would hold stead-fast, then I am here to remind you. Just thought you should know that we do, on occasion, have a mess in this house.

Oh, and he was SO proud, too:

Don't you wish you had this much enthusiasm about ANYthing as an adult?  I sure do. Hah!

Have a great day!

Chalkboard wisdom.

It's true, people. Happiness is free. Choose to be happy.

Enjoy every day. Enjoy those closest to you. I am sure you won't regret it. :)

Love,
Chalkboard Wisdom-Lady Extraordinaire

Confession Sunday.

Well, I don't have anything super juicy that I came up with this week that I would tell you about.

I do, however, have two little mediocre confessions that may equal one really cool one.

First, if you can't already tell or don't know my husband and I that well (That rhymed. Yes, I have many talents.) we are kind of dorky and silly. So, we have this thing we do; we race to get our child out of his bed every morning. Race. Mmm hmm...I am talking elbowing and knocking one another down just to be the first one to get into the baby's room. He is the highlight of our day and he is SO excited when we open his door and hollar like lunatics "Good morning!!!!!" and we each simply want to get in there first. Ha! So dumb. But so true.

Secondly, one of the faucets in the kitchen sink blew off late last week, so now we have no water in the kitchen while we wait for the replacement part to be delivered. I am now doing dishes in the bath tub and bathroom sink. So very cool. There are pots and pans stacked on towels on the bathroom floor drying off at this very moment. You should see it--awesomeness. That's not really a confession...but the bathroom looks so trashy and I look so stupid crouched over the bath tub scrubbing away.

Love,
Modern-day Cinderella Extraordinaire

Inspiration.

I want to re-do my guest bathroom at some point. I wouldn't dare post a before picture because the shmucks who owned the home before did a piss-poor job of picking out the mauve formika counters. Ew. How did I not notice this when we bought the house? Selective vision, I suppose.

Placing my bit of buyers remorse aside, I have learned to be OK with my surroundings now that I can jazz things up and make it how I want it.

Here is my inspiration for the guest bath:

Not to sound like Rachel Zoe, but I die for this style. Don't worry about it if you don't know who Rachel Zoe is. I will forgive you.

A multitude of ideas are flying through my head just from this one picture. Love it.

Vintage, shabby chic, country French. So ME these days. Can't wait to get started.

Bad Margaritas.

It's Friday, ya'll. Where is this time going? It's almost 2011.

Great observation, Kristina.

Last night I went out with my girls. I hope you all have friends like I do. They are the awesomist. :)  I can be my obnoxious silly self around them and not hold back one bit. Don't you hate feeling uncomfortable around people you can't be yourself with? I know I do. Eww-ness.  Luckily, I have solid friends who I consider family.

Bad Mexican food. And by bad...I mean incredibly sinful.  Bad Margaritas. And by bad...I mean sinfully, and ever so fabulously laced with 6 shots of tequila in each glass. I am convinced of this. You take like 2 or 3 sips of those bad boys and you already feel it. Ha. Oh my...

"Am I being loud?"

"Can those people over there hear the inappropriate conversation we are having right now about Bool Bool's and Ryan Reynolds and Channing Tatum?"

Probably. Who cares?! :)

I only hang out with attractive people. No, really.

I bet you are left wondering..."What does Bool Bool mean?"  Don't even bother Googling it.

World Travelers.

Where do you get your child's stuffed animals from? Oh, ours are just from Norway, Rhode Island, Scotland, Idaho and Wyoming. Don't be jealous....just marvel in the greatness that is my child's collection:

(From left to right: Borus the Bison-Wyoming;  Steven Seagull -Rhode Island;  Wee Coo-Scotland; Maurice the Moose-Norway; Bernadette the Bear-Idaho.)



If you ever think about getting E a stuffed animal it better be from somewhere out-of-state. He will not accept anything less than. ;)

Yes, I had some free time to line the animals up and take a picture. Yet again, I am so cool.

Hutch. Before and After.

So, yesterday I got bored. What do I do when I get bored? I sandpaper the mess out of something. Yes...distressed something. "Distressing again, woman? Don't you have anything better to do?!" I think I have an unhealthy obsession with that thing called distressing. Soon everything in my house will be distressed. I may even sandpaper everything away until it disappears. That would be sad, so I think I will refrain.

WARNING: If you don't like distressing, sandpaper, hutches or antiques you may want to skip out on this post.

Hope I didn't lose anyone. Thanks for staying, if you did. :)

Back to the hutch. I got this hutch from a friend who (brace yourself) was holding it for some woman who was in jail and wasn't going to get out so she stored all of her stuff in his garage because he is too nice and can never say "No"..plus his daughter was dating her son and he felt obligated....etc.etc. etc! True story. Anyways, I got a hutch out of it. Good deal! Ha!

Here's the hutch before:

Nice and white. A bunch of glassware. A tad boring. (Sorry for the horrendous lighting.)

I decided to take out some of the stemware and throw in more antiques and silver that I received from my grandma and great-grandma's stashes:

Loving the antique, worn items against the newer glasses up top!

How cute is that Betty Crocker Cookbook for Boys and Girls cookbook from 1957 up there? Super cute, if you ask me.

Oh, and if you are in a pinch and happened to have lost your egg-weigher...have no fear:

I've got my egg scale right here for ya (Who uses an egg scale anyways? Someone in the early 1900's does, that's who.).

After some elbow grease, here's what I got:

Hello, beautiful worn and torn-ness.

Subtle, but a tad bit less boring. Looks like she has been through a few things in life--nothing major, just some bumps along the road. I must add that, halfway through the sanding and scraping, I start to worry about the possibility of lead paint and begin to feel nauseous. I am paranoid and a hypochondriac.

I have two more pieces of furniture calling my name. I will be tending to them at some point in the near future. One is a buffet table from my grandma's house that will be used as a TV stand in the living room. The other is a bookcase from my other grandparent's house. I have no idea where I will put it, but I will be getting my hands on that too! Oh, how I love antiqueyness in my house.

Love,

Wanna-be Antique Refurbisher Extraordinaire



Hermione.

If you have never seen Harry Potter, then you will have no idea who or what Hermione is. If you are not living under a rock and have seen Harry Potter, then you can follow along with me.

We have an owl and we have named her Hermione.  Everyone, say "Hello" to her.

"Heeeellllllo Hermione!"

(She says "Hi" back.)

Notice she has a little something around her neck. She is dressed for the season:

She sits atop some vintage books in our living room and watches over our mundane activities. She dosen't say much, but we still like her. And when I say "we," I mean "I."  I have decided to decorate her for every holiday and/or season. Fun, huh? I think so too!

Stay tuned for more Hermione in the seasons to come. She is sure to not disappoint!

Confession Sunday.

So, we can either pretend that I am sitting in a confessional in a church somewhere or we can pretend that I am sitting in a 4 X 4 room with a video camera on some stupid MTV show. Neither are likely but, either way, I have decided to do a segment on my blog--known as Confession Sunday.

I got the "Confession" idea from Rach, when she confessed about the fact that she binges snacks on Strawberry Delight Frosted Mini Wheats. Ha! How funny is that? Love it.

Anywho, this is going to be a light-hearted confessional spot. We are not going to get into the deep dark secrets that are Kristina. Sorry, people. I know you were dying to hear what I think about or do that would be deemed dark.

Without further ado...here is this week's Confession:

My husband and I turn joyous, innocent Christmas songs into inappropriateness. Our song of choice this morning was "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause."  You can use your imagination when it comes to how we made that inappropriate.

Have a great day!

Love,
Inappropriate Christmas Caroler Extraordinaire

Falls to the waistside.

You must be saying to yourself  "Geez, another post from this woman? She just posted yesterday and the day before!"  Well folks, I hate to tell ya, but I am here to stay. I like blogging. Sometimes I have a lot of things to talk about and other times I do not. This week, as it turns out, I have a lot to talk about. So, to the 4 of you who read my ramblings, thanks for reading.

Moving forward.

The title has to do with the fact that when my husband is home, everything falls to the waistside; nothing gets cleaned, organized, washed, etc. etc. By ME, I should add. I don't know why this is? He makes me lazy. But he isn't lazy...I just become lazy when he is around. He does the dishes and picks up the mess of a living room that Hurricane Offspring just left in the living room. But me? Oh, I sit. He is on vacation this week and I have become L.A.Z.Y.  Ha. Who knows why? Does anyone else suffer from spousal vacation lathargy?

And because he is so helpful, I figured I would leave a special note on our chalkboard for him:

I would like to talk about this chalkboard for a moment. Let me zoom out:

Isn't it cute? I hang my aprons on this too. Those aprons actually get used when I cook...when Ofir is not hanging around the house on vacation. When I actually get off the couch and tend to my daily duties as a mother and wife. I like to pretend that I am a fantastic, retro, 1950's housewife who wears her cute vintage apron and has a hot meal waiting for her husband when he gets home from work. That really happens, people. The meal part and the apron part. I am so cool.

Let's zoom in on the picture for a moment:

Remember how I told you that sandpaper was my new best friend? This is why. I scuffed up the corners and such to give it a distressed look. Distressed is my new favorite word. Again, I am so cool. I found this board in my dad's garage, unscuffed and shiny. It was almost thrown in a dumpster--to a black abyss that would become its new life...but I saved it from it's certain demise. You're welcome, chalkboard.  

Go scuff something up and have fun!

Love,
Scuffer Extraordinaire

Goodwill. Good finds.

So, after I melted on the floor at Paula Deen's restaurant and was nearly wheeled out on a stretcher, I dragged Ofir into we decided to go into Goodwill across the street.

I told you I felt better once I got off of the ghost-ridden third floor. I felt good enough to go scrounging through a Goodwill. I have really learned to love thrifting. I really like digging through a bunch of stuff and finding a little something awesome. Spray paint and sand paper are my new best friends.

These are a few things that I found whilst pillaging through:

*NEW shadow box shelves from Target. Who donates new Target shelves to Goodwill? Someone in Savannah does. Thank you donator. Those were a $1 each.

*A NEW Blackberry case from Target. Who donates a new Target Blackberry case to Goodwill? Someone in Savannah does. Thank you donator. That was $3 with the $20 Target tag still attached.

*Cheery and happy chip and dip tray. 75 cents, folks.

Let's take a closer look at the tray:

Hello...total chip and dip cuteness.

Let's take a closer look at the shadow box shelves:

I could do so much with these shelves. They could be spray painted any friggin' color and mounted anywhere in this house of mine with anything I could think of to display. Cuteness.

If you are scared of Goodwill and thrift stores like I used to be--don't be, people. Awesomeness awaits you too.

Love,
Scrounger Extraordinaire

Paranormal activity and a fall.

So I think Paula Deen's restaurant (the THIRD floor, to be specific) is haunted. Seriously. Now, to all you non-believers ::::cough:::Rachel:::cough:::: (;-D) you can go ahead and scoff at me....but I really think it is.

Let me start from the beginning.

The hubs, child and myself went to Savannah, GA for a few days. I love that city. One of my all time favs. Anywho, yesterday we decided we were going to go to The Lady & Sons for lunch. Ofir had never been and I already had the pleasure of eating there before, so it was his turn to try it. We were directed to take the elevator to the third floor. Who knew it had a third floor? Interesting. As soon as my excited, optimistic, hungry and ready for a buffet--self walked off that elevator my "inner-feeling" shall we say, headed south. Instant nausea, dizziness, anxiety, shakey, etc. etc. took over. How weird is that?! My first thought was "Oh, Shit...please don't pass out in front of all these fried chicken-eatin' people." We sat down for, Oh...10 minutes and I had to get out of there. Could not take it anymore. And trust me...I am NOT one to skip out on some good arse food. We got up. Embarrasing? Yes. A bit scary? Yes. Did Ethan and Ofir get one cheese bisuit, at least? Yes.

(This was about 3 minutes before I scurried out of there.)

I got off of that floor and felt better almost instantly.

Since I am a person who watches Ghost Hunters (don't hate) I have heard that paranormal activity and spirits concentrated in one area can cause sudden ill-feelings and sickness in sensitive people.

I guess I am a sensitive one because I wanted to freak out, pass out, upchuck....all at that little cozy, quant wooden table. I didn't even get a cheese bisquit.

Oh, and another exciting tidbit of info about our trip: my little one fell off of the bed while I was right next to him. Aren't I an awesome mom? Needless to say, I spent the better part of our mini-vaca looking for signs of a concussion. Ugh.

Our trip was fun. I promise. Minus my medium powers and mild panic attack next to the giant buffet and my inability to watch my 15 month old properly.

Love,
Ghost Hunter Extraordinaire

Hoarder.

I believe E is going to be on A&E's Hoarders next week. They will showcase him in all of his glory.

Let me back up.

I could not find my cell phone. I think we can all attest to the fact that we feel lost without our cell phones. If you don't have that syndrome, well...congratulations!

I feel lost without mine. So, I search and search the house. Pacing back and forth. "Oh, God! What will I do without my phone?!" OK...not that frantic, but certainly annoyed. Anywho, I start looking in E's room, as he has been known to carry things into his room and leave them there. I dig through the pile of toys and books that are no longer on his shelves as I hoped they would be in this post.

I go over to the bins that hold his diapers, creams, etc. THIS is what I find:

WOW. I think we have a problem here...

A good mess.

I realized this morning that I have not posted about my pumpkin seed lately. Pumpkin seed being my noodle bug. Noodle bug being my sugar pie. Sugar pie being my child. My love!

I am glad the cold weather has made another appearance. Here in Jacksonville, if you don't live here, has stupid crazy weather. Seriously stupid. One day it is 85 degrees and the next it is 35. Take yesterday and today for instance. Yesterday was blazing hot and today is pretty darn cold. It get's annoying after 26 years.

E is such a mess. A good mess, though. He is anywhere and everywhere his little body can squeeze into. He now says "Uh Oh" when he drops things or falls on his toosh. He says "Mi, mi, mi" when he wants his water. "Mi," for those of you who do not understand Hebrew coming from a 14 month old (Come on people, keep up with your toddler Hebrew. Geez!), is Mime. Mime = water. His favorite food is still bananas and his favorite snack are graham crackers. We call them "grammies" in this household and he squeels in delight at the mention of this exciting word. Ah, to be a child and get excited over a cracker...

He makes every day brighter. Love love love him.

Is it December already? GoodNESS. It was just July.

xoxo