The Best of 2011

Happy New Year to all of my bloggie friends out there! I've had such an incredible 2011 and am so excited for all that's to come in 2012. Thank you for coming along with me as I've kept this happy place going each day. It's such a blast for me and knowing you're there makes it so worth it!

Here are a few of my favorite moments in 2011. 

The best outfits:

I loved wearing prints this year even more than solid colors (thought color blocking was a fun challenge) and lace remained my absolute obsession time and time again. In February I even took a 28 for 28 challenge during which I remixed the same 28 items in my wardrobe for the entire month! (little E helped me out with many of my pics that month).

Parker grows up:

This was a huge year for my first born (and his emotional mamma) as Parker graduated from Kindergarten and started first grade! Many tears were cried and mountains were climbed but in the end, this now 7 year old had a exceptionally brain exploding year and developed into a more confident and smart little guy.  

A wonderful surprise!

My wintery home was featured at Apartment Therapy (ugly painting and all!) and soon after I had my "extraordinary day" (a call from the Nate Berkus show - not even joking either!). 

A sweet summer:

We spent an amazingly beautiful summer in the sun - swimming, boating and wilderness exploring all summer long. It was also a time for growing and changing, more so in my little E than anyone else. He grew out of his crib and into Monty's clothes and his adored orange hair went a very subtle strawberry blonde. Parker learned how to swim like a fish and Monty polished his soccer skills. It was a dreamy and steamy summer. 

Sisters:

I had so many special moments with family, 2 of my favorites being a date night riding bikes along the river to a dinner overlooking the water and the other being a recent trip to Chicago for endless eating and Christmas shopping. 

Party (super) hard:

And we've thrown some amazing parties and celebrated many birthdays, keeping our crafting skills polished!

{Christmas party}

{A Monster Bash}

{A White Party}

{A Swim Party}

{A Ballerina Party}

{A Valentines Breakfast}

It's been all about family, me and my 4 guys. All about us. And I've loved doing life with them. :)

Happy New Year!

A Room Makeover {for the big boys}

The boys received an early Christmas present soon after school got out - these loft beds! I had planned to replace the garage sale bunk beds for awhile and after they were snatched up from Craigslist (amazing how many people contacted me and were willing to put up with those for only $25), we set out to find a replacement. I had originally planned on grabbing something at Ikea but their grandma found these loft beds at Walmart and I thought they were perfect! 

The boys love the space underneath for storing all of their new toys (it's just 3 little steps off the ground).

My mom had these pillowcases monogrammed for them for Christmas. So perfect!

The one thing that daddy actually picked out for the boys for Christmas was something for their new room. He found some cool LED track lighting at Ikea and stood there playing with the remote for some time before he shared his plans with me. You see, the remote changes the colors from red to blue, to green, to yellow. You get the picture. So he installed them on the outside of the bed, facing the wall, and now the boys can fall asleep to colors dancing on the wall as a night light. Needless to say, they're in heaven with their fancy new beds. 

On the other side of the room is Parker's vintage school desk (pictured above) and their cubicle bookcase (pictured here). So squeezing two twin beds into a medium sized room along with some storage, a desk and plenty of toys, is not that difficult at all when the beds are raised and you get to keep all of that floor space. Genius!

One of My Favorites

I'm sitting at my dining table this morning, looking out the window, astonished at what I see. It's as if the angels are up there above us, sprinkling big handfuls of silver glitter over our neighborhood. It's incredibly beautiful! The sun is shining brightly and I can't see any clouds in the sky, and yet, it snows. We're inside a bright, shiny snow globe and it's spectacular!

I thought I'd show off a much adored Christmas prez, one from the huz. It's this gorgeous grey coat, a little something I picked up at Anthropologie a couple of weekends ago. 

Funny story actually. I fell in deep and devoted love with about 10 things at the store that weekend and so, in an effort to narrow it down, I asked him to tell me how much I could spend on my Christmas gift. Terrible, I know. It was just so hard to choose! And his response ... "Just use wisdom". 

Awesome. I had absolutely no hope in passing that test. Doomed from the start. 

Thank you dear, dear man!

 Still feeling festive it seems, in my red and plaid. Our Christmas tree came down yesterday (sad I know) because it was dead as a doornail. We'll fix that next year though. It was a little mistake we made this time, as my dad was there to help us get the tree (husband in a arm cast) and between the two of us, we never managed to get a fresh cut. He's used to an artificial tree and I'm usually too busy with the kids to notice what the heck is going on. Oh well.

But I've rearranged much of the living room since the tree retired which is something to be excited about. So it's not all tears entirely. The kids are actually pretty chuffed with how the family room now looks, mostly because we were given a brand-spanking-new-and-awesomely-huge-while-not-too-disgusting plasma TV! Will have to photograph all the little changes to share soon. Quality of life is much improved now that the other monstrosity is gone. Ha!

 When shopping in Chicago I noticed a continued fondness for black leggings among the "city" women. I have to admit that I've been over leggings for a couple of years now, (1) because I've never thought them to be flattering and (2) because I prefer denim any day. 

But I took note of a few legging-ed looks that really stood out with the purpose of trying those ol' things again myself. This particular pair of pants is a hybrid, as they have a zip and pockets but definitely have that legging/hide nothing quality about them. 

 {coat - Anthropologie, scarf - knit by mom, shirt - husbands from H&M, pants - T J Maxx, socks - Free People, boots - J C Penney}

What did you get for Christmas?

Our Christmas Day

A picture diary of our glorious Christmas day. 

The kids woke up bright and early, but stayed in the room until the clock read 7 (whew), then tumbled down the stairs to find gifts from Santa. 

Parker - a very cool table top paper dispenser for his endless art projects and a lego boom box. 

Monty - a pogo stick and a teddy bear back pack

Elliot - a ride on toy and a knit teddy bear

The cuz's scored some great presents from Santa too!

Then it was time to open presents from each other ...

 Enjoying the madness in our new matching Christmas jammies.

After hours of elation, we jumped in the car and made our way over to Christmas #2.

 Watching A Christmas Story with his cuz. 

 ... while others take exhausted naps.

And eventually Santa arrives!

... which is a little scary for some of us

 ... though others just go along with Papi's shenanigans.

Such a wonderful and memorable Christmas Day spent with all of our family!

Our Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve began at a service at church, after which we assembled at my sister's home for dinner and presents. Our family spent the night there (a tradition we started last year). Santa's elves stayed up pretty late getting the presents ready for the kids, something they may need to take into account next year. We just got everything off to a late start, I guess, but it was a blast of an evening. 

First, the outfits ...

{Little E and brothers: sweaters - H&M kids

Me: sweater - Gap, dress (worn as skirt) - BFF (was a bridesmaid's dress), jewelry - vintage}

All my little gents.

Little sister Cara. 

 Eskimo kisses :)

The gorgeous tree at Daena's house.

And the huz and I had some nice pics taken too!

 Snuck a picture of this cheery elf as she built a doll house (inbetween a few "colorful" words - heehee). 

~ The End ~

Next, Christmas day!

SANTA!!!

It's finally here! 

Merry Christmas everyone. Much love from our home to yours. 

Just a last look around the house before our decor changes again. Will miss all of this.