wanna come to my house for a "puker" ?

my husband's kind of a health nut.  

over the last 11 years, he's really rubbed off on me.  i hate to admit that before i married him, i wouldn't come close to any vegetable except broccoli.  in my own defense, i was only 19....

now, however, the only thing i refuse to eat {and won't make my kids eat} is squash.  

i hate it.  i don't think i'll ever grow to like it.  it's terrible.  and for those of you who love squash, i'm sorry, really.  i know how you feel.  because in our house, we love kale.  most people say they hate kale but i think it's because they haven't had it cooked right!!!

pretty much every day this summer {and until the kale is gone} we have a "juicer" which consists mostly of kale, carrots, zucchini, and sometimes cucumbers.

oh, sometimes we have two!

i like to live a balanced life, so sometimes i'll try and have two lattes.  you know, just to be fair!
 he he he!

and eventually we add apples from the orchard too, which helps the kids get it down.  

they do pretty well except our youngest son. he calls them pukers and tries to hide when he hears the juicer turn on. 

i think it's funny, but he kinda thinks it torture.  which i think is even funnier!

the only thing i don't like about the juicers is the mess!  i'm constantly spilling water all over the floor while washing the kale.  i don't want to eat any bugs, so i try to give them a really good scrub down, and even though i'm trying to be careful, i always end up with a ton of water on my kitchen floor!

but just look!  doesn't that look healthy and totally worth it?  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

oh, and if you're ever in the market for a juicer.  i highly recommend this one.  it's the breville juice fountain and it's the same price as the jack lalanne juicer from costco but it's so much better!  we had the jack lalanne, but returned it after finding this one.  i promise you won't be disappointed! oh, and just in case you don't trust me, read the reviews on amazon, they don't even come close!!

~tiff

living room re-do!

my living room has been in a state of transition for what seems like forever.  i've sewn slipcovers for both couches, painted, repainted, found some great things at garage sales, and just spruced up the space.  

there are still a few things i'd like to do, but overall, i'm really happy with how it turned out. 

i'm linking up with gussy sews for her inspiration workshop and i thought it would be nice to show you my actual living room.  i do like looking through all of the posts and seeing these amazing rooms off pinterest, but honestly, how many people have houses like that?  what about if we all just showed each other our "real" living rooms?  wouldn't that be more fun?  wouldn't it be nice to see other "regular" people's houses?  i know i would.  it's hard to get to know someone if all you see is their wishes...and never who they really are. 

i'm just a regular girl, who's not rich {or poor} and i'm not able to decorate my home straight out of the pottery barn catalog.  and that's okay with me!   i feel like i put my heart and soul into making it a place i really love spending time in! 

almost everything in here was found at garage sales or given to me.  the couches we bought years ago and i sewed slipcovers for them this year.  

the table really needs redone, and i started sanding it, but that was taking forever, so i quit working on it for now.

for those of you who have been reading my blog for a while i haven't shown you the slipcover and pillows i made for the loveseat. i finished it ages ago, but just never got around to posting!

{i was standing by the green cabinet in the first picture}

i just got those locker baskets on the table for $2 total at a garage sale.  so, i filled them with old books, but i'm not sure if they look right sitting on the table.  what do you think?

the green cabinet i fell in love with at a garage sale and sort of snatched it up right out from a woman who was looking at it.  it was so cute, and i just immediately knew where i wanted to put it and what was going to go inside!!!  

games!

here is the corner where our wood fireplace is.  it's always made the room harder to layout since i don't have any wall space and it takes up the whole corner of the room.

see the sign up top?  ooh, such a special piece from alicia at lafamille!  

thanks alicia...isn't it beautiful?

i also found this barnwood corner cabinet at a garage sale last year for $15.  i really paid $30 since i paid her twice.  i had to go back to get it in our van and she said we didn't pay her.  i honestly couldn't remember and my husband wasn't there so i just paid her.  my hubby and i talked about it once i got home and we really did pay her twice.  i honestly believe she wasn't trying to rip me off, but i won't make that mistake again.  

this is right in a little nook where the kitchen is off to the right and a hallway is to the left.

oh, i also just got these old crates this summer too...$6 total for both!  

aren't they adorable?  plus, the yellow coca-cola crate is in one of the pottery barn catalogs right now!

so, i have good taste!  ;-)

but, you can clearly see that!!  

{right?}

~tiff

wanna trade???

tomorrow i'm linking up to aboyagirlandapug for her bloggy book swap-a-roo!

if you're interested in joining in, just hop on over to read the rules and find out all about it!

i've got a couple of books i'd like to pass along, and i'm hoping to find something i'd like to get from someone else!  

it should be fun, so go check it out!

~tiff

saturday soccer

my youngest son started soccer for the first time this year.  saturday was his first jamboree game.  i don't know what it is about 7 year old boys playing soccer, but they are just too darn cute, and i end up smiling the whole time! 

besides, how could you NOT love this face?  

{at least i know the pictures are going to turn out...they are so expensive!}

we ended up with a no score game this time, but i think after we clarify a few of the rules to our guys, they'll do well.  

#1.  you can move from your position.

i felt a twinge of guilt when i snapped this picture!  the coach told him where to stand, and the poor kid didn't know he could move.  so, as the ball went rolling by and all of us on the sidelines were telling him to run, he just looked at us and put his hands up.  oh, i felt so sorry for him, but it was priceless!

#2.  staying all together won't help us score

isn't this funny?  i think 2/3rds of the team was in this big circle.  it was like that for a huge portion of the game.  they all just ran around together like they were tied up with rubber bands. 

in the end, when the game was over, i missed my best picture opportunity.  my son did a cartwheel on his way off the field!  a little bit embarrassing, but cute too.

i love soccer season!

~tiff

a lot about a latte...

i've been super lucky this summer at garage sales and scored some awesome deals.  

this one i'm going to show you may very well be my all time garage sale find.  

and it isn't because i got the best deal {although i really did} or that it's the cutest thing you've ever seen, but i'm addicted to coffee, so this find just perfectly feeds my addiction!

say hello to my $49 starbucks sirena espresso machine!

isn't she a beauty?  if you're interested in getting one, they do still sell them HERE on amazon, but, i'm sorry to tell you it will cost you $650 more than i paid for mine!!!  or you could go the refurbished route, but that will still cost you $260.  

 

oh, so yeah, i scored a $700 espresso machine for $49.  how cool is that?  

 

i've made myself and my hubby a latte every morning since we got it.  sometimes we'll even have an afternoon iced latte too.  i honestly don't even know how i lived without it.

seriously. 

 

 

being able to make my own latte's at home has completely cured me of wanting to go to starbucks.   that thought hasn't even crossed my mind since we got it.  i couldn't even imagine walking into starbucks now and paying $4 for i latte i can make myself. 

besides, i think i make a pretty darn good caramel macchiato!

have any of you guys found good deals out garage sale-ing this summer?  i've got a 3 part post coming up soon of all my finds, so stay tuned! 

have a great weekend!

~tiff

2011-2012 homeschool curriculum choices

this year we've changed things up a bit.  we made some extra money this summer and purchased our own homeschool curriculum instead of doing online school.  and even though we've only been in school 3 days, i think the new curriculum is a hit.  my kids have been up and running before 7 am two days in a row!  

i'm not lying.  i've got photographic evidence!

serioulsy, what is happening in the world?  can new books really make this much of a difference?  we'll see how long this lasts!!

this year hunter is in the 5th grade.  his curriculum for the year is:

daily 6 trait writing grade 5

editor in chief a-1{not pictured}

critical & creative thinking activities grade 5

sequential spelling level 4

word roots a-2

handwriting without tears: cursive success {not pictured}

teaching textbooks {math} grade 5

daily math word problems

apologia science:  land animals of the 6th day

{he'll be doing this with his sister at our homeschool co-op}

all american history vol. 1 the explorers to the jacksonians

daily geography

ivy is in the 4th grade and her books for the year are:

daily 6 trait writing 

sequential spelling level 3

word roots a-2

handwriting without tears: cursive success

teaching textbooks {math} grade 4

daily math word problems

building thinking skills level 2

apologia science: land animals of the 6th day

{she'll be doing it with her brother at our homeschool co-op}

story of the world volume 4:  the modern age

{we are going to be studying this with another co-op family and doing projects together a few times a month which all of my kids are really excited about!}

daily geography

wylder is a 2nd grader and he's doing:

daily 6 trait writing

a reason for handwriting level b

sequential spelling 1

mathmatical reasoning grade 2

teaching textbooks {math} grade 3

daily math word problems

building thinking skills level 1

apologia science:  exploring creation with botany

story of the world volume 2:  the middle ages

daily geography 

i got some of these books at a used homeschool curriculum sale.  i bought some off co-op friends and the others i got on sale online!  

last year i picked up a really neat bible lesson to do with all of the kids and we just never did it.  this year, i plan to do it at least 3 times a week.  the kids have asked if we could start and so i'm excited that they are excited!! it's called picture this and i read along portions of the bible while the kids color in a picture showing that particular book of the bible.  i'll post some photos once we've finished genisis!

i'm linking up to gussy sews today!  

that's so weird i can't get the button to center!  arghhh!

~tiff
 

i'm baaack! {and some blog awards}

{i love this picture.  the way his face is all shushed up.  too cute!}

before the summer began i had such high hopes of blogging everyday!  obviously, that didn't happen, and while i've missed documenting our lives all summer, we certainly had a lot of fun.  

i've got a gazillion things to share, but first i'd like to graciously accept the "irresistibly sweet award" from lana over at my design my life!!  

thanks lana! 

it seems i must include:

*7 random facts about myself

*a thank you to the kind lady who nominated me with a link to her blog

*and pass it along to 8 other bloggers!

ready?

1. the thought of having to think of 7 things you guys might find interesting is really scary.   i could sit here for an hour trying to be witty or funny or interesting.  in the end, it might just be totally boring and i'm hoping that's okay?
2. i chew on the inside of my cheek and sometimes when my husband catches me, he smacks me right in the face.   he's just trying to prevent me from getting oral cancer....it's sweet really.
3. i tuck my socks into my sweats when i got to bed, and if i'm wearing a hoodie, i'll put the hood up and pull the strings tight.  like when your camping and you don't want to get mosquito bites.  except, there are no mosquitos in my bedroom!
4. i've battled chewing my finger nails since i was a kid and can go years without doing it.  i've just recently quit again and have my nails back!!  
5. i'm addicted to coffee and my recent aquisition of an espresso machine has made my life complete.
6. i adore these lip glosses from bath and body works.  i have 20 or so, and they are stuffed into every purse, bag and hoodie pocket i have.  plus, they are still good after they go through the washer and they won't ruin your clothes.
7. if i was you and reading this list, i would think i was a little ocd. but, i don't think i am.  hmmm. do you?

i'm passing this on in random order to:

1. amy over at amy's spoonful of sugar.  i've met her in person and she's super fab!
2. virginia from geeky and sassy.  she is all kinds of nice.   really.  plus, she's super talented!
3. alicia at lafamille.  it just doesn't seem right not to pass it along to her.  if anyone is irresistibly sweet, it's her! and, her fall etsy line is coming out today!! 
4. linda at simply.spendid.living.  she added me to her sidebar, and well, that's just nice!  she's got these adorable boys and seems really sweet!
5. fly with me.  i've just started reading her blog, but it's so uplifting!  plus, she likes addison road and so do i, so we were meant to like each other!
6. shannon at flowerpatchfarmgirl.  she's the funnies gal ever, i wish i was that funny.  some people have all the luck!!
7. lissa at keepitsimplekeepitfresh, formerly humblepie.  lissa's clean house and good food really inspire me.  i need a dose of what she's got!
8. crystal at littlebitfunky.  she has the most adorable etsy shop and she blogs straight from the heart!!

if you don't read these blogs, go and check 'em out!  they are irresistibly sweet ...  ;-)

~tiff