I couldn't resist

making this warm surgery goodness...

cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread

what a great way to start the weekend. I hope you are having a delightful weekend too.

Here is the recipe.

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all sorts of forts

 (image credit Country Living website)

As I'm sure you know, we LOVE forts.  All sorts of forts.  One of my son's preschool teachers found this fort in Country Living Magazine.  It was made with a few roller shades and a sharpie. Genius.


Here are a few more fun indoor forts (via Apartment Therapy):

Sheet fort with twinkle lights: We Heart It  
MOD teepee: Varpunen  
A fort under the stars: We Heart It 
Dreamy hideaway : My Shabby Streamside Studio

Have a great Weekend!

good for the soul

Time spent with friends, is time well spent.     

 Our weekend was filled with spontaneous adventures, good food & drink, funny stories, and lots and lots of laughter. So much laughter in fact, that my stomach muscles are still trying to recover.

It is times like these when I am reminded of what is truly important in life.

Friendship is good for the soul.

Fort Kit WINNER!

Wow! What an overwhelming response, 685 entries & sweet comments - Yowza! You made my day week, thank you!

Unfortunately, there can be only one winner, but if you want to make your own fort-kit I have a mini how-to HERE.



Here are the results via random.org:

The winner is....

#664 - Anonymous said... This is so awesome! Hope to win!

664

(you should receive an email from me shortly)

 Have a great weekend!

 

Celebrate the Boy - TUTORIAL and GIVEAWAY! (closed)

First off, I would like to welcome all of you who are visiting from Celebrate the Boy over at MADE! And for those of you who are regular visitors, I am guest posting today at MADE, and I highly recommend that you hop over and check out all the amazing boy inspired projects.  

Boys, boys, boys. The silly things they say and do keep me laughing all the time. In fact, as I was working on this post my three year-old came blasting by, one arm outstretched, clutching his toothbrush, shouting (in a deep manly voice) "Oh, Mr. Plaque I am coming to get you!"  Dental Superheros make my day!

My favorite part of making this tutorial, by far, was the photo shoot.  Not just because the pictures crack me up, but that my boys actually agreed to do it,  AND enjoyed it!  Normally (98.7% of the time) they want nothing to do with "crazy mom and her camera," but for some reason, this time was different.  They totally hammed it up, AND they happily agreed to wear the short-shorts I made. Wow! Shocking. I am still in a state of disbelief - but also still smiling just thinking of their silly poses in front of the camera.  Oh, how I love those two!

I am so excited to share this project with you because it is as fun as my two silly boys.

The design of the RETRO DUFFEL is based on the original Duffel Bag - the manliest of all the bags in the luggage family. The simple, functional design, and durable fabric make this an ideal boy bag.

This is a miniature version of the typical duffel bag, perfect for an overnight stay at Grandma's, hauling gear to the big game, or for storing my all-time favorite gift - the FORT KIT!

So, today I am giving away a RETRO DUFFEL Fort-Kit!

The RETRO DUFFEL Fort Kit includes: 

• RETRO DUFFEL bag
• two twin sheets with ties attached
• suction cups
• clips
• clothespins
• flashlight 
• rope
• HOURS of FUN!

 Giveaway Rules: 

- Leave a comment on this post, that's it! 

- Leave your EMAIL ADDRESS in your comment. 

- Only One entry per person (leave only one comment please). 

- Open to US and Canadian readers only.  

- One winner will be picked via random.org.

Giveaway Ends: FRIDAY, March 4th at Midnight (pacific time). The winner will be announced Saturday, March 5th.

Find the RETRO DUFFEL bag TUTORIAL HERE:

 

Thank you for visiting!

a hat for a cool cat

I made a hat for a cool cat. 

Oh, it will be a fantastic, Seuss-tacular celebration!

  

Happy 107th Birthday!! 

thank you

To all the Saltwater-Kids facebook fans - THANK YOU!

 ...your support makes me as happy as a 3 year-old in a mud puddle! 

Have a great weekend!

a reason to celebrate

Today is the first day in a month-long Celebration of BOYS! Head over to MADE and join the fun. I will be hopping over there later this month to share a boy inspired tutorial.

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laundry

whoever said doing laundry wasn't fun?

 

Have a great weekend!

candy-free valentine's day gifts

This year, our candy-free Valentine's Day gifts were inspired by my boys. It seems that they are constantly suffering from bumps, bruises, owies, growing pains, you name it.  A bag of frozen pees, or a warm cloth is usually all they need to soothe the pain, and they are back playing in no time at all. 

So why not make a reusable hot/cold pack that was ready for just such occasions?!

I have seen many versions of the rice hot/cold packs around the web (this is a cute one) and thought they would be perfect for my two little bruisers - and all of their school friends!

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I purchased a large bag of long-grain rice, a bag of flax seed, and combined the two.  I also added mint essential oil, which my boys love.

Adding a loop on the side keeps your fingers from touching the hot pack when it comes out of the microwave.

I printed the tags on white paper, cut them out, and then folded and stapled them to the bags.

super easy, super inexpensive, and super useful!

Here are some of my favorite candy-free gifts from around the web:

this one is perfect for brushing away all the Valentine's Day sweets - from FamilyFun

simple & sweet pencil toppers - from alphamom

darling barrettes - from the Purl Bee

heart magnets - from red bird crafts

also available in her Etsy shop

love these friendship bracelets - from Design Mom

Do you have a favorite candy-free gift?