{Happy Valentines}

Hope your having a sweet day spent with your Valentine (s)!
I sure am!!

xoxo
Dejah

{paper...scissor....HEART!!}

I told you I'd share the paper heart garland the kids and I made. I got the idea from THIS post....and used the same materials I did in my paper bunting post .




We taped the hearts to string and VIOLA!




My friend Brandee over at BLISS STUDIO would have sewed her hearts together like it was no biggie....well.....cause she's a rockstar like that. But after many years of trying to sew....I am still fiddling with the darn bobbin on my machine!!




I did tie on a bead to the end of my string to give it some weight.



Your hearts don't have to be perfect....Some of my favorites were the wonky shaped ones the kids cut out!



perfectly - imperfect!!!!


XOXO

Dejah

{true story}

Sparkly is getting her bag backed to sleep over at a friends house....she comes in the living room and says to her dad & I:
"Now you can have a drama free night"
(cause her other nickname is drama queen)
only....
i heard something different....
so...
I glance at Mr. Quinn,
shrug....
smile....
then say...
"I like p'jama free night!"
she gives me a grossed out face and says..
'ewwwwwee!!! A DRAMA FREE NIGHT!!! NOT P'JAMA FREE NIGHT! GROSS!!!!!"

Now I just need to find somewhere for my lil guy to spend the night....any takers??

{true story}

{mmmmmmm!}

funny story:

I bought a couple of bags of these Valentines colored M&M's to make THIS VALENTINES CONFETTI MIX....I told the kiddos they better not get into it.....GUESS WHO GOT INTO it after the kids went to bed that same day???
(yes...me)
And guess who got to run to the store at the last minute today so I could make the goodies for the class party?
(yes... me)
Guess who learned their lesson???
(yes...me)

xoxo
Dejah

{pretty paper bunting}

After seeing so many pretty bunting projects online lately I decided I needed some bunting in my life.

Oh!
....and a fun project to do with my sick-of-being-snowed-in-bored- silly-kiddos!




so I found this little jem of a project here!

How creative (and green) that she used only what she had already on hand! I have mountains of magazines & catalogs....so we were all set!!

Supplies needed:
-magazines, catalogs...or even newspaper
-string, ribbon or twine
-double sided tape
-sissors
-two really cute kids

FIRST YOU:



(some could not be parted with!)



THEN YOU:

-Find pretty pages with lots of colors and textures.
-Follow the tutorial below to cut out triangles. Mine (finished) were 6 inches in length so I stared with 6 and 1/2 inch triangles to allow for the fold but you can do any size you like.
-HAVE FUN!!! Remember...they don't have to be perfect! My kids help cut out triangles and even using the template they weren't perfect but I LOVED the sweet moments spent cuting out those triangles...and that's what matters!!












(for the record....that is not my middle finger!)



AND LOOK HOW PRETTY!!!!





....this pretty lady showcasing her rings was my favorite!!! (from an anthropologie catalog LOVE that store!!)



It makes me smile everytime I pass by and see it! The kids loved that they helped brighten up the house a little too!

We also made some paper heart strings....I'll post those delightful things tomorrow!

xoxo
Dejah

{who what wear wednesday}

It's WHO WHAT WEAR WEDNESDAY!!!

So DISCLAIMER:
They aren't all gonna be dressy & glam...and I got a little inspired to tell you why in my post today...

Today we are snowed in. The kids schools are closed so I scrubbed out all day in my sweats! It felt so good to not have to get all dressed up. I showered...threw my wet hair in a messy bun and put on the most comfy clothes I could find.

My sweet baby gal Sparkly remembered what day it was and was so excited ...and said
"Mommy...Isn't it wardrobe wednesday!?!"
"yup"... I said halfway...
she replied with a "go get your camera and let me take your picture!"
So. I. did. (mind you--- I am in granny, velour, sweats and I only have on enough make-up so that the mr. doesn't ask me if I'm not feeling well).

While I have a few cute "wardrobe wed's" on reserve for days JUST.LIKE.THIS....she was so excited and I didn't want to explain to her that I didn't think I looked so pretty today.

I've been thinking alot about this lately...(the impact I have on her ever growing and developing self esteem). Why is it that we women are so dang hard on ourselves? I know I would NEVER, EVER say some of the the ugly, hurtful things that I secretly tell myself in the mirror to someone I love. So if I love myself...why do I say them to me?

A huge part of our own concept of womens beauty springs from what the media tells us (or shows us rather) is beautiful. We see adds of flawless, rail-thin, supermodels. They sell us everything from cosmetics to cars. But the truth is...these women themselves are not flawless...and often not as thin as they are made to look in print ads etc. Excessive airbrushing and photoshopping is what we have to compete with. As a photographer myself I know my way around photoshop. I used to joke around with my friends...I made no secrets that I could make myself a couple pounds lighter.

A couple of years ago I was editing my family photo for our Christmas card....my son came up (5 years old then) and I was slimming one of my legs down a bit. He thought that was super cool and wanted to know if I could make his head WAYYYYY bigger!!! Little boys are so funny. Later that night I laid in my bed and the HORRID thought occured to me "what if that had been my girl?" "What would that have done to her own self image?" I vowed right then to never edit myself that way again. I do still touch up blemishes etc....but I leave my body alone.


I LOVE Kate Winslett who dares to be herself...even speaking out ....being outraged even at being excessivly retouched.

She spoke about this GQ cover stating "I don't look like that and more importantly I don't desire to look like that! I actually have a polaroid that the photographer gave me on the day of the shoot... I can tell you that they've reduced my legs by about a third."

I also really love THIS little snippett from her Oprah interview where she says

"Nobody is perfect. I just don't believe in perfection. But I do believe in saying "This is who I am, look at me not being perfect. I'm proud of that!"

Okay....so here I am...look at ME not being perfect on Wardrobe Wednesday!
-velour pants??? i've had them for ages
-white oversized hoodie- target sale rack $4.00!!
-v-neck- old navy...I stock up on them every spring in every color! (when they are on sale of course!)
-SPLURGE- uggs! (a gift from mr. Quinn...I'm starting to see a pattern here!)













"I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and my soul knows very well."
Psalm 139:14


Also, If you have some extra time Starving Artist Ink has a very moving blog post about loving your imperfections.

{a sweeter season}

While I'm sorta looking foward to more snowfall this evening so I can cuddle and cozy my little babes (and big one).....with no interuptions like school (eeww!), I am also longing for spring!!
This morning a sweet temptation arrived in my inbox:

IT'S RUCHE'S SPRING 2011 LOOKBOOK!!!

I am so in love with this little e-tailer!!

The clothing...well I want it all....the styling is just amazing and the images are so ethereal!

check out the look book NOW

(all images from ruche website here)

xoxo

Dejah

{waiting to exhale}

No photos....tonight.

I can't sleep. There are too many things rolling through my head. The mind is a curious thing. I have trouble shutting mine down when it comes to "down" time. I've tried green tea...wine...excessive exercise...Tylenol PM...(not all in the same night, mind you)....I've tried reading, praying, journal-ing..... yet my mind sputters on too no avail. It mimics me...mocks me...reminds me...urges me...cheers me on...and sometimes it even tricks me.

This particular night I'm feeling:
antsy.
inspired.
hyper.
restless.
guilty.
foggy.
needy.

how one earth can I feel all these things in a single deep breathe in.....

but then as I exhale....

I feel:
relaxed.
focused.
energized.
refreshed.
justified.
clarified.
empowered.

But as I inhale again the process repeats itself with a whole new slew of verbs and adjectives.

I envy my husband, how he falls into slumber the exact second his handsome head hits the feather pillow without a worry to be found there. I long to join my little ones in the land of nod...blissfully unaware of my battlefield-- nighttime ritual.

There is no drama needed to bring about my unrest...it just is what it is. My list of to-do's (have to's...want-to's...even don't want-to's).

My evening's examination of what the day brought...or what I brought to the day. Knowing that there is no promise of tomorrow. Hoping that I lived the present one to the fullest. Reminding myself there is still so much more I want to do.

And so I keep on....waiting to exhale.

xoxo
Dejah

{cabin fever}

So we had a little snow......

which turned into....... ALOT OF SNOW!

AND school was let out for days...AND DAYS!

Me and my little Quinn crew cozied up and hung out for several long winter days. We spent lots of time playing, cuddling, loving on one another...and I tackled tons of stuff on my mile long"to-do" list....it feels really nice to have some things off that list!!

By day four we were all getting a little stir crazy (and low on supplies) so we ventured out to find a little....

I was soooo worried we might get stuck. It was bad out!!! But Mr. Quinn was a great driver!



...and so we didn't get stuck. And to our surprise there was a fast food joint open!! Hardly no one was there so I sent the kids over a few tables so I could pretend I was on a mini-vacation! Some friends texted us they were out re-stocking supplies too so we had them join us for burgers. It felt really nice to re-join civilization for an hour or two.

I stopped by Lowes and got some paint to freshin' up the walls in the house! Then we headed back to the "Quinn cabin". I really enjoyed our days snowed in and I'm so gonna miss my little crew when schedules resume in the morning! I hear we are due for some more snow....(and secretly wish that we get snowed in again!).

(Feel free to right-click-save the pic & quote for your background desktop...or for re-posting...just remember to link back to rambling lane!)

{who what wear wednesday}

Hey there! Is it Wednesday already!? IS IT FEBRUARY ALREADY??

IT IS!!!!

Life is zooming by very briskly already, just like last year! And so far, it's been a cold CHILLY couple of days! (speaking of chilly...did you download my sexy chili recipe here?--it's so yummy!)

We have been experiencing a BLIZZARD here in central Oklahoma (as is the rest of the country). School has been cancelled for a few days and it's been loads of fun!!

However, If you know me...I don't do well with blizzards. I don't do cold very well for that matter. I grew up in deep East Texas. We barely broke out our "wind-breakers" during winter. I remember once it snowed (like and inch) and school was canceled and my mom made snow ice cream....and I thought she was the COOLEST person in the world! I tend to get a little blue this time of year. Anyone else have that problem? I tend to want to sleep in ....take LOOOONG hot showers....and it seems to take me double the time to get my daily schedule done. Does anyone else have this problem? I'd love to hear your comments on how you deal with the long winter months.

Now on to {Wardrobe Wednesday}






Shirt: Walmart -LEI brand $10 (if you know me ...then you know that I don't usually shop at Walmart. (I get shopping ADD and lose hours-- UPON COUNTLESs--hours in that store...so I just stay away). BUT.....I had promised Sparkly (my daughter) that I'd take her there to buy this scarve thingie that some of her friends got there for $5...she had her allowance all ready so on our way we went. While she browsed the scarves, I rummaged the sale rack close by. I found the shirt above which kind of reminded me of THIS ONE I'd recently seen at RUCHE. I PUFFY HEART RUCHE!!! My bestie Michelle gave me gift card to RUCHE for Christmas and I purchased the Desert Storm Jacket
(just a quick tip--things run kinda small there so be sure and check out the size guide).



Jeans: Salt Works Premium Jeans
umm.. yeah...while they are premium jeans and they fit this curvy girl just right. I find mine at Marshall's, Ross, & TJ Max. Can't tell you which store exactly...but it was one of those. I LOVE SALT WORKS JEANS and scour the jeans racks for them everytime I visit one of the stores listed above!!


My SPLURGE....SHOES!!!!

Steve Madden troopa boots (got mine at Dillard's-they were a Christmas gift from Mr. Quinn!--I LOVE my Steve Madden's!!)


jacket--faux leather BOMBER --Target--last season



but it's warm and COZY....lined with faux shearling..... keeps this gal warm.