The Traveling Sills: Seattle

How many times can one person resurrect a blog? Whatever that number is, I'm obviously going for the record. I couldn't figure out a way to share all of the awesome experiences we had during our recent travels on the Pacific coast and then I said to myself, "self, what about that hot mess of an attempt at blogging you've made like 5 times? Um, perfect". So here we are. I'm not going to promise I'll keep this up, because let's be honest, my other 5 pathetic attempts haven't proved to be successful, but I am going to try and share our most recent adventure in its entirety. I definitely didn't take near to as many pictures as I had thought, but I managed to snap a few for the memory books. Here is quick recap of our first of many stops on our 18 day Americana road trip down through the Pacific side of the US. 

Our little gets a tent

Wow, holy hiatus. I meant to take a few weeks off during the craziness of the holidays, and just like that it’s nearly March. So obviously I have a lot of blog posts to catch up on. In true procrastinators fashion, I’ll leave those until another day. For now, on to one of my most favoritest (yes, I did just make up a word, it IS that great) projects that we (hubs and I) have ever completed… SOS’s new reading tent. It started off, like most projects now a days do… with the good old Pinterest search…. I knew I wanted to make a fun/cute tent for SOS to read (well actually Mommy and Daddy to read to her) in, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Luckily, I stumbled upon Sunday Baker. Not only does this family have a really compelling story (when you get the chance, read how their blog came to be ), they also have the framework for the exact tent I had in mind. I knew all I needed was some good bones and I could craft the heck out of it. I am really wishing we had taken the time to take step by step photos, but to be honest I was so excited that the hubs agreed to do this that I didn’t stop to think past that moment. For the most part you can refer to her blog on how to make the basic frame, we did, however, add a small additional brace across the front top of the A-frame to increase stability and switched out the back panel from canvas to a fun print fabric.  This is all you need to make this dreamy (well to me at least) tent happen:

For the additional stability piece:

 Take one of the scrap pieces (you will have some left over) and measure it to fit across the opening of the A, cut it to fit. Then drill holes through both pieces of wood on either side and bolt in with the 8mm hex bolts.  After that you are pretty much good to go. I purchased the 2 yards of fabric from joAnne’s from a selection of sale flannel fabric that they had and we stapled it to the back frame then trimmed the fabric to match the outline. I hung 2 lanterns that we had left over from our wedding off of the cross pole at the top, tied on with raffia. The blanket is the one that came with her crib set that we have never used but was almost the perfect fit for the floor space. I made a bunch of pillows (tutorial to come) and stuffed them in the back, added some books, a few stuffed animals and a happy little book worm and we were good to go.

This really is one of my favorite projects to date. I might even love it more than SOS does. ;) I definitely want to see photos of any of my friends that decide to make a tent for their littles, so tag/send them to me! 

lanterns/ IKEA rotera (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30122986/)
fabric panel, pink trim/ joAnne’s
wood, bolts, canvas/ home depot

ONE year of instaLOVE

It was suggested by a great friend to do a post on a year in review, Instagram style. So here goes, one year of SOS's life broken down into 24 delectable little morsels. I wanted to only do 12, but since she is so freaking adorable it just was not possible. Where would we be without our camera phones?

Follow us on Instagram @tmac13

 

 

 

Resolution time

I am no good at making New Year's Resolutions I can stick to. Like most people, I start off with the best of intentions, but life just ehhh, kind of happens. I'd say 2012 was the closest to keeping a resolution I have ever gotten to. I wanted to learn to say no. To stop overextending myself, to spend more time doing the things I want to do, and spend more time with my family -- playing with my baby, talking to my hubby, being a little family of 3. So here we are again, a new year upon us... and my resolution(s) is pretty much the same, just slightly modified and with a few additions. Maybe actually writing them down here will help me reach them throughout 2013, so here goes:

1. Keep up learning to say no. I don't have to be everything to everyone, and bare the weight of the world on my shoulders. It's ok to not be part of things, to not host everything, to not do more for others than they deserve. This resolution is an ongoing work in progress

2. Craft more. I get so much joy from crafting, sewing, and being creative. This year I am going to try to complete at least 2 new projects per month.

3. Try new recipes. Since I also love to cook and recently even bake, I am vowing to try 52 new recipes during the year. Thank goodness for a very adventurous eating hubs. 

4. Date nights. Since life with a one year old is chaotic (especially with 2 working parents) we need to make more time in the coming year for nights out -- just the two of us -- and grown up date nights with our friends.

5. Read more. Run more. Blog more. This past year I pathetically barely made it through a book per month. Pushing my literary mind to read more throughout this coming year is high on my list. I've made several attempts in the past to "become a runner", but no year came so close as this past one. I ran my very first 10k and didn't die, so that is a success all in itself. I'm going to set my goal at a small 10 miles per week -- definitely an attainable goal. And lastly, blog more. Not just for me, my mom, and that lonely man in Germany who find my blog entertaining. But for SOS and the memories we'll have in the years to come. Speaking of which, I am behind on so many posts from the holidays -- looks like i've got some work to do on this one already! 

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So here's to a prosperous, happy, and healthy 2013 filled with resolutions I can stick to!

To my baby, on your birthday

I am sure there are so many things that you can't possibly imagine ever forgetting but as time goes on those memories are replaced with new ones. In an effort to combat our inherent memory loss here are a few special things from your first year that I always want to remember about you, my baby!

The making of a christmas card

Normally I would do our weekend in photos wrap up, but this weekend was so busy filled with birthday parties, errands and prepping for SOS's 1st birthday party that I kind of forgot to take pictures of everything. So instead I thought I would humor you all with the making of our 2012 Christmas card, in photos. So here is a completely unedited version of how you make a Christmas card, Sill style. Enjoy!

To my friends

I've recently come to realize it's not about quantity when it comes to friends/friendships -- it's definitely about quality. This year has been eye opening to the truly amazing people that are in my and more importantly SOSs life. When we surround ourselves with positive and uplifting people we are better for it. True friendships are not commodities, they are luxuries and should be appreciated as such. We are very fortunate to have some truly amazing friendships. These people have become part of our family and I'm not sure I've ever taken the time to thank them. So this post is to my friends, old and new - you know who you are - thank you!