Losers

Our First Christmas Tree

Our very first Christmas tree!! We drove all around Salem two Saturday's ago in search of this thing! Then spent the weekend stringing popcorn and hanging ornaments. We went simple (mainly because it's either what we had or what was given to us!) and we love it!! I find my self staring at the tree instead of the TV most of the time.


This is one of the projects that I had listed a few post ago that I really wanted to make. When I was home with my family over Thanksgiving break my sister and I made them. We thought it would be easiest to skip the hot gluing them part and after most of the balls fell off I went back and hot glued them all. I ruined the bow that my sister made me so had to buy one from walmart. Next year I am going to have her make me another one because I think this one looks kind of cheesy!


Just a few other decorations we have around the house. This frame is one of my favorite things. I got the paper from Craft Warehouse but had everything else here at the house. It's the inspiration for our new Christmas "theme". Dark wood, maroon and ivory for a "traditional" Christmas feel. It will be a while before we really get into that but I am looking forward to Target the day after Christmas for some good deals!!

Coming later this week will be all of the things I made over the weekend!

I Love My Ducks!

Best story ever....
Thanksgiving weekend we were at my parents house. James and Makenna are in bed trying to fall asleep. Everyone else is in the living room. Mom calls us over to the hallway and from the dark of James's room he is singing himself to sleep. (In a deep voice, for James) "I love my ducks! It's going down!" (Then in a soft voice) "We smellin' roses." Over and over again! It was adorable! Most of the time he is performing for anyone who will watch him but the fact that he was alone in his room was super cute.
Love IT!




If you haven't seen the video here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hrjpe1VCNg

Baby Wipe Cases

One down, many more to go! Over the weekend I was able to steal my moms hot glue gun and finish this first craft! I fell in love with this fabric when I was searching for a boy fabric but still had to get it. I decided to make one of these for my mom as a first practice. I think it turned out pretty cute! They are not the most practical but defiantly add a little spunk to your diaper bag!



This one was made for my cousin Sara who just had her first baby right before Thanksgiving! We got to see him on Sunday and he is adorable!!!



I also made this blanket for her that took me months to finish but I just loved the colors! She had registered for these sheets and I thought they matched it perfectly!



I finished another project with my sister over the weekend but need some finishing touches before showing it off. I also brought home my moms sewing machine so lots more projects to come this weekend!

Flannel Sheets

It must be winter time, we put on the flannel sheets! They are not the most beautiful thing in the world but they are a lot warmer to get into!



Sorry I haven't posted much I just finished two long, long days of parent-teacher conferences. But it's worth it because I get today off! We will spend tomorrow at Andy's parents house and then drive down for a fun filled second Thanksgiving with my family. My sister and I have a few crafts planned and I can't wait to share them with you all. I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving!!

To-Do List

I've been meaning to put together a list of all the crafts I want to do for a while now. Both for me to get organized and to show all of you what I'm up to! This weekend I stumbled upon a new site:



It's an online blogging competition for crafters. my favorite thing was going through all of their blogs and finding some great ideas. This is no where near a complete list but it's all I could find right now!

This is a fun way to spice up your travel pack of baby wipes. I just got the fabric to make one for my cousin who is expecting her first baby any week now! From: http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/


I can't wait to decorate for Christmas this year!! This is a super easy wreath. I want to use green, red and silver balls probably from the dollar store! From: http://littlenannygoat.blogspot.com/


This is the first project that requires a sewing machine, I'm planning on stealing my moms from Thanksgiving till Christmas :) We need some cute throw pillows for our bed and I thought the flower ones would be great in white and brown. This is the only project that doesn't come with a how to tutorial so it might take a bit longer! From: http://www.pbteen.com/products/fun-felted-pillow-cover/?pkey=x%7C4%7C1%7C%7C6%7Cfelted%20pillow%20cover%7C%7C0&cm_src=SCH

I'm sad that we don't have kids yet to appreciate something as awesome as this but I am planning on making one for my parents! I hope to have it done by James's birthday so he can put it on the bar stool and everyone will know it's his special day! What I love about this is that you can make one and use it for everyone in your family for many years! From: http://littlenannygoat.blogspot.com/

I'm slightly obsessed with aprons right now because of how much of a mess I make when I am baking. This is a little girl one that I thought would be fun dress up for Makenna but could also be easily added to for an adult. From: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/08/05/childs-apron-tutorial/

If I'm not up to making that apron I might just go with some of these! They are made out of dishtowels so there is a lot less sewing involved and it's already the perfect size and material. From: http://lubirdbaby.blogspot.com/2009/06/tea-towel-apron-tutorial.html

I'm not obsessed with starbucks coffee but once I find someone who is I will be making one of these for them! I can't remember where I found it though.

My feet are always cold in the winter so I thought these would be simple and useful! From: http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2009/02/tutorialrice-bag-feet-warmer.html

An idea for Makenna and any other little girls I know for Christmas. It is sooo easy that I think it's a hard project to pass up! From: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/05/21/a-little-girls-purse-a-project-for-big-and-little-girls-to-make-together/

I am VERY far from being able to make something like this but I just couldn't help from saving the tutorial and putting it on this list. I would love to be able to make great quilts like this someday! From: http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/04/baby-girl-quilt.html

I've got a lot to do between now and Christmas!!!

Quick Projects

I have no idea where I found this but I've had it saved on my computer for a while now and have wanted to re-create it somehow. I wanted to make it a little more personal by using names instead of just "home".

My first attempt was this one which I made using things that were already at our house. I wish the letters were a little bigger like the one above but overall I liked how it turned out.

This is where it sits in our bedroom.

My next attempt was for my sister and Jesse's anniversary present (more than a month late!). I really like how this one turned out! I used brown to match their new living room furniture and a much nicer frame than I used for ours. Still the frame was only a couple of dollars and the stickers were just a few dollars as well. I like this one more than the one I made for us!

They are such an easy project for how easy and quick they are to make and I really think they add a nice personal touch to the home decor! I am planning on making these for the next few couples that we know who get married!

p.s. I found a new set of blog templates that I love so much I'm having a hard time choosing! Things might be changing around here often!

Blog and Decor for Fall

It's getting cold and we turned on the heater for the first time last night so I thought it was time to update the blog to match the weather. I had a fabulous birthday weekend and got some great giftcards from Andy's family. One of them was to Michaels and I was excited to find all of their fall decor half price! I updated a few things in the house and wanted to show them off. I took the pictures at night so they turned out kinda weird but trust me they look beautiful!

Updated this picture and the flowers in this vase. The pinecones in this smell amazing! I was sad that I needed them to fill this vase, even though I think they look great in there. I am on my way to get more tomorrow so that the house will smell great too!



I just updated the paper on these squares around our mirror. they were bright summer colors and now they are deep fall colors. This looks even more amazing than this picture could ever show.

I love using random kitchen objects for table centerpieces. This is my latest favorite "vase" to use with a candle in the middle.

I Need YOUR help!

At the beginning of the summer I found these great frames on a GREAT sale! I knew I wanted some silver frames about this size to go over our bed. I am not going to use the collage mats that are inside them, once I find the right pictures I will get plain white mats to use.

The problem that I need your help with is that I can't find anything great to fill them with!!! I want something simple and blue. Preferably multiple shades of blue to match our headboard and duvet cover. I was thinking of some great simple flowers maybe against a blue sky but can't find them. I also would love three similar pictures but different.

ANY IDEAS????

Very Blessed

"Most of Oregon's 2,400 new teachers unable to find jobs this fall"

http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2009/10/most_of_oregons_2400_new_teach.html

An article from the Oregonian that I found interesting and humbling. I feel very blessed to have a job and love the kids I work with!

Honda to Morano

Gone with the old and in with the new! Even though my Honda was very good to me for many years, I have been itching to get rid of it for the last year or so. Andy and I made a deal that as soon as I got a job or started making money (subbing) that it would be ok for us to start looking. Well you better believe it that ever since the day I got the phone call I have been ready to go looking!! This is my old Honda in all it's glory. I had only had it for a month or so in this picture and was starting my first day of my senior year of high school.


Now 6 years later..... it is sold to Andy's brother and this is my new sunshine! We looked at almost every mid-size SUV on the market right now. It came down to either this or a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Even though I have loved Jeep Grand Cherokee's for a very long time I just couldn't get over the new look of them. They are super boxy now and I really loved how round and smooth the Morano's are. After test driving many different Morano's we finally find this one and I couldn't be more happy! Which is a good thing because this one needs to last me another 6 years!

First Day of School!!

One down and lot more to go! I had a hard time sleeping last night and was running around like crazy before the kids came. The but was 15 minutes late so that gave me even more time to be nervous before they showed up! I am very blessed to have two other full time staff members in my classroom and one part time Willamette Univ. student who will be in there 2 days a week. My IA is my life saver, she has been in this classroom for the past four years and translates everything I say into Spanish for the 10 students I have who do not speak English. We also have a parent assistant who actually isn't a parent who rides the bus with the kids and really helps out during the day.
We started out with only 3 kids crying and they were all fine before breakfast was even over. We did very little organized stuff today because of how new everything is. Explored the classroom, had center time, read an exciting story, and played outside. I am very hopeful that this is going to be a great year!! I wish I could share pictures because they are ADORABLE!

Still here and back with good news!

I think almost everyone knows this by now but I am officially a hired teacher!!! It all happened so fast that I don't even know what to think yet. I got a call last Wednesday saying they had a teacher who left and were going to need to fill the position with a sub until they could re-do the interview process. Then I got a call Thursday saying that the initial interviews they had conducted were enough and that they would be offering me the position. I had to wait till Friday before I got the "official" job offer.

I am now the new Pre-K teacher at Highland Elementary through Headstart!!! Headstart is an AWESOME program! On my very first day all of the teachers and staff were incredibly welcoming and have continued to check up on me and make sure that I am not feeling to overwhelmed. This week I had four full days of training. Because Headstart is a government program and this program is through the Salem-Keizer school district there is SOOO much paper work and procedures to learn. Everyone has been really helpful and I am starting to understand it all.

I am very excited to spend next week going on home visits and meeting each of my students and their families. The sad news is that with all of the work and reading I have been doing I no longer have time to finish refinishing my desk and many of my other projects are going to be on hold for a while.

I can't wait to keep everyone updated on my new adventure! I will post pictures of my classroom as soon as I take them. It is beautiful!! I promise to try and post as often as I can but the next 2 or 3 weeks getting into the swing of things might be slow.

Everybody Dies Famous in a Small Town

We are published! This picture is from the Keizer Times (sorry the picture isn't very good I took it with my phone). The text is from the Mail Tribunes website, my mom picked up a copy for me but this might be easier to read than the picture and they say almost the same exact thing. Just wanted to share!

Andrew and Tara Lynch
August 23, 2009

Tara Lorraine Wallace and Andrew Michael Lynch were married June 13, at The Riverhouse in Shady Cove.

The bride is the daughter of Thomas and Tammy Wallace of Central Point. A 2004 graduate of Crater High School in Central Point, she received a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 2008 from the University of Oregon in Eugene. She received a master's degree in teaching in 2009 from Pacific University Graduate School. She works in elementary education.

The groom is the son of Kevin and Anita Lynch of Keizer. A 2004 graduate of McNary High School, he received a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2008 from the University of Oregon. He is a territory representative with Grainger Industrial Supply.

Maid of honor was the bride's sister, TeriAnn Stafford of Reno, Nev. Bridesmaids were Ashley Sheridan of Hillsboro, Kaitlin Ellson of Portland, and Kindall Grey and Jessica Hayes, both of Medford.

Best men were the groom's brothers, Kyle and Robert Lynch, both of Keizer. Groomsmen were Duane Doyle of Pleasanton, Calif., and Jeff Porter of Los Angeles.
Flower girl was the bride's sister, Maxenna Wallace of Central Point. Ring bearer was the bride's brother, James Wallace of Central Point.

Following the ceremony, the parents of the newlyweds hosted a reception at The Riverhouse.
After a wedding trip to Kihei, Maui, the newlyweds are living in Salem.

Latest Projects

When my mom came up a few weeks ago she brought me these black shelves from my room at home that I had completely forgotten about. Everything in my room used to be black but since I have a whole house to decorate now only one room is black. The guest bedroom has my old black bed but I really wanted these shelves to go into our bedroom. A year ago I would have given these shelves to goodwill and went to Target to buy white ones to match our room. Now that I am obsessed home decor shows and blogs I know that these could easily be spray painted white. This is how they started:

They are not perfect but I think they turned out pretty well for my first spray painting project:

I made the "Lynch" frame with things that I had around the house and a little bit of extra spray paint.

This is my next project. This desk is in our spare bedroom where the rest of the furniture is black. Before I can paint it black I have to sand the entire thing which may take me all week! I will make sure to share the finished product!!

Cinnamon Rolls

Hmmmm.... Good!


Last week I went up to Kaitlin's to make Cinnamon rolls with her and they turned out like CRAP! The dough didn't raise and so when they were in the oven the outer edge burnt and the middle didn't cook at all. I have a really hard time leaving things wrong so I promised Kaitlin I would make her a good batch over the weekend and here they are!


These ones turned out perfect and delicious!!

The dough doubled this time!

This is delicious cinnamon and brown sugar being rolled together.

A finished product, imagine this with some cream cheese frosting and drool!

3-layer mint chocolate chip brownies

I may not be exploring new dinner options this summer but I sure have spent a lot of time baking! Today I made delicious three layer mint chocolate chip brownies all from scratch!

Layer #1: Brownie

Layer #2: Mint frosting with chocolate chips

Layer #3: Thin layer of chocolate (Andy ate into them before I could take a picture!)

All frozen together and delicious!!

Yesterday :(

Let me take you through my day yesterday:

Before I'm ready to wake up in the morning I hear Andy walk out into the living room and say "Oh Sh**". Thinking that he is just not happy about being awake for work, I go back to sleep. About 20 minutes later Andy comes back into the room and wakes me saying "we have a problem." So I get up and walk into the living room to see our kitchen covered in water! We had started the dishwasher before we went to bed and at some point in the night it overflowed. The bad part is that it has leaked all into the carpet.

So I spent the morning changing the towels in front of the dishwasher ever 20 minutes to keep it from getting more into the carpet while we were waiting for the repair man to come. The repair man finally comes and finds NOTHING wrong with it! He said the float probably just got stuck which now has me worried that it could happen again at any point.

After he left I spent the rest of the day waiting for the carpet cleaning guy to come and soak up all the water. The worst part of the whole day is that he left us with this ugly blue fan to dry everything out. It is loud and is causing our entire carpet to shake and we have to leave it on until tomorrow afternoon! It's a good thing I had planned on getting out of the house today or else I would go crazy!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh MY!

Sorry I didn't get around to posting towards the end of last week! I know that I had promised a blog on organization and it's still on the way. My mom and the kids came down for the weekend and I spent Thursday and Friday getting the house cleaned and ready for the kids to be here. My main challenge was getting the guest bedroom to a point where you could see the bed!


The main reason they came up was to see the zoo. Makenna LOVES anything that has to do with animals so this was a big deal for her. We met up with Ashley and Maddy who are zoo pros. Maddy and Makenna bonded over the fish and then they were all BFF's for the rest of the zoo! Here are some pictures from our adventure!