Insta Friday

Wow!

What a wonderfully busy week!

It started out with my husband waking me up and saying,

"Let's go to the beach!"

If you live in the Northwest, you know that a day at the beach is like rolling the dice...

you just never know what you are going to get....especially in January.

But we got LUCKY!

A perfect day of family, sunshine, and good eats at the Pelican Pub

(a personal favorite).

The girls actually got along, the dogs ran and played, and everyone had a great time.

Later in the week...a little shopping...for me.

I know, I know, these shoes are not part of my normal mom attire,

but we have a wedding to addend this weekend, and this mama needs new shoes!

And then...a little more shopping...for clients!

I'ts really much more fun spending other peoples money-no guilt!

Stay tuned for some before and after pics of the Salon Mecca Project.

Since the stores aren't open at midnight,

I thought I better do some work at home while the littles sleep and the hubby works late.

On the list this week, feather light fixtures and baby quilt!

I am sooooo excited to share more pics of these lights...I am in loooove with them!

Now I just need to decide where to put one in my house.

To sum it up, it was a colorful week.

Lots of smiles, laughter, bead organizing, and 5 year olds getting a hold of my phone's camera (apparently). The toy was one of those things that grows in water that I got for the girls in the dollar section at Joanns...didn't know the pic was there until it popped up when I went to do this post...

hmmmm, I best keep an eye on my little photographer!

Hope you too had a colorful week!

Today I'm linking up with Jeannett at Life Rearranged

Cheers,

Lindsey

Old Friends, New Spaces

Years ago (I'm talking High School), a good friend of mine (whose mother was a hair dresser) and I decided it was a good idea to try and dye my hair. We went to the grocery store, picked out a dark shade of brown (or maybe it was black), and a reddish/purple color, then went home to color ruin my hair. What is funny is that she later went on to go to beauty school! Not only did she go to beauty school, she rocked it! 

She and her extremely sweet business partner have spent the last 10 years building trusting relationships with their clients, educating themselves in the hottest styles and techniques and making women feel beautiful.

After patiently waiting for a better salon location, they have found a new place and are preparing for their move. They have asked me to do some work for them, and I wanted to share a couple of photos I snapped on my phone.

The reception desk is faced with rustic barn board, and topped with slab of dark, sleek, walnut.

Just above the desk is a gorgeous crystal chandelier.

The salon's front door is nestled between two, large, street-view windows.

Guest seating will occupy one of the window niches, and the other will be used for advertising (this is where I come in).

Shades of grey, black and white give a very edgy, and classy feel. 

Beautiful crystal accents lend a hint of glamour. 

And these custom built shelves bring in a bit of an industrial element.

Do they look familiar?

They are much like the one I built for our home office.

For these, I opted to use new lumber 

(we didn't want the ridges in the barn board to keep their product from standing up nicely).

I used knotty pine (because I was able to get some for free) and finished it with a glossy black stain by Minwax.

These shelves are also a bit deeper. In order to get the depth needed, I used two 1x8's and strapped them together using strips of metal.

Stay tuned for more projects.

Insta-Friday

Whew!

Is it over? Can I look up?

You see, Christmas for the Frankus Family is a bit of a whirlwind tour every year.

We have A LOT of family to visit or host and just finished up with our last official Christmas gathering. 

While I love Christmas, and I love our family...it's hard!

Hard on me, hard on Nick and hard on the girls.

Sounds like every kids dreams right? Multiple parties, dinners, presents, and people...

Our girls do love every minute of it, but what they don't realize is that amidst all of the festivities their little bodies are drained from all if the over stimulation. 

See Raegen (on the right in the photo above), sleepy little girl...on the road...again.

Reese (on left in the photo above), got a new bike, and helmet for Christmas.

It is one of those balance bikes that doesn't have peddles. So she has been scooting all over the house.

Puppy Update

He is getting big...very big.

He loves the girls and likes to go everywhere we do.

Meet Baby-with-the-Flute (we'll call her bwtf).

During a family work day with my siblings, we came across this wooden figurine. 

We were all a bit delirious, as we were tired, overwhelmed, and grieving the loss of a family member.

While cleaning the estate, if anyone found anything they thought someone may want to have they would hold it up and ask if there were any takers.

At one point, bwtf was held up as a joke and the question asked, "Does anyone want this creepy little wooden doll with a flute?" (yes, I know, it's not actually a flute...probably more like a recorder, but that's what she's called)

We all laughed a much needed laugh and went on about our cleaning.

The best part is that it didn't end there. Bwtf continues to pop up everywhere! 

We secretively pass her off on each other, and it's become a fun little game between the four of us.

She went to IKEA with the girls and I one day, and I'm pretty sure she loved it!

Santa is not the only one checking things off of his list...

I have been switching some things up in our house that I've been wanting to do for a long time.

Blank hallway wall finally has frames and antlers...now I just need to get them all painted!

I'm thinking all white. High gloss white. Not 100% though.

Swapped out the pendant lights above the breakfast bar with something a little more interesting.

These are old rusty craw fish traps and I love the way they cast a subtle grid pattern on the ceiling. More photos of our 100+ year old house remodel can be found here.

I added some super cute vinyl wall decals to a wall in the nursery. They are perfect for the room and I am soooo pleased! I will post more pics of the room in a future Classy Coop post.

The pantry was in dire need of a cleaning so I pulled everything out. Got rid of a bunch of stuff and painted. I then started to stencil the walls...an idea found here.

Quickly realized that the project was going to take for-ev-er, and that I couldn't have my kitchen and dining room overtaken with pantry items until I finished. Soooo, I painted the stencil on one shelf, then put everything back in nice and neat. Now when I get time *chuckle*, I can take the contents off of one shelf, stencil it, then put it back without disrupting two other rooms.

I received a package from Serendipity, one of the stores that carries my Cowgirl Canteens this week.

It was in the most adorable envelope, and I just had to share. I think something like this would be perfect for mailing my flasks.

Today I'm linking up with Jeanette for insta-friday.

The Farrier's Daughter Gives Back~Toadally Tutus

Have you ever read the book Languages of Love?

Ok, well neither have I...but from what I hear, the author points out that there are five basics forms of love. Once you have figured out your style, and that of your spouses, you are supposed to have a better understanding of each other. Someone once gave me a quiz out of the book (I'm a sucker for quizzes! I don't really believe in them, but let's face it, they are fun. You remember taking the quizzes in the Teen Bob Magazines in Junior High...I miss those days). Any who, I didn't think the results were super accurate for me, but I've never really been all that successful at fitting into a box :-) 

Wanna take it yourself?

Check it out here.

I give love via gifts.

Not materialistic things. I like to find, or make meaningful gifts (the quiz didn't tell me this-I just know me).

Which makes perfectly good sense since I've become so enthusiastic about Toadally Tutus.

 I like to get love via quality time.

Which is also great, because my daughters and I have spent many hours working together on this Children's Charity.

We just wrapped up our first season of giving and I am so excited to share!

(That's my oldest in the pictures above...she is such a great helper! The youngest helped by providing entertainment-you can see for yourself in the videos below)

At the Tutu Making Clinics, we hand out tags to all of the participants, and invite them to write messages for the little girls receiving the donated tutus. The sweet, scribbled notes are enough to melt your heart.

We (my hubby, kids and I), loaded up 20 tutus today in a variety of sizes and colors and headed up to Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital.

We were greeted at the door with a very warm welcome, and rolled our loot inside.

The amount of fluff and vibrant hues were stopping men and women alike. 

So many thanks were given, and while we didn't get to actually see the little girls receive them, I know in my heart it will bring some smiles this Christmas!

It meant so much to me that the hospital worker we were in contact with took the time to tell my daughter thank you, and explain what a good thing she was doing. 

Ok, now for the entertainment...the future class clown will demonstrate an alternate activity with a tutu waistband (aka- undy wear).

And a little more silliness for your viewing pleasure...

Recipe Roundup~3 Cheese Breakfast Bake

For our family, the holiday season is one that is full of get-togethers and travel. With all of the attention on the holiday meals (which tend to be dinners), I like to have a good breakfast/brunch recipe on hand for overnight guests. It would also be great to prep ahead of time and take along for overnight stays away from home. What a better way to say thanks to your hostess than to take the guesswork out of breakfast the next morning!

I wanted to share my most favorite and most popular breakfast dish...

The 3 Cheese Breakfast Bake.

Below are 4x6 printable recipe cards for you.

Both recipes are the same, I just wanted to include a less colorful version for those "ink-conscience" readers out there :-) 

Please feel free to click on the images for printable versions.

Here is a photo of the finished product...isn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it ranks up there with the tastiest!

I like to prep this the night before and let it chill in the refrigerator over night. It also makes mornings less hectic when I have a house full.

I don't have a linky tool ready for this, but would love to know if you have any favorite recipes. If so, leave them in the comments to share with Blogland!

Versatile Blogger Award-Yeehaw!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Blogland?

It's like it's own little world where you can easily find and connect with people of like interests.

Just recently, I met (always feel weird saying met, when it's not in person) Shannon from Espee Trading Co.

She is super sweet, and awarded me with The Versatile Blogger Award!

Not only does Shannon love to sew, she loves a farrier!

See, even though you may have never heard the word...

They Exist!

As a funny little side note, I will share with you that I am also a the farrier's sister.

Noooooo, my mother did not reproduce with my brother, also making him my dad...that would be sick, and wrong on soooo many levels. 

I am one of four children, and one of my brothers went to school to become a farrier and now does it as a side job. Whenever I ask him to weld something for me, he teases that he will not help in any way until I rename my business....

The Farrier's Sister

It doesn't have quite the same ring to it, nor does it play off of the farmer's daughter...which is where my real business name came from. Well, that and the fact that my Dad is a farrier.

You can read some of his guest posts here and here.

Ok, so now for the fun part. 

As part of the award, I am supposed to share 7 things about myself. 

1.)  I'm a list maker. The funny thing is that I rarely look at the lists I make once I have finished them. When my husband teases me about it, I remind him that it is the act of making the list that helps me remember and organize my thoughts :-) 

2.)  I am married to a Police Officer, SWAT team member, wonderful father, supportive husband, extremely handsome, highly intelligent man who I am VERY proud of....did I mention he is not too bad on the eyes?!?! 

3.)  As a young girl, I had a cow for a best friend. I bottle raised him from the time he was just a calf. One time, I brought him inside my parents' day-light basement...it was just the once, because my mom caught me (which is actually a story I will need to share someday).

4.)  My husband and I remodeled rebuilt a 100 year old farmhouse. It was 103 when we finally moved in. You can see read more about it here.

5.)  I have a fear of driving on bridges over water. No joke, my heart pounds, and if I don't remind myself to breathe, I catch myself holding my breath.

6.)  In high school, I broke and held the girls bench press record.

7.) I have been a procrastinator since at least the third grade. It was then that my teacher told me so. After he let me in on this revelation, he asked me if I knew what that meant...I didn't at the time. Unfortunately, he was right. Thanks Mr. Graham!

The next part of the Award is to Pass it On!

Christine Marie Studio

A beautiful woman, making beautiful jewelry!

Modern Prairie Girl

Laura Blair is an amaaaazing photographer, cowgirl and mama!

Teresa Sheeley

I have been lucky enough to meet Teresa in person, and she is a gem! 

(she too has a farrier in the family)

The Fancy Farmgirl

Tiffany is another cowgirl that I am happy to have met in person. 

She too is a fabulous photographer with kindness that exudes her.

Auntie's

Joy is one of those gals whose name fits her to a T!

She is a joy to be around, and has been making some must-have jewelry.

The Strawberry Patch

Miss Christy Donoho is a great example of the friendships that can be made via blogging.

Though miles apart, we have formed a friendship that is very special to me.

Christy is in the Junkin' business, and puts on barn sales with a colorful twist that is sooo refreshing!

Blackberry Farm

Kimberly Taylor (you may recognize her as Mimi Charmante), has a blog full of eye candy, thanks to her superb photography! The best part is that she is just as sweet as all of that eye candy!

A note to the award recipients:  Pick up the award graphic and place it in your post.  

Pass it on to 15 more bloggers(make sure to go tell them) and tell us 7 things about yourself!

Small Business Experiences-The Early Days

Going from stay-at-home-mom to, "I want to start my own business" was a life changing event for me. I had earned a BS in Social Science, and Psychology, and worked as a counselor to kids with mental illness, and was, at the time, learning the ropes of motherhood with my first daughter along for the ride. I had always had a creative edge (I even started off as an Art major in college), but had never thought of turning my passion for design into a business. My other love has always been children, but I had never thought further than combining the two...teaching art, or art therapy!

Since my decision to become a momtrepreneur, I have realized that a lot of what you need to know can quickly be learned from experience. That said, if you can learn from others' experiences...even better! Which is why I have decided to begin posting some of my own experiences. I have also found that it is scary to start your own business, to put yourself out there. It is especially scary when you are going into a business that is a somewhat unique.

When I started out, I wanted to refinish sand, paint, and distress furniture. I saw the prices on pieces in the local vintage shops, and loved the idea that I could get a piece of furniture for cheap, work my wonders on it, and sell it for a profit....the best part-the buyer was getting a good deal too! The furniture at vintage shops are not only cheaper than buying new furniture, they are typically higher quality than a lot of the press-board stuff out there these days. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of information out there on the shabby chic furniture business. If I wanted to do this, I was going to have to figure it out on my own.

I started by visiting the local library and some book stores. What I found was a lot of information on how most people start a business. The problem here, is that I am not like most people. I am lucky enough to have a family of entrepreneurs, that have taught me some very basic, but very valuable lessons. My grandparents owned a successful tole painting shop out of the first floor of their 3 story home for many years. Their business model was much more simple than anything proposed in the pages of any Business books out there these days, but believe it or not...it worked!

It went a little something like this...you save your money until you have enough to buy something. Once you have made a profit, you pay yourself back, put some into savings, and some gets reinvested in the company ie. another purchase for the business. You build slowly, with patience, and only borrow what you can pay back at the end of the month. By doing this, my grandparents grew their business to be a successful one. It employed and supported both of them, and at times, a few others as well. They stressed the importance of minimizing overhead, which I believe to be another key factor in their success. All of these are things that I have attempted to mimic in my own adventures.

My first realization: 

Just because the literature out there repetitively tells you that you need a formal business plan, and a hefty bank loan, does not mean it is the only way or the right way.