In the meantime, mom and dad went to Freeport to drop off a reorder of our original posters…to find that our new products were already displayed!  That was FAST!!!!

And our letters; desperately hoping that the M and E are displayed now too.

The day that they ran those to Freeport, I had a last minute trip with a girlfriend to Bar Harbor for a meeting (and Nicole, if you are reading this…I would of totally called you if we had had more time than just to walk to the dock to take a picture before our meeting).  :-)  It was awesome to be back on MDI.

Ok, work is calling (aka the baby is awake!); couldn’t resist showing you my good lookin’ parents though.  Blessings to you today!

<sigh>

Doesn’t that “who cares” attitude strike you after tragedy?  Who cares about *anything* but sending help…

Yesterday afternoon we were made aware that Groopdealz was going to pop these prints on their site today…and so we want to take something very bad and turn it into help for others; please know that if you make a purchase, money will be given directly to those in need.

These are prints that we will personalize and send directly to you through email…

and if you ever have any other requests for something similar? A verse, a phrase, whatever…let me know and I’ll work something up.  {I love this stuff.}  These can be found right here today and tomorrow.

Praying God’s peace and strength and restoration for those affected by the recent storms. xo

Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Mark 11:23

Here is a little rundown of our recent escapades…beach trips, family kickball, Mother’s Day, Freeport drop-offs…really messy houses. And freckles.

We’re also really thrilled;  LL Bean (the Freeport Home Store, mind you, not the catalog) reordered our first poster and put in an order for canvas words (HOME and MAINE) and also a new poster that mom and I worked up.  We’re praying that this could become a consistent thing…we’ll see!

And…AND!  We are going to have a booth at the Maine Home+Design Show.  Holy Cow.  It’s in a little over a month; to say we are a bit shellshocked is an understatement.  So excited, but SO MUCH to do it’s not even funny.  Prayers would be greatly appreciated!

I have more to share but the boys are stirring!  They are the best kind of busy.

Have a fabulous Monday.

disclaimer…it is incredibly unusually for me to post two days in a row.  you might possibly get a handful of posts this week.  please bear with my excitement, we will return to regularly scheduled programming (i.e. i’ll pop in on occasion) soonish.

Source: onlinefabricstore.net via Jennifer on Pinterest

MiGihandmade. aren’t they darling?

So many things.  So many. Lots has happenend and if I can work my magic this morning, maybe I’ll be able to compile a post or two before the boys wake up.

First off, have you read Kelly’s post?  We worked with her on a project and she turned it into not only beautiful art but the post is full of such wonderful words.  She’s usually so funny I want to pee my pants. EVERY time. This one was serious and lovely!  And welcome to my new friends that came over from Kelly’s way!  {New followers make a blogger’s heart so happy. xoxoxo}

Isn’t that gorgeous?  She ordered our canvas letters and the painted them, so she got the texture with the colors.  Love it.

Now, pictures of my kids.  Spring is here, the weather is beautiful.  We played kickball across the street Friday night.  The light was awesome.

Life has gotten crazy overwhelming a little bit busy lately, so taking time out for things like this?  It’s just shot way up and beyond to the top of the priority list.  So as to not crazy overwhelm you, I’m leaving this post as is, and comin’ at ya later with big news and stuff.  Have such a blessed week, and take time out for kickball!  I promise you that mountain of laundry will wait very, very patiently.  It Is Well, and Will Be Well!

Disclaimer; I had to get reallllly creative with these pictures; the baby is sleeping and instead of doing a thorough cleaning, I just angled the camera to not catch the mess.  Such is my life.

I didn’t want black, so I grabbed a small sample of my fave…Martha Stewert Seal from Home Depot (custom matched to Behr).  Added some non-sanded grout and stirred it up…voila!  Homemade Chalkboard Paint.  It’ll be gritty; just stir well and then lightly sand over if you have clumpy problems.  The ratio is a 2 tablespoons of grout to one cup of paint…I just eyeballed it.  I actually bought 2 samples so I can coat again if I need to, but so far so good!  I have 3 coats on the table.

Really creative photography up there! Promise! Toys here, cords there…not enough time in the day to be a pro at this thing.

I can leave pep talks for myself in the morning.

Honestly, my favorite part isn’t even the fact that I can doodle to my hearts content…it’s that it’s all slate-like.  Or zinc-ish. It reminds me of one of my favorite garden shops that has a slate-topped worktable.  It makes me happy! (And it’s a breeze to clean, promise).

Look at that! I found a picture on my phone of a relatively clutter free room…shocker! The other things I’ve accomplished so far; moved the rug from the living room to under the dining table, and I actually turned the table around; I LOVE the orientation now.  Oh, and adding some real-life green!  I actually haven’t killed this plant yet! Few more details to work out, and the makeover-of-the-makeover will be complete.  For the moment!

If you are local and have any interest in making chalkboard paint…I have a fantastic amount of grout to let you use.  Seriously; we could chalkboard paint the town, so let me know if you are interested!

linking up

Finding Silver Pennies

Heart and Home

Just look at that mess, and here I am, on the computer…but not for long!  I have much to discuss, but laundry and preventing a house from falling into full on disaster mode takes precedence.

But OH, a bright spot!  One of those precious events that gives you hope amidst the less than desireable news of the week {Boston and West, Lord HELP us}…I am an AUNT!  A full on official aunt to a sweet baby girl (Kaitlyn) whom I desperately want to cuddle and rock and kiss all over; alas, she lives in California.  Boo!  I am so tempted to hop on a plane, right this very moment, but will probably have to wait until this summer to shower this baby with adoration in person. Congratulations, so much, to my amazing brother in law and sister in law.  Love you Josh and Erin.  You did GOOD.  A baby Murray GIRL!  Didn’t think it could happen.  ;-)

Must get off the duff!  Have a blessed day…

]]> http://thefinestkind.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/a-bright-spot/feed/ 6 Jennifer photo-18 Screen Shot 2013-04-18 at 11.48.42 AM http://thefinestkind.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/new-item-new-deal-and-a-coupon-code/ http://thefinestkind.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/new-item-new-deal-and-a-coupon-code/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 22:32:02 +0000 Jennifer http://thefinestkind.wordpress.com/?p=5169 Continue reading »

Friday.  Ahhhh…………and Spring Break next week!  That upped this weekend a few notches, let me tell you!!

So, we have another deal running on Very Jane this weekend, just click on the pic to get there! These are brand new and will be regularly priced at $35, so this is a bargain.  And if you aren’t a monogram lover, use the code SPRINGBREAK through Monday the 15th for 15% off any item in our shop.

We were fiddlin’ around a couple of weeks ago, before the plague hit our house; we thought using the canvas letters for a state sign was a pretty cool use.  Oh gosh y’all,  just wait until you see what I have planned for my dining room wall…again…time to redo! Canvas Letters will be involved!

Annnndddd speaking of dining rooms, when the boys were at their grandma’s house yesterday, I shopped the house a bit…actually I just moved our living room rug to the dining room, swiveled our table around, and BAM!  Instant cozy!  I love it so much.  Here’s a tiny phone pic; I’ll be doing more of a reveal once my picture wall is done up again.  ;-)  And with a better camera!

Oh and you guys; mom and I have been having fun with photoshop…and signage…yipee!  Can’t wait to show you what we’ve come up with!  TOO many ideas.  Too few hours.

One last thing…a big fat Happy Birthday to my momma this weekend! No one I’d rather be designing and creating with! {We are both 13th babies. As in the day.  Not birth order…lol.}

Don’t forget the deal or the coupon code, and have a fantastic weekend!!

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And we did it frugally, too!  I booked a night at the Regency, but scored a crazy good out-of-season, internet deal…for much less than we’ve paid at lesser hotels in the past.  And SWANKY, people!  It’s the little things, but the room had robes, an *umbrella*, a little shoe shine kit, and an ionic hairdryer with a diffuser!  LOL!  I was so impressed! And moulding!  A hotel with moulding is a rare thing indeed in our typical price range.  And the bed…the comfortor and the pillows…bliss.  Seriously. And valet parking.  Giggle.  Oh, and a stack of current Maine Home and Design mags in the room! It’s like they read my mind!

Hotel front, chandelier, waiting for the valet, moulding and substantial curtain rod…oh, the details that make me happy.

Mom and dad had gifted Erick with some giftcards on his bday, so on the way down Friday night we ate at Panera and we had breakfast at Starbucks without having to pay out of our pockets.  Someday, I want to stay here for a week and partake in one of the local restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner…fitting dessert in here and there; Portland is full to the brim with amazing indepedant restuarants! Friday night the city was absolutely crawling with people; it was the first annual Art Walk, the weather was wonderful…but since we were arriving a bit late and were staying at a fancy hotel, we wanted to soak up the atmosphere so we didn’t leave until check out the next morning.

Saturday we finally went to the Portland Museum of Art; I had scored a two for one deal on Living Social awhile back, so we technically didn’t have to pay for that this weekend either.  Oh you guys; I’m kicking myself because I thought there was no photography allowed; turns out there WAS in many places, but I didn’t realize that until we were leaving.  I snapped one picture.  I could of taken so many more; I was able to stand right smack dab in front of a Monet! And Church, Homer, Kent, Sargent, the Wyeth’s…Cassatt, Degas, Picasso, Renoir…happy, HAPPY girl.  If time had allowed I would of been one of those people sitting on a bench staring at a painting for hours, trying to take it all in.  SO INCREDIBLE.  This spring there are tours to Winslow Homer’s house and I am just itching to go!!

After the museum, we ate at Chipotles then bumped around Homegoods and Marshalls with a stop at Freeport on the way home.  It was so good to be with my honey for a bit…to have some fancy fun but not pay big bucks.  Only thing that would of added substantially to the weekend?  Live theatre!  Someday…

So…there is a chance that we might hit 60 degrees today! Wahoo! We’re off to buy some bulk blueberries in Ellsworth today and to soak up the sun a bit.  Have a gorgeous day today, friends!

]]> http://thefinestkind.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/a-swanky-frugal-date-night/feed/ 6 Jennifer picstitch-1 picstitch-2 http://thefinestkind.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/back-from-the-brink-and-a-little-organizin-inspiration/ http://thefinestkind.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/back-from-the-brink-and-a-little-organizin-inspiration/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:52:48 +0000 Jennifer http://thefinestkind.wordpress.com/?p=5145 Continue reading »

And they are….WELL!!!

Men in this house=recovered.  Bless it.

Yesterday I took Jack out for a Momma Date; he was the first to get sick, thus the first to get well and he was itchin’ for a change.  So we hit up Tim Hortons for lunch and I sacrificed greatly by playing on the playground with him in the FREEZING weather for all of 10 minutes.  Then I had to duck back in the van, because I’m a weinie like that.

 It was a good date with a very good guy; I’m determined to make it a priority to go out on more dates with my boys!

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Alright!  Something I have put off for too long due to the plague that hit us!  Sweet Michelle contacted me and offered to write up a post on a great organizational idea; one that has me all kinds of inspired.  OH, my pinterest boards (and my life in general) are a chaotic mess.  So I’m going to follow her advice…read up!

How Inspiration Boards Can Improve the Way You Plan

If you’ve found a project you’re passionate about but haven’t been able to properly organize your ideas, try not to panic. There’s a simple solution to this problem, even for the most scatterbrained among us. Creating an inspiration board – a collection of images to help inspire imaginative thinking – is fun and helps you to identify the technicalities in store for your project.

Get Organized

Organization helps to oil any work process, and creating an inspiration board is one way to organize your thoughts. The board will allow you to organize your fabric samples, sketches and photos in one place. Placing a cork board on the wall above your desk, replete with pins, is an excellent way to keep your ideas organized as they occur to you. Thanks to social networks like Pinterest, it’s even possible to create an online inspiration board.

Manage Your Time

When you become overwhelmed by your project, it’s easy to lose enthusiasm for it. An inspiration board helps buoy your good feelings for the project because you’ll be able to better separate the great ideas from the not-so-good ones. This will help you understand how your project is shaping up. You can get rid of any ideas that no longer interest you by simply unpinning them, and in this manner you can stay focused on the ideas that matter.

Plan Your Budget

You don’t want to get to the end of the rainbow and find out you’ve gone way over budget on your project, and using an inspiration board can help you keep things in check. By pinning your options on a cork board, you’ll be able to explore the quality items and services that you can afford. Choose where it’s best to splurge and where you need to cut back.

Inspiration boards are as abundant as ideas; there is a different sort of board for every kind of project. Inspiration boards can serve to help you redecorate your home, plan an engagement party or pick out a fashionable spring wardrobe. Get started and you’ll soon see that an inspiration board is one of the best ways to breathe life into your projects and plans.

Maybe you’re not looking to re-do the guest bedroom, and you’re just looking for some new meal ideas for the family. Whether you’re looking for new recipes to try out, or looking to plan a dinner party for friends, inspiration boards can even be helpful for meal planning. Take the below board for example. It may be spring, by snowstorms are still leaving us in winter wonderland. Comfort foods are a great way to get out of the cold weather funk.

Nothing says comfort food like delicious Italian food! What’s the first food that comes to mind when I think Italian? Pasta! Just thought of homemade lasagna makes me hungry. Although it’s a more time consuming recipe, I’ve used it as the anchor of inspiration for my board. With foods like pasta and pizza, you can get really creative. Making your own pizzas is great for group gatherings. You can create smaller personal pizzas for each guest, or bake large pizzas with a variety of tasty toppings. This can also be more cost effective than ordering from local pizza place. Making your own pizza can also be a fun activity for the little one’s: a fun way for them to learn and be interactive.

If you’d like to keep it simple, a delicious bowl of ravioli will do the trick. The jumbo ravioli served right near my home at Pino Bianco, a popular Syracuse dining spot, is probably my favorite thing to order. It’s always delicious and warms me up on cold days. You can switch up your own ravioli using plain tomato sauce or try a white sauce. Ravioli is great for those picky eaters.

The sky’s the limit with Italian food: make it Italian week with a different Italian inspired dish each night. Plan the meals for the week ahead and only have to make one trip to the grocery store! Don’t forget the wine!

Photo credit: Garlic Bread | Lasagna | Jumbo Ravioli | Homemade Pizza

Michelle Pino has provided these tips in hopes to educate others on how to lead a more organized and less stressful life.  Michelle believes a more organized approach to tasks will result in more completed goals.  Her hobbies include crafting, cooking and learning about healthy lifestyles.  Michelle is thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Jennifer and together share their ideas on “­­­­­­­­­This is the Finest Kind of Life”.

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Michelle, thank you thank you! Now I want an inspiration board for pretty much every area of my life.

TGIF friends!  Tonight Erick and I are off to Portland for that birthday trip we missed last weekend.  First night away in…in…I have no idea.  Pray for my parents…and Luke; this will be his first overnighter with the big boys!  Eek!  Have a great weekend!

 

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