The Best iPhone Cases

I'm going to let you in on a little secret about one of my favorite things. I'm going to tell you where you can find the best selection of the best quality iPhone cases. Trust me, I've searched high and low.

Zazzle is the place to find or customize your case. You can bring in images of your own to create your case. Many cases allow you to add your initials. The selection is so amazing, I guarantee you will find what you are looking for and then some. Each case comes in a Barely There form (just a light cover), Tough form (a more heavy-duty form but still light enough), and the one I always buy--Tough Xtreme. Tough Xtreme is for those of you that buy Otterbox cases because you are hard on your phones. Here are just a few in their various tough forms (cute, right?):

Zazzle has a promotion going so that if you enter BLOOMSAVINGS you can save $5 to $35 depending on what you spend.

Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas

We are in the midst of Teacher Appreciation Week. Our school goes all out during the week to show our teacher's appreciation. We are so grateful for our teachers!

If you are looking for some cute ideas, I stole a few and I'll share them with you.

Jen at Tatertots and Jello has a fabulous bookmark printable that we are definitely going to use.

Isn't this Letter Crayon Monogram an awesome idea? Thank you Cheap & Chic Nursery for the incredible DIY tutorial!

You can always buy a Burt's Bees lip balm set with a little note to your teacher saying, "Thanks for bee-ing such a wonderful teacher!"

Angie created some beautiful Mason Jar lables that are so fun. Isn't everything cuter in a Mason jar?

My kids definitely want us to use this donut printable created by Confetti Sunshine. I'll be getting up early tomorrow to go get some fresh donuts for our teachers.

WE LOVE TEACHERS!!!!!

Toby and Rosie

Meet Toby and Rosie. Why do I have two bears that are exactly the same you ask? One is MiniMe's and one is mine.

Let me explain why a grown woman has a teddy bear (am I alone, really?). When I was 15, my mom and I got matching butterfly necklaces. Hers is gold and mine is silver. When we'd have a disagreement, one of us would wear the necklace (or maybe both of us) as an unspoken symbol that we still loved one another despite our disagreement or frustration with each other. When words were difficult to say, the symbol carried us through until forgiveness could follow. At that time in my life, we didn't live physically near eachother so it also was a symbol of our missing one another. We called it the Butterfly Club and we were the only members. Sadly, my mom passed away when I was 16. She is buried with her necklace and I still wear mine on occassion.

MiniMe is only eight and we don't have many disagreements at this point in her life. Perhaps we will always be close and never feel distant through those teen years, that is my hope. We wanted to get something that we could share like my mom and I did but we wanted it to be unique. We carefully chose these Rilakkuma bears. They have a zipper in back where we've left eachother little love notes. Most recently MiniMe was upset about an event in her life and left me a note to tell me she wanted to talk about it.

When I travel and have to spend time away from her, we have Toby (mine) and Rosie (MiniMe's) to snuggle with and leave eachother little notes. I imagine that one day when she goes to college, I will have myself a good long cry while I embrace my sweet Toby.

I couldn't entirely leave MiniMe out of the Butterfly Club though. Interestingly, we seem to encounter butterflies in our life quite often. And each and every time I smile because I miss her too.

I am a.....walker?

I am/was a runner. I have run consistently for the past 15 years. I ran through each pregnancy up until the 5-month mark. I then picked it back up as soon as the doctor has given me the ok. I have run two marathons and four half marathons. I have run more 5Ks and 10Ks than I can remember. Through it all I've been chased by dogs, prayed through hardships, pushed myself up hills, willed myself to meet goals, run in the dark while my family is sleeping snug in their beds, run in cold; rain; snow; and wind. I've trail run in Alaska all the while fearing a bear would get me. I have always loved running. It has always made me happy....until recently.

I don't know what it is but I don't like it anymore. Sure I can't say that every day I've run that I was super excited to do so but this time is different than typical procrastination. I just flat don't enjoy it. I can't figure out why I feel this way. I could possibly be burnt out. It's a strange place for me to be. I've never not run except while pregnant or injured. And in both situations I was counting the days to get back to running.

If you're a runner and have experienced this, please tell me what you felt. I have always used running as my cardio outlet. I've tried to mix it up a bit. I really like to swim. I thought I'd take that on until I sort through my running aversion. I've been walking a lot. Funny thing about walking is that I'm actually sore after a really hard walk! I haven't felt sore after a run since I incorporated hills. Could it be my body is not challenged by running?

This past week I dedicated myself to getting at least 10,000 steps a day. It's not easy on some days. I have to be purposeful and make some time to go to the gym and get on the treadmill or walk the neighborhood. When I'm on the treadmill it KILLS me to not run so I'll pick up my pace and get the feeling of absolute dread wash over me and bring it back down.

So, I invested in a new step tracker. It's called Fitbit Ultra. It's pricy ($99) but I'm excited about it. It is smaller than my gigantic step counter. It sends wireless data to my computer. It counts calories, steps, mileage, floors climbed, and even monitors your quality of sleep.

I don't know if I'm giving up running. If anything I'm just taking a break. I have no idea when or if the feeling of dread will go away and I'll feel that old excitement again. I hope so. I really hope so.

Until then maybe I'll discover I enjoy walking. I was thinking about college and how I walked and rode my bike everywhere. I probably walked 4-5 miles every day. I wasn't running much then. I think I have this belief that I'll become out of shape by just walking. If you're a walker set me straight!

Do you ever get sick of a pasttime you once loved?

Last Week of Summer Break

Life is busy as summer comes to a close. LInking up with Alli at Life on LeRoy for Life Lately.

MiniB is relaxing at the pool!

My Favorite Things

I know I'm not Oprah but I too have an abundance of favorite things! Read my first installment here. I wish I was wealthy enough or had enough influence to give you all free samples but you'll have to settle for my word that they're pretty awesome and try My Favorite Things for yourself.

My friend first introduced me to Mrs. Meyer's dish soap. Do you know Mrs. Meyer? Or Thelma as those who love her call her. Since I first used Mrs. Meyer's dish soap, I've branched out and now use the countertop cleaner and hand soap.

This dish soap (and countertop spray and hand soap) doesn't just clean well, it smells DIVINE! My favorite scent is Basil. I've tried the Lemon Verbena and Apple scents and they are good too but I definitely prefer Basil. We use the hand soaps in the bathrooms.

Do you have granite countertops? Do you know that streaky look you get when you clean your countertops? Mrs. Meyer's spray takes care of those streaks and leaves your kitchen smelling exquisite. I kid you not--you can smell the scent in the air hours after the counters have been cleaned.

It used to be hard to find Mrs. Meyer's products. I would stock up at The Container Store but now you can find them at Target and I even saw them at the grocery store. I don't own stock in this company. I am not their personal spokesperson. I am just a happy customer who wanted to share my love of this product with you.

Go get yourself some Mrs. Meyer's anything. You will be glad you did and you will stockpile massive amounts of it for fear it will go out of business. Er, I mean you will make sure you have plenty on hand.

What are some of your favorite things?

One of My Favorite Things

I used to write in a journal when I was in high school and college. Now, I honestly don't have the time or even the desire but do I have time for quick thoughts and things I do want to remember. This journal is one of my favorite gifts to give. You can find it on Amazon.

It's arranged so that you can record a quick paragraph about something and see what you wrote on that day the year before, and as the years go on, you'll be able to see five years worth of journalings for that day. Simple.

Before bed I will log a quick moment about my day. Chances are it is something funny one of the kids did or said. Sometimes they say multiple funny things in the day and I can fill a couple of days. Just last night I was reading how a year ago, MiniB said, "Mommy, can I have some more poison?" at dinner. He meant hoisin sauce.

Or when MiniMe said, "This is a pretty good burger except for the toe nails in it." I had used a onion soup mix and mixed it in the meat and she mistook the dried onions for toe nails. Oh, I had a good laugh at that one.

Or when MiniB was released from his Sunday school room and loudly exclaimed, "I didn't talk at all about my weiner daddy!" for the whole church to hear. He was in a phase where he had a lot of anatomy questions and so happened to be singing a song about his parts right before church and we asked him to only do that at home.

See, these are the fine moments you want to record and remember! Get yourself one of these books or buy one for a friend. They are the best gifts and I love how I know exactly what I was going through a year ago and can see how far I've come in my thought process.

Like Us! Follow Us!

Hi blog friends! Thank you all so much for the sweet comments regarding my shop. Can you do me a favor and Like Us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sillyhappysweet? I'll be picking a Facebook friend for a giveaway next week. Currently we only have 5 friends so you stand a good chance!!

If you tweet, follow Silly Happy Sweet (@sillyhappysweet). Ha ha, I couldn't resist! No, but seriously, follow us on Twitter for more information about sales as well as some fun stuff. I'd love to follow you back!
Thank you again for being so kind!

Random Faces

I started taking a photo per day on my other blog PhotoMojo. Have you heard about the Spontaneously Smiley project for finding smiley faces in everyday objects? When I was little, I remember seeing smiley faces everywhere--in rocks, the drywall in my room, in the sky. The other night, MiniB was eating Spaghetti O's and though he doesn't say much, he started pointing and frantically yelled "Kiki House Mommy! Kiki House!" He saw a Mickey Mouse head in his O's. It reminded me of the smiley project. So, in honor of the Spontaneously Smiley project, I am going to have Face Fridays! If I see a face druing the week, I'll take it the images and hopefully have enough stored to at least post one face every Friday. Anyone want to join me? Try it out. You'll see them everywhere I guarantee ya!

Here are a few faces I spotted around our house today and not all are smiling....

Blissful Sunday

This was the kind of Sunday I had. We ate yummy pancakes for breakfast, wrapped gifts, watched football, drank hot cocoa, took naps, and had an all around wonderful and restful day. You need a Sunday like that every once in awhile.

My Wish List (patterns)

I'm going Oprah-style and sharing my wish list of all things crafty. Yesterday I featured some of the books that are on my wish list. I hope you were able to add some to your own list after seeing my list (if you have a favorite, let me know yours--I'm sure I don't have it). Today, I'm going to feature some of the patterns I'm eyeing. There are so many but here are a few of my faves.



Glad All Over quilt



Toddle Time quilt



Elf Embroidery pattern from Jenny B's Etsy shop (ok, I broke down and bought this one--couldn't wait!)



Oliver + S School Days Jacket Isn't Liesl beyond talented? I want this coat in my size! If you think the coat is cute, how about her jumprope dress?



And I can't make a pattern list without including Julie's adorable knitted animals. Visit Julie's blog to see all of her animal creations.



Can't go without posting a purse pattern. May I present the Sophia Carry All by Amy Butler. Too cute.



I love all of Amy's quilt patterns so it is hard to narrow it down to one. But I'd sure love to make the Lollipop quilt for MiniMe's bed someday.




The Lollipop quilt by Kati Cupcake design

And what 5-year old wouldn't just love the Analise outfit? MiniMe sure would love me to whip this one up for her. I have the ideal fabric in mind too. I've sewn Sandi's patterns before and I have to tell you that she is so thorough and her pictures are so helpful. A new to intermediate sewer should have no problems. MiniMe asks me if she can wear her Claire dress when it is 30 degrees outside, she loves it that much.



In my next "wish" post, I'll cover fabric!

We Remember

One year ago today a tornado hit our tiny town. It is still so fresh for me though all the repairs have been completed on our home and all. I just remember the feeling of not being able to get to my daughter's school which was less than a mile away. I had horrible visions of her lying in a field needing me, crying for me. Praise God she was fine and her teachers took care of the kids like they were their own.

Just yesterday I was at her school and the news was filming because her school, Windmill Enrichment (the fourth picture is a picture of her school the day of), was right in the path of the tornado and a lot of heroes were revealed that day. I sat in on lunch and all the kids were talking about the tornado. I asked the teacher if the news being there was causing them to rethink it all. She said that the kids have never really stopped talking about it. I know it took MiniMe three months to finally tell me in detail what she experienced that day.

I'm so grateful that we are a year beyond it all and a lot of healing and rebuilding has taken place. But I still can't help but remember.....

Spring, I long for you!

We had 8 inches of snow at our Estes Park cabin this past weekend. It was beautiful but I am so ready for spring. We keep getting teased with a dose of warm weather and then snow. What a weird month it has been!

Button Love

I am not a collector of much. But I have a cute collection of buttons. My mom used to save buttons. I have her collection and have since added on my own favorites. I don't seek out buttons but when I see some that I have to have, I buy them even if no purpose for them comes to mind.
MiniB discovered my button box and was FASCINATED. That is sweet and all but now I am finding buttons in his room and I'm a little protective of my buttons.
Aren't these cute? I'm loving the color combination lately. I'm probably excited for spring!

Buttons!

I love fabric-covered buttons! I've listed a few that I made in my Etsy shop.