We've been in our little yellow house for about a year and a half now. It's crazy to look back on what our home used to look like and think of how far we've come in just 18 months time. As a family of five living in 2015 on one income, we don't have a lot of excess spending money to put into our house. We do, however, have a long list of projects that need to get done to turn this into our eventual "dream house".

One of our favorite resources as homeowners has turned out to be the Habitat for Humanity ReStore shops! They are located all over the front range in Colorado, and we've even been to some mountain locations such as Evergreen and Conifer.



At ReStore you can get just about anything you need for your home projects, but most of it is used except for things like paint and leftover tiles from tiling projects. You can buy furniture {we've seen some amazing leather sofas there}, large rugs, cabinets, sinks, fixtures, doors, etc. You name it, they've got it.



Whenever we've needed something for our home, before we hit up Home Depot, we hit up ReStore.

Which is where I happened to find two little paint projects I'd like to share with you today...

When I spotted this black mailbox at ReStore I knew I had to take it for $12. A new mailbox was definitely on my list of things to replace around the house. See? Yuck.



On the same shopping trip, Sander spotted this light fixture for $25. {It came with shades.} A dining room light was another thing we were dying to replace. {We had a boob light, see? Had to go.}



But I did want to personalize the light fixture a bit. It was cute, but not cute enough. A little too Pottery-Barn-Blah for my taste. So, I busted out the chalk paint, naturally.

AND THE GLITTER. F.T.W. Yep, a little Mod Podge strategically placed, a can of glitter, and yessss.



I decided to go right ahead with the same can of paint and attack that black mailbox at the same time. {You didn't think I'd just put that black box up, did you? Me?}



In fact, mailboxes are something I often notice first about homes--at least when they have pretty ones--and so I'd always wanted to find some cute mailbox for my bills to call home. If they have to.

You know what you should do if you like THIS? You should check out my mailbox board on Pinterest:

Follow Heather's board You've Got Mail on Pinterest.

{I painted the table too. I paint ALL THE THINGS.}



So, you see, fixing up your home to your liking doesn't have to be 'spensive. I love how the glitter sparkles in the evening over our dinner. And if you happen to find yourself with a used lampshade you like the shape of, but it shows wear, a little paint and sparkle is the perfect way to spruce it back up. Give it some bling, you know?

Now. Time to get new dining room chairs. {Remember these matched my last home's yellow retro table?} Also a new blogger template is in order, I think. Come back soon!

Cheers,
Heather

Friends, my firstborn is SEVEN. When you have your first baby, they warn you how fast it goes by. It's cliche, but it turns out they aren't exaggerating.

Last year, if you will remember, we took the 6th birthday easy and celebrated privately as a family. After her Alice in Wonderland 1st birthday, carnival 2nd Birthday, cowgirl 3rd birthday, ice cream 4th birthday, and tiger themed 5th birthday {that one was a doozy}--I'm pretty sure I had the most fun with this theme. Together, we picked a superhero theme for Eisley's 7th, and so it became her "Super 7" birthday.



I sewed up some superhero capes for each guest. I got lucky and hit up Hobby Lobby while the poly satin was on sale while they had forgotten to take last week's 50% off sale sign down! This was a fun sewing project and went a lot faster than I'd anticipated. I could not WAIT to see a dozen or so little satin-cape-clad little girls running around my yard.

And so our best girlfriends were greeted at the door with their very own capes. {Might I add, making these erased the mom-guilt I felt these last couple years not making handmade Halloween costumes for my kids because I have silly standards for myself? There. I made twelve costumes this year.}



Superhero knobs from Hobby Lobby, I couldn't resist and found this use for them. Headbands from JoAnn's became party costume too.





Oriental Trading Co. has some great superhero crafts {maybe a little lacking in quality, but nothing a glue gun can't fix!}



I crafted a last minute photo booth with a superhero tablecloth {Target} and teacher's bulletin board decor {U.S. Toys}.



Some wooden skewers, some hot glue, BAM!, done.



We don't like piñatas. But we do them anyway. This one {Oriental Trading} was too perfect to pass up. Plus, it's birthday tradition. They are an annual reminder of the pain of c-sections that accompanied your child's day of birth. Also, the kids love taking out their aggression on them.



It was supposed to rain--as it usually does when I throw a summer party--right at 4 p.m. when the party was scheduled to start. 80% chance of thunderstorms, they said. Starting right at 4, they said. I set up on the back deck anyway, willing to risk it. {It did NOT rain! Hallelujah! Take THAT, Murphy's Law!}



The night before any party you can find me in the kitchen cursing the fondant while Justin obsessively cleans up any powdered sugar I spill because he HATES the sticky floors. Decorating wise, however, this cake was simple and inspired by Pinterest. It was mostly buttercream because, like with many political topics, people have such strong opinions about fondant. The bombs were a last minute touch. BOOM!



A few days before the party, I headed to Target with the kids to look for the paper party cups that matched their superhero party decor. They had been sold out the week before. Well, they were still sold out. But then I saw THESE beauties. I mean, how could I not?! Doggonit, Target. You always do this to me. {They're adorable!}



I've learned to keep it simple with the food for my already over-the-top birthday parties. Don't make too much, don't get too creative with all the themed snacks you can find on Pinterest. {I've made enough cake pops in the past to feed China. I'm over it.} Just feed people. That's what keeps them happy. So on top of a few snacks, we ordered pizza.



Right, Pax? Pizza makes you happy.



So the little guests started to arrive and put on their capes and started saving the day. It was ADORABLE.



We have some great friends.





What's this?! A surprise guest...? Wonder Woman!!!

Whether it's a bounce house or a party entertainer, I've learned to lean on these magical people to make the parties magical for kids. I know party entertainers aren't always in the budget for people, it isn't always for us either, but when you can afford to hire them--what a fun memory!

It's priceless seeing the star-stuck looks of awe on the kids faces.





They had a pow-wow on the grass and discussed their super powers, bad guys, good guys, etc.



Look at all those girls in their capes! I want to squeeze them!

Then they brought out their super powers and poses for the parents {aka, villains} to see. Violet's super power? Kicking.



Practiced superhero poses. I love this photo.







I about died, it was so adorable to watch.



Eisley has been way into bald eagles lately, so she chose eagle super powers. Atta girl, Super E!



I can't think of a better way to turn 7.

After Wonder Woman left {to save the day} we sang to Eisley. {Who enjoys being sung at on their birthdays? I, personally, hate being the center of awkward attention like that. I think most people do. But...tradition!}



Presents! She's been waiting all year for this moment.



For being superheroes, this was incredibly weak group. Nah, I'm teasing. The truth is that they make piñatas these days so that you basically need a chainsaw to get them open. They finally succeeded in breaking the piñatas STICK. So Justin took matters into his own hands and busted that cheap-candy-filled thing open. {Somebody get that poor thing an epidural.} Candy-grab chaos then commenced.



Over at the gambling table, adults placed bets on how many swats it would take and who would crack the darn thing open. {They all lost.}



I might have taken a million photos {you can see them ALL here} because there were so many cute moments at Eisley's Super 7 party. Like Pax with the girls...





I love this one, Eisley with her Great-Grandma Sander, who is 97!







My parents...



All of us...



More grandparents...



Can't stop, won't stop.







I have some great mom-friends. {Yes, I just used the term "MOM FRIENDS".} This one and I have been known to sneak dinner and wine into Amy Schumer movies. For the win.

Can we have a moment of silence for the observance of the torture that the Middle Child experiences when her older sister and little brother have birthdays not even a month apart, while hers is 6 months away?

Maybe you could say my super power is throwing parties for my kids? Ha. It's my love language, birthday spoiling.

What a fun party this was to throw! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Eisley girl!

There are a million wonderful things about you. 

Being your mom is the best.