Favorite Spring Things

Today, I've decided to show off some of my favorite springy stuff.
Above, I have this little tin egg with a squirrel on it.
(love me some squirrels!)
My mom gave me this egg years ago, so I'm not sure
where it originally came from.
Ain't it adorable?

Speaking of my mom, below is a picture of
her as a child all dressed up on Easter Sunday.
Cuteness, doncha think?
Wonder what she had in that little purse...


This egg wreath, I purchased at Cracker Barrel a couple of years back.
I love the texture of it.
And would you check out the burlap wrapped eggs?!

Someone out there is thinking
PROJECT!

I have it hanging on the huge mirror in our hall.



The little eggs in my candle holders are

currently for sale at Michaels.
Please, go get some 'cause they're the sweetest!
They are made out of this hard foam material that you can actually cut into.



I added some fluff on top of the candle holders before putting the eggs on.
Now, they look like they're in a little nest.
I'm thinking about speckling them and leaving 'em up all year.
(i also love me some eggs!)

And last but not least, my bunny!
It may have been part of an old calendar (not sure).
My friend, Tami and I went junkin' one day and I saw it on the counter at an antique store.
The lady working there just gave it to me.
for free.
I brought him home, painted and distressed a frame and now he lives here with us.

Do you decorate for spring?

Dove's Devotion

Bluetooth

Today, we took the boys to a spring carnival.
It was free event hosted by a nearby church.
(Yay, for free entertainment!)
Bounce houses, games, magic show, 6,000+ egg hunt, food...
including some of the brightest blue cotton candy we had ever seen!
Seriously.
Parents all around us were discussing how much sugar must have been in it.

Gives a whole new meaning to the word:

*Bluetooth*

So, what did you end up doing today?

There's Still Time...

Tomorrow night at midnight.

That's when it ends, people.

Spring Fling
at

The Shabby Chic Cottage.

Hop on over while there's still time.

Enter to win some fab stuff...

like my birdy canvas!

Mark Your Calendars

Hey locals in the Raleigh-Durham area,

mark your calendars for this event
and help the people of Haiti
receive care for their
mental health and medical needs.

The Chubby Dove will be there
along with
other local artists.

*Come by and mention you saw this post on my blog to receive a free gift with purchase*

Yummy Reasons To Smile

photo credit

This weekend,
I made these incredible
chocolate chip cookie brownies

that I discovered on Tidy Mom's blog.
Click here for the delicious recipe
and check out her other yummy treats.

Ok, I also want to show you these smileys we recently found.

I swear, we do not make these happen;

it's just funny when we discover one.

I like to think that we look for a bit of happiness in everything.

Yeah, that sounds nice.

Now, get your dirty feet off my white couch!

ahem.

Now, where was I?
Oh, yeah...

I discovered this guy after I pulled bread out one night to make lunches for school.
Whole wheat bread puts a smile on my face.

And this little fella appeared on my son's dinner plate after his burrito was eaten.
A clean dinner plate always makes Mommy smile.

What makes you smile?

Spring Fling

The Shabby Chic Cottage
is hosting a day of giveaways on Monday!
Lots of lovelies will be finding new homes.
Will you be one of the lucky ones?
Yours truly will be giving something away,
so make sure to head on over.

Also, I'd like to say a big
WELCOME
to all my new bloggy friends
who have decided to follow
The Chubby Dove.
Your sweet comments and
encouraging words are very appreciated!

xoxo

Momma Bird

It's not too early to start thinking about
what to get Mom for Mother's Day.
My mom is one of the hardest people to buy for
(sorry, Mom. You know it's true)

Therefore, I've created...

Momma Bird
with her chicks.
It's fun, original art done on canvas.
You get to pick the colors and the amount of chicks.
This is one I made for my mom.
She has 5 chicks and LOVES purple.

Also makes a great gift for Grandma.

Taking orders now to be done in time for Mother's Day.
Check out my etsy shop for details.

Mora Na Maidine Dhuit

{picture drawn by the cutest 7 year old boy}


Fun fact:
The Chubby Dove is 100% Irish.

Furniture + Fusion = Fabulous

Yawn.

Blah beige chair.
You're kinda boring and stained.
And so is your twin.
I want new chairs, but that's not in the budget.
Guess you'll have to do, but you're so dull.

And you, little wicker table.
You're sun bleached and sad.

What am I gonna do with you?

Hmm, Krylon Fusion.
Sounds powerful.

Imagine the possibilities...

I spray both chairs and the table.

And for less than $30, I get a whole new set for our front porch.

Now, that's better.
Dontcha think?

Linking up to:
somewhat simple: strut your stuff
the shabby chic cottage: transformation thursday
a few of my favorite things: favorite things friday
the shabby nest: frugal friday
a soft place to land: DIY day

Tame the Toys

Today, while the boys were at school,
I pulled these blocks out of the attic.
When they came home,
it was like Christmas.
They played with them all afternoon 'til dinnertime.
They barely said two words to me.
They got along great and had so much fun building a church
and racing their vintage Fisher-Price people around.
I was amazed how "into" these blocks they were.
(and did I say that they got along?)
Wowzzers!

In our house, I rotate toys.
Some go away for a bit
and some they haven't seen in awhile,
come out.
If it's something they've outgrown,
I give it away or sell it.

They always have something exciting to play with
and I don't ever hear "we have nothing to do".

A girl I know does a "toy exchange".
She trades out her kids toys with her friends kids
and they rotate that way.
Again, exciting and you spend no money.

Other people I know,
have toys all over their house.
Overtaking their house.
Not so exciting.

Different strokes, people.

So,
I'm curious,
at your house,
how do you tame the toys?

It's Partytime!

Melissa over at A Familiar Path
is hosting her annual
Birthday Bash
One, maybe two prizes a day.
All week long.

It's her birthday, but you get the loot!
How fun is that?
And guess who's giving away one of the goodies...
Head on over and enter to win all the great stuff!

Everyday Wreath

Yesterday, I made this "everyday" wreath.

I wanted something very simple without lots of fluff this time.

Something that I could hang on the front door
other than my chocolate wreath and Christmas wreath.
Something that didn't shout holiday or theme.
(well, there is a theme around here and it's bird related.
I am The Chubby Dove for goodness sake).

Enter:

This pitiful wreath that's been lurking in the garage.
It had seen its fair share of sunrises on our front door in FL .
The leaves had turned an awful neon green.
Yeah, no one needs neon plastic leaves on their front door.
No one.
I always planned to put it out of its misery and yesterday was its lucky day!
I pulled all those nasty, little neon leaves off.

I didn't remove the yellow wrap that was around the foam.
(a combo of being too lazy and too excited, I guess)

In the midst of all the gluing of the new leaves,
I forgot to take pictures.
But, you'll see, it was pretty simple.

The "new leaves" were leftovers from my chocolate wreath project.
I only used the rosebuds to make that wreath, so I had varying sizes of leaves left.
(I never throw anything away that could later be used to make something else.)

Ok, so I glued the leaves down in the same direction.
The big ones on the bottom,
followed by the medium sized ones and finally the small
ones 'round back to cover up the foam.

Then, I added this....
(we're a family of four)

The nest already had a metal clip in the middle of it that I poked through the foam

and then hot glued down for extra support.
I reused the same cream colored chiffon ribbon.
It was still in great shape.
No neon.

And there you have it.

The boys are looking forward to checking the eggs
when they look through the peephole, too.
every.day.

Picture Day

Kindergarten graduation is fast approaching,

so my little guy has his cap and gown pictures today.

Isn't he the cutest thing ever?
I think so!

And my big guy who is in 2nd grade...
I just love him to bits!

...and this is their silly pose that I promised
I would take a picture of
if they stood "nice" for the others.

Today, I've linked up with
The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday
No more excuses.
Get those projects done!

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage

I'm linking up today to:

Transformation Thursday

Head on over and get inspired!

Grimace's Mirror

Today, I stopped in my local thrift store and found this.
Painted lavender.
I call it Grimace's mirror.

You know, the purple thing/guy at McDonald's?


Not sure what I'm gonna do with it yet,
but I'm a sucker for old mirrors.
Layers of paint and aging don't scare me.
This one needs a bit of TLC, but for $6,
I couldn't grab it fast enough.

What would you do with it?

I Carry A Gun

{she says her backside is her best side. go figure}

We've been friends for about 10 years.
We do everything together.
We've been through alot.
We make a great team.
My pal Glouise and I.