This Full House Archive

Author: Liz@ThisFullHouse

  • Pure Jill: a new collection of uncomplicated style from J.Jill




    #JJillInspiredStyle Challenge 2

    photo credit: my 17yo soon-to-be college student (HOLD ME!)

    I never thought of getting dressed as being all that difficult, really.  Aaaaand, then I had kids!!!!  Let’s just say the fashion police have got NOTHING on a couple of teen-aged girls insisting, “OH NO, you are NOT going out looking like that, are you?!?”

    Trust me, it’s complicated.

    So, as you can imagine, I was very excited to be invited to partner with the J.Jill brand in helping to introduce their new collection of “uncomplicated” clothing.

    That’s right, even a dork (like me) can strive to be stylish and I am ALL about helping to inspire busy women (like you AND me) to find a style that compliments, rather than complicates, our already complex lifestyles <—- I made that up, all by myself, you like it?!?

    I had the chance to learn more about the Pure Jill collection, get a few really important styling tips from the senior designer, Barbara Pattin AND then review a piece for myself.

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  • Summer in a bottle…

    It's the start of our busy season of celebrations here at This Full House of mismatched socks and stinky feet, beginning with the birthdays of my three oldest in November, December and January.

    The youngest is my summer baby, but she's okay wit-it. 

    Throw in a couple of holidaze and, well, we're talking non-stop de-crudifying sessions of getting this house "holiday clean", my friends.

    Also, the unveiling of my signature scent:  Eau de Lysol, with hints of Clorox and Windex.

    I love the fall, but there is a certain sadness to saying goodbye to the summer landscape, while watching the trees and flowering bushes ready themselves for the long hibernation of wintertime.

    Rose bottlesI knew saving all these empty Stewarts Root Beer bottles would come in handy, one day!

    This is my latest attempt at bottling up a little summertime, until Melisa gets here and I play tour guide for a week, giving her a taste of the REAL Jersey Shore.

    Just two more sleeps and…YES!!!…there will be zeppoles and fried Oreos :) 

    ©2003 – 2013 This Full House

    I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

  • I don’t need anyone to tell me what a bad mother I am.

    If you were to ask me my BIGGEST parenting struggle over the years — as a mom of 4 kids under the age of 10 vs. as a mom of teens — the answer would STILL be the same:  I am the Queen of Second-Guessing, my ownself.

    Because each and every move we make towards raising our children (good or bad) will also help to form the person they will become.

    That's a HUGE responsibility and, sure as my waking up with major bed head and killer morning breath, there is almost always someone ready to make you feel as if you are SO NOT doing it right…no matter what you are doing…right?!?

    Then again, we are our own worst critics…especially, parents…most especially, moms…check this out:

    A New Perspective For Moms from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

    [hat tip: Huffington Post, via my friend Carol's Facebook feed]

    The thing is, each of these moms were asked to simply describe themselves, each chose to focus on something negative and I really do wonder how many of us would have done the same gosh-darned thing, right?!?

    So, how about this?!?  Are you doing the best that you can?!?  EXCELLENT!!!  Then quit being so harsh on yourselves!!!

    Okay, but what about the times when you feel you are NOT doing the best that you can?!?

    Well then, MOVE OVER, ROVER…here's a blanket, a warm plate of gluten-free cookies and some tissues…let's just go ahead and watch that video, one more time, shall we?!?

    Aaaaand, then maybe we could queue up a couple of good chick-flicks or something, because I sure as heck have got plenty of tissues…YO!!!

    ©2003 – 2013 This Full House

    I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

  • Sisterfriends….

    Meeting Jenn at BlogHer 09

    BlogHer '09: where I met up with my friend Jenn for the first time, IRL!

    I recently celebrated my 10th anniversary of blogging — yep, I threw myself a REAL BIG party too, in my head, sorry you missed it — which got me thinking about ALL of the wonderful online community of folks I have met and gotten to know, by reading their blogs and watching this space grow, over the years.


    Old School Bloggers at BlogHer 11

    BlogHer11: What happens in the Old School Blogger Club, stays in the Old School Blogger Club.

    I am also honored to be able to call many out as very dear friends, IRL, too (yes, they know about it!) and then there are those whose connection runs a little deeper and I can't even begin to (nor do I want to) imagine what life would be like, without them. 

    Me and Jenn at BlogHer 12

    BlogHer12: dorking around at the MoMA.

    Jenn Satterwhite (a.k.a. Mommy Needs Coffee) is one of those people.

    We've shared the ups, downs and somewhere in-betweens, while blogging under the influence of children for an entire decade (not an easy feat, just so you know) and we both have, quite literally, watched our kids grow up, online.

    There isn't a day that goes by when I don't wish I could just jump climb very carefully into my car and drive over to her house, bearing gifts of pink-frosted cupcakes and a six-pack of Diet Coke. 

    Me and Jenn at BlogHer 13

    BlogHer13: enough said.

    Today, I want to take this opportunity to personally wish my dear, sweet suh-thuhn friend a very Happy Birthday (in real life, I mean) and to say, "Thank you, Jenn!"

    For knowing that I am a dork, but loving me anyway, and for snort-laughing with me…like a boss…I love you, sisterfriend!

    ©2003 – 2013 This Full House

  • Wordless Wednesday: Happy Birthday, Melisa!

    Happy Birthday, Melisa

    Me, meeting Melisa (a.k.a. SuburbanScrawl.com) for the first time IRL during BlogHer ’09


    More linky love bytes: Wordless Wednesday HQ, 5 Minutes for Mom

    ©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

    I’m NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I’ve NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I’m doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

  • I have faith in my husband’s DIY abilities, enough for the both of us!

    I was 5 months pregnant with our first when we moved into our house and, 20 years later, my husband Garth (not his real name) and I still lovingly refer to it as, "our starter home."

    So, yeah, we're REAL slooooooooooooow starters.  

    We've grown comfortable with our surroundings and often times describe our home as being decorated in Early American Garage Sale, having inherited nearly everything we own.

    It's okay, because each piece of furniture has its own story, my favorite being the dining room trestle table and benches: they belonged to my mother-in-law, she raised 5 kids and shoo'd numerous springer spaniels from off of it…enough said.

    I love EVERYTHING about the fact that many of the pieces we've adopted have survived the test of time: except for the light fixture in the dining room, I even had a REAL hard time trying to find a picture of it…until realizing JUST NOW that it is in my blog's header…DERP!!!

    Not so thrilled about this light fixture

    Thing is, the dining room is in the original part of the house (around 100 years-old) so there is no electricity in the ceiling and finding ceiling fixtures that do not require hard-wiring, but are in the low or less than three figures, has been near to impossible.

    Dining Room Chandalier

    So, I cashed in a gift card, bought us a brand new light fixture and insisted that Garth (not his real name) is handy-enough to turn a hard-wired light fixture into a totally hang-able (for lack of a better word) chandelier.

    Illumination
    TAH-DAHHHH, I love being right: our brand new, picked it my ownself, dining room light that I love more than bacon.

    Now, if you'll excuse me, Imma ponder Garth (not his real name)'s talent with kitchen ceilings!

    ©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

    I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

  • Kellogg’s #GreatStarts 2014 Olympic Team & My Teen Idol, Jim Craig: sharing their stories to help kids in need.

    Team Kellogg's

    Kellogg’s #GreatStarts bloggers, standing left to right: Deanna, Caryn, Jaime, Crystal, Me, Danielle (that’s Jim Craig, SQUEEEE!!!) and Fred standing next to the adorable Charlie White.

    I am very honored to once again partner with Kellogg’s, as well as U.S. Olympic legends and athlete hopefuls representing Team USA, as a Champion of #GreatStarts blogger and…yeah, I KNOW!!!…who EVER thought a dork (like me) would EVER be able to say that, out loud.

    Last week, I was invited to meet with these awesome athletes in New York City (I know, RIGHT?!?) to help kick-off the 100 day countdown to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and to personally hear each of their great start stories, including that of 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medal hockey team goalie (and my teenage crush) Jim Craig.

    After bumping into him and nearly breaking his foot, I mean. 

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  • Kids Grow Up, Leaves Continue to Fall, You’ll Get Over It (Okay, now you tell me!)

    Pool in Autumn

    I was never a big fan of daylight savings time — especially in the spring, when my kids were younger and they would run around at 8:00 p.m., their bodies insisting that…NUH-UH!!!…it's not bedtime, because it's really 7:00 p.m.

    On the other hand, I could always come up with a way to put that extra hour we'd get in the fall to good use.

    Autumn 2013

    Today, my husband tackled lots of little p.i.t.a. jobs around the house (that multiply quicker than dust bunnies, if left unattended) while my son and I hit the backyard…HARD!!!…and raked the daylights out of all the leaves that seemed to have dropped overnight.

    Glen 2000

    Glen in Autumn of 2000

    Now that my kids are older, I can't help but think back to the days when stuff like raking the leaves was actually fun and it doesn't take me very long before I get all…MAH BAYBEEEEEEEES…when did they get SO GROWN?!?…and stuff.


    Glen Autumn 2013

    Glen today, raking the daylights out of our backyard.

    Then, it's time to drag the tarp filled with wet leaves to the compost pile behind the pool and…DAAAAAANG…if I don't get over the…MAH BAYBEEEEEEEES…pretty quick, too.

    Aaaaaand, with snow-shoveling season just around the corner…I'm pretty sure I will continue getting over it…well into springtime 😉

     2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

    I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I'm doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

  • How (and why) We Opened Our Door to a Stranger

    Welcome to my brain

    I love watching ghost shows:  stuff like Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters and My Ghost Story can really get my adrenaline pumping.  

    Thing is, I just get myself too involved in the storyline, sometimes the really scary scenarios can carry over in my real life, too.  

    Like, when there is someone knocking on the front door…in the middle of the night…then "OMG, the zombies are here…DON'T ANSWER IT!!!"

    Thankfully, it's at this point when one or ALL of my kids are kind enough to remind me "Really mom, you think zombies are gonna knock?!?"

    Then about 1:30 a.m. this morning….

    [knock-knock-knock]

     

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  • A Brief Encounter, With a Doorman, In New York City

    Creepy Mannequins

    I hate fake people  ~  Yeah, me too!!!

    Day 1 into NaBloPoMo…[scratches head, blank stare]…and NOW I remember why I haven't NaBloPoMo-ed since 2011…this blogging every day (even on weekends) thing is hard…YO!!!

    The really cool thing about NaBloPoMo-ing is that there are daily prompts to help get my blogging juices going, but today's prompt was a little too hard (i.e. made me think more than I really care to) for a Friday.

    Instead, I'd like to tell you about a brief encounter, with a doorman, in New York City:

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