A Christmas present

I wanted to make something personalized for Ella to give to her on Christmas morning. So, I made this pillow with a drawing of herself on it. The size didn't turn out how I expected, I'm so bad measuring. I guess it's now a pillow for dolls.   

And here is Ella on Christmas morning.

Ella's 5 years old pictures

Yesterday I took some of Ella's latest drawings to put them up on her wall. Her gallery of drawings and paintings was a little outdated.

Ella's 3 years old paintings.

I arranged them...

And this is how it looks now, with some of her current drawings.

Now her gallery is updated.

Bye bye!!!

A picture frame pin cushion

Having the sewing machine now I needed to equip myself with materials and sewing tools. I thought that maybe I would be needing a pin cushion but I never really liked the tomato ones. So I took this one dollar picture frame I bought a long time ago and never used, until now. 

Then I put some fabric in the frame, just like putting a picture but leaving some extra fabric in the back so the frame could press it. 

Next I stuffed it with polyester fibers that I found in the garage and I was done.  

Here it is. And the best of it is that is very sturdy and works very well.

A present from mom

As you know I finally got a sewing machine, a gift from mom. I thought which other best way to thank her than making her something. I made her this headband that probably looks good in the picture but it actually needs improvement on the back. Anyways, it feels good to learn in the process of making things. Next time I'll make it better recognizing what my mistakes were. 

Mom wearing her headband.

Ella lost her first tooth

Today we were playing apples to apples at Abuelita's house, when suddenly Ella looked at me and said:  "Mom, it's coming off"! And then she just pulled her tooth out. The "wiggly tooth" had been loose for days. 

Its so small! and we can see the other tooth coming. She is very happy and says she wants to put her tooth under her pillow. 

Late Halloween

Halloween came and left. For Halloween Ella was Alice in Wonderland. I wanted so much to make her costume, or at least try to make it, hopefully next year I will. 

Now I'm sure it will be easier for me to sew since mom bought me a sewing machine! Yes! My first project was a headband for my mom herself as a thank you gift. Ill post a picture when she wears it. So many things had happened but such a short time to post.

What we have been doing

It has been a while since I could write anything in our blog. Between some work, Ella's school, errands and... well... life, I haven't got the chance to post an entry. Sometimes it gets busy. 

Here are some pictures of our days!

"Three dolls and an elephant". Playing with Ella. 

School has beeen great! She is excited and ready to go every day!

Kindergarten

The day before Ella's first day of school, I must confess I was a little worried, I didn't know what her reaction was going to be at the moment of leaving her in a place she didn't know with people she didn't know either. 

Well... everything turned out great, for me and for her, cause seeing her so eager to go to school and so excited made me feel more calmed.  

 Butterfly greeting.

Her teacher is great, and her classroom is super cute, with frogs all over! (Not real frogs).

Outdoor space in process

Some of you might remember how the walls of our terrace looked a couple of weeks ago. They were painted the same color of our house exterior, some kind of dark gray. Well, a few days ago we painted the walls with a lighter color, it was about time that such a small space got to look a little bigger and definitely much brighter.

The only problem right now is that we are all out of paint and the terrace looks like a construction site, not a very welcoming space right now. 

Silly chalk doormat to make fun of the disaster.

Photographer friends

We love photography, and we are always taking pictures, but I came to realize that we didn't have updated formal family photos. Those when you take a photo session in different locations and dress up with your favorite outfit. We did take family pictures some years ago in Dominican Republic, by other friends who are also great in everything they do. Milton and Ivel from Ivolucion, but Ella grows so fast and changes so much, we needed new ones.

Thanks to one of our great photographer friends, who at the same time is a great person/friend, we finally got our new family photos. Alexis from Alex Mirabal Photography, promised some months ago to take our pictures and he did. Thank you Alexis, you're a great photographer and a great friend!

Goooooals!!!!!

I'm the kind of person that makes a list for everything. Yesterday I made a very personal list of really important things and goals I would like to reach in my life, some kind of bucket list but with acts of kindness, like significantly helping people or the environment.

Of course, there's also that list of enjoyment, things we would like to do someday. Like, for Ramon and I traveling to places we always wanted to visit. And for Ella, well... ride a Hot air balloon (at least that's what she says). I guess is good to set yourself goals and is even better when you achieve them. 

Low budget bathroom decor

I just wanted to share this super low budget bathroom decoration that I personally love. Made with items found around the house. 

The movie collection

I  never found very useful the ceiling height built in storage that is constructed in most of the houses I've seen in this area. Ours is one of those houses and for a long time I wondered what to do with that space in the living room. Then my light bulb went on and I decided to put Ramon's large collection of movies. To my surprise the movies didn't fill the whole space but I believe that in a short time this collection will occupy the whole niche.

Our movie library.

Living on a budget

I have been tempted a couple of times to change the title of our blog to "Living on a budget" since we do everything spending the less possible but without compromising the things we love.

Besides going to the movies (which is something Ramon and I love to do), some frugal ways of entertainment for us could be taking a walk outside, being outdoors or visiting places where we don't need to spend a lot in order to have fun or pass a good time.

Recycled crafts and a little DIY help a lot to this budget living. Just feel good about everything you do, even if it doesn't involve dollar $ign$.

 Ella uses cardboard boxes for crafts and plays with them. After a while we recycle them.

We own many books but we also love to borrow from the Public Library. Is a good way to save some money.

Ella tried an orange

So, as you all know when it comes to food Ella is a very picky kid. She hardly eats anything and the worst thing is that she doesn't even want to try new foods. We have been working on this with her and there are a couple of new things she has tried and now loves. 

Today she tried an orange, which she used to like when she was little but just stopped eating them. 

The sliced orange always reminds me of bicycle wheels so I made her this bicycle to encourage her. At first was hard for her to tell it was a bike but then she noticed.