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  • tip: spin pins!

    21 September 2013

    Have you seen/heard of these things? Our new best friend! I am not a good hair bun maker. My poor Lauren was in a preschool ballet recital and the bun I had put in fell out in the middle of the song! Hair flailing everywhere = mortifying!

    I have been fired from buns ever since. Until I met these~they are called spin pins and this is how they work (thank you to Hailey, my trusty model)

    1. twist your hair into a bun.

    2. take one and twist it down into the bun

    spin pin 1

     

    3. take another and twist it up into the bun, make sure they don’t interlockspin pin 2

    4. your bun stays in all day! Bring on the ballet recitals! We have lots of hair in this family, so it was a great find for us.spin pin

    I’ve seen them at most stores that sell hair products for $6-7 for 2 and also on on Amazon in a 6-pack

    We hope they make your hair life a little easier~

    (no affiliate with spin pins, we just love them)

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    30-days-september75

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    caught my eye: sister edition

    20 September 2013

    clock 6
    Happy Friday! I’m so excited to introduce you to my baby sister, Kerri. She was married 3 years ago (some posts on that here and here) and just moved Florida. This girl is amazing: she’s a registered dietician, super smart, she has crazy good sense of style (always looks amazing!), and she’s crafty too. I’m hoping some of her fashion sense will wear off on me one day. We all love her because she is a ton of fun and has a heart of gold.fun Aunt Kerri
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    my blogging story: part 3

    19 September 2013

    Need to catch up?
    Part 1 here
    Part 2 here
    blog-story-320-Sycamore6
    All right, I’ve spent all morning trying to write this post. I’m a little paralyzed here because I don’t know how you want to know about all of this thyroid business. It is a part of my blog story though because 2008, they year I began my blog, was just a crazy year for our family. I read back on my family blog and can’t believe all that happened.

    Here we go:

    I chose a family doctor after doing some research online, and found one that actually emphasized thyroid issues. He had me do some blood work, which showed I was hyper-thyroid, meaning my thyroid was making too much thyroid hormone, and most likely this was a hyperfunctioning nodule on my thyroid. This explained some of the symptoms I had felt in the last couple of months: racing heart that would take a long time to come back down after exercise, fatigue, yet it was hard to rest, always feeling hot, just not feeling myself, etc. He sent me to get an ultrasound of my neck to get a feeling of what this nodule (growth) was on my neck.

    I got the ultrasound, and found out it was a solid mass about 1 cubic inch around. The radiologist said that he'd get it taken out and not mess with it. Dr. Robinson felt the same. Nodules are actually very common on thyroids, 95% are benign, and most everyone will get some at some point or another in their life and never have to do anything about them. But, they were worried if this grew, it could interfere with my breathing or swallowing and felt it was just best to get it out and rule out cancer.
    (Okay, I really have to start condensing this part) Basically I would have surgery, my surgeon would take out the right half of my thyroid where the nodule was, my left side would still be able to produce enough thyroid hormone for my body. I had the surgery, it went well.

    mel hospital 3


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    2013 autumn front porch

    18 September 2013

    Hello, friends! We are renting a duplex while we will be building. It is half the size of our previous house, but it’s going to be home for the next 7-8 months, so we’re working with what we’ve got. Here is our autumn front porch:fall front porch
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    my kids’ top 10 favorite picture books ever

    17 September 2013

    We adore books in this house and have quite the collection after collecting for more than 15 years. We’ve shared our favorite Christmas books here, but I asked my kids to pick out their top 10 favorite picture books for a little presentation I was giving at my church women’s group. It was so fun and quite revealing to see the ones that they picked together. I don’t know if I would have picked them correctly on my own. I am going to share the links on Amazon, but of course you can find them at thrift stores, ebay, library sales, your mother’s basement, you know.
    favorite kid's books

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    easy fall - autumn wreath

    16 September 2013

    Hello! Are you sick of hearing from me every day yet? We are halfway through our every day September! Okay, I admit I’m scrambling some days when I don’t plan ahead, but it’s been good! I like the creative juices flowing again..
    30 days september
    Speaking of which, I wanted a fall wreath for our door on our rental, but didn’t want to spend a lot. Here is what I came up with:
    fall wreath 320 sycamore
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    courage for the week 9.15.13

    15 September 2013

    people around us -monson

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    my grocery list

    14 September 2013

    This is how I make my grocery list these days. I empty out my brain onto our white board in the hall:
    list on white board
    Then, I snap a picture of it with my phone and off I go.
    grocery list on phone

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    caught my eye: reader makeovers + deals

    13 September 2013

    Do you all remember Heather, m{?
    ’0onogram bucket girl
    ? Look what she did with her duvet covers from Target:curtains from duvet covers

    Don’t they look fantastic?

    And here are the ruffle curtains she made for her girl’s room~I love her taste.ruffled curtains in girl's room

     

    And here is another WOW makeover from Crafty and Caffeinated ~ she used the same gel stain that we did on our kid’s bathroom on her oak kitchen:kitchen before gel stain

    kitchen after gel stain

    kitchen after gel stain a

    What a difference! You can read about all of the details over at her blog.

    And of course, a few good deals to share for the weekend:

    * a new Redbox code available for a free DVD rental! Only fo use at the kiosk only and does not work for online reservations. Good for one night’s rental, if you keep it longer you’ll have to pay for additional nights. At the kiosk, enter MCPC213S

     * Snapfish has their penny prints back! 99 4X6 prints for 1 cent each, plus about $6 for shipping. Good through 9/17 Enter code: SEPTPRINT99 at checkout after you upload 99 prints to your cart.

    * Tom’s shoes has a $10 off code, plus free shipping! Use code: THANKYOU13

    *Groupon is offering $70 Worth of Picaboo Product for $19! Think holidays - photo books, calendars, canvas prints, etc.! Make sure you’ll be able to finish it before Nov. 16 though.

    *Amazon deals:

    * If you have a school party, fair, or birthday party coming up (or trick or treat favors!) these are a BIG hit: LED Finger Lights (40 pcs)

    * I love these American Girl books for explaining growing up and body changes for girls. Now, they have them for younger girls ages 8-10 and older girls 10 & up. Lowest prices I’ve seen:

    The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Younger Girls $6.67

    The Care and Keeping of You 2: The Body Book for Older Girls $6.67

    Some great deals on essentials that are delivered right to your door. You can buy them in your pajamas ♥

    * 24 Rolls of Sparkle Paper Towels $21.71 after you clip the coupon on the page and choose subscribe & save.

    * Quilted Northern 48 Double Rolls $22.74 with subscribe & save

    * Tide Free and Gentle 2 Pack $9.87 after you clip the coupon on the page and choose subscribe & save.

    I was going to say have a great weekend, and please do, but I will be back Saturday, Sunday, every day until the end of the month:

    30 days september

    Until tomorrow!

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    -post may contain affiliate links, see full disclosure here-

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    my blogging story: part 2

    12 September 2013

    Hello, again and welcome back! Thanks for listening :) Here is part 1 if you missed it..
    blog-story-320-Sycamore6
    As we were getting settled into Texas, I had a really great idea, something that had been at the back of my mind since we lived in Idaho. There was a discount home décor store there that a local family opened that was only open 2 days a week. Lubbock had nothing like it, and I thought it would be such a great idea to open one. Besides, it was only open 2 days a week, I could completely handle that! I could even build a playroom at the back that my little ones could play in while I set up the beautiful décor and chatted with my customers. It had been discouraging watching our savings being drained so quickly and this seemed like the perfect solution to supplement our modest student income. I called our realtor, she thought it sounded like a great idea and gave me some sources for looking into buildings to rent.

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    remembering ny today

    11 September 2013

    I was looking through some photo albums today from some trips to New York, remembering.
    The beams of one of the towers that left a cross standing (2003), that will now be featured in the museum.
    new york world trade center 1
    And the beautiful memorial that stands now, with the waterfalls that drown out the noise of the city and represent the void and loss of life of that day.
    sept 2011 030

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    how to clean cookie sheets * make them sparkle

    10 September 2013

    So, I saw a facebook post where it said that if I combined some baking soda and hydrogen peroxide into a paste, and rubbed it on my cookie sheets it would make them brand new.
    Well, that didn’t quite work for me, but I’ll show you what did. I think the steel wool pads were the main muscle in this experiment. Here’s what I used:
     
    to clean cookie sheets
     
    Sprinkle baking soda on your grimiest parts. Then, a few dashes of hyrdrogen peroxide. You don’t want it too pasty, just barely wet.
     
    how to clean cookie sheets
     
    Then, put on some rubber gloves because steel wool can do a number on your hands, take your steel wool pad and scrub, scrub, scrub! Sprinkle some more baking soda, a little more hp, and keep going. Cancel your workout today, because you’ll get it here.
    But look at how much better they look:
    how to clean cookie baking sheets
     
    Another trick I learned when I had to buy some parchment paper for a class project? It makes cleanup after cookies a breeze, especially for these delectable soft pumpkin cookies. We already made a batch. Fall, we are ready!
    parchment paper
     
    It’s day 10 of posting every day in September:
    30 days september
    Thanks for reading! Follow 320 Sycamore on Facebook * follow 320 Sycamore on Instagram * Get new posts from 320 Sycamore delivered to your inbox
     
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    how we moved across the country: some tips

    09 September 2013

    great moving tips!Moving is expensive. Let’s just get that out front. It’s not just the obvious things like the truck, gas, boxes, tape, bubble wrap, but the hotels, eating out, eating off paper plates, getting rid of everything in your fridge and freezer and then that killer first grocery trip when you have NOTHING to eat and have to buy everything like ketchup and creamer and dish soap and toilet paper. And then you gain 20 pounds from all of the eating out and moving stress eating and have to pay money to join a gym! :)

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    courage for the week 9.8.13

    08 September 2013

    patience is power

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    caught my eye: kid’s edition

    07 September 2013

    a birthday wreath that turns into a fun party game at the 36th Avenue:birthday wreath 36th avenue

    * a great list of life skills for kids, listed by age from Busy Kids, Happy Mom

    * 3 Unbelievably Simply Parenting Ideas (that work!) from Power of Moms

    * the Sweet Spot by Julianna Miner (this touched me because this is kind of where I am right now)

    * 20 Great Questions to ask your children as you are tucking them in.

    * Liberty's Kids - The Complete Series for $6.49!

    Do you have a special time or date night coming up?

    Here is a buy 1, get one for 99 cents blizzard at Dairy Queen.

    or

    Buy 1, Get 1 Free Sundae at Carvel

    or

    you can either get your first 5oz FREE or buy one get one free with a friend at Yogurtland!

    Happy Saturday~

    30 days septembersignature

    -post may contain affiliate links, full disclosure here-

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    new home inspiration

    06 September 2013

    As we are up to our necks in homes plans, pictures, ideas I came across these gorgeous pictures from Hiya Papaya of some homes by Cadence Homes. Please click on over to Hiya Papaya if you want to pin away~they have lots of eye candy over there. Don’t you love looking at ideas from different builders’ and seeing what’s new? It’s a bit overwhelming with the constant inspiration, but I have always loved going to Parade of Homes just for ideas, whether it has been for our apartment, re-model, or ideas for a future home.
    For these pictures below, I love the updated traditional look, the rooms full of light and the bright colors with a neutral backdrop. That yellow desk especially grabs my heart.
    What catches your eye? Do you tend to fall for the new and shiny of a just-built home, or the comfortable, well-loved feel of an existing home?cadence homes exterior
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    my blogging story: part 1

    05 September 2013

    Arggghh! I have debated back and forth and then back and forth again whether to write this or not. Do they really want to read about how I began my blog? But, I’m looking at it like a little journal, because it’s been 5 years since I began this blog and my memory is fading, so I want to always remember how I started, where I came from, how it all began. So I’m going with it, will you please bear with me? It will be every Thursday as part of my every day September.
    blog story 320 Sycamore

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    photography tip: exposure button

    04 September 2013

    One of the things I have had the most fun playing around with on my camera is the exposure dial. Basically, how much light is coming to your picture. Here it is on my Canon:
    When you push this button,exposure on camera

    the screen will come up and this is what you want to look at:exposure range
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    tip: to keep a mattress topper in place

    03 September 2013

    We have one of those heavy foam mattress toppers that I love, but it seems we were having to yank it up every morning to put it back into place. The solution?

     

    to keep a mattress toper in place

    Some random pieces of rug grippers that we placed between the topper and the mattress. No more slipping and sliding around!

    30 days september

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