Joseph - 12 months old

1. Poor Joseph has come down with a cold this week… all of his sniffling, runny nose and coughing is so sad :(  However, being sick doesn’t really slow him down much – he still plays non-stop, is doing tons of walking, and is in a great mood!

2. About a month before Joseph’s birthday, my husband and I were talking about what to get him and we had decided on a nice toy box. Then, a few days later, my husband said he’d like to try to make one. He hadn’t ever done anything related to woodworking, but did some research, watched some YouTube videos, and with his dad’s help, he built this:

Homemade Toy Box

It’s absolutely gorgeous! I was so proud of him and had to brag :) Joseph loves standing over the side and pulling out the toys he wants to play with.

He just finishing a bookshelf for Joseph’s bedroom – I’ll share that as soon as it’s done!

3. I’m on the hunt for a gallon-size glass pitcher (with lid and spout) to replace our plastic iced tea container. I can’t seem to find them anywhere! Any suggestions?

4. Lovely advice from people who have been there.

5. I’ve been working on being more organized with what I need to do around the house and have been keeping a rough laundry schedule for a couple of months, but I’m loving how this is broken down [via]:

Good Home Cleaning Schedule

6. I’m going to be doing a reader survey within the next week (it’s been so long!) so keep an eye out! I always love to hear what you’re looking for from the site, and this will be your chance to give me tons of great feedback :)

7. Last week, I mentioned that I was going to use a Cook’s Illustrated method to clean out a neglected cast iron skillet. That method (heating oil and adding salt to create a paste) wasn’t enough to get the layer of caked-on crud off, so it looks like I’ll be stripping it entirely and reseasoning it.

8. If you’re a hockey fan, you’ve probably heard about the John Scott drama surrounding the all-star game last weekend. For those that aren’t – quick recap: he’s been in the league a long time, but isn’t really a skilled player, more of a fighter. He was voted into the all-star game (fan voting), but the league tried to put the kibosh on it. I hadn’t paid much attention to it until I read a piece he wrote in The Players’ Tribune: A Guy Like Me. Super read.

9. It’s Super Bowl weekend! Are you having a party? Who are you rooting for? I would be happy if either team won, but I’m pulling for Peyton Manning to win since this will probably be his last game.

10. TGIF! Einstein and Duke got groomed this week, so they’re soft, fluffy, smell great, and I just want to bury my head in their fur ❤️

Duke - February 2016