our life | Grey House Harbor

Jan 1 2017

the best of 2016

Posted by hayley

December 31.
7:30p – Songbird out cold on the couch.
8p – Party poppers and the fake countdown on Netflix with Bug.
10p – Handsome and Echo throw in the towel.

best

Looks like I’m the last man standing. Or sitting rather… in my jammies by the fire watching the worst performance of Mariah Carey’s life (but seriously, what was that?! yikes). Hello 2017!

In no particular order, here are a few of our favorite memories from 2016. It was a charmed year full of adventure and wonder. Thanks for tagging along with this little blog of mine—can’t wait to see what our 2017 chapter brings. Happy New Year!

BEST TRAVELS

best2

BEST SELFIES

best1

BEST WILDLIFE INTERACTIONS

best5

BEST HOLIDAYS

best6

BEST TIMES WITH FRIENDS

best9

BEST OUTDOOR FUN

best4

BEST FIRSTS

best10

Tags: family, our life

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Nov 2 2016

cardboard creatures: autobots & elephants

Posted by hayley

Surely by now you know I have a *thing* for cardboard. I kinda love that it’s free (hello, Amazon Prime), easy to work with, and has almost limitless potential when paired with a little hot glue and paint.

Around Sept I started saving boxes. By early October the kids placed their Halloween costume orders and I got to work.

Elephant Costume : Cardboard Creatures | greyhouseharbor.com

Optimus Prime Transformers Costume : Cardboard | greyhouseharbor.com

Bug crushed the trick-or-treat scene as Optimus Prime from the Transformers series.

Optimus Prime Transformers Costume : Cardboard | greyhouseharbor.com

Arm guns included. Duh.

Optimus Prime Transformers Costume : Cardboard | greyhouseharbor.com

cardboad-creatures-2016-2

When he laid down flat, the whole costume transformed into Optimus’s signature semi-truck mode. Be sure to scroll to the end of this post for a video of him in action as well as some behind-the-scenes clips…

Optimus Prime Transformers Costume : Cardboard | greyhouseharbor.com

And then my animal lover: Songbird, the elephant. The entire headpiece was fashioned on the fly: cut, fit, re-cut, glue. Old-fashioned trial and error.

Elephant Costume : Cardboard Creatures | greyhouseharbor.com

Little plastic snaps and straps of elastic kept all 4 “feet” secure, while still allowing full range of motion. A small loop of cardboard glued to the back of the tail easily attached it to the hoodie with a kilt pin.

Elephant Costume : Cardboard Creatures | greyhouseharbor.com

The night prior to Halloween, I stayed up past my bedtime to make myself a cardboard hat. I feel a kinship with the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland; we both frequently feel as though we’re losing our minds, have large heads that look great in hats, and think that wanting to sit and sip (sweet) tea in peace is really not asking for much.

Mad Hatter Costume - Cardboard Hat | greyhouseharbor.com

Some people might wonder why I would spend so much time and effort on something that’s worn for just one night. It’s the same reason people spend thousands of dollars on a wedding dress that’s worn once: love.

Cardboard Creature Costumes : Transformer & Elephant | greyhouseharbor.com

The love of a making my kids’ dreams a reality and shaping their childhood memories. The love of succeeding at a challenging project. My love for changing up the daily routine and a great excuse to dust off my paintbrushes.

Cardboard Creature Costumes : Transformer & Elephant | greyhouseharbor.com

As an artist turned homemaker, I’m not going to see my work hung in a fancy gallery any time soon. For now I’ll just enjoy it hanging on my kids.

Cardboard Creature Costumes : Transformer, Mad Hatter, & Elephant | greyhouseharbor.com

Be sure to watch the video for Bug’s awesome transformation!

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Tags: art studio, cardboard, costumes, halloween, our life

40 comments

Oct 18 2016

painting pachyderms {songbird’s birthday party}

Posted by hayley

This past weekend we celebrated Songbird’s 8th birthday!

She decided on a party themed around her favorite animal: elephants. So we planned a painting party where I would lead her friends in creating a pachyderm piece of art to take home. My studio was set up with mini tabletop easels and 12″ x 12″ canvases, on which I had pre-drawn the basic design.

In lieu of “goody bags,” her guests got to take home their paintings, easels, painter’s palette and brush set.

To protect everyone’s party attire, I sewed each girl an art smock — made from those big TJ Maxx reusable shopping bags: waterproof and adorable. Win!

We kept the rest of the decor fairly simple. A few Martha Stewart accordion lanterns that were gathering dust in the back of my closet made their way out into the sunshine — strung up among the kitchen pendants. The balloon elephant was courtesy of a carnival entertainer from the elementary school fair the night before. And did you know that Coldstone will pop whatever trinket you want atop a custom ice cream cake? Mint chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting, YUM.

Once everyone was suited up in their aprons, we got to painting. I showed them each step on my own canvas as they followed along. We used acrylic craft paint and talked about proper brush size/shape for different strokes. The colored brushes really helped with this… “For the teal background, we’re going to use our purple brush.”

Half way through the artists took a break for gifts and cake.

In all the years that Handsome has traveled for work, this was the first of our kids’ birthdays he wasn’t able to attend. But he made sure to join in via Skype for awhile.

Some girls finished sections quickly and others really took their time. It was cute to watch them walk around complimenting and encouraging each others’ progress.

The party lasted about 2.5 hrs, which was long enough to get most of the paintings dry with the help of a hair dryer. In the end, everyone’s project turned out fantastic. They were excited to show them off to their parents and siblings.

Handsome and I are so proud of the young lady that Songbird is growing into. Lover of all the animals, singer of made up songs, reader of real chapter books, fluent in emoji, puppy snuggler, friend hugger, expert swimmer and adventure seeker. Lawfully old enough to ride without a car seat and half way to a drivers license. We love her to pieces. Happy 8th Birthday, sweet girl!

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Tags: birthday, birthday party, our life, painting, songbird

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Oct 12 2016

wild, wet, wonderful weekend

Posted by hayley

This weekend was one for the record books.

It started simple enough; Songbird would join my parents at the annual Boat Show in Annapolis, Maryland and on the way back to Virginia Beach they planned to collect our newest family member.

For 4 long years Songbird has been begging for a dog, like daily. Initially we stalled by saying Bug had to be potty trained. Then by insisting she prove her responsibility by caring for a hamster. After Penny passed away this summer I was flush out of tactics, so Handsome and I decided the kids were finally old enough to appreciate a long-term pet.

On Saturday, Songbird’s dream came true in the form of an 8-week-old, 5 lb Boston Terrier puppy.

Her name is Echo.

That same night Hurricane Matthew decided not to play nice and cruised up the Atlantic coast instead of turning towards the ocean like everyone thought it would. My parents and Songbird ended up trapped by flooding and had to smuggle the pup into a hotel room for the night.

Here at the grey house, we lost power as the hurricane whipped through our neighborhood Saturday night into Sunday. Totally worth 1/4 tank of gas to charge my cellphone (eye roll).

Eventually everyone made it home safely. With no iPads, no Netflix, no electronics to distract us, we spent most of the day Sunday bonding with our new baby.

Bug kept a close watch during nap time. Maybe a little too close.

We were powerless for a total of 41 hours. Dinner by candlelight, card games, and flashlight fun ensued. Unexpected quality time together can be a gift and the source of some of the best family stories.

Adding a furry family member is always a memorable experience. But something tells me the tale of Echo’s homecoming will live on in our family history for a lifetime.