Hannah's Nursery Debut

Here we are at over 38 weeks, and Hannah's room is finally in the finishing stages.There is a boxsprings set in her room which needs to be moved so that the rocking chair can be moved in, but that's about it! Wanna see the finished product?












I'm so proud of it. It's so girly and frilly and rich in scripture for my sweet girl! Now all we lack is the sweet girl herself!

Toddler Room/New Nursery

With Hannah's arrival being just around the corner (I'm full term this Thursday. Scream with me!), we've been busy making changes around the house.

First, we transitioned Drew to his big boy bed on Saturday night. I was so nervous and expected to be up half the night with him, convincing him to sleep on his newer, much softer mattress. He shocked us though! He's done great the last 2 naps and night times. I'm so proud! Speaking of proud, please look at the bed MY HUSBAND MADE!!!





Yes, he made this! He's never made a thing out of wood in his life until he attempted this bed. I told him he's getting an electric sander for Christmas so he can build me lots more beautiful pieces. ;) So proud of you, honey! Your hard work paid off!

After Andrew broke the crib down, he moved it into Hannah's room and set it up again. (I say we've done a lot of work, but it sounds like Andrew has done the majority, doesn't it?) Her room isn't nearly finished yet, but here's a sneak peak of what's going on...




Remember the bedskirt we made? It fits!


Dresser from Craigslist--$20!! A new coat of paint and shelf paper made it look brand new.


Shelf from Craigslist (same seller)--$20. Still needs to be decorated and last shelf put in place.

I still lack rehanging the curtain rod (it was too low), hanging the curtain, touching up the paint in a couple of spots, hanging the wall letters, filling/decorating the shelves, putting up wall decor and making a bow holder. Let's hope she holds out a little while longer before making her grand appearance.

Since getting these two major things accomplished, I feel SO much better. My anxiety level has decreased from a 9.9 to a 4. Just knowing both my babies have a place to sleep brings me peace! Stay tuned for more nursery updates....

Weekend Recap

We attended the wedding reception of our friends, Heather & Brad, last night. It was fun to dress up and see people with whom I used to work. Made me miss it....just for a minute. ;)

I've gained approximately 8-9 pounds so far during this pregnancy, and do you know where 90% of it has gone? It's all in my face. You lucky people who gain first in your thighs or rear or somewhere hideable!

I couldn't find one picture from last night that I was really happy with, so you got this one. I mean, it's not like I can crop out my face. I tried the "slimming tool" on Picnik.com, but it just made me look less pregnant....and my face stayed the same. *sigh* And when you take a picture next to someone who's tanner, thinner, and taller, the slimming tool just ain't gonna help you. Note to Heather...I'm not taking any more pictures with you. Ever. Or at least until you're pregnant and I'm not. ;)

I've been wanting to add scripture to our walls for the longest time. Etsy.com has a ton of cute (and very affordable) pieces, but I happened to run across one in Hobby Lobby 3 months ago when I had a 40% coupon and snatched it up. So after 3 months of sitting on my nightstand, begging me to forgo my fear that I'd mess up my wall, we finally put it up yesterday.


I LOVE IT! Get ready....we're about to have wall words every.where.


I'm actually considering one like this maybe for Hannah's room (only the script will be smooth and not grainy):


On totally unrelated news, IT IS HOT.

The heat index today is 113 with unbreathable air. Are any of you experiencing this as well?

I almost took one of those battery operated misting fans to church with me this morning because I resemble a sweating pig when I step foot out of the house.

Thanks to this weather, our little man has been spending a good bit of time in kiddie pools & sprinklers. He's not complaining!


Today I did four straight hours of cleaning. My dad asked me if I was that bored. I've never been so bored that I couldn't find something more fun to do than clean, so it must be hormones. I cleaned my washer and dryer, the return air vents, kitchen baseboards, kitchen chairs, and front of all my appliances. I even broke out an extended arm tool for my vacuum and got in the crevices of my laundry room. See? It wasn't everyday stuff.....seriously, return air vents?! Anywho--I feel better!

And that concludes our weekend, friends! Hope your time was as blessed as ours!

They're Naked

We've lived in our house for 3 years this month and my kitchen windows are still 100% naked. The reasoning behind their immodesty is the bay shaped window in which they live, and I've been clueless as to how to dress them.

Then one day about 2 months ago I was looking at a friend's pictures on facebook. Okay, well...we met once so I'm considering us "friends." Anyway....I saw this picture in her album and knew I'd found a solution to my scandalous window issue.


(Faces of the innocent have been marked out to resemble....satanists...or something.) What? The window wasn't the first thing you looked at here? Alright, well maybe their faces distract from that beautiful treatment in the back, but it's what first caught MY eye. See that cute pompom ball fringe? LOVE THAT.

Then I was wandering around the nest the other day when I saw a picture of her kitchen window in the background of this picture:



The Nester's motto is: "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful." With that in mind, I went out and found this great decorator's fabric at Hancock's for a steal at $3/yard. I then realized the print was positioned the wrong way and I was going to have to stitch a ton of fabric together, which I've done. Now all I lack is hemming 150" inches across the top. THAT I haven't even started on because....

1) I haven't figured out how to get those little loopies at the bottom of the curtain without taking an advanced sewing class. Knowing the nester, she probably hot glued or clothes-pinned it somehow...but I haven't figured out her technique. Y'all have any ideas? Hm...what about those paper clasps that "lock" into place?

2) I forgot my pompoms at Hobby Lobby the other day so I have to wait to make the 40 minute trip another day.

3) It's going to take me 6 months to measure, pin, and hem 150" of fabric.

These windows might get to sunbathe in the nude for the rest of the summer. Maybe I'll have them clothed before the next winter?

Our Christmas Decor: Toddler Style

My Aunt Deda said I should take a picture of our tree this year so we can look back and laugh about it in years to come. I decided I'd post it so you can get a chuckle too. After 1 1/2 weeks of being constantly torn apart by curious hands, here is our poor tree.


The bottom half is quite lacking in ornaments. And since this picture was taken 10 minutes ago, another 2 ornaments have found a new home towards the top of the tree.

Surprisingly, he's left the mantle decor alone, aside from trying to pull on the stockings.


This is probably the majority of the decor going up at our home this year. Our curious toddler's hands can't take anymore temptation!

*Keep scrolling for another new post!

Fall Decor Photos

My apologizes for going post-crazy the last few days. Guess I just have a lot to catch up on...and there's still more to come!

Just wanted to quickly post how the fall seasoning is changing our home. Fall is such an easy season to decorate for, is it not? Just add leaf garland or pine cones or the color orange and you've got instant warmth in your home. I declare that in my next house, I will have a dark orange wall!

Added leaf garland and berries to the topiares.



(The candelabra still needs candlesticks...two years after buying AND using it. I hang my head in shame.)


Just added orange berry twigs to my "dead stick arrangement" as Andrew calls it.




Berry garland on the large, takes-up-my-entire-living-room TV.


Thinking I might should have cleaned the legos off the table...Oh well. I'm human. ;) I know a lot of people don't like "fake greenery," but I think leaves and berries are held to a different standard. Kind of like Christmas trees....Love it or hate it, it makes my kitchen cozier.

I forgot the picture, but I also added twigs of berry garland to my kitchen shelves as well.

A cool front is coming in this weekend....we can't wait! Should be perfect for heading to the pumpkin patch on Saturday!

Wall Dressings

I hate wall decor. I hate picking it; there are too many things to consider. You've got: color, size, weight, what do I hang it with? Will it leave a big hole in the wall? Am I gonna have to puddy over it and paint when we move? Is it gonna cover the light switch panel placed in the middle of the wall?

Oh. You don't have that last problem? Well, some crazy man who probably doesn't have one picture on a wall in his home did our electrical work and didn't think twice about putting our light switches in the middle of the walls. That's on my list of things to watch for in our next house...years down the road. (That and wider hallways. And lower ceiling bathrooms. And...)I digress...

We've lived in this house 2 1/2 years, and I've yet to hang much on these walls. I did manage to get a clock up (which never got "sprung forward" so I think I'll just wait til November so I don't have to "fall back"), a star, and a few various things from Hobby Lobby, etc. But I still have plenty of bare walls to fill.

I've seen lots of people who come up with nifty, easy DIY art ideas. Framing cool scrapbook paper in frames which were once ugly and then restored to something beautiful. Doing stuff with their kids pictures, handprints, etc. A huge collage of pictures. That's what I need to do I guess: art on a budget!

Got any more ideas? I'm all ears.

Kitchen Window Dilemma- HELP

You guys were so much help with my bedroom decor dilemma that I thought I'd really test your skills and ask you about my breakfast room. I want to put some wall words on the long, thin space above the breakfast area.

However, my question is more about curtains. How am I to cover these windows? I know it desperately needs something, but when it comes to curtains, I pretty much pick floor length panels or nothing. Obviously, I'm no window treatment fashionista. I've checked out Nester's site for easy window "mistreatments," but am not sure any will work with how little space we have to work with.



I'll shut up now. Just give me you 2 cents. It has to be better than what I (don't) have up.

Tour of Homes: Master Bedroom

I guess I've been living under a rock in blogworld because I just discovered Kelly's Korner. She's hosting a carnival of home tours, and this week is Master Bedrooms. Well, this is one of 3 incomplete rooms in our house (meaning, I'm not yet satisfied), but I'm gonna participate because you might could give me some advice to solve my problemo.

I know there's too much brown in here. Brown walls, brown curtains, brown picture frames, brown blanket. We used to have a yellowish/tan color for the walls, so the brown was okay then. I'm dying to find some curtains with a large bold print like this:

...but without the price tag.

Either that or new bedding. I'm even considering jumping on the blue/brown train, but throwing green and white in there. I love large modern floral prints or large paisley prints. Know where I can find it? By all means, COMMENT.

Oh, and FYI: I actually had to make my bed for this post. I went to all that trouble for you.

Terrible picture of the nook from the den to the MB. Purpose of said nook: to make it nearly impossible to move anything larger than a human inbetween the space without scarring the walls. Namely, furniture, mattresses, and boxsprings. You know, everything needed in a MBR. Note to self: no nook in next house.


Pan-0-ramic view


Love the ceilings. The blanket on our bed turned out greyish, but it's actually brown.


My problem wall: I have no idea what on earth to put here. This is where you come in. COMMENT.


Andrew's nightstand. Confession: I cleaned off his stuff and stuck that candle there. He'd be mortified if I made it look like he had put a candle on his nightstand.


Some people really hate matchy-matchy. I'm not one of them. I want everything in a MBR to be the same, balanced. So this is my matching nightstand, complete with water bottle for middle of the night thirst quences, a phone charger, and a really long stand-outish electrical cord. I made Andrew's side look decent. I left mine.


Some little guy came into our world approximately 11 months and 2 weeks ago, leaving our office stuff without a home. It moved from our bedroom to the dining room and now, back to the bedroom. And here it will stay until...well, until our house multiplies itself.


Some say ceiling fans are eyesores. I say if you live in hot & humid MS, it's called a necessity.

So, there you have it. The brown bedroom! I welcome your suggestions!