FREE decorating tip and other randoms

So where did I get such beautiful paintings for FREE???

One little under-used resource.....

THE LIBRARY!

You can check out paintings just like books and keep them for three weeks.

Better yet, you can renew them up to 5 TIMES!

Yeah. You do the math.

I already counted out the weeks, and that means I can keep them through mid September.

Freaking awesome.

I've also been reading "Love and Logic" (from the library as well) during breakfast while watching Kensie play. Have you read it? I'm only through Chapter 3, but I really like the ideas so far.

This is usually where you will find us at 7:30am. Me-at the table on my second cup of coffee, with toast and a good read. And Kensie- just doing her thing.

I DO enjoy mornings- with coffee of course.

And boy have I needed it lately. Kensie and I BOTH have stuffy noses, and it has kept her up the last 2 nights in a row. She has learned to fall asleep by sucking her first two fingers. But, it's nearly impossible for her to suck and breath simultaneously. Meaning, I have to get her to sleep BEFORE placing her in bed. Which takes lots and lost of energy and time.

But, amidst all the sleeplessness and tissues...she still has energy to get up in her bear crawl stance. She just started this yesterday. She doesn't really get anywhere with it, but loves to try. She is definitely getting more aggressive and motivated to MOVE.

And my life (as I currently know it) will be over once this girl gets on her feet.

9 months, 5 squirms, and 1 tooth later

It sure is getting tough to sit still these days, even for the infamous chair picture. But, we succeeded in keeping both buns on the cushion this month. (Unlike the 5 other photos I won't show you).

And YES a single pearly tooth has finally fought it's way to the surface of some stubborn gums. One down....a TON more to go. But, someone's excited to use her knew found chomper to annihilate lots of good 'ol carbs (whole wheat bagels being her favorite).

Did I mention she has discovered her head? However, the sweet stroking of her own hair while falling asleep as well as the urge to reach both arms straight up in an effort touch both hands above her out-of-proportion-sized noggin goes out the window the minute she begins to rub that soggy piece of a (barely recognizable) bagel in her hair. Starting strategically at the top of the head, she smears it slowly down to the back of her neck. I'm learning to let go of the mess. But still. Yuck.

Happy 9 months Choo-choo!

A touch of GREEN

My Mom's favorite color has always been green, and I can see why. She LOVES gardening, and has always maintained a beautiful display of flowers in the yard of every home we've ever lived in. Pictures of lush, green scenery were also found hung throughout each house.

My favorite colors growing up were yellow, then red, then PINK for a long time. Now in my 20's, I think I have adopted all different shades of GREEN into my wardrobe, accessories, and now our home. There's so much beauty in this calming, natural color and nothing makes me want to bring it inside my home more. It's just so friendly and inviting.

Our kitchen, dining room, and nursery are all painted a subtle green called "Garden Fairy" by Benjamin Moore. Our hutch is "Bella Mint", and almost every fabric used for curtains, seat covers and pillow covers are a sweet mix of green and white with touches of blue and red for accents.

Besides green paint I LOVE green plants (usually fake) spread throughout each room. Here are a few recent projects I've finished to bring even more of this color into our home.

I found 4 ugly brown shutters in the shed out back when we bought the house. I had two of them painted this lovely deep mossy green (sorry forgot the name), and made 2 matching wreaths and hung them with ribbon (forgoing the urge to tie them with bows in order to appease the husband). I LOVE how they turned out. I got the idea from All Thingz Related.




This cozy space turns into the Christmas room come winter. I purposely hung the shutters with the slats facing up so we can drape Christmas card from them, with the tree framed beautifully in front of the window.

Next, I made this simple topiary with some moss that I already had filling my apothecary jars(originally from Hobby Lobby) . The idea was inspired when I found the adorable green pot (already painted that color) for $1 at HL.

I first wedged a hockey-puck shaped piece of styrofoam in the top until it was flush with the top of the pot, and then covered it with glue and bits of moss. **If I could do it again, I would add some rocks or some kind of weight in the bottom before putting the styrofoam in...it becomes a bit top heavy when finished**

Meanwhile, I spray painted the dowel rod (pack of 6 from HL) the earthy brown color. Let dry. Then took a razor blade and scraped some paint off to make it look more natural. Once the rod and the pot were dry, I put a dab of glue on the bottom and stuck the rod through the middle of the moss all the way until it hit the bottom. Let dry.






Next, I covered a sphere shaped styrofoam ball with glue and bits of moss. This part took the longest. Once it dried I had to go back and re-glue pieces that were hanging off, making sure no part of the white ball showed underneath. Once the ball was completely done, I simply perched it on top of the rod until it felt secure. The last touch was a small piece of ribbon tied around the pot in a simple knot. Love it.








What's YOUR favorite color to accent your house?

Hot and humid

Take a baby bathtub outdoors and suddenly it doubles as a kiddie pool. I don't see a rule anywhere about limiting it's use only for bath time...so why not I say! Bath toys, swimsuits and all, we perched ourselves on the front porch yesterday for just the right amount of sun and shade.

And yes, that's a Speedway slurpee. Hot and humid turned heavenly. ahhhhhh.....

you like my background?

So, I was getting bored of my look and decided it was time for a change. Whatchya think? I got the background from here. And the header is from Kensie's newborn session with Tammi. If you missed the last post, check out her photos here.

I also found the graphics.fairy (it's a branch off the first blog link) ...and well, I was hooked!

Since my discovery only two short days ago, I have been thinking up ALL kinds of projects. Dreaming about them really. Yeah. Kinda obsessed. This gal posts all kinds of vintage images that you can link to. I'm talking daily. Every.single.day, she posts one or more beautiful images that you can download for FREE. You can print them right at home in any size you want and the quality is fantastic. It's no wonder she has over 4,000 followers. Amazing.

Images like this....

or this...
or wait....these!

Can you even stand it!!! Those last 4 fairies I already have printed off and slipped into frames above Kensie's crib. Simply darling. And the images above I want to mod podge to something...just not sure what yet.

So, while I'm battling my new found infatuation, just go check out the site. Please. I need to know someone else is obsessed with it as much as I am. And, maybe I'll have a few projects to post in the near future. :)

Side note: I've also added a sidebar with all my favorite blogs and websites related to crafts, decorating, photography, etc. It's under "just my style"----->

Thanks to tammi...

...we are dying of cuteness over here. Tammi is such an amazing photographer, it's no wonder her business is called "more.than.words.photography". These photos are simply stunning, and she is making it IMPOSSIBLE for me to decide which one I want as an 8 x 10 for Kensie's room.

So, I'm asking you, my viewing audience to vote for your favorite photo. Not only to assist me in my tough decision making, but for Tammi. Let her know which vintage look you like best and why, and consider your input a gift towards the greater good of vintage-style photography. :-)

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So, go! Leave a comment and vote 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 and why you like it! And don't forget to visit her website to check out how YOU can capture some sweet moments for your family.

Dada

I have a habit of taking pics and videos daily and placing the camera next to Greg's plate at the dinner table. It's a good chance for him to see what's happened that day while he's hard at work. It's something he looks forward to every time he comes home. This, so far...was his favorite video :-)