on the 17th. Her first birthday party is this Saturday. I've been prepping for this for MONTHS now. legit... months. I picked a "Wild One" bohemian/native american theme with wind catchers and feathers. I figured this is probably the only party of hers I'll ever be able to pick the theme for so I chose one I was really into and that I hadn't seen anyone else (besides the people on pinterest) do. I busted out my Cricut that my mom got me ages ago and has been living in it's box under things in the spare room and got to work. I've made 4 banners - one is just bunting, the other has her name spelled out, one has "Wild One" on it and the last one has "Happy Birthday." They were a lot of work to make so I hope they look nice for the party. It was a lot of cutting out and gluing, etc.
I'm glad they're done haha
I also used some of the same scrapbook papers I used for the banners to make what I'm calling a 'Birthday Board.' Every month on the 17th I've been taking her picture in a white onesie and listing her height, weight, likes, dislikes, etc. I decided to create a large menu board type thing with all of her 1 year stats on it. It came out pretty nice.
We're making a growth chart for her (and our future kids) out of a piece of wood that was cut from one of the trees on our land. We squared one edge and the other we are leaving rustic with the bark on. We've been working on burning in the tick marks and tonight I'll be adding the numbers to every foot and our names at the top. I'm pretty nervous about screwing it up so we'll see how it goes.
We got her a 2 tiered water table that I know she's absolutely going to love playing with outside this summer. I also picked up a bubble machine for her and a few other small toys.
I can't believe my baby is going to be 1!!!
Time to get thinking about baby #2. :-D
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Well she's 9 months old
now and my entire idea of keeping up with this blog seems to have dissipated completely. We have so much going on... that most nights I just want to plop on the couch, or I have housework to do or some project that I'm working on... I need to figure out a way to make this more manageable because I still really desire to keep this going. Maybe if I decide once a week to set aside a specific time to blog and update I'll be able to actually get this going again.
So!
That's the new plan.
So instead of back tracking and trying to make up for lost time I'm going to just dive right into where our lives are at right now so the task doesn't seem quite so daunting.
Last week I got out and finally figured out my Cricut machine that my mom had gotten me 2309203 years ago when we lived in the old house. I never had any room to set it up so it just sat in it's box, all sad, underneath my desk. I still don't really have a space to set it up but with Audrey's birthday coming up in May I really wanted to start trying my hand at making some decorations for it so I don't have to spend a ton of money buying cute decor from etsy. It's now all over the dining room table... and may or may not be spreading to the breakfast table as well... (I like to watch TV while it does its thing)...
Anywho. Her first birthday is May 17th and I've been pinning to about 5 different boards on Pinterest trying to collect inspiration on various themes until I nail one down. The others are at least general enough that they could be used again when she's older if she wants (Hellooooo Peacock themed party! ;) haha)
For her first birthday we're going with a "Wild One" Tribal princess/boho theme. It sounds like a royal cluster but actually it's pretty cohesive. We're focusing on corals, teals, pinks, golds and some browns for colors. We're using a lot of arrows and feathers in the mix and teepees for table decoration with some small woodland animals thrown in there somewhere too. I really liked it because it's not one I've ever seen done (though according to Pinterest a ton of people have used this theme and made tons of stuff and had amazing parties). I really didn't want a traditional theme. I don't really like doing what everyone else is doing. I don't like copying what I've seen 329030293 other people do (I'm really into random numbers today... ) and I, myself, find it really irritating to be copied... just do your own thing! I take pride in the fact that I don't usually ask for anyone's opinion on most things - I go with my gut. anyway... what were we talking about? oh yeah!
I figured I'd better start ironing out the kinks of my Cricut machine now so that if I make a few things and they're a complete waste I'll be able to improve them or fix them or make it all over again and have it turn out better the next time. So far I've made 3 banners that are super cute (pics later.. maybe? haha) and seem to be holding up ok... I used scrap book paper and card stock to reinforce but the card stock is glittery and the scrap book paper isn't sticking that well in certain spots.. so I might have to super glue it instead of using this double stick adhesive tape I bought or the glue stick that I've used as back up.. that also doesn't seem to be working...
I'm also planning on making a fabric garland for her high chair to dress it up and some tissue paper balls (my fave) to hang up. We're hoping the weather will be nice enough out that we can hold it in the front yard/attached garage. We still don't have any idea who we're going to invite - since she doesn't really have friends yet, it'll mostly be just family - but since we live so far away from family it's a crap shoot who will actually be able to make it...
I'm also hoping to get her a teepee that we can set up outside (potentially using for her 1 year photos) that will also go with the theme and be a cute spot for any of the kids that do show up to play in/around. It can go up in her room and eventually down in the basement for her and her siblings to play around in.
That'll probably also be her 1 big present. She has a ton of stuff from Christmas still, 1/2 of which she isn't old enough to play with yet. Presents aren't going to be necessary. I even mentioned to Darrell that instead of people bringing presents we could have them bring some supplies that we could donate to the local SPCA since Audrey's only real best friend (besides me of course ;) ) is her fursister Ellie. I think Ellie would approve... Darrell still thinks it would be nice if she had some more presents...
We have until May to get all this sorted out but I'm so excited about it that it's pretty much all I've been thinking about for weeks (if you couldn't tell...)
Once I get a few more things together I might take a few pics and post them so everyone (anyone?? anyone?? bueller?? hello?? is anyone out there??) can see them.
Until then (which will probable be another 9 months... haha) Cheers!
So!
That's the new plan.
So instead of back tracking and trying to make up for lost time I'm going to just dive right into where our lives are at right now so the task doesn't seem quite so daunting.
Last week I got out and finally figured out my Cricut machine that my mom had gotten me 2309203 years ago when we lived in the old house. I never had any room to set it up so it just sat in it's box, all sad, underneath my desk. I still don't really have a space to set it up but with Audrey's birthday coming up in May I really wanted to start trying my hand at making some decorations for it so I don't have to spend a ton of money buying cute decor from etsy. It's now all over the dining room table... and may or may not be spreading to the breakfast table as well... (I like to watch TV while it does its thing)...
Anywho. Her first birthday is May 17th and I've been pinning to about 5 different boards on Pinterest trying to collect inspiration on various themes until I nail one down. The others are at least general enough that they could be used again when she's older if she wants (Hellooooo Peacock themed party! ;) haha)
For her first birthday we're going with a "Wild One" Tribal princess/boho theme. It sounds like a royal cluster but actually it's pretty cohesive. We're focusing on corals, teals, pinks, golds and some browns for colors. We're using a lot of arrows and feathers in the mix and teepees for table decoration with some small woodland animals thrown in there somewhere too. I really liked it because it's not one I've ever seen done (though according to Pinterest a ton of people have used this theme and made tons of stuff and had amazing parties). I really didn't want a traditional theme. I don't really like doing what everyone else is doing. I don't like copying what I've seen 329030293 other people do (I'm really into random numbers today... ) and I, myself, find it really irritating to be copied... just do your own thing! I take pride in the fact that I don't usually ask for anyone's opinion on most things - I go with my gut. anyway... what were we talking about? oh yeah!
I figured I'd better start ironing out the kinks of my Cricut machine now so that if I make a few things and they're a complete waste I'll be able to improve them or fix them or make it all over again and have it turn out better the next time. So far I've made 3 banners that are super cute (pics later.. maybe? haha) and seem to be holding up ok... I used scrap book paper and card stock to reinforce but the card stock is glittery and the scrap book paper isn't sticking that well in certain spots.. so I might have to super glue it instead of using this double stick adhesive tape I bought or the glue stick that I've used as back up.. that also doesn't seem to be working...
I'm also planning on making a fabric garland for her high chair to dress it up and some tissue paper balls (my fave) to hang up. We're hoping the weather will be nice enough out that we can hold it in the front yard/attached garage. We still don't have any idea who we're going to invite - since she doesn't really have friends yet, it'll mostly be just family - but since we live so far away from family it's a crap shoot who will actually be able to make it...
I'm also hoping to get her a teepee that we can set up outside (potentially using for her 1 year photos) that will also go with the theme and be a cute spot for any of the kids that do show up to play in/around. It can go up in her room and eventually down in the basement for her and her siblings to play around in.
That'll probably also be her 1 big present. She has a ton of stuff from Christmas still, 1/2 of which she isn't old enough to play with yet. Presents aren't going to be necessary. I even mentioned to Darrell that instead of people bringing presents we could have them bring some supplies that we could donate to the local SPCA since Audrey's only real best friend (besides me of course ;) ) is her fursister Ellie. I think Ellie would approve... Darrell still thinks it would be nice if she had some more presents...
We have until May to get all this sorted out but I'm so excited about it that it's pretty much all I've been thinking about for weeks (if you couldn't tell...)
Once I get a few more things together I might take a few pics and post them so everyone (anyone?? anyone?? bueller?? hello?? is anyone out there??) can see them.
Until then (which will probable be another 9 months... haha) Cheers!
Friday, June 12, 2015
Little Audrey Anne
We've had quite the whirlwind sweeping through our house lately. We found out we were expecting in August, told our families October 12th and since then everything has happened so fast we can barely keep up! We excitedly found out we were expecting a little baby girl, got the nursery together (tour later) had fantastic baby shower and 2 weeks later she was here! I delivered our little Audrey Anne at 5:46am on May 17th! I'm going to post some of our maternity shots in this post and break down how we told our parents/family, my labor story, nursery tour, etc. in a few others - otherwise this post would be gigantic and being a mom to a 4 week old I honestly don't have time for a huge post! I'm hoping that being off on maternity leave and for the rest of the summer I'll get back to posting so our little love bug can maybe look back on this blog someday and see what the first few months (at least) of her life was like as we figured out this whole parenting thing!
So! Maternity Photos! Our engagement, wedding and family photographer friend Mallory took them at our home during the middle of April and I couldn't be happier. It really helps having Mallory as a friend of ours so the photos come out a lot less staged and more natural which I absolutely love. We took some in our bedroom, some in the nursery and a few in our backyard (woods) and of course Ellie had to be in them as well!
I made the "A" that we're photographed with, the burlap name banner, as well as the pom pom mobile above her crib - I'll get into more of that in a different post.
That's all for now! little one is getting fussy in her swing so I better scoot!
So! Maternity Photos! Our engagement, wedding and family photographer friend Mallory took them at our home during the middle of April and I couldn't be happier. It really helps having Mallory as a friend of ours so the photos come out a lot less staged and more natural which I absolutely love. We took some in our bedroom, some in the nursery and a few in our backyard (woods) and of course Ellie had to be in them as well!
I made the "A" that we're photographed with, the burlap name banner, as well as the pom pom mobile above her crib - I'll get into more of that in a different post.
That's all for now! little one is getting fussy in her swing so I better scoot!
Friday, April 24, 2015
So it's been a while
and things have been happening on the home front! We have built an attached garage and farmhouse front porch that extends the entire length of the front of the house:
We've also started building a detached 2 stall garage with a loft and workshop for Darrell. No pics of that yet. The roof is on and the walls are up but the windows and doors aren't in and the siding hasn't begun. We finished up what we could by the time the snow fell this year and it's been waiting to be finished ever since. Now that Spring has finally sprung in upstate NY we can get back at it and finish it up.
Our plan is to finish the detached so that everything currently being stored in the attached garage (Darrell's projects and what not) can be moved over there and I can actually start parking in the garage and we can work on building our mudroom/laundry room in the back corner. We'll see how much we get done this summer.
Things will definitely be slowing down since WE'RE HAVING A BABY!
We've also started building a detached 2 stall garage with a loft and workshop for Darrell. No pics of that yet. The roof is on and the walls are up but the windows and doors aren't in and the siding hasn't begun. We finished up what we could by the time the snow fell this year and it's been waiting to be finished ever since. Now that Spring has finally sprung in upstate NY we can get back at it and finish it up.
Our plan is to finish the detached so that everything currently being stored in the attached garage (Darrell's projects and what not) can be moved over there and I can actually start parking in the garage and we can work on building our mudroom/laundry room in the back corner. We'll see how much we get done this summer.
Things will definitely be slowing down since WE'RE HAVING A BABY!
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Before and Afters!
So we've come a long way in settling into the new house. We've been here just over 4 months and are loving every minute of it. We still have a lot of work to do - yard work especially, but the inside of the house is coming along nicely, so I thought I'd post some before and afters!
Entry: color is "Whispering Wheat" by glidden, runner rugs are from Walmart, artwork was created by a friend of ours - seen better in a photo of the den.
Den - through the french doors in the entry hall: color is Cork board by Martha Stewart, We've since gotten curtains up but haven't pictured them yet. The photo from the den looking into the entry hall is of our fur-baby Ellie! I had a friend of ours paint it from a picture and gave it to Darrell as a house warming present for all of the hard work he's put in! Right now the den is still a catch all of stuff that will eventually be stored in the attached garage (that's currently filled with Darrell's toys that will go in a detached garage we're building this summer).
Downstairs Bathroom: entrance from the den and entry hallway, color is Parchment paper by Martha Stewart. shower curtain, towels, floor mats from Walmart, wall art and mirror from Lowes.
Dining Room: immediately to the left off the entry way. Color: Delightful Moon by Valspar and Foxtrot by Valspar. Curtains from Target, hutch - hand-me-down from my grandmother and aunt, side table was in our old living room and will eventually go in the basement once it's finished, dining room table was a clearance find at Raymour and Flannigan. Still need an area rug for under the table and a new light fixture to tie it all together. Easily my favorite room in the house - I love the warm yellow color and I love finally having a space to put up all of my favorite wedding photos - something I couldn't do in our old house as we had no space to hang them.
Kitchen: color "Cornichon" by Martha Stewart. I love this bold olive color and how it brings out the cabinetry and slate counter tops.
Breakfast nook/Living Room: color "Foxtrot" by Valspar, "French Gray" by Valspar. Originally we were going to leave the breakfast nook the "Foxtrot" color but we love the molding so much that we wanted it highlight it. To tie it into the living room we decided to repeat the French Gray which really makes the trim stand out even more.
We're still looking for a large piece of art to go over the couch - we've found one on etsy, just shopping around until we're positive it's the one we want. I've also hung a few more things up since these pictures were taken - I've started stenciling on Burlap so I'll probably do a post on that in the near future! We still have to get bar stools and I'd like to get a new rug for the living room but I haven't found one I really like yet. Curtains in living room are from Bed Bath & Beyond - I love these because they perfectly match the green in the kitchen and the blue in the living room. We will be building shelves to go on either side of the fireplace this summer and the cords from the TV will be encased to hide them.
View from breakfast nook to the entry: white door goes down to the basement
Upstairs hallway/landing: color: Whispering Wheat same as downstairs hallway/entry. Artwork from Target, Kohls and Bed Bath & Beyond. I loved these resin pieces because they reminded me of henna designs, which I've always loved.
Main upstairs bathroom: Color: "Brown Alpaca" by Martha Stewart (one of my favorite colors in the house!), shower curtain, towels, and floor mats from Walmart, wooden painted sign above toilet from Pier1 on clearance!
Master bedroom: Darrell actually chose the color in this room - "Apple Cider" by Olympic. We'd like to eventually get a new bedroom set but that will take some time and some savings. Curtains are sheers from Bed Bath and Beyond. We still need to get blinds but sunlight in the morning hasn't been too bad and we live so far from the road and with tons of trees between us and the neighbors we haven't had to worry about them just yet!
Master Bathroom: colors: "French Gray" by Glidden (same as in living room and breakfast nook) and "Woodlawn Sterling Blue" by Valspar. The bathroom tiles match those in the entry way downstairs. The French Gray walls encapsulate the walk-in closet which I didn't picture because frankly it's a mess lol. We still have to get organized in the closet. We also have a toilet closet (is that what it's called??) and we left those walls white. I love the french gray and with so much left after the breakfast nook and living room I couldn't help but use it again. The woodlawn sterling blue is a light blue/gray depending on the light you see it in. I absolutely love how it makes the cherry cabinetry pop!
Anywho! That's where we're at so far! We've done a lot of painting and I absolutely loved it! Seeing the transformation has been amazing. The spare bedrooms upstairs I didn't picture because nothing in them has really changed. We haven't painted them as we're waiting to see what colors we want to use - depending on the kids we hope to have in the future. :)
Hopefully this week I can update on the burlap stenciling I've done. We've also had some progress on siding the rest of the garage that I'd like to post pics of as well.
We still have a ton of trees/logs/tree stumps to clean up in the yard - and grass to plant and a front porch to build, and a detached garage, and.. the list goes on and on. But so far our spring weather - that took forever to arrive!!!- has cooperated and we've been able to slowly start some outdoor projects. Ellie has loved running/laying/and sitting in the mud while we get things done, too.
Until the next update-
Happy Spring Everyone!
Entry: color is "Whispering Wheat" by glidden, runner rugs are from Walmart, artwork was created by a friend of ours - seen better in a photo of the den.
Den - through the french doors in the entry hall: color is Cork board by Martha Stewart, We've since gotten curtains up but haven't pictured them yet. The photo from the den looking into the entry hall is of our fur-baby Ellie! I had a friend of ours paint it from a picture and gave it to Darrell as a house warming present for all of the hard work he's put in! Right now the den is still a catch all of stuff that will eventually be stored in the attached garage (that's currently filled with Darrell's toys that will go in a detached garage we're building this summer).
Downstairs Bathroom: entrance from the den and entry hallway, color is Parchment paper by Martha Stewart. shower curtain, towels, floor mats from Walmart, wall art and mirror from Lowes.
Dining Room: immediately to the left off the entry way. Color: Delightful Moon by Valspar and Foxtrot by Valspar. Curtains from Target, hutch - hand-me-down from my grandmother and aunt, side table was in our old living room and will eventually go in the basement once it's finished, dining room table was a clearance find at Raymour and Flannigan. Still need an area rug for under the table and a new light fixture to tie it all together. Easily my favorite room in the house - I love the warm yellow color and I love finally having a space to put up all of my favorite wedding photos - something I couldn't do in our old house as we had no space to hang them.
Kitchen: color "Cornichon" by Martha Stewart. I love this bold olive color and how it brings out the cabinetry and slate counter tops.
Breakfast nook/Living Room: color "Foxtrot" by Valspar, "French Gray" by Valspar. Originally we were going to leave the breakfast nook the "Foxtrot" color but we love the molding so much that we wanted it highlight it. To tie it into the living room we decided to repeat the French Gray which really makes the trim stand out even more.
We're still looking for a large piece of art to go over the couch - we've found one on etsy, just shopping around until we're positive it's the one we want. I've also hung a few more things up since these pictures were taken - I've started stenciling on Burlap so I'll probably do a post on that in the near future! We still have to get bar stools and I'd like to get a new rug for the living room but I haven't found one I really like yet. Curtains in living room are from Bed Bath & Beyond - I love these because they perfectly match the green in the kitchen and the blue in the living room. We will be building shelves to go on either side of the fireplace this summer and the cords from the TV will be encased to hide them.
View from breakfast nook to the entry: white door goes down to the basement
Upstairs hallway/landing: color: Whispering Wheat same as downstairs hallway/entry. Artwork from Target, Kohls and Bed Bath & Beyond. I loved these resin pieces because they reminded me of henna designs, which I've always loved.
Main upstairs bathroom: Color: "Brown Alpaca" by Martha Stewart (one of my favorite colors in the house!), shower curtain, towels, and floor mats from Walmart, wooden painted sign above toilet from Pier1 on clearance!
Master bedroom: Darrell actually chose the color in this room - "Apple Cider" by Olympic. We'd like to eventually get a new bedroom set but that will take some time and some savings. Curtains are sheers from Bed Bath and Beyond. We still need to get blinds but sunlight in the morning hasn't been too bad and we live so far from the road and with tons of trees between us and the neighbors we haven't had to worry about them just yet!
Master Bathroom: colors: "French Gray" by Glidden (same as in living room and breakfast nook) and "Woodlawn Sterling Blue" by Valspar. The bathroom tiles match those in the entry way downstairs. The French Gray walls encapsulate the walk-in closet which I didn't picture because frankly it's a mess lol. We still have to get organized in the closet. We also have a toilet closet (is that what it's called??) and we left those walls white. I love the french gray and with so much left after the breakfast nook and living room I couldn't help but use it again. The woodlawn sterling blue is a light blue/gray depending on the light you see it in. I absolutely love how it makes the cherry cabinetry pop!
Anywho! That's where we're at so far! We've done a lot of painting and I absolutely loved it! Seeing the transformation has been amazing. The spare bedrooms upstairs I didn't picture because nothing in them has really changed. We haven't painted them as we're waiting to see what colors we want to use - depending on the kids we hope to have in the future. :)
Hopefully this week I can update on the burlap stenciling I've done. We've also had some progress on siding the rest of the garage that I'd like to post pics of as well.
We still have a ton of trees/logs/tree stumps to clean up in the yard - and grass to plant and a front porch to build, and a detached garage, and.. the list goes on and on. But so far our spring weather - that took forever to arrive!!!- has cooperated and we've been able to slowly start some outdoor projects. Ellie has loved running/laying/and sitting in the mud while we get things done, too.
Until the next update-
Happy Spring Everyone!
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