Window Seat Re-Do

We FINALLY had those horrible, 80's-gone-wrong window seat cushions recovered!


Here is the fabric up close..


We also replaced that awful light fixture and got a new table for the space!


I said not too long ago that I was going in a different direction for the house, yet this table is about as Shabby Chic as it gets! I still think it works though.


I love walking in and seeing this little nook. It is definitely one of my favorite spaces in the house.




One bite at a time, we are making this place our own :)

A new direction (Office Reveal)

I've decided that in our new house, I want to go in a new direction. I want to use colors I've never used before. I love the beachy, airy, shabby chic (to a point) look and have for years. Because I love it so much, I use a lot of light greens, blues, tans and a lot of white.

When we moved in our house, it just felt different. I knew I could make my style work with it, but it just wasn't feeling it. The old creaky floors, original cabinets and split-level look just didn't scream "beachy" to me.

An office is a place where you can take a little bit more of a risk. When we moved in, the walls were a deep gray (which I didn't mind), but the ceiling was light green the bookcase fronts were periwinkle blue.




I was feeling kind of brave, so, I really went for it. Here is the result!





The bookcases definitely aren't just right yet. I want to get some nicer storage boxes and possibly find a better set-up for the printer.




This office re-do was a labor of love! The walls are "Victory Blue." It took 4 coats to get the coverage we were looking for. Every bit of trim was painted in Ultra-White. I haven't been able to paint the doors yet. You can tell how different the trim colors are a few pictures above.

I still have a few finishing touches to go before it will be done. I'm looking for a rug and a new light fixture, but I'm not in a hurry. We love how this turned out! It feels original to the house and I love the huge map. It was a simple solution for a big wall without cramming it full of family pictures. I have plans for those in other areas.

This is how the office usually looks:)



This guy likes playing in there too.


Hope you enjoyed my little office makeover :)

Hallway Reveal (if you can call it that.)

A few days ago, I left all 5 of you hanging when I said we were doing something fun in our hallway.

The next day, we had horrible thunderstorms and lost internet for a few days. We're back now, so... drumroll please!

Before



After










The darker wall stripe is Taupe 3 and the lighter is Stone 2, both by Valspar.

In total, we transformed the hallway for about $15.00 We had the Taupe 3, leftover from Harper's room. The chandelier was given to us by my mother-in-law. All of the decor, we already had. The only thing we had to buy was a small can of Stone 2, which was about $15.00

At first, we were wondering if the colors were too similar and not noticeable. Once it all dried though, it turned out just the way we wanted. Subtle and not in-your-face as soon as you walk in. A lot our family members didn't even notice at Hollin's Dedication Day lunch!

There are lots of "whoops" areas where the paint dripped, or got onto the baseboards, but we weren't very careful on purpose. Unfortunately, ALL of the trim in the house has to be repainted because it is almost beige in some areas.

I would like to replace the cheap Wal-Mart mirror with some sort of sunburst mirror.


We are planning to replace the dark tile with something light and simple.


I'm looking forward to changing out the decor on the entry table as the holidays and seasons change.

Stay tuned for our office (semi) makeover!!

Spring into change

The gorgeous weather lately has had me all kinds of motivated. I've been motivated to do everything.

Cook.

Clean.

Try new activities with the kids.

Shop. (quite limited here :)

Get outside.

Make the house a home.

Party plan.

Craft.

It's fun to have motivation to do all of these things, but as we moms know, there just aren't enough hours in the day. So what do we do? We focus one what we can, when we can. One thing suffers so that we can get another thing done and so on and so on.

I convinced hubby to try something I've been wanting to do forever. Here's a hint. It's SO hard to figure out what we've done:)

(Blurry night photo. Best I've got.)


I'm so thrilled with the result and I will share pics as soon as I can take a daylight photo.

It seems like it takes three times as long to get a project done as it used to. I am busy trying to entertain/keep babies happy while Jimmy does most of the work. He can only work so much when he is always sleep deprived, so we do what we can. Our house is a complete wreck and I would be mortified if anyone came over, but we have a pretty hallway to show for it!

The babies have been pretty good the last few days. Hollin decided to have her worst meltdown ever today and I think it may be because she didn't feel well.

(You'd think I would've learned to remove my knee from baby photos.)

She cried for at least 30 minutes, if not more. I did let her cry it out. I picked her up after I couldn't take it anymore and she fell asleep. Oh and Harper was saying, "Mama outside, mama, mama, MAMA!!!" the whole time she was screaming. It was fun.


So, that is life right now. I feel like I am in a constant state of "overwhelmed" since Hollin was born, but things are constantly changing and babies keep growing. I try to adapt as best I can. Some days I think I rock at this whole mom-of-two thing and then some days, not so much. I'm trying to soak in all of these little moments. Even the screaming infant, the demanding preschooler, the dog that needs to be let out at the most inconvenient times and the teeny changes that we make to our home when we can find the time. Maybe even the balls of dog hair I can see under my bed and in corners of the house. Mixed with dried chunks of play-doh.

There are so many changes happening here and it's all (mostly) fun. My mom is moving here permanently next week. More on that here. I'm planning for Harper's 3rd birthday party, Easter, preparing for construction to begin and trying to make my house presentable for all of the above. I may even try to throw in a pool party some time this year. I wish I could invite every single one of you!

I'm not going to flatter myself with thinking that I have a ton of readers, but what are you changing/looking forward to?

Happy Friday,

I might be out of my mind

This year, Easter falls on Sunday, April 8th. Harper's 3rd (wow) birthday is April 5th.

Jimmy and I talked it over and decided that we will celebrate his birthday on Saturday, April 7th and then of course Easter (and all corresponding activities) will be the next day.

This year's birthday party theme is..............


John Deere Tractors!

Truth be told, Harper could care less what KIND of tractor he's looking at, but working with the green and yellow should be fun!

Part of me wants to go all out because I feel like my little boy deserves it.

He really deserves it after learning to say, "If you touch my Sissy, I'll beat you up!"

I'm excited to make our new digs all festive. On the flip side, however, I have to be realistic. How much can I really do in one weekend? I know I can squeeze in a lot, so I just might do that. It's all part of the fun I suppose.

I LOVE preparing for this time of year and especially planning my first baby's party.

Let the fun begin!

Just life

I love times in my life that are like this. Slow and easy-going. Believe me, there is plenty to do but both of my little ones demand so much of my attention that I usually can't get more than a load of laundry done a day. I've just started giving in :)
Today was one of Jimmy's days off so we bundled up the babies and took a walk around the park at the beach. Here is Hollin searching for her paci :)

Everything was going great until we stopped for lunch. I have moments where I envision all four of us going out together and then sitting down for a nice lunch before we go home and get started with the daily grind. I was talking to my mom today about this stage of life that I'm in. I want so badly to take my kiddos somewhere and to have a good time, but nine times out of ten, it ends up being a really stressful experience.

Harper was into everything and we had to scarf down our food. He had a haircut scheduled for 2pm, so we left the restaurant and headed to the salon. He had a complete meltdown and we had to leave without the haircut.
Yes, it was stressful and embarassing, but I can't be too angry. He usually naps from noon until two and if I don't keep him on schedule, I have his attitude to deal with. After a nice nap, he was a much happier little boy!

Back to my point. This winter has been SO mild and we've been taking a lot of walks and spending time outside.

(Harper was a little sick here.)
We've been relaxing..

and playing around with the fireplace even though it's not really been all that cold.


I hope to start getting a few more things done around here as the babies will allow :) Harper's room is the closest to being "done", so I hope to share pictures soon.

Happy Tuesday!

A catch-up in pictures

It feels so great to have internet back! Here is a run-down of what has been going on..

Jimmy and Hollin taking a quick morning nap while we waited by the phone to get the news that we were ready to close. Yes, they are sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Don't worry, I scooped her up the minute I was done taking a picture :)


We closed on our house at about 4pm in the afternoon, so we moved many of our things that night. Here is Harper and Hollin hanging out in the kitchen. Poor guy was so exhausted.

(For the record, the previous owners seemed to really have great taste in paint colors, etc. I have no idea why they thought the fabric on these benches looked good.)

Harper ate a few meals on the kitchen counters because we misplaced the hardware for our table.


He took his first bath in the new house's tub.


Jimmy and Maya ripped up the old carpet to get ready for new carpet!


And I left a message for whoever uncovers the carpet in the years to come..


Hollin caught a few rays


The carpet guy showed up, alone, and rolled our carpet out on in our front yard. We still can't believe he installed the carpet all by himself!




We received our pool cover and Maya tested it for us. We watched her through the window and died laughing.


Harper got a big boy haircut. *Tear*


Hollin hung out with me some more in our favorite sunny spot. She is growing so fast.




Jimmy cooked our first official meal in the house (tacos!) and gave me a "gun show." Such a ham.


We had tummy time..


And my BIG boy finally went #2 in the toilet yesterday! It was not an easy thing. We had sent him to Preschool in big boy underwear because he has been so great about going #1 in the toilet. He was still wearing his underwear yesterday when I noticed that he was showing all the signs of "fighting off" going #2. (Yes, he fights it off and I don't know why.) I had to make him sit on the toilet and he screamed his head off the entire time. Finally, he couldn't hold it anymore. When he was done, I of course praised him and gave him way too many M&M's.

I paid the price for that all night while he ran around in circles and got out of bed what seemed like a hundred times :)

Today, we had a repeat of the same thing. Fighting it off, forcing him to sit on the toilet, screaming the whole time until he finally goes, praise and excitement for finally going in the toilet and about 5 M&M's. I have mixed feeling about how I am having to potty train him. If I don't physically make him sit on the toilet, he will fight it and fight it and finally ask for a diaper. I'm not sure how to handle it honestly.

In the middle of all of the craziness this past week, Hollin developed thrush and became constipated. We thought Harper had a bladder infection, so we took him to the Dr. to find out that he is fine. We have all had a cold this week as well.

So, we have been very busy! And very exhausted. I'd like to think that things are going to settle down, but I don't see that happening any time soon. We have a long road ahead of us in getting things organized in a home that has a lot more square footage, but a LOT less storage inside. Not to mention, my parents will begin construction on their residence soon.

With all of that said though, we are all VERY happy with our new home and are enjoying the process of settling in.

I think I'm more excited to be back in blog-land!!

Happy Saturday,