big girl crib.

lylah is taking her first nap in her big girl crib as we speak. the crib was grayson's until a few days ago when he got a big boy bed (post coming soon), and we moved his crib into ellie's room. lylah will stay in our room at night for now because she still wakes up to eat. but once she sleeps through the night consistently, she'll have a perpetual slumber party with her big sister. until then, she can nap in her big girl crib while her siblings are at school. i think she likes it.

pink quilt, a gift from mamo (from the dove's nest in waxahachie)
cloud sheet, from the pottery barn outlet in san marcos

nursery nook progress.

the nook.

i'm contemplating the new baby's space (along with the master as a whole) on the regular these days. i thought i'd post some progress to see if you guys had any input.

as you'll see in the photos, we now have a rug! it's a crazy nice carpet that my mom has loaned me long-term since she doesn't really have use for it in her apartment at the moment. seriously, never in my wildest dreams would we have been able to get a rug like this in here if we were purchasing one so i'm way pumped. obtaining this rug has basically negated the color/inspiration board i posted awhile back. some of the pieces may still work, but the scheme itself wasn't going to.

i am consistently drawn to light, bright rooms with darker oriental or persian style rugs on wood floors so that's what i'm attempting to accomplish in here eventually.

the walls are staying bare so far because painting the room is the first order of business. below are the two chips i've been contemplating. it's super hard to tell the difference on here, but the right one is first star and the left is oyster white, both sherwin williams. i think i'm going with oyster white because it's a more creamy, ivory color that looks better with our headboard. first star is more gray. the wall painting should get started this week.

painting the walls is going to make a huge difference in lightening the space, which i think will help me make the next decisions. i'm also contemplating a window treatment for that window. there are blinds there now. i can't decide if that's enough.

like should i paint this shelf? my granddaddy built it, and it was in many a playroom while i was growing up. it's got lots of water spots and pencil marks on it so it could use a good refinishing. but i also sort of dig how it wears its history.

the cradle we already had with the bedding we already had. i am open to getting a new cradle sheet in some sort of print. the bouncer we already had with an ikea sheepskin. the vintage book holder was used in my great-aunt's classroom, and i will not be painting it. i need to do a closeup of the awesome baby animals painted on it. so fab. i am contemplating how to use its available storage.

this is a random iron shelf that i bought at kirkland's and am not at all opposed to painting it. right now, it's also where the clothes we have reside. i'm pretty sure they won't stay there. where will they go? i don't know. our closet is pretty packed already. i don't have to keep this shelf in here if i don't need the space. but somehow, i'm guessing i will.

i'm planning on some art hanging on the blank wall there above the bouncer and book holder. i have a million things heart'd on etsy. i just need to decide what look and color scheme i want.

i could scoot this shelf over to the other side of the window (moving the book shelf and bouncer) and put the glider that currently resides in gray's room here. i'm hesitating on that because i'm betting i'll mostly bring the baby into the bed to nurse and cuddle. but it's not totally off the table. also, that chair is, like, sage green. not sure how that mixes.

regarding the color palate so far: there isn't much that says baby girl besides the pink clothes hanging on the iron shelf. the things on top of the shelf were all purchased before we knew she was a she. i am not super bothered by the neutrality of the space since she will be sharing the room with her daddy. i'm not sure he'd love a cotton candy explosion in his sleeping space. nor would i, honestly. and i want the room to look cohesive. but...i'd love to do some things that make it obvious that a baby girl sleeps here.



we need new bedding. i (think i) want to stay white (or some neutral variation), but need a bigger comforter and would love something linen or equally textural. my dream bedding is from restoration hardware. (ha. ha, ha. ha, ha, HA.) this bedside table is just a decorator table i had on hand. i'd love to find something different.

i am also open to getting lighter window treatments for this set of sliding glass doors. currently they are a brown tweed-like fabric that block out all light when closed. landon insists that the bedroom should be pitch black, but i like things a little lighter...

so, to recap:

• i am open to any furniture rearrangement (or elimination) within the nook. (the bed and dresser need to stay put.)
• should i bring in the green glider?
  
• should i paint the wooden shelf? what color?
  
• should i paint the iron shelf? what color?
  
• how can i make it more girly?
• what other colors should i mix in to lighten things up?
• how should i organize her stuff on the shelves?
• how should i store her clothes?
• should i add/change window treatments?
• should i leave the cradle bedding plain ivory or buy a patterned sheet?
• what type/color/look should i go for on the art wall?

in conclusion, creating a nursery nook in an existing room is harder than creating a nursery in a stand-alone room. please, tell me you have genius ideas.

please pray for mari and josiah.

update: a photo of josiah! look how pink and chubby! so sweet. both mari and baby continue to improve -- praise the Lord! keep praying for josiah as they are waiting for the results from a sonogram on his brain to check for any issues there. get this: josiah, the name mari and brandon picked for their son months ago, means "the Lord saves." the Lord literally saved josiah and mari's lives early this morning. GOD IS SO COOL. so cool. and so good. incredible, incredible, incredible. keep the prayers coming!



my friend mari delivered baby josiah five weeks early this morning via emergency c-section. both mom and baby are stable, but there are still some issues to deal with. josiah was 5 pounds, 12 ounces, which is great considering he was 5 weeks early, and is breathing more and more on his own last i heard. mari lost a large amount of blood before and during surgery and is quite a bit of pain physically as she is starting recovery. most of all, she is heartbroken that she can't be with her baby. God has already worked miracles in this scary situation, and He is sure to continue. won't you lift this family, including Brandon (dad/husband) and Brylie (big sister), up in your prayers? pray for healing, provision, direction, peace, wisdom for the doctors and anything else you can think of! thanks so much.

photo is of mari two days ago, her 35 week shot.

the shelf project. finally.

awhile back i moved the big, black, ikea corner bookshelf from our living room to the kitchen. i rearranged the living room, and the bookshelf was weighing it down on one end. i had been trying to come up with a good way to store my etsy/craft supplies, bills, things to-be-filed, etc. through a collaboration with delana, it was determined that the shelf in the kitchen with baskets would be a good idea.

i moved the shelf to the kitchen where it was immediately covered in piles and piles of junk. it has remained that way for some time. i purchased the baskets a few weeks ago half off at hobby lobby. they sat in my car for awhile.

finally, today, i bit the bullet.

before:

after:

there was no question that the baskets had to have lids. having baskets designated for specific things and actually putting those things in said baskets is a big step for me. having OPEN baskets is too much. that means what's inside would have to be presentable. not gonna happen. with the exception of my projects-in-progress basket, which usually contains pretty things, lids abound. my nine baskets are: 1.) things to be filed, 2.) things to be dealt with (bills, etc.), 3.) inspiration/to-do projects, 4.) rubber stamps, 5.) paper/cards/envelopes, 6.) ink & writing utensils, 7.) miscellaneous craft supplies (spray paint, mod podge, sponge brushes, acrylic paints), 8.) projects-in-progress and 9.) ribbon & string.

i accessorized with some random stuff i already had. a gold ikea lantern, some retro fire king pottery, a hand painted japanese bowl and jadite-colored tin that i purchased at antique stores and a little house plant in an ikea planter.

the card sets are a couple of etsy orders i MUST finish soon. not shown is poor jenny's set of thank yous that is 1 million years overdue.

i don't think it's perfect. i'm sure some tweaking will go on with the presentation. in fact, i think i may move the basket off the very top of the shelf as soon as i publish this post. it looks weird. please comment with suggestions and thoughts. don't be shy. i know your decorating skills rock.

regardless, the after is light years better than the before!

now, i'm inspired to straighten the rest of my kitchen.

sweetness.

***

edited later: see? changed the top already. kylah said the basket on top would be better with some other stuff added. i tried something with a teapot and a cake stand, but it looked sorta weird. this is a glass ikea (can you tell i like ikea?) pitcher with black river rocks and pink flowers cut from the bushes in my front yard. what do you think? better?

baby room progress.

there hasn't been any technical progress made on the actual baby's room, but the time is drawing nearer because of the progress made on ellie's new room.

i believe i've said it before, but she's moving to the big front room (formerly the guest room) so the smaller room that's closer to ours can be gray's nursery.

yesterday, with beautiful "cutting in" help from angela and a lovely two-coat job by kylah, ellie's room got painted. it's a light purple-y color, very close to what she had in her original nursery in plano. there are some touch ups that need to be done on the ceiling, window sills and the door jamb, but it looks really good, in my opinion.

today i scraped this ridiculous yellow ticky tack off of the ceiling that was there when we moved in. you know, little tiny dots that probably held those plastic glow-in-the-dark stars or something. i also swept the floors, dusted the window sills and fans, removed old window treatment hardware (also from the previous tenant) and cleaned the floors with some special hardwood-cleaning stuff.

there's one more project to complete before we move e's stuff in there: painting the baseboards. the baseboards through this entire house are horrid looking. best we can tell, they restained the wood floors, slopped the stain up on the white baseboards and left it that way. the walls through the whole house (except the now-purple room) are an olive greenish, taupe color, and, for some reason, the nasty baseboards are slightly masked next to this paint color. next to a vibrant purple, however, they are blaringly jacked up. so...we're going to give them a couple coats of white so clean up the look. also, kylah had this genius idea of running a line of caulk (david, you may be volunteered for this project) along the top of the baseboards after they're painted for a crisp, clean line. i LOVE that idea.

anyway...i'd totally be painting the boards now, while ellie is napping, but the tape landon bought me is in david's truck which is at the church. boo. i planned to have her in the new room tonight, but i think it might be thursday night. i want to get her in there asap so she can get used to it before gray comes.

then we'll have eight weeks to get everything ready in his room.

i bought some green paint for his room yesterday when we bought ellie's, but it's looking too bright/yellow for what i'm wanting now that i have it home. i'm annoyed because that's $13 wasted in addition to the $13 wasted for the 2nd gallon of paint we bought for ellie's room. it's a big room, and i didn't think one gallon would go the whole way for two coats. it's was the exact amount. i should've known better. i wish walmart would take paint returns. poop.

anyway, i'm going to have to go to lowe's or home depot, i think, to pick a color for gray's room. they just didn't have enough selection at walmart. i've been told that you can pick a color at lowe's or home depot and take it to walmart where they can match it in their generic brand. cheaper, you know. that's what i'm going to try.

i'll take pictures of ellie's room once her furniture is moved and walls adorned. there are a few things we've had since she was born that have never gone up in her room (pottery barn box shelves, pottery barn metal hooks with pink glass knobs) due to space limitations and a few new things (a big, round, pink shag rug, a new ellie-sized purple bean bag chair, a tile mirror collage, pottery barn white, sailcloth curtains) that will round out her larger big-girl room. it should be fun.

even though i'm excited, i'm feeling a little blue. i've admitted my strange, nostalgic connection with rooms, and i think the combination of that and knowing that our lives are about to be so different is making me wistful.

it'll be OK though. i know that. the Lord has great things in store for my children. both of them. they are an immeasurable blessing.

monday morning musings, part I.

there are two things dominating the swirl of thoughts in my head this morning. in this post, we will address the first one: ellie's birthday party.

late saturday night, i had a breakthrough on her invitations. i'd been trying and trying to get them to look the way i wanted, but i didn't really know what i wanted so that wasn't going well. i have tons of paper left over from her birth announcements and since i'm using a valentine's theme, i was trying very hard to come up with a design i could pull off without buying anything. i have tons of stuff, but i couldn't make it work for some reason. but... late saturday night, mission (almost) accomplished! the only thing i had to buy was pink glitter glue. i went to target yesterday (hobby lobby is closed on sundays..) on the off chance they would have something. THEY HAVE PINK GLITTER GLUE IN THE DOLLAR SPOT!!! i was so excited. obviously. so... i'm making ellie's invitations for $4 plus the cost of postage. sweetness.

i have gotten quite a few things from target, as a matter of fact. they have lots of cute valentine stuff in the dollar spot including little metal buckets i'm going to fill with valentine candy, glittery banners that say "love" or "xoxo," sparkly stickers and pencils for prizes, scrapbook paper (12 sheets for $1!) that i'm going to punch hearts out of for decoration, etc. etc. the store also has really cute valentine's stuff that isn't in the dollar spot. particularly, these melamine plates and trays and cups that have adorable cupcakes on them that say "sweetie pie." they are $1.99 each or i'd buy them for the whole party. instead, i got one for the birthday girl. i also got a red picture frame that has the cupcake on it. i'm going to use it to display a super cute picture of ellie at the party.

i'm still debating whether to have cupcakes made or just make them myself, though i am leaning toward making them myself. more budget conscious, you know. regardless, i want them to be vanilla cake with pink icing topped with x's and o's.

so all i have left to buy are snacks and drinks (maybe a valentine punch?) for the guests, paper plates and napkins for everyone besides ellie and the ingredients for the cupcakes if i'm going to make them. (would i be a terrible person to make her first birthday cupcakes from a box?)

i think i'm doing OK... i also have several ideas for games/activities that i don't wanna post 'cause i want them to be a surprise!

let me know if you can think of anything i'm forgetting..

planning a birthday party is fun.

the breast cancer 3-day.

this would have been an excellent time to use a slideshow. that just occured to me...after i uploaded all 20-some pictures here.

opening ceremonies: mom was nominated to be in a circle of nine survivors who carried in flags with words that exemplified our attitudes toward the cause of erradicating breast cancer. mom's flag said "commitment."

here she is walking out all pretty. it was an inspirational ceremony.

laura and i huddling for warmth during opening ceremonies. it was c-o-l-d that morning and even c-o-l-d-e-r out at south fork with nothing around but fields.

the flags lined up to send off the mass of thousands of walkers.

our team minus jennifer. we wouldn't catch up to her until pit stop 1. the girl you don't know is tinika, mom's former coworker. she's greatness.

one of the, ahem, creatively decorated sweep vans. these traveled along the sides of the road to pick up walkers that needed a break. i think we saw one at least every 10 miutes. they were all equally entertaining.

another sweep van. saving 2nd base. i love that so much. hilarious.

here we are walking on day 1, still rather jolly. the last three miles of day 1 got hard. we walked all 20 miles that day.

this is the end of day 2. i got less enthusiastic about taking pictures on day 2. both laura and i were injured and we only made it 12 miles this day. it was still great though. this picture includes jennifer. she's in the white shirt on the front row. poor girl had to go home after day 2 because she was getting sick, rolled her ankle and was dehydrated on day 1 so badly that she had to get two ivs and sit in the med tent all day. we missed her badly. she did come back for closing ceremonies to walk in with the team, which was awesome.

here are our all three of our tents. it's a contest to decorate your tent, but also a necessity in a sea of pink. otherwise, you'll never find your own.

my cheeseball sister in our tent. the first night was SO freezing. i thought i was gonna die. the second night, seen here, was cold but much better.

laura and i laying in our tent. i have sunburn. lots of sunburn.

mom and laura on the morning of day 3. we took our time getting packed and ready because we decided to ride the sag bus (ha!) to lunch and skip the first half of the day. we were all injured and really wanted to make it into closing. so we hitched a ride to beautiful white rock lake, got bandaged up by the medical team and ate lunch. then we set out for our final 10 miles. (that's 42 miles of a possible 60 for those of you following along at home.)

laura and i at holding. we made it! this is where we hung out for a few hours until all the walkers made it in, and we took our final victory walk together. i love how both our bandanas show, "everyone deserves a lifetime" and mine says, "best friends." fitting.

the whole crew, minus jennifer of course. the lady in the purple is my gramma. she's a breast cancer survivor too, and, though i didn't know this until we got there, she was working the merchandise tent at holding! it was way cool to get to hang out with her at the end of our journey.

enough said.

our team logo on the back of laura's shirt. we were the three r's - "remember, remind and rejoice." mom came up with the name and the design. the bottom of her shirt says, "remembering those who have fought the fight, rejoicing in the chance to join the fight and reminding the world that the fight isn't over." pretty stinkin good, huh? not only is mom brave and beautiful, she's super creative!

speaking of beautiful... look at that hair!

once the last walker came into holding, we all linked arms in rows of 10. the survivors went first and then the rest of the walkers. we marched this way through the campus of smu and onto the lawn in front of dallas hall among a sea of supporters.

laura and i walking the victory walk.

balloons released at closing ceremonies.

my fanny pack and flowers from sweet taylor, laura's boyfriend.

the tennis-shoe salute at closing ceremonies. we found out that as a group, we raised $6.4 million for breast cancer research. there are 12 events across the country each year, and i figured if each raised an average of $7 million then the breast cancer 3-day raised $84 million this year alone! completely incredible.

my babies! i missed them so much.

could anyone have asked for a better family? i don't think so.

the love of my life who knows just how much i need to hear that he's proud of me.

beautiful baldness and beautiful baby.

she was a huge fan of our mardi gras beads.

the reason i walked and will continue to walk: "no breast cancer for ellie!"