sunday best:)

as I told my girlfriend...this Sunday was equally productive and lazy. It included some ice cream andddd crying (hormones and nothing else! arg), walkingggggg (finally warm-ish enough to leave the house!!) and a lot of cuddles. Overall...a good day:) And I'm kinda loving that I'm forcing myself to take some photos at least ONE day a week with something other than my phone!

here are photos from last weeks Sunday Best Post and it actually might come in handy cause we've made some changes in the last week and you can catch some before and afters:)

 i (with the help of my sister, Pigg) painted the dining room a dark...grey?! I'm really loving how it turned out!!!

 home's  and my cankles chillin'.

we hung the frames above the mantel!!!! 

My cousin, Neen, helped separate one photo that Jacob had taken on our honeymoon in Spain, into 3 parts and I framed all of them. It needs some minor adjusting (we should have used matted photo paper because of the glare) but otherwise it looks amazing:)

and a rando of Jacob's first every buck hanging in the living room. This is the only 'animal' head I am prepared to allow in our living space;)

hope you had an amazing Sunday as well, Friends!!!:) And I mostly hope you're not sitting here...blowing time before you leave for work...call in sick. You deserve it;)

home: living room

i started these 'house posts' as real.inspiration.hope posts. BUT I'm simplifying because my ideas can sometimes be a bit scattered...so lets just keep things as simple as possible up in here (up in herrrr. up in herrrr;).

this one is centered around the living room. It's a larger room, which means more...room;)...which has made it more difficult to nail down the exact direction I want to go in. For the most part, I do have a vision in mind of how I want this room to look. 

After HOURS...seriously...of putting stuff together...I finallyyyyy feel like I got it looking the way I had envisioned it!!! SO glad I went back and reworked things until it felt more 'US':)

we haven't had the time to do a lot with the house, in general. But in the living room we've taken down all the window treatments and pulled up the carpeting. We're hoping to start remodeling the living room ourselves in the next week or so. The plan is to try and fix any cracks on the walls, sand and re-stain the floors, clean the windows and then paint. Waaaaa LA!! Should look and feel like an entirely new room, especially when those floors get cleaned up:)

here's a short video of the room in its current state. I thought I'd try that cause I think it'd give you a better idea of the flow of the room:)

1

has anyone in their life spent $1000 on an area rug?!?! My god. I love this rug. I sure do. But I will be searching for the guy selling knock-offs of this rug in the trunk of his car;)

2 - unable to find source:(

we're not planning to paint the brick around the fireplace white...I liked this photo for several reasons: the books in those side nooks. The large photo (although, we think we'll be putting the TV in that spot). And plants. I want lots of green in our home:)

3

again, many things I'm crushing on in this photo as well:) Depending on what couch we decide on...I'd love to have some chairs with some pattern or a fun color...

And I also love the floor color with the white walls...books, plants...record player...I love how there can be a lot going on in a room and it all still comes together perfectly and comfortably:)

because the living room is so long/large, there's room to make a separate play/media area, especially for the kiddos:) I envision family movie nights once a week...cozied up on an over-sized love seat/day bed...popcorn in our laps...fire burning:):)

I'd also like to add some baskets for toys, even though we'll have a designated 'play room', I'd like to have some storage cause we all knowwww the toys will end up anywhere BUT the play room;)

1
this is the inspiration for the 'movie' area:)
Right now we've settled on just doing ALL off-white walls in the house. This will work perfectly for the projector...no need for a sheet, just a blank wall!!

2
just an example of an adorable, over-sized love seat/day bed. All we want is something cute and comfy...but sturdy and durable and kid-friendly...for that area:)

3
again...$800 for an area rug...BUT now that I've considered a $1000 one - see above - $800 is suddenly seeming like a steal;)

4

an example of a projector we're thinking of purchasing, eventually:)

5
i'm in SUPER love with these baskets. For real. True love! They're a bit out of my price range...and by bit...I mean entirely. BUT I want to do things right in this new house...right the first time, even if it does cost me a tad more than I hope. Although, in this case, I'll probably do some basket research before I pour $500 into 6 baskets;)

6
and we'll be putting our record player in this little area too! Thanks to mom for that amazing Christmas present - she found a super cool vintage one on Ebay for us:) - ALSO, if anyone knows someone that fixes record players...we need their name. 

1
we're still undecided about the furniture situation. This is one thing I REALLY want to do brand-new. I have soooo many vintage/flea market/2nd hand finds...and I love them - they also need a little TLC, like recovering and such but they will get utilized in the house at some point - BUT I really want our main furniture to be the good stuff:)

we're torn between getting a super awesome, cozy sectional with chaise OR a nice deep/long (that's what she said;) couch and over-sized chair with ottoman.... 

this is a decision we're going to wait on till after our current house sells. THEN we're going to take a little road trip and sit on furniture for hours and hoursssss;)

2
i love this wall of photos and frames. It reminds me of my family:) Big and lots of memories of many days spent together! I can't wait to just keep adding photos of our growing family:)
I'm hoping that we can do some shelves behind the couch (which would be on the wall to the left of the mantel - the North/West wall:).

3
i'd love to get this print! Me and Jacob's 'song' is Total Eclipse of the Heart - don't ask;) - The DAN BAND version is THE best...omg. So good;) - anyways...hoping to order this print soon and have it framed to put on the wall/mantel in the living room:)


there you have it folks! The LONGGGGG version of what I want our future living room to look like! I can see it already and it feels perfect and happy and cozy:) We can't WAIT!:)

real.inspiration.hope

sooooo...remember that amazing house we bought?!?! We still haven't moved in or anything. Not even close. BUT that doesn't mean a girl can't dream, right?!?:) SO this new post will be one of many over the next few weeks years months...and it'll include:

real: actual photos of the house - in it's current state

inspiration: photos/objects I've found that have inspired the future 'new' look of the room

hope: what I hope to make happen:)

first up...the Dining Room.

Both these photos are from the doorway of the kitchen. Straight ahead are the glass french doors (um, yes...SWOON!!!;) leading to the living room. And to your right is a built-in (um, SWOON...again;) that stretches across the entire South wall of the dining room. 

 jaquilynshumate - found via Instagram

i actually found this photo yesterday and immediately sent it to my mom who had suggested we consider putting paneling up in the dining room. When she first suggested this I wanted to punch her in the throat made a face...BUT once I had this visual...I knewwwww it's exactly what we needed to do:) Good call mother;)

below is a rough (VERY rough) example of the possible height of the paneling. I'd like to have it a bit higher - more like the inspiration photo - but the current built-in is a bit lower and we'd sort of have to follow with those lines. We shall see.

SIDE NOTE: the paneling would all be solid wood and stained. NOT painted. We are actually throwing around the idea of painting the kitchen cabinets - the kitchen is a bit small (think Galley style) and so my dad's thinking is that by painting it a lighter color (not white), it will brighten it up in there. 

POINT: i have been hesitant to consider painting the kitchen BUT with all this stained wood in the dining room...I feel like painting the kitchen may be a good possibility!

 1 The Animal Print Shop - Buffalo

i'd love to have that buffalo print propped up on the ledge of the paneling on the North wall of the dining room. Which is where our current round wooden table would also be placed.

2 Hygge & West - Bows

this wallpaper is an absolute MUST. My dad is not very supportive of 'wallpaper' but I'm gonna force him to help me make this happen;)

I think with the paneling coming up so far and only having the top portion of the room wallpaper-ed...it won't be SO "heyyyyyyyy...wall paper overload".

3 Pinterest inspired

Amazon suggestions: 1 - and no, we don't have $1500 in the budget for a drink cart;), 2, 3, 4 - my favorite out of the bunch

i've seen a lot of DIY drink carts lately and have fallen for them. I hope to jump on that bandwagon at some point. I'd rather find an old cart and fix it up, so that's been added to the Flea Market Wants List:)

so those are my thoughts...so far. And that's taken 1/2 the day to get down on this post and it still isn't PERFECT (notice the difference in color on that last photo...grrrr;). But I'm hoping to have all the kinks worked out by the time I move on to the next room!

SIDE NOTE: these are all justttttt ideas and I can promise you the finished product may look exactly opposite of this entire 'idea';)

be prepared to be bombarded with HOUSE posts as soon as we start the remodeling! You've been warned;)

ta daaaaaaaaaaa:)

our baby welcomes you...to his/her room:)

looking back on all these photos...it seems that this was a pretty hefty project to take on 7 days before the Baby Shower and want to have completed. BUT with the help of my dad and Jacob...it got done! YAY:)

we sanded (as best we could) the floors. We found hardwood floors in the living room and both bedrooms. Unfortunately, the 'baby room' was the only room that they decided to glue the carpet down in. Ick. Never...I REPEAT...neverrrrr glue down carpet. It's super silly. And dumb. A lot dumb.

we then painted the hardwood floors white. 

ahhhh. I can hear the gasps!!! Painting...hardwood floors...say whattttt?!?!? I love hardwood floors as much as the next guy. Maybe even more:) BUT at this point we didn't have the time/money/OR energy to completely refinish the floors. SO we just painted them white and that's completely reversible with some more sanding, fear not!:) But at some point I think we mayyyyy carpet in there...just cause it'd be nice to have one room that I can curl up in a ball in the middle of the floor...comfortably:)

and then the walls. This was torture for me. I envisioned a very soft gray. I got blue. And believe me...I went back SEVERAL times to get more paint. I spent the most amount of money on paint I've ever spent on a room....ridiculous.

It just seemed that each time I went back...I ended up picking out a color that seemed whiter than the previous can. FRICK! At one point you felt as if you were walking into the inside of a marshmallow because it was soooooo....white?! White walls, white floor, white trim. Overload. 

even the final result turned out more blue than we had hoped for. BUT it works and we're happy with it. But it was a tedious project. We had already painted the walls twice...with 2 different whites. Oops. THEN we settled on, what would end up being the final 'blue-ish' color. We painted the walls twice with that. Then we did some caulking and had to do some touch-ups. Well, we only needed another quart of paint. That quart ended up looking completely different on the walls. REALLY!?!? 

Knowing me all too well, Jacob was aware that I could.NOT.live with this!!!! SO we purchased another gallon of the 'blue-ish' paint - which still ended up being different from the previous 2 - FOR REAL!?!?!? After ONE more, final coat of paint....we had a baby room:)

did you follow all that?

POINT: we had to paint. A.LOT. Annoying.

and now the big reveal:) I've also tried to list some of the details and where we got them!

large area rug: Target - Wool Popcorn Rug Gray - $179.99

* OF COURSE it's on sale...now that I bought it at full price one week ago! Seriously.

dresser: Antique - from a coworker - $50

* mom and I refinished it

shelving: homemade - Dad:)

* i did get small tension rods from Target to use for hanging the clothes

blocks: vintage - local antique store - $.25 each?

painting: homemade - Cousin Neen:) - gifted

rocking chair: Antique - from Jacob's Gramps:) - Free

throw: Ikea - GURLI Throw - $12.99

pillow: Ikea - VILMIE RAND Cushion - $7.99

lamp shade: Target - Textured Linen Drum Lamp Shade

* looks very green online but is more gray in person

travel case: Vintage - Sisters/Mom - Gifted:)

chalkboard: Vintage - from Jacob's Gramps:) - Free

penguin: Amazon - Stacking Penguin - Gifted:)

ruler: Homemade - Gifted:)

*can't WAIT to start a tradition of getting the baby's height - maybe on each birthday:)

chalkboard/easel: Vintage - Free

circle rug: Urban Outfitters

* they no longer have that specific rug. I bought it a few years ago already and had intended to use it for the bathroom

some homemade artwork from the kids! LOVE these 2 drawings. 

LEFT: Austyn's interpretation of a hippo:) Are those fangs you ask? Um, yes...but it's still a very gentle, happy hippo;)

RIGHT: Peyton did an amazing job on this little bear!

luggage: Vintage - Flea Market - $12

blankets: ALL gifted

crib: Vintage (not sure it's quite 'old' enough to qualify as vintage;) - Craig's List - $35

*mom and I refinished it

fur: Ikea - Sheepskin - $29.99

deer pillow: Etsy - Plush Deer Pillow Green - $20

* i purchased it on sale

quilt: Handmade - Coworker, Melissa!!:) - Gifted

blue giraffe: Ikea - no longer in stock

yellow giraffe rattle: gifted

hearts: homemade - Courts & Kids - wedding gift:)

manatee: gifted by Gerd:)

blue bear: homemade - gifted

* made out of an old shirt of Jacob's Gramps':)

skull blanket: 77Kids - Anais Printed Swaddling Blanket - $16.50

and that my friends, is the Baby Room! It's got a lot going on but I guess when I stand back and look at it. It looks exactly...us:) And it's something that we hope will suit our baby's personality perfectly:)

do we like?:)

PS. thanks mom, for the photos of the finished room!:)

rub it on your lips

i'm a lover of 'favors'.

wedding shower - bottles of homemade wine for each guest:

wedding - cupcakes and seriously perfect/hilarious buttons:

and now the baby shower!!!


baby shower - organic lip balm:






ingredients: cocoa butter, pure vitamin E oil, honey, essential oil(s), sweet almond oil, adorable containers...and wine:)


i purchased all the ingredients at a local Planet Earth store and the cute little containers on Ebay.

my sister, Pigg, was pretty hardcore about making lip balm. I thought - lets just wing it...throw this and that in there and see how it goes. Um, no you piece of shit. You'll do it by the book or not at all;)
BUT thanks to her, we got it done right:) I knew she'd be perfect for the job!!!


PS. we got through it without her making me cry ONCE;)

i found a pretty simple recipe via eHow and that's what we followed. It looked easy and ended up being even that much easier to make! And a little goes a longggg way! I think we still have at least 10 or more left over out of the 50 we made!

using potatoes, I cut out the heart shape and used the kids' paints to stamp some tags! THEN I put Courts, and her perfect penmanship, to work;)

UP work harderrrrrrr!!! WORK FASTERRRRRRR!!!!;)

and I think they were a hit! At least I hope they were a hit. But regardless...like the wine and cupcakes...we always seem to pick something we don't mind having leftovers of;)