True Beauty

I love this text and hope to instill it's message in my daughter's heart.
Happy Sabbath!

Living in Retro

As I mentioned in my last post, we said goodbye to our Colorado home in March and hello to a temp house in Kansas while we await our new home to be built.











The temp house is cute and cozy with a touch of retro character so I'm having fun sprucing it up a bit.  Here are some pics from when we first moved in.to give you an idea of what I'm working with...  most of the rooms are too small to get actual shots of, but I'll add some more as I get some projects done.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm Baaaaack!!!

So it's been MONTHS since my last post...  My pregnancy put me temporarily out of commission...morning sickness, fatigue, pain, etc....but now my 'nesting' has kicked in and I'm anxious to share what I've been up to... I've got five weeks until my due date so I'm going to make the best of it... So here we go!!!

Since my last post, a lot has transpired...

1) I had a lovely weekend with some girlfriends in October which was joined by what I thought was a slight case of food poisoning...which I later realized was morning sickness. So I'm now 35 weeks pregnant with a baby girl!

2) In December we got a call about a job opportunity for Derek in North Carolina. So we started planning a trip out there in January to check it out and in the meantime got a call about another opportunity in Kansas. So after trips out to each location, catching up with old friends at each place, and much prayer, we felt like God was calling us to Kansas.  So in February we made the decision and as of March, we are now residents of Kansas City, KS. 

3) The new job opportunity for Derek has allowed me the opportunity to be a full time stay-at-home mom. I'm incredibly blessed, but it has definitely been a transition for me.  I love to work and miss it and my co-workers dearly.  But fortunately, between the move, the pregnancy, getting ready for the baby, settling into our temporary house and preparing to build a new house, I've kept pretty busy.

4) As mentioned, we are building a new house here in Kansas.  We've been incredibly blessed to be able to live in a 3 bedroom home pretty much on the campus of the hospital where Derek works while we await the completion of the our new house.
          a) The house we are in now is about 1100 square feet and was built in 1963.  It's cute and cozy with some fun retro character.  So, of course, I have to take advantage of the opportunity to do a little fix-up work and decorating.  I'll keep you updated in future posts.
          b) I LOVE the idea of being able to pick all of my finishes for the new house and make it what we really want.  HOWEVER,  if you've ever been pregnant, you know that, for some reason, pregnancy has the tendency to inhibit our ability to make decisions.  Needless to say, it's been quite the challenge to not only make decisions, but also to stick to them. 

So that's the quick update on the past six months.  I'll start with some fun new posts tomorrow! 

Super Cute Shelf Liner

I gave up my search long ago for somewhat cute shelf liner.  Everything I had seen was plain, floral and/or just plain tacky.  Well, I was walking through Marshall's the other day and spotted these. For $6 each I finally have some cute liner. I don't exactly know where I'm going to use them quite yet, but I know that I will definitely find something!  They were just too cute to pass up! 

A Few of My Favorite Things...Candles

I LOVE candles!  Here are my two favorites that I have in my house now.  These candles are great!  I love that they are strong enough to smell through several rooms, but they aren't an overpowering smell that gives you headaches. Be sure to stop and sniff them next time you are near an Anthropologie!

Anthropologie's Voluspa Japonica Candle in Mokara

Anthropologie's Capri Blue Candle in Volcano

Bobblehead Birthday

So my dad is one of those people that are incredibly hard to buy for because he has just about everything already.  So this year for his birthday I decided to do something a little different. 

Introducing my dad...as a bobble head!

I ordered this from Head Bobble.  It was really easy.  First I got to customize it by picking the body style, hair, skin and eye color.  Then I uploaded a couple photos of him from different angles.  

So if you're looking for a gift to make someone chuckle, this just might be the gift for you.  Just be sure to plan ahead!  It takes 4-6 weeks for delivery.

This is what he actually looks like.  Pretty close huh?

I'm a Label Lover!

Every truly organized person loves to label.  I was so excited when Martha Stewart and Staples came out with these chalkboard labels.  I had to make four trips to different Staples to be able to find them in stock.  They are apparently a hot item!  

before...

 

after...

Garage Sale Jackpot

I'm a big fan of garage sales, especially for toys for Grayson.  Toys can be soooo expensive!  So I will often pop by a few sales on Friday mornings here and there. Grayson has plenty of toys at home, but my parents have a cabin in the mountains and I haven't gotten any toys to keep there so Grayson gets pretty bored when we go there.  So that was my garage sale mission today.  Well, mission accomplished!  I got all of this for $21!  This is almost $200 worth of toys...all in great and working condition. He's pretty excited about it.  Now time for Mommy to sanitize them so he can play with them!

The most incredible drink in the world...

Thai Tea with Boba

Now, I'm not a tea or even a coffee drinker.  I simply drink water and not much else.  BUT, this drink is absolutely AMAZING!  Everyone I've introduced it to has felt the same way.  

What is Boba, you ask?  Boba are the little black gummy balls at the bottom of the drink.  They are also known as 'tapioca pearls.'  They are made from a type of sweet potato called cassava.  They don't really have much, if any flavor. 

So far, the place I think that makes the best version of this drink is a small Thai restaurant in Littleton, Colorado called Udom Thai.  So if you live in the South Denver area, this place is a MUST.  Their food is amazing also!  They are a small mom & pop place.  I love supporting our local businesses, so spread the word about this place!!!