Simply A Farmer's Wife

{Only 9 More Days}

2012-01-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

We leave for Texas in 9 days & I am so excited!

I cannot wait to see my family & friends.

The best will be showing Landry off to everyone! It's so important to me to show her my roots as well as her dad's. My family is definitely a lot closer than my husband's so it'll be nice to show her a different family dynamic. I love my husband's family but there's nothing like your own family.

We've been busy finishing up projects.

The kitchen floor is finished. I hope to post pictures before we leave. It turned out beautifully! We are both pleased with it & love how it doesn't show every single piece of dirt like the last floor did. We were definitely sore for a few days afterwards but it was worth the pain.

I have major OCD when it comes to packing so I've been working on that the last few days.

We'll be gone for 3 weeks so it's not like packing for a weekend trip. It gives me anxiety to be honest.

I am super excited because I was commissioned to do my first job last night. It's a huge one too! I cannot wait to share our new business with y'all. It's perfect for our family! We are finalizing some details & hope to reveal soon!

Well, I'm going to try & get some sleep.
Hope everyone had a great Monday!

{Grrr....}

2012-01-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

Last year I bought a thing called Chalk Ink. I thought they'd be easier to write with than regular chalk & they are but they DO NOT remove as easily as chalk.

I purchased a pretty Santa Claus at Hobby Lobby that I hung on the chalkboard wall at Christmas & wrote part of Twas' the Night Before Christmas around it. It was really cute & I'm almost positive that I have a picture somewhere.

Anyway, I went to erase it today & this is what happened....

I scrub the top part for probably 30 minutes to get it to go away. The bottom part will not erase no matter how hard I scrub! I'm so upset because now I'm going to have repaint the chalkboard wall.

So a lesson learned. No more Chalk Ink pen. There's a reason the old school chalk has been around forever. If it ain't broke don't fix it right?

I'm working on the window above the sink right now. I had a curtain there & had my husband take it down tonight to fix the hems. They were way off. I used one panel & made into two.

Upon taking them down I realized that I never painted the sides & top of the window. Oops. I'm working on that now & trying to decide if I want the curtains back up or if I want to do something else. I have a gorgeous piece of art that I'm thinking about hanging there. It won't block the light coming in from the laundry room but still block enough of that room that you can't see the madness happening in there now.

If any of you have tips on how to get the chalk ink off the wall I'd greatly appreciate it.

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!

{Kitchen Floors}

2012-01-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

When we purchased this house 5 years ago we knew that we were taking on quite the project especially where the kitchen was concerned.

It had to be completely gutted.

It was a process.

One that isn't finished.

The floors in the kitchen, living room & hallway were disgusting. It was the ugliest thickest linoleum I have ever seen. Our original plan was to pull it all up & refinish the hardwood floors underneath. That didn't work out the way we planned so we bought a cheap peel & stick floor from Lowe's. My husband & his best friend put it down & we've been living with it until December 26th.

One of my Christmas presents per my request was a new floor. I didn't want to invest a lot of money because we have some major plans for this room & will eventually refinish the hardwoods that lie underneath the madness of linoleum.

After many nights of research online we decided on the Novalis luxury vinyl plank in Cherry from Lowe's.

It received great reviews & after seeing that House of Smith's & The Lettered Cottage used it I knew it would be perfect for our home.

It goes down so easy. And it looks amazing.

We got more than half of the floor done when we hit a snag.

This piece is not level. There used to be a cabinet here but we took it out to make room for the refrigerator we wanted. There wouldn't have been enough walk room had we placed another cabinet here. We never fixed the problem before because the guys were a tad lazy in putting the checkerboard floor down.

You can see here the difference in height from the hardwoods to the floor we have now. My husband is going to work on this tonight so we can finish this floor. It's been driving me crazy not having it finished.

This really is a beautiful floor for cheap.

Each box covers 40 sq ft & we purchased 4 boxes.

I don't remember what the exact price of each box was but they were around $46.00.

So for around $184 we have a brand new floor.

Fingers crossed this project is done tonight & we can mark it off the list!

{365 Days of Landry: Week 2}

2012-01-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

{Building A Legacy}

2012-01-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about our home & finances.

My husband is an 8th generation farmer.

We've always had dreams of passing our farm down to a son.

Well, we don't have a son & after two really bad pregnancies & emergency deliveries 8 weeks ahead of schedule we were told no more babies for us.

And that's not to say that a our sweet girl can't farm one day if she wants to.

With all that said I've been caring a lot of guilt about not being able to contribute financially to our family. I worked in the legal field for over 10 years & quit 2.5 years ago when we decided to try & have another baby. It was always our plan for me to stay home with our child. We knew we would have to make sacrifices but we were willing to do whatever so one of us was always with our baby. My husband does well with our farm & cattle & we don't ever go without but I want to do something to help to take some of the stress off my husband but that allows me to still home with Landry.

It wasn't until several months ago that the light bulb went off.

I've been a long time follower of Miss Mustard Seed's blog.

I've seen her slogan "Move mountains in your home." many time but for some reason it struck a cord with me late one night.

I realized that it was time to stop dreaming & to act.

I know what I want to do & the most important part is my family is behind me 110%.

I've been experimenting for months with our product & am so excited to be getting started on a dream come true.

We are still months from launching it but I couldn't wait to ~~share~~ tease y'all a bit. I'll be honest with y'all I'm scared, nervous & anxious. This is all because of a sweet girl named Landry. She & her sister have inspired me more than I ever could have imagined. I want to be able to give her the life she deserves while still having her mom with her for all the special moments. It's important to both of us that we leave behind something for her so whether she decides to farm or do something else she's covered.

Please keep us in your thoughts & prayers as we let God lead us on this new journey.

I saw this on Pinterest & knew it fit me perfectly...

I know she doesn't read my blog but I hope MMS knows what an inspiration she is to me & I am sure so many of you too!

Now off to work.... practice makes perfect!

{Buffet Makeover}

2012-01-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

My husband picked the buffet up on Tuesday & the minute we got it in the house I started work on it. The piece is HEAVY! It took us a good 35 minutes to get it out of the truck & in the house because I'm not that strong.

We put it in the living room in a space I had semi cleared out.

And while I worked on it our tv sat like this.

There is nothing fun about watching tv while it's on the ground.

Just an FYI.

I was so excited to put the first coat of ASCP Olive on it.

The color is so rich & sublte at the same time.

It brings some much needed color to our living room. I want to bring more color in on some pillows I'm going to attempt to make as soon as I find the perfect fabric.

I put two coats on & one coat of clear wax. The piece isn't finished because we need to do the bottom but that will have to wait until we get back from Texas.

I'm still trying to decide on which hardware to purchase. You see in the photo above the MS pull handle. I forgot I had purchased one several months ago for another project I was working on. I never used it & once I put it on here I loved it. My husband loves it too but I want to check out some others before I make a decision.

Something I didn't plan on happening did. I thought our cable box & receiver would fit in the doors but they don't. I was a little upset but decided that I could figure something out. I'm thinking about taking out the 2 middle drawers, paint the insides & put the components in there. I've seen it done several times on different blogs & it looks great. I was trying to hide them because Landry will be mobile soon & didn't want her to be tempted by them.

This is the piece today. It looks great. This picture really doesn't do it justice. I love the height it gives our tv & I love that it's not a traditional piece. All that's left to do is finish the bottom & find the perfect hardware.

We are both very pleased with this piece.

I'm linking up over at Miss Mustard Seed!

Happy Weekend!

{2012 Home Goals}

2012-01-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

I decided to join the linky party over at Nesting Place & document my home goals for the year.

We always have some kind of project going on in our house but we decided to prioritize them this year so that we actually start getting stuff accomplished versus a million projects half done.

First off is the laundry room.

I shared with y'all our plan for this room & I'm excited about getting it done although it'll take some time because we don't have a money tree in the backyard.

{The dirt on the door is from my husband. He's a farmer hence he's dirty.}

We want to remove the window & door on this side of the room. Since installing the stairs at the french doors we don't use this door anymore. Our goal is to drywall it & put 2 of the IKEA Hemnes cabinets there for extra storage.

There's no lighting in this room besides the lamps I put in there so we'll fix that too. I want 2 of the Turner light fixtures to go above the cabinets.

We need a new floor in here too.

As you can see from this picture we need to clean out the junk. The room normally looks 50% worse than this but I actually got rid of some stuff the other day.

On the other side of the room is the washer & dryer.

I want to add some cabinets above the washer & dryer.

You are getting a sneak peek of the black too!

One day we'll replace the w&d with the front loaders but not until these stop working.

There's a lot going on in this room & I'm trying to be patient but it's hard.

The next space is the living room.

Please excuse the mess.

Our entire house is a disaster zone right now.

I find playing with Landry is more appealing than cleaning.

We purchased the new sofa in September but it was delivered the week before Thanksgiving. It gives us tons of space & actually makes our small living room feel larger. We are thinking about moving it to another space in the room but haven't decided on that just yet.

{Yes, thats"s our surround sound on the ground. Remember I've been painting the buffet}

This room needs a lot of work. All of it is cosmetic.

The wall behind the tv is going to receive an amazing treatment too. That'll be talked about in detail in another post.

The next space is the bathroom.

We have one bathroom in the house. We hope to change that in the next few years. It works for us because there are only 2 of us that use the bathroom. It's never been a problem in 6 years.

I have some major plans for this room.

New mirror, lighting, vanity, floor & a board & batten treatment.

So there's our list of home goals.

What are you home goals for 2012?

I'm linking up at Nesting Place.

{Tranquility}

2012-01-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

I've had a long time love affair with colored doors. I've never been brave enough to paint any of ours except the front door until recently.

Sometime last year I was on a blog & saw that she had painted her interior doors a Valspar color called Tranquility. I can't remember the name of blog so my apologies.

I sent my husband to Lowe's to buy 2 quarts of Tranquility & without hesitation started painting the doors the minute he got home with the paint. I put two coats on & they look amazing!

Unfortunately, I've only gotten 2 of the 4 doors painted.

I got bored painting doors so I started on another project.

Does anyone else ever do that?

I have Landry's door & the bathroom door left to paint. We still need to replace the bathroom door with the 6 panel style like we did the others. The original doors were solid wood & plain jane. We've slowly started replacing them all but doors are expensive so a little at a time. We did purchase one for the bathroom but it was the wrong size. That was totally my fault too. Oops.

So like a million other things in our home we have to finish this project.

Once the doors are done I'll take a better pic of them in the hallway.

The color looks great with the stripes & new light!

I'm so glad I didn't paint them black.

{Laundry Room Design}

2012-01-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

The laundry room is one of the projects that needs to take priority on our project list. I finally have a vision for what I want in this space. I know it seems odd to spend so much time on a laundry room but this room will lead out to the deck we are having built in March.

It's measures 19 x 7.5. It originally had 6 windows but when we had the windows, siding & doors replaced we opted to take out two windows for some beautiful french doors. We have never regretted the decision.

Right now it's the catch all room. It looks like an episode of Hoarders to be honest. We are slowly cleaning it out and getting rid of stuff. We want to be able to use the space better especially when summer comes.

As it is now we let no one go in there. It's where our dogs sleep at night which means it doesn't smell too hot & it's full of junk. It's an eyesore & a space we keep hidden from most who come in our home. Eventually we want it to be a laundry/sunroom where people can go through to get to the backyard & deck.

It wasn't until I saw the MS Silhouette paint that I knew what I wanted to do with the room. It's the room that gets the most light in our house so painting it black made sense.

Elizabeth over at The Mustard Ceiling put together a design board for me because I have no idea how to do so. I'm sure it's simple but it's not my thing.

1.) Turner light fixture from Rejuvenation

2.) Martha Stewart's Silhouette Paint

3.) Lasting Greatness in white by Flor

4.) Ikat stencil from Olive Leaf Stencils

5.) Hemnes glass cabinet from IKEA

6.) Wallace light fixture from Rejuvenation

7.) Love seat I purchased at my favorite used furniture store

I hope this helps y'all see my vision.

The painting started Sunday & will resume Wednesday. It should all be done by Thursday. Then I can start elminating some of the junk in there so that we can order the floor & lighting. I'm still uncertain what I want to do for the windows. Right now we have bamboo blinds & I'm kind of starting to like them again after I saw them against the black paint. I'll make that decision later on in the process though.

I am extremely excited to see this room come together.

My mom is going to help me work on it when she comes to visit in February. Landry is starting to stay awake more during the day so finishing projects are not an option most days until her Daddy gets home. It's okay though because I'd rather spend time with her!

We leave in 3 weeks for Texas.

I cannot wait because I miss my family!

We will be working on some projects up there too that I can't wait to document.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

{365 Days of Landry }

2012-01-10T09:08:00.000-08:00

I started taking a picture of day of Landry starting on the 1st of January. I'm hoping it's a project I can keep up with because I think it would be so awesome to see her grow through pictures throughout the year of 2012. Here is week one of our precious miracle!

I love this little girl so much!

She has healed parts of our hearts that I thought were forever broken!

I spent yesterday with this beauty instead of doing projects.

It was so much fun & much needed!

{Guest Bedroom Updates}

2012-01-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

Back in September I posted about our guest bedroom. It was okay then but after looking at it for a while I realized the yellow was tired looking. I know it's a very trendy thing right now but I'm so over it. I think mainly because the room has been like that for 4 years now.

Anyway, here's the room today.

We took the yellow & gray pillows off along with the gray & yellow quilt. I added the linen duvet cover from the Shabby Chic collection from Target. I need an extremely fluffy duvet insert to but inside so it'll be full versus flat.

I want to have our monogram embroidered on the white standard shams in gray.

I am still completely in love with the headboard.

A few things we've added since the post in September are:

I just realized that the pictures are a tad crooked and the sign needs to be adjusted to the center of the gallery. I love the way this wall turned out. It's very simple but just the touch the wall needed.

I also threw this together & love it!

I bought the urn 2 years ago in Dallas. I never knew what I wanted to do with it & it's just been sitting in the room holding magazines.

Well, my husband started picking cotton in late November & I went out to take some pics & it hit me like a ton of bricks. I love the look of cotton. It's so beautiful to me. And it doesn't hurt that we have an unlimited amount of cotton at our disposal.

The room is not easy to photograph. I need a wide angle lens which is on my list of things to purchase.

We need a rug, , find a chest, paint the ceiling & add crown molding.

I'm falling in love with this room.

{No Ordinary Nighstand}

2012-01-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite blogs is Nine & Sixteen.

Tessa's home is amazing.

When I saw her bedroom makeover a certain piece stood out to me & my brain hasn't stopped thinking about it since.

I love everything in this room.

My favorite is the small chest turned nightstand.

So after seeing this & finding my inspiration I did what all normal women do & headed to Pinterest. I was blown away by the images I found. I especially love all the gorgeous vignettes!

I love the idea of using a small chest as a nightstand or even an end table.

It's something different from the ordinary.

In our guestroom we have a bookshelf that we use as a nightstand on one side of the bed but I want a small dresser to replace it to give the room more storage. The closets in our house are SMALL. It's one thing I really dislike about our home.

I'm excited about finding the perfect piece. We will be traveling to Texas next month for 3 weeks & I know I can find an amazing piece there if I don't score one here first.

How do you feel about using a non-traditional piece as a nightstand or end table?

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

{Blondes Always Have More Fun}

2012-01-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in another post that I purchased this amazing piece on Thursday.

It's a 1940's blonde mahogany buffet. It's a solid piece & has amazing storage!

Ever since seeing this

at Miss Mustard Seed's blog I knew I wanted to go in a direction similar for our tv. Right now we have a standard tv cabinet we purchased from Target when we got married 6 years ago. It's always served it's purpose but two years ago my husband bought me a 58" Samsung flat screen for my birthday.

It was what I wanted.

I love tv people.

Our bigger tv swallows the tv cabinet. It looks okay to most who come in but it drives me insane. I've been on the hunt for something different but didn't want the typical tv cabinet. I found a piece in Charleston, SC when we visited in April 2010 but I didn't purchase it because the piece didn't justify the piece. I found several online from Pottery Barn & Ballard Designs but I didn't want a copy of something. I wanted my own.

So I gave up & just settled for what we had until I found a piece sometime last year that I loved. It's a bookcase with 4 glass doors. Really pretty. It needed some work but I knew I could make it what I wanted it to be. After looking at it for a while I decided that it wouldn't suit our purpose. It was really too thin for such a big tv. It's in our tobacco barn along with countless other pieces of furniture that I need to sale. That's another post for another day though.

I was super excited when I came across the buffet today. I pulled out my trusty tape measure that I keep in my purse & the measurements were perfect. I paid $125 for it. I have no idea if that's too much but in my mind it was a steal.

I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it color wise.

It's going to be ASCP in Olive.

I haven't decided on the hardware yet. I don't know if I'll keep what's on it or change it out.

I did find these that I love by Martha Stewart.

{1/2/3/4}

We don't have much gold in our house because I've never been a fan. I think I'm growing up because I'm actually starting to love it. I could never go all gold because I'm not down like that but I think mixing metals is like mixing woods. It's a must in decorating.

There are 10 handles & 2 knobs on the piece so I'd have to figure out if it would be worth the money to replace them all. Who knows what I'll do with the hardware.

My husband will pick up the piece on Saturday & I'll start painting it then.

I can't wait to see it transform in a piece that fits our home.

{ I Love a Good Surprise.... And Find}

2012-01-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

A few months ago we finally ordered a new headboard for our guest bedroom . We struggled for months on which one to purchase & after West Elm had an amazing sale of 25% off furniture during the holidays it was easy for us to make our minds up.

Our favorite was always the Scroll Headboard. We both loved this one but neither of us {especially my husband} could justify spending $449 plus $60 for shipping on a headboard that doesn't get much use. So we saved our design dollars {we have a WE credit card} & patiently waited. It went on sale & we ended up spending $100 bucks out of pocket for the piece. Not too shabby if I say so myself.

We got a call on Monday telling us that the bed would be delivered on Saturday between 8:30-10:30.

I was excited.

Really excited.

Well I got a call today from the delivery company & they said they were way ahead of schedule & could we accept delivery today in like 2 hours. Uh, YES!

The minute it came in the door we dragged to the guest bedroom & installed. It's gorgeous!

And I LOVE the height of it.

We purchased 3 of the Convex mirrors from West Elm 4 months ago that we'll have to rehang above the bed. I'm hoping they'll still look good with the new height we've added.

This room is coming together nicely.

We have a few more things we'd like to do like purchase a new rug, paint the ceiling, add crown molding & maybe stencil a wall.

My husband says I'll never be finished with the room but I'm on a mission to prove him wrong!

After the awesome call I got today I decided to press my luck & head to my favorite local used furniture store to see if I could find a score.

I totally did.

It's a 1940 blonde mahogany buffet. She's gorgeous as she is but I have amazing plans for her. She'll be used as our tv cabinet & I can't wait!

{Black Doors Stink}

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

After spending countless hours on Pinterest looking at colored interior doors I knew I wanted something similar in our home. I originally thought I wanted them all to be black but changed my mind during the process because I thought it would be too heavy down our hallway.

This is the layout of our home. It's 1,089 sq ft total.

{I have no idea why it says kitchen in the closet}

As you can see the majority of our layout is on the left side. I didn't think the black doors down the small hallway would look good even though we have tons of black in our house. I did however decide to paint the back of the three exterior doors black.

I started the process last night.

I decided to use Glidden Trim & Door paint in Deepest Black because of the no drip, no brush marks claim to fame.

It's true.

No drips.

No brush marks.

But the smell is horrendous! It's an oil based paint which I knew but I wasn't expecting the smell to be as strong as it was! I only got one coat on last night & decided that I wouldn't finish the project until my husband could take our daughter, Landry, out while I worked on the doors.

I felt horrible after stinking up the house. Landry was asleep & we closed her door & opened the windows in the house to try & get rid of some of the smell. It didn't work. We could still smell it when we woke up the next day. It wasn't as strong but it was still there.

The product is amazing if you don't mind the smell.

Eventually I'll put on the second coat & paint the other 2 doors.

We need to change the hinges on this door because they are the original ones that were painted who knows how many times.

You can see the window treatment we did courtesy of Ashley from 7th House on the Left. Her post "One Roll of Contact Paper Later" inspired me to try the same process on the door leading out to our laundry room.

Ashley created this template with instructions for easy use. I followed them exactly & ended up with an amazing door. It took a while to cut everything out but it was worth the effort. No one who comes in believes me when I tell them it's contact paper.

If you decide to use Glidden Trim & Door paint be prepared for the smell. It does exactly what it says it's going to do. I'd definitely use it again but next time I'll be ready.

{Star Light, Star Bright}

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago I ordered the Moravian Star Ceiling Light from Shades of Light.

It was delivered on the 21st but with Christmas a few days away we put off putting it up. I was like a kid on Christmas day opening up the box. I couldn't get it out fast enough!

And then it sat like this on the couch for a few days. I was hoping my husband would take it as a hint. He didn't so I finally just told him it needed to go up. He did it without any hesitation.

And now it looks like this....

I LOVE it!

It's so much prettier in person. It's the special touch the hallway needed.

You can see a snap shot of the other project we are working on. That should be completed in the next few weeks or so. I'm really happy that we are getting things done!

If you are looking for a Moravian Star light this one is perfect. It was a bit more expensive than some of the others I saw online but it was my favorite.

Definitely worth the money!

Hope everyone is having a great 2012 so far!

{A Cabinet Transformation}

2012-01-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

In January my grandfather gave us a cabinet they weren't using anymore. We hauled it back from Texas & decided we'd use it in the laundry room. We could always use more storage in there.

It didn't have a top but I knew that was an easy fix.

It started out looking like this. Nothing fancy. Just a plain oak cabinet.

That was really heavy.

It fit perfect between the washer & dryer.

I knew I was going to paint it ASCP Pure White & change out the hardware. I got to work on it two days ago & it's turned out great.

The picture isn't the greatest because I was too lazy to get the lighting just right in the space. I really love the ASCP in Pure White. I love how fresh & bright the color is.

We decided on the Lace Strewn Knob from Anthropologie.

I gave my husband a choice of 4 & he chose this one. I love it. It looks great & it gave me some inspiration for the space that I'll share later in another post.

I'm really proud of the top my husband built. He used some pine boards purchased at Lowe's & cut them to size. Afterwards he stained them in Dark Walnut.

We haven't attached them yet because I'm going to paint the room in Martha Stewart's Silhouette & it'll be easier to the move the cabinet without the top attached.

When I told my husband what I wanted to do he said "Are you serious?" And I said "Yes. Why?" He said, "Black, Jessica." I think it was more of a question than statement. I told him to trust me.

I know that with the light that the room gets it'll be okay. I've always wanted a black room but was never brave enough to do it but I'm going for it now. We bought the paint Friday & I'll start that this week.

I'm excited about the room's transformation & being able to use it for more than just a dumping room.

{Resolutions for 2012}

2012-01-01T16:20:00.000-08:00

I've never really been about making resolutions. Mainly because I can never keep them. This year I wanted to seriously set some goals that I could reach.

Resolution #1

I started a diet November 21, 2011. Yes, the week of Thanksgiving.

Yes, I'm crazy.

I lost 13 pounds the first month.

So, my resolution is to remain on the diet & lose another 62 pounds.

I've never been overweight. Ever.

After we lost our first daughter I went into a deep depression. I used to be ashame to admit that but burying your child can do a number on you physically & emotionally.

I gained about 75 pounds. I want to lose the weight for many reasons. My health, to give my husband back the wife he married & to be able to keep up with Landry as she gets older.

I'm on the right track & I feel confident that I can keep the weight coming off.

Resolution #2

Organize our pictures.

I love taking pictures. My older sister calls me Kodak.

After Parker died I realized how important pictures truly are. Besides our memories it's all we have of her so I always have my camera with me. Always.

I took over 500 pictures the first month Landry was alive.

I'm addicted.

We have tons of pictures on our computer that need to be organized & saved to disk just in case our computer decides to crash.

It'll be a job but totally worth the time & effort!

Resolution #3

Finish our project list

And by that I mean without adding to it! We have quite the project list but nothing we can't finish. We have an issue with starting something & getting bored & moving on to the next project. Nothing ever gets finished in our house.

I decided to make a list room by room & finish one room at a time.

We are excited about trying some DIY stuff we've never tackled before. We work well as a team {most of the time} & getting things done is our theme for 2012.

Resolution #4

Better Meal Planning

Being on the diet means a multitude of things. No eating after 7 pm, staying within 1800 calories a day & eating 3 meals & 2 snacks a day.

During the winter it's easy to eat before 7 because my husband is "off" from January to March so he's home by 5:30 at the latest. April-December he's working until about 8 or 9 every night except Sunday. It's harder because I hate eating without him but I know I have to.

I did really good for about 2 weeks & after that I just got lazy. This one will be tough but I think I can handle it.

Resolution #5

Find a church to call home

We are members of a local church. We used to love it but it became too political & way too clicky. We stopped going when I got pregnant because I was super sick the first 14 weeks.

We both have some personal issues with the Pastor.

When we went into labor & had Landry {8 weeks early} no one from our church called, emailed, texted or visited. I was raised Baptist & I know the duties of a Pastor.

We were told by another member of the church that the reason they didn't do anything for us was because we hadn't been to church in a long time.

Yep, my mouth dropped open just like yours did.

There's more than just that. We talked about it for a long time & thought maybe we should go back but we don't feel at home there.

We want a church that has a great youth program.

A church that makes us feel at home.

Makes us feel welcomed & not judged.

I've been praying about it & know that God will lead us to the right place. I also know that I have to remain open minded & open hearted.

We'll start visiting some local churches next Sunday. We are excited about the journey & trust that God is walking it with us.

Resolution #6

Organize

Everything in our house.

Get rid of clothes, shoes & purses we don't use.

Purge the kitchen drawers, cabinets & pantry.

Work on the laundry room. It's in need of a major remodel. It's a great size room that will eventually lead out to a deck. It has a lot of potential but because it's a room that we are never in it never got any attention. That'll change. Soon.

Go through our file cabinet. Keep what's important.

I want to organize every square inch of this house. It will probably be the most time consuming job because I find myself having an emotional attachment to stuff. Crazy I know. I'm working on that too.

Well, that's my list.

Did you make a New Year's Resolution list?

{Happy New Year}

2011-12-31T17:10:00.000-08:00

{via Pinterest}

{What An Amazing Day}

2011-12-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing Christmas! I can't say that I'm sad it's over with. As much as I loved our Christmas tree this year I was super happy to see it go so that I could have the space back in our house.

Landry wasn't amused by all that Santa left her but Mom & Dad sure did enjoy celebrating her 1st Christmas. We both couldn't wait for her to wake up even though we knew to her it was just another day. It's amazing being able to share Christmas with your children.

She did love the purple dog. She talks & says her name. She would laugh at her when she would talk to her & then look at us & smile like we had something to do with it. The other toys are bit big for her right now but I know once she gets to where she can sit up by herself she'll really enjoy them.

We hosted this year & it was so much fun. We didn't do the traditional Christmas dinner. We had steaks, corn casserole, broccoli rice casserole, pineapple casserole, green beans, mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, salad & rolls. Desserts were Earthquake cake & banana pudding. It was all delicious!

After we opened gifts & ate lunch we sat outside around the fire pit & just talked & laughed.

We are so truly blessed.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

We've worked on some projects this week & have a few more up our sleeve to share with y'all. I'll be back to regular posting next week!

Happy New Year!

{Merry Christmas}

2011-12-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

{Duck, Duck, Goose...}

2011-12-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

We are in the process of planning a remodel for our bathroom. It's actually come a very long way from where we started!

This was the bathroom when we bought the house in August 2006.

It was hideous! And it stunk so B.A.D.!

It's come along way from where it started but as most rooms in our house it's going to change pretty soon.

It's definitely brighter. It's a small bathroom but the only one we have. It works for us although if we stay in this house we'll be building two more sometime in the next few years.

So the whole point of this post was to show you a recent project I worked on. We purchased this piece from Target several years ago. It was kind of boring so I decided to give it a makeover with some ASCP. After looking at all the colors over & over again I decided on Duck Egg. It's a gorgeous color!

Not the best before picture. I always get so excited to start a project that I forget to take before pictures. Anyway, after a coat of Duck Egg & clear wax it's now this gorgeous beauty!

It looks more like a custom piece than an off the shelf piece. I absolutely love the way it turned out!

I cannot believe that Christmas is in 2 days. We are so excited for Landry's first Christmas we can hardly stand it. She has a horrible cold though & we are hoping it's gone before Santa comes.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

{Happy Birthday, Ashley}

2011-12-21T12:35:00.000-08:00

I had scheduled for this post to post yesterday morning but for some reason it didn't & posted the hallway post instead. Anyway, yesterday was my husband, Ashley's 31st birthday. He's an amazing husband, best friend & father to our girls.

He's the kind of man I hope our daughter will marry one day. He's a hard worker, kind, loving, extremely patient & hilarious! He makes me smile when no one else can. And still gives me butterflies every time he pulls up in the driveway.

This pic was taken when Landry was still in the NICU. It's one of my favorites. She always held on tightly to his finger.

This one was taken one night randomly as he was carrying her to the bathtub. I always have my camera handy & ready to go for moments like this.

I wish y'all could see the way he looks at her. You can see his love for her & it melts my heart every single time.

We had a great night celebrating with family & friends! We are so blessed to have him in our lives.

Happy Birthday, Ashley!

We love you!

{Horizontal Hallway}

2011-12-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

I had mentioned in a previous post that I was loving the striped walls I was seeing all over Pinterest! I finally decided to just bite the bullet & get started. My awesome husband helped with the project because it was definitely a two person job. He did the math which turned out to be easy because from baseboard to ceiling was 90" & I knew I wanted an odd number of stripes so the top & bottom would be the same color. Our stripes ended up being 10" wide.

We used a long level marked the stripes with a pencil & then taped them off. We got confused in the beginning & were forgetting that tape couldn't be put in the stripes that were being painted. That's confusing isn't it? Yeah, I just confused myself.

Once we got going it went pretty fast. In all it took us about 2.5 hours to pencil & tape off everything. I couldn't wait to get the paint on! We kept the original color because we love it. It's Ralph Lauren's Oatmeal mixed in Behr paint. The color we chose to be the other stripe is by Valspar. It's called La Fonda. Did you all just think about Napoleon Dynamite too?

It's a a few shades lighter than the RL Oatmeal.

The whole project took us about 4 hours from start to finish. We did one coat of paint for the stripes. It covered so well that it didn't need another one. It turned out amazing. We still have to erase what's left of the pencil lines but that won't take much time.

I've ordered a new light to get rid of the hideous builder one I purchased when we bought the house. It's the Moravian Star light from Shades of Light. I cannot wait for it to arrive & be hung!

Only thing left to do is find a runner that is long enough. I've thought about buying two if I can't find one. The one we have now is okay but it's just too short. I found a gorgeous rug at West Elm & placed the order but later got an email saying it was on back order until the end of February. I decided against it hoping I could find something I like just as much & that I wouldn't have to wait that long for.

The hallway is coming along nicely.

{ASCP - Paris Gray}

2011-12-19T11:25:00.000-08:00

I've been a longtime fan of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. I bought my first can 10 months ago & have been addicted ever since. It's the smoothest paint I've ever used. The coverage is amazing & I love that there is no sanding or priming required. There's no smell which is awesome because we have a special little lady in the house that doesn't need all the chemicals most paint has.

Anyway, I just bought Paris Gray from Classic Wall Finishes. I love Patty & Karen. They are both awesome & so friendly. You don't find customer service like that anymore.

Last year I painted a piece I purchased off Craigslist in a white from the Martha Stewart paint line. I had originally thought I wanted to paint it Arles but it was too bright on its own so I mixed it with a little Old White and loved the color but it just wasn't what I was going for. So I went back to the drawing board & decided that Paris Gray would be the way to go.

It turned out amazing! It's probably one of my favorite pieces of furniture in our house!

Excuse the mess around & underneath the piece. This room is a work in progress.

I ordered the Handstamped Cursive Writing knob from Vintage Skye. Their knobs are amazing! I cannot wait to find another piece to paint so I can order more knobs from them.

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

{A Much Needed FaceLift}

2011-12-15T15:26:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting a facelit for a while but never seem to get around to finding someone to do it because that just isn't my thing. So long story short I found The Mustard Ceiling from one of the other blogs I read {can't remember which one} & fell in love with her blog! She ran a Black Friday sale & I knew it was my opportunity to do get this blog a much needed facelift.

Elizabeth is amazing to work with. She really listens to what you want & at the end of the process you have a beautiful blog to show off! She is extremely talented & very patient. So if you are looking for a facelift you should check her out. She's pretty awesome.

I'm in the process of cooking The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup so I'll back later to update y'all on some of the projects we've gotten done around the house.

And just because I can't get enough of her I'll leave y'all with a picture of our beautiful sweet Landry who turned 6 months old on December 2nd!

I tried every thing imaginable to get her to smile but she just wasn't having it. She loves bathtime & Mom was interrupting it with picture taking.

{Landry, Peanuts & Projects}

2011-10-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while because we've been busy getting projects done around the house & my husband is picking peanuts which means late nights for him & long nights with our precious baby girl for me. I'm exhausted & getting ready to clean up the kitchen from dinner but wanted to share a few pictures of the one thing that takes up most of our time. Our sweet girl, Landry, will be 5 months old in 7 days. It's hard to believe that she's been in our lives that long. I cannot imagine my life without her. We are trying to enjoy every moment with her! Her smile is so big & her eyes so bright. She makes every single day better! I have no idea what we did to deserve her but we are so thankful & grateful.

{Roomspiration: Guest Bedrooms}

2011-09-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

I'm participating in the Roomspiration Blog Hop & Link Party & today it's all about guest bedrooms! We have one guest bedroom & it's probably one of my favorite rooms in our home. Mainly because it's almost done.

It has definitely come along way from where it originally started. All of the before pictures are on our old computer that evidently has some sort virus because we can't get on it. Insert sad face.

We refinished the original hardwood floors last year. And we did a great job if I say so myself.

The green chair is a find at one of the local used furniture stores. It was in great shape, cost $39 & just needed some love. Unfortunately I have yet to give it the love it needs. I want to do a white or cream slipcover. That's on the to do list.

The next things on the list are to paint the ceiling in Martha Stewart's Zinc, add crown molding & Layla Grace's Provence chandelier.

We want a headboard but can't decide between these two. These are both from West Elm which is one of my favorite stores right now! I love the curves of the first one but I also love the nailhead in the second one! What's a girl to do?

We are debating on this rug from IKEA too. I love the texture it would add to the space. We currently have a yellow & white rug from Pottery Barn in there. It's too obvious to me though so it has to go.

Well that's our guest room. Hope you enjoyed!

I'm linking up over at DIY By Design.

{Stripes... Yes, Please!}

2011-09-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

My addiction for Pinterest hasn't gotten any better. I feel like I should be in a circle saying, "Hi, My name is Jessica & I'm addicted to Pinterest."

I found an amazing blog via Pinterest the other day & literally stayed up until 3 a.m. reading every single word that Laurel-Dawn wrote. Her blog is called Abode Love. It's amazing. I mean like jaw dropping drooling all over the keyboard amazing.

It was here that I fell in love with the striped wall. She did stripes in her hallway. It's gorgeous & I want it. Now. I'll quit rambling about it & show you what I'm talking about.

Gorgeous. Right?

So, this our inspiration. Now on to the dilema. Last year we painted our hallway, living room & kitchen RL's Oatmeal. We had it color matched in Behr paint. It's my favorite paint. Now I have to find a coordinating color. So I'm on a mission to find a color that is close to what we have.

Something like this.

{Image courtesy of Pinterest}

We are going to switch out the light too. It's the typical builder light. Ugly. And to think I picked it out five years ago makes me cringe. We both love the lighting from Schoolhouse Electric. And we've picked this one out for the hallway.

Not sure if we'll pick this finish or the antique black. I'm excited about the changes we are slowly making in our home. It definitely has been a labor of love but worth every dollar & every minute.

And just for fun here are some more amazing striped hallways!

{Images courtesy of Pinterest}

Happy Wednesday!

{Remembering}

2011-09-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

{Thanks, Irene}

2011-08-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

So Irene has made her way out of NC finally! The sun is shining & it's back to being 1,000 degrees. We were one of the fortunate as we had minor damage to our home. We never lost power although some in our small town did. We are praying for those who lost loved ones, homes & power.

Our porch was literally ripped from our house. And thank goodness I was staying with my sister an hour away with our daughter because the awning landed where I normally park my car. The porch was an eye sore and something on our to do list. Thanks to Irene we can move it up on our list. I'm so happy it was just our porch and nothing major.

So now we just wait on our insurance company and go from there. I'll be searching Pinterest for some inspiration photos. We'd like some completely different than what was there. You can see from this above picture that it was just an ugly metal awning. I'll be anxious to get it done but until then I'll be painting the door and looking for new light fixtures. I mean a new porch requires new accessories, right?

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

{A List That Never Ends}

2011-08-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

I found this image on Pinterest & boy does it apply to me these days! I drafted a list of things that need to be done before Christmas & it's quite intimidating. We are having Christmas at our house this year & I'm a stickler for all things being perfect. Right now I currently have 2 walls in our bedroom painted, beadboard put up in the breakfast nook with no paint & no chair rail and our exterior doors primed. I love starting projects but hate finishing them. I always get so side tracked by the next project & so our home ends up being a house full of unfinished projects.

I decided to make a daily list of things that I hope to accomplish by Thanksgiving. I'm hoping it will help keep me motivated. Is anyone else having this problem? I hate to think I'm alone in this boat. What did you do to help you get things completed?

First on my list is getting our doors painted. We've never painted the side doors to our home. The fronts are going white & the back black. I'm going to test out Glidden's new Door & Trim paint in Deepest Black. Bad news is Home Depot was completely out it when I went today to buy it. I'm going to see if I can order it online because the nearest HD is an hour away.

I hope to see some progress on my to do list by the end of the week. Our daughter is only 2 months old & so our time is extremely limited but thank goodness for her 4 hour naps during the day!

Happy Tuesday!

{Allen + Roth Lighting}

2011-08-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

I went to Lowe's today with my dad for a few items & while he was having a piece of tile cut I was browsing the lighting section. I normally am not a fan of the lighting at Lowe's but much to my surprise I saw these amazing lights that were not the typical Lowe's merchandise.

Have you seen them yet? I so wish I had a place to put one or two of these.....

My favorite was this one

But I wouldn't mind taking this one home too

Or this guy

The prices are just as amazing as the pieces themselves.

{Gallery Walls.... Getting The Hang of It}

2011-08-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of redoing our bedroom. It's always been the room last on the list but I decided that I was going to bump it up a few spots & get it done! I'm painting the walls a color by Valspar called Cliveden Leather. It's a gorgeous brown. I'm doing a little at a time since we have a newborn in the house & don't have much free time on my hands.

There's a wall in our room that has nothing on it. You see it the minute you walk in or by our room. I know that I want to do some type of gallery wall. I've seen so many pictures online that I love & am using as inspiration but the one thing I can't decide on is do I want a true gallery wall or a gallery wall using shelving?

I love both. I'm normally not so indecisive but this time I just can't seem to make a decision. I asked my husband & he said "whatever you like" so that leaves the decision making all up to me.

So, do I want no shelf?

Or shelf?

{Images courtesy of West Elm}

Lots to think about but thankfully I have plenty of time because painting the room is going to take me at least until the end of the week.

Happy Monday!

{Giving New Life to an Old Piece}

2011-08-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

I have a favorite used furniture store that I visit quite frequently & I have only left there once without purchasing something. Most of the pieces I've sold but every now & then I find a piece that I love & refuse to get rid of. When I spotted this piece I knew I had to have it. I had no idea where I was going to put it but I loved it & it was coming home with me. It's solid wood & the curves are gorgeous. I didn't take an appropriate before picture so I apologize for that but here's what it looks like upside down before I painted it.

I used ASCP in Graphite on the top & Old Ochre on the bottom! I waxed the entire piece to finish it off! It looks great & even my husband loves it!

Sorry for the horrible pictures! I'm still trying to learn how to use our camera. This picture truly doesn't do the piece justice.

I hate that you can see the cords from the lamps. I'll have to figure something out to hide them because they are driving me crazy. We had a drop leaf table there before & it hid them well.

Here's a sneak peek of my next project!

Happy Tuesday!

{AS Chalk Paint - New Colors!}

2011-08-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

I have a severe obsession with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. It's the best paint E.V.E.R. I am the proud owner of 5 colors. Old Ochre, Old White, Aubusson, Graphite & Provence. I heart them all. I want all the colors. Every single one of them. Including the 3 new colors! Yes, I said 3 new colors! I'm so excited & have already pre-ordered mine. They aren't coming out until September but you can reserve yours now.

{Pure White}

Quite simply a pure clean white

{Coco}

A warm greyed brown, the color found on old French woodwork

{French Linen}

A cool neutral khaki grey inspired by old pieces of French and Italian furniture

I am so excited for these new colors! I've been working on some projects using ASCP & will be sharing soon! Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

{Just Because.....}

2011-07-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

She's absolutely gorgeous & we can't get enough of her!

We are working on some fun projects around the house that I'll share in future posts. We have family coming in from Texas tomorrow which means we are super excited & will be super busy!

Hope everyone has a great week!

{Colored Doors}

2011-07-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

When we bought our fixer upper 5 years ago I knew immediately that I wanted a gray house with a yellow door. It was a white house with peeling aluminum siding & a white door. It was hideous! Today I have my gray house with yellow door & I want something else. I love the gray siding so that is staying. I've been addicted to Pinterest for months now & seeing all the colored doors has made me want something different on our own front door.

I love how vibrant these colors are!

After much debate & color samples we've decided on a color.

Ta da....

We are going with turquoise.

More specifically Martha Stewart's Lagoon.

It's the perfect shade of turquoise.

I'll be searching for new hardware for the door & light fixture. Our front porch isn't the most gorgeous thing but it has potential. We have huge plans for it one day but for now we are working with what we have.

Can't wait to share the new door!

{All images courtesy of Pinterest}

{Welcome Home, Landry}

2011-07-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

After 32 days in the NICU our sweet daughter, Landry, came home! We have been at home for 7 days now & it's amazing! She is such a good baby! She gets up about every 4 hours to eat & other than that she just sleeps. She loves to cuddle & so do we! We are so excited to be home with our sweet girl! Thank you so much for the thoughts and prayers!

{Loving Landry}

2011-06-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Right now our lives are consumed with visiting Landry in the NICU which means little time for blogging. I have been trying to catch up on the blogs I read daily & boy have I missed so much! I have a list of things to do when we get back home. We are staying with my sister who lives only 10 minutes from the hospital versus our hour drive from our home.

Landry is doing amazing! She now weighs 4 pounds 9 ounces & is taking 3 bottles a day! All her other feeds are done through her NG tube. We are hoping to speak with her doctor about his plan of care for her over the next two weeks. She has reached her weight limit to go home but needs to be feeding on demand before they'll actually discharge her. We are a bit confused about how it all works so we've put together a list of questions for them.

She is changing every single day and actually starting to look a little chubby! She is the most pleasant baby & loves to be rocked! I am having a hard time being separated from her but trying to deal with it the best way I can because I know she needs to be there. There is nothing natural about leaving the hospital without your baby. We know how blessed we are so I feel guilty for complaining. Please continue to keep her in your thoughts & prayers!

{8 Weeks Early}

2011-06-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

Our sweet girl, Landry Stone, was born Thursday, June 2nd at 1:56 p.m. She weighed 3 pounds 9 ounces and 16 inches long. I developed severe preeclampsia on Tuesday and after no improvements from being on magnesium sulfate I had a c-section on Thursday. I was 32 weeks gestation. She is doing great but will most likely spend the first month in the NICU. We can't bring her home until she gains more weight but she's feeding like a champ so we are headed in the right direction!

She is the sweetest thing ever & every time I'm with her I feel so complete. I hate having to be away from her but I know it's for the best right now. She definitely is a daddy's girl already!

Please keep her in your prayers!

{Love at First Sight}

2011-05-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe she'll be here in 8 weeks. She looks just like her sister & Daddy.

We cannot wait to meet her!

{Hammers & High Heels}

2011-05-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

I found Carla's amazing blog, Hammers & High Heels several months ago via Layla & Kevin over at TLC & have been addicted ever since.

Their home was hit by a tornado today. They are okay but their house is not. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they try to pick up the pieces in the days & months to come.

{Nursery Love}

2011-05-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

The nursery is finally done minus a few accessories. We are so pleased with how it turned out! I am due in 9 weeks & am feeling beyond exhausted. My feet are constantly swollen & the insomnia is killing me! We are super excited for the arrival of our little girl! After much debate we have decided on a name for her.

Landry Stone

I cannot even begin to tell how in love we are with here already. It brings me such joy to hear my husband talk about her. He lost a huge part of who he was when our first daughter, Parker, died. We are truly blessed that God has given us a second chance.

Here are a few pictures of the completed nursery!

I'll try to put a resource list together tomorrow in case anyone cares.

Hope y'all have a great Tuesday!

{Happy Easter}

2011-04-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

I think so many forget what Easter is truly about. It's easy to get wrapped up in the bunny rabbit, dying eggs & basket full of goodies routine that so many of us are used to. I hope that each of us will take the time to thank God for the sacrifice He made for our sins. He gave His only son to die on the cross for each one of us so that we could have eternal life in Heaven. I cannot imagine the pain endured by Jesus but I am so thankful & grateful for His love, mercy & forgiveness. Because of it I know that one day I'll see my sweet angel, Parker, again.

Matthew 28:6 "He is not here: for He is risen."

Happy Easter!

{In Need of Prayers}

2011-03-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, March 6th, my grandfather had a heart attack while at church. He is more than just a grandfather as he and my grandmother raised my older sister, younger brother and myself. He is one of the most special people in my life. He's been there for me through everything.

Right now he is in the operating room undergoing a triple bypass. Our entire family is cramped in a waiting room filled with a million different emotions of fear and love. Please keep him in your prayers as we all know that prayer is powerful in numbers!

{Nursery Colors}

2011-03-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

We've decided on the colors for the nursery and I am beyond excited to get started painting! When we originally found out we were pregnant I had a vision for the nursery but upon finding out we are having a girl that quickly changed. I normally stick to my guns but for some reason I was easily persuaded by the Serena & Lily catalog.

We have chosen to paint the walls a S&L color called Punch and the ceiling a color called Sprout. We will have them color matched to Behr's Premium Plus because I really heart Behr paint. I purchased a stencil from Whitehall & Co. that was designed by Janell Beals over at Isabella & Max Rooms that we are going to attempt using in the nursery as well.

Once we get the paint up and the 2 pieces of furniture painted we'll start ordering the bedding, crib, curtains, etc. We don't have extra storage so it makes more sense to just wait until we can actually utilize the items. It really is starting to feel like a nursery instead of an office. And everytime I walk by the room I can't help but smile. God has really blessed our family and we are soaking up every single moment of it!

{Refinishing Furniture}

2011-03-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

We are in the process of cleaning out our office so we can transform it into our little girl's nursery. It's been an exciting and exhausting process. I had no idea we had SO much stuff in one room! We still have a few big items to get out before we can start painting the walls but we are definitely on the right track. So until I can get to the walls I'm going to focus on the two pieces of furniture we are using in the nursery. I didn't want a set of furniture so instead we have opted for a crib from Baby&Child and two pieces that we already owned.

The first one is a piece that I picked up from my favorite used furniture store. The pictures are poor quality because my husband took them with his phone. We are storing the piece in the tobacco barn right now because there's just no room in the house. It has two doors that have glass and two glass shelves which are both stored in our house for safety purposes. It's a beautiful piece and I think it will be perfect in our little girl's nursery. My plan is to paint it Martha Stewart's Tailor Chalk which is a creamy white. I'm not sure if I want to paint out the back or have a piece of mirror cut to fit in it. I'm leaving the hardware as is for now.

The other piece was given to us several years ago. We used it in our office as storage but it'll become our changing table/dresser. It too will become MS Tailor Chalk and will sport these gorgeous knobs. I took a vote on FB and she won out!

Please excuse all the junk but like I said we are cleaning out the room. This piece is so girlie and I can't wait to transform it. I will start on this one first because it's already in the house and should be a pretty simple piece to paint.

For those of you who are looking for some help with refinishing your furniture pieces head on over to Perfectly Imperfect. Shaunna is one of the most talented women I know and she just release her eBook yesterday. It is absolutely amazing! She covers everything you could want to know about "Creating Your Masterpiece." I can't stop looking at it and each time I do I find something else that's useful.

Happy Hump Day!

{Need Some Help}

2011-02-28T07:08:00.000-08:00

I'm repainting an old chest for the nursery and trying to decide on what knobs to purchase from Anthro. They have an amazing selection which makes it even harder to decide so I'm hoping that the few follwers I have can help me out.

{Rosy Knob}

{Mercury Glass Melon Knob}

{Urchin Test Knob}

{Notched Glass Knob}

Thanks for any suggestions! I am having so much fun planning and designing this nursery! Can't wait to slowly reveal our progress!

{It's a......}

2011-02-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

{Valentine's Wish List}

2011-02-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not the typical girl. I don't want flowers. I don't want jewelry. No fancy dinner. And no spa package or getaway. I don't know if my Valentine's wish list is a sign I'm getting old or just plain growing up but here's what I'm wishing for this

Valentine's Day.

{Ballard Designs}

{Pottery Barn}

{Urban Outfitters}

{Ballard Designs}

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's weekend!

{If it's a GIRL....}

2011-02-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

In 12 days we find out what the sex of the baby is. We are both pretty sure it's a boy but we'll know for sure on the 23rd. We go in for our level 2 ultrasound to make sure all the important parts are where they are supposed to be. Dr. Shelton will be performing the u/s and is one amazing doctor. He is the one who diagnosed Parker with CDH on April 7, 2006. We are super nervous about this appointment but keeping the faith that this baby is healthy!

I have some ideas for the nursery if it's a girl. I've never been a girly girl but recently saw a nursery done in yellow and purple and loved it. They are beautiful colors put together and for now that's the direction we'll go in if our bundle of joy just happens to be a girl.

We don't want anything real girly because that's just not our style but we love the way these fabrics compliment each other. We want there to be femine touches just not an overload.

We are super excited about finding out the sex and cannot wait to get started decorating the nursery. We haven't settled on paint colors yet but that won't take me long.

I'll keep y'all updated on the progress of the pregnancy and nursery!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

{If it's a BOY...}

2011-02-03T17:36:00.000-08:00

Since we found out that we are expecting I've been toying with ideas for the nursery. I don't want a typical nursery. And I do not like themes at all! I want something cozy but somewhat rustic too. We've waited for this for a long time and I'm sparing no expense on this nursery. It'll be the last nursery I ever get to decorate because this will be our last child.

~~We've~~ I've searched high and low for fabrics because I want our bedding to be custom. I haven't found anything that speaks to me so I figured having it made would be the easiest thing to do. These are our fabrics for a boy's room. I ordered samples from LS Fabrics and heart them all! Right now I'm thinking the first and last one will be the crib bumper and the 2nd the window treatments and the 3rd the crib skirt. I have plenty of time to change my mind and knowing me I probably will.

We both agreed that we love this crib and unless we find something else that blows us away this will be our choice. It's from Baby& Child Restoration Hardware.

I've always loved the look of a iron crib. It's more than we expected to pay but since it's the only big piece of furniture we are purchasing for the room it's not that big of a deal. We have two other pieces that we are using but that will need some paint and knew hardware. We didn't want a set of furniture but something eclectic.

I haven't been this excited about decorating a room in a long time. There's something about a baby that brings life to you. We feel so extremely blessed as we know the struggles so many families have trying to have children. We've learned so much from our daughter's death and although it seems like a huge price to pay we know that we'll be better parents because of our experience. How I wish our sweet girl was here to celebrate with us but I know we have one amazing guardian angel looking out after us and her brother/sister.

Sorry I kind of got off track. It's hard to not think of our daughter during this journey. How much we missed out on by losing her so young.

So I'll leave you with some other ideas we have for the nursery if it's a boy and tomorrow I'll share the girls version.

{I'm Still Alive... And Excited About a New Room Redo}

2011-01-31T06:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a awhile since I last updated. I have a good excuse though. We found out two days before Thanksgiving that we are expecting. It was a complete and total shock. We started trying 3 years ago for another child after losing our daughter to a rare birth defect almost 5 years ago. It just wasn't happening and so we gave up. We found peace with being the parent of an angel and then out of no where we were pregnant. I had to take multiple tests to make sure I was seeing things right. We are beyond thrilled!

The first trimester I was sick. Very sick. I lost quite a bit of weight because I couldn't eat anything except crackers. I'm feeling much better now that we've reached our 2 trimester. We are taking it all one day at a time and trusting in God that everything is going to be okay.

I am super excited to be planning a nursery. I have a few ideas of what I like and so far my husband is on board. I have a gut feeling that this one is a boy but we'll know for sure on our appointment with our fetal maternal doctor on February 23rd. We did take a baby gender test and it said boy so we'll see.

I'll leave y'all with some nurseries we love and keep y'all updated on our baby progress.

{Do You Want To Own A Meth Lab?}

2010-11-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

How could you NOT read with a title like that?

Please head over to Holly's blog, Roller Coaster Life, to read Jenn and Rob's heartbreaking story. I encourage each of you who read this to please post this story on your own blog or link back to Holly's post.

Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

{Image courtesy of Craftily Ever After}

{What To Do?}

2010-11-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

I bought this piece last year at my favorite second hand furniture store. It was a great deal at only $60. It's solid wood and super heavy. I love the drop leaf on either side. I am not a fan of the color though. I've had a million different ideas in my head as to what I should do but can't seem to settle on just one.

I originally wanted to paint the bottom black and use a white wash pickling stain. And then I thought what about keeping with the black bottom and using a dark walnut stain on top? And then I thought about doing black on bottom and leaving the top the original color. I don't know what to do so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It's a beautiful piece of furniture and it looks great in our living room. Once the hustle and bustle of this week is over I'm going to tackle it so it'll be ready before Ashley's 30th birthday party!

Hoping everyone has a great Tuesday!

{Painting Doors is For the Birds}

2010-11-20T08:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't been around lately because I've been trying to get stuff done around the house before the holidays. Our to do list is a long one and as much as I love blogging, whether writing or reading, I needed to take some time away.

I started painting the doors in our house last week. Not a fun job. I love painting but I hate painting doors. It's such a tedious job and with 11 doors to paint it's become even more miserable than I had imagined it would be.

Along with the doors I'm having to paint the trim. It was painted when we first bought the house but our painter decided to only paint it with Kilz and not the high gloss we had purchased. He was an older gentleman and I didn't see the need in fussing him about because he painted our entire house for $500! So little by little we are getting the trim painted. I've debated on many occasions on hiring a painter and just getting it all done but it seems like such a waste of money to me when I'm capable of doing it myself. It might take a little longer but it will sure be cheaper! And I'm all about saving a penny!

We've got tons of projects going on right now and I'm excited about them all. Two weeks ago we started on prepping the yard so we can start building the fence, deck and fire pit. It's a huge project and with it being picking season my husband does what he can when he can. The finished project will be amazing and totally worth the wait!

We had 3 large azalea bushes that I wanted gone. Being married to a farmer has many advantages. One of those being they have all kind of equipment which makes the job so much easier! My husband was able to get rid of the azaleas in about 15 minutes. We are now in the process of digging up the million massive stumps that were left behind. And when I say we I really mean him. I have no idea how to operate the equipment so I just supervise.

So while my husband does this

I'll be back to painting doors!

2010-11-08T17:22:00.000-08:00

I've been extremely busy lately trying to get some projects done around the house. I am throwing my husband a 30th birthday party on December 18th and since it's right around the corner I'm freaking out. I love to entertain but can bet quite obsessive about it. There are tons of projects still left to get done and so I've been taking a break from blogging. I have been up to some creative stuff lately and can't wait to share with all of you. While doing my daily blog walk I found this quote over at Room to Inspire. It seemed to fit me perfectly.....

{Dining Table, Birthday Party & Halloween}

2010-10-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

So I finally finished the dining table. It looks amazing! It took 4 coats of Minwax Dark Walnut stain and 8 coats of Varathane. It was worth all the time it took me and all the dust that I'm still finding in what seems like every inch of our house!

This picture doesn't do the table justice. It looks amazing y'all and I'm so happy I did it. I can now mark it off our project list! Yippee!

On Sunday we attended the birthday party of a very special little boy, Carter. His family was the second family to live in Parker's House. He was in the NICU for 115 days before finally going home! He is a miracle. And his family is now our family. We love this little boy more than words could ever explain. He has healed our broken hearts in so many ways. Thank you to Brad and Kellie for letting us be a part of his life.

Carter's CDH Journey

I've never been into Halloween. Ever. I don't decorate for Halloween or fall. Christmas is another story. Well I've been reading Chelsea's blog, Room to Inspire, for a long time now and she started putting her Halloween decorations out and I was totally inspired. I headed off to the Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart to see what I could find to create my own tasteful Halloween decorations. I did duplicate most of the items Chelsea bought because 1) they are so cute and 2) they were $1. I added my own touch too and I'm loving how it's turning out. I'll leave y'all with a sneak peak. I hope to be done by the end of the weekend!

And this table is what I'm working on now. It's driving me crazy so I'm taking a break for tonight.

{Dining Table Revamp}

2010-10-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

We've had our dining table for almost five years now. It was an impulse buy because the orginial table we had ordered kept getting backordered and I was so frustrated with the company that I cancelled the order. We went to a local furniture store and ordered something and had it within a week. I love the table. I'm not crazy in love with the chairs though. I recently replaced two of them and have an old pew that I'm going to paint to replace two of the other chairs.

When you've had a table for 5 years you are bound to have some dings and scratches and our's definitely does. My grandfather always said it gives the table character and it tells a story. The main reason for the revamping of the table is because someone left a wallflower on the table and the oil destroyed a part of it. We love to entertain during the holidays and so it was on the top of ~~our~~ my project list.

I started sanding the table today inside because I was too lazy to take it outside. It took me almost 3 hours to sand and probably another 2 hours to clean up all the dust in our house. It was super dusty in here folks!

This is just a preview of what our living room and kitchen looked like! We own like 10 drop cloths and why I didn't think to use them is beyond me. It's all cleaned up now and dust free.

Once the table was sanded it was so pretty! I don't know what I ever saw in the blonde wood before. As I was sanding and exposing the natural wood color I was getting more excited about how it would turn out once the dark walnut stain is on it.

So I have one coat of stain on and I'm totally in love with it. The hubby just walked in and actually gave me a high five so I'm guessing he likes it too. I am thinking it'll take 3-4 coats of stain and then 5-6 coats of Varathane. We normally don't eat at our table if it's just the two of us but I'd like to change that and maybe the new look will help to do that.

I'll leave you with a sneak peak for the weekend!

{A New Direction}

2010-10-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

I know in a previous post I said I had a vision for our laundry room but now I'm second guessing that vision because while I was flipping through my Martha Stewart paint fan deck I was inspired by two totally random colors. The MS fan deck is one of my favorite accessories! I carry this with me everywhere! My purse weighs a ton! Just ask my husband.

I found two colors that I am normally not attracted too that I immediately loved. I stay with my safe colors. Blues, creams, whites, greens and grays. I never venture out because I'm a color coward. I don't know why because I'm not that way with anything else in my life. And color is an easy thing to fix. So I came across the pinks and purples. Yes, I said pinks and purples. Two colors I never in a million years would think I would paint in our house. Not even in a girl's nursery/room. I have always been opposed to really girly colors. I don't know why except for the fact that I was always a tomboy growing up. I feel like I'm growing up and maybe I need a girly color in my life. A room that is bright and feels fun. A room that isn't safe.

I found some fabrics at LS Fabrics that I loved and I ordered samples. I love them all and I can see endlessly possibilities ahead of me.

{Obviously all the ones above are the pinks and below the purples.}

I still can't believe I'm considering these two colors. When I asked my husband the simple question of "Pink or Purple?" without telling him why he said PURPLE. I am sure I'll change my mind a million times but I think I actually have a real vision now.

What do y'all think?

{Project List}

2010-10-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

So I finally drafted our project list. It's quite a bit longer than I thought it would be. I guess you never realize just how many projects you have to do until you write them down. I'm a bit intimidated by it but we'll get it done now that we have a direction to go in. I'm excited about getting stuff done around here but can't say the same for the hubby!

{Project List}

Kitchen/Dining

Install board & batten

Finish dining chairs

Paint old pew

Sand & stain dining table top

Install wide plank plywood floors

Master Bedroom

Paint walls & ceiling

Hang crown moulding

Guest Room

Recover chair

Make drapes for windows

Make headboard

Laundry Room

Hang beadboard

Make drapes for windows

Install wide plank plywood floors

Miscellaneous

Paint interior doors {6}

Paint exterior doors {3}

Hang new closet doors {4}

Install new hardware on all doors

So I think that's everything. I'm sure I'll think of something to add sooner or later. It's a little overwhelming but nothing we can't handle. I'm going to be moving the table outside today to sand so I can stain and I'm super excited. It's going to look amazing when I'm done!

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

{Football, Birthday and Milk Glass}

2010-10-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

I've had a very busy weekend but with cool fall weather I didn't mind it one bit. A dear friend of mine invited me to a NC State football game on Saturday. It was my first time and I had a blast! I'm a Longhorn fan {yes I know they suck right now} first but marrying a man who loves the Wolfpack means that I automatically became a State fan by default. I cannot wait to go again and am going to look into getting us season tickets. It was that amazing y'all. I love sports. Always have but college football is by far my absolute favorite. I love the tailgating and rivalries. And college football usually means colder weather. With the summer we've had I was looking forward to that the most this year. State ended up losing but I still had a blast!

I had to show this because in the midst of 50,000 State fans there was a Longhorn fan! We are true fans. We love them whether they are winning or losing. HOOK EM!

Sunday was spent celebrating our nephew's 7th birthday. He's one amazing little boy. He has saved our lives on so many occasions with his wit and smile. We love him and are so blessed that God loaned him to our family. We had a blast celebrating with him and the rest of the family!

This post is totally random and somewhat all over the place but that's the story of our life. I don't know why but I recently become obsessed with milk glass. Growing up my great grandmother and grandmother had tons of pieces but I always thought they were ugly. As I got older I realized how gorgeous milk glass really is. I recently started purchasing pieces and although I don't have a real place to display them I am going to continue to purchase more in hopes that I'll find a place. Here's what I have so far..... It's not much but I'll get there.

This week I'm focusing on getting some projects marked off our "to do" list. I am hoping to have a yard sale this weekend too. We have so many unfinished projects and for some reason the cooler weather motivates to get them done. I'm working on finishing a chair for our dining table and tomorrow I'm moving the dining table outside to sand the top so I can stain it dark walnut. It's going to be a busy fall but if it continues to feel anything like it does today I'll gladly take on the challenges.

{Need Some Free Design Advice?}

2010-09-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well the extraordinary Emily A. Clark is having a FREE live Q&A Session tonight at 9:00 p.m. EST on her blog. She is an amazing interior designer in Charlotte, NC and is offering up some free advice tonight.

{Pantry Reveal}

2010-09-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

So it's done. Finally. And I love it. I'm going to point out two things that are obvious. I didn't paint the very back wall that sits behind the water heater. And the other is I didn't paint the quatrefoil stencil. It was so overwhelming and I decided against it.

I love how it turned out. It looks so much brighter in there.

I did paint the floor white. There was some kind of stain on the floor that keep bleeding through and it was driving me crazy but I'm over it now. We put several coats of white on and it just kept coming through.

I've stored all the snacks in this old crate I purchased off of Etsy. I put it low so our nieces and nephews wouldn't have a problem pulling it out.

I purchased all of these glass containers at Wal-Mart. The brilliant labels are from Shelley at Wonderfully Wordy.

I bought this beauty at TJ Maxx for $9.99. I love that my apron from Funktion has a place to hang.

I'm going to purchase some labels for these two jars soon. I really am proud of how organized our space is. My husband has gone in there 3 times now without asking me where something was. Mission accomplished!

{Airing My Dirty Laundry}

2010-09-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Our laundry room was added on several years after our home was built. I would have designed it completely differently if I had my choice. We plan on expanding our kitchen and dining room one day. When we do it'll be out the back of the house which means the laundry room will be demolished and built to my standards. Until then I have to work with what I have. I've seen other people's laundry rooms and I'm blessed to have the space we have.

Our laundry room also houses our three big dogs and their three big houses. They take up the majority of the floor space. I thought about taking a picture to show you the space but I'm afraid someone might turn me in to Hoarders. It's probably not that bad but it's become the catch all room. It's a room that when I walk into it I try to hurry and get out. I don't know how ~~we've~~ I've accumulated so much stuff but it's time it goes. I'm getting stuff together for a yard sale. If it hasn't been used or worn in 6 months it's free game. I think this thought process will free up tons of space in our home.

So back to the laundry room. I want to make this space pretty. Three years ago we ripped out two large windows to have french doors put in. We had always planned on adding a deck and never did. We'll we are this winter. And that means that people will have to walk through this room to get outside to our deck. It secretly makes me smile to know this room will be pretty. I painted the room a gorgeous blue called Madras Blue by Behr. I never really knew what direction I was going with the room when I picked the color and then I started seeing these blue and red rooms and fell in love!

I found this fabric

and this trim

as inspiration for this room. I ordered samples of both from LS Fabrics and these pictures do them no justice. They are both more gorgeous in person.

I'd love to do the floors like this

{image courtesy of Frugal Farmhouse Design}

Lori used 1/4" plywood to make these gorgeous expensive looking floors! We have some other plans for this room including this love seat we purchased at our favorite second hand store.

This post was kind of all over the place but that's how my mind works best. I am hoping to show our pantry remodel this week. I've ordered a few pieces that should be in either tomorrow or Tuesday so we can finish it up and show it off.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I'm off to enjoy the cooler weather and rain!

{Day One = What Was I Thinking?}

2010-09-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

So the majority of the stuff is out of the pantry.

I'm sitting here waiting for the Dap to dry in the million holes so I can sand it which leaves me to wonder "What was I thinking?" when I decided this was a good idea.

{These are just a few of the many holes}

I know it will be worth the countless hours of labor but holy cow it's going to be a lot of work. My goal today is to get the walls painted. I'd love to start on the stencil but I'll be happy with just getting all the holes covered and a coat of paint on the wall.

I don't know what to do with the floors. They are the original hardwoods but were once painted gray by the previous owners. We'd love to finish all the hardwoods in the house but that's a big project and not sure if it'll happen. We did finish the ones in our office and guest bedroom. They turned out gorgeous! So back to the pantry floors. I was thinking of painting them. I'm open to any suggestions.

And I didn't realize how much expired stuff was in our pantry! I was quite surprised at how much money we've wasted. That's a positive about having an organized pantry. No more wasted food!

Well I'm off to sand....... And then paint.

{Pantry Remodel}

2010-09-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

I'm excited about getting started on our pantry remodel. Tonight we begin taking everything out so I can start painting. It's not a huge pantry but it's a good size. It measures 8 ft x 2.5 ft. It also stores our hot water heater. That thing is a monster and we are looking into the tankless water heater but that's another story for another post.

We are painting the pantry Oatmeal by RL. We had the color mixed in the Behr Premium Plus paint because in our opinion it's the best paint out there. We are going to stencil on the Quatrefoil stencil we purchased from I don't remember. I do remember it was pricey but it's a good size stencil. We'll paint it in black. Our kitchen is cream, white and black. I love the simplicity of our kitchen. It's a small galley style kitchen but plenty of space for two.

All of our inspiration comes from Shelley at House of Smiths. Her pantry rocks! I know it's going to be awesome when we get it done and I know that it's going to be a process too. We don't have any built in shelves in our pantry so we purchased a black book shelf from Wal-Mart and intend to go back and get another one once we are done painting. Eventually we'd like to have a walk in pantry but for now we'll work with what we have or don't have.

I purchased these beauties today on Etsy for our pantry. I love Etsy.

I am thinking of buying two of these for the pantry too.

I love how Shelley has everything so organized. Our pantry is not organized. At all. Our goal is to organize it so when I ask my husband to get something out he won't say "we don't have it" because he doesn't look past the front of the middle shelf.

Hopefully by the end of the week our pantry will look something like House of Smiths.

{Farmer's Market}

2010-09-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

I came across Susie Harris months ago and fell in love with her blog! I love her style and her family is to die for! She paints these incredible signs and I am the proud owner of two.

I heart them both! One is in our bathroom and the other in our master bedroom. Susie has this talent for making a piece of wood look like a masterpiece. I could spend hundreds of dollars on her signs but my money tree died. I was looking at her signs and thinking why couldn't I do this? I gave it a shot last night and I'm actually pretty surprised with the success of my sign. Susie did this one and I knew I wanted one like it. This is my version of Susie's and although it still needs some distressing and antiquing it's done. I'm pretty excited by it.

Once I'm done and it's hung I'll take a better picture. I am so thankful that there are so many women who are willing to share their talents and secrets with the people in blogland. I've learned more about myself through them that I ever thought imaginable.

{Picking Paint Colors}

2010-09-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

Paint is the easiest and cheapest way to change a room. When we purchased our home 4 years ago we hadn't planned on staying in it permanently. We've since fallen in love with our home and have decided she's a keeper. It's the place where we started putting our lives back together after our daughter's death.

We painted neutral colors in the beginning for resale purpose. They were still beautiful colors just simple. We've since repainted every single room in the house except our master bedroom. Why is it that the master always seems to be the last room any couple works on? I recently purchased some paint samples from Home Depot courtesy of the Martha Stewart paint collection that are contenders for our master bedroom.

{From left to right: Faded Ink, Waterfall & Ice Rink}

These are our color choices for our walls. My favorite is Ice Rink and my husband's favorite is Faded Ink. I want something light but with enough color you can tell we painted it. You can see our duvet and the colors in it and that's what we are planning this room off of.

{From left to right: Cornucopia & Burlap}

These are our color choices for our ceiling. I love the Burlap but think we need something a bit lighter. I think I'm going to grab at least two more options before we narrow it down. I am excited about our room transformation and once we get the walls and ceiling painted it will start to come together more and more. I have a few ideas up my sleeve for our space and I can't wait to share them with all of you!

I'm working on our project list and trying to get stuff organized for our yard sale. I'm ready for our projects to get done and our house clutter free. I think the way to do that is to prioritize so I'm off to do so! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

{The Perfectly Imperfect Perfect Shaunna}

2010-09-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share an amazing friend with y'all. She's so spectacular that I'd really like to keep her to myself but I realize what a disservice that would be to so many. She recently did a post about little ole me and the foundation we run in memory of our daughter. I wanted to share it because her words are so beautiful. I find myself often in awe of the people God brings into my life and am so humbled by the life He has chosen for me. It hasn't always been easy but it's my journey and I learn to love it a little more each day. Shaunna is one of those friends you thank God for each and every day. The amazing thing is that I've never met her in person but I will one day and I hope it's soon. Thank you, Shaunna, for being who you are. Now, if you've never visited Shaunna's blog Perfectly Imperfect please go do so now. I suggest getting a snack and a drink because you'll be there for a while drooling like I do several times a day!

{Guest Room Tour}

2010-09-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our guest bedroom has been a work in progress. It's not completely done but done enough to finally share some pictures with all of you in blogland. It started out a brown color and it just felt so dark. We had dark cherry wood furniture, dark walls and it was just plain dark. I wanted something light and so this is what I came up with.

I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. Like I said before there are a few things I'd like to change. I want a print curtain versus the white ones I purchased at Target on the cheap. And I'm looking for the perfect quilt for the end of the bed. I will most likely switch out the pillows too at some point.

I found this chair at a second hand store for $29. I loved the lines and the tufting. It's very comfortable too. Once I find the perfect fabric we'll have it recovered. The old flag I'm going to have framed and hung in the empty space above the television. I'd love to find a new neutral rug too. I purchased the yellow one from Pottery Barn a year ago for our kitchen but I didn't love it there so it went into storage until I started designing this room. It works for now. I'm going to see if I can persuade my grandmother to let go of some of her and my great grandmother's oil paintings for the room too. I'm super happy with the way the room turned out. It's a comfy space for our guests and it looks pretty too.

All that's left is finding a headboard. I'm brainstorming so hopefully I'll come up with something soon. Thanks for stopping by! Hope y'all have a great weekend!

{Painting Our Doors... Something Other Than White}

2010-09-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

I've always thought that interior doors were supposed to be white. I've never known anything else so when I came across Kim at The Twice Remembered Cottage I was in awe! She painted her doors blue. Yes, I said blue. Actually it's called Tranquility by Valspar. I was in love. I knew immediately that I wanted to paint our doors too. And add the embellishment she added. The doors are gorgeous.

We have the same 6 panel door with the ORB door handles and when I look down the hall I can see these blue doors and it makes me smile. Or so I thought. Until Kim totally confused me. She repainted the blue doors an espresso color.

Now I'm totally confused. My husband loves the blue color. I was surprised because it is a pastel and most men don't like pastels. He loved the idea of painting the doors another color besides white which too surprised me. I don't know what to do now. I think I'm going to buy a quart of the Tranquility and see how I like it first and then go from there. Any thoughts?

{Monogrammed Chair}

2010-09-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I managed to get 2 amazing dining chairs for free. I didn't know what I was going to do with them until recently. I tend to work on several projects at once which keeps my house in constant chaos but last night I finally finished one of the chairs. It turned out more beautiful than I ever could have imagined in my mind. I am super proud of this project and anxious to finish the other chair now along with restaining our dining table {see last post}. I hope y'all enjoy the chair facelift as much as I do!

{Who Wood Do This?}

2010-08-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

The other night I discovered something on our dining table that no one wants to take credit for. It happened while my father was visiting but since he's no longer here I can't exactly accuse him of doing it because he can't defend himself. My husband says it wasn't him. I've heard that before though when our desk was ruined the EXACT same way.

When you mix this

And this

You get this.......

So I'm going to use this

And pray that it turns out gorgeous. Most of the woods in our home are light colored because I'm drawn to them for some reason but since the base of our table is cream I think the dark walnut will be a nice contrast. It's going to be quite the job because I'll have to take the table outside and put the leaf in but I'm thinking it'll be worth it. Hopefully, it'll look like Miss Mustard Seed's. A girl can dream.....

{Creating a Project List}

2010-08-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Part of purchasing an old home means being prepared for a project list that is never ending. We did the majority of the big projects before we moved in. We had to gut the kitchen and bathroom. They were horrible and had to be renovated before we could move in. We set ourselves a budget and stuck to it. It wasn't always easy because I love expensive stuff but we made a promise to each other that we would never let our mortgage or bills dictate our lives.

We've been working on small projects here and there but nothing ever seems to get "done" and it's frustrating. I decided what better way to solve the problem than to create a project list. It'll help us stay on track and help us to get things done room by room.

My husband is getting ready to pick our crops which means I won't see much of him so I'm on my own for a while with the projects. I don't mind it though because working on our home is very therapeutic to me. So tonight after my upholstery class I'm going to focus on putting together a project list that will help us complete projects week by week and help give us a sense of completion. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather because it'll mean we can work outside on some of our projects versus turning our kitchen into a makeshift work room.

I just finished this piece and am excited about putting it in our guest room. We have guests often because all of my family except my oldest sister lives in Texas. Having a guest room is important in our home and we've tried to make it as comfortable as possible. We've even stayed in it a few nights to make sure all the kinks were worked out. It's a great space and coming along nicely. Once we finish up a few more projects I'll share a tour of our guest room.

Happy Monday everyone!

{Our Master Re-Do}

2010-08-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

Our master bedroom has never been a priority to me because no one ever sees it. It's on the bottom of our project list and I think it needs to be moved up to the top. Our house is 1,088 square feet. It's a 3 bedroom, one bath. For now it suits our needs perfectly. There are just two of us and our 3 dogs. Our room is a good size although not what I would have picked if we had built. It's not a matter suite either. Obviously with only one bathroom in the house. One day we'll have our dream room but for now we are focusing on making what we do have ours. I want our house to reflect who we are. My husband farms and we own a cattle company. I'm slowly incorporating all that into our home. Including our master bedroom.

I love Susie Harris and her blog. She's one talented designer and one heck of a mom! I love her blog and I've purchased a few things from her Etsy shop. If you've never read her blog please add it to your blog roll. It's a must read. She posted last month about finding the perfect blue as she's repainting her master. I've been looking for inspiration for our room and Susie had just what I needed. I heart this room big time!

I love the blues, creams and the ceiling! I love the fact that it's painted a different color. It want this room! Not everything but the general idea of the room. I love the colors. I love the drapes. I love the floor mirror. I love the chandelier. We live in the country and so we want to keep our room simple but luxurious too. It's a happy medium for us. I tried the creams and whites and it's just not us. Mainly because we have 3 dogs and my husband is a farmer which means he plays in dirt all day long. I purchased our bedding at Pottery Barn and I love it! I didn't buy the dreaded "set" but rather different pieces from different lines.

{Duvet}

{euro shams}

{standard shams - red}

I think once it all comes together it's going to be just what we need and want. I'm debating on taking out our ceiling fan for a chandelier. So next step is finding the perfect paint colors for walls and ceiling and getting the crown molding put up. Our to do list seems to keep growing! I'm looking forward to creating a space for us because we are ready for another baby!

{Finally Finished}

2010-08-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

I've found a new love in finishing furniture. I've purchased many second hand pieces over the last few months and have slowly been getting around to making them pretty. When I found this piece it was not only ugly but dirty. And whoever attempted to stain it did a horrible job. There were drips everywhere and some places were darker than others. It was in bad shape and the hardware well I'll let you see for yourself.

It took a great deal of sanding and few coats of Behr Premium Plus paint it's now finished. She's actually a very beautiful {and heavy} piece of furniture. I'm going to try and sell her as we just don't have the space to keep her.

I think she turned out beautiful. I'm pretty proud of myself.

{Living a Life I Don't Deserve}

2010-08-15T14:54:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but the last two days have been spent reflecting on my life. I don't have many followers of this blog and most days I'm okay with that because I started this blog as a form of therapy. And there aren't any expectations so if I don't blog for a week it's not like someone's life will change.

My husband is in the living room right now playing Wii with his best friend of 25 years. They've been playing since 9 p.m. and it's now 12:08. It makes me smile because friends like that don't come around too often these days.

We've been married 4 and a half years and together for 5. We'll celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary in January. We've been through hell and back in those 5 years. We've been through more in 5 years than most couples endure in a lifetime.

This is our beautiful baby girl, Parker Reese. She was born on May 7, 2006. She weighed 3 pounds and 12 ounces. She was born with a rare and often fatal birth defect known as congenital diaphragmatic hernia. She changed our lives in a way that I didn't know existed. She taught me to love, to smile, to forgive, to laugh, to live. She passed away 20 hours after her birth in her Daddy's arms. A piece of me died with her. I'll never be who I was before Parker. I'll always be fragile but I believe that because of her I love bigger and I take more chances. I miss her more today than I did yesterday and I know I'll miss her more tomorrow than I did today. She's an amazing little girl and her courage to fight inspired me to help families like our own. In January 2008 we created The Parker Reese Foundation. Her life was short but her legacy lasting. I hope I am making my girl proud.

My husband, Ashley, is my best friend. My soul mate. We've been to hell and back a few times. We've managed to survive the worst tragedy that a family can experience. We have some bruises but we survived. It hasn't always been easy but who ever said it was. We've had to rely on our faith in the Lord and on each other. It's a risky thing giving control to someone else. Even God. We separated for a month. It was horrible. We were constant reminders of what we had lost and it was too hard to be together. After a lot of prayer and some therapy we moved back in together. There's no easy fix to trying to figure out your life or marriage when you lose a child. We take it day by day. And we rely on God's promises to us.

Especially Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I have Jeremiah 29:11 tattooed on my right wrist as a reminder. And on the other wrist is a P with a halo. She'll always be with us, a part of us, and on the most random of days I can feel her presence. I am so proud to be her mother and to be Ashley's wife. We live a pretty amazing life together with our other girls...

Pep

{our 4 year old GSP}

Ryleigh

{our 4 year old Lab mix}

and

Teagen

{our 1 year old GSP}

And a multitude of cows!

We truly are living a life we don't deserve. We are blessed beyonds words. We live every day like it's our last and we are grateful that God trust us so much!

Happy Sunday!

{My Dream Pantry}

2010-08-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

So, I came across this amazing blog the other day. It's called House of Smith's. I honestly have to say this is one of my favorite blogs ever! Shelley is a wife, mother and very talented! If you've never checked this family out please go do so now. I'll wait for you............

I read her entire blog in one night. It's that good people. I came across a post about her pantry. I never thought that I could fall in love with a pantry but I did. Shelley is that G.O.O.D. She can make one of the boringest {is that a word} spaces in your home one of the most must see spaces. So I'm in the process of trying to figure out what we need to do to make ours look this good.

I'm so jealous. I want mine to look like this. It'll be a process for us because right now we have no shelves in our pantry. It's a good size but we are using a bookshelf to store our goods. It's ugly. There's no other way to describe it. I want this pantry. I emailed Shelley for some tips and she was so helpful. She has a vinyl lettering company so the quatrefoil design that she uses is all vinyl. She said it can get expensive so she suggested I use the template featured on Tatertots and Jello. I printed it off and tried using an Exacto knife. It's hard and time consuming. I don't have a lot of patience so I gave up after about 10 minutes. I found a website that has the stencil. It's $25 bucks. Ouch. I ordered it though. I don't know when I'll start the project but for now I can paint the pantry and put the stencil to use. I also found a new light I want to hang in there. Right now it has a light bulb, yes you heard me right, a light bulb and a string. Classy. I'll have to call an electrician to install a light switch but it'll be worth the money for this...........

We are trying to take our house in a different direction. I want a farmhouse cottage. I want something that represents who we are and what we do. Well, what my husband does. He's a farmer. 8th generation. If you haven't check out the House of Smith's and their amazing pantry go do so now.

I'm off to have my nightly glass of chocolate milk and watch The Golden Girls.

My New Best Friend.....

2010-08-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

I've been sick for 3 days now with a horrible cold. I have done nothing productive because I just don't have the energy. Sunday my wonderful husband bought this amazing little gal.....

I've had cabin fever and about 12 pieces of furniture that need to meet my new best friend..... Gabby! Yes, I named her. It's not fair to introduce her into our family with no name.

I ~~begged~~ told my husband we were going to try her out tonight. She's patiently been sitting in our living room since Sunday. We waited until the sun went down a bit since it's about 800 degrees here with 100% humidity and tested her skills out. Well let's just say she's a keeper. I love her and if it weren't for the heat and the hundred of ant bites I managed to get I'd still be out there painting by the moonlight.

I got two of these chairs for free and I have a special plan for them. I am going to be adding them to our existing dinning table because right now it's a set and I hate sets. We were in a hurry when we purchased it because we needed something to eat on which is funny because we never do unless we have company over. Anyway I am trying to convert our house into more of a farmhouse cottage. That's another story for another day. So here' what I got accomplished in the short amount of time I had before the sun conveniently went down.

Our poor grass! I needs to be cut this week so it's all okay!

Upholstery Class

2010-07-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago I started an upholstery class at the community college. When my friend asked if I wanted to take I didn't hesitate to say yes. I have 6 chairs that need to be recovered but I was just going to pay someone to do it because well that's easier right? This class has taught me just how wrong I was to think that way! It's only a 6 week class because it's summer but we are taking the fall class too.

I actually look forward to Mondays now. I have to say that I hate staples and tacks. I really hate them. I've probably pulled thousands and thousands of both out of my chair among other things. It's an old chair that I purchased at a used furniture store and being old means it had cotton, horse hair and even a few toothpicks and a lot of dust.

The chair is gorgeous and I'm recovering it with a neutral cotton linen blend. I cannot wait to see the final product and I'm seriously ready for Monday again! We've learned how to sew on an industrial sewing machine {I want one} and make welting and buttons. The whole process is a lot simpler than I thought but I can totally appreciate why it costs so much to have your furniture reupholstered. There's a lot of time that goes into it. I will definitely never look at a chair the same again after this class. I'll keep the few of you who read this blog updated on my progress. I'm off to work on another project....

Philadelphia 2010

2010-07-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Last month I traveled to Philadelphia for the first ever CDH Summit. It was an honor to be invited to such an event and it proved to be more than I could have ever expected. For those who don't know CDH stands for congenital diaphragmatic hernia. It's a rare and often fatal birth defect with no known cause and it took the life of our only child, Parker Reese in May 2006.

I had never been to Philly before so I was super excited to what all it had to offer. It's a beautiful place. So much history. Many gorgeous photo opportunities.

The summit was amazing. I learned so much about what's being done to find a cause for CDH. The speakers were all so kind and it was so nice to put a face to a name. They had two CDH research centers there and it was exciting to see the families participate in their studies. I love meeting CDH families. I never imagined that my life would become what it is today. Running a CDH nonprofit and dedicating my life to families diagnosed with CDH. I love what I do. And I've met some of my best friends from our journey with CDH. We truly are blessed that God chose us. It's taken us some time to discover that but I have come to accept that I may never fully understand the path God has chosen for my life, but find great peace in simply knowing there is one.

I am looking forward to dinner with our friends tonight and a weekend without any children. We are keeping two of our nieces and a nephew during the week. We love them to pieces but it's nice to have a break!

Closet Envy

2010-07-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

The closets in our home are small. We are very grateful there are two in our master bedroom but it doesn't stop me from dreaming about having a huge walk in closet someday. I have an addiction to purses and shoes and my small closet isn't exactly helping said addiction. This is what I'm working with. Notice the bending rod? I pray every time I hang something else up that it doesn't fall down.

Our plan is to move our home to the 12.5 acres we own in another part of town and add on to it. We'd like a bigger kitchen, living room, powder room, a real foyer, mudroom, garage, bonus room and a true master suite! Pretty ambitious we know but we;ll do things a little at a time because we don't want our mortgage to dictate our lives. We come and go as we please now and we want things to stay that way. So until that all can happen I'll just keep dreaming about spaces like these.....

And this must be what shoe Heaven looks like.....

{images courtesy of California closets and unknown}

I just finished painting my sister's birthday gift. It's been dropped off at her house awaiting her arrival on Monday. I hope she likes it. And if not I'll gladly take it back and find a space for it in my home. Next up is the old sewing machine I found for a mere $49. It's a beautiful piece of furniture and is even accompanied by the original sewing machine. I'm excited to get working on this project. I do wish I had a building to paint in versus my kitchen turned make shift painting room.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Chest of Drawers

2010-07-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

It's finally done. After I have no idea how many coats of paint it's done. I love the way it turned out! I normally use Behr Premium Plus paint but was in a rush to get started on this project so I headed to our local Wal-Mart which is 20 minutes away versus the Home Depot which is an hour away. I would advise anyone to use Behr paint to save yourself some time!

The final product!

Hopefully I'll have some pictures of the guest room in which this chest sits soon. I'll start working on my next project tomorrow which is a chest that belongs to my sister. It's getting a coat of Behr's Black Suede and is a surprise for her. She is visiting our family in Texas right now and so I'm going to finally get around to finishing the chest for her birthday on the 22nd!

Happy Hump Day!

Using Second Hand Furniture in Your Home

2010-07-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

I love second hand furniture. I have a weakness for it especially chairs. I recently purchased a chest of drawers from my favorite local thrift store and after much debating and a little intimidation I decided to paint it. If you've never seen Mandie and her amazing work at Altar'd you're missing out. It's okay go ahead. I'll wait.

So I've started on my dresser. I don't have a before picture of the entire dresser or if I do I can't seem to find it. So I took this picture so you could see what I started with.

Excuse the mess please. This is our guest room. It is almost finished but not enough for a photo op! I've started painting the first three drawers. I even attempted glazing one and boy did I do that wrong. It just looked dirty but Mandie is helping me along the way with her tips so I'm sure I'll be painting like a pro before long. I cannot wait to finish this project and share it with the rest of blogland!

Back to painting.....

Happy 4th!!!

2010-07-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free!

Ronald Reagan

2010-06-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

This past week has been busy to say the least. I've been painting our interiors doors and adding new hardware. I love painting but not doors. I'm trying to make a dent in our "to do" list without bothering my husband. This time of year is extremely busy for him. He's planting cotton {my favorite crop} and it requires the majority of his time so I figured I'd learn how to do some stuff that I usually rely on him to do.

Speaking of cotton. Ours is looking great. Keeping our fingers crossed it stays that way. Farming is a faith based business. It doesn't matter how good or attentive you are if you don't get any rain or too much rain your crops are doomed. I always fall back on the promise God made us to help get us through.

Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Leviticus 26:4

We are growing a little corn for our cows and some soybeans this year. When I say we I really me Ashley {my husband}. He is an amazing farmer. I cannot wait to have another child with him and secretly praying it's a boy so he can take over the farm one day. Although I'd settle for a little girl too because there's not doubt she'll be a tomboy.

I'm off to work on door #2. Only 11 more to go. They really look good and I'm very happy with the hardware we chose. It's simple but I love the color. It's a black matte although it looks like ORB. Either way I love it and it makes such a statement on the old boring 6 panel door.

My Love of Beadboard

2010-06-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the look of beadboard. I've wanted to put in our home since we purchased it 4 years ago. I just didn't know where until recently. Our house is small. 1,088 square feet. I love it now. It took me some time to love it though.

Our dining area is small. It seats 6 of us comfortably but it's still small. We had to gut the kitchen when we bought the house and so it's now fresh white cabinets with black laminate countertops and stainless steel appliances. We will eventually upgrade our countertops but for now they serve their purpose well.

So until recently I knew I would hang the beadboard vertically. That's how it's supposed to be hung, right? Well, I was 110% sure of that fact until I visited Remodeling Guy and saw this.

Who would have ever thought to hang beadboard horizontally? Uh not me. I love the look. Am I crazy? It gives such a different look to it. I don't know if it'll look good in my space but I'm going to give it a shot. We'll see how it turns out........

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful for the freedom I have.

Thank you to all the men and women who serve our country!

We spent the weekend at Ocean Isle Beach. The weather was gorgeous and we had an amazing weekend! It's back to reality as there is tons to do before I leave for Philly in 22 days!

Our Nephew Graduates..... Kindergarten

2010-05-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day. Our nephew, Caden, graduated from Kindergarten. It was a joyful and tearful occasion. He is one amazing little man. I moved to NC when he was 7 months old. I've watched him grow from a baby to a young man. He lights up a room with his smile. He makes you laugh with his wit and his random robot dance. He's sweet and cantankerous. But above all he's my nephew. He saved me when I lost our daughter. He gave me a reason to get up each day. He gave me hope that one day I'd smile again. He's too young to realize what he's done for me but one day I hope he knows. I was so proud to share in his big day today. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for him.

CDH Summit in Philadelphia, PA

2010-05-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be attending this event next month. When we were invited we said yes immediately. It will become an annual event helping to advocate for CDH research and awareness. There will be 4 CDH organizations there, several doctors, nurses, counselors, researchers and CDH families.

For those who don't know what CDH is it's a rare and often fatal birth defect called congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Our daughter, Parker, passed away from complications due to CDH in May 2006 after fighting in the NICU for 20 hours. We started the The Parker Reese Foundation in January 2008 to help give families hope during one of the most uncertain times in their lives. You can read more about it at http://www.theparkerreesefoundation.com/ or http://www.theparkerreesefoundation.wordpress.com/.

I've never been to Philly before. There are so many things I want to do and see while I'm there because I probably won't be back for a while. I'm driving with a dear friend of mine. I love road trips. I discovered that IKEA is only 16 minutes from the hotel which makes me very happy! And I found Terrain at Styers thanks to Eddie Ross. I'll definitely be making a trip there too.

Of course we'll be making our way to the Liberty Bell, Phillie's game and the famous Philadelphia Zoo. And eating a Philly cheesesteak. It's going to be a great 4 days.

It's so important for those of us who've been diagnosed with CDH to help others become aware. My goal is to one day have a woman go in for an ultrasound and not have heard those three words for the first time. It's as common as spina bifida and cystic fibrosis but yet none of us hear about it until are children are diagnosed. I feel like God chose me for a reason. He chose Parker for a reason. I could sit around and feel sorry for myself and believe me I do sometimes but I want to make a difference. I want to offer hope to future families.

Only 29 more days until we leave. I'm off to get the IPOD ready!