How we've decked our halls

'Tis the season to decorate!
Let's start outside...

Thanks to mother and grandparents who didn't want these lights anymore! Keeping it classy with only white lights. Maybe someday I'll live a little and add some color. Probably not though :)

We swagged lights on just the front portion of our picket fence and did the bushes on the side.  New this year was lining the front door pillars.  It'd look better if there were lights on the bushes on the front of the house... but those have some major thorns and the pain wouldn't be worth it.  

One nice thing about a smaller house is that there's less to decorate... and clean! :)  Seriously, like 7 minutes to vacuum all the carpet in our house. 

So, this wine rack is what gets changed up the most in this house. It actually doesn't look like this now, I've already moved it around.  Also, we've got a lot more Christmas cards now! 

The "JOY" letters are a new addition this year.  $3 at craft store and spray painted. Christmas Carols book is vintage from a consignment store.  Glitter trees and red sparkle burlap on the shelves.  Also means I can dust less, so that worked out well. 

Splurged on the baby boots for Obi's Christmas present.... had a coupon but also justified it to Ben as "all our babies will wear these..."   Keeping them here looks cute and it's handy when running out the door.  Turns out Obi is an expert at kicking off all boots or shoes while in his car seat, but they are adorable. 

And the stockings were hung on the window with care. (working with what we've got, people!)  Searching for a larger green coordinating knit stocking for Obi....  his mini one will do for now. Monogram ornaments from Target this year.  

And here's how I decorate my child :) He went to his first Christmas party, so this was necessary. 

Apparently it costs $25 to get a picture with Santa anywhere around here... and no luck in my search for a local free Santa yet. So we'll just make him Santa. (outfit borrowed from my aunts, apparently it's 20 years old!) 

Finally, the tree.  It's may be cheating and on a stand.  Same decor as last year- sparkly ornaments and ribbon.  Going to search some after Christmas sales this year to get something different for next year. 

And just for fun.... this was me at Christmas last year!!  This was only a few days before we found out baby was a boy! 

This last pic was taken this morning... cold weather and snow days means more crocheting for me.  And this rolling (not quite crawling) child somehow always finds it when I turn around. He got this one in such a mess!  Pretty cute to see how fun he has with it! 

((Not pictured, but want to record here for my memory's sake.... Snowman wreath (thank you, Pinterest) and Dory's little cat stocking hanging by her food bowl.)

baby boy room

Here's the latest changes to our home.  And it has something to do with what they've told me is due TOMORROW!! Though likely could be longer... 

Either way, we are ready for him!  I didn't do the traditional (and I think overpriced) "room in a bag" with a themed crib set and wall paper border.  Instead this room came together just like any other room in our house... some things I've had, some I changed, random thrift store finds, and a little something from here and there :)  A lot of the inspiration came from thrift stores around town.  Also, my mom had a lot of vintage baby toys to donate to the cause.  

So I suppose you could call it a "vintage baby" theme :)

I might not be done... might put some more things on the wall and need to hang the frames above the crib. But there's time for that... right?? ;)

Notice the "go bag" on the book shelf.   

 Bookshelf was built by my parents and once held our children's books growing up. Navy bucket on right holds burp rags and is from Yankee Stadium in NYC for the ISU bowl game this year!

Books from thrift stores. Toys from my mom.  The basket of blankets on the bottom shelf is from Gordman's and is actually made from Chinese newspapers--  how awesome is that?!

Rocking chair made by Ben's Grandpa and says "Ben" on the back. 

SO glad I got this red Ikea Hemnes dresser. Tons of drawer space and it's pretty :)

Random assortment of "maps and places" things... Baby Jensen sign from China, knitted red baby mittens from a thrift store, Iowa  plaque from consignment store, dollar store frames hold vintage atlas pages.

These maps are from a 1903 (if I remember that right) atlas.  This is China (we've both been there), also have India (Ben's been there), and a map of "places in the Bible" in the middle.

baby closet! Double hanging attachment helps a lot... and we might have some of our clothes stuffed in the sides as well :)  Hanging baskets $1 from Walmart (long time ago) and bought a chain and hook to install.  LOVE it.  Currently holds baby socks, hats, and little toys.

Obviously, I am not a fan of closet doors.  So out that goes and had intentions of putting up a curtain... but I don't mind it without right now. 

Covered and cut cardboard to make size separators.  I've scored a ton of great clothes at  garage sales, clearance racks (of course), and I'm borrowing a lot from my aunt as well.  And a lot from baby showers! 

room redo progress...

Whoops... been a while since an update! It's been a busy past month... but also the same old same old at the same time.  The feeling of sunshine on my skin and spring break has helped me reflect on the winter. More on that later..

Also, the sunshine has brought some major nesting instincts!  The baby room isn't complete yet... maybe by the time I'm "full term" (which is only a couple more weeks!!!)

Here's a sneak peak...  Thanks to my mom for helping paint the room!

I LOVE our crib! Thanks Mema and Papa :)
(Geneva baby Europa crib)


 As you can see... it was out with the mint green, and in with the gray!
"Ellie Gray" by Mr. Sherwin Williams.
Same as the kitchen!

Got some blue striped curtains, some vintage baby things, and a red dresser/changing table.  No super clear plan as to how it'll all happen... but I'm excited for my vintage baby boy room!

This was the room before one of my baby showers.  It's got a few more things in there since then!!





I've got a couple more baby bump pictures that need to happen soon. I'm at 34 1/2 weeks!  I'm officially feeling very large and some days my self-esteem struggles a little... but all in the name of bringing a baby into this world! It's just a little weird to always have my body get noticed everywhere I go, because there is no hiding this baby belly anymore!

Improvement pits

And here's a peak into our newest home/yard improvement project...

It's a fire pit!  Just in case you can't really tell.  

Here's the progress on the left.  Oops... I didn't get a true "before" shot. Oh well. Just know that it was pretty bad.  About 4 feet of weeds filled this awkward corner of our yard. 

We simply dug up and moved around some bricks that were there outlining the weed mess.  Didn't know those were even there before!

Free wood chips popped up on Craigslist.  Just needed lots of trips and lots of things to put them in.  Once again, Craig helped us out.  Free cat.... free wood chips.... we'll see what's next!

The stacked railroad ties were moved from another part  of our yard.  They were outlining the garden area by the second garage-- but these two weren't serving any purpose so we made a bench from them.

The huge tractor tire was a random find that was behind an old shed in the "scary corner" of our yard.  There's also a larger propane tank behind there.  And lots and lots of spiders.

 The tree stump stool was snagged from the city free-tree-stump-drop-off-area.  Or something like that.  There's a bunch of huge old trees that they make into free mulch and we've heard that some people bring chainsaws and cut firewood from it.  No chainsaw-- but we were able to bring some pieces home to use for firewood. 

S'more filled summer... or fall... nights coming soon! 

Too Many Doors

3 bedrooms + 3 closets + 1 bathroom + 1 little hallway = The Hallway of Too Many Doors

So I got a tip to swap out some doors for some curtains. Genius. I wanted something with texture and some gray tones.  I had my eye on some curtains at Target-- but I wanted to do this to 2 doors, which would mean $45 total.  I couldn't justify that quite yet.  

Then I went to my current favorite* thrift store in this town and saw some grayish burlap-ish curtains for $2 dollars each.  Now $4 is something I can justify.  

(*favorite subject to change upon further discoveries of the abundance of thrift stores in this town) 

They're a little see-through... but I think that's OK because it adds some transparency and invisibility which was kinda the goal in fixing The Hallway of Too Many Doors.  

Feeling Gray

See if you can put together the pieces of this puzzler....

1. The minty green color of my kitchen walls weren't working for me.  Not awful-- but not my favorite. Reminded me of mint chocolate chip ice cream which I do NOT like.  [Mint only belongs in gum in my book.]

2. My friend Kendra (who has lots of practice painting) said she's gonna come visit me for a couple days!!

3. Sherwin-William's had a weekend sale on all their paint and supplies.


SO... I painted the kitchen!  Well, Kendra painted the kitchen and I watched.  And I occasionally rolled some paint on the parts I knew I couldn't mess up.  I also did a great job removing and re-installing the outlet covers.

Loving the results!  Makes the kitchen a little moody- and a lot less minty.

BEFORE:

...and AFTER:

I know in 20 years I'll think back and say, "I can't believe that I once painted my kitchen gray!!"   Maybe not.  But I remember when I used to think that my purple striped wallpapered bedroom would be the coolest thing ever until the end of time.

Anyways....
It's been a fun few days!  Got to spend time with Jess after her wisdom teeth got removed.  I made her milkshakes and smoothies-- and monitored her medication intake :) And a friend who moved away for several months stopped by for a sleepover with us (as Ben was out of town).

Dory the cat liked her. She likes anyone who tries to feed her people-food.

Then Kendra came!  After she painted my kitchen-- she painted my hair!  Just a subtle touch to add to the sun-bleached highlight look. The Kendra Salon is the only one I really trust to color my hair!

 Then we sifted through some dirt and grime at slightly filthy second-hand and antique stores.  I LOVE the clutter of those antique-store hoarder people.  Kendra found out she doesn't like it much- ha! But I got awesome turquoise dishes for my new gray kitchen!

Thanks for coming Kenny :)  Thanks for painting my kitchen and my hair!

Exploring new frontiers

New house and new city brings opportunities to do/have new things! Get a pet-check! Try the best rated Chinese take out place- last Friday night! Get some clearance outdoor table and chairs- yep! (those chairs were a pain to put together though).

Then there's the not so fun but necessary things- like buy a ladder.  Which I did successfully by myself and got the best deal by utilizing online price matching, coupon finds, and gift card usage.  But we had to buy that ladder to clean out the gutters which was a job for Mike Rowe. Years of heavy leaves/dirt/shingle pieces stuffed those gutters and filled up several 5 gallon buckets. Oh yeah, I had the new necessity/opportunity to buy 5 gallon buckets at garage sales last week.

Anyways...

It's also fun to try and fit into the new culture of your new town.  And that is how I came to recycle. [Haha!! Seriously as I am typing this the recycling guys pulled up in front of our house to get it. That made me laugh out loud.]

I've never been an avid recycler unless it was reused and saved me money in some way.  But I do feel a little better about myself because I recycle :)  The blue recycle box just showed up in our garage when we moved in. So I guess they kinda make you do it-- or at least make it really easy for you to do it.
I keep having to look up what is recycle-able on the city website-- so obviously I'm a newbie.

OH- and it comes with a lid.  Which shouldn't be used to catch the oil dripping from your husband's car. Washing oil off the recycling lid was kinda a funny thing to do. [FYI: oil dripping issue now solved thanks to husband's handy work]



Dory the cat is doing great! And she's just pretty to look at. She LOVES to jump on our laps when we're sitting on the couch.  In fact, she's on my lap right now.  Sit within 4 feet of her and she thinks she might as well be sitting on you.  So here I am with my left arm pinned down by her and she's bouncing whenever I type.

And she still loves Ben!

Home!

Cross "Become homeowners" off the list!  

Well, that's about all that's new in our lives!  Closed on this house last Wednesday and Ben's parent's brought all our stuff Thursday (thanks again to our packers, unpackers, and movers !!!). We went home (as in back to where we had previously lived) for the weekend for a few weddings and a few hours of friend time.

My madre came for a day of yard work which was extremely helpful! Promise that lady some trips to home improvement stores and a day out in the sun and she's a happy camper! 

I've got a few lists of things to do, things to buy, and places to call.  I've been at Panera for a while using their internet.  I plan to set that up for our home today :) 

Ben likes his job! Doing some "rapid continuous improvement" (is that right, Ben??) projects last week and this week. Friday the 1st AND Monday the 4th off of work! Lucky!  oh wait... I get every day off :) However, unpacking has been full-time! 

Here's a few pictures!  I'm still yet to cross "become a better picture taker" off my list! 

First few minutes of our new home! 

Unpacking begins! 

Moving the sign in our yard-- as to not confuse passerby-ers

Oh, here's  picture of me! We're figuring out the correct "slam" to the storm door.

Happy house!