Goodbye Yellow Paint

Today is a very much anticipated day. It is the day when the painters are coming to paint our sponge painted, bright yellow kitchen that we hate and never imagined we'd be able to change. Of course, after they removed the cabinets we realized how easy it would've been to just have painted it ourselves but when all the cabinets were on the wall it seemed impossible that we'd ever mange to paint over that yellow without getting paint on cabinets and crown molding.

You see, we're not exactly DIY-ers and the only room we've painted and made our own in our entire home is Gwen's nursery. That took months and required many family member's help to accomplish. 

While we've dreamed up many ways we'd like to change our home to reflect our taste and not the previous owners, we've had to be creative and thoughtful in our approach. This really means we've had to be cheap and frugal about it and has resulted in many spray painted items, homemade curtains, hand-me-downs and  re-purposed items that have followed us from our first apartment, if not college. And nothing has really changed in our house. The living room walls are still a blank slate, the bedroom is still an awful green and the kitchen an awful yellow, until today.

So this kitchen upgrade, as hellish as it has been, is a blessing in many soon-to-be obvious ways. It is a step in the direction of making our home ours and finally reflecting our style and taste.

I can't wait to get home after work to see the transformation. God, please let it be the right color. I can't tell you how anxious I am that we will have picked the wrong color. The selection process was surprisingly easy, with minimal arguments and the paint samples on the walls look great. But I'm still super nervous that we'll finally have a professionally painted room in our home that I won't like. Oh wouldn't that be the worst? 

Night 4: Don't Be A Grumpy Butt

Yesterday morning I was in the foulest of moods. We just got news that while our floors were drying the wall behind our water heater was still getting wet somehow. Turns out a pipe has been leaking as well as the water heater. Not the end of the world, just not exactly the news you're looking for.

When I walked into the office after a commute spent discussing our situation and possible solutions, I was nearly in tears and ready to curl into a ball when asked, "how are you today?"

I wanted to whine to anyone who would listen, and destined to see out my grumpy attitude for the day. The funny thing is is that this is not tolerated in my office. I work in a fun atmosphere that gets sillier by the minute and yesterday was no exception. By the time lunch came my grumpy attitude had all but disappeared and I found myself sitting in front of the capital building in the sunshine with birds chirping and tulips blooming. Funny how that works, eh?

And it wasn't just coworkers who unknowingly raised my spirits, it was also my dear friends and family who have had us over for dinner, offered their homes and showered us in nothing but support.

Don't get me wrong, being misplaced for a few days while our home gets repaired isn't the worst thing in the world, I know this. But sometimes you just have to feel sorry for yourself. It's taken years of therapy to realize the fine line between a healthy feel sorry for yourself and an unhealthy one that can turn ugly in a flash. Today was a day it didn't get the chance to branch into the unhealthy and boy am I glad it didn't, because really it's not the end of the world. Water heaters break all the time, the fans will be out of the house tonight, we have our nice hotel room until tomorrow and then as backup we have a friend's house we're welcome to crash in when needed.   Meanwhile, we've been camping out with my girlfriend and her family while Gwen plays and they feed us before we retreat back to our hotel. I mean, it might be a little stressful but it could be worse.

So, here are a few pictures of things that have made me smile throughout the week.

Happy weekend!

Night 3: Get the Hell Out

Here's the plan: with seven industrial fans in our house and two industrial dehumidifiers we figured we could pimp ourselves out to friend’s homes from 6- 8 pm and come home to sleep at night. Sounds like the most practical solution, right? WRONG. This was the plan until we walked through our doors last night to be smacked with a hot, smelly house that was chock full of fan exhaust as a tarp taped across a doorway does not keep these things from your living space.

It was decided: our plan was pure crap and we could not see it through to Friday, when the fans are to be taken out. We packed our happy butts down to a hotel, where Gwen thought she was on a grand adventure and happily snuggled her monkey in her playpen as her night light lit up the hotel room.  

This morning we dined on our continental breakfast among business professionals who gave Gwen the evil eye as she ran about in between her bites of breakfast, soaking in all the excitement of not eating cereal at our breakfast table for the first time in six months. And let's not kid anyone, I live for a continental breakfast. Cereal choices? English muffins, bagels AND an egg sandwich? Score! 

Tonight we will be hanging out at a friend’s house before retreating back to our hotel, where the adventure will continue and those fans can dry all they want, as long as we are 10 miles away from them.

And as for BJ’s Brewery as I eluded on Facebook? Let’s just say we received the worse service in the entire planet. To top off the crap service, we received our overpriced food that was cold enough to feed directly to a child.  Don’t worry, I complained about it to the manager who happened to walk by to fawn at Gwen at just the right time for me to unleash my unhappiness. The solution? We’ll just run it through the warmer again! Oh and those empty drinks? Wait 10 more minutes because your server just got reprimanded and hates you.

And to think, we paid to be treated this way. And it seems that a lot of you have shared similar experiences. Boycott BJ’s Brewery! They’re not worth it! We can find a pizookie alternative elsewhere, right? I mean, it’s just ice cream on a cookie, not bananas foster or flambee for pete’s sake.

And with a quick search on trusty Pinterest, there is an entire section that could be dedicated to pizookies at home: http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=pizookie. Forget BJ's Brewery, everyone, it doesn't exist. 

A Leaky Water Heater

“Gwen, no, put the chair back, you’re not doing the dishes” was what we said to her as she pushed a dining room chair to the counter to prepare for her favorite messy task. The small rugs we have get in the way of the toddler pushing a chair twice her size across the floor so Gwyneth likes to pull the rugs up and move them out of her way, in a flippant toddler fashion.

Which is how we noticed our warped floors that spanned halfway through our kitchen. Which is how we discovered our hot water heater had been leaking. Which is how we have come to our current state of being: no hot water since Saturday (even though we shelled out prime cash to a plumber to install a new one on Sunday);  Frantically doing laundry and cooking what we can before our kitchen and laundry room are completely ripped up for two weeks;  And figuring out how in the sam hell we’re going to spend the next two weeks with just a microwave, fridge and no sink.

Let’s just say we’re grateful for the people who know how to handle this type of situation because we are clueless. My Dad was able to help Jake figure out at 9 pm on a Saturday what it is your supposed to do when your water heater is leaking while the plumber came out and replaced the water heater and the restoration guy explained to us the hard truth, the damage isn’t pretty or easy to fix.

And here we were, living in our house that we noticed had a funky smell, but thought it was due to a rain storm a week ago. We can laugh at this absurdity now, because we all know a Northern Nevada rainstorm barely warrants a drizzle, let alone a musty smell in your home.

How was your weekend?

Wash-Dry-Fold-Repeat

Well everyone, I did it. I tackled that laundry beast with grace and dignity. On Saturday I hit it hard from the moment I popped out of bed. It was sorted and started before the baby even woke up, 5 loads sitting on top of the washer and dryer. And then I took my time getting it done as life happened all around us. Slowly but surely those piles were disappearing.

There were a few additional loads that popped up, like swimsuits and towels from a swim lesson as well as table linens from dinner, but by golly, we got through them. Come Monday morning everything was folded and in its proper place. Even the blanket that the dogs had taken to using as a bed since it had been left on the floor for a month. Washed! Dried! Folded!  

And now there is order in our home once again. Getting dressed this morning was a breeze. I didn't have to run downstairs to search for a particular item of clothing and didn't have to rip through baskets of clothes to find a sock. It was amazing how much of a difference it makes. 

I can make some bold statement here saying I'm going to vow to do a load of laundry everyday so this never happens again. But come on, it's really just laundry, that I have happened to create two posts about. I'll do what I can to not run away from it for weeks, but it's not the end of the world if it piles up. Life is just easier when it's not, right? 

Also, I saw these cute laundry-related printables from 30 Handmade Days and thought I'd share. My favorite is the never ending story one. 

Source: thirtyhandmadedays.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Vinegar + Hot Water = The best hardwood floor cleaner out there.

One of the features we were stoked about our house havingwere the hardwood floors. The entire first story is wall-to-wall hardwood.

How to Clean Hardwood Floors Naturally

Originally posted on November 1, 2011

We have  pet rabbits who live inside our home and eat hay. Have you ever experienced hayinside your home? It’s a downright disaster, especially on carpet.

Needless to say, we were more than excited for the hardwoodfloors. Then we lived with them for a year and discovered that they’re not all that simple to maintain.

• The previous owners left us a bottle of


• BonaHardwood Floor Cleaner. After sustaining a wicked hand cramp from sprayingfloor cleaner over the large surface area I abandoned the overpriced stuff.


• Wet Swiffer mops were not only tiny and took ahundred to accomplish anything, they also left the floors streaky.


•   Someone recommended Mop ‘n Glo, which seemed towork pretty well so I settled for the pungent chemical smells for awhile. Itleft the floors greasy and smelled for days. And why is it fluorescent?

While researching natural cleaning methods I came acrossvinegar and hot water as a floor cleaner. I used this mixture to clean mybaseboards back when I was nesting before the baby shower and loved theresults. So I whipped out my microfiber mop and hit the floors with the vinegarmixture:

1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon hot (boiling) water

I will never go back.

They’ve never been cleaner. Truth be told I had no idea myfloors were even dirty before cleaning with vinegar. Seeing how clean theyshould be made me 1.) a little embarrassed and 2.) a die hard fan of vinegar.

Tips:

• The hotter the water the better. But if you don’t have time to boil it, just use hot water from the tap, it does the job.

• If you’re wondering about the smell, it certainly does smelllike vinegar. This isn’t the best smell in the world but beats the headachethat comes from the chemical cleaners and it doesn’t linger.

• I use an oversizedmicrofiber mop (Costco, Walmart, Target) that I dip it into a bucket full of the mixture. Wearingdish gloves I take the mop and squeeze the excess moisture out. I alwaysimagine a regular mop would make things a little easier but like how I canthrow the microfiber part into the washer in between cleanings. 

• I eyeballed the mixture a couple of times and noticed thefloors were streaky when I did it, so if you can, be sure to measure. I’vefound that milk jugs can’t handle the heat of the water and collapse. The largevinegar bottles are actually a gallon and quite sturdy.

So there you have it. Vinegar and hot water, it’s cheap, it’s effective and you should use it immediately.

 

Clean + Organized 2012 - FREE Cleaning Schedule | Clean Mama

I don't know about you, but Clean Mama's weekly cleaning schedule opened my eyes to how easy cleaning your house can be. A little bit everyday makes life so much easier. After a month of following her schedule our house has never looked better and it's never been easier to clean. I'd highly recommend reading what she has to say and pushing her cute printables. She's kind enough to provide free monthly calendars as a part of her clean & organized 2012 series. I'm off to print mine now.

CLEAN MAMA: Clean + Organized 2012 - FREE Cleaning Schedule.

Our Real Messy Smelly Life

 I have a nagging goal to keep the house clean enough for visitors at any time. While I like to think of our home as a welcoming environment sometimes the day to day messes really make it feel anything but welcome.

The other evening our friends stopped by unexpectedly with some exciting news. Allow me to paint you a picture of how the situation unfolded.

The doorbell rings while we are in the middle of feeding the baby and cooking ourselves dinner. Our two dogs barked incessantly and charged at the door ready to make their great escape. Meanwhile the baby, who had just finished throwing dinner on the floor, takes one look at our friend and begins to cry. Not just a shivering bottom lip mind you, an inconsolable wailing. As our two friends are excitedly telling us about their engagement there are dogs trying to barge through the front door, a baby screaming and the sweet aroma of steamed broccoli and burnt asparagus filling the air.

Naturally we invited them in. To a home covered in toys, plastic Easter eggs everywhere, a bra on the table and roast beef sandwiches on top of the oven.

It just makes me laugh at how unrealistic this goal of having your home ready for any visitor really is. I can clean all day, but the real life messes are what makes our house a home. The toys, the bra, the nasty fart smell of broccoli, that’s life.

Real messy, smelly life.

DIY Dr. Seuss Lorax Nursery Mural

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="The R House"][/caption]

In honor of  Dr. Seuss's birthday today I thought it a good idea to re-post Gwyneth's Dr. Seuss nursery from the archives. What did you choose for your child's nursery?

This post was published on January 3, 2011.

Dr. Seuss, The Lorax Nursery {Pt. 1}

Part 2

So I left off with the nursery when we had finally gotten the wallpaper off the walls and began painting our base colors. Nobody really understood what we were going for when we decided to base the nursery off of Dr. Seuss' book the Lorax.

How did we come to this decision?

We wanted a nursery that was gender neutral. Our plan is to move baby #1 out into the next bedroom when she gets older, giving her the luxury of choosing how to decorate her room while baby #2 gets moved right into the pre-designed gender neutral nursery. Makes sense, no?

So we went through our pool of ideas and settled on Dr. Seuss. Whimsical, not too feminine (Pooh Bear) or masculine (Mario Bros.) and fun. But what Dr. Seuss story? I originally thought Horton Hears a Who was the best choice, but Sir Sunderland disagreed due to (what he thinks) are the horrors of Jim Carey ruining the movie....

He then proposed The Lorax, a story of capitalism and environmentalism  with an adorable little character, the Lorax, who protects the trees. After reading the story, I was all but inspired but loved the trees and the little character. A compromise was made. We'll go with the awesome Dr. Seuss trees and add a cute little Lorax character in there somewhere.

It sounded simple enough.

• get a projector


• get a copy of the book


• project the pictures up on the wall


•  trace


• paint.

That was until we realized that neither of us has any artistic capabilities to speak of. I immediately tried to find an Etsy vendor to produce vinyl trees. In the end our original idea was the way to go as the vinyl wouldn't be up to par and twice the cost. Enter my 18 year old brother in law's girlfriend who piped up one evening during dinner that she had some sort of artistic talent. Boy did she regret that!

Wall #1 took  two  grueling days where we traced, painted and she outlined/shadowed. She was able to freehand the tree trunks and the grass on the bottom of the trees and boy did it make a difference.

It worked out well.  As the girls did the painting the boys got to work on building the furniture and finsihing things around the house. They built her crib, her changing table/dresser, both of her play yards (which aren't called play pens anymore), her swing and took care of some home maintenance that needed to get done.

Fastforward a month, four long days and more cost than I would like to mention.....our little Gwyneth has her nursery set and ready to go!

 

Doesn't the crib go great? My grandmother nearly had a heart attack when I said we were getting black furniture for the nursery.

It came out even better than I could've ever imagined and is exactly what we wanted. And look at how cute the Lorax came out! I would've never imagined it would be so exact and detailed.



Sure it was stressful, a whole lot of work, and I may have shed a few tears filled with anxiety if we'd ever get it done, but wow, it really is just what we wanted.

And you know the best part?

It took help from the whole family from my Dad, to our siblings, to the generosity of family members who gifted us her gorgeous furniture and everyone really stepped up to make it happen which fills my heart with joy.

 This is one lucky little girl who gets one cool/practical nursery!

Post-edit:

Present day.





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

The other day I felt pretty. You know when you hair curls and frizzes in just the right way, your new shirt from Banana Republic looks just right and the world can’t stop you? Like that.

I saw myself in a photo the other day and noticed I looked a little thinner than usual. I stepped on a scale to confirm my suspicions, 27 pounds lighter than my weight pre-baby. No, I don’t mean, 27 pounds lost from pregnancy.  I mean, in addition to the pregnancy weight. I have no room to brag about this weight loss since sitting on the couch or in front of a computer stuffing my face with snacks all day does not constitute bragging. But feeling good about myself does.

I was prepared for having a baby to wreck havoc on my body. I was ready to accept the mom body as a nice excuse for the extra pounds I had put on working at Starbucks. I ate and drank 1,000-calorie beverages and pastries without abandon and became the heaviest I’ve ever been.

Then I got pregnant and lost my mind about my body issues. I cried and cried because I couldn’t find clothes (specifically bras, I mean my god, they didn’t sell my size in the maternity stores!). I thought life would never be right again. And then my body did something miraculous. It made a baby and went back to normal. Just like that.

I’ve never been more proud of it. Even in those post-partum days when my belly was reminiscent of a deflated balloon, I loved every inch of my body. It produced life and continued to nurture it.

I can attribute my weight loss to a great many things (not working at Starbucks, breastfeeding) but in my heart I’d like to think the self-acceptance and value I’ve placed on it gave it the legs to do what it needed to do.

So today, as I get all full of myself and think, “You look good!” I hope this body of mine hears its praise. A woman’s body is a wondrous thing. It is capable of the most miraculous task of all, human creation, and that alone deserves all the praise in the world.

How to Clean Hardwood Floors Naturally

One of the features we were stoked about our house havingwere the hardwood floors. The entire first story is wall-to-wall hardwood.

We have apet rabbit who live inside our home and eat hay. Have you ever experienced hayinside your home? It’s a downright disaster, especially on carpet.

Needless to say, we were more than excited for the hardwoodfloors. Then we lived with them for a year and discovered that they're not all that simple to maintain.

•  The previous owners left us a bottle of BonaHardwood Floor Cleaner. After sustaining a wicked hand cramp from sprayingfloor cleaner over the large surface area I abandoned the overpriced stuff.
• Wet Swiffer mops were not only tiny and took ahundred to accomplish anything, they also left the floors streaky.
•   Someone recommended Mop ‘n Glo, which seemed towork pretty well so I settled for the pungent chemical smells for awhile. Itleft the floors greasy and smelled for days. And why is it fluorescent?

While researching natural cleaning methods I came acrossvinegar and hot water as a floor cleaner. I used this mixture to clean mybaseboards back when I was nesting before the baby shower and loved theresults. So I whipped out my microfiber mop and hit the floors with the vinegarmixture:

1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon hot (boiling) water

I will never go back.

They’ve never been cleaner. Truth be told I had no idea myfloors were even dirty before cleaning with vinegar. Seeing how clean theyshould be made me 1.) a little embarrassed and 2.) a die hard fan of vinegar.

Tips:

• The hotter the water the better. But if you don't have time to boil it, just use hot water from the tap, it does the job. 

• If you’re wondering about the smell, it certainly does smelllike vinegar. This isn’t the best smell in the world but beats the headachethat comes from the chemical cleaners and it doesn’t linger.

• I use an oversizedmicrofiber mop (Costco, Walmart, Target) that I dip it into a bucket full of the mixture. Wearingdish gloves I take the mop and squeeze the excess moisture out. I alwaysimagine a regular mop would make things a little easier but like how I canthrow the microfiber part into the washer in between cleanings.  

• I eyeballed the mixture a couple of times and noticed thefloors were streaky when I did it, so if you can, be sure to measure. I’vefound that milk jugs can’t handle the heat of the water and collapse. The largevinegar bottles are actually a gallon and quite sturdy.

So there you have it. Vinegar and hot water, it’s cheap, it's effective and you should use it immediately.  

How to Clean Hardwood Floors Naturally

One of the features we were stoked about our house having were the hardwood floors. The entire first story is wall-to-wall hardwood.

Easy Candy Corn Popcorn

Last Christmas I made this uber delicous White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn. When I researched my archives to find the post I had surely written on this delicious treat, I was sad to see there wasn't one. I think it had to do with being nine months pregnant. Anyways, I have been patiently waiting to make it again. So when my girlfriend came over to watch Halloween movies I had my popcorn machine out and she brought a bag on candy corn. The next thing you know we're whipping up a batch of this:

This is no joke folks. I made myself  ill eating it. And the best part of all?
It's EASY.

• Pop your (about 1/2 cup of dry kernels) popcorn. {I have an air popper, if you don't I don't see why some unbuttered microwave popcorn wouldn't work}

• Put popcorn in large freezer ziplock bag, making sure to remove any and all un-popped kernels.

• Melt white chocolate almond bark (2 squares) in microwave. I do it in 30 second intervals stirring in between until it's completely melted.

• Pour chocolate over popcorn.

• Toss in some candy corn

• Shake

• Spread out over wax paper to cool

• Make yourself sick by eating only this sugary treat with a side of sugar cookie while watching Halloween classics like Hocus Pocus and Corpse Bride.

Tips
Please note this recipe can be eyeballed magnificently.

This would be perfect to put in a plastic baggie with a cute bag topper.

Or a great thing to bring to a Halloween party (it's coming to yours, Jessica) in a neat little bowl that doubles as a hostess gift.

Drizzling melted orange and yellow candy melts would also make this sweet treat that much cuter.

Easy Candy Corn Popcorn

Last Christmas I made this uber delicous White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn. When I researched my archives to find the post I had surely written on this delicious treat, I was sad to see there wasn't one. I think it had to do with being nine months pregnant. Anyways, I have been patiently waiting to make it again. So when my girlfriend came over to watch Halloween movies I had my popcorn machine out and she brought a bag on candy corn. The next thing you know we're whipping up a batch of this:

This is no joke folks. I made myself  ill eating it. And the best part of all?
It's EASY.

• Pop your (about 1/2 cup of dry kernels) popcorn. {I have an air popper, if you don't I don't see why some unbuttered microwave popcorn wouldn't work} 

• Put popcorn in large freezer ziplock bag, making sure to remove any and all un-popped kernels. 

• Melt white chocolate almond bark (2 squares) in microwave. I do it in 30 second intervals stirring in between until it's completely melted. 

• Pour chocolate over popcorn.

• Toss in some candy corn

• Shake

• Spread out over wax paper to cool

• Make yourself sick by eating only this sugary treat with a side of sugar cookie while watching Halloween classics like Hocus Pocus and Corpse Bride. 

Tips
Please note this recipe can be eyeballed magnificently. 

This would be perfect to put in a plastic baggie with a cute bag topper.

Or a great thing to bring to a Halloween party (it's coming to yours, Jessica) in a neat little bowl that doubles as a hostess gift.

Drizzling melted orange and yellow candy melts would also make this sweet treat that much cuter. 

TV as a Babysitter

Today I woke up to rain tapping against our bedroom window.As I snuggled up under the covers I was ever so rudely interrupted by Sir Sunderland’sdaily wake up call.

You see, I started waking up an hour earlier in the morningto squeak in a baby-free pump. This is after months of trying to figure out howto entertain the baby for a half an hour in the morning while she demandsattention.

I thought I had it all figured out. She will watch TV (gasp!). Allow me to explain the horror of this decision. We decided that we’d prefer she didn’t watch TV for as long as possible. This was decided after we put on Yo Gabba Gabba for our curiosity’s sake and watched her turn into a zombie at the ripe age of 3 months.

As I sat theretrying to pump and TV being the only thing to take her mind off the fact I wasn’tpaying attention to her, I tricked myself into believing that breastmilk trumps TV. Of course, it’s not so bad since she’s getting the  superpowers from breast milk, right?  What's a little TV going to hurt?So I resigned to the fact that wewould watch some show made for babies for half an hour each morning.

Then one night Sir Sunderland nonchalantly says, “well youcould just wake up earlier and do it before she wakes up.” We laughed, thenlooked at each other with the intensity of a man who’s just discovered gold. Eureka!

I now wake up with Sir Sunderland in the morning andget the job done in the wee hours of the morning before the baby wakes up. Nowinstead of watching crappy TV and preemptively creating a zombie child, we sitand eat breakfast together. Her relaxing on the boppy and me enjoying my bowlof frosted shredded mini-wheats.And the best part of the entire deal? We’reawake in time to give Daddy kisses as he leaves for work.

 

TV as a Babysitter

Today I woke up to rain tapping against our bedroom window. As I snuggled up under the covers I was ever so rudely interrupted by Sir Sunderland’s daily wake up call.

You see, I started waking up an hour earlier in the morning to squeak in a baby-free pump. This is after months of trying to figure out how to entertain the baby for a half an hour in the morning while she demands attention.

I thought I had it all figured out. She will watch TV (gasp!). Allow me to explain the horror of this decision. We decided that we’d prefer she didn’t watch TV for as long as possible. This was decided after we put on Yo Gabba Gabba for our curiosity’s sake and watched her turn into a zombie at the ripe age of 3 months. 

As I sat there trying to pump and TV being the only thing to take her mind off the fact I wasn’t paying attention to her, I tricked myself into believing that breast milk trumps TV. Of course, it’s not so bad since she’s getting the  superpowers from breast milk, right?  What's a little TV going to hurt?

So I resigned to the fact that we would watch some show made for babies for half an hour each morning.

Then one night Sir Sunderland nonchalantly says, “well you could just wake up earlier and do it before she wakes up.” We laughed, then looked at each other with the intensity of a man who’s just discovered gold. Eureka!

I now wake up with Sir Sunderland in the morning and get the job done in the wee hours of the morning before the baby wakes up.

 Now instead of watching crappy TV and preemptively creating a zombie child, we sit and eat breakfast together. Her relaxing on the boppy and me enjoying my bowl of frosted shredded mini-wheats.

And the best part of the entire deal? We’re awake in time to give Daddy kisses as he leaves for work. 

Owl Fall Wreath

 Isn't it awesome? I saw the owl at Michael's in August and knew I wanted it on my door in October.

I actually didn't buy the owl when I first saw it. Of course when I went back, it was gone. Luckily I have an awesome Mom who found it in Vegas and what would you know? He was neatly packed in my birthday package.

 The square twig wreath? I just happened to be at a Ben Franklin's on the 90% off day of their going out of business sale. I won't even tell you how how cheap it was ($2).

I'm quite pleased with the simplicity of it. And it's perfect for the entirety of Fall, wouldn't you say?

I'm linking this beauty up to the linky parties you can find here.

This little guy is participating in a Halloween challenge (with spray paint up for grabs, my goodness) here:

Owl Fall Wreath

 Isn't it awesome? I saw the owl at Michael's in August and knew I wanted it on my door in October.

I actually didn't buy the owl when I first saw it. Of course when I went back, it was gone. Luckily I have an awesome Mom who found it in Vegas and what would you know? He was neatly packed in my birthday package.

 The square twig wreath? I just happened to be at a Ben Franklin's on the 90% off day of their going out of business sale. I won't even tell you how how cheap it was ($2).

I'm quite pleased with the simplicity of it. And it's perfect for the entirety of Fall, wouldn't you say?

I'm linking this beauty up to the linky parties you can find here.

This little guy is participating in a Halloween challenge (with spray paint up for grabs, my goodness) here:

The Gallery Wall

Finally! The day has come. May I present to you my Gallery wall. 

Pin It

I can't tell you how in love I am. It turned out to be everything I had imagined and more. And here's the best part, it didn't cost a penny.

I hate it when people say that in blogland. Whenever I see something I really like and want to recreate I expect explicit details on how to make it happen, including where I can buy just the thing I love.

Like my cool blue frame? It was a $3 gold mirror I bought at a garage sale years ago (I super hate it when someone posts a really neat dress I can't wait to get my hands on only to have them say it's "vintage"). My mom painstakingly painted that beast with her signature foam paintbrush.



The cute blue wallet-size picture frames? They came from Michael's dollar section and were made into these, which I resurrected into what you see now.

I had all the frames that were either in boxes or used throughout our house. Some were the wrong color, but nothing a little spray paint couldn't fix. The S was a gift years ago that was on a different wall where I took my monthly pregnancy shots.

And this one of Jake and baby G? Happened by complete accident. Neither of us could decide which of these two shots we liked better, so I printed out both. Then when the wacky doodle frame ended up not being the size we though it was we were in need of a second photo to put in it. As my Mom cycled through all the photos, she happened to put these two in together and it melted my heart. It's my favorite piece on the wall (even over the photos of myself!).

The best part is that our photo wall includes our entire family. Brothers, sisters, nephews, parents, grandparents. It's a little Gwen-centered, I'll admit, and we might want to add a couple wedding photos here and there. But by golly it came out amazing.

{A special thanks to my parents, who stayed well past they intended to before driving 8 hours home to Las Vegas to make this lovely wall happen. It was really just my secret way of squeezing in more time to visit.  Love you guys!}