Patio Reveal!

Yes, yes I'm still here.  It occurred to me that I never posted an update on our patio when we finally finished it late last fall.  To say that we love it and it makes our back yard 100% more functional is an understatement.  We have so much more seating when we have a lot of family and friends over, which is at least once a month during the warm months.  The shade is a necessity as are the fans to get a break from the afternoon/evening sun.

We had concrete poured, stamped and colored for those wondering.  I love the curves and all the play space it provides the kiddos.

Here is what it looked like last June.  We had the deck rebuilt early spring of 2013.  You can read more about that here

The finished product!

We can't gush over our patio enough!  We are love having people over even more than ever before.

Baby Proofing my Rug

Hi all!

Sorry for the radio silence.  It turns out that having a baby and a toddler is a lot of work and I have been quite busy!  We have adjusted here and have settled into a nice routine.  C is nearly 7.5 months old and is starting to think about crawling.  When M was this age I had think blankets all over the floor because our rug, while durable isn't cushioned at all.  

I knew it was time to add some cushion not only for the baby's sake but for my sake in sitting on the floor all day long!  Finding a rug pad that is appropriate for hardwood floors and met all my other needs (adding softness and over 9x12') wasn't easy.

When Rug Pads USA contacted me about reviewing a rug pad I jumped at the chance!  I figured I wouldn't be out anything since the rug pad I had was only for slippage and I could only get something better.  I chose the 1/2 Eco Fiber pad and I am seriously in love.  I know, I know, dramatic to love a rug pad but I seriously can't tell you how much cushion this pad has added!  I can notice a difference walking on it and Grandma commented tonight how soft it was sitting on it with the kiddos.  

Not only is the rug pad exactly what my rug needed but it is eco friendly!  I highly recommend!

Baby Charlie is Here!

We welcomed Baby Charlie to the world this week weighing in at 10 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches.

We are home and getting settled.  Big sister is adjusting well! :)

Big Girl Room

I have finally gotten around to finishing up and taking pictures of M's big girl room.  To see her nursery and to get a feel for how the room has evolved click here.  With baby boy arriving in just over a month we transitioned M to a bed just before Christmas and I have been working on the details ever since.

We switched the bed to the opposite wall, which wasn't my first choice but it was the only configuration that would work with the bed we already owned.



New bedding, curtains, a dresser, and a hand-me-down rocking chair are really the main new pieces to the room.

Since baby is a boy we decided to keep the butterfly mobile in M's room.  I added a few more in the far corner, which I simply cut out and hot glued to the wall.  Nothing fancy but it works!

The rocking chair is a gift from M's Nana and has been in her family for quite some time.  We still need to finish it and I'm trying to decide if I will paint it or just stain it.  A simple cork board covered in fabric fills the wall above her chair and she loves looking at the pictures of her cousins and artwork!

M loves her room as do I and I'm happy to have it finished before baby boy arrives! :)

Baby Boy's Nursery Reveal!

Baby boy is set to make his arrival in early April so I have been busy working on his room.  As I already mentioned we are reusing all of M's furniture so while that made it easy in some ways in other ways it was more difficult.  See all her furniture is white and while I love that for a girl I would have chosen a wood dresser or crib for a boy.  I compensated by painting the walls a greige and added in wood tones elsewhere.

When we found out is was a boy I knew a few things: 1. I didn't want to do a theme like I didn't in M's room they just aren't my thing and I think this way the room grows with the child more and 2. I wanted to do a collage of frames for a collected look over the crib.

The bedding is the Parade collection from Serena and Lily and I love it!

To add color on the other side of the room I purchased some acrylic knock off shelves and let the books be the decoration.  The bulldog print is one I saved years ago as a PDF and it printed off beautifully.  The mirror used to be used in another room and for now I think it works well in here.

I made the mobile by cutting up a paper garland.  It was really easy and very inexpensive!

I love the curtain rod, which I purchased and spray painted gold to add more warmth to the room

I love the way the room turned out and am happy with the warmth despite all the white.  I also am a neutral girl at heart but love the pops of color throughout the room!

Christmas 2013

Hi there!  Here in Kentucky we are blanketed in snow and I love it!  We ventured out and got our tree in between snow storms last weekend and it feels good to be totally decorated and ready for Christmas. Being 6 months pregnant I'm pretty much doing all the same decor as last year.  My decorating energies are focused on the nursery (more on that soon!).  

A few changes I made were to the dining room:

I filled the box made from my grandpa's barn wood with fresh tree and holly clippings.  Simple and fresh, which to me is perfection!

The formal living room is looking a bit different these days too:

If you have been around awhile you may notice several changes in both rooms.  More on the changes soon!

To see the rest of our decor, which is the same as last year click here.

Happy Holidays!

It's A Boy!

We found out this week that we are having a little boy in April!  Let the nursery planning begin!

Have a great day!