sunshine and surprises

A sunshining Saturday is enough to make me smile considering we've not seen the sunshine around these here parts in weeks. It's been nothing but gray skies and lots of white snow. And despite gray and white being two of my absolute favorite colors, I've discovered that's not the case when it comes to the weather. However, the sun is out in full force today gracing us with blue skies and little wind so what is it that we plan to do to enjoy it? Go shopping, of course! Here in Columbus we have an "indoor/outdoor mall" Easton Town Center so we'll get to enjoy the beautiful day without freezing our tushes off.

Thanks to the always lovely and gracious Holly at one of my not-so-secret favorite blogs Life In The Fun Lane I learned that Hollister has ALL of their jeans on sale and despite no longer being a teenager, they were always my favorite jeans so I'm determined to shop there anyway. :) Shopping for jeans is sometimes one of the most depressing tasks I face but with my supportive hubby and little man tagging along I'm braving the mission today. I'll report back on how it goes and if these come home with me...

Another very pleasant surprise lately has been a new and absolutely fabulous blog I came across not too long ago. Maria only starting blogging a month ago and already has over 500, count 'em, 500 followers. One look at her blog Dreamy Whites and you too will be in love, I'm sure of it. She's not only another beautiful gal with a lovely family and a sweet nature about her writing, but she's humble. A real doll this one is. With a gorgeous home, and, lucky for us, she's hosting an adorable little give-away so be sure to take a look and let her know I sent you. :)

Wishing all of you lovelies lots of sunshine and smiles on this Saturday afternoon.

I've missed all of you lovelies. However, despite not posting much recently I have been keeping up on my favorite blogs and can't tell you how thankful I am for the smiles they bring to my face. You see, the phrase "when it rains, it pours" seems to be true to it's words in my life lately. There was the month of watching a loved one fight a battle with cancer that she tragically and very quickly, lost. That brought family from all over that I've not seen in years. Many, many, years. So dealing with the mixed emotions of grief from our loss along with the love and excitement we felt from seeing (and hugging) one another, made for a difficult time. Spending the weekend surrounded by family and friends I love the most, including my dad who lives in Florida for the winter (and now, this upcoming summer too *insert crying here*) had me on a high despite having only about 5 hours of sleep the entire weekend, but they say "all good things must come to an end", and that weekend did. Way too quickly. It took me a few days to adjust back to real life and the reality that I am two hours from my closest family member and again, over a thousand miles away from my dad. It was my little saving grace, Jack Trenton, who helped comfort me. Then came other stresses, emotions, and fears, enough snow to last me a lifetime, changes at work, and of course more work on the house. I want to get back to blogging more often. I miss it. I miss you sweethearts and your lovely comments/emails.

I'll try to share photos soon of what's been going on around here in the remodeling/redecorating department. But in the meantime, here is the list of what's to come...

-beadboard added to kitchen cabinetry
-crown moulding added to tops of cabinets
-guest bedroom painted and redecorated
-master bedroom update
-(thanks to my sweet gramma) my growing collection of milkglass

I have also been collecting frames to fill our big expansive BLANK living room wall with. Thanks to shopping through the house for frames shoved in closets, ready for a new use, or laying in the garage waiting to be painted, clearance at HomeGoods, and to my dear friend Ashley for generously giving me frames she no longer has a need for, I think we have enough to cover a good portion of that wall. The hold up? I'm fickle. No news flash there, right? Especially considering that above link is to a post in which I explained our plan to install a photo ledge. But, seeing as I don't see my family near as often as I'd like, and how completely in love I am with the memories old photos of my little man bring back, a photo ledge wouldn't accomodate nearly enough frames for my liking. So wall of frames it shall be. I just have to decide what color to paint them. Black? Or, white? Or, gray?

Initially I was leaning toward black because I am absolutely head-over-heels in love with this photo. But, we all know I have a strong desire for all things to be white around here so I can't seem to decide.

I sure hope you all haven't forgotten me and have some input on the color choices for the frames. Until next time, (which is hopefully in the very near future).... Xo

a fabulous (K) giveaway.

Not until I joined blogland was I familiar with Lisa Leonard Designs but man was I instantly obsessed. I'd take any one of her pieces as long as I could have the loves of my life names on it. Her designs are simple yet stunning, perfect combination. Point in case:

A favorite on my blog list is Fabulous K and how could she not be a favorite??? She's hosting a giveaway for a $75 gift certificate to Lisa's site so be sure to stop by and pick out a few favorites of your own.

I hope all of you have a wonderful day today and start the week off right!

frugal fashions (friday).

I wish I had something fun on right now that I could share with you all but considering most of my week has been spent in yoga pants and slipper boots, I'll stick to sharing my New Year's Eve outfit.

Unfortunately Fortunately we were busy having so much good food, drinks, and fun New Year's Eve that we, make that I, didn't break out the camera until well into the evening once my "looking hot" turned "looking like a hot mess". And, even then, it was simply my camera phone to snap a photo of hubby and I to share with family. Travis looked so handsome that I regret not having a quality photo to share. He wore a striped button up. Which brings me to mentioning that after noticing how often he wears them, I'm starting to think he is the reason I love stripes so much, and not the other way around. :)

Anyway, if you like Christian Louboutin shoes then you'll love these:

but at almost $800 I couldn't afford one of these shoes, let alone both. So, I opted for these:

Striking resemblance, huh? And at the price tag of just $10 (no I didn't forget a zero anywhere in there) brand new, not buying them was not an option.

You see I already had a dress, and intended to where flat suede slouchy boots but there was something about having a babysitter for the evening that made me want to wear super high (5inch to be exact) heels for dinner with my hubby. ;)

The dress was on clearance at Macy's and after extra discounts and a coupon it was less than $3 (that's right, less than what a Venti Caramel Macchiato would cost me):

I loved the colors (totally unlike me), the ruffles, and most importantly the way it fit. The price tag? Well that's a given, of course I loved that. I felt sexy to wear a dress and heels since I've become a "jeans, t-shirt and boots" kinda gal more so after having Jack and it made me feel sexier yet that my entire outfit, except the black tights I already owned, cost a mere $13. Have I ever told you all that "13" is a very lucky number in our little family? I'll save that story... ;)

Have a wonderful weekend pretty ladies (and handsome gents, just in case my dad is reading). I hope to be back next week with some changes around the house.

birthdays are always fun.

Today is a typical January day in the state of Ohio. Cold. Cloudy. Snowing. 2 to 5 inches of snow to be exact. I don't mind it since I don't have to go out in it. It allows me to clean without getting distracted by the idea of running out to snag a goodwill treasure or browse my favorite stores clearnace racks. And it allows for lots of snuggling of course. Thankfully, yesterday was my mother-in-laws birthday and we were able to make the hour and a half drive to celebrate with her, and get back home, without dealing with hazardous road conditions. She thought she was going to be spending the evening home, alone, watching "Becker". Instead, she had a nice dinner with family and was surprised with an all inclusive weekend family getaway. That sure beats a night alone watching "Becker" wouldn't you agree?

Notice how both of the boys are wearing stripes? I can only take credit for dressing one of them of course, but it looks like my love of stripes must be rubbing off on a certain fella I'm quite fond of. ;)

The "genius mom move" I made was to toss a container of Play-Doh (a favorite among his many Christmas gifts) in the diaper bag along with all of Jack's favorite foods/snacks. That way even once his belly was full on all of the yummy stuff, he had something to occupy him while the rest of us finished our meals. Without the typical, "All done mama, go bye-bye", being repeated 1,847 times while we rush through our last few bites of dinner.

Friendly note: Yes you do see a speck of Play-Doh on his lip. No you don't have to worry. It's non-toxic.

My sister-in-law and her husband who will join us on the family weekend get-away.

The Birthday Girl herself, my mother-in-law. (And the delicious cake I indulged in despite my New Year's Resolution to eat better. Birthdays are now an exception.)

                                                 

When my mother-in-law asked if she was able to keep the vase that her birthday flowers were in, this was my answer: "Of course! I don't get flowers often enough to need as many vases as I have". *hint hint hubby* My sister-in-law seemed to have the same argument in reference to her need of vases. Travis' grandma on the other hand had this to say as she was sitting wrapped in her fiance's arm (that's right, I said 'grandma' and 'fiance', you can't stop love): "I don't have that problem". :) Lucky lady, huh?

Here is the happy couple:

The "disclaimer" on my mother-in-laws vacation get-away information sheet was funny so I thought I'd share it with you all.

"Your gift includes a four day three night all inclusive get-away of your choice to a participating destination. Accommodations provided by and shared with The Markley Family and The Link Family. Date and time subject to agreement. Package terms will not expire. Please expect up to 12 months for delivery. Not responsible for lost or damaged property during travel, forgotten necessities, injury caused by over-excitement, or dehydration due to excessive tear flow. Void where prohibited. All rights reserved. Other restrictions include but are not limited to: packing a bathing suit, leaving work and any other unrelated stresses behind, letting loose, enjoying the company, taking a risk, and most importantly letting us celebrate you!"

Here's to daydreaming about a vacation while in reality a snow storm is happening outside. :)

how about some table with that coffee.

I like alot of this:

and happen to have (and love) lots of these:

So it only makes sense that I would want a table to rest them on. You all may remember this recent post where I nearly couldn't breathe over a coffee table just like this lovely piece by Holly. I found it on Craigslist for $20, emailed about it from Charlotte while we were on vacation, and got a very disappointing "it's been sold" reply. I was bummed, but when I want something, I do NOT give up. So, the search continued. I knew I loved that table, and with all of the other things our very tight budget is already committed to around here, I also knew that unless it was an absolute steal (and I loooooved it), hubby wouldn't support another purchase just yet. Where does a gal go when she needs to find something inexpensive and fabulous from the comfort of her own home? You all know the answer. Back to Craigslist I went. Having no luck in our city, and no luck in a nearby city my dear friend Ashley was searching for me, I moved on to the city I'm from. I hate that she's two hours away from me, but in this case knowing my sister could help out if I found something there, I searched away. And, there it was:

(Sorry about the poor quality of photos via Craigslist). The EXACT same style (and size), again. The listing was posted on December 17, 2009. Asking price of (again) $20. So, I was sure it was gone. But, being the tragically hopeful gal that I am, I emailed anyway. *I just want to add that it causes me a great deal of anxiety when I email about something on Craigslist that I want so badly because if it's gone, it's gone, and it will be stuck in my head until I find the EXACT thing I'm looking for. Sometimes, being as stubborn determined and hopeful as I am, is a weakness.* After less than 24 hours of severe anxiety, I got the email back. "The table is still available. Everyone asks about it but no one comes to get it. My phone number is 555-555-5555, I'll be home all day if you'd like to take a look". I called immediately, got the address, called my sis (who just happens to have the day off) and, thanks to a lot of luck, $20 bucks, a sis who would do anything for me without asking questions, and her supportive boyfriend who happens to have a truck, a coffee table I've dreamed of for months now, is being picked up as I type. Looks like my "project list" just found a new item to add to the top. Man I love when something just feels meant-to-be.

new year, new look.

The last year has been an eventful one to say the least. Believe it or not, a year ago Travis and I weren't sure we'd make it another year of being married. It was a very tough time for both of us, still so in love, but facing challenges we were fighting to overcome. And, nearly failing to do so. After alot of communication (which we were lacking), hours of staring at our son knowing we wanted him to grow up with his parents together happy together, and accepting that we had to stop being selfish or stubborn and give the love we have for each other some real effort we knew we just couldn't be apart. You see, as it is for most couples, when our child was born all of our time and effort went to caring for him. Unfortunately, we neglected ourselves and each other and it started taking it's toll. Quickly. For those of you who don't know, we've been together ten years. You can imagine how we've both changed since first meeting: our personalities as we've matured, our stresses, family needs, friends, our likes and dislikes, and days now just don't seem as long or as carefree as they once were. Say, when I was just 15 years old. :) One thing that hasn't changed: our love for each other and my certainty that Travis was the man I was meant to share my life with. So, here we are, facing another new year to strengthen our relationship, make new memories, and to celebrate all the things we love.

We ended the year spending the day in Charlotte with family. Watching our little man play at an indoor play area called "Monkey Joe's", taking a train ride through the city and having lunch with family we don't see often enough. The evening was spent with Travis' father and his lovely wife Suzanne, along with some of their friends having a fine dinner, drinks, and of course that midnight kiss from my handsome hubby. We welcomed the New Year with plans for changes. As you may have noticed, my first change was this little ol' blog I happen to love so much. I appreciate not only the inspiration I recieve and am able to share, but also the friends I've made. I wish you all the very best year ahead.

As for changes to our home, which I am always thrilled to daydream (and blog) about. There's that kitchen of ours we made big changes to but have yet to finish, a nursery that needs to better suit our "baby" who now needs a 'big boy' room, our dark and dreary master that I'd prefer to be airy and romantic, a guest bedroom that we'd like to make our guests feel as welcomed as we do, and our blank living room that is in great need of character. Who knows if all of those projects will be done this year. Especially since just in the short amount of time it took me to type that sentence, I thought of another room, make that two, that need some attention. Our laundry room and Jack's/guest bath. Whew! We've got our work cut out for us but I'm determined to have fun with it and appreciate the beauty in what IS done, as opposed to stressing about what is not.

On the very long list of things to incorporate, here are just a few of my favorites.


A super comfy chair in the living room:

Wall interest in big doses of beadboard:

A completed kitchen as pretty as this one:

A gorgeous chandelier...

To hang over a farmhouse table (I'm working on for the kitchen) with a stunning resemblance to this one:

Tons and tons and tons of white and memories displayed on our walls:

And, God willing, you never know if another angel will bless our lives:

(Jack Trenton; the reason I believe in love at first sight.)

I hope you all are as happy and excited to start a new year as I am. I look forward to the changes it brings for each and every one of us!

Xo-