getting crafty for Christmas

a few weeks ago .. hot glue gun at the ready .. i decided to get a little crafty

as mentioned many times before .. i love to decorate and this year i was hankering for a new wreath for our door and a way to display the Christmas cards we receive from family and friends

i searched online but couldn't find anything i loved and on top of that .. things were pretty pricey
so .. i decided to make what i wanted

i sent RT .. the most amazing husband in the world .. to hobby lobby to retrieve supplies while i stayed home with the littlest

a couple of hours and many phone calls later he returned home with bags full of exactly what i needed

both turned out even better than i hoped!!

here is the wreath ..

and here is the card display that hangs in our dining room ..

happy Christmas week everyone!!

another year down

another year has come to a close and as i sat down to write this post i began reflecting on the events of the last year

it is hard to believe so much happened in just one year's time

there was lots of good and lots of bad

lots of happy and lots of sad

i suppose that is just how life goes

we started twenty fourteen newly matched with B and feeling hopeful for the first time since all of the hooplah that happened with M

sadly .. after having her baby she decided to parent

i still think about that baby girl every single day

after living with my parents for a year we moved back into our newly renovated house and we couldn't be happier with the outcome

we lost both of RT's grandfathers last year

the grief is immense 

their memories live on in our hearts

we found out i was pregnant .. against all medical odds .. with our tiny baby girl and spent much of the year going to doctors appointments and preparing to be parents 

i made the seemingly impossible decision to leave my job that i loved at the hoop to go back to work for my mom

that choice was the right one but is still bittersweet

of course the most important and exciting thing that happened in twenty fourteen was the birth of the littlest .. we could not be more in love with her and i am in a constant state of thanks that she is ours .. that i get to be this perfect baby girl's mommy

i am very interested to see what twenty fifteen will bring

if i have learned anything it is that life is unpredictable 

but .. unpredictable can be very very good :)

happy new year to you all!!

a downstairs photo bomb

i have been promising an update on our house for a while now so i thought i would deliver {at least halfway} today. the upstairs is still hugely unfinished as far as decorating so i will post that at a later date. but for today you have the downstairs :)

 

walking into the house you walk through a small entry that just holds a closet .. our dog kennels .. and some counter space with cabinets above

 

from there you walk through the dining area into the kitchen

we mounted this humdingers sign on a sliding door and behind it is our laundry room

walking from the kitchen you again pass through the dining area {thank you captain obvious ha!} and head into the living room

 

don't be alarmed .. we just really love color and pattern :)

this is the nursery and i am very proud of the fact that my mom dad RT and i made these curtains. we just taped stripes off on drop cloth from the hardware store and painted them black. then my dad built wood valances and we stapled the triangle cute peices to that and voila .. diy at its finest :)

 

we still have to get a changing table and unpack the boxes that are hiding in the closet in the nursery but other than that we are ready to bring home baby girl!!

this bathroom was existing

 

we just updated the hardware and put in new lighting a new mirror and fresh paint

these are the doors leading into our master closet which is also the hallway into our bedroom

 

the door leading into our master bathroom matches except it is a single standard sized door instead of the smaller french doors

this is our closet .. in the cabinetry on the left we have folded clothes and shoes and behind the mirrored doors on the right is all of our hanging clothes

 

at the end closest to bedroom on the left is my vanity but i am still waiting on lighting and a mirror for that space so i didnt picture it :)

please excuse the piles on the chaise at the end of the bed but we are leaving town today and that is all our stuff {ha!}

and last but not least .. our master bath .. which i am obsessed with .. i mean i am obsessed with the whole house but i feel like we did a great job making a smallish space into a really great master bath

 

the space is long and skinny so walking in you have the counter with double sinks on the right leading toward the bath/shower area that is all enclosed together with shower heads on either wall

we are loving every second of living in the new house!!

 

happy thursday!!

 

 

a house update

i am not going to lie .. the house has gotten put on the back burner a little bit the last several weeks .. we have had so much other drama and have been thankful that the house has been moving along very smoothly!!

 

this morning i came into town early hoping to get into my barre class

i was no1 on the wait list so i thought for sure i would get in .. but i didn't ..

 

seeing as how i then had over an hour to kill i went by the house .. we have tile and grout y'all!! we are getting so close to being finished and being able to move in and i can not wait!! i think this week they are going to start sanding and staining the floors and after that they have to pour the driveway .. install iron work .. put up fans and chandelliers .. lay carpet .. and then that will be it

 

 

just a few weeks to go :)

laundry room

downstairs bath

master bath

upstairs bath floor

upsatirs bath shower walls

happy monday!!

nursery inspiration board

all photos found on google images

are you guys tired of hearing about the adoption and the baby yet??

too bad :) because that and the house are pretty much all i can think about right now {ha!}

we are in kind of a unique situation in that we don't have to have the nursery finished before the baby gets here. actually we can't have it finished because the house won't be finished but that just means i get a little extra time to decorate. one of my friends asked me about nursery colors yesterday and the walls are gray but color wise that is about as far as i have gotten :)

i know we want to do kind of an antique chic circus theme though so today i made this little inspiration board .. excited to see how it turns out!!

happy wednesday!!

back to life back to reality

top: equipment     jacket: ella moss     pants: parker     shoes: l.a.m.b.

last week i was out of town with my mom sister and sister.in.law and it was so awesome!! we take a girls trip every fall and i look forward to it all year long. to have that time just the four of us is really very special to me!!

we also got to talk to our birth mom on the phone for the first time last week :)
she is amazing and i have been able to text back and forth with her some ever since then so that we can all get to know each other. a couple months ago i wrote this post and now i have had the privilege to convey those feelings to the woman GOD knew they were intended for. we get to meet her face to face this weekend and the anxious excitement is coursing through me!! i was this way before we talked too though and now i feel so normal talking to her so i think once the initial meeting happens we will all feel a lot more at ease

but now it is back to life and back to reality in a big way. i am back to work this week which feels great! it is always nice to get away for a little bit but i've gotta tell you i miss the hoop when i'm not here for a while. i guess that is yet another sign that i really do love my job :) i also have a long list of to dos for the house .. they are painting this week {woohoo!!} and we are in the process of picking out and refurbishing all of the furniture and decor and soon we will have to pick tile and carpet so there are lots of decisions to make right now. and thinking about everything we are going to need for the baby when she is born is crazy! my list for her keeps getting longer and longer {ha!}

we sure do have a lot going on but it is all very very very good things!!
loving life right now :)

happy tuesday!!

each and every wall yall {a house update}

we have walls! woohoo! woohoo! 

so here is a quick look at where we started and where we are now ..

 before .. when you walked in our house there was a little entry through which you could walk straight into our dining room or turn left and enter the living room. now you can't turn left .. you must walk straight :)

 we tore out the middle bedroom that you see above and opened up our entire living/dining/kitchen area so that it is how you see below

 at the start you are looking at what will be the kitchen .. turn right and you see the openings for the laundry room and a storage area .. turn right and you can see straight into the living room .. turn right again and you see the lead into the bathroom and downstairs bedrooms and the pantry and south wall of the kitchen

 our old master area was really just a bedroom with two tiny closets and a bathroom so small that  if you stood up from the toilet you were standing at the sink and could touch the furthest wall of the shower .. not anymore :) the first picture of the remodeled master area is our closet that you walk through to enter our bedroom that opens up to the back porch and from the bedroom you enter the bathroom

 before we didn't have an upstairs but now we do .. with a living room an office two bedrooms and a bathroom

from this  .... to this .... to this

happy wednesday!!

a house update

hey guys! a lot has been going on with the house lately!! everything is all ready and waiting on inspection from the city so that they can start insulation and sheet rock .. woohoo!!

please disregard the GIANT trench in RT's usually beautiful yard and notice house cute the front looks with the second story finished and the roof on and everything >> and our front porch area is now going to be covered .. see^^

 this is what will be our pantry but currently it is randomly housing a bunch of doors {ha!} >> and our kitchen has its windows and door and all of the plumbing and electricity is finished >> and this is the laundry area .. it has been a big topic of discussion the past day or so actually {ha!} my mom has her creative wheels turing as far as decor and I AM LOVING IT!!

moving on to the master area .. first you see what will be our closet that is also the hallway leading into our bedroom >> and in the bedroom we have french doors leading out onto the back porch that will also be covered now >> and our long skinny bathroom 

 heading upstairs you enter into the family room >> and our office is up there too 

 one bedroom toward the front of the house >> with a bathroom {with a tub that is installed and succesfully holds water .. yea for small victories!!} between it and >> the bedroom toward the back of the house

we are beyond excited you guys and i love being able to share the progress here!!

getting closer and closer to move in day every minute :)

happy weekend!!

a house update

things are changing drastically at our house everyday right now!! they have framed out the entire downstairs and most of the upstairs too!! this morning when i went by i crossed paths with our builder and he said they may even start on the roof today!! i have to use an obscene amount of exclamation points because i am REALLY REALLY excited about it!! {ha!}

here are some pictures i have taken this week ..

my neighbor actually sent these to us friday afternoon {thanks tom and jessica :)} ..

 

you can see that all of the exterior walls on the back of the house have been removed along with the back half of the roof and 99% of the interior walls :)

we are basically starting over within the original structure {ha!}

these i took on monday ..

 

no more roof

this a view of our new master bedroom from where the porch will be

new exterior walls on the entire back of the house

this is what will be our bathroom

and this will be our closet

stairs to the second floor

 laundry room

 

 this will be the kitchen and dining area looking through from the living room

and these are from today ..

lovely view of the dumpster {ha!} but you can see that they have framed the second floor

the stairs are functioning now!! i used them today :)

you can see the upstairs above what is going to be our master bedroom

i was standing at the top of the stairs when i took this picture!!!!!!!!!!

and a view from the other side of the house

happy wednesday!!