Featured at SYTYC...WWHHAATT!!!!

It's been a whirl wind day...

While checking my email on my phone

I came accrossed an email from a new follower (which always makes my day)

saying she just saw me featured on the AMAZING blog

"So you Think You're Crafty"

WWHHHAATTT?!?!?!

Did I just read that right?

I hurried over there to find this!!!

I had NO idea which makes it a million times more fun!

 I'm so excited!

Just what I needed today!

Be sure to check the site out! I love it!

There is so much inspiration to be found there!

Thank you Thank you Thank you "So You Think You're Crafty"

 I'm so honored to be featured by such a talent filled place!

Decorating

Gah I'm on a decorating kick!

I'm loving all of the wonderful resourceful and creative blogs out there.

So inspirational!

I am loving the master bedroom make over,

every time I walk in there I get a calming feeling.

So not the way I felt before!

It's so light, crisp air and just feels so much bigger.

Even Al waked in the other night and said

"it just feels so much nicer in here now".

Once the I find end tables and it is complete I promise I'll show you!

It has totally got me motivated to get going on the rest of the house!

I just need to figure out what direction I want to go in I guess!

I'm loving this!

Thrifty Chair tutorial

After rearranging our bedroom and eliminating a dresser

 we were left with

an empty corner screaming for a cute little chair.

I went out thrifty looking for a chair for that corner and night stands.

I found this...

 It was prefect because it was already yellow fabric!

 I loaded her up and headed home.

First I taped off the seat which sorta kinda took me forever!

Make sure you tape it really well, tape down every piece of newspaper

all the way around each piece, so no paint can get under.

Then grab yup....

 you guessed it spray paint!

I love spray paint!

Sprayed her down! Make sure to get all the cracks and angles,

 let it dry and repaint maybe even 3rd time if needed.

Two was enough for this chair but it varies with each project.

Now enjoy fruits of your labor!

Doesn't it look wonderful in that empty corner!

 I sewed up that pillow to fit and bring teal to that area!

Whatcha think??

I am still on the hunt for end tables!

Easter Decor!

I know, I know,

 you had begun to think that I fell off the face of the Earth right?

Well I'm back!

I have been so busy lately that unfortunately blogging fell by the way side.

I hosted Easter at my house for my family this year,

Nathan and Sydney have both not being sleeping well,

I've been working on the master bedroom,

 then toss in the daily duties of momma-hood.

Yeah a little busy!

 But Easter is behind us,

the master bedroom is nearing completion

and the Nathan is back to his wonderful sleep schedule!

So I'm back at the blogging desk!

Like I said I hosted Easter this year!

It was fun and I'm glad I did it!

I cooked the traditional Easter dinner of Ham with all the fixins!

There were hidden eggs, family, food and fun!

Here is a glimpse of my Easter decor that I have been working so hard on!

this was my favorite part of the display!

Bowl of carrots!

It's hard...

I'm learning new things daily.
Things aren't always easy but they are worth it.

March 2008
Pregnant with Nathan so sick I didn't think I'd survive,
He is 2 1/2, and worth every painfully sick day.

Feburaury 2009
I can't put every cent to my name into buying this boarded up house (while holding a newborn)
That boarded up house, is now a beautifully remodeled house we call home.

January 2010
Alex "I think it's time to make Nathan a big brother"
Me "I can't be pregnant again, I never want to be that sick again"
April that year we announced baby Brawner was on her way.

December 2010
A cold rainy night begging for an epidural saying "I can't do this, help me please"
10 minutes later I was holding a beautiful newborn (whom I delivered drug free)

I'm stronger then I give myself credit for.
I can do it.
With Alex by my side, my family supporting me
And a belief in myself
I can do whatever I sent my mind to.
Yet sometimes I need to be reminded of this fact.

Life is not always easy but it is oh so very worth every struggle.
I love my family,
The courage, strength and lessons I receive from them on a daily basis.
Smile!
And believe in yourself!

Pillow Talk

All I have to say about the lack of posts lately is....
Do you know my children?
They have me running on little to no sleep right now.
Nathan so some odd reason is sleeping horribly AND trying to give up naps.
Then when he FINALLY does sleep Sydney wakes up
EVERY SINGLE TIME.
I'm tried and trying to get everything ready for Easter,
which I am hosting.
So hang in there!
I've got a few project posts just waiting for pictures!
Alec has worked late every night this week, but today is the last of it
so things will start moving again tomorrow...hopefully!

Dresser mini sized

Have you meet my husband Alex?

He's cute, funny, sweet, fun

and boy is he resourcful!

Our master bedroom is kinda small and our bed is kinda big!

So it made laying out our bedroom kinda tricky. We both have these dresser which were light wood

I painted them and bought knobs at anthro like 3 years ago, before we even moved here!

But those dresser are big,

I've wanted to condense to just one ever since we got here.

But it just wasn't working.

Our closet however is a decent size.

Alex suggested putting his dresser in there, but where?

Then he said well I can cut a drawer off and it will fit under the shelf!

Really?

Ok go for it!

Before..

After...

What a stud huh!

It looks way better then

I thought it would!

And now when he gets ready at 4:45am he can go in the closet.

 CLOSE the door and everything he needs is in there with him!

I love thus guy!



Lets sit at the desk...

So when I was pregnant with Sydney we gave up our guest room/office/craft room

 to give her an adorable nursery.

Which you will be getting a tower of soon.

Remember that desk I mentioned painting here.

Well we picked up this beast off the side of the road for free.

Ugly but free, with potential!

We got home tossed the computer on it and left it ugly.

Until now! It's spring spruce up yo!

I busted out some white oil based paint

(read about Nathans painting mommas car adventure here)

rolled up my selves and painted it white.

Then I spray painted the brass hardware powder blue.

Vioala! So much prettier now!

Best part was it was free!

It came with a matching chair that I plan to paint this week.

Momma Lesson #482

Spring spruce up is in full motion around here!
And I'm lovin it!
Today I painted a desk that houses our computer.
It was a stained wood
and well... ugly!
So I painted it white!
It looks great now, and tomorrow I'll show you!
I used an oil based paint for this project.
I painted while Sydney napped and Nathan happily played outside with Duke and his tractors.
When Sydney woke up
I set the roller down in the pan (filled with white oil based paint)
checked on Nathan, he was still playing in the grass a crossed the driveway.
So I ran inside to grab Sydney.
I changed her, grabbed the bouncer and headed back out.
Let me just add that Alex was in the grass working on his golf cart.
I rounded the concer headed outside and there was
Nathan roll painting my black car with oil based white paint.
The car Alex just bought me for Christmas!
I screamed, ran outside and Nathan said "mamas car pretty now"
Al came running over and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw!
In those few short minutes in took me to change Sydney
he hit both sides and the back plus all four tires.
I didn't grab a picture before we frantically starting scrubbing it off with gasoline.
But now I wish I had!
The beauty (and bummer) in oil based is it doesn't wash off with water!
Thankfully we were able to get in all off with gasoline.
Except the treads of the tires,
which is fine by me all things considered!
Momma lesson of the day: Never ever ever leave a toddler alone with paint near you car. Ever!

The bedding!!

It's finally done!

After about 2 weeks of working on it,

almost stabbing my eye out, 

(if you don't know what i'm talking about read here)

And hundreds and hundreds of pins

IT IS FINALLY FINISHED!

And it was ssoo worth it!

I love it!

It's beautiful, and timeless, crispy, light airy 

everything I was going for with this bedroom make over!

It looks so nice against my black bed!

Did I mention I love it!

I'm glad I took the time to do this.

I proved to myself (and a few na sayers) that 

I can make a quilt!

I'm proud of my self!

Ok ok I know you're not here to listen to me ramble you want to see it already!

I'm working on pillows now!

Don't look at anything else!

It's all still a work in progress!

But I love love love the bedspread!

On a side note we painted the room this morning!

And I can't not wait for it to dry so we can rearrange

and put the few things I have so far on the walls!

Chuggin Along

The master bedroom is awaiting the prefect grey paint to coat its walls.

Which we picked up last night and will be painting tomorrow!

I've created this flower

And my mother in law just picked up these at a thrift store for $6 for my bare walls!

Since teal and coral are my accent colors I painted them the same teal as the flower!

Things are coming together!

(does anyone know why my pictures do that sometimes?)

Bedding TOMORROW!!

Pictures Pictures Pictutres!

I love pictures.

Let's just put that out there right off the bat!

I mean my kids grow and change daily

I don't want to forget anything so

I take lots of pictures.
We have lots of framed photos

And this is the arrangement we used to make it not seemed too cluttered on our walls!

It was inspirited by Martha Steward!

But now I can't find the link to it.

Good thing Alex loves me because

every single on of those 22 frames are exactly one inch apart.

Look at him working hard to make it look great!

I love how it came out!

And in case you were wondering 90% of the photos on this wall were taken by Patrick of

Anibaldi Studios

He is AMAZING!

He goes above and beyond to befriend your kids before taking their picture so they give you those REAL smiles in the photos!

He is creative with poses and totally open to what you want to do.

He has captured my family 4 times in the past 2 years!

Yeah we like him that much!

Here is some of his work

If your in San Diego, Riverside or Orange County I highly recommend him!

He does Weddings, Engagments, Newborn and Families!

Tell I sent ya!