Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
2011 in Review
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Oh gosh. A whole year has flown by again. Here is 2011 in review:
This month was my mom's birth month! She turned 53, isn't she beautiful? This month I got a little serious with a couple posts. I discussed the things our kids are not allowed to have and how we let our children cry it out. I wrote about the annoying things people have asked me during my last few months of pregnancy and overall enjoyed myself. I thought I would be miserable being pregnant in the summer but I actually liked it. We spent this month preparing for the birth of our son.
January 2011
In January, I started a new job. I left my old job, we left our old apartment, and I moved forward in a different career path. I moved the blog to this new address. I also turned 24 and spent my birthday with a homemade cake, my daughter, and my husband. We sat in hard chairs because we hadn't gotten any furniture yet and dreamed about the new year. I also started to plan Bean's first birthday party.
February 2011
In January, I started a new job. I left my old job, we left our old apartment, and I moved forward in a different career path. I moved the blog to this new address. I also turned 24 and spent my birthday with a homemade cake, my daughter, and my husband. We sat in hard chairs because we hadn't gotten any furniture yet and dreamed about the new year. I also started to plan Bean's first birthday party.
February 2011
I wrote about my second pregnancy and the anticipation of having two children under two. But even with all the anxiety that caused, I was clear that the baby growing inside me was wanted and loved already. It was also my first year to send out Valentine's Day cards. Speaking of that holiday, it was the first time TP and I actually celebrated Valentine's Day. He took me out to a really nice restaurant and I felt very pretty and loved.
March 2011
March 2011
This was a big month for us. I received possibly the worst medical care in my history. One that left me feeling two inches tall and screaming at the nursing staff. But I moved on to a new practice and found out we were having a baby boy! TP turned 24 and we celebrated his day at home with great food. But the biggest news of the month was Bean's 1st birthday. I thought long and hard about how I wanted to give birth to our son, it was a big struggle for me. Probably the biggest thing that happened to Bean, besides her birthday, was the day we took her pacifier away.
April 2011
We began transitioning into the spring with open arms. I wrote about indulging myself, maple syrup and making large amounts of food for the freezer. This was the month we also created our food budget. But more importantly I wrote a post about how hard work, wise choices, and God's will, gave me my wonderful husband and marriage. Luck had nothing to do with it.
May 2011
We discussed the birth of our son this month and it was a really hard time for me. We decided that another c-section would be the best for us at that time. I also celebrated my second Mother's Day and got a very nice necklace as my gift. But the most important thing this month was my second year wedding anniversary.
June 2011
This month was my mom's birth month! She turned 53, isn't she beautiful? This month I got a little serious with a couple posts. I discussed the things our kids are not allowed to have and how we let our children cry it out. I wrote about the annoying things people have asked me during my last few months of pregnancy and overall enjoyed myself. I thought I would be miserable being pregnant in the summer but I actually liked it. We spent this month preparing for the birth of our son.
July 2011
| Please remember that our son goes by 'Reid' on this blog. All comments that feature his first name or a variation will be deleted. I actually like not having my kids' faces on Google. Thank you for understanding |
Forget everything else that happened or that I blogged about. The most important thing that happened this month was Reid's birth! You can read part 1, part 2, and part 3 of his birth story.
August 2011
This month I spent a lot of time snuggling with Reid. A lot. I ate at a pretty amazing sandwich place, revamped my 101 Goals list and wrote about my credit card woes. I also write Reid a letter and made him sing one of my favorite Price songs.
September 2011
I love September in Central New York. We went apple picking and Bean loved it. As a result of that I made homemade apple sauce. I wrote about weight loss and how it requires confidence, weekends in our home, and how TP put Bean in a bathing suit for bedtime.
October 2011
I attempted a photo challenge this month but failed at it. 30 days was a large committment. But I did manage to get a great self portrait from it. I experienced some major pain with my 5k training and as a result found out that I have some serious knee problems. Bean was a witch for Halloween. I wrote about my belief that our daughter should primarily play dolls that look like her and read stories about positive people of color and how I don't feel bad about leaving my kids. We also took our Christmas card photos.
November 2011
This month Reid sprouted up. I didn't blog about it but he began eating solid food and grew so much he began wearing 6-12 month clothing and 12-24 month socks at only 4 months old! I feautured our morning routine in horrible yet funny pictures, wrote about Bean becoming a model, morning walks, and how I think raising a girl is super important and hard.
December 2011
I began reading Women, Food and God which is an amazing read. I also became inspired by a few bloggers and implemented family dinners and began working on our family's purpose. I realized just how fearless my child is and yearned for that. Bean learned to say "Ho!Ho!Hooo!" after someone says "Merry Christmas" and we enjoyed the Holiday with family and friends.
2011 was a great year for our family and I anticipate that 2012, by the grace of God, will be just as great.
Happy New Year.
2011 was a great year for our family and I anticipate that 2012, by the grace of God, will be just as great.
Happy New Year.
Design Inspiration | Bean's Room
Monday, October 24, 2011
My mom will often call and say, "I found the cutest thing for Bean's room!" and then I roll my eyes, sigh and ask her to describe it. Though it changes from time to time, it usually goes like this:
"It has three monkeys and they are standing on their heads in hot air balloons, holing bananas and there is a clown!"
"No thanks."
Now I am usually grateful for the things my mom purchases for my kids, just not when it comes to room decor. But she always calls me and asks if I want the hideous thing she found and I always say no. For a minute I didn't think she understood, until Saturday when she said:
"I found something for Bean...But I'm not getting it because apparently everything I buy looks too kiddish." Yes! She got it.
I realize that I have children, but does that mean I have to decorate their rooms in clowns, monkeys, and an array of other things that make me feel like I stumbled into the Clearance isle of Babies R Us?
Instead, our little Ms. B is going to get a room like so:
This is the color scheme I've decided on for her room. I love the wall color. But most of all I love the way it all comes together. My favorite part? The rug. The rug is to die for. The best part? It's still in stock.
Small touches like these will make her room so special.
What girl's room could be complete without bunting? Soon Bean will be in a bed and this will be perfect.
I don't like the mirror behind Bean's dresser so I've decided to replace it with an oversized canvas. I'm going to paint it and actually use this Dr. Suess slogan using the technique below
I can't wait to put her room together. Every little girl deserves a dream room.
-M
"It has three monkeys and they are standing on their heads in hot air balloons, holing bananas and there is a clown!"
"No thanks."
Now I am usually grateful for the things my mom purchases for my kids, just not when it comes to room decor. But she always calls me and asks if I want the hideous thing she found and I always say no. For a minute I didn't think she understood, until Saturday when she said:
"I found something for Bean...But I'm not getting it because apparently everything I buy looks too kiddish." Yes! She got it.
I realize that I have children, but does that mean I have to decorate their rooms in clowns, monkeys, and an array of other things that make me feel like I stumbled into the Clearance isle of Babies R Us?
Instead, our little Ms. B is going to get a room like so:
This is the color scheme I've decided on for her room. I love the wall color. But most of all I love the way it all comes together. My favorite part? The rug. The rug is to die for. The best part? It's still in stock.
Small touches like these will make her room so special.
What girl's room could be complete without bunting? Soon Bean will be in a bed and this will be perfect.
I don't like the mirror behind Bean's dresser so I've decided to replace it with an oversized canvas. I'm going to paint it and actually use this Dr. Suess slogan using the technique below
I can't wait to put her room together. Every little girl deserves a dream room.
-M
Design Inspiration | Boy Nursery
Monday, October 17, 2011
Creating a nursery unique to Reid is so important to us now that we will have a space to do so. But there are so many possibilities and it all seems endless. Leaving me sometimes frazzled. My biggest problem is changing direction too much. It's hard for me to stick to a vision and for smaller things that may be fine but when it comes to design, something that can be time consuming and expensive, having a clear vision is key.
The most important thing I did when creating my vision for Reid's room was to think about how I want to feel when I'm in there. Granted, it is his room, he is a baby and won't notice any time soon. But that doesn't mean he isn't developing his own personality.
Our little baby is very calm and cool. He can sit and stare, not making a noise, and when he finds something he likes he will smile really wide and let out a deep laugh. That's what I want his room to be like: calming, cool, with interesting touches.
I've decided on a color scheme:
For the wall color I decided to go gray with a blue undertone. Gray is a neutral color that many people don't think about but it's perfect. Cool and crisp but for some reason it still makes me feel cozy.
In Reid's room I want to use white, misty blues, yellows, and deep browns as accent colors. To me that screams boy.
The animal I decided to use for his room is a whale:
Unique touches will make his room extra special.
Something to keep his books in. These are DIY fabric book holders.
I figure he'll need something to keep all his treasures in.
It seems like a lot to undertake but I know that if I take my time and stay the path and stay selective about what will complete my vision, it will all be worth it.
-M
The most important thing I did when creating my vision for Reid's room was to think about how I want to feel when I'm in there. Granted, it is his room, he is a baby and won't notice any time soon. But that doesn't mean he isn't developing his own personality.
Our little baby is very calm and cool. He can sit and stare, not making a noise, and when he finds something he likes he will smile really wide and let out a deep laugh. That's what I want his room to be like: calming, cool, with interesting touches.
I've decided on a color scheme:
For the wall color I decided to go gray with a blue undertone. Gray is a neutral color that many people don't think about but it's perfect. Cool and crisp but for some reason it still makes me feel cozy.
In Reid's room I want to use white, misty blues, yellows, and deep browns as accent colors. To me that screams boy.
The animal I decided to use for his room is a whale:
Unique touches will make his room extra special.
Something to keep his books in. These are DIY fabric book holders.
I figure he'll need something to keep all his treasures in.
It seems like a lot to undertake but I know that if I take my time and stay the path and stay selective about what will complete my vision, it will all be worth it.
-M
We're moving!
We're moving!
Well, in two months. But we are still moving and I can't help but dream about our new apartment as we wait in anticipation. The new apartment is all one floor but get this: it is 2,000 square feet.
Some homes aren't even that big!
On top of it being a huge apartment, we are allowed to paint and decorate it. Goodbye white walls. Hello paint color anxiety.
The biggest challenge we have as we face this move is furnishing such a large space. We don't really have enough furniture now in our average sized apartment, so I can only imagine that when we get everything moved it will look extremely bare.
But that's the challenge we took on. How to decorate a huge apartment on a shoe string budget.
I will most definitely be channeling Pinterest and a few other design blogs to get inspiration and using every last penny I can scrape up to invest it into the kind of home that we're dreaming of. Who says just because it's an apartment you can't put love, money, and effort into it. After all, we are spending a whole year (maybe more) in this one space and we want it to reflect us.
Did I tell you the best part?
It has a working fire place.
Well, in two months. But we are still moving and I can't help but dream about our new apartment as we wait in anticipation. The new apartment is all one floor but get this: it is 2,000 square feet.
Some homes aren't even that big!
On top of it being a huge apartment, we are allowed to paint and decorate it. Goodbye white walls. Hello paint color anxiety.
The biggest challenge we have as we face this move is furnishing such a large space. We don't really have enough furniture now in our average sized apartment, so I can only imagine that when we get everything moved it will look extremely bare.
But that's the challenge we took on. How to decorate a huge apartment on a shoe string budget.
I will most definitely be channeling Pinterest and a few other design blogs to get inspiration and using every last penny I can scrape up to invest it into the kind of home that we're dreaming of. Who says just because it's an apartment you can't put love, money, and effort into it. After all, we are spending a whole year (maybe more) in this one space and we want it to reflect us.
Did I tell you the best part?
It has a working fire place.
Sprucin’ up the place with Fall Decor
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
I love love love love Fall. It is my favorite time of the year. So much so that I wanted to get married in Fall (fail, hello spring wedding ’09) and I wanted to have all my children in the fall (fail, they both disappointed me with early spring and summer birthdays). But even though I couldn’t get everyone else on my Fall lovin’ page for those things, they have no choice but to get with the program this season.
This weather is particularly beautiful because we live in Central New York where the trees turn brilliant colors and the weather is crisp and perfect beginning mid September. Around that time I get to pull out sweaters and tights. The kids get to put on the cutest hats I could find at the local consignment shop and TP wraps his neck in scarves and my heart jumps a bit.
The best part though? Bringing the outside in and using elements that make you feel warm.
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I think instead of these colors I will stick tot he traditinoal fall colors (yellows, reds, oranges, browns, creams). But I love that I can put these around the apartment like on book shelves and our entertainment center and coffee table. The best thing? I can buy them at Micheals and they never rot because they're made out of a synthetic material.
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I adore these. I can even keep them up duing the winter or even change it up a bit and use cinnamon sticks during the cold winter months.
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These are perfect. I just wonder where I can buy wheat like this. Maybe keep my eyes open at the public farmers market. I wont print my letters out and paste them, I'll just paint them on.
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Who would ever think to use lentils to decorate? But these are perfect and more importanly, look expensive. With lentils at $1.69 a bag at my local grocery store and the use of cheap frames I can make several of these.
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Great for Thanksgiving and also a constant reminder to always give thanks for the blessings we have.
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I have a wreath I like to use for the winter but I don't have one for the fall. I think this would be perfect. Easy assembly with a big wow factor. Also, I just can't get enough of anything that uses family name initials.
I'm going to attempt to do all of these crafts but doesn't it seem like after Oct. 1st the year flys by? Before I know it's the New Year and nothing I wanted to do was accomplished. But I have a feeling this Fall we'll be spending a lot of time in doors with the weather dropping to cool levels.
What are some Fall crafts you want to do? Or what's on your Fall to do list?
This weather is particularly beautiful because we live in Central New York where the trees turn brilliant colors and the weather is crisp and perfect beginning mid September. Around that time I get to pull out sweaters and tights. The kids get to put on the cutest hats I could find at the local consignment shop and TP wraps his neck in scarves and my heart jumps a bit.
The best part though? Bringing the outside in and using elements that make you feel warm.
I think instead of these colors I will stick tot he traditinoal fall colors (yellows, reds, oranges, browns, creams). But I love that I can put these around the apartment like on book shelves and our entertainment center and coffee table. The best thing? I can buy them at Micheals and they never rot because they're made out of a synthetic material.
I adore these. I can even keep them up duing the winter or even change it up a bit and use cinnamon sticks during the cold winter months.
These are perfect. I just wonder where I can buy wheat like this. Maybe keep my eyes open at the public farmers market. I wont print my letters out and paste them, I'll just paint them on.
Who would ever think to use lentils to decorate? But these are perfect and more importanly, look expensive. With lentils at $1.69 a bag at my local grocery store and the use of cheap frames I can make several of these.
Great for Thanksgiving and also a constant reminder to always give thanks for the blessings we have.
I have a wreath I like to use for the winter but I don't have one for the fall. I think this would be perfect. Easy assembly with a big wow factor. Also, I just can't get enough of anything that uses family name initials.
I'm going to attempt to do all of these crafts but doesn't it seem like after Oct. 1st the year flys by? Before I know it's the New Year and nothing I wanted to do was accomplished. But I have a feeling this Fall we'll be spending a lot of time in doors with the weather dropping to cool levels.
What are some Fall crafts you want to do? Or what's on your Fall to do list?
What we do all day
Thursday, August 4, 2011
If it weren't against my company's policy, I'd probably be back to work already. I'm feeling really great physically and emotionally enough to go back to my (not so) strenuous job but I am fighting those thoughts. I'm trying to stay in the moment (something I have trouble doing) and I am trying to enjoy my time home with our new son as much as possible.
I do my best to fill my days with things like house work, watching inspirational weight loss stories on Netflix, and feeding him. But I'm working on more picture taking time and most importantly...more snuggling. After all, I know what it's like to have a toddler who stops the destruction of my house long enough for kisses and snuggles. I am very much aware of the fact that this period in Gus' life is fleeting.
-M
-M
Shoes off policy?
Monday, July 18, 2011
I never grew up with a shoes off policy but I'm not starting to wonder if I should implement one in our house. I hate how dirty hard wood floors get and when I put Bean to bed I look at the bottom of her feet and they are filthy. I think it's is a combination of us tracking dirt in every day (that's true with our kitchen floor that needs to be mopped every day and better than that would be twice a day) and me not keeping up with sweeping and mopping.
But I'm wondering if anyone else does this and if so do they have any tips? Of course I looked it up and people suggest providing clean socks (particularly in the summer) or slippers for guests.
I have no problem with the slippers but providing clean socks for someone who is only over a few minutes means that they'd use them and then they'd have to be put in the dirty laundry. After all, who wants to use someone else's socks? Then that means TP has more laundry to do.
Slippers are fine too but would people be weirded out to share slippers with other people, particularly if it's the summer and someone's bare feet were in them? Also, how many pairs of slippers would I need to purchase?
We have two entrance ways to our apartment. We use the back entrance way the most because that's where we park the car. That entrance way is a more traditional mud room that has a bench. I could purchase an outside bench pillow to sit on it and a few whicker baskets so that people can exchange their shoes for our slippers and/or socks. I would have to find a new place to the trash to sit but I'm not worried about that because there is a landing before you reach the bench area. The other entrance to our apartment is from the front and that's where guests would most likely enter. There's no seating out there but I could purchase something for them to sit on and provide baskets for footwear exchange.
Does anyone have any insight? Do you have a no shoe policy? If so how does it work? If you don't, why don't you?
I'm really trying to figure this out.
-M
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Pinterest is a new craze that I found on the internet through a few bloggers and some friends. It really is this amazingly creative way to keep track of things that inspire you.
The only thing that bothers me is that you have to be "invited" to join the website. I don't really know what this means but I clicked a button to be sent an invitation and was sent a reply quickly after. The Pinterest team thanked me for my interest and told me I was on a "waiting list" and I would know as soon as possible if I was accepted to join the community. I shrugged it off and then checked my email finally before I went to bed and saw that I had been "selected."
This made me extremely happy, like I was selected to sit at the cool kids table. Then I thought, that's exactly what this company wants me to feel like. To my knowledge there is no special criteria to join the group (after-all, any nobody like myself can request an invitation) but they hold off your acceptance making you anxiously wait. This is extremely stuck up in my opinion but a brilliant marketing ploy.
So after a few minutes of looking around, I created an inspirational board for home decor ideas. Here's what I'm loving right now:
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-M
The only thing that bothers me is that you have to be "invited" to join the website. I don't really know what this means but I clicked a button to be sent an invitation and was sent a reply quickly after. The Pinterest team thanked me for my interest and told me I was on a "waiting list" and I would know as soon as possible if I was accepted to join the community. I shrugged it off and then checked my email finally before I went to bed and saw that I had been "selected."
This made me extremely happy, like I was selected to sit at the cool kids table. Then I thought, that's exactly what this company wants me to feel like. To my knowledge there is no special criteria to join the group (after-all, any nobody like myself can request an invitation) but they hold off your acceptance making you anxiously wait. This is extremely stuck up in my opinion but a brilliant marketing ploy.
So after a few minutes of looking around, I created an inspirational board for home decor ideas. Here's what I'm loving right now:
TP and I are so spoiled now that we have our own office and I don't ever see us going back to not having one. I love the simplicity of this office and how it's all white. I'm really loving white right now.
What isn't there to love about this? I love keeping our bed linen light and airy but unfortunately our light and airy Ikea duvet didn't mix well with our 16 month old. Talk about stains. I think when I replace it (soon, hopefully) I'll go with something darker and when our kids are old enough to know that Mommy and Daddy's room is off limits, switch to something like this.
Loving this, but again there is so much white! Gah, maybe people who don't have kids with homes that look like this were on to something. All I can see with this picture is little smudges of jelly finger prints.
-M
family mission statement
Monday, March 28, 2011
I've been working on my photography business and creating a mission statement. Through that process I began to think that having a family mission statement would be a great idea. Pretty soon I turned to the ultimate source for answers and ideas: Google.
I typed "family mission statement" into the search engine and found a lot of information about why family mission statements are important and how to construct one. The best example I found was from simplemom.net and it included 20 questions to help create a mission statement:
1. What are the strengths of each member of our family?
2. Collectively, we are at our best when we are…
3. Collectively, we are at our worst when we are…
4. If we had a completely free day together as a family, how would we spend it?
5. What are practical ways we can serve each other?
6. What are practical ways we can serve others outside our family?
7. Name three things you think you could do better as a family.
8. What would people say today about our family as a whole?
9. What would we like people to say about our family as a whole in 30 years?
10. If our home could be filled with one emotion, what would it be?
11. Name three adjectives we would like people to use to describe our home environment.
12. If we could name one principle from which we want our family to operate, what would it be?
13. What are the top four priorities we want our family to value?
14. What is the main purpose of our home?
15. What is the secondary purpose of our home?
16. What is the individual purpose in life of each member of our family?
17. What is one way we are unique as a family?
18. Describe the status of our family in 10 years…
20. What is the purpose of life?
These questions are great because they get to the core of what can make a family functionally happy and not just rely on the love cop out. Those of us who have families do what we do in terms of chores or obligations because we love our family. But honestly, that isn't enough. I don't pick up TP's dirty underwear (or he mine) off the floor just because I love him.
I do it for additional reasons like keeping our house clean or to make sure the flow of laundry remains manageable. It's foolish for families to think that love is enough because with a divorce rate of 50% in America, it's obvious that it isn't. It's about respect, seeing a bigger picture, and much more. To create a mission statement that attempts to get at the core of why we function (or don't) a certain way is vital to our family.
After we create our mission statement I will print it on pretty paper, frame it, and hang it somewhere in our apartment. Our statement will serve as a constant reminder why we do certain things when love just isn't reason enough.
-M
I typed "family mission statement" into the search engine and found a lot of information about why family mission statements are important and how to construct one. The best example I found was from simplemom.net and it included 20 questions to help create a mission statement:
1. What are the strengths of each member of our family?
2. Collectively, we are at our best when we are…
3. Collectively, we are at our worst when we are…
4. If we had a completely free day together as a family, how would we spend it?
5. What are practical ways we can serve each other?
6. What are practical ways we can serve others outside our family?
7. Name three things you think you could do better as a family.
8. What would people say today about our family as a whole?
9. What would we like people to say about our family as a whole in 30 years?
10. If our home could be filled with one emotion, what would it be?
11. Name three adjectives we would like people to use to describe our home environment.
12. If we could name one principle from which we want our family to operate, what would it be?
13. What are the top four priorities we want our family to value?
14. What is the main purpose of our home?
15. What is the secondary purpose of our home?
16. What is the individual purpose in life of each member of our family?
17. What is one way we are unique as a family?
18. Describe the status of our family in 10 years…
- financially:
- intellectually:
- emotionally:
- relationally with each other:
- communally in our environment:
- physically:
- spiritually:
20. What is the purpose of life?
These questions are great because they get to the core of what can make a family functionally happy and not just rely on the love cop out. Those of us who have families do what we do in terms of chores or obligations because we love our family. But honestly, that isn't enough. I don't pick up TP's dirty underwear (or he mine) off the floor just because I love him.
I do it for additional reasons like keeping our house clean or to make sure the flow of laundry remains manageable. It's foolish for families to think that love is enough because with a divorce rate of 50% in America, it's obvious that it isn't. It's about respect, seeing a bigger picture, and much more. To create a mission statement that attempts to get at the core of why we function (or don't) a certain way is vital to our family.
After we create our mission statement I will print it on pretty paper, frame it, and hang it somewhere in our apartment. Our statement will serve as a constant reminder why we do certain things when love just isn't reason enough.
-M
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