ah...puppets

i saw this on you are my fave today and had to share!

 

they are so cute..you need to visit the site to see how they look finished...

 

but they are diy puppets..very easy to do.

 

the sweet part..you can download them for free!

 

O will love these. :)

 

here we go again...

my "elmo" toes and O's elmo "swippers"

 

so it seems that my toes just can't live without seeing my doctor's office.

ugh.

i'm off again to see the doctor this afternoon.

i've been taking anti-inflammatory meds for my swollen "digits" and the first day it helped.

i felt like a new person!

the second, third, fourth..you get the picture....not so much.

they have been manageable and not terribly swollen...

until...

this morning.

i could feel it under the covers and i acted like it wasn't there hoping it would magically disappear once i uncovered my feet...but it didn't go away.

my problem toe was big and red and throbbing.

i don't get the whole sleeping and waking up with big toes thing.

it's annoying.

in addition to my big swollen "digit"...

(makes me laugh every time i write it and yes, it is a word my doctor used. hehe) 

i also had three other toes that were red and sore to the touch.

 

OUCH!

 

it makes it very hard to walk...move...just live. i'm getting a little frustrated because tomorrow will be two weeks with this same damn swollen toe.

 

something i never thought i'd say..

"Please doc..help my toes!!"



tuck me in

i love the feel of this room!

the tufted head board, the deep blue sofa, mostly neutral but warm

and that rug...gah!

love.

i'm thinking this room might be put in my new house folder. ;)

 

source

 

inch by inch

over the weekend, i asked b to take me to West Elm. i really wanted to just get out of the house and look at some fun accessories. i can always count on w.e.!

 

we picked up this cute little white inch worm...not really have a specific place in mind for it...i knew i'd find one once we got home.

 

every time O sees it, he points and says "m"?

close buddy..close. :)

next to the stack of mags with our new little worm sitting on top is a favorite of mine.

b gave me this white and antiqued brass owl for Christmas and i have to say it was an unexpected gift that i instantly fell in love with. i love how it opens in the middle giving me a little hiding space for rings etc.

my dresser is simple but i like it that way. i like organization and for things to have their own homes like my jewelry. that dish next to the gray owl is always in use...there is always either a pair of earrings, a necklace or a ring with bunches of clips and bobby pins in it.

and they are typically items i wear on a daily basis so they never get put back in my jewelry drawer.

 

the top of my dresser has always been an eye sore to me because we have a tv on top of it.

luckily it's a white flat screen. still, i've had a hard time getting things to look right next to that tv but i'm starting to like the direction it's going finally. 

let's start with...

source

 

hi...

 

today, i stayed in my pjs all day. i needed a break.

 

just a lazy day with O.

 

and that is what we got.

 

last week was a little crazy. it was a weird week. i think that is why i did not

do any posts after wednesday.

 

weird why?

 

well...

 

after i posted about my blood work on monday and had my root canal on tuesday,

 i got a call on wednesday.

it was from my doctor's office.

the nurse told me they received the results from my blood work and 

my doctor wanted to see me as soon as possible.

 

well thursday, we had a playdate in the morning so after nap, i took Oliver with me to talk with the doctor about my results. 

 

let me just say, taking your toddler with you to an afternoon doctors appointment is not the best idea.

don't get me wrong, Oliver did so well and was so patient...

for the first 45 minutes.

after that, he was getting very eager to get out of his stroller...of course this is the time that i was finally able to talk with the doctor.

luckily i had some snacks and toys to help (sorta) keep him preoccupied.

 

 my doctor informed me that my blood work showed extremely high

ANA levels.

 

huh?

i needed some explaining on what "ana" meant.

 

well..

ANA is short for

antinuclear antibodies.

 

so what does that mean?

 

our immune system normally kills off foreign substances. things that don't belong in our body.

some times, the body will create antinuclear antibodies (ana) that attach to the body's own cells as if they were foreign substances. causing damage or destroying good cells.

 

this is considered an autoimmune disease.

 

   from what my doctor explained to me, ana can be found in a number of blood tests.

this doesn't always mean something is wrong or that someone has an autoimmune disease...

 

but in my case..it does.

 

since my ANA levels were beyond high

 

and my multiple (strange) symptoms like...

 

- exhaustion

(taking naps when Oliver does..which i normally do not.),

 

- extreme acheness...all.over.my.body 

(to the point i was taking ibuprofen every day and stretching before and after bed)

 

and swollen digits

(this is so weird. i would wake up with a painful swollen toe and after a couple days

it would go away.

after a week or two, i would wake up with the same swollen toe only on the opposite foot.)

 

my doctor told me he was really concerned because i should "not" be

having these symptoms at my age.

 

ok....

 

he told me there were many different types of autoimmune diseases and in order to figure out what was going on with me, i needed to have more blood work done and i need to visit a specialist.

 

so supposedly, this specialist is very hard to get an appointment with...like 3-4 months out.

my sweet doc was going to try and "pull his weight" and get me in sooner.

 

so after five vials and a promise that my doctor would "pull his weight",

Oliver and i went home to eat tacos with b.

 

that was thursday. on friday, i got an e-mail from my doctor saying my appointment with the specialist would be April 2nd....

 

uh...yeah.

 

luckily about an hour later, one of his nurses called and said they got me a new appointment

for the end of February. i'll take it!

that's better then April!

 

so as of today, that is where all of this stands.

 

i didn't want to dwell on it and i also did not want to try to figure out what i have.

there is not use in that.

 

so life went on.

 

friday..

O got his haircut and did a great job..so we got cupcakes and cookies as a treat.

 

saturday...

we all went to West Elm and that night b and I had our second date night

(i love date night! thank you AS!!).

 

sunday...

i had a 2 hr client meeting (lots to do for this client..phew! in a good way of course!)

after my meeting, we all went out for dinner.

 

so there you are. i've caught you up on what happened over the last five days.

 

hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

hello

i am done with my root canal. 

ugh!

 sitting in a chair for an hour and half getting a tooth drilled is no fun.

i think the worst part was how my head was positioned during the whole procedure because i left with the worst kink in my neck...but i'm not complaining...well just a little.

honestly, i'm just so happy it's over with! 

let's talk about all the sweaters/sweatshirts that have been all over the web.

you know..the ones that have a "saying" on them.

like this one above 

this one...this one...or this pretty popular one?

i personally think they are super cute. 

especially when they are paired with something unexpected like this...

weekend recap

i know..i am a little..okay really late getting my post out today.

 it's been an unexpected crazy day.

i've been having some health issues lately that have made me scratch my head at and so what does someone do when they scratch their head at medical issues...

(besides look online for answers) 

visit a doctor. 

and..that's just what i did. 

my doctor squeezed me in this morning..

so off we (O and i) went to visit them. 

 i was asked lots of questions, had lots of blood drawn and had some x-rays conducted. 

even though i was not happy about giving blood ...

(i am a fainter...big time. don't put me in a chair because i will fall right out of it and land on the floor with my hair covering my face and a body full of cold sweat.)

...i am glad i did. 

i know studying the blood can tell a doctor a lot when things aren't so clear.

okay..enough about that...

how was your weekend? mine...pretty good. 

we didn't do a whole lot but it was a nice weekend. 

the biggest thing i did this weekend was...

get my hair colored!! 

before the color.

as i mentioned last week..i decided to go with some ombre coloring. 

i was excited about it and a little nervous too. 

i hadn't colored my hair in eight years...

but after my hair was washed and i got to see a peak of the color..

i got pretty darn happy about what i was seeing. 

after with ombre coloring.

it took about two hours from start to finish but wasn't messy or embarrassing like some coloring can be. 

after my hair was dry, my stylist decided to give me some "sexy" waves which made me do a triple take because my hair is normally stick straight. 

here is a silly self portrait that i shared with my friends on instagram. 

i really do like it..it's taken me a little bit to get used to especially this morning when

 my stick straight hair returned...but it's so nice to have my hair a little lighter.

it definitely helps with the January blues. ;)

on Friday, i sent some concept drawings to my clients for their kitchen but i still felt like i had one more idea in me. so on Sunday i cranked a new option for them to chew on and was pretty darn happy with it. 

hopefully they were too. we will see this Sunday.

meanwhile...my boys had some much needed one on one time together. 

b had been gone all week and even though O is still too little to say he misses his appa...

it was very apparent (and so so sweet) that he had missed him. 

so that was my weekend...see not too exciting but it was nice. 

Happy Monday!

p.s. tomorrow...i get a root canal! Yahoo...don't  you wish you were getting one too? ;)

friday foto

it's friday!! 

phew what a week...

i was solo almost the week and it was..

rough.

i'm so ready for the weekend. 

are you?

got any plans?

i am hoping for a little break and some r&r. 

happy weekend.

via pinterest...

source

jumping on the wagon...

the ombre wagon that is.

after gosh....almost 8 years..i am getting my hair colored. 

i've been wanting to add some color to my hair for years. i am not sure why i haven't done it sooner. 

every year the thought would pop into my mind and then the year would quickly go by with 

no appointment set.  

well this year is different. i've decided i need to finally get with it. in December i got my hair cut and i brought it up with my stylist. she agreed that i could use some. ha! we discussed highlights vs. ombre and i really like the fact that you don't have to worry about roots with ombre coloring. 

uh...easy to maintain. i'm in! 

i'm getting really excited to get it done this weekend. 

so my natural hair color is very close to Rachel Bilson's hair above and

Kate Beckinsale's below.

 i am hoping my hair turns out very similar to either one of these beautiful ladies. 

 we will see! 

a flutter

a new year...a new calender.

do you ever get a calender just because you love the look..not so much for the use of it?

 i picked this one up at Anthro before Christmas and wrapped it up for b. 

it's not the most ideal calender for us to have. it's quite large and it's not really made for someone to write appointments, birthdays or any other little notes on it...but that's ok. 

really, i bought it because i fell in love with the butterflies, beetles and dragonflies.

i was standing in the store looking at the back of the calender..you know how they display some of the other months..well i started to think of how amazing it would be if at the end of 2013,

 i went and had all 12 months framed.

ooo...and then i thought about our future house and how great they all would look together in our 

"future" dining room, entry or hallway! 

mmmm....

i got excited and bought it. 

when b unwrapped it..i told him my idea and well this one of the many reasons why i married him...

he loved the idea.

smile. 

states away

with most of mine and b's family living in other states, it means we don't get to spend much time with them. we might see our family members twice (maybe three times) a year. so that doesn't give Oliver an opportunity to really get to know all the names of his family members. i've been wanting to put something together for him like...picture magnets, a photo book or maybe a framed picture collage...but really none of these excite me. i guess that is why i haven't don't it yet. 

it's been kind of bothering me though that i don't have anything for him.

until recently. 

over the weekend, i was looking at the site called pinhole press and a picture of one of their products flashed on their front page. instantly i knew this would be the perfect solution. 

pinhole offers "flashcards" that you can personalize with your own pictures. Oliver loves cards, he loves puzzles and he loves to look at pictures. also we are learning the alphabet right now...so i know this is right up his alley. i started working on a set for him over the weekend and i think the hardest part for me right now, is finding up to date pictures of all our family members. ha! 

i can't wait to finish these cards up and order them! 

i really think they will be a hit! 

also it will make me feel so much better knowing he's learning who his family is 

and having fun time doing it. 

oh and look what else they offer...

 personalized puzzles...

and something i loved playing when i was a kid...

a memory game. 

this would be fun to do later, when O is a little older. 

weekend recap

so...how was your weekend? 

did it go by super fast or was that just me wanting to spend more time with my b? 

so let's recap..it wasn't a super busy or crazy with activities type of weekend but we did have a good one...

on Friday, O and i ventured out into the rain to pick up some necessities...diapers for little one and to partake in some bookstore fun. well the bookstore didn't end in the fun i had hoped. Mr. O LOVES going to the bookstore because there is a train table and a train table to a train loving boy is like winning the lottery.

after 45 minutes of playing (with others) he was not happy that momma wanted to leave to go home for lunch. how dare i? as we were leaving...O decided to express himself with the loudest. cry. ever. oh and if that wasn't bad enough...there was a woman (why is there always a person that does this?) who stared at me the entire way out of the store. as if she had never heard a child cry or throw a tantrum..really? not only did O cry as we were leaving...he cried almost the entire time we drove home. towards the end...i had a cry too. it was a rough morning. 

luckily things got better and my sweet O came back. we snuggled for a little bit before lunch and then had a good nap which is probably why there was a cry fest that morning.

 #tootired

 on Saturday, b took O for a couple hours so that i could work on one of my projects. i got a lot done but phew...this kitchen remodel is a tough one. the space is awkward but i was able to crank out three solid options for my client with a fourth one in the works. yahoo!

i also got around to ordering samples off of my (new-ish) BM Color Stories deck. i'm super excited to get the samples. they are for another client that i am helping. she's asked me to help her with interior finishes on her new construction home. the great thing about ordering paint samples for this client is that we love the same colors...so it's pretty easy..i choose what i would like and then show her! win. win.

on Sunday, we had a laid back day of just family time. i seriously love this kid's smile. if you could hear the giggles that came with this smile. sigh..it's pretty awesome. 

what is crazy is that he's been with us for a whole 9 months now! can you believe it? 

time really does fly!

and since we are talking about O...i have to share these snaps i took last week. 

what can i say...my kid rocks the ball cap. this is how he wore his hat on our walk that day.

 i asked him if he could see and he said yes. 

see? 

he really is a cool kid. 

Happy Monday! 

friday foto

i wish i was more daring with my clothes...i love these shoes but would look like such a 

dweeb wearing them.

i'm a plain jane compared to these glittery gems. 

Happy Friday! 

my girl

we rescued her just 8 years ago at a wee 8 weeks old. she was a strong willed puppy for sure...naughty at times but made up for her naughty-ness by giving lots and lots of sweet kisses...always on the mouth or nose. we used to call her Ardini because she would get out of the kitchen during the day and we could never figure out how she did it. she wasn't always obedient either and many times b and I would joke that she was preparing us for parenthood. 

Noah didn't fall in love with her at first for obvious reasons...it had been his domain for five years. after a year or so, she had him wrapped around her paw.  when it came to children, she wasn't always the loving pup we knew. she was more protective of Noah and us then friendly with the little ones. this was something that i worried about.  

after a couple years, she became less wild and more settled. occasionally letting us know that she still had a little spunk in her but mostly laid back. 

this past year was a huge change for her and for the first couple months Oliver was home, 

i worried..a lot about her. 

she went through a lot last year. 

from loosing her best friend to having surgery on her other ear which meant she was away from us for more then 30 hours (by herself) and of course the biggest change, dealing with a new (little) person in the house. 

a little one who didn't care to much for her. 

she had to get used to little one growling at her, hitting her, pushing her, toys being rammed into her legs... almost every single day. 

she had to get used to the crying, the screaming, the new smells, the new schedule. 

a lot.

she surprised me though.... 

after all this. she never lost her sweetness. 

she gives more kisses now then ever and even to little one who is starting to warm up to her. 

she's adjusted so well and with such grace. 

i'm so proud of her. 

she's my girl. 

apparently...

 

 a magnifying glass is needed in order to read my last post.

gah!

i promise you, i am not trying to make you squint.

i have tried going into our template settings and changing it to a more suitable font size but blogger is just not having that.

it's been a rough week for poor blogger.

hopefully all the glitches are being worked out this week and we will be back to a normal reading font soon. 

 

 

eclectic

-Deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

i met up with a new client(s) this weekend. yahoo!

a sweet down to earth couple with two bubbly daughters. we talked for almost two hours and in those two hours we discussed everything from kitchens to children to schools to skin care. i love that. 

the main reason i was there was for their 1940's kitchen and the need for more function and personality. 

it's an odd space, very open..too open. i joked about the openness feeling like a dance floor and to my surprise..that is what they've done in that space...many times.

ha! who knew? 

so the kitchen is in need of pretty much everything...walls, flooring, cabinetry...charm. 

i'm not sure what i'm going to do in this space just yet but one thing i know is it is going to be a little challenging, 

the space, not so much the style. 

i know what the style needs to be...after talking with them and looking at the rooms adjacent to the kitchen, 

the feel of their new kitchen needs to be eclectic.

a perfect mixture of the husband and wife's taste.  

source

new wears

side note: blogger has yet to fix the upload feature in internet explorer so i had to down load Chrome in order to do some blogging. for those of you who are having the same problem..it's actually pretty easy to install and  use....or maybe i'm the only one who still uses internet explorer? ugh.

okay..enough of that..let's get to the topic of this post...

 as i mentioned before, my sisters and i do a sister swap for Christmas. 

we've been doing this for years...and years...and years.
we set a fixed amount and a theme and then we give each other ideas on what they can buy.

this year we decided to do accessories.

i have to admit, i went a little over board with the options i gave to my sisters...
what can i say accessories are like candy...the more the merrier i am.
no really..i just love to have options and i feel like the perfect accessory can really finish off an outfit.

so this year...
i received these earrings from my older sister.

i. love. them!

i featured these a while back...and i'm so happy they are now in my jewelry collection.

i also got this necklace from my younger sister that i've worn almost every day since i opened it..

 it's from my wish list that i posted last month. i love how dainty it is.
this necklace really is a perfect everyday accessory.
i love how it is on a shorter chain and that it fits in the dip
(is there a specific word for this part of the neck?) of my neck.
Edor, who created this beautiful necklace also features it in black and seafoam
which could be just as stunning.

so what did i get my sisters?
well my older sister asked for this cowl scarf and my younger sister
asked for this cute chevron clutch.



friday foto

 

well i normally do just a picture on Friday...but my upload feature on blogger seems

 to have taken the day off...

so i won't be able to share one with you.

darn!

 

hopefully it will be back by Monday!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 



new year = change

 

this year will bring some changes to our little family.

i'm excited about them and nervous at the same time. we won't have control over some things and we will have to trust that certain things were meant to be...but we are ready to take that leap.

 

last year, b and i talked and talked and talked....and talked some more about the changes that needed to take place this year. we made mental notes of all those items hoping we will be able to achieve them this year.

fingers crossed...

soooo....

the first item on our list is...

 finding a new home.

source
this means we will be putting our current (and first) home (back) on the market.
 

you may remember we had our house on the market in the fall of 2011 and into the spring of 2012.
 we actually took the house off the market less then a month before Oliver came home.

finding a new home before Oliver came just wasn't in the cards last year and we were okay with that..but we knew in the back of our minds that our 1300 square foot home would become a little crowded once Oliver got adjusted...and our little man is pretty darn adjusted.

there isn't a room in our house that doesn't have a lego, truck, train or book laying on the floor...and i am okay with that but we would like to find a house that is bigger for many reasons other then just for Oliver and his toys.

 

we love having our family come visit us but right now, we do not have any rooms for them to stay in.

big bummer.

 we would also love to throw more parties and not just in the summer.

i have to admit..i was pretty bummed this year.

i really wanted to throw a cookie party with our friends. you know the fun ones where there are billions of cookies and candies and a fun hot cocoa bar and people get to mingle and have fun. can't really do that in our tiny home.

we would also like to have the extra space if we do decide down the road to grow our family...or if i want to get back into making things.

 

so a new house is first on our agenda.

 

you would think that having our house on the market just last year, our list of things to do before being listed would be short...

nope. it's not.

 

big sad face.

 

 in less then one year, walls have been scuffed, floors have mysteriously stained, 

handles have become worn...and so on. it's amazing what a year can do to a house!

 

i have to be honest as excited as i am about finding a new home..i am so not looking forward to the process.

 

first off, i'm pretty picky about houses and with this being our second home..i know i do not want a remodel...not with a toddler and a traveling husband.
that equals a big fat...no fun. 

 

i also don't want to go broke on our second house...which brings me to our second/third change...
oh wait...sorry i'm getting off track so that will be for another post...

 

the thought of showing our house with Oliver (and his toy tornadoes) makes me instantly start to sweat. i am the type of person who thinks my house should appear like a show room. no i don't light a candle or play music..but i do mop, sweep, dust and fluff before every showing.
i don't leave garbage cans full or things on the counter, i don't run the dishwasher or dryer while i have a showing. everything is picked up, things are placed where they should and the house is misted with a light scent.
 

last year, i could put the dogs in the car with the windows down and clean the house with no worries...except making sure i got out of the house in time.

so as you can see...i'm not looking forward to this go around.

 

 BUT

 

i believe this is our year to move and i do believe we will find a new home.
i believe it will all work out according to God's plan.

 

so let the for sale sign go up...

in two months.

and if you think about it...
say a little prayer for me with the showings!

thanks friend. 

reflecting

 

Happy New Year!

 

ooo...a fresh start.

 

and some changes. 

 

i love to look back at the past year.

 

it's a great time to reflect...

on the good..and the bad.

 and then move on.

 

2012 was probably the most emotional year of my life.

so many ups and downs,

twists and turns.

 

it challenged to me to the max.

 

i thought after going through three years of all the loops and bumps we had experienced that i had built up enough patience for a life time.

 

boy was i wrong.

 

often times i had to remind myself that i just needed to give things more time.

 

and time is exactly what was needed...

 

i feel like 2012 couldn't have

ended more perfectly.

 

enough talking..shall we take a look back?

 

 

well i think most of you know...that the highlight of last year was this moment.

 

with very heavy hearts, we had watched our son grow up through pictures

for over a year

 

and last April,

 

he finally came home!!

 

smile. wow...what a day that was!

 

 he's such a blessing and we are so very lucky to have him as our son.

 

gosh i just love that boy to pieces!

 

but with pure bliss came deep sadness.

 

just two weeks after welcoming Oliver home.

 

we had to say goodbye to our sweet Noah.

 

 

for almost 13 years, Noah had been apart of our family.

 

he was mine and b's first dog together and man, he was the sweetest most loveable dog

you could ever ask for.

 

saying goodbye to him and trying to keep a happy face for Oliver

 was the hardest thing i had ever had to do.

 

i really wanted to just crawl up and cry for days.

 

 i still get tears thinking about my sweet Noah and miss him so.

 

but...life had to go on and it did.

 

as each month passed, we got to see a little more of Oliver and his little (some times big) personallity. we also started to adjust to our new life as parents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we layed low for the first three months..keeping to ourselves and just taking each other in.

i believe these were the hardest months of the year. the challenges, the emotions..it was very raw but i'm so greatful for them because we are so much stronger because of those hard times.

 

 

before we knew it, it was summer and we were celebrating our 12 year wedding anniversary.

 

July came quickly after and we decided to take Oliver on a 12 hour car ride

to Indiana so he could meet his extended family...

 

 

and what a trip that was...

 

 

as the summer slowly fadded into fall...

we got a little giddy planning Oliver's first birthday party at home.

 

 

 

which turned out to be a big success!

 

 we patted ourselves on the back and moved on to the next activity...

planning fall adventures we could finally do with Oliver.

 

looking back at the whole year, these final five months were probably my favorite.

it was a part of life we had looked forward to for so long and we were finally living it.

in September, we went to many birthday parties...

 

 

 

and celebrated someone special, Arden...

our sweet girl who turned eight.

 

 

the first fall activity was an apple orchard that was an hour and a half away but well worth the drive.

 

 

and they continued from there..

in October, we visited the pumpkin patch...

 

 

the Country Living fair...

 

 

and hit the zoo for Halloween.

 

 

on the second to the last day of October, we finalized our family.

 

In November, we prepared for Thanksgiving by doing our very first thankful tree...

a tradition i plan to keep.

 

 

and since Thanksgiving came early and quickly, that meant preparations for Christmas came early too...

 

 

we broke out some plum.tree.studio classics...

which Oliver called "crocky" aka: frosty.

 

 

and headed back to the zoo to meet Santa.

 

in December, b and i had our first date night since before O came home.

 

 

 

and we took Oliver to Calloway to see the lights..a tradition of ours.

 

mid month, we went to Aunt "Toosie"'s house to make Christmas cookies...

 

 

and managed to squeeze in one last light show at the Botanical Gardens.

 

before we knew it,  

it was time to celebrate our first

Christmas with Oliver..

 

 

 

 

the year ended quietly with Oliver sleeping peacefully in his bed and me and b watching the glittery ball drop in New York.

 

so there it is in a nutshell...or a really long ass post...but that's our 2012.

 

before i go..i wanted to share this with you.

i love this quote, i think it really sums up this past year for me.

“A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us.”

-Henri J.M. Nouwen

 

Happy New Years!