Baseball Baby Shower

Realized I never shared the Baseball invite I created for the shower or the shower

Mom was on top of it and finally took pictures at this shower. We host a lot of showers... we never have pictures of them... we are terrible about it. And we have a few really awesome ladies that do a lot of really great decorating. 

 How adorable are these cupcakes?

 This lovely young lady made them. She's awesome and adorable. We all dressed up in baseball fan attire for the shower- it was the most comfortable I have ever been at a shower. She actually is a wedding planner/coordinator (I am not sure I have her title right... ). Doesn't that sound like fun?!

I wish I could show you more pictures but for privacy I am going to keep it to the ones without people ... 

Hope you enjoyed!

PS I received the pictures from the photographer for Bella's 1st birthday... I will try to share that soon! SOOOO love the way her birthday came out!

Christmas Tour {Corinnea's House}

I decorated a little bit last year but my heart wasn't in it. This year, for the first time in about 8 years, I decorated. I wanted to do more, but there's always next year right? 

 I love chandeliers. Decorating them is so fun. Jess found this garland for me at Michael's, I added some mini glass balls and a pearl garland given to me by a dear friend (thanks Vicki!).

 I bought a tree from Costco this year. This thing better last, just sayin. It comes pre-lit which is amazing. I also received an early gift from my hubby and Jess in the form of a new fireplace surround and mantel! You can see an old version of this area here. Huge improvement no? I kept meaning to do a big reveal but life just keeps happening.

 I love it. 

I love this room. 

No, it's not really cold enough for a fire but I don't care. 

 My tiny German village found a home on the top of my cabinets. I may leave it up for awhile. I'll add green rolling hills when spring comes. 

 I have these cool mirrors gifted to my by my mom in law. Jess accessorized it with my ridiculously heavy glass balls I collected in Germany. 

 I even pulled out the snow babies this year. Anyone else ever collect those? I guess I should have taken a closeup.... they are frolicking on top of the hutch.

 This is a favorite view of mine. I love the layers.

 For my dining room chandelier I placed two dowels across the opening and strung a million balls from them. I may leave these up year round too. 

 This wreath is new. I found it at Micheal's and embellished it with the ribbon and sparkly purple branch things. I strung small snowflake lights through it but forgot to turn them on for the photo. Target had a cute selection of battery lights this year. 

This is my view as I sit here and write. Well, except now my feet are propped on the table and the coffee is almost gone. 

Thanks for taking my little tour. 

Christmas Tour { Jessica's House }

*oops! forgot to post this!*

We just thought it would be fun to give you a Christmas tour of our houses... mine isn't much different from last year but I tried to tweak everything just a little to make it fun and fresh

The biggest change was the ribbon. I went to Michaels in search of the ribbon I bought last year, I just needed a little bit more. Wouldn't you know I actually found it... but I also found this beautiful glitter ribbon. And since it was on sale and the stuff I bought last year wasn't I decided it was be meant to be! 

This stuff is gorgeous, it sparkles like crazy. 

I redecorated my chalkboard wall. There was a slight issue with the chalkboard pens... apparently if you leave them on the wall for over a year they don't wash off... which is why I keep redecorating the same trees, it's not a big deal- it's actually kind of fun- I just wish I had done a better job drawing them!!

We have a cousin (2nd?... not sure) that knits everyone stockings.  Mine went missing sometime after I moved out... I've been searching for it for 7 years (seriously I know that it is SOMEWHERE!!) so I finally broke down and asked and she was kind enough to make and ship me a replacement in less then a week. Which is unbelievable awesome and kind of her. I am no longer the lone stocking-less person in the family (boy does that sound akward).

And just to source a few things- because I always want to know when I see things on blogs

The garland and wreath are from Ballard Designs and is super realistic looking I want more!

The snowflake lights are Smith and Hawkin from Target - a few years back. 

The glitter pine cones are from Crate and Barrel - this year. 

The LED lights on the wreath are from Target - this year

My felt garland from last year was relocated from last year- I think I like it here better!

And my favorite the tree. Which is from Costco and I LOVE it. And yes I decorated it with all the same ornaments as usual we just put the less breakable ones at the bottom. Micah has been doing pretty well with the don't touch command- not that he is perfect or anything!

And since I never send out Christmas cards.... Here's a family shot for everyone!

Slowly But Surely, Or Just Slowly.....

It's taken me just a bit longer to get settled than I was hoping. I keep forgetting that this blog is about my progress and not just the finished product. "Finished" will take me years. I love this house. It's completely comfortable and livable as it is. There are changes that would make it really awesome but those are going to take time. So, for now, it is just about the process. You might have to remind me of that sometimes.

First up is a simple project to help the guest bathroom. I still need to paint and get a new vanity, oh and a new floor.... See told you it is going to take years. It is interesting to see what a bit of fabric can do.

Go to this link to see the Before. I am loving the after. I wanted something fun. Does it work??

I got this rather bold fabric from Ikea before I left Germany. I added Kona cotton in espresso for the header and hem on the curtain. I used an eyelet stitch on my machine to make the holes for the hooks.  I was trying out carpets for the floor and couldn't find what I wanted. Per Jessica's suggestion I bought a towel (3.50 on clearance from Target) to use as a "carpet". After making the curtain I had just enough fabric left to put the trim onto the towel. A floor covering that can easily be thrown into the wash! Woot!