Easter Weekend 2014

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating our Risen Savior! I hope that you did as well. Of course, we should always be thankful for the cross, but this time of year in particular makes us especially mindful. My debt has been paid and I'm forever thankful!

We had a little Easter egg hunt with our playgroup buddies. They were all were so cute trying to figure things out. Kinley and Emery got the hang of opening the eggs and eating what was inside. They were just too busy doing that to actually hunt for the eggs. Ha!

 The cutest little bunnies I've ever seen!

 I'm so thankful for these sweet friends and their precious little ones!

The Saturday before Easter we got together with Chad's side of the family. He has a big family and when we're all together there are lots of little ones running around. I can't tell you how thankful we are to have added our two to the mix! Chad's uncle told the story of the cross to the kids while the Easter eggs were being hidden.

The Easter egg hunt had to be inside because it was raining, so just imagine mass chaos as all the kiddos ran around the garage looking for their eggs. We had to leave abruptly because someone, ahem Kinley, threw a major fit. While trying to get my screaming child to the car, in the pouring rain, I dropped her Easter bucket and every egg fell to the ground and cracked open. Aghhhh! Parenting sure is humbling, huh?!

Sunday mornings are hard for us with Chad leaving earlier and staying later than us. I was determined to get at least one picture, and thankfully my mom was able to get one decent shot of us as a family of four!

 

My babies have grown so much since last year. =(

 

Trying to get pictures with/of these two silly girls is quite a challenge. But, oh how I love them!

Lastly, we took advantage of the time off that Chad had for Easter weekend and updated our kitchen counter tops and back splash. I am loving my "new" kitchen!

"Oh praise The One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!"

DIY Ruler Growth Chart

You've probably all seen the cool giant ruler growth charts that are out there. Chad and I saw one for sale at Kirklands but at 39.99 (which is way cheaper than how much it is from pottery barn), we knew we could make it for much less. There are tons of tutorials on pinterest that I browsed through and then just did a combination of several of those when I made mine.

This is by no means a fancy tutorial, it's just the steps that I took to make mine =)

We started with a 1x8x6 board that we bought at Lowes. I think it was around $8.00. We used some stain (Minwax aged oak gel) that was leftover from another project. We gave the board two coats of stain on all sides.

Once it was dry I got to marking the lines. I used a yardstick, pencil and chisel tip sharpie marker. I went up the board and marked a little tick mark at every inch with a pencil. I originally printed out a template of the lines, but it was quicker just to mark with a pencil and yardstick.

I knew that the board would be hanging off the ground some so I started the marks at 6 inches. Then I used my ruler and a chisel tip sharpie to mark two 1" lines and then one 2" line (so the longer lines mark every quarter of a foot). Mini kit-kats to snack on are optional ;-)

For the numbers I printed out 1-6 in Century font (I think it was around 100pt). Then I cut  each number out (leave about a 1/2" around the number). I rubbed a pencil all along the back of the number, then laid it down on my board (pencil rubbed side down) and traced around the outline. That gave me a pencil outline on my board which I then went over with a fine point felt tip pen.

Then I used the chisel tip marker to color in each number. I know I could have made stencils, etc. but the pencil rubbing technique worked just fine and didn't take too much time.

And, here it is! I'm still trying to decide if I want to put our last name initial at the top of the board and then it needs to be hung! I love the way it turned out and I look forward to having a special place to mark Kinley and Emery's growth through the years!

Changes around the house

It seems like each year around this time I start getting the itch to make some changes around the house. After all the Christmas decor has come down I start looking around to see how I can mix things up.

Here are a few pics of little things I've been working on. I swapped out a few things on my mantel and then changed the chalkboard saying.

 

I texted Chad this morning to let him know that "baby it's cold inside" because our heater was acting up and it was 63 degrees in here. Brrr!!

Burlap wreaths have been all over Pinterest for a while but I finally gave it a go using this tutorial.

 

It was quick, easy and think it turned out pretty well!

Christmas Tour of Homes ~ 2011

This year I kept our Christmas decor very low key and simple. In fact, we didn't even put our big tree up for the second year in a row. It makes me a little sad but with it being just the two of us, and being gone a lot, we just decided against it.

I was thrifting several weeks back and found a cute little pre-lit tree that I was intending to use on our front porch. When we decided not to put up the big tree I thought I'd put it on the hearth and use it as our tree instead. I do like how it turned out.

 I added some lighted garland with red and gold ornaments and a few picks mixed in on the mantel and displayed just three of our stockings. (I have more for when the time comes that we need them)

I added a few other festive touches around the house. This gold branch wreath I found at a thrift store and hung it on a mirror. A little chalkboard sign spreads some joy in the guest bathroom. 

A sweet plaque about the best gift this season next to my scentsy warmer, and a pretty potted poinsettia that my sister gave us for our anniversary.

I love our Will0w Tree nativity set so much. The houndstooth stockings make me happy too.

 

I mentioned that I was wanting to makeover my mantel display and it's now complete! I found a frame that I added a vinyl monogram to and then lined the inside with burlap. I love the way it turned out!

 It was really hard to get a picture without glares so I hope you get the idea =)

Thank you for stopping by. I wish you a joyous holiday season filled with the love of Christ!

linking up with Kelly, Nester, and Erin

Friday Randoms

It's Friday! Holla! Today is my husband's day off and I look forward to Fridays every week. While I do love being at home, it can get rather lonely so I'm so excited to spend the day with my love. I don't care what we do, as long as we do it together =)

~If you want to treat yourself then run, do not walk, to your kitchen and pull out some milk and nutella. I saw a recipe for nutella hot chocolate here and knew that I had to try it. Trust me, you will not regret it! For one serving I whisked 1 cup of milk and 2 tbsp. of nutella in a saucepan over medium heat.

heaven in a michael scott cup

~Next week is the end of the twelve week Bible study that I've been a part of. We are having a time of "Taste and Testimony" where we will share snacks and a little something that God has done in our lives as a result of the study. I'm planning to bring this yummy looking snack mix. I can't wait to try it! 

Source: iheartnaptime.net via Faith on Pinterest

~I've been wanting to re-work my mantel display for a while. Since we've lived here my bridal portrait has hung above the mantel and I'm ready to change that up. I thought about a mirror but all it reflects is the ugly fluorescent light fixture in our kitchen, so that's not going to work. I think I'm now going to look for a large thrift store frame that I can do a big vinyl monogram on. This isn't a new idea, but I think I will love it. I may even add a piece of fabric or burlap behind it. I'll post when it's done!

Source: etsy.com via Faith on Pinterest

~My Christmas cards are in! This was the first year that I haven't designed the cards myself and I'm a little sad. But, because of discounts/promotions I was able to get the cards I'm using for free. And honestly, what's better than free? That's what I keep telling myself anyway. I just need to address them and get stamps and they will be on their way!

~Speaking of Christmas cards, mark your calendars and don't forget to stop by on December 14th for the annual Christmas Card Carousel! This will be the fourth year that I've done this and it's more fun each year. Please spread the word and join in the fun!

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Hope y'all have a great weekend!!

Closet Changes

I mentioned before that we had a big closet project going on. There were times I wanted to pull my hair out, but it's done and I am LOVING the finished product!

I have some pictures to share of the process. Honestly, I can't believe that I'm showing  y'all these before pictures. They are b-a-d and I'm ashamed of how cluttered and messy it was. Just keepin' it real though.

The hot mess that was the "before"

I don't think that my side was near as bad as my husbands side...but who am I kidding?! This place was a wreck.

I may or may not have cried when we were 3/4 of the way through the clean out process and my bed looked like this.

The scary part is that the guest bedroom looked ten times worse.

Hi, my name is Faith, and, I'm a hoarder.

Now, we're getting somewhere!

The closet system from The Container Store was such a breeze to put up. I was really was surprised at how quickly it all went together.  Everything is off the floor and we actually have room to walk around and get dressed in there now. Gasp!

We were able to design it to fit our needs perfectly. We now have short hang space, long hang space, gliding shoe shelves for heels and for flats, gliding drawers, shelf space, etc. One of my favorite things is the jewelry drawer. I love all the dividers for earrings and necklaces. So fun!

And, another little goody is the valet rod. Perfect for laying out an outfit the night before =)

We had a little house guest this weekend who loved the new closet design and made herself right at home. I walked in to find this in an empty drawer.

Now that our closet is done, I'm ready to tackle the rest. Organizing can be addicting...or is that just me?!

**we were not compensated in any way by the container store. I just wanted to share how awesome I think their products are and that I would definitely recommend them!**

Loving Life....

As a stay-at-home-wife! It's been a week since I've been home full time. Last Wednesday, this joyful day was marked on my calendar and I was so thankful to see it come.

 There is one little girl I know who is happy to have her mommy home with her more now =)

We had a great Labor Day Weekend which included kicking off some college football on Saturday. Now, I'm not the biggest football fan there is by any means, but I do love me some good friends and good food (dips included) and this night included both of those, so I was down!

Now that I'll be home during the day I'm thrilled that I can be involved in some Bible Studies this fall. I'll be going through these two with some ladies from church and I'm so excited to dig in! Have you done either of these studies and, if so, how were they?

One of my goals is to get my home more organized and the first project is our master closet. I was knee deep in there today until I lost motivation and pinterest won. I've reached the point of no return though, so I can't stop now. The only thing keeping me going is that we're getting a new closet system from The Container Store so I can't wait to see the end result. I'll be sure to share it with you too! 

I really have missed blogging and I hope that my new schedule will allow for me to be on here more regularly. Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Before and After

I have been working on different areas around the house trying to de-clutter and re-organize lately. My husband calls me a pack rat, and I'm finally realizing that he is right! So, as I've been cleaning things out lately, if I haven't seen it, touched it, needed it, or even knew I had it in the past year, it's gone!

One area that really needed some help was our computer area. I spend too much a lot of time on the computer and was really needing to figure out a better use of the space. My back, neck and arm would hurt from reaching up to the keyboard and mouse and I would often work myself into a migraine from all of it.

Here is the before. This is quite embarrassing to show, but I'm just keeping it real with y'all! The dust, the cords, oh my word it's all bad!

We have this computer area in our guest bedroom, and we knew that we need something small, practical and inexpensive. I'm sure you already know where we turned next! This piece (the Mikael - that's just for you Deidre!) from Ikea fit the bill!

The cords are still there, but I was able to clean out and throw away so much junk that we had no use for. I still have some re-organizing work to do, but it's already so much better!

I love my little memo board area where I can put my scripture memory verse, prayer requests, reminders, etc

Thanks to my sweet man for putting it together, piece-by-piece-by-piece. I promise I will do better about keeping it clean from now on!

Streamer Stress

No time for blogging right now...I'm up to my elbows in gold, red and purple satin. I got recruited to make some streamers for the children's choir creative movement team at church. They have their Christmas program this Sunday night and need streamers for their "routine" - do they call it a routine? I don't know....

Anyway, they actually need them before Sunday to rehearse with, as in Thursday night, so I am busy, busy, busy!

I've cut all 60 of them out, I'm about halfway through serging them, but still have to serge the rest then attach them to the elastic band that they will wear around their wrists.

When I get them done and can brush the dust off, I'll be back!

Follow up on monogramming

Thank you for sharing in the excitement of this new step!!

For those of you who don't live around me and asked about monogramming - I will never turn away business! As I get things going, I hope to add some items to my website so that they can be ordered, monogrammed, shipped to you, etc. Or, if you have something specific in mind, just email me and I will be glad to work with you! (my email is in my profile, and the website is listed in my links)

I want to do a give-away soon...just trying to come up with what I want it to be =) Keep checking!

In with the new

I was so excited to get to work today and see the new fabric that had come in. We have ordered so much cute fabric for spring and we are getting shipments each week. Our UPS man probably likes us, because we are always so excited to see him!

This is our first shipment of Amy Butler's new line - Midwest Modern

You can't tell much from the picture but it is so pretty in person! My wheels are turning about what I can make with them! She always has the coolest fabric.

Speaking of new fabric, I came across a remnant of fabric a couple of weeks ago that was too good of a deal to pass up. So I decided to do new drapes for my living room. We have had the same valances up since we moved here and I recently got the urge to change them up. I like the new panels, it has just been such a change and I am still trying to get used to them. I'm still trying to decide if it's too much with the mantel scarf on there...what do you think?

Gotta run...we're having Pioneer Woman's "Marlboro Man" sandwiches for dinner...Yummy!