Tuesday, September 8, 2015

We took a little break!

Hi all! It's been a little while since I've updated the blog and there's been lots of good reasons! No I'm not preggers. We had a whirlwind July and August and really I have just been trying to work through it all. The hubby lost two family members between Father's Day and 4th of July so we had grief and funerals to deal with. It was rough and trying to stay positive was all I could do for him. Losing family is always hard, especially when they are so young.

Right in the middle of all of this we had some happy news! We bought a home! It's been so surreal and I feel like we are now #adulting! It's so silly. We have a baby and have lived on our own for 8 years and have been married for 8 years, but until you sock in cold hard cash on a piece of land and a little property you don't really feel like an adult! We are so excited for our little 3 bed, 2 bath on a 1/4 acre! Land in CA is sparse so when you have a decent amount for your kiddos and pets you scream and jump for joy!

Do I have some plans. Mostly for the landscaping! (Please excuse the photo's a lot are from the listing)



The front yard had sod recently laid and in the main photo it looks bad, however it has greened up nicely. The rock garden next to the bridge needs to be cleaned out and re-established because its pretty over grown. The planter next to the house needs ground cover because its mostly just a dirt pile that washes into the front doorway. The trees along the roof line were trimmed because the roof needed a little repair, so that was already done! Yay!




In the backyard.....oy! It needs help. We have beautiful pine trees and they give lots of shade, but they also have left lots of droppings in the yard and over the deck. First off is sweeping and clearing out of oddities, IE the random fire hydrant, pole for nothing, parking curb in the yard. The gate needs repair because our pooch already figured out how to escape the yard. Sigh. Next up, see the large rock pile in the 3rd photo? That's going to be our new flowerbed liners along the back retaining wall. Leveling of the yard and grass seed. Cleaning out existing planters and sanding and painting the benches is on the list also. We also see a swing and maybe built in bbq later. Dreams.



The main living area has been updated. New paint and carpet. I will definitely be re-painting! It's so pink with grey carpet! WHAT!?! The wood trim around the fireplace will be removed and a large mantle will replace it. Maybe some wainscoting. Maybe a built in? We shall see what the future holds.


Kitchen and dining. The owner replaced the counters, fixtures and lighting so for right now all that we are doing in here is the backsplash and of course painting out the pink. The backsplash doesn't match AT ALL! They also cut into the existing beadboard so that may have to be replaced. We shall see. We are also planning to put a decor shelf over the sink in the kitchen and some drapes.



Master and guest bath. They were updated finish wise, but we need to replace the exhaust fans and I plan on tiling behind the mirror in the master and putting a framed one up in its place.


And finally this room off the kitchen is going to be so fun! This is Emma's future play room! I already have plans to make it a vintage inspired kids room because of all the things she has that are new, but vintage inspired but don't fit the theme of her bedroom.

There she is. What has been occupying our minds and time for the last 6 weeks. I'll do another post on packing and moving with a toddler because UGH! It was interesting! Happy Tuesday!

Friday, July 31, 2015

Watch Emma Grow - Month Twelve


Hi all.....sorry this is SO late. The month of July has just been absolutely crazy! That doesn't mean that I shouldn't round out Emma's first year with the last update. Can I just say that I cannot believe what an amazing year this has been. It is bittersweet to watch my baby turn into a toddler, but she becomes more and more fun with each passing day. Her beautiful smile, her laugh, her tiny voice....I fall more in love everyday!

She's become very inquisitive and loves looking into cabinets and pulling things out of them. Particularly the linen and tupperware cabinets. Those are the most fun. She also loves to pull the books and toys off her bookcase and spread them all over her room. Anything that has items in it, she has to pull the items out completely. It's pretty funny, but she leaves a mess in her wake! Lol.

She got really good at standing, so much so that she took her first official steps the day of her birthday party. Daddy and I were so excited, and now she barely crawls. We walk EVERYWHERE. She wants to do everything herself and gets upset when you try to do it for her. A very strong willed and independent child.

She loved helping with all the planning for her birthday and wanted to play with the firecrackers every chance she could. She tries to wave and loves giving open mouthed kisses, and I love getting them! Drooly drooly. We have a total of 10 teeth....man those molar are a buggar! I feel so bad when I know she's teething because I know she's uncomfortable. She's a snuggle bunny when she doesn't feel well and that's the only time. Other than that she is super busy busy. Always doing something.

She's a great eater and loves trying new things. We learned a few months back that we cannot put any type of fruit in front of her if we actually want her to eat her food. She will demolish the fruit and leave everything else. She still likes her veggies, but bring on the berries and the melons and she's all about it. She also loves melted cheeses (quesadillas, grilled cheese, mac n cheese, pizza) and pasta. She must be my daughter! She's not a big meat eater though. I try to get her to take a couple of bites before I let her move onto other things.

Sleep has been better, unless she's teething. Most nights we get a big chunk from 10pm to 3-4am. Then it's up and down for the remainder of the night. What will I do with myself when I sleep a full 8 hour chunk?! Be over-tired probably. My body is used to the broken sleep now! Hehe.

She's our whole world and I couldn't imagine my life without her! My precious girl who fills my heart with such joy. I love my lil birdie!

12 Month Well Check Stats
Weight: 18 lbs 15 oz (30%)
Height: 29.5" (62%)
Head: 18.5" (93%)

9 Month Well Check Stats:
Weight: 17 lbs 3 ozs (30%)
Height: 27" (24%)
Head: 17.5" (60%)


Milestones to date:
Bringing her home: July 2nd (1 day old)
First Bath: July 4th (3 days old)
First Holiday: Independence Day (3 days old)
Held Up Head: July 11th (1 week old)
Lost Belly Button: (8 days old) First Walk (2 weeks old)
First Smile: July 27th (3 weeks old)
First Trip: Lake Tahoe/Carson City (5 weeks old)
Found her hands: (6 weeks old)
First Swim: (6 Weeks old)
Laughed Out Loud: Sept 25th (12 Weeks Old)
Rolled Over: October 28th (3 Months Old)
Found Her Feet: November 2nd (4 Months Old)
First Teeth: December 3rd (5 Months Old)
Crawled: (Army: January 16th - 6 mo; Normal: March 17th - 8 mo)
Sat on her own: January 7th (6 Months Old)
Ate Solid Foods: January 7th (6 Months Old)
First Vacation: Florida March 9th (8 Months Old)
Stood on her own: March 8th (8 Months Old)
First Steps: June 28 (11 Months Old)

And for the monthly photo dump!


Daddy, where's the credit cards?


Makeshift highchair

First Birthday banner!


Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Walks with the family!

Our big 1 year old!

Friday, July 24, 2015

Urban Outfitters "In The Bag" Sale

Hi! I know I was supposed to share Emma's 12 month update, and I am still within her birth month so I have time! Not much time, but I do! It's been a crazy month and I will update you all when I can with all the craziness!

So I am always on the lookout for a great sale. I love shopping and perusing home good items #interiordesignproblems but I never pull the trigger and order things. I was alerted to the Urban Outfitters "In the bag" sale and I had to peruse, because up to 70% off is always intriguing. Of course some of the items I loved were already sold out! Check out the sale and here are some of my favs!



 Three Potato Four Wooden Wall Art $34 now $9.99!!!!! (Thinking I need this!)

Home Modern Media Center $629 now $299.99
For the love of all mid century modern! I wish I had a place to put this! LOVE IT!


Locust Copper Pendant $98 now $59.99 (wheels are spinning)

Still loving my teal!

Mid Century Vanity $349 now $159.99 (!!!!!!!)

Locus Monogram Hook $10ea now 2 for $15

Can I redesign my entire apartment now? This post isn't sponsored. I just wanted to share some awesome finds that are on SALE!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Making Dinnertime Easier


Since having a baby we have strived to bring more fresh fruits and veggies into our home. Yes purees and jarred baby foods all have their place, but Emma prefers fresh fruits and veggies as opposed to processed baby food. She also loves to feed herself so this requires chopping up of various items into sizes small enough for little fingers to grab.


I've always been used to dealing with dull knives. It didn't bother me to badly until I started putting them in the dishwasher and that made them even duller. After vowing to never do that again with our new knife set, I was irritated to find that my knives were still pretty dull after not much use. Come to find out the straight bar that comes with most knife sets is not a sharpener as the hubby and I thought. Cutting grapes, tomatoes, peaches, bell peppers....anything with a peal was proving difficult and irritating to cut into little pieces for our baby girl. We both decided that we needed a knife sharpener.


Enter the System Sharpener. We sharpened our large knife first to test out slicing meats....another issue in our home. It has two wheels, a diamond grinding wheel for professional sharpening and a ceramic wheel for fine honing. A little pressure to glide the knife through each side and voila, a perfectly even sharp knife! It even has a suction cup on the bottom so it will stay secured to your counter top! Seriously I was excited. I needed to try out my new knives with a recipe that required a lot of chopping. I chose my Tri Colored Rotini Pasta recipe because of all the veggies I needed.





Everything sliced like a dream and in a fraction of the time. Also I didn't squash my tomatoes! Hallelujah! I can't wait to start creating masterpieces with fruits and veggies so my family can eat pretty chopped foods!

This shop was compensated for this post by receiving a free knife sharpener, all opinions are my own.
#KnifeSharpenerSystem


Thursday, July 2, 2015

Patriotic First Birthday - The Details

Hi! I know I promised I would be back with an update on which projects we were going to do for the party, but I got caught up in actually doing the projects that I didn't have time. I thought I would at least share with you a teaser post of all the details we did for Miss Emma's Patriotic First Birthday Bash. Mind you I will come back with an updated post detailing the day! I made a ton of crafty/treats and it was just perfect!

Here we go:


Streamers // Homemade Banner // G.G. Made Apple and Cherry Pies // Rice Crispies // Chocolate Dipped Oreo's // Jello Cookies









Painted wood pallet


Firecracker Centerpieces with peanuts!


Tin can bowling, the kiddo's loved this!


Gigantic bunting decor


Corn Hole!


 Sack Races, with flag guides and handmade sacks


Miss Emma enjoying her homemade smash cake!
Banner inspiration here and here


More banners and balloons!