holy week

It's Palm Sunday. Hope everyone has a blessed week!

nesting

Like the mother bird that has made a nest over our front door, I've been doing a lot of primping, cleaning, and fluffing in preparation for baby Smith's arrival. I know he will really appreciate the new arrangement I added to the dining room table.

I bought an old toy box at a garage sale for $30. We had it professionally painted by a car painter with car paint. It looks great and the paint job is super durable.

I added a mirror on the wall by the crib. Note: an earthquake couldn't move this thing. It is secured with a three-prong nail hook that is made to hold up to 100 pounds. I also pulled the crib away from the wall a bit. Safety first!

This is a picture of my PawPaw when he was a little boy. Doesn't he look dapper? After all, baby Smith's namesake was PawPaw's grandmother.

In our room, recent additions include the crochet lace valences and new alabaster lamps. I used Pottery Barn burlap lampshades and love the way they turned out. Also, there is a white matelasse bedspread for spring/summer, and a new needlepoint owl pillow that was a gift from hubby.

The little shelf on my side is new too. It doesn't hold much, but I like the look of the white with the wood framed blue jay print.

Storage baskets for baby Smith's toiletries replaced an array of knick knacks that used to fill these bathroom shelves. These will be for baby wash cloths, toys, baby wash, hooded towels, etc. I like them so much better than the decorative items that were there before. These had been hiding in the closet for years! It's amazing how you can love something you already own even more when it's repurposed.

Last weekend, we had a very successful garage sale at Mom's. (Trying to bring OUT more than is brought IN.) Closets are sparse, and we even have a few empty kitchen cabinets and drawers. There's a lot to be said for simplifying! Feels so great!

Have a great weekend!

take it outside

Our poor little house has needed so much work. Not just on the inside either. Decades of overgrowth had taken over. Creeping slowly, taking it over like a disease. We knew it was not in the short term plan to start on the exterior. We had to get rid of the roaches and rotted floors on the inside first. But now, two years later, we have made our way outside.

Bad.

Better.

Best.

It's amazing what a little back-breaking work and a couple of thousand dollars can do. Of course, we won't be the envy of P Allen Smith anytime soon, but it looks great to us. Clean, manicured, not a rat or snake in sight!

Want to see more? Yeah you do.

Bad.

Better.

Best.

We planted azaleas, hydrangeas, boxwoods, and a bit of rosemary. They're babies now, but in a few years, this garden will be in full bloom. We also have a plan to add two crepe myrtle trees in front on either side of the front windows. I can't wait to watch it grow. The little garden statue was found in the backyard, under years of overgrown ivy. She now sits prominently in front as a reminder to water these little guys.

Before:

After:

We can't stop admiring it. We've been doing a lot of this lately:

Cheers to Spring!



braggin

Let me warn you by saying that this is an awfully cheesy post, but I just have to brag on this wonderful beam of light in my life that is my husband.

He is not your average guy. He walks by a piece of thread or leaf on the carpet and picks it up and puts it in the trash can. Not because he is all that neat, but because he knows that if I saw it, I would pick it up, and he's saving me the trouble.

He lives to make me laugh, and let me tell you, he is HILARIOUS. His dry, witty humor is the stuff Seinfeld episodes are made of. I walk around the house with a constant grin when he is home.

He works. HARD. He is always striving and strategizing on how to make our lives better. He gets up everyday more motivated than the previous to meet, learn, connect, and impress everyone he comes in contact with.

But most of all, he loves ME with all his heart. Everyday. He is the portrait of loyalty. I am so lucky to have such a jewel of a person to share a life with.

And I hope that our son is just like him.

night night