Garden clean up

So, during my pregnancy, well for the major majority of it, it was crazy hot outside, so my outside garden fell at the waste sides and eventually become overgrown and an eyesore. After a month of giving it the stink-eye every time I would walk out of my house, or pull into my driveway, I finally got on it and cleaned things up. Lucky for me, the major issues were just overgrown grass, which is usually pretty easy to rip out. Also, the ground was still a little damp from the night before's thunderstorm, so that also made for easy weed pulling.

I didn't think to take pictures of the before yucky garden till I was half way done with the front of it. What can I say? I was finally pumped to get it done and over with.





And when everything was done.





Love my elephants! Yup, they are even in the garden.



This week we got sidewalks put in our block. Every other block in my community had them expect us! So glad we finally have them.



Annnd here is a wide view of my house. Isn't that screened in porch awful? It's getting ripped down in the Spring and let me tell you, I've been waiting for that day to come for years! We'll finally have the money to get that project taken care of, I'm secretly counting down the days till it's gonzo.



So my plans for next Spring is to attach a Pergola to the front of the house, after taking down the porch. I also would like to repaint the house a light gray and paint my front door a fun color. I'm thinking either green (obv!), teal or coral. I have a while to think about it and lots of paint colors to look at until it's time so I'm sure I'll pick something fun. I also think it will be easier to change the front door color every couple of years or whatever than having to paint the house because I get sick of whatever color it happens to be at the time (aka: I'm sick of my house color right now).



I also changed things around in my living room. I'll share all of those shots in my next update. Happy Hump Day!

Pre-Nursery Reveal

The nursery is done! Well, for the most part. It's 99% done, to be technical. I still need to order the art and wait for it to get here and then put it in the frames (that are already hung on the wall, waiting!). So, until that gets done (on Wednesday), I thought I'd make a new mood board to show a preview of the nursery before the big reveal. It's fun to see how my ideas, even if they may be large or small have changed since the inspiration board I posted back in January. Since then we found out we were having a girl, when I was so prepared to hear I was having a boy. So because of that news I decided to bite the bullet and add pops of pink to the room. This new mood board doesn't really share all the pops of pink that are in there but when you see the big reveal, you'll see what I mean!



Some things stayed the same, like the paint colors.

1. Wildflower Honey by Behr
2. Silver Screen by Behr

A. IKEA's Gulliver Crib - We decided to go with the Gulliver crib, mostly because when I had Gracie, her crib had solid sides at the headboard and footboard and it was really hard to attach the bumper. Plus I liked the way it looked more than the previous one I picked. The Gulliver crib was also listed on The Bump's 10 Cribs We Love list.

B. RIBBA Frames - Can't wait to fill these frames with the art I'm ordering on Wednesday! The last thing we need to do. :)

C. Brimnes 3 drawer chest by IKEA - I stuck with the same dresser & I'm so glad I did because it's perfect.

D. IKEA'S Hampen Rug - We got two of these. They are bright yellow & I love them!

E. Chevron Bedding by Sweet Jojo Designs - Much cheaper than my original plan and I got way more bang for my buck. It matches perfectly and I couldn't be happier!

F. Cardboard Elephant Head - This was also on the original inspiration board, got it and love it! It's so cute. I can't wait to share how sweet it looks on her wall!

G. Yellow Lanterns and Pink, Gray & White Pom Poms - I knew I wanted to add these when I made the other board but didn't really know how I was going to do it or where I would put them. They ended up going above her crib! Can't wait to share this detail as well in pictures.

H. Yellow Chevron Changing Pad Cover - I ordered this on Etsy but the seller was awful, so I'm not linking them. But this is what I used. It's cute but took forever to get here and cost more than it's fabric was worth.

I. DIY Elephant Baby Mobile - You might remember my mom & I made this. It's above L's changing table and it's still one my favorite things about her room.

J. IKEA's SÖDER Pendant lamp - This is the lamp I chose to hang in her room. It's pretty and simple and works fine.

K. Elephant Rocking Horse - Obviously not something she can use anytime soon. We found this for 5 bucks at Goodwill. It's adorable & I love that it added so much character to her tiny room.

I also got this swing, thanks to my MIL. It matches my theme perfectly & I can't wait to use it. It won't be going in her nursery but it will be able to move around the house with me when I need it too and for the most part will be staying in my bedroom, where she will be sleeping the first few weeks.

So, that's it. I'll share the big reveal in the next couple weeks. Hubs & I are taking a Babymoon, like we did when I was pregnant with Gracie. We are staying local and at a private beach resort but it will be nice to get away for a few days to relax. We only have three weeks till I'm full term and before long we'll have a brand new baby to keep us awake every night! This pregnancy has really flown by but I'm so glad I have my blog to look back at little details I've shared as well as lots of memories to keep. My next post will be the nursery reveal and then Baby L's birth announcement! Get ready!

DIY Baby Mobile

About a month or two ago, ok maybe several months ago I found myself drooling over all of these fabulous mobiles that were hand made on Etsy, (seriously look at them! They are adorable!) and after weighing my options I decided that the prices were really out of my price range. The ones I was truly in love with were nearly $100+. I KNEW if I asked Paul for something that costs that much money that was just a decoration, he'd give me the side eye and once I did ask him and he did just that. So, I knew that wasn't going down. I looked and looked on Pinterest and finally found a few different things I liked but also kept in mind what I saw on Etsy that caught my eye and just kinda winged it. Here is a little run down of what I did...



SUPPLIES
- Felt fabric & Chevron fabric (I had leftover from this project)
- Thread, String & Ribbon
- Wooden Craft Ring
- Key Ring
- Poly-Fil
- Sharp scissors
- Buttons, Beads, etc (optional)
- Sewing Machine (& person who sews because I don't! haha)

I first searched Google images for an elephant stencil and found one, then I had it printed and went to work. I cut out all of my little elephants & the ears, then a week or so went by and I headed to my parents house for my mom's help. I seriously couldn't have done this project without my mom, since she's the talent that sews!



Once I had my elephants and ears ready to go, my mom and I hatched a plan and went to work. She sewed all of the elephants together and I stuffed them with the Poly-Fil, then as time went on we decided we'd add a couple more details. Changed up the style for each elephant by adding buttons on the ears and the way she sewed them. They turned out so fantastic!



And a close up shot... (the dark gray ones are my favorite!)



After that it was a days work and I went home and worked on the craft ring, I wrapped yellow ribbon all around it, attaching parts of it with my hot glue gun so it would stay in place, I continued wrapping the ribbon around it until it was completely covered. I also wrapped the key ring for the top layer with gray string. After all of that was done, I headed back to my mom's house to put everything together. Here is the final result...



Didn't it turn out great? I'm so happy with it! My mom and I couldn't stop looking at it when it was all finished. We really just trusted each other when it came to trying things and testing things out that worked for us... or really me, since it's for my little one. I'm so thankful that my mom was willing to take the time and help. Thanks mom! You rule!

I can't wait to hang it up in Baby L's room and add all of the other goodies to her room. We head to IKEA next Wednesday for furniture and goodies! I can't wait!

Nursery Inspiration Board

I was going to add more stuff to my inspiration board for the baby's room but I didn't feel like it. I figured I could just link to extra stuff that isn't in the image below. Ok, let's get started on where I'm getting everything and what I'm doing...



1. Wildflower Honey by Behr
2. Silver Screen by Behr

Both colors will be used on the main wall as stripes. Then the rest of the walls will be in the Silver Screen. You can view both colors on Behr's website by clicking Find Your Color in the drop down menu and simply entering the names, if you wanted.

A. Sunvik Crib by IKEA - $119.00
I really wanted a simple white crib. Really, all white furniture and obviously from IKEA. Last time around when we had Gracie, my parents got us the crib but it was several hundred dollars and she used it for about 2 years and then she was out of it and I just think spending that much money is such a waste when they aren't in for that long anyway. It does eventually convert to a full size bed, but only the headboard is needed, everything else just ends up in the trash. So, to me it's just not worth it. She's been in a twin sized bed since she was 2 1/2.

B. Brimnes 3 drawer chest by IKEA - $99.00
I definitely wanted a dresser that I could use later in life as baby grows and this works just fine. Plus I also wanted to be able to put a changing pad on the dresser and avoid having to use a changing table since there isn't any room for said changing table. This works perfectly.

C. Accent Slipper Chair / Gray Chevron by Target - $110.00
This is the one thing that I'm unsure about. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this chair but when it comes time to breastfeed I know I'll want a chair with arms. I'll want to be as comfortable as possible. The price is great and I love the pattern and the style. Anyone know someone who adds arms to chairs? Wishful thinking. I'm going to be on the hunt for the perfect chair matched with the perfect price so hopefully I can find something like this but WITH arms. Sigh.

D. Custom Made Crib Bedding by Wise Fingers @ Etsy - $265.00
This is where I'm going to splurge a little. I fell in love with the custom bedding idea a long time ago even before I was pregnant. It's the one thing I want to spend money on and damn it, I'm going to! The patterns in the image above are what I'm shooting for, in which order for which pieces I'm unsure about at this point. I'll be getting the crib sheet, crib skirt and crib bumper. Loves it!

E. Cardboard Elephant head - $13.00
It's pretty well known if you've been reading my blog for awhile or know me at all that I'm a tad obsessed with Elephants. When I found these Elephant cardboard heads I think I squealed. It's that serious. They come in a few different sizes. I'm going with the smallest one, which is 6w x 6h x 6d. It's perfect for our tiny little baby's room. I'm in love!

F. Nursery Art by WiseOwl Prints & DaphneGraphics
These are just a couple of the art pieces from Etsy that I'm currently hoping to get. I have a bunch of other free printables with elephants already saved to my computer.

G. Chevron Elephant Pillow - $20.99
More Elephants. No surprises there! When I saw this pillow I instantly fell in love and knew it was the one. Isn't it so cute?

Other things I want to add not in the inspiration board: Elephant Crib Quilt, Yellow Chevron Valence, Elephant Mobile, Diaper Caddy, Expedition Travel System - Merlin.

That's it for now. Feel free to check everything out and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading. :)

Working on the new Nursery

First, I should explain that there is a small room off of our bedroom that was originally going to be redone as a bathroom, but nearly two years ago when we were in the process of doing my bedroom, the bathroom sort of fell to the waste sides. We completely gutted it, there isn't a toilet or a sink (or even a place for a sink). All we currently have in there is a washer/dryer combo and a bunch of junk that didn't have a home elsewhere in the house. Basically, it's become a storage room. It's not that big at all, a whopping 5x12 sized room. But with my designer brain always working, I'd always envisioned (loooong before we were even pregnant with baby #2) creating a small (tiny) nursery in there. This is the door in my bedroom that leads to the room.



My dad, who is usually the genius creator behind all of my projects drew up a floor plan after taking measurements and we got this. Yes, this image is upside down, no you aren't going crazy. I did that because this is the actual layout of the room as you enter. On the right side of the room we will be building a closet that will have an accordion door for the washer/dryer combo, so we can still have a place for laundry. You know how easy it will be to just throw dirty baby clothes right from baby to the washer with it all being in one room?! AMAZING.

(click image to see a larger size)


All of the walls in there right now are awful and will be studded out with 2x3's and then covered in sheet rock. We'll be adding brand new molding around the entire room, a new window sill, brand new flooring as well as brand new furniture for baby (all from IKEA of course) as well as running new electrical outlets and putting in a new light. Dad says we should have the entire room built in no more than 2 to 3 weeks. Then I paint!

I'm doing a yellow & gray color scheme with elephants (durr) as my theme. You know how much I love elephants! Just click the elephants tag on the sidebar, if you aren't aware. I have so many DIY projects in mind for decor it's unreal! I can't wait to get started on everything in a couple weeks. I'll of course keep everyone updated on our progress as we go.

PS. Keep voting on baby gender in the sidebar! :)

Gonna get Dir-tay!

Phew, it's been awhile since I've updated hasn't it? Sorry about that! Life has been busy. Tracking back to my last post, Paul & I drove to Orlando last Thursday to pick Gracie up from my parents who took her to Disney for a few days. She of course had a blast! Since then we decided we're going to have a Birthday Getaway for her in November at Disney. Breakfast with the Princesses, going to the Princess Salon, getting to pick out a Princess dress in the boutique, the day at Magic Kingdom. Should be lots of fun for all of us! They are even currently building a new wing in Magic Kingdom that will feature Belle's Castle from Beauty & The Beast called Fantasyland and will be done by her birthday, so we're excited to see that too!

Other than that we have been doing things around the house here and there to make it better all the time. This week I finally got off my booty & painted the Ikea shelves in the Dining area that were cut to size to fit my wall, so they had some wood showing on the ends. You can see that here...



Luckly, I've had black paint laying around for over a year so it didn't cost me anything to paint it. Win!



And all painted!



Looks good right? Can't even tell I painted them!!

I also got an amazing surprise gift from my parents this week. Of course it's elephant related!



It's a bamboo plant in a elephant planter! Seriously, how amazing is that? Made my day.

Yesterday we got busy in the front garden & cleaned out all of the weeds, overgrown grass, leaves, bugs (yuck!) & dead plants. It only took us about 3 or so hours to get it more than half way finished. I'm pretty proud of the work we got done. Sunday we're going to finish up out there. I still need to move 2 trees. Yeah. I'm THAT hardcore. ;)

Here are a few before shots...

Can you even see anything? So overgrown!





See that tall tree? That's being moved to the right, in front of that fence. The palm tree next to it will be moved closer to the big tree in the garden. You'll see! I'll share pictures when we get that tackled.



See the wood fence to the right? That's where the tall tree is going.



This is the view from the other side, looking toward the driveway side.



And of course as soon as I started removing the bricks, Max had to jump into the holes and lay down. Silly kitty!





And some afters or progress pictures...





Check out my fellow landscapers! ;)



So the to-do list includes, moving two trees, adding some color to the garden, mulch & maybe some decorative goodies as well. All in due time! Jordan spotted that the new layout of the garden is actually shaped like a B. I was pretty impressed that he noticed that because I didn't! But I was happy when he pointed it out, being that we are the house of B's! ;)

Also, in the next year or so I have plans on changing the front of the house from the screened in porch to something a little like this...



Amazing, right? I figure not only would it be beautiful but it would just be something else to add charm to the house for when we move in the future, being that this house is only our first home, not our permanent place.

I also dream of adding a front porch swing. Perfect for those warm summer nights!

Other than all that I'm also currently in the process of building a business website for someone, preparing for our Vacay to Miami in three weeks & continuing to work on this house, being a mom & just rocking the shit outta life! :P Have you been sprucing up your yards for the Spring & upcoming Summer? It's definitely a lot of work but it's such a great payoff when it's finished!

the elephant in the room

I have the entire day to myself, so I haven't really left my bedroom much today except to eat lunch & use the bathroom. I love lazy days where I can just stay in my PJs all day & watch tv in bed, as well as surf the net & update my blog!!

This past week, my parents took Gracie to the zoo, since I got 3 free passes the last time I went because a few rides were closed. Our zoo is so amazing because every time we go (we have a yearly pass) if there is one thing not working, they will always comp the visit with free tickets to come back. It doesn't even matter that I have the year pass, they still give me free tickets! It's pretty awesome! We've already given three tickets to my parents and three tickets to my MIL.

Anyway, when my parents brought Gracie home after their zoo trip on Wednesday, my mom handed me a box & said 'Happy early Anniversary!' I opened the box and inside was this beautiful 24 carat gold Elephant! Squee!!









Isn't he beautiful?! He lives on a shelf in the dining room area.



I love it so much! I think we're gonna go & get Mr. Gold Elephant a friend to put on the other end of the shelf. Paul wants a penguin. He loves penguins like I love elephants. He actually used to have a huge embarrassing collection when I first started dating him, but got rid of them all because it was just overkill. I can't even. It was pretty funny.

Today, after I started making my lunch, I went to go let Max in & opened my front door & saw a package. I totally forgot that my other new elephants would be here today! My parents also ordered me these amazingly friggin' cute salt & pepper shaker elephants for my birthday from Mod Cloth! Countdown is down to 9 days (April 2nd)! I'll be 27.

The box they came in is so cute!



Here are a bunch of snap shots of these cute little things...











I love those little elephant tails! Too stinkin' cute.

These little guys live in the kitchen. On the shelves my dad built for me above my sink. I've actually been wanting to share this area with you guys for a while now but it's not completely done yet, so you can't completely see the sink & the counter. I'll share those pictures when we get the back splash up.







The kitchen printouts were ordered from this great Etsy store. Check it out if you're interested!

Like I said above, we still need to add the back splash & molding around the built-ins. All in good time! We will get there. :)

Hope you all have a great weekend! My birthday is a week from Monday! Eeeeee!!

Elephants are love.

If there is one thing the people closest to me know about me, it's that I have a deep love for Elephants. I've loved them since I was little, my amazing grandmother also loved Elephants and when she died I got her beloved little black Elephant that lived on one of her shelves for years and years. Every time I would visit her, I'd pick it up (and man is it HEAVY!) and wrap it in a blanket like it was a baby doll and play with it. This is what he looks like.



And he lives on top on my TV in my bedroom on a shelf. He rarely gets seen by anyone because of his location but I'd rather that being that I don't ever want him to get broken. This elephant holds a special place in my heart because it's the only thing I have left of my grandmother, who I will always cherish.



I recently added a new Elephant to my home decor. I got this one from Home Goods. I love Home Goods simply because they are always selling Elephants. Really. I dare you to go to Home Goods this weekend and see all the beautiful Elephants they have. Pure love. This elephant lives on my dining table, for all to see!



I mean really, how could anyone not love Elephants? They are simply the sweetest creatures on this planet. So big, so sweet, so much love. A couple photos I took at the zoo while on a safari tour, with Gracie & Paul, while Jordan was in school a couple weeks ago...



Come ooooon, how stinkin' cute are Elephants?!





Ugh, love them. Last night I was just randomly searching around Pinterest for some good stuff. When I stumbled across this...



I muuuust have this ring. I think I squealed for about 3 minutes and then shoved my laptop in Paul's face telling him I neeeeded to have this ring. He also thought it was cute & told me he'd get it for me. So, I'm probably going to get it as an Anniversary gift, I'm guessing. I mean it's only $10 bucks! How can you beat that? I'll wear it everyday! Please feel free to check out this shop. They make all kinds of adorable jewelry. I'm so in love!

They also sell Elephant earrings. I just might go crazy over this cuteness overload.



So, what's your favorite zoo animal?

Anyway, that's a little about my love for Elephants. Hope everyone has a great weekend & if you celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!