Let's get this party started....

So before the holidays attacks me and the new year begins i need to update with some fairly old things we have done to our abode! I have mentioned before that i was adding a new mirror to our master bath and that we were also installing hardwood in our living room. With 2 kids and 2 dogs, hardwood is a must. Our carpet shampooer actually broke right after we installed the wood lol. So that should tell you how much we used it. Here are some pictures from our projects. If i'm not mistaken both of these projects were done at the end of summer in August.

Bathroom paint drying :)

Belle finding it amusing as i struggle to get the new mirrors hung.

I got these mirrors at Ikea. They came as a pack  of 4 and i thought they would look fabulous in our Master bath as one big mirror. I think one pack cost $19.99 so i bought 2 to cover where our old mirror use to be.

I had to tape them as i fastened the hardware to the wall. Each mirror required 4 pieces of hardware on each corner so it took some time. Especially because i was planning on putting all 8 mirrors up but then realized only 6 would fit. So i had to start over. 

Here they are all put up before i removed the tape. Will take a better finished pic soon, but i love how unique and different they are. They definitely add a more modern feel to the bathroom. 

Now onto our next project which was installing hardwood floor. George started at night after the kids went to bed, and basically just prepped by pulling out all the carpet. 

By morning this is what it looked like. He started a small section that night as well, to get a feel for how it would be. 

Besides our patio this was George's 2nd big project in our house! He has been learning so much just by looking around online and i couldn't be happier and prouder of the outcome!

The first things we bought was a new vacuum and a shark. Both work GREAT on keeping the floors extra clean from the kids and dogs!

I.Am.Alive

Yes i am still alive. Barely. The last few months have been a whirlwind. School was my number one priority, i feel awful saying that, but when you're this CLOSE to graduating you gotta start taking things off the plate to make sure you finish! BUT fall semester is NOW over!!!!! Student teaching starts Jan 2 so you will have me for one WHOLE month! :) A lot has happened around here. George put in wood flooring downstairs, like 10 years ago it feels like. And other than decorating for the holidays NOTHING else has happened house wise. BUT, of course i have a few things up my sleeve! So i will take you all along with me in the next few weeks while i get my house, crafting, holiday on!!!

The kids are getting SO SO big. I look at Belle and can literally see her maturing EVERY day. She acts like such a little girl now and runs and plays. It's so sweet to see her and Noah play together and hug. They are VERY wild and rambunctious, but make life SO happy here. I cant believe Christmas is already here. Why does time have to fly by when kids are so little. Makes me sad. Winter time is such a special time to me here in Georgia. It holds so many good memories. Memories of when i first moved here after a long and hard year stationed apart from George. Then the winter that he was in Iraq and i was pregnant with Noah. Then we moved into our first home the winter of 09. And of course my favorite, Belle was born just last winter. As soon as the leaves change colors and the cold crisp airs arrives, the nostalgia hits me and i cant help but walk around in a haze remembering such good memories. With that said, i will update and post some new pics tomorrow!! Eeeeek SO excited to have a month off!

Guestroom/Craftroom!

Since our entire family has been hit like a plague with stomach bugs, colds, and bronchitis i feel like it has been FOREVER since i've blogged, and even longer since i decorated my guestroom/craftroom. It is still in the works, i need to find some lamps for the nightstands, a work table to replace that black bookshelf, and i think i am going to get the bigger expdit shelf and put this smaller one in the playroom for toy storage. BUT here is is THUS far! In case you didn't know what it looked like before..........let me remind you.

And here is the room now!!!!

I have to say that the curtains are my all time favorite thing about the room. I scored them at Joann's in the clearance section for $3 a yard! I'm kicking myself for not getting more yardage!

Here are 2 mirrors that were left over from my Master bath project that is next on my blogging list :) And this SUPPEERR cute shelf i scored at the Goodwill for $10. Haven't fully decided what i want to do with it yet. I've just been placing jars and other random containers in it to hold craft supplies. 

So there you have it, my little cozy sewing haven. I dont know if we will get to the small changes i mentioned i wanted to make, by the end of the year. I have the holidays, my crazy kids, and of course school to focus on till then. But i will be blogging my master bath project, master bedroom alteration, and a big project we did in the living room!

This craftroom is now, by far, one of my favorite places in the house. Since it is upstairs with the kids, it feels so nice to be near them while they play during the day. They lay on the floor and make messes while i sew, and last week i even napped in our guest bed while the kids napped. I've even been known to hide out in that bed with snacks and gossip magazines as well. It's starting to feel more and more like my mom "escape" cave :) Nothing wrong with that.

Recap!

So i know i have been gone for about 2 weeks now but a lot has been going on over here. For one my computer crashed and shut down completely. so i had to turn it into apple to get fixed. Then i had some medical issues i had to take care of, and then my dad came to visit for a week! So with that said, i will be playing catch up the next few weeks and sharing what little i've done around the house and project wise.

The kids are literally growing like weeds, doing SO much it's amazing. School is going good, it is a pretty easy semester compared to the last 2, and senioritis has set in full force. I need to snap out of it though before my student teaching starts January 3rd, because the Spring is going to be the busiest time of my life. Here are 2 pictures of 2 main projects i was working on before my computer crashed. I will do full posts on these as well as a post on one BIG project George did to the house while i was away as well :)

My new sewing space :)

Our new bathroom mirrors :) Excuse the tape, that's what i used to get them up there perfect. Full post will have the final picture.

ATL!

Last weekend two of my best friends and I traveled to Atlanta to throw one of our dear friends a baby shower. This is the same friend that i took maternity pictures for just a few months ago. Bobbi wanted her baby shower at a tea room and we all thought that would be a great idea since we all LOVE a good excuse to get dolled up! Bobbi chose Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Room in Atlanta, GA and let me tell you, it was one of the best experiences we have all had together. And we have had many!

The place was in the cutest little neighborhood with the Flying Biscuit practically next door. In case you dont know what the Flying Biscuit is (because i didnt either until my girls took me) it is a fab restaurant that has many locations all over Atlanta. The tea room was small, but perfect for what we wanted. I organized a party of 10 to receive high tea with danishes and sandwiches, and then we also had a dozen strawberry cupcakes ordered from the bakery. The food was to die for. Here are a few pictures from our time there, and i can tell you that we will definietely be going back.

And since we're on the topic of Atlanta, let me tell you this........ i had to stop by Ikea on the way home. I have some AMAAZZZIINNNGG posts coming soon of my master bathroom and craftroom/guestroom makeover. Both rooms are coming along SO well :)

Happy dance!!

I said before that i had been working on the guestroom/craftroom and that i was re-doing my desk. This desk to be exact. I had plans of lightening it up a bit and painting it a pretty pastel yellow with little glass knobs for the hardware. Well my pretty ideas of a more feminine desk vanished when i started sanding all that awful green off and let me tell you this, i NEVER want to see that color green again. At least not in a paint can. It took me FOREVER to get that paint off! I took an hour almost EVERY evening for a month to work on it, since it was cooler in the evenings and when i started school i was also off in the evenings.

BEFORE:

Well yesterday after priming it upside down, i flipped the bad boy over and suddenly had a great idea! I had bought a can of beautiful wood stain to sand and stain the chair that went with the desk (already changed my mind on that one), and instead thought it would be SO pretty to stain the top of the desk and paint the rest.

So that is what i did. I was SO excited once it was done that i rushed to get it in the house, damp and all. I know that was a HUGE risk, especially moving it upstairs on my own. What can i say, i'm super woman. But here it is! These cell phone pics don't do it justice. I need a new memory card for my good camera so tomorrow after i get one i will take some new pics. And i will be working on the curtains i have for the room too! I am SO excited to get them up and then i will only need a few more things that i might be picking up at Ikea this weekend to complete the room!

I don't know why the yellow looks so much brighter in the first pic. It is a VERRRYY light yellow. It was actually called Creme Yellow by Vaspar.

Can't wait to get my sewing machine back up there and start on many awaiting projects!

I'm still alive......barely.

Well last week was my first week back to school. Literally back to school. I have to complete a 10 day "August Experience" in order to graduate next year. This is so i can experience "pre-planning" and setting up a classroom in the room where i am going to do my student teaching. I am working with a GREAT special education teacher that i really admire and think i will learn a lot from student teaching with her. So last week was filled with 8 hour days and then i would come home to my 2 adorable kiddos in enough time to cuddle and then dive straight into dinner, bathtime, and then betime. Last week was busy to say the least. And this upcoming week will be a repeat except that friday i will be heading to Atlanta with my girlfriends to throw one of our good friends a baby shower!

Since so much has been going on i haven't had time to work on all the projects i would love to, or to blog, or to even run. Bah humbug! No wonder i've been so cranky! So yesterday my neighbor and i decided to have a yard sale and clean out both our houses and post up out front and see what we could get for random stuff we no longer use. I only made $40 but spent a lot more lol. My neighbor was selling some great stuff, and stuff that we actually need! I scored this BEAUTIFUL solid wood buffet that she doesn't have room for, but looks like it was MADE for my dining room. We also got a Kirby and since her son is a few years older than mine, i got Noah's fall and winter wardrobe taken care of. I was SO excited!

*And how amazing does my old window look on the buffet??? I was working on it and planning on painting it blue and hanging it in our downstairs bathroom, but i set it on here to get a visual and George LOVED it. We are planning on leaving it there and adding a big long shelf higher up across the top of the wall.

Pumped from my goodies yesterday i took today to start organizing a bit since i got rid of some crap and have some space in our home. I cleaned out and swept the garage. *Side note, i have taken about an hour every night this past week to sand my desk and i JUST finished today. So priming and painting is on the agenda and i'm hoping i will have some pics of our guestroom/craftroom this weekend.* I moved a bookshelf from Ikea that we had in the garage into our closet which gave us so much more space and helped me organize our closet a little better. Here are a few pics from my closet work earlier this afternoon.

I know it doesn't look like much, but the shelf adds space for belts, bags, and shoes that otherwise get thrown every where else. There is also space for folded sweaters or winter things that George and I might not use during the spring and summer. 

I'm excited to get my desk done this week, FINALLY, and start working on more sewing projects as the fall holidays approach :)