that time of year again...purge time!

Wow. I have become pretty horrible at updating this blog! I'm sure y'all have been checking every single day for a new post, right? ;)

It's getting close to the time of year when I traditionally purge my home of STUFF & have a yard sale. This year, I thought I'd try to sell some stuff via word of mouth before our yard sale, just because I want to. So, here are a few items I have for sale. If you're local, & you're interested, let me know! {Sorry, no shipping...}

the tale of a dining room who longs to become a study

It's been a long time a-comin'.

We started converting our dining room into a home office months ago, when we gave away our dining room table & chairs. Since then, we've moved the computer desk into the new home office...and that's about it. Why? Because we have no money. :) However, eventually, the 3rd bedroom, which used to be the study, will hopefully be another nursery {PLEASE note that I said EVENTUALLY :)}. So we want to get the ball rolling to have that room empty before we actually NEED to have it empty. Make sense?

We have a bit of a decorating dilemma. This is the room that will be the study:

{See that wall there? Yeah that's the only full wall we have in this room.}

{that door goes into the kitchen. thus the fridge. :) perhaps a curtain would make for a good divider...}

{this is the view of the room from the kitchen}

The room is located to your left as you walk in the front door, so it kinda needs to look presentable. Which is not the case currently, obviously. I work from home, so the computer + desk is functional, but it's not a feasible long-term set-up, because my husband will need to also have a work space in this room eventually. {Check out his hobby here!} Also, one "wall" is actually an opening to the room from the entry, one wall has a double window taking up most of it, and a 3rd wall has the doorway to the kitchen. We have one complete wall for furniture placement, and two slivers of a wall on either side of the kitchen doorway. Fun.

I'd like to do this room with an industrial feel. I think that is a good way to combine my husband's taste with mine. First of all, a desk unit like this would be perfect along that window wall:

Then, we'll need some storage, and I'm diggin' on the idea of some old school lockers. We'll actually need a whole lot more storage than this, since we're losing a closet that's currently holding a bunch-o-stuff, but we'll figure that out later. :)

And the hubs has a lot of sports figures in his own personal collection that he likes to display, which I tend to oppose, but it would make him happy. So I'm considering something like this, up high on the one long wall we have:

For the color scheme, I'm thinking of yellow/gray/blue. Think old globe/school map. {Is this room turning into an old classroom??}

So there ya have it. My ideas for our hopefully-soon-to-be study. If you're on Pinterest {or even if you're not}, check out my inspiration board {and my sources for the above photos} here:

Thoughts? Suggestions? Do tell!

favorite things: the baby edition

When it comes to baby gear, we all know that the bumbo, bottles, boppy & bibs are a necessity. But sometimes it can get a bit confusing when it comes time to choose amongst the plethora of gadgets for little ones. Here are a few of my personal favorite baby items that have made my life with a little one a ton easier & a tad more fun...





A friend of ours gave Natalie these orbit labels from inchbug for her birthday, and they are a great find! These would be especially handy for daycare kids. They fit on bottles and sippy cups as well.







Natalie was a formula baby, and for all formula babies, a formula dispenser is a must-have. Let me save you time and money: go with the Avent formula dispenser. I tried 3 different kinds, and this one is by far the best. I had one other brand warp when I boiled it (even though the directions say to boil it before first use to sterilize it), and neither of the other two brands were as good about emptying all of the formula easily. And also...with the Avent one, the dividers are removable, making it into a snack cup for later. Ours now houses Cheerios. :)

There are a plethora of strollers out there, and I made the mistake of not researching & thinking ahead when I registered. The travel system stroller is awesome when baby is little & still fits in the carrier, but they quickly outgrow it. I bought an older version of this stroller for a plane flight, since this folds up compact like an umbrella stroller. It still has the height of a regular sized stroller, and it's super easy to steer and comfortable to push. This one looks WAY cooler than the one we have, being that ours came from a flea market for $10. :)

And when do you do order that awesome stroller...you'll quickly notice there is no cup holder. Enter this. {Available at TJ Maxx, Baby Depot, and I think Wal-Mart as well.}

Natalie got a super awesome wagon for her birthday, courtesy of her Mimi & Paparoxy. We added this clip-on canopy for some shade, and I've decided it's a must-have if you have a wagon!

Evenflo BabyGo High Chair. This thing folds up almost as compact as a camping chair, and let me tell you, we have already gotten our money's worth from it, and we just got it for Christmas. Ours came from Amazon, but I don't see it on their site anymore. Find it here. This might be the #1 baby gear item I recommend because it's just not very well known.

**UPDATE: This chair has been discontinued by Evenflo. I know, it's DEVASTATING. :) Every time I use this chair in public, I get comments on how awesome it is. I know several moms who would love to have this chair. And it's not available. I called Evenflo, and the best thing we can do as consumers is call or email them & let them know you want this product on the market again. Call Evenflo at 800-233-5921 & just tell them you would LOVE to have this chair. It only takes a couple of minutes, so DO IT. Or you can email them by visiting their website here & filling out the form. {It asks for model # & manufacture date. You can use the info from my chair if you want; the model # is 25703917 and date 10/08.} Thanks!**

What are your favorite baby items? Please share!

free instant art

So I tend to tell people that I'm a "blogger"...but if you look at how (in)frequently I write, I'm not so sure I can label myself as such. :) I need to work on that! That's my disclaimer: I realize I haven't blogged in forever, and here I am, and I'll try better, yadda yadda yadda.

Anyway, I wanted to change the wall above our bed in the master bedroom, but alas, I have no money for decorating right now. There are lots of cheap-o options out there, but I needed something FREE, not just cheap. So I decided to just hang some quick prints, and this is what I came up with... {sorry for the poor quality photos. camera phone + bad lighting.}

{PLEASE ignore the hideous bedside lamps. I painted them white to get rid of the Kirkland's-esque feel, and haven't replaced the shades yet. White drumshades, please?}

{Also ignore the bedside tables that are in disarray. Another soon-to-be project, hopefully...I digress...}

I got most of the prints from The Graphics Fairy, and I hate to admit this, but 1 or 2 of the prints came from elsewhere on the web & I failed to save the source. My bad. Anyway, this was a super quick, free way to change up the space. I hope to one day do a board & batten project in that space between the windows, much like this:

I'd love to do this, but with the top a little lower so I can use it as a ledge for frames, cutesy knick-knacks, and what not. {Knick-knacks & what not? Is that redundant?} Jenny at Evolution of Style has a complete tutorial. Gorgeous.

So that's about the extent of the decorating I've done around here lately. No money + summer vacation + 15-month-old = tiny changes here & there. :)

Have a good week!

the 'dos

So...I may have had a few different hairstyles over the years.

I've been trying to grow out the super-short cut I got last summer. {re: bottom right pic above} Growing out a short haircut is NOT fun. I'm getting much-needed highlights & a trim next Friday, and I'm indecisive about what I want to do with the cut. The whole growing-out phase is about to drive me CRAZY. I can't stand for my hair to be on my neck when it's hot, and it's too short to wear in a ponytail. So the question is...do I keep trying to grow it out, or cut it short in the back again?? {re: bottom middle & top right pics above} Decisions, decisions...