I spy...

A few goodies I've been spying online lately...

definitely over the glass-top dining table, with a 1-year-old. and this one comes with a leaf! think: old mismatched dining chairs and a wooden bench, all painted white to contrast the gray-brown table. ahhhh. from ikea.

simple elegance for our entryway. from ikea.

I work from home, and my work space is super inefficient. this antique white desk would help me get organized, while looking cute at the same time. from CSN stores.

this indoor/outdoor rug would definitely brighten up our deck! from World Market.

this white quilt would definitely simplify the bed-making in the mornings...and it's machine washable. yes please. from Target.

DIY yarn + pinwheel wreath

I was inspired by Kimba of A Soft Place to Land to do a yarn-wrapped wreath for spring. Since doing my daughter's pinwheel-themed birthday party a couple of weeks ago, I've been kind of obsessed with pinwheels, so I wanted to include pinwheels on mine...I mean, who doesn't love pinwheels, right?

So here's how I did it:

I bought a wreath form {for some reason Hobby Lobby only had these straw ones, and none of the styrofoam kind, but whatever...it was 50% off of $3.99, and I was ready to get started instead of shopping around}, a skein of this fun green & turquoise yarn {ok I bought two, just in case, but I only used one}, and 3 pinwheel picks {also 50% off right now at HobLob}. Total cost: under $7! Holla.

Tape the end of the yarn to the wreath, and start wrapping the yarn around the wreath. Recruite help from an adorable 1-year-old if you can.

You will begin to think it will take all day to finish, but it won't, I promise. Keep wrapping. Distract 1-year-old with puffs if necessary.

Whew! Finally finished.

I wanted my pinwheels to still turn once I attached them, so I cut off the sticks but left the pinwheels intact. I then glued them to floral pins so I could stick them into the wreath. {Sorry I didn't include the floral pins in the "ingredients" pic above...they were an afterthought. :)}

Attach the pinwheels to the wreath and hang. I decided to use regular ole twine instead of cute ribbon, just to keep it simple. Voila!

It makes me smile as I walk up to the door! Especially when Natalie starts "blowing" the pinwheels. :)

pinwheels + pennants

So, our little Nat turned one.

{insert cliche, "they grow up so fast" here.}

I seriously can't believe that this little angel:

Is now THIS little angel:

To celebrate, we had a birthday bash at her Granmama's house. I got the inspiration for the party from Hostess with the Mostess, mainly from this party, but also from lots of other pinwheel-inspired parties on the site.

I found some adorable invitations from Sweet Papers, and got her to customize the colors & layout just for us:

I loved that I could print them myself & save money! Sweet Papers also customized the coordinating tags & toppers, which I printed on cardstock for the cupcake toppers and label paper for the cup stickers. Inexpensive, and easy!

Here are a few more pics of the party. It was such a fun time, and we were so blessed to have so many friends and family come out to celebrate our sweet Natalie!

{cupcake toppers designed by Sweet Papers & assembled by me}

{pink pinwheel from Hobby Lobby}

{stickers on cups designed by Sweet Papers}

{small pinwheels from Hobby Lobby}

{free printable alphabet bunting from Ruffled - this is so cute, I may need to make one for the house!}

{free printable small bunting from Daily Suze}

{enormous pinwheel from Hobby Lobby}

{yeah...didn't get a "before" pic of the smash cake, but it was ADORABLY decorated by my mom's co-worker to coordinate with the pinwheel design from Sweet Papers}

{also didn't get a good pic of the birthday girl's sweet getup, but we made her a t-shirt from transfer paper that coordinated with the pinwheel design from Sweet Papers}

{So apparently, we owe a good deal of our party stuff to the awesome work of Sweet Papers! Go check them out for birthday party invitations, baby announcements, shower invitations, and more!}

featured in Southern Child Magazine!

Southern Child Magazine included our adoption story in their April/May 2011 issue. Check it out!

I fought the wasp, and I won.

I am utterly terrified of stinging insects. As in, I completely spaz out whenever one comes within a 3-foot radius of me. I am creeped out by spiders, disgusted by roaches, but HORRIFIED of wasps, bees, etc. Even the semi-harmless cicada killer freaks me out with its giant stinger & creepy stalker hovering. {after posting that cicada killer link, I am now realizing how many insect-related posts I have. nice.}

Naturally, springtime brings these fierce insects to the forefront of our yards. Every time I venture outside these days, there is a bumblebee or wasp lurking around my flowerbed. This causes me to always be on the lookout, of course. I generally make a beeline {har, har} for the car, to avoid said stinging stalkers. So yesterday, as I put Natalie in her carseat, I was breathing a sigh of relief, since of course the car itself provided a safe haven for us. I strapped her in, and proceeded to the driver seat...where I heard the ever-ominous buzzing sound. I started to quickly enter the safety of the car, when I saw it.

The Wasp. Stinger = death trap. And this sucker was hovering around, just inside my car door. What do I do? Close the door? No wait...he would then be trapped inside the car, with my BABY. I left the door open & stepped back to think. Is this like when you come across a bear, and you play dead? Or a mountain lion, and you run for it? Or wait...am I supposed to grab a coat & make myself appear larger? All of these deadly creatures are so confusing. In the meantime, while I am picturing myself as large as a grizzly bear in an effort to scare off the wasp, he is creeping FURTHER into my car. OH. NO. HE. DIDN'T. Get away from my baby!! At this point I am torn between survival instincts, and maternal protective instincts. {Ok maybe that's a LITTLE dramatic.} I walked around the car and opened the other door, to provide another way out for the little bugger. {pun intended.} Our car doors are wacko heavy, and it closed itself as I swung it open & ran back around the car. UGH. I walked back around to open the passenger door again, and as I did, I saw him COMING FOR ME. I swung the door open so fast that, of course, it closed again. STUPID DOOR. Wait...what just happened? Is that...the wasp? In the door?

BOOYAH.