Lyla Grace Turns 1

A few weeks back our baby girl turned one.  I have still not quite processed the fact that we have a one year old, but it's true.  Or at least we had a party for it :).  This past year has been a blur - but an incredible one.  Exciting, anxious, wonderful and full of joy.  Lyla Grace has brought a light into our world that I never could have imagined.

For her party, we didn't have a true theme, but we mish-mashed a few things together to make it bright and vibrant - lots of colors, stars, balloons, and streamers.  We tried to keep it small so that she was comfortable, so we had family and a few close friends.  It was perfect.

This is precious Adrienne. She's one of the most wonderful people to us as she watches Lyla Grace part time during the week.  Such a blessing how she loves her.

Then we have the amazing Cashins.  They were lifesavers for her party.  Came Friday night to help setup and prep and then came early Saturday to continue to help.  There's no way we could have pulled it off without them - love them!

Someone's in love with baby Jo Hartzler!

See the grump face? It continued for quite a while.  Fortunately we got a few pictures!

She gave this to most people.  : |

Baby V. Shower! (maybe part I?)

A few weeks ago we were blessed beyond measure at our sweet baby shower.  My best friend from junior high planned it and with the help of her moms it went off without a hitch.  It was so well thought out and every detail was done with care.  Everyone at the shower told her they want her to plan a party for them.  And really, she should.  She's wonderful.  My family was all there, and almost all my closest friends were able to make it.  I basically just floated around in a bubble of blessings and overwhelmed gratefulness of how loved we and our sweet little one are.  

I don't have a ton of photos on this computer yet, but I'll share a few.  There were tons and tons of balloons floating, with up to 7 foot ribbon hanging from them. Twas pretty magical.  She also spray painted lots of things gold (like the cute little animals on the table), had lots of flowers and rented chairs and tables that matched the decor. The topper was the little (BIG) giraffe she bought us, decked out with flowers, who we have lovingly named George Henry.  

We got lots of clothes (so cute and little!) and a lot of the must haves from our registry.  We really only have a few things left to buy, all thanks to our generous friends and family.   

I didn't get a good picture of my plate with food on it, but a waffle bar was served with fresh squeezed juice, mint and fruit water, and delicious yogurt (that I'm now obsessed with... it's from Trader Joes and its full fat french vanilla yogurt. yum).  

Here she is.  Isn't her dress darling?

I didn't get a good picture of the balloons on the ceiling over the tables, but this was after many of them fell and we put them all in the room off the kitchen.  We kept all the ribbon and are hoping to make a mobile with it.

Baby V. Nursery: Part 4

You guys want to see some more fun coming along in the nursery? It's almost done.  I know. It's early and a bit unnecessary, but to be honest, having this almost out of the way feels like a relief.  I know there are so many other things that are more important and worthy of causing a little stress (you know, like childcare and balancing work), and I just didn't want this to be one of them.  Now, granted, the nursery has basically no eternal value - you know, other than providing a home for the little babe.  But, the decorations, the paint, the toys? They don't really truly matter - and I get that.  But, it's been fun, and it will be fun to watch her enjoy the things we've curated for her. I'm hopeful that they'll grow with her and get her through many years in a room.

Here are some frames we've put up over her crib.  They are from a Rifle Paper Co. calendar.  We took 6 images out of it that we loved and that sort of matched the color scheme in her room.  Ikea did us a favor by selling us super affordable frames (like $9?), and my sister tirelessly sanded them down so that Brian could spray paint them gold (thanks Sis, I owe you).  For those that are interested in this Ikea hack, I can't recommend sanding enough.  We thought we would just prime them, but it didn't stick.. at all.  They needed to have a rough coat on them to accept the gold spray paint.

Sorry for the glare and the crookedness; hopefully we'll get some good pictures when it's all done.

Here's a few pictures I took through the process.  Oh, and the organization of this project? That's all the husband, not me.  I would have probably spray painted them on the ground. Him? Nope, he made a little ladder-thing for them..

Baby V. Nursery: Part 3

I have a feeling I'm going to regret ever publicly committing to this stars idea.  Ladies (and gents) I'm stumped!  The stencil idea didn't work - paint bled through the stencil and the sticker stars idea looks like it's just going to be more work than it may be worth.  The sticker idea either means we use a machine like a cricut or cameo and buy a cartridge and contact paper (which could get expensive).  Or we could just cut out the stars ourselves - ha - that would kind of be a nightmare though.  It's probably going to be 150 stars and they are 8 point, so.. probably not going to happen.  Regardless, the ceiling is painted a really pretty champagne and it looks awesome even if we just leave it as is.

Here are baby V.'s current digs right now.  The shades depend on the lighting, but the walls are a very very light pink (we mixed 1 gallon white paint with about 1/3 gallon martha stewart ballet slipper) and the ceiling is martha stewart fledgling.  BV did an awesome job sanding down the ceiling and flattening it.  Can't wait to show you guys the final result.

We also made a fun trip to IKEA this past weekend to pick up a bookcase, curtains, frames and other goodies.  The frames have been a fun project.  Here's a little sneak peak of what we'll end up with: 

Hooray! I can't wait to share more soon! For now, I'm off to the gym to mope away how much weight I've gained since my last midwife appointment (ugh).  

Baby V. Nursery: Part 2

As I mentioned in part 1, we were really digging this lovely star wallpaper (below).  Not really digging the price tag though.  I've seen it range from $200 - $500 a roll, and considering we would need more than one roll just to cover the ceiling, well that really wasn't going to fly.  We've just painted the ceiling, and are now considering either going the stencil route, or applique like this smart lady did.  The problem with the latter is that we don't have one of those machines that would cut out the stars..

Here she is in action in a few little lady's rooms: 

I can't quite share a success story on this yet, but there's more to come on this little project!

Baby V. Nursery: Part 1

A year ago we didn't know where we'd be living now.  We felt like we were maybe supposed to move (not necessarily cities, but from our current house), but weren't sure of the details.  Well, a year went by and that desire truly subsided and we feel very content where we currently live.  If at some point we're called to move, well we'll do just that! But, for now, we know we've got a little room allocated for Baby V.  

For those of you that like these kind of details, here's a layout of the room and the measurements.  It's approximately a 10.5 x 11 ft. room.  

We messed around with furniture layout a few different ways, but because of the location of the closet, door and windows,  I think we're going to end up with a layout similar to below. 

With the above in mind, we mocked up an inspiration board. While I didn't originally think I was a pink person, I've changed my mind and we're going with a white paint with a pink tint.  It's not over the top, but it is definitely feminine.  Inspired by the Osborne & Little Coronata Star Wallpaper, we're doing a little DIY action on the ceiling.  Now we're on the hunt for vintage furniture, a crib, bookcase, curtains, art, ottoman and many other little things.  

Holiday Recap: Thanksgiving, Christmas, NYE

Ahh, it's good to be back, friends.  I've missed this little internet blogland.  Our days have been filled to the brim lately, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I've had the past two weeks off of work, so I've been home and enjoying every minute of it.

I haven't shared many personal pictures lately, because, well mainly, I just haven't taken the time to upload them.  But here we are, January 2nd, and finally getting around to it!

This year for Thanksgiving, we celebrated at Brian's aunt's house.  His cousin, Rit, and her boyfriend, made an incredible meal.  I'm talking - a humongous turkey, ham, 20 sides (slight exaggeration, but not really). We had a really great time soaking up family time and just enjoying everyone's company.  This was also the last time we had the opportunity to spend quality time with Brian's grandma, who passed away Christmas day.

A few days before Christmas, Brian's family came up to our house to spend a few days and celebrate Christmas.  For the Christmas weekend, we ended up going down to Columbus to spend a few precious hours with his grandma and family. She passed Christmas day in peace and surrounded by family.  I may share more on this later - it was such a bittersweet time.  She loved Jesus, and is now in heaven, so that is the sweet part. Loss is such a hard situation, but the celebration of her life was in fact, quite beautiful. 

Ahh, we are now to NYE.. Brian and I made a fun sequin wall photobooth so that we could get pictures with friends.  I'll let the fun photos speak for themselves :-)

Life Lately

Life has been both fun and crazy lately.  Last week was my last travel week of the year, and Brian took a bus from downtown Cleveland to Pittsburgh so that he could have lunch with me and drive me home.  I was shocked and so so happy.  He rubbed my back and neck the whole drive home (multi-talented, that man is).

photos {1,3} Omni William Penn Hotel {2} huge nativity scene

We spent this past weekend putting up our tree, decorating, and last-minute shopping.  We've also had lots of events at church and with friends, so our calendar has been full.  But full in a very good way.  A way that instead of draining you, rather refreshes and revitalizes you.  We are having lots of family in town, starting Wednesday so I'm off to finish up some work, start cleaning the house, and think through what in the world we'll be eating for all these meals (any advice would be appreciated)!

photos {1,2} Brian, Char and me with our tree {3} a little peak of our living room gallery wall

Table de la Lion

I love to see things transformed.

Whether it is a work of art, a home, a team, or even a person.  There is something very inspiring and beautiful about seeing something go from utterly broken to fully transformed.  While what I'm going to write about is just a story about a piece of furniture, there is another story, a more spiritual one about how my life has been transformed.  I'll save that for another day though.

Something else I love - GOOD DEALS :) Which is why you might often find me in a thrift store, flea market or garage sale.  Last Wednesday I was at a thrift store with my buddy Chris; we weren't looking for anything specific but just went because some things were half off. 

By the way, as you may have inferred from my use of "buddy" this isn't Sam, its her husband Brian and I'm giving my first post a shot. 

As Sam alluded to in her last post I found a pretty cool little claw foot table with a lion head drawer, which i think make it look pretty tough.  Only it had a few problems: a really good lean, the paint was yellowing and chipping off and it had only three of the four claw feet remaining; this is most likely why most people walked right on by.  You can't quite grasp it in the picture below because I think I was trying to hide the lean (this was my text to Sam, trying to convince her we needed it).

For $40 I took a chance on it assuming I would somehow figure out how to jimmy-rig it, as I've become accustomed to in some of our recent projects.  Once I got it home I removed the legs and put the table on its top.  I made sure that the legs would now be level when I Gorilla-glued them back together. (see below)

Once I put it back on its legs it was (basically) level, so I took off the hardwear.  Next I gave it a quick sand, and then Sam and I were ready to paint.  I forget the color name, maybe she can comment below with it, I know its from Martha Stewart. I then returned the hardware, but only the front two claw feet since it made it a bit more symmetrical.  All in all, a very quick and easy transformation; here is the final product:

Hope you like it!

[Sam here: I'm giddy with excitement that Brian decided to post on my blog. I think he did a great job :-) . Now for a few comments for those that may be interested: The paint is Flagstone by Martha Stewart in the high gloss.  We were going to put a lacquer over it, but the man at Home Depot convinced us that we wouldn't need it.  I agree with him as it came out very glossy/shiny without it.  He also said the lacquer might yellow (heck to the no on yellowing paint).  Also - "tough", Brian?  hahaha, awesome.  A few more things - remember when I blogged about hats?  I'm now realizing how helpful it is to blog about something I want, because Brian came home with a hat for me from his deal hunting (I cleaned it, a lot, don't worry). We also found the marble horse head bookends at a flea market this weekend for $15. yay! Happy Easter all]

Office Project: Inspiration Board

As promised, here are some photos from our inspiration board project for the office.  It was a fun project to work on with Brian and I really like the way it's turning out. 

Disclaimer: The bright red walls in the office are going to go soon(ish).  I'm thinking a gray color for the walls, or maybe a green.  Not sure, all I know is the red is a little too...boom. 

Also, you'll see that our board is not filled up yet.  We're working on it :-)

Oh and if you can't tell by now, we treat our dog like a child. 

A shot of the bookshelf we got from IKEA.
 

So here's what you need to know to replicate:
- 3 2'x3' bulletin boards
- 2.5 yards duck canvas
- 6 packages 3/8'' dritz decorative nails
- Hot glue gun
- Screws
- Staple gun
- Fabric adhesive (not necessary, but nice to have)

In order to save money (because large bulletin boards are expensive) we bought three boards and screwed them/glued them together.  Each of the three boards had a wood trim, so Brian took the trim off of all three boards that would be on the main part of the big board.  He then used that trim to brace all three boards together.  Sounds confusing, but if anyone is interested, we can give further instructions (you can also see in-progress shots here).  Then we hot glued the sucker everywhere to stabilize.

After the boards were joined, we used a fabric adhesive to keep the fabric sturdy while we stapled the fabric to the back.  After all was tight and stapled, we put the decorative nails in.  We just used my pinkie finger to measure between the nails, and because there was a frame on the board, it was easy to keep them pretty straight.