Making our house a HOME {The Dining Room}

I've been wanting to show y'all the work that Brian and I have very slowly been doing to make our house a home. We've been here two years this May, and we're finally checking a few items off our to-do list! We'll start with the dining room...

If I invited y'all over for a cup of coffee (or a latte), this is the first thing you would see when I open the door and you step foot in our home. We live in a "reverse ranch" which means that the main floor is as high as it goes. Our dining room is just to the left as you come in the door. Beyond that, and to the right, is the kitchen, living room, and the little hallway you see in the picture above, leads to the garage and the basement. 

I LOVE that everything in this room has a special meaning/memory for me. The gorgeous hutch, and old school desk were given to us by a very special family that lead our church home group when Brian and I had just moved back from California and Miss Hannah was a baby. They made us feel so welcome, encouraged, and were very generous to us. I filled the hutch with dishes that are constantly being swapped out as I use them. The bottom half is used to store my scrapbooks/photo albums on one side, and Hannah's art supplies on the other. The wall hangings were collected over our first 4 years of marriage. I cross-stitched the embroidery hoop, and the print is from Little Light Prints (LOVE her work, and have several more prints throughout our home.)

The GORGEOUS farmhouse table was built by my wonderful husband, after I showed him pictures and ideas of what I wanted. The vintage doilies are from my Grandma, and although I have every intention of actually stitching them together at some point, they are currently just arranged that way and get fixed on a daily basis. I also collect antique blue Ball jars... so you'll see more of them throughout my home!

I am sad to admit, after MUCH searching and searching for a vintage/industrial light, I succumbed to buying our chandelier at Pottery Barn. I'm well aware of how overpriced they are, but this particular fixture was PERFECT. It was just what I wanted and it was actually pretty affordable. The light is on a dimmer switch, and I love the warmth it gives the room when the sun goes down. 

The rugs and chairs are also Pottery Barn, but were bought during a CLEARANCE sale that was way too good to pass up. There are actually two 5x8 rugs laid next to each other, which saved us a TON of money on an 8x10 area rug. I also planned on stitching the rugs together, but that's one of those things that happens when you have two littles running around. 

The cute little distressed bench was a great find at an antique show with my Mama. The moment I saw it, I knew just where it needed to go! I love the big windows in this house... all that natural light makes me so happy! I also love that the window are low enough that Miss Hannah can peek out them and watch birds play, and snow fall. 

The antique church pew is actually from an old church down the road in the small town we live in. It was converted into a delicatessan when I was in elementary school, just a block away. My Mama worked there for a while and she brought it home when the Deli closed. It now lives in our dining room, and I love that it has such a rich history! 

Here's a much better look at that farmhouse table! Brian used 2in steel piping, primed and painted a textured black. For the top, he used 2x12 pine boards, that he distressed, stained and clear-coated. I'm so in love with that table, and we get lots of compliments on it whenever guests are over. 

I'll post the rest of the rooms we've finished as I get some time! 

A Toddler Valentine's Day Party!

Valentine's Day is a BIG deal in our house... like a really big deal. So when Miss Hannah asked for a party, and had been asking for a party since Halloween (girl after my own heart), how could I resist? We invited all her little friends and their Mama's too. I really wanted to give those Mamas something fun to do with their little loves... community with each other is so important to me.

The hoops are from last year and were made by wrapping the inner and outer pieces of the embroidery hoop with contrasting fabric. I hot-glued paper bunting that I ran through my sewing machine to the back. The tissue tassels were super easy... lots of tutorials on Pinterest. I also punched glittery scrapbook paper and then ran them through my sewing machine to make garland.

I bought most of my supplies at the Target dollar spot... they have insanely adorable stuff, and at a dollar a pop, I filled my cart with adorable washi tape, tissue paper, cups, plates, napkins and paper straws! I also found the ADORABLE photo booth props at Target for 5 bucks. Cute parties don't have to break the bank y'all!

The valentines that Hannah made for her friends were an idea I found HERE. We bought a pack of stiff card stock, heart shaped washi tape, and a tube of zoo friends from Hobby Lobby. The stamps were also from the Target dollar spot! Hannah picked out a certain animal for each friend and it was such a fun craft to do together.

Probably my favorite part of the decor was the tissue swag garland with the glitter "Valentine." I found the idea HERE, and I love it! It was the perfect backdrop for our photo booth. A special thanks to my dear friend Whitney who's adorable daughter Molly (Hannah's BFF) is pictured above. She helped me prep everything the night before the party... it's so much more fun to decorate with a friend right? 

We decided to do both breakfast food and kiddo snacks including sprinkle donuts from our favorite local shop, a breakfast casserole, sugar cookies, yummy toddler trail mix, animal crackers, fruit, and breakfast casserole. I wish I took a close up of the trail mix... I got the idea HERE, but used organic 'Lucky Charms,' Strawberry Yogurt O's from Trader Joe's, strawberry yogurt drops, & mini pop tarts. 

I love all the pink and red, and especially the donuts... I'm such a sucker for those.

Little Miss Norah slays me with her little skirt and moccs! And seriously... what a handsome little toddler Liam is!

The drink bar served Trader Joe's strawberry lemonade for the adults and Horizon strawberry milk boxes for the kiddos. The cups and straws are from the Target dollar spot. 

Aunties sure do love their nieces! There were 7 toddlers, and 4 babies at the party. I must say it was MUCH quieter and a lot less chaotic than I was expecting! I think that's what happens when Mamas of toddlers get together... we all help each other out, making things run smoothly. 

I had 4 areas set up... the kitchen for painting and cookie-decorating, the dining room for food/drinks/photo booth, the entry way for the sensory table, and the living room for eating/chatting. There were cheerios to be strung on red heart-shaped pipe cleaners and THESE worksheets with red crayons on my coffee table too. 

There were more activities than I thought we'd have time for, but those kiddos moved QUICKLY through each station! We made the noodle valentines above, using the free template found HERE. I set up large pieces of paper with noodles and pink, red, and white washable paint. After carefully (and some not-so-carefully) dabbing paint on each noodles, we moved the papers away to dry. Then they decorated sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles... very festive! After the noodles were dry, they quickly strung on them onto the pre-cut bakers twine and wrote their names on it. I think having it all prepared ahead of time made it really stress-free. 

Another friend brought a couple sensory bins for the kids to play in, and it was quite a hit! I don't have her recipe, but there were cookie cutters and valentine cupcake wrappers... so cute! I swallowed my OCD tendencies and let Hannah get messy! I should do that more often... she brushed right off and had such a good time. 

Seriously... the toddler photo booth slayed me! They were so cute! Miss Moriah was so sweet and polite. I hope they all had as much fun as Hannah did... she's still talking about it. 

It was such a fun way to celebrate with our little Valentines!

A Lumberjack Shower for Baby Kade!

I recently had the privilege to throw a baby shower for my best friend, Casey and her soon-to-be-here little man, Kade. What was even more fun, was throwing the shower with her sister, Emilie! It was Casey's family shower... which is very fitting, since these people ARE family to me. They are warm, caring, wonderful people. Throwing the party at their parents' house, where Casey and I stayed up late all through our adolescence giggling about boys and holding each other's hands through break-ups, just seemed right. I may or may not have shed a few tears in the realization that we're all grown-up and sometimes that just seems crazy to me. Before I start the waterworks again... here are the shower details...

Casey's cousin Kenz made the AMAZING invites. She has crazy talent and they were perfect!

Working with Em was a DREAM. She has great taste and we both seemed to mesh on our style/ideas for the shower. I mean... obviously we were on the right track when we couldn't find the buffalo plaid ANYWHERE because, duh... it's the hottest thing since sliced bread right now. After searching the web for hours and making quite a few frantic phone calls, a fabric store in St. Louis came to our rescue and we scored a few yards for the table.

The buntings were so simple to make... and HELLO, my favorite thing to do! The black triangles are felt, cut and run through my sewing machine with black thread. The Trees are scrapbook paper, cut and run through my machine as well. The red Pom-poms were made with yarn and a borrowed pom-pom maker. I strung them onto the same yarn with a large needle, and I have to admit, I LOVE them. 

Being lovers of good food... Em and I came up with a simple brunch Menu that was sure to please. We served tiny pancakes (Trader Joe's), s'mores donuts, fresh fruit, an apple galette (made by Emilie) and an assortment of delicious quiches made by their Mama, Kandy. 

I ordered donuts from our favorite local shop, Lamar's and then added the marshmallow bits and graham cracker crumbs myself. As a donut-lover, I have to say they were pretty good!

Our spread was enjoyed by both kiddos and adults. Hannah of course was way more interested in the fruit than the delicious donuts... crazy kid. 

We used her Mama's cloth napkins, and our combined collection of Pottery Barn dishes, and gorgeous tartan plates. The fabric was just folded and pressed for the table runner, and we used leftover Christmas garland for our greenery. The raw wood platters and cake stands were made from firewood I snagged from a friend, that my wonderful Hubby cut up for us!

Dark-chocolate covered marshmallows and graham crackers near the drink bar for little snackers.

We did a hot cocoa bar, complete with mini marshmallows and whipped cream! We also served coffee, (Starbucks of course) and milk/juice for the kiddos. Once again, we used our pottery barn dishes and the insane amount of mason jars I've collected over the years. 

It was simple, and so much fun to put together! I loved the relaxed atmosphere at these kind of showers. People can graze on brunch, sit in cozy chairs and have good conversation. It was so much fun to watch Casey open all the adorable cloth diapers, and sweet boy clothes. I'm hoping to get a photo tour of her gorgeous nursery soon and give you a peek! 

Love this girl and so very excited to hold that sweet boy and love him like she's loves my girls. 

Em, Case and their Mama. We're so excited to meet you baby Kade! xoxo

Olivia Grace {weeks 33-36}

Our girl has the biggest grins! When she's happy she is HAPPY, that's for sure! At 33 weeks, my baby said "Mama." I was in the kitchen, just out of her sight and she started yelling for me... heart melted into a puddle right there. She still only says it when she can't find me.

Liv developed her own version of crawling around 34 weeks... half scooting, half rotating around on her bottom--hilarious. She'll pull up her legs and then sprawl out to reach things she's not supposed to get to... phones, Hannah's snacks, etc. She gets where she wants to go!

She still loves ONLY her 'soothie' binky & can grab it and stick it in like a pro! She likes to be worn by Mama in the Becco carrier, that's how we survive groceries and errands! She sleeps great in her crib... waking at 12 & 6 and waking at 8 with Hannah. I love nursing/rocking her to sleep... she's so calm and cuddly--hard to put her to bed sometimes! 

At 36 weeks, she's crawling much faster and more efficiently! She even started pulling up on furniture... mostly to see what Hannah is doing on the couch. She's been a bit cranky this week. Lots of whining, not wanting to nurse as often as she was, and a few terrible car rides. She's had a stuffy nose, and we think she's working on some upper teeth, so that could be the culprit. We still love her pretty little self and can't believe how quickly the time is passing. Eight months seems so very big, and it makes my Mama heart a little sad. 

Hannah's photo project HERE.

Olivia Grace {weeks 29-32}

Oh Livi-loo. Where to start?! She has grown up so much these last few weeks and has started doing so many new things! At 29 weeks, she'd gobbling up her organic pouches, just like her sister liked. She could get up on all four's but moved backwards, silly girl. She was and is still sleeping up to 6 1/2 hours most nights and has done a few 7 & 8hr stretches too! Praise the Lord above. She's sitting up and playing and rolling around to get her toys (and some of Hannah's too!)

Christmas was such a joy... getting better each year with these sweet girls around! Liv sat on Santa's lap and even smiled at him! She did great at the family gatherings and sat in several highchairs, which made her look so grown-up. She received a bigger carseat that matches Hannah's, and car rides have been going SO. MUCH. BETTER. She also received a glow sea-horse, soft baby and green blanky from my family that have been her new lovies. With her blanky and soothie... she SLEEPS! 

At 31 weeks, Liv was being woke up by her Sister... ornery. We hear them "playing and talking" on the monitor most mornings. It's such a precious sound. Hannah will hand her toys and Liv giggles and smiles. 

At 32 weeks, our girls has seriously turned a page... gone are the fussy days (for now) and she's is content to sit and play for long periods of time with her sister. She pulls all the toys out of her bin and spreads them out on the floor. She says "blah blah blah" which is hilarious and giggles at everything Hannah does. Her favorite game is to try to steal Hannah's binky and then laughs while Hannah says "No, no Sissy!" She's scooting forward and ready to crawl any day now! We just love her more and more each day, and can hardly put her sweet, cuddly, squishy self to bed at night after she falls asleep on Mama. We're so smitten!

Hannah's Photo Project HERE.

Olivia Grace {weeks 25-28}

Oh Livi Loo... such a character. She's hot or cold, and never between. We've decided that it will always be loud in our house... her presence always known. I'm okay with that... just such an adjustment from our Hannah. She was very good and went with the flow at Thanksgiving. I hosted one dinner and we all ended up cuddling and napping after the meal... her Auntie didn't mind the snuggles. 

The next week, she started scooting! She'll be across the room from where I left her in no time at all! The whole family caught the flu... poor baby didn't even want to eat much, and that's her favorite thing to do! She still weighed 16lbs after a week of fasting... what her sister weighted at a YEAR. Our perfectly average sized Liv... flying through the hand-me-downs that I thought would work out perfectly! She's still SUCH a Mama's girl... needs me all day, everyday... or else, tears.

She's started sitting up to play, and I think she is MUCH happier doing so! She loves to sit by the toy bin and pull out all the toys, one by one. She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. She still takes her soothie binky, but only when she's sleepy. Otherwise she chews on it. Sophie the Giraffe is her BFF... that rubber toy has some sort of magic baby powers. The car rides have gotten MUCH better overall... she still isn't too pleased to be trapped in her carseat for long... but thank the Lord for no screaming each time we go anywhere!

At 6mo and two weeks, she started eating some food! She seems to really like bananas, sweet potato and even parsnips! Still munching away on Mum Mum's and reaching for everything we eat... sometimes we let her try things, but she seems to be disturbed by what it actually tastes like once it's in her mouth, ha. We love our girl and are so excited to see more and more of her personality emerge! It's going so quickly with our second baby... we're trying to soak up her littleness while it lasts. Our beautiful girl will be chasing the sister she adores around the house before we know it!

Hannah's Photo Project HERE.