On the Cusp of a New Season

Spring is coming.

I know you're thinking, "Spring?!? What?? Anne, honey we just had Christmas 3 weeks ago."

And maybe Spring isn't literally coming...

but metaphorically speaking,

for me,

Spring is near!

And I'm giddy.

A season of Winter and solitude is leaving and dusting off the cobwebs in my heart along the way,

and leaving a path for love to shine through!

And I know this is all a bit mysterious...

but be patient,

this time of vague metaphors is drawing to an end for me,

and it looks like Valentine's Day threw up in my house.

But hey,

like I said...

I'm giddy ;)

Reveal

Okay, this is it. The moment you've all been waiting for. Okay, so maybe you haven't really been waiting...perhaps I'm the only one that has been chewing my cuticles off in anticipation of this moment. Even so, I'm glad to finally present to you...

Izzy's Big Girl Room!

Let's start with the details, shall we? The bedding, banner, throw pillow and curtains are all Rachel Ashwell's Simply Shabby Chic line for Target. I love this stuff. It makes me feel all girly and feminine and calm, which feminine and calm may be a total oxymoron, but humor me...

The butterfly/birds/branches art work is courtesy of moi! Although, I really have Susie Harris to thank as she is the inspiration for most of this kind of art work in my house.

The fabric pom poms are also made by yours truly and you can get the super easy, super cheap (yet super time consuming...just to warn you) tutorial here.

And, because if Izzy could formulate the words, she'd want me to show her small (but ever growing) stuffed animal collection, here it is. The. Kid. Loves. Dogs. Don't know where she got that from?!?!

And now, let's pick it apart. Because let's be honest, that's what us girly, feminine, calm women do. We pick ourselves apart. Let's proceed...

Firstly, I need something to go over the head of the bed. Her name, a picture, some of my mom's calligraphy...something. Any suggestions?

Secondly, this book case is temporary. My neighbor, Alex who is super handy with a saw is making me a cute little corner book case to go in that corner. Something small and white and dainty. I think it will really brighten up that corner, don't you? Oh, and a new lampshade. Something softer.

And thirdly, I really would love a white dresser. This is my mother-in-laws dresser, which I LOVE. It's gorgeous and solid and it's perfect...but I really love white furniture in a little girl's room, so unless she's willing to let me paint this one, I see a new one in our future at some point, as well as a white headboard, but we don't want Paul to blow a gasket while reading this post so we'll just keep that in our back pocket for now.

And just for fun, let's do some before and afters, okay?!? Those are always fun.

Before...

After...

Oh, and for you safety conscience Mommy's out there, don't you worry your pretty little heads. This bed has a hideaway, extra long safety rail that pops up and locks into place whenever Izzy Bee is tucked in. She's safe and sound in that big girl bed so you can all rest easy. I sure have.

All in all, I really love how this room turned out. It doesn't completely match the picture in my head, but hey, it's not to Shabby (pun intended) considering the minuscule budget I had to work with.

Now if I could just get Izzy to stay in her new big girl bed instead of sneaking off to her sisters at night...

Still Here

I am here and I am longing to blog again. But for some reason, time seems so fleeting these days. Paul is still on leave and as much as I thought that might free up time for me, I find myself wanting to spend my spare moments enjoying his presence instead of utilizing it. Not to mention that both of my girls have entered a season of being, shall we say... HANDFULS. It seems no matter how much I hurry and scurry around the house, picking up this or putting away that, they are right behind me to pull it back out again. My little darlings **said through gritted teeth and flaring nostrils** I am ever on my toes.

I have also been spending a few hours each day in the gym. Oh yes, Ash, you would be proud for I am well on my way to becoming a work-out-aholic and, dare I share this so soon, am starting a training program in February to run a 1/2 marathon! Ugh, and ow I've shared it and must be held accountable. That's okay though...a little more motivation.

I have yet to lose any of the 30 lbs I want off this year, but I know my body will catch up. I have lost 3 inches of my waist and was able to go down a size in my jeans and tops, so that's fun.

Oh and projects! I've been doing LOTS of projects and I have many more in the works. Here, I'll show you...

Oh, and I was convinced to get a Facebook. So, ya know...add me.

Sickies and Christmas Decorations

I had a wonderful birthday. Wednesday night, Paul took me to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (the Red Velvet Cheesecake was To. Die. For.) and then to see New Moon (again) and it was so much fun. Paul also took yesterday off so we were able to sleep in and run some errands and just chill.

And then today I woke up with a sore throat and half of my voice. I don't feel good.

Both of my girls have horrible coughs and so I didn't get to go to the gym today and I feel gross and icky and yuk.

But, I was able to catch up on some crafts this morning seeing as I had extra time due to my not being able to go to the gym.

And, since I'm too tired to think of anything witty or deeply sentimental to write, I thought I would just share pics of our Christmas Decorations. Cool? Cool.

Halloween Scare

Our plan was to wake up on Saturday morning and leave the house by 9am for our 3 and a half hour trek down to Chesapeake to spend the holiday with Paul's brother and his family. The plan was that Eva and Izzy would be able to trick-or-treat with their cousins and celebrate their Uncle's birthday with him and we'd be able to take adorable pictures of all of the kiddos decked out in their Halloween attire. That was the plan. I was comfortable with that. It was a good plan.

And then this happened...

Yep, Izzy woke up at 5am with a fever of 102?!? My neighbors had Swine Flu last week. I feared the worst and called the triage nurse at our local Johns Hopkins satellite clinic. She asked me a bazillion questions and eventually discerned that Izzy just had regular old influenza. I was relieved. BUT, she was still sick and in no condition to handle a long car ride. And we, of course, didn't want to share our sickies with all of our family down in Chesapeake, so at 6:45am, Paul and I made the final decision...we weren't going.

Even though this was an agreed upon change of plans, it was still a change of plans and I don't do well with those. at all. I believe that there should be legal documentation and approval committees (of which I'm the Chair person) before plans of any kind are changed. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way and so I've had to develop several methods of coping.

First...cleaning. It was the perfect storm of restless energy and germaphobia. My house was spotless within hours and completely sanitized!

Second...more planning. I know, I know it sounds crazy but I've noticed that if my plans get changed, I just plan for something new. Seeing as it was Halloween day, I was acutely aware that in less than 24 hours, it would be November 1st and the official beginning (in my book) of the Holidays. So what did I do, I plotted out Thanksgiving dinner and then inspected all of my current decor only to decide that it was insufficient.

Third...Shopping. I went to Michaels. I spent a little too much money but I justified it by calculating how much gas money we would've spent had we made our trip down to Chesapeake and allowed myself to spend exactly that much in Michaels. Paul hasn't heard this justification yet. He'll go for it though...right?

Fourth...crafting. Once I came home with all of my booty, I got to work. I'm more than happy with the finished products...oh and there will be more.

And finally, more planning. After all, Christmas is right around the corner!

Happy Halloween

Living Room for Sale

We're starting over! Why? Because I'm restless. Because I need a change. Because, I saw this...

This is Michelle's living room over at Three Men and a Lady. Isn't it amazing? I wouldn't even have to change my paint color. Just the furniture and accessories. I just love how simple and elegant it is. I love how clean it looks but how comfy all at the same time. And the best part about this living room...Paul loves it too!

But don't lose heart, my new best friend Michelle (by the way, you're my new best friend because I love that you put stripes in your entry way) I won't allow myself to be a total copy cat! I pretty much just want to steal the "idea" of this room and put my own spin on it. But still, this room is my jumping off point. It's perfect!

So, here's the plan...

1) Get rid of old stuff...on Craigslist.

2) Get new stuff...at Ikea

Whadya think?