DONE!

let the weekend begin! i'm READY!!!

i'm not working tomorrow, so i have a extra long weekend in front of me and i can't wait.

and...i've got everything finished for the wedding.

i finished C's tu-tu last night.

yeah - how about the fact that she HATES it. like, she didn't even want to put it on. when she saw it she started fighting. once it was on she just pulled at it. uh-oh. my girl might be that flower girl that causes a scene. oh i hope not. hopefully she will look so cute, no one will care....

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the picture frame chalkboards are finished and turned out great!

i think they are such a great idea and i'm really pleased with how easy they were and how great they turned out.

i love the colors. (i guess i would since i just used paint i already had from rooms around the house).

and i hope darcy has another bridemaid that has fun artistic hand writing. my chicken-strach-boy-handwriting will not do these little gems justice!

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i've got the hair clips finished too. i'm a little worried they might be too heavy for our little girls fine hair, but i've got another idea for them.

i think she would look super cute with her hair back in a low bun and the clip stuck in the side. we'll see.

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so - now i've got to figure out what to do with my hair. i've got a friend coming over to do it for me and i think i want this.

what do you think? it's fun, will stay out of my face, and looks so cool.

again - we'll see.

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are you guys tired of hearing about wedding stuff? this week my posts have been full of it!

well, the next post i will be will probably be it. and hopefully it will be full of pictures of my little C dancing in her tu-tu. and full of pictures of my new sister and little bro.

maybe i'll throw a picture of me and hubs in there too.

have a good weekend friends! summer is almost here and so far the weekend is looking sunny and rain free!

busy - but good!

i'm in a season of business. and i kind of stress and make lists and constantly think about the lists and feel rushed. but i'm not complaining. really - i promise. i like being busy sometimes. i like the feeling of being needed and having things to do. not all the time - but when fun things lay on the horizon and the business is all for good things, i like it.

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my best friends little man turned one last week. seems crazy to me that she is on kid #2 and her oldest is almost 4.

i wanted to make him a little birthday shirt. it's the first time i've done applique on a t-shirt. kind of tricky, but it turned out pretty cute. definitely on the homemade side, but i guess that's to be expected. =)

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the wedding is almost here and i am in full mother-of-the-flower girl mode!

the tu-tu is almost finished. it could be the death of me (might have thrown a small tantrum last night), but i know C is going to look sweet as sugar in it.

once it's finished i'll post some pictures. but today i'm headed back to the fabric store for more tulle. 5 yards wasn't enough...

and the hair pieces for the flower girls are almost finished.

i made some fabric flowers. but i haven't decided if i'm going to put it on a stretchy headband like this sweet one



or if i'll just put a clip on it and she can wear it like this



i'm not sure if she'll keep the headband on. she's not the best with hair accessories...

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i'm really excited for this next project to be finished. not because it's hard, but because i know they will look awesome.

darcy (soon to be sis-in-law) brought by some crazy gold ornate frames last week

she wants them turned in to chalkboards!

they are a work in progress, but i think they are going to turn out SO COOL!!


in the end, i envision this


neat right? i've got 4 that i'm working on. one to welcome guests, one for bourbon chocolate favors, one for drinks and one that we can't remember what it's for. =) i think they should write on it like above and hold it in some pictures. too cute!

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but, in the midst of all the busyness, we are still finding time to enjoy the beginning of summer.

C is obsessed with being outside and running around like a crazy women.

but every once in awhile i can get her to slow down and enjoy the flowers.


especially when there is a watering can involved!

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pray for no rain this weekend. lexington is green enough and we want an outdoor wedding!

the kitchen - now

OK - a post ALL about our lovely kitchen.

beware friends - it's scary. bad, nasty, small, old scary...

i'm starting as you walk in from our dining room.

this wall is coming down. we are making the kitchen and dining room one big room and putting a breakfast bar where the left wall is now.


here i'm standing in the doorway above looking straight into the kitchen

the left side


the right side


what's that you ask? two ovens? kind of...

see that little white panel there?


that's where the original cook top used to be. the wall oven broke a couple of months ago and since we knew we were getting new appliances with the new kitchen, we went ahead and bought the new stuff. shaun hooked the new oven up on the other side of the room. (where it will live in the new kitchen) then, the hubs got handy and popped out the old cook top and put in this temporary board. much needed b/c around the sink was the only counter top space i had!


and yes - that is my ONLY drawer there under the mixer. there is a tiny one on the other side of the sink, but it doesn't really count. it's super small.

and nope - no dishwasher.

this is the view while standing at the kitchen sink. that's the wall that's coming down! i can't wait to stand at the sink and see C sitting at the breakfast bar.


and the best part for last...

yes friends - that is our faux brick linoleum floor. don't be jealous...

so there you have it. the before shots of what we have been dealing with for the past year. but demo day is coming! and a year of no dishwasher is soon coming to an end!

i'll document progress a long the way. i'm excited for a new kitchen, but i am not excited about doing dishes in my bathroom sink. it will be worth it though!!

a wonderful weekend

this past weekend was so great! it was just what the hubs and i needed. it was time away from C, but she was well taken care of and we really missed her. but, we needed it. we had a really wonderful time.

shaun and i have both lived in kentucky our whole lives, but have never done much kentucky touristy stuff. we decided that we would drive down to the maker's mark distillery for the free tour.




it was pretty cool! we aren't really drinkers, but it was still neat to hear about the history and see the beautiful property. plus, they give you a free tasting and free bourbon balls!! YUM!

you can stick your finger right in and taste the new batches before they are barreled. cool, but kind of weird.

then we headed to our bed & breakfast. it was sooooo nice! maple hill manor bed & breakfast. wow. i can't even express how much we liked this place. from the moment we arrived, we were welcomed and taken care. we were barely there for 24 hours and we seriously were not ready to leave. we instantly connected with the inn keepers and had an amazing time. the area, the history, the people, the atmosphere, the breakfast. right up our alley and so much fun!



we had dinner at an awesome restaurant in bardstown called circa. it is in a beautiful historic home that was built in 1788. the food was outstanding. it was a cozy intimate atmosphere that was perfect for our little night away. definitely a good recommendation from the b&b owners that we are glad we took.

maple hill manor also has llamas and alpacas. pretty cute to watch and shaun couldn't resist feeding them.




the whole property was amazing. i wish we had taken more pictures, but we weren't there long enough. =( but, we have already decided that this will be an annual thing. we just loved everything about this place and look forward to going back.

they even gave C a little stuffed alpaca. we were excited to get home and see her, but sad to leave our new favorite getaway.

we definitely recommend this b&b and obviously had a wonderful time.

thank you shauny for my wonderful mother's day. i'm so thankful that you took the time to find this place and i loved every minute.

next - i PROMISE will be a post about our kitchen. we picked out counter tops on saturday and had someone come measure today. demo day is getting closer!!!!

my 2nd mother's day

i know, i know. mother's day was 3 days ago. but for me, it's right in the middle. i got to do some celebrating last weekend and still get to celebrate this coming weekend. the hubs went above and beyond!

this past weekend was great. it was just me and C on saturday. daddyboi left on friday to ride his first centurion. 100 miles on a bike!


not my idea of fun, but we wished him luck and spent the day laying around and playing dress up. C took a 4 hour nap and i did my usual saturday stuff. laundry and cleaning...;)


sunday was beautiful! the sun was shining and we were off to church. we had a great breakfast at bob evans (i really wanted an omelet) and headed home for naps. that's right, WE. shaun was pooped after his ride the day before, C was ready for another 4 hour nap (!), and i rebelled at first, but gave in for 2 straight hours! what a nice feeling. C and shaun were still sound asleep when i woke up, so i headed to the grocery to get a few odds and ends for the cook-out we were having that night.


i'm so thankful that my mom lives in town and we are able to get together on a regular basis. same goes for my little brother and his soon to be wifey. we grilled out, sat on our back porch and talked about the wedding that is JUST AROUND THE CORNER and enjoyed the perfect sunshine.

once family left, the hubs and i took a walk with C. it's still light here at 8, so we enjoyed a little family time before she headed off to bed. we let her walk instead of putting her in the stroller, and i was amazed at how big my baby has gotten in just a year. how grown up she is and how time moves too quickly. last year on mother's day, we had just gotten our new house. we hadn't moved in yet, but were painting rooms. i remembered that last year we were at our new house trying to get C to take a nap so we could do some painting. she wasn't going down easily, so i wrapped her up and took her out to the back porch swing and rocked her to sleep. singing my little song and thinking that this is the house she will really make memories in. this back yard will be her back yard. and this is where we will sit and swing for years to come. now, on this mother's day, she doesn't get rocked to sleep anymore. she loves the swing, but doesn't want to be held on it - she is a big girl who wants to swing with mommy sitting next to her. she is singing herself to sleep and we have made so many memories in just a year.


this is only my 2nd mother's day, so i obviously haven't been a mother for long. as the night was wrapping up and i was doing dishes, shaun felt bad that i was cleaning and had to go to the grocery store on mother's day. but i just thought to myself, "this is what mom's do". yes, mother's day is a day to give moms praise and rest for all we do, but that doesn't mean we stop being moms. or want to, for that matter. i love being a mom. i am beyond thankful that i have been blessed with the sweet daughter i call mine. and just because it's a day to celebrate mother's, doesn't mean i stop my mommy duties. does this make sense? maybe just to me...

i do feel loved and appreciated. this weekend is something i'm beyond excited about. caroline (aka daddyboi in this case) booked us a night at a bed & breakfast this weekend! the historic maple hill manor. i've always wanted to stay at a b&b and am really looking forward to it! what a treat! we are thinking about heading to IKEA too, but it's kind of in the opposite direction. either way, this weekend is going to be wonderful! i've always told shaun that i want to spend mother's day being a mom, but it's nice too that we get to get away (with C staying with her gran-jan) and re-charge so that we can be better parents and i can be a better mom.

thank you shaun for this coming weekend. and thank you baby girl for being my baby. and thank you lord for giving me these two. i feel blessed beyond measure at what you have given me.

a bridal shower and ready for May

man! april was one busy month. and may is going to be just as crazy! all good stuff, it's just kept me away from things like blogging.

to end the busy and fun month, i co-hosted a bridal shower for my VERY soon to be sister-in-law.

her sister was in charge of the food and venue. i was in charge of the decorations and desserts. PERFECT!

i was turned on to pinterest at just the right time, b/c that site gave me so many great ideas for the shower.

for the table centerpieces, i decided to use a bunch of little vases clustered together with just a few flowers in each vase. i only had 3 little vases when i got this idea, so i shopped around at goodwills to boost my collection. i found some great little pieces, and never spent more than $1.


i also leaned pictures of my brother and darcy when they were little on the vases. i loved these two. such a sweet little couple!


i also found this idea on pinterest. i thought it was perfect for a bridal shower. i found the letters on sale at hobby lobby for under $2 a piece and just randomly wrapped them in yarn. easy, cheap and so cute!


i made some bunting for the first time. i love how it turned out and really want to make some for C's room soon.


everything looked and tasted so yummy. and those desserts look pretty good too! ;)





i made a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, a chocolate and fruit trifle and PW's creamy lemon crumb squares.

it was a fun shower for a great bride. i'm super excited for darcy to be a part of our family.

so - now on to may!

mother's day is next weekend. i'm getting excited b/c the hubs keeps talking it up!!

and the wedding is this month. that means i am a bridesmaid, shaun is a groomsman, and C is a flower girl! i have a tu-tu to make, chalkboards to paint and weight to loose!

next comes the kitchen. oh yes my friends, we are finally starting on the kitchen. shaun's last day of school is june 10th. he plans on having the kitchen gutted on june 11th. (umm....C and i will be gone that day. we'll see what we come home to.)

we are knee deep in kitchen layouts, cabinet colors, sinks, faucets, hardware, paint colors. it's actually happening and i. can't. wait.

plus, this mean a trip to IKEA in a few weeks!! we'll need lots of fun accessories for this new room and IKEA seems like the only natural place to start.

would you like a sneak peak?!?!?

this is the design we are 95% sure we are going to go with. we've done a lot of "what about this?" and "i don't like that". it's been pretty fun figuring all this stuff out. we can do whatever we want! kind of... we ain't millionaires. =)




wait - i've never shown you what our kitchen looks like now....

OK - so i just went to go take some pictures of our kitchen now, but i have a ton of dishes to do (currently no dishwasher) and i don't feel like doing them right now. so, once the dishes are done and our old kitchen looks clean, i'll put up some pics. that will be the next post, how does that sound?

hope you all have a good monday! i'm down on my back with my sciatic nerve giving me problems. not fun, when you stay home with your 27 lbs baby, but at least i can blog.

be back soon with kitchen pics!