A Working Mom's Tale

I know I should put her down to bed, but I just can't.  I've been at work all day, and this small window of time is so precious to this new mommy.  So...I continue to glide back and forth in my glider rocker with my daughter sleeping in my arms, periodically planting kisses on her chubby cheeks.  Almost as soon as bath time is over, those little eyelids lose their battle, and so here we are gliding away.

While I love my job and enjoy my time in the office, today I felt a massive emptiness in my arms and throughout my day as I shuffled through piles of paperwork, made phone calls and plowed my way through emails.

It wasn't a bad day.  It was just another day of being away from my little girl, and, therefore, just one of those "swallow the lump in my throat and fight back the tears because I miss my baby" kind of a day.

Of course, moms all over the world make the same decision I made, that is to go back to work, and both baby and mom do just fine...even thrive in many cases.  For me, I continue to focus on quality time and not necessarily the quantity.  I have to...otherwise, the thought of being away would kill me.

The truth is I like getting dressed up for work and getting out of the house, and my job is rewarding.  I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it, but the catch-22 is that I want to be equally involved in my daughter's day.  I want to be with her every minute of every day, and yet I've chosen to meet her needs alongside my husband in a different way.   It's the right decision for us right now, but I guess I never expected it to be so hard.

Who would've thought?

So, I called my mom on my drive home from the office today and just cried quietly as my mom offered this advice, "Go home and take a deep breath and another deep breath and another deep breath and just take some time to pray".  She must've known that I was holding my breath in silence on the other end of the line just so that my emotions wouldn't be obvious.

And by "emotions", I mean hormones, or so my mom suggested.  Thanks, Mom.

But then I realized how much I still need my mom even though I live two hours away and spend the vast majority of my quality time with her over the phone.  I talk to her daily, often several times a day.  BUT, it IS quality even though our face to face time may not be quantity.  I only have one mom.  She is my mom and I'm her daughter, and I love no one else's mom the way I love my mom because she raised me and nurtured me and stayed up with me all hours of the night and loves me no matter what and even still listens when I call and sit silent on the other end of the line because I'm too afraid that I'll start crying.

And so...I took my mom's advice, and here I am sitting quietly and praying, trusting that my little girl will love this mommy of hers the way I love mine and always feel connected to me and intensely loved by me whether I'm 5 minutes away or 500 miles away, whether I'm at work and entrusting her physical care momentarily to another or whether I'm at home holding her in my arms, whether I'm asleep in my bed as she snoozes away in hers or whether I'm up all hours of the night nursing her back to sweet dreams.  I pray today that the quality would truly overcompensate for the quantity.

My baby girl will be 12 weeks old on Saturday, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God for her.  She's at that fun stage where she wakes smiling and cooing with a few high-pitched squeals mixed in, and that's the image I take to work with me every day, and that's the same image that has me Nascar-ing it home at night. I love her to the moon and back...and then some.

Well, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I feel much better.  Perhaps, I'll even leave solving the world's problems for tomorrow.

Perhaps. ;)

Have a blessed day, friends.

Ciao!

One Very Special Christmas

Hi gang!

Okay, okay, I know I've left my blogging peeps hanging for a while now, and I am so sorry about that.  From the time we started our home renovation, immediately followed by finding out that I was pregnant, I just totally and utterly fell off the radar with my blogging (the sharp decline in posts is painfully obvious), and here I am even more behind than ever.  Life, I tell ya!

For my close family and friends, this is old news, but for all of you out there in blogland, I would like to finally introduce you to a very special little lady as we celebrate a very special Christmas filled with firsts...our first Christmas in our new home and an even better first...

Our first Christmas with our new daughter Chloe Fiona.

Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Photography

Our precious baby girl was born on October 22, 2011 at 10:11 p.m. to be exact. She decided to make her appearance two weeks early (my due date was November 4th), and she was a peanut at 5 lbs. 6 oz., 19 1/2 inches long.  Although the labor was difficult...and by difficult, I mean looooong and horrendous, the reward was SO worth it.

I don't know why, but when it came time, I really was more excited than anything and not at all worried about the whole labor thing.  I thought I would be one of those women who have an easy, breezy walk into the hospital and BAM! have a baby in like an hour kind of delivery.

Not so much. Gosh, I love those stories, though (in theory).

After all that hard work and 18 hours of labor later, I ended up having to get a c-section, which I had not at all planned for and had fought against for as long as possible.  However, my little peanut was in distress, so in the end, I do believe it was for the best.

BUT, I can tell you this...after all was said and done, I have the most wonderful memories of holding my baby girl all hours of the day and night those first few days in the hospital and in the weeks that followed.  Who am I kidding?  I still hold her all hours of the day and night!  In those early moments, she was and still is the most beautiful thing in the world to me.  Do all you moms out there remember the feeling? Way cool stuff.

She will be nine weeks old this coming Saturday, Christmas Eve, and I still can't believe how the weeks continue to fly by.  I have no doubt the years will be flying by far too soon.

I can't even begin to explain the overwhelming love my husband and I have for her.  What an incredible gift we've been given! Honestly, there isn't a moment when I look at her that I don't thank the Lord for giving her to us. She is precious beyond words.

Perhaps, I'm a little biased...

Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Photography

The above photo taken by Yours Truly (a.k.a. Me)
The following photos were taken by my sister-in-law Jenna

My handsome hubby...

And here are some more pics snapped by muah just this morning... 

She's got those super chubby "nursing baby" cheeks. I love it!

I have much to be thankful for this Christmas, and I thank God for not only giving me my precious daughter but even more so for giving me His son Jesus. It is in this gift, that I have been given hope and answers to prayer time and time again.

This little one is undoubtedly heaven-sent.

I wish you all a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Ciao!

Maternity Pics!

 

 

 

Happy Thursday, gang!  You've asked for it, so here it is...my big 'ol belly at 36 weeks.  These pictures were taken by one of my best buds, the ever-talented Sarah of Sarah Elizabeth Photography a couple weeks ago after one of my baby showers, which she also co-hosted.  You may also recall a fun photo shoot she did for me last year over here.  Holy buckets, what a difference a year makes!

It was about 85 degrees the day of this baby shower - crazy stuff for a mid-October day here in Minnesota, and I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Speaking of baby showers, I hope to find a little time to post some pics of the wonderful and incredibly thoughtful baby showers that have been thrown for me to help kick start our journey into parenthood.  Time is short these days, and I'm constantly on the go wrapping up work before my maternity leave and nesting like a mad woman when I get home at night (last night was itty-bitty baby clothes laundry night...this is probably the only time I will be excited to do laundry...ever!), but I still hope to share some fun pics with you from the past couple of months.  My husband and I have literally been showered with kindness and blessings from our families and friends, and we are beyond grateful!

In other randomness, Fall has always been my favorite time of year, so I'm super excited for my little peanut to be a Fall baby.  I will be 38 weeks tomorrow, and while my due date is November 4th, I'm holding out for a little October baby.  Although, everyone else seems to think she'll arrive a good week late, which may very well be the case.  Stay tuned!

In other exciting news, my sister-in-law Jenna is pregnant too, and my husband and I were thrilled to find out the other night that Jenna and her husband are having a little girl, too.  Yahoo!  To see how Jenna planned an extra special gender reveal, head over to her blog Eat Drink Pretty today.  It's good stuff, folks!

And with that, I wish you all a wonderful day.  Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. Yes, I'm still wearing heels at 9 months pregnant.  A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Ciao!

Update Time

Hi gang! I feel like I've started every (I use that term very loosely) post over the past few months with something about how it's been awhile and yada...excuses, excuses, but this time I have to admit that it has seriously been way too long, and I've been getting some grief lately for not updating my blog, and rightly so.  In the words of my husband, "Update your blog, damn it."  Okay, okay.  Geesh.  Apparently, there are some sweet peeps out there who stop by from time to time, and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

And...so here I am. 

Putting words into writing is something that has always come fairly naturally to me, and yet I'm not quite sure where to begin in explaining my absence.  2011 has been a whirlwind...a knock my socks off, blow me away with goodness and yet kick me square in the pants kind of whirlwind.  You know what I mean?  It has been a remarkable year in so many ways, and yet it has definitely had its challenges.

Just last night I was journaling, and rather than pouring out my challenges or heartaches, I found that all I could do was count my blessings and thank God for the many blessings and incredible opportunities that He has brought into my life over the past year.  As with any good and wonderful thing, the road to today has not always been easy, but I credit a GREAT, BIG God with an intricate knowledge of exactly what I need when I need it for the smile on my face and the joy in my heart today.  Nuff said.

Shall we start from the beginning?

As most of you who follow my blog know, my husband and I purchased an older home together at the beginning of the year.  We rolled up our sleeves and dove in head first with seemingly endless renovations.  Meanwhile, we took on the responsibility of being landlords for each of our previous homes that we were unable to sell in this market.

It was a massive leap of faith and a journey of prayer that had been years in the works, and when I really take the time to pause and think about it, it's still hard to fathom how all of the little details came together to create a complete picture.  Have you ever been there?  On the far side of something that seemed like such a huge challenge...just wondering, "How did we ever get all of that accomplished?"

I don't think either one of us could have foreseen the wonderful opportunities that would present themselves, nor could we have foreseen the blood, sweat and tears it would take to embrace them.

My husband is the hardest working guy I know, and even for him, there were times when he wanted to throw in the towel (heck, there were times I wanted to throw in the towel) but then I would gently remind him that the greatest successes in life don't come without their share of setbacks and failures and that we needed to persevere.  AND...so we pressed on and created a new home that we both love and can call our own.

Then...in the midst of it all...

We found out that we were going to have a baby.  A baby!  While I cannot deny that I feel this little one is heaven sent, and I already love her beyond imagination, this discovery was still a little bit of a surprise.  I've always loved surprises, and I'm one of those people that just sort of rolls with it, but the concept that we were really now going to be responsible for this precious little person was overwhelming.

Once again, it took some hard fought blood, sweat and tears for my husband and I to fully grasp that we were going to be parents and understand that the stronger we are as a team, the better prepared we will be to raise and nurture our precious, little girl (soon to arrive!).

Time and time again, I thank the Lord for giving me my husband, for giving us both a fighting spirit - the fight to overcome and face the unexpected and to learn to love more than ever by whatever it takes.  I've been reminded over and over that I am married to my best friend and my perfect match, and yet like all of those married couples who have gone before us, we have truly had to fight the good fight and hold on tight for the ride.

In the midst of all of the changes on the home front, I have also taken on a new a position at my full-time job as well as had a major office move, so all-around 2011 has in essence been a year of change.  Major change.

...Which brings me to why I've fallen off the radar a bit with blogging.

Over the past few months, I've chosen to take a break from blogging (hopefully, not for long!) and from taking on new projects here to work on...well, to work on the type of family I hope to create.  Some people balk at the idea of balance, but I've always found that I thrive beneath it's serenity.

Balance.  It really is a beautiful thing.

So, what have I been up to?  Well, I've been cooking a little more in my fabulous, new kitchen (gosh, it feels good to have that project under our belts).  I've been going for walks with my husband and our dogs, I've been reading anything and everything that sounds like a good read to me, and I've been busy preparing for my daughter to arrive.  Oh, I can't wait for her to arrive!

Would you like to see a sneak peek of the nursery in progress?  As a disclaimer, it's totally not finished, and the pictures aren't very good, but, hey, it's something right?!

This is just a sneak peek.  There are lots of things that still need to go on the walls...some of which you can see sitting on the floor!  One other thing to go up is the name banner I created to go above the crib.  The name is a surprise, so that will have to wait until she arrives!  I promise to do a full post once everything is finished along with all of the fun details.

Just last weekend, my husband and I took a long weekend trip to New York City (a first for both of us), and after all of the madness of this one, crazy but wonderful year, we just enjoyed each others' company.  We explored new sites and just allowed ourselves to simply be together.  It was perfect.

Would you like to see me and my belly at 34 weeks pregnant?  I thought a photo op with the big lady would make me feel less huge. ;)

I will be 36 weeks on Friday, and I'm officially counting the days until my little peanut arrives!  Thank you for stopping by, and I wish you all a blessed day!

Ciao!

Kitchen Reveal...finally!

Okay, so here's the thing, gang...

I really, really wanted to take some nice photos of our kitchen renovation to share with you all, but I just could not get the lighting right!  Dang it. First, the pictures were too dark, then they were too bright, and then they were all yellow-ish and just downright wrong.  Clearly, my camera and I are on the outs right now, BUT I'm going to put my hubby to work in Lightroom and see if he can do his magic on my poor lighting skills.  Photoshop just was not cutting it this time around.

Anyhoo, in the meantime, I thought it only fair that I give you a little sneak peek of the progress that we've made.  Once I have better photos for you, I will give you a more in-depth view of the details.  We still need to tile the backsplash and do a few little things here and there, but for the most part, it's complete, and we LOVE it!

Oh, what the heck, I'll throw in a few extras - bad pictures and all!





Can you see our tile samples lined up across the stove top?  Yep, we've really got to make a decision here!


My husband bought me this lantern light fixture for our anniversary back in March, and it is hands down my favorite fixture in the house.  It looks pretty fabulous at night in the way the light bounces off the ceiling.  Cool beans, folks.


Ehem...please disregard the yellowish hue in the picture below.  The walls are actually a taupe/grayish color.  We ripped open the weird half wall/counter top-thing for a wide open walkway.  When all was said and done, it felt like a breath of fresh air, and the kitchen and dining just had a much better flow.


One of the elements that we really wanted to tie into our main level was some stylish trim work and chair railing, which my dad installed for us.  I couldn't have been happier with the way it turned out!


We replaced the old, crusty (and, it was crusty!) linoleum flooring with a gorgeous Asian Walnut hard wood flooring that really compliments the space...that and my favorite zebra print rugs from Target, of course.  You may have noticed that there are no decorations on the walls...well, my husband has put a ban on all decorating until we finish all of the projects we have on our to do list.  That stinker!

All that to say, I am currently working on finishing painting our 3-seasons porch, painting trim (worst job ever!) and everything in between.  Stay tuned for more updates.  Hopefully, it won't take me as long to actually post them next time around!

Okay, so the pictures today aren't the greatest, but I'm afraid my pregnant, forgetful brain will forget to post them if I put it off any longer!

....And you may recall the several "before" pictures I posted way back over {here}.  For example, remember this beauty?



Yep, we've come a long way, baby.  I promise I don't miss the funky 80's bar lighting, as unique as the ambiance may be!

Well, friends, I hope you've enjoyed this little tour and will forgive me for the terrible pictures.  Have a wonderful day!

Ciao!

It's a GIRL!!

First of all, gang, I owe you all a HUGE apology for falling off the face of the earth for the past few months (geesh, life, I tell ya!). I also owe you some updated house pictures. That being said, I will try to snap some shots for you this week, and share our home renovation progress with you all.  All together now...It's about time, slacker! Sheepishly, I couldn't agree more!

There are a few projects here and there that we need to wrap up, but for the most part, the big changes have been made, so keep an eye out for those babies. Yahoo!

In other exciting news...well, I kind of let the cat out of the bag with the title, but I'll elaborate...my husband and I found out at our ultrasound appointment yesterday that we're having a girl!  This news may be old (24-hour old, that is) news to my facebook friends, but for all of my blogging peeps....I am so stinkin' excited to share this with you!

Would you like to see her? 


I know, I know, ultrasounds are kind of bizarre, but they are pretty amazing too for all of us who are dying to get any glimpse of our little one!  Okay, so I know she looks like an alien right now, but I am told that so far she is a healthy little peanut just doing her thing, which at the time happened to be grabbing onto her foot. 

The ultrasound tech asked me if I had any maternal instincts about what the gender would be before she checked (I almost wanted to wait until she was born to find out.  Almost.  In the end both Ron and I wanted to know.)  Anyhoo, I told the tech that I thought she was a girl.  Then she checked, and said, "Well, you're right!"

And then I cried.  Because I was excited.  And happy.  And RIGHT.  Heehee.

I had even told one my friends the day before that I would be surprised if they told me it was a boy.  Don't get me wrong, I would have been thrilled if it was a boy too, but I just didn't feel like it was, nor did my father who has been calling her "granddaughter" from the moment he found out that I was pregnant.  Of course, my mother-in-law and a few friends thought it was a girl too, so it's kind of crazy that she turned out to be exactly that.

Well, friends, I'm off for now, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for stopping by and checking in.  I wish you all a blessed day!

Ciao!

Some Big {belly} News!

Hey gang!  I know I've been away for awhile now, and while I like to avoid making excuses whenever possible... (okay, who am I kidding? I always have a load of excuses) I hope you'll bear with me as I share a few more.  I promise it gets good. 

*Cue violin music.

So...it all started a few months ago when my husband and I decided to buy a 1980's beauty (house, that is), roll up our sleeves and dive head first into some pretty significant renovations.  While in theory, I thought this would be a *super-duper* fun project "on the side" of each of our full-time careers, it turned out to be a bundle of stress with all sorts of funding deadlines and ridiculous late nights of sanding, painting, and what not and so much more. 

There were days when we wanted to lock the door and throw away the key and never look at our blessed house ever again...but then one day, our home finally started to take form, and soon we began to see all of the ways our hard work was beginning to pay off (pictures to come soon).  It's a good thing, too...

Because...

Somewhere in the midst of the dust finally settling, I discovered two very significant problems about myself: 1.) I had never felt so exhausted in my entire life, and 2.) Was it really possible for anyone to feel that bloated?

Which then lead me to a possibility that was about the furthest thing from my mind in the midst of the construction chaos...which I pretty much dismissed but concluded that I had better double check...

Well, well, well, what do you know?  Turns out I'm pregnant.  Yup.  It's true.  Our little sweet pea is due to arrive on or around November 4th.  Yahoo!

So...now I'm dying to know if my little one will be a...

Images via Hostess Blog

Any predictions?

So with that, I blame my absence on utter exhaustion, life and all of the little surprises and blessings the good Lord throws our way. 

I've missed you all, and I wish you a wonderful day.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Ciao!

Random Book Review: Heaven Is For Real

Okay, okay, so I know I don't normally do book reviews here. Come to think of it, I've never done a book review anywhere, but if you don't know this about me, I'm going to let you in on a little secret...I am the hugest, nerdiest bookworm! I have to have my nose stuck in a book at some point every day.  Oh, and I totally get teased about this, but I love to buy new books. All. The. Time. I just love cracking open a new book free of bent corners, chewed up covers, Cheetos fingerprints....need I say more?

It's a problem really...this "new" book thing of mine.  My husband continues to scold me, point me towards the library and send me on my way, and yet, somehow, I always end up at either Barnes & Noble or Christian Book making my next purchase.  Okay, so the reason I'm dragging out this story  is because I am pleased to announce that I have not purchased a new book in a few MONTHS.  Wahoo! Yahoo! High Five!

With all of the work on the new house and the big move and all, life has just sort of passed me by as well as passed by my bookshelf.  However, one of the books that I was planning on buying a couple of months ago is titled Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo. If you know me, you know that I firmly believe that heaven is, indeed, real just as equally as I believe that hell is real, and while the Bible does paint a very clear picture of what heaven is like, I think sometimes it's hard to make it tangible while we're here on earth. I think we don't stop to think about it enough and that it is all too easy to just carry on with our everyday lives, forgetting that there is a living God actively moving behind the scenes of our lives, just waiting for us to call out to Him...hence, my intrigue with the book's title.

Like I mentioned above, I have not purchased any new books in a few months, so imagine my delight when one of my besties sent this book to me for my 30th birthday. It was one of 30 gifts for turning "30", and I couldn't believe that she bought me the very book that I was just looking online to purchase that very same day.  Weird stuff.

Anyway, here's the synopsis of the book according to Barnes & Noble:

A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven. Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear. Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us. Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

Now, I won't say that this book is outstanding journalism - it's not meant to be, and, perhaps, that's the beauty of it.  It's a simple story with a BIG message.  It made me smile, it made me cry, but overall, it left me encouraged.  So, without further ado, here's what I took away from it...

1. Jesus Christ is actively working on behalf of those who have accepted His sacrifice for their sins and have committed their lives to living for Him, and He is the one and only way to heaven.  While I already believe this in my heart as truth, the true story in the book is just another wonderful reminder.

2. NO PRAYER GOES UNHEARD.  Our prayers are a sweet offering to God, and He fights on our behalf and moves through each and every one of our prayers. I won't give it away, but I think this book gives a very tangible and excellent example of this. Not only is prayer a form of worship and laying our hurts, fears, challenges and joys at Christ's feet, it is also a direct line to God. It's like having God on speed dial, but knowing that He will always answer, often times in ways that we would never expect. Sometimes, when I struggle with a really difficult situation in my life, I often wonder if God truly hears me.  On one hand I know in my heart that He does hear my prayers, but on the other hand, there are times when I can't necessarily see or feel Him moving, and I get discouraged. Prior to reading this book, I had a couple of challenging weeks, but the reminders in this book have truly lifted my spirits and reminded me that while there may be times of testing, God is still faithful and HE will carry me through.

So...after reading this book, I am GREATLY comforted and reminded that we serve a God of compassion who truly hears us when we cry out to Him.

3.We will see and recognize people we know in heaven - loved ones who have gone before us.

4. This young boy witnessed that there are no "old" people in heaven. Even if someone dies at an old age, in heaven they will be in their "prime". If you're already loading up on anti-aging creams, I'm sure you'll take comfort in this. ;)

5. There are animals in heaven. :)

6. There are more colors in heaven than could ever be possible here on earth.  The beauty of heaven is beyond our wildest imagination.

7. When we are in heaven, we can see what our loved ones are going through here on earth...and we will pray for them from heaven.  If you've ever lost a parent of grandparent or loved one who lived a life of faith, it's comforting to know that they really are watching over us along with Jesus and praying for us.

8. Yes, there are thrones in heaven.

9. Everyone has wings. Cool. :)

10. God loves children.  Have you every had a miscarriage or lost a child and really wondered what they would have been like?  Someday, you will know and see for your own eyes.  They are alive and well in heaven. Also, God uses children in incredible ways to teach those of us who are wise in our own eyes. In the Bible, Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3-4

I think to follow God, we need in a way to have the sort of fearless, reckless abandon that a child has.  Have you ever noticed how little children just call things as they see them? I think as adults, we spend so much time over-thinking and analyzing and second guessing, that we trap ourselves by all of the "what if's" and fears that we allow to creep into our lives.  In this book, the little boy Colton, shares his experience in heaven with the innocence and uninhibited candor of a four year. I think that is what maybe draws me in the most about his story.

11. Satan is very real.  Hell is extremely real, and our decision to follow Christ with the same reckless abandon of a child is the deciding factor between an eternity in heaven or eternity in hell. I don't really know why I chose to write this book review this afternoon on my crafting/interior design blog where I have never written a book review before; other than, something was tugging at my heart, and I just started typing.  I've always been passionate about my faith and sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ with others, but the truth is a lot of people don't like to hear about it.  BUT, I think every now and again, I too need to be reminded that "heaven is for real" but also that hell is for real, and I don't ever want to miss an opportunity to share that truth.

I don't expect everyone who follows my blog to share my beliefs, but my hope and prayer is that even one person would be encouraged today, and that you wouldn't be afraid to look deep within yourself alongside with me and ask the tough questions, and maybe, just maybe today, seek out the one true God that determines your eternity.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."  Hebrews 12:1-3

May you truly be blessed today!

White Kitchen Love

With all of this house stuff somewhat slowing down - well, kind of - I'm hoping to find some more time to blog again.  I've missed my blogging friends so much!  Also, once I get everything unpacked, I hope to resume my Place Card of the Week posts. Perhaps, my sunroom will be part sitting room, part office for all of my crafty stuff.  We'll see!

I promise to reveal our final kitchen makeover once the last few details are in place (countertops, tile backsplash, etc.).  I absolutely love the way our new kitchen has come together.  It really is a fantastic combination of my more traditional style and my husband's contemporary style.  The rustic white cabinets with the espresso glaze are absolutely stunning, and the Asian Walnut hardwood floors are such a beautiful contrast against the cabinets.  We will put in a more contemporary glass tile backsplash, which I think will tie everything together really well.  I honestly couldn't have been more pleased with the design.

In the meantime, I came across this gorgeous kitchen that I just had to share. If I were to go all gung-ho girly in my kitchen (which my husband would never allow!), I might come up with something just like this...

We did actually incorporate a couple of similar elements into our kitchen as is in this kitchen but with a twist...we do have a wall of glass, windowpaned cabinets as well as a "valance" design over our stove top somewhat along the lines of what you see here.  We also staggered the heighth and depth of our cabinets to add extra character.  One other thing I may or may not have mentioned is that we wanted a little extra contrast, so our island is an espresso color to contrast the white cabinets on the walls, similar to this look:

Images 1 & 2 via Daisy Pink Cupcake

Oh-oh, and those lanterns in the first kitchen are just so cool!  They add such a rustic and unique detail to the room that draws me right me in.  I spent my lunch hour yesterday window shopping specifically for lanterns for my sunroom.  If I can get one room all to myself to design, lanterns are definitely going in! 

I will also share with you our master bedroom makeover.  I haven't really touched on it too much here, but we did make some significant changes.  First, we tore out a wall between two bedrooms to create one large master suite.  We also removed a patio door and replaced it with a nice window (my Valentine's Day gift!), and finally we added a new set of French doors, which I just adore.  It's an enormous room, but I hope to create a sitting area in the half of the room by the French doors. 

Anyhooooooo, in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these lovely images and find some fun, new ideas for your own home makeover.  Have a wonderful day, gang!

Ciao!

A New Sunroom

Happy Monday, gang!  Yesterday was my 30th birthday, and, somehow, ushering myself into a new decade has got me buzzing with feelings along the lines of what we all feel every year when New Year's rolls around.  You know, where you feel like you're ready to take on the world and accomplish all of your goals in like 2 weeks.  Yeah, that feeling. Well, I have no point to making this statement, other than that's how I feel today.  Strangely, I feel excited about being 30 - about being in yet another new stage of life.

For some odd reason, I couldn't sleep last night, so I just laid in bed staring out our new French doors in our bedroom, which overlook our backyard.  We have no curtains up yet (shh...don't tell the creepers!), so I've had the opportunity to wake up to the sunrise each morning and start my day just talking to God.  I started even earlier this morning with the couple hours of no sleep and all.  I just laid there thinking about everything from the arrival of spring (which feels a million light years away on the horizon of our next major snow storm set to arrive tomorrow!), going for long runs outside in the warm weather, cooking in my new kitchen once the countertops finally arrive, and...sittting in my peaceful sunroom early in the morning, reading my Bible, praying and just taking in the beauty of the charming, little pond our house overlooks.  It gives me all sorts of warm fuzzies just thinking about it!

So far, my husband and I have designed every inch of our home renovation together, but my husband told me last week that I can have our sunroom all to myself to design.  What a treat!  No really, I'm pretty stoked about it. In all truthfulness, he thinks it's a waste of money to fix it up, but I'm hoping to show him what a cozy retreat this little room can be.

Here are just a couple of ideas that are swimming around in my head...

Image via House of Turquoise (yes, I'm addicted to her blog)

Okay, so here is what I've taken from the picture above: The white, wood planks on the wall - I just purchased them yesterday, and I will have our contractor (ehem, my dad) install them this week or next.  I also love the decorative crown molding on top and wide base trim by the floor.  While the wood planks on the wall add a rustic feel, the molding really dresses everthing up.  Next, that BLUE CEILING.  Need I say more?  I love it!  We've already had the ceiling drywalled with a smooth finish, so my next step is to paint it blue. I have already chosen the paint color. I can't wait!

Now, because this is only a three season porch, we eventually plan on putting an electric fireplace in there so we can use it in the winter as well.  This won't be a high traffic room, so we are trying to minimize the amount of money we spend on fixing it up.  My hubby threw out the idea of getting the fireplace for the sunroom for Christmas next year.  I'm thinking either this one or this one.   I'm leaning towards the first one.  What do you think?

Lastly, I really like some of the characteristics of this room...

Image via House of Turquoise

I LOVE the shudders!  Budget restrictions will force me to hold off on this look for awhile, but a girl can always dream right? I think wicker furniture with cushions would be perfect, but I still need to put a little more thought into the layout.  The room is fairly small, but something along the lines of this furniture set up would work really well.

Now, I tried to save the "worst" for last...that would be the current state of the sunroom.  I have to show you what it looks like now, so we can all appreciate what it will look like when it's done.  Yes?

Okay, then.  Here we go...

Pretty.

Okay, not so much, but I do think it has some potential.

Can you see the sliver of ugly patio door to the left in the picture above? Well, the good news is that we replaced it with this door, which goes from the dining room into the sunroom.  This new door makes all the difference in the world, and I think it will look so lovely from the sunroom side as well once all is said and done.

We've got a lot of work to do, gang. Stay tuned, and have a wonderful week!

Ciao!