little chloe and friday links.

meet little chloe. she and i had a little photo session last weekend and she was most unhappy during the whole ordeal! that's okay, we'll try again when she's not teething...

i'll be traveling this weekend to take more photos of my new little nephew ethan. i can't wait to see him again! and i am thankful to have a family that doesn't mind letting me practice taking photos!

i haven't done friday links in a while... so here are a few that i've saved these past couple of weeks.

cozy little cave posted about some sweet posters from poster cabaret. these would be perfect for a little nursery or kid's room (or anywhere, for that matter!)

the chandelier makeover on d*s this week was pretty amazing. who new some bright paint and cool lightbulbs would totally transform this pretty basic light fixture into something really modern. too bad i really don't have room for something like that at my house!

this painted pattern tutorial on centsational girl really has me thinking about our bedroom again. so many possibilities!

this diy upholstered bed also has me thinking... though i don't think i'm ready to tackle that anytime soon. but i've always loved the look of upholstered beds. from manhattan nest.

this kitchen redo on kara pasley designs is amazing. i love butcher block countertops, especially paired with white cabinets. i would have painted the walls green... but what's new?

have a happy weekend!

3rd anniversary.

happy anniversary, doug. we've been married 3 years today and i couldn't be

happier that we chose to spend our lives together.

this past year has not been easy, and we've both learned a lot about ourselves

and about each other. we've grown closer as well as grown up a little more.

i hope this next year brings more joy and happiness, for both our sakes!

but i'm glad for the tough times, as well, because it only makes us stronger.

i love you!

a baby shower.

i helped host a baby shower for our friend lindsey this past saturday. it was so much fun! i am so lucky to have such crafty friends! we all pitched in and made a few little things for the shower. raechel made this cute little welcome sign. i would pretty much leave that out all the time, baby shower or not. if you can't tell, woodlands (and owls) were the theme...

i made this little sign out of random bits of paper i collect. now i want to make a million of these... but i'm out of that brown paper.

food table. i made that little banner behind everything. not as fancy as the others, but still pretty cute! abie also made a banner with the owl artwork, but i didn't really get a good photo of it... sorry abie!

raechel also did the flower arrangements. she was the one i was bragging about a few weeks ago... you know, the one with the amazing garden? yeah, i wish i could hire her to take care of my yard full-time. she made these with flowers/greenery from her garden. i have a hard time not touching lamb's ears every time i see them!

cake and another banner (also raechel). lachelle made the adorable (and tasty) cake!

a close-up of the cake. see? i told you it was adorable. we keep telling her to open her own bakery...

invitations. dinah, owner of hodgepodge, put these together for the shower. and the little owl we used for everything!

this is her (dinah) looking at a 3-d sonogram of little logan. these things are half cute, half creepy...

here's lindsey, propping her feet up... we can't blame her, she worked that morning! too bad she wasn't wearing green flip-flops...

close-up of the sonogram and a sweet gift (blanket) that match the colors in his nursery.

gift basket misti put together as a hostess gift. those little booties are so cute!! and thanks abie for opening your home for the day! it was the perfect backdrop for our woodlands themed baby shower!

friday links.

two posts in one day! amazing. i thought i should get caught up on my link love...

i really enjoyed this post on giverslog. it really made me think about some things that have been going on in my life lately.

this tutorial on repurposing a long-sleeve shirt has me wanting to dust of the sewing machine. i really need to get that room organized so i can use it again! from makeitandloveit.

these wedding cakes make me want to get married all over again. just for the cake. amazing blog i started reading recently: my sweet and saucy.

loving this bedroom. what? it's for a teenager? i would still happily live in it. from decor demon.

some of these kid's rooms are amazing. 'best of' from design*sponge.

also from d*s, these coffee can lanterns are pretty sweet too. if i can ever get the backyard presentable, maybe i'll invite some company over...

thank goodness this week is just about over. i could have done with less of it, actually. have a fabulous weekend!

love. my. new. lens.

although i haven't quite figured out the best settings to use it on (hey, i just got it thursday, okay?), i have realized it will probably be the lens that gets the most use. why? because i can now take pictures indoors with no flash and without worrying about bumping up the iso to ridiculous numbers.

and although many people gave it bad reviews when it came to bokeh, i think it will work well for my needs. and don't worry, the dogs are getting groomed this weekend. see what happens after 2 weeks of nonstop rain?

i told d i wouldn't post any photos of him on the blog, but you won't say anything, right? i was just amazed by this... there are no lights on in the living room, no flash... just the sunlight coming in from the kitchen window.

and then of course, i just had to try it out in the garage... also no lights, just some sun from the windows. do you like the new car?

just in case you're wondering, the lens i got is a nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX AF and i chose it because the built-in autofocus works with my D60.

headboards.

unknown

now that the room is painted, i've been obsessing about headboards. what shape? what color? what material? how tall? i (of course) don't want to spend tons of money, and fully intend on making it myself. it needs to be pretty big-impact as the walls are very neutral now (you have to remember, light colored walls are new to me!) but something that i will like for several years or something that can be easily changed on a whim.

desire to inspire

i've considered using the wallpaper we purchased for the downstairs bathroom. it's black, white and gray... and we wouldn't have to spend hardly any money. i would probably frame it out with some quarter round or decorative edge painted black. also, it's really neutral so i could change the colors of the linens without having to worry about it clashing with the headboard. this is probably my favorite right now of my ideas... but we like to lean up against the wall while reading or watching tv and i would prefer something that's 1) padded and 2) not going to be damaged if it gets a little damp from my hair (after a shower).

decor pad

i also love the idea of a simple fabric headboard in a solid color. again, i could use patterns pillows to make things interesting. but then again, i would need to figure out a color that could go with several of our bedspreads and that i would enjoy looking at for a while.

apartment therapy

i've also thought about just buying a flat sheet and hanging it from the top of the wall. this is probably the least expensive of my ideas since i can get a king size flat sheet for less than $15 at target and there are tons of color options.

decor pad

and d pretty much doesn't care as long as he doesn't have to do too much of the work... and i guess as long as it isn't purple (he turned his nose up at a dark purple shower curtain i was eyeing last weekend. i guess i should be happy he let me buy a purple couch and let me paint the downstairs bathroom purple.)

any thoughts? i may just be over thinking this... but i'd like to get it right the first time!

Summer 2010 To Do List

well, i've made a little bit of progress on my list... we painted the bedroom this past weekend and i absolutely love the color. we used behr's paint and primer in one in wheat bread (it's really a warm gray), and it only took 2 coats to cover the dark red! i couldn't believe it. i also painted the trim a bright white and we moved the nightstands upstairs. yay! d's mom gave use a white quilt they no longer use, and i need to find/make some colorful covers for our pillows and hang some artwork. i'll be so glad when everything is back in order in there... that room never really felt finished, but hopefully soon it will be.

here are a few shots so you can get an idea of the color. it changes with the light, though, so kind of hard to photograph consistently. i think it goes pretty well with our tan sheets, and now i want to make/find some sort of headboard... this room really needs the extra color now! and as you can see, i'm not quite finished painting all the doors, but you can see the cream color all the trim was before. you also get a good glimpse of our gross green/blue carpet. we've vacuumed, cleaned... everything to that carpet, but it's got stains that won't go away. we're hoping to install some new flooring soon...

last weekend was a good time to paint - we got around 12 inches of rain in the past few days - making outside work impossible unless you wanted to take a shower at the same time. it's rained more this week as well... fun stuff.

we've still got a ways to go, sadly, on our list. i still haven't planted any veggies... and i'm starting to wonder if maybe i've waited too long to catch up. i may grab some tomato and squash plants at the store this week and stick them in the ground. i have some cucumber and beans that are growing in my biodome... they are probably ready to be transplanted soon.

INDOORS

finish bathroom

paint bedroom

clean and organize office/spare bedroom

clean and organize sunroom

organize bedroom closet

sew new cover for cedar chest

OUTDOORS

fence raised bed and plant veggies

spread the rest of the mulch

get branches out of the backyard

plant alyssum and zinnia seeds

make/find/purchase some sort of larger outdoor table

friday links.

wow. this week has gone by in no time! it looks like the rain is going to foil our weekend plans of grilling in the backyard... oh well, maybe it will dry up here pretty soon.

i had a few more links since i didn't post any last week:

this amazing table featured on design*sponge. a poem has been hammered into the top of the wood... time consuming, but so beautiful. this is definitely a way to make a plain piece of furniture very special.

i already have a good recipe for coffee cake, but this one sounds delish too! and it has a glaze! from prudent baby.

these really cute paper lanterns look pretty easy to make, using a technique we all learned when we were little. why didn't i think of this? from make grow gather.

i love chevron patterns right now, and this cheap diy chevron rug makes me think of a few other things around the house that a little paint would spice up. from little green notebook.

this tutorial on making a flat-screen pretty (with a custom frame) is incredible. definitely something to make technology blend in with your decor. from allthingsthrifty.

this museum tunic is pretty and looks fairly simple to make... i have got to get my office cleaned up so i can use my sewing machine!! from anna maria horner.

these diy pillow shams on design*sponge having me thinking even more about our bedroom makeover.

this lamp makeover from just a girl is pretty amazing. loving what she did with the lampshade!

hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!!