Baby Nursery Brainstorming

Typical to my personality I am not satisfied with anything I can find in a jumbo store. While we registered at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby, there wasn't a "theme" that I loved. 

I feel it would be a huge waste to invest in something that wouldn't transition into a toddler or child's taste. Teddy bears? He'll grow out of that in a heart beat (A new mother's heart beat - wahh!! ). 

Hubby wanted a car theme but Hub's love of cars will be passed down regardless of the bedroom theme. 

I never had a brother, so I can only go by cousins and school boys. So I always think of dirty fingernails when I think of little boys. 

Etsy Vinyl  

Think Chic Dirt and you'll understand how

 I fell in love with this Lumberjack themed baby shower I saw on Pinterest 

Source

I let my imagination flow from there. 

IKEA Rug 

Not sure if we need a rug since the room has carpet.

2nd choice in IKEA duvet cover and pillow 

1st Choice in IKEA duvet cover and pillow 

I can see these easily transitioning into a toddler's bed. Since they are only the duvet and pillowcase, we don't need to worry about spills or bed wetting ruining them. These are VERY INexpensive compared to what they sell at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby. 

IKEA is great, but I don't always understand the European design. For example: these fruits and vegetables with faces. I'm not a fan.

IKEA Bed Set

The following Pin-spirations are embedded from www.pinterest.com/rachelkellar/baby 
If you're on a mobile phone or device you might not be able to see the rest of my nursery inspiration. 

Decor

Rachel Kellar's pin on Pinterest.

Baby Clothes
Rachel Kellar's pin on Pinterest. Rachel Kellar's pin on Pinterest. Rachel Kellar's pin on Pinterest.

Baby Toys

Are we seeing the theme now?
He'll grow up around cows, horses, chickens and goats but this is another side of nature I'd like him to learn about. He's more likely to encounter a fox than an elephant (no jungle or circus themes). 
At the end of the day, raising a child is hard enough, I didn't want to over think a nursery. Being a fan of camping and the outdoors, this came natural to me and if mommy is happy everyone is happy!


Of course a part of me LOVES the "little gentleman" theme too:

Rachel Kellar's pin on Pinterest. Rachel Kellar's pin on Pinterest. Rachel Kellar's pin on Pinterest. 

He may be a boy, but mommy still loves shoes!!

I had a bad day

I had a bad day yesterday.  A total GRITS day.  It actually started the night before, I went to bed mad.  I went to bed mad because I needed to tell J something and I was putting it off.  Communication is our #1 priority, but for some reason I decided that this thing was really hard to say.

Then I woke up and every little thing was irritating me!  My hubby bought me a bottle of pinapple, orange and mango juice.  He said he had one and it was delicious and he wanted me to have one on my way to work. (sweet right?) I looked at the Nutritional Facts and was furious!  49g of sugar?!  How dare you give this to me!  See? Rediculously mad.

By the end of the day at work I had chewed off all my nails.  Now I have stubs.  I'm so sad!  My nails were perfect for my wedding.  I kept them long for months!  And this one day...I lose them all.

Everything was going wrong yesterday.  The bank lost the checks I ordered, so they are sending me more.  My student loan payment went through, so I have no money.  I texted J telling him I was in a bad mood and having a bad day.  His reply was that he was having a bad day too.  We vented a little to each other over text, but when I got home I lost it. 

This poor guy.  His life is so simple, his faith is so strong.  I feel like the biggest disappointment in his life.  Even though the night before, the day before yesterday he said out of the blue: "I'm just so lucky to have you".  Which of course I questioned: "what do you mean?"  "But what exactly did you mean?"  "Is this coming from something?"  "Why did you say that?"  Poor guy is going to learn to keep his mouth shut and I'll never hear those words again.  :(

See? A not good day.  So after we yell and scream and miss 6:30 mass (grr).  I tell him what I was holding back, which was nothing in the big picture of things.  We end up talking things out and get back to what IS important.  Remember this?  Remember Making Things Happen in 2013?  My motivation being: There is no right time to do the right thing. - always do the right thing Well I took that to heart too much and began stressing myself out on all the things I need to get done in order for life to be good.  Not perfect, just good.  But J reminded me that it's not worth it if it leads to such stress.  Obviously what I think is 'good', isn't.  It's stressing me out.  If God wanted me to have that 'good life' I think I need, it wouldn't be so hard to acheive.  But God only asks for what we have.  So I have everything I need to fulfill God's plan.  Ah ha!  I am not trying to fulfill God's plan.  I'm trying to fulfill MINE.  And that's why it is so stressful!  Because I don't know what I want/need.  I just need to let go and Let God.  Thank God for my husband!

I totally believe in Holy Spirit moments and following that conversation, the Holy Spirit checked in today.  Every morning on Facebook I am greeted by my favorite nun from college.  And every morning I read her reflection.  Today she said:

"Today's readings offer to us a reminder - following the law of God leads to life. Following God's will for ourselves and for our world leads to life in abundance. And what does that mean? This particular Gospel passage comes after the Beatitudes and before Jesus' explanation of going beyond the external practices. To put it simply, to love. God, who is Love itself, calls us to participate in the very life of God, which is to love.  Let us, then, strive to live by the law of love - today and each day."

 Now I'm on fire with letting go and letting God.  I couldn't help but revisit my Making Thing Happen 2013 Pinterest board and run across a few more pInspirational pins. 

In case you missed the Making Things Happen moment, visit LaraCasey and she'll guide you along.  There are a lot of pinterest boards dedicated to their 2013 Making Things Happen mission.  I found it so inspiring that many pins mentioned God.  According to the media (I try not to listen to), God is dead.  But there are children of God alive in this world.  If anything, THAT gave me courage to keep on keeping on. As Robert Frost says:

  Peace be with you,

I'm so over Winter

I was totally fine with a winter wedding that may have been snowed in because I was looking forward to my Caribbean honeymoon!  But the honeymoon was cancelled and life goes on as usual, but my beach craving hasn't been fulfilled!

After being snowed in this week, I went to the mall today and saw all the bright colors getting ready for spring so I thought I'd share some Pinterest finds for my perfect beach vacation!

First up: Neiman Marcus The Art of Travel Pinterest board

  

  

  

Then the more-in-my-price-range: Nordstrom's Nordstrom Catalog Pinterest board

 

  

  

and finally a mix of things I can and will buy as soon as possible:

Lilly Pulitzer has a Resort 2012 board up already!

 

 mod cloth is a new-to-me dress site that I love!

 

All found on Pinterest

 

 

and good ole' Roxy is just beachy fun!

 

 

Are you ready for summer?  How much of your wardrobe do you reuse/donate/buy new?

Bring on the sun and get me to a beach!!

Grits!

Weekend Update

NBC Saturday Night Live Weekend Update

No, not that weekend update...but I do love Seth Meyers!

My weekend update, which consisted of:

 

Going with Farmer J to the cows to give them water.  They were thirsty and started running right up to us.  I am still not comfortable around these cows, I've seen too many rodeos!  J says they aren't snakes or coyotes, I'll see a cow coming if it wants to charge at me.  But they usually just stare at us or run away.  Them running at us was a new thing.  In the end they posed for a picture so I can't complain!

 

I attempted this drawer organizer.  Instead of stacking shirts and pants on top of each other, roll them up and slide them next to each other.  This way you can see what is in your drawer without messing everything up.  My drawers are packed tight so we'll see what happens when I start wearing these clothes.  Will they all unroll into a huge mess?  Stay tuned....

 

On our way to Valentines dinner (on Saturday) I attempted this new scarf knot.  I loved it!  I kept un-tying and re-tying it at the restaurant.  We did have an HOUR wait...(no reservations)

 

Found this tutorial on Pinterest which led me to Meg's Blog

Super easy: end 1 over-under, end 2 under-over, done!

 

We went out to eat at Stella's, an Italian restaurant I am officially in love with.  After the hour wait, I found out Lubbock does have some nice restaurants.  Ok, one.  I've only been to one, but we'll get there.  When we got our oyster appetizer J asked "Are you going to take pictures of the food all night?" which I really meant 'if you get to have your phone out I get to have mine out' so we both put our phones away and enjoyed each other's company.  It was a blast.  A great first Valentines as a married couple.

 

Identity Thief

 

Before dinner we saw Identity Thief. It started at 4:30 and we figured since it's been out for a while there was no rush. We got there 5 minutes before the start time and the theatre was PACKED. We sat in the third row! I guess everyone went to the 4:30 movie and then out to dinner. Identity Thief was a funny movie. J said he would have done the same thing Jason Bateman does in the end. I won't spoil the movie, but if you've seen it and know J, you'll understand.

 

How was your weekend?  Hope it was great!  When did you celebrate Valentines Day?

High Heels!

2013 Making Things Happen

 I may have spent my Christmas and New Years eating up my parents free WiFi on my new tablet....
I ran across a new beautiful blog with a simple and great motivational goal setting exercise for 2013.  Check out my steps 1-3 below and stay turned for the next steps throughout the week!

 

Laracasey.com/blog

 

Step #1 :

Let's take a look back at what worked in 2012. 

What did you make happen? What are you grateful for this year?

I am grateful for:

• My engagement - J and I knew the moment we met we wanted to remain friends forever.  Then we started dating which of course led to talk of marriage.  As I look back on the time leading up to the engagement, it felt like it was never going to happen.  Instead we'd just talk about it all the time.  And once it did it just set everything in motion.  My Maid of Honor asked over Christmas break what has the engagement process has been like and my response was "Being engaged is AWESOME, it's the wedding planning that sucks."  The engagement really is just a magical time full of anticipation, hopes, fears and all around comfort in the future.  I couldn't be happier with the past 9 months.

• We wrote each other love letters: Completely inspired by Pinterest, before I moved from the city I sent J this frame and would leave him a love note when I could come visit.  Now we aim for daily love notes, but it has turned into a weekly thing. 

• My 'new' family is AMAZING: The minute I met J's family I knew I could get along with them for the rest of my life.  I didn't think I could call anyone 'sister' other than my own blood, but I was proven wrong.  I didn't think I'd want a brother or could understand the male mind as a sister does....but oh do I ever!  I didn't think I could relate to a culture that I respected from afar, but didn't know from the inside.  But I do relate to them and I find J and some of his family relating to me.  It is definitely J's patience with me and his family that keeps things moving forward.  But my #1 Love Language is service and I would lay down my life for these people.

• I found a deeper appreciation for my family, friends and my upbringing:  J's background is complete opposite from mine: country/city *  private school/public school *  single language household/bilingual household  *  All girls/brothers and sisters  *  biracial family/one race * the list goes on.  And it was exciting to learn about his lifestyle and compare it to mine.  But the more I compared the more I appreciated my upbringing and where I'm from.  I'm so unique, but so is he.  It's a blessing to have so much to look forward to when we start raising our own family.

• I stopped beating myself up (kinda)

• I started flossing more: My dentist is happy!

• I printed more pictures: Life is too short to spend all your time on Facebook.  Even if I'm just sitting in my family room doing Yoga or crafting, I can look around and see the smiling faces of my family and friends. 

• Oh ya, I got more crafty:  I decorated the house!  I turned a house into a home.  It's a blast and the inner girl scout in me LOVES it!  Next mission: learn to knit!

• My move to the rural country life - I've always been an outside girl.  As much as I love the conveniences of the city, in the back of my mind I'm always planning my next vacation or the next dog walk or even the next window I can look out of.  I'm not even lying.  I cannot sit at a desk all day.  I must step outside as some point in my day.  I connect with nature and knew I couldn't survive living in the city for very long.  When I moved back to Dallas I thought life would be perfect, but it was far from it.  I'm not saying living in the middle of no where is perfect.  But I got my wish and I am at peace.  It's not a Mayberry town or pinterest worthy house, but it's something to call my own.  It's my jumping off point and I love it.

• My new stress free job and my AMAZING boss: Yes, I do work for the Church.  So I hope this next line isn't too hooky, but my boss is an angel.  She really is.  I've had plenty of bosses throughout my life.  Most of whom I learned to love.  But this lady is so full of life and grace and compassion and positive energy and brains and energy and, I could go on.  She's just a joy to work for.  I want to make her happy in everything I do, even though her goal is for me to be happy.  Planning our wedding while working only part time is a nightmare!  But she always answers "It'll work out in the end" and the closer we get to the wedding date, the more it is working out.  Her husband is very very ill and has been for years, but she stills brags about her "hubby" and visits him (in hospice) often.  I pray all wives have the courage and compassion she does.  I wrote about how much I love my job here.

• My new outlook on life and my stress free lifestyle With a happy fiance, a peaceful home and an amazing job.  I have nothing to complain about.  When I catch myself complaining I hear Seth Myers in my head saying "Really?!" Obviously it's not the material things that help me find this stress free life.  It's the next bullet item:

• My relationship with God and my walk with faith: When J and I met we challenged each other on our faith from day one.  I was book Catholic and he was faith Catholic.  Now my facts and figures are rubbing off on him (he won't even bring up an point without having the right bible verse of Vatican document to support it).  But his faith is also rubbing off on my, thank goodness.  When it comes to wedding planning and the tight budget we're on, I could be stressed up to my eyeballs, but I keep putting my faith in God, avoiding a bad bridezilla. 

• Volunteering with the Youth in my Church: More like, I heard a call from God and I answered it.  Within 2 days of saying out loud "I'd like to do something with the youth of this town" I was the youth minister in our parish.  I love it, the kids love me and J and I love who J is for that 1 hour.  It's not the J I know, it's not the J he shows anyone but those kids.  Why?  Because he didn't have a youth minister, he didn't have an opinion on faith other than his parents and he doesn't want these kids to make bad decisions and end up in trouble like so many of his friends did.  I'm not going to lie, this is a HARD job.  But I know God put us here for a reason.  I'm happy to do His will.

• We sent out Christmas cards: Like grown ups!  ;)

 

Step #2 What didn't work (as well as I wanted):

• Starting a diet/workout habit: I mean come on, who isn't going to put diet/workout as a failure.  This year did not go as planned.  Paying for the wedding we were unable to keep a fridge full of food.  Instead we were blessed with J's family feeding us everyday.  Which means I don't get to pick the menu, instead four children under the age of 10 did.  And working out was a hard habit to get into.  I was used to my safe paved city blocks and my apartment gym, out here in the country you can run on the school track or the dirt roads.  But don't be surprised if you see a jack rabbit, coyote or badger running with you!
• My savings: With a part time job, a wedding to pay for and trying to bring down loans before my credit rating wipes out J's perfect credit score I have not saved a penny.  We plan to pay off the wedding for the three months following the wedding and after that it's all about SAVINGS.  I'm thinking Dave Ramsey will be a good investment to help us out.
• My blogging:  I don't even know where to start with why this didn't work out this year.  I blog more than some of my friends, but I definitely haven't hit the big time like I want to.  I guess I just need to keep pushing myself and striving to get sponsors and a 'concept' going for some side income and to keep my city friends up to date on my country life!
• My MLM: I honestly don't know how this got away from me either.  I was doing AMAZING!  Using the products, losing weight, making money.  Then I moved and everything came to a halt.  With it being the beginning of my personal company I needed to be more hands on and pay more attention.  Instead I slowed down my life and let things slip through the cracks.  I'm still taking my vitamins and have team members doing well.  I just knew I could do so much better at this!  I'm really disappointed in myself.

 

Step #3 What fires you up?
Health- fresh food and exercise
Helping - volunteering for strangers friends and family
God - praying and learning
Travel - with fiance, to family, friends or just us two
Decorating/renovating 
Socializing/blogging - not isolating myself
Learning - to knit or crochet
Accomplishing - grant writer certification, masters degree
Sharing - blogging, story telling, educating others

 

See Lara's guidelines towards creating your own 2013 Making Things Happen: HERE