I LOVE MY ROOM!

LOVE!

Please pardon the poor quality of these photos, as they were taken with my iPhone (and no flash). Also, this was after Capella left, so the other bedside lamp is missing (the warehouse apparently cannot read an order and only shipped one, so she found one locally and borrowed it from the store for the shoot).

I know I've already said it, but I truly cannot say enough good things about Capella's talent. I honestly could not have made my room look anywhere close to as good as it looks without her help. There are still a few things I'm working on... a dresser for the sitting room (we're using our current one there now, but want to find something old and paint it... maybe a Dorothy Draper), a lamp for the desk (she brought one for the shoot), and the big mirror above the fireplace is actually from our living room but we brought it in for the pictures because we are eventually going to mount a TV up there.

I will make another post with a little more on the experience of working with Capella, what I would recommend if you're interested in her services (if you're local vs out of town), some of the design specifications and how we adapted them for ourselves (basically what we did and didn't do), etc. Needless to say, I look forward to doing our next room together (probably the dining room after we do the kitchen). Also, the professional photos should be up on Capella's site some time next week.

Oh, and just a reminder of the ugly before... so glad we crossed another project off the list, and in my opinion, it's the best one yet!

Sneak Peek

We've been busy bees in the "O" household. This weekend was pretty much entirely devoted to putting the finishing touches on the master bedroom. Per the usual, it's down to the wire as Capella is coming to photograph the room tomorrow as an example of what you can achieve with Idesign.

Matt changed the blinds, finished the desk, changed all the outlets and light switches from our old gold/cream combo to white, and rigged an outlet in our little closet in the sitting room so that we could plug our printer in there instead of leaving it out or having to pull it out every time we wanted to print something.

I ran a lot of errands and dismantled and painted and recovered two of Memere's chairs. It sounds like he did a lot more, but alas, that is not true. Have I not learned yet that everything takes longer than anticipated? He also cooked us a delicious dinner Sunday night since I was still doing stuff. I was up until 1:30 am Saturday/Sunday and worked again until 9pm on Sunday (save church and a babyshower early in the day). I'm still not done, but last night I whipped up this beauty.



Not the headboard (though, that would be some major talent... that thing is amazingly well made!), but I was up late last night (and am feeling it today... which reminds me, I still haven't had any coffee) piecing together this bedskirt. I can still sew! YAY! And, I realized how much I love to sew... even if this was just a bunch of straight stitches. I've got the bug. Now, ignoring the bad picture and wrinkled bed linens, as well as the fact that it is not put together with accessories and art - awesome, right!? This ain't nothin'. Wait until you see this bad boy all put together in its final glory. I'll be back Wednesday or Thursday with good pictures and a breakdown of what we did. In the meantime, I can't say enough good things about Capella's talent. If you're looking to revamp some rooms in your home, check out her website and blog and give her a call!

Giveaway

No, not from me. I'd only get like three entries (and I'm A-OK with that). :) But, for the three of you reading, head on over to my favorite design blog by a Bostonian, Everything LEB and enter her giveaway for a fabulous Shabby Apple dress!

My last few weeks in pictures (and a few words)

Where has the month gone? Don't even get me started on the year. Time flies when you're having fun... or busy... or both!

I got to see these little guys when I was in Jacksonville for my 10 year reunion. Oh, they are just too cute. They are both such sweethearts, and James absolutely cracks me up. He has such a personality, and I especially enjoyed him singing "I'm a Country Boy" to me multiple times.

Sweet, sweet Brody bear.

Aunt Kristin, let's do mean faces!

Okay, now let's do silly faces. (Wow, I look hot!)

The reunion was really fun! I helped plan it at the last minute, and it was clear that I was one of the only ones that had any event planning experience, so I was kind of running around like crazy a lot of the time making sure everything was going alright. I did get to hang out with a lot of people, but it flew by! Everyone looked really good, and it was clear that 10 years has not had a lot of effect (aging, at least) on most!

Andrea and Carrie were two of my best friends (Andrea since middle school).

Oh, Justin Sallas... how he tortured us in middle school.

Josh - senior homecoming date and co-winner of Most Likely to Succeed

The only picture I have with Matt (with his eyes open)

E^3 and me - cheerleading pose. It had to be done.

Jello shots, anyone?

Cheers!

This past weekend, we kept busy between my (our) dear friend Jenny's baby shower and the 3rd Annual Rib Off on Saturday and doing stuff around the house all day Sunday. I captured this adorable picture of my precocious (yes, that extra "oc" are in there on purpose, although she is also quite precious) "niece" Madelyn at the shower. She's such a monkey.

I am proud to report that my husband reigns supreme as the BBQ master! He's now won two of three Rib Off competitions. Last year there was no official judging process because it was just disorganized and people were pulling their ribs off at different times. Although, we admit that if there had been judging, we think another guy would have won. Instead, we declared the winner as the banana pudding prepared by Caitlin. He has all the good pictures on his camera, but below is one of us out celebrating his win at the Warren. A bit of celebratory dancing was involved to work off all the calories.

This week is going to be busy working, working out and working on our master bedroom. We cleared it out yesterday and it's ready for the painter on Wednesday. I'm still waiting on two lamps, need to complete the desk (a drawer repair and new knobs/pulls), sand/paint and re-cover two chairs, frame some art, and accessorize! And, hopefully, all of this before next Tuesday. I can't wait to see (and show you) the end result!

♥ Daddy

The best laid plans...

Got some "bad" news yesterday that Matt may be in Tifton even longer than the already even longer than we ever anticipated. I use the word "bad" loosely, because I am able to easily put it into perspective. It could be way worse, but just because it could be worse doesn't mean it's also not disappointing to know that, once again, things aren't going to pan out like we'd hoped. There's a chance he could be home, at least more than he is now, in September, but I've definitely learned to expect the worst and pray for the best!

Since I heard this news yesterday, I've been trying to focus on all of the amazing blessings we have in our lives, and there are plenty. I know so many people around me suffering losses, disease (cancer SUCKS!!!!!!), etc, that it's very easy to put it into perspective. We have our health, two careers, financial stability, amazing family and friends, a home, food to eat and most importantly, each other. So, we might have to put our kitchen renovation and a few other plans on hold... how amazing is it that we can AFFORD a kitchen renovation when there's absolutely nothing wrong (except ugly) with our kitchen as is?

See, the power of positive thinking... I feel better already.

Thoughts for a Thursday...

• My baby high has worn off, and although I still want one sooooome day (maybe sooner than later... or maybe not... guess you'll just have to wait and see), at the moment I'm feeling a little like how the heck could I do that when I can barely manage my own life! ;)
• Life is busybusybusy, as usual. I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way.
• I was in Florida Monday through Wednesday morning for work and got to squeeze in a night with my Gram. I honestly have the COOLEST grandma in the world. Seriously. It's no contest, so no one else should bother entering their grandmothers in the World's Coolest Grandma Competition (except Amy and Alyse since she's their Gram too). :) I can talk to that woman about ANYTHING. She is amazing.
• We're going to my 10 Year High School Reunion this weekend. In one sense, it feels like that was forever ago... in another, it feels like yesterday. With the advent of social media, I feel like HS reunions are going to be much smaller, but I'm looking forward to catching up with some of these people in person, and not just via facebook!
• We're well into the master bedroom makeover, thanks to Capella! I can't wait to get it done and show you guys what she put together... I think it's going to be amazing! Nothing has really been done yet (as far as actually putting it together). We're just gathering all the pieces and getting ready to paint, but it should be done (with the exception of the dresser) by the end of the month.
• We got a great, solid wood writing desk on Craig's List for $75 and Matt sanded it down and stained it last weekend. He's so handy. It needs a couple coats of poly (but he bought gloss and I don't want it that shiny, so he needs to exchange that), new knobs and a minor drawer repair, and it's going to look like a million bucks!
• I am officially a pullup machine. Like, I can just get up on the bar and do them with no assistance. I did 15 last night during our warm up (not all at once) but was able to string four together without stopping. When I say pullups, they are pullups but they are kipping pullups, not strict pullups, so while you're expending the same amount of energy to get your chin up over the bar, you're using your momentum from the kip motion to help you. In the words of Ali G, "Booyahkasha!"
• I don't look like I'm a pullup machine. I've definitely gained strength and maybe slimmed down a bit from Cross Fit, but with my schedule being as it is, getting injured, life in general, I have not been able to attend as many classes as I'd like (only 2 in the last 2.5 weeks), and I'm definitely not eating as healthy as I could be. I am not eating unhealthy, but I'm also no longer trying to eat Paleo M-F like I was before, and I have my moments (like having a sandwich and Lays potato chips for dinner a week or two ago... VERY unlike me). It's the 80/20 rule - 80% of fitness is your diet. And, I like food. A lot of that food is healthy, but not all of it... like chips (and salsa and guac... both of which are Paleo... chips, not so much). The good news is I don't have any work travel scheduled as of now, and although I'd love to be skinnier, if I can enjoy my life and look like I do now, I am okay with that. :)
• My little sister is 21. I still cannot believe she is 100% legal. Crazy!
• That's it for now... I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm hoping to hit the beach on Saturday before the reunion bash and, and I can't wait!

Baby Fever

My co-worker, Bryan, and his wife, Katherine, (aka: our friends) had their little baby boy, John Thomas, on Tuesday. I went to see them in the hospital during lunch today, and I'm in love. He is soooooooo tiny and sweet. He was 3 weeks early, 5 lbs 11.9 oz and 20" at birth and is now 5.5 lbs, but he's healthy! And, I want one. In fact, he's so dang cute, that they can just make me a baby. ;) I'm experiencing a baby high right now. It's like my crack. I got my fix, but I don't know how long it's going to last. Thankfully, I've got three more (local) girlfriends due in July and August, plus three good friends (not local) due between October and December, and another "niece/nephew" (technically, Matt's first cousin) due in early December! Hopefully, that will tide me over until we jump on the baby-making bandwagon. Until then, we'll just practice a lot. ;)

I don't get it.

Can someone please explain Justin Beiber to me? I don't understand why he's so famous. He's like 11, sings like a girl/clearly hasn't gone through puberty, but teen/tween girls love him? I completely get pop culture crushes... I had huge ones on NKOTB, Devon Sawa, Leo DiCaprio, etc. but they were at least older and more mature than me. I get a 7 or 8 year old crushing on Justin Beiber, but not these older girls. So, what am I missing?