multipurpose tablecloths

A few months ago I decided it was time to get new curtains for the basement. I had been using a set that I had from our last apartment and they were really to dark for the basement which already gets limited light. I had picked out a fabric online and was saving for it when I spotted a tablecloth at Target for less then $15.00. It was almost identical to the fabric I wanted but I would be getting 2.5 yards for the price of 1 yard at the fabric store. I quickly bought 2 tablecloths and had Dave hang them for me.

The other great thing was that they were already hemmed on all 4 sides so I did not have to bother with sewing them like I would have had to of done had I just gotten a few yards of fabric. I did use the money I would have spent on drapes and got a few yards of the below fabric to make pillows for the basement. 

Then the other day I popped in Homegoods to kill some time and spotted another great tablecloth made from indoor/outdoor fabric.

I called my sister in law to see if she wanted me to get it because I knew they would make the perfect outdoor pillows for her dining room set. She had wanted to buy orange seat cushions for her outdoor furniture but replacing all 6 chair cushions even at Homegoods can get expensive. When I spotted this tablecloth I knew they would add that pop of color she wanted. I took a few photos of one of the pillows before bringing them to her :)

Next time you are in a home store don't overlook the tablecloths! They are not just used by your grandmothers anymore :)

a busy weekend and mother's day

We had a busy past weekend filled with lots of fun memories! Friday afternoon started with a trip to Aunt Katie's and Uncle Brad's for a picture session with the cousins. Let's just say it was a good idea but not great timing on my part. Will had been great all afternoon but when it came time to sit on a blanket with his cousins he was not happy. This is the best one we got of all 3 of them.

Sorry grammy this was supposed to be your mother's day gift. Maybe next time :)

When we got home I took a few of Will in his outfit because I know in a few weeks this will not fit. I love my little duck!

Don't worry he was not asleep in the chair just blinking but I think he looks hilarious.

After the attempted photo session we came home and had another couple over for dinner. I did not get any pictures because we were to busy stuffing our faces with Chipotle (really I was to busy doing this, everyone else could contain themselves). It was so great to hang out with some friends and connect with adults. It reminded Dave and I of how important fellowship is.

Saturday morning started bright and early making mini cinnamon rolls for Maryn's birthday party. Will and I were both invited to the princess tea party so I wanted to make something special for Will to wear.

When we got there Katie (Dave's sister) was dressed up like Belle. I got a few photos of the birthday girl's mom and Will.

Apparently, Will now has a new smile. In all of his pictures from here on out his bottom lip is tucked in. I think he was just sucking on it (maybe teething) but it is hilarious. He looks like an old man without teeth! Here is one with Will and Auntie. He loves her so much!

Grammy was dressed up as well for the tea. She was called the fairy godmother. She is so good to her grandchildren and they love her so much!

Katie knows how to put on a good party and I always look forward to events at her house. This one did not disappoint! The next day I heard that Maryn had asked Katie if they could do it all over again that day! So cute!

After the party I met up with a good friend from college who was in town visiting family. She had not gotten to meet Will yet so of course we had an impromptu photo session in the parking lot.

take 1 - before Will ate

  take 2 - much happier with food in his belly :)

She is one of those friends who it does not matter how much time goes by you can pick up right where you left off. I love her dearly and am so blessed to call her one of my best friends!

After the mini JMU reunion I met up with Dave for an early mother's day dinner with just our little family of three. Will was so excited to see daddy since we had been gone all day!

When we got home I went straight to my workshop to crank out some pillows. I will try and post some pictures soon. I have a lot of new fabrics and it has been fun making them for friends and family! Here's a sneak peak at one of the new fabrics! I cannot wait to tell you it's original purpose :)

Sunday when I woke up Will and Dave came in and brought me my mother's day gifts. It was so sweet. I love being Will's mommy and Dave really knows how to spoil me. As excited as I was to celebrate my first mother's day my heart was also heavy for friends who want to be mommy's and are not yet. Please know you were in my thoughts and prayers that day. After church we were able to spend a few hours at home together and then it was back to Aunt Katie's and Uncle Brad's for a mother's day dinner and belated birthday celebration for pop-pop. Whew! It was quite the weekend but it was so much fun to get to spend some time with family and friends. Next weekend my parents are coming to visit so I bet we will get to have another special mother's day celebration with them! I am trying to drag this special day out as long as possible :)

toes

Will had a big day today. If the title of this post didn't give it away then maybe this picture will help a little.

Today was the big day that Will finally put his toes in his mouth! Now I know this is probably one of the few times in his life that I will be excited about this and in a few months when he starts crawling and getting his toes dirty I doubt I will cheer when this occurs but for now we are both enjoying this moment. It took him a few weeks to master this because of his large tummy :) but somehow today he finally did it!

                                          Almost there!  You can do it!

                                                     Yay! You did it!

 

 I think my cheers scared him a little. One milestone down and many more to go! 

Holly's Baby Shower

In April I gave my friend Holly a shower for her soon to be here baby boy! I am so exited to meet his sweet face. His 2 year old brother is one of the most adorable boys I have ever seen so I am sure this little one is going to be just as cute! We cannot wait to meet you Crewe!

I used a lot of the same ideas that I had done at this shower but changed the color scheme.

The cupcake toppers were created from cardstock letters purchased at Michaels glued on top of colorful paper that is then glued on label paper wrapped around a toothpick.

I had made 24 cookies but did not realize unti after I had decorated some that I could not stack them. So I only decorated a few and then the guests decorate the rest if they wanted to. I think Holly ended up taking a lot home to decorate with Jack! haha

I am not sure if you can tell in the above photo but the table runner was created from extra fabric I had from Will's nursery on top of Burlap. I like the layered look and I think the burlap added a little texture that the fabric alone would not have done.

For more pictures of people actually at the shower check out Jean's (Holly's mom) blog post. I only took a few "before the shower" pictures and then got busy and forgot to take more when people actually arrived :)

fun striped straws

 I recently found these straws online and love them!

They are popping up all over blogs and I had to jump on the bandwagon :) I plan on using them at Will's first birthday which I know is 8 months away but I figure it is never to early to start planning! I had also wanted to get them for a baby shower I threw for a friend a month or so ago so that was my excuse to purchase them 2 months after my son was born :) I used them at the shower for drinks as well as for the base of the pinwheels I made.

I used this tutorial online and they are super easy to make. I tweaked it a little so I could use the straws instead of a pencil but other than that it was pretty straight forward. I decided to kept the pinwheels around my house even after the shower as a fun decoration.

While we were visiting Nashville a few weeks ago I found the same straws in blue at a store in Franklin and of courses had to pick up another pack.

I guess I have the colors now for Will's first birthday! Now I just need to make sure I don't miss place then between now and December :) I hope Will likes his birthday straws because I will be using them at every party until he is 18 because there are 144 straws in a pack (and yeah I know have 2)!

Sorry this was such a quick post but I am off to make a special present for my niece's 4th birthday this weekend. I cannot believe she is turning 4. I was at the hospital when she was born and I cannot believe this sweet little girl is growing up so fast. She loves her cousin which I think is so sweet! The below picture is them meeting for the first time last January.

Stay tuned because I hope to be back later today with pictures from the baby shower where the grey straws made their first appearance!

a before and after: breakfast area

When we first looked at our current home this was what the kitchen breakfast area looked like.

I am pretty sure they had more plants in one area of the home then I had ever seen in a whole house before. The space had potential but when I took this picture I was pretty certain that we were not going to buy the house. Well it ended up being a price we really could not walk away from and after a long short sale this room in all it's beauty is mine :)

Thankfully on the day we moved in the plants were gone. (Sorry for the bad lighting. I did not ever think I would blog about this picture!)

The first thing to change, thanks to a friend helping us move (thanks charlie!), was that light fixture. While I was very thankful for this house the light was just was not my style and had to go. I had seen a beautiful antique chandelier at a store in Norfolk months before we got the townhouse and had my mom check in on it every few weeks to make sure it was still available. I knew that if we did end up getting the house I would want that light for the kitchen. Well fast forward 8 months and we got the news that the townhouse was ours! I called my mom that same day and had her purchase the light. It turns out someone did want to buy the light fixture but the woman at the store held it for me. It pays off to be friends with antique dealers!

I am not sure if you can tell from the before pictures but the kitchen was bright neon yellow. We also have oak cabinets in the kitchen so there was a lot of yellow in this room. I was not sure when we would get around to updating the kitchen so I just painted the space Martha Stewart's Glass of Milk when we moved in. I also added shelves to display my Emma Bridgewater collection. I started collecting this pattern in high school and still love it today!

My husband and I decided to use this area more as a sitting room since the dining room was practically 2 feet away from the kitchen and we really eat at the kitchen island most nights. The chairs pictured above are actually the armchairs from my dining room set (it was my grandmothers). The dresser came from a friends attic and I used it all through college. It was a lighter wood that I stained a mahogany finish. It now has a nice distressed look to it from years of use :)

 Shelves decorated for Christmas

After months of living with the space as seen above I decided to finally paint the kitchen cabinets and this is when the rest of the kitchen got a paint makeover as well. This is what the room looks like today.

We purchased some white chairs from ikea to replace the dining room chairs and moved the white end table that we were using as a coffee table to the living room. Once we redo the floors we will get a rug so Will can have a place to play while I make dinner. I am thinking of West Elm's Jute rug for this space but want to see what the floors look like first.

Here are some details from the room.

It is not quite finished but I think it has come a long way from being a greenhouse :)

Sources for the Room:

Paint - Ralph Lauren - Mombasa Mist

White Chairs - Ikea - Jennylund

Shelves - Ikea

Dresser - Antique

Glass Knobs on Dresser - Lucketts

Pottery - Emma Bridgewater, Toast and Marmalade

Chandelier - antique

Curtains - Ikea

Turquoise Hutch - Lucketts (antique store in VA)

Cake Stand - Pottery Barn

Pillows - me :)

Mason Jars - Antique Stores