My New Stresser

I am not talking about something weighing on my mind. I am talking about my Street Dresser, get it? Street + Dresser = Stresser.

I have referred to the dresser my friend, Gina, and I found on the side of the road a few times now. It was pouring rain, we were both over 7 months pregnant and we honed in on this dresser that one of us had to have. 

Clearly, I claimed it, but not without giving her first shot. Her loss, her loss!

I have been planning on painting the stresser for a few months now, but could not find the time to sand and apply multiple coats of paint. My mom on the other hand, doesn't have an infant and loves a project...hmm, I am sure y'all know the saying about the apple and the tree!

 

 

Seriously, yay for my mom!

 

and yay for Henry, who is willing to move furniture around over and over again!

Reminders of Before...

Wait! What is a bedroom without curtains, I mean shades, I mean valances? Ooh, more to come!

Set in Stone

There is no question we love our water feature, and of course we love Oscar and Stella even more!? So, we thought what better way to capture this time in our lives, than to set it in stone.

 

I bought this 12.00 kit at Michael's with a 40% off coupon. So, for 7.20 we had a whole night of family fun.

The kit I purchased included everything one would need to immortalize your pet. However, we just needed the cement and the mold. We used our own treasures that we have collected over time; rocks, shells, coral and sea glass from the beach and little animals from our favorite tea (for real). 

 

After the cement set up a little we went ahead and dunked in a little foot and a little paw.

48 hours later, we all went outside for the Water Feature- Stepping Stone Ceremony, similar to the Hollywood Boulevard celebrations.

Stella is the only one that appreciates the stone for the step it is...on her way down to get a drink.

I guess we have to keep them now, because they are set in stone! (we both know that if they could, they would both be rolling their eyes at my funny joke!)

 

Bonus Photo: My true love for blogging has been captured. As Meat Loaf would say, "I would do anything to blog but I WOULD do that"...like, type over my sleeping baby's body!

 

I Heart Free Art

While poking around on Pinterest, a website to get good ideas for decorating and crafts galore, I found that some super talented graphic creators are willing to share their work for free! You all know how much a like free.

I downloaded these free images, did I mention they were free? So cute, right?

and ordered the prints through snapfish.com, which cost 2.99 per 8x10 (but I googled "snapfish coupons" and got an extra 25% off plus free shipping) and picked up a couple of 5.00 frames at Michael's. So for a total of 14.48, which is practically free, I scored some killer kitchen art!

 I heart the design and totally heart the colors which go perfectly in our kitchen.

Boy, do I heart a good deal. Of course I can't figure out how to give you the link to the free printable through this post, but if you want this particular design let me know and I will email it to you. Otherwise, just type in 'free printables' at Pinterest and all kinds of cool art will pop up for, well, free!

It Makes My Eyes Watery

As promised the bedroom paint reveal. You might of guessed, or might not have, the color is called Watery and we love it; fresh and beachy!

Notice the new lamps with a pull down chain...love them for easy light access in the middle of the night.

 

Before

The lamps are from Target. I chose clean white shades...I might cover them in fabric??

 

Before

 After

The paint is no VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds emitted as gasses) Sherwin Williams paint. Priorities change when there is a baby in the house and for only 30.00 a gallon on sale, why not? The smell was very minimal and with the peace of mind that Oscar can chew on the base boards safely I say "let's get it!"

Now that the painting is done the accessorizing begins. As time allows curtains will be made, a road-side dresser will be painted and a headboard will be created.

Teaser

I took Oscar on his first home improvement errand to buy paint for our Master Bedroom. He was a super big help...he slept the whole time:) The paint has been purchased...and applied. Oh boy, I can't wait to share. However, in an effort to get out the door for Oscar's first wedding celebration, I will bust out the results next week. (This is a cruel attempt to make sure you all come back again.)

In the mean time, a plan has been formulated, which is a big fat deal for me, and there is promise for progress.

Fabrics and Bedding and Accessories, oh my...

 

A quick reminder of  the before...

and proof that the walls have been transformed...

Well, not exactly proof, but it's clear something is going on here.

Until next week, cheers!

P.S. The Devon Rae Sawyer Giveaway Winner is Amy! Hooray, you are so lucky.

Give Away...Devon Rae Sawyer Photography

One of my most talented girlfriends (and I have a lot of talented girlfriends) and I are teaming up for a Lovely Give Away! Wahoo!

Here is your chance to win a set of greeting cards photographed by the famous Devon Rae Sawyer. Haven't heard of her 'til now? Have you been living under a rock? (wink)

I sent the greetings to myself because I think no gallery wall should be without...

but feel free to send the greetings to all of your special someones.

Here is how the Give Away will go down:

Pop over to Devon's website and LIKE her on Facebook (on the top of her page). Come on back  and let me know the mission was accomplished in my comment section. That's it! One winner will be chosen by random.org on Thursday 8/18 in the AM! (psst..you can mismatch the cards if you win)

BONUS ENTRY: Leave an additional comment letting us know which photograph is your fave.

My favorite...

Watch out Ansel Adams! Watch out!

Say Cheese!

Exciting news, we got a new camera. Remember me sayin' in my first weeks of blogging that I needed a new fancy SLR Camera? That didn't happen. Remember me sayin' when I got 100 Followers I was going to treat myself to a fancy SLR Camera? Well, that didn't happen.

The trick was to have a baby. Henry squirreled away some money and we treated ourselves to a new Nikon 3100 SLR.

 

We were sold on the Nikon Brand because Henry has good childhood memories of his family's Nikon and his Dad had a few lenses he was willing to give us. Yay! Whatever it takes, right? We researched the guts out of the Nikon Brand and decided the 3100 was the best camera for the best price. It has all the fancy features we wanted and is "easy for the novice to use." That's us!

So, here is to Oscar's Baby Book and blog photos!

P.S. Henry really wants a Hunting Bow. Maybe, he would be willing to carry our next baby!?

P.P.S. Tune in tomorrow for my Welcome Back to Me Give Away!

Blog Withdrawals

Oscar is 1 month old today. Can you believe it? A good mom would have made cupcakes. This mom just wanted a little time to herself so she could blog. I have watched countless episodes of Oprah reruns, The View and decorating shows. I have read my fair share of Parenting Magazine and clean the toilets when I get a moment, all the while day dreaming about projects that I would love to tackle during my maternity vacation?!?!

Needless to say, all the bed sores have been totally worth it and I feel lucky to see Oscar growing and changing before my very eyes.

I

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

When we are not eating and changing our pants (psst, you know who I am talking about), Oscar and I like to go on walks, play with Stella and talk baby-talk, but tomorrow we are going to shake it up...we are going to buy paint for the Master Bedroom! That's right, Oscar's first home improvement related errand! 

Welcome Back to me...phew, thank goodness it's almost the weekend!