Hailey's House: Go Green

One of my favorite things to do in my home is re purpose.  I get tired of things really quickly so when I can take something I already have and use it in another room, paint it, reupholster it, etc etc...I LOVE it.

Enter China Cabinet from 1976 (Seriously, 1976)

It was Steven's parents and it's been in his possession for a while now.  When we got married, I removed the gold lattice that covered the glass doors (sounds beautiful, huh?), changed out the hardware, and used it to display my grandmother's china.  I decided the other day that I was ready to give it a major face lift.  I wanted to paint it, take the doors off and whatever else I felt like doing.  

If you're an HGTV fanatic like me, you're familiar with Sarah's house.  Sarah is a ridiculously talented designer that takes old homes and transforms them into the most gorgeous spaces you have ever seen.  This week my space is my china cabinet and I think it's seen quite the transformation.  I. LOVE. IT.  I am so loving the color green right now.  I knew right away I wanted to go with a deep shade of green, but not too dark.  The second sample of paint I purchased was the perfect one.  Thank goodness for the small sample jars because I am horrible at picking out colors until I can actually see it on the surface I am painting.  I'm also in the process of painting and making new curtains for the kitchen so I'll share that when I'm finished.

Can't help but love when 'lil sweet pea crawls over to be in the pic too :)

Gotta love the early morn bed head- we may need our first haircut before our first birthday!

Just so you can see how big the transformation is here's the before...

Quite the improvement, huh?!? Please notice the floor in the before and after- I finally got rid of the horrible laminate!!! Thanks to the hubby who is a jack of all trades around the house! I love the new flooring SO much!!!

GONE.

Gone. Like Elvis and his mom.  Gone. Like never coming back. Gone.  Like makes me sick. Gone.

What am I talking about?

(Big BIG Sigh)

Every picture, file of music, picture, word document, picture, video, picture, DID I MENTION PICTURE?!?! Yes, every single picture that has been taken in the past 6 years and was not printed or put on facebook or my blog is gone.

I figured if I blogged about it, it could be my therapy for coping with this huge tragedy.  The tragedy of my precious MacBook taking a very small tumble off my ottoman onto the hardwood.  Who knew my hard drive (Which I've never backed up, Yes, I'm kicking myself now) would totally fail and ALL my data would not be able to be recovered.  Apple products, unfortunately, are not indestructible.  I mean I am the one who recently left my iPhone on top of my car, then retrieved it when we noticed going 80 MPH down the interstate.  Fortunately this iPhone was not harmed.  I've been through 2 already and I promised the hubs this one would be my last.

Well, a BIG fee later, I have my MacBook back.  When I picked it up, the Tech told me how sorry he was and then started talking about something, but I quickly said, "I can't talk about it" then busted into tears.  Poor guys waiting on me didn't know what to do.  I paid and got out of there as soon as possible. Yes, there are many, many, many precious pics that are gone and will never be recovered, but I can't dwell on it anymore.  I may not have every single picture or video that I have captured of my sweet baby Kate, but that's not what really matters. Yes, I would have loved to have displayed her "watch me grow" pics at her first birthday or have them displayed nicely in a scrapbook (my stomach churns) but I never printed all of them off because they were so neatly stored in a special "Kate" folder on my desktop and in iPhoto. Major UGH.

I feel like Carrie in the SATC episode where her Mac crashes and due to lack of backing everything up she loses all her writings.  And everyone asks her, like she's an idiot if she says no, "you've got everything backed up, right?!" Uh, Nope.  Guess I never took that episode seriously.

Lesson learned- Back up all your stuff. (I'm not even going to tell you we own 2 external hard drives. Ugh!)


Yes, I love the convenience of digital film, but on the other hard I hate it because stuff like this can happen.  Remember when you would rush to get your pictures developed as soon as you finished a roll of film?! Then you had all your pics right there in your possession.  The good ole days.

but....


I've got one healthy baby girl and hubby that reminds what really matters in this life.  Yes, pictures are nice to have, but it's the here and now and the memories we are making and continue to make that really matter.  At least I keep telling myself that for now :)

Trick or Treat Sneak Peek...

Clothes Designed and Made by Yours Truly and the fabulous Abbey Duncan.  A first look at LiviKate's Collection's Halloween Line. (Fall, Winter, and Christmas are coming soon)  Can you tell we Love Halloween?! We just adored the Fabrics and Appliques we found for Halloween this year so we went a little crazy. Everything pictured can be made in any size from newborn to junior. This was our first sneak peek at the pics (aren't our "models" ADORABLE?!?!) so I thought I'd share a few.... Thank you Mme photography

                            

My "Me Time"

Thank you McDonalds for 

A. helping us realize "Me Time" doesn't really exists. 

or 

B. making people believe they can escape into their own "Me Time" by indulging in one of your iced coffees.  

If you're like me, you find yourself leaning towards option A.  And strangely I'm okay with that.  I believe when you become a wife and mommy you really say goodbye to "me time."  Now I truly believe us mommas need a good night/day out every once in a while, but ultimately our main objective in life is now caring for our sweet babies (and our sweet hubbies :) 

Now that my sweet baby is crawling, climbing, grabbing, and chewing, it's a whole new world.  She's into EVERYTHING.  We've already discovered "big sister" has some really good chew sticks that feel really good on our teething gums. YUCK!  It definitely keeps us on our toes and aware of what is laying around!

When I do get some "me time" I love to read, sew, decorate, bake and paint.

Here's some recent "Me Time" indulgences....

My Sweet Baby Girl in her Watermelon Dress I made for her

I made and monogrammed this curtain for under my sink.  

Steven's is halfway made.  I'll finish his for his sink during my next "me time" :)

I hadn't made any cakes since Kate was born, so I was thrilled when someone asked me to make one for a party for their mother-in-law.  It was a strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese icing- All from scratch. YUMMY!!! 

More curtains...I've made two panels- still have two more to make for our living room that is a huge work in progress.  I'm taking my time with it this time and decorating it with things I absolutely love, not just with things that look pretty and match.

ok so who doesn't LOVE coming home from some "me time" (AKA going to the grocery store) and seeing this?!?! Molly Bojangles was also on this walk, but she ran up to my car when I pulled up so I couldn't get her in the pic too.  This just makes me smile so incredibly much.  Honestly, when I think about these two I can say "Me Time" seems a little less important.  This is my life and I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. Seriously. At the end of the day (even the crazy ones) I can honestly say I am one happy, fulfilled mommy and wife and I thank God for His continual blessings and provision for my little family.

What are some of your favorite things to do during your "Me Time"?

Is this the little girl I carried?

If you've seen the Broadway play, Fiddler on the Roof, you know that the scene of Tevye and Golde singing "Sunrise, Sunset" is one of the sweetest/most memorable scenes in the play.  At one of their daughter's wedding, they reflect on how it was just yesterday their daughter and her spouse were running around like children, playing, laughing, and unnoticeably growing older. (My mom always told me she was going to sing it at my wedding, sorry mom :) maybe Kendra's?!)

My little sister is not getting married yet, but she is a senior in high school and I'm like, "WHEN DID SHE TURN INTO THIS GORGEOUS YOUNG ADULT?" 

That's the thing with having a sibling so much younger than you, you remember every step of their life.  From when my parents announced a new baby was on the way, to the first night she came home from the hospital and I woke up in the middle of the night to find my mom rocking her.  I remember sitting with them in the dark living room adoring this new "blessing" hehe :)

(Sigh) 

And here she is about the graduate High School. Really?!?

And once again, the ridiculously talented Kristine Neeley has captured some of the most gorgeous photos for her Senior Pictures. 

sing along with me.... :)

"Is this the little girl I carried?" (On my hip of course)

"Is this the little girl at play?"

(my absolute FAVORITE!)

"I don't remember growing older"

"when did she?"

"When did she get to be a beauty?"

"When did she grow to be so tall?"

"Wasn't it yesterday,

she was small

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

  

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears"

Check out her blog for more gorgeousness :)

Thank you Kristine for sharing your amazing gift with my family! 

Don't Blink

First and Foremost, we just returned from Vacation and it was Awesome! sure, I would have loved for my parents (who were in Hawaii celebrating their 30th annviersary) and my big bro (who unfortunately has to choose his time off very wisely due to trials and all that other fancy lawyer stuff) to have joined us, but it was still a great time away.  My little sis, "Aunt K" joined us for the week and she was such a nice addition.  Not only do we enjoy her company, but she allowed Steven and I to sneak away a bit and do some fun things together. We hopped on our bikes and rode around the Island and even rode down to the beach and just enjoyed some time together walking and talking.  It's the little things, right?!  I realized two things during our time together: First, How out of shape I really am. Second, In my attempt to add some "real cardio" back to my workout regimen, I realized running is NOT for nursing mommas.  If any other mommas out there have any secrets please fill me in, but until then I think I'll stick to yoga and speed walking :)

Aunt K provided a very eclectic library of music for our trip also.  She is about to start her senior year and she definitely keeps us entertained and on our toes!  You know we've been letting her control the radio when my hubby randomly busts out with "Shawty is an eenie minnie minee mo lover." Funny, huh?

Although we laughed a lot and and had some fun sing-alongs on our trip, there was one song that made me seriously cry.  I was riding in the back with Baby K and Steven looks in the rear view mirror and says "are you crying back there?" Honestly, I wasn't even paying attention to the song so I asked them to play it again.  When I was in H.S, I was a HUGE Kenny Chesney fan.  Like attended every concert when he came to Chatty, had keychains, posters, you name it- I know, dorko.  But honestly I don't really listen to him or much country music anymore so I wasn't familiar with the song. oh. my. word. talk about some serious bawling.  I don't know if it's a new song or if it's been out for a while, but it has become a new favorite.  It's one of those songs that makes you think about life, love, family, time, what's important, what's not so important, what I like to call a "reflective tune."  

I would post the lyrics but I think listening to the song (and watching the video waaahhh) is much better.  so take a few minutes and check it out.  

Be warned: You WILL Cry. 

If you are like me, you want to just freeze time where it is or maybe you even find yourself wanting to speed time up.  That's how I felt when Baby K (due to some awful baby blues) was first born and then Steven and I started talking about his mom (who left this earth in August) and how when "Forever Young" by good ole' Rod Stewart was released she would sing it to his brother (her first born who was about to graduate H.S) and cry.  I think the baby blues were then multiplied to like a million. I started uncontrollably sobbing about wishing time away with my newborn.  Sure, I was so incredibly tired from being in the hospital a week with no sleep and trying to adjust to motherhood with those crazy hormones added on top, but I realized real quick that Time, every second is precious. Let's just say I started treating every waking moment (even in the middle of the night) with a different attitude.  I think losing Steven's mom really made me realize not to take any moment in my life for granted- the good AND bad. 

Fast Forward almost 6 months. I find myself saying time PLEASE slow down! Because honestly I feel like I was 6 years old and I took a nap and now I'm 25 and don't even make me think about the better half of 50 years part- if you haven't listened to the song yet- DO IT NOW :) 

Seriously, I don't want to blink and miss out on important time or take all these precious moments for granted. Time with my mom and dad who just celebrated 30 years of marriage, my granddaddy who is 87 years young, my sister who will be graduating H.S soon, my big brother who is living far away so time with him really is rare and precious these days. All these people are so incredibly precious to me and time with them should be so valued.

And of course my two most important loves.  4 years of marriage already- really?!?! And a baby girl who's almost 6 months old?  I do look forward to the expansion of our family, but I want to just live in the present like there really is no tomorrow for now.  

How will you treat today differently? 

Party Design on a Dime

Our Best Friends, The Duncans, recently celebrated their 10th anniversary.   Because Jeff is a youth minister, he and Abbey rarely get the opportunity to celebrate due to youth camps, mission trips, and other summer youth events. This year their anniversary actually fell during youth camp.  So Jeff spent it with a bunch of teenagers and Abbey at Lake Winnie with her cousin and their sons- Romantic Huh? 

I wanted  them to really celebrate this important anniversary so I began asking Jeff a few months ago what they were going to do.  With him being gone so much during the summer and away from their kids, he really didn't want to go away on another trip.  So we came up with the idea of doing a Surprise Wedding Vow Renewal for Abbey.  I LOVE Planning Events so I as soon as we set the date, the party planning began.  

My mom is the party queen.  She goes ALL out for any event she is doing.  I like to think that I got just a little bit of her creativity and craftiness.  Details are important to her and I love that.  I pretty much went to my parent's house and "shopped" for almost everything I needed for this event.  This makes sticking to budget a lot easier!

We held the vow renewal in their beautiful (and free) backyard! And Abbey was totally surprised! NO idea! They had checked into the Inn they were staying at in Chattanooga, eaten dinner, then Jeff told her he left the card (one that was written for them to read on their 10th anniversary) at home and he really wanted to go back to Cleveland and get it. AND SHE FELL FOR IT!!!!

SURPRISE! I left her bouquet in a vase in front of the garage. 

Jeff told her to carry the vase- Gotta love Men :)

I used my own large petunia planters to outline the center aisle. 

The arbor I borrowed from my parents

Gorgeous Lilies and Hosta Leaves and Blooms made up my middle arrangement and to the right beautiful pink Hydrangeas and Hosta Leaves and Blooms (All from my parents garden!)

The Rocking chairs on the deck are from their front porch and the pillows I brought from our guest bedroom.  

My Favorite piece of Decor! I found this gorgeous piece at TJMaxx for a great price! I think it's going to be the inspiration for my living room when I redecorate it- One Day :)

Gotta love the Picture Garland. Always a nice, inexpensive touch!

I LOVE my wicker furniture! 

Especially when I can use it outside of my own home

I found a beautiful (inexpensive) shower curtain at TJMaxx and made this table runner out of it! I had the beautiful monogram done at Paisley.  I did not make the cake- one thing I handed off and so glad I did- Less Stress!

All the table linens I borrowed from my mom as well as most of the vases. I LOVE the table cloths. I wonder if she would notice if I kept them and made curtains out of them :)

Lantern and Bucket are both from my home- Flowers from my parent's garden

Party Favors for the guests! Ordered the cards and made the Flower Tags and Sign.  Found the Picket Fence at Hobby Lobby- It was used to display windmills, but was empty so I asked if I could purchase it and they gave it to me for FREE! Slapped on a fresh coat of white paint and Voila! The Sun has seeds in them so you plant the sun and wildflowers bloom! :)

Gotta Have Friends! Thankful for these sweet friends! We love them like family!