We Won!

I have many reasons to be grateful; a Savior who loves me, an amazing family, a happy home, a $10,000 room makeover by Leslie Segrete! Yes.  I cannot possibly understand why the Lord would choose us to win such a spectacular treat, but a little over a month ago, He did.  Do we deserve it?  No.  But all we have in this life is a gift, and I am certainly humbled to be so hugely blessed by such undeserved favor.

Now the details.

Gigi the Nut

 

 

 

Dishes are Fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOVING Mopsy & Popsy

We are so blessed to have Mopsy and Popsy so close.  Visiting them every Sunday is truly a highlight to our week!

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Anniversary Date Night

Dinner date to a posh Hollywood restaurant... lovely!

Five years with my sweetheart.... a glorious thing!

 

Daily Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That Shining Moment

On a day riddled with much trial and angst, inducing tear stained cheeks and pouted lips throughout the house, there was a bright shining moment that far eclipsed the torrid of two-year old teething tantrums.  It was brief. It was sweet. It was poingnant. 

The girls sat in the backyard crafting mudpies as all children seem to have an innate desire to create when I was suddenly struck by a little ritual in which the girls included their dinner guest, Mr. Pumpkin (yes folks, an actual pumpkin still residing happily in our yard since October).  The girls held hands across the table, bowed their heads, and prayed in unison over their muddy meal: 

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory. Amen."

Ellie is 4 Months Old!

What a lovely treasure we have in little miss unassuming Ellie!  She is a delightful girl who is guaranteed to have a ready smile for her beloved Daddy.  Eliana is close to sitting up on her own, still adores a good snuggle, is enjoying the pleasure of her jumperoo, and sweetly giggles when tickled under her chin.  She recently transitioned to sleeping in the same room as her doting big sister, Gilana.  This means Mommy and Daddy have been getting more sleep of late (other than our night owl, Camelia).  Gigi and Ellie seem to be transitioning well as roommates, so I think this move is a success!  Meanwhile, Daddy and I are enjoying the ability to read before crashing in bed, we had forgotten the pleasure of this luxury, and it is marvelous, indeed!

*Ellie photo coming soon!*

Motherhood is a Blessing

I just finished up a book I have taken several months to read and was convicted and encouraged by it's closing (along with every chapter that preceded this point!). The following is from Loving the Little Years; Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic.

"Everyone to whom God has given wealth, and possessions, and the power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and toil--this is the gift of God.  For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart" (Eccl. 5:19)."

"Blessings, like children, are not ethereal and weightless.  Sometimes they feel like they come at you like a Kansas hail storm--they might leave a welt!  But if you accept your lot and rejoice in your toil, God will give you the kind of overwhelming joy that cannot remember the details.  Motherhood is hard work.  It is repetitive and often menial.  Accept it.  Rejoice in it.  This is your toil.  Right here.  Those are their faces.  Enjoy them.  The days of your life are supposed to be full of things like this.  But joy is not giddy.  It is not an emotional rush--it is what happens when you accept your lot and rejoice in your toil.  So rejoice in your children.  Look them in the eyes and give thanks.  You will not even remember the work of all this planting when the harvest of joy overwhelms you."

Boogie Check

Camelia sneezed.
Very matter of fact, "I need a boogie check, Mommy."
"Go get a tissue, please."
"I dont want to. Mommy do it."
"Please go get a tissue from the bathroom, Mommy is busy right now."
Face contorted in fear; "Mommy get a tissue, there's a monster in there!"

Daddy

Daddy is the girls' delight.  He is out at the park with them right now, and I know when he brings them in the door they will be so sad to see him go back to work.  I have an amazing hubby who takes such excellent care of us. We are hugely blessed to have this remarkable man leading our family.

Remodeling

Beware, this is a doozy of a post.
I have recently been given the opportunity to consider updating the house.  I am stoked!

To start with, the main living space must haves:

• I swoon over a lovely wood floor!  Darkish natural looking low sheen wood floor through the entry/living/dining/kitchen area.  I want something durable will bear up to the inevitable scratches with grace and panache- reclaimed wood, perhaps?
• Built in bookcase around the window under the bedroom (current living room area).  I have been dreaming about this for months now... a cabinet topped with a bookcase on either side of the window, floor to ceiling, with an upholstered storage bench in between running the length of the window.  I have been imagining it white with the backs of the bookcases painted a dark peacock turquoise to pop. 
• New Paint!  For the last couple months I have been thinking white, but now considering a more off-white green (like Behrs hemlock bud or a tad more saturated) or a blue color (like Serene or Refreshed perhaps).  This house is dark, even with our new solar tubes, and light walls would hopefully help
• We need to display family photos and kid art... perhaps wainscoting up to a picture ledge up high in the living room area, wrapping around the room
• Throw rugs
• Design theme: Anthropologie meets Ballard Designs. Basically, we are a family with three young kids and a dog.  I like pretty, but don't want the pretty to be breaking or causing me to gasp as the girls run laps with the dog around the house on a rainy day whilst our priceless heirlooms are tossed haphazardly about the room like a tennis ball for said dog.
• A place to store my pretty dishes and china (yes I do own some pretties), perhaps in the built in
• Dining room seating: chairs must be sturdy, lovely, not easy to tip.  I am currently fascinated by some wooden chairs I saw redone at a friends house, a lovely scrolled wood oval backrest with comfortable upholstered seats painted in a creamy white.  Also considering settee or bench seating for the table, but not sure how it would look in our space.
• Good lighting (so, you may not notice, but we have our dining and living room fixtures in the wrong rooms... these should at least be swapped). We did just install some track lights thanks to Popsy, they make a huge difference.
• An entryway shoe/coat/mail sorting and storage area that is Welcoming, Practical, and Lovely!
• Matching or coordinating window coverings for the four downstairs main windows.  There is an additional window in the kitchen over the window, but this one looks lovely without anything
• A kitchen faucet with a pull out spray and 2 soap dispensers for hand and dish soap (our spray attachment is broken)
• Paint and finish repairing the TV console/dresser unit in a fantastic Annie Sloan chalk paint color
• Couch -- perhaps a sleeper sofa, or some other cute little number? We have been through numerous couches in our 3 years in this house.  Too many couches and a lot of learning later we have discovered that couches for a family such as ours must not have sharp overhanging wooden edges, be white (though I have not tried a slipcovered one), too short (we are tall), too narrow, and I am severely opposed to pleather.  Our current couch is the best yet.  A Craigslist find with the seat and back upholstered in a heavy stain and wear resistant/hiding cloth, and the arms and base covered in leather.  A couch has to stand up to the hubby's comfort test, the girls trampoline and sippy cup/crumb spilling test, and my desire for something visually pleasing.  Couches are a sore subject here, but I have heard there are good ones out there.  :) I have been dreaming for some time of the financially unattainable chesterfield leather sofa, but don't even know if it would work for us. 
• The blue and white wingback chair I did over with new paint, foam, cushions, etc needs a little help and may move downstairs someday if that work is completed (staples hammered in the rest of the way and cording added.) I have even considered redoing the upholstery someday if I get the nerve and a good staple gun.
• Fix the drafty fireplace, add a fireplace screen and get rid of the ugly glass doors
• Possibly bookcases (built-ins) on either side of the fireplace.

Next, some areas that I am considering adjusting in some way:

•  The niche under the stairs majorly annoys me.  The previous owners had it poorly installed with great quality materials.  It serves as a space to display all of our most bothersome junk.  This is a trifle...bothersome.  I have been looking on Pinterest for ways to improve this problem, and found several ideas: a daybed of sorts with large storage drawers underneath and topped with a nice cushion, pillows, and a small bookcase built in as well or readily accessible. Other ideas include turning the area into a little playhouse/storage nook (rather impractical for resale), turning it into a mini office area (may be too tight a space for that), walling the area off to make it accessible from the hall closet on the other side, or just learning to not put junk there.
• a gorgeous new *single* front door-- the entryway is rather narrow for double doors
• painting the lower kitchen cabinets a light blue or turquoise color
• Install matching/coordinating hardware on the kitchen cabinets and drawers
• Put a plug outlet on the kitchen island
• A bookshelf on the end of the kitchen island adjoining the dining area for cookbooks (?)

Other items to take care of around the house:

• The view out of the living windows to either side of the house are rather wretched and could use a pretty cast iron trellis or interesting outdoor art scape or some such enhancement.
• Downstairs half bath need art or a theme or something to beautify it a bit.  Hmmm
• Camelia's bedroom has a crib in it, but no other cuteness to make it an obvious little two year old girl's oasis.  Bad Mommy.  She has lovely French blue walls, but other than that, she's got nada.
• Master Bathroom still needs the vanity I repainted to get a couple touch ups and a coat of poly and cute knobs
• Master Toilet needs some cute hooks
• Master bed needs an amazing white duvet that I can bleach for an easy wash
• Bedrooms need all new carpeting (some sort of low pile gorgeousness) to replace the antique stained carpet that came with the house.
• The garage.  I won't go into that, but if I do take the cabinets out from under the stairs, perhaps they might serve me in the laundry area.

I have been Pinterest-ing ideas for all this like crazy... take a look at the pictures on my Pinterest Remodeling Board for pictures to go with the words... the link is on the right sidebar.