Our New House, For Real This Time!

Three months.
One hundred house tours.
Hundreds of dollars in gas money.
SIX OFFERS, and multiple other disappointments.

Let's face it. We were depressed. Life is hard when you have no place to settle in, to really call your own. We are so appreciative of the Browns taking us in and feeding us, but we are ready to be autonomous. So we are pleased to announce that we have found a home close to civilization that we love AND that we can afford. I love it when the inevitable collides.

Primary exterior pictures are below, but be prepared from the HOME REMODELING SERIES II, coming in about three weeks (or whenever we can close), consisting of before and after pictures like last time.

Yay! We have a home :)

I've got my paint samples ready and my list of doom* is in the works...
MUAHAHA-- be prepared, 29th Street!

*a list of doom consist of the nitpicky issues, either functionally or cosmetically that I have contrived based on a) my need for perfection and b) my desire to cure old things, including but not limited to: homes, furniture, artwork, etc. Oh, what a great stage of life we are in!

The Colorado Trip

It had been too long, I tell you, way too long.
Rylan was only two months old when we last saw my parents and they were DYING to see their only grandson, who my mother frequently calls "an angel." For now, yes. We will see in the future-- I was a naughty child and my husband is a pretty sneaky guy!
Anyways, we had postponed taking a Colorado trip to visit them until we had found a house and were stuck in the limbo time between offering and closing, but alas, we have seen over 90 houses and made 5 offers that have all been rejected (and we have even offered OVER asking price on a few!), so as summer drew to a close we new we just had to take a break from house searching and just make the trip.

We are glad we did! My poor family just needed a Rylan fix, and Nick and I appreciated a nice refreshing break from house searching and the sweltering 100+ degree weather typical of Kansas summers.

My sister bought a professional camera to keep up with her photo-a-day blog, which you can visit using this link:

A Pic A Day

Enjoy the great family photos from the trip!

Happy Birthday Mommmmmmmmm!

Phew! The secret is out! I had to wait until my Mom's birthday to make this post because the it contains a tutorial (kind of) of her gift! I made her living room pillows to match her living room rug!Here's the rug and room I attempted to match:

So, I copied this tutorial almost exactly: DIY DISH
Fabric Measurements for 16" pillow are as follows:
Front- 1 6x17" strip, 1 2x17" strip, and 1 9x17" strip.
Back- 17x17" square of coordinating fabric. 

This is a photo of the strips sewn together and the pillow sides turned inside out, ready to be sewn.

For the flowers, I utilized felt and simply followed the tutorial on the DIY DISH, using different colors, of course.

The result:

Unstuffed pillows!

 Hope she likes them!

Family Photos, Courtesy of my Sister, the Budding Photgrapher

Born Sunny Side Up!

Well, here is my son, the most pleasant baby I have ever met. Born sunny side up.

SOME CRAWL OTHERS FLY. His motto should be "I can't do either!"

 Now, I know that it's not my parenting that makes him so calm and carefree, because, well, let's face it-- I'm a mess. It must just be his demeanor.


He certainly didn't get it from me.

Photo Courtesy of Danielle Gershon, a budding little photographer!

I just had to brag a little bit, because I am pretty sure I feel entirely TOO blessed. Is that possible?
I think the answer is yes, because none of us deserve the blessings we have, and yet God continues to bestow.

Yes, truly blessed <3

Anniversary Trip

Yes, our anniversary was in June. Yes, that's when we took our vacation.
But did I get around to blogging at that point? Of course not! It's like scrapbooking-- I love to do it, but I just delay it! Rylan's baby book extends only to two months. And I thought I was doing well!

Anyways, we took a trip to Branson, MO. I had heard many things about because my husband has family there so he had plenty of tales to tell along the way, but it was my fisrt time visiting! I was very impressed with the scenery and the attractions. It reminded me of a mini Las Vegas meets Rocky Mountains. Very cute! Nick's Gram and Grandad have a cabin in the mountains near the big lake there so we felt privileged to stay for free!

One Year Later-- we took a picture in a golf cart a year ago when we got married, without the fun little addition :)

We went to the Presley's, Branson's orignial show on the strip, and then we visited the famous Silver Dollar City. Nick's aunt and uncle went with us, so we had someone to hold the little one during rides. Phew!

All in all, it was a fun, fairly cheap vacation that got our summer off to a great start! I have now recapped it for you at the end of the summer. Whoops.

DIY Decorative Pillows

BACK TO CRAFTING!
Well, not exactly, but I do what I can without having all my craft supplies on hand while living at my in-laws' house. I have, however, taken FULL advantage of my mother-in-law's sewing machine-- a beautiful Singer just calling my name! I'm no sewing aficionado, but I can make the easy stuff, so if I can do it, YOU can do it :)
The other day I made two pillows and a pillow case. Here are the results:

Pillow #1:
This pillow cost me $.50-- because I took an easy-peasy tip from Jill and sewed two placemats together, inside out, leaving a few inches for stuffing. After flipping it the right way and stuffing it, simply sew the opening together by hand by using the slipstitch. For help with beginning sewing techniques and types of stitches, click here.

Essentially, placemats and napkins serve as precut fabrics for pillows. I bought these particular placemats at the Et Cetera thrift store in a set because they totally match my living room colors and style, but I saw some great napkins that would suffice for pillows with great patterns at Ten Thousand Villages for only $6.00 each. Honestly $12=batting and thread expenses is not that expensive for a personalized pillow :) To see their website, click here.

I don't have a picture yet because, well, honestly, I haven't stuffed it yet. Sorry!

Pillow #2:
Now this fabric was actually leftover from the pillowcase, so they are meant to coordinate on our bed. My inspiration came from some pillows on Pinterest (as usual): Pillows!
I only used three different fabrics, because I actually didn't plan on making this pillow, so I just used what I had on hand. The back is blue, and the front is a sage green and a funky pattern:

Once again, I don't have a picture of the final product because I haven't stuffed it yet.

Simply sew the front together (patterns facing each other so the seam remains inside the pillow) and you can replicate this for as many fabrics as you have (ah, the possibilities!!!!)
For the flowers, I actually used felt and sewed by hand, according to this blog's instructions: The Fickle Pickle.
I completed three flowers, like the pillow I found on Pinterest.


Pillowcase:
This was the most complex of the three, and yet, it wasn't too bad! Like I said, if I can do it, you can do it :)
Using the same fabric as above, I took 3/4 yard and added 3 inches of 1/2" hemmed coordinating fabric all the way around one edge. This first photo below is of the hem job: the key is pins and pressing!

The only change I made was adding the same fabric I used on the edge of the pillowcase to the edges of each tie, as shown below. Can I tell you a secret? It's because I made them toooooooo short!

So, learn from me: MAKE THEM LONGER FIRST and then you can roll the edges inward and hem from there, as she suggests in the first place. I just didn't listen. Lesson learned!
Here is the completed pillowcase:

Phew! What an afternoon!
How I missed crafting :)