making a list, checking it twice #5

I got this idea from World of Dennifer, in efforts to keep me a bit more sane and organized before the wee one gets here, I'll be doing a weekly check with my to do list & what gets accomplished along the way. I feel like there's so much to do; big & small it will get done! I'll try to keep the most important things on this list, because I tend to take on too much - but I can't promise that you won't see a few things that *really* don't matter!

***MOST of these things can be done after Collin gets here, but I'd really like it written down anyways***

Living Room - 

• Prime the subfloor in the living room
• Install hardwood floor in living room 
• Give a really good cleaning to the floors on main level
• After moving furniture back, clean & dust everything including windows
• Find rug for Living Room - possibilities at Lowes!
• Finish painting wall along stairways (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Find wire kennel for Gunnison's "spot" in the main floor

Kitchen - 

• Finish installing backsplash in kitchen; caulk & grout backsplash 
• Find a solution to counter edging & install
• Touch up paint in kitchen
• Clean stove & fridge inside and out 
• Prime & paint cabinet doors & drawers (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Install finished doors & drawers and cabinet hardware
• Install Spice Cabinet & jars
• Finish getting the few "finishing touches" for the kitchen: Canisters, In-cabinet trash can
• Reinstall pot rack

Dining Room -

• Cut dog door into wall next to sliding glass door & take old dog door out
• Sell hutch
• Refinish top of desk to white
• Install shelves above desk
• Organize all the crap around desk

Nursery - 

• Finish painting trim & door jams (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Paint Cookie Monster head above crib (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Paint Closet
• Put together nursery furniture
• Uninstall old closet shelf & rod 
• Install new closet system
• Make curtains - HERE
• Install shelves
• Crafts:
• Finish Lamp Redo - HERE
• Sand and paint frames for asymmetrical nursery art
• Finish 3D letters
• DIY curtains - HERE
• Felt stuffed letters
• Pillow for glider
• Closet Dividers
• Finish Collin's Baby Scrap Book - working on it!
• Wash clothes after baby shower
• Find & buy rug - found a rug @ Home Depot, need to buy
• Get carpet cleaned (entire upper floor) Thanks MIL!

Baby -

• Send in "Birth-Day Wishes" registration packet
• Schedule breast feeding class Scheduled for November 2nd
• Tour of L&D at hospital
• Maternity Photoshoot Scheduled Oct 11
• Baby Shower! Scheduled Oct 17th
• Thank You cards for gifts from Baby Shower
• Start gathering recipes and groceries for cook-ahead & meals
• Complete cloth diaper stash - working on this, need more Small/Newborn dipes
• Pack hospital bag - working on it!
• Make a delivery playlist
• Install carseat

Business -

• Get tax stuff prepared for 2009 for MIL to do
• Edit website to indicate 2011 pricing after Nov 1st
• Start a filing system for new clients
• Create 2011 calendar system for "office" wall
• Add new hair stylist as a part of our team on website with prices and photos

Financial/"Grown Up" -

• Get insurance info from Greg's work to switch me over after my FMLA runs out; add Collin, too
• Get any other bills on an Auto-Pay schedule
• Slim down bills/amenities one more time to try and save money
• Go to daveramsey.com and learn everything about budgeting
• Create strict budget & follow
• Make a trip to Good Will and get it out of the house

Organization - 

• Create budget
• Create meal plan sheets
• Create weekly/monthly cleaning list
• Create reminders/shopping/to do lists for fridge
• DIY magnets

Got a few more things on my list done this week. We had a "omg I think my water broke" scare on Thursday so I *really* need to get my hospital bag packed completely and take the cars to get car seat installed this week! The nursery is almost completely done, just have to straighten up and finish putting things together. I can't wait to show you!

How about 50 FREE holiday cards?

Shutterfly is giving away 50 free holiday cards!

Take a look at their Christmas Related cards! Here are some of my favorite...

**Keep in mind square cards require more postage (we learned this the hard way with our wedding invites!**

I planned on sending out holiday cards this year to our family like I did last year, but with our new 3-person family instead of just hubby & I. However, since I won't know when he's going to arrive exactly or when our photographer will be able to shoot some new born photos maybe I'll do some New Years cards instead! I love these:

They also have these adorable holiday gift tags!

This one you could use year-round! 

Take a look at some other options they have while you're browsing! Like their Christmas Party Invitations!

Are you planning on sending out holiday/new years cards this year?

Disclaimer: This is a special offer given to bloggers for spreading the word on this promotion. Want to find out how? Visit their blog here.

Kitchen Tour: Before & After

FINALLY! Our kitchen is ALMOST done. We really only have to finish putting our outlet covers back on, installing the cabinet clips (so the cabinets clip shut), and finish the counter edging. We're taking a break from the home improvements to clean up and prepare for baby's arrival so I wanted to show you our mostly-finished kitchen!

Here's what our kitchen looked like before:

And here is our kitchen after!

I think the new lighting is the most improved part of our kitchen. It makes such a HUGE difference!

The cabinets still need the clips installed so the doors stay shut (and it helps for childproofing!), we had to work with what we had, and these doors got a little warped over time. It's alright though.

I got bored one night and lined my drawers with scrap book paper & Mod Podge. I didn't do the BEST job, but who cares, they're now covered with utensils, junk, and other necessities. 

The shelf above the stove used to be on the wall where the spice cabinet is now. It held my recipe books (which are now on the shelf my FIL built in the dining room, keep looking). I needed a place to put our pot holders, salt & pepper, and oil holders.

Like I said before, my FIL built me this custom spice cabinet. It's my FAVE part of my new kitchen!

These are the shelves my FIL & hubby built to satisfy my need for a pantry on my main level. We have a "pantry" type shelf in our basement, but I HATE going up and down the stairs in the middle of cooking. 

Food in pantry. At one point, I'd like to line those shelves too. We'll see. 

This shelf is in the corner, the sole purpose of this was to create a space for all of our small appliances. This is my second favorite addition to our kitchen. Before, these appliances shared space with our "daily" foods we use (for lunches) and everything was impossible to organize and find. 

The drawers slide out for easy access. This cabinet fits perfectly (duh, its custom made haha) between the empty space between our dishwasher and sink. It was such a genius idea by my FIL to make this space more useful for us. 

More custom made shelves by FIL above the pantry shelves. I still need to figure out what to do with this space to make it more efficient. It'll probably include all of my reading books, some craft supplies, and other office stuff (my "office" is on the opposite side of this wall here). 

And finally, our pot wrack on the wall opposite of our fridge. Love. LOVE!

What do you think? Doesn't the kitchen looks SO much bigger? And, more clean! I'm so in love with the makeover! Thank you to everyone who helped with all the renovating we did (FIL, Hubby, Cousins, Friends), we appreciate it so much!

Supplies & Cost Breakdown (rough estimates):

- 12x12 Porcelain Floor Tiles from Home Depot: We used 6 boxes (15 tiles/box) total @ $11/box

- 3 Gallons of Quick Set mortar from HD: $50

- 2 Small jugs of Sand Stone Grout from HD: $20

- Random supplies for tile: $40

- Plywood & Cement Board: $70

- New Sink: $100 

- Supplies for custom shelves: 2 Sheets of 3/4" MDF: $60

- New Can Lights + Light Bulbs: $80

- Paint: Free from my dad

------------------------------------

Just about $500 total - I'm sure there were a few things I forgot to mention as far as costs goes but that's a pretty good price tag for DIY! Compare it to the thousands we would have spent hiring a "professional". 

playing with actions

First, let me preface this by saying I am NOT an expert at photoshop or photography. In fact, I know very little about each. What I do know, though, is you can make a blah-looking picture look 10x better with the right steps in Photoshop. 

Pioneer Woman has two free sets of actions she's generously offered to her readers. This had me so excited because I plan to take many many photos once baby arrives... but I'm just no good at retouching/coloring a photo - well this takes the work right out of it. All you have to do is download, install, and press play and it does everything for you! 

Left: Original; Right: Touched Up

Here I mixed PW's "Boost" action with the "Seventies" action & sharpened it a bit.

Left: Original; Right: Touched Up

I used the same action set up for this photo too. 

What do you think? I really have to play around with a few different photos and get used to these actions, knowing which ones work for which types of photos.

Now, if only I could get a DSLR camera to use instead of a point & shoot I'd be in heaven. For now, this will work!

Counter Redo: before & after

Back in September I showed you what our counters looked like before we tore them apart to install tile. Here is a few shots of the after-tile-installation. They're not quite perfect, and the edges of the counters still need to be done (but we've ran out of time before baby gets here, so it'll have to wait) but I'm so proud of the over-all look. Take a looksie:

You can see on this one the biggest difference: we cut off the breakfast bar and leveled out the counter, giving me almost an entire foot of extra counter space!!

Next up: A full tour & before and afters of our entire kitchen re-do! I'll include more details on pricing and products we used there too. 

Spice Jars & Cabinet finally done!

Remember wayyyyyyy back when I showed you a sneak peak of my new spice jars? Well my dad finally got around to finishing painting the cabinet (and our cabinet doors) so hubby installed it this weekend! There are a few "decorating" things I'd like to do to the front of the door, since its a huge block of white, and I have to still figure out how I'm going to do my subway art on the inside of the door that lists all the spices. But I had to show you the close-to-final project!

This thing is MASSIVE. It takes up almost the entire wall I have in my kitchen, but I think it's got to be one of my favorite things about my cooking-space now! I just love it! 

What do you think?! I'd love to hear it!

Baby Shower Highlights!

My baby shower was amazing. Honestly, we were showered with soooo many amazing friends & family, gifts, excitement and so much more. 

We got a TON of blankets, sheets, clothes, and toiletries for baby. A few bigger gifts we got were our travel system and a custom/hand made Cookie Monster rocking "horse" (see below)! More than anything though, being able to celebrate this baby with my closest friends and family was such a blessing. I had such an overwhelming feeling of happiness when it was all over. 

Here's some pics. I have more but I didn't want to post pics of family or friends without their permission. 

 MMMMMMM FOOOOD!

35 Weeks, still a Honey Dew

making a list, checking it twice #4

I got this idea from World of Dennifer, in efforts to keep me a bit more sane and organized before the wee one gets here, I'll be doing a weekly check with my to do list & what gets accomplished along the way. I feel like there's so much to do; big & small it will get done! I'll try to keep the most important things on this list, because I tend to take on too much - but I can't promise that you won't see a few things that *really* don't matter!

***MOST of these things can be done after Collin gets here, but I'd really like it written down anyways***

Living Room - 

• Prime the subfloor in the living room
• Install hardwood floor in living room 
• Give a really good cleaning to the floors on main level
• After moving furniture back, clean & dust everything including windows
• Find rug for Living Room - possibilities at Lowes!
• Finish painting wall along stairways (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Find wire kennel for Gunnison's "spot" in the main floor

Kitchen - 

• Finish installing backsplash in kitchen; caulk & grout backsplash 
• Find a solution to counter edging & install
• Touch up paint in kitchen
• Clean stove & fridge inside and out 
• Prime & paint cabinet doors & drawers (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Install finished doors & drawers and cabinet hardware
• Install Spice Cabinet & jars
• Finish getting the few "finishing touches" for the kitchen: Canisters, In-cabinet trash can
• Reinstall pot rack

Dining Room -

• Cut dog door into wall next to sliding glass door & take old dog door out
• Sell hutch
• Refinish top of desk to white
• Install shelves above desk
• Organize all the crap around desk

Nursery - 

• Finish painting trim & door jams (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Paint Cookie Monster head above (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Paint Closet
• Put together nursery furniture
• Uninstall old closet shelf & rod 
• Install new closet system
• Make curtains - HERE
• Install shelves
• Crafts:
• Finish Lamp Redo - HERE
• Sand and paint frames for asymmetrical nursery art
• Finish 3D letters
• DIY curtains - HERE
• Felt stuffed letters
• Pillow for glider
• Closet Dividers
• Wash clothes after baby shower
• Find & buy rug - found a rug @ Home Depot, need to buy
• Get carpet cleaned (entire upper floor) Thanks MIL!

Baby -

• Send in "Birth-Day Wishes" registration packet
• Schedule breast feeding class Scheduled for November 2nd
• Tour of L&D at hospital
• Maternity Photoshoot Scheduled Oct 11
• Baby Shower! Scheduled Oct 17th
• Thank You cards for gifts from Baby Shower
• Start gathering recipes and groceries for cook-ahead & meals
• Complete cloth diaper stash - working on this, need more Small/Newborn dipes
• Pack hospital bag
• Make a delivery playlist
• Install carseat

Business -

• Get tax stuff prepared for 2009 for MIL to do
• Edit website to indicate 2011 pricing after Nov 1st
• Start a filing system for new clients
• Create 2011 calendar system for "office" wall
• Add new hair stylist as a part of our team on website with prices and photos

Financial/"Grown Up" -

• Get insurance info from Greg's work to switch me over after my FMLA runs out; add Collin, too
• Get any other bills on an Auto-Pay schedule
• Slim down bills/amenities one more time to try and save money
• Go to daveramsey.com and learn everything about budgeting
• Create strict budget & follow
• Make a trip to Good Will and get it out of the house

Organization - 

• Create budget
• Create meal plan sheets
• Create weekly/monthly cleaning list
• Create reminders/shopping/to do lists for fridge
• DIY magnets

Forgot to post this last week - lets face it I was still completely overwhelmed & exhausted from the baby shower. We got a lot done this weekend including installing our cabinet doors that my dad finished painting (HALLELUJAH!!!) and doing a deep clean on the house. Things are coming together. Though, I still feel like there's a ton to do. 

Maternity Photos!

Okay, first I have to say we had an AMAZING baby shower. I havent looked through photos or done much with gifts yet so I'll get to that next. But let me just say - we are SO blessed. We had an amazing turn out for our baby shower - friends & family gathered to celebrate our miracle. I am just so overwhelmed by all of the love.

Next, I lay down for bed (lately as soon as I lay down my mind goes a million miles a minute and I'm left wide awake) and I got a msg on FB from our Maternity Shoot Photographer, Shannon of Shalynne Imaging. She is pure genius. Not just because of the results from our shoot - but she just... she's inspiring, she has such a beautiful soul, and MAN can she capture! We've worked together on many projects, me doing makeup and her obviously shooting... and I had no doubt in my mind I wanted her to be a part of this journey! Wanna see?!?!

If you're in Colorado and are interested, PLEASE don't hesitate to contact Shannon!

Click on Read More!

I am the face of miscarriage...

I am one of the 2,000 faces affected by pregnancy/infant loss everyday. Please go to www.iamtheface.org to show your support and join the movement.

Today I will light a candle at 7:00pm to honor those babies that have been lost. But not a day goes by that I don't think of the tiny little ones in heaven. 

Too many women have to go through this journey alone and fortunately I was able to find a group of women who have carried me in my weakest times. Miscarriage & Pregnancy Loss is not supposed to be taboo, awareness should be as common as AIDS or Cancer awareness; the little ones lost deserve to be honored just as those who suffer from disease and cancer. There's so much more I can say on the topic, but I would like to share what a fellow I Am The Face member has written on her blog: What To Do/What Not To Do to Help. 

Remembering our sweet Angeline, taken too soon last August. 

Also remembering all those babies who grew wings too soon, for all my friends & loved ones who have had to take the journey of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and still birth. My heart is with you today. 

Project Nursery: our furniture is up!

So I'm waiting until our shower & we have a few more things to continue on our Nursery progress, but I had to share our progress!! Hubby and our cousin Ken (who is visiting from California with Hubby's cousin Jen) put together out crib! Hubby & I put together our dresser & glider (no photos of this yet).

Hubby said, "Whoa, it feels so real now that we have this furniture in here..." And he's totally right. I *might* have spent a good 15 minutes sitting in my glider with a few tears thinking, "wow, this is totally happening. After all we've been through losing our first angel last year, this is FINALLY happening!"

The corner shelf needs cleaned (gross, do you see all that dust?!) and painted black, but we wanted to put it in its place. I've got a few more projects to show you for the nursery too - just waiting on a few things to happen & be installed!

Nursery progress from the beginning: 

Our nursery was my makeup studio before the re-do began. Curious about our nursery furniture? Before starting on the actual room itself, I worked on a Cookie Monster Mobil. I also found some great storage bins at the Dollar Store in our colors! I ventured into the world of DIY Curtains, but even with a few hangups they turned out great. Our coordinating Cookie Monster lamp re-do will bring a bit of light to the room, too. We finally got our furniture put together, after having it stored for weeks! 

making a list, checking it twice #3

I got this idea from World of Dennifer, in efforts to keep me a bit more sane and organized before the wee one gets here, I'll be doing a weekly check with my to do list & what gets accomplished along the way. I feel like there's so much to do; big & small it will get done! I'll try to keep the most important things on this list, because I tend to take on too much - but I can't promise that you won't see a few things that *really* don't matter!

***MOST of these things can be done after Collin gets here, but I'd really like it written down anyways***

Living Room - 

• Prime the subfloor in the living room
• Install hardwood floor in living room 
• Give a really good cleaning to the floors on main level
• After moving furniture back, clean & dust everything including windows
• Find rug for Living Room - possibilities at Lowes!
• Finish painting wall along stairways (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Find wire kennel for Gunnison's "spot" in the main floor

Kitchen - 

• Finish installing backsplash in kitchen; caulk & grout backsplash 
• Find a solution to counter edging & install
• Touch up paint in kitchen
• Clean stove & fridge inside and out 
• Prime & paint cabinet doors & drawers (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Install finished doors & drawers and cabinet hardware
• Install Spice Cabinet & jars
• Finish getting the few "finishing touches" for the kitchen: Canisters, In-cabinet trash can
• Reinstall pot rack

Dining Room -

• Cut dog door into wall next to sliding glass door & take old dog door out
• Sell hutch
• Refinish top of desk to white
• Install shelves above desk
• Organize all the crap around desk

Nursery - 

• Finish painting trim & door jams (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Paint Cookie Monster head above (waiting on my Dad for this)
• Paint Closet
• Put together nursery furniture
• Uninstall old closet shelf & rod 
• Install new closet system
• Make curtains - HERE
• Install shelves
• Crafts:
• Finish Lamp Redo - HERE
• Sand and paint frames for asymmetrical nursery art
• Finish 3D letters
• DIY curtains - HERE
• Felt stuffed letters
• Pillow for glider
• Closet Dividers
• Wash clothes after baby shower
• Find & buy rug - found a rug @ Home Depot, need to buy
• Get carpet cleaned (entire upper floor) Thanks MIL!

Baby -

• Send in "Birth-Day Wishes" registration packet
• Schedule breast feeding class
• Tour of L&D at hospital
• Maternity Photoshoot Scheduled Oct 11
• Baby Shower! Scheduled Oct 17th
• Thank You cards for gifts from Baby Shower
• Start gathering recipes and groceries for cook-ahead & meals
• Complete cloth diaper stash - working on this, need more Small/Newborn dipes
• Pack hospital bag
• Make a delivery playlist
• Install carseat

Business -

• Get tax stuff prepared for 2009 for MIL to do
• Edit website to indicate 2011 pricing after Nov 1st
• Start a filing system for new clients
• Create 2011 calendar system for "office" wall
• Add new hair stylist as a part of our team on website with prices and photos

Financial/"Grown Up" -

• Get insurance info from Greg's work to switch me over after my FMLA runs out; add Collin, too
• Get any other bills on an Auto-Pay schedule
• Slim down bills/amenities one more time to try and save money
• Go to daveramsey.com and learn everything about budgeting
• Create strict budget & follow
• Make a trip to Good Will and get it out of the house

Organization - 

• Create budget
• Create meal plan sheets
• Create weekly/monthly cleaning list
• Create reminders/shopping/to do lists for fridge
• DIY magnets

I didn't get a lot during the last week due to being overwhelmingly TIRED. My gosh, it's almost worse than my 1st Tri exhaustion. But hubby and I did get more done in the nursery this weekend. We also got a wonderful surprise from our MIL: Clean Carpets!! She ordered & paid for our carpets on the second level to get cleaned as a baby gift. It was a little short notice, but it worked out great because now our entire upstairs is clean along with fresh carpet. I've got a busy weekend planned this coming weekend so hopefully I can get some motivation during the week. We shall see next Monday right!?