green, purple, and silly

The green is coming back to my beds! The lambs ear below is a fun plant for kids, its fuzzy, grows well in shade, and its a fairly hardy plant.


I have finished painting the walls of the girls' room! Here is a sneak peek:

I haven't touched up the trim yet, but see the lovely old door knob? I love that our house has many of its original details. Such a pretty knob for a little closet door. So here is Brooklyn's romantic purple...silly girl. Speaking of silly, here are some pictures of Brooklyn in all her silliness. Can you believe she did her make-up all by herself?!?! Never a dull moment at our house!

Three posts in one day, I'm outta control!

I have been painting the girls' room, and so now I am all excited about decorating! The purple that Brooklyn picked is very pretty. I have to admit, when I first started cutting out the room I wondered if the purple would be too dark. Then Brooklyn came in and said, "Oh mom, its just so romantic!"

I asked her, "What's romantic?"
She replied, "This purple!"
Isn't she a nut? I knew then that it was the perfect purple.

For the girls' bedding, I have collected linens of all kinds. I'm kinda going for a mis-matched, but same family kind of look. I love floral prints, but I didn't want too much pink. (I know, some say you can never have too much pink :o) I found a pretty crib sheet from pottery barn kids some time ago:

I bought the crib sheet in blue. I really like this vintage inspired print, but I want to fade it. I found this article from Martha's website. I did buy two crib sheets (they were only like $12!) so I suppose there is room for error, but I know bleach is a tricky thing and I have never tried to fade a fabric before. I think I will try tomorrow, so wish me luck! Anyone with any fabric fading advice, send it my way!

I can't wait to post some "after" pictures!!!

blue possibilities...

The fun part about a little cottage house is that it doesn't have to be serious. When painting and decorating you can take chances and be playful. That said, I am thinking about painting my front door blue...

I am thinking a muted robins egg blue color...what do you think?? :o)

March has nearly come and gone! The time sure does fly. And with the signs of spring (green grass, even the rare dandelion, birds singing :o) we are all already starting to experience some new beginnings.

Yesterday my mom, the girls and I headed to our cottage to work in the yard. So much to do inside, but we were just excited to work outside. It blessed my heart to see my plants peeping through. As I was pulling weeds and clumps of crab grass, I told my mom that I actually like the smell of dirt...and horse manure. We like the smell of dirt and horse manure. So for those of you making your way outside to work in your gardens, don't forget to take time to stop and smell the dirt! I so love Spring!!

My sweetie came over after a very long day at work and helped me in the girls' room. I told him he better be careful, he might start coming home to a honey do list! It is so nice to have family and sweeties to work with, it makes work fun. For all those home projects I recommend two things:

1. a sweetie/loved one/friend

2. the dyson...its magical!

I have been doing really well not spending money. And last night, I fell off the wagon. I knew exactly what I was doing, and I did it with a smile on my face. It went on sale, and so I had to buy this:



Is that not the prettiest blue? And if you click on the dress it will take you to the cite where you can zoom in to see the pretty little purple flower embroidery. Charlotte in blue, and Brooklyn in:

This little number was on sale too! I tried to avoid the temptation, and I almost did...but I had to go look at the online "sale wrack" in Charlotte's sizes too. And there it was. And it matched this little number, and it was on sale, and I could take their pictures together this summer...(the thought process of a recovering addict :o) And I bought it:

Everything was on sale...and I got $25 in gymboree bucks back...and I am getting ready to sell some of their clothes on ebay...and I didn't buy the little shoes...

Oh the justification of indulgence...

Alright. I am back on the wagon.

a quarters worth of ponderings...

It might be a quarter life crisis, or maybe just postpartum hormones returning to normal- but I have been thinking a lot about all those heavy things.

I have always been a planner, dreamer, future thinker. I have never been very good at living in the moment. I always have the excitement of my dreams for the future in the back of my mind. Lately I have this voice saying "Don't settle".

So what does it mean to settle? I am not sure. Is it each individuals responsibility to identify what exactly they want in their lives- in a job, home, family, spouse- and refuse to accept less? Why does it feel almost selfish? And on these levels, is it perfectly okay to be selfish?
How do personal desires and pursuits correlate with living for God? I believe that God gives us the desires of our hearts. But I have also heard the saying "if you don't want to do it, its probably what God wants you to do".

Whats worse, if upon defining what I want for my life and my girls I realize that my current state is "settling"- is it my responsibility to them to create change? Is refusing to remain complacent with the life you have the hardest part of getting the life you want?

I understand the circumstances that have brought me to the place I am at. I get it. I know that life is short...real short. I want to live a full life, and a quarter of it has already come and gone...

I read a newspaper article about a family of six. They were driving home from a vacation in Colorado when somehow they crossed traffic and hit a semi head on. The father, son, and one daughter were killed instantly- leaving behind the mother and two daughters. In the wake of such tragedy, one of the daughters wrote in a note to her friend:

"I just pray that a lot of good can come out of this. I am so excited to see what God wanted Mom, Avery and me to live for."

Incredible. I am in awe of God, that He wraps His arms around some so tightly that amidst tragic loss and immense pain, they feel Him all the while. I praise Him for the peace He gives and the hope that follows. Reading this article was a blessing...a reminder of what its really all about.

You can read the article here.

It made me more excited to be alive.

carpet,heat,fabric & a new friend

Progress is being made around here! The carpet has been installed and it looks really nice. (I will post pictures tomorrow) The heater has FINALLY been installed. Today I made a trip to a tiny little town to a tiny little upholstery shop to pick out fabric for my settee. I wish I would have snapped some before pictures. The settee is one I have had for quite some time. My mom and I found it on an antiquing trip in Oklahoma. It is a beautiful hand carved piece from the 1800's. After rummaging through many upholstery books, I settled on a simple cream fabric. I thought I would just pick a cream colored cotton fabric, but I thought she deserved a little sparkle so I chose a fabric with more of a sheen to it. I can't wait to see the finished product!

The upholstery store in a town of nearly 800 people, was ran by a lovely couple. The wife was the only one in the store, her husband is sick with cancer. She was the most bubbly woman and shared many stories over a brief time. She told me about how she and her husband got started in the business. She showed me projects she was working on. I couldn't help but notice her hands. They were so arthritic and it nearly hurt me to look at them. She was telling me about her husband, how she fixes him up in a recliner in their store and gives him projects to keep him busy. Today, she left him home with "his sports" and decided to come work. She likes her work. And I like her.

I appreciate those chance encounters- the ones that teach you something. I saw something in her that I hope to be...all while picking out fabric.

ahhhh, nap time...blessed nap time...

Both the girls are asleep. This is a beautiful thing. Praise Jesus for nap time!

Our carpet is being installed tomorrow! I have realized that I took a lot for granted. While this living situation has been humbling to say the least, it has made me appreciate things. Things like BEDROOMS. I can't wait to have a bedroom, and for my girls to have a bedroom.

We don't get out much round here, but as soon as we do, we will be buying seeds and peat pots. Brooklyn and I are going to start our vegetables.

Speaking of getting out, my mom is going to watch the girls this evening so that I can play poker. Yep, thats right. I LOVE poker. Its free poker, but its free poker with great friends and lots of laughter and I usually kick butt. This will be my first time ever being away from Charlotte since she was born, but who better to watch her than my mom?

Charlotte is awake...and hungry...I'll be back soon :o)