2 Ekim 2012 Salı

Lindsey's Senior Pictures

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When my in-laws came into town last month for a visit, we (me, the husband, my brother-in-law William and my sister-in-law Lindsey) escaped for a day downtown to take Lindsey's senior pictures. We first hit up Zilker Gardens and then made our way over near South Congress to sneak walk around the alleyways and whatnot to find some cool spots. Lindsey is, for lack of a better word, crazy. But the awesome kind. She's hardcore into basketball (she plays on her HS varsity team) but can't leave the house unless her hair looks perfect (you know it's true, Linz). Not to mention she's a ridiculous ball of energy. We love her to death and her silliness made the photoshoot all that more fun. She was a trooper, too - we walked around for about 4 hours in the middle of the day and in this summer weather, that means 100+ degree temps. Now that they have the final images on disc, I thought I'd post a few of my favorites. Including some outtakes at the end... :)

Um, yeah. Apparently playing basketball gives you killer legs. Sign me up! Also, if you're a boy, look away.

And now may I present to you: "Gangsta" Lindsey and Overly-Giddy Lindsey. She hearts haterz.

This last picture on the right is quite possibly my favorite of all of them. Classic Lindsey.

She might kill me for posting these last couple, but deep down she loves them too :)

Gettin' Present (& Correct) With It

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Today on my daily stroll through Pinterest, I discovered an eclectic website that has been around for a few years but until now has escaped my radar. Present & Correct is an online business based in the UK that houses "a place for our own designs, things we love by other designers from around the world & vintage items which we discover around Europe, and sometimes further afield." Their inventory seems to lean heavily toward the office supply environment, but in a very unique & diverse way. Original posters from the 60s mix with new calendar designs, all in a site categorized by words like "mail," "organise" and "ephemera."

I love these Christmas stamps that could be used for all sorts of crafty feats - they're made new, but the 10 different designs have a distinct retro feel about them. And then of course the Roll Calendar from the 70s, with German text and a choice of green or white.

These old tickets are begging to be used creatively and I'm loving the numbered pins, which do indeed cater to my OCD side, as the description describes.


Vintage post cards featuring iconic London vehicles would be fun to send someone and can you imagine having 220 meters (over 700 feet!) of pure cotton airmail string to use at your disposal? I could see myself wrapping all of my gifts this year in nothing more than brown craft paper and this twine-esque embellishment.

What catches your eye on Present & Correct?

So What'll It Be?

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After waiting for what seems like an eternity, we finally got to go to the doctor this morning to find out what we we're going to have! It was like Christmas morning; I could barely sleep (though that might have to do more with my expanding waistband) and we couldn't wait to get to the doctor - thankfully my appointment was at 9:00 am!

So the verdict?


Yep! We're having ourselves a little baby boy. Which is funny, because almost everyone said they thought it was going to be a girl, including us. But it was very apparent that a boy is coming our way! Most of my nursery ideas have been on the feminine side until now, so it's time to start brainstorming a more masculine room. Inspiration photos to come, I'm sure!


Photo credit: 1 2

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like....Packing.

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More than anything these days, I've been craving the scene of us decorating a tree, hanging garland & lights, sipping on hot chocolate and putting up those last decorations in our cozy apartment while Christmas tunes play in the background. Reality, however, looks a little more like this:


For some reason we signed a 15 month lease last October, which gave us the task of moving right smack in the middle of December. The smartest choice? Probably not. But hey, at least we're getting a bigger place (raise your hand if you'd like to raise a baby in a one bedroom, 600sqft apartment!) and I'm hoping that we'll get moved in and mostly unpacked in time for me to throw up a little Christmas cheer to enjoy before the holiday descends and then passes on all too quickly (did I mention it's my favorite holiday?).

For the past month and a half I've been pinning all sorts of holiday decor ideas and since I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything before we move in order to limit the amount of stuff we have to transfer from one apartment to another, these will have to tide me over for another week or two!


I absolutely love the wreath snowman and I can't wait until our little boy will be old enough to help decorate the tree! What are your decor plans for the holidays?

Photo credit: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

I'm a Fan

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So I have a confession to make. I'm not entirely sure that I'm allowed to paint in my apartment. Did that stop me from buying $70 worth of paint this weekend? Nope.

I say not entirely sure because I've never actually even asked, just on the off chance that the answer is no. I figure I'm in a better situation if complications arise and I can say "Oh really? I had no idea..." quite truthfully.

The way I justify it is this: I'm going to paint it back. And because I'm a perfectionist, it will probably look better than it did before. Just sayin'. I did ask if the apartment provides touch up paint, and they do, which means all I'll have to do is bring it to the store, color match it, and buy a couple of gallons. But that could be years down the road, so onward!

Garage sale-ing with my mom this weekend didn't reward us with a dresser (though there is a candidate at a resale shop in town, so stay tuned), but I did walk away with this:


We hit up four garage sales in the area and then on our way back home caught sight of a church having one as well, so we made a quick stop. It was easy to see once we got inside that they didn't have the type of furniture we were looking for, but we walked around for a minute anyway and I happened to pick up the fan deck. Lo and behold, it was for Mythic paint - the exact paint brand that we're using for the nursery. Why yes, I think I'll take you home with me.

According to the tag on the back, it was originally $26.00 (and the ones on the website now are $30.00) so I feel pretty good about picking this one up for 2 buckeroos. Even though I already had our color picked out for the nursery (Plumage, by Martha Stewart), I figured it was good to have because 1. In case they had trouble color matching in the store (they didn't), I would be able to find the closest match via swatches, 2. I could pick out a complementary gray in Mythic's own colors and not have to color match, and 3. For future painting endeavors, I'd have it on hand.

The next day Charles and I set out to get the rest of the supplies to start the nursery painting process. First off was the primer:

Low odor & Zero VOC

We went with the Olympic primer that Young House Love used when they painted their guest room the same dark blue color. The nice thing about tinted primer is that you don't need as many final coats of the actual paint. And since this stuff is only $16 a gallon (vs $44 for the paint), I'm happy to add it to the materials list.

Next up was the actual paint:


Like I said in the last post, we went with Mythic paint because it's non-toxic and zero VOC - even when they add in the color. So while it's about twice as expensive as regular paint, I'm happy with the choice since it's going in the nursery. Also, don't you just love their retro-esque branding?



We ended up getting two quarts of the Plumage accent color and two quarts of the gray - each one will be on two of the four walls in the room. We're leaving the ceiling alone, even though it's the same beige/off-white color the rest of the walls currently are. I don't think I have the stamina or the arm strength to mess with it...we just won't look up :)

We also picked up a few other supplies:


I was initially just going to ask around my various family members to borrow rollers, brushes and the like, but I figured if I'm going to be a real DIY-er, I need my own equipment. And at $9.97 for the ("$25 Value!") set, it wasn't exactly breaking the bank. Also added to the ranks: frog tape (so much better than blue painter's tape) and a "valved respirator" mask. Even though the paint is zero VOC and we'll be keeping the windows open for ventilation, I'll still feel better about wearing one of these bad boys.

The plan for this week is to clear out the remainder of the room, tape and prime and then early next week we'll tackle the painting.

Current cost breakdown:
  • Primer: $18
  • Painter set, frog tape & mask: $26
  • 4 Quarts of Mythic paint: $70
TOTAL: $114

So I'll be sure to post updates on our first major painting adventure...Any painting tips you'd like to share? :)

1 Ekim 2012 Pazartesi

So What'll It Be?

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After waiting for what seems like an eternity, we finally got to go to the doctor this morning to find out what we we're going to have! It was like Christmas morning; I could barely sleep (though that might have to do more with my expanding waistband) and we couldn't wait to get to the doctor - thankfully my appointment was at 9:00 am!

So the verdict?


Yep! We're having ourselves a little baby boy. Which is funny, because almost everyone said they thought it was going to be a girl, including us. But it was very apparent that a boy is coming our way! Most of my nursery ideas have been on the feminine side until now, so it's time to start brainstorming a more masculine room. Inspiration photos to come, I'm sure!


Photo credit: 1 2

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like....Packing.

To contact us Click HERE
More than anything these days, I've been craving the scene of us decorating a tree, hanging garland & lights, sipping on hot chocolate and putting up those last decorations in our cozy apartment while Christmas tunes play in the background. Reality, however, looks a little more like this:


For some reason we signed a 15 month lease last October, which gave us the task of moving right smack in the middle of December. The smartest choice? Probably not. But hey, at least we're getting a bigger place (raise your hand if you'd like to raise a baby in a one bedroom, 600sqft apartment!) and I'm hoping that we'll get moved in and mostly unpacked in time for me to throw up a little Christmas cheer to enjoy before the holiday descends and then passes on all too quickly (did I mention it's my favorite holiday?).

For the past month and a half I've been pinning all sorts of holiday decor ideas and since I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything before we move in order to limit the amount of stuff we have to transfer from one apartment to another, these will have to tide me over for another week or two!


I absolutely love the wreath snowman and I can't wait until our little boy will be old enough to help decorate the tree! What are your decor plans for the holidays?

Photo credit: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7