Etsy Finds

I found a wonderful vintage shop on Etsy this morning. There are so many things to look at and browse through and the photos are great. A good photo on Etsy makes such a huge difference. Not only is there a plethora of vintage, the shop owner also uses vintage books to make journals. How awesome is that?! Look at some of the amazing things that are available in this shop, The Fancy Lamb.

cake carrier


vintage pyrex


pea green radio

Here is one of the vintage books that have been turned into a journal. You can also choose a particular book that you would to have turned into a custom journal. I can't get over what a great idea that is.

vintage book journal

So go shop The Fancy Lamb and find some treasure to make your home feel a touch more cozy. I plan on spending the weekend going through every item available.
xoxo

Momma Monday

Time to sit back and reflect on the past week of being a momma to my little gal. I think this week went pretty well. We had some family come into town and had a wonderful weekend.

Momma victory #1:
We have survived our first baby cold! Sophie has had a runny nose and cough for the past few days. It's not gone yet, but I feel like I've gotten the hang of wiping her up and clearing her nose. She sure is cute with that little cough, but it makes me sad to see her all stuffed up. Hopefully she can kick the cold soon!

Momma victory #2:
Whoever tells first time expecting moms that breastfeeding makes you lose weight at an incredible rate was a big fat LIAR. Yes, you do lose a ton of weight within the first 2 weeks, but I'm thinking a lot of that was baby and her environment. I have been walking, but it's starting to get cold [finally], so I picked up this DVD and it's kicking my butt.


Every morning I wake up hating Jillian, but knowing that she is going to whip me into better shape. When I want to throw my weights and tell Jillian to go eat some cake, I try and remember this:

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

xoxo

Pyrex, the old kind not the new

Check out this blog. I've recently discovered vintage Pyrex and I can't get enough. I don't own any yet, but I am on a major mission to fix that. Should I order some on Etsy? Or should I stake out some estate sales? Either way, my buddy Kim pointed out this blog post and it's amazing. Pretty much sums up my new obsession. I mean come on, who wouldn't want some of this?

photo credit

Doesn't that seem so much more exciting than clear Pyrex or morphed and stained plastic? Yes it does!
xoxo

Etsy Finds

Sophie's been a little under the weather the past few days, so there's been more napping and snuggling. I've spent some time on Etsy (well, more time than usual) and came across these great things.

First, something for our little home. Our 800 square foot apartment is feeling more like home everyday, but this would certainly make it even more cheery.

from Robins Egg Blue

Now, something for my sweet little girl. It's finally getting cool here and I'm realizing we are in need of a few more long sleeved things.

shop Caustic Threads

And here's something I've been looking at for a while for myself. Isn't it wonderful?

check out Ponder and Stitch

Now you have all sorts of wonderful Christmas ideas!
xoxo

Momma Monday

Lately I've been getting headaches and acne like I'm back in high school. I realized this morning that I'm stressed. All I think about is if Sophie is eating enough and how to manage her naps, when to plan them and if she will sleep through the night. While I obsess over that, I clean, cook, do the laundry, and get frustrated with myself if I feel like I'm not serving my husband well.

Enough is enough!

From now on, every Monday will be a post about how I am winning as a Momma. Motherhood should be about small victories, not huge defeats. I got this idea from my bffc(best friend from college). It's brilliant. It's not about being arrogant or bragging. I think it's ok for me to feel like the world's best mom for a few seconds.

Victory numero uno:
Sophie is getting on a sleeping schedule. I love Baby Wise and have followed it with Sophie. She has slept through the night for a while now, but to have her down for naps every day has helped so much. She still fights it, but when she gives in, I feel pretty rad.

Number two (I don't know much Spanish):
Sophie smiles more than she cries. She's happy and that's what I need to remember when I feel like giving up!

Number three:
This isn't a victory, but it's definitely a good thing. I'm married to a man that is perfect for me. He reminds me of my victories, he helps me relax, and he loves his baby girl to smithereens. He snuggles and plays with her so I can bake and do laundry. I even got to go out to a movie this weekend with some girls. How lucky am I? We even spent some time at the pumpkin patch this weekend.

I never realized how much I would learn about myself after becoming a mom. I'm a loon at times, but now I can spend Mondays celebrating how awesome life as a momma is.

xoxo

it's a rainy Tuesday

Finally. I moved from the Colorado desert and was looking forward to rain. I woke up this morning to thunder and lightning. Today I plan on sewing and snuggling with this little gal.


Could she be any cuter?

i love this lamp

A few years ago I bought this dumpy old lamp at a yard sale...


I love the glass portion and had big plans for this vintage lamp. Three years later...


I finally made it over! I covered the lamp shade, cleaned the base and painted the wood portion. It really makes our living room feel a lot more like home.

Sophie hung out like a champ during this project...



What projects are you working on?

Arkansas, so far

Hey blog world,

I'm not sure who actually reads this, but if you do, here is an update on Arkansas and what life is like here. I haven't blogged in forever. I thought that this would be so simple once I was at home and no longer working, but that is not true. My days just disappear! Being a mom to an infant sure is time consuming (and wonderful).

We have been living in Arkansas for the past 6 months. We are in a tiny apartment that I can vacuum without having to unplug and move to a new outlet. It's me, my man, our baby and the wild black lab named Bella. Matt has been in his residency program for church planting for 7 weeks and it's going phenomenally. He works all day on starting the church and learning about leadership, fundraising, personality types and a million other things. I spend my days with the baby figuring out how to get to Target, clean the house, and prepare meals with her in one arm. It's been amazing, but challenging.

Lately we are learning a lot about budgeting and using our money the way Christ desires us to do so. We went from two great incomes, to a baby and one normal income. I'm not complaining. I would rather starve and be at home with our kiddos (we are not starving) than be at a job I hate all day. But, we have spent the weekend reflecting and planning and realizing the financial mistakes we have made. Student loans, medical debt and bad purchases add up pretty quickly. Now, we have paid off an incredible amount of debt, but how is it that it seems like you can never get ahead?

It would be easy to wallow in my mistakes, but I've learned from them, repented, and it's time to move on. We are determined to be responsible and focused on how the money God provides is used. I also have to remind myself that we are so young and handling this now instead of waiting will be a huge benefit. Why is being an adult so hard?

Other than planning a budget, we did get out and have some fun this weekend! We went to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. It finally cooled down a bit, so we got out with the baby and beast. Now, we would call this more of a large hill, but Arkansaians call this a mountain. It was wonderful and next weekend we are going to try out the other end of the park.

What did you do this weekend?

Leftovers

My parents came to Little Rock this past weekend. We love them oodles and always look forward to seeing them. Here they are -

We always know that when they come our fridge will be full of beer and fresh produce. When you have a garden like they do, you have to spread the produce around! We got loads of peppers, eggplant and tomatoes.

I'm trying desperately to use it all before it goes bad. Here is what I created for dinner-


I used some Naan from Kroger and made a basic white sauce with sour cream, half & half, garlic powder and Italian spices. I topped it with sliced mozzarella, salami and pepperoni, roasted eggplant, roasted peppers, artichokes, tomatoes and onion. Hooray for not going to the grocery store! I'll top it with parmesan and bake it tonight. Bon appetite!

The Team

Finally, a blog post! We have made it to Little Rock and are settling in nicely. Matt is in his second week of his residency program and he is loving every minute. He compared it to going to a conference everyday, so his mind is constantly full!

I thought today I would tell you more about the crazy group of people that are moving or already have moved to Boulder to help plant the church. We will be in Little Rock for at least 6 months while Matt goes through the residency program. He will be starting the church plant from here while working under some amazing men who will guide the way.

Here they are-


Let's start at the left and work our way across.

Matt and I are the first couple, but you know enough about us. Take a look at Sophie. She was so tiny then!

Next up we have Chase and Kim Davis:
We met Chase and Kim at church about a year or so ago. They moved to Colorado after graduating from Texas A&M and were in search of jobs. We had them over for dinner one night to get to know them, and now they are some of our best friends. They ended up moving into the apartment next to us in Gunnison and were at our house constantly. Our apartment in AR doesn't feel the same without them! They are currently overseas doing mission work and we can't wait to get them home!

Next on the list is the Pollitt family:
Patch and Michelle Pollitt are an amazing couple with three incredible kids! Keziah is the oldest, followed by JoJo and Asher. We met the Pollitts through friends after they relocated to Gunnison during a major transition period in their lives. The Pollitts are amazing parents and friends and we are so lucky to know them. We have already gotten so much parenting advice from them!

And now, introducing the Dady family:
Seth and Crystal Dady just moved to Boulder to start building relationships and to get to know the community. Matt met Seth through youth ministry connections and knew they would be life-long friends. Crystal was pregnant with Stella at the time and we have gotten to watch Stella grow-up right in front of our eyes. The Dadys are some of the nicest people on the face of the planet. You should get to know them if you don't already!

We think they are nuts, but all of these people are on board with us as we attempt to plant a church in Boulder, CO. They are all gifted in unique ways and it is incredible how we were all brought together. I can't wait to get back to CO to continue this journey and I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am for all of these people.

Love.

Movin' Out

Does anyone else hate moving? I am sitting it what used to be our kitchen. It's piled high with boxes, but there seems to be so much more that needs to be packed. Why is it that when you start to put things away, the house becomes more of a disaster than it ever was? Oy Vey.

Stay posted. I promise to blog about more exciting happenings in the next few days.

Sophia Maria

I don't know if you can truly understand love until you have one of these...

Bagel Baking

I've always wanted to make bagels, but the task seemed scary and daunting. Why try and bake something when you can get great ones down the street? Well, with a little inspiration, I did it! I used this recipe.

First, start with these basic ingredients:


Mix it all together and kneed for 10 minutes. (do I look like I'm 39 weeks pregnant?)


Then you break it into pieces and let them rest. We also used this time to toast our toppings. We chose these wonderful delights:


Then, you boil the bagels for a minute on each side.


Dip your bagels in your toasted toppings. Here's my sister roasting. She's a babe.


You have to bake the bagels and flip them during the process. After all of those simple steps, you get something that looks similar to this:


Pretty awesome, right? I think next on the list is a cinnamon- raisin bagel. I also want to try making blueberry bagels. Matt and I were coming up with some tasty creations, so get ready! Maybe I'll find some great ingredients at the Farmer's Market tomorrow. It sure would be nice to have all sorts of bagels around when the baby arrives and the family gets here. But when will that be?

Baby-izing

We learned the hard way that not all cars are good for babies. We bought our Subaru a month after getting married and we loved it. It was small, AWD, and the perfect CO mobile. It came with the "Latch" system to hook in a baby seat, so we thought we were set. The one thing we knew nothing about was how big an actual car seat is. They are ginormous. One would think that a seat for an infant would be small, but that is far from the truth. I do appreciate all of the safety features, but I was oblivious to what that meant!

We put the car seat in the Subaru after our New Parent Class and quickly realized that we had a 2 person car. Once the car seat was in, the other seat belts became impossible to use. After driving around with the passenger seat in the dashboard, it became time to go car shopping.

Introducing the 2007 Jeep Patriot:


We got a great deal, lowered our payments, and now have a family-friendly car. Welcome to parenthood, Matt and Ari!

Getting Ready

This weekend we spent some time getting ready for our little lady. Matt worked hard all week to get ready for a yard sale and I went a little nuts and cleaned out the closets. Matt preached this morning, so while he napped I worked on the nursery this afternoon. Our hospital bag is packed, the car seat is in the car, and the diaper bag is ready to go. Alright Sophie, we are ready!

My dear pal Carrie, new Mom to 4 month old Edmund, used to talk about how daunting looking at crib bedding was. I didn't understand until I started to look for our registry. There are about one million options and maybe 10 that are nice. So, when in doubt, start from scratch. I am new to sewing and still figuring out my machine, but luckily I have a lot of talented friends! Cherie, the master seamstress, offered to help me out. I picked out some fabric and handed it over. All I can say is that I could not be any more thrilled. It's amazing!


Here's the final belly photo of the pregnancy. It's not pretty, but the Grandma's would have hunted me down if I didn't post it :)


It's my last week of work, so I'm hoping to do some crafting and blogging very soon. Have a great Monday!

Introducing Baby America

My due date is July 4th, 2010, just under 4 weeks from now. From the moment we found that out, all sorts of nicknames have been floating around for the wee one in my belly. "Baby America" seems to have stuck (thank you Kim and Chase). Kim and I even found a nice red, white, and blue get-up if she decides to arrive in time to wear it. I sure would appreciate it if she made an early appearance.

We decided not to legally name the kiddo "Baby America." Not only would she have been made fun of a fair amount in school, but she would end up hating her mother and father, I'm sure!

Introducing... Sophia Maria...


This ultrasound was done about 16 weeks ago, so I'm hoping she looks a little more human and less like an alien. I'm predicting lots of hair. What do you think?