Project 365: Happiness, sweet, love, reflection, shoes, old, pleasure, made, color, lunch. (15, 19-27)

No, no, no! I haven't forgotten and I haven't stopped (yet)! But I've been way too busy to post. Or just had better things to do! But I've been taking them, so here's a vomit of pix I haven't posted!! 

I posted 15 to Facebook, but totally forgot to post it to the blog. Whoops!

15/365: Happiness

19/365: Sweet

20/365: Someone I love

21/365: Reflection

22/365: Your shoes

23/365: Something old

24/365: Guilty pleasure.

25/365: Something you made

26/365: Color.

27/365: Lunch

XOXO,
Nat

Project 365: Morning, water, something you bought (16, 17, 18)

Moooorning. Not the actual morning of day 16, though... :( I had Thursday school that day and was too busy to take a photo.

Ehh, I was just at Walmart. We don't actually get water here or anything. :P

I love this place! We pay $6 a month for a pack of 4 razors. So awesome!

I've been pretty busy this week and haven't been able to post these! I've been snapping some pictures with my phone instead of my camera, because I have actual sessions on my memory cards I've been working on, so. :)

Project 365: Something you're reading (14)

Or, in this case, reading again!

I'll be sending this one overseas to a friend in the marines. I decided to read it again and send a little commentary along with it. I actually haven't touched it for the last 2 days because I've been up to my EYEBALLS in photo-related work. Nothing that's bringing in any money, sadly...just logistics. Contracts and website redesigns. It's kind of a headache.

Also, here's a lil attempt with a new logo. What do you think?

Project 365: In your bag (13)

Can't even go a week without posting something else crochet-related. I can't get enough of the stuff lately! I have the most adorable photo in the world pinned of a crochet granny square blanket. Okay, normally...blegh! Not for me! But the colors..oh, the colors!! I'm in love. It's actually the cover photo for my Pinterest crochet board, so that really proves my point.

"in your bag" is a boring one for me. I carry a wristlet with the bare minimum in it...ID & cards. Like 99% of the time there's not even any cash or change in it. Like that would have made it any more exciting.

I sometimes carry a diaper bag, but...it has diapers. and wipes. and...that's it.

I carry my camera bag to photo shoots. With my camera in it. And I used my camera to take this picture, so...yeahhhh....

Here's my "free time" bag! With all the yarn all the yarn I can fit in it. There's overflow, trust me. And there are my cutie granny squares. I've made about 20. I think I need around...140 to finish the blanket. Hahaha...it's a work in progress!

Project 365: Close-up (12)

I had an engagement photo session today! So much fun. We went to Purdue and I took this photo of these tiiiinyyyy models in a display case of the...town? campus? I'm not sure! while my clients made outfit swaps.

So cute. I love anything itty-bitty.

Project 365: Where you sleep (11)

Sloooow sleepy Saturday. I really would like to take a nap in this bed right now, but I have stuff I need to be doing.

Maybe later.

I love our bedroom. If it ever makes it up high enough on the "to spend money on" priority list, I'd like to get some nightstands and lamps in here. I have an end table on my side, but the other one is being used in the living room. Sorry, Nick. Also, check out bottom right corner. Kids artwork on the walls. Gotta love 'em...

XOXO,
Nat

Project 365: Childhood (10)

This sweet bear is one of the only things I've kept from my childhood. He goes back a good way, because I inherited him from my older sister. The tag on him says, "Honey", so that's his name.

Totally not my normal style of photo. I used flash! It was late in the day.

XOXO,
Nat

Project 365: Routine (9)

Honestly, I don't have a routine. There's pretty much nothing I absolutely do every day. And definitely nothing at always the same time of day. But since I was gifted this Keurig, I'm pretty sure I've had a cup of joe every day since Christmas.

That's close enough to becoming routine, isn't it?

Project 365: Your sky (8)

I'm not particularly fond of this photo. Or today. Just found out a good friend was going to be moving away, and I'm very sad.

Hoping tomorrow will be a bit brighter.

XOXO,
Nat

Project 365: Favorite (7)

My neighbor and her sweet daughter (who I haven't seen in 3 weeks!!) came over tonight for a little playdate. I attempted the DIY "indoor snow" Pinterest idea. You mix 2 boxes of cornstarch and a can of puffy shave foam together to form some moldable fluff for indoor "snow" fun.  My daughter and her daughter liked it alright, but boy was it messy! Ryan hated it. The moment he touched the stuff he asked to go wash his hands. Oh, well! :)

After the fluff was cleaned up and put away, I sat down with my friend to teach her some basic crochet stitches. We practiced on chaining and single crochets. She did very well, but was having a hard time with the funky way you string the yarn around your hand to give it tension. I think she got a little annoyed at me reminding her... ;)

These cupcakes are my favorite crochet pattern. These are made from my own customized pattern, adapted from a free one online.

I used to be part of a homeschool group called Keepers at Home. Every week? month? I can't remember...we learned how to do some kind of homey duty. Like how to iron, the proper way to set a table...and how to crochet! I picked it up pretty quick and crocheted 2 scarves. That was YEARS ago!

I ran across a blog quite awhile back and saw crocheted cupcakes! I just fell in love with them and had to have one. So I went Youtube crazy and re-learned how to crochet just so I could make the little guys. I've ended up making all kinds of cute hats, booties, and tons amigurumi (crochet plushies!), but these little guys are still my all-time favorite. :) 

XOXO,
Nat

Project 365: Makes you smile (6)

Today is FREEZING! Literally. I think the high for today was -11? Ridiculous. The perk though is that businesses are closed all over, including Nick's work! So he got to stay home with us today. Him and Ryan sitting on the couch watching spider videos...? Well the whole thing just makes me smile! :)

So happy to have this wonderful man in my life. I didn't like how vague the makes you smile theme was for today, but when I thought about it a little...my husband is definitely the one who gets the most smiles out of me in a day! He's always being sweet, silly or loving in some way. Hard not to smile when he's around!

That little wild hair boy next to him isn't too bad, either.

Stay warm.
XOXO,
Nat

Project 365: Something you wore (5)

I bought a new pair of boots a couple days ago. I really wanted to pair them with some black tights and a dress for church today, but...a massive snowfall totally ruined my outfit plans. Church is canceled! Instead I've been in PJs with crazy hair all day.

But I smell really good.

Project 365: Letterbox (4)

I'm so excited that I could post this image. I couldn't find my box of keepsakes for the longest time, and thought they maybe got lost in our move...but nope! Cleaned out a closet and found the box marked "Nat's keepsakes"! Yay! I would have been so sad to lose all of these sweet cards and love notes from my dating years with Nick.

Nick's party was fun. I forgot to turn on the heat on the crockpot for the italian beef, so...we ended up ordering pizza.

I'm such a scatterbrain. But I didn't need to tell you that, did I?

XOXO,
Nat

Project 365: Something you adore. (3)

She's pretty easy to adore! Look at that preshy little muffin face. I figured posting a picture of my own children would kind of be a cop out. Obviously I adore them, but I think they're going to pop up in quuuite a few other photos!

Glad I got the text to babysit her for awhile today. I have a hard time coming up with stuff for the kids to do every day, so it was nice to have company for a few hours!

Birthday celebrations for hubby tomorrow. I need to go shopping.

PS. Weigh-in was fab. Down 2lbs!

XOXO,
Nat

Project 365: Breakfast (2)

I'm attempting the typical New Year resolution....weight loss! I downloaded the "Lose It!" app onto my smartphone to count calories. I love it! The scan feature is probably my favorite. I can just open it up, scan the bar code on any bag or box of something and it will automatically load all of the nutritional information into my phone and save it. How easy is that? The database is huge, so even if I don't have a bar code to scan it's still pretty easy to find foods.

I chose Friday to be my weigh-in day. I'll let you know how it goes.

Fried egg, a slice of rye toast and coffee. I love my Keurig!

XOXO,
Nat

Project 365: You (1)

Hey, go ahead. Laugh. "There is no possible way she can stick with something for 2 weeks, let alone a YEAR!" Lawls, roflcopter, haha, blahhh.

Sorry not sorry.

Day 1: You. (Well, me. Whatev.)

Boy Room Tour: Dungeons & Dragons!

I thought I would take you on a little tour of my 2 year-old son's room today. Yay!! Here we go..

On the walls - 2 small, 1 large canvas painted blue with little graphics copied from a blankie pattern. On the dresser- dino/dragon from Grandma Y, a Thirty-One bag in the elephant pattern fabric and his name embroidered on the front. Window - Bunting from cardstock and hung with black yarn, navy curtains from Walmart, tied back with silver  ribbons. On the bed - Fleece dragon blanket & favorite baby blankie.

For his first Birthday, we had a medieval theme, based off the meaning of his first name - "Little King". My mom bought him the cutest blanket with the lion, castle and crown pattern on it and I decided to base his room off of the same thing. I thought it was pretty unique for a boys room. Kind of princess theme in reverse. Hah! :)

A close-up look at the dino. Protecting Ryan's treasure chest bank.

 

 

Close-up look of the bunting on the other window in the room.

Black shelf with green & blue plastic baskets ($1ea from Dollar Tree) for toy storage, and a big blue tub for misc/larger toys behind that little Sophie Loaf in the bottom right corner. :) The sign is from Grandma S and says, "Twinkle, twinkle little star, do you know how loved you are?"

This is from the other angle in his room. Kinda the first thing on the left wall you see when you come in. I don't know why I didn't get a very good picture of that area.  Here's some detail from the top shelves.

Primitives by Kathy sign, 3 little crochet knights with dowel rod insides. :)

The teensy thing on the left is a glass dragon from a craft show, sitting on top of a castle project from Lowe's. Knight from Grandma S! 

 

Crochet Totoro sitting on top of extra blankets. There's the one from Grandma Y!

Cute little engine spelling his name. Yes, I know the N is backward. This was handmade from a man at Grandma S's church, and the magnets were glued on the wrong sides. I haven't attempted a fix yet. Ryan broke the wheel on the A... This is why we can't have nice things... :P

Cardboard Castle, custom toddler bed, letters from Hob Lob painted by me...aaand leftover Curious George paper chain I couldn't throw away yet. Look for me on the next season of Hoarders.

The castle is made from 2 refrigerator boxes and a stove box! I picked up a gallon of this grey returned/wrong mixed paint from Lowes for $5 and free-handed the detailing with black paint. Here's the site where I found the castle inspiration - mrmcgroovys.com.

Totally impossible to find boy's toddler bedding in this theme, and so I found this fleece fabric at Hancock Fabrics and tied it up with a navy piece to create his blanket. That's his favorite "lovey" - Buttons, the stuffed TY dachshund. My friend Emily gave that to me for my...10th Birthday, I believe? Ryan just fell in love with him.

Big brother's room is so coooool! ;)

Grandpa & Grandma S made this bed for us. They painted it blue and mod podged this little scene onto the headboard. Totally cute! :)

Storing some big trucks under the bed! Toys under the bed on purpose, can you believe that?!

Table from Uncle Aaron & Anna for Christmas 2011. The top is dry erase. We sit here aaaaall the time to color!  Here's a little video of him doing just that!

Here's some randoms. Bin of JUST transportation toys (Cars, airplanes, trains). Think he has enough? No, me either. ;) close-up of his name, and this little painted (I am having a major brain fart right now) coat hanger...thing....whatever!

And the little squirt himself. Workin' away in his tool box. We bought him this for his 2nd Birthday and it is peeerfect!! He was always wanting to play with the real tools...especially the hammer (dangerous!) and now all I have to say when he sees the real ones and wants them is, "These are daddy's tools, where are Ryan's tools?" And he'll run off happily to get his own! Tantrum averted.

Hope you enjoyed that. Maybe gave you a little inspiration. :)

The main project I'm still working on for this room still is getting those slim IKEA shelves to put his books on (They're all a mess on the living room shelf right now). And it doesn't match the theme, but I want one of those car track rugs because those are awesome and I enjoyed playing with something similar when I was a kid. Otherwise, I'm pretty content with his room right now. It's cute!

Check back soon. I'm going to do a tour of Sophie's nursery and probably a few more Pinterest Success blogs!

xoxo,
Nat

Pinterest to the rescue - Cleaning microfiber upholstery

Today I wanted to show you guys a little cleaning victory I had in my house a couple days ago.

I bought a beige microfiber rocker recliner to go in Ryan's nursery when he was a baby. It was totally fluff and comfy, while being kiiiind of streamlined enough for me to really like it. Here's the advertisement picture for it...

Cute, right?

 

Well, it was. Not so much anymore...here's a picture of it now.

Ew, ew, ewwww.

 

Go ahead, say it. You won't hurt my feelings. YUCK!

I have attempted to clean it, believe it or not. Did you know water STAINS microfiber? Not permanantly, but it leaves a big nasty looking spot. I borrowed a carpet steamer from my MIL a month or so before Sophie made her arrival, and that just really made things worse. Also, upholstery cleaners are water-based, sooo....

 

Go figure this is also a time where Google failed me. Yes, somehow I searched this and came up with no answers. Whaaaaattttt.

 

And then one day, this little beaut' showed up on my Pinterest feed - How to clean microfiber furniture.

 

Oh, Pinterest. What did we ever do before you?

 

This sat in my "For the home" folder for a good long chunk of time before I actually went back and took a peek (pin now, read later). And the directions were really quite simple. Plus I had all the tools on-hand:

 

1. Rubbing alcohol.

2. Sponge or white rag.

3. Bristle scrubby brush.

 

So I finally decided to try it! The idea is that rubbing alcohol dries much faster than water so it won't leave a spot. You mist it, wipe with your sponge/rag (This took some elbow grease) and then swirl your bristle brush on it to fluff the upholstery back up a little bit.

 

Check this out.

 

Restored to its former glory....almost.

 

TA-DAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Isn't it SO much better?! Next I'll have to look up tearing up the upholstery to re-fluff it (Hah, yeah right) but for now it doesn't look quite so dreadful and just downright embarrassing.

 

Thanks, Pinterest! Thanks, other blog! :)

 

 

 

 

Day 30: Five good things that have happened since beginning this blog challenge.

Really, I stopped at 29? ....29?! I only had to write 1 more to be finished. Tiiiiicked...

Here I am now. Like an injured runner at a marathon exclaiming, "I have to cross the finish!"  But not quite so noble. At all. Hm, should I have even used that analogy?

Here goes.

1. Duh. Had my baby girl! :)
Now I have 2 little rays of sunshine in my life, and it's totally amazing.

2. Nick and I found a new church home.
While I still feel a tug at my heart every time I pass by what was my church home for over 20 years (AKA, my entire life until now), the switch has been good for us. We're making new friends and learning something new in our faith all the time.

3. Gotten less lazy/more organized.
Weird "good thing", I know. But it's really true! Nick and I used to fight all the time because of the way I left the house totally trashed all the time (I don't blame him, it was really a pig sty), but this year for my New Year's resolution, I resolved to keep our living space cleaner. And I have! Plus I've done it so often now, things being a big mess really bugs me, and before I didn't really mind living in filth. Ew.

4. Doing more photography.
I cannot beliiiieve people think I'm good enough to PAY ME to take their pictures! Ah! How cool is that? Makes my heart swell. :)

5. Getting to be a SAHM.
So thankful that Nick finally got a new job, and I get to stay home with my babies! I wrote in my diary when Ryan was born that I so wished we could afford to do that, and here we are. We are so blessed!

Ah. Finished.

That feels good.

I have a Pinterest success story to share with you tomorrow, so come on back for that.

Have a fab day!
XOXO,
Nat

I need to stop doing this.

It's gonna happen, people. I'm gonna finish that 30 day challenge I started...uhh, over a year ago. WHOA. Embarassiiiiiing.  Really, that just speaks so true to how I am, though. Get all excited and gung ho (I have no idea about the spelling on that...) about something and then just let it fall off the face of the earth. Geez.

Anywaaaay....

I was going to get it started tonight, but I got all caughts up in the layout stuff. I am totally digging this red/blue combo. Ever since looking at all this 50's Housewife stuff to help throw my friend Emily's bridal shower I just stinkin' can't get over it! So cute! Amiright?!

SO.

Gotta go, Nick wants the computer (we're sharing right now. blech.)  But I promise I'll be back, because I know my friends are really waiting for this.

Both of them.

Teeheeee. Shout out to you, dad! Love that joke.

Night!

XOXO
Nat