The Master

I have SOO much going on with orders in my shop and all that comes along with getting ready for Christmas....BUT......that doesn't stop me from working on our home.

I just feel so happy decorating and making all of my ideas become a reality. I am a total planner.....and a bit of a dreamer.

But this weekend.....I became a little bit closer to having our dream bedroom! The walls have been painted a similar blue for a few years....and I just purchased from Ballard Designs a new headboard! I can't wait to get all of the finishing touches done!!!!!


I love this bed!!!!!!!!!!

I love that they have a slipcover available for if I change my mind on the color!
I love that it look so clean and classic!
I love that I know I could have made it.......yet I went for the splurge because I have WAY too much on my plate at the moment!

If Only I could speed up the next four weeks until it is delivered. HMMMM.....

xoxo

I'm Back!!!!

We have had a crazy busy few weeks!!!!!!!!

Flu that was passed around to each one of us......school parties........visiting family in Orlando........family visiting us for Thanksgiving........celebrating Christmas early with family.........setting the house up........and just spending good quality time with my family!

Here is one week in pics....

Visiting Bubba in Orlando for the afternoon.

I was helping out with Kacey's Kindergarten class for their Thanksgiving Feast. Collin was invited too.....and he LOVED being in Kindergarten. It was soooo cute!!!!!!!!!


I made the entire meal by myself and was SOOO happy with how it all turned out! MMMM!

By the looks of this....you would have thought they made the whole meal! ha!


We even made our own Butter!!!!!


I am thankful for this guy!

We celebrated Christmas early with Chad's mom and grandma....and Kacey got another American Girl doll! She was beyond excited!!!!!!!!!!

Our Elf On The Shelf, Brady, is BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My silly little elf's helping us decorated the Christmas Tree!

They had a fun time remembering each ornament! Our tree is filled with ornaments that Chad and I received as kids.....ornaments that each one of us has made over the years (my FAVE is the paper ornament with Chad's 2nd grade picture on it!)......and I love all of the memories that each one holds!

I am pretty sure that Collin hung ALL of the ornaments in one spot! The tree almost fell over! ha!

I LOVE our angel! It is from Germany.....and is just like the one we had when I was little!

Hope your weekend was relaxing.....yet fun filled!

xoxo

Linen Love

I love linen! I also love bedding! It is sort of an obsession really!

I ran to target to load up on some more gatorade for my sick little guy.......and fell in love with this new duvet cover by Simply Shabby Chic!



You can't go wrong with linen, ruffles, and Shabby Chic!

xoxo

Get out of here flu!!!!!

My poor little guy has come down with a stomach bug.

I absolutely HATE it when my kids are sick! They are total troopers, braver that I am with a stomach bug BY FAR!

I have been hanging out on the couch for 24 hours with my son, rented 3 pay per view movies (even though we have a ton of movies of our own.....new movies are always best when sick), put down four bottles of gatorade, and snuggling.

Here's to hoping that this flu bug misses the rest of us and gets out of our home FAST!



xoxo

Thankful

This is the season to really think about all the things you are thankful for!

I am ALWAYS thankful for my family!
I am thankful for the next two days with no real plans..........and spending it with the 3 people that make me feel like the luckiest lady!




Hope your weekend is spent doing whatever it is you enjoy.....with the people that make you the happiest!
xoxo


photo taken by Maria With Snidershots.

HELP!!!!!

I have been in the process of deciding on what type of wood floors to get for almost a year! That is so sad!
I can't decide!!!!!!!
I have 2 kids....a small dog.....and a large dog......and I absolutely can't stand tile or carpet!

I LOVE the idea of having real wood floor because it is amazingly beautiful and since I have mainly white furniture in my home...I think it will add a nice natural element into my home.

BUT......like I said....I have two dogs and I know that I might just freak out if it gets ruined (my large dog, Kali, has made herself known by eating the bottom lining of TWO cages and eating the carpet under her cage.....IN TWO ROOMS!)

I can't decide what style and color that I want!

Here is what is bugging me...
-my home is pretty dark for the most part and I am worried that the dark floors will make it feel so much darker.
-I WANT real wood floors.....but I just am not sure that they are a great idea with kids, dogs, and in my kitchen.
-I am not really a fan of light wood floors....but they might brighten up my house.

See....these are the things that keep me up at night. (sad, I know)



I LOVE this color! This is my top choice....but nervous it is too dark.

Love how this looks so natural and this makes me think that it will be okay if my dogs have paw marks on the floors.

LOVE the large planks here! But I don't want my house to feel too rustic.

These might be a little too thin......but I feel like it would lighten up my house a bit.

These floors are TOO light for my taste.....but this is my favorite picture of all....and so I am somehow drawn to it.

HELP!!!!!!

ANY IDEAS?!

XOXO

20 Things That Make Me Happy...

1. Spending as much time as possible with my kids and husband!
2. Watching my kids play with each other and knowing they get along so well
3. Having my sister and her family visit.
4. Spending all day at my parents house by their pool.
5. Going to Disney with my family and letting the kids plan whatever we do.
6. Wine
7. When Chad picks up Sushi and brings it home to eat while we watch a movie. (this happens several times a week)
8. Getting voice messages from my kids if I am not home when they are going to bed.
9. Pumpkin Swirl Bread that my mom makes! I have yet to attempt it because she spoils me every fall and makes it for us!
10. Going shopping all alone! I just take my time, and purchase what I really want strictly because I like it!
11. Watching old movies that my sister and I loved as kids.....with my kids!
12. White Sheets.....I will never own sheets that aren't white! They just feel so clean and cozy to me!
13. Same for White Towels. LOVE THEM!!!!!
14. Bleach (because I love everything white)
15. When Chad falls asleep on the couch and I can catch up on my shows that I have recorded.
16. Picking my kids up from school and they are just as excited to see me...as I am to see them.
17. I have loved the color turquoise before it was even fashionable.
18. Having sushi and wine nights with my girlfriends
19. When the power goes out and we sit around and play board games with candle lights.
20. This chilly weather we are having in Florida! LOVE it!!!!!

Start a New Tradition

I have MANY traditions that I hold onto and make sure that I get my kids excited about them as well.......but the Tradition of Advent is BY FAR my favorite!!!!!!!!!

I can't remember when we started this in our family...but I know it will stick around forever!

I have just added to my etsy shop a new Advent Calendar and I am VERY excited about it! I wish it was December already!

An Advent calendar is a special calendar which is used to count or celebrate the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. It is a great way to give the kids little Christmas goodies that they can actually ENJOY during the month of December! I always hated it when they would get a cute Christmas shirt, hat, hair bow, or anything Christmas related ON Christmas and it would have to wait an entire year in the attic for them to enjoy it!

We use the advent Calendar to give the kids little goodies, crafts, candy, or decorations that get them excited about Christmas!

Start a new tradition in your family!



The pockets are deep enough for holding the gifts!

You could also use a little Christmas Elf or Santa and just have the kids move it each day while counting down the days until Santa comes!!!!!




HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

My little man is Growing Up!

This weekend we celebrated my little Collin's 4th Birthday! I am in shock that he is 4!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely LOVE everything about him! He is the sweetest, kindest, sports loving, gentle boy!
I spend every day with him....and couldn't imagine spending my days any other way!



This picture is how I remember him as a baby....happy and chunky! Such a sweet baby!

Ha! I LOVE this picture of him on his 1st birthday!

Turning 2 Rocked! ha! He has always been such a relaxed little boy!

I remember being in shock that he was 3......I imagine that I will feel the same way EVERY year!

This past year has been amazing! Collin scored 10 goals in only 5 soccer games.......LOVES going to the driving range to hit golf balls with his dad.......caught his first fish..........goes to preschool for a few hours a week.........writes his name...............and has just made me fall more and more in love with him each day!

One of his birthday requests was to fly a kite! THEY LOVED IT!

His face melts my heart!

My little man is growing up.....and I couldn't be more proud of him!

Halloween Pics....late

We had a WONDERFUL Halloween!!!!!! The day before we celebrated Collin's 4th birthday with a Halloween Costume Party....and had a total blast!

This year we went Trick Or Treating at my parents neighborhood. They are always so festive for every holiday and it is totally geared towards kids! My neighborhood has so many small kids that nobody really stays at their house to pass out candy....so it isn't nearly as fun!





There are long driveways so most of the people set up shop down at the bottom so that they can hang out and pass out candy! so cute! this is where my mom passed out candy for the night.


ha! I am one of the crazy people that lets my kids eat as much candy as they want on Halloween!


Chad and I were..."where's waldo". ha! It was SO much fun! I always dress up, I think my kids love it too!

Collin the Halloween Bat! He was super proud of the costume we made!


The night started with Trunk or Treat at their playground where the kids trick or treat at the golf carts and then had a fun halloween dinner! My dad was too cute with the kids!

My little Fashion Fairytale Barbie. She designed, picked out all of the fabrics, and instructed me on every step of making her costume! so cute!


Grammy the Witch and Kacey at Trunk or Treat!



ha!!!! Trick or Treating in the Golf Cart! They had a blast!!!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

CANDLE TUTORIAL!!!!!!

I WAS SERIOUS WHEN I SAID I LOVED THE CANDLES IN MY LAST POST!!!!!! AND I WAS BEYOND EXCITED WHEN KAREN LEFT ME A MESSAGE ABOUT HER COUSIN'S BLOG AND HOW SHE DID A TUTORIAL ON HOW TO MAKE THE CANDLES THAT I WAS ABOUT TO PURCHASE!!!!!!!!

THIS SERIOUSLY MADE MY DAY....WEEK.....MAYBE EVEN MONTH! I WENT RIGHT OUT AND PURCHASED CANDLES FOR UNDER $1, PACKS OF TISSUE PAPER FOR UNDER $3, AND GOT TO WORK!!!!!!!!!

JUST CUT THE TISSUE PAPER TO THE SIZE THAT FITS YOUR CANDLE......LAY IT OUT OVER CANDLE AND USE A HAIR DRYER TO MELT IT ONTO CANDLE (I HAD TO HOLD IT REALLY CLOSE TO THE CANDLE TO GET IT TO MELT THE WAY THAT I WANTED IT TO)

I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER WITH THE CANDLES THAT I MADE!!!!!!!!!!

******
BUT DO NOT BURN THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THESE ARE FOR SHOW ONLY! ******




I SET THESE OUT THE WAY THAT I WILL SET THEM OUT AT CHRISTMAS! IS IT TOO SOON TO DECORATE FOR CHRISTMAS NOW?!?!


BROWN AND CREAM FOR THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!

CAN'T GO WRONG WITH BROWN POLKA DOTS! THESE ARE FOR THANKSGIVING...AND I WILL PROBABLY PUT THEM BACK AFTER CHRISTMAS AGAIN! LOVE THEM!

I AM SOOO THRILLED THAT I SERIOUSLY SPENT UNDER $10 TO MAKE 6 CANDLES.....AND I HAVE ENOUGH TISSUE PAPER TO MAKE MORE OR WRAP GIFTS!

I HAVE CLEARED UP ROOM ON MY WISH LIST TO ADD MORE! ;)

XOXO,
KATIE

Taper Love

I love taper candles....and I NEVER burn them! I have a few places in my house where I display them, and I just enjoy looking at them. I have always wanted a good striped candle...and this morning I FOUND THEM!!!!!!!! I have a huge list of "i really really really wants"!

Ana Designs Taper Candles.....found here






love how the colors pop!!!!!!! I have picked out my faves for each season!



They are a bit higher than I would like to spend for taper candles.....BUT.....I have been looking for good striped candles for years and since I never burn them I can justify it! :)

xoxo