{haven}

So they say that your bedroom is supposed to be a haven...a cozy place away from the crazy world. Like most people, we've pretty much decorated every room in the house except for our bedroom. *sigh* And now with the boys it is usually a mess of diapers, wipes, baby bottles, burp cloths and other miscellaneous baby paraphernalia. I've been wanting to rearrange and decorate in there for a long time, and this past weekend we finally move the bed to the middle of the room, underneath a window. It allows us to each have our own bedside table which is nice, and also just makes the room cozier. I have grand plans in my mind for the room, including a chocolate brown, sage green and light blue color scheme, but if I can do the following things I think I'll be happy for now...

1} Get new curtains...a long chocolate brown panel is what I would like to do. These would be a nice contrast to the light walls, and also help block the light so the hubs can sleep.



2} Find a cozy coverlet that the hubs and I both like and that fits my color scheme...these two I found on ebay would be nice.



3} Change out our hideous natural wood bi-fold closet doors for white ones. I hate when people cheap out on things like this...of course we bought the house with them so I guess I can't complain.

4} Get a few new decorative accessories for the room...tall, skinny artwork for over the bedside tables (there is a $10 set from Walmart that I have my eye on...yes...Walmart) and a cute pillow for the bed like this one from Joom...



I wish we could paint, but that is definitely not going to happen for awhile. Probably not until we decide to put the house on the market. At least the room is a neutral tan color right now.

{help}

There is a mom of 5 month old twin girls out there that needs every prayer that can be said for her babies right now. Her name is Brook and her daughters have been diagnosed with a genetic disease called Werdnig-Hoffman Disease. Children rarely survive to age two with this form of the disease.

She is from Indiana as well, and even though I have never met her or even seen a picture of her I can't help to feel a connection being a fellow twin momma. I can't even begin to imagine what she and her husband, and their entire family, are going through right now.

If you would like to make a donation to help them, you can do so through paypal to this email address:

Brookstwinfund@gmail.com

Any amount you could send would help them during this painful time.

{jungle*love}

I just saw Sassafras Lass's new Bungle Jungle line on their blog and it is sooo cute! Perfect for pics of my little monkeys. Definitely going to be keeping my eyes open for this!







And speaking of my little monkeys...

{better}

I'm starting to realize that life is getting better with the boys. Sure, it is still hard...really hard at times, but they are so much fun and bring a whole new dimension to life that you never know until you are a parent.

This past weekend was the first one, maybe the first one since they were born, that I truly enjoyed. I got enough sleep, had time to craft, (even had time to open my Etsy shop!) and had some quality time with the hubs...even if I did fall asleep during the movie we rented. It had Daniel Craig in it, so you would think I could have stayed awake, but it was super slow.

Annnnyway. It was a great weekend. Almost better than before we had kids. (Did I say that?!)

We even got our bedroom rearranged, which is a breath of fresh air, even though it still needs major decorating. There is something about having your furniture in a new spot that makes life seem a little more exciting, isn't there? We want to turn our downstairs office into a play room for the boys, but there is one tiny problem. It is our office...full of a computer desk, printer stand, ginormous printer, bookshelf and big cozy chair (that is only being used right now as a giant pet bed for Chloe).

We rearranged our bedroom to fit the computer in there, but it is still going to be tight. Oh the sacrifices we make for our children! I'm excited about the play room though! 1. because it is an excuse to shop at IKEA! and 2. it will mean we can have our adult living room back!

I know people always say not to wish the time you have with your babies away, but I can't wait until they can sit up and entertain each other. That day is coming soon...they are both getting pretty good at sitting up and they are noticing each other more and more. I think the first time they hug each other I'll probably melt into a puddle of happy momma juice. :)

That last comment reminds me of a funny song Dan came up with while we were giving the boys a bath the other day. Landon was in the bouncer after his bath while we got Ben all squeaky clean. He was wrapped in his hooded IKEA towel but of course had squirmed his way out of it. His ginormous baby bell was sticking out, and his drool had created quite a pool in his belly button. Dan noticed the drool pool and called it "belly button soup"...and created quite a song with that same title. There really are no words to describe how much I love his silly songs that he makes up for the boys. He is a wonderful daddy.

Geez I've rambled on far too long. Happy Monday everyone!

Ooh...and I have some new items ready for the shop...once I find the time to take photos and get them listed! Thanks to all of my friends for the positive feedback!

{grand*opening}

I'm officially open for business!

{sneak}

I'm very excited to give my readers a sneak peak at some of the items that will be going into my brand spanking new Etsy shop in the next few days. (as long as the boys cooperate...*fingers crossed*)

I decided to create a few things for Valentine's Day, including some super cute brooches made with my two favorite items...felt and buttons of course. This one has a stack of three unique buttons...I love the pink scalloped one that graces the top.


Also in the works are these felt envelopes that are perfect to hold a few chocolates, a love note, or perhaps a piece of jewelry for that special someone.


And on the non lovey-dovey front, I've also been working on felt mp3/ipod/cell phone/whatever you want to stash away felt cases. This is one of my favorites...


I'm not going to reveal my new shop name/logo quite yet...but let me just say that it involves one of my favorite woodland creatures.

{sparkle}

So before the boys were born, I was quite the collector of earrings. I'd hit up the clearance rack and Dillards and clean up on sparkly and shiny dangly things to decorate my ears. I loved going through my little earring drawer in the morning to find the perfect pair to go with my outfit for the day.

My poor earrings have been severely neglected the past 7 1/2 months, left in their dark little drawer and replaced by my trusty fake diamond studs that go with everything. Most work mornings I'm too hurried to even think about accessorizing, so there they stay. But this morning, I had a few spare minutes, and after 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep (seriously!) I had the motivation to open that little drawer once again.

Oh how I missed you my sparkly ear embellishments!

You put a smile on my face.

{icon}

It is exciting to have a first lady in the White House that is young and stylish. I wasn't super excited about all of Michelle Obama's choices yesterday, but she obviously has mega confidence and great taste.

I loved her ball gown, although I think the strap was too thick...or maybe her hair needed to be up. Something was just a little off for me, but it was still a very whimsical dress and what a gorgeous couple they are!


This was a little too much yellow for my taste, but I think it rode the fine line of stylish + first lady well. And kudos to her for mixing it up with green shoes!


This is super cute...love the mix of lime and turquoise!


And I love the collar on this coat...


It should be a fun four years (and hopefully four more!!) watching what Michelle wears!

{random}

Just a random post of things today...

Just finished watching the presidential inauguration. Wow...such a huge moment in history and I'm so happy that I could witness it. And the cute little guy that gave the benediction...loved it. :)

Landon sat in the front of the cart yesterday while we did our grocery shopping. Boy did that make me realize how quickly they are growing! And how we need shopping cart seat covers STAT!

We hit a 4/$1 baby food sale yesterday and were so excited. If you were going through 40+ jars a week you would be excited too!

Ben is such a sweet soul. He has started to cuddle more when I'm holding him and burying his head in my shoulder. Sweetest thing ever.

Landon is now doing the army crawl. He isn't quite able to crawl on all fours, but if he wants something bad enough, he'll scoot on his tummy to get there. Time to start baby-proofing!!

Losing my baby belly is going to be harder than I imagined. Damn Hollywood and their unrealistic body image expectations!

I'm working feverishly on items for my new Etsy shop. I can't wait to share them but I'm waiting until I have a good stock to open with. I will post some preview pics soon though!

And here are a few recent pics of the boys. Their personalities are really starting to show and I love it!

{today}

Today I'll be spending some quality time alone with this guy...


do some of this in the car...


while we drive out of town to eat this...

(bow tie festival pasta from Johny Carino's...best.pasta.ever!)

get my shopping fix here...


maybe have one of these...


and just relax for a bit.

Thank goodness for grandparents who like to babysit!

{-13}

That's the temperature here right now. Since I had to come into work, I wore sweater tights under my jeans, my born boots and my super warm Penguin sweatshirt under my coat. I still have my scarf on and I have no plans of removing it anytime soon. Where's my coffee?!

{frostbite}

The car thermometer had a 2 on it this morning. Just a 2. Yeah...its freaking cold here right now. Makes me want to cuddle up on the couch in my sweats with a cup of hot chocolate and my knitting. I really sound like an old woman, huh? Motherhood has definitely changed me.

But back to my original thought process...how freaking cold it is here! I have been wanting some grey boots since I posted about them months ago, but now that the temperature is taking a nose dive I want them even more! I also really want some boot-ish slippers to run around our cold wooden floors in. I have some cute ballet flat-ish slippers, but they just don't cut it these days, and they slip off when I chasing the boys around in the walker. This weather makes me want to wrap myself head to toe in knitted goodness...like these random items:

Caramel cowl from BagavondBags

Grey sweater boots from ebay

CUTE sweater slippers from moocowhandknits

And loooove this hat from dahliasoleil
I'm not really a hat girl, but I think I could switch teams for this one.

And just a random observation from the grocery store today. I eat a yogurt almost every day, so I buy a lot of yogurt. Vanilla thick and creamy to be exact. I love the stuff. And it seems like every time I get to the yogurt aisle, there is some schmuck standing in front of all the yogurt, reading every flavor and contemplating which one to choose, like it is a life altering experience. Happened to me today, and a few weeks ago we had to leave the store without my vanilla thick and creamy because said schmuck hogged the yogurt for so long that the boys got fussy and we had to move on. If this happens again I may have to shank someone. (that was for you, Steph.)

{freebie}

I pride myself on being a frugal girl, and quite the bargain shopper. So...when I get a freebie I get especially excited. Especially when it is this...


My sister surprised me on Saturday and gave me her Vera Bradley bag. Probably because she just gone one of these. Now, the VB doesn't quite compare to the LV, but a bag that costs as much as three months of my car payment sends shivers up my spine. High 5 to sister though!

I'm not usually a fan of VB bags...they usually remind me of grandmothers out for lunch at MCL, but this pattern is super cute. And the messenger style with the long strap is perfect to carry across my body along with the ginormous diaper bag I'm usually saddled with. It has great outside pockets for my cell phone and mp3 player.

Speaking of my mp3 player. It now has a new cozy, felty home that I made this weekend. What do you think? I added some lace and pretty buttons from my collection, as well as a chocolate felt flower and a button closure.




I may make a few more of these lovelies for my Etsy shop, which I'm slowly working toward re-opening with a new name, look and goodies. With the boys it is very slow going, but I can't wait for everything to come together!

{etsy love}

My Etsy favorites list is really getting out of hand. Seriously...I could spend an entire year's salary on that site! Here are some of my more recent adds...

Vroom pouch from rachelherzog - My mp3 player needs a cozy home (that doesn't fall apart like my recent knitted attempt). I might try my hand at making one of these, but for $6 might as well buy one!


Jersey Hoodie from ellainaboutique - this look sooo comfy! And the hood is trimmed in Amy Butler fabric!


doily girl framed print from traceface - modern yet traditional


creamy vanilla cowl from sunjunkee - how cozy does this look?! Contemplating trying to make one on my round loom...

{oh orla}

Where have you been all my life, Orla Kiely?!

OMG, I don't know how I just happened upon this designer but I am drooling over these handbags! Of course they have to be out of my price range, but oh my...maybe one day...

Look at the buckles!


And a cute little tote...


What a way to travel!


I found these on ebay and I still can't afford them. *sigh*

{fool}

I have been a knitting fool the past few weeks since I got my knitting looms. I've finished a 2nd scarf and last night I made a cozy for my new mp3 player from the hubby. I'm pretty happy with it for a first try!

Here's the scarf...



And my mp3 cozy...


Things around our house are getting a little crazy, as the boys are getting closer to being mobile. Yikes! Landon is very close to crawling, and when he's in the walker he wants to grab anything in sight. I had to do my first baby proofing task last night and remove the antique glass knobs from our buffet. He was pulling on them and licking them (yuck), and they aren't on super tight so they had to come off. Fun times ahead!!