{list}

I have a few things on my wish list for our kitchen/family room right now. One of them being a brand new kitchen, but others that are more realistic and attainable. :)

The room is very dark right now...our furniture is chocolate brown, carpet (blech) is dark, cabinets (blech x 2) are also dark. I want to lighten up the space sooo much.

I love these pillow covers from Etsy shop SaSeaBoutique.



They would be the perfect thing to lighten up our brown couch, and bring in the light blue I love.

I also realllly want these nesting herb crates from The Lettered Cottage Home shop.



They are so lovely in her home, and I think they would look really great hanging by our back door. I would of course copy exactly what she has in them because how can you improve on perfection?!

I also want to paint our fireplace brick white and add a new mantle. It isn't much to look at currently...



Sherry and John from Young House Love prove what painting brick can do for a room.

Love this before and after...



One big improvement we will hopefully be making VERY soon is putting a new floor down in there. As if I didn't hate the carpet enough, we've had a few baby puke episodes on it lately, which, even after a good steam cleaning, have brought my hatred of that carpet to an even higher level. We're hoping that we can afford wood, but we may have to go with laminate. It is almost 500 square feet in there, so it will be a costly project, but soooo worth it. Stay tuned!

{airheads}

Last week on our way to Kentucky to see my Grandaddy, my Mom asked me if there was something special that I would like to put in his casket. Not a wonderful or desirable thing to think about, but when my Dad's parents both passed away, we put special mementos in both of their caskets that reminded us of our times shared with them.

For Grandaddy, I knew right away what I wanted to include. Without hesitation I told her, "an arrowhead." She knew right away why that was my first choice.

When I was young, probably about 8 years old, I collected rocks. Don't ask me how that hobby started, but I was VERY into it, and was always super excited when we went to the rock shop at Metamora so I could add to my collection.

On one of our trips to Lexington to see Grandmother and Grandaddy, we went to a local mall and there was a rock show going on. I can't remember if we went to the mall specifically for the rock show, but I remember how excited I was about going.

While we were looking around at all of the rocks, fossils and petrified what-not, Grandaddy leaned over to me, and aske me in his thick Kentucky accent, "Would you like an airhead for your collection sweetheart?"

"An airhead?" I asked. "What's an airhead?"

"You know, an airhead!" Grandaddy said, as he pointed to one of these...



"Ahhhh! An arrowhead!" I finally understood what he meant. We all had a good laugh about Grandaddy's "airheads" and to this day it is one of my most favorite memories of him.

I will probably find a nice photo of the two of us to put in his casket, but I'm most excited about the airhead.

{wish}

I'm really into dandelions lately. And not the fresh from the ground, where's the weed killer, yellow ones. But the fluffy, white as snow, ready to blow away in the wind, ones.



There is something so whimsical, peaceful and spiritual about them. I know...they are technically weeds. But how can you not smile and take a deep, cleansing breath when you look at them? I know I do.







And of course don't forget to make a wish!

{picnic}

We snagged this adorable picnic table for the boys on clearance over the weekend. It doesn't quite match the decor, but neither do their other toys, so why start now, right? ;)

Landon's not so sure about it...



In fact he looks like he has something a little too strong in his sippy cup...



Let's look at the floor!



And leave it to us to catch a bad parenting moment on video. No worries...Landon was fine, but is now a bit scared of the table.



Even after we moved it up against the wall. Poor guy.

{lucky}

Just how did I get so darn lucky? I have, seriously, the best friends ever. And lately they have been sending me stuff for no other reason than just because they are so wonderful and thoughtful.

Last week Miss Erin of Rare and Beautiful Treasures (who lives only an hour away from me but I still haven't met in person...shame, shame) sent me a box full of the cutest, most drool-worthy scrapbooking goodies I have ever seen. Just because.

Paper with squirrels AND owls!

Shut.Up!

It is driving me crazy that I haven't had time to pull it out of my new scrapbooking cabinet and play with it! Thanks again Erin...you are so awesome. :)

And then my friend Allison, who I have met in person, even if it was just for an hour or so, sent me this lovely pillow from Etsy shop Joom.



I have had my eyes on these pillows for quite some time now, so when Allison offered me hers with no strings attached, well, I was floored and super excited. It is going to look so pretty perched on our bed. (no pun intended :) Thank you Allison!

I owe these girls BIG time.

{switcharoo}

Wow it has been a crazy week! Very hectic and some not so good stuff going on unfortunately. Ben came down with a stomach bug over the weekend so we've been dealing with that. And my Grandaddy is in the hospital with pneumonia. He is 89 and also has Alzheimer's, and we aren't sure if he is going to pull through or not. Prayers would be very much appreciated.

One productive thing that happened over the weekend was something I had planned in my head for a few weeks, and my lovely mother-in-law helped me make it happen. The big switcharoo involved my beloved IKEA Expedit bookcase, which I initially purchased to house all of my scrapbooking supplies. Here it is in all of its scrapbooking glory (in our old house *sigh*)



The second piece of furniture added to the foray is my IKEA Stranda wardrobe/armoire...



I've had this beauty for about 8 or so years, and until this weekend it has faithfully held my plethora of sweaters, t-shirts and jeans.

And the 3rd piece to this furniture love triangle is my hand-me-down 70's wooden dresser that I don't have a photo of...but you know the type. Sturdy, solid wood, but not so easy on the eyes. The drawers are lined with faux newspaper pages. Very old school.

So this is how it went down...

We moved all of my scrapbooking supplies from the Expedit into the Stranda. (I love using IKEA terminology). It seems to be made for this new job...everything fits and has a place, and my big 12x12 paper cutter hides away nicely on the very top. Now my beloved supplies are behind closed doors and away from L&B's little hands.



The Expedit is now laying on its side waiting for some cute baskets to fill with books and toys for the boys. I really like this new orientation.



And after some much needed editing of my wardrobe, my clothes are now tucked away in my 70's dresser, with the addition of a hanging sweater organizer for the overflow.

And did I mention we did ALL of this in the 2 hours the boys were napping? Yeah...we're hardcore. :)

And because I know you need some baby goodness, a cute pic I got of the boys last night. It is so fun to see them interacting!



Happy Tuesday!

{inspiration}

I've been inspired by so many images and home decor ideas lately. Here are a few of my favorites...

Holly over at Life in the Fun Lane turned this...




Into this!

Holy beautiful cabinet! I'm drooling over this one.




And Rachel created the cutest storage for her overflow of mail and paperwork by filling clear plastic wall file pockets with scrapbook paper. Genius! I'm going to have to steal this one since our kitchen counter looks like a breeding zone for paper.


I would love to have two of these IKEA cabinets in the dining room. They remind me of the built-ins we had in our old house, and the doors would keep the 4 little boy hands away from the more precious items.



I'm crazy about the ornate frame that Mrs. Limestone hung around her TV. So fancy!



This dining room is so sweet and quirky. Love the corner cabinet and the turquoise chandelier.



Hope everyone is having a sweet Tuesday! I think I'll make mine a bit sweeter by picking up a Strawberry Banana Vivanno from Starbucks on my lunch break. I'm so excited that they added my favorite flavor!

{lady killers}

I'm already aware of the fact that once my boys hit puberty the girls will be all over them. They are both such flirts! Landon in the "I'm a cool dude" kind of way, and Ben in the "I'm sweet and you know you like me" kind of way. Both equally intoxicating, at least for me.

Landon loves his sunglasses...



This look just cracks me up! So frat boy :)



So stinking adorable!



Baby blues and kissable lips...



I'm going to have trouble on my hands in about 15 or so years...probably sooner.

{my favorite things}

This pretty much sums up the simple things in life that make me happy...



You can get the print here!

{funk}

I'm in a funk. And by funk I don't mean I feel funky or smell funky.

I just feel blah, blech.

Frustrated because there is no time in my day to implement all of the fun design ideas around the house that are quickly filling up my brain. Ironing and hanging the new shower curtain has been the biggest design project I've been able to squeeze in lately. And I have SO many ideas of things I want to do right now.

I feel very stifled.

And the poor hubs. He just needs some time to himself. To go to the driving range, or even just sleep. He has major insomnia. Mix that with working a 3rd shift job and our two teething boys and you've got one exhausted man.

We are both pretty pooped these days. Thank goodness we have a strong marriage. We can be so frustrated with each other at times but we always come together with a united front and a shared support and unconditional love for each other.

Did I tell you all that I'm taking part in a bible study with some of my internet bff's? I'll talk more about it another day, but even after doing the first lesson I feel more in tune with myself and letting God control my thoughts. He is much better at thinking than I am these days anyway.

This is one of the bible verses we read for this past week's discussion and it really speaks to me about trusting God's plan for our lives...

Psalm 19: 7-9

The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
and easy on the eyes.
God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
down to the nth degree.

And yes, I just posted a picture of a shirt that says "what the funk" and a bible verse in the same post. I find that rather funny. :)

{like?}

What do you think of the new layout? I was getting bored with my basic blogger template, so with the help of some of my internet bff's (see list to your right), This Girl's Life has a fun new look!

Take the poll at your right to let me know what you think, and please leave me a comment if you see anything that needs to be changed or you think I should add!

{redecoration}

I've been a bad blogger lately. I guess I have just been feeling uninspired...or on the other hand I've had too many ideas floating around in my head to come up with a coherent post. Lots of things have been going on, but I'm going to force myself to stick to one topic today. My bathroom redecoration project. :)

I finally purchased the shower curtain I have been eyeing over the weekend at Target. It is white with a few sweet ruffles, and from the Simply Shabby Chic collection.

Here is the before (curtain from previous owners which was nice, but too busy for me)


And here is the after. Loooove it. The hubs is definitely compromising with me on this because it is rather girly.



The ruffles are my favorite thing.



I also purchased lovely green knobs and pulls for the cabinet. They look like these but with an oil rubbed bronze finish to go with the rest of the hardware in the bathroom.

I want to go with a soothing color palette in there, so I'm thinking of a neutral gray for the walls with other green accents like this soap/lotion pump, also from Target...



I'm not a fan of the medicine cabinet. It is one of those three mirror things that cuts you up into all sorts of weird angles and can make you look instantly thinner or double your usual size.

And it is way too modern for me. If I can figure out alternate storage in there, like a cute wall cabinet, I want to replace it with a simple white framed mirror. I also want to change out the light fixture shades for simple white ones.

And I'm going to try to spray paint the creepy vent cover an all over oil rubbed bronze color, because I'm having a hard time finding something similar. Any ideas?