{baby fever}

No, I don't have it.

Just to set the record straight from the start.

But on Tuesday I was surrounded by more babies and pregnant woman than I have ever been in my life. Our local hospital held its first ever baby fair and I was lucky enough to have a booth space to sell my knitted hats, hair clips, button blooms and {new!} headbands. Here are a few {grainy} shots of my booth. I had SO much fun decorating it!

I made the fun banner with scrapbook paper, hand-cut letters and yarn. Super simple. And I got A LOT of questions about my shop name. {giggle}Its simple people. I love squirrels! :)

My trusty aqua suitcases added a pop of color and height to my display. The digital picture frame was a great way to showcase my hats in action. And of course my spray-painted squirrel book-end was the perfect finishing touch {and a great prop for the frame!} See the headbands?! The ones that didn't go home with moms-to-be will be in the shop soon!

I loved this little vignette in the center of the table with the metal basket and frame to showcase one of my favorite fluffy pom pom caps. I used little wooden clothes pins to hang some hair pins on the basket. Some of my milk glass vases stood in as perfect little hat models.

And of course I couldn't forget all of the moms, so I did a special display for my button blooms. I had picked this chalkboard frame up recently at Big Lots and it was the perfect way to showcase them. I also tacked a few of them to the table cloth {my Dad's chenille crib blanket :) } with more of the mini clothes pins.

 I haven't done very many craft fairs, but this one was by far the best in terms of profit and exposure. I handed out tons of business cards {ran out after the first two hours!} and received so many sweet comments about my items. It was a lovely day and I think the ego boost will last me for months. :)

P.S. My shop will be in vacation mode for a little bit while I recover from the fair, plan and celebrate my boys' 3rd birthday {!!!} which is coming up VERY soon, and catch up on my Brave Girl's Club Soul Restoration Workshop. So stay tuned for new items!

{playing dress up}

I am celebrating this week. Actually, my legs and feet are celebrating. It finally warmed up enough her to break out my skirts and sandals, and that is just what I did yesterday and today for work.

In my last post I shared the cute dress I picked up at Target on Mother's Day. Well, I wore it yesterday and I love it even more now. It is my new favorite piece in my closet. Yesterday I paired it with a light blue cardigan for the office. I felt like Meg Ryan from You've Got Mail...my all time favorite movie.

Next time I wear it I might get brave and add a belt. Baby steps. :)

I love the detail on the neckline...

Extreme facial close-up coming your way in 3...2...1....

Dress: Target
Cardigan: JC Penney
Bracelet: Claire's
Earrings: Dillards
Sandals: Target

Today:

I have an extreme love/hate relationship with this sweater. I love the texture and style of it. I hate how it makes my mid-section look larger than it is. It adds a lot of bulk I guess. Or maybe the bulk is already there and I choose to blame the sweater. Either way here it is...

And apparently I need to work on my poses so I don't look like I'm missing a leg. Again...baby steps. :)

Sweater: Maurices
Black tank: Kmart
Skirt: Walmart
Sandals: Target
Bracelets: gift from my Mom
Necklace: Walmart

I won't be doing posts like this all the time, but I thought it would be fun to share my first two warmer weather outfits of the season. Maybe I will try to do a few from home as well, when I'm dressed more casually.

Happy Wednesday!

{so serious}

Deciding between chicken nuggets and peanut butter and jelly is enough to give you this face...

{I'll be back later today with a fashion post. Now that the weather is warmer I'm excited about getting dressed for work again!}

{happy day}

I had a lovely and extended Mother's Day celebration over the weekend that began on Friday. My Grandmother came to stay with my parents for the weekend, so I got to spend some time with her, as well as my Aunt and Uncle. We went out for lunch and spent some time playing with the boys in the yard. It was a gorgeous day.

My Grandmother with her two daughters...

Isn't she lovely?

You can tell she loves her great-grandchildren just a little bit.

And she's not too shabby at hoops either...

My Mom and I also exchanged our Mother's Day gifts on Friday. I didn't get a photo with her though...sad about that. Things just get so crazy around our house that we sometimes forget the most obvious things.

She gave me the cutest paper clips I think I have ever seen from Anthropologie and some other goodies...

On Saturday I got together with Mom #2 and my sister-in-law for a little girl time. They both got me adorable necklaces from Etsy that were on my wish list. Both with owls. For a girl that loves owls so much, I didn't have any owl jewelry, so this weekend definitely filled that hole in my collection. :)

We went to the mall and pampered ourselves a bit. I found this adorable necklace at Claire's of all places...

Yes...that's another owl. I couldn't resist...it is SO adorable!

Again, no picture of the three of us together for Mother's Day. I am so.lame.

But...I did get some great photos yesterday with the two reasons I get to celebrate being a mother. The most important photos of all...

If it is possible for two little people to completely steal your heart, these two have done it.

And thanks to my wonderful husband for making it a great day for me. He gave me a coupon for a day home alone to scrapbook, and some chocolates, which is about the best gift ever. While the boys were napping I was able to take a solo trip to Starbucks to sip on an iced latte and read magazines, and we took a family trip to Target in the evening, where I picked up this SUPER cute dress...

It is so comfortable and flattering.

I feel very spoiled after my Mother's Day weekend. After a few really stressful weeks around our house it was just what I needed. Thanks to everyone in my life that makes me feel so loved and cared for. I am very blessed.

{on being a mother...}

My son spelled the word "Pizza" yesterday. Spelled it. Out of nowhere.*

My other son can spell his name. B....E.....N!

They will be three in less than a month. And they can spell. {insert jaw drop here}

They both say "Ummm....no thank you!" whenever we ask them if they want something to eat. They say that a lot these days to almost any food. {excluded are of course fruit snacks and goldfish crackers}

I am in awe of the people they are becoming.

When they see me cry, they ask me if I'm sad and give me a hug. And yes, they have seen me cry. They did today as a matter of fact. It wasn't pretty.

Motherhood is hard, y'all. Life is hard. Being an adult, working full time, owning a home, being a wife, being a sister, being a friend. It is all hard. The motherhood thing just compounds it by like 1,000,000. Every decision made takes on a whole new meaning.

But the rewards...

The words spelled. The hugs given. The fruit snacks devoured.

They cancel out so many of those tears. And they make me want to be a better person. I thought I had it all together before those boys entered my life. Turns out I have a lot to learn about patience, about love, about myself. I'm working on it...just like we all are. We're in this together.

Hope all of my mommy friends have a wonderful Mother's Day this weekend!

*Just in case you think I'm fibbing... :)

{wishes}

Source: etsy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

I love dandelions.

I love them when they are bright yellow.

 And I love them when they are bleached white and ready to blow away in the breeze.

And I love taking one of them and scattering all of its seeds into the air with one single force of my breath.

This past weekend I mowed our lawn for the first time ever. Actually, I used a lawn mower for the first time ever. It was such a freeing and liberating experience, to do something that I had never tried. And was admittedly scared to do.

The only sad thing is that I mowed over quite a few dandelions. Hopefully they understand.

I'm working on turning lots of weeds that have popped up over the past week or so into wishes. Wishes for good health, a dry floor in our lower level {darn rain!} and the ability to let go and find peace of mind.

What are you wishing for today?

{fill it up}

I think I might actually file our paperwork at home if I had this lovely piece...

Just maybe.

Or I could fill it with craft supplies.

Yep.

That sounds like more fun.

{and for anyone reading this that wants to celebrate the fact that I'm a mother....you could also fill it with chocolate and jewelry. Just sayin.}

{candy coma}

Happy Monday Friends! {I'm saying this with a tinge of sarcasm, but really, I'm trying to enjoy the day}

Just a little Easter recap today...the boys got to spend time with my parents and also my mother-in-law and the hubby's family, so needless to say they received, and ingested, A LOT of candy. I think more than they've eaten in their three years on this earth put together. Landon put down almost an entire large chocolate bunny sucker in one sitting. Yikes.

But kids can get away with that, so what the heck. :)

Here are a few pics from the weekend...

The boys in my parents' back yard...

With their papa...

 

Going through all of the loot in their Easter baskets...

 

 

Let the sugar ingestion commence!

Reading them a book on the porch swing...one of my favorite spots growing up...

 

And Easter morning they did a little egg hunt in our house {tooooo wet here to do one outside. Boo.} 

 

I put letter stickers on their eggs {B &L} so they would get an equal amount. They were really good about giving each other the eggs that weren't theirs. And I filled the larger ones with pretzels and teddy grahams. Those were actually a huge hit!

 

Ben dug in right away...

 

And a little tip for the parents...one pretzel + a Reese's pieces mini egg = heaven.in.your.mouth. :)

I forgot to take pictures at my mother-in-law's house, but there were plenty more candy filled eggs, lots of good food, and some Wii bowling to work off all of those extra calories. 

Hope you all had an equally great weekend!

{welcome home}

One space that I've really been itching to redecorate is our entryway. When we moved in I did a quick arrangement of some of my cottage and shabby chic items and it turned out pretty cute...

But that just isn't our style anymore. In fact, that cute green table has gone on to a new owner.

I've never been fond of yellow as a wall color, and our entire downstairs is yellow. Thank goodness the entryway is at least a soft shade of the offending color.

The tiny half bath is another story... {you might want to put on your sunglasses for this one}

Yeah...now that is yellow. But that is another project, another blog post.

I've been pinning entryway photos for inspiration and have found that I love spaces with a bench instead of a table. The only thing we use our current table for {a hand-me-down/space-filler from my parents} is to put our mail, keys and a lamp, which we hardly ever turn on. So I'm thinking a great shelf and maybe a few hooks would solve the surface issue. Here are a few images that are really inspiring me...

Love this color combination...

Source: sfgirlbybay.com via Mandy on Pinterest

This light fixture is pretty awesome...

Source: None via Mandy on Pinterest

These shelves are great looking and very practical... {IKEA perhaps?}

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Drooling over this wall color, and the art...

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Love the fun statement this Etsy piece makes...

Source: etsy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Such a calming place to come home to...

Source: remodelista.com via Mandy on Pinterest

And I blogged about this before, but I think this coat/key rack is so genius and would maybe keep me from losing my keys...

Source: karapaslaydesigns.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

So my main idea is gray walls + bench + shelves of some sort + fun art = entryway perfection.

My parents even offered to help us paint...I think I might have to take them up on that soon. :)