The first time mama reasoned that she loved being pregnant and she knew she’d love being a mom but she wasn’t looking forward to the whole delivery portion of having a baby. That’s how she and her husband decided that they would wait to find out their baby’s sex as a sort of present at the end of the labor.

Nora is so precious. And I don’t have any photos of her! GASP. I wanted to make her a birthday present and had found this pin around the same time. I rushed to JoAnn’s and ended up finding some really cute pink fleece remnants that were about a yard and a half in size.

I ended up using only about half of the fabric after I consulted my two crafty girlfriends I was with while I made it. Since Nora is quite small, we don’t want her to get lost in a giant blanket now, do we?

The tutorial on Polly’s site was really helpful but for whatever reason, it took me about a dozen attempts to get the thing started. So, I made a little video:

All you have to do when you get to your last one is knot it off. It will be the only knot in your entire blanket and it blends right in.

It’s that easy! Once I was done, we wrapped it up, added a cute hanging toy to the outside of the bag and gifted away!

Have you used this method before? I love it so much better than just knotting (which I have done before). I’d love to see what projects you’ve finished by braiding!

Did you go read those posts? I’ll wait……….

So, gathering that you all read all 6 of those posts, you’ll know I left out a lot of details. Such as, don’t you have to put trim up around the beadboard? Don’t you then have to fill the holes? Then you should probably paint that trim? Once all the painting is done can’t you then hang things on the walls? Yes, yes, yes and yes. With all that trim to do, we needed to address the rotting windows first.

Ick. After a bit of prying and hitting, the old window got the heave ho. We purchased the windows at a bargain outlet and they were a bit smaller than the old ones so Jer had to reframe the holes for the new windows. That is, after he broke out the power tools to level out the old frame.

Working into the wee hours of the night as to not give burglars an open window to crawl through, we finished off the window the following morning with Great Stuff. Which is just as it claims, great.

Woohoo! One down, one to go!

For some projects, it really is best for me to just be a photographer. Oh, take a mental note of the bathroom from this side – I think it will help you put together how our bathroom is put together in a minute.

You can also see in the above picture that sometime between working on the first and second window (also a true story) we installed all of the trim on the toilet half of the bathroom (the right half in the photo above). Sometime in the next 15 months we finally installed the rest of the moulding on the shower half (as well as in the hallway and the living room but we’re not talking about those today).  Then I had to paint it.

Before that happened, though, we decided the shower needed some shelves. One for Jer and one for me. First we decided where we wanted them using our largest bottle of shampoo to determine how far apart they should be.

Then Jerry drilled right into the tile. It didn’t make me nearly as nervous this time as it did the first time (see Chapter 6).

And soon enough, it was done!

Holy cow it took a lot longer to get to this part than I had imagined. FINALLY, I filled holes, sanded and then painted the trim. Today the bathroom is done with one minor task left to do.

Drumroll, please!

Both of these doors lead to the same bathroom. The one on the left is the toilet half, the one on the right (which is always closed and locked) leads to the shower side. We’ve had a lot of guest try to go to the bathroom through the right door while someone was in the left. It was an easy decision to keep it locked for us.

I promise you there is no yellow trim or yellow walls in our home. This was the best photo showing the clean, crisp white in the water closet.

Can you spot our one thing that still needs to be done? It drives me crazy. The bath mats, towel and toilet paper holder are all from Target (all Thomas O’Brien, I believe). The glass vase holding the toilet paper was $10 from TJ Maxx. The trash can was from Bed Bath & Beyond as was the window film (both windows look out onto our back patio – awkward). The towel hooks are from Anthropologie. Pretty much everything else you see is from Lowe’s. It’s our second home.

No joke, I bought those hooks before I knew Jerry and I were buying a house together. That’s commitment. Hahah.

This magazine rack is from Crate and Barrel. I pretty much fell in love with and bought it before I knew we even wanted/needed one. Tree provided the Reader’s Digest subscription and whether you need to know or not, Jer is the reader, I am not. Ew…hahaha!

There is a wall separating the two sides of the bathroom with an arch pass through. I kind of love the separation. Towels and bath mat, again from Target. The shower curtain was from Kohl’s and everything else is from Lowe’s.

This is the shower side of the bathroom – the right side. That little cabinet is an old record cabinet I scored at Goodwill a few weeks ago. You need to see how it started. It cleaned up so nice.

It’s not so cherry in real life. And it’s incredibly deep. It goes back about 6 inches behind the folded up towels.

I have a serious crush on the trim. It’s seriously challenging my crush on the subway tile in the shower.

This gives you an idea of what the bathroom looks like from the shower. Basically, I’m just trying to confuse you now.

I hope you enjoyed the bathroom tour! If and/or when we fix the little peeping pipe problem, I’ll fill you in. We just can’t decide on the best way to conceal it with still being able to access it when needed. Hey, got any ideas? I’d love to hear them!

Wow, the month is half over. I’ve completely lost hope in finishing 50K words for my February goal but I’m working hard on the other three so I don’t feel like a total failure. It turns out the writing every day thing isn’t my problem, it’s sticking to the same story every day. I’ve started 3 more book ideas while trying to stay on track with one for the month. Ugh!

Besides that, I am finding myself smiling at some simple things this week. Here’s the rundown if you can’t watch the video:

1. EOS Tangerine Lip Balm – I love the feel and the taste…which could be bad. I’m going through it pretty quick!

2. Old Navy Velvet Flats in Maroon and Navy – Remind me of the 3rd grade! I don’t know why exactly the 3rd grade…probably b/c that’s the last year I was girly for a long time.

3. Mr. Turtle White Ceramic Planter – I LOVE HIM! He smiles at you! I need to decide what to use him for…I feel like he should hold candy or treats of some kind.

4. 11×20 Canvas Print – A group shot of everyone who was at our wedding (except Jerry’s aunt, cousin and his cousin’s two sons!) by Katie Leigh Photography. It makes me smile every time I go down the hall.

Sorry for the messy house (and self) and the shuffling of my slippered feet, peeps, but that’s how I’m rolling today. Be sure to see what Bex is loving this week! Peace out!

Words can not express how grateful I am for everything that happened in my life that lead me to have this guy as a next door neighbor over 9 years ago.

I can not explain to people the complete joy that he brings to my life on a daily basis.

He is my best friend and a smile comes to my face every time I get to call him my husband or look into those studly blue eyes.

I can tell you how embarrassed he’ll be that I wrote all of this down and published it for all of your wandering eyes to read but I feel that when you find a person as wonderful as mine, everyone should be able to know about it. You should be able to give hope to the next person that their person is out there, too.

I can not use all of my fingers and all of my toes and give you a number for how many times I have heard from a friend or family member that they cannot wait to find their Jerry. I wish them all of the luck in the world…

…but I only smile b/c I know mine is one of a kind.

To my Jer I say I am so proud to be your wife and to have the opportunity to live this life by your side. You are so giving. You make me a better person and bring happiness to those around you. You are silly and humble and a true master behind a grill. I can not wait to see what adventures we have ahead of us. I love you. Happy birthday.

Happy Thursday, folks! I am way behind on my novel writing goal for the month so I’m trying to keep this short and sweet (even though the video ended up being longer than usual – whoops)! Here’s what I’m loving this week:

1. New cheap sunglasses – This looks almost like the exact pair I bought. Maybe Forever21 donates to my Goodwill? The nearest one is like 20 miles away, though. Interesting…why didn’t I check the tag before I tossed it?!

2. MyFitnessPal – The App is awesome. I love it for keeping myself accountable for what I’m consuming throughout the day (and I love having somewhere to track my water intake).

3. RunKeeper – I’m starting to think I talked about this before. I just love it. The graphs, the map of your route, knowing your average mph…love it.

4. Interval Timer – So helpful! I use it for Couch to 5K but we used to use it when we BodyRocked. We should seriously start doing that again. Hm…I wonder if I could convince the Jer to be my work out buddy again.

That’s it! Be sure to swing by and see what Bex is loving this week! I know I will!

I recently made a Valentine’s Day wreath for the Jer’s mama, aka Tree. She birthed my favorite person on the planet the day after Valentine’s Day and always gave his birthday a touch of the holiday with a heart shaped brownie cake. I decided this year I wanted to gift her with a heart shaped something for the big day. Enter, my yarn collection.

I used a styrofoam heart form, yarn, ribbon hot glue and a blunt end needle (typically used for knitting). I picked grey and red b/c Tree is a huge Ohio State fan.

You begin rather simply by wrapping the end of the yarn underneath itself.

Then you wrap and wrap and wrap. I found the easiest way was to wrap a whole bunch of times not worrying about where the yarn lays, like this:

Once you’ve wrapped it around several times, twist it as you pull it closer to the tightly wrapped portion and it will even out.

Keep going until you get to the point. This part can be a little tricky to maneuver around. I basically wrap it as many times as I can over both the left and right side of the heart and then move on. You’ll come back to this later with my favorite tool – the hot glue gun. Oh yeah.

Once you get the entire heart wrapped, take the blunt tip needle and feed the end of your yarn back and forth through what you’ve already wrapped. Then take your hot glue gun and put a big ol’ mound of glue on the end to keep it extra tight…like a tiger.

Once you get that part finished, you’re going to need to address the points. Add some hot glue along the edge of the point and push the yarn into it. After holding it for about a second, it should stick. It’s that simple. I found using my nails to push the yarn pieces in kept me from burning myself on the glue. Real professional over here.

Since the glue dries clear, you can smear it all you want onto the yarn. I try to keep mine to a minimum, though.

When you decide how you want your ribbon placed, wrap it around and then glue it at the top. I extend one end to make a loop for the wreath to hang from before smothering it with hot glue.

It’s not the prettiest thing but remember, this is the backside of your wreath which, much like it’s designer, there’s not much to see there. So hang it and forget about that hot mess o’ glue you just rubbed on. I really need to work on the wording of my sentences…

The entire thing took about an episode of Felicity to finish. Not too shabby.

I made an ivory one for me, too:

What? I had a lot of episodes to catch up on…happy crafting.

Thanks to Andrea over at Love is… for the honors! She has a lovely blog and a great Pinterest page, too!

In case you’re curious, liebster is German for dearest, beloved or favorite. This award is bestowed on blogs with less than 200 followers that deserve more attention. While I can’t agree that my giant head needs more attention, the award was a very sweet and pleasant surprise.

With all great things comes great responsibility. Here’s what’s on the agenda once you win such a prestigious award:

• Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog
• Link back to the blogger who awarded you
• Give your top 5 picks for the award
• Inform your top 5 by leaving a comment on their blog
• Post the award on your blog

Are you ready for my nominations? I can tell you’re on the edge of your seat but here’s the thing…there are only 3 blogs that I follow with under 200 followers and one is Andrea’s. Hmph. The following two ladies would have been on my list of five if I had the option to choose from hundreds so without further ado, I nominate:

• Jenny Lynne at The Imagination of Jenny Lynne
• Krista at KJ and Co.

They have wonderful little blogs that deserve all the attention they have coming to them so be sure to check them out!

Thanks, again, Andrea!

That’s right, folks! I’ve officially gone nuts! If I can accomplish any of these (well, other than finishing the halls and stairwell) I’ll consider myself done for the year. Just kidding. But…let’s look at these goals. Any one would be a serious accomplishment since I’ve been meaning to do them for years and years and years but to try to do them all in one short month? The shortest of months? I think I’ve fallen off my rocker.

1 & 2 Organize/Back-up Photos & Music – I have sooo many photos and a huge CD collection that I’m itching to depart with so I really would like to organize all of my photos (finally getting rid of the blurry ones that no one cares to see and the like) and upload all of my CDs to my iTunes and then back everything up on my hard drive. I have the space. I have the will. It must get done.

3. Finish the Halls & Stairwell – These small simple connections to the hubs of our humble home need to be completed. As in yesterday. Why are such small spaces not finished? They are so easily overlooked as we rush to other projects in other rooms. Of course the moulding is up (mostly) and we have a banister in the stairwell (much to the satisfaction of our house guests) but that’s pretty much it. Oh, the walls are painted in all but the upstairs landing which I’m calling a “hall” for this goal. And I would seriously LOVE to hang some art on the wall. Or photos. Or both. Who knows? I am going crazy this month.

4. Write a book – So…I’m a writer. This should be done already. But it isn’t. I have ADD when it comes to writing. I’ll think of great scenes or conversations that should be had but then I’ll never piece them together in a cohesive manner and then I read and over read them again and again until I’m so tired with the story that I put it in a folder to be picked at later. Only, it never gets picked at. It sits on the proverbial shelf and collects proverbial dust. This. Has. Got. To. Stop. I picked up the book No Plot, No Problem! and am keeping my fingers crossed that I can keep up with the word count. I already dislike my story but it’s more about getting it done so you can fix it once the month is over. Sadly, I’m lacking in motivation and need this little bit of pressure and everyone to know about it to hold me accountable for it. Today? I haven’t written a word for it yet. (Here I’m up to 480). I have a problem.

On that note, I need to hole myself into my office and get cracking on number 4. Since it’s likely to be a daily thing (I can’t really picture myself ever getting ahead of the game, here), I think I’m doomed to have a quiet blog for February. Who knows, though, maybe the freedom to write whatever I want here will help me with my book troubles there.

Oh, I was going to add lose x amount of lbs this month, too, but then I decided for every 100 words I write for my book I get 1 M&M. Of course that’s not going to break the bank but yesterday I got to catch up from day 1 & 2 and had 34 M&Ms…they were delightful. I don’t even like M&Ms that much it was more of a victory snack. And it was awesome. Pray for me!

Let’s refresh your memory:

1. Finish The Hunger Games Trilogy – That was done so fast I forgot it was a goal. I could not put those books down and neither could Jerry (probably b/c I was over his shoulder asking him what part he was at about 20 times a minute). I am SO excited for the movie to come out! I’m pretty sure it’s going to be my first midnight viewing of anything ever. (Guess what’s gonna be on my March goal list?)

2. Learn to Knit – Donezo! I’m still working on a post about what sites I’m using and finding most helpful. I have only made 4 bookmarks, though, so I’m no expert yet but I do find myself itching to pull out those needles. And this just got weird.

3. Finish the Downstairs Bathroom – UGH! The bane of my existence! We were thisclose to completely 100% being finished in the bathroom and I may just post about it anyway b/c we really are that close. We’re working on a last minute switch up to help conceal some pipes and the original plan (that was my idea) is really not working. Other than that it is D-O-N-E.

4. Send out Wedding Thank Yous – I am sooooooooo glad that this is off of my to-do list! Wahoo! I mean, I love and am thankful for everyone who got a letter but I really feel like thank yous should be implied these days. Kinda old fashioned to figure out how to word and reword letter after letter after letter after letter after letter after letter after…I think you get my point. I am glad I did them. I feel like I’m in some awesome club now that knows how awful it is to have to do. :p

So that was January! I’m pretty sure I’ll be completely done with the bathroom this week so I’m more than happy with the productivity. Have you finished any goals are kept up with your resolutions? Let me know!

Hello, friends! It’s Thursday again! One thing I forgot to mention is that I am so pumped that the first month is over and I have a lot to share about my goals from last month and my new ones for February so look out for those – I hope to get them up tonight! I actually mentioned one of the goals for February in the video since I thought I’d post that first but…life is what happens when you’re busy making plans. Right!?

Anywhooo, here’s what I’m loving this week:

1. Old Navy Printed Blanket Wrap Cardigan – Says it in the name! As comfy as a blanket. It is almost $40 online so go to your local store and pick one up for $15!

2. Target Christy Fringe Moccasin Slippers – Chestnut – Again, better deal in store! I scored mine for around $6 and they want $10 online. Not a big difference but worth the trip to the store if you have a Target near you. I just read the reviews online and they are horrible…but I still love mine. I’ve had them for about a week and there is no sign of them falling apart though I only wear them inside – where slipper should be worn.

3. Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice – I just love it. ‘Nuf said.

Have a fantastic week everyone! Check out Bex’s site to see what she’s loving this week!