so blessed...

to have so much to be thankful for today.

-another year younger

-a husband who got off work at 5 a.m. and came straight home to cook me some crepes.

did you hear that?

crepes.

- 3 beautiful, healthy children

- a phone that hasn't stopped buzzing today because I have so many friends/family sending birthday texts and posting on my fb wall.

so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

- passing my son in the hallway at school and getting the sweetest hug from him. Love getting to teach at his school.

- even though I'll be spending this entire day at work (teaching all day/ rehearsing tonight) at least I'm doing what I love!

- and most importantly, I'm blessed to have the love of my Saviour.

Love that I don't deserve.

Love that is unconditional.

My heart swells...

I am blessed.

So blessed.

And no,

didn't finish everything on my list,

however,

I'm going to keep working on it and even have plans to make another.

32 by 32?

maybe?

What are you thankful for today?

what I wore Wednesday and other randomness...

before I get to my regular post for today,

could I ask for a favor?

A friend of ours received some troubling news yesterday and
needs our prayers-

could you please lift Brenda up today?

thank you

top/jeans- The Limited

black wedges- Old Navy

prop- plastic bat that happened to be on the stove at the time

don't you keep your bats on the stove?

top- Target

jeans- French Connection

scraf- hospital sale

prop- Storm Trooper mask which happened to be on the stove...

really it's more of a kitchen desk-

just sayin

same top as above, just a closer pic.

did I mention it's from Target?

Because it is.

Super-cheap.

And my fave necklace from Lisa Leonard.

have you seen her new home decor products?

They're awesomeness and would totally make great birthday gifts...

and I really should have included a 'before' shot of what the old nasty pair  looked like that he was currently wearing, but O picked out some much needed brandspankingnew tennis on Monday-

and in case any of you wondered,

they are, in fact, super-fast which was confirmed after taking several test runs around the store.

Perhaps 8-10 laps?

Once he was satisfied with their abilities, he made his choice.

Smart boy.

The hubs brother also got something new this week and dropped by to show us immediately after-

he's got trix up his sleeve.

get it?

He also happens to have a chip on his shoulder in the form of a pringle.

he's a crafty one...

**added this after getting to work and realizing I never actually put on shoes that are appropriate for the weather today. I slipped these on after showering and never again thought to change them. It's raining here and was 59 degrees when we left the house, and these are on my feet-

ah well...

yep- my toes are still green for St. Patty's...

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday friends-

linked with Lindsey today

Chevron with techron please

So I know that I'm super-late to the chevron party, but I DIY'D my own chevron art last weekend and I'm a-lovin it. It even required, get this....MATH. I totally did math.

I'm a smarty.

I'd also like to let the internet know that when I asked the hubs to buy me a piece of mdf, he had no clue what I was asking for.

MDF.

I thought all males knew building supplies, especially the run-of-the-mill ones that are used all the time on HGTV.

MDF?

Seriously.

no clue.

Anyway, I digress...

Here is a pic of the finished product:

and here's what I used-

1 piece of mdf (about 7 bucks)

blue painter's tape (because it was cheaper than the green and came in smaller quantities and since I had all 3 kiddos with me at Homey D's, I grabbed the cheapest kind fast and quick. fast and quick because one lil girl kept trying to climb out of the ole' buggy)

painter's tape was about 2.50, so my entire project comes to about 9.50.

not too shabby

I scored primer for free from my parents (even though I found an entire can at my house after borrowing theirs) and I have a tip on how to get a small sample can of paint ab-so-LOOT-ly free.

get it?

loot? as in 'money'?

nevermind...

Here's how it all went down...

Put the kids down for a nap,

then run, don't walk, outside with your piece of mdf and begin rolling primer all over that bad boy.

I'd like to take a moment to thank the inventor of the following product:

little cute roller brush that came in my free sample of paint-

thank you from the bottom of my heart.

these are pure awesomeness.

moving on...

After slapping 2 coats of primer on, I realize it is, in fact, starting to rain. I grab my beloved mdf and high-tail it in the house where my new painting spot is now relocated to the kitchen counter next to what's left of the giant tub 'o cheese puffs from O's party.

After 2 coats of white paint (which we already had), I was ready for the math. I knew I'd need to measure and divide and whatnot so that my stripes would be even- the board was 49 inches across and 24 inches tall. I knew 7 would go into 49 7 times (see how smart I am?), and I also knew that I could either mark off every 4 inches top to bottom for some really steep chevrons (is that even a word?), OR mark off every 6 inches for less steep zig-zaggies.

I went for less steep zigs. To mark off my lines, I used thumb tacks and had originally planned to use this thin ribbon-

but quickly realized a much thicker ribbon would be best. After marking every 7 inches along the top and bottom with a small pencil mark, and every 6 inches up and down, I used the ribbon as a guide so I wouldn't have to draw lines all over my board. I placed one ribbon on the first 7 inch mark on top & bottom and secured with a tack, and the other ribbon I ran straight across the board coming down 6 inches on both sides. Also secured it with a tack.

Where the 2  ribbons intersected, I made a tiny hole with another tack.

See?

That's how I knew to tape off the first row of 'zigs'.

I worked my way down the board, marking every 6 inches with a tiny tack hole and placing my tape. One end on the pencil mark at the edge, the other end on the hole.

When it was time to mark off the 'zags', I did the same thing going up-

When my tape looked like this-

I took a knife and did this-

I wanted those zags all nice and neat, ya know?

I worked my way across the board measuring and taping, measuring and taping...

until I was ready for paint.

oh happy day

Here's where a fab freebie comes in:

I actually found this on another blog, but Valspar (you know, the paint co?) is currently giving away a free sample of ANY color of paint to the first 100 people who request it each day.

did you hear that, internet?

free paint.

So...I clicked THIS LINK, perused the colors, made my choice, and placed my order. Within 2 days, this was on my doorstep-

and this was inside-

a mini paint roller with 2, ummm, roller cover thingys,

2 mini paint trays,

several paint color samples,

a $5 off coupon for any gallon of Valspar,

and a lovely little jug of golden butter paint.

I grabbed a foam brush and started on those zig-zags-

and then, as if they knew I'd just finished, the kiddos woke up. Just as well- it was time for church anyway. After church, (which gave the paint time to dry) I came home and did this-

crisp, clean lines!

love!

Since I knew I'd be leaning this on the wall above my mantel, I grabbed a couple of pieces of white fleece from my stash and hot glued them down to the top corners-

Can't have any scratches on my lovely asparagus walls, ya know?

stack of books holds a wire jug thingy (thrift store find) full of speckled eggs from Michael's. White wooden finial thingy and craft 'M' are both from the hob lob.

white ceramic birdy is from TJMaxx a few years ago, flowers are from the hob lob, and glass vase was free to me from, hmmm....mom?

did that come from you?

And, just to compare-

this was my Valentine mantel-

and my Star Wars lego mantel for O's party last month-

And now...

it's SPRING, baby!

I'm totally loving how the entire room is brighter, which is also a result of my new drop cloth slipcover. Also loving that the mantel mirror is now in our bedroom leaned against the wall and will be a perfect spot for taking 'what I wore' pics. My fab red plate will be on hiatus in the man cave for a bit.

and yes, I see that orange boucy ball in the fake fireplace. Just couldn't be bothered to pick it up...

Next up- removal of those hideous brass log holder thingys because they're hideous, they have pointy tops which could hurt little babes, and they're hideous.

 

This post is linked to:

Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog,

I Made THIS at This and That,
Blog Hop at Santa's Gift Shoppe,
Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee,
Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings,
Show Me What You Got at Not Just a Housewife,
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm,
Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios,
Linkin with Lil' Luna,
Anything Goes Party at Type A Decorating,
Whatever Goes at Someday Crafts,
Best DIY Projects of March at Beneath My Heart,
Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge,
Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest,
Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous,
Fantabulous Friday at Mamma's Kinda Crafty,
Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating,
Friday Flair at Whipperberry,
Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now,

My Fair Lady nursery

hello Friends!

How was your weekend?

Nothing too spectacular went on here, however, I did finish a project that I can't wait to show you. Have to wait for daylight for better pics though...

Today, I thought I'd share with you our girls nursery.

I love their room, and I also figured if I don't start cleaning/photographing the rooms in my house soon, I'm never going to finish the 'house tour' tab under my header and it's driving.me.crazy.

I went with a My Fair Lady theme for our nursery because we named our first daughter Eliza- after Eliza Doolittle. I'd actually had that name picked out for my little girl since I was about 12 years old, so it's a darn-tootin good thing the hubs didn't hate it. (It was also around this time that I started loving anything and everything to do with Audrey) Framed movie poster is from ebay.

Here's an aerial view.

sort of

Those curtains are on my to-do list for this room since they don't go to the floor. They're made by Dwell Studio and that's just how they were made, but it drives.me.crazy. I bought an extra one, so I actually have plenty of fabric to lengthen them all. Just haven't done it yet. The window boxes were already in the house when we bought it- we just painted them white. The room was also a buttery yellow and we went with Tomorrow's Taupe by Behr. Really makes the trim and boxes 'pop'.

Here's what you see when you enter the room.

Changing table,

chair (from a second-hand furniture store for $25)

book rack (free from my church)

shelves (which the hubs put up a few weeks ago)

To find out how I made the wallflowers, go HERE.

The prints above the changing table are reproduced sketches by Cecil Beaton himself of costumes that Audrey wore in the movie, My Fair Lady. I scored all 4 sketches for 5 bucks on ebay.

oh how I love me some ebay.

I also love that the background color of the sketches happens to be the exact color of the paint on the walls.

Eliza has a big 'E' in white with her name in cursive over it in hot pink-

love those vinyl decals. Her crib bedding, as well as the cutains, chair pillow, and random accessories in the room are the Olivia pattern by Dwell Studio. I purchased every single bit of it on clearance at 4 different Target stores. In one day. Lots of driving around with my mum and sis and big huge belly, but oh so worth it.

I found the little teal vases at Michael's on clearance for 35 cents a piece (there's another on the dresser) and the pink car is from the hubs collection. I wanted something of his in the room, and this was the perfect fit. Lamp bases and shades are also from Target. The table is an original Drexel and was purchased at the thrift store. I think $25? The black wooden animals are from the $1 bins at Target.

Since this room was our guest room when we moved in, we kept the full bed and bought new linens (Shabby Chic bedding from Target). The door in the corner leads to a jack-and-jill bathroom connected to the master. I know- that's weird. We think the master was originally the bedroom located down the hall that's connected to the other bathroom. It's a much smaller room though, so we opted to put the master in one of the larger bedrooms.

The dresser is from Sealy Furniture (the same Sealy that sells second-hand furniture, which is where the $25 chair came from) and was purchased new. It's actually a media stand and the spaces for DVD player, Wii, etc. were perfect homes for some fabric bins I had in the Dwell Studio fabric. The black initials are from the hob lob and the frames were gifts.

The porcelain Eliza figurine is from ebay and the book is from Sams. Yep, same place we buy 5 gallon barrells of cheese puffs. I LOVED the cover and knew I wanted to find a spot for it in the room. Book stand is from Home Accents.

And here's baby #3 in crib #2! MM was hanging out with me while I snapped pics of the room. Th round mirror is from IKEA and was once centered over the dresser. When we found out about baby #3, we moved the dresser on down to make room for another crib and never relocated the mirror. On the to-do list...

MM's bedding is also Dwell Studio, but a different pattern. I wanted her to have her own thing, ya know? I found the dots bumper and crib skirt on clearance for 17 bucks and the sheet was 10.

The lovely canvas on the door was a gift from 2 of my voice students. (thank you Mary Helen and Ashton!) As you can see, it's sometimes used as a makeshift bow holder. That's also on my list of things to make...

And that's the nursery!

As you can see, I still have quite a bit I want to do in here, but for the most part the room is put together. Interesting story about the drum fixture- do you have time for a story? The hubs and 2 friends were actually hanging it in the room the night before I was scheduled to be induced. I sat and watched them working, and commented that B-H contractions were just the coolest because they didn't hurt but my tummy would be rock-hard one second, and then relax again. hahaha....

Fast-forward a few hours and E is in my arms.

Perhaps I'll blog our speed-to-the-hospital-and-barely-make-it-on-time story someday soon.

And for any of you out there that may be wondering-

our girls are 12 months apart.

E was born in May 2009,

MM was born in May 2010.

Don't you just love how God knows exactly what we need, and who  we need, and when we need them, even when we have no clue?

oh how I love my babes-

have a wonderful day!