Around the House

While browsing around Pinterest this morning, I came across a few images from my house and decided I should collectively put together a post of our home.  It's a fun place for us to live.  

We own a small cape cod that had little to no character when we purchased it.  It was your basic builder grade home that was just fine and dandy, but we prefer a little more charm(and you will soon learn, color) in our environment. 

Our very first project was the kitchen.  We pretty much completely overhauled the kitchen the day we stepped foot into our house.  I'm already itching to re-do my kitchen, but for now, this is what we are living with.  We painted the maple cabinets a creamy white, the walls a buttery yellow, new stainless appliances, sink, faucet, counter tops, and wainscotting on the walls.  See our wallpaper backsplash tutorial here.

The next project we did was the installation of wallpaper in our guest bathroom.  I hired a professional for this job since it would be a fairly costly mistake if I tried it myself and it didn't turn out well.

wallpaper by Thibault

Next was our guest bedroom that is one of my all time favorite rooms.  It's super bright and cheerful.

Our living room has seen a few makeovers, and is currently soothing shades of aqua and lime.

Since I work from home making jewelry, my husband and I put together this studio on a shoestring budget using clearance cabinets from Lowe's.  Love my little space!

Most recently, we shared our master bedroom makeover.

And of course, Mason's nursery!

Our house is ever-evolving and I'm sure will see many more changes by the time we move on from here.  What can I say?  I enjoy the projects and putting my personal touch on my space.

Mason at 2 Months

I cannot believe our baby boy is growing so fast!  In just 2 short months, Mason has changed so much.  He is developing his own little personality, as well as learning new things every day.  

Right now he is smiling, laughing and cooing!  He has been very colicky since about 2 weeks of age, so when we see the smiles and hear the giggles it melts our hearts.  My favorite thing to do right now is to kiss his chubby little cheek as he turns to me to give a big, wet, open-mouthed kiss right back.  Pure love.

He loves laying on his play gym and swatting at toys.  I have many a video of this little man flailing all limbs in excitement.  As far as the colic goes, we've learned that he absolutely loves dancing with dad to music, and being swayed to sleep in front of the range exhaust fan.  Go figure.  Hey, whatever works, right?

Bath time is our favorite.  He is still in his whale bath tub, not fully submerged, but boy does he love to lay there in the warm water and has even started kicking his feet to feel the splashes.

It's so fun to compare this month with last month.

He has filled out so much.  Mason is also starting to hold his head up on his own most of the time.  He still has moments of spastic head bobbing, but for the most part he is getting very good at it.

Life with a newborn is amazing, hard, beautiful, challenging, rewarding, exhausting, and the best time of my life.  I wouldn't trade any of it for anything in the world.  I love this boy more than I ever thought possible.

A Closer Look into the Nursery - And a Source List

Mason has been home for 1 month now and we have mainly used his nursery as a changing station.  We have spent a little time in his rocker trying to sooth a fussy baby, but I'm not quite ready to leave him in there to nap or sleep through the night.  I know one day he'll get plenty of use out of this room, but for now I want him as close to me as possible.

That being said, I thought I'd share a few photos my friend Elizabeth took along with a few of the item sources.

Custom mobile by Lovely Friend on Etsy.

Book ends from Home Goods.

Jellycat puppy dog plushie.

Custom rocker from Posh Tots.

Anchor pillow, chevron blanket, and decorative basket from Marshall's.

Rug from Land of Nod.

Whale plush rattle from Janie and Jack.

Nursery art by Sunshine Ink Studio.

Pom pom garland by Stitch Bake Make on Etsy.

White Moroccan mirror from Home Goods.

Handmade custom pillow was a shower gift..

Wood letters from Hobby Lobby, and hand painted by me.

Boat blanket from One Kings Lane.

Various pillows are handmade and from Overstock.com.

Larkin crib from Pottery Barn Kids.

I've also been asked several times what the color of the nursery is.  

Sweet Rhapsody by Behr from The Home Depot.

So there you have it.  A full source list on the goodies in our nursery.

A special thanks to my friend Elizabeth for taking these fun photos!

Mason - 1 month

Mason is now 1 month old.  Where has the time gone?!  I can hardly believe how much he has grown in 1 month.  He was born weighing in at 6lbs, 7.5oz.  I can hardly wait to see how much he weighs tomorrow at our 1 month doctor's appointment!  I know he has turned into a little chunk!  Not to mention, the additional changes I see in his appearance, and his personality on almost a daily basis.  I look back at newborn pictures and feel like that was forever ago, and just yesterday all at the same time.

A few pictures from this past week...

Nap time

Bath time

Play time

Snuggle time ;)

A Boy Mom - Mason at 2 weeks

Mason is now two weeks old and I am learning just how amazing being a "boy mom" is.  I grew up with half brothers and step brothers, so I am familiar with the ways of a boy, but never quite knew what it would be like to have a boy of my own.

Every girl looks forward having a little princess to dress up and play tea parties with, but let me just say being a boy mom is so special in it's own way.  At only two weeks, I can already tell this little guy has a personality all his own, and it's every bit of sweetness I could have asked for.  He loves to snuggle and his favorite spot right now is nuzzled right under my chin while being curled up on my chest.

Mason has already captured the hearts of so many around us.  He's quite the little charmer!  

I know down the road, being a boy mom will mean dealing with cuts and scrapes, dirty clothes and sticky hands, potty words and a silly sense of humor, maybe even a fight or two, but I wouldn't trade any of that for the love a boy has for his mom.  When I was pregnant, I heard so many stories from others about how boys are the best and they love their moms with all their hearts.  My cousin, who has a 3 year old son, even said to me "Get ready to meet your best friend".   

My goal for my son is not to be the best athlete, or the smartest in his class(though I would be happy if he is either of those), but it's to raise a kindhearted, well rounded, loving and respectful man.  A man who will one day take care of his wife the way his father does me.  One who respects his elders as well as his peers, and one who is capable of loving wholeheartedly.

I know that it is our job as parents to instill these values into our son, and I look forward to the chance of doing so.  Again, we are so blessed and are so in love with our little guy!

Introducing Baby Mason

Well, things have been awfully quiet around this blog lately.  Mostly because I had been spending my last few months/weeks readying our lives for baby.  I am so happy to announce that our beautiful baby boy has arrived!!

All throughout my pregnancy, I was completely convinced that Mason would come early because I had heard so many stories about first time mamas going early, but little man decided he was awfully comfortable in my belly and made us wait til the very end!  His official due date was May 20th, and we welcomed baby boy into our lives on May 22nd.  

I cannot get over the cuteness every time I look into this little man's blue eyes.  He has captured our hearts and I couldn't be more proud to be mama to such a sweet thing.

These photos were taken in the hospital the day after he was born.

Itsy bitsy feet!!

Back at home in dad's arms.  Melts my heart!

The first few days/weeks of parenthood are an adjustment, but we are so incredibly blessed to have a healthy, happy baby boy.  He truly is a gift from God.

Nautical Nursery Reveal

Finally, nearing the end of my pregnancy and we officially have a finished nursery.  Of course, there are a few minor details that I will add over time, but for the most part we have a room for our baby boy to come home to.  This while process has been a labor of love(no pun intended) and I have had so much fun putting together a boy's space.  

My goal was to create a room that was suitable for a baby boy, but that could also grow with him for years to come.  I didn't want your traditional baby boy's room with sports, airplanes, and cars, so we went a little more nautical in a fun contemporary color combination.  

Get ready for picture overload!  For such a small room, there are a lot of fun details.

My mom and step-dad were so kind to gift us this stunning Pottery Barn crib that converts to a toddler bed, and eventually into a full size bed.  We just love it!

A couple of weeks ago we shared a tutorial of how to create this window seat bench.  Now that it's all finished with a cushion and pillows, it's the perfect place to snuggle up to a book!  The hidden storage is a huge plus for such a small room as well.

This dresser is one of my all-time favorite pieces.  It's a vintage dresser now with a new life.  9 drawers of storage is another big plus to this piece!

I even went as far as to line the drawers with this coordinating Macbeth drawer liner found at Home Goods.  It's the little details like this that make me happy!

My friend Elizabeth(of Sunshine Ink Digitals) and I designed the artwork for the nursery.  I love the fun chevron prints, and the sophistication of the coral prints.  You must check with Elizabeth for your party and decorating needs.  She can do just about anything and everything turns out so cute!

I did a lot of little projects around the nursery.  One being these painted chevron initials.  I saw something similar in a local boutique and decided I could make my own budget friendly version.  These came out to about $5 a piece vs. the $40 store version.

Speaking of projects, I also sewed and appliqued this cute whale pillow!  

This old cabinet got a stenciled makeover, and the inside got an overhaul as well for added toy storage.

Dollar Tree storage buckets and chalk labels found on Etsy are again the details that make me happy!  This little cabinet has a whole new life from it's previous junk storage.  

So there you have it!  Our baby boy's nautical nursery.  Now the count down is on to when we get to bring him home and really enjoy this space.

I will leave you with one last photo.  Two of my aunts and my cousin threw my baby shower this past weekend and it couldn't have been more beautiful.  It was a wonderful event with family and friends and I hope to share more pictures soon.  For now, the cutest cake, ever!

And now you know baby has a name :)  We are so excited to meet our little Mason!!