Summertime Americana Mantle

I wanted to do an Americana theme for my summertime mantel this year, but I didn't really want to spend any money on it, so I "shopped the house" for things I already had. I didn't think I would find much, but I actually surprised myself.

This LIBERTY sign I painted back in my sign-painting days. I used to have an eBay store a couple years back. The star next to it is a Christmas tree topper.
White dishes I already had, picked up from Target and various thrift stores. The apples, books, and star garland were also things I already had.
In my head, I thought this plate said, 4th on it, so I thought it would be perfect (4th of July), but then when I got it out, I realized it said, No. 4. Oh well, close enough.
The big red barn star I've had for a few years. I bought it on a trip to Amish country with my mom to decorate my family room in Ohio. I really like how it looks over the big mirror.

In the end, I did actually end up spending a few bucks on the flags and other small star at Joann's, but they were on sale, so it was still pretty cheap. And here it is with the mountain of folded clothes I should be putting away instead of taking pictures. Just keepin' it real.

Just Waiting...

I haven't blogged forever! Seems like there hasn't been much blog-worthy going on. Just the usual stuff - kids going to school, hanging with Hannah, Bryan working, Andrew playing baseball, housework, church, Young Women, car problems, going outside when the rain stops. (We actually had two days of good weather last week for Spring Break, so we played outside, went for a walk, hit the playground, had a picnic - exciting stuff! Ooh! We went to a drive-in movie too!) We've been staying fairly busy, but mostly, I feel like I'm just waiting.

I'm 36 weeks now, so we have less than a month to go until our little gal makes her appearance. The crib is up, the new stroller is ready, the diapers are stocked, the baby clothes are washed and folded. Now all I need is a baby.I usually try to avoid preggo pictures of me, but I figured I better have SOME documentation that I was actually pregnant, so Andrew took these shots of me yesterday. Thanks, Buddy! I'm feeling pretty good, other than a couple of "down there" issues that would be too TMI to mention, but my energy is still up and I'm sleeping okay as long as I have a couple of pillows to help me out. Baby moves around a lot in the evenings, which is probably the funnest part of pregnancy for me. I talk to her a little bit and wonder what she will look like and what her personality will be. I keep thinking this might be my last pregnancy, but I guess we'll see.

Hannah talks about the baby a lot. She knows the crib and the baby clothes are for "Baby Claire," and says that "Baby Claire is going to sleep in my room!" She rubs my belly and tells me that she, "loves my big tummy," and "there is a baby in there!" She seems to get it, but I doubt she really understands the changes that will take place in our family. Logan was so sweet and affectionate to Hannah when she was born, but that's his nature. I hope Hannah is as accepting when this baby comes, and she is no longer the only princess in the house.

Speaking of Hannah, here's a little random Hannah-ness....
This morning, Hannah put my pink lip gloss on both of us. "There. Now we look pretty!"

It's been so fun to have some alone time with Hannah this school year! One of the reasons I LOVE the three-year kid spacing is because when one child goes off to Kindergarten and I am pregnant with another baby, I have a few precious months of one-on-one time to spend with the child in the middle before the new baby is born. I highly recommend it.

Other random things that are holding my interest while I wait...

Decorating Notebook -
I feel like there are so many blank walls and empty rooms in our house that need to be decorated. Of course, I can't afford to do it all at once, so I started a little home decorating notebook to keep my ideas in. I've been filling it with magazine clippings, paint and fabric swatches, and little sketches. I love that there is plenty of room in the notebook to keep adding to it. It's been so much fun! Almost as fun as (and certainly a lot cheaper than) actual decorating.

Garden Dreaming-Lilacs, hydrangeas, dahlias, magnolias, tomatoes, zucchini - I've got Spring Fever bad! All this rain is really starting to get to me and I just want to go outside and plant things in the dirt! Spring Hill Nursery and White Flower Farm have provided lots of eye candy for me these last few gloomy months. Especially these beauties - Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangeas! Gorgeous, right? I'm dreaming of a pergola covering our back porch flanked by hydrangeas and covered with climbing clematis to enjoy through the summer! I'd also love to try my hand at vegetable gardening here, though it might be tricky with as little sunshine as we get. So far, all I've planted are some Dahlia bulbs and a cabbage plant that Andrew received from school. It's a start.

iPad -When the iPad 2 came out a few weeks ago, we planned on getting one for Bryan for his Birthday. He ended up surprising me with one also as an early Mother's Day present. I didn't think I would need or want one at first, but I have to admit, it has been a pretty fun and useful toy! It's amazing how many apps there are out there for just about anything! I've really liked reading my scriptures, keeping my calendar, listening to music, reading ebooks, balancing my checkbook, searching for recipes, looking at catalogues and store ads, and surfing the Net on my iPad. Of course there are plenty of fun games to waste time too (Fruit Ninja!). It sure comes in handy with movies, games, and picture books when you need to entertain kids in a waiting room!

The Grocery IQ app is one of my favorites. It allows you to scan the bar codes of products in your home or at the store to build shopping lists. It also finds coupons for you! Way cool! I also like Home Routines, which helps you build housework routines and to-do lists. I love lists.

Okay, this post has gotten WAY longer than I intended it to be! I'd better go and get something done today.

Valentine Mantel

I love decorating for Valentine's Day! It's the one time per year you can get away with decorating ultra-girly - pink, hearts, glitter, and frills! It's also Hannah's birthday, so it's extra special for us!

I made this Valentine bunting this year with extra fabric from a table runner I've been working on for TWO YEARS! Yeah, it's still not done. I intended to add letters to the bunting to make it say, "BE MINE" but I didn't get around to that either. Maybe next year when I finish the table runner. Uh-huh.

For my Valentine Mantel, I left the white dishes and silver accessories from my Winter mantel and added a bit of red.

Glittery red hearts on the tree branches (Michaels)...

a little heart pillow tucked in the pinecones...

and the red English transferware dishes that I have been collecting for a few year. The pattern is Woods Seaforth. (eBay!)

More pillow hearts I made from leftover fabric. When I was sewing them, Hannah sat next to me and exlaimed, "You're making pillow hearts for me?!" I said, "Well, for Valentine's Day." Hannah replied, "YES! For my birthday!"

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Decking the (New) Halls

Half-Bathroom Decor

I am WAY behind on my blogging, but I wanted to quickly post these pics of our tiny half bath, mostly for my mom to see how my little shelf project turned out. I needed to decorate around the laundry chute door in the wall, so this is what I came up with.
The white shelves were from Jo-Ann's in a set of three (1', 2', & 3'). With a 50% off coupon, they were $25. I bought the little china plates at a thrift store for Thanksgiving (I think they were 25 cents each), so I already had them. The little glass vases were from the dollar store. Orchids were from the clearance shelf at Pier 1 for $3.00 total. I don't think they are too fakey looking (I'm pretty picky about my fake flowers). The pebble filler was also from Pier 1 for $3.50.I LOVE these little iron birds at Arhaus and wanted them both for my shelves, but didn't want to spend $24 each. After a lot of searching, I found my iron bird at Target for $7. It's a little bigger than the Arhaus birds, so I only needed one. I already had the books.Here's a little shot of the rest of the bathroom (I told you it was tiny). I am SO kicking myself for not taking a "before" picture this room when we moved in! Imagine if you can, CRAZY busy floral wallpaper on all the walls (with MAUVE vinyl blinds to match!), old linoleum on the floor, and a tiny little medicine cabinet. We tiled the floor, added bead board, painted, and replaced the mirror and light fixtures. We are really happy with how this turned out. Even though it is small, it looks bright and clean and reminds me of springtime - Just what I need right now!

Wintering

What have we been doing this winter? It seems like all of our time has been sucked away by projects around the house, preparing to put it on the market in March. The bathroom remodel alone has been going since March of last year (yes really, I had to look it up)! But thanks to my incredibly handy and hard-working husband, I am pleased to say it is almost done! I'm hoping to show a reveal in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!

Other things we've been doing this winter:

Baking. Ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls. Yeah, probably the best thing to do in the winter! I've made them a few times this month, and will probably make them a few more times before winter is over. Not good for the New Year's resolutions. Logan helped me make this batch for Andrew's birthday treat for his class.
I wish I had a picture of their baked and cream cheese frosting-drenched goodness, but here they are on the pan, freshly rolled and cut, before rising. If you want the recipe for the best cinnamon rolls EVER, you can find it here. The secret is vanilla pudding mix! I try to do a craft or art project with the kids once a week, usually on Wednesdays when I have my babysitting kiddos. I stumbled upon this cute "snow painting" idea somewhere on the Internet. You make "snow paint" by combining equal parts Elmer's glue and shaving cream. It stays foamy as you paint and then dries nice and puffy.

I drew a basic snowman shape on a piece of construction paper, and then let the kids fill it in.

I happened to have some white glitter, so the kids added a little of that to make their "snow" sparkle!

Finally, when it dried, we added a hat, eyes, and carrot nose cut from construction paper. This project was so easy and such a hit with the kids! Cute R said to me, "Summer, today we are having so much FUN, FUN, FUN!" R and Logan begged to do a second snowman! When three-year-old G finished his (pictured upper left), he turned to me and said, "My snowman melted." So cute!

My Winter mantel. I took down my Christmas decorations pretty quickly after Christmas; I was just ready to move on this year. It was nice to bring back the photos of the kiddos, and the pretty clock was a thoughtful gift from Bryan's uncle and aunt when Russ passed away in December. It contains a sweet saying which reminds us that, "In time, Christ will heal all wounds. In time, we will be together again." Thank you, Kelly and Becky.

I kept the pinecones and tree branches from Christmas, but added some glass icicles for a little sparkle.

I like my decor to be a little more sparse in January. It feels refreshing after all the heavy Christmas decorations.

I know it's still pretty early, but truth be told, I am just itching for Spring! I nabbed these Amaryllis kits in The Home Depot after-Christmas clearance aisle. (I think I need to find some cuter pots to transplant them into.) I love seeing them start to sprout, and they are satisfying my craving for something green and growing. For now...