2 houses and a chair

Since we are moving to North Carolina we put our house on the market to sell about 2 weeks ago.

This has been such a great home for us over the past 3 years and it was really a hard thing to do. We knew this would never be our "forever" house as it only has one full bath, but we never thought we would be selling it so soon.

We had our house professionally photographed and I love how all the pictures turned out.

Our house has been on the market for 2 weeks now, and we've had 10 showings so far. We are just waiting for that offer to come in now, although it really is going to be bittersweet saying goodbye.


Onto house 2, my mom officially sold our childhood home a little over a week ago. This was also hard saying goodbye.

This house has 20 years worth of memories in it. From birthday parties to my bridal and baby shower, so many holidays, both good and bad and everything in between. I remember reading my acceptance letter to JMU at the mailbox,  planting flowers in the backyard with friends, playing on our swing set, countless sleepovers, practicing gymnastics routines in the huge room above the garage, getting ready for my wedding, family dinners and most recently playing with Chloe there. This house will always be where so many wonderful things happened for me as I was growing up.

I love this house, but it was definitely time for my mom to sell it. A 5 bedroom house is way too much for one person. Thankful for the time I got to spend there.


And now the chair. This was Clarke's highchair when he was a baby, I thought it was really cute but wanted to add some color to it.

I was inspired by young house love's yellow high chair, so I went to Lowe's and got some yellow spray paint and started spraying away. I love how it turned out!

It's hard to believe that Chloe will actually be using this soon.


So there you have it: 2 houses and a chair. :)

Updates

I can't believe we are already a week into April, it seems like I had been waiting for this month to get here for forever and now it's going by so fast! So much has happened since the start of this month, I'll update more later but for now here is what has been going on.

We celebrated our 4 year anniversary by going to The Melting Pot for dinner. It was sooo good.

And the chocolate might have been the best part.

Chloe is so into this ball toy I got her at Target. She is quite adorable, of course I am just a little biased. 

I finally got around to spray painting our doorknobs upstairs. I used Rustoleum's oil rubbed bronze paint and primer spray paint. 

It took me about 3 weeks to finish them, from taking the hardware off to putting them back on. I must say having a baby makes it much harder to accomplish projects like this. I used Young House Love's method and I definitely agree with them, it was really easy to do! Go here if you want to see their post about exactly how it's done. 

Here is a before and after shot of the doorknobs. Love them now, wish I hadn't waited so long to do this. 

I do need to write another post soon about something big that is happening in our lives (no I am not preggo, will just throw that out there now) but I'm not quite ready yet.  April has been a really busy month so far and I don't think it's going to slow down. I will say I can't wait for the Monument Avenue 10k next weekend, it's been way too long since my last race day! Okay, this post was all over the place, I'll stop now! 

Nursery Reveal!

I've been really excited to take pictures of the nursery and share! I spent so much time painting things and putting it altogether, and I love how it turned out! I also must say this room has been so much fun to decorate. I've loved searching for cute baby things and the fun bright pink color of it! Okay, here it is..........

This is what you see when you walk in. It's very pink! As you can see her name is above the crib, Chloe. I absolutely love all the monogrammed and personalized things, so I incorporated a lot of it in her room. Her middle name is Mae. Chloe Mae! 

Here is her closet. It's painted the same yellow that is on the trim of her dresser. I made the flower painting and blogged about it here. The little cat above her closet was mine when I was little, I covered it with mod  podge and paper to match her room. 

Close up of all her clothes! This will probably be the only time they are hanging up so pretty and organized. I got the dividers at Hobby Lobby, so they are organized by size.

I love her crib bedding! The sheet is from Pottery Barn Kids and my mom made the pillow, quilt and crib skirt. (I will take the quilt and pillow, etc. out when she is actually sleeping in it.) A friend's mom monogrammed the fabric for the quilt, as well as the window valence. The cute mobile is from Pottery Barn Kids too. I refinished the nightstand, it was mine. The letters are from Hobby Lobby, I covered them with the same fabric as her bedding. Love it!

This little rocking chair was mine when I was little, as well as the little cat pillows. The lamp is from Ikea and I made the bow board. The bow board was actually really easy to make, click here for directions. I just bought a frame at Hobby Lobby (are you seeing a trend here, haha!) 

This rocking chair was Clarke's grandmother's. She used it to rock his mom, she used it to rock him and his sister and now we will use it. She refinished it so it matches everything else, I love how it turned out. I also love the book shelves. They are actually spice racks from Ikea that I painted white. Another idea I found on Pinterest.

Close up of all the books, I can't wait to add to her collection and read to her! 

This dresser took me forever to refinish, really the yellow trim is what took forever. I put new hardware on it from Hobby Lobby. The floor lamp was mine in college, from Ikea. 

This mirror was mine in college too (I got the ribbon at where else? Hobby Lobby) and I painted the yellow cross at the local pottery place where I used to work. I put the changing pad on top of the dresser so I could store all her diaper stuff in the drawers, and hopefully keep it organized and easy to find. There are headbands and hats in the yellow tin I got at a local craft show in town.

Betty wanted to be in the photo shoot, she really loves this room too, haha!

I know it will probably change a lot once she comes and we actually start using it, but for right now I think it's pretty great. Overall I'm happy with how everything turned out and it was well worth all the hours I spent painting and making things for it. Now I am ready for her to be here so we can really start using it! 

Nursery Window

I was going to wait and share the nursery window valence until I reveal the entire nursery, but I worked so hard on it today, and it was much more work than I thought it would be so I decided it's post worthy. 

When we bought our house they left these ugly window valences, well the fabric was ugly the actual valences were really nice. We never did anything with them so I decided to use one for the nursery. I was inspired by this pin on pinterest.

                                                            Source: thejexes.blogspot.com via Jenny on Pinterest

I absolutely love the monogram in the center of the valence. Since one of my best friend's mom has a monogram machine she generously did that part for me. That was the only easy part. Of course I put the fabric on upside down first, then had to redo it. Of course there was a stud in the spot I wanted to put the brackets to hang up the valence. All the anchors I had wouldn't work so after much frustration it was back to Lowe's. I am seriously thankful I live so close to one and the people who work there are actually helpful. I hate to admit it took me all day just to put this up, but it did.

I didn't put any curtains on the side because the window is smaller and I didn't want to block any light that comes in during the day. But, now that it's up I love the way it looks. As long as you don't look behind it and see all the holes from anchors and screws that didn't work!

The nursery is so close to being done, I can't wait. I am just waiting on some bedding my mom is making, a light for the nightstand, the changing pad and cover and the rest of the hardware to come in at Hobby Lobby.  I can't wait to take pictures and post, hopefully soon!

  

Bows, Grass and Pumpkin Chili

It's been awhile since I've linked up over at lowercase letters for Miscellany Monday, so I thought I would today!

1. I am really excited about these adorable hair clips I made for our sweet little girl!

I think the pinwheel might be my favorite one. Click here for instructions, it was really easy! Have I mentioned how happy I am we are having a girl? 

2. Grass Update: It's official we have grass growing in our backyard! I know I know, such exciting news but it's great to have homeowner success like that and such an improvement. 

3. Happy October! I can't believe it's already October and the month before my baby is due! I made pumpkin chili AND pumpkin bread for dinner last night. Probably my favorite fall recipe.

The recipe calls for ground beef but I use ground turkey because you can't really taste a difference. Here is the recipe, you should try it!

4. Soon I'll start going to the doctor every week. It seems I already go a lot, but it's funny how it just becomes apart of your life. All the nurses and receptionists know me in the office now, which I assume they do all the pregnant women who are as far along as me. I'm just glad I have good health insurance or it would be so expensive. 

Christmas Crafts

I knew there were a few things I wanted to make for Christmas this year. Mostly things I found from Pinterest, where else? Ha!

I made this wreath a couple weeks ago. I love how it looks on the yellow door.

I really love it up close..............

CLICK HERE

For directions on how to make this fluffy wreath. It was pretty easy, just took a long time. I had to do it in sessions. But I love how it turned out.

My mom was going to throw these reindeer away last year, so I took them. I thought they just needed some TLC so I decided to spray paint them a fun color. Here is the before:

And here they are after I sprayed painted them red:

I love how they turned out. This was my first real project with spray paint, and it was so easy. Makes me want to spray paint more things in the future.

The last thing I made was so cheap and easy. I found this idea here.

I basically just cut up our wedding invatation into strips and put it into a clear ornament I bought from Michael's. I love how it looks and you can see pieces of the design showing through.

Clarke always makes fun of me for my love of pinterest, but as you can see it pays off to "pin" all those great ideas!

21 Random Facts

So I was tagged by GBA_gf over at Neurosis of the Stay at Home Marathoner of 3 to write 21 random facts about me. Here I go....

1. I was born in Florida, lived there until I was 8, but I hate seafood.

 

 

2. I am trying to convince myself that the marathon has in fact not made me slower. But since it feels like my body just hasn't recovered yet whenever I run. I ran the Turkey Trot yesterday and I know there were lots of hills, but I didn't feel strong. I don't know, I think I am also kinda suffering from post marathon blues.

 

 

3. I hate change, but love it when the seasons do. I'm always ready for the next season. I am totally ready for some snow.

4. When I first wanted to teach I was all about high schoolers. Now I am loving the little ones the most. It's funny how God changes your heart.

5. I lost a whole pant size from training for the marathon. I am determined to not gain it back. I lost about 10 pounds right before I got married, then gained it all back plus some. I don't want to do this again! ( I type this as I eat deviled eggs for breakfast.....opps.)

6. I am one of those people who thinks about their future. Probably too much. But right now I am loving the idea of being one of those stay at home moms who runs a lot. And of course I'll need all the cute running outfits to go along. Ha!

7. The Turkey Trot I ran yesterday was at University of Richmond, where I got my teaching license. Made me think a lot about going back to school there. I really think I will one day.

8. My husband and I were in the same second grade class together.

9. I treat my cat like my first born child. Anyone who knows me in real life knows about my love for cats. I know I'm a dork, but really they're just so cute. Can't help it.

10. I love to travel. Whether it's to the Outer Banks (a place I've been to thousands of times) or a place that takes a whole day to get to (like our honeymoon in Martinique) I enjoy it. Currently planning our spring break trip!

11. I am extremely lucky to have a close church family. I have been going to the same church for 12 years and still love it.

12. I am not really into watching a lot of TV. But, every Tuesday I have to watch Glee. It's def. my favorite show. It might also be my favorite running music as well.

13. I teach gymnastics after school and love it. Sometimes I see the older girls doing things I used to be able to do but no longer can. I think to myself "I can't believe I used to be able to do that!" But then I think about the things I can do now that I def. couldn't do back then, like run 26.2 miles. Yeah, that's pretty cool too.

14.  I am still really close to the same friends I had in middle school. It's not normal, but it works for us and I'm so thankful for their friendships.

15. I love decorating our house. It's def. my favorite part of home ownership.

16. I love all things crafty, art museums and modern architecture. Whenever we go somewhere that has a cool art museum or a famous building I make whoever I'm with go. My husband has come to expect this on all our trips now.

17. I am currently obsessed with pink running clothes.

18. Will Ferrel is probably my favorite actor.

19. I was a blonde for a short time in high school. It's funny to look back at those pictures, because I really like my dark brown hair now.

20. I love Coca-Cola. Always have, always will.

21. Although Glee is my favorite show on TV now, The Golden Girls will always be my all time favorite one. I know I know, I'm a dork, but I already said that.

Blog Love

Today I am linking up with Kelly from Kelly's Korner to share my favorite blogs. I admit it was hard to pick just a few, but we would be here all day, so here are my top 5:

No Greater Joy Mom

I absolutely love this blog! This family has adopted four special needs children, and already had three of their own. Her heart for orphans, children with disabilities and the Lord is so incredible. Sometimes I cry when I read her posts, sometimes it brings me great joy, but I always can't wait to see what this family is up to.

Young House Love

A lot of inspiration for my home comes from this blog. A young couple from my hometown of Richmond, Va. share their experiences of renovating their old house. If you are into DIY then you will love this blog! They always have great ideas, lots of great pictures of everything they do and of course a cute baby!

Koolaid for 26.2

Lots of inspiration, advice and really anything running related. I have enjoyed connecting with other runners on the marathon training teams, and even got to write a guest post. Ah, this blog makes me so excited for the marathon on November 12!

Two Shades of Pink

Anything crafty with bits of her sweet girls. This blog makes me want to have kids just so I can make cute things for their teachers, or throw them a cute party with all the DIY stuff from this blog. Love it.


In No Simple Language
I went to college with the author of this blog, although I feel I know her better now! I love her Menu Monday posts because I always need ideas for what to make for dinner. I've tried a bunch of her recipes and they are always great. She is a teacher, so I can always relate to the ups and downs of the education field as well.

So there you have it. Hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do!!

DIY Yarn Wreath and Felt Flowers

I have recently found so many beautiful wreaths on pinterest. Well, I finally got the chance to make one. I'm so pleased with how it turned out and how cheap and easy it was to make.

I went to Hobby Lobby and got some yarn ($3), felt ($1) and a straw wreath ($3.50). So this project cost me $7.50 total! Can't beat that. (I had the white ribbon already, and used a hot glue gun which I already had as well.)

CLICK HERE!! For instructions on how to make your own. I promise, it was so easy!

I love how it looks on the front door! Just what it needed!

RCC Ladie's Tea

This past Saturday the women's ministry at my church hosted it's annual tea. I absolutely love this event. I always volunteer to be a table hostess, which means I'm in charge of getting tea for my table and other things, but my favorite part is decorating the table.

Here is my table. I made those tissue paper flowers for my friend's birdal shower, the one I posted about here. So I just decided to add those two white vases, and the centerpiece was done, easiest table ever.

Close up of the centerpiece. I got lots of compliments on the purple, I love it too.

My table during the tea. My mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law always come.

Cheers! This was Ellie's first tea. Adorable.

I think I spent the majority of my Saturday in the church that day, between setting up and cleaning up. But, it's such a nice event and I love being apart of it. :)

Bridal Shower Decorations

Today I am having a bridal shower at my house, I am very excited! I wanted to post the decorations I made, they were super easy and cheap. I love how they turned out......

I made pom pom tissue paper flowers! I just love them.

After making some big ones, I decided to experiment and made some really small ones to hang down over the couch. I like these too, but the big ones are definitely my favorite.

I am thinking one day if I have a little girl these would be so cute to put up in her nursery!

I also made some to put on the console table. These are my medium sized ones, and one small one that I thought looked cute in that vase.

CLICK HERE

for instructions on how to make them yourself! All of these flowers cost me under $10 and they were really easy and fun to make.

I'm off to finish final preparations for the shower!!

Christmas Love

Things I am currently loving about Christmas.......

This house on the Tacky Light Tour which is in our neighborhood. I just love coming home and driving by it.

Setting up the Christmas houses with my mom. A tradition that started when I was younger and still look forward to every year.

Christmas Cookies!! The PTA at the school where I work brought in cookies for everyone to take home. There were six tables in the library filled with cookies.

Christmas decorations! I got this garland and wreath last year on my birthday (the day after Christmas) at Pottery Barn, and couldn't wait to use them.

While I'm on the topic of things I am loving I must share......

Richmond is geting a Hobby Lobby!!!! I have heard amazing things about this store from you fellow bloggers, and can't wait to go when it opens!! It is actually kinda funny because the local scrapbooking store just went out of business, and although I got a bunch of stuff for cheap, it makes me sad. I have been shopping there since I started scrapbooking almost ten years ago. So I guess this is one of those times when God brings something to an end, but starts something new. Anyways, I'm very excited about the new store.

There it is, Christmas and Crafty love.