five on friday

It's Friday again! This week has gone by relatively fast thanks to a mid-week "snow day" here in south Georgia. Here's what I'm loving this week!
 

{one} Drew was given an entire box of deer antlers so I have been all over Pinterest looking for creative things to do with them. I spent the snow day painting and I also have plans for Drew to make a necklace holder out of a few, but apparently it's a lot harder than it looks :) On a side note, I had no idea that painted deer antlers were selling for $50 and up on etsy! I'm definitely in the wrong business.
 
 

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{two} Total mommy fail: I didn't get a single picture of any of the snow/ice/sleet/hail/freezing rain we had. However, I can say I'm so thankful that I wasn't in Atlanta during Snowmageddon. I am also tremendously thankful for God's watchful hand over my dad, grandfather and great grandmother on Tuesday. My great grandmother (99 years old and counting) had a doctor's appointment in Atlanta on Tuesday around lunch time. There were a few snow flurries, nothing serious, but they called the doctor anyway to make sure they were still in the office. After receiving confirmation, they headed off to ATL (about an hour or so drive). By the time they got to the doctor's office, the snow was coming down pretty hard and the office had closed! Although it seemed like a complete waste of a trip at the time, looking back they were so lucky. Even though traffic was heavy on the way back to Monroe (it took them about twice as long to get home as it should), if they would've seen the doctor and been any later getting on the road, I fear they could havebeen some of the thousands stranded in their cars overnight.
 

 {three} I changed my mind (again) on what to do for Hudson's class valentines. Here's a preview of what I think I'm going to do :)
 

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{four} In my constant quest to organize, my next project is our pantry. Drew swears I just close my eyes and throw groceries onto the shelves and hope for the best. Although, I will say it's a gamble every time you open the door whether or not you'll get hit with something. In my dreams, my pantry would look like this.

 

 {five} I absolutely love the amazing speech therapy resources at my fingertips thanks to some awesome SLP blogs. I feel like my therapy sessions are much more engaging and creative (because we all know I struggle in that department). I've gotten some awesome Valentine's Day materials printed and ready to go for my kiddos.

Have a great weekend, friends!

House Updates

Hi Friends!
  We had the most amazingly boring weekend imaginable at the Hall House. Friday night we had pizza and went to bed early and Saturday was full of projects around the house.

We made a trip to Lowe's for caulk and spray paint and Drew got to work! Our master shower has needed to be re-caulked since we moved in, and we finally got around to it this weekend. There aren't any before and after pictures, but trust, it looks so much better! I also convinced Drew to spray paint the silver towel holders in our bathroom. He painted them oil rubbed bronze to match the door knobs and tp holder. We're slowly but surely making improvements. Next up is the light fixture!

I'm also in the s-l-o-w process of painting the grout in our kitchen. Before we moved in (and when I was 39 weeks pregnant), I tried EVERY remedy I could find on Pinterest to clean our grout. Some worked better than others, but bottom line, the grout was stained...and some parts stained darker than others so it constantly looks dirty (which you know I can't stand). I read about a "grout paint" on Young House Love and thought for $10 it was worth a try. I started with a tiny section in the laundry room in case it was a disaster. We're pretty pleased with how it's looking. I'll definitely post pictures soon! But, like I said, it is going to be a slow, slow process doing one section at a time.

In Hudson updates...everyone knows he's always loved us reading to him, but this weekend we found him more than once sitting in a chair reading to himself. It's precious!

 

He has also recently taken to snuggling under blankets, which I love!

 

 

 

Have a Happy Monday!

 

5 on Friday

Happy Friday! Whoop whoop! Here are a few things on my mind on this chilly day.

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{one} I'm in full on Valentine's planning mode. I've been stalking Pinterest to find the BEST Valentine's cards for Hudson's class. I want to do something non-candy, non-plasticity junk + totally cute. I've narrowed it down to a few, but I saw this post yesterday on Ten June and I think I have found the winner! Hudson loves squeezable fruit pouches, so I think they're a perfect fit!

{two} It's no secret that we have 92349132 toys floating around our house. Drew is always complaining that Hud's toys should be contained to one room and not spread out all over the house. This is so much easier said than done. Especially when you have a kid who loves to make a mess. During my regular blog stalking, I saw this post from the girl in the red shoes where she found a pattern for some adorable storage sacks (tutorial here). I roped my mom into making them (since I don't sew) and she delivered them the next weekend. She made one the original size and then doubled the size of the second bag (which turned out HUGE), but they're going to be great for all of our Mega Blocks and Legos in the future!

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{three} I've been obsessed with these Clift Glass Table Lamps from Pottery Barn for the past year, but at $170 a pop (for just the base), I really can't justify the purchase. When my mom mentioned she had an old glass wine jug from my grandparent's house, I knew I wanted it! She brought it down last weekend, and I immediately placed it on top of our kitchen cabinets. I've been trying to decorate those beasts since we moved in. They ain't a joke! Maybe eventually I'll feel brave enough to attempt to make it into a lamp. For now, I'm happy with it's current placement.

{four} One of my New Year's Resolutions was to become a better grocery shopper/meal planner (macaroni and cheese and apples, anyone?) The struggle is real. I've always been the kind of grocery shopper who just picks up random things at the store and hopes for the best. With our new budget in place, I'm really trying to make an effort to plan better! It makes for a happier wife and a happier life for my family!


{five} Another New Year's Resolution was to not shop this year (go ahead and laugh). I've hesitated putting it in writing because it makes me more accountable. I've really questioned whether or not I can achieve this goal, so instead of setting myself up for failure, I've decided to modify it a little. My NEW resolution is to wear everything in my closet until I allow myself to buy something new. If I get to an item and don't feel comfortable or don't like the way it looks...to the Goodwill pile it goes. I've become quite a clothes hoarder and it's time for a change!

Happy Friday friends!

Valentine's Day DIY

So, I've definitely never claimed to be a DIY expert or interior decorator by any means, but I do enjoy an occasional craft project (especially when my mom is around to help).

For Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law and I made "Give Thanks" burlap banners for our mantels, and after Thanksgiving and Christmas I felt like our mantel looked totally bare! It needed a new banner for sure. I perused Pinterest and settled on an XO design with hearts. The process is pretty simple...I cut out the letters using my Cricut and used the negative space as a stencil. I had some leftover burlap from our previous banners, so my mom just cut out some new squares and we were on our way. The easiest way to paint burlap is with a foam brush and some sort of wipeable/plastic liner (since the paint seeps through burlap). After painting the squares and letting them dry, I decided to go an even easier route with hanging. For the Give Thanks banner, I used a single hole punch and weaved jute through the squares. This time, I just hung the jute on the mantel and attached each square with a miniature clothes pin. I think it turned out super cute!

 

 

The quality of iPhone photos is obviously terrible, but the light pink hearts show up much better/clearer in person!

 

I still wasn't satisfied with the look of the mantel, so my mom and I took off to Goodwill for some inspiration. She found these super cute white, porcelain herb planters with little chalkboard labels on the front. They came in a set of 3, so I bought two sets. My plans for them don't include leaving them empty on the mantel, but I'm sort of stuck with what to put in them. I'm thinking succulents? I tend to kill every plant that enters our house, so I need something that can live with minimal care. Any ideas are welcome!

 

 

 



I've discovered that decorating a house is definitely a work-in-progress. My list of to-do projects is seemingly never-ending! My next adventure to tackle is Valentine's for Hudson's class. Pinterest has me sufficiently overwhelmed!

Life Recap

Hi Friends!

Things have been super busy around the Hall House this past month.

First off, we celebrated a wonderful Christmas! Hudson was so much fun this year (even though he was more interested in the paper and boxes than actual gifts). My parents came down a few days before Christmas and were able to get some quality Hud time in. They were also total rockstars in the "putting Christmas toys together" department. Apparently only novice parents wait until Christmas Eve to put together the presents. Lesson learned (even though my mom & dad did all the hard work!).

That evening we attended the Christmas Eve service at our church. The part I got to see was great :) We took turns entertaining Hudson outside because he was not having the whole sitting down thing.

Later on, Santa came to visit! This was the first Christmas I had not spent in Monroe so it was a little bittersweet. I'm definitely excited about starting new traditions and so thankful my parents were able to be here!

Christmas morning, Drew's parents came over and Hudson opened his presents and played on the play-set gifted to him by his grandparents. He loved it!

Trips were made to Bainbridge and Monroe to celebrate with our extended families. The rest of our break was spent reading and playing, some days not even getting out of our pajamas :)

We've spent the last few weeks attempting to get ourselves back into a normal routine. Also, Valentine's prep has begun! Holidays are so much fun with a kid!

Amanda