The Coffee Table Gets a Makeover

So my original plan was to find a large square upholstered ottoman to replace our dark and very scratched up coffee table. But....the more I looked at them, the less I wanted to spend the money. Yeah, I'm kind of a tightwad like that. I figured the least I could do was to paint the old one until I decide what to do about getting something new. 

 Here's what she looked like before I attacked her with spray paint...

Funny how changing just a few little things changes the whole look of a place! The whole room feels brighter.  I  like it so much, I may just keep it. 

 

(Honestly, I never saw the toys under the sofa till I posted these pics. Now it's BUGGING me to pieces! Just some extra random decor, compliments of Weston...)

 We recently found a chunkier white cabinet to replace the dark, small table that we had in there. It fits the space much better, and matches my "new" coffee table perfectly. I was also craving some more punchy color, so I threw together some coral pillow covers, and that was just the punch I was looking for!

Now if I could just find a smallish table for the other lamp - so far I haven't had any luck. It would have to be pretty small to fit in that space, but I'd like for it to kinda match the other table. Oh, and it has to be cheap, too. ;)  The search goes on...

I found the summer chalkboard printable on pinterest - I just love it! Ya can't beat free decor! 

In other news, this little guy turned 2 years old this past week.

Where has the time gone???  It doesn't seem like my BABY should be 2 already.

There's a Thomas the Train party in the plans for this weekend. Wish me luck as I try to make a Thomas cake... I may wish I had just ordered one!

The little monkey is ONE!

 It's SO hard to believe my little guy is already a year old! 

Thank you Jeannie for the ADORABLE birthday shirt and the darling little party hat! We tried absolutely everything to get a piccy of him in the hat. They *all* looked exactly like this:

So he's not into hats, obviously. 

At one point he yanked it off his head and crammed it onto the monkey's head and then gave us a "take that" kind of look.

He has definitely developed some rather strong opinions in his first year. 

 I think this age is my favorite! He's so much fun. Yes, he's into *everything* and you can't leave him alone for even a split second... but it's still my favorite. It's so fun to watch him learn new things, try to do things for himself, hearing all those first words, and watching that little personalty shine through. He's no longer a little helpless newborn, but a miniature little person with his own personality. He provides a huge amount of entertainment around the old parsonage!

 On the day of his party, the weather decided to climb up to a scorching 101 degrees. Let me just tell ya, that's not exactly good for cakes. Before very long it starting to lean toward the left, so we had to hurry up and eat it!

  It *would* have been a very fun cake to make, had my heating element not decided to conk out right in the middle of it! Out of desperation, I ended up cooking the smaller round layers in my toaster oven, and I don't recommend it. It actually tasted just fine, in spite of it all. 

 He had a hay day with that smash cake. I think he liked the smashing more than the eating! 

We ended up hosing him down with the water hose when he was all done and putting him in his swimming pool. ;)

Happy Birthday little monkey, Mommy loves you!

 

Virtual Makeover

I recently met a new friend and fellow blogger, Jeannie, and she asked me for some decorating advice. I was only too happy to take on a decorating challenge! She is in a temporary home, so she didn't want to spend a ton of money, but she wanted to make it pretty until they build their new home in the future. I said bring it on. She emailed me some pics of her bedroom, and I put together a few idea boards on polyvore to give her some fresh ideas. Here's her current bedroom.

One thing going for her, is she has really awesome furniture already. All she needs is some paint and a few carefully selected accessories. 

 I virtually made over her room using gray blue wall colors, and lots of white and tan accessories to brighten things up.

 Then when I found out she liked red and aqua, I put together a second option just for fun, using some red and aqua trimmings. I kinda dig those colors myself . So fun!

Her headboard is really tall, which doesn't leave room over the top of the bed for much decor. So my suggestion was to get a $5 wall mirror from Walmart, turn it sideways, and make a fun bunting to hang on it. Cheap and easy!

And then here's the other side of her bedroom. Isn't that just the coolest dresser??

I tried to come up with some inexpensive ways to makeover the space. It's amazing the difference paint colors, and lighter curtains can make! Just a few simple changes can make a big difference, and she won't bust her budget in the process. She's already been finding things at thrift shops and garage sales to repurpose for her new room. I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

 In exchange for my decorating advice, she made some ADORABLE shirts for my 3 little guys. I told her I definitely got the best end of the bargain! 

Aren't they the cutest things? 

She also made this houndstooth shirt for Weston. I just love it! Duh. You know how much I love me some houndstooth! 

By the way....Weston is now 11 months old - this was last months piccy. I can. not. believe. he's about to be ONE! Where has the time gone...

It's been a very fun "business" deal, and I'm looking forward to helping her out with some other areas of her home, too! 

Spring!

WooHoo!!! It looks like old man winter is gone for good. That t-totally fills up my happy tank. These beautiful warm days have inspired me to (finally...) take down the Valentine's decor (Ouch!) and spread some Springtime! 

Of course, Pinterest helped get me going, too. I swiped some dogwood branches from my Mom's tree, and those blooms lasted exactly one day. (I'm pretty sure I've told you about my black thumb of death. It hasn't changed any.) I plan to glue on some faux blooms now that these have all died. 

I used this tutorial to make some cute Robin eggs from plastic Easter eggs. Fun project! Cheap too.

I added some springy touches in the kitchen and dining room...

 And I've always wanted to try growing some wheat grass, so I sweet talked the preacher into making me this  super cool box. It's perfect!  I got some inspiration from this pin.

This piccy was taken about 6 days after I planted the seeds. That stuff is fast! So far, this is the only thing I've not killed, so I'm now all about wheat grass! It is SO my friend.

The big news at the Parsonage is, the little man is now on the move. Which means, so are all the rest of us ;) Life has just gotten even more interesting!

He's growing up so fast. So hard to believe he'll be 9 months old this week! 

Weston Update

Weston

* is 6 months old

* weighs 19 pounds (can you say Chunky Monkey??)

* is Spoiled. Rotten.

* loves people. Any people. Will go to anybody who will take him.

 * is still the spitting image of his older brother, Jackson

* says "Mumma" about 349 times daily

* also says "Babba" quite often (he loves those bottles!)

* LOVES bananas

* is not a fan of green beans

* still hasn't learned to sit up by himself - he's too wiggly!

* still thinks he has to have 3 bottles through the night...yaaawwwnnn

* has recovered nicely from his little surgery

* blows incredible raspberries

* gives the best big ole slobbery kisses

* figured out how to open the clasps on the bouncy seat

* figured out how to flop himself out of the Bumbo seat

* has turned diaper changing time into an acrobatic event

* pulls off his shoes, then goes for the socks, too

* scratches his head when he's sleepy - have to keep those nails trimmed! He always has little scratch marks all over his head.

* is wearing size 12 month clothes, and size 4 diapers

* waves bye-bye, but only when nobody is looking  

* has the prettiest big ole blue eyes and the sweetest smile

* is the most precious 19 pounds of pure energy 

I've ever laid eyes on 

Day 24

Happy Christmas Eve!

Just what I always wanted - shiny paper and ribbons! Thanks Mommy!!

Day 8

The 8th Day of Christmas found us at the hospital.

(Please excuse the pathetic cell phone pic...)

My little guy had to have a simple one day surgery to remove some skin tags from his ear/face. The procedure wasn't as big of a deal as the "don't let him have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before surgery" was. He was one hungry little man by the time they got started, and he was none too happy about it. He really liked the nice nurse that gave him some juice when he woke up. He's done great, and it's healing beautifully! I must say, he was just too precious in that teensy little hospital gown.

Day 6

He's my right hand man. 

He *cough cough* helps untangle the lights.

I may be just a wee bit prejudiced, but I think he's just about as cute as it gets. ;)

 Ok you all, I need a great big pat on the back. I'm actually shooting some pics in *manual*. Scary stuff, stepping away from Auto. I probably should have started out on something other than Christmas lights, boy, they can be tricky! I haven't got it all figured out yet, but I am venturing out of my comfort zone, so that's a start. Baby steps!

For Weston's Fan Club...

I've got a few projects in the works, but things take me longer to do nowadays! Having to relearn how to do everything one-handed. Soooo... till then, I'll post some baby pics!

My 3 little guys.

(This pose was actually plan "B". They were supposed to be all stacked up, but the baby's belly is so rolly polly, he kept rolling off. Every. Single. Time.) 

I'm trying to take a monkey picture every month to see how much he's grown. 

He's growing SOOO fast!

Mommy's little Alabama fan :)

 And just in case anybody was wondering who Weston looks like, I put together a few comparison pics with his big brother Jackson. 

It's almost like having the same baby all over again! He looks JUST like Jackson did. If only he *acted* like Jackson did...  He's not near as good a sleeper as his brother was. But he's still a sweetie!