13 years ago this weekend...

i had butterflies in my stomach as i stood in my bedroom and stared at my super cute new outfit i had laying out on my bed. new jeans and a black silky top from Express that i could only afford at the time because of my friend, Visa, and my irresponsible 21-year-old spending habits. the next day i was going on my first date with that cute older SWAT guy who i knew at work as "Rios". that guy who kept asking my co-worker about me and happened to always be leaving work the same time i was walking to my car in my gym clothes. that guy who somehow never understood our computer system and always had to ask ME for help. that guy who came up to the office the day before our date on his day off, which also happened to be his birthday, just to say hi. that guy whose huge brown eyes and long lashes melted my insides every time they glanced at me. 13 years ago, i had no idea that the date i was about to go on the following day would be the beginning of the rest of my life.

this saturday, that guy, aka my husband, celebrates his birthday. that day and every day after that, i celebrate that younger guy and girl who had no idea that one date would lead to a lifetime together.

happy birthday, Rios.

no-bake granola balls and my little chef...

one of our favorite things to do together is bake. she loves to make just about anything with me, but she's such a picky eater that it's always more fun when we find a something that she will actually eat! i came across this recipe over at Delighted Momma for no bake energy bites, or what my daughter calls "granola balls". they are our new family favorite snack... SO easy to make and they are gluten free which is a bonus in our house! if you're an "all natural" or GF household, be sure to check out her blog... she has great recipes and tips! 

here are some shots of my little chef whipping some up for us this morning. lucky for her, our kitchen doesn't have a pants policy. 

GF no-bake "granola balls"

1 cup gluten free oats

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup flax seeds

1/2 cup almond butter

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla 

mix all of the ingredients and roll into bite size balls. refrigerate and eat!

raisin bran and daydreams...

i was just reading through posts from a very old blog of mine and came across this one from when i was pregnant with our daughter over three years ago. it's so crazy how much our lives have changed since this post and how much joy i have experienced that i truly never could have anticipated at that time. i can't believe we will soon be welcoming our second baby and reading this was a fun reminder of the unanticipated blessings we have to look forward to yet again! and yes, i have been craving and consuming large amounts of raisin bran this time around too! 

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August 31, 2010

i reached over and picked up my iPhone as it played the annoying tune i have set as my alarm sound. i reluctantly sat up and peeled myself out of bed, one leg at a time, using what few abdominal muscles i have left to assist me. i was starving. sluggishly, with my eyes half open and my cat rubbing up against my ankles the whole way, i dragged my bare feet across the wood floors and made my way into the kitchen where i poured myself what seemed like my 100th bowl of raisin bran this month. it was like any other morning i have had for years... but this day, like the past approximately 170 days, i was pregnant. between each bite of the crunchy bran flakes and sweet raisins, i daydreamed about what life would be like in a few short months when our baby girl is here.

the first few months of pregnancy, i never dreamt i would be saying this, but, i love being pregnant. sure there are some down sides... the ridiculous bladder awareness, the back aches, the weight gain that should primarily be going to my belly but has made it's way down to my thighs... but, i love it. i love the promise it represents of a new life. not only the new life of our baby, but the new life that my husband and i will have... both as a mom and dad, and together as husband and wife.

so, as i wake up tomorrow morning and pour myself a bowl of cereal, i will daydream of the day when i am awakened by the sweet sound of a crying, hungry baby, instead of my phone. a day when my first instinct and item on the agenda will be to fee my hungry baby girl, not myself. and, last but not least, i will dream of a day that i actually crave something other than raisin bran. 

*special thanks to my sweet friend Spanki for taking these maternity photos of me last week :)

welcome! come on in!

welcome to our home! i can't believe that next week will mark our one year anniversary in our new house! after moving in all of the furniture and decor we had since we got married, i took a look around at a lot of the dark furniture and accents and just felt like it didn't really represent us and our style. i really wanted our new house to feel like a home and to surround ourselves in each room with things that represented our interests and brighter colors that brought more cheer! that being said, i also didn't want to spend a lot of money, especially since furniture prices can get expensive and there was so much i wanted to do! 

my first project was our entry table area. so. much. black. and not at all us!

as you can see in the before photo, the first thing i started with was the mustard and ivory chevron entry rug from target and it kind of ended up being my inspiration for the rest of the project.

i painted the table a bright white that i had leftover from when i made over my office (those pics to come!) and added some $3 brass knobs from home depot. 

with the help of a $6 can of gold metallic spray paint and some new threshold shades from target, the lamp makeover only cost about $50 total! 

i again used some leftover paint, this time from my coffee hutch makeover, (see below), and painted this old pier one mirror frame fieldstone grey. such an easy fix for a dramatically different look! 

the personalized prints i found on etsy and those were a total of $15... the frames i put them in are old black pottery barn frames i had in the closet that i did a quick paint job on. yep, i was a paintin' fool!

the small grey frame and key tray i also found at target, both on clearance for under $10 each! do you see a trend here? seriously... a tad obsessed with target and threshold brand!

oh! and our new home is filled with those standard bronze "boob lights" as i like to call them which i'm not a big fan of. i replaced our two entry boobs with these cute allen+roth lights which ended up being my biggest splurge for the makeover at about $50 each. 

next up was a project i had been wanting to do for what seems like forever! i had an old cabinet that i got from my grandmother's house years ago that i LOVED for sentimental reasons. again, it was black, AND because i'm not really a fine china gal, i never had much of a useful purpose for the piece. i've always wanted a designated coffee bar area, so that was my mission! by the way, i'm totally kicking myself for not taking a before photo of it, but here are the "afters" of our coffee hutch in our dining area... 

i removed some glass sliding doors on the right and gave the cabinet a good sanding. i was desperate to have my keurig fit, so my dad cut the bottom shelf for me and made a little nook, (holllllaaa dad!). i painted it fieldstone grey by benjamin moore, added some new knobs and voila!

love these anthro looking plates that i found on what... yep clearance at target!

these cute little sugar and cream containers were also on clearance at target, (gah, this is getting kind of embarrassing!), and the little mugs and vase holder i found at world market. 

i made the print and put it in an old frame i already had. 

the tea bag holder is also from world market. i'm such a coffee junkie though, so they rarely get used... anyone want to come over for a tea party?

that's it for today! next up... one of my favorite spaces... our living room!

this week's giddiness brought to you by...

these awesome prints that are going into the baby's nursery! i found the first idea on etsy and had them customize a song sheet with one of my all time favorites... Your Song by Elton John. oh, and see that cute little pillow in the second photo? found it on clearance (yay!) at target and used it as my color inspiration for the room. i also wanted a fun album cover to display and found this cute Beatles picture i had printed. the colors coordinated so well with my decor! can't wait to show photos of the completed nursery. just want to finish up a couple more details!

blue bell chocolate chip ice cream. y'all. i have a confession. this has always been my favorite ice cream and up until a few years ago it was sold year round in stores. when i became pregnant and went on a hunt for it, i found out that it's now a "seasonal" flavor that is only released for ONE month out of the year! say whaaat?!! on a recent trip to HEB with my husband, i saw it in the freezer and grabbed two 1/2 gallons. i looked over and he was giving me the "seriously?!" eyes. then, realizing it was the last day of the month AND there were only two more in stock, i very adamantly told my husband that it was imperative that we buy the other ones, in fear that i wouldn't see it again in stores during my pregnancy. in the moment it felt like a serious life-or-death situation. and yes i have already eaten two of said containers. but i'm sure that has nothing to do with the rapid growth of my rear over the last month. 

the song Happy by Pharell Williams. my daughter has it on constant repeat but i don't mind it... the song is so infectious, i can't help but get in a good mood when i hear it! plus, it's a very welcomed break from Let It Go from Frozen!

feeling a bit overwhelmed with being the mom of a monster 3 year old one day this week, i ran away to barnes and noble. let me tell you... if you have a 2-5 year old, RUN to the store and buy How Toddlers Thrive. such an awesome read! not only did it open my eyes to life through my daughter's eyes and give great insight on how and why she is a ticking time bomb of emotions an emotional rollercoaster some days, it also gave me comfort to read similar stories from other parents and realize that i'm not alone in this journey. i haven't cracked open All Joy and no Fun yet, but it looks like another relatable read about parenting. and lastly, i cheered myself up with Find It in Everything by Drew Barrymore. i just LOVE her positive spirit and the photos and inspiration behind them made me smile!

the city vs. the 'burbs

there’s been some serious fighting going on in my head lately. like Teresa-flipping-tables, Ramona’s-eyes-bulging-from-her-face-while-screaming chaos going on in there. (if you don’t get those references, you’re probably a more well-rounded person than me... congrats.) 

when i started this blog and needed to write a little blurb about myself to portray to my readers what i think my voice is, i said, “austin born and raised city girl attempting to live the suburban family life in a not-so-cookie-cutter fashion.” like a lot of my “creative” minded friends, i feel like i constantly find myself trying to define who i am... and needing an outlet to share with others who that person is. 

a big part of who i feel like i am is an austinite. i know, i know, there are a lot of jokes about austinites constantly feeling the need to remind everyone how awesome and uniquely cool their city is. but, it’s true. i’m passionate about my city. when someone says something negative about it, i feel defensive as if someone is talking shit about my best friend or mom. like, how DARE you speak such unkind words about someone i love! 

when my husband, (also austin born and raised), and i bought our first home 5 years ago, and the current one we had built and moved into a year ago, we weighed our options and decided we wanted a lot of space for our money. like most big cities it’s crazy expensive to live downtown and gets cheaper the further out of the city you go. we decided on a suburban area north of the city and bought a large home in a safe, quiet, kid-friendly neighborhood with great schools. there’s a target and a starbucks only two miles away so i was set, right? 

we purchased lots of furniture to fill all of our unnecessary space and rooms that we would ultimately not spend much time in, and i had a really fun time decorating. because i always feel a need to define myself, i felt a real need to make our newest cookie-cutter built home really represent us and our eclectic style... to somehow make our suburban home feel unique and not so “suburbany”. the only problem is, here we are a year later and while i feel like i have accomplished my goal of making this house feel like a home, i have this huge feeling of being unsettled. i’m yearning for the city life... the one where you hear sirens and traffic 24/7, where you can jump in your car and zip right to a locally-owned coffee shop or restaurant and take your kiddos to a cool museum or zilker park to play. 

while we live in the suburbs, any time we have a chance for a family day or a date night, we drive into the city. we want our kids to grow up around austin's culture and diversity and to experience all of the unique festivals and experiences it has to offer. moving to the city and changing our lifestyle ultimately ends up being a huge topic of conversation between my husband and i every time we go on dates or spend a day doing something in austin. with all of the articles and studies about it being the number one fastest growing city in the nation, and the real estate market pricing ultimately not slowing down any time soon, i’m suddenly feeling this urgency to do something about this constant battle in my mind. as if we need to either make the jump or somehow turn off the voices in my head and make the decision to be content right where we are. oh, and the fact that we are expecting a baby in just a few short months? just a minor detail. i mean this is totally the perfect time to stress and potentially pack and move, right?

after looking at a few homes in our price range and seeing how little space we would potentially be moving into, my desire to move is now accompanied by a desire to live more simply. to get rid of a lot of the material things i thought long ago that we couldn’t live without, move into a small space and spend our time really LIVING, not decorating or cleaning or any of that other unimportant stuff. to live a more “simplified” and more full life. 

for now, i’m not sure what will happen. things could easily go either way and in the meantime i’m just praying that i can somehow calm down the battle in my mind and be content in my heart. because ultimately, where we live is never as important as how we live our life and who we live it with. i know that even if we end up staying in the ‘burbs, i will always consider myself one very blessed “austinite” who just happens to live outside of austin. but just remember never to talk crap about her, or i will go NeNe Leakes on your ass. ;)

*hand painted Austin skyline wooden sign that hangs in our living room is by the talented HartandHomeDesigns on Etsy