Home Sweet Home

Someone walked in my house the other day and asked where I got all my cute artwork from and then I started realizing how much of my prints actually do come from Alexa Z Design. Her bright personality shines through in her art and that's exactly what I want filling my home (especially to offset my horrible tan walls). Above, she designed the Home Sweet home print and did the watercolor print of the Bountiful, UT temple! My friend, Corina, also did that cool watercolor painting of me and Devin on our wedding day.

It's been a while since I did any kind of home tour, so here are some more things that have made our house feel more like a home:




After taking the first photo I picked up this black frame at IKEA and think it matches the print a little better, what do you think? Either way, seeing this quote every morning as I come into the kitchen is exactly what I need to start my day off right! And I used her brilliant quote transfer tutorial last year to burn that cute Happy Harvest onto a piece of wood. Fall is my favorite season to decorate for!



I love having designated areas of play for my kids - not only does it help rooms stay tidier but it also gives them ownership over a special little place in the house. This under-the-stairs space was a big selling point for this house to me and Alexa's "play more" print was the perfect piece to focus the main role that it plays for us! I mounted it on an 8x10 art canvas vs framing it to make it stand out a little more.

And bringing that pallet-turned-bookshelf downstairs into this new little reading corner was the best decision ever. We've just discovered Usborne books at our house which has revamped Ava's love to "read" and browse books and our TV time has naturally gotten cut in half! I got rid of tons of books that neither of us even liked very much and replaced with some really great ones that she can often sit down and be entertained by without any assistance.



I've always loved having Ava's room be the most colorful room in the house and I've slowly been adding to it. When Alexa came out with these darling prints of "Have courage and be kind" I knew we had to have it. Ava just barely missed the huge Frozen obsession and has really gotten into Cinderella (which I'm totally okay with!) and I just can't help but hope for this to be a lifelong motto for her.

As you can see below and in a previous picture of our dining room above, I got into some stenciling as an attempt to brighten up our horrible tan walls. I plan on getting a tutorial up for that soon...in the meantime go check out Alexa's darling etsy shop and give her some love!

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Ballons = Love

Ava and I had been to the Dollar Store for various things a couple times this week and every time she went crazy over the balloons.  I decided we'd have to come back on Valentine's Day to get some :)  She's been in heaven with them ever since!  We even got a little Happy Birthday balloon on a stick "for Grandpa's birthday" because they stayed with us Friday night and we did a little early birthday celebrating.  He let her keep the balloon.  I think we'll have to keep them around until the eventually lose all their air...which could be a month from now. Pin It

Home: Part I - Downstairs

If I have your address, there is a moving announcement coming your way and I've been getting asked for pictures of the house! These were taken within the last month so there have been a couple additions/updates here and there.  It's also been pretty cloudy/rainy/snowy this whole month, so this was pretty much the only day with optimal lighting.

KITCHEN/DINING AREA

 Curtains from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, table from Costco

FAMILY/LIVING ROOM

 

TV stand from RC Willey 

FRONT ROOM

These are all the main parts of the downstairs.  I'll do a separate post on some of the miscellaneous things downstairs like the laundry room, half bath, walk in pantry in the kitchen, and "closet" room that is under the stairs where Ava's toys are (right by the kitchen so she can play while I cook dinner, I love it!).


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Deck The Halls!

 ^^Ornaments we've been giving as Relief Society Christmas gift.  Walk with Christ.  What is your gift to him this year?

I usually procrastinate everything about Christmas --> buying presents, wrapping presents, decorating, taking time to specifically study about the Savior, service to others, etc. This year Ava is going to bed early which has given me lots of free time in the evenings to do these things and I love it!  Now I'm going to go look at those Pinterest tutorials on bokeh christmas light photography because I obviously stink at it.

PICTURED:
Wreath - (see our first:HERE) We used extra branches from our Christmas tree and fun fillers I had from JoAnns.  The star in the middle is made of jingle bells and I found it at an antique shop in Pennsylvania when I was home!
Nativity - I couldn't find our nativity set online for the life of me.  My mom sent it to me for Christmas the first year we were married.  It's made by Blossom Bucket.  I love it because it is nicer than the ones made for kids but it's still very durable and Ava can play with it (occasionally) without ruining anything.  And the pieces store nicely. 

Stockings - Made from a roommate's tutorial the first year we were married.  I just made Ava's this week using the same but hers is made from flannel material. And I made hers bigger because I didn't account for seam allowances very well when I cut ours out the first year. Pin It

Thanksgiving, for the record

This was a pretty chill Thanksgiving for us.  At least, in comparison to our first three Thanksgivings, 2010, 2011, 2012, which were pretty exciting as far as traveling and having a baby go. It was also Devin's first Thanksgiving without family, which was kind of sad for him.  But Jordan and Corina were very nice to invite us to his grandparent's house to eat with them here in Boise on Thanksgiving day.
1 - Apple Salad: I'm so glad I went visiting teaching earlier that week because the lady I visit gave me a recipe for a yummy fruit (apple) salad that has peanut brittle in it, which she also gave me the recipe for.  You make the peanut brittle in the microwave - so easy and so tasty!  I love making food for Thanksgiving so I was kind of sad to think of not bringing anything to a meal but I figured this was unique enough that I wouldn't be stepping on any toes and it ended up being a hit!
2 - Shopping (black friday): Corina and I went to JoAnn's at 7 am on Friday and even though I grabbed a cutting counter ticket the second I got in there, we didn't leave until 10 am.  But that's okay because we got a ton of really cute flannel for....
3 - Baby Blankets:  Corina and I also spent the rest of Friday cutting out the fabric for these cute baby blankets and I got one finished that day. 

4 - Shooting: The boys went shooting while we crafted.  Devin also changed the oil in the cars and worked on his motorcycle a little bit.  It was nice for him to have a long weekend from work!
5 - Decorating:  We've had a tree up since the weekend before Thanksgiving but I felt weird decorating it (other than lights) until after Thanksgiving.  So here is the iphone version for now:

 We were blessed to have a long weekend to spend with each other and can't wait to truly enjoy the Christmas season and all the joy that it brings!

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Ava's BirthDAY!

Ava's First Birthday!   

November 18, 2013

Best Monday ever!  I was so happy for Ava all day in anticipation for that evening that I think it helped her be in a good mood too.  I really need to have a better attitude on Mondays...

She helped me make soup for dinner and soft pretzels for her party that night...all before her morning nap!  Basically, she tore apart every cupboard and drawer while I cooked but she was happy so that's all that mattered.  And we listened to Disney music the whole time which definitely helped!

Ava LOVES to be outside.  This car was a present from Devin's parents.  We put it together Sunday night so she could play in it on her birthday and she loves it! She couldn't ride past the play ground without wanting to go down and get dirty.

PARTY TIME!

  Madison and Holland came to celebrate with us along with Leighton and Kelsey, who came later.  It was cute to see all the little girls eating their treats together :)  We had a soft pretzel "bar" and cupcakes and juice.

Thank you Aimee and Nicole for the adorable owl dress!!

 Yes, we put an open flame in front of our child.  haha! She was so mesmerized by it and luckily never tried to grab it :) Then the party moved to the floor:

PRESENTS!

We didn't go crazy giving her presents since she probably won't remember, we're limited on space in our apartment, and Christmas is just around the corner....  But there were a few things we knew she'd really like:

We've yet to get Ava any toys for the bathtub so while looking, she fell in love with this in the store so I knew we had to get it.  It was a hit that night in the tub while getting the cake remnants cleaned off ;)

Her favorite books have flaps so we got her a counting book that each page has a flap that opens to show some type of animal (she also loves animals).  She just sat there and flipped through the book for a while after opening it! 
   That bow in her hair is also a gift from the Dennings - so sweet.  She looks like such a big girl with it!

[I have yet to get really sad and weepy about Ava getting older.  I love her more as she gets older - she is so fun! So, I guess I would be really sad if she was my last baby because they are just so precious, but I can't help but be excited to watch Ava grow up.]

Now all she needs to do is walk and I think we may officially have a toddler on our hands!!

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