Some Cake, a New Kitchen & a Fiesta!!!

My little Reese turned "2" last Friday. Daddy decided to take the day off, and we spent the day doing things that Reese would enjoy. She woke up to daddy and mommy singing "Happy Birthday" to her. Then she asked for breakfast.....what do you eat for breakfast on your birthday....C-A-K-E of course!!! And I was a fun mom and let her have it, it was her birthday after all!

After we got showered and dressed, we headed out to see Toy Story 3. It was Reese's first trip to the movie theater (besides a trip with mommy and daddy when she was 2 mo. old). She did so well and really enjoyed the movie. The Wendy's fries and chicken nuggets we were able to sneak in helped out too!

We then went back home and put the birthday girl down for a nap while me and Lee finished her birthday gift. Nothing like working on it to the very last minute :) We made Reese a new kitchen using plans from Knock Off Wood. I had enough paint left from the shelf I painted for her room to paint the kitchen with. I am so happy with how it turned out. We do have to do a slight modification to the oven door, but other then that it turned out well. I made a curtain for under the sink out of fabric that I used in her quilt to hide some of her kitchen goodies. I also used some scraps left over from her quilt and made a few embroidered towels. She LOVES her new kitchen and has played with it almost non-stop since her birthday. I love that she now has something besides my sewing room to keep her busy while I am getting ready!

(click on the picture to enlarge)

I'm thinking I need to add something above the sink and stove...it looks a little bare. Any suggestions???

We finished off her birthday with a trip to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Casa Las Palmas, for dinner. She wasn't sure about them singing to her......

(Our favorite waiter, Pedro, is the one on the far left....he has been our requested waiter since before I was even pregnant with Reese)

Still not sure about the singing.....

But she loved the dessert they brought her!!!

Yum Yum!!!!

We always end our Casa Las Palmas trips by saying "Hello" to the horses that are behind the restaurant.

What a fun Birthday Reese had!!!!

Labor of Love

Reese's big girl room has been a work in progress since February....and I am so happy to say it is finally completely finished!!! She has been sleeping in her big-girl bed since the beginning of May, but we were finally able to complete the finishing touches in the last few weeks. It has truly been a labor of love, but I am so happy with how it turned out.....and yes, I doubted myself through the entire process!!!

I thought it would be so neat to make her quilt for her bed...and I asked myself many many times what I was thinking :) It was my first quilt, and let me tell you....a 96"x96" is not the best size to be your very first quilt :) There were many tears, lots of joy and even more frustration during the making of it...but I am so glad I was able to make her something she can always hold on to!!! My dad's amish friend, Esther, helped me hand quilt it along with help from many of other Amish friends. I love to look at all the stitches and remember all the conversations and love that went into all of them. It is an experience I will cherish forever!

Here is a peak into what Reese is enjoying so much!

Here is a look into her room from the hallway.....I absolutely love the wall color! We decided to buy Reese an nice set of Amish made oak furniture. It will last her for a long time. We were also very lucky to find the exact bed we wanted 50% off....$250 is a steal for a solid oak queen bed (which is why she ended up with such a big bed, but she loves all the room).



Her nice roomy bed :) I bought the vinyl wall decal off esty from happy tree graphics. I love the sweet birds, and Allison was very helpful!



I made all the pillows for her bed, and had alot of fun coming up with a few different things. I fell in love with this verse when I saw it on a pillowcase on esty. I knew I wanted to include it in her room somehow. I decided to hand embroider it on a pillow along with a sweet bird.

A close-up of the sweet bird.....

I really like how this pillow turned out. I first quilted the white part, then I attached the birds on it using steam-a-seam. I then hand stitched around each bird. I attached the back of the pillow and then added binding all the way around (like you would on a quilt). I used an envelope style back on both pillows so I can remove the pillow and wash if ever needed.

Reese's name and small note from me pieced into the back of her quilt....love all those quilted rows of hearts!

I found the frame on the left at Goodwill and the one on the right at an antique shop (it had a not so pretty picture of a lady in it that ended up in the trash). I spray painted them off white and covered a plain white mat and a mat I cut out of thick cardboard with fabric that matched her room.

Here is her night stand. I scored the lamp at an antique store for $15. The wood piece was a dark green so I took the lamp a part and spray painted it aqua. I then bought a cheap lamp shade at Target and covered it with some fabric that match the curtians. Her night stand is topped off with a few fun, antique books and a picture of Reese's best bud, Jerzee.

I thought there was something missing above her dresser and was happy when I found this cute bird cage in Amish County last week. Maga was so nice to buy it for Reese! Love how it matches the wall decal!

I have to have a clock in all rooms of the house. I was so excited to find this cute clock at a local store that was going out of business. It was only $3.00 which I knew was a great deal. It wasn't until further inspection that I realized how great of a deal it was...the original price was $96!!!

Of course I had to include our love of horses in the room. These are boots that my sister and I wore. I love that Reese was able to wear them and decided to make Reese's Halloween costume around them last year. Love this picture of Reese...definately one of my favorites (thanks Ty!)

I didn't get a picture of the shelf that hangs to the left of the room in the very first picture. It was a shelf we bought for her nursery and painted white. I bought some pretty aqua paint that matched her curtains and painted it. I decided to distress it and love how it turned out. Here are the fun things that are on the shelf.

I bought this cute bird doily at an antique store for $3. The flowers were made from scraps using a great tutorial from Dana over at Made. I decided that the "stems" needed something, so I covered them with fabric as well. The little doll is from my Mawmaw that passed away in 2001. I only have two things from her, so I was so thrilled that it matched Reese's room. I love that I can look at it everyday and think of her!

I sanded down the "R" and repainted and distress it (it was from her nursery). A fun, little, red teapot I scored at TJMAxx for $3. The dolls are from ebay.

The neat blue jars are from my mom and dad. I found the wooden spools of thread at Goodwill for $3 (such a fun find). I was going to use them in my sewing room, but since it will probably never get decorated, I thought they would look great here. These dolls are from ebay as well (shouldn't have bid on both sets at the same time...hehe).

Cute embroidery hoops that are on the wall above the rocking chair (which Reese was definaltey not ready to give up yet). I love how they turned out.

Close-up of the hand embroidered bird.....

Here is a close-up of the ruffles on the bottom of the curtians and a sweet dollie. The dollie is how I first became friends with Angel. I am so grateful for being able to become friends with her! I am also greatful for being able to meet Jessica through her as well! Two friends that I know were sent to me by God!

Cuteness on the dollie's bum :)

I hope you enjoyed the glimpse into the peanut's room. Now onto to decorate the rest of the house....sshhh...don't tell Lee :)

Finally a Winner!!!!

I finally won my first blog giveaway...YEA!!!! Let me start by saying, I am a very unlucky person. I seem to be the person who never ever wins things! But, my luck changed today when I opened my email and discovered that I won this giveaway from MaryJanes and Golashes. I get my pick of any 8x10 print from a cute Esty shop called Vol 25. Now for the fun part....which print do I choose.... I am thinking it will look really nice in Reese's new room (I will finally be finished if my hubby ever decides to hang the shelf and attach the hanging brackets to the back of the pictures).




Wouldn't this be a great thing to remind the little peanut....how beautiful she is...love all the frames!





I love the title of this one "we make a happy family". I also love that it includes birds, which is kind of the theme of Reese's room.





Or what about this sweet saying and adorable bicycle...in blueberry



or biscuit......






But this one has stole me heart! I love the little birdie but the wellies were love at first sight.


Reese loves the wellies she got from the Easter Bunny this year (thanks Jessica). She wears them rain or shine; pants, shorts, dress, skirt or PJ's; and she can put them on all by herself. And yes, she has decided to sneak outside to play while I am busy thanks to the doggie door we have for Jerzee. Thank goodness we have a fenced in yard! I think the count of sneaks for today came to a grand total of 3!!! Yes, I think this picture will be a perfect addition to the little peanut's new room!

Hopefully I am just starting a very long winning streak!!!

Still Alive

My computer has been broke for over 2 weeks now and is still not fixed...ugh!!! I have been running to the library or to my wonderful sister's house to check email...let me tell you, it's getting really old!!! Hopefully it will get fixed soon so I can get back to the blog world!

I have been busy, busy and wanted to share a little. I had the opportunity to attend a weekend of sewing at a B&B my friend's mom has. It was my first night away from Reese since she was 5 months. Let me tell you, it was way overdue!! I was able to finish up some sewing for Reese's big girl room (more on that to come) and just chat with some old and new friends. The food that the owner of the B&B made was out of this world and in grand supply! I might have gained 5 pounds in the day and a half I was there (I didn't weigh myself thankfully), but it was worth it! I was up until almost 4:00am, so I can't say I had nice, long, restful night, but I so enjoyed myself. I was so caught up in the sewing and food that I completely for got to get my camera out :(

And even more exciting.....Reese's big girl room is in the process of getting a make-over!!!


Here is what her room looked like before we began. A nice shade of blue.....



Now a fresh shade a Pale Daffodil.....


Reese really wasn't into the whole painting thing (not that I blame her!), but I was able to get a shot of her helping daddy.


Exploring her new, huge bed.....


She wasn't really sure what to make of her new room when she first saw it, but she warmed up quickly.


My little peanut's first night in her big girl bed! She looked so little when I laid her down. The first night was a little rough, but she has adjusted sooo well. I am one proud Mama!

We still have to get her dresser and hang things on the wall. I will be posting pictures of her room when it is all finished (I am hoping that will be soon!)

We have also been enjoying the nice weather we are having. Reese is especially enjoying the trips to the park. Can you tell that she loves the swing!!! I think she asks to swing every time we get in the car. This is going to be a fun summer for our family!

And lastly, I am so excited for the next two days. I am finally getting the opportunity to go out of town over night alone with my husband. We are headed to Amish Co. to pick Reese's dresser up and to enjoy lots of shopping and food! I am hoping to post pictures when we get back. It is such a pretty place!

Some Fun Antique Finds

I decided to take a trip to a local antique store to see if I could find a lamp for Reese's room re-do. I went to a shop called Milan Inn-tiques in Milan, OH which is the birthplace of Thomas Edison. Milan is a small town located about 10 minutes from me and has some neat history to the town. The school is even named Edison Chargers with a lightening bolt as there mascot.

I lucked out and found a lamp for a good price. I had decided that I didn't want to spend to much on it in case it ends up in the floor in pieces on day....something I have come to expect to a degree with a toddler around. I had planned on buying a cheap wood lamp from Target and painting it. I am glad I took a look around first since I found this lamp only it only cost me $15....the same or less then a painted wood lamp and with so much more charm! I am still deciding id I want to pant the green, wood part since it doesn't really fit into the color scheme. Now to find a lamp shade and decide which fabric I want to cover the lamp shade with.

Here it is....




Here are some of the other fun things I found. I fun children's book. One of my favorite stories in the book is The Little Red Hen.



It was love at first sight when I found this box of cards....I loved the inside contents just as much.....




Some of the cards.




Some more cute cards that are blank inside. Perfect for sending little or leaving little notes to special people.

This one is my favorite...isn't she just so cute. It might have to find it's way into Reese's new room since I am going with a bird theme.

And......here is a sneak peak into Reese's room re-do. I still have to do the binding but I am so glad to have experienced hand quilting this for Reese. I can definitely say that I have blood, sweat and tears involved in this project (at least I was able to get the blood part out before it stained).

A little personal message from mom.....wish I would have attempted hand embroidering before I pieced the back together. It would have been fun to add my own handwriting to it and a little birdie would have looked perfect on it too.

Special thanks to Amanda for doing the machine embroidering for us :)