And so in celebration of his one-month milestone, I thought I'd share a little peek into his room, which ironically, he spends almost zero time in.   He still sleeps in the cradle in our bedroom that Randy helped build (and sometimes our bed too, I'll just be honest) and I am just not even close to being ready to move him yet, so there he will remain for now.  But eventually, he will move into this room.


   I fixed up a nursery for Jocelyn but the second time around poor Charlotte just shared the already-existing girls' room (after she moved out of our room) and so this time around I was really wanting the chance to decorate a nursery again.  Because....BOY THINGS.  Fun, fun, fun.

   I wasn't originally planning on using navy but then I realized that it would just be the most practical choice.  The guest bedding was navy striped, and it would have been way too impractical to do away with the guest bed and make the entire room a nursery.  So since it would be a shared room and I didn't want to shop for new bedding, navy it was.  I still need something (headboard/wall art) for above the guest bed, so feel free to send suggestions my way.



     It's not perfect and I'm sure it will continue to change as I add little things here and there (or maybe with just each Hobby Lobby run...that place is dangerous!!) but it works for now.  And it's not like he notices or anything. Ha.  The little alarm clock on the night stand doesn't work, but I wanted to use it anyway, so I just set it to the time he was born, and so it's frozen there forever.  Now if only we could make REAL time stand still......

   And please ignore the train.  The girls keep playing with it and I'll admit I have very little patience/reassembling skills and can hardly figure the thing out and so it looks a little preposterous here.  Why do they even make toys that you need a degree in engineering to decipher??!




   Our sweet William has quickly worked his way into the deepest parts of all of our hearts, and we can hardly imagine life without him.  I know I said I'd spare you all the cliches but I can hardly believe it's been a whole month since he entered our world.  I feel like his birth JUST HAPPENED.  

   The memories and emotions are still so raw and fresh in my mind.  I have said it before and I'll say it again....there is nothing on earth like the moment when your child is born.  This last labor was lightning quick and pure AGONY, but it was, like each of my births, incredible.  I beg for it to end quickly and as soon as it does, I want that moment to last forever.  But you can't have it both ways.  Time marches on, slowly, methodically, relentlessly.  But oh, that moment.........like the most euphoric high coursing through my veins that would make any narcotic seem like the cheapest substitute.

   I'm hoping for many, MANY more months and years with my little man, but in the meantime, I'm just grateful for each and every single day God gives me with this sweet boy.  

Oh my son, how you are loved.

   O.k. so in a totally unrelated note to this post...I hope it was clear in my previous post about maternity fashion that I was the late one in getting my stuff together, not Alicia!  Upon asking her to help me with that post she was perfectly prompt in sending me her pictures and info right away and it was totally my end of things that ended up taking forever.  So...I hope it didn't come across the other way around.  Sometimes things make perfect sense in my head because it's my thoughts and my fingers typing and then when I read over it later I'm like.....Hmmmm.....so.  Just wanted to set the record straight on that one.:)  A big thanks again to Alicia, for helping me out!  I hope you all were able to check her blog out and leave her some love.

   And now on to more important, life-and-death matters.  (kidding)  I need to find a rug for our master bedroom, and while I usually thoroughly enjoy shopping, there are a few things that will plummet me straight into the vortex known as the great World Wide Web for a shameful amount of hours, scouring the depths of the internets in hopes of finding just the perfect one.  Strollers, diaper bags, gliders, rugs....o.k. so a lot of things.  It is a wretched habit that I hope to be set free of one day.

   But in the meantime?  Selecting something of significant value or cost takes me F-O-R-E-V-E-R and by the time I have made my choice, I have probably seen hundreds (no exaggeration) of similar products and they all start to blend together in my mind and I start to go a little crazy.

It's just all a little bit silly, really.

  In my defense, I think it is because I like to be frugal and thrifty, and so spending a big chunk of money doesn't come easily for me.  That is why the decision is mulled over, contemplated, compared with others, reviews are read, ratings are checked, sales are searched for, and coupon codes are hunted down with vim and vigor.  And still, sometimes I just end up getting nothing and waiting around for no apparent reason before beginning the whole tedious process over again.

Like I said, it's rather ridiculous.

   So when we started re-doing the master bedroom and I knew that switching to wood floors would mean I would need to shop around for the right area rug.....part of me panicked just a little bit.  I know, first world problems, right?   I mean....I have pregnancy brain and two toddlers and 1,000 other things to do right now and the last thing I feel like doing is melting my eyeballs with 70,000 thumbnail images to sort through on RugsUSA.com.

So that's where you come in.

   I have put together a vision board (ha!  Not really, but the closest I could come to one) of a rather vague representation of what I like in a rug.  Some of the items are really similar and some are completely and totally unrelated so.......I suppose your guess is as good as mine?

   I guess my taste in rugs is sort of all over the board except for a distinctive bohemian/urban flavor?  I have no idea really.  So give feedback if you like, or send me a link to a completely different one that you think I would like, or just ones that YOU really like, etc. etc.  It'll be fun.  And this way, I can let all of you do the shopping for me!

Just kidding.  Or am I?

Happy hunting!
 

   I'm really runnin' out of steam on this Blogtember thing, but that's to be expected, as it is drawing to its close.  I am so glad I did it, but I will be glad to see it end, too.

   The prompt for yesterday was to review a book, place, or product.  I think I'll do one of my favorite reads lately for this one.  If you haven't read the book, Organized Simplicity by Tsh, you need to.  And yes that's her first name and it's not a typo.  My hubs bought me this lovely little number for my birthday after noticing that each and EVERY time we went to a bookstore, I would bring it back to the table to leaf through.  Seriously, every single time.  It is just so good!  It's pretty obvious from the title what it's all about too....tips and advice on living a simpler, more organized life.  


   I am on a simplicity kick lately.  As I go throughout my home and am constantly thinking, "What can I get rid of?  Do we need this?  Do I even like this?  Why does this deserve a place in our home?"  I want to get to the point someday where everything in my home, down to the soap dish and the welcome mat, will fit into at least ONE of these two categories.

A. Is it useful?
B. Is it beautiful?

   It's o.k. if it only truthfully answers yes to one of those, but if it answers no to both of those, than IT NEEDS TO GO.  I certainly have NOT "arrived" (anyone who has been to my home can attest to this), but that is my ultimate goal.  Designer Nate Berkus says "The things we surround ourselves with, tell the story of who we are. The best homes, are put together over time with items that have meaning to us." 


  I could not say a louder amen to that.  Don't go to a store and buy everything you need for your home in one fell swoop.  Let it take time.  The best homes EVOLVE.  And that way, instead of everything being fresh off a shelf at Target, (and just like everyone else's) the pieces, art, textiles and character of your home begin to have meaning for you.  They encapsulate memories and remind you of special events and your many blessings every time you look at or touch them. 

  "Before buying something, ask yourself, is this serving me in my home?  Is this telling the story of who I am?  Does this represent what matters to me?"  -Nate Berkus

   Also as far as a product review goes, I am just loving Pinterest lately.  It is just the perfect place to find inspiration, and then put your own spin on it and re-create it with your own pieces.  It is so much more inspirational to me than walking the aisles of a store to find something for my home.  I honestly cannot walk into a store (or flip through a catalog) and figure out everything I need!  I just gather pieces from here and there, over a long period of time, and then watch them all come together almost on their own.  That is the only way I know how to decorate. 

I was inspired by this image on Pinterest....


     I found the mirror, storage bench, old crate, purple boots, woven basket, books and topiary ALL at Goodwill, or garage sales over the past year or so.   So don't fall into the trap that you have to have a lot of money or you need to walk into a Pottery Barn or Anthropology and sell your soul to have the décor you want!  It just takes some time and patience to collect, rather than acquire.

   Picture a home in your mind that is one of the most cozy, comfortable, refreshing and inspiring places you know of.  Did everything in that house come from a JC Penny's?  Or did things come from here and there, different times, different places, whether they were special vacations or childhood mementos or yard sale finds....each piece reflecting a unique aspect of its owner's personality.  That is what I aspire to reach in the décor of my home.  I'm not there yet, but I hope to one day be.
   I will leave you with one of the best tidbits I garnished from Organized Simplicity.   We always consider the price tag when purchasing an item for our home, but some of the things we give little or no thought to, is the other sacrifices we will have to make for it.  Sure, it only costs $20.  But you're not only spending money here.  It is going to take up square footage in your home, and what is extra square footage worth to you?  It is going to take more money to repair and maintain throughout the years.  It will take precious time and energy to clean, move, rearrange and decorate.  You will spend time, gas, and energy transporting it every time you move.  Once you calculate up ALL of the cost ask yourself....is it worth it?  More time on stuff = less time for your family, others, and yourself.  That's a pretty hefty cost. 

Blessings as you go throughout your day! If you get a chance to, check out Organized Simplicity. 

(And no, this was not a sponsored post.  I'm not that famous. Tsh Oxenreider doesn't know I exist.  She just wrote a really good book and I am blabbing about it, that is all.)