gettin' down!

so cayden's dance moves are getting a little more advanced. check out the hand/arm twirls. he just needs a couple of glowsticks, no? (sorry the video's a little vomit-inducing; it's hard to catch this act. oh, and once again, jeremy's featuring his beat-boxing skillz. he's just cool like that.)

working wednesday: bonus room update

and i'm back with working wednesday! (sorry for skipping last week's post; i didn't have time to take photos or pick up. not that anyone really missed it... but i digress...)

today's feature is the entertainment area. we purchased some shelving units from target and arranged them how we needed them to create our own version of an entertainment center. they're perfect for storing our dvds on one side, and on the other side? fabric!

and those cute little black totes? yeah, they hold even more crafting materials that just didn't look as pretty sitting on a shelf. (yes, i'm giving you a small peek into my unorganized side! pretty messy, huh? and honestly, it does drive me nuts that things are just thrown in some of those totes, but i guess that's how it has to be sometimes.)

when this room becomes a full-time entertainment room, we do plan on upgrading the size of the tv just a bit and mounting it on the wall. and this all sits across from where our sofa will go. i love the look of these shelves against our gray walls. and the fabric and dvds add a nice pop of color!

cayden says "hi!"

cayden would like you to excuse his milky mouth and chin please

no really, cayden says hi to EVERYONE now. or he stares at them. which is just impolite, so we taught him to at least wave. so now he waves and says hi. and bye. it doesn't really matter who you are. if he sees you, you'll be greeted in one way or another.

random guy at old navy? loved his "hi!" so much that he then proceeded to ask cayden for a high five. and a high five he got. such a social little guy... he definitely got that from his dad. me? i'm the shy one standing behind everyone. most likely blushing.

lookin' cool

it was a little cooler out this morning (lovely!), so here's cayden's look for school today. i have to admit that he looks pretty cute here. and you can see his new 'do. um, one day his hair might lay flat? or at least look like he hasn't just crawled out of bed? eh, i kinda hope it stays like this forever.

the curls? are gone.

but they'll be back! promise! we took cayden for his first haircut last week. and he did wonderfully. the worst part for him? being sprayed with water. i mean, really, for him to be SUCH a water baby, he completely hates for his head to get wet. i just don't get it, but whatevs.

he sat in jeremy's lap because we knew that cayden sitting by himself would never happen. hello wiggle-worm! and even then, we had to keep distracting him with certain things just to hold his attention for a little bit longer. (oh, look, a mirror! oh, look, a hairclip! you get my point.)

tim (our stylist) was awesome with him. snipping away as fast as he could while cayden would turn this way and that. everyone came out unscathed (as i figured someone would get snipped with some scissors by the end of it)... and our baby looks like a little boy. oh, and as for the curls? his hair is still not stick-straight; it's got a nice texture to it... but the curls don't flip out anymore. we'll get them back though. don't you worry.

oh, he's talking alright...

jeremy taught him to say "roll tide" a couple of weeks ago and we're just now catching it on film. the funny thing? we can be in the grocery store and he'll bust out with a "roll tide." all on his own. i really do wonder what goes through his head. and what causes him to say things when he does? (we'll not go into the random pointing to his eye, yelling "eye!" and then continuing on with his dinner the other night. weirdo.)

i mean, i guess he's had sixteen months to stockpile all these things he's wanted to say... and now, he's letting us know everything. whenever he feels like it. oh, i love this kid. eye!

wordless wednesday: got mah toys!

sixteen months

sixteen months? wow. i don't even know where to begin. it's just so completely awesome. and i'm not even entirely sure that awesome is the right word here...

incredible.
entertaining.
endearing.
terrifying.
hilarious.

... um, yeah, all of those words could easily describe you at this age, our dear cayden. you are interested in every single little thing that crosses your path. and it's so very cool to see you able to explore these things on your own. but also terrifying. terrifying because wow, that step-ladder is so cool, and it's so cool that you can climb it... but omg, do you realize what will happen when you reach the top and lose your balance? of course you don't. you have no fear. and so we let you explore (while keeping an eye on you) so that you can find your independence. and so that you can be proud of yourself, turn around and find mama & daddy with that proud grin. & then clap for yourself.

yeah, it's pretty awesome.

it's also so cool that things we've been signing to you for months? you decide you know them. all of a sudden, when we say, "say thank you." not only do you say it (with real words!) you also sign it. and it causes both mama and daddy's jaw to drop because, really? did he just do what we think he did? yep, of course he did.

you know so many more words now. and you're constantly trying to form sentences of some sort. we're still not entirely sure what language you're using, but we know you're saying something.

and so we keep on this journey... always in awe of what you are. and of what you are becoming. love you to pieces, sweet boy.

paci clips now available!

slowly, but surely (cause sometimes i'm challenged), i'm getting all of these listed in the shop! check back over the next few days and all ten of them should be available. i love how they look all lined up together!

a tease, if you will

want to guess what these will soon be? here's a hint: anyone remember when i used to make these?

working wednesday: bonus room update

we're closing in on our big reveal for the bonus room. except it won't really be a big reveal because we don't really have the funds to totally complete the room yet. we do have plans to get a sofa sleeper so that we'll always have room for guests to spend the night. (it's this sofa, if you're curious. or if, you know, you want to buy it for us.)


but i digress! on to this week's update: my sewing area! ah, yes, no longer sewing on the floor. and let me just tell you how good that feels. (really good.) and thankfully? i'll no longer have a hunchback from working on the floor. which is all good in my book.

we purchased this desk and chair from ikea. the desk was super easy to put together (i did it by myself), and looked even better in the room than i thought it would. i had originally thought i'd get a chair with stable legs, but when i saw i could "upgrade" to the rolling/swivel chair for $5 more, um, yes please. i mean, i can't really use the rolling part on the carpet, but the swivel part? swoon, i'm in love.


i also got these great storage containers from ikea (& i totally borrowed the idea from iheart organizing – oh, how i love her site). they're a little too shallow for my scissors, which is what i really wanted them for, but that's ok. they hold a ton of other things. & for now, my scissors are housed in one of the drawers, but i plan to make them more accessible somehow.


i plan to accessorize a little bit more in this area. maybe a floating shelf area above the sewing machine to house little colorful knick-knacks. or maybe a print or two. and oh, what's that? you like the two bags currently sitting on the desk? the one in the back i made for myself (gasp! i know, i'm not selling it!) to use for traveling and whatnot. the one in the front? well, it's the first step in my new (requested) zipper clutches. isn't it cute? expect to see them in the shop in the next couple of weeks. and they can be used for anything too! by the way, would you rather see them with a flat bottom (so they stand up on their own – as pictured), or with a non-flat bottom (won't stand up on its own)?


the great thing about this desk? it has storage! it's designed for computers, so normally the tower would fit nicely into the cabinet. but it's perfect for holding most of my shipping supplies. (and yes, there's a ton in there. you can't really order a small amount when ordering from uline. but their prices are too great to pass up.) either way, all of these were sitting on open shelves and it looked so messy. i'm glad to get them out of site.

just a couple more things to show you in here and then maybe we'll be able to move on to another room!

wordless wednesday: enjoying the lake

ok, fine, so it's not so wordless. and i promise this is almost the last photo from the lake weekend (there might be one more post). otherwise, i'll post all of them to our flickr account and you can look at them there. oh, and just for fun, here's the raw, original shot.

the lake, part 1

blog readers, meet stephen. stephen, meet blog readers.

stephen is one of my very best friends from college. and because his parents are super-cool, they let us borrow the lake house every so often. and i'm so glad. it's this great place tucked away on logan martin lake. we bring all our food and drinks and just have a grand 'ole time.

relaxing and manning the boat

on friday afternoon, we took a ride on the pontoon. it was cayden's first time on a boat (ever!) and to say that he loved it might be an understatement. little dude even got to drive the boat! and while he wasn't driving, he was chilling in his own seat. or, walking around. which was funny and sad to watch all at the same time. funny, cause well, he kept falling if the boat lurched. and sad, well, for the same reasons listed in the previous statement.

enjoying the peace on the water

we have big dreams to have a lake house of our own one day. and we'll most definitely have a boat of some kind. it may be the kind you have to paddle around, but whatevs. we love the water.

race for the cure

hey guys! so, i'm asking you for a favor. just a teensy one though, promise. see that orange square over there to the right? i'm trying to raise a few bucks for the susan g. komen race for the cure. if you have a couple bucks to spare, every little bit counts. and i think we all know that it goes to a great cause.

jeremy and i did this race last year. it was such a moving experience to actually participate in it. cheerleaders around every corner cheering you on. i was literally brought to tears a couple of times while trying to run. we're both hoping to be in better shape for the run this year; we've got just under a month left.

thanks in advance, my friends (and family). your generosity is awesome.

who needs a little sugar?

we have just gotten back from a wonderful weekend away at a friends lake house. (be fully prepared for photos to come later. we only had three DIFFERENT cameras with us. at the moment, i only have photos from one.)

little dude doesn't even realize what he's about to experience

and we started it the whole weekend off with a new experience for cayden! there comes a point in everyone's life when they need to be introduced to donuts. can i get an amen? cause really, amen.

he tried to eat the whole thing, but this mama wanted some of that yumminess!

and what better way to introduce someone than with a seasonal pumpkin donut from dunkin' donuts? cause, um, wow. that donut was seriously delicious.

custom orders

ok, so it's no big surprise that i love working on hugs & kisses orders. and it should probably come as no surprise that i love working on CUSTOM orders for people just as much. i've had a couple of custom orders lately that have just been a ton of fun, so i thought i'd share them with you.

are the santa hats not the most ridiculous, cutest thing ever?

a couple of months back, i had a customer request a pet silhouette with her dog and three cats. i have such a soft spot in my heart for pets (and animals of any kind really), so i was thrilled to have a chance to work on this for her. and then just a couple of weeks ago? she emailed me and asked if i would be able to turn that piece of artwork into something that she could use for a holiday card. um, yes! it's such a unique idea that it made it even more fun to work on!

love how this looks framed with a mat!

then my twitter/blog friend nicci messaged me about a custom order. she wanted one of the wedding date pieces of artwork – no big deal (these are also a lot of fun to work on for some strange reason too). not only did she want the artwork, she also wanted me to frame it and ship it off to the newly married couple. i mean, really, how cool will it be for this new couple to open this one of a kind gift from their friends? very cool indeed.

and, most recently, i've had a girl contact me about more pet silhouettes. this time? she wants to do them as gifts for her bridesmaids! um, blown away by the creative use there. i mean, my bridesmaids? i bought them shoes (to wear in the wedding) and like, bubble bath or something? but a silhouette of their beloved pets? this is something they'll have forever. and i think that's pretty awesome.

so honestly, if you're looking for something custom, please don't be afraid to ask for it. bring it on!

working wednesday: bonus room update

jeremy throwing a second coat of white on the ceiling

and we're back with the next update on the bonus room. if you're looking for the first part, you can click here. it's basically a recap of what we started with. and honestly? i didn't think we were starting with anything too bad. until we painted. and now? jeremy and i both are ready to paint the entire house and get the dark, mundane colors out of there. but you know, there's that little thing called money. so one room at a time we go.

i mentioned how we needed to paint the ceiling because all of the walls were the same color. because the ceiling is sloped, i was thinking it would be no big deal painting it. wrong. it used all sorts of muscles in my arms and back that i obviously never use. but oh, it was so worth it. our nice, crisp white ceiling is like a dream now.

after the ceiling was painted, we moved on to walls. (we did this in case we dripped white paint down the walls. fortunately for us, we didn't drip white paint anywhere. let's not talk about dripped wall paint though, ok? deal.)

we are thrilled with the color up here

we picked out this perfect silver/gray color (repose gray/SW7015). jeremy started with the trim (i do the rolling because i have no steady hand to speak of). the color going up? was not so good. with the slope of the ceiling in natural light, our silver color and our ceiling were the same color. doh! (no worries though, we plan to use the original wall color in our front bedroom. whew!)

loving the way the white shelves contrast against the gray wall

back to sherwin williams! we just slid one shade darker (mindful gray/SW7016) from the color we had originally picked, and ta-da! it worked brilliantly. perfect amount of contrast against the ceilings. and a great color to help modernize the space. (not to mention we have paint for another room now, too!)

ikea!

hello, sweet ikea!

so, we finally made it to ikea. it was a spur of the moment decision to just bite the bullet on sunday after church. we left birmingham around 11 and we were back home by 6:30. a lot of time spent in the car, but it worked out ok as cayden decided to sleep at least an hour there and then an hour on the way back.

the actual time spent at ikea was down right crazy. i mean, last time we went was in the middle of the week. so i was ready for the quiet ikea that i know and love. instead?

MAD. HOUSE.

for real. i suppose the holiday weekend had something to do with it. or maybe it's just like that on the weekends. we've vowed to never go back on a holiday weekend for sure. and most likely never on a weekend again. yikes. just trying to cross the aisles was a death sentence. ok, maybe not a death sentence, but you definitely were going to get run over by someone.

and don't even get me started at the rudeness of people on the elevators while trying to leave. this red-head almost threw the red-headed card and almost lost her temper on someone. it was about to get ugly. we'll just leave it at that.

little dude was happy in his stroller for most of the time. whew!

either way, we made it out of there with most of the things on our list. and only one extra thing that wasn't on the list. (a roll of coloring paper for the nosies that want to know – and only $5!) most of the other things we went for you'll see soon enough around here. let's just say that i no longer have to sew on the floor! a win-win situation all around!

football season is upon us

we taught him to say "roll tide." he says "rol dide!" adorable.

and we sent cayden off to school in his first game day outfit! (courtesy of aunt jodi, uncle jason & balin. and created by tracy of miss baker stitches) just for fun, should we take a look at how his first school game day outfit looked last year?

i mean, who can't help but smile at this series? (even if you are an auburn fan!)

um, oh my. he couldn't look any more different! gone is the baby and hello to the toddler! it does go too fast, doesn't it? & a big roll tide to my alma mater who kicks off the season tomorrow night. yay fall(ish) weather & football season.

is this anyone else's favorite season? cause i know it can't be just me.

jammie time

ok, so i realize i've been a little heavy on videos lately. but it's just that he does so many cool things now that a photo just doesn't show. so stick with me through this video phase. i promise, more photos to come.

every night, cayden gets treated to the "jammie time" song. which is really more of a rap/beatbox type thing? i don't know. jeremy and i started it when cayden was itty bitty and it's progressed as he's gotten older. and yes, we quite obviously made up the lyrics. (you can kind of hear jeremy in the background "singing" it.)

last night, i asked cayden if he was ready for jammie time. he slammed the book closed that we were looking at and grabbed his two favorite stuffed animals. and then? magic. check out the mad dancing skills. (and since i couldn't pick which video to share, you're getting both. you're welcome!)

can i get a roll tide?

working wednesday: bonus room

how the bonus room looked shortly after we moved in

and so it begins. the bonus room makeover. also lovingly known as the hugs & kisses designs studio. the soon to be movie room. the playroom. the exercise room. and well, i think you get it. it's an everything type of room. and it's going to be lovely.

i'm going to take the next few wednesdays (it might be a couple of weeks. or it might be a couple of months.) to show you the progress in this room. we're taking it in steps, so why shouldn't i share it with you guys in steps too?

everything shoved to the center of the room so we can get our paint on!

up first? painting the ceiling. as you see, the ceiling slopes way down. because of that (and the fact that the ceiling and walls are all one color), both jeremy and i have inadvertently run our heads into the ceiling. and because the space isn't super huge, we've decided to paint it a nice, crisp white. we need to distinguish between the ceiling and the wall. so even when our depth perception might be off, we at least realize we're about to run into the ceiling.

i know. it seems boring. but the finished product in my head? it's going to look absolutely stunning. you'll see. so check back next wednesday to check out our ceiling painting skills. i'm sure we'll wow you. or not.