Halloween

So this is several weeks late, but I couldn't go without posting a picture of our costumes. We actually only got 2 pictures of us in our costumes and they were from a professional photog at a party we went to. I had to wait until they sent us the picture and then scan it in. Hence the weird quality. Can you guess what we were?
Yep, Adam was Tom Hank's character from Cast Away and I was Wilson!

Ch-Ch-Changes

I love reading design blogs. And I read my fair share of them. So I've seen a ton of Before and Afters. But this has to be one of the BEST Before and Afters I have ever seen. Lindsay, who blogs at Living With Lindsay, found this hideous coffee table for free on Craigslist. Someone had painted half the table with Kid Rock and the other with Britney Spears. Yep, seriously. And well, it's not exactly a great likeness to either of them. Somehow, she had a vision for this piece. And it turned out beautiful...out of a catalog beautiful.

It absolutely does not look like the same table! Amazing! You can read about how she did it here. Check out tons more inexpensive and easy tutorials on her blog.

25

Less than 100 days left. I'm actually 26 weeks today, but here is a 25 week pic for all of my fam and friends!
Camera should be returning to me this week! Can't wait to have it back and show you all of the fun new things in our house. Especially the wallpaper in the office...Yep, we finally did it and I am SO pleased!

Fill Light

A few Fridays ago I decided to take a Photo 101 Crash Course from Nicole Hill. I really wanted to learn a bit more about lighting. I love the light in Nicole's photos, so who better to take from?! I would definitely recommend this class if you're interested in learning how to shoot on manual. It was a bit of a review for me since I've been shooting manual for a little bit now, but it's always good to refresh and hear tips from a different source. And the lighting portion was just what I was hoping for! We learned great/easy/cheap tips to use when working with natural light.

Here are some photos of the models, who are Nicole's gorgeous younger sisters. We took turns stepping in a snapping some photos of these girls, but oddly enough, my favorite pictures are the ones where I was just metering so I would be ready for my "turn".
You can see one of the great secrets we learned during the class for fill light. Foam board!



Nicole's classes are being held across the US, as well as Art Weekends, full of tons of different amazing classes. Check it out here.

Donuts for Days...

In the last two weeks, we have got so many things done around our house. Two weekends ago my Dad and Martha came to help us with a bunch of projects. I am amazed at everything we did in those 3 days. And be "we" I mean my Dad, Adam and Martha. I mostly was on clean up duty (And sadly, still am. You can't imagine that layers of dust collected from a weekend...I'm on my 5th mopping). I'm especially proud of Adam...My Dad showed him what to do and then he did a lot of the work. I never imagined that Adam would be handy (did anyone?!), but man, he can pretty much do anything these days. Things we accomplished:

• Knocked out a wall to give us a two door (funtional!) closet
• Built a closet in the baby room
• Built a small deck off our back door
• Installed a garbage disposal
• Fixed our spraying kitchen sink
• Got "rid" of a window in our bedroom
• Restained our vintage furniture
• Put in a microwave/vent above our stove (You know, instead of the cabinets above a gas stove. Were they asking for a fire when they put that in?!)
• Painted the baby room
• Patched some holes in the hardwood
  
• Rearranged the living room to make room for our new chair

Woohoo! Now we just need to wallpaper the office wall (Yes, we STILL haven't done that), finish up the baby room and lastly, redo the kitchen. I cannot wait to get that going! My Dad went over what he was thinking for the kitchen while he was here and I am beyond excited for it. Once we do those three things, that will be it for our big projects!

Here is a sneak peek at the closet, minus the doors. My camera should be returning from Canon soon and then I can post more pictures, including before and afters, of what we've done so far!
A big THANK YOU, to my Dad and Martha. Without them, we wouldn't have been able to do any of this! We love you guys!

Fruit Salad is Too Chunky

I found this video the other day, via Natalie Hill. I've seen other videos from Improv Everywhere (surprise wedding reception, mp3 experiment, subway, etc.) but I think this may be my absolute favorite.

The Perfect Fall Dessert

{image via Rookie Cookie}

I saw a post over on Rookie Cookie, for Baked Apples with Granola Pecan Streusel. The picture looked so delicious, I made them tonight! And guess what? They were just as delicious as the picture looked. And easy too! The ingredients are pretty simple....most things you probably already have on hand. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I did have to look up what a pastry blender was though. It's this, in case you didn't know either.

{image via Crate & Barrel}

Don't worry...you probably got it as a wedding present, and if not, you can get one for like 2 dollars and then feel great because you now own/know/used a pastry blender! I followed the exact recipe, except I threw in chocolate chips because dessert is not dessert without chocolate for me! You can check out the recipe here. It's the perfect fall dessert. Next on the dessert list...whoopie pies! And yes, I'm being serious. Gotta love PA!

Allo Allo

I've had a bunch of links saved of things I've loved recently. I'm finally getting around to sharing them. First, I spotted these greeting cards on Oh Happy Day.






Instead of using them as cards, I'm going to frame/hang them in a corner in the office. For only $3.95 a piece, they're a great, inexpensive way to get some art. Check out GreetQ, for other cards.

I've seen several upholstered headboards these days, and they've been tempting me to try it, perhaps in the baby room. I'm considering keeping a bed in there for reading, sleeping, guests, etc.

{via Design Sponge}
Grace is nice enough to include complete instructions on how to upholster the headboard.

{via Little Green Notebook}

You MUST check out this room makeover for these little girls. She gives some tutorials on some of what she did in this room, including the comforter and the window covering. There are lots of other pictures. I love that this room suits little girls without being to "cutesy" or "kiddish". There's no princess bedding, but I think the girls probably feel like princesses in the room.

And lastly, here are some recent pics. The day after we flew into Cancun (which I should put up some pics soon), I acquired a belly. It was literally overnight.

Halfway

We are halfway through this pregnancy! I am currently 20 weeks and feeling great. I love feeling her move and kick. Yes, "she" is indeed a she.

We had our ultrasound Monday, and we saw three little lines this time confirming her girlness. We didn't get any great shots of her though because she was in the STRANGEST position the whole time. She was upside down, with her feet completely over her head. The picture below is supposed to be a profile shot. This was the best we could do, even though most of her face is obstructed by her body. Hey, as long as she's content... I tried to label so you could try to make sense of what is going on.

We are also halfway done with the office. We painted the walls last weekend (see above pic) and picked up some new furniture and light fixtures. We just need to wallpaper, finish the clock and add a few art prints and I'll be ready to show off the new office. We're loving it already!

We're off to Cancun! Sadly, I still do not have my camera fixed so all you will see are my crummy shots. Can't wait to be in the warm sun again. Fall/Winter came a bit too abruptly here in Provo!

Up and Coming

Adam and I have lots of projects that we're hoping to do before the baby comes. We are planning on redoing the office. And by redoing, I just mean actually doing anything to it. By the time we had painted all the other rooms in the house, we kind of gave up and said the office was "fine for now". But while I was in Miami, every time I would think about the office, it would drive me nuts! It's still painted the weird green color that the whole house (including ceilings) was painted in. And we literally have done nothing to it!

I finally got some ideas together and decided on what we want to do. We're going with fresh white paint, with the colors black, white and a pop of tealy blue. We're going to wallpaper one small wall as an accent. Most likely in this wallpaper.

I'm hoping to add this poster, as the room is an office/craft room.

Remember this? I'm excited to work on my clock. I posted this clock awhile ago, and my awesome mother in law gave it to me as a graduation gift! I love that it is completely customizable, so I can make it fit in with the new look of the office. I have the perfect wall for it!
Once we get the office finished, we'll hopefully be ready to start on the baby room. The baby room doesn't have a closet, so my Dad will be coming to help us build one. We're also hoping to have him help us expand our own closet and hopefully redo our kitchen. I feel very lucky to have such a helpful Dad!

I hope to post Before/Afters when we finally get around to working on it. I'm hoping this post will bring motivation!

P.S. On an unrelated note, I'm dying to grab up this pair of baby boots! However, I'm holding off until our ultrasound next Monday! {found via Your Heart Out }