guests welcome (#17)

It gives me great, great pleasure to say that we are done with remodels.  Done.  Finished.  No more.  I love a good remodel as much as the next person but they are always inconvenient, especially now that we are a family of there (plus two dogs).

Our town puts on a tour of homes every Christmas to benefit a local family or charity.  There are usually four to five homes on the tour.  It's always lots of fun to see how different people decorate and to get to be a little nosey.

This year, we were asked to be on the tour.  I said no but after a family dropped out, I decided that there is no time like the present which brought us to our final remodel.  The guest room.

This is actually the second time our guest room as been remodeled.  When I first moved in, Daniel let me paint and we put down new carpet.  It is amazing to see how your style transforms over the year.  I don't know what I was smoking when I chose tar heel blue but it was definitely not fitting in with our decor.  Working with Jennifer has also given me confidence in my style and I decided to tackle the decorating alone.  It's really scary especially when you know half the town will be judging it.

We decided to keep the remodel simple since we didn't have much time.  We painted the walls a shade of white which meant we had to repaint the trim because the old color looked a little yellow.  We covered holes and really just tidied up.

The biggest job really was decorating.  I decided to go light and bright.  I chose a color palette of blues and greens since they were already being used in other rooms.  But my starting point really was my maps.  If you read my blog, it's obvious that we love to travel.  I had the idea to get maps of all the places we had travelled and to frame them.  I found maps that fit our color scheme and took it from there.

What's even more surprising is that I did the decorating on a budget.  Let me say that again.  I stuck to a budget.  My sister-in-law found the bed frame on clearance at World Market.  I bought the side tables from One Kings Lane and the lamps were on sale at Kirklands.  The credenza was a scratch and dent that I got half off but you can't even see the scratches.  The frames were on sale at Hobby Lobby and I painted them using paint that we already had.  I felt so thrifty!  I did get the bedding from Pottery Barn so that was a little expensive but you can't have it all.

So without further ado, here is our new guest room!

The bed and maps of France, NYC, Spain, Italy, and Paris

The credenza and a map of London (I have two more maps for this wall)

The view from the door

Since the tour of homes is Christmas-centric, I decided to do two trees.  We collect ornaments from our travels (if we can find one) and I thought a travel tree would be perfect in a room full of maps.

The travel tree

That is our room!  I love it and am so proud of it.  You would think I made a world-altering discovery.  I am really that proud and often find myself just standing in the room checking out my hard work.  Our guest room is officially open to the public!

Howdy 2014!

It's a new year!  I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited about 2014 and what it holds. I may be the worst about making resolutions and keeping them but I do it anyways. 

My biggest goal for 2014 is to cross more items off my 30 before 30 list.  I'm running out of time so if you see my knitting while running, you'll know why.  I will run a half marathon this year and I'm hoping to run the OKC half.  I know I can do it so know I just need to do it.

I also want to enjoy life more.  I recently lost a friend who lived in every sense of the word.  Michelle looked at each day as a gift and said yes to life.  I want that for my life in 2014.  It's so easy to get caught up in nonsense, but I want to honor my friend by looking at the forest, not the tree.

Of course I have the same-as-every-year goals.  I want to strengthen my relationship with Christ, continue to build a strong marriage, and grow in my role as a mother.

2013 was pretty solid so I can't wait to get the ball rolling with 2014!

the 30th birthday trip (#2)

I am a traveller. It's something I really love to do and if I could ever get Samantha Brown's job, I would snatch it up in a second (especially since she gets to stay at the really nice hotels and not the low budge ones).

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to go to Greece. More recently I've wanted to go to Greece for my 30th birthday, which is a little over seven months away.   Ew.

Well, pack your bags because we are going to Greece. Daniel and I are actually going but I'll post day by day blogs so it will be like we are all going. 

We are leaving the end of April and will be there for about 10 days. We have Mykonos, Santorini, and Athens on the agenda so if you've ever been to any of these places and have recommendations, don't be shy. 

I am so excited to cross Greece of my 30 before 30 bucket list!

Here's a couple pictures of what to expect.

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I'm back!

Or at least I'm going to attempt to be back. Blogging has definitely taken a backseat to life this year. I'm going to make a real effort to get back to blogging in 2014.

Wish me luck.

LASIK

Lots of people are aware of what a push present is.  It's basically a gift given by a husband to a wife when she has a baby.  I am a lover of gifts, so I was obviously all over getting a push present.

The problem was I had no idea what I wanted.  I love handbags but part of me wanted something more practical.  I seriously couldn't come up with anything until Beckett was born.

I was blind as a bat.  I had horrible nearsightedness and if I didn't have my glasses or contacts in, I couldn't see anything.  This was particularly challenging with Beckett sleeping in a basinet on my side of the bed.  I had to search for glasses and if I happened to knock them off the side table, it was game over.

I knew I needed LASIK and thought it would be the perfect push present.

I finally had my consultation Wednesday and they put me on the schedule for the next day, which means I am two days post-surgery.

I am so happy I did it!  If you had asked me one to two hours afterwards, I would have been singing a different tune but two days later and I feel great.  Plus, I can see!  Like really see.

My vision was 20/25 the day after but my doctor said my vision will continue to improve.  It is amazing waking up and being able to see and not having to do my nightly contact-ritual.  I also no longer have to worry about ripped contacts when we travel.  Hallelujah!

I would definitely recommend doing it just know that you will hate life for about two hours but after that, it's all good.  Oh, and ask for the Valium before surgery.  Always ask for the Valium.

My post-surgery goggles.  Adorbs.

Houston road trip

My family lives twelve hours away. We knew eventually we would have to make the drive but no one said we had to be excited about it.  We decided to break the trip and half and this proved to be a wise decision.  Beckett lost it towards the end of the drive each day.  I don't think any of us were quite ready to make the drive in one trip.

Beckett just learned how far away Houston is

No one rides for free

We decided to stop in Fredericksburg on our way to Houston.  Neither of us had ever been but everyone talks about how pretty it is.  It is also close to Austin, which meant my sister got to come and meet us.

The Hill Country in Texas is beautiful.  If you've never been you should plan a trip.  I will say that we saw more wildflowers on Highway 6 than we did on 290.  

Hill Country

First hotel stay

We met Shannon and some of her friends at the Sunset Grill.  It was delicious.  I had eggs Benedict on crab cakes.  What?!  It was amazing and everything was fresh.

The breakfast menu at Sunset Grill

My breakfast

Shannon and Beckett

And again

After breakfast, we walked around main street.  There are lots of cute stores. I found the cutest kids clothing store called Beulah's.  The girl clothes looked precious, but I couldn't look too long because it makes me sad.  The good news was that they also had fab boys clothes.  Beckett got a few outfits.

We had to head to Houston after shopping but I wanted to get Beckett's picture with the state flower, bluebonnets, before leaving.  Had I known how many there would be on Highway 6, I may have waited but I don't think it is so safe to stop on the side of the road with a baby.  We went to a wildflower farm to take his picture.

Shannon and Beckett goofing around

Enjoying nature

We will definitely be going back to Fredericksburg sans baby.  It looks like a lot of fun plus there were lots of wineries and I love a good wine tour.

Beckett's first official wildflower picture.  He is smizing, people.

The road trip was definitely long but it was worth it to see my family.  I think next time we'll be flying.  Beckett screamed every time he saw a car seat for about two days.

A little more Beckett

I just wanted to share a couple more pictures from Beckett's six month photo session.  It was the most fun he has had taking pictures and the most stressful for his parents because he wanted to grab everything.  And let's be honest, the kid is cute.

He loves his feet 

And really wanted those blocks 

Busted

The biggest ham

Such a happy boy

Beckett underestimated his dad's speed

Six Month Check-Up

Six months meant another visit to the doctor.  We are interested to see what our pediatrician thought about our tiny boy.  I had told Daniel that I knew he was getting longer but it seemed like he wasn't getting any bigger in the weight department.  The boy can still wear three month clothes and some six month separates fall off of him.

Beckett's official stats were: 26 3/4 inches long, 13 pounds and 5.5 ounces, and 16 1/4" for head size.  He is in the 50th percentile for height, not on the charts of weight, and 5th percentile for head size.  The middle stat is what is concerning.  He is gaining weight but not as fast as the doctor would like.  He has always been on the small side, but he fell of the charts at this visit.

His low weight means we have to make some changes.  Dr. Scott thinks that it may be do to how active he is which means he needs more calories.  We were planning on switching to formula in the near future, but now he have no choice.  He has to take at least two formula bottles a day and needs to be eating three solid meals a day with lots of healthy fats like avocados.  The formula is definitely going to be the biggest change for everyone.  The good news is Daniel can now help with his feedings!

Other than that small hiccup, Beckett is advanced (the doctor's words totally not mine) in other areas.  She was super impressed that he is sitting up (a new development as of this week) and can push of on his knees and elbows and scoot.  He can roll from his stomach to his back but gets to his side rolling the opposite way and decides he has had enough.  Apparently he also has a large occipital bone which is the area of the brain that controls vision.  Dr. Scott thinks that means he may be a pilot but I would prefer something a little safer, unless he is piloting his private PJ in which case his mom has a few vacation ideas.

Our visit ended with shots, which are never fun.  He cried harder but not for as long as last time.  We should get a break from shots at our nine month check-up and that will be a welcome break.

We go back in a month to see if our changes to his diet have made any changes.  Keep your fingers crossed that Beckett gets a little fatter.

He is starting to figure this doctor thing out

six months

Where has half a year gone?  It seriously feels like I was just pregnant but we officially have a tiny six-month-old living in our home.  He has brought us so much joy (and some frustration) over the past six months.

We have been blessed with a sweet boy with the sweetest personality.  He loves to snuggle and thinks people clapping is about the best thing ever.  He is the busiest baby I have ever known.  He is always moving which has made it hard for him to gain weight.  I want his metabolism and energy!

The biggest milestone in the past month has been the introduction of baby food.  We started a little late due to all the conflicting reports I read about allergies.  I am praying that he doesn't have food allergies. We have witnessed first hand how difficult they can be to manage.  Thankfully, we are pretty far into vegetables and no reactions yet.  We've tried butternut squash, peas, green beans, avocado, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  He has really liked everything except for green beans.  I am thinking it was a texture issue.  We are starting fruit this week and can't wait to see how he reacts to sweet foods.

One thing is for sure, this baby is getting big too fast!

We're still here

I fell of the blog wagon for a minute.  Things have been so busy at the Brown house.  Here is a quick run-down of what's been going on.

Beckett

Our bambino is growing and changing every day.  He is starting to sit up for short periods of time, he loves to laugh, and is putting everything in his mouth.  In less than a week he'll be six months old.  Time does go so fast!  We love seeing how he changes and he is constantly surprising us.

On the food front he loves butternut squash and carrots.  He tolerated peas and wasn't crazy about green beans. I've been making all this baby food and so far it is easy and I love knowing exactly what he is eating.

The biggest news is that Beckett was baptized.  He is officially a member of the Catholic church.  We had family come and my cousin and sister were the godparents.  I'll definitely be posting all the details in another post.

Belles and Whistles

My little side job has turned into something a little bigger and I am totally not complaining.  I am loving shopping for new items to add to my store and filling orders.  It is so much fun.  If you haven't checked out my store it's address is www.shopbellesandwhistles.com.  I am so proud of it and love seeing people around town showing off their Belles and Whistles.

Daniel and Me

Most of my news is Belles and Whistles related.  Daniel has been super busy with work and finding more work for himself.  The man is an entrepreneur is every sense of the word.  He now runs three businesses and is working on a fourth.  We are also farmers now.  I would have never thought that I would be married to someone that farms, but here we are.  I am constantly in awe of his work ethic and think his entrepreneurial spirit has rubbed off on me.

We are also looking forward to a busy summer.  We have lots of trips planned.  We're going to Italy in September sans baby, Taos for a concert, Miami for THE concert (JT and Jay-Z), and Houston for another concert.  I am also making a trip to market and to the river for a friend's bachelorette party.  Add in a baby and jobs and we have a full schedule.

We're also working on house plans.  Building is the most intimidating process ever and we are trying to get everything perfect because I've been told I get one shot at building and there will be no changes.  Our hope is to get started early next year.

Marley and Jack are doing well.  Marley is still sassy and does what she wants.  Jack had a health scare and was at the vet for almost a week.  He's doing better but we are trying to be vigilant about what he is eating.  The dog is a walking trashcan.


So that is where we've been.  I'll be postdating some posts to get everyone caught up and will try to do a better job keeping up.

April insta-update

Life via Instagram.

Before Good Friday mass.  Could the kid be any cuter?

We started baby food.  First up was butternut squash.

Peas were very messy

Who needs toys when you have feet?

The nosiest baby around

Beckett's baptism

He thinks his dad is a lot of fun

And pretty funny

Happy Easter!

March insta-update

Here is a look at our life via Instagram.

The silliest baby

He's a sophisticated thumb sucker

I just love his face in this picture

He was not happy when I started working PRN again

Dad and lad

Babies in baskets = cutest thing ever

Ready for summer in his shorts