A look back...

With tomorrow being the 1st day of the new year Two Thousand and Eleven, I wanted to take a look back on the past year because what a year it has been.  In '09, I was living in this 1 bedroom, 800 square foot apartment with my "boyfriend", Drew.  We were happy, but had big dreams that were about to come true.

 On June 10th 2009, my boyfriend--best friend--love of my life proposed to me in the top level of the parking garage at work.  I said "hell yea" and was off to plan a wedding.

We decided to look for a home of our own.  We were able to save a little bit of money from living in our little apartment for over two years and felt the time was right.  After almost a year of searching, we finally signed a contract to built our very first home!

Which brings me to

2010!

We rung in the new year with construction on our lot!  We visited our lot weekly to check out the house progress.

Trying to plan a wedding and built a house all at the same time was a wee bit stressful, but I did it and we had a great time!

My grandmother held a wonderful couples bridal shower for us.

Mother's Day was awesome this year with both of our families together.  I sure am a lucky girl with the best in-laws.

Christy hosted our rehearsal dinner and so many of our friends and family were there.  Perfect!

On April 3rd, we got hitched!

Some other highlights of this year include:

- My baby sister graduating  high school and leaving for college {on a scholarship!}

-Drew and I both turned 28 years old

-I got a new car {RIP silver bullet}

-Last, but not least...

We conceived a child! 

Whew, what a year.  I am so thankful for everything and everyone in my life.  I am looking forward to a bigger and better 2011.  You've got some stiff competition New Year!

Go out and Celebrate tonight!

-jd

Nesting #1

On my "to do" list before Baby comes is to get organized and I want to start tomorrow!  We moved into our brand new house in April and there is room for every single item we own, but right now, most of our drawers and closets are a mess. 
First, I want to make a home office with a file cabinet, space for a printer and my craft supplies.  I don't have an extra room for this, so I'm going to convert our guest closet into an office space of sorts.  I am on the hunt for organization ideas for my bathroom, kitchen, and every closet, drawer, and cabinet in this house!

Here's a few I found tonight...

I like the framed tack board with nail head, the antique lamp and the shelf for goodies which also doubles as mail and paper storage.


I'm not down with this color scheme or finished product, but there are a few ideas I might steal.  I'm going back and forth on whether to use a furniture desk or a built in desk, but I like this idea of putting a top on two mobile pedestal files.  The doors to my closet open similar to this one.  At one point, I wanted to take them off, but now I'm contemplating leaving them on and using them as another storage surface like this photos.  The peg board could provide a super functional place for all of my stuff.

If you have an endless budget and tons of time on your hands, there are some super cute ideas in this one.  I personally can't even go there.  I mean...look at those doors???

I think my version may be a tad bit more "down and dirty".  I want it to be stylish while staying budget friendly.  Check out this great DIY idea to take a metal pedestal and cover the front doors with wallpaper.

 

I'm going to clean out the closet tomorrow and get it ready.  Stay tuned for progress and final shots.  I need to figure out the furniture vs. built in dilemma as well as how to power the closet.  I thought I was smart and actually had an electrical outlet installed in one of my closets when we built the house so I could make this very space....too bad that room ended up being the better room for the nursery.  Oh well, baby will have a cute closet as well and I'm sure I'll make good use out of that outlet somehow.

Do any of you have any good organization tips or products you can share?  Comment or e-mail me; we love hearing from our readers!

-jd

I'm out.of.control.

Since I got the dresser for the nursery, I've been totally obsessed with decorating that room.  I told myself I wouldn't buy one more thing until the 20 week appointment on January 5th where we confirm the sex, but.........................................yea.  That plan didn't work out today.  Maybe I'll get some will power tomorrow? Maybe.

So, today was a disaster, but I told myself that if this baby in my tum has a penis, I will just use all of this stuff I bought in our guest bedroom...which is totally bare and could benefit from every purchase :)

I started on my lunch break.  Me and two girls I work with love to get out of the office for an hour and hit some of the local junk stores and why wouldn't we go today?  We couldn't find a reason, so we rode out to Goodwill on Hillsborough.

Here is the damage:

I think these are window valances {I laid one on top of the other}, but I don't believe that's what I'll use them for.  I'm thinking either a crib bed skirt, bottom of some curtains, or some sort of pillow trim.  I might not combine them like this, but for the moment, I'm loving them together.

Here's a close up.  Cute right?  I think these were a dollar or two each and they're pretty long.  Stay tuned for what I'll actually do with them...

Here's another remnant.  This might have been a window valance too at one time.  Sorry for my crappy camera quality on this picture, but it's a light yellow silky fabric with little beige/pink velvet dots.  SOOOOOOOOO cute.  I was thinking of turning this into a crib bumper, but I'm not sure about the silk; I need to see how "cleanable" it is first with some test drool :)

If a bumper wouldn't be the smartest move, it might be the top portion of some curtains.  This remnant was pricey at $4, so I'll put it to use no matter what...

A little baby afghan.  I think this was $3 or so.  Maybe cheaper.

Precious.  It's a light beige/yellow and cream color.

Next is this little star shaped afghan.  I'm leaning towards a metal/iron crib and I'm envisioning this slung over one side {for looks only when the baby is not in the crib}.

This gem is a bit brighter of a coral pink color.

And I saved the best {of the lunch trip} for last:

This elephant table was only TEN BUCKS!  Glass included.

You will have to use your imagination on this one, but it definitely will not be staying black and gold.

Here it is from the top.  I know it's a little beat up, but when I spotted it there hidden in the Goodwill pile of junk, I saw something similar to this:

This bent wood elephant stool is actually a Vitra Eames design that sells for several hundred dollars, but I love the look and playfulness of it.  {To me}, my little $10 stool can have a similar feel.

So that was my lunch outing.  I got back to work and couldn't focus.  All I could think about was what color I would paint the elephant table, if gold would be the right color of shade for the lamps, etc, etc, etc.

So, at five on the dot, I rode out and had to stop by the Goodwill in Brandon to make sure I didn't miss any steals there...

Good thing I did, because this is what I found:

All these cute cheap wall pretties :)

This was a buck. 

And so was this!

This was three...

and finally, this was another buck. 

So, I really am not going to buy anymore gender specific things.  I only have 8 more days...I can do it.  What I will be allowing myself to look for is a metal/iron crib, two matching bookshelves, some crates {metal and wood} for toy storage, vintage books and toys, and some sort of interesting light fixture {if it's a girl, that would be a crystal chandelier}.

Well, off to a bath and bed.  But first, Breakfast at Tiffany's just came on and if you can believe this--I have never seen it before! 

G'night

-jd

New Dresser!

I'm pulling up to my Dad and Step mom's house for Christmas and what do I see?  The cutest little dresser sitting out on the front porch being totally neglected.  I had to have it.  I walked in and immediately said "Is that my Christmas present sitting out there?" {1/2 joking, but not really}, my dad was immediately like "TAKE IT PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!",  so we loaded it up.  Thanks guys!  FREE DRESSER for the nursery!

Here it is:

Isn't it perfect!?!?

Not sure if I'll paint it or leave it, but I'm leaning towards leaving it and adding...

These leopard drawer liners to the inside. 

Side View.

Whatya think!?!?  I am still on a mad search for a crib and two matching bookcases to flank it...but no luck yet.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

-jd

photography throuh the years

Drew and I just got back from New York City for the first time and going through the pictures, I'm thinking there are some frame worthy architecture pictures for my "wall o' pics" coming soon.  It got me thinking what else I have in my photography archives that I can use on that wall.  Here are a few of my favorites.

I took this while in Nashville.  I have a thing for crosses...I'm drawn towards the shape..the symmetry...the mystery of them.

This is a birdhouse at Drew's grandmother's ranch in Jacksonville

This was the cutest telephone booth in The Bahamas

This is also from The Bahamas.  I was into layering different textures on top of my pictures there for a while, so these next few are edited to look old and aged...

This was obviously in Clearwater.  This bird was nuts.  I got so close and it didn't move a muscle.

I think this was either in Plant City, FL or Bartow, FL...I can't remember.

This is one of my all time favorites taken in Nashville the second time I was there.

This is Nashville that same visit.

This is my husband on a 4 hour long bike ride that we took in The Keys.

This was in Key West at sunset.

This is another one of my favorites taken when I was looking around at wedding spots.  This is where we ended up tying the knot {Hollis Gardens in Lakeland, FL}.

NYC pics soon to follow

-jd

just a wee bit more...

Since my first nursery purchases, it has been almost impossible not to keep designing the room for a little girl.  As I mentioned in this post, I made a few teeny purchases at an estate sale and I thought I would share them.

The first is the mirror leaning on the floor.  It was marked $10, but was half off, so I walked out paying just $5 {no tax!}.  It will fit perfectly on that wall although I'm not sure if that's where it will end up.  That rocking chair was given to me by my mom and I love it.  That little pillow was $1 from a thrift store {I bought that pre-pregnancy and was using it in my foyer}.

What is that piece of paper on the wall you ask?

A paint chip I'm playing around with.  It's a super light and neutral pink.  I'm going back and forth between a light pink or a gray. 

I started on the "pink kick" from this picture.  I love the pink with the tiny burlap touches on the chairs and the ticking on the bedding. 

Last, but not least:

These gems were only $1 each {50% off on the last day of the estate sale}.  They match, but are painted differently, so will need to be repainted.

That's it....for now ;) 

-jd

T W E N T Y N I N E...the road that will lead me to 30

I think it's no secret that I would ultimately love to work for me, myself and I. [who wouldn't want to work for me, right?]  It's a long time goal and I will get there.  I have been this close in the past but have never taken the leap to make it happen.  There are two main problems in obtaining this goal. 

 

problem  #1  In the 'real world' aparently you need money to servive!  It is VERY hard to give up a steady income when you have to pay for daycare, cars, food, shelter and clothing!  (a little disclaimer...I am NOT a stay at home mom, so cutting out the whole daycare expense is not an option)

problem #2 There is a very fine line you walk when having a 'side' biz and working a full time job.  I know this first hand.  There is only 24 hours in a day and I do still have to work 40 hours a week to maintain my job.  When you add the time for the full timer, a kid, a hubby and two dogs, that leaves like .24 minutes in the day for the side biz. 

So the big question is, how do you know when you are ready to leave one for the other?!?!  I have decided this year I will answer that question and I will figure it out!  Hopefully you will join me and let me know your ideas and thoughts on all the questions I encounter on my hunt for my professional FREEDOM!

 -fd

The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret to freedom is courage.

-Thucydides

T W E N T Y N I N E

Yesterday I turned twenty nine!  I have big goals to accomplish before turning the big THREE O and they ARE going to happen!

Looking forward to sharing this next year with you!