My Mantle

The past few weeks months, I've been working on getting my living room decorated.  I'm one of those people who has a hard time getting abstract, theoretical ideas into concrete results.  And when it comes to decorating, I'm even worse than usual.  I don't know why.

Confession:  I never had a nursery ready for either of my kids.  Am I a terrible mom or WHAT?!

Just to give you an idea of how slow I am, I've been working at decorating this 1750 sq. foot apartment for almost a year.  Yes.  A year. I started with the easy projects:  the bathrooms.  Both kids' rooms are far from finished and the same is true for my room.  But hey, all three bathrooms look great. :|

Anyway, the living room is finally coming together.  YAY!  I'm so proud of the work I did, even if it wasn't very much.

Let's start with the mantle, shall we?

SoverM Week

SoverM.  Sisters over Misters.

That was the theme of the week I spent with my three sisters.  Poor hubby! ;)

Don't worry, we had lots of fun with him, too, getting my sisters hooked on Downton Abbey (his idea)!

Here's a quick post about our week together.

We made scarves following this tutorial found -- where else? -- via Pinterest.  We didn't use old t-shirts, but purchased some cute tanks from Wal-Mart for less than $4 a piece!

We did Bible studies.  One of my sisters taught a little bit about what she'd learned in a lesson from Beth Moore's Mercy Triumphs study on the book of James.  We told her that she was going to be the next Beth Moore.

We did watched this one do crazy things like hoola hooping in Wal-Mart.

We cooked.  A lot.

We made awesome SoverM t-shirts using my Silhouette and freezer paper.  They turned out awesome, as you can see!  (Also found these shirts at Wal-Mart for around $5 each.)

My son got a much-needed haircut from his hairdresser auntie.

 The same auntie made something special for Hallie-girl's room. :)

And, of course, we hung out.  Talked.  Listened to music.  Watched Downton Abbey.  Instagram-ed (obviously). Talked some more.

And Gabriel and Hallie got to know their aunties better. <3

Christmas

Well, I'm alive... adjusting to having two little babies slowly but surely! :) I've been so blessed to have two very easygoing babies (although Gabriel is becoming less so as he gets older).  Hallie is already sleeping 7-8 hours at night!  I can't complain!

Gabriel loves his baby sister.  At first, he didn't really know what to think of her, so he basically ignored her.  But now he loves to give her hugs and kisses.  He also loves to steal her blankets and pacifiers. :| He tries to share everything with her, including his food and drink.  I've tried telling him repeatedly that she's too little or that she doesn't like it, but it hasn't sunk in yet.

When I'm not busy with one (or both) of my little munchkins, I've been attempting to get my house ready for Christmas.  I'm going for simple this year, mainly because of Hallie, but also because this is my first Christmas to actually be at home!  Drew and I have been traveling every Christmas.  So yeah, I practically have NO decorations.  I'm compiling ideas for next year, though!

This is our first year to put up a tree.  I'm quite pleased with the finished product, although it definitely needs more lights and ornaments before it's perfect.  Somehow I let Drew talk me into getting only two boxes of lights instead of the four that were in my cart.  And, wouldn't you know, I ordered on Amazon, so it wasn't like I could just go out and buy more. :|

Gabriel "helping" decorate.  I'm so glad I didn't buy glass ornaments!

I actually did almost all of my shopping online this year.  Whoever thought up Amazon is my HERO.  I'd much rather shop in my jammies from the comfort of my home than brave the crowds with two babies.  In addition, everything is delivered to my front door, rather than me having to lug it up three flights of stairs.  Win win!

Most of the gifts were delivered today... which means I get to start wrapping!  Yay!  Christmas wrapping is one of my favorite things to do!

Clean Canvas

Yesterday, we moved into our new apartment.  It's adorable!

Upsides:  two stories, three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and an amazing view of our resort-style pool.  Downsides:  teeny kitchen, small master bedroom, no laundry room (washer and dryer are in the kitchen).

I'll post pictures once I get everything put away.  The unpackers took everything out of boxes, so there is literally stuff everywhere.

I'm super excited to start organizing and decorating.  I've been compiling decor ideas for a few weeks now.  It's sad -- Drew and I have been married for over three years now, and the most decorating I've ever done is buy a bedspread, hang pictures, and try to find knick-knacks for our entertainment center.

Well, I'm definitely going to make up for it now!  I like to think of it as a fresh start on a clean canvas. :)

I'm finally gave in and joined Pinterest to keep my ideas organized.  So far I've loved it!  It hasn't hurt that the people I follow like to pin pictures of scrumptious desserts, complete with recipes.  Unfortunately, I doubt my midwife will agree.  Whatever.  I'm pregnant, I crave sugar.  Let's conveniently ignore the fact that I tend to crave it even when not pregnant. :p

Anyway.  Pinterest.  It's been really helpful having all my ideas in one place.  I've also subscribed to some home decor catalogues, just for the ideas.  I can't wait to get started!