indness Matters....

a couple days ago I decided to decorate our front porch for fall.  I did this knowing full well that I was taking a big risk and whatever I put out there was pretty much at the mercy of a certain big white beast who likes to chew on things.  He is outside most of the day when we're not home and the front porch is his hang out spot. Sometimes he gets bored.  Call me stupid because he has already chewed on the corners of our front porch swing, so I'm not sure what I was thinking except that I was determined to not let the dog stop me from having a cute porch! haha.  The photo above is proof that what I knew would happen did happen.  :)  I found him chewing on this wooden block that said "Kindness Matters".   Sigh.  Why are we smiling in that picture?!?  We obviously still have some training to do.

I had a few days off this week and was able to spend some much needed time in the craft room making hair clips.  I sell them at an adorable local shop called The Soap Box and the shop owner re-ordered for a third time! Haven't sold any on Etsy yet but that is probably due to my lack of advertising/marketing.  I need to work on that!  I'm really happy with how they turned out.  My parents sell vintage jewelry on ebay and when they buy lots of jewelry and sort through it they'll pass things along to me that don't have a match, are missing pieces, etc.  Basically whatever they can't sell.  A few of my hair accessories in this order are embellished with vintage clip on earrings.  : ) 

My craft room is still a mess.  That's a project for another day.

That's all for tonight! I'm half watching a movie with my husband and he just informed me that this is an important part, so I need to make sure I pay attention! :)

what have we been up to?

We took a little trip to Dubuque for Labor Day.  It was relaxing, the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed the time with my parents, and a little with Ben and Kristi too! :)  We grilled out, sat by the fire in the backyard, made s'mores, and listened to old time radio while playing Quiddler. Ryan won! He was pretty proud of himself. We also went to see a movie...which really wasn't that great, but it's a memory. :) 

who is that cute guy playing the ukelele?  ;)

cutest parents ever.  :)

a very sad attempt at a self portrait with Gilbert.  His most recent nickname is Dirt Bib.  :)

A couple weeks ago I bought a hummingbird feeder.  They are the easiest birds to feed and they are really fun to watch.  Unless you have a fear of birds....then you probably wouldn't enjoy it that much. :)  September is a busy month for hummingbirds because they are migrating and beefing up for their trip!  They've been visiting the feeder on and off all day for the last few weeks. I hung ours from a shepherds hook right outside our dining room window so we could see them easily and it's very convenient for photo ops. :)  Do I sound like a bird nerd?  You can blame where I work for that. :)    About a week after we got the hummingbird feeder my sweet husband text messaged me while I was at work and told me to get another one.  Male hummingbirds are very territorial and they chase all the other hummingbirds away from the feeder.  It gets a bit crazy at times. I didn't think Ryan would really be all that interested in them, but it turns out he was fascinated.  :)  One night while we were eating supper he said "This is the most hummingbirds I've seen in my entire life!"  It was pretty cute. 

Last week I finally caved in and bought some happy yellow mums!  We had this really cool old can in our garage that the previous owners left behind and I just knew I could use it for something! For now it makes a perfect spot for mums and the hummingbird feeder.

getting some snuggles from Gilbert during a mellow moment. :)

I'm hoping to spend a lot of time in this room over the next few days.  it is out of control.  I also need to work on making some hair clips.

 

 

 

 

 

home sweet home

September is here.  How did that happen? Life has been so busy lately, but it looks like the next couple weeks won't be quite as full.  I'm thankful for that because October is going to be CRAZY full of all kinds of stuff. (I need a new word. "crazy" is way too overused in my vocab) Included in the fun happenings of October is our FIRST anniversary! Now THAT is crazy.  We are planning a little weekend getaway and trying to figure out where to go and what to do.  We're thinking of camping for the first night because it would be fun and cheap, and we haven't had a chance to actually use our tent outside yet! I'm dreaming of going back to our honeymoon spot someday, but this year it's just not affordable.

Anyway....back to the point of this blog.  We've been in our house for almost a year and I'm finally feeling settled for the most part with where things are.  I am still trying to decide where to hang a few things, but I've enjoyed decorating, moving things around, doing some diy projects (we still have some in the works) and just making our house a home!  Here's a tour of most of our abode..... :) Come visit us!

our room!

i love our old dressers.  they were grandma Lucy's and Ryan's Aunt Liz painted them for us.

Guest room.  God provided these Ikea dressers and matching bed frame for FREE through a young couple in Des Moines who were moving and looking to get rid of some things.

upstairs master bath

Ryan's office

had to get a picture of the neon guitar

main floor bath

I spend a lot of time in this room.  :)

dining room. our latest painting project was the blue hutch.

living room.