Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Your path of motherhood has always been one I've felt comfortable to follow. The choices you made, the actions you took and the love that you gave unfailingly.

Today I recognize and am thankful for your patience, sacrifices and joy.

I love you, Krystina

The 40 Week Belly

Steven had to work on Monday and I was just sure that labor would start that evening. So, Katherine, Marin and I rushed out to take belly pictures. What a pair we are; my 40 week pregnant mommy hormones and an almost three year olds rambunctious silly nature. Thank you Katherine, for your perseverance and love. Life is fun.

It's Thursday. I'm still pregnant. My due date has come and gone. But Steven is home now. So we wait...patiently for Adalyn to arrive.

Chandelier Restoration Complete!

I found two brass Chandeliers at the Catholic Church Bazaar probably four years ago. I paid five dollars for each one at the time. They've been a project I work on in stages. Feels amazing to have them finished and hung! One of many things on a "before the baby arrives" checklist.

First step: dismantle and clean. Second: rewire and/or check old wiring. Third: paint with primer. Four: Find replacement parts. Thus the reason this little project was so drawn out.

The most challenging part about reworking these little beauties was finding replacement parts. Fibre drip candle covers (that had to be painted white), bell canopies (in paintable spun brass), bobeches (huh? yeah, that's what I said) in white porcelain. Crossbars, blind pendant stems and chain. Whew!

It was challenging, but fun. My dream job: to be paid for restoring antique lights. Didn't know that about me did ya? (GRIN).

Resources for Antique Lamp Restoration:
Antique Lamp Supply
Highland Lighting

Belly Art

Belly Art: Spontaneously created work of art derived from repeated encounters with painted surfaces. Can only be created by an individual who is "with child" and has a terrible habit of wiping her hands clean on the front of her shirt.

Nine days until Adalyn's estimated arrival date...

Ricky To the Rescue {Painted Wood Floors}

Our friend Ricky volunteered to help us paint last week. Not only did he spend hours helping this prego paint 32 door trim boards, he came over two nights last week to paint our master bath floor. We choose a glossy, porch and floor paint from Sherwin Williams. The color is Folkstone and it's beautiful! Ricky was tedious and the paint looks beautiful! One more coat and the floor will be ready for the tub and fixtures to be installed. Thank you, Ricky for giving of your time and talents. There is nothing like a friend getting involved in our projects to give us a new spurt of energy!

Steven painted the small bathroom floor with a red, glossy, porch and floor paint made by Glidden. It's a tad shinier than the Sherwin Williams and I think it goes well with the Spun Sugar color in the bath and the Wicker color in the bedroom.

Hoping we like these painted floors for the bathroom. I think they are unique and I'm crossing my fingers that they are simple to keep clean.

Best Baby Shower Brunch

Two weeks ago today, a group of my best friends hosted the most scrumptious baby shower brunch in honor of baby Adalyn. Above is a shot of those special gals. (I'm the one with the 36 week baby belly...tee hee hee). The food, not only gorgeous was soooooo yummy I think every guest went back for seconds, which is uncommon in a group of ladies.

Below is a shot of the activity table. Guests were petitioned to create handmade onesies and bibs for the baby using iron on fabric squares, cut into various shapes. We came away with a bundle of super cute, one-of-a-kind onesies for Adalyn and guests really had fun creating them!

As a shower favor, guests were given fresh marigold flowers that could be planted. Each of the pots included a card with various quotes from my belly book. These special, small details were in every aspect of the shower. These girls didn't miss an opportunity to make something unique and personal to me or baby Adalyn.

I had to include a few photos of the various bright colored flower arrangements because they were stunning. So simple, yet full of color and they just screamed BABY GIRL!

Okay, Darci will kill me for including this one, but we just had to have a picture of the two of us going back for more sweets...belly to belly.

Most of the shower happenings took place on Leesa's back porch. The weather was perfect and the setting colorful and pretty.

I gave Marin her photo album at the shower. Below is a shot that Katherine took of her admiring each page. A special moment for me...a passing amusement for Marin.

These tiny baby booties were a handmade gift from a lady in our church. Just one of many thoughtful and handmade goodies we were given.

All in all a WONDERFUL Saturday afternoon. Thank you, Christy for coordinating such a special day. You thought of every possible way to make things, unique, beautiful and memorable.

Button Flowers

While working on Marin's photo album I researched flowers created from the combination of buttons and embroidery. It lead me to a few ideas I thought I'd share with all of you.

Button Flower "How To" from Artsy Crafty Babe.

Button and embroidery embellishment ideas on Craft Log.

Embroidery art you can purchase on Folksy.