Save the Date {Western Meets Sophisticated}

My Brother is marrying the most wonderful girl. I love her. She is perfect for him…I knew it the first time I read their posts to each other on MySpace. She’s adventurous, funny, brave, loving and beautiful. He needs her and he absolutely adores her. I’m super excited about their wedding and had loads of fun trying to design a “Save the Date” for their wedding that was “western AND sophisticated.” The photo is from their engagement photo session. Their rings have very significant meaning to their relationship. I’m really glad Sarah chose this photo and that she chose Joshua. The count-down to September 18 begins!

Refurbished Shelf Back Faucets

We are getting closer and closer everyday! Last time I mentioned plumbing was when we had the sinks and tub refinished. At that time we were still in limbo about what to do for faucets, and finally settled on the idea of refurbishing the old shelf back faucets. There were small details about the old faucets that we didn't want to sacrifice buy purchasing new ones.

Steven removed the old sets and dismantled each one carefully. We sent pictures of the faucets out for bids and finally settled on a company in Houston called Atlas Plating. They re-chromed one piece to make sure the metal would re-chrome well, sent us a picture to approve and then began the work on all the pieces. It took three weeks and we finally received the final product on Friday. They did a beautiful job. Next step: replacing the rubber washers and seats. Then the installation!

Reworking and restoring something old into something fresh and new makes me giddy!

Sources for shelf back plumbing options:

Plumbing Parts Depot

The Chicago Faucet Shoppe

Faucet Direct

Do It Yourself Plumbing and Heating (Antique Plumbing)

Reality...The Party that Never Was

So I went back and forth about posting this, but decided in the end I should. I was happy with the way we celebrated Marin's third birthday, I think it's something she'll remember for a long time. However, encase you were wondering, yes, I did have a party idea in mind and even had the invitation design complete! True confessions time: Poor Marin didn't have a REAL birthday party because her Aunt Kay Kay got married and her new baby sister cried ALOT and her Mommy, just couldn't pull together the energy or desire to host a party.

So, there it is. The truth. Krystina the party lover felt no love for planning a party for her daughter's third birthday. At times I feel bad that I didn't just muster up the energy and make it happen and then other times I tell myself there will be more birthdays. But what does this mean for our future? With each child will I have less energy? Will Marin even HAVE a 16 birthday party? Who knows.

Above is the invitation design for the Party That Never Was. It was just so adorable I had to share it. My good friend Cole created the illustration of Marin and I think it's perfect.

(To Marin: Mommy loves you so much. I'm sorry we didn't have a real birthday party for you. I hope that your time with Daddy at the Fire fire fire house will be a memory you'll enjoy. Here's to many, many parties in our future. Forgive me?)

Evening Summer Sun

I started back to work full-time this past week. So grateful that it's summer time and that after work we still have daylight hours to enjoy together as a family. Here are a few shots from Friday evening. The girls and I took pictures of each other while Daddy painted base boards. Marin is quite the photographer and Adalyn enjoys the feeling of grass on her feet.

Marin's 3rd Birthday {A Visit to the Fire Station}

Marin turned 3 today. To celebrate we visited Daddy at the Fire fire firehouse. No, I didn't stutter and that's not a typo...that's how Marin begins anything fire related. The word fire, must be said three or four times before the rest of the topic. Fire fire firehouse. Fire fire firefighter. Daddy's fire fire fireengine. TOOOOOOOO Cute. Love it. :)

As you can see from the pictures we had a wonderful time. Marin enjoyed her one-on-one time with Daddy. At the end of the day today she told me "I not 3 mommy. I 2." Oh, how I wish that were so. Time goes by too fast.

Happy happy happy birthday, my beautiful Marin.

Blanco, Texas Lavender Festival

We love the Texas Hill Country and will find any excuse possible to visit the area. Every year in June, the town of Blanco hosts their Annual Lavender Festival. This is our second year to attend the event and it was a much needed get away for all of us. Marin and I experienced cutting lavender from the plant for the first time ever. She was especially excited about carrying the purple basket and using the scissors "all by herself." Adalyn was content to ride on Daddy's chest and sleep during most of our adventures in lavender fields. During our time at the festival we enjoyed lavender ice cream, lavender honey and sampled lavender margarita mix. A highlight of the festival was eating at the Redbud Cafe and listening to live music while there. Marin and Adalyn both enjoyed it. After the festival we spent three days with Steven's parents in their cabin near the Frio river. We all came back refreshed and relaxed.

Birth Announcements for Kayakers

Adalyn will be six weeks old on Tuesday. Sending birth announcements by mail almost seems silly with today's technology. Most everyone knew about her birth and had seen photos of her within hours of her arrival. That's why I wanted to create something silly and unique but something that also depicts our new family unit.

Kayaking is something we all enjoy and are anxious to include Adalyn in our family hobby as soon as she is interested. Marin was 15 months old when she first fell in love with the sport. As you can see from the photos above, Marin wasn't thrilled with our kayaking adventure in the backyard and fell to pieces when we went we went inside to cool off instead of launching the "boat" in water. The photos were taken by my mom when Adalyn was just one week old. It was no small feat to put makeup on, get Marin dressed, the kayak and paddles set up in the yard AND keep Adalyn asleep. I was just giddy when we accomplished all of these seemingly impossible steps. The final product was just what I wanted. Bazaar, fun and I hope it makes recipients smile.

But wait there is another one...the traditionalist in me couldn't resist creating a traditional announcement using this picture of Marin and Adalyn. It was just too sweet a moment not to share. So, Adalyn has two announcements. I wish I could blame my indecisiveness on post partum emotions, but unfortunately that's me all the time, just can't seem to ever make up my mind and just choose one.