Boys, Boys, Boys!!!

I have 8 friends who are prego right now, and they are ALL having boys!! 

So Karen, Kelly, Kelly, Rebecca, Meredith, Jess, Sarah, and Ashley -This is what I love for a little boys room from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child :)

Thanksgiving Pretties

I love Thanksgiving :) 

Here are some of my favorite items for the season, clockwise starting from the top left corner:

1) 'Perfect Setting' paper placemat (Nordstrom)

2) Harvest Pumpkin Placecard Holder (Williams-Sonoma)

3) Turkey & Football Invite (Etsy)

4) 'Give Thanks' Print (Etsy)

5) Blessings Card (Etsy)

6) Turkey Platter (Pottery Barn)

7) Mercury Etched Pumpkins (Pottery Barn)

8) 'Give Thanks' Serving Fork (Etsy)

9) Fall Wreath (Etsy)

10) Pumpkin Souffle Candle (Anthropologie)

11) 'Gobble Till you Wobble' Tag (Etsy)

Fall Decor - Neighborhood Tour #2

SO, in this neighborhood I did not find quite as much fall decor, but I did find some amazing eye candy worth sharing even if it didn't quite fit my theme. And believe me when I say AMAZING!!! I think it was absolute love at first sight for me with the house below. Although we used to live in this area, this one is still in the process of being built so I hadn't seen it before. LOVE the contrast, love the windows, love the gas lanterns.. amazing! Can I please take out a 150 year mortgage so I can buy this today?

Fall Decor: Neighborhood Tour #1

I decided I need some decorating inspiration for how to decorate the exterior of my house for fall. SO, this past weekend I went and toured some of my favorite neighborhoods :) I have to admit, there was not QUITE as much fall decor out as I'd anticipated... so some of the pictures are just of houses I thought were adorable.

The first neighborhood I toured was German Village...

Lovely, isn't it? :)

Kitchen Backsplash - Sneak Peek

The kitchen reno is still underway, but we are getting SO close!

I worked on the backsplash this weekend.. I got almost the whole thing tiled, but then our neighbors had dinner guests over on their back patio, so I obviously no longer felt ok to use the super loud and obnoxious tile saw! Just a handful more cuts to make though and its ready for hte grout :)

I'm loving the effect :)

98 Days!

SO, one thing about me that I really, really love Christmas. I think I'm as excited for Christmas at age 29 as I was at age 6! I cannot help it. More than anything I love the time off, relaxing and laughing with my family around a sparkling tree and roasting fire, eating Christmas goodies, playing scrabble and watching movies, surprising people with gifts, and of course celebrating the reason for the season! So wonderful!

(My iPhone App Countdown - with a picture of my Christmas tree from last year!)

It's been SUPER fun having our own house to decorate :) Last year was wonderful, but we still had a TON of work to do on the house... This year, the house renovations should actually be (almost) DONE and I cannot wait to see it and enjoy it all decorated for the season :)

When it comes to 'Christmas Style', I would call mine natural and whimsical. I love the greens and silvers and woodsy feel, but I also love little touches that remind me of Christmas during my childhood. Old school, fat, colorful Christmas lights... traditional plaid table settings... homemade garland... All I can say is that it is going to be really fun to decorate this year!

Above are some of my favorites for Christmas 2012:

1 - Moss Covered Initial Letter
2 - Burlap Ribbon
3 - Painted Birch Candle
4 - Lit Magnolia Garland
5 - Naughty/Nice Gift Tag
6 - Merry Christmas Garland
7 - Red Mercury Glass Globe String Light
8 - Winter White Garland
9 - Red Berry Wreath
10 - Birch Round Vase Filler
11 - Oversized Mason Jar

ANYWAY, I won't get too ahead of myself. I love fall too! :) It's just starting to cool off and I just pulled out my pumpkins last week.. so this is the last you will hear from me about Christmas for awhile (but you better believe it's still in the very back of my mind!)

The Deck - The Reveal!

The deck is DONE!

We actually ended up going a different route in terms of the colors I posted about on Friday, but I think the result is perfect!

Here is a snapshot of the finished result:

We ended up going with Restore Deck Liquid Armor Resurfacer in the "Bark" color. I was really afraid of the gray colors being too light, and Evan was  certain that dark was the way to go.. so, we went with his gut and I'm so glad we did!

Here are a few before shots:

You can see how beaten up the boards were here:

Look at the difference just one coat makes (Just a note to anyone wanting to use this product, we used the Restore roller and then went over it with a paint brush to smooth it out. I really did not like the texture with just the roller - WAY too rough!):

And ta-da!! The finished result:

Looks like a new deck! We should definitely pass our exterior inspection now :)