Love Being a Girl

Friday Inspiration

I have been wanting to paint my dining room, because I tried to retouch paint, but it didn't go on very well. I was going to do a plain ivory until I saw this picture...and now I am inspired to do something more bold. Who knows. If I ever get around to doing it, I will try to do before and after pictures.

Here's to You

I lately have been looking around me to those who have really shaped my life in some way or form. I decided to write about a few of them. Obviously the first three I thought of were my Mom, and my two sisters.

I grew up with two amazing sisters. My older sister, Rebekah and my younger sister Tami. I was incredibly blessed to have these two in my life. Well, this post is dedicated to my younger sister, Tami...or Tam-Tam, Tammers, Tam, Tamika, Rooster, Tam-Tam-a-Roo...well, I could go on and on.

Tam-Tam was and still is always up for a party. She would always want to do fun things, invite someone over, always accepting every invitation. She would have rather had balloons than flowers or candy. It was so fun being her sister. As kids, she would always want to sleep in my room, partly because she was kind of scared, but I think mostly, because she loved being with people, and it was like having a slumber party every night. I enjoyed 'me' time, so I would always maker her clean my room, stay on her side of the bed, not say anything from the moment she would walk in the room, make my bed in the morning...I don't know why she would put herself through the torture!

Tami was also the one who helped me start my sweet walk with the Lord. She gave her heart to the Lord when she was 10 and then made a deeper commitment when she was 11. I wish I had been a good example and showed her how sweet a relationship with Jesus could be, but it was the other way around. She kept telling me that I needed to follow Him too, and finally about a year after she became a Christian, I did too. And I am so grateful that I had her and Bek to be the good examples that I should have been.

Tam, we have had some wonderful and some not-so-wonderful times together...but through it all, you have helped shape me into the person I am today. I love you for all the depth, love, memories, quirkiness, laughter, joy, and devotion that you have brought to my life.

Love you!

The Long and the Short of It

I have been trying to grow my hair out since I had it cut, when I was first pregnant with Oliver. I felt so sick all the time, and drying my hair was one thing that made me feel so sick. So I chopped it. I have had short hair before after I had Will...like here...

and didn't like it and I still hate every picture of myself with it short.

But I keep getting the urge to cut it, especially when i see cute styles like these.

Have patience....have patience...

Hmmm...

I think I want a pretty closet.

Friday Inspiration

This weather has been making me so excited for Spring and Summer and enjoying the outdoors again. I know some of you...like Rebekah's family...enjoy the outdoors in the winter. But I am no Eskimo...even though I've been asked if I am part Eskimo...yeah, I thought it was a little strange too.

Anyway. The warm weather has been inspiring me to think of our back yard and what to do with it this year. Here are some fabulous Outdoor Rooms/Spaces.

Isn't this one just beautiful?! I love the wood lintel over the door, the amazing swing, the black table and of course, since I am married to a Mason Contractor, I love the stone!

Isn't this fun? It would be such a great place to entertain, and just for your own family.

Love the look, but would hate having sand drug into my house all the time.

so sweet and girly.

So classy.

I love ivy...as you know if you've come to my house. My front yard is being taken over with my ivy that I planted a couple years back.

THIS would be the ULTIMATE place to be. On the ocean and so peaceful and beautiful!

Once again...love the brick.

And last but not least...isn't this a spectacular outdoor space?! Mmmmm...just love it!

Happy Friday!

Powder Pink to Black Rock

I think I've written before how I went through a little nesting phase with Oliver, where I painted quite a few rooms in my house. One of those projects was the kitchen...where I painted it grey. Well when Jarod got home he said, 'if you're going to paint anything, paint the pink bathroom'. He was speaking of my little powder room off the kitchen that I painted pink. Since I have all boys in my house, I wanted one place that was very girly. However, since I was on a roll and Jarod told me to...I said, 'ok', and the next day went out and painted that bathroom...black. Yep, there went the only place in my house that was very girly. I do like it now more than I did the pink, I have to say.

So, my inspiration for painting it black? Well, I saw a picture that I LOVED and decided black was the way to go...I mean look at some of these fabulous bathrooms. All with some form of black.

Love the black tile!

So sharp

This bathroom reminds me of a Japanese hotel bathroom for some reason.

I actually saw this picture first a few years back and LOVED it! But didn't do my bathroom until about 3 years later. But isn't it so great?

THIS was the picture that I fell in love with! I loved everything about it. My bathroom is a little too small to do the little green stool...I loved it so much, I thought about getting one just like it.

The color I picked is a warm black. I didn't want it to be too cold. It's Pratt & Lambert's Obsidian, which is a kind of black lava rock...not so girly anymore. It has more brown undertones than blue. In this picture it actually looks more brown than what it is for real. I eventually want to get a new light and mirror and I have a couple ideas for artwork, but for now this will have to do. (The yellow towel is from Anthropologie.) And yes, the garbage needs to be emptied.

So, there you have it...a whole story on how I decided to paint my bathroom. Yeah, kind of boring, but thought I would share.

I love house plants...especially real ones. However, I am no green thumb, even my fake plants tend to look wilted after a while, which is supposed to be impossible right?

So, I just look at them in pictures...and now post them on my blog. Like I said before, I love things that are not what you expect, but so much better. Well, how about a plant, but 10x the size of one you would expect.

Isn't this kind of neat? The tree is wilted, but looks fabulous...my kind of decorating.

As you can tell, I am in love with these Fiddle Leaf Fig trees. Even the name is fun.

Isn't it amazing?

Happy Weekend.

Friday Inspiration

A couple weeks ago, I got the privilege of watching these two kiddos. They are Jarod's sister, Candice's two kids, Ryan and Elle.

The bathtub photo...don't know if you had one. But we have a couple where when we were a little older, we couldn't believe our parents would put us in the same bath.

Elle doesn't look too sure.

Even though they are a year apart, these two have become good buds.

And these two are just 5 weeks apart. Love this picture....you can tell Will is a first and only child. See how Jarod securely holds on to the sitting child...and no one is near the lunging 6th child.

Then while we were in Hawaii, Bek sent me this picture of Oliver. Can you imagine being away from this sweet face for 9 days and getting this picture?!

Aloha

A year ago, Jarod's dad said to buy Hawaii tickets, that we were invited to go with them in Feb of 2011 to the Island of Oahu for a week.

So, last week we packed up and headed off to Hawaii with Will. Oliver stayed home with very capable babysitters.

After cancelled flights and terrible flights...we finally made it to this beautiful resort.

Will's first few minutes on the beach...running back and forth, back and forth.

Buddies on the beach.

We went to the North, South, East and West shores. Each shore also had a beautiful view of the mountains.

Saw many surfers.

Dad and Jarod cracking up about some text he got.

Will trying on snorkeling gear. Notice all the sand on his face...he couldn't get enough of the sand. He would pour it on his head every day, and we would scrub it out every night in the bath.

Jarod and I went to Pearl Harbor one day. Such an amazing place and history! I was so glad I could go. Here Jarod is on an old submarine...such a great tour. In the back ground to the left is the Arizona memorial.

Enjoying the sunset.

The balcony looked out on the ocean and the sunset every night.

"Hang loose"

The men

Our family minus Oliver

Jarod working the boogie board.

Love this one. Grandpa and Will were such buddies.

We got in a date night while Dad and Mom babysat.

The view from our balcony.

Our last night, we went to Honolulu and saw Waikiki beach. Here Dad and Mom pose with the hotel they stayed at on their honeymoon in the back ground. It's the pink one over to the left. We went and looked around in it and it is an amazing hotel!

Last one we took of us.

Such a great vacation! Thanks so much to Dad and Mom who had us join them. Such a special time to spend with them and each other. Hang Loose.