32 & 1/2 weeks

My partner in crime (biscuit) is back on the scene, so she was able to snap a belly pic of me today.  Please disregard my overall puffy PUFFY face and eyes because that's the norm for me these days.  While the acne hasn't subsided since I was about a week pregnant - I now have the additional water retention in the ankles/feet, hands and face.  I knew about ankle swelling but had no idea that my eyelids would swell to the point where I look like I'm having an allergic reaction. I am down to just wearing mascara because any additional makeup would just get swallowed by my fat eyelids.  It's oh so beautiful.  Oh well..only a few short weeks to go and our little girl will be here.  I consider myself lucky that I don't have gestational diabetes or anything serious - so a little swelling (ok a LOT swelling) I can deal with.  The hardest thing is writing these days.  My handwriting was awful before - but now that my fingers are like sausages it is nearly impossible to write something legible.  Sorry in advance to anyone who has to try to decipher my scribble!

Additonally, I have revamped the blog layout....again! Yes I know I did it a while back but I was really not happy with the result.  I was just getting frustrated so I gave up and went with the last one that I got working.  Now I think I've got it where I want it.  I hope you all like - it's a lot cleaner I think. 

Well, back to the grind.  Enjoy the latest belly pic in all it's glory!

can you believe I still have 8 weeks?!?

The Nursery Reveal

So we've been working hard on the nursery and it's pretty much done.  We have a few things to add (curtains for one...hence the empty curtain rod) but for the most part it's complete.  Now all we need is our little girl to snuggle with and rock to sleep in our awesome glider!  Anyway, here are the pics!



here is the view from the doorway



the repainted vintage furniture (with new knobs) and the shelves/baskets that Sean put up for me!  Oh AND the awesome print that I won from the tinyandlittle blog! Yay!!





another view of the crib.  I was considering putting another piece of art on the blank wall behind the crib, but I'm hoping we'll get a mobile and that will go there...so I figured I'd wait and see how that looks first!



The shelves along the opposite wall of the crib.  The top row are all my old "Little Golden Books" and my first dolls.  Also on the top right are my first pair of baby shoes.  The bottom row holds all our little girl's first toys!  Aren't they adorable?!





View of wall opposite of crib.  I am in love with these dressers we got off of Craig's list - they are prefect!




Our new rocking chair that my sisters gave us complete with a cute owl pillow AND the adorable Oh Susanna doll that I won from the dandelion blog in Australia! Isn't she darling?!



So there it is.  I just love walking in there at random times during the day and imagine what it will be like once she's here with us.  So excited!

In other news - I just called the doctor to get the results from my latest glucose tolerance test and I'm very happy to report that I do NOT have gestational diabetes! I can not tell you how relieved I am.  Sure I still need to watch my sugar and diet but I am not considered high risk and I don't have to worry about checking my blood every few hours and all that.  I have been so worried about this the past few weeks (since my last test came back inconclusive) but now that I'm in the clear I can focus my energy on all the happiness! Horray!

My feelings on lame fonts

I was just writing with my friend handpecked over our mutual hate of lame fonts, and it made me think about WHY I hate these fonts so much.  Here's why...

And there ya have it!



New things are coming!

So, I haven't taken pictures of these items alone yet, so I can't list them on my store...but I had to share them with you all now.  Consider this a sneak peek.  My dear friend Yen and I went to the gem and jewelry show last weekend and spend 5 HOURS looking at beads! She is such a trooper, and really helped me to pick out items that I probably wouldn't naturally gravitate to.  It was so much fun! (Sean was very happy to be left home on this outing!) 

Anyway, my bestest friend WB came over last night and modeled my new designs for my shop.  She has lovely ears and neck! (What a good friend, huh)?  Anyway - I can't just use these photos alone on the shop so I have to do the rest of the photography over the weekend and then start posting! In the meantime - enjoy!

A new nook with a new look!

So I have to take a little departure from my wedding recaps to share my new happy place with you.  As I'm sure you are all aware - and probably sick of hearing about - I have started making jewelry.  This has turned into way more of a hobby than I could have ever imagined. I have been having so much fun learning different tecniques and creating new things.  I had no idea a hobby like this could be so rewarding.

That being said....I have accumulated a lot of stuff.  Stuff necessary to make all these pretty things.  And...well, I've outgrown my little craft corner.

 there is nowhere to work here anymore...just piles of supplies!

So....I asked Sean if we could come up with some other solution.  First we talked about moving a dresser out of the room and expanding along the wall.  No, that wouldn't work.  Then we talked about me moving to the laundry room - but there are no air vents in there so I would probably freeze to death in the winter.  Plus that is a little too close to the "man cave" for my taste.  So....we decided on me taking over the closet in the guest room.  It's recent role was that of "catch all" for stuff I didn't want to deal with.  It was one of those closets where you put something in and shove the door - hoping it will shut.  It housed a winter comforter, an airmatress with a hole in it, and wrapping paper from 5 years ago.

 yikes!

Because he hates shopping with a passion, Sean offered to clean out the closet while I went shopping at Ikea for a desk to fit into the closet.  I couldn't have been happier.  Sean clean while I shop?  Bliss! I picked out the perfect desk and Sean got to work putting it all together for me (he's the best!)

So handy!

I am so happy with the outcome! This is the perfect space to get the creative juices flowing.  I made so many new pieces this weekend and was able to lay everything out.  It is so easy to see all of the diffrent supplies I have on hand now. And the best part is, when I'm done I can just shut the door and you'd never even know it was there.  (Perfect to keep the kitties out too!)

What craft nook?

ta da!

little slice of heaven right here!

So yeah....that's my new creative space.  It's amazing what you can do with a closet!

Bird-Themed Table Numbers

Disclaimer: This post was written before the wedding...BUT I didn't want to give anything away to those who actually attended the event.  Therefore, these tidbits have all been saved for posting.  This post was written on April 18th.  Enjoy...

One of the biggest pieces of my wedding vision were the table numbers.  I had been planning these for months and spent countless hours looking for the perfect little birdies and choosing colors for the numbers and what type of moss I wanted.  Biscuit's dad cut the wood bases for us and then it was time to assemble.  I recruited Biscuit and Kris to come over and help - and it was a great time.  We got out our glue guns, bags of moss, packs of birdies and got to crafting.  Here are the results.  I LOVE THEM!

* This part of the post was written after the wedding. This part was written on June 9, 2010.*

I can not tell you how happy I was with how everything turned out! The table numbers MADE the tables, just like I thought they would!  And the flowers and table cloths and everything came together - just how I envisioned it!  YAY! I still don't have the professional photos - but I wanted to start sharing all of the crafts.  I'll be sure to post the highlights of the professional shots when I get them at the end of the month.

uppin' the jewelry skills

So, I've been upping my jewelry making skills lately and wanted to share with you all.  I've moved on to higher-end materials like sterling silver and fire-polished beads.  I also took a wire class this past weekend and learned about wrapping and hammering.  I've been having so much fun! I hope you like!!

swarovski crystal earrings

double beaded earrings

hand-hammered ring necklace with czech glass beads

fire polished czech beads with copper lining

Secret Posts

I am starting to write my posts about all the wedding crafts and saving them as drafts.  That way I don't share anything before the big event but still have all the DIY stuff written and documented.  After the honeymoon I'll start posting them so you all can see what fun I had creating the look of our DIY crafty wedding.  I can't wait to share.  It's so hard to keep all these drafts secret and not hitting post - but I promise it'll be worth it!

In the meantime...isn't he handsome?  I can't wait to get married! 5 weeks (squee!)

at Kevin and Stacey's Wedding Rehearsal

I suck at blogging

I swear I want to blog more often.  I love finding fun stuff to post and/or do crafty things and share them.  I have been so crazy busy lately with wedding planning and life in general (Sean's brother got married last weekend too!) that I haven't had the time to be inspired.  I am making super cute table numbers this weekend and a cupcake stand and I SO want to share them here....but I think I'm going to wait until after the wedding to show all of my super cute wedding crafts.  I don't want to ruin the suprise by doing it in pieces.  There are so many DIY projects going into our wedding...and I can't wait to share all of my (and T's) hard work with you. There's less than 40 days before the big event.  Here is a list of all the craft projects that still need to be done:

- table numbers
- cupcake stand
- table runners
- finish making my jewelery
- finish bridesmaids presents
- hotel welcome bags
- finish programs
- table assignment cards
- paper poofs
- napkin rings
- picture memory montage
- cake topper
- make 100 cupcakes (eek!)
- a thousand other things I haven't thought of!

I am going to be a busy bride-to-be in the coming weeks! I can't wait until the day is finally here!!