I recently realized how many DIY welcome mats that I have been seeing (and totally loving) on Pinterest. There are so many amazing ideas I want to try that I might need to start making a different welcome mat every month. Seriously. I love them all.

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Happy Birthday, Mom!

Photo by She Designs Photography

 

My mom turns 50 today! Yes, she is totally fine with the world knowing her age and is actually having a blast with this milestone birthday. That's one of the reasons I love her. She is one of the most positive people I know and is constantly having fun and attempting to get others to do the same. She has been my #1 fan my entire life, has always put her family before herself, and is so beautiful to me inside and out. She is THE reason I have a creative side and thus this blog exists.

 

Happy Birthday, Mom! Thank you for being a blessing and inspiration to so many people during your first 50 years. I hope the next 50 are the best of your life! I love you! Now go party, party, party!

 

 

Things I'm Loving Thursday : Gingham

Gingham... it's sweet, sentimental, classic, and modern. Yep, I said it - MODERN! Gingham is making a comeback, ladies. It's no longer limited to that "country" style we are all used to associating it with, and I am super excited about it! Check out some of my favorite fresh takes on this old school print.

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Washi Tape Storage Lids

The moment I saw these cute little jars at Ikea I knew they were destined to be mine. They would be the perfect addition to my craft room since I can always use more storage! Ok... I have a confession. Using the jars as storage was not the ONLY reason I wanted them. As cute as they were I had a dream for them to be even better. The plain (kind of boring) lids were a blank slate calling out to me. When I purchased them I envisioned spray painting the lids bright colors, but once I got home I decided on something easier. Hello, washi! 

Now that they are finished I know I made the right choice. The washi tape adds such a fun color pop and was so much easier than paint since it literally only involved sticking tape onto a lid. The most difficult part of this project was picking out which tapes to use. Easy peasy! Totally my kind of craft.

Infertility Awareness

 

 

I recently saw a quote similar to this on Pinterest and since then I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. I can't tell you the number of times in a week that I am told that if I relax it will happen. Here's the thing... I know without a doubt that every person who says this to me sincerely believes it to be true. They aren't trying to be funny or mean. They are giving advice that they honestly believe to be a legitimate solution.

 

It all comes down to education. Our society hasn't wanted to talk about infertility. I am ready for that to change. That's why I'm sharing this today. It's a FACT that infertility is a major medical issue. It's not something that will go away by changing your state of mind. Infertility has nothing to do with you not trying hard enough or trying too hard. It's been proven that some people are just born with or inherit infertility just like diabetes.

 

Spread the word. Know the facts. Infertility is a disease... not a state of mind.

 

Easy DIY Pencil Skirt

A pencil skirt is an article of clothing that looks great on everyone. I practically live in the stretchy knit kind during the summer, because they're easy to throw on, comfortable, and can be dressed up or down depending on what top, shoes, and accessories you pair them with. I started learning to sew this past winter so I am by no means experienced. I know how to do the basics. By basics I mean a straight line with a sewing machine. So when I saw this tutorial on Pinterest by Merricks Art entitled "The Easiest Pencil Skirt You'll Ever Make" my curiosity was peaked. I wasn't sure it would be that easy, but it turns out that I was way wrong. It really is the easiest pencil skirt you'll ever make. 
With my handy dandy mother-in-law by my side (that's right, I called my mother-in-law "handy dandy") I was able to whip out a custom fitted pencil skirt in less than an hour. It would have taken even less time than that, but I decided at the last minute that I wanted to add elastic to the waist (the Merricks Art tutorial does not include those instructions... this is why my mother-in-law gets nicknames such as I used above :) ). The entire skirt including fabric, thread, and elastic cost $5. I just paid $20 at Old Navy for the exact same style skirt just a month ago before I found this tutorial. Never again! If you can sort of operate a pair of scissors and sewing machine then you can make this skirt.

Freebie Friday : Bahana Splits Boutique Giveaway

How about a little giveaway on this lovely Friday morning?! Enter below with the Rafflecopter widget for a chance to win a Full Spool (240 yards) of Baker's Twine in the color of your choice from Bahana Splits Boutique. Good luck, my lovelies!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Things I'm Loving Thursday : S'mores Parties

Did you know that S'mores parties are a "thing" now?! I don't know where people come up with some of this stuff, but I want to say thank you to whoever made up this one! I really, really, really want to host or attend one of these. Did you hear that, my local friends? This is something we NEED to do... and SOON!

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Mind Over Matter

I'm pretty sure my husband is sick of hearing me say this lately. I have kind of adopted it as "my" phrase over the past couple years. Like when I'm exhausted and don't want to get off the couch to do the dishes. I tell myself, "Mind over matter... I'm not that tired. I can do this!" Or like the first time Darren had to stab me in the stomach with a hormone shot and I kept saying "Mind over matter... it won't be that bad. Just do it!" Haha! Seriously though, it really wasn't that bad!

For some reason us humans can really make things seem a lot worse than they actually are. We psych ourselves out, we get all worked up about something little, or we say "I can't". I don't know why, but sometimes simply saying this phrase to myself helps me get over those things. It reminds me that I am stronger than I give myself credit for and that I can do it if I just decide I am going to.

So there's your random pep talk of the day! I don't know why this is on my brain... I guess I just needed to hear it myself. Oh well... if you get nothing else out of this you at least have a new motivational saying to pin to your "Quotes" board on Pinterest. LOL!

Happy Monday! I wish you a lovely week, my friends! Remember, you can do it! Keep going! Mind over matter!  :)

iPhone Recap : May, June, and July 2013

I have obviously been majorly slacking when it comes to my monthly picture sharing! So here's a little snippet of what's been going on in our lives during the past three months...

>>> MAY <<<

In May we headed to the beautiful state of Virginia to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. One of the best parts of the trip was getting to see a couple of my bestest friends (aka siblings) and the parents.

What do I like about warmer weather? Well, I love everything about it, but it being suitable for ordering a frappuccino is definitely one of the best parts!

In late April / early May, this precious little kitty swooped in and stole my heart. My neighbors found him in their garage all by himself when he was only 2 - 3 weeks old. They asked if I wanted to take him since they already have several cats of their own. At first I wasn't sure how it was going to work since Simba has been the "only child" for so long, but after a couple days I was smitten with him. He was my baby for the time being while I continued to wait for God to bless me with a child of my own. 

The rest of these pictures tell you that with May's arrival, I was ready for all things Summer. So on to June!

>>> JUNE <<<

Living in a small town means just about everyone has a garden. We are blessed to have a big yard to grow our own and to also live next to the sweetest neighbors that like to share their spoils. We never lack fresh fruit or veggies this time of year. I love it!

June is my birthday month! After a not-so-fun procedure at the RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) in the a.m., my mother-in-law and I spent the day driving all over Indianapolis to go birthday shopping! Thank goodness for her... knowing we were going to go shopping that day made going through that painful procedure so much easier! I visited World Market, Crate & Barrel, and The Container Store for the first time on this day.

Another June highlight was getting to attend our annual family reunion on my mom's side and spending the weekend with my beautiful grandmother! She is a hilarious, strong, wonderful women. I am thankful for every minute I am able to spend with her!

June was full of new "trying to get pregnant" adventures. By the way, I am a total pro these days at giving blood! We did our first round of Femara (an oral hormone drug to try to make my eggs mature) and also did our first HCG trigger shot. The trigger shot is given after an ultrasound halfway through your cycle confirms that there are mature eggs and is intended to make them finish maturing and then release (ovulation). As far as I know, June was the first month that I have ovulated since July 2012 when we got pregnant the first time. I was beyond hopeful that we were pregnant. I had all the symptoms and we even saw a faint positive line on one of the pregnancy tests. Sadly it didn't stick. Whether it was just my regular cycle or another early miscarriage we will never know, but regardless we were crushed.

>>> JULY <<<

Happy 4th of July!!! Sportin' my red, white, and blue.  :)

Apparently July was National Pool Month for me... I went swimming a lot. I think I just needed an extra dose of relaxation time. 

I love this silly man. This life would be impossible without him by my side. 

In July I had to say goodbye to my "baby". He was just 4 months old, but somehow I felt like a much bigger part of my soul was taken the day he left. "Littles" as we nicknamed him, will always hold a special place in our hearts for all the joy he brought us during one of the hardest parts of our lives. We miss him more than we could have known we would, but are thankful for the short time he was in our lives.

And since I REALLY don't want to end on a super sad note, here are the gorgeous flowers my hubby brought home this week to try to cheer me up. Flowers always do that for me. I'm thankful to have such a sweet guy that loves me and knows how to make me smile. I'm so blessed!