THINGS I'M LOVING

1.  Zara - Yes, that's right, I'm breaking out of my Old Navy and Target shell.  Trying to aim more long-lasting and "signature" for my post-three-babies wardrobe.  I still love me some Tarjay convenience, and I am still a big fan, but perhaps not clothing myself solely in their wares.

 {I bought this faux leather cardigan recently and have LOVED wearing it...very cute}

2.   Someone please let me put these Currey and Company pendants over your kitchen island...please

3.  I might not be the person to ask about "good coffee", and I realize and own that...BUT I really like this :)

4.  Honeycrisp apples...these and Pink Ladies are my apples of choice...and they alternate seasons so I'm both a)happy year round and b)spending lots of money on apples {around $2.60-$2.99/lb for honeycrisp at WalMart! sheesh}

5.  Benjamin Moore Millstone Gray...doing kitchen cabinets in this color for a client right now and I have already seen some of the painted product and it's GORGEOUS...one of those colors that has a lot of depth and subtlety.

6.  Pinterest cooking...always hit or miss but recently it's been a big HIT! {that orzo and asparagus and tomato pasta on the bottom left of the picture is a wonderfully light lunch}

 

7.  My new dining room chandelier! Out with the Lowes builder home special, in with the waited-way-too-many-years-for-this-beauty.  I am definitely a fan of large scale lighting so I did not let my eight foot ranch house ceilings stop me.  I do my bible study on this table every when-I-wake-up-early-enough-in-the morning and I have to be honest...she makes the space so NICE.  With my cup of French Vanilla in hand ...

8.  Two local stores: Carter and Company, and Five Gold Monkeys.  Carter and Company is a new "everything" boutique-type housewares store and has awesome accessories for your home, a few clothing options, jewelry, art, furniture, etc...all at great prices.  The shop owners have excellent taste. 

 

{my recent purchase...looking very staged because it was...sent it to my sister...

no I dont make a habit of staging my jewelry purchases}

Five Gold Monkeys is a local fabric/interiors store that just completely re-did their approach to business by offering up booths in the back of the store for individuals to rent out, sort of like an antique store does.  Now they have everything from monogramming to children's clothing to pillows and drapes to housewares to artwork and everything in between.  It is quickly becoming my go-to for cute miscellaneous decorative items for work {and my own house}.  Just bought this awesome reclaimed wood mirror for a client's Cabana bathroom

 

9.  My 50mm lens.  I always go through spells of using and not using my big camera, but I've pulled it out recently and have been reminded of just how much I love this {inexpensive} lens.  And how happy I am that I have a camera that can finally auto-focus it!

10.  And finally, this fabric for my {one day} dining room drapes.  I had always imagined white linen but when I saw this fabric I just knew it was it.  I think it will add just the pop of pattern and color in my dining room/den, but not in a way that I will get tired of it. :) As previously mentioned in my post about the kids playroom....who knows when I will actually a)purchase said fabric and b)have said drapes made.  But hey, this is a very good step in the right direction!

Happy Sunday everyone!

burlap + pinecones = fall mantle

 = free and good

= basically free bc im a fabric hoarder, and GOOOOD

a couple weeks ago the kids and i drove to the area around our botanical gardens to gather pinecones.  lets credit this idea to another pinterest find. {are you tired of hearing about that site yet?!?}

when we first moved in our house, there was not a working fireplace.  not so good for my pyromaniac husband.  so installing a corner fireplace was one of the first moves we made.  tore out existing OLD built ins {considering our tv didnt remotely fit the tiny tv space anyway}

picture of old built ins from previous owners, before we bought the house...our tv sat on the floor in front of those built ins for a month before we braved the fireplace renovation

and made way for the largest fireplace we could fit {which just happened to be the smallest wood burning one they sold} ;).  we bought an antique mantle from plunderosa on hwy 59 and had it rebuilt by our handyman to fit our fireplace opening.

and then, bc there was just no other wall in our living room to place it, the tv made its final resting place above the fireplace.  it really does serve the room well, but it makes decorating the mantle a BEAR.

so i am always on the lookout for creative, low profile ideas.

this is the happiest, easiest...ONLY fall mantle ive ever had.

please ignore the eerie orange glow on the tv...should have turned off the lamp

pinecones = nature; candle sticks = already had them; burlap = left over scrap pieces from my christmas tree skirt; plastic pumpkins = 50% off halloween decor at michaels, painted them white with leftover paint from my office project

not to mention the fall fun that was had in all in the gathering

i love it when the ground is covered in a blanket of pinestraw.
depsite her happy smiles, this lady did not.
so she spent most of her time here

while brother and i did the gathering

my little blue dessert

poor little baby number three.
he has not had much mention on the blog, but he definitely is topic numero uno around our little household.  so i thought i would do a post in honor of our little caboose...and in honor of all things BLUE and MASCULINE and BOY

Source: oheskimo.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: fabricworm.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: shak-shuka.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: flor.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: vivafullhouse.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: fschumacher.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: elementsofstyleblog.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: shop.emersonmade.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: elementsofstyleblog.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: josevillablog.com via Natalie on Pinterest

i am eagerly anticipating this re-entry into the world of BLUE

and BOY ;)

random thoughts by natalie on a thursday afternoon

haha

thought this was an appropriate follow up title to mondays post...
;)

i just bought three more of THESE...light switch extensions that glow in the dark.  we have had one in the playroom and one in each of the bathrooms in the back of our house since bennett was old enough to walk to his playroom and play by himself.  now we need one in his room and eventually the other baby rooms.

they are LIFESAVERS. {also helps with potty training! more inclined to "do it by myself" if they really can do EVERYTHING by themselves}

this girl is on the move

and i cant get enough of her roly poly chunks of thighs.
{seriously...where are all my pictures of her thighs??? i know i have some...}
she is happier, i am happier, and poor steele is perhaps a little un-happier.
the girl LOVES her "puh puh" {puppy}{i am THIS close to counting it as her first word...but im just a little thrown off as bennett wasnt even vocalizing recognizable sounds until over a year old.  so ill just wait until she starts asking me for her bottle straight out to consider her talking for real :) }


i am loving pinterest.
i kinda go on spells where i will forget about it, but the other day i somehow came across THIS pretty mess of a site and was overwhelmed with inspiration.
 
its been awhile since i was overwhelmed with inspiration to this extent.
gorgeous pictures of all kinds and i
ate. it. up.
for 45 minutes one night while stephen was watching deadliest catch.

speaking of, look who we ran into in orange beach last weekend:
{facebook friends youve already seen this silly pic}

you are exactly right.
thats none other than wild bill of the kodiak crab boat, out of alaska, and his son.
they were in town visiting a friend they said {and on a stop of their...world tour?...since driving from alaska is pretty much traveling the GLOBE in my opinion}
and i was the one who first saw and recognized him.
maybe embarrassing to some, but to my husband i might as well have bought him antique dueling fire arms off pawn stars and served him homemade smothered porkchops with rice and gravy, all at the same time.  he was proud of me and the few skills ive gathered from my random glances at the tv when deadliest catch is on.
{as i mentioned, im usually working or at least oogling the latest wonder in the blogging/design world}


speaking of oogling...i know ive said...and said...on here that we are thinking of redo-ing some stuff around our house {furniture/accessories/paint/KITCHEN...i.e. doing to my house what i do to others for a living...}.  ive been quite giddy and have had the plan and vision worked out for, oh i dont know, YEARS.
and now little mr. baby #3 has changed things a bit.
instead of all the things in my head, we might be tearing down an old ugly tree, adding a room, and getting a new roof and new insulation in our attic.
= no fun but must be done.
{love you teenie tiny little baby...you are changing our lives in more ways than you {or we} well know...and we couldnt be happier :)...id trade a million new kitchens for one little newborn snuggle from you}

*happy sigh*

a girl can still dream so i am still looking and thinking...so while a kitchen redo might be is WAY out of the question any time soon, maybe a little bit of sprucing up around the ole humble abode might occur along the way.
as in gradual.
as in baby step by teenie tiny baby step. {literally...}
i finally found my green velvet i want to use on a sofa one day...i knew it could never be real mohair velvet, or anything similar.  it needed to have the look and feel and richness of velvet but be kid friendly, durable, and TOUGH.
oh, and pretty darn affordable.
AND it had to be the right color...no brown-y, sage-y, or neon-y hint.
DONE, DONE and DONE!
my dear friend robert allen has this in their contract line and the wholesale price is quiiiiiiiiitttttttteeeeeeeeee pleasing to my eye

and it would look great on any of the following sofas {i have to decide if i want traditional english rolled arm or more structured, nail head look....what are your votes?}

1.

2.

3.

4.

ill let you know in 5-10 years what we choose

;)

jk.

the kids start school and MDO on monday {cyber fist pump} and we are trying to cram some beach weekends in while we can.  last weekend was our first trip since the 4th and it was a welcomed change of pace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and now a litte comparison:

emory

natalie

i woke up saturday morning and decided i wanted to make biscuits.

who knows.

i scrounged around the house and found most of the ingredients i needed.  

had to make my own buttermilk with milk and white vinegar but other than that everything was there.

they were good but did NOT rise.  might have something to do with the baking soda and baking powder dating back to prehistoric times....just conjecturing ;)

 

whew!

ok i think im all out of thoughts for today!

well maybe except for this one:

adios!