Thinkin' Pink!

Doc and I knocked out a big outdoor project over the last two weekends that I can't wait to share with you all.  But first, to get you in the outdoor mood, wanna see the flowers I planted this year? It wasn't long after our gender revealment party that I headed to Home Depot to get new flowers for all of our beds.  I must've had pink on the brain because that's the only color I came home with!  I have two triple-tier flower pots on our patio that I love and for them, I bought a bunch of vincas (similar to impatiens, but better!).  I chose an assortment of pinks to fill up the pots; we have some that are bright fuschia with white centers like these.

 

And we have some that are the opposite - white with fuschia centers.

 

If those two were to kiss and make baby flowers, they'd probably look like these pale pink ones.

 

So now our two triple-tier pots are occupied by a big family of happy pink flowers!

 

A view from the top.  I'm pleased with how these have already started filling in.

Staying in the courtyard, we also have this potted hydrangea.  My sister-in-law Beth gave it to me for Mother's Day - it's pink for baby girl.  It had beautiful pink blooms on it but they didn't survive while we were at the beach for a week.  I'm currently nursing it back to health and really hope we get to see more blooms this summer.

Also in the courtyard are these three pots that sit on the patio table.  Two are full of more fuschia flowers leftover from the beds.  The other has two teeny, tiny pine trees.  Each employee at my work was given a small pine tree last fall at a tree planting ceremony to celebrate our 50th anniversary (I ended up with two thanks to a coworker that didn't want hers).  They've definitely grown since I planted them but at the rate they're going, it may be years before I can put them in the ground!

Moving on to the backyard - if you can even call it that - we have a row of more fuschia and white flowers.

 

I don't remember what these are called - anyone know their name?  The fuschia ones are solid and the white ones look a little tie-dyed-ish.

 

In the front yard, I planted more vincas in the two flower beds that line our sidewalk.  They haven't started multiplying as well as the ones in the pots yet.

And, keeping with tradition, I planted zinnias underneath our Japanese Maple.

I usually go with lots of colors for the zinnias, but Home Depot only had pink at the time.  It's like they knew my color scheme!

That completes our Tour de Pink.  I do have another plant update for you, though.  Remember these pots I did back in April?  They started out like this.

 

Well, they've definitely done some growing!  They've filled in quite nicely.

 

I love the way they look flanking our front door.

And now this gets us teed up and ready to talk about the project we just completed.  I'll start working on those posts tonight!

Happy Father's Day!

I suppose this is one of those better-late-than-never kind of posts.  Nine o'clock in the evening isn't too late to wish all the Dad's out there a good day, is it? Doc and I are fortunate enough to both have awesome dads that have always been very involved in our lives.  And I think we've both been very happy to adopt the other's dad as our own.  Doc's dad, Bill, welcomed me into his life as another daughter with no hesitations and always has my back when Doc tries to tease me.  He's also my eating buddy and always has a brand new bag of potato chips and french onion dip waiting on me when we visit.  He makes me laugh.  Doc and my dad have become pretty good friends too.  No matter how much time they spend together, they never seem to run out of things to talk about.  From work and the banking world to what they shot on the golf course to how to unclog a shower drain or the best way to put together a piece of furniture, they pretty much cover it all.  We love our Dads and wouldn't trade them for the world.

Unfortunately, Doc did not get to see Anna and Wyatt today since they're at the beach.  They did call him though and wish him a happy father's day.  I wrapped up a gift for him from baby girl - an embroidered Notre Dame onesie and burp cloth since her arrival will fall right in the middle of football season.  She's ready to cheer on the Irish!

My mom is out of town and she made me promise we'd take care of Dad for his special day (as if we wouldn't).  Doc and I invited him to join us for brunch at a new restaurant on S. Main.  The weather was so nice we were able to eat outside.

This restaurant is so new that they're still working out a lot of kinks and nailing down menu items.  We all had a waffle and I know it doesn't look like much, but it was probably the best waffle I've ever had.

While the boys chatted (I'm telling you, they talk about anything and everything), I went ahead and helped myself to a little dessert - a root beer float.  I can't help it; I'm eating for two.

Sadly, that was about the extent of our Father's Day celebration.  We knocked out a huge project this weekend, though, so I'll be back with pictures of that soon.

Swimming with Cuties

We spent our Memorial Day holiday hanging out at my brother's pool.  I know, that was, like, a month ago but I'm posting these pictures anyway!  The Sunday before we had no idea how we were going to spend our day off work, so of course we were more than thrilled when my sister-in-law Erin invited us over for the day.  An afternoon in the sun by the pool?  Yes, please.  And with my favorite little cuties?  Heck yes! Will you forgive me if once again I post unedited photos?  It's getting close the 9pm and this girl's already getting tired!

Ben and Erin took on most of the cooking (I should actually probably just say Erin) and made BBQ chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers.  Erin outdid herself and made three flavors of homemade ice cream - vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry banana.  They just asked the rest of us to bring snacks to go with all of that, so I prepared fresh fruit skewers.  Since I had so many grapes left over, I also made a tray of cute green caterpillars for the kids.  (Can't take credit for the idea - I saw it online somewhere, I'm just not sure where).  They were super easy - grapes on a skewer with mini chocolate chips.  I used melted white chocolate to make the chips stick.

I'll try to limit my commentary tonight and keep this short and sweet.  Basically, just picture the girls in lounge chairs chit-chatting, the boys playing pool basketball, and the kids running and splashing and shooting water guns.  Oh, and if you can, also picture my brothers and husband taking turns diving through a tiny kid-sized inner tube to see who could make it through.  Only one did and I won't name names, but it's the one sitting on the couch next to me right now.  It was very interesting getting to watch the other two figure out how to wiggle out of that floatie.

Doc is always popular with the kids.

I had a short photoshoot with these two, but we had to start with silly faces.

Kissing cousins.  (Again!)

Parker and his woman...

I can't leave out this cutie!

  

That chunky monkey was squeezed into his bumbo seat and he was perfectly content watching everyone swim.

But he had lots of visitors stop by to talk to him too.

In case you're wondering, Jett was also there but he was too cool for my camera.  I hope that doesn't last long.

One last pic before I sign off.  Poor Parker just couldn't keep those 3T swim trucks up.  At least he has a cute little bootie.

Now it's my bedtime...g'night!

Before and After: Antique Bassinet

One Saturday last summer, my mom and I were out running around town and found ourselves stopping at a local antique store's sidewalk sale.  We weren't looking for anything in particular, but we were always on the lookout for a good deal on furniture that could be used in the beach house.  What we weren't looking for is baby furniture.  But that's what we ended up coming home with. We both separately stopped and eyed the bassinet as we made our rounds through the tent.  So cute!  But what would we do with it?  We spent a good hour wandering through the rest of the store before coming back to the bassinet.  Mom knew that Doc and I were ready for a baby and told me I should buy it.  My response?  "Uh-uh, no way.  I am not letting that thing jinx my reproductive organs."  There was no way I was going to buy furniture for a baby that didn't even exist yet.  I knew that if we encountered problems along the way I'd blame "that stupid cradle."

So my mom did exactly what I was secretly hoping she'd do: she bought it herself.  You know, for "her house."  We loaded it up in the back of her car, took it straight to the attic at her house, and never spoke of it again.  (Not really, but we didn't talk about it much.)

And now there's a baby on the way!  Not only can we now speak of the bassinet, but we were able to pull it out of the attic, dust it off, and give it a makeover job worthy of the little girl that will soon (!) be sleeping in it.

Before we get into the nitty gritty details of this Before and After series, let me tell you that it was white when we bought and then we decided to repaint it white so the new look is not really all that drastic of a change.  But it's still pretty darn cute.

Here it is straight out of its hiding place in the attic.  It had already been hosed off in this picture.

It doesn't look that bad from a distance, but up close you could see a lot of chipped paint.

A few spots had what looked like masking tape residue on them.  (My phone camera thought it was more important to focus on the grass, apparently.)

And there were just a few broken pieces of wicker.

I spent a few minutes making repairs, using glue where I could and sometimes pieces of tape.  You can't tell in the photos since it's sitting in grass, but the bassinet has small wheels so I went ahead and taped those off too.

I used our new paint sprayer to get the job done.  If my mom was writing this post, this is when she'd probably post a picture of my painting outfit.  It was bright and sunshine-y the day I painted so I threw a pair of gym shorts and a tank top into my bag for paint clothes (I painted in my parents' backyard).  Turns out that the tank top wasn't exactly sized appropriately for someone who's preggo, so I had a bit of belly hanging out.  It was not my best look.

Anyway, I used Home Depot's untinted white latex paint in a semi-gloss finish.  Since it was VOC-free I was able to do the painting myself.  Here it is with a fresh coat of paint.  (We'll come back to the mattress.)

Like I told you, not drastic at all.  But at least there weren't any chipped spots anymore.

Back to the mattress.  The bassinet did come with one when we bought it but it was a wee bit on the flimsy side...

...and a lotta bit on the gross side.  I have never considered myself a germaphobe at all - I'll eat something off the floor even after 5 seconds, I'll share a popsicle with my nephew or kiss my niece's feet, I pack my shoes in the same bag as my clothes, etc - but there was no way I was going to let my newborn, fresh-out-tha-oven baby girl sleep on something that looked like this.

We pitched that mattress.  Because the bassinet is not a standard crib size, we couldn't just buy another mattress.  Instead, we had a piece of thick foam cut.  Using this tutorial as a guide, my mom was able to make a sheet that fits it perfectly.  It's made out of the softest pink and white striped fabric ever.

And since it's thicker than the original mattress, it fills the bassinet up a little better.

I like that it has a snug fit.  The other mattress just looked like it didn't really belong.

We toyed with other ways we could snazz this little bed up.  A dust ruffle?  Or maybe threading ribbon through the weave of the wicker?  But in the end, I decided I wanted it plain and simple.  This is something I plan on dragging all over the house during the first few weeks so I don't want a skirt or anything getting in the way.  I do think I want to find a small pink and white mobile to hang from the top.  Something sweet and dainty, maybe like this.  Here's my very amateur sketch in photoshop of how that might look.

My mom was so pleased with how easy it was to make the crib sheet that the next time I came to her house, she'd already made another one.  I think she's more excited about being able to change the look of it so easily than I am. :)

I really like how this pink fabric pops against the white wicker.

Up close it has tiny white polka dots on it.

I am so excited about using this little bed that I couldn't resist; I had to try it out.  I picked up sweet baby Henry and put him to bed.

I've heard that dogs are color blind, but something tells me Henry knew he was laying on a pink sheet.  He was so embarrassed and would not make eye contact with me for anything.  This is the best I could get.

Baby girl may not have a name yet or her own nursery, but by golly she's got a place to sleep! At least for a couple of weeks maybe...

Why I Love Vera Bradley

This post has been sitting in my drafts for a month or so, just waiting for me to finish it up.  Today's the day! I know Vera Bradley is one of those things you either love or you hate.  The people who love it usually have gobs of it and the ones who hate it are sometimes pretty vocal about it and it's bright colors and trendiness.  I think I actually fall somewhere in the middle.  I love, love, love my Vera Bradley travel bags, but I'm not really a huge fan of it when it comes to purses.  That's just my opinion; if you have a VB purse, I'm sure it's great.

But really this post is all about my travel set and how much I love it.  I got my first piece - the large duffel bag in Apple Green - when I was nearing the end of my senior year in college.  My roommates carried their duffel bags on all our road trips, and I was ready to follow suit.  A few months later, I began the interview process for a job that would require me to travel more than 50% of the time.  At that same time, I found out the Apple Green print that I loved so much was being discontinued.  So obviously, I told myself I needed to buy all the pieces immediately.  This brings me to reason #1 Why I Love Vera Bradley:

1) I was able to complete my travel set by purchasing all the pieces off eBay, new with tags.  For a recent college grad with no job (I didn't even end up taking the traveling job!), this was key because I had no money.  I was able to find all the pieces I wanted in my soon-to-be-discontinued pattern for a lower price than on the store's website.  To add to my large duffel bag, I purchased the small duffel, a mini duffel (that I guess they don't sell anymore?), a garment bag, a hanging toiletry bag (similar), a makeup bag (similar-ish), and a jewelry bag (similar).

If you aren't familiary with Vera Bradley bags, these are all soft quilted fabric bags.  They aren't the ones you want to check at an airport, but they are great for road trips.  I am able to cram so much into my duffels and they can always be wedged into a tiny spot in the car.  (Plus, since they aren't a hard-cased suitcase, my bags never get squished on the bottom.)  So the #2 reason Why I Love Vera Bradley is that they hold a lot, can squeeze in anywhere, and are comfy to carry.  (The straps are sturdy and long, but made out of the same quilted fabric instead of tough leather straps.)

I've been tossing these bags into the back of the car for 7 years now which means they can get pretty filthy.  Reason #3 Why I Love Vera Bradley is that they can be thrown into the washing machine for cleaning.  I actually have pictures to support this reason.  After one of last trips, I decided it was time to give my most used bags a good cleaning (I rarely use the garment bag, and the jewelry bag and mini duffel are used 50% of the time).  Here's my pile of dirty bags.

I can actually lump reason #4 Why I Love Vera Bradley in with these pictures too: the colors are still nice and vibrant; they haven't faded.  Here are my bags after running them through the washing machine - and no, not on gentle cycle.

I know you can't see much difference in those pictures, so let me go in closer on a couple of them.  First, my toiletry bag.  I take this with me on every overnight trip - even if it's just one night and I'm only going to my parents' house.  This is where I keep my toothbrush and toothpaste, deoderant, hair brush, q-tips, moisturizing lotion, etc.  Three of the pouches have a plastic pocket so you can the contents inside.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the bag before and after going through the washing machine.

 

Ok, so not much of a noticeable difference.  But bear with me and I'll show you the most drastic change - my makeup bag.  I use my Vera Bradley makeup bag all the time, my makeup stays in it.  I don't just drag it out for road trips so it gets pretty gross.  Since I was getting ready to wash it, I took a moment to also clean up all my makeup and throw some old stuff away.

Just wiping all of that off made a huge difference, but the bag still looked really nasty.

A quick cycle in the washing machine (and dryer too) and look at the drastic difference!

 

 

Ok, so let's sum this up.  If you're looking for some good travel totes, you should choose Vera Bradley because

1) You can usually catch them on eBay for lower prices. 2) You can stuff them full of tons of stuff. 3) They're machine washable. 4) The colors don't fade, even after 7 years of washing.

And just so we're clear, Vera Bradley has no idea who I am and did not compensate me in any way for writing this post.  I just thought I'd tell you all about a product I'd love.  That doesn't mean that if they wanted to pay me I'd say no.  In fact, I'd say heck yes because I kinda want to try out one of their pieces of rolling luggage.  Anyone have one already?  Do they hold up through airports?