two beating hearts

you know what is really neat? 

 i have two hearts beating in my body this valentine's day.  

there is my own of course and the heart of a tiny baby.  although it is so hard for me to hold in news like this i intended to wait a little longer.  apparently my mom had other plans.  yesterday after an ultrasound where will and i saw that tiny heart beating, i all the sudden started getting texts from people saying congratulations.  i was so confused about how everyone knew and then i found out my mom decided to go ahead and post the news on facebook without saying a word to me about her grand idea.  i couldn't really be mad because it is happy news.  she had already known for a few weeks and i guess it was just killing her to wait any longer.  so there you have it...the secret is out.

we are excited to become a family of four in september. 

     

octopus

if you are in the market for a super cool octopus throw pillow, tote bag, or art print go here.

2/52

portrait a week 2/52

running to the car so she can go to church with yaya.

  

i seem to have misplaced my camera (ever probably took it...she usually does)

so for now phone pictures are as good as it gets.

1/52

i really enjoyed the portrait a week thing i did last year because it was so fun to watch ever's progression week by week.  it is not until i look back that i realize just how much she changed over the year.  

so for 2014 here is week 1/52.

ever happily pouring water and splashing around in the bath while i admired her mega lashes.

thoughts into actions

during 2013 there were moments i always want to remember and some i want to forget.  i don't think any year can be summed up as good or bad.  there are years of my life that stand out as better ones or worse ones but amongst the bad there is always good and vice versa.  most of the time when a year stands out as better it was when i worked harder to make that way.  when i worked towards goals and achieved them.  when i stayed optimistic (something that typically isn't easy for me).  sometimes i think it is silly how much emphasis is put on a new year and making goals yet there isn't that same enthusiasm as the year goes on.....that very thing tends to keep me from wanting to follow the crowd and make resolutions.

a few days ago i made a point to write down the things i'd like to work on and achieve this year.  although it seems so cliche i've found that when i write my goals down i really do have more success with them.  especially when i make a point to revisit them and track my progress.  i told will that one year stands out in particular where i worked towards changing things in my life and as soon as i worked hard on one of the goals the others fell into place quite easily.  i hope the same happens this year.  i tried to think of a phrase to keep in my mind when working towards my goals for the year and the thing that stuck was....

turn thoughts into actions.  

it is easy to think about things i'd like to change or wish for things to be different but until i act on my thoughts it simply will not happen no matter how much i wish it would.  

i might share my goals another day.  i'm not sure if i want to.  i shared them with will and he shared his with me and that might be all the sharing that happens.

in this picture you see my journal [from here], ever's journal i keep for her (she contributes in the form of artistic scribbles), the journal i started for will on our anniversary in november [other journals from target].  he has a matching one he keeps for me.  we try to write a little short and sweet snippet every day and on our next anniversary we are going to exchange them.  we sort of failed at writing every day for the month of december but one of our goals is to get back on track in the new year, so we are.  

can you tell i'm passionate about the written word?

happy 2014 ♥

  

the colorful eclectic whimsical room

welcome to ever's colorful eclectic whimsical room.

i love room tour posts that i find on the internet, they inspire and entertain me.  

how many times have a mentioned getting this room complete and how many times have i posted pictures when it wasn't quite done?  so many times.  it only took 21 months of ever's life to turn it into what i always envisioned.  this room has undergone more transformations than any room in the house, as you can see in this outdated home tour.  it started as a guest room/place for me to paint and i was always changing things because it never felt quite right or seemed complete.  maybe that is because it was missing ever then.  now that we finally moved our girl to her own room i was on a mission to make sure artsy things were hung where they should be (although still not 100% sure about that) and breakables were displayed in the safest way.  who knows i could end up moving things again but for now i feel pretty satisfied with the happy place this room has become.  ever is quite proud of it too.  she is always saying how cute each item is and she joyously declares this is her room.

i did all the paintings on this wall.....prints of some of them can be found here.  the watercolor grey framed prints are by kit chase (any of the gray framed prints around the room are from the same artist).  i found them on zulily a couple years ago but they can be found here.  will made the triangle shelves. other little items were things i had collected ages ago from all sorts of places or they were gifts.  some small items were in my own room as i was growing up.  owl book ends came from either target or babies r us.  dresser was found at a local antique store and repainted by will.  the rose dresser pulls were from my favorite store along with the lamp.  if i remember correctly my mom bought the lamp many years ago and she was going to toss it when it eventually stopped working.  i took it off her hands because even if it didn't work i thought it was pretty.  luckily will knows about lighting, he was able to fix it.   

these tiny chicks reside in one of the triangle shelves.  they remind me of ever since she hatched in the spring.  she adores these fuzzy little guys and has mangled a few that i let her play with.  i found them on etsy.  

mushroom garland hanging above closet was something i put together.  those mushrooms are actually christmas ornaments that i bought years ago on clearance from anthropologie and i just tied them to bakers twine for a cute little garland.  

this is a print by emily winfield martin...it can be found here.  i just got a couple of her prints to put in ever's room because i love everything about them.  

although it drives me a little crazy ever's crib isn't centered in the room for a good reason.  we have her bed hooked up to this monitor and the receiver is up on one of the cloud shelves.  by the way that monitor has given me so much more peace of mind...it was a wonderful gift. 

cloud mobile was made by my talented friend brandi.

i put together the big thing with her name.  letter are from anthropologie...here is a similar version.  

the crib mattress frame was an older item gramps was going to put in the trash but i took it from him a few years ago thinking i could do something neat with it.  glad i took it.  a little spray paint on a few pieces plus ribbon and those letters and it became one of my favorite things for her room.  the dream catcher hanging on it is from another talented friend tyra....she and brandi are sisters....the talent must be genetic.

the other emily winfield martin print i got.

chair was an old thing given to us not long after ever was born.  i was never crazy about the look of it so i put a small throw type thing over it that i've had for ages.  baskets for books, blankets, and stuffed animals were either gifts or from target.  curtains also from target.   

kewpies were from my own collection years ago.  ever recently shattered one because she wanted to carry them all around like they were little dolls to cuddle.  that is when i knew they needed to be displayed further from her reach.  soda crate is an antique my mom gave us.  will had the idea to hang it and it became the perfect way to display her kewpies.  framed kewpie doll art came from a little shop in jerome, az and the books were gifts from my aunt bobbie years ago.  

cloud hanger and shelves were made by my moms husband kit as part of ever's birthday gift.

i made copies of images i particularly enjoyed from the kewpie books then attached them to scrapbook paper and hung in frames with colorful yarn.

and ever's room would be complete without her own special touch.  she drew a little art on her wall (and other walls of the house)

it'll probably always stay there.  i welcome her artistic endeavors on the wall.

52/52

portrait a week 52/52

messy breakfast face.

wow that went fast.

i'm impressed that i actually stuck with posting a portrait a week of ever for the year.  

it was often all i posted for weeks at a time but that's just how it goes these days.  

it is really fun to look back week by week and compare how much ever has changed over the year. 

here are just a few of the older pictures: 

1/52

3/52

6/52

13/52

19/52

30/52

37/52

46/52

48/52