Baby Bucket List

The little sparrow's (we've taken to referring to her as a bird since she flutters around most of the day in my ever-growing belly) nursery is coming along. We've tackled most of the major components but like most things around the house there is always more to do.

Here is the list of remaining tasks to accomplish in the nursery/house prior to her arrival in *gulp* 10 weeks:

- paint and hang her closet doors
- buy and hang a wide shelf over the changing table
- replace the windows ($$$)
- replace the broken mirrored drawer on the night stand
- mattress for the crib
- bedding for said crib (sweet Aunt J is making our custom bedding!)
- baby-proof

That's about it. Not too bad, there is a laundry list of other misc. projects to accomplish around the house but none of them have to necessarily be accomplished prior to the Bird's landing in our nest. See what I did there? Bird...nest...landing...dorky mom?








Again, sorry for the photo quality (taken with my phone, dar). Lauren needs a new camera...

I Love Lamp(s)

A friend of mine gave me the scoop on some killer lamps on sale at Target. Good call, sweet friend. I hurried myself to Tarjay and found that they were lovely and bought both of them for a steal at $29 each, including the lamp shade! They normally sold for $60, which is deal in and of itself, but $29? Super deal. This one finished off my little "read the paper" corner. Dads love this spot for some reason.



Pardon the horrendous photo. LoDo needs a new camera, STAT.

While we are on the subject of cameras, do any of you have suggestions on a good point-&-shoot? So far all I can settle on is Nikon and Canon. That's all I got.

House Crush...

spaces design by birmingham Dana Wolter

spaces design by birmingham Dana Wolter

spaces design by birmingham Dana Wolter

spaces design by birmingham Dana Wolter

spaces design by birmingham Dana Wolter

spaces design by birmingham Dana Wolter

spaces design by birmingham Dana Wolter

Saw this on Houzz today, do you think the family that lives here would be terribly offended if I showed up and moved in?

Bathroom Clutter Buster

If you're like 95% of people in the world your bathroom cabinets are probably a little disorderly. Don't feel bad or guilty, it happens. You use your bathroom multiple times a day, every day. Things are bound to get a bit out of control. Fear not, you can conquer the bathroom clutter and in-turn get out the door faster with a more peaceful attitude.

Here is where you start. Open one cabinet or drawer, hear that? One. There is no need to overwhelm yourself and your space by emptying everything onto the floor of your bathroom only to shock yourself into fleeing. Pull out every single thing in that drawer and begin sorting.

Sorting: It's just like kindergarten; likes with likes, trash in the trash. Make yourself a mess of piles: hair stuff, face stuff, makeup, nail care, teeth care, first-aid, travel-sized goodies, back stock and extras (for those of you who shop Sam's and Costco you will have a large back stock pile).

Now that we have sorted, it is time to purge. Out goes the two-year old, half empty tube of toothpaste and the makeup foundation from three years ago. It doesn't matter how much it cost, expired is expired and old make up especially can carry all kinds of nasty germs and bacteria.

Here is the basic breakdown for when to kick things to the curb:
Foundation & Concealer - if it's a moisturizing or stick formula you're good for 18 months; oil-free and liquid varieties need to be pitched after 12 months due to bacteria from your face to the bottle. change/wash your applicator regularly to keep bacteria at bay

Eye Shadow - liquid 12 months, powder lasts for 2 years

Mascara - 3 months but if it starts to get dry and clumpy or smell weird pitch it before 90 days

Lipstick - 2 years

Blush & Powder - creams toss after 12 months but powders can last for 2 years

Nail Polish - it is still up in the air, some say 2 years or earlier if it gets thick and discolored; best way to make it last is to keep it upright, in your fridge and never to shake it. instead roll the bottle between your hands before use, it creates fewer air bubbles that will ruin your manicure

Lotion - typically lasts 1-2 years but if like everything else, if it starts to smell or turn color get rid of it

Sunscreen - there should be an expiration date on the bottle, if not stick with the one year rule if it has already been opened

Medications - always stick to the expiration date on the bottle; active ingredients can expire leaving the pill ineffective or possibly harmful

It can be hard to see expensive products going into the trash but it will help you in the future from over-buying and making better use of what you have. For example, there is a tendency to only use the same eye shadows or lipsticks when you have so much that it overloads your brain. You inevitably use the same thing you did the day before because it requires less thought than going through every color in the drawer and then having to choose from multiple options. Same goes for the clothes in your closet, unless you have well-planned organization to start.

There is no need to live in clutter and slow yourself down in the morning. Get it out, sort it, purge it and organize it. One drawer, one cabinet, or if you're feeling ambitious and have a buddy, one room at a time.

Go from this:

To this:




Label makers are fabulous too. If it seems like more than you can bear to handle solo, give me a shout! It is what I do and coincidentally, what I love.

You Can Pick Your Friends, But You Can't Pick Their Noses

Possibly the cutest pic ever of my nephew and my cousin's baby girl.


Why do boys always get the super long eyelashes? It's like a Latisse ad.

Saturday Morning...

What Saturday morning would be complete without the lappy, magazines, nail filing, coffee and fresh flowers?









Happy Weekend!

-- Post From My iPhone

It's Hip to Be Square

On our most recent jaunt to Dallas Hubs and I stayed with my folks for a few nights in McKinney. We both grew up in McKinney and were excited to see how much it has grown and how much cooler it has become since we were kids. In sixth grade we were stoked just to get a Chili's, now there are a ton of restaurants and entertaining things to do.


What is most impressive about McKinney's regentrification (not that it was ever bad) is the historic square. I worked on the square in high school at a fabulous boutique called Cotton Hearts. It is the quaintest, most relaxed and stylish women's clothing store you could ever hope to stumble upon. Cotton Hearts has lived on the square in the same spot for almost twenty years.

Images courtesy of katherinerobertsonphotography.com

Gorgeous new over-sized flower pots spill colorful prettiness on every corner of the square.


But Cotton Hearts is no longer surrounded by small country-styled stores and antique malls. Today you can find chic restaurants (open later than 5:00 pm, might I add), art galleries, wine tastings, home interior stores, live music, pubs and even a hotel!



Hubs and I enjoyed Square Burger. We enjoyed it so much that we almost ate it all before we could even get a photo.



Sauce, is a rustic yet modern Italian restaurant that reminds us of DC restaurants. Cool and skinny.


One can not go to the square in McKinney without having a slice of pie from the Pantry. It just wouldn't be Christian, or human for that matter. "How good is their pie?" you ask. So good that I served it at my wedding instead of cake. That's damn good.


Super cute idea for displaying photos from Smitten. The pictures are standing up in red beans. Much better use for beans than eating them.



There is a really well organized and curated furniture consignment shop where we found this corner pew on sale for $225. Still wish that we would have adopted it and brought it home to live around the game table in our family room. It would be all to appropriate considering the Hubs is the son of a preacher man.





My new favorite interior decor store has to be Gray Living. Look how yummy. Plus, I'm a total sucker for all things gray.





An old and extremely out-dated store was turned into what is now, Sharla's. The fun part is that we actually know Sharla as she is the mom of one of our high school friends. She opened this ahh-mazing cosmetic store a while back but recently moved into what can only be described as an utterly drool-worthy space. The details are beyond fabulous.




If you are ever in Dallas and want to see a cool place with even cooler people, head on up 75 to McKinney. The Square is something that you don't want to miss. Unless you're not into interesting places and great food, but that's your deal.