Thirty-Six Weeks

What a fun past week we've had! My mom was in town visiting and you would've thought I had bribed Surrey with puffs she was so delightful. I didn't, but I wouldn't put it past myself to do that in desperation. Anyway. As you can see in the pictures this little lady doesn't stay still much anymore. She loves to roll around and is just about to join the crawling club. She's rocking on all fours but unfortunately tends to unintentionally scoot herself backwards instead of forwards. She is however very intentional about screaming happy screams. Loud conversations are now had very frequently around here. And when she's not screaming, she's still 'talking' pretty nonstop. New this week is clapping, woo hoo! Surrey's favorite thing to do now is knock down block towers. That, or she actually just favors all the clapping and praise that comes after she does it. She's now bringing her arms together in a clapping motion and screaming with delight at her accomplishment. This new found excitement is exhausting, but oh so fun.

Thirty-Five Weeks

Tonight during our conversation on our porch, Jeremiah described Surrey as dainty. Dainty? I'd say more like wild child. There is truth to what he said, but boy oh boy is she trying to fool us. Since Friday our dear girl has been testing out all sorts of sounds, most frequently exercising her ability to shriek. It's pretty hilarious since she blinks her eyes fiercely while she does it. When she's in the comfort of her own home she also enjoys "talking" nonstop more often. Constant sounds.

She continues to want to stand rather than sit as well. I told Jeremiah we need to have a zip-line contraption throughout our house that we can attach a cord and harness to so that she can maneuver around as she pleases. That, or she needs a personal kickstand. Once this girl figures out how to stand on her own, we're in trouble. She'll be pouncing on poor Stella and running circles around me I'm sure.

Thirty-Four Weeks

No, this fabric does not symbolize Surrey's first popsicle, but it does mean that summer seems to be here in full-force. With temps in the 90s this past weekend, we decided to make our first excursion out to the neighborhood pool this season.
I normally hate community pools, but was hopeful that if we went near the time it opened that we wouldn't be facing a huge crowd. Wrong. I failed to realize that every other parent of young kids was thinking the same thing. Maybe they weren't purposefully trying to avoid strangers, but they were trying to fit in a little time in the water after morning nap and before lunch. Luckily we did snag a chair to put our bags on before we excitedly headed to the 3ft end of the pool. Excitement turned to pain and mild hypothermia once our skin hit the water. We managed to ever-so-slowly inch our way to waist height and eventually got used to it.
For those of you who know Surrey, you won't be surprised to know that she traded her normal wild and crazy self for a stoic observer while we were out. She splashes wildly in the bathtub, but barely flinched a limb in the pool. But who can blame her really. Freezing water, blaring sun, lots of people.
That's about it for this past week. Yesterday we caught her pulling up to her knees a little bit when she was on her belly. Could crawling be just around the corner?! On my to-do list - buy outlet covers.

Thirty-Three Weeks

Black and white does this girl good. Thirty-three weeks has us in awe of how stinkin' cute our Surrey girl is. She's becoming so full of personality - laughing, talking, even starting to be a little jokester. Unless of course she's out in public, at which point she's quite serious, carefully observing everything.

I wonder if Surrey will skip crawling altogether and go right to walking. As she did a few months ago, she still prefers to stand. It's actually very hard to get her to bend at the waist and sit. She'll even hold herself up against a chair for a little while - pretty impressive. Today did give me a glimmer of hope for crawling though. A few times I tried to lay her on her belly and instead of straightening her legs out, she propped to all fours and held position for a little while. We'll see what happens. As being mobile gets closer and closer, I'm realizing I may not have wanted to be so quick to wish her stationary days away. 

Although debatable, this is actually a very happy face. She kept making these very extreme smiles during the photo shoot.

If You've Got It, Flaunt It

While I don't necessarily agree with that phrase when talking about curvaceous body parts, I do completely agree when it comes to home decor on a budget. And let me be clear - what I mean by 'on a budget' is 'for free.' Doesn't that make you mad when you hear someone did something 'on a budget' but it's perfectly gorgeous and looks straight out of an expensive store (not to mention you know they don't need to watch their spending)? I'm convinced they're lying. But not me. If I want it, I've gotta get those creative juices flowing and go dumpster diving in my own storage closet. Like for real for real.
Now of course, at one time or another I've accumulated those things I can work with - some at no cost to me, but yes, others at a more minimal cost (ie. wrapping paper, tissue paper, fabric, shirts that gave me buttons, cards bought for special occasions, etc). But, the point being, I'm not able to go out and spend significant funds on a decorative item, and so, it must be built from the ground up.
Sure, at times I feel like I'm living in my own little elementary school craft room - that maybe people walk into my house and wonder why I'm not running an arts & crafts preschool. I'm definitely self-conscious about my pretty basic design scheme, but I'm growing to love it.
Let's take a tour, shall we?


Here's a glimpse of one huge blank wall in our bathroom. Well, it's not so blank anymore thanks to cheapo Ikea frames (I had from seriously I think high school) holding cards I've given Jeremiah. It helps when your significant other keeps nice sentiments like this. It's not perfect, but it works for now. I don't value decorating our bathroom, since barely anyone sees it. I quite admittedly would rather put time and energy into things people see instead of things I only see.

This is yet another huge blank wall helped out by old Ikea frames - this time spray painted white by Jeremiah. Spray paint is cheap people, and a real game changer. Let's take a closer look...

Here's a quote I recreated in my own handwriting with a Sharpie and a red Crayola marker. Being the perfectionist that I am, it took about a thousand rough drafts, but overall I'm pleased with the results. I've even been asked by friends where I bought this on Etsy. Maybe I should go into business.

Another Pinterest idea using all the extra buttons I've accumulated that come with new clothes. Apparently this was the ordained reason I held onto those little baggies of buttons and extra string for so long. Like, years.

Thanks be to Pinterest. Here I printed out a simple version of each state as big as I could and traced that cut-out onto cardstock. Being the wretched scissor user that I am, guests dare not look closely at the edges of the states. As you might have guessed already, these are two places of significance for Jeremiah and me. A heart over State College, PA - where we met - and a heart over Richmond, VA - where we've lived most of our marriage and bought our first house. My clever mom gave me the idea of backing them with maps after several failed attempts at other things.

Since I was going with a home/family theme I decided to throw in a copy of the key to our first official home. Told you I'm on a budget.

Here's a lamp shade I recovered with a scrap of fabric from a couple years ago. Pure luck that it was just the right size. And like the state cut-outs, do NOT look closely. It's shameful along the inside edging. My fingertips are still feeling the burn.

Our Penn State guest room turned Cameron's room which will soon turn Surrey's room needed a little school pride. I bought the frames (where else but Ikea) but used old (think 1990s baby) calendars my brother saved as art. His hoarding has finally come in handy.

If you haven't seen a tissue paper flower before, you must be living in a cave. They're all the rage. And although I love me a good hanging tissue pom, I opted for a little twist on a classic for a mantel/coffee table/dining table adornment. Just scale down what you'd use for a larger flower so that it's small enough to rest on time of a stemless wine glass. Here I did one dark, one light, and one a combination of the two for a nice fade. Nerd.

And yet another version of the tissue paper flower. This time I cut out concentric circles, pinched them in the center and twist-tied them onto these decorative branches I've had for years. A nice little spring spruce up I'd say.

Last, but certainly not least, this mobile I made for Surrey's room (on the day hurricane Irene hit and we lost power for a week, UGH). Excuse the horrible horrible photo quality. This was taken back in the fall when I was pregnant and hormonal and impatient. Now I'm just hormonal and impatient - but with a better camera. Anyway...everything I used for this I already had, except for the stitchery hoops - but those are dirt cheap. Cardstock, embroidery thread, ribbon, and hot glue. Oh and that S back there has little rosettes hot glued on made from scraps of fabric.

Well there you have it. A ridiculously lengthy post on the random personal decor I've created with very little money spent. Go dumpster diving in your closets and then get crafty!