Design A-Peele

A Day in the Life of Smith

2011-12-07T20:26:00.000-05:00

I was cooking this and talking to a friend on the phone. I heard a little rustling going on, turned around and saw this.

This boy just cracks us up!! I think this is my favorite photo so far. Shows so much of his sweet little personality :)

I've been doing a few little projects this week. I wanted to try a little something different, but I am really no good at sewing on the machine. So I did it the easy way!

This is for Smith and his cousin Christopher.

Then these are for my beautiful 9 nieces!

Instead of having to worry about sewing around edges with the machine, I used an embroidery needle and 3 strings of thread. Then just did an easy little stitch around. Easy as that!

Happy Thanksgiving...a little late

2011-12-04T12:02:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving was definitely a few weeks ago, but it's better late than never, right? We stayed here in Atlanta and had Thanksgiving at my family's house. Matt's family joined us. This year we had the pleasure of having some of my cousins that we haven't seen in a very long time! One of which stayed with us at the Peele house :)

Sharon and Smith became fast friends!

Sharon lives in NYC so it was extra special to have her here with us!

Once we had all stuffed our faces we headed out for a walk to the park.

This is my little sister, Rachel. She is a freshman at UGA this year and loving it! Go Dawgs! Sad loss last night :(

Smith LOVED watching the boys play basketball. I think he would have watched for hours! I think he's saying,"Mom, please move, you're blocking my view of the game!" Love that sweet boy's face!

playing at the park!

Smith and his cousin, Charlotte. They were both feeling a bit under the weather :(

My sisters, me and my mom! We all live here in Georgia. Such a blessing to have them all so close by!

Matt didn't want to take this picture bc he was dressed for playing basketball. Good thing we did! We never got a chance to take another one!

Smith and Charlotte sharing a swing. Smith looks quite sad, but he really was loving it!

A few days after Thanksgiving we all went as a family to help with Operation Christmas Child! It was such an amazing experience to be a part of! We plan to do this every year! Not sure how many boxes we helped to package up, but it was a lot!

Sadly a few days later we realized that Smith had a double ear infection + had to start using a nebulizer. But this sweet little man never once acted sick! He stayed a happy, sweet little man!

He did NOT appreciate the breathing treatments. Thankfully he is doing great, and is on the mend!

And I'll leave you with this!

Sorry for the absence!

2011-11-17T11:34:00.001-05:00

We have been quite busy lately. I've started working from home a bit during Smith's naps so the blogging took a back seat. Plus I haven't done many projects lately so if I had blogged they would have all been about Smith:) which I myself don't mind at all. But I'm sure y'all would like to see a project or two:) I'll definitely post some soon! For now, I am trying out a new blogger app, so this is my first go at it. I just got a new phone so I don't have any recent pics so this old will do. I cannot believe this little stinker is almost 1!! Crazy! Time flies when you have kids.

Going to Work with Dad...

2011-10-10T01:15:00.001-04:00

Smith visiting Dad at work is sooo much fun!

He tried to eat the microphone.

But he was such a champ! He had a short nap on the way over. And was so sweet and happy the whole time (no surprise there, he's a pretty laid back happy kid).

Thankful MR.P works for a company that encourages us to visit often! We love Dad!!

Just a few updates. Life has been VERY busy. I was working 4 part-time jobs. So incredibly thankful that with each one I was able to bring Smith with me. I am now down to 2 part-time jobs from home. No biggie ;) I am getting some GREAT experience and opportunities, which I am excited about.

Smith is growing like a little weed! He now has 4 teeth, is starting to crawl, and has more personality than ever. He loves to point at things, singing and clapping at church...the list could go on. Oh and he can say "dada", but no "mama" yet. Oh well. We'll work on it ;) We love Smith so much and are enjoying every single minute with him!

Here are some recent family photos :) I planned to blog about each individual event here, but time has slipped away!

Labor Day weekend at the lake. Smith loved the pool all summer so we knew he would LOVE the lake. And he did!! He splashed and swam and had the time of his life!

Suwanee Day.

Visiting Dad at work.

And don't really remember what this was, but it was a family dinner night at my parent's house.

Hopefully I'll be able to blog a little more, but life with a mobile child + work doesn't give me much time to blog.

We're headed off to VA with MR.P this week. Maybe I'll be able to blog while I'm there!

How High?

2011-09-01T21:17:00.000-04:00

Smith loves to be thrown in the air. I'm thankful to have a camera that can catch moments like this :)

He cracks up every time we do this. I love the HUGE smile on his face. And that belly! Melts me!

In other news, Smith got his first tooth! He is 7 months and 1 week old. I thought he would have gotten one sooner, but nonetheless, I was VERY excited when I felt in his mouth today and found a tooth! He isn't very interested in crawling yet. He pulls his little legs under him while he sleeps, but during the day he could care less.

(see! He sleeps with his little bottom in the air)

Sometimes I set him up with a toy just out of reach, leave the room, and watch from a distance. That boy always does it when he thinks I'm not watching. The little stinker :)

Life Can't Get Better Than This

2011-08-30T20:32:00.000-04:00

I love watching this :)

The little man was so tired today. We baby sat for his friends Lily and Jack. Then, once daddy got home we ran some errands. He was so tired that he fell asleep on the way home. Then didn't even wake up when we took him out. He was passed out on Matt for about 45 minutes. So sweet I can't even stand it! Matt and I both agree that it's our favorite when he falls asleep on us. It NEVER happens anymore, so when it does we don't care if it messes with his schedule. What's another 30 minutes? :)

P.S. I love how Smith is hugging Matt :)

How to make a Cow Costume

2011-08-24T07:00:00.004-04:00

That's right :) A few weeks ago was Cow Appreciation Day @ Chick-fil-a so the Peele family definitely wasn't missing out on that!

We spent the night with Katie and Turner because MR.P was out of town. So sweet of friends to let us stay with them! Anyway, we all piled into my car and headed out! Turner and Smith LOVE to hang out together.

Katie and I love to go in search of the best deals! So we headed to the local thrift store.

Smith and I had fun searching through all the great finds!

I don't know about anyone else, but we LOVE our baby carrier. I love having Smith right there with me :)

That night Katie and I got creative and made little onesies for Smith and Turner for our free Chick-fil-a.

And you know what? We didn't spend a dime. I know, I know, at one point we did, but for this project we didn't have to spend anything. We got creative.

Katie found an old t-shirt of her husband's that we used for the cow spots. She also had some iron on stuff that we used. We ironed onto the back of the shirt and then Katie cut out the spots

I had some extra onesies lying around. After she cut the spots out I ironed them onto the shirts. Simple as that. No more work involved! (I was tired, can you tell?)

So we woke up early and headed to breakfast.

And these are the finished products! Are these not the cutest little cows you've ever seen?!?! We used an eye liner pencil for their noses. It definitely finished off the look :)

Smith had no interest in looking at the camera.

We couldn't let the outfit go to waste, so we went for dinner too!

So happy to have Dad back home!!

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. I love making memories with our sweet baby boy :)

See What I Mean?

2011-08-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

You know how I said Smith was a TV Junkie? Yeah, we really try not to let him watch any, but occasionally he gets a view. Well yeah, this is how bad he wanted to see the TV the other day :)

He's a mess isn't he?!?

Playroom Plans

2011-08-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

Smith needs a room to play in. He is quickly growing and will soon be crawling! So we decided to bite the bullet and sell our dining room table in order to make space for this play area. I posted it on craigslist one night just to see how it went and by the next morning it was sold! Wow! I guess it was meant to be! My friend said that God controls craigslist. She's totally right. I've tried to sell multiple things and they never sell. So, we were very thankful for a sweet couple to come and pick up our table.

We used the money to buy a new rug. We have hardwood floors in there, so we definitely needed something to soften things up. Smith is sitting up well, but occasionally he falls backwards. We wanted some padding for his sweet little head :)

I had a really hard time deciding what to buy. I wanted to be patient and get the right thing, but also get a good deal. These are the 2 that we had to make a decision between.

Dwell Studio - $200

Honestly, this one is my favorite. I would absolutely love this one.

Homegoods T.J. Maxx - $100

We couldn't pass it up. $100 for a 5x8 rug that was pretty cute. There was a small rip in the back of the rug (which you can't see from the front) so we got an additional $50 off :)

So we took it home!

Sorry for the terrible picture. I was holding the johnny jump up out of my way so I could take the picture :) So anyway, we bought a few paint samples and decided on Gentle Rain from Behr.

It doesn't seem to have any hints of purple. Thank goodness!

So that is where the room lies right now. We have a few other plans that I'll share later!

Pinterest Saved Me Money

2011-08-20T07:00:00.001-04:00

Everyone loves Pinterest. I myself was a bit skeptical at first because everyone said they were addicted. So I refrained for a while. I joined when my friend Maggie sent me an invitation. Thankfully I have not become addicted, but it has been really fun and enjoyable!

Anyway, to my point. Pinterest has saved me money! I have not bought clothes in a good long while. I've even cleaned out my closet and gotten rid of a few bag fulls. I had a lot of things that I didn't love...thought I would like if I lost a few pounds...or if I had the right accessories. You get the gist! So I got rid of everything that didn't fit well or I didn't absolutely love. Now my closet is easier to sort through and decide what to wear.

I, like everyone else, still have a hard time becoming creative and assume I need more clothes. So I went to Pinterest and searched "Fashion" & "J.Crew" (my favorite style). I found a variety of different options with clothes that I already own! Searching through Pinterest really helped me to the find ideas though. In the past I have dog eared magazine pages or ripped them out, etc. Using Pinterest helped me to organize them all into one spot! So now, if I can't finding anything to wear, I just pull up my Pinterest App on my iphone and go to my "Fashion" Board and it helps me use what I already have!

Using Pinterest not only helps me to figure out more options for everyday wear, but it also made me thankful for what I have, which is something I definitely struggle with. I love clothes and it's hard not to worship them and think they will make me happy. I have been reminded, as of late, that my significance is in Christ alone and NOTHING else. Not my family, not my home, and definitely not what I wear. God is Enough for me!!!!

But, here are a few options I found that are helping me use what I have to create something different!

I already own some very wide leg jeans, a cute purple floral shirt, and a fun jacket. I know, this is so simple, but I just never thought to wear the shirt and jacket together! I think I'd add my cowgirl boots for a little something :)

I have a gray pair of pants that tie in the front. I can wear a cute coral striped shirt tucked in. Again, I never thought of it! I just need to get my pants hemmed so I will wear them more often :)

I have a great black turtle neck and a flowy skirt that I've never thought to pair like this. A brown thick belt could add a little dimension. Either heals for a date night or ballet flats for everyday wear :) Not sure I really need all the ribbon though!

This is similar on top to the first outfit that I posted. But the skinny cropped pants give it a cleaner/preppier look. I bought some navy cropped pants a few years ago for $20 at J.Crew. I wear them with a lot, but never thought of this. I also have a jacket similar to this I got for $8. Total score that was worth every penny! I wear it all the time :)

So anyway, Pinterest made me thankful for what I have and saved me money! Hope it can help you get inspired to use what you have in your closet :)

How to Make a Homemade Doll

2011-08-06T21:35:00.001-04:00

To be honest this project intimidated me...a lot. I didn't want to do it, but my friend really helped me. So I thought I'd share.

It's actually quite easy if you know how to sew.

1.) You start out by cutting out your pieces of the doll.

I had a template, but you really don't need one. It's quite easy. All you need to cut out is the following:

* 4 arms (front and back)

* 4 legs (front and back)

* 2 heads (front and back)

* 2 dresses (front and back)

* Hair - one will be a circle for the back and one will be a semi-circle with a little part for the front

* You'll also need two buttons

You can make the doll as big as you'd like. This one is on the smaller side.

Here's our work in progress.

We had a little chick-fil-a to give us some energy.

2.) Once you've cut everything out, sew the insides of the arms and legs together. flip them inside out and stuff with stuffing. I used a pen to really get the stuffing in well.

3.) Sew the buttons to one of the faces for the eyes. (starting to look like a doll!)

4.) Sew the hair to one of the heads. I would use a zig zag setting. It's cute, I promise. Then sew the other hair to the other head with the eyes. Once this is finished put the two heads together inside out and sew them together.

5.) Now put the head together (still inside out) with the dress (also inside out). Sew the head to each side of the dress.

6.) Now put the arms and legs inside of the dress. Sew around then pull the arms and legs out. Finish sewing the dress. Keep the bottom corner of the dress open.

7.) Stuff the doll with stuffing.

8.) Almost done! you'll have to hand sew the corner shut.

I chose not to give the doll a mouth. But I did add a little bow to make it really girly :)

And voila! All done. This is for my niece Gracie. Her birthday is on Monday. She's turning 4. I'm also making my niece Perry Catherine one. I am changing her's up a little bit. You can add a ribbon around the bottom of the skirt to make it a little girly. The possibilities are endless!

Ok, a little confession. Sometimes in doll surgery the arms and legs get switched up :( Oh well. No one will ever notice ;)

Rachel & Abby's Dorm Room Design

2011-07-31T22:05:00.002-04:00

First off, Rachel is my little sister. She is 8 and a half years younger than me. I am the 4th in our family of 6 and she is the 5th. Anyway, she is going off to college in about 10 days. We are going to miss her a lot! But a part of me thinks we might see her more often since she'll be in Matt and I's college town! Whoohoo! Go DAWGS!

So Rachel and her roommate Abby came to me and asked if I would put together some design ideas for their dorm room. I gladly accepted the challenge. They had already picked out their bedding, so I just went from there. The girls came over one week night (with a QT drink and snacks in hand) and we had a little meeting about a few specifics:

1.) Budget - I wanted to make sure what I put together for the girls was budget friendly for both families.

2.) Taste - We talked about what both girls like and dislike. Turns out they like the same things...made my job easy!
3.) What they already have and plan to use.
4.) Were they willing to make a few little things?

Then we got to work. I had already seen the bedding they chose, so I'd been thinking up a few ways to give the room some fun pops of color. They chose bedding that is a little dark, therefore fun sheets and such will really make everything pop.

This is what a normal dorm room starts out as.

I think the space has great bones and structure to make it a non typical dorm room.

Now for the plan

Resource list:

1.) Bedding - Anthropologie

2.) Behr Paint- Spirit Whisper - they are going to paint their bunk beds. Instead of plain wood it will be chic and classy.

3.) Artwork - Keep Calm and Eat a cupcake - framed in a cute vintage/girly frame.

4.) Polka dot sheets - Target

5.) Hardware for bunk beds - Anthropologie - The plan is to put these on their bunk beds for jewelry, scarves, etc...

6.) Artwork - Just Breathe - Perfect for all the studying that should be going on.

7.) Fabric for window drapes - Ikea - I think short/girly drapes will give a flirty look.

Both girls were happy with the design. They move to Athens in a week or so. I can't wait to have a finished product to show you!

**********************************************************

If you are interested in having a design put together please email me at beth.peele@gmail.com. Here are a few things I consider in each of my designs:

* Your specific style
* Your budget
* What you already own that you would like to incorporate in your design
* Pieces of furniture, frames, etc that can be redone
* New pieces that can be found on a budget to fit your style

I know that sometimes you have either a few great pieces of furniture or some old things you'd like to make new, but you just can't figure out your style. I would love to help you figure it out on a budget! Please email me about specifics and pricing.

Smith's new trick

2011-07-31T15:22:00.004-04:00

This is Smith's new trick that he does fairly often. It's quite humorous!

We crack up laughing every time!

Here's another one just for fun!

How to make a headboard out of a door Part 2

2011-07-14T15:03:00.003-04:00

That's right, it's up! Finally! It sat on our wall in our room for a good while. Honestly, Matt was out of town for a few weeks, so we definitely have an excuse. Ok, so anyway, Daniel (our trusty neighbor) came over to help. It's heavy, so Matt needed someone a little stronger than me. Can you believe that?!?!

So the guys went to town and had it up in under 5 minutes!!

I just documented in pictures. I didn't help one bit! I did paint the door though. That counts, right?

Taking measurements so I don't make them re-do everything :) How embarrassing to have to a headboard that wasn't in the center! They know what they are doing though, so no worries!

Starting to see the vision!

Good looking hunk of a husband!

He's so strong!

We ended up just screwing the headboard into the wall. The initial plan was to find the studs in the wall and screw it into that part of the wall. Well, for some reason our trusty stud finder didn't work. We felt it was pretty sturdy anyway, so we decided to let it stay.

What a great friend and neighbor to help with my never ending projects.

And done! Voila!

I think I like it. It's definitely a little bigger than our bed, but I think I like that. I didn't stage anything because I don't know what accessories we'll be using. Eventually I'll find the right bedside lamps. I'm hoping that will make everything really pop!

Excited that the transformation is finally coming together! I'll continue posting pictures as we get things done!

Dresser Redo

2011-06-22T17:58:00.001-04:00

I have wanted to change our room up for a long time, so getting this stuff done has been a HUGE check off my checklist. Oh, and I love checklists, so this makes me feel VERY productive!

Here is a picture I found that I've used as inspiration to lighten up our room.

It's just from an old Pottery Barn catalog. But I love how light, bright, and simple the design and decor is.

So I decided to go with it. It just took me a while to get going. Our room was a dark tope. Then with all our dark furniture it made the room kind of sad. Our furniture is all pretty old, but very sturdy with GREAT lines.

I forgot to take great before pics, but this is the first one. You get the gist.

Just a regular old, plain, square dresser. I knew it had great potential.

You can see somewhat how our room looked in the mirror.

And this is the after.

I sanded the entire thing down with our new electric sander (given to us by Matt's parents). Then I used a high gloss white paint. I used both a regular paint brush as well as a roller to really give it a sleek, clean look. I am pretty pleased with the results. It's the biggest piece of furniture I have done so far.

I also did this dresser. It's our tv stand in our bedroom.

I love the detail and was pretty excited about painting it. That was until I actually started painting it. It was quite difficult. All those details were not easy!

I promise our walls aren't purple. It just looks like it.

I ended up keeping the same hardware on both dressers. One, because they were in great shape. Two, because hardware is expensive! Especially the ones I want.

Oh well. These will do for now! I love how the room is shaping up. It's crazy what a little paint will do for a room :)

Baby Shower for My sister

2011-06-21T07:00:00.001-04:00

This post is insanely late, but I wanted to share. My sister had a sweet baby boy named Christopher on April 7th. But before he arrived we were able to have a little shower to celebrate his arrival! He is the second boy out of the 11 grandchildren on my side of the family. Smith is the first :)

Anyway, we wanted to go ALL boy on this shower. I started by borrowing a few old fashioned trucks from a friend. Thanks Lori! Then I bought a few little plain onesies and printed out some designs on transfer paper, especially when you aren't great at sewing...or your sewing machine is stupid. Whichever fits :) Mine is stupid ;) This stuff is such a time saver!

Here are the preparations. Instructions on the computer (so I don't mess up), iron, onesie, phone...you know, the basics.

You start by ironing the onesie. That way the transfer paper irons on perfectly. You need to use a pillow case underneath you as well. I ironed the pillow case too just in case.

Then I cut the design out of the transfer paper and made sure I positioned it on perfectly before I ironed it on. I cut the design out as closely as I could so that I didn't get any extra white on the onesie. It probably wouldn't have shown, but I wanted to make sure it looked good.

And voila! Perfection!

CMT is not for "Country Music Television". It's for Christopher Michael Taylor :)

I made three onesies and added 2 pair of pants. I used twine and clothes pins to hang the clothes on. This is pretty typical decoration, but you can really customize to make the mama-to-be feel special!

In this case my sister was about to be a mom for the 3rd time! I love how all of my sisters have kids :) It's so fun to watch them grow!

After I did this one I realized it looked a little bit like the coke symbol. Oh well :)

I had a diaper cake that we put cute ribbon and bakers twine on. Made it look adorable! Then I made the tissue paper pom poms by Martha Stewart. They are so easy! You should definitely try them out. Even for a baby nursery! I have contemplated putting them in the corner of Smith's room. The jury is still out on that.

I cut name tags out and used bakers twine to attach them. Why does bakers twine make everything so much cuter? Here is an etsy shop that has great prices on their twine :) I use it to wrap presents, decorate, and pretty much anything else that I can think of.

I then used some mason jars to put all the utensils in. I tied ribbons around the jars to add a special flare. Again, why are mason jars so simple, yet make things so cute? Isn't that truck so cute? It matches my kitchen so well! I put the napkins in there and it was perfect.

The whole set up!

And then the special chair for the mom!

We had a great time just hanging out and helping my sister prepare for this precious baby boy! Thank goodness he was a boy, because Smith needs another boy! I think they'll be like brothers :)

Look who's eating baby food!

2011-06-20T07:30:00.000-04:00

Smith absolutely loves baby food. He gets so excited about it! My plan was to wait until he was about 5.5 months to start the baby food...because really, what's the rush? But around 4.5 months I got curious, so we tried it and he did great! So we pushed forward. Glad we did :)

Smiley baby boy :)

One of my favorites. When Matt is around he won't stop staring at him! He loves his dad. I see the way he looks at him :)

Such a messy boy!

Look at what a big boy Smith is?!?!

He is so tall now. I just can't believe how fast he is growing! He'll be off at college before we know it ;)

Happy Father's Day Matt!

2011-06-19T21:39:00.000-04:00

Happy 1st Father's Day to MR.P!! We made plans for today, but things didn't turn out exactly as we planned...we sure did have fun though!

First things first.

Smith and daddy. Not sure why Smith looks so serious, but whatever :)

This was before church. We went to church, then the plan was to head to the Gwinnett Braves game. We got all ready and even parked at the stadium. Tried to get out of the car with Smith, then realized we were going to get fried. So we decided to go to the pool instead. Braves games are one of MR.P's favorite things...and he sacrificed for what was best for our family. Best husband and dad ever :)

Once we got to my parent's house (we use their pool) we decided to head to dinner with them instead! Our plans were all over the place. Oh well. Worked out for the best. Got to wish my dad a Happy Father's Day as well with this little last minute t-shirt on Smith :)

Smith is such a big boy now!!

We had a great Father's day celebrating Matt. I feel so blessed to be married to him and to watch him be a dad to Smith.

I am so thankful that we could celebrate. Matt and I were talking about how we had no idea we would get to celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day this year. What a blessing it has been to be the recipient of such a wonderful Gift.

And just to leave you with this...

At the last minute my mom grabbed a baby t-shirt and wrote on it :) Love her!

Picture Updates!

2011-06-18T21:34:00.000-04:00

Today I realized that I never shared pictures from Smith's BIRTHday.
They are too special not to share :)

Smith's sweet little footprint. They did this on a blanket for us to keep!

Sweet baby boy was so laid back from the moment we met him. He loves his sleep!

My first time to meet him. I thought I would be a complete mess when I first held him. But the moment was so sweet. I was calm and enjoyed each and every moment. AND because I wasn't a mess, I remember every bit of it!

Me thinking, "I cannot believe he is finally here!!!"

Matt's first time holding the little man. Matt's face says it all :)

This is my favorite picture of Matt and Smith.

Matt's mom holding Smith.

My mom spending a few minutes with Smith. I think she was telling him about his cousins :)

My dad with Smith. I love how his face is so lit up :)

Aunt B and Smith. She says that she is his favorite Aunt, but she has a bit of competition.

Aunt Deborah and Smith.

His first bed.

My dad teasing us already :)

Terrible quality photo, but this is us talking. Having a good time :)

His first bath! I love that little scrunched up face!

4:00 am and we were to our room. Man, it was a long long day!

His first feeding. He wasn't very interested in eating. I learned later that babies just don't need much those first few days.

I can't even express how fun this was.

Hanging out with Dad. We watch an episode of Friends every night. Staying at the hospital was no exception. We were watching an episode during this pic :)

This is one of my closest friends, Katie. I've blogged about her a few times. This girl drove 4 hours just to see Smith on his Birthday. It was so special to share in this with her!! She was such a huge part of our adoption story. She prayed with me. Cried with me. And encouraged me to seek the Lord in all of the joy and sorrow.

And get this...it's kind of crazy. Smith's adoption was a private adoption instead of through an agency. So one day last Fall I got a phone call from a friend that knew of a family that wanted to find a family to adopt their baby (Smith). Of course the rest is history...except that that same day earlier, Katie had told me she had a dream that I was 5 months pregnant!! We didn't really think anything of it until we got that phone call. The birth mother was 5 months pregnant. So technically I was "5 months" paper pregnant.

Sorry, just a random little part of our story :)

This is another one of my favorite pics of them. I love watching Matt as a dad to a son. I can already see how Smith is mesmerized by Matt. He looks at him completely different than he does me. I wouldn't change that for the world. I want them to be close! A Father/Son relationship is so special :)

Smith and his wubbanub. They have a special relationship too.

And there is that sweet little face.

This is us leaving the hospital. Instead of being wheeled out in a wheelchair, they wheeled Smith out in his little bed. So glad to have all these memories.

This is the welcome home sign that my parent's made for us. And I have to say...it was all my dad's idea :)

These are just a few that I wanted to share. Adoption has been such a cool part of our story. Every time I look at Smith I remember God's faithfulness. I wouldn't have it any other way :)

How to Make a Headboard out of a door Part 1

2011-06-16T14:45:00.002-04:00

Here is the first reveal of our bedroom. We decided to sell our headboard and footboard because it wasn't really our style. We bought it when we got married. Our style has somewhat transformed a bit since then (almost 4 years ago). Anyway, our friends, the Armstrongs, had an extra barn type door laying around in their garage. So we took that and painted it white. We feel this fit our style a bit more.

My muscle man helping me out.

Then once it was painted white, I used my favorite painting tool, Ralph Lauren Smoke Glaze. It's sadly not in production anymore :( Hopefully there is something else out there that is similar. It basically gives anything an old look.

And here is the finished product. MR.P is going to figure out how to hang it as our headboard. Thank goodness for a sweet husband that willingly helps me with all my projects :)

And I'll leave you with all the pictures that inspired this transformation.

I love this entire look. I am not sure, but it could be 2 doors making up the headboard. The chairs at the end of the bed are beautiful!

This one is so elegant. It is definitely 2 doors making the headboard. I love that they aren't perfectly straight or anything.

So sweet. I love that the roof is going down. It makes the symmetry perfectly off :)

This one has been altered a bit with some woodwork at the top. Looks beautiful!

Red is always a favorite with me :)

I know, this is not a door as a headboard, but I couldn't help but LOVE it! How perfect!

Simple and classic.

This is exactly what I want to do for Smith's room when he gets older. I mean really...how cool is that crate!?!?!

I LOVE that the door is green. Uh, so pretty!

And there you have it :)

Our Bedroom over haul

2011-06-15T13:33:00.000-04:00

I am embarrassed to post this picture, but I promised that I would.

I didn't even really make up our bed. The pillows for the bed are on the floor if you can see them. We planned to paint this room for forever! We are GREAT at making plans, but not the best at putting them into action.

Well, look what we did?!?!

On Monday night we pushed all the furniture to the middle of the room and started painting!

We went with gray (pewter mug by Behr). The rest of the room is under construction as well. But I will be posting pics as we go. I'm not patient enough to do just one big reveal :)

Questions?

2011-06-13T16:14:00.000-04:00

I just have to tell you. I don't get much time anymore to look at blogs, but this afternoon I did. And you know what? Smith just sat here with me and looked as well! so cute! He's actually still sitting in my lap as I type. What a supportive son :)

Anyway, I have received a few emails asking me details on our adoption. How we did it? The agency we used...etc. So, I thought I would open things up for y'all to ask. Please feel free to ask anything. If I can't answer it because of privacy reasons, I just won't answer! I know there are so many people out there trying to adopt and any info is SOOO helpful! I want to be a part of that. So please, ask anything :)

Here we are today. Smith helping me blog away!

Just FYI - my shirt is from target - last summer.

earrings are from my sister-in-law from this etsy shop!

Oh and Smith's outfit is just a little polo onesie/shorts outfit that was a hand-me-down! Score for us :)

Oh!! and look what came in the mail!!

We made a little story book for Smith. We wanted him to know his story from the very beginning! I ended up getting a groupon for $10 for shutterfly. Made this very affordable!

A Couple Exciting Things...to me!

2011-06-08T18:25:00.000-04:00

There have been a few things on my list of wants. But with becoming a stay at home mom, we have made some sacrifices financially, so they went on the back burner, because lets face it...they aren't too important. Oh and it's TOTALLY worth it to stay home with this little face :)

Anyway, on that list was some patio furniture. I did a post a while back on how if MR.P and I finished the yard work in our back yard that we would treat ourselves to some patio furniture. Well, then the little man arrived and we forgot all about it...the yard work that is ;) Well, we have finally finished that yard work and now we wanted to enjoy our back yard. But we just didn't really feel we should spend the money on anything. But GOD is so good, even in the small things! I told my mother-in-law that if she knew of anyone getting rid of their patio furniture that we would take it off their hands...knowing I could work to make anything look fairly decent. And low and behold!! She and my father-in-law are getting rid of their's!!! What a blessing!!!

Here is a picture of a similar set.

I plan to have MR.P pressure wash it first. Then we'll get a spray paint for outdoor furniture that will knock your socks off! This way, I can find some CUTE and cheap pillows to really spruce this baby up! I am so excited to finally have a place to hang out in our back yard :) We also wanted to find a good umbrella. But that'll just come later.

Also, I wanted an electric sander. I have SOO many projects I'd like to do, but am way too lazy to sand down the furniture first. Well, MR.P's mom came through again!! She has one for us :) I am so excited that I can really do a good job sanding now. We are changing a few things in our bedroom so I am very excited! I really promise to take some pics of our room. I'm just not very proud of it quite yet. Oh well!

And I'll leave you with a little update of our little family. This week MR.P is off of work. So we are taking a staycation. We have gone for lots of walks with the little man, gone to the pool, done some spring cleaning...the list could go on!

Smith loves to do work with his dad. He's such a help.

Except that he fell asleep while he was helping me grocery shop!

No help at all ;)

Smith is around 14 lbs now. He is almost 4.5 months! Such a little weed :)

Snag The Swag!

2011-06-08T12:11:00.000-04:00

Good Morning bloggers. I have something really exciting to share! Have you ever heard of

The Notwedding?

Well, you should! It's basically a fake wedding show with some amazing vendors! I happen to know the talented people who put this show on. Which brings me to this! They just launched a new deal buying program called Snag The Swag! It's just like Groupon, but for brides! So exciting for brides to be!!

Right now you can get 50% off of 20 custom invitations from Darling Day!

How precious is her booth?!?

The next deal available today is for Guestbox video booth!

The GuestBox is a video booth with TRUTH or DARE prompts that gets your guests to tell – and act out – your story. It’s a modern-day guestbook!

This new program will include lots of different vendors including some from Etsy! So please, go check out The NotWedding & Snag The Swag. And let me know if you have any questions!

Whoop-ti-do

2011-05-25T23:41:00.000-04:00

The Peele family has been busy!! Actually, I'm not really even sure if that's true or not, but time sure has flown by! Smith is now 4 months old and is such a big boy! This is yesterday at the pediatrician's office for his well check.

He was saying, "I have to get how many shots??"

This past month we celebrated MR.P's bday, Mother's day, and his Baptism...all in one weekend! I surprised Matt with a trip to the Braves game for his bday. They've never been in town on his birthday, so I tricked him and told him I was cooking a special dinner. It was great! It totally made MR.P's day!!

Summer is about to officially start which means MR.P's work slows down a bit. We are looking forward to a little trip to the lake, just the 3 of us. Great family time just relaxing. We can't wait! Anyone know where to find a good infant life jacket?