The Facts of Lauren

Getting Twiggy with It

2013-01-29T15:22:00.003-08:00

Well good grief, kids! It has been a while but I'm optimistically saying that, I'm back! That's right, I'm making an effort to get back to my old "the glass is half full" mantra of old. Things have been pretty busy and I have tons to share with all of my sweet friends out there! Let's start with this little project I did back in the fall. Here's a teaser...

The story of the this weathered branch is pretty funny and just seeing this object in my house brings me great joy due to the way it arrived in our possession. A couple years ago we were at the lake with my folks and spotted this tree that had surfaced when Lake Texoma was way down. I had told my dad how I had seen places like West Elm and Urban Outfitters selling pieces of driftwood for a pretty penny. After pondering this he said that he could snag me a choice piece for no pretty pennies!

With determination on his face and mission in mind he shimmied up the dead tree (he was surprisingly agile) and began pushing and jumping on a good looking branch. You and I can both see where this is going, right? With a loud "crack" the branch fell free. As did my dad. No worries, kids, he ninja-rolled out of this fall and shot up ten feet down the beach in victory! And I got to go home with this killer piece of driftwood. This is what it looked like in our last house. Enjoy this extra dark pic, yeesh.

As you can see it was a little lackluster. We did eventually mount it on the wall with D rings but it still left much to be desired. And what could be more desirable than a golden staff? Scratch that, golden rod? I give up, there is no way to describe it with out sounding grossly inappropriate. (Insert your own gold member joke here)

Here is how I did it: When using a piece of "found in nature" branches in your house it is a good idea to let it bake in the sun for a few days to make sure that a) it is completely dried out and b) that there are no critters inhabiting it. Next, I threw it on a piece of cardboard in the backyard. When using spray paint make sure that you wear a mask, protective glasses and do it in a well ventilated area.

Woody...

I used one of my favorite spray paints from the Rust-Oleum "Metallic" collection in Gloss Gold. The idea to paint it gold came to me while staying at a friend's amazing apartment. She had this fabulous, gold, chunky piece of driftwood sitting on a credenza in her bedroom. Too cool.

The paint looked great and gave the driftwood more character and presence on the wall. The light from the lamps up-light the piece at night, which makes me giddy. Don't judge me, I'm easily giddied.

Oh and don't mind all of the dates on the photos. Somehow my camera is stuck on the feature and won't let me remove them...anyone know how to fix this little problem? It's a Cannon. Happy Tuesday!

You Can't Spell Friday without DIY

2012-08-10T07:19:00.001-07:00

The DIY bug bit me on the (insert body part here) after seeing these cute burp clothes at Arabella's in McKinney. I bought a pack of onesies and then headed to my local JoAnn Fabrics for the rest of my supplies.

Items needed:

1. Onesies or burp cloths

2. Fabric, you can buy small bunches of precut assorted fabrics

3. Stitch Witchery fabric bonding web (you can sew on your fabric as well for added durability)

4. Fabric scissors

5. Cross-stitch needle and thread

Here is how they turned out. They aren't perfect but I think that gives them character. These are pre-ironing photos. If they were teenagers one might say, "...they've got great personalities!"

All in all it was pretty easy and I can see where they get better looking with practice. And sleep.

Any of you working on DIY projects? Please share!

Keep Austin Weird?

2012-07-26T10:53:00.002-07:00

Mission accomplished, Austin. You are weird. Now get over yourself!

My family moved to Austin back in early spring from Midland, TX. When we found out we were moving everyone said how lucky we were to have the opportunity to live in Austin. Well, as harsh as it sounds they could not have been more wrong. At least in part. Here is the deal with Austin - it is beautiful beyond belief, there are cool restaurants and bars everywhere, tons of things to do to outdoors and it's the capitol of our great state of Texas. So where is the disconnect? Why does this place rub me the wrong way all day?

It is odd to say but the short answer is the "Austin-attitude." I'm not so cynical that I lump all people who live within Austin city limits into this demeanor. There have been some lovely people that have popped up in my path over the past six months, and to them I say, 'thank you!' But the "Austin-tude" comes from the ridiculous idea of "keep Austin weird". Those that apply to that way of thinking are so hell-bent on keeping Austin unique and special are the same ones that want to make sure that everyone else agrees with Austin being the best most revolutionary place to ever exist (sorry Rome) but also insist that you not stay too long.

These folks insure that you will not want to linger longer than your allotted vacation time bound by the dates of Austin City Limits or SXSW. There is such a push to keep people from settling in Austin that the roadways were not expanded for years as a deterrent (so the conspiracy says). Lucky for me and all of those that sit in traffic that rivals DC patterns, change is a coming!

I don't want to feel this way about the city that I live. Almost everyday I try a new experiment to lighten the mood. Yesterday, while walk/jogging - wogging, around Town Lake I made a point to smile at every single person that I passed and in some cases say, "Good morning". This is a slightly tainted experiment because I have a baby and while pushing a baby around most people will smile, if not for me, for the adorable smiling pink thing bouncing along in my stroller. Alas, this was not the case. Blorp.

This entire blog post came into words after reading an essay this morning entitled, "Why I Hated Dallas - and How I Fell in Love with It" by Sarah Hepola. She is from Dallas but did not appreciate it in her youth. She was out as soon as she was able and was off to places like NYC and my very own Austin. She was a lover of Austin and its weirdness as well. When she visited it years later this is what she found...

"Meanwhile, I visited Austin not long ago, and I was gobsmacked by shiny new construction by the lake, which I described in a way that many other people have: “This feels very Dallas.” I adore Austin and always will, but the hippie-dippie college town of my youth has transformed into a yuppie heaven where everyone seems to be a marathon runner, a bicyclist, a doting parent or all three at once."

I love Dallas. I also went to the school that all Longhorns love to hate located on the other side of the Red River. Maybe these are the reasons that I don't fit in here. Somehow the Urban Outfitter clones know that I don't belong...but I will win them over. Eventually. But back to Sarah's excerpt - what cracks me up is how there are many parts of Austin that look like Dallas. I live in one such area. But what tickles me even more is that majority of these Austin people that don't exude the Southern Hospitality that Texas is known for are not in fact from Austin at all. It seems as if majority of the snooty-poots aren't even from Austin! Let's us share the city, please. We can all keep it weird, or fun, or granola-y, or whatever together with whomever else wants to come play.

While it might take a while, this place will become home. While I have no friends yet I know deep down that they will come. Fitting in is not the end goal, it's acceptance. Acceptance of my having moved here, of the fact that I don't bleed burnt orange and acceptance of the fact that I'm from Dallas. For now I'm going to enjoy all of the beauty and great things that come along with Austin and take the Austin-tudes with a grain of salt.

Wish me luck! It is very pleasing that The Coffee Bean has made its way to the capitol of Texas.

Favorite Things Monday

2012-07-16T07:10:00.001-07:00

This has been quite a week, mostly because it was fairly mundane. However, there were a few perks and I want to share them with you because I do not have any updated photos of the house to share yet!

New Tory Burch sandals...heart. Pardon the unflattering camera angle.

L'Oreal Colour Riche Lip Balm in Plush Plum

It's like butta, doll.

Chew Beads - This line of non-toxic jewelry is super cool and perfect for that special little one in your life that is cutting teeth and love to eat your accessories.

Charles Bangle in Stormy Grey

Hudson Necklace in Turquoise

Lululemon Gear

Run: Pace Setter Skirt

Run: Speed Short

Sun Sprinter Short Sleeve

Tie and Fly Tank

Lancome mascara base - Cils Booster XL

Summer Staple- La Croix Sparkling Water

Any of you have favorites that you want to share?

Beach Babies

2012-07-09T10:35:00.002-07:00

While not posting on my blog I've been busy catching some sun in Mexico with my family. This was the first vacation that we have gone on with the entire family - my folks, my brother, his wife and my wonderful nephew, and my crew and I! We actually made it with two babies under the age of three on a two hour plane ride and seven days in the Caribbean, successfully. We had a blast.

If you're a new parent than you might not have come to experience a vacation with a wee one yet. It makes for a completely different getaway than you might be accustomed to. We spent a great deal of time around the kiddie pool and timed the reapplications of sunscreen and nap times around happy hour, but it was super fun. Banana Monkeys for all! It goes without saying that one needs a few Banana Monkeys to feel comfortable enough to walk around in a bikini for a week after having a baby.

Little A really enjoyed the pool and was skeptical of the ocean (can't blame her). She had issues with the sand being on her feet but no issue with it being in her mouth. Sandwich, anyone? She makes her mama and papa proud.

She, along with everyone else within walking distance of our resort enjoyed her Grandpa's very impressive sand pyramid. He spent a couple of days perfecting his masterpiece and was rewarded with the best compliment an artist can receive, imitation by other sand-shapers. We were all proud of him!

The best part of the week was seeing Owen and Adelaide enjoying some quality cuz time. They were super adorable and entertaining.

As you can see with the numerous photos in the same outfits we had a "photo session" night in an attempt to catch some good family photos. Suffice to say, we had a great time and are looking forward to next year.

Thank you Nana and Grandpa for an awesome vacation!!!

We bought a zoo!

2012-05-09T20:52:00.001-07:00

Psych- we didn't buy a zoo. That is just crazy, Dorff's don't buy zoos. We did buy a house, though! It has been far, far, far too long since I last posted and for the few of you that actually read my ramblings, I apologize. The Hubs, Adelaide and myself have uprooted ourselves from Midland, TX and replanted in Austin. Things could get weird.

Here is the new project! Compared to our last house this one required very little (as in none at all) work prior to moving in. Here is a photo tour that we took before we moved in all of our worldly possessions.

Entry

Formal Living/Dining Room

Family Room

View of kitchen and breakfast area from family room

Kitchen

Powder Bath

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Guest Room #1

Adelaide's Room

Guest Bath

Guest Room #2

Backyard

There you have it; our new digs. I will keep you all updated as to our progress as we take on the challenge of making our furniture and "things" fit into an entirely different place. Joy!

Oh and since we last talked we found out that we are having another nephew!! This will make for three sweet little boy cousins for Adelaide to rule over. All hail Queen Adelaide!

A Baby Story

2011-10-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello! For those of you interested in hearing how sweet little Adelaide Helene came into this world, I will tell you. This is a good baby story for anyone squeamish about childbirth. I feel kind of bad saying this but labor was one of the easiest parts of my very easy pregnancy! Please do not send me hate mail for that comment it is just the truth. Get ready for the details, none of them are gruesome.

My due date was Wednesday, October 5 and I just happened to have my final doctors appointment that very day. Full disclosure, my mucus plug (such a horrible name) came out on Tuesday night which had me convinced that I would be so dilated by my appointment that they would immediately check me into the hospital. Not the case. I was neither dilated or effaced. Bumsies. We trotted back home and prayed that this baby would come on her own before my induction date, October 12.

Around 2:30 AM on Thursday I started having tiny contractions. They didn't hurt but did wake me up and continued to wake me up erratically throughout the night. By 6:00 AM I started to time them and they were pretty well between 9 and 12 minutes apart, but still not very painful and pretty short in duration. We felt pretty certain that we would be heading to the hospital that morning so Hubs and I both showered (I shaved, washed my hair and put on makeup) and got ready in case we needed to go in a hurry. Of course, after we did all of that they contractions started spacing way out to 20 minutes and sometimes more. We called the soon-to-be grandparents in San Antonio and Dallas and told them to hold their horses as there might not be a new baby today.

To entertain ourselves Hubs and I went to IHOP for a late breakfast, made a stop at Big Lots for some more frozen food storage and then hustled to the grocery store so my fabulous husband could make us some of his famous chicken soup. By the time we were checking out at the grocery store around 3:00 my contractions were coming a bit more regularly and slightly more intensely. I camped out on the couch for the remainder of the day while Hubs cooked and timed my contractions. After coming around 9 minutes apart they jumped back to 14 minutes and I called the doctor to see if they could at least check and see if I was dilated. They said not to even bother coming their way until my contractions were 5 minutes apart for an hour.

That never happened! Around 10 PM the contractions became super painful but weren't regular; they would be 6 minutes and then 8 then 10, always annoying. They became so painful that we decided to go ahead and take our chances at the hospital. While walking back to the bedroom to get our bags I had three contractions. Then another one that knocked me to my knees - they were now coming every two minutes and we picked up the pace to make the 5 minute drive to the hospital.

We arrived at 11:45 PM and the nurses were none too impressed with how far along I might be (we didn't even bother to bring the bags in because we figured it was false labor and that we would soon be sent back home). So they weighed me in (yikes) and had me change into a gown while I gave them a urine sample. The nurse took a while to check me which made me flash back to the previous day when the doc delivered the news that nothing was happening anytime soon. When she was finished she said that we would not believe how dilated I was...8 cm! She left the room and Hubs heard her give the "Code Blue" call.

The nurse said she hoped there was time for me to get the epidural that I desparately wanted and time to get the doctor on call to the hospital. She assured me that she had delivered babies before and could do so for me if necessary. At this point I lost my composure for a couple of minutes. I had expected to be in labor for hours and get to wear my cute little labor/delivery gown that I bought to stylishly wander the halls while trying to dilate. Having the baby so soon was not what I had anticipated in the made for TV movie playing in my head.

Get ready for a barrage of photos...

Lucky for me and for Hubs the anesthesiologist made it in time to give me a full dose in my epidural and I was feeling fabulous by 12:30 AM. Note that even at this point, 9.5 cm dilated my water had not broken. The doctor made it, broke my water and told me to sit tight while I finished dilating to 10 cm (too much info?).

A few minutes later my nurse was back and said I was ready to push if I wanted to try. I like new things, so why not? One thing that they don't tell you in birth class is that when you have an epidural you can not feel yourself pushing. The only thing that I felt like I was doing was scrunching up my face and pulling on my legs. I didn't break a sweat and had to ask after every push if I had actually done anything. It is a very odd feeling, not feeling anything.

Six pushes and 15 minutes later, Adelaide arrived! I could not believe that it was over. It was the strangest sensation because it seemed all too easy. Nothing hurt, no stitches, no sweat, no toots (most of the time I was trying not to laugh because Hubs was using his "A" material) and she came out perfectly.

Adelaide arrived at 2:50 AM weighing in at 6 lbs 11 oz and measuring 19.5" long. She was wide-eyed and beautiful. No jaundice, no scratches or marks just gorgeous baby girl. After that we spent some time getting to know one another and then she went off to the nursery for washing, poking and prodding. I headed to postpartum and continued to feel great. Since giving birth I have taken one pain pill that they gave me and am totally healed after two weeks. Only problem now is that I'm cleared to workout, no excuses. Except trying to leave these two...

2011-10-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

Please pardon my lapse in posting. I have been a little preoccupied...

I promise to share the story and fun happenings soon!

Jason Wu for Target

2011-10-03T15:13:00.001-07:00

Mark your calendars, kids. Jason Wu is the latest designer to announce a collaboration with Target. Announced on the heels of a possible publicity stunt visit to a Virginia Target last week by First Lady Michelle Obama, the thought is Target is hoping to recreate the quick sell-out of last month's Missoni collection. February 5, 2012 is the date set to introduce the selective line by Wu in stores.

'It was very interesting for me to translate my signature touches into a more affordable collection without compromising quality, design and sophistication,' said Wu to U.K.'s Mail Online.

The Taiwanese-American designer was made a household name after dressing the First Lady for the Inaugural Ball. Let's see what he comes up with for the favorite all-encompassing home store!

-- Post From My iPhone

Missoni Maddness

2011-10-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

Target and Missoni did a great job promoting their pairing that launched in-store and online on September 13th. They did such a great job that most Target stores were completely cleared of all of their Missoni for Target merchandise within a few hours.

While I have had the Missoni for Target launch in my calendar for almost two months I had to work Tuesday morning and didn't make it to the store until a little after 12:00 pm. By that time all of the clothing was out of there with the exception of two styles of less than stellar blouses. I quickly skipped over those and headed to the cosmetic bags that I had gone intentionally to purchase. After snagging a couple I toured the store to see what else was left to pillage.

Here is what I scored:

There was one pair of chevron flats left in what was close-enough to my size, an adorable knit baby romper, some file folders and a few cute bins. They still had the candles but while the designs were cute they didn't smell all that great and for $12.99 each I figured they were worth passing up.

I was so flabbergasted (but not shocked) with the apparent Missoni collectors turnout that I had to call my mom in Dallas to find out what the response was there. Same. She was able to squeak out of there with a couple of cute melamine bowls, seen below.

What tickles me so much about this phenomenon is that while each item has a "Missoni" label, albeit a "Missoni for Target" label, it is still Target quality merchandise. Don't misunderstand me, I have quite a few Target labels in my closet and home, but the fact remains that the cute little flats I picked up do not feel like any better quality than the Merona or Mossimo brands that you can purchase any day of the week (without fighting another chick for). They are kind of flimsy and feel a bit like felt, however they are cute. When I checked out the cashier told me that a woman had even had her cart of Missoni goods stolen in the store by a Missoni-crazed broad and that there was a line of women waiting for the doors to open at 8:00 am. Bizarre!

With all of this publicity and success of another major designer pairing with Target (my favorite up until now was Calypso) I'm hoping that you will see more designers create affordable lines for the classic go-to store. I'm thinking that Kate Spade would be the next perfect candidate. What do y'all think? Did you haul your cookies to Target to find a designer deal? What designer would you like to see make the reasonably priced jump next?

Caught on Film

2011-09-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

After years (literally) of complaining I finally bit the bullet and bought a new camera. Poor Hubs, complaining is such an unattractive habit of mine. At least the camera-related whining can no cease and desist! After quite a bit of research I settled on the Canon PowerShot Elph 300HS and am very pleased with it thus far.

It is super light weight, 12.1 megapixels, 2.7" LCD screen and HD video. All in all it is all you could ever want in a point-and-shoot. One day I would like to also have a nice Nikon SLR but I figure starting small is a good way to go. Not to mention the fact that a SLR is a bit pricey for this little pony. Check out how well it took photos in the hospital two weeks ago when my two sweet friends had their babies less than 48 hours apart! Hospital light can be tricky.

Pretty new mama, Lisa! Sweet baby Vivianne (Alison's bean)

Mr. Noah, Lisa's pride and joy.

Okay, so this post might have been just an excuse to share adorable baby photos. Stay tuned for pics of my little bundle...whenever she decides to make her grand entrance that is.

Fall in Line Part 1

2011-09-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

Alright kiddos, it is officially fall! It doesn't feel like it in West Texas today - this 95 degree temp isn't exactly agreeing with my 39 week pregnant self. Once you are this pregnant the weather should never be over double the weeks you are along. Agreed? Agreed- I have to agree with myself on this one.

Photo courtesy of http://www.crystalkiss.com/fall-into-the-autumn-journey-with-mother-nature-with-these-beautiful-photography/

Back to fall. I know that some of you have been dreading it but it is time to edit and purge again! Those strapless summer dresses and linen pants will need to be packed away soon or moved to the less accessible areas of the closet to make room for all of those fabulous skinny cords, sweaters and boots. I heart fall fashion to the point of silliness, as I know many of you do too. Here are some tips for those feeling a bit overwhelmed as where to start...

1. To thine own self be true- go through those summer duds and pull out anything and everything that you did not wear this summer. If you didn't wear it this season chances are that you won't wear it next summer either. I know what happens (everyone does this!) you hold stuff over from the previous year(s) because you used to love it, paid a fortune for it, got it for a steal or it is that size that you know you will one day wear again. Don't let that tube top take up anymore space in your life or your house! Donate it and be done with it. You will want to shop at the beginning of the season next year anyway so make room for the future pieces that you will actually wear.

2. Get it out - I'm a firm believer in editing ones wardrobe at the beginning AND the end of every season. If that is too much for you stick with one or the other but don't cheat yourself by not editing at all. *Tip* If you are going to consign your rejects you will want to edit at the beginning of the season. Most consignment shops only take the current season's clothes.*

Now take out everything that is out of season and if you can, try it on! Wash or dry clean what needs it and fold it up for storage. If you have the luxury of having another closet where you store "out of season" clothes than make sure that clothes are on proper hangers and are in appropriate garment bags. I personally keep my out of season clothes in Space Bags nestled inside of under bed containers.

Fold those sweaters! You don't want the Lady Ga Ga look of pointy shoulders from your hangers. Natural cotton garment bags like the ones above are great for storing leather, wool and other natural fibers as they allow the fabrics to breathe. You can even find under the bed storage options in cotton, like the one below from Rubbermaid.

Rubbermaid Under-the-Bed Storage

Cedar planks are another great thing to put in under bed boxes and garment bags. I love these from The Container Store.

3. Welcome the new season - as you are pulling out this season's wears edit as you go. Try on those clothes before you put them back in your closet. If they don't fit or need to be tailored get on it! Don't waste time hanging it up and risk not wearing it again. Put those items in a bin to be taken to the dry cleaner or tailor and if it doesn't happen in 2-4 weeks donate it. If you aren't willing to take the time to get it fixed you probably weren't all that excited about wearing it in the first place. Also, items can get musty and wrinkled after months of storage - wash, steam or iron it now so it is ready to wear.

4. Get your kicks - on Route 66...or not. Fall isn't just about denim and sweaters it's about boots and cute flats! Time to retire the flip-flops and sandals for a while and fish out that fall footwear. Boots do take up considerable room in a closet; far more than flip flops. In order to prevent what I call the "ankle break" in your tall boots and to keep them in order I like to use a couple of different boot shapers. These are all great for keeping your boots looking their best and to save you time by not having to search for mates.

Our Boot Box from The Container Store

Boot Stand from The Container Store

Boot Holder from The Container Store

That should be enough to get you started for now, I will be giving you some more tips in the week to come. You can de-clutter and give yourself the closet you have always wanted. If you need a hand to hold or a trained eye, just contact me and I can help. Happy fall!

This blog is in no way sponsored or endorsed by The Container Store

Cake for Dinner

2011-09-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

No, this is not a post about sugar bomb meals but it is a review of Scythian's children's album entitled "Cake for Dinner". Just about the only thing that I dreaded about having kids was the music that you associate with minivans and peanut butter and jelly devouring wee ones. Even as a kid I was not a fan of Raffie (Hubs' favorite musician from his childhood) or other kid-focused music. Flash forward to 2011 and there is great music out there for babies and kids that keeps the parents that also have to listen to it in mind, like the Rockabye Baby series.

If you don't know Scythian, you should. Scythian is an eclectic and uber-talented, Celtic/gypsy/Americana/punk band based out of DC. They are all super cute and the two founders and brothers are classically trained musicians from the Ukraine (but raised in Dallas!).

If you are sick of the Disney Music Channel you have to pick up "Cake for Dinner", you won't go crazy. "Tumba" and "Cleaning Hullabaloo" are two of my favorites. You can also get a free listen at iTunes.

They Were Framed!

2011-09-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

If you missed it, earlier today I posted a little DIY project that I completed yesterday. I was curious to see if any of you out there in the blog-o-sphere have been up to any crafty business yourselves and I received a response! It is from my very own mama and she did a bang up job of expanding the visual space above her wine cabinet.

Before

She started with the adorable canvas of my brother and nephew. It has hung in this spot for a while now but just wasn't quite big enough in relation to its surroundings. To solve this problem Mama hit up her local thrift store and found this solid oak frame for $3.50 and bought a can of black spray paint for $3. She then hung it around the existing canvas and voila!

After

You might remember the post from a couple of years ago that Mama is quite crafty spray paint and thrifted picture frames.

Reading Rainbow

2011-09-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Hubs has the neatest collection books from the series "Redwall" by Brian Jacques. There are 34 books in the series and we have 14 of them. We want Baby A to have them to grow up with so we bequeathed them to her and her nursery. You can see them here:

Being the neurotic mama-to-be/design obsessed woman that I am the book jackets just weren't doing it for me in the context of the nursery. My first attempt and making them over was to simply take the jackets off. Alas, all of the book spines are red and I was not feeling 14 spines of red. Luckily, a solution was found and executed yesterday.

After a quick field trip to Michaels for paper and wrapping I was ready to start the process. It was all pretty easy. The largest scrapbook paper that I could find was 12"x12" and didn't quite cover the book so I purchased some white matte wrapping paper to cover the books.

After cutting out 14 white book covers I trimmed the scrapbook paper to size and secured them to the white book covers with double-sided tape. A silver paint Sharpie was used to write the title on the cover. I'm still debating about adding the title to the spine as well but I kind of like the simplicity of the monochrome rainbow right now.

Have any of you been crafty lately?

One Room. Six Months.

2011-09-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

After seeing Young House Love's eight month update post I was inspired to share the transformation that our living room has made over the past six months. We made some major changes to this space in our house since we moved in. We started by ripping out the carpet and painting the walls and trim.

February 2011

September 2011

Our living room was a roller skating rink for two months before we could get the installers out to put in our new laminate floors.

Matching the existing floors in our dining room/library was easy due to the fact that they were recently installed and the previous homeowners still live in our town. It's amazing how helpful people can be! We ended up matching the dining room floors with Armstrong's laminate flooring in Fireside Oak. Our installers from Lowe's were fantastic and got all 442 sq. ft. of living room AND our hallway finished in one day. Thank you, Lowe's!

The new floors made a huge difference but without furniture we went from roller rink to bowling alley. This is cool with me because I am an excellent bowler. Excellent. At least on Wii.

We worked from the floor up; naturally, furniture came next. Thanks to our family we miraculously received some major furniture that fit perfectly in our large living room. The couch is our haven. For two people who were never big fans of sectionals we are all about this one. Our room is so big that unless we bought multiple sofas, chairs, ottomans and tables the room would just swallow furniture whole. Multiple new pieces were not in our budget so this gift of furniture could not have come at a better time.

March 2011

April 2011

Living Room after introduction of giant Heritage sectional. So much seating!

When you have a large room create "areas." We actually have four areas in our space: an area for writing, the lounging area, the reading corner and the game space. These spaces have changed as we have settled into the house. The addition of lamps, accent pillows made a large impact and really helped to start tying the room together. Now for the barrage of photos!

September 2011

This is where I write my blog everyday. This area also doubles as our game table area.

This room was not an exception for organization - all the little boxes around the room have a purpose, they are not just to fill the space. The green box under the TV holds stationary, the white croc-embossed box on the coffee table holds all our remotes and Wii accessories, the pink box on the side table contains playing cards and dominoes for the game area. The secretary acts as our "Bill Pay Center" and keeps us both on the same page.

There are still a few projects that we have in mind for our space that include:

moving the two chairs on either side of the secretary over to the game table and relocate the secretary and replace with a statement like this-
we have all the hardware and now we just need to hang our amazing piece of beach wood that my dad brought us from the lake
before Baby A starts crawling we need to replace our concrete and glass coffee table with something a little more kid friendly, it also matches the style that we are going for in our living room a bit better than the pseudo-traditional one we have now
Ballard Design will be getting a call from me soon to place an order for a 108" tablecloth

I saw this photo on YoungHouseLove and nearly fell out of my chair, think of all the great storage for hiding toys...

I heart the Essex Printed Ottoman from West Elm that is the same shape and size of our existing table but it is upholstered to keep little heads from hitting sharp corners

I'm thinking using two or three of these Ikea STRIND tables would be fun and break up all of the the angles in the room...at $99 you can't beat that.

So that is where we are right now. For now; we did just come to the realization today that Baby A could still be four weeks away which leaves this little mama-to-be with some time on her hands to get crafty. Oh, so crafty...

Tales from the Garage

2011-09-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

I love me a good garage transformation, as you may know. It is that area of your house that is usually a pit for most American families. You are either in the situation of not being able to fit both or even one vehicle in at all, it has sports gear, tools, and/or misc. crap strewn about or your are one of the very few that keeps a tidy and sparse garage for your cars. Our garage fell somewhere in between. First off, it looked like a murder room. Our walls were riddled with holes, spray paint spurts and random shelving.

Here is our pitiful before: Don't you love the gaping spaces around our pipes? We had our entire house re-piped (all new plumbing!) and not all of the evidence of the repairs have been remedied as of yet.

Notice our old toilet...

I made a small effort to start the process last week and made my way through all of the piles to at least get it to the place you see below. This included a coat of primer (leftover paint from the previous owners that I used to cover up the hideous stains on the walls behind those shelves on the right).

Hubs was up next and he had the hardest job of all; patching about 1,000 holes. Like his shirt? *Side Note Alert* We visited the first ever legal Texas bourbon distillery last summer in the Hill Country. It is awesome and if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some Garrison Brothers Bourbon count yourself blessed. *Side Note Complete* He also had to sweep a graveyard of Daddy Long Legs off the walls. Gross.

Had to give you a close-up of our laughable attic access. It is as shoty as it looks and yes, that is a jump rope that you see attached intended to act as a way to pull down the ladder. Yikes.

Up-close and personal with random wall graffiti.

Look at all of those glorious patches! And the glorious hole we found behind the peg board. This is why you always take everything down...to make sure there are not huge gaping holes in your walls.

We got a steal of a deal on paint at Lowe's by purchasing a 5 gallon bucket of mis-tinted Valspar. It just so happened to be in a color similar to what we were wanting and in the right finish. For 1/2 price you can't beat that!

We are still in the process of painting the ceiling and we will eventually get to painting the floor as well. But for now, this is where we stand. I'm hoping to get it wrapped up by the weekend so that both of our cars can move back into their shady home. Who else was a weekend warrior?

We Be Strollin'

2011-09-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

After running errands Friday evening I came home to find a ginormous box from Amazon. Lo and behold the contents were none other than our jogger stroller! This excites me to no end. It is down right silly how much I love this stroller. Ever since I found out I was pregnant I thought that I wanted a BOB but after some registry issues I decided that the $400+ stroller was not the way to go and started looking for an alternative to the famed, high-priced jogger.

Hours of research later I discovered the City Mini Jogger. The price was right and it looked super cool to me. Done and done, consider it registered. My sweet mama-in-law (along with my sweet father-in-law) knew how much this little piece of baby-toting equipment meant to me and ordered it! Don't know what we would do without our precious family.

On to the stroller! There are a ton of great features to this jogger but my favorites are the fact that you can fold it up with one hand and that it only weighs 17 lbs. Most of the other joggers are a bit heftier coming in closer to 25 lbs. Eight pounds doesn't sound like much but I'm sure that when you're hauling that thing in and out of your trunk over and again those pounds add up.

Some of the other fun features include, the extra large sun shade with two sky lights, the seat reclines to a nearly flat position just by pulling a cord, it has front wheel suspension and not only does it fold with one hand but it folds up pretty flat making it easier to fit it in the trunk of sedan.

Can you tell that I like it? Please, don't misunderstand, I still love the BOB and think that it is an amazing stroller but I don't plan on doing a lot of "running" with Baby A, especially not on rough terrain regularly enough to justify the size and price tag. I'm of the belief that one should only run when being chased by wild dogs. Just wanted to let you ladies know that there are other options out there. And they look pretty freaking cool to boot.

If that isn't enough baby stroller talk for one day I will tell you about the umbrella stroller we got. I totally understand if you're baby geared out, if so, see you tomorrow! But if you are still with me we went with the Maclaren Volo Stroller. There are less expensive umbrella strollers out there but I figured we might have two or three more little ones and wanted to get one that would withstand years of use. My folks were kind enough to get this for us and we are ever so grateful. This will be great for traveling.

Maclaren Volo Stroller Siver Green Stripe

Well, there you go! Hope everyone has a great weekend and if the weather is as nice where you are go take a stroll. Thanks, again parents!!!

Game Day Delight

2011-09-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

The recent cool front that snapped through Midland has put an excitement for fall, football and family in my little pregnant heart. I have been anxiously awaiting the restart of school, Halloween decorations in the stores and the reintroduction of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. The reason for this isn't solely my love all things autumnal but the fast-approaching arrival of our baby girl! Back in January, October seemed like a lifetime away and it is FINALLY almost here. I will toast a Pumpkin Spice Latte to that, friends.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Photo provided by www.starbucks.com

We will be making our first road trip with Baby A to Dallas for Thanksgiving. For whatever reason I have been planning this trip in my head. I'm thrilled to introduce A to Dallas and our friends that live there. The trip will mean more than just turkey eating; there will be an anniversary (our second) and I hope an SMU game. The Saturday after Turkey Day SMU will be playing Rice at Gerald Ford Stadium and I want to be there...in this outfit from Madewell:

Ray-Ban Small Metal Aviator

Photo Provided by www.ray-ban.com

Dip-Dyed Hoodie

photo provided by www.madewell.com

Madewell Fielder Jacket

photo provided by www.madewell.com

Madewell Typewriter Pant

photo provided by www.madewell.com

Madewell Prairie Boot

photo provided by www.madewell.com

Tory Burch Amanda Tote

photo provided by www.toryburch.com

Depending on how cold it is in November Baby A will be sporting one of these two looks:

Look #1:

BabyGap Cableknit One-Piece

BabyGap Faux-Fur Cuff Booties

BabyGap Faux Fur Cuff Bootie

Bear w/ Bow Hat

Look #2:

Burberry Sun Hat

Ralph Lauren Lace-Trim Body Suit

Photo provided by www.laylagrace.com

This might seem like over-kill planning but when you're anxiously awaiting the arrival of a baby you start to wander off the edge of sanity. The Hubs can dress himself for the game. He's very stylish on his own.

Behind Closed Doors

2011-09-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Up until last weekend Baby A's nursery closet did not have doors. This was not a big problem because she has a well-organized and designed closet, however, I wanted it to have doors none-the-less. What turned this easy breezy project into a two-day undertaking were our less than standard dimensions. The design that I came up with for her closet required bi-fold doors. They do come in multiple sizes but none that matched our exact measurements.

Closet Sans-Doors

So how did we fix it? By we, I of course mean Pop and Hubs tore out the existing trim and door frame in order to use the stock doors from Lowe's. This was awesome because it saved us major $$ by not having to special order the doors. Huzzah! The only downer to a project like this is that the nursery turned into a disaster zone during construction. To protect all of Baby A's teeny tiny cute clothes we had to clear them out of the line of destruction. Creating the fabulous mess seen below. Being 8.5 months pregnant at the time made me very nervous to have such chaos in the nursery.

After the tear-out the boys placed in the new frame and shimmed around it. Once they mounted the door tracks they finished off their portion of the project and tacked up new trim.

New frame and door track

Freshly tacked and filled trim

Lauren sanding over filled holes and joints

Next came my job - sanding and painting! The trim and doors were pre-primed (which is rawesome) so all little L has to do is pull out her trusty paint brush and bang it out. Brush it out? Whatever, you know what I mean.

Supplies - most important for this project was the cabinet/door roller

Roll, roll, roll your boat gently down the stream...

There you have it - new doors at last. Now we only have to go through this process two more times on the master bedroom closets. Bring it on bi-folds!
What kind of doors do you have on your closet?

A Queen is Only as Powerful as Her Throne

2011-09-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

That is to say that we needed a new toilet (or two) in our fabulous first house. We are pretty sure that the commodes were original to the home born in 1961. That is one old poo pot. They were very small, short and used three gallons of water to unsuccessfully flush the toilet. It's a win-win, right? Hardly.

Master "Before" Hall Bath "Before"

While Mom and Pop were in town for the baby shower we decided that it would be the perfect time to install the first new toilet. We started in the hall/guest bathroom. "Why not begin by replacing the master toilet?" you might ask. The thought was that with Baby A coming in a few weeks that guests will soon be checking into the Dorffarosa it would be nice if they had use of luxurious new toilet.

The family took a field trip to Lowe's to find us a new (and much improved) bathroom seat. We wanted to make sure that we didn't get a bottom-of-the-barrel toilet but there was no need to spend $600 on one either. We ended up bringing home an American Standard model that features amenities such as:

- Chair height
- Elongated seat
- Water-saving technology (only uses 1.3 gallons of water!)
- EverClean seat and bowl

I might be more excited about this new tinkler than I would be about a new Mercedes. It is sad but true. Above is the original "before" from February and here is the more recent "before" from June.

Drum roll, please...Here is the new and much improved bathroom and toilet! (Insert symbols crashing) In addition to the new throne you might also notice the new runner. Thank you, Ikea!

One last time, Before and After!

What have you been waiting to replace in your home? Would a new kitchen faucet send you into a pleasure frenzy? Or maybe new windows would blow your skirt up? Please share what home project you have anxiously awaiting to complete. Come on, you're among friends.

It Never Hurts to Shower Twice

2011-09-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

Even though the Hubs and I have only lived in Middle Earth for six months some very lovely ladies hosted a baby shower for us. It was beautiful and humbling and there were cake balls. Ohhh the cake balls... Is there anything better than cake shaped into ball-form and then dipped into white chocolate? I submit that there is not- hence, I ate many of them.

The best part of having a little girl is all of the adorable clothes that people can't help but give to her. It is a slippery and dangerously cute slope that my mom, mother-in-law and I have been going down head first. All the better for baby A to poop and vomit on, right? It will be precious, I'm sure.

Besides wee little onesies and cake balls there were fun friends and Oreo pops. They were such a fun idea and were paired perfectly with an over-sized MacKenzie-Childs charger. Thank you, Alison!

You might notice that there are quite a few pregos in this picture. That is because there are a TON of girls pregnant in Midland right now. My hostesses were so generous with their time and talents that it was a pleasure to give them their hostess gifts. I fell in love with these cool little finger bowls from Anthropologie (where else?). My favorite part was how they looked like little nests when they were all wrapped up. Thank you, ladies!

After the shower mom and I headed back to the house to organize all of the baby swag in the nursery. My talented auntie gave me Baby A's bedding - what do y'all think? Some of you have requested nursery updates so here you go!

There have actually been some improvements made since these photos were taken that I will share next week once they are complete. Let's just say that she now has functioning closet doors! I will include a tutorial on how to install said doors and expand a doorway.

A Message from Baby A

2011-08-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here is an update on the baby front for those interested. We had our last sonogram yesterday and all is well in Babyville! Baby A currently weighs 4lbs 11oz and is on schedule for an October 5th delivery. She has been head down for a while and has been feeling quite punchy lately. I'm pretty sure she is doing some intense calisthenics or possibly Zumba, either way she is getting her cardio in each day.

She was not extremely cooperative for her last photo session but she gave us these couple of glimpses into her world.

The ladies in McKinney also threw me a lovely baby shower a couple of weekends ago. For those interested here you go!

Oh you know there was pie...

Sweet hostesses
Forgive me for how insanely excited I was about getting a Baby Bullet. I hope that it will bring baby A many delicious meals.

Beautiful sister-in-laws!

Adorable mini-Mexi dress from my precious mother-in-law

Thanks to everyone who came to the shower you made baby A feel loved and ready to make her grand appearance soon!

Planter Should be Spelled with an F

2011-08-04T16:07:00.000-07:00

"F" for fun, that is. After much debate about what to do with our not too big but big enough to look empty porch, we bit the bullet and purchased some planters and plants. This sort of planting arrangement has always appealed to me but has intimidated me as well. Insert my dear friend, Alison. I copied her planter; with her permission of course.

Here is what we got: For those of you counting at home, the large planter contains a hanging basket of some sort of bloom (The Show-er), a Sweet Potato Vine (The Spiller), a tall spiky thing (The Grow-er) and a tiger-looking thing (The Filler). Do you like how I'm all technical like with my plant genes? I don't know plants so good.

The planters look like plaster but are actually its red-neck cousin, plastic. I enjoy this because they are much lighter and easier to move around for this eight month pregger. They were all purchased at Wal-Mart at a very reasonable price. Next I drilled holes in the bottom of each planter and added a bunch of wadded up window screen for drainage purposes. This also prevents root rot. All I had to do after that was stick the plants in the dirt and water liberally.

Voila! We look like grown-ups. We got planters.

Baby Bucket List

2011-07-23T07:08:00.001-07:00

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...