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kitty cuddles // best breakfast // on our new porch

weirdness // date night selfie // Nicola Rowlands print

new hair selfie // kale chips // instashop

So, I haven't posted Instagram pictures on here in a while! Basically I've been taking selfies and eating food and trying to sell old clothes on my other account. I'm using the money I make for whatever I want, and so far it's gotten me a food processor and two new pairs of shoes (these and these) which I just purchased! And I still have money left over! I could pretty much slowly buy myself a whole new wardrobe. It's awesome.

Today we are closing on our house! I'll be sharing pictures soon, but I don't want to ABM you and make like twenty posts of things I haven't even done yet. I'm gonna try and take my time to decorate and make it feel like home. Eventually I'll share room tours and stuff! Hope you guys have a great weekend!

DIY: Painted Baby Onesies

I bought a 4-pack of onesies a few weeks ago and recently got a chance to put some color on them and thought I would share! This was such a simple project to complete.

You will need:

Onesies

Paint

Cardboard or thick material

Optional:

Stencils

Circular sponges

I used a tie stencil on one of them and a circular sponge for one. For the triangle print, I freehanded the triangles with an angled paintbrush.

So easy! These took just a few minutes to complete and I think they're super adorable.

Thoughts on Pregnancy

Where to start this post? I feel like so many things run through my head all the time regarding my pregnancy. Today I want to talk about some "controversial" things that come up all the time when I discuss my plans. I've mentioned before that I'm having a natural childbirth and I can't tell you how tired I am of being scoffed at or hearing something like, "...You're really gonna do that?" Thanks for the support. But people's reactions don't bother me nearly as much as the fact that childbirth is so medicalized in the United States. Women get epidurals before they give birth, no questions asked. What really bothers me is that women don't question what the doctors tell them. That women choose obstetricians over midwives. That women are told how to do something our bodies were designed to do.

We were made for this! Being pregnant is the most natural I've ever felt, regardless of the awful heartburn and constant back pain and random crying. No other mammals receive pain medication to give birth, so why do we? I believe the medical world has achieved many things, but interfering with a woman's natural ability to give birth isn't progress to me. I want to know why mothers choose to get an epidural and why they don't believe in their own strength.

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew the route I would take. But I've done a lot of research (and I think everyone should when it comes to their child's life) and it's hard to keep quiet now. I initially told myself that it wouldn't bother me what other women chose for their birth, and that it was a personal decision. It is, but I also think a lot of women are just misinformed. All I'm suggesting is to do your research. Question things. I question everything- and it's only made me smarter. Why epidurals? Why Pitocin? Why perform an episiotomy? Why vaccinate? Why use formula? These are all very important questions you should ask during your pregnancy.

I'd love to hear thoughts on this!

Chaos Parade Giveaway

I'm hosting another giveaway, this time on Katherine's blog, Of Corgis & Cocktails! Katherine is such a sweet lady and I'm glad to have "met" her through the blogging world. She posts lots of outfits and yummy looking recipes! I could totally see us kicking back and drinking some tasty beers (if I weren't pregnant). 

Follow her blog for a chance to win a pouch of your choice from my shop! Here's a peek of what you have to choose from:

ENTER HERE!

Recipe: Banana Ice Cream

Okay, it doesn't look all that pretty, but I promise that banana ice cream is something you should try. It was the easiest thing ever to make, and it tastes like heaven. I used four bananas for two servings.

First, cut up your bananas and stick em in the freezer for an hour or two.

Take them out and place in the blender. I made two batches, one with cinnamon and one with Reese's. Once they're all creamy, you're good to go! I stuck mine in the freezer for a little longer so that it would harden and thicken a little bit. The Reese's one was definitely my favorite!

DIY: Valentine's Day Gift

I always opt for (at least partially) handmade gifts. One, because they're cheaper. Two, because it's so much more fun that way! For Valentine's Day, I made Corey a little gift package with a few surprises in it. I started by taking an envelope and stamped some circles with acrylic paint. Then, I printed off this free card and added some washi tape to the edges. I decided to make a coupon booklet, like the ones you make when you're a little kid. I'm still totally into the idea of coupon books, haha! Some paint samples that were left over from another project got cut into strips and folded for confetti.

What are you doing for Valentine's Day? I honestly have no idea what we're going to do! I'm not huge on these kinda holidays, but I do have fun making cute little things like this. As I've gotten older, I take any reason to celebrate because why not? It feels nice to get fancy and I'd do it way more often if I could! Hope y'all have a lovely holiday! <3

Dalmatian Nation

outfit details
sweater: thrifted
jeans: Kohl's maternity
flats: Kohl's

I'm just a few days shy of entering my third trimester, and it's really starting to take its toll on me! I get out of breath so easily. After taking these pictures, we had a short walk back to the house but I was hanging on to Corey the whole way, haha. I'm seriously the most inactive I've ever been, but I just feel so busy all the time... And even when I'm not, it's so much nicer to just relax and take it easy while I still can. Baths and books: I love you.

I thrifted this sweater during the summer and totally forgot about it until I found it stuffed in a box a few weeks ago. It was too big for me when I bought it, but it fits perfectly now. There's no hiding this belly anymore. I'm just trying to embrace my new figure for the time being, and this kitschy sweater helps to do the trick!

Master Bedroom Inspiration

The other day, my mom and I were at TJ Maxx and I found this little faux fur pillow on clearance. This led us to a faux fur throw, and my obsession was born! Buying those two items really changed my idea for our master bedroom and now I think about it probably way too much. I tend to like really intense decor, with straight lines and bold colors. Corey likes rustic, cozy rooms so I've been trying to marry the two ideas and come up with something that suits both of us.

1 // 2

I love these first two for many reasons. My favorite things would have to be the lighting in both rooms and the "end table" in the second photo. I love the idea of hanging string lights to add some warmth when the lights are off.

3 // 4

These two rooms are definitely my favorites that I've come upon so far. I'm having a time deciding if I want to paint the walls white or a deep blue-ish like in picture four. I think we might end up doing a blue accent wall. Comfortable bedding is a must-have since we'll be cherishing every minute of sleep we can get. ;) 

5 // 6

I think if we do a blue accent wall (or even if we don't) then those Ikea curtains would look great in the room. Our bed will be sitting in between two windows so curtains would go on both sides. I think a couple black and white prints would look great framed up above the bed, or maybe a shelf like this, to stack some pictures on and eliminate the need for a side table. 

I am so excited to finally get started on all of this. We have a termite inspection on Friday and once that is cleared, we're almost done closing on the house! I know making a home takes time, but I just can't wait to see it all start coming together.

DIY: Heart String Garland w/ Paint Samples

Since Valentine's Day is only a week away, I thought I'd share a cute and simple DIY tutorial on making a cheap heart garland! The cost to me was absolutely free, because I already had the paint samples and scrapbook paper. :) I'm pissed though, 'cause I took these pictures of the setup afterward and really enjoyed them, but Blogger is doing that stupid thing where the pictures show up really low-res and look awful! So we'll just have to deal with that... 

1// Gather your supplies. I used some leftover paint samples and scrapbook paper.

2// Make a stencil and trace it onto your paper.

3// Cut out your shapes and line them up to sew.

4// Sew them up!

Such a simple project that took about 20 minutes, and it was adorable! I plan on making a bigger one for when we have a housewarming party sometime in the near future! :)

Life Lately

I wanted to say that things have been pretty crazy lately, but that's really not true! I mean, I get overwhelmed a lot easier now but I just spend a lot of time in the bathtub and that keeps me sane. Our offer was accepted on a house and we should close by the end of this month! We actually go meet our mortgage officer today to find out all the deets. I don't have good pictures yet, but here's a view from the driveway!

Last week, we had a bit of snow which put SC in a *StAtE oF eMeRgEnCy* and everything closed down and bread was sold out of all the grocery stores. Grizzly got to play in snow for the first time and it was the cutest thing. I can't imagine doing firsts with an actual child! This picture cracks me up- they're getting snowballed and clearly loving it.

I've been working on a ton of projects for our new house, and those will all be seen here in the next few months. Currently, I'm making over a quilt rack, nursing chair, vintage high chair, and making a quilt! The craft room is in shambles lately, which is fine with me!

Birthday Trip to Boone, NC

I love seeing new towns, so for my birthday this year I knew we had to get away and enjoy some time in a mountain town. I've heard people talk about Boone plenty before, but neither of us had been, so we decided to try it out! We left on Friday and stopped at Ikea on the way, which was so awesome. After we got to Boone, we ate dinner at this awesome diner. We don't have any diners like this in SC, so I was really excited! 

We spent the next two days shopping around the small downtown area and doing some sightseeing. We went to Grandfather Mountain, which was super cool and pretty... but extremely pricey. I'm glad we got to go, but I don't think I'll ever be going back! We also went to Linville Gorge and walked about a mile to see Linville Falls. I love being outdoors and wish we could have done more hiking, but being pregnant has really taken its toll on me! I get out of breath so easily.

It really was a great, relaxing weekend. Sometimes you just need to take a break from being at home and work all the time, and we were way overdue! Also, I had to include our classy birthday celebration drinks. ;)