nursery plans

Once we found that out that we were having a girl I went straight to Pinterest to start planning baby girl's nursery. I knew that C. would not want a pink explosion so we settled for a mix of green, turquoise with a little touch of pink.

The inspiration:

I found this piece of scrapbook paper at Michaels and fell in love with the colors. I'm hoping to use the paper for some sort of art project.

My intentions for the nursery:
* Trying to make the small room feel comfy using green, turquoise with a little pink!
* A room she can grow into
* Lots of sweet personalized touches including small touches to remember my Mom.

The plan for the nursery:

1. Rifle Heart print
2. You are so loved print
3. Clear bookshelves (seen in Freckles Chick's nursery)
4. Umbra flowers
5. Behr Mountain Haze
6. Jenny Lind crib
7. Hemnes dresser

So far we have the two art prints, shelves and dresser. We both actually liked the wall color that we had originally painted the room but Chris touched up the paint for me. We decided on the Jenny Lind crib after seeing it in so many nursery's and talking to other bloggers who all seem to love the crib (Thanks Kim, Shannon and Freckles Chick!).

So that's where we are currently. The nursery is no where near finished but at least we've started!

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kindness changes everything

So I first read about kindness changes everything through one of my favorite Etsy sellers. She had collaborated with another blogger to create these stickers. Basically the point of these stickers is to pass them on to others with a random act of kindness.

I first left a sticker and some chocolate for a co-worker of mine that was having a rough couple of weeks. I tried to leave it anonymously but she figured out it was me!

I then reached out to some of my favorite bloggers to see if they also wanted to spread some kindness. I hope that they will share their acts of kindness.

Buy your own kindness stickers here.

P.S. If you are on Instagram tag your picture with  #kindnesschangeseverything

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my top ten: april

April was an emotional month. But honestly every month seems to be an emotional month since I've gotten pregnant. There has been a lot going on personally and professionally but I'm trying to keep my frustrations in perspective and focus on what's truly important.

Anyways, here are the top ten things I've enjoyed in April (in no particular order)


1. My wonderful supportive husband. Seriously. This man is my rock.

2. With an ie's DIY Gold Dot tray

3. Aubrey and Lindsay's T.V. Room makeover

4. Domestic Adventure's Second Time Around New Mom Must-Haves

5. Nuestra Vida Dulce's Playroom Makeover

6. Freckles Chick's IKEA art table hack

7. Spring!

8. My good friend and her sweet 6 week old son visiting

9. Random acts of kindness

10. Lazy weekend mornings with Banner

last years top ten

What would make your top ten for April?

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reframing your thinking

One of the things that I have had a really hard time during during my happiness journey is conquering negative thoughts. No matter how many other positive changes we've made in our lives it seems like that self-doubt and negative talk in our heads is still there telling you "your not good enough" or "you can't do that", etc.

First, I think it's important that you recognize you are doing it!! Unfortunately it can happen so often that it's going to take time for you to be cognisant and identify your negative thoughts.

Second, work to re-frame your thinking. Try to turn that negative thought into a more positive one. I think this is really hard! You literally have to re-train your brain about how to think about things.

Third, keep a list in in a journal of your most common negative thoughts and reframe them out on paper. Refer back to this often, especially when you recognize those old negative thought habits creeping in.

Fourth, know that this change will not happen over night. It takes time to change habits. Start small and be kind to yourself as you go through this process.


Do you have trouble with negative thoughts?
Make sure to check out Jess' post on decreasing negative self-talk

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26 weeks

I can't believe I am already 25 weeks pregnant! All of a sudden this month I'm starting to really feel "pregnant" like I can't get up as fast as I would normally, or I'm winded after going up the stairs. The sleeping has gotten a little better this month. I'm still always hot at night and need at least one fan on! Good thing Chris has extra blankets! :) This month we signed up for birthing, infant care and breastfeeding classes. I think that's going to make this seem more real. I can't believe she will be here in only a few short months!!

Cravings: ice cream!

Aversions: none.

Movement: She's moving up a ton these days. Her most active time is from 7pm-11pm and first thing in the morning when I'm trying to get out of bed. It was a really weird/cool experience seeing my stomach moving one morning when she was kicking!

Gender: Baby girl!

Nursery: We ordered some of her nursery art and some wall shelves for her books. Full nursery plan coming soon!

Anxieties/Worries: Recently too many to list..

Excitement: Chris touched up the paint in the room (since we decided to keep the original wall color) and we put together her dresser last weekend!

Purchases: We bought her dresser, nursery art and wall shelves for books!

how I should be feeling

Have you ever had people tell you how you should feel?

When something challenging or difficult happens in your life people try to undermine your feelings by telling you how you should feel about the situation.

Like when someone says "Your still upset about that?" or "I thought you'd be over that by now!" Somehow there is this magical emotional timeline that you are supposed to follow.

Well unfortunately emotions don't work like that. They aren't a faucet that you can turn on and off. I think by suppressing your feelings and not dealing with them head on they will just boil over later (or at least that's usually what happens to me).

So no I'm not over the bad news I got this week. And yes I'm still grieving my Mom. And I'm sorry if that isn't what you think I should be feeling. I need to be where I am and feel how I feel right now and go from there. 

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before baby list

So don't get me wrong Chris and I are thrilled about welcoming our daughter this summer. But sometimes it feels like we are just running around completing things off of our never ending to-do list before the baby comes: registering, signing up for birthing classes, re-painting the nursery, and on and on and on. So we have decided to make a before baby list for us to do just for us. I know that we will be able to continue doing these things once baby girl arrives. But it's just a list to help us remember to breathe and do some things for us too.

1. Go to a movie in the movie theater
2. Go out to dinner just the two of us
3. Take Banner on a hike
4. Spend the day relaxing at the pool
5. Get a massage
6. Get a great haircut
7. Go to a National's baseball game

Did you have a "before baby" list? What was on it?

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