To think it was you.

thank goodness for my parents, who took Carter overnight on Saturday while we attended a wedding, allowing us to sleep in until the blessed hour of 9:30 and then enjoy a much needed pancake date on Sunday morning.

thank goodness for my mother-in-law, who has this uncanny ability to detect when I'm on the verge of tears because, once again, I waited too long to ask for help.

thank goodness for my husband, who encourages excessive couch-lying and exhibits a let-me-just-take-over sort of attitude on a nearly daily basis as of late.

thank goodness for Carter, who is the only toddler I know to be perfectly okay with mommy lying on the couch wrapped in a big white blanket while she is halfway between sleep and consciousness, even if it is 10:30 in the morning and time for our apple butter toast date.

thank goodness, thank goodness, thank goodness.
ipso facto, I feel like I'm in a padded room of available help made by people just trying to be there for me.

I don't know why it takes me so darn long to recognize the signs which so obviously shout,
Nicole, you are about to run out of steam, and the only way to avoid the torture that is that stupid knot in your throat for days on end, or irrational grudges against the CW for withholding Gossip Girl from you for one measly week, you need to just ASK.SOMEONE.TO.BABYSIT.AND.GET.SOME.SLEEP.


It's such a simple concept, but yet it takes tears pouring down my face for me to recognize it. Even then it doesn't occur to me until I'm on the phone with my MIL and she tells me that this is simply a product of SLEEP DEPRIVATION, AND YOU NEED TO LET ME HELP YOU!
See?? Padded room of help.
And the worst part is is it's not that I haven't been going to sleep and waking up at regular hours, it's that my body just hurts at all times, and that in and of itself, makes me tired and wears me down.

Babe #2, I'm ready to meet you and to have that moment where I get to think, I can't believe it was you in there for all that time. I can't believe it was you.

.....and there's another moment which can be chalked up to another one of my favorite moments during that first precious week.

linking up here, as always:


and here for the first time:

and here!

DIY: Sunnies be shelved!

{First of all, I got this idea from another obsession of mine, from this post. I just added a few little things to it.}

Okay! Do you have a bajillion sunglasses you have no idea what to do with when you're not wearing them?? Well, I unfortunately do not, but I like the idea of having a spot for them once I...well....you know.... start buying them. And plus, it's just pretty to look at so YAY!

here is what you will need:

1. A frame - mine was 11X14, but any size will do, preferably one from the back of your closet that you completely forgot about

2. Yarn of any color

3. Wire

4. Pretty paper - I used contractor's paper because I have a ton, and I love it so so so much

5. {Not pictured} Tape - as in super heavy duty tape. I had no clue I would need it at the beginning of the process

- Remove the contents of the frame completely and set aside -

- Begin wrapping the yarn around your frame -

{since I actually loved this frame, once I excavated it, I did not want to add any glue or what have you, so just hold the piece of yarn in place by wrapping it over a few times}

{Seriously? This lighting? Yuck.}

- Yes, this part takes awhile, but you'll get your groove down -

- And....YOU'RE DONE! Okay, cut the yarn and flip your frame over so that the front part is facing downwards -

- Grab your wire, and once again in order to avoid using glue, just hold the last piece of yarn in place, and position the wire like so -

- Wrap the wire around twice and then, coming from the back of your frame {the side nearest to you, since it's still flipped over} pull the wire to the other side -

- Pull the wire to make sure it's straight and slightly taunt -

- And wrap around twice again on the opposite side - 

- To secure the wire, do a few loopty-loops -

- Do it again..... - 

- .....and again.....or however many times you think looks appropriate with your frame -

{I know, cringe-worthy lighting}

- Now take the original backing from your frame, and trace it on your paper - 

- Cut about 2-3 inches around the line you traced - 

- Keeping your frame facing down, center your paper over the frame's hollow area, and then place the original backing in the center of the paper -

- Tape the backing, paper and frame together - 

- ......using LOTS of tape. I mean LOTS -

- Flip that baby right side up and THERE YOU HAVE IT! - 

- .....but since I am a woman with only one main pair of legitimate sunglasses, I thought, "Why stop there?" -

See?? Now you have a pretty pretty pretty sunglass storage unit thing, or picture holder, or inspiration board or whatever the heck you want it to be! Isn't that nifty? 

I love mine.

linking up here: 

Instafriday!

Babe #2 is kicking my butt. I'm sort of sick of rehashing this sentiment, but hey! That's what life is all about right now, and Instafriday is here for me to look back on my laziness incubation period and smile, because I know I'm going to miss this in a few short weeks when I'm pulling my hair out due to outrageous exhaustion.

{so let's get going!}

 {picture #1 of me lying on the couch with a blanket covering my entire body while watching Sex and The City}

{picture #2 of me lying on the couch with a blanket covering my entire body while watching Twilight....from beginning to end.....yeah. Small bragging moment: it's because my man was working on a report for work. Doesn't that sound cool?}

{my childhood in a pan. Yeah, I said the cheesiest line known to man, but guess what? It totally fits. I have no words for this dish. It's just one of those I-feel-better-now-that-I-made-my-mom's-chicken-divan-recipe.}

 {my Babe right before his awesome tumbling class. NEW DEVELOPMENT: he will not WILLINGLY put on any clothing unless it has SOMETHING to do with football. If there's no lightning bolt, IT'S.NOT.HAPPENING.MOM}

 {here we are during our daily "Say hi to Daddy" picture! He says "HI DADA!" and then I text it to Chad! Yes, we are sickening!}

 {after said picture, Carter decided that he was done before finishing his meal. I told him "No, no Little Man, you need to eat your hot dog!.....}

 {to which he rebelled by trying to stick that foot up on the table AGAIN! The mischief!}

{okay, here is the beginning of Carter's suave move! Every time I sit him down to change into some jeans or what have you, my Little Man kicks his legs up usually WITHOUT BENDING HIS KNEES, grabs onto his ankles RIGHT BY HIS EARS, and rolls over so quickly you don't even know what just happened! At that point he realizes that he has confused the heck out of his attacker, and he scurries away, SANS PANTS-CHANGE! He is Gumby AND Houdini!}

And there we go! I actually took more pictures than I realized, so YAY!

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL week, and have a FABULOUS beyond FABULOUS weekend!

Also DON'T FORGET! Monday is a super fun and easy DIY, and Tuesday marks our first Small Business Day linky party! I can't wait to see what's going on in those shops!

I would usually link up with Jeannette, but she's taking this week off for a great cause! Go check it out!
So I'm going with some new places! Yay!
I will be linking up with Living in Yellow and at iPhonography





Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Hi sexy design, I want you

Okay, let's talk design.

Girlfriend over here still has no idea what she's doing.

I have yet to hit my "stride," as some may politely refer to my decorating sense, something which has cost us tons of unnecessarily-spent cash at Home Goods, and a fact I'm hoping to turn around some day. The good news is I've improved slightly since my first go at decorating, but as far as being original, well, that has yet to be seen. 

Here....is.....an....{ahhh, it hurts to even say}.....example of......the first paint color.....I....WANTED.

Look at the wall color around the fireplace! 

JUST LOOK AT IT!

IT'S PUKE GREY!

Honestly! What the hell was I thinking??! Who pairs those colors together??! 

APPARENTLY I DO!

And the worst part? It looks better in this picture than it did in real life. I also painted another HUGE wall in the living room the same color, but you can't see it. That color was so DEPRESSING, it literally made me want to leave my apartment between the hours of 8 am and 12 pm. I just could not sit there in that. 

{on a sidenote though, we have since replaced all the furniture in this picture, but all these hand-me-downs makes me smile! It was just so newlyweddish of us, and I'm proud of that!}

Anyway, HID-EEEEEEE-OUS.

{don't worry, I have repainted to a much more relaxing color, albeit completely unoriginal: some shade of beige. Oh well. It's a rental, and pinterest is now there for me in times of need.}

So in the name of design, I can only hope to goodness that my future dining room comes out something like

 this.

I love the idea of white. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

 But the hubs isn't too keen on the whole white-wash scene, which is a bummer.

Sigh.

But that's okay, because I would be COMPLETELY satisfied with something along the lines of 

this.

Hi, Genevieve Gorder, I wish I had your skills.

Thank goodness I have a sister who knows what she's doing, who I've commissioned for at least three weeks when we buy a house. She has no choice.

So you want to hear the thoughts behind the whole I-get-to-decorate-my-dwelling-all-on-my-own process? Brace yourself.

1. I'm so excited to decorate my own place, I'm totally going to do this all on my own...No help from anyone!

2. Mom, dad? In-laws? I need all that old paint you have stored in your garage. Thanks!

3. Okay, I have blue for Carter's room, cappuccino for our room, and for the living room, I want to go with a sort of Renovation Hardware, I'm-edgy-but-still-calming type look.......I guess I'll have to take this white to Home Depot and have them add some tint to it. LOTS of tint.

4. At Home Depot: Hey, man behind the counter in the paint department, I really need you to tint this up for me.....I want it to be a greyish sort of color, but not too grey.

5. Man: are you sure about that?

6. Me: HOW RUDE OF HIM TO ASK ME THAT! Yes, yes I'm sure.

7. Paint cans are in the apartment, and we are about to get to going. Mother-in-law stifles a cringe when she starts rolling on the "edgy grey."

8. Chad stifles a giggle. The only person who's not laughing is me, because clearly they have no idea what they're doing, and I KNOW this is going to come out fabulously.....you know....once it's all done.....and stuff.

9. Apartment is painted, TV is hung. I start to question my grey, but it's our first night.....I just have to get used to it.

10. Final pieces of furniture is brought in. Yeah, it's slightly junky, but hey, we are hip, cool young folk, and that's just the way it is, so no qualms there!

11. Now we need little do-dads to put up around the apartment. Let's go on a shopping spree.....For a few weeks on end!

12. Yay!

13. We are at Home Goods: I really need these sconces. Man, what would I do without this vase? The breakfast bar could really use ALL of these frames. Seriously, I could not go on living unless I have this candle holder.

14. NOW we're set.

15. Okay, ew. This grey is freaking hideous. How come nobody told me this was a hideous color?

16. I tell Chad. He laughs and agrees.....Way too quickly.

17. I repaint the entire living room, BY.MY.SELF. because Chad says that we should just live with the grey because of the principle of the matter....What? Okay, husband, clearly you are not home during the day to see the full extent of it's hideousness.

18. Everything is repainted. Thank goodness. 

19. Over a year later I clean out our hallway closet. We now have a bin labeled "sconces and other stupid stuff I bought." Home Goods stole from me, stole our money straight out of my hands!

20. Needless to say, my friend, it's a process.

The End.

Linking up here for the first time!

{I know, I'm late to the party}

Awkward and Awesome!

I.LOVE.THURSDAYS
{!!!!}
Let's get going!

AWKWARD

{even though I love every single one of my wedding pictures, let's just get it out there: SERIOUS POSES ARE JUST NOT MY THANG. I have a ton of these semi-awkward I'm-trying-to-be-a-demure-bride shots}

* My overly emotional week. When I get emotional, I get super high strung, and it's to the misfortune of whoever's nearest to me. Poor Chad.....Poor, poor, poor husband.

* Blushing! There was an abundance of this most hated of attributes making an appearance this week. Seriously, face, stop turning red just because someone asked you an off the wall question! It's annoying, and that sort of behavior should have been left somewhere in junior high! Why, face, why?? 

* This time change. Not only does Carter wake up WAY too early, but I want to go to bed at 9:00 every night! NO! That's my time with my man! 

* Me basically just letting my responsibilities go slack. Sorry dishes, you're going to have to wait until Chad comes home. Sorry emails, I'm going to have to answer you whenever my eyeballs don't feel like falling out of my head. Sorry laundry, I can't even give you a ball park day and time you may get done. Sorry missed calls, you probably won't get a call back until sometime next week when I've pulled out of this fog. Sorry life, I have checked out and the only thing I care about nowadays is the fact that Michelle Duggar is having her 20TH CHILD! 

AWESOME

{my husband's wedding party. Aren't they cool? It's also totally awesome that I'm the only one posing right here}

* Having the ONE THING I ACCOMPLISHED THIS WEEK be that I took Carter to an WONDERFUL mommy and me tumbling class! Seriously, those 55 minutes were just beyond. It blew every mommy and me I've ever tried out of the water. The moms were sweet, the teacher was fun, and my Little Man was a darn pro at all those obstacle courses! PROUD MAMA MOMENT, BIG TIME!

* Chad being a total badass both at work and school. {excuse my french}. Seriously, every single night I feel like he comes home and tells me yet ANOTHER awesome thing that happened during the day. All of which leads me to believe that I own at husband picking.

* Finishing up a diy that will be showing it's happy face this coming Monday, a day before our first Small Business DAY linky party!

* Enjoying my crunchy roll on Sunday night, even though I wanted to shoot myself come Monday.

* Going on a coffee date with my sister for her BIRTHDAY! {Hi, Gina!}

* Actually having a plan to cook tonight. I know....Call the papers!

* The 19 Kids and Counting that is waiting for me on my DVR.

* Watching new shows with my man and us BOTH ACTUALLY LIKING THE THEM {at the same time!}: Up All Night, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, The X Factor........I can't think of what else, but there are more!

* Knowing that if you drink water, you won't retain water, and let me tell you, this fact has done wonders for me post-Sunday night's indulgence.

* Carter swinging like Tarzan from the rope during our tumbling class! I just can't get the cuteness out of my head!

My favorite moment during my first week

So I read The Daybook like a feign. One may describe me as a stalker of sorts, maybe even a creep-o.

But anyway, she just had her sweet little baby, and because of said event, has had a few guest posters talking about their favorite moment during their first week of being a mommy.
And since I have turned down Sydney's numerous requests to take over as a guest poster due to my abundantly busy schedule she has no clue who I am, I thought I should just take this precious prompt into my own hands and reminisce on my own,
ya dig?

Obviously there are millions of tiny moments which comprise the wonderfulness that is the first week of mommy-hood, but when I read the theme of the series, I instantly knew what my moment was.

Carter was minutes old. Chad had followed the nurse holding our bundle of love to the bath station, 8 lbs. 7 oz.'s of pure happiness we didn't even know was attainable until literally seconds before, and through the I-can't-believe-that-just-happened tornado that was whirling through my mind, I heard the best five words ever spoken to me.

Babe, he has your eyes.

Wow.
That perfect little snow-whitish, crying, flailing person who was now here with us, a little person which made me physically hurt to be apart from, had my eyes.
just wow.


And then after my little one was scrubbed to a fluffy sort of perfection and was handed to me, I saw for myself that he did have my eyes. Clear as day. There were my eyes, on Carter Richard, and Chad's nose.
wow.

linking up here: