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Y’all… we have a lot of stuff goin’ on. Most importantly, the girls are transitioning from two naps to one… and it’s throwing off the entire balance of our day. Not because they aren’t sleeping as much anymore, but because THEY ARE CRABBY-tired! We’re not really sure what’s going on, and feel like we’re fumbling around in the complete darkness of confused parenting.

I look like this every night after I get the girls in bed.

Couple that with my back-pain and headache’s lately… I’ve decided to take a week off from blogging and JUST BE. Without the pressures of whipping out detailed tutorials and witty commentary.  :)

You understand, right?

I’ll still be active on Facebook and Instagram so you’ll know I haven’t checked into the loony-bin. And you can expect me right back here in a week with some fun new projects we’re finishing up! (I think we’re due for a camera-dump of the girls too)…

Catch ya later!

Bathroom Vanity Painting Treatment Tutorial

Top of the mornin’ to ya! I’m feeling pretty chipper today, knowing that we have GORGEOUS weather ahead of us this whole week. On the agenda? Plant the veggie garden! Nick is outside tilling as.we.speak. We’re a little behind, I know… but we like to break the mold.

SPEAKING of mold…

Just kidding. No mold that I know of.

So yo, I painted the vanity base in the upstairs bathroom, and did a little ‘treatment’ to it that turned out fabulous. But before I break it down, let’s review and reminisce together over the progress photos of said vanity. Cue the music (think Enya).

As you can see, we extended the vanity to fill the whole wall and maximize what limited space we have. This added tons of storage, and well… it just looks better. We also built a butcher block counter (tutorial in the works!), installed a new faucet, and vessel sink! This is where we left you last…

Since then, I primed the g-awful putrid green walls, because it was cramping my style and preventing me from enjoying our sweet vanity to the fullest. Still haven’t decided between white walls and light gray, but there’s no rush just yet. I’d much rather live with streaky primer for a time.

After sanding the base baby’s-butt-smooth, I dry brushed on some BRIGHT RED paint… being as careless as possible and leaving wood showing through here and there.

I’m not a red kinda girl, and for a split second, I thought about leaving it (!!!).

But instead, I dry-brushed on some gray (leftover from my hallway stencil project), and left some of the red peeking through here and there.

After letting that dry, I went at it with some 100 grit sandpaper. I just wanted to smooth out any brush-strokes and rough up the edges and corners where ‘normal’ wear and tear would happen on an old piece of furniture.

I took a rag, dipped it in Rustoleum Golden Oak Stain, and wiped it on to make the spots where there’s exposed wood look more aged, and just generally make the whole piece look more weathered and authentic. Then I wiped the stain off with a dry cloth.

I love how the the butcher block countertop is so glossy and chic, and the base is so rugged. Contrast at it’s finest!

I’ve got an idea for the backsplash that I’m 95% crazy-excited about, and 5% terrified that it’s not going to turn out as planned. How’s that for a cliff-hanger?

We’re loving how the bathroom is coming together, and I’m so glad that the construction part is over with so I can participate! And Nick is enjoying the break and spending his time in the garden and chillin with the babes… SO CUTE.

To catch up on our bathroom vanity progression, check out these posts!

Extending the Vanity

Installing a Faucet

Vessel Sink

Life Update.

So I did something to my back. It hurts… like a lot. And it’s been going on for 15 days now. It’s really hard to feel productive when you’re in excruciating pain. Also, I’m unpleasant to be around when I’m not feeling 100%. Nick knows this to be true… and gets the brunt of it. Sorry babe.

So here’s an update on our lives:

• I’m in the middle of painting the bathroom WHITE. So far I’ve only done the edges and corners with a brush. I’m waiting to roll on the rest after Nick fixes a couple holes in the wall today. And I have big plans for the base of the vanity, and backsplash!

• Stripping is a lot of work folks. I don’t recommend it. But when it comes to my beloved dental cabinet, it’s super necessary since it’s a lead-paint-death-trap. I counted exactly 98 million layers of paint. I’ve completed 4 of the 28 drawers.

• Spring is HERE! Our acreage is hoppin’, and we’ve been soaking up the sunshine like you wouldn’t believe. The girls are like puppies being freed from the confines of a puppy mill. They’re true country girls too… barefoot, dirty, and curious. We’re anxious to get our veggie garden planted… maybe Nick can tackle that while I’m installing a backsplash in the bathroom this weekend. Thanks for volunteering babe!

• I’ve begun running again, and it feels glorious! I love the crisp morning air and watching the sun rise… it’s my ‘ME’ time.

How’s that for a life update? As you can see we’re livin’ large and our hearts are full! Thanks for coming along for our journey!

22 Months

This is the first time ever that I’m late on the girls’ monthly OR weekly pictures. First time for everything… right? Did I make up for it with our giveaway on Friday? And speaking OF… the big winner’s name is Emily Pennington!! Check your inbox!

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People are floored that our girls still share a crib at night. There seems to be plenty of room still, and with the occasional incident (body-slamming, standing on each other, etc) it’s working great! Granted, there are days when I wish I had a video monitor so I could spy on them and see what kind of foolery they’re up to. It usually takes them about an hour to get to sleep, but I’m ok with that. They get an average of 12 hours of sleep per night, so it won’t hurt them to play around for awhile before passing out.

They still don’t mind sharing my lap, and don’t ever get jealous or push each other away. It’s just always what they’ve known. They’re starting to interact and play together more, mostly in the form of following each other around. They don’t have a twin language… AT ALL. There’s no real babbling going on. I’m not sure if that’s still going to happen, or if they just skipped that step.




Dear Adelyn,
You’re going through a really loveable stage where you love to hug everybody (and everyTHING… like books and toys). You lay your head up against the person or object and say ‘AWWWW’. It’s pretty adorable. You always wait for Paisley to start saying a new word before you jump on that wagon, but then you pronounce it even better than she does. For example, for ‘shoe’ …Paisley says ‘YOO’ and you say ‘SHOE’! You have enough hair in the back to put some pretties, but you just don’t like people messing with your hair. It’s very shiny, dirty-blonde, and straight. You love to use things as accessories (hats, bracelets, etc). You have the BEST belly laugh. You won’t eat vegetables unless it’s with a fork, including vegetables that aren’t logically eaten with a fork… like peas and corn. You don’t like to hold hands for any reason, even when it’s to help stabilize you when walking down the stairs. When you do give in and hold hands, your hand is like a limp fish. You won’t make eye-contact with people at first, but it doesn’t take long for you to warm up to anybody. You’re such a strange combination of shy and friendly. We love your quirks and characteristics that make you an individual.

Dear Paisley,
You don’t really care to be held or confined to a stroller, and prefer to walk yourself. But at least you love to hold hands! It makes it a lot easier to let you be independent. You love to have pretty things in your hair, and are always very intrigued when I’m blow-drying my hair. You still don’t really like to wear clothes, and often pull on them and fuss, but luckily you don’t know how to take them off yet. I have a feeling you’ll be my naked child. You often wake up on the wrong side of the bed, but once you snap out of it and get some food in your belly, you’re a happy/wild/chipper girl. We still struggle with your tantrums, but it seems they are getting smaller and more infrequent. Most of the time you don’t even know what you’re upset about. You have trouble pronouncing the ‘sh’ sound, and replace it with a ‘Y’ instead. So Shoe is Yoo, Show is Yo. You’re like a little parrot and try to repeat just about any word you hear. My favorite is ‘cuse me’ for excuse me. Freaking adorable. You’re a climber and can scale about anything, but luckily haven’t tried to get out of your crib yet. But surprisingly, you’re afraid of heights… and will start crawling about 10 feet before you reach the stairs to climb down. You’re such a strange combination of timid and crazy. We love your quirks and characteristics that make you an individual.