Grey & yellow Nursery Love

It's almost midnight and tomorrow I am having a baby!!! How is one supposed to sleep knowing this? I am so excited, anxious, happy, nervous, etc! I have been sitting in baby's nursery just staring for the past hour at the room around me and how life is about to change.... And I'll admit I've also been admiring how dang cute the nursery (on a budget) turned out. Most items are home made (garland, pillows, pictures, signs) and the crib is from wal-mart. I even got a discount on it since a family member works there :) Instead of sleeping, I figured I would write a quick post and share a few nursery pics. My husband and I are team green so we (I) wanted to do something neutral that could work for either a boy/girl space. Once baby comes adding additional pops of color to the mix is super easy. I love grey and vintage yellow, hence why our wedding from 3 1/2 years ago is also consumed of this color palette. I knew that this would be perfect for baby Q #2....



I wanted to print this saying so I whipped it up in InDesign in about 5 minutes..please feel free to use :)

Pink or Blue?

The countdown is on! 5 days from today and we will meet our precious little one! My husband and I are team green (where you don't find out the baby's sex) so we thought it would be fun to take a few pics with pink and blue balloons...since everyone seems to be patiently waiting to see if we will be blessed with a baby boy or girl :) So many emotions are running through me right now, and I am beyond excited to meet him/her. I still can't believe I am haiving a baby this week- it is still so surreal....

Beam mantle

I can finally check mantle off of my list! Since last year's holiday season I have been wanting a mantle badly. I don't know what it is about this pregnancy but I am getting things done! I honestly think a huge part of me feels that once baby #2 comes, my list is out the door and nothing will be completed for months. So I just keep up with my diy cravings this pregnancy and indulge one project at a time :)

I wanted something very simple and rustic for my mantle... and of course inexpensive (mama on a budget). I went down to Home Depot with Braeden and my dad and we picked up a 4x8x8 raw wood beam for $20. I really didn't care what it looked like since the imperfections is what adds to the beauty. I then went home and distressed it (aka beat it up) a bit by doing the following:
- filled a sock with nails and screws and wacked it a couple times
- hit it with a hammer
- hit it with an old high heeled shoe of mine

Once again, you really can't go wrong with this- which is why I love these kind of projects- so beat away!

I then took left over stain I had and covered 3 sides (leaving the side facing the wall blank not to waste stain on something that would never be seen). Now, when it comes to hanging things, my husband and myself do not trust ourselves if it is anything bigger than a picture frame. Thankfully my dad's friend is a handy man and he saved the day. He used 3 rod iron looking brackets ($10/each) and then worked his handy man magic. For $50 in materials wood beam & brackets), we now have a beautiful rustic mantle that I smile with joy at everyday!

A little halloween party

I love any excuse to get the kiddos together and see them all run around and play! This past weekend a couple girlfriends and I hosted a little halloween party to do just that. The kiddos all looked so cute in costume and had a blast just being their crazy adorable selves. And once again the mamas out did themselves by baking the cutest treats! I had no idea what I was going to have Braeden be. But literally the day before I had a random idea for him and his little girlfriend (Raelyn) to go as Pebbles and Bam Bam. So for less then $10 (fabric) and a couple minutes of cutting they both had a costume that was not only so cute, but also incredibly comfortable for a warm San Diego day!



Perfect party favor- A little pumpkin with each kids initial




Yummy treats!


Adorable costumes...


Mummy wrap! Give each dad a roll of toilet paper and 1 minute to wrap their little mummy :)

Love for Baby Q #2

Yesterday we had a beautiful little luncheon, with a whole lot of love for baby Q #2. My really good friend {aka my sister} wanted to do something special to celebrate myself as a soon to be mama of two and baby's upcoming arrival. I invited just my family and closest friends and the day was perfect. We talked, laughed lots, ate good food, opened cute baby gifts and questioned if my little peanut would be a boy or a girl :) I feel so blessed knowing that this sweet baby will be surrounded with so much love.

Me and all six of baby's beautiful aunties!

Me and my awesome sister :)

Baby Q's Nana & Grandma :)

Fall love @ the Patch

Yesterday we decided to take a family trip to the pumpkin patch with some friends. What better fall tradition than this? Last year the kiddos were all little babies where we held them close and just walked around for what seemed like only a couple minutes. This year with the kiddos on the go, the "patch" experience was much different. They wandered {explored as I like to say}, laughed, picked up pumpkins, and even rode ponies for their first times! I love the holidays and this was a fantastic start to fall!

31 weeks

So today I went to my parents house (as I do a couple times a week) and took Braeden on a "nature walk." This really just consists of him walking along a little path right next to my parents house. BUT- he feels free and loves the openness to explore. My dad came along and I of course brought my camera just in case. Thank goodness I did, because I am in love with a couple of the shots. Perfect to document new baby at 31 weeks and pefect shots with both my babies :) Oh and might I remind you- my dad is a complete camera amateur who can barely see without glasses. It really is all about lighting, background, and then some cropping can always be done later....

{Dog} beach day

Today we went to dog beach as a family. My husband took the day off at work and we headed out to the coast. My son is in love with dogs, so this was definitely such a wonderful outing. Our dog Zoey loved it and so did our little B. This was a perfect family outing for all. The weather was a bit overcast, which made the lighting great for photos!

Want to get this coloring? I adjusted the color a touch in iphoto by giving them all an antique effect and then fading them out 2 notches (this is all done right in the effects tab under edit) simple to do, yet great results :) You may have to fade less or more depending on the originating color....good luck!

A Wedding Program

Today I helped my good friend Aly out with her wedding programs. As many of us are, she too was inspired by a post on pinterest of a fun and unique program from memories n more. I used adobe InDesign to replicate her inspiration as closely as I could. Printed on natural kraft paper, this program will fit in beautifully with her rustic inspired wedding...

I used the fonts "Stiletto Skinny" and "Futura"

farmhouse sink- √

As I mentioned in a post the other month, I have been completely craving a farmhouse sink! AND that craving is now fulfilled! With dollar signs being the driving force behind every decision we make (me being a stay at home mom, my husband being a numbers guy for a living, having a little one, another little one on the way, and the fact that I love me a great bargain) I knew that the price tags I was finding were not going to cut it. Thankfully, IKEA has their own version of a farmhouse sink with the price I could afford. They have both a double bowl and a single bowl, and due to the size of my petite kitchen I went with the single bowl. We have had the sink installed for 2 weeks and I am enjoying every dish I have to wash in it! It is perfect! It not only looks amazing, but functions great too! I am thrilled with this purchase and love the way it fits perfectly in our new kitchen. Oh and the cost of this sink was $180 :)

The Quinn Inn

I am so excited to say that our kitchen at the Quinn Inn is just about complete! Yes, we still have to put the cabinet knobs on and do paint touch ups, (and other small things) but for the most part we are pretty much there, woohoo! I am completely in LOVE with everything and cannot believe the transformation. My new country meets rustic kitchen makes me so happy :)!

23 weeks: Grapefruit size

Today marks 23 weeks and baby is approximately the size of a grapefruit! With all the kitchen fun and craziness going on (with our remodel), this past month has just flown by! I have to admit, this heat has definitely made it hard for me to exercise. No day time strolls for me, since between the hours of 8:30 am and 6:30 pm are pretty much off limits for being outside unless I want to melt away :) Baby Q #2 is moving a ton though. This cutie pie is going to be one active little peanut...