3 Years In This House!

I am that dork that likes to remember random dates of stuff {and by remember I mean write it down in my planner year-to-year}. Yesterday I had written down "3 years in house". That.Is.Nuts. We cannot believe that we have only been here for 3 years, and at the same time cannot believe that is has been 3 years already!
I love looking back and seeing just how much the house itself has been changed by us {and a few helpers along the way}. To think that our family room once looked like this is crazy:


I thought I would share some of our biggest tips to anyone who is considering buying a home that needs some 'work' done to it. 

• Go in to the home with a vision, but stay flexible throughout the process. Visions change once you really get in to a space.
• If doing serious demo work {aka- moving walls,etc.} its super helpful to use a Floor Planner program. We did this when we re-did our kitchen and it helped tremendously. This is what you can get from using the program:

• When creating a single room, if you are like me, you like to be able to visually see it to feel super comfortable with it. Because of this, J has mastered floorplanner.com and Lowes virtual room designer. He pretty much puts together a Lowes virtual room for me every time we decide to really make-over a room, hence the kitchen one:

• Plan out your light switches and outlets wisely if moving them or adding them. There is nothing worse than having to walk across a room that you just finished to get to an outlet or switch.
• This may seem like a small tip, but its one that we are really kicking ourselves for not following before. Use the construction grade paper {comes in rolls} from Home Depot to cover your floors when doing work on walls. Now if you are simply doing a little paint touch up, its not necessary. But if you are installing wainscoting and painting {or more} take the time to lay the paper down instead of using paint tarps. At least for us paint tarps are annoying because you constantly have to move them to be with you in the room while painting, they slip on their own, leaving you with paint on the floor. They end up disgusting after many uses, etc.  We finally took our own advice on this for the nursery, and let me tell you- we love it. We have had the same paper laid on the floors in there for a few weeks now, and it will last until we are completely finished with the room.
• If doing a project that requires workers other than yourself, make sure you use people you can trust. Whether its your GC, or their staff- theres nothing worse than feeling like your being taken advantage of, or mislead. Also, if you find a worker that you just love and trust, keep their number specifically. We had one specific worker for our kitchen makeover that we totally loved. He was always on time {and I mean to the freaking DOT on time, which is so rare in that industry} did beautiful work, was incredibly honest, and respectful. Because of those things, anytime we run in to a project we need help on, we call him. Anytime a friend asks for a great handyman in general, we give his number. 
• Look around and do your research before making any big purchases, whether it be furniture or fixtures.
• Go to open houses in your area to get ideas..and then morph them in to your own.

Overall, the 3 years in this home have been amazing. We have gone from 'not even being married a year', to loving all the free time we had together as a couple, to adding Boomer to our family {we already had Honey for about a month before we moved in:) }to new jobs for both of us, to J entering {and almost finishing-hallelujah} his MBA program, to now almost bringing a baby home. It has been a beautiful 3 years and I love the home we have created. I couldn't have done any of this without my best friend by my side {or you know, being the one who uses all the heavy machinery}. Its the biggest blessing when you marry the right person...

32 Weeks Pregnant!

How far along: 32 weeks! Total weight gain: gained 20 lbs total. holy crap! At least they now say that for every lb. I gain in these next weeks, 1/2 of it goes to him! Phew;)Maternity clothes: Still able to wear most tops, but pants these days are either workout pants, leggings, or maternity.Stretch marks: Just the ones from Christmas Eve on my chest, but still using the amazing tummy stretch mark oil {here} and the chest cream {here}Sleep: Still getting up every night to go pee and now it has escalated to twice a night..oh joy;)Best moment of this week: My family baby shower on Saturday. This baby boy got showered with love and presents!Miss anything: Exercise {other than casual walks and yoga}, beer and wine. But the things I get to experience now completely outweigh those:)Movement: all.the.time. I think I even made out that I was feeling an arm yesterday!Food cravings: Been wanting a lot of pineapple, cantaloupe, and unfortunately soda {trying my hardest to stay away from that one!}Anything making you queasy or sick: nope!Have you started to show yet: Yes, and I can't believe I still have 8 more weeks of growth to go!Gender: Boy!!Labor signs: Just the contractions, although my doctor said they havent done anything to 'change' whats going on down there yet, praise God! Loving my Hypnobabies homestudy still!Belly button in or out: The whole thing is out now..and I find it hilariousWedding rings on or off: On, on the days that I actually wear them..which I am trying to do more these days so I don't look a hussy;)Happy or moody most of the time: Super happy. Happy that he is in there cooking away, and praying it stays that way!Looking forward to: My friend baby shower this weekend. Also, praying that the results of Boomers tumor come back perfect- so looking forward to great results for him:)

Sneak Peek Nursery Items

First off, thank you so much everyone for your thoughts and prayers for Boomer. He did much better the next day, and hopefully will keep up a rapid recovery..AND have the tumor be non-cancerous. I am pathetic and couldn't handle seeing my baby in pain, so I slept in the living room with him on an air mattress. I knew he wouldn't be able to sleep in the bed with us like normal {for fear of him trying to jump on and off and ripping stitches}. So the original plan was to have him sleep in his crate, but that sweet little man was seriously whimpering all night while trying to get comfortable and fall asleep, and I couldn't take it anymore. He would stop whimpering when I rubbed his ears or back, so I set up the air mattress and had the worst night of sleep ever- but he did great..so thats all I really cared about! 
Moving on, I wanted to give y'all a little sneak peek in to some of the nursery items we have. 
The sample color is Benjamin Moore: Van Deusen Blue. We are not sure if this is exactly what we are going with, but its the only sample we have so far..

Heres a little peek at the ledge we installed on Sunday night. We also finished one wall of the board and batten, tutorial to come:)

And some of my favorites for last, the adorable vintage airplanes we are using for his mobile. I cannot wait to get this baby made and hung:

It seems like the nursery is taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r. and it kind of is. When life is busy and you know that you technically don't need the room to be completed before baby is born, it just takes awhile. But I cannot wait to show y'all more as it progresses!

Don't Know How You Do It

I'm talking to you mamas who have ever had a sick kid... I honestly don't know how you do it. My sweet, sweet, baby boy Boomer went in for surgery yesterday. You know, this sweet face:

Melissa Young Photography

Two weekends ago when J and I both went out of town, we came home and noticed a little pink bump on Boomers paw. I am regrettably a worrier by nature, so I automatically was worried it was something bad, but thats just how my mind always goes. We watched it for a solid week and noticed that it was actually getting a little bigger, so J took him in this past Sunday. They said it was a tumor, but couldn't tell if it was cancerous or not until they remove it and send it in. So yesterday morning I took my precious baby in for surgery {and to get his teeth cleaned since he was already being put under}. 

I, being the already sensitive person I am, and now 8 months pregnant, cried when I dropped him off and cried when I picked him up. I couldn't hold it together when I saw him come out all drugged up and limping. Broke my heart. Seriously. We now have to wait a week to get the results back if it is cancerous or not {I hate even writing that word} and just have to baby him until then. The vet said no running for a week...thats a tricky one! 

Needless to say, not sure how much I am going to get done this week other than keeping him current on his pain pills and antibiotics, and loving him back to health. I swear, I DO NOT know how you mamas out there get anything done while your babies are sick, or undergoing surgery, or anything other than the norm. I stand in awe of you! Lets pray I can get better at it, especially with a human baby coming soon, and not just fur-baby! If you think of it please say and prayer {or good thoughts, whatever it is that you do!} for it to not be cancerous. He needs our help:

Design Inspiration Monday

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These last few are breath-catchers:

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Happy Monday!

Friday Photo Dump

Welp, looks like this past week included a whole lot of cookies, belly shots, and pups..with a date night thrown in there too. What was your favorite part of this week?? And I promise, I am getting back to all of your comments today- this week the baby zapped literally all of my energy, sorry friends! Happy Friday:)

31 Weeks Pregnant!

I was so tired this day..but you can't tell by my squinty eyes at all, right?!!?

How far along: 31 weeks! Total weight gain: gained 18 lbs total. Maternity clothes: Still able to wear most tops, but pants these days are either workout pants, leggings, or maternity.Stretch marks: Just the ones from Christmas Eve on my chest, but still using the amazing tummy stretch mark oil {here} and the chest cream {here}Sleep: Still getting up every night to go pee and now it has escalated to twice a night..oh joy;)Best moment of this week: Going to a girlfriends cabin for some r&r..was so great to have girlfriend time even if it wasn't exactly smooth. Had another bout of contractions while up there and had to take a Terb pill, and thankfully they stopped. Then we all had to leave a night early because of a snow storm that was coming in and expected to trap us there for days. Amazingly enough, the trip was still perfect..even with all of that!Miss anything: Exercise {other than casual walks and yoga}, beer and wine. But the things I get to experience now completely outweigh those:)Movement: SO much movement. My belly looks like something is literally trying to come out of it at times...Food cravings: Didn't have anything specific this weekAnything making you queasy or sick: nope!Have you started to show yet: Yes, and I can't believe I still have 9 more weeks of growth to go!Gender: Boy!!Labor signs: Just the contractions, although my doctor said they havent done anything to 'change' whats going on down there yet, praise God!Belly button in or out: The whole thing is out now..and I find it hilariousWedding rings on or off: On, on the days that I actually wear them..which I am trying to do more these days so I don't look a hussy;)Happy or moody most of the time: Super happy. Happy that he is in there cooking away, and praying it stays that way!Looking forward to: J having spring break this week. It has been so nice having extra time with him. And just knowing that neither one of us is going out of town anymore until this little man arrives is comforting!

Homemade Almond Butter Recipe

About a month ago my life in the kitchen got a whole lot sweeter..I bought myself a Vitamix! I had been wanting either a Vitamix or Blendtec forever, but after reading a million and one reviews- went with the Vitamix. I got mine when the Vitamix roadshow was in town at our local Costco. Everyone said that that was by far the best deal on them you could find. Costco always has a regular one for sale, but the roadshow one is only $20 more and insanely better quality. Not going to lie and say the price tag on it was great, it still cost $380+tax but it has already proven it self to me ten times over. My  in-laws have one as well, that they've had for about 10 years. 10 YEARS for a blender is just unheard of!
I have been using it every day to make juice, smoothies, etc. but today i'll show you how I made homemade almond butter. So much better than anything I have bought in the stores {and I have tried most} and cheaper! Score!

Ingredients:1 lb. almonds 1 tbsp. coconut oil1 tbsp. agave nectara pinch of salt
I normally out of habit buy raw almonds, so thats what I had on hand. However, I wanted to make roasted almond butter, so I simply roasted mine. 
Directions:

• If desired: Roast almonds but putting them on a baking sheet with parchment paper at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Make sure to stir them around once or twice to make sure none burn. 

• Let almonds cool

• Add almonds alone to Vitamix {or other food processor} and begin blending. 

• You will continue to blend until the dry almonds begin to look clumpy. Push down the almonds as it blends.

• Once it reaches the desired consistency { I like mine fairly smooth, but if you want your a little chunky simply shorten the blending time} add in the coconut oil, agave nectar, and salt. The coconut oil and agave nectar are by no means necessary, but I like to add in 'good fats' whenever possible, and a little sweetness never hurt anyone;) That amount of agave nectar by no means makes the butter sweet though. In the end, this was our consistency:

Excuse the fact that this picture kind of resembles poop..of some sort!

This recipe will make you about 16 oz. of homemade almond butter! A whole lot cheaper than store bought, and in my opinion..way yummier. We stored ours in airtight glass jars, and constantly have one of the counter and one as backup in the fridge. 
We have kept ours out on the counter for about 2-3 weeks at a time with no issues. It can stay in the refrigerator for about 3 months, and can freeze for 6 months! So make big batches and store away!

My favorite way to use almond butter is to spread it on a nicely toasted piece of Ezekiel bread topped with a banana. Heaven. How do you use yours? Or have you ever tried almond butter before? I swear- J was totally against it at first, and now is a total convert...not that he has much of an option since I dont buy/make anything else;)

Maternity Photos By Melissa Young

A few weeks back, J and I had the privilege to take our maternity photos with the ever so talented Melissa Young Photography. She is not only my best girlfriend, but she is ridiculously talented at taking amazing photos and making a seriously pregnant girl feel good. We feel really blessed to have had these photos done, especially since they were before all the craziness started with this pregnancy. Thank you Lis!! I know I am going to include way too many here, but can you blame me when she sent me 139 photos to choose from?!

Go check out Melissa Young Photography if you are needing a photographer for anything! That girls got talent and she loves to travel..so even if you're not in AZ- check her out!