Im Dreaming of a White...Kitchen..

Although I am not the cook in the family, (my husband is the most awesomest chef); I long for a shiny new white kitchen. Big frig with ice & water in the door, gourmet stove, island, eat in seating for a family of 6, tile or hardwood flooring, a chandelier. :) Much time is spent in a kitchen & revolves around the kitchen & even though I don't cook, I've been know to bake the occasional nana bread, fix quick lunches for the kids, make a pot of coffee or when I'm feeling really Betty Crocker:grilled cheese or macn'cheese. I would love for my husband to have plenty of counter space & to feel inspired in our kitchen. I know that someday this dream will come true. It will. Any one of these kitchens would do:

I really covet that table & chairs. Saw one similar, but the table top was white formica, a couple years ago at an antiques store & still kicking myself for not snatching it up. What was I thinking? And the chalkboard paint. I could write scriptures of the week or my hubby could scribble menu notes.
The pops of color. That. CLOCK. pink lilies, eggs in a cute container, the numbers & glass front cabinetry. Great little accents in this one.
This one is just so bright and cheery! How could you come to breakfast & be grumpy in this kitchen? It would be against the rules. Loven' that chrome & red stove. And love the red & turquoise combo! So fresh!
Love the stainless island working with the stove & giant frig. The natural looking rug under the island & backsplash adds nice warmth & contrast.

And for now, this is what I have to work with. Not bad for a "little house in the country" kitchen on a tight budget.This is what it looked like before my $100 makover. Much improvement eh?!

And just so ya know, I am dreaming of a white Christmas too. Will be in Nebraska & Kansas so hopefully the Lord will bless us with some shimmery snow. Can't wait to see all my family. Its always good to go home & be with the ones you love the most. My momma & daddy(yes, I still sometimes call them that at 31) with my babies when they came for a visit in October.Grandpa holding Evelyn pointing out one of the many praying mantis that moved in to our porch area for a month or so. Literally, we counted at one time 15 of them. They were breeding. The males would come & "impregnate" the females & their bellies would get huge & then the males would die.Max & I & the giant pumpkin. I think it looks kinda gross.

Well, thats it for tonight folks. Hope you are all enjoying the true reason for the season-our Savior's birth! Remember that when you are trying to get last minute shopping done, wrapping, baking, sending out cards, packing, cleaning.....It helps keep everything in perspective.

Toodles,

Megan

Art Studio Trip & WIW

On Wednesday Evie & I took a little road trip down to Sullivan, IL, situated on the N. side of Lake Shelbyville, to visit our friend Darby who owns Underground Vintage Studio & to check out some of the other artists who have their studios set up in this awesome old warehouse pinned The Factory Art Studios. Seriously, there is way to much coolness all in one space. I could just gawk for hours, well we did pretty much stay for about 2 hrs! Darby is super sweet & an extremely talented seamstress,crafter, artist! In fact you can hop on over to my sister's blog, Marigold Road & watch for a chance to enter & win some of her goodies!

And, I was gonna try to do my first What I wore Wed. link up but failed to do so on time. :) But I thought I'd share these photos with y'all anyways. Max actually took some of them & I had some fun playing with Picnik!

Cool hoop art in photo is by Underground Vintage.

Shirt & Boots:Target', Skirt & Belt:Maurices, Tights:Marshalls, Rosette Necklace by me, Headband is actually a brooch by Darby. Evie is rockin' jeans & black onsie by Carters(we have an outlet 15 min. from our house!) & headband by me at Just Vintage. :)

And check out this amazing stuff from Yellow Dog Studio. His furniture is all handcrafted from reclaimed wood. A.Mazing.

I would like any one of these dining tables to be one of my dining tables please. Maybe for Christmas?? A girl can dream. She's gotta dream. Dream big..

And how bout this vintage patio furniture? I'd like to own it as well.
This is Darby's couch (i envy it also) & some of her fabulous pillows
And here is Darby & my baby princess.

Darby's vintage & handcrafted goodies. I think Evelyn needs the "Dream" hoop art. Seriously, I think I have a problem. Lord, help me.

Evelyn is 1!

On Nov. 8th we celebrated Evelyn's 1st Birthday! It feels like yesterday we were finally getting to bring her home from the hospital. It's hard to believe that our baby girl is already 1. We have had many emotions lately. We endured some of the most intense heartache & stress that a parent could go through and the pain of that still feels somewhat fresh. But, the gratitude, the joy, the excitement we feel far outweighs that. Not a day goes by that I am not Praising Jesus for his awesome healing power. For giving us our little miracle girl. For all of the little miracles He does in our lives. For His love & grace He pours out upon us that is beyond my comprehension. We fought the battle for our baby girl's heart & We Won!

Evelyn at 1 year she crawls, stands, walks along furniture, has 4 teeth, claps, points, says mama, dada, baba, ba, de, ya & other jibberish, pushes around Max's cars & tractors & makes "bbbbbb" sound, loves to look at babies & animals & point to their eyes. She is energetic, full of expressions, playful, social, ticklish. She sucks her thumb when she's tired & sleeps thru the night but is an early riser like her daddy

Here are some party pics!

She had her own little cake to mangle & dive into!



Max is holding her hand. He's also tired as this was at the end of the party and he was quite the entertainer. The Evelyn banner I made!

Cake was made by the local "cake lady" Teresa. It was great!

These are pics I took on Halloween. I put her in her princess costume early. I just couldn't resist!

She loves to look at our honeymoon photo album! Perhaps she's already dreaming of a Hawaiian honeymoon too. :)

She is "talking" to the framed picture of Max!
Doesn't she look like a little ballerina!

All dressed up! Max is giving us his sad face. He really was very excited though! ha

My little blue monster man

And lastly I leave you with this scripture my friend sent me on Evelyn's birthday

"have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. " Joshua 1:9

Momma Got a New Camera!

I am the proud owner of a new Nikon D3100! I love it. I love the way it sounds when it snaps a picture. Makes me feel like I am a professional photographer. It looks cool hanging around my neck-like I know what I'm doing but I really do not!

I have been having fun practicing with it. My husband used to be really into photography so he knows a bit. He'd love to "pick up" that hobby again. I am glad because I just love pictures. They are memories frozen in time.

If you asked me 3 things I would take with me to a deserted island, my pictures/albums would be one of them. I have them all over my home. Enjoy some of the pics we've gotten with our new Nikon!

These were taken at a small local pumpikin patch. The kids loved it & so did I cause it wasn't really crowded or overwhelming..

I let Evelyn crawl around on the grass. I could barely keep up with her! (p.s. it was warm this day so short sleeves & no jackets!)

Max was my "model" for these pictures so mommy could get some good practice. He was a natural.