Out With The Old, In With The New (Designing the Baby Nursery)

The New

I find it so amazing how I can help others design their nurseries and when it comes to my own I draw a complete blank. For the last 2 weeks I have been drawing, designing and searching for just the right fabric for our baby girl's nursery and somehow I just couldn't get it right. But, then I found it, my inspiration! After 5 fabric stores I found the most interesting fabric and finally had a sringboard for the nursery design.

Then, it was a matter of finding other fabrics to bring the room to life. I knew I absolutely loved the colors: raspberry, aqua, pink and black (of course!). Since I had been to most every fabric store in the area I decided it was time to turn to the internet. And, would you believe I found a fabric with all the colors I was hoping for. Since fabrics are really hard to gauge by a picture, my sweet and talented friend, Jennifer (you have to check out her site on Etsy: Bundle Baby), just so happened to have the exact fabric I saw online in her stash. Then she pulled out a raspberry and pink polka dot, because everyroom needs a polka dot somewhere! That only left the idea I had for a black and white patterned fabric to edge the bumper and the crib skirt. Voila, here's the swatches together:

I am going to be brave and try to sew the crib bumper, crib skirt, sheet and curtains myself. I will probably go bonkers in the process, but I am up for a challenge!

The Old

To get the nursery ready for a baby girl meant it was time to take down Rhett's baby boy nursery decor. I must confess it was really emotional for me. I thought about how exciting it was to decorate as I anticipated his arrival almost 4 years ago and how fast the baby stage goes by.

These are some of my favorite things that were part of his nursery:

I love this rocking zebra. I thought it was a great spin off of a traditional rocking horse.

After we had my maternity photos done, I found this frame for one of our photos. Rhett would look at that photo and always want to hear the story of how he grew in mommy's belly.

This dresser was one of my deal finds. I gave it a little TLC and and painted it to coordinate with the crib bedding.

This clock was the first item I bought for his nursery. I loved it because if you look close the bears are boy scouts and my hubby was an Eagle Scout so I thought it would be a sweet touch.

And, when you can't find the perfect lamp sahde to match the decor? Well, you just paint one of course! Since every room needs a few polka dots, this is where I brought them in.

Frugal Friday - Birthday Freebies

This morning I checked my email and would you believe that I received over 15 birthday freebies! My birthday is not until next week but if you sign up at the restaurants and other places you can start getting your freebies a week before your birthday and usually have a few weeks afterwards to redeem the certificates. It like celebrating for a whole month!

I have compiled a list of the places I know about that help make your birthday a little sweeter. Some of the places on the list you will need to register on their website to have them send your certificate and the others are places you can just show up on your birthday and enjoy.


APPLEBEES - free dessert
AUTO ZONE - free Oil Change
BASKIN ROBBINS - free ice cream treat
BENIHANA'S JAPANESE RESTAURANT - free dinner WITH 3 other paying guests
BENNIGANS - free dessert + song
BUFFALO WILD WINGS (BW3) - free dozen hot wings
BURGER KING - register first -free kids meal to all kids club members
BRUSTER'S - register first- free ice cream cone
CAFE CAROLINA - register first -free sandwich
CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN - free kids meal during the month of their birthday
CHILI'S -free song and dessert
COLD STONE Creamery - register first -free waffle ice cream cone
DAVE AND BUSTERS - $5 game card credit
DENNY'S - free meal (said to be only kids under 10 now)
FUDDRUCKERS - free burger
GOLDEN CORRAL - free meal to birthday Club members (not just kids!)
GREAT AMERICAN COOKIE CO. - register first -free slice of cookie cake
HARD ROCK CAFE - free dessert
HOLLYWOOD VIDEO - one free video rental
IHOP- free meal
JOE'S CRAB SHACK - free cake
MACARONI GRILL - free dessert + OPERA-style "Happy birthday" song
MAGGIANOS - register first -$10 Off purchase of $30
MOE'S SOUTHWEST GRILL - register first- free entree
OLD SPAGHETTI WAREHOUSE - free meal
OLIVE GARDEN - cake
OUTBACK - free dessert + song
PERKIN'S - free stack of pancakes
PF CHANGS - free cake or cheesecake
RED LOBSTER - free slice of cake + song
RED ROBIN - register first - free burger coupon / discount coupon
RUBY TUESDAY -free handcrafted burger
TACO BELL - free combo meal of your choice
TGI FRIDAYS - free birthday Dessert
TONY ROMA'S - free dessert
WENDY'S - register first -free kids meal to all kids club members

Have fun celebrating your birthday with all your freebies!

Are you Poor?

This is the question I had to ask myself after reading my Bible devotion over the past three days. Have you ever thought of being 'poor in spirit'? It seems like such a foreign concept since we are always hearing about the strength of will, beauty and character. If you really get down to it these things are all areas you can see outwardly, but to be 'poor in spirit' is an inwardly matter.

This pharse 'poor in spirit' comes from Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit." I have read that so many times, but never taken the time to dig deeper to better understand what it means. Here's what I found: The 'poor in spirit' are those who consciously depend on God and not on themselves. I love what Oswald Chambers says about consciousness, " When I am consciously conscious, there is something wrong. It is the sick man who knows what health is. The child of God is not conscious of the will of God because he is the will of God." Doesn't that make you stop and think! It made me really question my self-consciousness vs. my Christ-consciousness.

Who has influenced you most in life? That was the question that my devotion posed to me this morning to help me grasp this whole concept. When I sat and thought about it I always seemed to come up with those who didn't have any idea that they were influcing me. What a great example of those who are Christ-conscious or 'poor in spirit'. They had no notion they were influcing so they had no self-consciousness. I love this quote again from Oswald Chambers, "We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring."

Prayer: Lord, help me be Christ-conscious so you can use my life, the commonplace, to be inspiring without my knowledge so I will never lose sight that it is you who is doing the influencing and not myself.

Frugal Friday - FREE Baby's First Circus Ticket!

If you have a baby under 1 year old or know someone who does, this is a great deal. Register on Ringling.com and you can get a FREE ticket for Baby's First Circus. The best part is the ticket has NO expiration!! So you can even stash the ticket away for a few years down the road.

Wordless Wednesday: Fun on the Farm

Panthers Fan Fest

This weekend we joined 15,000 other Carolina Panthers fans (we are really Dallas Cowboy fans, but we support the local NFL too) to support the team as they start a new season.

Bank of America Stadium

This was really special for Reggie as he got to take Rhett to his first NFL experience. It was so cute to see them bonding over sports!

This was Rhett's first reaction to seeing the stadium. He said, " Ooh, I want to play on that field one day!"

Here they are touring the stadium...

Watching the game...

and cheering on the team!

Painting with a Purpose!

Now that we are in the last few months before our adoption will become final and the fundraising phase, I thought I would blog about a great way you can help share in bringing our baby girl home and get some goodies in the process!

I have a custom children's artwork/design business, Simply Ooh La La, that I started when I decided to become a stay-at-home mommy. It has been a wonderful creative outlet and now it is a great way for us to raise the remaining amount of money ($9,300) we need to finialize the adoption process.

So, if you have a special little one in your life who would love a custom piece of artwork or maybe a mommy-to-be who needs just the right piece of artwork for the nursery then I would love to help create a design that will be cherished for years to come!

Here are a few of my latest designs and you can also visit the Simply Ooh La La website to get even more ideas. To contact me you can relpy to this post or email: waitingonafullhouse@yahoo.com

16 x 20 custom hand painted canvas ~

Price varies by design and size

Personalized hand painted canvas placemats ~$24

More Space!

I have been dreaming of more freezer space for awhile now and yesterday that came true so I just had to show it off. I know you are thinking a should dream a little bigger, right?! A whole freezer I can store all my grocery deals! Remember the 13 loaves of bread I got free a month ago? Well, my sweet neighbor has been storing those in her extra freezer for us and now it's time to give her back her freezer space.

I found this steal of a deal on Craig's List for only 1/4 the price it would have been in the store. Almost everyone has heard of this site, but if not you have got to check it out. Most cities have their own site dedicated to people selling and sometimes even giving away their stuff. It's like the biggest garage sale you can imagine, and you know how much a love garage sales!

Bring on the grocery deals!