In Honor Of Mad Men: Chairish and Sally Draper

Guys. I get emails fro time to time asking me to do blog posts for "such-and-such" company, but I normally decline the offer because I'm not really interested in the company or website…. BUT when Holly from Chairish emailed me to make a room inspired by a Mad Men character with items from their Mid-Century Modern page, I just had to accept.

You see, I l-o-v-e the show Mad Men. Like…I'm addicted to it. We don't have cable, but I binge watch each season on Netflix as it comes out and am ready to watch the seventh and final season as soon as I can. (In case you live under a rock- the last half is airing now on cable!) I'm super bummed to see the end of the angst/drama/mystery that encompasses Don Draper and everyone he knows, but I suppose it had to end at some point.

One of my favorite parts of watching this show (and I suspect everyone else who watches will agree), is seeing all of the beautiful sets and costumes. I mean…the 60's had it going on in everything from fashion to interior design. Chairish is a website with high-style vintage and used home furnishings and accessories (I am not being paid to say this or link to the site--I just like it), and I loved browsing through it--like to the point that it was extremely hard to narrow down my picks for just one room.

I ended up making a bedroom for Sally Draper. We have seen Don and Betty's only daughter go from a small child in knee-high socks and frilly dresses, to a go-go boot wearing tween, to a moody teen who seems to be trying to figure it all out (and making plenty of mistakes along the way). She drives me nuts a lot of the time but there is something about her that is fun to watch (as with every character on that show).

Here is her high-style, upper-east side bedroom that I picture her brooding in well into her teenage years….

At its foundation, the room has a lot of classic mid-century furniture. As Sally has grown, she has opted to add colorful mod accessories and art--part of the 1960's iconic look. I tried to keep some sophistication in the room since she is a prim and properly well-educated Draper (and Betty's daughter), who speaks fluent french, knows all things "art", and plans to travel the world as soon as she's out of a fancy all-girls college….that is, if all goes according to her parents' plan. ;)

I really had a lot of fun making this room for her. There is a teensy part of me that now wants to go all Mid-Century Modern in my house, but as we all know, I can't do that, so I will just continue to live vicariously through the world of Mad Men and browse the 1960's section on Chairish. :) Works for me!

Have a great week and start watching this addicting show if you haven't already!

Boys Bathroom

Hello! So, we have been doing a lot of house projects, including filling the 1,000 tiny air bubbles that have popped up in the wood floors (actually not as horrible as it sounds, just very tedious and kind of expensive). In more exciting news, we have completely GUTTED the boys bathroom (please realize that when I say "we", I mean "Bryan") to actually began a real-life-not-just-in-my-head renovation on it!

Here is the original inspiration board I made:

(links on Pinterest board)

I've already gone a different route on a few things (pretty much just the vanity), but we have already purchased the tub and tile for the shower and started the wondrous herringbone pattern on the walls. BEAUTIFUL, I tell you. I love this subway tile trend. And it's super cheap--like it cost $70 to get all of the tile. YES.


I am here today to ask a few questions.

First, how do you feel about mixing hardware finishes? I absolutely love it when I see it on Pinterest and blogs but am terrified to carry it out in real life. Well, not exactly terrified, more just stuck…there are too many pretty things and I can't decide!

I love the look of chrome faucets and hardware in a bathroom, (so clean! so sleek!) but I also love the rustic/farmhouse look of black/bronze. In fact, all of the light fixtures that we've added around our house are black so I'm trying to stick with that in the lighting department. And then there's GOLD. Oh, I love antiqued gold. Specifically for mirrors. But all of this together? I do not know.

A few photos that I love as general inspiration (and notice the metal mixing)…

(All pins are on my bathroom Pinterest board--it is a horribly curated board, literally just put together in my haste to do our bathrooms--some of the photos aren't my style…I just like specific aspects…yada yada yada… )

So my question #2 is… should I do the vanity lighting on either side of the mirror or above it? Chrome or black? 

I am for sure getting a chrome faucet (see inspiration board), and we just bought this chrome shower head and faucet:

(from Home Depot)

I have a black/bronze sconce in the inspiration photo (which now I can't even find and I think is too expensive anyway), but I also like these options…

In bronze:

via

via

And chrome:

via

via

And then there's this gold wonder…too expensive, but if someone else wants me to put in their house, I totally will!

via

So, a little help here is key. I need it. I'm driving my husband crazy. 

Adios!

Four and Five Months.

I am SO great at monthly posts!

Weight: 16lb 10oz (75th %)

Height: 26.5in (95th%)

Head: 17in (91st%)

Milestones: Laughing!! It is really hard to get you going though. Your daddy, brother, and grammie are the best at it. A lot of the time your laugh is a big long "haaaaaaa", but they are good at getting belly laughs. :) Good at sitting up with assistance and propping yourself on your elbows.

Sleeping: We have been all over the place. You started waking up at 5 or 6am every morning which was sad for mom. So pretty much anywhere between 7-10 hours. You take a good long morning nap and are kind of hit and miss in the afternoon. Usually two 1 hour long naps. 

Eating: Still 3-3.5 hours. No solids yet; your brother traumatized me.

Likes: Tummy time, being outside, being rocked, your brother, sucking on your hands, thumb, paci--whatever you can get. Getting your bottom patted. You like when I sing to you, too. I usually end up on blue Skies and Rainbows or the Wheels on the Bus.

Dislikes: You have a horrible case of eczema and none of us are fans of it. You claw up your little head and it is so sad! I have to trim your nails every few days to keep you from scratching, but you don't like getting your nails trimmed either, so that is a challenge. 

Favorite Things About You: Your hair has started coming in blonde and it is oh so cute. You have the gummiest smile and a sweet dimple right below your lower lip. You are still mellow, and still just like to be along for the ride.

Memories: You took your first bottle this month from your daddy and you apparently wolfed that sucker down without a problem. Mom was a little sad. Parker LOVES you so much, and is constantly wanting to show you his trains and tells you all about them. He also loves to show you off to his friends, even though he gets very protective when they get too close. ("He MINE baby brother.") He also is constantly saying "Awwwww, he so coot (cute)…awwww, he so seet (sweet)…aw, he so wittle (little). And he gets a little panicked when you cry in the car and can't give you your paci. He very aggressively comforts you, saying, "It's okay, Hayes! Aww, SHHHHH! It's okay, don't cry! Mommy, give Hayes his paci!"

Weight: 17lb 10oz

Milestones: You finally started rolling over a little more regularly this month! SO close to sitting, but I think we still have another month. Mom and dad are ready for you to have more body control!

Sleeping: Still all over the place. Anywhere from 7-10 hours, but you got a horrible upper respiratory infection the last two weeks that has you waking up coughing all the time. It is sad :). I WILL get you on a better nap schedule this month!

Eating: We have moved to 4 hours (sometimes 3.5). Really trying to establish a morning and afternoon nap, so that has helped stretch eating times a bit. You have been projectile spitting up SO much, but that is just because you've been sick.

Likes: You love your little entertainment center! You could stand in that thing all day and play with it. Your eyebrows get very concerned when you are playing, and you look a lot like dad. Speaking of him, you love him.  We are finally getting to spend more time outside and I wish I could keep you out there all day because your little face is just so in awe of everything. 

Dislikes: Eczema. Coughing. Burping. 

Favorite Things About You: More hair for you!! We have gone from dark hair, to totally bald, to a lot of blonde hair (I realize that you look bald to most people, but up close your head is covered!) And dare I say it…it may be a tiny bit wavy? You're a chunky monkey and I love it. You've been smiling at everyone we see and seem to be quite the flirt. Little old ladies stop me at the grocery store and always comment on your pretty pouty lips. 

Memories: I don't even know. I feel like this month was filled with a lot of sick from everyone. You are the only one to survive the stomach bug from he** that hit me, your dad, your poor brother, Nonnie, Pops, Bee, Grammie, and Abby (in that order). You were perfectly fine with us passing you around to the least queazy person during the whole mess. And then you got sick and that seems to still be going strong. Your Grammie got to give you a bottle a couple of times and was in heaven. Um…I will think of more for the baby book. :)

And for my Nanny… :)

   

     

It's Going Fast. And Halloween (Yep!)

Hello! I am trying to come to terms with the fact that it is already the end of January. Wait. What.

Time flies after you have kids. If you want to stay young and have lots of time and energy, don't have kids. BUT if you want to have so much fun and be so exhausted and have no time but have SO much fun, then have kids. They are fun.

Alrighty….let's go right back to Halloween. If you make it through this post you are obviously a member of my family.

Parker is doing new things and being quite hilarious each and every day, but unfortunately I forget most of it. I do know though, that he is funny. He is SO TWO. Like, he is 100% two, and he tests us multiple times a day, in many ways. Sometimes he is adamant on being completely independent…actually most of the time he is adamant about that, but sometimes we still get to see the sweet little babe that he was. I love it all but am SO tired. But happy.

And this little mister…well he doesn't look like this anymore. Not in the slightest! Good grief, it makes me sad how fast they change.

Those wrinkles just kill me. Hayes has completely filled out and is quite the chunky monkey now. Still has a sweet temperament though. He is a terrible napper, but a good snuggler, and has just started laughing.

I'm trying to remember the details of Halloween but it seems like a century ago and I was extremely sleep deprived at the time so I'm not surprised that I've forgotten a lot. I do know that Parker was completely uninterested in carving pumpkins, with the exception of the minion pumpkin that I managed to freehand (He has a thing for minions--talks like them all the time…"dee doh dee doh", and all of that. I know that I am truly a mom since I think it's pretty hilarious.) We managed to venture out to school to watch his costume parade and to see that he was, quite literally, the ONLY kid (baby or big), to parade around with his paci and blankie in tow. I am quite proud to say that we nipped that thing in the bud this week though! We spent months hyping it up too much, I'm now sure. I was tired of that dang paci last week, so we just took it. No warnings, no "paci parties", or "paci fairies", or saying "we lost it"…we just stopped giving it to him. And it worked!

Now to potty train. We have tried. And tried. But he is not interested yet. One day! (Hopefully before he is 18 3.)

Let's see…we had a mishap with Hayes' costume, meaning that I had it shipped to our old address and didn't figure this out until the night before Halloween. So that was fun. Thankfully my good, good husband made two trips to our old neighborhood, thoroughly freaking out the new owner during the first trip, and then eventually talking to our old next door neighbor who was able to assure the little old lady that now lives there that Bryan was not a burglar, just a guy with a dingy wife who needed a Halloween costume.

Anyways, we got it, and Hayes was able to be the cutest little football there ever was :). Also, my hair looks really good there. I am sorry to say that postpartum hair loss has officially begun this week. I was hoping it wouldn't get me this time, but is definitely has. Bummer man! I like all that hair.

Hayes was also the only one who would pose with the pumpkins. (Two has not been the most photo-ready year for Parker…they have class pictures at school next week…Lord help them.)

Oh gosh, Parker also completely crashed right before we left for Trunk or Treat. We couldn't resist laying Mr. Hayes right next to him to get a few brother photos.

After that I believe we woke the poor child up, took him to the church where he refused to do any trunk-or-treating whatsoever, gave a few adults blank stares when they told him how cute he was, and cried while riding the Halloween train. He perked up though when we went out for pizza and gave him some diet coke. ;) I'll go ahead and consider it a success since it ended in smiles and since it was Hayes' first Halloween which made it a very sweet day in many ways. Did I mention my parents and Laura were there? So it was great. We had fun! Now on to Thanksgiving.

HELLO! Hayes is 3 Months (and 2 months also but that was last month)

Because I am an awesome blogger, here is Hayes' 2 MONTH stuff:

Weight: 13.5 pounds (91%)

Height: 24.5 inches (98%)

Milestones: Started smiling around 6 weeks! Sweet gummy smile with a little dimple by your lower lip. Also started cooing! Loves to imitate sounds. Your little eyes sparkle when you talk and smile. The best.

Sleeping: Started sleeping through the night at around 6 weeks (about 6 hours), and then you were at 7-8 hours when you were 7-8 weeks. Kind of randomly napping between feedings…I've been a horrible nap scheduler!

Eating: Still fast, eating every 3 hours. Hard to burp but you are not really a spitter which is absolutely awesome. Outgrown all newborn and are in some 3-6 month clothes.

Likes: Watching brother play, sleeping in mom and dad's bed, Christmas lights, Riding in the car, bath time. I will say you are a momma's boy, too :).

Dislikes: Being hungry. I don't know, you are truly laid back. I know, I'm lucky. Horrid case of cradle cap this month, too. You didn't like that. Oh and shots…that was traumatic.

Favorite Things About You: All the rolls! Sweet little pudgy fingers. How you always, without a doubt, sleep with your arms balled up in fists on either side of your head. 

Memories: First Thanksgiving, first trip to Colorado. First time to see Santa. Big brother says, "It's okay, honey" when you cry. He also directs me to put your paci in when you cry, too. ;) I have more written in the baby book so that will do it for the blog!

Good grief he grew last month!! Here is all the 3 month stuff:

Weight: 15.5-16 pounds

Height: 26 inches

Milestones: Don't know about too many new ones…you have definitely gotten stronger and are pretty steady holding your head up most of the time. Starting using the bumbo which you like a lot. You do giggle a bit which is adorable and always get the hiccups when you are trying to "talk".

Sleeping: Usually sleeps about 6-8 hours (11pm-6 or 7am) a night but the day you turned 3 months you slept 9.5! That was awesome! Trying to get you to nap 1.5-2 hours between feedings but you are hit and miss with long naps.

Eating: Stretching to 3-3.5 hours. Still very quick, although we have had more spit up this month!

Likes: Watching tv--you could stare at a football game for an hour. Your head whips around when big brother is in the room trying to keep up with him. Still like baths and napping with mom when we should not be sleeping :).

Dislikes: Struggling with eczema more this month. Our entire family has sensitive skin…and you are no exception. :( You are starting to not like having the car seat cover over your face for a long time.

Favorite Things About You: You are so very mellow it's a bit unreal. You kind of just sleep or sit and stare, or the best--sit and smile. You are along for the ride and so happy. You also have rolls everywhere and I am basically obsessed with them and your receding hair line.

Memories: You had your first Christmas this month and got toys from Santa (which you didn't care about obviously). I feel like G.G. held you all week which was sweet. You stayed up till midnight on New Year's and I gave you a little kiss. :) You also made a second trip to CO and flew on a plane for the first time. You were a rockstar--slept the whole time or just stared at me as I dragged us through the airport and had several emotional breakdowns. You went to a sweet friend's wedding where many wedding guests about gobbled you up. 

Whew. Done for a few more weeks!

Actually. I'm going to blog something else soon. It will happen. IT WILL.

Snapshots.

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving!! I am currently sitting in my PJ's, not watching football. My three boys are seated around me, sleeping and/or screaming. We are at my parents house, and Parker has certainly gotten a kick out of Thanksgiving festivities already with the help of the Macy's parade and an unlimited supply of marshmallows and chocolate pie filling (courtesy of his Nonnie). Here is a hint: He (for obvious reasons) is the one doing most of the screaming. ;)

I'm not going to attempt to catch up on too much of our lives, mostly just show pictures for the sake of my family's need of them. You are welcome, Nanny! These have been sitting in a draft post for the last month….

My mom's side of the family came to meet Hayes when he was a week and a half old. We had so much fun sitting in the backyard, eating at Rosa's, and monitoring Papaw's volume level on the tv. ;) 

Nanny got in some good snuggles with a very tiny and wrinkly Hayes. So squishy and little! I cannot think about how much he has already changed. 

Hayes was also given his first Rangers baseball cap courtesy of Aunt Cindy. I have yet to get a photo of him in it, mostly because it still swallows his head, but we are excited about it! I always remember thinking that my Aunt Cindy was SO cool when I was kid because she always wanted to play with us and it was evident that Parker feels the same way--he became a bit obsessive about her and Aunt Kathy (who I've also referred to as Mom #2). My boys were also blessed with some beautiful quilts from Nanny, one with trains on it which Parker seriously freaked out about. (Trains are our thing.) I love my family and am so happy to see them love my kids. 

That weekend we headed to the Corn Maize which Parker thoroughly enjoyed, although the rest of us could have done without the flies. It was such a cute place though! We looked at the animals, ran in the mini hay maize, went on a hay ride to pick a pumpkin (which P was thoroughly uninterested in), and ate WAY too much kettle corn. But it was good. Too good. And Hayes slept the whole time.

We also got in our fill of Halloween activites. We made our second trip to the LCU trick or treat in the girls dorms, which Parker, for the second time, was overwhelmed by. Maybe next year. And Hayes slept the whole time. ;)

Here is a not great picture of one of the halls. In my day (because I'm so old) we just decorated our doors but now they do whole themes and you can't see more than 10 feet in front of you. It's fun! Parker (and Bryan) also didn't care when I told them this as we walked past my old room.

And there's the face he gives when asked to smile. 

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Alright. It is now Sunday. This is why I never blog--I run out of time! We have had a great time in CO this weekend and are about to head back to LBK. Bryan is looking at me like I need to get off the computer so I will. I do have a ton of pictures from Halloween, the month of November, and now Thanksgiving break (including a picture of Hayes and Santa!), but that will have to wait. Parker wanted nothing to do with Santa, just FYI. He walked up, looked at him, said, "Nope.", and walked away. ;) So fun.

Wish us luck on our looooong trip back. Adios!