High five for Friday!

Monday, May 26, 2014

Happy Friday everyone!! This nice weather has really kept me away from my computer this week, thus the reason for a lack of blog posts...  Here are my high five for the week!

One| I saw the end of a rainbow.  Seriously one of the most neat things I've ever seen and I have a feeling this is a once in a lifetime experience.  Unfortunately there isn't an actual pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but maybe the real pot of gold is a high corn yield this fall.  (The end of the rainbow lands just across from our driveway in the neighbors corn field.)

Two| I've been waking up early (5:20am-ish) and ready to go all day long.  I know this is because of the baby I'm carrying in my belly but either way I love it!  I feel so much more accomplished!

Three| On Memorial Day, our friends Cynthia, Chris, and Caleb, came to our house to hang out for the afternoon.  Such a fun time introducing their 5-year-old, Caleb, to the dog, and the cats, and the cows, and the kittens, and the tractor!

Four| My new favorite boutique store - Gallery 512 Boutique - in New Ulm, MN, finally launched a web page.  I've been watching their Facebook page and loving the clothes they carry.  I can't wait to shop online... (this might be my post-baby treat to myself)

Five| Every day this week my husband and I have been breeding cows and with any luck we will have 10 babies on the ground next spring!

Have a wonderful weekend!

High five for Friday

We have been absolutely blessed with beautiful weather, here in west-central Iowa this week!  Every night Adam and I have spent the majority of our evenings outside on our front porch just catching up and talking. We've taken our Axe, our dog, swimming twice this week (lucky dog) and went asparagus hunting a few times.  Have I gotten a lot of things done around the house - the quick answer is no, but that's ok! :)

Over the past week, primarily last weekend, I've been inspired to be crafty and it feels so good! (Is that part of the nesting process?!)  Here are my high 5!

 One| Last Saturday I hosted a Norwex party and of course I had to make party favors for all of my guests.  These are some of my most favorite card sets yet!  I'll try ti get a few of these assorted sets in my etsy shop soon.  In the meantime, how about a memorial day discount?  Visit my shop and take 20% off your order!  Use code MEMORIALDAY20  (offer expires 5.27.13)

 Two| My birthday was last Saturday too!  One of my very best friends had these flowers delivered to me!  Thanks Katie!

Three| Remember I said that I was feeling inspired to be crafty this week?  I made this mobile for our nursery.  Get the instructions here and as well as a sneak peek of our nursery!

Four|  I am 33 1/2 weeks pregnant - oofta! (yes, I'm originally from MN...) I'm still hitting the gym with about 15 minutes of cardio followed by some basic weight lifting.  It's getting more and more difficult to get to the gym each week but I feel so much better after I exercise. 

Five| Last night my husband came home and surprised me by giving me a gift of money for no reason at all and telling me to buy something for myself that I want.  It was really nice...  I love him. 

How was your week?!  Let me know your high's in the comments below! 

Bump Day: Make your own mobile + a sneak peek of baby K's nursery

 

If I have learned one thing in the past year, between getting married and getting ready to have a baby, it's that if you label something as "wedding" or "baby" you can automatically charge more because people will pay it.  (Yes, I've been one of these people in some cases...) Since I'm quickly realizing how expensive this baby thing is, I'm attempting be more resourceful and use my creativity. This do-it-yourself nursery mobile was so easy to make and only cost a few cents.  All it took was a little bit of time, patience,and a trip to the craft store.  Who doesn't love to make a trip to the craft store (ok, maybe my husband, he prefers to wait in the car...)

Here's the super simple how-to!

Supplies: Two sizes of circle punches, a cross-stitch hoop, assorted construction and scrapbook paper, string, and double sided tape.

I actually changed plans part of the way through this project.  Instead of punching holes in the circles, I decided to use double-sided table to hold the string between two circle cut-outs.

First, cut out your circles.  Since mine were going to be double-sided, with the string in between, I cut out 12 of each color. 

Next, lay out your pattern.  I did 3 large circles at the top, and four little circles at the bottom with the very last circle being some pretty scrap book paper. 

Then, I cut a long string and laid it down the center of the seven circles.

Now, using the double-sided tape, tape the string to the center of the circle.  This actually gets a little bit frustrating so keep in mind that it doesn't have to look pretty... 

Once you have your string taped on, lay the second circle on top of the first to hide to string.  The double-sided tape will hold just fine. 

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Finally, hang each strand of circles from your cross-stitch hoop and space them evenly around it. 

To hang the mobile I cut 3 extra strings and tied them in a loop at the top.  Since the mobile is really light weight I hung it from the ceiling with a clear push pin. 

Ta-Daa!!

Growing up, the things I remember most are the things my mom and dad made for me and I hope to do the same for our kids.

Here are two more versions of a DIY mobile:

Young House Love

Cape 27 Blog

Since I'm sure you are curious here is a sneak peek of our nursery.  There are still a few finishing touches left to go and then I'll give you an official tour!

Client Design: Home Office

I love it when emails roll into my inbox asking for help to decorate or even re-create a space, especially when the potential client shares my design style!

Alyssa recently got in touch with me to help her update her home office and turn it into a more modern space.  Here are a couple of before pictures...

I love how much space is in this office - I would to have this space!

Ultimately, Alyssa wanted to lighten up her home office and turn it into an open, more creative space that she can share with her kids. Here is what we came up with! 

Since Alyssa already had her kids table, we just needed to update her "adult" furniture!  White furniture is so fun and instantly lightens up a space!  

To create a large desk space that leaves room for both work and craftiness we decided to go with a butcher block counter top (4) braced by cabinets for storage (6 and 7). 

To add some shine and sparkle to the space we decided on gold accents, including a gold polka dot accent wall.

Finally, to create a clean-feeling space, we decided on white walls to let more natural light reflect.  Light colors are perfectly inspiring spaces.  Not to mention, white goes with everything!

If you are interested in re-decorating your space this summer, I'd love to help!  Check out my e-design page and send me an email (designyourdwellingblog (at) gmail.com) to get started!

High five for Friday!

It's Friday - thank goodness!  Actually my weeks have been flying by lately and I usually pack more into them than I can actually get done - ever feel like that?  This has put me a little behind on my High Five For Friday posts but nevertheless these are still one of my favorite posts!  

Let me fill you in on what's been happening...

This is my new favorite lip gloss - I use it place of chapstick!  It's Almay Pink Pout.  I'm also a fan of "Cantaloupe"!

We are finally getting a few nice days so you better believe I am taking advantage of them and eating outside!

Our house is finally in the decorating phase. I am terrible at selecting art so I found this idea on Pinterest and made my own.  I love it!

This year we are attempting our first garden.  We are going with green beans, tomatoes, kohlrabi, onions, cucumbers, and peppers.  Thanks to my husband for taking on the role of master gardener!  

This pregnant lady can't paint her own toes anymore.... :(  So I went and got a pedicure - it was glorious!

I hope you all have a super weekend!

Time to shop! Meet 7 small businesses

This week is small business week!  I am a huge fan of small businesses and am always in awe of the entrepreneurs that are behind these businesses.  Everything from the business name and the items they sell to how they serve their customers impresses me!

A few days ago I asked my Design Your Dwelling Facebook followers to share their small businesses with me and provide a link to their website or shop and I would write a little blog post to introduce them to you!  These websites were fun to browse and now I'm excited to share them with you!

JEWELRY & CLOTHING
Stella and Dot | Megan - Independent Stylist (Trendy Jewelry)
Kayma Boutique | Kristen - Owner (Handmade items and decor)
Ruby & Lulu | Chris - Owner  (Children's Boutique)

CHILDREN
Pint Size Projects | Kelley - Owner (Children's learning and craft kits)

SKIN CARE
Nerium | Melissa  - Independent Consultant (Age-defying skin treatment)

FOOD & WINE
Yesterday's Kitchen | Kellie - Owner  (Homemade Jams, Jellies, and Spreads)
The Traveling Vineyard | Angie - Consultant (Wine tasting at home)

SELF IMPROVEMENT
Frugal Living For Life | Cristina (Tips for living on a budget)

And... if you would, please check out my two small businesses!

INTERIOR STYLING
Design Your Dwelling Design Services - Virtual interior styling

HANDMADE CARDS
Beth Kohler Designs - handmade greeting cards!

If you have a small business tell us about it in the comments below and leave a link!  I'll feature you on my Facebook page!

Last minute mother's day gift: Vanilla Lavendar Sugar Scrub

It's true. I have a tendency to do my best thinking at the last minute.  While I was at the gym today, doing my daily cardio, I was frantically looking for Mother's Day gift ideas on Pinterest.  Considering that our mom's both live a couple of hours away from us and we didn't have plans to see them this weekend I need to get a gift in the mail today so that it gets there on time!  That's when I came across this pin for making your own sugar scrubs! (Thanks U Create!)

Here's what you need:

Sugar

Oil (I used olive)

Lavendar essential oils (Hobby Lobby)

Vanilla Extract

Half pint, wide-mouth mason jar (WalMart)

Pretty paper (for the lid)

Tag (optional)

Baker's twine (optional)

What you do:

Step 1: Follow this recipe from U Create

Step 2: Package the sugar scrub in a jar

Step 3: Decorate the jar

Super simple!  If you don't like the idea of vanilla and lavendar, there are other recipes as well! 

Shhh... Don't tell my mom...

Bump Day: Forming Healthy Habits Before Baby

My due date is exactly two months from today.  Hard to believe that time is flying by so quickly!

I am confident that every first-time mom does her best to prepare for a baby despite the fact that all of her friends tell her that you will never be prepared.  I definitely believe this is true so I'm not getting caught up into the idea of being 100% prepared.  In fact, I know I wont be considering I have a long list of "things I'd like to accomplish pre-baby."  Instead I'm focusing on getting the baby's room ready, finishing our home renovation, and forming healthy habits that will hopefully make life a little easier after the baby arrives.  I recently heard during a training session I attended that it takes approximately 17 consecutive days to form a habit.  Easy, right?!

Here are the healthy habits that I am really working on committing to:

One | Committing to a schedule
Don't get your undies in a bunch here and jump to the comment form telling me that you'll never stay on schedule with a new baby. I already know that. What I mean is that when I say I going to shut down my computer and head home from work for the day, I'm going to do it.  I have a terribly bad habit of finishing "just one more thing" or running errands after work and saying that I will head for home by 6:00 and leaving the store by 6:00.  I'm practicing this now knowing that I will have a little one and a husband who will probably need me at the end of the day.

Two | Drinking more water
I'm reading more about baby care, breast feeding, and general health of the new mom.  This has encouraged me to drink more water.  I'm not used to drinking water until I'm thirsty - however, according to what I've been reading, drinking when you thirsty is a little too late.  Instead, it's important to stay hydrated throughout the entire day.  And, unfortunately soda doesn't count. :(

Three | Eating Healthy
The idea of baby weight hanging around kinda freaks me out even though I know it is inevitable and I will have to be patient with my body.  However, I'm working on eating healthier right now - focusing on more fruits and vegetables as snacks along with whole grain crackers and that sort of thing.  I'm also focused on eating meals more regularly than letting snacks fill me up. I've nearly set all chips and candy aside. (I really like chips, and candy.  Have I ever mentioned that?!) However, I do give in to a little bit of processed sugar each day. Hitting the scale as a first stop at the Dr.'s office is zero fun these days so if I'm going to gain weight, I want it to be healthy weight for me and the baby!

Four | Getting Up Early
Lately, when I'm awake, I'm awake and ready to go for the day.  Strange considering I used to be able to easily sleep in until 7:30/8:00am.  I've actually started setting my alarm for 5:20 on weekdays.  Crawling out of bed at this time is still a little hard but I may as well practice getting up early for an alarm considering a baby will do the same thing with more urgency!  No sense in being lazy.

Five | Staying Active
I don't sit well.  I never have.  Lately I've had to take a few more breaks and tell myself it's ok to breathe heavier after going up the stairs.  Regardless, I'm not allowing myself to become lazy - I still go to the gym, pick up around the house, do my best at making supper every night, play fetch with the dog, and help my husband on the farm with things that I can.

Ultimately I am making a commitment to be healthy for my family.  My parents made this commitment to me and my sisters, and my husband has done the same.  For that lesson, and gift, I am thankful.

What healthy habits did you form pre-baby?