Last week I had the pleasure of helping host a baby shower for my cousin Rob’s wife, Allison! The party was held at my parent’s home last Saturday! We were so excited when we first found out that Rob and Allison were expecting twin baby boys! We kind of ran with the theme of cowboys when we found the perfect invites online. My cousin Rob loved to come over to our house when younger and ride our horses. The cowboy themed baby shower only seemed fitting :) We had a blast making the decorations and getting some inspiration from the wonderful pinterest.com! I wish I had more time to be crafty because I LOVE IT so much!! It’s so relaxing and theraputic for me!

The very first time I met Allison several years back, I was instantly struck by her charming personality. So loving, sweet, sincere and funny! She’s one of those people you truly just ENJOY being around. She’s so thankful for everything you do for her, so positive. The list goes on and on. Anyone who knows her, knows exactly what I’m talking about! Having this party for Allison brought us so much happiness! We are thrilled for the arrival of Henry and James! They are going to be such handsome little boys!

Themed Shower Decorations: http://www.bigdotofhappiness.com/

Cake from Chez Rurene Bakery: http://chezrurenebakery.net/home.shtml

So, here’s the fun part, the photos! I loved all the details! Here’s a little documentation of our day…

Some of the food, just a little sampling of the healthy stuff ;)My godchild Reed!! :)Allison with her sister, mom and grandmother!Allison with her sister and cousins… all expecting!!Me and my Mom! Crazy how much we are really starting to look alike!Allison and her Mom!Allison and my Aunt Nancy, Mother in law :)Me and Allison!Allison with her the 4 ladies who helped host the party! Me, Mom, Aunt Lyd and Ms. Paula :)

Hey Ya’ll! I’m just taking a little break from editing today to share one of my recent craft projects with you! I started this tack board probably about 4 months ago, maybe even longer. It all started when I broke a mirror… BOOO I know! I was trying to hang it and I pushed too hard and there it went, a crack all the way down the center. So what was I going to do with it? I saved the broken mirror pieces which I am sure will find it’s home someday when I use them for another craft project. I was left with the mirror frame and didn’t want to throw it out…. I decided I wanted to make a tack cork board for my office so I can hang up all the cards that my clients mail me.

So here is my process of turning a mishap into art. These are all taken on my iphone- so quality isn’t that good, but you get the gist!

First Randy helped me cut the cork, so that it would fit right in the frame.

What it looked like before I started laying newspaper – nice but just boring..

Day One!! I’m outside enjoying the beautiful sun on the patio table. Started putting down the first few pieces. It’s easy… just cut paper into strips, then paint on the glue with a small paint brush, next just lay strips across.

Day Two!! I’m inside now- about 3 months later, haha! The pieces will hang over, that’s okay- you can cut them off later.

Lexie really enjoys laying on whatever project I have going on….. Laundry, Newspaper, Magazines, you name it!

Day Three!! Another couple of months later.. I am now at my parents house working on this. It’s a Sunday, Mom was cooking, I took the day off, just enjoying the day, being lazy, etc…

Complete! Now it just needs to be hung!

What it looks like hanging in my office. I have some of my clients save the date, Christmas and thank you cards up there too ;)

So as most of you know who have been following my blog for a while, Randy and I live in a cute older little house in the neighborhood where we grew up. Both my parents and my in-laws live less than 2 minutes away :) We’ve taken this house room by room and did what we could afford at the time. First it was the den, hallway and our bedroom. (Took paneling down, ripped up the carpet, refinished the wood floors, put crown molding up, new doors, new knobs, new blinds, fresh texture, fresh paint, all new closet doors, new front door) You get the picture… our house has had a major face lift. We then moved on to the kitchen, which some of you may remember. This was our biggest expense and totally worth every penny. I have really enjoyed cooking dinner with Randy in our kitchen and sipping wine together after a long and stressful day. It’s the place where we get a chance to actually talk about our day, talk about life and future goals/plans.

Next we re-did the laundry room and my office, which was right around the time we did the kitchen. Well almost a year later since the kitchen renovation and 6 months of being married, we decided it was time for the bathroom to get freshened up. So here it is… all our stages are below. It’s been so relaxing to take a shower in there now, knowing we have a fresh new tub, floor and cabinets. Our house is finally starting to feel like home where we have put so much of our time and love into it.

Special thanks to my brother Jimmy for getting this project rolling for us. He is a great contractor and knew just what to do next. With his dedication to get it done and our style thrown in there, I think it came out great. We love our painter Matt who is in Randy’s band. He is the only person I would ever recommend to paint. He’s painted something for just about everyone in my family. His business is Perfectionist Painting… and he is just that… a perfectionist!

To be completely honest, it takes a lot of patience to renovate a house. It’s not the easiest circumstance, especially when last month I shot over 20 sessions. It was tough to juggle it all. There are bound to be arguments and tiffs along the way about this paint color or that tile, etc..  In the end, it’s all worth it though. It only brings you and your better half closer, makes you communicate more and learn how to problem solve. After being with Randy for almost 10 years, I can honestly say the main ingredient is communication.

So here’s our process from start to finish. We are just about done with our house. We have one more bedroom to renovate, the garage outside would look great with new siding and I would LOVE to paint the bricks. One day at a time…….. one day at a time :)

Happy Thursday Ya’ll! Be on the lookout for 5 photo posts next Mon-Fri from my shoots this week.

Oh, my favorite part of the new bathroom, is my makeup organization now!