My brain on pregnancy...& a DIY update!

Hello, hello!  Can you believe February is right around the corner?  Crazy.

I have a few things to share with you today:

The first is an up-close-and-personal look into (my) pregnancy brain.

I haven't been super affected by this (pregnancy brain), yet (knock on wood), except that I've been a little more forgetful lately, which was/is to be expected.  A recent dream incident took me (and my husband, I'm sure) by surprise, though:
The other (early) morning, I woke up before our alarms in a panic.  I'd had a dream (more like a nightmare) during which another country invaded the US and started setting up their battle stations (is that even what they're called...?) right across the street from where I was.  There were grenades, bombs, plans to sneakily shoot their general ourselves (maybe they wouldn't shoot back at a pregnant woman?), etc., etc.  It was waaaay more detailed and vivid, but I'll spare you the lengthy explanation.  I didn't spare my husband the explanation that morning, though.  Don't worry - I waited till his alarm went off...and until then, I was awake worrying about all the "what if's" related to war time and how we'd cope...and making mental lists of all the things we needed to stockpile in our basement...including a place to go to the bathroom in case the plumbing goes out. 
Anyway, as I was telling him about all this, I started to cry...for no reason other than I was scared the same foreign soldiers were going to start setting up camp and we'd be trapped in our home and the pets would run out of food and, and, and...  I don't even think I was concerned about the longevity of this dreamland war and potentially having to give birth in our safe room.  Who knows.  All I know is it took me way too long to bring myself back to reality...but once I did, it was so funny and ridiculous to me.  Which is why I'm choosing to share it with you.  You're welcome.  ☺

Anyway, moving on...

As I've mentioned before, we've been super busy with various house projects and we're so excited about them all!

A recent project that came to its culmination was a collage wall between our upstairs living and dining rooms.

All these pieces came from different places at different times, and we were really pleased with how it all came together!  I'd love to share where these all came from - starting from left to right:
-The black frame on the left came from a former coworker's husband's business' moving day.  They were moving to a new space, but not taking many (if any) furnishings with them, so were just giving stuff away!
-The "Amazing Grace" cross was an after-Easter-Hobby-Lobby-clearance find.  I figured it was appropriate for any time of year!
-The clock was made by an super-talented-and-creative person who wishes to remain anonymous.  It's similar to one Bryant and I had seen in a shop and loved, but couldn't afford.  This handmade one is so unique and special!  (It's 30" in diameter, to give you an idea of scale.)
-The green window frame was a gift that was originally raw wood.  I had some paint left from the mason jar sconces (I don't think I ever shared about that project on this blog...hmm..or maybe I did?), so decided to paint it to match!

^Those are the sconces we made!

-The piece below it with the black frame was a recent "transformation" project!  It was a wall hanging I'd found on clearance (yes, at Hobby Lobby) when I was living in the coop.  It had hung at the coop for a long time before moving with me to KC and hanging in our first home together.  I still liked the size and shape, but wanted to freshen up the sentiment and color.

I didn't really have a design plan, but I already had lots of coordinating paper, a paper cutter, and Mod Podge, so I just went for it!

Thank you, stamping/card-making hobby, for my extensive paper collection...and thank you, also, to those of you who have contributed to this collection over the years!

I went all the way to CA to cut those words out on a Cricut that now resides there (with the help of its awesome owner, of course).  ;-)  Will have to tell you more about the rest of that trip another time.
Anyway, I was really excited with how it turned out!

So, there you have it!  I think that's all I have, for now.  Again - I have several more posts I'd like to share...all in good time...thanks for being patient!

Craftily (and dreamily, I guess - haha),
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

Raspberry Ice Crystal Light

coupons and great deals!

Amazon Prime

Our Walls

I know, I know - I said we'd be going in order...which means this post should be about our honeymoon.  I'm just really excited to share all this, though...so, reminiscing about a beautiful, warm, wonderful tropical vacation will have to wait for a bit.

I am writing today to (proudly) say I've (finally) gone through/unpacked/found homes for every box/wedding gift/etc. etc.!  I alluded to this project in a previous post, and am just so glad to have it done.

For me, the last piece of the project was hanging pictures on the wall, and I thought I'd give you a glimpse of the finished product(s):

Here's the "entryway."  We really love the from-the-balcony shot of our wedding ceremony!

Our living room grouping - the tri-frame was a Christmas gift from Bryant's parents, and the gallery wrap was a "thank you for playing piano for our wedding" gift from our photographer.

The guest room!  This bed was at my grandparents' previous house in the room I always slept in - the "pink room."  The quilt was made/given to me by my great aunt for my college graduation.  The sheet music wreath was a gift from a student, and the frame was a wedding gift!

This project started at the coop years ago, and it has found a home in our guest room!  Be sure to make your addition when you come stay with us! ☺

Bryant had some beautiful pictures up before I moved in, and they found new homes on the walls of the office.

Yes, this one got to stay, too. ☺

The "New York Nook" in our bedroom.  So many great memories!

I'd gotten these large "floating" frames for free, and definitely wanted to put them to good use.  We couldn't choose just two favorite pics to put in them, though, so we used the "floating" space in other ways.  The "Love Lives Here" was a garage sale find, and we finished the grouping with a cross we found cheap on Amazon.
P.S. A special thanks to my husband for the "throw pillow shopping spree" Christmas gift!  I'd always dreamed of having a grown-up bed set, complete with throw pillows, and he helped make my dream come true. ☺

This might be my favorite wall.  The painted frames and B&W pics came from the shower Bryant's family threw us in OK - his sister painted and put them together...and she even took the pics!  I'd found the "Love" at a thrift store a while ago, and was glad to find a home for it on our bedroom wall.

Many of you had been asking how things were going, etc., and my answer was usually, "Well, I've got mostly everything unpacked and homes found for most of it, but we don't have things on the wall, yet."  I don't really know, much less can I explain, why "having things on the walls" was the final piece of my "settling in" puzzle.  I realize that's a pretty common "last item on the to-do list" after moving in somewhere, but for me, it was more than making sure the furniture was in its place before decorating.  Having pictures of us and our families and friends on the walls in our home just makes it all feel even more real, more like home, and more like the place where we are going to start our future together.  Not that it didn't before...but this helps...like I said - not sure I can adequately explain it, but maybe you can relate.  ☺

Thanks for reading.  Come see it in person sometime!

Settled-ly,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

new friends and relationships

Sprouts grocery store/farmers market

our "getaway" date last weekend

Decorating the Coop, Part 2

Thanks to a few trips to Dollar Tree/Goodwill/Walmart and mom bringing my box of decorations from home, the coop is filled with holiday cheer!  : )



The garland w/ lights is above all the kitchen cabinets.

without lights



with lights!



There you have it!  If you'd like to come see it in person, just let me know! 

Remembering the Reason for the season,

Kensy



Favorites of the day:

the glow of Christmas lights

the young state trooper who only gave me a warning on my way to church today...

(I guess when I said, "That will never be me [pulled over on this stretch of highway]," I really meant "That will only be me once...")

Decorating the Coop

I'm so thankful to have such a great family and to be able to spend time with them during the holidays!  It was a wonderful Thanksgiving full of food, football, music, and games!  We're a big game/card-playing family, and we all laughed so much it hurt on more than one occasion the past couple of days.  : )

Here is a picture of my first Thanksgiving decorations (I inherited them from my grandma's cousin this weekend):

I'd planned on putting up Christmas decorations when I got back to my place today, but much to my dismay, I don't have many decorations of my own!  I should've had mom and dad bring some of mine from home this weekend, but even then, I don't know that they would do the trick.  I'm used to having 3 other roommates to contribute decorations...not the case this year!

SO, I ask you, dear readers: Where should I look to build my decoration collection?

This is the perfect opportunity to give you a glimpse into my coop!  I'm living in a refurbished chicken coop on my aunt and uncle's farm-ish property north of town.  They added onto and refurbished the existing chicken coop a few years ago and have been renting it out to people ever since.  I'm so glad they saved it for me after the last tenant moved out - it's perfect for this time in my life!!  Take a peek:



Here's the south side.  You can see the original coop - it's the shorter roof at the back. 
The front side in this shot is the "new addition."

This is the kitchen.  You could've probably figured that out on your own.



The view of the living room from the kitchen.  This room has changed since the picture was taken - now, there's a bigger TV, the couch and table are at a diagonal, and there's a large plant by the window.





This was taken from the north end, so it's the original coop.  Yes, that is a wood-burning stove.  I have yet to use it.  Also, notice the music corner - it's grown since this picture was taken.  : )



Yes, there's more to it, but you get the idea.  If you want to see more, you'll just have to come visit!  Now that you've seen the place, maybe you can give me some ideas on how to decorate and with what.  Thanks in advance!

Blessings,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

college football (namely, Husker football)

the holiday season