trying something new

I've wanted to try to sell some things for a while and start a little business but I've been afraid to even start. I'm giving it a go after much hesitation and getting a little booth in a couple of weeks to see what happens. :) Here's the add for the event I will be at

and my facebook page if you are interested

https://www.facebook.com/hayleyslittleplacekids

Ice!

We rarely get ice in this part of Texas but we did today and it was beautiful.

My poor plant. But it's still beautiful, just in a different way.

Cameron loves winter

I thought these now frozen "meatballs" were sweet. Kids are so cute.

Isn't ice beautiful?

master bedroom

I painted our bedroom and changed a few other things recently while my husband was away on business. He was quite surprised since he had no clue. I was scrambling to finish before he arrived. I was actually painting 2 hours before he was supposed to be home! I don't have a complete bedroom tour ready yet but thought I'd share a quick picture or two anyway. I will post again soon once I get it all finished. 

And to be honest, I can't stand clutter, even decorative clutter, so my night stands usually look like this in real life.

my $10 art

I know that the 70's are supposedly horrible but I actually like the avocado greens and the golds that everyone moans about. So, I naturally liked this huge needlework when I saw it for $10 at a shop yesterday. I painted the frame because I paint everything.

Before!

Almost done! I got a drop of paint on it! ahh!

on the wall

isn't it beautiful?

 

This is huge by the way! At least a yard wide! 

Would you believe that I wrote this all this two kids doing my hair? I look amazing now. haha

Guest room dresser

 

I've been meaning to share this dresser on here for ages! I got it about eight years ago at a yard sale for about $50. It was the typical ugly brown wood with way too much varnish (or SOMETHING). The handles were sad too, they had fake key holes and were tarnished in a bad way. I thought sure I had a before picture but I haven't been able to find it. If I ever do I will be sure to post it. Because we all like a good before and after. But I'm sure you can imagine. ;) Anyhow... after tons of prep, I used home made chalk paint for the body and stained the top. Then I coated it with wax. And the mirror didn't originally go with the dresser either. But now you'd never know! 

Here are a few close ups just for fun!

 I'm typically a little bit funky and not quite so elegant but I went with what the dresser was asking for and used these pretty little handles and knobs.

As a side note, isn't my rug pretty, and maybe a little funky? :D

 

I'm pretty proud of this as it was my first big project, plus, I did it when I had a six month old!

What to wear? For my sister in law.

 I can't sleep when my hubby is out of town so after sleeping about three hours last night I took pictures in our guest room as the kids slept. Please excuse the box springs and clothes in the background! My sister in law in New Zealand and I were skyping last night and she was asking my opinion on certain tops etc. Skype is great y'all, it makes people not seem so far away! So anyway, I thought I'd put these ideas together for her. :)

First of all, I wanted to show you how to unboringafy a button up top.

Put a short sweater/cardigan over the top and roll up the sleeves.

Then decide you like it better with no sleeves so chop them off. I'm in Texas after all so I don't need many long sleeved tops!

try it on with a different cardigan! You can hardly have too many of these. I also like to tie the bottom of an oversized button up and wear it with a high waist skirt. If you don't have a skirt with a high waist, just hike up your stretchy maxi skirt. Or a flowy elastic waist skirt. What? You don't have either one? Go buy one. Now.

A good quality tee shirt with another little jacket, it came with a dress but I wear it with all sorts of things. This outfit is from my favorite store- Dressbarn! The scarf makes everything better. I got it while on vacation this past summer and wear it continually.

Don't be afraid to tuck in your shirt!

Scarves aren't only for winter in my opinion. A small one could work in summer too.

Another scarf! This one looked way better in real life.

Tucked in

or not. Whichever you prefer!

Yeah, a scarf.

I've worn this zip up jacket from dressbarn at least once, probably twice a week since I got it a few months ago. It keeps my daughter occupied during church as she fiddles with the zippers. :)

I had this top for about a year before I decided to get over myself and stop being afraid of looking like an old lady. Now I love it. Who cares if I wear a vintage old fashioned top anyway? It's pretty. :)

Hey Ev, you still with me here? That was fun! I hope you enjoyed it too! Notice that I repeated a lot of the pieces. You only need a few basic items to make a lot of outfits (I know you've heard that before). I usually try to wear at least three pieces. For example 2 tops and then my skirt, or top, belt and skirt. Most of the time one thing is either black or white and then I do whatever colors for the rest!

Some people say shoes are hard to wear with a skirt but I think it's more that people don't know where to begin. Boots, flats (shiny please), leggings, tights. In the summer, strappy sandals. Now you are all set! 

Oh, and don't forget the scarf.



Linking up with

http://www.themodestmomblog.com/

(sorry I can't figure out how to grab the button from her blog!)

A few pictures from new years eve

We stayed up late playing games and pretending that our kids weren't going to wake us early the next morning. Some of us drank coffee to stay awake. Not me!  Maybe that's why I look like I'm trying to hold my eyes open by raising my eyebrows?

Such a serious game!

Did you notice my wall color? It's new! That's a clue as to just how busy we kept ourselves during the holidays!

Happy (late) New Year!

We've gotten a lot done in the past month or so since I last wrote. My husband and I worked together and accomplished so much over the holidays when he had several days off. That means lots to share here. :) My goal for this year is to post here at least once a week. We'll see how that goes! For now I will leave you with a picture of each of my kids and their ages, just for fun! I think these reflect their personalities pretty well.

Cameron, age 5

Alex, age 3 (almost 4 as he always reminds me!)

 Adele, age 18 months