Eisele Family News

neutral

2012-01-01T16:16:00.001-06:00

neutral by razorbackmommy featuring oversized scarves

casual chic

2012-01-01T15:54:00.001-06:00

casual chic by razorbackmommy featuring navy tees

neutral

2011-12-27T18:38:00.001-06:00

neutral by razorbackmommy featuring straight pants

yellow black casual

2011-12-27T18:02:00.001-06:00

yellow black casual by razorbackmommy featuring silver jewelry

casual, southwest influence

2011-12-26T20:55:00.001-06:00

casual, southwest influence by razorbackmommy featuring resin jewelry

work

2011-12-26T20:47:00.001-06:00

work by razorbackmommy featuring top handle bags

work

2011-12-26T20:44:00.001-06:00

work by razorbackmommy featuring tahitian pearl stud earrings

work

2011-12-26T20:16:00.001-06:00

work by razorbackmommy featuring tortoise sunglasses

ladylike

2011-12-26T20:08:00.001-06:00

ladylike by razorbackmommy featuring sleeved dresses

Merry CHRISTmas!

2011-12-19T20:59:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it is already Christmas again! Our little family has been undergoing lots of changes and adjustments over the past few months. After nearly 6 years of being a SAHM, I have gone back to work full time. We are still working out the kinks, but I'm so thankful that the boys have adjusted really well. I'm lucky to have found a job that I enjoy, with co-workers who have quickly become friends. I definitely miss being with my boys throughout the day, but going back to work was the right thing for our family at this point in time.

Now on to more fun things! :) It's Christmas time, and as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, you know I love to fluff our nest a bit too! We are hosted our annual Eisele Merry Shindig last weekend. It was a smaller crowd this year, but a night spent with friends we love and missing those that couldn't join us. I gave it a "Favorite Things" theme, with each couple bringing their favorite dishes and favorite items for the gift exchange. It was a lot of fun to see who picked what items and why.

Now on to the pictures! :) Our tree this year is decorated with ornaments made from family photos. I printed and crafted for several nights to make them all. I was not entirely happy with the final outcome, but with such limited time this year, I reminded myself that "it doesn't have to be perfect, to be beautiful". And with so many memories from the photos of family and friends, our tree is definitely a work of love. Everything else was kept understated and neutral as well. I'm sure most of you will recognize a couple of projects that I made using my Pinterest inspiration! ;) If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, here's the link. http://pinterest.com/razorbackmommy/

From our family to yours---Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!!

Happy Fall Ya'll

2011-10-22T10:02:00.000-05:00

2011-09-25T10:31:00.000-05:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of helping my wonderful neighbor with a Fall outdoors theme couples wedding shower. The groom is an avid duck hunter, so in order to make him and the other guys feel comfortable, I included ducks into the design of the event starting with the invitation and carried throughout in small details. It was easy to incorporate the ducks into our design scheme of outdoors, fall colors and pumpkins.

Check out my new blog M.Eisele Events to see more of my work.

cognac

2011-09-17T22:24:00.001-05:00

cognac by razorbackmommy featuring pearl jewelry

yall

2011-09-06T13:56:00.001-05:00

yall by razorbackmommy featuring satchel handbags

Y'All

2011-08-31T12:35:00.001-05:00

Y'All by razorbackmommy featuring beading bracelets

comfy casual

2011-08-30T20:21:00.001-05:00

comfy casual by razorbackmommy featuring chronograph watches

comfy casual

2011-08-30T13:27:00.001-05:00

comfy casual by razorbackmommy featuring beaded bangles

Backyard Southern Wedding

2011-08-01T15:35:00.010-05:00

I had the honor of being asked to help coordinate and style a "backyard southern wedding" for the cousin of a long time friend. The bride had seen pictures from Colin's first birthday and wanted to have the same feeling for her wedding. Her favorite word used to describe the look and feel she was after was "Southern".

We went with the same colors of chartreuse, gray, tan and white, from the first birthday so that we could re-use several of the decorations. The bride had already purchased quite a few vases and a few large silver branch trees, so I incorporated those as well. I purchased lots of lace panels from Goodwill that I used to make a canopy for the food buffet, as well as tablecloths and a curtain for the entrance into the yard.

The setting was just beautiful! We had the wedding and reception in the backyard of the groom's parents. It was already a gorgeous yard, but with the projects they did before the wedding, it was just breathtaking.

I bought florals from the grocery store and made ten boutonnieres, eleven bouquets and all of the floral arrangements for just under $60. I made moss letters in the couples monogram which were hung from a large tree in the yard. The bride also got in on the diy projects, tying lace ribbon to mason jars for the aisle, and attaching the left over party favor fabric flowers to mason jars for drinking glasses. Wedding invitations, rsvp cards and program fans were all designed by myself in the shape of a mason jar for a casual and "southern" feel.

This was a huge project, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you Lauren and Derik for allowing me to be such a big part of your special day! It was a beautiful evening for an even more beautiful couple! I wish you both a lifetime of happiness!

*Most of these pictures are by the crazy talented photographer Kari Wright of Wright Image Photography*

Backyard Camping Birthday Party

2011-07-24T13:40:00.009-05:00

So, who is tired of my kids' birthday parties yet? :) It has been a crazy busy summer full of parties and special events. I need to get pictures up here from the backyard southern wedding I styled and planned, as well as a library themed first birthday party I styled and planned for a sweet little girl. But first, I want to share these pictures from my oldest son's SEVENTH birthday party last weekend!

We hosted 10 little boys, ages 4 to 10 for an overnight Backyard Camping Birthday Party. Whew! What a night! :) The party started around 7:00 pm with drop-off and hot dogs, chips and fruit served in aluminum pans. These were handy because they helped keep all the food contained easily without any food sliding off a flimsy paper plate. The boys enjoyed drinking old fashioned sodas out of glass bottles as well.

I made homemade milk chocolate cupcakes with chocolate fudge icing topped with graham cracker crumbs. The cute unbleached kraft brown liners were ordered from Etsy seller BakersBling Shop.
I made my signature chocolate pops in fish shapes and mushroom chocolates made with molds purchased off of Ebay. I also made smores marshmallow pops with gigantic marshmallows. The camouflage twist lollipops were purchased from Oriental Trading.

We borrowed a huge 12 person tent from a sweet neighbor and I hung inexpensive denim curtain panels purchased from Goodwill on the front of the tent to "fancy up" the entrance.

I purchased party favor camouflage hackie sacs and mini flashlights also from Oriental Trading, and plastic canteens from Birthday Express. I designed 3 inch labels (from Etsy seller ClutterBugStudio) to match my custom invitations and attached to the canteens. Then used camouflage ribbon for hanging. I love how they turned out! It just shows how a little personalization can take an ordinary object into a special favor.

I purchased brown kraft take out boxes from Etsy seller LeBoxBoutique and filled them with camouflage bandannas from Birthday Express, Slim Jim, and individual bags of trail mix. I used the same 3 inch labels to design a "Midnight Snack" label for the boxes.

After dinner the boys played camp games of "People to People" where they had partners and had to match random body parts together. This caused lots of laughter, especially when we got to "bottoms to bottoms" and "nose to toes". :) They also played "Human Knot" which was really funny to watch as they tried to untie themselves.

Happy 7th birthday to my biggest baby boy! Graham you have grown up so much this year. Not only in appearance (like a weed) but also in intelligence and maturity. You are SO stinking smart, even your teacher says so, not just mommy! We are all amazed at your abilities. You are the best big brother (most of the time) and you have a huge heart.

I hope you had the best time at your camping birthday! We love you to the moon!

Hometown Nazareth VBS

2011-06-29T08:05:00.007-05:00

This year I was asked to be in charge of decorations for vacation bible school at our church. This included the church entry, stage set, two corner areas and the entire children's wing. It was a huge undertaking, but with the help of my dad (who came from Fayetteville to do construction for me) and about 4 people from church I was able to pull it together in a week's time. I spent two full weekends and about five hours every night last week taping, drawing, painting etc.

The theme for the week is "Hometown Nazareth--Where Jesus Was a Boy". You can see I used that logo several times to reiterate the theme. The clipart for the program had some cute and sassy animals which I used in the smaller vignettes and also all along the halls of the children's wing.

I've been "hired" to plan/design a southern backyard wedding that will take place this coming Saturday, so I am not able to work at the actual VBS this year. I was glad to have the opportunity to serve in this capacity.

Cinco De Mayo Baby Shower--Hot Mama

2011-06-13T18:47:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of being a hostess for one of my dearest friends. Ok, it was actually back in May. But, I have been so busy and I didn't get any pictures on my camera so I have legitimate reasons for not posting sooner. :)

You may remember the fabulous Brittany of GreyGrey Designs from my Feather the Nest sip-and-see for Colin. She is a party genius so the pressure was on to do something unique and fun to celebrate the upcoming arrival of her second son (Yay for BOYS!).

Because the shower was going to be at the beginning of May and our little group all loves Mexican food, we chose the Cinco De Mayo-Hot Mama theme. Kari and Jill were in charge of the food, I was in charge of styling and Lindsey headed up the beverages and cake.

Everything turned out super cute and we had such a nice time visiting and celebrating Lachlan's arrival. It was such a pleasure to honor my dear friend at this special time in her life. We always have the best time when we get together. Only three more weeks and we get to meet that sweet little baby!!

Superhero Birthday Party

2011-05-15T06:48:00.013-05:00

Another day, another party for the Eisele's. Yesterday we celebrated middle son Thomas' 4th birthday with a Superhero Soiree. He loves all thing superhero these days, but is very into the actual characters. I was stumped at first as to how to pull off this theme without incorporating any specific characters and also how to make his party a little different from the plethora of cute superhero parties I've seen.

I started with a darling invitation from SeasidePaperCompany on Etsy. She was super fast and easy to work with and even changed all the wording for me to accommodate my special request. I used the graphics from this invite on the welcome sign, drink labels, cake topper and table centerpieces as well.

Party favors were capes and masks, made by yours truly over the last few weeks. I also found the perfect tote bags at Oriental Trading. They were so bright and large. Perfect for carrying to the pool or playdates this summer.

The cute cakes and cupcakes were made by a sweet local girl. They were adorable and yummy! We barely had any left, which is always a good sign. :) I made the cake topper by blowing up the invite and gluing the image to cardstock, then cut around the children. It turned out super cute. For the cupcakes I printed black superhero masks and mounted to food picks. Simple, but effective. ;)

The backdrop behind the cake table was one of my favorite things. So easy and inexpensive, which is always a fave of mine. ;) I simply taped heavy silver wrapping paper to the wall in strips, and attached poster boards I had layered, painted and cut out on top. Easy! I think the whole thing cost less than $10.

I found these square acrylic canisters at WalMart and simply taped black squares to the front and sides to mimic buildings. They were perfect for our mini popcorn bar-cheese popcorn, white cheddar popcorn and butter popcorn. POP!

To fill the tote bags, I made a "favor bar" with superhero toothbrushes, Pez, and assorted candies from Dollar Tree, and superhero pencils from Target dollar spot, as well as superhero gliders from Oriental Trading. Obviously I just couldn't stop buying favors!! (Sorry hubby!)

The backdrop for this table was large black foam boards from Hobby Lobby with more of the silver wrapping paper cut into a city skyline.

Happy happy 4th birthday Super Thomas!! You are truly SUPER in our eyes! You are funny, sweet, sensitive, musical, entertaining and perfect!! We love you SO much!!!

So Honored: Party Features

2011-05-01T21:08:00.002-05:00

I cannot tell you how excited I was to be contacted by some of my favorite blogs about featuring Colin's first-ever birthday party. My sweet friend Brittany of Grey Grey Designs was the first to post about the party. She is one of my oldest friends whom I love dearly, but besides that, she is an extremely talented event planner. She has been featured on so many blogs I've lost track, and is even going to have some of her work published by none other than the famous Amy Atlas!!

Then, I was shocked to be contacted by Spaceships and Laser Beams blog. As mom to three boys, I am always on the lookout for unique and fresh party inspiration and their blog is THE place to go for all things BOY!! They wrote the sweetest post featuring Colin's party here.

Another of my favorite reads, Love The Day, surprised me by also with a wonderful write up and feature. Lindi always has such wonderful work on her blog, I was honored to be included! Her original party printable collections are fabulous--especially her newest pinwheel party collection.

I can't forget to mention that Colin's party made it as "party of the day" and a feature photo on the home page of another wonderful party inspiration site, Catch My Party. Hooray!!

And last but not least, Children's Party Network featured a photo from the party as well. This is such an awesome site for party planners both professional and hobbyists alike to get inspiration, share photos, and share advice and ideas. If you love to throw parties, you need to be on this site.

WOW!! I am definitely "feeling the love" over this party. It was such a labor of love to plan and carry out. I'm more than honored to have so many people enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks guys!!!

First Ever Birthday Party--Vintage Woodland Bunny

2011-04-09T16:23:00.007-05:00

***disclaimer***these photos are all out of order, but I am trying to get this posted on a tiny notebook computer so please excuse.

Ok, so I know I haven't posted anything in ages, but I promise the pictures from sweet baby Colin's "first ever" birthday party are worth it. I worked on this party for several months, sitting on my bed every night cutting, gluing or glittering something. And I have to say I think the result was so sweet and beautiful, if I do say so myself. ;)

I have to give credit to my bestest friend Kari at Wright Image Photography for all of the amazing photos!! And, to Emily at Jones Design Company blog for the tutorials on the party hats and the flower pins that I made. I love her style and I think it's so nice that she shares tutorials on so many of her projects.

I wanted the feel of the birthday party to be sweet, vintage, and eclectic. Think more backyard wedding than child's birthday party. ;) I collected vintage lace curtains, baby shoes and silver serving dishes from flea markets, the Goodwill and Habitat stores. I used family heirloom silver baby cups as well as silver bent handle spoons I collected on Ebay, with branches from my yard to make the "chandelier" over the food table. This was my favorite project.

For the two doors going into the fellowship hall, I made moss number ones out of foam core board. So easy, but very impactful. Moss was a recurring theme throughout, used on the kraft letters on the sweets table and used on the chocolate #1 lollipops I made and served.

I really loved planning and designing this party. Colin is such a special member of our family, he really was the missing piece we didn't even know we were missing. Sweet Colin, we love you SO much!!

First Birthday Preparations--Woodland Bunny Theme

2011-01-26T12:39:00.004-06:00

If you have been reading our blog for some time, you will not be surpised to know that I have been planning for Baby C's first birthday for about a month now. His actual birthday is not until April 2nd, but you know I am a planner and I need a project going at all times-ha! So now I'm in Junior Auxilliary BlackJack and BBQ Benefit mode AND Woodland Bunny First Birthday mode. The Woodland Bunny is SO much more fun to think about. :)

I wanted to do something "different" of course, but still classic and age appropriate. We all know that the baby doesn't know or care about this first birthday party, but I know all of the adults and children in C's life will be super excited to celebrate his birth and how happy we are to have him complete our family so we are going to have a big shindig! This is my last chance for a "first birthday" so I want to go all out. :)

The original plan was to do some kind of play on the Velveteen Rabbit or Peter Rabbit since April is Spring and Easter. But, after looking around Velveteen Rabbit just didn't ever feel right to me. So I went with my gut and decided on a color theme first and just played with it until it felt right. Once I got the invite design done, the rest fell into place easily. I've been dying to do something with the popular "woodland" theme that has been seen everywhere and I thought this was my chance. Bunnies live in the woods, right? :) Hence, the gray/tan/chartruese/white color scheme. The words that keep coming to mind for me are: vintage, classic, rustic, elegant, eclectic, sweet. So that's what I'm going for. You can see below some of the items I have collected so far. The outfit was actually one I had seen on Holly Mathis' blog last year and fell in love. Luckily the Etsy seller PetitePeeps still had it! Fingers crossed it fits my huge baby. :)

The BIG Snow-January 2011 Snow Days

2011-01-19T11:36:00.004-06:00

Junior Auxilliary Breakfast With Santa

2010-12-31T11:08:00.006-06:00

In the beginning of December I co-chaired an event called Breakfast With Santa as a member of The Junior Auxilliary of Saline County. The JA does a lot of wonderful service projects, but I chose to help with this particular one because I just love Christmas and everything that goes with it. I love the fact that children that may not otherwise get to attend an event like this, or who's parents can't take them to mall and pay $20 for a picture with Santa get to come to our event for free and experience the joy of Christmas. All children receive a free picture with Santa, delicious pancake and bacon meal, hat, gloves, hard back book and crafts. We also had a bounce house this year which was a huge hit.

My friend Stacey was the "chair" for BWS and she did all of the administrative (ie-hard) work of getting donations and logistics. Her wonderful husband actually built our fabulous gingerbread house! I was put in charge of decorations with the task to make everything "bigger and better" than ever before. I don't know about that, but I am proud of how it all came together. Stacey and I logged more hours than I'd like to think about working on this project, starting back in October. Even though it was a ton of work, I loved how it turned out and I hope that we brought Christmas cheer to the families that made it out.

First Grade Christmas Party

2010-12-29T15:34:00.011-06:00

This year I have the joy of being Room Mom for Graham's first grade class. I love visiting him at school and seeing his face light up at having visitors during the day. It's like Baby Colin and I are celebrities every time we visit the classroom. :) I know in a couple years it will be too embarressing for mom to visit him at school, so I am soaking it all up now.

One of my duties as Room Mom is to organize the class Christmas party. I was told we had 30 minutes for the party, but it would be fine if we ran over a bit. I planned on one easy craft, one game, snacks and even a visit from Mrs. Claus herself. The week before the party I went to the classroom and took pictures of each of the children for our craft. I had them printed at Walgreens and used my punch to cut them out to the right size to fit the foam ornaments I picked up at Hobby Lobby 1/2 off. Then I made labels with the child's name and "1st grade, 2010" that I punched out as well. All the children had to do was double side tape the picture and the label to the ornament. Super easy and fast. All of the parents in attendance seemed to really like them. I know I like to have little momentos of my children to remember them as they grow.

For the game, I found holiday bingo cards at WalMart and we used Hershey kisses as markers for the cards. The kids loved that. ;) This took up a little time as we played a few games and made sure everyone was a winner.

As a surprise for the kids, I had a friends mom dress up as Mrs. Claus with a costume I ordered from Oriental Trading. She read them a story and took pictures with each child. This was a huge hit!

I bought all of the paper goods and decor items, and the other great parents provided all of the food. I think it turned out really cute and fun. We had several parents and teachers from other classes come to look at our setup. :) Now I'm looking forward to planning the Valentine Day party.

Christmas Open House 2010

2010-12-28T08:57:00.010-06:00

Ok, so I'm a little behind on posting the yearly Christmas decoration photos. We've been super busy this year and hopefully I can get time to update here on all of our recent activities. In the meantime, here are photos of this year's holiday decor. It has taken too long to load them all and I am too lazy to go back and put them in order so you will have to guess which room you are looking at-ha!

I am still really loving the softer color pallete of this house. Everything still seems serene even with the business of the lights and shimmer. I incorporated several of the "nesting" items that were left from Colin's sip and see, and also the shells that I have out all year. Just adding in some glitter and fake snow really helped glitz the items up and make them holiday worthy.

Hope you and your families had as wonderful a Christmas season as we have had!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

2010-11-29T15:59:00.003-06:00

Halloween 2010

2010-11-10T11:27:00.004-06:00

Brown and Gray Boys' Shared Bedroom

2010-11-09T11:52:00.003-06:00

Can it be a month since I last posted? Really? Wow, time is just flying by since school started. It seems like forever since I started posting about redoing the boys' room, but we finally got the flooring finished and I was able to put the room together. It still needs some tweaking and a few more things done, but overall I am happy with how it turned out.

I had originally planned to put the beds either side by side on the long wall, or on either side of the window because I love symmetry. (Guess that's the accountant in me!) But, after trying both of those arrangements, I decided to "L" the beds so that the boys would still have a little floor space for playing. It doesn't look perfect, but it works perfectly for our needs.

I would still like to bring in more color with a few pillows and have the shams monogrammed. And we definitely need a new light fixture to replace that awful fan. I made the curtains with a couple more shower curtains and lined them with the existing white curtains from the room.

I am happy with the art wall over the beds. I painted the "family rules" art on a $6 piece of MDF from the local hardware store already cut to that size. I just spray painted it and then used a paint pen to write in the lettering. Not perfect by any means, but good enough for me. And I hope it reminds the boys of some important rules. ;) The rest of the art is either scrap book paper, Graham's original drawings or things I printed on my computer. I already had the frames, so it was practically free. Love that!

All in all I am really pleased with the outcome and mostly just happy to have it done. Now, if we could just get them to stay in their beds all night it would be perfect!

Pottery Barn Inspired Boys' Comforters

2010-09-24T12:40:00.003-05:00

We are just around the corner from finally replacing the remaining carpet in our house with hardwoods. They start in a week and it will take about 5 days. Our house is going to be craziness during that time, but it is SO worth it to have no more nasty carpet.

The boys headboards have already come in, so once the flooring is complete, it is game on with putting the boys new room together. I've ordered white wooden headboards and am contemplating putting a painted chest of some kind in between the beds, instead of the brown nightstand we currently have. (it may just get painted if I can't find something else inexpensively)
I REALLY wanted to order the boys the Pottery Barn duvet covers above in the brown and white buffalo check. But, I didn't want to mess with duvets and was on the fence on spending that much money. Also, I have had the hardest time finding anything in the color combo of gray and brown. SO, my mother and I came up with an inexpensive alternative. I bought two brown and white fabric shower curtains at Target for $10 each. (shower curtains are a fab source of yardage) Then we bought two Twin XLong comforters that are reversible solid gray and solid black. They were on clearance in the back to college section for $14.00 each.
I simply washed the shower curtains and sewed them directly to the black side of the comforter. There was an extra amount of length left due to them being the XLong size. The perfect solution was to fold the top over and stitch it down so that it looked intentional. This also covered all the black and left the comforter just the right length for a regular twin bed. It may be a tad short on the top because I am not using foot boards. But, pillows will easily cover any space.

While it isn't an exact match by any means, it does give the same masculine feel of the Pottery Barn duvet. And at a price point of $25 each versus $130 (for just the duvet cover), I say it's a pretty good solution.

Eisele Family New Addittion

2010-09-14T14:27:00.006-05:00

Congratulations to Justin's brother Drew and his wife Alisha on the birth of their first child! Sweet baby Lila was born last week after giving her momma a long labor. But she is finally here now and she is safe and just perfect. We can't wait to love on her and spoil her rotten, which is sure to happen being the only girl in the family.

Also, congratulations to Drew on graduating from nursing school with his RN last week. Alisha looks beautiful--not fair being that this was 3 days before she had the baby! :)

A Whole New View

2010-09-13T12:43:00.003-05:00

First Day of School 2010

2010-09-02T14:02:00.006-05:00

Ok, so there really are first day of school pics and commentary coming, but I had to share these pics I took of baby Colin today with my phone at my friend Cassidy's store. She has a huge furry rug on the floor that Colin loved. And, he is a big 5 months old today!! Can you believe this love muffin weighed 18 lbs 14 oz this morning!!! He's huge! But that makes him more squeezable. ;)

And now on to first day of school... Graham started a new school this fall for his first grade year. He was pretty nervous about meeting new friends and being in the new big building, but he woke up excited that first morning. Thomas returned to his old preschool, but moved up to the 3 year old class and is going every day now. He was not so excited that morning.

Graham's teacher is super nice and has 17 years experience, so I know he will have a great year. I have signed up to be "Room Mom" and also for several of the PTO activities so it's going to be busy. I'm excited to dig in and get involved. I've been waiting a long time for this. ;)

On the first day of school, Graham took his teacher a little gift. I know we are going to need all the brownie points we can get-ha! He gave her a pencil box full of individual chocolate candy and a box of Extra Strength Tylenol. Be sure to look at the picture of the card we attached. ;)

Daydreaming about Decorating-Shared Boys' Room

2010-07-29T19:26:00.006-05:00

Soon we will be having new wood flooring installed in the boys' side of the house, which will mean all furniture in both of their rooms will have to be removed. I've decided that this will be the perfect timing for moving them into a shared bedroom. I have always loved the Serena and Lily bedding, and of course Pottery Barn bedding is super cute as well. However, that is a big chunk of change to invest on one bed, let alone two. So, I've been scouring the web looking for knock-offs or inspiration on how to achieve that same look on a budget. So far, I'm not finding too much... BUT, I did find some amazing inspiration. The fabrics are all Premier Prints and acutally not too over the top if you use them sparingly. The art is all from Rosenberry Rooms. This is one of my all time favorite children's decor sites. The art is pricey, but a lot of is simple enough to imitate. ;)

all rugs and accessory items from Rosenberry Rooms

all fabrics from Premier Prints

bedding sets from Pottery Barn and artwork from Rosenberry Rooms

Lego Birthday Party

2010-07-28T13:56:00.007-05:00

Another party has come and gone. It's hard to believe that we have a six year old! Graham loved his party this year. All of the tedious work that went into it was well worth it to see how excited he was all day. He was gracious to each of his guests, and each present was something he had "been wanting this for years"! :)

The guests played a Lego relay race, which conveniently ended in a tie. Then they took turns getting a whack at the pinata I made. The grandpa's had to step in and help a little to get the pinata to finally open, but the kids did a good job "loosening the lid" so to speak. After the outdoor activities we came back inside where we had moved all the furniture out of the living room and had sheets set up with Legos placed for the guests to each build their own vehicle. We served pizza, Lego Minifigure rice krispie treats, Lego Minifigure marshmallow pops and cake also on the sheets while the guests watched a Lego movie before opening gifts. Each guest was given a Lego minifigure glycerin soap I made out of a popsicle mold, and the girls were given Lego rings that I made out of inexpensive plastic rings and hot glued Lego's on top.

This was a fun challenging party to plan. I was lucky to find a lot of inspiration on several blogs. Especially the Lego minifigure pops from the Living Locurto blog, and the oh so stylish Lego party on Design Dump blog. All of the decorations were inspired by the blue/white gingham, Lego yellow and grey fabric color scheme. I found the fabric at WalMart in the $1/yard section and also the matching gingham ribbon. I was also lucky to find matching gingham scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby. The color selection was originally inspired by the architectural graphic that I found and used on the invitation and the party backdrop.

Happy 6th Birthday Graham!! We love you SO much!

More Lego Party Projects

2010-07-15T14:47:00.003-05:00

Lego Pinata

2010-07-14T16:39:00.003-05:00

In between going out of town, and taking care of a house, a dog and three children...I have still been working on Graham's Lego birthday party coming up in just over a week. I managed to get party favor minifigure soaps made, chocolate bricks and chocolate minifigures made, life size blocks and lifesize minifigures created...and the all important Lego Pinata.

I took an old diaper box and cut holes and slits in it to weaken it. I wasn't quite sure that it would break open otherwise. Instead of messing with all the stickiness of true paper mache, I simply wrapped the box in newspaper and glued on the crepe paper strips using watered down glue and a paint brush. Before wrapping the crepe paper, I cut it into workable lengths and cut fringed slits. Then simply layer the paper until the entire box is covered. For the top, I cut down plastic cups and covered them in the same way.

It is not a perfect pinata, but Graham was super excited and keeps wanting to "try it out". I call that a success!

Blog Love-We Were Featured

2010-07-14T11:11:00.001-05:00

Imagine my surprise when I logged in to Facebook the other morning and saw our Lily Pullitzer Turtle baby shower featured on one of my favorite party blogs! Kara's Party Ideas was sent the link to our shower from a sweet reader, and she chose it to be featured on her wonderful blog. Thank you to Glory, of Glorious Treats, and to Kara for the honor!!

Please go check out Kara's blog here. I am always inspired by her blog.

Because I Can't Get Enough

2010-07-07T19:54:00.005-05:00

Colin Eisele @ 3 months

Lego Party Planning

2010-07-01T18:41:00.005-05:00

So, the baby shower is over and I just realized I have only 3 weeks until G's 6th birthday. He has requested a Lego party at home (so that he can have a pinata!), so I have been scouring the internet for inspiration. I have already done one post on my search for the perfect invitation, which only led me to think I needed to design one of our own in order to stand out from pack, so to speak.

So, after several attempts to design something that both Graham and I would be happy with, we ended up with a perfect compromise. I decided to pick out a couple of colors that Lego's come in rather than go with the full rainbow of primary colors, in order to give it a more unique spin. I ended up going with gray, blue, green and a pop of golden yellow. I found a graphic of an architectural blueprint drawing of a Lego minifigure which I thought was really cool, and Graham thought it was a "skeleton" of a Lego man so he thought it was really cool as well. ;)

Now, I feel I can start the planning process. I have purchased a minifigure ice tray mold, lego brick ice tray mold, a large minifigure popsicle mold and a set of minifigure cookie cutters. I hope by bringing in more of the minifigure items, I can make Graham's party a little different than the normal Lego brick theme. Of course, there will be plenty of Lego brick activities at the party as well.

It's been fun to have his input on the party this year and I'm looking forward to what we come up with together.

Pink Green Turtle Baby Shower (Lilly Pulitzer inspired Delta Zeta Baby Shower)

2010-06-29T12:44:00.017-05:00

Last Saturday I was honored to host a baby shower for my college roommate Tamara in anticipation of her first baby, Lainey Jayne. Although I was a member of a different sorority than Tamara, I came to know and love the girls from her Delta Zeta group. I was contacted by one of her "sisters" to help with a DZ shower so I thought we should go full steam into their beloved colors of pink and green and have their mascot the turtle make an appearance as well.

The first inspiration came from the Lilly Pulitzer Desert Torte pattern. My co-hostess Julie lives in NYC and was able to purchase all of the plates, napkins and party favor stadium cups at the Lilly store. Julie also used the Desert Torte wrapping paper to make the beautiful name banner we hung across the fireplace, as well as purchasing a picture frame that I used as decoration and both of our Lily gifts for the mother to be.

Julie made all of the light pink tissue poms and mailed them along with the rest of the party goods so I could have them before the day of the shower. She also made the sweet graphic that you see used throughout the party. I decided to use it for food labels and as guest message cards. I did the food, flowers and decorations. And I have to give a huge shout out to our sweet friend Stacy B at Cora's Cakes near Hot Springs for bailing me out after my local cake source had to cancel on me a few days before the shower. She is awesome and I would highly recommend her if you are anywhere near there. The cake was precious and delicious!!

So, without further ado...below are a ton of pictures. Everything turned out as cute as I had hoped. Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments. Make sure to leave an email where I can reach you. Hope you enjoy!

Behind the Scenes--Pink Green Baby Shower

2010-06-22T13:59:00.005-05:00

With the baby shower around the corner, and me teaching VBS all week, I decided I needed to get a plan together for the design of the buffet table. I have several places in the house where we could set it up, but I really wanted to tackle a nice backdrop to the table, as inspired by the fabulous trendsetter Amy Atlas.

While I was at church decorating our room for VBS, I noticed a lot of the scenery was made out of huge pieces of styrofoam. After investigating, I found out this foam is used in construction for insulation and you can by it in 4' x 8' sheets at your local home improvement store. I thought it would be perfect as a table backdrop because it is huge, flat, can be painted or have fabric attached to it, and you can use tacks or push pins to hang banners, etc. My sweet husband was the errand boy to pick me up a piece and let me remind you...it is HUGE. He said it was touching both the front and back glass in his 4Runner. Isn't he sweet to mess with that for me? :)

It worked great for me because my dining room table happens to be 8' long, so they were a perfect match. I was going to attach fabric to it, but since it was already pink, I just attached my pattern to it and let the pink show through. I had already found a darling pink and green pattern wrapping paper at Hobby Lobby that I wanted to incorporate, so I ended up putting it down the back in strips, then cut pieces for the table to make it look like one big long line.

I am still working out details of the tablecloths, but I love the general appearance of the table set up. I think it is important to set everything out ahead of time to make sure that you have all the serving pieces and room that you need for your event. I even made little notes of each of the food items I am serving so I know which serving piece they belong on. Now, I just need to make all the goodies and buy my flowers and I will know exactly how to put my table together with no stress the day of the party.

Pink Green Turtle Baby Shower

2010-06-20T19:56:00.006-05:00

I finally buckled down and started working on a couple of projects for the Lily Pullitzer inspired Turtle/Delta Zeta theme baby shower I'm co-hosting next Sunday. I actually had to hire a babysitter so that I could get to town and get some shopping done for the shower. It's sad when you are that outnumbered by your children! :) I did take the littlest guy with me, as he hasn't yet learned how to say "I want that"...

I found these cute little bath toy turtles at Micaheal's for $1 each and had to have them. I didn't know what I would use them for at the time, but for that price I went ahead and picked up three. I decided to "girly" them up a bit with some pink polka dots and a bow. Now they are ready to come to the party. I think I will hide them around the house and let them peek out at people. I know just seeing them makes me smile, and hopefully will make my guests do the same.

Also, have to show you the super cute Lily invites we used. Notice the matching return address labels my fabulous co-host Julie made. We are also using the plates/napkins/cups. It is going to be so fun and preppy, I can't stand it!

Lego Party Planning

2010-06-11T15:54:00.005-05:00

Our oldest son turns 6 in July, and he has requested a Lego birthday party. Has anyone else noticed that this seems to be a super popular boys birthday theme recently? I have found several really great inspirations out in blogland that I will share with you as I continue the planning process.

I usually like to start with one inspirational element. Most of the time it is fabric , like with Thomas' Circus birthday or patterned party ware, like with Thomas' Sock Monkey birthday. Or it could be a logo, like with Thomas' Wiggles birthday.

But this time I just have a theme..."Legos" so I am searching for an invite that will lead me in the right direction. I would like to make it something modern and maybe a little bit stylish. Let me tell you, Etsy has a million different takes on the Lego party. And this doesn't even include any of the Lego character themes. (I'm trying to shy away from the specific characters) Here a just a few that I found. Unfortunately, Graham and I differ on our favorites, so I may be making one from scratch that we both can agree on. ;)

Sources (top to bottom):
Etsy seller blondegirl
Etsy Seller trendypeas
Etsy Seller party place
Etsy Seller SillySieraDesign
Etsy Seller LittleBeaneBoutique
Etsy Seller CardsbyCarolyn

Delta Zeta Turtle Theme Baby Shower

2010-05-31T19:03:00.005-05:00

Now that Thomas' Wiggles party is over, I can move on to the next soiree. I'm over the moon happy to be co-hosting a baby shower for my college roommate Tamara. She has had a long journey to find her husband and get to this point, and I couldn't be happier for anyone. Baby Lainey Jayne is due the beginning of July, so we will be cutting it close with the shower the last weekend in June. But, my wonderful co-host Julie will be traveling from New York and that was the only time it could work out.

Tamara and I pledged the same semester, only to different sororities. I had to talk her into rushing at all, and she ended up President of Delta Zeta. This shower will be primarily attended by her sorority sisters (I am honorary DZ since I spent so much time with them in our apartment), so we will be sticking to the DZ colors and mascot of Pink and Green and turtles. I found the perfect preppy Lilly Pulitzer invites online, and Julie made it to the actual store and bought the plates, napkins, invites etc. I love it all!

I've picked up a few items already, and pulled all things pink and green out of my stash so we are well on our way. I have practiced on a few tissue poms and have found a lot of inspiration. Looking forward to doing something SO girly for a change. :)

The Wiggles Birthday Party

2010-05-23T18:53:00.009-05:00

Saturday friends and family joined us at The Little Gym to celebrate Thomas Patrick's 3rd Birthday. He has been obsessed with The Wiggles for months now and requested a Wiggles theme party. I had to make all of the paper projects myself due to lack of Wiggles items on the market. Because the party was at the gym, I didn't need to do any decorations or activities. Instead I focused on trying to get their logo on as many surfaces as I could. I came up with a "logo" of sorts using a more contemporary green and white houndstooth check combined with one of the least offensive Wiggles clip art I could find, making both Thomas and mommy happy. ;) This logo was used on the invitation, cupcake pics, drink labels, and birthday boy's t-shirt. It was supposed to go on the sugar cookie favors as well, but due to a problem at the bakery, we went with Thomas' name instead. I would have liked to have used the banner I made for his first birthday, but being at the gym, there was no way to hang things. It would have been the perfect finish behind the food table.

Thomas was happy to see his beloved Wiggles faces at his party, and I was happy to see Thomas' face smiling. Happy birthday to the new "middle child". Thomas, we love your sweet face, even when it is pouting from getting too much attention or not getting your own way. You are such a blessing to our family! Happy 3rd Birthday!

Welcome to the Nest

2010-05-15T16:40:00.011-05:00

As promised, here are more pictures from Colin's beautiful Sip and See. It was such a wonderful day. I got to have all of my best girl friends here at the same time. They had been working on the shower plans via email for months, and it couldn't have turned out any better. Every detail was just perfect. Of course, I had to have a tiny contribution. I asked for the bird/nest theme and they ran with it. I have such a talented group of girlfriends. They each took on a different job and had everything covered with expertise from the invite to the decor to the food, to photography. Thank you girls for making me feel so special and helping to celebrate the life and arrival of Colin into the Eisele Nest. I love you all!

Here are all but two of my wonderful hostesses. I have known the girls in this photo since I started the sixth grade. Hard to believe we have been friends so long! Check out Kari's photography site and Brittany's
event planning site. Whitney and Hannah, sorry I don't have a pic with you to post. :( I love you girls too, and appreciate you helping. Whitney made the fabulous banner behind the food table, among other things.

This is Tamara, my roommate from college. She is expecting her first baby in July. I am excited to host a baby shower for her in just a few weeks. Stay tuned for all the pink and green Lilly inspired cuteness you can stand!

Feather the Nest Sip and See Preview

2010-05-08T21:58:00.005-05:00

Today my best girl friends hosted a Sip and See shower in Colin's honor. It was a great day of visiting with dear friends. Here is a preview of the beautiful decorations. They worked so hard to pull of the most beautiful shower. Many more pictures to come.

Wiggles Birthday Invitation

2010-05-06T16:08:00.004-05:00

I think they turned out pretty cute. You can't tell it here, but the scallop Wiggles circle is actually raised off the page. All stuffed, addressed and ready to be mailed. I'm feeling pretty good about being so ahead of the game with this one. :)

The Wiggles Birthday Projects

2010-05-04T19:00:00.004-05:00

I think I have a plan for the paper projects for Thomas' 3rd birthday party in a couple weeks. Now I have to get things printed and assembled. After trying a few different graphics programs, I think I came up with a design that Thomas will love and I can stand to look at. ;) This graphic will be showing up as a theme for the birthday party in as many ways as I can think to use it in the limited number of projects I will be making. (remember, we are having the party outside the home this year, so decorations will be limited)

Nothing New

2010-05-03T09:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Justin and I spent the afternoon cleaning out the garage. He bought me another rolling drawer cart to put my craft supplies in, so now I have three. I took some time and went through the drawers, throwing out anything that I didn't think I would use and organizing them better. I now have one cart for fabric, one just for ribbon and one for extra party supplies and all craft tools. I really could use another cart for scrapbook supplies, but the new system works pretty well. It made me want to get to work on something crafty! Until I find the time and energy for a new project though, I will leave you with some pictures of my latest project. ;) Can't believe he is already a month old!

Wiggles Party Prep

2010-04-29T10:45:00.002-05:00

We are enjoying our new little guy. Mommy and baby are getting lots of bonding time while the boys are in school, then we go pick up big brothers and enjoy the afternoon before daddy gets home. Graham is in love with his new brother, while Thomas is still a little hesitant. I have been trying to give T extra snuggles and attention.

He and I have been talking a lot about his upcoming birthday in May. He is obsessed with The Wiggles, so that is our chosen theme. I know I say every time that I am not going to go all out for the next party, and this time I am sticking to it. As much as I LOVE all the planning and prep and fun that goes into planning a good party, at this point I am just too exhausted to do the usual shindig. So, I have reserved The Little Gym for T's birthday and all I have to do is show up with some cake.

However, this is ME, so I am going to try and put a few little details into the party to personalize it a bit for Thomas. I am having to make things from scratch due to the limited amount of Wiggles party supplies out there, but that is where the fun comes in. So far, all I have is Wiggles balloons, but invites and cupcake pics are in the works. Now, if only I could get the men in the family to dress up and put on a Wiggles show for the kiddos....

Life Is Good

2010-04-14T13:14:00.001-05:00

Dad Post- For my Love.A.Mixtape.

2010-04-06T12:42:00.004-05:00

Hospital Pictures...Colin has arrived

2010-04-03T18:17:00.006-05:00

I am sitting in my bed at the hospital. Today has been really quiet, which was much needed for us to rest. I managed to get a few pictures uploaded to show you our sweet sweet baby Colin and some of the visitors we've had. Sorry I am not going to go back and put them in all in order. I actually am about to take a little nap before he's hungry again.

Welcome Colin Garnett Eisele, born April 2 at 9:45 am, weighing in a hefty 8 lbs 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches long.

Monogram Madness

2010-03-28T17:28:00.004-05:00

I finally got around to taking some things to my friend Mollie at Personally Stitched for monogramming. I didn't spend much time thinking about what to put on things, so I kept it pretty simple with just his name or simple monogram. I love having a few special things with his name that are new for him, and how just putting a name on something inexpensive and ordinary can make it seem special and a little more fancy.

Master Bedroom Into Nursery

2010-03-11T11:22:00.005-06:00

Our desktop has been attacked so we have been out of the loop for a few weeks now. I've spent the time gathering more baby essentials, and I think we are pretty much set for Baby Colin's arrival in three weeks. Because I don't want the baby across the house from me, and I'm not ready for the boys to share a room yet, Colin will be rooming in with us for a while. Luckily we have the extra room in our bedroom. I've spent this week trying to make his little area a little bit more babyish by hanging some picture frames for the coming multitudes of photos to come and putting up a few items like the changing pad, basket for diapers, etc.

I'd like to get a few sewing projects done if I feel up to it in the next few weeks. But, I feel like we are all set now, just waiting him out. I'm going to the doctor every week now, so hopefully that will help things feel like they are going a little quicker. AS of now, my BP has been fine, I'm having minor inconsistent contractions and lots of nausea, headaches and general uncomfortableness. Please keep us in your prayers as we try to prepare the boys, especially Thomas, for the arrival of our newest family member.

Getting Ready for Baby

2010-02-16T14:01:00.005-06:00

I realized recently that I have zero bibs for when Colin arrives. I've looked at the stores, but I really do not like baby things with stupid sayings. Have you noticed how all of the bibs especially are either flourescent colors or have these sayings like "Chick Magnet" or "Spit Happens" on them? Just like everything else, you can't find anything plain and simple. (for the record: I have seen multiple packs of solid bright colored bibs, which I'm sure we will be purchasing at some point) But for now, I looked around at all of the fabric either in my stash or left over from different projects and decided to make a few of my own. I bought $6 of cream flannel at Wal-Mart for the backs, and have enough to make about 100 bibs-ha! As it is, I only made 8. :) But, it's a start. Only 6 1/2 weeks left to get everything together.

We Have A Name and a Date

2010-02-01T08:05:00.002-06:00

The moment we've all been waiting for........

Baby Colin Garnett Eisele is scheduled to be delivered via c-section at 9:30 AM, April 2!!! 9 weeks and counting...

Crib Bedding Almost Complete

2010-01-23T15:31:00.004-06:00

Today I started working on Baby C's bedding. I was waiting to pull my sewing machine out until my mother was here to (1) help coral the boys, and (2) help me figure out exactly what I am doing. Between the two of us, we have finished the bumpers (all but hand stitching them closed...man, a zipper would have been a great idea!). The design has been a sort of "figure it out as we go" process, but I'm really happy with how it is turning out.

We've got re-purposed fabric from Graham's nursery in the washing machine and once that is finished we will get to work on the crib skirt. We have a pretty good system worked out where she does all the cutting and pinning and I do the actual sewing and ironing. My back is appreciating this little break. Hopefully we will have it all complete this evening. We've not got our crib brought up out of storage yet, so you won't be able to get the complete picture, but I promise to show the finished product once we are complete.

Become a Fan of Eisele & Huffman on Facebook

2010-01-15T18:27:00.002-06:00

My husband's law firm (Eisele & Huffman, P.A.) has some great information on their website (www.ehfirm.com). We are also encouraging folks to become their "fans" on Facebook. It is really easy. The Facebook button below will take you right to the site. Our goal is to surpass 500 fans by the end of the weekend. We are already at 463! Help us make it happen.

Eisele & Huffman, P.A. Attorneys at Law

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One Step Closer

2010-01-12T13:26:00.005-06:00

First, I want to thank everyone for all of the great commentary on the baby bedding discussion. I read every comment and took it all in, and was still on the fence, although leaning toward a more neutral look. I think the comments that influenced the most asked "what would I do if this HE had been a SHE"..ouch, but so true. Also, my friend Lauren reminded me that it's going to be in my room for a year, and I have suffered enough that I deserve something that I love to look at. :)

I did find that I think my idea of "custom" and some of yours is different. When I said "custom", I didn't mean spending hundreds of dollars to order something. I only meant buying my choice of fabric and making it myself. Yes, we had "custom" bedding for both of our first boys. But, I can promise that we spent less than $150 for sure on Thomas' and probably less than $100 on Graham's (this included window coverings as well as the bedding itself). Both sets had a combination of "designer" fabric and inexpensive Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart fabrics. Of course, the labor was free thanks to my wonderful mother, and the large furniture was also gifted by wonderful in-laws. I have to say, that I wouldn't have changed anything on either room. I was able to get exactly the look I was going for without sacrificing style for budget. So, when it came down to it for this nameless third little boy...I would hate to say anything but the same.

While there was absolutely nothing at all wrong with the blue set from Target (or the thousands of others I looked at online), I received confirmation to go ahead with the more neutral color pallet when I was at Wal Mart to get some school lunch items and just happened to take a look at the fabric department. Low and behold, in the very bottom of the stack was a bolt of what closely resembled natural linen....and close by a beautiful ivory with a soft sheen. Perfect for replicating the expensive bedding sets that I fell in love with from the beginning. And, the best part...each one was only $1.50 per yard!! I bought up all of the tan and most of the ivory right then. I have more than enough fabric to replicate a boutique set for less than $30. Dilemma over! My mother will be coming to visit in a couple of weekends, when we will put it all together. Cant' wait to see how it turns out. Now I am contemplating the actual design elements, such as having a monogram put on the bumper or not...what kind of trim to put on top of the bumper, etc. Lots of fun decisions to make!
I definitely felt much lighter yesterday after the big fabric purchase. I even bought the cutest little outfit for Baby at the pharmacy of all places. Then today, I came across several great baby bargains at Target marked down to half price. I picked up a couple packages of onesies and some blankets all for less than $5 each. I can finally say that I am feeling a little more excited about this guy's arrival.

Is it really worth it?

2010-01-06T09:11:00.004-06:00

So, I have about 12 weeks left until this kid arrives. I've bought, I think, 2 or 3 outfits...so looks like he is going to be naked for much of the summer. I haven't bought any diapers or bottles or burp cloths or....anything. We haven't even decided 100% on the poor kid's name.

I have been looking at fabric for months, and have yet to make a decision. I've pretty much decided that it really doesn't matter what goes on the crib. It is going to be over in the corner of our bedroom, away from the door, where nobody is going to see it. There will be no other "nursery" decorations.

So the question is: Is it really worth the effort and expense to have custom bedding? If so, I will have to (1)make a decision on fabrics, (2)order and pay for chosen fabrics, (3)pay to mail fabrics and bumpers to my mother for recovering. OR...I could go with a store bought set and throw it on the bed and be done with it. Problem is, the sets that I really love are $$$$$. Why is it that the more simple a set is, the more expensive it is? Honestly...that is crazy! I could get a cartoon character or sports set for cheaper than a simple white and cream set.
While in Target the other day, I noticed a fairly simple bumper on clearance for $25. Good deal, and it is a pretty shade of blue. I brought it home and it looks ok with the crib skirt I have left over from Graham's custom set. It could be the answer to the dilemma and I can be check one thing off my list.

What do you all think? Is it bad to settle? Is it smart to do something more economical these days? Is this going to set a precedent for how #3's is going to be treated? What would you do?

Christmas 2009--In Pictures

2010-01-04T13:09:00.004-06:00

Merry Shindig-2009 Edition

2009-12-14T18:25:00.004-06:00

Saturday night we hosted the third annual Eisele Merry Shindig. We kept things low key and casual, with a pot luck menu, as opposed to last year's spread. We provided ham, bread, beverages and brownies and the girls brought some delicious sides and deserts. After a very grown up candlelight sit down dinner at our new dining room table, we moved into the living room for some not so grown up Rock Band, followed by a battle of the sexes, rousing game of Mad Gab. We all know that girls have their own language occasionally, but we girls rocked it out beating the guys by double their score. I wish I would have had the energy to keep going all night, but you know this pregnant girl was losing steam and winding down by 11:30 when our wonderful guests called it a night. This has become such a fun tradition for our little group. We really had a great time laughing, eating and playing, and I can't wait until next year! (Britt and Ryan--you and your skills were missed!)

Starting to Think Baby...

2009-12-04T16:00:00.006-06:00

We have decided not to do a traditional nursery, and rather have the crib in the master room with us for the first several months. Later we will decide who has to share rooms and get everyone arranged accordingly. Our master bedroom is VERY neutral, with all shades of ivory, taupe, white and cream, with a couple accents in pale blue. Here are some of my "inspiration" photos. My mother will be making the bedding, as she has for the other two boys. The crib is an antique white/ivory color.

Notice the name poll in the top right corner. All opinions are welcome, and if you hate our choices and have an awesome suggestion, please leave it in the comment section.

Polkadot Design

Serena and Lily

posh tots

posh totswisteria

Thanksgiving recap

2009-12-03T07:28:00.004-06:00

Our Thanksgiving recap in pictures...

The below picture is for Evan and Leah...Justin made the dressing again this year...only it didn't take 5 hours to finish...ha ha