Memorial Weekend 2011

It may have been two-and-a-half months ago but I wanted to share some photos taken during Memorial Weekend. We went to the Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (one of my favorite nearby places to visit). I used to hike there with my dad when I was younger, back when there was nothing but a few wood chip trails. Now they have a visitor center, paved trails (along with wood chip trails) and many beautiful gardens!

After a lovely home-made picnic on this shaded bench overlooking the pond we lathered up our fair-skinned babies and took a stroll through the gardens.

Peony (my favorite flower)...

This was a great time to visit (end of May) because all the peonies were in bloom!

Looks like Angelia loves peonies too!

We then took more rugged terrain (the wood chip trails) through the woods...

Chiara napped.

...and we took a watermelon break.

...this girl LOVES watermelon!

The four of us had a wonderful time! And we actually went to the Arboretum again last weekend! Soakin' in the last bit of summer!

What did you do for Memorial Weekend? Do you have a place like this you like to visit?

XO,

   Jaclyn

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Beach and Garden

There are two decorating styles I love... I like to call them "Beach" and "Garden," but the more technical term would probably be "Coastal" and "Shabby Chic." My love for Coastal decor blossomed with the help of the talented Sarah from A Beach Cottage. Though since I live in a land-locked state, smack-dab in the middle of the country, I didn't choose Coastal for the main style of our home, but I did want to incorporate it somewhere. (I would have so much fun decorating a beach house... one can dream!) So I thought of an idea that lets me enjoy both worlds/decor styles. The majority of our home is decorated in "Garden/Shabby Chic" and our bathrooms (we now have two since we finished the basement) are decorated in "Beach/Coastal". I love the idea because the majority of our home feels very natural and soothing (like it's part if it's surroundings) and the bathrooms feel very fun and relaxing (like you just stepping into a vacation resort). It started with a shelf display I put together in our upstairs bathroom...

But I didn't decide on the clear division until after I made this display inside a glass urn in our bedroom...

I filled it with some sand I picked up at Target and a few shells I had gathered during a vacation.

Although I loved how it turned out, it just seemed out of place to me. I guess it's because we live in Kansas and don't have anything else "sea" in the room. So after a few weeks of enjoying the sand and shells, my displays went from "Beach" to "Garden"...

I just replaced the sand and shells with some river rocks I pick up at Hobby Lobby.

I l.o.v.e decorating with things from nature. I think it adds a lot of warmth and comfort to a home.

As for the sand and shells, they have already made there way into a new display in our master bathroom, can't wait to show you!

Is your style more "Beach" or "Garden?" Do you think your geographical location effects how you decorate your home?

XO,

   Jaclyn

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Nesting

I haven't made an announcement here on the blog, but I did post one on the CHC facebook page a few weeks ago. In case you missed it... We're Expecting Baby #3!!! I'm actually already 20 weeks along, half-way there! His/Her due date is December 10... it's going to be a fun Christmas! We had our sonogram two weeks ago, but we decided not to find out the sex of the baby this time. Being as though we have 2 girls, we're kind of hoping for a boy, though 3 girls would be fun too! You may remember the unique way we found out the sex of our second baby (Miss Chiara), if not you can view the post on it, here. Come December, we'll have a 3 year old, a 1 1/ 2 year old, and a newborn... it's going to be a full house! Angelia and the new baby will be around 3 years and 2  months apart in age, and Chiara and the new baby will be around 19 months apart in age (the same as Angelia and Chiara).

This is my belly at 5 weeks...

 And this is my belly at 20 weeks...

See the little bump? Ok, so you can hardly tell I'm pregnant! This is how I was with my pregnancies with both of the girls, and they weren't small babies, both were born 7 lbs. 3oz. Something about my body just makes it take longer to show I guess. And that's just fine with me! ; ) I know he/she's in there because I can feel him/her move and two weeks ago we got to see this...

 Cool Baby # 3- 18 Weeks

Besides the fact that I have a million different projects going on (like usual), "nesting" is in full swing! I actually got something done today that makes me feel more ready for our new baby to arrive. Sure we still have 20 weeks to prepare, but I guess reaching the half-way mark made me have the urge to do a more practical baby related project...

Eventually baby #3 will sleep in his/her own room upstairs but for the first few months he/she'll room with us. Which is why a corner of our bedroom went from this...

To this...

And then to this...

You may remember the lavender basket from a previous post. It was hanging next to our bed, but a few weeks ago it got bumped when I found something at one of my favorite local antique stores (I'll share that project soon.) It now hangs across the room above the bassinet for our new little-one to enjoy. The bassinet has been handed down in our family for many generation, and I think it's just the sweetest! My mom restored it and gave it to me when I was pregnant with Angelia (we used it for both the girls). Below it I filled a basket with some diapers for those middle-of-the-night changes.

 Hopefully I'll get some work done in the nursery soon. It's a MESS! First task, organizing lots of little girl clothes! That would definitely be one of the pros for having another girl... we've got plenty of clothes!

XO,

   Jaclyn

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Dreamy Bedding

Over time, as I find things like I've envisioned in my mind (at a price that doesn't break-the-bank) our master bed (and bedroom) is slowly but surely coming together. It kind of goes in stages, you might have seen stage 1 and 2 in a previous post. If you missed it this is what it looked like...

...I simply removed the comforter and shams (that we've used since we got married in 2006), along with my favorite Pottery Barn blanket and pillow (that will be stored until winter)... and replaced them with my great-grandmother's white comforter that my mom handed down to me.

~ Stage 3 ~

Since then, to complete the look I added a white bed-shirt, comforter and shams (all from Target's Shabby Chic Collection). I also got some new white sheets (Wal-Mart), and used my grandmother's comforter as a throw...

Don't you just LOVE white!?! It makes a room feel so fresh, bright and luxurious! It also makes the space feel larger! No more dark colors in mi casa (in stages of course)!

I used an old church pew as our foot-board (it used to serve as seating in our living room). I'm still searching for something to use as a head-board, I'm thinking an old garden gate or some kind of old architectural piece (maybe an old door). I l.o.v.e the head-board Dana from House Tweaking made from an old fence...

"His"

"Hers"

One of my favorite things about it is how the throw drapes on the floor...

Another great thing about this look is that the bed doesn't have to be made "perfect."  In fact, a bit messy is preferred. Thanks to Rachel Ashwell (the designer of Target's Shabby Chic Collection and author of Shabby Chic Interior... which you can find on my side-bar) I am learning to embrace the "unmade bed!" The embracing has come more since these photos were taken, so next time you see my bed it won't be so neat-and-tidy (though it would help if I had a fluffy duet cover).

Another "unmade bed embracer", Mary from Urban Farmgirl...

Who knew an unmade bed could look so good?!? It's relaxing, dreamy and romantic! I could definitely see myself curl up in those beds! I could also definitely go with not making the bed!

Now go toss your sheets and throw your pillows around!

XO,

   Jaclyn

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{This post was shared on The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Creation Corner, Finding Fabulous, Freckled Laundry, Miss Mustard Seed, My Romantic Home, Remodelaholic, The Shabby Nest, Simply Designing, Stuff and Nonsense, A Beach Cottage, Savvy Southern Style, and Someday Crafts.}