downtown lawrenceville

It was a nice short 4 day week for me at work.. I think I will be finished with my remaining 20 IEPs before the end of March. I am starting to see the light at the end, and before we know it, summer will be here!! Last weekend was so fun having friends in town, but this weekend has been nice too. Nothing major going on.. Just the usual crafting, running, napping, video gaming... And the Academy Awards come on tomorrow night! A lot of exciting events are coming up in the next few months, so it's nice to have a low key weekend every once in a while. We took advantage of the gorgeous day and headed to downtown Lawrenceville with Toby. We wanted to explore, but didn't want to drive all the way downtown. It was a lovely afternoon.

We walked around the square... not as exciting as parts of Atlanta, but still enjoyable.

And grabbed a slice.

Toby got a pepperoni.

We I couldn't leave without a cupcake from Sweets on the Square! I was proud of myself for only buying one and splitting with Brian. 

a lovely long weekend

We love long weekends, and we really love when friends come to visit.. especially with their dogs! Our friends Jimmy and Christen came down from Charlotte and were able to spend three days with us! They brought their adorable pup Poncho. Friday was sunny, so we took advantage of the weather and headed down to our favorite place. Piedmont Park. 

Toby and Poncho became instant friends. 

 Look how cute they are together! 

Park Tavern wasn't open while we were there (sad!), so we headed to Flip where we enjoyed gourmet burgers and best of all, milkshakes! Christen and I got the nutella and burnt marshmallow shake. YUM.

Fun car ride home! Toby insisted on sitting half in my lap, even though he was supposed to be in the back.

 When we weren't at dog parks, we spent our time together catching up on season two of Downton Abbey, and playing our new favorite game, Dominion.. and we may have dressed the dogs up a little.. In honor of Toby's birthday this week, we put party hats on the dogs which lead to hoodies, glasses, and a scarf. They were so tired from the dog park that day, they didn't budge! 

It was a great long weekend! We were sad to see Jimmy and Christen leave. Why can't we live in the same town as all of our friends? We're thankful we live close enough for weekend trips! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I made these in a hurry, but I really wanted to do something festive for Valentine's Day! I love an excuse to bake.. My mom told me today that she has no flour or sugar at their LA apartment and that it was such a good feeling. I can't imagine feeling that way! There is so much I love about baking. Maybe it's the instant gratification with a finished product. I love making yummy treats, and I love making them look pretty! 

 Toby sat close and watched me ice all of these cookies.. I had to give him a little bite. Not the whole cookie, just a bite. Don't hate me Michelle! 

guest room makeover finished!

It all started with the wing back chair sitting in the corner. I have been wanting one for a while, and thought the guest room would be the perfect spot. I found a chair on craigslist for $45, and grabbed it after work last Friday night. This meant the room needed to be rearranged. The foot of the bed used to face the window, leaving little room at the foot and on either side of the bed. I didn't like it. 

Brian and I painted the walls Benjamin Moore's Stonington Gray last weekend, and it's perfect. Not too dark, not too light, and it doesn't have a blue tint. It's even better in person. Natalie gets the credit for this color- she's the one who found it and used it in her house first!

I went to Garden Ridge to look for a rug, and spotted this amazing mirror which is almost the same one in my inspiration picture! You can find some awesome stuff at Garden Ridge.. I found the rug for this room there too, and the prices are cheap. 

I went to Queen of Hearts Antiques and snatched up everything for this wall (except for the framed HL girls picture). I love antique stores full of random booths.. I went after work one night this week, so I was in a hurry. I knew what I was looking for, and was pleased with how it came together.

We got the screen behind the bed at a store in Asheville on our honeymoon. It works great for a headboard. I ordered the fabric for the duvet cover and the pillows from fabric.com. I had never bought fabric from them before and was very pleased with how quickly it arrived at my house! So yesterday, I spent the entire day sewing and sewing and sewing..... For the most part, it went pretty well.

I love the sunburst mirror (from Target) on this wall. It's a nice balance from the busy collage wall by the dresser on the other side of the window. 

This was a pinterest inspired project. My friend Nina did a similar project in her living room with different shades of yellow. These painted ceiling medallions add color to the wall. 

Here's a shot of the rug. It was only $99 for an 8x10 at Garden Ridge. Probably not the best quality, but for a trendy rug, I'm quite happy with the price. It's technically gray, but definitely has a blue tone to it. I wanted to recover the chair or have a slipcover made in a charcoal gray. I fabric from Frugal Fabrics in Norcross for $3 a yard, but then discovered it was going to cost $300 for a slipcover. No thanks. The chair is fine the way it is... I thought about trying to sew one myself, but it looks WAY too complicated. I'll stick with my straight seams, please. 

So that's it! We have friends coming in town for the long weekend, so it was ready just in time! I'm sure I'll be making changes.. I'd love to find an upholstered bench for the wall on the left. I'm happy with the way it has turned out! 

double date

Tonight after work, we ventured out to downtown Norcross for a double date with Julie and Josiah! Brian and I had heard good things about this town, and we wanted to check it out for ourselves. 

It was smaller than I had expected, but the streets were lined with charming restaurants. Festive lights on the streets were definitely a plus. 

We found a scoutmob discount for Zapata Tacos and Tequila Bar.. 

The food was fancier and more authentic than we were expecting! This is Julie and Josiah's dinner.. you can see the cactus hanging out of the side. The atmosphere was cozy and the margaritas were tasty. Yum!

progress

We painted the walls, rearranged the furniture, and put down a new rug... I ordered fabric for a duvet cover and pillows, and have been quite busy sewing! I moved the sewing machine into the guest room, which I love. It's my little oasis of calming grays, and I can close the door, and the mess is gone!

Sewing a twin duvet cover would be a piece of cake. But since this is a queen bed, I had to add extra fabric to each side to make it even. It took me several tries to line the fabric up so that I the dotted pattern looked relatively seamless. It's not perfect, but it's as good as I can do! 

My sewing companion resting on top of a sheet on the bed. I had just told Brian that I didn't want him on this bed because of the white bedding.. But he looked so pathetic standing close to the bed, resting his head on it... He let out a big sigh... So I grabbed an old sheet and let him snuggle on top of the fluffiness. :) 

It's going to be a sewing weekend for me! I also need to squeeze in a 5 and 9 mile run on Saturday and Sunday... Five more weeks till the half marathon!!

all jumbled up

Lately I feel as though I cannot think straight. I have all of these projects in my mind with not enough hours in the day to get them done! I have about 10 things started... My kitchen table is evidence of this. I have cupcake toppers, coffee filter flowers, pompom garland, table runners, and a chevron canvas started... I blame pinterest. 

 I was ready for bed at 8:00 on Friday night, but thought that was ridiculous. So instead of going to bed, I decided to start painting this chevron canvas. How hard can it be to paint zigzags? It was a lot more involved than I had expected.. Making my own pattern did not work. I tried twice and gave up. I had to print a pattern, trace it 12 times, tape it off, and then paint 3 coats. Four hours later, I finished and went to bed at 12:45am. 

And as if that isn't enough, I decided to also redecorate the guest room on Saturday. I woke up, ran 8 miles (yay!),  painted the guestroom a lovely shade of gray (thanks Natalie!), and proceeded to rearrange the furniture. The way I had the furniture set up before was not ideal.. It worked, but it was not using the space well. I pulled out the tape measure and figured out if it was possible to rearrange the already cramped space, and also add a chair! And it works! It already feels like a different space. 

This is my inspiration. 

I found this chair on craigslist for $45. I've been wanting a wing back chair for so long, and I'm excited about this one! I plan on getting a slipcover made.. still debating on the exact color. I wish I was talented enough to sew one myself. I need to stick to sewing straight seams. I'd love to do a fun print, but I think I'm going to stick to a solid... I'm debating between white and dark gray to contrast with the light gray walls. 

I can't seem to find a duvet cover that I love, so I'm thinking about this fabric.. Debating between different accent fabrics for pillows! 

I can't wait to see how it all comes together. I will be posting photos, hopefully soon! 

January birthdays

I realize it's not January anymore, but I never got around to posting about all the birthdays we celebrated! Truett turned 4 at the very end of December.. here he is with Joy Lynne and his cookie cake, as he requested. 

Chris's birthday was on the 22nd..

We celebrated lasagna and amazing chocolate ganache-filled Star Wars cupcakes made by Joy Lynne. 

Susan and Jack shared a birthday on the 31st.. It was just two years ago that Joy Lynne practically went into labor with Jack at P.F. Changs, where we were eating for Susan's birthday dinner. She had been having contractions all day, but thought it wasn't a big deal.. We got to the restaurant, ordered.. When I saw Chris pressing on her back to relieve pain, I had a feeling it was coming pretty soon.. All of a sudden her contractions got much worse! We left in a HUGE hurry, and two hours later, Jack was born! Very memorable, indeed.

 I was excited about how this cake turned out. My cakes never look like this. I really want to take a decorating class!

I was so bummed that we couldn't make it down for Silas's monster birthday party! From pictures (which I borrowed from facebook), it looked pretty great. It feels like yesterday he was only 2!  

Look at this monster cake John made! I love it when my brothers call me for recipe help... makes me so happy. He figured it out on his own and did an amazing job! I am very impressed.