a BOY!

you guys, during my absence from this blog, i found out that the little nugget

is most definitely

a BOY!

we were told it was most likely a boy at our 12 weeks sonogram but

i can't go making decisions and hopes and dreams come true, off of 'most likely'.

so we held out for our big sonogram at week 20,

to be officially told,

so we could officially tell,

that he is in fact, an active (KICKING) little boy :)

and so.

to announce it to our family that night,

i made one of those giant 3' balloons that i love.

they knew it was either going to be pink, or it was going to be blue.

and BLUE!

(and here's my disclaimer: i am way way better behind the camera than i am in front of one. oh good lord. my hands get all weird and i don't know what to do with my legs and i end up looking bizarre. which, i just scheduled my maternity session for the beginning of january, and i'm nervous! ha... DEAR LORD, please let there be snow so at least the background will be beautiful and interesting to look at and can take some of the pressure off. thank you. amen.)

here are some of the photos i had husband snap as we were getting in the car with our ginormous balloon. with an iphone. with the sun at full force. and the wind.

it was difficult. i should have used my big camera, they could have been arty and glorious, but i can't take them and be in them at the same time.

i used crepe paper streamers, cut in half for the fringe. in cobalt blue, light blue, mint green, grey, cream, and white with blue polka dots. i also threw some gold ribbon in there because i'm still me.

the B-O-Y was made with a gold poster board found at hobby lobby.

then i tied them all the balloon and voila.

not anywhere near geronimo balloon status, but it did it's job and it's still going strong hanging out in our living room :)

note-- they last for a really really long time!!

JILL

(ps - i am so stinking excited to be having a boy. i know i'd be just as excited if it were a girl, but a boy! things are getting very real. i hit the 5 month mark in 11 days.

i have lots to do in the next 4 months, my friends.)

oh hey there.

you guys, i guess, if anybody is still out there....

i've been absent for way too long.

i don't really have any excuses, just to say that my blogger mind was turned off.

i have been a little preoccupied.

and as much as i still obsess over really great decor and junk (hello pinterest, i was never far from there), i just wasn't focused enough to bring you anything worthwhile.

i still thought about here, and you, and missed it occasionally but....

i'm actually expecting a lil baby. in mid-march!

and i'm like, insane excited! (and very insanely insane nervous.)

there is alot of back story behind the nervous part.

but i try so hard to just focus, and my husband too, on the excited.

starting a family hasn't been the easiest road for the two of us.

there were road blocks, then ups, then downs, and finally, after a goooood long time, we are here.

i am 16 weeks and things are looking pretty great!

lil nugget is healthy (as far as we can tell), she/he's passed all the tests so far, and!! the sickness is finally letting up. i still get waves of gross, but honestly, i kinda cherish(ed) it.

being morning (noon, evening, night, middle of the night) sick meant that my baby was healthy and sending out tons of prego hormones that in turn made me feel sick. so, when i felt sick, i felt good about it.

it's weird, i know.

this is the first real "hey!! i'm having a baby!" for me. and it's a little stress inducing, honestly.

if you follow me on instagram, i guess i haven't been keeping it a secret there, but facebook still isn't any wiser. and i actually think i like it that way, at least for now. (here comes a tangent.) i just don't like fb. and i'm sure you do, bc i'm sure i'm the only one who doesn't, but we just don't get along very well. so i side-eye it and keep a little distance.

my husband and i have been so nervous (more so in the beginning, less and less so now but it's definitely still there) that things weren't going to end the way we hope and pray. when a women gets preg, she's like hell yeah. in 9 months i'll have a baby to hold! but sometimes that doesn't happen for whatever God's reasons are, and it smarts like you wouldn't even believe. and so.

when the miracle of life happens again, your naivety has been robbed and you're cautious. even more than, you're down right scared.

we didn't even tell our families until we were 10.5 weeks. and close friends not until 12, not even my besties! and everyone else, we've been trickling out the good news since.

and there's no hiding it now with a belly that looks like a chipotle burrito and a half!

but that's one tough secret to keep in the summer time. seriously. fruity cocktails and teeny bikinis are lurking around every corner!

so. along with the nerves, has been my reluctance to purchase anything for baby.

until today!

hoorah!

after work i'm headed to pick up this beauty.

thanks, friend craigslist.

to snuggle and feed and rock my little nugget in for days and nights on end.

vintage and quirky and wooden perfectness,

that fits in perfectly in both of my secret pinterest boards. one girl, and one boy.

i think this was the beginning and now, maybe the flood gates have been opened?! ha.

and in true fashion, the whole time i was writing this, i was thinking to myself... gosh. i probably shouldn't be doing this. so if i could ask you for anything, just keep us in your prayers. hopefully God's plans and our plans are aligned and come mid-march, i'll meet him or her.

and so there you have it.

a nice little essay for my first day back in like 2 months.

:)

JILL

desert rose.

oh yes.

hi there.

i'm still here. and i can't even imagine why you'd still be stopping by... i've been such a bad, bad blogger. but i think this year and i have finally come to terms. i've been feeling so unsettled and a little restless, honestly sitting there waiting for the next shitty thing to come my way because that's how we started out! and it definitely took some time for the 2 of us to reconcile but we made it! and i think we're here on the other side!!!

i can't guarantee that i'll be back every single day, because to be honest, coming up with something earth-shatteringly awesome for you everyday was getting tougher and tougher.

perhaps that means when i am back, it's better stuff!? one can only hope :)

and this isn't even mine, but i saw it on 100layercakelet

and i thought it was so pretty.

it doesn't even have to be for a little girl.

i'd take this and make it mine!!

the only thing i might add to it is a small dose of saturated color and a few more patterns. i am still me, after all. and maybe some more pink!

and where better to find such things?

amber interior's shoppe!

this is what i'd add.

1 and 2.

and you can find all the sources from up above right here.

happy friday!!

and i'll be back in a bit with the regularly scheduled flowers.

2 posts in one day!?

i know i know, what can i say?

JILL

for the boys:

i like kid bedrooms that have a healthy dose of adult furniture and maturity, with an even healthier dose of kid. all mixed together.

anything too juvenile, i'm not so much a fan.

anything too serious and staunch, also not a fan.

kids need to be able to be kids in their room, with a space that will let their imagination grow free. with color and whimsy. but i also like that smooshed in with furniture that isn't cheap, that you aren't going to replace in 2 years, that will grow with them until they move on to college, if you so choose to keep it around that long.

ones that don't scream 'baby' or 'child.'

know what i mean?

this weekend i was on society6 looking for art for my family room/den/whatever you call it.

i came across artist greg guillemin.

he does pop art of some of your favorite super heroes.

(some a little raunchy (!) but also some that you could squeeze in a little boy's room).

after i saw these, i wished i had a little boys room to decorate.

batman and spiderman brushing their teeth:

find here and here.

and batman and spiderman eating their favorite junk food:

find here and here.

i thought they'd be cute hung in pairs, or alone.

mixed in to a gallery wall, or alone.

i wouldn't put them in a super hero themed room, because i don't think i'd ever do one of those, but mixed in with other stuff and i think they'd be kinda rad.

like this child's room i've had saved on pinterest for forever:

(sorrry, source unknown, via pinterest)

complete with spiderman sheets on his big boy bed.

how do you like your kids' rooms?

hope you had a great weekend.

JILL

new dolls in town.

i have my cousin's 2 baby girls in the family.

one is 2, the other is 7 months.

you know my obsession with making dolls, as seen here,

so a day before christmas i decided i wanted to make some to give to the girls.

i love the ones jenny komenda made so i modeled them after hers.

i used only fabric i had in my stash, only running to hobby lobby for the pink and purple felt.

i think i was most excited for their hair :)

i didn't know exactly how the first one would turn out so i didn't even pause to take a photo. just when it was 80% finished.

voila.

i was kinda in love.

so i rushed to make the second.

as you know, i like color. and i like pattern. and i kinda like it when those two things are crazy and not totally matching, alot. so that's what i did.

once i get to a point where i'm almost finished, i get scared to do anything else for fear that i'll ruin the good thing i have going. so i almost left them without a face... but my mom thought that might creep the girls out.

so i pushed on to make their faces.

and i actually thought i ruined them, with those with those big, blank, hollow eyes... but waited until they had a mouth to decide if i needed a re-do... 

and thankfully, that's all that was needed.

a cute little, french, pink, puckered pout.

(made with a sharpie. i almost lost it, because what's more permanent than a permanent marker?)

getting packaged up to meet their little ladies.

and.....

approval!!

they loved them.

and so did my cousin :)

did you all have a great christmas?

were there any homemade dolls amongst you?

JILL

for little dudes.

i'm back :)

things are better.

still don't know a ton, but husband is better and feeling like himself.

and that makes me better in return.

i'll fill you in at a later date. i want space between it and here.

but i have a really fun little boys room worked up for ya.

using my most absolute favorite wallpaper from anthro.

it's little boy-sy but not cute-sy.

just the way i like it.

if you want the sources for any of this good stuff, email me.

sorry i just got too lazy to include it.

but one more time, let's look at the best part:

this wallpaper kills me.

i also kinda wish i could afford to do one of my bathrooms in this luscious stuff.

i love it so much.

like vintage-african-safari-boys-club-glamping smooshed onto wallpaper.

hope you have a splendid thursday.

JILL

land of nod.

when did land of nod become a great place for some not totally kid-like stuff?

right?!?!?!

i love all of these.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

and this 'between a rock' lamp. in gold!!

i just acquired/bought 3 news lamps for my house...

so i'm not in any lighting need, but for only $69, i'm so tempted to snag one.

these are cool. here and here.

YES.

here.

and i want him.

same with pottery barn teen.

that place is a gold mine, too sometimes.

happy tuesday.

hope you had a good weekend.

JILL

my little hero

over the weekend my sweet friend had a baby shower for her first little baby nugget.

it's a girl and she's due here in a few weeks.

i found these super bunnies on pinterest and almost died. they were everything... the most adorable super hero i've seen to date.

so i followed the link back to the website of the woman who makes these sweet little bunnies. i wanted to get one for baby-on-the-way.

well. turns out that she's a french super bunny and i couldn't read her website... in french.

so next option-- i thought i might try to make my own little super hero.

and i did.

and here she is:

with the cutest little pink knit stockings. ever.

(they were made from a sweater dress i had in my closet. this dress was one of my favorite things but it got a giant unfixable snag in it, and i never could bring myself to throw it away. so now it lives on in super hero form. and that makes me happy.)

and cape.

i was so nervous to give her this super bunny.

seriously, as she was opening it up my stomach was doing flips and my cheeks turned red.

i didn't want it to look too hokey and homemade.

but she loved it, and everyone else did, too.

and that's all that matters.

sorry i was mia yesterday,

i was at a very long, very boring work show.

love!

(and sorry for the bad phone pics.)

JILL

the look for less.

i'm back!

we didn't get internet at work until last night around 9.

turns out it wasn't our server, it was something something something (i have no idea what i'm talking about), but our entire city block was out and at&t was running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

bad visual. but it gets the job done.

they! got the job done.

finally.

try working without the internet. it's like working in the dark. honest.

back to our regularly scheduled programming.......

wallpaper is expensive.

expensive.

but you can get the same look for a little bit less!

i obsess over this room.

like obsess.

i love the black. i love how it's big girl pattern in a little girl's space.

i love how sophisticated it is for a kid but black polka dots bring it right back down a smidge. it's a little unexpected, but i've come to find that i am a #1 fan of the unexpected.

so yeah.

this might be happening in the future if i have a daughter.

more than probable, actually.

it'll happen.

{i'm screaming}

IT'S SO PRETTYYYYYYYY!!!

SO PRETTTTYYYYY.

sanderson sweet bay magnolia wallpaper.

it's a paper made in the uk. i found it online anywhere from $50-60 a roll. (not terrible, but for a room the size of above, there will be lots and lots of rolls.....)

but it's gorgeous and if you can swing it, by all means swing it!

unless you can sleuth out these 2 almost identical (actually, i like one of them better!!) for less:

(this one, i like this one better! throws a bit of pinky-lavender into the mix.)

ashford house, #YV9001.

found it online for about $30 a roll.

that's half folks. half the cost of the sanderson paper.

and it's SO PRETTY, TOOOOO!!!

hooha!

and then there's this one:

strikingly similar to sanderson, no?

york green black AD8202, magnolia vine.

found it between $90 (yikes) and $35 online, per roll.

then we come to the wildly popular, blogged about to death, cole and sons hummingbirds in aqua.

so dreamy, ethereal and whimsical-ly.

and this room below, God i love it with those bright orange/red josef albers prints.

it's good.

cole and sons, hummingbirds in aqua.

this paper will set you back between $115-150 a roll online.

but then thibaut comes up with their similar but everybit as whimsical rendition:

thibaut augustine paper, top in aqua and below in the blue coloway.

this baby will run you around $85 a roll. better than cole and sons, but still not super affordable.

 but it's just so cute!

so like i said, if you can swing it, by all means, swing it!!

i've died and gone to wallpaper heaven with that black magnolia stuff up there.

i'm smitten.

JILL

bad bad blogger.

i'm a terrible horrible person because i haven't taken a single photo of my kitchen to share with you as i had promised... like on 4 separate occasions.

this week there was actual rain.

we haven't had rain in 4503 months.

and the sky wasn't blazing with the sun, we had an actual cloudy day!

alleluia.

but some cloudy days = not the best situation to take pictures in my old little rancher.

and by the time i got home from work on the sunny days, it was still too dark in my wee little kitchen to take any sort of a descent photo and i'm too lazy to do that junk before work.

next week?

but i do have a new-to-me blog to share with you all.

and it might just be new to you too.

design-crisis.

i just found it because pinterest had some of these photos that erin williamson just shared with her new house in austin. on the blog. check it.

i fell in love.

went to her blog and read back through months of posts (i love it when that happens!)

and is it corny to say that i think i just found my decor soul mate?

she rocks.

some examples:

this has just become the new inspiration for our master bedroom: 

i'm all over it.

anywho.

there's some weekend reading for ya.

happy friday.

headed to the lake with my husband's family

and i'm excited.

JILL

from morning til night

there is so much beauty in nature.

if we take the sun, the moon and the stars alone artists could have enough material for the rest of time.

i have said it here before but i was a biology major in college for the sole reason that i think nature is beyond fascinating. no human will ever know everything there is to know. astronomy is a realm of that that sort of scares me because of how big it is, but it sure is beautiful.

if i ever have a little boy, i can certainly imagine one or two of these hanging in his room:

(i don't have good sources for all of these unfortunately, because alot of them i've saved over the years from flickr)

nasa*

archiewahwah tumblr

flickr

nasa*

double merrick

flickr

ffffound

map of the northern constellations

vintage printables

kone10

here

nasa*

amazon

and this one is by far and away my favorite.

i want it bad.

part nature. part rock n roll. equal parts awesome. 

this will hang on a wall in my house.

found it on we heart it.

and unfortunately i cannot find it anymore.

but i'm not done searching.

*some of these are from one of the cooler sites on the web.

nasa has a site that displays a picture a day, astronomy related, and then explains it a little. they've been doing it since 1995 and i think that's pretty rad.

love you guys to the moon and back.

JILL