LAST CHANCE!!!

LAST CHANCE!

 As some of you might know, Google Reader is shutting down from the 1st of July and as from that date, you will lose the list of blogs you follow. I personally use Bloglovin’, as most of you, but for those of you who don’t, you can easily transfer the list of all the blogs you already follow so you don’t miss out.

Here is how to import all the blogs you follow from Google Reader to Bloglovin’ …Don’t forget to follow LoveOlympiaJune! and follow me here:  Bloglovin at LoveOlympiaJune

A New Ottoman

I recently had to update our chevron ottoman (maybe "had" is a bit of a strong word). And it's not like chevron is going out of style, but I thought it was too much for our family room so I went to JoAnn's with the little one's and bought some new fabric.

Here's my little helper!! :)

After a little bit of deliberation and talking with my oldest about which fabric would work best in our family room, I narrowed it down to a deep navy fabric for less than $4.00 a yard. Can't beat that price!

I also bought some gold embellishment to add to the ottoman for $.50 a yard. Great deal!

Oh...and I searched GoodWill and stumbled upon a smaller ottoman that would fit our space better for about $8.00. So the total was less than $15.00 for a new ottoman and update.

Here is what I came up with:

I cut the fabric into 5 equal pieces and stapled them neatly to the ottoman.

Then I hot glued the gold trim for extra pizazz!

It looks so good and we love resting our feet on it while hanging out in this spot.

I'm also loving our new family room arrangement. It works much better with the flow of our home.

And if you are wondering what I did with the chevron ottoman...well, I have it upstairs in our bedroom under my desk. It works great there!

What do you think about ottomans? Do you use them in your home?

Thanks for stopping by!

A Happy BIRTHDAY!!!

Well, today our oldest turns 2!!!

I seriously cannot believe it...I know a lot of parents say that about their kiddos, but it really is a true statement. Time flies (even though it didn't seem like it when I was a young kid).

Our oldest is really a sweet and intelligent little thing. Before she turned 2 (when she was about 18 months old actually), she was able to locate shapes and colors in a matching game...and we are talking about working with hexagons, octagons, and 9 sided-shapes...not just circles and squares! She has also picked up so many vocabulary words in just the past few weeks, it's crazy. And she has been able to find her shoes and put them on all by herself since she was 19 months old. 

Hey! Don't all mothers like to brag about their children...why can't I? :)

Before our daughter was born, I would journal about my day to her (which I still do occasionally when I have the time). It is fun to look back at that journal and read it to my sweet girl before her naps or before bedtime hoping she will cherish such written memories as the days, months, and years continue. 

Tessa, you truly have been mommy and daddy's sweet gift to us and the world. You take such good care of your little sister and we delight in watching you learn and grow each day. We always pray that as you grow, you come to know the love of Christ and His involvement in your life. May you walk in His ways and be a light to others. We love you so much baby (even though you aren't a baby anymore, I still love calling you that!) and thank you for making us smile and allowing us to learn more about parenting than we ever thought possbile. We LOVE you!!

Happy Birthday baby girl! You turn 2 today!

 My husband and I feel truly blessed to be able to raise our daughters together and we are so thankful for another wonderful year with our girls.

Quick Post and Projects for the Week

Good morning everyone!

We have had a pretty busy week and weekend so far but it was so much fun.

Family visited and the girls had a good time with them as well as my husband and I! It's always hard to see them leave but we are so grateful for their visit.

I just wanted to write a quick post today to let you know about some of my upcoming projects for the week....stay tuned for more DIY projects and plenty of pictures to share! :)

Also, tomorrow is my daughter's birthday...she will be 2, so tomorrow's post will be all about her!

Thanks so much for reading and following along if you do.

I really do LOVE...and I mean LOVE...having my readers feel inspired by my projects and thanks so much for the sweet comments you have posted over the year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Super Fun Kid's Birthday PaRtY!! and I'm Co-Hosting

Hi everyone!

Did you have a great weekend?

My husband's family came up to visit us this weekend and today is their last day here with us so we had (and are still having) a good weekend with them. We got to go to a few parks in the area, ate out at some great restaurants, and got to spend some good quality time together. It would be nice if family lived closer to us...but it makes their visit all the more sweeter.

Remember when I told you about that birthday party my family and I were going to last week where there were going to be animals and such? Well, I have some pictures of that party to share with you. It was quite the party for the kids as well as adults! Not sure I would ever go that far throwing a birthday party for my girls, but it was fun for them and for us.

Here are some pictures to share with you:

This little guy was such a cutie-patootie!!!

My oldest daughter loved him!

Looking at the little piggies! 

They were quite the fascination for the little ones and rightfully so...look how cute they are and tiny!

There was a bounce house that a lot of the older kids loved...it was where most of the older kiddos spent their time as well.

Although, my daughter was not a fan of checking it out...she liked the animals and the food more. :) That's our girl!

BALLOONS!!!

And there's me with our youngest little munchkin...cutie!! :)

And I am also co-hosting today with some other ladies in a blog hop!

Check it out!

Thank you to all who linked up during The Lady's Blog Hop #1.
Welcome to the NEW and improved Bi-Monthly blog hop party
and I am your Co-Host Stephanie from LoveOlympiaJune.blogspot.com
If you want to meet awesome people and gain followers come and join the party.

<div align="center"> <a href="http://thirtythree80.blogspot.com/" title="I'm the ThirtyThree 80 Lady"><img src="http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa402/CraftersReference/3380Giveaway/bloghoplogo_zps6dfdcf2e.png" alt="I'm the ThirtyThree 80 Lady" style="border:none;" /></a></div>  

(You can follow below. Just click on our names!)

Sofa Table...to DIY or Not?

We have a blank space behind our sofa right now and it would make sense to add a sofa table behind it.

Plus, it would give our room a little more division between the entryway and the family room.

I have seen many people in blogland make their sofa tables and it looks easy and fun and I definitely think I would enjoy building ours...but if I can find one at the local thrift store for under $20 or $15, I would buy it in a heartbeat!!

Other pluses to having a sofa table is that it will provide much needed storage for our family.

Who doesn't need more storage?

Kind of sad right now, right?

Ideally, I am looking to get a sofa table that is taller and wider and one that has storage space underneath. For now, this one is going to do until I find the one...or until I get the materials to make one.

I am digging this sofa table from IKEA. I think I could make one pretty similar to it...but I would stain it to a darker color.

I love this one from Lowe's! And the pull out drawer up top is great too! The price, not so much.

This sofa table is in a good price range all things considered, but I'm still not willing to pay that much for one.

Target always has cute furniture which is a great starting point for where I want to go with our sofa table.

Do you have storage behind your couch?

If so, what kind?

Thanks for stopping by!

Empty Wall and Sort-Of Blank Canvas

Well, this one little space in our entryway is still a "blank canvas."

I still want to keep the gallery wall and possibly the small wooden chair in that area...

I have an idea about what to do with the space...wanna hear it?!

Good! Cause here is what I was thinking...

I was thinking about adding more board and batten so we and guests can keep our jackets and bags....plus, as our family is expanding, it might make sense to do that.

 

I was thinking about something like what is pictured above except I would add hooks to hang coats and things, that way I can still keep the gallery wall of pictures and just add them to the top of the board and batten.

What do you think?

Does adding more wall space for jackets and things make sense?

Thanks for stopping by!

Shoe Storage Arrangement

So here is where I am at right now with our shoe storage.

I've got one next to the painted TV stand and

the other one by our front door (the most practical space for it).

Ideally, I would have placed both of the storage systems by our front door but their just isn't enough space. Boo hoo!!

For now it makes sense to keep them in their respective spaces unless I figure out something else...but for now, I have no other place to keep them and I'm rather fine with that. Like I said, it makes sense for at least one of them to be by our front door.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the space where the shoe storage systems use to be...I will think of something creative and useful!

Thanks for stopping by!

It's Always in the Details

So after posting about some new changes around our house, I thought it was fitting today to post about some little changes I have made over the past few weeks.

Details do make a difference when it comes to decorating...at least that is what I've heard and I think it is true! :)

Here are some of the little projects I've completed over the past few weeks:

I moved our IKEA shoe storage around and added some pillows to the couch which I took from our kitchen nook.

I added this cute little yellow basket to the chalkboard wall for holding chalk.

It's great for making grocery lists and writing sweet notes to my husband (actually it's the other way around...he always writes me notes!)

And occasionally my daugther and I like to draw on it together.

I also added this big Gator football frame to our bookshelves.

The bigger frame makes a bigger impact on the decor and I like it!

I added this lamp to my desk for extra lighting.

How do you incorporate details into your home decorating?

Thanks for stopping by!

Entryway Idea FAIL....

Well, last week I posted about an inspirational entryway that I planned to duplicate a little bit....

well, that plan failed a bit! Does that ever happen to you...you see a picture on another blog or in a magazine and think "Yeah, I'm gonna do that!" and then, as it turns out, the end result doesn't work out like you thought it would?

But there is always a back-up plan thankfully!

It should come as no surprise to you (and to my husband for that matter!) that I LOVE to move furniture around in our home. It's amazing what a little rearranging will do.

Here is what our entryway use to look like:

 

And the entryway by our door use to look like this:

 

So it just didn't make sense to me that our IKEA shoe storage wasn't by our front door.

So I moved it!! 

 Problem solved, right!?

So here is where I am right now as far as moving things around goes:

I still have more pictures to share with you about the new arrangement.

And yes, we do have 2 shoe storage systems...stay tuned to see where the other one went.

Also, I repainted the shoe storage systems with a custom color I mixed together. I'm not really feeling the new color so it may get painted again to an off-white, or navy color....who knows at this point!!!

Are you as indecisive as me?

I hope so, so I can feel a little better about myself and my impulsive decisions. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Posts in the Next Week

Happy Friday all!

This will be a short post because I am working on some posts and projects for next week.

I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Friday and hope you have a great weekend!

We will be attending a birthday party this weekend which should be fun. Our friends are going to have a petting zoo set up IN THEIR BACKYARD!!! as well as a dunking booth for dads. Should be interested and maybe this time I will remember to take some pictures! :)

Take care everyone!

Thanks for stopping by!

Grass Cloth Wall Idea

 I'm sure my husband is going to read today's post and say, "Really? You are thinking about doing what to the wall?"

Hehe!!

I'm actually not doing anything to our walls...but a few months ago I came across a blog called The Hunted Interior (which took me literally 30 minutes to find the picture I was looking for because I forgot the name of this blog)....and fell in LOVE with her accent wall...

Kristin (who blogs at the Hunted Interior) doesn't have an entryway, but she sure created a BIG statement with that wallpaper.

I'm still searching her blog for the details, but I would love to do something like this in our entryway.

Or maybe I could just paint our shoe storage.

Here is our entryway....

Sigh! Not anywhere near Kristin's decorating skills, but she gives me great inspiration!

Sorry for the dark photo...I did take this at night. ;)

Have you ever used wallpaper before?

Any success?

Thanks for stopping by!

Beautiful Mess

Good morning and happy Friday everyone!

I still like to occasionally post lyrics to songs that I enjoy listening to and this one on the blog today is no different!

I must say that until a few years ago, I have become a big country song fan and while listening to the country radio one day a song came on the radio called "Beautiful Mess." Have you heard of it? 

The radio station didn't say the name of the group who sang that song so I had to look it up online to find out. The band's name is Diamond Rio and apparently this song came out in 2002! Oops, I thought it was by a new artist! Hehe! 

Like I said before, I just recently came to really like country music so it's new to me. :)

Here are the lyrics and below is the link to the video:

Going out of my mind these days
Like I’m walking round in a haze
I can’t think straight, I can’t concentrate
And I need to shave
I go to work and I look tired
The boss man said son you gonna get fired
This ain’t your style and behind my coffee cup
I just smile
What a beautiful mess, what a beautiful mess
I’m in spending all my time with you
There’s nothing else I’d rather do
What a sweet addiction that I’m caught up in
Cause I can’t get enough
Can’t stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful mess
What a beautiful mess I’m in
This morning put salt in my coffee
I put my shoes on the wrong feet
I’m losen my mind
I swear, it might be the death of me
But I don’t care
What a beautiful mess, what a beautiful mess
I’m in spending all my time with you
There’s nothing else I’d rather do
What a sweet addiction that I’m caught up in
Cause I can’t get enough
Can’t stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful mess
What a beautiful mess I’m in
Is it your eyes, is it your smile
All I know is that your driven me wild
What a beautiful mess, what a beautiful mess
I’m in spending all my time with you
There’s nothing else I’d rather do
What a sweet addiction that I’m caught up in
Cause I can’t get enough
Can’t stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful mess
What a beautiful mess I’m in
What a beautiful mess, what a beautiful mess
I’m in spending all my time with you
There’s nothing else I’d rather do
What a sweet addiction that I’m caught up in
Cause I can’t get enough
Can’t stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful mess
What a beautiful mess I’m in

Go here for the official video.

It's seriously such a catchy song, right?

Have you heard it before?

Have a great Friday and thanks for stopping by!

Framing Our Laptop

So there are many joys of having little ones....sometimes, however, those little toddler hands like to get into all sorts of things. :)

To help explain this post a little bit better, I will start by saying that a few years ago my husband and I purchased a laptop that was on sale. Once we had our first-born, all bets were off when it came to allowing her to get in and around certain things...hehe!

One day the family laptop was sitting out in clear view of our daughter and she began playing with it. I thought it was cute the way she acted like she was making some important business decisions on the computer (in fact, I even took some photos of it all!)...that is until she pushed the screen of the laptop all the way back in a way laptops shouldn't be handled and next thing I knew it, I heard a loud "Click"!

And so began the search for something to help keep the laptop together (which is cheaper than buying a new one...are ya with me on that one?!).

I should probably dust the screen off a little bit! Oops!! :)

We needed some kind of solution to help our computer.
 This is where some side clamps came in that my husband bought to keep the laptop together.

It worked well for a few months, but then little miss got her hands on the laptop again and SNAP!! We needed something a little bit better to hold our computer together.

This frame is sure to hold the laptop screen in place, right?! :)

Now all that is left to do with the frame is paint and decorate it! Yeah!!

Do you have a similar story to share about cute little toddlers and their independence to want to get into things?

Thanks for stopping by!