The Tuesday Breeze

Tuesday breeze because I’m hoping you’ll let me just shoot the breeze with ya today because… 

It’s been realll sa-lowwww around these parts.  My typically busy brain can’t handle more than one thought at a time and that brain has needed a nap almost everyday which means that my productive time, nap time, has been productive in a whole ‘nother way and that way involves my head on a pillow.  With that said, things might be a little smorgasboard-y on the blog here in the next few weeks before baby girl arrives and probably after too.  I’ve got a few posts lined up post-baby thanks to the help of some of my favorite people and I’m hoping to squeeze in a couple of posts on the headboard that we’re halfway done making next week and the week after.  Speaking of, last Saturday night while Anthony was away for work, I was tufting:
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That tufted beauty once looked like this big ‘ole piece of plywood…
IMG_3707…and will go up as high as that line of tape on the wall behind our bed.

I’ve mentioned maybe once or twice recently that we will have a comfy headboard to rest our backs upon before this baby arrives.  All of my will and brain power are being directed to that sole intention.  Right now it’s sitting against the dresser in our room, all tufted and stapled.  Next up are the two arms that will flank its sides and then we’ll be retro-fitting it to our existing bed frame.  I can’t wait to write up the tutorial!  I’ve been trying to be very diligent on taking pictures throughout the process so that anyone who doesn’t want to or simply can’t (our hands go all the way up) spend hundreds of bucks on a luxe headboard can just go right ahead and make one for a fraction of the price.  You know how I do…


We finally hung the string lights we’ve had for months and months outside on our new screened-in patio!
IMG_7848I didn’t take pictures during the process because it was a quick, albeit nerve-wracking ordeal.  We actually started one night but, after getting one strand up with the technique we were using, quit after that one fell and a few of the bulbs shattered.  We had to reevaluate how we were going to hang them and ended up putting aluminum (anti-rust) screws in where we wanted the strands to attach to the walls, stringing fishing line from screw to screw, attaching the small hooks on each bulb to the fishing line, and then securing each strand to the screws with a small piece of wire.  It was a lot more complicated than I thought it would be and something I never want to do again.  But, the lighting is magical.  The space?  Not so much.  All of the upholstery has yet to be brightened up, the big wall on the left is waiting for me to find the perfect thrift store picture for a project, and I want to toss more pillows and plants in before anything is stamped ‘done’.  Check back in a few years.  ;)


Balayage.  I’ve been pinning and saving inspiration pics for awhile, seeking the advice of my pro-stylist cousin, Kendra, and just waiting for a free moment to jump on that train.  My hair has naturally grown out to a sort of balayage with the ebb and flow of coloring and not coloring over periods of time but I wanted it a little lighter for summer at the ends so I tried to DIY it last week and am so happy with how it turned out.  (I tried it a couple of months back too but didn’t leave the color on long enough to make a difference.)  I shared this after picture on Instagram:IMG_3666

And here’s another (poorly timed) shot after the fact that might show the results better:
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I’ve gotten a good amount of requests for a tutorial and that I will do the next time I do it but until then, if you’re wanting to try it, go for it!  Kilee at One Little Momma has an awesome tutorial for DIY ombre that is basically what I used except that I added a few streaks of color all the way up to the root around the crown of my head.  Also, hers is for short hair but for long hair like mine, I just colored higher – I blended the color up to around the bottom of my nose.  I use the same Kaliedocolors powder she uses mixed with a 20 volume developer by Clairol that I get at Sally Beauty.  I’ve used this stuff to color my own hair for years and LOVE it.  I left the color on my hair without adding heat for about 45 minutes and that amount of time was perfect.


Bean In Love Studio, my pillow cover shop, will be on vacation mode starting Thursday so that I can do important things like pack a hospital bag and get out all the newborn clothes but, use coupon code ‘ohbaby’ to get 20% off any order over $25 until tomorrow.  If I get all my important stuff done before labor starts, I might hold a little flash sale on the shop’s Instagram feed to empty out all of the covers already made so you might want to be on the look-out for that.  :)


Last but not least, give me all your best name recommendations.  I have a little someone who might be in the market…  IMG_3849We’re having a hard time agreeing on names we like, Anthony and I, and while we’ll wait to see her face before we stamp her with a life-long title, we still like to have a list and, right now, that list is pretty short.  As of last Friday, I’m at least two centimeters dilated currently so we might have a bit of time and we might not. 


Welp, that’s it for today.  More easy, breezy posts coming your way soon – a few recent yard sale finds and more updates on what has been bumpin’ up in this casa.  Exciting stuff, I tell ya.  ;) 

12 comments

  1. What perfect timing! You should check out Simcha's article for some super adorable ideas that fit with your kiddos' names. Zelie? Vianney? Faustina? Can't wait to hear with what you name her. :)
    http://aleteia.org/2016/05/17/from-ambrose-to-zelie-for-catholic-babies-old-is-the-new-new/

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  2. Ooooh, you should have Kate at Sancta Nomina do a write up for you guys. You have such great names for your current crew, she'll have a blast trying to figure you out.

    My humble suggestions: Francisca, Aurelia, Leonie, Maris, and Zelie. (But I'm a little over Zelie because it's so hot right now.)

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    1. Whoa! Those are amazing and names I've never heard of (besides Zelie and yep, it might be a little too popular right now for me too even though I love it). Thanks Jenny!

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  3. ^^^Love all of Jenny's suggestions for you guys!

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    1. Let's just say I'm a little more adventurous then Dave, hence our very saintly but rather mild mannered family nomenclature. ;)

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  4. love everything in this post & I can't wait to see the finished product for the headboard! I missed something: how/when did you build the screened in porch? I've been dreaming of one since I was a little girl and you've piqued my curiosity...was this a DIY project? or did you have to hire contractors (aka shell out $$$)? Gianna has been at the top of my list of girl names for a while :)

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    1. We put on the screened-in porch last fall Kathleen! It was kind of a nightmare after it went up because we realized that we had water issues (the chimney on the roof above the porch was rotted and leaking into the porch) and so I didn't mention it until fairly recently after we got the water problems fixed and it looked livable. :) It is a dream though now that it's done! I can see why it's one of yours! We saved up for a couple of years to build it and went back-and-forth between doing it ourselves and having it done but ended up hiring it out. The price difference between buying a kit and hiring it out was about $1000 initially but then went down to around $400 or so after the company we ended up going with used some ceiling tiles leftover from another job, saving us lots! They had it done from start to finish in three days and it would've taken us a good month so, in the end, while it wasn't easy to shell out extra money when we knew we could do it ourselves, it was worth it. And Gianna! That is Anthony's favorite too and it would be her name if it was solely up to him! :) I love it too but I know at least three of them right now so that makes it tough for me... But, we'll see. It's definitely on the list.

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    2. I love the porch! I will continue to dream about mine :) We are putting in AC this year, so a porch is not in the works for us in the next few years...We live in NJ, just 30 miles from NYC, where everything is expensive, and the estimates I got on porches are $15,000 to $20,000 (GULP).

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    3. Whoa! Gulp is right! I forgot to mention specifics in my last comment...ours ended up being about $4200 but it's aluminum and not wood. Wood is kind of cooler, in my opinion, but the aluminum will last forever and it is at LEAST half the price. Also, we didn't have to tie into the roof which saved us a ton too. It just extends out from the bottom of the roofline - so many things I learned about screened-in additions. Haha! :) Funny that you mentioned your AC. We had planned to do this a year earlier after saving up the money and then our AC and heat went out too! All that hard-saved cash went to a new system. That was tortuous. I feel your pain. :(

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    4. Yeah I know, things are so crazy expensive here!! We live in a 1,100 sq foot 2 BR 1 BA cottage that was built in 1889 which I ADORE, but for what we paid for this little old house, we could have bought a McMansion in many other states in this country...but this is our home and I grew up here and my family is here, and I love that we can take full advantage of everything that NYC has to offer and be so close to beautiful beaches, so NJ is where we're staying :)
      I did not know you can buy screen in porch kits that don't tie to the roof!! You have opened a whole new world for me. Maybe my dream of a screened in porch isn't so far off :D

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  5. Since you have two "S" names, maybe another C? Cosima, Cordelia, Coraline, Cosette, Charis?

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