Road Trip Fun

On Friday when I posted about my cousin's wedding (read here in case you missed it), I didn't tell you that we made a little detour on our way to Chatt-town.  My sister and her boyfriend and I made a pit stop in Atlanta before we headed to Chattanooga.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for him!), the hubby wasn't able to make it.  He is on a road trip of his own with his buddies out west.  So, I am on my own for 10 nights.  For a scardy cat like me, this is a LONG time.  Friday night I slept only 3 hours WITH THE LIGHTS on!  I think I've seen too many crime shows, but anyway, back to my road trip...

What were you doing in Atlanta, you ask?  Well, my sister and I had a list of things we HAD to get at IKEA.  And sadly, there's not one in Nashville.  Hopefully that will change one day.  I found some GREAT goodies for our house.

I got 3 of  everyone's favorite, the LACK floating wall shelf.  At $20 each, they are quite a bit cheaper than their Pottery Barn and West Elm counterparts!  I'm going to put these on the wall in our dining area  (check the "House Tour" tab to see where).  This is a totally blank wall that has been needing attention for some time.  I can't wait to style the shelves with accessories from around our house to add some interest to the room.  And of course I will add pictures when they're up!

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I also snagged a few of the RIBBA frames.  I'm not exactly sure where I'm going to use them yet,  but I will definitely find a place for them!

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As I was browsing the frames I came across these fun TVILLING prints.  And it's hard to tell from the picture, but the background is actually a great linen-looking print.  I thought they would make a great addition to our bedroom, where we currently have nothing but a mirror on the walls (see our bedroom here).  And at $9 for the set of 2, they were quite the steal!

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Another bargain I found was the BARBAR tray for just $3.99.  I'm loving the gray and white stripes.  It's the perfect size to put in our bathroom to corral the items on our countertop. 

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I also found some adorable plant pots.  The first was the SKURAR plant pot for $2.99.  Wow!  I love how it looks like lace goes around the top of the pot.  Very feminine and pretty!

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I also snaggged the SOCKER plant pot and for $0.79 it surely didn't break the bank!  I love the galvanized look of the pot.

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I also got 2 fake plants (no green thumbs around here) to put in them, but I wasn't able to figure out which ones they were on the website.  These will make a great addition to any room of our house! I can't wait to find a spot for these and all of my purchases!

Wedding Bells

Happy Friday everybody!  Today I'm heading to my cousin's wedding in Chattanooga.  This event has been about a year in the making.  I know that Anne has done a lot of planning, and I'm excited to see her vision carried out.

So in honor of the happy couple, here are a few of my favorite bride and groom shots from Pinterest.

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Congratulations Anne and Brandon! Enjoy every minute of your big day!



Happy First Day of Summer!

Well, today is officially the first day of summer. I spent the day hanging out with my 2 favorite little guys-my nephews!  I have the joy of keeping them every Thursday this summer and we've been having so much fun together!  

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I have already enjoyed one trip to the beach with the hubby's family.  We're hoping to be able to go again in a few weeks with my big crazy family.  I hope that you are able to take some time to relax and enjoy yourself.  Happy first day of summer!

Yard Sale Grand Total

Our yard sale Saturday was a  huge success!  We didn't let the rain stop us!  A big thank you to our family and friends for all of their help preparing for this.  We couldn't have done it without you.  We are so blessed with amazing family and friends.  We had MANY family members and friends who helped us for 12 + hours over the course of 2 days. 

Also, a BIG thank you to all of the sweet families who donated items to our yard sale.  The sale wouldn't have been possible without you.  We had over 35 families donate items to our yard sale!  Wow!

So, here's what you've really been waiting for...
Our grand total raised was...

over $3,000!

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Wow!  Amazing, right?  This money gets us one step closer to bringing our sweet Hayes home.  So, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

Yard Sale is Here!

Tomorrow is the big day for the yard sale benefitting our adoption.  If you've missed the previous posts about it, you can catch up here and here. 

So, come out and get a good deal (and who doesn't love a bargain) and support a good cause.  You can also buy your "Give Hope" t-shirts tomorrow before anyone else!  And let me tell you, this yard sale is going to be HUGE!    Details below!

Saturday, June 18th

7am-12pm

4510 Granny White Pike, Nashville

TONS of items for Sale!

Multiple TV's

Lots of furniture

Home decor

Office chairs

Lamps

Clothes

Kitchen appliances and supplies

Artwork

Holiday decor

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Junk in Your Trunk?

If in fact, you do have junk in your trunk, I know just the place for you to get rid of it!

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(Of course I meant this trunk. What did you think I was talking about?)

Just a reminder that we are having a yard sale to raise money for our adoption this Saturday from 7 AM to 12 PM. And if you live in the Nashville area and have items that you are looking to get rid of, you can drop them off tomorrow after 3:00 PM at 4510 Granny White Pike.

If you come to the yard sale, you can be among the very first ones to buy our awesome "Give Hope" t-shirts (They look very similar to the logo we featured in our online auction here). 

Hope to see you there!

Shake Yo' Hair Feathers!

Yes, the title of this post is a throw-back to Nelly for those of you who remember the unforgettable hit,  "Shake Yo Tailfeather."  Thanks to my friend Anna for the inspiration for this post!

I can officially say I've been "feathered."  In case you don't know what I'm talking about, see the pictures below....

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I mean, if Miley's doing it, it must be a good idea, right?

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Now, I'm in no way comparing myself to the lovely Jennifer Love Hewitt or Hilary Duff.  My feathers actually look very similar to this guy...

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There are many colors and sizes to choose from.  I went with a thick cream one with brown stripes and two thin ones.  One is a burnt orange color that the hair stylist thought looked good with my auburn hair and the other is a thin white one with black stripes.

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The hubby called to see what I was up to and this is how our conversation went:

Hubby: What are you up to?

Me: I just went and got feathers.

Hubby: Huh?  (followed by immediate laughter)

Me: Feathers for my hair

Hubby: (more laughter)

Me: Ask the girls that sit around you.  They'll know what I'm talking about.

Hubby (in background-Lacey, do you know what hair feathers are?).  She says she does.

Me: See!

Well, there you have it.  I think hair feathers are fun!  What about you?  Love em' or hate em'?



Nursery Art

Over the last few months, I've saved several of my favorite posters and prints that I think would be perfect for our nursery. 

I think this poster from theposterlist.com would be perfect for our nursery.  It would definitely showcase Hayes's rocker side!

I love this print from bomobob's etsy shop.  These bright colors would certainly liven up any nursery!

One of my earliest favorites is from inkpetals' etsy shop.  Nadia was kind enough to donate one of these to our Give Hope Adoption Auction (read about it here in case you missed it) AND she sent one for us to hang in our nursery as well!  I will think of her and all of our generous donators and buyers every time I look at it!

This was my favorite print from valentinadesign's etsy shop.  It has since sold, but she has MANY other amazing ones for sale, so check them out!

I LOVE this whimiscal print from jenskelley's etsy shop.  Now that I've decided to paint the nursery walls aqua (read about that here), it might blend in too much.  It's always an option for the playroom though!

This cool guitar print from MamasHouse's etsy shop would make a great addition to a boy nursery!  The yellow guitars would really stand out against the aqua blue nursery walls!

I already ordered this beautiful letterpress from 1canoe2's etsy shop.  It's a small print (at 5 x 7) that will pack a big punch in our nursery!  Perfect for his 2 Tennessean parents!

Early on in my search I found this beautiful print from thewheatfield's etsy shop.  It might be a little too girlie for our boy according to the hubby, but I will definitely keep it in mind in case we ever have baby girl Wayman!

This fabulous red Wayne Pate silkscreen print from goodshapedesign.com would really pop against the aqua walls in the nursery.  And since ya'll know I love birds, this one might be a contender!

Well, that's a few of the early contenders for Hayes's nursery art.  Which of these is your favorite?  Or do you have suggestions from your favorite websites and etsy shops?  Feel free to share them with me!

Early Nursery Plans

I know that it's a liittle early to be thinking about such things, but I'm WAY too excited to wait!  I have the basic ideas for little Hayes's nursery in mind.

I started off thinking that I wanted a very neutral nursery.  Something along these lines...

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But, I ended up finding my inspiration from my favorite nursery of all time (which I blogged about here) from Joni at laybabylay.  If you've never seen her blog, take time to look through each post.  Each nursery will blow you away!  This nursery happens to be a girl's nursery, so I'm going to change things up a bit.

Here are a few images for my inspiration!

My favorite parts of the nursery are (well, all of it, but if I HAD to choose):

• the aqua blue walls
• the black and white chevron rug
• the Jenny Lind spindle crib
• the French provincial dresser
• the angel wings above the mirror
• the gorgeous monogrammed valance panels

 I plan to use a shade of orange as an accent color instead of the pink in this room.  I would also love to have a beautiful sitting chair as well as a rocker like this nursery, but our room is too small for that.  She also has a tall black dresser (not pictured) in addition to the French provincial one, but we don't have room for both.  I don't want to overcrowd the tiny space!

I'm on the hunt for the perfect fabric for the crib.  Not sure what I want yet, but I'll know it when I see it!  If you experts have any ideas, let me know!

So there you have it!  There's a sneak peek into what I've been working up for Hayes!  Right now the future nursery is filled with items for our yard sale (read about it here in case you missed it!).  After we clear out that stuff, we can get crackin'!  Can't wait to get started!

Homestudy Paperwork is FINISHED!

FINALLY!  I'm thrilled to say that I submitted our homestudy paperwork to Bethany yesterday. It felt so good to turn it in!  It definitely took me longer than the average family since I was working full-time at the same time. I don't know how you mamas and working peeps do it!  But, I know that there's a reason and that God's timing will be PERFECT.

Of course our caseworker is on vacation for the next 2 weeks, so we can't start our home visits yet.  : (   But, I can keep working on our dossier, which I would say is about halfway finished.  I hope to have that paperwork completed and notarized in the next 2 weeks! 

The end of the paperchase is in sight!!!

Win a FREE Trip to Paris!!!

Okay, so even though I'm new to the blogging world, this HAS to be the best giveaway in blog history!!!

Jordan from the blog Oh Happy Day is doing a FABULOUS! giveaway to celebrate 5 years of blogging.  She wanted to do something fun to give back to her awesome readers.  The winner gets a 7 DAY TRIP FOR TWO TO PARIS, FRANCE!  This major giveaway includes: 7 nights stay at Mama Shelter, one of the hippest boutique hotels in Paris and roundtrip airfare from the continental United States to Paris,  France.  AND on top of that, Jordan will personally host the winner for two days and take them around to her favorite spots in Paris!

Now, have I got your attention?!  Pack your berets and striped shirts!

Here's how to enter (You may enter each way one time):

1. Leave a comment in the comment section of her post here

2. "Like" Oh Happy Day on Facebook (if you already "like" it, then you're already entered.)

3. Post a link on Twitter to this content page http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris and include the hashtag #ohhappydaygoestoparis

4. Repost a link to the contest page http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris on your own blog, then leave the link to that page in the comment section of her contest page.

The contest began 5:00 AM PST 6/6/11 and ends 11:59 PM PST 6/20/11. 

A few important details.  The trip must be completed by the end of 2011.  Also, the winner is responsible for any and all expenses beyond hotel and airfare.  You must be 18 years old to enter. 

If you win and you heard about it from me, you are also required to take me as your +1.  Okay, so that part is not true, but I'd be glad to accompany you! 

Good Luck!

Save Your Junk

If you've been doing some spring cleaning and want to donate your junk to a good cause, here's your chance!  We will be having a fundraising yard sale on Saturday, June 18th.  We are planning on having the yard sale at my parents house in Green Hills.  We would love to have everyone drop their items off at their house on Friday, June 17th (the day before the yard sale). If you are unable to do so, we will work out the pick-up of your items.

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We are still working out some of the details, but if you have items you would like to donate, please e-mail me at jenwayman@gmail.com and I will give you more information about the yard sale.  Every item donated will help us get one step closer to bringing our little Hayes home!  (And click here if you missed our big name annoucement!)