Seeing Stripes

I love stripes.  Like seriously, I'm obsessed.  You know it's pretty bad when your students point out that you wear stripes AT LEAST three days a week.  I love middle schoolers.  They notice everything!

I have had room stripe envy for some time now.  I somehow convinved the hubby that striping our hallway was a MUST!  Being the darling that he is, he dropped everything one weekend to help me. I am just the one who comes up with these grand plans.  He is the brains behind the operation.  Since I really had NO idea of where to start, I employed him to help me!

Here are a few awesome pictures of my stripe inspiration...

I first became smitten with stripes after seeing this bathroom from Young House Love.  I love the subtle tone on tone stripes.  I guess you could say it was love at first STRIPE!

These images from Abode Love were my favorite and my main source of inspiration!  Beautiful!

After seeing those photos, I decided the hallway was the room to stripe.   Here's a before shot of the hallway when we moved in...

Yikes!  Just look at that blue carpet and wallpaper.  Not to mention the eyesore of a fireplace in the middle of the dining room.  I don't really have a great shot of the hallway once we painted it gray, so this will have to do...

Step 1: Math Skills Required: Measuring- Measure the full length of your wall and divide that number by twice the number of stripes that you want to have minus one (ex: our wall is 90″ tall and we wanted seven horizontal stripes so we divided 90 by 15 (8 x 2 = 16 – 1 = 15) to get the thickness of each stripe. Ours came out to 6 inches.  You want an odd number of stripes so that the top and bottom are both the same color.
Step 2: Make Your Mark- Use a ruler to mark off every 6minches starting from the floor and working up to the ceiling
Step 3: Tape It Off- Grab some painter’s tape (We used Frog Tape) and connect your pencil markings to create taped off stripes (once the tape is in place rub it a few times so you know that it’s flush with the wall for cleaner lines). The main thing to remember is that the tape should go outside the marks for the stripes you’ll be painting but inside the marks in the negative space that you won’t be painting. Confused?  I know, that's why I had the hubby do it!

Step 4: Roll With It- Grab a good roller, some paint, and start rolling. Apply two even,thin coats of latex paint between the tape that’s further apart to create your stripes.
Step 5: Take it Off!- This is a VERY important step. It’s crucial that you remove every strip of tape as soon as you’re done with your second coat of paint while the paint is still wet.  Waiting to remove the tape until after the paint has fully dried will cause peeling and uneven lines that are less than crisp (which would make you want to cry after all that taping). As soon as your roller is down, start pulling that tape off the wall for a clean stripe that looks seamless and sleek.

There you have it!  Easy horizontal stripes, right?  The hallway has quickly become my favorite space in the house  It makes me so happy whenever I look at it!  Oh, and if you're wondering about our paint colors, our hallway was already Sterling by Behr.  For the stripe I chose Martha Stewart Precious Metals.
What about you, Wayman Family Nesters?  Stripes: love em' or hate em'?  And if you love em', what room in your house have you striped?

Home Study Meeting #1 In The Books

One down, two to go!  Our first homestudy meeting went very well today.  A big thank-you to all of my sweet friends that texted to ask about it or sent well wishes on Facebook.  I was pretty nervous, but quickly felt at ease with our social worker.

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First, she had us fill out some papwerwork.  For all of you fellow adoptive mamas, you know that this is all you seem to do!  Then, she took the "grand tour" of our house (those of you who have been to our tiny casa know that I'm joking since it's pretty tiny!). 

For the remainder of the time, she just asked us a bunch of questions about why we wanted to adopt, what led us to adopt first, etc.  We better get used to the questions because at the next meeting, she will interview us separately for an hour and a half each at her office.  The third meeting will be an interview of us together back at our house.  Ask away.  I'm an open book!  (or at least I will be after this!)

Like the little miss Betty Crocker that I am (another joke.  If you know me at all, you know that I DO NOT cook.  We need to work on that if anyone wants to teach me!) I had made refreshments, which sadly, our social worker did not eat.  But Christopher and I enjoyed them after she left!  Ok, confession, I bought some really great store-bought cookies and put them on a plate.  I DID cut up the fruit and put it in the water though.  If anyone wants to spice up your water on these hot summer days, here's what I did and it was yumy.  I just cut up 1 orange, 1 lime, and 1 lemon and put them in a pitcher of water to add flavoring.  It was very refreshing and it looks cute too!

Here's my attempt at photographing the aforementioned refreshments...

So there you have it!  Glad to be one step closer to our baby boy!

American Pickers in Franklin

Ok, so we weren't actually WITH Mike and Frank, but we FELT like Mike and Frank!

About a month ago, the hubby's grandparents decided to downsize and move to a smaller home.  They would not be able to take everything from their current home in Franklin.  The hubby and I got to go pickin' at their house.  I felt like we were on American Pickers!

We had so much fun looking through all of their treasures and hearing the story behind each item we brought home.  Here are the items that we came home with...


How great is this clock?  I already have the perfect place for it, but you'll have to check back later this week to see where!

I LOVE books, especially old ones!  I chose 3 classics to eventually put in Hayes's room.  I chose Treasure Island, The Three Muskateers, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  These three books are perfect for a little boy's room.  I love the faded red color.  They will be sure to add a pop of color to the nursery.

This assortment of little bottles caught my attention immediately!  They will look great in a windowsill with a sprig of flowers in them.

I thought that this wonderful fish plate trimmed in gold (I know it's hard to see it in the picture) would look great up on a shelf in little Hayes's room.  I was planning to use gold accents, so this is perfect!  Sort of tacky, I know,  but I LOVE it!

Another treasure that I snagged for Hayes's room was this Boy Scouts Handbook for Boys.  How great is this for a little boy's room?!

I thought that these adorable roosters would be perfect on the windowsill in our kitchen.  I thought they looked very Anthropologie-esque (Yes, I just made up my own adjective and I will continue using it!).  And get this, they were made by Christopher's great-grandmother!  How cool is that?!

This adorable print was knitted? (probably not the right term. I'm not really sure what it is-not much of a sewer at all!  But I like it!) by Christopher's aunt in 1974.  I thought it was way too cute to pass up!

I also thought that this fabulous ball with the butterfly (fake!) inside would be cute in Hayes's nursery.  I couldn't pass this up!

 Another amazing clock!  This is a tiny one.  Love the shape of the clock and the brassy color.  I thought that this would make another cute accent for the nursery.  If I HAD to choose my favorite item that we got, I would probably say this one.  I think it's beautiful!

I was so excited when Christopher's mom spied these jars of marbles.  Christopher's grandfather gave his sister some when our nephew Jack was born and I thought they were so cute.  Now none of you can say I have lost my marbles, because, in fact, I have not!

I spotted this milkbottle lamp in Christohper's grandparents' bedroom.  I raced to ask them if they were taking it to their new house and she was excited that I wanted it.  I love milkbottle glass, but sadly, have never bought any.  So this will have to be the first item in my collection!  I'll find the perfect place for it soon!

I have a slight obsession with birds (hence the blog title), so when I saw this, I snatched it up immediately.  It actually used to be a salt shaker.  It has three holes in its mouth.  It would have been a very large salt shaker!  I don't think I would have ever had to refill it!  I will just be using it as eye candy.

Here was one of the hubby's only picks.  He loves all things historic (as do I) and these bottles came from Nashville's Gerst Brewing Company.  They date back to the early to mid 1900's.  The hubby has requested that these be in his "man cave" when we get it fixed up for him.  I will oblige him on this request since he doesn't make many when it comes to our house.

The hubby's other pick is something pretty special.  This baseball bat belonged to his grandfather as a young teenager.  His grandfather told us that you were pretty lucky if you had a bat during that time.  So, when it broke, he simply taped it back together.  I know that the hubby felt honored that his grandfather gave it to him. 

It is so special to have items in our home that once belonged to his grandparents and even his great-grandparents.  Thank you Grandaddy and Grandma June!  We will treasure them always.

Hayes, Our Little Trendsetter

Over the last couple months, I have snagged a few items of clothing when I've found a bargain for our sweet Hayes (check here if you have no idea who I'm talking about and missed our official name-revealing post!)

I got this shirt at the Crew Cuts outlet on sale.  I can never resist a good nautical theme!  LOVE Crew Cuts!!!

Love love love gingham!  I think this shirt from Target is adorable (in a manly way of course, hubby!).

Another great deal from the Crew Cuts outlet!  I don't know if the hubby is extremely fond of purple, but I think the skull and crossbones make it more manly!

This awesome vest wasn't purchased at our yard sale, so I had to snatch it up! This will be perfect for the camping trips we love to take.

I couldn't resist these sweet P.J.s from the Carter's outlet for just $6!  Don't want to get too carried away with Africa-themed clothes, but these were precious!

One of my favorite baby stores, Janie and Jack, was having a huge sale and I thought that this striped one-piece was adorable.

I had seen these swimshorts awhile back (also at Janie and Jack), and was so excited when they were on sale!

The last item I got on sale from Janie and Jack was this plaid one-piece.  Love it!

Since we don't know exactly how old our little guy will be when he gets home (0-12 months is our parameters), to be on the safe side all of the clothing I have bought is 12 months or older.

I don't need to buy much since I have 2 adorable nephews who will gladly pass down their hand-me-downs (which I LOVE), but I couldn't resist a few cute things that I've found on sale!

Do you other adoptive mamas buy clothes for your little ones before you even have a referral?  It makes it so much more real for me.  I like picturing him in his new clothes!

First Homestudy Visit Scheduled

I'm excited to say that we heard from our social worker yesterday and our homestudy paperwork has been approved.  We scheduled our first of three homestudy meetings for THIS Monday.  Woo Hoo!  I'm excited to get the ball rolling! 

So this weekend, I will be cleaning like I madwoman (and hopefully looking as cheery as this housewife while I do it!).

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I have been told not to worry, that everything doesn't have to be as neat as I think (that they won't be going through our closets and drawers!) But any tips from you fellow adoptive mamas would be appreciated!

Happy Fourth of July!

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Happy Fourth of July!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend filled with food, fun, and fireworks!

Easy Button Monogram Art

This past weekend I was out of town for my cousin's wedding in Chattanooga (read about that here and here).  I decided to make her a personal gift featuring a button monogram with her new last name. What new bride doesn't love to display something with their new last name?  And who doesn't love buttons?!  The perfect combination!

First, I decided on which scrapbook paper and button combination I wanted to use.  I went with an antique floral-looking paper.  I decided to use different shades of white buttons.  I think that this look works best if you choose 1 color family for the buttons.

(Excuse the pictures in this post.  I had to use my phone.  The hubby took our camera on his trip out west).

Next, I found the right font and size for her initial, which happens to be "F."  (I went with Vivaldi size 438 to be exact).  I made the font color a grayish-white because you can see through some of the buttons and a black font stands out too much.  Then, I cut out the letter "F."

Then I placed all of the buttons on the letter to get an idea of how many to use and approximately where I wanted them to go. 

Then I removed all of the buttons and glued the letter to the scrapbook paper. 

One by one, I hot glued each button to the letter.  Once I was finished, I went back and layered the buttons on top of each other for a more textured look.

Then I popped it into a frame and done! There is not room for the glass once it's in the frame, but I liked the 3-D look without it.   Easy, right?

My little sister loved it so much she wanted to make one for a friend's upcoming wedding and one for her and her roommate for their dorm. 

I think hers is my favorite!  I LOVE the combination of the blue stripes with the orange buttons.  So cute!

So there you have it!  This would make a great gift for a newlywed, college graduate, a friend, or just to have in your own home. Which monogram is your favorite?