Pay no Attention to the B**** Behind the Veil

The love of your life gets down on one knee and asks you to be his wife.

You get a big, beautiful, diamond ring and drink a lot of champagne.

You go around to all of your favorite stores and pick out things for people to buy you.

A lot of things.

Then there's the big, beautiful dress.

The veil.

The bridesmaids' dresses.

The reception site.

The flowers.

The cake.

The food.

The shoes.

The other shoes.

Making an appointment to taste the cake.

No, not this month.  Two months from now.

The band.

The song list.

The photographer.

The photo list.

The priest.

The other priest.

The counseling sessions with the priest.

No, not that priest, the other priest.

The guest list.

The other guest list.

The other guest list.

The engagement pictures.

The save the dates.

No, the save the dates don't come with envelopes.

The envelopes.

The stamps for the envelopes.

The addressing of the envelopes.

The finding of the addresses.

The bridesmaids gifts.

The host and hostess gifts.

The hotel welcome bags.

The guest book.

The wedding website.

The hotel contract.

The salon contract.

The invitations.

The flower girl dresses.

The flower girl petals.

The flower girl baskets.

I don't like baskets.

The blushing bride.

I've got news for you, she isn't blushing.  Her face is flushed because she's sleep-deprived, severely stressed, working out too much and not eating enough.

This week marks 8 months since Brian and I got engaged.

Don't let my rant fool you, they have been the best 8 months of my entire life.  Probably better than all of the best moments of my entire life combined.  Seriously.  8 really good months.

This isn't about not being grateful for how ridiculously blessed I am.  I am more in love than I ever thought I could be with the kindest, smartest, funniest, most patient and loving man that I have ever known.  My life is good.  My life is really good.

But if one more married woman tells me to stop stressing out and to enjoy every minute of "this time," I'm going to sock her in the nose with my big, beautiful, diamond ring.

Come on, ladies, you've been here...you know what I am going through...give a sister a break.

I have been dreaming about this day since my dad's cousin, Diana, got married and she danced with me, twirling me around the dance floor.

I have hazy, camera flash memories of her full, white dress and long, beautiful veil.  I don't remember much but I do remember knowing right then that I wanted to be a bride.

And I have had a very specific vision of this day.  For the last 25 years.

Trust me.  I know that when it is all said and done and I have a husband I love and beautiful photographs of us framed in our house I'm probably going to see error of my ways.

And don't think I don't tell myself that every single day.  Don't think I don't tell myself how lucky I am and how trivial my stress is in the big scheme of things.  But don't think it helps, either.  Not yet.  Not now.

I am trying to fit 25 years of dreams into one day.

One day that a lot of other people have been dreaming about for 25 years, too.

So, when you see me running around town without makeup on, my hair a sweaty mess...don't just see the big, beautiful, diamond ring.  See the 25 years of dreams I'm trying to realize.  And then get out of my way.

I've got a big, beautiful, diamond ring and I'm not afraid to use it.

Not a Babysitter, Not a Nanny.

Many of you were followers of my first blogging venture, I'm Not a Babysitter, I'm a Nanny.

Many of you have also asked me in recent days where this blog has disappeared to.

It has been more than 3 months since my last post here.  Much longer than I intended to stay away...

But so much has changed in those 3 months, I'm not sure where to start.

I haven't seen Mia & Lucy or Capra & Ivy in weeks.  That's the biggest change.

I have a new job.  A real job.  My first.

It's a full-time, real, American, big-girl job.  In mortgage banking, no less.  I have a regular paycheck, health insurance, a 401k and I haven't changed a diaper in ages.

On an even more surprising note...I love it.

It hasn't been easy, though.  It was time & I knew that.  I broke the news to Jenn, Ashley, my boss & families at the church when I found out that I had been hired by my new company.  There were tears, hugs, smiles & "congratulations"...some more tears...

I didn't have a "last day" with Mia & Lucy.  I think Jenn & I both purposely avoided it.

But I kept them for a weekend not long before I started my new job while Jenn and JP went to a wedding out of town.  On the last night, Brian came & we took them to dinner and out for ice cream, which we'd done so many times together before.

As I was tucking Lucy into her bed that night, it suddenly hit me that that would be the last time I would put them to bed.  I stood stunned for a minute in the middle of her room as a flood of memories came to me.

I was already working for them when Lucy was born.  I spent many hours sitting in that room holding sweet Lucy, feeding or rocking & singing to her.  Tucking her in, kissing her goodnight.

I picked her up out of her bed then and hugged her for a long time...probably confusing the poor kid terribly.

Then I went back into Mia's room and hugged her for a long time, too.  I think she understood.  I told her how much I loved her and how much I was going to miss her and promised her that I would always be nearby.

Then I went downstairs and cried on Brian's shoulder for about an hour.

Like I said, it was time & I knew that.  But I wasn't as ready for it as I thought I was.

I was a part of Mia and Lucy's every day life for 4 years, well for Lucy's entire life...and now I'm not.

That's the hardest part.

In these last couple of months I've done so much thinking about this chapter in my life.

I did a quick count off the top of my head of the children I've taken care of over the years and I got to 40 almost without even trying.

All I've ever done is babysit.  Since I was 13 years old...

It's been such a huge part of my life and it's been such a blessing.  And such an honor.

But it's time to move on.  It's time to grow up.

I can't think of anything more fitting than for Mia and Lucy to walk down the aisle ahead of me as I marry Brian.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

To all of the families that have allowed me to be such an important part of your children's lives:  

I want to say thank you.  I will always feel blessed to have been entrusted with the care of your precious babies.  My life has been so rich because of the love your families have given me.

To Jenn and John Paul: 

Words cannot express the gratitude I feel toward you for the last 4 years.  You gave me the opportunity to make the very, very long and gradual transition from my childhood into adulthood.  I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for you, I will always be grateful to you, and I will always love you.

And to my Mia and Lucy:

I know it's hard for you to understand why you don't see me everyday anymore. It's hard for me to understand, too.  But I hope that you'll always remember our precious days together.  I hope you'll remember how much fun we had.  I hope you'll always know that it was such a special part of my life to watch you grow and learn.  I hope that I taught you as many lessons as you taught me.  I hope you know that I will never be very far away.  And I hope that you will always know, deep down in your hearts, that I love you very much.  And I always will.  

DIY Fall Wreath

Quick Update on what you've missed since I've been lazy:

Brian and I celebrated our first anniversary last Sunday.  {You can read about our first date here.}
It was such a sweet day, I can't wait to share it with all of you, but that's for another day.

My Maid of Honor came to town this weekend and we, {along with my mom and my sister and another bridesmaid,} went wedding dress shopping!

AND...I found my dress!

It was seriously so much better than I ever could have thought it would be.

More fun, more emotional & more productive.  But that's also for another day.

I don't know about y'all, but Fall is in full swing...in my heart.

Damn, Florida, it's HOT!

There are rumors about some cool weather coming, but I couldn't wait.

This Sunday, after everybody went back home and Brian and I had some down time, we decided we wanted to go and pick out our pumpkin.

As we ventured out, though...the fact that we were both in shorts and t-shirts and still sweating...we just couldn't do it.  So we put a pin in the pumpkin hunt and headed to our craft store to pick up some supplies to help set the mood...here's what happened next:

Love it!

I've been wanting to make a wreath for so long.  

I had fun with this one, instead of scouring Pinterest for ideas, etc. I just browsed the craft store a bit, {all Autumn things @ Michael's are 50% off this week!} and just threw this together.

It definitely got me in the mood for Fall, even if we had to crank up the A/C to achieve the affect.  

Just kidding.  Brian would never let me do that.  

But rumor has it it will be in the 60's tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed!

Until then, Atticus is ready for Fall, too.

"Canvas Prints" for a Fraction of the Cost!

Happy iPhone 5 Day, everybody!

Yes, Brian and I were 2 of the lucky millions to receive their brand-spanking-new iPhones today.

No, we were not 2 of the crazy millions waiting in line at the stores...but, Brian was 1 of the sleepy millions who woke up at 3 am last week to pre-order.

I feel very lucky, I never had an iPhone 4, that's not to say that I wasn't lucky to have my iPhone 3GS, but this is a pretty nice upgrade for me.

{Not to mention the fact that my phone was powering down randomly several times a day.  Boo.}

But, I digress.

I made a really cute, really easy photo project for our kitchen this afternoon!

You might have already seen it on Facebook:

I mentioned in my Happy Birthday, Atticus! post that I was obsessed with those pictures of her and that I'd love to see them framed in our kitchen.  Well, they are now framed in our kitchen.

And I am obsessed.

So, I started to think that the color was so great in the photographs that a borderless print might be cool. Something like a canvas print.

Well, I don't know if you've ever had canvas prints made, but they can get pretty expensive rather quickly.

So, I actually was able to achieve this look {& I think it looks pretty darn good} for...

under $10!

That's right, I said $10.

I printed these pictures at home and then put them in basic acrylic photo boxes from Michael's for under $3 each!

Let me say it again, I LOVE them!

This is what we had there before:

which I love.  It's actually an original water color done by the daughter of a well-known local artist.  

She went to high school with my mom and painted it for her.

I think the dark frame just doesn't do anything to lighten up things in there, {with the dark cabinets, too.}

So, I thought these prints would be a great way to lighten things up and add some color.  Especially since we can't paint these lovely beige walls.  {Boo, renting.}

So I'm pretty excited about them!  What do you think?

I love the color, I love the "canvas-y" look & I love that I didn't spend more than $10 on this project.

{and I LOVE that dog.}

I hope you that you all have an awesome weekend. 

Until then, don't do anything I wouldn't do.

Bathroom Organization Update

You guys thought I forgot about Organizational Wednesdays this week, didn't you?

No way, Jose.  Today is Wednesday.  You heard me.

So, I actually got a lot done this week!

Here's the final shelf in my small bathroom shelf, {you can see the before of this project here.}

I decided to use this shelf for all of our "extras."  {Brian is apparently stockpiling deodorant.}

And, again, loving my wire shelves.

I also tackled my bathroom drawer.

The key here is containers.  The key to organization is containing.  

I moved the cleaning supplies out from under the sink, {more on that later,} but I left a few things that I use more frequently.  

And moved all of my hair styling tools under the sink as well into this basket.  A good goal is to keep your counter tops clear!  I still haven't figured out where to keep all of my hair products...but things are coming along nicely!

SO that's it for Organizational Wednesdays this week.  

Until then, enjoy the rest of your Wednesday, everybody.

You heard me.

DIY Lamp Makeover {with Wiring Instructions}

Hello there!

So tonight I have another, "I told you one day you'd thank me for being a hoarder," makeover.

My grandmother, Marjorie, gave me this lamp years ago.  I've seriously been hanging on to this one for several years.  It was tucked away in my hall closet at the garage apartment...the entire time that I lived there.

Wouldn't you have hung on to it?  I think that it is so fun.

I knew that it had potential, and because I needed a lamp for Brian's bedside table, {and because it may or may not have been tucked away in the pantry pre-organization...} I tackled this old lamp.

So, I took it all apart.  

You'll discover pretty quickly that a lamp is basically all held together by the wires.

Unless you detach the wires from the socket, it's going to be pretty hard to get everything apart for painting.

But you can see here that the bottom part of the socket can be easily removed.  If you see the letters printed by my thumb, you can press there and the bottom should pop right off.

Then, the ends of the wires will be exposed.  So just loosen the screws and unwind the wires.

Then you should be able to pull all the wires out and separate all of the pieces.

So, I wasn't crazy about the green glass piece.  I considered removing it and attempting to craft something out of a wine glass or maybe a mason jar, {which would have been awesome, right?}

But then I noticed this:

At first I thought that they were cracks in the glass, but then I realized that the glass itself wasn't green, but had a thin, colored film adhered to it.

So, after a call to my dad, I decided against trying to scrape the film off with a sharp object...

And tried using nail polish remover instead.  This worked, but very very slowly.  So I took my problem to the internet, and found this article on Apartment Therapy.  

Unfortunately, my dishwasher was in the middle of a cycle already, so I impatiently filled up my sink with hot, soapy water.

Worked like a charm!

As soon as it hit the water, the film started bubbling up away from the glass and I was able to just peel it right off!  I did have to scrub it in a few places, but it was really easy.  I was so excited!

Who needs mason jars?

I'm totally kidding.  I love mason jars.  But this is pretty great!

Here you can see that it peeled right off in long strips.  

So, I spray painted the metal pieces with a red spray paint color I chose for our bedroom to match an accent in our bedding.  Then I just put it all back together...wrapped the wires around the screws and tightened them back up.

I was pleasantly surprised when the lamp actually turned on.

Love it!

I forgot to tell you one of the best parts about the lamp:

There is a socket in the glass section for a light bulb, {Christmas tree size.}

Let's say it together:  LOVE.  IT.

And this is the lamp on my side of the bed.  It was just an old white lamp which, I think, was in my bedroom when I was little...it was also tucked away in the hall closet for a few years.

The shades are from the Target Home Mix-and-Match Lamp collection.

Here you can see the red accents in our bedding from West Elm...

And here...

{I love our West Elm bedding...}

I saw these CableDrop Cable Clips on Pinterest and we ordered them from Amazon.  I hate having to fish around behind my behind my bedside table to find my iPhone charger at night, so I actually really love these.  Plus, they come in fun colors.

{I also put one on the back of our TV Unit in the living room to hold the HDMI cable that we frequently switch between our cable box and our laptops.  So now we can find the right cable easily without having to fish around back there.  Which is frustrating.  I don't like fishing.}

So while we're in the bedroom I'll go ahead and give you the rest of the tour.

It won't take long.  I haven't done much decorating in here yet.  But you might remember this from the tour of my old garage apartment:

I updated it a little by adding a second layer of scrap book paper behind each letter.

E voila:

I love this.  Even more than I did in the old house.  I tried it as a "headboard" but it just didn't work, {the source for this idea used the garland as a headboard,} mine is too small.  But I love it here!

So that is the view from the bedroom into the bathroom.  

That is literally all of the decorating I have done.  But I really am loving the color scheme happening in there.  It's all very subtle with the deep browns in the furniture and the neutral bedding, but they each have great, colorful accents in them, too.  So there's a lot of potential for more color.

I'm really looking forward to figuring out our headboard situation!  And I'd also like to find a fun accent pillow for the bed.

So that's all I've got for you tonight.  

Actually, that's a lie.  But you'll have to wait and see.

Until then...

First Organizational Wednesday

So I promised you a new, organized bathroom cabinet for our first Organizational Wednesdays post this week.

That's not exactly what you're going to get.

I realized that this small bathroom cabinet makeover would actually include a complete organizational overhaul in our bathroom.  Because I couldn't figure out what I needed to make space for in the small cabinet without taking everything out of every cabinet and closet in our bathroom...

This job is in progress...but not complete.

BUT, that is not to say that I did not make a whole helluva lot of progress in our home this week. 

Because, while I didn't have time to finish the bathroom, I did take on another pretty big project.

The kitchen pantry.

Oye.  It was a mess.  

Now, we were pretty excited about this nice big pantry when we found our condo, but I just didn't get a jump on the organization when we moved in, so things were just tossed in over the last couple of months...and this is what happened.

It was pretty hard to know where anything was in there.  Not efficient.  

So, here is what my Clutter Rehab book recommended.  

Take everything out.  Everything.  

This was the last thing that I wanted to do.  But, honestly, it's the best thing you could do.  

Because, otherwise, I wouldn't have known what was in there.  

And if you don't know what's in there, you can't create categories.

Once you create categories, it really happens all on it's own.  And coming from me, that's saying a lot.

But it really was easy.

Another tip from the book is to create boundaries for your categories, so you know what you have and how much of it there is left.  

With things like crackers or other individually wrapped snacks, take them out of their bulky boxes and consolidate.  As you can see, that made a lot of a difference in space there.

Can you tell I live with a student?

This did, too.  I bought a package of 6 wire shelves from Wal-Mart for $12.  

I especially love the under the shelf shelves.  Yes, that entire shelf is devoted to ramen noodles.

So, I seriously love this shelf.  It's amazing how much I was able to fit in there without it seeming so crowded like it did before.  Ah, wire shelving.  Doubles your space.

And another tip is to think about where you need things to be to make your life as simple as possible.

I have been keeping Atticus' many many medications in the pantry because I give them to her in the morning before I feed her.  I started to move them into the medicine cabinet but that would honestly be kind of a pain in the mornings, and let's be honest, I'd probably forget to give them to her if they weren't right there in front of me.  Mornings around here are rough.

So, instead, I decided to consolidate.  I took all of the little packets out of the boxes and cut them up into their doses.

Much better.

So, here we go.

Love, love, love my new pantry!  I went for the ugly flash for this pic because I wanted you to be able to see all the way to the back.  

The best part is that I know where everything is.  AND I was able to use that bottom shelf for my Crock-Pots, which was a nice bonus because that freed up a lot of space in another one of my cabinets.  

Hurrah.

Here's up top.

See Atticus' meds?  Cute.

So all of that up top is my baking things, believe it or not.  There's a lot.  

I really love my new pantry, and it has definitely helped me catch the organizational bug!

Because, honestly, before when I would open my pantry...I was overwhelmed.  Every single time.

And now I feel really great when I open my pantry.  What a simple way to sneak joy into your day.

That's right, I said joy.

Now, I don't want you to think that I'm lying about my little bathroom cabinet, so I want to show you the progress that I've made.

On the bottom shelf I created a little First-Aid spot for all our medicine, etc.

I thought the red bow was a cute touch.

Next, believe it or not...this is all of my nail stuff.

Yes, really.

That's my Nailene Sensationail Invincible Gel Polish kit.  Yes, I saw it on a TV commercial, but I seriously love it.  It works.  It's easy.  You should get it.  

I actually did my nails with it last night.  

Pretty good, huh?  It really is invincible.  Lasts quite a while.  

So, that's it for my first Organizational Wednesdays post.  I must say I am pretty impressed with myself.  

Working on the rest of the bathroom and all of the other kitchen cabinets this week.  

Until then, have a great Thursday, folks.