Its my party and i'll cry if i want to.

my first birthday. i was a little fussy due to not taking my full afternoon nap so mom and dad had to assist in opening presents. Enjoy the pics. with my mimi and uncle jackson after my first ride in my new car.

since my nanie is gone we took a picture with my great aunt chris (nanie's sister) for 4 generations of pennington/mcbryde/turner/rodden.

Much overdue

AC celebrated her first birthday this past week. We had a party on saturday and lots of mommy and daddys friends came to celebrate. Also, here are some pics of this fall, halloween, and general mischeviousness.

Home Renovation Update.

As we are buying for our sugar lumps christmas and birthday home reno has been put on hold till the new year. of course bargains will be purchased in the mean time so be prepared for those posts. Currently we are working on anna carolines bathroom. It has a wretched 9 tile backsplash of mexican tiles behind her pedestal sink. As of now we have replaced the flooring in her bathroom. it was an AWEFUL grey faux brick vinyl. YUCK. The walls need painting. Beadboard hung. Art painted...(knowing me it will probably be a bunny, a bird, or a bible verse)

Here is a sneak peak of what i am doing. I am not typically a shabby chic type, however our babysitter Candace Danielson just bought some super yummy bedding from a store here in memphis called Bella Vita

Finally, a home post

Designing a nursery is perhaps my most favorite thing of all times. There is so much newness, growth potential, and the idea that tons and tons of memories will be created here in such a short short time. Whenever i think of decorating a nursery my fave movie comes to mind. Father of the Bride II. Annie and her mother are pregnant at the same time. Haphazardly they run into Frank and they add a wing onto the house for the nursery suite. Its soooo dreamy. Everything that a nursery should be.

Remember this scene?? When the dad is driving home from work in his convertible with the top down?? i can hear the music playing in my head right now.

dont you just want to grab a newborn and go rock in one of those chairs??

if frank really existed i would enlist him to design a nursery for me then be as creative as i could and replicate the design myself. Is that cheating??? I would pay him for the design if i was feeling completely unmotivated. After all i do possess a design degree.... im just saying.

"uhh how do you like it mr. bAhnks?" cant you hear him?? I can.

2 hour curtains!! oh.. and basic sewing skills.

Okay so wanted something with a Luxe look. 

Seeing as my husband is still in school and i knew he wouldnt allow me to hop on over to the curtain exchange and drop oh... $500 bones on drapes for our kitchen I got crafty... 

I mean honey my wheels were really turning. 

So here is what i came up with. First i went to Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and Stein Mart looking for solid colored faux silk panels i could snaz up... 

Here is what I found.

I know aweful picture. I drapped it over the highchair. sorry. So then I bought some striped fabric from hancocks and found the perfect matching paisley fabric at joann's. 

So far i spend 29.99 on the panels, 10.00 on the striped fabric at hancocks, and 20.00 on the fabric at joann's. so running total.$60.00 bucks. 

Then i cut my striped fabric on the bias (45 degree angle) so i could gather the fabric for a uniform ruffle.

[ for those of you not up to par on your sewing knowledge most silks chiffons, taffeta's and organza "lay" properly when cut on the bias. This could be used for a men's tie, one of those gorgeous bridesmaid's dresses, swag curtains, and even skirts.]

Then i sewed down this ruffle and attached it to my panels.

This is wherer the craftiness began. I gathered the top portion of the panel and used a good ole fashioned poneytail holder and wrapped it around the curtain. 

(I feel they are much more durable than rubber bands.)

Over time rubber bands deteriorate and poneytail holders only break if you stretch them too far.

Then I nailed a hole in the wall. and hung the poneytail on the nail.

Next, I used my scrap fabric from my ruffle to make a 'cover' to hide my poneytail holder and i fastened in the back with a safety pin.

Now turn that sucker to 'hide' in the back and you have two lovely panels.

Now for the center section I used the lid to my cake dome for the shape. 

This is where you have to be a little crafty and gradually form the curve at the end. all i did was turn the fabric on the bias, at the bottom form my rounded edge, pin RIGHT sides together on the three sides and sew. 

Flip rightside OUT and make a panel to slip a rod in and hang. 

VOILA!!

two hours later you have a BEAUT of a kitchen window...

Enjoy!! 

Email me if you have any questions.

jbrodden@gmail.com

Reflecting

If you know me well you know I am a questioner. I am always questioning why someone did or didnt say something to me when i see them around town. I question where i will be in five years. I used to question who i would marry and what my kids would look like and the kind of dog i would have. EVERYTHING....

Now that my married life is settling down and we are beginning to plant ourselves into the south i have to begin to question... Will my next child be born in this home? Will we EVER wrap up all the projects in this house before we move? Will we have another rat sneak into our house? Will casey and i actually get to take our "exotic honeymoon" vacation one of these days??

Now at this point you may be questioning.... What is the point of this post?? The point is.... always know that God is with you. He is there to carry you through your decisions in life, help give you a level head and discernment, and comfort you when your upset. 

If I knew 2 years ago what the lord was going to bring me through I wouldnt have believed him. If I had someone tell me i would marry casey right after i met him i wouldnt have believed them. But honestly god can make your dreams come true. I prayed one simple prayer, asking the lord to move me and draw me closer to him. I didnt know i would encounter the situations I did but I wouldnt change the way any of the instances occurred. I discovered who my true friends are through this. 

The people I always wanted to be better friends with it helped me realize that they werent meant to be in my life any longer, but the ones who ARE god really opened up a window and brought such a fullness that the meaningless friends could NEVER have fulfilled. Each of you inspire me to be more creative, you each challenge me in my relationship with the lord and you show me love in such an unconditional way.  I love each of you so much and am so thankful for the time you have spent with me throughout the longest year and a half of my life. It is so hard to believe in 10 days my little suprise will be one year old. I can honestly say the lord really knew what he was doing by bringing such a sweet tempered, loving, wonderful little girl into mine and casey's lives. 

Thank you for all your support.

All Smiles

first picture of my little punkin all grins

Melts my Heart!!!!

Frugalista part two

Okay so for this post i figured i should show you examples of my frugalness and the style is not lacking... first of all my halloween decor...mason jar i had. printed labels on jars offline. crows are bogo at Joann's. pumpkins mom gave me. broom bought at michaels with a coupon, and leaves with a coupon, boo sign from marshalls... total was like 30 bucks.

Another way to save some money is make/buy basic curtains. I chose solid green for the panels in my bedroom at college so i could reuse them again one day. i know i wouldnt be in that college apartment forever and voila... perfect for the nursery...

Other ways to save money are instead of using a contractor to do something hire family and friends to help you with projects. We had caseys dad, Jerry to help us with some crown molding around the front door and i am very pleased how this turned out. 

He did an amazing job! So thankful to have such a handy father in law!

Okay I SWEAR my whole house isnt green. I mean come on though its the color of growth and prosperity, (very fitting for our first home as a family). Everything else is tan or blue, dining room will be yellow when we get it painted... we have just been lazy. Hope you enjoyed! 

Stay tuned for more updates.

Way down yonder in the pumpkin patch.

Okay so when I was a kid my mom made up this song called the paw paw patch. 

We would sing the two verses three times till we got to my grandparents... it was perfect my mom had it down to an art so we werent asking how long till we are there.

"hey nanie nanie nanie, hey nanie nanie now, hey nanie nanie nanie, hey nanie nanie now..

we're...... pickin up paw paw's, lets go find some , pickin up paw paw's let's go find some, pickin up paw paw's lets go find some way down yonder in the paw paw patch..."

now that AC is absorbing everything we say and do i am trying to devise a song to sing on the way over to my parents. this hit me on our way to the pumpkin patch the other day.... song to come but enjoy the pics in the mean time.

Ideal Home... Pics

okay so pristine lawn.. se la vie...

clean, wonderful kitchen, wanna join me for coffee?

umm would you like to come for thanksgiving?? paula's cooking (paula deen, duh??)
best most cozy bedroom retreat ever!!!