9 months old

Monday baby boy turned 9 months old! I can hardly believe how fast time is flying!!

He is in a size 3 diaper still and after a quick bout with a stomach bug he dropped down to 

18 lbs and 5 oz.

C is drinking 1 8 oz bottle in the morning and 4 6 oz bottles throughout the rest of the day.

In the past month, his 2 top teeth came in, so we now have 4 teeth, and mommy is giving me the last of baby food. 

Table food here I come!!!

The only thing we have found thus far he wont eat is peas!

He also learned to stand up and begin scaling the furniture as well as clap, start cracking jokes by offering people his paci, and he waved at me sunday morning for the first time!

I have such a hard time getting him to sit still!

Here is a sneek peak from our 9 month shoot!

And this is him sick 2 weeks ago :(

eating peas and carrots, (he would spit the peas out!)

so silly

Dining Room Progress Update

Ever feel like you take two steps forward and then 10 back in a room.

Well, that has been my dining room.

Just a hot mess express hodge podge of everything.

After moving out this summer then moving back in at the End of August we have been very intentional in keeping only what we Love and will have for a while.

Here is the before: "progress" photo

Basically the only thing I was loving in this room were my two pretty x back chairs we found at a local home decor boutique. 

After we re-settled at the house I busted out the Annie Sloan and painted the table.

See that post here.

And the table and 2 x back chairs have a more cohesive look.

So... we have been looking and looking and looking for the right chairs to put at the head of the table.

There has been lots of "pinsperation" and even more research to make sure we get the right thing. 

Here are some of the kitchen table and chair "sets" I found and loved.

Source: janegreen.com via Jenny Beth on Pinterest

Source: interiorcanvas.com via Jenny Beth on Pinterest

Source: rcartwrightdesign.com via Jenny Beth on Pinterest

 Finally I just picked something I liked... and...

In steps the Greyson Chair from World Market.

We saw this chair in person when visiting Mobile over Labor Day and my very sweet mother in law dropped by their store (after we returned home) to pick a pair up for us. 

I CAN NOT wait to get them when we are down there for a wedding in 2 weeks!!

Stay tuned for a picture in our actual dining room. 

The wood detailing is just a hair off but I think we can make it work.

So... the saga continues now that we are a family of four. We will just have 4 chairs and if anyone comes over we will be scrounging for an addional seat at the table. 

(this dining room decorating is turning into the book 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie',

because now I want freshly painted walls to go with my new curtains, freshly painted table and new chairs.)

The Madeleine chair from Restoration Hardware looks pretty similar to what we already have. 

(Wish we could get two more from the boutique here in town but they cannot get any more!! boo)

Hopefully after the new year we can complete our table and chairs set with two of these pretty ladies!

What do you think? 

                      Their chair:                                                         My chair:

 
I think they could work!!

The deal of the century.

Okay sooo... I have a bargain hunting obsession. 

First was my double jogger.

Then the baby bjorn bouncer! 

Remember This post? 

Then the childrens shoenhut baby grand piano (it stays at my parents).

So now i go in stores with no agenda and what I find I find... Well I found this set of patio chairs at my recent visit to Essex!

They are from Walmart and retailed for 599.99. Not what I originally envisioned for our screened in porch but promising.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a decent style at Walmart!! I never go in there!

The box said half off.

I shook my head in disbelief when I realized this was a box of SIX chairs for $31.00!!!!!!! 

Yes thirty one!!!! 

I ran to the register with the price tag in hand to snag this thing! That means I got the chairs for about 2.50 a chair and the cushions per chair for about 2.50!!

Shocker!!

It was brand new and I was soo proud of this deal! 

Now to find a table.... Hmmm. I will post an actual picture once we get the swivel mechanism on the "end" chairs. 

These suckers are Heavy!

Have you guys found any "out of this world" deals lately?? 

 Would love to hear about them!

8 months old (a month late!)

8 months old!!! How??
I really am in line with the sleeping quote these days. You know.. The one that says we should Never put babies to sleep because then next morning they awake they are older!

Its true! I just would love to have a perpetual baby!

This month our top 2 teeth broke thru so our grand total is 4 teeth. We started pulling up on the furniture and right as we got back from chicago he is now scaling the furniture. He learned how to clap, wave and in addittion to calling daddy "ah- dah" i was named "rah-rah."

This baby is a climber! And that scares me greatly. I have never baby proofed with big sister other than a clip on the cabinet where cleaning supplies are and one gate but this boy!!! Whee baby gate at the top of the stairs and the one at the bottom will be installed tomorrow!

Lately

Finally getting this together around the house for fall! If you follow along on instagram you saw this picture last night!

I did have a thumbnail box on the right side of the screen for people to follow on instagram but it kept glitching! So if you would like to follow my username is Lifeonlyford!!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Chicago Day 4

This was the day of laziness! I spent most of the morning indulging in a rare commodity! 

SLEEP!! Yes I slept until 1:00pm in the afternoon!!! Hasn't happened in 4 years for me and it was simply divine!!!!!

I grabbed lunch at this swank eatery called Protein Bar. 

My quinoa wrap was divine!

Then scheduled an architectural tour! 

I am only short 6 credit hours of having a minor in art history and my favorite classes were on architecture so this was like a college refresher course! 

Loved every minute of it and learning the history of Chicago!!

From there I met Casey in the room and we got dolled up for the crown jewel dinner.

The "IT" restaurant in Chicago is apparently Frontera.

Rick Bayless is the chef and the food was some of the most divine I have EVER tasted in my life!!

We grabbed the first seating we could get which was at a bistro table at the bar!

We tried a summer concoction of a cumcumber cilantro margarita, ate taquitos, and traditional steak tacos. It was divine!!!

Chicago Day 3

Wednesday was my first day solo in the city! 

I slept in ... Enjoyed a long breakfast then perused Michigan avenue. 

I stopped in Macy's and spent way way too much time at the Lush counter.

I treated myself to a bath bomb and a chocolate face mask.

Source: via Lauren on Pinterest

Then headed to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch! Hello pumpkin cheesecake!!

 

from there I went to Saks and treated myself to a mini makeover at the Trish McEvoy counter.

My sweet husband even suprised me with this wonderful planner to replenish my makeup supply!

Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Nicole on Pinterest

 

For dinner we met up with Casey's cousin, Cathy for some pub food then an evening at the Second City Comedy Club! People such as John Belushi, Steve Carrell, Tina Fey! Great night and lots of fun!!

(will include pictures from the camera once we get home)

I tried one of the infamous scarf fashions called the pretzel found on Pinterest! 

Love how easy it was. 

These were our seats in the comedy club minutes before the show began! We laughed so hard and had a great time!!

Custom Ruffle Drapes

Recently a friend approached me about making some custom drapes for her little girls nursery! I was so excited to make these! Check out the picture she shared on Instagram late last night!

Chicago Day 2

Yesterday was a jam packed day of window shopping and sightseeing. (I was saving my big shopping trips for today ;) )
We started out our morning with breakfast at the Wit.
We dined on cinnamon butter pancakes and banana french toast.

Then we headed over to the park to sightsee and checkout the bean.

From there we stopped in one of the museums to see the largest tiffany glass dome! It was stunning!

Perused several shops before eating the worst lunch ever (we actually threw it away it was so bad) and spent some time at the John Hancock observatory lounge.

From there we went back to the room to get ready for dinner.
Someone recommended Riccardo Trattoria. It was an incredible local italian spot with amazing food!

For dinner I dined on a bruschetta like salad and my entree was Gnoochi in a pink cream sauce. It was divine!

Sorry the pictures are out of order. I will tweak them when i can get to a computer

Chicago day 1

We had a great flight in! Rode the train to our hotel, dropped our bags and hit the ground running!

We were starving so we headed to Giordiano's pizza!
Several people recommended this lunch spot and the deep dish pizza and mozerella flatbread did not disappoint!

We left there to peruse the magnificent mile! We stopped in a few favorites and grabbed some goodies. I made sister super jealous while in American Girl!!

My favorite little goodie was some mittens for baby boy! I couldn't resist!!

We were soooo exhausted from not sleeping the night before that we retired for the evening sans dinner and curled up in our room and watched the voice!!

Btw, thank you thank you sweet readers for your recommendations! We hope to go to several of these spots while here!!!

Be back later with more adventures!