My Style

For several years now I have been trying to define my decorating style. My trouble is that I have always liked way too many different things that don't necessarily fit into the "same" category. I used to love the New England/Americana theme...red, white and blue, lighthouses and such. That has been out the window for several years now, but I haven't really had the time/money to re-do my house...plus, I was still struggling with what exactly I wanted my home to look like. Well, in the last few weeks I have finally found my style...and it was a style that I was sort of leaning toward all along - I call it Country Cottage, and I am in love with it now! It's not country in the sense of chickens and pigs on dish towel with a cheesy saying, and it definitely doesn't include what you might think of as "traditional" country colors...navys, reds, golds and yellows. Nope, that's NOT my style. Country Cottage, as I define it, is a unique collection of antiques and new items that are soft on the eyes, and that make you feel like you're surrounded with peace and tranquility. Things that define your life, and things that make you feel at home. My new color palette for my home consists (or will consist) of classic whites and creams, my new favorite color-muted turquoise-, robin's egg blue, greens and browns to add a bit of masculine touch...I can't have Aaron living in a doll house! I love having a soft color palette with a few pops of color such as a bright coral or red...just the right amount of contrast to keep everything from becoming too mundane.

Currently I have "re-made" my dining room since it didn't need too much work. I didn't really add much, but the few touches that I was able to make have made me very happy. I have been working on the kitchen, and it is currently my favorite room in the house, but it still needs a little work to get to where I can call it finished. My next quest is our bedroom. I really want to brighten it up, and so I pretty much have to start from scratch...new linens on the bed, and a few new accessories to tie my style together. I am getting really excited about decorating my home in a way that reflects me, and making it a place where others feel welcomed and like they belong. Some of the biggest challenges are 1) money...obviously I can't spend a fortune (actually I can't spend much at all!), so I have to be very wise with my choices and try to make things myself as I go. 2) We rent our home, so I can't really make any cosmetic changes to the actual house, I can just add to what is already here. 3) Baby-friendliness! There is a lot that I would love to do but just can't because, well, we have a toddler who loves to get into everything! So I have to consider that when making my changes.

Anyways, I just thought I would share my discovery! I am always striving toward making a home that Aaron loves to come back to, and a place that encourages and uplifts Johnathan to be the boy and man that he will become some day. Of course, how my home is decorated does not largely play a roll in those things, but if I can make my heart as "homey" as my house, then maybe I will be in a place that allows me to overflow into others' lives. I sure hope so!

Uh, Oh! He's Saying...

..."No, no!" Yep, that dreadful word is finally coming out of my little baby's mouth. And no wonder when he hears..."No, no Johnathan, don't climb on the table...No, no Monkey, you can't play with the outlets...No, no Honey, don't stick food in your ears." And the list of "no's" could go on, and on! I was trying to not say no with him, and I was attempting to get the message across other ways...but "please, do not do that" just wasn't cutting it, and "no" was the only thing that came to mind otherwise. So, he's not even a year and a half, and he's already saying no back to me! What ever am I going to do?!

You may have noticed a lack of substantial information over the last couple of weeks...I think my last post was on my birthday, and that was a little over a week ago. Well, we have been busy here...just not the good kind of busy. About 2 weeks ago Aaron landed in the hospital with a rather stubborn kidney stone that decided it wanted to put up quite a fight before being forced out! Aaron was pretty sick, and I felt sort of sick too...but only because my over-dramatized imagination had convinced me he was dying! After several, (several!), talks with one of Aaron's doctor friends, I was reassured that he was going to be okay, but I wasn't fully convinced until Aaron's lab work came back showing that he was indeed getting better. Phew! Also, just as Aaron started to recoup, Johnathan came down with a double ear infection and a throat infection! Poor thing! He still has a nasty cough, but his little ears seem to be on the mend. Thank goodness for modern meds that really kick those infections where it counts! :)

Also in the past couple of weeks we've had some more company! Grant was able to join us down here in CC for about 3 days, and was here for my birthday...3 years in a row he has trekked down here to celebrate with me! Aaron's mom and aunt also spent a couple days with us, and spent some time out in our yard "taming" the growth that has been allowed to take over pretty much everything since (and before) we moved in. It looks so much better now, and we're very appreciative of their efforts!

In other news, I did receive a camera for my birthday, so be looking soon for some new updated pictures. I know that it has been too long since you last saw our beautiful little boy! He has sure grown in the last month, and is becoming quite a feisty little guy...just like his mama! Haha! Love you all!

Ain't it Great, I'm 28!!!

Today marks my 28th Birthday, and with the passing of another year I have been reflecting on all that I have to be thankful for...a precious family who loves me, a wonderful husband who adores me, and a sweet baby boy who calls me mama! Lots to be grateful for, that's for sure! So happy birthday to me! Thank you Jesus for watching over me these past 28 years, and for loving me enough to give me the chance to live (with YOU!) for eternity!

Cleaning & Candles

I like to clean...let me rephrase that, I love to clean. Yeah, I'm a weirdo, but I find amazing satisfaction in maintaining and having a clean home! I guess that's a good thing since I'm a homemaker - it would sort of stink if I hated my job! I love it though, and I have a little ritual that I perform when a room is clean. I love yummy scents...and I adore candles...especially the TYLER Candle Co. candles, they are the best! So, whenever I finished cleaning a particular room, I light a candle in it. I guess it is sort of my reward for a job well done. Occasionally I will light a candle in a "dirty" room, but then I feel like I'm cheating, so I get motivated to tidy it up and then enjoy the wonderful scents that fill the clean room.

Anyways, it may be a little odd, but that's what I do! Oh, and I love coordinating the scents with the room...for example, I enjoy fresh fruity or citrusy scents in the kitchen, but prefer warmer more mellow scents in the living room. The bathroom usually has a more floral/citrus scented candle, and the bedrooms almost always have a more perfumey smelling candle lit in them. I have also taken to creating some of my own scents using essential oils and aromatherapy. Most of the blends that I have come up with contain two or more of the following oils...Bergamot (love it!), Peppermint (so nice and fresh!), Clove (mmm, yummy!), Orange, Lime, Tangerine, Lemon (citrus heaven), Rose Absolute (okay, can we say delicious?!), Lavender (lovely!) and Cinnamon (delish!). It has been a lot of fun to play around with different oils and to see what happens when they blend together. My favorite mix so far has been a bergamot/rose absolute/orange blend. It smells quite heavenly, and fills the room very quickly with its aroma! Yum!

So now you know a little quirk of mine. Feel free to share some of your own! :)

Welcome to the World...

...precious Levi Samuel Sutphin!!! Yes, Gwen and Matt have another healthy, beautiful baby boy. He arrived earlier today, and I hear that he's just the cutest thing, and that he resembles his big brother, Miles! I couldn't be prouder, and I can't wait to see pictures of my precious new little nephew. You are already loved so much, little one, and you have a whole big family just waiting to see you in person!!!

Love to all!!!

I am already in love with his little face!

Making "Mema Plants"

Several years ago my grandma, Mema, gave me a Pothos plant that she had rooted and potted herself from one of her own plants. It was beautiful and the perfect plant for me since I was somewhat neglectful in watering it on a regular basis---Pothos are very forgiving though, and perk right up again once remembered!

Mema is a pro at "making" these lovely plants...and had at one point over 50 in her house - I counted! Her plants always look so beautiful, the leaves shiny and full. So, since Mema has such a green thumb when it comes to these, I lovingly refer to them as "Mema Plants." They remind me of her whenever I see them...which is quite often...and here's why...

...okay, back to my original plant from Mema...One day I decided to try out what Mema had told me, and so I snipped a few leaves and stems off and put them into a glass of water. And you know what?! Several days later I saw tiny little roots growing, reaching toward the bottom of the glass. After that first experience I was hooked, and now growing my "Mema Plants" has become almost an obsession. I love it. I love to watch them grow from little rootlings to being potted in a proper plant home. I love it so much that at last count (which was yesterday!) I have over 50 pothos in my own home now! 28 in permanent "homes" and 23 in glass jars, growing until they're ready to settle down for good too.

So, thank you Mema for starting me out on my own green thumb journey. You have helped to cultivate in me a love of growing things, and maybe someday my own grand-kids will fondly think of me whenever they see a "Mema Plant." I love you!

Mama's Boy

Today I enjoyed a lot of time with my little Mama's boy. Although, when Johnathan is older, I hope that he doesn't turn out to be a Mama's boy...at least in the sense that he is still living at home when he's thirty, depending on me to do his laundry, cook his food, etc. For now though, I am cherishing the time I have with my little man. Some days Johnathan is little Mr. Independent, but not this morning. He sat on the couch with me and we had a lovely conversation about what we could see around the room---the soccer ball, the football, the bouncy balls, the basket ball (you can tell we have a lot of balls!)...and we also talked about what we could see outside through the window...today is trash-day, so we watched the garbage men come and pick up our trash...Johnathan perked up as soon as he heard the rumble of the truck, and we waited on the couch until we saw it outside.

Johnathan is pointing at everything these days, and as we sat together on the couch he would point at things, say what they were and then say some other words that I haven't quite figured out yet. It was so cute to just be able to talk to him without him running around, especially since I got a lot of snuggle time in between chatting! And then, when he finally did want to get down off the couch, he still wanted me to be close by, and grabbed my hand to hold as he walked around...PRECIOUS!!!

We have a couple new words to add to Johnathan's vocabulary list: bug (sounds like buh), and boo-boo (that's our word for nursing! haha!). His verbal skills are really starting to shine, and I am enjoying getting to communicate with him more now through talking. In other news, Johnathan has all of his 12M molars now too. He just got the top and bottom molars on the right side within the last week or so, and I'm hoping that this translates into some better sleep at night, both for him and for me!

We aren't doing too much these days aside from "normal life." It is getting really hot here, yet thankfully it isn't too humid like usual since we are having a serious drought here. So even though we need the rain, I am glad that the heat is relatively dry and also that the mosquitos haven't caused their normal pestiness like they do when we get some good rain. Hope that you all are doing well, enjoying summer and keeping cool!