Thursday, July 29, 2010

Cupcake Time!

I received this awesome gift from my Mom last year for my birthday and fell in love with it right away.

Well almost completely. It seemed a bit dark for such a fun item, so I finally fixed it. My Mom is the great motivator, and a few days ago she came over to my place to get me going. Primed and painted, I think the Giant Cupcake fits in much better. What do you think?

Ahhh, shiny pinkness. Along with that I had to condense and reorganize all my business junk. I'd been using a small dresser for a bunch of supplies but after selling that I've slammed everything into the awesome cabinet. Tadaaa!

It may not seem like much, but short of the pans and ingredients, everything else I need is in here. It's fantastic! Cookie cutters, boxes, labels, chocolate, bags, icing colors and a couple of other things all managed to fit. Yea for being organized! Onto the next project. I'm making those stripes happen on the awkward wall this week!

Little Black Book~Part 2

One of my favorite constant projects is adding to my Little Black Book. It's full of all my favorite room inspirations and ideas and is more than 2/3 full. It's the best push when I need to clean/organize and I love how it's turned out so far. Here are some of the newest additions!

I've come to really appreciate white, can ya tell? In going through my Black Book, I've been able to see the main color scheme I'm in love with. White, brown, and pops of green, blue, pink and purple. It's made decorating our place much easier-no impulse buys just beacuse I think something is shiny. I think that's part of the fun with decorating a place. It's never finished!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Adding The Personal Touch

I've had some down time lately and with that I've been able to go through old boxes, sell off unused furniture, and make plans for happy changes to the way this place looks. Thanks to some of the wonderful blogs that I stalk, I have some new inspirations!

Jen at Made By Girl posted about an incredible site called Deco My Place, a site full of random peoples' home pictures. It's great because you can search based on room, style and a bunch of other things.

I love the layered look in this little nook.

I'm a sucker for an 'R'! Plus I just saw those tall white cups over at Ikea a few days ago, and I'm loving how they're used here.

This kitchen over at The Yvestown Blog has me wishing we were out of apartment living. I'm all about the butcher block counters and the huge farmhouse style sink!

I was a bit late to catch onto the Young House Love craze, but after a few articles in some of my favorite magazines, I'm a big fan of the incredible work Sherry and John have put into their first home. They recently celebrated a wedding anniversary and did a post about different kinds of momentos/reminders of their love that they have throughout their home. I've been wanting to personalize our place with things other than just pictures, so this post was perfect. I especially love the initials they have above their bed, with I Love You in sign language in the middle. Cute, thoughtful, and super easy to make! You'll have to check out their site and see their amazing home. It's gone through a great makeover.

I'm always on the lookout for fun treat ideas, and after seeing this one yesterday, I knew I had to share it. I love me some S'mores, even the homemade ones with the help of a microwave :o) I'm a firm believer that some things just taste better on a stick, and these babies back that up. These S'mores Pops were featured over at Gimme Some Oven! and are too easy to pass up. Gigantic marshmallows, melted chocolate, crunched graham crackers and a stick! Now go make some and tell me how fantastic they taste!

With a mellow weekend coming up, I'll be grabbing my Mom for some help. I've got a couple of painting projects lined up for this weekend, along with some fun rearranging. Here's hoping I'll have the fantastic results up soon. Have a sweet week!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

It's Nice To Breathe Normally Again!

You can tell from the date of my last post that I haven't kept up with this blog very well. Lots of things have happened in the last few months and after exhausting myself completely I've decided to change a bunch of things in my life.
First, I'm trying to get healthy. I was sick of waking up with aches and then running all day to try to catch up with Dylan. Things in this area have been great and I'm still motivated to continue, which is a great sign!
Second, I'm trying to take more time with the little man. He's getting so big and I can't believe he'll be 3 in a few months. After almost a year of speech work, he hadn't really improved much until a few days ago. He's been mimicking sounds he hears on tv, a dinosaur's 'Roar' being one of them. Since that started, he's actually jabbering in the mornings. That has led to 'Momma', 'Yeah', 'Bowowow'(dog sounds) and a few others. It's been incredible to hear his voice all through the day now. Progress finally! Here's hoping it continues.
Also, after a few months 'practicing' how to stretch myself to the limits, I'm slowing down my little business. The lack of sleep most nights leads to a not-so-happy wife and mother, and so I'm working on making my own physical and mental needs a priority. I am very happy to say though that the biz is growing! Aside from the orders, it's officially taken over the dining room area in our home, and I can easily say that I spend more working time in the kitchen than Andrew. I'm sure he'd be thrilled with that if only I learned how to cook better!
Speaking of Andrew, he and I are doing well and planning for a fun bunch of events in the second part of the year. Birthdays, vacations and holidays will definitely have us running across the country, but I can't wait!
One other small thing I've been trying to fix is the amount of posts for Our Little Reed Family. We seem to have forgotten we had a camera in the last bunch of months, so pictures and stories have been kept to ourselves for too long. For more info about us as a fam, check it out here.
And now, since this blog is more about my own ramblings and found inspirations, I thought I'd share some I've found recently. I've been in the need for a change here at home, so I've been on the lookout for new fun ideas to get me moving.

I don't know why, but every time I think of inspiring images, this cutesy little cabinet comes to mind. Something about all the pale colors combined with the knowledge that those pillows just have to be super comfy keeps me looking at this over and over. I've been on the lookout for fun dishes, so that could be another factor. Love me some polka dots!

After a few years of rearranging furniture and painting walls, I've finally caught on that the warmth that comes from a home is more important. Something about this picture makes me think that the family is just outside the shot waiting with a game of monopoly and some popcorn. I want people to feel that kind of warmth as soon as they come to our home.

Now I know this is a baby's room and one way too girly to get away with for the little dude, but I'm all about the colors. Greens, pinks and a brown paper bag shade of paint just have me smiling. And it just so happens that I have a cabinet and dresser that are both in need of a fresh coat of paint!

You know me, I couldn't leave a picture of a fantastic kitchen out of this inspiration bunch. Plenty of light, great appliances, a flea market touch, and that kids school desk have me wishing this kitchen's owner was me! Or my Mom. She'd love that too.

Well here's hoping I can keep a better record of the fun things I find. I'm nixing *Cupcake Saturdays* in favor of the freedom to post fun treats, crafty ideas and home inspirations whenever I'd like to. Hopefully that will make the process more appealing. Have a fun week!