Week 33: So. Tired.

Excuse my tired, lazy eyes...so sleepy!

Can I just first start off by saying—I am so tired.  Not just the kind of tired where it’s hard to get up in the morning and by the end of the day you’re ready to park yourself on couch for the rest of the night.  This is way beyond that.  I’m talking, a whole other level on the tiredness scale.  My eyes don’t feel fully open most of the day…like if I blink too hard I will fall asleep.  So tired that at times I feel like nothing else matters.  Getting my assignments done at work?  Eh, they can wait.  I physically can’t move my hands from resting under my chin (holding my head up so as not to injure myself if I nod off) to the keyboard. 

Have I made my point yet?

I. am. tired.

Kudos to all the mamas-to-be out there who work their normal job hours throughout their entire pregnancy.  Cause let me tell ya, it’s not easy.

All sleepiness aside, I have been incredibly blessed so far in this pregnancy.  With seven weeks left till my due date, I feel like I’m almost home free as far as crazy swollen ankles, puffy cheeks, stretch marks,  and the likes.  Almost.

So this is me saying…tiredness?  Bring it on.  If that’s the least of my struggles at this point, I think that makes me one darn lucky girl.

xo

Jayme

In these photos: vintage maxi dress (yep, it’s all one piece!), black boots from Aldo, earrings from Charlotte Russe

P.S.  We would be so grateful if you would take a quick second and vote for us on Top Baby Blogs!  Click here.

P.S.S.  Don’t  forget to enter our giveaway from A.O.kay Designs!  Click here.

CLOSED: Handmade Feature/Giveaway: A.O.kay Designs

This week we would like to introduce you to a lovely little etsy shop--with crocheted baby goodies (we're talking tiny hats and hair accessories too cute for words) and embellished onesies (I'm obsessed with this green and pink tree with contrast stitching!).  The shop is called A.O. kay Designs and the owner/designer is Crystal--a stay at home mom of two.

Let's get to know a little more about Crystal:

What does your life outside of Etsy/blogging look like?

I’m a stay at home mommy of two adorable little girls, Aubrey 5 and Olivia 2.  They keep me busy all day long.  We play, learn, and make lots of messes.  When I’m not busy with them I try and sneak in some cooking, cleaning, and anything else I need to get done.  I’ve been married to the sweetest guy for over 6 years.   We just moved back to our home town and are loving the small town life. 

Describe yourself in three words.

Crafty, easy going, and caring

Fall piece you can’t live without: my brown sweater.  I love it.

Most recent fashion-related purchase: new jeans.  I was in desperate need.

 Do you craft/make anything else outside of what’s in your shop?

Absolutely!  I love all types of crafts and share them on my blog www.crystalscraftspot.blogspot.com.

Any pet peeves? Most of my pet peeves come from driving like not people not using a blinker, or driving to close.

Bad habits? I’m easily distracted.   I have so many unfinished projects because a new idea comes and I have to start it right away.  Also our house suffers because of this as well.  You always know when I finished something because our house looks like a tornado hit. 

Desert-island food? I can’t live without pizza and Reeses peanut butter cups.

Another blog you follow regularly:

There are so many!  My favorite is probably Sumo’s Sweet Stuff   http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com.  She crafts for her two little girls so it’s perfect for me.

What made you decide to start a shop?

I’ve been blogging for the last year and have been thinking about opening my own shop for a while.  Since we moved back home we are trying to save up as much money to build a house.  It seemed like the perfect time.  I am hoping to help out with the saving a bit or at least cover my crafting addiction.

Significance of your shop name?

A and O come from my daughters Aubrey and Olivia.  They are the ones that inspire me to create and often spark the ideas I have for my shop.

Favorite item in your shop right now?

Probably my heart onesie.  It is so soft and sweet. 

Crystal has put together an awesome prize, with some super cute things from her shop!  Enter for your chance to win: red crocheted leggings, a red rosette hair clip AND $20 to spend as you please at A.O.kay!

Here's how to enter:

1. Follow our blog! Once you become a follower, just leave a comment below, telling what your favorite item from A.O.kay Designs is.
2. Follow Miskabelly (@miskabelly) on twitter…and again, just a quick comment to let us know you did (with your twitter user name) and share what your favorite item from  A.O.kay Designs is.

3. If you’re already following the blog and our twitter—simply leave a comment, telling us what your favorite item from A.O.kay Designs is!

4. Once we tweet about the giveaway, you can re-tweet to gain an extra entry!

Multiple entries are allowed (if you want to follow the blog, AND our twitter AND re-tweet  go for it!).  This contest will run through next Sunday, November 14th.  The winner will be chosen through a random number generator. 


Good Luck!!

Manda & Jayme 

Blossom and Grown Giveaway WINNER

Thanks to all who entered the adorable giveaway for the Gobble Gobble Bib and Burp Cloth from Kathryn at Blossom and Grow (if you didn't check out her shop yet--click here!  Adorable handmade stuff for you little ones).
The winner is....

 Shannon said...

gfc follower and my favorite is the zebra print

snaugle81@gmail.com

November 5, 2010 2:31 AM

Congrats Shannon!

We'll be emailing you shortly with details on how to get your prize!

xo,

Manda & Jayme

Steppin' Out on a (Sunday)

Another crazy busy Saturday without an outfit post (soccer games, grading, photographing items for the shop, and cleaning our house/yard to get ready for a campfire!), but Sunday happened to be special, so I had to share.

Q & I celebrated our 6 month weddnig anniversary on Thursday...except we didn't celebrate.  Trying to make anything happen during the work week takes at least a month of advanced planning.  We had Sunday completely open--and with an "extra" hour to boot--so Q planned a little daytrip out of town.  It was a secret!  I just got dressed (comfortably, at his suggestion) and got in the car.  He even packed up Aurora's stuff for the day.

It was a lovely, sunny fall drive to Strasburg, Virginia where Q's plans were:  adorable coffee shop (where we worked on our wedding party thank you's...now almost a month and a half late. oops.)  ANTIQUE MALL.  Lunch:  my choice.  It was perfect.

Here's what (we) wore:

 me (having a grunge-casual day):

  gray tee (?), flannel-thrifted, army jacket-UO, jeans-Seven, Converse All-Stars, scarf I've had forever, bag-Coach (thrifted and coming to our shop soon!)

 

 Q wore (and will probably be embarrassed to be on display as a fashion icon):   

Jeans (?), Converse All-Stars, button up-Tommy Hilfiger, Vest- Columbia

Aurora wore:   

Carter's onesie, Gap army cargos (thrifted), knit hat (thrifted), Robees shoes, pink hoodie (gift)

my delicious cappuccino at Cristina's Cafe

I found several fantastic clothing items for the Miskabelle shop, but Q and I also found some things for our kitchen.  We'd be hunting for canisters FOREVER and these copper-lidded ones were so cool that we had to have them:

They just so happened to be sitting on top of this breadbox--which is light pink, but that we also loved (and are planning to paint since it kind of clashes with our green kitchen).

Q spent a good chunk of the evening polishing the copper on these babies with an old toothbrush while we watched some Friday Night Lights and I graded assignments for my online classes (laaaame). It's Monday now and I'm mourning the weekend, but that extra daylight savings hour sure feels great.

xo

Manda

Meet Our First "Child"

No, no, no....little Baby C is not here early.
I wanted to introduce you to our first "child"....our puppy, Sophie.

Andrew and I got Sophie about one month after we got married and moved in together.  She's a chihuahua pug mix (a CHUG) and could almost fit in the palm of my hand when we first got her.
Sophie's a quirky little dog.  She is truly only comfortable when she's at home with just Andrew and I.  Or alone.  She likes to have our queen sized bed to herself and only wants to snuggle on HER terms.  She's a cutie though.  A cutie with very bad breath and tendencies to bark at the wind (which scares the crap out of me--no matter how many times she cries wolf, I can't help but run to the window to make sure there's no one lurking on our porch).

Sophie lounging with Andrew

Dogs have such great instincts.  I swear she knew I was pregnant before even I knew...and I don't think she was very excited about it.  I promised myself I would love her just the same, even when a "real" baby was in the picture...but I must confess that I have become more and more neglectful of her and less and less tolerant of her "quirks" as the months have passed.  Poor girl.
So this is my apology to Sophie:  I love the way you jump on the bed and nuzzle your  face into my neck every morning.  I love when I come home from work and you shyly wag your tail and roll over onto your back for a belly rub.  And I love having you as my little couch companion, so I never feel like I'm home alone.  I promise to give you more treats and let you run free in the yard more.  You will always be our "first" and you are going to be a great big sis.

"Cousin" Aurora, attempting to love on Sophie

xo,
Jayme

Baby L's Nursery: DIY #4

Hey there, it's Amanda again.  I know, two blogs in one week! WOWZA!  I'm taking over this week's DIY because I have been dying to share it with you....except it was a surprise for Jayme's shower, so I had to keep it on the DL until she got it last weekend.

I wanted to make a wooden initial to hang on the wall of my niece's nursery.  But it couldn't just be a boring painted letter...I wanted it to look vintage.  And in the end, it did!  I love how it turned out (and so did Jayme), and it was pretty easy, so I thought I'd share the steps with you.

I sketched the L-shape I wanted (There's a clue for all of you, readers!  Baby's first initial!) on a piece of wood, and Q cut it out for me.***

***Disclaimer:  I am thankful to have a pretty rad husband who knows how to do pretty much anything involving tools and woodworking, which made this DIY extremely personalized from its inception...but if you don't have a husband with a room full of every saw/router/ known to man, you can purchase a wooden letter (I've seen them in the craft sections of Target, Walmart, Michael's, etc.)

He edged it with a router to give it depth/interest.


Then he carved out/sanded any rough edges.

We were ready to go!  (This is where you'll start if you have a pre-made wooden letter.)

1.  I added a coat of white primer...

2....then a coat of the aqua blue after that dried. 
 
3.  (And a second coat of aqua after that one dried).
 
4. Then I went to work sanding down the paint a bit.

5. I focused on distressing the edges where the letter might naturally wear down more.

It looked pretty good at this point, but I still wasn't happy with it, so I decided to use a little throwback from middle school history projects:  tea staining.  I wasn't sure if it would work/last, but I figured it was worth a try. 

6.  I steeped two large bags of earl grey--though I'm pretty sure the flavor doesn't matter as long as it's black tea, I do love the fragrance--in boiling water until the water was cool enough for me to reach in and grab the bags.  I then proceeded to squeeze out the tea bags and rub the leaves on the letter.  (It's kind of messy, so you'll want something underneath as you work.)  I left the tea grounds and drips on the letter overnight.

7.  In the morning, I wiped the clumps of tea off and scrubbed at any places that were too dark.  The letter had the perfect "vintage" tinge to it.

I used it as a centerpiece for Jayme's shower (post and MANY more photos coming soon!)...

And now it's hanging in their nursery, above a darling vintage print I found while thrifting. 

Pretty simple and really pretty.  I had so much fun surprising her with a gift that Q and I had made completely from scratch.  Hope I've inspired you to do some of your own DIY's!

xo
Amanda

Halloween Recap from A&A

Jayme has been blogging up a storm--but there are actually two of us who design and plan and keep this blog! ha.  We had quite an eventful weekend with Jayme's shower on Saturday (blog to come!) and Halloween on Sunday.

Q and I perused online Halloween costumes in early October and found one that we kind of liked:  a baby mermaid.  I found it on sale on another website and bought it right away.  It was sized 0-9 months, and Aurora is 8 months, so I assumed we'd be golden.  Unfortunately, Aurora JUST fit in it and there was only the tiniest piece of velcro for her to kick right out of.  This was a problem, as was the general boringness of the outfit.  It was cute, but just....not cute enough.

I knew we'd be in Pennsylvania on Halloween morning with my family, and I didn't have time to fix the mermaid costume prior to J's shower.  I still wanted to dress Aurora in the holiday spirit, and I had thrifted a pumpkin onesie for her in September, so she started the day in that outfit.   I topped it off with the cutest vintage beanie (since the onesie didn't come with a matching hat) and took some outdoor photos when we got home.

As soon as we got home, I got to work on Aurora's SECOND costume (yes, this baby has costume changes).  The mundane mermaid was not going to happen.  I got out the sewing machine, needles, thread, felt, stitch witchery (LOVE), and iron and got right to work.  I was in a bit of a rush, and the costume didn't fit Aurora that well to begin with, but I think I definitely gave it a little edge...

And after...seashell bra, tutu, flower iron on flower, and some pearls on the headpiece.  Our little mermaid (with her Little Mermaid truck hand-me-down we just got this weekend!  It was perfect.  She LOVES it.)

I had fun working on her costume, even though sewing is a very frustrating task for me (since I lack the necessary patience).  I look forward to future years when she gets to choose her own costume and we get to find fun ways to create it--together!  But even more than that...I look forward to the Halloweens when she can get a bag full of candy to share with me. Our trick or treaters cleaned us OUT! (Though it's probably for the better, being that I'm also back on Weight Watchers--after six years away--and determined, once and for all, to lose this baby weight! More on that in another blog...)

xo
Amanda (& Aurora)