Art project

I found some cute nursery art online one day and thought to myself, "I could do that." There have been many times that I have thought that about something, but then never ACTUALLY tried. Well this time I did, and succeeded. As previously mentioned my nursery is not a specific theme per se, but more or less girly/vintage/Anthropologie inspired. The art project I just completed is absolutely adorable in the nursery and I'm so proud of myself that I had to share my finished product :)

Casey helped me plot my dots as I'm not as mathematically inclined as he. Had I done this part myself my spacing would have probably been a little off. Yet another reason to add to my ongoing list of "perks to living with a CFP."

Burrito challenge

We had an eventful/hilarious evening last night after work. Casey and a few of his co-workers had eaten at Cantina Taqueria in Buckhead a few times for lunch, and decided that they wanted to challenge one another to a burrito eating contest. Men. They offer a 5 lb burrito challenge; anyone who can finish in 1 hour gets their meal for free ($30), a t-shirt, and your picture on the wall. All of these sound worth the pain and suffering (and stupidity) right? I say no, but guys will be guys.

His competitors were intimidated at first as Casey brought clothes to change into instead of wearing his suit; he was serious about this. He ended up not finishing his burrito but I was happy to come by to cheer on my man. I have to say, I was actually happy that he DIDN'T finish it because it could have made for one miserable night in the Jones household. Four men competed; one lived to proclaim victory. Richard finished his burrito with 15 minutes to spare! I still can't figure out where all the food went; he was like a machine. I called today to see how the guys were holding up at the office; not too good as you can imagine. Regardless, it was a fun evening well spent with friends!

Decorative items for nursery

I originally had picked out my dream nursery inspiration from a designer's website (pics shown above; no we're not naming our daughter Mia). I even purchased the paint color and sampled it on the wall, only to hear from Casey that if we painted her room that color, he would likely never go in there. Well, we all know we're going to NEED him to go into the nursery so I opted against "Grape Harvest" for the sake of my husbands sanity.

I've decided at this point that I'm going to leave the walls the current color, and just decorate the room with feminine accents and wonderful fabrics. Who says I need to paint it pink to make it a girls room right? So, I have been accumulating feminine pieces to adorn my baby girls room. Pics are of a gorgeous chandelier I found at Scott Antique Market, a rug I found at Urban Cottage in Virginia Highlands, and a super cute mirror I found from Dignified Rubbish on Etsy.

For fabrics, I have decided upon a few from Amy Butler's Love collection. I am very excited to see the nursery come together! I'll post pics once it's finished!!

Twins for Monica!!

My friend Monica had her baby shower this past weekend; she is expecting twins (boy and girl)!!! I just realized as I was uploading these pics that I look huge (in a good way as I'm happy baby girl jones is growing). Tomorrow I'll be 28 weeks :) My other friends shown are Staci and Liz.

Do-It-Yourself

I purchased a cute little yellow table several years ago at one of my favorite home boutiques in Atlanta, Urban Cottage. After our recent renovation the yellow table did not really have a place in our newly decorated living room. So, I decided that I would take on a do-it-myself project and give the table a new look. I sanded, primed, painted (black), distressed, and waxed. The finished project looks great if you ask me! I'm very proud of my handy work (Casey usually does all things "handy" so when I have a handy moment all to myself I get really excited)!

Mini cakes

So it seems as though cupcakes are all the rage for parties,wedding, etc. We usually get cupcakes to celebrate birthday's for our medical staff at work, and in the past favored Piece of Cake. Unfortunately, they are only open WHILE I'm at work so I always had to leave my nurse duties to run pick up cupcakes. About a year ago I found CamiCakes in Buckhead and have not been disappointed since. I still love Piece of Cake for cakes, but CamiCakes is my favorite for the mini version. A plus, they are open until 8:30pm so it's much easier to pick them up if you work full-time. If you haven't been by there yet, it's a must!! This past week we celebrated birthdays at work and I ordered the Red Velvet; mmmm!! I promise, you will be in cupcake heaven!

Lil Bun

I am 14 weeks pregnant this week. Baby bump pic #1 per the request of my older brother who lives in Ohio.

Very excited about the arrival of "lil bun" on December 7th!!!

Lola

Lola is our first born. She is by far the princess in my household so I thought it was time she had her own post. Over the last 5 years she has inherited numerous names as Casey and I constantly change her nickname. Here are just a few off the top of my head:

-Lola

-Lola Belle

-LB

-Lil bit

-Little kin

-Bit bot (who knows where this came from?)

Papa

I've been on a blogging hiatus. My father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer only 7-8 weeks before he passed away on April 23rd. Prior to his passing we spent every free moment soaking up quality time with him as we knew his days were numbered. We would not have made it through without the love and support from those around us. I am writing to thank all of our friends and family for the love, support, and prayers that you have offered to us over these past several weeks. We feel so overwhelmed and blessed to have you in our lives.

The picture below was taken the week he came home from the hospital on hospice care.

We love you and miss you Papa, but we are comforted because we know you are in a better place!

I love Jamie O

I love Jamie Oliver; have been following him for years. For Christmas, prior to hearing about his new TV show, we added his most recent cookbook to our wish list. I have to say, not a single week has gone by since Christmas that I have not cooked something from this book (not kidding). Sure, there are a few recipes in the book I vow to never cook ( for one "Vindaloo"- a hot hot hot curry that will make you want to slap someone) but as of yet, everything I have made (and I've made a lot) has been delicious.

A few of our favs:

- Broiled trout topped with mustard and oats (pictured)


- Chopped family salad

-Sweet potato and chorizo soup

- Sizzling beef with scallions and black bean sauce (pictured)


- Lasagne (not a typo this is the Italian spelling) (pictured)



Tonight I am making his Chicken fajitas (pictured)!



For those of you who are around me quite frequently, (you know who you are Michelle, Lauren, and Mike) you're probably sick of hearing me talk about Jamie's food so I will wrap this up. I highly recommend this cookbook, or, if you're a skeptic, just come over and I'll cook for you :)

The world through the eyes of Holga

We love our Holga. The Holga is an inexpensive, 120 film toy camera made in China. Holga's have very low cost construction and they often yield pictures that display blur, light leaks, and other distortions. Its problems with quality are the main reason why it is so unique. Holga photos have won awards and competitions in art and photography. Casey and I do not fit into the category of award winning photographers; we just think it takes really cool pictures. See for yourself. All of the pictures below are courtesy of Jones photograpy, however for more professional samples check out Toy Camera.

Before and After

We finally moved back into our house about a month ago!! Here is the official before and after.

Heather's 30th

My friend Heather celebrated her 30th this weekend. The party was so much fun (even though I was really sick at the time with a terrible respiratory virus)! Heather is a beautiful person, inside and out. We met as night shift nurses back in 2003 and have been great friends since. Happy Birthday Heather!