bliss list ~ june

I can say in complete honesty I have no idea where this month went.  Tomorrow is July!  Granted, school didn't end until the first week of June, Hubby and I took a few days away for our babymoon, and I've had various meetings, appointments, and tasks to complete but it saddens me that a month has past and I really haven't stopped to slow down and just be.  Yet, there have been a few things I've enjoyed this month; things that have made me quite happy.

Morning Coffee
I'm still drinking 1/2 decaf, 1/2 regular but there's something about being able to leisurely drink a cup of coffee in the morning without having to rush out the door.  Ahh...summer where almost every morning is like a weekend morning.

{via MKCardwell}

No Alarm!

There's just a different feeling you get in the evening when you know you don't have to wake up to an alarm.  Granted, I have risen with Hubby every morning when he gets up to get ready for work but it's different when it's his alarm at 6:40 am than my regular 5:30 am work alarm.  It's just such a peaceful feeling!  And one I'll enjoy for these last few weeks before the baby is here.

{via JackARobinson}

St. Ives Apricot Scrub

I have had great luck with my skin during my pregnancy.  I've been a faithful user of St. Ives Apricot Scrub for years and think it's definitely helped me keep my skin feeling and looking fresh and clean.  I really love it's gritty feeling.  It feels like I'm stripping away all of that dirt and grim from the previous day.

Summer Reads

My days have gone been quite quickly but I'm managing to squeeze in some time for reading.  One of my hopes this summer was to begin reading the Harry Potter series.  Teaching in an elementary setting, you'd think I would have read all of these already but I haven't.  So, ten years after the first book was published, I'm starting at the beginning and am really enjoying them.  At some point I should probably put down Harry Potter and maybe pick up a baby book!

To see past lists, click on the Bliss List label to the right.

what's your organizational personality?

Last week I spent a great deal of time organizing; organizing cupboards, closets, drawers, files.  I wouldn't say I'm necessarily nesting.  I'm always like this.  I find that organizing leaves me with a huge sense of accomplishment and a challenge to keep things as neat and tidy as I leave them after I'm through. 

Last Friday I was reading some of my back issues of Real Simple magazine.  As I was reading the June issue, I came upon an article titled Organizing for Your Personality.  Since I had just finished with my organizational spree, I was quite interested in the article which included a quiz to determine what my organizational personality is...do I have left-brain or right-brain organizational habits?  Not surprisingly, I fell into the left-brain category. 

Left-brainers are those who think in words (attention, list makers!), do a lot of advance planning, and approach challenges in a rational, linear way.

Yeah, list maker - that is definitely me.

To take the quiz yourself, click here.  And here are some pictures via Real Simple that make my organizational left-brain smile:

If you take the quiz, let me know how you come out!

room with a view

Happy weekend!  Thought I'd share this image...definitely a room with a view!

{via...via}

not-so-plain thank you

I've been busy writing thank yous for all of the great gifts we have received for the Babe.  I will admit, my thank you notes are boring.  When we got married I bought several boxes of thank you notes from Michael's when there was a sale.  While we used a lot of them after our wedding, I still have several remaining and knowing that I should not waste, I'm continuing to use those plain, cream colored thank you notes in lieu of cute, creative thank yous.  But to make up for what I am lacking, I found some adorable thank you notes via Etsy.

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I'm often successful in finding many goodies on Etsy but am not as good at buying.  I really need to bookmark these...would be a great gift for another mommy-to-be!

spring weekend ~ part 3

Hubby and I did some pre-baby traveling the first weekend in June. 

First stop:  Family Reunion.  It was great fun getting together with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  With everyone getting older, getting married or having kids, it's been hard to find times for us all to get together.  We've gone from celebrating each birthday together as young kids to seeing each other once or twice a year for a day during the holidays.  Deciding we needed a little more quality time together, we scheduled a summer weekend together.  The weather was great, the food was yummy, and the company was fine.  I'm really happy everyone was able to make it and spend more than 5 hours together!

{the whole fam}

After our weekend with family, Hubby and I headed to Minneapolis for a few days.  Even though we planned a fairly low-key 3 day vacation, it was fun to spend some time together away from the business of our normal everydays. 

Hubby was so good to me and spent 5 hours with me at IKEA.  We looked through every inch of that store until I began losing steam near the end.  I think Hubby was a-okay with me becoming tired!  We made some great purchases for the baby's room and even got a new desk for Hubby's workspace and a bookcase for our front room.

{waiting for IKEA to open!}

The following day we had intentions to head to downtown Minneapolis to explore for the day but the weather had other plans for us.  So, we went to the one place we knew we would stay dry all day:  The Mall of America.  I know, we're pathetic, right?  It actually wasn't so bad.  Being the fools we are, we didn't plan for the cool Minnesota weather so had to buy some warmer clothing anyway.  And we had a nice lunch and even saw a movie (a terrible movie, but at least we were warm and dry!)  We had tickets to the Twins game that evening and as luck would have it, the sky was clearing as we were walking into the stadium.  Target Field is beautiful and we had a great night taking in some ball.

The 6 hour drive home was less than thrilling but we had a great time on our little babymoon...next time we'll be traveling with a child and believe me, I enjoyed every quiet night's sleep in our hotel king bed! 

another oops!

I'm having a few more glitches with the old blog.  Thanks, Tara, for letting me know my comments weren't appearing.  I think the issue has been resolved!

room for a babe

We're making progress with the Babe's room. While it is still somewhat of an all-things-baby dumping ground space for storage, it's starting to take on the look of a baby's bedroom rather than a spare bedroom/office. Here is what we have going on so far:

Babe's Room by nicolelynn on Polyvore.com

This room was previously being utilized as an office (before I got my trusty laptop) and spare bedroom. When we found out we were expecting, it was time to shove some items out and move some new things in. We opted to keep the twin bed (has to be good for those late nights) and book shelf and parted with the rest. The next step was to clean out the closet, which we used for storage - man we have a lot of stuff! Once the old was cleared out, we were ready for the new. Here are a few notes on the goods...

Crib
We went back and forth on the crib. I looked at several different kinds and brands and after reading consumer reports and reviews, we decided to forgo the IKEA crib (reported gap between crib and mattress didn't seem good and when we saw them in person, they seemed a bit too crude for our liking). We ended up scoring a great deal on this crib.

Dresser
We knew we wanted a dresser as opposed to a traditional changing table because we want to be able to use the dresser after the baby has moved past diaper stage. I actually found this dresser via Craig's List through a listing by a discounted furniture store. Hubby and I snatched this puppy up for less than half its original price. I was very pleased with the deal.

The Décor
It wasn't easy for me to choose a "theme" for our little girl's room. I wasn't too keen on doing bedding but wanted to do something that showed a girl resides in the room. One day while browsing online I came across this eye-catching bedding at Target. I went out and bought it that afternoon and am so glad I did. The colors in the bedding match the already existing wall color in the room and we can integrate both blues and greens into the room. This bedding adorns the twin bed and has been the inspiration behind the rest of the décor in the room.

From there we have decided to go with the flower theme (honestly, a BIG surprise to me!) and found the following items:

Wall flowers from Bed Bath & Beyond that we will scatter on the wall behind the twin bed (as seen in my buddy Leah's bathroom - thanks for the idea!).

Flower bowl from IKEA that we will hang on the wall above the crib.

Vases from IKEA that were gifted by my buddy Sarah after her wedding.

Shelf / picture ledge from IKEA that will be used to showcase books and those adorable vases.

A lamp with a bit o' color from Target for those bedtime stories.

A new ceiling fan from Home Depot.  Babe has to be cooled in style!

Now that we have all these items, I'm itching to get everything set up and arranged. I promise to be back with some after pictures once we are finished with everything. Less than 8 weeks left so I better get crackin'!

a green home

I've never considered moving the the east coast, but when I saw HGTV's Green Home 2010, Plymouth, Massachusetts was looking pretty nice!  If you haven't heard about the Green Home, you must check it out.  In fact, you can even enter to win this beautiful home but I held restraint in entering.  I know my mother would not appreciate me winning.  :)  I've recently dreamed of owning a "green home" but think I'll need to follow that dream in the midwest as opposed to the east coast.

Here is a sneak peak at the stunning home and the gorgeous rooms.

{exterior}

{living room}

{dining room}

{kitchen}

{master bedroom}

{master bathroom}

{kids' bedroom}

{bathroom}

{sitting room}

{tower}

{porch}

You can also check out past Green Homes in Port St. Lucie, Florida (2009) and Hilton Head, South Carolina (2008). And my love of HGTV grows...a new season of Design Star has begun!  I'll be parked on my couch Sunday nights for the next few weeks watching designers compete for their own HGTV show.  Love it!