Happy Fall Y'all

And since I promised to share some of my Pinterest projects, here's a shot of Toddling M's re-vamped room. I spy 8 projects on this wall

Baby DK

Wow, I’ve really neglected my blogging since Baby Duh-kah’s birth {HERE}, and while it may have been quiet over here for some time, let me assure you it’s been quite loud and hoppin’ over at our house! Toddling M has been such a joyful big brother welcoming Baby Duh-kah, whom he’s now calling “Kay Kate”. I think I may just resolve to refer to her as Baby DK for now.

Meet our smallest little-

Dakota Kate

born May 9, 2011 at 8lbs, 1oz

What a JOY and little blessing!

Toddling M's 2nd Birthday Party

We had a blast last weekend with Toddling M's 2nd birthday party...Mickey Mouse style! Click {HERE} to see many more photos.

Thanks so much to Haley for her gorgeous photos above =) I spread party tasks over 2 month's time so the preparations, homemade decor and crafts, and details were fun to make and even more enjoyable come celebration time!

Party Tutorials:

• Mouse Ears {HERE} (I used black headbands that didn't need to be recovered & black foam for the ears)
• Felt Hands & Mickey Pinata {HERE}

Edit: Here's a photo of the party favors each guest brought home. I found little black tote bags at Hobby Lobby and filled them with Mickey stickers, favor sacks with Mickey-shaped Oreo faces inside, bubbles with personalized "Thank You" tags, kaleidescope, Mickey headband, and of course the personalized sugar cookie for Cookie Queen of Alabama.

My Loves

“I concluded…that all those virtuous human emotion need not be freely given. Respect is commanded or demanded. Admiration is won sometimes against the will. It is impossible to admire someone we dislike. Loyalty and trust we entice or win from others. A sense of awe or adoration for God descends upon us from realisation. Certainly all these emotions may be present in love but they are not love itself. Love is freely given. It is a matter of choice. Love is wanting what is best for the other person, even if what is best for them is not going to suit the lover. Love is totally selfless and it is an act, not an emotion. We often mistake it for emotion because it is usually contained in strong emotions. But love is not an emotion…love is creative action. It is the most creative act in the universe”.

from “Ordinary Insanity” by Emma Pierce

Within the next few days my "Love Celebrating" will be overflowing. I suppose it's fitting as Valentine's Day is quickly approaching:

Friday my firstborn turns 2 years old!

Saturday my husband is treating me on an Ikea shopping spree! We'll make a day of it too, so I'm hoping the weather will cooperate for our trip. This is only the 2nd time for me to go to an Ikea...I can hardly wait. The first time I was with Dear Friend and just not in the mood to go shopping. But this time I'm pumped!

Sunday is my sister BeeBee's birthday! I can hardly believe my "little" sister will be 26. Sheesh I'm OLD!

Monday is Valentine's Day and a time to celebrate Love. Even though my husband says it's an overcommercialized "holiday" that he's disliked since he was Toddling M's age, last night I seriously suggested starting the tradition to make it sentimental and not purchase anything---something like a nice love note would do. Ha! Apparently my darling husband must have something else in mind because he nixed that idea and said we could do "a little something." Uh-ohhh...sounds like I need to put on my Creativity Cap and come up with something more than a card! Any ideas?

Year of the Rabbit

Alright, alright, alright...

I'm not going to even pretend I know much at all about the Chinese New Year, but I can kind of claim to by virtue of my ethnicity {right?}. Ha!

Toddling M received 2 special red envelopes in the mail from Aunt BeeBee {who is Korean} and another from her Vietnamese friend.

For those billions who celebrate it...Happy New Year!

From Our Family to Yours...

Nesting Challenge

Alright, alright, alright. I know I've completely slacked on this blog, but it's been with good reason.

To catch you up, in the past couple of months I...

1. got married
2. moved me & Baby M into Hubby's house
3. put both houses on the market & have kept them both "show ready"
4. held my first yard sale
5. oh & PS, we're expecting in May!

I posted some pics on Baby M's blog, but today I pre-dated the Wedding details over {HERE}

While we definitely want to sell both homes, my house is a bit larger & very nested already. Our strategy for the move was that one would sell faster & Hubby's almost-empty garden home was in dire need to be staged.

Now here's the challenge I'm starting to tackle after moving into Hubby's house:

With the tiniest of a budget {as in $ZERO if possible}, make this house a home to live-in until it sells AND decorate, but not overdecorate so that it's "show friendly."

I'm almost embarassed to share this, but we currently have no curtains, minimal furniture and decor. There's been some debate with Hubby as to painting the walls; they're in dire need of a new coat, but he says builder's grade and I say warm & friendly. So thus far, they've been left untouched.

For the Christmas season, I've tried to add little sprinkles of holiday decor to warm things up.

Mistletoe in the entryway...

Little vignettes on the shelving...
Tabletop decor...

And who needs curtains if you deck wreaths on the windows? {joking...no, we really NEED curtains/window treatments to warm things up}

And then stockings hung by the chimney with care... {thanks to Gigi for Baby M & our pug's stockings in the center}
Nesting To Do List:

• Paint Walls-arrrrrggggghh, pretty please dearest Hubby?
• Make curtains
• Create wall art
• Headboard for Master Bedroom? {am really loving these temp options HERE}
• Sew pillows

And then of course, we'll soon have to tackle the bigger challenge of making room for Baby Deuce. Right now the 3rd bedroom/closet is Hubby's necessary workspace.

*SIGH* But I suppose these are the types of challenges that allow our creativity to thrive...

Wedding Snapshots

Wow-I wouldn't change a thing about our Wedding celebration...and more importantly, we're MARRIED!!!

We had an awesome time at the beach with an incredible beach house {a posh 4-floor house with an elevator}. It ended up being a family vacation too which was a plus.

We had an intimate ceremony on the sand...

And I 'DIY'ed the florals, and the ranunculus were beautiful...

Baby M behaved famously. Once we got to the aisle, my dad was able to hold his hand and he proudly marched to the altar.

Look how excited he was!

My brother officiated, which was really cool and meant a lot to Hubby too.

And we timed everything well, because as soon as the sun was setting, that marked the start of the Reception...

Family, close friends, good food and drink...what more could one want?

And my little boogie boy danced the night away too...

Now I'm a MRS...

Baby M has a DADDY....

Oh and did I mention, we're expecting?

Yeah, it's been a whirlwind over here!

Details, Minor Details

And you know, having my mother as a talented resource, I couldn't let her get away without asking for her crafty talent in the wedding design. She made these 3 signs for the beach (they have fence post stands to stay upright).

This was my inspiration photo, I believe credit goes to Martha Stewart Weddings =)

5 Day Countdown &

THIS WAY TO THE "I DO'S"
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Snapshots

I know I've touted Two Sisters Photography many times before {HERE}, {HERE}, {HERE}, {HERE}, and then most recently {HERE}, but since his is our very last week to be enagaged, I thought I'd share some of my favorites from our last session.

Of course we can hardly wait for our photos this upcoming weekend too!

Wedding Accoutrements

The Boys...

{2 of Scott's best friends- one he's known over a dozen yrs & the other 28+ yrs...he's old i'sn't he?}

The Girls...

{my favoritest sister BeeBee & Pink Pimpette}
The Small Human...
{yeah, Baby M's totally not diggin that bow tie, nor the jacket- we may be stripping down the aisle}

The Smallest Human...

{Pink Pimpette will be carrying Baby S down the aisle}

Sneak Peak: Wedding Design

I've been horribly MIA for some time now, but with good reason...I promise!

In fact, we've been preparing for marriage and the formation of our family, as well as a certain super special day...our WEDDING! Just as a teaser, here's my inspiration board for our upcoming beach wedding. I'll have other posts to follow, but this is basically how I began to tackle figuring things out. Of course, even if this all falls through- no flowers, stained dresses, rainy weather, melting cake...as long as we're Mr. & Mrs. at the end of the day, I'd call it a success and the start of a beautiful life journey.

Still Here

Well with a whirlwind romance, engagement, and planning for the upcoming wedding {it's 3.5 weeks and counting now!!!} I've officially gone MIA the last oh 2 months or so. Apologies & a promise that I'll be back real soon!

In the meantime, here are some preview picss from our engagement photography session with Two Sisters Photography:

You can view our entire album {HERE}

Love so Desires

Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. ~Song of Songs

I have some incredible news to share...

Scott and I are ENGAGED!

We went to Oklahoma this past weekend to see my parents and he popped the question Saturday morning.

Of course, I had on my PJs, no makeup, and hadn't even brushed my teeth yet...and it was still absolutely PERFECT!

Check out that *BLING*

My parents and sister had already seen the ring and certainly knew of the proposal, but I jumped on the phone to make the round of calls to everyone to share the news.

And then that afternoon we jumped in the pool...I couldn't help but flash my left hand. Even if it was only Scott and BeeBee out there.

Check out my hunky fiance!

And yes, the gratuitous ring flashing...

I've never been more certain of anything else in my life. Scott is the One. Baby M and I are so very blessed to have found him.

I'm excited to share our wedding plans as we prepare for our celebrationS {yep, that's plural} and especially as we prepare for our marriage and family together. I'll try and keep things posted but things may slightly lag {what's new, huh?}.

Madly in love,

Gypsy Soul