Our "Finished" Playroom

I had to put "finished" in quotes because really, what room is ever finished?  I am sure Jake will get new toys and we will have to figure out something to do with them, but for right now, we are done with everything I was hoping to do in his upstairs playroom.  I can't tell you what a blessing it is to have an extra room for Jake to have all of his toys.  It is so helpful when I'm taking a shower and getting ready across the hall for him to have a place where he can dump out all of his balls and rip up all of the letters and basically just be a little boy :)  

When we first moved in, I knew obviously that the purple would have to go (see below) and the chandelier.  And after looking on Pinterest for weeks to steal the ideas that other creative moms used on their kids playrooms (that's really what Pinterest is for, right?), I decided that I really wanted the room just to be very bright.  I wanted it to let in a lot of light and have a lot of bright colors.  That's why we opted with the white walls so all the toys and letters on the floor would be the pop of color.  A while back I turned the Ikea bookshelf into a bench and it is PERFECT.  Almost all of Jake's toys are on his level so he's always taking books and toys out from under there.  I wanted more shelving higher up because it would make the floor look less cluttered, but that was my personal preference, not necessarily what was best for Jake.  I needed to constantly remind myself of that - after all, it's not my playroom :)

I painted the chalkboard / magnetic part on our wall a couple weekends ago.  It wasn't difficult, but the magnets don't work super well.  I am going to get some stronger magnets and see if they work better, but for now he uses the chalkboard :)  I also may put a little wooden shelf on the bottom since the chalk shavings land on the ground when Jake is drawing which is a little messy.

And the other big thing I added was the picture collage!  I really wanted some fun pictures of Jake playing (which was the one of Dan and him on the slide), I also wanted to put up a piece of artwork by Jake, and I LOVE that quote and book by Dr. Seuss so I searched Etsy for a cute picture to go with it.  And then lastly I just love the picture of Jake and Dan in front of the Capitol Building in DC so I added that to the collage :)

Lastly, we put up darkening shades.  The current blinds were yellow and dirty and didn't match well with the white.  We thought about getting some more expensive shades but in the end, when we have friends that come to visit or potentially at some point a second baby, we would use it for a nursery so the darkening shades made sense and were inexpensive.  

I hope you guys enjoy the changes!  Hopefully next week I can show you our "non carpeted" 3rd floor bathroom!

{Before}

{Before}

{After- from here on down}

Our "shorter" lens currently isn't working on our camera so these first few pictures were taken with my phone so you can get a "big picture" shot of the playrooms :)

I tried to put some cute, kid decorations on there to "cover up" all the seminary books that we have gathered over the years and have nowhere else to put ;)

My mom and I found all these little wooden animals at Michaels for $10 and I LOVE them!  They are so cute and colorful!

Please ignore Jake's outfit.  Let's just say he wasn't having the overalls that day so we opted for some comfy pants instead :)

Also, we bought and I painted those little wooden crates (far left) earlier last summer and it was SUPER easy.  I think they were each like $10 from Lowes or Home Depot and then I just painted on some dark stain. I love the look of them :)

Every single child that comes in here LOVES these pandas.  There is something about large stuffed animals that get kids excited.

We bought 250 of these balls for Jake's 1st birthday part last year and put them in a swimming pool for kids to play in.  It worked out really well and now we keep some of them in his playroom and the rest are stored up very very high out of his reach.  Cleaning up 50 balls is hard enough let alone 250.

Just one more picture because I love this collage so much :)

I can't even tell you how much I love this light fixture.

Just pretending that he's heading to the airport with his "bags"

Just a small glimpse into some of the other things we purchased to go in our newly semi- renovated bathroom!

little man :)

Happy Thursday, friends!

What's inside my Stitch Fix box

{Please note that I am by no means a fashion blogger, and these photos were taken in our bedroom in front of a floor length mirror :) }

A couple weeks back I talked about how I signed up for something called Stitch Fix.  You can read more about what exactly it is on their website, but the short hand version is:  you submit a form about your body type and what style of clothing you like, and these people who are super trendy in California pick out 5 pieces of clothing that they think you would like / would look good on you.  You just pay $20 and if you buy something they send you, your $20 goes toward your purchase.  If you buy all 5 things, you get 25% off your entire purchase. 

It sounded simple enough to me, and I was excited to try something new.  Honestly, if you go through my drawer you can see that *almost* everything I own has some sort of stripe on it.  So I mainly decided to try Stitch Fix to get me out of my comfort zone and try on things I wouldn't think to pick out for myself.  It's almost like my own mini version of What Not to Wear.

So my Stitch Fix box was dropped off on my porch at lunch and I was SUPER excited.  Probably a little too excited- after all it's just clothes.  I did make sure to keep myself a little guarded though- I had read some blogs where the first box of clothes some women received did not match their style. And while I wouldn't say mine didn't match my style, I unfortunately didn't find any that I loved.  Now, you need to hear me out- I am extremely picky!  Most of the clothes I got were around $50 with the pair of jeans being $78.  I am willing to spend that much occasionally on a shirt or pair of pants, however I really need to love them.  They need to fit me perfectly and be something I can see myself wearing a lot.  That's why we splurged on my Hunter Boots.  They are stylish, but I wear them every. single. day.  In the winter and spring cute flats just don't work when we're walking through the muddy park and taking long walks.  So I am a specific type looking for cute and stylish, but also comfortable and practical since I'm moving around a lot playing with Jake.  

Although I didn't find anything I loved in the first box, I am planning on doing it again in a couple months.  It's not realistic with our budget for me to do this every month, but every once in a while is ok :)  And it seriously was really fun.  I may make a specific "Stitch Fix" board on Pinterest because I shared with my stylist my "Girl Stuff" board but there is a lot on there.  I think the more specific the better. 

So, here is what I got, along with my awkward commentary.  Enjoy :)

These were the one pair of pants I got.  I actually LOVE the color and most of the fit.  I don't have a really dark washed skinny jean and I would love one!  However, they were a tad bit baggy in the butt and thighs.  I am used to skinny jeans fitting a little bit snugger.  Honestly, if these would have been a perfect fit, I definitely would have considered getting them!

This is flower shirt number one.  I requested something with floral print and they sent me two!  I didn't mind this one too much, I just didn't love it enough to spend $50 on it.  See what I mean?  I'm picky.

This was actually my favorite shirt and I came pretty close to getting it!  I love the color and the sleeves were actually somewhat long on me! (this never happens).  However it was just a tad big.  I felt like it was a little too bulky on my body- plus I have one that is somewhat similar from Loft already.

Yeah this shirt was just a no go all around.  The fit was too wide and it was a little short and I just didn't love it.  Not too much to say about this one :)

Hello awkward poses with this shirt.  I really had trouble trying to show you this whole shirt. Dan actually liked this one; he really liked the blue.  I also liked the color- and it was flowy which I am looking for since I don't have too many shirts like this, but for some reason again, I just didn't love it.  And I believe this shirt was $68 so again, I really needed to LOVE it to get it. 

So those were my purchases!  I'm definitely giving some more detailed feedback on the next "Fix" and I'll keep you updated when I get my second package in a couple months :) If you've never done it and you are considering doing it, you can use my referral code if you'd like!  Every time you refer someone you get $25 credit to your account :)  That's actually how I've heard a lot of women can afford to do this, because their credit builds up!  

Happy Tuesday!

Our Chicago trip and some gymnastics

So when we were in Chicago I did exactly what I did last time, but worse.  I took zero pictures of anyone, but Jake.  One morning the sun was just so pretty and Jake and I were hanging out at our friend's house so I busted out my camera, and that was it.  It makes me sad because I love capturing moments, but as was last time, there were just so many great conversations and things to catch up on that I didn't ever feel the need to get it out.  Maybe next time I need a game plan- like I'll take one picture of a friend each time I hang out with them.  I know we'll be back in the summer.. so hopefully I'll remember this :)

Anyway, we were there because Dan needed to be in Chicago for a work trip.  It's always wonderful and hard because you want to see everyone you possibly can, but I'm also dealing with an almost two year old who's schedule is normally good until you take him on a trip.  And really, what loving friend lets their child cry it out when they wake up at 2am because they are in a pack n play and in a place they don't recognize?  Yeah, not many people. Especially when the hosts have to get up at 6am for work.  So anyway, we were a little sleep deprived because Jake was kicking us in our bed as he tossed and turned, but it was so worth it.  We visited our old Bible study, had a girls night, and even got away kid free to go out to eat at a restaurant.  It was a- mazing.  Oh, and I purchased 3 Anthropologie candles.  Oh how I love that store and their candles.  It's probably better for our budget that we don't live near Woodfield mall anymore.

Anyway, when we got back this past week we went to basically an open gym for kids.  It's a gym that "real" gymnasts use and they open it up for parents and kids for an hour once a week.  I'm actually really sad I didn't know about this place last November.  Jake was literally sweating from running around so much.  I wish I had a camera of him on the trampoline because he was hilarious.  He's such a cautious kid - while every other child is bouncing up and down smiling he was very timid and would only run back and forth on it with his arms pumping furiously with a very serious look.  No bouncing for our little man.  But he had a blast so if that's what makes him happy, it makes me happy :) 

So that's life so far.  We are going to venture into renovating our carpeted bathroom and hopefully put the finishing touches on Jake's playroom this weekend! Yay!  Can't wait to show you guys how it all turns out!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

PS: if you're looking for some new worship music, check out the new Vertical Church CD.  Our friends gave us theirs and it is A- mazing.

this is Jake waving goodbye :)

Jake was saying "basketball" here.  Even though we have a basketball hoop at home that was his favorite thing to do lol

Learning to appreciate the slower paced life

Life has been a lot slower for me these days.  We do a lot of coloring, drawing, reading, throwing balls on the floor and then picking them all up again.  And then we press repeat.

About three years ago I was yearning for this place.  I didn't want to be that person that was always rushed anymore.  I wanted to be at the place where I could take a deep breath and just be right where I was.  Not constantly thinking of the next thing to do. 

 

But I wasn't.  I was that person that almost always gave off the "I've got so much on my plate" vibe, and although I wanted things to change, I found a certain identity in it all.  Tim Challies says this:

“Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.”

And while I didn't want to be rushed anymore, I believed and was living the statement above.  If I was busy, then I had purpose.  And now that I'm not busy, it's easy for me to believe the lie that in a way, I don't have as much of a purpose as I did before, when I had more on my plate.

When I got pregnant so quickly after Jake, I remember thinking this makes sense God.  I know it will be busy and totally crazy at times but that is how I roll.  I always have a lot on my plate and you know I can handle it. 

And then we lost that baby.  And then we moved to a place far away from our friends and family.  I could no longer find my identity in my job at Trinity, or how many Bible studies I led, or classes I was taking in seminary, or how many coffee dates I had set up with the friends we made in Chicago.  It's as if God was telling me, "yes I know you can handle more, and I've seen you handle more, but that's not where I want you to find your identity anymore."

A while ago I read this devotional from a conference.  Because I've been in the seminary world I know that this person can be kind of controversial, however what she said in this devotional spoke truth to my little heart. 

In it she asked a bold question: "What is the truth of the gospel that your life is declaring? Is it your own belief that you have to earn, work hard, run faster, do more? Or are you walking in the unforced rhythms of grace, abiding in the vine, a friend of God?"

If I gave off the vibes that I was unapproachable because of my busyness, what was my life declaring?  Was I drawing people in to see more of God?  Was I giving the lost world a glimpse of the abundant life I have found in Christ?

And these questions are just as applicable to my life now as they were three years ago.  How I live my life says something about Christ, and I desperately want people to see a glimpse of how awesome it is to walk with Jesus.  I want people to see that I'm not striving to find my identity in anything I do but simply in Christ.  And I want people to see that having an identity in Christ alone is so incredibly freeing.

Right now God is teaching me a lot about my identity (can you tell? lol).  And He's using this slower paced life to show me a lot about myself.  So I'm working on enjoying and embracing this "new" place that God has called me to. I'm working on not striving to be at the next place God has for me.  And I'm working on simply enjoying and thanking Him for where He has me because when I have more time to be fully present where I am, it gives me more of an opportunity to see God in every moment of my day.

Especially in little, chubby finger painted hands :)