Hazel is 9 months old and just so much fun! Honestly I am the luckiest Auntie in the world. Every month I look forward to our little sessions.

We had a lot of fun with this photoshoot, actually it was two shoots. The first one we started and then halfway through she fell asleep and slept 4 hours! We ran out of daylight so we had to finish the shoot another day. Little stinker ;) Different days and different locations, but we made it work.

The second shoot took place while I was babysitting. We played patty cake, peekaboo and had such a fun day! This little muffin just makes my heart so happy <3

Thank you for stopping by! Have a sweet day :)

Travel Blog ~ Grants Pass, Oregon 2016

I can't believe I'm just getting around to writing this post about my latest little vacation. I guess this "building a house" thing, has kept me busy or something haha. Better late than never.

Early in December, I hopped on a plane and flew over to Grants Pass, Oregon, to visit my sweet friend Amy. I left snowy Idaho and headed to greener pastures, literally.

After a few hours and a couple airplanes later, I made it! Just imagine me singing "reunited and it feels so good!" really loud, and not very well, haha!

We kept ourselves busy by playing with her 3 week old puppies and doing a fun little photoshoot with them, click here to see that sweetness. Seriously how cute are they?!?! Little Schnoodles.

One day we went on a fun day trip to the Redwoods in California. I had been to the Redwoods when I was like two years old, of course I didn't remember them, so I really enjoyed getting to see them this time. It was a little misty there and that made for some really pretty photos. And of course pictures just don't do them justice, these trees are HUGE! I could have wondered around the forest for hours.

Then we made our way down to the coast. We stopped for some lunch and ate in the car overlooking the beach at Brookings, Oregon. It poured, and I mean POURED rain on us, but there was no way I was going to go all the way to the coast and not put my feet in the sand :) We were on the beach maybe 7 minutes, and we were completely soaked through. Is there a worse feeling than soaked jeans? Oh ya how about a 2.5 hour drive back home in them, ugh! But it was worth every second. I am a mermaid after all.

We decorated for Christmas, and listed to Christmas music. We got "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" stuck in our heads and we about went crazy! LOL. We laughed, ate Christmas candy, and just enjoyed spending time with each other.

We did some fun DIY projects and then decorated her house and definitely made it homey and sweet! (You can see some of what we created in the photo below. And it doesn't hurt that Amy hand letters and create such awesome stuff!)

One day Amy made a yummy lunch and had a bunch of girls over that I don't get to see very often. I forgot to take a picture when everyone was there, dang it, but at least I got this one. All of these girls are Idaho girls, I am just the only one that still lives there ;) It was nice seeing them all and catching up!

We checked out the downtown scene and ate dinner at a fun little sushi place one evening. We laid around and watched Hulu. We listened to Dane, Amy's hubby, play his guitar and sing.

We even hung out at the laundromat one evening. Not that that's usually an exciting place to go, but with Amy, it's always an adventure lol! Laundromat Shenanigans!

It was such a nice little getaway and I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with her. It's crazy how much I missed her!

And now we are just counting the days until she comes back to Idaho for a visit. I know her friends and her family can't wait. Especially me!

Thank you for stopping by and definitely go check out Amy's blog and show her some love! Have a sweet day everyone!

Building Our Home // Shingles, Texture, Fireplace, Doors, Closets, Trim, Paint

Let all the finishing touches begin. We are officially one, 1, ONE month away from our closing date! We are so excited to get the keys to our home and start the next chapter if our lives.

I have talked to several people who have built their homes, and everyone says that this is the worst part. The final month. The 30 days that seems to crawl by. Time stands still.

I have to disagree.

Maybe I am the exception and not the rule.

This entire experience has been awesome, and has seemed to fly by! And the last few weeks have seemed to go even faster.

All of the fun stuff we picked out just a few month ago are being delivered and installed. Walls are being painted, carpenters are doing finish work, and every day, what was once that big pile of lumber, is turning into our home.

We had horrible nasty weather for weeks, and I limited my driving, just to be safe, and for there to be one less car on the road. So I didn't make my daily trip to the house. Yes I really missed my daily drive and time spent sitting outside watching the activity a lot. But now that almost everything is done on the outside, the party is on the inside of the house (and I'm not going to sit up camp on the patio or peek in the windows haha.) So instead I'll stay out of the way and only try and check in a couple times a week. Try.

After all the tape had dried over the weekend, the texture was done and I just love it! I stopped by Tuesday, January 10th to check it out. I'm not exactly sure what this texture is actually called, but around here I've heard it called "Sun Valley" texture. Either way, I really like it.

Friday the 13th, I got a call from my builder that I needed to come over to the house and talk with the carpenter about how I wanted my closets and pantry designed. So away I went, whoo hoo! and I was so so so so happy to see shingles on my roof when I pulled up to the house. That had been my biggest concern. 

Then when I went inside I got another surprise...doors!! Those pretty 5 panel doors I have always wanted. ***In my old house I had the original 1960's flat panel hollow core doors, and I dreamed about having pretty doors someday :)

My kitchen is looking way better, especially now that all that tape and texture mess was cleaned up too!

My builder called early Monday morning and wanted to meet and go over the fireplace design with the carpenter. I happily obliged :) Thanks to Pinterest and weeks of preparation, I knew exactly what I wanted, so my visit was short. I was there long enough to see that the crown moulding, window and door trim were almost finished!

And then I couldn't help myself, I went back a little later in the day, the pantry, and closets were done and the fireplace was well on its way! Seriously the carpenter and his team are awesome!

I got a few ideas for the fireplace from Pinterest, and I think in the end I designed the perfect one. It's the focal point in the family room, and I wanted it to be a little more traditional, with craftsman qualities to it, not just a piece of crown moulding on top surrounded by tile. Warm and inviting, I can't wait to sit around it! 

Saturday, Alan and I took a peek inside and it was being painted! The trim and doors were all done.

Then on Sunday, the ceilings and walls were all done! Sub-floor for the bathrooms and laundry room were laid as well. We went with Sherwin Williams paint in Repose Gray, the trim is Incredible White.

That's all for this week. Thank you for your continued support and love <3 Have a sweet and happy day.