Lattice and Trellis...LOVE it!

There's this trend in home decor recently that I'm totally obsessed with and would love to have in my home. It's the lattice/trellis/Moorish style of patterns that have become really popular over the last year. Need some samples of what I'm talking about? Oh, OK!!!

I love this great DIY art done over at The Shabby Nest

This bedding over at Young House Love is SOOO yummy, I would luuuurrve to have this in my bedroom, but West Elm doesn't sell it anymore :( {By the way, have I mentioned how much I'm obsessed with YHL's blog?! It's UH-mazing!}
How 'bout these lovely pillows I've seen on Etsy?!! I've looked all over for the perfect fabric to purchase so I can make my own but I haven't found much within my budget....so I may just be ordering me some of these some day...
What do you think?!! Are they as wonderful to you as they are to me?!!

A little glimpse...

At my new place! Things are finally starting to come together and feel truly like home in this new wonderful place. I'm currently working on a project for a wall of mine, pictures to come. But first I'll give you a few photos of my dinning area....

That lovely white platter I found at Homegoods for a mere $5....I can see a lot of great uses for it! And those beautiful red flowers on the windowsill? The plant was a gift 2 Christmases ago, which I only got to enjoy when I visited my sister's because I gave it to her to keep alive for me due to the fact that my old place had no light. Welp, when she moved I got it back and it decided to bloom with those gorgeous bright red blooms shortly after we were reunited :)

Want to know a great trick too lift your candle up a little in those hurricanes? Take one of your unused drinking glasses, turn it upside down, set the candle on top and fill around it!

That great purple/pink vase on the white drawer unit is one of those I found earlier this year on the CHEAP that I bought to turn into lamps {the other one is blue, in my bedroom}....I have the lampshade for the purple one, I just need to put it all together!

Taking a break from unpacking...

To give you some photos of my new apartment! I haven't really taken any of the inside yet, those will come after I have it all put together. But here are some pictures of the beautiful tree that is blooming outside my new home. Does it get any better than that?! Sure, the blooms won't last for too long but it's still stunning and something to look forward to in the spring!

That's my place from the outside, me on the top. Talk about privacy! And since it's a corner unit I have TONS of windows and sunlight, but because of where it sits I don't get too much direct sunlight, just a little in the morning. {That will be great in the summer because it won't get too hot, as for the winter we'll see....hopefully it doesn't get too cold!}
This is the view from the bedroom...I can get used to this every morning! {There's also a patio door from the living room}

I think someone else likes the new place....she spends her time between here {watching for anything and everything...maybe she's waiting to see the bunnies we have running around everywhere} and her bed inside....back and forth, back and forth
Oh, and here basking int he sunshine :)

Change is refreshing!

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here {which tends to be how it goes} but stay tuned because there will be lots of good posts coming in the future after I start getting settled into my NEW place! I'm extremely excited to get out of this tiny dungeon I've been living in for 2 years and into a place that's a little bigger, has a washer/dryer {something I've been living without...no fun!}, a wood burning fireplace {the idea of this makes me giddy inside, we'll see how much I actually make fires in it} and a WHOLE lot more light {you mean, I won't have to pin my curtains up daily and block my patio door just to give my plants light?!}!! In all honesty, the place I've been at really isn't that bad but I think it's fair to say it's time for some new changes in my life.

So I've been trying to pack like a maniac {and stressing myself out in the process because packing by yourself is the pits} and at this current moment my house is a disaster {that's an understatement} but it's all tolerable because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel {the SUNSHINE!}

Tomorrow I head up to the mountains for a Women's Retreat with a friend's church, and despite the fact that it's giving me a little stress because it's taking away from the time I could be getting out of HERE, I'm quite excited for this little getaway and think it's going to be quite refreshing.

And in addition to the change of moving to a new place happening right now, there is some sad change also happening in my life...my sister, unborn child and husband are packing up at this very moment to make their move down to GA. Yes, I realize it's a good thing for them and it's just what happens in life {especially when your life is the military} but I still don't like it one bit. My sister and I have become even closer over the last 2 1/2 yrs that we've lived so close to each other and nothing can replace the friendship between sisters. Who am I going to get to hang out with randomly (sure I have friends but it's not the same) and eat their food or use their washer and dryer? Wait, not going to need to do that last part anymore! Who am I going to spend the holidays with? Yes I still have people to spend holidays with, but it's not the same when it's not family. I'm sure this will be a great growing time for me, and something we all must go through in life but it still doesn't make it any easier. And the hardest part about all of it is that little baby boy growing in her belly that I'm not going to get to meet until who knows when. It makes me teary just thinking about it. He's my first nephew and next to having my own child there's not a whole lot more that beats holding my own sister's newborn baby. Technology these days is great so I'm sure I'll be seeing him a lot on skype but it's not the same as getting to hold him weekly and love on him {shoot, maybe it's a good thing for her and her husband that they won't be close by otherwise they may get pretty darn sick of me!}.

So anyways, lots of change happening for me over the next week....some good, some not so good. But....what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger, right?!!

Life is Tough

I don't have much to report on around here these days...just getting used to life after being in paradise. The trip was incredible ~ definitely a trip of a lifetime and one I will remember forever! Many of you have already seen the pictures on facebook so I won't be adding a bunch on here, just a couple of my favs.
This first picture is one of the many amazing sunset shots I was able to capture...ohhh I could stare at these all day!
Me at a cute little bakery on one of the nights the other nanny and I were able to grab a bite to eat out by ourselves
The island had churches ALL over it, this one is my favorite...I wish I could get married there or at least just move that church up to the states!
Me swimming in the ocean at my favorite resort we visited, Cap Juluca....doesn't it look like I'm in a pool the water is so clear and blue?!
The little bay at Cap Juluca, absolute paradise! We found the most awesome shells at this beach....wish I would have taken a couple more home {not that I had room, or weight space in my suitcase for them}
More of Cap Juluca, the white buildings are all part of the resort
'Inside' the lobby at Cap Juluca....I want their decor for my home!
Me at a beach we visited a couple of times


I have a busy couple of weeks coming up.....I'm throwing my sister's baby shower this weekend {stayed tuned for pics from that}, the rents will be in the area for a week and I get to spend some time with them, and then I move to my new place {which I'm uber excited about, also pics to come}!!

Sand in my toes!!

There are only DAYS left until we leave for the Caribbean {5 to be exact} and I'm getting more and more excited with each day! In 26 yrs on this earth this will be the first time I've ever been out of the country (yes...I lived driving distance from Canada for 23 yrs and never once made it up there). As some of you have asked, yes I am going with the family I work with...I'm not quite sure what to expect on how it will work out but I don't have a doubt in my mind that it won't be wonderful {I'll move my job any day to sandy beaches and sunshine!!}.

This weekend I got to spend some fabulous time with preggers {my sis}....we got a mani/pedi, went to Babies R Us and updated her registry, had some yummy sushi, and then went back to her place so I could see all the cute stuff she's gotten for baby Quinn. And I do have to add that her tummy is so stinkin cute...she's going to be all belly and nothin but belly!!

Today I got some much needed stuff done around here, including finishing up a Goodwill treasure that I've been working on for a few weeks. It's a little wooden side table {with cute little curves} that I sanded down, primed, and painted black to use as a nightstand. I'll post pictures later once I put her in her new home with one of my great 'PB' lamps on her.

I also downloaded a bunch of new music to listen to on the plane....my favorite bands these days are Zac Brown Band {"I got my goes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand ~ life is good today!"}, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood {of course} and Rascal Flatts {again, of course}....totally into country recently - I go through phases and am definitely a big fan right now!

Anyway, ONE week from today I'll have sand in my toes and sun kissed skin {not to rub it in or anything}. I'll try and get online and post some pictures so you all can feel like you're there too!!! {Riiiight you say} Have a great week!
{This might just be the view from where we're staying}

SO blessed

What a wonderful man I have in my life, I just have to share it with people who might care. I've talked about him before on here, but I have to share a little something that he did this weekend that makes me giddy inside. {Normally I wouldn't share this with the 'world' but I feel pretty confident that most of the people who actually read my blog are close enough to me that sharing something like this isn't considered 'bragging', but rather showing my appreciation.}

As you all know, he's out in VA training with the Marine Corps and when we will be together again someday is quite unknown. I got a phone call from him Friday night (after not talking with him really all week because they were in the field). He told me he needs me to help him make a decision {my instant thought is ' oh dear...okaaay??'}. He said he had 4 doors and needed me to pick something behind one of the doors {me still not knowing where this is going}. So then he lays it out for me: I had helped him out with something pretty significant during the week and he wanted to do something nice for me to thank me {my next thought 'okay!!!'} (at this point really not knowing what direction this was going in and how high his standard was for this).

So these were the options he wanted me to chose from: 1)Shopping spree 2)Spa day 3)Straight cash 4)Jewelry {Um can I just say...who comes up with those ideas!!! Phenomenal! I can say they're probably any woman's prime choices to chose from!! (either that or he just knows me well:))}. So he gave me the price range and told me the one stipulation was I had one week to do it. No problem. Now to chose....well a spa day would be great (I've never actually even had a full spa day) (OH and he had a particular place picked out already that he thought would be great to go to) BUT a spa day is over and done with in one day with nothing to show....to me that's not the best use of $$. Cash was out, I wanted it to mean more than that. Shopping spree would be wonderful, but I really don't need anything (especially since I just went through my closet and found a ton of stuff I had forgotten about) and again, I wanted it to mean something (so did he). SOOO the obvious choice was JEWELRY!!! Definitely can do THAT! He already had in mind what he wanted me to get; something that was classy, traditional, and I would wear for years to come....not something trendy that I might look back on in a few years and not wear because it's 'out of style' (his words were 'save that for after you have a good foundation of jewelry'....this man has his head on straight!).

Saturday afternoon I headed out to see what I could find. After going to a couple of different jewelry stores and conversing with him a bunch we decided a great choice would be to get some solitaire diamond studs. I pondered it overnight and Sunday I headed back out to make sure I got the perfect pair (cough** and the budget went up just a bit **cough). I'm thrilled with the choice we made, they're stunning, and I feel pleased with how they resemble him even though he wasn't here to pick them out with me.

Ohh he's great {deep sigh}. I am very blessed and thankful to call him my own ;)