my grandma's letters

I'm kind of a pen pal with my Grandma Netten and I LOVE getting her letters in the mail. I hadn't written her since before my Grandpa passed away in December and she moved into a retirement home. I wrote her a couple of weeks ago because I was overdue for writing her and giving her a little glimpse into my life. I can't share too much because who knows who she will tell and how she will change the story! She wrote me back this week and I love hearing about whatever she has been doing and whatever news about the family she likes to pass along. Side note: once upon a time, this is how I found out my cousin was pregnant and was getting married :) She usually only includes a couple of punctuation marks through out the entire letter, but that is what I love and it's always a bonus when she spells my name right.

I had been doing pretty well dealing with my Grandpa's death, but when it came to writing the letter, I realized it was the first time I addressed it just to my Grandma. In my head, I could imagine in the past my Grandma reading the letter outloud to my Grandpa and him saying "what did you say?" many times because he refused to wear a hearing aid. Funny how little moments like writing an address make you realize how much you miss someone... I'll miss him asking me everytime I saw him, "where is your boyfriend" and me explaining that I didn't have one. One time, my uncle overheard and told me to tell him that I had too many boyfriends to chose from :) My Grandpa seemed to like that joke when he realized I wasn't serious!

And to end with a lighter note, here are some snippets from my Grandma's letter.
"thanks for your card was a pretty one good to hear you are good So am I an I like it here starting to know more people an we do a lot of things play cards Bingo exercise So we are kept busy an I do 10 pages in my find the word book every day so Im just not sitting here doing nothing."

"hows the weather we sure been having some cold weather an snow keeps your dad busy scooping"

"I see Leah also brings me the best beautiful flowers about every week I really get the commets on them from people here an they all like her too."

I'm so thankful to get letters from my Grandma :)

Here's a picture I took with my grandparents this fall...on one of my Grandpa's "good days"


love and miss you always Grandpa and so thankful to have more time with my Grandma!

dream house continued...office space

<

Ever since I switched majors and schools, I always imagined that someday I would work from my home. Any of these spaces I would love to have as my work space! (Margot Austin) It's a great idea to have your work space in the guest bedroom.

Or if you have a niche in your family room...great little space for a work area. Looks like this desk is popular...it's the same or very similar to the one above! (Sarah Richardson)

It also appears that I like white cabinetry and a soothing turquoise blue for the walls :) I like that this space offers a sitting area..meeting with clients or my "kids" could work on homework in the same space as me.

This last image is reversed...the color on the cabinets and white on the walls. I LOVE the huge bulletin board to pin up inspiration and having the desk face outside. This might be my favorite :)

Have a great weekend!

#27

who knew that #27 of my "30 before 30" list would be checked off so soon this year?? :) i'm not going to share too many details, but let me tell you...i'm a happy girl right now! Here's a little blurb from my journal...
------------
January 19, 2011

I know I need to write this down while it is still so fresh in my head :) And while I’m so giddy/ happy/ excited!

I went on a first date tonight. I was nervous and excited, b/c I don’t go on dates. Ever. Well except for one last summer. But before that, it had been THREE years. Nervous b/c what if I say something dumb or awkward or I don’t know what to say. But really I had nothing to worry about. I was relaxed the entire time. I didn’t feel nervous talking to him and when it was silent, it was okay! It was SO good. He made me laugh and that was important to me. He also complimented me on my brown boots. Bonus points for him! He said they reminded him of pirate boots. Funny. And then at the end, he asked me out for next week. :)

----------


so to sum up life right now.
contentment.
joy.
BIG smile.

custom canvas for baby Connor

This past summer my newest nephew was born and my sister asked me to paint a canvas to match his bedding. I happily agreed to paint something for the newest love in my life :)

A detail shot of the canvas edge...I have to work on getting my edges a little cleaner :)

Here is the canvas with the bedding. I based the colors off one picture I had of the quilt. I was quite happy with how well I was able to match and coordinate the colors!

The light/bright green matched perfectly! I'd love to make some more animal canvases...might have to add to Connor's collection for his 1st birthday. The great thing is that they are gender neutral so my sister and her husband can use them for future children :)

dream house continued...bedrooms

So continuing on the long drawn-out series on my dream house :)

Tonight I bring you some inspiration for bedrooms. Velvet and Linen has stolen my heart with this bedroom featured on their blog.

I love the colors...not too bold, but not too plain. Just perfect for a master bedroom retreat. And it even has a sitting area, which I've also thought was a great idea for a master bedroom. A perfect place for morning coffee or a late night talk, in your own private space. And a few more views of the same room...

LOVE that lamp. The shape and color are a perfect compliment to the room. And doesn't that bed look so comfortable?

Moving on to a bedroom idea for an teen/ high schooler. Wish I had this room when I was in high school! Actually I'd still take this room for my own :)How awesome is the desk and built-in storage? The bright colors make it young and hip, but it also looks sophisticated and not over-the-top...perfect for a teen!

And now for the last bedroom inspiration picture...I love the idea of a built-in bed and actually my brother did this for my niece and it is a great idea!

This would be perfect for siblings sharing a room or even for having a sleepover with friends and great use of space with the desk in the middle.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing just a glimpse into the bedrooms that would inspire my dream house!

change of plans

Well apparently I'm not so good at this blogging thing because already I'm not keeping up with my "30 before 30" once a week blogging! I will admit the week after my birthday was thrown off with the death of my Grandpa, followed by graduating from college and then Christmas! It was a busy December for me!
Back to my grandpa...our family knew he was not doing well and so we waited...and waiting is the hardest part. He was suffering so much here on earth and was ready to meet God in heaven. Thankfully, he went peacefully in his sleep. As much as I'm thankful that he is in heaven...his presence here will be missed so much!! It was very hard to see him laying in the casket. Makes death a reality.

There is much to look forward to this year! Can't wait to see what God has planned for my life!

Here is a picture of the tulips my sister gave me for graduation. I took them home for Christmas so I could enjoy them longer :)