Wanna see where The King sleeps?!

This wasn't my original idea for his nursery decor; it was actually Anderson's! I had a more "rock n roll" theme in my head, but he said it wasn't fun and baby-ish enough. I'm so glad I listened to him (for once). This room is definitely fun and BRIGHT with a bit of a retro vibe!

Left: The wreath was so easy to make. I just wrapped yellow felt and orange tulle around a foam wreath and glued some little scrapbooking cutouts to it. It makes the door happy. :)

Right: Curtains - IKEA
Chair - Walmart. This was the hardest piece to find, because I had a specific size and style that I really wanted and couldn't locate it anywhere. Couldn't believe we finally found it at Wallyworld!
White Shelves - Lowe's
Foot stool - I just covered one that was stuffed in one of our closets.
Orange Storage Tub - Shower Gift

Mr. Sock Monkey - I made him a long time ago from a kit I bought here.
Bedding - etsy.




Wall Art - I posted an easy DIY recently. Check it out here.


Mobile - I made this too!


Receiving blankets - gifts.


Left: I framed our favorite maternity pictures from our shoot with Stephie Joy Photography.
Right: He has more clothes than we do. :)


Vintage Gerber advertisement - my parents found it in an antique store.


Vintage blocks - from my parents' house. I'm not sure who originally played with them.

Left: Circle mirrors from Target.
Right: A left-over decoration from my Cirque du Bebe shower.


Fun books! I can't wait to read Bear in Underwear. :)

Kingston Rock Almeida was born December 10th, 2010 at 4:09 PM. (Anderson says this is easy to remember because of the cleaning product!) He had blue eyes and brown hair, weighed 7lbs. 6 oz. and was just over 21 inches long - can't remember exactly how long, but that's just a minor detail!

What a week it has been. I think I've been on the internet for about 15 minutes total and haven't even taken any pictures of the little guy. Sleep just seems so much more appealing right now. I'm sure there will be many pictures to come, but for now this is the only one I have to share! I'm surprised it's in focus, because the proud daddy who took it had pretty watery eyes at the time.

There's one thing I've been wanting to do this week and since I finally have a minute of clarity I thought I'd share it on my blog. I keep thinking about all the cool things God has done for us over the last week and want to write them down somewhere, becasue I never EVER want to forget them.

-He allowed our favorite doctor to be starting his 3-day shift just as we were getting admitted to the hospital. We liked all the docs in our practice, but we know this one personally, and he is a Godly man who we trust completely. This was not a coincindence, and because of the major complications that went along with Kingston's delivery I don't think it's a stretch to say our doctor's wisdom and discernment saved my life.

-He answered all of our urgent prayers. Even the ones that seem kind of small, like prayers for less pain, quicker responses from nurses, good feedings, a good night's sleep.

-He gave us sweet friends who have prayed for us and brought us yummy meals. We've had such good food! Today we even had breakfast delivered. :) Even our neighbors have been sweet enough to stop by and bring gifts. Thank you for the cards, texts, emails and phone calls. We've felt very loved!

-He gave me a husband who has helped more than I ever imagined. I'm not supposed to be doing much more than feeding the little milk hog right now, and Anderson has stepped up and taken on everything else. And to think a few weeks ago he said he would never change a diaper!!

-He also gave me the most selfless, loving parents I could ever ask for. This whole experience has made me appreciate them even more. They've prayed for us constantly. My Mom moved in with us for the first few days and basically taught us both how to take care of an infant. We had NO CLUE! She also cooked for us, kept our house cleaned and did all of our laundry. And Grandpa came over and entertained Kingston all afternoon yesterday, so he would sleep through the night. And it worked!

I've already forgotten some of the things I wanted to write. I'll blame it on lack of sleep and pain meds, but I'm so thankful for a God who loves and cares for me and who was right beside me to comfort me on an operating table when I knew something was wrong but didn't know what it was. He is so faithful to us!

Today's feature is the beautiful, talented Monica Foye. She is an amazing painter and does some of the most incredible mixed media pieces. I especially love that she often adds lots of bling to her paintings. :)

Monica is also REALLY funny! Check out her work and hilarious interview below.

What type of artwork do you create?
I paint using acrylic on canvas (with the occasional rhinestone and/or feather thrown in there ! :)) My favorite things to paint are portraits, but I like to mix it up with other images that inspire me.

How/When did you get into painting?
The first time I picked up a brush was when I was 9 months preggo with my second child. You do those kind of irrational things when you are that bloated! Regardless, I WAS HOOKED. I didn't paint again until that baby was around 3 (about 2 years ago) because my husband bought me painting lessons for my birthday. That teacher from those lessons was such an inspiration and encouragement that the rest is history! Sometimes I wish I had more training or experience, but... whatever! I LOVE PAINTING, so I just keep at it and learn something new with every new piece I paint!

What's your creative process?
Ha! What's a creative process?!?! With 2 wild Indians running around life is so busy the process goes out the window most of the time. Most days I'm lucky to pick up a brush at all! I do love browsing through Google images and storing ones that catch my eye. As far as when I set up for a new painting, I am learning to think through color choices ahead of time. I still do a lot of my mixing on the canvas. There is a lot of trial and error going on!


What inspires you?
I love the way a portrait can capture someone... I think that is why I love your work, Lyndsay. You don't pose people, you just concentrate on capturing the moment. The unplanned, silliness of the moment. So when I see a picture of someone that catches them just right I find myself thinking, "I would love to try to paint that!" I catch myself looking at people when they are talking to me and studying the way the light shapes their face, the contours of their eyes... seeing this all typed out makes me realize just how creepy it probably seems... haha! so here's a little PSA: if we are ever talking and I am looking at you in an intense or creepy way, I mean no harm.. I'm probably in the middle of a portrait and I can't help myself!! haha!


A MUST in my workspace?
Other than the obvious materials, I need good music and something hot in a mug to sip :) As silly as it sounds, I pick music according to the mood of the painting I am working on. Upbeat music like MercyMe, Justin Timberlake or Steve Fee if I'm working on a background or a whimsical piece like one of my fashion portraits. Christy Nockels, Amos Lee or Bebo Norman is the choice for more serious portraits.


Told you she's funny!
Interested in an original custom painting? I think one of these would make the PERFECT gift for any special occassion. Contact Monica through her website, facebook or email her: monicafoye@gmail.com

When I found out we were going to have a baby I started praying for the little booger immediately. At times I've wondered what I should specifically be praying for. Then one day God brought this verse to my mind.

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
-Micah 6:8

This has become my constant prayer for our son, and I thought it would be really cool to have a reminder in his room! We used a lot of bright colors with a little bit of a retro vibe in the nursery, so I wanted this piece of art to look similar to a vintage bus blind. I love how it turned out and wanted to share a little DIY post with you. It's an idea that you can use in any room of your home!

The step-by-step:

1. Have a large piece of wood cut to size at your local home improvement store. I knew that I wanted mine to take up the entire wall behind the crib, so I had it cut to 4'x3'.

2. Purchase large letter decals. I found 6" letters at Office Depot.

3. I wanted the lines to be spaced evenly, so I used a ruler and pencil and drew lines where the letters should go. Then I placed the letters without sticking them to make sure it looked right. You could also just eye it if you don't have the patience for this.

4. Stick the letters to the wood and use something with a flat edge to make sure you don't have any bubbles. Credit cards work great!

5. Here's the tricky part. I used spray paint, but the wood soaked it up so much that I ended up having to roll paint the whole piece-AGH! Maybe a different type of wood would have been easier to spray.

6. Once the paint is dry, carefully peel the letters from the wood and rough up the whole thing with sand paper to give it a more worn look.

Ta-Dahh! We screwed it directly to the wall, and that's pretty much it.

I'll post more pictures of the nursery soon!!!

Every year my parents give out A LOT of Christmas cards to people at their church. So, we always have a little family photoshoot on Thanksgiving. This year we weren't really feeling it. Well to be honest, my brother never really feels it, and I wasn't in the mood to take pictures while sporting my now giant pregnant belly. But we pulled through for our mother and still managed to get a few shots.

The smiley, happy family ones always make the card. You know, the picture where someone yells, "Everyone look happy," and we all smile like we mean it?! But I like the un-posed, unplanned shots. So I thought I'd share one of those today. I love how Dad is looking at Mom. :)

Hope you're staying warm on this COLD Monday!!