Moving is a lot of work!

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I know I have disappeared the last few weeks.  Unpacking has been my main focus!  After feeling like my family has been uprooted in one form or another for the last 6 months I have been on a mission to get us feeling settled.

I don't have many house pictures yet as we are still painting and all that fun stuff.  However, I thought I would show a few pictures from the day we moved in.  Because our closing was on Monday morning, but the house was finished on Friday, we were able to sneak in over the weekend and start some painting.  (Don't worry, the building supervisor gave his ok)  As always, I can't believe what a difference paint makes!

The kitchen before:

 The family room before:

 The entryway before:

 The kitchen after:

The paint color is the same Sherwin Williams Upward blue we had in the old house.

(notice the "happy closing day" cupcakes we got for ourselves.....err...the kids.)

 The entry way after:

I chose Sherwin Williams Repose Gray for this area

(That little wall beside the stairs has since had stripes added, I will post more on that later!)

Here is the outside the day we moved in...of course, the garage is now FULL of stuff still to be unpacked now.  Mostly home decor that I need to decide where to put on the walls.

My favorite thing about our new house is the lot.  We live on a street that dead ends at a farmer's field.  There are 6 houses on the street and 8 kids to play together.  My kids have had a blast being able to go outside and play! I have peace of mind knowing that the pretty much no cars are going to come down the street and the ones that do are the parents of some of the kids playing. 

So in other news, Evie learned to ride her bike last week and yesterday we dropped McKinley at church camp for the week.  So far, it's been a great summer!

Santa Buddy

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Like most, I love Christmas music.  I also love Michael Buble.  A Michael Buble Christmas cd...win-win!

It's on sale this week at Target for $9.99...pick it up and I give you permission to listen to Christmas music before Halloween.  lol

Fall Pictures 2011

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Well, we got all dressed up and hair combed to take our family pictures on Saturday evening.  I think I should have maybe rented a different lens or used maybe even my kit lens.  I had a lot of cute shots that were either our of focus or had one person in the picture out of focus.  The perfectionist in me wants to retake them and I am sure a professional photographer can see 100 things I should have done differently.  However, I got enough of the shots that I wanted and I am letting it go!!

The Pioneer Woman photoshop elements actions came in really handy on these pictures.  I downloaded them for my customs pictures, but never used them much.  However, they made the editing of our family pics go a lot faster.

Also, I had grandiose plans of awesome backdrops and fantabulous poses....but in the end we just went to my parents house and used their backyard....and well the poses are your pretty standard poses.  I guess in the end it was the people in the picture, not the pose, that was most important me.

Oh and one last thought....If I had the extra money...I so would have payed someone!  lol  But as it is, I am getting all new photos for my gallery wall, plus a few extra's for $22 shipped.  Ok, ENOUGH of my rambling about the pictures...

Todd really like this one and I think it's going on the Christmas cards.  Of course, I HATED myself....who likes themselves from the side?  But the kids look so cute I will take one for the team!  lol

So here they are!  Thanks for looking and letting me share!

Cake Pops

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This week my nieces came to visit!  We had a blast swimming, going to the Indiana State Fair, shopping, and hitting downtown Indianapolis...somewhere in there we found time to make cake pops!

This was my first attempt at making them...

We took a picture of one of the "pretty" cake pops....but really they all turned out a tad sloppier.  We had a little trouble during the dipping phase.

The sloppy pops did not stop us from having a blast eating them though...they were delicious and fun!  I think I will make these for birthday snacks at school this year.

The little girls had lots of fun playing dress up for hours!

Our Weekend

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My in-laws have been married for 40 years, this month!

As our gift to them, Todd's brother organized the whole family to get together for a professional picture that they can hang on their wall. It took a little work for 3 families, in 3 different states to get there on the same weekend...but we made it work! After the pictures we all went out for dinner, I know his parents had a great time and really appreciated it!

Here were a few pictures that I snapped after the photographer was finished with the group portrait. I have to say that after seeing the professional in action I am motivated to take some classes and get some new equipment for my camera!

LightScoop & Pinterest

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I need to break down and order this, I have been reading rave reviews on several blogs. Maybe on pay day???

LightScoop

I finally joined pinterest last week. It's a fun little site for you to save ideas and inspiration for yourself...as well as see what your friends are pinterested in! You need an invite to the website, but if you CLICK HERE Beth over at A2Z has an open invite for you.

Oh...and don't forget to follow me (LaNae Ball) if you sign up...I want to see what you are pinterested in. :) :)

Green Thumb

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yep, I definitely don't have a green thumb.

However, 12 years ago, when we moved into our house, I bought two iris plants and not only have I not killed them....they have multiplied like crazy. Heck, I have even dug a bunch up and thrown them out and I still have too many!!

This week...

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Not to many exciting things going on here this week, but I had a few things to show you. The first is my planters that Todd hung for me. I need to trim the coco liners and the baskets might be a tad small for the windows.....but they had been hanging on the fence in our backyard, unused, for two years. Think free! Well, except for the adorable daisies that Evie picked for me to plant in them.

The second thing is a letter art that I made for my Mother-in-Law. I made it last week, but have been waiting to share since I didn't want her to see her gift on my blog. My in-laws are on their way from Michigan as I type, so I think it's safe to share now!

A few weeks ago I was at Von Maur and saw these cool letter art pictures for sale. However, each letter was $8 each in addition to the frame...not happening! My friend helped me find the letters online and I did this project much more affordably. In case you are wondering, Ball is her last name. ;)

Oh one last thing, I listed this little princess set on eBay. Evie chose Belle as her favorite princess, but you can choose whatever princess you would like for your applique. CLICK HERE to see my auction. This dress is really comfy and Evie has already asked to wear it several times this week.

*Giggle*

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This struck me funny this morning...especially since I just caved to the hype and bought the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster for my living room. I'll post pictures of that later. ;) I would post pictures now, but the chair in front of the poster is currently being occupied by Mt. Laundry.

Happy Monday!

Sneaky Peeky & Brotherly Love

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Here is a sneak peek of my Cinderella set that I will be listing on Thurdsay! Stay tuned for more!

But the real reason I wanted to share this picture is because McKinley tagged along for pictures today and Evie is looking at him in this picture. I love how much my kids love each other and it sure shows on her face here. <3 Like many little boys, McKinley has his naughty moments! However, I am confident he would level anyone who messed with his little sister. He not only watches out for her in the big stuff, but he helps her with the little stuff too...like making breakfast or learning how to play a new DS game.

Often I am sad that Evie does not have a sister, but having an awesome brother isn't so bad either!

Pear Trees

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Here in central Indiana these pear trees are everywhere! I am sure they are planted in abundance because they grow fast and are low maintenance. I love these little trees. When winter is taking over the state with all it's grayness...they are the last trees to lose their leaves. They hang on and give us one last burst of color for the season...and just when you think you cannot possibly take one more gray winter day, they are the first trees to develop spring buds. Not only do they get buds, those buds turn to beautiful white flowers. The trees proclaim that spring is finally here!

The other day a friend of mine on facebook complained about these trees because "they smell and they are only pretty for a few weeks." I was shocked! Then saddened. Many, many times throughout the different seasons I drive around the city and soak up the gifts that these trees are giving. We are lucky to have beautiful things that God creates for us...even if it is only for a few weeks. I felt the urge to defend the little trees to her, but didn't. lol

The pear tree in our backyard is the longtime home of a bird nest, I think every year a different family takes over the nest. We are hoping this year to have some cardinals take it over.

Can you see the nest in there?

New Chair & Other Randomness

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I fell in love with this little chair the minute I saw it at World Market! I thought it over for a few weeks before I pulled the trigger and made the purchase.

Here is a sneak peek of my new TV shelf...which is still waiting for proper decorations. My next project is to build a gallery wall around the TV. I have seen several pictures of gallery walls where you do a double take before you realize there is a TV...that is my goal!

Finally here are a few new things around the house. I picked up these awesome glass candlesticks for $14 at Hobby Lobby. I love their chunkiness! The globe I grabbed some time ago at Christmas Tree Shops for $10...it has been hanging out, waiting for the right home.

I also found these fun botanical canvas prints for $3.99 each Christmas Tree Shops! They work great above the dresser in my entryway. If you notice, one of the glass jars is still waiting to be filled...I'll get to it...eventually!

Wizard of Oz

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I have been holding onto this fabric for 4 years! I decided the DillyDally Throwback launch was a good time to use it.

CLICK HERE to see the listing

This week Todd repainted my master bedroom...a really pretty gray and I love it! I will post pictures next week.

He was also willing to repaint my living room and kitchen....but....I could not decide on a color! He even bought me a few sample quarts and I still couldn't decide. In the end, he touched up the green color I already have. I know bloggers everywhere are gasping in horror. lol

Insomnia & Coffee Tables

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The whole "spring forward" thing is messing with me! 1:11 A.M.....I should have been asleep ages ago. Oh well, I figured now was as good a time as any to look at coffee tables.

I haven't had a coffee table in years, but I recently changed up my living room a bit and I think a coffee table would work nicely in there now.

I love the tv show American Pickers. A few months ago, I saw them buy an awesome cart that they said they would sell as a coffee table...since that episode it seems I am seeing these cart tables everywhere! Sadly, they are $$$$...unless, of course, you are one of the uber lucky people who stumbles on one at a garage sale. I doubt I would fall in the uber lucky people category.

This one caught my eye at World Market...hmmm....$279, better than $1000, but probably still over budget. Either I will start saving or maybe I can sweet talk dear hubby into the Ana White make it yourself version. We'll see...