Fresh Start Sunday

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
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Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)


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Insta-Friday

Happy Friday, everyone!
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Blogger was choosing to not cooperate last night as I tried to write this post,
but here it is, better late than never...
My sewing machine and I were best friends last week. I finally had time to sit down and see if I could make a pillow design a reality. This is my favorite kind of sewing project - no pattern, just a vision and figuring out how to make it happen.the first two ruffly/pleated pillows!
I also sat down to finish Little Guy's crib skirt. No pattern for this project either, and way more pinning and ironing than what I prefer, but I'm so proud of how it turned out!It was Claire's turn to bring Mr Bear home from school. She had the bear for one night and then had to document what she did with him. Here he is with us at the grocery store. Does anyone else find him just a tad bit creepy?!?Thursday morning was my 39 week doctor's appointment. I promised Claire we would have a girl's day after wards that included going out for breakfast. From there we headed to the mall and did some shopping to get her all set with winter gear. While I can't wait for Little Guy to make his arrival, I wouldn't trade the four years I've had with just Claire for anything.and a reward for a good check up?
one yummy cinnamon roll!off to her Halloween celebration at school.
We've had this costume for nearly 2 months and she was not allowed to touch it until it was time to put it on, so needless to say, this was a very big day!
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Have a great weekend everyone, stay safe while enjoying your Halloween activities!


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New Pillow Design

I've had this new pillow design bouncing around in my head for weeks now, and now that most of my "nesting projects" have wrapped up, I finally had time to sit at my machine and make it happen.
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The linen that I used was inspired by this teal dresser that was available at Rebel.reclaimed...and here it is......already on display at Rebel! The pillows feature two layers of ruffly/pleated goodness and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out!


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Monday's 10 Things


It's been a while, time to get Monday's 10 Things up and running again.
Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
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1. Reaching the final week of this pregnancy and holding up okay.
2. Feeling this little guy kicking inside of me on a very regular basis giving me constant reassurance that he's doing fine. That's one thing I will miss once this pregnancy is done.
3. My doctor - I have a new one this time around and he has been wonderful.
4. Having almost every item on my way too long Fall to do list checked off,
I feel like such a weight has been lifted!
5. Another Fall weekend, more gorgeous weather.
6. A great morning at church for all three of us. We love hearing Claire's excitement for what she learned in the kid's program.
7. An entire Sunday afternoon spent outside with neighbors.
8. We hired a cleaning lady!! I'm so excited to no longer have house cleaning as a distraction from quality time with my kids.
Can I hear a hallelujah?!?
9. Eric and all he's been doing around here lately without being asked. Projects, grocery shopping, dinner making, you name it, he's doing it! Making this pregnant girl's life so much easier.
10. A very pleasant 4 year old the last few weeks, we're loving our last bit of time just the three of us!
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What are you most thankful for today?



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Insta-Friday : Where I've Been

I hope you're all having a wonderful Fall, it just so happens to be my favorite season! Clearly, the blog has been a little quiet the last two months, so I thought I would share a bit of what I've been up to.
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Our summer was incredibly busy. Very fun, but very busy. Between the first weekend of June and the last weekend of August we weren't home a single weekend, including three weekends that we were out of state. So, once we hit Labor Day weekend, I was in full-on get-caught-up-on-life and ready-for-baby mode which has looked something like this...this girl started up 4 year old preschool, four afternoons a week.
that meant we had several weeks of a very naughty tired girl,
thankfully she's adjusted now and we have our very pleasant Claire back I held a garage sale and cleaned out the majority of our girl clothes (to the tune of 10 large plastic tubs worth!) While I was sad to see some of the clothes go, it sure is nice to have our basement storage room so cleaned out.
I turned 30 in September! So many people asked how I felt about turning 30, and the truth is, I was completely okay with it. My family is amazing, I love my friends, and I'm so content at this point in my life, that 30 really is just a number. Not to mention, having an awesome party to celebrate sure helps!
See my posts on it:
here
here
here
See the Pearl's Events posts on it:
here
hereWe've tried to soak up as much of this gorgeous Fall as possible. Lots of fresh air now because we know Winter is coming and we'll be spending enough time indoors then!Two weekends after my party, Claire turned 4 and we threw her a cupcake-themed party. This was her first "real" birthday party and we took so much joy in watching her and her friends together.I went on an overnight with some girlfriends to get scrap booking done. My goal was to have Claire's book completely caught up before Little Guy's arrival, and I would say I'm 90% there, not bad! For the second year, I got together with the same girlfriends to make applesauce. We've found using Michigan Ida Red and Michigan Macintosh apples is a delicious combination. Note to us: 3 bushels in one evening is a major undertaking, thanks Eric for jumping in to help!I've been working on getting Little Guy's nursery all ready, and we're very close. As of this week the art work is hung and the fabric for the crib skirt arrived. I couldn't be happier with how it is all coming together. I'll be sure to post a full room tour when it's complete.
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And apparently nesting has carried over into other rooms of our house including...the kid's bathroomand our bedroom
I'll post full before and afters of those as well!I'll be making my last pre-baby pillow delivery to Rebel this week. 12 pillows - my biggest drop off yet! I've got a new pillow design that I've been working through as well, we'll see if it happens pre-baby or not!
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Now today I'm packing the diaper bag, finishing setting up the cradle and otherwise just laying low! I'm not sure what the status of the blog will be for the next couple of weeks with Little Guy's arrival, but I'll be sure to keep you posted!

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Insta-Friday

Happy Friday, everyone!
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It's gorgeous here in Michigan right now with temperatures in the mid-70's and the trees in full color, further confirmation that Fall is definitely my favorite season!
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We've been in full-on birthday celebrating mode over here as I just turned 30, and Claire just turned 4 (and don't worry, the 4 year old told me very clearly that her birthday was the bigger deal, sigh.)
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Here's a bit about our week...
at Barnes & Nobel researching books on cupcakes for story time at Claire's birthday party. We settled on Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake as well as Pinkalicious
turning boring store-bought cupcake supplies into cute and girlie cupcake supplies for the DIY cupcake favor bags we sent home with each girl
while this girl loves school, it's really tiring her out. That works out okay though as at 36 weeks pregnant, this mumma is getting tired too! We've been having lots of lazy mornings that look a lot like this one
writing out thank you notes from my birthday,
stationary that matches my blog sure makes me happy.
Cards by 6.25 Paper StudioI'm scrap booking with girlfriends this weekend and can't wait!
This is my big chance to have Claire's book all caught up before Little Guy arrives and sets me further behind. I completely covered my craft room this week sorting papers and pictures so everything is right ready to be assembled.and yes, the former accountant in me even made a spreadsheet of what I need to get done.
I'm not messing around!
we found ourselves in Grand Haven with temperatures in the mid-70's which meant an afternoon trip to the beach was required
(finally, some relaxation!)this girl comes alive on the beach,
I wish we could go there year round just for her!
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I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

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