Holiday Comforts

 
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I've mentioned before on this blog that there are certain holidays that I love and others that just aren't my favorite.  I have no problem with Christmas, or at least the true meaning of Christmas.  I'm all about remembering Christ's birth.  However, the commercialism, decorating, and need to buy gifts that often surround this holiday just really becomes overwhelming.  Especially when I have a 3 week old baby to take care of.

For this reason, I've decided  to make my living room decor simple and more natural.  This is a look that makes me feel cozy and warm and really happy with my life.  There are a lot of pictures in this post just because I love how the room turned out so enjoy, hehehe!

Here's my front door with a wreath that I bought a couple of years ago and still love.  Add a little ribbon and I'm done!

 

I made a trip to Costco and found cedar garland for trimming out my Christmas decorations.  Even better, a huge amount of it was only $15.

I started with a centerpiece made from a white poinsettia and pine cones that I spray painted last year.  Simple white candles and clear glass finished the look.  Also, I didn't replace the green foil on the poinsettia because, again, I'm keeping things simple and it didn't really bother me enough to change it.

Next came the stairs.  I have a short banister that was helped out by more cedar garland, pinecones, and gold ribbon that I got some year previous to this one.  I love how elegant it looks.

I used the same cedar and a few red berries to lay in among my nativity.  I like this whole vignette and the reminder of Christ's birth.

Of course, the top of the piano had to get some dressing up.

More garland, poinsettias and various other things I had hanging around the house.  I also added some sheet music for Silent Night which is my favorite Christmas song.  Plus, my husband can play this one.

The whole room is now finished and warm feeling.

There are just a few more things that make this time of the year special...Hershey's Kisses Mint Truffles (These are actually a substitute for Mint M&M's which can't be found any.where.  Grrrr!)

Homemade hot chocolate.  Mmmmmm.

And finally, nice cushy pillows, a fuzzy, warm blanket to snuggle under, and my Kindle with a good downloaded book to enjoy.

Oh and if you wonder how I keep my boys out of the room, it's pretty much impossible.

My two year old has already been caught pulling branches out of the garland to smack things with.  The dog has been caught doing the same thing, only she chews the cedar boughs.  That's just life around the Black house though which is why these pictures were taken immediately after the decorating was done!:)

However, the boys do have more kid appropriate decorations in the family room which I hope will keep them distracted from this more adult, serene space done just to my taste.

What things bring comfort and joy to your holiday season?

Linking to:

Just a Girl 

The Shabby Nest 
Thirty Handmade Days 
Tatertots and Jello

Comfort is the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday gift list, so be sure to take advantage of Tempur-Pedic's Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective

My Morning

This is just a brief run through of the typical morning around my house lately (this is a step by step account for this morning):


Put boys clothes away downstairs.

Find Tommy's reading book from over a week ago under the clothes that were on his bed.

No wonder he wasn't bringing home reading books, since he had never taken this one back!

Get Jack dressed.  

Jack pees more than a grown man all down the wall and all over the changing pad. 

Wipe down wall.

Give Jack a bath instead of just a clothing change.  

Put Jack in a new outfit.

Jack spits up on the clean changing pad cover I just changed.

Go dig a cough drop out of Max's mouth.

Jack spits up again all over his cute outfit. 

Change Jack's clothes again.

Change Max's diaper and get him dressed.

Clean up kitchen.

Finally, eat some breakfast.

Whew!

I'm sure all of the moms out there have had the same experience and I get ya.  It's all worth it when I look at the cute little faces like this one though. :)

He's Here!

You may have noticed that I've been off the map for the last two to three weeks.  Well, I have a beautiful baby boy that is the reason for that.  Yes, the fourth and final has arrived!

He caused a bit of stress for me before his arrival though.  He ended up being head up or breech with a cord wrapped around his neck that wasn't helping him get in the right position.  Yeah, you guessed it, I ended up needing a c-section after three previous vaginal deliveries.  Figured.  My practical self also decided it was a good time to get an umbilical hernia repaired.  Why not, my deductible had been met so it was a free surgery?!

Honestly,  I was a bit scared.  I'm a former Labor and Delivery nurse so I knew everything that would be happening.  That may or may not have been a good thing.  Plus, I H.A.T.E being the patient!  Despite all of that, he, of course, is and was totally worth it!

Here I am soon after his delivery but still being operated on.  Thank goodness for great anaesthesia!

The surgery went quickly and smoothly and you can see by the following picture that I was doing ok about 30 min. after being rolled back to my room.

I'm still sore and not quite back up to speed yet.  Plus, I'm your typical sleep deprived new mom.  Jackson is thriving and eating constantly.  It looks like he may have avoided the heart problems that my other three boys have too.  Poor kiddo did get my round face though. ;)  

I know it will take me awhile to fully recover, and I fully intend to enjoy my new baby boy so you may not see quite as many postings for a bit.  

Now I just have to figure out how to do all of the Christmas decorating and everything else that comes with this busy time of year!

My Babies LOVE Loveys

Ya'll are going to get seriously sick of the baby sewing projects that are making up my life right now! 

Oh well, this is the first time I've ever been able to sew cute little baby things for one of my kids.  I used to depend on my mom for all of this kind of stuff.  Plus, this is my last little one so I've got to spoil him rotten!

Around this house each one of my babies has had a lovey.  Or snuggly, blanky, whatever you call it in your house.  In ours it's the lovey.  It is invaluable for us in providing comfort and helping us get little ones to sleep.

Don't worry, I don't put this in with my newborn.  I'm a  little neurotic about avoiding the whole accidental suffocation thing.

Ok, moving on....I used a bit of the tree fabric I had leftover from the diaper bag I made (why not keep the theme going?), some minky fabric, and then a solid satin-like fabric for the back.

I couldn't resist adding multiple different types of ribbon that I sewed into the edge of the lovey for "tags".  For some reason every one of my kids has loved to play with the tags on blankets and all other kinds of things, so why not give this baby a ton to play with and rub against his faces?

I added a zigzag stitch around the edge to further secure the ribbons and edges.  These get washed soooo much that I've had them fall apart on me before.  I'm hoping to avoid that this time.

Anything that works to distract and sooth is golden in my book!

The reason I made two is 1. You can wash one while the other is being used.  2. They LOVE to carry around more than one. My two year old carries his two or three and his older brother's old loveys.  A pile of these things follow him everywhere he goes.

Did your kids use loveys when they were little and obsess over them like mine have?

Linking to:

The Shabby Creek Cottage
Delightful Order 
Fingerprints on the Fridge
504 Main 
The Shabby Nest 
Jane Deere 
Passionately Artistic 
Just a Girl 
Tatertots and Jello 
Funky Junk Interiors 
Positively Splendid 
I Heart Nap Time 
Between Naps on the Porch 
Dittle Dattle

Sprucin' It Up

You may remember that awhile back we switched my two oldest boys from an upstairs room to the basement.  This left a really horrendous starting point for the new guest room.

Here are the shelves that looked pretty cute in a boy's room.  Not what I had pictured for a more neutral guest room though.

 

Here's the kicker.  There was no money for this spruce up.  NONE.  All of my project money was budgeted for baby stuff.  A new baby is a bit expensive even when you have a lot of hand me downs from previous kids.  

I had to decorate on the cheap and mostly with items I already had.

Here's what I came up with.  Keep in mind that it is still a work in progress and may be redone for my toddler in a few months.  My husband and I haven't agreed on where we're putting him when he's kicked out of the crib by the fourth and final kiddo.

The shelves got a nice heirloom white coat of spray paint.

I found some empty frames at the local thrift store and gave them a quick coat of spray paint too.

I added a transformed suitcase side table that I showed you all last week here.

Some bright pillows on the bed give the space a little life.  I had the pillows already and just slip covered them with leftover material and a couple of fat quarters.

I added drapes to the no sew cornice.  The drapes are made out of a $10 drop cloth from Walmart, but I think they give the boring window just a bit more oomph.

Here's another view.  It's coming along but I still need something for above the bed.  I'm thinking about it, but I have a feeling it might be a little while until inspiration strikes.  

I'm out of ideas for anything unless it goes along with having a newborn.  Nesting is a condition I'm suffering very badly from right now.

Feel free to help me out!

The room is cleaned up and I'll continue to add to it, I'm sure.  That is unless it gets another makeover for a certain 2 year old.

Linking to:

A Bowl Full of Lemons 
Today's Creative Blog 
Not Just a Housewife 
Savvy Southern Style 
Blue Cricket Design 
The Thrifty Home 
Someday Crafts 
House of Hepworths 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
The 36th Avenue 
Somewhat Simple 
Delightful Order 
Fingerprints on the Fridge 
504 Main 
The Shabby Nest 
Passionately Artistic 
Just a Girl 
Tatertots and Jello
Funky Junk Interiors 
Positively Splendid 
I Heart Nap Time 
Between Naps on the Porch 
Dittle Dattle

Cute Little Bit o' Junk

The guest bedroom is about done.  I'm sharing another piece that became part of it today.  There is one more area that needs a little work but I think I'll show you the rest of the room by the end of the week, since I'm still waiting for inspiration on what to do with it.  That inspiration may not come until after #4 arrives.  We'll see.

I actually shared this first over at Three Boys about a week and a half ago.

This project repurposes a piece of junk. Honestly, I'm impressed that this crazy creative project worked!

Here's what I started with:

An old suitcase I payed $3 for at an estate sale.

...and a T.V. tray I've probably had for 10 years.

I needed a bedside table sooooo, suitcase meet T.V. tray.

Some spray primer and a coat of spray paint were put on to create my base and make the two pieces more cohesive.  One day my husband is going to lose it with me because I get over spray on the garage floor all.of.the.time.  Hasn't lost it yet though, so I'll stick with  my poor floor coverage technique.;)

Next, I did a little stenciling.  The stencil comes from Home Depot's Martha Stewart line.  I used this great orange color to play off my accent fabrics.

Distress ink was added all around because a little more of a worn look never hurts, right?

I mod podged book pages to the ends and handle of the suitcase...just cause I love the look and had all of the stuff to do it.

 

Here is what my new bedside table looks like.

I adore it!  Yes, I do want it to look very worn and shabby.  The guest room it is sort of shabby sheek.  I gotta keep the theme going, ya know?

 I'm jumpin' up and down excited to be revealing the whole room here pretty quick.  I can't decide if the excitement comes from the look I've created or just the relief to have it DONE.  Hmmmm.

 

Here's a view of my table's pretty backside.

And finally, a sneak peak of the corner it calls home.

 This whole project probably put me out about $12.  A lot better than anything I could have found on Craigslist and definitely cheaper than new.

Linking to:

Home Stories A 2 Z 
A Bowl Full of Lemons 
Savvy Southern Style 
Blue Cricket Design 
Not Just a Housewife 
The Thrifty Home 
Someday Crafts 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Somewhat Simple 
Creations By Kara 
Miss Mustard Seed 
The Shabby Nest 
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
Thrifty Decor Chick

A New Look!

You may have noticed The Black's Best got a whole new outfit!

 

I have got to thank Melanie at Elegant Custom Blogs for the hard work she did.  I loved letting someone else do most of the design work for me for the first time!  

I am now officially spoiled.

  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!  Go and check out her blog header portfolio.  I think you'll be as impressed as I was.

Oh, and I even got this done for free after winning a giveaway hosted by Beth over at Home Stories A2Z.  A shout out to her too!

Diaper Tote

This was one of the more challenging things I've done recently.  One of those little things that can make you lose it just a bit, or maybe make ya stark raving mad (speaking from my own experience).

My family steered clear yesterday afternoon.

You see, I needed a diaper bag for the new one coming in just a bit.  I also didn't want to pay $50 -$80 for the adorable ones I was seeing on Etsy.

The following came out of my decision to make something myself.  It ended up costing me about $30 to put together.  I had to actually buy a pattern...and follow it...for the first time ever.

I now think that the $80 would have been completely worth it!

It did all turn out in the end.

A LOT of blood, sweat, and near tears later.  Just kidding, but it was a painful process!

There are four exterior pockets for bottles or anything and everything.  The interior only has a couple of pockets but that should do considering I usually just chuck everything into the center anyway.

This sucker even involved using interfacing, something I hadn't really heard of until I decided to make my own diaper bag. 

Yes, I am really good at getting myself in waaaaay over my head! 

There is absolutely NO tutorial for this bag because I can't say that it is perfect.  In fact, pretty much the opposite.;)  What matters to me is that it is done and will be functional when it's needed.

Linking to:

Just a Girl 
Tatertots and Jello 
The Shabby Nest 
Be Different Act Normal 
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
The DIY Showoff 
Under the Table and Dreaming 
Dittle Dattle 
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project 
Between Naps on the Porch 
Boogieboard Cottage 
Pinkapotamus 
Coastal Charm 
A Bowl Full of Lemons 
Not Just a Housewife 
Today's Creative Blog 
Type A 
New Nostalgia 
Savvy Southern Style 
Blue Cricket Design 
Sweet Little Gals 
JAQS Studio 
The Thrifty Home 
Someday Crafts 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Somewhat Simple 
Creations By Kara 
The Shabby Nest 
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Chocolate Cookie Surprise!

I just wanted to share a yummy little treat the kids and I whipped up last night. I got this recipe from the blog Six Sisters' Stuff.  It is super fast and super easy.

Please excuse my photography as the pictures were taken at night.  I knew the cookies wouldn't be around for pretty pics this morning.

 

 They even have a little surprise in the middle.  Yeah, that's caramel...why not?!  It's actually a Rolo nestled right in the middle of the chocolate goodness.

Why did I think an orange plate would make these cookies look good?  Oh well, you get the idea.

Here's the simple recipe:

1 Devil's Food Cake mix (I used chocolate fudge and these still tasted great.)
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil
Rolos - about 1/2 a bag.

Mix the top three ingredients together.  Took about 2 minutes with my Kitchen Aid mixer.  After doing this, I coated my hands with a little non-stick cooking spray. I grabbed a small ball of dough and then pressed the Rolo into the middle.  My boys thought this was a.maz.ing!

Bake at 350 degrees for 7 or 8 minutes. 

Voila!

  Six Sister's used some powdered sugar on top.  I decided to do something with a little Halloween color and drizzled a powdered sugar/milk orange colored glaze over the top.

These are some pretty decadent cookies for about 15 min. worth of work.

Right up my alley!

Linking to:

The Shabby Creek Cottage
The 36th Avenue 
Delightful Order 
Somewhat Simple 
House of Hepworths 
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
Jane Deer 
Addicted to Decorating 
The DIY Showoff 
Dittle Dattle 
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project 
Boogieboard Cottage

Loved My Time Off!

I am back from my mini vacation to Sun Valley, ID. and it was great! 

The scenery was GOR.GEOUS!  Even better, it was a kid free weekend (thanks grandma)!

Honestly, with me being about 36 weeks pregnant and my husband having a nasty cold, this was a pretty low key, low activity vacation.

We found this country road that sported beautiful gold leafed aspens, amazing lodges, and hot springs after a nice breakfast at a local restaurant called Perry's.

Next we took a short, ok, veerrry short 2 mile hike up Bald Mountain Trail and took in a gorgeous view. 

I'm definitely going to need to go back sometime and get to the top of this trail that has a lookout.  It is a little frustrating that I didn't complete the hike, but poor lung expansion due to my huge belly and the need for oxygen slowed me down just a bit.

I just couldn't get enough of all the places to just sit and enjoy within 5 minutes of our hotel.  Usually, there is a ton of entertainment and events happening in the area.  It is a pretty big ski, mountain biking, and you name it, outdoor activity destination.

We happened to hit the area in the off season, so there wasn't much going on but it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves.  Quiet is the best description I can come up with and the best way to enjoy views like this one.  Of course, that's my unsolicited opinion.;)

The pictures above and below were taken standing on a bridge over the river.  It was pretty much just us.

I am so ready to get rid of the extra weight I've put on everywhere, including my face.  Ok, ok, moving on.

This little pond is right outside of the Sun Valley Inn where we were staying.  It is surrounded by big grass fields, an outdoor swimming pool and plenty of cute shops and gourmet restaurants.  Supposedly the lodge has a great day spa, but it was closed for maintenance.  

Oh well, next time.  We probably could have just stayed here all weekend and had everything we needed to enjoy ourselves.

A shot of the back entrance.

This just gives you an overall feel of the area...very European chalet.  At lease what I imagine European chalet would look like, haha!

It was the perfect chance to relax and just spend time together.  Loved it!