My Little Man and the Big 2

Today is my son's 2nd birthday. He delights me daily. He loves trucks, planes and trains. He loves to read. He loves his daddy and plays ever so sweetly with sister (mostly). He loves to cuddle and loves to play outside. He gets hurt daily and always wants mommy to give it kisses. I love my little man and am thankful to God for allowing me to watch him grow. This is my little man...


and here is his party that we had over the weekend...


The idea was to keep it simple, but still ever so special. Blue and red ran throughout and transportation ruled the day. I made the banner and got the idea from here.


Balloons tied with bakers twine floated everywhere. Gift bags were filled with stickers and shirts which were donned with a little airplane that matched the invites. I made the invites from blank wooden cards from here and added a photo of my son done on a moo card. Twine and mini clothes pins hung photos of my son in more places than one.


Gift bags and little tables waiting for special guests. Ellie is wearing the shirt which donned the airplane that I painted for the gift bags.


These are some of the sweet kiddos getting pelted with the balloons on the table, oops. Atleast they thought it was funny.


Cupcakes with little flags stamped with a 2 before they were devoured and as Ellie says, "what's a party without hats?".


This is KJ enjoying that cupcake wearing his birthday shirt.


Yeah for birthdays and yeah for son's turning 2!

Outfit to Room...

I will start off by saying that I am in love with this look. That dress with those shoes make me swoon*. This lovely photo came from Karen from Blog Goggles.


This outfit as a sunroom (because I have one)...

{via Beach Dwelling}

{via Anthropologie}

{via Dash & Albert}

{via Pieces}

{wallpaper via Target}

Romantic, but still full of youth. At least that's what I think, ha! Oh, and of course that little vase would always be filled with flowers. You can still send in your outfit to twoellie@gmail.com.

Welcome In

I already loved whitebox photography as, well, photographers. There use of color and the crispness of their photos are simply stunning. They do it all weddings and family. I really can not get enough of their blog either. I always assumed they must be some very awesome ladies that are based out of Greensboro North Carolina. Well, Mel (as if we were best friends) posted some snippets of her home and it is amazing! So now they are great at photography and home design, just lovely. Mel was kind enough to allow me to post her home on here. I am so excited to share it with you all...

A 20x30 canvas of a photo she took in New Orleans hangs by her front door.

I am loving that light fixture paired with the letter from Anthropologie and that door color is so fresh.


Magnetic boards from ikea makes for an easy way to change out favorite photos.

This is from one of her bathrooms. Isn't the chandelier divine?

That old fan and letters make me swoon*.

Those lovely pillows are from Anthropologie. They were a gift from her husband. She also has a before pic on her blog if you would like to check it out (scroll down a bit when you are there).


Amazing, right? Again I love her use of color. The greens, blues, with pops of red make me smile. How could it not. Oh, and those hats are right up my alley. To see more and larger photos go here.

Shopping Hiatus: 7 weeks down

Oh, the shopping hiatus. It has been hard this week. Hubby has been working non stop and that makes me want to shop. Silly right? It's not like he's making more money. Well, I have done decent anyhow. I have been sewing up a storm. Came up with a few more designs for Ellie's dress collection. She is very excited and I can't wait to share them with you all. I bought for KJ's birthday and that adds up quickly, but he is so excited so that makes me happy. Also, I can't wait to share his special day next week. I did make two purchases though. I guess they can be counted as birthday presents, but it wasn't really my intent.



My little man has a pair of boots and his sisters old Crocs. The Crocs are a little large and with spring coming the boots just aren't practicle. The second pair are for sister. She loved them and was with me. They are a little big, but for the price she just can grow into them. The price you ask? Only $20 dollars each for a pair of Morgan and Milo's. Downtown there is this shop that was having a tent sale. Fabulous buys. I was tempted to buy for myself, but refrained. Yeah, for me!


How's the hiatus going for you? Better than I, I can only hope.

A Bike

I have a little dream to live in an area where I could ride a bike around town and not get run over. We can ride around our little neighborhood, but to actually try to make it to a shop would be a sure mishap waiting to happen.


I think this lovely basket would be perfect for the front of a lovely bike. I would carry fresh flowers and the milk that I forgot to pick up earlier.


{via here}

If I had this bike though I could carry all my groceries plus the fresh flowers. How fun is this? I wonder if it is easy to drive though, because I must say I am quite smitten with the thing.

{via Etsy}

Maybe for now I can just hand out bike love to those who can ride them. These would be perfect for our vacation to Rosemary Beach this March. Now that is a bike community used to it's fullest.

I can feel spring coming right around the corner even if it did snow over the weekend, hence my love for bikes and fresh flowers. I will miss my boots, but I think I am ready for a season of dresses. Spring and summer minus the Alabama humidity would be nice though. I know my hair would appreciate it. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

It's Snowing!

You heard me right, it's snowing in the South. This is little man and little lady's first big snow experience. We had tiny flurries last year, but nothing like this. We even got them up early so they wouldn't miss all the excitement. Who knows how long this will last. Some of you may be laughing at our "huge" amount, but for us this is huge! I hope to one day show the kiddos "real" snow. It's really only fitting since hubby is from Colorado and I am from Massachusetts. Here is our crazy experience...


It's Snowing! from paula on Vimeo.

Now to go make snow angels and have a snowball fight with the kiddos. Hope your weekend is as fabulous as mine!

Outfit to Room...

This adorable girl who can pull off absolutely anything is Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere. She used to work for Domino so it really is only fitting to have her next in my new series. She and her blog are quite fabulous.

{photo via here}

Emily's outfit as a living room...

{Urban Outfitters}

{ferm living}

{West Elm}

{Z. Gallerie}

{Modern Dose}

You can contribute an outfit to twoellie@gmail.com. I believe I will keep this series going for awhile. It is a good and fun challenge for me.

Have a lovely weekend!

This Home's for Me






Since the demise of Domino I have been on the search for new magazines to love. I have received Metropolitan Home two months in a row now and I must say I have been quite pleased. I absolutely fell head over heels for this home in the March issue. The home is owned by Kerry and Dan Finkel of Chicago. The fabulous design was done by Kara Mann Designs. I absolutely love how they made so many traditional pieces feel fresh and new. No stuffiness here. This all makes me quite happy.

Shopping Hiatus: 6 weeks down

The shopping hiatus is still going well. I have bought some fabric for my daughters spring and summer wardrobe, but made sure I bought on sale. I also have bought for my son's birthday. I have found myself not only trying to make it fabulous but at the same time economical, so far so good. In the mean time, this weekend we took the kiddos to the airport to watch the planes fly by. This is one of our favorite and free activities. This time in particular we were blessed to see plane after plane. I must say I am loving my new Flip Mino, thank you babes!


watching the planes from paula on Vimeo.

If you are taking part in the hiatus, how's it going for you? I also recommend if you you haven't tried this then you should. It really does make you so much more aware of where all your money is going and and I feel so refreshed. I still have awhile to go, April, but sure do hope it lasts even longer.

Update: I bought two hats. Yes, I know. Technically my hubby said he would buy them so it wasn't cheating, but still. We are heading to the beach soon and I "needed" them. I did get them on the cheap though thanks to Target. I must say I do feel a pang of guilt. I could only find one on-line. Here it is...

The Entry Hall




{images via here}

A front entry is the first place where guests get a taste for who you are. I believe this space should be special whether you have a specified area or you have to create one. In the Domino book they have a lovely write up with wonderful ideas on making it special. I love what Rita Konig said, "When I added the table and lamp, suddenly my sliver of a hall became a room". I already had the table and now I have the lamp. I must admit it gave the space a whole new feel. Here is the before shot in case you were intrigued. This is the new "room"...


With spring approaching the winter hats will be changed out with summer ones. I am hoping to find a fabulous new one for this summer. As for the tricylcle, it has somehow made its into the house and the my little lady loves riding it around while little brother holds on for dear life while riding on the back. It is quite a sight to see.

Outfit to Room...

I have always enjoyed Domino's "can this outfit be turned into a room?" feature. I want to try to keep it going in my own little way. This is my fabulous little sister, well maybe she's not so little anymore, but you get the point.

Her outfit as a dining room...



{Z. Gallerie}

{overstock}

{Pottery Barn}

{DWR}

If you would like to contribute an outfit or two to my new series then e.mail me a photo to twoellie@gmail.com. The outfit can be anything, get creative or use one you saw and loved.

A Busy Day

Today is going to be incredibly chaotic. So much to do in such a little amount of time. I shall be scarce, but will be visiting you all tomorrow. This image is from an engagement shoot hubby and I did over the weekend. To see more go to kellenjacob.com. Have a wonderful day!

Shopping Hiatus: 5 weeks down

Joslyn is brilliant, really brilliant. I love the way God can use people without them even knowing. If it were not for Joslyn having this some what crazy shopping hiatus resolution then I would not be saving all this money, I would not be using all this creativity and putting things I already own to use, and I wouldn't be set free from having to have to shop. I didn't quite realize how much I shopped just for the sake of shopping. Buying something new just for that weird fix for the moment even if I didn't really want it, ugh. So this all leads me to say "thank you, Joslyn!". I also want to be sure to let all you, the readers of my little blog, that you all have kept me going. Your encouragement takes away my need to buy. Well, the encouragement and I really would hate to fail in front of you especially since this all started with a God induced fast. Now that would be lame.


In case you were not aware, I sew. I hope to start an etsy shop with my little creations one day. Anyway, I decided this year I was going to make my little lady's spring and summer clothes this year. During the summer we only wear dresses and skirts, because of the insane heat. This all leads me to say I will need to purchase fabric soon. It gets hot here too soon for me to wait much longer though. In the end this should save us tons of money as long as I can stay out of Crewcuts. My daughter also gets giddy when I make her something special so that's extra bonus.

Now that I got that out of the way, I want you to know how easy this hiatus has become. I do not want to buy anything. I simply do not want to spend my husband's hard earned money. I also can not believe that came out of my mouth/fingers! Maybe there always was a frugal lady living inside me. This week I am even participating in a huge consignment sale for babies and kids. We are done having children atleast for awhile so it all must go. See, I am even making money. Now I must go and get all that stuff ready. Have a lovely day!

Apartment Therapy

I was very excited to see my room up on Apartment Therapy, but not so excited with all the comments. Some people can be kind of nasty, oh well. What I do appreciate is all the sweet comments you all left for me here! I know it's not perfect, but it's mine and the wonky wallpaper fits my wonky personality. Although I did get some good advice on hanging something above the bed.

I saw this image over on Element's of Style and I fell in love with it. I am now on the lookout for something similar. Hopefully next time I hang wallpaper it won't be so cringe worthy and I will be sure to match up the pattern. Luckily it's easy-change and if the need comes then I can well, simply change it. First time for everything right, ha! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

FYI: I received this lovely advise that will next time come in handy or be of use to some of you who might want to attempt this- Anyway, Paula, just so you know for next time, the pattern should continue from sheet to sheet. It easy to calculate where to cut once you know the measurement of the repeat. (brilliant, really wish I figured that out before)- doorsixteen

A lovely Day


from paula on Vimeo.

My sweet husband got me a flip mino! I can not even express how excited I am. I have a feeling it will get a lot of use. This was our first time trying out.