Cup of Joy

A few weeks ago I visited my friend Lauren in Centreville, Virginia. Our mission: find maternity clothes. (She's preggers, too.) After seven hours of power shopping - and I do mean POWER shopping - our mission was accomplished.

That night Lauren and I returned back to her house where her husband Greg treated us to "momosas" - that's what I call a mimosa for moms. It's made with OJ and sparkling white grape juice instead of champagne. Now, if you know my affinity for mimosas and how much I've missed having them, you would know what a special treat this was. Even without the champagne. I count this as one of life's simple pleasures.

Lauren and I recently had a conversation about how important the little things are. How much joy they add to life. We agreed that one of those little things (in addition to momosas) was warm, spring-like weather. So yesterday when I woke up to a report on the radio that said temperatures in Roanoke Valley were going to reach 60º, I almost did a cartwheel to celebrate the news. But decided that a momosa would be even better. And so I went downstairs, pulled out one of my "Joyful, Joyful" cups and poured myself a little cup of celebration and toasted the coming of spring.

And all the way to work I thanked God for the simple pleasures. Warm weather, momosas and great friends. Here's to the good life! CHEERS!

Decisions, Decisions

Ok, blog readers. I am in serious need of your help.

I'm having such a hard time deciding what to do in the nursery. So I'm asking for you to weigh in on your favorite look.

OPTION 1
SOPHISTICATED BABY
This look is clean and simple, and the brown houndstooth adds just a touch of sweet sophistication.


OPTION 2
HOP ON BOARD THE JUNGLE TRAIN
I'm a big fan of ticking stripe. Always have been. And so I love how that pattern is worked into this design. I also like the colors - apple green, blue, red, yellow and brown - lots to work with.


OPTION 3
BUNNIES, MONKEYS, AND FROGS, OH MY!
You'll have to use your imagination on this one because there's no bedding set.

This little painting is my inspiration.


Imagine that painting on these light blue walls. (This is a photo of the nursery in progress.)


And a black crib similar to this one.


With a small storage chest like this for clothes and diapers and such.


I imagine fun fabrics like this for the bedding and window treatments.




And a sweet light fixture like this one.


So what do you think? Do you like option 1, option 2 or option 3? Help a girl out!

New Baby Photos

If you've followed the blog for a while then you may remember that a few weeks ago I had a little scare with some bleeding. When I went to visit my doctor for the first time a couple of weeks ago, she discovered a large polyp that she believed was causing the bleeding. Today I went in to have it removed. To my delight, the polyp had detached and only a small portion of it remains which she determined was best not to remove in the hopes that it will take care of itself during the delivery. I wasn't one bit nervous about having the procedure, but I was still relieved at the news.

To get ready for the procedure, they had to do an ultrasound, so another plus to my visit is new photos of Baby Correa at 18 weeks.

Here's his profile. Much better than what we got to see the last time around. His head is on the right where you can see his little nose.


And for any of you holding out hope that he was a she, here's the empirical evidence that we are having a boy.


For this last photo - be warned - it's a little frightening. But at least you can start to see some of his facial features. The doctor said that at 18 weeks he's mostly skin and bones, but in the next few weeks, he'll plump up. Once again, little fella is hiding behind the placenta. I'm hoping that at the final ultrasound at week 26, he'll be less camera shy and looking more like a cute baby/less like a gross little blob. =)

Kitchen Progress

I wish I had some before pictures of the kitchen, but I don't. And that makes me sad because if you had seen our little crackle-painted mess hall, you would better appreciate how far it's come.

One of Mirabelle's best features is this beautiful built-in cabinet that lives in the kitchen. It was one of the things that I loved most about the house. And now Jerry has built wainscoting on the wall next to the cabinet, and I love it just as much. This woodwork has added so much character to the space.

We'll paint all of the trim and the wainscoting Ultra White Semi-gloss. The built-in will be painted black.

Here's a picture of the rest of the kitchen. Up above the cabinets you can see the paint color we picked. It's called Tinsel Beam, and it matches our gray countertops well. I was afraid it would look too gray, but it has a nice pop with the white cabinets.

The gold radiator is the other thing we need to paint. What do you think - should we paint it white or black?

Bathroom Reveal

Ok, so before the curtain goes up to reveal the downstairs guest bathroom (that my handy-dandy Jerry did 90% of the work on, by the way), I just want to remind you of how less-than-exciting it was before.


And now - a drum roll, please... The newly-remodeled, knock-your-socks-off, ready-for-a-visitor-to-come-check-me-out bathroom. Isn't it just spectacular?!



I can't help but smile every time I walk in here. Jerry did a fantastic job of bringing my little vision to life. It's exactly what I was hoping for. Thank you, babe!

Little Slugger

Yesterday I made my first baby shopping excursion. I came across this little charmer which instantly made me think of Jerry's love for baseball, and I knew it had to come home with me. This is my first purchase for Baby Correa.

Cheery Cherry Friday

HAPPY FRIDAY! I thought I'd post another baby bump shot - this one at 16 weeks - with my cheery cherry sweater. Oh, and my fun cheery cherry shoes that I found at Payless! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Layla's Design for our Master Bedroom

Maybe you remember the "before" photos of the master bedroom that I posted?



Well, soon we'll have something that looks really fabulous - like this! Drumroll, please... Here are the layouts that Layla Palmer did for our master bedroom.

The overhead view.


The sleeping area.


The sitting area.


The gallery wall and bar area.


Jerry and I are eager to get started. We're going to take this project on at the same time as the master bath. Once we get going on this renovation, we'll be in the home stretch to finish up the major work on the house. Now, don't think this means that there isn't much left - I would be leaving you with the wrong impression if you thought that. It's just that this is the last MAJOR project we're taking on before Baby comes.