DIY: Notecards to Artwork

Being in the military, we move locations about every two to three years. I love to commemorate each duty station with special items from the area we are in. When were stationed in Hawaii, I fell in love with pineapple items and also collected several pieces of Hawaiian inspired artwork. I love how these items have so much meaning and bring back great memories whenever I see them around our home.

Now that we are stationed in Monterey, I have been on the hunt for art and local pieces. I quickly realized that pieces were either very expensive or just not my style. One day I was shopping at the Navy Exchange at Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and I stumbled upon some watercolor notecards on a spinning card rack. There were many different scenes, including the Bixby bridge, Monterey Bay, Lover's Point and of course several NPS scenes as well. I bought the items I was shopping for and didn't really think about them again until a couple of days ago. Weeks had gone by and I was still searching for the perfect "Monterey/NPS" artwork for our home. I had two 5x7 frames sitting in the closet with old photos from Hawaii and I was debating what to put in them and where to hang them. My mind instantly recalled the prints at the Navy Exchange. I couldn't remember the size of the cards, but I figured they would be 4x6 or 5x7. Worst case, I could contact the artist and have something made. I went back that afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to find they were 5x7 (and would fit perfectly in my frames) and that they were 3.99 per card! What a steal! I decided on these two NPS scenes.

I was so excited to get home and put them into the frames! I prepped and cleaned the frames and then put the prints in the frame. They were just a little too small! I was so sad! But then I realized that the envelopes were just a smidge bigger then the prints, so I mounted them onto the envelopes and then placed into the frames. Michael's or any custom frame shop could make something custom for these prints, but since I already had the frames, I really wanted to make it work.

I'm so happy with the finished product! Thanks Kyle for hanging them and getting them perfectly straight! Not bad for a DIY project under $8! 

 

Of course I want to give credit it to the watercolor artist, but unfortunately, her website is broken. 

The card has this info listed: 

Mary Lou Cortright

831-643-2295

montereywatercolors.com

Have a great Labor Day!

Our Monterey Home

We have been in our home for a little over 2 months and it is finally starting to feel like home. One of the main purposes of this post is to share housing info with other military families who are moving to Monterey. Base housing info is very hard to come by. When we were offered this house (as we drove through the deserts of Arizona) we were given a blurry floor plan and that was it. No pictures or additional info! Thankfully, a friend in the neighborhood came by and scoped out the outside of the house and took pics as best as she could. We were set to arrive to Monterey in about 3 days, so we figured we could schedule a tour of the home after we arrived. Another big NO! Housing said we couldn't see the house until the morning of lease signing. 9:30 walkthrough and 10:00 lease signing. Um, excuse me?! It was crazy. So my hope is to give a little insight to the homes here and our floorpan in specific, #804!

Almost two months later, I am happy that we agreed to this house. We love the location as we are right down the street from the "Super Park" and we also have a open green space right next to our house. The commissary (military grocery store) is also a short walk down the road. We've had a few hiccups, including having to get new carpet installed AFTER all of our furniture was here and then several maintenance issues, but overall it's been ok. There are still areas we need to hang pictures/decor, but for right now, I'm happy with how the house turned out!

Our home! 

Front Door

Foyer

One of my biggest issues with this house is there was no foyer or place to drop your bag and keys when you walk in. We did hang a shelf, but I miss my foyer table being right at the front. Thankfully we have a nice coat closet right opposite the front door that holds our shoes and is an overflow for our closet since the bedroom closets are on the smaller side. Also, right at the front is a guest bathroom which became my Hawaii room! 

Tiny foyer, the door in this view is the front door. 

Guest Bathroom

Guest Bathroom

Living Room

When I first set eyes on this room, I was so nervous our furniture wasn't going to fit. We have a large entertainment center that I KNEW wouldn't fit, but thankfully we were able to take apart the pieces and use the piers in the dining room. We have two large couches (that we have had forever) and I was nervous it would crowd the room. But then, I was excited, because maybe new furniture? Alas, they fit!! And let's be honest, WHY would I buy new furniture with a growing toddler and a baby on the way? Oh and movers who don't care about your furniture or belongings at all. I really didn't want toys in this room, but this where we spend a majority of our time in the evening, so I caved and we just moved in a bookshelf with baskets to help keep things somewhat organized. 

Macey Jane's favorite spot. I usually keep the window blinds pulled up and she enjoys
 looking   barking at people as they walk by!

Dining Room/Family Room/Kitchen

These three rooms are kind of combined and this is where it got challenging to decide what should go where because the space is so open. I still feel like some of the space is wasted, but at this point, it works, so we are leaving it. The open space will probably be taken up by baby toys, swings, etc in the near future! 

My childhood Ethan Allen Dining Room Table (circa 1982) is on it's last leg (thanks, Charlotte) but  it fits perfectly in this spot. This is where we used the two pieces from our entertainment center. So, I will admit I got a little high maintenance here. I couldn't stand the light fixture. It just didn't go with our decor, so we switched it out! I found this burlap drum fixture at Home Depot for under $70 and then Kyle switched them out! It looks so much better! Here is a before and after! Remember, we are calling this place home for the next 2 years! 

The family room houses my desk, a foyer table that I store my purse and other items on and then another piece of furniture with storage. 

The kitchen is basic, but we do have a gas stove, which we have come to love. We have a griddle now that works really well to cook eggs and bacon. I am not sure who put the kitchen sink in the corner like they did, but it makes it very hard to do dishes. The pantry is large, so that is a plus. 

View from the foyer 

Love our light fixture!

The door in this picture is noted as "storage" but it works great for an office or small playroom too!

Master Bedroom

I still don't know how the movers got our massive headboard up the stairwell, but they did. Once again, not a smart decision to buy a huge bed like this that doesn't come apart, but I was young and dumb and just loved the way it looked! In this floor plan, there was no way to put our king size bed in this room without covering up the window, so that is what we did. It's not ideal, but it works. 

The master bathroom is basic, but does have 2 sinks. It also has a bank of drawers in the middle which is super nice! We didn't have drawers in our Hawaii base house and that was challenging. Another thing I will mention about this house is that there are TONS of windows, which is great for cooling the house since we don't have AC and also great for natural light. Most days are pretty overcast and dreary, so it is nice to have the light come into the rooms, even the bathrooms!

Charlotte's Bedroom

Charlotte's bedroom is of course one of my favorite rooms! Kids rooms are so much fun to decorate! This the bigger of the 2 additional bedrooms and has 4 windows. I didn't want this room to be the baby's room for that reason. Too much light! I installed black out curtains in all the windows, but a little light still comes in. She also lucked out to have 2 closets in her room. Her play kitchen also fit perfectly in the little nook! Pretty soon we will upgrade her to a queen size bed and the daybed will go into the nursery for an additional spot to sleep since we will lose our guest bedroom. 

We added extenders into the closet to create double racks since Charlottes clothes are so small.

Charlotte's Bathroom

When I started decorating the bathroom, I knew I was pregnant, but didn't know the sex yet. Kyle warned me not to choose something girly, but of course I found these Lilly-inspired prints and loved them! This bathroom is spacious. It has one sink, a medicine cabinet and plenty of storage below. Both bathrooms share a linen closet that is in the hallway. 

Upstairs hallway which has a linen closet (not pictured) and this closet
which house the water heater and air handler. There is a little bit of storage space here, too.

Guest Bedroom 

This room got the least amount of love, because I knew we would be converting into the baby's room. This is the smallest room and only has one small closet. I haven't even hung anything on the wall! Pretty soon we will be starting on the baby's room! Pinning lots of ideas for now! 

Playroom

This is the room marked as "int. storage" on the floor plan. It is small, but works perfectly for a little play space for Charlotte. I am in the process of finishing this room, but here are some under construction pics to give you an idea of the size. Some use this for an office or study area, too. I just ordered this to hang all of Charlotte's art projects and school work! This will go above her table! 

Look at the window shelf- play-do and crayons go up high an out of reach! :) 

It's small, but works!

Backyard

One huge plus is that the backyard is fenced! When we moved in, we knew we would have to either install turf or sod because the backyard was mostly dirt and weeds. We ended up going with turf and are very happy with the result! Kyle also hung market lighting and it looks beautiful! The weather is so great here, that you can actually be outside without sweating! I do want to buy a heater for the backyard!

Before

After

With lights!

Additional Information

Here is a floorpan to give you the overall feel of the house. If you are moving to Monterey and are assigned this house, feel free to send me an email with any questions! You'll see on the floor plan there is also a large, under the stair closet, laundry room off the kitchen and of course a 2 car garage. The laundry room is pretty tiny. We had to get creative and our first washer and dryer set didn't fit. In this model, do not get front loaders. The distance from the door to the garage to the back of the wall is 30 inches. So use that as your guide. There is also a gas line in the back that sticks out. Our garage is spacious. We have 2 separate garage doors, so it is an extended size. We don't park our cars in here yet, but hopefully we will get there. 

I enjoyed compiling this post and hope it will help my fellow military families who are PCSing to this area and of course it is always fun to share our home with my followers! 

Bumpdate: 14 Weeks

This pregnancy is truly just flying by! I was 14 weeks on Saturday and all is going well! I feel great for the most part, just a little tired and then I've been battling some headaches almost daily that are not so fun! 

In comparison, here is my 14 week post from my pregnancy with Charlotte!

How far along? 14 weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  down 5 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight

Maternity clothes: Not yet! My sister gave me all of hers before we left Florida which was great! She was pregnant during the winter so has lots of long sleeve and pant options!

Stretch marks? None

Sleep? There have been some nights where I have literally gone to bed at 7:30 and I literally cannot keep my eyes open. I have gotten some really bad headaches during this pregnancy and sometimes the only thing that helps is sleep. I'm already having to get up multiple times per night to use the bathroom. I can't believe it! Everything happens much quicker on the second go around!

Miss Anything? Wine! We also had a lunch date to get tuna poke the other day and of course I couldn't have it! :( 

Movement: I didn't feel movement with Charlotte until about 17 weeks. I definitely feel pressure and can sense where he is, but maybe I'm crazy!

Food cravings? Hotdogs (yes this a new one), Jolly Ranchers (only Watermelon and Strawberry flavors) and donuts from the most amazing donut shop, Monterey Donuts! 

Anything making you sick or queasy? Sometimes I am not hungry for dinner. My appetite is different, but my food aversions are not as bad as last pregnancy.

Gender: The Harmony test says Boy! 

Symptoms: Really sore boobs, headaches, just a tiny bit of morning sickness on some days, but no vomiting thank goodness!

Labor signs? Nope

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On and very loose! Kyle loves to remind me I'll be swollen soon!

Happy or moody most of the time? Mostly happy. Feeling settled in our home and so happy to have passed my real estate licensing exam!

Worst moment this week: Waking up at 4am to drive to Oakland! I survived though!

Best moment this week: Sharing our news that we are expecting a baby boy!

Looking forward to: The return of Gator football and the long Labor Day Weekend!

Baby info: Baby is the size of a lemon! He can now squint, frown pee and suck his thumb! Aw!

Until next time!

Charlotte: 3 Years

Charlotte turned 3 year last month, but we went to her 3 year check up last week! The joys of moving to a new city, finding a new pediatrician and then going on the waitlist for a new patient appointment. It felt like forever since we had been to the doctor because thankfully, Charlotte has been so healthy! We loved her new pediatrician and are happy to report she is a healthy, growing 3 year old! The doctor was very impressed with Charlotte's speech and vocabulary! Charlotte even had her eyes tested with a machine that is put over her eyes. This is pretty new technology, but it looks at the eyes of 6 month old babies to 5 year old children, since reading an eye chart at this age can't always be done! Her eyesight was perfect too. 

Having her blood pressure taken (102/69)

This time she was a little scared of the doctor.
She asked us if she had to have shots, but thankfully no shots this visit!

Stats: 

Height: 38.5 in. (79%) 

Weight: 35lbs 3 oz. (84%)

Lately lots of people ask us if she is 4 years old, because she is really tall! Kyle and I aren't tall people, (5'11) and (5'4), but Charlotte is trending to be taller. 

You can see home much she has grown from her 2 year check up! 

Until next year... 

IT'S A ...

It is time for the big gender reveal! Thank you to the Harmony Blood Test for allowing us to find out super early in the pregnancy! You can do the test once you hit the 10 week mark and then you wait about 10 days for the results. We are happy to report that all signs show that Baby #2 is healthy and thriving!

Thanks Gretchen with MC Squared for capturing these pictures!

There isn't much to say, because honestly the pictures say it all, but we are very, very excited to announce....


 

Here is Charlotte praying for Baby "BOY" every night. 

I'm hoping to start bump dates this weekend! 

Baby Chance #2

Photos by MC Squared

We are so excited to be expecting Baby #2 and it has been extra special sharing this experience with Charlotte. She is super into all things baby right now and even though she doesn't fully understand, she is very excited about the idea of having a baby in our house and a baby brother or sister to call her own!

It was just couple months back that I wrote a post for Jax Moms Blog about conceiving Baby #2. Our journey to have Charlotte was a very short one, so I wasn't sure what to expect for Baby #2. We were under a little more stress with preparing for a cross country, but nevertheless, God always has a plan and here we are now pregnant with #2!

Our first photo as a family of 4!

Charlotte loves the doctor appointments. She is wearing her gloves in this picture!

How did we find out? 
We had just returned back from San Francisco from picking Charlotte up from my mom. We were living in the Navy Lodge while we waited for our house to become available. Every morning, Kyle would go down to the lobby and get breakfast and bring it back to our room. I woke up feeling a little different and just had an inkling that I may be pregnant. I had some tests in my suitcase, so I took one and sure enough it was positive! I realized Charlotte and Kyle would be back any second and I wanted to surprise them, so I quickly threw the test into a Starbucks coffee mug box (I know, so random) and when they walked back in, I told them I had a surprise. Here is what I captured:

I only wish I let the video record longer! Such a sweet memory!

I will be the first to admit, that I immediately went into freak-out mode. I don't think it helped that we were living in a hotel, in the middle of a huge move, with a ton of unknowns. I've talked to many other moms who have felt the same way, but I am much more at ease now that we are more settled. Charlotte will be almost 4 years old when Baby #2 arrives and I think she will be a great helper!

Will we find out the sex? 
As much as I would LOVE to have it be a surprise, we've decided and we just don't think we can keep it a secret. I took the Harmony Blood Test last week and we should have the results soon. Stay tuned for a gender reveal. My guess is girl!

Morning Sickness?
One of the first things people ask when they find out your pregnant is, "How are you feeling?" I am so blessed to be feeling amazing! It was the same with Charlotte! I never had any morning sickness or nausea, just a few food aversions. I instantly dropped 7 lbs. once I got pregnant (that's what not drinking wine will do for ya, whoops) and the same thing happened when I got pregnant with Charlotte. I am thankful that I have been able to stay active, running 2 times a week with my running group and trying new workouts like Cross Fit and Barre. I know I am one of the lucky ones and I feel so blessed to be feeling good!

Cravings? 
Oh goodness, yes these are real. So I definitely have been craving more junk food, for sure, but I try to balance it out everyday with something healthy or doing a Shakeology shake in place of a meal. I treat myself every now and then to a 7-11 Slurpee (this was a huge craving in my pregnancy with Charlotte, too). I also ventured to the next town over to satisfy my Olive Garden craving! We will definitely be making the hour plus trip to San Jose to get Chick-Fil-A soon, too!

Bumpdates?
If you followed my blog during my pregnancy with Charlotte, you'll remember I did bump dates every week in the same black bathing suit! I still go back and reminisce about those posts! I'm really hoping to continue the trend, but not sure I will have enough time or energy to do weekly! It's such a great way to document the pregnancy and makes such a great memory, though.

Thanks for all the well wishes, texts and calls! They mean a lot to us and we are so excited!! We can't wait to find out if Charlotte will have a baby brother or sister!

Charlotte's Big Girl Room

We are coming up on the one month mark of being in our new home and I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Last week we got new carpet, which was awesome, but all of the bedrooms had to be disassembled and then put back together, so that set us back a little. Moving has definitely gotten harder each time. Probably because we have more stuff and also a toddler who likes to undo all the progress that we make!

One of the first rooms I focused on was Charlotte's room, because of course, she is the princess! But, in all seriousness, I wanted her to feel settled and I knew she would adjust better once her room was complete.

If you remember my post back in March over on Jax Moms Blog, we transitioned Charlotte from her crib to big girl bed. It was a rough adjustment, but it was so fun putting together her new room and she loved the freedom of getting in and out her bed.

Between staying with grandparents and living in a hotel for a week, her sleep schedule was off and we weren't sure how it was going to go in her new room. Overall, she is doing really well and really loves her room. We occasionally get a visitor in the morning between 5 and 6, but if we are lucky, she will lay back down for a little bit.

Now onto the details of her room! I just love it so much! Charlotte is a lucky girl, too, because she has TWO closets! Now, they are on the smaller side, but I put princess dresses in one and her regular clothes in another!

Charlotte's Room!

The Flamingo print was my first purchase for her room and by far one of my favorite things!

Love how this shelf turned out with the print and photos from Thistle Photo Co. 

Bed: IKEA Hemnes Day Bed 

Duvet Cover: Pottery Barn Kids Pearl Dot Duvet Cover, Bright Pink 

Euro Shams: PB Teen Crinkle Puff Euro Sham, Bright Pink 

Standard Shams: Etsy, Love of Lilly Custom Order 

Throw Pillows: Southern Tide from Home Goods 

Monogram: Pottery Barn Kids Harper Monogram, Pink

Curtains: Pillowfort for Target Tassel Lightblocking Curtain Panel

Flamingo Art, Shelf and Lamp: Home Goods

I'm hoping to share more of our house soon! It is an interesting layout and has been a little bit challenging to decorate, but I am happy with the progress we are making! Until next time!