Life Lately...

Hi, friends! I realize I've been a bit of a slacker on the blog lately, so I thought I'd just post a little update about what's been going on in the Hatcher family as of late! As we are preparing to move (THIS SATURDAY!!!!! *Insert praise hands emoji!*), we have been tackling a lot of projects! Mainly painting. But before I get into that, I have to share this picture of Hank a couple of weeks ago at Chick-Fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day. :D 

I'm pretty sure he's the cutest baby cow I've ever seen! :)

If you remember in my last Friday Favorites post, I was trying to decide on a Feltman Brothers outfit for a contest I won. I finally decided on this blue and white smocked bobby suit, and it came in the mail this week! I was nervous he'd be in between sizes for Christmas, and I thought this outfit would be sweet for his birthday and versatile enough to wear for more than one occasion! I can't wait to see him in it!

                                               



So, we have been doing LOTS AND LOTS of painting for our new house! Furniture, walls, signs, you name it! Here are a few pieces I've been working on…..

Our new door sign! I ordered it unfinished from Etsy and painted it with my beloved Hobby Lobby chalk paint. 

I got this retro side table from an online yard sale page and painted it a light gray. I love how it turned out, and I think it's going to be great in our living room!

Before

After!

These mirrors are a project that turned out to be a LOT bigger than I thought! (I'll post a separate blog post about them later). They are vintage -- from my mother's bedroom suite as a child! My daddy and I re-stained the dresser and lingerie chest around 5 years ago, but these mirrors were left behind. I decided to tackle them for our new house. I'm loving how they turned out! (Will post more pics and info soon!)

     

                                         
                                                                         Before

After!

Perhaps the biggest project of all was painting our living room! The former owners of our house chose some very vibrant colors for the walls… all which I can live with except for the crimson living room. I felt like it made the room a lot darker and smaller, and it definitely didn't match some of our turquoise decor! After a coat of primer and a coat of Sherwin Williams "Agreeable Gray," I am LOVING the way it looks now! The color we chose is a gray with brown undertones, so I think it's the perfect neutral! I'll have better pictures later, but here's a couple of the progress. 

That's all for now! Hope yall have a wonderful week! :)

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you all have had a great couple of weeks! I've been MIA and busy packing and moving things to the new house! Finally able to do a little updating, and I'm pretty exciting about this one! Linking up with Andrea for Friday Favorites again this time. ;)

One.

As if we needed more mess and chaos in our apartment while we're in the midst of a move, I decided to do a furniture project in the little walking space we have left. I am SO glad I did, though, because I love how these end tables turned out! A girl at the seminary was selling these end tables for $10 a piece, and they needed some work. I loved the shape, though -- especially the curved legs! I spent a few days painting and waxing, and I got some new drawer pulls at Hobby Lobby. I think they're going to look great in our new living room!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

(We're also going to be painting that poopy brown wall! That lamp is also one of my new FAVORITES! Half off sale at Hobby Lobby! Woo!)

Two.

While I was picking out drawer pulls at Hobby Lobby the other day, I walked by this sign. I feel sorry for the people that were near me because I turned around and went back to look at it while doing an ugly-distorted-face cry. Jacob, Hank, and I spent some time in Alabama and Nashville over the past couple of weeks, and we both got a little homesick being in our childhood homes. There were tears shed on my end. It wasn't pretty. All those emotions came flooding back when I walked past this sign, but it was a great reminder that "home" is where my two favorite men are. Crap, I'm crying now as I type this!! 

In the cart it went!

Three.

So this week I WON A CONTEST!!! I entered a giveaway on the Feltman Brothers' instagram page, and I WON a free outfit!!! (Side note: I *thought* I was winning four outfits, but it turns out it's just one. My misunderstanding. But one is still awesome!) I'm having trouble choosing!! I wore Feltman Brothers home from the hospital, and I LOVE their timeless, classic look. (I know some people don't, but I do, and I will have totally sacrificed things for myself to get a precious smocked outfit for my child. Not even a little sad about it either!) Most of their boys' outfits for Hank's upcoming size are in the Bobby Suit style. The royal family loves this style too! :))

Sweet Prince George in his bobby suit!

These are the two I'm trying to decide between right now! A precious all occasion smocked bobby suit or an adorable embroidered Christmas bobby suit!!! I love them both! 

Four. 

My *favorite* book right now is "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" by Marie Kondo. This book is so necessary in my life right now! I'm only a few chapters in, but I've purged about 6 garbage bags and boxes so far. Mess and clutter can be so stressful, and I want our new home to be a stress-free place to be. I am SUCH a sentimental pack rat, so it took some self pep talks to get rid of so many things, but I feel so much better about it!

Five.

Last but not least, my *favorite* show right now is Mr. Selfridge. Honestly, it took a little bit to get hooked, but we're on Season 2 now, and I'm loving it. I LOVE British period dramas, and this one is definitely keeping me entertained while I wait for Downtown Abbey to return for the last season. (Still heartbroken about that). Mr. Selfridge is about Harry Selfridge, a Chicago native who runs and owns a department store in London. I recommend it!!

Have a great weekend!!! 

Easy DIY Book Page Wreath

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of being a hostess at my college best friend's baby shower! She is due August 31st, and sweet baby Edley Catherine is going to have a literary-themed nursery! How precious is that?!! So we decided to go with that theme and host a classic literary-themed baby shower. :) More on that to come…

One of the things I did was some DIY decor, including a wreath made from pages of Little Women. This turned out to be SO easy and so cute, if I do say so myself!!! ;) (I plan to make one out of a hymnal for our house at some point). I had several people ask me how to make it. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics during the process, but I thought I'd share the tutorial I used on Pinterest! Check it out -- it's super easy and is a great touch for an event or your home! :) All you need is a styrofoam wreath, a book, and a hot glue gun!

Here's how mine turned out: