Catch-Up

Why does it always feel like I am behind nowadays? It seems that I am always trying to catch-up on something. Between my new love of crocheting, traveling, unpacking (our things finally arrived from Austria last week!!), decorating, crafting and constant eating (hello pregnancy!), I feel like there just isn't enough time in the day.

Right now we are currently in Salzburg, visiting our old stomping grounds. Jason has been traveling for three weeks now. He was supposed to continue on to China after Salzburg without me but that was pushed back a couple weeks, thank goodness. I wanted to visit him in the middle of his trip because four weeks away from my hubby is just far too long. His travel schedule is draining for the both of us. Although it is nice to be home with friends and family, it just isn't the same when he is gone.  I mean, it gets pretty lonely after a while and who is going to protect me from the ghosts at night? I swear our house is haunted but that is a whole different story. Anyway, it is freezing cold here in Salzburg (I can't believe I already forgot how cold it is! Selective memory I suppose..) but it is so great to spend time with my lovely friends while Jason is working. I really miss these girls!! And, I get to spend Sego's 35th birthday with her today. Yippee!!

Did I mention that I am a terrible wife? Jason's birthday was on Friday. He turned 41. Not too exciting of a birthday and I sure didn't help. Jason was supposed to meet me in Salzburg and wasn't due to arrive until Saturday morning so I arranged a girl's dinner for Friday night (Jason's birthday). His schedule got moved around and he actually arrived that morning in Munich, an hour after my flight landed so we drove to Salzburg together. All of the girl's already RSVP'd and Jason didn't want me to cancel (I did ask him though!!). Needless to say, I spent his birthday with 12 of my sweet friends at dinner. He ate at the same restaurant but at a different table, so technically he came too. I still feel pretty bad about it. I guess I will just have to make up for it when we get home. ;) I had such a lovely time with my sweet friends and it was so nice to catch up. It was almost as if I never left!

The most exciting news of the week though is that my very best friend got ENGAGED this weekend!! I got a text message while in Salzburg to call her right away and I had a strong feeling that this was the news (I sure was hoping anyway!). So, now I am not only excited to meet my sweet baby girl but I am also super excited for all of the upcoming wedding festivities to come. What a year it will be!! Congrats Jessica and Hutto!! I am beyond thrilled for you guys!!

And for those of you that want a little pregnancy update, everything is going very well. I am measuring exactly where I am supposed to be and I am feeling lots of sweet kicks. Feeling the kicks is simply amazing and I can't seem to get enough of it! I am not sure how I got so lucky but I haven't had ANY morning sickness during my whole pregnancy. The first trimester I was a bit tired and run down and for some reason wasn't into sweets at all but my how things can change!  I am well into my second trimester now (almost into my third!) and my appetite grows by the day, right along with my belly. It's almost scary. And I can't seem to get enough sweets. I've been going to the gym pretty regularly, so hopefully it will all cancel out. ;) Besides the back pain, I feel great! I am 26 weeks right now, so not too much longer before sweet baby girl makes her appearance. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. These next few months are going to fly by, I just know it!! Did I mention that I can't wait to meet our sweet little girl?! Ahhhh I am so excited!!

Before I sign out I also want to give a belated birthday shout out to my Dad and brother Luke. They have the same birthday which is pretty cool. It was last week. Luke is living out in California now so unfortunately he wasn't here to celebrate his big 2-5 with us. We did celebrate with my Dad though. So happy birthday, guys! I love you!!

Well, that's all for now folks. I will make sure to post again real soon!! xx

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!! 

I am going to keep this post short and sweet. I don't want to post about the sweet words Jason spoke to me or the thoughtful gifts he bought me (even though he is out of town). The reason is this- my husband is a sweet man no matter what day it is! The only reason why I love him more today than I did yesterday is because our love grows with every passing moment and I am so thankful to have him in my life. I already have the best gift I could have in the world and one on the way- my loving husband and my sweet baby girl. What else does a girl need?! 

I love you, my sweet man!! 

Now go spread the love!! xx

LoveMyKnots

Since moving to the States, I have been obsessed with Etsy and Pinterest. I have been doing all sorts of projects and crafts and I just love it!

On a whim today, I decided to open an Etsy shop. I've been starting to crochet baby blankets and figured I would sell a couple online. So if you want to take a peek, my shop is www.etsy.com/shop/lovemyknots. I am just getting started and have only made a couple but will be adding a bunch of blankets as I go. 

If any of my friends are interested, I can make these blankets custom made so you can choose your colors. Let me know if you want to buy one. :)

I hope you LoveMyKnots! xx

Nathan is 3!!

On Sunday, this little guy turned 3!! I can't believe it! Where does the time go?! I am so lucky to be his Aunt. Nathan is such a fun little guy and he says the funniest things. He is such a great little helper too! On Tuesday I went over to my parent's house to clean out some of my old boxes and he helped go through some things. As we went through a bag of my old teddy bears, he said to me, "now that one's just adorable!" I love how independent and fun he is and he is sooo smart. It has been such a pleasure watching him grow up. It is so nice to be so close so I can watch Lily and Isabelle grow up too. And of course, it will be so nice to have cousins right around the corner for my sweet little bun in the oven. Anyway, Happy 3rd Birthday, Nathan!! We love you!! xx

Coaster Project

I love Pinterest. Seriously, I have gotten extremely inspired by some of the things I have seen whether it is a project, a decorating idea or baby nursery ideas. Jason went out of town in the beginning of January and I decided that I wanted to make him a little surprise while he was gone. As many of you know, Jason is a wonderful photographer. It has come in handy because we have so many beautiful pictures to choose from to decorate our new home. I decided that I wanted to take some of the pictures that he has taken and that I would make them into coasters for our living room. We got brand new furniture and I didn't want it to be ruined, after all. Why not have really nice pictures to look at that also serve a purpose? So, I was on a mission to get them done in one evening. 

I recruited my Mom so she could come shopping with me although I was adamant that she didn't help me while actually making the coasters (except for spraying the sealer at the very end since it had a warning for pregnant women). The whole project cost me about $30 and I absolutely love them. 

Here is what we did:

1. First we picked out the pictures we wanted to use and printed them out. 

2. We went to Hobby Lobby and got antique modge podge, clear acrylic spray, felt, waterproof craft glue and craft sponge applicators. 

3. We went to Home Depot and picked out bathroom tiles. I chose the mint green clear ones that are decorative tiles because I wanted all of the sides to be smooth. They cost almost $3 a tile but were totally worth it though you could get much cheaper tiles if you don't care too much. 

4. We laid out padding so we didn't ruin the kitchen table. Newspaper would work too. 

5. I took the craft sponge and modge podged the tile and placed the picture on the tile. Then I modge podged a thin layer over the picture making strokes in one direction. I let it dry for about 15 minutes or until it was no longer sticky. 

6. Once dry, I went over the tile in the opposite direction with the modge podge for texture and so it looked more like a canvas. I repeated this step 3-4 times, alternating directions, so the picture is on really good then I let them dry. 

7. Once completely dry, my Mom took them outside and sprayed them with the clear acrylic spray. We coated them 2-3 times, letting it dry for a few minutes in between each coat. Then we let them dry completely for 24-48 hours. 

8. The following day I took the waterproof craft glue and glued the felt to the bottom of each coaster. I glued a complete square but you could also do four little circles if you wanted. Then I let the glue dry completely for 24 hours. 

9. There you have it, gorgeous coasters from our travels all over the world. :)

 I love them!! I can't wait to start my next little pinterest project. So much fun!! xx