friday favorites + giveaway

F R I D A Y   F A V O R I T E S

This week has been challenging with the boys, but I think that we’re coming out on top—a little older and a little wiser :)  We finally had some sunlight yesterday afternoon, so I took some cute shots of Nolan and Ephraim.


You know how they say Elizabeth Taylor had double lashes? I think Nolan does too!



We have been watching a lot of Netflix’s new original series “VeggieTales In The House”. Have you seen it? The animation is fresh, and it watches more like a Saturday morning cartoon than a normal VT video. Nolan is obsessed!

Speaking of Netflix, there is a new movie that was added on Monday, called “The Gospel of John”. It’s really fascinating, as it is word-for-word the book of John, with actors portraying all of the scenes.
It’s very well done, with impressive visuals and a high production value. It watches like a documentary, and is lengthy (2:40), but it would be great as an educational resource, broken up into pieces for a Sunday School class or Bible study. Check it out!



“The Gospel of John” was made by The Lumo Project, and was five years in the making! They filmed it in Morocco, so the landscapes look authentically like first century Palestine. Look for the other three gospels to come out as well.

Still loving this favorite new piece in my closet! I will probably be wearing it all weekend :)
 

My friend from college, Kellynne, did a giveaway this week for an amazing calligraphy piece from her Etsy shop, Hello Yellow. I was so excited to be the winner! I received it in the mail yesterday, and it is even more beautiful in person. She sent me another original of the same verse (on purple paper), and she is letting me give it away today!

I asked Kellynne to write a little bit about herself:

“Hello! I'm Kellynne. I try to live my life in a way that reflects the gifts God has given me. God gave me a tender and loving heart – I am wife to Jorden and mother to one and a half year old Elijah and dog Fry. God gave me a passion for reading and studying the Bible – I earned my Masters in Theological Studies from North Park Theological Seminary. God gave me hands that love to create – I enjoy writing, sewing, crafting, calligraphy, cooking and baking. God gave me a healthy body that craves movement – I love to run, practice yoga, and be outside.

Hello Yellow is a shop that offers sweet and simple gifts. My hope is that each item will bring joy and a smile to those who receive them. I opened Hello Yellow as a creative outlet for things that I love to do - sew and make art out of words. There is so much love in each piece I create, and I hope that is reflected in the quality of the products! I'm planning to expand the products that I offer in the near future to include a line of baby items, so keep an eye out!”
 
 
Always believe print


I love this print of Isaiah 9:6!


She does custom pieces as well!


And she sells cute handmade bags and bow ties :)

Lastly, here are a few of my favorite iPhone photos from this week  :)

Have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by today!

Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win this gorgeous piece from Kellynne’s Hello Yellow shop!

(It’s a 5x7 handwritten with white ink.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ephraim at 10 months

 
Baby Ephraim turned 10 months-old several days ago! I’m getting a little sad to be approaching the big birthday so quickly because this is such a fun age! (Minus the crying in the middle of the night.) Ephraim is cruising like a pro, crawling as fast as ever, eating everything in sight, and of course, testing his boundaries. He loves to put the dog’s food in his mouth, dump her water dish, knock over Nolan’s humidifier, pull up on the toilet to stand, and now he can open cabinet doors. Such fun :) This month, he learned how to sign “more” with his hands! He likes to make us laugh by playing peekaboo or pretending to blow raspberries on our tummies. He is pure joy to us, and I’m sure he will surprise us with all kind of new things this month. :)

10 Month Stats

Weight: 20 pounds

Length: Around 28 inches

Eating: He is still nursing, which is wonderful for both of us. With all of the thrush drama that we had, I was having stabbing pain on one side for two weeks. I am overjoyed that things healed up and we made it through! He LOVES puffs, waffle wheels, teething cookies, Cheerios, noodles, and shredded cheese—and stuffs as much as he can into his mouth. I want to feed him more table food, but he still doesn’t have any teeth, so everything has to be mashable with his gums. Bananas and vanilla yogurt are highlights of his day :)

Bedtime: With the time change, we finally got his bed time down to 8! This is hugely exciting because it means after all of these months, the boys are going to bed at the same time! He tends to need someone to shush him back to sleep around 11. And then he eats at 3-ish.

Awake: He wakes up around the time that his brother knocks down the gate and starts yelling in the hall for Mommy and Daddy (7:30—8).

Naps: Naps are pretty short, and he’s down to two a day. One is around 11, and the other around 2, but it varies.

Diapers: Size 3, and I buy the Pampers Extra Protection in 4s for night time. He HIGHLY dislikes getting his diaper changed, and it’s a struggle every time.

Clothes: 9-12 months

 

He’s ready for those teeth to come in! Hopefully not all at once. . .


This year, Christmas is going to be extra special with you, Ephraim Luke. We are so crazy about you! Xoxo.

what i wore wednesday

I’ve wanted a puffer vest. . . since. . . forever. I remember borrowing my roommate Jenna’s vest my sophomore year of college. I never thought it would be a good purchase for me, since when I’m cold, my arms are first to freeze. And wouldn’t they eventually go out of style? But, eight years later, they are more in style than ever. And so I hit up Old Navy on Black Friday to snag this cute black one for $15 (50% off). And guess what? It is really warm and comfy! I paired it with a flannel that has plenty of color, and I borrowed Steve’s Chucks on a whim. (We wear the same size, which is cool, but kind of weird.) Add this to my growing list of casual, everyday mom outfits.


Flannel | Mossimo at Target (old)
Jeans | American Eagle skinnies
Shoes | Converse
Vest | Old Navy
Earrings | Nickel & Suede

These photos got a little blurry thanks to the icy precipitation and the sky getting dark at 4:30 these days. Thank goodness for pretty Christmas lights to make this season a bit more bearable :)

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Linking up with Lindsey, Alison, and Shanna.

tis the season

I’ve been so excited to share our Christmas decorations with you all! We were busy this weekend bringing everything down from the attic, and rearranging our living room to fit the tree and other holiday pieces. I really love how it all turned out! And as I’m typing this tonight, the room is dark but illuminated by the pretty Christmas tree lights—such ambience!



I have the goal to someday sew my own stockings, or at least buy handmade personalized ones. But this year—I stumbled upon some stockings at Dollar Tree ($1 each), and I thought they were cute! I used gold fabric paint to write our names on the tops.

  

Steve has a new addition to his Hallmark Star Trek collection (Sulu) :)

   

This photo of Ephraim and Ivy is a treasure to me.



As for our mantel, I kept it pretty close to what we did last year. We plan to paint the mantel white this next year.

I used fabric scraps from my Grandma to create this holiday bunting.




I made this new Dala horse print this weekend. (God Jul is Merry Christmas in Swedish.) Scroll to the bottom to print a copy for yourself! (Right click it and save to your computer. Print as 8x10.)

 


And a new addition to our decorations—a roll of brown kraft paper that Steve mounted for me. I am pretty crazy about it :)

Linking up with Andrea for the “Come On In” series. I have really enjoyed being a part of this link-up every month, and showing you this old house that we have made our own in the past year and a half. I still have more rooms and projects to show you, so stay tuned!

Hope you enjoy making your home all Christmasy this month!

Xoxo.