Big Girl Bedroom Inspiration...

My Jolea bug has recenly "outgrown" her crib...therefore we are using a very "rigged" version of a toddler bed. Click HERE to view :) Anyway...its a new year...and I think this little girl needs a new bed! I have such big ideas in my head for the "perfect" little girl's room, but in reality, we are in a rental...and there is no sense in going overboard on a room that she probably wont be in that long...right? Ive been scouring the internet and flipping through decor magazines, and this is the inspiration/direction I think I am going for, in Jolea's new room.

This image is from Pottery Barn Kids and the bedding collection is called Brooke! Isnt it PRESH? I just love all the colors and the sweet little birds...its a little bit vintage and a little bit modern/retro all mixed together!

I am trying to think "cost effectively" and I am trying to incorporate the existing furniture in her room as well. With all that in mind...this is the bedding I think I am going to buy her from Target instead!

Its called "Love and Nature" and its by Circo. I think its a pretty close comparison to the PBK bedding...and at a much more affordable price too. Jolea's room is already a soft yellow...so THANK GOODNESS there will be no painting involved. This set comes in a reversible comforter bed-in-a-bag set, however the quilt version seems to be better quality and I like that look better too.

This is an upclose of the sham and the striped sheets...

I "must" have this sweet little throw pillow...I just fall in love when I look at it :)

Now...since I dont want to paint or do anything funky to the walls, I am thinking these swanky wall decals are the perfect solution! There is only one little problem...I cant find them ANYWHERE! Does anyone know where I could find something similar?

Jolea's nursery furniture is in perfect condition and its crisp white...therefore I am only going to purchase a new bed at this time and allow what she already has to continue to grow with her for a few more years. With that being said, I think I am going to purchase this bed from Big Lots.

I think this is a perfect big girl bed for my big girl! If she falls out of it...she wont have far to fall...and that helps me rest a little easier too! I will only be purchasing the headboard/shelf and the actual bed...nothing else from the photo. The two large drawers will come in handy for storage too...and that is something a kid can NEVER have enough of.

Well there ya have it...my big plans for Jolea's new bedroom. Now the only problem will be finding the time to get it all done! As always I will have pictures...every step of the way.

Christmas 2009 Part 3: The Gaylord Texan and ICE

As I continue with my posts about our awesome Christmas vacation…our next stop was at the Gaylord Texan on Christmas Eve. The trip alone…was VERY…entertaining. Wouldn’t ya know the one year that we decide to “seek” out our very own white Christmas…it seemed to “seek” us out instead? The Blizzard of 2009 just happened to occur on the morning that we were making our way to Grapevine to the Beautiful Gaylord Texan Hotel. Funny thing is... a trip from our home in Abilene to Fort. Worth usually takes about two and a half hours! Not this time…we were in the car for a whopping 6 hours before we finally made it to our first destination. In my 28 years of living in Abilene Texas, I cannot remember seeing it snow the way it did on Christmas Eve. Frankly, we were shocked on Christmas morning when we got up and were still able to fly out as scheduled. Here are a few pictures from our road trip, just to give you and idea of what it was like :) 

Please click on the images to enlarge them.

As you can imagine...a trip like this with a small child could be quite stressfull, but our Jolea girl did such a great job. We did get a little bored and stir crazy after a while...

By the time we finally made it into Grapevine and to Uncle Julio's for supper, Poppy was ready for a margarita to calm his nerves...ha ha...he had done a super safe job of getting us all there safe and sound and in 1 piece too...Great Job Poppy! Our family has always loved this restaurant and it was the perfect fit for our special Christmas Eve dinner. While we were there, a super star decided she would sit down and join us for supper too.

We enjoyed a delicious meal together...and prepared to head back into the elements and press on towards the Gaylord Texan Hotel, where we would be spending the rest of our evening. By the time we had gotten up from our table and headed back out to the car, the tahoe was covered in ice and the bad weather that we had spent all day traveling through had finally made its way into Grapevine. YIKES!

Luckily the hotel was only about 5 minutes from the restaurant so everyone could rest a little easier knowing that. When we got there...we were overwhelmed by how HUGE it was. There were lights everywhere...twinkly ones, bright ones, white ones and even a Santa in a boat on a small pond pulling reindeer on ski's...it was really cute. Jolea was in awe, as she looked out the windows! We dont normally use valet services...but the wind was howling, the snow was blowing, we were frozen and valet parking sounded like a great idea at the time. Once we checked in and headed to our room, this is what we saw :)

It was a nice place...very clean and modern and the beds were comfy too. Too bad we didnt get an interior room so we could enjoy looking at all the awesome Christmas decorations. Once we got all settled in, we all got "winter-ready" to head down and visit the ICE exhibit. This year, ICE! told the story of The Grinch by recreating cherished scenes from the book in intricately carved, larger-than-life, interactive ice sculptures set in a walk-through world of ice. Jolea is a HUGE fan of the "Gich" also known as the Grinch...so this was the perfect theme for her. It was AWESOME :)

Here she is ready to have some FUN

When you get there they give you huge parkas to wear! Its a bone chilling 9 degrees inside the exhibit. A word to the wise...dress with gloves, hats and scarves...even the parkas dont take the chill away. My hands were so cold it was hard to push the button on the camera to take pictures. I ran off and forgot my gloves at home...in Abilene...Ugh! Jolea was so cute in her parka...you couldnt even see her hands or legs...she was like a little penguin waddling around...it was cute!

Family Shot...Daddy, Jolea and Mommy

Grammy and Poppy

Mommy and Jolea posing inside the igloo...CHEEZ

 

Daddy and his girl

Snuggling with Poppy...XOXO

The following pictures are of the actual ICE carvings themselves...they are so intricate in detail and color. I cannot imagine the man power and hours that go into a project like this one. It was well worth the 20 dollar tickets that I thought were a bit pricey at first...there are lots of pictures because I just couldnt narrow it down to a few...Ooops! The flow of the sculptures followed the story-line...so many of the images should seem familiar!

After we finished walking through the ICE exhibit, which took about 20 minutes...Jolea got a first hand encounter with the Grinch himself. I thought for sure she would hit "panic" mode once she got up close and personal with the green thing...but to my surprise she loved on him and hugged on him and had a really great time with the "Gich"...which at times sounds a lot like "another" word...if ya know what I mean :) Here she is doing a meet and greet with the star of the show!

Look Mommy...Im hanging out with the Grinch

Hugs and Kisses from the Sweet Grinch

We mingled around the gift shop...looking at all the sights and taking tons of pictures of course! There was just so much to see...so much to look at...and more lights and poinsettia's than I have ever seen before! Here are a few of my favorite shots!

Jolea peeking out the train window...

Family shot inside the sweet sleigh :)

There were several "sweet spots" that were designed especially for taking photos...of course I made the family hit almost all of them :)

Me and the Hubs

Me and my Mama

This is a life size Gingerbread house that was located inside the hotel. It was made of real edible ingredients and I just thought it was PRESH :) and it looked so DELISH too :)

I wanted a better picture but this was the best I could come up with! Look at those ingredients would ya...

500 lbs of sugar

200 lbs of powdered sugar

90 lbs of brown sugar

NEED I SAY MORE?

By the time we got checked in, went to the ICE, walked around and checked things out...it was late and our little angel was running on fumes! We couldnt call it quits yet...because...Santa had delivered stockings to our hotel room...and they were full of sweet goodies!

Since Santa delivered all of our "big" presents to St. Joseph Michigan...He must have made a special stop at the Gaylord just for us...and he delivered our stockings right to our room...what a sweet gesture :) Everyone got some really great gifts...and we had the time of our lives...just being together!

Once the stockings were emptied and everything was packed away...it was lights out! We had a long Christmas Day full of traveling that started at 5:30 AM...and our fingers were crossed that we would be able to leave the runway...ON TIME. Our Gaylord experience was a good one...but we could have easily spent a couple of days there to take it all in. Maybe...ahem...my hubby will take me back there for our anniversary this year...hint hint

Coming up next...a week in St. Joseph Michigan with Aunt Penny and Uncle Mitch...what a fun adventure that was :)

A Bargain Worth Sharing...

So this morning after I dropped of my angel baby at MDO, I decided I would scoot on over to our local Ross store for some rummage shopping. If you have been to the Abilene Ross, then you know exactly what I mean by "rummage"...that place is always a chaotic mess. Anyway...thats all beside the point. While I was browsing, I stumbled across these beauties...

This internet picture was way better than any of the ones I tried to take...so Voila! Whats the big deal you ask? Well I paid a whopping 10.99 for these trendy britches that are retailed at 118.00 or higher in some cases. Most of the time you find Level 99 jeans in swanky little boutiques, holiday gift shows or high end clothing stores. Even the stars are wearing them...

Katie Holmes and Katherine Heigl

Jessica Alba

I know it seems silly to be so excited over a pair of jeans...but I just love it when I find a good bargain! It makes me HAPPY :)

Christmas 2009: Part 2 The Ward Family Christmas

The next stop on our Christmas adventure was Keller Texas. We woke up on December 20Th, packed up the car…loaded up the presents and headed down I-20 for another celebration. It’s also become tradition at the Ward family Christmas that we draw names! My brother-in-law Brandon drew my name...and he bought me a digital picture frame...which I have always wanted. Andy scored an Academy gift card from his Aunt Sissy, a gift card to the Sunglass Hut and "another" Madden football video game thanks to Jan. Jolea on the other hand scored “Way Too Much” from everyone. Let’s just say her play kitchen is set for life with all the latest appliances, thanks to her Aunt Erin. She also got a sweet pink tricycle that is just a little too big for her and the cutest helmet and knee pad set from her Grandparents! She got the sweetest Cach Cach dress that I cannot wait to share with you!

Here is Jolea trying out her new ride...

This girl makes a bicycle helmet look so darn cute!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am especially fond of my Willow Tree Angel Nativity Set…well my mother-in-law delivered again…and she so graciously added the Three Wise Men to my collection. I took the scene down before I got a picture, but was able to snag this one from the Internet. I cannot wait too add these little beauties next year! Someday when I have a bigger house and a bigger place to put my collection, I just might leave it out year-round.

While we were in town, my Hubby and his Mother were kind enough to escort me to the new...

Sam Moon store for a little shopping. Andy and Stacy watched the baby and I got to experience a little piece of heaven while I shopped and shopped for bags, purses, jewelry, home interiors and so much more. I have NEVER been to a Sam Moon before and it was a GREAT first time experience. Luckily for me its conveniently located right on the way to my in-laws house…therefore I predict many more stops there. I came away with a great overnight bag, a snazzy winter hat, a couple of scarves and a nice pair of dangle earrings.

While we there we also made a trip to Boyd Texas to see a cousin of Andy’s who is courageously battling cancer. Please keep the Shawn Ward family in your prayers. He is a young husband and father that was diagnosed with cancer several years ago and has been fighting the battle ever since. While we were there, Jolea got the cutest little pink bracelet that says “Cancer Sucks”…its one of those that resembles the Lance Armstrong Live Strong bracelets that became so popular several years ago. Even though she is too young to understand what it means, it sits in her room and we think of Shawn, Amy and their sweet children very often.

After our visit in Boyd, it was off to Decatur Texas to visit our sweet little PawPaw, Karen, Mark, Melinda and Randy. Too bad I forgot my camera this time and I don’t have any pictures to share. Andy’s Grandma passed away earlier this year and this was our first Christmas without her. It was different…something was missing of course…but she is looking down on us and smiling, happy that we were all together even though she couldn't be there with us. PawPaw just adores all of his Great Grandchildren…and I know it did him a lot of good to get to see Jolea and spend some time with her during the holidays.

The trip was short...but very sweet...and here are some pictures I wanted to share :)

Jolea and Crissy were playing a dice game...and it looks like Jolea won

After she won all that money, she decided to put it in her brand new pink piggy bank to save for college!

Here is Andy and all of his siblings...from the left...Brandon, Jansen and Erin

Jan is Andy's baby brother...him and I are pretty good buds...I decided to call him Q-tip during this holiday trip because his hair was bleach blonde...silly kid

This is a great picture...and one that is hard to come by. Besides the holidays it seems as if we are never all in the same place at the same time to capture a moment like this one.

Speaking of sweet pictures...I managed to capture this one...and I love it. My girl looks so grown up and so darn precious. The outfit she is wearing has been one of my favorites ever since the day she was born. I have a picture of her wearing this same print when she was just a wee-tiny baby...its Icky Baby...and I adore it! Maybe I will buy it in every size until she just gets too big to wear it.

As with every post, I am sure there is something I am forgetting to mention! We have been so busy going from one place to the next that its easy to forget some of the most precious memories! Thank Goodness for this blog and for digital cameras that way I can document all of life's most precious moments. Stay tuned for Christmas Part 3: The Gaylord Texan, Christmas Part 4: A White Christmas in St. Joseph and Christmas Part 5: A Day in Chicago on Michigan Avenue. I told ya...we have been busy!