Ambiance

I like to pronounce it Ahhm-bee-ahhns... because it makes me feel fancy.
Fancy like the new fancy fan and lighting we have going on in Baby P's room now.
Not that the previous light and fan (lacking in the fancy department) posed some kind of risk or was not doing it's job... but for some reason Z and my dad got on this... "we need to replace that fan STAT" kick. Okay, in their defense, it was a smidge noisy, but I still think we could have balanced it and not completely blown my room budget out the window when we flipped the switch on the new fan.
Actually... that's a totally inaccurate (though thoughtfully penned, no?) statement, as the new fan doesn't even have a switch. It has a this:

That would be a fancy spaceship controller that changes the speed of the fan AND makes the lights dim. This was an essential addition to the whole new fan set up. Z wired it all in himself and was quite proud. It's also a remote that pops out of it's little holder there where the light switch previously was... so I guess if you want to turn off the light fro the other side of the room... you are welcome to take it with you and do so. Which would probably be more convenient if the room weren't so tiny.
So here's the new fancy fan:

All lit up full and bright...

Dimmed down low for ambiance

(Can we just have a quick discussion about how annoyingly hard it is to take decent pics of a lit light fixture? Yeah... annoying. And hard. Okay.) I liked this fan because of the enclosed ceiling mount. I thought it looked a little more modern and a little more substantial-- even though is was kind of a mid-range quality/priced fan. I liked the squarish blades, and I like that when Baby P is chillin' on the comfy, fluffy rug on his floor, he can admire his modern asterisk shaped fan. (I am assuming he will share my appreciation for typography in design elements.)

(For the sake of full disclosure: Yes, I laid on my back on the floor to take this picture. I wanted to get the Baby P view. My husband wasn't home, and after lowering myself to the floor on my back I panicked because I was pretty sure I would never be able to get up on my own. Hindsight can suck it. I attempted to roll to my side and scoot across the rug to a piece of furniture to help prop me up... but twisted into a funny shape that caused angry nerve receptors to shoot lightening bolts through my abdomen and back. I started yelping... and my white dogs stood in the doorway with their heads tilted the same direction and expressions that read: You pitifully stupid creature, what did you THINK was going to happen??? But I finally pulled myself into an upright position again, and everyone survived the experience. All for the blog, my friends, and all for you.)
(Also, valuable lesson learned here: Have the husband take the 'Baby veiw' shots from now on.)

I wish I had a picture of the ugly fan we replaced, so you could be all, Oh, WOW. That IS such an improvement... but ugly fan pics got lost in the computer crash earlier this week (along with the pics of my handsome husband actually installing it on his own... he smiled and everything for the picture. It was charming and priceless, and now it is gone. Pout.) so you will have to imagine an ugly, dirty, builder's grade fan on our ceiling. Did you imagine it? Go ahead, do it. I'll wait...
...
...
See, now, isn't that an improvement? Now that the room has ambient lighting and quietly moving air and remote controls... we are ready to move on to other more DIY-y projects.

(Bonus: if you are clever and observant you have seen a sneak peek of the wall color in several of the last baby room posts... It's seriously the prettiest color EVAR. It makes my happy! Can't wait to show you more.)

Pinterest Challenge: Project #2

Soooo... remember how yesterday I told you our computer crashed and I lost a ton of project pictures I was planning to share with you that had not been backed up anywhere else?
Yeah...
So today we are going to use our imagination. Here's how it's gonna work: I'm gonna show you some pictures and recipes and you are going to use your imagination to superimpose my image and the the images of my friends and family enjoying the items in the pictures. Are you ready? Here we go!

My next Pinterest Challenge project was to try out some recipes I have found on pinterest. But first... you need a little background. At our house every Friday night is pizza night. Whether we order pizza, make a frozen pizza, or I make pizza... we have some kind of pizza every Friday. I have tried all kinda of variations on pizza--stromboli, calzone, pizza pull-aparts, french bread pizza-- and while the hubs doesn't mind any of those options, his fav is just straight up simple pepperoni pizza. And he likes it best when I make it. Which... i did more before I was all knocked up and whatnot (yes, the Pizza Hut delivery guy knew us by name because of that first trimester) but I'm doing better now, so I think it's time to step it up a notch. I always made my pizza crust from a mix, and while those things aren't awful... I kept wondering, how hard can it be to make pizza dough from scratch.

Source: laurenslatest.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Especially after pinning this recipe on pinterest, I knew I had no excuse. So last Friday night, I tried it out.
OMG! So easy! And so yummy! It has really lovely flavor, (which I attribute to the honey, as I am obsessed with all things honey related) and was a perfect chewy/crispy consistency. Z loved it too. Why was I wasting my time with those stupid packets of powder?
(Here's where you get to imagine a picture of me serving a beautifully handmade cheesy bread pizza that's perfectly bubbly and golden browned while my husband looks on with awe and admiration and my hair looks great and my pregnant belly is not poking out the bottom of my too-small PJ's. Got all that? Great!)
A couple thoughts on this recipe:
    *There is a bonus cheesy bread recipe as well! Score.
    *I used my stand mixer. I am sure you could do it by hand too? But I hate kneading dough by hand, and it is sooo easy in my mixer, I wondered why I had never done it before.
    *This recipe makes enough for two crusts... and I only needed one Friday night, but would be making pizza for friends the next day, so I experimented: after it had risen, I cut the dough in half, wrapped half in plastic wrap and left it in the fridge overnight. The next day, about 1.5 hours before company was to arrive I pulled it from the fridge and stuck it in an oiled bowl next to the warmish oven. It rose beautifully and was just as good (maybe even a smidge easier to work with) on day two. That's good news!
    *I am considering trying it with whole wheat flour next time... I didn't want to stray from the original recipe the first time, but whole wheat crust is on the menu for next week. I'll let you know!

Okay, so try your hand at some homemade pizza dough. YUM.
And then when you have your crust all ready to be topped, do this to it:

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Valerie on Pinterest

I mentioned above that I made pizza for friends on Saturday. We were having a couple over that we really want to be best-couple-friends with. I really wanted to make something that was incredibly delicious, but easy because I was trying to be really cool and calm even though I was nervous about cooking for them. (I know, we are major nerds... we just really wanted them to like us!)
I figured... steak + pizza = How could this go wrong???
This pizza delivered. It was amazing. The Pioneer Woman has never led me astray. Layers of flavor and richness. Delicious and meaty. It received great reviews all around... and I told everyone I knew the next day about how it changed my life for good.
(I kinda want to sing a Wicked song now.)

So to sum up this post:
1) Imagine glamorous Valerie in each of these pictures
2) Make your own pizza crust
3) Top it with steak for the love of all things good in life
Amen.

(Oh, and just in case you missed it, here's the Pinterest Challenge, and Project #1. It's not to late to join if you want! You have until the end of the month to do something... so lets see it!)

LOST!

Our computer crashed yesterday. UGH
We were unable to recover any lost data.
Most of the lost data was pictures.
Pictures that I had taken of a lot of projects I was planning on sharing with you.
All lost.
Bummer. Biiiig time. We had the important stuff (wedding pics and important documents/papers) backed up-- but not much else. So it's not earth shattering-- but it's disappointing and frustrating to lose everything else. Sooo... I guess this should be a lesson to me, back stuff up more often if it's important to you?
Anyway, while we are on the subject, here's some Coldplay to make you feel nice and melancholy this afternoon:

Just in case...

...you were curious how freaking big my belly is getting, this was taken this weekend:

And just in case you wanted to know what a pregnant lady looks like plowing through a whole bag of her favorite treat/fall activity, here it is:

Ah, the pure joy of a perfectly roasted marshmellow!

Pinterest Challenge: Project #1

What in the world might I be making???

Happy Monday, friends! My last post on here I invited you to participate in a challenge with me... A  Pinterest Challenge! Just in case you haven't read it yet, and you are too lazy to go back and read that post, In a nut shell, the challenge is to pick a project from pinterest (or anywhere on the internet) that inspires you, but you never got around to doing... and do it by the end of September. Easy, right?
I told you I had several 'pinterest inspired' projects up my sleeve this month, and I didn't lie. Here is the first that I completed this weekend. First, the inspiration:

Source: shelterness.com via Valerie on Pinterest

I saw this and thought, yes. I need this in my bathroom. And we have this awkwardly small mirror in our bathroom. with a large gap between counter and mirror that we can't do much about because we rent. So I figured that would be the perfect spot.
I bought all my supplies (pictured at the top), minus the mason jars and paint I already had, at home depot for eleven dollars and some change. I probably could have stolen a chunk of wood from my dad's scrap pile and it would have been cheaper, but I didn't. I bought this piece of pre-cut sanded pine from the depot. Then I painted it black, to match the black shelves already in the bathroom.

Next I measured and marked carefully where I wanted the pipe clamps to sit... then headed to my parents house when I realized I had nothing that could drill through metal. (It's wasn't a matter of lacking skills, just lacking tools.) So my dad popped some screws in there for me... and we trimmed the extra metal off.

 Then I tapped these beyond tiny nails into these saw tooth hanger bracket things on the back... (ignore the crummy paint job on the back... it's the back side, you know the side against the wall that no one sees? Don't judge me.)

And... then I popped 4 empty jars in there, and tightened them in place. Then we hung it!

And I put junk in it (cotton balls, cosmetic sponges, cotton swabs, and makeup brushes) This should do the trick to fill the awkward spot between mirror and counter, and get all these grooming essentials off the counter top where they would otherwise be sitting about making my tiny bathroom a mess. (Ahem, hypothetically-- not that it has ever been a mess.)

Anyway... I am quite pleased with the results. It was a pretty cheap, quick, easy addition to my bathroom. Not earth shattering or life changing on a large scale, but I like it. And I am glad I decided to just do it, rather than thinking, "Huh, that's a clever idea I should do that someday."

Well, then... Have you been working on your challenge???

Oh, and I linked to some parties....

PINTEREST CHALLENGE (For me and you!)

Source: readymade.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Isn't the internet a wonderful thing? So many things to look at, to learn, to search and study, and to be inspired by! Really, it is a nearly endless source for... whatever it is you are looking for. Which is sometimes super helpful, and sometimes just another problem.
Am I the only one... that with so much inspiration out there becomes overwhelmed? I find myself all the time going, "Ooh... that's cool, I want to make that!" Or "That's such a clever idea, why haven't I tried that?" Especially since I started blogging or signed myself up for pinterest... gosh I prolly pin 10 projects, recipes, or organizational ideas every day that I will never actually do. SAD.
So I started thinking this morning... why am I not doing these things? And I decided to challenge myself. I would like to invite you to participate with me!

Source: None via Valerie on Pinterest

Here's how it works. It's a 3 step process:
STEP 1: Select a project that you have found on the interwebs and been inspired by in the past month. (It could be a sewing/crafting project, home improvement, decor, organization, recipe you want to try, photo you've been meaning to take, a new excercise program, place you promised to visit, or anything, really. The only stipulation is is has to be an idea found or inspired by a 'pin' on pinterest, or a blog, or SOMETHING you found on the internet that you thought... "I should do that." then filed it away.)
STEP 2: Complete the project by September 30. (Come on, you have three weeks to make this happen, don't tell yourself you are too busy, challenge yourself to actually try it!)
STEP 3: Show and tell! (seriously, tell someone about what you did. Take pictures and put it on your blog, talk about it on facebook, or tweet about it. OR send me pictures of whatever your project was and a link to your original inspiration and I will tell people all about what you did. Because it's exciting to do something, yes? And it's even more exciting to be recognized for what you do!)

Source: cafechocolada.blogspot.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Okay, not hard right? It can be as simple or intense as you want it to be... small or large... functional or aesthetic... you choose. Just let this be the kick in your pants to actually do it.
I am calling it my PINTEREST CHALLENGE because pinterest is where I catalogue most of my 'i should totally do that' ideas. But I know not all of you are Pinterest kind of people... so pull your inspiration from anywhere on the internet, but have a link to your 'inspiration' ready if you are sending me your project to show and tell on you (and I HOPE you do!). If enough of you decide to participate, I may even award a prize for my fav project. Oooh, incentives!

Source: wildinkpress.com via Valerie on Pinterest

I will be sharing a couple 'pinterest' projects I've got up my sleeve over the next couple weeks, so check back for those while you are playing along.
YES! YAY! Are you excited? Motivated? Challenged? Let's do something! WOOT!

Source: marthastewart.com via Valerie on Pinterest

P.S. If you are gonna participate with me in the challenge... leave a comment telling me you intend to do so. I'll check in with you in a couple weeks, You know, just to keep you accountable! :)

P.P.S. Who has noticed Valerie is in that ultra-motivated-energy-pouring-from-every-orifice-second-trimester-stage of her pregnancy? Anyone?

Baby Space Update

Yes, I let him use power tools.

I originally posted THIS LIST on my other blog... it was our to do list for Baby P's room.
Since that was posted about a month and a half ago the list has been expanded considerably to contain more details, but also quite a few things have been crossed off.
So I thought (maybe just for my own encouragement) I would share with you what the list looks like now. Document the progress. Comments in italics.

Baby Space To Do List:
1. Clean out basement to make space for 'guest bedroom' Can I get double points for this since it technically happened twice seeing as how we had to reclean and rearrange everything after we got water in the basement?
2. Move guest bed to basement
3. Remove all clothes and items from guest bedroom closet and dresser
4. Sand and paint all furniture for nursery. See this post!
5. Purchase and install new fan (with dimmer switch!) Post coming soon!
6. Line all drawers Thinking about using this method...
7. Assemble Crib (delivery 9/16)
8. Build more shelving in nursery closet Post coming soon!
9. Paint closet shelving
10. Paint nursery and closet
11. Select and purchase rug for nursery
12. Select and purchase rocker/glider/chair for nursery See this post and this post which both have info about buying our chair.
13. Select and purchase fabric/linens for nursery
14. Purchase and install new mini blinds
15. Sew curtains for window You thought these would be done by now... yeah, meee tooooooo. Post coming soon, fingers crossed!
16. Sew bedding, bed skirt, throw pillows
17. Select fabric and sew baby quilt
18. Purchase laundry Basket and sew liner
19. Purchase and install changing pad, sew cover
20. Purchase supplies and make mobile (with Joy) We bought supplies. Half a star for us
21. Purchase frames/prints for wall art I have some prints...
22. Recover lampshade Oh, I can't wait for you to see this lamp!
23. Hang all pictures/artwork/shelving, Move in all clothing and care items, put all toys and other personal items in place.
24. Show Baby P his new room! You know, in DECEMBER when he finally gets here.

See? Progress. Lots of work to be done, but lots of work already done. And I will have lots to share with you as soon as I can conquer these 15 minute curtains that are taking me 2 weeks.