Full of thanks

It's that time of year - time to really think about all of the blessings in your life and give thanks for each one.  I have a lot for which to be thankful - a safe and cozy home, amazing family and friends, a husband who suits me perfectly and truly is my best friend...the list goes on.  I try to never take those things for granted.  This year, in additon to all of those wonderful things, my heart is bursting with love and thankfulness for the tiny little blessing growing inside of me.  The past year definitely had its ups and downs, but none of those downs seem to matter right now.  Just as I suspected they wouldn't.  If you've read this post, you know what I'm talking about.  And now you also know what that "thing" was I was so desperately wanting.   

{30 weeks @ my friend's wedding this past weekend.}

I am just so happy and humbled to be where we are right now.  The next couple of months will be full of anticipation, preparation, and more thankfulness, as we get ready to welcome our little girl into our family.  I hope everyone has something as wonderful as this to be thankful for this season.  And if you are still waiting...the time will come.  Just hang in there and appreciate all that you do have. 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

My kind of fall morning...

A fire...

these two guys...



and some of these...



 Chocolate chip pumpkin pancakes - I just added about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of pureed pumpkin to the standard bisquick recipe.  Pretty indulgent for breakfast, but hey, sometimes you just have to indulge.  Might need to extend the walk a little bit today, but with weather like we have...that's a-okay with me. 

Copy Cat Inspiration Photo

Just saw this gorgeous fireplace/bookcase set-up over on Emily's blog,

and just had to share it here. 

I love everything about this.  It's amazing what some paint can do to make a wall of built-ins + TV look really rich and custom.  I think the gray is perfect.  And the herringbone pattern of the bricks...really perfect.

Thanksgiving Salad

Enjoyed this pretty salad for lunch today...

Fresh from Whole Foods' salad bar.  Topped with roasted sweet potatoes, shredded beets, and dried cranberries.  I think I have Thankgsiving on the brain.  The air is finally crisp here, fall is all around us, and I am officially ready for Turkey Day.  And I'm totally eating for two this year.  At least when it's time for dessert.

Furniture Delivery Woes

New Furniture.  It's fun to pick out, it's exciting to buy, and it can change the look of an entire room.  It can also be a major source of frustration.  I recently learned that for myself.  We placed three orders for furniture in the month of September.  That is rare for us.  But we just happen to be working on two rooms at once - the breakfast room and the nursery.  Would you believe all three orders arrived damaged?  And all need to be replaced.  That means the companies have to reorder them, and I have to rewait for them.  Waiting twice, on the same furniture.  Those of you who share my excitement for the arrival of new goods for the home can imagine how agonizing this double wait is to endure.  And I'm only exaggerating slightly. 

First up - these chairs for the breakfast room. 

I saw the delivery guys drop one of them on the truck.  Flat on its back.  Then I saw them trying to wipe it clean in the back of the truck.  They brought it in, put it in place, and acted surprised when I pointed out the dirt marks and small tear at the back seam.  They never did fess up.  So, we wait for a replacement to arrive.  In the mean time, at least we still get to use the damaged chair.  I'm just reminded of those lyin' little delivery guys every time I see the rip on the back.

A couple weeks later, the glider for our nursery arrived.  We ordered it from the same company, so I was understandably leery as the truck pulled up.  Two different delivery guys appeared at my door (much to my relief), brought it in, and got it situated in the nursery.  Sure enough, it was filthy, and I'm 95% sure it was from the guys' hands.  Or maybe from the dirty truck.  Why this company doesn't wrap it's furniture before loading it on the truck is beyond me.  Back on that dirty truck it went.  I almost cried.  Really.  No photos of this one because it was out of my house just as quickly as it was carried in. 

And finally, on Monday, this upholstered bench arrived while I was at work.  It was left in a box and wrapped very tightly in plastic inside of the box.  Surely, it would be unscathed and beautiful.  Things were looking good as we tore the giant box off.  But just as we slid the bench out of the cardboard, it toppled over.  One of the back legs was broken clear off.  I shook my head in disbelief, and shook my fists at the furniture delivery gods.  Worst luck ever.  So this, too, is being reordered.  Ugh.  For now, the broken one is just sitting there, propped up on its broken leg, like a tease.  I can see how great it will look...but I can't unwrap it, and I certainly can't sit on it.  Torture, I tell you.

I know my furniture woes are nothing compared to real life problems.  And I'm sure I will be back with "happy ending" follow up posts to this very whiny one.  But for now, I'm going to pout just a little bit.  And wait on my new furniture.  Again. 

Nursery Fabrics

I just ordered the fabrics for our little girl's nursery.  From about a dozen samples I ordered from fabric.com, I landed on these three.  All are from Ty Pennington's Impressions Collection...

 {papercut spice} - curtains



{tudor taupe} - pillows/accents

{lace spice} - pillows/accents

I'm also mixing in some light aqua - you know that great vintage aqua?  I ordered the glider in that color, and also picked up some aqua & taupe ticking stripe fabric for the crib skirt. See how great the coral & aqua look together?  This combo isn't just for beach houses anymore...

image via

And while I was perusing the internet for coral & aqua images, I came across these...



from Tilly Whistle, on etsy

Too adorable.  And too perfect for our little girl and her nursery.  Because every girl needs shoes to match her bedroom, right?  Just may have to order a pair.  Mmm...or both. 

Latest Project

We've had something in the works for a while in our household...

Our little family is expanding!  We are expecting our first child on February 1st, and we are awfully excited about it :)

A few weeks ago, we found out what we are having.  But instead of having the ultrasound tech tell us on the spot, I came prepared with a boy outfit and a girl outfit.  We asked her to pull the correct one from the box and put it in the gift box shown below...

  We then headed home, and our families met us there shortly after, for dinner and the "big reveal".  Here we are just before opening the box...

So close to finding out.  The suspense was killing us.  Even Quincy was dying to know.

I'm sure you can figure out what the pink & green mean...

It's going to be a girl for the Janisse crew!!!

Plans for the nursery were already underway.  But now that we know it's a girl, we can really get to work.  All the furniture has been ordered, and most of it delivered.  Now, it's time for some painting (by others) and sewing (by yours truly).  I'll pop in later with some nursery "before photos" and some shots of the fabric I'm considering for the curtains and bedding.  I can't wait to see it all come together.  And I really can't wait to meet our little girl.  16 weeks and counting!

Fresh Cut Friday ~ Bridal Shower Edition

This week's Fresh Cut Friday features flowers from the bridal shower we hosted for my cousin last weekend.

I bought a mix of roses, mums, and carnations in shades of pink and purple, along with some purple wax flower and dusty miller (the white stuff).

I created three little arrangements and scattered them around.

And here are a few shots of the rest of the shower decor...

You can see the banner I made in this shot.  And if you look closely, you can also see a big wad of bubble gum in the bride-to-be's cheek.  She was asked several questions, all of which her fiance answered prior to the shower.  She had to put a (large) gumball in her mouth for each question she answered incorrectly.  After about 4, she was having a little trouble getting her answers out!

It was a pretty fun little game for a bridal shower.  Not sure she thought so...but we all did.  Side note: that's my little sis asking the questions.  She's a cutie, huh?  ;)

And finally, here is Kristen in the obligatory "pose with the cake" shot.  The cake was a cheesecake from Hank's, and it was delicious. 

A big congrats to Kristen and Jake.  I cannot believe you are even old enough to walk down the aisle.  Was I not just babysitting you girls, and watching The Little Mermaid on repeat, like yesterday???  Time sure does fly.  But exciting times are ahead.  Looking forward to the big day, and to seeing you as a beautiful bride!

Hot off the sewing machine...

New pillows...

for my new chairs...



I sewed these last night, from a yard of fabric I bought last week.  It was half off, and ended up costing around $8.  I already had the down inserts, so these babies cost a mere $4 each.  I think they're the perfect complement to my new chairs. 



These chairs {and the pillows} are part of a little room repurposing I've been working on.  We are in the process of turning our breakfast room into more of a hearth room.  Which really just involves some new furniture, a new layout, and of course a few decorative touches, too.  I'm waiting on the final piece to arrive.  It should all be complete in a few weeks.  I'll be sure to do a full "reveal" just as soon as it is.  I will say, we are already loving the new layout - wish we would have done it sooner!

Fresh Cut Friday

Long time, no blog.  I have been a very busy girl.  Hosted another Wreathfest (which I will post about soon), hosting two wedding showers, and working on lots of fun little projects.  One of which is extra special.  I will share that with you soon, too.

For now, let's get back on track with Fresh Cut Friday.  I got a lot of mileage out of the two bunches I picked up at Schnucks a couple weeks ago.  They were burnt orange mums and flat leaf eucalyptus, which may be my favorite greenery.  Though I'm sure I've said that about other greenery ;) 

I made two good sized bouquets out of my $12 worth of flowers...

And I had enough flat leaf eucalyptus (aka: silver dollar eucalyptus) left for my little bud vase...

 

On a floral side note, I went to my favorite florist today to buy flowers for the shower I am hosting tomorrow.  I got some really great stuff which should make for some beautiful bouquets - I'll share those next Friday!  Have a great FALL weekend.  I know I will!

Fresh Cut Friday

Any idea what these are?

They're called floral frogs.  Not sure how that name came to be.  They're great for creating tight little flower arrangments.  You just cut your stems pretty short and stick them in the holes.  I bought these two at an antique store earlier this summer.

Here is this week's FCF, using one of my new froggies.  Just 4 jumbo yellow mums.

Looks like a big yellow pom pom.  Sitting in a pretty crystal bowl.

Happy Friday, and Happy Labor Day weekend!  I am headed to Memphis for a little bachelorette fun on Beale Street.  Watch out!

To the Market...

With a really cute list.  Check out my new tablet...

Super functional, too.  If this photo weren't so terrible, you would see the categories...bakery, produce, meat, etc.  Gotta love an organized list!

I bought it at a local art supply store yesterday.  It's made by a company called Knock Knock.  And thanks to them, I'm really looking forward to making my grocery list this weekend.  If that makes me a loser, I am totally OK with it.

Knock Knock makes all kinds of cute and creative goods, and some pretty funny stuff, too. 

Like these slang flash cards...



and books like this one... 



Good for a few laughs, and possibly pretty useful, too. 

Fresh Cut Friday

My FCF bouquet for this week is a cheery bunch of sunflowers. 

They came home with me from TJ's yesterday, for just $3.99. 

I cannot remember the last time I bought sunflowers.  It's been years. 

I've never noticed how neat the center of a sunflower is.  The most impressive things come from nature, don't you think?

Have yourself a great weekend! 

Laundry Hooks

A few weeks back, I spotted some cute wall hooks at Hobby Lobby.  You know how they have their knobs and hooks 50% off like every other week?  Well lucky for me, the sale was on, so I scooped up five hooks for $2 each.  I knew exactly where they were going...on the empty wall in my laundry room. 

Here it is in all of its blah and boring glory before...

 

And here it is after, with the hooks on the left and a new little grouping next to the window. 

I realize this mini transformation hardly qualifies as a dramatic before and after.  But now I have a place to hang drying clothes, jackets, Q's leash...whatever my little heart desires.  And it doesn't hurt that it's nice looking, too!

Dinner Inspiration

I've been having a tough time coming up with weeknight meals lately.  I don't know what it is, but I'm just out of ideas and tired of the same old stuff.  I hit the grocery store yesterday, to find something quick for dinner.  I had no clue what that would be when I walked through the doors.  But then I noticed some homegrown eggplant that looked really good.  So I tossed one of those in the cart, followed by portabello mushrooms.  Both sounded good, even if I didn't know what I was going to do with them. 

Then I saw this fresh pasta...

and this marinara...



and suddenly I knew exactly what I was making. 

I brought all of those goodies home, along with two chicken breasts from the meat counter, and made an easy and tasty pasta. 

First, I cubed the eggplant and mushroom caps and sauteed them in some olive oil.

Not just any olive oil though.  This stuff came from Italy, via my mother-in-law.  She recently spent a month there exploring.  Jealous?  Yeah, me neither.

I didn't take any other photos of the process, but basically I added some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes), shredded cooked chicken, cooked pasta, and the marinara sauce.  Then I topped it all with shredded parm.

In my husband's words, it was "popping with flavor".  Which is a pretty good, albeit interesting, review for a dish inspired by one little eggplant. 

Now what's for dinner tonight?  Grilled cheese.  Because inspiration doesn't strike everyday.