The Tuesday Breeze

Tuesday breeze because I’m hoping you’ll let me just shoot the breeze with ya today because… 

It’s been realll sa-lowwww around these parts.  My typically busy brain can’t handle more than one thought at a time and that brain has needed a nap almost everyday which means that my productive time, nap time, has been productive in a whole ‘nother way and that way involves my head on a pillow.  With that said, things might be a little smorgasboard-y on the blog here in the next few weeks before baby girl arrives and probably after too.  I’ve got a few posts lined up post-baby thanks to the help of some of my favorite people and I’m hoping to squeeze in a couple of posts on the headboard that we’re halfway done making next week and the week after.  Speaking of, last Saturday night while Anthony was away for work, I was tufting:

That tufted beauty once looked like this big ‘ole piece of plywood…
…and will go up as high as that line of tape on the wall behind our bed.

I’ve mentioned maybe once or twice recently that we will have a comfy headboard to rest our backs upon before this baby arrives.  All of my will and brain power are being directed to that sole intention.  Right now it’s sitting against the dresser in our room, all tufted and stapled.  Next up are the two arms that will flank its sides and then we’ll be retro-fitting it to our existing bed frame.  I can’t wait to write up the tutorial!  I’ve been trying to be very diligent on taking pictures throughout the process so that anyone who doesn’t want to or simply can’t (our hands go all the way up) spend hundreds of bucks on a luxe headboard can just go right ahead and make one for a fraction of the price.  You know how I do…

We finally hung the string lights we’ve had for months and months outside on our new screened-in patio!
I didn’t take pictures during the process because it was a quick, albeit nerve-wracking ordeal.  We actually started one night but, after getting one strand up with the technique we were using, quit after that one fell and a few of the bulbs shattered.  We had to reevaluate how we were going to hang them and ended up putting aluminum (anti-rust) screws in where we wanted the strands to attach to the walls, stringing fishing line from screw to screw, attaching the small hooks on each bulb to the fishing line, and then securing each strand to the screws with a small piece of wire.  It was a lot more complicated than I thought it would be and something I never want to do again.  But, the lighting is magical.  The space?  Not so much.  All of the upholstery has yet to be brightened up, the big wall on the left is waiting for me to find the perfect thrift store picture for a project, and I want to toss more pillows and plants in before anything is stamped ‘done’.  Check back in a few years.  ;)

Balayage.  I’ve been pinning and saving inspiration pics for awhile, seeking the advice of my pro-stylist cousin, Kendra, and just waiting for a free moment to jump on that train.  My hair has naturally grown out to a sort of balayage with the ebb and flow of coloring and not coloring over periods of time but I wanted it a little lighter for summer at the ends so I tried to DIY it last week and am so happy with how it turned out.  (I tried it a couple of months back too but didn’t leave the color on long enough to make a difference.)  I shared this after picture on Instagram:

And here’s another (poorly timed) shot after the fact that might show the results better:

I’ve gotten a good amount of requests for a tutorial and that I will do the next time I do it but until then, if you’re wanting to try it, go for it!  Kilee at One Little Momma has an awesome tutorial for DIY ombre that is basically what I used except that I added a few streaks of color all the way up to the root around the crown of my head.  Also, hers is for short hair but for long hair like mine, I just colored higher – I blended the color up to around the bottom of my nose.  I use the same Kaliedocolors powder she uses mixed with a 20 volume developer by Clairol that I get at Sally Beauty.  I’ve used this stuff to color my own hair for years and LOVE it.  I left the color on my hair without adding heat for about 45 minutes and that amount of time was perfect.

Bean In Love Studio, my pillow cover shop, will be on vacation mode starting Thursday so that I can do important things like pack a hospital bag and get out all the newborn clothes but, use coupon code ‘ohbaby’ to get 20% off any order over $25 until tomorrow.  If I get all my important stuff done before labor starts, I might hold a little flash sale on the shop’s Instagram feed to empty out all of the covers already made so you might want to be on the look-out for that.  :)

Last but not least, give me all your best name recommendations.  I have a little someone who might be in the market…  We’re having a hard time agreeing on names we like, Anthony and I, and while we’ll wait to see her face before we stamp her with a life-long title, we still like to have a list and, right now, that list is pretty short.  As of last Friday, I’m at least two centimeters dilated currently so we might have a bit of time and we might not. 

Welp, that’s it for today.  More easy, breezy posts coming your way soon – a few recent yard sale finds and more updates on what has been bumpin’ up in this casa.  Exciting stuff, I tell ya.  ;)