ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

most of you know that i'm having a baby in 9 days, right? okay, just making sure. so i'm definitely in that last-minute-get-everything-done nesting phase. the furniture still needs to be swapped from my 2 year old's room into the baby's room. we still have to put together a dresser and storage cubby-thing. i have a million and ten things that i want to hang on the walls, in both rooms but my husband doesn't love when i hang things myself... but he also doesn't want to do it. [i'll probably just take the reins on this one and just do it myself] anyway, the nursery is just being recycled since i'm having another girl. it's the " brooke " line from pottery barn, and i still love it: owls, birds, trees, lots of color! i found this stamp at michael's yesterday and fell in love. i'd been wanting to do some hoop art for her room, and thought this would be perfect. well, i also needed to make a few things...

** coupon codes at the end of this post have expired ** i LOVE christmastime. seriously love it. but who doesn't right? my house is fully decorated, though i do have a few more projects to complete... that's part of the fun though, always having a project to finish. besides my tree above, which i am in love with every single year, here are a few highlights around the house . [cell-phone pictures, i know i'm terrible] [the free printable in the top right photo is from here] i made this little printable that i framed in a swirly white frame. i change the number with dry erase each day.  [i got the idea from here but made my own]. please do print one for yourself: i want to do something like this somewhere. little things in jars. to add some more interest: Source: theinspiredroom.net via Aly on Pinterest i'm also planning to make this cute advent banner to hang above the fireplace. with a few variations because i'm...

we were supposed to find out on sept. 15. but i'm impatient. so we didn't tell anyone, and went this saturday to find out what we're having. it was fun to surprise everyone, a month earlier than they were expecting. i was pretty well convinced it was a boy, since i've been sick this pregnancy [not one minute of sickness last time around] and maybe just because i already have a girl? not really sure why... so, it was a fun surprise when she announced: we couldn't have been more surprised, but equally excited. [i have ten bins of clothes that i'll get to use again]. we'll get to re-use the nursery bedding and decor that i still LOVE... but now i have to make a big girl room for the "big sister". just for fun, i'll show you what i am drooling over so far. i'll admit, i'm a little too excited that i get to do/re-do TWO rooms right now, even if one of them is hand-me-down bedding, i'll still get to personalize it for Tessa :) my...

i had so many fun things to show you today, that i was able to finish this weekend... but you'll have to settle for the photos i took with my phone. lame, i know! i finally finished that yarn wreath that i wrapped but never embellished. i am beside myself in love with it: and while i was in crafting mode i also wrapped a cardboard "A" with yarn. but now, of course, i want to change it to a gray yarn. either way i love how it turned out [sorry the photo is sooo small] and here's my whole entry wall, that i'm finally considering to be "complete"... not finished, because i'll always be changing and rearranging, but just  complete . [of course i have big plans to add white beadboard to the wall, and paint the table black... but those are long-term goals. for now, it's complete] oh, and just in case you're thinking that huge outdated air conditioner thing is such an eye-sore... i know it is! i tried putting the hoop art directly on to...

my little gal turned two this weekend. i can't even believe the time flies so quickly, but you guys know all about that, so i don't need to elaborate on the mystery of time... we had her birthday party with her cousin this year because their birthdays are two days apart and we have lots of mutual family. no sense in having everyone get together twice in one week, right? and you guys, my sis-in-law JoAnne did allll the work for this party. she runs a cute etsy shop [print it yourself invitations and party packs, or she'll print it for you] called Seaside Paper Company and she was inspired to do a "berry sweet" theme for our girls this year.  everything was beyond cute ... see for yourself: thank you aunt brenda [my hubby's aunt] for making the best cupcakes i've ever had. strawberry frosting. to die for, seriously. apparently she followed a sprinkles recipe. i probably ate 4. if you guys have a chuck e cheese or peter piper pizza [or something similar, ...

i didn't have a post prepared for today...  but my daughter woke up a little early  so my husband brought her downstairs to play with her toys  while he finished getting ready for work. as i'm finishing up my quiet time, i hear  "oh buzz, i love you. [breaking into song] i love you so much, i love you so much,  i can't even tell you how much i love you". i walk into the living room to find this: a tea party for buzz and "annie" the dog. "i put cinnamon in it" "buzz. you love it?" "he need more" what could be lovelier?  yes, i snapped [and edited] the photos and pulled together this post in 3 minutes flat.  but they're priceless to me. PS: as i hit "publish" on this post, a frantic [almost] 2 year old little girl came running in: "trash truck here! go see him? go see him!?!" she loooves the trash truck. it's tea parties and trash trucks over here, guys.

the decor in my house, that is... i hung a few more things last week, and i even found the perfect [for now] spot for my lovely  hoop art that i won from Leslie . i plan to give it a permanent home on the wall, in a different location, but i need to finish up a few projects that are going to be displayed with it. i'll keep you posted on that. for now, it sits here in the dining room [which is functioning as a playroom while there's no table in it].  the bottom book was a graduation gift from my parents. they snuck onto my computer and downloaded every single paper i wrote in college [i was a history major. there were at least 1 to 4 papers per week]. and published them in this book. are you kidding me?!? it is priceless. wondering if i should do this to the top two books [and lots of other books that i use as decor] . i might cover them in paper first, since they're actually new-ish books. the little guy on the right was a ross find. it was a bright green, like the color...

ah, the joys of spray painting. i literally have a hundred picture frames. i've just collected them over the years. usually black or some sort of dark metallic. but since that doesn't really fit my decor style anymore, i'm embracing the spray painting  addiction  trend that's taking hold of the [mostly blog]  world. my husband thinks i'm nuts, until i place everything back into the house and he loves me again because it looks perfect. i even spiritualized spray painting/repurposing here . yes, i really did. this is my little bookshelf. given to me by my mom. the corkboard is from Homegoods. the other items i've had for years [except the lantern which is a $1 Goodwill find, painted black]. the "a" holds up my books, "j" holds my husband's, and "r" holds my daughter's. she knows that she can only touch her shelf but she always talks about ours.  the crate might be sprayed to match the [krylon "jade"] frames. not sure...