2011.

Since it is almost New Year's Eve, I have been on the hunt for some good quality decorations. This year, instead of throwing the traditional party to ring in 2011, we are also throwing an engagement party! My two great friends Ben and Jenny got engaged over their Christmas vacation this year. I was asked by the hostess to do some quick DIY decor. I'm thinking a LOT of glitter, silver and gold. A little bling bling if you know what I am sayin'.

Here are some photos that I will be using as inspiration for our celebration.

(via The Sweetest Occassion)

(via Martha Stewart)

I was searching for some cute printables that I could use for the party and found these great ideas from The Stir! I don't know if I will use all of them, but aren't they cute! Just the thing that I needed for the occasion! The Stir has a bunch of really great stuff for New Year's Eve, so hurry on over and print out your party decor!

I hope that you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve and a great start to 2011! I'll be back next week with some great new stuff!

New!

Merry Belated Christmas everyone! I hope that your holiday was so special! We had such a wonderful Christmas and can't wait to share it all with you!

I'm giving myself (and my house) a few days to recover, but we'll be back next week with all kinds of new stuff. 2011 is going to be great for Waiting for Bean!

We'll see you soon!

DIY Stocking Stuffers.

I know that today is the last real day to get a whole lot done before Christmas, and in case you're in a bind, let me share with you some DIY stuff that I would love to find in my own stocking...

First, I thought that this could turn out really cool for anyone. Etched glass! I've seen a lot of really cool ideas with glass lately, and I thought, what a perfect way to personalize something that everyone can use! Shot glasses, vases, windows, the list goes on and on. Etching requires a few steps, but the results are always awesome! Here are some directions right here...

Another gift that may be more female themed is the teacup candle. I LOVE vintage teacups and have always wanted to try this out for my favorite ladies. They are gorgeous, so easy to make and would make a wonderful gift not only for Christmas, but year round as well! You can find the simple directions right here!

Last but not least, get creative! If there is a special friend in your life, a girlfriend/boyfriend, wife or husband, get sentimental! Create something that ties into your relationship. Gifts are nice, but there is nothing like something made from the heart. Here are some of my favorites, thanks to Young House Love.

I made something like No. 07 that hangs in our master bathroom. I followed the directions they posted (under the projects tab) and it turned out great! This was where Sherry and John shared a special moment, and for Josh and I, I put the cross streets of our first apartment together. Awwww...

They have a lot more ideas, but feel free to step outside of the box! It's the thought that counts!

Community Christmas '10.

On Saturday, a few of us girls threw our annual Community Christmas dinner for our very closest friends. This was the 3rd year that we had put it on, and it was bigger and better than ever. One of my bests, Shanda hosted the dinner at her house, and the transformation was amazing. Friends brought dishes, I made ham, Shanda made a turkey. We had wine, sangria, beers, a smores table, it was simply amazing.

The night was perfect, full of love and Jesus. There was nowhere else that I would have rather been. I am the luckiest girl in the whole world to have friends like these.

The night eventually turned out a little something like this:

Winter Plaids.

Plaid reminds me of my grandma. She was/is the kind of lady that I remember wearing mock turtlenecks, stockings and this long calf-length red plaid skirt. When I was a child, I was oddly observant of her outfit choices, and while I seemingly mocked them then, I celebrate them now. 

In honor of her and the impending Christmas holiday, I am sharing with you a few of my favorite ways to wear or incorportate red plaid. No, it doesn't have to be worn from your waist to your ankles, but I think a touch of it here and there (in moderation of course) can festive-ize your holiday outfit. And yeah, I did just make up that word. Red plaid is a pretty serious statement, so try and keep the accessories tuned down a notch, and limit yourself to one or two items to a room, okay? I love it too, but don't go overboard.

I am finishing up my wrapping, decorating, baking and cleaning this week as to prepare for the best Johnson Christmas yet. I have a few tricks up my sleeve for this week, so stay tuned!

1st.

Our friends Audra and Justin's son turned 1 year old yesterday. Little Clive Garbinski had the most beautiful party outdoors. The weather was perfect; the leaves were falling from the trees, the air was not too cold allowing for a great late morning with good friends.

While we weren't able to capture any photos with the birthday boy, it was only because he was having such a good time, as were we. 

Hh.

Lovin' this new vintage blouse from Hailey's Hand me Downs! We visited her awesome little space last night, and I fell in love! This girl is only 20 and has got it together! She was so sweet and inspirational to a hopeful future shop owner! 

Check out her website and her Etsy!

Boon!

I have a few things in my life that I cannot live without; a cell phone, Google Maps, coffee, and organizational tools. As a new(er) mom, keeping things in their rightful place is super important. With a soon-to-be 16 month old, I am utilizing my type A personality full force.

...hence my love for Boon.

I met a new friend (named Maddy) that works for Boon. I told her all about my love of their products since Bean was little little, and upon voicing my adoration of her employers, I thought that I would share with YOU my very favorite products of theirs. They have kept my life in order and beautiful! Their products are unlike any other that I have owned and they are so cute! BONUS!

First up, the snack ball. I picked this one first because I have used this for as long as Violet was allowed to eat snacks. She loves it too because it doubles as something to place with! She shakes her snacks around, dances a little bit and can eat without making a terrible mess all at the same time. Thanks Boon, this is the hands down must have for any mom.

I never had one of these, but always stood by the idea. The baby food dispensing spoon. Excuse me, what?! This is a magical idea, thought of only by the very smartest people. Mess free, super cool looking, this is another smart buy for parents of the "food beginner."

Last but not least, the edgeless, stay put divided plate. While researching toddler plates that would be most effective for my "energized eater," I kept coming back to this plate. She loves that her food has their own place, and these plates DO NOT MOVE. So important when Bean is pretending that her dinner plate is a gigantic drum set a la Tommy Lee of Motley Crue. 

Needless to say, I am thankful. I HIGHLY recommend that if you have kids, know kids or even like kids a little bit check this stuff out. They make a bunch of really great, quality products that any parent will appreciate. I certainly do!

Holiday Time!

We finally got around to taking our Christmas Card pictures yesterday!

We took the photographs at the Grove Church in Gilbert. The whole right side of the church's land is a giant pecan orchard. It was one of those places upon researching looked like a magical place to take photos. My cousin Chelsea from Green Apple Foto captured the essence of our family perfectly and busted her butt to get a few of them to us so we can ship out our Christmas Cards! Coordinating black, red, white, gold and green made everything look so wonderful.

Us.

Just few from our friends Josh and Annah's wedding. 

A room filled with so much love it was almost unbelievable.

Gift Wrap.

I have had a weird obsession with lace for a long time. I once made jewelery out of it, I have many items of clothes with a lace accompaniment, and now this...gift wrap. I have been using lace to send out items bought from my Etsy store, but this was a whole other ball game. 

My grandma since I was little has always recycled her wrapping paper. Bows, tags and all. She reuses them every year, and while we know that this is the paper from 1998, she rarely spends money on Christmas wrapping. (I wish). I think next year (because most of our gifts are already wrapped) I am doing something like this.

So pretty, right?! And all it takes is some clear tape, lace (which I have so much of) and brown sack paper. While the men in my life would not really appreciate a gift wrapped in all things feminine, this is such a perfect, year round way to dress a present up. I LOVE this idea, and I will start using it from this day on. 

The other great thing about this is that it doesn't only have to be lace, you can use all kinds of fabric scraps. Face it, we all need a place to use that last 4 inches. I have a whole bin full of little pieces that are too small for anything else. I guess I have found my answer!

Lovely.

This morning, I found some beautiful things that I would love to share with you.

A little piece on Knack Studios popped into my lovely little email from Decor8 and I just about fell in love instantly. Too expensive for me, but wouldn't this be fun to attempt on your own? Consider me inspired! I know some furniture junkies that would eat this up...you know who you are.

The other was Sugar and Fluff Design House. I too fell in love with them instantaneously. Beautiful design, and brains that I would love to pick; they are just way too good at what they do. I want to live in their photographs!

SO much beautiful to share, lots more coming.

No more Change.

We (I) have finally found a layout! 

Ladies and gents, no more changes! Well, big ones really. This is so exciting for me because I never settle on just one thing. I like change, and I change a lot. Needless to say, I'm psyched. Can you tell?!

My great friend Richard helped me change a little here and a little there yesterday (for which I am incredibly grateful). You'll see a few new additions over the next few weeks, but this is it people! 

Last night, I decided to revamp the wall in front of the desk. I was tired of looking at nothing.

This will work for the time being. The "desk" is actually our old dining room table from IKEA that was bought many years ago. It has held up, so we thought that we would give it a proper use. This area is so much more organized than it was before, and I am thrilled. I have a calendar, a bullentin board, sorted mail holder, the works. We fancy here at Laredo, ain't we?

And this is also pretty cool, from my "25 before 25" post, I mentioned something about buying a crockpot and using it. Last night, we made the big step and purchased one! We got it from Target, and it's pretty awesome. I've already used it and we just got it last night. Just goes to show you how eager I was for slow cooked food. 

Holds 7 quarts of pure awesome. Now on to getting better at meal planning!

Dining Room Update.

Remember my dining room?

BORING.

Lately, I have been working my magic on the room and here is what it looks like now, with a little holiday decor, of course.

I apologize for the awful pictures, but how much better does that look?!

I brought in an extra rug that we had from the old house. I also hung some high curtains from Target that we got for the office that I ended up taking out because they just "didn't work." While brown and blue seem to be my go-to colors, I think that it really works in there. I found the mirror on the wall at Goodwill for $5.00! I painted it an off white color, and there you have it! While I am currently on the look out for a bigger mirror and chandelier to hang above the table, that's where we're at! We plan on painting the kitchen and dining room soon, and maybe adding a backsplash of some sort, but who knows...all it due time.

I really would like to take the track lighting out of our kitchen as well and hang some beautiful in its place. The track lighting is hung by some awful toggle bolts that would leave a pretty messy ceiling. Anyone know anything about toggle bolts? I need sparkle in that room, and I will have it!

I would like to move the fan from the dining room to where the living room and kitchen meet. Our problem is there is only one vent into the kitchen and dining room and in the summer it gets really hot in there. I mean, reallllly. 

We have a galley kitchen. Long and lean, baby. Here's some stuff that I saw that kind of reminded me of what I am looking, plus or minus a few details.

 (Our eating area is really small like this room shown. I love the little chandelier hanging over the table. Totally makes the space.)

(Our kitchen is a lot like this; pretty much a hallway. A couple of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling seem to lengthen the room and add a contemporary touch.)

Maybe a couple of these little guys from IKEA in the kitchen?

  So much to decide, but we're getting there!

25 before 25.

You all have read my 25 before 25, right?

November's goals were to:

Clean out the office closet

AND

Minimize the stuff in our house.

I thinkkkk that I did that. We have a friend moving into the office any day now, so she deserved some closet space. Before it was crazy packed with all kinds of things, and now it looks something like this:

 (Left side)

(Right side)

Now the office looks like this, only until T moves in.

Alright, I know that this doesn't exactly look great but it does look a heck of a lot better than it did before. All that stuff on the right side will be moved into another closet so we can have room for Taryn's stuff. And yes, those are Josh's clothes because our "Master Bedroom closet" is more like a broom closet. There is nothing master about it.

Minimizing went hand in hand with that closet cleaning. We got rid of a lamp, lots of clothes, shoes, and some other random stuff that was just lying around. It feels great to start organizing and cleaning again. I hadn't done it in so long! It's an ongoing process, so maybe it can't be crossed off the list yet.

December's Picks:

5. Start reading again every single day.

20. Get a crockpot and use it!

Sidenote: Last night, one of my literary heroes David Sedaris did a reading/signing at my favorite local bookstore. I have almost all of his books, and have loved his writing for a really long time. I found out last minute that he was coming (don't know how I missed that train) and immediately decided that we would go. While I waited for close to 5 hours to see him, I got two books signed, talked, told jokes and laughed with him. I was the happiest girl in the world last night, and what a great early Christmas present!

I will be reading this for the next few days/weeks and then on to another, but my plan is to keep going, a little every day. It is like going to the gym, at first it's hard, but then I get right back into it. (Just wish that I was going to gym instead of not.)

Got any good crock pot recipes? Send them my way! I'm gettin' one!