50 Shades of Gray

If you follow me on Instagram (@matkinson87), then you already know that the hubs a.k.a. The Paint Master painted the nursery! To some this may not be a big ordeal, but to me it's HUGE because it means we have officially begun preparing our home for our sweet little babe.

I've known for a while, and I mention it in my Nursery Inspiration post, that I wanted the room to be a light gray, but which light gray was the question?

Colors by Sherwin-Williams

While it felt like I was looking at 50 different shades of gray, I really tried to not get overwhelmed and stick to what I originally wanted, which was a definite light, crisp gray with no hints of other color(s). Pinterest was pretty dang helpful in narrowing down the number of grays for the nursery; that's where I discovered Repose Gray and Passive Gray. I really liked the way both colors only looked gray and no other color (like beige, green, blue, etc.) and how they made the white baseboards just pop with brightness. If you remember, the room we're working with was a darkish-blue... so anything bright and light-colored just made me smile.

via Pinterest here

via Pinterest here

So, off the hubs went to the paint store to pick-up a sample of Repose Gray and Passive Gray, as well as a third gray sample he thought may work. I've been nagging asking him for at least a month about picking some paint samples out, so I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was to get this party started.  He painted the three color options on the wall and I quickly noticed how Repose Gray was just too beige and the random gray he picked out (I was too obsessed with Passive Gray that I didn't bother with the name or brand of this third paint) had a major hint of green.

With Repose being too beige and the random gray being too green, this made it obvious that we were going with Passive Gray (yay, we have a winner)! While I was at work on Thursday, the hubs was busy prepping and painting the nursery - he'd send me a picture every now and then so I could see the progress, since I couldn't be there and am unable to help. When I got home, he just finished with the second coat and was about to begin painting the trim.

Ignore the floral love seat - it won't be around for long, I promise.

I am in total love with this paint choice. I know it can be a lot more difficult and overwhelming for some to choose such a neutral color, especially if you don't mind a hint of another color, but this was just about as easy/pleasant (minus the constant nagging asking of my dear husband to start looking at paint chips with me) as it gets and I could not be happier with the outcome.

Ok, so now that I've talked your ear off about the color gray, let's get started on the color blue... just kidding. :) I hope everyone enjoys their weekend - I know I'll be spending mine admiring the new gray (I swear that's the last time I mention that color) room and thanking my amazing paint master of a husband!

Pregnancy Update: 6 Months

Hi everyone :)

I thought I would start doing a monthly bumpdate. I'm currently in my sixth month of pregnancy, so that only leaves three months of updates, but that's better than nothing... right?!

So, I'm six months pregnant. Where has the time gone?



This month baby is roughly the size of a head of lettuce (11 to 14 inches) and weighs around 1.5 pounds.

My absolute favorite thing right now is feeling and seeing this little man move all around. He's super active all up until I mention that he's moving and he all of a sudden becomes shy. Luckily, we caught him off guard one night and the hubs was able to feel him kick.

For my entire pregnancy, I have hardly had any serious cravings. I think one day I craved fresh pineapple and another day I had to have super syrupy pancakes, but besides that... I'm not that picky when it comes to food (just feed me, ok?). However, I am into cheesy foods (pizza, quesadillas, cheese sticks, etc.) - the more cheese, the better.

My skin and hair are something else! I've never been one to have perfect skin or hair, so having such a clear complexion and soft, shiny hair is something I can totally get used to. I have been trying to be better about doing a facial scrub twice a week and deep condition my hair every two weeks, so this may be another reason behind the fabulous skin and hair... but I'm going to blame it on the pregnancy. ;)

Over the past few weeks it's been getting harder and harder to bend over to pick up anything or put on my shoes. I'm also getting terrible sleep - I just cannot stay comfortable for long periods of time, tossing and turning throughout the night. So, by the time 2:30 pm comes rolling around I'm dragging. Tips??

Also, trying to find something to wear is impossible!! Okay... maybe not impossible, but it's definitely becoming more and more of a challenge. For casual wear, I've purchased a pair of maternity jeans from Old Navy that are way more comfortable than actual jeans. They're also a side-panel, which I think I like over the full-panel pants. These jeans are great, and I am pretty sure they will become my annual Thanksgiving pants! For work wear, well that's another story. I've outgrown all my skirts and mostly wear dresses or my one pair of maternity work pants. Maybe it's time to purchase a few more outfits for work to fit this growing belly of mine?!

After a few months of debate (who knew naming a baby would be so freaking hard), we finally decided on little man's name! We put lots of thought into what we wanted in our son's name. First, we wanted his name to begin with the letter "B," like his daddy. Second, we wanted a name of the same origin as my hub's name (English). Finally, I thought it would be neat if our son's name had the same number of letter's in it as mine and the hub's name. With all that, we were pretty limited on what names meet our requirements. For a while, we had it narrowed down to two contenders, but decided recently on his name - which couldn't be more perfect.

Now that our baby officially has a name, I feel like both the hubs and I have a little pep in our step and we are actually beginning to get things together (instead of just planning everything out in my head)!

I could honestly go on and on about my pregnancy or just talk baby, but this post has to end at some point. So, I'll end on that note... until next month!

Shopping for a Little Man

Hello Monday morning, we meet again. As I sit here sipping my Starbucks Caramel Macchiato trying to get into the groove of things, I can feel my little man moving all around and I can't help but think what life will be like in the few months that he'll be here. We still have a lot of preparation before he makes his arrival, but it's so much fun to look at all the baby stuff, with the occasional purchase of a few items of course. ;)

I have to admit, before I knew baby Atkinson was a boy, I would browse the baby section, but only really looking at the baby girl clothes and accessories. So, when I learned that I'm going to be shopping for a little man, I was slightly disappointed because you always hear how much more "fun" it is to shop for little girls. Now, don't get me wrong - shopping for little girls IS FUN, but it's also a lot fun shopping for little boys, too!

Gap | Old Navy | Carter's

Since I looked at what seemed like all the baby girl clothes and accessories prior to knowing the gender of baby, to my surprise I was a bit overwhelmed when I started looking at all the baby boy clothes! I quickly noticed that boy clothes are hands down freakin' awesome, and it made me even more excited - as if that's even possible at this point - for this little man to get here so I can put these adorable little outfits on him (and snuggle, and kiss, and the list goes on, and on...). So far, I've only purchased a few outfits for this little guy... but I'm constantly finding myself on Gap's website looking at baby boy clothes! This might be considered an addiction (sorry, I'm not sorry)?

I'm really loving all the adorable knit beanies and the thick sweaters with the fun buckles, but unfortunately it doesn't get that cold here in Texas. So, here's to hoping we go on a family trip to somewhere cold sometime soon so I can indulge in this current obsession of mine.

Oh and just in case you were wondering, I do plan on purchasing that ridiculously cute bear sweater hat from the Gap, because what baby doesn't deserve an adorable bear sweater hat?! At least it'll be somewhat chilly when he makes his arrival and we'll have to keep those precious ears of his warm, and that's a good enough excuse for me. ;)

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!! This week seemed to go by unusually fast. Maybe it's this delightfully cool weather (and by "cool" I mean mid-to-low 80s/high 70s) we've been having down here that just happens to put us all in a great mood and ready to tackle each day, except for yesterday, yesterday was horrid - who knows?! Whatever it is, I'm glad the weekend is here.

Lately, I just can't seem to find the want to wear heels... it's all about comfort right now. So, I've invested in some flats, these leopard flats from Old Navy in particular are so comfortable AND stylish (and on sale). I had some leopard flats I loved, but I wore them to death, so this new pair is perfect for casual and work wear. Can you believe it's already October? And Halloween is only 28 days away! Craziness. I'm semi-obsessed with these fun bat bowls from Crate & Barrel, which would make the perfect spooky Halloween candy dish! This time of year the air is pretty dry, so you can never have enough good lip balm. I used to be a ChapStick kind of girl, until one of my friends made me buy the mint EOS Lip Balm in New Orleans. Ever since then, I've been hooked (not to mention, they're just plain out fun to use). This balm is a necessity in my make-up bag, too. I'm totally on the Kendra Scott train! I love just about all of her jewelry, especially this iridescent Elisa Pendant Necklace. It's so pretty and dainty, and can be worn every day. Finally, who doesn't love a good soap?! This sweet cinnamon pumpkin foaming soap from Bath & Body Works smells great - definitely a fall favorite.

We don't have too much planned for this weekend, mostly just the very much anticipated Texans vs. Cowboys game on Sunday. If the Cowboys play anything like they did last weekend, then I have a good feeling about Sunday's game. :) Do you have anything fun planned for this weekend?

I tried the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks for the first time this week. I'm not a huge lover of pumpkin flavored things; however, pumpkin may be growing on me because this was very tasty! I would suggest giving it a try, if you're one of the very few that have yet to do so. Cheers :)

Wishing everyone a great weekend and a very happy, yet very spooky October!

Football & Baby Bumps

Over the weekend we took a short trip to Dallas to cheer on the Arkansas Razorbacks.  They played at the AT&T Stadium (or better known as "Jerry's World") against the Texas A&M Aggies. If you've never been to Jerry's World, you totally need to go. This was our second time visiting, but you just never get over that stadium - it's something else!

I can officially check-off two bucket list items: tailgating and attending a college football game. I know what you're thinking... and yes, I have never been tailgating or to a college football game, so THIS was definitely the way to do it.  Even though us Razorback fans were outnumbered by the Aggie fans, I had so much fun!! We got to hang out with my in-laws - which is always a treat considering we don't get to see his sisters that often. My sister-in-law is also expecting, so we had to get tons of belly pictures together. She's seven-weeks ahead of me and is having a sweet little girl. December can't get here quick enough! :)

Although the Aggies walked away with the win, it was a great game that ended 28 - 35 in overtime. 

I felt like I was married to a celebrity - he got stopped several times so people could compliment him on his shirt; he even had two people take pictures of his shirt! The back read: Cardinal & White Runs Deep in Texas.

 

When we go out of town, we typically leave our dogs with family or a friend, but this time we decided to board them. I was a little apprehensive just because we never boarded them before, but it was the easiest thing to do this time around.  So, we headed out Sunday afternoon to pick up our dogs from their Play & Stay - I was eager to see them, but needless to say, they had a blast! I loved that the boarding facility e-mailed me these pictures of B and T having fun while we were away. Oh, the little things...

Warning: Slobber overload!!

We got home, unpacked, and relaxed a bit before the Sunday Night Football Saints vs. Cowboys game. We had no idea what kind of game that was going to turn out to be, but hoped for a good one since the Razorbacks lost. If you caught the game, then you already know we were two happy Cowboys fans! Dallas won 31 - 17. It was a great end to an eventful weekend.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Happy Fall Y'all

It's September 22nd, which means it's officially the first day of fall! 

I noticed a few days ago that a neighbor down the street made the move to hang a seasonal wreath on their front door, so I was bound to believe that I was in the clear to hang up ours too. However, the hubs quickly reminded me that summer is not over, and I needed to wait until the first day of fall. Well, honey... it's here and this wreath is goin' up!

Too bad you can't get a whiff of how amazing this house smells, thanks to these fantastic Bath & Body Works candles.

To commemorate the official start of the fall season, I made my favorite chocolate chip cookies and gave myself a much needed fall-appropriate manicure.

It is the summer's great last heat,
It is the fall's first chill: They meet.

~Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt

So, on that note... happy fall y'all!

Nursery Inspiration

Today I'm sharing my inspiration for our little man's nursery. But before I share that inspiration, let's take a minute and loathe look at the "before" picture. This picture is from when our home was for sale back in 2011. Since then, we've had the carpets replaced, white fan installed, doors and ceilings painted white, and we put on new dark oil-rubbed bronze door handles.  So, that leaves the damaged dark blue walls (the previous owners were addicted to hanging things on every inch of every wall) that so desperately need to be prepped and painted and the chewed-up corner of the window sill and blinds (thanks, B and T) that need some fixing. So, as you can see... we have quite a ways to go before achieving the dream nursery.

I've put together the layout of the nursery (note: even though my dad is an engineer, I am not very skilled when it comes to measurements, etc. Oh, and if you couldn't tell from my amazing drawing skills, that circle-thing in the bottom left corner is a lamp. You're welcome.) via Paint. As you can see, we only have room for the basics: crib, dresser, and rocker. I don't want a lot of unnecessary items in his room - I want to keep it very simple, which is my typical way of decorating anyways. I also tried to think of additional storage, so I'm thinking a small table to go beside the rocker and two semi-large baskets for holding blankets, toys, etc. will do. I would really like to put a book nook behind the door, something like this, to make good use of wasted space. 

I'm also not really big into themes, more like schemes - color schemes that is. I envision this nursery as classic with a touch of rustic/edginess. With the touches of navy, gray, and white (if you're thinking those colors sound a lot like the Dallas Cowboys colors, then you're right -- GO COWBOYS), along with the mismatched furniture, I feel that this look accomplishes just that!

We hope to get out this weekend to look at paint colors; right now I'm loving Sherwin Williams Repose Gray. I also want to check-out the crib and dresser set I'm ooh-ing over from Babies "R" Us to make sure it's something we both love.

Be sure to stay tuned for more on the make-over journey of our disaster room turned nursery!