My fierce little athlete.

This wasn’t posed; I promise. She actually threw up on another outfit, so we were in the middle of a wardrobe change.

Her great grandpa gave her a pink volleyball for Christmas. I can’t believe she didn’t have a volleyball before now, but she loves it…

I hope she likes volleyball when she gets old enough to choose. It’s such an amazing sport – brought me so many fun friends, such great experiences, and some absolutely fantastic adrenalin rushes. :)

Cutie pie now, hopefully a fierce athlete later. ;)

Vintage plate wall.

For quite a while, I’ve been searching for something for a big blank wall in my kitchen/dining area…

I originally planned to do Anna White’s $10 ledge with some photos and plates, but I already have my photo gallery wall in the next room. After a bit of thought, I decided to try my hand at a plate wall.

So we’ll cut to the chase, here’s the before & after…

And now for the process. I bought some random plates at various local thrift stores for less than a buck a piece. I bought two from Home Goods for about $7 total, and two were given to me generously by my great aunt. I plan to keep my eye out for more plates to add to the arrangement, but for now it works for me!

I searched online for different methods of hanging plates without the generic 4-prong wire holders. I read here, that E6000 glue is strong enough to hold plates on the wall. It was about $4 and I have tons left over. I don’t like the look of the wire plate hangers {not to mention they’re expensive for being just wire} so I figured it was worth a shot trying the glue and safety pins…

I glued safety pins to the back of the plates and let them dry for a few days. Mine actually dried for a week or so because I didn’t have time to attack the wall… I put glue on both materials – the safety pin head and the plate – then let both dry for 2 minutes. After that, I attached them to each other and added more glue.

Once they dried {and I had more time to actually tackle the project}, I traced each plate on some paper to determine the proper placement on the wall…

…all while wearing my 17 lb. sick baby…

I originally wanted to wrap the plates onto the adjoining wall with the windows too, but my husband apparently isn’t a big fan of asymmetrical designs, so I nixed that route and went with a more centralized arrangement.

After lots of moving and re-taping the paper templates, I finally settled on a placement.

I then traced the safety pin top’s location onto the template and hammered a nail there. {I should probably note here that I’m not a super precise person. I don’t care if things are perfectly spaced, so this method worked just fine for me. No tape measure needed!}

I started with the center plates and worked my way out so I could adjust them as needed…

The pup was less than interested, but I like how they turned out! {Pay no attention to the light or the unpainted door; they’re still on my to-do list.}

I wanted to use this tin bowl that I received from my other Great Aunt, but it didn’t quite match the others’ style. I like it on my table any way. :)

I love the look of the plates without seeing any wire hangers!

So far none of the plates have fallen off the wall, and the hangers feel really sturdy. You can barely see the nails from the side, only if you look really closely…

I think they match my vintage-ish curtains {diy’ed here.}

And my instagram collage….

I’m really pleased with how it turned out! What do you think?

 

Project linked to: Hope Studios, Sugar Bee Crafts, Ladybug Blessings, New Nostalgia, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Crafty Confessions, C.R.A.F.T, Someday Crafts, Trendy Treehouse, Sew Much Ado, Polkadots on Parade, Gingersnap Crafts, The NY Melrose Family

Christmas gatherings.

This Christmas was a rough for the one. She ran a temperature of over 102 at one point on Christmas day, and she just wasn’t herself – throwing up, tired, crying lots, not taking her bottle, clingy, just generally unhappy. I thought for a while that she was just teething {no teeth yet}, but the day after Christmas, it became clear that she was suffering from more than just teething. Her pediatrician said it’s just a virus, so we’re still riding it out. {Prayers appreciated for a quick recovery.} We caught a few glimpses of my happy little girl over the holiday, but for the most part we saw a lot of this…

We have big families, and local families, which translates into many Christmas gatherings. The first was my mom’s family….

This was the weekend before Christmas, so the little one was still feeling decent…

My sister made gifts for my uncle & cousin that were toy car back rub shirts for their three little boys. Super cute…

Next up was the annual Christmas Eve breakfast at Eugene’s family’s house. I am so blessed to be a part of his family. Love these guys. {So much.}

Ahh, baby jeans & ruffle socks. :)

 

We opened gifts from the siblings on Christmas Eve. I received an amazing gift from Eugene’s sister: a calendar with scripture and my photos on every page. {Brought me to tears.}

She was so cute opening her gifts…

And even cuter napping in her “first Christmas” shirt…

Later that evening, we had our candle light Christmas Eve service at church. There’s something pretty incredible about a church full of individuals holding burning candles, lights dimmed, and everyone singing acapella “O Holy Night.” {He is truly light in a very dark world.}

Here’s our annual Christmas Eve family photo. The dog’s in it; he just wasn’t super cooperative…

And of course, the cousins had to pose in their pretty dresses…

After Christmas Eve service, my family came over, and my dad read Twas the Night Before Christmas and we opened our annual pajama gift from “Santa’s Elves” {aka my mom.}

She’s such an awesome present…

Christmas morning, we sang happy birthday to Jesus and read Luke 2.

Opened stockings…

Opened gifts. This year, I did four gifts: something she wants, something she needs, something to wear, and something to read. {Saw the idea online.} I liked the structure of it because it kept me from going overboard and also missing the purpose of Christmas.

The pup was pumped for his stocking loot…

Once we finished our Christmas morning, we headed to my parents’ place. Can you spot the spoiled loved grandkids? ;)

From my parents, we headed to Eugene’s grandparents’ and from there to Eugene’s parents’. By that time, the little one was in full-fledge fever mode. Poor thing was stripped to her diaper to cool her off, but she still managed to {kind of} enjoy opening her gifts…

We were blessed with so many wonderful, generous gifts…

But this is by far, my favorite gift this year: my family.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14 {GOD WITH US!}