new favorite app.

a new app for the iPhone was released this week.

it's for your pictures {but really for instagram!}

check it out.

it's from the cutest bloggers over at a beautiful mess. 

so much fun. i've been spending WAY too much time messing with it this week. 

try it out & see how you like it! lots of different ways to play!!

happy thursday, ya'll. 

 oh!!! and don't miss it!

over on instagram, little branches will be having our first ever insta-sale!!!

head on over, follow the directions under this picture and then YOU could win this cutie pie 12" x 12" hand painted sign! woot!! how fun would that be? 

{you're also eligible for a 10% discount on any purchase you make during the instasale!!!}

the online shop will be stocked a few days after the sale - this is just a fun preview of what's to come. mostly restocking the spring line, but there will be some new items too!!! 

around here today.

confession.

imagine that you are sleeping. (don't you love sleep?) seriously. close your eyes and think about how it feels to be in that deep sleep in your most comfy pajamas and your softest sheets. your pillow is just right and you're having a wonderful dream of something wonderful.... and then.....

you're awakened by a shrill and unbelievably horrid noise.

a siren-like-scream that gradually gets louder as it goes on.

and it's coming from the person right next to you.

got it? yeah.

me. to.

but unfortunately, i'm not the one that is awoken with the loud scream.

i'm the one screaming.

yes. i have nightmares. it's hereditary, actually. (there i go, self-diagnosing....) seriously. my mom has them too.... with the same type scream. i heard her once when we were staying in a hotel together.

mine started the week after i got home from my honeymoon, no judgement please! they're never ever the same dream. in fact, most of the time by the time jeff shakes gently nudges me awake, i can't even remember what was happening. generally, it's something where i am trying to scream in my dream and i can't for the life of me get it out...... so, trying and trying and trying to scream is, i guess, how i end up actually screaming out loud.

what's the point?

well - i almost had one last night. almost. there was a bird basically dive bombing me and i couldn't get away.... yes, laugh out loud please. at my expense. (we have a bird right now that pretty much does this, so it's sort of a reality for me...) but i ended up waking up before i screamed.

let me tell you, that this is no small thing for me. i came to realize a while back that these nightmares tend to happen when i'm extremely overtired or extremely overstressed. and i must say that it's probably only happened 10 or so times ever.

but i've noticed that, knock on wood, they haven't happened since we started the campaign. this is no small miracle. i completely attribute this to God's mercy. i thought about it after i woke up last night... i'm terribly surprised that i haven't had a single one during this process, considering how stressful it can be, as well as how overtired i seem to get on a weekly basis. i can't say that they terribly bother me, but i'm sure they bother my precious deep-sleeping husband.

i'm trying to keep perspective during this process. trying to focus on the Lord and not our circumstances, as our circumstances change daily. trying to count every thing - even the small things - as blessings from HIM, not mere coincidences that are happenstance.

and so here i am - testifying to you - about my small miracle. realizing that it could change at any moment, and it's no big deal if it does, but for now, i'm thankful for the more restful sleep that the hubbs & i are getting. thankful for the God we serve that never fails to have a sense of humor and gives me 'things' that lighten the mood around here.

i hope you're staying dry today! it's supposed to be a wet one!

a few favorites.

i can't believe it's already wednesday!

i've ran out of steam already this week.  i went shopping with an out of town friend yesterday morning for some baby stuff for her new little one due in may. {she's not finding out the gender. can you believe it??? i'm giving her such a hard time about it.} then i had lunch with my mom and did a bit of shopping with her too. i didn't spend a dime. don't you love 'shopping' like that? i wasn't necessarily the best steward of my time yesterday so i feel a bit behind today. my mood isn't matching the 'fullness' i feel from the wonderful and rare treats from yesterday.

not to mention the littles both have yucky noses and yucky coughs to go with it. my energy is running low today. and i'm trying so hard to limit my coffee to one cup in the morning but i just might have to pour myself another cup here in a bit.  bummed that i had to stay home from bible study today. but i felt like it was the best choice - and i'd probably have gotten paged from the nursery anyway. 

thanks for all the sweet comments on my post from friday. i'm really working on a follow up with all the little things that i've changed. i just want to be prayerful about it - because it's not about me. i seriously prayed over the changes that needed to be made. and discerning what i thought needed changing and what HE thought needed changing. 

and i believe that's the only way it's working for us. i've tried so often to have the same routine as xyz or the same cleaning 'schedule' as flylady etc. etc. etc. but like i said, i had an 'aha!' moment and started praying about what it means to be a 'housewife' for me and for my family. 

so that post will be coming. when i can really think through things.

but today, my head is foggy. maybe i'm coming down with a cold too... or fighting off a cold. who knows.

so i'll leave you with these pictures of my sweet girlie girl. she truly is a little girl after my own heart. yesterday she was walking around the house in my toms. i love it.

and here's a little bonus. 

i've discovered a few new websites and blogs lately that i just love love love.

thought i'd share. hope you enjoy. :)

under the sycamore - i do NOT know how i haven't found this blog before. i LOVE her. i love her style, and she writes for design*sponge so she has lots of diy ideas. i love her perspective on things and they're currently waiting to adopt a child from china. she has precious kids and her little girl reminds me a bit of my lil' miss. i think you'd enjoy her.

skinny taste - in my effort to eat healthy this year, a girlfriend of mine sent me this website on saturday. i changed my whole meal plan for the week. she has great recipes with the nutritional information attached. i also think she has a great variety so it's not salads all the time, etc. if you're looking for some healthy stuff, this site is for you. oh - and a lot of the recipes are pretty simple. which is great for this momma.

the wiegands - so, i don't know how i just found this blog either. casey and her hubby both went to baylor around the same time the hubbs and i did. i vaguely remember her - probably because my roomate and her were friends. :) she is a cool artist and has opened an art studio in dallas called a little artsy. i mean, talk about cool. there's something about the honesty of casey's writing that keeps me coming back. she's so real, she's beautiful and - of course - a little artsy. so i'm captivated. check her out.

have fun reading!

happy things.

did y'all have a good valentine's day yesterday?

i did. it was a happy day - despite the various temper tantrums in the morning. i think we all are a little tired in our house right now.

we had pancakes in heart shapes for breakfast. 

and a little treat from momma was waiting for them. just a little something.

b. had a valentine's day party at school. we had to bring 18 unadressed valentines for his classmates.

i saw this idea on a friend of mine's facebook page. 

i 'stole' it from her. and she said she 'stole' it from someone else. 

so i have no idea where it originally came from... but you can be sure it wasn't my idea.

it was just plain cheap cute.

a sweet & thougtful friend found this notepad at hobby lobby saturday and gave it to me. this ought to be my mantra.

and after the last few weeks, i know that this rings true in my house. 

{and my hubby knows it's true for me too... now that's scary.}

a precious box filled with valentines.

a challenging bible study that is doing wonders for my soul.

and sweet blooms from the hubbs.

these are my happy things on this wednesday.

what are yours?

writer's block.

last week was a beating.

it was filled up.

and so was the weekend.

with good stuff. campaign stuff. family fun stuff. birthday stuff.

but it was filled to. the. brim.

and here i am, a week later, with what seems like a multitude of laundry and housework and i'm not making a small dent.

and i'm uninspired. to write. to create. to do.

sometimes i hate pinterest.

for all the wonderfulness it creates, it also creates {for me} a bombardment of great ideas that i want to do right now. all of them. right now. done. that's what i want it to be like.

but instead, i sit on my computer attempting to write a post. trying to get my pictures to wolf camera so i can at least post my project life.

and i'm uninspired. 

with all of that inspiration how in the world am i uninspired?????

does anyone feel the same way?

maybe it's january. a little bit of seasonal affective disorder?? maybe. perhaps.

maybe i need to go find some bright yellow flowers to strategically place in my house. the laundry room. the kitchen. my desk. 

i haven't 'created' since august. {unless you count my christmas ball wreath that i probably technically started last christmas...}

seriously.


so i'm on a mission. to stop feeling 'sorry' for my lack of inspiration and just do something. anything.

not expensive, but something.


maybe i'll do this.

or get out my sewing machine and make a valentine outfit for lil miss.

or bake something.

anything.

do you ever feel this way? what do you do to get rid of writer's block? or even sewer's block. or crafter's block?

{and then i look at this craft weekend and think - i so wish i had been there!!!}

okay. so i'm going to go do something.

you should too.

bye.

a collection.

happy friday.

isn't it a GREAT friday?

tgif is what i like to say. woohoo to the weekend.


{by the way - what ever happened to the tgif? i loved watching tgif on friday nights. full house. boy meets world. family matters. step by step. LOVE. they don't make tv like that anymore do they?}

anyway.  


have i ever mentioned that i love a good coffee cup? like the big fat kind that holds a lot of creamer coffee and fits so well in your hand in the morning.

i do. so i ever-so-slightly have started a collection of sorts.

here's the first one that i received as a hostess gift. i have two of these and this bore my love for coffee cups. it changed the way i viewed my morning coffee. am i crazy or is anyone with me?

{this is also why i end up with coffee cups all over my car... i'd much rather drink from a cup than a travel mug. yuck.}

have a happy happy weekend!

random.

ugh. ugh. ugh. 

i've been sick. the yucky cruddy sick. 

not the best way to start a year off if you ask me. 

funnily enough, i've heard of THREE people {whom i have not come into contact with over the past year} who have or had the same thing.

a cold. but not just any cold... the kind of cold that makes you LOSE. YOUR. VOICE. 

all of it. as in, i sound like a train wreck. and although i felt bad for sure... it's more energy-draining and feverish than it is runny nose/cough. PLUS it is totally annoying to try to reign in your chilins when you have no voice. 

fun. 

anyway. so i had some big plans for this week. to finish up getting my house together/organized and sharing the method to my madness with you all. 

but that's not happening. 

today, anyway.

it's been taking me twice as long to get anything done around here. i feel winded after walking across the house. yuck. 

and i have this mess to clean up on my make-shift desk {a.k.a card table} that is propped up in our playroom. i really need a 'workspace'. something like this table at pottery barn but with a realistic price tag. any suggestions would be appreciated.

i've been attempting to get my inspiration back on the creative side. i've been doing a little sketching of sorts. a la alisa burke. have i mentioned i really want to take one of her online classes? i do. i do i do!

why do we cut off the crust of sandwiches for the littles? anyone else out there do the same thing? it's habit... but i don't even know when it started. 

working on combos for my dining room. i want a pretty table to be set. so even if we aren't using the dining room, at least it's pretty, right? especially since it's right when you walk in.

anyway. happy wednesday.

hope it's great. 

so glad the sun's out. maybe i'll get some fresh air today.

maybe.

around here.

the smell of crackling bacon....... yum.

 and steaming hot coffee.... and creamer. okay - and splenda.

 a little peek-a-boo with lil' miss.

 

organizing. cleaning out. purging. 

it's a process, right?

 pretty fiestaware. pretty pretty pretty.

full.

happy sunday.

did you have a good weekend?

we did. it was full, and i'm exhausted, but it was good.

thank you for all your encouragement about the bug. :) he's been doing much better the past two days. i was on my knees every morning before the Lord. saturday we had a great day and i made sure to tell him many times how proud i was of the choices he was making.

those days make my heart happy.

i did, in fact, finish my christmas shopping on thursday. yay!

not without a trip to northpark in the CRAZINESS of christmas shoppers. ugh. ugh. ugh.

but these cute little shoes i found in my console kept me happy. lil' miss can't even wear them any more her feet are so pudgy. love.

{p.s. do you drink coffee in the car? do you have a travel mug? i LOVE coffee cups. and i always end up with 5 in my car before i frantically throw them all in the sink before the hubbs drives my car somewhere! ;) am i alone??}

PLUS - everything is - get this - WRAPPED. already! can you believe it?!

daddy even has a present from eddie. :) to open on christmas eve, of course.

i bet you can't guess what it is!

and there's still a WHOLE week to enjoy before Christmas!

i plan to do a ton of baking. and relaxing in jammies. and polar express watching. and christmas crafts. and on and on.

oh - and eddie has big plans this week.

do you have an elf at your house? he's a HUGE hit this year with the bug. every morning he MUST look for eddie. and after he finds him he runs into the kitchen and says "mommy come see what eddie's doing. but DON'T touch him!"

this afternoon i spent some time with this sweet family.

riley's in the bug's class at school. so sweet. he LOVES her. like, really loves her.

so i was super excited to take some surprise pictures for their parents' christmas present. 

hope they turn out great.

happy christmas week!!!!