InstaFriday

I see them everywhere. In the grocery store. The airport. The coffee shop. At the park.
Moms like me with one hand on the stroller, and an iPhone in the other, taking little snapshots of their world.

A bunch of them are here - InstaFriday over at Life Rearranged! Yaay!

Click over and link up to play along!

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So, this is Houston in late March. It is just as wonderful as it looks.

(Don't get too jealous - we will pay with sweat and tears during the long summer months ahead.)

I feel blessed to be staying in one of the most walkable areas of Houston. Mikey and I put a lot of miles on the stroller this week. Here we are, doing a little shopping. He's not into it.

The park is much more his speed. He wants to play with every kid he sees.

He's walking a lot now, but he can't keep up with the big kids yet. 

It won't be long, though. See that look on his face? That's the eye of the tiger.

Just happy to be out in the warm fresh air.

I've started an inspiration board in our little apartment. (Thanks for the idea, Melanie!)

True to its name, it really does inspire me to have a little bit of color and pretty to look at.

And see that little cap hanging on the corner?

It's Michael's first ball cap.

He is so deliciously cute in it I took about 100 pictures.

But I won't bore you with all of those here. I'll stop at one.

Okay, maybe one more. 

In case you wanted a better look at that sweet little cheek.

We're back in the land of barbecue!

I don't know if it's my imagination, but the smell of smoked meat seems to make Michael really happy and hyper. 

I know that's what it does to me.

A tender moment between father and son, celebrating Michael's first taste of brisket.

Teething, and it has been rough this week. The last two came in without any drama, so I wasn't prepared for all the turmoil with the two that are coming in now. Here's hoping they break through soon!

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That's about all for this week. Have a fantastic weekend, friends!

xoxo

Rooms I love

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I'm in love with Barbara Meikel's colorful paintings. 

She's based in New Mexico, but her subjects look just like home to anyone from the American West. 

That truck is just too good! See more of her work here.

Scenes from the week

Hello, friends! It's been a full week. We made it through phase one of our move - we traveled to Austin and spent a few days with family, and now we are on with the business of getting settled in Houston. We did some neighborhood-scouting yesterday and today Tim is off to work at his new job. I've been preoccupied and haven't taken many pictures, but here are a few shots from the last week. 

I hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful Monday! xoxo

Ancient promise

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Fill in the blank Friday

Hello from Texas! And happy Friday! 

We made it in one piece, and we are soaking up the sun, good food, and time with family.

I'll be back soon with more news and pictures - in the meantime, here's a little fill in the blank friday fun. Click on the link to play along. 

Have a great weekend, friends! xoxo

1.  My favorite color is  orange. It's so happy and energizing!

2.   My home decor color palette includes a lot of neutrals (off-whites and browns) with bright pops of color.

3.  Other people always tell me I look good in the color red .

4. The color I detest is light pink. It's just boring to me.

5. If you were to look in my closet most of the colors you'd see would be   saturated pinks, reds, blues...lots of jewel tones.

6. A color that I simply cannot pull off no matter how hard I try is  orange, sadly. There's so much yellow in my skin it makes me look kind of sick.

7.  The color of my favorite dress is  black.

Spring is here! Hope you have a beautiful day!

We're packing up today and flying to Texas tomorrow. Be back soon!

xoxo

You may have noticed that I'm slightly hooked on Instagram (mtchristi is my handle if you'd like to check me out). It's been my favorite for some time, and I love it even more now that I heard about this genius app to use with it!

PostalPix lets you print your Instagram photos! And they are delivered to your door!! (Insert Hallelujah chorus.) It's so simple to use, the prices are totally reasonable, and the photos look great. Convenience of iPhone camera, and good old-fashioned photos in hand. The best of both worlds.

(Instagrams within an Instagram. Somebody stop me.)

11 months old

point. clap. wink. totter.

moo. meow. howl. sing. dance. babble.

laugh. share. hum to sleep.

We love you so much, baby! xoxo

Three things

Buried treasures I came across while packing today:

A box full of our old love letters. 

An unlikely pair.

Every issue of my favorite magazine of all time - sticker tabs still in place.

Things are unsettled around here. 

The move preparation continues between trips outside to look at the ducks, final playdates with friends at the park, games of chase and tickle, reading, eating, peek-a-boo, and general reveling in the warmer weather. 

Part of me wants to relax and enjoy every minute with Michael, but I have this constant nagging in my mind. Everything is disorganized. Our routine is off. Am I forgetting to do something important? How is this going to work out bouncing around between cities and temporary housing? I'm a master at imagining the worst-case scenario. My wise Mom (who moved our household - with four kids - at least ten times) assures me that it will all get done, and it will all work out, and one day soon we will be settled again. 

I know she's right. 

In two weeks we'll be in Houston whether I get anxious about it or not.

So I'm taking a deep breath and having another cookie and taking things one day at a time.

And, thank you for letting me get a little of that off my chest :)

Homes I love

The world's most perfect little cabin. 

Three things

...for your right brain and your left brain.

Colorstrology (spotted here) uses your birth date to find your own personal pantone color. I know, I know. But this stuff is fascinating to me. (And the colors and personality descriptions were totally right for me and the people who are close to me. Yeah, I looked up everybody I know.)

How to be creative.

image

And The Complexity of the Creative Personality.

The little black shop

Don't you love it when you get something good in the mail? 

Saturday the cupcake toppers I ordered for Michael's birthday party arrived - and they are so cute. I couldn't be happier. Jen from the little black shop (by little black press) was so helpful and she has great custom colors and options to choose from. I highly recommend her shop!

I think the penguins are my favorite. Aren't they handsome?

Happy Monday! xoxo

Happy weekend!

It's been a banner week.

It got sunny and the crocuses popped up!

...and Michael started walking!

It's so funny - we've been waiting and waiting for him to do it.

Then, yesterday, he just decided it was time.

We've been joking that he must have been feeling saucy because he was wearing his Austin t-shirt :)

We're slowly making arrangements for our move to Texas - cleaning out, donating, packing, shipping, etc. I'm looking forward to more of the same this weekend. I know at some point I will be overwhelmed by this move, but right now I'm just thankful to be going home with my little family. 

I keep thinking about how I felt last year at this time. I was so happy and so excited to meet our little boy. The whole world seemed bright and fresh and like it was opening up for the first time, just to welcome our son. Here we are again on the brink of spring, and again it is so  beautiful and filled with the promise of God's good blessings.

  My cup overflows.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! xoxo

Fill in the blank Friday

I'm thinking more and more about our upcoming home search in Texas and 

- how fun! - today's Fill in the Blank Friday is all about home. 

Head over to The little things we do to play along!

1.  My favorite room in my home is   our bedroom   because   it's clean and quiet and uncluttered. It smells like fresh laundry and it gets sun in the morning. A peaceful place to sleep (and wake up) is a beautiful thing. 

2.   My current decor style is   a mix of lots of styles collected over the years since college  but I wish it were more   cohesive and modern. That is definitely my vision for our next home. (See rooms I love.)

3.  I wish I could redecorate    Michael's   room in my house to make it more   spacious. I actually love his room, but if we were staying in this house I would take the guest bed out, 

put in some bookshelves, and make the space a better playroom for him.

(gratuitous picture of my son)

4. My dream house absolutely has to have a   lot of distance (and sound barriers) between the kids' rooms and the living areas! During the last year we've been living like Ninjas - silently cooking, washing dishes, tiptoeing around, and communicating with a combination of whispers and gestures (not really - well, sort of) whenever Michael is sleeping. This will be a top priority in our next home!

5. One house item I am willing to splurge on is   carpet/area rugs. They make such a difference in how a home looks and feels. I don't know what the floors in our next home will be like, but I'd love to use this little beauty somewhere.

                  6. A decor trend that I just don't get  is   anything cluttered that is visually disorganized. 

If it's "shabby" I probably won't like it.

7.  Framed family photos, art, and maps from our travels  is a little touch that makes my house feel like home.

Rooms I love

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Yogurt time

The sun was shining.

We were eating yogurt.

Florence and the Machine was playing loud.

That's a party around here. You can see why we had to take some pictures.

Just another afternoon with this little guy :)