3 little Miracles

3 little Miracles

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Monday, March 29, 2010

BIG PRAISE!!!

I am so thankful for God's provision, His peace, His wisdom, and the support system He has surrounded me with. As you know we are experiencing some frustration along with our joy over the news of our new little blessing due in October.

Much to our surprise the gynecologist/ob that I have worked with since 2004 has implemented a new policy that they will not work with high risk pregnancies and based on paper alone, the doctors decided that I fall in the new category.  I am 41, had gystational diabetes during my last pregnancy, I am overweight, and I have slight high blood pressure, based on those 4 points the doctor won't touch me with a 10-pole and referred me out to a OB clinic 2 1/2 hours away.  We went to our first appointment and much to our disappointment, the clinic in our opinion was not even equal to the care I had before, it was below, the only benefit is that it is attached to a fantastic hospital and brand new birth wing.

SO, I hit the phones this morning and contacted a gynecological/ob practice that I used to be a patient at and see if they would take me on as a OB patient.  Praise the Father above, they are HAPPY to take on my care and IF something happens that is beyond their care they will send me to Pitt Memorial which is about an hour away (much closer).

Thank you all for your prayers and support, we appreciate it.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Pregnancy Journal - 9 Weeks Pregnant

How is our baby growing:

Our new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: our baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Our baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

How my life is changing:

I still may not look pregnant even if my waist is thickening a bit. I feel pregnant, though. Not only are morning sickness and other physical symptoms out in full force for most women at this stage, but I feel like an emotional pinball as well.  For me though morning sickness has not been a major issue, just a little nauseas and dizzy at times.

Mood swings are common now — it's perfectly normal to feel alternately elated and terrified about becoming a parent. Most women find that moodiness flares up at around six to ten weeks, eases up in the second trimester, and then reappears as pregnancy winds to a close.  For me these days I cry very easily, commercials, wonderful friends who surprise me with a unexpected visit, dealing with doctors, TV shows, pretty much anything.
  
How am I feeling and how are things going so far

WELL, these days I am physically feeling fine, but emotionally I am a wreck with stress over WHO is going to give me medical care for the next 7 months.  I had my first appointment in Wilmington at the OB clinic attached to New Hanover Medical Center, it took us 2 1/2 hours to get there.  Sadly, there is nothing personal about the OB clinic's care, they are used to dealing with patients on Medicaid, no insurance at all, or needing free care.  So this clinic is used to shuffling people through with the most basic of pregnancy care, no bells and whistles, no UN-necessary ultrasounds, and medical care is provided through nurse practitioners and residents.  I was told that I would likely only have one ultrasound at 10-12 weeks that  ultrasounds are considered luxuries past that and most of their patients couldn't afford luxuries (we are blessed that our insurance covers 100% of my care once I am pregnant until the baby is born).  This is obviously a big departure for us from what we are used to in the private practice care that we had for our previous two pregnancies.  I am praying that God will give me the grace and patience to deal with may become our new norm for the next 7 months if I can't find another doctor who will work with me.  I just find it so difficult to believe, as do most people in my life, that being 41, overweight, slight high blood pressure, and a previous pregnancy with gystational diabetes is enough to make a doctor not want to touch me with a 10 foot pole.  Don't my baby and I deserve medical care, GOOD medical care, personal medical care, CARE from someone within the medical field enough to take MEDICAL CARE of me?  When did our nation take out a law against overweight people having children?  When did our nation decide that overweight individuals don't deserve the best of medical care?  I am just in such a state of shock over how I am being treated and how much this is sucking the joy out of the blessed event in our lives.


So on Monday I will probably be making some phone calls to see if we can find another doctor in my area or at least closer who will care for me.  Please pray that we will SOON be onto better care, closer care, and more positive treatment.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Home decor that sticks with you through the years

Do you have some items in your home decor that seem to stick with you no matter how your design style may change over the years?  Some accessories that you would much rather find a new home, but you hold onto them because they are sentimental to your husband or they were a wedding gift.  I thought I would share a few of mine that I just can't help but hold onto, and I MAKE them work somehow someway.

The reason this topic is coming up, is because all of the items on my list can be found in two rooms, and it just so happens that these two rooms are going to have to have some major changes in the next few months to make room for baby.
This print currently hangs in our office, which is supposed to become a nursery,  above our desk.  This is a print my husband had in a storage building on his property when we first got married, it was already matted but not yet framed.  When we were starting to toss things to make room for my stuff, we found that this print was signed and numbered so it became worthy of us hanging onto because he liked it.  So just prior to us getting married, my husband surprised me by taking some old barn wood and making a frame for it.  Although the ducks are not really my thing, they are his, and he made this frame so it would be more to my liking and more likely to be hung on the wall.  So although I presently can't think of where else I am going to hang it, I AM going to have to find a new home for it, HA.
This lamp was given to my husband by some of his friends, over the years it has kind of grown on me.  I picked up this lamp shade at Target about 7 years ago.  It works perfectly because it has a faux leather finish to it.  I may try to work this into the boys room somehow, only problem is the theme in their room is airplanes and I am not sure I am ready to change that yet because I made the curtains and I am just not ready to make or find new ones.  SO, for now I have no idea where the cowboy is going to live, but I KNOW I will have to find a home for him too.
This fantastic trunk is a family heirloom from my husband's family.  Again, this presently lives in the office and it is filled with old family photo's that we have yet to put into albums.  My husband seems to think we will need to move this to our large storage unit, but I am having a hard time moving such a treasure into storage.  I am hoping that when we get the boys bunk beds later this spring, that I can somehow work this into their room.
I actually LOVE this table and I am very emotionally attached to it.  This table was in my grandparents home, and just before my grandmother passed away, she invited me to go over to her home and see if there where any pieces I wanted for my new apartment when I first moved to North Carolina.  I selected this table, 4 ladder back chairs, and an old rocker.  I will move this into the nursery and set it up as a changing table like we did when Davey first arrived into our lives.  This table is not very comfortable for a dinning table because the cross braces really get in the way of properly pulling up to the table.  BUT I just can't help but love it anyway.
When I was 16 my parents let me pick my own hope chest.  At the time the low hope chests with cushioned cross point fabric details, were very popular.  Even then I was already drawn to unusual furniture pieces and I selected this one because I loved the fact that it sat up taller then other hope chests, I loved the shape of the feet and skirt, I loved the fact that it DIDN'T have an upholstered top (which I knew would be very dated someday).  Only problem, is that to me this style has still locked me into a country style due to the type of wood and the detail on the front.  So when we are looking for beds, this is the style I look at most of the time.
Ashby King size bed from Pottery Barn

Finally, no matter where I go, or how my design style changes, this quilt will ALWAYS be a part of my home.  This quilt was given to us as a wedding present by a very dear friend of ours.  When we first married I decorated our home in Americana, and this quilt has a big old American star in the middle of it.  I take this quilt with us when ever we travel, each time I checked into the hospital when the boys were born, I use it in family photo shoots in the backyard, and I curl up with it for naps or TV watching.  It is my forever quilt and no matter how the master bedroom changes it will be in our room.

So what decor items will be with you no matter how your style changes? AND How do you make them work in your home and with your style now?

Wordless Wednesday - Boys idea of shopping at Target


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

You may be seeing less personal posts from me for a bit

You may have already noticed that I am not posting as much, and the things that I am posting are quick easy posts for current Giveaways, Getting to Know you, Wordless Wednesday, or Photo Flashbacks.  I am just very tired ALL the time these days, and where as I used to sit down at the computer and go for hours, now I just practically fall asleep going through me emails, HA.  Yesterday I started cramping really bad, and about passed out when I went to lift my two year old up to the changing table.  Fortunately, my mom was down checking on us and she kinda took over and then took Davey to school so I could lay down and keep my feet up.  The cramps went on all day long, but no spotting or anything . . . . .  so I am taking it easy and really trying to resist picking up heavy things.  Little Jon is working with me for the most part, and climbing onto his changing table for me now, and when he doesn't want to I just change him on the floor or one of the boys beds.

So I hope you understand and will stick with me until I move into the second trimester of  this pregnancy when HOPEFULLY I will get some energy back.  After all I have a lot to do to get ready for this baby, I have a room to turn from an office to a nursery, HA.  I know so many of you are already praying for me, and I ask that you continue to do so.  For me the fears of miscarriage seem to be stronger with this baby, maybe it's because I haven't heard her heart beat yet, maybe its because I am over 40 now, or maybe its just because I have been dreaming of Pink for so long and this MAY be the one and I worry she will disappear before I hold her.

I know I am in the Masters Hand and within the Masters Plan and He will give me the strength to get me through.

Monday, March 22, 2010

A to Z about me

Here are some ABC's of me....

A. AGE: 41
B. BED SIZE: King
C. CHORE YOU HATE: Cleaning the bathroom
D. DOG'S NAME: Maggie
E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: Time to wake up on my own, abrupt wake up will result in a bad morning.
F. FAVORITE COLOR: Pink
G. GOLD OR SILVER: Silver
H. HEIGHT: 5'3
I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: I used to be able to play the piano. 
J. JOB TITLE: Wife - Mother - Consultant for Southern Living at HOME 
K. KIDS: 2 little Boys and a mystery blessing due in October
L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: 3 bedroom apartment in my parents day-lite basement (we have our own entrance)
M. MOM'S NAME: Sibyl
N. NICKNAME: my parents still call me Boodle 
O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: I have had two surgeries not related to having a baby, and then 2 c-section visits.
P. PET PEEVE: Someone playing the BOOM music loud in a car
Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to begin as soon as possible." When Harry Met Sally
R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: Righty
S. SIBLINGS: 2 brothers, 1 sister  all older then me
T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: Anytime between 6 & 7:30am
U. UNDERWEAR: I have a bunch of different styles and colors/patterns
V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: Brussels Sprout
W. WAYS (REASONS) YOU ARE LATE: Because I am not keeping my eye on the clock or it takes me longer then expected to get the kids ready.
X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: My teeth for dental work of course and both of my legs when I had a terrible fall in a parking lot over a parking space bumper (my hands were full so I couldn't break my fall).
Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: Lasagna, homemade pizza, chicken-n-rice casserole, tuna casserole, chicken salad, roasted chicken breasts and vegetables
Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: Polar Bear, gorilla, otters, giraffe, elephant, lions, rhinos (its a family memory from the London Zoo that makes me like them so much).

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Getting to know YOU


1. What year did you graduate high school?
1987

2. What part of your body do you neglect the most?

My gut, I am always eating things that kick of my reflux, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

3. Beach house or Lake house?

Lake House, because it's much more peaceful then a crowded beach in the summer and the traffic to get anywhere.

4. Mac or PC?

PC

5. Did you wear braces?

YES, for way to long, 8 years + 5 years before that in a retainer.  About half way through my time in braces, my second orthodontist realized I had two impacted teeth.  So they had to open back up the space, do surgery to allow the teeth to come down, and then reset for my teeth to be straight AGAIN.  Fun days . . . . . NOT!

6. If you could be one person for a day..living or deceased..who would you be?

Ohh, this would be a toss up between Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn.



7. How many times have you moved in your life?

A lot! At least 15 times, not including when I moved away to college and the various places I lived on campus during my 5 years.  Main path of moving . . . . .California, North Carolina, 3 different places in Connecticut, England twice, back to Connecticut, Oklahoma, back to Connecticut, then North Carolina where I have moved many more time within the state.

8. Would you rather cook or clean?

I love to cook, but I am ok with cleaning too, especially since it means a sparkling kitchen when I am done.

Now it's your turn!! GO HERE to link up your answers

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday everyone!!!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Interview with Floras Finest 100 followers Celebration Giveaway #5

Monday  kicks off DOUBLE GIVEAWAY week for our one month Celebration of 100 Followers and I would like to introduce you to our second giveaway sponsor  for next week, Floras FinestFloras Finest scarves really caught my eye when I was browsing Etsy looking for great sponsor's for our giveaway month.  She had such beautiful scarves, and in so many different styles and colors.  Floras Finest will be donating a beautiful Vixen Fringe Scarf in the winners choice of color from her shop.

This giveaway will run from Monday March 22nd - 28th
the winner will be announced on March 29th
**Full response to interview will post later
So without further ado please meet shop owner:
Angel Bolton

How did you get started on Etsy?
I have been looking to get back into selling my scarves and cards and was excited when my mom told me that she had seen Etsy mentioned on Good Morning America. She told me I should try selling my items there. So here I am!

How did you decide on the name for your shop?
As for the name of my shop, Floras Finest, I wanted something catchy and rememorable (if you can call that a word) and once again my mom came to the rescue when she mentioned using Floras Finest. Flora is my maiden name. I would have never thought of it. So, if I do well here, I will definitely have my mom to thank!



100 Followers Giveaway #5
 Vixen Fringe Scarf in the winners choice of color.

Stop by Angel's Floras Finest shop and check out her full product line
Go HERE for more details of the giveaway and to ENTER!

Interview with Sugar Pop Creations 100 followers Celebration Giveaway #4

Monday  kicks off DOUBLE GIVEAWAY week for our one month Celebration of 100 Followers and I would like to introduce you to our first giveaway sponsor Sugar Pop Creations.  I love taking pictures and if you have been following for long you know I am saving up for my dream Digital Canon Rebel (or one similar) and when I was in search for designers who made handmade products and stumbled onto Sugar Pop Creations camera straps, I knew I had to see if she would join our giveaway fun.  Sugar Pop Creations will be donating any strap cover and lens pocket of the winner choice from her shop.

This giveaway will run from Monday March 22nd - 28th
the winner will be announced on March 29th

So without further ado please meet shop owner:

Kelley Howe

How did you get started on Etsy?
My friend told me about it...she said is was like Ebay for crafters. So, I decided to give it a shot and it was an immediate success :)

How did you decide on the name for your shop?
I just wanted something fresh and fun! I love graphic design, so I designed the logo even before I had the name finalized and then the name just fit with it.

Where do you get inspiration for the items in your shop?
I am professional photographer and decided that I was sick of my uncomfortable strap, and after a few proto types I came up with the awesome design. It feels AMAZING on your neck and is SO SO Cute!

What item is your personal favorite?
I really LOVE Heather Bailey's White and Blue Strap

Do you make custom orders?
Yep, just convo me :)

What is your biggest hurdle with running your shop?
I get so many orders, that is is hard keeping up sometimes! I have 3 very little kids and they keep me so busy.

How many years have you been creating?
I have always loved to sew, but I have been making these strap covers for about a year now.

How long has your Etsy shop been open?
A year

Are you running any current promotions or coupons?
If you mention this giveaway, you can add a lens pocket holder for FREE.


-Kelley
100 Followers Giveaway #4
 Camera Strap and lens pocket of winner choice
  from Sugar Pop Creations Etsy Shop
Kelly also makes straps for smaller cameras
Stop by Kelly's Sugar Pop Creations shop and check out her full product line
Go HERE for more details of the giveaway and to ENTER!

Bible Verse for Today

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see Will last forever.

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

I sometimes share a Bible Verse for the Day on my blog, such as this one, and I wanted to share a smidge more about how I choose them.  Usually a verse that I post as a "Verse for the Day" is one that was laid on my heart in my quiet time, during my time in Beth Moore's Fruits of the Spirit study, or one that I have stumbled upon during my blog roll reading that speaks to my heart in the moment.  Tonight I have been out with the ladies of my church, celebrating a sweet time in fellowship together honoring our 40 days of prayer for one another.  During this evenings time of fellowship I was asked before hand to share my testimony of how God has specifically impacted me during our 40 days of prayer.  Before I shared I prayed with the group and asked God to take me out of the way and let HIS testimony through me shine out.  IT DID . . . . . HE DID . . . . . and I was OUT OF THE WAY!  I will try as best as I can to post SOON the testimony in full that I shared tonight, but suffice it to say when I came home tonight and was winding down by reading my blog roll this verse POPPED out for me and I am passing it along.  Amazing how God's word falls into our lap at the perfect moment to WHAM HIS testimony out of the park!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Pregnancy Journal - 8 Weeks Pregnant

How your baby's growing:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from our baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. I may be daydreaming about my baby as a girl, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether I am having a boy or a girl. Either way, our baby is about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though I still can't feel it.


How am I feeling?

I am still feeling fantastic.  Sleepy . . . . . YES, still a little nauseous . . . . . YES, but otherwise GREAT.  I am keeping up with my workout schedule 3 days a week and trying to already keep track of my blood sugars because I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy.  I FINALLY got my OB appointment after MUCH frustration and finally going off on someone a little.  We will have out first "intake" appointment next Friday, but we won't have our first ultrasound and exam for another week or so after that.

The OB that I have worked with for my previous two pregnancies and does my yearly gynecological care, had put into place a new policy that they will no longer take care of high risk pregnancies.  However, they are still working through all the kinks of implementing this new policy and I am their first patient that falls into this category.  As a result, for the past two weeks I have been bumped from one person to another, and put off because they didn't really know HOW to move me onto the next step and connect me properly with the facility that I will be at (WHICH IS 2 hours + away).   

I hated that ONE, they wouldn't even give me a basic exam and ultrasound.  I hated that TWO, they treated me like I already had a doomed pregnancy because I am 41 and not starting at a healthy weight, even though they did not YET have any other indications that something is wrong (NOR SHOULD THEY ASSUME THERE IS). I hated that THREE, that instead of the doctor telling me first hand that his findings with my records indicated that I needed more supervision and care throughout my pregnancy then they could provide, he allowed his staff (inexperienced with the new policy) be the ones to inform me.  I hated that FOUR, they did not allow me to be treated here closer to home until such point in my pregnancy that they felt something was of concern that I needed to be referred to the facility that had the ability to handle my pregnancy complications (IF they arise) instead of me having to drive two hours away for the next 7+ months. 

I am ready to move on to a positive place in my pregnancy and experience the joy that I should be feeling, along with being sleepy, and sometimes nauseous.  I AM filled with great joy over this little tiny blessing within me, please don't get me wrong.  However, my past experience with finding out, having my first exam, and moving forward into the long months ahead as the baby grew within me on my previous two pregnancies. . . . . started on a much more positive and encouraging place and I am ready for that with this little one.  He has planted this child within me, He has given us this gift, and He WILL provide for my babies protection, all the details, and our safety in travel in the 7 months ahead.

Friday Photo Flash Back

Friday Photo Flashback

I am on the right in the stripped shirt, I think I am about 11 or 12.  We were putting on a play about David and Goliath in our back yard with the summer missionary from our church.  She was a clown missionary, and so we were also doing another performance with clowns in it.  Honestly I don't remember what I did in all of this.  These were all kids from my neighborhood who I often invited with me to church, My two best friends Poppy and Erin are standing on either side of the missionary, Robin from Tennessee.

Fill in the blank Friday


1.  Today I am wearing     A pink boat neck top and my brown workout capri's (I was at the gym) .

2.  My favorite childhood food was  tuna casserole and my favorite food  now is   ...still tuna casserole  .

3.  A day that I am too busy to  read to the boys    is a day that I am too busy.

4.  The last movie I saw was    Disneys UP    and the next movie I want to see is   nothing is on my list of must sees right now .

5.  My favorite smell is   fresh cut grass   because,      reminds me of spring and warm weather.

6.  A weird little quirk I have is     I have to make my bed before I get into it, even if it has been unmade all day (very rare for that to happen) .

7.  When I take personality quizzes they always say I'm     friendly and outgoing  .
Head on over an link up your answers HERE.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

My just recieved my first Blogging Award

I am so tickled, I just got my very first blogging award from Darcy over at Just a Night Owl.
 
 Darcy shared this with me

Isn't it cute?  So if I understand the rules of this fun blogging activity, the idea is to pass it on to 12 other bloggers.  So here are the bloggers I enjoy and want to pass this award on to.  I know some of my blogging "friends" have small blogs and they are just starting, but I love reading their posts because they write from the heart and they share so many wonderful ideas with me.  I hope you will stop by their blogs and say hello.

1.  Mellisa at Getting all my Ducks in a Row
2.  Jessica at Love from Texas
3.  Cassie at This is a story of a Girl (she reminds me so much of myself at her age, and of my 3 nieces)
4.  Kelly at 3 kids, a mini-van, and a Lot of Love
5.  Sarah at In the Warm Hold of Your Loving Mind
6.  Lianna over at Be Thou a Knight she also has another blog called Growing our Own Garden
7. Christina at Nathan's Fight
8. Hilary at Daily Musings (this is my niece and she is trying to get back into blogging)
9.  Adventures of Miss V
10.  Shannon at Sunshine and Open Hearts
11.  Laura at Daily Dose of  Drama
12. Angel at Emily makes 3

I have a couple of BONUS ones I am going to give because these are my RLF who really support me, pray for me, and tell me the truth when I need to hear it.
1.  Rachael  at Free Giveaway's (she needs to start posting something) ;-)
2.  Melanie at Busy Joyful World
3.  Christineann at Welcome to My World
4.  Shay at It's a Roller Coaster Ride
5.  Rebekah at Bountiful Blessings














Thanks again Darcy for my first award!!! I really appreciate it!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Please pray for 3 yr old Jedidiah and his family!!!!

Can you please pray for the Harper family in AR. The husband is a pastor in a small town and they have three children. Yesterday the youngest - a 3 yr old boy - was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. They go to AR children's hospital tomorrow to determine stage and treatment options. They need our prayer.

Here is their blog page, and their post about finding the cancer is below his picture.  Please go to their blog to leave messages of encouragement, those of you who left messages here already, I will pass on to them.

"On Sunday afternoon after church, Jedidiah had finished his bath and ran to jump on the bed with his daddy. Josh noticed that his left testicle was very swollen. We thought he might have a hernia so we took him to the ER. The ER doctor did an ultrasound and discovered a large mass. It was thought to have been a mass of blood. The plan was to remove the blood during surgery on Wednesday. The doctors instead found a solid mass the size of a egg and removed it along with his testicle. They told us that they were 99% sure it was nothing but wanted to biopsy and would let us know on Friday. On Friday the surgeon called to say that the pathologist wanted another day to analyze the tumor. That scared us a bit but we still felt good about it. Monday around 1pm we received a call that changed our life forever.

Our sweet baby boy Jedidiah has a rare and aggressive form of cancer, Rhabdomyosarcoma.

We will be leaving in the morning for a 11am appt with the oncology dept at Childrens hospital in Little Rock to determine the stage and treatment options.

Please pray in agreement with us that this cancer is gone and that Jedidiah will be completely healed."

Isaiah 53:5 NKJV
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

Being Inspired to SPRUCE up the outdoor space

My Ballard Design catalog arrived this week and I am needing a drool bucket for under my chin when it comes to a LOT of their furniture, but especially their outdoor furniture and spaces featured in the current catalog.  Much of the catalog is dedicated to the design skills of Atlanta's Buckhead  interior designer Suzanne Kasler.  Suzanne Kasler is so attuned to the Ballard Designs aesthetic, they're developing new products together. Suzanne uses a neutral palette, spiced with hits of color and haute couture details, to create layered interiors that are elegant, yet warm and inviting. (These are a few images from her portfolio on her website)

We have a lovely, although odd shaped, patio and I would love to make if feel more like a extended room off the house instead of just a space to brush off the shoes, gather the outdoor toys, and feed the pets.  I would really like to add curtains, just to soften the supports of the upper deck, and for sure I want some sort of  bistro style table that would be easy for us to take down when we need more space.  Then I would love to finish of the space with a couple of large chairs, an outdoor rug, and a storage ottoman that could hold smaller toys.  Finally, I would love to have a small water feature, because I love the sound of tickling water in a fountain.  This Corsica collection from the outdoor furniture at Ballard Design is so refreshing, especially in this spa blue color.  I love the rounded shape of the Corsica pieces and the detail of the twist in the arms.
Doesn't that just look like a wonderful space to sit and read a design magazine or good book, while sipping on your morning tea, listening (in my case) to the sound of the river, and watching the kids playing in the back yard.  Seeing that space in catalog is just filling my mind with so many ideas of preparing for out door living, cleaning out the flower beds for lovely spring blooms, and extending our time that we spend out doors this coming season.

Ummmmmm warmer weather your just around the corner!