Jackson's "Big Boy" Room

When I first found out that Brandon and I were going to have a baby, a million different things raced through my mind...

Would it be a boy or a girl?

Would he or she look more like Brandon or me?

What would we choose for a name?

How would we decorate the nursery?

Since we didn't know what we would be having until our 20-week appointment, I wanted to pick a gender neutral nursery theme that I could start working on right away... but what? One day, when I was out thrifting with my mom, I saw the CUTEST old painting of a kitten, which inspired me to create a vintage theme for Baby Sand's nursery.

And I LOVED it.

A few weeks after Jackson was born, Brandon accepted a network engineering position out in Denver, so we had to quickly pack up and move everything from our little rental house in Kansas. I was SO bummed to leave all of my hard work behind and came to terms with the fact that I would never be able to decorate another room for Jackson that I liked as much as his original vintage nursery.

I am happy to report that his new "big boy" room exceeded all my expectations and that I (and more importantly, Jax) couldn't love it any more!

The gallery wall is still a work in progress... but at least he can recognize the letter J! 

I lose track of the number of times each day Jax leads me into his room to read... and I couldn't love it anymore! (Though I am never allowed sit in this chair -- from Target -- I have to sit on the floor to read to him.)

My Aunt Cheryl made Jackson this quilt before he was born and it is still one of my favorite things in his room! One of Jax's favorite things to do is to stand on his changing table and point to the different scenes on the quilt.  

Ikea Spice racks (repainted white) and an Ikea Wall lamp.

The pièce de résistance is Jackson's new "big boy" bed, which was completely designed and crafted by Brandon! 

The making of the bed...

The finished product!! I'm not sure who's more proud of the bed -- Brandon or Jax! 

I can't help but feel happy anytime I step foot into Jackson's room... it feels like such a fun and colorful storybook oasis to me and I hope it is something that Jax will continue to enjoy for the next few years! (Or until I get the urge to redecorate again...)

Sandmeier Christmas Home Tour 2015

For those of you who don't know... I started this blog in early 2012 as a creative outlet/excuse to cook (hence the name). Another fun fact? My last post was more than 2 1/2 weeks ago, which is the LONGEST I have ever gone without posting. Instead of beating myself up for not doing everything at once (like I normally do), I have decided to enjoy these final weeks of 2015 and not stress out too much over every little thing... which, if you know me, is easier said than done.

Come 2016, I promise that I will be back here posting somewhat regularly... with all of our recent trips, it's been hard to entertain the babe, work, remember to sleep, and blog, but once the holiday season/upcoming anniversary trip to Mexico are both over, I will be back.

You've been warned.

Anyway, over the last three years, I have been sharing our Christmas home and had to do it again this year! Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday and I seriously look forward to the day when I can unpack my decorations and make our home cheery and bright!

Here's our 2015 Christmas home:

On our trip to KS last weekend, we FINALLY bought a nativity scene and I absolutely love it!

This kid... even when he isn't feeling well, he's hamming it up!

We bought a new tree after Christmas last year and it's pretty much the best thing ever! It's shorter than our previous tree AND is pre-lit! 

My favorite word :)

We have started a new tradition this year where we light the Advent candle(s), read from Fr. Robert Barron's daily reflections, and try to keep Jackson from blowing out the candle before we've finished. 

My sweet husband braved freezing cold temperatures to hang the lights -- they look great!!!

We are getting ready to bundle up and walk around the neighborhood to look at lights, so I better get this wrapped up. Hopefully I will have another post written by the end of the week with a recap of all our goings on!

Have a great week, mom (and anyone else who happens to read my blog)! :) 

My Obsession with Galley Walls Continues..

If you have ever been in our home or follow me on Pinterest, you know that I have a not-so-secret obsession with gallery walls -- I LOVE them! What better way to give your walls a little character, showcase your family's personality, and display beloved pictures and signs than with a beautifully decorated wall?

When we first bought our home, I knew exactly where I wanted to put our living room gallery wall and began planning it out in my head before we even moved. Want to take a take a peek?

"The Sandmeiers" Kansas Print / Pick Your Plum

"God Bless America" Print / LaLuna Designs

I absolutely love this wall and could stare at it all day -- this wall represents our family, beliefs, and loves. I am constantly on the hunt for little signs and trinkets that represent our family and cannot wait to continue adding to our gallery wall in the future. 

What do you like to add to your gallery walls? 

Splashing the Back

When we first bought our home, I was concerned about the kitchen.. it was small, the appliances were black (which I would have never chosen -- they always look dirty no matter how much you clean!), and it was pretty dang small. However, I figured that since it is our first home and that we only planned to be there for a few years, we could definitely manage.

Today I am happy to report that I have a beautiful NEW kitchen thanks to my husband!

Okay, it's not a completely new kitchen, but it feels like it because of the new backsplash Brandon applied over the weekend. Check out the before, during, and after pictures to see what a HUGE difference it made to our kitchen!

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

My shoddy photography skills don't do our "new" kitchen justice, but you get the idea of how it looks now and what a HUGE impact it made! I absolutely love our kitchen and how much more personality it has now because of our tiled backsplash! I'm so glad I have a handy husband who likes to do projects around the house :)

Veteran Wall

**Before I even begin, I need to address/apologize for the terrible quality of these photos -- this wall is located in an awkward hallway next to our front door with zero natural light (that and I'm not a photographer to begin with).

With today being Memorial Day, I wanted to take a moment to thank all our service men, women, and their families for the sacrifices they make on a daily basis. I love this country and cherish our freedoms -- freedoms that we wouldn't have without our service members hard work, sacrifice, and dedication. If you see a veteran today (or a family of a fallen vet), please buy them a coffee, give them a hug, or simply say "thank you."

As many of you know, Brandon is an army veteran (in fact, we first met when he was on his two week leave from Afghanistan -- more about that here) and I've always wanted to do something in our home to honor him and the rest of our veteran family members. I had been wanting to do some sort of a tribute wall for awhile now but never had the space for it until we bought our home. Once we moved in, I knew right where it would go..

To give you a little visual, when you walk through the front door, there are the living room and stairs directly in front of you, and then a little hallway to the left -- when we got settled in and began to decorate, I knew that that was our veterans wall.

Here's my favorite wall in our entire house:

(Top L to R: My Great Grandpa Edward; Grandpa Paul; Brandon)
(Bottom L to R: Brandon's Grandpa Donald and my Grandpa Julius)

I just love the way this wall turned out -- it's so simple, yet adds so much to our home! I'm so proud of our family and can't wait to teach Jackson more about them (he LOVES this wall! He's always wanting me to pick him up so he can point to each picture while I tell him who everyone is).

Our Love Nest

Remember that time Brandon and I bought our first home (7 months ago)?

You forgot because I never talk about it, didn't you?

I've been waiting and waiting for our episode of House Hunters to air to show off our home but it still hasn't aired.. and we have no clue when it will *side note: I check HGTV's website daily to see the upcoming episodes -- no sign of ours just yet!* Anyway, I decided enough is enough and wanted to start sharing a few of the rooms in our home.

Today I will be showing off Brandon's and my bedroom decor (the room where the magic happens *wink* sorry if you're reading this, 16-year-old Jackson!). Enjoy!

 

Would you believe that this little nugget threw the biggest tantrum of his (almost) 17 month life because I wouldn't let him play with our $600 camera? Though he probably would have done a better job at taking pictures with my wonky lighting set up.. #toddlers

Bedding//Gordmans

Mr.& Mrs. Bunting//2 Berry Creative

Soda Pop Art//Lolly Jane Blog

Always Kiss Me Goodnight Decal//Hobby Lobby

Live Laugh Love Frames//Alco (now closed)

(Over the Mantle) Gallery Wall

We've lived in Denver for almost 2 months now and I'm just now getting around to posting a few apartment pictures.. better late than never, right?

Our cool little apartment in the city has been a work in progress in terms of decorating--between (Brandon's) work, bringing up baby (Jax.. not the classic Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn movie), and our weekend travels, decorating just hasn't been a huge priority. We're getting there though and today I'm sharing my favorite part of the apartment--our gallery wall above the fireplace!

I love gallery walls--I think that each one is unique and packs such a punch of personality into any space, big or small. When we first toured our apartment, I was immediately drawn to this space and knew it would be perfect for a gallery wall--so as soon as we moved in, it was time to execute a layout! Instead of using a bunch of pictures (like I did with the gallery wall at our old place), we decided to mostly use signs we've collected over the years. We both love the way it turned out!

 Here's some details..

1.) My Great Aunt Millie crocheted this sign for our wedding--I have always loved these and was so excited to receive it!

2.) The crucifix (top) is mine and the silver cross was a gift Brandon received for his confirmation.

3.) Our wedding guestbook--my uber talented dad (the engineer) made this for us!

4.) Pick Your Plum (where else?)!

5.) Brandon's and my family pictures (from our wedding).

6.) My Aunt Nancy gave me this little tapestry for Christmas '04 and I have loved (& displayed!) it ever since--it's a picture of Annie Oakley with the caption: "They wanted to make me a star, but it was always enough for me to just be Annie."

7.) The cutest cousins ever (Jackson, Benny, and Sara)!

8.) My parents made this shadow box for me--the gloves were crocheted by my Great Grandma, the rosary was my Great Aunt Helen's, and the two pins (hard to see in this picture) were left to me by my Grandma Mitz.

9.) As For Me & My House, We Will Serve the Lord sign--clearance at Hobby Lobby

10.) All because two people drink wine sign--Ross

11.) Psalm 33:22 sign--Easter clearance at Walmart

12.) God Bless America sign--Burlington Coat Factory

And a few mantle pictures/wide shots:

Hopefully we will have the rest of the living room decorated soon so I can share it with you all! We're currently in search of a rug (we have all "hardwood" floors) and are going back and forth between how to decorate the wall behind the sectional (Brandon likes contemporary and abstract art, I don't; I like classic and traditional art, he doesn't).

To be continued... but until then, what do you think of gallery walls? In need of some gallery wall inspiration? Check out my board on Pinterest! 

Baby Sand's Vintage Nursery Reveal!

I am so excited to announce that Jr.'s nursery is finally complete!

The idea to do a vintage themed nursery originally came about this summer when I was thrifting with my mom--we were browsing around a local antique shop when she came across an adorable old painting of kittens.

"Wouldn't that be cute in the babies room?" my mom asked.

Yes. Yes it would.

Unfortunately, the picture was $95 and the shop owners weren't willing to budge on the price (it was in an antique frame or some nonsense like that.. psh) so I ended up going home empty handed but with a mind chock full of ideas!

Let's begin the tour, shall we?

 The Reading Corner

This is my favorite part of the room--our little reading corner. The rocking chair belonged to Brandon's Great-Grandma (she even made the beautiful afghan cover to go with it!) and my Aunt Cheryl made the "Poky Little Puppy" quilt.

Close up of the quilt.

And one more (because it's so cute and I love the book).

This is actually a last minute thing we decided to do--the quilt on the one wall made the other wall look really bare so I had Brandon print out pages from some of our favorite childhood books (The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Corduroy, and Curious George). I just love the way it turned out--plus I only paid $1.50 per frame at Walmart which can't be beat.

The Buggy

 I do really love this old fashioned buggy! Mamma Nancy (Brandon's mom) and Aunt Paulette found it at an antique shop in South Dakota and gave it to me at my surprise baby shower! It is really cute and in perfect condition--I'm currently using it as Jr.'s little blanket basket (it's setting next to the rocking chair so I can easily grab a blanket if we're rocking in the middle of the night when it's chilly).

Lots of fleece and swaddle blankets!

The Picture Corner

 I'll cover everything in detail here in a sec but I wanted to point out the beautiful dresser that Brandon's Grandpa made--there are lots of cute little clothes inside!

When we decided on a vintage theme, I knew I wanted to do a mini gallery wall with pictures of Baby Sand's Grandparents--it's still kind of a work in progress (we're missing my dad's and Mamma Nanc's pictures) but I like how it's coming together! The two cuties on the left are Brandon's step-mom, Val (top), and Dad (bottom), and the little curly haired sweetie on the right is my Mom. The "God Keeps Promises" sign used to hang at the top of the stairs in my Grandma and Grandpa Kasten's house (I think my Aunt Nancy made it in Sunday school?) so it's very special to me.

The picture on the right used to hang in Brandon's nursery (and do you see that Colorado Rockies bear--that belonged to my cousin Angie)!

Bitsy: the room inspector 

For the record, I dusted the dresser after seeing this picture.. Oops.

(The picture of Jesus was also in Brandon's nursery, the "Wizard of Oz" pop-up book was a Christmas gift from my Aunt Nancy when I was little, and the Kansas flag was in one of the rooms at my Grandma Kasten's).

Two of my banks from when I was little--the one in the back is a replica of the bank that my Grandpa and Grandma Wernsman own; the little blue tooth pillow was made by Brandon's Grandma. 

The Changing Table

This changing table is the only piece of furniture that we have actually had to buy (no joke)--we have been so blessed with friends and family giving us heirloom furniture that we haven't had to worry about picking out dressers, cribs, etc. Thank you so much to everyone whose helped us; you have no idea just how much it means to Brandon and me!

Brandon gets all the credit for the changing table--he spotted it at Goodwill for $30! Love the color!! The Diaper Genie was a gift from my wonderful boss. 

The Crib

 We have a little bit of a jungle theme going on over here! The vintage crib actually belonged to Mamma Nancy (don't worry--we went through all the safety checks/inspections and it is good to go!), the Boppy was given to us by our friend, Jana, and the adorable quilt was made by Baby Sand's Aunt Jen (my best friend/maid of honor)! Baby will be sleeping in a Rock and Play in our room for the first couple of months before he gets to sleep in his crib but it's all ready for him.

One more shot of the adorable, cushy blanket! 

Wide Shots

 Since we live in a rental and plan to move when our lease is up in April, I decided to hold off on doing the wall behind the crib--I want to eventually get some of those stick on wall decals (of what, I'm not sure) but I'll wait until we buy a house.

Vintage was such a fun theme to do for the nursery and I love how we were able to incorporate so many different family heirlooms/treasures into it! I was looking around the room trying to estimate how much we've spent and I'd say we have maybe hit $50 (changing table, a few books, frames for pictures). The nursery was originally the guest room we had just finished painting but we liked the color (which of course I can't find now but I know it's Behr brand and that we got it from the Home Depot) and decided to leave it.

Thank you for touring the nursery with me! Now all we need now is a cute baby to live/play/sleep in there!