THE WEEKLY

Hello, friends! I'm back from my trip to the mountains! I decided to really un-plug during my time away and just focus on my family, resting, reading, napping, drawing...it was so wonderful. I have really started craving and loving my "un-plugged" time. I'm trying to train myself to not get so uptight about my inbox or "keeping up" with various social networks. I love being part of this community, staying inspired, and sharing my life, but taking time to step away each day--and sometimes a week here and there--is so wonderful! I love soaking in this time with my family and friends. :)

Jenny just started working again after being on maternity leave for a month. I'm so excited to have her back and stoked about working together again! -- Also, we have an EXCITING announcement about Maiedae coming tomorrow! I can hardly wait to share! I've also got a really fun giveaway coming up this weekend too! Yeah! :)

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Maiedae Mixer tickets are NOW on sale!! Are you a creative woman? Do you run a blog, site, business or just love meeting new people? We would love to see you there! Limited tickets available! 2// Our view at the cabin. 3// We went on vacation with Zach and Leah and they brought their new little bird, Dovi. He was so sweet! 4// Our nighttime routine with Soren is my very favorite.

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Love these homemade baby food recipes.
* Such a helpful chart for baby development and milestones!
* Perfect trendy and simple nail art.
* Oh my, yum!

Inspiring Me this Week:
Our AC is broken! We are getting it fixed this week, and I'm itching to do some more home improvements and work in our yard. I'm also trying to learn about plants so I can keep them alive in our home and garden. :)

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* I've been seriously thinking about going super short with my hair...I can't decide!
* I love running a home budget.
* I really want to learn more about essential oils.

Question of the Week:
What is one new thing you really want to learn more about? Also, what is your favorite non-fiction book?

THE WEEKLY

Lately I've been reading "The Honest Life" and I'm loving it SO much. It's re-ignited my passion for whole, "honest" living in all aspects of my life...beauty, food, health, home, fashion, baby. I love educating myself on product ingredients and feeling confident in what I'm using on myself, on my family and in my home. I just love it! I've been thinking a lot lately about how to incorporate this more into my videos and blog. :)

ALSO, between some awesome upcoming Maiedae projects, additional work and family things, I have been busy, busy! -- With that said I'm going to be taking it easy on this here blog for a couple weeks, temporarily. I'll be sharing my weekly videos, some updates and maybe a few home progress reports but I won't be posting daily. I need a little "summer break" and want to spend some time re-focusing and getting ready for something SUPER exciting at the end of this summer AND our Maiedae Mixer in September! Psst - Tickets go on sale in THREE days! I seriously can't wait. :)

Snapshots of the Week: 1// New little clothes for Soren! 2// Buddy cuddles. 3// Reading and re-reading The Honest Life. 4// Those eyebrows and little lips! I die.

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Don't forget to get your Maiedae Mixer ticket this Sunday!!
* Love this (new to me) blog! No More Dirty Looks.
* I must try this baby legging DIY, too cute. Any recommended online shops to purchase cute fabric?
* One article of clothing you can wear 30 different ways?! Yes!

Inspiring Me this Week:
Getting my closet/style back together. I've definitely let fashion fall at the wayside since having a little one. To be honest, I'm in a little bit of a fashion dilemma/rut. I need to figure out my closet and new pieces I want to invest in. I also think I might be ready for a hair change? Maybe a different red? Maybe a shorter cut?? We'll see!

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* My hair is giant when I brush it out.
* I love watching documentaries on volcanoes and tornadoes.
* Bad dreams usually put me in a funky mood.

Question of the Week:
Do you have a favorite all-natural, organic company that you love?! Please share!

THE WEEKLY

Sorry it's been so quite around here lately! Between the excitement of Jenny having her little one, planning the Maiedae Mixer, and some super exciting projects coming up this summer, things have been a little busy, busy...resulting in a slow blog. :) But don't worry, I've got some super exciting plans/posts coming up this summer so just hang in there with me! We'll be back into the swing of things soon. Promise! -- In the meantime, you can still expect weekly videos and updates. Yay! You can also follow me on Instagram for daily updates! (@savannahmaiedae)

On a personal note, I've been having a lot of fun being with Soren and watching him grow SO much. He'll be 4 months this Wednesday and it's blowing my mind! We've been enjoying taking him out and about more and seeing him smile and giggle. It's just the best. :) We have an anniversary vacation planed for June and I'm really looking forward to taking him with us and enjoying some time off and away with my family and some of our friends. Can't wait!!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// I've been taking the Blog Life e-course by ABM and I LOVE it. I highly recommend it to any beginner or seasoned blogger. 2// Celebrating Mother's Day with the family. 3// Buddy is growing in stature and cuteness! 4// Celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary last week!

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Love this DIY Car Kit. Kinda love organization baskets like this, like a lot.
* These Indoor S'mores are not helping my sweet-tooth issues.
* Speaking of food, I like this Buzzfeed Clean Eating Challenge, so cool!

Inspiring Me this Week:
I've been making a conscious effort to make more time to read lately. It's been so nice to fill some of my spare time with quiet reading time and finally get to some of the books I've had stacked on my nightstand!

3 Things About Your Truly:
* I am SO much more thirsty since having Soren!
* I really love shopping and browsing lately; grocery shopping, baby necessities shopping, beauty shopping...you name it. It's been nice to have some "mommy" time and get out by myself here and there.
* The only magazine I currently subscribe to is HGTV Magazine. :)

Question of the Week (comment with your answer below!):
What are your favorite types of blog posts to read when sitting down to catch up on your favorite blogs? What do you love about them?

THE WEEKLY

Uh, what happened to the weekend? Since Thursday, Jon and I have been spending a ton of time working on our house. We've been here for 8 months and have made great progress, at least in our eyes. It's nowhere near finished, but rooms are becoming more and more functional and our home is feeling like ours more and more everyday.

We did some more painting, made a "quick" trip to Ikea for some furniture. Moved lots of furniture around, organized, and we're still working on some decorating and putting things away. My studio space is nearly done and I LOVE it. It's looking so professional, clean, and like a place I am really going to enjoy working in. Can't wait to show you soon!

I also got to spend some time with Jenny on Friday. It was so good to see her and enjoy her pregnant belly. :) As of today she is 4 days past her due date and we are all on pins and needles waiting to meet little Rowan. I'm so excited!!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Shopping trips with my sister are the best. 2// Spent some time scouting locations for this year's Maiedae Mixer in September! It's seriously going to be incredible this year. I can hardly wait! -- We'll start selling tickets soon. Be sure to mark your calendar for September 20th! Atlanta will be the place to be! ;) 3// Reading to Soren. Love being a mommy. 4// New rug for my studio! From IKEA. :)

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Have I been living under a rock? I'm SO loving the Evernote app and am fully addicted to it after having my friend show me the ropes. Jon and I are using it for everything now.
* I've been taking the Blog Life e-course lately from ABM and it's amazing!! Worth every penny. I just love those girls. They are so incredibly inspirational.
* Oh my yum! Making this asap!
* Just got my first makeup brushes from Sigma and I LOVE them.
* Tips on "Making it Through the Last Month of Pregnancy" from Jenny. I very much needed this when I was in my last weeks with Soren.

Inspiring Me this Week:
Jenny and I have a super awesome, exciting announcement about Maiedae coming up in the next few weeks and we are SO excited. It's been giving us such a jolt of inspiration and has been in the works since 2013. We can hardly wait to see everything come together. :)

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* Now that I'm no longer pregnant, my sweet-tooth is gone and I'm all about the savory snacks!
* I'm a plant killer. I cannot keep anything alive, even cactus and succulents. :(
* I feel so fulfilled and pumped after getting house projects done.

THE WEEKLY

This week was an exciting week because Jon and I FINALLY finished our living room painting project! We had a lot of work to do in that room and with having a baby, it took a bit of extra time. ;) Now that the painting is done, it feels like a completely different room and not a dingy, old space. I can't wait to show you the progress this week!

This week we've been taking it easy since it's been a busy couple of weeks. We also decided to take next Monday off and enjoy a long weekend. If the weather permits, I have plans to visit the zoo! -- Also, Jenny is SO close to her due date, I can hardly wait to meet Rowan, and Soren's future best friend. ;) What an exciting time!!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// I don't believe I'll ever get my studio organized, but I'm hoping these new office supplies help motivate me! In love with Target. 2// Our Easter family photo! Love my men! 3// Starting to record my living well journey on my Instagram account! I'll be sharing some of my meals and progress! Follow me here! 4// I'm having a closet sale and selling some great pieces! More information below!

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* What a brilliant idea! Using lockers for a pantry!
* Kinda really want this bike for my birthday.
* Ashley is one of my favorite YouTubers, I just love this Beauty & Wellness haul video she recently posted.
* Must try this smoothie recipe!

Inspiring Me this Week:
Time to get active and get my body strength back up after having a baby! I'm starting off slow, but I've been loving Blogilates! Such fun, motivational videos!

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* I don't mind getting shots, but I get a little queasy giving blood.
* I've been on a Boy Meets World watching binge lately. Favorite show!
* I have to have a giant jug of water and lip balm on my nightstand before going to bed.

And Now for Some Announcements! 
1// I'm having a closet sale on Instagram! Follow me at @shopsavscloset to bid! I'll be posting items throughout the remainder of this month. I've got dresses, Minnetonkas and great accessories up for grabs! Even a fab pair of Jeffery Campbell's!

2// Want to advertise on my blog?! I still have a few Spring Sale spots up for grabs! Check out this post for more info or on visit my advertise page!

3// I wanna hear your thoughts! I'm putting together an upcoming video list for my YouTube channel and would love to hear some of the videos you would like to see! Let me know your recommendations!

THE WEEKLY

This week Soren has decided that he'd rather nap sporadically throughout the day, 30 minutes here and there. His new change in schedule has made it a little more difficult to get things done. Nap-time comes along and I'm immediately in "get things done" mode, but a lot of that time is filled with taking time to eat, maybe shower and getting a couple of chores done around the house. I've learned to work when I can and be ok if I don't complete my to-do wish-list for the day. It's ok! ;) Jonathon has been super helpful and is keeping him awake right now as I type so we can give him a bath and put him to bed.

We've also still been working hard on some home projects. Like I mentioned last week, we've started work on the living room space. I painted the fireplace white several months ago, then we had a big project ahead of us...finishing up the wood trim. This particular room as TONS of windows and TONS of wood trim everywhere. We've made it through the priming process and about 35% of the painting process of the trim. We just need to finish painting the trim. Paint the actual room. Get the random section of carpet replaced and we'll be done! I can't wait to compare the before and afters!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// New favorite chocolate. So yummy! 2// Walk time with the family. 3// Working away on our living room painting project! 4// Coo face. Love when he chats with me. :)

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* I'm kinda a little addicted to subscription boxes and this site doesn't help!
* Love this 30-day Spring Cleaning challenge!
* Helpful SEO tips.
* Must try out this scarf up-do!

Inspiring Me this Week:
I'm feeling inspired to take advantage of time I get to pamper/take care of myself. Jon has been great about helping me out and helping me realize I need to be more vocal about my needs.

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* I've never painted my nails yellow.
* Since having a baby, I've gotten really good at keeping up with laundry. We need those burp cloths!
* I'm just a small handful of episodes away from finishing the complete Full House series. Love that show!

THE WEEKLY

This weekend, the grandparents kept an eye on Soren while Jon and I started our living room painting project. Our living room had lots of wood trim and we've been working on painting it all white, re-painting the walls and fixing up some of the flooring. I can't wait until it's done! I'll be sure to share once we get it complete. :)

This week I'm working hard on lots of Maiedae work, including some fun new client designs! We are also taking Soren in for his 2 month appointment on Wednesday. I can't wait to hear about how much he's grown!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// I love Jenny's beautiful work. Especially this new print. :) 2// I love all of the little blooms in our neighborhood. 3// Been enjoying smoothies a lot lately! 4// Soren and I during out walk the other day.

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Seed Starting 101
* Just reached over 5k followers on my YouTube channel! Thank you so much!!!
* Speaking of YouTube, I can't get enough of Ingrid's apartment tour.
* Oh! I really want to make this homemade Oatmeal Almond soap!

Inspiring Me this Week:
This week I'm feeling inspired to keep up with my scheduling and healthy eating. Last week went really well, and I'd like to continue that momentum, while still enjoying my family. :)

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* I prefer homemade cookies over store bought.
* I do my best graphic design work during the middle of the day.
* I LOVE the feeling I get after finishing a home-improvement project.

THE WEEKLY

This weekend, I got to celebrate Jenny and the soon-to-be arrival of little Rowan! We threw a baby shower for her at my place and it was so much fun! I'll be sharing pictures from the shower tomorrow. I might have gone a little overboard on the party supplies at Target. ;)

This week I'm busy preparing taxes, working on lots of Maiedae stuff, and relaxing. Soren will be 2 months on Wednesday and I CAN'T believe it! He's already grown out of his newborn clothes. He's turning into such a little cutie.

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Love these beautiful swaddle blankets from Coveted Things. So soft and sweet. :) 2// Lucky Charms are my weakness. 3// Bought way too many goodies from Oh Joy's line at Target. So fun! 4// My little muppet buddy!

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Planning to make this soup this week.
* Love this "Secrets of a Stylish Mom" series.
* Yummy breastfeeding smoothie!
* Really love this new blog and her beautiful photos/recipes.

Inspiring Me this Week:
I've been meal planning and getting back into my healthy lifestyle/eating. So far so good. I love the way I feel when I'm eating healthy and being active! Looking forward to shedding the rest of my baby weight and getting my muscle tone back. ;) Hooray!

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* One of my favorite pass-times is building Legos with Jon. I like to help him find the pieces. ;)
* I've only had three pedicures in my life.
* I use Caps Lock instead of Shift.

THE WEEKLY

This weekend, some close friends came to visit us and play with Soren. It was so nice to have guests over and share Soren with people we love. :) Our friends got married the day after Jon and me, so we love celebrating our anniversaries together. May will be our 4 year anniversary and we're planning a mountain trip in June. It will be fun to take Soren on his first trip. I just loving planning little getaways. :)

On Sunday, Jon watched Soren for me while I took a little mommy time and went shopping. After getting home I spent some time working on my studio. Lots of organizing and decorating to do! Can't wait to start working in there soon. :) It was so sweet of Jon to encourage me to have "me" time. I needed it more than I thought I did. I'm very thankful nursing/pumping is going so well, it's allowed me to have some special time out and a few little dates with Jon. Definitely a gift. 

This week is exciting! One of my best friends, Anica is coming into town for a week from California to meet Soren and help me throw a baby shower for Jenny! Hooray for baby showers!!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// A little nap with Soren. I've really been enjoying all of our time together. :) 2// A little snapshot from our nighttime routine. 3// Studio decorating! 4// We've had a handful of amazingly beautiful days lately. Hoping for more soon! 

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:

* Love this darling hanging DIY diamond!

* Thinking about investing in a Fitbit, thoughts?

* Salted caramel and chocolate popcorn bars, what?! 

* LOVE ban.do's new collection. So fun!

* A tour of wellness warrior, Kris Carr's pantry. 

Inspiring Me this Week:

As mentioned above, I've been doing some work in my studio. My studio used to be the dining room and we decided to convert it into a work space. I painted it before Soren arrived, but after several weeks of staring at the color, I've decided to re-paint. I have lots of organizing to do and some decorating...so it will be wonderful to see it come together and become a functional space. :)

3 Things About Yours Truly:

* I buy too many things at Target. 

* The next two movies I will buy will be Frozen and The Lego Movie. :)

* We are DIYing our kitchen tiling and home exterior painting this year! I can't wait.

THE WEEKLY

I successfully made it through the first week back to work with baby Soren. I just had to learn to take full advantage of any time he would give me during his naps. Doing my best to be intentional with my time is helping a lot! I'm also becoming quite skilled at performing tasks and using the computer with one-hand. -- Let's see how week 2 goes. ;)

Now that we're working on getting ourselves back to a regular schedule, we've been planning out some exciting house projects that we want to complete in 2014. Some of these include finishing up the living room, putting together my studio, re-doing the flooring in the kitchen and getting the exterior of the house painted. I can't wait to see more progress done! -- Btw, I've been reading Happier at Home a lot lately and am really loving it so far!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// My boys. Love this picture of them so much. 2// Rifle Paper Co. makes my work days so much brighter. I'm especially loving this weekly list pad! 3// Playing with new photoshop actions from ABM. 4// Little muppet. I just love those sweet eyes. :)

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles: 
* Kinda really want to try out some of these juices from Project Juice!
* LOVE this beautiful French inspired baby shower.
* We are huge Lego fans and definitely will be doing this with Soren when he gets older.
* Loving the new ABM shop! I've been playing around with their new actions lately and have been loving them. Can't wait to see what else they release throughout the year!
* Did you know I'm now blogging over at Disney Baby?! Check out my posts here. :)

Inspiring Me this Week:
I'm feeling really inspired to continue being intentional with my time. Of course, there are times when I really just need to get a nap in during the day right now, but when I DO have time available in-between nursing, changing, and cuddling...I'm planning to use that to get work done and projects done. So far it's really been helping me a lot and has made me feel less stressed about trying to get x-y-z done before a certain time.

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* I am HORRIBLE at decorating bookshelves.
* I'm also the worst at going through mail.
* One of my new favorite things to do is go on family walks. Especially with how beautiful the weather in Georgia has been lately. :)

Weekly Question (please give your answer below!)
* Do you have a favorite mom blog? I'm on the lookout for more to add to my daily read. Please share below!

THE WEEKLY

Today is officially my first day "back" to work! It was absolutely wonderful spending the first month of Soren's life completely focused on him. Jon and I loved every minute of it. And to tell the truth, I loved taking time to unplug and re-focus. I'm a little nervous to get back into the swing of things and figure out how to balance life with a newborn and with my job. So far my plan is to do what I can when I'm not nursing and taking care of him, it's made me really think about what's important to accomplish and what isn't as much of a priority. But I'm so thankful I have the ability to work from home doing what I love and be here with him as well. :)

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Little buddy is growing so fast! 2// Loving being/learning to be a mama 3// The Lego Movie is AMAZING, loved sneaking out for a date with Jon to go see it; so good!! 4// Just in case you didn't hear, we are running a special Spring design sale! Get 15% off our blogger and branding packages if you book before March 17th! Contact our admin, Leah at leah@maiedae.com for more information. :) -- You can follow more of my snapshots via Instagram! @savannahmaiedae

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* This seems like the perfect bathing suit top for a postpartum tummy.
* Check out my favorite birth announcement ideas via the Little Hip Squeaks blog!
* Love the idea of The Capsule Project, really needing to do a wardrobe make-over soon!
* LOVE these desktop background downloads, perfect to get you into the Spring spirit.
* Jenny makes beautiful things.

Inspiring Me this Week:
I'm inspired to get myself back together and working again but more importantly working on finding some type of balance to this new life. I'm also inspired to get myself back into shape and eating yummy, healthy foods! I'm looking forward to exercising as soon as my doc gives me a thumbs up. Anyone use Fitbit? What do you think, worth it?

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* If I were to take an outfit post for today it would include black and white plaid pj pants, a cream colored tank, and cardigan AND polka dotted socks. ;)
* I have plans to watch Full House in it's entirety, thanks to my dad for surprising me with the complete series!
* Jon and I are designing our next tattoo that we'll be getting together, it's going to be a family "crest" of sorts.

Weekly Question (please give your answer below!)
To the mamas, what is one of your top tips for getting things done and staying organized with littles around?

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Psst -- Want to partner with me and my blog!?! Consider purchasing an ad spot for the month of March! Enter code SPRING4MAIEDAE to get 20% off all ad spaces!!

THE WEEKLY

Alrightly! I'm just a few days over 37 weeks and definitely starting to have signs of pre-labor! Things are moving along and we couldn't be more thrilled to meet Soren within the next 3 weeks!! On a kinda poopy note, I tested positive for the flu yesterday and have been stuck in bed sick for the past couple days. What do you do when you're 37 weeks pregnant and have the flu? Cry. Haha, it hasn't been too bad. I've been trying to take a lot of time to rest, eat good, healthy food, and my OB approved some meds that have been really helpful in my recovery. Jon has the flu too, so we are working hard over here to get back into good health before baby comes. I don't love the idea of going into labor while having the flu...not fun!

Other than that, before getting sick we spent a lot of time over here checking off to-do's and prepping for baby. We are in a good place, bags are 90% packed for the hospital, we've collected all the baby necessities we think we'll *need*, we've gotten some home projects done, and now it's just a waiting game!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// A little something for Soren's nursery. 2// Spent a lot of time painting last week! Loving this Emerald color by Pantone. Can't wait to show you what we did with it! 3// Yes please! 4// Obligatory sick-day photo. ;) -- You can follow all my snapshots on Instagram!

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* I can always use some home styling tips! Love this coffee table decor guide!
* I've always wanted to improve on my meal planning skills.
* Thanks Moorea for putting together this Nate Berkus collection board, now I need everything! ;)
* Lots of yummy smoothie recipes here!
* Love this article on being your own photographer (tripod photography).

Inspiring Me this Week:
Feeling very inspired to get back into shape and eat all of my favorite healthy foods. Had a difficult time saying no to my sweet-tooth during pregnancy and really want to get back to it after Soren arrives.  Really want to experiment with juicing too!!

Weekly Question! (please give your answer below!!)
* What show are you currently loving right now! Need some good ideas for maternity leave. :)

THE WEEKLY

A lot has been happening at the Wallace household lately! Jon and I have been busy with work preparing for our time off during the holidays. We are SO looking forward to Christmas. This will be our last one together before Soren comes and we're planning to really soak it in, relax and take our little "babymoon" during this time. Also, last week was a big week for Maiedae! We recently updated our site and launched all of our new packages for 2014! We are currently booking for early 2014 so if you'd like to snag a spot, take a look at all of our information over here.

As well, this past weekend, Jenny, myself, and Leah, along with our husbands, took a little Maiedae retreat trip! It was such a relaxing and nice time to get away, talk about 2013, and all of our exciting plans for 2014!! We have a few projects planned that we are SO excited about and can hardly wait to get them going! 

Last night, Jon and I took another class at the hospital in preparation for baby. We can't believe we are only 5-7 weeks away. So crazy!!! I've been busy wracking my brain trying to make sure we have everything we "need" for his arrival. I'm also hoping to finish the nursery decorations by early January. Can't wait to reveal the entire space!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// 33 week bump!! 2// Holiday candles are my favorite. 3// Festive home for Christmas! 4// Face masks! I love that Jon does things like this with me. ;) 

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:

* Can I drink this everyday?! 

* Anyone tried out the Belly Bandit after pregnancy? I'm super curious. 

* These girls are just adorable. Love their 3 ways to wear knee socks post! 

Inspiring Me this Week:

Feeling super motivated and inspired to get lots of work done this week so I can truly relax and enjoy Christmas break. We are definitely in need of a nice, long break! :) 

3 Things About Yours Truly:

* I LOVE getting a Peach Slice smoothie from Smoothie King.

* Some things I'm most excited about sharing with Soren one day: Christmas, Disney, and fort building.

* Looking forward to my annual "date with myself" evening to think about my goals for 2014. :)

Weekly Questions (please give your answer below!!)

* What is your most wished for Christmas gift this year?

THE WEEKLY

This week has been busy, busy as Jenny and I have been working hard to wrap up clients and projects for the year. We've been so amazed and blessed by having our year completely booked out by September with design clients. It's blown our minds how much Maiedae grew this year and how much we've learned in return. We have been excitedly preparing for 2014 with new design package updates and whole new offerings! We will start booking clients for January and February in mid-December so if you're thinking about a branding, blog, or site re-design, be sure to keep an ear out! We will have a limited number of slots open each month. Can't wait!!

On top of preparing Maiedae for 2014, Jon and I have been preparing mentally for Soren's arrival! We can't believe we are only about 11 weeks away from meeting him. Time is flying by! I'm just hoping we'll have the nursery ready for his arrival. We've still got a lot to do and my energy in the 3rd trimester is slowly going downhill. ;) 

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Cocoa, all day ev'ry day. 2// Front porch pumpkins. 3// Jenny and I at this year's Maiedae Mixer, can't wait for the next one! 3// Egg nog, yummmm!! 

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:

* Did you hear?! We announced the date of the 2nd Annual Maiedae Mixer!!  

* Loved these 11 hairstyle ideas for curly girls! 

* My business partner is so talented! In love with these original handwritten Christmas prints.

* Definitely need to make this Thaksgiving garland!  

* Love the idea of this Vanity Project. So beautiful. 

Favorite Blog of the Week:

* More and more I'm in love with the girls of Treasures & Travels. Especially excited about their new YouTube channel! 

Favorite YouTube Video this Week:

* Twilight Noir - Michelle Phan 

Inspiring Me this Week:

Thanksgiving!! Trying to figure out how to create a great Thanksgiving table on a tiny budget mostly using things I already have around the house. Loving the challenge of being thrifty. I'm also excited about making a homemade cheesecake and pumpkin pie. Yum!! 

3 Things About Yours Truly:

* I'm extremely talented at getting crumbs everywhere while eating. 

* Feeling anxious/nervous/excited about labor and delivery. 

* I would love to hire an interior decorator. Just let someone know my vision and watch them make it happen. That would be awesome! 

Weekly Question (please give your answer below!!)

* What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish/recipe?? 

THE WEEKLY

We've had a lot of happenings over the past couple of weeks. We hosted a Halloween party and the next day some of my best friends threw us a baby shower. We had lots of visitors and overnight guests in our new place. We worked some on the house, organizing and cleaning. We started taking baby classes at the hospital. We went up to Rome, Georgia, for a little fall getaway over the weekend. I entered into my third trimester (what?!) and we are currently in the process of planning our holidays and final to-do's before the baby comes!!

Jon and I are super excited about this holiday season. We are trying to soak it up as much as possible since it will be the last one with just the two of us and happily anticipating our lives with a little one next year during the holidays. ALSO, for the first time, we are hosting our family Thanksgiving! I'm feeling like an adult here. This will be the first time in several years that we'll be in town for Thanksgiving and I'm so grateful and excited to celebrate it with my favorite people. :)

Just a little update on my momma: she finished up her third round of chemo and the doctor is super pleased with her progress. This last round was pretty rough on her. She ended up catching a virus and was put in the hospital for a couple of days but is doing much better now! After this next round, they will begin tests to check on her progress and she is scheduled for her last chemo treatment the day after Christmas. We are praying and believing for full remission! Her positive attitude is inspiring. This trial of walking through her cancer with her and being pregnant for the first time has really brought our relationship closer together. I'm so thankful to have her in my life. Thank you again to everyone who has prayed, encouraged, and supported us during this time. Love you lots and lots!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Love this mamaRoo from 4Moms! Can't wait to put little Soren in it. 2// Also loved this surprise package from the ladies of Make Your Day DIY, check out their new e-book here and use MYDAYISMADE20 to get a 20% discount at checkout! 3// Sorting and organizing loot from our baby shower. 4// Clearance shopping at Target!

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles: 
* This is freaking awesome, check out these play-i, computer program robots for kids. Geeking out!
* Been pinning lots of ideas for Thanksgiving!
* Ideas on drafting a killer media kit.
* Helpful productivity tips for the self-employed.

Inspiring Me this Week:
As the weeks pass I'm getting less and less stamina to work around the house. Feeling inspired to get our to-do list done before baby arrives while I still have some umph left!

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* Since I've been bad with my sweet-tooth, I've been loving sugar-free hot cocoa lately, especially since our house is getting so chilly.
* When getting new clothes, will completely organize and clean my closet and THEN hang up/put away my new items.
* Still trying to find the correct answer for how many baby clothes I'll need for a newborn. ;)

THE WEEKLY

Last week was filled with design clients and preparations for The Brand Market Workshop! This week will be filled with the same work. :) I got a chance to spend some great time with my mom and family this week. She's been doing SO great and responding very well to her chemo treatment. She has such a great attitude about everything. It's so encouraging to see the nurses, patients, her friends, and our family touched by her graceful and sure spirit. I've been feeling extra blessed getting to see her more and spend extra time with her. On Friday, we went to a baby store together to look at what I needed to register for. We had so much fun walking around, looking at baby stuff, and getting excited for Soren's arrival.

Jon and I spent all of Saturday working on our master bedroom. It's one of the rooms on our list of completing (or nearly completing) before baby gets here. We made SO much progress. The room feels totally different than it did on Friday and is probably one of my favorite places in our home so far. We needed a little getaway and a good place to bring baby home too. I'll be sharing progress pictures later this week!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// New little clothes for Soren from BabyGap. Couldn't pass up the cute bear outfit. :) 2// Love this sweet flag banner for the nursery from Ordinary Mommy. She matched my colors perfectly. 3// Dressers from Ikea. These babies take a while to build! 4// Found a (new to us) dessert place called New Orleans Snoball Cafe. They are SO yummy! I've asked Jon to take me there almost every other day.

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Loved this super helpful post Jenny linked to last week about cloth diapering. So much to learn!
* I've been drooling over all of the products featured on Katie's Baby Shower Giveaway. I think I added 80% of them to my registry!
* ALSO, since we are on the topic of baby stuff, one of my favorite mommy companies, 4moms is announcing 3 new products today! I seriously CANNOT wait!! We have some of their products and love them so far.
* In other news, I've been trying to figure out if I should paint our stairs like this or a bright fun color similar to this?
* I'm sure you've heard, but I'm SO excited my business partner/best friend is also expecting!!

Inspiring Me this Week:
Jenny and I have been having a lot of conversations about 2014 and what that looks like for Maiedae and what exciting things will be happening. It's been super inspiring to plan for the new year and make some exciting improvements. :)

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* I JUST started watching Breaking Bad. Jon's already seen the whole show and now he's re-watching it with me. I'm loving it so far and doing my best to avoid any spoilers!
* Speaking of shows, I cannot wait for the next season of Game of Thrones to air.
* I have been dreaming of a getaway to the ocean since July. Not to lay-out or anything but just to hear it and be peaceful. Maybe Jon and I need to plan a baby-moon?

THE WEEKLY

This week I spent some much needed time with my family. My sister and I went with my mom to get her hair shaved off. She started losing chunks of her hair and decided it was time to go ahead and get rid of the rest. It was emotional and a little hard to watch, but she was brave and did such a great job. I think it was a little hard for all of us seeing an outward visual sign of the icky cancer inside. But she is so beautiful with or without her hair, her smile glows and she certainly rocks the head scarves. :) Even though this has been a difficult time for us, it's also been a very special time having our family come together to support her.

This weekend Jon and I spent some time working on the house. We painted the nursery, re-finished the dresser that will go in the nursery, and finally did some yard work! It has felt great making progress on our house. We still have so much to do before 2014, but we're trying to focus on one project at a time. 

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Fluffy Kaito monster. 2// Jon not helping my sweet-tooth cravings by brining home a box of these. 3// Colors for Soren's room and the dresser make-over! 4// Lunch at Three Blind Mice with Jenny. :) 

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles: 

* Been loving working on my baby clothing board on Pinterest. Such cute baby boy options! 

* So awesome to be mentioned in Moorea's design resources page! 

* "Ain't Nobody Got Time for That", has been my motto lately, but what about the things we really NEED to do, like some good ol' cleaning? 

* Excited to try this Red Velvet lip Velvetine by Lime Crime. Always on the hunt for the perfect red. 

Inspiring Me this Week:

Right now I'm attempting to get inspired to get my act together and start eating better. I've been really surprised by my intense sweet-tooth cravings and would like to balance out the nutrition more and calm that sweet-tooth down. A little is okay here and there but I've felt like an insane sugar fiend lately. 

3 Things About Yours Truly:

* I need a good balance of Jon, family/friend and me time throughout the week or I can get easily burned out. 

* I REALLY enjoy working on our family budget.

* I REALLY dislike going through lots of mail, especially when it's boring bills and junk mail. 

THE WEEKLY

It's been a long week of working and getting back into the swing of things since moving. This weekend, aside from trying to get some family and friend time in...we've been working on a lot of home projects. Spent time cleaning and organizing the laundry room, working on the sunroom, and doing a lot of general cleaning around the house. Once we can get some of the main projects finished and get all of our things unpacked, we'll be doing a lot more painting and aesthetic changes.

I tell you what though, I've been so sleepy lately. I've definitely had to stop and take rest breaks along the way. Wishing I had tons of energy right now! But I'm just focusing on using the windows of energy I have and resting in-between. Our 20 week appointment is this Wednesday and I can hardly wait 3 days to find out of little one is a boy or a girl. We are SO excited. I've been feeling lots of kicks and have definitely noticed a significant increase in belly size lately! We are having a casual gender reveal party for family and close friends on Friday and we'll be announcing either that night or Saturday. Ahh! I can't wait!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Cheesecake goodness! 2// Celebrated Jon's 26th birthday this week. Love this man and SO thankful to be married to him. :) 3// Stopped by American Threads and picked up a few things for fall. Love this Kimono top. 4// Pepper plant from Jon's parents. I'm a plant killer and desperately trying to keep it alive and well.

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles: 
* Love this clay chandelier mobile DIY on Design Mom.
* We are working on putting together a guest room and I would love to add something like this. :)
* If we have a girl, I would love to do something like this on the walls. Love how easy it looks!
* Must find this scarf somewhere!
* For my next sweet tooth hankering.

Inspiring Me this Week:
Been in a very get-things-done-list-making mood lately. Working hard on the home and trying to make a dent in our to-do list before February. After we find out the gender, I'm probably going to go crazy in the nursery. :)

3 Things About Yours Truly: 
* I went into Bath & Body Works yesterday to smell their fall candles and wanted to buy ALL of them!
* I've been having lots of fruit cravings lately. I'm looking forward to a peach and whipped cream treat later today. :)
* I LOVE doing fall things. Going to the apple festival, picking out pumpkins, drinking cider...so wonderful. I'm hoping we get trick-or-treaters in our new neighborhood!

THE WEEKLY

This week Jon and I have been working hard at our jobs in preparation for taking time off to move!! Tomorrow is the big day! We'll be closing on our house at 9:00AM and starting the cleaning, painting, projects, and moving process right after. It's hard to believe that we are here. I can't wait to share our new home with you.

Also, I mentioned this a couple of posts ago, but Jenny and I recently started our Bible/book study group back up after a summer break and it has been so refreshing and amazing to spend time with such beautiful and inspiring women at the beginning of each week. I so look forward to Sunday nights.

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Frozen yogurt brings me so much joy. I love it! 2// Dipping our feet in the water during an outfit shoot break with Jenny. 3// IKEA is so freaking awesome. So thankful for cool home stuff at good prices! I've been oogling over this catalog for a couple of weeks now. 4// Beautiful necklace pieces sent to me from Laura of Roots & Feathers. So love her work.

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* You might have already heard about our exciting workshop launch?! We've had such a great response so far! I can't wait to get started on these in the winter!
* I'm co-hosting a fun giveaway over on the beautiful Maddie Richardson's blog! It's awesome!
* I have no idea what this tastes like because I've never had one, but I want it SO bad!!
* Can I have all of these rugs for my house? Thank you!

Inspiring Me this Week: I've got so much "moving" on the mind that it's hard to think of anything else right now! After the move we'll be on a tighter home budget so I've been thinking a lot about creative ways to work with what we have and make our home, "homey", especially before the baby arrives!

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* Bad things I'm craving: ice cream and Lucky Charms.
* Good things I'm craving: fruit!
* Dislike painting rooms, but LOVE what it looks like afterward.

THE WEEKLY

This week has been full of visitors! One of my best friends came to visit from California and has been staying with us throughout the week. We also had our good friends Zach and Leah come stay with us for the weekend. We had a girls' night/dinner part on Friday. AND after a long summer apart, we finally started our Bible/book study back up last night. It was so wonderful and refreshing to see everyone again and welcome some new amazing girls to the group. It's been one of my favorite ways to start off the week.

The remainder of this month for us is going to be crazy town! Jon and I are officially closing on our house on the 27th of this month!! Whoohooo! Everything is moving along so smoothly, we can hardly wait to be in our very own home and be homeowners. :) We'll be moving throughout the first week of September. We have lots of projects to do, so I'll be sure to record them and blog about them here later.

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Couldn't believe when I started feeling little baby flutters at 15 weeks. I'm 16 weeks today and have noticed my bump a lot more lately! I ran into a maternity store and bought a belly band because my pants are NOT having it anymore. ;) 2// Best friends! We've been close since college. It's so wonderful to all be together again. It's been seven months! 3// Sneak peek at our shoot with Anna for Brand Market Workshops! We are launching our site and registration THIS Friday! Be sure to check our brandmarketworkshop.com at the end of this week! We would love to have you there! 4// LUSH! One of my all-time favorite stores. Bought a new pregnancy safe face regimen to help with some of my hormonal breakouts. ;) See more photos by following me on Instagram! @maiedae. :) 

Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* This seems like such a cool stroller, has anyone used it?
* Loving Jenny's "Let's Make Habits" series!
* Really liked Allie's thoughts on spending less.
* If you're a fan of beauty products and like surprises, check out Ipsy!

Inspiring Me this Week: Aside from having moving on the brain. I'm SUPER pumped about our new adventure, Brand Market Workshops. We are only offering two classes this year, but are planning a monthly schedule in 2014 after the baby is born. Jenny and Anna are fabulous to work with. We are all so passionate about enabling people to make things happen, so we can't wait!

3 Things About Yours Truly: 
* My baby is the size of an avocado!
* Been thinking a lot lately about making the most of everyday and learning to truly value and be present in all of my relationships. Feeling very thankful and blessed.
* Really wanting honeydew melon lately!