My Fairweather Baby | Nursery Inspiration Board

As SOON as we found we were having a little baby girl, my brain instantly went PINK! GOLD! SPARKLES! When it came time to pick out colors for her nursery, it's no surprise then that my initial thoughts of bright, sparkly girliness stuck. Dean & I decided to give the room a clean slate & paint the walls a bright white (they were deep blue when we moved in).

Nesting, as a mama-to-be, has been such a wonderful season & so much fun! Since we moved to South Carolina & have been getting settled into our new home, it has been full-on nesting time. There were nights we'd be getting ready for bed or waking up & Dean would say, "What are you thinking about?" And almost every time, my answer was, "Oh, I'm just thinking about the nursery." :)

{Crib} One of my biggest maternal concerns has been that our baby not fall through the crib. I know, it's a random, unnecessary concern but that ruled out us looking at used cribs. I wanted our baby to have a firm, new bed to sleep in. After a beautiful Saturday drive to IKEA, we settled on IKEA's Sundvik & Vyssa Vackert mattress won us over. We both tested out the railings & gave them a good shake - pretty firm. That baby isn't going anywhere from her crib :) Bonus - it converts to a toddler bed for down the road. Score!

{Crib sheets} I have to say one of the haaaaardest decisions was settling on crib sheets. I know, it sounds so simple - just pick a color/style of sheets to put on the crib already! But there were so many different options I liked, as in a whole Pinterest board of them :) After calling in reinforcements, namely Mom & Sister, we decided to go with this beautiful gray Emmy Grace Voile Budquette Nightfall fabric & have my mom, the amazing woman she is, sew 3 sheets for us after I had the fabric mailed to her. Thanks, Granmom!

{Rug} For a rug, I really wanted to bring in lots of color & fun. This round hand-tufted beauty from Target was just perfect! We went with the 4-foot round & it is a great size for the room. Also, it's 20% off right now through Saturday. Good deal!

{Changing table/dresser} After several weeks of searching on Craigslist, in thrift stores & all around town, Dean & I found a beautiful changing table-dresser-combo at Habitat ReStore. We liked the idea that we can take off the railing around the top & use it solely as a dresser, too, down the road. Plus, my handy hubby tightened all the drawers & knobs, reenforced the wood in the back & thoroughly wiped down the top & all the drawers. He is the best :) Another plus, it was marked down to $62. Yay for markdowns!

{Glider/rocker} Y'all, these are expeeeensive. If you're a mama or have looked at the price tag on a mama-to-be's registry, you get what I'm saying. I was determined not to spend more than $300 on one. Sure, the $800 options in Buy Buy Baby are reaaally comfortable to sit in & you feel like you're gliding away into a peaceful sunset but could we find a more affordable option? The Baby Relax Mackenzie Rocker from WalMart is just what we were looking for. It is under $300, has great reviews & I'm really liking the grey microfiber upholstery.

{Ottoman} Though there is a grey upholstered ottoman that goes with the Mackenzie Rocker, I had really been picturing something like a gold Moroccan pouf. But after contemplating the hours & hours of sewing it would take, I ultimately decided to nix the gold pouf & thanks to this tutorial, recover a small foot stool I picked up for $12. I'm going to top it with IKEA's Tejn faux sheepskin rug that we picked one up during our trip to buy the crib. It's the perfect softness & texture for the nursery.

{Curtains} We're not for sure what we'll hang over the 2 windows in the nursery but are leaning toward white lace curtains, similar to these from IKEA. Plus black-out curtains to go behind them so that Baby Girl can sleep without sunlight getting in her eyes :)

{Decorative accents} Have y'all been to Hobby Lobby? Until a couple weeks ago, I had never been in one of their stores. So. much. to. look. at! Be still my crafting heart :) I picked up a gold metal arrow (similar to this one), a precious heart-shaped dish & a bright fuchsia bench to hold blankets. My incredibly talented sis made wonderful paper tissue pom poms & a gorgeous pink-and-gold bunting for a surprise baby shower my family threw us. They're new home is in the nursery, along with a marquee initial light from Michael's, maternity photos, Baby Girl's sonogram image & glittery prints I plan to frame & hang throughout the room.

Let the nesting continue :) Where did you look for nursery inspiration? Any stores/sites you really liked using?

Combo dresser: Similar style, similar color | Crib sheet fabric or already-made Etsy crib sheets | Gold metal arrow | Crib | Hot pink poof | Light pink poof | Grey glider/rocker | Rug | Mongolian lamb bench, DIY bench | Heart dish

BIG News for the New Year!

As you can hopefully see from the bump above, that's not just a burrito belly or an extra piece of chocolate cake. Drum roll, please ... the Fairweathers are becoming a party of 3 this spring!!!

Baby Girl Fairweather's debut: April 2015!

We could not be more thrilled with this incredible blessing the Lord has brought into Dean & I's lives! It has been an eventful, exciting journey so far & we still have a ways to go before our little one - My Fair Baby as my mom is affectionately calling her - arrives (get it? That's for you, musical fans :) ).

I'm 23 WEEKS along as of today & about to turn 24 tomorrow. It's so funny how when we first found out we were pregnant, it felt like YEARS waiting for 12 weeks to roll around for our first doctor's appointment! And it seemed to take so long to wait to share the good news with everyone & for a baby bump to appear!

Practically every day I'd tell Dean, "Look, I'm bumping!" He would usually smile & be like, "Sure you are" when barely a smidgen of a curve had become visible. Now that bump isn't going anywhere anytime soon & I'm definitely bumping every day haha. And, we're over halfway there to meet our sweet little girl woo!

God has so showered us with an abundance of prayers & support from our family & dear friends over the past few months. We can't thank everyone enough for the encouragement, phone calls, emails, advice & gifts that been shared with us! And that's not all we have to share...

The Fairweathers have relocated!
Falls Church, VA --> Columbia, SC

In addition to adding to our family, we've also added a move/new job/new home into the mix. After much prayer & discussion, Dean accepted a new position with an awesome construction firm in Columbia just 2 weeks ago. Was it a a lot to leave our church, community, work & comforts behind for a new city where we know very little & don't have any close friends? And to not resign our townhome lease & sleep on the couches/pull-out beds of dear friends for 6 weeks as Dean went through his job search? You betcha.

But God :) Two of the very most powerful words. He allowed all things to work together for His good throughout the whole process. He affirmed & reaffirmed our faith in Him alone day by day. Although right now it still feels like we're on a trip & should be headed back to NoVA any day, this fresh new season is filled with so much peace & joy. We can't wait to pour out our lives here in this new town, which does happen to be close(r) to both sides of our family! Yay for visits to & from grandparents :)

Now is the start. The words of this song have been playing over in my head. We're right where we're supposed to be. Take comfort in knowing you're exactly where the Lord wants you to be, friends! Here's to an incredible new year, walking each day by faith & not by sight.

Since we're still getting settled into our new home & I'm nesting like crazy (ask Dean!), LMP won't be accepting any new inquiries for weddings or portrait sessions in Northern Virginia or SC for now. I'll start accepting new clients in the early spring for mid-fall dates, as my planned maternity leave will be April-August.

P.S. A shout out to my awesome sis for taking these photos!

Sunflowers + an anniversary trip

In the classic movie You've Got Mail, Kathleen Kelly played by the ever-charming Meg Ryan says, "They're so friendly. Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?" when Joe Fox, played by Tom Hanks, surprises her with a bouquet when she's sick.

If a handful of daisies are friendly, how about a whole field of sunflowers?

When Dean & I were driving through West Chester, OH, on the way to visit our nieces & nephew, I spotted the glorious field of bright yellow dots up ahead. SUNFLOWERS! I have always wanted to frolic around & photograph in a field of these beauties. Anyone getting married in or near a sunflower field? I'd love to photograph your wedding :)

Being the wonderful husband that he is, Dean helped make my photo dream come true! We pulled into a parking lot across the street & darted across, camera gear in tow, for our mid-day frolicking.

P.S. No flowers were harmed in the midst of our shooting. We plucked this flower off of a fallen, uprooted stalk :)

With our upcoming 1-year anniversary (it is hard to believe it's been that long since we said I do!), Hubby & I will be driving to Mont Tremblant to celebrate next week! It's been years since I've crossed the border into Canada (family vacay, circa 1995 or so) & we are SO excited to spend time exploring the beautiful town, hiking through trails, reading great books & cuddling together. Have any of y'all been to Mont Tremblant/Quebec area? We'd love to hear your recommendations for places to see & restaurants to try!

To a very special lady

Photo by: The Pinwheel Collective

May 12 often does double duty when it rolls around - a day when we celebrate my mom's birthday & honor her along with mothers everywhere. This year they didn't overlap so we had 2 days of happy mom/birth day!

Mom,

Where do I even begin to thank you for countless nights of staying up late helping with last-minute history projects (I vividly remember us cutting out photos from one of our encyclopedias for a colorful tri-fold board) & driving to school to drop off a lost sock/shoe for basketball practice?

For waking up early to pack Chelsea & I's lunches, waking me up all those mornings I just wanted to sleep in, driving us to & from school/church/ Girl Scouts/gymnastics/dance classes/art classes, always encouraging us to consider the why behind something (What is God trying to teach you?) & to extend grace to those around us, giving us your sense of adventure/travel bug, teaching us how to be a godly woman & wife.

For teaching me how to be crafty with use-what-I-have-in-front-of-me ingenuity, the importance of nutrition & taking care of our bodies, how to balance a checkbook, for taking care of us with every sniffly nose/sick stomach/head ache that came around, for modeling responsibility, decision making & commitment keeping.

For early morning/late night phone calls, for talking into the wee hours of the morning, for all the lost buttons/hems you fixed & sewed, for sacrificially loving us, for faithfully praying for us, not giving up on us, loving us anyway, understanding when I laugh for no reason, for making a beautiful home for our family.

I love you, Momsie! Happy birthday! Happy Mother's Day to youuu!

He is risen

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 
He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay."
{Matthew 28:5-6}

After a faulty trial, beating, scourging, mocking mistreatment and ridicule, the innocent King of Kings was nailed to a cross where he hung to die between 2 guilty men. Christ-followers & believers of the day who looked on at the gruelsome death scene thought that was the end of it all. He couldn't be the Messiah & die - so they thought.

Although Jesus had pre-told them of His upcoming death & resurrection, His disciples didn't understand the full extent of His words. Yet 3 days later, on what we celebrate as Easter, a rolled away stone, empty tomb & graveclothes are little snippets we get from the Gospel accounts of that glorious day. That day when the Savior of the World who bore the weight of the world's sin for us, so we could be washed in His blood & be spiritually renewed, defeated the grave & rose from the dead! 

“'O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, & the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  {1 Corinthians 15:55-57}

In Matthew 28, the angel comforts Mary Magdalene & Mary who had come to Jesus's tomb by telling them the good news: The One you seek isn't here. He is risen! There is an everlasting hope & assurance we have when we reject trying to save ourselves & surrender our lives to Him who died that we may live.

If you're in the NoVA/DC area, I invite you to visit one of our MBC campuses on Friday night, Saturday, Sunday or Monday, & hear more about the story of Jesus & how His resurrection from the dead changed the course of humanity & can do the same for you!