Fall Decor Preview (Review?)

I'm aware that it's mid-November. Honestly, the fall decor in this house has been creeping in since mid-September. But there was this little project called 31 Days that kind of took over my life, which meant that all things ceased to exist so I could actually complete it!

My crafty craft desires have been going crazy, though, and poor Mr. Kuda has dealt with the repercussions of this: gold ribbon and sparkly pumpkins showing up in various places around our house. The need for "more garland!" and him constantly hearing, "I just don't think we have enough pumpkins."

And then we decided to host Thanksgiving, and it's pretty much sent me into overdrive, decorating wise.  But I love it, so I thought I'd share some of it with you :)

Just to keep things real, as we are in the constant pursuit of conquering perfectionism in these parts, I thought I'd share what my living room looked like last night, as I finished editing the photos for this post...

There. Feel better?

I should also note, that everything, excluding the live pumpkins, I bought on sale, or already had in my house. The total for all decor was under $40. For a whole season. Win.

Let's start outdoors, shall we? I think it's safe to say I have a healthy obsession with both wreaths, and pumpkins...

A toddler may have been trying to escape. Hence, opening door.
Let's just pretend that it's closed, yes?

For a tutorial on felt flowers, check out my spring wreath where I give some nice details to achieve this look. Love me some felt.

Inside, here's a wreath that started out like this:

And ended up like this:

Nothing a little burlap and acorns from the yard can't fix.

Three bucks at Target, friends. Three dollars.

Above our mantel, we have our television. And while I'm not 100% sold on the fact that it should be there, it is, so we work with it.  Using some garland from our local craft store, I recreated something I found from Pier 1 (for $30 a piece!) in these:

They cost me less than $1 each, and they serve some great texture next to the big 'ole flat screen.

The pumpkin brigade continues throughout the house, stashed in bowls and the like throughout. And there's lots of glittery gourds, too. Because a girl can't help herself...

Glitter pumpkins & gourds found at Hobby Lobby & Family Dollar

And that's pretty much it! Next week, I'll give you a sneak peak of our Thanksgiving table. I'm SO excited to be hosting this year's feast, as it's the first Turkey Day in our new house. AND my mom and sister just moved to the area over the summer, so the fact that we'll be all together for the first time under one roof is unprecedented. AND since I don't cook (we leave that to Mr. Kuda), the festive atmosphere is just going to have to be where I put my efforts :)

Here's a glimpse of our place setting. And I'm just going to let you know now, I'm not spending more than a few bucks on fabric for napkins. We are going all out on love and using what we have!

Have a great week friends!

xoxo, k.

Magnetic Dry Erase Board!

With all the heavy posts recently (here and here and here), I thought I'd throw in a little crafty craft to lighten the mood!

My birthday/Mother's Day gift from Mr. Kuda was a little closet office to call my very own. After having my laptop float around the house, I cannot tell you what a blessing this little space has been! I will definitely do a post on the office itself, but I thought I'd show you a little project I completed as a part of the office.

This little ditty took no more than 30 minutes. So easy! And it was the perfect addition to my little (and you'll see at a later date, it is just that: little) closet office.

Supplies:
* Open frame, any size
* Stainless steel sheeting (I used 28 gauge)
* Tin snips
* Push points
* Notched picture frame hanger

How To:

1.  Start off by snipping the stainless steel with your tin snips to the measurements needed for your frame. There's a bit of a learning curve, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I found that if I didn't close the snips all the way and kept a continual scissor motion, the cut line was much smoother.

This was my first cut...

And this was my second...

It got better. I promise. And I wasn't really too concerned, given that the edges would be hidden by the frame.

2.  Using a flathead screwdriver, push the push points in around the frame, spaced evenly. My frame is 11x14, and I used two on the shorter side, and three on the longer side. Depending on your frame, you may have to use a hammer to tap the screwdriver a bit to get them in. Be aware that they are a little thin, so if you apply too much pressure, you'll bend them.

The trick is to get the "point" as flat as possible, and push the perpendicular part toward the frame.

3. Last, but not least, you need to hang your frame! I chose to use a notched hanger, but of course choose whichever method you think is best. This was the quickest and easiest method for me, especially since all I had to do was measure to find the center, then push it in with my own two hands. Easy as pie!

4. Accessorize! Hobby Lobby is my go to place for inexpensive doo dads, and of course they didn't disappoint... I found a magnetic eraser and dry erase markers, which was perfect for this project. Further, a sweet friend of mine had made these magnets for me. Perfect!

And there you have it! I wish it looked this organized all the time, but sometimes it does get a little out of hand. Here's what it looks like right this second...

Some kiddo artwork, a birthday party invitation, and a reminder of why I stay home :)

Hope you enjoyed this! It really is the perfect addition to an office space, or even the kitchen/mudroom/foyer... wherever your home base is. Have fun!

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

What I'm Doing For My Summer Vacation

Y'all. It is our very first real summer in the Kuda household. Miss E finished up her first year of preschool, and starting today, Summer vacay is on!

In that, I'm finding all of these summer bucket lists, and then reading how we're ruining our children by not letting them run free. These are all in the same newsfeed as an article telling me how I should micromanage every single moment of summer to make sure it's the BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

Oy vey.

Being the Type A person that I am, I had even gone as far as preparing activities to do with each of the kiddos, by theme, switching them up every other week. Further, I had scoped out every free program, library class, and play date to keep ourselves busy through the summer months.

And then I regained my sanity and decided how we're going to do summer this year. And that's how I came up with...

Throw away the schedule.

Not like when we have quiet time or Mr C's nap. Or heck, I'm not really going to change bedtime. But you know what? The library class can wait. Miss E wakes up every morning, asks what day it is, then asks me, "What do we do on ____?" And the answer, aside from vacation weeks, has been the same each and every week day since September. The only things we will stick to as far as the kiddos are concerned are the classes we have already paid for, which will only go through June, and the two week-long camps Miss E is signed up for (and let's be honest, who wouldn't want to go to a Princess Ballet Camp? That's what I thought.). Not only am I throwing the schedule away, I'm throwing the ball into their court. That being said...

Try to say "yes" more. Yes to "Mommy can we have dessert for snack?" And Yes to, "Mommy can we paint with chalk?" And Yes to, "Mommy can we go on a car adventure?" I got that one the other day. Yes, honey, we can.

"Mommy, can we go for a walk in our pjs?

Read more books.

This Spring I ended up reading more books than I have in the past year. They were really good (Highs included Something other than God, Surviving Motherhood, and I jumped on the The Fault In Our Stars bandwagon. Worth the hype.), and I just feel like I'm starting to get my cognitive groove back after having E and C. A couple I have my eyes on are Dinner: A Love Story and What Alice Forgot. There are others, but I'm not making any lofty goals this summer. And that brings me to...

Don't make any lofty goals.

I have started umpteen crafty crafts for the new house, and none of them are complete. It's driving me bonkers. And while I do think there's something to said for a little list to help a girl get going (you'll see more of that on an upcoming post), I'm not going to fret this summer about them. Projects will get done, pictures will get hung, walls will be painted. Eventually.

Go outside. A lot.

I'm finding the more time we spend outside, the more time I get to see the kiddos do things they wouldn't necessarily do by themselves. Mini hikes in the woods behind the house, scavenger hunt for critters, etc. They pushed rocks in our driveway with miniature rakes for forty-five minutes this afternoon. FORTY-FIVE MINUTES. And later? Miss E told me her favorite time of today was playing with rocks with Mr. C. Go figure.

And there you have it. Nothing epic. Nothing earth-shattering. We will relax this summer, and leave the rigorous schedule for later.

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

Spring Decor (For the Love of Bunnies)

Have I mentioned how happy I am that it's finally Spring? Like the real Spring, that doesn't include inches and inches of snow?

Because I am. I AM SO HAPPY!

This. This was a month ago.

Like as in the month of March. In Virginia.

Nothing like combining one of the most snowy winters in Virginia's history with a move to a place you don't know many people, and throw two littles into the mix. Fun times.

Momma needed some Spring.

And nothing says Spring like some muddy rain boots. And a bunny.

And with the move, and the new house and all, we got a mantel. Y'all! A mantel! I've never had one of those before, so you better believe that I took the chance to decorate the heck out of that son of a gun. Especially after I read this gem with some sublime suggestions about mantel decorating. It was on. AND there will be a TV at some point (the horror, I know) above said mantel. It screamed at me to decorate it.

So, since all some none of our boxes were unpacked, I did the first thing any sane woman who has no friends and has been cooped up in her new house with two babies (and a whole bunch of unpacked boxes) for the longest winter ever does: I went to Hobby Lobby, then to Home Goods, and added in a little Target. And of course, some stuff I already had :)

Ta da!

And here you have it! It's not perfect, but it will do, and in addition to my Spring wreath, it made me oh, so happy, especially during that last bought of snow. That one almost got me (and my sanity).  And what a great base to start from!! Mr. Kuda has no idea that this is just the beginning of my bunny collection. It may become a problem at some point, but for now, enjoy!

I combined bunnies with bunnies. All different sorts of bunnies, and I love each of them...

That tall gentleman? I couldn't capture it on film, but he's COVERED
in glitter. Tall bunny + glitter = WIN

The sweet angel was a gift from a friend as a welcome to this area. She's made from a Civil War era quilt. So homey and sweet and relevant to where we're living now. Love.

Burlap bunnies? I think we have another winner. Thank you, Target!

We got this clock as a gift when we first got married. It reminds me of our fresh start as a newly married couple. It tracks nap times and bed times, and has been a silent observer of the time we've spent in this little life we've created.

As fun as the bunnies are, I wanted to make sure we aren't overlooking the true reason of this Easter season. God has been so good to us, has been faithful to us, and continues to provide us with grace and mercy day after day after day.

So, happy Spring! Hope you can get outside and enjoy the fresh air this week!

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

I Miss My House

Did you know that, until less than a year ago, I had never owned a loaf pan? When we got married, it never even crossed my mind to put it on our registry. And while I can make a mean snickerdoodle, that's kind of the extent of my baking prowess. But when you're home with two kids under three in a neighborhood with postage stamp yards, and you have week old bananas at home, you bake banana bread. Even if you don't know how. Or own a loaf pan. Because you know what? You're pretty sure there's at least one available loaf pan within a 100 yard radius of your house. Because that's how our neighborhood was.

And we made some delicious banana bread.

On the third go around. The first two were too mushy in the center. Rookie mistake.

When God told us to move, I knew we'd be leaving the convenience of a tightly knit 'hood. And we also knew that what we had found was rare real estate gold. All of the best friends we had in VA were within our doorsteps. There were SIX of us pregnant at the same time, for goodness sakes! Our children played with each other from the moment they were born. The women of the 'hood were closer than I ever thought possible. We all depended on each other for one thing or another. Our stay in Northern Virginia was life changing.

We had moved to Northern Virginia as a newly married couple with all the hopes and dreams any newly married couple should have. We left with six years under our belts, two kids, and way more stuff than should ever fit into a 980 square foot home.

There were Friday night drinks (and Saturday and Sunday and Monday, and, well, you get the point) on the front lawn, hot summers with late bedtimes, fire pits, front yard bar-b-q, laughing so hard we cried, babies learning to crawl and walk and talk and play, leaning on shoulders to cry on as we discovered this parenting thing wasn't so easy, being that shoulder for the newly inducted. There were friendships made that will last a lifetime, some that were only for that time in our lives. My love for God grew more furiously than I had ever imagined.

Life Changing.

We knew the move was right, but living in our rental house while the new house was being built was kind of like being on vacation. A really long and difficult and frustrating vacation full of lonely nights, unpacked boxes and bare walls. Although we've been in the new house for SIX WEEKS, it feels like a lifetime, but it's still not mine.

The floorboards don't squeak like they used to when I check in on the kids, except that there's this new creak at the top of the stairs and I hit it every time and Mr. C always hears it, despite how soundly he was just sleeping. The house is so quiet that Copley hears the deer outside and trucks from a mile away that she couldn't possibly actually hear, except that she pretends she does and goes absolutely berserk.  Which she did in our old house, but that was always an indication that someone was just stopping by to say hi or drop off a loaf pan.

This was actually taken the night I went into labor with Miss E. It never looked this clean again.

Now that we're in our forever home, we've realized that it will take ten minutes to walk to the neighbor's house for an egg. Or more like twenty when you consider a toddler and a preschooler and all involved to get the three of us out of the house. Which means we should have just jumped in the car to the store to get a whole dozen of eggs, but then I realize that will just take too long. Note to self: must get better organized with grocery shopping.

I miss my house. I miss knowing how to navigate each room in the dark. I miss knowing which neighbors are home just by the sounds I hear and the sights I see when I open the front door. I miss the sweet nursery we made for Miss E, then changed around to accommodate Mr. C. I miss being able to show up at a friend's house unannounced and accidentally end up staying way past dinner time.

But we were called to leave. We were called here, to be in this place at this time. And though I'm not 100% sure why, I'm 100% sure we did the right thing. I walk around this unsure place, wondering where I'll fit in, when it will feel like home. Then I step outside into the chilly night air and see more stars than I've ever seen from a place I've actually lived in. I watch our kids find adventure in "hikes" through the woods that are their backyard. They discover paw prints and nature trails and see deer and owls and turkeys right at our back window. We sit cozily by the fireplace looking at each other.. how did we get this lucky?

Do I miss my house? Yes. But it's not my house any more. This is my house. The place our children will know as a safe and comfortable and loving place. It is where Mr. Kuda and I will grow together. It is sacred. It is our home.

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda