I have clients all the time complaining to me about finger prints and hand prints from their little ones on the walls… I wonder if something like this would work as a temporary fix (and cover) for some areas… like a mud room or hallway. I’m sure they make a pattern that isn’t quite so bold…
Love this bathroom. Simple, clean, and beautiful.
Clients also ask me what to do with their big stair landing and window… this is a great idea! Gotta love more storage!
What a great cabinet color for something different!
Love these colors for an updated french country…
Fun DIY idea… those pesky tv walls and what to do without having to spend a ton of money paying for a built in cabinet… this would be great for an apartment or rental.
Love this idea for your kids… what a sweet thing for them to have someday when you are gone.
What a great idea for kids when you are traveling. No fighting and so organized!
This would probably my choice of bridesmaid dress color if I was getting married now.
I still really want to wrap my Christmas gifts like this this year… but seriously I might just need to take a week of no sleeping to get all of this done!
Well… it’s already been a half of a year. What the heck. Time can slow down anytime now! We had a great month with the little man. This was probably our most challenging month so far, but also the most … Continue reading →
I am always looking for new ways to organize, and if there is a way to organize and make it look cute at the same time, even better! If you haven’t had a chance to go over to the blog, … Continue reading →
Another fun and exciting month! Every day Louie gets more fun… so interactive and such a personality! Louie had lots of 1st’s this month… it was hard to capture them all but here are a few shots: Louie spent a lot of … Continue reading →
A somber day it is today. Remembering the events that took place a year ago today. The emotions, the sadness, the helplessness. Sometimes it feels like this year has flown by, and sometimes it feels so long ago.
A year ago today we found out we were pregnant.
A year ago today we found out our aunt was taken from us in a horrible act of violence.
A year ago today, our lives changed forever.
The helplessness we felt for my cousins… the sadness we felt for our loss… the overcoming joy we felt for our new gift. Oh it was an overwhelming day.
But that day changed me. It changed Charlie. And we take from it the things we need to be thankful for.
I am so thankful my cousins have been so strong through all of this. Knowing its ok to cry, and knowing its ok to laugh.
I am so thankful for my family… the way everyone pulled together and supported each other through all our sadness.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to support my cousins and the relationships we have built with them. Being able to have a home for them when they need it helps me feel like I am honoring my Aunt and all she did for me while she was alive.
I am so thankful for my baby boy… I truly feel he was a gift from God and my Aunt.
I’ve come across a few quotes and a song that has really stuck out to me this past year.
This makes so much more sense to me then the saying, “God only gives you what you can handle.”
I know my aunt would want all of us to remember this…
My aunt loved Whitney Houston. I too have always loved her music and had almost all of her songs. One song I hadn’t heard of hers, one of her last recordings, is a song I heard once my aunt had passed. The words of this song seem to have been written for my cousins. I can just hear it being sung to them when they are feeling down.
I didn’t Know My Own Strength, Whitney Houston
Lost touch with my soul
I had nowhere to turn, I had nowhere to go
Lost sight of my dream
Thought it would be the end of me
I, I thought I’d never make it through
I had no hope to hold on to
I, I thought I would break
I didn’t know my own strength
And I crashed down and I tumbled, but I did not crumble
I got through all the pain
I didn’t know my own strength
Survived my darkest hour, my faith kept me alive
I picked myself back up, hold my head up high
I was not built to break
I didn’t know my own strength
Found hope in my heart
I found the light to life my way out of the dark
Found all that I need here inside of me
Oh, I thought I’d never find my way
I thought I’d never lift that weight
I thought I would break
I didn’t know my own strength
And I crashed down and I tumbled, but I did not crumble
I got through all the pain
I didn’t know my own strength
Survived my darkest hour, my faith kept me alive
I picked myself back up, hold my head up high
I was not built to break
I didn’t know my own strength
There were so many times
I wondered how I’d get through the night
I thought I took all that I could take
I didn’t know my own strength
And I crashed down and I tumbled, but I did not crumble
I got through all the pain
Oh, I didn’t know my own strength
My faith kept me alive
I picked myself back up, I hold my head up high
I was not built to break
I didn’t know my own strength
I was not built to break, no, no
I got to know my own strength
In memory of my Aunt, Stephanie Maxam. You are always on our minds, thank you for being our Guardian Angel.
I really love this bed… a twist on the oh so popular upholstered headboard…
Cute new chair from Ballard Design… I’m really starting to dig their upholstery line. Such a great price!
So funny when I come across things that I showed interest in before… just saw that I had pinned these pendants and now we are possibly using them in a clients home!
Love this! I had to share! A new app for your phone where you can photograph your children’s artwork, and then have it made into a book to keep later!
I LOVE this for a nursery! Sooo cute and soooo easy!
Getting ready to start planning a baby shower- and we are going to have a baby pool. This is a cute way to do it!
Love these sunglasses! So girly 🙂
Louie’s Grandma Bena just bought him these Sperry’s, and they are by far my favorite shoes so far. You really do get what you pay for… they fit so well, easy to get on, and STAY on!
Don’t these look yummy? Definitely going to have to try this recipe!
That’s it for this week! Until next time, happy pinning 🙂
Today Charlie and I celebrate 2 years of marriage. I cannot believe it has gone by this fast… but at the same time it feels like we have been together forever! (we dated for 4 years before we were married)
Our wedding was one of the biggest and most important design projects of my life. It’s amazing how much event design and interior design go hand in hand. You have to use space planning, color coordination, think about texture and lighting… fabrics, “accessories”… the list goes on and on. I loved every second of planning our wedding. I knew I wanted it to be a night we would never forget… something we would talk about for years. And I had 15 months to plan it.
In honor of the anniversary of the best day of my life, I thought I would share with you some images from this special day.
The beautiful flowers and our unity candle on the altar of the church
The Aisle candles and flowers
Wreaths on the church doors
Handmade programs for the ceremony.
Walking out of the church after the ceremony, such a happy time!
We made our guest book out of our engagement pictures. It was nice to be able to have something we could keep on our cocktail table so we could go back and look at all the nice messages everyone wrote to us.
One of my favorite details. We placed the place cards for our guests on beds of carnations. We had 2 large tables right when you walked in…. I loved the statement it made!
I love being able to share family pictures at a wedding. And I was also able to share my bridal portrait, done by the fabulous Gregory Rademacher.
I loved our wedding cake. Dorothy Ann’s Bakery in Woodbury made it for us and I think they did a great job!
My Dad loves to make his own wine and has been doing it for many years. He was kind enough to make all of the wine for the dinner. The labels were custom designed by graphic designer Zac Wand of Graphic Executions. (so lucky to have him as my brother-in-law!)
I was absolutely in love with our head table. Lit with candlelight and large candelabras, it really set the romantic tone I wanted for the ballroom.
Something most people do for the head table, the bridesmaid bouquets used as centerpieces.
I loved The Depot because of this ballroom. It’s so architecturally beautiful but still has a hotel connected so we didn’t have to worry about people driving!
And finally, our monogram shining on our dance floor!
It truly was the best day of my life. every detail turned out just the way we wanted it, but more importantly we were able to celebrate our love with the most important people in our lives.
Saying our vows to each other
I love this picture, isn’t my hubby handsome?
Happy anniversary to the best husband ever! Here’s to 2 years, and so many more to come!
I cannot believe my baby boy is 3 months old! I’ll probably say this every month, as I just never fathomed it would go by this fast!
We had another fun and busy month. It was hot hot hot in Minnesota but Louie sure was a trouper! (he must have some of my Texas blood in him!)
We made our first road trip to Kansas in August to visit our “Kansas Family”. Louie did so good in the car… slept the whole way. We had to wake him in Des Moines while we got gas so he could eat and get changed. While in Kansas Louie had many firsts… Ate his first Quintons (well sat next to us while we ate), went for his first swim in Auntie Hillary’s pool, had his first crush (he wouldn’t take his eyes off Liz Liz all weekend!) and met Daddy’s buddy Jason who was very sweet and went from a big strong baseball player to a total softy talking to us about how wonderful parenthood is. Such a sweet guy. Hillary’s mom and dad Gary and Debbie (aka Grandpa and Grandma Kansas) watched Louie for us so mommy and daddy could have fun at the pool party!
This month Louie also got to hang out with his buddy Connor Moy, who is only 6 weeks older than him. We laid them on the floor together and Louie immediately connected arms and wouldn’t let go! Steph and I were laughing so hard!
We worked hard this month on tummy time… and being on the floor so Louie could start figuring out how to move. He does really well on the ground, normally puts up with it for 20 minutes or so. We practice rolling and strengthening his neck while he is on his tummy. He is SO much better now then he was at the beginning of this month!
We spent lots of time visiting family…
Time with Grandpa!
Hanging out with his cousin Bayla while watching his cousin Ari on the rides at the MOA
Lots of Uncle Brian time!
We met a new friend this past week too! My friend Kate, who is one of my old roommates, had her first baby Aven Hope. Louie and Aven are 12 weeks apart. It was amazing to me to see the difference in size between the two! I can’t believe Louie was that little!
This past month has been so fun. Louie is so interactive and full of smiles! His facial expressions crack me up 🙂
Louie is getting to be such a big boy! Love this little man more and more every day!!!
Louie’s 3 Month Stats:
Clothes: 0-3 months are starting to get packed up now that he is 12 weeks. Most things fit width wise, but all of his onesies are too short as well as any pjs with footies.
Diapers: Still size 1, but going to switch to size 2 once we use up the size 1s.
Food: Formula! Eating 6oz. bottles every 3-4 hours
Sleep: Sleeps through the night now! Goes down between 8 and 9pm, and sleeps until 7am.
New Developments: Talks all the time! Can hold his head up now when doing tummy time. Learned how to splash with his feet in the bath tub. Can stand for about 10 seconds while holding mom or dad’s hands. Squeals when he laughs… haven’t quite gotten a solid belly laugh yet.
Likes: Loves to watch tv (uh oh). Loves to look at chandeliers and fans. Very ticklish! And now loves to play patty cake and sing itsy bitsy spider.
I cannot believe another month has gone by! It amazes me every day how much he changes. I never expected it to go this fast 🙂
Louie has had a very active 2nd month! Lots of traveling, meeting new people, being on the river, at the pool, the cabin, he is such a good baby we have been going non stop!
The weekend after the 4th of July we were able to celebrate Great Grandpa Jaeb’s 80th birthday! It was so fun to see my Grandpa hold Louie, his first Great Grandchild! He hasn’t lost his touch, that is for sure!
Great Grandpa Jaeb giving a kiss to Louie 🙂
4 generations of Jaebs!
1st attempt at sitting in the bumbo chair!
Such a happy boy in the mornings!
1st week of really smiling!!!
Louie is lucky to have 3 beautiful older cousins to play with already! They have been so good to him, love helping us hold him and even help him keep his passy in!
Ari being a good babysitter for Louie!
For Auntie DD’s (my sis-in-law Diane’s) 30th birthday we went to LaCrosse and spent the day on the river boating around. Louie did so good being on the river for 7 hours. It’s a little tricky at times making sure he is shaded at all times but with his hat, blanket, and an umbrella we did pretty good! Louie’s cousin Kaylee was good about sharing Grandma and helping to play with Louie.
Grandma Bena taking care of Louie and Kaylee helping to keep him company!
Every week Louie’s Papa helps take care of him so I can work. Sometimes all by himself because Grandma Kay is working! I think Louie is going to grow up watching old western movies and lots of sports!
“Papa” hanging out with Louie
Louie is so good when taking baths! He now smiles and coo’s, as long as he is covered and warm 🙂
One of Charlie’s closest friends, Matt Hickey, came to town last week. He is currently serving for our country in Afghanistan and was home on a 10 day break. Matt took time during his short visit to come and visit the little man, it definitely made our week! He brought Louie the cutest REI fleece jacket and onesie, definitely want to use it when we make our trip to Alaska to visit him when he is back home!
Matt holding Louie for the first time 🙂
People often ask us where we got the name Louie. Well, there is this little boy who Charlie and I have known for a long time that we have always loved… the perfect combination of a polite little man, and all boy racing dirt bikes since he was a really little boy. His name is Louie, and we have always said we were going to name our first born son Louie because we liked his name and him so much! It also helps that one of Charlie’s best friends nickname is Llewie, so it was an easy choice for us! We got to celebrate Louie’s 8th birthday with him, and watch him and my brother Nicholas race around on dirt bikes. It was a great night!
Louie and Louie meet at last!
And here are a few more pics from the past month!
Uncle Nick holding Louie! I think Nick will be more excited when Louie can play video games with him 🙂
Grandma Maria loves being with Louie. She feels like she is missing out if she goes more than 5 days without seeing him! Needless to say this boy is VERY loved 🙂
I promise to only post about our darling little son every so often- hoping to keep it to once a month 🙂 (I apologize now for the long post- who knew how many things you could do in a month with a little baby?!) But I will say he is a big reason why Bria Hammel Interiors exists. I have always wanted to be able to stay at home with my kids once I finally had them, but I also knew that I could never give up my passion for design. Thanks to my loving and supportive husband, I am able to do both!
Needless to say this past month has FLOWN by… for how slow pregnancy can go at some times, once the baby comes, what feels like a day becomes a week!
A lot of people have been asking me about our birth story (don’t worry I’ll save you from the gory details) and how things have been going having our little man home, so I thought I would share some special moments and a few images from Louie’s 1st month!
Louie’s Birth:
We checked into the hospital on Thursday evening at 7pm for a scheduled induction due to blood pressure issues. All went well the first night with only moderate contractions, and thanks to sleeping pills we actually got some sleep that night. Friday morning my water was broken at 9am and the pitocin began. Throughout the day everything was progressing nicely, and thank goodness for an epidural, I actually felt ok. Around 4pm Louie’s heart rate started dropping with each contraction, and after a very long contraction (actually 2 contractions back to back) things became a little intense because his heart rate wouldn’t come back up (they said this was due to the pitocin). Thanks to my mom for some Dr. intervention and the help of the wonderful nurses at Fairview Southdale, they were able to get us both stabilized. After 26 hours of labor, giving my body a chance to progress on its own and not succeeding, and with Louie being “sunny side up” and causing horrible back labor, around 8:30pm the Dr. decided a c-section was the best thing for us. 1/2 hour later, Louie was born! It’s an amazing thing, those c-sections… Louie was out in about 30 seconds of the surgery beginning, and 20 minutes later I was in the recovery room.
Our first family picture!
Daddy holding Louie for the first time 🙂
We were so lucky to have my mom in the operating room with us! When Louie was taken by the nurses to get cleaned up Charlie went with him and my mom stayed with me and held my hand while they finished up the surgery!
We were in the hospital for a total of 4 nights, and of those nights we were there, we counted Baby Louie had 42 visitors! The hospital was nice enough to let everyone who was waiting all day in the waiting room come visit us when he was born even though we didn’t get to our room until 10:45 Friday night. He had 14 people waiting to meet him that night! Talk about being a loved little boy 🙂
All clean after his first bath in the hospital
Grandpa spending time with Louie in the hospital
Louie having his first visit with “Uncle Llewie”
This is one of Louie’s “hospital pictures”… they are not the same as they used to be!
When we got home from the hospital, we had lots of help from all the grandmas! Our meals were cooked for us, laundry done for us, and house cleaned! I was thinking I should have a baby every month with this kind of treatment! Another HUGE help to us the first week being home was our dear friend Hillary, who seriously acted as a live-in nanny for us staying with us for 4 days when we were home! I don’t know what we would have done with out her, and needless to say she was GREATLY missed when she left!
Louie’s Aunt Diane is a photographer and took his newborn pics! We are soo soo lucky to have her in the fam 😉
Bria Hammel Interiors 