Spring Breaking

     Davis and I have had the best time these past few days just hanging out and being lazy! I thought I might take him to day care a couple of days so I could run errands and sit in the silence (#momgoals), buuuuuttttttt I kept him home…because one day he won’t want to hang out with me all day.

    In spite of the name, our spring break has been bitterly cold. There is no playing outside around here…and our trip to Target earlier nearly gave me pneumonia. We’ve stuck to indoor activities like coloring in a box, talking about the potty, and reading all. the. books. The upside to being stuck inside? I have gotten lots of laundry done, and Davis’s big boy room is all set up! As predicted, he is so stinking cute in his big bed.

     Cannot. Deal. We did put rails on it, but he’s sleeping so hard he really doesn’t need them (#hegotitfromhismama). I’m still on the hunt for another denim sham to make the end look more full, but that’s more for me than him…clearly. While I was busy working on the bed, Keith was painting and installing shelves in the closet. When we moved in, all the closet bars and sleves were weirdly low…like barely taller than me. You wouldn’t think it would be a big deal, but it makes the closets feel so tiny and cluttered. The dingy paint was not helping either. I’ll work on taking pictures when he wakes up.

     The downside to this update? Our cute little front bedroom is once again a junk room. I’ll have to get in there and do some serious work. It’s a really glamorous combo of crib pieces and Davis’s old furniture and all the stuff that vomited out of his closet. I am the eye-rolling emoji right now. I will not work on taking pictures of that.

     I’m going to leave this stream of consciousness with the list of posts I keep telling myself I’ll write:

• Dining room update (a REAL one…spoiler alert: I bought a new plant)
• Davis’s room
• Our closet
• A living room update (a REAL one)

     I started this post yesterday, but now that it’s Friday, I’ll link it for Friday Favorites and call it done! Happy weekend!

Friday Favorites

     It’s Friday, it’s summer, the baby is napping…it’s a good day!  I’ve been meaning to post about some of my newest favorite things, but Davis doesn’t like for me to use the computer (or read or watch tv or eat snacks or sit on the furniture…#toddler) while he’s awake. 

     A few weeks ago I was busy scrolling through Instagram, when I noticed that one of my friends posted the cutest stamped cuff bracelet.  A quick snoop later, and come to find out, her sister-in-law makes them!  I’ve seen lots of cuffs, and have been drooling over them for awhile now, so this seemed like perfect timing!

     The shop is One Young Artisan, and Jeannine was so sweet to work with!  There were tons of cuff and plate options and my bracelets came really fast.  I got one with Davis’s name on it and one with my life verse (Lamentations 3:22), and I’m already thinking through what else I can do.

Can you even deal with this?!
I need this on a bracelet and a t-shirt and a forehead tattoo and every wall in my house!

     I like to pile on the bracelets, and have been wanting some more impact making pieces.  Side note: I’m already laughing at my husband’s face when he reads this… These bracelets delivered in the impact department.  I’m thinking of going skinny and sparkly for my next cuff!

I’ve been trying to make my bracelets match basically every outfit.

     In totally unrelated news, we finally got family pictures made this week.  I wanted to do them in June to coincide with Davis’s birthday and just because the last professional pictures we have are engagement and wedding pictures.  I am getting so excited to get them back and crossing all my fingers that the 6549684% humidity didn’t leave me looking too ratchet.

     I had plans to change Davis’s outfit and adjust some of our accessories, but it. was. so. hot.  I’m hoping our photographer can photoshop out sweat and shiny.  I have high hopes!

I was going for a naturey theme with a bold accent.  Davis wore the sweetest linen overalls…but you’ll have to wait for that!

     I’m going to wrap this up with about 6 minutes left of Davis’s nap.  We’ve got an afternoon of swimming and a weekend of celebrating all of our favorite dads!

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci.

Show and Tell Tuesday: My Style

     Today I’m linking up with Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday.  We’re talking personal style…so this will basically be the comedy hour.  I do not buy clothes very often, and I tend to mix and match things I’ve had for yearssss.  There are things I’m wearing that I’ve had since high school (big eyes emoji). 

     My style philosophy is, “I wear what I like.”  If I’m shopping for clothes, I’m looking at the clearance rack first (sometimes only) and always looking for a coupon or sale of some kind.  I don’t stick to one “style,” and I definitely wouldn’t categorize myself as preppy or boho or hipster or whatever else the kids are calling it these days.

   
The top left is me on any given day.  The shirt was a $7 clearance rack find, and the pants are my trusty yoga pants (not for yoga).
The middle is what I tend to look like at work in the cooler months.  I wear those black skinny pants waaayyyy too much.  Both cuffs are held up with safety pins (shame).
The far right was a snow themed outfit that I wore to convince the weather to give us a snow day…it worked AND a third grader told me I looked like a princess #winning.  Also my top knot was especially alive that day.

     I’m an elementary school teacher, so for work I like things that are comfortable and don’t need to be fiddled with all day.  I rarely use the iron, so an outfit gets bonus points if it doesn’t tend to wrinkle.  An outfit gets double bonus points if it came from the clearance rack.  I may or may not have 6+ articles of clothing from Walgreens…

     
Always accessorize with a baby.  No one will be looking at you.

These pants from Walgreens are everything.  I have three pairs of them, and they are my lifetime.  I wore them until I was literally nine months pregnant…and also now when I am not.

     I like a little of everything…when it’s warm, I wear a lot swishy shorts and tshirts, and when it’s cool I wear a lot of blue jeans and yoga pants.  Much fashionista.

      If I’m feeling a little bland, I add in scarves or jewelry.  Jewelry is a newer staple for me.  I’ve had a lot of what I wear for a while, but it wasn’t until recently that I really started wearing it.  The most embarrassing example of this is a set of silver and gold skinny bangle bracelets that I’ve probably had since middle school (I think they came from Claire’s…I’m hiding my face now!). 

That leopard scarf is my spirit animal.  I wore it so much this fall/winter.  The green shirt came from the men’s department at Walmart.
The shirt, pants, and jacket in the second picture all came from Old Navy (many years apart).
The gray shroud is one of my all time favorite purchases ever.  It came from Kohl’s and is so cozy.

 
 
Fun fact…the day I wore those aviators, the bag boy at Kroger told me I was “swaggin’” #streetcred

     I have two pairs of Kate Spade studs (bought on sale…) and several pairs of knock offs that came from Wal-Mart (for $1 – $3 apiece!).  They make a big statement!  Walmart has been stepping up their game lately in clothes and jewelry.  Are you following Whoa, Wait. Walmart? on Instagram yet? Do it.

 
I almost moved my husband’s deer box thing…but this is real life.  He probably doesn’t like my jewelry out anymore than I like his deer head box.  I did not realize what a problem I had with those studs until this picture…and I know for a fact that there’s a kelly green pair in my purse.  Big eyes. 
I wore that monogram necklace at our wedding reception, and it was one of my favorite parts of our day!

In the past few years, I’ve developed a fondness for necklaces too.  One of my favorites is the tortoise shell links (far left).

     Jewelry is installtion art.  Keith hangs antlers and animals on the walls…I hang jewelry.  Marriage.  All of my necklaces are organized by “theme.”  Aaaaand I feel like a mental patient for admitting that.

     This is my “style” in a nutshell (a large nutshell…coconut shell).  I wear what I like…even if it’s $5 and 7 years old.  I might be tempted to describe all this as “eclectic,” but if we’re being truthful, “mess” is probably a better word!  I’m a fairly confident mess who believes that more is more and anything is a neutral if you will to be so!  I carried a hot pink purse for many months and called it neutral.

     Also to be noted, my husband laughs at my clothes at least once a week, but we can’t all wear scrubs every day…one of us has got to keep things interesting!

Thanks for stopping by, ladies!  Now if we could only go back about 5 years, I could tell you where to get all this stuff!

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

     It is Christmastime in the McGuire house, and I am so excited to show you around!  In my estimation, there are approximately elevnty thousand ornaments, seventy-five nativities, fifteen hundred lights, and three stockings.  We are loving celebrating in our new home, and I have had the best time making everything festive.

I don’t why it is so hard to get a decent picture of a Christmas tree…
This is our first married year with a real tree, and I am in looove!  We put all of our personal ornaments on this tree so I can see them all the time!

     My tree style is definitely “more is more".”  I start with white lights near the trunk then colored lights on the outer branches (and by I, I mean my husband).  Then we do the “stuff ins” – big things that don’t hang.  I’m actually going to Dollar Tree sometime this week to buy giant bows for stuff ins.  I get two of each color and stick them together back to back to make a ball (thank my mother for that one!).  Stuffed animals, books, and stockings work as stuff ins too.  The gnomes live under the tree every year.  They’re a much sweeter alternative to that creepy elf…

This is the  closest you can get to standing in my living room…unless I know you in real live person, in which case, come on!  The shelves don’t actually angle back like that, but there was no way to take a picture straight on without blocking out some of the fun.  This year I left all of the shelf décor and just added the Christmas to it, but I have dreams of filling those babies to bursting with all Christmas!

Our stockings came from TJ Maxx or Marshalls a few years ago, and Davis’ came from Lands End.  I love it so much…I may have gotten a little misty when it arrived.

Two of my favorite nativities.  The others are nestled in the shelves.

    
Silver tree and my most favorite Santa pillow of all time!

     That’s the living room in all its coziness.  If I didn’t live in the most poorly lit house in America, I would be able to show you how glowy it is.  You’ll have to stop by for that.  Let’s back into the dining room and see some more of my favorite things!

    
There’s not a great place to put a tree in here…but I made it work.  This one has more of a color scheme than the living room trees.  Of course I love all of my ornaments, but this one doesn’t have any personal ones.  It does however have Persimmon the Christmas Pig and Hildegard Hedgehog and the best sparkling pom-pom sticks I’ve ever seen.

    
We actually have three ceramic trees that my Nana made.  I have the behemoth and my  mother and aunt each have one.  You can’t really tell from the photo, but it’s pretty giant.  It uses a normal, household sized bulb and weighs at least 48 pounds.
The picture on the right is a wider shot of the dining room.  The apothecary jars came from Marshalls and Target (less than $15 apiece), and all of the vintage glass ornaments (my love language) came from my mother.  That Santa is part of the same kooky family as Milton (the moose on the left), Persimmon (in the tree), and the squirrel (unnamed as of yet) on the mantel.  I also have a Halloween cat, an Easter bunny, a Turkey, and a small cat ornament…and a standing appointment with a therapist to discuss my problem.  Kidding about that last one, but seriously…I’m obsessed.

They’re all Annalee dolls, and I find them at TJ Maxx and Marshalls all the time.  Also, for some reason, the jars look dangerously crooked in this picture.  They’re not…my camera makes everything look tilted.

Merry Christmas from the kitchen.  I have my Christmas mugs out, a tea towel on the oven door, and a few fun tins sprinkled around. 

     This. Is. My. Favorite. Time. Of. Year.  There is not a single aspect of Christmas that I don’t love.  Things are gearing up, and I couldn’t be more excited.  This weekend we had our choir Christmas performance, and I am exhausted and exhilarated.  We sang a new arrangement of “Little Drummer Boy.”  Y’all.  It was so much.  Every time we sing these songs that are so familiar to me, I hear them with fresh ears and get something new out of them.  I love to decorate and “do Christmas.”  Can you tell?  But the real reason I love Christmas is the reminder that He came for us!  As delicate and fragile as a newborn, but no less God. 
     I could fill our house until it looked like a forest, but that wouldn’t make Christmas any more special.  Christmas is special before the decorating.  We celebrate because we have a God that gave himself up for us.  He loved each us before the first Christmas and still today.  How incredible that our joy isn’t over when the trees are taken down and the lights are wound up.  Our joy is an eternal joy because, hallelujah, Christmas can never be over.  A day or a month or a season isn’t how we define Christmas.  We define Christmas by what our God did for us, does for us, and will do for us when He comes back! 

Merry Christmas!

Friday Favorites

     I have got to get on some sort of schedule with this blogging thing.  Every time I post, I’m reminded how much I love it, but every afternoon after work I’m reminded of how much I love turning my brain totally off.  I’ll figure it out one of these days…#imlying.
     But let’s not dwell on that.  I know I’m squeaking this in at the last minute, but Friday is a time for favorites!  Let’s get down to talking about some of my favorites.  This is my favorite time of year, and right now, everything is a favorite, but I’m going to narrow it down for you.

one

     This squishy, little peanut is going to be six months old next week.  He is my favorite favorite.  I can’t even believe that the growling, sitting, squealing, almost crawling wild thing in the floor is the same baby!  He is so fun and so silly and just the best little part of our family.

two

     So this happened…y’all, I can’t even explain how over-the-moon excited he was over this.  Definitely Keith’s latest favorite.  As I type, this guy (the deer, not the husband) is at the taxidermist being mounted.  That’s right, full shoulder mount.  I’m embracing it.  Also, he promised that it could be decorated for Christmas every year.  Welcome home, Rudolph.

three

     No pictures because I was too busy eating everything in sight, but Thanksgiving.  Food is one of my faaaaaaaaaavorites, and the family’s not so bad either.  This year has been so special, and I have been extra thankful for my sweet, little turkey.  As good (really good) as the food is, how much greater is that incredible peace that comes from being thankful?  I have been reminded so much lately of what there is to be thankful for.  Even when circumstances are not what I would prefer or when I’m frustrated or when things are overwhelming, there is always something to be thankful for.  I love carving (see what I did there?) out a special day to be thankful, but every every every day is bringing so much to be thankful for.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Colossians 3:15

four

     It’s been Christmas here for a few weeks now!  All we have left to do is get our real tree (tomorrow).  I am so looking forward to having our first real tree since we’ve been married.  Once everything is all done and lit, I’ll have to get back to you with some pictures.  I have loved having a new place to decorate and am so happy with how everything is looking.  It is so perfect, and every one of my shelves has a sprinkling of Christmas.  What more could I ask for?

     Happy Friday! I hope yours was what you wanted it to be…maybe a little shopping?  Or if you’re more like me…pajamas all day and nonstop Hallmark/Lifetime movies.  Tomorrow we’re decorating my mother’s tree, and then Keith and I are getting ours!  I’m on a holiday high, and I don’t plan on coming down any time soon!

Late to the Party

     I know I’m late to the party on this one, but in my defense, I did start the post yesterday.  I had every intention of finishing it when I got home from work, but then I cooked dinner and went to choir and tried to make sure the house wasn’t in disrepair when our friend came for dinner.  After all that it was time to eat a cupcake and go to bed. 

     Never let it be said that I don’t love a good link up…or a good post idea…or anything to make my posting a little easier.  Today I’m linking up with Shay at Mix & Match Family for “What’s Up Wednesday,” and we’re doing this Myspace survey style.  Does anybody but me remember those?  How long did we spend crafting the perfect answers?

What we’re eating this week…

via

     I’m not some sort of Shay fan girl…I just really like breakfast casserole.  I love them in basically any shape, form, or incarnation, but this one was just different enough from my usuals.  So good.

What I’m reminiscing about…

     There’s pretty much never a time I’m not thinking about the beach.  We won’t be going this year what with our teeny tiny on the way, but there’s nothing stopping me from just looking at the pictures and pretending I’m there.  Rest assured that by next summer (when my baby will be almost ONE…he’s not even here yet.  I can’t even think about it.), I will be speeding down the highway Fast and Furious style.

What I’m loving…

          These pants are my favorite thing I’ve ever bought at Walgreens.  You read that right.  Walgreens.  I now own two tunics and a pair of pants from Walgreens.  (Not to mention my Family Dollar maxi skirt and Dollar General swishy shorts.)  They’re pretty long on me, so I have to wear them with tall shoes, but since I just got the cutest black wedges (with a 30% off coupon) at Kohl’s, it’s like a ready made outfit.

via

     I think everyone in town has these shoes this season.  I’ve seen so many colors of these…and I love them all.  I like these because they aren’t too tall.  Even with my belly making everything unbalanced, I can still wear these easily.

What we’ve been up to…

Funny story…this sign was misspelled until approximately 2 minutes before guests arrived.  My aunt and sister are both smart people and really good spellers.  We still aren’t sure what happened. “Congratulions” Rawr.

     Davis had his first shower last weekend!  My sister and aunt threw the sweetest shower, and Davis got some of the cutest things!  I’ve been able to do lots of his laundry (still fun) and get things organized in his room.

What I’m dreading…

     My kids took their state standardized test this week.  Boo.  I’m not going into some sort of long, drawn out post about how unfair I think these are or how inaccurate, but this should sum it up…

via

I am not a test score…and neither are my kids.

What I’m working on…

Meal planning a month and a half in advance
End of the year activities
Nursery organizing
Sleeping through the night without sweating
Keeping my house clean when all I want to do is sleep

What I’m excited about…

     I’ve officially reached the point where I’m more ready to meet Baby Davis than I am enjoying being pregnant.  Don’t get me wrong here.  I have loved being pregnant, and for the most part I still feel really good.  Now it’s just more exciting to think about meeting Davis than it is to think about being pregnant for four. more. weeks.

What I’m watching/reading…

     I love the end of the school year, but it also signals the end of good television until the fall.  Most of my shows are winding down, and it’s reruns until basically September…boo.  We have been really into Vikings for the past few seasons.  Probably not historically accurate, but you weren’t there…you don’t know…

via

What I’m listening to…

     Back when I had a thirty minute commute, I listened to a lot of radio. (Country if you’re wondering.)  Then whenever I was feeling especially stressed, I would turn off the radio and use my commute as a time to pray for the day…and then again on the way home.  Now I almost never listen to the radio.  I have enough going on in my head.  Sometimes the music is just extra noise.  I do like to listen to my choir music when I walk on the treadmill (or have an especially trying day).  This week it’s “And We Are Glad,” “Who Is Like the Lord?” “There is Power in the Blood,” and “You Never Let Go.”

What I’m wearing…

     Currently, it’s pajamas.  Any other time it’s either my Walgreens pants or whatever else I can stuff myself into…I’ll spare you the pictures.

What I’m doing this weekend…

    We have another shower for sweet Baby Davis!  I’m so excited, and I love seeing people love on him before he’s even here!

What I’m looking forward to next month…

     Are you kidding?  Davis Malcolm will be here (I hope!).  My mind hasn’t reached the point over being over being pregnant, but my whale-like body is definitely slowing down.  We’ll be full term in about a week and half, and then we’re just waiting on Davis!

What else is new…

     Well…blogging more than once every other month lately has been kind of nice.  I forgot how much I actually like writing things down and reading blogs and exercising my brain beyond my weekly television schedule.  I’ve stalled about halfway through my little redesign, but I hope to have a new header soon!

What’s in a Name?

     Today was a typical Tuesday…and it was Tuesday all day long.  For a little fun on this typical Tuesday, I’m linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals (who I just love) for Show & Tell Tuesday.  This time it’s all about names…our names, our babies’ names, etc.

     To start things off, my name (now) is Allyson Butler McGuire, but my maiden name is Allyson Camille Butler.  I know I’m a little partial, but I’ve always liked my name.  Plus, before I was married, my monogram was ABC. Love.
     My husband is Keith Wilson.  He doesn’t go by both ever…but I do call him Keith Wilson a lot, or KW, or Keithasaur (that one’s probably his fave).  I don’t know a ton of Keiths, so that’s nice.  Not just a John Doe.

Finally an Easter picture!

     When we started thinking of names for our baby, we settled on one really quickly.  This could be because I have 4+ names in the old think tank.  I would tell you all of them, but I’m saving them for future babies…so you’ll have to wait.  We were totally settled on a boy name and a girl name, so it was really just a matter of choosing.  Once we found out we were having a boy, the choice was made.  Then when Keith started telling people, he told them the wrong middle name.  It was one that we liked and wanted to use, but not the one we picked…or so I thought.  As it turns out, I started to love the way it sounded, and Davis Malcolm stuck!  There’s no special meaning behind Davis other than that we just love it, but Malcolm is my dad’s middle name and his dad’s middle name (he’s a junior).  Since my dad’s the only boy on our side of the family (until now), we liked the idea of using his name.

I’m not super into name meanings, but I do kind of think they’re fun to look at.
Allyson means noble.  I do have a light up tiara so…
Camille means perfect.  Need I say more?
Keith is apparently a place name of unknown meaning.
Wilson means son of William (which is strong-willed warrior)
Davis means son of David (which is beloved)
Malcolm means follower of St. Columba

     I can’t wait to read about all of your names and baby names!  I’m always interested in what other people choose for names, so I’ll definitely be prowling the link up!