Saintly

Ok, so my little Who Dat feet are still walking on air six months after the Saints' Super Bowl win. Let me repeat dat...

The SAINTS are SuPeR BowL ChAmPIoNs!!

Been dere. Done dat. Got da ring.

(And click here for Jim Henderson's call from Super Bowl XLIV) Chills and tears abound every time I watch it.

And just this week the Saints came marchin' in to our town to showcase all their relics. And you know this little transplanted Who Dat ain't gonna miss dat. So Kendall and I, decked out in our black and gold, swung by to get Daddy at lunch and went to view it all. Kinda like a mecca trip, you know.

Do you see how Kendall is so enamored by even the sight of the Lombardi that she can't even take her eyes off it??...

We stood in line for about ten minutes to see the REAL THING up in person. Here's a quick recap from that night...


And here's the Marine who just with his presence dared you to get too close.

And here it is, Saints fans. What we've been waiting forty-three stinkin, long suffering, baghead years for. In all it's glory...

And it did not disappoint. In case you can't read the engraving at the bottom it reads as follows: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 31, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 17

And here's Mama Who Dat and Baby (redneck with her belly hanging out) Who Dat posing for the ultimate Saints Fan photo opp. (Kendall's still checking out the Marine.)

And let's not forget the NFC Championship trophy from two weeks prior that left Favre"on the ground"...

And here's the closest I could get to an actual Saints Super Bowl ring...

And remember the "Bring the Wood?" (uh, tears just well up!)

Well, here ya go...

And the actual helmet and jersey that Saint Drew wore...

There were some other relics that I oohed and aahed over as well. It just got me all excited again as I think to this coming season when the Saints will REPEAT DAT!

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And while I am on the subject of Saints. Let me just tell you. I just finished reading Drew Brees' book, Coming Back Stronger. And just when I thought I couldn't respect him any more, or revel in the past season more, or be proud of my home town more, or be hopeful for New Orleans' future more, I picked up this page turner. I would love to share some excerpts but I would just end up pasting the whole book into this little blog.

So here's what the back cover says... (with a few of my own tid bits)

In the aftermath of one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history, the city of New Orleans needed a hero.

WHAT THEY GOT WAS A SAINT.

After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, the residents of New Orleans desperately needed something-anything-to believe in. And after being told he might never play football again due to a horrific shoulder injury, quarterback Drew Brees needed a team that believed he could still play...and win.

What happened next is nothing short of providential.

Drew signed with the New Orleans Saints and immediately set to work rebuilding not only his own career but the city of New Orleans as well. Four years later, he led the Saints to their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

A true inspiration on and off the field, Drew has become a symbol of hope-not just to the team and the city he helped resurrect, but to everyone who has ever been knocked to the ground.

Drew's invaluable insights on unleashing the hidden power of adversity are proof positive that with enough faith, determination, and heart, you can overcome anything.

I couldn't be prouder to be a Saints Fan and a New Orleanian.

I couldn't be more excited for this coming year.

And I couldn't be more impatient to get those signed betrothal papers for Kendall and Baylen that I had my people send Drew's people. We're already helping Kendall with her throw and spiral so she can knock his socks off with her talent and beauty when they finally meet.

But until then, GO SAINTS and GO BREES!

Sweet Dreams!

My legal-minded husband can add woodworking and carpentry to his resume.

My friend, Danielle, and I decided that our headboard-less beds needed these awesome headboards. And we surely don't have the money to drop Pottery Barnish digits on one. That's when Danielle stumbled across the most awesome website, knockoffwood.blogspot.com. This fabulous lady gives step by step direction on how to make numerous "knock off" pieces that can be found in pricey catalogs. And we knew we were equipped with all we needed for the project: a good set of directions and two qualified(?) husbands. And it didn't hurt that Keith had access to some big-time, serious tools either.

Gabe and I FINALLY (after waiting all summer plus the eight days since we actually started) got ours installed into the room last night. Here's the result... (I didn't take a before picture, but just envision a mattress with no headboard.)

And another view...
I didn't want to give up my Pottery Barn bedspread that I love when we moved up from a queen to a king. So I bought a cream, quilted cover from Bed Bath and Beyond and folded the PB spread over the bottom third of the bed to give the layered look I adore in all the PB catalogs.

So here's a little breakdown of the process of how Danielle and I (and Keith and Gabe) made these awesome headboards.

Step 1 - Send the kids to respective grandparents' house for the weekend.

Step 2 - Chat over coffee and doughnuts while husbands make first of five trips to Home Depot armed with needed materials list.

Step 3 - Devise Plan B when you realize that MDF boards are too big for the table saw.

Step 4 - Cut all wood to specifications after making a makeshift saw horse from two rubbermaid bins. Build up enough nerves to use the saw yourself. (Too bad there's no picture for that!) And learn new carpentry terminology in the process, such as miter saw. (miter saw (n): a saw that cuts wood pieces as various desired angles, such as 45 degrees needed to make corners)

Step 5 - Leave husbands hard at work to go rebuy non-primed molding (Home Depot trip #2) and get batting (that had been overlooked the day prior). Stop to pick up a pizza for lunch.

Step 6 - Take a lunch break from all the hard work and heat.

Step 7 - Realize that molding, though unprimed, is still not right. Save it to frame out bathroom mirror (oh, did I not tell Gabe that was also on my list??) , and make another trip, this time to Lowes (trip #3), in the rain to hopefully get the right stinkin' molding.

Step 8 - Praise our husbands on their craftsmanship. Ooh and aah over the beautiful headboards that will soon be in our rooms.

Step 9 - Find molding our husbands had cut precisely while you were gone (and made trip #4 to get enough) to frame our bathroom mirrors for a luxurious, spa-like effect.

Step 10 - Cover plywood with expensive batting that had been over measured and overbought.
(Note massive wad of "extra" in background. Mine was equal in size.) Realize that a bench for the foot of the bed can be made so save the batting for it. One day.

Step 11 - Carefully lay chosen material (in this case, canvas) over wood and batting.

Step 12- Recruit a friend and two husbands to help staple gun the fabric on the back to get a clean, tight look as this...

Step 13 - Haul the pieces back home.

Step 14 - Spend the next week sanding, staining and sealing while hubby is at work and toddler is sleeping.

Step 15 - Have husband bolt fabric covered plywood into the inset of the headboard. (This will include lying on back on garage floor for your hubby. You'll need to apply pressure from the top.)

Step 16 - Raise headboard up only to realize that the wood screws are too short when the fabric slides right off.

Step 17 - Make 5th and final trip to the HD to get longer wood screws. Promise your toddler a snowball only to realize that the stand is closed on Sundays.

Step 18 - Repeat step 15 using correct wood screws.

Step 19 - Stand it up and admire all your hard work.

Step 20 - Put toddler to bed. Help husband move 500 lb headboard into bedroom.

Step 21 - Use $15 fancy hook thing to help keep headboard against wall (just an added measure of safety).

Step 22 - Make the bed at 9:30 at night to get the full effect and realize that it's PERFECT!

Step 23- Congratulate each other for tackling a new project and realize how proud you both are of your work. Then briefly consider what you could make next. Nix the idea, at least for the night, and enjoy a celebratory bowl of Lucky Charms.

Step 24 - Tell your husband how awesome he is one more time as you both fall asleep with visions of a new headboard dancing in your heads.

Designer Mama Strikes Again

So... what does summer time, an addiction to DIY blogs, very little spendable cash and a mother and toddler desperate to get out of the house equal? A trip to Hobby Lobby! (And lunch at Wendy's for Kendall)

I had this inspiration picture in mind on our field trip yesterday. (Actually, I had several little inspirations rolling around in my head, but this is the one I lucked up on.)

Cruising the 90% off isle (ooooh yeah!) I stumbled upon a gold mine...

Oh, yes, my bloggers, I actually bought this stuff...for a STEAL! Do you see the beauty just ready to be unleashed in these lovelies? And when I say, steal, I mean it. Check out the proof:

As soon as we were home and Kendall was down for a nap I got busy painting, stenciling and gluing. All the while I was contemplating which pictures I should use for my newly acquired photo collage. We had just gone to the beach and I have eleventy billion snaps of Kendall in the sand, but I hadn't ordered any off Snapfish yet, and I had ants in my pants to do this project. Plus, I wasn't going for a beachy, nautical theme anyway. A few minutes later I went to the mailbox and found these...

Seriously, can you buh-lieve it?? What are the chances perfect pictures would literally just fall into my lap? Gabe was in his cousin's wedding a few months ago, and they thought these pictures were so irresistible and adorable (her words, not just mine) that his cousin and new wife ordered them and sent them to us! Perfect! And I was blown away by their thoughtfulness and generosity.

After all the prep work was done I laid them out on the ground a dozen different ways until I found a grouping I liked. Then, I traced all the frames on a big piece of paper. Next, I marked (after measuring) where each nail should go. I taped the paper on the wall, and hammered the nails in right over the paper. Once they were all in place, I gently pulled the paper off, and presto, my nails were all exactly where they needed to be! (a blogger tip I learned recently). You can't see my pencil drawings well in this picture, but you can kinda see the nails.

And the final result...

I added a few other pictures I had taken from the wedding to fill out the collage. (And, yes, there is a coffee table shoved against the wall in our bedroom. It's all part of the child proofing thing. I didn't want to part with it since Gabe bought it for our new apartment when we got married, but it's too dangerous to keep in the den right now. So there it sits, waiting patiently.)


A little closer up...

There you go, my friends. $22 dollars later. And I have scratched my home decorating itch for the day. What next? I'm in a black paint mood lately. I've painted a shelf, two stools and these frames black lately. No telling what Gabe will find painted black when he gets home each day.

Gabe's ready for me to get back to my job. Yes, dear, summer's almost over.

Beach Pictures

Beach Fun

We were blessed again this summer with another all-expense paid trip to SanDestin for the Bar Convention. All Daddy had to do was work a few hours a day while the girls played and soaked up a few rays. It was such a blessing to get away for a few days. And this year, Aunt Julie (aka JuJu) tagged along with us! Kendall doesn't let JuJu out of her sight, and I know she loved having her come with us.

As expected, Kendall was apprehensive about the waves and water. She had to get re-acclimated to them, and that took a while. Like, three whole days. She finally was willing (with lots of coaxing) to stand on her own with the water up to her ankles. But no further!

She had much more fun playing in the sand, which is surprising to me considering her OCD cleanliness tendencies. Flecks of dirt and/or items placed improperly away are enough to send Kendall (and Mommy) into orbit, but sand is different. It's fun to play in, and the mess just comes with the territory on this one.

Notice how Kendall never takes her eyes off the water even when she's safe (?) in Mommy's arms for a photo opp.

Here, too, safe on land.

Hmmm...this picture is from the third day, the infamous Kendall-Waded-Up-To-Her-Ankles Day. Notice the hint of a smile. There's hope yet she'll become a beach bum like her mama.


Unlike the surf, this little fish LUHVED the pool. Seriously, this fishy hearts the pool! Daddy threw her in the air countless times. Daddy wore out way faster than Kendall (who was up by 5:30 am EVERY morning. HOW??!). Seriously, she just ran laps between the kiddie pool and the big pool where Daddy was on call to catch her.

And Mommy pulled a few pool shifts herself (though Daddy Time was WAY cooler).

Kendall had two other favorite activities while on her trip: her first bike ride, which she thought was cool, (and I'm sick I don't have a picture of her and Daddy on the bike since I was shopping and dropping at the outlets) and numerous rides on the resort tram, or as Kendall referred to them, the bus. She loved the bus! This stinker got such a kick climbing aboard and just cruising the resort. Hey, it works for us! We got to take a break, and sit in air conditioning.

Judging from SanDestin, you'd never know there was an oil spill going on in the gulf. We did see a Coast Guard helicopter hovering the shore lines and some new clean-up hirees combing traipsing along the beaches looking for specimens or samples or anything that looked cool to them (ala their body language). It is just devastating to think of the magnitude of it all. And I refuse to be so self-centered as to think only of how this spill could potentially alter my beach vacations in the future. My heart breaks for those whose livelihood depends on those waters. The sheer magnitude of it all is overwhelming to me. A friend of mine is working closely with the spill through her job, and she reminds me that we need to continue to pray, asking God to give wisdom to the workers who desperately are looking for a solution. Through this all I am reminded of how little I can control in my life, my surroundings and my circumstances. Again, I choose to rest in and rely on the majesty and provision of my God who created those waters. What a reassuring thought that in the midst of the storm, HIS anchor holds.