Maddie's room is finally finished!

We moved recently into a town-home apartment. Normally, I try to finish Maddie's room first, so it is familiar to her. We put together her furniture and unpacked her boxes, but when it came to hanging her photos and wall art, I was stumped. I just didn't know what to do with all the space. I knew I wanted a decal for above her crib: preferably a peel-n-stick. I found the perfect one at Pottery Barn Kids. Her nursery set is from PBK, so it matches perfectly and best of all it is peel-n-stick and completely re-usable. Next it was just taking what she already had and figuring out what to do. Tonight Jason and I went up to her room and figured it out. I love it! I am also very glad to be done, especially since my mom and sister are coming to visit tomorrow. :)

The view as you walk into her room from the top of the stairs.

Tulip decal

He is Risen! Happy Easter!

Maddie's Easter basket

Maddie looking pretty in her Easter dress.

Oooo... sidewalk chalk!

And bubbles!!!!

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Happy Easter everyone! The Nickels family has had an eventful Easter Sunday. This mornings church service was wonderful. Such a great celebration of our risen Lord. After church, we all went to lunch and then came home. We Skyped with my parents to show off Maddie's Easter dress and basket and then Maddie changed into her play clothes and we went out on our patio to try out her new sidewalk chalk and bubbles. We had a great time playing and then gathered our things to go back inside. This is when our adventure begins... We couldn't go back inside. We had locked ourselves out. We had no phones, wallets and I didn't even have shoes. We ended up going to the hotel next door and using their phone to call a locksmith. He had a very quick response time and after a few minutes, he was able to "break in". We are so happy to be back inside. Hopefully, the rest of our Easter Sunday will be uneventful.

Maddie's first Easter egg hunt!

Maddie's basketfull.

Today we went to my grandparent's house for an Easter egg hunt. We had such a good time. Maddie and her 2nd cousins, Avery and Riley searched all of the ranch and filled their Easter baskets. Maddie was more interested in the eggs than the candy. (Who's child is she?? Just kidding...)

Good Friday

"Then Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, 'It is finished!' And it was. He had done it. Jesus had rescued the whole world." ~The Jesus Storybook Bible

Easter Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies for holidays and special occasions is kind of a tradition in my family. For as long as I can remember, my grandma would always bake her famous sugar cookies. This year, I am baking them (using her recipe of course). I was very excited to start baking. I decided to try my hand at using Royal Icing to add more detail and I think they came out well. Not too bad for a first try! :)

Straight from the oven.

Base coat of frosting.

Finished!

Grocery Coupons Made Easy!

I love coupons, but I hate cutting them out. Today I was very excited to find out that I could get personalized grocery coupons from Safeway. The best part is that they are loaded onto my card! How easy is that?? I can't believe I didn't know about this. If you are a Safeway shopper, all you have to do is go to their website, register your club card and click on "just 4 u". Then you pick what coupons you would like added to your card for the next time you shop. When you are done you can either print the list or have it emailed to you as a reminder of what coupons you added. It is that simple! Yay!

Swimming Video

Sorry about the quality. It was taken with my phone.

Swimming!

We took Maddie swimming today for the first time. She loved it! We started on the steps with some splashing. It wasn't long until we were in the pool and Maddie was kicking away from me. She kept laughing and smiling. It was so adorable. I am very thankful for her little swim vest that helped me keep her afloat while she was trying to get away. :) I think we have a swimmer on our hands. Being a swimmer, this makes me very happy. I am looking forward to taking her back to the pool soon!

A Work in Progress...

I am slowly getting the town-home in order. I am really excited about how everything is coming together.

The living room area. This is what you see when you first come up the stairs from the door. I still need to hang curtains and figure out storage for the tv which is on the opposite wall (not pictured).

Just past the couches is the bookcase which kinda separates the living area from the dining area and it gives Maddie room to play with her toys.

The dining area. Sorry about the mess, but the table is kinda the catch-all right now.

Our beautiful kitchen! We have so much storage space. I have pretty much completely unpacked the kitchen and I still have a couple empty cabinets.

The other side of the kitchen.

Maddie's room. I still have to hang her curtains, pictures and wall art as well as figure out storage for her toys.

Guest bath which is also Maddie's bathroom.

Blogs

I used to only read blogs of people I know. That changed recently when one of my dear friends posted a link to a craft tutorial on her blog. Ever since, I have been addicted to crafty blogs, cooking blogs, and esty shops. I love the creativity of the craft blogs. I found one that is done by a stay-at-home mom in Southern Ca who is also a Christian. I love the craft tutorials she has. You can check out her blog here. I have also come to love the Pioneer Woman Tasty Kitchen blog and have even pulled a few recipes, which were delicious.

I am hoping that after the move (tomorrow is moving day!) I can start trying the craft tutorials that I have been seeing. Then I can post pictures for all of you.

Until then,

-Kel

Packing and more packing...

Well, moving day is in 4 days!!! We have decided to hire movers. I am so happy about this decision. Our new home is three stories. I would have felt horrible about asking family and friends to help us. Now, we don't have to. All I need to do now is... pack! :)