Repurposing a frame

I love the idea of repurposing an item. I think I caught on to the idea and really started making an effort to take on this challenge once I was out of a job and needed to stick to a tight budget. Repurposing is a great way to save money and unleash my creativity!

I purchased an IKEA mirror several years back and it recently broke. I loved the frame so much I couldn't imagine parting ways with it. I carefully removed all of the broken mirror pieces and started gathering up the material I would need to find another purpose for it. I decided to make it into a corkboard for my work space.

I used 4 pieces of cork, a ruler, pair of scissors, glue and a large piece of cardboard from one of our moving boxes. Once I cut the cork tiles down the right size, I glued them onto the cardboard and attached it to the frame.

I love my new message board. It's beautiful and sits right above my work station. It's great for hanging pics, recipes and notes. I'm so happy that I held onto the frame! The corkboard will be with me for years!

Our new home & my uncooperative uterus

The last several weeks have been quite eventful. We've moved to a bigger place with easier access to my husband's kids and a shorter commute to his job. All in all, it's gone quite well. Of course, becoming a new homeowner means taking on the responsibility of fixing any and all repairs! No more easy days of simply calling the landlord when we have a leaky faucet or issues with the garbage disposal. We are homeowners!

There are no more cardboard boxes lying around and everything is officially unpacked. At this point we simply need another sofa and a dining set. Seeing as how my taste differs from my husbands, I think it's safe to assume I'm better off taking on this home decorating challenge solo.

I still haven't mustered up the energy to take tons of new pics so here is just a glimpse....

My little plant pots are busy growing my favorite herbs. I took this pic though when we were still at our old place. They now sit nicely on my window sill in the kitchen.

This is the lovely bottle of wine my bff gave me as a housewarming gift. It's been weeks so I finally got around to indulging in some vino today :)  In the background you can see a portion of our dining area sans dining table. I'm thinking of a square, dark brown pedestal table that seats 6!

This is the only room in the house with curtains actually set up! Some progress is better than no progress! It's a big living room so more seating (and a very large flat screen tv) is needed asap.

I brought these two signs from our previous home and they are now placed on the wall right before you enter the kitchen. I sometimes feel like a short order cook with my 3 stepkids running around so the top sign always rings true. The bottom sign reads, "My home was clean yesterday...too bad you missed it."

I put these collage frames up this weekend and I'm happy with the effect. Otherwise the staircase seems large and kind of cold. I love being able to see pictures of our families every time I head up and down the stairs (which feels like it's about 3,291 x's a day).

I guess that's enough superficiality for one day. On to the nitty gritty....

It's been over a year since my last pregnancy and I always have a worry in the back of my mind that there might be something wrong. Initially it seemed getting pregnant was easy. I did it 3 times in less than 15 months and I was convinced that staying pregnant was the issue. Once my Perinatologist gave me the APS (Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome) diagnosis and a treatment plan I figured getting pregnant would be the easy part. Now I'm on to cycle 12 or 13 or ? since my last loss. I've committed to making sure I make an appointment with my Primary and look into seeing an RE if it's necessary. I'm hoping with all I've got left that it doesn't come down to this. I would love nothing more than to see two pink lines on my hpt at the end of this cycle. A girl can dream, right?

Crafts galore...part deux

Now I'm thinking I should have combined this with the other post. Oh well! I'm ok with being a post whore...

Since my sis asked me to baptize her baby, I thought it would be a nice gesture to give her a gift made by yours truly. I ended up decorating my nephew's name. I purchased the wooden letters from Michaels (local craft store). I also used white acrylic paint, scrapbooking paper, ribbon and glue.

After I painted the back of the letters white, I cut the scrapbooking paper using scissors and an Exacto knife. I then glued the paper to the letters and applied another thin coat of glue.

Once the letters dried I used a staple gun to attach the ribbon. Since I helped paint his nursery I knew what colors would match the walls. These letters will fit perfectly and I'm told they will be right next to his crib.

Crafts galore...

I'm back! I think it's time I get into the swing of things so I'm going to try and make more of an effort to update my blog. Lately, I've been doing a lot of craft projects to keep myself busy.

One of those projects involved a diaper cake for my younger sister's upcoming baby shower. I wanted something simple and classy. I LOVED the end result! I've never done one of these things before...I think I did pretty good, no?

I found a decent video on Youtube that walked me through the process. I used about 70-80 Size 1 diapers, clear bands, rubber bands, ribbon, flowers, 2 baby bottles and a silver platter.

Overall, the diaper cake was really easy to make and so much more affordable than some of the ones I saw on-line. Oh! In case you can't tell, it's for a boy! ;)

New perspective and a sad anniversary.

Two years ago today I spent a good portion of my afternoon in an ER. I was told by the nurse that I was no longer pregnant and I was discharged with a flimsy pamplet. This was my first pregnancy loss and little did I know it wouldn't be my last. I cried this morning for a good while and I realized how exhausting it is to be sad all the time.

For the last few weeks I've worked really hard at trying to be a bit more positive and allow myself to relax. This blog was intended to be an outlet for some of that sadness. Now I'm thinking that I don't want to live my life dwelling on tragic, uncontrollable events and what should-have-been.

So, with this new perspective comes a change that will be reflected in this blog. I plan on including not only my TTC struggles but bits and pieces of me and my life. I have a lot to be grateful for and it's time I put those things (and people!) front and center :)

Hope...or what's left of it.

"It's hard to wait around for something that you know might not ever happen, but it's even harder to give up when it's everything you want." -anonymous

     The title of my blog is difficult for me to remember and, at times, even harder to live by. I chose it to remind me that hope stays alive as long as I make the effort to nurture the little bit that's left. My desire to be a mother has been my lifelong dream. Two years ago when my husband and I decided to start a family, I never realized what a difficult road it would be. Three pregnancy losses later, I am still trying to recuperate from the toll my miscarriages have taken on my well-being. The need to express myself and put into words my sorrow (and the last traces of hope) is the driving force for this blog.

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey." -Kenji Miyazawa

Stand by. My blog is still a work in progress :)