Happy Saturday!

It is a gorgeous day in Michigan and I spent the morning helping my brother renovate his house- my happy place! It’s been so fun working with him the past few weeks and we’re so close to having his home move-in ready. I will definitely have to share a post in the future with before and afters- talk about 70’s EVERYTHING. It’s been a huge transformation!

BUT, You’re probably here for another adoption update, and I SO wish I had something to share. However, week 11 consisted of NOTHING. Not a single adoption thing. It’s been nice not to be so mentally focused on it, but at the same time I’m getting antsy. We are STILL waiting for the state clearances and we’ve been given no timeline as to what that looks like.

Thankfully, I have such a peace about it (which is unusual for me). I know it’s in part because of your prayers and God’s grace! We know His timeline is supreme and that everything will come together when the right baby is ready for us. Until then, we wait.

SO, I decided to change it up a bit and go back to the ‘old’ days and do a decorating post! I redid our entry way back in January but haven’t shared it with you yet! Way back then, I mentioned how I felt like our little mail/key holder seemed too small on the entryway wall. It was a quick ‘fix’ for the wall when we moved in, but the more I lived with it, the more it felt like the wall was swallowing it up. It just didn’t ‘fit’.

I browsed Pinterest and had several ideas in mind and set out to various stores. Looking back, I had too many ideas in mind which made it extremely difficult to figure out which direction to go. I bought several items, and returned them all. Then I bought some more, and returned even those. For me it was almost a process of elimination- the more I tried in the space, the more refined my idea became.

I had some ‘musts’ in mind too: I still wanted a place for mail/papers along with keys. I also didn’t want it to look too cluttered, but I also wanted it to ‘fill up’ the wall.

After MUCH searching, I finally found this piece at Target- it met my needs: a place for mail/papers AND hooks for keys. Plus it was cute, ‘big’, and would pull in the ‘wood’ from other accents in our home.

I brought it home and held it up against the wall- I liked it, I really did, but it still felt a bit too narrow on it’s own. I wanted something that mimicked the length of the cabinet. I held onto it and kept looking.

Greg and I randomly went to Michael’s one afternoon (back when you could freely go to stores :)) and I happened upon this framed chalkboard. From what I could tell it seemed super close to the same height/width of the mail organizer and the wood tone seemed similar. I held my breath hoping it would work and purchased it. (Bonus, it was 50% off plus I got my 15% off teacher discount- such a steal!)

We got home and I immediately compared the two- and I couldn’t believe it- they were perfect together!! I had Greg drilling within minutes and this was the finished product. It. Was. Perfect.

I loved how it filled up the space but also wasn’t too cluttered. I added the green plant as it need a ‘pop of color’ and greenery is my go to. I LOVE this plant– it’s fake, but looks so real. Another great Target find.

Our entryway now feels complete. It ended up being a bit more difficult to solve this space than I would’ve thought, but sometimes the challenge helps you love it all the more when you’re done.

Beyond that, there haven’t been too many house projects (except the nursery) in the past few months as we are pinching pennies! As we head into week 12 of our adoption journey we aren’t sure what to expect, but as always we’ll keep you posted. Thank you for your continual love and support as we walk this road!