Sandberg Ramblings

While I was in Utah a couple weeks ago, my new baby before the baby arrived!  That would be my new camera.  I've had so much fun playing around with it and getting ready to take pictures of baby Ames when he arrives. I ended up also getting a 50mm portrait lens that I am in LOVE with. Pretty much all of the pictures below were taken with it. I'm no photographer, and don't plan on being one, but being an art lover, I've always wanted to experiment with the medium of photography and now I can! It's also been really nice to be able to take better quality pictures for this here blog.  I hope you enjoy them! 

Nothing really new to report this week, except for the fact that I ate way too many of these dang pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I made on Sunday. Don't try to console me with the fact that I am pregnant, so it's ok, because it's not. It's just not. :) I've had several requests for the recipe so here you are, but be warned - give most of them away if you don't want to be tempted to eat them all, because you will. They are that good. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies 3/4 cup butter 2 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla 2 cups sugar 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin 3 3/4 cups flour 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. ginger (dried spice, not fresh) 2 tsp. nutmeg 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda 6 oz. chocolate chips Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Add pumpkin. Stir in the rest of the dry ingredients and then the chocolate chips. Scoop spoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 10 min. Frost while warm. C...

I came across these 2 new fabulous blogs this week and thought I would share... They both have lots of fun prints and DIY ideas!  Jones Design Company - go here to get this adorable autumn watercolor download for free! There is also an equally adorable summer version -  Creature Comforts When I find fun new blogs like this, I add them to my sidebar under "Places to Visit" so be sure to check every so often for new finds! 

I registered for 2 of these lamps when we got married and I honestly still really like them, I just don't love them anymore. After a few years I'm just ready for something new, but new lamps aren't in my budget right now with the slew of baby things, so when I found 2 cans of white gloss spray paint in our storage room while packing I knew exactly what to do. I bought 2 spools of black and white striped ribbon at Joann Fabrics and I was off! Just tape of your cord, socket, and switch and start with a light layer of paint. You may even want to start with a primer coat. I didn't want to have to go buy any so I did without, and I felt like it still worked well.  I did several, probably 6 or 7 really light coats, letting it dry about 15-20 min in-between to keep it from dripping.  For the shade I adhered the ribbon around the top and bottom with fabric glue. Because my shade isn't a straight drum shade, and it tapers a bit, the botto...

As I sat watching this beautiful wedding video, it brought back memories of my own wedding day. What an amazing and special thing marriage is and to be able to have that for eternity is an even greater blessing. I have to say, I bawled through half of this video, probably mostly due to my emotional, pregnant state lately :), but I was really touched by the spirit confirming to me the importance of my temple marriage, and now this sweet little spirit we have on the way that will be ours forever because of that choice we made.  I feel so, so blessed, especially at this time in my life for the choice I made to marry Landon. What a wonderful man he is and I can't wait to raise this little boy with him.  If you want to know more about what my beliefs about marriage are you can read more here . 

I've rounded up some of my favorite inexpensive and super simple fall diy crafts for you!  1. Wax leaves to make a pretty preserved garland. | 2. Owl treat boxes - tutorial includes a template!  | 3.  Very easy embroidered wall hangings . Just lightly write the words with white pencil and use this simple backstitch tutorial for the stitch. | 4. Inexpensive foam pumpkins make up this fun garland . | 5. Free Vintage Halloween Printable Roundup - I used this one for my Halloween wreath | 6. Bat Mobile by Martha Stewart.

As I've said before, since we will be moving in about 3 months, our little Ames won't have a nursery for a while. For now I've transformed a little corner of our bedroom into his temporary "mini nursery." The top of our dresser, my sock drawer, and a section of my closet, have turned into a changing table and clothing storage. We're getting closer and closer to being completely ready!   This experience has been really good for me.  I've really been able to focus on what's most important and not stress over things that don't really matter. It's made me cut back and realize what the necessities for having a newborn really are.  I've still had fun making fun little things like the artwork and mobile, but it's honestly nice not to have an entire nursery overwhelming me. Although it would be nice to have more storage space :)  A big thanks to my friend Karissa for letting us borrow her bassinet for a couple months!  Well I...

I'm so excited to share another home tour with you today!  Today's tour is the home of my friend Whitney Lynch.  I grew up in the same neighborhood as Whitney and look up to her both as a designer and mother.  She received her degree in Interior Design from Utah State and was able to do an amazing internship in New York with designer Jamie Drake and was later hired on to the design firm. After living and designing in New York for a couple years, her and her little family moved back to Utah and moved into their amazing home in Daybreak. Whitney still works part time as a designer for Drake Design Associates and is a wife and mother to 2 adorable boys, Maddox and Breaker. She has such a fun and bold design style which is reflected in her gorgeous home. It is another testament that it is possible to have a beautiful and well designed home with small children.  Thanks for letting us take a peek inside Whitney!  ...