With about one week before my due date, needless to say, I am not doing much these days. I want to share some of my favorite things to do during third trimester that fit into the ‘relaxing’ category!

1. Take a warm bath

This is probably one of the best ways to take pressure of off your growing belly and it can be very rejuvenating. I put a little bit of coconut oil and lavender oil in the water. Make sure the water is not so hot that you have to gradually get into the water.  Skip the glass of wine and grab some chocolate and a good book instead!

2. Watch these series of Ted Talks on Birth and Pregnancy

Sit back in your favorite recliner and watch these Ted talks. I have already started on them and they really give you insight into some of the things you will be experiencing real soon- childbirth! They have actually helped give me a more calming feeling about the whole experience.

3. Shop for baby stuff

This is probably a better idea during the beginning of your third trimester, maybe after you have your baby shower. And don’t forget to splurge on a few new things for that sweet baby of yours. Things you may not need, but look cute!! Easy to do with a baby girl on the way! One of my favorite places to shop for neutral clothing was Old Navy. Although, most of the things I bought were pink 🙂 Usually your registries will send you a completion coupon for some of the things you didn’t receive as gifts. Make sure to use those!

4. Go on dates with your husband

Your family unit started with just the two of you- don’t forget that! Long after the babies are grown and out of the house, it will be back to the two of you. Make sure to not only cherish this sweet time with your husband, but go on some fun dates before that bundle of joy arrives. Make it a useful trip by going shopping for baby furniture and then going to dinner! Or go see a movie in the nice theater with the reclining seats 🙂 Wear a cute maternity outfit too!5. Drink tea

My wonderful sister bought me some of the Organic Earth Mama Angel Baby tea to try and it has been great sipping this while watching some of my favorite shows or reading. They have a variety of types for different stages of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Since I have cut coffee completely out, this has been a great alternative for me.

6. Prenatal yoga/barre

Aches and pains of pregnancy are bound to happen! Doing some gentle stretching with prenatal yoga and barre classes have made a world of difference. I found the dvd on Amazon for $16.99, so there are ways to do this on a budget. All you need is a chair for balance or you can get crazy like I did and install a balance bar. I love barre and this was  a good investment for me. There are some days I can only do about 20 minutes, but that is okay! Your body is busy making a tiny human; you are going to be tired! Do these exercises as you see fit and have fun!

7. Design your baby’s nursery

You may remember my blog post on my full nursery reveal, and I was so glad I got to share this with my readers.  As soon as we found out it was a girl, the planning immediately started. Third trimester can be a great time to get your last minute details together like the essentials for the changing table, washing all the baby clothes, and hanging any last minute decorations. This has been a relaxing experience for me and I can’t wait for baby Savannah to see her room!8. Take maternity photos

Third trimester bellies are perfect for photographs! Just make sure to take them during a time you are comfortable and feel beautiful. I know for me, there was a certain point in third trimester that I blew up! (At least felt this way) These photos are meant to be fun and document your pregnancy.  I hung one up in our nursery above the changing table. Pinterest can be great for finding inspiration for your photos. I wanted to use huge pink balloons for our photo shoot and we asked our sister in law to do the photos for us to save money. 9. Make a daddy survival kit

I didn’t want my husband to feel left out. After all, I am carrying the baby and receiving all kinds of baby shower gifts! His hard work and support mean the world to me, so I wanted to do something special for him. I put together this little Daddy Survival Kit. It was so much fun gathering items like Savannah Bee Company honey straws (reminder of our baby girl’s name and our vacation there), Daddy’s princess outfit with tutu, some camo socks, UK onesie (of course), and some essentials such as migraine medicine and healthy nutrition packs! What other things have you put in your Daddy Survival kits?

Hope some of these relaxing things will make your third trimester just a little better and not as painful! Hang in there mama! Baby will be here soon!

What other relaxing things are you doing to ease your pregnancy?

Thanks for reading!

Kim

It’s a little late, but I wanted to share our babymoon trip to Hawaii. I will say that I am ready to go back! If only the long flight was good for pregnant ladies.

We arrived on Oahu in mid-December and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. About 80 degrees, give or take a small shower or two. We stayed in Wyndham Vacation Resorts and met with the concierge upon arrival. We had some ideas in mind already about what we wanted to explore while in Hawaii. The shark diving tour I will get to…

We ate at Heavenly, this quaint little brunch place the first morning and I have to say, we went back again during the week we were there. Hands down, best food and fresh fruit!

This is Hanauma Bay, best snorkeling spot around! See all that coral near the shore? That is filled with rainbow fish, big blue fish, you name it! I had to be careful with my belly not touching the coral and you watch a short presentation before you can go into the bay to make sure you know the regulations around not touching coral or disturbing the ecosystem.  This is a must-see for any Hawaii-goer! We bought an underwater camera, so our pictures weren’t great, but it preserved the memory for us.

We went to the Kuoloa Ranch and saw where major films have been produced such as Jurassic Park and Lost. Beautiful scenery! We also hiked the Manoa Falls trail. It was a little tricky navigating on wet rocks while prego, but a great workout! Take lots of water!

Make sure to enjoy the Dole Plantation and that pineapple ice cream. A great place to pick up Christmas gifts as well. Lots of chocolate covered goodies, kitchen items, etc.

You also must go to a luau while in Hawaii. We went to the Big Kahuna Luau, which sits on top of sweet potato mountain (according to our bus driver). You can see the view of the island from the top. We went around sunset, so you can see in the picture how beautiful it is.

Shark diving! Our baby is so adventurous! You can see the cage we went into and we were surrounded by about six 10-12 foot Galapagos sharks. After you get over the initial terror of seeing the sharks surrounding your boat, it was one of the best experiences!

I will leave you with these last 2 images, although this blog post could get really long. Rainbows everywhere and here’s me with our baby girl announcement! Little Savannah just kicked- she wants to go back!

The aloha spirit is still alive!

Are you planning a trip to Hawaii anytime soon? I would love to chat! I have so many more things to share!

Mahalo,

Kim

Saturday mornings are the best! Sleeping in, drinking coffee and petting my dog. Visiting the local farmer’s market is also on my top things to do list. The market variety ranges from honey, flowers, dog treats, bbq, fruits & veggies, and includes an artist market as well. I will be one of the vendors next week, so be sure to come shop!

Another opportunity I had was to meet up with a relative for the first time! Lots of community this morning and Blue had a great time meeting new friends.

Here is a little diary in pictures of our adventure this morning:

Here we are on the way. Blue is not sure where we are going!

Blue met a redtick hound and pretty sure he was in love!

I was tempted to purchase the painting in the background here of Keeneland by local artist, Enrique Gonzalez. He has a lot of equestrian art and other local attraction paintings. Blue and I were trying to find some shade!

I met Glenda from Earnest Art and was drawn in by her work. She was selling her son’s watercolor work and she mentioned he is on his third deployment. I was so glad I could support him and their family by buying these beautiful notecards with his original work.

And we made our way home! Time to get home, eat lunch and get to work on some new creations for my booth set up next week at the Lexington Farmer’s Market! Hope you can stop by and shop!

And these peaches are delicious! What local events are going on in your area that you make a point to visit?

Thanks for stopping by!

Kim

For every custom order I am asked to make, my favorite ones are those where I know the piece will keep a story alive or create future memories for the client. I couldn’t wait to share this particular order with you.

It’s a custom grocer sign that recreates the family history behind it. A story about love, family, entrepreneurship and of course, horses! And the part that is most exciting for me is that it is MY family history! This story comes from my Aunt (dad’s sister) and making this sign gave me the opportunity to document it and also reminds me of my journey in this big world! Hope you enjoy this story and it gets you thinking about how you want to document your story!

From my Aunt Mar: Here’s the story, my maternal Grandfather, Charles (Clyde) William Miller, born 1895 – 1966, raised in Ohio County, Rising Sun, Indiana, was in the US Army fighting WWI, in the frozen trenches in France, he got gangrene in his left toe because it was frozen so long. 

After he came home from the war he came to a social over in Ohio and met Alice Katherine Ward, they dated for a long time and later married in 1923 and he moved to Springdale. He then opened a business with his sister Gladys’s husband, Miller & Rose Auto Repair, later they parted and Grandpa opened his own business 2 doors down on Rt. 4 (Springfield Pike) in Springdale. That was Miller Grocer, he had meats, canned goods, breads, all kinds of foods, some auto supplies, some hardware supplies, some horse and buggy supplies (1921) not many autos in the area. 

He later built on to the back of the store a home that he and grandma lived in until he passed in 1966.  The store changed over the years, as he had several surgeries on his foot, getting first his toe, then his foot, then his left leg amputated, the many years later had to have the other leg amputated as well, I remember actually playing standing up in Grandpa’s real wooden legs, Grandma didn’t like it but Gramps didn’t care. He kept the store open until 1954 and then leased it to a bakery, and a couple other businesses, until he closed it completely in 1962 and it sat empty until 1966 when he passed and Grandma sold the property to a bicycle shop and she moved over to the house next door to Mom & Dad on Northfield.  She lived there until 1975 when she passed and the house was sold.

While Gram and Gramps had the store and I was little, I used to “help” Gramps work the store by straightening up the pop in the ice water cooler and strangely after I rearranged them, there was always one that didn’t fit and I got to have that one to drink, amazing.  I did some sweeping of the front steps and mostly Sherry and I sat on the front steps and named the cars that went by, Fords, Chevys, etc. After Gramps closed the store he stayed in his room, never coming out to see anyone, he was ashamed to be an invalid.

He read 30-40 books a month, I would go to the bookmobile once a month and take the old wagon with his books to return and come back with a new batch. He would read to me as long as I could sit quietly, but once I asked too many questions, he told be to scoot. I did.

During his early years, he had the only grocery store between downtown Cincy and downtown Hamilton, people would stop at the Century Inn to rest their horses and spend the night and get all their grocery and farming needs from Miller Grocer right up the road.  It was pretty famous and he had friends from all over coming to get supplies.  He even gave “credit” to some people. When he passed away, he still had the old shoe box with all the “chits” where people still owed him money from the store. He owned 8 different properties in Springdale and sold them off later in his life, he was well respected and loved by many.

I could go on and on, but that’s the gist of Miller Grocer, simple man, trying to raise his family with his own grocery business.  Mom was his delivery person from the age of 11, they took the seat out of the truck and she drove it standing up, taking groceries and supplies all the way to Hamilton. Their kids were Mom 1925, Bill 1928, Jack & Jane 1932 (twins) and later in life Sherry 1944.

Here is a photo of the store-

Hope you enjoyed a little history lesson! Make sure to document your family whether through art or an old fashioned family tree. Do you have other suggestions for how you save your family history? Comment below.

Thanks for reading!

Kim

The one major road block in my current job is remembering that it does not define me or my character. This can be difficult for many people, including myself. After years of college, community volunteering and being an all around ‘good’ person, I thought for sure I would have landed my career job by now. That is just not the case.

A recent sermon at my church reminded me that each job you take is for a reason and somewhere in there you will find a life lesson. For example, when dealing with difficult coworkers, you have just learned a lesson in conflict management. Take that on to your next job interview. If you are a chef in an average job just to pay the bills, remember those skills you will learn to serve your family with delicious, healthy foods.

When I see other colleagues quit because of injustice or they believe they have been treated unfairly, yes they are standing their ground, but how does that decision affect their families? I probably would have already quit about 20 times if this was the right way to go. Could I survive if I quit today, yes. Why haven’t I quit yet to run my business and dive into being an entrepreneur full time?

Here is why you shouldn’t quit your day job just yet:

1. Base salary. Although my job is just a job and I am often treated unfairly and not appreciated, I am helping my family. I am looking ahead to the future while also slowly growing my business.

2. Networking. Simple enough, but showing others I will weather the storm and come out a better person shows a piece of my character. The relationships I have made are priceless! My business may not have even been started if it wasn’t for my current role and meeting others.

3. Learning about your business. My business started out as furniture painting and repurposing. As time has gone by it has evolved into wood art and custom signs. See some of them here. By rushing the process and putting added stress on myself to make money, it may have been a different story! Keeping my day job, I can focus on my business at a slower pace in developing all the pieces to make sure it will be a success.

4. Testing your passion. As much as I would like to think that I would wake up at 5am and begin working full time as an entrepreneur, having only spare time to accomplish my business pursuits tests your passion. Each night when I come home from work, I have the challenge of working more or sleeping! This has been the true test of my business. Working weekends and nights ensures I love what I do.

So take it from me, don’t quit just yet! From my experience, I imagine I will know when I am ready to quit and dive in full time. For now, it is comforting having the family support and network behind me every step of the way. I can contribute to my family income and enjoy my art on the side. To see more about my business and items for sale visit here.

Thanks for visiting and I want to hear your stories on this process! Send me a comment below.

The saying, “who rescued who,” is pretty spot on when it comes to my hound dog, Blue. His journey with us began in response to my husband’s deployment. I never thought he would have such an impact in my life. Until you own a dog of your own, it is hard to truly understand. When I think things can’t get worse, I have these sad eyes looking to me for guidance. Here are 5 things Blue has taught me.

1. Take time for rest. It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day, rushing around trying to get everything done. Blue forces me to stop and relax. Whether it is beside him or by taking a walk. You deserve it and it is good for your health!

2. Love regardless. Blue doesn’t care what I look like in the morning (or my breath!), he doesn’t care what shirt I’m wearing, or what I smell like after working out. He looks at me with a world of possibilities and loves me anyway.

3. It’s okay to be spoiled. Yes! I said it! What is life for if not to have fun and care about those around you by spoiling them! He gets his fair share of treats and attention. He knows he is loved and cared for. That is the best feeling!

4. Talk to people! It is easy to take a walk and pass neighbors without even looking up from your phone. These days we often forget to be human and talk to each other. When Blue runs up without hesitation to say hi to strangers (or dogs!), I have no choice but to meet them. It is fun meeting all these new friends!

5. Look for things in unexpected places! Ok, this one is more of a metaphor but is completely true for him. What is he looking for under the table? Sniffing the rug for who knows what, finding crumbs in the couch cushion. He isn’t afraid of exploring what all life has to offer!

Gotta love that face!

What has your dog taught you? I’m sure there are many more! Here are a few others: To forgive, to smile at the simple things in life and have fun exercising!

Thanks for stopping by,

Kim

I recently received a request from my husband to do a custom UK Football Stadium sign for his man cave. It got me inspired to see what is trending in man cave art! I am always struggling to find the men in my life something unique, personal, and special. Here are some of my favorite finds!

Find it here.

Hunting sign

Painted wooden crate stairs

Baseball themed

Bourbon Whiskey and Moonshine sign

With Father’s Day approaching, let me know what other ideas you have for your dad and husbands out there! I also wanted to share this cozy bourbon barn we visited in Bardstown, Ky last year. It was man cave heaven!!

As you can see, the mint julep was pretty strong. Not much of it was gone!Thanks for stopping by. Let me know if you have a sign idea I can make for your man cave!

Kim

A good friend of mine just reminded me of one of my favorite episodes of Friends, “The One with the Apothecary Table.” I was telling her about how all the wood I collect for my wood signs has a story. I recently got a piece from an old cabin built in the 1800s, and our dining room farmhouse table is from 700-yr old wood from a tobacco barn in Louisville.

The story on Friends was that Rachel bought the table from a mass-produced store, Pottery Barn. Phoebe dislikes the store and favors one-of-a-kind pieces, so Rachel pretended she got it at a flea market. Watch a clip here.

Something to think about when you purchase mass-produced goods! Keep those flea markets a top contender. Plus, you may not realize what a great story a repurposed piece can tell. And, you will save a ton of money!!! Pottery Barn is still in my heart, but nothing beats a great deal for a unique item at the flea market!

Find some flea markets in your area: http://fleamarketfinder.org/

See these tips if you are heading to the flea market. And, as always, check out Little Yellow Typewriter, who thrives in the flea market scene!