Feeling Better

Evan and I were recently slammed with a bad cold virus (Steve managed to dodge the sickness... not sure how!).  It's been almost 2 weeks, but we are finally feeling more like ourselves again.  Evan had an ear infection and was horribly congested.  Thank God for antibiotics.  I'm positive he is feeling better now. :)

And he is now officially on the move.  Yes, he is crawling.  His form is not quite perfected yet, but he is doing this seal-crawl, where he drags his legs behind him and uses his arms to propel him forward.  It's pretty cute... and scary!  Let the child proofing begin!

On a professional note, I finally finished Sue's Pet Resort website and it's LIVE!  Check it out here.  I'm really proud of myself.  It was a lot of work, but it was so worth it.  I'll be going back to work there in a few days, so the launch happened just in time.

And of course, on the side, I've been doing a few pet sketches.  Here are some recent ones.

Dozer (my brother-in-law's dog)

Black Cat

Kalli

Pumpkin

I'm working on a good one right now that should be finished soon.  Can't wait to share it!

My posting time is up.  Evan demands the attention now.  Thanks for reading!

-Nikki

Could he be any CUTER!?

So cute!  I just had to share this picture because it's definitely one of my favorites right now.  Such a cute, happy boy!

Working away today on some things while Evan is with grandma!  Hopefully I can get a lot done.  So far so good!

-Nikki

My Garbage Find

I love finding a beautiful piece of furniture for my home.  I love it even more when I don't have to pay for it!  I came across this piece a couple of weeks ago in my neighbor's garbage and I immediately sent Steve to pick it up for me.

This is one solid piece of furniture.  There is NO WAY I can lift this thing on my own.  It's an old mail sorter the post office used back in the day.  It's needs a little touching up, but I don't plan on doing anything too drastic to it.  I love the way it looks, all old and worn in.

The shelves are perfectly worn in and roughed up already!!!!!!!!!

A straight-on shot... it's mainly made of wood.

I'm so in love!

Steve just shakes his head anymore when it comes to my furniture adventures.  I always tell him if it were up to him the only pieces of furniture we would have in this house would be a couch and our bed.  He just laughs and says, "Yeah, you are probably right."

I realize this piece is going to be a odd thing to decorate.  It's not like I can fill up every slot of this thing.  But I can't for the life of me understand why someone would want to throw this away!  They don't make stuff like this anymore.  It's a beautiful piece of work and I'm OVERJOYED it's MINE! :)

As for our master bathroom, Steve has been really busy with work from clients, so he hasn't had much of a chance to work on it lately.  He's not too happy about that.

I will be sharing some pet portraits soon that I've recently finished.  Just got to get around taking some photos of them!

Here's a shot of me and Evan I took yesterday (he's 6 months already!!!!).

It's not the best picture, but that's what happens when you are always in a hurry.

Be back soon!

-Nikki

Sneak Peak Into Our Master Bathroom!

Life's been a little hectic lately.  I've been taking care of my little man, who has been a handful lately!

Lookit at my little man!

I've also been working on my mother-in-law's website.  She is doing a totally image revamp of her online offerings and gave me the chance to do it!  It's been a challenging and satisfying job so far, but I have a little bit more ways to go before it's done.  On top of all of that, there's a house to clean and maintain, meals to cook, Camper and Pilot to take care of, pet sketches to sketch, upcoming wedding showers and birthdays to attend... and oh yes, can't forget taking care of myself in the mix.  Good God!

Steve's been busy with his work, on top of constructing our master bathroom.  I'm finally taking a minute to share some pictures with you.  It's been an exciting process because we've basically gotten to work and design this room from scratch.

Steve constructed the pocket door from our bedroom into the master bath.   Love it!

Take a peak!

When you enter, to your immediate left is a linen closet.  I love storage! 

To your immediate right upon entering, there is the toilet in its own little separate space (doors will be included!).

Step down into the bath, and to your right is our rustic, solid-wood counter top and pretty stone back splash (vessel sinks will be coming into the mix soon).

This is looking straight forward into the room.  The claw-foot tub was rescued from an old Pittsburgh home.  We are getting it professionally painted and polished.  The doorway on the left will be our sauna.  The doorway on the right will be the massive walk-in shower.

On the left side of the bathroom is a very large bay window that overlooks the woods in our backyard.  The claw-foot tub will sit in this space.

This is the best shot I could get of our future walk-in shower.  Steve used pine to cover the  outside wall of the sauna and shower to give the bathroom a more warm, rustic feel.

He also added pine accents and lighting on the ceiling above the counter top...

...and above the bay window area.

This is looking out towards our bedding.  Steve put in heated floors, too!  Love them!

We are actually getting the tub refinished today, so I will share those pictures soon.  I can't wait to see the results!  It's a work in progress, but the way Steve moves it won't be long until it's finished.

Gotta take advantage of having my little guy with his babysitting grandma (thanks, Sue!).  Enjoy the rest of your week!

-Nikki

My Men

Came across this little snuggle fest this morning...

I love the men in my life. :)  And I love that Camper is included in the picture (sleeping on the floor)!

I will be returning with pictures of our bathroom addition. It's really coming along and looking beautiful!

Have a great Sunday!

-Nikki

Happy 2013!

This is going to be a great year, I can feel it in my bones.  I have my New Year's goals all in my head (I so need to get them down on paper) and I can't wait to attack them.  One big goal I have in mind is creating a Loving Pet Portraits website.  I get a little overwhelmed thinking about creating it, especially when I have this little guy pulling me in 10 different directions everyday.

He loves his bananas!

One day at a time with him and my goals.  I know I will eventually get them done... just not as fast as I would like. :)

No more time to write. I have Evan on my lap screaming as I type this.  LOL  The joys of being a parent!

-Nikki

Down Time

It's all over!  YAY! :)  Now life can resume back to normal, and I can focus on fantasizing about warm, sunny, swimming pool filled days.

Oh, how I wish!

Christmas was fairly uneventful this year.  There were a lot of babies to take care of, though.  It's amazing to me that we went from having one baby on my husband's side of the family to 5 little ones in one short year.  Crazy!

My little man with his Christmas lights!

So, with Evan's first Christmas under our belts (he had NO idea what was going on), Steve and I are trying to get back in the swing of normal things.  He's off at work today, and I'm stuck at home due to the winter snow storm that is taking place outside my windows as I type. 

My view

This time of year has always been a little rough on me.  Little sunlight, lots of overcast days, and cold weather leave me feeling down and anxious.  I am happy to say, though, that I did have a bit of an anxious spell and I seemed to have worked through it by MYSELF.  Well, I had my husband and my mom's support, but I was able to sort things out in my mind on my own.  I'm kind of proud of myself for that.  Anxiety sucks, especially if you let it effect you the way I tend to.  I'm 32 years old and finally learning how to calm the anxious episodes down on my own.  Fingers crossed I keep improving on that front.

Anxiety aside, I was able to work on a lot of sketching for a few customers for Christmas.  I can finally share my images with you!  Here's what I worked on...

"Lucy"

"Laurel & Darya"

I'm still working on one other picture for a family member right now.  But looking back on it, I wasn't too too busy this Christmas season.  I'm definitely not complaining.  I was able to enjoy the my baby's first Christmas without too much stress!

Steve's been working on our master bathroom addition the past few days (well, off and on now for a couple of weeks).  I'll be sure to take some pictures and share them next time.  It's just too cold to venture out there for a photoshoot at the moment.

'Til next time...

-Nikki