Welcome to the EAD Living blog! We are so excited to have you here. If you are a new visitor, we'd love for you to subscribe to our RSS feed and visit our sister site, EAD Weddings. Thanks for visiting and we hope you come back soon!

Is it just me or does it seem like this year is flying by at record speed? How can it be November already? And more importantly, how can it be pitch black by 5:30 pm these days?

I’ve always been a Mid-western girl and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Although you might hear me gripe and complain from approximately November through April (because that is truly how long a bitter Wisconsin winter lasts up here), I would never trade the full four seasons we get for anything. Sure, I’m sure it’s absolutely fabulous to live in a climate that is temperate all year round with sun shining and warm weather. I’m supremely jealous of you if this is your climate but then again, I love the fact that we get the variety of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall up here. Yes, certain seasons are a little more intense than others but no place is perfect, right? No matter what, I try to make a conscious effort to enjoy the seasons in all of their glory, breathing fresh air and remembering to stop and look around at nature every now and then. It’s pretty amazing sometimes, isn’t it?

The fact that fall is upon us and Christmas season is rapidly approaching made me think about how I’ve owned my d-SLR camera for nearly a whole year now. Which means I’ve diligently taken photos of every season in all of it’s glory. I thought it would be fun to summarize each season into three photos, which epitomize the feeling of the four seasons. So here we go:

WINTER:

{Read the rest of this entry…}

In case you need some last minute Halloween costume ideas for those raging parties this weekend, allow me to display years worth of somewhat clever and always hilarious outfits. Let’s step into the Halloween time machine for a second, shall we?

#1 1999. Our freshman year of college. I believe my best friend and I are ‘Julia Goolia Spice’ and ‘Hannah Banana Spice’. We are possibly related to the Spice Girls in some way, but mostly we fell prey to they common sport of dressing inappropriately just because it’s Halloween. Shameful, really.

#2 2000. Our sophomore year in college. As you can read in my caption, we are a ‘Pure Angel’ and ‘Evil Angel.’ I had to edit this one a bit but I cannot help but chuckle. The hooker boots are key, my friends.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

I have been diligent about documenting the progress of this pregnancy since the day I found out the news. Mostly because I am a crazy psycho who is obsessed with making albums of our life. I make an annual album every year full of our ‘every day’ life in pictures and posts from my blog. But I knew I would do a pregnancy album, too, full of belly shots, nursery decor, and posts about my thoughts on pregnancy. I think it will be something I love to look back on in the future and maybe baby will even think it’s cool to see how mom changed during these 9 months.

But as far as the belly goes, things like this call for a little collage action. For instance, my first trimester:

{Read the rest of this entry…}

As I head towards the halfway mark of my pregnancy (at 18.5 weeks, if you want to be all technical about it), I’m starting to pull together the nursery and thought it would be nice to share. I fully intend on this being a long, drawn-out project full of extensive research, bargains, and excitement. So far so good! :)

My inspiration all started with these images from the wonderful Jennyology’s blog:

I am obsessed with the bright apple green walls, the vivid curtains, and the fact that she avoided all pastels. I am on a mission….NO PASTELS in this nursery. I want all bright and bold colors which proves to be a challenge in the sea of pale pinks and blues in nursery world. But I have faith that I can do it!

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Not only can Etsy dress a baby like none other, but it can also decorate a nursery like a pro. Of course, you’ll need to be the one to pull it all together but nothing like handmade goods to inspire a room for the baby.

Pillows for the rocker:

by seller ManicMuffin Totes:

from seller ginia18:

Then come the wall prints. Don’t even get me started.

by seller Ferntree Studio:

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Whether you are expecting a tiny tot of your own or buying baby shower gifts for friends, chances are you might have scoured the internet for cute baby clothes. A little internet shopping never hurt anyone, right?

When I found out I was pregnant one of the first places I went online was Etsy because I just cannot get enough of that site. And who knew that Etsy has an amazing ‘children’ and ‘baby’ section full of gorgeous handmade goodness?

I’m pretty sure you could create an entire wardrobe for a baby out of amazing Etsy finds. And perfect shower gifts, too!

Here are some of my faves that I’m lusting over as we speak:

ONESIES:

(I’m obsessed with giraffes and my husband is, in fact, tall) From seller Bugga Love:

(For the Patrick Swayze fans) From seller TrulySanctuary:

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Last month my darling husband celebrated his golden birthday. And in a moment of weakness I offered to make him any cake in the entire world…from scratch. I’m not sure why I thought this was a good idea but it made sense at the time.

He requested red velvet cake which meant I had to go directly to the expert for a recipe: my Memaw! She makes one of these bad boys a few times per year and I knew her recipe wouldn’t disappoint.

Sure it took me two hours slaving away in the kitchen but the end result was quite pretty. And it didn’t taste too bad either.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

You all know my love for Some Ecards, right? Well, this one sums it up nicely because I’m pregnant! (Nate helped but I cringe when people say ‘We’re’ pregnant). If you read my personal blog you already know my big news but I have to share with you EADL gals, as well.

This little guy is in for a big surprise as he’s been an only child for nearly 4 years. Poor baby. Look at him sniffing the test (and yes, it is covered so he wasn’t tarnished by my pee.)

So I have a feeling my posts are going to be a lot more….focused from here on out, dear readers. But my nesting instinct is already in full effect and I have tons of ideas for decorating, saving money, and organizing. Just you wait.

We are so excited to start this journey together, sharing it with you along the way. I hope this doesn’t make me the crazy pregnant lady on EADL….I swear I’ll still be fun. :)

Well, the end is near my friends–so say hello to Armageddon. It’s happened. I cannot believe this day has come.

I found my first gray hair. [sob] And, needless to say, I’m struggling to accept my fate as a true geriatric. I mean, I knew the jump from 27 to 28 felt ginormous but throw me a bone, here. I am NOT handling this well.

The incident occurred the other night as I was brushing my teeth before bed. It went a little like this: “Ho, hum, another day has come to an end. Life is good. Fa la la la. I cannot wait to fall into a blissful slumber while contemplating the many possibilities for the future……..hold up, what the……OMG!!!!!! NATE!!!!!! WHAT IS THIS?!?!”

Yes, that many exclamation points were shrieked with words created from all caps. It was true panic, my friends. I’m pretty sure Nate thought I found a mutant rat scurrying across the floor or something, considering my terror-stricken tone. But oh, no. It was much worse.

Shining like a frickin beacon of light was a colorless strand of hair sticking straight out of my part. It was about three inches long and very course….even frizzier than my normal deviant hair follicles. Yes, this in particular strand was basically the devil reincarnated as it laughed in my face: “You silly girl. You thought your youth would last forever? Mwah ha ha. You are rapidly morphing into a little old lady with gray hair, which means dentures, saggy papery skin, Depends, eating a 4 o’clock dinner at Dennys, and high-waisted elastic pants will soon follow. Would you like your power scooter now or later? Enjoy the progression, my dear.”

{Read the rest of this entry…}

To the married women out there: do you ever wonder if you and your husband would be matched on those dating websites? I mean, don’t sites like E-harmony and Match.com make each person fill out ridiculously long questionnaires to help identify key traits, similar tastes, and common goals? I met my husband in college but sometimes I catch myself wondering if the internet fates would have aligned us together unknowingly, should we have needed to go that route. Do our personalities fit together on paper as nicely as they do in real life?

There are so many ways that we are literally the same person, but just different genders. We’re both first-borns, both leaders, and we’re fairly outspoken ; we are active, competitive, and incredibly stubborn; we both feel satisfied helping others, thus the exact same career choice in health care; we’re both sarcastic brats who put on a tough front while being tender-hearted on the inside; you get my point, I’m sure. But this post is about one big fatty difference we have. I wonder if the dating websites have a question that reads, “Would you rather die by heat or by cold?” because if they do, we’d never match up as potential soul mates.

Nate was born in Wisconsin which boasts extremely cold winters. I was born in Missouri which boats extremely hot and humid summers. We are both products of our environment, without a doubt, and for some reason this is just now hitting me after 2 years of marriage and 7 years together. It was obvious way back when, just by looking at our younger selves in college.

Picture this: it’s a cold and snowy day as college students walk to and from their classes, all bundled up in coats and gloves. Then you see this one girl literally running across the quad with her gigantic winter jacket pulled securely around every inch of exposed skin, hood and all. She does not stop to say hello to her friends, for she has her eyes on the prize—getting into the next building to shelter her from the cold. She becomes a mega-biyatch when the temperatures dip below freezing so you might as well let her run from class to class just to avoid her wrath.

Then there is this adorable Wisconsin transplant who decided to attend college in St. Louis. Neither he nor his northern parents had a clue what STL summers would be like, but they found out quickly as they moved their beloved son into the dorms in August (the hottest and humidest month eva). Said WI boy calls his mother after 3 days in a non-air conditioned dorm room and begs her to ship a window AC unit to him. He might die without it. He really might. He has now decided that Missouri summers are his own personal hell and he honestly does not know if he can survive four years in this heat. (Of course, it’s all worth it in the end when he meets that crazy biyatch who sprints around to avoid the cold. He’s glad he stuck it out in St. Louis, don’t worry.)

{Read the rest of this entry…}