my oh my-time to catch up!

so since my last Labor Day post we've had quite the excitement in the Snyder household!  around September 8th-ish we found out we are expecting!!  after a little speculation and several at-home tests (those things are expensive by the way!!) we realized there was no denying it-

we are headed for parenthood!  

over the next several days and weeks we spent some time brainstorming ways to share the news with our families and decided on a last minute "bump ahead" photo shoot.  (ok, let's be honest...that's not ALL that consumed our thoughts and spare time but it was sure fun!)  the idea credits go to Pinterest and the wonderful photos were provided by our creative, picture-taker friend, Sherri Harnisch!  check out just a fraction of her work:

at 9 weeks, we had a (pretty pointless) doctor appointment and then a 12-week appointment where our doctor surprised us with a random ultrasound because she was in a "good mood"!  it is at that moment when you realize that there is actually a human being growing inside of you--not a mass of cells (or something...).  we saw a little hand wave and all!  it was pretty crazy!!  here's our babe at 12 weeks:

 what a miracle!  

i can't even believe that we've been blessed with this little being!  i will not even deny that this small person will turn our world upside down but  i'm thankful for the next several weeks we have to prepare for the arrival!  

in the several hours i have recently spent on Pinterest, i ran across a fun photo strip of belly bump pictures this girl had posted, and that was my inspiration for the next few photos:

 IT'S A......

that's right, folks, we're having a GIRL!  

our 20 week ultrasound (that actually landed on week 19 due to Christmas) was phenomenal!  our tech did several measurements, checked the heart rate, counted fingers and toes, analyzed blood flow to the organs, checked to make sure she had all chambers of her heart, both kidneys, etc.  God is amazing, isn't he?!  i am just astounded that this child is growing and developing right inside of me!  Check her out:

side profile

right arm and hand "hi mom, hi dad"

look at that spine...crazy!

teeny tiny feet

and here is our Christmas card:

we had a fun little gender reveal:

and here are a few photos of us from Christmas:

so yaaaa.....our child made out this Christmas!  

this photo just shows a couple of examples:

we feel so incredibly blessed these days!  i'll be sure to post updates more often but for now, we hope you're looking forward to the new year as much as we are and counting your blessings as well!!

Labor Day

as a hairstylist, i usually have monday's off.  this year, i've been working them since opening the style bar which makes me extremely thankful for labor day!  i have big plans to stay in all day, lounge with my husband and spend some time cooking.  we just returned from a fabulous weekend trip to Chicago with some friends so i'm feeling very blessed.  i'll post a few of our 'touristy' pictures soon.  

ok so i'm headed to Pinterest to find some yummy recipes.  for now, i'll share a recipe i found online a bit ago.  i'm going to make this tomorrow if i can find some fresh tomatoes at the grocery store.  have a wonderful and relaxing labor day!  i'll be sleeping in!  i hope you can do the same!

Heirloom Cherry Tomato Salad

Serves six
Ingredients:
3 pints ripe heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved, from a local farm stand
2 scallions, sliced
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3-4 tablespoon good quality extra virgin olive oil
10 leaves of fresh basil, chopped, plus a few extra small leaves for garnish
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
One loaf of great quality crusty Italian bread or French baguette

Directions:
Place the scallions in a small bowl with the vinegar and a few pinches of salt and black pepper.
Allow to sit for 15 minutes. Whisk in the extra virgin olive oil to make a vinaigrette.
Place the tomatoes in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and allow to sit for 10 minutes.


Add the vinaigrette and basil to the tomatoes, and mix. Season to taste.
Spoon the salad into serving bowls, garnish with the small basil leaves.
Slice the bread and serve with the salad.

The Style Bar

well it wasn't planned, but i've been on quite the blogging hiatus.  the craziness in our lives peaked with work travel and then the opening of my business....but i'm back and i'm feeling so blessed these days.  i'm going to try and catch you up to speed on the events leading up to the opening of The Style Bar by giving you the quickest version that i know:

on the way to our LifeGroup christmas party last year, my friend, Julie reminded me of a discussion we had close to a year prior about opening a boutique with some shared office/salon space and we decided that now was the time to act on this idea.  a short time later we found some space on 120th and Pacific St. that looked appealing.  we checked it out, put in a bid to the owner for building improvements and shortly after were denied.  we took a step back and after a little bit more time, found some space in the Morgan Place building that looked interesting.  in the meantime, Julie and i were introduced to a wonderful lady, whom we now call our friend, Georgy Collier.  Georgy is a private jewelry consultant who was looking to venture into her own business.  it was a perfect fit that she join us in our quest for shared working space!  shortly after our introduction to Georgy, the three of us agreed to call Morgan Place our business home.  after some back and forth with the previous tenant, some much-needed improvements and several hours of planning we can finally call ourselves The Style Bar!  at The Style Bar you'll find me-the hairstylist, Julie and her assistant Rachael-the interior design specialists with Julie Hockney Design, and Georgy-the private jewelry consultant with GC Gems.  we also have a fabulous boutique in our storefront!  find us on facebook to follow more of our journey.

the support that has been shown to me over the last month is absolutely humbling!  THANK YOU doesn't even express gratitude i have for each of your kind words, helping hands and visits to my new business.  i'm so blessed and i hope to return the kindness at any chance i get.  i don't think i'll ever be able to repay my husband, though.  his support and hard work are hard to match!  he is my number 1 fan and i wish i could even do half of the work for him that he has done for me.  it's incredible.

the glory though, goes to God.  for without him, i am nothing and i wouldn't be where i am.  my cup is overflowing.

Julie, me and Goergy toasting to our new business!

Rachael (Julie's assistant) joining us for a photo.

the mural in our boutique.

thankful

so much to be thankful for these days!  new business on the horizon for me, new office space for chris and positive changes within his company. 

i'm so thankful for this man.  thankful that he wants me by his side at his work conferences.  thankful that i'm able to travel with him while we don't have kids.  and i'm thankful for our marriage.  

i'm thankful for our health.  thankful we have a place to live.  thankful for the daily blessings that come our way.

my heart is full.  thank you, Lord.

my recent Pinterest finds

today we had a major snowstorm!  i loved every minute of it.  i called myself a snow day (as i was supposed to work), did some laundry, cleaning, made some yummy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (and yes i added the ground cloves), took a nap and did lots of Pinteresting. :)
as i pulled up my blog, i couldn't help but notice my last post.  Winter Snow.  as this is a bit irrelevant, i did smile because today, the 4th of February, was our first actual snowstorm of the season!  no complaints here!  
anywho, i just wanted to share a few photos i've found on Pinterest lately.  i've added these photos to my pinboard titled "lovely photos" because i think they're absolutely lovely!  hopefully you enjoy them as much as i do!

wouldn't it be fun to live on this street?  even just for a bit?

i would go to this Starbucks ALL of the time, just because it's so pretty!

take me here!

 who wouldn't die for these flowers?

lovely.

just by looking at this photo i can smell the fresh air and the flowers!

 pretty! 

i mean, i know this isn't realistic but i'd love to have this set up in my house!

i want to be at this party.

 God is such an amazing artist!

 i want it to be summer so i can do this!

take me here!

 this takes me back home!

one word: summer.

i wish this were in my backyard!

awesome!

God is good.

 is this real?  take me there.