Etsy Friday - Fly Away With Me

I really like birds in home decor, although, I don't really have any in our home. I used to have some pillow covers that I made using fabric with birds on it, but we all know how much I like to change pillow covers.

Winter Tree with Birds Duvet Cover

Here are 2 completely different bird pillows, but I love both.

Red Bird on Branch Pillow

Black Bird Felt Cushion

I always think that if I ever have a girl, I would decorate the nursery with lots of birds. They just feel a little more girly, don't you think? Although, I think that I am destined to have all boys-Rob always rolls his eyes when I say this.

Modern/Retro Bird Mobile

Trio of Tweet Birdies

I have featured this seller before, it is one of my favorites on Etsy. Admittedly, I have not bought anything yet from this shop. But, I am trying to figure out the right place for a couple of these prints. I just love them so much. Maybe in the new kitchen, or in the 3 frames in the dining room- I am just not sure if it would be too much with the wallpaper.

Yellow Birds on Gray Tiles

And lastly, isn't this little bird just darling?

Chick-a-dee Desk topper

I hope you all have a great weekend! It is snowing here....again....seriously, make it stop.

Kitchen Update

We took a little Ikea excursion last week partly to get out of the house but also to look for the stools for the island and the shelf for under the pot rack. They did not have the stools that we wanted, but in the end it all worked out for the better. We were trying to be conscious parents and thought we should get stools with backs on them. However, we realized that once Aiden is old enough to sit on the stool, he probably will be fine- he's a boy, I think he will survive. Anyway, when we got home I started looking for some stools online. I really wanted to stay in our budget. The Ikea stools were $70 each and we had planned on getting 3. So I was looking to spend around $200 total. I looked on Overstock and immediately found these stools and they were only $100 for 2. I have seen almost the exact same stool on the Pottery Barn website. Below are the pictures from the Pottery Barn website and the Overstock website. They are the exact same stool. And the price at Pottery Barn, $240- FOR ONE! Ridiculous.

So needless to say, I showed these to Rob, he loved them and said to order them right away. And they arrived today. We really only needed 3, but they came 2 together, and the price was still $200.

And, as you can see, we got the same shelf from Ikea that we have in the living room. It fits perfectly in the space and these shelves are the best. I wanted something that would provide enough storage for things like the mixer, and I plan on getting some baskets for a couple of the shelves to hold things like dish towels. I also think the open shelving makes it feel warmer, which I like.

Oh, and lastly, you may notice that the floor is fixed. We couldn't find this exact flooring anywhere, so we decided to cut a piece out of the closet and Rob did a great job of lining it all up and making it unnoticeable.

So, that's pretty much it. The last thing we have to do is the backsplash and I'm not sure when that will get done, but I think everything has really come together and I am loving the space. Aiden also enjoys climbing in the open shelves and moving the new stools all around the kitchen.

Hope you are all having a good week. I am praying that this snow storm blows right over us and completely misses. I am trying to think positively.

holy toledo

I am behind on this, but I found out about the Liberty of London and Target collaboration this past weekend. Go here to check it out. I am seriosuly considering going to Target at 8am on March 14th when it is launched. The bad thing is that is daylights savings, so it is really like 7am. But I am worried that if I go later that day, all the good stuff will be gone. Who's with me?

Etsy Friday

I am done with winter. It was fun when it was Christmas and that first snow fall in December, and sipping hot chocolate, snuggling on the sofa. But now, I am finished. I am craving warmer weather, being able to see the grass in the backyard, not bundling Aiden up like a snowman every time we go somewhere. I am so glad that I redid our dining room last year because it so cheery and spring-like on these long winter days. I think every house should have a yellow room.

Anyway, since I am craving that spring time weather, I thought I would share a couple spring-inspiring items from Etsy.

Love this fabric- it would go well with my pillows in the living room- I may just have to find this fabric on my own and make a much cheaper version of this lamp shade using a shade I already have.

Drum lamp shade

This little milk glass pitcher would look lovely filled with some fresh blooms, don't you think?

Milk glass pitcher

Wearing this apron while I cook may make me feel better about being stuck inside.

Cup of tea reversible apron

This bag would be perfect for trips to the farmer's market on Saturday mornings

Eco friendly organic tote

And lastly, I have to admit, I just bought this adorable little makeup bag , so it is no longer available. I figured I can throw it in my purse so that every time I reach in there for something, this will give me a small reminder that spring is not too far away. But check out the rest of the shop where it came from.

have a happy weekend!!

Kitchen complete (ok, not really)

Although there are still some things that need to be done in the kitchen, the major stuff is done and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

Here's a before shot again, just so you can remember what it looked like.

And here it is now.

As you can see, we painted. I don't think I mentioned before that we were planning on doing that-mostly because I thought you might think I was crazy for repainting. But, I have been wanting to paint a room this light gray color and we figured if we were going to redo the kitchen, we might as well go all in. It was actually a pretty quick project because we didn't have to move any furniture. I got most of the painting done last week in the evenings while Aiden was sleeping and Rob was working.

I love how the cafe style curtains look. And even though the top half of the window is open, they give more privacy when closed than the bamboo shades.

So, if you remember from my little mood board, I originally planned on these knobs from anthro. In fact, my sweet sister-in-law, Gwyn, even offered to buy some for a birthday present to cut down on the cost since they were $8 each and we would need 19 of them! But, when she went to purchase them, we realized that they were sold out in the lime green color. As I thought about it more, I realized that maybe something super simple would be better. We found these stainless steel ones at IKEA (of course) and they were only $4 for a pack of 2. So it only ended up costing 40 bucks. I like the clean, simple look of these and realize that perhaps the anthro ones would have been too much in a small space. I also realized the anthro ones were quite large at an inch and a half in diameter.

We did some rearranging in the corner to the left of the stove where clutter seems to gather no matter what. If you remember, we had a monstrosity of a wall organizer that I kind of hated because it was so large. So, I just bought a couple of bowls and a little mail/pen organizer to keep our things somewhat under control.

That's all for now. We still have a couple things left to complete-getting stools for the island, the backsplash, and the corner area where we need to repair the floor and replace the kitchen cart with a shelf. But, I am already SO happy with how the kitchen looks and functions. Once everything is done, I plan on posting about our budget for this project just so you can see how affordable it was. Rob and I are firm believers in doing things on a budget, with getting good quality and the end result that you want. So, stay tuned for more to come!

Etsy Friday

Summer Weeds Tea Towel

This will be a quick post as today is Aiden's birthday and I have a ton to do. I thought I would feature one seller today instead of a couple different items.

I found this store on Etsy because I love things that are screenprinted. The shop's name is Skinny Laminx and the thing that is especially awesome is that she lives in Cape Town, South Africa. That's what is so cool about Etsy- it's people all over the world and we are able to have such easy access to it.

Borrowed spoon tea towel

I also love that she explains how friendly her neighborhood is, and how someone down the road does some of her screenpriting and someone else does some sewing.

Orla Tea Towel

Most of what she makes is tea towels, and I will probably get some for the new kitchen at some point- I love the one above. But she also makes a couple aprons, pillow covers, and even sells some yardage of fabric.

Sevilla Rock Apron

I love the towel below because we all know how much I love Ikea. My sister-in-law, Gwyneth lives in Uganda and she always says how great an Ikea would do over there. Apparently Heather feels the same way about having one in Capetown.

I wish we had an IKEA tea towel

Well, I am off to run errands and bake cupcakes. Hope everyone has a great weekend and a love-filled Valentine's day!

xo

Snowed in

Things have been a little crazy around here. After our big snow storm last weekend, we got an even bigger blizzard that started Tuesday evening and finally stopped last night around midnight. I have never seen so much snow in my life, and I probably never will again. But today the sun is shining and Rob is home safe. He was working at the hospital through the storm for about 40 hours.

I made some banana bread to pass some time and of course I loved having the new island and all that counterspace to work.

We're making more progress on the kitchen, which I will share with you early next week hopefully. Aiden's birthday is tomorrow and then we are having a small get together here on Saturday with family to celebrate. So this weekend will be a little busy, but I will try to get pictures up soon.

Hope everyone in the Philly area is surviving digging out of your houses today :-)

Etsy Friday a little late

Sorry I didn't do this yesterday- it was a busy day, plus I had to get ready for the big blizzard that was coming. Luckily, since we were snowed in today, I have had a lot more time on my hands. I even got to relax in my Snuggie and watch "I Love Lucy" episodes while Aiden was napping.

Anyway, with Valentine's Day just a week away, I thought I would do a Valentine's Etsy post. Now, even though a lot of people think Valentine's day is another pointless holiday created by greeting card companies, I actually really enjoy Valentine's Day. I get to have a date night with my husband and take time out of our busy lives to sit down and have great conversation. Having a toddler makes time like this precious, and necessary.

So, here are some items I picked out that put a smile on my face. And if you truly hate Valentine's day, then just skip over this post :-)

I think this poster is super fun.

Letterpress MiniPoster

I think this clutch is adorable and perfect for a date night! And at only $18 its super affordable.

Ruffle Foldover Clutch

I just LOVE the gray color of this pillowcover.

LOVE pillow cover

I would serve my special Valentine cookies on this plate.

Decoupage Plate

And lastly, this ring is a little pricy, but I think it is so pretty.

Pearl Buttercup Ring

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Kitchen Progress

On Saturday, Rob and his dad worked on pulling the corner cabinet piece away from the wall. It went pretty well and there were no terrible surprises. The one wall needed some repairing, but nothing a little dry wall wouldn't fix. The thing that is probably going to be the most difficult is the floor. We knew that the newer floor wasn't installed under the cabinet, so it wasn't surprising, but we are not sure if we are going to be able to find the exact flooring. We still need to look around a little bit, and we're optimistic that we'll find something that will work. We plan on putting a shelf in that corner anyway.

I would just like to point out that I can basically take no credit for any of this. Rob and his dad did all of the work. And, on the same day, they also repaired a leak from our shower that went down into the dining room ceiling. I took some pictures just so you could get an idea what we were dealing with that day. The hole looks big in this picture, but it was really only about an inch and a half big, and now it is all patched up thanks to my wonderful husband.

On Monday, Rob and I headed off to Ikea to get the countertop and a new light fixture since we kept hitting our heads on the pendant light that we had in the kitchen. We had a successful trip and decided on this light fixture which was only $25. Oh Ikea- how I love you.

So, here is the new butcher block countertop on the current cabinets. We also had to get the legs for the one side for more support. It was Rob's idea to make it bigger on the one side so that we could store the trash can and our step stool underneath the counter. We still have to get the barstools and the shelving for the corner under the pot rack. We are going to keep the kitchen cart in the basement for some storage of things and I thought it would also be nice to have around for summer bar-b-ques.

We decided on the butcher block from Ikea because it was so affordable ($200 for this huge piece) and would allow us to use money in other areas of the kitchen- like adding a backsplash. We also decided that probably at some point we would replace all the countertops in the kitchen with something nicer anyway.

I am already so much happier working in the kitchen. I had some girlfriends over for dinner last night and having all that extra counterspace is so nice. It has made me realize that not only will it be beneficial for every day use, but also great for entertaining.

So, there is still lots to do, but I am glad we have made so much progress already!