NEW BLOG!!

We are back from Maine and had a lovely vacation! My new blog is now officially up and running! I still have some work to do on it, but I hope you will stop by and check it out...

Life in the Sweet Spot

I'll be saying goodbye to this blog, but am looking forward to sharing lots of things on the new blog!

Changes

Obviously, with baby #2 on the way, we're going through a lot of changes around here. The bed is gone from the guest room (which now will be referred to as the boy's room!!). I'll really miss that bed, but it went to a good home- our good friends Rachel and Kyle, moved in behind us this past weekend. Literally, I can see their house from our backyard- it's awesome. So now they will have it for their guest room. So, here is the current state of the boy's room. I am doing lots of sorting and organizing because we need to move a lot of stuff that has been stored in that room out of there.

Back to the title of this post- I am thinking about making a pretty big change around here- at the blog. I've had a realization over the past month or so that the blogs that I enjoy reading the most are the ones that are not only about decorating, but about life. Real people, living life. These women don't blog to make a living or to be famous. They don't do sponsored give aways (not that there's anything wrong with that), they just simply blog because they love it. The women that write these blogs appreciate decor, and design. They make the effort to make the space they live and raise their family enjoyable. It doesn't mean their house looks perfect all the time- it's not about that, but they care. For me, decor and design is making our home and the space we have work for me and my family, but doing it in a way that is aesthetically pleasing. As our family is growing, that means that changes need to be made, and will continue to be made.

My point to all of this is that I don't just want to blog about decor, because the reason behind the decor often comes from life. So, I want to share more about life. I am hoping that opening up on here will invoke more creativity and more posts to share with you. Over the past year, I've learned a lot, grown a lot- as a woman, wife, and mother. Sometimes I want to share those thoughts, or funny stories, but feel like this blog has only really ever been just about decorating. Our family blog doesn't really feel like the right place to share either. So, I've decided to make a new blog, where I will still talk about decorating like I have on this blog, but also add some more personal stories and thoughts.

We leave for Maine in less than a week, so I am hoping to take some time to make the transition. This week has been a little stressful for a number of reasons- one being I failed my glucose test on Monday by 5 measely points (insert frustrated face). So, now I have to take the 3 hour test tomorrow. Therefore I am doing my best to not eat/drink any sugar today, which is in turn, making me a little cranky. I never would have thought that I eat a lot of sugar, but I realize now that I just like a little somethin' somethin' now and then. Especially when you are pregnant and spending most of your time with a toddler.

But on a brighter note, I got these on sale at Anthro, and it makes drinking only water today a little more exciting....sometimes it's the little things.

Project Boys Room

That's right, we're having another boy! And we couldn't be more excited! Except that I can't buy those cute girl clothes, but that leaves more money in the decorating jar!!

I may or may not have mentioned that regardless of what the sex of baby #2 was, we had decided that Aiden and the new baby would be sharing a room. The guest room on the 3rd floor is quite large and can easily accomodate multiple children. We will then turn Aiden's room into a smaller guest room.

I've already decided on a color scheme for the room: blue, orange and green. I just ordered this little scrap pack from Etsy for some inspiration. There will be some sewing projects I'm sure.

I also will be using this crib bedding because I got it for free; I love the shade of green.

I will be painting this dresser (probably green to match the bedding) to use for the baby with a changing pad on top. (sorry about the quality of the pic, it's really old and I had to pull it from the blog)

Yesterday we took an IKEA trip to finally get Aiden a bed. That's right, he's almost 3 and a half and still in his crib. He has never once tried to climb out and he's been happy in it, so we haven't really found the need to switch him yet. With the baby coming and vacations this summer requiring him to sleep in a bed, we thought it was finally time to pull the switch.

Our original thought was to just get a toddler bed. With the room-sharing and space, we thought it would be best. However, when we were at Ikea a few months ago, Rob and Aiden took to this bed...

Even though it is a loft bed, it is super safe for young kids; it's not quite 4 feet high, and getting a thinner mattress, keeps the sides raised. I would have no concerns of Aiden sleeping in this bed. However, the blue/birch color made the decorator in me cringe. There is the option to turn around the blue panels to the white side, but even with doing that, you can still see the blue. I couldn't be convinced of it. Until I found this picture:

{Cocoon Home}

OF COURSE!!! We can just paint it white, like I do everything! That looks a million times better. So, that's what we're doing:

Yesterday after getting home and while Aiden was napping, I was able to slap on 3 coats of primer and the white paint to the blue sides. It is going to take awhile to paint all the post pieces, but it will look so much better in the end.

It will be nice for Aiden to have his own little space under his bed while sharing a room with his new brother and the plus side is that once they are older, we can switch #2 from the crib to under the loft! It looks smaller, but it is actually a twin size bed, so Aiden will be able to be in it for a long time.

So, that's what I've come up with for the room so far. It is going to be really tricky over the next few months switching around the 3rd. floor, but I am convinced we can do it and get it all done in time. We will have to get rid of our guest room queen size bed because it won't fit in the new guest room, but, we'll make it all work.

And to end this post I will give some outdoor painting advice: we had this foam stuff left over from when we put down the new floor in the office. It's from Ikea and you get a huge amount (50 feet) for $20. I would highly recommend just purchasing this for outdoor painting projects! It's heavier than a tarp that can blow around and it worked SO well!

Oh Happy Day!

I am very happy! First of all, it feels like spring is really here to stay. The weather this week is supposed to be gorgeous, and I am loving it! Even though my allergies are terrible, I don't even care, I love this weather!!

Secondly, the office is finally done! Last week Rob and I really cracked down and got it finished. We finished painting, stained the shelves and desk, got them up. It feels so good to have this space actually feel like an office and not just a place where we throw junk.

There is obviosuly still a ton do, but it's the fun stuff. Like organizing! There are some things that we need to get to help with that and to make sure everything has it's right place. I also want to repaint the little dresser and do some little projects like cover the bulletin board.

So, the weather is warm, the office is an office, life is good!

ps. It's really difficult to take pictures in here because it's so small, and the lighting is horrible. So, sorry for the quality of the pictures!

Spring and happy things

Signs of spring have finally started to show, which makes me a happy person. The temperature hasn't been quite as warm as I prefer, but it's getting there. And once in a while we are blessed with a warm day, like yesterday where it went up past 80 degrees. I brought home some forsythia from my parent's house this past weekend.

My birthday is at the beginning of April and always reminds me that spring is coming! Even though it was rainy and cold on my actual birthday last week, it was a great day spent with my 2 boys. Aiden made me a birthday crown which he was super excited about, and Rob surprised me with this:

I've been wanting this since we started redoing the bedroom (which I realize is forever ago). Now the bedroom is almost complete. Which makes me very happy. All that is left to do is get new covers for the stools that we use as nightsands. I had tried to dye the covers we have, but it didn't turn out well. So, I found a website that sells covers and decided it would cost about the same as making them by the time I bought the fabric. There's also the fact that I just don't feel like taking the time to make them.

The closet/office space is coming a long. But, I've decided to wait and share pictures until it's done. It is kind of a mess right now and realized that it would be better to wait and reveal the finished project (whenever that is- don't hold your breath). I will say that I am giddy with excitement about the organization that the space will provide.

Here is an unexpected project I did last week that makes me SO happy.

Here's why...back when we redid the kitchen, I made new curtains for the windows, which I never loved. There is a lot of green in the kitchen, but when I got the fabric, it was not the right shade, and I just felt like it was too much green and all the different shades were fighting against each other. For the past year, every now and then I would look for fabric to make new curtains, but never find anything that feels just right.

Last week I had this inspirational epiphany to use these napkins that don't get much use since re-decorating the dining room. I love the print, and realized they would look great in the kitchen (notice above how great they look with the bins on the shelves). But, an individual napkin wasn't big enough to make one panel, so I had to add some fabric to the top. I had some gray fabric on hand that I thought would work well. So, the whole project cost me nothing! And, I love it!

Anyway, I know you are probably sick of the apologies, but I am sorry for taking so long in between posts. All I can say is, life is busy, and I have to admit that posting is not the highest priority for me, but I do enjoy it, and hope that you'll continue to check in when you can.

Finally

I have been waiting to write this post for a long time...we finally got a new living room rug! I had some serious issues with our old shag rug. It looked great when we first got it, and I loved the softness of it, but it got gross. People always said it didn't look that bad, but if you really knew how gross that rug was, you wouldn't be ok with letting your child roll around on it. It was hard to clean because of the thick pile...let's just leave it at that.

As you know, I have been eyeing the sweater rug from West Elm for some time now. I cannot tell you how many hours I wasted spent looking at rugs online. I wanted something lighter, and neutral, but I also needed it to be able to hide dirt. This rug seems good for it because of the different colors of wool pulled through it.

So, over these past few weeks, I just couldn't take it anymore. I blame it on pregnancy hormones/depression from pregnancy symptoms/the fact that I hated vacuuming our rug, actually the list goes on. We had some Pottery Barn gift certificates (which can be used at West Elm), and some Christmas money that we were planning to put towards it. I was hoping that we would be able to save on shipping by going to the West Elm store in the city to purchase it, but when I called, they said that stores are no longer carrying the larger size rugs. Even though I hated to spend the extra money on shipping, I knew this was the right rug, so I just sucked it up.

So far, I'm really happy with the it. It did shed quite a bit when we first got it, but it's getting better. We'll see how it holds up, but I'm confident it will be a much better choice than the shag.

I have some progress to share in the office/closet space (thanks to my wonderful, hardworking husband), but I'll save that for another time!

I am alive, incase you were worried

Hello blog world, remember me? No? That's ok...I haven't forgotten you. It's not that things have been busy as to why I haven't had a post in over a month, it's that I've had quite possibly the most difficult month of my life. I really don't want to use this time to vent and make you feel sorry for me, because the reality is, I am truly blessed. And....

I'm pregnant!

And that is exciting, joyful news. However, this pregnancy has been quite difficult thus far, but it is still truly a blessing and I remind myself of that daily. I won't get into all the details, but on top of normal pregnancy sickness, I had terrible debilitating migraines for a few weeks straight. Then, just when I was starting to feel better and feeling like my life was back to"normal", we had a scare with the pregnancy last week which was probably the most terrifying moment of my life. But, the baby and I are fine and healthy.

Anyway, I want to get back to blogging, because I truly do miss it. I would also like to get to all the things that I want to do around the house, but one thing I am learning through all of this is that I need to give up some control. That things aren't always going to get done or happen in the time line I want them to, and that's ok.

So, hopefully, I'll be back soon with new posts, and lots of inspiration!

Until then, doesn't this nursery shot make you swoon?

De-cluttering

It's been almost a year since we redid the kitchen. Ever since we have owned the house , there is a corner of the kitchen that is my nemesis. No matter what I do, I cannot keep this area clutter-free. It makes me crazy. It is the place we throw keys, wallets, mail we don't want to throw out but don't have a place for ... you know the deal- every house has a place like this.

This is a picture taken last year, and it pretty much has looked the same but more cluttered. Every few weeks I would clean it out, only to have it get cluttered again within days. So, I decided I couldn't take it anymore.

We took a trip to Ikea this past week to look at stuff for the office (a work in progress). Ikea has such great organization items. It makes me happy. So we got these gord-like-pod-things and hung them on the side of the cabinet as a place to throw keys, pens, or whatever. I really wanted to get most everything off the counter. I also picked up these cute little tins which now keep tea and other hot drinks in easy reach, which is crucial this time of year.

It makes me much happier to have this space clutter-free. I have realized when you don't have a place to clutter, it makes you deal with that mail as soon as you get it, rather than add it to that corner and forget about it.

This year we have lots of plans for de-cluttering and organizing. The big one of course being the office that we are making in our old closet. I have to go through lots of stuff in the now guest room and organize everything to have its own place in the new office. The other project will be the basement at some point. We have done a lot of organizing down there already, but we want to invest in getting some shelves or other storage to help keep it organized.

And while we're on the subject of organizing, if you have kids, you know how difficult it can be to keep all their stuff organized. A constant battle for us is Aiden's toys. I like things to have a place and to be put away at the end of the day. We picked up these fabric bins from Ikea (did I mention how much I love Ikea!!) which are perfect because they slip right under the sofa for storing.

Do you have any organizing tricks or plans for 2011?

Updates

I'm back! Happy New Year! The holidays were crazy busy and I am so relieved to have the Christmas decorations down and to be back to our normal schedule.

I relized that I have not shared some of the little changes we made around here in December with all the busyness of the holidays.

First, I will give you an update on the bedroom. I finally finished the curtains for the closet space. These were way more complicated than I wanted them to be. I will spare you the details. Now that they are done though, I am happy with them. I thought that maybe it would be too much white, but, now that they are up and hemmed, I do like them.

I got some new throw pillows for the bed. The yellow flower one is from Target. I think I see it on every blog I read, but it is a great pillow. The gray one is from CB2. You may (or may not ) also notice that we got rid of the Malm end tables that attach to the bed. With the new room configuration, they were too big/ So on one of our Ikea trips, we picked up these stools for $20 each. I have had plans (since getting them months ago) to change the covers. It hasn't happened yet, but it is going to happen, and maybe even this week. I'll keep you updated.

Now, I have a bit of a confession, we had this grand plan of putting tall, skinny, bookshelves on either side of the bed, in between the wall and the windows. We actually did get them, and it looked great, until we got the closet up. It was way too crowded. Book storage is a serious issue for us, so I knew I had to find another place for them. So, out into the hallway they went, right outside the bedroom, at the bottom of the 3rd floor stairs. Aiden helped me take off all the books to move them- he thought it was so much fun. I forgot to take a before picture of them in the bedroom, but here they are in the hallway.

I also hung up our long mirror which used to hang over my dresser horizontally. I like having the mirror in the hallway, and to add a little light, I hung a paper lantern pendant so that we could actually see if using the mirror.

And, speaking of light. I am really weird about light in our home. I like soft light, and I like it evenly dispersed. When we got the sectional, I got kind of stressed out about the fact that we couldn't have a light in that corner anymore. There was definitely no way a floor lamp would work, so it was actually Rob that suggested a pendant. I realized when we needed to move the dresser to put up our Christmas tree, that we would only have one lamp in the room. So, I finally gave in and ordered this pendant from CB2. It was actually a great price ($50), and it looks good too. It makes me happy.

When we took our tree down, I realized now that we have the pendant, I don't need as large of a lamp on that small dresser. So I brought this one down from upstairs, which was a wedding gift. It is from Restoration Hardware and is so nice, so I am glad that we can uses it downstairs.

I have lots of things on my to do list around here. The first being finishing up the bedroom. I think I found something for over the bed, however, I am having a hard time finding a frame that would fit it. Hope everyone had a great holiday and I am looking forward to lots of projects in 2011!