10/23/2019 0 Comments Fall Halloween Home TourIt’s been little touches here and there, but I didn’t actually decorate for Halloween until yesterday! I’m embracing the orange and letting my kids’ creativity shine. This is the first time I’ve switched out the artwork above our couch! Instead of the black/white sailboat print I used the pretty fall woods painting that used to hang in the nursery. Everything is either what we already have or what we bought at the pumpkin patch to carve. Check out more below.
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From this..... To this! We re-arranged the boys room again recently :) It started with me asking Jer to anchor a bookshelf to the wall because I caught the boys climbing it several times, and I was having panic attacks of them being crushed. Since anchoring it would put a pretty significant hole in the wall and we wouldn’t be able to move it later, we ended up reconsidering the room layout and moving everything around. Our vacuum broke in the middle of the process so it became an all-day adventure, but... I. LOVE. IT!!! Same furniture but so much more roomy, check it out below! (See here and here for past posts about this room.)
The tree is my favorite part of Christmas! Our first year of marriage, I tried to convince my husband to get an artificial one because that’s what I grew up with and I liked being environmentally friendly. However, he’s a real tree guy, so we got a permit and went into the forest, chose our tree, cut it down, brought it home, decorated it with our mismatched and plastic ornaments, and even though the ornaments weren’t too fancy our tree totally was... I felt like it was an experience I could look forward to every year—a different tree every year reflecting the changes in our family. I got hooked to the real thing.
10/27/2018 0 Comments Girl RoomMy daughter and I talked about “her room” and what she imagined during one of our mother-daughter dates, We made a whole list, and I tried to implement as many of those ideas as I could in the space that we have. I wanted her to be able to be herself here, free from worry that her brothers would touch things or make messes.
10/9/2018 0 Comments Colorful Little Kid Room for ThreeIt’s been a while since I’ve had a decorating update! Although the other day at playgroup, my friend was laughing at me because she said that every single time she’s been to my house I’ve always rearranged everything. Yep, it’s probably true! The latest change has been a long time coming and is brought to you by my daughter, who has been really excited about having her own space (will have an update on that once she's officially moved in). On one of our mommy-daughter dates, we sat down and talked over lunch of what she imagined her room would be like and then wrote them down. I found the list we made prominently pinned in a place of honor among her favorite drawings, and knew I had to slowly but surely start.
We’ve upgraded our flooring to this awesome Luxury Vinyl Plank that’s waterproof, scratch resistant, assembled by snapping together, has a gorgeous variety of dark to light tones, and will hopefully last a while!
7/14/2018 0 Comments Project Kitchen CabinetsI am in love with my new and improved white kitchen (and my handy husband, of course)! He is putting in new flooring next week! Ahh I can’t keep the happiness in!! Stay tuned for details on how my hubby did it, and before and after photos.
6/13/2018 0 Comments Treasures Antique MallSo I met this amazing lady who’s become a dear friend. L hit it off with her daughter that’s the same age right away, too, so we love hanging out together. We have shockingly similar taste—we like the same type of art, we’re drawn to the same colors and vintage stuff, and we share many of the same interests. The first time she came over to my house she pointed out that we have the same stuff even down to the George Washington bust... We’ve often talked about shopping for antiques or vintage items, but it wasn’t until my husband left me for 3 days with the kids that I got the itch to make it happen.
3/19/2018 0 Comments Irish Pub St. Patrick’s Day PartyI’m so glad you don’t have to be Irish to share in the festivities of St. Patrick’s Day because I really look forward to Jeremy’s mashed potatoes and Irish soda bread every year! Back in the day when more of my husband’s family was living nearby, it became a really fun tradition for the really “white” ones to throw the Cinco de Mayo party and for us the “Mexican definitely not Irish” ones to host the St. Patty’s party. All in good fun, eh! This year our troll from Norway took a backseat on the bookshelf with L’s rainbow so that we could try a different theme.
Today I’m featuring some special handmade home decor in a surprising medium—crochet! I never learned to crochet, but I may start after sharing these lovely creations that add beauty and also function! The super talented Chalia of Chalia’s Craft on Etsy makes her own patterns, and asked me to photograph her creations. Here are some ways of bringing the coziness and comfort of crochet to every room at home. Check it out!
12/18/2017 0 Comments Handmade ChristmasChristmas is only a week away! We are so excited to have family time soon since Daddy has been gone for a few weeks. I thought I'd update on some projects I've been working on even though some are still not completed. Holiday CardsMy gift to myself this year was dropping one thing this Christmas that stresses me out. I love holiday cards and receiving them from family and friends we haven't seen in a while, but this year sending cards was at the very bottom of my to do list being both time consuming and expensive for us. I pushed aside the feeling of obligation and tradition ("but we always do it every year, so and so sent you a card and it would be rude not to send one back") and reassured myself that it was unnecessary this year.
We'll be visiting with both sides of the family for the 2nd year in a row, so I only felt the need to send cards to close family we wouldn't see, which came to 4 cards. L was super excited and used her artistic talents to make these adorable one-of-a-kind creations from sketch paper and markers, and we hand-wrote messages in them and enclosed a family photo or two that had already been printed since 3 months ago. We've already received thank you calls about L's artistry and sweetness, so I think it was a hit! 10/5/2017 0 Comments A Wreath for All Seasons: FallI finally started on my interchangeable wreath! These felt flowers and foliage are addicting to make. I only had about 3 minutes at the store on the way home, so I bought a wreath that was too big and didn't check for any new felt. This was the best I could do with the colors on hand I had leftover from my quiet book project.
9/27/2017 0 Comments Buffalo Check Plaid PillowI'm so happy to report that I finally got 30 minutes of quiet time to whip up this pillow that goes perfectly with our new pretty pumpkin! Our home needed some cozy updates for Fall and I love how it turned out!
9/26/2017 0 Comments A Wreath for All Seasons
I've been getting the crafting bug and haven't yet had the time to do anything but dream with taking care of our busy young family.
I do, however, have grand plans to create a year-round door wreath inspired by my sweet neighbor who was also my visiting teaching companion until she moved away.
9/2/2017 0 Comments Christmas Stocking Ideas
It's only August, and I've got Christmas on my mind. There are a few sewing projects I'd need to get started on soon. We need a new set of 5 Christmas stockings. Last year we had to grab a random sock to use for Fletcher because I didn't get to make him one. This year we have a new baby who will need a stocking, too. Our old burlap and linen stockings are too small now (you have to strategically shove a DVD into the opening), and some have ripped or otherwise broken. Now that I can just do a completely new set, I've been on the hunt for some cute modern or boho designs.
For wrapping and decorations this year I'd like to work with what we have: brown or white kraft paper, blue gingham washi tape, and lots of blue in our living room. I loved the blue, black, and white mudcloth Christmas stocking idea to match! Both the finished product and the raw mudcloth to sew from scratch are much too expensive for me to buy/make 5 stockings. I might just buy a smaller size mudcloth and use it for the cuffs, but make the body out of a contrasting fabric. |
AuthorI'm Kat - designer, code monkey, teacher's wife, and maker of home. This blog is my personal and creative outlet chronicling the special moments of our family. Archives
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