This has been a no-money-in-the-bank kind of year. It was our first year of being really, really, really broke. It is stressful but also full of little lessons. Kyle and I work great together in challenging times... it's one of the things I love most about our relationship. I decided to make Kyle something special for Christmas that would remind us that, even though we don't have money, we are beyond fortunate. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, this would be a great, inexpensive gift. The whole thing cost $30.

Supplies:
frame (I bought this 16x20 Ribba frame with matte from Ikea for $20)
posterboard (30 cents each)
1 tube Acrylic paint ($7)
felt pen
wet wipes or a damp paper towel

Directions:
Step 1: Lay your posterboard over the frame. Use your pencil to mark where the edge of the painting will be (where it goes under the matte) to make sure it your painting fits within the frame. Trim the excess with scissors if needed.

Step 2: Use the felt tip pen to write your words onto the plastic wrap that covers your frame. Use wet wipes to erase it until you get the spacing and style the way you want it.

Step 3: Copy the words/spacing onto the posterboard gently with the pencil. Put a bit of paint into a jar or on a small plate. Using the paintbrush practice a few times on a spare peice of paper or posterboard. When you are confident, paint over the pencil writing on the posterboard. Allow to dry completely before carefully erasing any visible pencil marks.

Step 4: Wipe the pen from the frame wrap, then remove the wrapping and discard it. Frame your words. Wrap in gift wrap and write a lovely note.

That's it! It's really easy and budget friendly.

For this project, I was inspired by this DIY from A Beautiful Mess, this one from Oh Happy Day, and this room decor from Amanda Johnson.

For all of you who follow design blogs, you've probably heard of Sherry and John's awesome project-packed blog, Young House Love.  Today they featured our kitchen as part of their Reader Redesign series.  I'm so thrilled!  Go check it out!

Thanks so much John and Sherry for featuring our kitchen.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask them in the comments.  To see more about kitchen remodel and our other projects here.  Thanks for stopping by.

Before...

During...

Dave tearing out the cabinets...

...and the walls.

Painting the living room, dining room and hallway.


Drywalling in the new wall into the hallway.  We spent the majority of the month of September with the kitchen like this!

Then Kyle's folks arrived for the rebuild!

Moving the lighting and starting to put the cabinets in!

Celebrating Kyle's birthday in our "living room"!

Gigi helping to install the flooring.

More cabinets.

My Daddy helping with the flooring.  Gigi loved hanging in her Ergo while we put the flooring down.


Even more cabinets!

And even more flooring.

Gigi spent a lot of time in her Pack 'n' Play!


Erika nearly finished with the flooring!!!

Appliances going in!


And a sink!

So close....

After Kyle's parents left we spent the last few weeks finishing up the kitchen.  We hung shelves, put the hardware on, unpacked, hung the chandelier, put in the toe kicks and now we are done!  The only thing we have left to do is to put in the tile backsplash which, after the job we just did, will be a fun weekend project!

So after lots of hard work and lots of pasta dinners... here is the after!!!

We just love it!  It turned out perfectly.  We couldn't have done without Dave and Erika!  We can't wait to cook up lots of wonderful family meals in this kitchen.  It is the heart of our home and we can't believe how beautifully it turned out!

I have to admit I was kind of dreading this weekend.  Everyone always complains about what a pain painting is but it was so easy and fun and transformative!  All you need is a few good friends and a few good brushes.

The Crew... (Me, Danelle, Teunis, Kyle and Gigi)



Here's how our weekend went...


Ready to paint!

On Friday morning Kyle continued drywalling and mudding and I taped off all the windows and doors throughout the house.  Because of where our old wall were and our new walls are, we had to paint the whole house!  Well, the hallway and the kitchen, living and dining room. After Gigi was in bed, I spent Friday evening cutting in and rolling out the first coat of paint on the front wall.  Kyle got home from work a bit late and did a bit more work on the drywall before we called it quits around midnight. We got up pretty early on Saturday and got to work.  I started by cutting in all the other walls while Kyle followed behind me with the roller.  Before noon we were nearly done with half of the walls!


Our wonderful friends came over around 1:00 and helped us finish up the first coat!  We had some snacks and a couple of beers out back on the patio while we waited for the first coat to dry.  Then we headed in and rolled out the second coat.  We were totally done painting by about 4:00!



Gigi doing the final inspection. Oui! C'est bon!

With our hard work done we took Danelle and Teunis out to Mexian food to thanks them.




G experiencing her first guacamole induced food coma.

It was so great to cozy up in our freshly painted room on Saturday night.  We had been expecting to be painting all weekend long and we got it done in just a few hours.  We celebrated by...

Making Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies...


soaking our tired dogs, sipping wine and watching The Apartment!

Sunday (now referred to as Football Day the day Kacie and G get super annoyed with these guys)...




"You guys sound so dumb! Seriously! What level of education do you have?"



...was spent cuddling, putting together cabinets and cooking.  I somehow managed to make a delicious roasted chicken and potatoes despite barely having a kitchen!  It felt so great to cook!  Then we watched the last five minutes of the Emmy's, the last thirty minutes of The Apartment and the first hour of Coco Chanel.  Apparently it was a Shirley MacLaine kinda weekend. (Kyle has to put up with my movie choices because I had to put up with these dudes). 



Exactly.

Hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing/productive weekend!  Kyle folks are coming down on Thursday or Friday and the rebuild really begins.  We have our appliances ordered, the house painted, the cabinets frames assembled.  Things are looking good!  I can't wait for this next week.  We still have a lot of work to do between now and then but it's really coming together!

Throughout the process of our kitchen remodel, which has been many months now, while we have both been working on the function and design aspects, I have also been dreaming about decor.  I explained it to Kyle as, we are getting a (relatively) inexpensive kitchen but we can make it look fancier by getting quality accessories!  It's the same concept that I apply to building a wardrobe.  You can wear your Target tank top with some Repettos and no one will be able to tell, or care, that your tank top cost $9.  As money is quite tight and we are nearing the end of our kitchen remodel budget, it looks like all of these kitchen accessories will have to wait but I can still dream and plan!  Eventually the whole kitchen will come together with the help of these...

I found the wallpaper in this photo.  I'm sure it's astronomically expensive so I'm going to try to create something inspired by this myself by photographing and manipulating a fork from my Grandmother's silver.  Then I plan to print it and mount it onto the front of the refrigerator!
I love these oversized letters from Anthropologie.  I love the idea of incorporating words into our kitchen.  Perhaps "YUM" or "EAT" or something silly.  These will also help pull the metal from the stove into the rest of the kitchen since all of our appliances don't match.

I also love this table with words stenciled on it.  I'm not sure I would be brave enough to do this to our brand new island but I really love it.  Maybe on a kids' table?

More words.  These plates are yet another way to bring words into the kitchen.  They were designed by Diane Keaton for Bed Bath and Beyond and they're only $5 each! I grabbed these mugs earlier in the week when I met up with Lauren at Heart Coffee in Portland. 

This is what our hardware from Ikea looks like.  Most of the options they had were super modern and bulky.  These ones were sleek and a little rustic and still inexpensive.

I love anything Le Crueset and I have couple small pieces in their Caribbean color.  Someday I'd love to have the whole cooking set!  How amazing would that be?!  These hand towels are lively and colorful and also from Anthropologie.  I think adding bright, colorful pieces that get everyday use is a great way to make sure the kitchen doesn't look too sterile.

This chandelier (from Anthropologie) is at the top of my list.  I am going to put it over the island!  We also need a pendant lamp for over the sink and I'm considering these four...

Thoughts?

Finally, THIS is what our fridge will look like when I get done painting it (except ours will have a big fork on it too)!  I can't wait to do this!

So that's it for now.  I'd love your thoughts and opinions!

*Click on images for original source.

Without further ado, here is a shot (thanks to IKEA's kitchen planning system) of exactly what our kitchen will look like when it's all finished!  It's going to be so open and clean and usable!  Against the wall on the right we will have three open shelves and the wall on the lefts isn't really there since that opens into our entryway.  I love that the first thing you'll see when you walk into our house is the kitchen.  We opted for simple, white cabinets, and wood countertops.  The wood tops were so inexpensive!  I couldn't imagine forking over thousands of dollars for granite and I love the way the wood looks.  Warm, rustic, classic.  We are going to get stainless steel appliances (except for the dishwasher which is new and is white).  The fridge is white too but I think I might paint it with chalkboard paint.  Has anyone tried this?  We are going to white subway tile as the backsplash too.  At first Kyle was reluctant to my white/black/stainless/wood kitchen but I think it's going to look elegant!  Once our awesome apron sink is full of pots 'n' pans and the counters covered in cookbooks and Playdoh it will have plenty of color!  I use the kitchen everyday, several times a day and I am excited to have it be the heart and center of our home.  I'm compiling a collection of kitchen "accessories" to share with you tomorrow! 

My goal today is to get the walls cleaned and get everything taped off and ready to paint.  We are painting the main wall in our living Benjamin Moore Providence Olive:

And the rest of the walls, including the kitchen and hallway Richmond Gray:

Both of these colors look really drab and brown but they are actually quite green.  I tried scanning the swatches too but they came up brown also.  So you'll just have to trust me that they are really green... or I'm color blind on top of needing glasses.  That's definitely a possibility too.

p.s. Anyone who wants to come over this weekend and help us paint and put cabinets together will get free beer!  Seriously, we need help.  Painting PAR-TAY!  You know you want to spend your weekend helping us! 

Olympic Provisions is an amazing restaurant, charcuterie and wine bar in Portland, OR.  As a charcuterie they cure their own meats and, let me tell you, there meats are amazing!  The serve up delicate european style lunch and dinner plates.  It's definitely a bit of a splurge to eat here but it's so worth it!  Their plates are always unique and delicious and their menu has been a bit different every time I've been.  Apart from having amazing food, Olympic Provisions is also a big part of my kitchen inspiration.  We are doing an Ikea kitchen but I want to dress it up with old, industrial, Euro style accents and that's where Olympic Provisions comes in.

We won't have a flashing "MEAT" sign but I love the idea of putting some lettering in the kitchen.

I love these "Edison" lights.

I also love the white, simple subway tile.  We are looking for some with bit of gloss (as opposed to the matte version).

I like the warm wood, open space, lighting and simplicity.  I also think I need a wine wall!

I just have to convice Kyle the that kitchen "accessories" are just as important as the rest of it!

Day 1...
On Friday Kyle's Dad got to work taking out all the cabinets.  Kyle had to work through the night on Thursday so when he got home on Friday he tried to get some sleep while Dave worked and I took care of Gigi and moved our kitchen into the coat closet!



Then we took out the fridge cave.  THAT was fun.  Even Gigi helped...

The wrecking crew.

Day 2...
On Saturday Kyle was totally rested and ready to work with his Pops.  I loaded G up and went somewhere baby-safe since there were going to be tearing up all the flooring.  They moved out the debris and tore up all the carpeting and tile and took out the rest of the "fridge cave".

Day 3...
The rebuild began.  The boys had to move the electrical around a bit and move the water pipe that was connected to the fridge.  They also cut out the rest of the wood and framed in where the new wall was going to go! At the end of the day it looked like this!

Day 4...
Now it's Monday (Happy Labor Day) and Kyle is back at work.  Dave is spending the morning putting up the new drywall before he heads home.  Over the next couple of weeks Kyle and I will be cleaning, painting and putting together our cabinets!  My main project for the day is getting the house in order.  Right now it looks pretty scary. 

There is so much to clean up and organize.  We will get the stove put back in place so we have somewhere to cook and I want to get everything in functioning order so we can go about our days and work in a somewhat "normal" fashion.  I'd also like to go get some paint for the living room and dining room, lots of painters tape and wall cleaner so we can start prepping to paint!  Oh, and order our appliances!  There's plenty of work to be done.  For the next few weeks I'll post an update on the kitchen and our work each Monday so you can see the progress!  This is so much fun!  It's amazing to see how much can get accomplished with two handy-men.

Ok... the day has arrived.  Kyle's Dad is here and we are prepping to tear out the kitchen and tear up the flooring.  Holy crap.  I'm very excited and very nervous.  We are not going to have a kitchen for a whole month!  The plan is to chip away at the flooring over the next couple of weeks but the kitchen will be done the last week of the month.  Normally I associate the start of fall with the return of cozy cooking and lots-o-eating but it will have to wait until next month for us.  Cooking is my stress relief too so it should prove to be a slightly challenging month.  That being said, I feel so fortunate that we have the opportunity (and the in-laws) to help us fund and do this project.  It really comes down to making our house a home.  I love to cook (obviously) and having a open, functional, inviting kitchen will make me beyond happy!  Over the next few weeks I will share our plans, the inspiration, the work-in-progress and the ups and downs as we take on our first remodel!  Here's a few photos of the kitchen before to get you started...

The issues we've had with the kitchen are:
1) The upper cabinets stick out really far and were mounted low so there's very little counter-space to work.
2) No extraction fan which makes the kitchen smoky and grimy.
3) The range is really cheap and doesn't work well, has poor temperature control and the broiler is in the bottom drawer.
4) Speaking of drawers... this kitchen has one normal drawer and a few squat/small ones.  Must add drawers.

5) The "fridge cave" serves no purpose, closes up the room and takes up lots of floor space.
6) The cabinet that juts out is just in the way!  The counter is the only usable countertop but it's too high to use easily.

See how closed up it all is?  Danelle came over on Tuesday and helped me pack everything up!  Kyle's Dad is now starting to cap off outlets and unmount the cabinets!  We are taking everything to a rebuild center so hopefully it will find a new home!

Okay, I've got to go help now!  We are also working on finishing the patio.  Wish us luck!

Oh and on a side note, I'm not going to be posting September Menus.  I'll have a really good one for you in October but I'm not going to be cooking much this month!  If you need some ideas look at the past menus!

Last weekend we made some major progress on the patio!  As you may recall, Kyle's folks helped us get the patio are prepped and I complied lots of inspiration (here).  Between the baby, the rain and the trips, it took us a bit to find the time to get to work.  But last weekend we busted out the reggaetón and the Pacifico and we made the patio!  We still have all the decorating work to do but here's a look at what we've done so far...

Kyle leveling and measuring.

While Kyle got the foundation ready, I stained all the pavers.

Gigi (and Sophie) watching from the sidelines.

We poured in the sand and leveled it.

Once the sand was perfectly level we started placing all the pavers.  This was fast and fun because we could really see the end in sight!  

We celebrated the completed patio with a mini barbecue!  I love the way it turned out.  We can't wait to dress it up a bit and complete the oasis.  Hopefully we can get the decorating done in the next couple of weeks.  We also started on our kitchen remodel.  September is gonna be crazy.  We are redoing our whole kitchen and tearing up the carpet to put in laminate flooring!  We spent five hours at Ikea yesterday and ordered the kitchen.  I'll post a kitchen remodel post soon.  It's so much fun working hard to make our house even more enjoyable.  

Right now, this is what our patio/backyard looks like.

It's hard to maintain the grass and it's not a very fun place to hang out and relax.  Along the side of the house is a bark pathway which I'd like to change to gravel.  We are very limited in funds right now so we are attempting to create a backyard oasis on a budget.  The goal is to have a low-maintenence patio area that is ideal for reading, working and playing during the day and relaxing, eating and sipping wine in the evening.

We borrowed this book...

 ...from our friends and Kyle and his parents spent Fourth of July weekend prepping the patio space.

While they were working outside, I was inside taking care of the baby and searching for inspiration. I found this image online via Sunset Magazine and found that it came with great instructions for staining inexpensive concrete pavers!  Perfect.

We decided to do a simple, classic black and white checkered pattern.  We ordered the pavers and got the paint and supplies.  We are now waiting on the pavers to arrive.  

I love these simple lights.  You get a country lantern/lightning bug effect and it's really inexpensive!

I also want to build a small staging area against the back of the house for setting food, wine and board games when we have friends over for dinner.  We will use inexpensive wood to do it... I couldn't find any photos to show what I mean so you'll just have to wait for the real deal.  I also have a few other aesthetic tricks up my sleeve that will really help transform this patio into a little oasis.

I will have the grand reveal for you in a couple of weeks!

Source: gravel pathway, checkered patio, kitchen floor, jar lights

Today I completed the final stage of Spring Cleaning!  It feels so great to have it done!  We tackled the office, living room, dining room and garage.  It was definitely a lot of work but I feel so accomplished now that it's done.  We are ready to paint the rest of the house, transform the office into a guest room and turn the garage into a photo studio!

The office before...

The office was by far the WORST space to deal with!  Ugh.  Since moving in, it completely became the "extra room" that we weren't using that simply got overloaded with junk!  The only time it ever got cleaned up was to put an air matress in it for company.  So we decided to make it into a guest room.  We don't have all the bedroom stuff yet but we're going to get it very soon from my Grandpa.

This art table is an area I have NEVER been able to keep clean and organized.  It's a great art table but not a great desk.  We decided to move it to the garage in order to better use it as a project table.

Kyle's desk. (See, I'm not the only messy one!)

We had way to many books and our closet was a complete mess of boxes, envelopes, folders and gift bags!

The office after...

Yay.  Got the desk moved out to the garage and made space for a guest bed.

My sister helped me edit the book collection.  I took them all to the used book store today and will have a bit of credit to buy new books!  Kyle's desk will also be moved out and passed on in order to make room for guest room furniture.  I'm really excited about transforming this room. 

I'm going to make this closet into "my office".  But for now, at least it's organized!

The living room before...

Cluttery and crowded.  This space was definitely less than cozy.

The entertainment area was cluttered and disorganized.  Wondering what those things are on the floor?  They're VHS tapes.  Remember those?  Wondering why I have them?  Me too.

My cool entry way table had become a drop-off point for stuff.  It was really bugging me.  This was intended to be a nice little zen spot and instead it became a big stressful mess.

This is the baby bin.  Obviously it had become totally disorganized and full of junk.

The living room after...

Super clean and bright!  

I took all my photo books from my art table and moved them into the living room.

This area of the house was feeling crowded and claustrophobic.

Between the table, the wine wrack and the new baby play mat we were constantly tripping over stuff.  It was frustrating!

Kyle has been doing lots of studying in the living room so we always have a pile of stuff in the corner.

Overflowing wine rack.  Only way to organize this?  Start drinkin'.

I took the leaf out of the table and ditched two of the chairs.  We're going to move this table into the guest room with these two chairs when we get my Grandma's dining table next month.  It's so much more intimate this way.  There's still a pile of stuff in the corner but it's much more organized that it was before.

I drank a lot!  Just kidding Mom!  I took the overflow out to the garage.  

Entryway closet before and after...

The garage before...

Man was our garage a mess!  And this is after we took the old washer and dryer to Goodwill.  The intention for the garage is that it will function as a project zone, home brewery, photo studio and storage space.  That's a tall order for one garage but we're on our way to making it a reality.

Garage after...

So much better!

The art table ready for action.  We still have a bit of work to do but this is a great start.

Hi!  I haven't given up on Spring Cleaning.  We've just been chipping away at.  One space at a time.  The divide and conquer method is working well for us.  This week I tackled a few the areas in our house that drive me crazy!  The hallway/entryway, the pantry and the spice cabinet.  Here are the before and after pictures...

This area become a dumping zone for everything random.  Batteries, a cookie sheet, old gift bags...

Hallway after...

Now it's a perfect organization zone!

Kyle put these hooks in so I could hang my purse and diaper bag.

We have a recycle bin just below the mail organizer so it's easy to get rid of the things we don't need and file the things we do.

Simple bulletin boards and a big ol' calendar to keep things clear and organized.

The pantry before...

This was seriously a disaster.

I couldn't get anything out without toppling something else and I kept buying things I already had!

Pantry after...

I bought a few more plastic containers and labels which help make this space super clean and organized. All the plastic kind of creeps me out so when our budget allows I'll be buying some nice glass containers.

The spice cabinet before and after...

As stated before, I hate how easily this cabinet gets messy.  I got some tiny plastic containers to help organize all of the bulk spices we buy so they weren't in random, unlabeled bags.

This week we have been tackling the garage (eek!) and the office (double eek!).  It feels sooo great.

It's time again for Spring Cleaning, otherwise known as House Detox (you can read about my method on this link).  It's the start of my Spring Break and I am so excited to get this house whipped into shape.  After being pregnant/lazy for 9 months, moving and having a newborn, this house is looking pretty, ridiculously messy!  But we are really feeling motivated to get things clean, organized and more functional.  I am a big fan of the divide and conquer method.  So, we started with our bedroom, bathroom and Gigi's room.  It feels so good!    Once we are done with the cleaning part, we can finish painting the rest of the house, demolish and rebuild the kitchen and put in laminate flooring!  I'm feeling so motivated!  Here's the before and after pictures!

We had to strip everything off the bed because G spit up all over it this morning!

Everything was very cluttered.

Drawers were overflowing!

The closet was a disastorous mess of old clothes, pregnancy clothes and boxes.

Ugh.  Messy and cluttery.

Mid cleaning....

It always gets worse before it gets better.

Stuff to give away!

Bedroom after...

We went through every drawer.  Dusted everything and cleaned everything!  I even cleaned my makeup brushes.

Got my closet sorted out and got rid of a bunch of clothes!

Ahhhh!  Done!

Bathroom after...

Totally clean and organized.  Also, we made a list of fixtures that we need to keep it that way!

Seriously a disaster!

I had to sort through all of the clothes in her dresser and closet and bring in the next size from the bins in the garage.  She's outgrown her Newborn size...kind of.  She's such a string bean that she is too tall for her 0-3 month clothes but too skinny for them!

See!  She looks ridiculous!

Gigi's room after:

I decided to move rearrange the room a bit.  Having the crib next to the window blind drawstring was making me nervous.

Nice and organized.

Closet and dresser full of clothes that will fit!

The finished tutu!

Teddy bear made by my best friend for G.

Yay!  I love the way it feels to have everything sorted, organized and clean!  Other zones to tackle this week are: the hallway, the office, the living room, dining room, kitchen and garage!  It's going to be a lot of work but it's so rewarding.  Are you planning to Spring Clean?

I love Anthropolgie and spent a bit of time pursuing their "At Home" department and lusting over their items... some of which are actually reasonably priced.  Here's a glimpse at the thing I was drooling over. 

Tea and Crumpets Apron

Trousseau Apron

April Fools Apron

Ladies in Waiting Dinner Plate

Monogrammed Mug Missus

Painter's Stripe Mug

Farmer's Egg Crate

Cirrus Bedding

Hanging Garden Shower Curtain

Bustled Shower Curtain

Florence Flask Ring Stand

Italian Campaign Canopy Bed

Ordinal Dresser

Bewick Cupboard

Muted Gleam Curtain

Violette Knob

One-Lump-Or-Two Lamp

Menlo Lamp

Camera Club Lamp

Halo Chandelier

Blazon Gleam Pendant

Edison Bulb (Slim)

C'est Magnifique Wallpaper

Collected Memories Mirror

Springing Sprigs Candelabra

Oversized Zinc Letters

Alphacritter Mousepad

Tea and Toast Butter Dish

Juxtapose Dishtowels

Tea Service Cookie Stand

Laguiole Steak Knives

Tapestry Dishtowels

Here are the photos of the (99%) finished baby nursery!  I just love the way it all turned out!  I really wanted the room to be girly and sweet without being too "baby-ish" and I think we accomplished that!  It is simple and sophisticated and with few final touches it will be perfect!  I think it will be a joy to spend lots of time in here.  So many of the things in the room were made for our baby or handed down through our families.  It really makes the room special.  The inspirations were Paris, photography, ballet and Sofia Copolla's Marie Antoinette...  

My Stepmom (Nance) is a fabulous interior designer/colorist (she works in Oregon and Washington so let me know if you want her contact info) and my sister came over to help us me pick our colors.  They didn't photograph totally accurately but here are the swatches from the Benjamin Moore website... which also aren't that accurate!  Ah well, you get the idea...

I never would have thought I'd have a pink room in my house.  It was so great to have Nance help us pick "adult" pink colors.  

The "flowers" were made by Amy and Poppy for the baby shower and they take the place of a mobile.  I read that you actually want the space around your baby's crib to be a bit "boring", that is, non-stimulating.  You want them to sleep, not stare at stuff!

The crib and Kyle's chair from when he was little (made by his Grandpa).

The crib with the bumper made by Erika and the gorgeous blanket knitted by Kyle's Nana with yarn she was saving for "something special" that she had brought over with her from New Zealand a long time ago.

The pillow is made from the pink raw silk from my wedding dress and a bit of tulle from my veil (both were made by Erika).

Two monkeys from Aunt Meghan.

The dresser was Kyle's when he was little.  It will be painted super glossy white, get new handles and maybe get a little stencil treatment like this one from Anthropologie.

Newborn pajamas!

This vintage scale was a gift and is holding all of our beautiful Aden + Anais swaddles and blankies which were baby shower gifts.  The teddy bear painting was given to us by a friend in Paris, I took the photo on the left for Kyle when we were just out of high school and I found that four leaf clover years ago!

The feeding zone.  Comfy chair and blanket (also knitted by Kyle's Nana).  Amy found that table cloth at an antique store and thought it was tres Marie Antoinette.  It's hiding a box below with breast feeding paraphernalia and a book and book light for me.  The lamp is a salt rock lamp and will serve as a mellow reading light/night light.

The bookshelf/toy zone.  We just bought this shelf unit and the little pink bins from Ikea for about $35 total.

Lisa Kaser Print titled Tuesdays Were Reserved for Sharing Recipes.  We bought it at an art fair right after I found out I was pregnant.  It is quirky and cute.  It reminded us of our many picnics in Paris.  Plus the title is so us!

This porcelain doll was a gift from my cousin Carol.  She has collected these gorgeous dolls for years and selected this one for our girl.

Old photos of my two grandmothers, Mary Jo (left) and Rosellen (on right).  We are going to get two photos of Kyle's grandmothers too.  

This is a series of photographs I took in Paris.  I love the colors and the way they are all behind glass.  Ballet slippers in a studio window, gorgeous tutu's in the window display at the Repetto store and the skirt of Degas' Little Dancer statue in a glass case.

I made this collage of photos from Kyle and my first trip to Paris together when we were barely twenty.

The closet with all the newborn clothes ready for action!

My Stepmom had given me this vintage tutu a few years ago along with some others that sat in a box in the garage that Kyle had labeled "Fuckin' Tutus" because he couldn't understand why I was holding onto them.  Ha!  I used one!  Erika took it home and gently applied it to a wreath ring.  We'll either put it on the wall or pin it to the door of the room.  

I would also like to make a photo collage heart out of black and white photographs to give our little one something to gaze at.  

I would also love to find a chandelier (maybe something vintage) to replace the main light in the room.

So, there you have it!  Our baby's nursery is all set and ready for her arrival.  Our due date is only ten days away!  

Today is rainy and dreary outside but inside our little house things are very cozy.  This week Kyle and I both have finals so I am spending the day studying and sipping tea.  I have taken a little break to snap a few photos of the new house set up.   Keep in mind this is all a work in progress!  I'm so grateful to Meghan and Rob for helping us get started, Kyle's parents for helping us move and Marion for helping us with the final unpacking push.  We couldn't have done it without the help of our loved ones (although, my crazy uncontrollable nesting hormones didn't hurt).  

The master bedroom... I can't wait to paint it, finish hanging pictures and add a bit of color.

The books on our bed this morning.

The dresser and vanity... I plan on painting and hanging the mirror and replacing the dresser with one from my Grandpa's house.

The nursery is a complete work in progress.  We plan on painting it, hanging some fun tissue paper flowers, adding a chandelier (not in the budget at the moment) and adding a few other fun details.  The inspiration (Marie Antionette, ballet, photography and Paris) isn't totally obvious yet, but it will be soon!

Poppy taking her kitten nap in the crib testing out the cozy-factor.  I love the bumper (made by Erika) and the giraffe which was a gift from the baby shower.  Poppy's going to be a wonderful "special big sis".

This dresser is going to get repainted and transformed into a changing station.

My "entry way table" that serves no other purpose than lookin' good.

I'm stealing my sister's idea for a mini-monument collection.  So far the Eiffel Tower is all I've got.  

Entry zone by the garage isn't even close to being planned or done... this is what we came up with in the meantime.

Calypso has clearly adjusted.

Butcher block/storage unit.  It adds a nice bit of color and function.

That's it so far! Once we get to painting and finalizing each room I'll update with new photos.  There's so many projects that I want to do!  I am lucky to have the resources of my sister who is passionate about decorating and my stepmom who is a fabulous interior designer and colorist.  I will be passing along their ideas and advice as I go.  Have a wonderful, cozy day.

Planning:

Before moving I made this layout of the new house and the furniture using my home makeover planning method to make the transition easier.  Most everything is in it's place now and when we get the last few boxes unpacked I will take photos of the finished rooms!

The whole house.

The kitchen and dining room.

The entry and living room.

Moving in the ice and snow proved to be a bit of a challenge! 

Me being grumpy about having to sit still.

But, with the help of Kyle's parents (Dave and Erika) we got completely packed, moved and out of the old apartment and into the new house!  We couldn't have done it without them.

While everyone packed, moved and cleaned I started unpacking the kitchen at the new house and made Lemon Spaghetti and Chicken Saltimbocca.

Our first dinner in the new home!

Our first gorgeous sunset view from our new home!

Kyle and his Dad putting up Christmas lights.

On Sunday night we bundled up and went to see Harry Potter with Dave and Erika (they hadn't seen it) and it was a perfectly relaxing end to a hectic and busy week!  They headed home on Monday morning and today we woke up to.... snow!!!

It was enough snow to cancel Poppy's school for the day so we are going to be cozy in the new house our sweats and bake M&M cookies!  

We are now home owners!!!!

(Well, technically we own half of a home and Kyle's parents own the other half).

After what seems like months of paperwork, faxing and signing today everything finally went through and we are officially the owners of a cute little three bedroom home.  The house is in perfect condition with loads of potential.  I can't wait to start painting, decorating, putting the nursery together, putting in different flooring, putting in a new kitchen and making all kinds of fun and exciting changes.  Kyle's parents are coming to stay for a week and help us pack, move and unpack.  We're so blessed to have such supportive parents!  To celebrate, we are going to see the new Harry Potter movie tonight!  I hope I don't get too excited and go into labor again!  

As the plans for our new home move slowly but surely forward, I have begun to get really excited about the prospect of having a baby room (as opposed to just a baby zone/corner)!  I was completely unsure where to begin... then, on Oct. 16th I curled up on the couch to watch Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette in honor of the anniversary of the day that Marie Antoinette was beheaded.  Lovely, I know.  I found that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.  The color pallete of the film was totally mesmerizing me!  I have been adament about "no pink" since the beginning, but all of the sudden I found myself loving the pinks (and the greens, yellows and blues) in the film!  I immediately knew the direction I want to go with the baby room.  Maybe not quite as decadent as these images but using the color palaette in an organic and simplified way will be perfect!

The sets, costumes, makeup and overall style are so lovely!

The macaroons are so inspirational!

The shoes are the perfect colors!

The Vogue magazine spread shot by Annie Leibovitz!

My mother-in-law (Erika) and I set out to the fabric store to see if we could find some ideas that drew from the color palette of the above images.  We found nearly perfect matches!  A silvery, grey blue... a bright, sorbet pink... a pale, antique-y yellow...

I bought piping in each color to jazz up the corners of white washcloths, burp cloths, bath towels and use it to keep things in a simple and consistent color scheme.  I like things to match! 

Then we happened across this fabric in the sale pile and bought it all!  The color didn't scan up perfectly, but it just matches up with the color palette perfectly.  Erika is whipping up a baby bumper from it right now! 

This last week was actually a really challenging one.  The Fall Quarter began and, despite dropping one of my courses, I was feeling completely overwhelmed. After returning from our wonderful vacation, we suddenly came to the realization that, "we can't afford a baby!"  Our potential new rental home (that we've really been counting on) seems to have fallen through and we can't find anywhere else to rent and we can't afford to buy!  Ahhhhhh!  We (especially Kyle) had crazy work weeks filled with brewing and events (for Kyle) and nannying and photography work (for me).  All of this, combined with the fact that I have an overwhelming, surely-this-must-be-hormonal desire to begin creating a space for our baby, left me feeling completely depressed and at a loss for what to do.  Mainly, I really, really, really needed to feel that I was preparing for the arrival of our daughter in some way!  But, how was I supposed to nest in a one bedroom apartment when we aren't sure we're going to be here, don't know how to make the space work if we are here and I can't do heavy lifting (even though I want to)!  Finally, I came to the tear-soaked realization that, as long as I'm doing something to prepare (even if it's not "real"), than I will feel happy and as ready as I can be.  

The Challenge of Nesting (when you can't nest):

Our challenge (this time around) is to figure out how to adapt our one bedroom apartment to our bundle of joy.  It's very important to us to have our own space.  At first, I thought about making the baby a spot out in our living room with a partition of some kind to create the illusion of separation.  The problem with this was the following questions:  What if we need to make dinner and the baby is sleeping (basically) in the kitchen?  What if we want to watch a movie and don't want to worry about waking the baby up? What if we want to get bombed on red wine and play Yahtzee! until 2 a.m. (not likely, but still)!?  We want to be able to talk and laugh and eat and play without worrying that we will be completely disrupting our baby's sleep!  It seemed like the only answer would be to put the baby's crib in our room, which also didn't seem like a great idea (again, no space)!  

Then, I had a total light-bulb moment!  What if we made the main apartment, that is now our living room/office/dining room, into a "studio apartment" and made the bedroom into a office/baby room?! Sure, when we had people over for dinner they'd be half in our bedroom, but we'd have our own space! My sister had a tiny studio apartment in the University District of Seattle and it was cute and cozy and worked great!  Could it work for us?  Would everything fit?  

Step-by-Step:

What you'll need:

a measuring tape

a yard stick

a small ruler (Napoleon won't work for this project... hee hee, get it?!)

large sketch paper

scotch tape

a pencil (and eraser)

permanent pen (fine tip)

permanent pen (standard tip)

colored pens (optional)

1. Start by measuring your entire home or apartment from wall to wall (in inches) , pausing to mark off windows/doors and marking down their measurements.  Then, do quick measurements (also in inches) of all the furniture to be moved as well as stationary objects like the tub, toilet, fridge and stove.  This actually doesn't take as long as you'd think! 

2. Take the two longest measurements of your house or apartment and divide them by 10 (so 300 feet would become 30 inches) and tape together enough paper to fit your home on.  Our reduced home measured about 40" by 26".  If you're concerned about screwing up, only tape the pieces together with small pieces of tape... it will be easy to remove the offending square and replace it with a blank one.  Once you're happy with your "home" you can reinforce the tape more permanently. 

3.  Draw the outline of your home onto the paper and trim it down to size.

4. Using a pencil and a yardstick/ruler begin, IN PENCIL, drawing all of the walls, windows, closets and all other permanent objects (including your stove and fridge) onto your paper.  Once you are totally done with the pencil draft and everything fits just right go over the entire drawing in black permanent pen.  This is by far the most tedious step of the process but it's worth it when you see it all done.  

5. Now, take all of your furniture measurments and divide them all by 10 as well.  Then (you can get as artsy as you like) draw and cut out each piece of furniture to scale.  Then, just like a dollhouse, you can place the items into your home.  I began by putting the furniture into the places where it already is.

Original layout.

6. Then you can rearrange your furniture into new configurations and possibilities.  

The bedroom has been moved out into the main apartment space, while the office furniture has been moved to the bedroom and I've added a crib (in the lower right hand corner).

 I'm feeling so great having done this!  I can continue to play around with the layout over the next couple of months and add items as we get them or remove items as we give them away.  Despite the fact that, when January rolls around, we may be living in a different place, I am so relieved to have plan for incorporating our baby into our home!  Now, I can start on the virtual decor!  

Printable directions:

Home Makeover Directions

Celebrating my birthday in LA.  Note the lovely sheet covering the IKEA futon, as well as the IKEA side and coffee table!

The carpet was also free (from the in-laws) and the coffee table (from Poppy's family) and the lamp (from my family)!

The IKEA table.

The two small dressers were from Kyle's childhood, the one on the right was picked up on the side of the road. =) Even the little cabinet was free (from my family).

Butcher cart (from Kyle's family).

Wine rack purchased in L.A.

Bookshelf (from Kyle's family).

The cozy reading chair (from my family).

Kyle's desk (from my family).

The chest (a wedding gift made by our family friend).

The art desk (made by my dad).

The entry way table which used to be a full size table until Kyle cut it in half and put the legs back on (from Poppy's family).

The vanity made from a antique mirror (from Poppy's family) and the desk and chair (picked up on the side of the road).

The entertainment center (made by Kyle)...I know, aren't you impressed!

The vintage table (from Poppy's family).

The chairs (from Kyle's family)...the cat was also a hand-me-down.

The cedar bed frame (from Poppy's family).

The fabric

The machine

Curtain perfection!