Posts
Found this over on Spearmint Baby and had to share it with you all because, well, it's just too darn cute not to!
Baby Book Inspiration
I've been putting it off and putting it off, but I really must get started on Violet's baby book. I've been digging through photos that I saved for a little inspiration. Here are a few of my favorites:
Luna's First Year of Life - I love the colors, the large photos, the triangles, the headings - total baby book perfection here...
Liz's Lazy Mama's Method of Memory Keeping - This isn't a photo book, but I love the idea of keeping a record of even the everyday trials and triumphs:
Cole's Maternity Series - So this isn't a baby book at all, it's a series of pregnancy photos, but I love the simplicity of it.
Three Birds' Bump Watch is very similar to Cole's Maternity Series in its simple, graphic approach:
Mama Mia's Maternity Book - Also a pregnancy book, but love the bold colors and graphic nature of this.
Wow - these are almost too inspiring to the point that I'm a little intimidated, but better to have something that's not perfect than to have nothing at all! :) Thanks to Ohdeedoh for featuring many of these items - otherwise I never would have known they existed. Wish me luck! We'll see what happens...
Luna's First Year of Life - I love the colors, the large photos, the triangles, the headings - total baby book perfection here...
Liz's Lazy Mama's Method of Memory Keeping - This isn't a photo book, but I love the idea of keeping a record of even the everyday trials and triumphs:
Cole's Maternity Series - So this isn't a baby book at all, it's a series of pregnancy photos, but I love the simplicity of it.
Three Birds' Bump Watch is very similar to Cole's Maternity Series in its simple, graphic approach:
Mama Mia's Maternity Book - Also a pregnancy book, but love the bold colors and graphic nature of this.
Wow - these are almost too inspiring to the point that I'm a little intimidated, but better to have something that's not perfect than to have nothing at all! :) Thanks to Ohdeedoh for featuring many of these items - otherwise I never would have known they existed. Wish me luck! We'll see what happens...
Pillow Ideas
I'm so ready to add some color to our back room. Right now one side of the room is exploding with color (thanks to our Dotswald wallpaper from Anthropologie), while the other side is very, very gray. In order to marry the two sides, I'm going to pull colors from the wallpaper and use them in the accessories on the gray side of the space. First up - pillows! Here's a little pillow inspiration I've been collecting:
I love this arrangement (via House Beautiful):
I'm pretty sure we're going to go with standard pillows on the left and right side of the couch, and a smaller, wider pillow in the center. Now I'm no Martha Stewart, but I may try my hand at some simple embroidery on the lumbar pillow. Here's what I'm thinking:
I don't think that type of stitch would be difficult (correct me if I'm wrong), although I'm sure it will be a bit time-consuming. Anyone out there who is handy with a needle and thread - I'd appreciate any advice you can give me!
I love this arrangement (via House Beautiful):
I don't think that type of stitch would be difficult (correct me if I'm wrong), although I'm sure it will be a bit time-consuming. Anyone out there who is handy with a needle and thread - I'd appreciate any advice you can give me!
Megan's Living Room
Recently, Megan wrote to me about her living room:
Hi Lauren!
I need help with my living room, please! I'm at a loss. I have a tan sofa and two chairs in a dark brown leather. I need to jazz the place up. I'd like a new rug and media stand and hopefully coffee table. The rug needs to be seriously dog and kid friendly. don't knwo what color. browns? I also need art and pillows and accessories and colors and all that stuff! I would LOVE any help you could offer. My husband says he wants bright and cheery, but I was thinking more warm and cozy? Thanks so much!
Megan
I think that we can do warm and cozy but still have the space be bright and cheery! Here's what I came up with:
Chairs & Sofa - Homeowner's
Rug - Dash & Albert
Sheepskin Rug - IKEA
Curtains - Pottery Barn
Ikat Pillow - Etsy Seller Elegant Touch
Spores Pillow - Etsy Seller WillyWaw
Coffee table - World Market
Credenza - Crate & Barrel
Art - Etsy Seller United Thread
Tray - Anthropologie
Hi Lauren!
I need help with my living room, please! I'm at a loss. I have a tan sofa and two chairs in a dark brown leather. I need to jazz the place up. I'd like a new rug and media stand and hopefully coffee table. The rug needs to be seriously dog and kid friendly. don't knwo what color. browns? I also need art and pillows and accessories and colors and all that stuff! I would LOVE any help you could offer. My husband says he wants bright and cheery, but I was thinking more warm and cozy? Thanks so much!
Megan
I think that we can do warm and cozy but still have the space be bright and cheery! Here's what I came up with:
Chairs & Sofa - Homeowner's
Rug - Dash & Albert
Sheepskin Rug - IKEA
Curtains - Pottery Barn
Ikat Pillow - Etsy Seller Elegant Touch
Spores Pillow - Etsy Seller WillyWaw
Coffee table - World Market
Credenza - Crate & Barrel
Art - Etsy Seller United Thread
Tray - Anthropologie
Friday Favorites
Here are a few of the things that caught my eye this week:
Gorgeous hallway gallery wall over at John & Sherry's.
Home design perfection. You really must check out this amazing Finnish home.
A lovely tutorial on recreating this beautiful braided top bun via A Cup of Jo.
That Sage is just too too funny.
Amazingly fabulous idea for spicing up a so-so dress with buttons. I have a remarkably similar dress and am totally stealing this.
Erin's DIY bench makeover is too fabulous for words:
Gorgeous hallway gallery wall over at John & Sherry's.
Home design perfection. You really must check out this amazing Finnish home.
A lovely tutorial on recreating this beautiful braided top bun via A Cup of Jo.
That Sage is just too too funny.
Amazingly fabulous idea for spicing up a so-so dress with buttons. I have a remarkably similar dress and am totally stealing this.
Erin's DIY bench makeover is too fabulous for words:
And a Back Room Update
I'm stuck at home with bronchitis this week, so I thought I'd snap an updated photo of the back room (as I lay here curled up on the sofa with Moe like a slug):
The chalkboard wall is painted, the trim has been added and the built-ins are painted - hooray! Now we're just waiting for the father-in-law (AKA our woodworking genius) to get back from his winter home in Florida to make a few cabinet doors for us. It will be so nice to have storage for all of the things we want to keep out of reach of a certain pair of chubby little hands...
The chalkboard wall is painted, the trim has been added and the built-ins are painted - hooray! Now we're just waiting for the father-in-law (AKA our woodworking genius) to get back from his winter home in Florida to make a few cabinet doors for us. It will be so nice to have storage for all of the things we want to keep out of reach of a certain pair of chubby little hands...
H-Haus Spring
So long winter, hello spring! Absolutely my favorite time of year - the warm weather, the gorgeous colors, fresh smells, and sunny skies. We had some seventy degree weather here in central Pennsylvania a few days ago, and I felt the urge to fling open the windows and run out to the grocery store for some fresh flowers. A few bouquets of inexpensive carnations later, my milk glass inspiration photos came to life and I couldn't be happier!
I think Charlie and Moe enjoyed the morning sun as well. (Now lets hope those two rascals leave the fresh foliage alone) Hip hip hooray for spring!
I think Charlie and Moe enjoyed the morning sun as well. (Now lets hope those two rascals leave the fresh foliage alone) Hip hip hooray for spring!
A Thrifty Before + After
You can often find Violet and me down at the Salvation Army rummaging through the shelves for some inexpensive milk glass (I have a bit of an addiction as mentioned in my previous post). Although I am generally fairly focused in my search, every now and then something else catches my eye. A few weeks ago I snatched up these two beauties for exactly ninety-nine cents each:
Now before you decide that I've gone completely insane, please know that one, my mom's kitchen was completely decorated in blue and ducks when I was growing up, so these prints have a nostalgic quality to them, and two, I've been searching for inexpensive oval frames for ages!
I don't know what got it into my head, but I've really been wanting a pair for over a year now, but they are always too small, too big, too expensive, or too gaudy. Finally I found a pair that is juuuust right. A little spray paint and a little of our extra wallpaper, and voila:
Now before you decide that I've gone completely insane, please know that one, my mom's kitchen was completely decorated in blue and ducks when I was growing up, so these prints have a nostalgic quality to them, and two, I've been searching for inexpensive oval frames for ages!
I don't know what got it into my head, but I've really been wanting a pair for over a year now, but they are always too small, too big, too expensive, or too gaudy. Finally I found a pair that is juuuust right. A little spray paint and a little of our extra wallpaper, and voila:
Inexpensive art that adds a punch of color and a fresh springy feeling to the H-Haus. So what do you think - do you miss the ducks? (Don't worry they're still in there - I couldn't bring myself to part with them) So long winter!
Check It Out: Spearmint Baby!
Just wanted to let ya'll know in case you haven't heard the news - with two cats is going to be a regular contributor over on Spearmint Baby:
I'm thrilled to have a forum to share the billions of baby posts that are just bursting out of my head. I try not to overwhelm you on here with all things baby, but that's what's mostly on my mind these days.
Check out my first Spearmint Baby post here, and stay tuned for many more to come. Thanks Shari!
I'm thrilled to have a forum to share the billions of baby posts that are just bursting out of my head. I try not to overwhelm you on here with all things baby, but that's what's mostly on my mind these days.
Check out my first Spearmint Baby post here, and stay tuned for many more to come. Thanks Shari!
Leslie's Basement
Last week, I showed you the living room idea board that I came up with for Leslie. She also requested a colorful, cozy, cottage-y basement idea board. Here's what I came up with:
Pillow 1 - Etsy Seller Fabric Junkie
Decorative milkglass bowl - Etsy Seller Ione's Attic
Armchair - Pier1
Mirror - Ballard Designs
Wallpaper for drop ceiling - Home Depot
Side Table - Wisteria
Seagrass Stool - Pottery Barn
Lamp - Pottery Barn
Chunky Knit Pillows - Etsy Seller Dana's Joy
Throw - World Market
Pillow - Etsy seller Cooper Grey
Rug - Dash & Albert
Basket - Ballard Designs
Tray - Wisteria
Paint - Behr Billowy Down
Pillow 1 - Etsy Seller Fabric Junkie
Decorative milkglass bowl - Etsy Seller Ione's Attic
Armchair - Pier1
Mirror - Ballard Designs
Wallpaper for drop ceiling - Home Depot
Side Table - Wisteria
Seagrass Stool - Pottery Barn
Lamp - Pottery Barn
Chunky Knit Pillows - Etsy Seller Dana's Joy
Throw - World Market
Pillow - Etsy seller Cooper Grey
Rug - Dash & Albert
Basket - Ballard Designs
Tray - Wisteria
Paint - Behr Billowy Down
Violet - Ten Months
Ten. Months. Old. We're in double-digit territory now, baby. Speaking of baby - in only two short months you will no longer be one! In two months you will transform into a toddler. A toddler - that sounds so grown up! But don't worry, sweetheart...you'll always be our baby.
This month has brought with it a lot of firsts. You are now officially army crawling. You stay down on your belly and pretty much drag yourself across the floor. It works out pretty well on our slippery wood floors, but we know you'd rather be walking. Every chance you get you grab onto our hands with your chubby little fingers and take off after cats, toys, whatever catches your eye. Sometimes you just walk for the sake of walking - you can't get enough of it!
You think you can walk on your own and often try to let go of our hands and take off, but you unfortunately end up on your tiny little behind instead. You've been practicing pulling yourself up on anything and everything and now you can even walk along the sofa, toy table, and TV stand. Your Grammy and Pop Pop bought you a pretty pink stroller that you love to push around the house as well. Do you know what all of this means? We need to baby proof pronto!
As our first step toward a baby proof house, we bought a new vacuum cleaner just for you. That's right - your mama sacrificed her birthday gift for the sake of a clean house. (You're welcome) Every. single. speck of dirt interests you. It goes something like this: You're army crawling along, minding your own business when a piece of lint catches your eye. You work on picking it up with your newly discovered pincer grip, until - victory! It is in your grasp. It then must be thoroughly examined - you turn it, study it, you furrow your brow in deep concentration, pondering - what is this fuzzy grayish thing I've discovered? Where did it come from? Why doesn't my mommy want me to have it? That must mean it's something really fun and amazing. Hmmmm...I wonder what it tastes like...
Your hand slowly moves toward your mouth when, blast! Your mama snatches it out of your hand as you screech in protest. Your father and I have become skilled in the art of distraction lately - put a book in front of your sweet chubby-cheeked face, and suddenly, all is right in the world again.
Yep, you are some good cleaning motivation babe, that's for sure. And between our two furballs and our new shedding striped rug, there are always plenty of new pieces of lintfor mommy to clean up for you to examine. Most things eventually seem to make their way toward your mouth. We can't blame you - you've got new teeth popping up left and right! Most recently, an incisor. You haven't quite figured out what these sharp white things are for, so you've taken to grinding them. Someday we promise we'll let you use them to chew up some yummy food, but for now we usually try to distract you with toys, teething rings, and pacifiers - anything to make that horrible grinding noise stop!
You celebrated your very first Valentine's Day this month with lots of love from your mommy and daddy. You even made us a card at your babysitter's house - what a crafty little girl you are!
And that babysitter of yours - she's a keeper. She has sewn beautiful dresses and skirts for you, has gotten you into a routine, and has helped you learn to fall asleep on your own. She takes you to the library and the park and keeps a journal telling us about your day and new accomplishments. It's not easy for our mama to go to work every day, but it helps to know that you are in a safe, happy home filled with love and fun.
At home we still let you fall asleep in our arms - we like to soak up every precious moment with you that we can, but it's nice to know that you can fall asleep on your own. Your daddy is your favorite person at bedtime these days - his calm presence and big strong arms perfect for sleepy babies.
Your new favorite thing to do is wave. You start waving the minute we lift you out of your crib in the morning and continue until we put you to bed at night. You wave at toys you like, and you wave at the cats; you wave at strangers, and you wave at people you love. Sometimes you wave for no reason at all. Even the most stoic passerby can't help but smile as they pass us on the street - your sweet little princessy wave is just way too cute to be ignored. You also love to clap - I'm sure you'll be blowing kisses and high-fiving before we know it.
Violet, we just can't get over how much you grow and learn each day. What will next month bring? Crawling? Your first words?? Walking??? Only time will tell. Even as we feel that you are growing up too quickly, we can't wait to see what new things you will learn. We love you more each day, sweetheart. Keep exploring, keep learning, keep growing, but please always, always be our baby girl. Happy ten months.
Love,
Mommy & Daddy
This month has brought with it a lot of firsts. You are now officially army crawling. You stay down on your belly and pretty much drag yourself across the floor. It works out pretty well on our slippery wood floors, but we know you'd rather be walking. Every chance you get you grab onto our hands with your chubby little fingers and take off after cats, toys, whatever catches your eye. Sometimes you just walk for the sake of walking - you can't get enough of it!
You think you can walk on your own and often try to let go of our hands and take off, but you unfortunately end up on your tiny little behind instead. You've been practicing pulling yourself up on anything and everything and now you can even walk along the sofa, toy table, and TV stand. Your Grammy and Pop Pop bought you a pretty pink stroller that you love to push around the house as well. Do you know what all of this means? We need to baby proof pronto!
As our first step toward a baby proof house, we bought a new vacuum cleaner just for you. That's right - your mama sacrificed her birthday gift for the sake of a clean house. (You're welcome) Every. single. speck of dirt interests you. It goes something like this: You're army crawling along, minding your own business when a piece of lint catches your eye. You work on picking it up with your newly discovered pincer grip, until - victory! It is in your grasp. It then must be thoroughly examined - you turn it, study it, you furrow your brow in deep concentration, pondering - what is this fuzzy grayish thing I've discovered? Where did it come from? Why doesn't my mommy want me to have it? That must mean it's something really fun and amazing. Hmmmm...I wonder what it tastes like...
Your hand slowly moves toward your mouth when, blast! Your mama snatches it out of your hand as you screech in protest. Your father and I have become skilled in the art of distraction lately - put a book in front of your sweet chubby-cheeked face, and suddenly, all is right in the world again.
Yep, you are some good cleaning motivation babe, that's for sure. And between our two furballs and our new shedding striped rug, there are always plenty of new pieces of lint
You celebrated your very first Valentine's Day this month with lots of love from your mommy and daddy. You even made us a card at your babysitter's house - what a crafty little girl you are!
And that babysitter of yours - she's a keeper. She has sewn beautiful dresses and skirts for you, has gotten you into a routine, and has helped you learn to fall asleep on your own. She takes you to the library and the park and keeps a journal telling us about your day and new accomplishments. It's not easy for our mama to go to work every day, but it helps to know that you are in a safe, happy home filled with love and fun.
At home we still let you fall asleep in our arms - we like to soak up every precious moment with you that we can, but it's nice to know that you can fall asleep on your own. Your daddy is your favorite person at bedtime these days - his calm presence and big strong arms perfect for sleepy babies.
Your new favorite thing to do is wave. You start waving the minute we lift you out of your crib in the morning and continue until we put you to bed at night. You wave at toys you like, and you wave at the cats; you wave at strangers, and you wave at people you love. Sometimes you wave for no reason at all. Even the most stoic passerby can't help but smile as they pass us on the street - your sweet little princessy wave is just way too cute to be ignored. You also love to clap - I'm sure you'll be blowing kisses and high-fiving before we know it.
Violet, we just can't get over how much you grow and learn each day. What will next month bring? Crawling? Your first words?? Walking??? Only time will tell. Even as we feel that you are growing up too quickly, we can't wait to see what new things you will learn. We love you more each day, sweetheart. Keep exploring, keep learning, keep growing, but please always, always be our baby girl. Happy ten months.
Love,
Mommy & Daddy
