getting ready for kaitlin's arrival!

 

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our house this christmas.

 

 

some belated photos of our home this christmas. we decorated the weekend after thanksgiving & our decorations are still up (we're busy with more important things :) so we've gotten the most out of this year's tree & garland! what an incredible christmas it was. xo

cool kid's rooms.

digging the details -- the map shade, the teepee, the solar system, the sunlight ... can't wait to find out if baby y is a girl or boy, only a few more days! found here & here.

guest bedroom swooning.

if either of these happen to be yours, i'm up for a visit anytime! found here & here.

our family room!

 

ta-da! at long last, here is the next room in our house i'm so thrilled to share with you! (by the way, it cracks me up that when we moved in last september, i thought i'd be showing you the finished house within weeks ... turns out a real house takes a lot longer to get settled than a dorm room!)

we absolutely love this family room. i kinda love that we finished it right before we found out we had this little one on the way & so our family was growing. i tried to capture all the little details -- from the garden prints by the door that leads out to our backyard garden, to the collage of photos that always warms my heart, & the American flag that was a wedding gift and will no doubt be in every home we live in.

what's that you say? you're in LOVE with the striped curtains, stunning roman shades & pillows?! me too!! to say i had a very specific vision for this room is an understatement -- i knew i wanted grey paint, thick horizontal stripe curtains and a cozy couch with pillows to tie it all together. bad news is i can't sew & couldn't find anything like this anywhere. then ... i stumbled upon martha & ash! what's funny is two of my best friends are named martha & ash, so i was initially captured by the name, but after a few exchanges on etsy with ash (i just looked, we've now exchanged 68 messages!!), i knew this was the PERFECT etsy store for me.

ash walked me through each step of the process -- we sent photos & diagrams back and forth until we were sure it was perfect. it felt like i had my own interior designer who was just as determined as i was to make it perfect. the curtains (they are blackout by the way, which is amazing!) came with fool proof instructions on how to hang them, she even helped me pick out the grey paint color and rods (& advised me on where to hang them). they also found a fabric i'd seen on pinterest for the throw pillows! bottom line is, i will be going back to martha & ash time and time again. (i'm already dreaming something up for baby y's room!)

so, if you're swooning, i have awesome news: tomorrow martha & ash is generously hosting a giveaway for one of their stunning throw pillows on t&f! so scurry back over tomorrow to enter. in the meantime, check out their etsy store -- i know you'll love it!

p.s. our living room, laundry room, & the house the day we moved in!

giveaway: decorate!

i'm beyond excited to share the book that's front & center on our coffee table right now: decorate. from the moment i heard about it, i was excited (hello, it's by holly of decor8!), but when i finally got a chance to curl up with it and dive in, it got even better. you see, there's a part of me that wishes i'd gone into interior design (funny because i never even considered it while in school) & that secretly wishes i had more tools, advice, inspiration in my back pocket when i'm thinking about what to do with a room.

this book does all that & more. it has rock-your-world quotes like this: "i love a well-traveled, eclectic house with furniture & objects, layered one upon the other, that tell a story about who lives there, where they've been & what they love. there's nothing worse than walking into someone's house that looks like they just called up a decorator!" (eddie ross, designer). it has room by room inspiration & guidance. it has something for every style. & it has room diagrams i was drooling over (gosh i wish i took the time to do that before i dove in, look at all the possibilities with one room!). bottom line: i'm considering this my 101 course in how i might bit by bit, room by room, house by house, learn what it really means to really decorate. did i mention the photography is stunning?

so, pop over to chronicle books & get yourself a little treat. or buy one for your mom. or as a wedding present. or birthday gift. i promise it's bound to please.

the best news: chronicle books (i love them) has generously offered to giveaway a copy on t&f! all you have to do is leave a comment with how you'd use your copy of decorate to do some good in your own home! winner will be announced wednesday! good luck! xo

p.s. thrilled to join another favorite blog of mine, hooray, who is talking about decorate too today!

Update on Tue, July 5, 2011 at 9:15 PM by tulips & flight suits

we have a winner! it's reader #19, lizzie!

cottage fever.

 

 

just a little cottage love this wednesday! click on images for links! p.s. have an amazing giveaway coming up friday, stay tuned!!

our laundry room.

 

so, i can't believe after sharing my linen closet & closet, i'd post about my laundry room, but honestly, this room makes me so happy. it used to be this plain, cold room (literally -- the floor was frigid) & we've totally brightened it up.

first, this fantastic/affordable dash & albert rug. some gorgeous succulents in galvanized bins ($4 each!). artwork my sweet friend made. two of my favorite frames & one of my favorite engagement photos -- and, it's organized! the charms of an old house include old cabinets with character. they perfectly hold paper towels, detergent (which ryan calls "washing machine soap" - he's so cute) and footballs on duck tape. my favorite part? the late afternoon sunlight that pours in.

let's just say it's a tad brighter/girlier than ryan would have made it, but hey i was considering hot pink for the walls & i do a lot of the laundry (wink, wink). plus, there are usually flight suits hanging up, so that makes it very manly. next ridiculous part of the house to show you? our pantry! (is anyone out there enjoying these?)

dreaming of this bedroom.

 

i'm dreaming of this bed, with this cozy blanket & a stack of magazines this tall. happy thursday! xo

sheepskin rug love.

 

it's funny to think about the constants in blogland: letterpress. avocado toast. rooms with lots of natural light. keep calm & carry on. getting out to meet mother nature. & sheepskin rugs. before i read blogs, i'd never heard of sheepskin rugs, now they're everywhere.

so, when i saw them for a really reasonable price at our local co-op, i decided to give it a go. well, i'm in love. not everything on blogs is practical, but this trend is worth trying. it's right by our bed & honestly has kicked up the comfort of our bedroom ten notches. ryan is still pretending like he doesn't want one on his side of the bed (not ubra manly looking), but i think it's only days before he gives in. they're so soft.

click on images for lovely links!