Father's Day...

*photo 1 via, photo 2 via


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Hi guys! So last year I totally dropped the ball with planning a meaningful Father's day, and I promised myself I would not let that happen again this year! Personally, I feel like this has been the hardest "holiday" to shop for so I put together a little Father's Day gift guide to help those of you who may be like me and totally wait until the last minute on these things... 

We are leaving for the beach for a week on Saturday so I'll be packing Wesley's Father's Day surprise up with us! I can't think of a better way to spend the day with family at the beach :) 

What are your plans to celebrate? Any fun ideas for gifts? I'd love to hear! 

Life Lately...

Hi ya'll! I know I've M.I.A. for the past few weeks and I just wanted to check in with you all, see how you are doing and fill you in on a few things. I hope you're still checking this little blog every now and then, because even though I go through dry spells, I do love having this place as an outlet, and sharing it with you.

Anyways, with the weather getting so much nicer, we've been packing up every weekend and either heading down to Deltaville (my safe haven) or the beach (OBX). So we haven't had much progress around the house... other than packing/unpacking and grocery shopping each week, not much is getting done around here. However, we are staying around this weekend so hopefully we will finally finish up the new pantry and get a thorough cleaning done!

I was reading this post this morning and it really resonated with how I am feeling right now in my family life. Harrison is growing up so quickly, and although he's not quite in the toddler phase yet, he's not really a baby anymore either. This time last year (he was only 5 mos old) I barely had a second in the day to take for myself, but it went by so quickly and now (he's almost 1 1/2 yrs old) I finally picked up my kindle again over the weekend and actually started (and finished last night) a book. Just this morning, he rode all the way to work, sitting in his car seat, drinking his sippy cup of milk and "reading" his book about 'eyes'. I could not wipe the goofy smile off my face, while I was watching him in the rear view mirror... he looked so grown up! These little milestones - every new word he says, every new tooth he gets (that we all work so hard for), and even finding time to do things for myself again, make me so so proud of my little family.  I guess I've just been feeling super sentimental lately and reading that post this morning just reminded me that we are all constantly changing and going through so much behind the scenes that most people don't even know about. Little shifts in our world can be scary but good. 

Some Summer Essentials...

Oyster Prints & Pantry Progress

Last week I mentioned I ordered these frames for my oyster water color prints, and I have pictures to share! They came in late last week and I hung them over the weekend. We have had a few bad experiences in the past when hanging art grouped together like this and it has been so hard to get everything hung evenly and level. But these were so easy! They came with paper templates, of the exact size of the frames and exactly where to put your nails. It took me all of 5 minutes to tape the templates on the wall, make sure they were straight, and I nailed straight through the paper. I am so happy with how they turned out! I love the way the brushed gold frames pop against the wall color.

In other news, the hubby and my father-in-law got started over the weekend on our new pantry! 

This is the one space in our house that has never functioned well and has probably changed the most (frequently) since we bought our home 6 years ago. I would describe this room as a mud/laundry/pantry/catch- all room. It's not pretty, and we generally keep the door closed to it so we don't have to look at it. To make things worse, when we were building the addition, we found out that our water heater (previously stored in a water closet) was not to code because it was too close to our electrical panel. 

And that brings me to this lovely drawing I made... 

This little nook used to house the above industrial shelves that we used as our pantry and miscellaneous storage, but now holds our water heater on the right side and is no longer big enough for the shelving unit. So we brainstormed for a new pantry solution, in keeping with the layout that we have, and this is what we came up with...

We added bi-fold closet doors and W and his dad framed out and put drywall up for a pantry. You can kind of catch a glimpse on the far right side of the picture of that white cabinet on the wall. It's small and just houses mostly tools and detergent, but it will be coming down so the doors can open properly. Most of that stuff will be moved into what used to house the water heater before we had to move it.

He finished up the drywall this week and now we just need to get shelves put in, and paint the doors and walls to clean up the look. 

It's still not perfect, but it's the best scenario this room as seen to date. W and his dad did a great job of the pantry and when it's all said and done, I think we will really enjoy the new layout. 

Do any of you have a room in your house that just doesn't function properly? What did you do to fix it?  I would love to hear about it!

Friday Favorites & House Updates

Hey, guess what? It's the friggin' weekend! TGIF, amiright?! 

After wrapping up our new addition, things have started to slow down for the last couple of weeks on the home front, but there is still SO much to be done and April has gotten me motivated to get busy again! 

 Honey- Do (Together) List- 

1. Paint kitchen & dining room - after moving furniture out of these rooms, we realized how badly they need a fresh coat of paint! This is numero uno for me. 

2. Pick up furniture from family that has been storing it for us 

3. Set up & organize guest room 

4. Decorate! Because the kitchen and dining room need to be painted, I removed everything from the walls and am still trying to sort out what & wear things will go back up. Our old spaces felt cluttered and busy to me. I'm still trying to find that balance between a tranquil yet homey feel. 

I did just order two of these frames to hang some watercolor oyster prints I purchased back in December in our master bath, so that's progress right? Baby steps... 

But now that you're all caught up, let's move on to some of my Friday Favs.... 

1) This dining room... and anything that involves pastel buffalo check, for that matter. 

John Hummel & Assoc. 

2) white on white on white + brass accents + natural textures (i.e. wood, sisal) = heaven 

3) This outfit inspiration.

4) These are the perfect neutral sandals but with a fun colorful tassel for just the right amount of spunk in your step. 

Well that's about all I've got for your today... Are you planning to travel this weekend or just staying around home? Either way, I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend! 

Easter Ready

Flounce Hem Dress (on sale) // Embroidered Drop Wait Dress // Chambry Shirt Dress // Short Sleeve Floral Dress  (similar here, here, & here) // Short Sleeve Minimal Dress (similar here) // Fluttered Blooms Swing Dress








The fact that Easter is only a week away, literally blows my mind. This year is FLYING by! On one hand, I want time to slow down, but on the other (dominant) hand, I am so ready and excited to be pulling out those new spring prints and dresses! I can't get enough of the pretty floral/ pastels this season, and the options available right now seem to be endless. 

This is also Harrison's first Easter that he will actually kind of be able to understand what's going on, so I'm extra excited for it! I've gotten everything together for his first Easter basket (we saved our money last year and skipped the basket since he was not even 4 months old yet).. we got him a toddler soccer ball, a new book, bubbles, and little treats to stuff in some Easter eggs :)

Target Threshold Home

Have you guys seen the new spring Threshold items at Target yet?? SO adorable. I had to make a Target run this afternoon on my lunch break to get milk for the babysitter and got so off track when the bright pink caught my eye. I am absolutely loving the gold accents, bright colors, and bamboo motifs. I seriously have issues shopping there without straying off of my list! I just thought these were too good not to share... happy hump day! 










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Evolution of Our Living Room

Hi guys! I'm back after taking a couple weeks break to move in (!!!) to our new addition. We are completely done with construction and are now just focusing on filling in the pieces with furniture and accessories. We still have a mile long to-do list but I'm excited to finally share some real progress photos with you! So here is a [condensed] version of the progression of our living room...

Dreaming of Spring...

I am so over this snow. And my winter wardrobe. And wearing socks. With highs in the 60's yesterday and the lurking snow storm today, I feel myself falling back into that seasonal depression that tinkers on the brink at the end of every winter season. OK, maybe I'm being a little mellow dramatic, but you feel me right?! 

So in the spirit of spring, because that's the only thing getting me through this weather, here is some inspiration for your footsies. There are so many great options this year and I can't wait to break out a new pair of sandals. Bring on the warmer weather!!

Dining Room Mood Board

Hey ya'll! Wow, I can't believe how fast March snuck up on me!

 So far I've shared with you our master bath mood board, which is coming to life exactly how I imagined it. I'm hoping to share finished pictures with you next week! eeekkkk! We're only waiting on finishing touches now with the mirror and sconces..

I also shared our fireplace inspiration here, which our own fireplace is about 95% finish and I am in LOVE. 

Soo for a lack of "after" pictures, I thought I'd pop in today with a little dining room inspiration for you... 

Pre-addition, we didn't have a proper dining room - more like a cramped eat in kitchen. But post-addition we are transforming our old living room into a dining area. We are really excited to finally be trading in our old hand-me-down kitchen table for this new, grown up, and more "us" version. We don't want the dining room to be too formal because this will be our everyday table as well, and most importantly the room needs to be appropriate for a wild toddler to run around in too.  

The room is in dire need of new paint, and I'm in love with BM Seattle Gray (the same color we used in our new bathroom). Still searching for the right dining chairs but I love the stripe details on these - just don't know how well they would hold up with sticky baby fingers :) 






Get the look...

Addition [Updates]

Some exciting things have been happening with the addition progress and I am happy to finally share some quick little snippets with you!

The builder dropped off our mantle on Friday and I am THRILLED with how it looks so far. It will be painted the same color as the rest of the trim in our living room, BM White dove. They also dropped off the carrara marble slab for the hearth, and I'm equally smitten! We're hoping to have the hearth and subway tile surround installed this week.

The bathroom cabinets were also installed last week. The vanity counter top was supposed to come yesterday but this snow storm has thrown yet another wrench in our schedule, so we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out. But as soon as the counter top is in, they can finish the plumbing, install the linen cabinet on top of the vanity, and finally hang the mirror and sconces. 

I just keep reciting to myself...

patience is a virtue

patience is a virtue

patience is a virtue 

Master Bedroom Mood Board

Things are getting close! Today, the painters are putting the finishing coats on the trim, the electrician is hanging our fixtures and finishing the outlets, and tomorrow our hardwood floors will be sanded and stained. I've felt like a gypsy the last week (going on two now) because we've been hopping from relative to relative's house in order to keep little Harrison away from all of the fumes at home. But we're getting so close now, I can almost taste it! 

Today I put together a little mood board for our master bedroom... 

I like a mix of traditional pieces with contemporary art and accessories. Our bed was actually a wedding gift from my parents and we've used these Restoration Hardware bed linens since our wedding as well, except we just added this linen duvet cover recently for a more lush, layered feel. I ordered custom made, black out, flat roman shades in an off white linen for the window treatments that should be ready in the next couple of weeks. Other than the windows there isn't a lot of new things we need for our master, except I do want new bedside table lamps and art. I'm loving this piece right now, and think it would look amazing over our bed, although I'm worried the size may be a little too small.. but the colors are perfect. 


To see more master bedroom inspiration see here...






get the look...

Be My Valentine

T-shirt // skirt // card // coasters// bracelet // candle // clutch // perfume gift set // card // dish towel 


Just a little Valentine's day inspiration to get you through this Friday...

We haven't really made any plans yet for Valentine's day, but I've been working on talking Wesley into taking me to see the new Fifty Shades (I know, not very original) movie at the Cinebistro for a date night, and keeping it really low key. What are your V-day plans shaping up to be? 








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Baby Blue Crush

                  

image sources 1 & 2, 3, 4, 5

Just a some gorgeous images of a pale blue color palette to inspire you on this hump day. Lately, I am just so drawn to the light and airy color palette of pale blues mixed with neutrals and gold. I'd be perfectly happy to spend time gathering my thoughts in any one of these rooms.