New city, new job, more family...

Well... we moved. About three months ago! Not only did we move, but we are expecting a baby in February! And... I started a new job in September. Nothing like piling it on in a time when you already have a lot going on. But, now I get to see my sister every day and both of our families more often. It has been really nice. We found a great home to rent in a great neighborhood while we settle in and decide where to buy a home in the Grand Rapids (MI) area. So far it's been great! You can walk to restaurants, dog parks, it's close to downtown and in a quiet neighborhood. Here is the confused front porch with halloween and christmas decor.... (i promise I removed the pumpkins after Thanksgiving! Myko loves her front porch and being at street level to bark at dogs passing by...)

The entrance way... (which now is home to our Christmas tree)

The stairway to the second floor (where we have four rooms and a bathroom). Notice the stained glass window that the owners restored. It's one of my favorite parts of the house!The dining room.. I have been stalking the "Big Sur" dining table since we got married and we finally got a dining room to fit it in! Hello big family dinners :) Notice more stained glass windows!

We also scored with a gas fireplace! It's so nice to have. The living room... Those bay windows look out onto the main street in front of the house and also allow us to look in and find out if Myko has set up shop in her new sleeping arrangement, otherwise known as the couch.

I wanted to paint the kitchen to make the cabinets pop more but I haven't gotten to it yet. After painting three rooms upstairs and the living room (it was red) my mom and I were too tired to tackle the kitchen. Stay tuned for more updates on the upstairs and nursery!

Serving up the Stylish

Every time I leave anthropologie, I find myself "dreaming" of pretty things. They always seem to woo me in every department. Which brings me to remind you of their serve wear! Sometimes I forget that clothing is not the only thing they offer. So... enjoy!

Patronage Platter
I love the intricate edges on this platter! And when is the last time you saw a PURPLE serving dish?

Paper Pretender Dinnerware
I love the simplicity of this faux paper plate! I would love to see some
bright orange sweet potatoes contrasting the white!Jimmies on Frosting Platter
These soft platters could act as a centerpiece down a long table even without anything on them!

Framed Entry

Living in the city, I have collected my fair share of keys from different apartments that I've lived in. Living here for six years I have lived in 5 places. Wow! Here's a great idea for those loose keys you have in the junk drawer in the kitchen- make art out of them! ...

Compliments of Young House Love!

Costco to the Rescue

I am a huge fan of Costco! Every time someone comes over for dinner we usually have something from the amazing warehouse. Our dog sleeps on a Costco bed and eats Costco food, my husband cannot leave without a slab of ribs (because "they are SUCH a good deal"), our car insurance is through Costco, our mini bar would not exist if Costco were not around... The list could go on and on! They never cease to amaze me with the things they sell. This stainless steel storage unit (found by apartment therapy) is pretty high up on the list of good finds. Although sold as a "tool box" I could find many other uses for this! My office could definitely use the extra wide doors for large paper as well as the durable top for gluing and cutting. Some would even say a kitchen island! What would you use the "stainless steel box for"?

Chalkboard Headboard

I love this idea! Here, an old chalkboard acts as a headboard and also a welcome note.

Hand Carved Wood Vases

On my way to West Elm to buy these new log vases! The hand carved natural mango wood looks so rugged and no two are alike! FYI- right now you can save an additional 10% when you use your west elm card!

Meg Ryan's Beach Home

Compliments of Elle Decor (which might be my next magazine subscription)- Here are some photo's of Meg Ryan's amazing beach home on Martha's Vinyard. You will drool over the vintage lighting, blue stone counters and shelves, reclaimed wood, white backgrounds and dark wood floors. The post-and-beam home was actually built more than a decade earlier in England, where the parts were collapsed into a puzzle like kit and barged across the ocean to be reassembled on-site! She thought the raw wood made the interior very dark and cavernous so she covered it with white paint. I am so jealous of the vintage "FLOWERS" sign hanging in the dining room which had birds nests in it when she picked it up. The bedrooms have roman numerals on the doors to identify guest rooms. Boy, do I wish I was a guest at this peaceful retreat!

Vintage Dictionary

I've been trying to "vintage" up my walls for a while! Little Bluebird Studio's have given the vintage dictionary pages you'll find here a "new life". The words of the page to show through the illustration... making each one a unique piece of art. Another great find on etsy....

LOVE it!

I love when people take old things and make them look so effortlessly chic! Take a look at this image- the loose sketches are framed to make them look "finished" and the old wheels are connected with a steel frame to create a table base filled with so much character!

Home Office Inspiration

Hello! Sorry about the delay- i've been stuck in a storage unit! Moving day = t-minus 10 days! I actually like the process of moving, organizing, pitching and finding wedding gifts I forget we even received! It's been quite time consuming but very rewarding. Looking through anything, i've been thinking of how we are going to fill our new 1700 sq. ft. apartment! We spend alot of time in our home office (well I do, but my husband seems to think the couch is a better work surface for his laptop!) so keeping it organized with enough room to house a double bed, two work surfaces, a shelving unit and all my paper supplies is a challenge! Here are some images i'm using for inspiration. I'm sure almost everyone envies the home office that is stylish and has a spot for everything! Enjoy...

I love the shelving unit full of bins, cute organizing boxes and decor.

I'm thinking we need some wall hung organizers above our large work surfaces.

Speaking of work surfaces- I got two of these desks from ikea a while ago and lined them up so that we each had our own desk but they look like one long surface. (with white legs)

Again- love the stylish organizing bins!
The order that these frames create on the wall is great! Now that i've gone through almost everything that we own- i have discovered a TON of frames! I'm thinking they need to be lumped together in arrangements like this... (instead of placed all over)

Bookshelf Walls...

Oh how i long for the space to allow a wall of bookshelves and the amount of books to fill them! I love the look of this concept. It adds texture and order to a wall while organizing at the same time!

Organization...

I LOVE organization! I just thought I would post some inspirational photos to help you with your spring cleaning! I know I will be spending any free time I can muster up to go through our storage unit and purge any overstock we have!

Creating Nooks

I have always dreamed about building my own house- I mean "our own house". I have so many ideas and would just love creating a space where my family finds refuge at home. This house would not be huge by any means, but will have character busting out of the seams and sunlight pouring in the many windows. One thing I would love to have are many "nooks" where we can hang out, grow plants, admire books, display black and white photos, sit and drink scotch on a worn leather chair (Dave's requirement), gaze outside, curl up with a good book, drink coffee or just relax.

Make a kid friendly reading nook out of an awkward corner.

Nothing says nook like a ladder only entrance!

Stairs leading to a sleeping nook...

A Natural Glow

Designed by Barend Hemmes, the "Wooden Bulb" is made from laser cut wood, which leaves a crisp burned edge and creates a satisfying, waffle-like glow. You can either hang it from the ceiling or lay the bulb on its side!

Feeling Grounded

Happy Friday- finally! I have news: we found a place! We signed on our new apartment last night and I'm really excited about it. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen, storage, rooftop access and SPACE! I thought we would never find it. But now I can't stop thinking about the things we need to outfit our new digs. We already have a ton of furniture, but I would like to get some new rugs for the living room, our bedroom and the guest bedroom. What luck that West Elm is having an exclusive online rug sale for the next 4 days! 10% off all orders and the shipping is not as bad as you would think. (I put a 8' x 5' rug in my shopping cart and the shipping was only $20) I should wait until we move in, but they are only on sale for 4 days! What to do?

I've got my eye on this jute bucle rug shown below for our bedroom. I can't decide on the color though- platinum or natural?! I am thinking of painting the walls a really light gray so the platinum would make sense, but I am drawn to the natural too.I would love the matching runner for the guest room.

Here it is on the platinum finish:

I'm also pretty obsessed with the pebble rug. It is the softest plushest thing ever! It would be great in the living room since we sit at the coffee table alot to work on computers, feast or just play with Myko. (our golden retriever who is also super excited to live above her favorite dog store in the city)

House Hunting

Good morning! We have been looking for a new place for the past couple of weeks so I have been super busy! We have come up empty handed so far, but the search is still on! I will keep my game face on and power through without getting my hopes up only to have them let down because we have the cutest golden retriever know to man :) Oh well- she is so worth it. We will find a place located more than 10 feet from the train with more space, a nice kitchen and parking all included- i just know it. In the meantime, we have come across some really nice places for rent that i'm assuming were taken off the real estate market because of our drowning economy. There really is alot out there! What do you look for in a rental? I don't think i'm asking alot with my list...

1. SPACE (more than 1150 sq. ft.)
2. one or two bathrooms with storage (these bathrooms should not include black and white checkered tile or black jacuzzi tubs)
3. an outdoor space (small deck will do)
4. a bedroom that we can walk around in while our bed is still in it.
5. an area where a small home office will fit
6. Hardwood floors are highly desired, but not a must (on the contrary, the carpet should not be muted gray, green or any other drab color)
7. Kitchen- this might be my pickiest area, (and the hardest thing for my husband to understand) but I spend alot of time cooking and entertaining in my kitchen and I would like this to be the nicest entity in the space!
8. Storage- as in closets. Being from Northern Michigan I have collected my fair share of coats. Not to mention my clothing collection that I really need to organize and purge!

Is this too much to ask? On another note, I forgot to post the images I found of the kitchen in "It's Complicated". I fell in love with it when I saw the movie. Very french utilitarian. ( i made that up and have no idea what it means, but it sounds right!) Enjoy...