Our Modern Reading Nook - Mini Living Room Tour

One of the things I was most excited about moving into this condo was being able to decorate it and make the space our own. I've been obsessed with home decor since slightly before Josh and I got married and I was trying to find solutions to help make the hideous yellow basement we were going to be living in for the foreseeable future a little less hideous and more warm and functional. Of course, the basement situation didn't work out well at all, and once we started thinking about bringing a baby into the space, we had to think about getting our own place sooner than we'd intended. Anyway. We found our little condo and fell in love. And since we've moved in, I've been obsessed with making it into the perfect space for the least amount of money, which means lots of thrift shopping, IKEA shopping, and DIYs.




This little corner of our living room is a current favorite space. Since we moved in, I'd struggled with what to do with the blank wall of negative space between our TV and the couch (decorating around baseboards can be tough!). I hung some pictures, but I hung them too high and in an awkward grouping that I was less than fond of. The space needed something to fill it, but I wanted it to be non-bulky and minimal. I decided we needed a chair, and I wanted a black and white theme for the pictures. I priced out some chairs that I liked on IKEA's site (as a side note, my best recommendation before going to IKEA is to figure out a list using their site, otherwise you'll likely end up overspending and you probably won't come home with exactly what you wanted. And their site has a list-making tool that also checks availability and calculates price.), but then before we went to IKEA, we wound up going to Goodwill, where we found a vintage barrel chair for $10, and we snapped it up.

I sewed a little pillow to modernize the chair and tie in the black and white, then pulled over a lamp that I'd never been able to find the perfect place for.



I then began work on my little gallery wall. I was sent this beautiful New Orleans map print from Modern Map Art to review, and I knew I wanted that to be the focus of the mini gallery. I had the typographical quote print already (from here), I cut the arrow print out of a book of typography that I found, and the architectural print is a photo I took at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. I framed them all in plain, black frames to kind of tie them together (mostly from IKEA). And this time, to make sure they were all hung at a good height, I had my husband hold them up for me.



I am so happy with how this little space came together. I think it really ties the whole living room together, and also creates a nice little reading/working nook. I'm also in love with this New Orleans map. It's modern and graphic and cool, but it's also really meaningful to Josh and me, since we honeymooned in New Orleans and absolutely fell in love with the city. Every time I look at the map, it makes me think of our honeymoon, and how badly I want to back and cram my face full of beignets. I think these prints are a fun conversation piece as well...and Josh and I will honestly take any excuse to talk about how much we love New Orleans. Definitely check out Modern Map Art if you're looking for something like this!

Adelaide's Eight-Month Update

I can't believe that we already have an eight-month-old on our hands. I mean, only four more months and she'll be a whole year old! I feel like up until the last couple months, time really seemed to be dragging on, but then all of a sudden it sped up. Everyone I've spoken to has told me that when you have a baby, time just flies by, so you really have to try to slow down and enjoy it. But all I wanted was for time to just move faster. I struggled so much in those first few months. I had PPD, Adelaide was colicky, then just fussy, and she didn't nap. I used to count the minutes until Josh came home from work. But for some reason, from about the time she hit six months, time's sped up, and I think it's partially because there have been so many big changes during that time! Our sweet girl has grown so much!




Adelaide is totally on board with solids, which I'm so happy about! We started to introduce them at four months, but only began to be regular with them at six months. So far she's happily eaten everything that we've put in front of her, with the exception of Gerber's chicken, which honestly I don't blame her for. We recently picked up this snazzy thing called the "squeasy snacker," and it's essentially a reusable squeeze pouch that makes solids much easier, because she can basically feed herself, which she loves. We still feed her from a spoon just to make sure she gets used to it, but seriously, I'm in love with the squeasy snacker.




There have been a few big developments over the past month! For one thing, Adelaide has finally found the motivation to sit up on her own! Yay! She's found it's very nice for playing with her toys. She is also, as of last week, a beginning crawler. I say beginning because while she is moving forward, instead of her previous backwards, she's still not quite there yet.  I'm less excited about this one, because it means we have to be a bit more diligent about baby-proofing, but she is quite pleased about being able to access every little thing that catches her eye. Everything. Every. Thing. Ugh. She also just started giving high fives.




She became much more vocal in month seven, and a couple weeks ago started saying "dada," and "hey." Josh and I were cracking up the other night when I picked her up and she said, "Hey, Dada." So cute, even if I am slightly offended... She also communicates by saying "ha," and the occasional shriek.

As for her struggles, she is still not doing well at church and in big social situations. I think she just gets overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds and people. The stranger anxiety is pretty strong, though she does great when we're at home and in small group settings. So far, we get through church by taking her someplace quiet during the sermon, and we try to ease her into bigger social events.

She also has two top teeth coming in, which has been a significant source of drama the past few weeks.

But for the most part, she's our sweet, happy, independent girl. She loves playing quietly with her toys and is particularly in love with the wooden spoon I gave her, and she likes watching Sarah and Duck with mama (who also enjoys watching it...it's really cute, and it's quiet and not overstimulating!). Her daddy and I can't wait to see how she develops in the next few months.

5 Things I Love About My Husband

Happy hump day, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Like I wrote in my last post, Josh and I have never really done anything to celebrate, but I wanted to use the holiday as an excuse to pamper ourselves, which I feel like we don't do often enough since we've become parents! I wrote Josh a long, sappy card, made us a candlelit dinner, we had some admittedly terrible wine, then we cuddled and watched About Time, and ate too much dessert. It was really nice to just spend that time together, and I'm thinking we need more evenings like that in our lives.

Anyway, because it was Valentine's Day, and because I love any excuse to be cheesy, I thought I would share a post on five things I love about Josh.

01. His Understanding

This is really one of the things I love most about Josh. He always takes the time to listen to me, is never dismissive,  and doesn't jump to conclusions, but always tries to get to the root of the problem and see how he can help, even if it's just by providing snuggles. He managed to put up with my mood swings during pregnancy (I was a prickly thing in the first trimester, and often cried over nothing), and he was such a help when I was fighting the worst of my postpartum depression.

02. His Immaturity

Oh my goodness. So immature. He makes me laugh until I have tears streaming down my cheeks because he's just made the dumbest, most unfunny joke. But really, it makes going through life so much more fun when we can be immature together, especially during hard times. Like he always says, "If we can laugh and joke about it, then there's no problem."

03. How Much he Loves and Cares for Family

This was one of the things that I found really attractive about Josh when we first started dating. When I spent time with him and his family, I saw that he really cared about them, and really wanted to help out with any problems they were having (his whole family is that way, and I love that about them). And now that we have our own little family, seeing how hard he works for us, and how much he loves me and Adelaide, it just warms my heart.

04. His Love for Mean Girls

Seriously, it's just about his favorite movie, and I think it's so cute. But really, a guy who will willingly watch chick flicks with you? That's a keeper. I remember one time when he was feeling down, he made me watch Tangled with him. So. Cute.

05. His Face

It might just be me, but I think my guy is pretty dang handsome, and I love his face. The nose, the eyebrows, the little bit of green in his eyes, the beard, everything.

Ok, now it's your turn! Tell me something you love about that special someone in your life! How did you spend your Valentine's Day?

The T-Shirt + Leggings + Sweater Formula

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you all are having a good start to your week. I had a bit of a surreal moment this morning when I came out of my bedroom and the house was still clean. Usually I have so much cleaning to catch up on after the weekend, and today, all the house needs is a quick tidy, and it's good to go, leaving me with time to catch up on everything else I want to get done.



This outfit is what I'm referring to as my "winter mom uniform." When I'm around the house, taking care of baby all day, I tend to opt for something comfortable, soft, slouchy; clothes that I don't mind getting the inevitable bits of baby food or spit up on. Typically, my formula is a t-shirt, leggings, and a cozy sweater, with a messy ponytail. It's casual, but easy enough to dress up, with the right shoes and accessories, for running errands or even an evening in with friends.

So, let's talk about these pieces:

01. White Tee

This t-shirt I picked up from Target at the end of summer is just perfection. I've spent the past few years searching for the perfect white t-shirt, and I think I finally found it in this. It's light and flowy, which is perfect for summer, but it also layers really nicely, and I think it's just one of those staple wardrobe pieces. A white tee and jeans is one of the most classic outfits in my mind.

02. Leggings

I'm still a bit in the 'leggings aren't pants' group, but when they're thick and paired with a long tee or sweater, I'm all in. Plus they're just so dang comfortable. I go through leggings like mad because I tend to wear them as sleepwear as well, and because of the eczema on my legs I like to swap them out often. So, I go for the cheapo ones from Forever 21, because, A. You can't beat $4, and B. They're high-waisted and great for holding in that postpartum belly that just doesn't want to go away.

03. Longline Sweater

Oh my goodness, this sweater. Our Goodwill was a bit of a gold mine last Sunday--usually I find a few small items, but last week, I came home with a new sweater, a little black dress, a bear suit for Adelaide, and a sweet vintage chair. And that was after some serious editing of our cart. I knew I needed this sweater in my closet the moment I saw it, because I love the fact that it's basically a bathrobe that's acceptable to wear in public, it's a warm knit, and it's the perfect shade of blue. I also really like the rolled sleeves. It went straight into my winter capsule, which I am planning to do an update on before I share my spring capsule, since I've already edited it a bit.

Together, these pieces create the perfect cozy home outfit. I added a simple necklace for interest, and my go to ankle boots for going out.

//Outfit Details://T-Shirt: Target / Leggings: Forever21 / Sweater: Thrifted (similar) / Necklace: Charlotte Russe (similar) / Boots: American Eagle (similar)//



What's your everyday outfit formula?

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A Cozy Valentine's Day at Home

Can you believe how quickly January flew by? I feel like all I did was blink, and we were already a week into February. That means Valentine's Day is coming up--next week!--and I'm pretty excited about it.

I've never really been a huge Valentine's Day person, except when I was little, handing out Valentines to all the other children in the church and counting all those I received in return. When I was a teenager, I was very anti-Valentine's Day for a while, and when Josh and I started dating, we just treated it like any other day. But this year, I'm looking forward to an excuse for a date night (these feel few and far between now that we have Miss Adelaide!), and though money's tight, I plan on creating a cozy night in, and pampering both Josh and myself. Something I've learned over the past year is that you really don't have to spend much to have a nice date, you just have to be a little more intentional about it.





If you're in a similar boat, here are a few things you can try to create the perfect date night at home:

01. Dinner for Two - Try cooking a favorite meal, maybe something special that you don't make often. Even if it's nothing fancy, set the table formally for two--here, I grabbed a cluster of candles, and a vase with a sprig of eucalyptus for a simple, intimate centerpiece. The copper Moscow Mule mugs add that perfect pop of color with all the neutrals. Turn on some music, turn off the phones, and sit down to enjoy a nice dinner together.

02. Play a Game Together - We actually used to do this during dinner every night, but that's kind of tapered off recently due to more harried mealtimes. But try breaking out a favorite board game (some of our staples are Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Rummikub) or just playing a few games of cards (we are gin rummy fiends!).

03. Rent a Movie - Going to the movies is pretty expensive these days, but Redbox is great for checking out that newly released DVD you've both been wanting to watch! You can also opt for an old favorite, or a movie that's special to you. Some of our go-to favorites are About Time, When Harry Met Sally, and You've Got Mail.  Light more candles, and snuggle up together on the couch, and hit play!

04. Bake a Special Dessert - A decadent dessert is the perfect way to round out the night. It's fairly inexpensive to pick up small desserts from the bakery at your local grocery store (we love the Safeway bakery a little too much around here), or you can make your own! I'm thinking I may make a chocolate cake, but that has yet to be seen.




05. Make a Special Gift - If you're into giving gifts on Valentine's Day (I know I am!), cut down on costs and make something with materials you have at home. It may just be a card to put into writing how much you love that special someone (I love long, sappy cards), or something that requires a bit more thought. For a really quick Valentine's Day craft, you can make a mini album full of little things you love about your significant other, and favorite pictures of the two of you. I made this one by cutting several pieces of watercolor paper into identically-sized squares, punching two holes in each, and threading a bit of leather cord through them to hold the book together. It's really cute, personal, and sentimental.

I hope this post gave you some ideas if you're planning on spending Valentine's Day at home, or even for creating a nice date night at home! But regardless of what you're planning of doing for Valentine's Day, I hope you have a wonderful time!


Also, just a quick note--for some reason my email subscription was set up incorrectly, and I finally fixed it! Now you should be able to successfully subscribe to get all of my new posts direct to your inbox!

Winter Style Essentials

I'm back to share my winter style essentials!

I don't know about you, but winter here in the Pacific Northwest has been cold. Every morning is a struggle to get out of bed, and usually Miss Adelaide and I, and Josh on the weekends, spend the first part of our day snuggled up under blankets as we wait for the house to warm up a bit. I'm generally cold anyway, so I tend to pack on the layers in the wintertime, especially if I'm leaving the house.

Here are my 7 winter essentials:




01. Sweaters My main goal in winter is to remain cozy, and the first step towards that is a chunky, preferably wool, sweater. My favorite right now is my trusty Norwegian sweater--100% wool, baggy, and oh so warm. I've been wearing it with turtlenecks, which may not be the most fashion-forward outfit, but it's cozy, and that's all that matters.

02. A Good Winter Coat This is so important, and to be honest, I'm still searching for that perfect winter coat. I love my Calvin Klein one, because it's really flattering, but I'm on the hunt for something a bit heavier for maximum warmth.

03. Gloves I remember when I was little, I hated wearing gloves, because they were difficult to put on, and I didn't like how they felt. Now, I get upset if I leave the house without them. They are a must to keep my hands warm in the winter months!

04. Wool Socks Thick, woolen socks are the best for keeping my feet cozy on our cold, wood floors, and are great outside, poking out of a pair of cute boots during walks! And boots are definitely a winter essential. And fall, and spring. And on a cold day in summer.

05. Knit Scarves I love scarves, since they're a quick, stylish way to add extra warmth to an outfit. I bought a couple of huge knit scarves from Forever21's clearance section a few years ago, and they're still going strong!

06. Hats I've also just started to add beanies to my winter arsenal--I've never been a big hat person, but I think they're growing on me, because they're pretty handy for keeping my ears warm on walks.



07. Lotion & Chapstick And finally--my last two essentials are in a bit of a different vein, but they're still really important during winter: lotion and chapstick. I'm currently using Aveeno's 24 Hour Moisturizing Lotion and Burt's Bees lip balm, which I talked about in my beauty capsule posts (pictured is the pomegranate, but I also really like the eucalyptus). Since I got pregnant, my skin has changed quite a bit, and I've suffered a lot more from dry skin than ever before, so both are very necessary during these cold, dry months!



 

//Outfit Details://Sweater: Forever 21 (similar) / Scarf: Forever 21 (similar, from J Crew) / Beanie: Josh's (similar)/ Gloves: Target / Socks: Target / Jeans: Ross / Bag: Thrifted (similar)//

 

There you have it! What are your essentials for winter?

 

 
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