Thursday, January 29, 2015

Valentines Day Traditions- Old and New

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and I've just started giving it some thought. We are big on traditions over here….and traditionally the morning is celebrated as Valentines Day and the remainder of the day as Connor's birthday. The morning includes tulips and homemade hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows in our Valentines Day mugs. There is a special(sugary) homemade breakfast while I sneak one(or two…..or three….) of the macarons C bought for me. Below is a photo from our morning last year…we got up before Reese woke up and enjoyed a quiet morning just us. It was great- and this was the plan again for this year until I started thinking more about it. The breakfast is a must, but this year I think what really sounds nice and romantic is to have a simpler one(store bought maybe??) in bed and filling those mugs with really good coffee. Who knows? Maybe we're forming a new tradition...
~
Our Valentine's mugs I made here a couple years ago….






Monday, January 26, 2015

Eclectic Minimal

When I first started blogging about design, the term eclectic did not exactly have a positive ring to it.  It brought to mind a home filled to the brim with stuff….and not the good kind of stuff mind you- the weird collector kind of stuff (a gnome collection? why?). But now, the word eclectic is one that I would use to describe some of my favorite design inspirations (many times with the word minimal attached to it). It simply connotes a blend of styles. While most of us wouldn't have trouble furnishing our home from a single store, it takes more skill to master the art of mixing styles,finishes, and patterns. Here are some homes the do just that: 



Tuesday, January 20, 2015

fireplace in black

You may have caught a glimpse of the painted fireplace from my Christmas post, but I realized I never shared a full shot with you guys. After I got the idea to paint it black (here) it took a while before Connor was convinced that it was such a good idea. I waited until he was completely on board with the project and ended up painting the day before my due date. It definitely kept my mind occupied! 
(picture taken day after we enjoyed a fire:).

I first scrubbed the fireplace with a steel wire brush…this was messy. After vacuuming all of that up, I washed the fireplace down with a vinegar/water mixture. Once that dried, I used a coat of primer (the lady at the hardware store convinced me to get way more primer than I actually needed….next time I'm sticking with a pint), and then applied two coats of black latex indoor paint(I prefer flat). You really only need the heat resistant paint for the firebox and inside the actual fireplace. (I should note that you can also tint the primer gray so that there will be less coats of paint in the end).
Here is the before:

I have to say this project was so rewarding- it instantly made a huge difference in the living room. Oddly enough, I felt like it actually made our living room more cozy.



Friday, January 16, 2015

Friday Favorites

  It feels good to be starting back up with some of my Friday favorites. I'll be honest, this might be the first time all week I've cracked open my computer (I'm the disheveled looking one trying to figure out how this whole two kids thing works), but here are some things that have caught my eye. I'm looking forward to the promise of 40 degree weather and getting outside with my family, happy weekend! 
~
       This bedroom

This entryway (perfection in my book)

and these links:

Cleaning/caring for leather boots
New for Ikea in February
Narrowing your closet to 25 items- would you do it?
3 cheese and wine pairings
These sheets would be adorable for a kids room
This home tour
These shoes
This looks delicious 
Trends for 2015


Friday, January 9, 2015

Charlotte's Room Reveal

I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but here's Charlie's room all finished and I'm very pleased with the outcome. It met all the requirements I had for it- acting as a guest room and nursery, being unique (not similar to Reese's nursery) for Charlie, and using a lot of what we already owned since eventually we want the girls to share a room. I pulled the rug from the office and found that it could work with the orange duvet cover we always used as bedding for when we have extra guests. The farmhouse table we already owned, so the main purchases were the animal print shop piece above the crib and the curtains. I also bought the kantha quilt for Charlie to tie all the colors in together.
Here you're getting another look at our DIY clothing rack and I made the house pillow in the crib for Charlie out of some old sweaters...
The picture below is before we added the shelf in the corner, but you can see the faux antlers I bought at T.J. Max and spray painted white. My mom was the miracle worker behind the stenciled wall (using this stencil), I love the way it turned out!
Another shot of the DIY clothing rack….
Here is the shelf Connor made for me cutting the same brackets we had used for the clothing rack. The whale and bunny were clearance finds at Anthropologie.
And here's a shot at the whole room….

In the beginning I was not sure how/if all the pieces would fit, but they came together and the result is a room that both Charlotte and our guests can enjoy.

Source List:
stencil- StenCilit etsy shop
crib & curtains- Ikea
duvet Cover (old) & basket- West Elm
rug & farmhouse table- vintage
cub lions print- The Animal Print Shop
shelf, clothing rack, the house pillow- DIY
whale, rabbit vase, and ostrich- Anthropologie
kantha quilt- Connected Goods



Wednesday, January 7, 2015

2015- A new year, a new baby, and some new thoughts for the coming year

I'm here, I promise! This Christmas was especially good to us, we welcomed our second girl into the family- Charlie (Charlotte) Paige. Like most parents of one kid, it was difficult for me to imagine loving another child as much as Reese, but it is truly amazing how my heart expanded in just an instant. Perhaps even more precious is watching the love Reese has for her little sister….a two and a half year old trying to soothe her baby sister may be the cutest thing I've ever seen. We have been mostly in survival mode as far as sleep is concerned, but it's truly been the happiest time. I feel like I am slowly getting back into everyday life, but am determined to take it easy and to just enjoy this time as I figure out life with two little ones. As I remember from my last time with a newborn- it goes too fast to sweat the small things. 


While I can't exactly say that I've spent the break thinking about the direction I want to take this here blog, it has been in the back of my mind for the past year. About a year and a half ago I received an email from an editor of a big magazine showing interest in sharing my home in print. Needless to say, I was ecstatic. We exchanged over fifty emails/pictures over the course of a year and a half and I was encouraged not to share too many pictures of my house on the blog or with any other sites. I do not mention that here to impress you, but rather to explain the lack of personal posts in regards to progress on the house. Though this possible magazine feature may still "be in the works" (after a year and a half, I'm having my doubts though), I've decided to just do my thing here regardless. I find this blog to be such a creative outlet, and that is more important to me than any possible "success". Last year I decided to blog less, and to do more quality posts….and I want to continue along that path. For me, that is the only way I can be the wife and mom I want to be, keep up with my responsibilities and other hobbies, AND keep up with this blog.  I also would like to talk more about things/issues that are important to me here, so that posts are not all decor and clothes (as much as I love them). Though I'm not the gifted writer I wish I was, a few thoughtful posts seems more true to who I am as a person. Lastly, I would like to turn my attention to (finally)starting an etsy shop this year. I have been running this idea over in my mind for a couple years now, and I feel this is the year to make the jump. So those are my thoughts on the future of RestlessOasis….now here is another one of my little Charlie:


Pictures of her nursery will be up Friday!