-:- it was a dark and stormy night...

Last Thursday, we experienced a night filled with the loudest thunder, the brightest lightning, and the strongest winds I have ever witnessed. It was the kind of storm that made me wonder how the squirrels and birds cope with such things.

The next morning, after Mr. investigated our backyard, he discovered that a big branch had fallen from our neighbor's tree - but considering the strength of the storm, we felt lucky that was all we had to deal with. Until I looked out our front window and saw this:

It was a bit like waking up after a large, unexpected snow storm to inches and inches of snow - except this snow was green. And dangerously close to the house. 

We went outside and discovered that a chunk of the tree near the street had fallen onto our blossoming tree in the front yard and wiped it out. I think the tree by the street was already damaged somehow - you can see how the top of the tree's wound is dark - and the winds were strong enough to take it down.

Thankfully, we live in an amazing town and before we knew it, a crew had come in and cleaned everything up, including the big branch in the backyard and our newly demolished blossoming tree. We didn't have to lift a finger or pay a dime - what a relief. And how lucky we are.

Now we have a bit of a clean slate in the front yard. We're deciding whether we'd like to plant another tree (apple, maybe?) or install a raised bed now that we have a bit more sun in that part of our yard. Either way, our kids will have a fun tree stump to play with in the future - and we'll always remember seeing those pink blossoms during our first spring in our new home.

xox

-:- a map-inspired living room update

Ever since we moved into our house, Mr. has wanted a big map to hang in our living room. And after a lot of time exploring our options, we finally found a vintage classroom map on eBay that was exactly what Mr. had pictured. Our house is a perfect size for our family, but it is by no means large, so we have to be careful about how much we try to squeeze into our spaces. Since this map is so big, it was the perfect impetus to declutter and simplify our main living space and now it feels just right.

Our to-do list from our original post is nearly done - we installed a programmable thermostat, revamped an old dresser to become an entryway catch-all, hung some curtains, and hung some pictures. We also replaced our old, leaky fireplace with a new gas insert.

The only thing left on our original to-do list is to install a light fixture. I'd also like to paint the bricks around the fireplace - probably some bright pop of color. I love looking back to see how far this room has come since we moved in - this little house of ours is something special.

xox

-:- coat rack by mr.

Mr. loves working with his hands - he is big on doing things. I love that about him, especially when he channels that energy into making wonderful things for our home.

Like this new coat rack that he whipped up last weekend.

It has two tiers of hooks, specially designed to hang more coats without too much bulk,
and includes a special, built-in, secret mail nook that only you and I know about.

And it's perfect for those members of this household who carry a general aversion to closets. I'm looking at you, Claude.

It was built with a piece of wood (walnut or black walnut, says Mr.) that the previous homeowners left in our garage. It was hung on our plaster wall with heavy duty screws and some kind of plastic anchor - which was all very encouraging since we have a few other things we'd like to hang in this plaster.

The hooks are pieces of a dowel and the moose (which was previously brown and installed on the side of one of our bookcases) was a wedding gift from my sister. We'd eventually like to get a little bench or something to put underneath it so we'll have someplace to sit when we take off our boots.

But we already love it - finding Lou's leash has been a breeze and our mail isn't cluttering up our surfaces anymore. That husband of mine is pretty wonderful.

xox


P.S. I wasn't really looking at Claude. I was looking at myself. Claude happens to love closets.

-:- our new table

Mr. and I really haven't had a functional dining table since we started living together -

ours was really old and really small and we never used it because it always felt cramped.

While we (of course) have big plans for our little dining room, they require time, money, and an established woodworking space - and our patience with eating off of our laps in the living room was running out faster than we were making progress on our plans.

So we decided to buy our first real table.

Both of the leaves fold down against that center piece and it takes up very little space when it's in that form. When our big plans come to fruition, we'll be able to store this table in the basement or in a closet with no problem and can use it for additional seating or a game board surface as needed. It won't be wasted. And now, whenever our big plans happen, they happen - there is no rush.

Our old table, by the way, is now home to my sewing machine and I love it.

In the meantime, our new table has really made our house feel like a home. 

Mr. can grade there while I cook dinner. We set the table for ourselves.

And we sit, facing each other, to eat and talk about our days.

Plus, it gives Wilbur another place to nap.

We consider it a win all around.

xox

-:- special gifts

When Gma S and Gpa R came to visit earlier this month,

they brought a few wonderful gifts with them.

Like these ornaments, made in their (and Mr.'s) hometown by a local artist.

Each one is unique and highlights of a piece of history or architecture in town.
What a neat tradition, right?

They also brought a beautiful set of china

which we're displaying in our mid-century china cabinet -
our most recent furniture purchase.

We can't wait to use these dishes for our first Thanksgiving meal in our new home - 

and we are so grateful. Both collections are so special.

xox

-:- our cozy little kitchen

Our house tour is moving right along to our kitchen. 

And oh, how we would have loved a bigger kitchen.

With that said, ours is truly cozy – and we have big plans to open it up, even if it’s all just an illusion. And any improvements we make (i.e. new countertops) won't be too expensive because the space is so small – so there’s a perk!

This kitchen also came with some great, new appliances that we just love. We’re so happy that we have a gas stovetop and a microwave that’s not taking up counter space. Don’t even get me started on how awesome it is to have a dishwasher. I’m still swooning.

And while it’s tiny, it’s also certainly functional and we’ve been putting a lot of great meals on the table despite its size. What more can you ask for from a kitchen?

Our inevitable list of to-dos:

-:- Install a new sink (and mend any plumbing issues along the way)

-:- Install ligher or more natural counters - butcher block?

-:- Add a fun, tiled backsplash to the wall behind the sink

-:- Get some frosted glass adhesive for that window - don't want to be too friendly with our neighbors!

-:- Get a rug for in front of the sink

-:- Paint the insides of the cabinets and line them with something fun

-:- Install pot racks/storage space on the walls (Mr. has some good ideas for this)

-:- Hang our kitchen witch

-:- Hang that plastic bag holder you see sitting on the ground

xox

-:- guest room

In order to have a sister come visit,

she must have a place to stay.

gorgeous photo by the gorgeous Clair

I made the bunting, inspired largely by this and am so happy with the way it turned out.
It also happens that one of the blogs I read posted a tutorial about making bunting with bias tape, which is what I did, the day after I finished my project. I thought that was so synchronistic!

It's a great tutorial, found here.
The only other advice I can give you is to snip the points of your little triangles before turning them inside out. And then iron, iron, iron. Before, during, and after.

There isn't much left to do in this room except:

-:- find and hang a neat mirror

-:- hang one more print that arrived recently in the mail

-:- stencil the last empty wall with a modern pattern - maybe something like this? or this?

or maybe even this?

xox

-:- guest bathroom

You are probably going to get tired of hearing me say how much I love our house.

But I do. And I really love our downstairs bathroom.

It didn't need very much work at all.

Just a good scrub and a few simplified accessories.

     

Here is our to-do list for this room:

-:- Tile the rest of the wall in the bathtub/shower area

(tile only goes half way up right now)

-:- Completely waterproof the window in that same area

-:- Give the walls another coat of white paint

-:- Fix the doorknob, which is gorgeous, but not working very well at the moment

Not a whole lot! And none of these items are very high on our overall to do list, except maybe the doorknob thing. We might be more worried about the rest if we were using the shower every day.

xox

P.S. Puppy update: Our home visit has been scheduled for Wednesday, so it looks like we might not have our little guy until Friday or Saturday. That's a lot later than we hoped to have him, but we're just going to have to hang in there!

-:- our living room

Since we first saw our house, I have been looking forward to getting settled in our living room.

I could immediately imagine us living there - in the mornings drinking our coffee, in the fall with something in the oven baking and a knitting project in hand, in December with our Christmas tree and a fire in our (soon-to-be) pellet stove.

It's a bright, cheerful space and I think we are slowly but surely making it homey too.

We still have a bunch of things to accomplish in this room. We'd like to:

-:- install a programmable thermostat

-:- hang some pictures from our picture rail

-:- install a pellet stove

-:- hang some curtains

-:- refinish an old dresser to use as storage and an entry way catchall

-:- install a light fixture

But even with all of those things to do, this room seems just about perfect the way it is.

More to come as it progresses!